Let's Talk | Organising My Goodreads TBR & Down The TBR Hole #1

If you're anything like me, you spend way too much time on Goodreads adding book after book to your 'Want To Read' shelf until it reaches an unmanageable number. That is the point I have reached recently. I currently have 415 books on my TBR shelf on Goodreads, some of these I own and I most likely will get to them eventually, but the majority of them are just books that seemed interesting to me at one point and I haven't thought about since. As that number is constantly growing, it seems about time I found some way of getting it under control.

For the past couple of years, I have used a system that organises my TBR by priority. I have a 'top shelf', 'middle shelf' and 'bottom shelf' on Goodreads and when I add a book to my TBR, I decide whether it's a book I am desperate to read as soon as possible, one I would like to get to soon, or one I might like to pick up in the future. This system worked for me for a while, however even this has become a bit unmanageable recently. The only real way to get this under control is probably to get the number down!

A few months ago, inspired by a post on a blog I follow (I tried to hard to find who it was but it was too long ago), I went through my Goodreads shelves and got rid of a good few books. If I remember rightly, I had around 500 books and got it down to just under 400. I was so proud of myself but that is still a huge number. More recently, I saw a post on Escape Life In The Pages featuring a meme called Down The TBR Hole, originally created by Lost In A Story about a year ago. It involves going to the oldest books on your Goodreads TBR shelf and looking at 5-10 at a time to decide whether or not you're still interested in them.

" It works like this:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf. 
• Order on ascending date added. 
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books 
• Read the synopses of the books 
• Decide: keep it or should it go?"

So I figured while I await some fabulous advice on how to organise my Goodreads TBR (if you have any please, please, please let me know!), I would try this out and see if I can get the number down. I'm not including the books I own because if I own them I probably want to read them.

The Notebook by Nicholas Sparks

I used to own this book and picked it up once but couldn't get into it so donated it. I then regretted getting rid of it so added it to my Goodreads TBR again. This is obviously such a popular book but I think I'll just stick to the film, I don't see myself ever picking this up.




Judgement: Go


Along For The Ride by Sarah Dessen

This is a YA contemporary about a girl who is going to spend the summer wither her dad in a small beach town. I know I want to read more Sarah Dessen since she's like the queen of YA contemporary and that is my favourite genre. I love summer stories and I love small beach towns so this is definitely my cup of tea.



Judgement: Stay


Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot

This is essentially a chick-lit, murder mystery set in college dorm with an ex-pop star as the main character and wannabe detective. I'm not completely sold that this is something I would enjoy but I do love books set in college dorms and I'm intrigued by the synopsis enough to want to give it a go. It sounds like it could be pretty funny, maybe a bit Bridget Jones-esque, which could be a lot of fun, but with a darker tone to it as well.


Judgement: Stay


One Day by David Nicholls

I didn't have a clue what this was about until I read the synopsis again. It's a very popular "chick-lit" book about a couple and their relationship but on one day over twenty years. It does sound really intriguing but I don't honestly think I'm interested enough to pick it up. I know it's a movie and I'm not the kind of person who has an issue with watching the movie if I'm not super interested in reading the book.


Judgement: Go


How To Eat A Cupcake by Meg Donohue

This is another "chick-lit" book about two childhood friends who open up a cupcakery together. I'm pretty sure the only reason I added this to my TBR is because I love baking and I love cupcakes. I don't think I was ever particularly interested in the story at all, and I'm still not. I don't think this is something I would like now and I don't find the synopsis all that interesting.



Judgement: Go


I don't think getting rid of 3/5 books from my TBR is too bad a result, hopefully this can really help me get that number down. I would like to do this quite regularly so there will likely be another one soon, but for now if you have any tips on how to organise my Goodreads TBR or tips to help me cut the number down, please let me know. I clearly need help!

How do you organise your Goodreads TBR? Do you have a huge number like me (please make me feel better) or have you got yours under control? Do you get stressed like me if the number gets too large?

Sophie :)