What’s this? A post that’s NOT a review or a meme? You’re probably wondering if you’re on the right blog. But yes, it’s true, I have my blogging mojo back and I have a tonne of things that I want to talk with you about. The first of which being the topic of monthly to be read lists.
Monthly TBRs are huge on Booktube. HUGE. When my channel is actually active, I post a TBR video at the beginning of each month to share which books I’m interested in reading in the upcoming weeks. But I don’t do this on my blog, and I don’t see any monthly TBRs from any other bloggers either. At least, no one is jumping out at me at the moment. And I’m not really sure why this is.
So I wanted to ask you what your views on sharing monthly to be read lists/piles are. Do you think they’re a great way to keep yourself motivated, or do you think people who do this overshare?
I used to loooove doing monthly TBR videos. I love lists, and this was kind of an extension of that. I liked to have an outline of what I would be reading over the next few weeks, and at the beginning of each month I would speed through the first four or so books. But then I’d eventually lose steam.
My problem with creating a monthly TBR for myself nowadays is that after the first week or so, I find my mind and attention wavering towards other books that weren’t on my initial TBR pile. And what I used to do was stick to my TBR pile no matter how I was feeling, leading to me trying to read books that I wasn’t interested in and eventually throwing me into a reading slump. In an attempt to counteract this, by week three I would abandon my TBR completely and slip into free mood-reading. So the monthly TBR seemed a bit pointless.
I have decided that I want to change my methods. I need to do some experimenting to find a balance between my love of planning and my mood reading tendencies. I have a couple of ideas when it comes to the solution, the first of which being switching to weekly TBRs instead of monthly. I’ve seen this mentioned by a couple of other bloggers before, and the idea intrigued me. I think if I were to switch to weekly TBRs, I could still give in to my list-making tendencies, but I could also stay pretty flexible when it comes to my reading. I imagine it would be less draining. This would also leave me with more room to fit in new purchases that I will most definitely acquire throughout any given month.
Another thing that I am considering is bringing my TBR lists to the blog. Like I said, I share my TBR each month on my Booktube channel, and for the past six months or so I’ve also been sharing it on Instagram. But I’ve never done so on my blog. I think if I were to share my TBR every couple of weeks or so, it would keep me motivated and it would hopefully spark some discussion.
That’s enough of me rambling. Over to you.
Very important questions
- Do you think TBRs are awesomely necessary, or a waste of time?
- Do you make monthly TBR lists yourself, and how are they working out for you?
- Would you be interested in reading about other bloggers’ TBRs at regular intervals? (Weekly/bi-weekly/monthly TBR posts)
I’m the same with creating monthly TBRs. I’ll pick out my list and then suddenly I’ll want to read some other book, and I never end up sticking to the original list. I used to make them religiously but now I’ve given up. I love reading/watching TBRs though. I don’t know why, but I enjoy seeing what other people are going to read.
Haha, yep! I’m always so excited for my monthly TBR and then once I’ve chosen one different book, I rarely go back to the original. TBR videos are some of my favourite videos to watch!
I don’t make monthly TBRs, and I don’t think I ever will. Don’t get me wrong, I like watching them and reading them but I can’t do it myself. I can’t even complete a seasonal one! I just never stick to them, so I don’t make them. I think everyone should do what works for them, and if you like making monthly TBRs, then I’d love to read them 😀
I can’t complete seasonal ones either! I go in with every intention to do so, and then when I go back to look at my list at the end of the season, I end up having only read a couple of them. I might try weekly TBRs instead of monthly and see how it goes!
Monthly TBR lists are a bit of both, haha. I like to make a list of books I plan to read that month, but a lot of times my mood just switches and I end up reading other books instead. The idea is great though. I’m more into the Seasonal TBR pile that is hosted by Top Ten Tuesday. I find it’s easier to stick to those books, because I have a bigger period of time to read them.
I always like to see what someone is about to read, so I would be interested in that.
I can’t even complete a seasonal TBR! I’m awful haha
I love TBR posts! I like seeing what books people are reading so I can add them to my radar if needed. I FAIL at having TBRs for myself. There are a couple books each month I read for other obligations (book club, monthly buddy reads, blog tours, etc.) but I usually have to keep a blank slate or else I stress myself out.
Haha, I’m exactly the same in terms of loving the posts and videos, but failing at reading the books myself. Having said that, I had pretty much a blank slate this month and I have read a grand total of two books. I don’t know what happened!
I was actually thinking about this the other day – I can’t do monthly TBRs AT ALL. I am such a mood reader and the books I want to read change so suddenly. I might be loving a series, and have the next book ready, but then I don’t feel like reading it and go on to something else for a while. This is also why I suck at reviewing ARCs on time…
I like the idea of it, it feels organised. But whilst I’m organised, I like the spontaneity of choosing depending on my mood 😀 I’d like to see your TBR on here though! Then your readers can tell you if they’ve enjoyed something, what they think you should read first etc etc.
Also I’m trying to comment more now, sorry I suck! 🙁
BRAIN TWINS.
I had the same experience with the Seven Realms series. I read the first two books and I LOVED them, but then I just wasn’t in the mood to carry on reading them. I still have to read the fourth. The opposite was true for my epic Vampire Academy marathon in 2011. I read all six books in two days or something.
And YES, suddenly my giant ARC list makes so much sense! I can’t force myself to read them when I don’t want to.
I suck at commenting too, don’t you worry!
I love making monthly TBRs. I just feel like it gets me more excited to read, because I’m being reminded of so many great books. The only problem with that is that I tend to overdo it. Lol.
I am definitely guilty of overdoing it in the past! I’ve realised that making TBR lists each month gets me excited about reading in general, even if I don’t stick to them at all.
Lately, I’ve been really into looking at what readers are putting on their monthly TBR. It always gets me oooh-ing and aahhhh-ing at them. I’ve actually started doing one, and well, it’s kind of successful? I don’t think it’s a great motivator (since I’m a mood reader to the max), but it’s a great reminder that “hey, these are the books you should be reading!” I love looking at the end of the month at my initial monthly TBR list to see what I’ve accomplished. I never done that, but now I do a monthly TBR, it’s so satisfying.
Nikki has a great idea of having a grab bag of books she can pick from. It’s a large pool, and I think it’s flexible for a mood reader?
There’s always lots of ooooh-ing and aaaah-ing involved when I read/watch TBR lists! I hadn’t thought to compare my list from the beginning of the month to what I actually ended up reading. I might try that!
I love Nikki’s grab bag idea but how do you not choose your whole shelf? XD
I think monthly TBRs are a great way to keep make a large TBR less daunting and organize content for a blog, but they just don’t work for me. I’m very much a mood reader, so the few times I’ve tried to do one I end up abandoning it one week into the month. I enjoy looking at other people’s TBRs because I’m curious whether our tastes are the same, and if they are I usually end up adding a book or two to my own TBR.
I have never, ever not abandoned a TBR list! I think the most I accomplished was 7/12 books, which is only impressive to me, haha.
I LOVE reading monthly TBR pile posts! I do one on my blog each month and I think it’s such a fun idea. I don’t always stick to it but I find them super useful if there are review copies that I need to get to or books that need to be read shortly. Even if I don’t actually read whatever is on my TBR pile, I don’t mind because I enjoyed making the list so much haha! I’d definitely read your TBR pile posts! 🙂
That’s so true – I use TBR lists for review copies a lot! But even then I end up abandoning them because of my annoying mood reading tendencies. And thanks for the encouragement! I think I’m going to do it 😀
I try to have a monthly TBR…but I rarely stick with it. I am such a mood reader so I often wander from them. Or I’ll get invited to do a buddy read, or I’ll buy a new book or the massive library haul finally comes in and I get distracted. I love the idea of a weekly TBR goal. Maybe I’ll start trying to do something like that.
I’d read your TBR post if you started them. I think they are fun and I often discover new books because of them.
I used to do TBR lists, but like you, they totally burn me out. But, I still try to pick at least 3 books that I definitely want to get through in a month and then leave the rest of the month open to read whatever I feel like. But I do like to see other peoples TBR lists 🙂
I’m such a mood reader that TBR lists are pointless for me. I might feel like reading contemporary in the morning but then I end up with the biggest fantasy book I could find by the end of the day. So I don’t make a list. I do watch TBR videos on YouTube though because I find it intriguing how other people are able to stick to their lists. I’d be interested in reading about your TBR for sure.
I LOVE monthly TBRs and I always have one too (not that I actually read all those books on my TBR lists, but I just like making lists LOL). I only post a picture on IG though and don’t post it on the blog for two reasons: 1) I did something similar once before and someone commented with a spoiler to one of the books 2) it felt repetitive in my case because I also (want to) do recaps, so in those months I actually stick to my TBR it would basically be the same list.
I would totally love seeing more TBR posts though!
I do TBR lists and I share them on my blog, but I try to give myself a wide range of books and use it as a reference rather than as a you-must-read list.