To Be Read or not To Be Read… (BEDM)

TBR piles are both a book blogger’s best friend and worst nightmare. Some people love having a TBR pile, some hate it and sometimes it just depends. I definitely fall into the just depends category as sometimes I love the structure of having a TBR for the near future but other times I feel constricted by it.

With the YALC announcements recently, many people are planning and announcing their YALC TBRs (so many capitals in this post already) including myself. I haven’t said what my TBR list is yet but I have started looking at what to take and what I want to read beforehand. I’ve only just properly started looking as I got overwhelmed when the names were first announced – I didn’t have much time that day as it was and I get really easily stressed out when everyone is talking about something and I feel like I need to catch up as fast as I can.

I’ve started listing books I want to take, want to read beforehand and books I want to buy for it. I’m sure I will post this either later this month or in June. I do love making a TBR list, especially when I have a purpose for it. I’m looking forward to choosing books I want to read in the next few months to then hopefully meet the authors of the ones I enjoy.

However, I do sometimes feel a little pressured and constricted by this. Even though I’m only choosing books for YALC that I do genuinely want to read, it doesn’t mean I want to read them right now. Sometimes, I get a couple of reads through my TBR and then don’t fancy any of the others on the list. I want to read a new release or a book I’ve had for ages rather than any I planned out. Like a lot of people, I don’t like reading a book if I’m really not feeling it at that point. It’s the same with anything; I could really want to watch a film or tv show and know that it is my sort of thing but if I’m not feeling it then I don’t want to start it on a negative.

This is just something I’ve always felt quite strongly about and I’ve stopped forcing myself to read something I really don’t want to read. It’s such a cliche but life is too short!

I panic read before YALC last year but then nearer to it, I just accepted and realised that it doesn’t matter. Meeting an author I want to meet even if I haven’t read their book is obviously fine and still fun. I rarely talk about the book with the author when I meet them anyway, unless it’s something that has made an impact on me or something specific I definitely want to talk to them about.

So, although I am going to make some lists for YALC this year, I’m not going to be strict about my TBR list. At the end of the day, if I don’t get through it, I’m not going to beat myself up about it – YALC will be fun either way!

How do you feel about TBR piles and lists?