Tackling your Physical TBR
It’s time… You’ve finally come to the realization that buying more books has GOT to stop, (for now at least) until you’ve filtered through some of those collecting on your shelves at home. Nothing can quite scratch that itch like browsing the shelves of a book store and flipping through their brand new pages… BUT, we can try to make reading those you own more fun than dusting off the cover and cracking it open. Let’s get creative!
My fur baby absolutely loves to help organize my shelves, but even she knows it’s time to get through them.
TBR Jar
One of the best ideas I’ve seen for getting through your personal collection of books is a TBR Jar. Find a cute glass jar, trinket box, or any other container that you like to hold small pieces of paper. Bonus points if you’re feeling creative and decorate it yourself!
Take an inventory of all the books you currently own and have yet to read. Then, write down each of the titles on small scraps of paper and put them into your jar. Now, any time you need a new book to read, reach into the jar and one will be chosen at random for you! If you have a series, you could put the title of the entire series on a piece of paper to commit to the books as a whole.
If you want to make it even more fun, you could use different tropes, genres, or “challenges” instead of just book titles. For example, research the books you own and jot down their corresponding tropes, such as second chance romance or enemies to lovers. Similarly, you could list genres that you own to allow yourself more choices. Lastly, you could get creative and write down some challenging prompts - a book with three words in the title, a book with a person on the cover, or a book by an author you haven’t read before.
This is one of the more entertaining ways to get through your TBR, by adding something new to your shelves and creating a little scavenger hunt to choose your next read!
Blind Date With a Book
Something I have done around the holidays and really enjoyed, was covering the book titles I own when choosing my next read. This is a clever way to choose a book solely based on the plot rather than the title, author, or cover. Though it may be tedious to individually wrap the books, write the synopsis, and reshelve them, it does end up looking really neat. I had a lot of fun with this because it felt like unwrapping a new book every time!
I have done this challenge in the past, coining it the “Twelve Books of Christmas.” I started towards the middle of November and wrapped twelve books in seasonal paper. Each time I finished a book, I opened a new one and attempted to read all twelve prior to Christmas! (spoiler alert, I was two books away - better luck this year.)
Downsize
This may not be the most exciting, but sometimes it’s the most realistic. Perhaps there are some books on your shelves that you really won’t get to and could be loved by someone else. Like that one you bought in an airport six years ago and has since traveled to three different countries without being opened… It may finally be time to let her go.
Though parting with books can be really difficult for someone who has a larger collection, you’ll be surprised how productive it feels to give them a new life. There are many ways to rehome your books ! You can donate them to a local library, thrift store, hospital, book store, Boys and Girls club, school, and many other locations. Otherwise, you could gift them to fellow readers who might enjoy them!
Surprise Books
While this one is a bit more of a toss up, it is extremely entertaining! In the new year, one of my resolutions is to read more physical books from my collection and I’ve decided to give this method a try. Choosing my twelve most anticipated reads, I wrapped them up in paper and stuck them on the shelf in my bedroom. Every month, I will unwrap one of the books at random with the task of completing it before I open another! I’m excited to give this a try and see how far I can get - maybe I’ll have to wrap even more!
There are so many ways to make reading more exciting and you don’t have to continue spending on the latest and hottest releases. I’m committed to being more mindful in my purchases and overspending - here is to a lovely year of reading those books we keep telling “I’ll get to you, I promise!”
