#physical tbr

[the---hermit]

02|09|2024

Since the other week I reorganized my shelves, and I got rid of some books, I decided to write down a list of all the books I own that I haven't read yet. I divided them in three categories: non fiction, fiction, classics from a collection I was getting weekly with newspapers (which are very pretty but of course doing that ment accumulating a pretty high number of books in a small period of time, which made my physical tbr quite big. And since they are classics I definitely go for them way more slowly than other books, which is why they are a whole separate category). If you do read the titles you'll realize my columns aren't super precise bc there's some non fic classics with the fiction, and other weird thing, but I wrote things down following the shelf division. Non fiction is clesrly a category of its own because they are the books I read less during the year, so I know that pile will get smaller in much more time, and it's okay. Overall I am pleased, because compared to the list I made at the beginning of the year there's less books, despite me having added a few new books (both new buys and gifts I got). What making this list made me realize is that 90% of these unread books were gifts, which means do not gift me books. Jokes aside I think this shows that when I am the one buying the books for myself I get things I know I will read right away, or in a short period of time. It makes sense that the unread books I accumulate are books I am gifted because they probably weren't a priority at the time. I made a small list of a few books I'd like to read before the end of the year, so we'll see how I did in a few months.

[katarinastudies]

09/06/2023

done with finals!! i can’t believe this hellish semester has ended :’)

+ my tbr stack for the summer (so far). i am trying to include non-fiction books about topics i don’t get to study at uni - the language instinct is about cognitive science & lev’s violin details the history of italian violins. excited for both! :)

[dxmxuse]

What is a book ban and is it going to change? - A brief explanation and non-exhaustive list

For the last several years, the concept of banning books has been a widely debated topic. With some opposed to the ban, citing freedom of speech, others claim that the ban protects school age children from pre-mature exposure to adult concepts and topics. My goal throughout this post is to help clarify what exactly a book ban is (as of 2024) and provide my opinion on the future of book banning. I will also be linking several websites which delve deeper into the topic and provide full lists of banned or challenged books throughout the US. Grab your popcorn kiddos this is going to be a long one.

So, what exactly is a book ban? Well, in the US (again, as of 2024) banning books predominantly means that these titles are no longer available in public school libraries and classrooms. This means that if a student wishes to read a banned title, they must purchase or borrow the book from a non-school facility. This could be Amazon, Barns and Noble, Target, etc. In many cases, students will also be able to access many of these titles in a public library.

Now, public libraries are tricky. In some states, public libraries don't have too much of an issue with banned books. In others however, libraries can face serious backlash for having banned books. Libraries are government funded which means that if a state determines a book is banned, they have the ability to defund a library containing these titles. Many libraries choose to remove these titles in order to protect their jobs and funding. Ultimately, it depends on 2 factors: Is a book banned through the state and is the state strict with the banning laws. I know here in California, many titles have been classified as banned, but are still available through public libraries as it's typically only enforced in public school curriculum.

The criteria to ban a book ranges depending on the state. In most situations, a book could be flagged for containing topics such as non-heteronormative sexuality, critical race theory, anti democratic views, and non-Christian views. Basically if it hurts Christian/republican feelings it gets banned. For the sake of keeping this from getting too long, I wont go into how a book is banned, but it is important to remember what types topics tend to be targeted.

Now, to play devils advocate here I will admit I do believe there are some books that should not be in school libraries. Despite this, I think the term 'banned' is much too harsh a word to use. For instance, A Clockwork Orange is banned in California due to depictions of sexual violence, however, you can still easily find this title in libraries and book stores. The ban extends to public schools meaning that they cannot teach or offer the book to students. A Clockwork Orange is not a book I would consider appropriate to use as teaching material in classrooms when there are other books teachers can use with similar yet less adult themes.

While I fully believe we have the right to choose what books we read, I do think its important to remember that not all books are meant for children. I think it is entirely appropriate for parents and teachers to decide that a book contains themes and topics not appropriate for school age children, and limit overall access to that. It should then be individual families decisions to allow their own children to read a book that might contain sensitive topics.

Ok now to my main point:

With the recent election results, the concept of banning books will come into play a lot more. We have truly no idea what might happen and how the previous explanation of book bans will change. In my opinion, I believe that they will try to prohibit publishers and manufacturers from producing these titles which would mean it would be difficult, if not illegal, to purchase and sell banned books. While I have no idea if it will truly happen, I would like to start preparing for a situation like this. For the record, I do not think this is going to be a Fahrenheit 451 situation so obtaining physical copies of these books is likely our best bet.

If you would like to start purchasing banned books, please keep a few things in mind:

You will need the physical copy. I love my Kindle, but it is all too easy to remove a book from my library and if a strict ban is in place this could happen.

You do not need a copy of every single book. The full list is incredibly long.

Please only purchase one copy of the books you would like. I truly believe there will be a surge in purchases for these books and the point of this is to maintain widespread access to them. Hoarding 10 copies of The Great Gatsby is potentially taking away 9 peoples opportunity to have them as well.

When looking for banned books, I've been using a PDF my state posted on their website (CA Library). If you are not in California, you can find your state library website by typing '[Your state] Library' and it should be one of the first links. Again these are government funded facilities so check and make sure it has a .gov to confirm that it is the official site.

I have also been using Pen.org to identify titles that have been banned in other states, as well as get information regarding book banning.

If you would like to not sift through a long list of books here is a list of 10 books I believe are at a large risk. These are not all of the books I believe are at risk, just enough to get you started.

The Handmaids Tale

To Kill a Mocking Bird

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

All of the Hunger Games books

Brave New World

Fahrenheit 451

All of Toni Morrisons books

Gender Queer: A Memoir

Slaughterhouse 5

Animal Farm

I hate that I had to do this.

As a final note I would just like to say that this post is meant to prepare for worst case scenario. I am NOT saying this is 100% happening. I am a little bookworm with a huge respect for literature and it makes me beyond furious that the US is on the verge of attacking our right to read. I want to have copies of these books because I love them and I want to be able to pass them down to others when needed. I don't want to see them disappear from our society and I hope you don't either.

[meowyjean]

x

[imthefailedartist]

Looking at my bookshelf today I realize I've made a huge dent in my Owned To Be Read books. It used to one shelf of read books now its three.

To be honest. If I consolidated all of the read books that are on their category or genre shelves, it'd be four.

[summerrainandrainbow]

"Now I've read all of the books beside your bed"

But I have a physical tbr of 26-ish books

[wordczar]

[bekah-reading]

Finally was able to get a book cart!!!!

[feelingtheaster99]

Can people stop making STUNNING book edges with special book editions??? Cause I already had a hard enough time not buying books when just the covers were pretty but now that you’ve made the SIDES gorgeous as well I’m going to have a real book-buying problem on my hands.

[libertyreads]

November 2023 TBR--

This month's TBR is going to be quite a bit smaller than the ones I've posted throughout the year so far. Moving has taken a lot out of me so I'm going to try to balance reading with watching TV shows and other things I enjoy that don't require nearly as much of my attention. (I say while The Shadow of the Gods just sits there staring at me.) I have a couple of rereads, a series starter, a new release, and a holiday read on the list this month.

We'll Be Home for Christmas by HelenKay Dimon (Library)-- I was surprised to find that I enjoyed a Christmas novella from HelenKay Dimon after reading her 2023 release earlier this year so I wanted to add the next Christmas novella in the series to my list. This one follows the older brother who has a high IQ but can't seem to understand women--at least one woman in particular. He takes women to bed one night and moves on the next morning, but, after a three day weekend with Lila, Spencer can't seem to get her off his mind. And it seems like fate is giving him a helping hand when she shows up in his town ready to take over her uncle's resort. But Spencer doesn't do serious.

The Hunting Moon by Susan Dennard (New Release)-- I cannot explain how truly excited I am for the next book in this series. The Luminaries was somehow everything I didn't know I wanted. It follows Winnie who just wants to join the Luminaries--an ancient order that protects the town of Hemlock Falls from the nightmares that prowl the forest in their town. After her family being disgraced by her traitor father, Winnie has known what it's like to be on the outside looking in, but as her birthday draws closer she's allowed to start the trials to determine if she'll finally get her wish. But, with new monsters popping up in the forest at night, is the forest safe even for the ones who hunt them?

The Shadow of the Gods by John Gwynne-- I would say this is my most intimidating read on my physical TBR shelf (and of course on this month's TBR). I know this is the start of a new Norse inspired fantasy series so I think it's a good place for me to start with John Gwynne (let me know if I'm wrong and I'll probably slate something else here instead). I remember seeing the cover for the first time and immediately wanting to know more. Gods warred and drove themselves to extinction which shattered the land. A new world rises with monsters stalking the woods and mountains. A world where the bones of the dead gods still hold great power for those brave or desperate enough to seek them out. Seems a little bit vague but I'm excited to learn more.

The Righteous by Renee Ahdieh (Reread)-- This is one I'm not super looking forward to rereading. The series starts with The Beautiful and takes place in 19th century New Orleans following a group of vampires (stop me if you've also watched a similar TV show). I've found that over time my intrigue has dropped quite a bit. Though, this reread of book number three means I would only have one book left to complete the series so why not. This one actually follows Pippa more than I was expecting so I remember that being fun at the first read. Let's hope it will be this time as well.

Evershore by Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson (Reread)-- Another reread for me in preparation for a new release. I struggled through rereading Cytonic so I think rereading Evershore is actually going to be a good mental break before Defiant comes out at the end of the month. This series follows Spensa who wants nothing more than to become a pilot for her planet's military, but given the cowardice her father exhibited before his death, they're not so willing to have her. The world really expands a lot from there as the series goes on. A lot of people say that the series becomes repetitious as you keep reading and after my reread of Cytonic I don't know that I can disagree with the sentiment. See Spensa do more training yet again got old fast. I think the highlight of this series for me is actually the novellas (shocking. I know) and so I'm looking forward to this reread.

I'm hoping to also add in a couple of holiday romances from my local library where I can in the month.

[the---hermit]

my physical tbr

While writing my reflections on my 2024 reading goals I realized that I should probably talk about my physical tbr a bit. One of my goals for the year was to decrease my physical tbr, and I did, by a few books, but I am aware I have a very specific way of thinking about my physical tbr and the books I buy so why not waste everyone's time with another long postTM.

I mentally divide my physical tbr in very different sections that I approach in different ways. Firstly we have the books I buy during the year, they are not part of the physical tbr in my mind. They are a thing of their own. For quite a few years now my main reading goal has always been reading the books I buy right away. The real goal is to be as mindful as I can about what I buy, which means getting things I know I want to read right away. Of course every now and then I end up buying a "acorn books" (people who listen to books unbound know, but basically they are books you get knowing they will stay unread for a while, like a squirrel collects acorns for winter). These specific books will eventually become part of my physical tbr, and I know that when I am buying them. It is very rare I buy a book I think I will read soon and then leave it to rot on my shelves. Anyway the books I buy during the year are placed on a shelf I have by my bed as that is my immediate tbr shelf, and once they have been read they are crossed out from my list of "book bought this year" and find their place on my main bookshelves.

Then we have my actualy physical tbr, so all the books I own, that I have been collecting from years and years and somehow have not been read yet. All the books that I have dnf-ed and that I still own for a reason or another are not considered in this section, they are a specific group. I don't have a lot of dnfs on my shelves, because they aren't too common and I often end up getting rid of them. But there's a few books I still keep because I might end up giving them a second chance in the future, I haven't fully given up on them. So, my physical tbr is mixed with all my other books, but I have a list on my reading journal, so I can cross the books once I have read them. I rewrite this list every year for two reasons: firstly I might get rid of stuff when I declutter and reorganize my shelves during the year, and I have to add the acorn books I might have gotten during the previous year. And of course I will not write down all the books I have actually read during the previous year. This way every year I have a clear view of what I have finally got off my physical tbr because I either read or dnf-ed it, and at the beginning of the year I havea clear overview of all my unread options, which is very exciting.

This physical tbr has very specific sections. Firstly there should be a graphic novels/graphic non-fiction section, except I have no unread graphic books in my collection. I have conquered that tbr a few years ago (and have regretted it ever since, but more on this later). Then I have a non-fiction tbr and a fiction tbr. The latter has one specific section inside of it, which includes a very specific collection of classic books. They came out as a collection a few years ago, they were a weekly release with a newspaper, and are all classics from the early fantasy, horror and scifi genres. I consider them as a section of their own for two reasons: firstly they have increased my tbr by a lot in a short amount of time, because as I said they came out weekly over a year and I got 51 of these books (fear not I have read almost half of them now). Secondly they are classics, so I need to be in the right mindset to get to them because they are definitely not the most lighthearted read I can go for. When I was getting them I was very well aware I was going to need years to read them all, and to be honest I am fine with it, I know that when I am in a mood for classics I have quite a few options ready for me. My regular fiction tbr is quite short actually, half of it, if not more, is made up of books that were gifted to me, so books I didn't conciously add to my tbr and therefore have not read right away. To be honest some of these I don't even know if I'll ever get to, but for the time being they'll stay on my shelves. The remaining books on this shelf are those acorn books I have mentioned before. As for my non fiction tbr, it's made up of mainly historical non fiction, which is also what I have to read for uni since I am an history major. Which of course means that during the year I get one or two books read in my free time and no more than that. I have to focus on uni books until I am studying, so again most of this section of my tbr will get read in the far future, and that's okay.

This means that most of my physical tbr right now can be seen through the metaphor of the wine cellar bookshelf. You may have heard it online, to be honest I am not sure who is the person who came up with the concept, but I really like it, because it clearly resonates with me. The idea is that you can think of the unread books on your shelves as bottles of wine in cellar. Each book is there waiting for you to pick it up in the right moment of your life when you'll be able to savour it and enjoy it the most. Which also means that a lot of those books will stay unread for years maybe. In the past I have been tempted to try and make my physical tbr as small as possible, but it just can't work for me. I am a mood reader which means I will not force myself to read a book just because it's there, and most importanly I really like to be able to look at my shelves as see options for new reads. And here come my regrets of having completly conquered my graphic novel tbr. I hate that if I am in the mood for a new graphic novel my only option is to go and buy a new one. For some people having a minimal tbr might be very freeing, apparetly to me it's not. I like to have a tbr with books that were picked mindfully, so you will not see me going on a shopping spree and buy random stuff, because as I said I consider each book I buy as well as I can before actually getting it. But also I don't think I'd be happy having shelves of fully read books. I do have a goal of not increasing my tbr too much, and honestly I am pretty sure that ever since I started keep an account of it, my tbr has actually decreased by a few books each year (even though I always end up with a few new unread books at the end of each year). So far this year my physical tbr has decreased of 16 books despite having some acorn books additions.

I don't know how to conclude it, I get that a lot of people feel stressed by the idea of having a lot of unread books, but I think I have found my personal system and it works very well for me. Keeping a list of the unread books of the start of the year, from which I cross off my reads has been very helpful. And keeping a list of the books I am buying during the year, to again cross off what I am reading has also been incredibly good to stay mindful of my additions to my shelves. Overall as I said I think in the last four or five years I think I really found a system that works for me, which also means that I came to the conclusion that I will be not doing any more tbr challenges, or specific years tbr lists to get books read. I am too much of a mood reader to do so. I will keep an account of what I am reading, adding and taking off my shelves, because that is what works best for me.

[ghoulishbuck]

Currently at 49/432 books read… other than my BOTM pick’s for the rest of the year I’m on a book buying ban until Black Friday.

It’s literally about to be 50/447 since I ordered some other books…. I think I might start posting reviews for all my physical tbr books that I read here.

P.s. I had books from before I started to really get into them and for the past four or five years my treat yourself budget has been spent on books. I rarely ever get clothes and usually get them at thrift stores when I do, I don’t go out to eat, and I don’t have any irl friends so I rarely go out to places. The books I buy are usually $5 or under as well. I’m not rich I just don’t have a life.

I do read quite a bit every year I just tend to ignore my physical tbr and read library books instead. And I panic bought quite a bit last year because last time I lived where I do now I read 150 books in three months and the closest place to buy books irl near me is a grocery store… basically I was scared I would read everything on my physical tbr and not have anything to read very quickly. And lastly I rarely hold on to a book that’s a three star so 95% that are three stars or lower get unhauled.

[samireads]

One of these things is not like the others

[dresyreads]

Currently building my TBR for 2025. I read about 75% of the 2024 TBR this year, which was about 70 books long. The 2025 one though is 117 books long.

(*꒦ິ꒳꒦ີ) What do I do, it's so many. Usually less than half of my book reading challenge is dedicated to the TBR.

Also I have a book TBR so I don't ONLY read Fanfiction