TBR: Putting the "To" in "To Be Read"

A whole host of things have the power to bring the literary community together. Mutual interest in a book or series, the infamous "book boyfriends," and our shared inability to get through our TBR lists are just a handful of these. However, thanks to the online communities built, such as the Bookstagram community on Instagram or the BookTok community on TikTok, one thing that has taken the book world by storm is Bookish Trends. With social media making it easier than ever to create, share, connect, and participate in these trends, book lovers worldwide are finding fun new ways to tackle their reading.

For February, we will take a long, long, long, very long look at the beast that is the TBR (To Be Read) List. Any reader who dedicates time and interest to reading undoubtedly has one. But the ones who have been at this for a long time...well, they have one, too. Somewhere. It's most likely buried under the teetering stack of books listed on it. And can you blame us? Honestly, there are so many new and notable books that come out every month that it is impossible not to expand your list. And everyone is a bit different, of course, so your list may be kept on your notes app or written down in a journal, or if you're tech-savvy, maybe you have a spreadsheet. But regardless of how you keep track of the ever-growing list of works, the hard truth is there will always be more books than you can read.

Tackling the TBR

One of the most popular New Year resolutions, goals, or even desires of most readers is to read the books they have on their TBRs. After all, someday, for some reason, you added each of those books to your list. It may have been the cover, the title, the author, the premise, or a recommendation from a friend, but whatever it was, at one point, the ebook spoke to you enough to be added to your TBR. Unfortunately, this is both a gift and a curse because sometimes, the least expected books can touch us in the most profound ways. Other times, the books will sit on your TBR list until they reach the age of retirement. It's the nature of the beast when it comes to the TBR, and unfortunately, not every book that makes it on will make it off. However, we thought we'd share a few ways to make reading from your TBR more attractive and manageable to help you make progress on dwindling that endless list.

Unhauling

Scandalous. We know. But hear us out. Getting rid of books isn't always a negative thing. Any reasonable reader knows that not every book is meant for every person. While it can be hard to find the desire or willingness to rid your bookshelves of the books that have spent a small eternity within their walls, sometimes, it is a necessary evil. Unhaauling, for those unfamiliar, is removing books from your collection that you no longer want or need. This is a beneficial tool when you're running out of the minimal shelf real estate in your home or when a book has spent years unread on your TBR list. As the saying goes, if you love something, let it go; If it's meant to be, it'll come back to you.

Unhauling is a quick and often therapeutic way to help trim down that TBR list. It can also bring new purpose to the books you are parting with. Popular ways to get rid of those books include donating them to a local charity or shelter, selling or trading them, gifting them to someone else, finding a little free library to add them, or bringing them to your local public library. Regardless of which one of these options you select, your books will be put to good use and be given new life instead of aging away in the bowels of your bookcase, overlooked and forgotten.

Setting Goals and Challenges

If you are one of those people who absolutely cannot fathom the idea of parting with even the decade-old almanac buried in your attic, there are always goals and challenges. As mentioned earlier, a popular New Year's resolution for many readers is to make progress on their TBR, and this is also true of reading goals set by many readers. So, it is worth asking yourself how many books on your list you are ready for and want to get through in the coming year. Setting a challenge for yourself makes your resolution or goal feasible, trackable, and manageable. And don't be afraid to start low. You can commit to reading five books from your TBR list over the next year, right? So, five books it is. If you finish those five books, commit to another five, four, two, or even just one, depending on how much of the year is left. The best part is that if you surpass your goal, you can confidently increase it from the start of the following year. Remember that this method will most likely not help decrease your TBR, as you will undoubtedly find more books to add to it throughout the year, but the goal here isn't to eliminate your TBR; it is to make progress.

Making it a Game

We can confidently say this will take your TBR experience to the next level. No one can say they don't like a good game, and while setting a goal for yourself helps, adding a fun element is never a bad idea. Nowadays, through social media and the internet, you can find a host of fun games and ideas on how to get through your TBR that will build that desire to do so and make it entertaining and engaging. Below, we've compiled a list of our top three "games" that we've come across to give you some ideas. But don't limit yourselves to just these because thousands of book content creators all over social media have fun and engaging ways to tackle your TBR that might be the one for you.

Blind Date With a Book
1. There are many ways to go about this one. Whether you have physical copies of your TBR books or not, you can assign each of them a dedicated number, either randomly or by how long you've had them on your list. Then, you can write each number on a piece of paper or put them into an online generator and let fate decide your next TBR book.
Phone a Friend
1. Sometimes, we do not know what is best for ourselves. But you know who does? Your best friend. Ask your friend or family member who enjoys reading to pick your next read from your list. This can be done with Blind Date With a Book if you want them to select your next number or simply by giving them your list and asking them to pick a title. After all, no one knows you better than your book besties (or mom)!
Prompted:
1. This may be the most randomized and fun one of all. You can use an online generator or ask others to create fun prompts for this game. These prompts can be things like "read an anthology," "read a book with a yellow cover," or any random prompt that will have you picking out a new book. It's spontaneous, fun, and engaging, which is integral to any reader's experience.

A Gift From The Book Hive

In the spirit of tackling your TBR, we here at the Book Hive have selected three books we have recently unhauled and would like to recommend so that someone else can have a child of finding their next favorite read where we could not find ours. Please know that we have not read these books, but we did ensure they are all romances as it is our featured Genre of the Month.

01 | Pieces of Us by N.R. Walker

Release Date: July 24, 2020

As Justin's recovery moves forward, Dallas dares to hope their lives are settling into their new normal. His money worries have eased, business is picking up, and best of all, Justin now laughs more than he frowns.

Justin's memory still eludes him, but with each snippet or flashback, small pieces of his old life start to slot into place. He remembers more of Dallas and how perfectly happy their lives used to be, and with each passing day, Justin realises he can have that again.

But when someone from Justin's past turns up, he discovers that not all the missing pieces are good, and sadly, he and Dallas also learn just what it means to live with a traumatic brain injury. If Dallas and Justin have to fight for their Happily Ever After, then Dallas will stop at nothing--nothing--to give Justin the life he always wanted.

". . . as I tried to put the puzzle of myself back together, it was the pieces of us that made me whole."

02 | Infamous Like Us by Krista Ritchie & Becca Ritchie

Release Date: October 18, 2021

22-year-old Sullivan Meadows knew dating Akara & Banks would be complicated, but now that her relationship is public, everything has been put on blast:

@HeatherB: Can’t believe Sullivan Meadows is dating TWO men and they’re like all together. Like OMG. Totally didn’t think the rumors were true.

@YuiK: anyone know what happened to Sullivan Meadows? News is saying something bad went down. Seems bad.

@PaulieP: Why is there no reporting on the thing that “allegedly” happened to that Meadows girl? They aren’t saying whether her boyfriends were there???

@TiffanyW: Y’all I can’t with Sullivan’s boyfriends. They just sandwiched her in PUBLIC to avoid cameras lmao

@RiverT: Banks Moretti & Akara Kitsuwon are totally banging. I don’t make the rules

@CarlaR: OMGOMGOMG Sullivan Meadows qualified for the Olympics! THIS IS NOT A DRILL!

@LacieA: Celebrity Crush is saying ALL the families will be at the Olympics to root for Sullivan. Im dead #HalesMeadowsCobalts

@GeorgieO: Dude no way she wins a gold medal. Sulli the Slut is too busy screwing anything that walks

@VenusQ: I bet her boyfriends will distract her. Last Olympics, she was single. This one, she’s a MESS. Messiness isn’t getting gold #sorrynotsorry

With danger, Olympics, and unexpected life twists on the horizon for Akara, Sulli, and Banks, the only way out of the rising tide is to swim harder.

03 | Faking with Benefits by Lily Gold

Release Date: February 13, 2024

WANTED: Three fake boyfriends. Must be tall, ripped — and willing to teach me how to kiss.

My name is Layla Thompson, and I am undateable.

Seriously. I’m twenty-eight and I’ve never had a boyfriend. And with my thirties rapidly approaching, I’m starting to lose patience.

Lucky for me, I have three overprotective best friends who are all-too-eager to help hone my dating skills.

There’s Zack, the huge rugby player with the cheeky grin and rippling biceps.

Josh, the boy-next-door with the sculpted jaw and calculating stare.

And Luke, the silver-haired divorcee… who also happens to be my old professor.

After a bad date leaves me crying on their shoulders, the three men are determined to help me find a guy. Together, they agree to be my ‘practice boyfriends’, and come up with a lesson plan packed with fake dates, make out sessions, and classes on flirty texting. In return, I just have to make an appearance on their relationship advice podcast once a week. Easy.

But as my lessons become more and more intense, we soon find ourselves getting in too deep. Every butterfly-inducing touch lingers a little too long, and every molten kiss ends in fireworks. It’s not long before I realise that their friendship isn’t enough for me anymore. I want more.

The guys have been teaching me how to get a boyfriend, and now it’s time I put their lessons to the test.

Three times over.

Best Book Wishes

As you look ahead to the next ten months of the year, we offer our sincerest wish that you make it to the end of the year without your TBR turning into a scroll, resembling those used for Santa's nice list in the movies. But if it does, we hope that you commit to tackling at least a handful of books off of your TBR because we can tell you with absolute certainty that there is no better feeling than the one of crossing a title off that list. Now, if you'll excuse me, I just got a notification of a new book release and have to add it to my list.

HAVE YOU READ ANY OF THE THREE BOOKS WE UNHAULED?

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUN GAMES YOU PLAY TO TACKLE YOUR TBR LIST?

JOIN US IN THE QUEEN'S CORNER TO SHARE YOUR TIPS AND TRICKS FOR TACKLING THE TBR!