Sunday, May 10, 2009

How many?


Spencer and Katherine reading.



HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY.

How many books are on your TBR pile. I did an estimate (remember learning how to estimate in middle school?) and came up with over 300. This is because my library keeps selling them off for $1. If I live long enough, I may finish half of them. No, not really because I add to them every week.
What a disgrace. And like my netflix list, some titles seem to constantly move down to the bottom. I think there are books there from 1975. How many do you have waiting and do you scrupulously go through them in order of purchase or do you dive in and go with the day's fancy?

16 comments:

Travis Erwin said...

And Happy Mother's Day to you.

pattinase (abbott) said...

And to Mrs. Erwin.

Lisa said...

I just did a rough calculation and it looks like I have on the order of 320 books on the TBR pile. There is always a method to my madness when I choose what comes next, although that method changes every few books. I usually read things based on some focused phase. Right now I'm in a classics mindset, but I have a group of 18th and 18th century French novels grouped together that I'm ready to tackle too. You'd think I would stop buying them and I have slowed down a little, but I'm never able to stop completely, no matter how far behind I get!

Charles Gramlich said...

I have two tbr piles. One has about 50 or so in it and is my immediate list. The other is over a 1000. But I don't necesarily pick from the short tbr list when I pick something to read.

Cullen Gallagher said...

It's around 75 right now. But there are plenty more that I've bought but no longer have any intention of reading anytime soon. All of them used to be in my TBR pile, but after a while I get interested in new authors, genres, periods, so I end up having to move on. Between my apartment in Brooklyn and parents' home in Maine, I would imagine I have a similar number of unread books as you Patti.

It's comforting to know, however, that my "already read" pile is much larger than that, though. I went through and reorganized my bookshelves this past week and had a blast remembering all the ones I enjoyed reading, and would like to read again someday. Soon. Maybe. Hopefully.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Charles-one thousand. I hope you are in your teens to get through that!

pattinase (abbott) said...

Lisa-you put me to shame. I vow to read something literary and esoteric before long. I need some focus too.

Corey Wilde said...

You've all cheered me up! I counted the TBR stacks last December and had 130 books. I resolved to read at least 40 of them this year. I'm running not-too-far behind as I've only read 13 titles so far. And I'm afraid to do a recount to see how many books I've added to the heap.

pattinase (abbott) said...

CW-Just don't go near library sales and such. You'll make it through.

Randy Johnson said...

I have several piles. Like Charles, I have an immediate pile, a rack in the bedroom for that, and two different groups, favorite authors, and new authors. But I'm constantly shifting books around amongst the three depending on my moods at the time.
I can get on a run of westerns, for example, and concentrate on those until I feel the need to change.
The number? 1000 sounds about right. I'm continually adding new stuff to any of the three(or old stuff from the Forgotten books posts).
here's never enough time to get caught up. That's one reason I seldom read a book more than once.

St Sud bus my verification code. Strange.

pattinase (abbott) said...

I'm suddenly feeling better.

Cullen Gallagher said...

I also have a large "to be watched" list, as I used to be a compulsive DVD recorder off TCM. I haven't been doing it much the past year or so, but I still have a couple hundred to go. Mostly stuff from 1930s and 1940s.

Looking on the bright side of things, I'm thankful there are so many good movies and books out there that I have yet to encounter. And I know there is so much more I don't even know about that isn't in my bedroom.

Sandra Scoppettone said...

Your post has made me so happy. I've been wanting to take a picture of my TBR pile. Maybe we all should and post them. Like you, I keep rotating and books that have been there for awhile get shoved to the side or to the bottom. I think of them as old whores. Fondly. Same with my Netflix queue.

pattinase (abbott) said...

Sandra-I will never think of them as anything but "old whores" again. Unfortunately last night, I found yet another box in the attic. So the number grows. Mine are spread amongst four bookcases. The only bookcases with books I've read are in the living room.

Todd Mason said...

Of the 5-10K books and magazines in my apartment, I've probably read something out at least 2/3 of them, and completely read perhaps a tenth.

Todd Mason said...

Of the 5-10K books and magazines in my apartment, I've probably read something out at least 2/3 of them, and completely read perhaps a tenth.