This year I resolved to tackle the ‘to be read’ pile by using a random number generator. I listed all the unread books on a spreadsheet and when I needed a new book to read, I would let the generator pick it. No faffing around to see what I was in the mood for, just straight demands. You will read this.
So halfway through the year, how has it been going?
Well, I’ve knocked about half the fiction books off my list. Sounds good, yes? But by tracking them, what I’ve found is that I’ve read about half of those but abandoned the rest because they weren’t doing it for me. Is it that I give up too easily? Or is it that I’m more discerning because I’ve read so much and can’t be bothered to tolerate sub-par books? Either way, the main issue is that I buy a book way too fast and should take more time to read the writing to see what I think first.
I track everything I read and buy in a notebook on a monthly basis, and there are months when it’s a simple one-in-one-read basis, and other months where I’m more circumspect and buy less. The tbr pile is no longer scattered among the bookshelves but is now in a pile by the sofa. The shelves look great. The sofa area does not. This second half of the year I’m going to try just pulling a book from the pile instead.
What have I read this year that I really rate?
Go As A River – Shelley Read
A Heart That Works – Rob Delaney
Mothering Sunday – Graham Swift
Maybe Perhaps Possibly – Joanna Glen
Grief is the Thing with Feathers – Max Porter
Patient – Ben Watt
These are my highlights of the year so far. Let’s see what I can pull from the pile for the rest of 2024.
Susan E Barsby 