I recently posted this graphic on my Facebook Page and asked readers about their To-Be-Read (TBR) Piles.
At the time I posted, I had about 5 or 6 books waiting for me to read (both on Audible and on my shelf). I’m always somewhat giddy when I have a stack of really good books awaiting me, books I know I’ll enjoy, books I can’t wait to get to. Don’t you agree there’s something pleasurable in knowing when you finish one book there’s another delicious book waiting?
There were a handful of readers who had TBR piles similar to mine—8 books or perhaps 12.
However, the majority of readers said that “All is Lost” in regards to their TBR piles.
Here’s are just a few comments taken from my Facebook Page:
“My to-read list on Goodreads is 1,386. Yeah, all is lost…”
“Mine is in the hundreds.”
“Just counted a couple nights ago and I have over 100 unread books on my shelves. And don’t even get me started on kindle books!”
“All is lost! It just keeps growing…I think I add books twice as fast as I read them, and I read a lot!”
“I have a TBR room, so. . .”
I enjoyed reading all the comments and expected book lovers to have some fun with their answers. But, I didn’t expect such enormous TBR piles!
As I got to thinking about the responses, I realized that the “never-ending TBR pile” is a fairly new phenomenon. With the boom of the digital age, we have a plethora of books and authors to choose from right at our fingertips.
The All-Is-Lost TBR pile wasn’t always the case. When I was growing up, I could count on one hand the number of Christian fiction writers. I read mostly Grace Livingstone Hill books until Janette Oke came onto the scene.
What is the effect of such gigantic TBR piles for readers and writers alike? Here are a few of my thoughts. Be sure to chime in with yours!
The effect of large TBR piles on readers:
We’re certainly blessed to have so many books available (virtually every genre one can imagine and then some!) and in a variety of formats (print, ebook, audio). Although brick and mortar bookstores have diminished, books are more accessible than ever before. Last week in just one day, I downloaded audio books from Audible, placed an order with thriftbooks.com for children’s books for my church library, and also bought books from Christianbook.com.
Such variety and easy access lends itself to the trend of growing TBR piles. But what about the downside to insurmountable TBR piles?
With millions of books and authors now available, I’m often overwhelmed with my choices and wonder how I can know for sure the book is good and that I’ll enjoy it. Even though I read reviews before making purchases, sometimes I still end up disappointed or frustrated. My “bad” experiences tend to push me to stick closer to authors with a “proven track-record” making me less willing to try new authors.
So while I may add to my TBR pile (especially with free or inexpensive books), I gravitate toward (and prioritize when short on time) the authors I like, and I often don’t touch my TBR pile when it’s burgeoning with less familiar or less popular authors.
The effect of large TBR piles on authors:
The large TBR piles can be an encouragement to writers every bit as much as they are to readers. The piles let authors know that the publishing industry is still important. And the piles let writers know that readers are still purchasing and devouring books.
But to be honest, the large TBR piles can also be a little discouraging as it means that with the tons of books available, authors are having a harder time with discoverability. And even when authors get discovered and even if they’re really good writers, it’s increasingly difficult to develop a loyal fan base willing to buy future books.
With so many books available, readers are splitting their attention and devotion so that authors are getting smaller and smaller pieces of the publishing pie.
I recently read an insightful article by Jane Friedman titled, “Publishing Industry Status Report: Important Stories for Authors in 2017.” Friedman shares a number of statistics regarding the state of the publishing industry. While she indicates that print sales are up, she also says: Traditional publishers are experiencing strong backlist sales and soft frontlist sales. Frontlist sales are new titles—so publishers are experiencing trouble getting new titles to “break out.”
In other words, new releases aren’t getting the same kind of sales that they used to. Is that partly because readers have so many other books in their TBR piles (including backlist books) that they don’t have the same incentive anymore to run out and purchase new books?
While I have much more to say on this topic, I’ll stop for today and open up the floor to hear your thoughts.
What do you think? What effect do such large TBR piles have on YOU?
Jody Hedlund
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With all my emails, blogs I read and social media bringing out new books I get overwhelmed sometimes. My TBR pile is huge and several are books I’ve agreed to read and review. I try to only obtain books that I know by the description that I’ll enjoy. I give mostly four and five star reviews.rarely below that.
Your books go right to the top when new ones come out because I know I’ll enjoy them!
Large TBR piles give me comfort! If I ever become unable to buy books or if I become unable to drive, I am set! I can go or do anything with a book. I have a hard time when it’s a book that I find I don’t like. Do I continue to the end and hope it gets better or quit. I am loyal and no quitter, hence the dilemma. No problem with that if it’s a Jody Hedlund book!
Interesting question, Jody. I tend to function much like what you described. I have a large shelf of TBR books that I picked up free at conferences or on my Kindle that I downloaded for $0.99, but those get no priority. Since my reading time is precious, I still have my go-to authors that automatically get moved to the top of the pile. Usually about once a year I clean out my print stack. I donate a bunch of these books that I never got around to reading to my local library or give them to my mother-in-law who has much more time to read than I do. Then I stack up again when the next conference comes around.
As an author, I’m always hoping mine will be the books that get moved to the top of the stack, but like you said, I have to be discovered first. I have heard several readers say – “I think I have one of your books on my Kindle somewhere.” What I love is when that same reader actually reads that book then writes to tell me that she went out and bought my back list and subscribed to my newsletter, etc.
The scary thing is wondering how many other readers have one of my books languishing on their Kindle, falling farther and farther into the abyss. Will it ever be found and read, or is all truly lost?
Great questions and insights, Jody! As a book blogger, I have a hard time getting to backlist titles on my tbr because there are always so many great new titles to review and promote each month. I’m trying to find a manageable balance because I have books from my favorite authors that have been on my tbr for over a year. I read at least two hundred books annually.
I can’t count my TBR pile, for one thing, I’m in transition between homes and most of them are safely boxed, out of my sight. But I know they are there! I’m retiring soon and last year went to part-time. I bought books while I could afford them, knowing I wouldn’t get them all read. Now I have my Kindle and am buying more books, but cheaper. I know one thing, I intend to enjoy every book eventually, Lord willing!
Having such a large TBR list stresses me out a bit. It sometimes feels like a checklist I’m failing to mark off. That being said, I continue to read both new books by my favorite authors and also debut and new to me authors. I generally will purchase books by those authors I already know but usually wait on new authors until I see a sale or freebie. I try to read books by my favorite authors right away, but I also will pick what to read randomly or on a whim as well. I’m not always a recent bought, first to read reader.
While I want to read the latest books by my favorite authors, I have more favorite authors than I used to have. If an author is still in the process of completing a series, I find, at my age (70), that I forget the details of the earlier book(s) in the series by the time the next book is released. In that case, I either have to do some catch-up reading or plunge into the latest book and hope that the author reiterates details from the earlier book(s) so that I’m not lost. I find myself putting new books on my Wish List with Amazon since I don’t have time and can’t afford to order all the new books immediately.
I started entering contests a little more than a year ago. I have won over 100 books in print and also some on kindle. I also downloaded free books from Amazon . I always want to read my favorite authors., such as you, Jody! I read some new to me authors, too, but mainly if they are recommended by a reliable source. I am retired , so my book budget is non existent. I still have trouble whittling down my mountain!
I managed to get accepted on several street/ influencer teams and that is so much fun!
Reading for challenges helps me to pare down my pile. It also has me putting books I’d really like to read on the back burner. Guess I just need to read , read , read! Thanks for the insight.
I’m definitely one of those people with a huge tbr list, because there are just so many incredible authors and books out there!! My husband gave me a kindle unlimited subscription for Christmas last year, and I have to say that my subscription has helped me find a lot of new authors that I wouldn’t have found otherwise. We don’t have a lot of extra money, so if I don’t know if I will like a book or not, I can’t afford to buy it. But with kindle unlimited, I can try new authors in that program without extra cost, and am more likely to buy their books that aren’t on kindle unlimited for my birthday or Christmas.
My 92-yr-old mom reads about a book a day. Always a reader, she began reading Christian fiction as a way to escape & occupy her mind as she dealt with Dad’s increasingly difficult Alzheimer’s. After his death she has continued reading as her grief & nerves have slowly begun to heal. She does tend to branch out to less familiar authors from the bookstore’s bargain shelves, but we still love our favorite authors’ newest books!All of which is to say that she passes on those “book-a-day” books to me! I love to read but not that quickly! Yet, I keep them, knowing I’ll enjoy them, but the stacks are rapidly getting out of control! My daughter’s a reader too but has moved to her Kindle much of the time. I hope to cull through & donate the books I’ve read to our church library. Even that is hard for me, however, as I often open an already read book & think “I could read this again & still enjoy it!”
I can relate to every comment above. I’m constantly reminded of the phrase, “So many books, so little time.” I have always loved to read and am a book fanatic. Like everyone else, I have my favorite authors that I religiously follow, but I get intrigued with new books and authors through blogs and Goodreads. That means I am always readjusting my TBR pile. In recent years, I have begun to organize some of my books around seasons. In October I like to read mystery and suspense books. After Thanksgiving, I turn to books with a Christmas theme. Put me in the all is lost category.
I try to keep my to be read pile (of books actually purchased) to be no more than 12. I LOVE looking at my little shelf of books that are waiting for me though! 🙂 And…I love vacations where I can read a few in a week to shrink the stack so I can add to it.
I used to read the same books over and over, but now with the boom you described, I feel so blessed to have so many books at my disposal, but I’m also discouraged with the sheer amount of books waiting for me! (I was the one with 1,000+ on my TBR). Once I became a book reviewer my access to the newest books was thrilling, but it’s been difficult to keep up. Like Beth Erin, I have books from favorite authors that have been waiting way too long. I find that the books that get priority are the ones for book tours or influencer teams where I have a specific date I must read it by. I think that’s a strong way for authors to promote their books and see more reviewers read them sooner rather than later. When I feel overwhelmed I just remind myself to take it one book at a time and enjoy the one I’m reading now. I think my Goodreads list is due for a purge though…
I do a lot of reviewing for publishers and individual authors. I have recently gotten very frustrated by the fact that I never seem to have time to read the books I have purchased because I have over-committed myself. I love reviewing and am struggling to get a proper balance between the two. I absolutely love having so many books to choose from though.
Oh dear, where do we begin in that TBR problem? There are always about a dozen in my pile. Add to that a few favorite series writers – one has to keep up each year with their new titles. And then there’s that annoying object called Kindle Fire. They’re forever offering me bargains in the genres I cannot resist – sometimes even free books. Betty is right, of course – “So many books, so little time”. I can only hope and pray that God has an extensive library waiting in Heaven because all those books won’t get finished before I’m gone :-}!
Thank you for chiming in today, everyone! I’ve enjoyed reading all of your comments and thoughts about TBR piles. I’m gaining more insights which is very helpful!
I too have a sizable stack of TBR books.I have my favorite authors who I read first.I am pleased about how many Christian based books there are now to read.20 to 30 years ago there weren’t as many.Some people who may never go to church may read a book and hear the gospel.
My TBR pile is all over the bedroom. I look at it and can’t wait to crack open the next book. When I finish, the books go to the Church Library.
I often request that my public library buy a book that I want to read. This way I get to read it first for free and the author gets a sale. I’ve done this for your newest book. (my library buys almost everything a patron request and has a very generous interlibrary loan policy.
I constantly am working through stacks of books to read, and literally have hundreds in my digital library to read and/or re-read. I do intentionally try new authors, but you’re right, when I get disappointed it makes me hesitant to try again. I do wish I had more time to re-read my favorites, some of which are yours!
It’s so interesting that the TBR list is having an effect on new book sales. My kids love to read, as I do, so we’ve started making a special trip to the bookstore and each getting a new book every now and then. I think they prefer print books just like I do, and it’s so fun to have that fresh copy in my hand! Meanwhile, I had to hide my book stacks in an old cabinet so my husband won’t be inclined to comment on the fact that we just bought 3 more….