How to Tackle your TBR List this Year

In 2019 I read 45 books. My goal was to read 50, but I fell a little short. For this year my goal is to read 80 books and I'm off to a strong start. The question now is—how do I keep reading at this pace throughout the year? How do book lovers balance reading with the everyday aspects of life so they can hit their goals, but also not feel stressed and pressured?

Stressing out over reading may seem a bit excessive and when I catch myself doing this, I like to mentally smack myself in the face. Why do we read? We probably all have different specific answers to this question, but at the end of the day, we read because my enjoy it.

If you enjoy reading, you should not be stressing out about your book preferences, how many books you're reading a year, how many books other people are reading, or anything like that. Sadly, it's not that easy. I catch myself doing these things every once and a while, but stressing out about these things is incredibly stupid and a great waste of your time.

If you want to read more books, come up with habits or routines that work for you and your schedule. Pick books you like for starters. If you're half way through a book and hate it, throw it aside and start another one. Why are we scared to DNF (Did Not Finish) books? If you don't like a book, don't read it! It's literally that simple.

Try out new genres if you feel like you've exhausted your current genre or want to spice up your TBR list. Try eBooks, audio books, smaller books, larger books, poetry, graphic novels, or whatever you feel like reading.

Audio books are great because you can listen to them while driving to work, on the bus, in the car, while working out, cooking, eating lunch or breakfast, or while cleaning your room! Even if you listen to an audio book for an hour a day, after ten days, you can check it off your list and move on to a new read.

eBooks are convenient and portable. There are free apps you can get that can give you access to thousands of free books. I have an app called Hoopla and one called Libby by Overdrive. These apps connect through your library, so you're basically borrowing books from your library without actually going to the library. All you need to use them is a library card and they're super convenient.

As for your reading goals, don't stress over them (even though I know you still will). I set a reading goal every year to challenge myself and see if I can read more than I had the year before. Sure it stinks when you don't meet it. It's not great when your friends are reading twice as many books as you, but every reader is different.

Just like you set writing goals, you should set reading goals if reading a certain number of books is important to you. I use Goodreads which is one of my favorite apps on the planet because it tracks everything for you when it comes to reading. You could also use a notebook or digital spreadsheet.

Make your reading goals achievable for you and your lifestyle. Another thing that helps me is to pick a specific time during the day to read. I like to read in the late afternoon and before I go to bed. I use reading as a reward for myself. When I finish school or write, I reward myself with reading time. You could do this too, or maybe you are more of a morning person and like to watch the sunrise as you read.

I also like to read in the car. I know some people get dizzy or car sick when they do this. Some people also have to drive, but I can't drive yet so that's irrelevant for me.

I like listening to instrumental music or nature sounds when reading. Doing this with headphones in is a plus because it makes you feel like you're in your own little world and makes you feel closer to the story.

The bottom line when it comes to overcoming your TBR list is to go at your own pace. Try to ignore what other people are doing, unless that advice helps you, and focus on making a reading plan that works for you. The goal here isn't to get rid of your TBR list and read every book on it, it's to help you and guide you so you stress less about reading and focus more on the stories that bring you joy.

Thank you for reading and if you enjoyed this post, please check out my other posts on books. I write book reviews and have more reading tip posts like this one! Don't forget to subscribe and join the Weird Writer Family so you don't miss out on any posts.

It's been a pleasure writing for you and until next time—stay weird and stay writing. - Lexi