Dive BACK Into my TBR

In November of 2023 I posted a little dive into my TBR for everyone. Since then, I’ve been asked about my progress quite a few times by people who saw that post. So, let’s revisit, shall we? (For original: click HERE).

---

As of today, I officially have 140 books on my TBR. That’s after reading over 100 this year and culling a few I never intend to read. That’s a lot of books. It would take me about a year to read all of those IF I never added anything else to the list. That’s NOT going to happen. But, I decided it was a good time to take a deep dive into my TBR and find out what’s really on there. 

Opening paragraph from the original post in 2023

114 as of right this second. Much better than it was looking in November, right? Honestly, I haven’t deleted any. I’ve only read some … and added some.

GENRES

• 2 Classics 1 left
  • 1 each of Young Adult and Adult
• 16 12 Contemporary Fiction
  • 1 Middle Grade
  • 8 6 Young Adult
  • 7 5 Adult
• 37 31 Fantasy
  • 3 Middle Grade
  • 27 21 Young Adult
  • 6 7 Adult
• 2 Historical Fiction OOPS, both still there!
  • Both happen to be Adult
• 16 13 Horror
  • 1 Young Adult
  • All Adult now
• 39 34 Mystery/Thriller
  • 6 Young Adult
  • 33 28 Adult
• 5 4 Non-Fiction
  • 2 Young Adult
  • 2 Adult
• 7 Paranormal Fiction Weird, that’s still true. I’m pretty sure I read some!
  • 2 Young Adult
  • 5 Adult
• 1 Poetry
  • Happens to be Middle Grade
• Down to 1 Romance
  • Adult
• 10 7 Science Fiction
  • 2 Young Adult
  • 5 Adult
• 1 Western Fiction STILL THERE, SAME BOOK. OOPS
  • Happens to be written for Adults

AGE CATEGORY

So, if we’re counting, that’s 81 70 books written for adults (58% 61% of the TBR), 6 5 written for middle grade, and 53 38 written for young adults. Am I surprised to find absolutely NO children’s books on there? No, not really. I’m not teaching any more, my kids are teenagers, and I don’t typically get review or ARC requests for children’s books. They just aren’t on my radar as much as they used to be. 

Still true HAHAHAHA

SERIES

36 30 of the books on my TBR are the first books in a series. This can be problematic because it’s likely reading this one will result in me adding AT LEAST one more book to the TBR. Really, when you see this stat you can understand how we got to a TBR this large. In fact …

• 15 13 are the second in a series
• 6 are third
• 1 fourth fifth (probably same series <FACEPALM>)
• 2 1 sixth
• Plus the 31st and 32nd in the same series

That just leaves 78 62 stand-alone books.

PUBLICATION YEAR

The oldest book on my TBR was published in 1937 1975. In fact, 12 7 of the books on my TBR were published in the 1900s (yes, it hurt my Gen X heart to write it like that LOL). Another 10 8 were published before 2010. A HUGE chunk (51) (38) were published between 2010 and 2019. 22 18 of them were published in 2020, 14 10 in 2021, 17 15 in 2022, 13 12 in 2023, and 1 is coming 6 in 2024.  I’ve really tried to make an effort to get the older stuff read and off my TBR. Obviously, that’s not working. Points for trying, I guess.

Actually, that’s a decent drop in some spots. YAY me!

HOW DID I GET THEM

Ugh, this is the one that always kills me. See, I work at a used bookstore. So when I see a book on my TBR for a good price, I tend to just grab it. That means I have a LOT of these already kicking around my house, waiting for me. Let’s see how bad it really is. 

• 1 4 ARC from a publisher (2 Trad and 2 Indie)
• 11 9 Borrowed from a family member who lives with me (technically it’s not on MY bookshelf LOL)
• 22 15 I have either won in a giveaway or have been gifted (I actually didn’t realize this number was so high, that’s CRAZY)
• 11 2 are traditionally published books I can get from my library’s audiobook rental service (This likely means I’ll have to start reading audiobooks that are NOT on my current TBR soon)
• 5 are traditionally published books I can get from my library’s ebook rental service STILL TRUE, I haven’t done this yet!
• 4 are traditionally published books I can get from my library in physical form Nope, I’ve migrated everything I could to audio or ebook from the library for now. No regrets!
• 20 18 are ebooks I’ve already purchased
• 63 59 are physical copies I’ve already purchased (see, told you, that’s 45% 51% of my TBR)
• 3 2 are pending Review Requests from the author, publisher, or agent

INDIE?

61 56 of the titles are independently published (about 43% 49% of my total TBR)

HOW LONG HAVE THEY BEEN ON MY TBR?

Ok, look, it’s bad. I’m aware of that. I’ve been TRYING to get better about reading the stuff that’s been there a long time or making a decision to cull it from the TBR. I swear I have. Currently, the oldest thing on my TBR has been there since January February of 2019. I do own a copy. Yes, it came from the bookstore. In fact, of the oldest 10 books on my TBR, I think half of them came from the bookstore. 

At the moment, 4 of the oldest 10 came from the bookstore.

I know reviews matter, which is why I review everything I read. But I also know they have a special place in the hearts of indie authors. That being said, I’m doing the best I can and still probably could do better for them. The indie book that’s been sitting on my TBR the longest has been there since January of 2020. It was gifted to me.

It’s still there. I have no excuses.

All in all, here’s what we’re dealing with:

• 10 6 books have been there since 2019
• 9 8 since 2020
• 27 20 since 2021
• 26 23 were added in 2022
• The rest (68) have been added to the TBR this year, regardless of when they were published. I’d just like you to acknowledge that this means had I read everything I read this year but added NOTHING NEW to the TBR it would be down to 72 books. Of course, I look at what I added and have no regrets because there’s some GOOD STUFF there … I’m just stating a fact.

WOW, only 38 of those ones added in 2023 are still there. That says something, probably, but I’m not sure I want to dig into what it says.

If you’re doing that math 18 have been added to the TBR in 2024. Honestly, not terrible.

---

Anyway, that’s my deep dive into my TBR for today. I love playing around with statistics so this was fun to look up. If there’s anything else you’re wondering about my TBR, ask me in the comments! I could talk about this stuff all day. 

Still true! Drop a comment or question.

If you’re missing my reviews and bookish stuff, remember to follow our team over at alltherightreads.com (you can snag a SURPRISE READS box over there too, those make a great gift for the readers in your life!)

Also still true. That team rocks, if I do say so myself.