I always feel like I’m drowning under the weight of my TBR pile, but never really had a strategy for reading it down. I really liked what I tried for April – I think it helped me manage my reading nicely and definitely cut back on the number of books bought during the month. I’m going to keep my April strategy of reading two books before I can buy another one and continue to track titles that way. Book bans don’t work for me, as seen in March, because they just make me want to rebel against my own rules and buy ALL the books instead.
The rules for May
I’m also going to see if I can stick to my actual TBR pile and not read anything that’s not currently on my little nightstand. Don’t get me wrong, there are loads of books on my shelves. But I feel like targeting my reading this way just makes more sense. I added some that I bought in April and took away a couple that are the first in a series.
I struggle a bit with these kinds of rigid rules because I’m the kind of person who constantly changes their mind about what to read after even a few days. I figure I’ll give it a shot anyway and see if this works for me.
I’m going to aim to have the following finished or underway by the end of the month:
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
False Hearts by Laura Lam
Norse Mythology by Neil Gaiman
Nasty Woman by 404Ink
This is made a little tougher because I’m going on holiday for about 10 days and decided not to bring any physical books with me. That means ARCs!
I have quite the list going for ARCs and need to power through them. I recently got approved for some amazing titles, which just makes my list even longer. I’m currently reading Sea and should have that done soon enough. I’ll also aim to read at least a few of the following:
A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
Skullsworn by Brian Staveley
Flame in the Mist by Renée Ahdieh
Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer
When Dimple Met Reshi by Sandhya Menon
That’s a LOT of books to read in one month. I’m only aiming for 10 (physical copies and ARCs combined), so I know I wont get to all of them.
I Should Read That 
Always good to aim high I feel! I have to write big plans for how far I need to get through a book. I was worried it would take the fun out of it but most of the time it’s been fine!
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That sounds like a good strategy to me!
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I give myself five books each month as a starting point. But, let’s be real. That number spikes as soon as I finish the last book. Know your personal best and go from there. You’re strategy sounds feasible.
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Nice strategy! 🙂 Happy Reading to you!
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Thank you! I literally just bought three books though, I’m bad at sticking to my own rules. I’ll be good from now on! 🙂
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I love your strategy! Although if I stack books up on my nightstand I will be freaking out every time I see the book pile 😀 At least on the bookshelf they are somewhat hidden!
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