Monday, November 9, 2015

TBR Book Tag

This one’s Cleo’s fault – over at Cleopatra Loves Books, she had a go at the TBR Tag Thread, talking about her TBR pile, consisting of 173 books. And it got the Puzzle Doctor thinking over at In Search of the Classic Mystery Novel. He didn't tag anybody specific--he just threw it out as a challenge of sorts to those of us who read his blog...So, here are my responses to the "challenge":


HOW DO YOU KEEP TRACK OF YOUR TBR PILE?
I keep an extensive spreadsheet which lists all my books and marks which ones I've read. I also keep a list on Goodreads (just in case my laptop eats the list and my backup drive dies as well).

 IS YOUR TBR MOSTLY PRINT OR E-BOOK?
100% Print. I don't own an e-reader and I don't plan to until reading printed books becomes difficult (either for vision or other reasons)

The TBR stacks in the hallway...

HOW DO YOU DETERMINE WHICH BOOK FROM YOUR TBR TO READ NEXT?
A combination of what's needed for one of the zillion reading challenges I'm doing and what strikes my fancy at the time.

A BOOK THAT’S BEEN ON YOUR TBR THE LONGEST?
Probably The Fabulous Riverboat by Philip Jose Farmer. I've had that one since sometime in the 1980s--back when I was in my major SF phase. There are a number of science fiction books that I grabbed up then but never got around to.


A BOOK YOU RECENTLY ADDED TO YOUR TBR?
Just picked up a book today as a matter of fact--the graduate students in our department are currently holding their annual book sale. Last year I picked up some mighty fine vintage mysteries. This year was pretty slim pickings--almost thought I was going to walk away with nothing (my husband would have wanted to take my temperature--surely something must be wrong if I could walk away from a book sale without a single book). At the last moment I spied a box marked "detective/crime." Not much there--nearly all late editions of Christie. But I did take a copy of Detective Fiction Crime and Compromise by Dick Allen & David Chacko.

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR STRICTLY BECAUSE OF ITS BEAUTIFUL COVER?
None. I don't buy books based on covers--unless you count my fascination with Dell Mapbacks (and other similar "pocket-size" books which normally have fabulous covers). But the primary reason I want those books is because they are vintage mysteries. The cool covers are a bonus.




A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT YOU NEVER PLAN ON READING?
Like the Puzzle Doctor, I wonder why people would put books on their TBR stack that they never plan to read. There are a few that have been hanging out for quite some time that you might say it is unlikely that I'll ever read--simply because other TBR books seem to continually push them to the back of the line. But I don't "plan" on not reading them...

AN UNPUBLISHED BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT YOU’RE EXCITED FOR?
I don't have any. I don't tend to read new books and I'm not generally on the look-out for unpublished books. Most of the books I'm longing to read were published many years ago (pre-1960). And the ARCs I've got on my TBR stack at moment have already been published.


A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT EVERYONE HAS READ BUT YOU?
Um. I dunno.As I mention in the previous answer--most of the books I've got on the TBR stacks are pre-1960. And most of those are vintage mysteries. I doubt that "everyone" but me has read most of those. I don't tend to go for the books that "everyone" has read. Now...if I had answered these questions about a week or so ago, I could have said Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson. Because I remember when it seemed like "everyone" was talking about that book. But I've read it now.

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT EVERYONE RECOMMENDS TO YOU?
Either Murder in the Maze or Death at Swyathling Court by J. J. Connington. So many of my Golden Age blogging/Facebook friends have mentioned Connington. I'm looking forward to reading more by him (I've already read The Eye in the Museum.)

A BOOK ON YOUR TBR THAT YOU’RE DYING TO READ?
Murder in the English Department by Valerie Miner. Just got my hands on this one this year--but the title has been on my TBF (To Be Found) list for what seems like eons. I'm a sucker for an academic mystery.



HOW MANY BOOKS ARE IN YOUR GOODREADS TBR SHELF?
1,364. Really. And those pretty much represent the stacks of books teetering up and down our hallway and in mountain ranges scattered in the back room. A small number (probably under 30) are books that I've added to the Goodreads total when someone mentions a book that sounds good or I've entered a Goodreads give-away that required me to put in on the TBR list.


So, I’m supposed to tag someone to have a go at this – If you're reading this, consider yourself tagged....

5 comments:

Brad (ahsweetmystery) said...

Bev, I sympathize! Unlike you, I did purchase an e-reader, so now I have TWO TBR stacks, although one of them is invisible to the eye! The Kindle sales make my list grow and grow, especially since they make certain GAD mysteries available that I can't find anywhere else. It must he a sort of sickness to keep adding books to the stack, but at a foray to the local library store, I picked up Martin Edwards' The Dungeon House (my first of his fictions) and Sebastian Japrisot's The Sleeping Car Murders. The one that's been on my stack the longest that I REALLY DO want to read is Kate Atkinson's Life After Life, but as the mysteries keep stacking up, that one keeps getting pushed further down. (Metaphorically speaking, since it's an e-book!)

Jacquie said...

Relieved to see your number, Bev. I don't even want to estimate mine. I began collecting several books a week in my twenties and I'm now in my sixties, so the math is something I don't want to think about. I believe, however, I have now found someone to will my vintage stash to, if you're willing to drive to the Chicago area when I kick off. LOL.

Bev Hankins said...

Jacqueline:

LOL. That's one of the things I've thought about....who would want my books when I pass on. Not my husband or my son, I'm sure.

TracyK said...

I am glad to know that I am not the only one with over 1000 books in the TBR pile. [Actually I do know of one other.] I do worry about leaving too many books for my family to dispose of but then, we do donate to a charity book sale so I am sure that is what they would do.

Julie @ Smiling Shelves said...

Ooh, this tag looks like fun. It's pretty easy to find my TBR amount on Goodreads, but I'm going to have to do a fair amount of counting to figure out which books I own haven't been read yet. I'm sure there's a lot...