discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Overwhelming TBRs

Aria @ Book Nook Bitsย will be the new host for Letโ€™s Talk Bookish! If you arenโ€™t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

September 2: Do You Ever Get Overwhelmed by Your TBR (to-be-read) Pile? (Jillian @ Jillian the Bookish Butterfly)

Prompts:ย How do you keep track of the books you want to read? Do you have a lot of books on your TBR? Is there any order/organization within all the books you want to read? Does your TBR ever feel overwhelming?


Welcome back to another week of LTB here at DTRH everyone! Happy September to you all. First topic of this month is about TBRs which I think we know is always a relevant topic. I know my methods of dealing with my TBR are ever-growing and ever-changing. Can’t wait to hear what the rest of you do too!

I feel like this is one of those things where you either have a set method, or you don’t and go back and forth on multiple things. I’m sure one of the most common methods is to have some sort of online list, whether it be on goodreads or your own personal document(s). I think I have a combination of things going on, falling into that second category. Scatterings of recommendations and other online equivalents of scrap pieces of paper lying around. Perhaps it’s me not being organized, but on the other hand, even if I have a TBR, I really don’t follow it that strictly.

If I wanted to, I could have a list and start sorting by priority, but I think for me at least, reading is always about the mood. I could have a list and sort it today, and want to change it tomorrow. I feel similarly with my list of to-do tasks per day too. I will usually have them written out, and I do a mini prioritization of their importance vs. urgency, but in the end I will just usually do what I feel like doing and just be happy with that. I think the same comes with books. Library books that are due soon will usually get some priority, but if I don’t want to read it at the time…I could always borrow it again some other time. Does anyone else also do this, and flex your TBR as it suits your fancy?

I think most of us in this community will have large TBRs, which isn’t surprising at all. With all the information we get through ads, but also many suggestions through all our bookish friends, it’s not surprising that we only have an ever-growing list of TBRs! As responsibilities pile up (i.e. reading speed slows down), this only exacerbates the problem. I will always have something To Be Read, but like I said before, that can be anywhere in the future. I think it’s probably more important to know what you want to read, here and now, and to just always keep reading!

Honestly, TBRs are a little bit overwhelming. It almost reads (ha) as a to do list, rather than a wish list. I definitely urge everyone who might be feeling a bit pressured by the looming list to remember it is really more of a tracker of books you are excited to read (excited!), and not a list of things you must do by a deadline. While there is an urgency factor in it, it’s important to keep in mind why you have the TBR! If it’s really overwhelming, just remember, many books can stay on your TBR list almost indefinitely, I’m sure you’ll all get around to it when you feel like it, so don’t sweat it. Happy reading everyone!

How do you all feel about your TBRs, and how do you manage them? Let me know in the comments below!


anticipations

Anticipated Books Coming September 2022

Happy September everyone! Or not so happy, for those of us who have to go back to school, or work, or what have you. Nevertheless, there are fantastic books waiting for us to be read! So here to provide you with some joy in this possibly darker time is our anticipated books coming this month. As usual, we have linked the goodreads pages for your convenience. Enjoy!

September 6

The Weight of Blood by Tiffany D Jackson
Monsters Born and Made by Tanvi Berwah
The Sunbearer Trials by Aiden Thomas

September 13

The Ballad of Never After (Once Upon a Broken Heart #2) by Stephanie Garber
Wishtress by Nadine Brandes
The Life and Crimes of Hoodie Rosen by Isaac Blum
Iโ€™m the Girl by Courtney Summers

September 20

Seoulmates by Susan Lee
Defend the Dawn by Brigid Kemmerer
The Killing Code by Ellie Marney
Stolen City by Elisa A Bonnin
The 99 Boyfriends of Micah Summers by Adam Sass

September 27

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco
The Golden Enclaves (The Scholomance #3) by Naomi Novik
Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong
Spells for Lost Things by Jenna Evans Walsh
Last of the Talons by Sophie Kim


So many good titles coming up this month! Which ones are you all looking forward to? Let me know in the comments below!

discussion

Let’s Talk Bookish – Balancing Blogging and Life

Aria @ Book Nook Bitsย will be the new host for Letโ€™s Talk Bookish! If you arenโ€™t following her yet, good check out her blog and give her a follow!

August 26:ย Balancing blogging and lifeย (Aria)

Prompts:ย How do you manage balancing blogging and life? In what ways do school and work get in the way of blogging? Are there any ways that blogging can help with everyday life? Are there certain times of year when blogging becomes harder or more overwhelming?


Welcome to a late LTB here at DTRH everyone! Today’s topic is particularly appropriate, since it may be exactly the balance between blogging and life that leaves me late to the party in the first place. Actually, I am blogging from the opposite side of the world that I’m usually on (vacation!) so that could explain it. Still, if I commit to it, I should really do so. But I digress. I want to hear all about you all too!

Balancing blogging and life is honestly pretty difficult. It’s not like you just sit down whenever and churn out a blog post (though that is certainly one way). Especially with the two of us here, at least a bit more planning and forethought has to go into it, and we also of course want to produce quality content for our readers (and ourselves, of course). And as both of us get older, responsibilities pile up, as I’m sure you can all relate. So first and foremost, it’s definitely hard! The main tool that we use here is scheduling though. Just generally knowing what we’re going to post really helps to narrow down decision paralysis, and helps keeps things easier to organize. Time management will always be the biggest asset here, but I know for me personally life can just be so crazy sometimes that even scheduling only accomplishes so much.

If blogging were only jotting down some thoughts, I think I could manage it without a sweat. But when you’re creating content or doing book reviews, we all know here in the community it’s not just the post that takes time. Books have to be read, ideas have to be spun, and if my blog post only takes 15 minutes it’s honestly a miracle (who can relate?). Work and school both just take up blocks of time, and it can be hard to read in small 15-30 min breaks that present themselves. Not to mention that my eyes are usually tired already from the work/school, and that just makes me want to rest just for a bit before getting back into it.

I think the fact that blogging forces me to think a little bit more about my schedule is really helpful for me. AND it helps me read more too! I really enjoy the part of me that has developed every since blogging. Therefore it’s definitely not a regret, and is certainly something I want to continue doing for as long as I can, life shenanigans be damned. I think just being in better connection with books is an improvement or value-add to my life, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Exam season for school is the first thing that comes to mind for hard periods. Same with work, if there’s a particularly busy time. Time is one of those things which you only have so much of, and when things pile up, sometimes it really just is impossible to do all that you want to do even with perfect planning, and it falls to you to re-prioritize. It’s not that I find blogging unimportant, but I do find that it often tends to take the first fall in priority if I don’t personally hold myself more accountable. Not sure if any of you feel that way too! It’s balancing that “hobby” which should be able to be put on hold, versus the fact that if you just let everything trump it in priority, you’ll literally never do your hobby.

How do you all manage blogging when the going gets tough? Let me know in the comments below!