It’s once again time for my favorite feature: Tackling the TBR! There’s nothing I love more than picking out which books to read next, and this slightly organized method of reading has really amped my enjoyment to the next level. Bring on the mantras!

Read the best books first.
&
Life is too short to read books you’re not enjoying.

However you put together your TBR for the next month, the goal is to reduce the amount of obligation in reading and increase the fun.

Here’s a look at how the system works:

1. Identify the titles that take top priority in your TBR.
2. Combine them all in your own Tackling the TBR post.
3. Throughout the month pick from that pile as the mood strikes you.

Here’s what mine looks like:

June 2020 TBR Tackler Shelf:

Physical Copies:

Audiobooks:

I went a little overboard last month signing up for ARCs and setting up Buddy Reads. I think my key to reading a lot is the freedom I get from being able to follow my whims. If I schedule a Buddy Read further out than a week, I’m seldom in the mood to join when the time comes around (plus I suck at timing books out, so I’m inevitably trying to finish one while starting another and that’s where major book slumps happen). So I decided going forward I’m going to request BRs only for books I’m getting ready to start because I hate flaking out on good people.

And ARCs… I wrote an article a few years ago called ARC Management Tips: How to Avoid Over-Requesting and since then I’ve followed my own advice to a T, keeping my feedback ratio at 100% for things I’ve requested (I’m a little shy than that on unsolicited copies). But since I got more active with publishers again, I noticed I’m starting to miss the time I was spending on reading backlist titles. I’m still only requesting ARCs from my most-anticipated list on goodreads, but it seems like more and more of those are becoming available (oh, the hardships lol). I had just decided to give myself a break from ARCs (because, after all, I can still get them and read them on release day) when Emerald Blaze popped up… yeah all my plans out the window. 

The point of all of that is, now that I have my flair for reading back, I’m searching for balance. The reading sweet-spot, if you will. I think I’m getting closer to discovering it…

Mirage, Emerald Blaze, and Death and Relaxation are review obligations and all the other titles are books I’ve been eager to get to. Emerald Blaze is obviously #1, but I’m oddly excited about Betrothed by Cass (my major guilty pleasures).

Have a great month in reading!

by Niki Hawkes