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:

January 2021 TBR Tackler Shelf:

After 65 months of experimenting, I finally found a Tackling the TBR system that completely works for me, start to finish. The ah-ha moment seemed to be a reality check I faced mid-September where I realized I’d only be able to get through a finite number of books before the end of the year… and that I could calculate fairly accurately what that number was. This brought me out of my ambitious reading TBR and lofty goal-setting (both of which are my natural tendencies, but were leading to major frustration). So I gave myself five slots a month to fill with what had better be the most important titles on my list (reserving one for review obligations, so actually four) and stuck to those titles with a determination I hadn’t been able to find up to that point. It worked so well. I’ve been able to finish everything I set myself to read and have felt MUCH more relaxed about my reading pace – more so than I have in years, if I’m honest. Who knew the key would be recognizing how delusional I am when it comes to ambitions lol.

With this type of planning in place and a fully-realized system I’m loving, I’m extremely excited for 2021. Because I’m no longer stressed about getting through everything and am truly focused on the best books first, I’m somehow squeezing in more than my five pre-allocated titles every month. I think it’s because I’m feeling reinvigorated, reading is fun again, and I’m reading only quality books.

Another change I made happened around the same time as my ah-ha moment: I became committed to becoming more digitally minimal – deleting social media, deleting gaming apps, setting limits on other time wasters, and generally making my phone a resource for only reading, writing, and adulting. It has taken some practice, but living more intentionally and getting away from the mindless scrolling that was sucking HOURS out of my days has definitely freed up a lot of time for reading and other creative projects.

In September I also decided it was time to get my eyes used to reading physical novels on a regular basis again. I used to read 100+ novels per year without audiobook or ebook (back in the day) but an eye strain injury over five years ago stole a lot of that from me. I finally realized that my eyes were as healed as they were going to get, and a lot of the trouble I was having with reading had more to do with being out of practice more than being injured (at least, I hoped that was the case). So I committed to picking up a physical book at least once a day to see how it would go. I’m not going to lie – it was touch and go at first and a little uncomfortable, but after consistently trying it and moving in baby steps for a couple of months, I’m THRILLED to be back to reading 40+ pages an hour without any major discomfort. I feel like I’ve been gifted new life in this. As a side note, I’d be willing to bet staring at backlit screens fewer hours every week per my new digital minimalism goals also increased to the amount relative eye-power I had to spend on reading. Total win.

I have a lot of new fantasy series I’m hoping to try in 2021. This month I’m adding a couple in while still reserving most of my focus for the authors I know I already love. Wish me luck. :)

Have a great month in reading!

by Niki Hawkes