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:

July 2021 TBR Tackler Shelf:

A pitfall from posting my June 2021 TTTBR post so late is that I went 10 days into July thinking I’d posted already ::facepalm::. Eventually I’ll get back into a rhythm with that, but I’m not too bothered by my tardiness because I’ve been super busy with a bunch of other creative projects. Everything seems to get done eventually lol. 

I finally started the Bauchelain and Korbal Broach short stories per my intentions to continue the Malazan Ultimate Reading Order. So far so good! My highest priority beyond that is continuing all things Abercrombie with Sharp Ends. This month my book club selected Curse of Chalion. I’m currently about 1/3 of the way through it and the jury is still out… 

I’ve been trying to be more mindful about my reading commitments because I realized my reading history for the  year so far contains WAYYYY too many obligation reads and not enough of the ones I’m super eager for. I get myself into trouble when allowing myself to pick more than one book up at a time. So I’m practicing limiting that and not signing up for ARCs unless I’m prepared to read them immediately. As a result, my lineup this month makes me very, very happy. 

Have a great month in reading!

by Niki Hawkes