Tag: TBR

I’ve been dreading the day I had to sit down and write this update. I’m not giving up if that’s what you’re thinking, I’ve just made some progress… in the opposite direction. This summer, the TBR grew bigger, and I’m trying my hardest to clean up that mess! But what would you do if you saw some books become homeless? Wouldn’t you help them? Those poor things were shivering! It broke my heart. I couldn’t send them away… So I opened my shelves… They look so cosy and happy now! And I hope they can make me feel like that as well. June It all started on a warm sunny day in June. The doorbell rings with the mailman bringing a package with fresh new books. The second volume of Les Misérables by Victor Hugo – I can now start planning to read that – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn …

It doesn’t even seem real that I decided to embark on this journey three years ago this month. While this is in no way a project or a challenge I’m actively pursuing, I still want to see what’s on the other side. And it will take whatever time it takes. I want to be more intentional with my purchases. To be on top of the books I really want to read. I don’t want to own a graveyard of books, I think I’ll like. I want to find that out instead of keeping guessing. Over time, my approach to this challenge has changed. From a more strict strategy to incorporating other challenges like The Hardest Reading Challenge You’ve Ever Done, HRCYED for short. I went from book-buying bans to adding too many books to my TBR, from great reading months to reading slumps. But all of this is with one …

June marks a new year. A new reading year. Another year of reading my TBR. But before I do anything else, I need to recount my books. I want to start with a clean sheet. I’m afraid I miscount some books. Here’s the thing, I never wrote down a list of all the books. So, I’m not sure which books I counted for the TBR and which I didn’t. Not every book I own is part of this challenge. Some books I sort of inherited, and others were given because the other person didn’t want them anymore, but that doesn’t mean I’m interested in reading those books. Now, with a list, there will be no more mistakes. June I was still feeling the downfall of a subscription to Everand. I like the idea of reading whatever you want at any moment, but it always takes a toll on my TBR. …

It has been two years. Two years since I decided to tackle my TBR and reduce it to zero. Am I closer to that number than I was when I started? I like to think that I’m crushing it! Although I’ve only managed to cut it down to about 20 books. So, 10 books read per year. At this rhythm, it will take me a decade. At best! Looking back, the project was structured to force me to read the books I already own. That has changed completely. I ended book-buying bans, went through reading slumps, and thought about ending the challenge altogether. But life continues, and I’m still determined to see this through. I imagine I’m just taking a stroll, enjoying the view, and sizing down my TBR in the meantime. February I was still feeling the high of finally being out of the reading slump, and I got …

Another four months passed since my last update. I’m so happy my reading is back to normal, and I feel motivated again to tackle my TBR. Some progress was made. Some were undone, but better months will come. The slump curse was lifted, and I’m in an amazing reading mood and ready to wrap up 2023 and have a great 2024. October Coming out of a reading slump is not always easy but very exciting. And audiobooks can be helpful. I didn’t make any progress in reducing my TBR, I even increased it. Although sometimes going out to dinner is better than forcing me to cook something at home. So I started the spooky month with The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, which was great. This is the type of horror I like. No confirmed supernatural things, only vibes. Then I listened to Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier. …

My reading year has been extensive and quite hectic. And it’s not over yet. Between amazing books and a huge reading slump, I’ve been conflicted about my feelings towards this pet project. On one hand, I want to see it through, but on the other, I’m questioning if it’s worth it. If it will change anything. Lately, I’ve been thinking about joining my read and unread books and treating my entire book collection as a whole. All the possibilities of what I can read, instead of putting pressure on me to read the ones I haven’t yet. While this quarter update is still haunted by the slump of months past, it was also a time of change and realisation that hopefully will affect the upcoming months and maybe even my relationship with my books. I hope this can take the dreaded reading slump out of the horizon for a while. …

June marks one year of my Project TBR Zero, and I have to say that after a whole year, it’s been hard to keep focus and find meaning in this project. Not what I expected to write about since I’ve been so motivated throughout this project. And right on the final stretch. Since I didn’t finish my TBR, this is not the end of the project. But it does mark the end of a year focused on reading the books I own. And it’s also a reflection on how I’m feeling about it, how my reading was affected by it, and how much progress I made. Reading for me is a fun activity, a hobby, a recreation, a pastime, whatever you want to call it. It’s not work or a chore. It’s something I do because I enjoy doing it. And throughout this project, that feeling never changed. It just …

I’m so excited to finally do an update on Project TBR Zero! I’ve spent the entire month of January counting the days to write this post. I want to look back and see my progress. If you have no idea what I’m talking about, here is the first post where I introduced the challenge. My quest is to finish every single book I own. So welcome back to the second quarter update of Project TBR Zero. The Second Quarter October For a quick recap of where my reading was standing in September, I had 81 books in my TBR. As I said at the end of the last post, I was in a reading slump. And I carried that feeling until the new year. It didn’t stop me from reading, but I wasn’t overly excited about what I was reading. Not even a reread of Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and …

After a particularly spectacular reading month back in June (you can read more about it in this post), I felt I could conquer the reading world. I saw how much I could accomplish if I dedicated the time to reading. And after finishing one book, the next thing I wanted to do was to finish another. So having read 9 books in June, almost double the amount of my best reading month ever, I was pumped! At that moment, I made a decision. I was going to read my entire TBR, both physical and digital. This decision was not motivated purely by an exceptional reading month. My first reading experiment of the year made me realise the books I buy are based on my mood. Although, I tend to feel guilty for prioritising a shiny new book over the ones collecting dust on my shelves. And if I avoid reading …

How is it possible that April is already over? March felt it had 365 days and April had like two weeks? What is happening? We are one month away from the middle of the year and from a new Sims 4 Expansion Pack – sorry to plug that in, but I just found out the news! But before I start to care about what is yet to come, I better take a step back and talk about everything I read last month. Wrap-up If you didn’t know, April was the month of the OWLs, part of the Magical Readathon. I’m not going to explain again what this readathon is all about, for that read my TBR post where I explain everything (or almost everything). To start the readathon in full swing, I read The Beauty volume 1 by Jeremy Haun, the shortest book of my TBR. As much as I …

In 2020, March had 365 days instead of the ordinary 31, and being at home in lockdown didn’t help. But I’m not here to talk about these bad days we are living in. No, for that you can turn on the news. In this house, sadness stays outside the door, and if it dares to come in, I’ll fight it with a movie, a game, and a book (in no particular order). For now, I’m going to stick with the books that made my March more bearable and enjoyable. I participated in two blog tours in March. The first one was for Happy Family by James Ellis. The book is set in Spain where the main protagonist, Germaine, goes to try to break out from isolation the creator of the virtual reality game Happy Family. I’ve read books about VR games in the past, but none of those can compare …