“This is the year I finally get through my ‘to read’ pile,” I lie to myself every single January 1. And my “pile,” as I continue to call it, hasn’t been an actual pile in years—rather, it is an entire bookshelf all its own. That’s right, I have a whole bookshelf in my office that exists solely to house the books I own but have yet to read. My Kindle, you ask? Oh yes, let’s talk about the accessibility of books technology has brought to the table. I can’t even tell you how many unread digital tomes I have on my beloved Paperwhite, sitting innocently on my bedside table underneath not one, not two, not three, but four physical books in various states of being read or “I’m going to read you next, just be patient a bit longer.”

Fellow readers, why do we do this to ourselves?

It’s because I want to support authors, and spending money on their books is the easiest way to do that. Or because I want to make sure I never run out of books to read (a ludicrous concern at this point in my life). You know, I just never know what kind of mood I’ll be in, and I want to keep my options open (which is how I end up reading four books at a time). Every book is its own little universe, and I want to be surrounded by them all.

Whatever my reason on any given day, I have enough unread books to last me years at my current reading pace, and with more brilliant options coming out every time I turn around this shelf will probably never be empty. But it’s fun to try!

Speaking of fun, I decided to Google some ideas for helping us get through the “to-be read”s, and I came across this October 2020 feature by Matt Blake for Penguin. Here’s what he has to say:

1. You need a physical pile to remind you of your quest. My man, I have shelves that I stare at every single day.
2. Keep your pile close. I can literally reach out and touch it right now.
3. Set a reasonable, specific goal for your reading. I think setting reasonable and specific goals is good advice in many areas of life; Mark’s point is that “I will set aside 30 minutes a day to read” is a lot more achievable than “I will read all these books.” He’s right, and this is definitely something I need to work on.
4. Keep your pile at a manageable size so you don’t feel overwhelmed. Oh, dear, I’m afraid that ship sailed about five years ago. But maybe it’s not too late for you!
5. Whittle it down to books you’ll actually read. Mark suggests starting with eliminating any book that’s been in the pile for more than 12 months, and perhaps you’re the type who can cull without guilt. I can…with the sole exception of books. I am ruthless with just about every other material aspect of my life because I enjoy cleanliness and order and have a deep dislike of clutter, but books…oof.
6. The next few suggestions from Mark involve curating your pile. Split your pile into “I want to read these now” and “I want to read these before I retire,” place timely books (topic-sensitive, new releases, book club picks) at the top of the pile while they’re most relevant, and even split your books out by season to keep things interesting and to suit your moods.
7. Mix it up. This is something I have always purposely done—never read the same genre back-to-back or you’ll get burned out. My shelves include a mix of autobiographies/biographies and fantasy (my two favorite genres), YA and literary fiction, career-focused and hobby-focused, and even a few ARCs of various genres that I happened into and might not ever have picked up otherwise. I do my best to alternate among all my genre options, and it really does keep me excited for whatever I’ll read next.
8. Stop buying books. I can only assume Mark is joking with this final bit of advice.

How many books are in your “to read” pile? Do you have a physical pile and a digital pile? How do you make your way through them? Let’s commiserate!