Welcome to another Top Ten Tuesday post, thanks to That Artsy Reader Girl. Today’s official topic is Books I’ve Added to My TBR and Forgotten Why. To be honest, forgetting why I’ve added a book to my TBR is not a problem I have. I mean, yes, it does happen occasionally, but trying to weed those books out of my general TBR would be like looking for a clear glass bead in the Sahara Desert.
So instead, you’re going to get a list today of ten reasons why a book might be added to my TBR. And it’s probably worth explaining how my TBR actually works, because I have several. 😁
My primary TBR is my review TBR, which I keep track of in a Trello board. I also have my Goodreads “Want to Read” list, which is most often my way of keeping track of books I don’t have yet but want to read at some point in the future. Then I have my Kindle, which is…um, shall we say “healthily stocked” with books I’ve downloaded for a variety of reasons and have every intention of reading at some point in the future.
So, that probably gives you some hints as to how books end up on my TBR, but here’s a more specific list together with some of my most recent additions.
1. UPCOMING RELEASES
This is probably the most obvious one for a book reviewer. I always have an eye on what’s coming out soon (primarily in the Christian fiction market) and usually have a loose review TBR in place up to six months in advance. For example, the three books pictured below are releasing in January 2021 and are already on my TBR.
Beauty Among Ruins by J’Nell Ciesielski
Lethal Intent by Cara Putman
The Vanishing at Loxby Manor by Abigail Wilson
2. Book club reads
Anyone else belong to a book club? I love being able to discuss a book with a whole bunch of other people who have read it—especially knowing that you don’t have to worry about spoilers!
I’ve usually read about half of the books out book club reads in a year, but there have been some great ones in this year’s list that I hadn’t had a chance to read yet.
The Gryphon Heist by James R. Hannibal
When I Close My Eyes by Elizabeth Musser
An Uncommon Woman by Laura Frantz
3. Friend Recommendation
Friend recommendations are the best! And here’s a shout out to Rachel McMillan, Amanda Stevens, and Rel Mollet, each of whom have had a significant impact on my TBR in different ways, whether they be book gushes on Goodreads or social media, “I really want you to read this so we can talk about it” conversations, or just “I think you’d enjoy this” recommendations.
The Prisoner’s Wife by Maggie Brookes
The Blue Cloak by Shannon McNear
The Jane Austen Society by Natalie Jenner
4. author backlist
I love it when you find an author who you enjoy so much you immediately want to read more. Here are three books that went on my TBR after I read another book by the same author.
Blind Dates, Bridesmaids, & Other Disasters by Aspen Hadley
Death Wears a Mask by Ashley Weaver
27 Ways to Mend His Broken Heart by Shari L. Tapscott
5. genre or topic of interest
Every so often I go through an “I want to read this kind of book” phase. It might be historical mystery, it might be romantic comedy, it might be hard-boiled detective fiction, or it might be any of a number of other options. After spending a considerable amount of time trawling Amazon for just the right read, I usually end up with a list of other books that I’d really like to remember for a later date, and so I add them to my Want to Read list on Goodreads (where I can categorise them so it’s easier to find later).
Of late, I’ve been making a list of novels which deal with racial tensions, specifically books written by or about Black Americans or Indigenous Australians. Here are a few books that have recently been added to my TBR.
The White Girl by Aspen Hadley
Sing, Unburied, Sing by Jesmyn Ward
Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent
6. kindle sale
Oh boy, I’m a sucker for a Kindle deal. Can anyone else relate? Here are three recent Kindle sale purchases that are now on my TBR.
Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim
The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson
The Land Girls by Victoria Purman
7. expand my reading horizons
I’m a pretty eclectic reader genre-wise, but lately I’ve been feeling the urge to explore more literary fiction, particularly literary fiction published outside the Christian fiction market. So here are three books I’ve heard a lot about that I want to read.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng
The Giver of Stars by Jojo Moyes
8. Judging
This one is totally out of my hands! When you judge for various book awards, there’s a portion of your TBR that’s dictated by the books that have been entered into those awards. For the most part, I’m bound to secrecy over which books are on my TBR for that purpose, but as the three finalists for the Young Adult category in the INSPY Awards for 2020 are public knowledge, I’ll share them here.
Evermore by Jody Hedlund
Within These Lines by Stephanie Morrill
Tiger Queen by Annie Sullivan
I go through times when I want to read multiple books on the same topic, too!
My TTT .
I enjoyed The Land Girls. Have you read Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms by Anita Heiss? It fits into your Indigenous Australian interest.
I haven’t, but that’s another one that’s on my TBR! Glad to know you enjoyed The Land Girls.
Quite of a few of these are reasons I add books to my TBR as well!
My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/top-ten-tuesday-267/
Nice take on this week’s topic! Friend recommendations and Author back list make up a good chunk of my tbr. I also find myself in the mood for certain types of books from time to time. Here is my Top Ten Tuesday.
I like your take on this week’s topic. My reasons are very similar to yours, but I do not judge for any organizations. Right now I think reviews and blog tours are adding the most books to my TBR, but also book recommendations from friends and bloggers I follow.
My Kindle is very stocked, too. I mostly keep my Goodreads TBR to upcoming releases.
Fantastic list! I enjoyed reading it and most of our reasons are similar. 🙂
Great list of books. I just finished and reviewed the audiobook of An Uncommon Woman. I am listening to The Jane Austen Society now.
“trying to weed those books out of my general TBR would be like looking for a clear glass bead in the Sahara Desert.” — Ha-hah! That is the best simile I have seen in a while.
Anyway, you sound super organized, and that’s awesome. I don’t know any of these books but I had such fun reading your post and what prompts you to add books. Author backlist is a great one, and cheap books definitely get me (I used to attend so many book sales…back in the Before Times of the 2010s…).
But now you’ve got me pondering what my other general reasons for adding a book look like. I think I mostly add titles when I feel similar to the main character in some way and/or they’re in a life situation I want to be in. Or if they remind me of a favorite TV character.