Introducing Notes from the Bottom Shelf

As I’m sure most of you have already surmised, I am a HUGE book nerd. Along with that, I am also a huge hoarder of books. I can’t resist a good deal, so if I find a book I think I might want to read at a reasonable price I’ll buy it. I also have a really bad habit of just buying books that sound interesting, whether or not I’ll be able to read them any time soon. As you can probably imagine, this has led to a rather large number of books occupying my TBR shelf next to my bed – so large in fact that there are actually multiple stacks of books there as well; my TBR pile has long since outgrown the actual shelf.

Recently I looked through some of my books on and around that shelf and discovered there that there are a lot of really interesting books that I’ve been wanting to read forever, I just haven’t gotten around to it as other books get in the way. Therefore, I’ve created a new blog feature to try to accommodate these books that I would really like to read.

Each month I am going to attempt to read at least one book that’s been sitting in that TBR pile. Hopefully, in time, I will be able to cut the pile down to a more manageable size (or at the very least, maybe the number I read can catch up to the number I buy). This feature will be aptly titled “Notes From the Bottom Shelf” as I slowly try to work my way through those books. I’m not sure if I’ll do full length reviews of each one, or mini-reviews, since these are all books that have been around for several years (at least). It’ll depend on my thoughts and feelings on the books as I read through them.

I’ll also be making an attempt to curb my book purchases in the future, so I can focus on ARCs and books I already own, but that is definitely something that is easier said than done (as any bibliophile knows). Starting this month I am going to try very hard to only purchase a book if it meets one of two criteria: 1) I will be reading it right away (and not simply adding it to my pile) or 2) It is a book that was selected for my book club to read. If I can stick to this plan, then perhaps the exponential growth of my TBR pile will slow to a more manageable pace. (At least until library sale season hits.)

I am also going to start making attempts to borrow books from our local library instead of just outright buying them. I honestly can’t remember the last time I took a book out of the library just to read – usually I only use them for research purposes. However, my budget is becoming tighter as my piles of unread books grow, so I think maybe taking books out of the library will help solve two problems. It’ll save me some money and stop me from adding books to my piles. Even though I haven’t used libraries often, I am a big believer in the necessity for local libraries, so this will also be showing them support.

So there’s my plan. Hopefully I can stick to it long enough to at least make it a habit, and hopefully you’ll see my first real “Notes From the Bottom Shelf” post in a couple weeks.