The Secret to Clearing Your TBR Pile in 2020

If you’re anything like me, your To Be Read pile is more of an entire bookcase, and that’s before we even get to all the unread e-books lingering on my kindle. And since my Christmas wish list was entirely made up of books, suffice to say that, this January, the problem is worse than ever. 

The frustrating thing is, these are all books that I genuinely want to read. Books I think, or at least hope, that I’ll enjoy. So why can’t I stop buying new books to add to the ever-growing pile? Why can’t I just read the ones I already have waiting for me. (Feel free to imagine these questions being asked by the ever-patient Dr Pembroke, who is a book lover himself but, unlike me, actually buys a book then – and this is the critical part – reads them.)

This is, of course, not to say that I don’t read. I read a lot. Ebooks, paperbacks, hardbacks – I read ‘em all. Just not at the same rate that I buy them. And if I haven’t actually devoured a book within the first thirty-six hours after purchasing it, then the odds on me reading it at all go down significantly. 

But not this year! 2020 is the year I conquer all those books I long to read but somehow never do. Because I have identified the problem, the reason behind it – and, hopefully, the solution. 

Yes, like so many other things in my life, my brain is totally to blame for book mountain, too. When presented with so many brilliant book options, it simply short circuits. Like a kid with too many toys to choose from, I end up choosing none and walking away. Because if I choose one of those many, many books that are waiting to be read, then I’m saying it’s more important than all the others. The moment my fingers reach out for a book, I spot another cover looking at me accusingly, reminding me that I really should be reading it instead. There’s always a book that’s more worthy, one that I should read while it’s still a hot topic, before the rest of the world moves on without me, or one that I really need to give back to whoever lent it to me before they give up and buy another copy…

And so I don’t read any of them. 

Of course, the truth is that no book is actually going to be offended that I haven’t read it yet. And downloading something new and reading that instead doesn’t solve the problem at all. 

In fact…

It doesn’t matter which book I read, as long as I’m reading something. 

Because I love reading. I want to read. And I want to read all the gorgeous books on my bookshelves. The order I read them in doesn’t matter at all. 

This (blindingly obvious) revelation lead me to:

I could put all the titles I want to read in the jar, then pick them out one at a time, letting fate decide what I read next. Perfect!

There was a bit of serendipity involved in this solution, as I happened to come across this ideal jar in one of the (many) boxes when I was unpacking my home office. But if you fancied trying a reading jar for yourself, pretty much any jar (or box, or whatever) would do. I would advise that it’s something that you enjoy looking at, though, as keeping it out on display as a reminder of your reading ambitions is definitely a big help. 

Here’s what I did next:

1: Surveyed my bookshelves

There’s simply no point adding any book to the jar that I don’t actively want to read, or the whole thing would fail from the start. So, I started by culling all the books I don’t want to read. (Full disclosure: there weren’t many. Mostly freebies from publishers, or books people have lent me that just don’t take my fancy.) They can go to people who do want to read them, instead. 

2: Wrote out my TBR list

For the books that were left, I wrote down all the titles and authors on slips of paper. No hierarchy, no preferences, no differentiating between fiction and non fiction, romance or sci fi. They all look exactly the same once the paper is folded up. 

3: Filled the jar

I ended up with about eighty pieces of paper, which basically filled my entire jar. (My kindle library is clearly going to have to wait until I’ve dealt with all the hard copies!) I set it on my bookshelf as a reminder to myself that, if I want to read, this is where I start. 

I also set myself some rules, before I chose my first book:

And that’s it! The very simple method I’m using to clear my TBR pile in 2020. 

Have you set any reading goals for 2020? Let me know in the comments, or get in touch on social media at: