TBR

Before the advent of e-readers, most people's TBR (To Be Read) consisted of a precariously stacked mix of hardback and paperback books on the nightstand.  At the high end, we're talking maybe 10 to 20 books.  I know my own TBR frequently crashed to the floor when it got out of control.

With my Nook and my Kindle?  My TBR is currently over 3000!!  Not all are full length novels, some are short stories, essays, and novellas.  I'm a fan of almost every genre...reading everything from Anna Karenina to the latest zombie book.  If I had to pick a favorite...definitely psychological thrillers.  But I don't turn down a book!  And with all the different ways to get free e-books, I download around a hundred items a week!

Let me be honest, though.  Some of them I can't read all the way through.  The publishing world has changed.  Anyone can now self-publish to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or Smashwords.  No longer does a novel have to survive the gauntlet of obtaining an agent, finding a publisher, withstanding editing, and actually making it to the sales floor of a bookstore.  And some of the books I've downloaded would never have made it.  As much as I love to read, there are those books out there that I just can't make it through.  Whether due to grammar so awful I cringe or plot lines so convoluted as to be incomprehensible...there are books I delete after just a chapter or two.  I hate to do it but the saving grace is that I remember they were free.  It's only about one in twenty that actually bite the dust.  Thank God I didn't have to pay for them!

As winter approaches, I'm looking forward to curling up in a blanket in front of a fire and reading to my heart's content.  Revisiting old favorites like Jane Eyre and Treasure Island.  Discovering new authors like Darian Wilk and C. L. Bevill.  Losing myself in other worlds, other times, other lives.

What's on your TBR?