5 Really Compelling Reasons You Need a TBR

Ahhh, the TBR. An acronym used in the bookish world at least daily. It stands for “to-be-read” list, and almost all book bloggers or devoted readers have one. Many use Goodreads (see why you should use Goodreads in my post, here), while others use a pen and paper. Some have a TBR shelf, while others have an online wish list from their library. Some will write books they want to read on a scrap of paper, put it in a jar, and pull it out a random book when they’re ready for their next one. The possibilities are endless! See why you need to have a TBR below.

1. So you know what to read next, duh.

Get rid of all that spontaneity! Never again wonder which book you should pick up. Now you have your list there to dictate all your next bookish moves.

2. So you can feel the joys of wasting time on the internet searching for books to read, instead of actually reading them. 

Why read a book when you can search online for hours for hundreds of books you want to read later?!

3. So that you can pretend you’re Belle in Beauty and the Beast when you look at your shelves full of books you have never read but definitely are going to read one day. 

I mean, maybe you won’t get to most a few of them. Doesn’t mean you can’t sing to them, right?

4. So you, too, can experience the hopelessness of having a to-do list that will never be completed. 

The TBR will never be done. EVER. Just when you think you’ve checked off the last book on your list, you’ve added 10 more.

5. So you can feel the crushing weight of unrealized expectations. 

Sorry but 300 books on your TBR? Never gonna happen. But at least you’ll enjoy the feeling as your book tower smothers you.

Do you already have a TBR? How many books are on your list? If you don’t yet have one, did I convince you? Start one on Goodreads, and then we can be friends!

A.S. Thornton

A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.