Bookish Discussions: Unmanageable TBR Piles

This is the stack of books that are written about the American President Abraham Lincoln.  I used to want to read all of them.  A bit of an unmanageable goal isn't it?


You see, sometimes I get a bit carried away with putting books on my TBR list and end up with way more than I can possibly read.  But I can't seem to stop.  It seems to me, that I want to read every book there is to have the complete literary experience.  Because no two books are the same and I want to experience all of them.

The thing is, I tend to do this with R&R books as well.  I want to say yes to all of them!  I truly do!  But how can you possibly read all of them?  I've had people ask me if all I do is read and not sleep at all.  Just work and read, work and read, work and read.  Do you have this same problem?

While we're on the subject, I'd also like to touch on buying too many books.  I've made a resolution for a couple of years now that I'd only buy books I've already read and loved and would want to reread.  That way, I don't have a stack of unread bought books.

Another thing to consider: do you ever put books on your TBR that you know you will never read?  I've heard about so many people doing this and it confuses me so much.  I mean, why put it on your TBR if you know you won't read it?  Although I suppose never meaning to read a book and not having the time to read a book aren't all that different.

Currently, my TBR stack is at 3,705.  If I were to read 200 books per year (I actually did last year yay!!), then I would be reading for about 18.5 years.  Crazy stuff.  And even if I finish the pile, there will always be more added.  So how do you figure out which books are worth reading or not?  I mean, read a bunch of blogs and for sure read the 5 stars books but what if you want your own opinion on the book?  *sighs*  I just can't get past it.  I'm the kind of person that has to see for themselves if something is good or bad.  So even if a book is rated half a star, I really want to read it just see how terrible it really is.  Is that horrible of me?  I realize that every review is that reviewers opinion and I respect that entirely.  So what happens then? Do you just have to read all the books in the world or at least keep trying?

Do you have an uncontrolled TBR?  Or better yet, a controlled one?  How do you pick your next book and what to read or even what to put on your TBR?