Tuesday 6 February 2018

6 Reasons A Book on Your TBR Gets Neglected

Somewhere under the never ending pile of books, there comes an end. The books at the bottom of this pile have been neglected for newer, shinier books, forgotten by their owners as the pile stacks higher. There are many reasons certain books are neglected, and I am here to list the crimes and the culprits. (This is an updated version of a post I wrote two years ago.)


Crime 1: Distracted by New Releases/Hype
Description: These books have been on my TBR forever because I get distracted very easily by shiny new books, especially if everyone is talking about them. These books haven't got a lot of attention, therefore I end up forgetting them.
Culprits:


Crime 2: Intimidated by the Hype
Description: When a book is very hyped I get intimidated and neglect these books. This is especially the case with the following books, where I wasn't on the hype train very early on, and now all the love has built up and I am scared of the legacy.
Culprits:


Crime 3: Hiding on the Kindle
Description: Almost half of my TBR is made up of books that are hiding on my Kindle. It's the classic case of if I can't see it, I forget about it. Stardust has been on my Kindle for over 3 years, and the other two are E-ARCs I never read because I'm terrible.
Culprits: 


Crime 4: Intimidated by the Size
Description: When a book is over 400 pages I'm always hesitant. That's a lot of dedication! The problem is worse when the book is heavy or a hardcover, because I have a tendency to drop books on my face, and that significantly increases that risk.
Culprits:


Crime 5: Waiting Ages for the Sequel
Description: This crime is one that is in no way my fault. When I finish a book I adored I automatically add the sequel to my TBR, and the sequels to Aristotle and Dante and Vicious have been on the list the longest.
Culprits:
There Will be Other Summers by Benjamin Alire Saenz
Vengeful by V.E. Schwab


Crime 6: Intimidated by the Sequel
Description: A year is a long time to wait between books, and I forget a lot in that time. I'm more of a series marathoner, so some of the earlier books in these series' are likely in need of re-reads just so I understand what is happening in the next book.
Culprits: 


What of these 6 is your biggest crime? Can you think of any other reasons why books end up being on your TBR for really long?

This post was inspired by the prompt 'Books That Have Been On My TBR the Longest and I Still Haven’t Read' on Top 10 Tuesday, hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.

20 comments:

  1. Awesome list! I've read Shiver and I loved it!

    Here’s my TTT !

    Ronyell @ Rabbit Ears Book Blog

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    1. Thank you! I love Maggie Stiefvater and I've heard good things about that series so I look forward to it!

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  2. I can't pick one of these six, because I'm equally guilty of them all!

    If I'm starting a series, I have to either read it really slowly so that all of the sequels have been released, or I need to wait for them all to be out... And then get intimidated by the length of the series and avoid it anyway.

    I'm really good at remembering which books I have from NetGalley on my Kindle, but as soon as it comes to remembering which books I've actually bought? Nope. Nada. I have so many books in both physical and e-copy because my brain is a sieve.

    Great list :)

    Here's my TTT!

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    1. Same here - I think my guilt is evenly spread across these 6 as well!

      I can definitely relate to that! It's so difficult to find a balance between reading books when they come out or waiting for them to all be out because both can lead to avoiding starting/continuing the series.

      I'm generally good with NetGalley books too (the ones I listed were from when I first discovered NetGalley and requested everything). I've started making a list of the books I've bought on my Kindle because once they're bought I totally forget about them as well. Hopefully our sieve brains will get to reading more of these hidden books soon!

      Thanks :D

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  3. I get intimidated by the hype for certain books, too.

    Here is our Top Ten Tuesday.

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    1. It's such a shame because I'm sure a lot of them are amazing as people say! I just dont want to be disappointed :')

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  4. This is a great list! I love your spin on the topic. All of your reasons are SO TRUE. (especially size) (and hype) (and intimidated by sequels)

    Here's my TTT!

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    1. Thank you! I'm glad you could relate to my TBR struggles :D

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  5. oh yes, #1 & #2 is my most crime. I read a lot of book blogs so one book can be talked about during the same period that I couldn't ignore. also, I find that the more popular a book is, the more likely the review is saying it's a great book and most of the time, the hype is justified but sometimes it's not.

    I don't have a e-reader but if I do, there will definitely be a tons of unread books there

    I used to get intimidated by the size of a book but now I'm not. thanks to book series, size isn't even an issue. when you think about how a long a book series is and bind them into a book, it would be ten times as large as any long book so long books don't intimidate me but long series does.

    they really should just release book series in its completion. it's one reason I like to read completed series instead of starting the unfinished ones. but then again, even when a series is finished, the author or perhaps the publisher find another excuse to add another book which is sometimes good and sometimes not.

    have a lovely day.

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    1. Hype makes things so difficult! Normally I find that the hype is well deserved so I want to read the hyped book, but the fear that it won't makes me avoid it. And then when I read too many hyped books I neglect the others - it's a vicious cycle.

      Long series' definitely intimidate me more than standalone books too. I've found I've been reading more solo books because of this but I'd like to read more series' - they're just all so long! Sometimes I wait until the series has ended but other times I'm too excited so read them as they are released and then forget what happens in between each book.

      Hope you have a lovely day too!

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  6. I don't have a Kindle, so #4 isn't applicable to me but the rest totally are! I think the big books one is the one that is most me, I only have time to read big books three months out of the year, so they tend to pile up but the other 4 are definitely reasons I've put off books too!
    My TTT: https://jjbookblog.wordpress.com/2018/02/06/top-ten-tuesday-145/

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    1. Big books are probably my biggest one too - I could read 3 books in the time it takes to read one of them! But they definitely start to pile up.

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  7. I hope you get a chance to read these soon! I am guilty of every one of these crimes. All The Light We Cannot See is an awesome book, though. I love that one.

    Aj @ Read All The Things!

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    1. Thanks, me too! I've heard wonderful things about All The Light We Cannot See. I actually started reading it ages ago and really liked it, but I was in the middle of exams so I never had the chance to finish. I'm hoping to get to it this year!

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  8. Except the kindle part, I can relate with all of this. Especially the part about being terrified by the hype. That`s why I`m behind with most popular YA fantasy series.

    Carmen`s Reading Corner

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    1. I feel exactly the same. There are so many YA fantasy series' I want to read because of how great everyone says they are, but a series is a big commitment (so many books!) and you have to hope the hype wasn't misleading.

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  9. Yes! For me, the hype and the size definitely make me hesitate. I think the book that has been on my TBR the longest (ever since I made a GR account) is one by Stephen King, which is almost 700 pages long.

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    1. Those are two of the biggest factors for me too. From what I've seen Stephen King likes to write big books - it's part of the reason I've never picked one up. That and I cannot deal with horror! It's cool that so many non bookish people pick up his books though despite their size! It makes me feel like I ought to read them, but I know I'd just add one to my TBR and let it linger there forever! I hope you get to it one day :D

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  10. Ah, Code Name Verity has been hiding on my Kindle for about 2 years now. I SWEAR, I do want to read it! I just never get round to searching for it.

    I often get out a whole lot of books from the library but only end up reading a few. Sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a particular story -- like if I know it's something which will require a lot of emotional energy and I'm super tired, I'll just return it and maybe take it out another time. I agree, long books are pretty intimidating, and I do put off reading in particular various sci fi and fantasy books for that reason.

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    1. I always end up doing that! Even having super organised Kindle folders is no help - the books always hide away from me.

      I also get books out of the library that I don't end up reading all the time as well! Last time I took out 6 books and read 0 haha. I can relate with some books feeling like they'd be too much emotional energy - sometimes I just want a book that will be easy to read and doesn't require too much investment, which is why I've started to read a lot more contemporary than I used to. Sci-Fi and Fantasy books are always the ones I put off because so often they are a 3+ book series and there's just no time!

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