The Biggest Problems With A Zero TBR Challenge

[@BinxThinx]

Thank you for this! I’m currently doing a tbr zero challenge and felt sooo guilty after my birthday month 🫠 such a great idea to “pause” the challenge during holiday seasons

[@Joyfulcuriosity]

I was burned out from reading for a while, but I’m slowly finding my way back to it. My tbr sits at around 100 books currently. I have gotten to the habit of reading every book I buy immediately when I buy it, but I still have quite a backlog. My most important rule is that I need to read every book I buy immediately when I buy it, if I don’t want to read it now, I should not want to buy it now. I have bought so many classics second hand that still sit unread on my shelves, because it’s a book you should read at one point, though I do regularly read classics. However at the moment I seem to only want to read sci-fi and fantasy, so it’s a good thing I have many to choose from. For me I won’t ever run out of books I want to read. I have a really good library close by with a nice selection so technically I don’t need to own as many books as I do because the library has them. Regarding sustainability, the most sustainable thing is to not buy anything. So that’s one huge pro with a zero tbr challenge, but what no one talks about is that the second most sustainable thing is that when we want to buy a book we buy it used if possible. The reason thrift stores are overflowing is because we keep adding new things into circulation at a much faster rate than they break down. I have bought a few books new this year, but the vast majority of my books are used. I actually grew bored of reading challenges after a year or two of being obsessed with them. I guess they contributed to my reading burnout, I felt there was always the pressure to read more and more all the time. I try to follow my moods now and not force myself to read something for the sake of a prompt or challenge. It’s very freeing. I still track my read books in StoryGraph, but I don’t keep a tbr. The books I have are the ones I own and if I see something I want I can buy it if I will read it immediately, same goes for library books. I allow myself library books so I can follow whims, but only one at a time.

[@pixelated4046]

I usually save up my unhauled books till i have a little pile and then my friend and i swap unhauled books, then we sort out the books we no longer want and donate those either to a free little library or a second hand shop. But it gives us both a chance first to look at the books we are getting rid of and checking if the other wants it

[@margaret_adelle]

That's a great way to do it! Its like you have your own mini No Buy group.

[@mariadamore1963]

99% of my book buying comes from a local library book sales they have throughout the year. They're also the ones I give my unhauls to. I don't think they get rid of unsold books when it's time to close up for the year (winter) but now I have to ask!

[@TangibleReads]

Reading and buying are definitely too things and for big book buyers it is so hard. You need sticky notes around the house, saying no no no. I like your plan of attack, down 2 before you get more. However, if someone gives you one it should not count. I love free books.

[@juliehughes1258]

This vlog has been so informational. Some of the utter CRAP I've seen in LFLs has really made me angry. I know that's bad because I realize that may be the only book some people can donate, but there you go. I like two books read before one book comes in. And I've had some unread books on my Kindle for years and I can cull those as well. I want to try this because I have 201 books on my TBR, and thankfully nobody is sending me any ARCs. Thank you, Margaret.

[@JulianneBenford]

Thanks so much for this! I recently started my zero TBR challenge and I’m currently reading all my book box books, but after that I want to do themed challenges and that’s such a good point about running out of books that fit challenges! I think I’ll have to reverse engineer it and look at what categories my books fit into.

[@margaret_adelle]

Glad I could help! It wasn't a challenge I was expecting when I started, tbh.

[@JulianneBenford]

@@margaret_adelle When you have soooo many books it's hard to fully imagine what it will be like at the end!

[@annettep28]

Completely off topic, but your neclace is very nice and suits you.