This is month four of my TBR list making. In March I tried categories and it was a bust. So when April rolled around I went back to something I haven’t done in a long time, a list of actual book titles. That seemed to work and I had a lot of success with it. At the beginning of each month, I create a new TBR list and  I have been reading based off those books and I’m kind of loving it.

Here is a look at how June went for me:

June wasn’t the best for me in terms of the number of books read, but I’m okay with that. I read two fantastic books, A Heart So Fierce and Broken and Field Notes on Love, so that makes up for not reading as many as I would have liked. (Side note: I am about 40% done with The Best Lies)

My July reading list has me super excited! There seems to be a royalty theme going on and I don’t hate it. But what I’m really excited for? Vow of Thieves by Mary Pearson which will be my next book after I finish The Best Lies. And the “surprise book” listed is a book that I may read but I don’t want to say anything in case I hate it and it disappoints people. HA

What do you do for a monthly TBR? Do you stick to a list or wing it? Share in the comments.

This is month three of my TBR list making. In March I tried categories and it was a bust. So when April rolled around I went back to something I haven’t done in a long time, a list of actual book titles. That seemed to work and I had a lot of success with it. Figured why not and tried it for May. May was also a success. If you don’t believe me, take a look:

Okay so it is a little deceiving since I DNFd two of the books, but I completed 8 of them and finished the long book I was reading in April. To me, this was a success and in the grand scheme of things that’s all that matters.

Since this seems to be working it is time to share my June TBR. This one is a tad different because I have two wild card categories. The reason for this is I’m hoping to get a couple of books I requested this month and if I do they will slide right into those spots. So not really wild cards since I know the titles, but I don’t want to get my hopes up too much. We shall see.

What do you do for a monthly TBR? Do you stick to a list or wing it? Share in the comments.

The past couple of months I have been trying new ways to organize my monthly reading. I guess these aren’t really new since I used to do them all the time, but they feel new because it’s been a while. In March I decided to go back to the category reading. I was somewhat successful, but I felt a little limited which was strange because the categories were broad. But it just didn’t feel right so I decided to try something else in April, something I haven’t done in a long, long time.  I took 11 titles that sounded exciting to me and decided that would be my April reading list.

   
*currently about half-way through We Hunt the Flames

To be honest I wasn’t sure how it would go. Like I said, I did this once, a long time ago before I became a mood reader. But I also felt like I had enough variety on my list that I could attempt it. And I knew I had more books on it than I would actually get through so I did have some choice. Was I successful? Personally, I consider it a win. So much, in fact, I am doing it again (after I finish We Hunt the Flames) in May.

What do you do for a monthly TBR? Do you stick to a list or wing it? Share in the comments.

Back in early March, I discussed how I was going to try and go back to a modified version of my TBR list for 2015.  It had been so long since I have done a TBR category list and I realized how out of practice I was. Things definitely didn’t go as planned for me but it was a fun exercise. Will I do it again? I’m not sure. It is possible I outgrew that style of reading. But here is what I read for each category in March:

This book ended up being a DNF. You can find out more HERE, but I wasn’t able to get past page 83.

Originally this was going to be a different book since my tour stop for Love from A to Z isn’t until the end of April, but there was a change of plans and I’m so happy I read this one early.

In truth, I could have used a few different books in this category, but this reread and March release fit perfectly.

This was an entertaining read. It was quick and fun. Nothing special, but fun nonetheless.

I started this one in February but finished in March so I’m going to say it counts. 🙂

This book happened to come in from the library and I devoured it and loved, loved, loved it. One of my favorite Christina Lauren books.

These are the two categories I didn’t hit in March. I guess I could use a few books in the Purchased category, but they fit in others so this will go unfilled.

Like I said, it was a fun exercise but I don’t know if I will do it every month.

Did you try a TRB list in March? How did it go?

*click on the book covers for more information on each book.

I have been thinking about my TBR a lot. Lauren had asked me about my TBR lists that I had done back in 2015. That led me to an old blog post of mine and to Lauren’s recent post about a TBR. It made me remember what I loved about categories since I have become a mood reader. I did this system for a year and a half and I really enjoyed myself and was able to get some books of my TBR and ensure I got blog tour and ARCs read as well. It worked for me until it didn’t.

Well, recently there was a template on Instagram stories. The template was for a follower to enter a number into your question box and then I had to post a coordinating book on my Goodreads TBR shelf that matched that number. I had 22 people play along and out of those 22 people about 18 of them ended up reminding me of books I had wanted to read that I had long forgotten about. When the question was done I realize one important thing…my TBR is neglected. I have new shiny-itis, and I need to stop and rail it in. There are so many books out that I have just forgotten about and I need to remember myself to be better.

So today, I bring you my new version of my TBR category list. My notebook (although I love it and loved flipping through it when I was creating this post) is a thing of the past. I am going to follow Lauren’s lead and do categories similar to what she is using but that are more fitting for my blogging/reading style and needs.

There will be 8 categories a month with anything over the 8 complete freebies. If I read less than 8 books, I’m looking at you February, so be it. Life happens and you deal.

New to Me: My monthly feature where I read a book some have suggested and you all vote on.
Blog Tour: Something I willingly sign-up for whether is it with a blog tour company, and author, or a publisher. Some months there may be two for this category, some months I may not need to do any.
Netgalley/Edelweiss: All the eARCs I have accumulated over the years. Spoiler alert…there are a lot
Kindle Unlimited: I subscribe to this Amazon service and I want to try and get my monies worth if I can.

TBR #: I’m going to try and read some of those long forgotten books discovered by the Instagram Stories Template
ALA/BEA: I have been to a couple BEAs and a couple ALA and have a lot of books from both. I’m going to try and read some of those long forgotten gems.
Purchased: This is the category I can get the new shiny win because it will likely be a new release and I can read it here.
Wild Card: I can pick a duplicate of any of these categories

Honestly I have no idea if this is going to work for me. I’m going to  try it for a month or two and see what happens. I could have outgrown a TBR list in the years since I stopped doing it. What I do know is I need to try and see what will work once again.

Do you have a TBR list? How do you figure out what to read every month?