The Nightstand

                                                               

The nightstand beside my bed holds all my most important things. Nope, they don’t all fit in the drawer. One is way too big for that. Have you guessed what it is? It’s my To-Be-Read pile. Right now my tbr is out of control. It has fifteen books. These are actual paperbacks. This is not counting all the books I have on my computer which probably numbers well into the hundreds. I try to be good but these damn authors keep writing amazing books that I just have to read.

I never used to have a TBR pile. I would only read the books I really wanted. I would spend every night reading several books. The weekends would be devoted to more reading. Then I started talking to all these new-to-me authors and their books always sound so good that I have to run and buy them. This is how my pile overtook my nightstand. Don’t get me wrong. I love my books and free books are even better. Some people collect shoes or clothes. I collect books. It is no wonder the eye doctor looks at me strange when I have to go and get my prescription adjusted. He asks me if I read a lot and when I say yes, he asks how much and I tell him nine to fifteen books a week. He always just looks at me like I stepped off an alien spaceship.  

There are a couple more reasons my TBR pile is insane. One is that I am one of those people who likes to go back and visit my old friends in books. I probably read a couple of my favorites a week. To me, it is like calling your bestie just to chat. Sometimes it is fun just to hear an old friend’s story. I couldn’t tell you how many times I have read some of my Sherrilyn Kenyon, Sophie Oak, Sandra Hill, Hannah Howell and Melissa Schroeder books. Let’s just say I am glad that I have some of them on my computer so I don’t  have to keep buy multiple copies of my paperbacks.

Another big reason is, sometimes, I go into a reading funk. Maybe I am the only one who has these kinds of days. I want to read but nothing interests me. These days make me sad. If I find myself in a funk then I don’t even try to read. I know I won’t give the book the attention it deserves. On these days, I try to watch some television or listen to music or even do the dreaded cleaning that my apartment always seems to need. Sometimes, it works. Sometimes, it doesn’t.

Now that we have started this blog, I have taken to writing something and hoping it will trigger the need to read. It doesn’t always work either. I have never found a surefire way to fix my book funk, I am sorry to say. I wish I could. So there are days that I don’t even pick up a book or even look at my pile. This is a nightmare to a voracious reader. I don’t know what starts the funk either. I sometimes think it is because I have read books that are similar to other books and that my brain just thinks that they are all starting to blend together. I just normally step back and hope that the funk doesn’t last long.

A reading funk doesn’t stop me from buying more books and that just makes my tbr pile even larger. I recently moved and my nephew freaked out when he saw 35 cases of books that had to be carried downstairs and to the new apartment.  Now I have a walk in closet full of books and my nightstand is dying under the weight of my to be read pile.

So how big is your to be read pile? Is there a reason your pile is out of control or do you keep it down to a certain number?

Sinfully Sarcastic,

Shmuttmeister