Top Five Ways to
Choose a Book from Your TBR Pile
by R.L. Naquin
We all have them. Towers of unread books threatening to bury us alive. E-readers so bloated with files that we haven’t even had a chance to open them all yet, let alone read them.
You’ve finally got a moment to yourself, and you’re eager to get lost in another world. Is your pulse racing and your stomach queasy at the thought of having to make a choice? What will you do!? What. Will. You. Do?
Fortunately, I have some tips on how to quickly get started on a new book without wasting three hours skimming through the list.
1 - The Random Nose Dive
Close your eyes and jump. The jumping can be literal, if you have a pile of physical books, or figurative, if you have an e-reader. Oh, hell. Even if it’s an e-reader, you can still do a little jump in place while you’re flipping through with your eyes closed. Whatever you land on is the book you should read. No changing your mind. Just do it.
2 - The Plodder
Start at the top of the list (or pile) and read the first one. Again, no changing your mind. No vetoes. If you allow yourself to skip over the first one, you’ll likely skip over the next one, too, if only so you can see what other choices you have. No choices! Choices are paralyzing and waste good reading time!
3 - The Librarian
Choose whatever is first alphabetically and start there. This one is a little dangerous. First, you have to choose whether you’re going by author, title, or series. If you choose by title, are you counting words like “the” and “a,” or will you skip them and go straight to the meat of the title? If you’re choosing by author, are you alphabetizing by last name or first? The additional choices involved in this method may send you spiraling into that paralysis we’re trying to avoid, so it’s kind of an advanced method. Use with caution.
4 - The Artiste
Pick the prettiest cover. Seriously. Yeah, I know. We’ve all heard that judging a book by its cover is wrong, but it’s not a literal saying. It’s a metaphor about people. If we weren’t supposed to judge actual books by their covers, books probably wouldn’t have covers.
5 - The Procrastinator
Personally, this is my favorite method. Avoid the problem altogether and buy a new book. If you do this, though, you have to make an agreement with yourself to read the one you buy. You can buy just one. Sure. I know I can. (Somebody get my wallet. I have more books to buy.)
So, there you go. Five ways to choose which of your many unread books to start reading when you have a minute. But seriously. You know the real answer is to grab one of my books and avoid the whole problem, right?
Happy reading!
Find R.L. Naquin Online
Golem in My Glovebox
A Monster Haven Story, book four
In her role as Aegis, Zoey Donovan has rescued and cared for hundreds of monsters and mythical creatures. Now humans are the ones in need of her help. Someone with a personal vendetta against the Board of Hidden Affairs has kidnapped all the other Aegises in the country--including Zoey's mother.
With the Hidden government in shambles and a string of deadly clues to follow, Zoey and her reaper boyfriend set out on a cross-country chase to stop the kidnapper from killing the captured Aegises. Along the way, they pick up a miniature golem who's on a quest to find his humanity...and may be the key to solving the grisly clues.
If Zoey succeeds in defeating this new evil, she'll finally be reunited with the mother she lost over twenty years ago. But if she fails, she'll become the final victim.
Don't Miss Monster in My Closet, Pooka in My Pantry, and Fairies in My Fireplace, available now!
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