My wheels started turning last week when I read a post by Allison over at The Book Wheel: This Is What Happens When You Purge Your Goodreads TBR.  In it, she lamented over the unwieldy size of her Goodreads "to-read" list (over 200 books), and decided to delete the whole thing and start over.

I was stricken by this, because I long ago abandoned my Goodreads TBR list.  At the time of Allison's post, my to-read list was at a whopping 1,084 books.  ONE THOUSAND AND EIGHTY FOUR.  To delete the whole thing sounded equally scandalous and liberating.

How did the list get to that astronomical point?  I started my Goodreads account in 2007, o-KAY, so give me a little leeway when I've been adding books to it for 9 years!  And for a long time, I found it useful.  I would troll it whenever I needed help picking a new book to read.  I used to make little goals like "try to read all the books I added to it in 2007" (done!).  I would carefully add only books that I REALLY wanted to read.

Then...I started this blog.  And things just got out of control.

Yeah like, way too many.

I used to be super good about keeping up with other book blogs (like, on the daily, remember those days??), and I would add ANY book to my Goodreads list that sounded even remotely decent.  I figured, better to keep it on the list even if I'm iffy about it, rather than forget about it, right?  Unfortunately, this threw my list into a state of madness to the point where I just stopped using it.  It wasn't helpful anymore.

After reading Allison's post, I considered starting over from scratch.  Delete it all, and begin again with only books I really want to read currently.  However, after looking over the list, I just couldn't do it.  There were too many that I still, now, REALLY wanted to read.  What I DID do is spend some serious time culling it.  I'm now down to 469 on the to-read list, still unmanagably large for some, but when I look at the list now, I see books that I actually do want to read...you know, when I have the time.  :)

Oh yeah, I have this.

But this also made me think about all the other types of TBR lists I pay attention to...

1. The "at home" TBR.  Meaning the 100+ unread books on my home shelves.  (Don't even talk about my Kindle.  If I can't physically see them, they're not there, right...)

2. My 30-before-35 TBR.  I do keep an eye on this list pretty consistently, I am chipping away at it!

3. Year-end "best of" TBRs.  Bloggers come out with all their lists of faves at the end of each year, and it makes me crazy as I try to read all the ones that sound right up my alley.  (Yeah, still trying to get to A Little Life.)

4. Prize list TBRs.  Every year I make grand proclamations like, "I'm going to read the entire Man Booker short list!" or "I'm going to read all the Tournament of Books selections!"  And every year I fail.  But it sure is fun to try!

Sure, many of these lists overlap.  But still...is it any wonder my Goodreads was past 1,000?

At the end of it all, I say: fill up those to-read lists, people.  Pack 'em full.  In the end, you'll always have a book to read, and that's what matters, yes?  :)

Readers, how many books are on YOUR Goodreads to-read list?  Or do you use another kind of TBR?  (Or do you fly by the seat of your pants with NO TBR??  I can't even imagine...)

Ah yes, here we are in the final week of Nonfiction November.  I must say, I have very much enjoyed this event!  It has rekindled my interest in nonfiction, and reminded me of the many, many nonfiction titles that are awaiting me on my shelves.  Definitely looking forward to participating again next year.

Current nonfiction reading status: I finished Tiny Beautiful Things by Cheryl Strayed last week (review coming soon!), and am currently reading The Race Underground by Doug Most.  I likely won't finish it before the end of the month, because it's quite long, but that will be my first nonfic post for December.

Anyway, let's talk about this week's topic!:
New to My TBR:  It’s been a week full of amazing nonfiction books! Which ones have made it onto your TBR? Be sure to link back to the original blogger who posted about that book!

Well, I didn't look at this week's topic until...right now, so I didn't keep very careful track of where I saw all these awesome nonfiction titles this month!  But I will do my best to give credit where credit is due.  Honestly, I don't have a ton of time to peruse other blogs these days anyway, so I will just highlight for you some of top nonfiction titles that are currently on my TBR list:

1. Five Days at Memorial by Sheri Fink
I first remember this book being mentioned long ago by Jennifer at The Relentless Reader.  Her review piqued my interest, and I've had this one on my radar ever since.  Tells the story of 5 days in a New Orleans hospital after Katrina.

2. Stiff by Mary Roach
This has been on my TBR almost as long as I've had a Goodreads account (a very long time).  The curious lives of human cadavers, eh?  Color me curious!

3. Wild by Cheryl Strayed
This book has been recommended about a billion times by...everyone, but after getting to know Strayed a bit in Tiny Beautiful Things, I really want to pick this one up soon and hear more of her story.

4. The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee
This one was recommended to me via Twitter by @MsRedPen (of Ms Red Pen's blog).  Goodreads says it "reads like a literary thriller with cancer as the protagonist."  Hmmmm.

5. The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
Another one that's been on my TBR since time immemorial.  I really enjoyed Larson's In The Garden of Beasts, so I am eager to check this one out as well.

I could sit here and write this list forever, so I'll just leave you with the first five that came to mind.

What's on your nonfiction TBRs these days?