Backlist Book Blues

Every year, I pull out 20+ books from my book cart and shelves of books I’ve been meaning to read but just haven’t put them at the top of my list.

It’s not the book’s fault. As a reader, I am easily distracted by new and shiny things…aka: new releases. So then the end of the year comes and not only have I hardly read any backlist books…but I have now added to the pile. And it feels endless and impossible. Too many books is not a bad problem by any means but I really wanted to read all of them- new and old!

I have greatly slowed my roll from purchasing every book that catches my eye and instead, I try to utilize my library as much as possible and NetGalley. There are plenty of times that a book comes in and I am not really “ready” for it, but I know I only have 2-3 weeks, so I make time for it. So I thought I might use this method for my backlist books- simply, make time for them

This year, I decided to aim for one backlist book a month. I picked out 12 that I wanted to read the most, stacked them in the front of my book cart and am leaving it to my mood to pick one of the 12 each month.

For January, I choose You Think It, I’ll Say It by Curtis Sittenfeld. It’s a collection of essays that I purchased a few years ago with the intent to read “right away!” but here it sits. I was DELIGHTED (and relieved) to find that I LOVED the book and it was a mistake to have put it aside for so long.

But I did it! One down and 11 backlist books to go!