Let's all take a deep, cleansing breath, shall we? Another year is gone and a brand new year is upon us. If you joined me yesterday in looking back at what I read in 2023, you know that I read more quantitatively than I ever have before.
And to be honest? It felt like it. A bit overloaded, borderline frantically trying to hit my secret goal each month. I read a lot of great books. I enjoyed re-reading my Christy Millers. Becoming a more frequent library patron was fun. But as I looked over what I'd read, I felt bummed about the books I didn't get to.
What?!
It's time for a reset. I've decided to bring back an idea that seems like a lot of fun, but didn't work very well for me on the first go-around.
That's right. We're bringing back the TBR Jar. I toyed around with this concept in 2019, but it didn't go very well. I tried to do too much. I made myself a list, I attempted my first online reading challenge, and I threw in the idea of this TBR Jar, and I ultimately only drew one title out of it all year long. So I scrapped it. But I still love the idea of drawing a title at random and letting fate guide my reading life. I went through my shelves and wrote down hundreds of titles that I haven't gotten around to reading yet and threw them all in the jar. (Or bucket as my brother laughingly called it when he saw it.) I made myself a teeny tiny skeleton list, á la 2021, to stay on track with my presidents and Shakespeare, but for everything else, I'll either be plucking a slip of paper from the Jar or cozying up with a favorite re-read (and—let's be real—probably a few books from the library). It ought to be real interesting, and I'm excited to see where the winds take me in 2024. Here's the skeleton list:
Franklin Pierce : Michael F. Holt
President James Buchanan : Philip Shriver Klein
The Merchant of Venice : William Shakespeare
Timon of Athens : William Shakespeare
Cody and I have also chosen a few books we'd like to read aloud together, and I'll be reading through the New International Version of the Bible this year too. I'd like to get through about 24 books in 2024. There are several doorstops in the TBR Jar (like Les Mis, War and Peace, Moby Dick to name a few) so aiming for about two books a month seems like the most reasonable goal. We'll see what happens though. It's time to slow down and settle back in to a cozier reading rhythm and I'm looking forward to it.
Cheers to you and cheers to 2024!
Do you like to make resolutions at the beginning of a new year?
LOVE it. Fingers crossed for War and Peace!!
ReplyDeleteWhat kind of paper did you use? Are the slips of paper all the same size/consistency? Did some titles get a few extra slips??
Oh boy! I'm sincerely hoping that I only draw one or two of the hefty classics. Most of the paper is just regular printer paper, but the colorful slips are more of a sturdy cardstock that are leftover scraps from different scrapbooking endeavors. Each title is only in the Jar once. And I only chose one book per author, so there's not like, 20 books by Charles Dickens in there. (I think I chose Oliver Twist for the Dickens.) Before I draw anything out of the Jar though, I'm finishing up the books I already have in progress.
DeleteHow many books do you have in progress?
DeleteAt the start of the year I had 4, but I'm down to 2!
DeleteYay for the TBR jar! As you know, I was inspired by your TBR jar and made one of my own. I picked my first slip of paper last week and it was "a book that's been on your shelf for longer than a year." I chose "Questioning Evangelism" by Randy Newman (I think that's his name). Can't wait to see what you end up drawing from yours!!
ReplyDeleteI love your idea of making a TBR Jar full of prompts instead of actual titles! Such a fun idea, and I'm invested in your journey as well. 💛
DeleteYes!!! Definitely better to go on a journey with a friend :)
Delete💛💛
DeleteThe jar idea is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteRight?! Hopefully it works out better this time around. 😂
DeleteYesssss! I did a TBR jar in 2023 and it was *so* much fun. So much so that I've decided to level up in 2024 and invested in a bingo wheel. Instead of just drawing a slip from a jar, every ball in my bingo wheel corresponds with a book on my shelf, and each book I read and review is going to be chosen from that.
ReplyDeleteYes! You inspired me to try it again! And your bingo wheel looks so fun!
DeleteBig fan of the jar. Chaos and spontaneity!!
ReplyDeleteI'm excited about it! I still haven't used it yet because I'm finishing books I started last year 🤣🤣 but once I start, I feel like it will be addicting. This may be something I just always keep in the library for when I need a pick-me-up.
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