I love reading books. It’s my favorite hobby. The thing I enjoy talking about the most.

And yet, the proportion of unread books on my bookshelves is insane.

Or, as I think Bilbo Baggins would have said –if he ever got a TBR pile the size of three hobbits–

I don’t read half of the books I want to read and what I want to read is half of what half of my books deserve. 

That’s the reason I started to analyze all those things that get in the way to finish my TBR –To Be Read– list. And why I have never been able to read all the books I own.

1. New releases. 

How am I expected to follow my planned reads if publishers keep bringing out new books all the time? I can never be sure about what I want to read the most, because suddenly I’ll see a new release that looks right up my alley and I’ll want to read it as soon as possible – to avoid spoilers! -. Please, book publishers, stop releasing new books for at least a year so I can keep up with my TBR list.

2. Upcoming movies based on a book

Sometimes a new book looks great and I know I might like it, but I try to be patient and finish the books I already bought. This is, until someone announces an upcoming movie. Just reading the headline that they are interviewing some actor or actress is enough to move a book to the first place on my list. Because if I ever hear about the lead actors or accidentally watch the trailer, the image will be stuck forever in my head, and I won’t get to imagine my own version of the story. And if I feel like watching the movie in theaters, I want to have read the complete series before, so I don’t get spoiled in any way.

3. Browsing second-hand shops

There are book series and authors that I’ve always wanted to read, but money and time have gotten in my way to fulfill my bookish dreams. But there are second-hand shops where money is not an issue and I can get most Stephen King novels for $1 and find the incomplete and mismatched Percy Jackson series for very cheap. And I don’t have the heart to reject such opportunities, so every once in a while I’ll come home with 20 new used books to add to my TBR pile -but it would have been a great deal-.

4. Discovering authors

This happens when I’m already doing great at keeping up with my TBR list. And while reading something from the pile I discover I really like an author and need to read MORE. This happened, for example, me the first time I read an Agatha Christie novel. I suddenly had to get and read her other novels too and before I could notice I was on a crime novel spree, getting more books, and adding them to the ever-growing pile.

5. Good old favorites

I’ve re-read the entire Harry Potter series more times than my first paperback copies could endure. But if I ever see someone is just starting the series, if I catch a glimpse of the movies on TV or simply remember a particular scene, I’ll be stuck re-reading the seven books again. I love going back to old favorites, but too frequently I’m caught up in nostalgia and spend days or weeks re-reading rather than reading something new.

And this is it. That’s why most books I own are unread and why I can never plan which book I’ll read next. Does this happen to you too? Tell me in the comments 🙂