Reducing My TBR Pile || Zero TBR Challenge Update and Reset for 2023 - Plans, Stats, and Strategy

My goals for my zero TBR challenge have fallen apart, so I had no choice but to reset the challenge, shame myself, and try to get back on track! My physical TBR is enormous and I think I own too many books, so for 2023 I'm challenging myself to reduce my TBR. I have a lot of ideas for how to do that, so expect to see lots of book unhauls, reading vlogs, and challenge videos over the course of the year.

WATCH NEXT:

Equipment (affiliate links)

FIND ME:

Who am I?

My name is Amber, I am 29 years old, and I have been on Booktube for 12 years. I have always loved reading, and I have very eclectic reading tastes. I think we're calling this "omnivorous" reading now, which is funny as I'm a vegetarian! I read between ten and twenty books a month, and I like to read thrillers, fantasy, science fiction, and almost everything else. I post videos on Booktube two or three times a week, and I love to post TBR videos, challenge videos, and readathon vlogs.

[gill]

I'm also on a mission to reduce my TBR, but keep getting derailed by library books 😂

I think I'm at 85 on my spreadsheet but I think a couple extra have slipped onto my shelves when i wasn't looking. Goal of getting to 30 by the end of the year.

[annegc]

Hi Amber, It's been a long time since I've been here last! My TBR is now 333 books. Since mid December I've been doing a "Read 5 phisical tbr books, Get 1 new book". I've read 16 books so far and I've gotten in total 8 (oops!) But we are bringing down the owned pile steadily. The results are still very good.
Good luck

[cecethompson]

Reading books and buying books are can be two different addictions. Unfortunately, I engage in my book buying addiction at a faster rate than my reading addiction.

[ChloeReadsBooks]

I always find this inspirational, because I know I'm having basically the same problems! My strategy is definitely "why not" too!
I'm currently at 434 books on my physical TBR and it's a goal of mine to reduce it every month... but instead it seems to keep climbing up!

[thewannabegamer]

I used to be addicted to buying books. But once I tried reading the books that I was buying, I realized that I didn’t like them and that I didn’t even know what kind of books I liked to read. I’ve now prioritized reading what I actually want to read and getting my books from my library. I also pretty quickly dnf anything that doesn’t catch my interest. I haven’t bought a book in almost a year. Yes there are ones that I’ve read that I want to own, but overall I’d rather take the time to know if I want to buy it than to take the chance on an author or genre I don’t even know I’ll like.

Putting all that aside, my tbr is still huge and I’ve been slowly getting through it. 😂

[Coolkaelyn]

Omg I totally relate! It's so hard to bring down your TBR but way too easy to increase it lol. No idea what my TBR number is probably around 200 (not including audio/ebooks)? So watching your video made me feel a bit better. Good luck on this challenge!!

[jess.janisse]

Yes! I love the reading sprints! Personally, I prefer a very low TBR. I got it down to zero during 2020 and have been maintaining it the last few years.

[EmilyHall]

I'm trying to get mine way down! basically to zero or close to it. I have the same problem- I want to be able to read books super quickly while my interest is highest, and i think the best way for me is to have just a super low physical tbr then turn to my library/ebook collection/audiobook collection/scribd for next reads haha. best of luck though!

[marleens]

Always love these videos! I think it’s a great idea to just start over with your goal and you have some good strategies in mind so I believe in you!
Mine is currently at 58 books which is exactly the same number as the start of the year 🤷🏻‍♀️ At least I didn’t go up!

[cerilouisereads]

My TBR is actually decreasing so far this year!!! I think the incentive of having less boxes to move in the summer is helping….

[Ellen_Mercy]

I love the sprints with you and Justine, would love to see a return of those. Good Luck with this 💛

[angiefaye]

I have a small physical TBR, like 25 books. My goal each year is to read as many as I haul. I use my library and the Libby app for most books. I'm actually planning to read 7 books from my physical TBR in April when I normally only read 2 from it a month. I want to get ahead of my buying.

[laceywiththebooks]

I've actually been doing a great job so far this year of reading from my owned TBR. I love the idea of tracking my progress in this way! I also like the idea of having a lot of books to choose from... but yeah... a smaller TBR would be great! Lol. Good luck to you! Excited to see how it goes!

[DeadGoodBookReviews]

As someone who *could* probably manage a zero TBR this year if I really focussed up part of the problem is that thing where the books that sit on the TBR for way too long usually sit there because I'm not actually looking forward to reading them and so I put them off for ages! My tastes change or I'm not in the mood and they stagnate on the pile. I think I'l going to dedicate some time to getting those kind of 'roadblock' books off my TBR either by focussing up and reading them or deciding I just need to let them go!

[christinacampbellbooks]

Looking forward to following you on this journey, Amber. I haven't read a single book from my physical TBR this year! Just been reading library books. I'm having a great time with it though ☺

[Maritzen]

I have tried to reduce my TBR pile before but I keep buying books - and I buy faster than I read 😆 My number of books is about 360-365 and I would like the number to be close to 100. So I would like to start with you and try to do better this time 🙂

[ABookFiendNamedMel]

This video inspired me to count my physical TBR and it’s 193, which I’m a little concerned about! Definitely want to try to reduce this number this year!

[BethR-vfne]

TBR is 290+. I’m not too rushed to finish it though, because I know it will always be added to, especially since I have a goal to read through my public library.

[melissajackson]

Mine is shamefully over a tad 700. I read 146 books last year and they were all library books or scribd…kindle. This year I’ve read 35 and guess nothing I own. I joke I should check out books that I own so maybe actually read stuff like bought.

[ravensandblots]

This made me go and count my TBR and I’m sitting at 538- which is about 138 more then what I’m comfortable with- so I guess that’s what I need to focus on this year for sure! 😂😳