The Unread Shelf 2020

I have never participated in The Unread Shelf. But just when my frustration with my overflowing bookshelves had peaked, I ran across its concept on #bookstagram. It was like kismet – exactly the solution I was looking for!

Over the course of this year, I’m going to focus on the books I already own. The books I bought with every intention of reading, but quickly got disctracted by the shiny new books instead. Not only do I want to clear my bookshelves a little bit, the books that are sitting there currently are books I acutally want to read!

In full disclosure, I will still be adding some books to my shelf. I have a few partnerships with publishing companies and I will continue to honor those relationships. Also, I have credits with Book of the Month so I’ll still pick some books from them (although I am going to try to be pickier with my selections and only pick books I really, really want to read)! Along the same lines, I have a paid subscription to Books Are Magic which my husband purchased for me so I will get those books monthly as well. Lastly, I got a few gift cards to Barnes & Noble for Christmas and I will save those for those books I have severe #fomo over!

As you can see, there’s absolutely no reason for me to actually be buying books – I get plenty as it already is! It’s kind of ridiculous when I think about it, so this is a great option for me!

For the first assignment, Whitney had us count up the unread books currently on our shelves. Between physical books and my Kindle, I have 417 unread books! I was floored! Ugh. That number feels overwhelming and ridiculous; time to start tackling it!

Every month, Whitney has challenges to participate in and January’s challenge is to read any unread book from our shelves. My book selection for this category is:

The Garden of Small Beginnings by: Abbi Waxman

In addition to the monthly challenge, there are also tasks to complete. Besides counting the total unread books on our shelves, we are to make a Top 10 TBR list for the year. Here is my Top 10 TBR:

• The Simple Wild by: K.A. Tucker
• The Overstory by: Richard Powers
• Home Fire by: Kamila Shamsie
• A Prayer For Travelers by: Ruchika Tomar
• The Gown: A Novel of the Royal Wedding by: Jennifer Robson
• Bowlaway by: Elizabeth McCracken
• Dominicana by: Angie Cruz
• The Wolf Wants In by: Laura McHugh
• The Affairs of the Falcóns by: Melissa Rivero
• The Astonishing Color of After by: Emily X.R. Pan

Additionally, there is a book buying and library BAN for the month – no book buying and/or library books all month long! I LOVE this…and was caught redhanded because I’d already checked out some library books. Back they went, and if I still want to read them in February, I’ll recheck them out. Every other month this ban will be in effect; I like this idea and I’m going to follow it!

Lastly, because these books are already bought and paid for and my ultimate goal is to decrease the amount of books on my shelves, I am not going to suffer through a book that isn’t working for me. I will DNF with no apologies.

If you’re like me, the thought of a cleaner library is exhilerating. I’d love to hear if you’re participating in the #unreadshelf project so we can cheer each other on!