I’ve been thinking a lot about how many books I buy and how many I read – starting somewhere in the middle of 2016, I’ve been keeping meticulous notes on my book expenses and so on. I also pulled unread books off our bookshelves and made one hell of a mess, then put most of them back again.
The bottom line is that I have a huge number of unread books languishing on my shelves while I fall prey to new shinies and spend too much money on books I really don’t need to read (like over-hyped YA fantasies or bad romances – cue Lady Gaga). I know my list isn’t nearly as long as that of other readers but it’s too long for me and I need to fix it because I really want to read these books!
So I decided to make this ultimate list of all the books I already own and want to read (we do own books that I haven’t read but have no intention of ever reading – like Moby Dick, purchased (and read) by my husband). And in 2017, I want to bring it down by … let’s say a half. These are books I genuinely want to read, not just those I think I ought to read, either. And it doesn’t include re-reads! A lot of them are huge fantasies (hello, Robin Hobb!) so I hope I’ll get some of them out of the way.
I’ve been putting some of them on my seasonal TBR lists (see summer, autumn, and winter), and I think I’ll keep doing that because it seems more manageable that way.
I’ll keep linking back to this post in each monthly recap to report on my progress – and I’m joining two reading challenges to keep myself motivated! And before you ask – YES, they are very similar but I’m joining both because I’m hoping more people looking at me fail with keep me accountable and on track.
The first is The Backlist Reader Challenge 2017 hosted by The Bookwyrm’s Hoard. The rules are really straightforward: the books that count towards the challenge must be published before 2016 and must already be on my tbr list or pile. Then I need to review the books I read and add them to the linky on Lark’s site.
The second is Beat the Backlist challenge hosted by NovelKnight. For this one, the books read must be published before 2017 (which is even more lenient) and I have to create a tbr list (see below). There’s also the option of joining the Hogwarts house cup mini challenge – go Gryffindor!
I’m probably going to read some e-books I already own that have been published before 2016/17 but I’m definitely focusing on cutting down my physical tbr pile. If I happen to buy (or get) more books to be put on this list, the ratio stays the same. I’ll figure it out as I go along.

The List (forgive me for not putting the titles in italics, I don’t have the patience for that):
- Tomorrow When the War Began by John Marsden
- Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf
- Dune by Frank Herbert
- Nikolikje by Neil Gaiman
- Dobra znamenja by Neil Gaiman
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte
- To noč sem jo videl by Drago Jančar
- Vreščji mojster by Walter Moers
- Več kot to by Patrick Ness
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
- Norveški gozd by Haruki Murakami
- The Book of Fairy and Folk Tales of Ireland
- Irish Folk and Fairy Tales
- The Secret Life of Words
- Ship of Destiny by Robin Hobb
- Best Served Cold by Joe Abercrombie
- Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
- Red Country by Joe Abercrombie
- Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norell by Suzanna Clarke
- The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
- Shaman’s Crossing by Robin Hobb
- Forest Mage by Robin Hobb
- Renegade’s Magic by Robin Hobb
- Fool’s Errand by Robin Hobb
- The Golden Fool by Robin Hobb
- Fool’s Fate Robin Hobb
- Fool’s Assassin by Robin Hobb
- Fool’s Quest by Robin Hobb
- Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier
- Friday Night Knitting Club by Kate Jacobs
- Un Secret by Philippe Grimbert
- The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood
- Lord of Chaos by Robert Jordan
- Castle in the Sky by Diana Wynne Jones
- Biographie de la faim by Amelie Nothomb
- Les Catilinaires by Amelie Nothomb
- Le Fait du prince by Amelie Nothomb
- Tuer le pere by Amelie Nothomb
- Antechrista by Amelie Nothomb
- Chercher le vent by Guillaume Vigneault
- Champagne by Monique Proulx
- Le Sexe des Etoiles by Monique Proulx
- Le Combat d’hiver by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
- Deviški samomori by Jeffrey Eugenides
- The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
- Laurus by Jevgenij Vodolazkin
The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima
Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich
e-books
- Labyrinth Lost by Zoraida Córdova
First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
- Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys
Us by Elle Kennedy and Sarina Bowen
- North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
I’m sure there are more but these are on the top of my digital tbr for now.
Read

I am also joining the Discussion Challenge, which was the best challenge I participated in last year. It’s hosted by Nicole at Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon at It Starts at Midnight and involves writing discussion posts. It’s a great one for building your community and meeting lovely new bloggers who have something to say!
I’m trying for the category called Creative Conversationalist, which means I’ll be writing at least eleven discussions this year. Let’s do this!

Have you read any of these? Which one should I pick up first?
Are you joining any reading challenges this year?
I’d love to hear from you! :)
Let’s be friends: email – bloglovin’ – twitter – instagram – goodreads.