• Home
  • BOOKS
  • Coming Soon
    • About Roni
    • Press Kit
    • FAQ
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Blog
  • Classes & Coaching
  • Events
  • Contact
Menu

Roni Loren

Street Address
City, State, Zip
Phone Number
New York Times & USA Today Bestselling Author

Your Custom Text Here

Roni Loren

  • Home
  • BOOKS
  • Coming Soon
  • About
    • About Roni
    • Press Kit
    • FAQ
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Blog
  • Classes & Coaching
  • Events
  • Contact

The 2021 TBR Backlog Reading Challenge

December 28, 2020 Roni Loren
TBRChallenge.png

If you’ve followed me for a while, you know I love a reading challenge. Since 2014, I’ve done a challenge I created called the Read Wide Challenge (originally called the Push Your Boundaries challenge.) I’ve loved doing this challenge, and it’s worked!

My original goal for the challenge was to expand my reading horizons because I had gotten so homogeneous with my reading, only reading a select number of genres and types of books. I didn’t want to end up writing the same story over and over because I kept putting the same input in. I wanted to have a variety of fodder for my writing brain. And looking back over these last few years, I’ve really accomplished that using this challenge. Yay for it actually helping me achieve what I set out to do!

The completed challenge in my reading journal

The completed challenge in my reading journal

But…I realized that I’ve now hit the point of over-correction with this goal lol. Too many years of the same challenge in a row, I think. Of the 72 books I read in 2020, only about 10-11 are romance, which is kind of not great for my favorite genre, lol. Also this year, for the first time, I felt a little stressed about finishing the challenge. (I did but by the skin of my teeth.) I blame 2020 for some of that angst, but I don’t want to be stressed by a challenge. I want it to be fun.

So, I realized it was time for a fresh challenge. I love reading challenges so I don’t want to not do one this year, but I needed something new and different for 2021. I brainstormed on what that could look like and about what I wanted from my reading life this year. What goal would make me feel good and give me a satisfied feeling if I complete it by the end of the year?

I scrolled through my Goodreads account, seeking inspiration, and there it was, staring me in the face. The endlessly scrolling TBR pile. Some people have a TBR pile and some people have a TBR skyscraper. I’m one of the latter. I don’t add a book to my Goodreads TBR unless I own it. Currently, my Want to Read pile is…819 books. That seems ludicrous. At the rate of reading 70 books a year, it’d take me 11.5 years to get through it if I never bought another book. And y’all know I’m not going to stop buying books so…what to do?

Enter the 2021 TBR Backlog Reading Challenge.

When I scrolled to the bottom of my TBR and worked my way back up, I saw so many books that I really wanted to read but forgot I had. That recency effect is real. Plus, my memory is already crap so that’s working against me too. I felt bad for these neglected books just waiting to be read. Dusty and forgotten, filled with stories they want to tell and no one to listen. Yes, I’m anthropomorphizing my books, but you know what I mean.

So I decided I needed a challenge to tackle the TBR. I’ve tried this in a general, loose way before—i.e. making a goal to read more books I already own. But that didn’t stick. Loose doesn’t work for me (except in my writing process.) I need structure in a challenge. That’s why the Read Wide challenge has worked so well.

Therefore, here’s what I came up with…

The 2021 TBR Backlog Reading Challenge

Read Books Based on the Year Purchased or the Year Published to Find the Books You’ve Forgotten About

Have squares or checkboxes to fill in for the year in which you purchased a book, which is tracked on Goodreads. (You could also do this by publication year if you don’t have the record of when you purchased it. Goodreads has an option to sort by publication year.) The years are going to vary based on how far back your TBR pile goes. If it’s only a year or two, you can just have more boxes for those years. Mine starts on Goodreads in 2011, so I’m starting there and doing roughly 2 books per year purchased. That gives me flexibility to pick what I want since each year has a long list of options.

Optional Customized Columns for Whatever Part of Your TBR Needs Extra Attention

I like the idea of having a few customized columns that are specific to your TBR because often there are segments that need a little extra love. Like maybe there’s a series you’ve been meaning to finish. Or maybe you want to make sure you pay extra attention to choosing diverse reads from your TBR. Maybe you’ve purchased a ton of non-fiction but never seem to get to those books. Find those dusty corners where you can shine a spotlight.

For mine, I added columns to read at least 12 of my Book of the Month club books. I love Book of the Month club and have really enjoyed many of the books I’ve gotten through my membership over the past few years, but I buy extras from them almost every month so the backlog on those has gotten long too. I want to make sure I at least read a year’s worth in 2021 because I often discover new-to-me authors to love and are exposed to a variety of genres by the nature of their picks. So that’s what BOTM stands for in my last three columns.

DCD6325A-0B43-4BC2-A19A-11E06E85076C.jpeg

This chart can be expanded for however many you want to do, but I have kept the number relatively small for myself this year on purpose. To complete the challenge, I need to read 28 books as opposed to 42 for the Read Wide challenge, so it won’t monopolize my reading for the year. Since I usually read 60-70 books a year, this leaves me enough room for all the new shiny books and for chasing whims on whatever I’m in the mood to read at the moment. This is particularly important for me because I’m definitely a mood reader and that was hampered a little this year with my Read Wide challenge. So, it’s up to you to choose how few or how many you want in your challenge.

That’s it! Pretty straighforward. I’m excited. :) So, who’s with me?

Join in!

I can’t be the only one out there with a TBR skyscraper. If you want to join in, you can grab a blank template here that you can customize in Microsoft Word. It will look like the one below and will also include a list of suggested categories if you need to brainstorm the custom columns.

BA573DF6-8ABF-4EDA-AF93-803AA87CF3D1.jpeg

Hopefully, this will help us all discover some gems hidden in the pile. I’d love to hear if you’re going to give this a try. And if you do, check in every now and then and let me know if you’ve discovered any great books! I’ll try to do the same.

Happy reading and here’s to a hopefully better year in 2021!

P.S. Read Wide Challenge

For those of you who would like to continue doing the Read Wide Challenge instead or would like to give it a try for the first time, you can get all the info here and download last year’s template, which will work just as well this year! :)

In Books, Reading, Read Wide Challenge, Reading Journal, TBR Backlog Challenge Tags reading challenge, 2021, read wide challenge, push your boundaries challenge, TBR challenge, Read your TBR, TBR backlog challenge, reading, roni loren, 2021 goals, reading goals
← Does a DNF (Did Not Finish) Count for a Reading Challenge? My Top 5 Reads of 2020 + More Favorites to Stock Your Bookshelves →

LATEST RELEASE

The new edition is here! Find out more

Now available! Find out more!

Add to Goodreads


series starters

“Intelligent, sweet, and fun, this romance succeeds on all levels.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED review Find out more

“Intelligent, sweet, and fun, this romance succeeds on all levels.” —Publishers Weekly STARRED review Find out more

An Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, and Amazon Best Romance of the year Find out more

An Entertainment Weekly, Kirkus, and Amazon Best Romance of the year Find out more

Winner for Best Erotic Romance of the year! Find out more about the Pleasure Principle series

Winner for Best Erotic Romance of the year! Find out more about the Pleasure Principle series

The first in the long-running Loving on the Edge erotic romance series. Find out more

The first in the long-running Loving on the Edge erotic romance series. Find out more


 Subscribe

My Happy For Now Newsletter

Find me Online


free reading  journal!

A reading journal designed for romance readers!

A reading journal designed for romance readers! Free with newsletter sign-up.


Previous Posts
  • March 2025
  • November 2024
  • June 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • March 2023
  • January 2023
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • July 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • October 2020
  • August 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
Return Home

Powered by Squarespace

Site and text © 2008-2025 Roni Loren - Photos are either by the author, purchased from stock sites, or (where attributed) Creative Commons. Linkbacks, pins, and shares are always appreciated, but with the exception of promotional material (book covers, official author photo, book summaries), please do not repost material in full without permission.  And though I do not accept sponsored content for this site (all my recommendations are personal recommendations), there are some affiliate links. All Amazon and iBooks links are affiliate links.