Monthly TBR’s Stress Me Out! || What I’m Doing to Enjoy Reading Again!

6/21/2023

I used to make monthly TBR’s for myself. But I quickly found out that this was stressing me out so much that I wouldn’t read at all. Today, we’re going to discuss why it stresses me out and what I’m doing to break myself out of this vicious cycle 😆

Why it Stresses Me Out

1| I have Deadline Commitment Issues, haha!
I don’t know why, but having a deadline pretty much guarantees that I will not finish on time. I get so nervous about it that I just freeze up. So giving myself a stack of books to finish in a month is a bad idea for me.

2| I’m a Mood Reader
This is something that I am figuring out about myself, but my mood heavily dictates what I want to read. If I’m not in the mood for romance (clean ones!), I’m going to take the romance book slow or stop completely. Even if I’m enjoying it, I just can’t seem to force myself to finish it without going into a slump.

3| I Have Trouble Focusing when I have too many Pre-Scheduled Books or Not Enough Time
Hailing back to reason 1, my brain freezes up under pressure. I feel panicky, even though I’m the only one putting pressure on myself. I don’t like being a quitter. It’s deeply ingrained in me, and I am trying to break that mindset in regards to reading.

4| Did I mention I hate Deadlines?
Yeah, I just really, really, hate deadlines.

What I’m Doing to Enjoy Reading Again

1| Allowing My Self to DNF Books I’m not Enjoying
Not enjoying the book, I’m stopping. Sometimes it takes me a page, sometimes a few chapters. But when I realize I don’t like it, that’s it.

2| Reading comic books to help me feel accomplished.
I need to see progress happening. I need to see my number of books read growing. Comic books are a great way to feed that need while also reading longer works. This why, I don’t feel like I’m spinning my wheels.

3| Trying new authors and new genres
A few years ago, I never would have read anything remotely romantic or related to manga. Now, I’m cautiously dipping my toes into these genres and am eyeing suspense novels too!

4| Reading books I love, regardless of what others may think.
Relating to those two genres I just mentioned… Many people have a stigma attached to romance and manga. Let me be clear. I am very selective with the one I read and I am not above censoring my copies. But as long as I don’t feel God telling me not to or my husband for that matter, I don’t have to justify my reading habits to anyone else. Some books I mention on here are not going to be for everyone. And that’s okay!

5| Shelving books that I’m just not clicking with in that moment.
Some books just aren’t right for the moment, ya know? Classics usually do this to me. If they don’t intrigue me from chapter one, I probably won’t stick with it/have to take a break. They will keep for the right time. (Also, audiobooks help!)

6| Reading the first chapter of multiple book and picking the one I’m most interested in.
I never used to do this, but now, I’m finding this really helps me pick my books! I highly recommend grabbing four or five books you can’t choose between and reading the first chapter before deciding!

How about you? What are your tips and tricks? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Have a blessed day!
Ryana Lynn
Jude 22

4 Comments

Kim Hampton

6/21/2023 08:47:49

Kid's books are a great way to make those reading numbers grow also. And I know you read a ton of those with your precious daughter. If I'm in a reading slump and having trouble focusing, I will go back and read something from my childhood, or pick up a juvenile fiction book that sounds interesting. I recently discovered the Wildwood series by Colin Meloy, and I have totally fallen in love with it! I'm on the third and final book right now, and very excited to find out the conclusion. It is a juvenile fantasy series, but it is extremely well written, and he really makes the world of Wildwood come to life. I also just finished The One and Only Ivan with my 11-year-old, and she wants me to read the rest of the series with her, so we're about to start the second one. Warning if you decide to read it: it's pretty depressing! It's about a gorilla that is captured from the wild and goes to live at a shopping mall. I enjoyed the book but there were VERY sad moments throughout. My daughter and I both cried a couple of times!

Ryana Lynn

6/24/2023 20:02:35

Oh yes, I've read nearly 200 this year XD I've been wanting to read those books for a while! I'll have to check them out! As a kid I adored all monkey (yes, I know technically he's an ape XD) so I can't wait to read it!

Annalissa

6/22/2023 22:14:21

I'm a huge mood reader as well and instead of writing a list of the books I want to read each month, I keep a flexible TBR in my head (or more like WishTR. In June, my WTR was to read only physical books, which I accomplished.

Next month I'm thinking of making it to read as many books on my shelf as possible. I've gotten several second-hand books this year that I haven't even (re)read, just stuck on my shelf *hides*

I'm also "guilty" of shelving books that just don't fit my mood at the time. Sometimes I pick them up the next week, others the next year Xd

Ryana Lynn

6/24/2023 20:03:43

Those are great ways at staying inspired to read!

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