Ringing the (blog) changes!

You might have already noticed a couple of small changes around the blog over the last few weeks, but I thought I'd point them out anyway, in case you wanted to take a look!

Updates and Page Numbers

First up, I've added a CURRENTLY box to the sidebar, right underneath my little mini-profile thingy.  This is partially because I'm a nosy wench and like stuff like this, but it also serves another purpose.  I've included a Pages read yesterday line, which I'll update every morning.  I'm hoping it'll act as a kind of read-a-thon stand-in, clearly showing me the days when I've been too lazy (or busy - but mostly lazy) to read, and maybe spurring me on a bit to try to beat what I read the previous day...  It's been doing its job so far - I've been reading In Cold Blood pretty slowly, but I've been deliberately returning to it in my spare moments to try to add a few more pages to my tally for the day!

My Passion, My Shame

The other, rather larger change to the blog recently is the addition of the rather terrifying new Mount TBR page.  I got big plans for this one, baby.  Basically, it is a comprehensive list of pretty much EVERY SINGLE TBR BOOK I own.  I listed the books from my LibraryThing catalogue, and added any uncatalogued books I came across too, but I think there are still some unread books scattered around the flat next door that I haven't got to yet.  I'll find them as the pile goes down, I'm sure!

Hopefully this page will be a kick up the ass for me.  You all know that I am LITERALLY INCAPABLE of passing by any place selling books without having a good scout round, so this project is my attempt to curb my book-buying addiction and actually take control of the 1500-ish TBR books on my shelves already.  As I read each book I'll add my review link to the page to mark it as finished,  then delete them en masse when I reach, say, 15 read and reviewed.

My current plan (as with all plans of mine, it's liable to change, fluctuate, shift or be miserably scrapped at some point) is to finish my library books, then start on books for my blog challenges this year, then take on the rest.  These books will be divided into 'harder' and 'easier' reads along the way, so I'm aiming to always have one harder and one easier read on the go.  Harder reads might take longer and require more concentration (science books, say, or historical biographies), and easier books will be better for busy days at work, headachy days and quick reading on my days off. 

I might use Random.org to choose books from the list, at least some of the time, so that I can't keep skipping over things.  Other fun ways of choosing my next book could include asking one of my readers to pick a title from the list, throwing a pen at a shelf, reading the original book for movies I've bought on DVD or that are about to come out at the cinema (I always try and read first, watch second), or reading whatever falls on my head next time I try to 'browse' my bookcases.  Obviously, sometimes I might have a hankering to read a particular book and I'll definitely go with it, but one of my biggest problems with my TBR pile is that I keep skipping over older novels and certain non-fiction titles in favour of newer, shinier or easier reads.  Which is a surefire way of never actually reading any of them...

I have lofty ambitions for this project, and I'm hoping that by having a single page, right there, displaying all of my excess but also all of my progress towards curbing it, it'll spur me on to read what's on my shelves, pick up books I'd forgotten I had, and maybe keep me away from those bookshops, charity shops and oddball stalls that I find so irresistable.  If I don't, I fear that Mum will finally have had enough and end up clearing some of these books the UNPLEASANT way - by forcing me to make tough decisions or worse, making them herself, and THAT would be... unthinkable.  So read I must, and conquer Mount TBR one stone book at a time!

In Other News

It is, ackshually, far too nice outside to be doing stuff like writing reviews right now.  So although I did finish the most excellent Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey during the read-a-thon, YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT.  I will, however, say that if you like slightly bizarre but utterly brilliant futuristic fiction and don't mind being a little bit grossed out every once in a while, then YOU SHOULD TOTALLY BUY IT.  Because it's going to be a 4.5* review. 

I'm now reading the also excellent V for Vendetta by Alan Moore and David Lloyd (and actually, I'm currently of the mindset that V is kinda sexy) and Truman Capote's murderous masterpiece In Cold Blood.  Carolyn Mackler's teen novel Vegan Virgin Valentine is on standby in case I have a moment where I just can't be arsed to pay attention to a political storyline or a bit of epic crime journalism.  For the sake of Project Mount TBR, I should add that In Cold Blood is a library book (which is good, because a copy just came into the shop and I'd totally have stolen it otherwise); Vegan Virgin Valentine is one of my own books and I've had it far too long already, and V for Vendetta WAS a library book, until I *cough* bought myself a copy *cough* this week.  To be fair, it's my birthday on Tuesday so it's allowed.  :)

According to my Library-Challenge-Other plan, my next reads will be from my library stack: The Orwell Diaries by George Orwell, Hell's Angels by Hunter S. Thompson and Allen Ginsberg by Barry Miles (the hard reads) and Tomorrow When the World Began by John Marsden, Hospital Babylon by Imogen Edwards-Jones and Anonymous and There Is No Dog by Meg Rosoff (the easy reads).  If something else leaps out at me in the meantime this might change a little bit, but the library books DO need getting out of the way so I can attack my own shelves again!

Anyone else quietly try to beat their own page tally on a regular basis, especially if they haven't been reading much for whatever reason?  Maybe you've got your own tricks, resolutions and projects aimed at tackling your TBR shelves?  Tell me about it in the comments - it's always good to know you're not the only one!  ;)