Confession… I am a bibliophile… that much you already know. What you might not know is that I really used to struggle with my TBR, or “to be read,” pile.

I love books and I thoroughly enjoy getting lost in another world or connecting with an interesting character. That said, I often felt overwhelmed by the sheer number of books in my TBR pile. Seeing those towers of books created a sense of pressure and urgency that took all the fun out of reading and collecting books. I felt like I couldn’t get new books because I hadn’t read the books I already owned. But I wasn’t always in the right frame of mind to read certain books. It was kind of a nightmare.

Then I saw something that helped me get some perspective on my conundrum. It was a comment shared by the world famous (and bibliophile’s mecca) Shakespeare & Company bookstore in Paris, France that described a reader’s TBR pile as a wine cellar.

This was a revelation!

If I viewed my collection of books as a wine cellar, there was far less pressure to “complete” the list. As a mood reader – someone who absolutely has to be in the right mood to read the right book – this wine cellar idea checked off a lot of boxes. It gave me the freedom to hunt for books of all topics and genres that interest me, then organize them so that when I’m ready to read them, they are right there at my fingertips.

Pressure = gone. Love of reading + 100.

Now I have bookcases, neatly organized, of course! No more towers of books! And when I look at my bookcases, I see my books like fine wines. Some tomes need to age a bit, so I’ll get around to reading those eventually. Sometimes I crave a story that’s a bit earthy and floral with a hint of magical realism, so I’ll choose a book from Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy. Other times I may want to sample a few flavors – like a wine flight – so I’ll grab a collection of Arthur C. Clarke’s short stories. And when the mood calls for a dark, yet vibrant and thoroughly intoxicating story, I’ll read my Sandman collection… again.

Want to see what’s on my bookshelves? Follow my Instagram for new #Bookshelfies every week! I’ll feature books I’ve read and books I’m looking forward to reading. And of course, I am always open to recommendations!

Here’s the link…

https://www.instagram.com/the_wandering_art_historian/