I Am Ready to Ruminate!

A gray, rainy day here at the Jersey Shore, just the sort of day I love, and I am in the mood for musing! This week's Musing Monday question, from Just One More Page...

How many books (roughly) are in your tbr pile? Is this in increasing number or does it stay stable? Do you ever experience tbr anxiety in the face of this pile?

Gosh, that seems like a very personal question! Ok, not really, but I hesitate to even think about the size of my To Be Read pile. In fact, I can no longer call it a pile, because the actual pile portion of it was downgraded to a semi-pile, after poor Kitty, my imaginary kitty, almost had what would no doubt have been a tragic, if imaginary, accident. The pile, an actual tower, was reaching a dangerous height, of perhaps 50 books. The real problem was that it was blocking a light switch and soon would partially block the doorway.

So, 50 books, is that the number of my TBR pile? NO, that was just the immediate pile. ARCs, books won in contests, and from various other sources that require a review at some point. Some, a point already passed, if you hold to that idea that ARCs should be review close to the publication date. Personally, I like to take a wider view of the review dates. I see at it drawing out the publicity for a newly published book...drawing it out a month or two in some cases.

So that pile, the Immediate Pile, now contains just ARC...and things I would like to read soon, perhaps 25 books. The rest were moved to the secondary pile, which I would estimate at perhaps 125 books, contained on a shelf on a landing at the top of my stairs. Not to be confused with the thirdary (I think I made that word up) pile, which contains about...hmmmmm...120 books. That 'pile' is double shelved on my once very neat and tidy downstairs bookshelves. Then there is another group, on a sideboard in the dining room, that is made up of books I have read and are awaiting a trip to visit another reader's home, my SIL or niece or a friend. Some of those will come home to me in the future and some of them will go out into the world for others to enjoy, forever.

To tell you the truth, I don't want to actually count them, so these are just vague estimates. If I started to count them and look them in the eye, they would speak to me, demanding to be placed in better order. Books that have been there a long time would demand to be move to the Immediate Pile...it could all get very ugly...and them poor Kitty's imaginary life would again be in danger.

Does the number of TBR books cause me anxiety? No, not at all. Well, except those ARCs...I feel an obligation to get to them in a timely fashion, and while I fell a bit behind, I am doing my best. And will try to limit my ARC requests in the future to a select few...unless something looks very good. :-)
But other than those demanding immediate attention, and hence situated in the Immediate Pile, my TBR piles make me very happy. I feel secure that I have all those lovely books, like new friends, just waiting for me. They don't go bad, there is no rush. If another book never came into my house (which is a ridiculous idea) I would have unread books to read for years actually. Then i could start re-reading the approximately 1000 other books I have, and should be set for life. So, it is lovely having all my wee bound friends waiting for me and everything will be fine...so long as you don't single them out and look them in the eyes. Then things could turn very nasty.
{{Watch out Kitty!!}}

p.s. No cats, imaginary or real, were damaged in the writing of this post. ;-)