The TBR

    I am a bookworm, an avid reader. Sometimes I read literature, sometimes I read fluff. But I read – pretty much daily! And the basis of many conversations I have with friends has to do with books. 
    As such, one of the realities in my life is the TBR – the “To Be Read” bookpile. Or bookshelf. Or… if I’m honest, book case! I could go for a year without buying a book, or borrowing from the library (ah, the blissful library!) and still meet my average of 10 books a month. 
    While I enjoy collecting books, I also enjoy passing them along; I’m more into tsundoku (a Japanese word for the TBR) than bibliomania (an obsession with books, to the extent of damaging social relationships).  
    For me, my bookshelves speak about my relationships: some have been gifts, some recommendations, some follow-ups to conversations. Some remind me of adventures with friends, or of educational experiences, or of book club ideas yet to put into practice. I have fiction and poetry, non-fiction and biography, thrillers and lots of theology! And there’s always – always – a Bible on my TBR. Because that is a part of my daily reading, and re-reading – and there’s always something new to be found in its pages. 
    As I set my “reading challenge” goals again this year (I belong to several book groups), I realised that I’ve never included the Bible in my reading trackers… not because I don’t enjoy it, or want to share it – quite the opposite! I don’t count it because I’m never done reading it: unlike the mysteries or histories or even the adventure books that are re-reads. It’s always in the TBR section, because for me it’s a way of life. 
    So what are you reading this year? Can I suggest the Bible?

 "‘Tell me what you read and I’ll tell you who you are’ is true enough, but I’d know you better if you told me what you reread."

~François Mauriac