Manage Your TBR Stack with Blitzes & Buddy Reads
When I manifested at least a 6-foot-tall love interest in my life, I didn’t expect it to take the shape of a towering TBR (to-be-read) stack. I love books as much as the next impulsive book connoisseur, however, there’s no greater satisfaction than bringing a giant to its knees. If you’re unfamiliar with my book club, Eclectix the Book Club, I’ve made it a goal this year to select each of the monthly picks directly from what I already own. This method is doable, yet my TBR is still able to kiss me on the forehead, as cute as that visual sounds - that’s not enough; again we want to bring the giant to its knees.
If you have a looming to-be-read stack as I do and don’t want the full commitment of a book club, reading blitzes and buddy reads are your friend. (A reading blitz is much larger than your standard buddy read and allows you to connect with a larger audience in the process.) In an effort to tackle my TBR stack, I recently hosted #TheLoveSongsBlitz on Instagram, where I invited any and all readers to join me in a 10-day read-along of The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois by Honorée Fanonne Jeffers. Going into the blitz, I knew that I wasn’t the only reader who has held off on diving into this seemingly intimidating 750+ page must-read. Although the blitz was impulsive, over 120 readers joined in the read-along and I’ve had a chance to reflect on the ways that this method can improve for my next blitz and/or buddy read and how you can host one yourself!
A (very) Direct All-Call
Word travels fast. I promise you are not the only person with a specific book on your shelf. Even if someone doesn’t have the book and they’re interested - they will read with you! Recruit your besties or random book lovers by openly posting on your social platforms, in your blog’s newsletter, or taping a flyer in your work’s break room… the people ready to read will come.
Do the Bare Minimum
I announced the reading blitz on Instagram and created a group chat there. There was no need to introduce book club platforms because the goal was to hold a space for accountability and thought-dumping with people who are reading the same book as you.
Set the Timeframe
The ultimate goal is completion and I realized guiding other readers with a specific time to finish makes them more likely to finish (relatively) on time. With the timeframe though, be considerate of everyday life hiccups and set buffer times for those. Mindfulness of the heavy content in your selected “blitz” book is important, too, because people need breaks.
To Meet or Not to Meet
This ties into the mindfulness of heavy content, with #TheLoveSongBlitz it was crucial for many of the readers to debrief at the end. I regret not considering this ahead of time and making it clear whether we would have a meeting at the end or not. Whether in-person or virtual this can solidify that feeling of connectedness with the group of people you read with. Not an obligatory component of a reading blitz or buddy read, it’s just good to set the expectation in the beginning.
What’s on Your TBR?
Probably the most important step lol. Make note of what you already have on hand, whether you separate them to their own bookshelf or create a physical list of all your unread books. Identify why you haven’t read a certain book, if you know you’ll probably never get around to it you might want to consider donating it or gifting it to a friend.
As I host reading blitz in the future and more efficient methods on execution come to mind, I will revamp and add to this list.