I own a lot of books, but I’ve never taken the time to keep track of them. There are plenty of things on my shelves that I haven’t read yet, but I didn’t know how they stacked up against those books I had finished.
After a quiet evening staring at my shelves, I decided to make a rough count and see exactly how many of my books I had actually read.
I was surprised by the final figure. It was a quick count, but I reckon I’ve read 361 of the books currently on the shelf, with 80 unread and a further 15 partially finished. There are a few novels I started but didn’t bother to continue to the end, but mostly they’re writing or social media manuals that I dip in and out of when the mood strikes.
There are still a couple of boxes of books that I haven’t unpacked yet after moving house, so that isn’t the total figure, but it probably works out somewhere around 4 to 1, read to unread.
I’d always imagined the number of unread books would be higher, as I’m often ordering something new and taking months, if not years, to get round to reading it. Whenever I glance at the bookshelves, my eye seems to fall on something that I haven’t read.
But maybe the pile isn’t as unmanageable as I thought.
What about you – have you ever kept a list of the books you still have to read? How does it compare?
Kristin | My Life as a Teacup says
I think I’ve only got 15-20 book unread on my shelf (not counting the countless “classics” on my e-reader that were free because they’re so old), but I have to say, that doesn’t sound so bad now! I can totally read 15 books by the end of this year if I put myself to it!
Amy Lord says
Ha! I didn’t think 80 was too bad until I read this comment! You put me to shame 😉
Sarah Jones says
I don’t have a physical list but I know which books I still have to read and I have a lot! Most of them are books I’ve started and not finished which I do feel bad for doing as it’s such a waste of money but hopefully one day I’ll get through them!
Amy Lord says
I don’t have as many that I’ve started and not finished, but don’t feel bad, if they aren’t for you then don’t force yourself to read them. There’s always something out there you might enjoy more!
Katie says
Mine are kept separately at the moment, and I’m actually making good progress through my unread books – I rarely re-read as I’m always buying new ones! At the moment I would guess that I have around 25 unread maybe.
Amy Lord says
Yeah, I definitely have too many! Maybe I need to ban myself from buying any more books 🙁
Finley Jayne says
I’m actually the odd one out here, because I’m an avid reader who doesn’t actually own any books 🙂 I get all of my books from my amazing local library. So no piles of unread books over here!
Amy Lord says
That’s great, keep on supporting your library – plus it’ll keep the house a bit tidier!
Sara Strauss says
It’s hard to count because I have 4-5 under my desk and several underneath my bed in plastic bins (which is where I keep all of my books since I don’t have a bookshelf). So probably 20 or so unread books! And I forgot about the ones on my iPad that I have yet to read as well!
~Sara
Amy Lord says
I didn’t even count the ones on my Kindle! You guys are totally showing me up as an unread book hoarder 😉
Anastasia says
I asume around fifty – and most of them classics, as I ALWAYS buy more, ’cause they are only 2,50 EURO. But I’m not sure as they are all on my VERY full bookshelves and I can’t see them all.
Amy Lord says
I find it hard to resist all the free classics on Kindle!