JoeB1934 Challenges Himself to Build a New TBR at 91

I have accumulated a 600 book TBR since 2024 after 50 years of reading about 2000 books. This TBR was developed through traditional methods, such as LT member reading lists, GR best books of the year, LT Tagmash searches, and media commentaries about books.

Most entries on the TBR came from a 'gut' feeling that a given book 'might' interest me. Thinking that I later would study it in more depth.

In thinking about this TBR it dawned on me that I should drop these books and create from scratch a new TBR obtained by doing my own focused search for books that really interest me at this time of my life.

In this thread I will certainly list books as they go on my new TBR and describe the books I actually read during my 91st year.

I thought it might be useful to indicate the type of books I prefer so this display of covers is presented for

.................................. My Memorable Books of 2025 thru 07/13/2025 ...................................

What does Being 91 Have to do with book choices?

After suffering a broken hip 2 years ago I become very conscious of a need to Slow Down in my physical and mental activities.

This means I have to carefully consider where my feet are going in order to avoid a fall. I also have changed my approach to driving. Now I go a longer route which doesn't require snap decisions about crossing lanes. Always turn right if at all possible.

This same 'slow down' attitude applies very much to choosing a book to read. This means I no longer start a book thinking I 'might' like it. I need to do the maximum effort to focus on books which I can almost guarantee I will like. In addition, if a book passes all my tests and I start a book it goes into the DNF category as soon as I see it was a mistake.

In future posts I will discuss my process for finding those 'can't miss' books. The books I find probably won't be your best choices as each of us have unique reading priorities. However, I hope that my approach can help anyone find their best books to read.

Good to see you back here, Joe. I am looking forward to following your reading choices once again!

Why am I posting this thread?

I came VERY close to not creating this thread, so why did I decide to go ahead with it? It was to be able to direct somebody's attention to the books in >2 JoeB1934:.

These books are my current version of what LibraryThing: State of the Thing - July calls Books We Want To Read Again For The First Time

I urge you to scan that list of books that members of LT have nominated for inclusion on the all-time best books from their perspective. It appears that I have only read 35 of the books. I had a couple of thoughts when I looked at this list, what would be my personal list using their definition?

The second thought was that in 2023 I started to create what I called Memorable Books of XXXX The books listed in >2 JoeB1934: are what I am designating for 2025. My criteria for going on this list is very simple: I Really Need to Tell Someone About this Book.

I now have created memorable book lists for 2023, 2024 and 2025.

I am unable to write a review on any book that would persuade someone to acquire the book. Instead, I try to explain why a book is memorable to me so you can determine if it might be interesting to you.

This thread will describe how I choose books for myself, more importantly I will present my memorable books.

My first effort to building a TBR using non-LT sources for the ideas. Purely based on the categories of genres that I love the most.



In this list my favorites belong to Literary Historical Mysteries, with added dimensions of Strong Women, Romance and other more minor dimensions.

............................................An Updated TBR ........................................


What is different about this TBR compared to all my prior Lists?

In every year since 2021 when I joined LT I have chosen book candidates to read by using LT resources. These were other members reviews of books they enjoyed along with using Tagmash to search for books which met a Genre, or Tag that I was interested in. I depended on the LT Mirror facility to provide me with a small set of tags that described my books.

The complication in this process occurred because books are not well described by a main Genre and there are very important sub-genres that are required. I had no way of knowing whether a recommended book was of a genre that I desired. This led me to looking at reviews of each book and what tags LT applied to the book.

When I hit 91, I decided that I was going to look elsewhere to find new books which I knew matched a criterion that appealed to me. This TBR is my first set of books that I know without any doubt they match my preferred genres, or themes.

I will explain in a relatively short time the process I used to find these books, as it can be done by anyone.

I loved Bel Canto, if that helps! And since you listed Naomi Novik's Spinning Silver as a memorable book, I'd also recommend Uprooted by the same author.

>7 JFBCore: Thanks for those comments as a major factor in what I am doing is to find books that match prior books that I really enjoyed.

Having developed a reasonable group of books to put on my TBR I feel that I have completed the challenge I set for myself.

What I need to do now is create a set of rules to establish to follow in bringing in additional books to read.

While working on my challenge finding books to read, I found a book to read that is from Belinda Bauer that matches very well with my pure literary mystery preferences.



Important tags for this book are: Mystery, Thriller, Aspergers, Autism, English Literature
This book is from the same author as The Impossible Thing, which is on my memorable 2025 list also.

I too loved Bel Canto, and I'm currently listening to My Friends. I have enjoyed or loved everything I've read by Fredrik Backman, except Beartown.