There are so many good books out in the universe. What happens when you find yourself 50 or 100 pages through a book and you are like, meh? It isn’t what you thought it would be. You just don’t like it. Or I could plow my way through this so-so book, but I’m really thinking about the next book on my list.
When my kids were little and I had very little time to read, I finally realized that lightening would not strike me if I decided not to finish a book. My time was too valuable and reading time was invaluable. Once I started using Goodreads, I wanted to track these books too, so I created a ‘Back Shelf’.
For a book to go on my Back Shelf, I’ve decided that I won’t read it. If I feel like I might go back to it in the future (sometimes, I can tell I’m just not in the mood for a certain type of book), I either leave it in my Currently Reading list (I was Currently Reading Grant by Ron Chernow for over two years) or just put back in Want to Read list.
So, what is on my Back Shelf? Most recently – and the prompt for this post – is Their Eyes Were Watching a God by Zora Neele Hurston. I am fairly sure I read this book in high school or college but ran across it a few times recently, so decided to reread it. But it just didn’t engage me and I kept thinking about what I wanted to read next, so I put it on my Back Shelf.
My Back Shelf also has two books by Brené Brown: Daring Greatly and Brave the Wilderness. I feel some guilt about not liking her books because so many woman rave about them. But in general, I don’t connect with self-help books. Untamed by Glennon Doyle would be on my Back Shelf except I read it for my book club – and didn’t really enjoy it. I can’t explain why those books don’t speak to me. I think part of it is that I read books primarily to escape or learn about a specific subject or time period. Not as much for self-reflection. (That doesn’t mean I don’t need self-reflection, I just think books on their own don’t feed that need for me.)
I have several popular or noteworthy books on my Back Shelf that I just flat out didn’t get into or enjoy: Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Lincoln in the Bardo by George Sauders, What Happened by Hillary Rodham Clinton, and The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath.
Creating this Back Shelf has relieved some guilt I have when I put down an unfinished book. At least I am keeping track.
Happy Reading!
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