What does TBR mean?
TBR stands for “to be read”: the books you plan to read but haven’t started. Some readers mean a physical stack on the nightstand, others a digital list. Either way, a TBR list collects recommendations from friends, bookstores, podcasts and social media in one place, so you pick your next book on purpose instead of grabbing whatever is on top.
Your list of finished books is just as useful. It’s your memory: have you read book two of the series yet? What was that thriller from last summer called? With an organized library you find out in seconds.
Shelves that work
Most book trackers organize books on shelves, which are really status lists. This setup holds up well:
| Shelf | What goes there | Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Reading | Books you’re reading right now | Ideally no more than two or three at once |
| Wishlist (TBR) | Books you plan to read, owned or not | Note who recommended it |
| Read | Finished books with date and rating | Feeds your stats and yearly goal |
| Abandoned | Books you stopped reading | Note the page and the reason |
| Custom shelves | e.g. book club, vacation, classics, borrowed | Only create the ones you’ll really use |
Keeping your TBR under control
A TBR almost always grows faster than you read. That’s fine, as long as the list helps you rather than stresses you.
- Review it once a quarter: would you still pick this book today? If not, take it off.
- Keep a short “up next” selection of three books
- When you add a recommendation, note why it sounded good
- Separate books you own from books you don’t, for example with a custom “On my shelf” shelf
- Add the due date to library books
Recording the books you’ve read
Finished books deserve a little more care: date, rating and one sentence. That’s what later becomes your year in review and your stats. Books you didn’t finish belong there too – knowing after how many pages you usually give up helps you choose better.
Sorting by genre, author and year
Once you pass about 50 books, filters help. The most common ways to sort and what they’re good for:
| Sort by | Answers the question |
|---|---|
| Genre | Am I reading too narrowly? |
| Author | What have I already read by her? |
| Year read | What did I read in 2025? |
| Rating | What should I recommend? |
| Page count | Which book fits a weekend trip? |
Moving over from Goodreads and others
If you’ve tracked your books elsewhere, you don’t have to start over. Goodreads, StoryGraph and Fable let you export your library as a CSV file, and many apps can read that file; shelves, ratings and dates usually come along. After importing, spot-check a few books to make sure the statuses are right.
How many books at once?
Some readers finish one book before starting the next; others keep a novel, a nonfiction book and an audiobook going at the same time. Both work, as long as your Reading shelf stays honest. If a book has sat there untouched for weeks, move it back to your Wishlist or to Abandoned. That way you see at a glance what you’re really reading, and your stats and finish forecasts stay meaningful.
A pattern that works for parallel readers: one book for home, one for on the go and one to listen to. Each has its own spot in your day, and none crowds out the others.
Common mistakes
- Too many custom shelves: after three months nobody remembers how “Maybe later” differs from “Someday”.
- Never moving books to Read: then your stats are off.
- Treating the TBR as homework: it’s a menu, not a to-do list.