Erik Eckel

Image: What Are You Reading? 2012 by West Fraser, oil on linen.

Just how expansive can your TBR collection grow before becoming dubious? And, how should you measure a “To Be Read” pile? Should you count books by title or linear feet?

Truth be told, I don’t care. Each week I scout new novels, poetry collections, short story anthologies, non-fiction titles and essay compilations. I buy what proves intriguing.

Do I read them all? Well no. At least, not immediately.

But because I read at an aggressive and voracious pace, I’m unconcerned my TBR pile exceeds some 75 options. Of course, had you caught me earlier this week, the list would have included only 72 or 73 titles.

Like I said. I’m unconcerned.

How about you? How’s your To Be Read pile? How many titles are standing by?

Here’s a look at 20 of the more intriguing titles I’m looking forward to exploring:

1. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, a James McBride novel
2. Bicycle Diaries, travelogues from David Byrne
3. Now Is Not The Time To Panic, a Kevin Wilson novel
4. Keon and Me, a memoir by Dave Bidini
5. Sovietistan, Erika Fatland’s travel memoir
6. The Flamethrowers, Rachel Kushner’s novel
7. There’s No Such Thing As An Easy Job, a Kikuko Tsumura novel
8. The Bee Sting, Paul Murray’s new novel
9. Either/Or, Elif Bautman’s The Idiot sequel
10. Emergency, Kathleen Alcon’s short story collection
11. Trust, Herman Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel
12. Then The War, Carl Phillips’ Pulitzer Prize-winning poetry collection
13. The Blue Buick: New And Selected Poems by B.H. Fairchild
14. The 34-Ton Bat, Steve Rushin’s baseball stories
15. The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty
16. Whereabouts, Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel
17. Chasers of the Light, poems by Tyler Knott Gregson
18. Metropolitan Stories, Christine Coulson’s novel
19. Information Desk, Robyn Schiff’s poetry epic
20. Voroshilovgrad, Serhiv Zhadan’s novel

These aren’t titles I’m listing to impress. I’d have included George Perec’s Life: A User’s Manual, Adam Levin’s The Instructions, Alan Moore’s Jerusalem, Joaquim Maria Machado De Assis’ Posthumous Memoirs of Brás Cubas, Dag Solstad’s Novel 11, Book 18 and David Markson’s Wittgenstein’s Mistress were that my goal.

What’s in your TBR stack? Comment below.