10 Suggestions for How to Create a TBR Jar

I promise that this is the last post I'll publish on TBRs for some time (if not the rest of 2021). I mentioned in one of my posts that I'd discuss setting up a TBR jar in a bit more detail. As a result, this is where we are.

What exactly is a TBR jar? TBR jars can be similar to a chores jar. You get a mason jar (or something similar) and some popsicle sticks or post-it notes. Write down book titles and authors, and stick them in the jar. Shake it up, and then blindly pull out a popsicle stick or post-it note. You can use a TBR jar to simply choose your next read, or you can use it to set up your monthly TBRs.

With that out of the way, let's get into how to set up a TBR jar. Here are 10 suggestions for setting up your own TBR jar.

Suggestion 1: You don't need to write every book on your overall TBR.

Most readers have vast TBR piles of 100+ books. You don't need to include all of these books in your TBR jar. Just include some anticipated reads or books you want to read in the next month or year.

Suggestion 2: If you don't want to see the titles of your books, use post-it notes or slips of paper rather than popsicle sticks.

Ultimately, what you use for your TBR jar is up to you. However, if you want to surprise yourself with what books, post-it notes or slips of paper make it easier to hide book titles (you can fold over the paper to cover the title).

Suggestion 3: Decorate your TBR jar however you want.

Decorating your TBR jar can help to really personalize it. You can paint it, add stickers to it, do both of these, or do something else entirely. Whatever you choose to do to your TBR jar, it can be really fun to personalize it.

Suggestion 4: Once you have some titles in, shake your TBR jar around a little bit.

When you stick titles into your TBR jar, they'll stay in the same place, and you'll most likely remember (roughly) what title went where. If you shake up your TBR jar a little bit, this helps to move titles around so they're not in the same place. As a result, you get a bit more of a surprise with your selection.

Suggestion 5: Use different colors to indicate different genres.

The different colors can come from the paper, the sharpie, the pen, or any other way. However, this can help you get some idea of what you may be getting when you're choosing your upcoming TBR. Some suggestions would be red for romance, blue for contemporary, and purple for fantasy. (You obviously don't have to use these colors for these genres.)

Suggestion 6: Try to include books that you haven't read yet.

I love re-reading. However, I see TBR jars as a way to finally get around to the books you haven't read yet. While you can still re-read books, I would suggest only including books you haven't read yet in your TBR jar.

Suggestion 7: If you've read a book, take the corresponding popsicle stick or post-it out of the TBR jar.

This suggestion does correspond with Suggestion 6. If you've read a book that was in your TBR jar, take it out so you can read other books you haven't gotten to yet. This really helps you tackle your overall TBR.

Suggestion 8: While it's a good idea to include books you want/plan to borrow (from family, friends, or a library), try to keep in mind when you'll be able to borrow the books.

I definitely recommend including books you want/plan to borrow. However, it's for the best if you get an idea of when you'll be able to borrow the book and for how long you'll be borrowing it.

Suggestion 9: While a TBR jar can be super helpful, it's not the end all be all.

I've mentioned this in most of my TBR-related posts. TBRs in general are not the end all be all, whether your overarching TBR or a TBR jar. If your mood or thoughts change about a book, or if you can't read it at a specific point in time, you can save it for a later time (or just not read it at all). 

Suggestion 10: Keep in mind, as with any TBR list, that you don't have to read a book you pick from your TBR jar.

I alluded to this a bit in Suggestion 9. Let's say you pick a horror book from your TBR jar, and you're not in the mood for horror (assuming you still want to read the book). You can set that book aside and choose another book from your TBR jar. On the other side of the coin, if you just don't plan to read a book any more, you can take that title out of your TBR jar and choose another book.