Do you want to read more books than you are physically able to? This week’s post explores some strategies to help keep your wish list of books to read a little more manageable.
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| To be read - physical piles |
Like many of my friends and colleagues, my ‘to be read’ physical piles and virtual shelves (Libraries Tasmania catalogue, Libby and BorrowBox apps), Goodreads and Audible) seem to grow rather than diminish, and at times they become overwhelming. These same friends and colleagues add to the dilemma, sharing recent favourite reads that spark my interest. Knowing my friends well, their favourites might not necessarily be mine, but they do provide interesting titles to follow up. And naturally, my ‘to be read’ lists grow even larger. Therefore, I have now started to cull the piles and lists – by the length of time they have been sitting there, unread, easy access and current availability, format and importantly, informed by own evolution in reading interests.
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| To be read - virtual wish lists |
Another significant strategy is to be thoughtful in what I add to the shelf. Although I might be alerted when scanning shelves in bookshops and libraries, or be inspired by blogs (including this one) and informed by online journals, book lists and other sources, it does not automatically result in a decision to read the book. Based on the time-honoured principal that you “can’t read everything” I then take further steps. A good cover is not enough! An informative blurb that piques my interest is a start but is usually followed with some further investigation. And that’s where book reviews come to the fore and help me hone my wish lists to a manageable size.
The Reviews
My choice of reviews is informed by the intended audience of the books I am considering – as I read both adult and children’s literature and I turn to different sources to help me choose my next and future reads. Regardless of the target audience I have some clear expectations in regard to what I am looking for in a book review and it is more than a brief synopsis such as what you would find in a blurb or a book list of ‘new books’ in a catalogue or publisher website.
# A concise summary that indicates genre but does not give away the plot
# An evaluation of the content that critiques the writing style and ability to tell an engaging and convincing story that identifies strengths or weaknesses in style or plot.
# Point of view as I find lengthy first person narratives less engaging.
# An alert for triggers or extreme content – especially for younger readers titles, but also as an adult there are some themes that I prefer not read.
Specifically children’s literature:
# Illustrations - their role in delivering the story line but also in regard to originality and beauty
# An indication of age appropriateness or interest levels
# Educational merits – e.g. for reading aloud, stimulating active engagement whilst being read aloud, supporting a curriculum topic or inspiring further investigations and activities.
There are many sources for book reviews and many traditionally print sources have now moved online. Dedicated review sites such as Reading Time (AU), StoryLinks (AU), Kids-Book Review (AU), Magpies (AU/NZ $ print journal -), Kirkus Reviews (USA), School Library Journal (USA) are just some sources that have served me well over time. A key feature of these and similar review sites is that each rely on a team of reviewers, and, unsurprisingly, not all book reviews or their reviewers are equal. For adult reading material I read my library’ catalogue book synopsis, browse online in sites such as Goodreads (and trust my ‘friends’ ratings and comments). I also dig below the top ratings of such online compilations for an indication of what some readers did not enjoy about books. With so many ‘book tok’ sensations and self-published works available, five star ratings are often biased and ill-informed and I have been misled on more than one occasion.
For children’s and young adult books, there are other sites that can provide a sound indication of the quality of the book but the depth of coverage is not necessarily consistent and can be subjective. The following examples of individually published book review sites are ones that I visit regularly
Paperbark: Joy in Books Joy Lawn’s site is a delight to explore with a diverse range of commentary and interviews that offer different perspectives on a range of books including occasional adult material. I always find at least one book on the home page that I ‘must read’!
Momo Celebrating Time to Read Teacher librarian includes some useful search terms and covers an expansive range of international books and social topic.
Your Kid’s Next Read: Regular podcast presented by Megan Daley, Allison Rushby and Allison Tait).
The Bottom Shelf: Great Books for Little People Barbara Braxton, retired teacher librarian provides more than a plot synopsis to suggest relevance in the classroom, writing style, point of view and the illustrations. Targets early childhood and younger readers
For those seeking reviews that include trigger warnings and alerts to explicit content the following websites are worth investigating. Be mindful that these are may be subjective evaluations of content. These American sites are particularly relevant when exploring young adult literature.
The Story Graph (similar to Goodreads for keeping track of your reading with contributors’ reviews)
The Reviewers
Do you check the names of reviewers on the sites you explore? Do you have some preferred reviewers? Take the time to read and compare the following selection of book reviews on the 2025 Older Readers notable title Birdy, by Sharon Kernot which was the Shadow Judging winner and my personal favourite in this category. I have chosen this book as an example as I attended several sessions where people spoke about this book and have read a number of reviews. I was deeply moved by the story as a whole but was particularly engaged with Kernot’s coverage of the Maralinga Nuclear testing and its devastating short and long term effect on the community, the land and the Indigenous inhabitants. Although this is not the main thrust of the story it does provide important historical context that helped the past and present stories fit together, yet on my search, only one reviewer made brief reference to. For me, especially from an educational standpoint, this is an aspect that warranted some coverage in a review. The following links provide a sample of the variation in reviews and the information they provide. As such, they exemplify the need for us, as readers of reviews, to critique the reviews themselves, not just the books that are under discussion.
Reading Time: https://readingtime.cbca.org.au/birdy-2/
Books & Publishing: https://www.booksandpublishing.com.au/articles/2023/11/28/240808/birdy-sharon-kernot-text/
Momo’s blog: https://momotimetoread.blogspot.com/2025/05/birdy-by-sharon-kernot.html
Good Reading: https://goodreadingmagazine.com.au/latest-reviews/birdy-by-sharon-kernot/
Novel Feelings: https://novelfeelings.com/2024/02/13/birdy/
Novel Insight: https://novelinsightreviews.com/Birdy (open the ‘Reviews’ link)
Jennie Bales
Retired teacher-librarian and CBCA Tasmania Social-Media Coordinator
An avid but slow reader who will probably never really get on top of her reading lists.
