#0by16 Progress and Why I'm Participating

If you follow me on Twitter, (shameless plug: @jacquelynreads) I am sure you have seen countless tweets about my participation in #0by16. If you are not familiar with this challenge, it is a goal to have your TBR at 0 books before 2016 arrives. When I first found out about this challenge in December of 2014, I quickly looked over it because I thought it was impossible with my 150 book TBR. As I started seeing more videos and posts about it, I became more and more interested and decided that I was going to do it. I did not think I would be able to but now, as of June 2015, thhe end is near. I've gone from exactly 150 TBR books at the beginning of January to 11 in the beginning of June. I've decreased my TBR by 139 books and I am really, really proud of that. I haven't read all of these 139 books because unhauling has also been a great factor into my progress so far. I have went through my TBR multiple times and I culled the books I was no longer interested in or had no idea why I had bought them. 

Decreasing one's TBR is a very popular idea that has been spreading across the book community lately. I know that #0by16 isn't for everyone. Some people enjoy having hundreds of books on their TBR and I totally respect that. I had hundreds of books on my TBR for the last few years or so. I just ended up getting tired of it and I kept wondering why I was spending so much money on books to read them months or even years after buying them. I would buy a book and be so excited for it and then leave it for months and months and when I finally got around to it, the initial excitement had worn off. This was what made me really want to participate and I am glad I did. It's been a long journey but I am so excited that my hard work has been paying off and I only have 11 books left. 

If anyone is wondering, the 11 books I have left on my TBR include: 

SOMETHING REAL by Heather Demetrios

THIS LULLABY by Sarah Dessen

PLEASE IGNORE VERA DIETZ by A.S. King

LIKE NO OTHER by Una LaMarche

RITES OF PASSAGE by Joy N. Hensley

P.S. I STILL LOVE YOU by Jenny Han

MY LIFE NEXT DOOR by Huntley Fitzpatrick

DON'T YOU WISH by Roxanne St. Claire

MOSQUITOLAND by David Arnold

BROKEN by C.J. Lyons

CHAMPION by Marie Lu

I also wanted to talk about some of the reasons why I am really looking forward to completing #0by16. There are so many great benefits to this and I am going to take full advantage of all of these benefits! Some of these benefits include: 

• I can preorder a book and read it the day I get it. I always preorder books I am overly excited for and then I don't read them for weeks because of all the other books I already have to read. If I have a very small TBR, I would be able to read preorders as soon as I get them and still be crazy excited to as I read them! It makes no sense. I wait months for a book to release and then when I get it, I don't read it. Not logical, right?
• I can borrow tons of library books without feeling bad about my humongous TBR. I don't know if you know this about me, but I love my library so much. Before #0by16, I was always going to pick up books and discover new ones. It was great but I always felt bad that I wasn't reading the books I had actually spent my money on. Also, my library is really great about ordering new releases so I can catch up on all of the amazing new releases! Now, the only problem will be choosing which library book to read first. :P
• I can read ARCs without being distracted by the books I own. I love reading and reviewing books early to get the buzz out about them but boy, would I get distracted. By lessening my TBR, I will be able to read my ARCs and not be looking over at my TBR books the entire time. 
• I now have much more knowledge and tips on buying books I know I will actually read. I have noticed that many of the books I unhauled were books I had bought on some crazy discount. The price was too good to pass up even if I was not very interested in reading it. Now, I have much more self control (I can actually go to a store and come out with no books) and I can focus on ones I know I will read. 
• I can buy one or two books, go read them, and buy more! I used to envy everyone who could do this but soon, this will be my reality. I NEVER want my TBR being as high as it was, especially with all of the work I have been doing to decrease it. I want to read books as soon as I get them, when the excitement level is still high and there. 
• I can reread my favorites without any guilt. I have only reread one book in my entire life and that was very recently (last month). I never would reread my books because I saw it as "wasting" time since I could be reading books I had never read before. Now, I see this is everything BUT wasting time. They are my favorites for a reason and I love them, so why would I not want to reread it and love it all over again?

Even writing this post, I get more excited about finishing #0by16. It's so surreal every time I go to my room and see my 11 book TBR. IT'S SO SMALL. It sorta scares me and makes me want to go buy more but NO. I will reward myself with a few books once I finish. And I mean A FEW. One or two. I have self control now so it shouldn't be too hard. ;)