Reading in Public No. 37: Five things I learned while creating the PSRG
What getting deep into the backlist taught me about books and reading
This year’s Paperback Summer Reading Guide is my fourth go at putting together a backlist summer reading guide, and I treated it a little bit differently this year. I years past, I’ve pulled books I’ve read previously but haven’t shared in awhile and then filled in the gaps with new-to-me books I read specifically for the PSRG. I’d have to go back to calculate the exact stats, but I’d say the first year was almost entirely books from my own backlogs and then I’ve gradually increased the percentage of books I read for the first time.
This year, I wanted to focus exclusively on books that were new-to-me and that I hadn’t reviewed previously. Part of my reasoning is now that the PSRG is a paid perk, I want to make sure it’s worth the price of admission! But my other motive was more personal: I wanted to read great, backlist books. Making the decision to only include new-to-me books on the guide gave me the reason I needed to dig into some of the books that have been languishing on my shelves for years and to research great titles that might be perfect for PSRG readers.
While this year’s PSRG was more work than ever, I am so glad I challenged myself in this way. Not only am I thrilled with the books that landed on the guide, but I also reinvigorated my own reading life and learned a lot about myself as a reader. In case you’re interested in going on your own backlist reading or are interested in reading from your shelves (or my PSRG!) this season, here are five things I learned that might motivate you to do something similar.
Five things I learned while creating the PSRG:
Avoiding buzzy new books feels a little bit like a detox. It’s been a long long while since I did anything like try to cut sugar out of my diet, but from what I recall, cutting out new releases cold turkey feels pretty much the same. At first, I craved new books and missed reading all the buzz-generating titles. I had serious FOMO and could not stop thinking about all the new books that I wasn’t reading. But then I gradually settled into my new reading rhythm. I delighted in picking up backlist book after backlist book. I was still eyeing the new and shiny reads, but I could more easily just make a note of them, realizing that I didn’t need to get to them RIGHT NOW in order to read, enjoy, and review them eventually. After three months of almost exclusively reading backlist books, I’m excited to pick up some of the buzzy books that came out this spring and will come out this summer—but I have a clearer idea of which titles I want to try. It’s this clarifying principle that really matters to me. Eating sugar and reading buzzy books are obviously not bad things! But when I’m in the thick of it, reading books with buzz feels like a compulsion. I start picking up the books I’m seeing everywhere rather than really thinking about what I want to read. After my buzzy books detox, I can more easily discern what books I want to read rather than just reaching for the ones I’m seeing everywhere.
Reading books few people are currently talking about helps clarify my taste.
wrote about this in his guest post a few months back and I found it to be true for my own reading this season. Reading through a bunch of books that aren’t currently being rapidly reviewed and shared right now was a real journey into the heart of my own taste. It’s not like these books haven’t been written about. It was easy enough to find professional reviews, literary criticism, and Goodreads ratings for nearly all of them, but without the bombardment of reviews and ratings in my Instagram app I could let myself focus fully on my own opinion of the book. It was revealing how even though I feel quite confident in my own taste, when I’m reviewing a popular book that review is always happening in context and conversation with all the other reviews. Putting together my PSRG is an opportunity to discover, read, and review books on an island, which—for me—really helps me tap into my personal taste. I can imagine that for other readers, the opposite would be the case: that reading books and comparing notes with others solidifies your personal taste. In truth, I probably benefit from a bit of both, but I’m so grateful to have worked a time into my reading life when I focus on reading books that aren’t currently part of the discourse. Of course then then real pleasure comes from hearing from everyone who gets the PSRG and learning what books you loved or hated from my lists!I tend to like love-them-or-hate-them books. Speaking of loved or hated, I think I tend to really like polarizing books. When I taught high school English, I tried to ban the word “interesting” from my classroom because it’s used so often that it’s almost meaningless. But now I’m going to break my own rule because what I want most in a book is an interesting reading experience. I love books that are completely different from anything else I’ve read and books that are deeply in conversation with core, canonical works. I love books with characters who are the most adorable, heartwarming people I could imagine and books with the absolute worst people I’ve ever met. I like books that are really going for it, trying something innovative and ambitious, even if they don’t quite hit the mark.
My TBR management system is really working for me. Earlier this year I wrote about my priority TBR management system—keeping a list of 5-7 books that I want to prioritize so when it comes time to choose a new book, I’m picking from a manageable list instead of alllll the books. That system was essential in planning and reading for the PSRG. I did have to implement other more serious systems with spreadsheets and checklists for the big picture planning, but I still kept up with my post-it note lists because it served me so well for picking my immediate next reads.
There are so many great backlist books out there to be read. I know we all know this, but when I started looking for books I was reminded of this truth. There are so many books I know I want to read that I haven’t, but there are even more books I don’t even know about yet that I will want to read as soon as I know about them! I’m going to keep up the habit of reaching into the backlist archives to keep my reading life fresh.
Whether or not you purchased this year’s PSRG, thank you so so much for following along on my reading journey! I love getting to write and talk about books and reading with this wonderful community, and am so grateful that you’re here!
FictionMatters is a reader supported publication. If you know a reader who might love this newsletter, forward today’s free email along to a book-loving friend!
For questions, comments, or suggestions, please don’t hesitate to reach out by emailing fictionmattersbooks@gmail.com or responding directly to this newsletter. I love hearing from you!
This email contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through the links above, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you.
If you enjoyed today’s newsletter, please forward it to a book-loving friend. That’s a great way to spread bookish cheer and support the newsletter!
Happy reading!
Sara
I deactivated my booksta for almost 6 weeks earlier this year, and I was in the midst of reading a number of backlist books, and I had the same experience as your #1 and #2. It's really clarifying to do a reset on your own taste and understand where you're at today. Excited to see where your reading goes for the remainder of the year!
My reading tastes aligns quite close to yours. I appreciate your curation because I previously struggled to consistently find books I loved. Thank you so much for what you do. My reading life is now richer and more satisfying.