I have been trying fairly hard not to acquire new books as my TBR persists in being more than 130 books. But the fact that its size persists goes to show that I’m not succeeding very well in my aim! It possibly doesn’t help that I subscribe to two publishers and I still borrow books from family and friends.

This week I gained three new books. Martin John by Anakana Schofield is the first book in my 2016 subscription to And Other Stories. 100 Poems by Jen Campbell was a reward for supporting Jen in a charity fundraiser. The Man I Became by Peter Verhelst is the first book in my 2016 subscription to Peirene Press. They all look awesome and I can’t wait to read them.

Which brings me to my actual point – I have a tendency to get excited about the shiny new (to me) books and feel indifferent about the ones that have been sat on my shelves for years, even though I was excited by every single one of them to begin with. I really don’t want to get rid of books I haven’t even tried reading, but on the other hand it seems a shame to waste the fresh new excitement of a book I’m picking up for the first time.

I’m sure I’m not alone in this dilemma. Fellow readers – how do you reclaim excitement about books you’ve held onto for too long? Do you have tried and tested techniques?