Part of the problem with the end of the year is that it is chockablock full of best-of book lists. My poor friends on Goodreads know how much I enjoy them, adding multiple books to my to-read list daily and probably 100 over the season. In addition to adding them virtually, I also start requesting books from the library. This is fine for certain books, where hundreds of folks are in front of me in the queue, but more of a problem for books that are checked in and idling on the shelves of various branches of the D.C. Public Library.

I’ve had probably half a dozen books come in each week for the last month. (I have books sent to the main branch near my office for weekday pickups and the Georgetown branch for a weekend trip.) This means I currently have 27 physical books out*, 2 more waiting for me at the library, and five audio books on my phone.

Before you start offering the obvious advice, I do look over the pile each week, assessing the likelihood I’ll actually get to each one and whether it would make more sense to request it again later in the year. I’ve returned some that I know I just won’t get to, but I hold out hope that I’ll magically gain some extra hours in the day and continue to hoard the rest.

It’s seriously unlikely I can squeeze in 29 books before I head to Hungary next month. After all, I do have other hobbies and favorite tv shows and loved ones and a job and a bed competing for my time. It’s a problem.

But, without a doubt, it is a good problem to have.