How To Make A TBR Jar

Spring is almost here! Or is here based on the weather in your area (it’s definitely nice out where we are). Which means it’s the perfect reading weather! Because all weather is the perfect reading weather. And you probably have a lot of books left over from all that awesome holiday money. And you probably still need supervision going to the bookstore because you can never have too many books. But now that TBR pile is growing. And you can’t decide what to read next off of it. It’s time to revive the TBR Jar.

Step 1: Get a jar

Any size will do! For this tutorial, I’m using a small 4oz jar.

Step 2: Decorate It!

Or don’t It’s up to you. I’ve seen some really pretty ones with lace and mod podge, but I went simple with some washi tape.

I used a stencil to right “To Be Read” on the jar and then again on the washi tape. To make sure the washi tape stays on the glass, its best to cover it in a layer of mod podge (may I suggest EXTREME GLITTER GLITTER or GLOW IN THE DARK).

Step 3: Add the titles.

Go to the papercraft section of any store and you’re bound to find some card stock. I went to AC MOORE (before the mass closing) and purchased a small stack of business card sized card stock. Pretty colors, already cut to size, and easily foldable.

Step 4: Drop them in the jar!

Place them in the jar and make sure to give it a good shake! To add to it you can add extra fun rewards for you pull out. I added:

Buy a new book
Buy a bookish tee-shirt
Rearrange your shelves
Listen to an audio book

TBR jars are also a great way to tackle your favorite challenges because you can use them to add bookish goals instead of titles. Just have fun!

Published by J. M. Tuckerman

J.M.Tuckerman is a neurodivergent writer with a big education. She holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults, an MA in Writing, and a BA in Writing Arts (specializing in Creative Writing, New Media Writing, and Publication; concentrating in New Media Production), which she somehow managed to earn despite her three very loud and large dogs. Jessica was lucky enough to intern at Quirk Books and Picador, USA while earning her master’s degrees. Her service dog, Ringo, is very proud of all that she has accomplished and hopes to be on a back cover of a published book with her very soon. An avid reader, writer, and lover of young adult and middle-grade literature, Jessica’s bookshelf is overflowing with hardbacks, paperbacks, and a million half-filled notebooks. She is a proud fur-mommy to two lab/st-bernard littermates, a retriever-mix service dog, and one orange little hobgoblin cat, all of whom have made very audible appearances on the Booked All Night podcast. View more posts