Down the TBR Hole #14

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Hello Hello! How are you?

I love it when Friday comes around and I still can’t believe I’ve been doing this “series” on my blog for over 3 months, it’s crazy. I’ve been back home in France since Monday evening and I’m already struggling with the heat and the pollen, but I have a lot of book organising to do, so I’m sure I’m going to be busy over the next weeks!

I haven’t been on Goodreads for a while, so I don’t really know what state my “Want to Read” shelf is in, I think once I’ve done the rest of my “jobs” for today, I’m going to have another clear out of all the sequels from my shelves! If you want to find out how to get started on your own TBR shelf purging journey, you can go read my first post here.

I’m starting today’s post at 4,215 books and working through the next 20 books on the Goodreads “Want to Read” list, starting at #152, I honestly don’t know what today has in store for the TBR, so let’s get purging!!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Summer Days and Summer Nights: Twelve Love Stories edited by Stephanie Perkins

I usually don’t read romance books, and especially not romance short stories like beach reads, but I read the Christmas version of short stories edited by Stephanie Perkins last year and really enjoyed it, so I’m willing to give this one a go.

KEEP

Wonderful Feels Like This by Sara Lövestam

I think this book could be a lovely read, but it’s just not my type of book, I don’t often read contemporary and those I do are quite specific, I’m not a huge fan of music anyway, so I don’t think I would connect with this book at all.

REMOVE

Attachments by Rainbow Rowell

I added all the Rainbow Rowell books to my Goodreads TBR after I read Fangirl last year with Noly for our first round of the Hype-A-Thon Readathon and was actually gifted this book and another one by Rainbow Rowell for Christmas, so I’m not going to go into too much detail or add the other books to this list as I know I want to read them and already do own them. The read-in-the-order-of-publication-mojo was already broken so I’ll just have to roll with it lol.

KEEP

Say You’ll Remember Me by Katy McGarry

This is definitely not the type of contemporary romance I go for and I don’t think I’m going to try it as I’m not a fan of books like this with young delinquents falling in love with the perfect girl, it’s sort of cliché and I’ve read way too many to want to read any more for the time being.

REMOVE

Cinder (#1) by Marissa Meyer

I’ve had Marissa Meyer’s books on my Goodreads TBR for years and I still haven’t read any. I made sure to take off any other books by her as Cinder was her debut and I’m definitely going to read this when I get a chance because it just sounds incredible and I know I’m going to enjoy it. Yesterday I read my first cyberpunk novel and I’m really feeling some type of hybrid science fiction book!

KEEP

My Lady Jane (#1) by Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton and Jodi Meadows

This is another series I’ve had on my list for ages and I do particularly enjoy author collab books so I think I’m really going to enjoy it. I’ve heard some really great things about this book, the blurb is hilarious and I was only asking about historical fiction series the other day, so I think this is the perfect opportunity to remember about this book and move it up the list of books to read. I love conspiracy type books and it sounds like it’s going to be an amazing experience!

KEEP

Made You Up by Francesca Zappia

 I think I added this book because I want to read Eliza and Her Monsters, and now that I’ve read the blurb for this one, I don’t think it appeals to me like her other book. I do like to read books with mental health rep, but I’m not really feeling this book as it’s focused on schizophrenia and not knowing what is real or delusion. I’ve read another book like this one and it just made me so uncomfortable, I’m not ready to give this one a shot.

REMOVE

The Darkest Minds (#1) by Alexandra Bracken

I don’t even remember adding this one to my list, but I’m really glad I did because the blurb sounds so great. I’m a fan of dystopia novels, especially series and this one sounds right up my street, it makes me think a bit of Wilder Girls crossed with The Maze Runner, although I hope it’s better than the former because I wasn’t a fan, and I still haven’t read The Maze Runner although I own the entire series. I’ll have to make more time for my love of dystopias, if you have any more great recs, comment with them down below!

KEEP

Brightly Woven by Alexandra Bracken

I don’t remember adding this one either, and it must have been during one of my “add-all” sessions because although this is a fantasy, the blurb really isn’t doing anything for me. I know that a lot of fantasy novels and series may sound the same, but they really aren’t whereas this one does sound really rather generic and I’m not feeling it.

REMOVE

The Light We Lost by Jill Santopolo

I’m sure I added this book during my contemporary books adding binge and I don’t really know why lol, I’m definitely no longer a fan of contemporaries as I was before. The cover really drew me in, but the blurb sounded literally the same as One Day by David Nicholls, I’ve seen the film, but not read the book and I don’t really fancy reading books that sound exactly the same as others I’ve read or watched the movies of.

REMOVE

Forget Me Not by Ellie Terry

I had no idea this book was on my TBR, I’ve never heard anyone talk about it, but it sounds like such a wonderful Middle Grade poetry book that I absolutely want to read it. I’ve never read anything where the MC has Tourette’s Syndrome so I’m really interested about it, and as it is an MG book, I’m sure it’s going to be even more meaningful and beautiful. The cover is also stunning, I’m glad that I’m sometimes crazy and add books without reading the blurbs because I would never have found it if not!

KEEP

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

I’ve had this one on my TBR ever since it came out and I have no idea why I haven’t gotten to it yet because it sounds like a book I’m sure to love. I hadn’t realised how many books Kristin Hannah has written, but I’m not interested in her earlier ones, so I’ll just stick with the ones by her that I already have on my TBR for now. Historical fiction is one of my favourite genres and I’m really looking forward to finally picking up a book set in Alaska!

KEEP

Tales of the Peculiar (#0.5) by Ransom Riggs

I’ve read the first three books in this series after I watched the film and I absolutely fell in love with it, it’s actually one of my all-time favourite series and I really need to find my reading mojo to power through the fourth book. I’ve owned it since last year (and it’s the next book on this list, but for the sake of it, I’m just going to mention it here and say I’m keeping it along with the novella) and I started it, but haven’t picked it up for ages, so I definitely need to do that and also find a copy of this novella. I can’t wait for the next adventures in this series.

KEEP

Red Queen (#1) by Victoria Aveyard

Yay, I was so happy to see that this is another dystopian series, I’m really in a dystopian mood so I might have to have a series binge soon. I’ve had this book on my shelf for a few years I believe but I’ve just never picked it up because of new releases, but now that I’ve read the blurb again – which has totally captivated me – I know I really need to prioritise it!

KEEP

The Queen of the Tearling (#1) by Erika Johansen

Another fantasy series that I’ve been meaning to get to for years, and apparently it’s also described as a dystopia on Goodreads, so that makes me a happy bunny and now I need all your dystopian recs please! It just sounds like such an amazing series and I’m sure I’m going to love it, I got a copy of this book while I was in Scotland so I hope I’ll be able to get to it soon (read that as in the next 5 years).

KEEP

The Crown’s Game (#1) by Evelyn Skye

I added this book to my TBR when I saw that it was one of the Fairyloot books around the time that I was still unsure about getting a subscription, but when I saw this book box and the previous ones and how much people loved them, it totally won me over. But I still haven’t picked up a copy of this book yet. I’ve really loved the few books set in Russia I’ve read and have wanted to branch out and read more diverse cultural books, so I think this will be a perfect choice and it sounds quite a bit like some other fantasy series I’ve read, so I’m looking forward to comparing them.

KEEP

We Are Still Tornadoes by Michael Kun and Susan Mullen

I can definitely see why this book would have appealed to me a few years ago, but at the moment it just doesn’t do anything for me, it sounds like a rather boring contemporary romance and I’m just not going to bother I don’t think.

REMOVE

There Will Be Lies by Nick Lake

I nearly clapped when I saw the genres on Goodreads, I’ve been looking for some YA mysteries for a while, and I can’t actually remember adding this one to the list, although I’m pretty sure that I have another book by the same author on my TBR. Unfortunately, the blurb just sounds a bit too vague and not really captivating, so I think I’m going to give it a miss.

REMOVE

Whisper to Me by Nick Lake

I usually would not go for this book, because it’s not what I read anymore and I normally wouldn’t bother, but I do like books with letters and I do like the odd contemporary, so I think I might give this one a chance.

KEEP

Everything Leads to You by Nina LaCour

Another contemporary I added without really knowing about it, lol…. Reading the blurb I realised that I’m not a fan of books about Hollywood or stars, so this is going to be an easy remove to wrap up this week’s purge session.

REMOVE

Out of this week’s 20 books, I was able to remove a total of 8 books, bringing my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to 4,194 books, which I’m really impressed about. I’ve still got a really long way to go but I seem to be going through them quite quickly, especially when I find the time to do a big sequels removal. I’ll be starting next week at #167 and it looks like quite a diverse mix, I’m looking forward to it!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, see you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx