Down the TBR Hole #18

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Hello Hello! How are you?

It’s currently so hot in France, I just want to escape to Iceland and hide in an igloo. And I still can’t believe I’ve done this many Down the TBR Hole posts, I mean obviously it goes up every week, but it surprises me anyway aha. So, I think I failed this week again, I added loads of books, they sound good though (well the ones I read the blurbs of, the others just look good!). Let’s just say I’m glad it’s Friday and I can’t try to remove some of the damage… 😇

You know the drill if you haven’t ever read any of my Down the TBR Hole posts before but you want to find out why I started and what rules to follow to do your own TBR list purge on your Goodreads, head over to the first edition of this post to find out more!

For today’s post, I’m starting the purge with a total of 3,933 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf (I haven’t added as many as I thought, but it’s still 30 books oops). I’m going to be looking at the next 20 books on this list as usual and starting today at #200. I hope I can make a bit more of a dent in the TBR, so let’s get this purge started!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Oh my gosh! I had heard of this author before, but never this book and right now I’m so happy to be trigger happy on the add button! This book sounds amazing, I love all things to do with the Titanic, but as the blurb states, I’d never heard of this one before, I think it’s going to be great. I love my historical fiction as you know, and this one sounds like it’s going to be so good, I need to get myself a copy soon!

KEEP

When Breath Becomes Air by Paul Kalanithi

Is this week going to be a nonfiction bandwagon week? I’ve been in a right nonfiction mood lately, I have no idea why, it’s a genre I usually shy away from, but I suppose it’s good to broaden my horizons. However, I’m not sure that memoirs are the route I want to take, especially when they focus on terminal illness, so I think I’ll leave this one out for the time being and maybe add it back later. Have you read it? Did you enjoy it?

REMOVE

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

You may know that I’ve repeatedly mentioned that I’m not a science buff, I really struggle to understand complicated science even though I always loved biology at school, and I’ve always struggled to understand anything to do with the universe and space. So I think this book will be the perfect one to read for me to understand big topics of the universe without it getting too technical or scientific, I’m actually quite looking forward to it now! Do you have any more easy-to-read-and-understand (cause your girl is a bit dumb) books about or involving science?

KEEP

The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman

Whenever I see a historical fiction novel on my TBR, I react like Gus Gus from Cinderella when he goes “Oh goody goody hihihi”, yeah, that’s me right now aha! This book is set after WWI and is set in Australia, two things that I don’t often get to read about, and the blurb sounds just like what I like from this genre, so I’m definitely going to give it a go, also, that cover is gorgeous, so I can’t really say no, can I?

KEEP

The Kiss Quotient (#1) by Helen Hoang

I must say, I wasn’t expecting such a diverse mix of books already! This blurb sounds absolutely hilarious but also like a great book. I love characters that are nerdy and unsure, I love to see how they grow throughout the book, don’t get me wrong, I love a badass kick-butt ninja princess dragon fighter, but I also love more sensitive characters too. I don’t read much romance, but this one sounds like one I will enjoy and I always like to have a few on hand in case I get in a slump and fancy something light and fluffy. I just hope the maths won’t be such a big topic in the book because I’m useless at maths.

KEEP

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark: One Woman’s Obsessive Search for the Golden State Killer by Michelle McNamara

Wow, this is the type of nonfiction I’m talking about! Maybe you read my A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder review and read the revelation that I wanted to be a coroner or police detective before I realised that I’m too maths and science dumb, so this book is definitely up my alley. I love everything crime and murder mystery but have never read a nonfiction true crime! Do you have any more recommendations for me?

KEEP

Not That Bad: Dispatches from Rape Culture by Roxane Gay

I’m so happy to see so many nonfiction books on my TBR, I have no idea why aha! I added this book to my list after I heard Kayla from Books and Lala read and love this anthology. It sounds so interesting and I think it’s going to be emotional, hard-hitting and impactful, and I want to read it as soon as I can! What other anthologies would you recommend?

KEEP

The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life and Freedom on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton

It would seem that I have some incredible-sounding books on my TBR that I didn’t even know about, I suppose I must have been on a nonfiction adding spree. I am currently watching Criminal Minds for the 5th time, and one of the first episodes is about a couple who murdered nearly 20 young girls, and there is a suspicion that the wife didn’t actually know or commit any crimes. I was actually nearly sobbing by the end of that episode, you’ll know why if you’ve seen it, so this book sounds like I’m going to be needing a lot of tissues. This story is about a black man who was arrested for murder and spent 30 years on death row for a crime he didn’t commit, I think it’s going to be a hard book to read, but very much needed.

KEEP

Educated by Tara Westover

Finally, a nonfiction memoir that I actually own! I still haven’t read it, but I feel a bit less guilty about not being able to read it because I don’t own it. How long will it take me to get to it though? I have barely any knowledge about America, even less about survivalists, is it like the preppers? No idea lol! This blurb sounds really interesting, I’ve always wondered about people who can’t or don’t go to school and what their lives look like, I’m excited to pick it up soon.

KEEP

The Dark Between Stars by Atticus Poetry

Funnily enough, Atticus is super famous in France for some reason, so I’ve always been really curious about his books. It’s not his first book, but I’m sure that’s on the list somewhere too, and as I want to read all his work, I’m not to worried about what I pick first. I’m usually sceptical about poetry, but I want to give this collection a shot.

KEEP

The Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo

I’ve heard so much about this book and author, even before I was on Bookstagram and Book Twitter, so this is a very easy decision! I’m not doing very well removing books this time am I?

KEEP

She Felt Like Feeling Nothing by R.H. Sin

Again, I’m trying to broaden my horizons and read more poetry collections, I have had this one bookmarked on Instagram for so long, and I’m glad it’s on this list too because now I have an excuse to read it one day. I hope I get to it soon, I’m sure it’s an uplifting read! What are your favourite poetry collections?

KEEP

Take Me with You by Andrea Gibson

Another poetry collection that sounds so cool, I think I’ve finally found the books I’ve been looking for! This one sounds really great too, I’m looking forward to reading these “messages big enough to stay with you”, I think I’m going to really enjoy it, and I always love the addition of illustrations!

KEEP

Heart Talk: Poetic Wisdom for a Better Life by Cleo Wade

I really hate it when a poetry collection is blurbed for fans of Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur because unfortunately, I didn’t like that book at all. But this book does sound like something I would enjoy, hopefully, so I think I’ll give it a chance. I hope there are some not very good sounding books on my list because I’m really failing at removing them.

KEEP

For Every One by Jason Reynolds

This book sounds exactly like what I’ve been searching for in poetry for ages and I have nothing else to say but Yes I Want to Read This Book and I Will Endeavour To Do So Soon (but also, please hold me accountable 🤣).

KEEP

Taking the Arrow Out of the Heart by Alice Walker

We are obviously on a poetry collection bandwagon today, the previous time this happened I didn’t find many intriguing enough to want to read and now I’m struggling to say no, so I’ll just save myself the trouble and keep it, I can always fix this failure next week… I hope.

KEEP

Brown: Poems by Kevin Young

Again, I had no idea I had so many poetry collections on my TBR, let alone some that are so critical and important, at the moment especially. I’m going to have to do a poetry haul soon, I’m really looking forward to reading this one.

KEEP

Useless Magic: Lyrics and Poetry by Florence Welch

I didn’t even know that the singer from Florence + the Machine had written a book and that I had it on my TBR. I love this group, but I don’t think that this is a reason to read her book, I don’t really feel it, the blurb sounds okay, but not really what I fancy, so I can finally remove something, phew!

REMOVE

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

I’ve had this book on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf ever since it came out and every single time I read the blurb, the first lines grab me and I remember why I wanted to read this book. I love fantasy series, this one sounds like it has some amazing cultural elements that I often look for in this genre, so I’m going to try to get to it one of these days.

KEEP

To Kill a Kingdom by Alexandra Christo

This sounds like a dark retelling of The Little Mermaid, which is actually one of my favourite Disney movies even though I’m not a fan of mermaids, go figure. I love retellings that are on the dark side, so this is a must-read for me!

KEEP

I think I’ve done really really bad!!! Argh, out of the 20 books I looked at today, I was only able to remove 2 books. It’s really bad, but I can’t really do anything about it since these books all sound amazing and so different and unique, so I’m going to indulge my naughtiness this once and try to fix it next time. I’ve also found some great-sounding books, so I suppose it’s not a total failure.

This week, I was able to get my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to a total of 3,923 books by removing some more books by the same authors. I think I should try to read the book I currently have on my TBR by those authors instead of keeping them all, that way I can keep the TBR not too crazy and also evaluate if I like their writing style. I haven’t done brilliant, but I haven’t done awful either, I’ve managed to get a few off, that’s what matters. I will be starting next week’s post at #217, please pray for me that I can remove more from the list next week!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post even though it was disgraceful aha. See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx