Down the TBR Hole #19

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Hello Hello! How are you?

After a bit of a hectic week, I’m back for my usual Friday post: the purge! I can’t believe it’s already July, it’s the middle of the year and I’ve nearly reached my Goodreads reading goal for 2020 eeek! I’m so glad that I decided to start this post “series” because I feel like I’ve come a long way, and I love being reminded of the brilliant books I have to read! I’ve got to learn to stop blathering though, so here I go.

I’m writing this post a few days before it goes up on my blog because I don’t want to fail again and add loads of books, so I’m scheduling it early to prevent guilt aha! You may have seen my post from last week, I completely failed and only managed to remove two books, so I hope today will be more productive and successful.

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!

Today, I’m starting this post at 3,924 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf, and I’m going to tackle the next 20 books, as usual, starting at #217. I hope I can remove some more this week because it’s getting a bit ridiculous aha! Wish me luck!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

The Astonishing Color of After by Emily X.R. Pan

I’ve heard so much about this book over the years and so many people have raved about it, I still can’t believe I haven’t gotten to it yet. I haven’t read many books with suicide and it’s probably going to be very hard-hitting, but I really want to read it, I think it’s going to be emotional and impactful.

KEEP

Save the Date by Morgan Matson

I remember adding this book to my TBR a few years ago when I was still on the contemporary bandwagon not knowing what I liked really. I do tend to prefer YA contemporary to adult contemporary, but the blurb sounds a bit too boring for my personal taste, so I think this is going to be an easy choice.

REMOVE

Starry Eyes by Jenn Bennett

Again, another YA contemporary that I added a few years ago. I’m not too sure about it really, it seems to have good ratings, but the blurb doesn’t really draw me in, I feel like there is only so far this book can go and I think I already know what’s going to happen, so I don’t think I want to bother.

REMOVE

All the Little Lights by Jamie McGuire

I can’t actually remember adding this one, it’s a YA romance, which I don’t really read. It actually sounds quite intriguing, but I only like a certain type of romance book and I’m not sure this is that. I might add it again at a later time, but I hadn’t actually ever heard of it before, so I think this is an easy choice.

REMOVE

Sky in the Deep (#1) by Adrienne Young

I love YA fantasy series so much, I’m so glad I seem to have sooo many on my TBR!! I love how this sort of comes under historical fiction and mythology as well, I can imagine that the world-building is cool. The blurb has completely drawn me in and now I want to read it!

KEEP

The Summer of Impossible Things by Rowan Coleman

I can’t remember adding this one either actually, but I love science fiction time travel, and this one sounds like something I will love. I’ve only read a few books with time travel, but I love the magical vibes I get from them, so I’m definitely going to give it a chance!

KEEP

Women Talking by Miriam Toews

I honestly don’t think I’ve ever read a Feminist book before, but I want to give them a shot. I have to say that the cover is giving me The Handmaid’s Tale vibes and I weirdly didn’t really but actually did enjoy that book, does that make sense? The fact that this book is based on real events is really intriguing to me and this storyline sounds like something I would enjoy. I love books where women are so strong and fight for one another, I can’t wait to see if they decide to stay in the colony or escape, I’m so glad I had this added on my TBR, I think it’s going to be good!

KEEP

Long Live the Tribe of Fatherless Girls by T. Kira Madden

I think that the reason I added this book was because both the title and the cover really drew me in, but I have no idea what genre this is or what it’s about. Now that I’ve read the blurb, I’m really interested in reading it, it sounds like it’s going to be hard-hitting and maybe a bit close to home, but I really want to give it a go. I’ve been in a nonfiction mood lately and want to branch out and read more memoirs, so this is definitely staying on the list!

KEEP

13 Dates by Matt Dunn

First off, I’m not a fan of Women’s Fiction/ Chick Lit, but I do know I’ve had this book on the list for ages. I’m honestly not really bothered about this book, I read half of the blurb and got bored, so I think this is another easy remove. I’m happy I’m finally getting rid of some of these books!

REMOVE

The Identicals by Elin Hilderbrand

Another book I’ve never heard of and have no idea how it got on the TBR, and again, it’s Women’s Fiction, so I don’t know if I’m going to want to read this. Yeah, just read the blurb and family type books are not my thing, it doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy.

REMOVE

Motherless Brooklyn by Jonathan Lethem

I think I’ve discovered a new bandwagon from my Goodreads shelf, I’m calling it the “I didn’t know I had added this book” bandwagon and as you can probably tell, it happens quite a lot in these posts. I also have never ever heard of this book or the author. I usually enjoy mystery, but this blurb doesn’t sound very intriguing to me.

REMOVE

A Lucky Man by Jamel Brinkley

The bandwagon for this week is continuing, I honestly don’t know what books I’ve read for Goodreads to recommend these ones to me. I do want to read more short stories, but this one doesn’t seem to be something I would enjoy, so again, an easy choice to make.

REMOVE

A Bestiary by Lily Hoang

Finally, a book I’ve heard of before, at least, maybe I’ve seen it on Instagram a few times aha! The book doesn’t seem to have an actual blurb on Goodreads, just little reviews by a few people, and I literally cannot be bothered to search for a blurb anywhere else. I can’t say I’ve heard much about this book either, so I think I’m going to take it off the list and maybe add it again later if it takes my fancy.

REMOVE

A Year and A Day by Isabelle Broom

Gah, I wish I didn’t have this many Women’s Fiction/ Chick Lit on my TBR because it’s a genre I’ve not enjoyed before, however many books I read from this category. The blurb does sound somewhat intriguing but it’s not my cup of tea, I know that other people would really enjoy this book, but I’m going to remove it.

REMOVE

Heads of the Coloured People by Nafissa Thompson-Spires

I haven’t read many short stories, but it’s something I really want to try reading more of. This book seems like a very important one, especially for right now and I really want to try to pick this one up soon. Do you have any more recommendations of short stories?

KEEP

A Spark of Light by Jodi Picoult

I know for a fact that I added this book before the cover is beautiful! The synopsis sounds really good though, however, I prefer when these type of thriller books or plots are seen from the point of view after the crime, instead of during it, and I’m not a fan of these topics, so I’m going to remove it.

REMOVE

One Day in December by Josie Silver

Finally, a book that I actually own, yay (mini victory aha). I actually bought this book last year in December for the Hype-A-Thon Readathon as we were reading Christmassy books, and neither Noly or I actually got around to this one (does that surprise you?), I promise we do get some reading done aha! Although this is contemporary romance, it’s definitely in the camp of cute romance stories that I’m more likely to really enjoy, this one gives me One Day vibes and I loved that film, so I really want to get to this, hopefully this Christmas!

KEEP

Gilded Ashes by Rosamund Hodge

I love retellings, especially the darker ones that Rosamund Hodge writes! I’ve already read Cruel Beauty and Crimson Bound and I definitely want to read more from her. I liked Crimson Bound a lot more than Cruel Beauty, but I absolutely want to read this short story retelling of Cinderella, I had no idea it was on my TBR so now I’m really happy!

KEEP

Black Girls Must Die Exhausted: A Novel for Grown Ups by Jayne Allen

I remember that this book screamed at me and I added it instantly, and now that I’ve remembered what the blurb says, I really want to read it. Granted, it’s not the type of book that I would usually read or enjoy, but I’m getting good vibes from this one, so I want to give it a chance.

KEEP

If We Were Villains by M.L Rio

I have heard this book raved about by so many BookTubers, that I can’t even remember where I heard about it first. I love mystery books, and this one sounds like the type of plot that I really enjoy, it makes me think a bit of A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder and maybe Agatha Christie, I don’t really know why, but it’s giving me great vibes. I’m a theatre fan so I’m definitely going to pick this one up as soon as I get a chance!

KEEP

Phew, I know I’ve done much better this week, thankfully, I was starting to get worried that I would forever have 3,000+ books on my TBR! Out of the 20 books I went through today, I have removed a total of 10 books, taking my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf down to 3,911, books. It’s not great, but it’s better than last week! Next week’s post will start at #227 and I spy something really good, so I’m excited!

That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed this post, I feel like I’ve done much better and I’m more optimistic for the next post! See you soon, stay safe,

Ellie xx