Down the TBR Hole #26

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Hello Hello! How are you?

It’s been a bit of a weird week, I was super unproductive but also really busy at the start of the week and was flailing around a little bit, and I finally got quite a bit done yesterday without getting too distracted aha! How haw your week been? I’m definitely glad it’s Friday and that it’s time for this week’s TBR purge post.

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!

I was actually very surprised and if I’m being honest, quite proud of myself to see that I hadn’t added a single book to my TBR this week! So I’m going to be starting this week’s purge at the same place as I finished last week, with a total of 3,868 books on my Goodreads “Want to Read” Shelf, I’ll be working through the next 20 books on this list starting at #273 for this week’s purge session!

GOODREADS “WANT TO READ” SHELF

Watching You by Lisa Jewell

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you will know that I’m not a fan of thrillers and mysteries without actual dead bodies and a criminal/police investigation. I added this one to my list because Lisa Jewell seems like one of those authors that so many people recommend, but I’m just not going to even both with this book as I know it’s not my thing.

REMOVE

The Flame by Leonard Cohen

I had no idea I had this book on my list, I probably added it without knowing what it was. While I do want to read more poetry, I think that this is really not the place for me to start and it just does not appeal to me one bit. I kind of know who Leonard Cohen is but am not interesting in him or his work, so I’m going to remove this one.

REMOVE

The Echo Room by Parker Peevyhouse

We’re on that bandwagon again. I didn’t know I had this book on my list and I’ve actually never seen it or heard of it before either. It’s young adult science fiction, which sounds kind of interesting to me, and I don’t really know what that blurb is about, but it is giving me serious Saw (the films) vibes and I don’t like that one bit. I’ve never actually seen those films in full, but the bits I did were enough to scar and scare me for life, so I don’t fancy this book at all.

REMOVE

The Purple Swamp Hen and Other Stories by Penelope Lively

I feel like I’ve heard about this book, or seen it on Instagram, but I just can’t place it. I do want to read more short stories, but this blurb doesn’t appeal to me, I don’t like reading stories about mundane events or day-to-day occurrences and families and such, so again, this is an easy choice for me to make.

REMOVE

Into the Jungle by Erica Ferencik

I’m not sure that I’ve ever seen this book before, although the cover and the title really intrigue me, unfortunately, it’s a thriller, and that automatically puts me off as I’m really not in a thriller mood at the moment. Apparently, she is the same author of another book I removed last week, so that doesn’t really bode well, does it? Again, I tried to read the blurb and it just didn’t go into my brain, when that happens I just can’t be bothered to make the effort to really read it, so I’m going to take this one off the list.

REMOVE

The Arrangement by Robyn Harding

Finally a book I remember hearing about and consciously adding to the list (phew ehe). This book was talked about by Kayla from Books and Lala and that’s all I remember, oh and it’s a thriller (yikes). Apparently it’s also domestic suspense and I just can’t get down with that genre/subgenre. It does sort of sound interesting after having read the blurb, but I’m not a fan of domestic suspense or family/affair thrillers, so another easy choice for me.

REMOVE

This Time Will Be Different by Misa Sugiura

Oh yay, a book I have seen before, and I even own it already. I got this one in an Illumicrate box: confession time, I bought the box for the bookends that they were doing last year and I didn’t really care about what else was in the boxes, I know, I’m bad. However, I don’t know what this book is about… I’ve now read it and I’m not that interested in it, but for the sake of having it already, I think I am going to try it.

KEEP

Mirror in the Sky by Aditi Khorana

Another young adult science fiction book that I had never heard about before – again. This is another one of those books that I would probably have absolutely loved had I read it about 5 or 6 years ago. Unfortunately, now my reading tastes have changed and this type of blurb appeals to me much less, so again, an easy choice.

REMOVE

Nyxia (#1) by Scott Reintgen

Another YA science fiction, but this time, it’s one I recognise and I think I know what it’s about. I’ve heard quite a bit about it and I was actually expecting it to not be my thing, but that blurb completely won me over. I don’t read that much space science fiction if you know what I mean, but it actually sounds so good that I can’t not give it a shot.

KEEP

Black Enough: Stories of Being Young & Black in America edited by Ibi Zoboi

This anthology has been on my radar ever since it was released last year, I’ve been trying to get into anthologies and short stories more and I think this one will be amazing, I don’t need to say more about it, I really want to read it and I hope to get to it soon.

KEEP

My Lovely Wife by Samantha Downing

This is another book I added to my list after having seen Kayla from Books and Lala talk about it, and I know I don’t like thrillers, I know it, but it never seems to stop me from adding them to my TBR! The blurb actually kind of intrigues me, but I know myself and I know that I won’t enjoy this one as much as I would want to, unfortunately.

REMOVE

Bad Girls with Perfect Faces by Lynn Weingarten

I don’t think I’ve heard of this book before and the cover it’s very nice, but I was nearly totally won over when I saw it was YA mystery aha. As you know, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson was recommended to me by my lovely friend And On She Reads and I am totally obsessed with that book and now with the genre. That being said, I’m glad I read the blurb though because I’m not a fan of people posing online plots so I think I will give this one a miss.

REMOVE

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore

Another book I added because of a Books and Lala video, this one, however, is YA fantasy, so I already have higher expectations for it. I’ve also heard so much about this author. This book sounds so amazing to me, it’s sort of a Romeo and Juliet retelling I suppose, but with magic and it just sounds incredible, so this is definitely staying on the list and I really hope I love it as much as Kayla did.

KEEP

Survive the Night by Danielle Vega

I’ve never heard of this book before (this is turning into a trend apparently in these posts), and the fact that it’s a YA horror scares me already, I’m such a wimp. It kind of sounds good, but it’s not really my thing, I don’t think it would be very scary to me, but I just don’t think that I would enjoy the plot if I’m honest, so I’m going to let this one go.

REMOVE

Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke

I have seen this book so many times on Instagram, I actually already have one of April Genevieve Tucholke’s books, I got Seven Endless Forests in a book box this year and it is one of my most anticipated reads from this year’s releases. The blurb for this one is super vague, but it’s the sort of vague that completely pulls me in, add that to the fact it’s YA mystery and I’m sold!

KEEP

The Heart of Betrayal (#2) by Mary E. Pearson

I read the first book in The Remnant Chronicles with Noly from The Artsy Reader last year for our Hype-A-Thon Readathon and we both really enjoyed it, so I am definitely keeping this one on my list and I hope it will be good. I remember liking the first book but it being fairly vague or a bit confusing and then suddenly getting good, so we will have to see what I think of book 2 when I can get my hands on a copy.

KEEP

Sex and Death: Stories by Sarah Hall

Another anthology collection, I haven’t ever seen this book before so I don’t know what it’s about, but I love the cover art, it reminds me of tattoos and now I want another one haha! Saying that this book is not my thing though, I do want to broaden my horizons and read more anthologies, but I don’t really fancy this one, so I’m going to let it go.

REMOVE

Romancing the Dark in the City of Light by Ann Jacobus

I’m pretty sure I’ve heard about this book before as the title is really nagging me. But it’s another one of those books that I wouldn’t have added had I read the blurb as it’s not my cup of tea, I don’t read much YA contemporary and when I do I have to really be interested in the blurb, which is not the case here.

REMOVE

The One Thing by Marci Lyn Curtis

I seem to have quite a mix on my TBR purge this week, loads that I’ve never heard of, a few that I have, and then there are ones like this one that I just have no idea where they came from or how they got on my radar. Again, this one just sounds weird to me and I know that I won’t enjoy it, so there isn’t any point in me trying it.

REMOVE

My Best Everything by Sarah Tomp

I do try YA/NA or adult romance sometimes, but they are mostly ones that I’ve heard of before or that I’ve seen people review. I don’t find any appeal to this blurb and it’s just not the kind of book I gravitate towards, so I’m finishing this week off with a really easy decision again.

REMOVE

Well, that was a really successful week I think. Out of the 20 books I looked through, I was able to remove a total of 14 books, which I think is now my record of removes! I’m obviously at the point in my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf where I was just adding books for the sake of it when I read a book I liked and saw all the recommended books underneath, so I’m glad I’m tackling this chunk and getting most of them off the list.

My Goodreads TBR is now down to 3,854 books, which is really good, and I will be starting next week’s post at #279. It doesn’t look like I’m making much progress, but the list is really going down fast and I’m coming across some really great sounding stories, so I can’t wait for next week!

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

Ellie xx