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Hello Hello! How are you?
Today I’m back with a new episode of Down the TBR Hole in an effort to get the massive list down to a more responsible and achievable amount of books.
You know the drill: if you’ve never 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! One change I am making is that instead of ordering the books in ascending date added, I’m now going to do it by alphabetical order. I don’t know why, it just seems to have more sense this way for me. I’m also going to aim to remove 50% of the books mentioned in each post and update my Goodreads with the books I do actually own!
Leaving off from my previous DTTH post, today I’m starting off with a total of 4,155 books on the “Want to Read” shelf… which means I added more books since the last purge! I’m now going to make it through the next 20 books on the list as usual and aim to remove at least 50%!
The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle
I really like the sound of this book and have kept it on the TBR for a long time, wondering every time I see it if I should keep it or not. I think it would be the perfect book for autumn and October, especially with spooky season. I feel like the premise is also really unique even though the theme of a family curse is quite common. I’m going to keep this one and give it a shot!
KEEP
The Accidental Apprentice (#1 Wilderlore) by Amanda Foody
I’m kind of surprised that I don’t remember adding this book to the TBR because the author is really well-known and I love the cover! But now having read the blurb, I like the sound of it and how unique it seems, I don’t think I’ve ever come across something like it before. It’s a middle-grade fantasy so I’ll be able to add it to the Middle Grade Marvels nominations list!
KEEP
The Accidental Bad Girl by Maxine Kaplan
I’d never heard of this book before and honestly can’t imagine why I would have added it to my TBR as it is really not my kind of book. I don’t read much contemporary fiction anymore, and I just don’t like the sound of the blurb, so this is an easy and fast choice to make.
REMOVE
Accidental Heroes (#1 The Rogues) by Lian Tanner
This is another MG fantasy that I’ve never seen before let alone remember adding to my TBR (I obviously did…). I love the cover but there is something about the blurb that is turning me off a bit, whether it feels a bit too childish for this age group or a bit far-fetched, I’m not sure. But I’m going to listen to my gut and drop it.
REMOVE
Ace of Shades (#1 The Shadow Game) by Amanda Foody
I have had this on my TBR for a while now and I know it is a really popular series and a very well-known author. But I don’t think I actually realised what it was fully about. Something about it is holding me back, a bit like the previous book and I think I have other books by this author, so I’ll keep those ones instead.
REMOVE
Across a Broken Shore by Amy Trueblood
An unknown-to-me YA historical fiction. You know I usually love historical fiction but I really don’t fancy this one from reading the blurb. It’s set in a completely different era to what I usually read and I like reading about new times and places but this just doesn’t take my fancy.
REMOVE
Across the Universe (#1) by Beth Revis
This is a YA science-fiction dystopia that I’ve also never seen before. This book actually sounds very, very similar to To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini, which I started last year but need to try again. I was enjoying that a lot and don’t really want another one just like it, so I’ll get rid of this one.
REMOVE
Actress by Anne Enright
This is a historical fiction set in Ireland that is completely unknown to me. While I love historical fiction about times and places, I’m less of a fan when it’s about one person, unless I have a genuine interest in that person. This just sounds boring to me, so I’m going to give it a miss.
REMOVE
The Adoption Papers by Jackie Kay
This is a book I had to buy for the final bachelor’s courses I followed in Stirling during my Erasmus semester. I actually never got around to reading it because of the COVID-19 lockdown and the tutors changing up the course, so it has been sitting on my shelf since! This does sound interesting and I remember it being really short, but I just don’t fancy it to be completely honest.
REMOVE
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (#1 Adventures for Tom and Huck) by Mark Twain
I’ve had this book on my TBR for years and years since someone gifted me a copy when I was quite young, and never fancied it growing up. Having read the blurb again, it just doesn’t sound like my kind of read. I definitely want to read loads of different classics, but this is not one of them, so I will unhaul it!
REMOVE
Aesop’s Illustrated Fables by Aesop
I really like fairy tales and fables, such as Grimm’s Fairy Tales or The Arabian Nights. I had forgotten that I had Aesop’s Fables on my list as well. But I like that this dates back to Ancient Greece as I really like that historical period. I’m always eager to try new fables and tales as they are great conveyors of morals and lessons, so I’m definitely going to give this collection a go.
KEEP
An Affair of Poisons by Addie Thorley
I have always loved the look of this cover but could never remember what the book was actually about. On reading the first line, I knew I needed to read this book. It is YA historical fantasy about a secret society that murdered King Louis XIV and two enemies becoming possibly unlikely allies. This ticks all my boxes, so definitely keeping it!
KEEP
The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall
Another beautiful cover and a fantasy mystery that I’ve seen about a lot in recent years. Apparently, this is a homage to Sherlock Holmes, a character I truly love! However, on reading the blurb, I’m a little confused because so many things are mentioned and so many creatures and I’m a bit worried that it will turn out to be too full and want to do too much. I’m going to make a hard choice, but take it off the TBR I think.
REMOVE
The Affinity Bridge (#1 Newbury and Hobbes) by George Mann
I’ve never actually heard of this book or seen it before. But now that I have read the blurb I’m so intrigued. This is a sort of historical fiction steampunk mystery series and I want to know more, so I think I am going to try my luck and give this one a chance!
KEEP
African Town by Irene Latham and Charles Waters
I absolutely love historical fiction and I am very interested in knowing everything I can about slavery, but from the voices of the people it affected and not the “universal truth/story” we find in history books. I want to know the real thing and hear their voices. I had forgotten I had added this to the TBR, but I think it will be fascinating and a very important read.
KEEP
After Alice by Gregory Maguire
I do like the story of Alice in Wonderland, however, I don’t really get the point of this retelling with Alice’s friend. I can’t remember an Ada at all and while I did enjoy the original story, I’m not exactly obsessed with it. So I’m not very interested in this book and I have another Alice retelling I am more interested in, so keeping that instead.
REMOVE
After Alice Fell by Kim Taylor Blakemore
This is a historical fiction mystery and from the title, I expected another Alice in Wonderland retelling but I don’t think it is one at all, or at least not at first sight… I like the cover of this one a lot more for starters. This one reminds me of a book I read a while ago called Reconstructing Amelia by Kimberly McCreight, which I wasn’t a fan of, and the blurb doesn’t do it 100% for me.
REMOVE
After All (#1 Cape Harbor) by Heidi McLaughlin
This is a romance about guilt, forgiveness and finding love again from what I can glean from the blurb. If you know me, you’ll realise this is not my cup of tea. It might have been for 15-year-old Ellie, but not for nearly 24-year-old Ellie, so I’m giving it a miss.
REMOVE
After I do by Taylor Jenkins Reid
A few years ago, I read Daisy Jones & the Six by this author and absolutely loved it, so must have subsequently added the rest of her books to my TBR without knowing what they were about. Having read the blurb, this is definitely not the kind of book I usually pick up or enjoy, so I’m going to get rid of it and see what other books by this author I could like.
REMOVE
After Life by Marcus Sakey
I seem to remember hearing about this book before, at least I do know the characters’ names for some reason. This is fantasy, which is my favourite genre, but the blurb is just not grabbing me. I have way too many books on my TBR as it is, so I’m trying to only keep those that really ignite a spark and make me want to read them straight away…
REMOVE
I feel like this was kind of a weird episode, with lots of books I’m not interested in at all, but at least that gets rid of them rapidly.
So, for this week’s post, out of the 20 books I went through, I was able to remove a total of 14 books, which is really good!
That takes the Goodreads Want to Read List down to 4,140 books and I’m hoping this number will go down again next time.
That’s all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx