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Hello Hello! How are you today?
Itโs been a while, but Iโm finally back with a Down the TBR Hole post this Friday. I have to admit though that all the progress I made last time has totally failed because Iโve added a lot of books to the Want to Read shelf on GoodReads these past months. I was gifted a lot of books for Christmas and my birthday, but I also add books I like the sound of or sequels I want to read, so I have some clearing up to do this year!ย
You know the drill: if youโve 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, Iโm now going to do it in alphabetical order. I donโt know why, it just seems to have more sense this way for me. Iโm 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!
Looking at the last Down the TBR Hole post I did in mid-October, Iโm starting off with a total of 4,284 books on my GoodReads Want to Read Shelf, which is over 100 books more than last timeโฆ Yikes! Now going through the next 20 books on the list to see if I can remove 50% of them!
A un cheveu by Maรซlle Desard
This is a French book I added to my TBR without really taking much notice in the blurb I think because I honestly canโt remember what itโs about. Itโs about a teenager who lost her hair two years prior to the start of the book, I think she must have alopecia or some other form of hair loss/disease. Even though I want to keep reading books about disability/illness/diseases because of awareness and because Iโm passionate, I donโt feel that French books succeed all that well with this theme, and I just donโt fancy the contemporary style of it.ย
REMOVE
After Story by Larissa Behrendt
This sounds interesting, and I probably would have read it a few years ago but it just doesnโt sound like my cup of tea now. It seems to be an Australian literary fiction mystery kind of story, set in England with a mix of searching for one’s literary idols and also coming to terms with the disappearance of a loved one years before, and someone else now. The premise sounds good, but itโs just not something that I fancy, so Iโll give it a miss.
ย
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After the End (#1) by Amy Plum
This is a YA fantasy dystopia that Iโm sure Iโve seen and heard about before, but couldnโt remember the blurb. I still really like dystopia as a genre and need to read more of, and I really like the premise. It seems like it will be filled with secrets and racing against the clock, survival, and T definitely think I should give it a chance, so Iโm going to keep this one.ย
KEEP
After the Fall by Charity Norman
I can already tell by the cover and the genre (contemporary fiction) that I wonโt be keeping this book. But I do need to read the blurb to make sure, lol! It also seems to be a sort of family mystery/thriller set in New Zealand. It doesnโt sound awful my any means, but I really donโt like the family secrets mystery/thriller trope, so Iโll be giving this one a miss.ย
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After the Fall by Kate Hart
Another book with the same title like I had in the previous Down the TBR Hole post. I hadnโt ever heard of this book or seen it before, but it doesnโt surprise me that itโs on my TBR since I had a โclick everything you see on GoodReadsโ phase a few years ago, lol. Iโve just read the blurb and it doesnโt interest me in the least and I just donโt like the sound of it, so I wonโt waste my time!
REMOVE
After the Fire by Will Hill
Another book Iโve never seen or heard of before, but I quite like the cover in a weird kind of way. This is YA fiction, although the cover and the blurb made it sound like Adult. I can already tell that this is really not the book for me. From what I can tell, itโs got a kind of priest or โFather Johnโ at its centre, which makes me say that it might have some kind of religious fanaticism in it. I really, really hate books with that theme and it makes me feel very uncomfortable, so Iโm not even going to attempt to read this book.
REMOVE
After the Flood by Kassandra Montag
Ohhh, I really like the cover of this book, but I think it wonโt be exactly all clouds and rainbows, lol. This one is science-fiction dystopia, but it has family at the centre, and itโs about a mother grieving for her eldest daughter being taken away by her father, and trying to find her in a desolate and destroyed America. I mean, this premise isnโt bad, and I probably would have enjoyed it at one point, but my reading tastes have changed a lot in the past years, and this is no longer something that I want to read.
REMOVE
After the Lights Go Out by Lili Wilkinson
Lotโs of โaftersโ in the titles in this post it would seem! This time we have a YA dystopian science-fiction, which I havenโt seen much of in the previous Down the TBR Hole posts now I come to think of it. Itโs basically a doomโs day prepper kind of story, which doesnโt interested me in the least. Iโm sure this would be a twisty, full of surprises and lots of suspense kind of book, but definitely not my cup of tea, so Iโll be giving it a miss.
REMOVE
After the Party by Cressida Connolly
Changing things up drastically with this adult historical fiction book which from the cover looks to be set in the 1920s, but so far I know nothing about it! Oh, actually it is set just a year before WWII. The blurb is actually rather vague so Iโm not 100% sure what this is about. I think it could be interesting, but Iโve never seen it about and I wish the blurb was a little more precise, because Iโm not sure where this one would go. So, I think for that reason Iโm going to give it a miss.
REMOVE
The Afterlife of Holly Chase by Cynthia Hand
Finally a book Iโve seen and heard of before!! If I remember correctly, it is YA Christmas and apparently also fantasy! And I do still like the sound of this book. Itโs a kind of modern take on A Christmas Carol with a Scrooge this time being a 17-year-old called Holly Chase. I think this will be a fun and cute book to read at Christmas, so Iโll be keeping it on my TBR and adding it to my Wishlist, even though itโs massive already, lol!ย
KEEP
Afterlove by Tanya Byrne
The next book on this list is one I already own as I got it as an โextra/bonus bookโ in either one of the Illumicrate or Fairyloot book boxes. The only problem is that I donโt think itโs my kind of book, but I need to reread the blurb to remember. It sounds like a cute but also hard-hitting book, and I do want to give it a chanceโฆ Itโs just not my usual read so Iโm not sure about it. I think Iโll read 50 pages to see what I think before removing it, so itโll stay for now!
SHOULD I STAY OR SHOULD I GO?ย
Again, but Better by Christine Riccio
Iโve seen this book everywhere and follow the author on social media and YouTube! I really love the cover, itโs so pretty and very cute, but would it be my kind of read? This is YA contemporary romance in which a young girl sign-up for a college semester abroad, in London, to try to get out of her comfort-zone. I did an Erasmus semester in Stirling, Scotland and absolutely loved every minute of it, so I would be tempted to pick this up. But Iโm worried it just wouldnโt gel with me properly as itโs not a genre/style I read now. I think Iโll give this one a miss and wait to see if the author writes anything else that would suit my tastes better.ย
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The Agathas (#1) by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson
Another book Iโve seen about quite a lot and from the off, I think I would enjoy this one more. This is YA mystery, which is a genre Iโve gotten into these past years and thoroughly enjoyed reading. Itโs about girls who keep going missing in a small town in America and one girl who believes the culprit is not who everyone thinksโฆ and it includes references to Agatha Christieโs works. I mean, how could I say no?ย
KEEP
The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
Another historical fiction set before, during or after WWII, and with the same kind of cover as the previous one, which is such a coincidence! Oh, Iโm also not sure about this book. It sounds quite interesting. It is about a woman who goes to Paris to learn photography with Man Ray, but he doesnโt turn out to be what she expected, all mixed in with her learning the craft and being one of the first war correspondents to photograph the liberation of concentration camps. It sounds up my alley, but there is also something bothering or stopping me, so I think I will listen to my instincts and give it a miss.ย
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The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker
This is YA science-fiction, which would usually interest me, but I lost interest about halfway through the blurb, which doesnโt bode well. I think this is a โchanging tastesโ kind of thing and I totally understand why I would have put it on my TBR a few years ago, but unfortunately it is not my cup of tea anymore. I think I have another book by this author on my TBR, so Iโll concentrate on that one first, but for now I think this is a no.
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Age of Myth (#1 The Legends of the First Empire) by Michael J. Sullivan
Iโve seen this one about quite a few times and the title definitely rings a bell for this epic fantasy book. Iโve had to Google this author because I think this is a sort of spin-off from a previous series as the blurb confused me, lol. This blog post details really well where to start with this universe written by this author and Iโve actually discovered that the first book of this โworldโ is already on my TBR. My lovely friend Esther from @BooksCozy recommended The Crown Conspiracy as one of the books for my 12 Books Challenge. So, Iโm going to remove this book and start at the start, with the one already on my 2023 TBR!ย
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The Age of Witches by Louisa Morgan
Ohhhh WITCHES!! I really hope Iโm going to like the blurb because I really like the cover and I really like reading about witches! This is also historical fiction fantasy and it sounds REALLY good. Iโm definitely going to give this one a shot and it seems quite unique as well as keeping in with the usual โwitch themeโ. I think this will be a good book and I will have to get my hands on a copy soon!
KEEP
Agnes at the End of the World by Kelly McWilliams
I love the cover of this book and I vaguely remember seeing it around, but I have to admit that I donโt know what itโs about. This is a YA science fiction dystopian story which sounds like a mix of The Handmaidโs Tale and The Grace Year, which are both books I really enjoyed reading. I really like the cover and the premise, so I want to give it a chance! I have a feeling I will really enjoy it.ย
KEEP
Agnes Moor’s Wild Knight by Alyssa Cole
This is another book with an โAgnesโ in the title, but I donโt think itโs going to be anything like the previous book. Itโs a historical fiction romance, which I must admit, isnโt really my cup of tea. Iโve just read the blurb, and it sounds kind of crass to be honest, at least in my opinion, so this is an easy choice, Iโm not going to be keeping it on the list.ย
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Ain’t I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism by bell books
This is sounds like such an interesting book, and one that Iโd be very intrigued by. However, the fact that it was published over 40 years ago is stopping me, because I know there have been so many other feminist books about women and race published since then. I think for this specific topic, Iโll search for more recent books first and maybe come back to this one later, but Iโll be taking this off the list today.
REMOVE
Well that was not a bad effort and I think I got rid of a lot of books that just didnโt interest me anymore or werenโt my cup of tea to start with.
So, for this weekโs post, out of the 20 books I went through, I was able to remove a total of 14 books, which is really good and over 50% of todayโs list!
That takes the Goodreads Want to Read List down to 4,274 books and Iโm hoping this number will go down again next time.
Thatโs all for now, I hope you enjoyed reading this post.
See you soon, stay safe,
Ellie xx
