Category: TBR

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile is up to 671 books.  I came across a couple of books while I was catching up on the blogs I read, and I just had to add them to my wish list.

This week’s books:

The Emperor’s Knife by Mazarkis Williams – GO.  The synopsis reads like this is a standard Fantasy novel, but everything else I looked at on Goodreads made me think this is not what it appears to be and I would be better off not bothering to find out.

Wish You Were Here by Leslie Simon – KEEP. I’m sure quite a bit of the “today’s music scene” parts of this book will be obsolete, given that it was published a decade ago, but I don’t care.  I still want to read it.

The Whitefire Crossing by Courtney Schafer – KEEP.  Nothing in the synopsis, or anything else on Goodreads gave me pause. So, while I’m not sure this book will be great, I’m going to give it a chance.

The Last Romanov by Dora Levy Mossanen – GO.  This book was a freebie I snatched up with the assumption that it would be Historical Fiction about Anastasia, but apparently it’s more of a Fantasy in an historical setting than anything else and the main character is fictional.  I’ll pass.

Rose of Fire by Carlos Ruiz Zafón – KEEP. I loved The Shadow of the Wind and The Angel’s Game.  The Prisoner of Heaven is on my TBR and The Labyrinth of Spirits is on my wish list.  This is a 30 page short story that is considered to be book 2.5 in the series.

My TBR pile is back down to 669 books.  I’m hoping to make a significant dent in it while Sci-Fi Summer is happening. It starts in a couple of weeks, so I’m trying to finish at least one more book before then, that way I can focus on all of the wonderful Science Fiction on my TBR.

 

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile is down to 672 books thanks to Bout of Books.

This week’s books:

The Death Series by Tamara Rose Blodgett – GO.  From what I was able to gather from the synopsis, this is a near-future YA Paranormal Dystopian Mystery series that goes way beyond these first 3 books.  That is just way too much to be good. I’m all for brain candy, but not if it’s going to kill my brain cells.

Out of Time Series by Monique Martin – GO. Again, there is too much going on in these books.  This one is a Time-Travel Mystery that also involves Vampires and Romance.  I love Time-Travel novels.  I also love Vampire novels.  I greatly enjoy Mystery series, but usually only when they are somehow book-related. Y’all know my feelings about Romance. Those individual genres or subgenres are great on their own, but I don’t know how anyone can put them all together and do it well.

The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory – KEEP.  It has been a while since I’ve read any books by Gregory, but I have several of them on my TBR, and I’ve enjoyed all of the others I’ve read. They’re not the most historically accurate, but I don’t think they need to be in order to be good reading.

The Reading Group by Elizabeth Noble – KEEP.  You would be right if you said, “this isn’t your usual genre.” Contemporary Women’s Fiction is definitely not what I usually read.  You would also be right if you said I only got it because it involves books.  That is also why it will stay on my TBR for now.

Planet Urth by Jennifer and Christopher Martucci – GO. The synopsis is too vague and when I looked at the reviews, there were far too many of them that were 2 stars or less.

My TBR mountain is down to 669. At the rate I’m going, I think I can hit my goal for the year, which if I remember correctly, is 625.

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile is still at 679 books from last week.  I was hoping to have finished at least one book by today, but that didn’t happen. I am less than 20 pages from finishing Digital Minimalism by Cal Newport, though, so next week should see at least a tiny decrease in the height of the pile.

This week’s books:

Blood Faerie by India Drummond – GO.  As much as I love a story set in Scotland, I’m not into Faeries all that much. I think the only reasons I got this ebook were because of the setting and it was free.

The Girl Who Would Be King by Kelly Thompson – GO. The title doesn’t make sense after reading the synopsis.  Also, the two main characters both have alliterative names, and there doesn’t seem to be any reason as to why.  This was another freebie I picked up at some point, so I’ll pass.

Marking Time by April White – GO.  I’m usually really into stories that involve time travel, but this one doesn’t sound appealing.  It sounds like a weird Sci-Fi mixed in with Historical Romance and a weird Fantasy/Mythology element that I have a feeling won’t make a lot of sense. No thanks.

Creatus by Carmen DeSousa – GO.  The synopsis refers to this book as “Romantic Suspense.” Nope.

Morna’s Legacy by Bethany Claire – GO. The synopsis screams “Outlander” knock-off.  Nope. Nope. Nope.

My TBR mountain is down to 674 books!  I knew at least a couple of this week’s books would find themselves thrown off the TBR, but I didn’t expect all five of them to go.  My goal to get down to 625 books is looking a little more doable.

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile is sitting still at 681 books.  I’m reading a lot more thanks to starting a digital decluttering “challenge,” but the books I’m reading are longer or denser in information, so I haven’t finished any of them yet.

This week’s books:

Lichgates by S.M. Boyce – GO.  Why is it that the main female character *always* has to rely on a male with a dark past or secret to navigate the strange and dangerous new world in which she finds herself? Ugh.

Sword Bearer by Teddy Jacobs – KEEP. The title is a bit generic and unpromising and I’m skeptical about the story, but the synopsis is so well written that I’m intrigued enough to give this book the 50 page test.

Wild-Born by Adrian Howell – KEEP.  I have faith that this will be a fun book.  The story involves a boy with telekinetic powers, a girl who relies on telepathy to speak, and a paranormal world full of danger.  It’s not often that Sci-Fi and Fantasy are combined, and even more rare for that combination to do well enough to make it the finals of any competition.

Frey by Melissa Wright – GO.  “Unaware she’s been bound from using magic…” Is it just me or does that sentence not make sense? Another weird word choice in the synopsis is “Hunted by council…” Not “the council” or “a council”, but just “council”? With a synopsis that poorly written, I’ll pass on this book.

Dead of Winter by James Goss – KEEP. It’s a “Doctor Who” book, so of course I’m going to keep it.

My TBR mountain is down two books to 679 books.  All of next week’s 5 books are potentially doomed to be thrown off the side of the mountain since they were all freebies back when I was still a bit impulsive about downloading free ebooks.  See you next week!

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR. Despite the 24-Hour #Readathon, my TBR pile is only down one  book at 682 books.  I finished so many books last weekend, but some of them weren’t on my TBR, and while spending time on Twitter checking out the readathon hashtag and cheering on other readers, I discovered more books to add!

This week’s books:

The Other of One by Brian Burke – KEEP.  The synopsis is interesting enough for me to give this book the 50 page test.

Sword and Laser Anthology ed. by Veronica Belmont and Tom Merritt – KEEP. I love the Sword and Laser book club, so I snatched this anthology up as soon as it was available.

Division of the Marked by March McCarron – GO.  I was considering keeping this book until it mentioned Romance.  No, thank you.

In a Glass Darkly by Sheridan Le Fanu – KEEP.  I’m hoping to finally get to this during the next 24-Hour Readathon in October, especially since the story “Carmilla” is included.

The Girl in Between by Laekan Zea Kemp – KEEP. I don’t know why, but I love the cover of this book.  I’m skeptical of whether or not it will be worth reading, though.  Like the first book on this week’s list, I’ll give it the 50 page test.

My TBR mountain is down one book to 681 books.  Taking a glance at the next 5 books on my list, there is only one that I know I will be keeping without a doubt, so hopefully I will be shedding a few more books next week.

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile is holding steady at 685 books.  Though I finished a book this week, I didn’t start another one.  I’m already reading 3 books right now, with hardly any time to actually read, so I didn’t want to pick up a 4th only to have it neglected.

This week’s books:

A Dream of Hope and Sorrow by Jonathan Crocker – GO.  Like several of last week’s books, this book comes off sounding generic and uninteresting.

Call of the Herald by Brian Rathbone – GO. I don’t think the synopsis for this book could be any more nondescript and vague.

The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle – KEEP.  This contains all of the stories involving Professor Moriarty.  Since I have only ever seen film or TV adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories, I’m very interested in reading this book.

Anywhere But Here by Jason D. Morrow – KEEP.  I started this one last Summer, but then got distracted by other Sci-Fi books.  I will pick this one up again, hopefully this Summer.

Engines of War by George Mann – KEEP. I would never willingly remove a “Doctor Who” book from my TBR without reading it.

My TBR mountain is down to 683 books.  I still have a long way to hit my goal for this year, but at least I haven’t added any more books.

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile went down one to 687 books.  I finished reading Smash! by Ian Winwood and started Cinderella’s Big Score by Maria Raha. I also started reading Day After Night by Anita Diamant.

This week’s books:

Halfway Dead by Terry Maggert – KEEP.  “Come for the waffles. Stay for the magic.”  That’s the first sentence of the synopsis on Goodreads.  Yes, please!

The Space Between by Diana Gabaldon – KEEP. This one is a no-brainer, considering my love for all things “Outlander.”

Shadow of the Sun by Laura Kreitzer – GO.  This book sounded like it might be vaguely interesting until the last couple of sentences in the synopsis.  At that point it sounded like the author had tried to put too many elements into the story and the plot would wind up being ridiculous.  No, thanks.

Sora’s Quest by T.L. Shreffler – GO.  I have the feeling that even though the synopsis doesn’t mention any romance, this is going to basically be a Paranormal Romance.  Not interested.

Everflame by Dylan Lee Peters – GO. “…an epic battle of good versus evil.”  What is it with these free ebooks and their generic story lines?!

My TBR mountain is down to 685 books.  It would be lower if I hadn’t added a couple of books to my wish list, but it could have been higher had I not finished a book and started two others.  The one good thing, for my wallet anyway, is that I haven’t bought any more books this week.  Instead, I checked out Day After Night from my local public library.

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile went up again to 688 books.  After I finished reading Escape From Mr. Lemoncello’s Library by Chris Grabenstein, I immediately added the next books in the series to my wish list.

This week’s books:

Heap House by Edward Carey – GO.  The synopsis is a little confusing and what I thought was a book done in the style of Edward Gorey, or at least in his “mood,” just seems to be a book about an unhappy child that can “hear” inanimate objects talking to him about weird things.  On the surface that sort of sounds interesting, but…I don’t know…I’m just not feeling it.

Roverandom by J.R.R. Tolkien – KEEP. I’ve read this one before, but it’s been well over a decade.  It’s one of my fave non-Hobbit-related tales by Tolkien and it’s also one of my favorite titles!  I love saying it 🙂

Double Booked for Death by Ali Brandon – KEEP.  This is the first book in one of the many book-related Mystery series I would love to try out.  I’m trying to get through a couple of other series before I pick this one up, though, so it’s still on my wish list.

Tommy Black and the Coat of Invincibility by Jake Kerr – KEEP.  I absolutely LOVED Tommy Black and the Staff of Light, so there is no way I won’t be reading this at some point.  I’m in no hurry, though, since the 3rd book in the series was supposed to have been released in 2016, but is still not available as far as I can tell.

Child of the Prophecy by Juliet Marillier – KEEP. I’ve been wanting to read this one for a long time now, but it’s long, and I’m afraid my few bits of time to read during the week will make it difficult for me to stay in the story.  Marillier writes stories you really have to immerse yourself in and only stop reading to come up for tea, food, and bathroom breaks every once in awhile.  I need a long weekend with nothing to do and nowhere to go when I’m also not sick.

My TBR mountain is down one to 687 books.  I’ve proven to myself that not adding any more books is nearly impossible, especially when I start a new-to-me Middle-Grade series.  I’m perfectly fine with adding more books to my TBR if it means I’m loving what I read!

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

My TBR pile shot up to 686 books, mostly because I finally got around to adding the books I’ve bought in the past few months, and partly because I added some books to my wish list.

This week’s books:

Rest Haven by Erik Therme – KEEP.  This book sounds like the perfect kind of Horror for me to read during the Dewey’s 24-Hour Readathon in October.

The Reader by Traci Chee – KEEP. I found out about this book during a panel at the Texas Book Festival several years ago.  The story is set in a world where no one reads or even knows what books are, and that is terrifying to me.  I must read it!

Burn Baby Burn by Meg Medina – KEEP.  I found out about this one during the very same panel.  It’s YA Historical Fiction about a time I know very little about, 1977 in New York when a serial killer known as Son of Sam was out killing people on the streets.

Curse of the Boggin by D.J. MacHale – KEEP.  I found out about this book at a different panel that day at that Texas Book Festival.  It’s written by the creator of the show “Are You Afraid of the Dark?”  This book also involves a mysterious library.  I’m hoping to finally pick this one up during the 24-Hour Readathon.

The Forever King by Molly Cochran – KEEP. I bought this book when I realized that I already had the 2nd book in the series, The Broken Sword.  I started it quite awhile back, but got sidetracked by another book and never picked it back up.  I think reading it sometime this Spring is a good idea.

My TBR mountain is still at 686 books.  I’m only a couple of posts away from getting into the books I added in 2017 and the halfway point of the mountain, assuming I don’t add any more books.  I wonder if that’s even possible?!

Down the TBR Hole was started by Lia over at Lost in a Story.  All book covers are linked to Goodreads unless otherwise noted.

How it works:

• Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I will be repeating this process until I’ve filtered out my entire TBR.

I’ve been very sick this past week, which means I’ve had time on my hands to read whenever I’m not sleeping.  My TBR pile is down one to 674 books.

This week’s books:

The 131/2 Lives of Captain Bluebear by Walter Moers – KEEP.  This is the first book in the “Zamonien” series, of which I have read books 4 and 6, The Labyrinth of Dreaming Books and The City of Dreaming Books. The series doesn’t have to be read in order, similar to Terry Pratchett’s “Disc World” series, but some of the books (including the 2nd) haven’t been translated into English from the original German yet.

Deadlight Jack by Mark Onspaugh – KEEP. I got this book through Netgalley quite a long time ago and still haven’t gotten around to reading and reviewing it. It’s supposed to be a Fantasy Horror Thriller, similar to the kind of fantastic stories written by Joe Hill.  We’ll see.

The Boy in the Cemetery by Sebastian Gregory – KEEP.  I’m not gonna lie, it was the cover and the title that grabbed my attention.  They remind me of something Neil Gaiman would write, such as The Graveyard Book.  The synopsis didn’t end that feeling so I’ll keep this one and keep my fingers crossed that it lives up to my expectations.

The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud – KEEP.  Like The Boy in the Cemetery, this book’s title and cover were what made me pick it up, and the synopsis sealed the deal on me keeping it.  Also, the “Readers Also Enjoyed” section on this book’s Goodreads page is full of books I loved reading, including Greenglass House by Kate Milford.

Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen – KEEP.  An atlas of all of the lands in myth and legend? A ship that can take you to any of them?!  Yes, please!!

My to-read shelf is holding steady at 674 books. Sometimes the slightly younger version of me knew what she was doing when she added books to her TBR.  This week’s batch of books is proof of that.