tags

Down the TBR Hole #20

Emma4 Comments

Welcome folks to the twentieth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde

Why is it there? Like a lot of book lovers, I went through a stage of reading The Eyre Affair by the same author which is an extremely playful alternate history book where detective Thursday Next flits into the story of Jane Eyre in pursuit of a criminal. It’s every bit as wacky and meta as it sounds. Fast forward to when I added Shades of Grey onto my TBR list purely because I saw its cover in the library and wanted to remember it. Nowadays, its synopsis is interesting enough but I’m no longer dying to read it so…
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

2. I’m the King of the Castle by Susan Hill

Why is it there? I know people who had to read this as assigned reading in school but I haven’t read any Susan Hill… and I’m not entirely sure she’s ever really going to be one of my priority ‘must read’ authors. I hear its sad and emotional and involves children and bullying and neglect and I’m just… I’m not sure I ever want to willingly put myself through this.
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

3. The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson

Why is it there? I’m pretty sure this did the rounds on Booktube a good few years ago, when only the first two books of the trilogy were published and folks were highly anticipating the third and final part of the series. I added it to my TBR around that time when I saw it on (I think) Lainey’s channel (gingerreadslainey for those not familiar), but I’m still yet to read it. My library has the audiobook version though so I may very well give it a go in that format…
 Do I own it? No
Verdict? Keep

Continue reading →

Down the TBR Hole #19

EmmaLeave a comment

Welcome folks to the nineteenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Invisible: The Dangerous Allure of the Unseen by Philip Ball

Why is it there? There are sprinklings of random non-fiction books on my TBR, largely because I occasionally watch Booktubers (such as Charlotte of Chareads) who mostly read non-fiction and this title is definitely an example of that. I’m still intrigued by the premise but I so rarely pick up non-fiction that is there really any point in keeping this book listed on my TBR when I’m trying to be realistic about what books I’m likely to actually read?
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

2. Lexicon by Max Barry

Why is it there? This was a cover buy – I saw it on Booktube and decided I really needed to own a book with such a stunning cover. Since then, I have done precisely zero in terms of actually picking it up to read it. I went to the trouble of buying the hardback edition used though because that cover was so much prettier than the paperback options available, so I can’t really just ditch this book without feeling guilty about all the effort Past Emma went to in order to acquire it.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

3. Night Film by Marisha Pessl

Why is it there? This book definitely did the rounds a few years ago and I’ve still not got to it. I have bought it though, so that’s undoubtedly the first step. As I understand it this book is twisty and turny and told through different documents (newspaper, Internet pages etc.) as well as your typical narrative you’d expect in a book. All of this means that it seems like something you really need to read in one go, or at least you need to devote all of your reading time to it (forgoing the temptations to read other books simultaneously), in order to get the full effect. One day I will be in the mood to do that (hopefully).
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

Continue reading →

Down the TBR Hole #18

Emma1 Comment

Welcome folks to the eighteenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Le Grand Meaulnes by Alain-Fournier

Why is it there? Truth be told, I don’t know much about this novel at all. I hear it’s semi-biographical and the only novel from this author as he died in World War I. Originally written in French, I believe it’s a bildungsroman and is something about the romantic ideal and it’s on Le Monde’s 100 Books of the Century. This is all I know. I’m still not sure if I actually want to read it though.
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

2. This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Why is it there? Confession time: I disliked The Great Gatsby intensely and just DID NOT understand the hype (or indeed the critical appreciation) surrounding it. However, I did enjoy Fitzgerald’s writing style even if the plot wasn’t my cup of tea so, instinctively, I want to try some of his other novels. Starting with his debut seems like a good idea, even if I have heard mixed things about it and it seems horrendously autobiographical. Even so, I’m willing to give it a go…
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Keep

3. The Beautiful and the Damned by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Why is it there? As I mentioned above, I do want to give Fitzgerald another shot, so I also put The Beautiful and the Damned on my TBR. How much I enjoy This Side of Paradise will probably dictate whether or not this novel stays on my TBR in the long term but, for now, I guess it can stay alongside.
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Keep

Continue reading →

Tag | The Shakespeare Book Tag

Emma3 Comments

You may remember that a few weeks ago I did a guest post all about Coriolanus and the body on the lovely Rosie’s blog for her Simply Shakespeare feature. This week Rosie’s post for Simply Shakespeare was a themed tag and it would feel downright rude of me if I didn’t join in with the tag for today’s Tag Thursday – head over to Rosie’s blog to see her tag post or keep reading to see my response below!

1. Much Ado About Nothing: Your favourite bickering couple whom everyone knows really care about each other (can be romantic relationship or friendship)

Considering I’m definitely of the Harry Potter generation could I ever say anyone but Ron and Hermione? They are the ultimate bickering couple, for me it’s on a level with Elizabeth and Darcy from Pride and Prejudice or, indeed, Beatrice and Benedick from Much Ado About Nothing. For me, growing up, Ron and Hermione were just constantly arguing and Harry was the linchpin that held that trio together somehow despite the moments of genuine falling out.

Can I also do a quick shout out for Matthias and Nina from Leigh Bardugo’s Six of Crows duology? I’m not sure they quite “bicker” because it’s more Nina constantly pokes and prods at him and he refuses to rise to it because it’s undignified or whatever, but we all know they do bicker really… or at least they do in fanfics, and I LIVE for it.

2. Measure for Measure: A book whose plot or genre is really hard to explain to other people

American Gods by Neil Gaiman – I have literally no idea what happened in the plot of this book, but I have utmost confidence that Neil Gaiman knew what he was doing at every point. As long as you have faith in the author’s ability to plot, I think it’s ok if you don’t know what happens at every stage!

On a less confusing note, I still also struggle to explain the plot of The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater to a satisfying degree. Yes, it’s about a group of kids who go to a fancy school searching along ley lines for a dead Welsh king, that might be the “plot”, but it’s also not really what the book is “about”. It’s weird and inexplicable.

3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Your favourite book featuring fairies or elves

Unfortunately,  I don’t much like this resurgence of sexy/dangerous fae that seems to have become a fad as of late – I totally blame my dislike of Sarah J Maas’ writing for putting me off anything that now mentions ‘fae’ or ‘faerie court’ in the blurb! So I’m going to have to reach back into the depths of my childhood for one…I used to love the Artemis Fowl series by Eoin Colfer which told the story of the eponymous pre-teen criminal mastermind as he kidnaps for ransom one of the fairies who live in the core of the Earth – not kidding. It was amazing and I actually really want to re-read it this year to remind myself just how great it was and maybe this time I’ll actually finish the series too.

Continue reading →

Down the TBR Hole #17

EmmaLeave a comment

Welcome folks to the seventeenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Why is it there? I randomly own this on Kindle and I’m 99% sure that the only reason I bought this book in the first place when flicking through a Kindle books sale was because I’d vaguely seen it around on Booktube but mainly because I am a sucker for anything that uses the phrase “caught between the devil and the deep blue sea” (see also: Spaceman by The Killers). Since then I’ve heard some not great things about it in terms of plot and characters, but I’ve also heard the tone is really good, so I’m torn. If it delivers on the “blending faded decadence and the thrilling dread of gothic horror” then I am there for it. I guess there’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

2. The Elite by Kiera Cass

Why is it there? I’m pretty sure that back in the day the books in this series were pretty cheap on Kindle so I impulse bought a few of them. The Selection was dumb and fluffy but I actually enjoyed it, for what it was, but I’ve just never quite gotten around to this second book in the series. If you’d asked me last month whether to keep or ditch it, I probably would have ditched it, but my housemate Liz has recently marathoned the books in this series and I kind of want to read them too now so that I can talk to her about them.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

3. Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

Why is it there? This seems to be set in an alternate history steampunk World War I and that, for me, is such a unique setting and concept that I was sold once I knew that’s what it was about. It helps that, much like “the devil and the deep blue sea”, the buzzword of “leviathan” also always piques my interest for no apparent reason. I sense that this is a book I should have probably got too quite a few years ago by this point but I never did… but I think I still want to…
Do I own it? Yes (just)
Verdict? Keep

Continue reading →

Tag | 50 Questions You Have Never Been Asked

Emma3 Comments

You’d think this would be Thursday because I tried to make Tag Thursday a thing but, alas, no, I’m all out of whack because on Wednesday I went to see the touring production of Wicked since they’re in town at the Liverpool Empire. Long story short it was amazing and I loved it, but I didn’t post my usual Wednesday post until yesterday and here I am now posting what would have been Tag Thursday on Friday. Are you keeping up? Basically, this is a tag post and let’s just get to it…

I saw this tag over on the hilarious Emma Oulton’s Booktube channel so definitely go watch her video first/after because she’s lovely and such fun – this is the 50 Questions You Have Never Been Asked tag! Not strictly book-related but it’s an interesting mixed bag of questions for sure.

1. What’s your favourite candle scent?

Ok so I mostly hate floral or sickly candle scents (like vanilla and stuff). I’m a big fan of smoky or autumn and Christmas scents so like cinnamon and apple. This Christmas I bought a mulled wine candle and I love it so much that I’m scared to start burning it because I don’t want to use it up.

2. What female celebrity do you wish was your sister?

Can I be a big ol’ cliche and say Emma Watson? I feel like she’d offer some great life advice. Alternatively: Hayley Atwell, for the same reasons. Or Jessica Chastain. Aaaand… ok I’m going to stop now before this just devolves into a list of females I love.

3. What male celebrity do you wish was your brother?

This is a tricky question for me because I don’t know whether to go for like a sweet younger brother I want to protect or an older brother who can be the protector of the relationship. It also can’t be someone I even vaguely find attractive because, you know, there’s that risk of hypothetical incest which I am not about really. Hmmm. You know what, I only have an answer if I have Hayley Atwell as my sister, and that’s James D’arcy purely because them two as a sibling pair would be all kinds of excellent.

4. How old do you think you’ll be when you get married?

Fuck knows. I don’t even know how to meet people so… something tells me it’ll be a while.

5. Do you know a hoarder?

Yes, my grandmother. Is this a thing with older people where they hold onto crap they definitely don’t need and clutter their house with it?

6. Can you do a split?

Hahahaha no. And I’m pretty sure if I tried, I’d break myself.

Continue reading →

Down the TBR Hole #16

Emma7 Comments

Welcome folks to the sixteenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Exchange by Paul Magrs

Why is it there? I was told it was a book about books… and that’s basically enough for Past Emma to have impulsively added it to her TBR shelf. This, by the way, is how I end up with hundreds of books on my TBR. And in an effort to ditch some books I’m going to not look further than a very basic short synopsis… which is why I’m going to bravely ditch this book from the TBR now because I know if I read reviews I’d actually want to read it probably. So, quick, before I change my mind!
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

2. Marina by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Why is it there? When I read Shadow of the Wind several years ago, it became one of my favourite books. To the point that I’m very hesitant to ever re-read it because I have a feeling if I did, I wouldn’t enjoy it as much, buuut that hasn’t stopped me from adding all the other Carlos Ruiz Zafón books I could find to my TBR, including this one. It looks all dark and macabre and Gothic and I am about it. 
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Keep

3. Rough Music by Patrick Gale

Why is it there? A few years ago at university, a flatmate became quickly obsessed with Patrick Gale. I’d vaguely heard his name around and knew of Notes from an Exhibition which is possibly his most well-known novel, but I’d never heard of this one until my friend bought it. And then I think she ended up with a second copy so she gave me this one and now I have a copy for no apparent reason… here’s the thing, I read like 3/4 of Notes and I enjoyed it but I wasn’t like SUPER into it, so is there any point in trying this one out when I’m trying to be really strict with myself about what I am realistically actually going to pick up and read anytime soon??
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Ditch

Continue reading →

Tag | Reading Habits Book Tag

Emma2 Comments

Evening all! I bring something slightly out of the ordinary today – I bring you a tag. But, Emma, I hear you say, this isn’t Thursday so surely this isn’t a Tag Thursday?!? No, you’re right, it’s not, but my tentative posting schedule no longer sees me post on Thursday so we’ll have to make do with today. A nice easy tag to start off the week. Everybody on-board? Good, let’s begin. This is the Reading Habits Book Tag! I stumbled across this tag on the ever-reliable Thrice Read, so be sure to check out Jenn’s answers if you’re curious. For now, onward to the tag…

Do you have a certain place at home for reading?

Yes, my armchair. I can read elsewhere, but this is my chosen spot. I’ve wanted an armchair like that for years and after living with Liz in Liverpool for over a year I went back to IKEA to finally claim the chair (and footstool) of my dreams, in a rather fetching dark grey colour. It’s probably too big for the living room really but it’s super comfy and I can sprawl in it or I can sit cross-legged in it whilst I read so it’s pretty much #readingchairgoals. Yes I am very definitely in love with this chair, what can I say? I take my reading spots very seriously.

Bookmark or random piece of paper?

I have tonnes of bookmarks so I will always say bookmark. However, if I’ve not had the foresight to bring a bookmark with me and I start a new book when I’m out and about then I’ll most likely use a receipt or train ticket to mark by place until I get home when I will replace the temporary excuse for a bookmark with a nice shiny proper one.

Can you stop reading anytime you want or do you have to stop reading at a certain page, chapter, part etc.?

I like to stop reading only at a page break or a chapter break but I’ve had to develop less of an animosity towards the alternative due to reading on my train journeys to and from work when the train very rudely often pulls into the station when I’m smack-bang in the middle of a page. To be perfectly honest, I think it’s just rude and inconsiderate of the train to interrupt my reading like that!

Do you eat or drink while you read?

Ideally, yes. I like to have a cup of coffee or tea by my side when I’m sitting down to read. However, as previously mentioned, most of my day-to-day reading throughout the week is done on my train journey to/from work so sometimes a cuppa is out of the question. I like to snack on things if I’ve purposely sat down to read too, mostly biscuits if I’m being totally honest!

Can you read while listening to music/watching TV?

I can but I have to be in the right mood to do it. If my concentration isn’t quite there then I don’t even try to do both. I’d probably listen to music I’m very familiar with, or that is instrumental/droning vocals (i.e. Daughter, Bon Iver). I struggle more with reading whilst watching TV, and can only really do it if I’m not actually watching the TV show but I just happen to be in the same room as someone who is watching TV so it’s basically just background noise to me – the classic example is when the football is on since I don’t give a flying fuck about football and I will happily let it become just background noise to me whilst I read something.

One book at a time or several at once?

I couldn’t tell you the last time I was “reading monogamously”, as I like to call it. I’m a polygamous reader through and through, mainly because I like to have an option in each format on the go at any given time – so I’ll listen to an audiobook and have a hardback/paperback novel on the go as well as an ebook on my phone in case I get stuck waiting somewhere. It just maximises my reading time and makes sure I don’t waste any “dead” moments in my day.

Reading at home or everywhere?

I think I’ve preempted this question in my responses above but basically I will try to read anywhere. The one kind of place I struggle to read though is in a crowded coffee shop; as much as I would like to be that kind of reader, I just find it hard to concentrate when conversations are going on around me.

Reading out loud or silently in your head?

I generally read silently in my head, and I haven’t read out loud for years at this point. I have nothing against it though; in fact, I guess audiobooks are a bit like reading out loud!

Do you read ahead or skip pages?

I have never intentionally read ahead. I have completely accidentally read ahead in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when the book fell open on the page with that death, no lies, and I then was devastated and had to read a bit of the preceding and following chapters so I could understand the context because it would have killed me otherwise. However, I never skip full pages…but I wouldn’t say I’ve never skim-read some of the more boring of my required reading. Sorry/not sorry.

Breaking the spine or keeping it new?

I like books to look like they’ve actually been touched, you know? So I really don’t mind about breaking the spine. In fact, it’s kind of a necessity if you don’t want to have to read a paperback very carefully.

Do you write in books?

I certainly used to happily scribble notes in the margins in pencil when I was studying texts at university, and I do love a good bit of marginalia so you can see what the reader was thinking when they were reading it, but I don’t really do it anymore as I read. Nowadays I tend to takes notes or just take a photo of the page I like using the Notes app on my phone, mainly because I like to have the option tor review the things I’ve read on this blog, but I don’t feel the need to scribble a lot of notes in the book itself anymore because I won’t have to sit an exam on it at some point in the future like I used to.

That’s all, folks, that was the Reading Habits Book Tag! If you haven’t yet done this tag I hereby tag you (yes, you) to do the tag yourself and please do link me to it below because I’d love to see your responses to the tag questions!

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Down the TBR Hole #15

EmmaLeave a comment

Welcome folks to the fifteenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (nope, that acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out the previous posts via the tag or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. Grimm Tales: For Young and Old by Philip Pullman

Why is it there? Because Philip Pullman re-wrote a collection of his favourite Grimm brothers fairytales and the cover looks like that… is that not reason enough?
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

2. The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens

Why is it there? I think it’s part of most English students’ desire to say they’ve read a Dickens or two. Well, I have read a Dickens or two by now, but for some foolish reason I decided to add the complete novels of Dickens to my TBR when I was gifted them a couple of Christmases ago. I’m still yet to read this but, as it’s an unfinished novel, it’s quite short for Dickens so I’ll likely get to it sooner than some of his other books (*cough*The Pickwick Papers*cough*).
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

3. Longbourn by Jo Baker

Why is it there? I love Pride and Prejudice so when I saw this novel floating around the online book community, I immediately added it to my TBR. It tells the story of the aforementioned Austen novel but centres around the life of those “downstairs” i.e. the servants – sounds very promising!
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

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Down the TBR Hole #14

Emma4 Comments

Welcome folks to the fourteenth round of Down the TBR Hole! As I mentioned in my last round of DtTH (shall I coin that? the acronym isn’t particularly attractive, is it?), this little project has been a great way of weening down my TBR over the past year so I’ve decided to keep it up and make it a semi-regular feature in order to spring clean my TBR aka be realistic about what books I aspire to read and what books I actually will read.

For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my thirteenth, my twelfth, my eleventh, my tenth, my ninth, my eighth, my seventh, my sixth, my fifth, my fourth, my third, my second or my first round post or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this 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?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. We Need to Talk about Kevin by Lionel Shriver

Why is it there? Not entirely sure how this made it onto my TBR but I suspect it was because it was an Orange Prize for Fiction winner back in 2005 and I’m a little ashamed at how few award-winning books I’ve read. But now I think that if I ever want to experience this story, I’ll probably end up just watching the film (blasphemous as that might sound) because Tilda Swinton is ace. 
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

2. The English Patient by Michael Ondaatje

Why is it there? Literally no clue why this is still on here, or how it even made it onto here in the first place. It’s quite possible it was added when I was feeling enterprising and seriously thought I might read all the Man Booker Prize books. Yeah, no, that was a stupid idea since some of them really don’t interest me, including this one. Sorry/not sorry.
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

3. Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel

Why is it there? I like the time period of history this depicts but I hate straight-up historical books. I wasn’t a big history fan in school but I love the stories of historical figures, so I figured I’d probably be onboard with this sort of thing. I really fancied watching the TV adaptation too but managed to resist ‘until I’d read the book’, or so I’d told myself. Fast forward a few years and here we are and I still haven’t read it. It’s quite relieving to realise that I still want to though.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

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