Purging That TBR Pile

Hey all, Dani here.

I’m trying to finish reading some books and write up a few more reviews and book tag posts and such, but right now there are so many books that I really want to read that I can’t decide which to read first and it may be somewhat putting me in a tiny bit of a slump. I’m going to try and push through it though. We’ll see what happens.

To be fair though, I have read something like 19 or 20 books in August already, which is quite a lot.

Anyway, I’ve been seeing people joining the Down The TBR Rabbit Hole bandwagon and going through their TBR piles to cleanse it of books that you just aren’t interested in anymore or don’t see yourself reading, and while I wish that I could actually read all of the books I have marked as to-read on Goodreads, I realistically know that isn’t possible…you know, unless I could get paid to read/review full-time.

So, I’m going to do something similar. Now, the actual post/tag/whatever you’d like to call it has you put your TBR in ascending order by date and then look at the first 5 (or 10 if you’re adventurous) and decide to keep it or ditch it. This means you’re looking at the ones that have been on your list the longest.

At the current moment my Goodreads “Want to Read” shelf has 826 books on it. I think I’ll look at those first 20 (or maybe 26, why not?) and see if I can weed out this list a little bit.

And excuse the poor images I’m about to include here. When I decided to do this post I was already at work and ended up just taking photos of the computer screen so they are not the best quality. Anyway, let’s get started.

Okay, so Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder. I loved the original Study trilogy and I really want to read the newest Study trilogy, but the Glass trilogy stands in the middle. I read the first one a while ago and it was just okay. I didn’t like Opal as much as I did Yelena, but I want to understand whatever part this trilogy might play in the newer books, so I’m going to have to read this one and the third in the trilogy at some point. I’m keeping this one.

Succubus Heat and Succubus Shadows by Richelle Mead. I do enjoy this series and I have no idea why I haven’t finished it yet. I loved the first three. Have I been putting these off because I’m disappointed about the incomplete nature of Mead’s Age of X series? Maybe. I still want to read these though.

Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead. Why is the 3rd book of the series so high on the list? I haven’t even read the 2nd one yet. Weird. Again, I love Richelle Mead so I’m gonna keep this one. Eventually I do plan on reading it.

Cry Wolf, Silver Borne, and Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs. Do I own these books? Yes. Am I super behind on all things Patricia Briggs? Absolutely. I think I’ve only read two Mercy Thompson books and that’s it. At this point I’m thinking that maybe it is time to just admit that I just don’t have enough time to catch up on either of these series. I’m going to cut them from my TBR. But I still own the books, so if my desire to read these comes back then I’ll be ready.

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. Now, this one I’ve actually read the first couple hundred pages. I greatly enjoy all the books I’ve read by Sanderson. I just really miss one of the characters from the first Mistborn book so this one just isn’t bringing that same feeling. I will get back around to this one at some point.

The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. I NEED to read this book. I bought a copy a few months ago so I could read it. Definitely keeping it. I want to read it and then watch the series.

The Once and Future King by T.H. White. I believe I added this during a phase when I was definitely wanting to indulge in my love of Arthurian legends. But then I never picked up the copy sitting on my shelves. I’ll maybe at some point be in the mood to read this, but for now I think I can take it off my Goodreads list.

Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. I think this was a book that I read back in elementary school, but don’t remember well so I put it on here for a reread. I mean, it is a classic. But, since it is a reread I don’t have it as that much of a priority.

Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift. Another idea of a classic piece of literature that I read in childhood and thought of rereading. Ah, the idealized fantasy of being able to devour all of these classics. That was sort of still while I was in school and had quite a bit more free time than I do now. This may be another reread that I take off my Goodreads list.

Fallen by Lauren Kate. Hmm…I bought this back in the time when the Twilight craze was still pretty big and all these similar books were coming out and being talked about. It’s sat on my shelf ever since. I did watch the movie a couple weeks ago; it was as bad as I thought it would be. I don’t know. I just don’t see myself picking this one up anytime soon. I may be pulling it from my bookshelves at home too.

The Gunslinger by Stephen King. I really want to read this series, and go see the movie. I mean, I have read some of the graphic novels. This is a definite keep.

The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan. This one is also a reread. I made it like 5 or 6 books into the series years ago and then stopped. I want to reread the early books and then finish the series. I may try something like reading one a month until I finish the series. Maybe? If that sounds like something you’d like to join me for, then we can figure that out…perhaps start in 2018 and go until we’re done in 2019.

A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin. Obviously I’m keeping these. I want to read them all (only read A Game of Thrones so far). I just need to be in the mood for them first.

Cross My Heart and Hope to Spy by Ally Carter. I really enjoyed the first book in this series and wanted to read the rest of them, but I think now maybe it’s been too long since I read the first one and I’m not really in the mood for this type of story right now. This one will come off my Goodreads list, but I may pick it up someday if I want a fun cute and easy to read story.

Magic Burns by Ilona Andrews. I have so many unfinished urban fantasy series on my TBR list. I want to read this series, but much like with Mercy Thompson, I feel so behind. Unlike with Patricia Briggs though, I enjoyed this one more. I’ll keep the Kate Daniels series for a while longer. I’m not ready to give up just yet.

Magic Strikes and Magic Bleeds by Ilona Andrews.

On the Edge and Bayou Moon by Ilona Andrews. Unlike with the previous series by Andrews, I have not read anything in this particular series, so though I own the books, and I may eventually pick them up, for now I can safely remove these from my Goodreads TBR.

Fang by James Patterson. I liked Fang as a character when I read the Maximum Ride series in my high school years, but I just lost interest in the series, so I don’t think I’ll be getting around to this anytime soon. Bye.

Torment by Lauren Kate. Much like with the first book in the series, I can easily say goodbye to this one.

Don’t Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter. Again, I like Ally Carter’s writing and I enjoyed the first book, but for now I think I’m going to pull this series off my want to read list.

Being Nikki and Runaway by Meg Cabot, and Hunter’s Moon by Meg Cabot. I spent several years being a huge Meg Cabot fan and trying to read every single thing she wrote. The concept of the first Airhead book was interesting, so I’m inclined to want to finish the rest of the trilogy, but I don’t know if/when that will happen. With this other series though, a graphic novel spinoff of Avalon High, it just really didn’t impress me as much as the original novel. So for now I think I can take these books off my list, but if the mood strikes I may read Being Nikki and Runaway.

—

Whew, okay, well that was quite a list, and man, this was a bit longer of a post than I had originally planned on. I eliminated 16 books from my Want to Read list on Goodreads, and kept 13. That’s actually a lot better than I thought. This may be something I do again in the future. Like I mentioned earlier, this list is over 800 books long.