Down The TBR Hole is a meme created by lost in a story that revolves around cleansing your TBR of all those books you’re never going to read and sort through it all to know what’s actually on there.
The rules:
- Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
- Order on ascending date added.
- Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
- Read the synopses of the books
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
Picking up from where I left off:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford – Ron Hansen
I’ll be honest. I haven’t read a lot of westerns. I read one not too long ago (but it was a re-telling of Pride and Prejudice, so…) and though I wasn’t in love with the genre, I thought it was okay. I know I put this book on my TBR because it was adapted into a movie, which I still want to see, so I think I’ll probably have to keep this book on my list and hopefully I’ll enjoy it.
Verdict: KEEP
Rivals in the City – Y.S. Lee
This one is an easy keep for me. I’ve read the first 3 books in this series and this is, supposedly, the last one. I definitely want to finish this series. I’ve loves all three other books and I really love Mary Quinn. She’s such an interesting character and this time period (Victorian) is one of my favorites to read about. So yes, definitely a keeper!
Verdict: KEEP
The Unit – Ninni Holmqvist, Marlaine Delargy (Translation)
Despite the over-saturation in the dystopian fiction department in recent years, I still do enjoy a good dystopian work every now and then – if it sounds unique and appeals to me. This one reminds me a lot of Never Let Me Go, which is a good sign, since it’s one of my favorite books of all time! But it’s about people who, if they’re single and reach a certain age, they’re placed in a “Unit” where all their needs are taken care of and they’re basically harvested for organs for other people. But then this woman falls in love with one of the people in her Unit…and that’s trouble! Color me intrigued!
Verdict: KEEP
Girl, Interrupted – Susanna Kaysen
I know I put this book on my TBR because I wanted to see the movie. I still haven’t seen the movie – and I completely forgot about this book! It sounds interesting, especially as I have an interest in books about mental health, but I’m not sure it still holds my interest in this particular case. I could read it, but I think I’ll save it for another time – as there are other books that I have more interest in.
Verdict: GO
Mao’s Last Dancer – Li Cunxin
This is another autobiography/memoir that sounds really interesting! But it’s also 400+ pages and I am only vaguely interested in it. It’s kind of one of those things that I feel I need to read, but I just haven’t picked it up and it’s been on my list for years. When am I actually going to pick this book up? Maybe never. Which is why I’m letting it go. I won’t rule out eventually reading it. But it’s not happening anytime soon.
Verdict: GO
The Red Chamber – Pauline A. Chen
I have a pretty strong interest in Asian culture, especially literature. This was a book I remember coming across when I was a shelver at a library. I thought it sounded interesting and I put it on my list. However, I still haven’t read it! I do mean to read it eventually, but I don’t want to keep it on my TBR anymore. I am interested in it’s potential, but I don’t have any strong desire to.
Verdict: GO
Coma – Robin Cook
Oooh, another dystopian I put on my list! This one was recommended to me by my mom. I actually have her copy in my possession. I really like sci-fi, and this is definitely of the sci-fi dystopian variety. I want to get to it, for sure. I don’t know when, but I’m hoping there’s a reading challenge in my future that this book will be able to fit into. It’s something I want to get around to reading at some point.
Verdict: KEEP
Dangerous Liaisons – Pierre Choderlos de Laclos, Helen Constantine (Translator)
This was an easy book for me to keep, simply because I plan on reading it this year! There’s a reading challenge that it satisfies the prompt for, so I want to hang onto it. I know they made a movie based on this book – which is probably why it ended up on my TBR in the first place. But I think it could be one of those books that might be tricky for me to get through – I haven’t had a lot of luck with French authors (I never liked Candide and I really couldn’t stomach Madam Bovary and stopped reading it). I hope to enjoy this one.
Verdict: KEEP
Shooting Victoria: Madness, Mayhem, and the Rebirth of the British Monarchy – Paul Thomas Murphy
I’m really interested in the premise of this book. It’s constructed around the six attempts on Queen Victoria’s life. I really find myself drawn to Queen Victoria, but I really like the idea that this author has chosen to narrate a story. I had forgotten this book was on my list, but now I’m really considering reading it this year, because the premise sounds so interesting – and Victoria BBC series fans out there?
Verdict: KEEP
Kieli, Volume 1: The Dead Sleep in the Wilderness – Yukako Kabei
This is actually a bit of a funny book story. So, this book exists as a manga, too. I’ve read the first few manga books of this series and I really enjoy the story – it’s got ghosts, it’s got action. I’m a bit of a sucker for that kind of stuff. But this is actually the novel version. I don’t remember if this came first or if the manga did, but I ended up having to order this book on Amazon, because no American bookstores sell it. So I own the book. I definitely want to read it, so I’m hanging onto it.
Verdict: KEEP
Results:
Kept: 7
Discarded: 3
I seem to have done a complete 180 from last week’s post and kept waaaay more than I discarded. But that’s ok. I find this selection of books to be quite interesting and I look forward to reading them!
Thoughts?
So, what do you think? Any books I cut that you wouldn’t? Any books that I’m keeping that aren’t worth my time? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you. See you next week for another meme post.
The Knitpick 