Down the TBR Hole #10

I cannot believe I’ve already done ten of these! Has it already been ten whole weeks!? Time is flying and my TBR is shrinking, bless the heavens!

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 Calligrapher’s Daughter – Eugenia Kim

I’m really interested in Korean culture and history. I’ve read a couple books that take place during this time period – namely the take-over of Korea by Japan. I think this book still sounds interesting to me and since it’s been market as similar to Lisa See and Amy Tan, I feel pretty confident that I’ll like it. Plus, I like that it sounds like it could be a feminist story, which I am always down for!

Verdict: KEEP

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Vaclav & Lena – Haley Tanner

So somehow I didn’t realize that this book is YA? I have never seen it in physical form, I think I came across it in a publishing journal. But anyway, it sounds really good and I can’t believe I forgot about it! The idea of two people bonding over ESL classes sounds like a really sweet meet-cute. I hope this book is as amazing as it sounds, because I’ve decided that I am, in fact, going to read it.

Verdict: KEEP

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Secondhand World – Katherine Min

Another Korean culture-inspired book! This one is YA and it sounds really interesting. For one, the main character is fully assimilated into American culture and is not willing to be subjected to TRADITION and ends up running away with an albino boy. Um, okay, cool! And for another, she suspects her mother is having an affair and wants to expose it. Woah! This sounds like one crazy roller-coaster of a book! Color me intrigued.

Verdict: KEEP

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Forgotten Country – Catherine Chung

So, I must have been on a kick, because this is yet another Korean-culture story, that also deals with Japanese occupation of Korea. There’s a sister dynamic, and the fact that the story is woven with folklore sounds really interesting. I know I definitely still am intrigued by this book. The idea of family drama doesn’t excite me too much, but I think there could be some really nice writing in this and I don’t feel I should rule it out just yet.

Verdict: KEEP

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The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories – Maggie Stiefvater, Tessa Gratton, & Brenna Yovanoff

So this book is just a bunch of short stories written by these amazing woman authors/friends. I’ve read at least one book by each of them and I do like their work! I put this on my list because I like their work. But me and short stories can sometimes not mesh well. I was super excited about this book when it first came out, but I feel my interest has cooled a bit. I’m not ruling out reading it in the future, I just don’t feel like I need to keep in here on my TBR.

Verdict: GO

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Argo: How the CIA and Hollywood Pulled Off the Most Audacious Rescue in History – Antonio Mendez & Matt Baglio

So, you might be aware already that this is has been adapted into a movie. I have seen said movie and I cracked up so much through out the whole thing, and teared up, too. It’s such a fascinating story and there’s so much courage and bravery in it. I definitely want to read this book. My sister bought and read it and she really enjoyed it. I feel like I fell off the wagon, here, by not having read it first, but sometimes that happens. All I can say is I’ll definitely be giving this book a read. Hopefully soon!

Verdict: KEEP

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The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin

I’ve read a couple things by Le Guin. She’s a powerful storyteller and her fantasy stories are epic. This is one of her sci-fi novels, a book about an a man who is the human emissary to a planet where the aliens can change their gender. This book seems like it probably came out before it’s time. I don’t think enough people are talking about it now and should be! I forgot about this book, I put it on my TBR so long ago. But I think it’s definitely something I want to check out, especially since I know what an amazing writer Le Guin is.

Verdict: KEEP

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The Death of Bees – Lisa O’Donnell

I actually started reading this book a while ago. But I didn’t get very far. I wasn’t pulled in right away, and also I had to return it to the library, so I just never got back to it. But I also didn’t feel like I should take it of my TBR quite yet. And now here I am, coming across it again. It’s a story about two sisters, whose parents are abusive, and it’s supposed to be quite dark, but also funny. I don’t know, maybe I’m just too different a person now, but this story doesn’t seem as appealing as it once was. I might read it at some point, but it’s not going to sit on my TBR any longer.

Verdict: GO

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People Who Eat Darkness: The Fate of Lucie Blackman – Richard Lloyd Parry

I’ve read a handful of true crime stories and I was definitely intrigued when I came across this one. An American young woman disappears in Tokyo and her dismembered body is found months later in a seaside cave. WHAT!? And apparently the search and aftermath is really crazy, involving a whole lot of people and a whole lot of time and effort by this journalist to chronicle it all. It’s supposedly written like thriller, despite it being a work of non-fiction. I’m definitely still interested!

Verdict: KEEP

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This Is How You Lose Her – Junot Diaz

This is definitely one of those books I put on my TBR because it came out to amazing hype. Diaz has been a hot ticket author for a long time. But I feel like I have only ever had a peripheral interest in reading his work. This book, while a hit, doesn’t sound like something I would find enjoyable. I don’t know, maybe its because I’m less interested in boy narratives? Who knows. Whatever the case, I think I’ll pass.

Verdict: GO

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Results:

Kept: 7

Discarded: 3

I’m always surprised to find patterns among my TBR. In this case, I had three different books with a Korean-culture base. It makes me wonder if I was just falling down a rabbit hole subject and this was the result. I don’t remember, since it was so long ago. But, it made for some interesting results!

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.