Back Down The TBR Hole 25.1

You may remember I went down the TBR Hole a few years ago, for quite a while, looking at things on my TBR list I was never going to read, realistically.

Down The TBR Hole is a meme created by Lost in a Story, but Lia has permitted Jody from Jody’s Bookish Haven to adopt it since she is no longer blogging; the only thing changing is you can now link up to your post. This meme will revolve around cleansing your TBR of all those books you’ll never read and sorting through it all to know what’s on there. This is a laid-back meme, so post every week or month, whatever works for you.

I will be posting monthly for a bit on a Thursday, then whenever I want to take some older books off my TBR shelf. And when I post Down The TBR Hole, I may well grab the Linky code and add it to the post. I wonder if other people drop the same books as I do?

Starting point: Goodreads TBR list 931 (plus six in currently reading)

Why am I adding the ‘currently reading?’ Because I tend to put them straight in there when I have too many on my TBR. Most of those do need to be read quickly (ARCs etc), but some go on for a long time.

I’m aiming to reject ten on each of these journeys.

Since I last did my TBR list it’s added seven more years of additions and subtractions. Yes, May 18 was the last sortie, and I got my tbr down to 575. (hollow laugh!) Since then I’ve read one of the books I decided to keep that day (and the rest of its series), but only one! But I’m going to start at the point I left my TBR then, because… well…I’m now on 931, and we’re still talking about books I added in May 2013! I aim to reject ten on each journey down the TBR hole.

Of course, there’s also the issue of whether I have a copy to read already…

This month’s journey Down the TBR Hole 25.1

Time Riders by Alex Scarrow: I don’t have it, it’s part of a series, it survived my last visit to the TBR Hole. But, it reads so interestingly… KEEP

Magic Marks the Spot (Very Nearly Honourable League of Pirates #1) by Caroline Carson: several of my friends gave it good reviews, and the bad ones leave hope… KEEP

The Darwin Elevator by Jason M Hough: I heard great things about this book, but its based on a dystopia, and I really do don’t those well these days. … REJECT (1)

Skye by Kevin John Grote : Much as I love Skye, the badly organised blurb, and the five star review from the author (of just 4 five star reviews, none of which are actual reviews) says everything. … REJECT (2)

Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan. I like books about libraries; I like the sound of this book. Some of my friends liked it, others thought it was okay. I havent bought it in over 12 years, am I ever going to? No, I thought not…. REJECT (3)

The Gubbins Club: The Legend of Charlie’s Gold by Melinda Falgoust. Three reviews I rate highly gave it five stars. It sounds really good. I checked out buying options. Kindle price £7.99 on Amazon, and $9.99 on Smashwords. Get real Melinda. …REJECT (4)

Sir Princess Petra … there was something about this that just made me want to delete it immediately. REJECT (5)

The Adventures of Tomato and Pea: A Bad Idea by Erik Weibel. Sigh… this takes me back to 2013 and Erik’s debut novel. An eleven year-old who had been reviewing books online for several years had written his own books, and by all accounts, it’s excellent. But I’m sorry, Erik, just as you aren’t the kid you were, I don’t read MG books like I did, and I don’t already have a copy…. REJECT (6)

The Rise of the Red Shadow (The Book of Deacon #0.5) by Joseph R Lallo. Well, I never: I have this on kindle. I just finished Lallo’s brilliant Free-wrench series and thought about adding The Book of Deacon… that’s a KEEP, then.

The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde. Something I read recently and enjoyed was likened to Jasper Fforde and a couple of other authors…maybe I should try Mr Fforde for size. And RMD reviews it with 5 stars in 2020. …KEEP (check library)

Tinder by Sally Gardner. I like Sally Gardner, and I like what is said about this. KEEP

Diary of a Wimpey Kid by Jeff Kinney. I suppose it’s on the list because I wanted to know why the kids love it. The reviews suggest others felt the same. It would be ideal to read during a book fair at Lyndhurst if I can find a copy on the secondhand shelf there… like I did with Awful Auntie (which was so good I’d actually buy it). KEEP, but raise it up the priority … or drop.

Nick and Tesla’s High-Voltage Danger Lab… by Bob Pflugfelder. I still like the sound of this… maybe I should get a copy and pass it on to Alex H in a year or two’s time 🙂 KEEP

Writing Fight Scenes: Professional Techniques for Fiction Authors (Writer’s Craft Book 1) By Rayne Hall. Yes. I really ought to get this and read it. I might get around to describing fight scenes better, instead of avoiding them. KEEP

The Time Hunters Vols 1, 2 and 3 by Carl Ashmore. I like Carl Ashmore’s writing, and these all get good reviews. I added it when I was doing a lot of MG reviews. I don’t really need to do them any more. And there’s now ten in the series. Well, that’s interesting… the first is £1.99 on Amazon, which is tempting. But when it gets up to 4.99 per book later, I quail. No, I have enough time travel for MG in my list. REJECT (7, 8 and 9)

Degrees of Delusion by Lindsay Buroker. I have read a lot of Lindsay Buroker’s work. She’s written a lot more I haven’t caught up with. This standalone is an early work that I don’t think is worth following up. REJECT (10)

Summary

So I had to review 18 to get rid of ten (and in passing I dropped another from even earlier, and hesitated over one I have on my kindle, started and put aside.) I think, when it comes down to it, there are books that still belong on my TBR list, and ones that don’t.

Like Time Riders, which might have been dumped if it was the last one I’d reviewed…

The TBR now stands at 920. Heading in the right direction, anyway.