Culling the TBR Pile 26

A blogger called Lia from Lost in a Story created a kind of meme thingy called Down the TBR Hole that aims to cut your TBR pile of the books you no longer want to read and remind yourself of the ones you do want to read.

The process:

Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.
Order on ascending date added.
Take the first 5-10 (or more if you’re feeling adventurous) books.
Read the synopses of the books
Decide: keep it or should it go?

Culling the TBR Pile This Week:

Strands of Bronze and Gold by Jane Nickerson

Honestly, this book still does sound really good to me. It’s a Bluebeard retelling and I know it’s despicable but I love me some Gothic horror. This one is staying.

The Queen’s Daughter by Susan Coventry

Of course I originally added this because I fucking love princesses, but that was a long time ago and I’ve fallen out of love with this blurb. This one is getting culled.

The King’s Rose by Alisa M Libby

I am still really drawn to stories of King Henry VIII’s many wives, and since Catherine Howard was his youngest and also beheaded like Anne Bolyn (but not as famous?) I still want to read this, even though it is a fictional account of the whole ordeal. However, since it was published so long ago(only 2009, but that was a decade ago) and is now out of print, I don’t want to track it down. So unfortunately, this one is getting culled.

Cross My Heart by Sasha Gould

The blurb to this still sounds really good – a historical setting, a forced marriage, a murder. However it’s just not quite appealing enough to me, so this one is getting culled.

Keeping the Castle by Patrice Kindl

I think this would be amusing if it weren’t so love triangle-y. I don’t like reading about assholes who girls fall in love with anyway, so I don’t have the patience to read this – especially when it’s a love triangle and the unchosen suitor is perfectly lovely. This one is getting culled.

Violins of Autumn by Amy McAuley

I’m not into war stories so I don’t know why I even added this. It’s getting culled.

I Love I Hate I Miss My Sister by Amelie Sarn

I’m also not sure why I added this book, because it has completely lost its appeal to me as well. This one is getting culled.

Wolfskin by WR Gingell

This Little Red Riding Hood retelling sounds like it has lots of original twists, so I’m still engaged enough to read it. This one stays.

The Moth Diaries by Rachel Klein

Fucking all-girls boarding school, sapphic subtext, possible vampires? This still sounds to me like a really interesting thriller with a completely unreliable narrator, and I’m still interested in reading it. This one stays.

Fledgling by Octavia Butler

Oh look, more vampires. Pre-pubescent, sexually active vampire. No thanks! This one is getting culled.

VERDICT

Removed: 8

Kept: 2

What do you think? Should I have kept any books? Have you read any, and what did you think of them? Let me know in the comments!

About Nemo

A lover of kittens and all things sparkly, Nemo has a degree in English Literature and specialises in reviewing contemporary, paranormal, mystery/thriller, historical, sci-fi and fantasy Young Adult fiction. She is especially drawn to novels about princesses, strong female friendships, magical powers, and assassins.