Series I can’t bring myself to finish and books I cannot bring myself to start!

A long while ago, I saw a fantastic post by Ali over on I Wuv Books about series she cannot bring herself to finish. I was inspired to follow in her footsteps… Only, I have to admit, I don’t have so many open-ended series. It’s not just because I’m a series finisher- but because I’m getting happier to quit series I’m not loving. So, in order that this list has a little more substance, I decided to include books I’m scared to start as well. Time to take it away:

Discworld– starting with the big confession (and the big reason I wanted to make this post): I cannot bring myself to finish Discworld. Guys, I basically have Shepherd’s Crown and a couple of others left… and I can’t do it. I’m not emotionally ready for it to be over! In fact, I’ve made up my mind to reread my favourites before I pick up the last one.

Mistborn– so, I *loved* Final Empire when I read it a few years back… then instantly heard the second one wasn’t as good. I hesitated to pick it up (partly cos I’d just had an emotionally scarring experience with a different series, where the second one let me down, and the third still wasn’t out…) Now it’s been *ages* and I can’t believe I haven’t finished this series- even though I hear from no end of sources that it ends well! (and I own the rest!) Again, I don’t want to make excuses, but I would rather to reread the first one before making my way to the end.

Secret of the Commonwealth– this is another where I’ve heard *not such great things* about it. Plus, the final one isn’t out yet, which makes me slow off the mark (…not that this excuses me much, since I’ve owned this book close to a year now and it’s my very last unread physical book).

Goldenhand– this is a bit of an unusual one, because here Garth Nix resurrected one of *my all time favourite* series. I *adore* Abhorsen, so I would love to savour this addition. Yet, it’s also been such a long while that I think a reread refresher would be helpful! (and also thoroughly enjoyable 😉)

Last Kingdom– I’m really torn about continuing with this series- because while I liked reading the first couple of books, I do feel like I’m enjoying the TV series more and don’t want to read spoilery content. That said, I would like to at least catch up to where the show is at. Plus, what if Netflix cancels it? Then I’ll definitely want to read on!

Princess Bride– gosh I love the movie so much, even though I’ve owned the kindle edition for *ages*, and even though the idea of not liking it is inconceivable… I’m still scared to pick it up!

The Gardens of the Moon– for this one, it just comes down to the fact that there’s SO MUCH HYPE. I’ve been burned by older fantasy series before and I’m worried I won’t enjoy it… but even more worrying is if I love it, because then there’s a helluva lot of books to get through! #BookwormProblems- amiright?! 😉

And that’s all I’ve got for now! Do you have any series you’re scared to start or finish? Or just books you’ve been putting on the backburner? Let me know in the comments!

The Book Predictions Tag

Hi all! This week is gonna be pretty busy for me, so I fancied taking my mind off things by looking forward to some of the books I have on my endless TBR and making some predictions… which is gonna be interesting since I’m such a mood reader! Thank you so much to the fantastic No Reads Too Great for tagging me to do this one!

Now let’s see if I have any divination skills…

THE RULES:

1. Pingback to the creator of the tag, @bookprincessreviews 
2. Tag the person who tagged you
3. Find an answer to match each prompt
4. Have fun!

All of these prompts are your predictions for your…

Next Read

Gosh starting with the hardest question for a mood reader!! I just bought All the Pretty Things the other day and would quite like to pick it up (cos I’m definitely feeling the slow burn thriller). But then, I also got Wakenhyrst from my library overdrive and that’s got temptingly gothic vibes. Plus, I also got approved for Ruth Ware’s One by One on Netgalley, which I couldn’t be more excited for… DO YOU SEE MY PROBLEM?!?!

Next 5 Star Read

Ooh so many!! I have a few lined up in my Overdrive holds that I’m hella psyched for:

I just want to read them all asap (but also hoping that they all don’t come at once lol!)

Next 1 Star Read

Okay I have no idea why I would pick up a book that I’d predict will be 1 star?! I’m not exactly shy about saying NAH to a popular book that doesn’t sound like it’s for me. Also, I’m really happy to say, I haven’t rated a single book 1 star this year. And it’s not cos I’m shy about sharing my feelings (you guys will know that’s not the case by now!) but because I’m getting so much better at DNFing. I’m much happier just putting the book down than letting any ambivalence curdle into hate. Also, since I’m so absorbed in other things, it’d take a lot right now for me to finish a book I was hating! I think it’d take a special kind of loathing for me to power through… so, touch wood this doesn’t happen!

Next Love Interest (or Character that Seems Really Cool to You)

Well I bought Gideon the Ninth the other week and I’ve heard amazing things about that… but I have no idea when I’m going to read it! (hehe oh dear, this tag really wasn’t designed for mood readers- was it? 😉)

Next Book You’ll Be Buying

This is also hard to predict! Yeesh! I don’t know if I’ve mentioned this before, but I have a complicated book buying procedure (yes, I really do mean procedure). I prioritise books by how much I want them, then organise by price and then see how much budget is for the month. I very nearly bought Sorcery of Thorns the other day, especially after reading Enchantment of Ravens, but decided to push it off in the end (it’ll happen though! That book is going to be a beauty!)

Tagging: Journey into Books, Beware of the Reader, Hammock of Books, Meeghan Reads, Corner of Laura and anyone who’s not a mood reader LOL! Unless of course you want to struggle through this like me 😉

And that’s all for now! Do you struggle to pick your next read as much as me? What are your thoughts on reading a book you predict will be one star? Let me know in the comments!

Spring Cleaning my TBR!

What I found when I went through my various TBRs is how excited I am to read a lot of the books on my TBR, which was a pleasant surprise, so even though I went through a huge amount of my TBR, I didn’t end up deleting as much as I expected. (I mostly justified this by the fact it usually takes quite a few mentions before a book ends up there in the first place)

I’m not including books I left on, because obviously I don’t need to be convinced to read them, but you know, I’m always amenable to persuasion when it comes to expanding my TBR, which totally defeats the whole point of this exercise 😉

Here’s the ones I removed without a second thought:

Like I said, I didn’t give that much thought to removing those, I simply reread the synopses and wasn’t too enamoured. If you’ve read any of the above and you were blown away, then do scream at me in the comments something to the effect of *YOU’RE MAKING A HUGE MISTAKE!*. Otherwise, let’s move onto the ones I was on the fence about:

Soundless– I’ve seen way too many negative reviews of this and I’ve had a million chances to read this book… it’s just not going to happen.

Follow Me Down– I do still want to check out the author, but preferably with a more popular book.

The Boy Book– I think I’ve got to face facts, as much as I was pleasantly surprised by the first one, I don’t see myself finishing the series ten years later. Besides, there’s newer, shinier books by the same author that I have on my kindle I’d much rather read.

Gathering Blue– this is the weirdest one to take off the TBR, considering the fact that I really liked the Giver. And yet, I’m not feeling the rest of the series anymore and I rarely read dystopia as it is, so I’m gonna leave it.

Ghost Hunter– I frickin’ loved this series when I was younger and I so wanted to finish it. Sadly, I lost track of the books coming out and I’ve forgotten most of what happened by now. Finishing the series would mean rereading all the others and I don’t see that happening. If one day I decide to reread it, I’ll add this to my tbr again.

Exit Unicorns– how cool is that title?! Unfortunately, even the place I originally saw this book wasn’t entirely positive about the book and I really haven’t seen anything good about it to justify reading it (aside from that being one of my favourite titles ever)

All the Lies We Tell– well, I was on the fence about this annnd then I saw the reviews- it’s a romance about a woman hooking up with her brother-in-law- NO THANKS.

The Love Interest– I was curious when I first heard about this- a book playing the love triangle trope sounds fun at least. Since it’s been released though, I’ve only seen reviews wavering between meh and ugh.

All the Wind in the World– admittedly I wavered over this one just because the cover is beautiful. I just haven’t heard enough about it- so maybe someday.

Trust Me, I’m Lying– honestly, it just doesn’t appeal that much. I also don’t know anyone that’s read it and don’t fancy being the guinea pig.

Okay- I’ll admit it, 20 is not a huge amount to delete from my TBR. BUT like I said, I realised there were just *a lot* of books I wanted to read when I did this! Have you tried reducing your TBR? How successful was it? And are there any books on here I should give a second look? Let me know in the comments!

Monthly TBRs- To Be or Not To Be…

Wayyy back in January, I made the mistake of saying in my resolutions that I wanted to try having a monthly TBR this year. It’s not been going so well. At the beginning of March, I came across a TBR I wrote for the month before and realised that while I read 12 in February, I’d actually only read 2 off of the list. “Nevermind,” I thought, “I’ll just write add all of these books to my TBR for March”- have I read any of the books? Nope. Admittedly, I keep falling into a slump, but it’s really not promising. So I decided to think about why it is I don’t tend to stick to these TBRs and what I could potentially do about it.

Why I don’t like having a monthly TBR

I am a MASSIVE mood reader– which means if a book doesn’t take my fancy in that exact moment, it won’t get picked up. And honestly, I consider it a disservice to a book to read it at the wrong time, because if I do try to read when I’m not feeling it, my rating can drop by 1-2 bananas. So yeah, unless I’m powering through a slump, I don’t like to force myself to read things I don’t feel like reading.

I get distracted by library books and ARCs AND ALL THE BEAUTIFUL BOOKS. Okay this makes me sound like I have the attention span of a cat but I have the attention span of a cat guys! I do have a general rule that library books and anything with a deadline will take precedence in my reading (unless it massively contradicts my mood and I know that if I read it, I won’t enjoy it). So a lot of the time, I’ll write a TBR with the best intentions and then some other book will come along *through no fault of my own* I’ll end up reading something else (seriously, how does one walk into a library to return books without walking out with several new ones?)

I don’t like to be dictated to– even by my own list. Yeahhh this is not something I’m totally proud of, yet if a sign says “ENTER”, a part of my brain goes “no thanks!” While I can basically force myself to follow lists for *life’s most mundane tasks*, reading’s supposed to be fun and I associate lists with chores etc. Weirdly enough, if I stick a book close to my bedside or put it in my bag, I’m likely to get seduced by mere proximity (unless I get distracted- see above) BUT if I write it on a list, it’s probably going to get ignored. And I’ll probably get annoyed at myself for putting it on my list in the first place and ergo making my reading less fun, which leads me onto…

It puts the pressure on– and honestly, I’ve been trying to make my reading more relaxing this year, which is the whole reason I made a resolution avoid doing a goodreads challenge… which makes me wonder why I put “try and keep to a tbr” on there too…

 

It reminds me how crazy big my general TBR is and *hello pressure* again. So *WHY* am I even worrying about this?! Okay I better answer that question…

Why I’m trying to have one:

If only it was this easy…

I do want to be more organised. Sometimes I see books that I was supposed to read piling up and that doesn’t feel good to be honest. A lot of my reading is so all over the place that I worry about not ever getting to certain books (especially books that were given as gifts and I’m starting to feel guilty that the *exact right* mood hasn’t struck and I still haven’t read them, but gah I still want to and this is getting silly!­)

SLUMPS SUCK– I definitely feel like the massive downside of being a mood reader is my propensity to fall into slumps. I do get good patches where I can whizz through loads of books at once buuut I also have low points where I go ages without wanting to read at all and that’s no good. Which inevitably means…

My general TBR piles up– and I just end up staring at it guiltily and because I’ve decided that mood reading is the way to go I think that even tackling one little book will be a bad idea and hmph I’m overcomplicating all this aren’t I? 

 

So what to do?

Writing this post has made me think- there are clearly upsides and downsides to having a TBR– at least for me- which is why I’ve decided to compromise! I reckon if I thought it through, I could probably identify a couple of books a month that I should really read and *not go crazy* adding ten books that I know it’s unlikely I’ll pick up. If I can have the wherewithal to stick a couple of books I plan to read close to hand, then I don’t see much difference in putting it on a list (here’s hoping 😉 )

So what do you think? Should I try to have a mini TBR? Or is sporadic reading the way to go? What kinds of TBR do you keep and what works best for you? Let me know in the comments! 

The TBR Tag!

Tis the season for readathons… And yesterday, I had actually planned to do a post announcing a TBR and deciding to plunge straight into one for the first time… Buuuut I kinda missed the boat. Trouble is, as much as I want to join some of these, I am currently drowning under my TBR and often feel like the challenges are more likely to push me under than act like a life raft (yes, I know, overdramatic much?)

So that was a realllly long (and unnecessary) preamble to explain why I’m gonna talk about my crazy TBR- cos maybe, just maybe, shaming myself out of my bad habits *might* force me to change (we can all live in hope)

Anyhoo, thank you so much to the *awesome* Katie @Never Not Reading for tagging me recently and the lovely Reg @ She Latitude and the wonderful Larkin @Wonderfilled Reads for tagging me ions and ions ago too!!

 

Onto the public shaming!!

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

Okay, first question and I’m already going to sound like a basketcase- I have several ways of keeping track of my tbr:

1. My goodreads- nice and normal…
2. My amazon wishlist- for books I will most likely have to buy to read- most “independent” books go on here
3. My physical tbr which I place in full view so that I can’t escape it!!
4. An excel spreadsheet which I try to update with unread kindle books
5. Scraps of paper for books I can get out the library at some point… yeah… if you started reading this thinking I was really organised I doubt you’ll be thinking that now 😉

Here’s my current physical tbr:

Is your TBR mostly print or ebook?

However I can get hold of it! My usual choices are library/second hand sites/reduced ebook

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

I’m a mood reader- but my moods are often determined by whichever books (physical or ebook) that I have to hand 😉

A book that’s been on your TBR the longest.

Annnnd I promised to read that last year- what’s wrong with me?

A book that you recently added to your TBR.

Which one? I am intrigued…

A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover.

I’ve gotten so much better about not adding books for pure cover value- I have been burnt so many times before- but I do have books on my TBR like Homegoing which both sound amazing *and* have pretty covers- result!

A book on your TBR that you NEVER plan on actually reading.

Hahaha you caught me! I have a few books on my TBR I’ll probably never read. A couple of which I got free on my kindle- one is Ulysses and the other is the entire Virginia Woolf collection… I already dnf’d these books but I’m so stubborn I can’t bring myself to say I’m never gonna read it (I’m never gonna read it though)

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for.

Book of Dust!! Pierce Brown’s new book. Licanius trilogy.

A book on your TBR that basically everyone has read except you.

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you.

I first saw A Suitable Lie on Meggy’s blog and recently I’ve seen it tons of places- I want to read it!!

A book on your TBR that you’re just dying to read.

Pahahaha just one?! I’m gonna go with one that I don’t have- otherwise it’ll just be highlighting the fact that I have no excuse not to read so many of the books on my tbr!

And let’s pretend there are no more books I need to read… Oh alright then, here are two more that I’ve been “currently reading” forever because they are long and difficult- SHAME!

(and if I do sporadically try to join into Tome Topple, these will be *it* for me)

The number of books on your goodreads TBR shelf.

Jeez- this is gonna be hard to answer! I considered just sneakily putting my goodreads on here, but that wouldn’t be terribly honest, so I’m going to give a breakdown:

• 90 ebooks
• 282 on goodreads
• 135 on amazon wishlist

So 507… Yeah… like I said I’m drowning *gasp* *splutter* *gasp*

I’m gonna be lazy today and not tag anyone directly, cos I don’t know who has and hasn’t done this- but feel free to do it!!

Okay, that post was about as rambly as my TBR! Do you have a problem keeping up with your TBR? What are your shameful TBR confessions? Commiserate with me in the comments!

My TBR For Now Till The End of Time!

As I mentioned in my last post, I’m trying to get through the books I own (and the books my mum owns)- before I go out and buy any more books dammit! Given that it’s the theme for today’s Top Ten Tuesday I thought it was pretty appropriate (once again, I’m kind of getting on the Top Ten Tuesday train- whilst totally breaking the rules). So without further ado, here is my complete TBR for now until the end of time (or until I get through these) broken down into two helpful categories:

Physical Books

Kindle Books

 

(I just know now that I’ve published this, I’m going to find some other book I have to read and break all my rules :p )

Have you read any of these books? Which ones would you recommend?

And how is your TBR shaping up? Do you ever feel the need for a self-imposed book buying ban?

TBR Book Tag

Thank you to Zezee for the tag! It’s been a while since I’ve done one of these, so I’m super excited! Although admittedly, going through my TBR feels a little bit like sharing my dirty little secrets about all the books I probably-definitely-should’ve read by now!

How do you keep track of your TBR pile?

Keep track of it? I hardly know which way’s up when it comes to my TBR lists. Mostly, I put it on Goodreads and my Amazon wishlist, but I also sometimes just write it on scraps of paper or in my notebook or on my phone. Also there are all the books I own that I’ve taken off of lists, because I think that just having them staring at me will be incentive enough to read them (it isn’t). I really should just combine all these lists already cos it would make my life so much simpler and there are probably doubles on all of them. So, yeah, I take the “organised” approach when it comes to my TBR.

Is your TBR mostly print or e-book?

I don’t ever worry about that. Whichever I can get my hands on first!

How do you determine which book from your TBR to read next?

Ok, I have to admit, I approach my TBR lists with military precision. I have four main lines of attack:

1. Deals on ebooks.
2. Second hand books (mostly on Amazon)
3. Searching library catalogues (I’m lucky enough to live in an area with loads of libraries, so I just search to see which ones have the books I want)
4. Books I already own

Then when it comes to actually reading the books, it’s whatever I’m in the mood for.

A book that’s been on your TBR the longest?

According to Goodreads, it’s Gone by Grant Mitchell. But on my Amazon account it’s Titus Groan by Mervyn Peak. To be honest, I think I’ve wanted to read Titus Groan for longer- probably one of the only reasons I haven’t is because I know my mum has a copy in storage somewhere and so I don’t want to buy another copy.  Which is admittedly a pretty lame reason.

A book you recently added to your TBR?

On Amazon it’s The Young Elites by Marie Lu, because it was recently recommended by a friend. I’m interested by the concept, but I’m still a bit tentative about it because I’ve read Marie Lu’s Prodigy series and wasn’t so enamoured by it (ok, to be more accurate I hated it by the end- it started off alright, but it became increasingly boring and lazily written. And it was completely mismarketed as “a retelling of Les Mis”. I spent all three books wondering what the connection was 😦 )

But on Goodreads it’s Nightfall, which I saw on a spooky book vlog, to get me in the mood for Halloween…

A book on your TBR strictly because of its beautiful cover?

Me? Judge a book by its cover? As if! Just kidding- I do that all the time (after all I bought the entire (dreadful) Pledge series just cos I liked the cover- and you know what? It looks so good that I don’t even regret it). Here are some of the sexy books I’ve been drooling over…

(just realised I’m a sucker for covers with butterflies)

A book on your TBR that you never plan on reading?

Probably Gone by Michael Grant. It’s been on my TBR list for ages and I don’t think I’ll ever bother reading it. I used to like dystopic YA, but it’s become so passé now that I’m a little over it. Same probably goes for the Maze Runner– especially cos I saw the movie and wasn’t impressed.

An unpublished book on your TBR that you’re excited for?

Ahhh how do I pick just one? Ok, so there’s A Gathering of Shadows by V.E. Schwab- I read the first in the series and was completely hooked! In fact, I’m hooked on all things V.E. Schwab at the moment. Then probably The Iron Warrior and Winter cos I’ve read the rest of the series and *need* to know what happens next! And obviously, obviously Winds of Winter.

A book on your TBR that everyone has read but you?

Well everyone on my English Lit course at uni read North and South when it was set- and to my eternal shame I never had time to finish it (whoops!). I now have two copies knocking about somewhere and I’m certain I’ll read it at some point- I swear!! There’s also Mrs Dalloway which I didn’t finish, but don’t feel guilty about because it’s Virginia Woolf and I’ve never managed to finish anything by her cos it’s so goddamn boring! #sorrynotsorry

A book on your TBR that everyone recommends to you?

I’m always being recommended “more Terry Pratchett”. Then there are all the Classics I should’ve read by now, most notably Vanity Fair, Satanic Verses and Love in a Time of Cholera. Oh and my mum is constantly telling me to read something by Isaac Bashevis Singer, My Name is Asher Lev and The King of Schnorrers– which I will do eventually! Also I’ve been told to read The Finkler Question by a friend (just realised there’s a bit of a Jewish theme here…)

A book on your TBR that you’re dying to read?

Ok so I’m gonna* try* to keep this list short:

Finnikin of the Rock (I’ve heard so many good things- particularly that it’s a character based fantasy- what’s not to get excited about?)

The Demon King (I actually have this and have been saving it for a special occasion)

The Forest of Hands and Teeth (it sounds pretty exciting and different- and it doesn’t hurt that the cover’s epic as well)

Lioness Rampant (because I’ve read the first three and I need to know what happens next!)

Darkest Minds (really struggling to get hold of in the UK- ditto with Incarnate)

Gathering Darkness and Well of Ascension also deserve a mention as books in a series I want to finish/continue.

What-do-ya-know? I couldn’t keep it short- whoops!

How many books are in your Goodreads TBR shelf?

Actually just 145, this is partly because there are another 80 books on my Amazon wishlist, and partly because I decided in the summer not to add any more books until I’ve read some of them! Considering I had 150 books on my Goodreads TBR, this is not going spectacularly well (in my defence it’s cos I keep adding things anyway)

*I should also note that in the course of doing this Book Tag I added 5 books to my TBR- which is a bit daft, considering the fact that I thought I’d use this tag as an opportunity to guilt trip myself into reading some of the books on this list. Epic fail*

I’m nominating:

1. After Twilight
2. My Renaissance
3. The Sceptical Reader
4. Dawn of Books
5. Ana’s Lair
6. sherlockianbooklover
7. aimalfarooq
8. Books With A View
9. Raptureinbooks
10. WhyMermaids