Down the TBR Hole #12

January 7, 2018

SPECIAL NOTE:

1. Sorry for the two missed Down the TBR Hole posts! With all of the reviews I needed to post and the end-of-year things I wanted to do, I just didn’t have room for this meme during the last two weekends – but it’s back now!

2. It baffles me that last week’s post started in 2014 and this one jumps to starting in 2016! I must have really forgotten all about Goodreads in 2015 and most of 2016!


Down the TBR Hole was originally created over at Lost in a Story, and is a super fun (and simultaneously productive) tag to help you whittle away at those never-ending TBRs! (By the way, you can click on the covers to go to the Goodreads listings!)

It works like this:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 or 15 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?
  • Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!

Current “to-read” shelf: 1,036 titles


BOOKS 136-140:

38504

You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense by Charles Bukowski – added 01.04.16
I’ve still never read a full book of Bukowski’s, and while I know he’s a pretty polarizing dude, I figure I should give him a try at least once in my life.
DECISION: KEEP

Burnt Black Suns by Simon Strantzas – added 01.04.16
I feel like I remember being drawn to this solely because of the cover, which is reasonable, because I kind of love it, still. It’s a horror collection that reviews say is less “gore” and more “Lovecraft”, and I’m here for that.
DECISION: KEEP

The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien – 01.04.16
Obviously, keeping this, because I am DETERMINED to finish this book in 2018.
DECISION: KEEP

Casting the Runes and Other Ghost Stories by M.R. James – added 01.05.16
It’s good enough that it’s a collection of ghost stories, but these stories are from the very, very early 1900s, and I love classic horror. (Plus, I already own it.)
DECISION: KEEP

Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston – added 05.28.16
This one is tough for me. It’s a classic from the 30s about a black woman trying to make life on her own in a time frame that was even less kind to black women than our modern times are right now, and that synopsis totally draws me in, but… I struggle tremendously with classics (aside from horror). I glanced at some friends’ reviews, and many very trusted and beloved friends gave this one poor marks, so…
DECISION: REMOVE


BOOK 141-145:

7876300

Occultation and Other Stories by Laird Barron – added 10.24.16
I know I don’t remove horror anthologies often, so when I feel on the fence about them, like I do with this one, they gotta go.
DECISION: REMOVE

Fearful Symmetries by Ellen Datlow – added 10.24.16
I was going to just say “see previous comment” and remove this one, until I realized that Nathan Ballingrud has a story in this collection. Bam, sold.
DECISION: KEEP

Haunted Legends by Ellen Datlow – added 10.24.16
Again, a case in which I was gonna try to remove some of these horror collections, but then I saw an author I’m interested in (in this instance, Catherynne M. Valente). It doesn’t hurt that it won the 2010 Bram Stoker Award for best anthology.
DECISION: KEEP

Dying to Live by Kim Paffenroth – added 10.24.16
The summary sounds like a super run-of-the-mill zombie book, and I’m kind of… over those?
DECISION: REMOVE 

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge – added 10.24.16
Another Bram Stoker Award winner! I’m trying to remember why I added this one, and I want to say it’s because it was the inspiration for Pumpkinhead, the film? I might be pulling that out of my ass. Either way, I think I’ll let it go.
DECISION: REMOVE


BOOK 146-150:

6352390

Poe’s Children: The New Horror by Peter Straub – added 10.24.16
I own this one, so I’m kind of sad to see how low its GR rating is, but I’ll still give it a shot.
DECISION: KEEP

The Dead Boys by Royce Buckingham – added 10.24.16
This is an MG horror book, and I have no clue how it ended up on my TBR. I mean, I do like MG horror, but this one about disappearing boys just doesn’t sound interesting.
DECISION: REMOVE 

Marrow by Tarryn Fisher – added 10.24.16
When I read Mud Vein earlier last week, I swore it was the first Tarryn Fisher book I’d ever heard of, and I thought it was! Apparently, though, that award actually goes to Marrow. I loved Mud Vein so much, so I’m definitely going to check this one out.
DECISION: KEEP

Trigger Warning: Short Fictions and Disturbances by Neil Gaiman – added 10.24.16
I remember just adding this to my TBR because I found it on sale for $1 on iBooks last year, but I know Neil writes some pretty wild short stories, so I might as well try it.
DECISION: KEEP

Alice by Christina Henry – added 10.24.16
I love horror Alice retellings, and this one is right up my alley. I actually picked it up at the beginning of the year and was really into it, but forgot about it and put it back down. I need to pick it back up soon!
DECISION: KEEP


 REMOVAL PERCENTAGE THIS WEEK: 33%


DO YOU THINK I SHOULD HAVE REMOVED (OR NOT REMOVED) ANY OF THESE TITLES? IF SO, COMMENT BELOW AND TELL ME WHY!


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More about Destiny @ Howling Libraries

Just a horror aficionado/geek girl trying to juggle motherhood, reading, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

Leave a comment
    1. i reallllllyyyyy hated Alice by Christina Henry, but then again i’m picky with alice retellings to the point of being concerning, so…may be a good call to keep?? i’m biased

    1. I love these posts so much! I’ve been culling my own GR TBR shelf for way too long, but I keep adding books quicker than I read them. It’s never ending. LOL

    1. Their Eyes Were Watching God was suuuch a struggle for me and I feel bad, but I just don’t like most classics. There was also a part near the end where someone got rabies and rabies is a phobia of mine, so I actually had a panic attack reading it. Just an overall bad experience, haha. I also DNFed Trigger Warning, but I think it’s definitely worth a shot. I just didn’t find any of the stories compelling when I read it.

      1. I am NOT a fan of classics either, and it’s honestly really comforting to hear someone else say it, because I feel like, in the book community, whenever I say that, someone gasps. ?

        1. I knoww, same here. I felt awful not enjoying it because I know it’s such an important book, but it has to be ok to recognize that some books just aren’t for some people.

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