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: 1,034* titles
* Okay, I know my number went up big time from last week’s post, but there’s a reason! I used to have two goodreads shelves that were extensions of my TBR: “maybe-someday” and “try-again-later”. It was bugging me to have these extra shelves, so I cleaned them up a bit and everything that was left got dumped back into my TBR. Oops.
Book 76:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
This one is about terrorists… of some variety… using cell phones to brainwash people, basically? I don’t remember 100% – I saw the film adaptation with John Cusack, and it was an interesting concept (plus, I love John Cusack). This is considered one of King’s goriest novels, from what I’m told by other reviewers.
The judgement: KEEP
Book 77:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
A girl pops up out of nowhere, and… what? She has no memories? That’s the whole synopsis. And it’s one of Koontz’s early 80s novels, which rarely hold my interest well.
The judgement: REMOVE
Book 78:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
I really can’t believe I’ve never continued this trilogy. Crank was my first Hopkins read ever, and I loved it as a teen, but never really felt the need to continue the series, despite owning all three books. Oh well – I’ll get around to it eventually.
The judgement: KEEP
Book 79:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
From what I gather, this book is about a random man who magically keeps saving people’s lives, all over the United States. It doesn’t sound super exciting to me, so…
The judgement: REMOVE
Book 80:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
You know, I’ve never read a single Anne Rice book, but I think we all know (more or less) what this is about, and I own it, and I’ve always sworn I’d give her writing a try.
The judgement: KEEP
Book 81:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
This is the final book in the Frankenstein series, which was originally written as only a trilogy, and Dean Koontz himself welcomes his readers to stop at the end of the third book if they enjoyed the original ending. I did enjoy the original ending, so I stopped there, but I have all five books and I’ve always been curious about the alternate ending…
The judgement: KEEP
Book 82:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
See explanation for Fallout above.
The judgement: KEEP
Book 83:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
My mom has been begging me to read this for YEARS. Brian Keene is one of her favorite authors, and I’ve still never read anything by him, so I promised her I’d put this on my “must read in 2018” list.
The judgement: KEEP
Book 84:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
The description for this one on Goodreads is super vague, but it has a 3.9 average, which is pretty good for horror, and like all of the other books on this weekend’s list… yup, I already own it. (Can you guys tell how much I hate unhauling books?)
The judgement: KEEP
Book 85:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
Short stories! Including the one that inspired one of my favorite horror films of all time, 1408! (I told you guys, I love John Cusack.)
The judgement: KEEP
Book 86:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
More short stories! Including the one that inspired Shawshank Redemption (which I’ve never seen but that’s irrelevant)!
The judgement: KEEP BECAUSE I’M TRASH FOR HORROR ANTHOLOGIES
Book 87:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
This one’s about the Vietnam War, and people affected by it, I think? I’m not sure. I just know that, despite GR having it shelved as horror, a few trustworthy sources have told me this one isn’t horror so much as it is literary fiction, and I’m not really interested in it, either way.
The judgement: REMOVE
Book 88:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
I’ve learned that I don’t really need to hold on to multiple shelves’ worth of King’s early horror pieces, especially when their plots don’t intrigue me (like this one, about a girl who can create fire).
The judgement: REMOVE
Book 89:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
I’m pretty sure I just picked this one up because the cover was kind of creepy and it cost, like, a quarter, but the synopsis is sooo vague (a place called Desperation, where evil exists!) that I’m gonna let it go.
The judgement: REMOVE
Book 90:
Date added to shelf: Dec 21, 2014
Have I read most of this collection already? Yup. Will I ever really read every single Lovecraft story? Unlikely. Am I keeping it on my TBR anyways? Yep.
Mischenko
November 26, 2017I love Interview with the Vampire and I hope you get to read it! I say keep and I really want to read Great Tales of Horror too. This is a neat meme! <3
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
December 1, 2017Thank you! I honestly can’t believe I haven’t read it already, I feel like it’s such a horror/paranormal classic!
aravenclawlibrary
November 27, 2017I haven’t read Anne Rice’s Vampire Chronicles but my boyfriend adores it so I’ll read it one day too. Perhaps we could do a buddy read sometime! I did like Anne Rice’s Beauty series but it’s very different from her other stuff. lol.
You really do like a lot of horror! lol.
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
December 1, 2017That would be super fun! And it would motivate me to finally get around to it, lol! And yes, I do! I mentioned this in a recent blog post, but I took a YA hiatus for several years in my late teens and early 20s because people convinced me I was “too old” for YA, and during that time frame, I read almost exclusively horror.
aravenclawlibrary
December 2, 2017Oh, I might have missed that post. Nobody is too old for YA. Sucks that people think that. My dad, who is in his 40’s, still reads YA. He’s the one that got me reading the Hunger Games.
coffeelovingbookoholic
November 27, 2017wow, a lot of stephen king titles on your list this week. since i don’t read his books much, i can’t say which one is to keep and which one not!
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
December 1, 2017Yes, I feel like I have SOOOOO many of his books on my TBR! It’s been kind of tough to slowly go through and whittle away at them, especially since I own so many of them. That’s how most of them ended up on my list – a thrift store where I used to live ALWAYS had mass amounts of his books for practically free, so I would always grab them all. The thing is, most of them are mass market paperbacks, and those hurt my eyes now, so it’s easier to justify un-hauling them. :/
coffeelovingbookoholic
December 2, 2017oh i know the feeling! mass market paperbacks are just a no go! ?
Sarah
November 27, 2017Cell was one of my favorites for a while! I’ve reread it loads. The writing isn’t amaazing, but I do really like the story! I also haven’t seen the movie, but heard it was garbage as an adaptation (figures).
Destiny @ Howling Libraries
December 1, 2017Ooooh, nice! That’s always nice to hear that someone enjoyed a book enough to reread it, and especially coming from you since I think our tastes seem to be similar in a lot of aspects. That makes me want to read it more, haha! I can’t speak to its accuracy or anything, but I thought it was a fun movie – though, I didn’t know it was an adaptation until after watching it!