AKA “Down The TBR Hole #1: Conquer your TBR”
My fellow blogger Bookish Rita turned me on to this, which was originally Lia @ Lost in a Story’s idea. The rules are very simple:
- Sort your Goodreads to-be-read shelf from oldest to new;
- Pick the first 5 or 10 (or whatever number you choose, depending on how large your list is) books you see;
- Decide whether to keep them or get rid of them.
With only 101 books on my TBR list, here are last ten I put on my list:
The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome #6) by Colleen McCullough. Goodreads rating: 4.28; added September 20, 2011. Okay so… I actually own this book, and I did start reading it. I’ve read the first five in the series so, I figured, I should read this one but… well… maybe it is my age, but I just don’t have that much patience anymore for these books. The first ones weren’t easy, but I did like them. However, because of the next book on the list, I’ll leave it up there.
Antony and Cleopatra (Masters of Rome #7) by Colleen McCullough. Goodreads rating: 3.97; added September 20, 2011. See, now… this is the one I really want to read, but should I tackle it before I finish the previous one? That’s my dilemma. Oh, hell… I’ll leave it!
The Touch by Colleen McCullough. Goodreads rating: 3.82; date added: September 20, 2011. I guess I was in McCullough mode back then. Strange that I see I’ve hardly ever written any reviews of her books, since I’ve read so many, and so many of them are on my shelves. Despite that, while this still sounds good… I think I’ll drop it.
The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. Goodreads rating: 3.43; date added: October 10, 2011. This is another book I have on my shelves, so I’ll leave it up here… for now. Although admittedly, I did start to read it, and I wasn’t totally sure about it. I really think I need to give this another chance. Eugenides is a great writer, so it stays!
The Girl with No Shadow (Chocolat #2) by Joanne Harris. Goodreads rating: 3.82; date added November 3, 2011. Now, I don’t know if you know this but the novel Chocolat started two different series of books, and this is the one I didn’t know about. The series I read included “Blackberry Wine” and “Five Quarters of the Orange.” Since I still haven’t read the last of the series that started with “Gentlemen and Players,” I think I’ll pass on this one.
Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell. Goodreads rating: 3.7; date added: November 16, 2011. This is one of those non-fiction books that sounds like such good fun. However, unless someone buys it for me, since I saw the movie (which I bought for my sister) and loved it so… nah!
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco. Goodreads rating: 3.42; date added: November 17, 2011. Okay, let’s be honest here. I added this because of my husband, not because I want to read it. His “The Name of the Rose” was very tough going for me, and while it was good, it really isn’t my thing. Buh-by!
The Financial Lives of the Poets by Jess Walter. Goodreads rating: 3.69; date added: November 17, 2011. Huh? I don’t remember putting this one on my list. Looking at the blurb, I really have no idea why it is there. An easy cut here!
Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell. Goodreads rating: 4.02; date added: December 7, 2011. I bought a copy of this book a long time ago, mostly because everyone was saying such great things about it, but… the truth is, I don’t feel the inclination to read books that are so hyped, so… despite owing a copy, I’m going to nix it… for now!
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. Goodreads rating: 3.98; date added: December 7, 2011. Again, a book on my shelves for a long while. I’ve been meaning to read Safran Foer’s works for some time now, but I’m not so sure anymore (since I hear he’s divorced or is in the process of divorcing one of my favorite writers, Nicole Krauss). I’ll leave it, again, for now!
So that’s ten books, out of which I’m cutting six and keeping four! I think it’s a good start, don’t you?
Are there books here that I kept that you would have dropped?
Are there books here that I dropped that you would have kept?
Let me know in the comments, below!
The Chocolate Lady's Book Review Blog 
thanks for reminding me, I really need to do this. I usually love Eco’s books, but I had to DNF this one, too many obscure references for me
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I’ve always love this tag! I should do this at least once a month since my TBR is monstrous! 🙂 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close is on my TBR too, and I hope to get in the mood to read it soon 🙂
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I need to go through my Goodreads To-Be-Read list. Last year I ended up deleting 100 books and it felt so freeing. I hope the ones you’ve kept end up being good reads!
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I want to start Colleen McCullough’s Masters of Rome series! I own the first book, it’s huge haha. I only ever read Thornbirds by her, I loved that one.
I’ve read Cloud Atlas a few years ago and the truth is the film is much better (one of the rare occasions…)
Ronnie @ Paradise Found
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Yes, I heard that the movie of Cloud Atlas is good. I understand that the book is confusing. The Masters of Rome series are truly great reads, and you learn so much from them. On my first trip to Rome after reading the first few books, I was almost our tour guide for places I’d never seen before!
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Always good to clean house with books AND magazines (which I love)! I’m not familiar with the ones listed. What have you gained from reading them insight wise…
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Oh, I think you misunderstood. This is more for taking book off my “want to read” list on Goodreads, than actually tossing anything.
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