NEW WEEKLY SERIES! TBR Lows & Highs #1

If you’ve been following my blog a while, you know I did the DOWN THE TBR HOLE meme every week for almost a year. While I loved doing it, it was starting to feel stale, so I recently polled my Twitter followers to ask what everyone thought I should do.

tbrholepoll.png

As you can see, while the option to leave things be did technically win, the results were all so close that I was still feeling pretty conflicted. Luckily, Elise had a GREAT idea: to show off purged titles AND new TBR additions! I decided to run with it and create a brand new weekly serious: TBR Lows & Highs.

(If you like this idea and would like to do it yourself, please feel free! I would appreciate it if you linked back to my blog so I can see your spin on the series!)

Rules:

  • Link back to the original post at Howling Libraries
  • Sort your Goodreads TBR shelf by date added, ascending
  • Find 5-10 (or more, if you feel ambitious!) titles to purge from your TBR (the “lows”)
  • Post those 5 books in the list, with a brief explanation of why you removed it
  • Next, sort your Goodreads TBR shelf by date added, descending
  • List the last 5 (or more!) books you added to your TBR, with a synopsis or your brief summary of why you added it (the “highs”)

thelows

01.jpg

1. In Case I Go — Angie Abdou
This is an indie book with very few ratings, but one of the top reviews is an exchange between a reviewer and author where the author harassed the reviewer for her negative review. I don’t support authors who can’t stay in their lane when it comes to reviews.

2. Hurricane Child — Kheryn Callender
This honestly sounds really lovely and diverse, but I don’t read MG stories very often, and when I do, it’s usually only books that are being very highly lauded, because I know that the chances are slim of me enjoying it, otherwise. 😦

3. All the Wind in the World — Samantha Mabry
Don’t get me wrong, I love magical realism, but this sadly just doesn’t strike me as anything I will be rushing to pick up. Maybe someday later down the road, when my TBR isn’t so wild? (*quietly laughs at self*)

4. The Forgotten Book — Mechthild Glaser
Honestly, this didn’t sound interesting to me when I added it as a “maybe”, and it still doesn’t. I don’t really like Jane Austen-inspired YA very much as a general rule, and I’m not thrilled by the  synopsis.

5. Melokai — Rosalyn Kelly
I added this because I love the cover, but most of the top reviews do not sound promising, and apparently a pretty big sub-plot revolves around these male sex slaves being brutalized, raped, tortured, etc., which is the sort of content that I usually only put up with if a book sounds REALLY GOOD (this doesn’t).

02.jpg

6. Snowpiercer: The Escape — Jacques Lob
This is the French graphic novel that inspired the Snowpiercer movie with Chris Evans. I still want to watch the movie (I’ve only ever seen bits here and there), but don’t really want to read this right now.

7. Winter’s Siren — Krystal Jane Ruin
I already don’t reach for Swan Lake retellings often, but this doesn’t sound appealing at all.

8. The Gates of Golorath — R.M. Garino
Pretty sure this was just a cover add…

9. Mutant Bunny Island — Obert Skye
I don’t even remember adding this, but it DEFINITELY sounds too young for me.

10. Containment — Hank Parker
1. I don’t remember adding this. 2. I don’t really read “epidemic” books unless they’re horror books. 3. This has reeeeeally bad reviews.


thehighs

03.jpg

1. Alice Payne Arrives — Kate Heartfield
I don’t even know for sure what this is, except that it’s a queer sci-fi novella from Tor.com, which is, well… enough said?

2. All Systems Red — Martha Wells
I tend to be a little iffy on robot/android stories, but BooksWithEmilyFox on booktube recently mentioned this in a video and made it sound SO GOOD! Murder-y robots who hate people but are too complacent to do anything about it? Sign me up.

3. Running With Lions — Julian Winters
This is a very recent queer contemporary release, and I’m told it’s more in the new adult age range? Either way, I’m told it’s full of angst, sports, and a bunch of adorable queer boys, so yeah.

4. The Murders of Molly Southbourne — Tade Thompson
I don’t know how I hadn’t heard about this horror novella sooner. A girl basically creates clones every time she bleeds, and she has to keep them from killing her. It sounds so bizarre and fantastic!

5. The Owls Have Come to Take Us Away — Ronald L. Smith
I love middle grade horror, and I was terrified of aliens as a kid, so this is just up my alley. Plus, that cover is INCREDIBLE, and I’ve heard this author’s other work was super creepy.

04.jpg

6. A Taste of Honey — Kai Ashante Wilson
This fantasy novella sounds SO GOOD. Dragons, political intrigue, royalty falling in love with soldiers… yessssss give it to me.

7. Imagine Us Happy — Jennifer Yu
This is an October release that I just got an ARC of, and I’m super excited. It’s about a girl who struggles with depression, and she finds a new relationship that seems great, but grows to be super toxic.

8. The Best Bad Things — Katrina Carrasco
I don’t reach for crime fiction often, but this is historical (which I dig), and it’s about a woman who’s chasing down a drug thief (which is intriguing to me), and something about this whole synopsis has really hooked me (plus, that cover!).

9. Blood Bound — Patricia Briggs
I just finished Moon Called, the first book in this urban fantasy series, and really enjoyed it, so I definitely want to continue the series!

10. We Have Always Lived in the Castle — Shirley Jackson
I know, I can’t believe it either, but… I’ve never actually read anything by Shirley Jackson! I know, she’s like the queen of gothic horror and all that, but I’ve just never gotten the chance, so I’m actually hoping to purchase a copy of this one very soon!


What did you think of the first week of TBR Lows and Highs? Is this a meme you’d be interested in doing on your blog, too? ♥


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Just a 25-year-old trying to juggle motherhood, grad school, blogging, gaming, and everyday life.

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