﻿Down the TBR Hole #11

Welcome folks to the eleventh round of Down the TBR Hole. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, check out my tenth!, my ninthmy eighthmy seventhmy sixthmy fifthmy fourthmy thirdmy second or my first round post or check out Lia at Lost in a Story who is the creator of this wonderful meme/project.

I’m trying to make this a regular feature of my blogging schedule because it’s good to regularly reevaluate if/why you want to read a book – that way you don’t come back to your TBR years later and have no clue why a title piqued your interest in the first place. I’ve also added a summary of results bit at the bottom of each round so I can track how many books I’ve kept and ditched from my TBR shelf in each round and overall.

Just a reminder of how this works:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?

Outside of doing these posts semi-regularly I have also been culling my TBR list at random points when I’m bored – all of this is good in terms of getting my TBR to a reasonable amount of books but it also means that these posts are getting harder for me to do as I’m beginning to really agonise over whether to ditch or keep books on there. Not that any of this is a bad thing! Let’s get going on the 10 books under scrutiny today…

1. The Girl at the Lion d’Or by Sebastian Faulks

Why is it there? Much like Engleby from the last Down the TBR Hole, I don’t actually remember when (or why) I added this to my TBR but any of that interest I did have has been completely lost, to the point where I don’t even remember what this about. Having checked out the synopsis, I’m none the wiser, or more inclined to pick it up to be honest… yikes.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Ditch

2. Enduring Love by Ian McEwan

Why is it there? It’s highly likely that after adding Atonement to my TBR, I went through McEwan’s other novels and added some to my Goodreads TBR. Much as is the case with the book above, I don’t remember when or why
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

3. The Once and Future King by T.H. White

Why is it there? I definitely added this to my TBR during my Merlin/general Arthurian phase in my early teens. Nowadays, I don’t really have a huge interest in these legends anymore. I’m sure the interest will come back around (like fashion) but for now I’m happy to leave this one alone.
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

4. The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber

Why is it there? Many moons ago, my mum was watching the 2011 BBC miniseries of this book starring Romola Garai and Chris O’Dowd and I half-watched it too so I vaguely know the storyline of this. I’ve heard wonderful things about Michel Faber’s writing style but I’ve never experienced it for myself. Since this is set in Victorian England I think this is the book of his I should try first.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

5. Wise Children by Angela Carter

Why is it there? When I was studying English literature at A Level we used to practice the “unseen text” portion of the exam paper and we once studied an extract from this novel for that. I think the title must have been in my head since then, and I added it to my Goodreads TBR not long after. Nowadays, I’m less bothered by this. I’ve read some of Angela Carter’s other stuff and I like it just fine, but I’m not sure I enjoyed it enough to seek her out even further so… for now…
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

6. The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter

Why is it there? See above!
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

7. The Prince of the Mist by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Why is it there? adored The Shadow of the Wind when I read it several years ago, so much so that I haven’t re-read it since because I’m scared that I won’t enjoy it nearly as much. Around that time I bought a couple of Zafón’s other works, this one included, and fully intended to get straight to them. Fast forward several years and here we are. Thankfully, however, my interest is still piqued enough for this to be safe.
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Keep

8. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel García Márquez

Why is it there? As I mentioned a few ‘Down the TBR Hole’ posts ago, I realised whilst studying Spanish that I had read very little Hispanic literature, either in its original form or in translation. GGM is one of those “big authors” of Hispanic literature, and definitely one I should have read by now. Still… I’m not sure if this one of his novels is the one I’ll try first…
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Ditch

9. Possession by A.S. Byatt

Why is it there? I hear from reviews that this is a very dense book, which is the main reason I haven’t pursued it any further yet and why I remain ever so slightly intimidated by it. However, I’ve just re-read the synopsis and it describes it as “the tale of a pair of young scholars researching the lives of two Victorian poets” – colour me intrigued!
Do I own it? No
Verdict? Keep

10. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding

Why is it there? To be honest, the reason this is there is that I can’t remember if I’ve actually read the book or not. I own it… and it looks read, but I’m also pretty sure my sister borrowed it at some point so she could have been the one who has contributed to its read-looking state. Do I still have interest in this? Honestly? Probably not… I should probably ditch the paperbacks at some point then…
Do I own it? Yes
Verdict? Ditch

Results

This round:
Kept – 3
Ditched – 7

Overall:
Kept – 59
Ditched – 51

That, my friends, was the eleventh round of my Down the TBR Hole project. But have I made a terrible mistake in ditching some of these titles? Or have I kept some that really aren’t worth my time? Let me know in the comments below!


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