Well here I go again! Another month, another selection of books on my crazy long TBR list that are up for debate: do I keep them or ax them? 

I wish I had all the time and leisure in the world to read every book my heart desires but of course in this busy life that’s impossible. So instead I’m satisfying my love of checking things off lists by pruning this giant TBR list on my Goodreads page. So please let me know if you’ve read any of these and share whether or not I should give them a try or just let them pass me by.

(This post was inspired by Lia @ Lost in a Story. To read more about it and how this post series works check out my first post here)

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The Books

Hollow City (Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children #2) by Ransom Riggs (2014)
About:
“This sequel to the first novel, Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, begins in 1940, immediately after the first book ended.
Having escaped Miss Peregrine’s island by the skin of their teeth, Jacob and his new friends must journey to London, the peculiar capital of the world. Along the way, they encounter new allies, a menagerie of peculiar animals, and other unexpected surprises.”
–Goodreads

My Thoughts:
I remember feeling really surprised by how much I enjoyed reading the first book in this series. Then I got excited a year later when I found a signed copy of this sequel in a bookstore, but clearly I’ve yet to read it or it wouldn’t be on this list. As much as I remember liking the first book, those feelings have sort of faded over time so now I’m stuck. Do I go back to start from the beginning and get back into this world? Or do I just let it go? What do you all think I should do?
(I saw the movie and I definitely liked the book better, but I’ve never been a fan of Tim Burton)

 

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2005)
About:
“It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.”
–Goodreads

My Thoughts:
I have heard so many good things about this book, my mom has read it, and I know they made a movie out of it (although I’ve yet to see it). But personally, war stories are hit or miss for me. I liked the book Wolf by Wolf and I liked the movie War Horse, but these stories have to hit a fine line for me and I’m just on the fence. Does this book really live up to the hype and should I read it?

 

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (2005)
About:
“The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette’s brilliant and charismatic father captured his children’s imagination, teaching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn’t want the responsibility of raising a family.

The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered.”
–Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Here’s another book I’ve heard a lot about. I’m just such a lover of YA that reading books that fall outside of that area can be tough for me to get through. I just don’t know enough about this book, besides all of the fancy awards and praise it’s gotten, to know whether or not it would be for me. Sometimes I feel like the literary world often loves books that I just fall asleep during so please let me know if this book is as good as they keep telling me it is.

 

Poison Study (Study #1) by Maria V. Snyder (2005)
About:
“Choose: A quick death…Or slow poison…

About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She’ll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.
And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly’s Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.
As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can’t control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren’t so clear…”
–Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Okay so this book has lurked in my thoughts for a long while but I’ve yet to read it because I can never seem to find it in a bookstore. It’s been on my TBR list for so long now that I’m wondering whether I should just cross it off the list or order it from Amazon. The thing I’m not enthused about is that it’s part of a series and I hate allowing myself to get invested in a series that just ends up being disappointing. But the book’s description sounds so interesting! Have any of you read it? Is it as exciting as it sounds?

 

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (2006)
About:
“Orphaned, penniless, Jacob Jankowski jumps a freight train in the dark, and in that instant, transforms his future.
By morning, he’s landed a job with the Flying Squadron of the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. By nightfall, he’s in love.
In an America made colourless by prohibition and the Depression, the circus is a refuge of sequins and sensuality. But behind the glamour lies a darker world, where both animals and men are dispensable. Where falling in love is the most dangerous act of all…”
–Goodreads

My Thoughts:
Another book that was made into a movie! I haven’t seen it but I really liked the trailer for it. I have this love for the circus so of course this book caught my eye, but I’ve heard such mixed reviews that I’m hesitant to commit. Now it’s been gathering dust on my TBR list for years and in the hopes of trimming off book-fat I’m hoping some of you will have advice for me. I want something whimsical, magical, mysterious, romantic, intriguing,…basically is this book boring or does it live up to the love? Or should I just watch the movie instead?

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Thanks!!

How amazing would it feel for a TBR list to get down to single-digits? Double-digits even seems impossible! Haha but I love books too much to know that that would never happen. At least I can try to narrow it down with your help! I don’t have a lot of friends who read for fun so I’m glad to have this online community of readers to talk books with.
Thanks for all your input! 🙂

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