Adult Contemporary320 pagesPublished by G.P. Putnam and Sons on 12/31/2019 Goodreads | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | IndieBound As always, I started brainstorming this review by reading other reviews. There was a common… More
9 Creative Ways to Structure Your Monthly TBRs in 2020 (with Alignment Chart)
I’ve abandoned my TBRs recently, but that hasn’t stopped me from daydreaming what my TBR should be!
This fall, somehow I’ve become obsessed with making TBRs. Literally, before the beginning of each month I think of two or three different ways I can organize my reading list (jokes are on me because I’ve been reading the same book for the past six weeks so ~~)
Whether your usual TBR is just not doing it for you anymore or you’re looking for new ways to switch up your reading habits for 2020, below are 9 unique ways to structure your monthly (or possibly yearly??) TBRs. They’re organized in an alignment chart with descriptions below if you’re having trouble deciding!
Down the TBR Hole #45: Books 781-800
Lia from Lost in a Story’s challenge “Down the TBR Hole” has helped me whittle down my massive virtual TBR, or at least get me thinking critically about what books I’m actually going to read. I’ve realized I’ve added a lot of books in 2012 and 2013 that I’ve never read and will probably never get around to reading!! There’s also a ton of books that I added in the moment that I’ve never even thought of since then.
“Down the TBR Hole” works like this: order your Goodreads “to be read” shelf with the oldest books first and remove the ones you’re no longer interested in reading. I’ve added in two of my own personal rules: if I have multiple books in a series I’ll only keep the next (or first) one I have to read, and I’ll remove complete works or collections (unless it’s a collection I already own).
Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour by JD Salinger
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
The Fortress of Solitude by Jonathan Lethem
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
How to Breathe Underwater by Julie Orringer
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
George & Sam by Charlotte Moore
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
The Sirens of Titan by Kurt Vonnegut
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Clockers by Richard Price
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Meat is Murder by Joe Pernice
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
How Mumbo-Jumbo Conquered the World by Francis Wheen
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Hangover Square by Patrick Hamilton
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep (physical TBR)
Random Family by Adrian Nicole LeBlanc
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
This is Serbia Calling by Matthew Colin
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Y: The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughn
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
How I Live Now by Meg Rosoff
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
The Plot Against America by Philip Roth
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Chronicles by Bob Dylan
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep (physical TBR)
Early Bird by Rodney Rothman
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
The Wonder Spot by Melissa Bank
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Gilead by Marilynne Robinson
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
keep
The Amateur Marriage by Anne Tyler
Date added: Mar 15, 2017
remove
Ruling: 11/20 removed
I’ve reached another hundred book so time for some stats! (These have quickly become my favorite part of doing Down the TBR Holes!)
Down the TBR Hole Books 701-800:
- Books kept: 44
- Books removed: 56
- Books read: 1 (The Name of the Wind)
- Books bought: 1 (Behold the Dreamers)
Total Down the TBR Hole stats:
- Books kept: 278
- Books removed: 522
- Books read: 23 (added: City of Glass, Girls & Sex, The Devil in the White City, The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian, Saint Anything, Middlesex, The Nightingale, and Why Not Me?)
- Books bought: 12 (added: Everything I Never Told You and Half Broke Horses)
- Books left to read: 255
- Removal rate: 65% (1% decrease)
I’m really impressed with how many books off my Goodreads TBR I’ve read in the past two months. 2 of those books were pulled from my TBR jar, so it’s cool to be able to both check books off my physical TBR and my Goodreads TBR! (I guess that’s also a bonus of not posting in so long 😅)
March-July Wrap-Up: Discovering the only thing I’m consistent at is buying books but not reading them and definitely not reviewing them
March
- City of Girls (ARC) by Elizabeth Gilbert
- Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
- Queenie by Candy Carty-Williams
- Aurora Rising (ARC) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
- DEV1AT3 (ARC) by Jay Kristoff
- Eve of Man (ARC) by Giovanna Fletcher and Tom Fletcher
- My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant (ARC) by Laura Dockrill
- Wilder Girls (ARC) by Rory Power
- Silver Spoon vol. 1 by Hiromu Arakawa
- Fruits Basket collector’s edition vol. 2 by Natsuki Takaya
- The Bride Test (ARC) by Helen Hoang
- Waiting for Tom Hanks (ARC) by Kerry Winfrey
April
- Normal People by Sally Rooney
- Strangers and Cousins (ARC) by Leah Hager Cohen
- How Could She (ARC) by Lauren Mechling
May
- The Flight Portfolio by Julie Orringer
- Puddin’ by Julie Murphy
- The Music of What Happens by Bill Konigsberg
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
- The Great Pretenders by Laura Kalpakian
- This is How it Always Is by Laurie Frankel
- Behold the Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue
- The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez
- Less by Andrew Sean Greer
- The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
- The Red Pony by John Steinbeck
- Motherland by Paul Theroux
- Animal Dreams by Barbara Kingsolver
- The Moon and More by Sarah Dessen
- Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng
- Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
June
- Tell Me Everything by Sarah Enni
- Truly Madly Royally (ARC) by Debbie Riguad
- The Nobody People (ARC) by Bob Proehl
- The Rest of the Story by Sarah Dessen
- Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett
- The Surface Breaks (ARC) by Louise O’Neill
- Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition vol. 3 by Natsuki Takaya
- Laid Back Camp vol. 1 by Afro
- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
- Fullmetal Alchemist: The Complete Four Panel Comics by Hiromu Arakawa
- Fruits Basket Collector’s Edition vol. 4 by Natuski Takaya
- We Rule the Night by Clare Eliza Bartlett
- The Beekeeper of Aleppo (ARC) by Christy Lefteri
July
- A Bride’s Story vol. 1 by Kaoru Mori
- The Girl from the Other Side vol. 1 by Nagabe
- Wilder Girls by Rory Power
- Harmony by Carolyn Parkhurst
- American Dirt (ARC) by Jeanine Cummins
- America for Beginners by Leah Franqui
March
- Horimiya vols. 11 & 12 by Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara
- The Bold World by Jodie Patterson
- Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein
- The Gentleman’s Guide to Vice and Virtue by Mackenzi Lee
- She Would Be King by Wayétu Moore
- I Want to Eat Your Pancreas by Yoru Sumino and Izumi Kirihara
- Bass Ackwards and Belly Up by Elizabeth Craft and Sarah Fain
- Lumberjanes: Friendship to the Max vol. 2 by Noelle Stevenson, Grace Ellis, Shannon Watters, Brooke Allen
April
- Emma vols. 9 & 10 by Kaoru Mori
- The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
- Comics Will Break Your Heart by Faith Erin Hicks
- The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
- Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
May
- The Farm (ARC) by Joanne Ramos
- The Best American Nonrequired Reading 2016 ed. by Rachel Kushner
- Kiss Number 8 by Colleen A. F. Venable and Ellen T. Crenshaw
June
- That Summer by Sarah Dessen
- Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen
- Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen
- Dreamland by Sarah Dessen
July
- This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen
- City of Girls (ARC) by Elizabeth Gilbert
- The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen
- Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
- Wilder Girls (ARC) by Rory Power
- My Ideal Boyfriend is a Croissant (ARC) by Laura Dockrill
- Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen
- Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
March in Review: 8 Books
I have another personally weak month to wrap up, but at least I’m getting it down on time!!
I read 8 books again this month, which I’m reminding myself is still meeting my goal of reading 8-9 books each month so I am still on track, but I’m not very impressed with myself.
However, most of the books I read this month I really enjoyed, and I can’t wait to talk about them more in my wrap-up next week!
Different from my monthly wrap-ups, which focus more of patterns in my reading habits and is just me rambling on forever (because that’s my brand), monthly reviews are more like lists: easy to scroll through to get the whole picture of my reading month. Listed is the title, author, publication date, and cover along with the genre and age range (if applicable). I also have my rating and a three-word description of my reading experience! The links will either go to a longer review I wrote on this blog or a shorter review I wrote on Goodreads. All the cover photos are linked to their Goodreads page.
📘 March TBR
📙 2019 TBR
📕 Prior TBR
📗 Down the TBR Hole
Horimiya vol. 11 by Hero and Daisuke Hagiwara
Published: Jun 26, 2018
YA Romance
adorable, random, fanfic-y
🌟🌟🌟🌟
The Bold World by Jodie Patterson
Published: Jan 29, 2019
Memoir
educational, moving, lyrical
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
Girls & Sex by Peggy Orenstein 📕 📗
Published: Mar 29, 2016
Nonfiction
readable, questionable, opinionated
🌟🌟 Continue reading “March in Review: 8 Books”
Down the TBR Hole #44: Books 761-780
Lia from Lost in a Story’s challenge “Down the TBR Hole” has helped me whittle down my massive virtual TBR, or at least get me thinking critically about what books I’m actually going to read. I’ve realized I’ve added a lot of books in 2012 and 2013 that I’ve never read and will probably never get around to reading!! There’s also a ton of books that I added in the moment that I’ve never even thought of since then.
“Down the TBR Hole” works like this: order your Goodreads “to be read” shelf with the oldest books first and remove the ones you’re no longer interested in reading. I’ve added in two of my own personal rules: if I have multiple books in a series I’ll only keep the next (or first) one I have to read, and I’ll remove complete works or collections (unless it’s a collection I already own).
She’s Come Undone by Wally Lamb
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
remove
Britt-Marie Was Here by Fredrik Backman
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep
American Housewife by Helen Ellis
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
remove
White Teeth by Zadie Smith
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep (physical TBR)
Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep (physical TBR) Continue reading “Down the TBR Hole #44: Books 761-780”
April Book Birthdays: 16 Anticipated Releases This Month
I successfully only bought two books off my March book birthdays post, but it’s only because I did not step foot into a bookstore. There are so many great books coming out this month I just don’t know how I’m going to be able to keep up 😭
I also didn’t realize that I listed the same amount of books I had last month! When I was pulling books from my master list of 2019 releases, it just felt like I had less…
I’ve set up this book with the title, author, and cover, along with the age range, genre, vague location and time period (when applicable) and approximate page count. Cover photos are linked to their Goodreads page!
We Rule the Night by Claire Eliza Bartlett
Young Adult
Fantasy
400 pages
Descendant of the Crane by Joan He
Young Adult
Fantasy
416 pages
The Boy Who Steals Houses by C.G. Drew
Young Adult
Contemporary (Australia)
300 pages Continue reading “April Book Birthdays: 16 Anticipated Releases This Month”
April TBR, Books Clubs, and ARCs
How is it already time to come up with APRIL’s TBR???
Honestly, I’ve been struggling with keeping up with my TBRs for the last two months. January was pretty solid, but February and March showed some weak progress. It’s not so much that I’ve been diverging from my TBRs, but more that I just haven’t been reading as much. I’m not sure if it’s because I’ve been busy, or because I haven’t been excited about the books I’m choosing or what…
I’m giving it this last month to see how following a highly structured TBR works for me, before considering revamping my current routine. I am purposely not joining any readathons this month however, because I haven’t been participating in them and I’m going to scale back and only participate in ones that I’m truly excited about.
I’ve set this post up with the book, a simplified summary from Goodreads, and a short note about the book. Cover photos are linked to their Goodreads page!
TBR Jar:
Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo
Princess Diana longs to prove herself to her legendary warrior sisters. But when the opportunity finally comes, she throws away her chance at glory and breaks Amazon law to save a mortal. Diana will soon learn that with this single brave act, she may have doomed the world. Alia Keralis just wanted to escape her overprotective brother with a semester at sea. She doesn’t know she is being hunted by people who think her very existence could spark a world war. When a bomb detonates aboard her ship, Alia is rescued by a mysterious girl of extraordinary strength and forced to confront a horrible truth: Alia is a Warbringer—a direct descendant of the infamous Helen of Troy, fated to bring about an age of bloodshed and misery.
This is my last Bardugo book left to read and I’ve been putting it off because I’m honestly not sure if I’m going to like it. I’m not a big superhero fan (I have only seen the ending of WonderWoman because it was on tv 😐) and I only bought it because I was feeling Six of Crows withdrawals and wrongly thought this would cure it. I am excited to try this out and who knows maybe it will spark a new obsession! This is also a signed copy so I was definitely be reading this because I will not want to give it away first! Continue reading “April TBR, Books Clubs, and ARCs”
Down the TBR Hole #43: Books 741-760
Lia from Lost in a Story’s challenge “Down the TBR Hole” has helped me whittle down my massive virtual TBR, or at least get me thinking critically about what books I’m actually going to read. I’ve realized I’ve added a lot of books in 2012 and 2013 that I’ve never read and will probably never get around to reading!! There’s also a ton of books that I added in the moment that I’ve never even thought of since then.
“Down the TBR Hole” works like this: order your Goodreads “to be read” shelf with the oldest books first and remove the ones you’re no longer interested in reading. I’ve added in two of my own personal rules: if I have multiple books in a series I’ll only keep the next (or first) one I have to read, and I’ll remove complete works or collections (unless it’s a collection I already own).
It Won’t Be Easy by Tom Rademacher
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep (physical TBR)
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
remove
The Pearl That Broke It’s Shell by Nadia Hashimi
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
remove
The Museum of Extraordinary Things by Alice Hoffman
Date added: Mar 1, 2017
keep (physical TBR) Continue reading “Down the TBR Hole #43: Books 741-760”
February Wrap-Up: I actually didn’t hate “King of Scars,” y’all are just sour
- A Woman is No Man by Etaf Rum
- The Age of Light by Whitney Scharer
- Early Riser by Jasper Fforde
- The Farm by Joanne Ramos (ARC)
- The Guest Book by Sarah Blake (ARC)
- The White Book by Han Kang (ARC)
- Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy
- King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
- Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan
- The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
- The Butterfly and the Violin by Kristy Cambron
- A Day in the Life of a Smiling Woman by Margaret Drabble
- City of Glass: The Graphic Novel by Paul Karasick and David Mazzucchelli
- Kimi ni Todoke vol. 10 by Karuho Shiina
- Ao Haru Ride vol. 1 by Io Sakisaka
As I was reading Girls of Paper and Fire on the train this month, someone in the seat behind me tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around so annoyed because I was clearly reading and I also had headphones in (no music playing, just like an added boundary). But the guy was like “wow you’re reading a book! no one does that anymore!” and a large part of me was like “ugh stop bothering me I’m trying to read” and a smaller part of me was like “yeah, I mean almost everyone around me on the train is on their phone.”
I guess to people who don’t read as frequently as I do, 9 books in a month is honestly impressive. But when I’m constantly surrounded by the hype of new releases and great reviews its hard to prioritize what I want to read because it sounds interesting, and what I want to read because I’m going to love it. Continue reading “February Wrap-Up: I actually didn’t hate “King of Scars,” y’all are just sour”
February in Review: 9 Books
By the time I end up posting my February wrap-ups it will be time to write my March ones! 😑
nbd it’s fine I’m just over here apparently in a month long reading slump and trying not to stress about it.
I read a total of 9 books in February, which is significantly less than the 19 books I read in January. However, my goal is to read 8 books each month in 2019, so I still beat my goal. Looking back, I feel like I had a pretty mediocre month in terms of content, but many of the books I read I gave high ratings too?? I don’t know, my brain just feels foggy.
Different from my monthly wrap-ups, which focus more of patterns in my reading habits and is just me rambling on forever (because that’s my brand), monthly reviews are more like lists: easy to scroll through to get the whole picture of my reading month. Listed is the title, author, publication date, and cover along with the genre and age range (if applicable). I also have my rating and a three-word description of my reading experience! The links will either go to a longer review I wrote on this blog or a shorter review I wrote on Goodreads. All the cover photos are linked to their Goodreads page.
📘 February TBR
📙 2019 TBR
📕 Prior TBR
📗 Down the TBR Hole
Dumplin’ by Julie Murphy 📗
Published: Sep 15, 2015
YA Contemporary
twangy, bold, heartwarming
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo 🔵
Published: Jan 29, 2019
YA Fantasy
dramatic, glittery, slow
🌟🌟🌟🌟
Girls of Paper and Fire by Natasha Ngan 🔵
Published: Nov 6, 2018
YA Fantasy
cinematic, dark, dynamic
🌟🌟🌟🌟 Continue reading “February in Review: 9 Books”
The Seal Spot 