Down The TBR Hole #3!

It’s officially t-minus 3 days until I’m loaded up in the truck and on my way to ColoRADo to go skiing and celebrate my good friends dirty 30! I’m super amped and I’m working on picking some good reads for the car ride and some snow side reading. I thought today would be a great day to do another round of Down The TBR Hole and clean up my TBR pile because I’m constantly adding new things to it and not revisiting old reads. Down the TBR Hole was originally created by Lost in a Story and this is how it 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?

RET 2 GO Y’ALL

All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr

Full disclosure: I’ve not been a bit fan of historical fiction in the past. Which is kind of rich considering one of my all-time favorite books is a work of historical fiction. However, for some reason they don’t catch my eye at quite the same rate as other genres. However, this baby is on my “owned but not read” shelf and it’s got stellar reviews. Not only that but I know I’m not the only one who is wholly fascinated by both WWI and WWII. Even further, the synopsis for this book highlights the lengths that people go through, even in the worst of times to be good to one another and that is just right up my freakin’ alley. VERDICT: KEEP YA *cause I already own you*

Rescued: What Second-Chance Dogs Teach Us about Living with Purpose, Loving with Abandon, and Finding Joy in the Little Things by Peter Zheutlin

Should I say it once more for everyone in the back? Dogs. Are. The. BEST!!! I’m a big believer in rescues and don’t plan on ever owning a dog other than a rescue. I also genuinely believe that dogs are too pure for this world and we don’t deserve them. They make life better in literally every way. On the short list of things we’re planning after we move, my husband and I are ready for a second puppo and I couldn’t be more excited. The reviews for this book say it’s charming and feel good and when can we not use a little more “feel good” in our lives? VERDICT: Obvi KEEP.

BONUS: Here’s a picture of my rescue in his fancy new Hawaiian shirt.

The Power by Naomi Alderman 

This baby has been on my TBR since well before it’s release, and yet I still haven’t picked it up. The synopsis is simple: in a recognizable future, teenage girls are given power to cause agonizing pain and even death with a simple touch. This shifts the power structure from men to women and explores the way our society would change. I love this premise and I love when books tackle social issues in unique ways. This is one I’ve been eyeing for so long I think I’ll be picking it up at Half Price this weekend to take on my trip to Colorado! VERDICT: Keep and read ASAP.

The Hot One: A Memoir of Friendship, Sex and Murder by Carolyn Murnick

So this is another one that I’ve come back to a few times. I’m normally not a big sucker for covers – I mean obviously I love a beautiful cover, who doesn’t, but that’s not normally a big driving factor for me – but something about this one has always caught my eye. However, every single time I revisit it the reviews get worse and worse, most citing that the author is redundant and pushed her way into the trial and justifies her friendship with the victims. Let me just say: people who shove themselves into the middle of a tragedy and try to justify that they were friends with the victim are the worst. I’ve seen and known people like this, who insert themselves into tragedy and make it about them and their relationship and that irks the hell out of me so I’m feeling like this isn’t gonna be my *vibe*. VERDICT: ByyYYYeeEEeEE.

Not a Scientist: How Politicians Mistake, Misrepresent and Utterly Mangle Science by Dave Levitan 

I try not to get too political on my blog. I’m not a fan of arguing politics over the internet – it rarely does anything except have someone devolve into slinging insults and threats. HOWEVER, I am very, very dedicated to being science minded. Science is literally everything and it doesn’t care about your beliefs because there are facts of the world. Having the leaders of my country actively deny climate change because “Chicago is cold” is truly infuriating. People are consistently misrepresenting science and trying to find facts to fit their narrative, instead of letting the facts speak for themselves. So this one is one I’m super interested in but I’ve held back from reading because I get frustrated just thinking about it. However, one of my resolutions this year is to read more non-fiction so I think I’ll have to pick this one up. VERDICT: Keep *also climate change is real*. 

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Another round of Down The TBR Hole is done and I’ve eliminated only one book. I’m not very good at this but it definitely re-sparks my interest in books I previously added. Have you read any of these titles, if so do you agree or disagree with my choice to keep or toss? Drop me a note in the comments and let me know!