As my Goodreads to-read shelf creeps closer to 500 books, I've been eyeing it with a growing feeling of apprehension. It would take forever to get through so many...and that's not counting all of the new books I hear about along the way. Thankfully I discovered Lost In A Story's series (by way of Boston Book Reader) at the beginning of the year and it sounds like a great way to trim down my TBR.
The guidelines, per Lost In A Story, are simple:
- 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?
THE BOOKS
Logan's Run by William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson
Harry Potter: Page to Screen by Bob McCabe
I'ma slut for an appropriately appreciative fan of all things Harry Potter. We know this. KEEP.
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John le Carre
le Carre has written some of my all-time favorite spy thrillers, which isn't all that surprising when you consider that he's one of the all-time best authors of spy thrillers. This is an undisputed classic that I want to KEEP and enjoy one day soon.
Smiley's People by John le Carre
I actually own this title because I remembered the order of the Karla Trilogy wrong. While I'm not going to skip the middle entry (which is below), I very much want to finish the story begun in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, making this an easy decision to KEEP.
The Honorable Schoolboy by John le Carre
It's a no-brainer to KEEP the second title in a trilogy I started and intend to finish.
March Violets by Philip Kerr
This sounds like the seediest of noirs which, when execute well, can become some of my favorite books/movies. There's enough promise here for me to KEEP it on the list.
Danse Macabre by Stephen King
I like Stephen King. I like the horror genre. So I should like a book where Stephen King talks about the history of the horror genre, right? The issue here is that I don't like Stephen King nearly as much when he's writing non-fiction. There are probably better books that set out to do the same thing King does here, so I'll PASS.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
I've already read the other two books in his Border Trilogy: The Crossing and Cities of the Plain. I just couldn't find a copy of this at the time, while other titles were gathering dust on my shelf, so I skipped ahead. It's my goal to read every McCarthy novel and play, and this is one of the few missing pieces. I'm happy to KEEP it.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
I added this in college because it seemed like the intellectual thing to do. The synopsis and page count combine to sound like a hellish experience for me, so I'm happy to leave its admirers to their scholarship and pursue other, more intriguing titles for myself. It's a PASS.
We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. Beagle
I adore Peter S. Beagle. His most recent collection of short stories is sitting on my Kindle as an ARC at this very moment. I probably need to read that first, but that doesn't mean I won't KEEP this book for later enjoyment.
This week I've kept 7/10 books on my to-read list. To be honest, I'm beyond relieved to finally get rid of A Confederacy of Dunces. It never sounded like the kind of book that I would enjoy reading yet it's talked about like a metric that "real" readers use to judge potential friends. Ugh, awful! Of course, this is just my experience, but that goes to show how we all bring our own histories and views to each and every book we read. Now what I really want to do is curl up with a dry red wine, a twisty spy novel, and a toasty fire!
Logan's Run by William F. Nolan & George Clayton Johnson
Usually I quite enjoy dystopic science-fiction, but I know I added this during my "read all the books made into movies" phase. Since I wasn't very captivated by this particular film, I'll PASS.
Harry Potter: Page to Screen by Bob McCabeI'm
The Spy Who Came In From the Cold by John le Carrele Carre has written some of my all-time favorite spy thrillers, which isn't all that surprising when you consider that he's one of the all-time best authors of spy thrillers. This is an undisputed classic that I want to KEEP and enjoy one day soon.
Smiley's People by John le CarreI actually own this title because I remembered the order of the Karla Trilogy wrong. While I'm not going to skip the middle entry (which is below), I very much want to finish the story begun in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, making this an easy decision to KEEP.
The Honorable Schoolboy by John le CarreIt's a no-brainer to KEEP the second title in a trilogy I started and intend to finish.
March Violets by Philip KerrThis sounds like the seediest of noirs which, when execute well, can become some of my favorite books/movies. There's enough promise here for me to KEEP it on the list.
Danse Macabre by Stephen KingI like Stephen King. I like the horror genre. So I should like a book where Stephen King talks about the history of the horror genre, right? The issue here is that I don't like Stephen King nearly as much when he's writing non-fiction. There are probably better books that set out to do the same thing King does here, so I'll PASS.
All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthyI've already read the other two books in his Border Trilogy: The Crossing and Cities of the Plain. I just couldn't find a copy of this at the time, while other titles were gathering dust on my shelf, so I skipped ahead. It's my goal to read every McCarthy novel and play, and this is one of the few missing pieces. I'm happy to KEEP it.
A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy TooleI added this in college because it seemed like the intellectual thing to do. The synopsis and page count combine to sound like a hellish experience for me, so I'm happy to leave its admirers to their scholarship and pursue other, more intriguing titles for myself. It's a PASS.
We Never Talk About My Brother by Peter S. BeagleI adore Peter S. Beagle. His most recent collection of short stories is sitting on my Kindle as an ARC at this very moment. I probably need to read that first, but that doesn't mean I won't KEEP this book for later enjoyment.
This week I've kept 7/10 books on my to-read list. To be honest, I'm beyond relieved to finally get rid of A Confederacy of Dunces. It never sounded like the kind of book that I would enjoy reading yet it's talked about like a metric that "real" readers use to judge potential friends. Ugh, awful! Of course, this is just my experience, but that goes to show how we all bring our own histories and views to each and every book we read. Now what I really want to do is curl up with a dry red wine, a twisty spy novel, and a toasty fire!
What did you think of my choices this week? Have you read A Confederacy of Dunces? Be sure to share your thoughts down below, and let me know if you're inspired to tackle your own TBR list!
No comments:
Post a Comment