I wish I could say picture encompasses all my "TBR" (to-be-read) pile, but sadly, no. When I saw it was upwards of 140 books, I thought, there is no way in hell that I still have interest in all of those. I read an article recently on my new favorite blog, Book Riot, that encouraged me to clear the shelves of books I've been holding onto for too many years. Most likely I will never get around to reading those and it's time to part ways.
So I wanted to do a quick little post about what I'm getting rid of and a short blurb as to why. I won't be including the covers in this like I would a normal book haul, I'm sure you'll all live!
Books Listed On Bookmooch:
1) Friday Night Lights by H.G. Bissinger
When I was working at KLEAN towards the end, I was taking a lot of "sick" days, or a lot of personal days basically which calculated out to about two days per week. Whatev. What that allowed me to do was catch up on my Netflix and every show from the past 5-7 years that I had missed. This included the show "Friday Night Lights". I figure, I do really like the show and it's probably similar enough that I don't have to read the book. Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose.
2) The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
You know it's time to get rid of a book when you can't even put your finger on when you acquired it. Like I think this one might be a high school pick up, maybe even a gift from one of my parents? I don't know. In any case, I've been toting it around thinking at some point I'm going to be desperate enough to read it, but I can honestly say after fully reading the synopsis, that's never going to happen. Buh-bye.
3) Peace Like A River by Leif Enger
This was definitely a Goodwill purchase. Goodwill is a tricky one for me. They always have such a HUGE book section that is priced dirt cheap. The problem is, they never have books that are quite on my "to purchase" list. It's like, "Oh yeahhhh, I think I've heard of this book being good... mayyyybe I'll get it" which then turns into me carrying the book around in my hands throughout the store for an hour and I finally give in to buying it only to realize later that I'm probably never going to read that book. Oh American consumerism, you get me every time. At least it's for a good cause... right?
4) Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
This is one of those highly popular books that I always feel like I should have read. Like everyone else has, why haven't you? I get suckered into those quite a bit, though I will say if any book has an Oprah Book Club stamp on the front, I steer the eff clear. I've learned my lesson with She's Come Undone by Wally Lamb. For lack of a better phrase, that book SUCKED which says a lot since I read it in high school (well half read) and still have PTSD from it. Oprah may be able to do a lot of things, but recommend books she cannot. Anyway, I gave Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close to my mom to check out and she said it was weird and she didn't like it, so I'm sure my feelings won't be too far from the mark. Goodbye book.
5) The Devil in the White City by Erik Larson
What sucked about buying this book was that it was at full price. In Barnes and Noble. When I was broke, broke, broke. I picked it up and put it back down within about 30 pages (my typical threshold for giving books a chance is 100 pages, but with this one I was bored to tears). I'm sure it's interesting and I'm sure a lot of people like it, but there are so many other books I would rather peruse before this. See yah.
6) Wicked by Gregory Maguire
I have had this book forever. At one point, when it came out back in 2000, I read almost 1/2 to 3/4 of it. I didn't have the steam to push all the way through. It's one of those that I kept saying to myself, "someday, someday, someday." But lets be real, it's 13 years later and I still haven't picked it up. Gone.
7) Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell
See #4
8) The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
This was a Goodreads recommendation. In whole, I'm highly suspicious of Goodreads recommendations, or any non-friend recommendations in general. Like in magazines when they pick "the best make-up/hair product/whatever of 2013", how do I know it's not because that brand paid them the highest price to print that? I don't. And how do I know the publishers of said book aren't paying to increase visibility, thus the reason a book ended up on my recommendations page in the first place, not because I would actually like the book (my mind is a scary place my friends). Anyway, I'm suspicious of this book, I think it's a plant, and it's time for it to go.
9) Fablehaven by Brandon Mull
I'm fairly certain this book was written for the middle-grade set and after my encounter with the Percy Jackson series, I'm over it. I'm done. YA is where I draw the line. I'm two and a half short years away from 30 and it's time for me to put down the books for the tween set. I just can't do it. I'm just too old for you.
All in all, I feel pretty good about these choices. For anyone that knows me, I'm a purger. I love getting rid of things to make room for the new. That being said, the "new" will most likely be bought tomorrow. On Amazon. With my credit card. Huzzah!
