Reduce the TBR Aug 25
I am on a quest to Read and Reduce my TBR list! I will pick out a few books at a time to give my attention to and decide if my passion for the book burns bright or has fizzled out. I will share my decisions and hopefully inspire others to add or cull it from your lists.
I'm starting with 560 books on my list.
I. Imaginary Friend by Stephen Chbosky
Horror, Thriller, Mystery - 705 pages - Published in 2019
Christopher is seven years old.
Christopher is the new kid in town.
Christopher has an imaginary friend.
We can swallow our fear or let our fear swallow us.
Single mother Kate Reese is on the run. Determined to improve life for her and her son, Christopher, she flees an abusive relationship in the middle of the night with her child. Together, they find themselves drawn to the tight-knit community of Mill Grove, Pennsylvania. It's as far off the beaten track as they can get. Just one highway in, one highway out.
At first, it seems like the perfect place to finally settle down. Then Christopher vanishes. For six long days, no one can find him. Until Christopher emerges from the woods at the edge of town, unharmed but not unchanged. He returns with a voice in his head only he can hear, with a mission only he can complete: Build a treehouse in the woods by Christmas, or his mother and everyone in the town will never be the same again.
Twenty years ago, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower made readers everywhere feel infinite. Now, Chbosky has returned with an epic work of literary horror, years in the making, whose grand scale and rich emotion redefine the genre. Read it with the lights on.
Dialogue & Destinies
I love a good horror book, but the reviews really threw me off. It's 700 pages, a 25-hour audiobook, and some people loved it, and others said it was meh. I don't think I can commit that much time for a meh read. I have many other horror books I'm excited to read as well. I'm going to remove it.
II. Sword in the Stars by A.R.Capetta
YA, Fantasy, Science Fiction - 368 pages - Published in 2020
In this epic sequel to Once & Future, to save the future, Ari and her Rainbow knights pull off a heist...thousands of years in the past.
Ari Helix may have won her battle against the tyrannical Mercer corporation, but the larger war has just begun. Ari and her cursed wizard Merlin must travel back in time to the unenlightened Middle Ages and steal the King Arthur's Grail---the very definition of impossible.
It's imperative that the time travelers not skew the timeline and alter the course of history. Coming face-to-face with the original Arthurian legend could produce a ripple effect that changes everything. Somehow Merlin forgot that the past can be even more dangerous than the future...
Dialogue & Destinies
I read the first book twice. I loved it so much. I think it's one of the reasons I enjoy King Author retellings so much. I was waiting for the audiobook version to come out after my second read, but my library never got a copy and still doesn't to this day! I have other ways to get audiobooks now, so I will keep it.
III. Major Detours by Zachary Sergi
YA, Fantasy, Choose Your Own Adventure - 320 pages - Published in 2021
It's the summer before college and four best friends—Amelia, Chase, Cleo, and Logan—are on the first leg of their road trip inspired by the unique tarot deck that Amelia inherited from her grandmother. However, their trip full of visiting occult shops, bonding and sightseeing, takes a major detour as the friends discover that their tarot deck is more valuable—and coveted—than they could've ever imagined. As the friends race to finish this mystical scavenger-hunt across the West coast and uncover the mysteries of their tarot deck, it is you who will decide where to go next and how the story will end. With four possible final and romantic endings, you will get to make actual choices to further the friends’ road trip adventure in this unique interactive novel.
Will you uncover the mysteries of the tarot deck and the legacy left behind? Will you help Amelia and Chase learn and grow? And will you unravel the secrets these friends keep from each other—and from themselves?
Dialogue & Destinies
The idea of this book just tickles me. Since I wouldn't have to read every page to get to an ending. I think it will be a quick read. I will keep it!
IV. Kind of Scars by Leigh Bardugo
YA, Fantasy, Romance - 511 pages - Published in 2019
Face your demons... or feed them.
The dashing young king, Nikolai Lantsov, has always had a gift for the impossible. No one knows what he endured in his country's bloody civil war--and he intends to keep it that way. Now, as enemies gather at his weakened borders, Nikolai must find a way to refill Ravka's coffers, forge new alliances, and stop a rising threat to the once-great Grisha Army.
Yet with every day a dark magic within him grows stronger, threatening to destroy all he has built. With the help of a young monk and a legendary Grisha general, Nikolai will journey to the places in Ravka where the deepest magic survives to vanquish the terrible legacy inside him. He will risk everything to save his country and himself. But some secrets aren't meant to stay buried--and some wounds aren't meant to heal.
Dialogue & Destinies
This is the first book in a duology. The second book's audiobook is only on audible which I don't love. This sounds like a really great series so I will keep it on my list for now.
V. The Princess Will Save You by Sarah Henning
When a princess’s commoner true love is kidnapped to coerce her into a political marriage, she doesn’t give in—she goes to rescue him.
When her warrior father, King Sendoa, mysteriously dies, Princess Amarande of Ardenia is given what would hardly be considered a choice: Marry a stranger at sixteen or lose control of her family’s crown.
But Amarande was raised to be a warrior—not a sacrifice.
In an attempt to force her choice, a neighboring kingdom kidnaps her true love, stable boy Luca. With her kingdom on the brink of civil war and no one to trust, she’ll need all her skill to save him, her future, and her kingdom.
Dialogue & Destinies
My sister read this and said it was meh. I will remove it.
VI. Extracted by R.R. Haywood
Science Fiction, Time Travel - 400 pages - Published in 2017
In 2061, a young scientist invents a time machine to fix a tragedy in his past. But his good intentions turn catastrophic when an early test reveals something unexpected: the end of the world.
A desperate plan is formed. Recruit three heroes, ordinary humans capable of extraordinary things, and change the future.
Safa Patel is an elite police officer, on duty when Downing Street comes under terrorist attack. As armed men storm through the breach, she dispatches them all.
'Mad' Harry Madden is a legend of the Second World War. Not only did he complete an impossible mission—to plant charges on a heavily defended submarine base—but he also escaped with his life.
Ben Ryder is just an insurance investigator. But as a young man he witnessed a gang assaulting a woman and her child. He went to their rescue, and killed all five.
Can these three heroes, extracted from their timelines at the point of death, save the world?
Dialogue & Destinies
This sounds interesting but I haven't read a true Sci-fi book outside of a book club in years. I'm going to remove it.
VII. Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko
YA, Fantasy, LGBT - 343 pages - Published in 2020
Tarisai has always longed for the warmth of a family. She was raised in isolation by a mysterious, often absent mother known only as The Lady. The Lady sends her to the capital of the global empire of Aritsar to compete with other children to be chosen as one of the Crown Prince’s Council of 11. If she’s picked, she’ll be joined with the other Council members through the Ray, a bond deeper than blood. That closeness is irresistible to Tarisai, who has always wanted to belong somewhere. But The Lady has other ideas, including a magical wish that Tarisai is compelled to obey: Kill the Crown Prince once she gains his trust. Tarisai won’t stand by and become someone’s pawn—but is she strong enough to choose a different path for herself?
Dialogue & Destinies
I started this book a few years ago and haven't reached for it since. I will remove it.
VIII. The Never Tilting World by Rin Chupeco
Generations of twin goddesses have long ruled Aeon. But seventeen years ago, one sister’s betrayal defied an ancient prophecy and split their world in two. The planet ceased to spin, and a Great Abyss now divides two realms: one cloaked in perpetual night, the other scorched by an unrelenting sun.
While one sister rules Aranth—a frozen city surrounded by a storm-wracked sea —her twin inhabits the sand-locked Golden City. Each goddess has raised a daughter, and each keeps her own secrets about her sister’s betrayal.
But when shadowy forces begin to call their daughters, Odessa and Haidee, back to the site of the Breaking, the two young goddesses —along with a powerful healer from Aranth, and a mouthy desert scavenger —set out on separate journeys across treacherous wastelands, desperate to heal their broken world. No matter the sacrifice it demands.
Dialogue & Destinies
The world sounds very interesting to me. I will keep it.
IX. All Systems Red by Martha Wells
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists is conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid--a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, Murderbot wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is, but when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.
Dialogue & Destinies
Sci-fi just isn't my cup of tea anymore. It's so short that I might pick it up one day but that won't be anytime soon. I will remove it.
X. A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Dialogue & Destinies
This is another cute concept that I would like to read more of. I will keep it.
Results
I had 5 keeps and 5 removes. Not a bad start! That brings me down to 555 books.
Just through this first attempt, I learned that there are many YA and Sci-fi books on my TBR. I used to read these genres a lot, but I've outgrown them now.
I look forward to doing these more often. I can't wait to use my TBR to actually figure out what I'm going to read next instead of dreading the long scroll I've been living with now.
Happy Reading!
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