This was started by Lia @ Lost in a Story and is a good way to go through your Goodreads to-read list!
It works like this:
- Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
- Order on ascending date added. (I didn’t do this the first couple of times, sorry!)
- Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books
- Read the synopses of the books
- Decide: keep it or should it go?
My TBR is actually fairly short compared to some others, but I still think there’s a lot there that I’m not interested in anymore.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
In this striking literary debut, Carol Rifka Brunt unfolds a moving story of love, grief, and renewal as two lonely people become the unlikeliest of friends and find that sometimes you don’t know you’ve lost someone until you’ve found them.
1987. There’s only one person who has ever truly understood fourteen-year-old June Elbus, and that’s her uncle, the renowned painter Finn Weiss. Shy at school and distant from her older sister, June can only be herself in Finn’s company; he is her godfather, confidant, and best friend. So when he dies, far too young, of a mysterious illness her mother can barely speak about, June’s world is turned upside down. But Finn’s death brings a surprise acquaintance into June’s life—someone who will help her to heal, and to question what she thinks she knows about Finn, her family, and even her own heart.
At Finn’s funeral, June notices a strange man lingering just beyond the crowd. A few days later, she receives a package in the mail. Inside is a beautiful teapot she recognizes from Finn’s apartment, and a note from Toby, the stranger, asking for an opportunity to meet. As the two begin to spend time together, June realizes she’s not the only one who misses Finn, and if she can bring herself to trust this unexpected friend, he just might be the one she needs the most.
An emotionally charged coming-of-age novel, Tell the Wolves I’m Home is a tender story of love lost and found, an unforgettable portrait of the way compassion can make us whole again.
Date added: January 30, 2013
I don’t remember why I added this book, but it sounds interesting!
Verdict: keep
Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro
As children, Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy were students at Hailsham, an exclusive boarding school secluded in the English countryside. It was a place of mercurial cliques and mysterious rules where teachers were constantly reminding their charges of how special they were. Now, years later, Kathy is a young woman. Ruth and Tommy have reentered her life, and for the first time she is beginning to look back at their shared past and understand just what it is that makes them special—and how that gift will shape the rest of their time together.
Date added: November 25, 2012
Just recently, Rachel mentioned that she loved this book, so I’m hoping to prioritize it!
Verdict: keep
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
Bestselling author Sherman Alexie tells the story of Junior, a budding cartoonist growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation. Determined to take his future into his own hands, Junior leaves his troubled school on the rez to attend an all-white farm town high school where the only other Indian is the school mascot.
Heartbreaking, funny, and beautifully written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is based on the author’s own experiences, coupled with poignant drawings by Ellen Forney that reflect the character’s art, chronicles the contemporary adolescence of one Native American boy as he attempts to break away from the life he was destined to live.
Date added: April 23, 2017
I know so many people who love this book, even though I think the hype has died down a bit.
Verdict: keep
The Realm of Possibility by David Levithan
One school. Twenty voices.
Endless possibilities.
There’s the girl who is in love with Holden Caulfield. The boy who wants to be strong who falls for the girl who’s convinced she needs to be weak. The girl who writes love songs for a girl she can’t have. The two boys teetering on the brink of their first anniversary. And everyone in between.
As he did in the highly acclaimed Boy Meets Boy, David Levithan gives us a world of unforgettable voices that readers will want to visit again and again. It’s the realm of possibility open to us all – where love, joy, and the stories we tell will linger.
Date added: April 25, 2012
Verdict: maybe? I can’t decide.
Between You and Me by Lisa Hall
They say every marriage has its secrets.
But no one sees what happens behind closed doors.
And sometimes those doors should never be opened …
Sal and Charlie are married. They love each other. But they aren’t happy. Sal cannot leave, no matter what Charlie does – no matter how much it hurts.
Date added: April 18, 2017
This is actually on my Top TBR list on Goodreads AND I’m reading it for Read-a-thin so it’s staying lol
Verdict: keep
Total
Keep: 5
Delete: 0
Wow, I’m really good at decluttering hahaha aha help
Let me know if you’ve read any of these and which I should prioritize!
Ahhh I hope you love Never Let Me Go! Tell the Wolves I’m Home is really good too, I’m glad to see that one’s also staying.
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Thank you! I’m hoping to read both of them soon!
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I decluttered my Goodreads TBR list a while ago, and it still has over 350 books on it. Yup. That’s AFTER I deleted some. Sorry, but I won’t be able to help you prune your TBR list down at all. I’m not very good at it myself. 😉
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It’s so hard, there are so many interesting books! I need more time!!
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Right? There’s never enough time for pleasure reading.
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This is such a good way to clean my TBR list LOL ! I loved Never Let Me go ❤
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Yay that’s awesome to hear! I’m super excited to read it!
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This sounds like an awesome idea. I recently decluttered my facebook of people I don’t really know/speak to anymore, along with twitter and instagram. I didn’t cross my mind to declutter Goodreads, may have to give this a go 🙂
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I’d definitely recommend it! I like going through my instagram and facebook too haha
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You declutter the same way I do! Even when I manage to delete 2 out of 5, it feels like I got rid of SO much.
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OMG I KNOW I hate getting rid of books on my TBR because what if that was a potential new favourite??
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“Things book addicts say.” LOL But, yes. I’m right there with you.
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I don’t think it’s a secret that any of us are book addicts
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‘Never Let Me Go’ has been on my TBR for ages! I’ve seen the film which is pretty terrifying, I’m sure the book is even better…
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I didn’t know there’s a movie! I’ll have to add it to my to-watch list once I’ve read the book!
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