Down the TBR Hole #20

Down the TBR Hole was originally created over at Lost in a Story.

Most of you probably know this feeling, your Goodreads TBR pile keeps growing and growing and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You keep adding, but you add more than you actually read. And then when you’re scrolling through your list, you realize that you have no idea what half the books are about and why you added them. Well that’s going to change!

It works like this:

  • 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?
  • Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week!

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell
Published: January 11, 2005
On TBR Since: March 30, 2013

I think I’m one of about 10 people on the planet who haven’t read this book yet.

Stay or Go: Stay

Predictably Irrational: The Hidden Forces That Shape Our Decisions by Dan Ariely
Published: February 19, 2008
On TBR Since: March 30, 2013

See Blink, above.

Stay or Go: Stay

Confronting the Classics: Traditions, Adventures, and Innovations by Mary Beard
Published: March 1, 2013
On TBR Since: April 1, 2013

That’s quite a cover, isn’t it? From the reviews, this is really a collection of Beard’s published reviews, which isn’t quite what I’m looking for.

Stay or Go: Go

The Men Who United the States: America’s Explorers, Inventors, Eccentrics and Mavericks, and the Creation of One Nation, Indivisible by Simon Winchester
Published: October 15, 2013
On TBR Since: April 1, 2013

Winchester stays.

Stay or Go: Stay

A Curious Man: The Strange and Brilliant Life of Robert “Believe It or Not!” Ripley by Neal Thompson
Published: May 7, 2013
On TBR Since: April 3, 2013

I remember being endlessly fascinated by Ripley’s show as a kid.

Stay or Go: Stay

True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart by Tara Brach
Published: January 22, 2013
On TBR Since: April 3, 2013

I really should read this sooner than later.

Stay or Go: Stay

Foodopoly: The Battle Over the Future of Food and Farming in America by Wenonah Hauter
Published: January 1, 2012
On TBR Since: April 3, 2013

Still interested in the topic, but not so much this book.

Stay or Go: Go

Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins
Published: 2003
On TBR Since: April 3, 2013

I’ll get around to this one eventually.

Stay or Go: Stay

Kings of the Road: How Frank Shorter, Bill Rodgers, and Alberto Salazar Made Running Go Boom by Cameron Stracher
Published: January 1, 2013
On TBR Since: April 15, 2013

Another one where the topic is still interesting, but this particular book doesn’t sound like one for me.

Stay or Go: Go

The Atlas of New Librarianship by R. David Lankes Published: April 4, 2011
On TBR Since: April 28, 2013

Is it still new librarianship?

Stay or Go: Go

Six to stay, four to go. Ending last week: 1827 . Beginning this week: 1838. Ending this week: 1834.

One of these weeks, I’ll remove more books than I add. Visit my to-read shelf to see how very far I still have to go!