Taking on my Physical TBR!

It’s been a while since I’ve posted but between reading slumps, being away most weekends for Dusk Angel Photogrpahy & ya know, being an adult I just haven’t had time to prioritise this blog. For the most part the season is over for my photography with the automotive events slowing down during the warmer months. So here I am.

The Challenge

With more free time I’m taking on a bit of a challenge to read my physical TBR. When I started this challenge I have 152 books on my phsyical TBR. Let’s see what number I can get to by the end of the year.

So I think at this point we have all established that reading books and collecting books are two different hobbies, right?? So of course even though I’ve been in reading slumps/not having time to read on and off all year I’m still buying books… To the point that I’ve had to expand off the 4 shelves I had dedicated to TBR books and am now taking up 7 shelves plus the top shelf of a TBR cart… I want to make a dent in my physical TBR so I have more room for book I love and want to keep a copy of (as they are currently in stacks on a nearby table…)

The Rules

I’ve created a spreadsheet numbering all my unread books and I’m randomly selecting numbers to chose my next read. I can chose to read physically or via audiobook once it’s selected and of course I’m allowing myself to DNF if I’m not enjoying it. I have little time as it is to read and I’m not wasting that time on something I’m not enjoying.

Also for audiobooks. If I’m not currently listening to a book for this challenge I will chose my audiobook from the ones I own. I have cancelled my Audible sub as I was using Everand (previously known as Scribd) a lot more, so I’ll just be hunting through there to see what they have available that’s on my physical TBR.

Progress so far

First choice

The First random pick was A River of Royal Blood which I decided to read physically. This is a YA fantasy I purchased in approx. 2020 and honestly I knew nothing about it except the genre. I was pleasantly surprised by this one and ended up rating in 4 stars. I really enjoyed the world building & myths in this one. It was very intricate and vivid and I enjoyed learning everything I could. I also enjoyed the characters but it’s main downfall was the predictability. I like to be surprised and intrigued while reading but as I guessed majority of the plot points it just felt a little lacking.

Second choice

This Poison Heart one was not as successful as the first being the first DNF for the challenge. I only read about 30 pages but it just didn’t capture my interest. After reading those initial 30 pages I just couldn’t make myself pick it up again and after avoiding it for 3 days I decided to DNF.

This one is another YA Fantasy with LGBT+ rep and I was looking forward to it but something about it just didn’t peak my interest in the end. I don’t think I’ll be giving this one another try.

Third choice – Currently Reading

The third book I pulled was The Sound of Stars which is another one I’ve had on my TBR for ages! I think 2020 as well. I’m currenlty reading this one & I honestly had no clue what it was about going in. I’m not even sure I knew when I bought it as I think it was a cover buy. Which it is stunning, so can you blame me? This one is a YA LGBT+ Sci-Fi with some dystopian vibes and I’m really enjoying it so far. I decided to try this one on audiobook which was a good choice and the narration is quite good and I’m currently 41% through.

Fourth choice

Seen as I was reading the previous choice on audiobook I needed a physical read. So I ended up picking up You’re Not Supposed to Die Tonight which I was a little apprehensive about this considering I just DNFd another by this author… However I ended up finishing this in one sitting. Well, minus an ice cream break in the middle haha. This is just over 200 pages so that definitely helped finishing it so quickly but I was also hooked. This one was a little unexpected though. I figured it was a horror based on the cover and title but it does take a little turn in the middle. Which funnily enough was the bit that creeped me out the least. Initially I was looking over my shoulder a little. You know that feeling of someone watching you even though you’re in a closed room in a locked house, in a locked yard with a dog keeping an eye on the place haha… Yeah that one. After the twist though that kinda went away. I was still on the edge of my seat to find out what was going to happen next but just not as creeped out. Still, I really enjoyed this one and ended up giving it 4.5 Stars.

Fifth choice

Seen as I finished the last one last night I now need another choice. So let me jump on the random number generator!

And over to the list.

I believe I picked this one up second hand which means it was a cover buy.

Have I got any idea what this is about besides it’s a fantasy? Nope.

Am I going to read a synopsis? Of course not.

It is labelled as slow-paced on Storygraph though and as a fast paced girly I’m not hugely looking forward to that but we will see how it goes.

Well that is it for now. I will update after I’ve read another few books for the challenge!