Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl. Each week they provide a topic and you are free to use that topic and/or variations of that topic to make your top ten list. You don’t have to do all ten. Instead you can do three, five, fifteen, whatever you want. A full list of the weekly themes can be found here.
This week’s theme is Books On My TBR I’m Avoiding Reading and Why. We all have those books that have been sitting around on our TBR and, despite our interest in them, we still haven’t picked them up. Many of them are likely even already on our shelves. So why haven’t we pick them up yet?
Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga #4) by Pierce Brown – I absolutely adored the original Red Rising trilogy. I’ve read them multiple times and can never say enough positive things about those books. So why haven’t I continued on with the series even though I own the next two books?
Because of expectations. I loved the first three so much that I am afraid that the new books won’t life up to my now high expectations. I would be shattered if I didn’t enjoy the saga’s continuation and that has caused me to hesitate reading them.
Illuminae (The Illuminae Files #1) by Jay Kristoff and Amie Kaufman – A year and a half ago I read just over half of this book, loved every page of it, then sat it down and have never picked it up again. Why? I DON’T KNOW. It sits even now just off to my right with a cheeky bright pink bookmark sticking out of it. Why don’t I just pick up and finish the darn thing?
The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon – There is no question in my mind, I love Samantha Shannon’s writing. Her The Bone Season is one of my favorite books ever. When she announced Priory I was so excited about it and I preordered it almost immediately. However, I haven’t read it yet despite my excitement. Why? It. Is. THICK. My attention span is a capricious thing and I’m not sure I have it in me to pick up and actually finish that sucker. So, for now, it sits as a (very) pretty decoration on my shelves.
A Reaper at the Gates (An Ember in the Ashes #3) by Sabaa Tahir – I am a terrible person and really hate myself sometimes. When I read the first two books in this series I absolutely devoured them. Loved every second, every word, every moment of those books. As soon as I finished them I snatched up Reaper from the local bookstore and…put it on my shelf. Why do I do this to myself? I don’t know. Even now when I could easily reach out and snag this book from its shelf from where I sit, at this moment, I still am not. WHY?!
Nocturna (A Forgery of Magic #1) by Maya Motayne – Let me be up front with you all for a second here. I bought this book because someone I am not fond of and do not respect the opinions of in the slightest said they hated it and wouldn’t recommend it to anyone. I am hella petty so I immediately ordered it from Amazon THEN I read the description. Dang if this book doesn’t sound fabulous! Latinx inspired fantasy world with dangerous magic? I’m in. The only reason I have no read this yet is because there were a few books higher on my TBR list but I will get to this one soon.
Courting Darkness (Courting Darkness Duology #1) by Robin LaFevers – This book is really sexy. I mean, the photo of the cover online looks great but you should see it in person. It is fabulous. Not to mention the description is right up my proverbial alley. So, why haven’t I read it? Time for a Truth Check. I tried to read LaFever’s Grave Mercy and couldn’t get into it. Something about the style just didn’t flow right for me. While this book pulls at me something terrible I am worried that it won’t strike me the way I want it to which has kept me from reading it.
What are some books on your TBR that you are avoiding reading? Have some good reasons to read the ones I listed that will actually kick my butt into gear to read them? Let me know in the comments!
I loved that series with Grave Mercy, but I haven’t made myself pick up Courting Darkness. I just am not in the mood for it. I don’t blame you for not picking up Samantha Shannon’s book. That thing is HUGE! It’s why I haven’t read Outlander yet.
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Exactly! They are huge! I love Samantha Shannon and nearly drove six hours just to see her at an event for an hour but no matter how pretty that Priory cover is I’m going to need some intense motivation to pick up that thick puppy.
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If you want to join some of us on Twitter doing a group read for Priory, let me know! It’s supposed to help us finally get over our fears and read the darn thing!
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Oh gosh I forgot about Illuminai and Priory. That is most definitely mood and also BIG book that’s making me avoid them. Great list – here’s My Top Ten Tuesday
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I keep putting off Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel. I put it on my TBR every autumn/winter and never read it. I fully convinced I will this year!
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Hopefully in the spring you don’t look back at Wolf Hall and go, “Dang it, not again!” Some books just sit on the shelves forever before we ever read them.
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Yep, fact of life! 😂
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Sooo many of these are sitting on my shelf unread too. I did finally read Illuminae last week and it’s definitely worth finishing as it gets better as it goes. I do have to confess to getting the audio to help me get into it.
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I may have to try the audio for it. A lot of people have recommended it but, I admit, I am hesitant about ensemble casts. Maybe I’ll give the audio sample in Audible for it a shot today.
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Your reluctance to read Iron Gold is understandable – those first three books were absolute perfection and it is undeniably difficult to see them still fighting the war.
I just started Illuminae and I am loving it! I hope it continues to be good and I hope you pick it back up soon!
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Exactly! I look at the characters and the time frame between Morning Star and Iron Gold and think, “Good lord! How is this still going on? Give Sevro some peace!” Of course, Sevro only.
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Always for Sevro.
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I’m the same about Priory! That thing is a TOMB! But a beautiful one… I mean that cover is just plain GORGEOUS ❤ I hope you enjoy it if/when get around to it!
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It really is beautiful, isn’t it? At this point it just feels like an art installation on the wall instead of a book to actually pick up and read. I’m determined to get to it eventually but it will take intense motivation.
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Art installation… that’s what I should be calling the shelves of unread books at home 😛 My family keep asking about them and now I finally have a chance to justify it haha. I can’t wait to read your review after the motivation hits!
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I initally walked away from Illuminae too. Going back to it was one of the best decisions I’ve made.
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Last night I walked to my shelves and pulled out the book that was directly beside of Illuminae to read it. I have to finish that sucker eventually. I’m low key afraid that because it has been so long since I started reading it that I’ll have to start all over again.
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You MUST finish Illuminae, omg, the second half was the best part! That book was full of plot twists and I wish I could forget everything about it to read it again for the first time.
I’ve been avoiding Game of Thrones because I’m lazy and it looks really long, haha. The worst part is that I don’t watch to watch the series until I’ve read the books. So I have literally no idea what the hype around these was all about XD.
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I think if I hadn’t read Reaper yet, I would’ve waited until there’s a release date for the last one lol. I think it was great in some ways, but some other parts didn’t feel true. I’ve also been avoiding Illuminae because I’ve tried twice and just can’t get past a certain point. Great post!
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By the time the last book’s release date is announced I going to have to reread the first two anyway. I hardly remember anything. Shameful, I know. I may as well just keep waiting to read Reaper, right? Hah
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Lol maybe! It might not hurt, since I’m not sure when the last one is coming out
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