Down the TBR Hole #77
In mid-2017 I was inspired by a post on Bursting with Books to start tackling my TBR shelf on Goodreads and see if these were books I still wanted to read. The title and premise come from Lost in a Love Story. I eliminated quite a few books, but still have a massive TBR of over 2500 books. This year I’ll be tackling 10 books per week to determine if I am still interested and want to keep them, or if I’m ready to remove them from the list.
How does it work?
- 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?
This week’s selections:
Grayson’s Vow by Mia Sheridan
Fiction; New Adult; Contemporary
Added December 4, 2015
Kira Dallaire is desperate.
Some challenges in life seem too hard to overcome. With little money, and even fewer options, the quick-witted and vibrant twenty-two-year-old needs to reinvent herself. Known for her generous heart and impulsive personality, she devises a survival plan, possibly her most outrageous idea yet.
Grayson Hawthorn is losing hope.
Some obstacles in life seem too hard to overcome. Betrayal definitely being one of them. With limited capital, and dwindling resources, he is attempting to resurrect his failing family vineyard, a self-imposed vow seemingly destined to fail. That is until a young woman enters his office with an outlandish, unexpected proposition impossible to refuse.
What begins as a temporary business arrangement, soon evolves into more as vivacious, spirited Kira challenges detached, arrogant Grayson to want more from life. To want more for himself. But as their wills clash and fiery passion ignites, they’ll realize that sometimes the past creates walls too difficult to climb, and that lies and deception rarely precede a happily every after.
As Kira and Grayson race toward their destiny, they will discover that some vows are meant to be broken, and others are worth risking everything for . . . even your very own heart.
Verdict: Remove
Fortytude by Sarah Brokaw
Nonfiction; Self Help; Personal Development
Added December 4, 2015
In the book, I’ll explore these five Core Values in depth, and share the stories of the remarkable women who most embody them. These are women who have chosen to greet life’s challenges with fortitude instead of fear. They have overcome adversity, danced through life’s unpredictable turns, and found confidence, joy, and peace along the way. They are my inspiration, and I hope they will be yours, too. Let’s take what they’ve learned and use it to help us not only embrace the loss of youth and transcend our anxieties, but to celebrate the beginning of the rest of our lives.
Verdict: Remove
Just Say Yes by Elizabeth Hayley
Fiction; Romance; Contemporary
Added December 4, 2015
Magazine columnist Quinn Sawyer has always attracted sweet, innocent, and safe men. And something tells her it’s because she’s just as harmless. So when she starts craving a guy with an edge, she realizes she may have to get one for herself.
When her boss asks for a unique pitch, Quinn’s quest to live outside her comfort zone prompts her to suggest an idea that will cause her to break her good-girl rules. And who better than Tim Jacobs to help her push her boundaries? For a while now, Quinn’s had a hot crush on the tattooed executive chef with a checkered past. If anybody can bring out her inner rebel, he can.
It’s no surprise that with every task the two complete, the sparks between them grow more and more intense. Soon there’s no denying the attraction they each feel. But Tim’s troubled past reveals an even tougher edge than Quinn expected—which means for her, falling in love might just be the greatest rebellion of all.
Verdict: Remove
The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos by Heidi Adnum
Nonfiction; Art; Photography
Added December 4, 2015
Sell more of your handmade items with better photographs
Amidst the sea of handmade jewelry, apparel, housewares, art, and other crafts that populate blogs, websites, and online marketplaces, how do you make your items stand out? The key is great photography.
Beautiful handmade items can be undermined by poor or uninspired images that fail to represent the detail and craftsmanship. With The Crafter’s Guide to Taking Great Photos you’ll learn that you don’t need expensive, professional equipment to get quality results. Get simple, practical advice presented with the crafter in mind. Learn to make a lightbox, how to use natural lighting, and how to capture the detail in your work. Broken down into specific craft areas, you’ll find tips on how to best generate eye-catching images that will help sell your items.
Verdict: Remove
A Year to Live by Stephen Levine
Nonfiction; Spirituality; Buddhism
Added December 11, 2015
In his new book, Stephen Levine, author of the perennial best-seller Who Dies?, teaches us how to live each moment, each hour, each day mindfully–as if it were all that was left. On his deathbed, Socrates exhorted his followers to practice dying as the highest form of wisdom. Levine decided to live this way himself for a whole year, and now he shares with us how such immediacy radically changes our view of the world and forces us to examine our priorities. Most of us go to extraordinary lengths to ignore, laugh off, or deny the fact that we are going to die, but preparing for death is one of the most rational and rewarding acts of a lifetime. It is an exercise that gives us the opportunity to deal with unfinished business and enter into a new and vibrant relationship with life. Levine provides us with a year-long program of intensely practical strategies and powerful guided meditations to help with this work, so that whenever the ultimate moment does arrive for each of us, we will not feel that it has come
too soon.
Verdict: Keep
Eeyore’s Gloomy Little Instruction Book by A.A. Milne
Fiction; Children’s; Humor
Added December 11, 2015
This companion to Pooh’s Little Instruction Book captures all the curmudgeonly charm of a much-beloved Milne character.
Verdict: Keep
The Secret Sister by Elizabeth Lowell
Fiction; Romance; Romantic Suspense
Added December 11, 2015
Christy McKenna, the smartest fashion writer in New York, thought she’d escaped her childhood in the impoverished rural West. Then came a call for help from the one person she could not refuse—her sister, the internationally celebrated model known only as Jo.
Jo’s plea draws Christy back to the magnificent mountains and mysterious red-rock canyons of the Four Corners country. But she’s too late—Jo has disappeared. However, Christy does find an unlikely ally in outlaw archaeologist Aaron Cain, and together they pursue Jo and a fabulous cache of ancient Indian artifacts worth millions.
Christy and Cain clash at every turn, but their antagonism soon turns into partnership—and blazing passion.
Verdict: Keep
The Reluctant Buddhist by William Woollard
Nonfiction; Religion; Buddhism
Added December 23, 2015
This book is about Buddhism, and the pursuit of happiness. The author takes us on an intensely personal journey into the practice of Nichiren Buddhism, which has now been embraced by many millions of people around the world. It is not in any way about a remote, abstract, inaccessible, philosophy. It is about Buddhism in daily life; about learning in a wholly practical way, how to build a better and happier life for yourself, and for those whom your life touches, no matter what the circumstances. You don’t have to conform to a specific lifestyle. You don’t have to be especially knowledgeable or dedicated or indeed religious in any way. Nichiren Buddhism teaches the extraordinary truth that happiness is not a matter of chance or accident, but essentially, a matter of choice, and that we can all learn how to make that choice.
Verdict: Keep
Return to Me by Kelly Moran
Fiction; Romance; Contemporary
Added December 23, 2015
With every beat of the heart comes a memory of what could have been…
Ten years ago, Cole Covington was just another rich kid who got everything he wanted—including young and trusting Mia Galdon. Then one night everything changed, and two hearts were shattered. Cole buried his guilt in the military, where love was just part of the past. Now Cole has come back home, emotionally damaged, guarded, and unprepared for what’s waiting for him…
At the urging of Cole’s sister, Mia has returned to the Covington family’s coastal home in Wilmington as a private nurse to help Cole recover. With her uncertain personal life at a crossroad, Mia doesn’t have the luxury of saying no to the job. And she soon finds out that the attraction is still alive. So are memories of betrayal. But Mia will discover more than the power of resilience. She’ll discover a secret Cole has held for years, one that will force them to confront the past and give new meaning to letting go, forgiveness, and a future worth fighting for.
Verdict: Remove
The Broke Diaries by Angela Nissel
Nonfiction; Memoir; Humor
Added December 23, 2015
“People always say I’m going to look back on these days and laugh — why put it off?”
When Angela Nissel found herself struggling financially while in college, instead of sulking, she decided to entertain herself by creating an online journal that chronicled her day-to-day trials and tribulations. Written with humor and intelligence, her “Broke Diary” quickly found an audience as people wrote to Angela to empathize with, console, and laugh with her about her experiences and even share their own. The Broke Diaries is the first complete compilation of her experiences, written in a voice that is funny, unique, and dead-on.
On buying ramen noodles: I am sooooooo embarassed. I only have 33 cents. I (please don’t laugh) put the money on the counter and quickly attempt to dash out with my Chicken Flavored Salt Noodles. The guy calls me back! I look up instinctively, I should have run . . . Why didn’t I run !! He tells me the noodles are 35 cents. I try to apologize sincerely. I thought the sign said 33 cents yesterday, so that’s all I brought with me. Could he wait while I ran home and get the 2 cents? I show him my student I.D. to let him know I am not a thief. He shakes his head and motions either for me to get the hell out of his store and never come back again or get the money as do come back. I don’t know. He said something like “Nyeh” and swiped his hand in my direction.
I can’t translate hand motions well.
The noodles: tasty!!!
Verdict: Keep
Stats this week: Keep 5; Remove 5
2018 stats: Keep 152; Remove 348
**All covers link to Goodreads; all titles link to Amazon {affiliate}
