February TBR

After starting 2024 off with a bang, I’m hoping to have another great reading month in February. As always, I’ve got a pretty ambitious TBR but I’m excited to knock a few of these off my list! I hope the RNG is kind to me this month.

100+ Years of Books: 1943

I love when I get years in this challenge that I can pick a children’s book for. It feels like doing it on easy mode. I’ve never read The Little Prince and I have absolutely no idea what it’s about but I know it has been beloved for years so I’m very curious to check it out!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1943

Around the World: Nicaragua

I had never even heard of Rushdie until he was publicly stabbed a couple years ago. Since then, I feel like I’ve been seeing his name everywhere. When doing a bit of research for the Around the World challenge, I was shocked to see his name crop up again so I thought maybe it’s time I try something he has written. I don’t know anything about Nicaragua but I’m very curious to learn.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Nicaragua
– Genres: Biography/Memoir – Travel

Genre Challenge: Non-Fiction – Science and Mystery/Thriller – Political

These are two books I’ve been very interested in reading for ages. I’m not from America so seeing the opioid crisis over there is horrifying from an outsider’s perspective. I’m very interested in learning more about it.

The Odessa File is one that has just intrigued me for a while since I quite enjoy political fiction, it being set in Nazi Germany only makes it that much more dangerous and exciting.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Germany
– Genres: Non-fiction – Science
– Genres: Mystery/Thriller – Political

Author: Kate McCarthy

This is the one I’m the least excited for. If I didn’t need to read a military romance I’d never pick this book up, but I’m at least glad this author was chosen so I can get it out the way. I’m not sure what it’s about but I’m hoping it isn’t as bad as I’m expecting.

Challenges:
– Genres: Romance – Military

Goodreads Shelf: GN-comics-manga

I was absolutely hyped when I did my rolls for this TBR last night and this was chosen. It’s maybe cheating but I only have about 50 pages of the black book bind-up of Death Note, Vol. 1. I’m counting it. I loved the anime and I’m, so far, enjoying the manga just as much.

Challenges:
– Mystery/Thriller: Graphic Novel

Prompt: A book starting with P

I have absolutely zero idea why I’ve been putting this book off so much when I’m so excited to read it. I generally can’t stand reading about kids in books but an exception to that rule is the “is the kid evil or is the parent losing their shit” trope. I’ve been wanting to read more psychological thrillers so I really have no excuse.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Orilium Monthly Prompt: A book with non-human characters

I’ve been really wanting to read a book with robots for a little while but for whatever reason I’ve just not done it. I’m sure about the actual plot of Robopocalypse but the title suggests maybe a robot uprising type of situation? I’m not sure but I’m here for it all the same.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Book Club: Alice – Christina Henry

I’m so excited to read Christina Henry’s Alice in Wonderland retelling. My sister wanted to read it too so I was nice (and definitely not completely self-serving) and picked it for my turn in our book club. I’m really curious to see what everyone thinks about it as I know people have very different expectations when it comes to retellings. I’m also just obsessed with that cover.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Try a Chapter: The Guncle and Sweet Venom

I’m not excited or dreading trying these two novels. I’m curious about their stories (obviously, otherwise they wouldn’t be on my TBR) but I’m learning that the writing style can make or break some books. YA and contemporary and these genres I’m finding this to be more and more prevailant in. I have more confidence in The Guncle considering Sweet Venom came out in the YA fantasy craze in the early 2010s but I want to give it a good go anyway since I love Greek mythology.

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January TBR

This may be the most ambitious tbr I’ve ever come up with. I’m honestly not going to be surprised if I don’t get to every single one of these books this month but since I’m trying my best to dnf and remove things from my tbr, I’m going to be ruthless about putting these books down if I’m not enjoying them. The RNG also hasn’t been super kind this month but more on that in a sec. Good luck to me!

100+ Years of Books: 1975

I have no idea what Salem’s Lot is about, I just know it’s one of Stephen King’s horror novels from his heyday in the 70s. It’s one I remember seeing my mum reading when I was younger and the cover always stuck out to me. I enjoy a spooky read in the winter so I’m looking forward to this.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1975

Around the World: Palau

If I’m being honest, I’m fucking dreading The History of Palau. Thankfully it’s only around 60 pages but even so. I desperately needed to find a book either set in or about Palau and this is all I could find. Hopefully its tiny size will make it a bit less tedious.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Oceania – Palau

Genre Challenge: Horror – Psychological and Romance – Gothic

I’m really not looking forward to either of these. A second Stephen King in the same month?! The RNG must hate me. I started reading The Shining as a teen but found it to be incredibly dull so I’m hoping to get access to the audiobook to help it along. I’m also super intimidated by Wuthering Heights. It’s a lot longer than I thought so I’m hoping its a classic I enjoy.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1977
– Genres: Horror – Psychological
– Genres: Romance – Gothic

Author: Cory Doctorow

I was very happy that I got a graphic novel author as my author pick this month to break up the bigger books. I’m not entirely sure what In Real Life is but it looks like it has a nice art style regardless.

Goodreads Shelf: Classics

I was ready to cry when I pulled the classics shelf until I saw that Kindred is considered a classic. I’ve been desperate to try Octavia E. Butler for a while now so this is officially the book I’m the most excited to get to this month. I have huge hopes for it.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1979
– Priority TBR

Prompt: A book that has been adapted

The Woman in the Window is another one that I’m not really sure what the plot is. I have a vague idea that its about a woman who has agoraphobia who witnesses a crime? Maybe? I’m not 100% sure but I’ve been desperate to read this for years as I really want to watch the film.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Book club: The Appeal

This year a few family members wanted to start a book club which I’m sure will be fun. Unfortunately I’ve already read the first book we chose but it was such a fun read that I’m more than happy to read it again. I’m really hoping I can get the audiobook though so I don’t have to read it with my eyeballs again!

Try a chapter: Middlegame and The Fourth Monkey

In a bid to try a rid my tbr of books that I don’t like, I’m also going to do a couple of “try a chapters” at some point. I’m more confident that I’ll enjoy The Fourth Monkey than Middlegame but I don’t really care if I end up dnf-ing both of them!

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December TBR

I’m going to be honest, I don’t have super high hopes that I’m going to achieve everything this month. I’m going to give it a good go but I think I’ve been a little ambitious considering how busy December is! Though after looking at the page counts of these books, a lot of them are actually pretty short or I have access to the audiobook so maybe I’ll do better than I expect. I’m really excited by what came up on this month’s RNG TBR Picker though!

100+ Years of Books: 1993

I’ve been meaning to read Girl, Interrupted for over a decade. I first watched the film when I was around 14 and absolutely fell in love with it. It’s about time I actually read the memoir it is based on. I was pleasantly surprised to see how short it is. I prefer a shorter memoir that doesn’t deviate from the subject matter too much so I assume that will be the case in this book. I’m expecting to love it.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1993

Around the World: Finland

The first of three Christmas books I plan to read this month. I’ve got quite a few Matt Haig books on my tbr so I thought reading a kids’ book might be a nice introduction to his work. After having a quick glance at the first page it gives me huge vibes of Roald Dahl so I’m quite excited to get around to this one!

Challenges:
– Around the World: Finland

Genre Challenge: Romance – Holidays

I think In A Holidaze is the book I’m the least excited to get to. If anyone has followed my blog for more than 5 minutes you’ll know I’m not a romance enjoyer generally. I need a holiday romance for my challenge though and this one was the only one that appealed to me. I’m expecting almost a Hallmark movie vibe so maybe it won’t be so bad.

Challenges:
– Genres: Romance – Holidays

Author: Mary Kubica

I’m happy I got Mary Kubica as my author pick. I’ve been meaning to get around to trying more thriller authors so this is a great opportunity to read someone new. I know absolutely nothing about this book other than there is potentially something unique in the timeline or something? I have no idea but I’m always up for reading a thriller.

Goodreads Shelf: romance-contemporary

I feel like I don’t really need to say anything about Heartstopper other than that I can’t believe I STILL haven’t gotten around to reading the first volume of this mega popular graphic novel series. I’m not expecting anything special but it will fit perfectly when I need something quick and fluffy.

Challenges:
– Genres: Romance – Contemporary

Prompt: A book set in South America

Of all the books on this list, this is the one I have the least confidence that I’m going to get to. I have to be in the mood for non-fiction, particularly true crime – even in cases that are fascinating – so I can easily see myself putting this one off for another time. Although if I have access to the audiobook I may at least give it a go.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Guyana

Orilium Monthly Prompt: A fox on the cover/in the title

Is it cheating to purposely seek out an alternative cover of a book that doesn’t have a fox on it? Probably. Do I care? Not in the slightest. I’ve enjoyed doing the yearly Orilium Magical Readathon challenge so much this year and I wanted to end this challenge reading a book I actively want to get around to. I love this cosy mystery series so I’m confident that I’ll enjoy it while curled up in a blanket!

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November TBR

Where on earth has this year gone? I can’t believe we’re already in November! I read so much last month and feel like I still have steam to read a lot again this month so I’m hoping for another great reading month.

100+ Years of Books: 1945

I’ve never read Pippi Longstocking and I never heard the story as a child so thought this would be a nice quick read for this prompt. I’ve had a mixed bag of luck with childrens books that I’ve read for this challenge so I’m hoping this will be one of the better ones.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1945

Around the World: Afghanistan

I don’t actually know what this book is about other than that it will certainly break my heart. I’m always hesitant to go into these kind of books as I don’t like feeling emotionally manipulated but I’ve heard that this isn’t the kind of book that makes you feel that way. I’ll be surprised if this gets anything less than 5 stars.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Afghanistan

Genre Challenge: Science Fiction – Mind Transfer

I wasn’t sure which book to choose for Mind Transfer so after a quick google I decided to just pull up a list of ones that fit and if any were on my tbr that book would be the one I read. Thankfully The City and The Stars was on my tbr. I’ve wanted to try this author for a while too so two birds with one stone!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1956
– Genres: Science Fiction – Mind Transfer

Author: Gwen Cooper

I love animals. I love films about animals. I love books about animals. I’m hoping SO hard that this isn’t going to be one of those sad animal books but either way I’m confident that I’ll enjoy this memoir about a blind kitty.

Challenges:
– Genres: Biography/Memoir – Animal

Goodreads Shelf: location-north-america-not-usa

I started this book a few days ago and while there are a few things that bother me, I’m really enjoying it. Seeing what these kids and their communities in Guatemala go through as a result of gangs and corruption is awful. I have a feeling it’s only going to get worse but I’m hoping they will catch a break. I adore that cover too.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Guatemala

Prompt: a memoir

Whether I got this prompt or not, I was going to read The Woman in Me this month so it all works out well. I’ve loved Britney since I was a kid and followed the news with her recently along with everybody else. I can’t wait to read about it all in her own words.

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October TBR

I know generally October is spooky month full of horrors, mysteries and thrillers but I’m just not feeling that this year so I decided to just continue doing my usual RNG TBR picker. I feel like it hasn’t been kind this month with year and genre prompts picked but thankfully the others picks are very interesting! The Orilium prompt for this month is to read a book with numbers as chapter titles so I’m pretty sure that will be almost any of the books on this list.

100+ Years of Books: 1924

I’m going to be honest, I’d never heard of this. The only choice I had on my tbr for 1924 was an Agatha Christie book that I just wasn’t feeling at all. A children’s classic felt like a nice swap that would be a chill, easy read regardless of what its about!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1924

Around the World: Ghana

Remote Control has been on my tbr for quite a while so I’m glad to have an excuse to finally get around to it. I didn’t realise it was so short at around 160 pages! I’ve wanted to read more scifi lately so a short book seems like a nice way to ease myself into it. Also, look at how beautiful that cover is!

Challenges:
– Around the World: Ghana

Genre Challenge: Mystery/Thriller – Noir

This is the other one I’m almost dreading. I don’t know whether I like noir as a genre, especially older ones as I’m just expecting a lot of misogyny and racism unfortunately. At least Double Idemnity is only short at just over 100 pages so I’m hopeful that even if I don’t like it I won’t be struggling for long.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1936
– Genres: Mystery/Thriller – Noir

Author: Leigh Bardugo

Shadow and Bone is the only book on my tbr from my priority tbr this month! I’ve wanted to read the Grishaverse books for the longest time but have kept pushing it off over and over again so I’m so glad I’m forcing myself to finally try it this month. This will also be my first dive into a Leigh Bardugo book so I’m very excited for that!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Goodreads Shelf: a-3-mid-priority

I had never heard of this book or series until recently watching a throneofpages video and I was instantly intrigued. An adult novel with vampires and a deadly tournament? I’m sold. I started this one last night and although I’m only 10% of the way through, I’m hooked. The writing is great and the worldbuilding is thorough. I can’t wait to get further into the story!

Prompt: A retelling of a classic

I know it’s a little shameful to admit but I’ve never actually read Frankenstein. I’m somewhat familiar with the story though so I feel confident enough to read this translated work by Ahmed Saadawi. Frankenstein in Baghdad looks at the horrors of war by retelling the beloved classic. I’m very interested in this one.

What are you planning on reading this October?

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September TBR

Doing the magical readathon last month was really fun but I am glad to be getting back to trying to tackle some of my ongoing reading challenges. I can’t tell if the random number generator was kind to me or not this month but I’m pretty excited to cross some of these books off my TBR – particularly the few priorty books that I’m happy I’m being pushed to actually getting around to! This TBR may seem ambitious but I’m pretty sure Scribd has at least half of them as audiobooks so I’m pretty confident I’ll get to them.

100+ Years of Books: 1949

I really enjoyed The Haunting of Hill House so I’m very excited to see what else Shirley Jackson has written. I quite like horror in a shorter format like novellas or short stories so this collection is exactly what I was looking for!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1949

Around the World: Hungary

I’m going to be honest, I’m not entirely sure what Blood Countess is about. I *think* it is about the countess from centuries ago who tortured younger people and used their blood as a “beauty” product in the hopes of it keeping her young. I may be completely off the mark. We’ll see!

Challenges:
– Around the World: Hungary

Genre Challenge: Romance – Suspense

I’ve read one Nora Roberts book before and I didn’t like it but considering that was one of her fantasy books I’m going to try to not let that sway my opinion of her romantic suspense novels. I’m not really a romance lover but I think I’m slowly coming around. I think the suspense element will help me along if I start getting bored anyway so I have hope!

Challenges:
– Genres: Romance – Suspense

Author: Madeline Miller

Now this is exactly why I started doing the RNG TBR every month. The Song of Achilles has been on my priorty TBR for years. Is there a single reason I’ve not picked it up yet? No. I adored Circe when I read it so I have no idea why I’ve been putting this book off for so long. It’s finally time to have my heart ripped out, I accept it.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Goodreads Shelf: age-YA

Lord of the Flies is the only classic left on my priority TBR. I’ve planned to get around to it quite a few times recently but have put it off over and over again. No more! I’m still not really sure what this book is about but I’m excited to finally get around to it nonetheless.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1954
– Priority TBR

Prompt: Genre: Science fiction

I’ve heard nothing but amazing things about this series so I absolutely cannot wait to get stuck in and meet the much-loved Murderbot. A few of my favourite booktubers are obsessed with the Murderbot Diaries so the more I hear about it, the more I get FOMO from not having read it myself!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Orilium Monthly Prompt: A dark academia book

I’m not sure how I feel about The Secret History. I’ve heard the characters are unlikeable and that a lot of the love for this book comes from the writing itself rather than its content. I hope this isn’t the case for me as I do really want to like it since its such a beloved modern classic. I’m going into it keeping my mind open in the hopes that I love it as much as everyone else.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1992

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August TBR: Magical Readathon Edition

It’s that time of year again. It’s time for the Orilium Magical Readathon! I always love this readathon, it’s a chance to cram in a lot of books that fit some fun fantasy-based prompts created by Book Roast. I’ve definitely been ambitious with this TBR especially with how hard I’ve been struggling to concentrate lately but if anything will get me back into it, its this! As well as all these prompts, I have a final prompt to start a book before bed but I really haven’t thought that far along so that’s the only one to not have a pick just yet. I’m also chuffed that all but one of these picks are from my priority TBR so this will help make a decent dent!

Elemental Sudies O: Book with the word ‘Earth’ in the Title / On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous – Ocean Vuong

I’ve seen nothing but good things about On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous so I’ve known for a while that I wanted to read it for myself. It is essentially a letter from a son to his illiterate abusive mother. I started the audiobook a few days ago and I’m really struggling with it. I feel like literary fiction either engages me entirely or I’m woefully bored the whole time. I’ll definitely finish it but I’m not sure I get the hype so far.

Challenges:
– Around the World: Vietnam

Elemental Studies Q: Book with over 500 pages / Babel – R.F. Kuang

R.F. Kuang is one of my favourite authors. I’ve read 4 of her books and all 4 got 5 stars. I’ve been intimidated by Babel so kept putting it off but enough is enough. I can’t wait to get sucked into another masterfully crafted world. I’m very confident in Babel being a 5 star prediction.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Elemental Studies D: Snake on the cover / Great Goddesses – Nikita Gill

I can’t explain how difficult I found it trying to find a book with a snake on the cover that I actually wanted to read! I read a collection by Nikita Gill a while ago and while I didn’t find it to be anything groundbreaking, it was very fun and enjoyable. I knew I wanted to read one of her mythology based collections ever since but never got around to it so here we are!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Shapeshifting O: Book with vampires / Gunmetal Magic – Ilona Andrews

I knew I was going to force a Kate Daniels book onto this list before I even looked at the prompts. I was panicking a little because no vampires had appeared by the 30% mark but a dead vampire was eventually spotted so it counts haha! I’m enjoying it so far, but thats no surprise!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Animal Studies O: Pet Pick / Letters to a Young Poet – Rainer Maria Rilke

I’m going to be honest, I have absolutely no idea why I put Letters to a Young Poet on my priority list. I assume its due to it being so short. I also thought it was a poetry collections instead of a collection of letters. Either way its an interesting read and I’m glad to be reading it.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Astronomy O: Word in the title from the last song listened to / Men Who Hate Women – Laura Bates

I’m always keep to read feminist books that look at how men hurt women in different ways. This will be the first book that looks at incels so I’m really excited to get around to this one. I love these books but they leave me so angry so I’ll be getting around to this when I’m in the right headspace for something like this.

Challenges:
– Genres: Non-fiction – Psychology
– Priority TBR

Restoration Q: Random colour generator cover match / Bitch Planet Volume 1 – Kelley Sue DeConnick

“Signal Violet” is the shade I rolled and surprisingly I had a few choices from my priority TBR. I needed something short to mix in with the novels so thought a graphic novel that I’ve wanted to try for a while would be the perfect pick. Very excited to get to this one!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Are you participating in the magical readathon? What is your TBR?

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July TBR

Happy July!

I’m not feeling particularly confident about getting round to everything on this month’s TBR as I can already feel myself struggling to focus when reading lately but we’ll see. I’m hoping to read as many of them as possible though. If I finish all of them, I think I’m going to focus on trying to read some more books from my priority TBR that also fit my challenge prompts as I feel I’ve not been making great progress with my challenges this year – particularly the Around the World challenge so I’d like to do what I can there. This month’s Orilium monthly prompt is to read when its dark so honestly any of these could fit that since I do a lot of my reading before I go to sleep.

100+ Years of Books: 1951

I rolled 1951 for 100 Years of Books. There were a couple of choices I could have gone for but I’ve wanted to read The Catcher in the Rye for years so thought why not kill two birds with one stone!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1951

Around the World: South Sudan

I found it really quite difficult to find something from South Sudan that actually interested me. Eventually I found Beneath the Darkening Sky which sounds like an interesting story. Unfortunately it seems that it will be similar to Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday that I read for the Somalia prompt last month in that it is another book about African child soldiers. I hope it is different enough to stand out

Challenges:
– Around the World: South Sudan

Genre Challenge: Romance – Comedy

Until recently I thought I didn’t really enjoy romance in books but either I’m coming around to it or the right romance can do it for me. I’ve heard nothing but good things about Emily Henry and that she’s THE romance author for people who aren’t into romance novels. I’m exciting to actually read something a little easier since I generally read pretty dark stories.

Challenges:
Genres: Romance – Comedy

Author: Jay Kristoff

I’m going to be honest and say I don’t have super high hopes that I’m going to enjoy Nevernight. It sounds great and I’ve heard a lot of positive things about it but the only other Kristoff book I’ve read was Illuminae which I hated. Hopefully Nevernight isn’t written in the same way because he’s an author I really want to like!

Goodreads Shelf: x-Mental-Health

I was watching some of megwithbooks’s old videos the other day and came across her meeting Charly Cox. I’d never heard of her before but I liked the sound of her poetry. I’m always on the lookout for poetry collections so I’m excited to get around to this one!

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

Prompt: A book beginning with M

I’m already about halfway through Magic Slays and am really enjoying it! I feel like after this one I’m going to take a short break from the Kate Daniels series as I don’t want to get burnt out reading them all so fast. I’m loving it as much as the others though.

Challenges:
– Priority TBR

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June TBR

My RNG TBR picker has actully been very kind to me this month! In June, of the 6 books I’ve picked to read, 3 of them are from my priority TBR shelf which I’m absolutely buzzing about. I’ve been trying for the past few weeks to read from that shelf where I can so this month’s TBR will definitely help with that.

100+ Years of Books: 1920

I’m really excited to read The Mysterious Affair at Styles by the legendary Agatha Christie. I’ve never read Christie before but I have been enjoying mysteries more lately so pulling 1920 was the perfect opportunity. This is the first book in the longstanding Hercule Poirot series. One of the biggest reasons I’m excited to read this though is that if I enjoy it, thats a fair few of my 100+ Years of Books prompts done!

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1920

Around the World: Somalia

At the time of writing this I’m already 50% of the way through Let’s Go Swimming on Doomsday by Natalie C. Anderson. This is such a hard-hitting novel about a child soldier in a terrorist organisation based in Somalia. Being in Abdi’s head is absolutely heartbreaking but its also very eye opening and thought provoking. Where do you draw the line at things you’d do to save your family?

Challenges:
– Around the World: Somalia

Genre Challenge: Mystery – Locked Room

Going from reading no Agatha Christie to reading two this month! And Then There Were None is an absolute classic but I’ve never actually read it. I actually didn’t think this qualified as a locked room mystery but a lot of different sources say that it does so here we are! This is another book I’m super excited to read.

Challenges:
– 100+ Years of Books: 1939
– Genres: Mystery – Locked Room

Authors: Jenny Lawson

I wasn’t expecting to be reading Let’s Pretend This Never Happened by Jenny Lawson this month. Honestly when the number landed on this author I wasn’t actually sure who she was but when I saw that I’d added 3 of her memoirs to my TBR I knew it was because this lady sounds hilarious. I’m really hoping this lives up to my expectations.

Challenges:

Goodreads Shelf: z-aliens

I internally groaned when I rolled the aliens shelf. I’m really not in the mood for scifi. So I was buzzing when I was scrolling and saw that Strange Planet absolutely fits this prompt. It’s a cute little collection of comics about aliens. I haven’t seen much of it but I’ve enjoyed the couple of comics I’ve seen from Nathan W. Pyle.

Challenges:
Genres: Science Fiction – Aliens

Prompt: Author beginning with R

For the random prompt I rolled an author beginning with R. There were only a couple of choices on my priority TBR but My Dark Vanessa was always going to win. I’ve been wanting to read this for such a long time but knowing how dark a story it is I’ve been putting it off continuously. I’m glad to finally have the opportunity to sit and read it since I’ve heard such fantastic things about this book.

Challenges:

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May TBR

While I’m pretty forthcoming about the fact that my TBR is wildly out of control (a whopping 3222 AFTER purging over 1500 from my Goodreads want to read shelf) I’ve worked this month to curate what I consider my Priority TBR. I already had this system in place but I actually went through it and removed anything that wasn’t an actual priority. The list is still pretty hefty with 165 titles but I’m now confident that I have a priority list to pick books from rather than being overwhelmed by the thousands I’m vaguely interested in. I’m still going to be doing my RNG TBR Picker but from now on hopefully it will be from a much smaller selection of books (for those that fit the prompts anyway!).

100+ Years of Books: 1966

Considering I have almost 50 books from the 60s on my TBR, it was surprisingly difficult to find one released in 1966. I think there were 4 choices and honestly this was the only one that I actively wanted to get to. I knew this was a somewhat retelling of Jane Eyre which is the main reason its been pushed back for so long as I only recently read Jane Eyre for the first time! I also didn’t know it is set (at least for a good part of it) in Jamaica so thats another country to cross of my list as well as it being one of the Penguin Top 100. A less than 200 page book that ticks three of my boxes? Love it.

Challenges:
100+ Years of Books: 1966
Around the World: Jamaica
Penguin Top 100 Classics

Around the World: Democratic Republic of Congo

King Leopold’s Ghost is a non-fiction that has been on my radar for years. I have a weird fascination with all things human atrocity. I am always up for being educated on the awful things humans have done over the centuries. Now while I am totally uneducated on King Leopold and the history of the Congo, I do know that what happened there was horrendous. I’ve heard very good things about this book so I’m glad to finally be getting around to reading it.

Challenges:
100+ Years of Books: 1999
Around the World: Democratic Republic of Congo
Genres: Biography – Historical Figure

Genre Challenge: Horror – Lovecraftian

I’m going to say it right now, I will probably not be finishing this book in May. I’m going to start it but I’m almost certain I won’t feel like reading all of it within the month. When I first got back into using a Kindle a few years back I went a bit crazy downloading as much free stuff from the Kindle store as I could. I have since deleted a lot of it but H.P. Lovecraft’s complete fiction is something I’m genuinely very intrigued by. I’ve never read anything by him but having the prompt of reading something Lovecraftian made me realise I should just go back to the source and read Lovecraft’s work.

Challenges:
Genres: Horror – Lovecraftian

Penguin Classics: Middlemarch – George Eliot

I’m going to be honest, I’m dreading reading Middlemarch. I didn’t realise it was over 900 pages long so that really puts me off since I don’t have high hopes that I’m goint to enjoy it. I don’t really have much else to say other than I have no choice if I want to complete the top 100 Penguin Classics. I’m just praying Scribd has the audiobook. Cry.

Challenges:
Penguin Classics

Authors: H.G. Wells

I feel like May has become the month of classics! This is another short one that I’ve been meaning to get around to for ages so I’m glad I’ve been given the push to read it. I don’t actually know anything about the plot of this story other than the fact that its a classic science fiction about time travel. Very excited to give this one a go.

Challenges:
Genres: Science Fiction – Dying Earth
Penguin Classics

Orilium Monthly Prompt: Book finishes on an even number

I finished The Fifth Season in April and was absolutely blown away. I picked up The Obelisk Gate almost immediately and was pleased to see that it would be able to fit this month’s Orilium prompt of reading a book that finishes on an even number. Technically I have no idea if my copy does since I’m reading on my Kindle and it doesn’t tell me the number of pages so I’m going by what Goodreads says!

These six are sure to keep me going this month but I’m also hoping to getting around to a couple of the poetry collections or graphic novels I have on my priority TBR for when I’m needing something quick I can just dip in and out of!

Full disclosure: I did also roll for Goodreads shelf and I rolled Penguin-Top-100. I’m sorry but no. I can’t do a fifth classic. I’ll fall heavily into a slump and I just refuse haha.

So, the introduction was written before I actually did my rolls so while I talked a big game about having this fantastic new priority system, only one of the books on my TBR for this month is actually from that list. It’s just my luck but at least this month I should be crossing off a lot from my various challenges. Hopefully next month I’ll get to my priority reads!

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