- 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?
1. The Academie by Susanne Dunlap:
My thoughts:
I didn't realize this one was sort of historical fiction when I first saw it on my list, but because of that, I'm definitely still interested.
Verdict: Keep
2. TV Goes to Hell: An Unofficial Road Map of Supernatural:
TV Goes to Hell is the first book to give a full and fascinating examination of the series under the creative control of creator/producer Eric Kripke. This collection of essays, written by leading scholars, situates the series within debates surrounding folklore, religion, comedy, gender, and sexuality, and considers the impact of the show's genre-bending hybridity and its signature use of hard rock. The book aslo examines the show's innovative approach to storytelling and its unique relationship with its critics and its fans. Designed for fans of the show, as well as scholars and students, TV Goes to Hell unravels the wonders and horrors of Supernatural.
(Includes a comprehensive episode guide through season six.)
My thoughts:
As much as I used to devour any and all books, including nonfiction, about my favorite tv series, I don't have the time these days to get around to them.
Verdict: Toss
3. New England Witch Chronicles by Chelsea Luna:
Modern day witches in Hazel Cove, Massachusetts? Unlikely, but strange things are occurring in the weeks preceding Alex’s seventeenth birthday. Alex is haunted by bizarre recurring nightmares of a man chasing her through the Hazel Cove Cemetery. On a few occasions, when her emotions have spiraled out of control, inanimate objects have shattered around her. But that’s just a coincidence, right? Alex isn’t so sure, especially after a local girl, who supposedly dabbled in witchcraft, was killed in the nearby forest.
Alex knows something strange is happening. With the arrival of a new boy in town, James Van Curen, who is causing problems between Alex and her best friend, Peter, Alex feels like her entire world is on the verge of chaos. Could Alex really be a witch? Is it possible Hazel Cove will become a battleground for modern-day witches and witch hunters?
My thoughts:
Kinda sounds good. But don't know when or if I'd get to it.
Verdict: Toss
4. Z: Zombie Stories by J.M. Lassen:
Zombie Stories has the answer to that question.
Zombie Stories gathers together some of the hottest zombie fiction of the last two decades, from authors including Kelly Link, Jonathan Maberry, and Catherynne M. Valente. These stories focus on those who will inherit a world overrun with the living dead: a young man who takes up the family business of dealing with the undead, a girl dealing with her abusive father... who has become a zombie, a poet who digs up the wrong grave, and a Viking maiden imprisoned with the living dead...
My thoughts:
While this has one of my favorite authors in it, Jonathan Maberry, I don't really read that many zombie stories these days.
Verdict: Toss
5. 31 Dates in 31 Days by Tamara Duricka Johnson:
My thoughts:
I've mentioned before about how I went through a phase of reading lots of dating memoirs such as this. I also mentioned that I no longer think they will have anything to do with my life, so I don't really care anymore.
Verdict: Toss
6. A Cure to Die For by Stephen G. Mitchell:
Alex Farmer, a drug-addicted doctor with a shattered life, and Cyd Seeley, a research assistant with a deadly secret, are inadvertently thrown together to protect a medical breakthrough that could change the face of healthcare forever. Amid the suspense of harrowing kidnappings, manhunts, political and corporate intrigue, Wall Street corruption, suicides, arrests and terrifying escapes--in the Montana wilderness, in the high-tech world of Houston, Texas, in the political cesspool of Washington D.C., and on a massive Indian reservation--Alex and Cyd fight to survive a perilous journey where the fate of a healthy planet hinges on the survival of a tiny seed.
My thoughts:
Hmm, even though I don't read a lot of this type of book anymore, this one sounds like it could be good. But who knows when I'd get to it.
Verdict: Toss
7. Frail (Dust #2) by Joan Frances Turner:
My thoughts:
So, this is a sequel to a book I think I either still have on my TBR shelf, or I may not even have it since I may have donated it to my school library, or else taken to Half Price bookstore. I guess I'll find out when I really start packing my books to move. But anyway, until I read the first one, I may not care about this one.
Verdict: Toss
8. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami:
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
As Aomame’s and Tengo’s narratives converge over the course of this single year, we learn of the profound and tangled connections that bind them ever closer: a beautiful, dyslexic teenage girl with a unique vision; a mysterious religious cult that instigated a shoot-out with the metropolitan police; a reclusive, wealthy dowager who runs a shelter for abused women; a hideously ugly private investigator; a mild-mannered yet ruthlessly efficient bodyguard; and a peculiarly insistent television-fee collector.
A love story, a mystery, a fantasy, a novel of self-discovery, a dystopia to rival George Orwell’s — 1Q84 is Haruki Murakami’s most ambitious undertaking yet: an instant best seller in his native Japan, and a tremendous feat of imagination from one of our most revered contemporary writers.
My thoughts:
I've heard so much about this one, I feel that I need to try to read it at some point. However, I also feel it is so well known that I probably don't need to keep it on a list somewhere.
Verdict: Toss
9. Invisible by Jeanne Bannon:
For seventeen-year-old Lola Savullo, life is a struggle. Born to funky parents who are more in than she could ever be, Lola’s dream of becoming a writer makes her an outsider even in her own home. Bullied and despised, Lola still has the support of her best pal Charlie and Grandma Rose.
Not only is she freakishly tall, Lola’s a big girl and when forced to wear a bathing suit at her summer job as a camp counselor, Lola’s only escape from deep embarrassment seems to be to literally vanish. Soon after, she discovers the roots of her new “ability”.
Slowly, with Charlie’s help, Lola learns to control the new super power. The possibilities are endless. Yet power can be abused, too…
Then, when tragedy strikes, Lola must summon her inner strength, both at home and at school. She has to stand up for herself, despite the temptations and possibilities of her newfound super power.
A coming-of-age story that will warm the heart.
My thoughts:
It kind of sounds good, kind of sounds like a Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode. But I don't know that I'd ever get around to it.
Verdict: Toss
10. Don't Expect Magic by Kathy McCullough:
Then Dr. Hank tells her an outrageous secret: he's a fairy godmother—an f.g.—and he can prove it. And by the way? The f.g. gene is hereditary. Meaning there's a good chance that New Jersey tough girl Delaney is someone's fairy godmother.
But what happens when a fairy godmother needs a wish of her own?
My thoughts:
Sounds similar to other books I know of.
Verdict: Toss
Final Thoughts:
Did a great job this week with my Goodreads list, dropping nine! So you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I've added during the week as well, I'm also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week. This week, after taking these 9 off, I have 3,190 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,191. So I kind of did better! Got rid of more than I added!
Have you read any of these? Would you suggest I keep any I'm tossing? And if you're inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join in and share a link in the comments, since it's not really catching on, I'm not going to waste time with the link up this week. It will also get you an extra entry into my giveaway at the bottom of this post.
Giveaway:
Once again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way. This week I'm upping the prize, you get to pick any two books from the pictures below, as long as they don't get traded away, or picked by last week's winner, and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice. Here are your choices:
2018 ARCs:
2017 ARCs:
2014 ARC:
And, surprise! I am adding in my early 2019 ARCs now. You can pick one of your two choices from the picture below, the other book you pick needs to come from the pictures above.
Once again I'm going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book! Just enter the Rafflecopter below.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
