I’ve seen this meme around, not really knowing what it was. When I finally realized what it was…I knew I should be doing it.

Down the TBR Hole is a meme started and hosted by Lost in a Story. It revolves around cleansing your TBR of all those books you’re never going to read and sort through it all to know what’s actually on there.

Which I could really use.

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Here’s the rules spiel:

Most of you probably know this feeling, your Goodreads TBR pile keeps growing and growing and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You keep adding, but you add more than you actually read. And then when you’re scrolling through your list, you realize that you have no idea what half the books are about and why you added them. Well that’s going to change!

It works like this:

• Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
• Order on ascending date added.
• Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.
• Read the synopses of the books
• Decide: keep it or should it go?

I’ll be doing 5 at a time. I probably won’t be doing this weekly, but I’ll try to do a post a month at least. I’ll also post the verdict at the bottom as a “Keep” or “Toss”. I hope y’all enjoy this one!!

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The Book: Promise of Blood by Brian McClellan
Why it was added: I honestly can’t remember why I added it. It was probably because I was looking for more fantasy reads, and I found this one on Goodreads. The only reason it’s stayed is because it sounds so unique–what is it called? Gunpowder fantasy?
My current feelings: Rereading the summary now, I have to admit that it sounds like a stereotypical fantasy written by an allo cishet white man. I won’t be keeping it on my TBR, but I’ll probably be keeping my copy.

Verdict: I’m tossing it for now.

 

The Book: Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Why it was added: I can’t remember why I added this one either. I probably added it after hearing about it on tumblr/twitter/youtube/goodreads.
My current feelings: It still sounds interesting to me! I just have to make time for it I think. At the moment, though, it’s just not something I’m in the mood for.

Verdict: I’m keeping it for now.

 

The Book: The Archived by Victoria Schwab
Why it was added: I added it when I realized that I really liked V.E. Schwab’s writing when I read A Darker Shade of Magic.
My current feelings: I still really want to read this book, even knowing that the series was never finished. I loved Schwab’s writing in ADSOM and her other books, so I want to read more of her writing.

Verdict: I’m keeping it.

 

The Book: The Thousand Names by Django Wexler
Why it was added: Similar to Promise of Blood above, I think I just added this when I was looking for fantasy. When I went on that adding binge, I added a bunch of fantasy by allo cishet men.
My current feelings: I still feel like it’s another fantasy by an allo cishet man, but I’ve heard a lot of amazing things about Django Wexler’s writing. I also have a copy of this at home, so I want to keep it.

Verdict: I’ll keep it.

 

The Book: The Dragon’s Path by Daniel Abraham
Why it was added: Daniel Abraham wrote another series under a pseudonym James S.A. Corey, and I adore that series. I went onto his Goodreads pages and just added everything by him. (He is also another allo cishet man.)
My current feelings: While I liked his series as Corey, that one is Sci-Fi. I tried another of Abraham’s fantasy series, and just couldn’t get into it. I also know that I just added this one because it was another stereotypical fantasy, so at the moment, I think I’m going to toss this one for now.

Verdict: I’ll toss it.

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Five more down, official tally of Toss vs. Keep is now…

Keep: 10
Toss: 10

Apparently I added a lot of fantasy books by allo cishet men a while back, so I’m glad that I’m actually looking into them and seeing that they’re literally all the same. While I’m still interested in reading a few, I feel like I can now see where one is actually ‘unique’ and where one is another stereotypical fantasy following a roguish guy with questionable morals.

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