Down the TBR Hole (6 of 24+)

Time for #6 in my attempt to clean up that too, too, too long TBR list. I say no to a lot today. (and man, it was satisfying deleting all that from my Goodreads shelf…it’s not like I accomplished anything, really, but it felt like it!)

This meme was created by Lia @ Lost in a Story—but Jenna at Bookmark Your Thoughts is the one that exposed me to this, and as my Goodreads “Want To Read” shelf is scarily long, I had to do this.

The Rules are simple:

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?
Keep track of where you left off so you can pick up there next week! (or whenever)

What distinguishes this series from the Mt. TBR section of my Month-end Retrospectives? Those are books I actually own while Goodreads contains my aspirational TBR (many of which will be Library reads). The Naming of the two is a bit confusing, but…what’re you going to do?

(Click on the cover for an official site or something with more info about the book)

	I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You by Courtney Maum Blurb: …a failed monogamist attempts to woo his wife back and to answer the question: Is it really possible to fall back in love with your spouse?…he resolves to reinvest wholeheartedly in his family life…just in time for his wife to learn the extent of his affair. Rudderless and remorseful, Richard embarks on a series of misguided attempts to win Anne back while focusing his creative energy on a provocative art piece to prove that he’s still the man she once loved. My Thoughts: I’m sure I had a good reason for wanting to read this, but I don’t see it now. Verdict:
	Half a King by Joe Abercrombie My Thoughts: I mentioned this recently in my The Stay at Home Book Tag post. I wanted to jump on this when it first came out and got too busy. But now the series is complete and I have no excuse not to. Verdict:
	Perry’s Killer Playlist by Joe Schreiber Blurb: When Perry ends up in Venice on a European tour with his band, Inchworm, he can’t resist a visit to Harry’s Bar, where Gobi told him she’d meet him someday. The last time he saw Gobi, five people were assassinated one crazy night in New York City. Well . . . Gobi shows up, and once again Perry is roped into a wild, nonstop thrill ride with a body count. Double crossings, kidnappings, CIA agents, arms dealers, boat chases in Venetian canals, and a shootout in the middle of a Santa Claus convention ensue. My Thoughts: This is the sequel to the silly, but fun, Au Revoir, Crazy European Chick. Would probably have just as much fun with this one, but it’s just not calling to me, and I’ll probably never get around to it. Verdict:
	The Fair Fight by Anna Freeman Blurb: “The Crimson Petal and the White meets Fight Club: A page-turning novel set in the world of female pugilists and their patrons in late eighteenth-century England.” My Thoughts: Uhhh, what? Verdict:
	School for Sidekicks by Kelly McCullough Blurb: A young would-be superhero is shipped off to an academy to learn to be a sidekick—precisely what he doesn’t want. What’s worse, he’s assigned to a has-been of a hero. My Thoughts: I’ve never not enjoyed a McCullough novel—I’ve read a half-dozen or so of them, and I can’t imagine this would be the exception. But the point here is to be honest about the way I’m using my time, and I just don’t see this happening. Verdict:
	Gooseberry Bluff Community College of Magic: The Thirteenth Rib by David J. Schwartz Blurb: “Gooseberry Bluff is not a school for the chosen ones. It’s a school for those who have run out of choices. An unlikely place for an international conspiracy. But after suspicious paranormal signatures are reported and a professor of magical history goes missing, the possibility of demon trafficking seems more and more likely…” My Thoughts: I really dug Schwartz’s Superpowers and would probably have enjoyed this, too. But it’s been out for so long and the rest of the series never materialized (likely, because of people like me who didn’t buy this one 7 years ago). Not going to bother. Verdict:
	The Dragon Engine by Andy Remic Blurb: “Five noble war heroes of Vagandrak get drunk one night and sign a contract – to journey to the Karamakkos in search of the Five Havens where, it is written, there is untold, abandoned wealth and, more importantly, the three Dragon Heads – jewels claimed to give unspeakable power and everlasting life to those who wield them.But the Dragon Heads aren’t what they think, and the world has not encountered their like in generations! Think Smaug was fierce? You ain’t seen nothing!” My Thoughts: This has literally been sitting on my shelf for five years. I remember buying it for a trip and didn’t get to it then…or since. Sounds fun, and I own it. Gotta get it done. Verdict:
	All In by Joel Goldman Blurb: “Cassie Ireland works as a modern-day Robin Hood for people who have nowhere else to turn, not even to the police. Jake Carter is a roguish high roller traveling the world to play—and win—big-money poker. As Lady Luck would have it, the two unexpectedly find themselves targeting the same mark: Alan Kendrick, a ruthless, mega-rich hedge fund manager who doesn’t mind padding his bank account with a few shady deals. He’s swindled the wrong people this time—and now Ireland and Carter will join forces to take him down.” My Thoughts: I get a Leverage-y/Fox and O’Hare-ish vibe from this. Would very likely enjoy, but as I’ve said a few times today—honestly, I’m not going to get around to it. Verdict:
	A Cool Breeze on the Underground by Don Winslow Blurb: “Neal Carey is not your usual private eye. A graduate student at Columbia University, he grew up on the streets of New York, usually on the wrong side of the law. Then he met Joe Graham, a one-armed P.I. who introduced him to the Bank, an exclusive New England institution with a sideline in keeping its wealthy clients happy and out of trouble. They pay Neal’s college tuition, and Neal gets an education that can’t be found in any textbook– from learning how to trail a suspect to mastering the proper way to search a room. Now its payback time. The Bank wants Neal to put his skills to work in finding Allie Chase, the rebellious teenage daughter of a prominent senator. The problem: Allie has gone underground in London, and to get her back, Neal has to follow her into the punk scene, a violent netherworld where drugs run rampant and rage is the name of the game. Up against punk junkies, antique book thieves, and murderous betrayal, Neal has his work cut out for him to save Allie– and get back above ground for good.” My Thoughts: Winslow’s first novel. How can I not? Verdict:
	We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves by Karen Joy Fowler Blurb: “Meet the Cooke family: Mother and Dad, brother Lowell, sister Fern, and Rosemary, who begins her story in the middle. She has her reasons. “I was raised with a chimpanzee,” she explains. “I tell you Fern was a chimp and already you aren’t thinking of her as my sister. But until Fern’s expulsion…she was my twin, my funhouse mirror, my whirlwind other half and I loved her as a sister.” As a child, Rosemary never stopped talking. Then, something happened, and Rosemary wrapped herself in silence.In We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves, Karen Joy Fowler weaves her most accomplished work to date—a tale of loving but fallible people whose well-intentioned actions lead to heartbreaking consequences.” My Thoughts: I put this on my list?!?!? I’m sure it’s good (reviews, awards, etc. suggest so), but it is so far from being my kind of thing… Verdict: