TBR INSPECTION | 5 BOOKS I’VE PICKED UP & RE-SHELVED

Hey, friends! How’s it going? Hopefully well and if not, hopefully brighter days head your way soon!

Today I want to talk about books I’ve started reading and set down for one reason or another, fully intending to return to them and finish them…and then never got back to (or at least haven’t gotten back to yet!). Oops? What can I say, I’m a monster, haha! Okay, okay, maybe not a “monster,” but definitely one heck of a distracted reader! But let’s not dilly-dally any further—let’s dive right in to my shameful TBR of re-shelved books!

Strange The Dreamer by Laini Taylor

I loved Taylor’s debut series, the Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, so I was so beyond hyped when I heard she was releasing Strange The Dreamer. Unfortunately, I found Strange The Dreamer to be good, but also quite dense and slow, making it difficult for me to be motivated to continually pick it up at the time I initially attempted to read it. I made it about 32% through the book, though, and what I read I did genuinely enjoy despite my quibbles, so hopefully I’ll pick this tome up again and eventually finish it and the sequel.

A Court of Wings and Ruin, Kingdom of Ash, and House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas

Okay, technically this isn’t a single book but rather an entire category…I used to absolutely devour Maas’s books but I’ve “re-shelved” her past three books and set them down “to pick up again later” in the middle of the book! I don’t think I’m outgrowing her stories or her writing, because when I was reading the books in question, I was really immersed in the worlds and interested in the characters, relationships, and plotlines? It’s so weird. Regardless, I definitely want to find out how these books end—especially ACOWAR and Kingdom of Ash, as they’re both series conclusions—so there’s no doubt that I will eventually finish these behemoths!

Ghosts of the Shadow Market by Cassandra Clare

Alright, I’ma admit something I’m not particularly pleased to: I…think I’m outgrowing Cassandra Clare’s Shadowhunter Chronicles series? I’ve been reading her books since I was 13—that’s 13 years, friends!—and in recent years I’ve felt very “meh” about her books, largely because it feels like she keeps recycling characters. I haven’t even finished The Dark Artifices yet because the writing in Lady Midnight felt particularly juvenile and repetitive! My interest was slightly sparked by The Last Hours, though, so I figured I’d soldier through the Ghosts of the Shadow Market short story collection—which apparently you have to read before The Last Hours. Boy oh boy has that endeavor not gone to plan. I set Ghosts of the Shadow Market down because, well, quite frankly, I was so freaking bored! I know saying that is basically blasphemy in the bookish community but it’s true! But I really want to read The Last Hours and I have a stubborn streak, so sooner or later (for better or worse) I’m gonna have to slog through the rest of this one…

Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff

I read Illuminae back in 2015 and absolutely LOVED it. In fact, I remember that Gemina was one of my most anticipated sequels back then. And yet, here I am, nearly six years later, having not read the sequel or the finale of the series??? I made it through about 5% of Gemina and…i dunno, y’all, it was…not my style? Which is crazy because I really enjoyed the first book in the series! And I don’t think I wouldn’t enjoy Illuminae if I read it today…Maybe I just still haven’t reached the ever elusive *perfect moment* to read Gemina? I suppose we’ll find out when I next try to read it…

Blood for Blood by Ryan Graudin

My FAVORITE book of 2015 was definitely Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin—which to this day I still swear is an underhyped gem! This is another series where I was so hyped for the sequel to book one and then just completely dropped the ball when it came to finishing it. I read about 50% through Blood for Blood and I was having an amazing time reading it but I think I set it down because I got distracted by a different book and I just haven’t picked it up again. *Sigh.* Are we sensing a pattern? Yes? Okay *shakes head*. But I promise you—I will be finishing this book! Okay?!?!…After I finish all the other books on this list…

So, friends, that was my shameful list of books I’ve started but not finished. Tell me I’m not alone in this pattern of reading? Pretty please?? Okay, maybe it’s just me, lol! But still—that just gives me more books to look forward to finishing, which is a plus in my book!

Well, dear friends, that’s it for today. I’d better get going on whittling down my TBR so if you’ll excuse me I’ma get back to it. Until next time, friends…

• Do you have any unfinished books on your TBR that you’ve “re-shelved” for later?
• When you “re-shelve” books, do you consider them “DNFed”?
• Or maybe you’re a stubborn reader, who refuses to give up on a book or get distracted? (Tell me your secrets!)