This was originally created by Lindsey Rey (whose channel is no longer available). I did this tag originally on my old blog (sometime in 2014 or 2015), so I thought it would be fun to revisit my oldest answers, and the answers from when I later did this tag on my current blog in 2022!
1) What book have you been unable to finish?
My original answer: Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts.
My 2022 answer: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
Shantaram was my original July book – a concept I invented for myself where I take one of my most intimidating books and divide the number of pages by 31 days to create a page goal for myself. I was successful at this challenge for the first few years, and then it was a string of DNFs. Last year, after a few years break, I decided to reboot the challenge and picked A Little Life … and ended up DNFing it. I’m not opposed to a sad book, but I think I found it hard to connect with the characters in this one, which made me wonder if I’d find it sad at the end because I didn’t really care about them – so into the unhaul pile it went!
For my current pick for this prompt, I’ll have to go with Les Mis – I started it in 2020 with a group online with the goal of reading a chapter a day because there are 365 chapters. I can’t even blame the pandemic for that one because I read chapter 1 on January 1 and then didn’t read another chapter until the summer where I tried to catch up with the group by reading 10ish chapters a day, and I made it about halfway through the book before putting it down again. One day!
What book have you yet to read because…
2) …you just haven’t had the time?
My original answer: Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson.
My 2022 answer: Bridge of Clay by Marcus Zusak
I have read Mistborn, and also the whole trilogy! Bridge of Clay was another DNF – I tried the physical format as well as audio, and I just couldn’t get into the story.
For this one, I think I’ll go with The Revolution of Marina M. I love Janet Fitch’s writing, and I have this one on audio and physical so it will be a great immersive read, but it’s about a time period that I don’t know much about and I don’t read a ton of historical fiction, so I know it’ll be a lot of work and I need to have time to sit with the story.
3) …it’s a sequel?
My original answer: A Dance of Dragons by George R.R. Martin.
My 2022 answer: The Labyrinth of Spirits by Carlos Ruiz Zafon.
A Dance of Dragons was another July book – I think it may have been the last summer that I was successful with my July book! I have not yet read The Labyrinth of Spirits, but I think it’s because I also haven’t read book three … and book three seems like it should be a winter read that I never get to!
I have to go with the rest of the Zodiac Academy series for this question – I’ve read the first five books, I think, so I’m more than halfway through the series but the books just keep getting bigger and bigger! I think I need to tackle these on Kindle instead.
4) …it’s brand new?
My original answer: A Court of Mist and Fury.
My 2022 answer: Rule of Wolves by Leigh Bardugo
A Court of Mist and Fury was absolutely read right after I initially posted this, but it took me longer to get to Rule of Wolves because I hadn’t yet read King of Scars … I did eventually read it, didn’t love it, and ended up DNFing Rule of Wolves.
I’ll go with one of the books I bought for my birthday last week – Dungeon Crawler Carl. This series is so beloved and hyped that I’m a little nervous about picking it up!
5) …you read a book by the same author and didn’t enjoy it?
My original answer: Finnikin of the Rock by Melina Marchetta.
My 2022 answer: Rooms by Lauren Oliver.
I read Finnikin of the Rock while moving almost a decade ago and liked it, but didn’t love it, but this was likely just due to being busy with a move — I’ve never continued with the series though, and probably won’t since so much time has gone by. Rooms was one of the books that hit the unhaul pile last summer – as beloved as Before I Fall and Delirium are to me, I haven’t loved any of of her others the same way, and this one doesn’t have great reviews.
For this one, I think I’ll go with Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver – two of her books are on my list of all-time favourites (The Poisonwood Bible and Prodigal Summer) but her second latest release, Unsheltered, was just okay for me. This one has some rave reviews too, which makes me both excited and nervous.
6) …you’re just not in the mood for it?
My original answer: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss.
My 2022 answer: The Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth by Chris Hadfield
I ended up DNFing The Name of the Wind because I just couldn’t get into it – I think it was this book that made me realize I’m quite selective and picky about the fantasy books I pick up. The Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth was another of the books I unhauled last summer – it’s a book I’m never in the mood for, and wasn’t sure I’d ever be in the mood!
The Darkest Mind by Alexandra Bracken – a friend highly recommended this series to me, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy it when I pick it up, but I don’t read a ton of YA anymore, so I know I’ll need to be in a very specific mood when I decide to read it.
7) …it’s humongous?
My original answer: Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry.
My 2022 answer: Whitethorn by Bryce Courtenay.
Lonesome Dove was another July book that was a smashing success – reading a hot, dusty western in the summer was the perfect vibes for this one, and it’s one of my hubby’s favourite books so I knew I’d love it too. Whitethorn was another book that I unhauled last summer – as much as I loved The Power of One, I don’t know that I’ll ever get around to reading more of Bryce’s books?
Fayne by Ann-Marie MacDonald – another one that I have on audio and in physical format, hoping that an immersive read will help, but this book is HUGE and HEAVY and oh-so-intimidating.
8) …because it was a cover buy that turned out to have poor reviews?
My original answer: Halo by Alexandra Adornetto.
My 2022 answer: Perfect Ruin by Lauren Destefano
I did try listening to Halo I think, and ended up donating it. Perfect Ruin is still on my TBR – in fact I own the whole trilogy!
I don’t know if this one was specifically a cover buy, since I went to the event to meet the authors, so I bought the book to get it signed, but Draw Down the Moon by P.C and Kristin Cast only has an average rating of 3.38 on Goodreads.
9) What is the most intimidating book in your TBR pile?
My original answer: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand.
My 2022 answer: Same book.
This is another one that I have subsequently unhauled — I don’t think it was part of last year’s unhaul; I think it was the year prior.
I think a lot of the intimidating books that were on my shelves that were intimidating mostly because I’d lost interest in reading them are now off my shelves – I think I unhauled about 75 books last summer and it felt so freeing! If I had to pick just one book for this final question, I would go with The Book of the Dust by Philip Pullman, only because this trilogy is chunky so it’s a commitment to start it, but also because I loved His Dark Materials so much that I’m not sure this series will live up to it?
What about you? Is there a book on your TBR pile that scares you silly?
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