The Intimidating TBR Pile Tag

My husband loves puns.  He just does.  And I get a kick out of how much fun he has with them.

Last week he said, "Did you hear about the book blogger who died when her books fell on top of her?  It was sad, but she only had her shelf to blame."

Ha, ha, ha, WAIT!  That could happen. To me.  And yes, I would only have myself to blame. My TBR is out of control.  There are nearly as many books on my Goodreads To-Read shelf as their are on my Read shelf--over a thousand.  I currently have 29 books checked out of the public library, and there is a stack of eleven books sitting on my desk at school, items I've swiped from my own classroom library to read.  I have started (with intent to finish) five books.  THIS IS NOT GOOD.

But then I saw this fun tag about this stressful topic on A Fool's Ingenuity.  

(I'm not sure why I call them "tags," since I always steal them and never pass them on, but I guess it sounds better than "random assortment of book related questions that are floating around the internet.")

My TBR pile isn't any smaller now, but the questions were fun!

1.  What book have you been unable to finish?

I started listening to A God in Ruins, after listening to Kate Atkinson's Life after Life, then my headphones broke when I'd only heard about a third of it.  I checked out the physical book, but it looks so BIG that I just can't  get myself to pick it up again.   Instead, I just keep renewing it.

What book have you yet to read because...

2. You just haven't had the time?

I've heard such great things about Red Rising, and I bought it for my classroom library, and I know EXACTLY where it is, and I so want to read it but...I honestly haven't been able to find the time.

3.  It's a sequel?

I just read Marie Lu's Legend a few weeks ago, and now I need to read the next two in the series.  

4.  It's brand new?

The Haters.  One of my students just finished Jesse Andrews' Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, and asked me to get his latest book.  And I will, but jeez, it's brand new and I can't find it for less than $15.  

5.  You read a book by the same author and didn't enjoy it?

I read Leigh Bardugo's Shadow and Bone and wasn't very impressed, so I didn't read the rest of the series.  But now that I am IN LOVE WITH Six of Crows by the same author, I'm reconsidering my stance.  

6.  You're just not in the mood for it?

Turtle in Paradise.  Maybe it's because I just read The Fourteenth Goldfish, also by Jennifer L. Holm. Maybe it's because MG novels aren't my favorite.  Maybe it's because I'm jealous of anyone who lives at the beach.  Maybe it's because the author never looked up or stopped chatting with her agent during a signing I saw her at, and I'm irrationally holding a grudge.  But I am just not in the mood for it.  I checked it out, because, irrational grudge aside, I do think Holm writes great stories.  But then I took it back to the library, because I couldn't even get myself to pick it up and read the first pages.

7.  It's humongous?

A Storm of Swords (and all following).  I finally delved into George R. R. Martin's world last summer, and made it through the first two books.  I just couldn't make it any further once the school year started again.  Those things take commitment!  

8.  Because it was a cover buy that turned out to have poor reviews?

I'm reversing this one.  I have two books on my immediate TBR that have gotten great reviews, but that have covers that just aren't luring me in.  Walk on Earth a Stranger is something I should really like.  I loved Rae Carson's fantasy trilogy, and I grew up on "pioneer historical fiction."  But--I just can't get motivated to read it.  Something about the cover and title is just weird to me.

 The Tequila Worm by Viola Canales is a middle grade novel that is both #WNDB and #ownvoices, and I totally want to read it so I can push it on my students.  But between the orange/red color, the busy-ness of the illustration, and the worm itself, the cover is hideous.  I just don't want to physically handle it.

9.  What is the most intimidating book in your TBR pile?

Okay, this is a little awkward.  In January, I decided to do the 12 month classics challenge, so I borrowed David Copperfield from the school library.  I have read and enjoyed a lot of Dickens in the past, but never read this work.  

It has sat on my bookshelf ever since.  I have not even OPENED it.  It's a great big book with little tiny print and a cracking plastic library covering.   So much for THAT challenge.

10.  Who do you tag?

Yeah, like I said, I don't really do that.  But feel free to take it and make it your own!