TBR…

It is very clear that my TBR pile has gotten a touch out of control…

I think that this is just about every bibliophile’s problem. Even if you have more than enough to read, it’s just far too hard to resist new books when you see them!

I thought that it might be interesting to count exactly how many books I still have to read on my shelf, and it ended up being exactly twenty! So I decided to write a blog about all of these books on my TBR, and if you have any thoughts on any of the books on this list, please let me know!

(In no particular order)

1. Carol by Patricia Highsmith

(Currently reading at the time of writing this post).

Adapted into a 2016 Oscar nominated film, Carol tells the story of nineteen year-old sales assistant Therese, who falls wildly in love with thirty-something, to-be divorcee Carol. As the story progresses between these two very different women, it soon becomes clear just how destructive their relationship has the potential to be upon both of their lives.

To this point (around 170 pages through), I have to say I’m a little bit disappointed. The film and the descriptions of the book, along with the author’s writing style, have been nothing but complimentary to the exquisite storytelling. But at times it feels a little contrived and like Highsmith is trying too hard to be poetic. However, since I’ve reached Part 2 of the novel, I can see that the intrigue is building and I’m genuinely more interested in where the plot is going. Watch this space!

2. Northern Lights by Philip Pullman

3. The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman

4. The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman

I’ve been curious about reading the highly acclaimed His Dark Materials series for quite a while now, and my New Years’ Resolution going into 2016 was that this was going to be the year. The peak of my curiosity came when I began my BBC book challenge, and I saw just how high the series ranked, as well as the impressive books that it edged out to take ninth place. An annual tradition which I decided to forge last year was to have a “sci-fi/fantasy” month every year in June, where I read nothing but the genre for the month. I feel that this is about the quota I can meet for the year, as it’s not typically a genre which I have enjoyed reading in the past – although that is certainly a sweeping generalisation which certainly does not apply to all of the books that I’ve read. Last year, as another New Years’ Resolution, I finished The Lord of the Rings series in June. So, this year, my epic fantasy trilogy will be His Dark Materials!

5. All Things Cease To Appear by Elizabeth Brundage

6. An Isolated Incident by Emily Maguire

7. The Light on the Water by Olga Lorenzo

Just a few ARCs and free reading copies I’ve managed to accrue from work. It’s so hard to say no to these ones when they come through! It really is such a privilege to work in the book industry where these types of books are offered to you – and it means that the TBR pile really does get out of control very quickly!

I find it very hard not to be sucked in to these types of books – at the core of each of these books is the “thriller” genre, which generally tends to involve a murder mystery with some kind of psychological element which muddies the waters as to reader interpretation. Some of my favourite kinds of reads, and I’m really looking forward to reading each of these ones, which have been highly acclaimed by Australian and international press.

8. High Fidelity by Nick Hornby

9. In Cold Blood by Truman Capote

10. Perfume by Patrick Süskind

11. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

12. Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Ah, the Popular Penguin classic. A staple of any book lover’s shelf and an ever-reliable source of literary fabulousness. They’ve always been one of my favourite kinds of books, and it’d be safe to say I’d own close to twenty on my shelf at the moment. We’re having a promotion at my work where you can buy 3 for $25, and I was never going to say no to that! I knew that I was going to get Perfume and In Cold Blood, as I’ve been wanting to read these ones for a while (another case where the murder mystery just lures me in!), but High Fidelity was one where I decided to take a chance based on some of my interests. Has anybody reading this read this one? What were your thoughts?

13. Mercy by Jodi Picoult

Late last year I discovered that there were three Jodi Picoult novels I hadn’t yet read, and once I discovered that, it absolutely drove me nuts (I’m deadly serious, I have been known to lose sleep over these kinds of things). So I had to purchase the three books as soon as I could, and Mercy is the only one remaining that I haven’t yet devoured! I’m so very excited about her next release, Small Great Things, due out later in the year!

14. Times Like His by Martin James

This was an emotionally weak moment. I discovered a Foo Fighters/Nirvana book that I hadn’t yet read whilst shelving one day at work, and I couldn’t leave it on the shelf so I bought it that day. Dave Grohl is one of my favourite people, and I love reading about him – not only is he hilarious, but he is a tough and resilient human being and there is a reason he has lasted so long in such a ruthless business. Great music and great stories I’m sure are within the pages of this book!

15. Me Before You by Jojo Moyes

16. Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

17. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

18. Jasper Jones by Craig Silvey

19. China Rich Girlfriend by Kevin Kwan

The image of my April book haul from a few weeks ago (nearly a whole month ago! Craziness!) – and I still have not touched one of them. I told you, I’m a weak person!

Life After Life, Jasper Jones and The Night Circus were all part of work’s 3 for the price of 2

promotion – I’ve wanted to read Jasper Jones and The Night Circus for a very long time, so I was always going to get these two at some stage! Life After Life was another one like High Fidelity which I decided to chance. Once again, I’d love to know if anybody has read this one, and what their thoughts were!

China Rich Girlfriend was one I decided to buy once it was released in the smaller paperback format as I absolutely adored Crazy Rich Asians, the first novel by Kevin Kwan. I definitely wasn’t expecting to enjoy the book as much as I did, and I devoured it before I even made it to my holidays last year. It was catty, fashionable, exorbitant and just an all-round great read. So I really am looking forward to reading the sequel!

Me Before You has been in our bestsellers for months now. Since the release of the film trailers (which I still haven’t watched, because spoilers) the sales of the book have just skyrocketed and haven’t looked back. This was one I bought in haste because I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about, and I really am looking forward to reading it. I’ve read The One Plus One by Moyes before, and I really did enjoy it, despite being thoroughly depressed by it for the majority of the time!

20. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

Another one I wanted to see what all of the fuss was about! It’s been extremely well received, with its nomination for both the Pulitzer and the Man Booker, and also being lorded as one of the best written books of our time, I’m keen to see why. Having recently finished the book that beat it out for the Man Booker, Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings, I’m not quite ready to start on another monster of a book just yet. Plus, I’ve heard it’s an incredibly depressing read – and I need to be emotionally prepared for it!

So there’s my massive TBR list! If you have any thoughts, queries, questions or comments, please feel free to leave them below – I’d love to hear from you all. Until next time!