This week’s Top Ten Tuesday theme is all about the books you meant to read in 2023, and didn’t get to. There are books I’ve been neglecting much longer than that, but let’s hope I get a round tuit this year…
- System Collapse, by Martha Wells. I feel worst about the ARCs I neglect, and extra-bad about this one. I really want to read it! I love Murderbot! But here we are, and it’s well into January, and still…
- Eve: How The Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution, by Cat Bohannon. This was an ARC as well, and I bought a hardback in November, but I still haven’t so much as opened it. I’m sorry… I’m in a non-fiction mood at the moment (more than usual, I mean), so I might yet pick it up in January!
- Cassiel’s Servant, by Jacqueline Carey. Another ARC I neglected, in part because I meant to finish rereading Kushiel’s Avatar first, and I still haven’t managed that. I still love you, Joscelin.
- Ink Blood Sister Scribe, by Emma Törzs. I had this in ARC and also bought a copy (I like to do that when I’m late with reviewing an eARC), and still haven’t done more than read the first couple of pages. Rare magic books, how could I not love the idea of this one?
- Witch King, by Martha Wells. Look, I’m wincing as hard as you are. Yes, this was an eARC as well. And I bought a copy on release day. In my defence, it did come out during my exams! But I’m letting Martha Wells down hard, I know.
- Lost in the Moment and Found, by Seanan McGuire. I didn’t get to this one because I needed to catch up on the series first, and hadn’t realised I was several books behind, but I can at least report I’m nearly there! I read Where the Drowned Girls Go over the weekend.
- In The Lives of Puppets, by TJ Klune. Once more, I own a copy as well as having received an eARC. I really enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door (though I’m aware of some of the criticisms of Klune’s work), and I’m looking forward to giving this a shot.
- Someone from the Past, by Margot Bennett. This one’s not an ARC! I had a tradition of reading the book I got from my British Library Crime Classics subscription right away, for the first part of the year… and then got a bit discombobulated when I got the Christmas anthology in October. I want to catch up and get back to it, so Someone from the Past is high on my list.
- Big Ben Strikes Eleven, by David Magarshack. Same here — I think this was the November book, and the Bennett was the December book? So I’d like to get round to both of them soon and get back to reading the new one as soon as it arrives.
- A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel, by KJ Charles. I got this on the day it released, and fully intended to read it right away — KJ Charles almost never misses for me! But I wasn’t quite in the mood, and then I put it aside for a bit, and well… it’s still there now.
Broadly speaking, I try not to be too prescriptive about what I “should” be reading, and let it be flexible depending on what I feel like. Which does land me in messes when it comes to review copies… but it’s a fairly chill way to read, most of the time! So I’m not kicking myself too hard about not reading these books yet. Their time will come.
How about you? Do you have strict to-read lists and schedules?
Pressure to read a book put me off ARCs forever, I think. Good luck with yours!
I try only to request things I’m really interested in reading right away, but… I do seem to terribly overestimate my capacity, haha.
Same! I just don’t do them anymore.
I just don’t accept any pressure. (: I never promise to review by X date or anything. Stuff gets read in its own good time, and if a publisher/author isn’t okay with that, they can just not give me a copy. I feel a little bad sometimes when a book’s been out for ages, but not so bad that I’ll ever read something when it feels like I’m having to force myself.
In the Lives of Puppets has been on a few lists this week.
Here is my Top Ten Tuesday post.
Oh, interesting! I guess when it came out I wasn’t too connected to the blogosphere for a while, so I didn’t see a lot about it and didn’t see whether it got big on blogs or not.
An interesting list.
I get distracted by Blog Tours all the time. With those I get given dates so those books definitely get read I’m trying to cut down this year so that I can concentrate on my own books
Have a great week!
I still need to read Witch King, too. I was really excited about it, but the mixed reviews made me shift it to the back burner. I hope I get to it this year, though. Good luck on getting caught up with these. I hope you enjoy them all!
I did see a couple of disappointed reviews, but taste is so individual, I want to give it a shot anyway!
I always hear rave reviews about Cassiel’s Servant, so I hope you get the chance to read it!
Tammy @ Books, Bones & Buffy recently posted…Twelve Books I Meant to Read in 2023 But Didn’t
I’m sure I’ll get to it… eventually! XD
Good luck with all your ARCs. I don’t request them anymore because I hated reading on a deadline. I can only handle that with book club, lol. I hope you enjoy reading all of these when you get to them. Thanks for stopping by my blog.
Heh, I just don’t accept a deadline. Anything I get is with the knowledge that I review in my own good time. I try not to request anything I’m not enthusiastic about, and I tend to buy retail copies if I miss the deadline entirely… but none of that’s a promise. All of that’s covered in my review policy, so it’s down to publishers/authors to say yay or nay based on that!
I’m only here to take notes and add more books to my TBR. Your blog is my TBR list’s kryptonite!
Hahaha, I’d apologise, but you seem pretty happy about it!
I really need to catch up on The Murderbot Diaries! But I hear you – I struggle with the ARCs sometimes, too.
Here is our Top Ten Tuesday. Thank you!
It’s so good! I can’t believe I haven’t picked up the latest yet, but sometimes my brain just won’t cooperate, and I won’t force it!
That TJ Klune book looks so good. I definitely need to read it this year.
My TTT
Hopefully I’ll get to it, ahaha.
I don’t read a ton of ARCs because sometimes I simply can’t find time to get to them – especially with the time crunch they come with. I hope you are able to get to these soon.
Eh, I don’t actually accept anything that’s pushing a hard deadline. I just promise a review “when I’ve read it”. I love making lists and schedules, and I hate sticking to them. XD So I’ve broken no promises, but I’d still like to get to them!
I seem to be on a pendulum between scheduling my reading and reading what I want. Too much scheduling and I lose the enjoyment of reading. Too little scheduling makes my reading time disappear into streaming shows and playing puzzle games. Happy reading in 2024!
I know that feeling very well! I’ve been trying something new the last couple of days with trying to just stick to reading even when I get the restless urge to do something else, without strict scheduling. It’s working well for now…
It looks like you have some interesting titles to look forward to reading. I hope you can read these books soon and that they are all that you wish they would be.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/whoops-thirteen-books-i-meant-to-read-in-2023/
Thank you! I have high hopes for most of them. 😀
Wow–we read totally different stuff. Very intersecting to find so many new-to-me books. That’s the beauty of TTT, isn’t it? Finding new authors and new types of books–and new blogger/reviewers you trust! Good work.
Yes, it’s really fun to peek at other people’s lists! I’ve been saving some titles I’d never heard of to check out. 😀
I see so many raves for Klune’s other series but for some reason the only one I am drawn to is his Green Creek series. Maybe one day I’ll expand my reading and try his others. 🙂
I liked them a lot! They’re a little bit, hmm, sentimental might be the word I want. But I had fun all the same!
I do not have a strict TBR schedule, mostly i read according to my mood, but i have a general idea of what i’d like to read, if not when.
I have too many ideas about what I’d like to read, ahaha. XD
I feel the exact same way about System Collapse. Except I’m now two books behind, and I have no idea why, because Murderbot is one of my favorites! I really enjoyed In the Lives of Puppets, though! And I actually thought A Nobleman’s Guide to Seducing a Scoundrel was better than the first one, so I hope you get to read it soon. 🙂
Sammie @ The Bookwyrm’s Den recently posted…Books I Meant to Read in 2023 (And Still Want To)
I’ve been behind on Murderbot before, and other series I love… I think I’m subconsciously saving it for when I “need” it.
Good to know, re: A Nobleman’s Guide! Iiinteresting.
Nice! I hope you enjoy all these when you get to them.
I don’t have strict TBR lists, but I do have books I’d like to prioritize. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t! LOL.
Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Haha, seems fair! That’s about where I’m at.
I don’t like to plan too much since I’m a mood reader, but I’ve been using a Litsy challenge to help me prioritize. The TBR is actually moving along pretty well!
I’m a mood reader, too, and yes, and it has gotten me into trouble with ARCs at times. The books I didn’t get to this year (well, the top 10 that I still really want to read but didn’t get to) are a mix of ARCs, gifts, and books I have every intention of reading but didn’t have a copy of. Several of the latter are in my hold queue at the library, though, so I hope to catch up on at least some of my TTT list in the next 6 months.
Lark @ The Bookwyrm’s Hoard recently posted…Books I Meant to Read in 2023 but Didn’t Get Around To
Here’s hoping! Good luck to both of us, haha.