My writer friend told me last year that the TBR is where books go to die.

I pooh-poohed it at the time, but there’s a certain kind of demented truth to that statement, isn’t there? I know all y’all reading this have a TBR a mile long; I definitely do. And I have such good intentions, but somehow there are books on there that I know will sadly never get picked for their turn in the spotlight.

Ah, well. Such is the life of an avid reader; books take a long time to get through, and it’s just difficult to get to everything. So when I got tagged for this tag, I knew I wouldn’t have a difficult time coming up with my answers. 😛 Thanks to Sophie for tagging me–I had such a fun time putting this post together!

The Rules:

• Link back to the original tag (this post, and Jami!)
• Complete the questions with books you want to have read but don’t want to read
• Tag some people at the end to do the tag next

---

A book that you feel you need to read because everyone talks about it

I felt like I couldn’t go anywhere last year without hearing somebody talking about this book. It has all sorts of elements that you’d think I’d enjoy–a sister relationship (duh), serial killers (double duh), and an interesting setting. I’m just not entirely convinced I’ll love it for some reason; something about it gives off the “trying too hard” vibe? Like this is a book screaming, Please love me! Or maybe that’s just me? I really should just give it a go, especially because it’s so short.

Speaking of length…

A book that’s really long

I love this series, but I’ve been feeling SJM’d out for a while, so this book continues to languish unread on my TBR shelf. (Actually, come to think of it, it’s in the back of my car. I took it to work to start reading it on my lunch break, then got intimidated by the length, so now it’s taken up permanent residence in the back seat.)

Maybe by the end of 2020. Hnghhhhhhh.

A book you’ve owned / had on your TBR for too long

I first learned about Adam Nevill because he penned the novel that later became the awesome movie The Ritual. And I’ve never read anything by him, but this book sounds so cool! The cover’s great! I love cult stuff! So why has this stayed on my TBR for years and years? There is literally no logical explanation.

A book that is ‘required’ reading (eg, school text, really popular classic – something you feel obligated to read!)

Here’s my shameful admission: I rented this from the library last year as a Halloween read, then I got intimidated by the preface because I couldn’t make any sense of it and I DNF’d the whole book. Because of a preface that is maybe four hundred words long. Perhaps the point of the preface is that it doesn’t make sense, or perhaps I was just kinda dumb that day. (My worst fear is that I’ll pick up this book again, only to discover that I am still that dumb.)

So this book scares me, even though literally everyone loves it. On the topic of books that scare me…

A book that intimidates you

Everyone loves it, and it’s so long, and the sequels are so long. And my sister said I have to read it, so I guess I gotta, but at the same time I am just soooooo unwilling to add an enormous trilogy to my list.

A book that you think might be slow

It’s 769 pages, and it’s historical fiction with a horror thread. Those first two bits make me want to run screaming in the other direction, but the last bit makes me want to give it a go, especially because I love arctic horror (The Thing, et cetera).

But it just seems like it would be such a slow read, so I just keep this one tucked away in the back of my mind for later.

A book you need to be in the right mood for

I really wanted to pick this up after I listened to an interview with the author, but I think it’s going to be a really atmospheric, introspective read. I need just the right gloomy, lazy day to read this, and that mood hasn’t presented itself to me, so for now I’ll keep it on my TBR.

A book you’re unsure if you will like

My husband and I recently watched the first Conan movie, fully with the expectation that it probably hadn’t aged well, and it was awesome. I mean, I seriously loved it, so I got really interested to read the fiction that inspired the whole Conan universe. But I’m having similar doubts about whether the Conan stories will hold up; I guess I won’t know until I pick this up.

---

I tag everybody, as usual, but also these very special people! Apologies if you guys have already been tagged–sometimes it’s hard to tell!

• Jennifer at Out of Babel
• Carl at The Pine-Scented Chronicles
• Elnade at Confessions of a Serial Reader
• Vicky at What Vicky Read
• Alyssa at A Lovely Book Affair

I’m so curious to know what books you guys really want to read, but just… haven’t. What’s keeping you from starting? We’re all in this together, guys. 😀