Top Ten Tuesday #368

Hi all! I hope you’ve had a good week since I last did one of these, mine has once again been fairly quiet, just more work as usual.

Anyway, it’s Tuesday, and so that means another Top Ten Tuesday, courtesy of Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl. This week’s topic is Books I Was So Excited To Get and Still Haven’t Read, and buckle in, because this is going to be A LONG ONE. I am the queen of being really excited to get books and procrastinating reading them for years, so we’re looking at double edition of TTT today (actually it’s Top Twenty Two Tuesday, I couldn’t even stop myself at twenty!):

1. Off The Page-Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer (Bought In 2016)

I was so excited for this sequel because I really enjoyed the first book, Between The Lines, but then it just kind of got lost in the shuffle of other books and I never got around to it. I’m actually not so sure if I would enjoy it now as I’m quite a bit older than I was when I read Between The Lines, and cutesy YA romance is not really my thing anymore (not that it really was back then to be honest, but I think I did enjoy the occasional one at 16/17 whereas I really don’t now).

2. Wintergirls-Laurie Halse Anderson (Bought at YALC in 2016)

Honestly, I think this one may have been a discount buy on the YALC Sunday in 2016, but I do remember being excited for it because I’d heard a lot of good things about it. Since then I’ve read one of Halse Anderson’s other books, Speak, and I wasn’t a huge fan, I would still like to try this one but my excitement has waned somewhat since I bought it.

3. The Fixer-Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Received in 2017)

I got this in one of my #otspsecretsister parcels, a kind of all year round Secret Santa that a group of bloggers (Brittany, Alyssa and Amy) used to run on Twitter, and it was super fun, I did it for a couple of years. Anyway, this book was one of the books I received in my parcels for the project, and it sounds really fun, it’s about a teenager whose sister is a political fixer in DC and she accidentally falls into being a “fixer” for her high school.

4. Inkheart-Cornelia Funke (Bought in 2017)

I bought this when I had a day out book shopping in Edinburgh, it’s one of those books that I wish I’d read as a kid, but kind of missed out on. I still really want to read it, the whole idea of being able to read characters out of books is catnip to me, but it’s been in storage for a while (along with a lot of my books, I just wasn’t able to bring them all back from Uni) so I’m not sure when I’ll get to read it. Whenever all my stuff is finally in one place if that ever happens!

5. A Court of Wings and Ruin-Sarah J Maas (Bought at YALC in 2017)

This is kind of cheat one, because I did start reading it last year but just wasn’t really in the mood. Honestly, though I liked ACOMAF, I was never as big a fan of the ACOTAR series as I was the Throne of Glass series, and the more Sarah J Maas books you read, the more you realise they’re kind of same-y. I don’t think I’ll read A Court of Silver Flames, so I don’t think I’ll feel massively bad if I bow out of ACOTAR here, though I may decide to come back to it at some point.

6. Every Word-Ellie Marney (Received in 2017)

I got this as a birthday gift from a former Secret Sister, but again, I’ve just not got around to reading it. I would definitely still like to though, as I remember enjoying the first book in the series, and it’s a really fun take on a Sherlock retelling.

7. The Guilty Feminist-Deborah Frances-White (Bought in 2018)

I’m a feminist but……I bought this book when I went to one of Deborah’s tour stops for it in 2018 and it’s been sitting on my shelf gathering dust, along with several other feminist non-fiction books that I say I’ll read and then proceed to leave for years. I really will read this one one day as I do love the podcast, but an hour or so a week of the podcast is a much smaller time commitment!

8. Everyday Sexism-Laura Bates (Received in 2018)

I got this one as a Christmas gift in 2018, and ironically, have read one of Laura’s more recent books since then! It’s another of the previously aforementioned sad languishing feminist non-fiction. I will read it at some point, as I really loved Men Who Hate Women and plan to listen to her newest book on audio, but I’m not quite sure when.

9. Feminists Don’t Wear Pink-Scarlett Curtis and contributors (Bought in 2018)

I pre-ordered this, went to Waterstones to pick it up ON PUBLICATION DAY……and have yet to read it. I keep telling myself I’ll start reading some of the essays in between reading other books, but have I done that yet? Of course not! I really will, I think it’s just a case of being in the mood for non-fiction.

10. The Tyrant’s Tomb-Rick Riordan (Bought in 2019)

This one’s a toughie because honestly, really not been feeling The Trials of Apollo, I think I have reached the stage where I feel too old for Rick Riordan books, which is a shame because he’s been a favourite author for so long….but also not surprising as I’m 25 and his books are aimed at the 9-12 set! I did at one point think I would finish the series out, but I’m just not feeling the pull.

11. Good Girl, Bad Blood-Holly Jackson (Bought in 2020)

I got this one fairly soon after finishing A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder, thinking I’d read it right away and then I just….didn’t. I’ve planned to pick it up several times in the last couple of years, but having such an awful slump in 2021, and still not really reading as many physical books as I once was, I just haven’t got around to it yet. Hopefully when my physical book reading starts to pick up again, this will be one of the first I get to.

12. Only Ashes Remain-Rebecca Schaeffer (Bought in 2020)

I bought this one off Amazon (yes, I know, I know, but I do very rarely use Amazon for books that aren’t audiobooks now) right after finishing the first one, I was so excited to dive in….and then I just didn’t. A Good Girl’s Guide To Murder came up as the book of the month in my Book Club on Goodreads and I really wanted to join in with that, and then somehow I just kept finding other books I’d rather read. I did really enjoy the first one though, so I’m sure I will get to this at some point, and now that the series is complete, I do have slightly more impetus to.

13. Where Dreams Descend-Janella Angeles (Bought In 2020)

This is another one that I started last year, and then just wasn’t in the mood for because reading slump. I fully intend to go back to it, as it sounds so up my street, but I just wanted to give myself the best chance of enjoying it and I knew I wasn’t going to the way my reading mood was last year. Hopefully soon!

14. Rule of Wolves-Leigh Bardugo (Bought In 2021)

I was actually really in the mood to read this after watching Shadow and Bone last year, as I really wanted to dive back into the Grishaverse. But because of aforementioned reading slump, a gigantic book was hardly going to help matters, so I decided to put it off until I felt more in the mood for a chunkster. Honestly not sure when that will be as I’m still not really feeling like reading long books now, but we shall see. I will finish out the Grishaverse at some point (or at least this part of it, I know Leigh has indicated there will be another Six of Crows book further down the line and you guys know I will be all over that).

15. Dead or Alive-Derek Landy (Bought in 2021)

I was really excited for this, pre-reading Seasons of War, but then I read Seasons of War towards the end of 2020/beginning of 2021 and I just didn’t like it much, definitely my least favourite instalment of the new Skulduggery books, so Dead or Alive kind of slipped down my priority list. I would definitely like to get to Dead or Alive, and Until The End at some point, but much like Rule of Wolves, they’re both kind of chunky and I need to be in a particular mood for chunky books!

16. Mister Impossible-Maggie Stiefvater (Bought In 2021)

I will admit I wasn’t enamoured with Call Down The Hawk, but I was still excited to see more Ronan and so naturally I pre-ordered it. But then my massive reading slump happened last year and I just didn’t get around to 90% of the books I planned to. Hopefully once my reading has settled back into something like normal, I will get around to this.

17. City of Spells-Alexandra Christo (Bought in 2021)

I pre-ordered this one last year as I loved Into The Crooked Place and was super excited for it, but then I got into a reading slump, and well just never got around to it. I think I may have actually lent this one to a friend so I’m not sure if I actually have it at the moment……I guess I’ll find out when I pack up all my books to move!

18. Bridge of Souls-VE Schwab (Bought in 2021)

Another victim of my 2021 reading slump. I really wish it had happened in any other year, because I had SO MANY NEW BOOKS I was excited for last year and did I read ANY OF THEM? Well some on audio, but largely no. I’m sure this is one I will get to this year because it’s nice and short, and I’d like to finish out Cassidy Blake’s adventures (Schwab has said this is it for now, but that there might be more in the future, which I really hope there is because I rarely read MG anymore, but I really enjoyed the first two books in this series).

19. Endgame-Malorie Blackman (Bought in 2021)

After just finishing the second season of Noughts and Crosses last week (YES, a certain event from the books did hit me just as hard on screen, and even though I knew it was coming, I was still almost crying by the end.) I definitely do feel quite motivated to finish out the book series, even if I didn’t love Crossfire as much as I was hoping for. Again, this is one I probably would have read last year had not it been for the slump.

20. Once Upon A Broken Heart-Stephanie Garber (Bought in 2021)

AGH I’M SO EXCITED FOR THIS ONE. This is probably going to be the next one I dive into after finishing Gallant, because I just can’t wait anymore, I’ve heard such good things and I want to see for myself. Again, I would have read it last year if I’d been in a better reading mood, but better late than never right? And this way, I will have Ballad waiting for me soon after, so it’s really a good thing I didn’t read it straight away and have to wait a year. Good planning…..not procrastination at all…..

21. The Bronzed Beasts-Roshani Chokshi (Bought in 2021)

Of all the victims of the Great Reading Slump of 2021, this is probably the one I was most disappointed not to get to. The Silvered Serpents ending on such a wicked cliffhanger, I was so excited to get The Bronzed Beasts and by the time it arrived….just not feeling it anymore. Definitely a high priority one for this year though, I need to find out how the story ends.

22. All of Us Villains-Amanda Foody and Christine Lynn Herman (Bought in 2021)

Again, I’m just calling this one good planning so I can read the two books in the duology back to back (I say, knowing full well that I absolutely WILL leave the second book a good year before I read it, probably even more). This one sounds super good and I do love villains but it’s another victim of the slump! Hopefully this year.

So there we go, those are all the books I was so excited to get and still haven’t read (aka the victims of Jo’s great reading slump of 2021 + a few extras). Have you read any of these books? Did you enjoy them? Any I should absolutely prioritise? Are you good at reading books when you get them or do you procrastinate horribly like me? Let me know in the comments!

I’ll be back next week with another Top Ten Tuesday, this time it’s a Book Quote Freebie (and I’m off work so you’ll actually get it at a reasonable hour for a change!). I’ve done quite a lot of Quotes on a theme for my Thursday Quotables though, so instead of doing ten quotes all on the same theme, I’m just going to share the Best Quotes From My Ten Most Recent Reads, with the best quote for each book.

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