Top Ten Tuesday: Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Unread Books on My Shelves I Want to Read Soon. I’ve done plenty of posts about my unread books, so at first I thought I’d skip this week’s TTT rather than repeat myself… but the thinking about the key word soon, I realized I could work with it!

Some of these have been on my shelves for a long time now, and some are more recent additions, but all are books I want to read sooner rather than later. I’m not making any commitments (those never seem to work), but here are ten I hope to get to this year (or maybe next?):

The Thorns Remain by JJA Harwood: Bought on a whim about a year ago.
I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith: It’s been years and years. This one is on my Classics Club spin list, and I’ve been waiting for its number to come up! (I suppose I could finally just read it anyway, but it’s nice to have the spin as motivation.)
Pat of Silver Bush by L. M. Montgomery: I only came to LMM’s books as an adult, and have been on a mission to read as many as possible ever since! I picked up the two Pat books a couple of years ago.
A Turn of the Tide by Kelley Armstrong: This is a more recent addition. I added it to my shelves last year, but now that I’m finally reading the series (this is #3), I expect to read it quite soon.
The Return by Rachel Harrison: I added the Kindle edition to my library a couple of years ago.
The Mountain in the Sea by Ray Nayler: Maybe this is cheating a bit — I bought this last year, and I know I’ll be reading it soon since it’s my book group’s pick for June.
Needful Things by Stephen King: I bought this a few years ago to take on vacation; didn’t end up reading it that time, but maybe this summer?
Happily Ever Afters by Elise Bryant: Bought a copy on my daughter’s recommendation a year or two ago.
Arsenic and Adobo by Mia P. Manansala: Another one I bought to take on a trip and then didn’t read, but I keep packing it in my travel bag just in case.
Theft of an Idol by Dana Stabenow: I also finally started this series this year after stockpiling the books as they came out, and intend to read this one in the next few months.

Have you read any of these? Are there any you particularly recommend?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link!

4Jan2023

Shelf Control: Changes & New Beginnings

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

New year, new beginnings, new decisions, new directions…

I’m writing to announce a change here at Bookshelf Fantasies — specifically, about my Shelf Control weekly posts.

Back in 2015, I created Shelf Control and invited others to participate as well:

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up!

Over the past seven years, I’ve featured 347 books from my shelves. I’ve been joined by wonderful participants, all book bloggers sharing their own variety of featured books. It’s been so much fun sharing and exchanging ideas, reading plans, and insights!

This past year, I’ve noticed that hosting a weekly book blog meme has occasionally started to feel more like an obligation and less like pure enjoyment. I’ve written in the past about my strong belief that book blogging should be a source of fun and happiness, and if it ever starts to feel like work, then I should reconsider what I’m doing. I still love the idea of Shelf Control, but I think it’s about time for me to cut back on commitments and just post when the inspiration strikes.

For that reason, it’s time for me to pass the reins to a new host!

I’m delighted to announce that Mallika at Literary Potpourri will be “adopting” the Shelf Control meme and will become its new host! Mallika has been the most involved participant in Shelf Control over the years, and her book selections are always fascinating.

I’ll still participate in the meme, but I love the idea of contributing now and then, rather than feeling forced to find a new book to feature week in and week out. So, look for my posts… just not necessarily every week.

Thank you to one and all who’ve participated by sharing your own Shelf Control posts and/or commenting on mine! Your thoughts, comments, and insights have meant so much to me.

Please join me in thanking Mallika for taking over Shelf Control, and please check in at Literary Potpourri for future Shelf Control posts!

Happy New Year!

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28Dec2022

Shelf Control: Taking stock – 2022 round-up

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Shelf Control is a weekly celebration of the unread books on our shelves. Pick a book you own but haven’t read, write a post about it (suggestions: include what it’s about, why you want to read it, and when you got it), and link up! For more info on what Shelf Control is all about, check out my introductory post, here.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

A few years ago already, I shared my intention to do a “taking stock” Shelf Control post on an annual basis, to see how many of the books that I’ve featured as Shelf Control picks I’ve actually ended up reading.

Well… that was in 2019, and I only just remembered that I’d intended to make it a yearly tradition! Oops.

Better late than never — so here I am, at the end of 2022, ready to do a little tallying.

In 2022, I shared 47 Shelf Control posts.

Of those 47:

I have read a grand total of TWO books.
There are FIFTEEN that I’d put into the “unlikely to read” category. Upon reflection, I just don’t feel all that interested in taking the time to read them.
Some of these may end up in my donation pile, whenever I get around to doing another bookshelf purge.

Keep in mind, that’s just the 2022 selection of Shelf Control books!

Going back to when I first started this weekly feature (in 2015 — I can’t quite believe I’ve been doing these post for that long!) my stats are a little intimidating:

Total Shelf Control books so far: 347
Number of Shelf Control books I’ve read since posting about them: 33
Number of Shelf Control books donated or otherwise discarded: 63
Number of Shelf Control books that I doubt I’ll ever read (I still have them, but they may be next to go): 61

Which means:

Of the books I’ve featured, I have…

190 books still to read!

Which just goes to show that these Shelf Control posts do seem to help me in some way — they at least force me to really think about the books on my shelves, and eventually decide if I’m still interested. Although as my stats show, the most probably outcome for my Shelf Control books (particularly those I’ve owned for more than a year or two) is that I’m unlikely to actually read or keep them, when push comes to shove.

Still, this isn’t necessarily a negative. Since I don’t seem to ever quite stop adding to my home library, getting a bit of organization and motivation to donate the books I don’t intend to read is really a good thing.

Onward to 2023! Let’s see how my shelves are looking a year from now.

Happy New Year!

And for those doing a regular Shelf Control post this week:

A Novel Start
Bookshelf Journeys

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Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments or link back from your own post, so I can add you to the participant list.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

Save

17May2022

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Was SO EXCITED to Get, but Still Haven’t Read. I have plenty of these! (Don’t we all?)

To keep it simple, I went back through my preorder spreadsheet (yes, I keep track of my book orders via an Excel spreadsheet!), and discovered plenty of books that I ordered well in advance of the release date… and still haven’t gotten around to reading. Sigh…

I only went back through my last 4 – 5 years of book buying — I’m sure I have plenty of older books that would fit this list too!

My top 10 books (and the year each was purchased) are:

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik (2018)
Time’s Convert by Deborah Harkness (2018)
Someday by David Levithan (2018
Death of an Eye by Dana Stabenow (2018)
The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders (2019)
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold (2020)
When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey (2020)
Arctic Fury by Greer Macallister (2020)
Ambush or Adore by Gail Carriger (2021)
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi (2022)

What books made your list this week? Are there any on my list that you think I should read ASAP?

Share your links, and I’ll come check out your top 10!

19Jan2021

Top Ten Tuesday: Books I Meant To Read in 2020 (but didn’t get to)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books I Meant to Read In 2020 but Didn’t Get To.

I recently did a similar post about the books I bought in 2020 but didn’t read. For this week’s prompt, I thought I’d look back at the quarterly TBR list Top Ten Tuesday posts from 2020, and see how well I did at reading the books I said I’d read.

Overall? Not too shabby!! Here are the books that are left, along with a note on whether I still plan to to read them. Starting with:

Winter 2020: Only two left unread:

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: Still plan to read? YES. High priority for 2021!
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: Still plan to read? YES. Also high priority!

Spring 2020:

Red Sky Over Hawaii by Sara Ackerman: Still plan to read? YES
The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward: Still plan to read? Probably not — I seem to have lost interest.

Summer 2020 – I read all the books!

Fall 2020:

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse: Still plan to read? I’m thinking no. Even though I was excited for this initially, after reading a bunch of reviews and synopses, it just doesn’t draw me in.
Dying with Her Cheer Pants On by Seanan McGuire: Still plan to read? YES. It’s Seanan McGuire, so the answer has to be YES.
The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman: Still plan to read? YES for sure, but I just haven’t been feeling any urgency around this one. I do intend to read it eventually.

That’s seven, so I’ll also include unread books from my “most anticipated” posts from 2020:

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey: Still plan to read? YES. I don’t know why I didn’t get to it when it came out, but I do own a copy and absolutely want to read it.
Malorie by Josh Malerman: Still plan to read? Probably. I liked Bird Box, so I’m curious to see what comes next… but it doesn’t feel all that important to read any time soon.
Parable of the Sower (graphic novel): Still plan to read? YES. The novel of Parable of the Sower is one of the most powerful books I’ve ever read. I’ve been waiting to read the graphic novel until it suits my mood, but I definitely do plan to get to it.

What books did you mean to get to in 2020, but didn’t? Have you read any of the books on my list? And if so, which do you think should be top priority?

Here’s hoping we all get to our 2020 books, plus all the great books ahead in 2021!

21Apr2020

Top 5 Tuesday: Top 5 Popular Books I Haven’t Read Yet

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Once again, I’m joining in with the Top 5 Tuesday meme this week! Top 5 Tuesday is hosted by Bionic Bookworm, who posts the month’s topics at the start of each month. Today’s topic is Top 5 Popular Books I Haven’t Read Yet. And of course, there are WAY more than the five (six) on my list. My TBR list will never be empty! Here are five (six) books that everyone seems to have read — except me.

1) Divergent series by Veronica Roth. Now that I’ve read her newest book (Chosen Ones), I’m wondering if I should finally give these books a try… except (a) I saw the first movie and didn’t care for it much, and (b) I keep hearing how let-down/angry fans were by the 3rd book. So, hard pass? Or not?

2) The Long Way To a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: I’ve had this book on my shelf for ages, and I know people seem to love the trilogy. So this is one I really do mean to get to.

3) Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir: I absolutely want to read this book! I’m not sure why I haven’t yet.

4) The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss: I know, I know… I definitely need to read this! But I keep insisting that I’m not going to get involved in yet another unfinished series, and that I won’t start this book until there’s at least a publication date for the 3rd book. Maybe I’m being ridiculous, because everyone tells me I’ll love it!

5) Vicious and A Darker Shade of Magic by V. E. Schwab: I haven’t actually read any of this author’s books, even though I know people loved them. And based on what I’ve heard, I think I’d love them too.

Have you read any of these? Let me know if you think I should READ or SKIP them!

And please share your Top 5 links too!

23Jan2019

Shelf Control: Taking Stock

Posted in Shelf Control by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Welcome to Shelf Control — an original feature created and hosted by Bookshelf Fantasies.

Want to join in? Shelf Control posts go up every Wednesday. See the guidelines at the bottom of the post, and jump on board!

A question came up last week as a comment on a Shelf Control post:

Of the 152 books I’ve highlighted so far in my Shelf Control feature, how many have I actually read?

Wow. That is a BIG question.

Shelf Control has been a way to force myself to go back, again and again, to my overflowing bookshelves and take a look at what’s already there. I pick up new books all the time, usually through Kindle deals or at library sales or at used book stores, but still, the fact remains that I buy more and more books when I already have enough unread books on my shelves to keep me busy for years!

So, rather than feature another Shelf Control book this week, I thought I’d take stock and try to answer the question. Luckily, I organize Shelf Control (as well as so much else in my life) through the glory of spreadsheets, so it’s not that hard to figure out.

According to my worksheet:

Total Shelf Control books so far: 152
Number of Shelf Control books I’ve read since posting about them: 14
Number of Shelf Control books donated or otherwise discarded: 9
Number of Shelf Control books that I doubt I’ll ever read (I still have them, but they may be next to go, whenever I do another shelf purge): 12

Which means:

Of the books I’ve featured, I have…

117 books still to read!

Will I read them? I hope so! I bought them for a reason… and I still find them interesting enough to hold on to. It’s always hard to strike a balance between new books, ARCs, library books, and books on the shelves, but sooner or later, I do end up going back to books I already own. Of the 14 featured Shelf Control books that I’ve actually read, there was only one that I’d consider a dud. As for the others, I’ve read a classic I’ve always meant to read, gotten hooked on series that I’d been curious about, and have read some amazing fiction that moved me and entertained me. I call that a win!

Maybe I’ll do one of these “taking stock” posts once a year (or more often) to see where I stand. Meanwhile, pardon the interruption in my regular schedule! Next week, I’ll be back with yet another book from my shelves… and hopefully, I’ll actually read it before too much time goes by.

If you wrote a Shelf Control post this week, don’t forget to share your link!

__________________________________

Want to participate in Shelf Control? Here’s how:

Write a blog post about a book that you own that you haven’t read yet.
Add your link in the comments!
If you’d be so kind, I’d appreciate a link back from your own post.
Check out other posts, and…

Have fun!

Save

25Sep2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten Books By My Favorite Authors (that I still haven’t read)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Books By My Favorite Authors That I Still Haven’t Read. Usually, when I love an author, I read everything he or she has written… but there are always some books that fall off the bookpile or get otherwise overlooked. My selection of books by favorite authors that I still need to read :

1. Epitaph by Mary Doria Russell: This is the sequel to Doc, which I truly loved. Mary Doria Russell is a brilliant writer (The Sparrow will always be near and dear to my heart), and I bought Epitaph as soon as it came out. Why haven’t I read it yet? No idea… other than me just being lame.

2. The Sumage Solution by G. L. Carriger: Gail Carriger is an absolute favorite of mine, and I’ve read every bit of her published work… except The Sumage Solution. Maybe it’s because of the contemporary setting, since I love Carriger’s steampunk Parasol-verse so very much… but I haven’t quite brought myself around to starting Sumage. And there’s a sequel on the way, so I’d better get to it.

3. The Old Man’s War series by John Scalzi: I haven’t read a single book by John Scalzi that I haven’t enjoyed… but so far, I’ve only read his stand-alone books. I keep swearing that THIS will finally be the year when I read Old Man’s War… but it just hasn’t happened yet, and we’re getting frighteningly close to the end of 2018.

4. Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik: I bought this the day it was released, and I’ve just gotten too overwhelmed by ARCs and library books to ever get around to starting. I loved Uprooted, so I’m really excited to start this one.

5. SO MANY BOOKS by Stephen King: I always think of myself as a Stephen King fan, but it’s scary to think how many I’ve missed! Just looking at the unread King books on my shelves, I have Duma Key, Lisey’s Story, The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, books 4 – 7 of The Dark Tower series, The Green Mile, a few short story collections… ugh, it never ends! I guess on the flip side, I’ll never run out of good options for when I want to be scared silly by a book.

6. Earlier works by Patricia Briggs: I adore the Mercy Thompson and Alpha & Omega series, and could read those books over and over again (and yes, I’ve gone back for re-reads already). I really should make a point of reading some of her other works too, although I think I’m resistant to leaving those familiar worlds and going more into straight-up fantasy rather than urban fantasy.

7. More Jojo Moyes! I’ve loved so many of her books, and I actually own copies of these… so why haven’t I read them?

8. The Silk and Song trilogy by Dana Stabenow. I adore the Kate Shugak books — the characters, the crime drama, and the amazing Alaska setting. I really admire Stabenow’s writing and I enjoy historical fiction, so this trilogy (about the granddaughter of Marco Polo) should be right up my alley, despite the lack of Alaska! Seriously, the story sounds great — maybe a reading priority for 2019?

9. The Parasitology trilogy by Mira Grant: I loved the Newsflesh books SO much, and love everything she writes under her other (real) name (Seanan McGuire). I did actually read the first book in this trilogy, and thought it was really, really icky but also amazing… so I just need to return to the world of tapeworms and medical experiments gone haywire!

10. Yesternight by Cat Winters: I’ve read everything else by this author, and I think she’s so incredibly talented! I own a copy of Yesternight (I bought it as soon as it came out), and have every intention of reading it… so this is yet another book that I have no good reason for not having read yet, other than the good old “so many books, so little time” excuse.

What books are on your list this week? Please share your TTT link!

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8Jan2018

Top Ten Tuesday: Ten books I meant to read in 2017 (but didn’t)

Posted in Top Ten Tuesday by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

Top Ten Tuesday is a meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, featuring a different top 10 theme each week. This week’s topic is Ten Books We Meant to Read in 2017 But Didn’t Get To (and totally plan to get to in 2018).

So many books, so little time. Here are the top 10 books that I really and truly had every intention of reading in 2017. Somehow, I guess life must have just gotten in the way.

1. In the Midst of Winter by Isabel Allende

2. George & Lizzie by Nancy Pearl

3. Midnight At the Bright Ideas Bookstore by Matthew Sullivan

4. The Waking Land by Callie Bates

5. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

6. The Salt Line by Holly Goddard Jones

7. News of the World by Paulette Jiles

8. The Good People by Hannah Kent

9. Strange Weather by Joe Hill

10. Beartown by Fredrik Backman

Have you read any of these? Where do you think I should start?

If you wrote a TTT post this week, please share your link!

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Do you host a book blog meme? Do you participate in a meme that you really, really love? I’m building a Book Blog Meme Directory, and need your help! If you know of a great meme to include — or if you host one yourself — please drop me a note on my Contact page and I’ll be sure to add your info!

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25Feb2017

Counting up the books: 2017

Posted in The Reading Life by Lisa @ Bookshelf Fantasies

For a brief period last year, I had the crazy idea that I’d do a mini-inventory of my books each month. Basically, I decided I’d count all the unread books on my shelves and on my e-reader, then track my monthly reading and buying and see if my numbers went down (the goal) or up (the reality). The point was both to remind myself that I actually own oodles of books that I should get around to reading and discourage myself from buying more books than I read.

Did it work?

Well. No.

I quit my counting project after a few months. My spreadsheets were messy, my tracking was arbitrary, and in the end, who needs the pressure?

But here I am, back again with a brand new approach!

Thanks to being turned on to the oh-so-fun-and-useful Libib app (www.libib.com), I have a whole new way to get geeky about counting my books.

With Libib, you can create libraries of books, movies, music, etc, organized in whatever way suits you. Adding books is super easy — there’s a scanning feature, so I went through my entire house and starting scanning book barcodes using my smartphone. The scanning feature won’t work for books that have bookstore stickers over the original barcode, and I also got incorrect results for some of my older books. Most of the time, though, scanning worked beautifully, letting me build my home library record over the course of a few hours. (And for anything that didn’t scan, manual entry via the website was quick and easy.)

I decided to include just the unread books in my house, so I’d have a starting place for keeping track. I broke my inventory out into four categories, and here’s where I stand at the moment:

I decided to exclude book I felt pretty sure I’d never read — and in fact, created a new stack of books to donate or give away while I was at it. I also excluded e-ARCs, and any Kindle titles that I doubted I’d get to.

Grand total: 657

The last time I counted in February 2016, my numbers were:

Books: 428
E-books: 76
Graphic novels: 40
Non-fiction: 52

For a total of… 596

Hmmm. My numbers keep going up and up. To be fair, I’ve done a lot of public library reading this past year, but still, I’d like to think I’m reading books from my home library too. I did make a big dent in my graphic novel collection, so yay me!

Anyway, this is all really just for my own bookish entertainment. (My son thinks I’m a total nerd.) I’m not going to be doing monthly updates, but it might be fun to see where I end up at the end of the year.

Meanwhile, my project 2.0 with Libib will be to go back through my house with the scanner one more time and create a “books I’ve read” library too. You never know when that dreaded moment will hit, as you stumble on a book you’re tempted to buy and think “wait, do I own that one already?” Okay, this mainly happens to me in regards to my Stephen King collection, but it’s still fun to have a reference of all my books ready at my fingertips.

Anyone else crazy about counting books? What methods do you use for keeping count?