Thursday, 4 February 2016

DO YOU EVER DELETE BOOKS FROM YOUR TBR?

Having never-ending TBR is a part of being a bookworm. We want to read ALL THE BOOKS. But there are situations which simply require having this or that book deleted from your TBR list. I'm here to give you some "whens" to get rid of books and relieve your TBR of books.




1. NEGATIVE REVIEWS


There is this book that has been on your TBR for months prior to its release date, the book that you can't wait to get your hands on. Then something terrible happens - the influx of negative reviews from trusted reviewers. The blogger you religiously follow absolutely hated it and says it was a waste of the time. Your friend with similar reading tastes was extremely disappointed with it. All the things that are being said about it ring the warning bells in your head and this book doesn't sound appealing to you any more. What do you do? Delete it from your TBR list. It happened to me earlier this year after release of Passenger by Alexandra Bracken. Once I read reviews by Emily May and Megan @Reading Books Like a Boss, I knew that it wasn't for me. Now, Passenger is no longer part of my TBR list. 


2. SECOND THOUGHTS


Once in a while I browse my TBR list on Goodreads. Surprisingly, I always find one or two books that I don't remember adding at all. Did I add it because of hype? Or because of passionate review I stumbled upon? One thing is certain. If I don't remember ever reading blurb and if author and cover don't look familiar, such book has no place on my TBR list. Our TBR lists are crowded as they are. Why to burden it with books that obviously didn't make any lasting impression on us? Out with them!


3. BAD FIRST IMPRESSION


This is probably the most common reason why to delete books from your TBR list and definitely the reason for my own book deleting most of the time. The process is following. I read first book in series and I hate it or never even finish it. Of course I'm not going to continue with series and read sequel. Why to torture myself with more stuff that I will most probably not enjoy? Deleting sequels to the book I didn't like at all is always very easy decision to make. If you truly couldn't enjoy first book in series, if you had plenty of serious issues, if story in series starters annoyed you or made you uncomfortable you should do the same and get rid of sequels from your TBR list. There are so many other amazing books out there so why to waste time on something that is not your style? Because of very bad first impressions, I had no other choice but to delete from my TBR sequels to Red Queen, The Bronze Horseman and Captive in the Dark.


4. AUTHOR'S BEHAVIOR


Some of you probably won't agree with me but I believe in forsaking author's works if he/she disappoints me or offends me big time in whatever way. Unprofessional public behavior? Stupid or rude statements? Publicly backing up their "friend" by making apologies for criminal activities such as plagiarism (or others)? If author is guilty of one of these, I'm done with him/her. Some of you may ask if it is fair not to give book a chance "just" because author displeased me on personal level that has nothing to do with writing this or that book. And I say that isn't fair to go into the book with prejudices and negative feelings and to end up bashing it anyway (self-fulfilling prophecy). Plus once author disappoints me, I simply don't feel like supporting him/her and buying his/her books. Meaning - there is no place for books by such authors on my TBR list anymore. 


5. AUTHORS LOSING THEIR TOUCH


This is the saddest category. It is almost a tragedy when your favorite author changes genres or starts writing average novels that don't appeal to you at all. It happened to me when Karina Halle went from great romantic suspense (The Artists Trilogy) to dark erotica which is absolutely not my thing (Dirty Angels). Or when she used to write emotional novels with awesome plot (Experiment in Terror and Love in English) and now she focuses on contemporary romances with average plot/feels (Racing the Sun). Same goes for NA novels by Jennifer L. Armentrout. She went from original YA couples with chemistry to cheesy and cliché NA romances that I couldn't even finish (Be With Me). Losing faith in author's work is a very sad thing. But no matter what, we shouldn't burden ourselves with reading something that is not to our liking anymore, even though we used to be huge fans of author's previous works.

DO YOU EVER DELETE BOOKS FROM YOUR TBR?
WHAT MAKES YOU TO DELETE BOOKS FROM YOUR TBR?

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Lucia @Reading Is My Breathing

Lucia is 29 years old passionate reader and reviewer who enjoys talking about all bookish things. Currently she lives in Prague, works in business industry and dreams of starting her own publishing company. Her weakness? She can never say no to cake, coffee or good novel.

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I so need to go through my TBR and delete some. I am pretty sure I have a bunch that will fall under #2. I can get add happy to my TBR on Goodreads but don't really mean it. Also #5. I have authors that I love but haven't loved what they wrote in a while. JLA is one of them :( Great post!!
My recent post Monthly Rewind ~ January 2016
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I just did some deleting of my own from my TBR and it felt really good. I usually just add books to my TBR if they sound good or if they have a pretty cover, but then around the time it releases if the reviews aren't good, I just get rid of it. I usually do it based on friends reviews only though and not GR reviews. I definitely remove books from my TBR if I didn't enjoy the first in a series or the author's writing style wasn't for me.
Same with author behavior! I just had to remove a couple of books from my TBR because the author's behavior frustrated me.
Great post, Lucia!
My recent post Our Ultimate Chick-Lit Checklist featuring Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I do!! And I think it's totally a good thing to have a TBR clean out once in a while. ;D I had like 1,000+ books on mine at the end of last year and I was a bit overwhelmed, so I just went through and got rid of a ton. Like some I don't even remember WHY they looked appealing. Ugh.
And I also delete books due to author behaviour. I mean, if I've read the book and liked it and THEN the author does something I heartily disapprove of? I don't stop reading/liking their books. But if I haven't even read the book, then gawsh, I'm not supporting an author who's doing something insufferable. *heavy sigh*
OH. And I also try not to add sequels until I know if I like the book. xD But you and me both for the Red Queen series, hehe.
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I definitely need to clean out my Goodreads. It's a mess plus my tastes in books have changed so much in the past year. Half of those books don't appeal to me anymore.
My recent post Is There a Lack of Racial Diversity in the Romance Genre?
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Yes ever year - sometimes if they are there just too long or I lose interest or a combination of reasons,
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I totally do a couple times a year. Things that I may have added a two or three (or even a year ago) may not hold my interest for many of the reasons you mentioned.
My recent post Book Review – Into the Still Blue by Veronica Rossi
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I do go through and delete books off my tbr sometimes. It feels good doing it too because then I narrow down the books that I really want to read.
Krystianna @ Downright Dystopian
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I want to delete!! A few nights ago I selected a bunch of books (over 100) to delete from my goodreads TBR and it wouldn't let me! I was so damn frustrated because it took me a while to select books out of almost 900. If you find a solution, please let me know because I don't want to go one by one. Chances are, I won't delete if I have to go one by one :/
My recent post Chasing Spring by R.S. Grey
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I have two different TBRs in my life: my TBR list and my TBR pile. My TBR pile I don't take books out of because I already own them so may as well give them a try eventually. My TBR list on Goodreads however I have deleted books from once or twice, not that I really pay much attention to it anyway. That list is out of control because I am guilty of just adding any book that sounds interesting on Goodreads to it haha. When I delete books from it, I go through and get rid of books that no longer interest me, that I've only heard negative things about, or that I've forgotten why they're on there in the first place haha
My recent post Review: Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I need to go through my TBR list and delete some books, but I think I did it not so long ago. Negative reviews really affects me too, if there are bloggers I trust that don't like it, I probably won't give it a try (but it would have to be a few negative reviews, not just one or two ;D). I also won't continue a series if it isn't going well, but if I gave it a 3-star rating then I might read the next book, hoping the author will do something better (I'm doing this with The Young Elites and Red Queen). This is a great post! :D
My recent post Review: Rebel of the Sands by Alwyn Hamilton
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Your post reminds me that I need to clean my tbr-list, lol. I don’t clean it on purpose, sometimes I stumble upon a book I’m not interested anymore and delete it. Your first and second points are my usual “whens”. Interesting post, Lucia!
My recent post Cover Talk #1. Don’t judge a book by its cover.
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I delete books on my goodreads tbr every now and then just.. #1 && #2 are usually my cases.. Reviews or even plain ratings affects me so much. I just get so choosy because I don't want to waste my money on books I might not actually like and books I might actually hate. #3 is a rare one for me since I only add sequels to my tbr if I've read the previous book OR I have it already. Great post!
My recent post [REVIEW] The Standout
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I agree with you and Anissa on the negative reviews thing and I also look at the ratings at times because sometimes, only few people like a book and vice versa so I choose based on ratings too. Reading this makes me want to go through my TBR and delete some books but at the same time, i am a book hoarder so I don't know how realistic that is. Great post by the way
My recent post Book Review: Glass Sword
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Once in a while I have a case of "let's get rid of some book from your TBR pile" and then I spend hours on Goodreads, browsing through my shelves ... yeah, it's time consuming, haha. Sometimes I don't even know WHY I added a book to my TBR list anymore, ugh. Right now I'm trying to keep my TBR list as "clean" as possible ... just adding the books that I REALLY want to read, which also means I don't add sequels if I haven't read the first book yet - even if I absolutely LOVE the author, haha. :D But yeah, I totally agree with the points you've written down - so true!!
My recent post The Totally Should've Book Tag
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Such a good topic and I so agree! I don't usually remove books from my GR shelves (too lazy) but I will delete them from my kindle and/or purchase wishlist on amazon because of negative reviews, an author losing his or her touch, and/or bad first impression. I'm sad to say I completely agree about Karina Halle and JLA -- both authors I used to love and now I don't read anything by them!
My recent post Review: Opening Belle by Maureen Sherry
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
I do a few times a year and most are because of #4 and 5. Some authors need to take a break I think...
My recent post 6 Reasons Why Riders by Veronica Rossi Is a Must-Read
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
One main reason I stop reading a particular series is when a character does a completely unbelievable 180. Like he/she acts so differently when you compare books 1 and 2. When this happens I don't really finish the series anymore. I've encountered a number of series where guy 1 will undergo a random character change just so the author can justify why MC and guy 2 ended up together instead. Ugh I get annoyed like you wouldn't believe when this happens!

Nice to meet you, Lucia, and I just followed your blog! :)
My recent post [Blog Tour: Review + Giveaway] Remembrance by Meg Cabot
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
This is too funny because I just tweeted this the other day and didn't get a reply, but this is basically the reply I needed. I was like should i, or shouldn't I? Thank you, haha.

I actually went and deleted my whole TBR and I will only be adding books I really want to read. It was a refreshing start :)
My recent post Erica’s Novel Rewind (1)
1 reply · active 477 weeks ago
Yeah, I've definitely started deleting books off my TBR particularly where I don't even remember them, have no inclination on reading them or an author just isn't up to par anymore. Also when I read bad reviews too and I have zero interest. Great post Lucia!
1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Yes, yes, and YES!!!! If I'm not liking a series, I never even add the sequels. Such as Red Queen... I DNF'd it, so you will not find the sequel on me TBR. The only exception to this would be if I won a copy or have it signed or something... then I add it to that shelf in my list, and therefore it would automatically add to my TBR. I keep track of my winnings and signed copies through Goodreads, so I suppose this is unavoidable. I don't usually delete books based on negative reviews... unless I see something that will cause me to KNOW that the book isn't for me. If I'm a bit concerned, I add it to my "maybe" shelf. Then I know to really think about it before grabbing a copy. Such a great post, sweets! I love it!
My recent post Book Lover Wish + Giveaway! Featuring The Forbidden Wish by Jessica Khoury
1 reply · active 476 weeks ago
Okay so I just discovered your blog and I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. *immediately follows on bloglovin and email*

Also, this post is just so much YES. Right now I have like 1,000 books on my TBR so it's in need of some serious deleting. The last time I went through it there were so many books I didn't even recognize and books that just had me thinking, 'why did I even add this to my TBR? It sounds ridiculous'

Great post! I'm definitely going to be visiting your blog again <3
My recent post Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell
1 reply · active 475 weeks ago
I don't often go through and delete books, but recently I switched my TBR for a virtual one to a handwritten one and that got a whole load of books off my list. Ones I had just read too many negative reviews of, or books I had somehow lost interest in one way or another (simply because I couldn't even think what they were about anymore) all were whisked right off the list!
1 reply · active 475 weeks ago
I should really go through and delete books from my TBR more often than I currently do. I generally get rid of the book because my reading taste has changed but bad reviews always make me push a book down on my TBR.
My recent post Show Me The Books #1 - FREE Werewolf Series Starters
1 reply · active 469 weeks ago

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