I’ve read 78 Kindle samples this year – I reckon that downloading sample chapters is more prudent than impulse buying books that don’t quite pan out after the first few chapters.
Of the 78 I’ve read, I’ve said ‘yes’ to 36. Of those that I’ve said yes to, two I now own and a further three I’ve read.
The TBR stack is already a disaster this year – I won’t make it worse by buying the remaining 31 books. Instead, I’ve narrowed the shopping list down to the 15 that I’m busting to read –
I did the same review in 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016. I still haven’t read all of the books on those lists but I’m chipping away…
What’s Your Type? by Merve Emre
The Life of the Mind by Christine Smallwood
Love, If That’s What It Is by Marijke Schermer
Before My Actual Heart Breaks by Tish Delaney
The Book of Mother by Violaine Huisman
Rattled by Ellis Gunn
Early Morning Riser by Katherine Heiny
This is Gonna End in Tears by Liza Klaussmann
The Undercurrents by Kirsty Bell
When I Hit You by Meena Kandasamy
Find the Good by Heather Lende
Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrère
A Heart That Works by Rob Delaney
The Marriage Portrait by Maggie O’Farrell
Mouth to Mouth by Antoine Wilson
Is the library an option?
I buy most of my books because I want to (and I don’t have any other expensive vices) but I use the library for books I’m not sure about. Sometimes I love ’em, and sometimes my caution is justified but either way it keeps the TBR under control.
*pause*
No. That’s a lie. I’ve got more books on the TBR at the end of this year than I did at the end of 2021. But I have not yet reached the stage of having books piled on the floor so I’ve got some wriggle room left…
For sure and I do borrow lots from the library but I like reading on my Kindle because 1) I can read in the night without having to put a light on and 2) it syncs with the Kindle app on my phone, so I can grab a few minutes reading anywhere.
Yes, the downside of a real book is that we need bigger handbags. Or pockets…
(The ones in my Mont are ok for paperbacks…)
Wait… you can’t borrow eBooks from your library?
No, I can borrow e-books but I never do because it means reading them on my phone or ipad, neither of which are comfortable reading devices for a whole book (phone too small and ipad too heavy and bright) – the Kindle is lightweight, and allows me to highlight sections and make notes, features which I have used extensively for 17 years – before ebooks were available at my library).
This does sound like a good strategy. Of your fifteen, I loved the Schermer, Heiney and Wilson but was a bit disappointed with the Klaussmann. I much preferred Johanna Hedman’s The Trio which has a similar theme.
I have the Marriage Portrait ready to read early 2023 – I am looking forward to that one!
The only one I’ve read is the Heiny so I’m pleased to see it on your list. I definitely want to read the Rob Delaney and Maggie O’Farrell so I’ll look forward to your reviews.
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