It’s time for another post where I softly self roast myself and my inability to face my TBR pile.
Look, I’d defend myself but at this point maybe I should just accept that I’m going to avoid books for no good reason at all. I mean, fine, I have reasons. But they’re terrible ones. For instance:
→ “This book is making me feel things and I am not rEADY to feel things.”
→ “This book is 600pgs long and my fortitude is not 600pgs long.”
→ “I want to love it but what if I don’t so maybe I should just not read it and never find out.”
→ “I bought it myself, so somehow that means I’ll never read it because I am beholden to read theses 54 library books and ARCs first.”
→ “But I don’t feeeeeeeeeeeeeel like it.”
→ “No REASON. JUST CHAOS.”
I honestly am going to admit #1 is my top reason for avoiding books. Feeling things is hard. I do not chill out. When I get obsessed with a book, it’s so all-consuming that I have to remind myself to take a breath, so I have to be in the mood for intense feelings. 😂Ugh who made feelings. Take it baaaaaack.
So let’s point out 10 lovely books who don’t deserve to be ignored 🤗 and yet here we are.
linking up with Top Ten Tuesday
And I do thoroughly WANT to read these books and I will!! Eventually.
Other Posts You Might Like
➢ 15 Books I Should Have Read in 2017
➢ 10 Long Books I’m Terrified Of Reading
➢ TBR Of Shame: Books I Should Have Read
(I’m sensing this is a common occurrence with me…)
1. Ruin Of Kings
This beast is HUGE. It has, at least, as many pages as a small forest and I need to start wrist exercises to be able to support its weight, physically and emotionally. I’ve also heard mixed things? It’s an adult epic fantasy, but either you loooove it or hate it. I hope I love because it’s got dragons. And a villain origin story (i think?). It also might be gay (possibly?) and I desperately want to love it!!! But in case I don’t: I’m procrastinating!!!!!
2. Godsgrave
Another adult epic fantasy that is seven years long! I think we can sense a theme here with me + epic fantasy = mild paralysing terror. I also really liked Nevernight and it left me quite wrecked. I read it twice, even. So I’ve been gathering my fortitude to read the sequel (and also Darkdawn which is finally out). Pls someone just yell at me to read this already. UGH wHY am I like this.
3. City of Brass
Don’t laugh but…another adult epic fantasy. We are sensing a theme. I just need to know why they are so long. What if (hear me out) they came with the option of being bought as 3 books, instead of one. Bite sized, like eating a macaroons instead of a whole pavolova. I just think the whole publishing industry should change to cater for my stress levels. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
4. Wicked Saints
Finally some YA. 👀 My procrastination here comes from reviews being wildly 5-stars or 2-stars. Which, ok, I’m up for controversy! But I’ve also heard it’s really not dark enough for how dark it’s pitched to be. Excuse my stone-cold heart, but if a book says it’s dark…make it dark. No dallying about.
5. Carve the Mark
We all remember this bonfire controversy, right? Ahhh, oh of the most vicious twitter outcries I’ve seen. And, look, apart from watching some booktubers (including POC readers) talking about how a lot of the allegations against it were…um…false? I don’t know much about it!!! People being hurt by bad rep is always valid. But twitter mobs just have lost my respect 100% because they so often are fuelled on twisted narratives. I want to read CtM, but also sci-fi doesn’t rock my world, so. (I also got hate mail for owning it. 😬 That put me off reading back in 2017.)
6. Chainbreaker
This is the sequel to Timekeeper which I LOVED. But somehow I just…never got around to the sequel? I also heard it’s super tough on the feels 😂 So you can bet my wimpy bones are hiding behind the curtains. (This is, legit, ridiculous. ALL my favourite books are heart-smashing. I know I’ll love it. GO READ IT @ ME.)
7. Villain
I was infatuated with the Gone series when I was in my mid-teens. Like the drama, the fierce bonds, the anGST, the murderrrrrr. My faves died continually. :’) It was great. However, later I became aware of the author behaving rather badly online and having questionable rep. This is the spin-off series for Gone. And Monster had problems.😫Including problematic trans rep. So I want to read this because I KNOW it has Sam returning and I love love love Sam. But also…??? Kind of wish I’d just left it as a fond childhood memory.
8. Sometime After Midnight
I’m legit procrastinating a romcom for….? Reasons [pats pockets looking for them] I seem to have misplaced them somewhere. I feel like it just constantly gets left at the end of the TBR pile. I want to read it though!!! It looks so cute. Gay Cinderella retelling!
9. Night Circus
At least four people are guaranteed to yell at me to read this NOW. And I will, heh. I preordered her new book too (does it sound like Strange the Dreamer a bit to anyone else? I need it.😍 Btw I know it’s not a sequel.) Anyhow; I’ve only just got a copy of this so no more excuses. Although I did procrastinate because I heard it was confusing to start?
10. The Weight of the Stars
I put this here to 100% SHAME ME. I love love love the author’s debut (The Wicker King) and this is set in the same world so afjkdlsad why haven’t I rEAD IT. I think, because I love TWK so much, I just want this to totally met my heart in the same way. I want to feel all the things. 😌I want it to be 5-stars; a new favourite. So naturally I’ll totally procrastinate it.
(But this is a call out. I am going to read it this month. Maybe. Probably. For sure definitely most likely.)
| what about you? |
pls tell me what books on your TBR that you’re avoiding 👀we can gently self-roast ourselves. and which of these do i need to hurry up and read NOW?
Okay I can’t blame ou for not having read The Ruin of Kings because that book is massive! Hurry up and read The Night Circus plz.
Great list! The Ruin of Kings is one I still need to get to, too. The Night Circus is so beloved and I just… eh? I liked it when I read it, but for me it was the kind of book where the way it was written overshadowed the plot and the characters. I think I need to re-read it, though, because my reading tastes have changed a lot since I first read it.
I was super excited to see some Adult Fantasy titles on here! It makes a nice change 🙂
I hope you love all these! I think I’m the only person who was underwhelmed by The Night Circus. It’s beautifully written, but nothing really happens in it.
Out of all of these, I’ve only read The Weight of the Stars. I quite liked that book, I liked the characters (diverse & queer characters!), it was an easy read, I loved the way the chapters were done, I liked the writing style and the plot. I haven’t read The Wicker King yet, so I can’t compare it to that. I did read a few chapters of The Wicker King, but then I got to where the two main characters see this girl performing non-existing word poetry (or something), and I really didn’t understand the fun of it, so I stopped reading. I do want to go back to it at some point, but when I’m in the right mood for it. I have read the Gone series by Michael Grant but have been putting off Monster because of the reviews. I’m not sure now if I should maybe just leave it and keep my Gone series memories as is.
I’ve put off many books on my TBR too. But then, there are lots of books I want to read, so it’s like.. I have to make choices for what I read. Some books are really long, intimidating, or you’re worried they won’t live up to high expectations. There are all sorts of reasons. And we need to be selective, because we can only read so many books at once (I usually only read one book at once, on occasion more than one).
Great blog post! I’m sorry I haven’t been commenting much on your blog posts. I have been reading them but I don’t always know what to say or I feel too tired to type out a comprehensive comment. But I do love your blog, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Have a good day/night/etc 🙂.
I’m sorry you got hate mail over owning CtM, that’s just so uncalled for! I knew there were a lot of bad publicity around the book about how it treats PoC, but I think partly because the negative feelings people still have after Allegiant._. The bookstagram incident didn’t really help the matter, but I felt really bad for the author! Especially since she opened up on how bad the hate on Allegiant made her feel… I can’t imagine how she felt with this situation!
I really enjoyed The Night Circus, however, it’s definitely not for everyone, so no yelling here!
i’m actually shocked the poppy war isn’t on this list, but i’m not going to mention it till you read it, because that would be mean.
Wicked Saints is a really fun read!!! I tried reading Night Circus but some adult fiction just isn’t my cup of tea, so i DNF’d is about 45% in. Adult fiction and I are reluctant frenemies.
Terrible avoidance behavior Cait🙄😂
I clearly live under a rock because I had no idea there was controversy over Carve the Mark🙊 It, and its sequel are currently waiting to be read with all my other TBR books 😑
As for Michael Grant, I had tried BZRK but hated it. Books of his that I LOVE are The Messenger of Fear and The Tattooed Heart. They are INTENSELY Dark but lawd do I love them😍
Godsgrave…. same, I enjoyed the first book, but am terrified of the second! I have also been avoiding The Night Circus and Carve the Mark as well.
Um, yes. I always procrastinate books that will make me feel something. It’s usually that I procrastinate the books that I know I will love the most? It’s very exhausting to intensely like a book. I don’t know why. That’s why I procrastinated reading Vicious by V E Schwab. I knew I would LOVE it to pieces. And now I haven’t read Vengeful either for the same reason. It’ll just have to get line because I’m too busy being infatuated with The Dream Thieves and after that I have two more TRC books soooo . . . Yeah. And I agree about big books. WHY CAN’T THEY BE BROKEN INTO TWO OR THREE BOOKS? I guess most big books are part of a trilogy (and humans have this strange intrinsic pull towards things in threes) or a huge series (Game of Thrones anyone?), so breaking each of the big books into more books makes the series even longer. And possibly people are less inclined to commit to a huge saga (although I would be more inclined to do so if each book were like 250-300 pages).
It took me SO long to get to The Night Circus, so I can’t blame you here at all haha. It was sometimes a little confusing, I have to admit it, but overall I still found that it was kind of a magical, atmospheric read, too 🙂 I hope you’ll love it 🙂
The Night Circus looks amazing! I really want to read it ahhhh. I’ve been avoiding The Raven Boys for the longest time just bc unnecessary language annoys me. But I finally (!!) got an e-book from my library, so I’m starting it!! I’ve also been avoiding The Mortal Instruments bc I hated book one, and I’ve tried to read Six of Crows twice and DNFed it. Those last two are on my emergency if-i-run-out-of-books-to-read (aka never) XD
I feel this so much! I do the same exact things. I procrastinate books out of emotional cowardice all. the. time.
Hahaha, I also put off Godsgrave for monthsss before reading it. And now I shall put off Darkdawn for another half a year as well!! I’m very big into the avoiding sequels thing. Because it’s not like I don’t WANT to read it, but the pressure! What if it’s not as good as the first book?? Such stress. I also did not know that The Weight of the Stars was a thing, and now it will also go onto my TBR because omgg The Wicker King was so good!!
I don’t think not wanting to read a book just because it’ll make you feel things is a bad reason. A lot of days I have very limited emotional energy and I have to be careful what I spend it on. I can’t read a book that’s going to floor me if I know the upcoming week is gonna be exhausting anyway…and besides, sometimes it’s not good for my mental health to read books with too many feels. When I can manage it, though, it’s awesome.
TLDR Feels are amazing but mental health comes first <3
I do not avoid books. I am a good nerd.
…The Mysteries of Udolpho. I’ve had it since Christmas before last and I still haven’t touched it. (It’s 900 pages!!)
I seem to have missed all of the drama surrounding Carve the Mark despite the fact that I’d been blogging for a good year when it all went down. (I wasn’t on Twitter. All of the drama happens on Twitter. I wave at it now as I scroll past.) How can you get hate for owning a book??? What the actual hell??? I generally find with hate mobs that most people in them haven’t read the book in the first place.
I am currently avoiding starting any new series basically, because it takes me about a year to finish. I skip around genres too much. Some specific books I’m procrastinating reading: The Wrath and the Dawn, Caraval, the Vanishing Stair, and The Chosen One’s.
The City of Brass and its sequel are both great. I hope you enjoy them if you pick them up. 🙂
Oh Chainbreaker is SO GOOD! It will absolutely crush your feelings into a million pieces though, as will the final book, Firestarter, so I understand the avoidance. I had City of Brass on my list this week too, for the exact same reason, in fact I had quite a few books on there because they were over 500 pages long, I do enjoy chunky books, but they are a big time commitment. The biggest one from this year I’ve been avoiding is King Of Scars, both because it’s not the shortest book and I’m definitely worried about it not living up to my expectations. I get you on the Michael Grant book as well, I’m in a similar conundrum with James Dashner, I love The Maze Runner and wanted to read the prequel, The Fever Code, but he was accused of sexual harrassment and that’s definitely not the kind of behaviour I want to support.
Tfw i’ve read TWO of the books on this list and can feel like an ADULT! Ha! Take that TBR! (I’m fully aware that I have loads of books i’m delaying reading for similar reasons but LET ME FIND VALIDATION IN THIS, PLS)
just @ me next time, honestly 😂
no but seriously! i’m just like cry-laughing because i have all the exact same books on my no-real-reason-why-I-haven’t-read-this-yet pile and it feels like a direct call out. the wicker king is one my all-time favourite books and i adore k. ancrum with my entire soul… and yet I haven’t read the weight of the stars yet FOR NO GOOD REASON,, except it’s going to hurt and i’m not ready for that. also ditto to the night circus, chainbreaker & the ruin of kings.
I delay reading adult fantasy a lot too– I think the word adult scares me, it just makes me think of responsibilities and other stressful stuff. But the ones I have read I have loved and I love getting into them. Nevernight is a series I need to start and most likely get my emotions torn out but in a beautiful way!!
I would love to read City of Brass too!!
Yes when a book says dark I expect it to be dark– I want to be left saying ‘damn that was dark’, don’t give me false promises haha!
I haven’t read The Night Circus either so I feel very left out of that loop but.. one day!!
Books that I am avoiding on my TBR are A Darker Shade of Magic and The Infernal Devices but I want to get to them, I just don’t know when… it’s not my fault!!
→ “I bought it myself, so somehow that means I’ll never read it because I am beholden to read theses 54 library books and ARCs first.”
SAME!!!! Minus the ARCs as I don’t do those, but definitely the library books are holding me back from the books I bought with my hard-earned money!!!!!
I didn’t know about all the controversy around Carve The Mark? I just googled it and the first article I found said there was a lot of people complaining about racism and chronic pain. The Author of the article also said she disagreed with the racism part, and she said she couldn’t speak to the chronic pain part, but she didn’t think it was that bad. Personally I loved CtM, and didn’t think there were any issues. (granted I am not very good at recognizing problematic things in books, so my opinion probably isn’t the best source) But I really enjoyed it! I hope you like it if you end up reading it! And I’m sorry you got hate mail for owning it!! That is awful!
“This book is making me feel things and I am not rEADY to feel things.” IS THE MOST ACCURATE THING TO HAVE EVER THINGED AND ACCURATE. (Thinged? REALLY, self?!) ALSO, I’m avoiding Wicked Saints for the same exact reason. THE. SAME. EXACT. REASONS. When I wrote my post I was like, “I don’t know what I’m actually avoiding these” but honestly you put the words out there for me because SO TRUE. (If it’s marketed as dark it should be so dark that I need an extra sweater to sooth the chills and a freaking flashlight OKAY, KIDS?????)
Carve the Mark is one of my favorite books. I think I need to re-read it, though, because my reading tastes have changed a lot since I first read it.
Honestly I have not read City of Brass for the exact same reason. I want to! I just haven’t. Because long books are scary. And fantasy and I have a bit of a love-hate thing happening, so. CTM is on my list too for the same reason- only I cannot remember what the controversy even WAS because that was like, 23984 Twitter Mobs™ ago. I am kind of on a sci-fi kick so I should really read that one soon. And I need to read Wicker King first so… please do insist that I read Wicker King? It’s on my “READ NOW” shelf but. You know the struggle!
Ugh, you got hate mail? *sends you a thousand letters of encouragement to make up for it* That’s not cool! 🙁 I must have missed all the craziness when CTM came out, cause I had no idea there was anything in there that made people angry. Also, Night Circus has been on my TBR for ages too! I really want to read it *weeps*
You got hate mail for owning Carve the Mark?! Heck, I have it AND The Fates Divide (although, both are unread)…
Also, GO READ GODSGRAVE!! I think it’s my favourite of the three. Pretty sure.
I love this post Cait! Yeahh I would scratch Wicked Saints off your list because it is so meh it is not funny. I actually DNFed City of Brass and Ruin of Kings (although I want to give City of Brass another go at some point). READ GODSGRAVE.
Your “terrible” reasons for not reading books is so oddly specific and accurate that I feel ATTACKED. xD Also, that whole owning vs. library vs. ARCs pretty much sums up my entire mood for the past two months.
I 100% feel the same with Ruin of Kings. I’ve had a copy sitting on my desk for … months. It’s intimidating me. Late at night, I can hear it just threatening me and shouting abuses. I’m not sure I’m ready. xD
I just had to read Wicked Saints, so I rushed out to buy it … and then it’s sad on my shelf. I want to love it so much, but what if I don’t? Right now, it’s Schrodinger’s book: I both love it and hate it equally, which is a good balance, I think.
Ah, I need to read so many of these too! I have been putting off the Night Circus for so long, and I don’t know why! It seems like something I’ll adore and maybe even worship? 👀 I tried reading City of Brass, but it unfortunately was so slow that I had to DNF it! I might try to revisit it in the future though. I’ve had Carve the Mark sitting on my shelf for years, and I don’t think I had a Twitter back in 2017 when this drama occurred. My reasons for not reading it are simply that I’ve been lazy lol.
Great post, love! <3
Epic adult fantasy is one of those genres that I just have to be in the right mood to read, and often I’m … not. Plus, they’re often SO long! How can we read them, when we still need to read ALL the books? And Night Circus is on my list too. Someday I will read it. Someday.
I have the exact same issues with The Ruin of Kings and Wicked Saints! I thought The Ruin of Kings in particular sounded really cool, but suddenly I know a lot of people who’ve given it like 1 or 2 stars and that’s put me off it.
So with you on City of Brass. I need to read it soonish but but I am scared because I have been assured I will love it and if that isn’t a death sentence to picking up a book soon haha.
I’m such an avoider omg and the length of books is probably the primary reason I avoid (also small fonts for some reason?), I think you need to read Godsgrave now (I just finished Darkdawn and I have to say it’ll be much better for you since you can read Darkdawn straight after finishing Godsgrave!) I read Carve The Mark back in the day and was just confused about all the controversy, I didn’t personally find anything wrong with it so I wasn’t really sure if I’m oblivious or there was nothing there.
THE NIGHT CIRCUS IS BEAUTIFUL PLEASE READ IT!!
“I want to love it but what if I don’t so maybe I should just not read it and never find out.” this is me.
Also, I am avoiding Chainbreaker and all adult fantasy too!