Hello, everyone! How’s everyone’s October going thus far? I’ve been quite enjoying mine, which is a real relief as the last few months have been a little tough for me creatively and otherwise. Now that I’m feeling back in the groove of things, I’m taking advantage of it! Keeping up with blogging and reading more has been very enjoyable, and I’m starting Preptober work in order to participate in Nanowrimo (National Novel Writing Month) again this November. I think the rush of new creative endeavors this season is biding well.
All of that being said, I love resets — seasonal, monthly, weekly, and even daily. Getting the opportunity to clear my head of the old really makes it possible for me to keep moving forward. I’ve had a mess of a Goodreads TBR for years. Making a dedicated “physical TBR” shelf this year made a dent in cleaning it up, but I’ve been adding more books “to read” lately, and want to manage it better. Thus, this post!
Down The TBR Hole is a meme created by lost in a story that revolves around cleansing your TBR of all those books you’re never going to read and sort through it all to know what’s actually on there.
I’d like to keep up with this on a regular basis. In order to achieve that, I’ll start out today going over the ten oldest books I have on my “to read” shelf. Then, I will determine if I’m still interested in reading it, or ready to let it go.
Date Added: July 27, 2016 (seven years ago)
I’m a smidgeon confused about A Little Princess in regards to my TBR as, though it’s the oldest one there, it is also simultaneously marked as having been read in March 2015. As I was eleven and a veracious reader at that time, there’s a possibility that this is true and I just don’t remember it now. Whatever the case, I’ll be removing it. If I stumble across a copy at a thrift store, I’ll probably pick it up and implement it into my physical TBR, but for now, this book is not the highest priority for me (especially since I may have already read it? I’m uncertain).
Date Added: October 8, 2016 (about seven years ago)
It is not for lack of wanting to read Through the Looking-Glad and What Alice Found There that I’m removing it from my “to read” shelf. It’s simply that I have yet to read Alice in Wonderland in its completion. I’ve started the first book many times, and even gotten a decent way into it, but I always lose myself to something else before getting to the end. Until I finally make my way through the first book, I’ll be putting this book on pause — not stop. Just pause.
Date Added: August 24, 2017 (six years ago)
I’m not sure how thirteen-year-old me was familiar with The Bell Jar (perhaps I saw it in the hands of Rory Gilmore?) but I do still have an interest in reading this. The main thing that’s kept me from it, I think, is not having ever come across a copy at a thrift store or book sale (I try to spend as wisely as I can, especially in terms of all the many books I’d like to purchase). So, though I still don’t have a copy of my own just yet, I’ll definitely be keeping this book on my “to read” shelf.
Date Added: June 17, 2018 (5 years ago)
To be perfectly honest with you, I have no real idea how Graffiti wound up on my TBR. I have an extremely vague awareness that Savannah Brown has a YouTube channel that I may have stumbled across at the time. Perhaps she was on Tumblr? I’m really not sure, but I’m sure this was the first rumblings of my desire to read poetry (which still lingers now, and which I still have yet to sufficiently feed). Although I’m not sure when I would actually end up reading this, I’ll keep it here, if only for the younger version of myself that I hardly remember now.
Date Added: August 30, 2018 (5 years ago)
I do remember someone recommending Symptoms of Being Human to me many years ago. While I’m sure it’s an excellent book, I’ve been reading fewer young adult coming-of-age stories these days, and I don’t realistically believe I’m going to get to it. Because of that, I’m thinking of removing it.
Date Added: December 8, 2018 (almost 5 years ago)
Every time I’ve seen Sadie over the years, I’ve been very actively interested in picking it up. I truly don’t know why I didn’t get my hands on a library copy of it back when it came out. Now that I’ve seen it again, my interest is genuinely piqued. Though I know I’m extremely late to the party, I’m definitely keeping this on my TBR.
Date Added: December 8, 2018 (almost 5 years ago)
Again, I don’t have any recollection of this book or how it wound up on my shelf, and now I’m feeling a little torn. I tend to veer away from romance but the music aspect of this actually compels me a lot. If I remove this, I’m fairly certain I’ll never encounter this book again. If I keep it, though, it will probably remain unread for years more to come. For now, I’m surprising myself by keeping it on my Goodreads TBR.
Date Added: March 25, 2019 (4 years ago)
As a long-time fan of Pete Wentz’s writing in Fall Out Boy and snippets of poetry floating around the internet from the 2000s, I definitely recall Gray. I also definitely recall shelving it without even knowing what it was about. Now that I’ve actually read the blurb, I’m even more interested in it than I probably was at the time. Maybe contemporary books with music storylines will be a thing for me now? Whatever the case, I’ll be keeping this book on my TBR.
Date Added: March 25, 2019 (4 years ago)
Unfortunately, this niche piece of media still absolutely intrigues me. Now even more than it did then, I think (because, again, I didn’t actually look into the book beyond clicking “want to read”). The fact that the lowest going rate for a copy of The Boy With the Thorn in His Side is $85 before going for well over $100 makes this interest even more tragic. I am nothing if not invested in 2000s pop punk bands and all of their off-shooting projects. *a single cinematic tear slips down cheek* I will be keeping this on the list, though I have no idea of when or if I’ll get the chance to read it.
Date Added: April 8, 2019 (4 years ago)
I’m not entirely sure why I shelved Allegedly, especially since I added it the day I finished Jackson’s novel Monday’s Not Coming, a book that was definitely not for me (I was very confused with the multiple timelines, and the subject matter of the climax was far too disturbing for the naive young teenager I was then). I picked up White Smoke by her a couple years later, and, again, that book just was not for me (mostly because it was marketed as a paranormal horror when it was actually a mystery thriller). I know a lot of people love Tiffany D. Jackson’s work, and I’m glad for that, but I personally have no interest in reading this book. Because of that, I’ll be removing this title from my “to read” shelf.
And that wraps up this TBR cleanse session! I actually enjoyed compiling this post more than I thought I would. Being reminded of old interests and sparking new ones based on them has been quite pleasant. Hopefully, I’ll get to a few of these books before they get booted by a TBR cleanse down the line.
Have you read any of the books on this list? If so, what did you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts below!
Little Bit of All That 
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