General Post

Book Hoarding: What’s Been On My Backlist The Longest?

The Suspense Is Thrilling Me

Oh Boy. Time to get a little real here and admit that I have a book hoarding problem. 😉 I saw this post originally on The Blonde Likes Books and Clues and Reviews, both being blogs I look forward to reading regularly, and thought it would be fun to join in! The idea is to choose the 10 books that have been on your To Be Read list the longest and post them here for some dang accountability in hopes to have them all read by the end of 2017.

We all have books that we buy on a whim, books we buy for the pretty covers, books we pre-order, and books we are sent to review; all of those books add up and when push comes to shove, most of these great stories are placed on the back burner to slowly die a lonely death. One of my goals this year is to get some of these forgotten lovelies back into circulation and I feel acknowledging these poor babies is the first step to getting them read!

*SIDE NOTE- I chose to use my Goodreads TBR as my base for choosing my 10 oldest books; some of these were books I added ages ago that still aren’t published yet, so for ease of keeping straight I’ll only be using the books that are published for this list. 

TOP TEN OLDEST READS:


1) RED QUEEN BY VICTORIA AVEYARD

This is a world divided by blood – red or silver.

The Reds are commoners, ruled by a Silver elite in possession of god-like superpowers. And to Mare Barrow, a seventeen-year-old Red girl from the poverty-stricken Stilts, it seems like nothing will ever change.

That is, until she finds herself working in the Silver Palace. Here, surrounded by the people she hates the most, Mare discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy the balance of power.

Fearful of Mare’s potential, the Silvers hide her in plain view, declaring her a long-lost Silver princess, now engaged to a Silver prince. Despite knowing that one misstep would mean her death, Mare works silently to help the Red Guard, a militant resistance group, and bring down the Silver regime.

But this is a world of betrayal and lies, and Mare has entered a dangerous dance – Reds against Silvers, prince against prince, and Mare against her own heart.


2) ONE TRUE LOVES BY TAYLOR JENKINS REID

In her twenties, Emma Blair marries her high school sweetheart, Jesse. They build a life for themselves, far away from the expectations of their parents and the people of their hometown in Massachusetts. They travel the world together, living life to the fullest and seizing every opportunity for adventure.

On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse is on a helicopter over the Pacific when it goes missing. Just like that, Jesse is gone forever.

Emma quits her job and moves home in an effort to put her life back together. Years later, now in her thirties, Emma runs into an old friend, Sam, and finds herself falling in love again. When Emma and Sam get engaged, it feels like Emma’s second chance at happiness.

That is, until Jesse is found. He’s alive, and he’s been trying all these years to come home to her. With a husband and a fiancé, Emma has to now figure out who she is and what she wants, while trying to protect the ones she loves.

Who is her one true love? What does it mean to love truly?

Emma knows she has to listen to her heart. She’s just not sure what it’s saying.

 
3) THREE DARK CROWNS BY KENDARE BLAKE

When kingdom come, there will be one.

In every generation on the island of Fennbirn, a set of triplets is born—three queens, all equal heirs to the crown and each possessor of a coveted magic. Mirabella is a fierce elemental, able to spark hungry flames or vicious storms at the snap of her fingers. Katharine is a poisoner, one who can ingest the deadliest poisons without so much as a stomachache. Arsinoe, a naturalist, is said to have the ability to bloom the reddest rose and control the fiercest of lions.

But becoming the Queen Crowned isn’t solely a matter of royal birth. Each sister has to fight for it. And it’s not just a game of win or lose…it’s life or death. The night the sisters turn sixteen, the battle begins.

The last queen standing gets the crown.

4) AN EMBER IN THE ASHES BY SABAA TAHIR

Laia is a slave. Elias is a soldier. Neither is free.

Under the Martial Empire, defiance is met with death. Those who do not vow their blood and bodies to the Emperor risk the execution of their loved ones and the destruction of all they hold dear.

It is in this brutal world, inspired by ancient Rome, that Laia lives with her grandparents and older brother. The family ekes out an existence in the Empire’s impoverished backstreets. They do not challenge the Empire. They’ve seen what happens to those who do.

But when Laia’s brother is arrested for treason, Laia is forced to make a decision. In exchange for help from rebels who promise to rescue her brother, she will risk her life to spy for them from within the Empire’s greatest military academy.

There, Laia meets Elias, the school’s finest soldier—and secretly, its most unwilling. Elias wants only to be free of the tyranny he’s being trained to enforce. He and Laia will soon realize that their destinies are intertwined—and that their choices will change the fate of the Empire itself.

5) FULL TILT BY EMMA SCOTT

“I would love you forever, if I only had the chance…”

Kacey Dawson has always lived life on the edge–impulsively, sometimes recklessly. And now, as lead guitarist for a hot up-and-coming band, she is poised at the brink of fame and fortune. But she is torn between wanting to be a serious musician, and the demons that lure her down the glittering, but alcohol-soaked path of rock stardom. A wrecked concert in Las Vegas threatens to ruin her career entirely. She wakes up with the hangover from hell and no memory of the night before, or how she ended up on her limo driver’s couch…

Jonah Fletcher is running out of time. He knows his situation is hopeless, and he’s vowed to make the most of the handful of months he has left to him. His plans include seeing the opening of his glass installation at a prestigious art gallery…they do not include falling in love with a wild, tempestuous rock musician who wound up passed out on his couch.

Jonah sees that Kacey is on a path to self-destruction. He lets her crash with him for a few days to dry out and get her head on straight. But neither of them expected the deep connection they felt, or how that connection could grow so fast from friendship into something more. Something deep and pure and life-changing…something as fragile as glass, that they both know will shatter in the end no matter how hard they try to hold on to it.

6) NOVEMBER 9 BY COLLEEN HOOVER

Fallon meets Ben, an aspiring novelist, the day before her scheduled cross-country move. Their untimely attraction leads them to spend Fallon’s last day in L.A. together, and her eventful life becomes the creative inspiration Ben has always sought for his novel. Over time and amidst the various relationships and tribulations of their own separate lives, they continue to meet on the same date every year. Until one day Fallon becomes unsure if Ben has been telling her the truth or fabricating a perfect reality for the sake of the ultimate plot twist.

7) SHADOW AND BONE BY LEIGH BARDUGO

The Shadow Fold, a swathe of impenetrable darkness, crawling with monsters that feast on human flesh, is slowly destroying the once-great nation of Ravka.

Alina, a pale, lonely orphan, discovers a unique power that thrusts her into the lavish world of the kingdom’s magical elite – the Grisha. Could she be the key to unravelling the dark fabric of the Shadow Fold and setting Ravka free?

The Darkling, a creature of seductive charm and terrifying power, leader of the Grisha. If Alina is to fulfil her destiny, she must discover how to unlock her gift and face up to her dangerous attraction to him.

But what of Mal, Alina’s childhood best friend? As Alina contemplates her dazzling new future, why can’t she ever quite forget him?

8) TELL ME THREE THINGS BY JULIE BUXBAUM

Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?

9) RUPTURE BY RAGNAR JONASSON

1955. Two young couples move to the uninhabited, isolated fjord of Hedinsfjörður. Their stay ends abruptly when one of the women meets her death in mysterious circumstances. The case is never solved. Fifty years later an old photograph comes to light, and it becomes clear that the couples may not have been alone on the fjord after all…
In nearby Siglufjörður, young policeman Ari Thór tries to piece together what really happened that fateful night, in a town where no one wants to know, where secrets are a way of life. He’s assisted by Ísrún, a news reporter in Reykjavik, who is investigating an increasingly chilling case of her own. Things take a sinister turn when a child goes missing in broad daylight. With a stalker on the loose, and the town of Siglufjörður in quarantine, the past might just come back to haunt them.

10) SWEAR ON THIS LIFE BY RENEE CARLINO

When a bestselling debut novel from mysterious author J.Colby becomes the literary event of the year, Emiline reads it reluctantly. As an adjunct writing instructor at UC San Diego with her own stalled literary career and a bumpy long-term relationship, Emiline isn’t thrilled to celebrate the accomplishments of a young and gifted writer.

Yet from the very first page, Emiline is entranced by the story of Emerson and Jackson, two childhood best friends who fall in love and dream of a better life beyond the long dirt road that winds through their impoverished town in rural Ohio.

That’s because the novel is patterned on Emiline’s own dark and desperate childhood, which means that “J. Colby” must be Jase: the best friend and first love she hasn’t seen in over a decade. Far from being flattered that he wrote the novel from her perspective, Emiline is furious that he co-opted her painful past and took some dramatic creative liberties with the ending.

The only way she can put her mind at ease is to find and confront “J. Colby,” but is she prepared to learn the truth behind the fiction?

Well, that wraps up my top ten oldest reads from my GR TBR list! Clearly I have been laser-focused on my review copies and have left my YA fantasy and Adult/YA contemporaries to pile up and collect dust. Now is where I need your help; which should I read first? If you’ve read any of these, did you love/hate them? Would you be willing to take the challenge and commit to reading your ten oldest reads before 2018? Thanks again to Sam and Danielle for putting this challenge on my radar, and as always, happy reading!

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Published by The Suspense Is Thrilling Me

Chelsea is a happily married mother of two who's love of mysteries can be traced back to her first Nancy Drew experience. When not reading and writing book reviews, she likes to drink wine in her jammies and pretend that she exercises.

81 thoughts on “Book Hoarding: What’s Been On My Backlist The Longest?”

  1. Many of these are still on my TBR as well: An Ember in the Ashes and November 9 in particular. I actually have a signed copy of November 9 and still haven’t read it ((the shame))

    I read Red Queen last year and it wasn’t my cup of tea. It was super clichéd and full of tropes. This isn’t to say that Aveyard isn’t a talented writer, she is, but there just wasn’t enough original content in the storyline. It felt very much like all the other YA dystopian novels we’ve seen over the years since The Hunger Games came out.

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  2. Pingback: Weekly Wrap-Up: 5/6/17 |

  3. I really enjoyed Red Queen. I was told the sequel is disappointing but the 3rd book makes up for it. I haven’t continued with the series yet. Three Dark Crowns was a love or hate for most I think. For me it was love. A slow burn, but I really appreciated the direction it was headed. Liked her writing style. Looking forward to your thoughts on these 🙂

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  5. I have the same problem! Seriously, I was so excited for The Distant Hours by Kate Morton coming out back in 2010, bought it right away but still haven’t read it. And then every year since have pledged I would. Still languishing on the shelf. It’s like a running joke with my blogger friend who did the exact same with it. It’s a massive big old book too, so I also pass it over for something quick. Hope you do get to your books here and enjoy them as much as you hoped!

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  6. The only one I’ve read is Red Queen and I enjoyed that. It is definitely YA but that’s no bad thing imo. This reminds me that I should look out for the sequel.

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  8. This probably isn’t helpful, but you’ve got some GREAT books on this list! Especially An Ember in the Ashes. 🙂 I love that you’re organized enough to know what’s been on your TBR long enough. My GR TBR list has hundreds of books on it. I need to go through and just remove ones I know that I’m not going to get to, at least anytime soon.

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  10. Read One True Loves ASAP. It’s SO good. I think you can skip Tell Me Three Things. It’s just OK, not great. Swear on This Life and Red Queen are worth reading. (Although I couldn’t get into Glass Sword.)

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  11. One True Loves was enjoyable and a very quick read and for someone like me that reads 80/20 mystery/crime/thriller/suspense it was a great change up for the reading list. The Red Queen was great YA/dystopian and Tell Me Three Things was easy to read, as well

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  12. Good luck with these books. My longest book is Walk with the Muses by Pat Cleveland. It’s a pioneering model’s memoir. Someday, I’ll conquer this book.

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  13. One True Loves and November 9 are very good! You’ll fly through them. Thanks for sharing. I have a blog where I enter books I have purchased, and I check it regularly. I have some from 2014…but not a lot. I put the titles in a TBR Jar.

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  19. Love this idea! I told myself that 2017 is the year I’m going to focus on the books on my shelves instead of buying all the new books (big fail, as I’m sure is the case for any book hoarder), but maybe this type of personal public shaming (haha) is the route I need to take. Thanks for the idea! I’ll be looking forward to the reviews. 🙂

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  20. such a good idea! mine are weird ones. I have always heard good things about Red Queen, so I will look forward to your review! I read one Taylor Jenkins Reid book and it was really good (and maybe the tearjerker you are looking for) 😉

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  21. My goal is to cut down my TBR and get rid of some old books that no longer need to be on there. I’m doing the Beat The Backlist challenge to help me read older titles…so I am, in a way, attempting to read older stuff on my TBR…? 😉

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  24. Hahaha…tsonduku at it’s best. 😉
    If I had An Ember in the ashes on my shelf but then the series is not complete yet, and we all do that, there are so many books I’m actually dying to read on my shelf but I know myself that if I read the, one after the other I wouldn’t be able to enjoy them so I plan, this genre after that, that book after that, no, no, you can’t read that one now, you can’t just go pick it off the shelf like that. 😅

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  25. I totally have the Ragnar series at the top of my tbr and I have every intention of getting through all of them before the 5th of comes out! Ambitious I know:) I love this post and I’m putting mine together today…I’d be up for doing the challenge if you all decide to take it on!

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  26. Read Shadow and Bone with me! I’m planning on reading that this month! 🙂

    The only other book I’ve read on this list was Three Dark Crowns, which I wasn’t such a huge fan of, unfortunately. But that one is a really quick read in my opinion and you could easily shave it off the list in a day or two.

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  27. I recently read a book released in 2004, think it’s been on my shelf a few months but my wish list for years lol. I added a shelf on my good reads with books that I’ve had ages on my shelf. (I use good reads for a wish list) I’m Kat Duncan on good reads and it’s under book buddy if you’d like to check it out. I have one true loves on my tbr. I have November 9 on my wish list.

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  28. I only have one true loves on my tbr and November 9 on my wish list, I actually recently read a book that okay I haven’t had on my shelf for long but my wish list for ages but it was released in 2004. I did a shelf last night where I added books I’ve had ages and then your post pops up. strange eh?

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  29. Red Queen was fun! I really disliked One True Loves though I hope you love it way more than I did. I loved November 9 though you should probably know how widely it is considered problematic by tons of people. I really want to read Swear on This Life too!

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  30. The good news is that your list is wonderful. I think you’ll love all of these when you read them! 😉 I absolutely can’t recommend November 9 and One True Loves enough. Fantastic books!!

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  32. Ah, you should totally read Red Queen and An Ember in the Ashes! I enjoyed both of them! I didn’t like Shadow and Bone that much, and I also have Three Dark Crowns on my TBR!

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  34. I have only read November 9 on your list. Like Inge, not my favourite CoHo(It Ends with Us wins) but its a lovely book. The characters and narrative style stood out for me. I hope that you will find time to read these books and hopefully, they will all be great reads. Happy reading.

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  35. Three of these are on my readlist too. I’ve only read November 9 from your list. Although I really liked it, it’s not my favourite CoHo book. The fact that they only meet once a year on the same date makes the story start and stop and not flow as much as I liked, if you know what I mean. That doesn’t mean you should skip it though, I still recommend reading all CoHo novels :-).

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