Inspired by book blogger Davida, at The Chocolate Lady’s Book Review Blog, herself inspired by a couple of other bloggers (see here for instance). I plan to post about it on Saturdays, except the 1st Sat of the month, when I usually feature another meme.
The rules are simple:
- Sort your Goodreads TBR shelf from oldest to new
- Pick the first 5 or 10 (or whatever number you choose, depending on how large your list is) books you see
- Decide whether to keep them or get rid of them.
RESULTS FOR PREVIOUS READ OR SKIP
READ: 1, 2, 3
MAYBE: 4 (I created a new Goodreads shelf for this – To read, maybe)
SKIP: 5
READ OR SKIP #2
#readorskip
Today’s batch has a lot of books about books.
1) Used and Rare: Travels in the Book World
- “Part travel story, part love story, and part memoir” – the part love story bothers me here.
- Less than 4.00 rating
- BUT can I skip a book about books?
SKIP
2) The Mysterious Flame of Queen Loana
- How come I have not yet read this one by Eco? I really enjoyed the last one I read by him: Chronicles of a Liquid Society (essays)
READ
3) Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader
- “This witty collection of essays recounts a lifelong love affair with books and language… Perfectly balanced between humor and erudition, Ex Libris establishes Fadiman as one of our finest contemporary essayists.”
- The highest ranking here for the 3 books about books in this batch
READ
4) The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop
- “In The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop, Buzbee, a former bookseller and sales representative, celebrates the unique experience of the bookstore… Interwoven throughout is an historical account of the bookseller’s trade”. This second element sounds attracting.
- BUT a blogger I trust wrote “excruciatingly boring”
Probably READ
5) Howards End is on the Landing
- “‘Howards End is on the Landing’ charts the journey of one of the nation’s most accomplished authors as she revisits the conversations, libraries and bookshelves of the past that have informed a lifetime of reading and writing:.
- Is it really worth it?
Probably SKIP
So now, what do YOU think? Am I right for 1, 2, and 3?
And I need your input for 4 and 5 to finalize my decision.
I will inform you of my final choice when I publish the next post for this meme.
Here is an easy way to vote.
Please feel free to also comment.
HAVE YOU READ THESE?
READ OR SKIP?
I ALSO WELCOME SUGGESTIONS
FOR GOOD BOOKS ON SIMILAR THEMES
Oh, Howard’s End is really excellent. You shouldn’t skip that one! (And thanks for the back links!)
LikeLike
Can you tell me more what you found so good in it? I don’t see your review on it on your site
LikeLike
ex libris is one of my favorite ‘cozies’! i never plan it, but I usually end up rereading it every a year!
LikeLike
thanks for confirming
LikeLike
I haven’t read any of these, but I’ve heard good things about Ex Libris and Howards End is On the Landing. Somehow I rarely take time out from reading books, to read about reading books …
LikeLike
I see your point, though sometimes reading books about reading books makes me better appreciate the books I read
LikeLiked by 1 person
I thought Ex Libris was on the mandatory reading list for book lovers? Definitely recommended!
LikeLike
Mandatory list it is! lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
You won’t miss too much if you skip The Yellow-Lighted Book Shop though it is short and I did enjoy it. https://keepthewisdom.blogspot.com/2006/12/yellow-lighted-bookshop.html
LikeLike
Thanks. Then, I’ll skip it, I really need to clean up that list!!
LikeLike
This is terrible work to deside on a book judging on it only by its synopsis, as I have not read them. So I am not help here)))
LikeLike
That’s true, and I should actually keep this wise advice for myself when I decide to read a book or not
LikeLike