Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) – Down the TBR Hole #38

Posted September 14, 2019 by Lisa Mandina in CUTBR, giveaway / 12 Comments

This meme was started by Lost in a Story.  Here is how it works:

  • Go to your goodreads to-read shelf.
  • Order on ascending date added.
  • Take the first 5 (or 10 if you’re feeling adventurous) books
  • Read the synopses of the books
  • Decide: keep it or should it go?

Because I have so many to do, I’m going to try to do this weekly, and do 10 at a time. 

1.   Breathe by Sarah Crossan:

The world has no air.
If you want to survive, you pay to breathe. But what if you can’t? And
what if you think everything could be different? Three teens will leave
everything they know behind in Sarah Crossan’s gripping and original
dystopian teen novel of danger, longing, and glimmering hope.

Ever
since the Switch, when the oxygen levels plummeted and most of humanity
died, the survivors have been protected in glass domes full of
manufactured air. Protected . . . or trapped? Or controlled? Alina’s a
revolutionary who believes we can save the environment. Quinn’s a
Premium who’s never had to worry about having enough air. His best
friend, Bea, is an Auxiliary who’s never worried about anything but
having enough air. When the three cross paths, they will change
everything.

 

My thoughts:
I still feel like this one sounds like a good story.  I feel like I need to keep it on my list just in case.

Verdict: Keep

2.  Banished by Sophie Littlefield:

There isn’t much worth
living for in Gypsum, Missouri—or Trashtown, as the rich kids call the
run-down neighborhood where sixteen-year-old Hailey Tarbell lives.
Hailey figures she’ll never belong—not with the popular kids at school,
not with the rejects, not even with her cruel, sickly grandmother, who
deals drugs out of their basement. Hailey never knew her dead mother,
and she has no idea who her father was, but at least she has her
four-year-old foster brother, Chub. Once she turns eighteen, Hailey
plans to take Chub far from Gypsum and start a new life where no one can
find them.

But when a classmate is injured in gym class, Hailey
discovers a gift for healing that she never knew she possessed—and that
she cannot ignore. Not only can she heal, she can bring the dying back
to life. Confused by her powers, Hailey searches for answers but finds
only more questions, until a mysterious visitor shows up at Gram’s
house, claiming to be Hailey’s aunt Prairie.

There are people
who will stop at nothing to keep Hailey in Trashtown, living out a
legacy of despair and suffering. But when Prairie saves both Hailey and
Chub from armed attackers who invade Gram’s house in the middle of the
night, Hailey must decide where to place her trust. Will Prairie’s past,
and the long-buried secret that caused her to leave Gypsum years
earlier, ruin them all? Because as Hailey will soon find out, their
power to heal is just the beginning.

This gripping novel from
thriller writer Sophie Littlefield blazes a trail from small-town
Missouri to the big city as Hailey battles an evil greater than she ever
imagined, while discovering strengths she never knew she had.

My thoughts
I want to keep this one on my list because I like the author and it is set in Missouri, my home state. But, don’t know that it sounds like one I really am interested in anymore.

Verdict: Toss 

3.  The Third Gate by Lincoln Child:

Under the direction of
famed explorer Porter Stone, an archaeological team is secretly
attempting to locate the tomb of an ancient pharaoh who was unlike any
other in history. Stone believes he has found the burial chamber of King
Narmer, the near mythical god- king who united upper and lower Egypt in
3200 B.C., and the archaeologist has reason to believe that the
greatest prize of all—Narmer’s crown—might be buried with him. No crown
of an Egyptian king has ever been discovered, and Narmer’s is the
elusive “double” crown of the two Egypts, supposedly pos­sessed of
awesome powers.

The dig itself is located in one of the most
forbidding places on earth—the Sudd, a nearly  impassable swamp in
north­ern Sudan. Amid the nightmarish, disorienting tangle of mud and
dead vegetation, a series of harrowing and inexpli­cable occurrences are
causing people on the expedition to fear a centuries- old curse. With a
monumental discovery in reach, Professor Jeremy Logan is brought onto
the project to investigate. What he finds will raise new questions . . .
and alarm.

In the hands of master storyteller Lincoln Child, The Third Gate breaks new ground and introduces a fascinating new protagonist to the thriller world.

 

My thoughts:  
I’ve read the first two in the series, and if this was a final concluding book I might keep it, but it looks like this series goes on for several more books, and it’s not something I’m really reading anymore.

Verdict: Toss

4.  Life Happens Next by Terry Trueman:

Stuck in Neutral,
a Printz Honor Book, introduced the world to Shawn McDaniel, a
fourteen-year-old kid with cerebral palsy. But what happens next?

Shawn’s
got a new perspective on life. But no one has a clue. That’s because
they can see only his wheelchair, his limp body, his drool. What they
don’t see? His brain, with perfect auditory memory. And his heart, which
is in love with a girl. And his fierce belief that someday someone will
realize there’s way more to him than his appearance.

How do you connect with others when you can’t talk, walk, or even wave hello? In the sequel to Stuck in Neutral, which ALA Booklist
called “an intense reading experience,” Shawn McDaniel discovers a new
definition of “normal” and finds that life happens next for everyone.

My thoughts:  So, I really liked the first book, Stuck in Neutral, and I really think I need to read this one as well.

Verdict:  Keep

5.   The Turning by Francine Prose:

A dark house.
An isolated island.
Strange dreams
and even stranger
visions . . .

Jack
is spending the summer on a private island far from modern
conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a
housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first
time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses
something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

Soon,
he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house
has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But
why doesn’t anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets
are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to
maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn’t crazy. .
. . Or is he?

From nationally acclaimed author Francine Prose
comes a mind-bending story that will leave you realizing how subtle the
lines that separate reality, imagination, and insanity really are.

My thoughts:
Sounds like a movie I’ve seen?  Don’t know when I’ll get to it though. 

Verdict:  Toss

6.  Cycles by Lois D. Brown:

When Renee discovers
that her neighbor, Dr. Dawson, has bags of his dead daughter’s frozen
blood stored in his basement, she decides it’s up to her to uncover the
doctor’s mysterious past. What she learns, however, is not what she
expects. Now she and her friend Sam Miller are on the run, hiding from
scientists who want to use what the two teenagers know to change human
life forever.

My thoughts:
Sounds interesting, but probably not one I’m going to get to.

Verdict: Toss

7.  Bayou Myth by Mary Ann Loesch:

As a sixteen year old
voodoo queen in the making, Joan Renault just wants to be like all the
other girls in the small town of Monte Parish, Louisiana—obsessed with
boys and swamped with social lives. If the other kids would quit calling
her “hoodoo hag,” she might have a small shot at normality. It would
also help if Joan’s weekend outings with her secret crush, Dave, weren’t
always being interrupted by her dead Grandmere, the legendary Marie
Laveau. After all, it’s hard to make out with your best friend when your
grandmother is watching! But when you come from a long line of voodoo
priestesses with dried gator heads decorating the wall of their huts,
normal doesn’t come easily.

When Joan witnesses the brutal
sacrifice of a child to a tree Druid, she learns her Grandmere’s
scandalous past has come back to haunt those living in the present.
Hera, a vengeful voodoo priestess is determined to use the residual
energy of Pandora’s Box to revive a sleeping voodoo god and declare war
on the descendants of Marie Laveau, especially Joan. Suddenly, Greek
myths are being re-enacted all over town, and Joan has her hands full
trying to sort it all out. With the approach of Samedi’s Day—the voodoo
day of resurrection—Joan must learn to accept her destiny in order to
stop the approaching threat to her family and friends.

My thoughts:  
I’m really, really intrigued by all things to do with voodoo, especially after having visited New Orleans several times.  So maybe I’ll keep this one for a while?

Verdict:  Keep – for now

 8.  Dead Things by Matt Darst:

Nearly two decades have
passed since the fall of the United States. And the rise of the church
to fill the void. Nearly twenty years since Ian Sumner lost his father.
And the dead took to the streets to dine on the living. Now Ian and a
lost band of survivors are trapped in the wilderness, miles from safety.
Pursued by madmen and monsters, they unravel the secrets of the plague
…and walk the line of heresy. Ian and this troop need to do more than
just survive. More than ever, they must learn to live.

My thoughts:
Eh, kind of good, but not anything new really. 

Verdict:  Toss

9.  Science Ink:  Tattoos of the Science Obsessed by Carl Zimmer:

Body art meets popular
science in this elegant, mind-blowing collection, written by renowned
science writer Carl Zimmer. This fascinating book showcases hundreds of
eye-catching tattoos that pay tribute to various scientific disciplines,
from evolutionary biology and neuroscience to mathematics and
astrophysics, and reveals the stories of the individuals who chose to
inscribe their obsessions in their skin. Best of all, each tattoo
provides a leaping-off point for bestselling essayist and lecturer
Zimmer to reflect on the science in question, whether it’s the
importance of an image of Darwin’s finches or the significance of the
uranium atom inked into the chest of a young radiologist.

 

My thoughts:
As cool as this still sounds, I don’t know that it’s one I’ll ever get around to reading or even just looking at the pictures.  Gah, the synopsis makes it sound so good though!

Verdict: Keep – for now

10.  The Big Bang Theory and Philosophy by Dean A. Kowalski:

A lighthearted meditation on the philosophical quandaries of the hit television show The Big Bang Theory

Ever
wonder what Aristotle might say about the life Sheldon Cooper leads?
Why Thomas Hobbes would applaud the roommate agreement? Who Immanuel
Kant would treat with “haughty derision” for weaving “un-unravelable
webs?” And—most importantly—whether Wil Wheaton is truly evil? Of course you have. Bazinga!

This
book mines the deep thinking of some of history’s most potent
philosophical minds to explore your most pressing questions about The Big Bang Theory
and its nerdy genius characters. You might find other philosophy books
on science and cosmology, but only this one refers to Darth Vader
Force-chokes, cloning Leonard Nimoy, and oompa-loompa-like engineers.
Fo-shizzle.

Gives you irresistibly geek-worthy insights on your favorite Big Bang Theory characters, story lines, and ideas
Examines important themes involving ethics and virtue, science, semiotics, religion, and the human condition
Brings the thinking of some of the world’s greatest philosophers to bear on The Big Bang Theory, from Aristotle and Plato to Nietzsche, Wittgenstein, Simone de Beauvoir, and more
Essential reading for every Big Bang Theory fan, this book
explores whether comic-book-wielding geeks can lead the good life, and
whether they can know enough science to “tear the mask off nature and
stare at the face of God.”

My thoughts:
As I’ve mentioned before, I love these things, but these days I just don’t have the time to read them like I’d like to.

Verdict: Toss

Final Thoughts:
Not as good as last week, keeping four instead of three. 

Once again you can see that I may have dropped some, but you can also see how many I’ve added during the week as well because I’m also pointing out how many books are on my Want to Read list on Goodreads each week.  This week, after taking these 7 off, I have 3,149 books listed now, and last week I ended with 3,156.  So I improved!  A tiny bit.

Have
you read any
of these?  Would you suggest I keep any I’m tossing?  And if you’re
inspired to do this on your blog, please feel free to join in and share a
link in the comments, since it will also get you an extra
entry into my giveaway at
the bottom of this post.    
 

 

Giveaway:
Once
again this is a US only giveaway, unless you are International and see a
book here you really want and would be willing to pay for the
difference in the shipping through Paypal or some other way.  You get to pick any two books from the pictures
below, as
long as they don’t get traded away, or picked by last week’s winner,
and I will pick a surprise book from the piles to add to your choice. 
As I mentioned above, unpacking is finding a lot of books to get rid of, so you have even more to pick from this week!  Here are your choices:
 
 
 

2018 ARCs:

2017 ARCs:

I’m continuing to add in my early 2019 ARCs now.  You can pick one of your two choices from the picture below, the other book you pick needs to come from the pictures above.  

And here are the older ones I’ve cleaned out as I unpack:

2010-2013 ARCs:

2014 ARCs:

2015-2016 ARCs:

Once again I’m going to let you pick two, along with me throwing in a surprise third book!  Just enter the Rafflecopter below.   Disclaimer:  Unfortunately, while I’ve only had it happen once, I’m going to have to make a statement like other giveaways I’ve seen on blogs that I am not responsible for lost mail.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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12 responses to “Cleaning Up My TBR With a Giveaway (US Only) – Down the TBR Hole #38

  1. I'm a fan of The Big Bang Theory and didn't know about this book. I think I'll see if my library has it. I know my family would love it too. I still see ARCs I want to read but missed out on, so thank you for sharing with us!

  2. I have Breathe on my tbr pile too. Haven't sorted though that one yet. Try not to think of it as not 'doing as well" when you don't toss as many. Just means you got some good books on your shelves. Glad you're keeping up with the cleaning.

    Sharrice @Reese's Reviews

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