I Should Have Read That Book Tag

Hello friends! I think as readers we can all relate to the problem of having a massive to-read pile that more often than not contains many, and I mean MANY, books we should have read ages ago. Our reasons for saying “damn, I should have read that” can vary – friends recommended it, we’ve owned it for a while, or we’ve wanted to read it for a loong time – but no matter why we want to read these books, they do have something in common – the shame is real.

Which is why Clare and I decided to do the ‘I Should Have Read That Book Tag’ (created by Beth @ Books Nest) today, and share this terrible burden, this never ending shame with you, our dear readers.

(1) a book that a certain friend is always telling you to read

Vera: Initially, I struggled with this question, because I tend to be the one doing the recommending, while my friends patiently listen to my ramblings. 😂 But then I remembered that our third co-blogger, Ruzi, has been very vocal about making me read some of her favorites – most recently Ayesha At Last by Uzma Jalaluddin, for which you can find her review here.

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Clare: Oh this is easy because Vera keeps telling me to read Alyssa Cole and I know I want to but somehow never get around to it. I even own some of her books and they just sat there judging me from their spot on my TBR shelves. Much like Vera though my friends tend to be the ones bombarded with recommendations rather than the other way around!

(2) a book that’s been on your TBR forever and yet you still haven’t picked it up

Vera: I went to goodreads to get the correct answer – before that I didn’t really track my to-read list, only what I had read already – and it’s The Bell Jar by Slyvia Plath. Sadly, I really have no excuse – I’ve owned it for years, plus it’s a very short book, I should definitely get to it soon.

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Clare: According to goodreads the oldest book on my TBR that I actually own is Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout. It’s a retelling in a loose sense of the world and she is an author whose work I usually love so I’m really not sure what is taking me so long on this one.

(3) a book in a series you’ve started, but haven’t gotten round to finishing yet

Vera: I’ve been really good at finishing series recently (the ones I don’t intentionally abandon, because they are shit, that is), but still, there are some I haven’t finished but want to. Most notable is Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater, which is the fourth novel, a sort of spin-off, in the Wolves of Mercy Falls; a series I used to love when I was a teenager. I definitely lost most of my love for Stiefvater since then, so it’s hard to say if I’ll ever get to this, but I do own it, and I plan to… one day… maybe? 😂

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Clare: Ooh this is an interesting one because I tend to try and marathon series. But I still haven’t finished the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas. I honestly just kind of lost interest about halfway through the series – my sister has constantly told me about how much she loves those books so I probably should go back to them but like… can I really be bothered?

(4) a classic you’ve always liked the sound of, but never actually read

Vera: Very shameful secret of mine, but despite loving Pride and Prejudice, and enjoying Mansfield Park, I still haven’t read Austen’s other four novels… even though I own them all, as well as some of her short stories. 🙈

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Clare: I read a lot of classics growing up because that’s just what we had in the house so I honestly cant think of any I wanted to read but haven’t. But I’ve never managed to read War and Peace. I wanted to, just to say that I had, but the writing just wasn’t for me.

(5) a popular book that it seems everyone but you has read

Vera: Ruta Sepetys’ works – I own all three of her published novels, and even though I’m genuinely looking forward to them, I never seem to actually want to read them!? At this point it really does feel like everyone has read them in and out of the community, including my mom who absolutely loves them all.

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Clare: I asked my sister for help here because I couldn’t think of anything and she said “I don’t know, you jump on bandwagons”. Which yes I absolutely do. I basically can’t stop myself from picking up anything popular if only to see what the hype was for. But I checked goodreads and got Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins. It was super popular when I was a teenager and yet I’ve never gotten around to reading it for one reason or another.

(6) a book that inspired a film/TV adaptation that you really love, but you just haven’t read it yet

Vera: I freaking adored It: Chapter I, and I have high hopes for the second movie… but I haven’t read, nor think I’ll ever read the book. *hides* I’ve tried four different works by Stephen King, and I have to say I’m a bit underwhelmed so far.

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Clare: I’m usually strict with myself about reading the book first. But I watched The Meg as soon as it came out because giant sharks are extremely on brand for me and I didn’t even know it was a book. I have now bought it at least and will read it. Someday.

(7) a book you see all over Instagram but haven’t picked up yet

Vera: Oh man, this was a hard one, because I see so many books on instagram, and somehow never concentrate on how many times a book pops up on my feed. I’ll have to go with Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor, which is tentatively on my wishlist at the moment – I’m very unsure if the duology is for me.

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Clare: Oh hi it’s me girl-who-doesn’t-use-Instagram. I technically have an account but haven’t used it in well over a year. So instead a pretty book from my TBR is Girls of Paper and Fire which I massively anticipated, bought immediately and yet still haven’t read. I also wouldn’t be surprised if its much instagrammed.

LET’S CHAT!

Have you read any of the books we mentioned? Are we missing out, or should we drop them like hot potato? What book(s) should you have read??