The TBR I Posted in August

 Hey guys, this is Abi here, 

And today I'll be discussing the last TBR I posted this year: the TBR, where I vowed that I wouldn't be posting another one until all the books on that list have been read. 

Anyway, as this is just the introduction, I won't reveal anything more than that. 

I hope you enjoy my, reality check, of sorts. 

~The TBR I Posted in August~

I'm drawing a line below it. When I posted this list of books. If you still don't know which post I'm talking about, I'll link it here. 

Basically, I thought it would take a matter of weeks, maybe a couple of months at most to finish this pile of books. But, December is a week on Monday, and I still have a significant list of them left to read. 

1. American Gods and Anansi Boys, by Neil Gaiman 

2. The Miniaturist, by Jessie Burton 

3. I Am Pilgrim, by Terry Hayes

4. Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell 

Now, the only ones I feel truly bad about are the Neil Gaiman books, because I was gifted those over a year ago (still going to try and finish those before the end of the year), but I've decided that it's in my best interest to pause that list for now, or maybe, not to push myself to read them, one after another, when I don't want to. 

Most of the time I'll argue that it's worth pushing through a book at the start when 1) you know the book will improve- like if you've read books by said author in the past, and you know the writing style, or 2) you know you'll end up regretting not pursuing said book (like Great Expectations, for example). 

Let me explain. With Great Expectations, I knew the language was going to be difficult. I knew I was going to struggle with it. Yet I read it any way, because I like the story, and wanted to, despite how difficult the language was. Pushing through was what got me through it. It just required a lot of focus and determination on my part. 

That's Great Expectations. But when you feel like that with almost book on that list, and the motivation to carry on with that dwindles rapidly, it's so hard to keep going. 

Which is why I'm drawing a line under it. I don't want to go into December, and possibly even January, reading books I don't have the interest in. I want to read fluffy romances about Christmas, or even, I want to be able to read books I want to read on the spur of the moment, not books on a list I feel obligated to pick up. 

And that's fine. For the rest of the year I'm going to be picking up books on the spur of the moment. Right now I'm re-reading Paula Radcliffe's autobiography, a book I've been thinking of re-reading since she took on the Tokyo and Boston marathons earlier this year. 

I will be posting a loose TBR in December, but I definitely won't be sticking to it 100%. 

Moving on, I wanted to add a brief word about the posting I'll be doing in December. They're your standard December posts: 

1. December TBR (2025)

2. Anticipated Releases for January- March 2026. 

3. Favourite Books of 2025. 

4. Maybe a Christmas tag, if I have time?

5. Yearly Wrap Up (the big whoopang!) 

I know, right? Barely posts three times a month, then decides on 5 at the end of the year? Anybody want to put a bet on that I won't do it? Well, we'll see. 

Okay! That is all that I have for you guys for now, but be on the lookout for my November Wrap Up, coming up some time next week! 

I hope you have a wonderful evening and I'll see you all soon! 

Byeeeeee! 

-Abi xxxxxx