Hi everyone! I hope you are finding some down time as we wrap up. I was kind of inspired by different social media platforms who were doing similar videos or posts about “un-hauling” or getting rid of books to make room for others. Also many others were talking about books they initially liked but, as time passed, realized they didn’t like them as much any more. I thought to myself “I’ve had this blog long enough and have read enough books that I can participate in this too.” For starters, I got rid of a bunch of young adult/middle grade books that I held on for nostalgia sake. Maybe you’ll be inspired to get rid of some books for the new years (I know, it can be difficult but you can do it!) Note: I am not saying don’t read these books. I am just saying that I don’t think they should be prioritized on your TBR List.

• The Uglies Series by Scott Westerfield – I loved this series in middle school but, as an adult, I realize the entire premise of these books are pretty problematic. It involves people having to get plastic surgery in order to be accepted by society and all of the characters are just weirdly okay with it. This is also the first example of a man who doesn’t know how to write a female character, especially a teen girl. It didn’t age well and there are plenty of better YA dystopian series out there.
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline – I initially praised this book for being a fun, nerdy adventure. What I didn’t think about until later is how offensive this book really is. Ernest Cline does not understand how to write women as the few female characters that very one dimensional. The protagonist is kind of a know-it-all who gets a girl just by basically complimenting her once. I heard that the sequel was bad too. Don’t be too bothered if you’ve never read this one.
• the sun and her flowers and milk and honey by Rupi Kaur – This isn’t me saying that Rupi Kaur is a bad poet necessarily as poetry is a pretty subjective form of writing. I do blame her for kicking off the “instagram poetry” trend. As someone who isn’t inherently a poetry fan, I appreciated her brevity. I do think, though, that we should embrace longer poetry. I also found her poems to be a little redundant at times.
• The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger – I read this book for the first time in college actually. Maybe I would have liked this more as a teenager but it didn’t resonate with me as an adult. I found Holden Caulfield to be just insufferable as a character. It’s a short novel but it somehow feels way too long.
• A Touch of Darkness by Scarlett St. Claire – I was initially incredibly excited to read this Hades and Persephone romance, but I got about five chapters in before hating this book. The writing is very juvenile and there were so many typos. I thought the world building was just too weird. All of the characters had horns for some reason. I just knew it wasn’t for me. I haven’t entirely given up on Ms. St Clair, though, as I do have A Game of Retribution on my TBR list. Just read Neon Gods instead.
• The Children of Blood and Bone and The Children of Vengeance and Virtue by Tomi Adeyemi – I still really enjoyed the first book in this series and didn’t enjoy the second. As far as I know, there haven’t been any updates on if there is going to a be a third book. Also, like I said, I am moving away from YA novels.
• The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake – This was a case of me buying into the hype of a book I heard of through Tik Tok. I was sadly let down. It was definitely a case of style over substance in the writing. I know the second novel in this series came out but I think I’ll be okay not reading it.
• The Betrayals by Bridget Collins – Yet another disappointing dark academia novel. I don’t want to give up on Bridget Collins because I did like the writing. The book just felt entirely too anticlimactic to me.
• The Midnight Library by Matt Haig – I realized entirely too late that this was just an over glorified self – help book. I think the premise isn’t terrible, but Haig just completely disregards how complex mental illness can be. There’s definitely better representations of mental health out there.
• The Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs – I am definitely still going to recommend this book series if you want a darker YA series. I just simply lost interest in this series.
• Nick by Michael Farris Smith – I love The Great Gatsby and was so excited for this prequel. Unfortunately, I was let down. Just go read The Great Gatsby.
• In the Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware – I couldn’t tell you what happened in this book without having to look it up. One of my more unmemorable reads; an airport book through and through.
• The Host by Stephanie Meyer – I am not ashamed to admit that I was a big Twilight fan back in the day. Naturally, I had to read this sci-fi novel by her. While it’s definitely written better than any of the Twilight books, it is still not that great. The bar for Stephanie Meyer is in the core of the earth.
• The Bird Box by Josh Mallerman – This was a pretty underwhelming book despite having such a unique premise. I have no intention of revisiting this book any time soon.

I’ll be posting my annual favorites list soon! Be on the lookout for that!