Hello friends!

How are you doing? I hope you’re peachy!

It has been a few months since I’ve talked to you about my 30 Oldest Books on my TBR List, so I thought I would give you an update on how that is going.

To give you some context if you’re new here: I’ve been pilling up books from my TBR for a very long time, and I have noticed my oldest books don’t get a lot of attention in comparison to my newer books. So I decided to create this list to start tackling some of these books that have been on my TBR for the longest.

I’ve read a few of them already, and I want to tell you all about it! I think this strategy is working because I ended up reading 5 books/series (10 books in total) from the list. Now that’s what I call progress, my friends!

So without further ado, let’s review the books together. Here’s a quick overview of all 30 books, from oldest to newest:

Is it just me, or those “DONE” tags are very satisfying? As you can see, I finished 5 books/series from the list, and I removed one book – I’ll tell you all about it in a second. Just a small note for the books that are part of a series: I only marked the books with “DONE” if I have read the entire series. Meaning, that I didn’t only read 5 books, I ended up reading 10 books in total. That’s crazy!

Ok, let me tell you all about the books/series that I touched!

I’ve read these books/series in the last few months. I can’t believe I’ve read so many so far! I’m more motivated to keep reading. Let’s take a closer look!

1. Anna and the French Kiss series by Stephanie Perkins

The oldest from the book I have read from the list! Although I’m a little late to the party, I ended up enjoying this series for what it was. The first book (“Anna and the French Kiss“) was my favorite, then the second one (“Lola and the Boy Next Door”), and the third one (“Isla and the Happily Ever After”) was my least favorite. I completely understand the hype around these books now, especially for the first one. It was sweet and the perfect way to start reading YA romance. I’m glad I finally read this series and now I understand why it was so popular!

2. Divergent series by Veronica Roth

So this is the series I removed from my list. No, I haven’t read it, in case you’re wondering. In fact, I decided to remove it altogether from my TBR for a very simple reason: I just don’t want to read it anymore. When I first added it to my TBR a few years ago, I was really into YA dystopian series so I started adding the most popular series to my TBR. And even though I have the other popular series on my shelves, this one sounds very boring. I don’t want to waste time on books I’m not interested in reading, so I decided to remove it from my TBR altogether. Sayonara “Divergent”!

3. Sea Witch series by Sarah Henning

I also finished reading the “Sea Witch” duology! In case you don’t know what this is about, it is essentially a “Little Mermaid” retelling. The first book is focused on the sea witch, and the second book is more focused on the little mermaid (but the story is told from the sister’s perspective). I mean… it an okay duology? Definitely not my favorite, I think there are better mermaid books out there.

4. November 9 by Colleen Hoover

Another Colleen Hoover book read! I feel like every romance reader has a Colleen Hoover phase at some point in their reading life, and I definitely had mine a few years ago. Even though I have read a lot of her books, this was the one that was constantly being pushed back. Also, a fun fact: I actually started this book before, but I wasn’t feeling it at the time, so I thought I would try again another day. And that day came. One less Colleen Hoover book on my TBR!

5. Entwined by Heather Dixon Wallwork

I’ve had this book on my TBR since I watched a YouTuber raving about how much she loved this book. To be honest, I can’t say I had the same experience. For starters, I’m not the biggest fan of the original “Twelve Dancing Princesses” story, let alone a retelling of the same story. In truth, I found the book a little boring. I didn’t have any expectations anyway, but I wish this was a little more entertaining. I’ve read another retelling of the same story, and it was a little better – check out “House of Salt and Sorrows”, just know this is on the darker side.

6. Skin Books series by Alice Broadway

Probably the most disappointing of the books I’ve read from the list. But I guess that’s on me because I had really high expectations for this series. The concept was very unique and interesting… but the execution fell flat for me. I believe the story had great potential to be the base of an incredible series, but the writing ruined it for me. Either way, I’m glad I finally read it!

I’m very happy I was able to finish so many books (and series) by focusing on this list! I want to continue focusing on my oldest books, so I have updated the list with a few new additions. This means 6 more books/series were added to the list! Here is the new and updated 30 Oldest Books on my TBR List:

Oh, how beautiful it is! The previous 24 books/series are still there, but now 6 more books have been added to the bunch, adding a full new row to my TBR. How exciting! Here are the new books that made the list:

1. Rebel of the Sands trilogy by Alwyn Hamilton

2. I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai

3. Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling

4. The Hazel Wood duology by Melissa Albert

5. Seafire trilogy by Natalie C. Parker

6. The Cheerleaders by Kara Thomas

So basically a few different fantasy series, a memoir, and a thriller were added to the mix! I’ve started the Malala book and Harry Potter series before, but never concluded them. Now that they have been added to the list and have the spotlight, I might finish them this time!

I’m very excited about this strategy because it’s working well for me! I’m happy my older books are getting recognition and attention, and that I’m giving them a fair chance. Definitely recommend doing something like this if this is a struggle for you. Make a game out of it and have fun 🙂

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this post! As usual, I’m always open to book recommendations, so if you have any for me, let me know!

Thank you for reading friends, I’ll see you in the next one!