Go to your Goodreads to-read shelf.

  Order on ascending date added.

  Take the first 5 (or 10 (or even more!) if you’re feeling adventurous) books. Of course, if you do this weekly, you start where you left off the last time.

  Read the synopses of the books

  Decide: keep it or should it go?

This weeks edition of Down the TBR hole has quite an eclectic choice of books that I’ve been meaning to get to for far too long. One of the things I love about these posts is they bring books that I’d almost forgotton I wanted to read. What was the first book on your Goodreads TBR, and do you remember adding it?

It was no secret that journalist Jack Sparks had been researching the occult for his new book. No stranger to controversy, he’d already triggered a furious Twitter storm by mocking an exorcism he witnessed.

Then there was that video: forty seconds of chilling footage that Jack repeatedly claimed was not of his making, yet was posted from his own YouTube account.

Nobody knew what happened to Jack in the days that followed – until now.

Now this one I remember adding! It sounds super interesting, if not a bit quirky, and the premise had me intrigued off the bat. It’s still something I can imagine myself liking. My decision: Keep

In Soviet Russia, a triple murder in Moscow amusement centre, Gorky Park, leaves three corpses frozen in the snow. But when Senior Investigator in the Moscow Prosecutor’s Office Arkady Renko arrives, he finds that the brutal murder leaves the victims unidentifiable with faces and fingers missing. Renko must battle political and corporate corruption internationally, from the USSR to the USA, to uncover the truth – and he must fight for his own life in doing so. Meanwhile, he is falling in love with a beautiful, headstrong dissident for whom he may risk everything.

My dad actually recommended this one to me, and it definitely sounds interesting. The reviews are mostly positive and I’ve heard its got plenty of twists and turns. My decision: Keep

Ten-year-old Abdullah would do anything for his younger sister. In a life of poverty and struggle, with no mother to care for them, Pari is the only person who brings Abdullah happiness. For her, he will trade his only pair of shoes to give her a feather for her treasured collection. When their father sets off with Pari across the desert to Kabul in search of work, Abdullah is determined not to be separated from her. Neither brother nor sister know what this fateful journey will bring them.

I adored The Kite Runner, even if I mostly cried whilst reading it. One book was all it took to make me a fan of Hosseini’s writing, and I will definitely be picking this book up in the future. My decision: Keep

Merricat Blackwood lives on the family estate with her sister Constance and her uncle Julian. Not long ago there were seven Blackwoods – until a fatal dose of arsenic found its way into the sugar bowl one terrible night. Acquitted of the murders, Constance has returned home, where Merricat protects her from the curiosity and hostility of the villagers. Their days pass in happy isolation until cousin Charles appears. Only Merricat can see the danger, and she must act swiftly to keep Constance from his grasp. 

I’m pretty sure I got this from a Kindle daily deal, but that doesn’t make me any less inclined to want to read it. The premise sounds really creepy, and I’ve seen some raving reviews. My decision: Keep

Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.

In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.

When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.

As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding.

I love a good thriller, and this one has all the premise of one. The reviews seem overwhelmingly positive and I remember being really interested in this when I added it. My decision: Keep

Well! That either went really well or badly depending on how you look at it. I didn’t manage to knock any books off my TBR, but I did manage to dig out some books I bought ages ago that I forgot about. Have you read any of these? Let me know your thoughts.