Down the TBR Hole #9

TBRHole

This is a meme started by Lia at Lost in a Story. The “rules” are:

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?

I’m modifying this a little since my to-read shelf is a mess of books that are mostly in storage. Instead, I’m going to look at my wishlist—all those books I add on a whim during my travels around the book blogging community—and weed out the ones that don’t quite sound as good now. The “keepers” I’m going to look for at online libraries or add to my Amazon wishlist.

	When Ladies Go A-Thieving: Middle-Class Shoplifters in the Victorian Department Store by Elaine S. Abelson A look at the consumerism and the rise of the department store through the lens of petty crime? Yes, please. KEEP!
	The Toughest Show on Earth: My Rise and Reign at the Metropolitan Opera by Joseph Volpe This falls into the nonfiction category of “Things I Know Nothing About, but Sound Really Interesting.” Plus, I’m fascinated by the amount of work that goes into entertainment. KEEP.
	The Blackheath Séance Parlour by Alan Williams This sort of sounds like a spiritualism/parody/Sweeney Todd-ish mashup. I can see why I put it on my list back in 2013, but I’m ambivalent now. GO.
	Trip of the Tongue: Cross-Country Travels in Search of America’s Languages by Elizabeth Little I like reading about American dialects, but in the case of this book, I’m going to let the reviews sway me. It sounds, maybe, not focused enough. GO.
	Kindly Inquisitors: The New Attacks on Free Thought by Jonathan Rauch I was thinking that this book was more of general treatise on skepticism, but it’s focused on the 1st Amendment. Doesn’t matter; I still want to read it. There is a new edition coming out soon, maybe I’ll grab it on its rerelease. KEEP.