why haven’t i read these books yet?? 🤔 the reluctant tbr tag

[@joelharris4399]

when you realize you have a book-buying problem 🙃. Struggles of slowing down in a fast-paced culture are real. I feel you

[@casskrug]

it’s so tough!! really trying to be more mindful of it and just focus on what i already have

[@joelharris4399]

@@casskrug 🙏 You gonna be aite 🙃.

[@katiekojali7872]

I definitely recommend getting back to bell hook's book when your mood is better suited to it. I took a while to read it and it's definitely one of the best books I've read this year! I can totally see how it might not land with you immediately based on personal circumstances, etc. You can also skip around and read the essays out of order, maybe starting with one that sounds like it will appeal to you the most. For me, it was one of those books that I felt deserved my full attention. I wound up feeling really hopeful and optimistic after finishing it!

[@casskrug]

oooh i never think to skip around in an essay collection!! i also feel like it deserves my full attention which is why i didn’t want to force myself to read it if i wasn’t feeling it. i am so glad you enjoyed it and i hope i have the same experience when i return to it!!

[@JennyFernBooks]

Your intro is exactly how I feel about my tbr! I also pull out smaller groups every once and a while to pick from because the whole wall of books can be overwhelming! Also so happy you chose to do the tag 🎉 😊

[@casskrug]

thank you for tagging me!! 💕

[@literarylayer]

I love Pachinko and rereading it in winter. It’s not difficult to keep up with the characters but toward the end she adds too many random characters. Not remembering the randoms won’t affect the reading experience though.

[@casskrug]

i’m thinking i’ll pick it up in the winter!!

[@BookishAdventuresInWellbeing]

Really enjoyed that. I feel the same about Pachinko! I’d love to give this tag a go. ♥️

[@casskrug]

consider yourself tagged!!

[@unclarable]

oh man i've been intimidated by pachinko too, she's been collecting dust on my tbr shelf for so long!!

[@casskrug]

i feel like it might be a great book to settle in and cozy up with this winter 🤨

[@chaoscentralbooks]

i agree that pachinko does look intimidating, but it is really engaging!!

[@casskrug]

i need to get over myself and just do it!!

[@chaoscentralbooks]

also the amount of times i was mentioned in this video, girl you’re like obsessed with me 🤭

[@kaalthoff]

Funny story, I bought I Was Told There'd Be Cake back in 2008 when it was released, read about 2 essays, and then accidentally left it on the bench on the train platform after work. I've been reluctant to pick it back up ever since, I think partially from that experience and partially because what I did read didn't impress me all that much. If you do read it I'd love to hear your experience with it! I loved Grief is for People. Middlesex: I think you should give it a try! It's been a long time since I read it, but I loved it. I read The Marriage Plot after and did not like it, so I don't think it's the best indicator of his work.

[@casskrug]

omg RIP to your copy of the sloane crosley 😭 i loved grief is for people too so i’m keeping an open mind!! everyone seems to be saying middlesex is worth it so i’m definitely swayed

[@kiranreader]

such a fan tag!! i also recently got will & testament lol

[@casskrug]

you should do the tagggggg

[@thelefthandedreader6632]

I actually liked Long live The Post Horn better than Will and Testament. But it’s a weird but darling one. Oh Iris Murdoch…how much I adored her books and now I can’t seem to find one that I can get back into….yet!

[@nina-2213]

I actually really liked burnt sugar! Would recommend reading it. Also I would love to read the second sex sometimes, but yeah such a big book, probably will take quite some time

[@casskrug]

pulling it off my shelf has definitely made me want to get to burnt sugar sooner rather than later!! i think the second sex would have to be like, a year long project hahaha

[@RovingReader]

I just requested the last book from Netgalley! Thank you :)

[@casskrug]

i’m literally knocking on netgalley’s door begging for it

[@RovingReader]

@@casskrug haha!

[@chaoscentralbooks]

LMAO NOT YOU OUTING MY HATER ERA

[@chelseabalderston758]

Currently listening to Middlesex on audiobook after having owned a hardcopy of it for years, and it's been an incredibly enjoyable experience. The narrator is phenomenal! I think it adds to the story, but I also think reading it would be an enjoyable experience. Personally, I like it a lot more than The Virgin Suicides! Also, the audiobook is funny because it was clearly recorded pre-Audible because it says things like, "This is the end of disc one" haha

[@casskrug]

i’m glad you’re loving it!! not a huge audiobook girlie but maybe that’s how i should approach this one 🤨 and omg that’s hilarious - would take me right out of the story!!

[@dqan7372]

Heard high praise for Burnt Sugar just this week (Booker related).

[@casskrug]

looks like i’m actually going to be prioritizing it in october!! i’m excited for it!!

[@chaoscentralbooks]

re: our diverging reading tastes - i think that’s fair HAHA although i feel like we’ve always had fairly different interests (our ottessa moshfegh experiences come to mind lol). i feel like you do more research on books beforehand and are also more patient with your reading. i am both impulsive and impatient, hence the hating LOL. with the sloane crosley essay collection, though, i don’t know if you’ll get something else out of it. i enjoyed two of her other works, but both of them were more recent publications. so maybe it’s a me thing, or maybe she’s gotten better over time. either way, looking forward to your thoughts 🫡

[@casskrug]

this is so true, one thing about me i’m gonna judge a book by its synopsis LMAO. i feel like your tastes are broader than mine and you’re willing to give a book a chance at least, even if it’s something different. i forgot about our ottessa moshfegh experiences 😭

[@hillaryberg6771]

I loved Middlesex and read it twice (2nd time for a Psychology of Gender class), I bought the Marriage Plot when it came out, but avoided it because I don’t think it could live up to Middlesex!

[@casskrug]

have you read the virgin suicides?? i’d def go with that one over the marriage plot haha

[@hillaryberg6771]

@@casskrug yep, read Virgin suicides, but I had already seen the movie, so I think they blend in my head. Love Middlesex more!

[@grreeeeee]

read the sea, the sea!

[@grreeeeee]

she rips him a new one!

[@casskrug]

i am actually cracking up at this… maybe you’ve convinced me 🤨

[@chaoscentralbooks]

we should buddy read will and testament 🤭

[@chaoscentralbooks]

or is mother dead, i impulsively bought them both lol

[@casskrug]

i am down for this but i need some separation from if only first HAHAHAHA

[@jellyphishin7001]

I thought Middlesex was great, it is a family saga, but there aren't too many characters to follow. If you're really interested in the trans aspect of the book you might be a little disappointed in how much of it there actually is, the main character isn't even born until like halfway through. I'm not much of a rereader, but i can definitely​see myself picking it back up after a while. Marriage story and Virgin suicides are both on my tbr shelf atm

[@casskrug]

interesting!! i’m definitely curious to see how eugenides handles it given when the book was written. definitely recommend the virgin suicides over the marriage plot!!

[@booksandsarcasm4713]

Would love to know what books/stories you would prioritize for someone interested in Clarice Lispector. A little intimidated but hopeful I will like her work!

[@casskrug]

an apprenticeship or the book of pleasures is my absolute favorite of hers!! followed by agua viva and near to the wild heart. i think agua viva is a great primer on the ideas that show up in her work a lot because it’s truly just stream of consciousness ideas, no plot. the other two have a tiny bit more plot in them and i underlined so many sentences in all of them

[@booksandsarcasm4713]

@@casskrug thank you!!!

[@ameliareads589]

Would you maybe be interested in a buddy read for Burnt Sugar?

[@casskrug]

definitely!! if you wanted to read it soon i’d be happy to bump it up on my priorities - just shoot me a DM on instagram!!

[@ameliareads589]

@@casskrug tried to invite you to a buddy read on StoryGraph, but I think you don't allow that in your set ups?

[@casskrug]

@@ameliareads589 just updated that setting!! i didn’t even realize that was a thing hahaha

[@ameliareads589]

@@casskrug Invite sent. I also added some infos in the description and started a chat in the comments.

[@kyliemaslen5969]

yoooo please google lionel shriver before you read YOU NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN she is like wizard lady bad (aka an actual fascist)

[@casskrug]

YIKES thank you for letting me know i genuinely had no idea 😬 that one will remain unread lmao

[@bregowego]

currently making my way through clarice lispector complete stories 🫠 my hardcover library copy is so heavy it could be a weapon

[@casskrug]

omg i’ve never seen a hardcover edition of it, sounds like a BRICK

[@nathansnook]

omg when you help up Second Sex, i was like, that's doable, until you turned it around.. 🫠🫠🫠 re: Eugenides -- I enjoyed Middlesex a lot more than The Marriage Plot and i think Eugenides really writes the family saga beautifully, honoring every character! held off of it for so long bc i could not stand the cover so totally understandable if you don't end up getting to it 😭

[@casskrug]

it’s a BEAST!! holding off because of the cover design is so real lmaooo