Earl Grey Books

After moving recently, I’ve really been thinking about the books on my shelves and which ones I’ve been avoiding. That bought me here, to this post all about trying to tackle some of my most ‘difficult’ TBR books.

Women Artists: The Linda Nochlin Reader edited by Maura Reilly

This was the book that started this whole idea. I bought this in 2021 and I’ve tried reading it multiple times. It’s a really heavy, awkward-sized book and it physically hurts to read it but I am determined to get through it. I’ve started this (again) and I’m 120 pages in so far which I think is the furthest I’ve ever gotten, but I’m hoping I can keep that up.

The Poppy War

My friend Eli gave me his copies of this series last year when I went to visit him for his birthday. I’m sure most of you know how big this trilogy is and you’ve probably also heard people talk about how amazing but painful it is. I’ve been terrified to read it because of everything I’ve heard but I’ve also been simultaneously desperate to read it. This is, admittedly, further down this list than most of the others—I know I need to carve out some time when I could feasibly read the series in quick succession so I don’t immediately forget everything.

Victoria the Queen by Julia Baird

I had a grand plan to start listening to the audiobook of this in January. I borrowed it from the library, started it and then decided the narrator wasn’t really working for me. So it’s back to picking this one up physically. It’s another big one at around 800 pages so it’ll be a time commitment but I am really interested in it.

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis

I went through a brief phase where I thought I would expand my reading of Gothic literature beyond just Bronte, Shelley and etc. I bought this and The Mysteries of Udolpho—which I read a few months back and thought it was fine. I don’t have the highest of hopes for this one so I want to just get it out of the way before it sits on my shelves for years.

The Last Time We Say Goodbye by Cynthia Hand

This one is very different to everything else on this list. It’s not a particularly long book, but it promises to be an emotionally difficult one. I’ve been avoiding reading it for years because it deals with the aftermath of the protagonist’s brother taking his own life. I know I’m never going to be in the “mood” to read this one but I really want to, so here we are.

So the plan here is not to stress myself out or force myself to read these, but I’d like to make the conscious decision to start them. I know with all of these, if I don’t give myself the time, I just won’t pick them up. I’ll share my progress with these as I go.