What’s on a book blogger’s to-read list? Take a peek at Rachael’s Goodreads TBR list to see what books I have my eye on.
In 2013, I spent a week watching my cousins while my aunt and uncle were on vacation. I vividly remember the youngest girl spouting off a story about spiders, the oldest girl getting a concussion at the driving range, and dowloading an app called Goodreads.
Every since, I have religiously tracked my reading on Goodreads. The first thing I do when I start or finish a book is to update my status on Goodreads. Whenever someone would recommend a book, I’d add it to my to-read list.
Although I still persistently track my reading on Goodreads, my to-read usage has changed over the years. When I started book blogging in 2018, I suddenly came across SO MANY books that it would be too unwieldy to track them all in one list.
This summer, I finally made my way through all the books that I owned but haven’t read. Now I’ve set my sights on my Goodreads TBR. My goal over the next year is to make a massive dent in my list. Some of these poor books have been languishing on the list for far too long.
If you’re curious what books you’ll be seeing reviewed on Booklist Queen, take a peek at my Goodreads TBR. And be sure to let me know which ones I should be reading sooner rather than later.
-Rachael
Pre-Blogging Goodreads TBR
When I was in high school, I received a list of 100 classics you should read in your lifetime. I have no idea where that list is today (though I’ve made my own version on the blog) but it hooked me on reading classics. I spent years trying to check them all off and reading as many classics as possible so I could be considered “well-read.”
From 2013 – 2017, my Goodreads TBR reflects my love of classics. However, mixed in with the classics are lots of nonfiction books recommended by my family and friends. In a nutshell, the history books are always recommendations from my husband and the science books are always from my sister and her husband.
Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
Classic
Added to TBR: December 12, 2013
Amazon | Goodreads
An epic tale of the life of a doctor and his family after the Russian Revolution.
A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: February 6, 2014
Amazon | Goodreads
In 1950s India, Lata and her mother are trying to find a suitable boy for her to marry.
All the King’s Men by Robert Penn Warren
Classic
Added to TBR: February 5, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
The story of a charming populist governor Willie Stark and his political maneuverings in the Deep South during the Depression.
Story of a Soul by St. Therese of Lisieux
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: February 20, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
The memoir of a French nun known for her simplicity toward spiritual life.
Day After Night by Anita Diamant
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: April 23, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
The story of women living at a holding camp for illegal immigrants to Israel after WWII.
The Pearl That Broke Its Shell by Nadia Hashimi
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: October 5, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
The lives of two Afghan women decades apart who both lived their childhoods as boys.
Theodore Rex by Edmund Morris
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: October 12, 2015
Amazon | Goodreads
A biography of Theodore Roosevelt as he becomes President of the United States.
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk
Classic
Added to TBR: January 14, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
An epic family melodrama set against the backdrop of World War II.
Hiroshima by John Hersey
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 24, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
An account of the lives of survivors of the Hiroshima bombing.
The Indifferent Stars Above by Daniel James Brown
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: May 12, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
An account of a woman who journeyed with the Donner Party.
The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
Romance
Added to TBR: May 21, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
A romantic saga of three generations of the Cleary family in Australia.
Endurance by Alfred Lansing
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: July 24, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
The British explorer Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 attempt to reach the South Pole.
The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Van Tilburg Clark
Classic
Added to TBR: July 31, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
A tale of the lynching of three innocent men in the American West.
Arrowsmith by Sinclair Lewis
Classic
Added to TBR: July 31, 2016
Amazon | Goodreads
A classic exploration of the world of medicine and politics.
Black Count by Tom Reiss
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 6, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
The true story of a swashbuckling black count, the father of writer Alexander Dumas.
Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: March 4, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
The true story of NASA’s African-American female mathematicians.
The Gene by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: July 20, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A history of the scientific idea of genetics.
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Classic
Added to TBR: July 24, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A man prepares to meet his cousin’s new wife who may have had a hand in his death.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
Classic
Added to TBR: July 25, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A young woman take a job as a governess to two strange children on an isolated estate.
The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton
Young Adult Fiction
Added to TBR: November 14, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A coming of age tale of the rivalry between two gangs in the 1960s.
Point of Impact by Stephen Hunter
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: December 23, 2017
Amazon | Goodreads
A former Vietnam sniper is double-crossed during one last mission.
Early Blogging Days
Once I joined a neighborhood book club, my reading started to shift from only classics to the latest bestsellers. I hated the feeling of others talking about books I had never heard of. I knew I needed to adjust my reading habits to maintain my status as a book expert.
During Christmas 2017, I convinced my reluctant sister to start a lifestyle blog with me. We were going to cover parenting, work, travel and at the last minute we added books. I’ve always loved to read, so I thought it would be fun to write a few book lists. Turned out our lives were rather boring but everyone loved my book lists. By fall, I had decided to become exclusively a book blogger and my sister, who wasn’t that into blogging in the first place, pulled out. I can see the various book lists I compiled reflected in my Goodreads TBR during this period.
The Long Earth by Terry Pratchett and Stephen Baxter
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: January 7, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A man journeys through a series of parallel earths.
Truevine by Beth Macy
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 7, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
The true story of two African-American boys kidnapped and displayed at a circus.
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: January 17, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A Chinese-American man remembers his first love who was taken to a Japanese interment camp during WWII.
Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur
Poetry
Added to TBR: February 3, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A collection of poetry about violence, abuse, love, loss, and femininity.
Idiot Brain by Dean Burnett
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: February 9, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A look at why our brains spiral, struggle with names but not faces, and sometimes sabotages our lives.
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
Fantasy
Added to TBR: February 10, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
Kvothe narrates his life and how he became the most notorious wizard in the world.
Destiny of the Republic by Candice Millard
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: April 7, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
An account of the assassination attempt of President James A. Garfield.
Beneath a Scarlet Sky by Mark Sullivan
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: May 29, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
An Italian teenager becomes a spy for the Allies inside the German High Command.
These Is My Words by Nancy E. Turner
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: June 3, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
The fictional memoir of a woman living in the Arizona Territories in the late 1800s.
Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Fantasy
Added to TBR: November 7, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
Six dangerous outcasts take on a heist that could save the world from destruction.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: November 27, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A Black nurse is accused of killing the newborn of white supremacists.
Rage Becomes Her by Sonaya Chemaly
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: November 27, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
An encouragement for women to embrace their anger and use it for societal change.
Ohio by Stephen Markley
Literary Fiction
Added to TBR: November 27, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
Four former classmates meet again in their northwestern Ohio town.
Well-Read Black Girl by Glory Edim
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 2, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A collection of essays by black women writers about the importance of seeing yourself reflected in literature.
A Well-Behaved Woman by Therese Anne Fowler
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: added December 4, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
In Gilded Age New York, Alva pushes boundaries after she marries into the Vanderbilt family.
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: December 18, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
An editor realizes the crime novel she is working on has a hidden story inside it.
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Literary Fiction
Added to TBR: December 21, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A study on grief narrated by cemetery ghosts, including that of Abraham Lincoln’s son.
The Demon Under the Microscope by Thomas Hager
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 23, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A history of the first antibiotic and how it changed the world.
Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 26, 2018
Amazon | Goodreads
A narration of the history and evolution of humankind.
2019: Book Blogging Takes Off
By 2019, it was time to rebrand the blog to reflect that I was a book blog. Booklist Queen was born and I officially broke up with my sister – who hadn’t been part of the blog for almost a year. You can see the shift in my TBR, as I started to add popular books that I wanted to catch up.
Vicious by V. E. Schwab
Fantasy
Added to TBR: January 17, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
Two college roommates engage in a series of experiments that go horribly wrong.
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: January 17, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
In a world of only men, a young man stumbles on a young woman.
All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: January 17, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
Two students contemplating suicide meet and end up saving each other.
The Overstory by Richard Powers
Literary Fiction
Added to TBR: January 22, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A collection of stories that unfold like the rings of a tree.
21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Yuval Noah Harari
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 24, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
An examination of today’s most pressing issues.
Leadership in Turbulent Times by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 31, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A study of leadership examining four US Presidents.
Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: February 2, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
Two Nigerians reunite after living two different paths – one in America and one in London.
Half Broke Horses by Jeannette Walls
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: May 8, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
From the author of The Glass Castle, comes a memoir about Jeannette Walls’s grandmother.
Cemetery Road by Greg Iles
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: May 15, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A DC journalist returns home to Mississippi and investigates two men in the shadow of the town’s new Chinese paper mill.
A Woman of No Importance by Sonia Purnell
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: May 15, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
The true story of a young American woman who became the first woman deployed to occupied France and one of the war’s most important spies.
We Are Displaced by Malala Yousafzai
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: May 15, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
The acclaimed activists presents an examination of her life and a collection of stories of refugees.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Fantasy
Added to TBR: May 15, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A retelling of Beauty and the Beast about a DC teen taken into a magical world.
The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo
Literary Fiction
Added to TBR: June 13, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
Four adult daughters of a Chicago couple fear they will never find love like their parents.
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: June 24, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A man who has been alive for centuries has one rule: he cannot fall in love.
Searching for Sylvie Lee by Jean Kwok
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: July 1, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
The eldest daughter in a Chinese immigrant family disappears in the Netherlands.
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Fantasy
Added to TBR: July 7, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A WWII combat nurse time travels back to war-torn Scotland in 1743.
The Other Wes Moore by Wes Moore
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: November 27, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
Rhodes scholar Wes Moore investigates the life of another Wes Moore with a similar childhood but ended up in prison for murder.
Ordinary Light by Tracy K. Smith
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 21, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
A poetic memoir of race, religion and belonging after the author’s mother is diagnosed with cancer.
When We Were Worthy by Marybeth Mayhew Whalen
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: December 29, 2019
Amazon | Goodreads
An outcast high school boy is the only survivor of a car crash that killed three cheerleaders.
2020: Pandemic Reading
During the pandemic, I seem to have sought out early works of authors I really loved. And then never got around to reading them: Kate Morton, Megan Goldin, Sally Hepworth, Ariel Lawhon.
The Five by Hallie Rubenhold
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: January 3, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
The lives of five women killed by Jack the Ripper.
Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
Fantasy
Added to TBR: February 8, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
During the Napoleonic Wars, two magicians change history.
Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Young Adult Fiction
Added to TBR: February 10, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A Black teen witnesses his friend shot by a white cop in a traffic stop.
The Escape Room by Megan Goldin
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: February 22, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
An escape room challenge turns deadly for Wall Street coworkers.
I Was Anastasia by Ariel Lawhon
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: February 22, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
In 1920, a woman claims to be the murdered Russian Grand Duchess Anastasia.
The Professor and the Madman by Simon Winchester
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: March 16, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
The making of the Oxford English Dictionary.
Word by Word by Kory Stamper
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: April 9, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A look at the obsessive word of dictionary writing.
Moneyball by Michael Lewis
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: April 24, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
The story of a visionary Oakland A’s manager embracing statistics to create a winning baseball team.
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: June 8, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A Nigerian nurse comes to her sister’s aide when she kills her boyfriend … yet again.
Where Men Win Glory by Jon Krakauer
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: July 22, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
The life of Pat Tillman, who gave up a lucrative NFL contract to join the Army where he was later killed by friendly fire.
Flow by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: July 25, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A psychologist shows that finding creative flow brings happiness and productivity to life.
Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: August 2, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A violent assault shakes the entire community in a small hockey town.
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: September 23, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
A fifty year old letter sends a woman searching for answers at the estate her mother stayed at during WWII.
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
Mystery & Thriller
Added to TBR: September 23, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
In a small suburban cul-de-sac, the arrival of a new woman feels targeted.
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: October 12, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
An enslaved girl escapes on the Underground Railroad, imagined as an actual railroad under the ground.
Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews
Horror
Added to TBR: October 29, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
Four children live an isolated life captive in their grandmother’s attic.
Patient H. M. by Luke Dittrich
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 6, 2020
Amazon | Goodreads
The history and science of Henry Molaison who was left without the ability to make memories after a lobotomy.
TBR Overwhelm: 2021-2025
In the last few years, I have felt extremely overwhelmed by my TBR. My book stack by my bed never seems to get smaller; it just kept the same neglected books and then rotated through new releases. Eventually, I stopped adding books to my Goodreads TBR. Instead, I decided to slowly chip away at the books languishing on my TBR for over a decade.
Lately, I only add books to my Goodreads to-read list if it’s either (1) a book I started but never finished but want to try again or (2) a random recommendation from family or friends that I knew I would forget about if I didn’t add it to my tbr.
Pandora’s Star by Peter F. Hamilton
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: January 18, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
In 2380, a crew is sent out to investigate the disappearance of a faraway star.
An American Tragedy by Theodore Dreiser
Classic
Added to TBR: September 25, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
Clyde Griffiths ambition is threatened by his lower-class pregnant girlfriend.
The Bonesetter’s Daughter by Amy Tan
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: December 4, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
A woman finds her mother’s diary describing her life growing up in China.
Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: December 4, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
The differing lives of two sisters in 18th-century Ghana – one who marries a wealthy Englishman and one who is sold into slavery on their estate.
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: December 6, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
The daughter of a lexicographer gathers words they discard, often about women and common people.
This Must Be the Place by Maggie O’Farrell
Literary Fiction
Added to TBR: December 6, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
A New Yorker and his wife living in Ireland are fiercely protective of their home.
Raven Rock by Garrett M. Graff
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: December 12, 2021
Amazon | Goodreads
The US Government’s collection of secret bunkers in case of a nuclear or other major disaster.
This Is How It Always Is by Laurie Frankel
Contemporary Fiction
Added to TBR: May 17, 2022
Amazon | Goodreads
A family’s reaction and journey when the youngest boy wants to become a girl.
Untangled by Lisa Damour
Nonfiction
Added to TBR: October 15, 2022
Amazon | Goodreads
An examination at how girls transition into adulthood.
The Penderwicks by Jeanne Birdsall
Children’s Fiction
Added to TBR: December 18, 2022
Amazon | Goodreads
Holidaying on a beautiful estate, the Penderwick sisters become friends with the owner’s son.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: March 8, 2023
Amazon | Goodreads
After leaving a dying earth, humans settle on an abandoned terraformed planet that is not the Eden they imagine.
The Measure by Nikki Erlick
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: March 11, 2023
Amazon | Goodreads
A group of people each receive a box stating the exact number of years they will live.
Extracted by RR Haywood
Science Fiction
Added to TBR: September 17, 2023
Amazon | Goodreads
Three people from the past are taken by a time machine at the moment of their death to help save the world from destruction.
The Kiss of Deception by Mary E. Pearson
Fantasy
Added to TBR: October 12, 2024
Amazon | Goodreads
A Princess flees her arranged marriage and is hunted by her jilted prince and an assassin.
Snow Hunters by Paul Yoon
Historical Fiction
Added to TBR: January 9, 2025
Amazon | Goodreads
A North Korean POW refugee defects and rebuilds his life in Brazil.
What books do I need to prioritize on my TBR? Which ones do you think I will absolutely love?
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