[pdurrant]

Last year I managed to reduce my TBR pile by only 10 books.
I start 2025 with 671 books on my TBR pile.
This year I aim to end with under 650 books on my TBR pile.
Stretch goal is under 625.
Impossible goal is under 600!

Books removed from TBR

Read and Reading

1. December 31st: Three Stories by L. E. Modesitt, Jr. - £0.19 - 2/5 - 40pp
   The just OK short stories. IMO they should have been shorter or longer
2. January 1st: Elusive by Genevieve Cogman - £0.99 - 5/5 - 329pp
   Excellent. I'm looking forward to the conclusion later this year.
3. January 2nd: The Children of Jocasta by Natalie Haynes - £0.99 - 2/5 - 250pp
   An OK retelling, but I hated the split time format
4. January 3rd: One Fine Day the Rabbi Bought a Cross - £1.99 - 4/5 - 203pp
   A Jerusalem adventure for Rabbi Small
5. January 4th: Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin - £0.99 - 3/5 - 418pp
   Return of a major villain in a most unlikely way. otherwise good
6. January 7th: The Janus Stone by Elly Griffiths - £0.99 - 3/5 - 252pp
   Good, but perhaps too many astonishing coincidences
7. January 8th: Ocean under the Ice by Robert L. Forward - £3.83 - 2/5 - 245pp
   Bit are fascinating, but almost abandoned because of being dull
8. January 12th: The Patience of the Spider by The Patience of the Spider - £1.19 - 3/5 - 177pp
   The plot was obvious to me before it was to Montalbano
9. January 14th: The Day the Rabbi Resigned by Harry Kemelman - £1.50 - 4/5 - 233pp
   Good stuff
10. January 16th: Flying Finish by Dick Francis - £0.99 - 4/5 - 222pp
    Excellent thriller/mystery
11. January 17th: Blood Sport by Dick Francis - £0.99 - 4/5 - 218pp
    Excellent thriller/mystery
12. January 17th: That Day the Rabbi Left Town by Harry Kemelman - £0.99 - 4/5 - 202pp
    Great fun with Rabbi Small - the clues are there.
13. January 18th: Conversations with Rabbi Small - £1.99 - 3/5 - 214pp
    An exploration of what Judaism is with Rabbi Small. Interesting.
14. January 19th: I am Crying all Inside by Clifford D. Simak - £2.99 - 4/5 - 243ppp
    Excellent short SF and a Western.
15. January 21st: The Ghost of a Model T by Clifford D. Simak - £1.99 - 3/5 - 237ppp
    Some good, some not so good. As is to be expected of a complete collection
16. January 24th: Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell - Free - 5/5 - 270pp
    Very good indeed, if a bit horrifying.
17. January 28th: Knife Skills for Beginners by Orlando Murrin - £2.99 - 4/5 - 336
    A most enjoyable cosy mystery with cooking.
18. January 29th: The Torso in the Town by Simon Brett - £0.99 - 4/5 - 258pp
    Another enjoyable cosy crime
19. February 1st: The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths - £0.99 - 4/5 - 257pp
    Not-so-cosy-crime.
20. February 2nd: Blood and Iron by Elizabeth Bear - £2.82 - 3/5 - 396pp
    OK to good, but a bit too much hidden back story for my liking.
21. February 9th: The Last Policeman by Ben H. Winters - £0.80 - 4/5 - 235pp
    Excellent mix of mystery and apocalypse
22. February 12th: Countdown City by Ben H. Winters - £0.80 - 4/5 - 242pp
    Also excellent. Although a hint of a solution, which surprised me.
23. February 14th: Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff - £0.30 - 4/5 - 320pp
    Fun Fantasy
24. February 15th: The Oathbound Wizard by Christopher Stasheff - £0.30 - 4/5 - 389pp
    More Fun Fantasy
25. February 16th: World of Trouble by Ben H. Winters - £0.80 - 4/5 - 227pp
    As good an ending as was possible.
26. February 18th: The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng - £3.65 - 3/5 - 331pp
    OK, but I found the narrative tricky to follow. Perhaps the print version is better.
27. February 19th: City of Ruins by Kristine Kathryne Rusch - £1.33 - 5/5 - 375pp
    Fascinating far-future SF
28. February 23rd: Boneyards by Kristine Kathryne Rusch - £1.33 - 4/5 - 355pp
    Very good, but perhaps too many flashbacks
29. February 25th: The Master of Whitestorm by Janny Wurts - £0.89 - 4/5 - 397pp
    A good stand-alone fantasy
30. February 28th: Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt - Free - 2/5 - 238pp
    OK, but a bit too cutesy/cosy for me.
31. March 2nd: The Witch Doctor by Christopher Stasheff - £0.30 - 3/5 - 396pp
    OK to good overall.
32. March 5th: The Great Hippopotamus Hotel by Alexander McCall Smith - £0.89 - 4/5 - 170pp
    Back on form, or I'm not as grumpy.
33. March 7th: Mickey 7 by Edward Ashton - £0.89 - 4/5 - 220pp
    A good SF story. It will be interesting to see the film
34. March 8th: The Falls by Ian Rankin - £0.99 - 4/5 - 397pp
    Good, but sad, as expected.
35. March 14th: Freedom's Landing by Anne McCaffrey - £1.99 - 2/5 - 279pp
    Implausible romance in an OK SF work.
36. March 16th: Stone Unturned by Lawrence Watt-Evans - £3.59 - 4/5 - 380pp
    Fun in Ethshar
37. March 17th:The Phoenix Code by Catharine Asaro - £0.31 - 2/5 - 250pp
    An OK-sh AI story.
38. March 18th: A Room Full of Bones by Elly Griffiths - £1.00 - 3/5 - 242pp
    A bit more mystical than I really like.
39. March 20th: Super-Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne by Katherine Rundell - £3.89 - - 347pp
    Effusive biography of John Donne
40. March 24th: Fair Trade by Lee and Miller - £3.82 - 4/5 - 422pp
    Excellent SF. 4/5 only because it's a middle-of-the-story novel.
41. March 26th: Stormwarden by Janny Wurts - £1.43 - 3/5 - 337pp
    OK to good start to a trilogy.
42. March 29th: Trader's Leap by Lee and Miller - £3.62 - 5/5 - 352pp
    Splendid
43. April 1st: The Keeper of Keys by Janny Wurts - £1.43 - 3/5 - 337pp
    The mix of SF and Fantasy isn't convincing
44. April 5th: Salvage Right by Lee and Miller - £4.84 - 4/5 - 629pp
    Good stuff. Perhaps a little too much of everyone getting along.
45. April 6th: Murder in the Museum by Simon Brett - £0.99 - 4/5 - 272pp
    Kept me guessing
46. April 9th: Blue Murder by Emma Jameson - £0.71 - 4/5 - 253pp
    Good light mystery.
47. April 11th: Shadowfane by Janny Wurts - £1.43 - 3/5 - 286pp
    OK-ish fantasy. Tempted to give 2*, but I think it makes it into 3, just.
48. April 14th: The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths - £0.99 - 3/5 - 284pp
    Attempted cross-over into SF and mystery. Almost works.
49. April 16th: Ribbon Dance by Lee and Miller - £4.53 - 5/5 - 546pp
50. April 17th: Diviner's Bow by Lee and Miller - £4.38 - 5/5 - 546pp
    Fun in the Liaden universe.
51. April 18th: Friends Indeed by Weber and Lindskold - £4.38 - 5/5 - 4.38
    Fun in the Star Kingdom universe.
52. April 20th: Brat Farrar by Josephone Tey - £0.89 - 4/5 - 231pp
    Good mystery, nice resolution.
53. April 21st: Terry Pratchett by Rob Wilkins - £0.99 - 5/5 - 507pp
    A fitting tribute
54. April 26th: The Hanging in the Hotel by Simon Brett - £0.99 - 4/5 - 275pp
    An unexpected ending. Good!
55. April 28th: What Price Victory by David Weber et al. - £4.39 - 4/5 - 355pp
    A good selection of short stories in the Honorverse
56. April 30th: Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson - £0.89 - 4/5 - 1499pp
    Satisfying as a first half conclusion.
57. May 9th: A Blink of the Screen by Terry Pratchett - £1.79 - 5/5 - 273pp
    Great.
58. May 11th: The Beast of Littleton Woods by T. E. Kinsey - £0.99 - 4/5 - 230pp
    Good fun, as expected.
59. May 13th: Agatha Christie by Lucy Worsley - £0.99 - 4/5 - 431pp
    Fascinating
60. May 16th: Something Blue by Emma Jameson - Free - 3/5 - 212pp
    Fun, but our heros seem to have picked up a Nemesis....
61. May 18th: Platinum Pohl by Frederik Pohl - £1.79 - 5/5 - 641pp
    Really excellent collection of short stories
62. May 20th: The Witness at the Wedding by Simon Brett - £0.99 - 4/5 - 260pp
    Fun cosy mystery.
63. May 22nd: A Liaden Universe® Constellation 5 by Lee & Miller - £4.08 - 4/5 - 343pp
    Excellent stories in the Liaden universe
64. May 24th: The World's Wife by Carol Ann Duffy - £5.99 - 2/5 - 75pp
    They all seemed rather trite to me
65. May 25th: Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent - £0.89 - 3/5 - 316pp
    Fun. A good first novel, no doubt will improve with the next.
66. May 27th: The Way Home by Peter S. Beagle - £2.99 - 3/5 - 138pp
    Good linked novellas in theLast Unicorn universe.
67. May 28th: Syndicate by Felix Francis - £1.79 - 4/5 - 254pp
    The expected horse-y adventure.
68. May 29th: The Secular Wizard by Christopher Stasheff - £0.30 - 3/5 - 361pp
    OK
69. May 31st: Murder Below Deck by Orlando Murrin - £0.89 - 3/5 - 397pp
    Fun.
70. June 2nd: Flight from the Ages by Derek Künsken - £0.99 - 5/5 - 229pp
    Excellent set of short SF stories
71. June 5th: The Golden Age of Magic by Luanne G. Smith - Free - 1/5 - 285pp
    [ABANDONED]
72. June 6th: Toll of Honor by David Weber - £3.40 - 3/5 - 553pp
    Unnecessary revisiting of previous events
73. June 8th: Truth Lies Bleeding by Chris Dolley - £0.89 - 4/5 - 346pp
    Quite fun thriller. Abrupt ending.
74. June 10th: 1638: The Sovereign States by Eric Flint et al. - £3.51 - 3/5 - 369pp
    I doubt the aqualators.
75. June 12th: Defending Elysium by Brandon Sanderson - £1.79 - 4/5 - 83pp
    Excellent Novella on origins of Cytoverse stories.
76. June 13th: Murder on the Dance Floor by Shirley Ballas and Sheila McClure - £0.99 - 3/5 - 352pp
    OK, but I found one character's story arc entirely unconvincing.
77. June 14th: Storm Furies - £4.38 - 4/5 - 492pp
    Continuation of series - great fun.
78. June 18th: Klara and The Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro - £4.17 - 4/5 - 220pp
    An interesting look at Androids and AI and human enhancement
79. June 19th: Hot Moon by Alan Smale - £0.16 - 4/5 - 503pp
    Pretty good alternate history of the Space Race
80. June 22nd: The Lost Cause by Cory Doctorow - £0.80 - 5/5 - 304pp
    Very good near-future SF.
81. June 23rd: Mrs Pargeter's Plot by Simon Brett - £0.12 - 3/5 - 174pp
    Expected bit of light fun
82. June 24th: The Big Front Yard and other Stories by Clifford Simak - £1.99 - 5/5 - 235pp
    All good to excellent. A Splendid collection.
83. June 26th: Monster Hunter: Guardian by Larry Correia and Sarah A Hoyt - £2.95 - 4/5 - 314pp
    The expected good action fun.
84. June 28th: Street of the Five Moons by Elizabeth Peters - £0.84 - 3/5 - 186pp
    A bit of light fun
85. June 29th: Harlequin by Bernard Cornwell - £0.99 - 4/5 - 321pp
    Looks like the start of a fun new series
86. July 1st: A Dance for the King by Anton Du Beke - £0.89 - 4/5 - 303pp
    Enjoyable dancing-based fun.
87. July 3rd: An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishiguro - £0.89 - 3/5 - 168pp
    An interesting look at pre and post-war Japan through the life of one Artist. Not really for me.
88. July 5th: The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia - Free - 2/5 - 114pp
    Too much for one novel, IMO. And the villain was obvious.
89. July 6th: All Good Things by Emma Newman - £1.79 - 3/5 - 309pp
    A good conclusion to the series.
90. July 8th: Homeland by Cory Doctorow - £0.80 - 5/5 - 307pp
    Brilliant, if a bit optimistic, near-future SF
91. July 10th: A Fine and Private Place by Peter S. Beagle - £2.99 - - 222pp
    Lovely
92. July 12th: Resurrection Men by Ian Rankin - £0.99 - 4/5 - 403pp
    So many corrupt officers!
93. July 14th: We Shall Rise by John Ringo et al. - £4.05 - 3/5 - 274pp
    Good collection of post-zombie apocalypse stories.
94. July 16th: Rosen's Almanac by Michael Rosen - £0.99 - 2/5 - 222pp
    More of a miscellany than I was expecting.
95. July 17th: Proto Zoa by Lois McMaster Bujold - £2.24 - 96pp - 96pp
    Great short stories.
96. July 18th: The Adventure of the Demon Ox by Lois McMaster Bujold - £2.69 - 5/5 - 102pp
    Penric is a little careless. Great stuff.
97. July 19th: Elphie by Gregory Maguire - £0.99 - - 272pp

Discarded (14)
Sandman 12,Sandman 12.1, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, American Gods 2005, Adventures in the Dream Trade, Duran Duran, Free Speeches, Ghastly Beyond Belief, Gods and Tulips, Outrageous Tales, Seven Deadly Sins, Pirate Utopia


Books added to TBR

Freebies (Unread)

1. February 6th: Kitty's Mix-Tape by Carrie Vaughn
2. February 27th: Baking Bad by Kim M. Watt
3. April 3rd: Pirate Utopia by Bruce Sterling (Discarded)
4. June 4th: The Golden Age of Magic Luanne G. Smith
5. July 3rd: The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia
6. July 17th: The Easter Egg Murder by Patricia Smith Wood

Bought (Unread)

• January (12/£14.87): Elusive, Agatha Raisin in Down the Hatch, The Children of Jocasta, London Match, The House at Sea's End,The Janus Stone, The Woman in Blue, Dangerous Visions, The Last Dangerous Visions, The Torso in the Town, Knife Skills for Beginners, Midnight and Blue
• February (37/£24.26): Agatha Raisin: Love, Lies and Liquor, The Chinese Gold Murders, Berlin Game, A Fine and Private Place and The Way Home, Agatha Christie, The Last Policeman, Countdown City, World of Trouble, Sky People, Hot Moon, In The Belly of the Whale, Rogue Wizard [1,2,5,7,8,9], Warlock [4–14], A Wizard in Rhyme 1,2,3,4,6,8], The Garden of Evening Mists, The Master of Whitestorm
• March (27/£49.89): Goodbye to Russia, Agatha Raisin: Killing Time, The Great Hippopotamus Hotel, Spider-Gwen Omnibus 1&2, Mickey 7, Grotto of the Dancing Deer, The Phoenix Code, Freedom's Landing, Stone Unturned, Constellation 5, Fair Trade,Trader's Leap, Salvage Right, Ribbon Dance[, The Cycle of Fire (Stormwarden, The Keeper of Keys, Shadowfane), Escape Velocity, Rogue Wizard [3], Mind out of Time, The Alchemist and the Witch, Warlock [15,16], Murder in the Museum,The Hanging in the Hotel, The Witness at the Wedding
• April (11/£21.99): Brat Farrar, Wind and Truth, As the Pig Turn, Dead on Target, Platinum Pohl, The Frozen People, Blue Murder, Diviner's Bow, Friends Indeed, A Blink of the Screen, What Price Victory?
• May (8/£16.32): Spy Line, All Good Things, Syndicate, The Beast of Littleton Wood, Murder Below Deck, The Three Deaths of Justice Godfrey, Guilty by Definition, The World's Wife
• June (10/£23.96): Toll of Honor, Truth Lies Bleeding, Defending Elysium, Murder on the Dance Floor, 1638: The Sovereign States, Storm Furies, Klara and the Sun, Ascendant Sun, Monster Hunter Guardian, Harlequin
• July (37/£71.83): The Buried Giant, An Artist of the Floating World, The Remains of the Day, The Unconsoled, Never Let Me Go, Spy Sinker, A Dance for the King, The Books of Earthsea, A Masterpiece of Corruption, Proto Zoa, We Shall Rise, Rosen's Almanac, Elphie, The Adventure of the Demonic Ox 20 Charles Paris Mysteries (Cast, In Order of Disappearance, So Much Blood, Star Trap, An Amateur Corpse, A Comedian Dies, The Dead Side of the Mike, Situation Tragedy, Murder Unprompted, Murder in the Title, Not Dead, Only Resting, Dead Giveaway, What Bloody Man is That?, A Series of Murders, Corporate Bodies, A Reconstructed Corpse, Sicken and So Die, Dead Room Farce, A Decent Interval, The Cinderella Killer, A Deadly Habit), Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death, Breaking Silence, Major Bricket and the Circus Corpse
• August (0/£0.00):
• September (0/£0.00):
• October (0/£0.00):
• November (0/£0.00):
• December (0/£0.00):

Analysis
TBR: 708
Books read: 96 (includes 5 freebies, 1 re-read)
Books otherwise removed from TBR pile: 16 (1 duplicate, 14 discarded, 1 already read)

Books removed from TBR pile: 111
Books added to TBR pile: 148 (includes 6 freebies, 1 omnibuses counted as 3)
Removed/Added: 0.76
Net reduction for 2025: -37

Non-free books read: 91 (includes 1 re-read)
Total cost of books read: £164.91
Average cost of books read: £1.81

Non-free books bought: 142 (includes 0 not added to TBR, 1 omnibuses counted as 3)
Total cost of books bought: £223.12
Average cost of books bought: £1.56

Rating System:
1: Bad
2: Only OK-ish (Or not to my taste.)
3: OK to good
4: Excellent
5: Wonderful

Pages are as given by the ADE algorithm in Calibre, or from the Amazon web page.