Moonlight Reader started the TBR Thursday, and I think it's a good way to a) show what new books I've got and b) confront myself with my inability to lower my TBR. In fact, since I started recording it, it has risen significantly. I get the feeling I'm doing something wrong here...

I've had a very bad week (or good) depending on what you're measuring. I wanted to lower my TBR but I've quite impressively failed. However, this means I've added loads (literally) of books. And they all seem really exciting. I'd expected to have a slight increase because there was a great book sale last weekend (but I bought 13 books, which must be close to a record for me). And then there were quite a lot of Netgalley books that I got approved/invited for, which is also really nice, but makes this week's TBR massive. So prepare. And did I already say that I'm buried in work for the University right now. I wish I had some time. 

TBR pile currently stands at 236. (+21)

(Netgalley ARCs at 77 (+6))

The Maze Runner is actually the four book box set. I've already read the first book and thought it was OK, but after watching the film I wanted to continue reading the series.

Alias Hook is a book I've wanted to read ever since I first came across it , so I was really glad when I found it Sunday morning.

I wanted to finish another series, so finally bought The Sweet Far Thing. The reviews aren't overwhelming to say the least, but I'll be glad if I can close a series.

City of Bones actually stands for the first three books in the series. It's going to be a group read with one of my book forums. So, I'm curious to see if I'll like it.

The Metamorphosis because sometimes I feel like reading something different.

Bring Up The Bodies is one of those books I've heard so much about that now I just want to try it out and read it.

The Raw Shark Texts has been read by a number of my friends and they all really liked it, so I regretted not buying it myself. So now I did get my own copy.

Seed, The Red Magician & Walking the Labyrinth seemed like really interesting stories, so I requested them on Netgalley.

I preferred this to the last volume. I am still undecided whether I like this series as a whole. Good and bad. I love the literary nods and the concept of metafiction. How can I not as such a bibliophile? I find the imagination of this series infectious, but there is a lot of meanness with the storyline and the characters.

I feel a lot of sympathy for both Tom and Lizzie. They are both being manipulated by grand masters at the game. Lizzie is both better off in that she has more understanding of the situation than Tom, but worse off because of how she was used as a pawn. Her origins are pretty intriguing, in fact.

I liked the "Choose Your Own Adventure" part of the collection, but I couldn't figure out how to get past page 35, so I gave up and just read it panel by panel. Shame on me, veteran Choose Your Own Adventure book-reader.

The bad guys in this are truly evil, and I don't mean Count Ambrosio. The mustache guy, man I despise him. Waiting for him to be "written off," permanently. The rest are more of the corporate cabal type of evil (don't get their hands dirty themselves).

Tom is slowly gaining awareness of his situation and starting to realize he has power to shape his next steps in the battle against the Cabal his father sacrificed everything to fight. He also has two friends on his side, much like his literary counterpart, Tommy.

I'll keep reading.

February is coming to an end and I've already completed all the books on my February TBR. What a great reading month! I haven't yet reviewed The Songlines or House of Leaves, but those reviews are forthcoming! For now, suffice it to say that I really enjoyed both of these novels. The Songlines has a super interesting focus and really made me want to travel to Australia and House of Leaves is an absolutely phenomenal read that I can't quite articulate my feelings about at this point. So fantastic. 

Now, on to March! This month, I will be reading three more novels for my experimental lit course: The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall, A Beautiful Marsupial Afternoon by CAConrad, and A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan. I'm about a chapter into The Raw Shark Texts and I'm really enjoying it so far. 

And finally, I'm reading Escape from Camp 14 by Blaine Harden this month just for the hell of it. It was on my unread shelf and I just felt like picking it up. I'm only a few chapters in right now, but so far it is super interesting, super engaging, and wonderfully readable. I can't wait to review this book in the near future.

Happy Reading!