The Books I Keep Meaning to Read (But Keep Putting Off)

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A love letter to my ever-growing, slightly neglected, deeply intentional stack.

Let me be honest with you about something: I am not just a reader. I am a collector. And there is a difference.

A reader finishes one book and reaches for the next. 

A collector finishes one book, reaches for the next, spots something beautiful at Barnes & Noble on the way home, adds three more to the cart during a late-night browsing session, and then arranges everything on the shelf in a way that is visually satisfying even if chronologically chaotic. 

The TBR pile is not just a reading list. It’s an atmosphere. It’s the comfort of knowing that no matter what kind of mood I’m in, there is a story waiting for exactly that version of me.

Yes, it’s a little consumeristic. I’m at peace with that. Being surrounded by these different worlds and knowing I can step into any one of them whenever I need to — that brings me a very specific and real kind of joy.

But. There are books that keep getting passed over. Not because I don’t want to read them — I want to read all of them — but because the timing never feels quite right, or another book cuts the line, or I bought them for a version of myself I haven’t quite arrived at yet. 

Here are eight books currently living in that limbo on my shelves, and the very honest reasons why they’re still there.

The Hurricane Wars by Thea Guanzon

I genuinely loved Tusk Love, so picking up anything else by Thea Guanzon felt like a natural next step. 

And then I started hearing that Monsoon Rising, the second book in this series, is even better than the first, which honestly should have made me sprint to this one faster. 

Instead, it had the opposite effect. 

Now I feel like I need to be in the right headspace to appreciate it properly, to be ready to love it the way it apparently deserves to be loved. 

So it sits there, waiting for a week when I have real reading time and not just stolen twenty-minute chunks before bed.

Fallen Stars by Imani Erriu

This one is a different kind of waiting. Fallen Stars is the second book in the Heavenly Bodies series, and after the cliffhanger in the first book, I have Feelings.  Capital F, feelings.

I am both desperate to know what happens and slightly terrified of finding out. 

There’s a very specific kind of reader paralysis that happens when you loved the first book so much that the sequel feels almost too precious to rush, I want to savor it when I’m ready, not burn through it anxiously. 

If you’ve already read it, please keep all spoilers far away from me. Please.

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

This was a pure impulse grab at Barnes & Noble, I picked it up, read the summary, and thought yes, this. 

I didn’t research it, I didn’t look it up, I just trusted my gut and bought it. 

And my gut still feels good about it! It’s also a relatively slim book, which feels like a gift right now, the kind of thing I could genuinely finish in a weekend if I just sat down with it. 

I think what’s kept me from starting it is that it doesn’t belong to a mood I’ve been in lately, but I have a feeling its moment is coming soon.

Smoke and Scar by Gretchen Powell Fox

Okay, so the reason I bought this one is going to tell you everything you need to know about me as a reader. 

The author posted a reel on Instagram about hiding the spicy pages in her second book so her niece could read it, and I was sold on the spot. 

That’s it. That’s the whole reason. Obviously I have to start with the first book, but I also love that this series features a role reversal where she is the shadow/power figure and he is a mere mortal human man, and I find that genuinely refreshing. 

I will get to this one. It has my name all over it.

Has anyone read this one? I feel like if it’s as fun as I’m imagining I need someone to celebrate with.

Spellcaster by Jaymin Eve

The Barnes & Noble website described this book as a slow burn enemies-to-lovers magical dark academia spicy romantasy, and honestly I read those words and my brain just went yes. Sold. Done. 

There was no further convincing required. I know my taste, and my taste said get this book immediately, so I did. 

It’s been sitting on my shelf since then looking extremely promising, waiting for a moment when I want something that is doing a lot of things at once and doing all of them well. 

Soon, Spellcaster. Soon.

Throne in the Dark by A.K. Caggiano

I kept seeing this book mentioned on Reddit, in recommendation threads, in ‘what are you reading’ posts, in discussions I stumbled into accidentally, and I filed it away as something to look into. 

Then I walked into Barnes & Noble one day and there it was, and I grabbed it partly because of the Reddit buzz and partly because the cover art is genuinely adorable. 

I hadn’t realized it had been traditionally published, which somehow made it feel even more worth grabbing. 

The polarizing reviews intrigue me more than they scare me off, I’m curious to find out which side of the divide I land on.

If you’ve read Throne in the Dark, I would genuinely love to know where you fell – loved it or didn’t? No spoilers, just vibes.

Beautiful Things by Emily Rath

Bridgerton has absolutely done something to my reading brain this year, and I’ve found myself deep in a Regency historical romance era that I did not entirely see coming. 

Beautiful Things caught my attention because it’s also a why-choose romance, which is a genre I’m genuinely new to. 

I find myself endlessly curious about how the dynamics work, how the story justifies its choices, how it all plays out, and a Regency setting feels like an interesting backdrop for that kind of story. 

I’m saving this one for a weekend when I can fully commit to whatever feelings it’s going to give me.

The Second Death of Locke by V.L. Bovalino

Someone on Instagram described this book as the one that brought back yearning, capital Y, the kind of yearning where the male main character is absolutely gone for the female main character and the reader gets to watch it happen in real time, and my toes curled a little just reading the description. 

I love a slow burn. I love an MMC who is absolutely down bad and doing his best not to show it. 

This book has been calling to me since I saw that post and I’ve been waiting for the exact right moment to pick it up, because I know once I start I’m going to want to consume it all at once.

The Stack Will Always Be There

Here’s the thing about being a collector as much as a reader: the TBR is never really a to-do list. 

It’s more like a very long letter to your future self, full of stories you thought you might need someday. And sometimes the book you bought six months ago is exactly the right thing for the person you are today.

These eight books are all going to get their moment. Some of them sooner than I probably think. 

And if you’ve read any of them, if you have thoughts, feelings, urgent opinions, gentle warnings, or enthusiastic endorsements, I want to hear everything. 

Drop it in the comments. Let’s talk about it.

What book has been sitting on your TBR the longest? And what’s the most chaotic reason you’ve ever bought a book? (Mine is clearly an Instagram reel about hiding pages from a niece. No regrets.)

Speaking of TBR’s, have you viewed my Winter TBR?