Tackling My TBR is a monthly post, where I share my reading plans for the upcoming month. The concept of a TBR Jar is not a new one. I’ve seen it used in various ways throughout the bookish community. My jar is a little different. The goal is to read the older books on my to-read pile. Thus, instead of putting individual book titles on a small sheet of paper to place in the jar, I wrote a month and a year on each. Each month, I intend to pull three sheets of paper from my jar which will dictate which three books I will read. The dates on the paper correspond with the date I added those books to my Goodreads account. Some months will have over 20 books to choose from, when others may have only one. From Goodreads, I’ll choose the three books from the three different monthly hauls. And if I cannot complete the book within the month, it will be unhauled (with the exception of one pass each month).

I took an unexpected break from blogging and reading for the month of September. But I am back! I figured that I would start where I left off in August, considering I didn't read much in September. In August, I was meant to read books from my March 2016, June 2020, and December 2017 book hauls. While I read a book from my July TBR in August, Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors by Sonali Dev (which was one of my favorite retellings of the year), I didn't read anything from my chosen book hauls. I am still hoping to read The Serpent's Shadow by Rick Riordan, since it would be nice to finish another series before the year ends. And I ran out of time to read The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo and Lovely War by Julie Barry. Hopefully, I will read them both soon.

For this month, I picked the December 2017, May 2012, and September 2019 book hauls out of the jar. From there, I chose the following books to read:

The Language of Thorns by Leigh Bardugo: I've had this on my shelf for a while. It's a short collection of fairytales of Bardugo's Grisha world. There's beautiful illustrations and even the cover is gorgeous. I can't wait to read this one!

I, Iago by Nicole Galland: Next to Hamlet, Othello is my favorite work from Shakespeare. While I have come across many retellings of Shakespeare's work, I don't think I have ever read a retelling of Othello. I'm excited to see how Galland reimagines the play.

His Hideous Heart edited by Dahlia Adler: What a perfect month to choose this book! This book is a collection of short retellings of Edgar Allen Poe's greatest work. Plus, while the entire beginning of the book are the retellings, the other half is the original source work so I can look back onto his work if I need a refresher. I can't wait to dive in to these delightfully spooky tales.

The Monster Mash Weekend-Ween readathon is hosted by booktubers: Olivia from OliviaReadsaLatte and Gaby from GabyReads. Here is the announcement video. The spooky vibes were calling to me so I wanted to be sure to participate in this upcoming readathon. It takes place on the weekend of October 28th to the 31st. October is the month I usually try to fit in as many spooky books as possible and this readathon will help me with that. Here's the books and prompts I hope to complete:

The Girls Are Never Gone by Sarah Glenn Marsh or Direwood by Catherine Yu (coin toss): I will probably toss a coin closer to the readathon date but it will definitely be between these two. Both sound equally scary so I am excited to see which one the coin will choose.

Come Alive by Karina Halle (read a book at night): I am in the middle of this series, Experiment in Terror, and I'm absolutely loving it. The books follow Perry and Dex, amature paranormal investigators, as they hunt for ghosts.  

A Cold Legacy by Megan Shepherd (read a book with a monster in it): This is the third and final book in The Madman's Daughter trilogy. I have been waiting til October to finally devour this one and I think this readathon will be the perfect time. Each book has been a reimagining from a classic and this third one is a retelling of Frankenstein. 

Teeth in the Mist by Dawn Kurtagich (listen to a spooky audiobook): I don't know anything about this book except that it is written by Kurtagich. I have adored every single book that Kurtagich has published so I am so excited to read this one. Plus, I am expecting some spooky vibes from this one to match her previous works.