I’ve seen a few folks on Bookstagram (the book-specific corner of Instagram where the Your Book Friend insta account lives) posting their Book of the Month stacks of shame. In other words, photos of the gorgeous hardcover books they received from BOTM but have yet to read.

At the start of 2021, I somewhat valiantly attempted to read through a few of these accumulated editions myself. I finally got around to A Woman is No Man and Queenie, and definitively DNF’d and gave away my copy of The Boyfriend Project.

Then, I lost steam and wandered off to other bookish pastures.

Since then, a few new arrivals have added themselves to my unread BOTM collection. I don’t know if I’ll get to all of them in June, but I’d like to catch up and read them all by the end of the year. Here’s the current list of books gathering dust on the shelves slash TBR stack in the bedroom floor.

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Normal People by Sally Rooney

I know, I know. People love Normal People. I did actually start reading it, but ended up putting it down and never picked it up again. I don’t know that I wasn’t enjoying it so much as I wasn’t in the mood for it, and a shiny copy of Well Met arrived.

I’d like to give this one another go before I decide if it’s going to be a permanent DNF for me, since putting it down the first time felt more situational.

The Bride Test by Helen Huang

I… did not particularly enjoy The Kiss Quotient. I think I finished reading it, but I came away thinking… huh. For whatever reason, it just wasn’t the book for me. Yet for some reason, past me chose Huang’s The Bride Test for a Book of the Month. It went right on the shelf of shame and I’ve yet to even crack the spine.

I’d like to at least make an effort with this one before I say I’m not going to read it.

The Kindest Lie by Nancy Johnson

Honestly I have no real recollection of why I picked The Kindest Lie for my Book of the Month, but past me thought I’d like it, so I’d like to give it a go.

One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London

I got One to Watch around the same time I got Big Summer to read with a book club last year. I did not end up enjoying Big Summer at all (it strikes me as a very oddly put-together novel), and so I wasn’t particularly eager to pick up another book with a slightly similar, influencer-adjacent vibe. Then I just kept not picking it up.

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So there you have it, my unread BOTM collection!

I also received Half Sick of Shadows for June, but I’m not counting that among the unread because a) I just got it and b) I started reading it immediately because teenage me was obsessed with The Lady of Shalott.

Do you have a pileup of unread print copies lying around? Have you read any of the books on my stack of shame?