Howdy, y’all! It’s time for my March 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up. I wonder if this will help me reduce the number of books on my TBR. Who am I kidding? I’m a reader; of course, I’ll always add books. In February 2026, I had 604 books. Today, I have 608. The number went up somewhat because I was looking at books that are releasing later this year. Will my March 2026 Goodreads TBR shelf clean-up help bring that number down?
I saw this Goodreads TBR Clean-Up post at Megan’s Book Stacks and knew I had to try it. Megan found it over at MegaBunnyReads.
Click the titles to go to Goodreads.
How It Works:
- Go to your Goodreads want-to-read shelf.
- Use a random number generator to pick a number between 1 and however many books are on the list.
- Go to that book and look at the four after it for a total of 5.
- Read the synopses of the books.
- Decide: keep it or delete it?
- Discuss here.
Books To Be Read: 608
Starting Number: 495. It appears that I’m reviewing the books I added in May 2025.
Shelf Sorted: Date Added
Let’s get this March 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up underway!
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy L. Sayers
When a disfigured corpse is discovered in a country parish, the local rector pleads with Lord Peter to take on what will become one of his most brilliant and complicated cases.
My Thoughts
First of all, can we take a moment to appreciate how short the synopsis is? Now, to the book, I added this to my TBR because I was reminded early last year that I haven’t read much in the way of classic mysteries. While I was at a book sale last year, I came across this book and knew it was a sign.
KEEP
Girls of Riyadh by Rajaa Alsanea
When Rajaa Alsanea boldly chose to open up the hidden world of Saudi women—their private lives and their conflicts with the traditions of their culture—she caused a sensation across the Arab world. Now in English, Alsanea’s tale of the personal struggles of four young upper-class women offers Westerners an unprecedented glimpse into a society often veiled from view. Living in restrictive Riyadh but traveling all over the globe, these modern Saudi women literally and figuratively shed traditional garb as they search for love, fulfillment, and their place somewhere in between Western society and their Islamic home.
My Thoughts
I want to say, I don’t think the synopsis above is the one on the copy of the book I own. That said, I added this because I want to read more diversely.
KEEP
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Precious Ramotswe is the eminently sensible and cunning proprietor of the only ladies’ detective agency in Botswana. In Tears of the Giraffe, she tracks a wayward wife, uncovers an unscrupulous maid, and searches for an American man who disappeared into the plains many years ago. In the midst of resolving uncertainties, pondering her impending marriage to a good, kind man, Mr. J. L. B. Matekoni, and the promotion of her talented secretary (a graduate of the Botswana Secretarial College, with a mark of 97 per cent), she also finds her family suddenly and unexpectedly increased by two.
My Thoughts
This is the second book in the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series. I have yet to read the first one, but I keep seeing the rest of the series in second-hand books. The first book and this one are currently sitting on my shelf just waiting to be read.
KEEP
Future Boy by Michael J. Fox and Nelle Fortenberry
In early 1985, Michael J. Fox was one of the biggest stars on television. His world was about to get even bigger, but only if he could survive the kind of double duty unheard of in Hollywood. Fox’s days were already dedicated to rehearsing and taping the hit sitcom Family Ties, but then the chance of a lifetime came his way. Soon, he committed his nights to a new time-travel adventure film being directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced by Steven Spielberg—Back to the Future. Sitcom during the day, movie at night—day after day, for months.
Fox’s nightly commute from a soundstage at Paramount to the back lot at Universal Studios, from one dream job to another, would become his own space-time continuum. It was in this time portal that Alex P. Keaton handed the baton to Marty McFly while Michael J. Fox tried to catch a few minutes of sleep. Alex’s bravado, Marty’s flair, and Fox’s comedic virtuosity all swirled together to create something truly special.
My Thoughts
I added this to my TBR while searching for Canadian releases for the end of 2025. Surprise, Michael J. Fox is Canadian! But I’m also a Gen X who grew up watching Family Ties every week and Back to the Future when it was released.
KEEP
The Secret Book Society by Madeline Martin
London, 1895: Trapped by oppressive marriages and societal expectations, three women receive a mysterious invitation to an afternoon tea at the home of the reclusive Lady Duxbury. Beneath the genteel facade of the gathering lies a secret book club—a sanctuary where they can discover freedom, sisterhood, and the courage to rewrite their stories.
Eleanor Clarke, a devoted mother suffocating under the tyranny of her husband. Rose Wharton, a transplanted American dollar princess struggling to fit the mold of an aristocratic wife. Lavinia Cavendish, an artistic young woman haunted by a dangerous family secret. All are drawn to the enigmatic Lady Duxbury, a thrice-widowed countess whose husbands’ untimely deaths have sparked whispers of murder.
As the women form deep, heartwarming friendships, they uncover secrets about their marriages, their pasts, and the risks they face. Their courage is their only weapon in the oppressive world that has kept them silent, but when secrets are deadly, one misstep could cost them everything.
My Thoughts
I’ve always been interested in reading historical fiction. But I’ve never been a fan of many books that predate the American Civil War. And I’ve been feeling burned out by high-stakes World War II stories. This sounds like an interesting story of friendship, and it includes books, so how can it be bad?
KEEP
That is my March 2026 Goodreads TBR Shelf Clean-Up. It appears not to have affected my shelf, as I’m keeping all five of the books. LOL!
This was fun. I may do it now and then to help keep my shelf realistic. In the past, I had added books without giving them much thought. Will I stop doing that? Of course not! What kind of animal do you think I am?
What do you think? Have you tried something like this to manage your TBR?
Are you looking for some more ideas to read? Check out my monthly reading wrap-ups.
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The Nine Tailors is on my TBR! I’m planning to read it this year for the 2026 Cover Lovers Reading Challenge prompt “a bell of some kind”. My mom was also just telling me about the No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. It sounds fun!
They all look like good ones to me.
This is such a fun challenge! I go through my storygraph TBR every now and then to delete books from it, but as you said, I will continue to add more haha.