Thursday, December 16, 2010

Just a little bit more...

I know, I know. I've already said I'm going to end up driving myself bananas by the end of next year with all the challenges I'm not going to finish. But I just can't help myself. So here are two more...

First up will be the annual TBR Challenge. This is always one I like. There are basically no requirements for the books (other than being on your TBR list for at least a year), so I just use it as a way to plug through the next 12 books on my oh-so-many TBR lists. This year my books will be...

1. The Fourth Bear - Jasper Fforde (completed 3/23/2011)
2. An Artist of the Floating World - Kazuo Ishiguro (completed 2/26/2011)
3. Slow Man - JM Coetzee (quit 4/30/2011)
4. Bombay Time - Thrity Umrigar (completed 8/14/2011)
5. Against Nature - Jori-Karl Huysmans
6. I Will Repay - Baroness Emmuska Orczy (completed 8/9/2011)
7. The Blue Star - Tony Early
8. Money - Martin Amis
9. The Sea - John Banville
10. Mystic River - Dennis Lehane
11. Agape Agape - William Gaddis
12. The Glass of Time - Michael Cox

And the second challenge, similar to TBR, is the Reading From My Shelves Challenge. This involves reading books that are languishing on your shelves. You're supposed to then give the books away, but I only ever give away books I don't like. I've always been a re-reader of books I like. This is a good challenge for me, too. I get books for Chirstmas or my birthday and I always push back reading them in favor of the books that are part of the challenges that I've joined. And even when the books on my shelf are part of the challenges, I often push them back in favor of library books because there's a time limit on those and ones I own can be read anytime. So, despite how much I want the books I own, it's often a year or two after I get them that I actually get around to reading them. Which is weird, I guess. Anyway, I currently have ten books on my shelf that are unread, so those are the ten that will be in the challenge. Sadly it's not twelve books. I like challenges that can be easily divided into months. But Christmas is coming, so maybe I'll be able to add a few more books to the shelf that need to be read. Anyway, my books are...

1. Full Dark House - Christopher Fowler
2. Against Nature - Jori-Karl Huysmans
3. Mirror Mirror - Gregory Maguire
4. La Mort d'Arthur - Thomas Malory
5. Amsterdam - Ian McEwan
6. The Revolt of the Eaglets - Jean Plaidy
7. The Heart of the Lion - Jean Plaidy
8. The Maiden of the White Hands - Rosalind Miles
9. When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman
10. Dragonwyck - Anya Seton

ETA...I was right about Christmas. I'll add two more books to the challenge to have a nice round 12 books in 12 months...

11. The White Queen - Philippa Gregory
12. Enduring Love - Ian McEwan


I'll try to say this is the last of my 2011 challenges, but that's probably a lie...

6 comments:

Roof Beam Reader said...

Hi, Veronica - thanks for taking the challenge with me! Also, thanks for the suggestions for historical reading - I've been meaning to read The Scarlet Pimpernel, actually, so I'm glad to receive a recommendation for it!

Veronica said...

It's a great read, Adam, so I hope you enjoy it. Also, I've been told by one of my history professors that the 1930s movie version is one of the best movie depictions of the French Revolution ever.

(Diane) Bibliophile By the Sea said...

I am so happy that you decided to join the Reading from My Shelves Project; enjoy and good luck cleaning off your shelves.

InnocentButler said...

I LOVE Jasper Fforde. I thought The Fourth Bear was excellent. I have some of those books languishing in my TBR pile too--too many books, not enough time (or, more likely, I just keep adding as I am reading).

Adam @ Roof Beam Reader said...

Just checking-in on your progress for the 2011 TBR Pile Challenge - how are things going so far?!

Also... BIG Giveaways are happening next week, and TBR Pile Challenge participants earn extra entries for linking to their lists, so be sure to visit my Giveaways section soon! ;)

Veronica said...

It's funny you should ask, Adam. I just posted about how my plans for the year have completely unraveled. I had to dump a few challenges, but I'm still plugging away at the TBR challenge, so we'll see how the second half of the year goes.

Thanks for the heads up about the giveaways!