June Quarterly Checkpoint for Mt. TBR Challenge

This quarter I have read sixteen books that count toward the 2012 Mt. TBR Reading Challenge. Combining that with the six books read for this challenge in March (I started late), I have completed a total of twenty two books.

Since my goal is 25 books from my TBR stacks, I am feeling confident that I will reach my goal. This year I had already set a personal goal to read more books from my stacks and buy less, before I saw this challenge and decided to join. But I say that every year. I firmly believe participating in the challenge has made a difference. I could increase my goal to 40 or 50 books. We will see.

Books I have read (with links to reviews):

1. Second Violin by John Lawton
2. The Redbreast by Jo Nesbo 
3. Dying Light by Stuart MacBride
4. A Duty to the Dead by Charles Todd
5. The Thief Who Couldn't Sleep by Lawrence Block
6. Cop Hater by Ed McBain
7. In the Woods by Tana French
8. A Coffin for Dimitrios by Eric Ambler
9. Political Suicide by Robert Barnard
10. The Guards by Ken Bruen 
11. The Light of Day by Eric Ambler 
12. A Fall from Grace by Robert Barnard 
13. Nero Wolfe of West Thirty-fifth Street by William S. Baring-Gould 
14. Spy Hook by Len Deighton 
15. Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie 
16. An Empty Death by Laura Wilson 

Of these book, the one that featured my favorite character is Spy Hook, part of a nine book series by Len Deighton. The character is Bernard Samson, an intelligence officer in the British Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). He is the narrator of the story. I enjoy Bernard Samson's company almost as much as Archie Goodwin, the first person narrator of the Nero Wolfe mysteries by Rex Stout. And that is high praise.

I am doing pretty well with this challenge. One challenge I am not so successful with is the New Authors challenge. The goal is to read authors that are new to me. Four of these authors are new to me: Jo Nesbo, Ed McBain, Tana French, Ken Bruen. I am reading another new author now: Mark Mills.  And I need to read 15 new authors before the end of the year. I guess I am on track if I can read five new authors in each quarter.