Roof Beam Reader’s official TBR Pile Challenge is back for its NINTH YEAR! I did this challenge in 2013, 2014, 2015, 2018, and 2019. I like this challenge because it only includes books added to the TBR pile before 2021, thus forcing me to go back to books that have been on the shelves longer.
Specifics:
- List 12 books to read for this challenge. The books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2021 or later (any book published in the year 2020 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile).
- Two alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books ends up in the “did not finish (DNF)” pile.
- The complete and final list of the books for this challenge must be posted and linked at Roof Beam Reader by January 31st, 2022. When books are read and reviewed, the link to the review post is added to this signup post.
- The challenge runs from January 1, 2022 through December 31, 2022.
My list is below:
- Fire Watch by Connie Willis
- Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
- Bangkok 8 by John Burdette
- Mysterioso by Arne Dahl
- Goodnight Sweet Prince by David Dickinson
- Vanish by Tess Gerritsen.
- Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Dog On It by Spencer Quinn
- The Saint Zita Society by Ruth Rendell
- Hanging Valley by Peter Robinson
- Lincoln at the Bardo by George Saunders
- Head On by John Scalzi
Alternates:
Wife of the Gods by Kwei Quartey
A Carrion Death by Michael Stanley
18 comments:
I've read several of those, Vanish, Sherlock Holmes and Dog On It. All good! Some of the others sound interesting too so I shall look those up. Good luck with this one!
Hope all goes well on Friday.
I would love to try this but fear I lack the self-control to succeed. I am too used to discarding books that don't immediately catch my interest.
I am planning to take part in this too, Tracy. Many books on your list are new to me so am interested to know what they are about. All the best for the challenge.
Good luck with this challenge! :)
Cath, I have had Vanish and the Sherlock Holmes book for years and will be glad to finally get to them. Dog On It is newer to me; Glen bought it and read it and passed it on to me a couple of years ago.
Thanks for the good wishes for Glen's eye surgery.
Patti, I have had varying success over the years with this challenge, but I figure if I even do half of them it will be an accomplishment. Some of the authors are new to me but many of them I have read before, don't know what has been holding me up.
Neeru, there is good variety in this list and I am hoping that will help. I look forward to seeing your list.
Thanks, Lark. I swore I wouldn't overdo challenges this year but they are very appealing and this is an old favorite.
Most importantly, I really hope things go swimmingly Friday!
Of your list, I have read 3. I recently read a book from my TBR bookcase, The Rubber Band by Rex Stout. It was there, as opposed to the paperback mystery shelves downstairs, after you made mention of it sometime last year. It was good, but not one of the best in the Wolfe series.
By the by, I wonder how, for purposes of this challenge, TBR is defined? Here in Casa Rick, any flat surface with a book on it qualifies, unless the book is there to go back on a shelf or be returned to the library. Here, I have a smallish, 3-shelf bookcase in the bedroom which is the “official “ TBR, with about 40-50 books, many of them have been there for quite a while…
Rick, I hope the surgery goes well also. I have to admit to increasing tension building up to the event. The thing I hate most is that I can't go and wait for him during surgery. But that is the way things are now.
I agree that The Rubber Band is not the best Nero Wolfe book, although there are elements in it I like. In most cases, I don't like the earlier ones as much as later books in the series. Fer de Lance, the first one, is a favorite of mine but a lot of readers don't like it that well.
I think TBR in this challenge would include any book that the person physically has on hand but not read (or on the Kindle) but also could include books that have been on TBR lists that the person has wanted to read a long time (and would get from the library) ... as long as they were published before or during 2020. For me, I shelve (or box) my unread books and only count those as TBR. Glen shelves his read books and puts unread ones by the bed.
Those are some great choices, Tracy! I'm especially wondering what you'll think of Bangkok 8. I thought it was a great start to the series, and I hope you'll like it.
Interesting list! I've only read the Austen and the Holmes, both of which are great. Hope you enjoy them, and the others - I look forward to hearing what you think of them.
Margot, Bangkok 8 was on one of my challenges from last year, but I did not get to it. This year I am determined to. Glen read it in 2006, then gave it to me, so it has been hanging around on my shelf a long time.
FictionFan, I am looking forward to reading both the Austen and the Sherlock Holmes stories. Both are on my classics list, so they will move me forward a bit on that. It would be nice if I could read all of the books on the list.
Apart from the Austen the only one from your list that I've read is Wife of the Gods which I thought was fascinating because of the details it gives about Ghanian textile patterns and also voodoo practices.
Good luck with the challenge
BookerTalk, Thanks for the information about Wife of the Gods. I have had that on my shelves for over ten years, so I hope I do read it this year. I often read books set in European countries and also in Japan, but I don't read much set in Africa.
What a great list! I keep meaning to read some Connie Willis. Looking forward to your thoughts on the Sherlock Holmes.
Thanks, Beth. The Sherlock Holmes book is on my Classics List, and I hope I like it. I have read other Connie Willis books and enjoyed them.
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