My favorite book challenge every year is the Mt. TBR Challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block.
I combined it with my own challenge to read at least 34 books from my TBR shelves to mark the year: 2X17. I picked those 34 books at the beginning of the year and have made surprisingly fast progress on them. I only have the seven pictured above left to finish.
What looks good?
Those I've already finished from the original list of 34 are:
When You Lunch With the Emperor by Ludwig Bemelmans
The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen
No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley
A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters
Poetic Justice by Amanda Cross
The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business; The Manticore; World of Wonders by Robertson Davies
Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered by Tod Davies
A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick
Spotted Dick, S'Il Vous Plait: An English Restaurant in France by Tom Higgins
Ultimate Prizes by Susan Howatch
Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman
Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally
The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison
Paradise News by David Lodge
An Oxford Tragedy by J. C. Masterman
The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch
Rebus: The Lost Years: Let It Bleed; Black & Blue; The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin
That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo
Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö
The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark
Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler
Beck at Bay by John Updike
The Road to Burgundy: The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France by Ray Walker
The Life and Loves of a She Devil by Fay Weldon
The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
Part of the reason I've read so many is that I haven't reviewed any of them. I've been so busy at work because we have several cases heading to trial. I can read on a plan traveling for work, or in bed before I fall asleep, but I don't have the mental energy to write a book review.
About a Boy is hilarious! I also have had Birdsong in my list for years.
ReplyDeleteShadow of the Wind was so, so good. And Schindler's List is on my TBR, but I want to be in the right mental space for it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you can pick specific books and tick them off one by one. Unfortunately, I have this weird hang up about committing to specific titles because I end up feeling "restricted" towards the end of the pile. Invariably, I never complete the goal because the last few books don't get read on time. Maybe this is because I'm still in school and I have so many books I HAVE to read.
Great post!
You have some great books in this list!
ReplyDeleteYou're doing well -- keep on readin. :)