2X19 AND MT. TBR CHALLENGES
At the beginning of 2019, book challenge season, I posted a dual challenge for myself that I've been doing for seven years now. The goal of these two challenges is to clear some books off my TBR shelves, which is always a good idea.
I've now completed both challenges. I'm going to do similar challenges in 2020. Who else has TBR challenges lined up for the new year?
2X19: The first of my two 2019 challenges was a personal challenge I called the 2X19 Challenge and was to read 38 books off my TBR shelves. I've done the same thing since 2013 -- tried to read a "two times the year" number of books off my shelves. Of course, the challenge kept getting more difficult!
I plan to switch to one book for each year in 2020. There must be a challenge already planned for this. I've seen a few "read 20 books in 2020" challenges. Is there a "read 20 books on your TBR shelves" challenge? "TBR 20" or something?
MtTBR: The second TBR challenge I do every year is the Mt. TBR Challenge. Bev hosts this popular annual event on her blog, My Reader's Block.
I've now finished both challenges, although I will polish off at least one more and maybe another for the Mt. TBR challenge before we ring in the new year.
Happy Holidays!
2X19 CHALLENGE:
READ 38 TBR BOOKS IN 2019
COMPLETED
COMPLETED
Because 2019 involved reading 38 books, I intentionally chose short books this year (short in pages, not height, but see below). My preference is for long, shaggy, plot-driven novels, so intentionally picking short books made me read books that have been sitting on my TBR shelves for a long, long time.
The results were mixed. There were a couple gems I am glad I finally read, like the Muriel Spark dark satire, The Abbess of Crewe and Levels of Life by Julian Barnes for the essay on grief. But a couple of the short ones I could have skipped, like the maudlin short story, Friend of My Springtime by Willa Cather.
MY 2X19 BOOKS
I took this picture last December when I planned the challenge, which explains the Christmas theme. I read them in the order listed below: The first were New Year's resolution books; the next two I was excited to read; and the rest I read in order of height, from tallest to shortest, for no reason except I was feeling goofy. After I took the picture, I realized I had two Françoise Sagan books, so I swapped one for Wise Virgin.
A Year of Living Kindly: Choices That Will Change Your Life and the World Around You by Donna Cameron (my interview with Donna Cameron is here)
On Reading Well: Finding the Good Life through Great Books by Karen Swallow Prior
The Girl from Oto by Amy Maroney (my interview with Amy Maroney is here)
The Shame of Losing by Sarah Cannon (my interview with Sarah Cannon is here)
An Affair with a House by Bunny Williams
Mark Hampton on Decorating by Mark Hampton
The Tenth Man by Graham Greene
Friend of My Springtime by Willa Cather
Licking Flames: Tales of a Half-Assed Hussy by Diana Kirk (my interview with Diana Kirk is here)
Queen of Spades by Michael Shou-Yung Shum
Zuckerman Unbound by Philip Roth
The Last Thing He Wanted by Joan Didion
The Robineau Look by Kathleen Moore Knight
Agents and Patients by Anthony Powell
Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson
A Woman of Means by Peter Taylor
The Poorhouse Fair by John Updike
Girl, 20 by Kingsley Amis
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd by Agatha Christie
Slam by Nick Hornby
Lady Into Fox by David Garnett (James Tait Black Memorial Prize Winner)
Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot
Henri, le Chat Noir: The Existential Musings of an Angst-Filled Cat by William Bradon
The Great Mortdecai Moustache Mystery by Kyril Bonfiglioli
The Gift of a Letter by Alexandra Stoddard
Do the Windows Open? by Julie Hecht
Dirty Friends by Morris Lurie
Something Special by Iris Murdoch
The Imitation Game by Ian McEwan
The Small Room by May Sarton
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
Wise Virgin by A. N. Wilson
The Little Book of Lykke by Meik Wiking
The Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
The Heart-Keeper by Françoise Sagan
The Abbess of Crewe by Muriel Spark
Levels of Life by Julian Barnes
First Love by Joyce Carol Oates
THE MT. TBR CHALLENGE:
READ A TOTAL OF 60 TBR BOOKS IN 2019
COMPLETED
COMPLETED
Every year, I join the Mt, TBR Challenge on My Reader's Block. In 2019, I signed up for the Mr. Kilimanjaro level of 60 books. I tried this same level in 2018 and fell sort by two books. This year, I have to read 22 in addition to the 38 from my 2X19 Challenge.
I've read 61 books so far, so reached the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro and am still climbing. I will probably finish two more books before the end of the year. That won't get me to the next peak in Bev's challenge, but it will get a few more books off my shelves.
BOOKS READ
In addition to the 38 books listed above, I read:
Educated by Tara Westover
The Jewel in the Crown (The Raj Quartet, Book I) by Paul Scott
The Year of the French by Thomas Flanagan
The Day of the Scorpion (The Raj Quartet, Book II) by Paul Scott
The Towers of Silence (The Raj Quartet, Book III) by Paul Scott
A Division of Spoils (The Raj Quartet, Book IV) by Paul Scott
Staying On by Paul Scott (Booker Prize winner)
In the Woods by Tana French
Collected Poems by Kingsley Amis
A Man of Property (The Forsyte Saga, Book I) by John Galsworthy
In Chancery (The Forsyte Saga, Book II) by John Galsworthy
To Let (The Forsyte Saga, Book III) by John Galsworthy
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian by Marina Lewycka
The Best of Friends by Joanna Trollope
A Sight for Sore Eyes by Ruth Rendell
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold John le Carre
Set in Darkness by Ian Rankin
I'd Rather Be Reading: The Delights and Dilemmas of the Reading Life by Anne Bogel
A Cat Abroad by Peter Gethers
The Know-It-All: One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A. J. Jacobs
Shattered by Dick Francis
The Hunter by John Lescroart
NOTES
Updated as of December 21, 2019.
This would be a fun challenge this year. I'd like to prioritize the books I "really, really" want to read and see how far I get.
ReplyDeleteThis would be a fun challenge for me this year. I'd like to prioritize the books I "really, really" want to read and see how far I get.
ReplyDelete