Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion

Had a hard time trying to figure out how to add my books -- I hope this works! Also hoping that by linking to each book, you will be able to read my review.

1. Death of an Outsider
2. Death of a Hussy
3. Death of a Perfect Wife
4. Death of a Snob

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of a Prankster
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

Nice to see that I am not the only one who has multiple books going at once! Good luck with your challenge :)

Leslie wrote: "Nice to see that I am not the only one who has multiple books going at once! Good luck with your challenge :)"

Thanks Leslie. I never used to have multiple books going, but now each book is for a different reason -- Trains & Buttered Toast is my car book, East Wind Melts the Ice is my seasonal round book that I read in conjunction with the seasons, etc.

Good luck to you too!

Leslie wrote: "Nice to see that I am not the only one who has multiple books going at once! Good luck with your challenge :)"

Thanks Leslie. I never used to have multiple books going, but now each book is for a different reason -- Trains & Buttered Toast is my car book, East Wind Melts the Ice is my seasonal round book that I read in conjunction with the seasons, etc.

Good luck to you too!

I'm stunned to find out that I hadn't added some of these books to my TBR shelf. They've been sitting here forever, gathering cobwebs & dust, but as I went to add them to my Read shelf, I found they hadn't ever been added to my Want to Read shelf in the first place. But they still count, cuz I've had them forever, waiting to complete the series so I could wallow in it from beginning to end.

5. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
6. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
7. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
8. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
9. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
Death of a Macho Man
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

I wish I could figure out what I did differently in my first post that shows the book title, rather than just my review url.

10. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
11. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
Death of a Scriptwriter
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

12. Death of a Scriptwriter https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
Death of an Addict
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

12. Death of an Addict https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
13. A Highland Christmas https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
14. Death of a Dustman https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
15. Death of a Celebrity https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of a Village
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

16. Death of a Poison Pen https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
17. Death of a Bore https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of a Dreamer
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

18. Death of a Dreamer https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of Yesterday
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

19. Death of a Maid https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
20. Death of a Gentle Lady https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I'm actually farther ahead than this, I just can't time to get reviews written & posted, etc.

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of Yesterday
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

21. Death of a Witch https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of Yesterday
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

I'm behind on reviews too Kate but decided to whirl ahead in reading instead. I'll list those first, then fill in html code after. Like many this year, I'll be trying out the great Marion Chesny Beaton myself. :)

22. Death of a Valentine https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Jane Eyre
Trains and Buttered Toast
Death of Yesterday
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle
East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons

C. wrote: "I'm behind on reviews too Kate but decided to whirl ahead in reading instead. I'll list those first, then fill in html code after. Like many this year, I'll be trying out the great Marion Chesny ..."

The "problem" with these books is that they're such fast reads. But I am soldiering away at the reviews, & hope to catch up over the weekend. It's going to be raining all weekend -- yay! Perfect weather for finishing projects and reading!

22 done! What a great start! At that rate, you're going to be waiting for me at the top--with champagne, right? ;-)

Bev wrote: "22 done! What a great start! At that rate, you're going to be waiting for me at the top--with champagne, right? ;-)"

Certainly! Properly iced down, and caviar & pate to round out the feast!!! :)))

23. Death of a Chimney Sweep https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
24. Death of a Kingfisher https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
25. Death of Yesterday https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
The Tale of Briar Bank
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle

There -- that's January written up. And ... the newest book in the Hamish Macbeth series -- Death of a Policeman -- came yesterday! Just as soon as I finish the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter books, I'm diving right into it!

You & I will have to discuss the cottage tales. I'll conclude "Oat Cake Crag" & "Castle Cottage" when I'm through with Canadian obligations. I believe I found "Hawthorne House" the poorest (the horrid one about taking eggs away from a duck mother). I absolutely loved "Cuckoobrow Woods" the best - ethrealness at last! Finding fairies, introducing Caroline, and all of that. Not to be misspelled nor mistaken for my name, which rhymes with GIN (not 'wine'). Carolyn

Grabbing a moment to get a couple more books logged in. I'm so far behind that the stack that I've read keeps toppling over! Maybe I should go for more listing & less reading until I get caught up?

26. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
27. People of the Sea https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
28. The Other Wind https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
29. East Wind Melts The Ice: A Memoir Through The Seasons https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...

Currently reading:
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
To Serve Them All My Days
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle

C. wrote: "You & I will have to discuss the cottage tales. I'll conclude "Oat Cake Crag" & "Castle Cottage" when I'm through with Canadian obligations. I believe I found "Hawthorne House" the poorest (the h..."

Yes, we will have to talk about them. I have mixed feelings -- a love/hate relationship as it were. But ... watched the Miss Potter movie after finishing them, & I must say I like SWA's character & plots much much better!

You're done? It may be a few months before I reach the last two. I'll try to move it up; knowing there is someone with whom to so recently discuss them. :) A great starting point will be our reviews. I'm keen on reviews of novels I've finished.

C. wrote: "You're done? It may be a few months before I reach the last two. I'll try to move it up; knowing there is someone with whom to so recently discuss them. :) A great starting point will be our r..."

Not to worry -- these have turned out to be some of my favorite books, so I can just reread them quickly if I've forgotten by the time you read them.

It's been two years since I read the third last, "Applebeck Orchard" and I remember quite well my anger. The author drags on and on about overly-repeated details we have no need to know. But when we finally get to the part we've awaited, where Beatrix & Will kiss? What gall to not show it!!!! She failed to show the very scenes the reader wanted, as if she couldn't handle the big parts once she got to them.

30. Wild Indigo https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
31. Wild Inferno https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
32. Wild Sorrow https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
33. Wild Penance https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:
Trains and Buttered Toast (car book)
London
Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle

34. The Tale of Hill Top Farm https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
35. The Tale of Holly How https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
36. The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...

Currently reading:
London
Radical Forgiveness: Making Room for the Miracle

Luckily I'm now reading which is a mile thick, but will maybe give me time to catch up on getting what I've already read listed here!

[insert drum roll & trumpet fanfare here]
I am *finally* done with the Scottish Games, & now working on getting my life back in working order. Not as easy as you might suppose!

But here is the rest of February's reads:

37. The Tale of Hawthorn House; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
38. The Tale of Briar Bank; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
39. The Tale of Applebeck Orchard; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
40. The Tale of Oat Cake Crag; ww.goodreads.com/review/show/930861581
41. The Tale of Castle Cottage; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:




These reviews are short and not very in depth, because so much time has passed since I read them (& I've read so many other books in between.) But at least they're reviewed, and when I reread them as I plan to do, I can come & update my reviews.

And now, on to March!

After pausing two years, I am finishing "The Cottage Tales". I see Susan Wittig Albert did not receive enough counsil in time, to stop that habit she developed. Talking too much to present-day readers and stating the obvious too. But we'll see if I enjoy "The Tale Of Oat Cake Crag" overall. It has such a lovely name and portrait, I've looked forward to it so long. I thought you might like my reviews; the earlier ones in which praise was high. :) Carolyn.

http://www.amazon.ca/review/R37E8ZYRG...

http://www.amazon.ca/review/R14Y0QNZV...

For those of you hanging on to the edge of your seats waiting for my March list (and I know the number is legion ... 8^) )

42. To Serve Them All My Days; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
43. Death of a Policeman; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
44. Mr. Fooster Traveling on a Whim https://www.goodreads.com/review/edit...
45. Trains And Buttered Toast; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
46. The London Ritz Book of Afternoon Tea; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
47. London; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
48. The Westing Game; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
49. The Murders of Richard III; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And there you have it folks ... March done & dusted. April awaits!

I solely hang onto the edge of my seat, when I offer my personally-written reviews. Please do tell how you like the first two, or perhaps I'll have the pleasure of your vote there. :) My third, "The Tale Of Cuckoo Brow Wood" is the most glowing, shared below. After that Susan Wittig Albert has gotten on my nerves, exponentially up to "The Tale Of Oat Cake Crag". This latest after a two-year break, hoping she read feedback and improved her indulgent, wildly unedited ways.

http://www.amazon.ca/review/R2UMPPC7X...

April. here we come!

50. Second Fiddle; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
51. The Camelot Caper; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
52. The Penguin Pool Murder; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
53. Permission to Proceed; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
54. The Year 1000: What Life Was Like At the Turn of the First Millennium; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
55. Circles of Stone; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Currently reading:

Ah, May ...

56. Wives and Daughters; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
57. The Blackberry Tea Club: Women in Their Glory Years; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
58. Finders Keepers: A Tale of Archaeological Plunder and Obsession; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
59. A Classic English Crime; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
60. Hens Dancing; https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I abandoned The Farm by Lough Gur & The Bucolic Plague & The Old Limey with nary a twinge of remorse.

Currently reading:
Outwitting Squirrels: 101 Cunning Stratagems to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels
A Walk Through the Year

About those "The Cottage Tales": I felt a shift after the first three. Susan developed self-indulgent narration, that grew unbearable. Please find my thoughts of the excellent first three. Let me know how you like my reviews: in my discussion thread, your thread, or perhaps I'll have the pleasure of a 'helpful' vote at Amazon. :) Good day to you from central Canada. Carolyn

http://www.amazon.ca/review/R37E8ZYRG...
"The Tale Of Hilltop Farm"
http://www.amazon.ca/review/R14Y0QNZV...
"The Tale Of Holly How"
http://www.amazon.ca/review/R2UMPPC7X...
"The Tale Of Cuckoo Brow Wood", my favourite.

61. Evelina; https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Outwitting Squirrels: 101 Cunning Stratagems to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels
A Walk Through the Year
School House in the Wind

C. wrote: "About those "The Cottage Tales": I felt a shift after the first three. Susan developed self-indulgent narration, that grew unbearable. Please find my thoughts of the excellent first three. Let ..."

I also felt a shift after the first three. The difference being that the shift towards the mystical. The charm of this series for me was the "feel" of village life at the turn of the centry in the Lake District. The animals were nice, and actually I quite enjoyed the badger hotel, and the badger historian. The fairies & the dragons were a bit of a stretch for me. I didn't use to be so crotchety -- perhaps it's old age creeping up on me! I kept the books, & will now collect them in hardback, because for all my quibbles, I know I'll read them again and again ... comfort reads indeed.

Liked your reviews!

63. Evelina is actually #63 -- I screwed up the count twice! back in the Hamish Macbeth series.

Decided to not post links to my reviews -- you know where they are if you want to read them.

64. The Stations of Still Creek
65. The Outermost House: A Year of Life On The Great Beach of Cape Cod
66. The Last Season
67. Time of My Life
68. Staying Put: Making a Home in a Restless World
69. The Lost Summer of Louisa May Alcott
70. Chatterton Square

I also read How the Heather Looks: A Joyous Journey to the British Sources of Children's Books but it wasn't in my TBR mountain so I'm not counting it for this challenge.

There's June done & dusted!

Currently reading:
A Walk Through the Year
Old Filth

C. wrote: "About those "The Cottage Tales": I felt a shift after the first three. Susan developed self-indulgent narration, that grew unbearable. Please find my thoughts of the excellent first three. Let ..."

I agree with you C. The narrator was more and more intrusive in each successive book, but I loved them all just the same. I think because I like the Lake District so much and English villages so much. I'm never happier than when I'm reading about either one!

Call me Carolyn. It ruined the story for me especially in "The Tale Of Oat Cake Crag", if you wouldn't be offended by reading a less than stellar review. I showed you the first three but my reviews too, could only help but alter with Susan's faux pas. However I'm with you that I intend to finish and remain a fan of the setting and characters and her idea. Well researched, a lot of heart, and originality but her narration style (even before intrusion) and self-promotion spoiled the subsequent bunch of apples a bit.

My blog now has an alphabetized review listing. I invite you and any of our peer readers, to the less flattering three reviews, if you dare. Find also an all-Canadian review menu at the very top of any blog page. www.CMRiedel.wordpress.com

C. wrote: "Call me Carolyn. It ruined the story for me especially in "The Tale Of Oat Cake Crag", if you wouldn't be offended by reading a less than stellar review.

Carolyn, I of course wouldn't be offended by a less than stellar review. I write them all the time myself! And you might be interested to know that I just tried to read The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree by Miss Albert, but she swung into her narrator bit in the second chapter and I just couldn't face it, so I abandoned the book. I liked the Beatrix Potter mysteries for their locale, and the charm of village life enough that I could grit my teeth through the intrusion of the narrator, but definitely don't like Souther mysteries enough to repeat my performance!

71. My Fine Feathered Friend
72. Cottage for Sale, Must Be Moved: A Woman Moves a House to Make a Home
73. Outwitting Squirrels: 101 Cunning Stratagems to Reduce Dramatically the Egregious Misappropriation of Seed from Your Birdfeeder by Squirrels
74. Last Chance to See
75. Silent Witness
76. The English School of Murder
77. Murder, Mystery and Mayhem

I didn't count Old Filth since it wasn't in my TBR stack, but lent by a friend.

And that's July accounted for.

Currently reading:
A Great and Godly Adventure by Godfrey Hodgson

78. A Great and Godly Adventure
79. A Very Eligible Corpse
80. Date with the Perfect Dead Man
81. Love and the Single Corpse

Currently reading:
Walk Through the Year
Tall, Dead and Handsome

82. Tall, Dead and Handsome
83. The Oxford Murders

Currently reading:
Walk Through the Year
Outlander

84. An Afternoon Walk
85. The Dying of the Light: A Mystery
86. Glimpses of the Ancient Southwest
87. The True Story of Ah-Q
88. Out of the Past
89. The Case Of The Missing Brontë
90. Animal Farm
91. Politically Correct Bedtime Stories: A Collection of Modern Tales for Our Life and Times
92. Murdering Ministers: An Oliver Swithin Mystery

Well, obviously I'm going to reach the 100 mark before too much longer. I guess then I just declare my intention to go to the next level? How doe3s that work?

Good going Kate! If you want to go for the next level, just create a new thread under that higher peak. Good luck!

93. Mrs., Presumed Dead
94. Mrs. Pargeter's Package
95. Mrs. Pargeter's Pound of Flesh

I've read 3 other books, but none of those were in my TBR stack, and I'm only counting TBR books for this challenge.

96. Mrs. Pargeter's Plot
97. If Only They Could Talk
98. All Creatures Great and Small
99. Let Sleeping Vets Lie
100. Vet in Harness

Currently reading:
A Walk Through the Year
100 Simple Things You Can Do to Prevent Alzheimer's and Age-Related Memory Loss
Vets Might Fly

I did it! (Looks around in amazement!) I doubt I can read another 50 books to meet the next level, but I'm certainly not going to stop reading, so guess I'll give it a go!

If you glance at my own 100 thread, which might soon fall out of view I thanked you again for your lovely words about My Love. I begged a copy & paste where I'll keep them for my own. They are thoughtful, helpful and I am grateful. My thoughts for Charlie too.

Congratulations on reaching one-hundred Kate! I'm glad for you to join us camping here. Whether we make another fifty or not, let's keep the party going. Carolyn.