Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion
Mount TBR Checkpoints
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Mount TBR Checkpoint #1
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OK, I will break the ice and plunge in...I signed on for Mont Blanc - 24 books. I am tracking my print, Kindle, and audiobooks separately; I signed up primarily to encourage myself to read my print (paperback & hardcover) books so originally I thought I would only count those. If I stick to that idea, then I am a third of the way up with 8 done. However, if I combine all types of books, I have reached the summit with a bit to spare with a total of 25. I am a bit surprised by how evenly it has turned out: 8 print, 8 Kindle, and 9 audiobooks so far. I am still struggling to make reading my own books a priorty so these 25 are just a portion of all I have read so far this year...
2A. The most enjoyable book from these so far was Young Miles, and here is the cover
2D. Middlemarch has been on my shelf the longest, and it was a bit disappointing. It was a little bit of a struggle to read and I didn't love it the way I thought I would. I think it was worth reading but unlike some other Victorian literature, I won't be rereading it.
Mount TBR First Quarter Checkpoint:1. I have read 24 books and am halfway to the summit of Mt. Ararat.
Mt. Ararat. = 16,854 ft. Halfway = 8,427 ft.
2. A. Favorite cover so far:
AND favorite title--It was clever and it fit the story:
Cloche and Dagger by Jenn McKinlay
B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
Daisy Dalrymple - I've read ten books this year in a mystery series featuring this character. Daisy is an unconventional, clever and endearing character.
C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way
One Amazing Thing by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni - fascinating premise, great storytelling. Nine people are trapped in a consulate office by an earthquake. To stave off panic and past the time, each character tells a story from his/her life. My pre-conception of them completely changes with every story told.
D. Which book (read so far) has been on your TBR mountain the longest?
Many Deadly Returns by Patricia Moyes -in my TBR since 1997!!
Was it worth the wait? Yes. Excellent mystery. The victim died from an untraceable poison in the presence of the detective at her birthday party attended by her family and friend. If I'd known it was this good, I would have read it sooner.
Mount TBR First Quarter Checkpoint:1. I have read 10 books so far, so I'm making my way up Mount Vancouver. It's about 1337 meters.
2A. Favorite cover so far is this one for Tiger Lily. It's just so beautiful.
2B. My favorite character so far is Viola Eade from the Chaos Walking trilogy. She’s tough and relentless and she’s kind and she is so loving and wonderful, and I love her.
2C. A book that has surprised me the most is The Lies of Locke Lamora. I just really loved it. I thought I’d like it, but I didn’t know I’d love it so much.
Mount TBR First Quarter Checkpoint:1 I'm Going to Mt. Olympus and am just over halfway at 78 books read.
2D I think Tess of the d'Urbervilles has been on my list the longest. I downloaded a bunch of classics when I got my 1st Kindle a few years ago and this was one of them. September 19, 2012
Mount TBR First Quarter Checkpoint:1. I am 13 books down out of 36 so 23 more to go.
2. My favorite book so far has been The Song of Quarkbeast by Jasper Fforde. https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net... I love Fforde and I cannot wait to read the next one!
1. I am exactly a third of the way up Mount Kilimanjaro, or sitting easy at 1,965 metres. I am past the first ascent with a cool 3,930 metres to go. I am building a post-acquired book mountain in my thread this year so I can see what's coming up for next year - I have almost 1/2 a Mount Kilimanjaro already! Very exciting. I am slowly hacking away at it as I tackle this year's climb.2A. My favourite cover so far is:
I love its simplicity and, having grown up in San Francisco, I appreciate the reference to the rogue flock of wild parrots.
2B. My favourite character by far has been Mark Watney in The Martian. This book (especially as an audiobook) is an absolute treat. My husband loved it. I'm not sure why I took so long to finally listen to it.
2D. I am ashamed to admit I haven't tackled any of the books that have been hanging around the longest. Two that I've read this year, Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend and Love is a Mix Tape I had for 2 years - but to me that's not too long. One that I must get to is Plum Island - I just never seem to want to read it...
1. I am actually climbing a little slower than I anticipated this first quarter and only making it a little over 12% on my journey up Mt. Olympus (19 out of 150 books or 1212 feet out of 9570 feet). The one positive thing is I'm getting through some of these older ebooks I've had on my nook and kindle so that' making me happy. I would like to work on more print editions so I can make more room on my shelves for future purchases ;) 2A. I absolute love this photo - mainly for the kitten on it but because Christmas is one of my favorite holidays -
2B. My favorite character so far has been Kayte Wexford from eloves me eloves me not. If something wrong could happen to her, it did but she took it all in stride and made it all work out in the end.
2C. Wicked Games was one I wasn't expecting to like as much as I did. While the plot was a little predictable, it was a great read and I definitely want to read more by the author.
2D. Always the Baker, Never the Bride was the ebooks I've had the longest - since January 2011. It was worth the wait and I want to read the rest of the series.
I signed on for Mt. Vancouver, 36 books. So far only 8 of the books I've read were from my TBR pile:( I need to step it up if I plan to complete my trek!My favorite cover was Death at the Dog. I love Rue Morgues covers!
My favorite character was Chris Guthrie from two of the books I read...
Sunset Song
Cloud Howe
Chris was a strong, enduring woman who lived through tough times.
A Scots Quair, A Trilogy including Sunset Song, Cloud Howe, Grey Granitefrom which I read so far Sunset Song and Cloud Howe, was on my shelf the longest. Will read the last in the trilogy soon! Excellent books!
Murder On Clam Pond was a surprising good read. I bought the other two in the series after reading it. Too bad there are only 3 in this good series.
I signed up for the Mt. Blanc challenge, and I am already 50% of the way there (12 out of 24). It's my best start to this Challenge to date, and I credit my initial success to using books that I own for a winter challenge that I just finished with one of my clubs.My favorite cover so far has been
by Vaddy Ratner.The book that has been on my TBR the longest that I was able to finally read was A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. I had it on my TBR since December 2007!
I'm climbing up Pike's Peak and currently about 60% up the mountain at 7 books of 12. Also reading another, about third way through, so not resting yet. I'm hoping this will be the first mountain peak climbed this year, aiming for higher, but do get so pulled away by library books....My favorite book title is The Dewey Decimal System since I'm a bit of a library geek, but the book was far from my favorite.
The book longest on my shelves was Sula by Toni Morrison I bought this as part of a six-book set in 1997. I read two of them right away, back to back, then the other four sat practically abandoned. Now I'm half-way through her books I own. Morrison writes such strange and difficult books, it's hard to say if it was worth the wait or not. I know I needed a break after reading the first two, just didn't know it would be nearly 17 years!
My ascent up Pike's Peak is a slow one. I keep stopping for water because I'm so out of shape geez. So far I have read 3 books out of 12, I think if I keep this up, one book per month I can make it! But because I'm stubborn I want to push myself for the next level, so we'll see.A. My favorite title so far has to be Mindy Kaling's "Is Everyone Hanging Out Without Me ? And Other Concerns", it's catchy and funny.
C. I'm kind of disappointed with the books I've read so far, I haven't LOVED any of them. I think the best so far has been "Let It Snow" because I just couldn't take the cuteness and the serendipity-ness of it (in a good way).
D. "Never Let Me Go" has been the one I've had for the longest time, since 2010. I wish I had read it back when I bought it, and maybe before watching the movie. It might have been a different experience dunno.
1) I've read 18 out of the 24 books required for the Mount Blanc level, which I am officially participating in. However, ideally, I would like to surpass that and read at least 75 previously owned books. We shall see!2) A. I've read a lot of books with gorgeous covers that counts toward this challenge. However, my favorite is probably this edition of Jane Eyre:
. I honestly wish I enjoyed that book more, simply so I could justify owning that edition. Lol!B. My favorite character has been Kenji from the Shatter Me trilogy by Tahereh Mafi, because he was the most memorable. Also, honestly, he is the most similar to me out of all the characters I have read about for this challenge so far.
C. Unfortunately, I think Days of Blood and Starlight surprised me the most by how much I didn't like it. =/
D. Heaven and Earth by Nora Roberts has been on my tbr pile the longest (since 09/2010). I should have read it a long time ago. It is not anything special really, but it was easy enough to get through.
1) I've read 22 out of 48 - I'm going for Mount Ararat, but secretly am aiming higher. Two of those ended up being DNFs, unfortunately, but at least they're off my TBR list. 2) B. My favorite character so far is Liaden from Son of the Shadows. She's a strong woman who forges her own path and is stubborn when she needs to be but is also compassionate. I loved her.
C. One that surprised me was The Farwalker's Quest, which I picked up as a Kindle daily deal. It restored my faith that it's possible to find gems that way.
D. His Majesty's Dragon has been on my list the longest, since May 2009. Wow, that's almost 5 years. Thankfully I enjoyed it or it would have been such a waste!
1. I've read 49 out of 150 of Mount Olympus. I hoped to be able to read 50 until the end of March but once again library books were in the way. Anyway, I'm doing much better than last year and I'm very proud of it!2. A. Favourite Cover:
(not my favourite book though)B. Favourite Character: Once again Flavia de Luce. I just can't get enough of her!
C. A pleasant surprise was
. It's on the 1001 list and I first wondered why because the language is very bad. But the story is very good, so all in all a pleasant surprise.D. The book that has been the longest on my TBR pile was
. It was probebly the best book I've read so far this year and well worth the wait.
I am going for the Mount Blanc climb and I have read 11 books so far out of the 24 required. Favorite character so far has been Bridget Jones from Bridget Jones' Diary. She is just so funny and so relatable. I actually hope to pick up the sequel some time this month.
Mod
Mod
Leslie wrote: "Congratulations Lisa!"Thank you, Leslie! =)
Lisa, congratulations on winning!! And congrats to everyone on their progress climbing those mountains of books! :-)
Pamela wrote: "Lisa, congratulations on winning!! And congrats to everyone on their progress climbing those mountains of books! :-)"Thanks, Pamela! I am enjoying the climb.
Sigh. I know I'm past the deadline, but felt I should check in anyway.I signed up for Mt. Vancouver for 2014---36 books---thinking it would spur me on to do better than last year. Well, this year's challenge is fast going the way of Mount TBR 2013. Oh, I've read 20 books so far, just…NOT the books on my list. I keep getting distracted by interesting stuff a few books over on the dusty shelf from the book I intended to read.
My favorite book so far:
Holy Warriors: The Religious Ideology of Chivalry
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6...
It's the toughest read on my list, not a mystery or popular nonfiction, but a scholarly study of the of the paradox of the Christian warrior in the middle ages. How could a devout Christian, whose religion commands him to turn the other cheek, reconcile that with a life of violence in service to greedy masters who commanded them to loot and kill? I'm only about halfway through it, because I know so little real history (and even less medieval literature) that I need to look up at least 5 things on each page. It's fascinating, though, and worth every bit of the effort I'm putting in to it.
Surprises:
The Gift of the Red Bird
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8...
This wasn't on my list, and wouldn't have been my top choice to read this year, but it was chosen by a book club I belong to. I'm usually not attracted to touchy-feely popular spirituality books, but I began reading it so I could participate in the book club discussions. Surprise! It is well-written and thought provoking, leading to some wonderful discussions. I really enjoyed it.
Moldy oldy (on my TBR shelf the longest)
Washington Square
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
A novel of love and betrayal by Henry James, I chose this book because (a) I've enjoyed other books by Henry James (The Turn of the Screw, and Daisy Miller) and (2) I absolutely love Washington Square and thought I'd enjoy matching up the buildings in the novel with the ones I see when I visit my brother-in-law in NYC. Most of the buildings mentioned in this 1880 novel are still on the Square, visible from the front door of my BIL's apartment building, so I plan to read during my next NYC visit.
Mod
I signed up for Mt. Vancouver for 2014---36 books---thinking it would spur me on to do better than last year. Well, this year..."
Thanks for checking in! Sorry you missed the deadline--keep your eyes peeled for the next one in June!
I'm late to the party, but I'm going to check in anyway.I signed up for the Mt. Blanc challenge (24 books) and so far I've read the following:
The Leopard Princeby Elizabeth Hoyt, which is tied for favourite with:
The Luckiest Lady in London by Sherry Thomas.
Secrets Of The Night by Jo Beverley
Love Is Blind by Lynsay Sands
Fair Shine the Day by Sylvia Thorpe
Forbidden Jewel of India by Louise Allen and
Gabriel: Lord of Regrets by Grace Burrowes.
I think the book on my TBR list the longest was probably The Leopard Prince and I should definitely have read it earlier, because it's a terrific read.
That's seven books, which puts me one ahead of schedule. I hope I can manage as many next quarter.
Mod
I signed up for the Mt. Blanc challenge (24 books) and so far I've read the following:
The Leopard Princeby Elizabeth Hoyt, ..."
Caz: Thanks for checking in! Glad to see you're climbing on schedule. We'll look forward to further reports from you on Mount Blanc--good luck with the next quarter!
Sorry I am late, but here goes. I'm doing Mt. Everest and I am 77 books in. I don't know if I want to go to Mt. Olympous. The surprising thing is that I got more ebooks I want to read but I got them this year so they don't count. So that is rather irritating that I want to read them. Also, my books from the librarary hadn't really stopped. I don't count them but I had hoped this challange would encourage me to read my older ebooks.
Mod
Thanks for checking in! You're doing great on Mt. Everest. Good luck with the rest of the journey. And even if you do venture off to the new ebooks--you'll have knocked 100 off your TBR list!
Later than everyone here, but I use moving into a new place as an excuse. :) Said adventure in moving has also slowed me down slightly, but I'm still past the fifty mark of Everest, and determined to plough on.I'm not sure what's been in my TBR/TBLT piles the longest -- certainly many of the Fables collections that I went through have been on my shelves for some years (and now they're not; I passed them on to a good friend), but then again the same applies to Big Finish titles. Many of the anthologies up for perusal go back a couple of decades in the collection.
In terms of reading surprises, while the Fables books haven't been as enthralling as I'd hoped, it's been the 87th Precinct novels by Ed McBain that have had their surprises for me -- they're extremely variable, and there's a couple of shockingly bad ones (alhough I shouldn't be too surprised; I read The Frumious Bandersnatch many years ago and was duly appalled.)
Mod
Thanks for checking in, Steven! I hope that everything is settling down for you after the move. Over 50 done is great!
Oops, I see I said Everest. I meant Olympus...!Things are indeed settling down. There's still some distance to go on sorting, but the important things are done -- books and music!
Mod
Things are indeed settling down. There's still some distance to go on sorting, but the important things are done -- books and music!"
Yes--sorting the books and the music always comes first here too. :-) And 50 is still a good chunk towards Olympus. I had hopes of getting past Everest (my declared peak) to Olympus this year, but my reading pace has slowed down. Don't know if I'll make it after all...
I had that thought a couple of times last year, although I did manage to finally crest Everest despite distractions. Of course, as soon as I'd decided to go for Olympus, the fire happened, and then the surgery was scheduled, and I had *no* idea if I could make it. I'm hoping this year stays at least moderately settled so that I can stay on pace. Ideally I would like to get all of the books stacked around my circular coffee table read and replaced with next year's batch. :) I'm looking forward to it.Anyway, good luck with your reading -- and have faith, you'll likely be back on track before long. Just avoid Diane Gabaldon's Outlander series...!
Mount TBR 2014 Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Frumious Bandersnatch (other topics)The Leopard Prince (other topics)
Secrets of the Night (other topics)
Fair Shine the Day (other topics)
The Leopard Prince (other topics)
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1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.
2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far. OR If you have difficulty posting a cover for any reason, share your favorite title--this does not have to be your favorite read. It can just be a title you thought was funny or clever or interesting or....
B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)
D. Which book (read so far) has been on your TBR mountain the longest? Was it worth the wait? Or is it possible you should have tackled it back when you first put it on the pile? Or tossed it off the edge without reading it all?
And what do you get for all that hard work (and distraction from the actual climb)? Comments will be accepted until 11:59 pm on Saturday, April 5. On Sunday, April 6, I will crank up the Custom Random Number Generator and pick a winning climber (based on comment #). He or she will have the chance to add to their TBR stack via my gently-used book vault (prize list will be sent). Just think, if you win a book you can start up a pile for next year's Mount TBR Challenge.
Even if you're not in the mood for a prize or if you've only got one leg of the journey under your belt, I'd love to have you check in and tell us how your climb is going!
***Please note--This thread is for Checkpoint comments only. Comments that are not Checkpoint-specific will be removed--to make it easier for me to track a winner. If you would like to cheer a fellow-climber, please stop in at their climb thread. Thanks!