The Reading Challenge Group discussion

Clear away the cobwebs from the back of your shelves and find the books that have been waiting the longest for you to read. No more delays! You have until the end of the year to clear them away, even if it means deciding you're no longer interested in some of them.

You can choose from physical shelves, or it can be a Goodreads shelf sorted by date added. Read the books that have been there the longest. Owned or not, what matters is how long you've been meaning to read them.

**You can list up to 20 books that you will choose from for the challenge.**

Level 1 (2 Books) - Swipe the duster
1.
2.

Level 2 (4 Books) - Dust bunnies beware
3.
4.

Level 3 (7 Books) - Cobwebs begone
5.
6.
7.

Level 4 (10 Books) - Polish and shine
8.
9.
10.

I like this one. Maybe I will finally reread Midwich Cuckoos. I last read it in high school English class, and now I'm a granny. I am going for level 4 now that it is running until the end of the year.

Level 1 (2 Books)

1. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys A very sad book.
2. Die Schlafwandler by Hermann Broch

Level 2 (4 books)

3. The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham
4. Rubyfruit Jungle by Rita Mae Brown

Level 3 (7 books)

5. Silas Marner by George Eliot
6. The Diary of Alice James
7. Goodbye to All That by Robert Graves

Level 4 (10 books)

8. The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
9. Memed, My Hawk by Yaşar Kemal
10. Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ by Lew Wallace

Planned books:
Wide Sargasso Sea - done
Goodbye to all that - done
Rubyfruit Jungle - done
The Diary of Alice James - done
Midwich Cuckoos - done
Silas Marner - done
The Sleepwalkers by Hermann Broch - done
Memed my Hawk by Yashar Kamal - done
The House of the Seven Gables by Hawthorne - done
Oliver Twist by Dickens - to be read in 2018!
Ben Hur by Lew Wallace - done
New Grub Street by George Gissing
Sister Carrie by Dreiser
Black Like Me
A Little Princess
The Red Badge of Courage
The fable of the bees
On Liberty by J.S. Mill
The Confessions of Nat Turner
The Prince by Machiavelli

I'm going for level 1, and focusing on books by date added to Goodreads. I don't own any of these, so it's a nice complement to the Buyer's Remorse challenge.

Update 5/2017: Since the challenge has been extended until the end of the year, I plan to complete at least level 2.

*Completed*

Level 1 (2 Books) - Swipe the duster
1. Tigana
2. The Hallowed Hunt

Level 2 (4 Books) - Dust bunnies beware
3. Book of a Thousand Days
4. Her Royal Spyness

Level 3 (7 Books) - Cobwebs begone
5. The Demon King
6. A Beautiful Blue Death
7. Vengeance in Death

Level 4 (10 Books) - Polish and shine
8. The Corinthian
9. Bloody Jack
10. The Kings of Clonmel

My Oldest Books:
(view spoiler)[
✔ Vengeance in Death
✔ The Kings of Clonmel
Oliver Twist
✔ Bloody Jack
✔ Tigana
✘ Dead Witch Walking - Sampled, off the shelf
✘ Eyes of Crow - Sampled, off the shelf
✘ The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Sampled, off the shelf
✘ India Black - Sampled, off the shelf
✔ Her Royal Spyness
✔ Book of a Thousand Days
✔ The Demon King
Bearers of the Black Staff
✔ The Hallowed Hunt
The Face of a Stranger
Daggerspell
Imager
Dragon Prince
The Last Stormlord
✔ A Beautiful Blue Death
✔ The Corinthian
(hide spoiler)]

Maris, we have until June 30th. Good luck!

Level 1 (2 books)
1. A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
2. Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Level 2 (4 books)
3 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev
4 The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath

Level 3 (7 books)
5 The Clue of the Twisted Candle by Edgar Wallace
6 The Queen's Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler
7 Watership Down by Richard Adams

Level 4 (10 books)
8 Othello by William Shakespeare
9The Sea Wolf by Jack London
10Sharing Her Crime by May Agnes Fleming

Level 1 (2 Books)
1. The Bone Season
2. Uglies

Level 2 (4 Books)
3.
4.

Level 3 (7 Books)
5.
6.
7.

Level 4 (10 Books)
8.
9.
10.

Cephrael's Hand
The Wise Man's Fear
The Drawing of the Three
Uglies
The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared
Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
Shaking hands with death
The Bone Season

I love this challenge. Here we go:
1. The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling
2. Slapstick, or Lonesome No More! by Kurt Vonnegut
3. Who I Am by Pete Townshend
4. Gumption: Relighting the Torch of Freedom with America's Gutsiest Troublemakers by Nick Offerman

Level 1 (2 Books)
1. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children
2.

Level 2 (4 Books)
3.
4.

Level 3 (7 Books)
5.
6.
7.

Level 4 (10 Books)
8.
9.
10.

Planned:
Clockwork Angel
Clockwork Prince
Clockwork Princess

Allison wrote: "For this challenge, clear away the cobwebs from the back of your shelves and find the books that have been waiting the longest for you to read. No more delays! You have until June 30th to clear the..."

What do you mean list your books up front? Like add them when you're done or add them when you start?

Danielle. This is a special challenge where you list the books before you read them. I think the idea is not to forget which books to focus on.
So far I have only read one from my list. The others are all saying, "Read me next!"

Rosemarie wrote: "Danielle. This is a special challenge where you list the books before you read them. I think the idea is not to forget which books to focus on.
So far I have only read one from my list. The others ..."

Ohhhh ok, cause I haven't read anything yet lol. Will do, though!

I just started Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope. It has been on the top of my TBR since 2015. I have been scared of the 708 pages. This challenge gave me the motivation to finally read it.

I really enjoyed that one, Cindy. There are three main storylines or romances that intertwine, which is why it's so long. One is quite funny, the other two are more traditional. Trollope is a terrific writer and writes women particularly well for a man in his times.

Level 1 (2 Books)
1. The Killing Circle by Andrew Pyper
2. The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson

Level 2 (4 Books)
3. Red Dragon by Thomas Harris
4. Mating for Life by Marissa Stapley

Level 3 (7 Books)
5. 419 by Will Ferguson
6. Emma by Jane Austen
7. Clara Callan by Richard B. Wright

Level 4 (10 Books)
8. The Manning Sisters: The Cowboy's Lady\The Sheriff Takes a Wife by Debbie Macomber
9. 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs
10. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson

This is a great challenge. It turned my focus to the oldest books on my Goodreads TBR and why I have not read those books. Just finished Can You Forgive Her by Anthony Trollope. Could this challenge be extended past June? It is so great to read and finish those oldies gathering dust.

Cindy, I'm glad you're enjoying this challenge. Would you like to make it a year-long one? I know I'd also like to have more time to work on mine.

I would like a year-long challenge, then maybe I can add a few more books, and get my original seven completed for sure.

I agree a year-long challenge would be a good idea. I can take more of the oldies off the TBR shelf.

That's all right by me! I'll move this thread over to the year-long challenges.

I am glad the challenge is going to the end of the year, because the same thing is happening to me. I have also been going to the library and getting books from there. My goal is to only read library for group reads starting July 1. The summer will be dedicated to reading books from my shelf. Wish me luck, everyone. (I am going to need it! )

Lol, I'm not sure why, but that happens to me a lot too. That's why it's good to give yourself a bit of choice instead of forcing yourself through them in order.

But, maybe it's time to re-examine those books that you're really struggling to pick up and see if you think you ever will. Sample the first 20 pages or so to see if you're even interested anymore. If not, take it off your shelf altogether. At least you'll have made a choice.

Good luck both of you!

Same here, mainly because I see cool group and buddy reads that I want to join. Was off to a good start but now....

Don't know what it is about those shiny new books, but the allure is deadly for sure!

I am so excited! I just completed Level 1 of this challenge. I have read the two oldest books on my Goodreads TBR list. Will work on level 2

That must feel good, Cindy.

Good for you, Cindy!

Well done, Cindy!

For those of you who are having trouble with this one, I've found that it's easier for me when I have some flexibility of choice. I'm going to expand the requirements to allow you to choose from the 20 oldest books on your shelf. We'll see if that helps!

I'm in. I think the first step is to cull that shelf. Some of those books I'm no longer interested in. In my case I'm also going to check books that I own or that are available in Kindle Unlimited as I need to curb spending and the 1-Click option in my kryptonite!

Level 1 (2 Books) - Swipe the duster
1.
2.

Level 2 (4 Books) - Dust bunnies beware
3.
4.

Level 3 (7 Books) - Cobwebs begone
5.
6.
7.

Level 4 (10 Books) - Polish and shine
8.
9.
10.


My book list:
Dune

Glad you're joining in, Karen. I'm also finding myself culling a lot - it feels good!

This is an excellent challenge for me - it's about time I cleared off those TBR shelves! COMPLETED! 10/10 (30th August)

Level 1 (2 Books) ✔
1. Bizarre Books by Russell Ash
2. Pure Pleasure by John Carey

Level 2 (4 Books) ✔
3. Slaughterhouse-Five by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
4. Les Enfants Terribles by Jean Cocteau

Level 3 (7 Books) ✔
5. Shop Talk by Philip Roth
6. The Yellow Wall-Paper and Other Writings by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
7. Moments Of Truth: Twelve Twentieth Century Women Writers by Lorna Sage

Level 4 (10 Books) ✔
8. Death in Venice by Thomas Mann
9. The End of the Affair by Graham Green
10. Nourishment by Gerard Woodward

Just finished Level 2 and took care of the old dust bunnies
Onto Cobwebs Be Gone Level 3

1. A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
2. Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope
3 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev
4 The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath

Just completed this challenge (see message 38). All these titles have been sitting on my TBR shelf for a number of years, so I'm feeling quite smug at the mo!

Great job, Paula. You have inspire me to keep on reading. I am reading book 8, Goodbye to all that".
I am reading Les Enfants Terribles, in French, and so far am not enjoying it much.

That's fantastic Paula, well done! I too am feeling re-inspired.

Thank you, Rosemarie. Goodness me, you certainly don't do things by halves. Les Enfants Terribles in its native lingo! You must have an excellent command of the French language - I so wish I did, too. I really enjoyed Goodbye to all that, partly, I think, because chunks of it were set in my native Wales, but also because it was an excellent personal account of The Great War. Good luck and don't despair: you are so nearly there.

Allison wrote: "That's fantastic Paula, well done! I too am feeling re-inspired."

Thank you, Allison. Keep going! :-)

I completed this challenge! Loved this challenge, it helped me focus on the goal of reading my 2016 TBR Goodreads list. I am happy to say that list is gone, out of here.

Level 1 (2 books)
1. A Lantern in Her Hand by Bess Streeter Aldrich
2. Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Level 2 (4 books)
3 On the Eve by Ivan Turgenev
4 The Goose Girl by Harold MacGrath

Level 3 (7 books)
5 The Clue of the Twisted Candle by Edgar Wallace
6 The Queen's Poisoner by Jeff Wheeler
7 Watership Down by Richard Adams

Level 4 (10 books)
8 Othello by William Shakespeare
9The Sea Wolf by Jack London
10Sharing Her Crime by May Agnes Fleming

Congratulations, Cindy. You did it.

Well done, Cindy - I bet that feels so good!

Nice one, Cindy!

Just finished level 3. I'm exceeding my own expectations - it's so satisfying!

That is always a good feeling, Allison.

I finished the challenge.

Rosemarie wrote: "I finished the challenge."

Well done, Rosemarie! 😃

Congrats, Rosemarie!!

Thanks.

Congrats great news

Thanks. Some of the books had been on my list for more than ten years.