Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion

Oh my goodness! Where does the time go? Last I checked, September was just starting....and now it's gone and it's time to get the third quarterly checkpoint up and running. Let's see how our challengers are doing after 9 months are under the ol' mountain-climbing belt.

For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to do two things:



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.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:

A. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
B. Pair up two of your reads using whatever connection you want to make. Written by the same author? Same genre? Same color cover? Both have a main character named Clarissa? Tell us the books and what makes them a pair.
C. 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?
D. Choose 1-4 titles from your stacks and using a word from the title, do an image search. Post the first all-eyes-friendly picture associated with that word.


And what do you get for all that hard work (and distraction from the actual climb)? Comments will be considered closed at 11:59 pm on Wednesday, October 8. Sometime on Thursday I will crank up the Custom Random Number Generator and pick a winning climber. 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 you've already finished your climb, I'd love to have you check in with us and tell us all your news!

***Please note--the comment thread is for Checkpoint posts 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 your fellow climbers on (and you are encouraged to do so), then please visit their challenge folder and comment there. Thanks!

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson was the hardest to get through. It was a great book, I enjoyed, but it was so thick with a complex plot that I needed to sit down and read it only. I still love Sanderson and I hope that he writes more in the Mistborn universe but man that was not easy.

Third Quarter Checkpoint:

My climbing pace slowed to a crawl in July and August with only one book from Mt TBR each month. In September, I picked up the pace with 5 from Mt TBR. Back on track to reach the peak.

1) 12,978 miles up Mt Ararat
37 out of 48 = 77%

2.A) Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
Clay from Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore. He's innovative, daring and loyal to his friends.

B) Three books were book-themed: Set in a bookstore or a library. Two of them were part of the same series.
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
Books Can Be Deceiving by Jenn McKinlay
Due or Die by Jenn McKinlay

C)Many Deadly Returns by Patricia Moyes, read in March, still holds that honor. I bought it at a library sale 15+ years ago!
The longest held read of the 3rd quarter was The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe. I had that book for 8+ years. It was a good summer read even though the story line was predictable. In a world of uncertainty that can be comforting.

D. I had to figure out how to post images to do this one.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore:


The Beach House:

I aim for 100 but tend to open with safe goals; this time 60. I would never have anticipated this to become the saddest year personally, as my folders mentioned over these 2 months. :(
Book-wise, my reading has managed to go exceptionally well. I roared out of the gate and rose above a stall: during tragedy and the natural slowness of a few lagging books.

Just slightly tweaking my routine made a visible difference. Last year, I scraped to 100 books in December. This year? I finished 100.... in August!!!! I am done nearly 120 and hope to hit 150. Many have been in my possession at least 10 years. Canadian literature is in bold.

I am impressed to have attended to long held must reads: "The Alchemist", "The Stone Angel", "The Black Joke", "A Wrinkle In Time". Canadians cannot miss Margaret Laurence nor the recently departed Farley Mowat and I discovered a slough of great out-of-print gems locally. World-wide, I've been glad to finally dig into Lilian Jackson Braun, Anne Perry.

I was surprised I couldn't stand the first 'Hamish Macbeth' (M.C. Beaton). They must get a lot better. What's positive is that new favourite authors are in abundance: Annette Blair, Kaitlyn Dunnett, Ellen Crosby, Shane Peacock, Caroline Roe, Eric Wright. My shelves bear many more to try, with introductory volumes in place. Sincerely, Carolyn. http://cmriedel.wordpress.com/reviews...

Third Quarter Check-In

1. I've read 8 out of 12 books for Pike's Peak. Not bad, since I started this challenge at the end of July. I've read 5 additional books during that time that don't count for this challenge, so I feel pretty good about that, too.

2A. My favorite character so far has been Davy from the Jumper series. He has the special ability to teleport, but is still a relatable character.

2B. This is cheating, but Jumper and Reflex are the pair I pick because, duh, they are part of the same series! Hehe. Same author, same characters, etc. I still have yet to read the 3rd book in this trilogy.

2C. I think Me Talk Pretty One Day has been on my TBR the longest. My middle school lit teacher read excerpts to me probably close to the time the book first came out (2000), and I've been wanting to read it ever since. Yes, it was worth the wait, because if I read it in middle school, it would have been over my head.

I reached the top! 100 books = Mt. Everest done & dusted! Now I need to start posting in the next level but don't know how to get started there.

2C.Death of a Celebrity was added to my TBR mountain 8/31/2009.

2D.Wild Indigo

Wild Inferno

Wild Sorrow

Wild Penance

I chose these 4 books not only because they are a series, but also because the first two words are physical and the last two are emotional.

Mount TBR checkpoint #3

I’m getting better, I’m working hard on reading more books I already own, and I actually read 3 this month, woo.

1. I have read 23 books so far. Not great, but better. I should be on 27, so you know. Getting sort of there. Yeah.
I’m 64% of the way up. Which is like 3000-odd meters up.

2A. My favorite characters are probably the Gentlemen Bastards from the The Lies of Locke Lamora series. Particularly Locke. He’s funny and snarky, and sort of an arrogant asshat, I love him. I’m damaged.

2C I think it’s Frankenstein. I don’t know, because I haven’t had a dedicated list for a very long time, so I just have to guess from what I’m remembering. I think it’s Frankenstein. It was worth it, it was awesome. I loved it.

96 of a climb of 150, as I keep borrowing books from the library and reading new acquisitions, which is why my front page counter is about to click over to 150.

As always, I don't quite recall which one's been in the stacks for the longest. One of the graphic story collections, probably, some of which have been sitting there since 2006. One of the younger entries is The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack: 40 Modern and Classic Lovecraftian Stories, which was purchased at the end of last year and slogged through in the past couple of months.

One could link Martin Misunderstood and Quantum of Tweed: The Man with the Nissan Micra, two books that see their authors producing black humour in which their characters get sucked into a dark underworld without their initial intent, and in which accident drives the tale as much as anything.

Also, The Mystery of Mary Rogers and The Colorado Kid, which both deal with unsolved mysteries (one real, one fictional) that have persisted for generations.

I'm currently working up Mount Blanc and have logged in 20.35 books. I'm stalled about a third the way through one book. Since Mount Black is 15,781 feet this equals roughly 3 miles. With 0.125 miles per book read, I'm at 2.54 miles in my hike or 13,381 feet up the mountain.

In paring books I could pair the last two completed for this challenge: The Meaning of Everything with The Meaning of It All just for their title similarity.

I could also pair The Meaning of Everything with The Book of William as both discuss important books from England...the Oxford English Dictionary and the First Folio of Shakespeare.

After a busy day at work, I now realize that it's time to find a winner for the Checkpoint prize. So....without further ado, I will just plug in the random number generator and enter in the parameters....and the lights flash and webpage whirs and we get (drum roll, please).....Comment #9! That means that Pamela is our winner! Congratulations, Pamela! I'll be contacting you soon about seeing the prize list.

Thanks to everyone for participating in the check-in. I enjoy seeing your progress so far. Thanks as well to all climbers for joining me in scaling those Mount TBR heights. Good luck in the last leg!

Congrats, Pamela, and good luck with the rest of your climb! =)

*applauds Pamela*

I'm glad it wasn't me -- I'm trying to avoid adding any more physical books right now, as much as I hate to stay away from book sales.

WOOT!! Happy cheering here. I feel lucky today!! Makes for a really good friday....and good way to start a little vacation. Thanks!!