Mount TBR 2014 Challenge discussion

Woohoo, I completed Pike's Peak and now I'm going to attempt Mount Blanc. I feel good about my climb so far. I've read a good variety of hard copy books as well as checked off a few from my ever-growing kindle library.

First 12 books can be found here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

13. Acquired 2/2013 as a kindle freebie. 2/5 stars. Eh... this book was nothing special. The dialogue was very corny and I literally rolled my eyes multiple times. If you like cheesy romance, fine, but this book was not for me.

14. Acquired 6/2013. 5/5 stars, definitely the best book I've read since I started this challenge in July, and possibly the best book I've read all year. Semi-autobiographical story that is heartbreaking and heartwarming all at the same time.

Well done and oh, the satisfaction of a five-star book.

Cross-post from my newly set up 2015 TBR Challenge, but some interesting information, mostly for myself, but just thought I'd share.

Bwahaha, instead of writing for NaNoWriMo, I spent a few hours updating my GR bookshelves. I organized by when they were added to my TBR, made a shelf for Mount TBR 2014 and 2015 Challenges, and I also made sure to add my recent ebook freebies, something I'm always forgetting to do.

As it stands, here are my TBRs, according to the year they were added:
2014 - 82
2013 - 125
2012 - 60
2011 and before - 114

2011 is the year I joined GR, and I didn't keep track of when I bought specific books before then, so they just got all lumped together.

NOTE: This does NOT include the books I bought and DID read during the year, only the books still left sitting on my TBR mountain when the year came to a close!

Oh well, I love books and I don't feel bad about that! But this does give me some information about how many books I'm acquiring, which will hopefully remind me to be a little more discerning when buying books in the future.

I hope you join my challenges for 2015. ;) I have to write them up though! I e-mailed you back this morning. Appreciated the participation. And as for your thread here, "The Jeffersons" TV theme is playing through my head - "Moving On Up"!

Well, it's November, which means it's NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), which in turn means that I'm not reading much lately! All my free time is consumed by writing! I really hope I can finish the last 10 books I need for this challenge by Dec 31st! Yikes, it's getting close!

Just think of November as Carolyn's month. :) Isn't it weird how so many outfits try to take over the month that belongs to me? {GIGGLE} The moustache people, novel-writing, the USA's Thanksgiving.... A girl has to fight for her much-awaited limelight! ;-)

I know! And me being a May baby, I have to compete with Mother's Day and Graduations!

15. Acquired 1/2013 with Christmas money, I think. 4.5/5 stars. Love this author. His works are fiction, but seem realistic enough that they could have actually happened. And because they seem so real, the stories are so heartbreaking and so touching.

Hello May baby. Would your book have gotten a five is there were a ghost in it? That's often the bar I set for excitement, myself. {GRIN!}

Haha, well in a way, there were 'ghosts from the past' in this book. I think I would have given it 5/5 if I wasn't so off balance from the writing style, switching POVs and timeline. It jumped around a lot, which is ok because it works as a whole, but it wasn't a style that I am used to reading.

I normally prefer one point of view. However every author has the potential to surprise us pleasantly; including genres that I don't frequent. Usually I think "Get back to the protagonist"! but sometimes, switching is done so well you enjoy it.

Jessika wrote: "Cross-post from my newly set up 2015 TBR Challenge, but some interesting information, mostly for myself, but just thought I'd share.

Bwahaha, instead of writing for NaNoWriMo, I spent a few hours ..."

I can totally relate. I'm being so much more discerning about books I buy since starting this challenge!

C. wrote: "I normally prefer one point of view. However every author has the potential to surprise us pleasantly; including genres that I don't frequent. Usually I think "Get back to the protagonist"! but ..."

I agree, but if you asked me who the protagonist was for this book, I wouldn't be able to name just one.

Allison wrote: I can totally relate. I'm being so much more discerning about books I buy since starting this challenge!"

Well, that's the idea, anyway. :) I'm pretty good about the books I buy, but it's those kindle freebies that really add up quickly!

16. Acquired 5/2012 as a kindle freebie. 2/5 stars. Interesting story, but not engaging enough to make me want to buy the series. The dialogue was really hard to stomach... like, Twilight, "Does he like me? I like him" kind of bad. If I was a high schooler reading age appropriate stories like this one, I might have rated it higher, but since I'm not the target audience of most YA books, it just didn't appeal to me. Just another reminder that I need to be more picky when it comes to my kindle freebies...

Let me know how that book was. My discussion thread must be way down the horizon because I actually skipped a couple of days opening it for a change. I must update my blog especially; more contests you know. This time, for *all peers*. :-)

The house is very clean from our parties, there is lots of food and dessert, and I was gifted with Amazon certificates to have fun with. I might be MIA (except e-mail and blog) a little longer. I'm saying 'hi' and Christine needs a birthday wish now that her real day's come. Sincerely, Carolyn.

I believe you're American; my neighbour. In your turn, I wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Yours, Carolyn.

Thanks for the Thanksgiving wishes! We drove 9 hours to Texas to be with my husband's sister's family. They just had a baby 4 months ago, and this is our first time seeing him!

Yikes! I would rather take a plane, wouldn't you? It isn't like you would go through a customs border. Unless airports would be packed and almost slower? I am so glad your husband could meet his new niece. Congratulations! I don't know where you live. Texas sounds exotic for us.

We live in Kansas. It would be quicker to fly, but way more expensive!

It is a treat that you are writing from your travels. Gas is way cheaper in the USA. For us, the 9 hours would override plane fare. Have a safe ride back! I'll bet you're having a wonderful time.

17. Acquired 8/2013 as a kindle freebie. 2.5/5 stars. The first three stories were very forgettable and poorly written. The dialogue was so stiff and unnatural. The fourth story was by far the best. That one as a stand alone, I would give 3.5, maybe 4 stars. My guess is the author wrote the first three much earlier than the last story, but published them all together.

18. Acquired sometime before I joined GR in 2011. 3/5 stars. Cute memoir, funny stories. I bought it because I really enjoyed this author's novel Spooky Little Girl and wanted to read something else by the same author.

19. Acquired 5/2013. 3/5 stars. 2nd in a series of clean, YA fiction. Fast-paced, quirky mystery, enjoyable read. My biggest complaint is that the author has so many "pop culture" references that will make this series obsolete that much quicker. Movies like "300" and video games like "Call of Duty" seem to be referenced almost once per chapter!

No such thing as literature becoming obsolete. It *should* provide a snapshot of its time. Show us what was popular like a time capsule in earnest. I love the old car model and song references in Stephen King stories. A novel can only be current the year it was written and not faulted for that. It should never strive to look like it was written later, or somehow disassociate itself with it's time. I get really grumpy if I see anyone calling a novel 'outdated', because of course it was modern the year it came out!

If these references were unnecessary to the story and occurred too often, I get why that would be annoying. Is that why it only got 3 stars? I told you I have the same collection and can't wait to read it. It looks like the most exciting and outrageously 'weird house' story I've ever heard of. I have been hoping to find they are 5-star adventures.

I appreciate your opinion. I just think the author was trying too hard to make this story "modern." In the course of 2 pages, he mentioned 300, Gladiator, Commando, Die Hard, and the Matrix. In my opinion, it was excessive and therefore unnecessary to the story. So yes, that's part of why I gave it 3 stars. I'm 30% through the next book, and so far there have been none of those references and I'm enjoying it much more.

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so please don't let mine deter you from reading the series!

No, I had a feeling I would agree with where you were mainly coming from. I very much see what you mean! It wasn't that a novel isn't allowed to reflect the environment of its society. You explained very well that this guy went on and on! Trying to look popular is too much. It's different if you insert pop culture because it's the protagonist's favourite thing, for instance or it just fits. Many references were made in what I just finished, "The Secret Portrait" and they worked. Probably because they weren't in every chapter!

As for coming out as a five-star experience for me, that definitely is personal. If there's a ghost, or at least really paranormal situations of some kind (the secret time portals sound like it anyway).... it could work. It helps that you prepared me for the author's bad case of 'trying to be popular'!

20. Acquired 5/2013. 4/5 stars. 3nd in a series of clean, YA fiction. The author kept his pop culture movie references to a minimum, and I found that I enjoyed this one much more than the last book! Ended on a cliffhanger, and I immediately dove into book 4.

Still not hitting a 5, eh?

5s are hard to come by! :-)

I give out a fair bit but of course, it means I enjoyed those books immensely. The synopsis of these looked like they would be outrageously exciting. I hate feeling disappointed that something I put aside because I was sure it would be awesome and savoured the experience.... Let's hope I do find the adventure exciting and uplifting. I'll have you curious about my reviews by now and that's why sharing is delightful.

Do you plan to read all 6 in a row? Let me know when you start!

I'll start at least in January. If you're into any of them, or anything like this after February 1st: my challenge "Ethereal" is going to be renewed soon!

Sounds good, I think I'll join up!

I thought of "Ethereal as my best-kept secret this pioneering year. Q;-)= Yay!!!!

Thanks to Bev and Nell for helping me understand the rules of this challenge better, I've actually completed quite a few more books that I hadn't counted before.

Here they are (In no particular order)
21. 4/5 stars, acquired 10/2012, read 7/2014
22. 5/5 stars, acquired 4/2012, read 4/2014
23. 4/5 stars, acquired 4/2012, read 6/2014
24. 4/5 stars, acquired 5/2013, read 6/2014

And that completes Mt. Blanc! Here for Mt. Vancouver