Mount TBR 2020 discussion

When I first joined this challenge in 2015, I owned 160 unread books. It was easy to go for Mt. Ararat or at least Mt. Vancouver. I dreamt of a handy TBR of about 20 to 30 books.
Now I have reached this goal and let myself indulge in library books more often. Which is why I love the Virtual Mt. TBR challenge, too.
But for my owned books I have a new goal: To reach 5 unread books. This seems absolutely tiny for a TBR. I positively cannot imagine it. I guess I'll just have to wait and see ;)

The dusty ones 2014-2016 (3/5)
Catch-22 * The Three Musketeers *Americanah* The Summer Tree * Doomsday Book

2018's "prolonged shelf life" (0/8)
The Left Hand of Darkness*The Luminaries*The Little Friend*Mythago Wood*The Affirmation*The Female Man*Uncommon People: The Rise and Fall of the Rock Stars*London: The Biography

2019's "'twas only yesterday" (7/10)
Goodbye to Berlin * We Need New Names *The Book of Merlyn* Suspicion * Kitchen * Dealing with Dragons * A Country Doctor's Notebook *Lud-in-the-Mist*Ninefox Gambit* The Gloaming

Conquering the TBR! Wow....looks like we need to send more books your way. :-)

I can't imagine conquering my TBR... congrats!

Thanks to you two!
Bev, I keep my library card valid, so I'll never run out of books to read :)

Wow, this is the goal of every book lover - conquering the TBR! Congrats, Sam!

Sounds like TBR ground zero is in your sights :D
All I can think about is all the great books you'll be able to add to it :D

Kim wrote: "Sounds like TBR ground zero is in your sights :D
All I can think about is all the great books you'll be able to add to it :D"

You're absolutely right, Kim: It is lovely to have the space and liberty to add new books if if I take a fancy. It is a particular king of reading guilt that we book hoarders share.
I could never reach TBR ground zero, though, I love reading too much :D

That is fantastic! I am in awe of your success! And a little bit envious LOL

Fantastic! Curious-what do you do with your “read” books? Do you keep them or give them away?

I give away most of my read books and only keep the ones I feel I might want to reread someday. If I'm unsure about a book I'll keep it until I've made my decision. I do the same with books I dnf, this is why I usually count them towards my Mt. TBR challenges.

Can't imagine conquering my TBR pile! There are always new books to catch my interest!
The publishing industry would have to go on vacation for about 2 years for me to catch up!

E wrote: "Can't imagine conquering my TBR pile!"

Me neither, E! Even though I'm getting close, it still feels unreal. I don't expect to ever not own unread books, but it must be wonderful to be able to read something you just bought without the weight of other unread books on your shoulders. That is what I'm hoping for.

Wow, congrats on your reduced mountain :) Now if I could follow your trail...

1.

Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto

I enjoyed the writing style and the themes immensely. A great start of the reading year.

Dealing with Dragons is one of my all-time favorites! I read it at 10 years old and fell in love. Hope you enjoy—and congrats on your mountaineering accomplishments!

Thank you, Maria, I might pick this one up next :)

2.

Suspicion by Friedrich Dürrenmatt

Suspicion, being the second case for Hans Bärlach, was published 35 years after its predecessor. It is wildly different in style and weirdly enough, has aged a lot more than The judge and his hangman. There is a noble Jew, a speechless little person, and a femme fatale with a fatalist world view. A lot more talk and a lot less action made this less enjoyable than book 1, which I love to reread every now and then. This one I don't think I'll return to.

this is so impressive! Dealing with Dragons is such a sweet book. enjoy and Good luck!

Wow! I'm so impressed and can't even imagine! You are giving me reading goals!! Americanah was great btw!

3.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

What a joy! I was in love right after the first couple of paragraphs. Sure this is a kids book, so the plot itself wasn't the main point of adoration here, but oh the details! Cimorene is a great heroine I wish I had known when I was a kid. I'll shove this into all the young parents' hands!

Sam wrote: "3.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

What a joy! I was in love right after the first couple of paragraphs. Sure this i..."
One more book to my "want to read" shelf. This one sounds so fun!

Sam wrote: "3.

Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede

What a joy! I was in love right after the first couple of paragraphs. Sure this i..."

Oh, I'm so glad you liked it!! I was lucky to know Cimorene as a kid, but I've definitely read several children's books in the last couple years I wish I'd grown up with. Do you think you'll read the sequels? They are (mostly) equally delightful, IMO.

yes! there is more in the series I believe, too..

Maria wrote: "Do you think you'll read the sequels? They are (mostly) equally delightful, IMO. ."

I will when I get a chance. Even the first book was difficult to get where I live, the rest of the series hasn't been translated here, I believe. But I will keep my eyes open, especially when I'm book shopping abroad ;)

4.

A Country Doctor's Notebook by Mikhail Bulgakov

I enjoyed this tremendously. Some years back I watched the mini series adaptation with Daniel Radcliffe and Jon Hamm, which was an extraordinary experience (I almost fainted during a particularly bloody operation), and I wanted to read the stories it was based on ever since. And now I can safely say that the original might not be as gritty as the series, but it is funny and witty and ironic and captures the insecurities of a young person thrown into a responsible job perfectly. I wonder how much truth lies in these stories drawn from Bulgakow's own experience. Absolutely fascinating.

5.

Doomsday Book by Connie Willis

I loved this, warts and all. This is not a perfect book, but so beautiful, heartfelt, and on top easy to read. A pure joy. Also the perfect book to read during an epidemic (for hypochondriacs, not so much).

6.

We Need New Names by NoViolet Bulawayo

Not an easy read.

7.

The Gloaming by Kirsty Logan

Great atmosphere with a lovely dark faerie feel. The ending destroyed me completely. Also: Two thumbs up for using Scots.

I have just discovered (or rediscovered? I can't remember) the rule for rereads. Somehow I never counted any rereads for my mountain. I did read some books again this year that didn't play a part in earlier mountaineering, so they are eligible to count. Though it feels a little bit like cheating, there are some reasons why I'd like to add them now:
1. I love rereading, but I almost never get back to my favourites these days. Counting them towards my Mt. TBR goal seems a perfect way to motivate myself not to focus solely on unread books. I feel like I can afford to pick up some old books now and then.
2. I want to remind myself that yes, there will be rereads in 2021!
3. My little mountain has shrunk considerably since I first went a-climbing back in the day. Now I don't own enough books to reach Mt. Blanc, but more than enough to make it up Pike's Peak. Rereads may help me to reach Mt. Blanc. Maybe even go beyond!
4. And of course I am aware that this brings me a lot closer to the top this year ;)

So here we go, adding 3 rereads to my Mt. TBR stack, lifting me up a quarter of the way!

8. Der Richter und sein Henker
9. Die neuen Leiden des jungen W.
10. Die Judenbuche

11.

Farewell to Berlin by Christopher Isherwood

Wow, this book kept getting better and better. I've loved Cabaret for years and now finally cracked open one of its models. This is a loose collection of very much auto-biographical stories of Isherwoods time in Berlin. While most of his acquaintances were leftist, slightly criminal or completely desinterested in politics, he as an English teacher also meets the rich and the bourgeois. Through his eyes we observe Berlin's decline into Nazi Germany,a fascinating, humourous, and dark tale. The stories are not in chronological order, instead they follow a straight road that narrows down more and more: The first ist a rather lighthearted episode centered around the very 1920s character of Sally Bowles. With every following chapter, the atmosphere darkens just a tad. The book finishes with diary entries of gripping beauty and intensity depicting the winter of 1932/33, the so-called Machtergreifung and the state of shock that came afterwards.
One of my favourites this year.

Almost at the peak Sam!

It is so unsatisfying to reach the peak like that (especially when I already feel like cheating for adding my re-reads in retrospect), but I tried Catch-22 and the book just wasn't for me. That's a DNF on the final steps to the top. My copy will be donated to a nearby public bookshelf, and that's the end of a book that has been sitting unread on my shelf for 6 years *sigh*

I'm reading the much more compelling Song of Achilles for my local book club now and don't know if I can read another of my Mt. TBR books before the year's end. There are several that I'm keen on picking up ...