VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge 2020 discussion

Well, my fellow mountaineers, our virtual climbing expedition is coming to a close and it's time to get ready for the Final Mountaineering Checkpoint. Considering how 2020 seemed to go on forever, it's still hard to believe that our current trek is almost over. I'm ready to hear how all our mountain-climbing team members have done out there on Rum Doodle, Mt. Crumpit, Mt. Seleya....whichever peak you've chosen. Checkpoint participation is absolutely voluntary and is not considered necessary for challenge completion.

For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to at least complete the first of these two things. And if you feel particularly inspired (or generous about humoring me during the holiday season), then please do both.

1. Tell us how many miles you made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you've planted your flag on the peak, then tell us, take a selfie, and celebrate (and wave!). Even if you were especially athletic and have been sitting atop your mountain for months, please check back in and remind us how quickly you sprinted up that trail. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting book adventures you've had along the way.

Since my main objective in TBR mountain-climbing is to read from my own stacks, I set my goal for the virtual climb at Rum Doodle and managed to meet that goal back in June. Of course the non-owned books still called my name and I have since planted flags on Mt. Crumpit as well. I've made it a few steps up Mount Munch, but I've headed back to base camp so I can concentrate on a few more steps up Olympus over in Mount TBR.

2.Use titles from your list to complete as many of the following sentences below as you can. I've given my answers as examples. Feel free to add or change words (such as "a" or "the" or others that clarify) as needed.


My Life According to Books

1. My Ex is/was The Colorado Kid
2. My best friend is [a] Flame in the Mist
3. Lately, at work [it's been like] The Christie Curse
4. If I won the lottery, [I'd build] Palaces for the People
5. My fashion sense [is] What Angels Fear
6. My next ride [will be on the] Beatles['] Yellow Submarine
7. The one I love is [the] Duke of My Heart
8. If I ruled the world, everyone would [say] This Is Paradise
9. When I look out my window, I see A Night in the Lonesome October
10. The best things in life are Between the Devil and the Duke

And what do you get for all that hard work? The Checkpoint will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, January 9. On Sunday 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 own TBR stack via my gently-used book vault (prize list will be sent). For those who also participate in the Mount TBR Challenge, this prize may count towards your 2021 TBR climb.

Even if you're not in the mood for a prize or if you got distracted by pretty scenery or side trails (your own books, ARCs, what-have-you), I'd love to have you check in and tell us how your 2020 mountain climb went!

I made it to the top of Stormness Head with 60 books. Originally I was planning on not doing virtual TBR this year and focusing on books I own, but there were so many library books! I reached 60 sometime back in November. I'll definitely be reading library books next year too.

1. Tell us how many miles you made it up your mountain:
My original goal was Mount Mindolluin and I summitted it in October and then quickly summited Mount Seleya in November. And there I stayed. My final total is 122 books as I will not be reading anymore borrowed books this year.

I started out on Mount Seleya, and reached the top in August. I like to crochet while listening to audiobooks, so I've been finishing a lot of audiobooks this year that I find online. I planned to read a lot of Philip K. Dick and JG Ballard this year, and most of those I finished as audiobooks. I also got into 3 series on audiobook by Simon Brett (Mrs. Pargeter-crime boss's widow turns sleuth; Fethering- 2 middle-aged women, one possibly on the autistic spectrum, turn from busybodies into sleuths; Charles Paris- middle-aged male actor turns sleuth and uses his skills to investigate crimes in the theatre world). Other series I planned to finish this year (or make progress on) were the Perry Mason series by Erle Stanley Gardner, the James Bond series by Ian Fleming, and the Napoleon Bonaparte series by Arthur W. Upfield(Aussie classic murder mysteries, same era as Christie, Sayers and Marsh, starring an 'Aboriginal half-caste' as the super-sleuth inspector). Oh, and I finished a lot more PG Wodehouse audiobooks. Yeah, my Virtual TBR mountain climbing was a breeze this year. My non-Virtual Mount TBR climb was far less successful, but I got a lot of crocheting done. :) I finished at the top of Virtual Mount Olympus with a total of 185 miles/books.

I started out with Mount Munch, and after that ascent switched to White Plume, stopping with book #48 after a quartet from Audible Plus.

I’m starting off next year on Mount Crumpit. We’ll see how I do. I plan to tackle those Wodehouse I don’t have on the regular TBR side.

I started Mt Crumpit, which I summited in July. I also made it up Mt Munch and finished 3 books shy of White Plume.

My Life According to Books

1. My Ex is/was... Ricochet Joe
2. My best friend is... [the] Daughter of Smoke and Bone
3. Lately, at work... [it's been] Robots vs. Faries
4. If I won the lottery,... [I'd buy] Mr. Penumbra's 24-hour Bookstore
5. My fashion sense... [is] Written In Red
6. My next ride... [will be with] The Pirate
7. The one I love is... Fatemarked
8. If I ruled the world, everyone would... Suffer a Sea Change
9. When I look out my window, I see... [the] Dark of the Moon
10. The best things in life are... [on] The Emma Caites Way

1. My main goal was Mt. Crumpit again, and I've made it back in November, but I continued my climb 5 steps shy of the next peak by December 31. I read a couple more virtual TBR reads than originally planned (my actual Mount TBR suffered a bit because of it), but I'm happy with my reading this year.

2. My Life According to Books

My Ex is/was The Viscount Who Loved Me
My best friend is (a) Good Girl
Lately, at work (is) A Curse So Dark and Lonely
If I won the lottery, (I would have) The Grace Year
My fashion sense (will) Carve Th Mark
My next ride (is) An Offer From a Gentleman
The one I love is Truly Devious
If I ruled the world, everyone would (be) Uprooted
When I look out my window, I see Morrighan
The best things in life are Always and Forever,Lara Jean

I was aiming at Mt. Rumdoodle. I wanted to get the list of books I had on loan and on order to no more than 6 in total. Well, we can't order books at the moment, but I currently have 5 books on loan, 2 of which I have read and which would be back in the library in normal circumstances. I've read 12 library books this year, so I have decided that I am at the summit of Mt Rumdoodle.

Here is my life according to books:

My Ex is/was ...(the) Sorceror to the Crown
My best friend is ... (reading) The book of forgotten authors
Lately, at work ... Their eyes were watching God
If I won the lottery, ...(I would live) The first 15 lives of Harry August
My fashion sense...Lies Sleeping
My next ride ...(will be) Homegoing
The one I love is ... (enjoying) The cottage book
If I ruled the world, everyone would ... Sleep no more (we'd be partying!)
When I look out my window, I see ...The Murdered House
The best things in life are ..Hidden Figures

In my attempt read more of what I own than not (and I did that this year!), my goal was towards Mount Munch with 36 books. I crushed that Munch and moved up to the White Plume Mountain. I didn't reach the top (48 books) but got within sight at 44 books read.

I'm just here for the fun, and check in, no need for a prize. 😀

Well done everyone! Thanks so much for climbing along with me in 2020--it was a rough year all round. I'm sorry to be a little late with the prize drawing, but the end of last week really threw me (and everyone here in the US) for a loop.

I finally revved up the Custom Random Number Generator and convinced it to choose a prize winner....and our winner is...Comment #6 CinCO! Congratulations, CiCO! I'll be sending you a message soon.

See you over on the 2021 mountain range!

Bev wrote: "Well done everyone! Thanks so much for climbing along with me in 2020--it was a rough year all round. I'm sorry to be a little late with the prize drawing, but the end of last week really threw me ..."

Congrats CinCO!

Thanks!