Mount TBR 2022 discussion

At this point I own only so many unread books. Which is fantastic, because I've been meaning to reread some of my other books for ages. Sometimes 10+ years. So for 2022, I hope to shuffle my way through some of them while keeping the number of unread books down simultaneously.

Pictures from the ascent:

Congratulations on getting the TBR numbers down. Good luck with the 2022 climb!

January is traditionally a slow reading month for me, so after a couple of weeks I finally give you book 1: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

This is a reread for me. I first picked this up 2004-ish when a friend recommended I check it out. I remembered most of the story with incredible detail and this is certainly thanks to Süskind's fantastic prose. I feel so lucky to be able to enjoy this in the original language and wonder how this all sounds in translation.
Süskind takes one very small magical realist idea but executes it so well, really thinking it through. And while I am a sucker for stories set during the Enlightenment, I belive this would work for me in any setting. Grenouille is one of the best evil geniuses of literature, I'm sure I will revisit this book every now and again.

Sam wrote: "January is traditionally a slow reading month for me, so after a couple of weeks I finally give you book 1: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

This is a reread for me. I first picked this..."

I read this for the first time this year. In English. The prose is just...no words. Chef's kiss! So I guess you can say it was translated well! I have GR friend who has read it numerous times in both German and English and she loves both versions.

I'm glad the translation works for this, Elyse!

And I am done with my second book, another reread! The Shadow of the Wind was one of my first audiobooks and listened to it a lot back in the day. But that was a long time ago, we're talking 12 years plus here. So it was time to check on the old friend again (also to find out whether it's still a keeper, which is how t ended up on this challenge).
After all these years I was more than happy to return to magical noirish 1950s Barcelona with all its unlikely mysteries. I had forgotten many of the major plot points but remember many details; memories are weird that way sometimes. Another book I will not part with anytime soon.

And number three is my first physical and never before read book for this challenge this year, and it is Forrest Gump.
Groom kind of lost me when the whole NASA thing started, but overall an enjoyable little read. Very different from the movie, not necessarily in a bad way. It's just ... Forrest Gump came out when I first realized I was into movies. I was in elementary school back then and everybody loved The Lion King (me, too!). Forrest Gump became the first film not aimed at kids that I truly loved. So it is hard to surpass that.

#4 Maria: or, The Wrongs of Woman
Very impressive, even as a fragment. I didn't know much about Mary Wollstonecraft's life. But when I read the short biography in the foreword after completing the novel, it really altered my impression of Maria. I was aware of it being a feminist propaganda piece, with each female character clearly a victim of patriarchal society. Which is still so interesting to read, but also seemed a bit much in places. But boy, the woman knew what she was talking about.

#5 Classic Science Fiction Stories
Had it's ups and downs. Highlight was Harlan Ellison's Deeper than the Darkness.

#6 La secte des égoïstes
Rereads after 15 or more years are particularly interesting: You barely remember the plot but if you are lucky you remember what you thought about the book back then. In this case I recall finding it a lot cleverer than this time. Schmitt mimicks different writing styles, combining the "high brow" academic setting with various texts ranging from a lexicon to personal letters.

#7 Die Bibliothek von Babel

Weird reread after 12 years ... downgrading a book from 5 to 2 stars doesn't happen, shouldn't happen, right? Here is my full review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

#8 Mein Leben als Pavian

Another long overdue reread (I'm on a roll here): After 10 years I picked up A Primate's Memoir: A Neuroscientist's Unconventional Life Among the Baboons again, and it was still a lot of fun and soo readable. Sapolsky's writing provides a nice flow that keeps you going. It feels very honest about as diverse topics as Diane Fossey, colonialism, vegetarianism, and his love for baboons of course. The thing that surprised me the most was my last read date: I was convinced I had last read this ca. 2016, and it sure felt still very present.

Wow, I love this idea! I finally reread The Color Purple after more than 30 years and found I had ‘forgotten’ details but instantly recognized them as part of my own set of beliefs - probably because Alice Walker told or crystallized for me these things that made so much sense when I was a teenager. So I guess in the genre debate, this certainly supports ‘didactic novel’ ;) It also makes your comment about Forrest Gump resonate.

For years I waited to finish Das Parfum because I had had to return the book to whoever lent it to me before finishing it. Eventually I gave in and finished it in English and was glad I had given in. The translation did not irritate me at all (this was back in the late eighties/early nineties and I suppose it was harder and more expensive to get hold of foreign language books back then.

I may copy this idea of yours one day, it sounds fabulous! I hope you don’t have too many five-to-two-star experiences though! I once put In Cold Blood on a reading list for my mature students without rereading it first. That was kind of embarrassing as I then had a similar experience when I did reread it for class.

I better not reread In Cold Blood then, Dani ;)

#9 The Drowned World
Fresh off the tbr: After High-Rise, I always wanted to read more of Ballard's work. When I found The Drowned World, his first novel, in a used book shop, I had to take it home. The language was one of the main things that fascinated me in High-Rise, but clearly Ballard's style must have formed over the course of his career. His first novel was very slow for me and I didn't care much for the characters. So while the premise - climate change, abandonned cities - did sound promising, I wasn't engaged at all. So this book goes to the public book shelf for someone else to discover and, hopefully, love more than I did. I still want to try more of Ballard's books, but might want to focus on his later works.

#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to somebody else.

Sam wrote: "#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to somebody else."

I bought it at a library sale a couple of weeks ago. It's been on my list but I've been intimidated. Now I own it sooo...may never get to it. lol

Elyse wrote: "Sam wrote: "#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to somebody else."

I..."
Intimidated is a good word for this book 😅 I read it on Kindle in the end - it often helps me to be less aware of how big a book is. The other thing that was daunting about it was that the main character is only referred to as ‘he’. This can sometines be confusing, mainly if there are two men in the room. But even that was ok in the end, there was only one page I had to read a couple of times to be sure who was who.

Having said that, I have owned the second one for several years, on kindle, but still haven’t read it…! The series covered both, though, and was very good 😉

Updated later in the year to say I reread this a few months later, then completed the whole trilogy. And I think this thread may have been the gentle push I needed to just do it. So, thank you, Sam and Elyse, whoever you may be 😊 Some corners of the internet are really lovely places, I find.

Elyse wrote: "Sam wrote: "#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to somebody else."

I..."

Elyse, the one thing I'm recommending is to read the first couple of pages. Mantel's style is unique, my guess is you'll find out very quickly whether you enjoy it or not. Hope you'll get to it, all else aside it is an experience in its own right.

Dani wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Sam wrote: "#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to some..."

Same, Dani! I can trick myself into big books going digital. Alas, I don't connect as much with a story when I read it in ebook format. So I have to choose wisely, non-fiction seems to work.

Dani wrote: "Elyse wrote: "Sam wrote: "#10 Wolf Hall

I reread Wolf Hall, my first read was back in 2012. Still fascinating, still a bit overwhelming. In the end I decided to give my copy to some..."

Oh boy I did not know there was a sequel! lol. We'll see if I ever get to this one first. I may start it and decide audio is the way to go. I'll have to see who the narrator is, hopefully it's not Simon Preble. lol

#11 Reisen im Licht der Sterne: Eine Vermutung
#12 Synder

Sailing by Starlight: In Search of Treasure Island is such a joy, even rereading it I soon got caught in this adventurous tale.

Synder was my second attempt to read this classic cyberpunk novel. But again, I failed at remembering all the characters, and soon tossed the book in a corner in frustration. It's a shame, really, because I did enjoy the writing style (at least the translation).

#13 Kings of the Wyld
#14 Tree and Leaf

Last one was another reread, but it's been over ten years since my last read ...

#15 The Luminaries

We call this a "Schmöker", a big book that is made for long winter nights, when you're sooo snug with a tea and blanket and just disappear into a story.

#16: Nimona
#17: Berlin - Moskau: Eine Reise zu Fuß

Sam wrote: "#16: Nimona"

I love Ninoma! I wish it were a series and not just one contained story.

Absolutely, Elyse, I'd love to see more of that world and a continuation to Blackbeard's and Nimona's stories!

#18 By the Sword

I'm sad to report I did not finish this novel. I was a huge fan of the Last Herald-Mage trilogy but couldn't keep up my interest in this book. Since I have become quite radical in dnfing what I don't love, I decided to unhaul this book and let someone else love it instead.