Mount TBR 2022 discussion

Wow! Three months gone already. Well, you know what that means...Your mountaineering guide is calling for the first quarterly check-in post. Let's see how our challengers are doing. Made it a couple of miles? Camping out in a cave 1/3 of the way up the mountain face? Taking refuge in a mountain hut along the way? Let us know how you're doing. For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to do two things (I've given my responses as example):

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. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.

I've made it through 53 book so far. That's about half-way up good ol' Mount Everest. Definitely making a good run so far to plant that flag on the peak--but I'm going to have to pick up the pace if I'm ever going to see the top of Olympus on Mars.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far. OR If you have difficulty posting a cover for any reason, share your favorite title--this does not have to be your favorite read. It can just be a title you thought was funny or clever or interesting or....



This matches the story very well.

B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

Lord Peter Wimsey--he's my favorite detective.

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

Fadeaway Girl by Martha Grimes: Not nearly as good as I expect from Martha Grimes. I tried one of hers set in the United States rather than England before and didn't like it much. I should have remembered that...

D. 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?

The Price of the Phoenix by Sondra Marshak & Myrna Culbreath. It's been on my shelf since the 1980s. It was a reread, so I knew what I was getting--it's an early Star Trek novel that came out before the movies started up. I found it nearly as enjoyable as the first time I read it.

1. I've read 18/60 books and am currently six books away from the peak of Mount Blanc.

2A. Favourite cover so far:

2B. Favourite character so far: Irene Winters in The Invisible Library series (read four books of this series for this challenge starting with The Mortal Word). She's a strong female protagonist who I can relate to. She is intelligent, loves books, drinks tea, follows rules but also bends them if the need arises

2C. Book that has surprised me: Cuckoo Song was creepy but good and kept me guessing.

2D. Book on TBR the longest: Richard II - owned since 2012. Reading as part of my personal lifetime challenge to read the complete works of Shakespeare. I probably could have read this sooner but I kept finding more exciting books to read

1. I've read 23/100. *Almost* a quarter of the way there for the first quarter and I am reading 3 more right now so I'm happy with that.

2A.
I didn't like the book but the cover is so pretty!!!

2D. It's a reread but I've owned A Kiss of Shadows since 2007-ish. First time reading-wise, I've owned Finnikin of the Rock since 2013.

1. I am 11 books in, which is 12,938ft up Pikes Peak. If I hit 15 or so I might move myself up to Mt Blanc again.

2a. Favourite cover so far has been The Bone Shard Daughter.


2b. There's quite a few of note, and it's hard to pick a favourite. The characters in We Are the Dead are all top notch. Great exploration of their motives and progression.

2c. Brave New World surprised me in how unspectacular it was. As something raved about as a 'classic' I was seriously disappointed.

2d. It is either Brave New World or Consider Phlebas but I can't quite remember which came first... though I got both in 2020. Everything so far is stuff I acquired in 2020 or 2021!

I'm at 7/24, or 4600 ft up Mont Blanc.

My favorite cover was for Turbulence, by Samit Basu:

My oldest books are from World Book Day in 2018, which is as far back as my Kindle library goes. Both are about life in a foreign country, but Ten Women is a novel that I found somewhat lacking, and A River in Darkness is nonfiction which ended up very different from what I expected but definitely worth reading. Not sure I would have appreciated either of these four years ago, so it’s probably best I saved them.

I have finished only 8 of the 48 books required to scale Mt. Ararat, so I need to give the library a break and focus on my Wall of Shame!

My favorite cover so far is -- so pretty!

My favorite character so far is Sandy, the cat in Her Last Flight.

I can't remember which I got first, Astray or Meet the Sky. They were both Audiobook SYNC summer reading books from 2019 or 2020. I liked them both and am glad to have read them (especially since my phone bricked on me yesterday and I've lost all the other audiobooks I downloaded from there those summers), but they weren't all that meaningful to me.

Stina wrote: "I have finished only 8 of the 48 books required to scale Mt. Ararat, so I need to give the library a break and focus on my Wall of Shame!

My favorite cover so far is [bookcover:The Island of Sea ..."

I also lost that summer's SYNC books. So disappointing. But I guess I should listen to them promptly? Nahhhhh. lol. Next SYNC starts soon!

I am 29 books up Mt. Kilimanjaro, and I have enough books I want to reread that I should really scamper up to the top.

None of my books have been on the mountain longer than a year or so, but I'll give the Longest award to Middlegame, which I made two false starts at already. It was really, really good, but I doubt I'll re-read it, so it left the house entirely today.

I have finished 18/48 books or 6320 feet up Mt Ararat.

My favorite cover (I got to see moving lava on Hawaii):



This book surprised me as it is a bit out of my usual genres but I really enjoyed it.

Several of the books are from my initial upload of books in Mar 2013.

One of them was
which I DNF'd. I liked the first two books in the series, but this was the third time I tried this one and just decided I was never going to be interested enough to finish it.

CinCO wrote: "I have finished 18/48 books or 6320 feet up Mt Ararat.

My favorite cover (I got to see moving lava on Hawaii):


..."

Good luck with seeing moving lava on Hawai'i. There is nowhere but the Big Island and you can't really get close enough to see well into the volcano. For safety reasons obviously. You can just see an orange pit. Still an amazing, wonderful, peaceful place to go and the beautiful thing is seeing new life coming out of the blackened, hardened, old lava. I will be going back soon. I went in 2016.

1. I am approximately a third of the way up, at 1403 m on Mount Blanc (7 books). I came across some very old friends on the way, so old I hadn't even told them about Mount TBR (rereads from before I joined GR)!

2B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
Perfumer Baldini is deliciously conservative, egoistic, and pompous. The chapters that feature him are my favourite part of Perfume.

2C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)
I was flabberghasted when Library of Babel (this is the title of a short story collection of Borges I own, I don't mean the story itself), a book I adored twelve years ago, had me feeling merely lukewarm. To be honest, I still have not fully recovered from the experience.

Sam wrote: "I was flabberghasted when Library of Babel (this is the title of a short story collection of Borges I own, I don't mean the story itself), a book I adored twelve years ago, had me feeling merely lukewarm."

I hate it when that happens. I've had it happen with a few rereads and it's very sad when I don't love the book when I revisit it.

As of the end of March I finished 23 out of 60 books (finished two more since). That puts me at close to 40% the way up the mountain. I feel like I'm sprinting, never climbed this fast before.


Favorite cover is from Hummingbird Salmander:
Who doesn't love hummingbirds?


As far as oldest from the shelves....I've been reading mostly from recently acquired books, but one book reached back nearly ten years for: Bound for Canaan: The Epic Story of the Underground Railroad, America's First Civil Rights Movement by Fergus M. Bordewich. It was an excellent read, throughly enjoyed the book and learned quite a bit. Worth the wait, but wish I hadn't put it off, thought it'd be like a textbook read, which it wasn't.

Pamela wrote: "As of the end of March I finished 23 out of 60 books (finished two more since). That puts me at close to 40% the way up the mountain. I feel like I'm sprinting, never climbed this fast before..."

So good to know Bound of Canaan is not as textbook-y as it looks! I will probably listen to it on audio as I tend to listen to most nonfiction instead of reading.

Since my first checkpoint post I've finished another tome, which puts me at 12/12 for Pike's Peak. I've read a total of 18 books so far this year, so a good 2/3rds are MountTBR worthy. This might get tougher as the year goes on and I get tantalised by new releases, or, as a lot of my existing TBR are first books in series, as I buy subsequent books to series I want to continue...

1. At the three-quarter mark, I am 3226 metres up Pikes Peak! So, 9 books from the TBR pile so far :)

2. A. Favourite cover: a lot of the covers are nothing special (I wonder if that’s how come they hung are oh dear in my TBR pile for so long?), but the Hunger Games series has nice covers. I’ll go do Mockingjay, as the bird on the pin gets to spread its wings in this one.


B. I’ll go for Edward in 600 Hours of Edward, by Craig Lancaster.

C. Four surprises: 1. I didn’t expect to find The Hunger Games trilogy as gripping as I did: I found myself staying up till all hours and immediately buying other formats of the next book when I finished the first and second (the paperbacks have been in my son’s room for years and I always meant to read them). I also spent ages looking at fan compilations of music etc on Youtube afterwards.
2. I read them on kindle and audible mixed, and had no idea how thick the Hunger Games books were until after I had finished them😂
3. Stephen Hawking was way easier to understand than I had expected!
4. James Bond was quite different in the book than in the films. Much less objectionable.

D. Probably The Hunger Games, and I wished I’d read it earlier.

1. After the first quarter, I've read 13/36 books for Mt. Vancouver, so just over a 1/3 of the way up.

2A. Favorite cover so far:

I've read 25/75 books completing 1/3 of El Toro.
My favorite cover thus far is:

1. I am working on making it up Mt. Ararat again this year! I've managed to climb up Pike's Peak and Mount Blanc thus far, for a total of 24 books read toward the challenge (37 total for the year).

A. My favorite cover so far:



B. Favorite characters: Jasmine and Ivan from From Lukov with Love, for their stubbornness and humor and slow-burn romance.

C. Books that surprised me: The Paris Apartment and The Couple Next Door, because I expected to like them more than I did.

D. Book that had been on my Mountain the longest: The Lovely Bones had been on my shelf since 2005. I enjoyed it, but not as much as I thought I would, as I was expecting it to pack a much more emotional punch than it did. I'm glad I finally read it, but it wasn't really worth the wait!

Q1 Check-In

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain.
10 of 36 - a step ahead on Mt. Vancouver.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.
Currently reading:


B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
Eve Brown in Act Your Age, Eve Brown by Talia Hibbert. She's chaotic, endearing and fun to read about. The trouble she causes just being herself is hilarious!

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way? Not as good as anticipated
Murder and Marinara by Rosie Genova
Cringe-worthy stereotypes of Italians on the Jersey shore. Author relied more on caricatures than character development.

D. 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?
Sticks & Scones by Diane Mott Davidson
On the shelf almost 20 years! OMG - This book has been in my TBR mountain so long it has reached the age of majority!! 😮🙄
Mixed feelings about this one. A mystery where the MC did stupid things needlessly endangering herself. Probably would have enjoyed it more if I had read it sooner. Best news is that now it's another book gone from the mountain.

1. I've made it 20 miles up Mt Ararat so almost halfway there. I'd be within a few miles of finishing if not for all the library books (for the Popsugar challenge I'm also doing)


A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.
I have a tie between Monstress, Vol. 3: Haven by Marjorie M. Liu & Ballad & Dagger by Daniel José Older Love them bothBallad & Dagger

B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

Eve Whitby from by Leanna Renee Hieber because she has strength and empathy and hey she can talk to ghosts and I have another tie because I absolutely loved Mateo Ballad & Dagger by Daniel José Older because he's a character of color that avoids so many of the stereotypes and he and his magic are fascinating (side note, I possess an ARC of this. It's not due out for another 3 weeks)



C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey which was good but So not what I was expecting. I wanted lesbian librarians on horseback which it was but it's also a dystopic future where women are relegated to broodmares again and I'm so over that trope.

And then there was Sour Puss by Rita Mae Brown. You can tell the editors barely looked at this which is the only way I can explain 100 pages of set up in a 276 page book, all of it on how to grow grapes/make wine but that wasn't the worst of it. Somehow Harry, our protagonist, thinks women become prostitutes because they enjoy sex and 'no one works a job they hate' or have a cat (another point of view character) sitting in judgment of other animals who have babies because her vet only shaved her belly but didn't spay her and she manages not to be pregnant....and Harry, Mrs. Murphy's human somehow didn't NOTICE? I won't even go into the horrible ending (but I do in my review if you're curious)


D. 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?

Jade CityJade City By Fonda Lee Technically only on my TBR pile 5 years (I have a slew of ARCS this spring so I'm reading a ton of very new things) I wish I hadn't bought this based on the fervor of when it came out and read the later reviews. Don't get me wrong it is actually quite good but it's about crime families in a fantasy setting and that is SO not my thing

Hey guys! How’s everyone’s reading going? Here’s my 1st quarter check in.

1. So far, I am almost half-way up Pike’s Peak at 5 books. I’ve traveled from outer space (Taken to Sasor) to Ireland (P.S. I Love You) to California and Washington state (River’s End.)

2. a. My favorite book, so far, has been P.S., I Love You. Although, I read the condensed version, so I’m eventually going to read the full version. I am definitely curious as to what was cut out to make the condensed version.

b. My favorite character so far has been the heroine, Olivia, from River’s End by Nora Roberts. I loved how that character was so determined and independent, but yet, so vulnerable at the same time.

c. River’s End by Nora Roberts has given me the biggest surprise out of all of the books I’ve read so far. It was a romantic mystery and I would have never guessed in a million years that the killer was who it was. That twist TOTALLY shocked me.

d. It’s a toss-up between Dark Dreams: The Story of Stephen King and Scary Stories to Sink Your Teeth Into/Bones flip book that has been on my TBR for the longest. I liked Dark Dreams much better than Scary Stories. Dark Dreams was a short biography of Stephen King. It wasn’t bad. It’s somewhere between should have tackled it back when I put it on my TBR and worth the wait. Scary Stories, however, was a definite it should have been tossed off the edge of the world. I don’t DNF many books, but that was a definite DNF. I gave that book away the same day I DNF’d it.

1. I've read about 16/24 for Mount Blanc (as of April 1st). I'm being a little more strict with myself on what counts and therefore attempting a lower peak because I really want to read my oldest TBR books and get them off my shelf or integrated into my home library! So I'm pretty proud of myself so far for getting two thirds of the way there! (I may still reread books, just not counting them toward this challenge!)

2. A. I really liked the cover of the The Rook

B. One of my favorite characters so far was Myfanwy Thomas from The Rook —she's a strong, kick-ass heroine (and also really funny!).

C. I was disappointed with Journey to the Center of the Earth . Tim Curry's audiobook performance was great, but the story wasn't as fun as some other Jules Verne I've read. The narrator was such an annoying character!

I was blown away by Simon Prebble's audiobook performance of Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage and can't stop recommending it to everyone I talk books with. One of the best audiobooks I have ever listened to and it's an amazing story!

D. The Three Musketeers has been on my TBR for over 10 years. It was a good read, but I don't mind that I didn't read it until now. I'm glad I read it, though, and would definitely reread it. Very fun!

Beverly wrote: "Hey guys! How’s everyone’s reading going? Here’s my 1st quarter check in.

1. So far, I am almost half-way up Pike’s Peak at 5 books. I’ve traveled from outer space (Taken to Sasor) to Ireland (P.S..."

I adore the movie adaptation of P. S. I Love You! The book, not as much, though I do still want/need to read the sequel . I'm always interested in the differences between condensed/abridged books and the originals but I've never taken the time to have them side by side.

I know I'm a little late with this, but...

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). I had read 65/150+ books for the challenge. That puts me about 43% up the mountain.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far. This wasn't my favorite read, but the cover is very striking, and does go with the story.

B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like. I suppose Sir Kenneth from the Talisman, although Saladin as painted in this book is quite an interesting character also. Sir Kenneth was a brave and true Scot, although I did become impatient with him over one decision he made. Saladin is a very noble character, gracious to his enemies although quite willing to meet them on the field of battle as well.


C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.) I had read before, but this time it made me really nostalgic for my childhood. I especially remembered marking off "houses" with freshly mowed grass...

D. 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? There are several books for young children I read that have been on my shelves since my kids were little, so 20-25 years? Some were good, some were okay but didn't grab me as much, and there were only two that I didn't really hate, but could give away to someone other than my grandkids and not feel bad about their losing out.

Hello - just spotted the check in.

1) As of today I've read 20 books towards Mount Kilimanjaro, which is a third of the climb.

2C) I was worried about reading Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton as I've read her in the past and not enjoyed her work. But it's one of my favourite books of the year so far!

2D) A Caribbean Mystery has been on my TBR since I inherited it from my Dad about 20 years ago. It was with the wait - I'm starting to think I enjoy Miss Marple more than Poirot!

Oh my goodness! I am just now, almost through April, seeing this check-in post. I have read 7 books through March (9 to date, 4/25/22).

In Mount Blanc world, that is 7/24 books, or 4,600ish ft up. Total feet is 15,774 to the top. Or, if you want current status, 9/24 books, or 5,915ish ft.

2A. Favorite title: The One and Only Ivan. Because, we are all unique in our own way, so each one of is is the "One and Only".

2B. Favorite character so far: I'm going to say Ivan the Gorilla. Because even though he's simple, he's still perceptive and can make a difference for him and those he cares about.

2C&D. I believe this is my oldest book read this year to date: Three Graves Full by Jamie Mason. I say this because I got my Kindle in 2016, and I can track purchase dates better on Kindle. There are so many physical books I own (some dating back to the 1990s when I was in high school) that are still TBRs for me. Over the years, I have purchased many physical books and my impulse buys at Sam's Club, WalMart, Target, or even the grocery store, are not kept track of very well. I will say, if Three Graves Full was an impulse buy (I remember the actual purchase, but I couldn't tell you the exact year), it was most likely when it was a newer release. It was first published in 2013, so I think this would be my longest held on TBR, as my other reads have been Kindle versions so far.

Anyway, I would say it was worth the wait. It was definitely not what I was expecting. There were so many twists and turns, kept me intrigued through the entire book! The ending is definitely not what i was expecting! I would say this is my favorite so far this year.

Ok, very late for this, but I'm finally doing my check-in!

1. I don't have a definite mountain in sight, but I managed to complete Pike's Peak and am 4 books short of Mt. Ararat! That makes it roughly 84% up! I might be moving up another mountain again soon!

2. A. A hard one, because I have a lot of beautiful covers! But it's a tie between Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw and "Girl, Serpent, Thorn" by Melissa Bashardoust.


B. Zhetian from Iron Widow is such a badass girl, but I have a soft spot for Scarlett Dragna from the Caraval trilogy!

C. When I first started Six Crimson Cranes, I was a bit disappointed - there was a cliché I didn't like, the main character's voice made her seem much younger than 16, almost a middle-grade tone to a supposed YA trilogy...but by 60%, the tone shifted, started to grow darker, our MC matured, and that cliché? SO NOT WHAT I EXPECTED, in the best way! On the other hand, Winterwood was almost the exact opposite: it started interesting and atmospheric, and I was enjoying the MC...until 70% in when things started to go downhill for me. Everything seemed too obvious, I didn't care for the way things were solved in the end, wasn't much sold on the romantic storyline...so I was a bit disappointed by the end. Especially because I like the author's previous novel.

D. The longest on my shelf was Winterwood, to be honest. I can't say it was a waste because I did enjoy stuff, BUT maybe I was expecting more and in that sense, it did disappoint and made it not so worth the wait.

I keep missing the checkpoints! I know I'm super late for this one, but I'll still answer retroactively (using only books read between January and ende of March).

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. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.

23 books read out of 75 so far, that's 30 %. That corresponds to 1,850 m up El Toro (which is 6,168 m high).

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far. OR If you have difficulty posting a cover for any reason, share your favorite title--this does not have to be your favorite read. It can just be a title you thought was funny or clever or interesting or....



I loved that book, and even though it doesn't actually feature Medusa, the cover screams Greek myth, heroes, peril and danger ... all things which do feature in the book.

B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

I loved Mark Watney in The Martian for his resourcefulness and dry humor.
I loved the titular character in Sadie for her bravery and loyalty.
And I loved the two protagonists in If This Gets Out because they were sweet and sensitive and lovable despite being superstars.

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

I was surprised that I didn't really enjoy Get a Life, Chloe Brown because it came highly recommended.
I was a bit disappointed with To Sir Phillip, With Love because I felt it didn't do the great character that is Eloise justice.
I had also expected more from the Caraval trilogy.
On the upside, Felix Ever After and Perfect on Paper both gripped me much more than I had expected and I found myself wholeheartedly relating to the respective queer teen protagonists.

D. 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?

Probably Night Music, and no, I don't regret reading it.