Mount TBR Challenge 2023 discussion

It's like I started some years ago with a little base camp close to Colorado Springs, with my backpack ready to go and my eyes set on that certain mountain top in the Rockies. I was determined yet naive.These days I feel more like I built a permanent retreat in the area, returning every year. I'm loving the experience!

I like to mention that I did start out with 200 unread books, but it is those final 12 to 15 books that are the hardest to conquer. Here's to another year of climbing! Thanks, Bev, for doing this!

Pictures from the tour

Welcome back, Sam!

#1 Breakfast at Tiffany's

I barely remeber my first read which must have been more than ten years ago. For most of that time I have owned a copy of Capote's novelette. It has its own tone and I love the writing so much. Even though this is set in the 1930s, you can feel the Fifties in each word, yet Capote has his own style that lets you float it is that delicious!
Still, I'm of two minds on whether I should keep my copy ... I'm not particularly in love with Holly and do not get why every character in the story is crazy about her, and that puts me slightly off. Also some racial commentary hasn't aged well. But is is a delight to read.

#2 Ammonite

It took me too long to get through this to really feel I enjoyed it. This is down to me though and has nothing to do with the book. It was just a hectic time. The motifs in the story ticked many boxes for me and I was impressed by the haptic writing of the opening scene, where the protagonist is still in a spaceship. It felt very realistic and believable, like Griffith had been on a space mission herself.

#3 Nine Princes in Amber

While I enjoyed the concept and premise of the story the book felt too short to really make use of some of its best ideas. I own all books in the series and am interested to see whether we get more depth in later installments.

#4 The Beautifull Cassandra
Some of Jane Austen's early texts. Not comparable in any way with her grown-up works, but it was in a way therapeutic seeing someone of Austen's literary majesty misspelling "friend" repeatedly.

#05 Suicide Kings
Another installment in the Eric Carter series, and good fun.

#06 Drei Briefe aus den Anden
Non-fiction from a traveler of the Andes in the beginning of the 1970s in the form of three letters he wrote to his wife.

#07 Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
Unexpected in most ways, but in the end passing fun.

#08 Kindred
Hard read, good read.

#09 His Majesty's Dragon
It was alright, I guess.

#10 Story: Die Prinzipien des Drehbuchschreibens
Very interesting, but at times hilariously pretentious. Also, I'd love an updated version.

#11 Brightly Burning
I hate to do this, but dnf'ed another Lackey. These books are so blatantly meant for teenagers that I felt like an intruder reading this. Really weird.

#12 Lagoon
What a bonkers book. It left me a bit baffled. Very hard to get into, especially compared with Who Fears Death, one of my favourite reads of 2022 and written by the same author.

I made it up Pike's Peak :D Since my reading list for the rest of the year is pretty much settled and doesn't contain too many titles eligible for this challenge, I'll leave it at that.

By tbr is at 6 books as of now!

Congrats!

Nice job, Sam!

Congratulations!