Mount TBR Challenge 2023 discussion

Well, my fellow mountaineers, our 2023 climbing expedition is coming to a close and it's time to get ready for the Final Mountaineering Checkpoint. I'm afraid I fell down on the job this year with regular checkpoints (but at least I didn't fall down the mountain!). There just doesn't seem to be as much time as there used to be. Where does the time go? Let me know if you find out.

I'm ready to hear how all our mountain-climbing team members have done out there on Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, Mt. Everest....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.

Well--this year I still managed my original goal of 100 books for Mount Everest, but there's no way on Mars that I'm going to read 17 more books by the end of 2023. I'm still reading--hoping to squeeze in a few more books before the ball drops back in Times Square on Earth. Current total: 132 of my own books read (almost done with #133).

2. The Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR: Using the titles of the books you read this year, see how many of the familiar proverbs and sayings below you can complete with a book read on your journey up the Mountain. Feel free to add/subtract a word or two to help them make sense.

Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR (my selections as examples):

A stitch in time...[saves] Nine--And Death Makes Ten (Carter Dickson)
Don't count your chickens...[before the] Inquest (Percival Wilde)
A penny saved is.... The Covenant of the Crown (Howard Weinstein)
All good things must come... While the Clock Ticked (Franklin W. Dixon)
When in Rome...Beauty Marks the Spot (Kelley Roos)
All that glitters is not... The Clue in the Jewel Box (Carolyn Keene)
A picture is worth....[the] Sound of Revelry (Octavus Roy Cohen)
When the going gets tough, the tough get... Danger at the Drawbridge (Mildred A. Wirt)
Two wrongs don't make... Three Men in a Boat (Jerome K. Jerome)
The pen is mightier than.... The Bullet That Missed (Richard Osman)
The squeaky wheel gets... Murder for Two (George Harmon Coxe)
Hope for the best, but prepare for... [a] Body Blow (Kenneth Hopkins)
Birds of a feather flock... [on] Black Friday [Dave Goodis]

And finally...if you would like to be in my year-end drawing for a challenge prize, please visit me at My Reader's Block and link up the URL for your mountain climb (the most recent mountain, if you've moved through several mountains). I'm only choosing one winner from all my challenges this year.

Link up post: https://myreadersblock.blogspot.com/2...

1. I'm so pround to say I reached the top of El Toro for the second year in a row, after years of trying my best to reach it but ending up only planting my flag in Kilimanjaro. Yes, it was a year-long effort, but I made it! The view is beautiful up here, btw!

2. Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR:

A stitch in time...[makes] Once More Upon A Time
Don't count your chickens...Under One Roof
A penny saved is.... Stuck With You
All good things must come... When The Tiger Came Down The Mountain
When in Rome...There Will Come A Darkness
All that glitters is not... Words of Radiance
A picture is worth....[the] The Priory of the Orange Tree
When the going gets tough, the tough get... [a] Piece of Work
Two wrongs don't make... A Master of Djinn
The pen is mightier than.... [a] Tread of Angels
The squeaky wheel gets... Over My Dead Body
Hope for the best, but prepare for... Our Violent Ends
Birds of a feather flock... [to the] Empire of Gold

1. I reached the top of Mt. Ararat by the end of August. I reached the top of Kilimanjaro and a few steps more (68/48).

2. Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR
A stitch in time...[saves] More Ketchup Than Salsa
Don't count your chickens...[before] Hemingway's Cats
A penny saved is....Elementally Priceless
All good things must come... To My Senses
When in Rome...Big Chicas Don't Cry
All that glitters is not... Dourado
A picture is worth....Waiting For a Star to Fall
When the going gets tough, the tough get... Mystic Ink
Two wrongs don't make... [a] State of Grace
The pen is mightier than.... The Temptation of Dragons
The squeaky wheel gets... The Gamma Sequence
Hope for the best, but prepare for... [the] Luck of the Draw
Birds of a feather flock...West With Giraffes

I can't believe I went beyond Mount Olympus! I hit Mount Olympus in October and managed to read 177 books owned prior to 2023!

I picked E, Toro this year, and am now floating in the air 25 mikes above the peak.

For years I’ve aimed for Olympus, but this year I picked a smaller goal as I’d been feeling unduly pressured (by myself) to meet the goal. Turned out to be a good thing beyond that, as the year brought with it an unexpected move that threw my life into disarray. I’m slowly getting myself reorganized, but I’m aware that there’s eventually to be another move, either here in Bisbee, or back to Tucson.

Unfortunately I only made it 80% of the way up El Toro in 2023. So for 2024 I've taken it down to Kilimanjaro, not least because a couple of the books I have my eye on are beasts. Nevertheless, I bought fewer books last year than I read, so that's still a net decrease. Small wins are better than no wins.

2. The Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR:

A stitch in time...[saves] The Girl Who Fell From The Sky (Simon Mawer)
Don't count your chickens...[before] The Rapture of the Nerds (Cory Doctorow)
A penny saved is.... Taken (Benedict Jacka)
All good things must come... Under the Empyrean Sky (Chuck Wendig)
When in Rome... We Need New Names (Violet Bulawayo)
All that glitters is not... Rosewater (Tade Thompson)
A picture is worth.... The Liar's Key (Mark Lawrence)
When the going gets tough, the tough get... Hot Pies on the Tram Car (Shiela Newberry)
Two wrongs don't make... You, Me and the Colours of Life (Noa C. Walker)
The pen is mightier than.... The Sisters Brothers (Patrick deWitt)
The squeaky wheel gets... A Man of Some Repute (Elizabeth Edmondson)
Hope for the best, but prepare for... Places in the Darkness (Christopher Brookmyre)
Birds of a feather flock... [to] The Midnight Sea (Kat Ross)

2023 was the year of my sixth stroll up the mountains. On the 9th of September I succeeded in my goal of scaling El Toro. I decided to venture forth and try to ascend Everest which I have never reached before. Unbelievably on the 10th of December I reached the summit and by the end of the year have read over a hundred books.

I hit 36 books for Mt. Vancouver on May 23! I finished up a lot of partials, and DNF'd several beasts that had been dragging on and on. We're all much happier now. I ended up just past Mt. Kilimanjaro with 61 books. I'm gonna bump up only one peak for 2024 in case this year was a fluke.

I got to 48 books (Mount Ararat) on Dec 22nd. Just currently trying to decide on next year's target!

Is it too late to check in? Still trying to catch up from the holidays....

I started the year thinking I'd read only lengthy books, but quickly realized that was not going to work. Need a short breather inbetween! I started with Pike's Peak expecting to move up a mountain or two, and ended up reaching the top of Mt. Kilimanjaro!

Didn't expect to get so far, so thrilled with that. I also completed 12 lengthy books. Those goals completed but end of the year buying spree meant I created higher mountains. So onto the next!

Thanks, everyone for checking in! So glad you all did well--moving books off the TBR mountains is always worth a celebration whether we meet our number goals or not.

Congratulations to Alexis who linked up on my blog and was chosen by the random number generator to win a prize. One more book for her 2024 TBR pile!

Late to the party. *g* I read 72 books, which almost got me to El Toro. Better luck in 2024!

Final Checkpoint 2023

1. I read 31 out of 36 books. The peak is in sight but I didn't quite get there.

2. The Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR:

Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR

[With] A stitch in time... [I] Muddled Through
Don't count your chickens... On Turpentine Lane
A penny saved is.... The Kiss Quotient
All good things must come... [during] Dandelion Summer
When in Rome... Shoot the Moon
All that glitters is not... Manna from Hades
A picture is worth... Recipes for Love and Murder
When the going gets tough, the tough get... The Thursday Murder Club
Two wrongs don't make... No Way Home
The pen is mightier than.... Arsenic and Adobo
The squeaky wheel gets... In Hot Water
Hope for the best, but prepare for... A Colourful Death
Birds of a feather flock... Home to Seaview Key

Congratulations everyone! I enjoyed reading your Words to the Wise. 😊

I managed to get to my pledged Mount Ararat peak of 48 books; 5,137 m (16,854 ft), by 30th October 2023. Between then and the end of the year, I managed only three more so it was not possible to clear another peak with a total of 51 books. I think my best for 2023 was the discovery of Wilkie Collins. I discovered him in 2022 through a classic literature group on FB. I collected some titles from thrift stores, and then my boss gifted me all her late mother's Wilkie Collins from the estate. I did not know mystery in the 1800s could be so delicious and unpredictable. Recent books are so formulaic I had given up reading mysteries and murders for many years!

2. Words to the Wise According to Mount TBR:

A stitch in time...[saves] The Woman in White (Wilkie Collins)
Don't count your chickens...[before] Poor Miss Finch (Wilkie Collins)
A penny saved is.... [a penny] In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado)
All good things must come... [to] Uncle Tom's Cabin (Harriett Beecher Stowe)
When in Rome…[do as the] Possessed (Thomas B. Allen)
All that glitters is not... The Heart of the Matter (Graham Greene)
A picture is worth… The Weight of Heaven (Thrity Umrigar)
When the going gets tough, the tough gets… Madame Bovary (Gustave Flaubert)
Two wrongs don't make... A House Without Windows (Nadia Hashimi)
The pen is mightier than.... The Dinner (Herman Koch)
The squeaky wheel gets... A Little Life (Hanya Yanagihara)
Hope for the best, but prepare for... The American Plague (Molly Caldwell Crosby)
Birds of a feather flock...All the Ugly and Wonderful Things (Bryn Greenwood)