TBR Clear Out Readathon discussion

A currently reading board!

I'm starting with The Hymn to Dionysus by Natasha Pulley :)

I'm reading Tara Road by Maeve Binchy, which I started in March for the Irish Readathon. I didn't finish it in March since it's a big book.

'Educated' by Tara Westover is my pick for this readathon!
I've had it for about five years or more, and I'm finally reading it.
The timing feels right, and I'm excited to finally see what everyone loves about it. I'm hoping for a great reading experience :)

I managed to finish two books for the readathon while on a trip:

1. Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier, which unfortunately was a DNF on page 217. I found the book to be very boring and decided to move on.

2. White Rose by Kip Wilson, which was fine.

I am now reading Vow of Thieves by Mary E. Pearson.

I finished the book I had lost interest in, Jerusalems natt by Sven Delblanc, a Swedish novel/novella from 1983. It was actually not that uninteresting, I can understand why I bought it over 30 years ago. The book is mainly about religious issues and how women were very quickly banned from having a say in the early Christian communities.
I have also started Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (longest book) and I'm halfway through Two for Sorrow by Nicola Upson (very short time on my TBR).

My goal is 10 books, but not sure I'm going to make it. So far I have read 3 books:

1. The Hollow, Agatha Christie (1946)--TBR from 2017
2. The Soul Of Kindness, Elizabeth Taylor (1964)--TBR from 2018
3. In the steps of Jane Austen, Anne-Marie Edwards (1985)--TBR from 2024. Nonfiction--17 walks in places where Jane Austen lived or visited.

Haven't assigned books to prompts--will wait when I'm finished.

I've finished 2 more books, both excellent:
4. William: An Englishman, Cecily Hamilton (1919)--TBR from 2023
5. When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka (2002)--TBR from 2022

Also, I read the first 20 pages or so of three more books from my TBR pile and decided they weren't for me at this time, so they are getting donated. I may pick them up from the library at some other time. For one of those books I'd also purchased the sequel.

So far I've read 5, PLUS another 4 books are off my TBR (2 from 2024, 1 from 2016 and 1 from 2013). I feel so much lighter--like I just lost 10 pounds!

I've had such a bad reading month and have read so little for the readathon! But in the last three days of April, I've got some days between freelance work, so I'm hoping to get some reading done in the next few days!

Wrapping up my April TBR reading:

Goal: 10 books: Completed 8 books and permanently DNF'd 4 books after reading about 30 pages of each; so a total 12 books off my TBR, and I feel I accomplished my goal.

My 8 books completed:

1. Oldest:The Hollow, Agatha Christie (1946)--TBR from 2017
2. Newest:In the steps of Jane Austen, Anne-Marie Edwards (1985)--TBR from 2024
3. Longest: The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope (1876); 736 pages on audiobook; a re-read, but from my first reading 10 years ago I have wanted to re-read it, so it has been part of my long-term TBR
4. Shortest: The Mystery of the Burnt Cottage by Enid Blyton (1943); 160 pages; have never read Enid Blyton, so picked up this children's mystery
5. Lost interest??: When the Emperor Was Divine, Julie Otsuka (2002)--TBR from 2022, but turned out to be an excellent book about Japanese internment in the US in WWII.
6. Most excited!!: William: An Englishman, Cecily Hamilton (1919)--TBR from 2023; the first Persephone book printed; set during WWI and was even better than I anticipated

7. The Soul Of Kindness, Elizabeth Taylor (1964)--TBR from 2018; not my favorite Taylor, but still very good with an "Emma"-like main character
8. They Knew Mr. Knight, Dorothy Whipple (1934)--TBR from 2024; not my favorite Whipple, but an interesting portrait of marriage & family under financial stress

Katie wrote: "I've had such a bad reading month and have read so little for the readathon! But in the last three days of April, I've got some days between freelance work, so I'm hoping to get some reading done i..."
Hope these last few days you've been able to knock a few off your TBR. Thanks for hosting the readathon again.

I was only able to read two of the books on my list. I'm coming out of a really bad reading slump, so I'm happy I even managed to read that much. I will continue to read the books I picked through May.

I finished four books from my list, two of which had been on my shelves for more than thirty years. I've started the longest book on my list (Wives and Daughters by Gaskell) and will hopefully finish it in May. I didn't read the book I had on my list for challenge 7, but I did read another book from my TBR instead, which I was also very excited about (The Franchise Affair by Josephine Tey).

Hello everyone,

I had a great time participating in the "TBR readathon in April" and wanted to share the four books I enjoyed:

- "Life After Life" by Kate Atkinson (a wonderful historical fiction)
- "Educated" by Tara Westover (a powerful and moving memoir)
- "The House of Hidden Meaning" by Ru Paul (really insightful)
-"Happy Go-Lucky" by David Sedaris (provided some much-needed laughs!)

Thank you so much Katie for hosting it :)

I finished all 6 books I planned to read for this readathon. My favourite was Secondhand Time by Svetlana Alexievich.
Thanks for hosting this event, Katie! 🙂📚