I failed miserably in my first attempt at Roof Beam Reader’s TBR Pile Challenge this year. To meet the challenge, I had to read and review twelve books that had been on my “To Be Read” list for over a year. Two alternates are allowed in case you really hate a couple of the books.
As you can see, I failed the challenge, only reading two of the twelve older books that I’ve been meaning to read but that kept getting nudged aside by newer titles.
My 2012 TBR Pile Challenge List
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese
Snow by Orhan Pamuk
The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley
An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
Map of Ireland by Stephanie Grant
The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett
All Is Vanity by Christina Schwarz
Codex by Lev Grossman
Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Two Alternates
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Family Album by Penelope Lively
Since this challenge was supposed to help me with an unofficial goal for 2012 – to read more of the Massachusetts Book Award winners and Honor books from recent years – I’m going to try again in 2013! For my new list, I’ve swapped out the first two books on the original list with two at the end that I bought to read and actually have sitting on a shelf. I have a new strategy, too – to work harder on the list at the beginning of the year because from September on, life gets too busy.
My 2013 TBR Pile Challenge List
The Master Bedroom by Tessa Hadley
An Arsonist’s Guide to Writers’ Homes in New England by Brock Clarke
The House on Fortune Street by Margot Livesey
The Whole World Over by Julia Glass
Map of Ireland by Stephanie Grant
The Air We Breathe by Andrea Barrett
All Is Vanity by Christina Schwarz
Codex by Lev Grossman
Third Girl from the Left by Martha Southgate
The Line of Beauty by Alan Hollinghurst
Wish You Were Here by Stewart O’Nan
Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth
Two Alternates
Great House by Nicole Krauss
Family Album by Penelope Lively
The two books I read and reviewed from my 2012 list – Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese and Snow by Orhan Pamuk – were both very good, but they didn’t make my list of favorite reads from 2012.
a
If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it!
16 Responses to 2012 TBR Pile Challenge Fail
Leave a Reply
Audiobook Jukebox: Your link to audiobook reviews online
June 17–21
SoundBytes
Good luck with the challenge this coming year! You read the only two books from your list that I know.
Those were the two that I had people urging me to read! The Line of Beauty and Sacred Hunger are Booker Prize winners or nominees, I think. I’ve read and loved two of Martha Southgate’s novels but for some reason haven’t been able to dive into The Third Girl from the Left. The others are mostly New England authors, I think, that have been on my radar for a while (without looking at my list again).
All of the books on your challenge list for 2013 are authors I have not read. So I will be interested in the reviews… Last year I read almost all mysteries, but this year I am adding a little science fiction and fantasy to the mix. (Not for this challenge…)
I don’t read that many mysteries, so I’m not the best judge but the Louise Penny books are really good! The first one is Still Life, if you want to check out the series.
Never mind, you’ll surely do better this year, 2012′s will help keep you going
I hope so! Can’t hardly do much worse!
My book club is reading Cutting For Stone this next month, but I’m not sure I’m into it. Going to have to check out your review and see if I should give it another go.
Good luck in 2013! Go read those books!
Good luck on trying this challenge again! The only book on your new list that I’ve read is Codex, which, unfortunately, I didn’t like very much. I will be curious what you think!
Part of the challenge includes writing the review so I hope I’ll get to Codex. That one actually has been sitting on a shelf for a couple of years.
A very nice challenge list. Good luck!
Thanks!
That’s how I am with challenges, so I quite signing up for the. At least you tried and are trying again. Good luck this year!
Thanks! I’m always behind in reading and reviews, so why not make it completely obvious?
Good luck, Laurie! I like that you carried the unread titles over from the year before. I am not joining the challenge, but I do have an idea of several books I’d really like to read this year. Hopefully. Starting out at the beginning of the year is smart–I wish I had thought of that. It’s still early though, so not too late to get a start on some of those TBR books I want to read this year!
If it makes you feel any better, I failed more miserably than you! I read… ummmm… none of the books on my TBR Challenge list. That’s right, zero. To avoid further failure I decided not to participate in the challenge this year!
That’s probably what I should have done too! So far I’ve gotten one of the books off the shelf, but I have a pile of library books and review copies to read first.