2018 TBR Cleanup Challenge!

[Esther]

I thought I was going to have a problem with mystery or romance because romance is not a genre I enjoy and most of my mysteries are more suitable for other categories but I have just read Persuasion. One more reason to love Jane Austen.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Esther wrote: "I thought I was going to have a problem with mystery or romance because romance is not a genre I enjoy and most of my mysteries are more suitable for other categories but I have just read [book:Per..."

Love that book!! She's so great at making the mundane feel beautiful.

[Lost Planet Airman]

1. The 13th book: Kushiel's Dart
2. Over-the-hill author: Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles
=== === = = = = = = === === === = === = === === = === === === = = = = = = === ===
3. A book with humor or horror
4. 300-350 pages

[Meredith]

I'm at 4/20 now.
In February I read:

17. Standalone novel: Borne by Jeff VanderMeer. Hard to describe, compelling, not always sympathetic, narrator in a disturbing but fascinating dystopian setting.

20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover: Long Hot Summoning by Tanya Huff. Fun conclusion to the trilogy.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm down 4 and once I clear out a few of my current reads, I'm on to 5! So far I've really liked my picks, too! Also, thank God for my genius idea to have a code word in my title, because even though you all tease and tried to trip me up, it's working!

[Alex]

I'm hoping to get my TBR down to around 200 by the end of this year, hoping this challenge will inspire me to keep at it!

Here are my picks:

1. The 13th book - The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector’s Story (chosen from my "owned" tbr)
2. A book written by a young buck or geezer - I Know This Much Is True
3. A book with humor or horror - You
✔️ 4. 300-350 pages - The Fact of a Body: A Murder and a Memoir
✔️ 5. A book that reminds you of home - Station Eleven
✔️ 6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover - The Lonely Hearts Hotel
✔️ 7. Chosen for the cover - The Power
✔️ 8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon
✔️ 9. Based on the blurb or blerg - Long Way Down
✔️ 10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting - The Girl in the Tower
✔️ 11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name - The Cruel Prince
12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship - The Last Kingdom (had to go with a boat for this one, didn't want to find something outside of my already huge TBR)
✔️ 13. An author's debut novel - Red Rising
14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one - Dendera
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone - The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and Peoples Temple (a book I have been putting off due to its size and subject matter)
✔️ 16. A book with a mystery or romance - In a Dark, Dark Wood
✔️ 17. Standalone novel - The Bell Jar
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill - The Dry
19. Read a genre-bender - The Philosopher's Flight
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover - The Art of Racing in the Rain

[Dj]

My 13th Book has fallen to the wayside

Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II


Here is what I thought, I gave it three stars.

A very interesting look at an event that took place in WWII, but isn't a part of the main theme of the war. It takes a fairly in depth look at all the people that were involved and all of the issues. It doesn't ignore the point of view of the natives and also goes into what happened to all of them after the events were all over.

A fine human interest piece with WWII as a back drop.

[Dj]

Contact Us


So I finished this book, here are my thoughts.

A fun if uneven look at what would happen if we were visited by Aliens, or in this case an Alien with emotional issues comes to visit the Earth and, take over, warn us, play games...

The book was is a blend of after the holocaust survivalist, Spy/Adventure/Sci-Fi sometimes it doesn't mesh all that well, sometimes it tries to follow to many individual characters for as short as it is, but it is a nice, easy read and one that amuses enough to make up for any issues that come along the way.

Will have to give the second book a chance.

[Karen]

Finally found the 13th book
13/20

1 The 13th book Condemnation Richard Baker
2. A book written by a young buck or geezer Gloriana Micheal Moorcock
3. A book with humor or horror A Study in Emerald Neil Gaimon
4. 300-350 pages - All the Birds in the Sky Charlie Jane Anders
5. A book that reminds you of home
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover Ancillary Justice Anne Leckie
7. Chosen for the cover
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - To Set a Watchman Harper Lee
9. Based on the blurb or blerg
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting The Girl in the Spider's Web David Lagercrantz
11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name
12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship Nine Fox Gambit Yoon Ha Lee
13. An author's debut novel The Hate U Give Angie Thomas
14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one Dissolution Richard Lee Byers
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone
16. A book with a mystery or romance Firewall Henning Mankill
17. Standalone novel
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill Insurrection Thomas M. Reid
19. Read a genre-bender Redshirts John Scalzi
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover

[Meredith]

I'm up to 6/20

In March I read:
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for: The White Spider. The descriptions of the climbs and rescues were compelling, though things got a bit "listy" when the author was describing some of the later climbs. The tone is of a memoir and the high praise for all mountain climbers (except that one guy) gets a bit old as well as the complaints that people generally don't think as highly of mountain climbers as they ought to.

16. A book with a mystery or romance:The Anatomist's Wife. Enjoyable historical mystery, set in Scotland in the 1830s. I liked the main character and that she definitely learned and grew during the story (not always the case for these leading ladies). I would probably read more in the series.

[Lost Planet Airman]

1. The 13th book: Kushiel's Dart
2. Over-the-hill author: Doctor Who: The Coming of the Terraphiles
3. Humor or horror: To Say Nothing of the Dog
=== === = = = = = = === === === = === = === === = === === === = = = = = = === ===
4. 300-350 pages
5. A book that reminds you of home
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover
7. Chosen for the cover

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

You're on a roll, Mike! I'm backsliding :(

[Dj]

Here is an update to how my Challenge is going.

The 13th Book

Lost in Shangri-la

A very interesting look at an event that took place in WWII, but isn't a part of the main theme of the war. It takes a fairly in depth look at all the people that were involved and all of the issues. It doesn't ignore the point of view of the natives and also goes into what happened to all of them after the events were all over.

A fine human interest piece with WWII as a back drop.

Now my 13th book is Hitler: 1889 to 1936 Hubris, by Ian Kershaw




A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over the hill

Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of Nimh
Not the movie, which is a good thing. There is much less clowning around. The Crow isn't just comic relief. The Owl doesn't attack. the Story of the Rats escaping NIMH doesn't end at the Fan. Jenner never shows up except when being talked about by others.

Instead what you get is a well told story that doesn't really have an ending but does have reason and logic. While it is a tale for kids, more or less it is well told and soundly written. I am so glad that I read the book, now so much makes more sense than it did watching the movie. The movie was good, but like most movies based off books it left a great deal out.

This book was published in 1971, two years later the author was dead.


A book with humor or horror

The Robin Hood Hacker

For an action adventure, this book has everything. A hacker that gives ten percent of the heist to themselves and the rest to charity. Sort of a reverse church thing going on there.
A hacker that is famous and a woman.
Gadgets galore.
Destruction of World Famous Art.
An evil secret society bent on taking over the world.
Mass Weaponized Plagues.
Oh yeah, and it has wonderful moments of humor. Well worth the effort to read.



300 to 350 pages

Storm from the Shadows

Another in the long series of Honorverse books. This one is a sideline story, that is meant to fill in gaps in the main storyline. As such it has the downside of not always having a plot that is the easiest to follow breaking off from time to time to bring in things that are more in lines with the main story, then with what it taking place in this format.

While it still works on the basic premise of deep character development, it also includes far to much math for a light reading. The battle sequences seem to be drug down by all the math used to explain closing speeds and the number of missiles that get through defensive screens.

A good book, but not the easy read that the earlier books were.
Page count says 750


A book that reminds you of home

The Works of Rudyard Kipling: One Volume edition


Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover

Astrophysics, for people in a hurry

Okay, I love reading books about science for the Common Man when they are written by Neil deGrasse Tyson. Clear, concise and amazingly understandable. This book may have a less often joking comment in regards to the topic, but for my part that detracts less from the subject at hand and makes it even funnier when he does drop something in, like the Double Tidal Lock, sounding like a not yet invented Wrestling move.

I think that I might have been more deeply involved in science classes if the Teachers I had, could have delivered the information in as clear a fashion as this book does. Maybe.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Nice, DJ!

[Lost Planet Airman]

Allison wrote: "You're on a roll, Mike! I'm backsliding :("

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo,,,

[Esther]

My 13th book was Big Little Lies.

[Laura]

Hi everyone. I'm Laura and new to the group.
This challenge seems really great so I signed up! :) Hope that's OK! :D

I have a question though. What about the 13th book? How do I choose that?

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Totally ok! You can either do it off your virtual shelves if you have your "Want To Read" shelf populated, or count off a physical shelf/pile/box (however they're stored ;-) ) Or really any other way that seems fun/makes sense to you.

[Laura]

Thank you Allison! :)

That sounds like fun and I think I'll try to devise an 'original' method of counting. :D

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Laura wrote: "Thank you Allison! :)

That sounds like fun and I think I'll try to devise an 'original' method of counting. :D"

Please tell us what it is you come up with! Part of the fun of this challenge has been seeing how people interpret it and what they think fits the category :)

[Lost Planet Airman]

Allison wrote: "Laura wrote: "Thank you Allison! :)

That sounds like fun and I think I'll try to devise an 'original' method of counting. :D"

Please tell us what it is you come up with! Part of the fun of this ..."

Indeed! I had already set my "Read All The Books" Challenge goal, so I decided that my 13th book would be 13 (unread) books up from the bottom of our bookclub bookshelf.

Oops. now that idea's not "original" any more. Ah, well! WELCOME, Laura!

[Laura]

I deffinitely will Allison. :)

And thank you for the welcome Frank. 😊
I wouldn't have thought about using that shelf. hmm! Good idea! But for now I'll stick to paperbacks from my shelves. :D
Are you actually reading 13 books from that shelf to cover the category of '13th book'? So 13 for 1?

[Lost Planet Airman]

Laura wrote: "I deffinitely will Allison. :)

And thank you for the welcome Frank. 😊
I wouldn't have thought about using that shelf. hmm! Good idea! But for now I'll stick to paperbacks from my shelves. :D
Are y..."

A daring plan, but no. I went to the bottom of the shelf and started counting upwards, skipping the books I had already read. When I got to the 13th book, I read it!

(And read it... and read it... and then read it some more. Thirty hours of audio, or 900 pages of book. Thirteen was really my lucky number.)

[Rachel]

Mike - yeah my 13th ended up being Arcanum Unbounded - the “short” story collection by Sanderson.
I’m putting that one off since his idea of short story is full (normal person length) novel

[Laura]

@Mike - Kushiel's Dart!!! (*grin*) That is quite a big one. I also took a few days to finish it. Did you like it at least?

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

1. The 13th book - The Black Prism - currently reading
2. A book written by an author who is over-the-hill. - After Alice by Gregory Maguire - ordered from library
3. A book with humor or horror - The Serpent of Venice
4. 300-350 pages - Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
5. A book that reminds you of home - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover - Saturdays at Sea - ordered from library
7. Chosen for the cover - Gunslinger Girl - ordered from library
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - A Gathering of Shadows - read
9. Based on the blurb or blerg - The Cruel Prince
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting - Rebel of the Sands
11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name -
Strands of Bronze and Gold
12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship - The Long-Lost Home
13. An author's debut novel - Daughter of the Pirate King
14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one  - Magic Below Stairs
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone -
One of Us Is Lying
16. A book with a mystery or romance - Murder Most Unladylike
17. Standalone novel - Jane Steele
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill -
The Obsidian Dagger: Being the Further Extraordinary Adventures of Horatio Lyle
19. Read a genre-bender  - The Severed Streets
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover  -
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories

[Lost Planet Airman]

@Laura - liked it, although I had to reread the first few chapters (at first to meet another challenge, but also to grok the author's cadence and style)

@Colleen -awesome list! I can't tell on my phone if you have some marked up as completed; you aren't finished with the challenge already, are you?!?

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Mike wrote: "@Colleen -awesome list! I can't tell on my phone if you have some marked up as completed; you aren't finished with the challenge already, are you?!?."


Not even a little. LOL

But I like setting the whole list ahead of time, so I know what books I'm going to be reading for the year.

But I have one read, 1 currently reading, and 3 on order from the library. That's as far as I've gotten.

[Dj]

Rachel wrote: "Mike - yeah my 13th ended up being Arcanum Unbounded - the “short” story collection by Sanderson.
I’m putting that one off since his idea of short story is full (normal person length) novel"

Is he related to Herman Melville?

[Lost Planet Airman]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Mike wrote: "@Colleen -awesome list! I can't tell on my phone if you have some marked up as completed; you aren't finished with the challenge already, are you?!?."


Not even a little. LOL"

I moved to a desktop and can see the strikethrough markup now!
"Never give up, and never surrender!"

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Mike wrote: "I moved to a desktop and can see the strikethrough markup now!
"Never give up, and never surrender!""

By Grabthar's Hammer... the year is still young. ;)

[Dj]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Mike wrote: "I moved to a desktop and can see the strikethrough markup now!
"Never give up, and never surrender!""

By Grabthar's Hammer... the year is still young. ;)"

I thought it was...'By Grapthar's Hammer, what a savings' Ah well, Maybe I should watch the best Star Trek movie ever made again.

[Laura]

Does 64 at the time of writing/publishing classify as "over the hill"? Or do I have to look for a bit 'more over' than that?

[Laura]

Scratch that. I just found a novel on my shelves written at the age of 81 by an author that I happen to adore. So I'll read that one.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Phew! I think we're all glad we don't have to answer that ;-)

[Laura]

Allison wrote: "Phew! I think we're all glad we don't have to answer that ;-)"

😁😁😁

[Beth]

For "the 13th book," I sorted my "Want to Read" shelf starting with the oldest entry, and only counted things I owned. iirc I fudged it slightly because the count landed on a mid-series book in a series I hadn't started yet.

Like Colleen, I have all the spaces filled in for planning (and am even using a spreadsheet), except for "blurb/blerg" which I'm totally lost on. A non-fiction will probably go there.

Come to think of it I ought to update my tracking post in this thread. Four completed so far!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Beth wrote: "Like Colleen, I have all the spaces filled in for planning (and am even using a spreadsheet), except for "blurb/blerg" which I'm totally lost on. A non-fiction will probably go there."


I got lucky for the blurb/blerg thing because Holly Black is an author who I loved the first thing of hers I've read, and have been repeatedly disappointed since then, so I swore her off, but then I got sucked back in by the blurb of her newest book, so I figure that counted.

I had a hard time with the marry/shag/kill one, though.

[Donald]

Allison wrote: "Phew! I think we're all glad we don't have to answer that ;-)"

I was going to suggest it depends where you think the hill is located and how steep the cliff is on the other side. :P

I find as I get older the hill keeps getting further and further away, which is nice.

[Laura]

Donald wrote: "Allison wrote: "Phew! I think we're all glad we don't have to answer that ;-)"

I was going to suggest it depends where you think the hill is located and how steep the cliff is on the other side. :..."

Now that's a really nice suggestion! :)

As I am heading towards the tip of the hill myself (I choose to consider the tip as being exactly in the middle and the journey towards it starting from the very first days) I find I enjoy the climb a lot more than before.

[Laura]

I finally got my 13th book

My 'original idea' of choosing this was: Let the kids count! .

My little one (who is 8) and his 2 friends (7 and 9) were very eager to step up to the task of choosing/counting. They turned the whole thing into a damn science. Counted out a 13th book from each of my shelves with unread books (and I have many of those cause I collect them. - Did you say hoarding?! - I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that :D )

the 26 books selected were mixed thoroughly on a pile on the floor (while keeping the eyes closed I might add) and then counted again. The last 13th book left standing was mine to read for this challenge.
At the end of the whole business, grinning because their chosen book is beautiful and big they handed me:

The Fiery Cross

- which is one of the biggest tomes on my shelves!!!!! And I haven't even read the previous ones in the series (except the first)! Something that I'll have to do now because if they spent so much of time and hard work in choosing it - I HAVE TO READ IT!!!!

So my 13th book is actually 4 books in one and that's what I get from letting the little ones help! (at least they had fun doing it :D)

[Laura]

I haven's still chosen all my books for this challenge but got a few down so I can get started.

1. The 13th book

The Fiery Cross

✔2. A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over-the-hill.

Dragon Harper

I love Anne McCaffrey and her Pern Series and honestly had no clue she wrote a lot of them after she crossed into her sixties.

✔3. A book with humor or horror

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians

✔4. 300-350 pages

Book of a Thousand Days

✔5. A book that reminds you of home

Midnight's Daughter

This one is supposed to have Romanian characters. I'm calling that at home. :)

✔6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover

The Edge of Worlds

✔7. Chosen for the cover

Santa Olivia

I have no idea what it is about but I bought it because the cover is great and it is Carey.

✔8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for

The Stone Sky

I wanted to read this one very very much but the paperback price over here was too high until last month when I could buy it.

✔9. Based on the blurb or blerg

Devil

Now this I wanted to read particularly because of the blurb.

✔10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting

The Phantom of the Opera

✔11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name

The Cloud Roads

✔12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

✔13. An author's debut novel

Sorcerer's Legacy

✔14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one

The Heart's Invisible Furies

✔15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone

The Graveyard Book

Gaiman is great, but I don't usually feel comfy in reading his books. They do tend to be a bit too dark for my every day read.

✔16. A book with a mystery or romance

The Song of David

✔17. Standalone novel

Song of the Beast

✔18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill

Fugitive Prince

✔19. Read a genre-bender

Vathek

✔20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover

Beauty and the Beast

[Anna]

Laura wrote: "I finally got my 13th book
My 'original idea' of choosing this was: Let the kids count!"

Thanks for the laugh! Poor you, you really do have to read it now!

[Sarah]

@Laura - That is too funny! Good for you for not cheating. I would totally have cheated and just swapped it in for the first book in the series. Every single one of those books is like 1,000 pages long or more.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I got a good laugh out of this thread today. Thanks Laura and Donald! Aw, Laura, I'm so excited for you to read Stone Sky and Dragon Harper especially!!

[Laura]

😊😊 I did promise to let you know how my original idea went. My little one and I do lots of things together: from bookmarks to reading competitions and decorating bookshelves - we've got it all. :)

And I did try to swap books but was told (by the kids of course) that swaping wasn't fair! The 13th is the 13th! So in the end, that's what I'm gonna read. :)

@Allison - Do you also like the Pern Series? I've read a lot of it but somehow never got to Master Harper and every one of my friends who read it keeps telling me it's great. Now I'm really looking forward to it. :)

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Laura wrote: "😊😊 I did promise to let you know how my original idea went. My little one and I do lots of things together: from bookmarks to reading competitions and decorating bookshelves - we've got it all. :)
..."

Ah, sorry Laura, just saw! I do like Pern. Master Harper was really great. The world you see away from dragons is just as cool as the dragons :) Or, that's what I remember from having read it *mumble mumble* years ago.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I'm doing better than anticipated! So far I've finished


2. A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over-the-hill. - The Art of War (IDK why this is an enduring classic. Do we just worship firsts?)

8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - The Golem and the Jinni (pretty!)

9. Based on the blurb or blerg - Children of Blood and Bone (take every modern ya, put it in a shaker with a couple shots of vodka, a little mint, strain into a glass and you'll get this book that...tastes like vodka and mint. Fairly standard stuff).

10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting - The Three-Body Problem (reminds me of my stoner physics teacher but without the good stories)

12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship - Ninefox Gambit (loved!)

15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone - Annie Allen (really evocative. Different for me but good different.)

19. Read a genre-bender - Touch (also loved!)

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Kicking ass and taking names...

[CBRetriever]

The World Book Day deals on Amazon added another 9 books to my TBR pile

Sadness

but gladness because they were free