2018 TBR Cleanup Challenge!

[Esther]

I am doing OK so far with 11/20 but I keep reading random books off my shelf rather than checking to see if they fit my challenges!

1. The 13th book Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
2. A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over-the-hill
3. A book with humor or horror Jaz, Tall Men, & Mayhem by Kate McVaugh
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
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for
9. Based on the blurb or blerg The Last Hours by Minette Walters
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting
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
13. An author's debut novel
14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race by Reni Eddo-Lodge
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
16.A book with a mystery or romance Persuasion by Jane Austen
17. Standalone novel Pachinko by Min Jin Lee
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill
A Gentleman in Moscowby Amor Towles
19. Read a genre-bender
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton

[Lizzie]

I'm nearly there - I set myself a modest goal of 40 books this year for my overall reading challenge, and planned to get the TBR clean-up challenge done in the first half of the year. I'm currently reading Dune and This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate, but I can see that one taking me the full year to get through. That just leaves The Ghost Bride!

1. The 13th book The City and the Stars
2. A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over-the-hill Driving Miss Norma: One Family's Journey Saying "Yes" to Living - (this is a bit of a cheat, as the author isn't that old, but the wonderful lady it is about was!)
3. A book with humour or horror Weaveworld *DNF, but it's no longer on my TBR!
4. 300-350 pages Eleanor & Park
5. A book that reminds you of home The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox (because my dad got it me for Christmas, and we both loved Bridge of Birds)
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover A Closed and Common Orbit
7. Chosen for the cover Empire of Ivory (the copy I have has the beautiful "woodcut" style cover)
8. "Missed it by that much" Dune
9. Based on the blurb or blerg The End of the World Running Club
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting The Ghost Bride
11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name La Belle Sauvage (my copy has the writing in gold)
12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship Children of Time
13. An author's debut novel The Rats
14. "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" The Last Unicorn
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. The Climate (in that I imagine it will be an uncomfortable read)
16. A book with a mystery or romance The Ruby in the Smoke
17. Standalone novel Sea of Rust
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill The Gunslinger (just going off the fact that Idris Elba is in the film..)
19. Read a genre-bender Anansi Boys (I'm guessing if American Gods counts as a genre-bender, this will too, and it has been on my TBR a long time!)
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover Mouse Guard: Fall 1152

[Anna]

Lizzie wrote: "That just leaves The Ghost Bride!"

Oh I want to reread that! If you like it, also check out The Terracotta Bride by Zen Cho, it's often on sale for under two bucks.

[Dj]

Becky wrote: "Dj wrote: "Not to be to much of a Sticker, but England is in the UK. Just sayin."

LOL! I was so confused by this and it took me way too long to figure out what you were talking about.

I know, of..."

Ok, by me, I don't have any authority, and lets face it Agatha Christie books are old enough, that it is something close to being from another world. LOL

[Becky]

Haha, so true! Either way, it was no problem to change it to another book that was fitting for the task. :) I want to play by the rules, I just interpreted the task weirdly. I probably never would have even thought about it unless you pointed it out, so it's a good reminder to thoroughly read the task requirements. :P

[CBRetriever]

that's OK, I read genre bending as gender bending

[YouKneeK]

Becky wrote: "I just interpreted the task weirdly."

Are you a programmer by any chance? Because you totally interpreted the task correctly if it had been written that way in a computer program. Any self-respecting computer would have done the same thing! ;)

[Becky]

YouKneeK wrote: "Becky wrote: "I just interpreted the task weirdly."

Are you a programmer by any chance? Because you totally interpreted the task correctly if it had been written that way in a computer program. An..."

No, I am not a programmer myself, but I do have to read code for my job, so maybe that explains it!

[Lost Planet Airman]

CBRetriever wrote: "that's OK, I read genre bending as gender bending"

Ha, me too! Nearly every time!

[Lost Planet Airman]

Becky wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "Becky wrote: "I just interpreted the task weirdly."

Are you a programmer by any chance? Because you totally interpreted the task correctly if it had been written that way in a com..."

A programmer is headed to the market. The programmer's spouse says "Bring back a loaf of bread, please. And if they have eggs, get a dozen."

So the programmer comes home with twelve loaves of bread!

[Esther]

Mike wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "that's OK, I read genre bending as gender bending"

Ha, me too! Nearly every time!"

Me three!

[Esther]

Mike wrote: "Becky wrote: "YouKneeK wrote: "Becky wrote: "I just interpreted the task weirdly."

Are you a programmer by any chance? Because you totally interpreted the task correctly if it had been written tha..."

LOL

A boolean programmer comes out of the room where his wife has just given birth. Her parents ask 'Is it a boy or a girl?' He replies "yes".

[Becky]

LOL I love those kinds of jokes. Ahh, nerds. My people. :D

CBRetriever, I wasn't reading it was "gender" but now I can't stop myself from thinking of it every time! hehe

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Random side note -

I once had to explain what a boolean search was to the person ostensibly responsible for the IT for our company's systems...

[Becky]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Random side note -

I once had to explain what a boolean search was to the person ostensibly responsible for the IT for our company's systems..."

O_O

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Becky wrote: "colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Random side note -

I once had to explain what a boolean search was to the person ostensibly responsible for the IT for our company's systems..."


O_O"


Right?!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

It's funny we're discussing boolean, because I was trying to find something on GR the other day and it was fighting me.

So I pulled out my inner Jules from Pulp Fiction and was like "Boolean, motherf*****, do you speak it?!"

It did not. My inner Jules doesn't actually own a gun, and so we just had a really frustrating stand off.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

I suppose I should also follow my own rules. My TBR has somewhat stalled. I want to read the things on the list, very much, but there's been a few buddy reads...

I think a few of my audio book holds will come in soon, so I'll be able to do The Hate U Give and An Ember in the Ashes

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

My TBR challenge is going fairly well. It says I'm 1 behind schedule, but I'm currently reading 2 which are on the list, so I think I'm in a good place.

I plan on doing a list update once I'm done at least 1 of my current 2.

[Rachel]

Lets see Im at 12/20 with two up for reading in June - so I guess I’m good! My owned book challenge on the other hand.....

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Goodreads does that sometimes >:(

I'm not sure I have a "fix" since it seems to go away after awhile--I just update the ones it misses manually.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

John wrote: "Allison wrote: "Goodreads does that sometimes >:(

I'm not sure I have a "fix" since it seems to go away after awhile--I just update the ones it misses manually."

Yeah I tried updating them manual..."

Damn! That's weird. Anyone know about this particular glitch?

[CBRetriever]

yep,

"Note: some of our members have reported that not all read dates are showing. If this happened to you, no data was lost. We're currently working to restore this information "

[Laura]

I managed to get a few of my chosen reads done:

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. :)

- I don't know what I was expecting while reading this. Perhaps smth steamy and kinky after all the good reviews. *Sigh.* This one didn't appeal to me at all.
It's YA and has a lot of kick ass fight scenes as well as a few steamy moments but I think I may have gotten too old for "we're fighting like wildcats because we absolutely hate each other one minute, and stripping our clothes off to have hot sex the next."
So, boring old hag that I am rated it only 2 stars.

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.

Now this one was a great read. 5 stars all the way for me. So different from the Kushiel universe, it was light and fast paced and made me laugh out loud or sigh so many times while reading it. I absolutely loved it and will be reading the sequel next week.

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.

There's nothing much to say about this one except that it was awesome!!! I loved loved loved it and am considering reading the rest of Jemisin works also ASAP. - 5 full stars!

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

The Phantom of the Opera

I loved the movie and thought the book would be just as great, if not even greater. Silly me. I hated the phantom. He was a real monster. And I'll take the movie over this any day. 3 stars from me.

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

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Another 5 star read. Another great book. I loved the insight into human nature, the family relationships and all those feelings and little truths I could discover in between the lines.

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

I'm adding Fugitive Prince over here. This is the 4th book in the War of Light and Shadows series and I just finished it yesterday.
I was meaning to add in this category a nice romance or mystery/thriller with a sexy kind cop/detective as the wounded warrior to play the saviour for the damsel in distress. I always fall for that type. :D

But yesterday while reading Fugitive Prince I wanted to hurl the book across the room several times and (as the book is a beautiful hardcover and didn't really do anything to deserve the harsh treatment) I resulted to a string of muttered profanities worthy for a tried deckhand.

Lysaer - one of the main MCs - His Grace the Prince of Light - an arrogant pompous prick, complete jerk and pigheadead hypocrite - the cause for my outburst - I would have had him killed without remorse yesterday. And I'll probably feel the same in future also. :D

So there you go - I found my book for this category. Anotehr 5 star read by Janny Wurts.

19. Read a genre-bender

Vathek

This I cannot say that I disliked, it's just that it wasn't really for me. A bit too complicated and too morbid for my taste. All in all just 3 stars.

[Laura]

Very true John. :)

The Wars of Light and Shadows is an amazing series and it probably wouldn't be the same without the horrible Prince of Light.

[Anna]

John wrote: "Speaking of tech stuff, my read dates are not updating"

I keep telling everyone this over and over again in the feedback group, but I don't think I've said it here. Any date problems you have, you can most likely fix them and/or see them correctly if you go to your shelves (My Books). The book page and edit page often give me trouble, so I just go to my read shelf and fix it there. Usually the dates are correct, but the book/edit page shows empty. If it's correct on the shelf, it'll show up on the book/edit page eventually.

The book/edit pages have been changed recently (rereads), the shelves haven't.

Also, in case anyone else misses the old option of setting a future start (or read) date, you can do that on your shelves, too. I always mark a book currently reading for tomorrow before I go to bed. You can't do that on the book page, but you can on your shelf.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I tried to update the date from the shelf itself, and it still won't stick.

Per the Feedback group, they're now asking people not to update any dates until it gets resolved because if people try to update more than once then once it gets fixed they might get saddled with duplicates.

[Becky]

Ditto Colleen. I tried from my shelf too and nothing. I'll probably have like 13 of the book on my shelves now. Whoops.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Becky wrote: "Ditto Colleen. I tried from my shelf too and nothing. I'll probably have like 13 of the book on my shelves now. Whoops."


Yeah, me too. Wish I'd read the Feedback thread first. LOL

[Becky]

Exactly!

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Completed:

2. A book written by an author who is over-the-hill. - After Alice by Gregory Maguire -
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover - Saturdays at Sea -
7. Chosen for the cover - Gunslinger Girl -
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - A Gathering of Shadows
16. A book with a mystery or romance - Murder Most Unladylike
4. 300-350 pages - Magic Bitter, Magic Sweet
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover  -
Down the Mysterly River (changed)
17. Standalone novel - Jane Steele



Currently Reading:

1. The 13th book - The Black Prism - currently reading
13. An author's debut novel - Daughter of the Pirate King - currently reading


Planned:
3. A book with humor or horror - The Serpent of Venice
5. A book that reminds you of home - The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
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
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
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

[Dj]

Laura wrote: "I managed to get a few of my chosen reads done:

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. ..."

I have the soundtrack for the Phantom of the Opera was listening to it just the other day.

[Dj]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I tried to update the date from the shelf itself, and it still won't stick.

Per the Feedback group, they're now asking people not to update any dates until it gets resolved because if people try t..."

They posted a message stating that they were working on resolving that issue in the Book Shelves

Heck My read count says 35 and I am pretty sure it is closer to 40.

[Dj]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Completed:

2. A book written by an author who is over-the-hill. - After Alice by Gregory Maguire -
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover - [book:Saturdays at Sea|300389..."

Gunslinger Girl? The Manga?

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Dj wrote: "Gunslinger Girl? The Manga? "


It was not a manga, no.

[Lost Planet Airman]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I tried to update the date from the shelf itself, and it still won't stick.

Per the Feedback group, they're now asking people not to update any dates until it gets resolved because if people try t..."

This would explain how I got weird dupes the LAST time the site had this problem. Yay! (in an odd sort of way.)

[Dj]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Dj wrote: "Gunslinger Girl? The Manga? "


It was not a manga, no."

Hmm. There is an Anime out called that. I will have to give the book a look and see if it is similar or not, but titles do not always equate to correlation.

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

I read the synopsis of the manga after you asked, and it sounds nothing like the book. Two different creatures just bearing the same name.

[Dj]

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "I read the synopsis of the manga after you asked, and it sounds nothing like the book. Two different creatures just bearing the same name."

Thanks, I haven't gone that far yet, but will have to look at the book. Always ready for something new.

[Meredith]

I was going to post a May update, but I realized I hit the halfway point for this challenge this week so I thought I would report that.

10/20

1. The 13th book Extreme Makeover
3. A book with humor or horror Into the Drowning Deep
6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover The Three-Body Problem
8. "Missed it by that much" The White Spider
9. Based on the blurb or blerg Ninefox Gambit
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting, Unnatural Habits, Australia
16. A book with a mystery or romance The Anatomist's Wife, for the record it had both mystery and romance.
17. Standalone novel Borne, it was standalone when I read it, at least.
19. Read a genre-bender Ghost Talkers
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover Long Hot Summoning

Plus, currently reading
5. A book that reminds you of home The Boston Irish: A Political History
7. Chosen for the cover Brimstone

[colleen the convivial curmudgeon]

Meredith wrote: "I was going to post a May update, but I realized I hit the halfway point for this challenge this week so I thought I would report that.

10/20"

Congrats!

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

woohoo!! You're like trains in Germany! You're like the weekend! You're like Dr. Who--you're exactly on time!

[Meredith]

Allison wrote: "woohoo!! You're like trains in Germany! You're like the weekend! You're like Dr. Who--you're exactly on time!"

Yay me! :)

[Judy]

Here's my start, completely out of order:

4. 300-350 pages Morrigan's Cross

1. The 13th book - I went to my author's list and found an author I had read 12 books. This is the 13th I've now read by Geoff Johns. Aquaman, Volume 1: The Trench

7. Chosen for the cover - I saw this in Newbury Comics and had to have it. Paperbacks from Hell: The Twisted History of '70s and '80s Horror Fiction

10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting - This is an historical mystery set in Africa inspired by the same incident that inspired Heart of Darkness. Mark of the Lion

11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name - The Fairy Godmother

12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship - I started the Honor Harrington series as audiobooks. I'm enjoying them. The Honor of the Queen

18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill - I know many women disagree with me, but Clay should have died. Bitten

20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover. Tarzan of the Apes

[CBRetriever]

I have 4 to go

1. The 13th book The Forgotten Girls

2. A book written by a young buck or geezer (use your own age and gender definitions because I ain't goin' there) The Jewels of Aptor written/published when Samuel Delany was 20

3. A book with humor or horror The Jeeves Omnibus Vol. 3: The Mating Season / Ring for Jeeves / Very Good, Jeeves

4. 300-350 pages Spiderlight

5. A book that reminds you of home Chesapeake which is written about where my family is from and set about 20 miles from where I was born plus it has a chapter dealing with Chesapeake Bay Retrievers. I read this back when it was first released, but this will be my first reading of a Kindle version

6. Suns, skies, stars, or planets on the cover Playing God

7. Chosen for the cover Memory & Dream - I love de Lint, but I paid more for this one because of the cover (didn't wait for a sale)

8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for - difficult to find one here, so I'll just list a book (I can make time for any book if I really want to read it - after all, it did take me two years to finish The Complete Works of Mark Twain: The Novels, short stories, essays and satires, travel writing, non-fiction, the complete letters, the complete speeches, and the autobiography of Mark Twain) so I'll randomly choose one: Yes, Chef and no, it's not about Gordon Ramsey's show

9. Based on the blurb or blerg Dun Lady's Jess - love the premise and hopefully it will spur me to get the rest of the series (bought because of the first blurb)

10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting Skin Folk: Stories lots of the stories are set in the Caribbean/Canada

11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name The Last Dark - I bought this a long time ago to complete the series and have not been able to make myself start it

12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship Spiritride = motorcycle

13. An author's debut novel Wizard's First Rule which will hopefully get me started on completing the series. I have read this in PB, but not in Ebook format

14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one The City on the Edge of Forever

15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich - someone said I would like this but it's not a genre I usually read

16. A book with a mystery or romance The Shark - this was a book I was able to get for free using an Amazon promotion. This will make me read it

17. Standalone novel The Winthrop Woman

18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill Never Call It Loving: The Immortal Love Story of Kitty O'Shea and Charles Parnell. The main character is a politician, so I slotted this book here. I do not like politicians and this book adds adultery into the mix.

19. Read a genre-bender The Shore of Women: The Classic Work of Feminist Science Fiction = feminist and SciFi

20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover Dhampir = wolf

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

woot woot!! Go Judy! Go CB!

[Lizzie]

CBRetriever wrote: "300-350 pages Spiderlight"

This is on my TBR now after having read and loved Children of Time, what did you make of it? I glanced through the first chapter, and I was wondering if it is a kind of LOTR fan fiction?

[Mark]

Well I have totally missed the boat on this as its the first time I have seen this thread, but I so need to clean up my tbr list I think I will do my best this year and join in next year!

[Sanah]

1. The 13th book- The Dreadful Tale of Prosper Redding
2. A book written by an author who is/was still in diapers or over-the-hill. -Little Women
3. A book with humor or horror- To all the boys I’ve loved before
4. 300-350 pages- Zac and Mia
5. A book that reminds you of home- My Life Next Door
6. Suns, skies, stars, or on the cover- Ask the Passengers
7. Chosen for the cover- Red Rising
8. "Missed it by that much" - a book you really wanted to read but didn't have time for- Lord of Shadows
9. Based on the blurb or blerg- Young Elites
10. A non-U.S. or UK publication/setting- Obsidio
11. Gold on the cover, in the title, or in the author's name- The Wrath and the Dawn
12. A book with a vehicle on the cover, from a carriage to a spaceship-Me and Earl and the Dying Girl
13. An author's debut novel- Yes Please
14. Make a list of 5-7 books and use "Eeny Meeny Miny Moe" to choose one- The Catcher in the Rye
15. A book from a genre that's outside your comfort zone- Aftermath
16. A book with a mystery or romance- The Geography of Me and You
17. Standalone novel- The Casual Vacancy
18. A book with a character you would marry, shag, or kill- The Daughter of Smoke and bone
19. Read a genre-bender- Flame in the Mist
20. A book with an animal, vegetable, or mineral on the cover- The Scorpio Races

[CBRetriever]

Lizzie wrote: "CBRetriever wrote: "300-350 pages Spiderlight"

This is on my TBR now after having read and loved Children of Time, what did you make of it? I glanced through the first chapter, and I was wondering..."

It is and it isn't. It's kinda somewhere between LoTR and the Princess Bride. Lots of snarkiness, comedic/stereotyped characters, and not at all what I was expecting. I put it off for the longest time because of "spiders", but I enjoyed it