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2022 TBR Cleanup Challenge
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Stephen
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Nov 17, 2022 05:20AM
I’m treating them as a priority, so I’m pretty confident I’ll get through my remaining 4.
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I need to decide what book I want to use instead of the one that wasn't published this year after all. Considering that I added the prompt for that book, it's kind of a bummer XD
I did not do well on this this year at all. I am not a good planner apparently. Lol
Sarah wrote: "I did not do well on this this year at all. I am not a good planner apparently. Lol"I wasn't going to, but I started a new book again, which is not included in the challenge 🙈 Unless if I add it I guess haha. Oh dear. And I decided to re-start one other book as I've decided I should be taking notes from it 🤭🙃. But the key is, that I am reading more and enjoying it.
MauQ wrote: "I am reading more and enjoying it."The best thing that could happen! ^_^
I’m sure if I went back I could plug in books that I read for the prompts but it feels like it defeats the point of the TBR challenge. LolI did swap out the one for the clubhouse- I figure any clubhouse book counts for that… otherwise it would just go on the TBR anyway.
Sarah wrote: "I’m sure if I went back I could plug in books that I read for the prompts but it feels like it defeats the point of the TBR challenge. LolI did swap out the one for the clubhouse- I figure any cl..."
I guess so, for me I am also treating it as a way to track my progress for the year, but maybe I should keep the two separate. I am still new to challenges types available on GR. This one was a new book, I agree, whereas all others were on the TBR from a while. But it is TBR now lol. Ah, the motivation is higher either way. I do listen to multiple audiobooks at once depending on the mood, I do not read as many paperback or kindle editions at once.
haha, I also added this new book to the clubhouse category. Exactly, they all end up as TBR. 🤭
2. Don't be suspicious - Gun, With Occasional Music. Detective story presumably involves suspicion, misplaced and otherwise✔️18/20
Mod
Mod
1. Book with nine lives - A History of What Comes Next
2. Don't be suspicious - Lovecraft Country (kinda the MO in this book)
3. Dressed to the nines - Howl’s Moving Castle Oh, Howl.
4. Head in the clouds- Annihilation, well, maybe not a CLOUD but a lot of fog.
5. One for the clubhouse - The Thousand Names
6. Of its time - Magician: Apprentice
7. "Revolution is in the individual spirit" Sharks in the Time of Saviors
8. Cover with distinct art style - The Witch's Heart
9. 9 or 22 * - Sorrowland 22nd book I read this year
10. Why not both? - Dune Messiah (I also like the miniseries)
11. Seasonal - Hyperion the seasons are v. important here
12. I need a nap! - Kings of the Wyld - they old.
13. Thorns and roses - Abaddon's Gate
14. A little slice of heaven - A Hat Full of Sky
15. Fluffy! - Prince of Dogs 's got dogs.
16. "Humans are doing the best they can" - The Trials of Koli
17. "Such conduct is the prerogative of the truly wise" - Borderline (there's a line in here I really loved)
18. 240-270 pages - Just One Damned Thing After Another - About how much I DIDNT read at the time I gave up on it
19. Nein - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, No thanks, let's do better
20. ??? - Fever Dream what did I just read?!
Yeah, I think this is more my speed haha
Allison wrote: "Okay, trying this the lazy way, reading what I read and seeing what I can retroactively apply xD1. Book with nine lives - A History of What Comes Next
2. Don't be suspicious - [bo..."
LOL. Still some really good books there.
Finis!! Though I am targeting 5-7 books this month so a category or two could change... My results found here
Monica wrote: "Finis!! Though I am targeting 5-7 books this month so a category or two could change... "Congratulations!
I'm up to 18/20 and working on #19. It will be down to the wire to finish the last two by the end of the month.1. Book with nine lives - Charmed Life, Some of the characters apparently have nine lives. (in reading I found that they do indeed have nine lives)
4. Head in the clouds - Tongues of Serpents, flying dragons have their heads in the clouds.
5. One for the clubhouse - I Am Legend and Other Stories, sffbc shelf book and MC has to hide out during day in his (club)house.
14. A little slice of heaven - Small Gods
17. "Such conduct is the prerogative of the truly wise" - Sorcerer to the Crown, seems descriptive of someone in that position.
Meredith wrote: "I'm up to 18/20 and working on #19. It will be down to the wire to finish the last two by the end of the month.1. Book with nine lives - Charmed Life, Some of the characters apparen..."
Some really good books there, good luck finishing off the next two.
10/18Recently finished:
✔ Nein -
3/5✔ Why not both? -
5/5✔ One for the clubhouse -
4/5Out of the three, I expected 'The Flatshare' and 'How to Break Up with Your Friends' to be just okay, but they positively surprised me. I thought 'Our House' would be much better, but the plot was all over the place. I only loved the beginning, it went downhill from there.
Stephen wrote: "12. I need a nap! - Beggars in Spain✔️20/20"
Congratulations on both this and the short fiction challenge!
This book has been on my physical bookshelf for not quite 30 years now. I know it as "Beggars in Spam" due to an unfortunate choice of typography on the cover. I have yet to pick it up. How much am I missing?
Thanks for all the congratulations. Raucous, I think I must have the same “spam” edition — Avon mass market paperback from the ‘90s.I was a little ambivalent about the book. Kress is a smart and skilled storyteller, but I found it only intermittently compelling and sometimes I was a little reluctant to pick it up again. Part of this is the subject matter. Stories about the relations of “homo superior” characters with the normal human masses have never interested me much, and that’s partly what this is. There’s also a market-based libertarian political philosophy in the mix, something else I don’t have much patience for. The “beggars” of the title are people who aren’t economically productive members of the community, conflated with the whole normal human population by the ultra-productive Sleepless. A bit like the “makers” and “takers” of US Republican talk.
In my limited experience of Kress’s fiction it often features intense human situations, and that is also true here. The central character, a brilliant “sleepless” superior type, has a twin sister who is a normal, unenhanced person. A later central character has a traumatic experience involving a beloved sibling.
A key exchange on page 399 sort of justifies the approach:
“you’re saying… That all of Sanctuary’s political philosophy still comes down to one person’s personal needs. Do you believe that?
“I believe it about all political philosophies,” Richard said.
“No, Leisha said. “Not all.”
Leisha, the central character, makes an exception for the US Consitution. (It’s an explicitly American book; the benefits of the magic technology that creates superabundance are legally restricted to the USA for most of the book.)
Anyway I found it a strong book if not a fun read.
Stephen wrote: "Thanks for all the congratulations. Raucous, I think I must have the same “spam” edition — Avon mass market paperback from the ‘90s..."Yes. That's the one.
I'm sorry to hear about that combination of social dynamics and political slant. I'm probably not going to be very comfortable with that either. I've somehow never read any of her longer works. Perhaps this isn't where I should start - even though this is close to the oldest book on that shelf. Thanks for the detailed take on it.
Raucous wrote: "Stephen wrote: "Thanks for all the congratulations. Raucous, I think I must have the same “spam” edition — Avon mass market paperback from the ‘90s..."Yes. That's the one.
I'm sorry to hear abou..."
Just to be clearer, Kress doesn’t come down as a total libertarian. Leisha learns to get past her “Yagaiism”. However I did find the politics of the book unattractive on various levels. She has a non-Sleepless US society divided between self-indulgent, irresponsible idiots called “livers”, 80% of the population, and “donkeys”, responsible people who take life seriously and do all the work. This in her future world where super technology has created a society of abundance. This may be just a satirical take on an observable reality of the world we live in I suppose.
I think the book probably wouldn’t appeal to many people nowadays and I wouldn’t really recommend it. But I have to credit Kress for ambition and some strong storytelling.
Finished!My last 2:
8. Cover with distinct art style - The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, the covers and chapter illustrations in this series are fun
19. Nein - Never Let Me Go
I managed to read 19 of my original 20 picks. Usually I swap out 4 or 5. The one I changed was because I was reading a book and they used the phrase 'dressed to the nines' so I really had to swap that in for the 'dressed to the nines' prompt.
Mod
Meredith wrote: "Finished! .."Yay!
My original pick completion rate is... different.
I finished reading the last book, and picked a replacement for the one that wasn't published this year after all :( My final list is in message #2.I have officially finished all the 2022 challenges, woot!
Anna wrote: " I have officially finished all the 2022 challeng..."Congratulations!
I was having some trouble getting my head around Nettle & Bone for "thorns and roses" (especially given the book cover), but then I remembered this line from a review of the book: "A rose of a book with thorns running throughout..." Perfect.
Anna wrote: "I finished reading the last book, and picked a replacement for the one that wasn't published this year after all :( My final list is in message #2.I have officially finished all the 2022 challeng..."
Bells and Whistles
So, I’m fairly sure I’m not going to achieve anymore than I’ve basically read so far. I finished No. 2 by reading Lev Gross man’s The Magicians and the seasonal prompt (No. 11) with Letters from Father Christmas by JRR Tolkien (I still have about a half hour to listen to).
That makes a total of 15/20, which I suppose is not bad, all considering!
I loved that Tolkein book, Diane! I read it on my Kindle, and my daughter gave me the hardcover for Christmas.
Raucous wrote: "I was having some trouble getting my head around Nettle & Bone for "thorns and roses""Roses can sting, just like nettles, and a thorn in your side might get stuck on a bone!
Yes, Michelle, the book is just wonderful. The drawings are so cute and evocative. I had bought the audiobook before I realized it was better as a print book, but I decided to listen to it now. The music is a bit tedious, between each letter the same song, but the narration is cute.
Cutting it pretty fine but I just finished The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer, so that's 20/20 for me.Best reads for this year were Me, The Underground Railroad, Leviathan Falls, The Obelisk Gate, Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures, Saga, Volume 10 and Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages
Good reading everyone. On to next year's challenge.
1. Book with nine lives -Life - Keith Richards.
2. Don't be suspicious - The Spy and the Traitor: The Greatest Espionage Story of the Cold War - Ben Macintyre.
3. Dressed to the nines -Me - Elton John.
4. Head in the clouds - Battle Angel Alita Deluxe Edition, Vol. 3 - Yukito Kishiro.
5. One for the clubhouse - Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk.
6. Of its time - The Underground Railroad - Colson Whitehead.
7. "Revolution is in the individual spirit” - Rocannon's World - Ursula K. Le Guin.
8. Cover with distinct art style - Sin City, Vol. 4: That Yellow Bastard - Frank Miller.
9. 9 or 22 - Leviathan Falls - James S.A. Corey.
10. Why not both? - The Diamond Age: Or, a Young Lady's Illustrated Primer - Neal Stephenson.
11. Seasonal - The Obelisk Gate - N.K. Jemisin.
12. I need a nap! - The Sandman Vol. 1: Preludes & Nocturnes - Neil Gaiman.
13. Thorns and roses - Sin City, Vol. 5: Family Values - Frank Miller.
14. A little slice of heaven - Kill City Blues - Richard Kadrey.
15. Fluffy! - Bear Head - Adrian Tchaikovsky.
16. "Humans are doing the best they can” -Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures - Stephen Fry.
17. "Such conduct is the prerogative of the truly wise” - Saga, Volume 10 - Fiona Staples and Brian K. Vaughan.
18. 240-270 pages - Dark Tyrants - Robert Hatch (Ed).
19. Nein - SS-GB - Len Deighton.
20. ??? - Powers and Thrones: A New History of the Middle Ages - Dan Jones.
... Petar wrote: "3. Dressed to the nines -Me - Elton John. ..."Congratulations Petar!
Me looks like a fascinating read - and a great match to the prompt.
Hi all, Hope you had a lovely Christmas and a great beginning to the new year! I am late to updating my progress, but here goes:
2022 Prompts Completed: 13/18
1. Dressed to the nines -
So far it was my least favourite Terry Pratchett's novel, I struggled with reading dialogue with a Scottish (ish) dialect, and, more importantly, the plot seemed disorganised, not just the usual Discworld novel joyfully disorganised, it didn't click for me, with the exception for a good beginning and a very enjoyable ending, which made me just about give the book - 3/5.
2. A little slice of heaven -
This sequel disappointed me. The original story of Barliona, which is a fantasy world of a virtual reality MMO RPG, was initially introduced in a great series called 'The Way of The Shaman'. A series which made me fall in love with litRPG genre. I really enjoyed getting back into this world with a new set of characters in a spin off series about 'A Bard from Barliona', the first book was very enjoyable and I was looking forwards to seeing the plant bard character evolve. Sadly, the sequel seemed to have omitted the parts I really looked forwards to learning more about and drawn out parts which didn't add as much to the overall story, in my opinion, a mixed bag - 3/5.
3. ???
I enjoy metaphors and books on personal development, but lately, I noticed that I might have run out of new things I can learn from books in this genre. There is much waffling going on and repeating of a main concept, which could be explained in half the time. In this book, too much focus was placed on comparisons of the hero's journey to movies. It could have been much deeper but sadly, wasn't. In a similar theme, I enjoyed The Map: Finding the Magic and Meaning in the Story of Your Life by Colette Baron-Reid much, much more, as it really dwelled into the fantasy metaphor and applied it to our individual life stages - 2/5.
4. Thorns and roses -
A book about marriage and counselling seems like a good fit, the good and the bad in relationships and life in general.
This was recommended to me by a friend, and interested me with it's theory, that we choose our life partners in order to resolve issues from our childhood. So, we might unconsciously choose a partner who is much like our father or our mother and the issues with that parent from childhood will arise again, and this time, with a partner, we are hoping to change the old patterns. Definitely an interesting theory and I do find my partner eerily similar to my mother haha but I did not agree with everything in this book. At times the author seemed too sure of his theory, at other times the exercises given by him to couples in counselling (which he recounts) seem a bit silly or limited, but it's still a good book and teaches a lot about relationships, active listening and not being guided by anger when resolving issues in relationships and it gives some practical tips - 3/5.
5. Of its time -
A book about managing time and also something that is a popular topic nowadays.
I really wanted some solid tips and ideas, some research on habits that would help with organising the day better by making the best of the mornings. The book was limited though, as the author often spoke about things she admitted, she knew little about (like having kids or having health issues), it was also very limited to the author's experience and preferences, without looking at other people, let alone looking at more research on things that could work (or not), on a larger scale - 2/5.
6. "Humans are doing the best they can"
Or at least, that's what it promises to do. The premise about how our first mountain in life is gaining success and our second mountain is after we realise, that success is not actually the most important thing to focus on, is quite interesting to me and something I can identify with. Sadly, only about two chapters in the book actually are about that. The other chapters are full of tips on relationships, marriage mostly, community and there is a lot about religion. It's not necessarily a bad book, but it seems like the author didn't know how to market it, it comes across as a confused volume, a bit of everything. I found myself irritated that the author didn't talk more about what was promised in the blurb. I later noticed, later editions have an addition to the title ':how to live a moral life' (or something to that effect), now, that fits the actual contents better. A good book for someone who would like some relationship or spiritual advice - 2/5
7. "Revolution is in the individual spirit"-
It aims to motivate to let go of the 'upper limit', a point at which, we have deeply rooted, unconscious beliefs that we can not gain any more success. A good concept but the author lost me when he started stating that illnesses and any misfortune are our fault as well, as we bring on those things due to the 'upper limit theory'. Hm. A bit like a twisted version of 'the secret' sort of ideology. I liked the concept, but not how far the author went to explain anything in life by it, even if sometimes true, there was no room for other explanations as the book went on. There was a lot of repeating - 2/5.
8. Fluffy! -
A very touching story, I really enjoyed finding out about the library's cat's habits, his rescue story, how he touched the whole town and even the rest of the world. The book included information about Iowa, history about the town Dewey was from, which I found very interesting and it also included the family story of the lady who found and took care of Dewey, which was a rather sad part of the book, two last chapters were emotional, overall a heart-warming story - 4/5.
9. I need a nap! -
Very informative and packed with science and research, no fluff - 4/5.
10. Nein -
I thought 'Our House' would be much better, but the plot was all over the place. I only loved the beginning, it went downhill from there - 3/5.
11. 9 or 22 * -
I was expecting it be more informative - 3/5.
12. Why not both? -
Two people sharing a flat but they work different shifts. I remember seeing a sci-fi movie long ago with this premise, half a colony asleep whilst others worked, forgot the title 🤔. It was a pleasant surprise as I liked it more than I expected! Enjoyed the story and the voice actors were very entertaining to listen to, sucked me into the story. It was funny, a nice, romantic comedy, not what I usually read but really enjoyed it - 5/5.
13. One for the clubhouse -
I started reading it as I received a new credit on audible (was supposed to be paused but one slipped through). I was trying to focus on the already started titles, but I do love this topic so couldn't help myself and added to the already started challenge.. 😅. It was an enjoyable and informative read - 4/5.
Unfinished (5):
14. Head in the clouds - Ten Things About Writing: Build Your Story, One Word at a Time, Joanne Harris (audiobook, started)
A book about writing, and therefore, imagination.
15. Cover with distinct art style - Grace, Christine Friel McGrory (e-book, started)
16. Seasonal - Peaches for Monsieur le Curé
(Chocolat #3), Joanne Harris (paperback). Fruit.
17. Don't be suspicious - Search For Hidden Sacred Knowledge, Dolores Cannon (e-book)
Hidden knowledge, a bit of pseudo-science, but how amazing (and scary!) would it be if it were true and even if not, the stories are great for me.
Dolores Cannon bases her stories on what her patients said whilst under hypnosis. She goes into the scope of aliens, ancient times, different planets. I think you don't have to believe her claims to be able to enjoy the fantasy/sci-fi themed rich stories. It would make a great movie.
18. Book with nine lives - The Midnight Library, Matt Haig (audiobook). Chose as a cat is involved (view spoiler)
September:
October:
November:
December:
Unfinished:
,
Books read outside the challenge:
- 3/5.Congratulations to everyone on their completed reads and I am looking forwards to the 2023 challenge :D 🎉
Anna wrote: "I need to decide what book I want to use instead of the one that wasn't published this year after all. Considering that I added the prompt for that book, it's kind of a bummer XD"Which book were you waiting for to get published Anna?
Allison wrote: "18. 240-270 pages - Just One Damned Thing After Another - About how much I DIDNT read at the time I gave up on it..."Uh, relatable!
Some really interesting books on your list :)
MauQ wrote: "Which book were you waiting for to get published Anna?"The next in the Saint of Steel series, starting with Paladin's Grace. The quote for that prompt is from this series, that's why I wanted to use that book :)
Anna wrote: "MauQ wrote: "Which book were you waiting for to get published Anna?"The next in the Saint of Steel series, starting with Paladin's Grace. The quote for that prompt is from this se..."
Which of the three quotes came from this series? It looks intriguing, I added it to my wishlist :)
16. "Humans are doing the best they can"
Now can I ask what is the "TBR" challange and where the book list are coming from? Is it books for which people have added to their want to read list of books?
Hey John, TBR stands for “To Be Read” and its books you may have on your Want to Read shelf here on GR or a shelf of physical books you have yet to read or what have you. The prompts are created by the mods and are different each year, so I’d recommend you go to current events and find the thread for this year’s TBR Challenge. How you interpret those prompts is entirely up to you!
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Paladin's Grace (other topics)Paladin's Grace (other topics)
The Map: Finding the Magic and Meaning in the Story of Your Life (other topics)
Living the Hero's Journey: Exploring Your Role in the Action-Adventure of a Lifetime (other topics)
A Song of Shadow (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Maurice Druon (other topics)Simon R. Green (other topics)
Simon R. Green (other topics)
Simon R. Green (other topics)
Nicholas Eames (other topics)
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