The Monthly TBR Cleanup Challenge - February 2022

[Sha]

The Monthly TBR Cleanup Challenge

Does your TBR list looks more and more like a skyscraper with each passing day? Worry not, because here we gather together to cull it down to (hopefully) manageable proportions.

Take stock of your TBR list, and set a goal for yourself. You will unload a set number of books per month, by hook or by crook. The books can be fully read or DNF'ed, but they cannot go back into your TBR.

Levels:

Hard: Burj Khalifa (828m/2717ft.): 15 Books
Medium: Taipei 101 (508m/1667ft): 10 Books
Easy: Empire State Building (381m/1250ft): 5 Books
Very Easy: Eiffel Tower (324m/1063ft): 3 Books

Choosing Your Books:

You can always choose whichever book you want. But if you're flooded with options and don't know where to start, here are a couple of options to tide you over:

1. Use the Random Number Generator on random.org. Just input your min/max parameters (1/# of books in your TBR) into the little lavender rectangle on the top-right and run it as many times as you need to.

https://www.random.org/

2. For a more challenge-related TBR completion strategy, as well as an additional level of difficulty, use any of the challenges in the Monthly Challenges folder. This means that any book you read to fulfill the challenge prompts would have to be from your TBR.

Other Instructions:

1. Books can be used for more than one challenge.
2. No page or book type restrictions; they just need to be logged in to Goodreads.
3. If you start a book and then find that you can neither DNF nor Finish it, you can put it back into the TBR pile. But you'll need to pick another book for the challenge instead.
4. No restrictions for months. You can pick three months in a row or alternate between months or do whatever other combination takes your fancy.
5. Remember, at the end of the day this is just about whittling down that gigantic mountain of books sneering at you, asking why you haven't read them yet. Almost anything goes so long as we get to the finish line. :D

[Sha]

Participants

February 2022
1. Deb - Taipei (Medium, 10 Books) COMPLETED, 10/10
2. Ashley - Eiffel Tower (Very Easy, 3 Books) Unknown.
3. Sha - Empire State Building (Easy, 5 Books) FAILED, 1/5
4. Suzanne - Burj Khalifa (Hard, 15 Books) COMPLETED + EXTRAS, 21/15
5. Shelly - Empire State Building (Easy, 5 Books) COMPLETED, 5/5
6. Barb - Burj Khalifa (Hard, 15 Books) COMPLETED + EXTRAS, 17/15

[Sha]

Sample Post:

Month:
Level:
(OPTIONAL) Selection Criteria:

Books

1. Book 1 - Read
2. Book 2 - DNF
3. Book 3 - Read
Etc.

[Deb, Acquisitions Foreman]

Thank you, Sha!


Month: February
Level: Taipei (10 books)
Selection Criteria: whim

Books
1. One Door Away from Heaven 02/02/22 4*
2. Midnight 02/04/22 3*
3. The Spy Who Saved Christmas 02/08/22 5*
4. Every Last Secret 02/10/22 4*
5. Contact 02/11/22 5*
6. Dragonflight 02/15/22 4*
7. The Naturalist 02/17/22 4*
8. Pretty Girls 02/22/22 4*
9. Love Beyond Time 02/25/22 4*
10. Nana 02/27/22 4*
11. One, Two...He is coming for you 02/28/22 4*

[Deb, Acquisitions Foreman]

What do you mean by 'selection criteria? How we are choosing which books to read?

[Ashley]

I definitely need this challenge. I’ll start with very easy

[Sha]

Deb wrote: "What do you mean by 'selection criteria? How we are choosing which books to read?"

Yep. :) Sorry if that was not clear.

[Sha]

Month: February 2022
Level: Easy - Empire State Building - (5 Books)
Selection Criteria: whim + rng

Books

5 RNG Options

RNG 501 - Elric of Melniboné (I just saw a review complaining about this book lol.)
RNG 2232 - Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives (??? why is this here? What is this?)
RNG 1579 - Unstrange Minds: Remapping the World of Autism
RNG 227 - A Marriage of Necessity
RNG 2893 - The Chosen and the Beautiful

[Suzanne]

The Challenge Factory
The Monthly TBR Cleanup Challenge
Duration: 2/1/2022 - 2/28/2022

Progress: 21 out of 21

Does your TBR list looks more and more like a skyscraper with each passing day? Worry not, because here we gather together to cull it down to (hopefully) manageable proportions.

Take stock of your TBR list, and set a goal for yourself. You will unload a set number of books per month, by hook or by crook. The books can be fully read or DNF'ed, but they cannot go back into your TBR.

Levels:

Hard: Burj Khalifa (828m/2717ft.): 15 Books
Medium: Taipei 101 (508m/1667ft): 10 Books
Easy: Empire State Building (381m/1250ft): 5 Books
Very Easy: Eiffel Tower (324m/1063ft): 3 Books

Choosing Your Books:

You can always choose whichever book you want. But if you're flooded with options and don't know where to start, here are a couple of options to tide you over:

1. Use the Random Number Generator on random.org. Just input your min/max parameters (1/# of books in your TBR) into the little lavender rectangle on the top-right and run it as many times as you need to.

2. For a more challenge-related TBR completion strategy, as well as an additional level of difficulty, use any of the challenges in the Monthly Challenges folder. This means that any book you read to fulfill the challenge prompts would have to be from your TBR.

Other Instructions:

1. Books can be used for more than one challenge.
2. No page or book type restrictions; they just need to be logged in to Goodreads.
3. If you start a book and then find that you can neither DNF nor Finish it, you can put it back into the TBR pile. But you'll need to pick another book for the challenge instead.
4. No restrictions for months. You can pick three months in a row or alternate between months or do whatever other combination takes your fancy.
5. Remember, at the end of the day this is just about whittling down that gigantic mountain of books sneering at you, asking why you haven't read them yet. Almost anything goes so long as we get to the finish line. :D

1. Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner - *** - 2/1/2022 - 178 Pages
2. Twisted by Emma Chase - **** - 2/2/2022 - 206 Pages
3. Color Me Murder by Krista Davis - **** - 2/6/2022 - 289 Pages
4. Runaway by Heather Graham - **** - 2/7/2022 - 355 Pages
5. Mother Land by Leah Franqui - ***** - 2/13/2022 - 384 Pages
6. Stick Dog by Tom Watson - **** - 2/13/2022 - 189 Pages
7. Year Zero by Rob Reid - ***** - 2/14/2022 - 364 Pages
8. Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill - **** - 2/16/2022 - 350 Pages
9. Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier - ***** - 2/16/2022 - 192 Pages
10. I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis - ***** - 2/17/2022 - 112 Pages
11. Grumpy Cat by Ben Fisher - *** - 2/19/2022 - 167 Pages
12. The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman - ***** - 2/21/2022 - 358 Pages
13. Let Me Be Your Motivation by Tay Mo'Nae - **** - 2/22/2022 - 141 Pages
14. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz - ***** - 2/23/2022 - 347 Pages
15. The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate - **** - 2/24/2022 - 352 Pages
16. Class Act by Jerry Craft - ***** - 2/24/2022 - 249 Pages
17. The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman - *** - 2/24/2022 - 200 Pages
18. Lucifer's Daughter by Eve Langlais - **** - 2/24/2022 - 312 Pages
19. Stick Cat: A Tail of Two Kitties by Tom Watson - **** - 2/27/2022 - 208 Pages
20. Coffee And Kung Fu by Karen Brichoux - **** - 2/28/2022 - 243 Pages
21. The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz - *** - 2/28/2022 - 368 Pages
22.

[Shelly]

Month: February 2022
Level: Easy - Empire State Building - (5 Books)
Selection Criteria: any book

I’VE CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF THE EMPIRE STATE BUILDING! Whew, that was a lot of steps.

1. Due or Die - Jenn McKinlay 02/05/22

2. Meet Your Baker - Ellie Alexander 02/09/22

3. Jingle all the Slay - Dakota Cassidy 02/11/22

4. A Witch For Mr. Winter - Deanna Chase 02/22/22 (preordered & on my TBR list)

5. A Batter of Life and Death - Ellie Alexander 02/25/22

[Shelly]

I still don’t understand criteria.
I get RNG = Random Number Generator
What does WHIM stand for?

[Barb]

I'm guessing it means books chosen on a whim?

[Barb]

As long as it's ok to backdate till Feb. 1, I'll go for the hard level.

MONTHLY TBR CLEANUP, 2/1 - 2/28
LEVEL : HARD / 15 books
SELECTION CRITERIA : ARC pub dates & ass't challenges

1. If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't), by Betty White, finished 2/5 ★★★.5
2. Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, by Agnès Martin-Lugand, finished 2/7 ★★★
3. Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock #2), by Sherry Thomas, finished 2/9 ★★★★
4. Go See the Principal: True Tales from the School Trenches, by Gerry Brooks, finished 2/11 ★★★.5
5. The Paradox Hotel, by Rob Hart, finished 2/12 ★★★
6. Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire #3), by Craig Johnson, finished 2/13 ★★★★
7. The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies (Darling Dahlias #2), by Susan Wittig Albert, finished 2/14 ★★★.5
8. Peril on the Page (Open Book #3), by Margaret Loudon, finished 2/15 ★★★★
9. Fudge & Jury (Bakeshop #5), by Ellie Alexander, finished 2/16 ★★★★
10. Put Out to Pasture (Farm to Table #2), by Amanda Flower, finished 2/17 ★★★.5
11. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, by Erik Larson, finished 2/19 ★★★★
12. Strawberried Alive (Cupcake Bakery #14), by Jenn McKinlay, finished 2/20 ★★★★
13. Nightshade (China Bayles #16), by Susan Wittig Albert, finished 2/22 ★★★★
14. Genesis (Stapleton & Montgomery #12), by Robin Cook, finished 2/24 ★★★
15. The Never Game (Colter Shaw #1), by Jeffery Deaver, finished 2/26 ★★★.5
16. Shoot Don't Shoot (Joanna Brady #3), by J.A. Jance, finished 2/27 ★★★★
17. Plantation Shudders (Cajun Country #1), by Ellen Byron, finished 2/28 ★★★★

[Sha]

Barb wrote: "I'm guessing it means books chosen on a whim?"

Yes. I'm sorry if it's confusing. You don't actually need to fill that bit up- it really doesn't matter how you choose books.

[Sha]

@ Barb;

I'm going to okay the backdating for people entering during the first two weeks. Maybe not after that though. Anyway, you should be fine. Welcome to the challenge. :)

[Barb]

Thanks, Sha :)

[Shelly]

Sha wrote: "Barb wrote: "I'm guessing it means books chosen on a whim?"

Yes. I'm sorry if it's confusing. You don't actually need to fill that bit up- it really doesn't matter how you choose books."

Thank you all. I’m ready now.

[Barb]

Can you guess which week I was recovering from eye surgery and unable to do much of anything except listen to audiobooks? 😉

MONTHLY TBR CLEANUP, 2/1 - 2/28
LEVEL : HARD / 15 books
SELECTION CRITERIA : ARC pub dates & ass't challenges

1. If You Ask Me (And Of Course You Won't), by Betty White, finished 2/5 ★★★.5
2. Happy People Read and Drink Coffee, by Agnès Martin-Lugand, finished 2/7 ★★★
3. Conspiracy in Belgravia (Lady Sherlock #2), by Sherry Thomas, finished 2/9 ★★★★
4. Go See the Principal: True Tales from the School Trenches, by Gerry Brooks, finished 2/11 ★★★.5
5. The Paradox Hotel, by Rob Hart, finished 2/12 ★★★
6. Kindness Goes Unpunished (Walt Longmire #3), by Craig Johnson, finished 2/13 ★★★★
7. The Darling Dahlias and the Naked Ladies (Darling Dahlias #2), by Susan Wittig Albert, finished 2/14 ★★★.5
8. Peril on the Page (Open Book #3), by Margaret Loudon, finished 2/15 ★★★★
9. Fudge & Jury (Bakeshop #5), by Ellie Alexander, finished 2/16 ★★★★
10. Put Out to Pasture (Farm to Table #2), by Amanda Flower, finished 2/17 ★★★.5
11. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin, by Erik Larson, finished 2/19 ★★★★
12. Strawberried Alive (Cupcake Bakery #14), by Jenn McKinlay, finished 2/20 ★★★★
13. Nightshade (China Bayles #16), by Susan Wittig Albert, finished 2/22 ★★★★
14. Genesis (Stapleton & Montgomery #12), by Robin Cook, finished 2/24 ★★★
15. The Never Game (Colter Shaw #1), by Jeffery Deaver, finished 2/26 ★★★.5
16. Shoot Don't Shoot (Joanna Brady #3), by J.A. Jance, finished 2/27 ★★★★
17. Plantation Shudders (Cajun Country #1), by Ellen Byron, finished 2/28 ★★★★

[Suzanne]

Finished with 21!

Progress: 21 out of 21

Does your TBR list looks more and more like a skyscraper with each passing day? Worry not, because here we gather together to cull it down to (hopefully) manageable proportions.

Take stock of your TBR list, and set a goal for yourself. You will unload a set number of books per month, by hook or by crook. The books can be fully read or DNF'ed, but they cannot go back into your TBR.

Levels:

Hard: Burj Khalifa (828m/2717ft.): 15 Books
Medium: Taipei 101 (508m/1667ft): 10 Books
Easy: Empire State Building (381m/1250ft): 5 Books
Very Easy: Eiffel Tower (324m/1063ft): 3 Books

Choosing Your Books:

You can always choose whichever book you want. But if you're flooded with options and don't know where to start, here are a couple of options to tide you over:

1. Use the Random Number Generator on random.org. Just input your min/max parameters (1/# of books in your TBR) into the little lavender rectangle on the top-right and run it as many times as you need to.

2. For a more challenge-related TBR completion strategy, as well as an additional level of difficulty, use any of the challenges in the Monthly Challenges folder. This means that any book you read to fulfill the challenge prompts would have to be from your TBR.

Other Instructions:

1. Books can be used for more than one challenge.
2. No page or book type restrictions; they just need to be logged in to Goodreads.
3. If you start a book and then find that you can neither DNF nor Finish it, you can put it back into the TBR pile. But you'll need to pick another book for the challenge instead.
4. No restrictions for months. You can pick three months in a row or alternate between months or do whatever other combination takes your fancy.
5. Remember, at the end of the day this is just about whittling down that gigantic mountain of books sneering at you, asking why you haven't read them yet. Almost anything goes so long as we get to the finish line. :D

Any Book!

1. Surprise Island by Gertrude Chandler Warner - *** - 2/1/2022 - 178 Pages
2. Twisted by Emma Chase - **** - 2/2/2022 - 206 Pages
3. Color Me Murder by Krista Davis - **** - 2/6/2022 - 289 Pages
4. Runaway by Heather Graham - **** - 2/7/2022 - 355 Pages
5. Mother Land by Leah Franqui - ***** - 2/13/2022 - 384 Pages
6. Stick Dog by Tom Watson - **** - 2/13/2022 - 189 Pages
7. Year Zero by Rob Reid - ***** - 2/14/2022 - 364 Pages
8. Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill - **** - 2/16/2022 - 350 Pages
9. Kristy's Great Idea by Raina Telgemeier - ***** - 2/16/2022 - 192 Pages
10. I Survived the Attacks of September 11th, 2001 by Lauren Tarshis - ***** - 2/17/2022 - 112 Pages
11. Grumpy Cat by Ben Fisher - *** - 2/19/2022 - 167 Pages
12. The Burning Page by Genevieve Cogman - ***** - 2/21/2022 - 358 Pages
13. Let Me Be Your Motivation by Tay Mo'Nae - **** - 2/22/2022 - 141 Pages
14. The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye by David Lagercrantz - ***** - 2/23/2022 - 347 Pages
15. The One and Only Bob by Katherine Applegate - **** - 2/24/2022 - 352 Pages
16. Class Act by Jerry Craft - ***** - 2/24/2022 - 249 Pages
17. The Books of Magic by Neil Gaiman - *** - 2/24/2022 - 200 Pages
18. Lucifer's Daughter by Eve Langlais - **** - 2/24/2022 - 312 Pages
19. Stick Cat: A Tail of Two Kitties by Tom Watson - **** - 2/27/2022 - 208 Pages
20. Coffee And Kung Fu by Karen Brichoux - **** - 2/28/2022 - 243 Pages
21. The Girl Who Lived Twice by David Lagercrantz - *** - 2/28/2022 - 368 Pages

[Shelly]

Will there be a new post for March?

[Sha]

T_T

I am so impressed by all of you I managed one book out of my measly pile of five.