Mount TBR Challenge 2023 discussion
Mount Everest (100 books)
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When not in Narnia Karen wants to climb Everest! COMPLETED 22/11/2023!
48. Nina Shapes Up by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. The ghostwriters are starting to kill my affection for Lucas and Zoey but the best scene of these books so far is here... Ben (who is blind) goes to the hospital and the doctor outs Nina as being next to the condom machine. Funny! Hope they make it to the end of the series as a couple.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
Mt. Ararat has been scaled.
49. Ben Takes a Chance by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Claire acts out of character.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
50. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald. Different cover.4 stars. A little gem of a novel. A widow seeks to open a bookshop in a small Suffolk town.
On TBR since 12/03/2022.
MAYTotal books read in May: 25
Total qualifying for this challenge: 11
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 10
My Making Out series challenge: 11 out of 28 so far
23 in 2023: 4 out of 23 so far (still rubbish)
MAY READS
I read the three books I needed to. I also read the two books that had reached their 12th renewal. I read Agnes Grey, started an appalling translation of The Stechlin and could not read The portrait of a Lady as my library copy was not there despite supposedly being on the shelf. And I was sad but unsurprised that I never got to Dostoyevsky.
Books I need to read in June:
- Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd (1001 challenge)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (Group Read that I own and have read before, before I joined GR).
- Happy Place by Emily Henry. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library) 26/06/2023
Books I want to read in June:
-Carrying over Clarissa, The Birds Fall Down and Death Comes for the Archbishop
- Wise Blood by Flannery O'Connor (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- Signal to Noise by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- We Free the Stars by Hafsah Faizal (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- A Feast for Crows by George R.R. Martin (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- The Immoralist by André Gide (potential group read)
- Jacob's Room by Virginia Woolf (potential group read)
- The Stranger by Camus (potential readathon)
New Releases
- Game Over Boys by C.M. Stunich (if she ever releases it).
- Servant to the Spidae by Ruby Dixon (21/06/2023).
Additions to Mount TBR in June 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. A Dance with Dragons 1: Dreams and Dust by George R.R. Martin.
2. A Dance with Dragons 2: After the Feast by George R.R. Martin.
3. The Snowman by R.L. Stine.
4. The terracotta palace by Anne Maybury.
5. REMEMBRANCE by Jude Deveraux.
6. The Capricorn Stone by Madeleine Brent.
7. Blossom Like the Rose by Norah Lofts.
8. Marrying Across Borders by Sheela Burrell.
9. The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni (unable to find specific edition easily).
10. Colour Of Midnight ,The by Robyn Donald.
11. Master of El Corazon by Sandra Marton.
12. One Night in His Arms by Penny Jordan.
13. They: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other by Sarfraz Manzoor.
14. The Regency Revolution: Jane Austen, Napoleon, Lord Byron and the Making of the Modern World by Robert Morrison.
15.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. Role Playing by Cathy Yardley. Amazon 1st Read.
2. Servant to the Spidae by Ruby Dixon. Pre-order.
3.
4. Haunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton.
5. Hunting Adeline by H.D. Carlton.
6. Princes of Chaos by Angel Lawson.
7. Princes of Ash by Angel Lawson. Pre-order.
8. Tormented by Esme Devlin.
9.
10. Flawless by Elsie Silver.
11.
51. Finding Colin Firth by Mia March.
3 stars. Heart warming story about three women, a small town in Maine and a movie being filmed featuring Colin Firth.
On TBR since 03/04/2021.
52. The Heart of the Country by Fay Weldon.
4 stars. A surprising read. It is so well told and unusual. And the commentary is as sharp as a knife.
On TBR since approx 31/05/2021.
53. The Murderous Affair At Stone Manor by Laura Stewart.
4 stars. A surprise. I don't usually read cosy mysteries but this was absorbing. Some of the storylines were a little obvious (Gideon...) Loved this.
On TBR since approx 05/01/022.
54. Claire Can't Lose by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. One of the weaker books. Don't like the fact that Nina has become so insecure because of her appearance and Zoey's response is to give her a makeover. Way to support your friend. Claire appears to be suffering brain freeze when it comes to Aaron.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
55. Hawksmoor by Peter Ackroyd.
3 stars. I both love and hate this book. Stylistically it is beautiful but the lack of explanations drove me nuts.
On TBR since approx 21/11/2021.
56. Don't Tell Zoey by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Poor Ben but poor Nina for putting up with him. Why has the Zoey cover model changed?
On TBR since 07/05/2023.
57. Warrior Fae by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti.
4 stars. An entertaining read, a little too long.
On Kindle TBR since 06/10/2022.
58. Close Liaisons by Anna Zaires.
5 stars. Unexpectedly loved the beginning of this series. Alien and human romance.
On Kindle TBR since 18/01/2022.
59. Close Obsession by Anna Zaires. Different cover.4 stars. Really enjoyed it but wanted a little more action.
On Kindle TBR since 05/12/2022.
60. A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare.
5 stars. One of my favourite plays.
On TBR since 25/11/2020 but read several times previously including at school.
JUNETotal books read in May: 18
Total qualifying for this challenge: 10
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 6
My Making Out series challenge: 13 out of 28 so far (1 behind)
23 in 2023: 5 out of 23 so far (still rubbish but I am reading another)
JUNE READS
I read the three books I needed to. I also ended up having to read Vernon God Little unexpectedly as someone requested it. I read two of my library books that had reached 12 renewals (Signal to Noise and Wise Blood) and read The Immoralist and The Stranger. I am 1 behind on my Making Out series read.
Books I need to read in July:
- To the North by Elizabeth Bowen (1001 challenge)
- The Guest by Emma Cline. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Queen Charlotte by Julia Quinn. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Cult by Camilla Lackberg. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Same Time Next Summer by Annabel Monaghan. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Clytemnestra by Costanza Casati. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
-Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (readathon)
Books I want to read in July:
-Carrying over Clarissa, The Birds Fall Down and Death Comes for the Archbishop and also Jacob's Room
- The World According to Garp by John Irving (potential group read)
- The Green Hat by Michael Arlen (potential group read)
- The Power and the Glory by Graham Greene (potential group read)
- Medea by Euripides (potential group read)
New Releases
- Game Over Boys by C.M. Stunich (if she ever releases it).
- Conquered: The Last Children of Anglo-Saxon England by Eleanor Parker may be out in paperback at the end of the month.
Additions to Mount TBR in July 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. The Oldest Vocation: Christian Motherhood in the Middle Ages by Clarissa W. Atkinson.
2. Folio edition of Love in a Cold Climate.
3. Women Remembered: Jesus' Female Disciples by Joan E. Taylor and Helen Bond.
4. Muslim: A Young Woman's Journey by Aisha Wright.
5. Religions on Trial: A Lawyer Examines Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and More by W. Mark Lanier.
6. Believing Women in Islam: Unreading Patriarchal Interpretations of the Qur’an by Asma Barlas.
7.
8. The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir.
9. The Ladies of Lyndon by Margaret Kennedy.
10. Lucky Jim by Kingsley Amis.
11. This Orient Isle by Jerry Brotton.
12. Muhammad by Maxime Rodinson.
13.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. The Hanging City by Charlie N. Holmberg. Amazon 1st Read.
2. Sing, Wild Bird, Sing by Jacqueline O'Mahony. Amazon 1st Read.
3. Islam and the West: A Rational Perspective by Mohammed Jabbar.
4. The Sabbides Secret Baby by Jacqueline Baird.
5. Merciless Vows by Faith Summers.
6. Game Over Boys by C.M. Stunich.
61. Origins of an Academy Bully by Caroline Peckham and Susanne Valenti.
4 stars. Lets sneak on a novella. Hope to start the series proper soon.
On Kindle TBR since 08/12/2022.
62. An Arabian Courtship by Lynne Graham.
5 stars. One of my favourite LG heroes. I re-read this every few years.
On Kindle TBR since 16/02/2015 but I have read it since then, but not recently enough to disqualify it from this list.
63. The Desert Bride by Lynne Graham.
4 stars. This was one of my favourite LG books as a teenager but even then the heroine annoyed me. Now I found her intolerable. If this woman earned a PHD then I am the Queen of Sheba. She mixes up Arabs and Iranians, doesn't even know the visa requirements for the country she is entering etc etc. Razul is far too good for her. I think I might still have a bit of a teen crush on him...
On Kindle TBR since 18/11/2015.
64. Close Remembrance by Anna Zaires. Wrong cover.
4 stars. Not fully convinced by the ending but this was an interesting read and I enjoyed the world building.
On Kindle TBR since 05/12/2022.
65. Aaron Lets Go by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Liking this series. Nice to see some sibling bonding between Ben and Lara.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
66. Who Loves Kate? by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Teen angst on a road trip to Miami.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
67. Enthralled by Giana Darling.
3 stars. One of my most anticipated reads of the year has fallen flat. I needed more connection between the two characters. This aspect of the plot reads more like erotica than romance (which is not my preference). The background plot is a bit bonkers.
On Kindle TBR since approx 23/11/2022.
68. Lara Gets Even by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Better than many of its immediate predecessors but how can Kate not know who rescued her when there were so few guys at the party? It has spread out over several books as well. Poor Nina...
On TBR since 07/05/2023.
JULYTotal books read in July: 19
Total qualifying for this challenge: 8
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 9
My Making Out series challenge: 16 out of 28 so far (1 behind)
23 in 2023: 6 out of 23 so far (still rubbish but I am reading another)
JULY READS
I read all the books I needed to apart from Anna Karenina. No one is surprised. I didn't finish any of the books in my want to read list although I have started The Green Hat.
Books I need to read in August:
- Dracula by Bram Stoker (1001 challenge)
- Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Dangerous Liaisons by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos (Group read and I have read the book before, before I joined GR)
-Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (readathon and is now on 12 renewals at the library as well)
Books I want to read in August:
-Carrying over Clarissa, Death Comes for the Archbishop and also Jacob's Room
- The World According to Garp by John Irving (potential group read)
- The Green Hat by Michael Arlen (potential group read I have started)
- The Island of Doctor Moreau by H.G. Wells (potential group read)
- Washington Square by Henry James (potential group read I own)
- August is a Wicked Month by Edna O'Brien (Potential group read)
- The Awakening by Kate Chopin (potential group read)
- The Birds Fall Down by Rebecca West (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
Additions to Mount TBR in August 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. The Night Watch by Sarah Waters.
2. The Sea House by Esther Freud.
3. The Magician's Book: A Skeptic's Adventures in Narnia by Laura Miller.
4. Immodest Acts: The Life of a Lesbian Nun in Renaissance Italy by Judith C. Brown.
5. Casualties Of Peace by Edna O'Brien.
6. That Other Me by Maha Gargash.
7. The End of Summer by Salha Al Busaidy.
8. The Sand Fish: A Novel from Dubai by Maha Gargash.
9. Islam and the Crusades: The Writings of Usama ibn Munqidh by Usamah ibn Munqidh.
10. Lion's Honey: The Myth of Samson by David Grossman.
11. A Heartless Marriage by Helen Brooks.
12. The Secret Life of France by Lucy Wadham.
13. Familiar Passions by Nina Bawden.
14. Gospel Women by Richard Bauckham.
15. Mohammed by Washington Irving.
16. The Map of Love by Ahdaf Soueif.
17. Muslim, Actually: How Islam is Misunderstood and Why it Matters by Tawseef Khan.
18. Life as we have known it by Co-operative Working Women by Margaret Llewelyn Davies.
19. Husband of Delilah by Eric Linklater.
20. Dust in Sunlight by Catherine Gaskin.
21. The Doves of Venus by Olivia Manning.
22. The Sea-Hawk by Rafael Sabatini.
23. The Turtle by Doreen Wallace.
24. The Water and The Sound by Gillian Tindall.
25. The Love-Child by Edith Olivier.
26. The Three Sisters by May Sinclair.
27. Falcon for a Queen by Catherine Gaskin.
28. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. Redemption by Deborah J. Ledford. Amazon 1st Read.Temporary People
2. The Sons of the Sheik by E.M. Hull.
3. A Touch of Ruin by Scarlett St. Clair.
4. A Touch of Malice by Scarlett St. Clair.
5. A Touch of Chaos by Scarlett St. Clair.
6. The Sheikh's Reward by Lucy Gordon.
7.
8. Temporary People by Deepak Unnikrishnan.
69. A Thousand Days in Venice : An Unexpected Romance by Marlena de Blasi.
3 stars. I wanted to like this but did not connect with the writing style. The author seems obsessed with fabrics and cooking and I did not warm to her either.
On TBR since approx 26/11/2021.
70. The Trophy Husband by Lynne Graham.
4 stars. I really enjoyed the beginning of this book and I love it when the hero is more in love than the heroine for the bulk of the book.
On Kindle TBR since 30/06/2014 although I have read it since then.
71. Two-Timing Aisha by Katherine Applegate.
3 Stars. Prom night and the worst book in the series so far. Lara upgrades to mega psycho, nobody apart from Ben and Claire particularly cares about Nina running away and Aisha is annoying and behaves appallingly.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
72. Zoey Speaks Out by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars.
One of my favourites. Lovely Nina and Ben scene and it is of such importance that Ben should have been on the cover. Aisha is a moron again.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
73. Kate Finds Love by Katherine Applegate.
3 stars. I don't think the ghostwriter had read the other books in the series. There are so many errors. The school seems to have moved to the Island and the football players apparently go after every game to a previously unmentioned burger restaurant. Christopher is back at Jimmys (which started off as a good restaurant) and not at Passamores. Mrs Cabral does not apparently recognise the brother of Wade, who her son was accused of killing in a car crash. The ferry is full of children! Etc. Not sure how they managed to make the book in which most of the cast graduates high school so dull.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
74. Les Liaisons Dangereuses Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.
5 stars. How has it taken me so long to reread this book? It is absolutely compelling and has some of the best villains in literature. One to savour. The best book I have read this year.
On TBR since ? I have read it before but am not sure when I bought it. Definitely pre-2010 when I joined GR.
75. Never Trust Lara by Katherine Applegate.
3 stars. An absolutely bonkers Lara plot at the start but there is a not entirely unexpected twist at the end which was really sad. I am getting annoyed with most of the characters and at the moment I want to read mainly about Nina and Claire Geiger's sisterly relationship.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
AUGUSTTotal books read in July: 18
Total qualifying for this challenge: 7
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 5
My Making Out series challenge: 20 out of 28 so far (back on track)
23 in 2023: 6 out of 23 so far (still rubbish but I am reading another)
AUGUST READS
I read all the books I needed to apart from Anna Karenina. No one is surprised. Again. I finished The Green Hat and read The Island of Dr Moreau, Washington Square and August is a Wicked Month. I have had to re-request the Rebecca West book as I had to return it to the library.
Books I need to read in September:
- The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth (1001 challenge)
- The Bone Hacker by Kathy Reichs. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Lady Windermere's Fan by Oscar Wilde (Group read and I have read the book before, before I joined GR)
Books I want to read in September:
-Carrying over Clarissa, Death Comes for the Archbishop and also Jacob's Room and The Awakening
- The World According to Garp by John Irving (potential group read)
- Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig (potential group read)
- The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin (potential group read and this is in the version of The Awakening I have borrowed)
- Renée Carlino - Before We Were Strangers (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- Lover Revealed by J.R. Ward (Attempting to read all my library books when they get to 12 renewals)
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (Readathon)
- Middlemarch by George Eliot (Readathon)
I also have 4 library books on 11 renewals...
Additions to Mount TBR in September 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters.
2. The World of Jesus: First-Century Judaism in Crisis by John Riches.
3. The social world of the first Christians by John Stambaugh and David Balch.
4. A Rabbi Talks with Jesus by Jacob Neusner.
5. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes by Anita Loos.
6. The Golden Legend by Nadeem Aslam.
7. Swift As Desire by Laura Esquivel.
8. 'Iffat al Thunayan: An Arabian Queen by Joseph A. Kechichian.
9.
10.
11. The Great Arab Conquests How the Spread of Islam Changed the World We Live In. Hugh Kennedy by Hugh Kennedy.
12. The Lion House by Christopher de Bellaigue.
13. The Eagle and the Dove: A Study in Contrasts—St. Teresa of Avila, St. Therese of Lisieux by Vita Sackville-West
14. The Sin Eater by Alice Thomas Ellis.
15. The Slum by Aluísio Azevedo.
16. Early Christian Lives by Carolinne White.
17. The Summerhouse Trilogy by Alice Thomas Ellis.
18.The Prophet Of Islam Muhammad: Biography And Pocket Guide: A Brief Biography And Pictorial Pocket Guide To His Teachings And Main Events In His Life by Husam Deeb
19.
20. A History of Women in Christianity to 1600 by Hannah Matis.
21. Muhammad and the Christian: A Question of Response by Kenneth Cragg.
22. Princess: Stepping Out of The Shadows* by Jean Sasson.
23. King Richard II by William Shakespeare.
24. In the Name of God: A History of Christian and Muslim Intolerance by Selina O'Grady.
25. Shorter Novels: Elizabethan ed. Philip Henderson.
26. The Dust Roads of Monferrato by Rosetta Loy.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. A Curse of Blood and Wolves by Melissa McTernan.
2.
76. The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth.
3 stars. An enjoyable book as the son of an Irish absentee landlord goes incognito to discover the depth of the problem and put it right while also solving a mystery about the parentage of his cousin Grace Nugent.
On TBR since 2000-2003 I think. It is one of the oldest books on my TBR. Possibly even the oldest.
77. Dark Fae Universe : A Dark Paranormal Romance Collection by Quinn Blackbird.
5 stars. Technically 3 stories in one. Loved this. If atmospheric, dystopian fantasy romance sounds interesting to you then I recommend this.
On TBR since 24/11/2022.
78. Sophocles: Antigone by Douglas Cairns.
3 stars. A study of Sophocles' play which I read earlier this year. Only cost me £1.00. Bargain.
On TBR since approx. 31/12/2019.
79. Trouble with Aaron by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. By this point it is all about the Geiger sisters for me. The best scenes in this book were their interactions. Starting to re-like Lucas.
80. Always Loving Zoey by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Again, it is all about Nina and Claire.
Both on TBR since 07/05/2022.
81. Lara Gets Lucky by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Enjoyable... the series ending is in sight. Many of the characters are now off to uni.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
82. Famine by Laura Thalassa.
5 stars. My favourite book in the series so far. Loved the banter between the leads.
On Kindle TBR since 03/12/2022.
SEPTEMBERTotal books read in September: 17
Total qualifying for this challenge: 7
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 8
My Making Out series challenge: 23 out of 28 so far
23 in 2023: 7 out of 23 so far (still rubbish)
SEPTEMBER READS
I read the three I needed to and also had to read House of Odysseus which came in to the library after the start of the month and had no renewals. I also read Before We Were Strangers and one of my library books that hit 12 renewals in the month. I finished Kiss of the Spider Woman in October.
This may be dismal but I finished two challenges this month! I am in Narnia (60 books) on my Virtual TBR challenge. I also hit 160 books on my GR challenge.
Books I need to read in October:
- Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1001 challenge)
- The Aeneid by Virgil. (Group read and I have read the book before, before I joined GR)
- It is en route to my branch but Dead on Target by M.C. Beaton and R.W. Green is coming and I won't be able to renew it.
Books I want to read in October:
-Carrying over Clarissa, Death Comes for the Archbishop and also Jacob's Room and The Awakening
- Death Comes for the Archbishop by Willa Cather. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library)
- Anne of Windy Willows by L.M. Montgomery. (Virtual TBR - unable to renew from library) (used below)
- Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte. (Group read and I have read the book before so it is already on GR)
Spookoplathon - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SaQPz...
1. Book with orange on the cover = Baltasar & Blimunda by José Saramago
2. Are We Out of The Woods Yet? = Anne of Windy Willows by L.M. Montgomery
3. Chance - This Song Will Save Your Life - Leila Sales
4. Community Shelf - Read the highest rated book I own with at least 25 ratings on GR - either Whispers and Wishes by Heather Long (Kindle) or Ever My Love by Lynn Kurland (physical)
5. Small book - The Dark Shore by Susan Howatch
Really want to read:
Burial Rites
Fighting Destiny
The Loney
The Turn of the Screw
Death
Additions to Mount TBR in October 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. Cleopatra's Sister by Penelope Lively.
2. Grand Vizier of the Night by Catherine Hermary-Vieille.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. P.S. I'm Still Yours by Eliah Greenwood.
2. The Lover by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. Amazon 1st read.
3. All the Little Raindrops by Mia Sheridan. Amazon 1st read.
4.
83. Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig.
4 stars. Such a good book. Told almost all in dialogue but so enthralling.
On TBR since 29/10/2022.
84. Death by Laura Thalassa.
5 stars. Nope, maybe this one is my favourite in the series...
On Kindle TBR since 03/12/2022.
85. The Dark Shore by Susan Howatch.
4 stars. How is the woman on this cover remaining upright? Not quite as gothic an atmosphere as I was hoping for but I enjoyed the read.
On TBR since approx 15/08/2018.
86. Now Zoey's Alone 9780330351195.
4 stars, Zoey is annoying.
87. Don't Forget Lara by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Twist at the end.
88. Zoey's Broken Heart by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Some continuity errors and Zoey mar a book in which Claire may have met her soulmate - and he is great - and Ben and Nina look like they may be getting back together. But it is annoying that Zoey's Broken Heart is the title of a book in the aftermath of the last book. Glad Lucas gives her a talking to.
All on TBR since 07/05/2022. Only two to go!
89. This Song Will Save Your Life by Leila Sales.
4 stars. Really surprised by how much I enjoyed this. Identified with Elise, our lead character and was caught up in her story.
On TBR since approx. 05/01/2022.
90. Falling for Claire by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. Still loving the Geiger sisters above all others. One more in the series to go.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
OCTOBERTotal books read in October: 20
Total qualifying for this challenge: 8
Total qualifying for Virtual Mount TBR challenge: 6
My Making Out series challenge: 27 out of 28 so far
23 in 2023: 9 out of 23 so far (still rubbish but I have started another one)
OCTOBER READS
I read Interview with the Vampire, Dead on Target, but not the Aeneid. I read three and started a fourth of my Spookoplothon TBR. For the books I wanted to read I read Death and have started Burial Rites which I had to put down temporarily to accommodate the huge new Robert Galbraith novel which not only had to go back to the library in early November but had to be passed to my mum so she can read it first.
My library service has cut the number of renewals from 12 to 3. It would be far too stressful to try to accomplish this and I have completed my virtual TBR anyway. I will just mood read and read any new releases that come in for the rest of the year.
Books I need to read in November:
- Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson (1001 challenge)
Books I want to read in October:
-Carrying over Clarissa, Death Comes for the Archbishop and also Jacob's Room and The Awakening and now also Wuthering Heights as another group is reading it in November.
Additions to Mount TBR in November 2023.(I will cross them out if I read them this year). Hoping if I have to keep updating this it might put me off buying books...Although they will all count for this challenge...in 2024.
Physical Books Acquired.
1. Somewhere Along the Way by Lynn Kurland.
2. Christians under the Crescent and Muslims under the Cross c.630 - 1923 by Luigi Andrea Berto.
3. The Lady's Realm; A Selection from the Monthly Issues: November 1904 to April 1905 by Georgina Coleridge
4. Every Girl's Duty: The Diary of a Victorian Debutante by Alice Catherine Miles.
5. Double Sorrow by Lavinia Greenlaw.
6. My Roommate Is a Vampire by Jenna Levine.
7. Fear and Friendship: Anglicans Engaging with Islam edited by Sarah Coakley.
8. Islam and the West by Christopher J. Walker.
9. Plantagenet Princess by Hilda Brookman Stanier.
10. The Stone Diaries by Carol Shields.
11. The Courtesan's Lover by Gabrielle Kimm.
12.The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and Other Stories by Hilary Mantel.
13. Rebel: My Escape from Saudi Arabia to Freedom by Rahaf Mohammed.
14. Greater than the Sum of Our Parts: Feminism, Inter/Nationalism, and Palestine by Nada Elia.
Kindle Books Acquired.
1. Say You Swear by Meagan Brandy.
2. Take You Down by Michae Marie.
3. Never Meant to Stay: A Novel by Trisha Das. Amazon 1st read.
4. Their Dubai Marriage Makeover by Louise Fuller.
5. Grimstone by Sophie Lark.
6. Ruthless Chaos by Raven Rage.
7. HISTORICAL STORIES of EXILE by Helen Hollick et al
91. After the Loving by Carole Mortimer.
3 stars. I have read a different edition of this before and picked this up as yet again I have a cold. Not a huge fan of the storyline with the hero's best friend.
On TBR since ? Somewhere between 2015 and 2022. I have no recollection of acquiring it.
92. Fighting Destiny by Amelia Hutchins.
4 stars. I enjoyed this quite a bit. Raises some interesting questions for the sequel...
On Kindle TBR since 14/11/2020.
93. Sexing the Cherry by Jeanette Winterson.
4 stars. I did not much enjoy the only other book by Jeanette Winterson and magical realism can go either way with me. I was so surprised to find myself enjoying this book. I kind of want to re-read it.
On TBR since approx 08/2022.
94. Zoey Comes Home by Katherine Applegate.
4 stars. It feels like the order to end the series was announced really quickly and the last few books feel a bit rushed. I loved Claire's storyline in this, love Nina and Benjamin and hope Zoey can mature enough to appreciate Lucas. Poor Jake does not get a single mention in this book. Kind of going to miss this world having been reading these books all year.
On TBR since 07/05/2022.
95. Burial Rites by Hannah Kent.
4 stars. Beautiful book with a fantastic atmosphere and sense of place.
On TBR since 24/09/2022.
96. The Words by Ashley Jade.
4 stars. This book is so well developed with a proper background to the main event of the book. It was marred for me by the poorly paced ending.
On Kindle TBR since 09/12/2022.
97. Filthy Rich Boys by C.M. Stunich.
4 stars. I wanted to give this 5 stars as I was absorbed by the story but I had a few issues. Marnye is poor but her father worked another job so she can take expensive harp lessons. (She liked Catrin Finch which almost makes up for it for me). She allows herself to get into bad situations (going off with her bullies in a car to an unknown location) and she does not ask enough questions about the Infinity Club, or, well, anything.
On Kindle TBR since 04/05/2020.
98. Bad, Bad Bluebloods by C.M. Stunich.
4 stars. Marnye is out for revenge. Not even tempted to give this 5 stars as it introduces an English (royal) character and Stunich has clearly not done any research. He is a great-grandson of the Queen but has managed to get expelled from several schools for womanising but the author is clearly unaware that practically all posh schools in the UK are single-sex. Also there actually is a Duke of Westminster and he is not in the royal family. And why is the guys name Windsor York? Windsor, or more commonly Mountbatten-Windsor is the family's surname and does York mean that he is Beatrice or Eugenie's son although the surname would not work like that? When is this book set? I still have questions so will continue.
On Kindle TBR since 23/10/2020.
99. The Envy of Idols by C.M. Stunich.
4 stars. Still engaging but not as compelling as the other series by her that I have read.
On Kindle TBR since 23/10/2020.
100. Famous Women by Giovanni Boccaccio.
3 stars. He includes goddesses but very few women from his time. Interesting.
On TBR since 21/01/2018.
CHALLENGE COMPLETED! Celebration time. Since I will not read another 50 by the end of the year I will carry on adding the remainder of the qualifying books I read here.
101. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë.
5 stars. My favourite book of all time. Criminally not re-read since 2015.
On TBR since... I first read it when I was 12, bought this copy when I was 15/16 but have not read it in 8 YEARS!
Mount TBR Challenge 2023
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5 star. Okay, I admit I mainly bought this for the cover. But it paid off! I did not really think I would like this collection of short stories about working class people in working class Battersea in the 1960s. Grim, depressing, non-judgemental but also showing the strength and warmth of her characters, this is a slice of life that no longer exists, destroyed by slum clearances and gentrification (but also by better educational standards and changes in the law too).
On TBR since approx December 2021.