BJ's 2015 TBR Challenge

Here is my main list for 2015:

1. Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy (2015) (Read May)
2. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis (2015) (Read January)
3. Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse (2015) (Read June)
4. Grave Peril by Jim Butcher (2015) (Read June)
5. Song of Roland by Anonymous (2015) (Read March)
6. Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos (2015) (Read April)
7. The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle (2015) (Read January)
8. Swan Peak by James Lee Burke (2015) (Read July)
9. Living Life as a Thank You by Nina Lesowitz (2015) (Read January)
10. Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke Volume 1 by Robert B. Cohen (2015) (Read July)
11. Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith (2015) (Read June)
12. The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal (2015) (Read February)

I decided to follow the excellent advice of Art and Cecrow and only saved 6 books from my old list, and those are on the alternate list. I have not given up on the titles removed. I hope to slowly add them back on in the coming years.

Here is my alternate list for 2015:
1. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J. K. Rowling (2014) (Read June)
2. Les Miserables by Victor Hugo (2014) (Read 2016)
3. The Complete Father Brown by G. K. Chesterton (2014) (Read October)
4. Watchmen by Alan Moore (2013) (Read June)
5. Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham (2013) (Read July)
6. Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff (2013) (Read June)
7. The Gunslinger by Stephen King (2015) (Read January)
8. The Chosen by Chaim Potok (2015) (Read March)
9. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho (2015) (Read January)
10. A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne (2015) (Read April)
11. Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger (2015) (Read January)
12. Gather, Darkness by Fritz Leiber (2015) (Read March)

My daughter thinks I can read them all. I doubt it, but I love her optimism. :)

>1 billiejean:

I am flattered that you took my advice! Hopefully I didn't steer you wrong. You have a lot of great titles on your lists; looks like you're in for a great reading year. :)

Thank you! I needed to do something to spark a better year in 2015, and I thought you had some good advice.

I've only read a handful of your picks, but your list looks interesting as well as ambitious! The Narnia book, the Harry Potter and the Sutcliff one are all solid reads, and page-turning reads at that. Les Misérables is long, but so great and so engrossing; the Verne book I found quaint and oh so dated, but that makes it interesting. Watchmen can be a quick read, if you want it to, or you can choose to spend more time than necessary on every page -- it's a very rewarding book that way. Chesterton's stories about Father Brown are wonderfully self-important, but they always bring a smile to my face. The Song of Roland is a classic; The catcher in the rye I found overhyped when I got to it a few years back.

As for the others, I've been thinking of reading something by L'Engle and Bernanos (A wrinkle in time and The impostor, respectively). Someday...

Yea for Carry On, Jeeves! Wodehouse is always a good time.

Y'all are making me excited for the new year of reading, which is just what I needed. I read my first book: Prince Caspian, which was a quick, fun read. Now I am halfway through the series. I have started The Gunslinger which turns out to be book one of seven. Now I have to buy 6 more books. Funny how that works out!

McCarthy is on the list of "authors I'm embarassed not to have read yet". Narnia, yes! The 6th Harry Potter is less whiny than the fifth, I promise. :) Les Miserables makes a good doorstop until you get around to it. Father Brown ... wow, that takes me back, same with the John Wyndham. Watchman is worth reading up on as you read it, to get the most appreciation for it. I've listed Stephen King a couple of times; you're in for a long haul with the Dark Tower series but it's considered his magnum opus. I didn't much like that Verne title but I may have had a bad translation; hope you feel differently. Catcher in the Rye is a love-or-hate book, you can join the debate after.

I have only read about 3 Cormac McCarthy books, but I think that he is an author I will come back to often. Don't know about The Road, though. I saw the movie and it was too dark and upsetting.

I had planned to read one Harry Potter a year, but I skipped last year just because of the whining in the previous book. I am glad that this one is better. I think I am going to start it after finishing The Gunslinger.

Catcher in the Rye is one to check off my tbr. I don't really expect to love it. But you never know. Books have a way of surprising me. I have this goal of reading all the books my kids read in high school and that is one of those. Of course, they are long out of high school, so I am way behind. :)

I finished The Gunslinger (Dark Tower 1) by Stephen King. I used to read a lot of Stephen King quite a few years ago, but I really did not like It and stopped reading his books for at least 10 years. Then not too long ago, I read The Stand, which I thought was a great book. When trying to choose for my list, I came across, in my stacks of books, The Gunslinger and added it. I thought this was a very good read, even though at first I was a little put off by writing style. Either it got better or I got used to it. There was an interesting intro and foreward or preface about the difference between 19 and middle-age. So I am glad overall that I read this book, even though now I have started yet another series.

And, p.s., in honor of the protagonist, I really should read The Song of Roland, even though I thought I would read Harry Potter next.

I love everything about Les Miserables. The book, the musical, the music....It is one of the few 1000+ page books that I have ever considered reading a second time.

Both my girls love this book. I read an abridged version in high school and they convinced me to read the real thing.

At least the Dark Tower series is fully published and you're not waiting for it to be finished. But it looks like you're caught in the problem I often face with this challenge - whether or not to list multiple titles from the same series? Now you either wait a year to find out what happens next or set your list aside. Last year I had the opposite problem when I wasn't as caught up by a series as I'd anticipated, but it was all over my list so I had to grit my teeth and see it through, lol. I took a similar risk this year so I'm hoping for a better result.

But if you're waiting, looks like you've plenty of other good listed titles to keep you happy!

Yes, the question of how to handle series with the list set out in advance is a tough one. I am now waiting for the last Odd Thomas book to arrive. I was thinking of putting the whole series on my list next year. But I am afraid I might get tired of them all in a row. However, there is also the problem of forgetting important plot points with a delay. For example, I read Game of Thrones several years ago, which was a terrific read by the way. However, I have never tackled the rest of the books since the series is not yet complete. But it was quite long. Should I reread or not?

I started both Song of Roland and Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, but I am not very far along with either. No time to read right now, either.

When I was facing ten volumes of Steven Erikson's Malazan series, I decided no way would I read them all in a row. I set out two other books between each volume, so if they were good I wouldn't have to wait very long, and if they were bad I could at least get into something else before returning.

To remember Game of Thrones you could get an online synopsis somewhere and make due with that, or watch the first season of the HBO series (it was still pretty faithful at that point.) I read each volume as it's published, with years between, and I've never re-read any of them. Maybe I've missed a few things as a result, but there's nothing that Google can't fill me in on. If it was a less popular series I guess it might not be as easy, but no problem with this one.

That is such a great idea! It was such a long book that I was not sure that I would reread just to move on. Now I don't have to do that. I have been waiting for Game of Thrones to make regular tv. But on online synopsis had never occurred to me. Thank you so much!

Wikipedia sums it up really well: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Game_of_Thrones

I always forget about Wikipedia. Thank you.

I have read two more books. From the main list, I read Living Life as a Thank You: The Transformative Power of Daily Gratitude by Nina Lesowitz and Mary Beth Sammons. This book read kind of like a Chicken Soup for the Soul book with some added strategies. I liked it ok, but I did not love it. I do, however, think that daily gratitude is transformative and have been working on it for myself.

The next book that I read was from the alternate list, Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. This book kind of bugged me at first with all the griping and complaining, sort of like the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix book did. I did get used to it by the end and am glad that I read it. I don't think I will ever reread it, so it really is off my shelf!

Looks like you're off to a great start, BJ. :)

>9 billiejean:

Don't know about The Road, though. I saw the movie and it was too dark and upsetting.

The book is even moreso, believe it or not. :/

>10 billiejean:

I take it that you read the 2003 revised and expanded version of the novel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dark_Tower:_The_Gunslinger#Revised_and_Expanded_edition), rather than the 1982 original, since that's the version with the introduction and the foreword. That's probably for the best, since the style of the original version is even more challenging than that of the revised one.

>11 billiejean:

Either that, or you can read Robert Browning's "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came" (http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Childe_Roland_to_the_Dark_Tower_Came), King's main inspiration for the Dark Tower series.

Thank you! I am trying to have more fun reading this year than I have for the last 2 years.

I find it hard to believe that The Road is more upsetting than the movie, but I did think that the very end of the movie strived for a slight uplifting moment. Maybe after I read all the other Cormac McCarthy books I will consider that one. I do like his writing a lot.

I did read the expanded and updated version, and I am pretty glad. I did not realize that it was expanded until I picked it up. My daughter had picked out this book when we bought it years ago. And I had no idea about Childe Roland to the Dark Tower. Interesting since I am also reading Song of Roland (which I am guessing is different?).

I think the version of The Stand which I read was also an expanded version. And I liked that book quite a bit. I think it is my favorite Stephen King book.

>22 billiejean:

I find it hard to believe that The Road is more upsetting than the movie

There are one or two very graphic scenes in the novel that didn't make it into the film version; other than that, it's pretty true to the book.

I do like his writing a lot.

I do, too, in spite of only ever having read The Road. I thought that was a really beautifully-written and (for lack of a better word) courageous book.

I had no idea about Childe Roland to the Dark Tower. Interesting since I am also reading Song of Roland (which I am guessing is different?).

From the Wikipedia article on "Childe Roland to the Dark Tower Came":

"The name Roland, references to his slughorn (a pseudo-medieval instrument which only ever existed in the mind of Thomas Chatterton and Browning himself), general medieval setting and the title childe (a medieval term not for a child but for an untested knight) suggest that the protagonist is the paladin of The Song of Roland, the 11th century anonymous French chanson de geste, among other works."

I think the version of The Stand which I read was also an expanded version. And I liked that book quite a bit. I think it is my favorite Stephen King book.

Yeah, I think that's my favorite King novel, too (I am rather fond of the post-apocalyptic genre, as you may have gathered). If I had to pick one work out of all his stuff (novels, non-fiction, short stories, etc.)... well, I don't know if I could do that; there are just too many good ones.

I thought the movie The Road was very graphic. Parts were just too hard to see. Maybe I could skim those parts.

I need to get back to Song of Roland. I have only read a little of it. Interesting that the two are the same.

I have started another book, different than Song of Roland and Harry Potter, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, and it is amazing. It is not very long, so putting off HP a little bit longer. What if I never finish the series? I only have the last two to read.

By the way, thanks for the explanation of childe. I just assumed it meant child.

>20 billiejean:, I read Catcher as a teenager and could appreciate where he was coming from when I was that age, but not sure I'd like it as much now. It was tied in to our semester's theme of alienation, the individual alone in the midst of society, so maybe that's its core message.

There was definitely a theme of alienation. I did feel like he brought a lot of it on himself, however.

I finished another book, The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho. This book is also from my alternate list. The interesting thing about this challenge is how old some of the books I read are and how late I am to see what I think of these authors. This book has been around the house for quite a few years, and my girls both read it long ago. Now that I have read this short book, all I can say it "Wow!" I cannot believe I waited so long to read this amazing and beautifully written book. This book is about a shepherd from Spain seeking his treasure and Personal Legend by journeying to the Pyramids. I will definitely read more by this author.

I am still reading Song of Roland and am one-third of the way through. I have also started The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle. The only other book I have ever read by her is A Wrinkle in Time, which was my favorite book when I was young.

No question you're off to a great start; you're going to be done in June at this rate, lol.

Actually, I am starting with all the shorter books. Plus, taking your advice and changing up my list so much got me more excited about the challenge. You and Art were totally right.

I seem to be in the minority of not enjoying The Alchemist. I first read it during my freshman year at university, and I couldn't understand the hype. I thought it might be one of those books that should be read during a certain time and place in your life. So I tried again while I was on a study abroad trip in Brazil. The main thing I pulled out of it was that Paulo Coehlo is sexist. That was the last time I tried to pick up a book by Paulo Coehlo.

Actually, I agree with you regarding The Alchemist as it was not something I enjoyed. It started off okay and then became quite tedious.

I've heard such mixed opinions about it both good and bad, I've opted just to steer clear.

I am glad that I liked it better than y'all did.

I finished The Young Unicorns by Madeleine L'Engle. This was a young adult mystery, and I thought it was pretty good. She has some good characters.

I have started The Sunflower, and am almost halfway through Song of Roland.

You know you have all year to read these, right? :)

>34 billiejean:, so am I, on your behalf. That's all that counts in the end.

I think that the last two years I made such a poor showing in this challenge that I wanted to get off to a good start this year. Plus, I am only reading the short ones, so I will be in trouble when those run out. Poor Harry Potter is on the shelf again!

Good luck with the longer books, especially Les Miserables. I read it last year and really liked it but did skip some of the war sections. Really helped me appreciate the musical more though.

>38 LittleTaiko:, or she could take my approach. I read the abridged version* and it was great. (*shhhhhhhh, don't tell)

I read the abridged version in high school. I mean really, really abridged. My girls told me that I must read the entire book to appreciate it fully. They love that book. And the musical, as well. I am not a musical/opera watcher myself, so I never saw it. But I do want to read the unabridged version to get the complete story.

I am almost through the essay The Sunflower and will start reading the commentary/responses soon.

>37 billiejean:

I think that the last two years I made such a poor showing in this challenge that I wanted to get off to a good start this year.

Well, you certainly are doing that. Good for you. :)

Thank you!

billiejean, I love your list for all the great authors on it that people are starting to forget (G.K. Chesterton, Fritz Lieber are a couple of my favorites).

Thank you! I am so glad that you mentioned Fritz Lieber. Actually, I was not familiar with him. At one time, there was a Science Fiction Group Read group here on LT, and I joined wanting to read some good books that I am not familiar with. And this particular book was a finalist along with another for the last group read that I participated in. It took a while to choose books, I guess, because I ordered both titles. (And I don't think I ever finished the other one.) So, I have always been curious about this book. And Dale Ahlquist (not sure how to spell the name) came to speak at our Church about the prolific Chesterton, and I knew that I wanted to read something by him. So I got a few books, and they have been sitting on my shelf ever since! I have heard that the Father Brown stories are great, so I decided to start there.

Fritz Lieber wrote a great little book called "Conjure Wife" that really exemplifies that way that sci fi is always a product of its time--it takes the "I wouldn't be here except for my wife" sentiment literally.

To lessen my guilt about recommending another book when you already have a mighty TBR mountain to deal with, here is a link to the movie based on Conjure Wife on Youtube, which is an equally fascinating product of its time:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i7bpqll6iqo

For Chesterton I've read The Man Who Was Thursday about six times and have never picked up the Father Brown stories (although they are on my bookshelf). I should try them.

>45 poingu:

Leiber's short fiction is excellent as well. I've loved his Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser tales (https://www.librarything.com/series/Fafhrd+and+the+Gray+Mouser) since I was a teen; the best of his standalone stories ("The Girl with the Hungry Eyes" and "Coming Attraction" come to mind) stand side-by-side with the very finest speculative fiction of the 20th century.

I've had several of Leiber's novels (including Conjure Wife) sitting on the TBR pile for years now; I really must get to at least one of them in the next year or two.

Boy, y'all make me want to drop everything and pick up Gather, Darkness! The book I am reading now is about the Holocaust, which is always hard to read, but so necessary. I have kind of lost touch with Song of Roland. However, I have been incredibly busy at work, and I can't read poetry in a rush.

Which Holocaust book are you reading? Last week, during Int'l Holocaust Remembrance Day, my daughter started asking more questions about WWII and the Holocaust (she's 7). There are actually quite a few family members on my husband's maternal grandmother's side of the family that died in the Holocaust, so we are slowly filling her in on that part of history before they talk about it at school.

>34 billiejean: I am glad you enjoyed it, too!

I am reading The Sunflower by Simon Wiesenthal. He tells about an event that happened to him during the Holocaust and asks others to respond with how they would have reacted. I was trying to figure out how this book got into the house all those years ago. My daughter told me that she read it in English class in high school. So I definitely want to read all the books that my kids read in high school that I had never read, so I am glad that I am reading it. Someone else in this group recently read this book. I can't recall who. I will check out your list. I remember reading a review of it, which made me pick it up now rather than later.

I never did figure out who wrote the review of The Sunflower. But I am glad that I read the review, because it made me pick the book up now.

>49 billiejean:
>50 billiejean:

You're the only person whose thread comes up when you do a group search on "sunflower", so perhaps you are thinking of another group.

I must be. And maybe it was from 2014 and spurred me to put that book on my list.

I finished The Sunflower: On the Possibilities and Limits of Forgiveness by Simon Wiesenthal. This book is half autobiographical, ending with a question. The second half is filled with various responses. Simon tells about when he was in a concentration camp, and was sent out on a work party to clean away medical "waste" from a make-shift hospital in his old school. A nurse calls him away from work to the room of a dying SS Officer who wants to confess his participation in a war atrocity. And he wants to ask Simon for forgiveness. Simon tells all about the confession and his feelings. He also tells about the great suffering he has endured at the hands of the Nazis. I will let you read the book yourself to see how he responds to the SS Officer. At the end of his story, Simon asks if he did the right thing. What do others think they would have done? The remainder of the book is filled with many responses. Although some of the responses are quite moving, Simon's story is more so. Really this is an amazing book that I would not have thought to read if my daughter had not read it in school and left it on my shelf.

I have known people to forgive the truly unforgiveable. I have known wonderful, forgiving people who could not forgive the truly unforgiveable. And I have known people who seem not able to forgive at all. I realize that forgiveness helps the victim the most, but could I forgive the truly unforgiveable? I hope I never have to find out. The other big question in this book is can Simon forgive for an act which was not committed against him personally? Lots of big questions here. I need to switch to something lighter next.

Sounds like a good take on Holocaust fiction, with a strong angle to explore. It's a subject that comes with a ton of built-in emotion and sometimes I'm skeptical that the author is simply taking advantage of that, but this sounds genuine.

Interestingly, Simon became a Nazi hunter to bring them to trial following the war, and he lived to be 95 years old.

I seem to have lost my reading time. I am still reading Song of Roland and Gather, Darkness!. It is so close to the end of the month, that I probably won't finish either in time. Oh, well, better luck in March!

And the worst part is, that I am dying to order from amazon the sequels in the Gunslinger series!

>56 billiejean:, your January more than made up for it, I'd say.
>57 billiejean:, I'll have to remember from this example, if I only put the first book of a series on my list then I should read it towards the end of the year and not at the start, lol

>56 billiejean:

No worries, BJ - you're doing great. You've read more than twice as many books as me this year!

I guess I should have waited to later in the year to read The Gunslinger; however, when I added it to the list I was dying to pick it up. I did realize that I did not have any of the sequels at the time.

Thanks for the encouragement, Cecrow and Art!

>60 billiejean:

Thanks for the encouragement, Cecrow and Art!

That's what we're here for. :)

I finally finished The Song of Roland by Anonymous. It has been a while since I read an epic poem, and I quite enjoyed this one -- not too long, just right. My opinion of Roland is "Pride goeth before a fall." There were some exciting battle scenes, but there were also some descriptively disturbing scenes in there. Overall, I am glad that I read this book. Maybe I will finally read Beowulf next year!

I am still pretty much at the beginning of Gather, Darkness!, but it is interesting already.

I've tried Beowulf once, and will have to try again. My e-book version was too tangly to uncurl. I'll need a good annotated print copy to get through it.

I was just discussing this with my daughter last night. Apparently our copy is at her apartment. This one has the modern English on one side and the Old English on the other side. That being the case, the book is only half as long as I thought it was! This is the Seamus Heaney (?) translation, which I have heard is good. But in the meantime, I have plenty (too many) other books to read.

I have picked up The Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos. I have only read the introduction so far, which was pretty interesting. Maybe I can start it tonight. And read more of Gather, Darkness!

I finished Gather, Darkness! by Fritz Leiber. In this book, the "Great God" and priests are the bad guys and "Sathanas" and the witches are the good guys. Not really my kind of plot, but I read it anyway. It was a little dated as it was written in 1943 and serialized. This is Leiber's classic. I bought it for a group read years ago that never happened.

I am still towards the beginning of the The Diary of a Country Priest, and I am looking at maybe reading The Chosen next, which has lots of accolades. I don't ever remember reading it, but it is so famous that I wonder if I read it a long time ago and forgot?

>65 billiejean:

Sorry Gather, Darkness! didn't work out for you. I hope you won't give up on Leiber completely because of it - there are other works by him (see >46 artturnerjr: et al. above) that really are very good.

Leiber is on my radar now, thanks to this discussion. I vaguely recall hearing about the Grey Mouser before, and I like to cover my fantasy classics.

I probably won't give up on him if I hear of a good title. I am trying to read a variety in the scifi field, but I am not all that familiar with it.

I am halfway through The Diary of a Country Priest, which is picking up somewhat for me. And in the middle of that I picked up The Chosen by Chaim Potok. I realized right away that I had never read this before. I would have remembered it! This was a great book, and the best book I have read this year. This is the story of two fifteen year old Jewish boys who live 5 blocks from each other and had never met until they play each other in an epic baseball game. The book then follows them into adulthood. I highly recommend this book. I read this one pretty fast for me. I read this book because it is one of the books my kids read in school that I had never read.

I forgot to mention that I also picked up Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. I can't seem to keep to one book at a time. I have only just barely started it.

I usually have a couple on the go too, depending. If something's really engaging then I might just stick to one.

I think I read two until I get into one enough that I can't trade off.

>69 billiejean: ff.

Don't feel bad - I have five going right now (and am thinking of starting a sixth!).

That is impressive!

I finished Diary of a Country Priest by Georges Bernanos. This book started off slow for me, but about halfway through it became quite compelling. The priest of a small parish is keeping this diary to help him sort through his feelings about the ups and downs of his calling. I thought the ending was magnificent.

So I have read another couple of really short chapters of Journey to the Center of the Earth. The adventure has not really started yet. Thinking about what to read next.

>73 billiejean:

That is impressive!

Thanks (although I feel like it's less impressive than it is demonstrative of my inability to make up my damn mind lol)!

I can definitely manage two, often three. I start feeling a bit of stress to finish something when it gets to four, lol.

>73 billiejean:, glad that ended well for you. I've mentioned above I'm not a fan of Journey, but it does have some good parts coming.

I feel like I want another book to read alongside Jules Verne. Maybe Scurvy Dogs, which is anecdotes about life on a destroyer. I wonder where I put that book?

I finished A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne, which I enjoyed more than I expected. It was a fun adventure story. I never did locate my copy of Volume 1 of Scurvy Dogs, Green Water and Gunsmoke, which I was going to read at the same time. I have started Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy, but I have gotten distracted by the Hunger Games trilogy.

You seem to have so many misplaced books in your house, it creates a funny picture in my head, lol

Organization is not my strong point. I do hope to get there someday. I must stop getting more books, but that is hard for me. Mostly, I have overflow books in random stacks, and it can be hard to see the titles.

I am halfway through Cities of the Plain. I love the writing of Cormac McCarthy. I need to put another on my list for next year, but I think the only other book by him that we have is The Road. I am not sure if I am ready for that one or not.

What will I read next? I can't decide.

>79 billiejean:

What will I read next? I can't decide.

Hmm....Watchmen is good... ;)

Hi BillieJean! Thought I would reciprocate your recent visit. I enjoyed skimming the conversation about Harry Potter and series books.

My wife adores the Potter series,* having acquired each volume as it was published. We went to the first-day matinee of each movie. I took pleasure in verbally pinching and poking her about her obsession. But...when the last volume arrived, and she started reading it, I started on the first book. Read 'em all, in order, one right after the other. Very rewarding.

I think you should put the first book of a series on your TBR list. If you like it, what the heck. Just go ahead and read the rest of them. Surely you aren't limited to reading only the books on your TBR list in a year's time.

*Probably NOT as much as Jane Austen, but just sayin'.

I know I've mentioned it before, but I'm still not over the fact that my wife read the first six Harry Potter books soon as they were published, then decided the last one didn't interest her and has never picked it up. Like ... how??

My TBR list is pretty close to all I can handle, personally. I don't read much more than 30 books in a year. I put in the hours, but my reading speed is pretty low.

Not sure what you should line up next, billiejean, although I'm tempted to second the vote for Watchmen, just because this was the time of year I read it back when so I've got it associated with this part of the calendar.

>82 Cecrow:

I'm still not over the fact that my wife read the first six Harry Potter books soon as they were published, then decided the last one didn't interest her and has never picked it up. Like ... how??

Good question. With all due respect to Mrs. Cecrow, that does strike me as slightly insane lol

I don't think that I would read all 6 Harry Potter books and then skip the last one. I will let you know, however, as I just started Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. The previous book was such a pain that I could see being put off by that. But I hear that this one is much better.

I have also started Tears of the Giraffe from a set of books given to me by my brother. I am enjoying it so far.

So the good news is that I finished Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy. Everyone tells me not to read The Road, but I don't have any other of his books. Maybe I should get Blood Meridian. I think maybe it was included in the 1001 BYMRBYD. If I get it now, couldn't I count it on next year's list? Of course this group is not to encourage purchases but to finally read the books already purchased. Still, if I order soon, it will be here for over 6 months.

I did like the Border Trilogy (notwithstanding that one moment in The Crossing). I know I want to read more by this author.

Sorry about Watchmen. I do know where that book is and I have been thinking about it. Maybe in July?

I don't see why you shouldn't read The Road. Sure it's dark, but lots of good books are, and that's probably his most widely-read novel. But I'm confident nobody here is going to blink or measure how long you've had a book on the shelf. Heck - the one I'm reading right now I'm borrowing from the library, so shoot me first.

I'm going to feel sorry for myself if you don't find HP6 better than HP5, after all my encouraging!

>84 billiejean:
>85 Cecrow:

I highly recommend The Road as well. It's very bleak, but it's also one of the best novels I've ever read.

>84 billiejean:

Sorry about Watchmen. I do know where that book is and I have been thinking about it. Maybe in July?

No need to apologize. I just always feel the need to advocate for that one. :)

Well, I have to find The Road in one of my stacks. I do think I will read it. I want to read all of Cormac McCarthy's books now. :)

The good news is that I am enjoying this Harry Potter book much more than the last one already. I think this might be a quicker read than I expected.

My daughter also wants me to read Watchmen. She loves graphic novels, and even took a class on writing/drawing them.

Thanks for the support on book choosing. I am already getting excited about choosing my books for next year. Crazy, right?

>87 billiejean:

I am already getting excited about choosing my books for next year. Crazy, right?

I don't think it's crazy - I've already written two drafts of my 2016 lists! :D

Mine's about 50% locked, another 30% pretty certain.

Y'all make me happy!

I am a third of the way through HP. I put Tears of the Giraffe down until I finish it.

Whew, happy to know that thinking about next year's list is also happening elsewhere. 😃

I am starting to make a little pile of books. :)

I am over halfway through HP. Hoping to finish it soon.

That's okay, just don't forget where you put the pile :)

I do have a bit of a problem with that. :)

I finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which I enjoyed much more than the last HP book. I went looking for the next (which is the last) book in the series ---AND found it!!! So that goes in the pile for next year.

I am back to reading Tears of the Giraffe, and I have started on Watchmen. I don't really read a lot of books like it, but the accolades are endless, so I am going to try to stick with it.

>94 billiejean:

I have started on Watchmen. I don't really read a lot of books like it, but the accolades are endless, so I am going to try to stick with it.

Hurray! :D

Believe me - whatever effort you put into it will be repaid tenfold. :)

Whew - big sigh of relief that I didn't steer you wrong about HP6. 100% less whiny, lol. HP7 has some slow bits but it builds up to a big finish.

I am looking forward to the last HP book, but I want to chip away at my tbr list first. I think I will put it on next year's list.

I finished Watchmen. It was pretty good. Not really my genre, but I am trying to read it some. I did like the ending. I found it surprising. I think the beginning started kind of slow for me, but it picked up the pace. Nite Owl was my favorite character.

Still reading Tears of the Giraffe, which I like. Thinking about my next book. Either Jeeves or Grave Peril. Or maybe I will locate my wayward Scurvy Dogs.

I haven't gotten back to graphic novels since Watchmen, but it taught me respect for the form. I thought there was a lot of takeaway. Movie wasn't as good.

>97 billiejean:

I finished Watchmen. It was pretty good. Not really my genre, but I am trying to read it some. I did like the ending. I found it surprising. I think the beginning started kind of slow for me, but it picked up the pace. Nite Owl was my favorite character.

Glad you liked it. I'm sure you're glad you finished it just so I will quite pestering you about it, if for no other reason lol. The ending is my favorite thing about it; I love how it reinforces the work's theme of (as Jon/Dr. Manhattan says) "nothing ever ends". I don't know if I have a favorite character in that one - I think they're all fascinating. I suppose I would pick Adrian/Ozymandias, if you put a gun to my head.

I think I like Nite Owl because he is kind of an underdog. And I like the costume and ship.

I just made an alarming discovery. I included Swan Peak because I thought it was the beginning of the series. But no, not even close! The other book I have, Neon Rain, is the first one. I was really hoping to complete my list this year, but should I read such a late book in the series? I did see the movie of Heaven's Prisoners, which I have been told ruins everything, so maybe in order doesn't really matter.

At any rate, Swan Peak will not be my next book. Maybe I will save it for last in case I really can't finish the list. There are a few superlong books that will slow me down.

>100 billiejean:

I think I like Nite Owl because he is kind of an underdog. And I like the costume and ship.

Nite Owl/Dan is a neat character. I like how he's sort of like Batman with an inverted alter ego - instead of a super-cool playboy billionaire like Bruce Wayne, his secret identity is more of an uber-geeky Clark Kent.

I just made an alarming discovery. I included Swan Peak because I thought it was the beginning of the series. But no, not even close! The other book I have, Neon Rain, is the first one. I was really hoping to complete my list this year, but should I read such a late book in the series? I did see the movie of Heaven's Prisoners, which I have been told ruins everything, so maybe in order doesn't really matter.

If you want to switch them out, I highly doubt anyone here would object; I certainly wouldn't.

Just chipping in about your Robicheaux series dilemma. I wouldn't worry too much about reading out of order. Burke does build his characters over the series, but he provides enough context when needed to ease a new reader into a book (and to help old readers remember what is going on in Robicheaux's life).

I would suggest sticking with your list, then go back to the beginning. Or change it out if you feel too weird about it, as art suggests. I'm certainly not a purist on the list front!

ETA Burke is careful to avoid spoilers.

I am glad to hear that reading order is not such a big deal with the Robicheaux series. I never thought about reading a series in order until LT; however, most books that I had read with a recurring character at that time did not build, so order didn't matter. And there may be too many in this series for me to commit to reading.

I am 2/3 of the way through my Jeeves books. Haven't started the Butcher book yet. I must find where I put Scurvy Dogs, Vol. 1. I have company coming, so I will be sorting through things anyway. :)

I finished Carry On, Jeeves by P. G. Wodehouse which is pure silliness. Lots of fun and easy to read. Now I am about 20% into Grave Peril, which also has some humor mixed in with the ghosts and vampires.

Heard lots of good things about Wodehouse and Butcher both, sounds like you're reading good quality stuff! Still can't get over your pace this year, seems like revising your list approach has REALLY worked for you.

>104 billiejean:
>105 Cecrow:

Yeah - you are having a fantastic year, BJ. I am very impressed. :)

>104 billiejean: - yea for the Wodehouse book! Always a fun, silly, pick me up read.

This has been a better year for me -- at last! The previous 2 years were terrible.

I finished Grave Peril by Jim Butcher, which turned out to be a pretty quick read. The ghosts are running amok and wizard detective Harry Dresden must figure out why. I have 4 more of these books waiting to be read. Luckily, I have enjoyed the first three.

I have started Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff. I picked it up last year, but never got it read. I ended up seeing the movie (which I had planned on not watching until after reading the book). So I am starting over and enjoying it. The reason I did not finish last year had more to do with real life issues that took me from reading and not because I did not like it. I have the two sequels also available if I get this one read.

And the good news is that I found Scurvy Dogs at the very bottom of a tall stack of books. Yea!

Just for grins, I looked back over my 2008 challenge thread. And there I was having trouble finding books, just like now. I must work on a better plan. I am getting a "new" bookcase to house the books for this challenge, and I won't put any books on the list next year that I cannot find before January 1st. But for now the bookcase needs a paint job and maybe a little other work before it can come into the house.

Not a bad idea to at least shelve your unread books in one handy-to-find place. I used to do that, until the TBR pile became too big. Then I found it less intimidating to scatter them amongst my read titles, lol. If I didn't keep a handy text file of what I have in the house that I haven't gotten to yet, I might forget about more than a few myself.

The whole reason I joined LT was to catalog my books. That has gone by the wayside. The bookcase is repainted and ready to go. I will try to limit it to TBR challenge books and my spiritual reading books. We'll see. Chaos follows me.

When we moved back into our house after it was remodeled, I put all of my TBR books in one section of the bookcase so I could actually see them. Previously they had been stored in a cabinet. This way, there isn't a chance that I forget how many books I own that need to be read.

I think that is the way to go. Previously I stacked them up in a double-stacked bookcase in a room I don't spend much time in. Now I see them every day! I have them all in my new bookcase now.

I finished Eagle of the Ninth, which I thought was pretty good and quite different from the movie. I have the other two books of the trilogy for future TBR lists. :)

I have started Midwich Cuckoos. I did not realize how famous it is. I don't have much time to read right now as my kids are coming home for the holidays. Yea!!!

I finished The Midwich Cuckoos by John Wyndham. This book was satisfyingly creepy.

I have started Swan Peak.

I liked that book by Wyndham, and The Chrysalids, but I still haven't read his most popular classic about the triffids.

I am putting The Chrysalids on my tbr list for next year. I am on my third variation of the list. :)

I read Scurvy Dogs, Green Water, and Gunsmoke: Fifty Years in U.S. Navy Destroyers Volume One edited by Bob Cohen and Terry Miller. I have had this book and the second volume for several years now. I bought it on a recommendation from someone here on LT. It was chock full of Navy anecdotes. Some were hilarious. Others not so much. I enjoyed it; however, I will probably take a break before reading Volume Two.

I also read Swan Peak, which was not too hard to get into even though it is well into the series. I am glad that I have several other books from the series.

The last two books are both quite long. I am cautiously optimistic.

>116 billiejean:

I am on my third variation of the list. :)

I now have 29 titles, all of which I really want to read, competing for the 24 slots on my 2016 lists (this is based on the assumption that I will complete all 11 of my remaining books for the Challenge this year; considering it's already late July, that's a pretty big assumption). I'm going to have a hell of a time winnowing those down when it comes time to do it. :/

>117 billiejean:

Only two books left on your lists? That's fantastic! :D

Thank you!

I also have too many books for my list. I am rotating in the 18 unread books, 6 this year and 6 the next two years. I have thought about dropping it down to 4 to allow more of the other books, but I do want to finish those somehow. The two left for this year are off of old lists. But I really do want to read them. The length scares me off somewhat.

So do you think it was a good idea to put a whole series on the list? I have the Odd Thomas series ready to go with all books, but I don't know if I want all 7 on my list at once. I have been putting the other series on one at a time. But now I have so many series on my list, I feel like I have less selection. Crazy, right?

>119 billiejean:

So do you think it was a good idea to put a whole series on the list? I have the Odd Thomas series ready to go with all books, but I don't know if I want all 7 on my list at once. I have been putting the other series on one at a time. But now I have so many series on my list, I feel like I have less selection. Crazy, right?

I don't know. I guess I can only really speak to the experience I've been having reading all those Barsoom books this year. Speaking entirely for myself, I really wish I had spread those books out over the course of 2-3 years, because they begin to seem really repetitive (perhaps more repetitive than they actually are) if you read them all in a bunch like I have. I think the selection/variety issue that you bring up is a significant one, too. For example, I finally broke down and read a non-fiction book that wasn't on my lists just because I was going crazy reading nothing but fiction all the time. Having said all that, I'm also really glad I'm almost finished with this series, 'cause it's one I've wanted to read all the way through since I was 15. So I guess I would say (in sum) put a whole series on your lists if you want to, but weigh the pros and cons carefully. :D

Variety is definitely helpful, and reading a long series back to back is tough, at least for me. When I was doing the Malazan series, I restricted them to my main list and planned in advance to read at least one title in between each of them, so wound up with six. That worked out for me very well. I was saved though, by Malazan turning out to be a good series. If after a couple of books it goes downhill, it becomes "I'm not going to make myself read this!" versus "I feel honour bound to do what I'd said I would", lol. I still get hung up on the 2nd instinct a lot, but I'm expecting this may weaken as I get older.

Thank you so much for the advice, Art and Cecrow. I think I will just wait before putting a whole series on at once.

I only have two books left on the alternate list, and they are both really long. I planned it out to read one part of each for each of the five remaining months, so that I would finish. However, I can tell already that I won't finish either one. Bummer. So I think I will put them both on the list for next year, which changes the list I already made (and remade).

So in other words - you're done! Whewee!

Father Brown sounds easy to stop anywhere, between stories. Les Mis is a long haul, maybe look for an abridged version (I have to confess that's what I did, when I tackled it in uni).

>122 billiejean:

Congratulations! I look forward to being able to finish reading 22 books in a year for this challenge (much less in nine months)!

I have already read an abridged version of Les Miserables -- back in high school many long years ago. But my kids both read the long version when they were assigned the abridged in high school, and told me that I must read the whole thing. On the whole, I am loving it.

On the Father Brown stories, while I enjoy most of them, it feels a little like overkill reading the 5 volumes in 1 version. But that is what I have. A gift from my sister-in-law, which I really appreciated not having read anything by Chesterton before.

So, I haven't really totally given up on the hope that I can finish, but realistically, I don't think I will get there.

I finished the second parts of each book in September after all, so I am still hanging in there. But there are some other books calling my name. . .

Beware sirens - tie yourself to the mast! lol

My usual antidote in such situations: remind myself the ones I'm reading called to me in precisely the same way before I began, that's why I'm reading them; and reading those others now would not really be a cure, because there's always more sirens calling.

That is a really good point. I am 2/3 of the way through The Complete Father Brown. And 40% through Les Miserables. So I am beginning to have some hope to finish at least one. But I am wanting to read Ready Player One to see if I want to give it to my brother for his birthday. I gave him Cormac McCarthy last year, but I don't think he is as big a fan as I am.

Shhhhh ... don't tell anybody, but Ready Player One is on my 2016 challenge list. Shhhhh .....

It looks like a fun book.

>128 billiejean: ff.

Looks like Steven Spielberg is slated to direct of movie version of the book:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One#Film_adaptation

>131 artturnerjr:, exactly why it jumped up onto my list for 2016. I'm a sucker for reacting that way to that kind of news (Midnight's Children, Winter's Tale, Life of Pi, The Stand, etc.)

Interesting! I started it, but then switched to an Agatha Christie book called Hallowe'en Party. It's shorter. Plus, I pulled out Les Mis to start on Book III. If I can stay on target (one part of each for the last 5 months) then I will finish both books. I just know how the holidays get.

>129 Cecrow: - I loved Ready Player One! Hopefully you find it equally enjoyable. I read his second book Armada earlier this year and liked it as well, though not loved.

I ended up putting Ready Player One on my list for next year. I hope it is good, because I gave it to my brother for his birthday.

I read The Complete Father Brown in October. I was not able to read Les Miserables.

This Fall has been difficult for me. My sweet doggie had surgery which required quite a bit of supervision during her recovery. Then, just when she started to recover nicely, she got cancer. I lost her less than two weeks after the diagnosis. It was that fast. So I have been out of sorts and unable to read for a long time. It has been a little over a month since I lost her, and I am starting to feel a little better. I can read a little now. I'm looking forward to a better year in 2016.

Sorry to hear about your loss. :( We've two dogs and a cat here and love them to bits, even when they're driving us mad.

>135 billiejean: I am so sorry for your loss. Our fur babies are truly precious to us, aren't they? 2015 has been an incredibly tough year for many people that I know. Here's hoping to a happier, healthier 2016.

>135 billiejean: - I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. They are such an important part of our lives that losing them can be quite tough.

Losing furbabies is never easy. For me though I'd be reading constantly to not think about it! Funny how different everyone deals with things. I hope time is helping soften your pain some. *hugs*

Thank you so much for all of your kindness. I still look for her in her favorite spot on the air conditioner vent, but I'm doing better now. I'm definitely looking forward to a better 2016.

>135 billiejean:

Sorry for your loss, BJ. 2015 was not the greatest year for me either. Here's hoping for a better year this year for both of us.

Thanks, Art. I am starting to feel more optimistic. Which is a nice change.