Adam from Roof Beam Reader is hosting The 2014 TBR Pile Challenge. For the fifth year! Congratulations on the anniversary! Click on the link to head over to the main post of the challenge, to learn about the rules and prizes.
I don't know any bookworm who didn't constantly complain over the size of their TBR pile, so this will be one of my chosen challenges for next year.
I've added the first publication dates.
1. The Name of the Rose, Umberto Eco (1980) (CC) - 4/5
2. Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel (2009)
3. Middlesex, Jeffrey Eugenides (2002) (CC) - 5/5 - impressions
4. Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens (1837) (CC)
5. The Kite Runner, Khaled Hosseini (2003) - 2/5 - review
6. Tender Is the Night, F. Scott Fitzgerald (1933) (CC)
8. The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett (1989)
9. The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss (2007) - 3/5 - review
10. Why Be Happy If You Could Be Normal, Jeanette Winterson (2011) - 4/5 - review
11. The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, David Mitchell (2010) - 5/5 - review
12. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier (1938) (CC) - 5/5
The alternatives are both non-fiction books from my TBR list because among other things, I want to put more focus on non-fiction in 2014:
13. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals, Michael Pollan (2006)
14. Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void, Mary Roach (2010) - 5/5
I loved The Name of The Wind. One of the things I like seeing about the TBR challenge is all the different books and all of the books that are the same.
ReplyDeleteSo many people have loved The Name of the Wind - I have very high expectations! (Which may be a bad thing...)
DeleteThe Pillars of the Eart is one of my favorites. I even searched about gothic cathedral from google while reading it. Good luck with the challenge!
ReplyDeleteI really want to read The Pillars of the Earth, but the size is a bit daunting :) Hopefully the challenge will be a good motivation. Thanks!
DeleteThat's a good challenge! The Middlesex and the Name of the Rose have been in my TBR pile for years! Maybe it's time for me to tackle them...
ReplyDeleteThe Kite Runner is a very touching story but really sad.
Yes, it's a good challgenge to put some focus on those books that you have wanted to read for a long time but never actually got to. I've heard that The Kite Runner is sad; I haven't read any Hosseini book yet and it's definitely time to fix that.
DeleteMary Roach is hilarious -- I hope you have time to get to Packing For Mars! Middlesex was also wonderful, and Rebecca is one of my all-time favorites! Great list!
ReplyDeleteThanks Karen! I definitely want to read Packing for Mars - even though it's in the alternate list, I have a suspicion it'll be one of the first things I read in 2014.
DeleteI have been wanting to read The Pillars of the Earth and Rebecca as well. I'm not sure if I have the discipline to read a full dozen books on the year+ TBR list, but will have to keep this challenge in mind as a possibility -- I definitely will be joining a TBR challenge of some sort for next year!
ReplyDeleteThe lack of self discipline is the reason why my TBR shelf is so out of control so I'll try my best next year to eliminate some "tomes" from there. Some of these overlap with the Classics Club list as well, which is always a good thing.
Delete5,8,9, and 12 are all awesome. And I hope you do get to read Packing on Mars - I want to read it too. I need to read more Roach.
ReplyDeletePacking for Mars is like combining two things I'm highly interested in - to check out some writing of Mary Roach, and THE SPACE! It cannot fail. I want to read it now.
DeleteI have read or want to read everything on your list - I look forward to your reviews already :-)
ReplyDeleteGood luck.
That is most encouraging! Thanks, Brona.
DeleteAnother going after Name of the Rose! Hmm... read-along, perhaps? I really need to read that one, too. It's been on my shelf for a long time. Middlesex is brilliant, and Tender is the Night is my absolute favorite Fitzgerald book. I hear great things about Rebeccca and The Kite Runner, but I haven't gotten to them yet (own both!). Oliver Twist isn't my favorite Dickens, but it's definitely a good book. Oliver's personality just irks me a bit. Good luck!!
ReplyDeleteReadalong for The Name of the Rose would be super lovely. Same here that this is the book that has been on my shelf for years. Hehe I'm curious about Oliver Twist now, I haven't read a lot of Dickens but I enjoyed David Copperfield a great deal when I was younger.
DeleteThanks!
Lovely list you have. Good luck with it. I would try a readalong for The Name of the Rose...
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm really liking this idea of The Name of the Rose readalong as well.
DeleteI finally bought a copy of Wolf Hall the other week, so even though it's not on my TBR Challenge list I'll definitely be reading it in 2014. Well, probably. HOPEFULLY. Rebecca is one of my all-time favourites, so I hope you love that, and I was pleasantly surprised by Oliver Twist, even if I DID have songs from the musical stuck on a loop in my head the WHOLE TIME I WAS READING. I have Packing for Mars on my challenge list too, spookily in the exact same place as yours. :)
ReplyDeleteEveryone loves Rebecca - I can't wait to get to it! I actually started reading Wolf Hall earlier this year, but at that moment in time it didn't happen for me, it's not an easy book to get into I think, especially for someone with near zero prior interest to the Tudor business. However, I want to read it and to feel rewarded and stuff so I will definitely try again next year :)
DeleteOoh. Definitely have to read Packing for Mars, I've read no Mary Roach before and can't even begin how excited I am (also, Mars. Mars is just. Gotta read).
I'm thinking I might join in with this challenge, try and cut down the TBR pile! You have some brilliant choices. I'd be interested to see how you get on with Honour - I DNF'd it in the end, even though I was really looking forward to it. Good luck with the challenge!
ReplyDeleteOh noes - I hope I can get through Honour. I've neglected it for such a long time.
DeleteThanks Ellie!
I have three of your books on my list as well. Middlesex, Rebecca and The Kite Runner. I like your books and I'm looking forward to seeing what you think.
ReplyDeleteThat's a lot of the same books :) I'm very curious about all those three, but I think I'll read The Kite Runner first.
DeleteWow - what a great list! Rebecca and The Name of the Wind are both incredible!
ReplyDeleteI don't think I've seen a single person yet say anything bad (or mediocre) about Rebecca - my curiousity is through the roof! :)
DeleteOoh, the Pillars of the Earth is on my TBR list as well.
ReplyDeleteMiddlesex and The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet are both sitting unread on my shelves.
But I have read the Kite Runner and loved it.
Good luck.
So many people love Hosseini's books, so I feel a bit bad that I still have no idea how he writes - will fix this next year :) Thank you!
DeleteI actually loved his A Thousand Splendid Suns even more than the Kite Runner, maybe because it was focused on women. Haven't tried his others yet.
DeleteI actually have both of those books on the shelf, I just planned to start with The Kite Runner as it was published first. If I like it (why wouldn't I? I expect to like it), I will definitely read A Thousand Splendid Suns after that!
Delete