No time like the present to set a reading goal for next year. I commit to read 50 books from my TBR pile in 2009.

#1 - Snowy Night with a Stranger is my first book from the pile. Added on 11/07/08, I completed it yesterday. This is an anthology with three holiday love stories by Jane Feather, Sabrina Jeffries, and Julia London. I read it for the Sabrina Jeffries story, which is a continuation of the School for Heiresses series. All three were easy reads by excellent authors. The book is going to my friend, Robin, next. She is also reading the Jeffries series.

Message edited by its author, Jan 17, 2009, 2:43pm.

#2 - Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog is a recent addition to my TBR pile. I got it on 12/12/2008 and wanted to read it before I saw the movie. As a dog lover, I figured I would enjoy it but I didn't expect to finish it in one sitting. I laughed out loud through out the book and I cried at the end. This was truly a memoir that I could emphasize with and I vowed to value the time that I have with my dogs, and all of my loved ones, more in 2009. This book will be added to my bookshelf on BookMooch for trade.

Message edited by its author, Jan 17, 2009, 2:43pm.

#3 - Fearless Fourteen has been in my TBR pile since 06/17/2008, the same day it came out. After fourteen books, a new Stephanie Plum novel is a visit with old friends. I think I am in the minority, but I do believe the books have lost something in the last few editions. The sexual tension is gone, as is the suspense. The characters, however, are hilarious and earlier editions have made me laugh out loud. That is why I will continue to read them.

Message edited by its author, Jan 17, 2009, 2:43pm.

#4 - The Color Purple has been in my TBR pile twice. It was re-added on 11/14/2008. I have a rule with my TBR pile: if a book ends up there twice it gets read ASAP. I started this one on 11/16/2008 and finally finished it last night. I had seen the movie and the musical. I think that is why it took me so long to read the book. I thought I knew it all. I was wrong. Written as a series of letters from two sisters, it was very spiritual and very moving. We should all slow down and appreciate what God has created. I would strongly recommend it. Unfortunately this copy got caught by my puppy, it will be going to the recycle bin.

Message edited by its author, Jan 17, 2009, 2:42pm.

Hi, phyllisd!
I have a copy of Marley and Me in my TBR pile as well. Your comments make me want to read it soon! I think that your goal of reading 50 from your TBR pile is really admirable. Good luck with your reading challenge!
--BJ

Thanks! I don't know about you but I have more books than I can read in a year and I keep adding to it. I don't expect it to be any different in 2010 but at least I will have read the books that I've had the longest. I hope.

#5 - I just finished Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer. It had been in my TBR pile since 11/21/08. I had purchased all four books in the series as a set. I had held off reading the last one while one of my friends caught up but I finally decided to just go ahead and read it. What can I say that hasn't already been said? I think either you are a fan or you aren't. I enjoyed the series.

Message edited by its author, Jan 17, 2009, 2:42pm.

#6 - Confessions at Midnight by Jacquie D'Alessandro is out of the TBR pile and now posted to BookMooch. I have had it since 12/12/08. Actually, much to my shame, that was its second appearance in the pile. A friend finally convinced me that it was a must read. A good follow up to Sleepless at Midnight, this is a book of second chances. It is a story of a more mature romance. Still centering around the literary theme of this series, it also contains a mystery with an unexpected twist. A very entertaining read.

Message edited by its author, Jan 25, 2009, 5:08pm.

#7 - The Seduction of an Unknown Lady by Samantha James has been in my TBR pile since 05/22/2008. The third book in the series is being released this month and it looks really good so I decided I had better get up to date. This is my first series by this author and it was a very entertaining read: mystery and romance. At times I found the heroinnes hysteria to be a bit much but altogether it was a good read.

#8 - I just finished Ain't She Sweet? by Susan Elizabeth Phillips which has been in my TBR pile since 09/15/2007. A tragic romantic comedy, this book contained flawed characters, second chances, love triangles, and hard choices. I would highly recommend it.

#9 - One more out of the TBR pile where it has sat since 11/07/2008. Maya Rodale is a new and unique historical romance writer that I stumbled across on the website for Eloisa James. The Rogue and the Rival is the second book in her Negligent Chaperone series. In this book she makes the villian of her first novel, The Heir and the Spare, the hero. I'm always impressed with a writer that has the ability to redeem her characters and make it believable.

This novel also references a short story: a periodical with the character Darcy Darlington. To read that short story go to the author's website at http://www.mayarodale.com/bookshelf/darc....

#10 - Like No Other Lover by Julie Anne Long has been in the TBR pile since 11/07/2008. The online excerpt looked very promising and I got it the book though I was disappointed in the author's first book in this series. I found this book dragged as well in the beginning but it wasn't a bad ending. The hero had been courting another character, Lady Georgiana, most of the book. Since she was portrayed as a very sweet girl, it would have been nice to have some type of resolution to her situation instead of no confrontation or explanation.

Hi, Phyllis!
I had some books in my tbr for over 20 years, so last year I joined the tbr challenge to get some of them read. I can hardly believe that I had some books hanging around for that long unread! You are doing great with your reading. Have a great weekend!
--BJ

#11 - A Dangerous Love by Brenda Joyce has been in my TBR pile since 04/02/2008. The de Warenne Dynasty series are the only books I have read by this author and I have enjoyed every one. Once I started reading this book I did not want to put it down. My only regret is that there are no other books in the series to read and no plans for one according to her site. What is up with Alexi and Elyse? Joyce has left me wondering.

#12 - Another Brenda Joyce novel out of the TBR pile. I have had Promise of the Rose since 02/26/2008. I didn't think I would enjoy a medieval romance but I was wrong. I picked up this book because it was related to the de Warenne Dynasty. As usual the plot was complex and very entertaining.

#13 - I'm stuck on Brenda Joyce. Her books are all so unique and entertaining. My last book was Innocent Fire. In the TBR pile since 02/01/2008, it was my first Western Romance. Her books are not fairy tales. Bad things happen to good characters. Life isn't fair. This is the first in the Bragg series and I've already taken book 2 out of the pile.

#14 - Firestorm by Brenda Joyce is the second book in the Bragg Saga. Quite a change from the first book. Hard to believe that after everything that happened to her mother in Innocent Fire that her parents would dump their daughter, Storm, in the middle of San Francisco. I felt a great deal of sympathy for her. Aside from that it was a good read. On my bookshelf since 02/26/2008. I will continue to read the series.

Message edited by its author, Jun 6, 2009, 7:03pm.

#15 - To Catch an Heiress by Julia Quinn has been in the TBR pile since 01/16/2008. I am a huge Julia Quinn fan. Though this pre-Bridgerton book is not as polished as her recent work, she has a fabulous sense of humor. Her characters manage to place themselves in the most outrageous situations.

#16 - An unusual courtship is depicted in How to Marry a Marquis by Julia Quinn. In the TBR pile since 01/19/2008, this is the second and final book in her Former Spies Duo. Again, not as polished as her recent books but still an enjoyable read.

#17 - Fool For Love by Eloisa James is the second book in her first Duchess Series. The hero is the metrosexual Simon Darby who marrys a country girl, Henrietta Maclellan, with her own agenda. This book also continues the love story of Esme Rawling and Sebastian Bonnington with a very surprising, and romantic, twist. This book has been in my TBR pile since 08/25/2007.

#18 - A Wild Pursuit is my least favorite novel by Eloisa James. There really wasn't much to recommend the heroinne. Lady Beatrix Lennox seemed shallow and it was hard to buy the hero falling in love with her. Specially since that emotion seemed to come out of no where.

This novel did conclude the romance of Sebastion Bonnington and Esme Rawlings. Now that was an excellent story and made the book worth reading.

This book was in by TBR pile since 08/25/2007.

#19 - Violet Fire by Brenda Joyce is set in Mississippi following the Civil War. The heroinne is an activist and the hero, Rathe Bragg, is incredibly charming and smooth. Very fast paced, hatred is hard to fit in a romance novel but this one worked.

This book was in my TBR pile since 02/26/2008.

#20 - Just Imagine was the first solo novel by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and her only historical romance. If you are a fan of the author, as I am, my advice is to skip this one. It tries a little too hard. Thank goodness she switched to contemporary romance where she is the best.

This book was in my TBR pile since 04/21/2008.

#21 - On a Wild Night by Stephanie Laurens is Amanda Cynster's story. One of only two novels about a female Cynster. I enjoyed it. Her novels always come with a mystery and some humor.

This book was in my TBR pile since 04/21/2008.

I thought 50 books from my TBR pile was a conservative goal. Now I'm not so sure. With the purchase of the new house, I don't have as much time to read. Hopefully that won't last.