BBleil's Books Off The Shelf Challenge

Well ever since I started using Librarything.com, my To Be Read Shelf has grown exponentially. It only makes sense that I use this group to reduce its size!

As I read books from the library, for my book club and books that I buy to read immediately, I'm going to shoot for 12 books off my shelf that don't come from any of those sources. Here we go!

1. Buffalo Soldier by Chris Bohjalian (4 stars)
2. The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty (not finished, 2 stars)
3. The Road by Cormac McCarthy (2 1/2 stars)
4. Fingersmith by Sarah Waters (4 stars)
5. The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue (not finished, 2 stars)
6. Seeing Me Naked by Liza Palmer (3 stars)
7. A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (4 stars)
8. The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett (3.5 stars)
9. Anne Frank Remembered by Miep Gies (3.5 stars)
10. The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (4.5 stars, 2nd reading)
11. Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (4.5 stars, 2nd reading)
12. The Transformation of Things by Jillian Cantor (2 stars)

Best of luck with the challenge, BBleil!

Thanks staffordcastle!

You go, BBleil.

The Rest of Her Life by Laura Moriarty

I didn't really care for this and skimmed two-thirds of it. Librarythings's "Will You Like It?" steered me wrong on this one. The mother, Leigh, wasn't a fun person to be inside of as I didn't like her personality or tone. She seemed kind of whiney and selfish. I think the author was attempting a true reality of how a family would react to a life-changing moment, and I guess she met her objective. It just wasn't enjoyable to read.

As this book is now off my shelf, I will include it in the challenge. Two books off the shelf in January and I'm ahead of the game!

Fingersmith by Sarah Waters

I finally got to this one. It's been on the top of my TBR list for a long time, but kept getting pushed back for one good reason or another. Very good! I recently read The Forgotten Garden and this book falls in that same vein of British gothic novel. The end of the first part just about floored me with the shocking turn of plot. This is a must read!

Only 2.5 stars for The Road? Can't believe it, I thought it a brilliant book! Do agree Fingersmith 4+ stars.

#7 Stilestrider

Oh The Road is an excellent book, well written with a wonderfully constructed tone. I just didn't enjoy it at all. And because I wouldn't really want to recommend it, I rated it a 2.5 stars. I'm glad you enjoyed it! It is brilliant, I agree.

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I would have thought The Road might have got more considering you think it 'an excellent book'. I was disappointed in The Lovely Bones which you have in your library yet still gave it 4.5 stars. It was so welll written but the author seemed to give up on the book near the end (I see you gave it 3*). I see in your library also you gave Animal Farm (a satire on Communism) 1* and 1984 (such a thought provoking book on where society is heading) 2* - harsh ratings indeed for such great books!

Overall, I think my ratings are for me and represent how much I enjoyed the book. A book can be well written with excellent execution of style, but in the end, if I didn't really enjoy reading it, I'll give it a lower rating. If I was giving two ratings, such as a rating for enjoyment and one for technical merit, many of the books in my collections could have wildly different ratings. For Animal Farm and 1984, I read those books in high school which was more than 15 years ago. If I read them again, a more recent and mature rating could be higher. I don't know. Thanks for the interest in my opinions!

The Mercy of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue

I couldn't get into this one at all. The narrator is a ghost, and as I'm not a fan of ghost stories generally, it has to be really good to keep my attention. The reviews were good here on LT, so others may like it.

2 stars

A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly

This is a young adult and historical fiction novel. The heroine is coming of age and struggling with deciding on the farming life that is chosen for her in upstate New York or making her way to New York City and writing. She loves words and books and references many of my favorite authors and novels: Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte. The plot revolves around her life but also features a mysterious death of a young lady staying at a resort in which the heroine works (true story). I highly recommend this book!

4 stars

Hey! I completed the challenge! Next year, I think that I will increase the goal to 20 books.

Bravo, BBleil! Congratulations!

Congrats on finishing!

Congratulations on getting those books off your shelves!

Thanks everyone!