Stacy's 2019 TBR Challenge

Excited to be back for another year. This year I'm adding in a new type of book to my challenge - books that my dad loaned me. I have about 30 books on loan from my dad and I really need to get some of them back to him, especially since I've had most of them for over a year. The books are a nice mix of classics, mysteries, non-fiction, and sci-fi/fantasy. I consciously chose quite a few ebooks since I have a tendency to forget that I actually own them and they never get read. And of course I'm including my annual Dickens read as well. For fun, I'm also throwing in my very first Graham Greene novel since he's an author that gets much love from this group.

Primary List:

1. Hard Times by Charles Dickens (pre-2013)
2. The Comedians by Graham Greene (2017) - May
3. So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish by Douglas Adams (pre-2013) - January
4. The Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin (2015) - January
5. Camille by Pierre Lemaitre (dad) - July
6. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (2015) - Oct
7. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (2017) - April
8. Passage by Connie Willis (pre-2013 ebook) - April
9. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (2016) - March
10. The Guns of August by Barbara Tuchman (pre-2013 ebook)
11. Whiskey Rebels by David Liss (pre-2013 ebook)
12. The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (pre-2013) - August

Alternative List:

1. The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls (dad) - Jun
2. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (dad) - May
3. Civil to Strangers and Other Writings by Barbara Pym (2015) - February
4. The Nonexistent Knight and Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino (2015) - May
5. Confucius: And the World He Created by Michael Schuman (2015)
6. Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut (2016) - May
7. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (pre-2013 ebook) - July
8. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (pre-2013 ebook)
9. Lush Life by Richard Price (pre-2013 ebook)
10. Islands in the Stream by Ernest Hemingway (pre-2013)
11. Poems of Emily Dickinson by Emily Dickinson (pre-2013) - April
12. The Great Bridge: The Epic Story of the Building of the Brooklyn Bridge by David McCullough (2015)

Read: 16
Remaining: 8

Nice list! I also enjoy Graham Greene, and I haven't heard of that one. I thought The Remains of the Day was outstanding. And I've been wanting to read 1Q84 for a while now. Wishing you a great year of reading!

Nice! If someone handed me your list and said 'you gotta read these this year', thrillers aside (not my thing) I'd be happy to do it.

Re books your dad loans you: are they books that you chose from his collection and asked to borrow? or is it more like, he said these are really good and you oughta read them?

This is my Bleak House year, so we'll be dividing ways on the Dickens path. I do hope/expect you'll like Greene, though I haven't read that one. Douglas Adams and Charlotte Bronte are threatening to become trendy in 2019. Ishiguro and Tuchman are in my future, haven't sampled them yet. I went on a Hugo streak in university that included Hunchback.

Hurray for Calvino, I'll have one by him too! I read a novel this year about Lao Tzu that included Confucius as a character. I have that Murakami on my shelf, it looks like a big undertaking. Brooklyn Bridge construction is a great topic, I remember a National Geographic article on the subject that was very interesting.

>2 billiejean: - Thank you! I'm looking forward to finally trying something by Greene as well as getting to Remains which I can't believe I haven't read before now. 1Q84 is a return book to the list from my 2016 challenge I think - really hoping I actually read it this time.

>3 Cecrow: - That's high praise! Thank you for that. I tried to keep the thrillers out since that is the easiest thing for me to read, however a few snuck on the list, mainly because I've had them for so long and really would like to finally read them.

For the most part the books from my dad are book he really liked and thought I might enjoy. It's funny, he loaned a lot of them to me after he retired and had started reading quite a bit more than he used to. Now the he has more time to read he finds himself swamped with books and doesn't really want me to loan him books. He also doesn't loan me as many either since he realizes that we both have way more to read than we could possibly get to. Now I know if it comes from him it must really be good.

Bronte wasn't on my original list, however as I was setting it up yesterday I realized that I was severely lacking in female authors so swapped out a couple of titles before officially posting. Something about seeing the list on the screen made it obvious.

I usually enjoy Calvino so am interested to see which one you have on your list. Maybe since 1Q84 is an ebook it will help me forget what a big book it is. lol.

>1 LittleTaiko:
Nice list!

Hard Times I read a few years ago for this challenge -- it was short and dragged its feet only occasionally. Hunchback is awesome in its gothic and cinema-esque dramatic imagery. The Professor is short, and fun, if you can get over that smug 19thc English way of "we own a quarter of the globe and will naturally look down upon everyone else."

In terms of the ten or so authors on your list that I've read (but not this particular book): I'm curious to see what you think of Greene, who is a recent-ish discovery of mine, but who I like a lot as a word-smith. Murakami I've given his three chances, and I don't think I will ever read him again. Calvino is zany meta-lit, and, imho, great fun. Tuchman writes such lucid prose that her non-fiction reads like a page-turner.

Great list! I look forward to reading your thoughts on many of those.

1. Death of Achilles by Boris Akunin (3 stars)

Overall I enjoyed this despite not having read anything else in the series. Fandorin is a diplomat and detective who has returned home to Russia after having spent several years in Japan. He's known as a man who can get things done and it was intriguing to see his thought process as he worked through various issues of the case. My biggest problem was with how this book was set up. The first section is all about Fandorin and the case. Then boom, you are hit with section two which gives you the tedious back story of the villain before retelling key events through his eyes. The third section is the resolution. While it was quite interesting to see the two sides to the case, the sudden shift in perspectives really took me out of the story.

Woo for all of us annual Dickens readers! hahaha. Greene is so excellent. Haven't read that one yet, though I have a lovely old copy on the shelves! ;P Hitchhiker's series is good, but by the time I finished the 3rd I was ready for it to be done, lol, didn't enjoy 4 & 5 nearly so much as 1 & 2; perhaps if I'd spread them out more I'd have enjoyed them more. Anything Brontë is always an excellent choice; I only have Shirley left of them, so sad! hahaha.

Have you read Ishiguro before? He's one I really need to pick up sometime, much praise surrounding him, but somehow I keep managing not to acquire any! lol.

>7 LittleTaiko: I read the first of the Fandorin books a handful of years ago, I remember I quite enjoyed it. But, naturally, being overfull on books, I never wound up going off and acquiring more of the series, lol.

2. So Long, And Thanks For All the Fish by Douglas Adams (4 stars)

Another funny installment in the Hitchhikers series. Lovely to see Arthur get his shot at happiness and Ford Prefect continued to delight.

>8 .Monkey.: - I do think spacing out the Hitchhiker books did help as the being in that environment for too long would get old.

I'm looking forward to reading The Professor this year. I will have Shirley and Villette left to complete all things Bronte. No, I've never read Ishiguro before but like you I've heard so many good things about him. Hopefully he doesn't disappoint.

Good to know about the Fandorin. That's pretty much how I felt. I enjoyed it but have no compulsion to rush and out and buy anything else in the series. Way too many other books on my shelf that need my attention!

I've been glancing at the Hitchhiker book, but I will try to finish one of the ones I have started first. I really enjoy those books, though.

3. Civil to Strangers and Other Writings by Barbara Pym (4 stars)

I say this every time, but oh how I do enjoy a Pym novel, or in this case a couple of novellas and some short stories. These are all pure Pym with the small village setting, relationship intrigue, vicars, potlucks, etc...One story managed to combine that with a spy plot that was a hoot.

I've been slowly plugging away at my Emily Dickinson poems and trying to read a few a week. It's been a delight to explore her works. Next up is either Remains of the Day or The Nonexistent Knight and Cloven Viscount.

>12 LittleTaiko:, I keep hearing about this Barbara Pym; sounds a little too tame for me, but I may have to sample her at some point to satisfy my curiosity.

Ishiguro or Calvino - that's a tough decision!

She is definitely tame and not much really happens in her books but I still love them for some reason. I think it's because she really depicts human nature so well.

It is a tough decision but I'm leaning towards Ishiguro right now since I've been wanting to read this book for quite some time and just kept putting it off for some unknown reason.

4. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (3 stars)

Well, I can see why lots of people might love this book but this is not the book for me. It was excruciatingly slow, full of lots of descriptions and thoughts which found me skimming quite a bit. When the narrative came back to the heart of the story I did find myself enjoying this look at societal changes through the eyes of a man who I doubt has ever been in touch with his emotions. It helped that I kept picturing Carson and Mrs. Hughes from Downton Abbey in the place of Stevens and Miss Kenton.

Emily and I are still hanging out on a weekly basis so that's coming along slowly. I do believe my next challenge book will be The Comedians by Graham Greene. Hopefully I'm not putting too much pressure on Greene since everybody here adores him. :)

>16 LittleTaiko:
Good luck!

I'm not familiar with that Greene book, so I had a brief look at some of the reviews. Looks like it's going to be a challenging one. And so I repeat: Good luck!

Greene does a pretty great balance between impressive writing and telling an entertaining story, and none of his work is overlong; hopefully it works for you.

5. The Professor by Charlotte Bronte (3 stars)

While it's easy to see that this is Bronte's first novel, there are a lot of flashes as to the writer she would become. The book starts off quite slowly with William Crimsworth taking entirely too long to figure out his path in life. Once he was settled in as a teacher in a Belgium school the story became a bit more interesting. There is interest in the head of the girls school and then his attentions to his favorite student, Frances Henri. William is a bit of an ass as he's completely taken with himself and scornful of pretty much everybody else. Frances is the real start of the story. Granted her transformation from meek, poor, student to an outspoken feminist was a bit quick, but at least it made her interesting.

I was contemplating reading Welcome to the Monkey House next, but with today's events in Paris, I think I'll pick up The Hunchback of Notre Dame instead. Never fear, Greene is still one of the next up. I just got distracted by some other books.

>20 LittleTaiko:, wow, quite the coincidence for you isn't it? I've had a milder encounter, reading about Samuel Pepys hearing Notre Dame was a site worth visiting when he was in Paris, circa 1670.

6. Poems by Emily Dickinson (4 stars)

Dickinson's poems reminded me a bit of Mary Oliver's, or I suppose that I should say that Oliver reminds me of Dickinson. Both write quite a bit about nature and love. They also have a similar style using as few as words as possible. There were quite a few poems that I loved. Here's one for book lovers.

A Book

He ate and drank the precious words,
His spirit grew robust;
He knew no more that he was poor,
Nor that his frame was dust.
He danced along the dingy days,
And this bequest of wings
Was but a book.
What liberty a loosened spirit brings!

Just when I think I'm going to read one book, all of a sudden I find myself reading something else. Fully intended to read a few other books on my list first but somehow or other this one called out to me. It's only been on my shelves (well e-shelves) since before 2013 so I'm not sure why now was it's time but there you have it.

7. Passage by Connie Willis (3 stars)

Connie Willis has been one of my favorite authors for quite some time and while this isn't one of my absolute favorites of hers I still enjoyed it quite a bit. Joanna is working with people who have experienced NDE's (near death experiences). She teams up with another doctor who can simulate the experience for volunteers allowing the doctors to gather data on what might happen when dying. When they lose one of their volunteers, Joanna offers to go through the simulation. Each time she goes under she gets more information and starts to discover something disturbing. The concept was quite intriguing and while I don't think I buy into the theory they come upon, it's still creative. It has lots of frantic running around, a very precocious sick little girl, and dated technology. Pagers were apparently quite the thing when this book was written. Plus Blockbuster Video stores were still going (which made me smile since I used to work for them almost 20 years ago).

>23 LittleTaiko:, the title, cover and tags all suggest the Titanic figures in this story, but there's nary a review that mentions that. I guess it's a minor element?

>24 Cecrow: - Actually it's not that minor of an element, but I wasn't sure whether it would be considered a spoiler or not. However since discussion of the Titanic does take up a good portion of the book it really wouldn't be a spoiler. You can tell that she was inspired to write it due to all of the hype around the movie that came out a few years prior to her book. She pokes quite a bit of fun at the movie along the way.

8. The Nonexistent Knight and the Cloven Viscount by Italo Calvino (4 stars)

These two novellas are aptly named as they completely identify the main characters in each story. The nonexistent knight is a suit of armor who servers under Charlemange and is the most perfect of knights in his actions. When he discovers that the actions that made him a knight might not be true, he sets off to track down the virgin he saved in order to prove his worth. He is followed by his squire who may be the most inept squire ever, a young impressionable knight wanna be, and a female knight who has the hots for the nonexistent knight. The story is narrated by a nun who takes us through these amusing and improbably escapades. I loved this story so much.

The second story is of the cloven viscount who found himself in that situation after being split exactly in half during battle. One half of the viscount returns home where it soon becomes clear that this half is the evil half. Eventually, the other half returns home as well and overwhelms people with his goodness. When the two halves fight a duel to win the hand of a young lady things come to an unusual end.

Both of these stories have Calvino's subtle unique sense of humor that appeals to my funny bone.

Still working on The Hunchback of Notre Dame and have also returned to The Comedians both which I'm finally settling into and enjoying. I also started Welcome to the Monkey House since it's a collection of short stories and easy to pick up to read just a story or two.

>26 LittleTaiko:, I need more Calvino in my life! Fortunately I have Cosmicomics coming up soon, but that one sounds great too.

9. The Comedians by Graham Greene (3 stars)

My first introduction to Greene's novel turned out to be a nice solid story though maybe just a tad slow. Set in Haiti during the early 1960's, life is a bit grim for the people living there. Papa Doc is in charge with his squad the Tonton Macoute harassing and killing people for political reasons. Into this turmoil come three men, Brown (our narrator), Smith (the Presidential candidate), and Jones (the unknown factor). They met on the ship into Haiti and find their paths crossing throughout the course of the book. Brown is a cynic who has some trust issues with his mistress. Smith and his wife are relentless optimists who aren't afraid of a little realism though. Jones starts to reveal his true self throughout the course of the book. The Smiths were my favorite characters in the book with their determination to do what they think is right. There were a lot of wry observations and lines that showed what a skilled writer Greene was. I look forward to trying more of his books in the future.

>28 Cecrow: - I completely agree about needing more Calvino in life. Luckily I have The Path to the Spiders Nest on my shelf as well as his Italian Folktales. The folktales is quite the large volume though so it's going to take me quite some time to get through all the stories. I've only read a handful so far and need to get back to chipping away at it.

>29 LittleTaiko:, glad you got a good first impression of Greene. I've a third of his still waiting on my shelf that I need to get to, and maybe more will follow.

10. Welcome to the Monkey House by Kurt Vonnegut (5 stars)

This was an amazing collection of creative short stories. I enjoyed every single story though All The King's Horses might have been my favorite one. The concept of a high-stakes chess match with real people as the chess pieces was quite powerful. He touches on themes of war, love, and aging. They were at times funny, bittersweet, or thought-provoking. Loved it!

>32 LittleTaiko:, another author I haven't gotten to yet but I'm looking forward to it.

11. Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier (4 stars)

I feel like I may be the last person to have read this book. The movie was a vague memory but I remembered enjoying it. The story of the young maid Griet who starts working for the Vemeers didn't necessarily have a lot of action but I just really had a hard time putting the book down. It was so easy to get caught up in their world and Griet's troubles and hopes.

>33 Cecrow: - I've only read a couple of things by him but have enjoyed them all so far. This one was my favorite though.

12. Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls (4 stars)

Finally read this memoir years after it became famous. What struck me about her story was that while her parents definitely had some serious issues, there was a feeling of love throughout her story. It really drove home the fact that you can't tell what somebody is really like based on appearances.

So, I find myself at the halfway point which should be encouraging if it weren't for the fact that all the rather long books are still unread. At the rate I'm going those will be the books remaining towards the end of the year. :)

Next up will be Camille by Pierre Lemaitre and probably Hard Times by Charles Dickens. Still working on The Hunchback of Notre Dame and have also started The Given Day, but they are both ebooks and I just haven't quite gotten into a good reading rhythm with them.

>37 LittleTaiko: I hear you about the long list. I've only completed 4 of my own list lol Still plenty of time to make progress :)

13. Camille by Pierre Lamaitre (3 stars)

What a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy. Camille Verhoeven, Paris police commandment, is starting to move on from the events of the first two novels and has started dating a woman name Anne. When Anne is brutally attacked during a robbery, he manages to get the case assigned to him. Events in his life start spiraling out of control from there. I loved the character of Camille even when I was mentally chiding him for going off the rails a bit. The author did a nice job of tying the three books together. If you like your thrillers seriously dark then I would recommend this one and it's best to read them in order, Irene, Alex, and then Camille.

Not sure what I'll be reading next from the list. Most likely Hard Times - it's made it into the stack of books I may bring with me on the plane tomorrow. It's an 8 hour flight so I'm bringing several just to make sure I'm covered. Of course I should also try to make more headway with The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Given Day as I while away the hours with not much else to do. :)

>40 LittleTaiko:
Happy reading!

Hunchback has a few long-ish chapters where Hugo opines on stuff (like the printing press) and describes 1480s Paris. You can skip those, if you want. They add couleur locale, but aren't properly necessary for the book. A bit like the whaling chapters in Moby-Dick -- they add a style, a perspective, something that would otherwise be lacking -- but you don't have to force your way through them if you're not into them.

14. The Given Day by Dennis Lehane (4 stars)

This was a well written and gripping novel that is the first in a trilogy. Set in Boston at the end of WWI it captures the social and political tensions of the city. It has a family saga, Babe Ruth, and even worked in the great molasses flood.

>42 LittleTaiko:, so that's a yes to reading the rest of the series?

Definitely!! I already own the next book in the series. If I don't get to it by the end of the year, then you can be guaranteed it'll be on my challenge list for next year.

15. Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo (2 stars)

I finally had to call it quits halfway through this book. It just meandered so much that I grew tired of waiting for something to actually happen. I cheated and read the recap on wikipedia and feel like I now know everything I care to know.

If you like long descriptive passages about architecture and history then you'll probably enjoy this. It just doesn't work for me and my reading temperament.

Haven't read Hugo in a long time, but I seem to remember he has this problem.

I persevered with Hunchback, as with Phantom of the Opera, and enjoyed both. I read Hard Times before Bleak House this year, since it was shorter, but found both awfully funny at times. Not at all what was expected. His satire squeaks! I have 4 or 5 Dickens to go, perhaps next year. Drood I hope to get to in December.

I have 8xGraham Greene waiting for me, since I've read nothing yet by him. I only knew of the actor until last year! Then along came Orson Welles and his film noir piece, which I still haven't seen, but it made me dig into the authorship. Et voila. I have Emily Dickinson's poetry collection on Kobo/ebook. Many of your others look captivating, ie. Remains of the Day. I also got through another Hemingway earlier this year, The Torrents of Spring, and preferred Anne and Emily to Charlotte, but she had longer to pursue her craft. Still, tragic fate for the whole clan. =(

Just checking in to say that yes, I'm still here and haven't given up on my list. Also to share that in a fit of ridiculousness, I already have my 2020 list ready to go. I'm not posting it anytime soon just in case I actually read one of them before the end of the year or change my mind, but I have a hunch that's it a fairly set list at this point.

>48 LittleTaiko:, what, it took you that long to make it? Had mine ready weeks ago, lol. Although, I'm grumpily placing question marks next to several entries while noting I'll have to make room for some of this year's leftovers.

>49 Cecrow: - Whew! I feel better now. Not only do I have the list, but I've actually pulled all the books off the shelf and put them on their own special shelf. You're better than me about carrying over the leftovers. I doubt I'll carry over anything even though I probably won't read my entire list this year. We'll see.

16. A God in Ruins by Kate Atkinson (3 stars)

I regret that I didn't read this sooner after Life After Life since the events overlap in many spots. The bits with the younger version of Teddy and Ursula were the strongest. The portions with his family were tedious at points.

Think I'm running out of steam with this list for some reason. I do anticipate finishing Hard Times this year but am not sure I'll manage the rest. Still a good showing overall I suppose.

Since the primary challenge is to finish 12 books, I'd say you've done great :)