foggidawn takes on the TBR pile

Great idea for a challenge! I've been picking at my TBRs for the past few months, but this will help keep me on track. I'm planning on reading 25 owned-unread books by the end of 2010 (possibly more, depending on how it goes -- I'll re-evaluate when I get to 25). I just looked though my "To Read" collection, and it looks like a good mix of stuff.

Welcome to the group! A good mix is helpful. I looked at my pile and saw they were pretty much all "good for me" books. I went back and mixed in some novels and biographies. I'm looking forward to seeing your posts.

PS--I really like your nickname. It creates an instant word picture.

Good luck!

*sigh* Now to organize my books so I can actually find these TBRs . . .

Well, so far I have one book AWOL -- I thought I'd read How Six Found Christmas, which I picked up at a book sale a while back, but I have no idea where it's wandered off to. Maybe I will be able to unearth it tonight. It's a children's story, and it should be a fast read if I can track it down. . . .

ETA: Ha! Found it! Will probably read it tonight.

(1 of 25 read)

In the meantime, I had a long drive yesterday, so I listened to the audiobook of Tuck Everlasting. I own it in print and had been meaning to read it for some time, so now I have "read" it and removed it from my "To Read" collection! One down!

I enjoyed Tuck Everlasting -- I think I watched the movie version some time ago with some kids I was babysitting, but I couldn't remember much about the story beyond what one can read on the book jacket. It's a quick listen (3.5 hours) and I'm guessing an even quicker read. I won't post any spoilers, but it makes for an interesting and yet accessible discussion of immortality for kids -- not too heavy on the message, but enough there to make you think.

(Edited in the hope of getting the touchstone to work.)

(1.5 of 25 read)

I finally found and read How Six Found Christmas. I gave it three stars -- it was all right, but not exactly a new holiday favorite. It was also such a short read (more of a wordy picture book than a novel) that I almost hesitate to count it for this challenge! Maybe I'll finish a book that I started at some point and call it even. . . . :-)

(2.5 of 25 read)

All right -- one more knocked off the TBR mountain before 2009 ends! I read Gods of Manhattan, a fairly recent addition to the TBR pile, and a recommendation by another LT member. It was good but not great read -- it doesn't make me want to go on to read the rest of the series. The premise is pretty cool, though: famous historical residents of Manhattan become gods of various aspects of life in the city (everything from Justice to Good China), and only certain humans ("lights") can see the gods and other supernatural beings.

Way to go foggi! Thanks for letting me know about this group and great to see that you're off to such a good start!

(3.5 of 25 read)

Today I finished The Boyfriend List by E. Lockhart. I liked it a little better than I was expecting -- from the cover copy, I thought it would be something like the Georgia Nicholson series, which I do not care for. However, I like Ruby Oliver a lot better, despite the fact that she's just a tad boy-crazy, with some teenage angst thrown in. I might even continue reading the series some day, if only to see who she ends up with next. . . .

First, though, I'm going to find either another short read, or a book I abandoned halfway through, so I can knock off that annoying half-book from my count! ;-)

(4 of 25 read)

I've had M is for Magic on my shelves since before it was published (I picked up an advance copy at a conference). I started reading it once or twice, but always had something more compelling that came along. That's the problem with short stories, for me -- they're very easy to sit down. I did enjoy them, once I gave them my full attention. Apart from the story "The Witch's Headstone" (later published as part of The Graveyard Book) which felt like the most polished story in the book, my favorite story was "Chivalry," about a little old lady who finds the Holy Grail at an Oxfam shop.

>11 foggidawn: I snagged the variant version of M is for Magic with Gahan Wilson art and then promptly forgot about it. I've never read Gaiman's other anthologies, so the stories will all be new to me. Thanks for the reminder!

#11 - I'm a huge Gaiman fan but I always liked his novels more than his short stories...but then I realized I always like novels in general more than short stories. "Chivalry" sounds great though and I might check out the book just to see what Gaiman would do with that premise! :)

Ack! I just acquired (as I knew I would) a whole slew of owned-but-unread books. (I haven't even entered them in LT yet, as I'm traveling.) I'm only counting books that I owned before I started this challenge in my count here, though I will probably read several of these new ones before I get back to reading the old ones.

And now you have a start on next years Off the Shelf Challenge!

Funny how discovering/acquiring new books is now something of a bittersweet event - Hooray for new books but tears for the TBR list that will never be eliminated. ;)

(5 of 25 read)

I took a break from reading all of my new stuff and read The Demigod Files -- a quick read, just a few short stories and such. It's a companion to the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and I didn't get a copy until after the fifth (and final) book in the series was released. After reading the series conclusion, I didn't really feel like going back and picking up the short stories, which fall somewhere in between the fourth and fifth books. It was a fun read, but I wish I'd had it on hand in time to read it sequentially with the other books in the series.

It will probably be a while before I get around to reading any more TBRs, as I have an Early Reviewer, some library books, and a few other things that need to be read before I can pick up anything else from the TBR mountain.

(6 of 25 read)

This evening I was relaxing on the sofa and grabbed the unread book closest to hand, which was Lily B. on the Brink of Cool. It was all right, not great -- diary-style misadventures of a 13-year-old girl. I bought the book second-hand and will probably pass it along now, as I don't see myself ever reading it again.

(7 of 25 read)

Moving right along! I finished The Tygrine Cat today -- another one that wasn't particularly inspiring and will be leaving my shelves. I see this as a good thing, though, considering my current shelving crisis: every book weeded is one less book stacked in piles in the corners of my study!

(8 of 25 read)

Over the weekend I read 21 Proms, a young adult short story compilation. The stories varied in quality, of course, but none really stood out as excellent to me, in spite of the fact that several of the stories were by authors I generally like. Perhaps it's just that, not having gone to a typical high school with a prom, I don't have that personal connection to the subject matter. Anyhow, it's another book that will be moving off my shelves, as I'm unlikely to want to reread it. Yay!

(9 of 25 read)

Just finished off another one: You Are So Undead To Me. Chick lit with zombies, fairly cheesy, but for those who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing that they like, I suppose. There were too many holes in the plot to suit me. Another one off the shelf!

(10 of 25 read)

Over the weekend I read The Landower Legacy, which I picked up at a thrift store a few years ago out of sheer nostalgia (having read most of Victoria Holt in my early teens). It was much the same as her other works, but I didn't remember the plot, so I guess I didn't read everything she wrote back when I was reading her stuff. I also apparently forgot to add it to my LT catalog when I bought it, but it was unread and taking up shelf space, so I'm counting it!

Inspired by SugarCreekRanch . . .

February Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 18 (13/5)

Average rating: 3.78
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 2.9

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
The Beastly Bride: Tales of the Animal People
Wiff and Dirty George
Fablehaven
The Demon King
Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side
The Lost Conspiracy
Front and Center
Fablehaven: Rise of the Evening Star
Forever...
into the Wild Nerd Yonder
Leviathan
One of Those Hideous Books Where the Mother Dies
Princess Academy

Number of books acquired in February: 3 (not counting replacements for worn/damaged copies, which would bring the total up to 6)

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 129

I really like your idea of comparing average rating overall with average rating for this challenge. It's very telling....

#24 -- It either shows that I do a pretty good job of reading the books I'm going to like best first, or that I do an awful job of choosing books to take home with me!

. . . I do think that I picked some less-appealing ones from my TBR pile this month, and had some really excellent library books, etc., on the other hand.

(11 of 25 read)

The Dragons of Ordinary Farm had only been on my shelf for a little over a year -- I brought it home in late January 2009. It was all right, but not great. It reminded me of Fablehaven, but with more shifty characters. The basic plot was essentially the same: sister and brother go to a farm owned by an elderly relative, learn that the farm is actually a haven for mythical creatures, are told that the farm is dangerous and they shouldn't go exploring on their own, but the boy disregards this and gets in all sorts of trouble. The girl is more timid, but by the end of the book discovers that she has powers unique to herself, and she helps save the farm with them.

(12 of 25 read)

A few years ago I saw the movie The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and loved it. I've had the book for a while, meaning to read it, and I finally got around to it. I find that the movie, at least what I remember of it, stayed very close to the book. I do love the writing in the book -- I've only read three of Muriel Spark's novels (this, The Finishing School, and The Girls of Slender Means, but have enjoyed them all . . . so perhaps I should start tracking down the rest of her novels.

I can't imagine anyone other than Maggie Smith as Miss Jean! She had the Scottish accent down and the pursed lips and erect head are so proud and classy.

#28 -- Yes, I have to admit that the movie definitely messed with the way I pictured characters from the book, even when they were described as looking fairly different from their movie counterpart! And Maggie Smith is my hero.

I've been moving my books to a different room in my house, and I actually have all of my TBR books on shelves for a change now, instead of piled in corners! This should make it easier to get to the ones I want to read. As I was putting them on the shelves, I kept thinking, "Oh, I really want to read that! . . . and that! . . . and that! . . ." so maybe I will be inspired to do some more reading from my nice, organized shelves now. Of course, some of the things I was shelving are books I've picked up in 2010, so don't count for this challenge, but there were a lot of interesting books there that do count for this.

It's funny how just moving books around makes you want to read them, even if they've been sitting there for years! After I retire in June, I need to move off all the books in the front bedroom so that I can finally, after nearly 20 years, stain the bookshelves that were built in there lo these many years ago. I couldn't wait to load them up in the unfinished state, and there they sit.

*sigh* I just brought home a huge stack of library books . . . it may be a while before I read anything "off the shelf" again.

March Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 20 (18/2)
(I did not read a lot off the shelf this month -- as I said in my last post, piles of holds came in at the library, and they got bumped up the list. April should be better. Maybe.)

Average rating: 3.73
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 3.5

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
The Secret Garden (reread)
Very LeFreak
Shadowmagic
Stormbreaker
The Afterlife
Impossible
Point Blank: The Graphic Novel
A Proper Pursuit
Fablehaven: Grip of the Shadow Plague
Fablehaven: Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary
Mythbusters
Wake
Splendor
Scarlett Fever
Fat Cat
Firebirds Soaring
Something Fresh
Summer Lightning

Number of books acquired in March: 8

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 149 (This confuses me. If I read four books from my To Read collection, and only added eight books to my library this month, how can I have twenty more books in my "To Read" collection than I did last month? I must have found some unread ones that weren't marked to read at some point -- possibly when I was moving books around. Either that, or it is as we all suspect: the books are multiplying on their own.)

I had the same thing happen. My TBR shelf increased by 12 books, and I didn't remember buying that many! I think someone is playing an April Fool's on us!

(13 of 25 read)

Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm is mentioned as an early 20th century children's "classic" occasionally, so when I found a used copy a few years ago, I picked it up intending to read it. I finally read it -- and it was all right, but not great; not one I'll read again. There are a lot of similarities to Anne of Green Gables, which is a long-time favorite of mine -- but Rebecca lacks Anne's charm and spirit. AoGG was published a few years later than RoSF, and I'll admit that I wondered how much L.M. Montgomery was influenced by the earlier work. The opening scenes are so similar (little girl riding in a buggy driven by a taciturn older man, talking his ear off and completely charming him). There's the slightly dull best friend, the flair for reciting, the excitement of a visit to the city, the boarding-school days, the gruff maiden lady who has the care of the girl. . . . The story takes a Daddy-Long-Legs turn towards the end (I won't be more explicit than that, so as not to spoil either book for those who haven't read it), but with a slightly more open ending than that book.

In short, I'm glad to have read it, but as I said above, I won't read it again.

(14 of 25 read)

I'm on a roll! Two "off the shelf" in a row! This time I read The House of Djinn by Suzanne Fisher Staples. It had been on my shelf for a long time because it is the third in a series, and I had intended to read Shabanu and Haveli first. However, I finally just broke down and read this one to get it off my shelf. It takes place in modern Pakistan, so there's a good bit about the conflict between traditional values and modern ways of thinking. There's a slight fantastic element (the djinn, who mostly appear as flashes of light) but I don't think I'd really call this fantasy. It was an okay read . . . if I had read the earlier books, I might have been more excited to find out what happens to the characters, but it stands alone just fine.

(15 of 25 read)

I bought Being Bindy at a library sale last year. I didn't have particularly high expectations for it, so it was a pleasant surprise to find that I actually really enjoyed it! Fun novel with lots of humor interspersed with more serious issues. I was wishing I had a glossary of Aussie terms, though -- while I was familiar with some, others took some thinking out.

(16 of 25 read)

I read ttyl by Lauren Myracle, mostly to see what all of the fuss was about (it's frequently banned/challenged). The format makes it slightly annoying for a non-"internet native" to read (I'm in the last generation that didn't grow up constantly online), and the girls do get in all kinds of risque situations, so I can see why it's been challenged . . . but overall, I found it just okay. Not great, not terrible.

The email and texting language has really impacted kids grammar. I was helping a girl print out an application to our local junior college and was aghast that she had not capitalized our town's name! I tried to tell her gently that in the future, there is no reason to not capitalize the name, there is no use for the word uncapitalized.

April Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 24 (20/4)
- I just realized this isn't entirely correct, as many of the books I read that don't count for this challenge are not "new" to me. And some of them are "off the shelf" but haven't been there long enough to count for this year's challenge. Still, you know what I mean.

Average rating: 3.81
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 3.38

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
Boys, Bears, and a Serious Pair of Hiking Boots
Turtle in Paradise
She Walks in Beauty
Magic Below Stairs
A Love Story Starring My Dead Best Friend
One False Note
Dragonfly
Little House on the Prairie (audiobook, reread)
Tales from the Perilous Realm (audiobook)
Sierra Jensen Collection, Vol. 1
Sierra Jensen Collection, Vol. 2
Daddy-Long-Legs (reread)
The River Between
The Death-Defying Pepper Roux
The Dragonfly Pool
The Uninvited
Player's Ruse
The Blue Shoe
Beezus and Ramona (reread)
Fallen

Number of books acquired in April: 6 (All books I have read before and wanted to own -- no new TBRs!)

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 146

Yikes! Unless I get particularly inspired this weekend, I will not have read anything "off the shelf" for May!

Okay, I just squeaked one in under the wire:

(17 of 25 read)

Devil's Kiss by Sarwat Chadda -- too much blood and gore to really be to my taste, but it was recommended to me by an acquaintance, so I felt badly for not having read it.

May Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 14 (13/1)

Average rating: 3.79
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 3

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
Positively by Courtney Sheinmel
Madensky Square by Eva Ibbotson
Tongues of Serpents by Naomi Novik
The Halflife of Planets by Emily Franklin
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (reread)
Candor by Pam Bachorz
Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch
Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin
Fablehaven: The Keys to the Demon Prison by Brandon Mull
First Test by Tamora Pierce (audiobook, reread)
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch
Indigo's Star by Hilary McKay (reread)
Saffy's Angel by Hilary McKay (reread)

Number of books acquired in May: 3

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 146 (holding steady!)

I read a lot less than usual in May, and I don't really know why.

(18 of 25 read)

Being determined to read more "off the shelf" in June than I did in May, I picked up Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, another children's classic that's been sitting on my shelves for a while. It was a nice little story; it reminded me a lot of Louisa May Alcott's writing. I won't be hunting down the sequels, but I'm glad to have read this.

Oh, foggi - That was the very first chapter book I ever read. Got it for Christmas when I was 8.

I distinctly remember having trouble with "velocipede" and the use of "receipt" for "recipe." But I loved the story.

#44 -- I know! I never had a clear picture of what a "velocipede" was when I was little, though I know I ran across it in other books from that period.

(19 of 25 read)

I have finished another "off the shelf," though I am about to go to a conference this weekend, where I will almost certainly pick up more to put "on the shelf." Such is life. The book I just finished, The Extra-Ordinary Princess, was quite good, actually. The cover design does not do it justice. It doesn't particularly stand out from similar princess stories, but it's a fairly good read for elementary girls who still harbor a secret fascination with princesses.

June Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 18 (16/2)

Average rating: 4.08
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 4

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
The Blue Castle by L.M. Montgomery (reread)
Until Tomorrow by Robin Jones Gunn (reread)
Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer (reread)
The Rules of Survival by Nancy Werlin (reread)
Alchemy and Meggy Swann by Karen Cushman
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan
Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson (audiobook, reread)
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson (reread)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (reread)
Swim the Fly by Don Calame
Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delaney
A Coven of Witches by Joseph Delaney
I'll Mature When I'm Dead by Dave Barry
A Princess of Landover by Terry Brooks
Deerskin by Robin McKinley (reread)
What Happened on Fox Street by Tricia Springstubb

Number of books acquired in June: 25 (Yeowch! And this is actually not all, but I haven't had a chance to enter some of them yet, so they will go in July's acquisitions.)

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 160

July may be another rough month for my books off the shelf challenge -- I'm reading several of those June acquisitions, which helps lower my TBR number, but doesn't count for this challenge. I'm trying to be more intentional about writing reviews, as well, so feel free to check out my recent ones on my reviews page, if you are so inclined.

(20 of 25 read)

Finished The Fetch, an acquisition from early 2009 -- I wanted to be sure to get at least one off-the-shelf read done in July! It was somewhere between "all right" and "good" -- it dragged a bit, and I'm not a big fan of taking actual historical characters and dragging them into paranormal romance, but the writing was nice.

July Reading Summary:

Books read (new/off the shelf): 22 (21/1)

Average rating: 4.23
Average rating of books that count for this challenge: 3.5

Books read that do not count for this challenge:
(If I feel ambitious, I'll list these later. Otherwise, for the insatiably curious, they are tagged "read july 2010" in my catalog.)

Number of books acquired in July: 12

Number of books currently in my "To Read" collection: 160

(21 of 25 read)

I just discovered that Tales From Outer Suburbia apparently never got entered in to my LT library! Nevertheless, this weird little graphic novel/short story collection has been sitting on my shelf for over a year, so it counts! I enjoyed it -- quirky and fun. And I'm already working on my next TBR!

I really enjoyed Tales From Outer Suburbia. Did you read his earlier book, The Arrival? It's stunning.

#52 -- I haven't read The Arrival, but I'll have to look for it some time. Thanks!

I got a little off track with this challenge, but I'm back, and ready for some off-the-shelf reading! Hmm, what will be next? . . .

Welcome back. Like you, I've been reading mostly books acquired this year that do not count for this challenge.

(22 of 25 read)

Finally read The Revenge of the Shadow King, which had been on my shelves for quite some time. Not impressed. But hey, that makes a little bit more shelf space, right?

(23 of 25 read)

The Green Book by Jill Paton Walsh is a very short, pleasant sci-fi book for middle-grade readers, about a ship of colonists from Earth who make their home on an alien planet. I liked it -- and it's hard to find good sci-fi for that age group, so it's good to know about from a reader's advisory standpoint, as well.

(24 of 25 read)

I picked up a galley of Elvis and Olive at a conference. Galleys I pick up seem to fall into two categories -- either I anxiously anticipate reading them, and get them read before their release date, or they go on my TBR shelf and languish. If I could just figure out how to avoid picking up the second kind, it would be great! Sometimes a languishing galley will surprise me, and turn out to be a book that I really enjoy, but usually I find them somewhere between "poor" and "fair" -- which is just what happened with this one.

On the other hand, it looks like I will be moving before too terribly long, so each mediocre book I clear off my shelves is one less to have to pack, transport, and unpack!

(25 of 25 read!)

Whipping through some of these old galleys, I finished off My Dad's A Birdman by David Almond. I was not crazy about it -- then again, he's really hit-or-miss for me. I loved Skellig but hated Clay. I've cleared Birdman off my shelves.

Aaaaaannnnnddddd . . .

I have finished my challenge!!!

I'm not going to set a new goal for myself, as things could go a variety of ways at this point. Either I will continue to have lots of time to read some of these (literally) dusty books from my shelves, or I will be very busy and my reading time will dry up a bit. So, I'll just continue to count my off-the-shelf reads, and see how far I get.

(26 read)

Read Notes from a Liar and Her Dog, which was pretty good. It had a fairly unlikeable protagonist, though, and I got frustrated with her a number of times. I think that was pretty much the point, but still.

Congratulations! I've not been too good about pulling the books off the shelf lately--been reading all the new stuff or library books!

Congratulations on completing your challenge.

Bravo, foggidawn! Congratulations!

Here's hoping you still get some time to read :-)

Thanks, everyone!

(27 read)

Just finished The Rope Trick by Lloyd Alexander. I liked it, but I'm not sure what I think of the ending.

I liked it too, but agree the ending was...ambiguous? But it was fun getting there.

Congratulations, foggidawn! I just finished my challenge today. Feels good!

(28 read)

I am whipping through these slim middle-grade titles. Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen is definitely not Yolen's best work, but a fun little book all the same. It has a Harry Potter-like vibe, though it lacks the complexity of plot and characterization.

(29 & 30 read)

I read two very short books -- one, a children's book, somewhere between a picture book and a longer work, the other a graphic novel. Both were fairly mediocre. Jeremy: The Tale of an Honest Bunny was kind of cute, but felt like it might appeal more to adults than to children. The graphic novel adaptation of The Metamorphosis just didn't appeal to me. I didn't care for the art style, and the story itself is, of course, depressing. But that's two more books off the TBR pile!

(31 read)

I loved The Sherwood Ring by Elizabeth Marie Pope! I'm wishing I had read it sooner, and I'll definitely be seeking out her other works.

Unfortunately, there is only one other book, Perilous Gard. It's a retelling of the Tam Lin story set in Elizabethan times. Also quite good.

Agreed, both excellent! I was quite blessed in college to be one of her students. Miss Pope was a stellar teacher.

#71 -- Ah, that's the other one I knew of; I was just hoping that there were more. I'll definitely seek it out.

#72 -- Having known her, do you hear her voice when you read her books? One of my college professors has written a few books, and some turns of phrase are so typically his that it's almost as if he was reading the book to me!

>73 foggidawn:
Not really; she was a good enough writer that the voices of her characters were their own, not hers. But I do always remember her grin!

Congratulations on hitting your goal! Feels good, doesn't it?

(32 read)

I bought Bread and Roses, Too by Katherine Paterson at a book sale a while back. I enjoyed it very much, though it's not as earth-shaking as, say, Bridge to Terabithia or The Great Gilly Hopkins.

#75 -- Yes! Thanks! It does feel good to have hit my goal.

(33 read)

Another book sale find that had been languishing, The Ravenmaster's Secret was another good-but-not-great historical fiction for middle-grade readers. I'm of two minds about whether or not I should keep this one.

(34 read)

I bought Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick because I loved Notes from the Midnight Driver. Drums was very good, but Notes is funnier. I guess the subject matter of the former is more serious, despite the fact that the author tries hard to establish the main character's reputation as a funny guy. I did like it, and it's a keeper.

(35 read)

The World's Worst Fairy Godmother by Bruce Coville was a thrift store find some years ago. I was thinking it would be a quick read (which it was) and would then go in my yard sale pile -- but when I opened it, I discovered that it was actually signed by the author. Now I'm trying to decide if I want to keep it or not.

(36 read)

Today's lesson: don't judge a book by its cover. I think the cover of As You Wish by Jackson Pearce was what kept it languishing on my TBR shelves for so long. Turns out, it's an excellent light fantasy/romance, and I'm glad I picked it up!

I got distracted from off-the-shelf books by a sack of books loaned by my aunt, plus a few that need reviewing in a more or less timely fashion . . . but I'm hoping to clear one or two more off the shelf before the end of the year!

(37 read)

I finished A Whole Nother Story last night -- amusing and a quick read, but it felt too much like it was trying to imitate A Series of Unfortunate Events. Another one off the shelf!

"Dr. Cuthbert Soup"? Sounds very much like it was meant to imitate Lemony Snickett. That's a packaged name if ever I heard one.

(38 read)

Nick of Time had a decent plot with a lot of action, but I found the writing stilted and the dialogue artificial. Glad to have it off my shelf -- maybe I'll make it to 40 by the end of the year!

(39 read)

I finally finished Heroes of the Valley! I say "finally" so emphatically because it seemed to take me forever to get into the story. The ending was good, but it took at least a hundred pages before I was really engaged in the story. I had even started reading it once before, shortly after I got it, and put it down because it didn't grab me. It's by Jonathan Stroud, who wrote the fantastic Bartimaeus trilogy (and I'm so looking forward to the spin-off/prequel that's just coming out), and though it has some of the great humor and action of that series, its pacing is problematic enough that I probably won't reread it.

(40 read)

I was just browsing through my shelves for my next read, and realized that I read Silas Marner way back in late August, but forgot to post it here! I was thinking it was a pity that I hadn't tackled many unread classics this year, and remembered that I had read and enjoyed that one.

So, I made it to 40 for the year . . . and might pick up one or two more, especially if I find myself with some nice reading time during the week between Christmas and New Year. This has been a very enjoyable challenge, and I feel like I worked through several slightly dusty tomes that would have languished on my shelves indefinitely otherwise!

Yes, I think this is one of the most rewarding challenges. You can actually see the results in your shrinking TBR piles (unless you keeping adding to the stacks, like me.)

Congrats on finishing up the challenge!

There is no finish. Ever. But congratulations on reaching your goal!

Thanks, everyone!

I enjoyed doing this so much that I've started a new thread for 2011!