ca_dmv accepts this challenge

Oh my gosh...sooo many "friends" to meet and sooo little time. I confess...I have three bookcases in my bedroom filled (ok...overflowing) with friends TBR. I'm not as disciplined as my sister, only keeping enough books on hand that can be read in a single year.

Since I am already in a book club that meets Jan - Oct, I will commit to taking 14 friends out of those bookcases and complete them in 2010. (One of the book club books is on my shelf so I feel like I'm cheating a bit.)

This year (2009) I challenged myself to clean off a shelf that was double stacked. My "rules" were to pull them off in order and I had to decide...read it or give it a new home. If I started reading, I could apply the "50-page rule" and put it up for adoption. I am 10 friends away from clearing that shelf.

For this challenge, I will only list those that I actually complete. Since we can start now...

1. The Demon in the Freezer by Richard Preston
2. The Christmas Box by Richard Paul Evans
3. The Christmas Shoes by Donna VanLiere
4. The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve
5. Derailed by James Siegel
6. The Scribe by Francine Rivers
7. A Gentle Madness by Nicholas A. Basbanes
8. Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory
9. A Day with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory
10. Washington's Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser
11. A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley
12. The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat
13. Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks
14. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon
15. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa
16. If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub
17. A Choice to Cherish by Alan Maki

ca_dmv,
I respect your 50-page rule. It's very appropriate for "so many books, so little time". The only book I kept pushing on past the 50 pages and was glad I did, was The Poisonwood Bible.
Is there any significance to your screen name other than the obvious (to us Californians)?

The Poisonwood Bible is one of my best friends!!! I'm glad you stuck with it. The 50-page rule is something my mom, sister and I came up with to free us, in a guilt-free manner, from books we couldn’t connect with. I apply it loosely and I may go further if it is a long book. My sister on the other had is VERY strict in application of the rule.

Yes, ca is for California and "dmv" are my initials...I've taken much ribbing over those initials through the years. And one pretty good joke was played on me at my first job over those initials.

I am glad to see someone else has a page rule. This year I implemented the 100 page rule. It was hard for me because I'm such a completest but I did manage to stop reading 5 books this year before they sucked all of the life from me. In the past, I would just trudge through a crappy book ever so slowly and it killed my reading momentum. Not this year, I am at 125 books and I still have a few more books in me to finish out the year!

Wow...125 books and counting in one year. How do you do it??? I'm also one who use to trudge through books I didn't enjoy just because...since I started it, I felt like I HAD to finish it. Applying the 50-page rule has been very freeing.

I have 2 yr old that goes to sleep at 8:30 every night and a 4 month old that nurses alot so I have quite a bit of "free time" on my hands in the evenings. The 100 page rule has been freeing for me too. Otherwise, I would still be stuck in the middle of Mortal Love by Elizabeth Hand because I am one of those people that cannot read multiple books at once.

I can't read multiple books at once either. Now, my mom on the other hand normally has 3+ books going at one time. I don't know how she does it.

One down...whew...The next one is short but I know that my Jan book club book will slow me way down and I'll need to start reading it as soon as I open it on Christmas Day. Yes, I already know what I'm getting...books...more specifically, my books for my 2010 book club.

I can't believe I did this...here I am in the "Books off the Shelf Challenge" and what do I do??? I went to my favorite used bookstore and purchased 6 more friends!!! I even went in with a list of friends I wanted to meet to keep myself focused and from the list of 30+ friends, only 1 of the 6 was off the list!!! Ugh...I'm hopeless... =-O

Like me, you set a fairly modest goal--for this very reason. We just have to continually meet new friends! My objective for the challenge is that it will help me also value some of the old friends enough to read them in addition to the new friends.

CA - I hit three bookstores today and came home with 7 books for myself and 3 for my daughter! D**n those end of the year sales.
As a side note, my equally book-addicted friend and I found a most amazing Himalayan restaurant for lunch. Dee-lish!

If you only read 50 pages of a book, do you count it as "read"? I keep track of what I read each year (127 books in 2009), and finish each book I start. Not sure how I would count a partially read book? Am I obsessing?

A few years ago, my husband and I started commuting together and joined a book club. So, while he drives, I read aloud the book club selection for the month. I also have a book that I read alone, so it's usually two on the go at once for me.

I would be interested in how you count books that only made it to 50 pages. I have already had one this year and I just didn't mark it as read.

12 & 13 > I don't count the book as "read" but I will list the book in my library in the "Read but unowned" collection and have a tag called "50-page Rule" that I add to the book. (You won't find many in my library right now.) I came up with the tag before collections existed in LT. I will probably create a collection called "50-page Rule" so I can separate those books out from the books I actually completed.

12> What a great way to spend your commute time with your husband!! Who's idea was it to join the book club?

That is an excellent idea!!

** scampers off to start tagging books with "50 page rule" **

ca_dmv, joining the book club was my idea. We were having problems with reading the books, because my husband doesn't read much and needed pretty much the whole month to read a book. So, I'd read the monthly selection early in the month, then read six to eight more and then have to refer to notes to participate in the discussion. Meanwhile, he didn't even finish the book. And, the thought of buying two copies of the same book made him cringe. So, the reading aloud. Works perfectly. Takes us about a month to read a 400 page book, and we have a chance to disucss it along the way.

I don't mark them as read, but I undo the "TBR" tag and get rid of them.

Shhhhh...don't tell anyone but I just purchased 3 more books. Ugh...but really, it wasn't MY fault. I was meeting my friend and her daughter for dinner and had some time to kill so I went to B&N just to look (it's ok just to look!!!). Well, you see, they had that "buy 2 get 1 free" table setup...tauting me from a distance...just challenging me to come over...daring me to find 3 books to buy. Not only that, but I had this 15% off one item coupon that HAD to be used by the end of January. On top of that is the discount for being a member and one of three books WAS free so really, they cost partically nothing. Besides that, my PARENTS gave me a B&N gift card for Christmas, so it really wasn't my money that I spent. So that makes it OK, right?

So, not only have I wiped out what progress I have made with scaling Mt. TBR but I have effectivly raised the elevation by 6 books and it's only Jan 15!!!

I borrowed two books from the library on Saturday. Sigh! You are not alone. Sigh again!

I was just thinking--Man! I need this group! If it wasn't for this group, I wouldn't turn to the books on my shelf at all. There are always just so many new (or at least new to me) books coming to my attention.

I agree, Lois. At least this way, I force myself to read 2 books off my shelf at the beginning of the month. And add them to the teetering stack on my table....
So thanks once again for starting it up!

Whew...I finally finished Jonathan Edwards: A Life by George M. Marsden for my book club. There were times I wasn't sure I was going to make it but it felt good when I finished the last page. I've been contemplating which friend to pull out of the TBR bookcases and finally settled on The Last Time They Met by Anita Shreve. This is more of a relative than a friend (you don't get to choose your relatives) since I took this one from my mom after much pressure from her and my sister a few years ago. We'll see how it goes...

I continue to sail along...another friend off the shelf. I completed The Last Time They Met last night. It was average...3 stars. However, I LOVED the last paragraph of the book...5 stars for that portion. This friend will be returned to my mom.

I'm now back to reading a book club book, The Penny by Joyce Meyer & Deborah Bedford.

I completed my book club book for February so I'm back to the TBR stacks. I took Derailed by James Siegal off the shelf. My sister enjoyed this book and recommended it to me. Both my sister and I have a problem recommending a book to my mom that may have...hmmm, how can I put this delicately...an "adult" or R-rated scene or topic. So, when my sister recommended the book, it was with the "not-something-I-would-have-mom-read" warning label attached. The funny thing is, shortly after that conversation...my mom passed the book on to me after having read it and enjoying it as well. Obviously, mom does not have the same issue as her daughters!!!

Next BOTS, The Scribe by Francine Rivers. It's short (book club is just around the corner) and the last book in the Sons of Encouragement Series. I already have a place saved in my library. It will be nice to plug that hole. ;->

I forgot to mentioned that I enjoyed Derailed. In a nutshell…A “good” guy makes a VERY bad life choice and his life spins out of control. He is able to reconcile with his wife and “life” gives him an opportunity to start over. However, the bad choices catch up with him one final time. Good suspense…a page turner!!! Not a “best friend” but definitely a “good friend”.

Completed The Scribe last night. It can now join the other 4 in the series in my permanent library...the gap is finally filled. It was probably my favorite of the 5 books in the series with The Prince as probably a close second.

Next up will be my book club book for March, Travels with Charley. However, for the next couple of days, I'm going to pick up A Gentle Madness and read some more from that poor neglected friend.

A surprise BOTS entry…A Gentle Madness...woo hoo!!!. This book was about books, libriaries, and the people who love books…topics included how some of the great libraries got started, all things libraries (big and small, old and new, private and public), book collectors, book dealers, book thieves who stole for their collections not for profit, etc. Very interesting and informative but not something I was going to be able to read end to end without a break. So, it sat in my bed stand for a few years (quite embarrassing to admit) to be picked up between books. The Chapters were broken up into sections and most sections were complete in themselves. All sections in the chapter were on the same basic theme so it was easy to pick up at anytime as long as I stopped at the end of a section or chapter. Anyway, I found myself between finishing a BOTS and a book club book so I picked it up again. I had less than 100 pages left so I decided to finish it over the weekend…and I did!!! And since no good deed goes unpunished, I guess I will now pick up the “sequel” to this book…Patience & Fortitude.

I can't believe I got "stuck" on my book club book for March...Travels with Charley: In Search of America by John Steinbeck. I was expecting to LOVE it but didn't really bond with it until the last 75 (or so) pages. I think I was just VERY distracted (work and getting ready from my sister & brother-in-law's visit) and not in a "Steinbeck" place. I have enough time to complete a short BOTS book or two before book club book takes center stage again.

Well, I took a short book off the shelf that had been hanging out for a few years, Dinner with a Perfect Stranger by David Gregory. What an enjoyable read. A great primer on Christianity and the greatest gift any of us can receive. Very well written and easy to understand. As soon as I finished, I took the sequel off the shelf...A Day with a Perfect Stranger and I'm enjoying that one as well.

On deck is my book club book for April, Washington's Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser. It will be a two-fer since it's been on the shelf for a couple of years.

A Day with a Perfect Stranger was enjoyable but not as good as Dinner with a Perfect Stranger. I'm now on my book club book for April.

Only 5 more books and I'll hit my TBR goal for 2010. This challenge has helped to inspire me to read more off my shelf.

Bravo!

I finished Washington's Lady (Ladies of History Series #3) by Nancy Moser last night. Very enjoyable, lightweight historical fiction. I love reading about this time period of our country's history. As always, Nacy Moser writes about history through the eyes of the person who lived it. I really like how she ends her books with a "fact or fiction" section and points out what is indeed historical fact and where she took a writer's liberty to add to the story being told.

I'm now on to A Thousand Acres by Jane Smiley. This is how long I've had it on the shelf...on the cover it says..."Soon to be a major motion picture"...the movie came out in 1997!!!

I just finished A Thousand Acres. I'm not quite sure what to make of this book. It was not what I was expecting but that in itself is not a bad thing. I guess I wanted it to be more "real life"...of a farm being passed down to the next generation. The passing on of a farm and a farmer's life has enough drama without having to add sexual and physical abuse.

I completed my book club book for May, Blood Brothers by Elias Chacour. This book really made me rethink what I knew (actually how little I knew) about the plight of the Palestinians. I still don't believe that the violence is justified it has just opened my eyes to more of the underlying issues.

Anyway, I still have time left to slip in another book this month and my choice is The Boat Who Wouldn't Float by Farley Mowat. I've read his book Never Cry Wolf and I am anticipating a good read.

I love Mowat's books. Never Cry Wolf is on my short list of books I could not put down. I also read A Whale for the Killing which broke my heart.

Yikes...a broke-my-heart book...I have to be in the right mood to pick up one of those on purpose. Other than breaking your heart, was it a good read?

I finally found the courage to start entering my friends in my TBR stacks/bookcases into LT. This afternoon I completed one bookcase...104 books. *gulp* That bookcase had some of the larger volumes and smaller stacks sitting on top of the bookcase. Two more bookcases to go...I will be in denial no more. ;->

I've tagged some of the books with "On Loan from Mom" so that I can place part of the "blame" where it belongs!!! To be "fair", I'm only tagging those books that I did not ask mom to find for me and that I distinctly remember getting from my mom. I have no doubt some deserving books are going untagged.

A few years back, I found out that mom was passing on books she hadn't even read yet...simply saw something she thought I might like and picked it up for me. I finally had to put a stop to that and made a rule that mom could only pass on a book she had actually read!!! Otherwise, I would have been buried in books...not a bad way to go mind you...

My sister is reviewing books on Amazon...she's doing a great job if I may say so myself. :-)

http://www.amazon.com/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A1AXKR4XUZ9CUK/ref=cm_pdp_rev_more?i...

Two bookcases down and one more to go and the "true" height of Mt TBR will be known. It currently sits at 214...yikes...

I took a peek at your TBRs. How can you possibly decide what to read next? There are so many interesting looking ones!

LOL...it is a VERY difficult to decide. I usually have my cat, Zin, give me a hand...or in this case a paw...in selecting a book.

Completed The Boat Who Wouldn't Float last night...what an enjoyable book. I laughed out loud in several places. :-) Now I'm starting the book club book for June, Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan by Mary Beth Brown.

Finished Hand of Providence: The Strong and Quiet Faith of Ronald Reagan a couple of days ago for this month's book club. Good read about Reagan's faith which sustained him throughout his life and the impact it had on his leadership.

Now back to a book from the shelf...Message in a Bottle by Nicholas Sparks. I'm not a big Nicholas Sparks fan but picked up the book after seeing the movie...that should tell you how long it's been on the shelf. I really enjoyed the movie and since a book always seems to be better than the movie it is based on, it seemed logical that I would enjoy the book even more. The ironic thing is...I don't remember the movie so now I have no basis for comparison!!! LOL...

Now that I've finished Message in a Bottle, I have no clue why I liked the movie...maybe it was that last letter. The last letter in the book got me and earned the book an extra star. Except for that last letter, all I could think was "oh my gosh...how co-dependent could one man be?" And...I wanted to tell Theresa "run, run, run far away".

Now I'm back to a book club book...The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us? by Richard Stearns.

Well...book club for July has come and gone and I'm only half way through The Hole in Our Gospel: What does God expect of Us?. It's not a "bad" book nor is it hard to read...I think it was more of a timing issue for me. I just wasn't in the right mood for it. I'll continue to pick away at it.

The bad news is that I used up all of July without reading a book off the shelf since I'm now on to the Aug book club book...Shoofly Pie by Tim Downs. Hopefully, I'll have better luck bonding with this friend so I can take a book or two off the shelf for when I fly back East to visit my sister and brother-in-law.

Wish me luck...

Completed Shoofly Pie on the plane going to MA. It was an easy and enjoyable read. Not much of a mystery...I pretty much had it figured out early in the story.

Started The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time on the way to MA and completed the book on the way back home. The 2 hour delay in Dallas helped. The brilliance in this book is not so much the story but how it is written from the prospective of an autistic child.

Well...I had time before starting my Sept book club book so I picked up The Housekeeper and the Professor. This is a relatively short book but since I couldn't connect with it, I was reading it most of Sept. I never got around to picking up my book club book...I still plan to read it before the end of the year. On the up side, this book did push me past my goal so I'm happy with that. Now, it is on to my Oct book club book...The Divine Comedy: Inferno. Wish me luck...

Oh yeah...The Divine Comedy: Inferno does not count as a BOTS...darn...

Luck!

Well, I struggled with The Divine Comedy: Inferno until my book club met on Sunday...sadly, I didn't complete this book. To be truthful, I didn't even make it to the halfway point. I wasn't alone...only one person out of the 5 who attended actually finished the book. Surprisingly, it was one of our better discussions. I think I will give this book another try but with a different translation.

I will be ponder my book shelves tonight and pick one off the shelf.

And the winner is...If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub. It seems to be a "scary" story so I thought it would be fitting for this time of the year.

Inferno is worth reading. I'm sure the translation would make a huge difference though. You've done a great job clearing out some books!!! Planning on a replacement celebration?

A "replacement celebration"??? But of course!!! I've been a realllllyyyy gooooodd girl and I've resisted the tempation to buy more books...My reward will be a spending spree at the end of the year. Due to this challenge, I have a huge..."sounds good, I need to check out that book" list. ;->

LOL - This is a good site to grow a wish list! I hope you have a cool used bookstore that's willing to host your end of year spree/party.

I have an awesome local used bookstore called Bounty Books but this may warrant a trip to my all time favorite but not so local used bookstore...Powell's in Portland, OR. Hmmmm...I think I saw Southwest advertising cheap flights anywhere in the US. I could make this into a day trip. Southwest doesn't have those annoying luggage fees so I can take a pretty big suitcase with me and fill it up!!! LOL...

Travel & book shopping! Way to go!

I finished adding the books from Mt TBR into LT. The current elevation is 298 books. YIKES...but at least I'm still under the 300 mark...at least for the moment. ;->

Oh my. Just don't do any of your holiday shopping in bookstores. :)

Yeah. I did that, and now I'm about to creep back up over 400 again. Learn from my mistakes! :)

Yup! Experience has taught me that the Christmas season means "one for me, one for you."

In my case, it was "buy two, get one free" for me. Oops.

Yes. Marketers will get you every time. ;)

Finally finished If You Could See Me Now by Peter Straub. I should have stopped after 50 pages but I kept on reading. I thought that I had previously read a book by the same author and it was a good ghost story. I kept going thinking it would get better...it didn't.

I climbed up Mt TBR and came down with...A Choice to Cherish by Alan Maki.

Ah Straub is supposed to be one of the best horror writers around. I haven't liked what I've read of his either. Oh well. Some of it must be good.

Well, I complete this challenge with 17 books off the TBR shelves...3 books past my goal. Some books became a part of my library and others went off to other homes. I finished this year with a very touching Christmas story, A Choice to Cherish by Alan Maki. I picked it because it was short and I could finish it before the end of 2010. I read it in a single day...loved it!!!

Now, I'm off to start a new thread for 2011.

Bravo!

Congratulations!

Yeah!!!