The Official 2015 TBR Pile Challenge

I am going to attempt this once again and hopefully I will get more of the books completed on this list completed this time around.  This is my third time trying to conquer Adam's TBR Challenge and hopefully I do better than last year.

My TBR Challenge list:

• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantal (2009)
• The Horse and His Boy by C.S. Lewis (1954)
• Such a Pretty Face by Cathy Lamb (2010)
• A Storm of Swords by George R.R. Martin (2010)
• The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (1985)
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1889) (I hope to conquer this book this coming year!)
• Outlander by Diana Galbaldon (1991)
• Peace Shall Destroy Many by Rudy Wiebe (1972)
• A Complicated Kindness by Miriam Toews (2004)
• The Color Purple by Alice Walker (1982)
• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (2011)
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1856)

Alternates

• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
• Flight Behavior by Barbara Kingsolver (2012)

2014 TBR Pile Challenge

Its that time of year again, when us bloggers go through the vast amounts of announcements of reading challenges and decide what ones to take on and how much of each one we are to take on.  And as usual I take on more than I can chew.

I tried out this one last year and even though I didn't complete it, I did manage to get a few books off my TBR Pile.

This challenge is pretty simple: read 12 books that have been on your TBR pile before Jan. 1, 2013 and that you haven't read.  Here are the specifics:

Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2013 or later (any book published in the year 2011 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published pre-2013!

*Note – You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. As you complete a book – review it, and go back to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review - that will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered.  
 
If you wish to know more, you can link back to the starting page here: http://roofbeamreader.com/2013/11/27/announcing-the-2014-tbr-pile-challenge/

My 2014 TBR Pile Challenge List:
• War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1868)
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexander Dumas (1844)
• The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey (2012)
• Moon over Manifest by Clare Vanderpool (2010)
• The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (1989)
• The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
• The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
• Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson(2010)
• The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer (1372)
• The Passage by Justin Cronin (2010)
• Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel (2009)
• Runaway by Alice Munro (2004)

Alternates:
• Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin (2005)
• A Clash of Kings by George R.R. Martin (1996)

I realize that a good portion of these are big books, but I think in combination with the Chunkster Challenge, I can get a number of these completed.

The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

Title: The Book Thief
Author: Markus Zusak
Pages: 550
Published: 2007 (first published 2005)
Challenges: OfftheShelf, TBR Pile, Historical Fiction, Book Blogger Recommendation
Genre: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Young Adult
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal Library

Description: It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death has never been busier, and will become busier still.

Liesel Meminger is a foster girl living outside of Munich, who scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: There are a few times in which I have taken a few days to read a book and this is one of those times when no other book really mattered.  While I did listen to the audio while I read the book, it was no less amazing, in fact I think it added to the enjoyment of the book.  Reading the book while listening to the audio of the book made me feel like I was listening to a piece of poetry that was in prose format.  

I don't really know how to describe how much I enjoyed this book; it was almost like was too good at times and allowed me to feel as though I was really there seeing and experiencing what Liesel was seeing and experiencing.  And as I was getting closer to the end of the book, I could see why other readers have really enjoyed reading this book.  And yes, I understand the point of the dominoes, at least after reading it (and no I am not giving it away) and wonder why the publisher put the dice on the front cover (curious thought don't you think?) instead of maybe some books or maybe an accordion (read the book to understand why)...

Anyways I loved the book and am curious to see how the screenwriter for the film adapted the book and how much of the book is in the film and how they do Death, who is basically heard throughout the book.  Probably will become one of those books that I remember for a long time, even if I don't read it a lot, much like Jacob Have I Loved and Jane Eyre have become to me over the years.

Bottom line: I really liked this book and probably would recommend to those readers that enjoy historical fiction YA books, but I think its also a book that general readers of fiction would also enjoy.  I think that this is a book that probably would appeal to a number of readers and not just one specific type of reader.  Highly Recommended.

Rating: 5/5 (would probably rate it higher, if I was rating books higher)

Pages for 2013: 16,176

A Game of Thrones - George R.R. Martin

Title: A Game of Thrones (Song of Fire and Ice #1)
Author: George R.R. Martin
Pages: 837
Published: 2011 (originally published by 1996)
Challenges: Off the Shelf, Chunkster, Embarrassment of Riches, Tea &  Books, TBR Pile
Genre: Fiction, Fantasy
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: In a land where summers can last decades and winters a lifetime, trouble is brewing. The cold is returning, and in the frozen wastes of the north of Winterfell, sinister and supernatural forces are massing beyond the kingdom's protective Wall. At the center of the conflict lie the Starks of Winterfell, a family as harsh and unyielding as the land they were born to. Sweeping from a land of brutal cold to a distant summertime kingdom of epicurean plenty, here is a tale of lords and ladies, soldiers and sorcerers, assassins and bastards, who come together in a time of grim omens. Amid plots and counterplots, tragedy and betrayal, victory and terror, the fate of the Starks, their allies, and their enemies hangs perilously in the balance, as each endeavors to win that deadliest of conflicts: the game of thrones. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: I started with this book back in March 2012, but gave up on it after about 200 pages as I was getting more and more confused. But after a bit, I decided to give it a try again.  And I am glad I did, as I found that I got into the world that exists in the book, I actually began to get really into it.  I felt as though I became a part of that world and as though it became a part of me.  There was also a moment about half-way through the book where I started see scenes from the TV series in the book and I could see why people have gotten into not only the TV show, but also the series.  I am just waiting for the boys on Big Bang Theory to talk about the series at length, if at all (they seem to be more Sci-Fi than Fantasy fans).

Bottom line: I really liked it, more than I feel I can express.  When I love a book, like this one, I just love it and there really isn't an explanation for it.  Mr. Martin hit upon a certain formula in such a way like J.K. Rowling did with the Harry Potter series that makes this series so enjoyable not only watch on my screen but also something that I enjoy reading.  While I really did enjoy the book, I would probably recommend this for readers who liked the Lord of the Rings trilogy or the Harry Potter series

Rating: 5/5

Pages for 2013: 11553

A Red Herring Without Mustard - Alan Bradley

Title: A Red Herring Without Mustard
Author: Alan Bradley
Pages: 416
Published: 2011
Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery
Challenges: Historical Fiction, Off the Shelf, TBR Pile, Embarrassment of Riches
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal Collection

Description: “You frighten me,” the old Gypsy woman says. “Never have I seen my crystal ball so filled with darkness.” So begins eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce’s third adventure through the charming but deceptively dark byways of the village of Bishop’s Lacey. The fortune teller also claims to see a woman who is lost and needs help to get home—and Flavia knows it must be her mother Harriet, who died when Flavia was less than a year old. The Gypsy’s vision opens up old wounds for our precocious yet haunted heroine, and sets her mind racing in search of what it could mean.
 
When Flavia later goes to visit the Gypsy at her encampment, she certainly doesn’t expect to find the poor old woman lying near death in her caravan, bludgeoned in the wee hours. Was it an act of retribution by those who thought that the woman had abducted a local child years before? Certainly Flavia understands the bliss of settling scores; revenge is a delightful pastime when one has two odious older sisters. But how can she prove this crime is connected to the missing baby? Did it have something to do with the weird sect who met at the river to practice their secret rites?
 
While still pondering the possibilities, Flavia stumbles upon a corpse—that of a notorious layabout and bully she had only recently caught prowling about Buckshaw. The body hangs from a statue of Poseidon in Flavia’s very own backyard, and our unflappable sleuth knows it’s up to her to figure out the significance. Pedalling her faithful bicycle, Gladys, across the countryside in search of clues to both crimes, Flavia uncovers secrets both long-buried and freshly stowed—the dodgy dealings of a local ironworks, the truth behind the Hobblers’ secret meetings, her own ancestor’s ambitious plans—all the while exhausting the patience of Inspector Hewitt. But it’s not long before the evidence starts falling into place, and Flavia must take drastic action to prevent another violent attack.  (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: As one could well imagine, I also loved this one again.  While there is more of Flavia's chemistry wizardry in this book, it isn't as much as the first two books, but you do get is more of her curiosity about the world around her and how she will do anything to get at the truth, even if it does meaning having to lie from time to time in order to solve the crime.  Once again I could hardly get myself away from the book and finished the book in less than a week and somehow I am eagerly anticipating reading the next book, but I do have other books to read.

Bottom line: While it is a part of a series, you can read the book as a stand-alone and still enjoy it just much.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 5094

The Hobbit - J.R.R. Tolkien

Title: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
Author: J.R.R. Tolkien
Pages: 389
Published: 2012 (originally published 1937)
Genre: Fantasy, Fiction
Challenges: 2013 TBR Pile Challenge, Classics Club
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal library

Description: Bilbo Baggins is a hobbit who enjoys a comfortable, unambitious life, rarely travelling further than the pantry of his hobbit-hole in Bag End.

But his contentment is disturbed when the wizard, Gandalf, and a company of thirteen dwarves arrive on his doorstep one day to whisk him away on an unexpected journey ‘there and back again’. They have a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon… (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: Before I give my actual thoughts of the book, I have to confess something.  The cover that I am showing here isn't the one that I read from.  I lost that particular copy of the book and am not sure where that particular copy has ended, so I bought a new copy of the book and I am basing my stats on the new copy, not the old one.

Overall, I thought it was pretty decent and because I read it while listening to an audio version of the book, I was able to catch most of what I had somehow skipped over the first time I read it (I quit reading about 3/4 of the way through).  I did find the story a tad boring at times and while I liked the visuals that the movie gave to the first third of the book (yes, I am planning on seeing the next two Hobbit movies), as it gave me a sense of place, I did find that for the most part it was rather dull and thought that the ending was a bit of a cop out, but maybe I will think better of the ending later on.

I suppose it didn't help that I read the book at the end of the day and maybe I couldn't enjoy it as much as I probably could have.  I did enjoy the book, but it just felt that it was more of a chore than an enjoyable read.

Bottom line:  I would recommend this book to those that enjoy fantasy fiction and have enjoyed the Song of Fire and Ice series by George R.R. Martin.  I think I will tackle the three books in LOTR series at some point, but I need a bit of a break and maybe once I have finished those books, I will have a different view of the book.

Rating:  3.5/5

Pages for 2013:  2701

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag - Alan Bradley

Title: The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag
Author: Alan Bradley
Pages: 368
Published: 2010
Genre: Fiction, Mystery
Challenges: 2013 TBR Pile Challenge
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal

Description: Eleven-year-old Flavia de Luce didn’t intend to investigate another murder — but then, Rupert Porson didn’t intend to die. When the master puppeteer’s van breaks down in the village of Bishop’s Lacey, Flavia is front and centre to help Rupert and his charming assistant, Nialla, put together a performance in the local church to help pay the repair bill. But even as the newcomers set up camp and set the stage for Jack and the Beanstalk, there are signs that something just isn’t right: Nialla’s strange bruises and solitary cries in the churchyard, Rupert’s unexplained disappearances and a violent argument with his BBC producer, the disturbing atmosphere at Culverhouse Farm, and the peculiar goings-on in nearby Gibbet Wood — where young Robin Ingleby was found hanging just five years before.

It’s enough to set Flavia’s detective instincts tingling and her chemistry lab humming. What are Rupert and Nialla trying to hide? Why are Grace and Gordon Ingleby, Robin’s still-grieving parents, acting so strangely? And what does Mad Meg mean when she says the Devil has come back to Gibbet Wood? Then it’s showtime for Porson’s Puppets at St. Tancred’s — but as Nialla plays Mother Goose, Rupert’s goose gets cooked as the victim of an electrocution that is too perfectly planned to be an accident. Someone had set the stage for murder.

Putting down her sister-punishing experiments and picking up her trusty bicycle, Gladys, Flavia uncovers long-buried secrets of Bishop’s Lacey, the seemingly idyllic village that is nevertheless home to a madwoman living in its woods, a prisoner-of-war with a soft spot for the English countryside, and two childless parents with a devastating secret. While the local police do their best to keep up with Flavia in solving Rupert’s murder, his killer may pull Flavia in way over her head, to a startling discovery that reveals the chemical composition of vengeance. (via Goodreads.com)

Thoughts: I enjoyed this one, but probably not as much as I liked the first book. Maybe it was the fact that the book seemed to take awhile for the action in the book to start up and seemed to be a bit dry for a bit.  Oh, it wasn't that I wasn't intrigued with how the book was going to play out, it was just that since the first book the action was rather quick from the get-go, that I was expecting the action to start right away.  Flavia of course was up to her regular schemes and sometimes I wonder if her father should have kept a closer eye on her and what she was doing and whenever her mom was mentioned, I was curious if there was anything more that would lead us to know if Harriet is still alive, which I think she still is, and if she really is Flavia's mom, I still wonder if she is.  Overall, the book was good and well written and makes me want to see a movie version of the books come to the screen.

Bottom line: Recommend the book to those that have read the first book, as a number of the characters that are mentioned are introduced in the first book, even though it could be read as a stand-alone.

Rating: 4/5

Pages for 2013: 2312

The 2013 TBR Pile Challenge

I know what some of you are thinking, didn't she just sign up for a TBR Pile Challenge?  You might think that with the other one, depending on the order you read the posts, but whatever...

This one is fairly simple to read 12 books off of one's TBR pile during 2013, basically one a month.

Here are the specifics from RoofBeamReader:

Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2012 or later (any book published in the year 2011 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published pre-2012!

*Note – You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. As you complete a book – review it, and go back to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review - that will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered.  

UPDATE:  I’ve decided to make a small change/addition to this year’s challenge.  On the 15th of each month, I’m going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.”  This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress.  There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!).  I’m hoping this will help to keep us all on track and make the challenge a bit more engaging/interactive. If it goes well, maybe I’ll keep this format for future years. 

Here are my books that I wish to read:
1. North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)
2. The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien (1937)
3. The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley (2010)
4. A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley (2011)
5. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (2006)
6. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (1996)
7. Water for Elephants by Sara Guerin (2006)
8. The Passage by Justin Cronin (2010)
9. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson (2005)
10. The Sisters Brothers by Patrick deWitt (2011)
11. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (1998)
12. Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier (1997)

Alternates:
1) The Devil Wears Prada by Laura Weisberger (2003)
2) Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)

Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Title: Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Pages: 1232
Published: 1985 (originally published in 1862)
Genre: Classics, Historical Fiction
Challenges: Back to the Classics, Historical Ficiton
Edition: Paperback
Source: Personal Library

Description: Victor Hugo’s tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, when, owing to a case of mistaken identity, another man is arrested in his place; and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. A compelling and compassionate view of the victims of early nineteenth-century French society, Les Misérables is a novel on an epic scale, moving inexorably from the eve of the battle of Waterloo to the July Revolution of 1830. (via Goodreads)

Thoughts: What can I say? It was amazing.  It was one of those books that took your breath away, even though there were moments in the book that I honestly really didn't feel should have been apart of the book, but when reading it, one realizes that it does have to be apart of the book, especially towards the end of the book.  And, yes, I did read the unabridged version of the book.

Bottom line: I would probably recommend this book to those that enjoy reading long books or that enjoy reading books that are of an epic nature.

Rating: 5/5

Pages for 2012: 23254