Book Reviews

‘The best moments in reading are when you come across something - a thought, a feeling, a way of looking at things - which you had thought special and particular to you. And now, here it is, set down by someone else, a person you have never met, someone even who is long dead. And it is as if a hand has come out, and taken yours.’ Alan Bennett

“Many a book is like a key to unknown chambers within the castle of one’s own self.” ― Franz Kafka

Monday 5 January 2015

Tackling the TBR pile

Happy New Year! So. I am really committed to tackling my ridiculous number of books 'to be read' this year. I plan to spend time reading those books that have been sitting ever so patiently on my shelves waiting and hoping to be read. I'm consciously devoting reading time to pleasurably choosing and reading these books, many owned for years, many that I longed to read and then have left languishing. I'm not ruling out reading any new books; I envisage that I'll read one here and there too. Anyway, let's see how it goes, but that's the plan. I've also been looking through my books to be read and passing on any that I don't think I want to read anymore to charity. 

I noticed a couple of challenges that I thought could help with my tbr pile



Take Control of your TBR Pile is hosted by Kimberley at Caffeinated Book Reviewer, and it focusses on March 2015, but I am starting my TBR tackling right now. Still, I think it'll give me a bit of added encouragement as the year goes on. 



The Chunkster Challenge hosted by Vasilly at 1330V is for tackling books over 450 pages long, fiction or non-fiction. Find out more about the challenge here.  This one particularly appeals to me because I think I read fairly slowly and I tend to put off reading big thick novels, even when I've been really looking forward to them, because I am wary about how long they will take me to read. Yet I know that I will love many of them once I get started - this happened with several books I read in 2014, such as American Wife, Fingersmith, Gillespie and I, and 11.22.63. 





I already have a few in mind for this challenge, and indeed as I write this I have even already finished one of them, hooray!

The Secret Keeper - Kate Morton - read in January.
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair - Joel Dicker
I Am Pilgrim - Terry Hayes
The Distant Hours - Kate Morton
The Golem and the Djinni - Helene Wecker - read in January.
Disgrace - Jussi Adler-Olsen read


Are you planning to really tackle your TBR this year? Do you have any tips for not being distracted too much by brand new books? Are you doing any challenges? Are there other TBR challenges you'd recommend?

If so good luck, and either way, happy reading! 


8 comments:

  1. Good luck. I laughed at the books over 450 pages challenge. When I was younger and money was tight..I would take my book budget money and look for the biggest, longest books I could find that interested me..since I am such a fast reader I got more time with a new book :snort:

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  2. I think I have only tried the chunkster challenge once and it was a tough one but so worth it! I really want to read The Golem and Djinni - it was recommended to me in my favourite Foyles store by one of the girls there and sounds great.

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  3. Good luck with your challenges! I did the Chunkster Challenge this past year and had fun with it. :-) I can always use a TBR challenge given my huge TBR collection. I have participated in various TBR challenges in the past, but decided not to this year. It's a worthy goal though, to be sure! It's one I am always working on to some degree-maybe just not as much as I should.

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  4. Wishing you all the best with your challenges, Lindsay. I mentioned this yesterday, but just thought I'd add a note here in case others are interested...I've joined Eva Stalker's #TBR20 project with a view to reading twenty books from my TBR before buying any others. There are a few posts about it on Eva's blog (evastalker.com) plus a twitter hashtag #TBR20.

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  5. Good luck with your TBR pile and your challenges.

    Personally, and I am not exaggerating, my TBR will not be finished in my lifetime.

    As for Chunksters, I am in the middle of The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope. I just realized it is 928 pages long!

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  6. I am planning on increasing the percentage of books I own versus the new and shiny but I know myself far too well to commit myself fully ;-)

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  7. I'm doing the March TBR challenge as well. I definitely need to work on my TBR it's past out of control and heading towards taking over. I tried it last year but wasn't prepared and didn't get as many read as I would like. This year I'm trying to accept as few review books as possible for March so I can really focus on TBR books! Good luck with Chunkster! That ones scares me a bit!

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  8. Thanks for mentioning the TBR Pile Challenge. Something I benefited from taking part in a few years ago I think I need to sign up this year.

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