WINNER! 2024 European Reading Challenge

 

2024 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE

THIS IS THE WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT POST FOR 2024

TO FIND THE 2024 REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO FIND THE 2024 WRAP UP POSTS, GO TO THIS PAGE

THE 2025 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE SIGN UP IS AT THIS PAGE

2024 was the 12th year of the European Reading Challenge! The challenge involves reading books set in different European countries or written by authors from different European countries.

My big thanks go to all the participants who joined me for the Grand Tour last year!

JET SETTER GRAND PRIZE WINNER

The 2024 Jet Setter prize goes to Sabine at sabines.literary.world who participated on Instagram. 2024 is the fourth year in a row that this intrepid armchair traveler won the challenge. In 2021, Sabine visited all 50 European states -- TWICE! In 2022, she hit another grand slam, but only one time around the continent. In 2023, she slowed down and "only" visited 35 of the 50 European states. In 2024, she hit her stride again, visited all 50 European states, and reviewed the books she read. Her wrap up post discusses her reading journey. 

Honorary Mention (but no prizes) go to the other nine participants who completed the challenge and posted wrap up posts about the countries they visited and the books they read. Here they are, with the number of different countries visited in parenthesis:

• Alexis Drake on Goodreads (8)

• All About Cosy (10)

• Avid Series Reader (15)

• Cinzia at Quattro passi sulle nuvole (21)

• Maphead's Book Blog (30)

• Mark at Carstairs Considers (4)

• Me, Myself, I Read (and Write) (3)

• Reese at Typings (15)

• Tess at tessreadslibri (6)

My own wrap-up post is here. I read books from 14 different European countries, and four were translations. I didn't even try to review the books I read, which is more than I can handle as long as I am running my own law firm.

Congratulations to all the readers who completed the 2024 challenge!

There is still plenty of time to join us in 2025.

JOIN THE 2025 CHALLENGE! SIGN UP HERE!

The gist: The idea is to read books by European authors or books set in European countries (no matter where the author comes from). The books can be anything – novels, short stories, memoirs, travel guides, cookbooks, biography, poetry, or any other genre. You can participate at different levels, but each book must be by a different author and set in a different country – it's supposed to be a tour.

Sign up HERE for the 2025 Challenge.

My Wrap Up Post -- THE 2024 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE

 

THE 2024 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE

My Wrap Up Post

I finished the 2024 European Reading Challenge, but without any flair or fanfare. I even forgot to do a sign up post in 2024 -- and it's my challenge! 

There are some amazing ERC participants who always read interesting books from all over Europe. Some people have managed to read books from all 50 European nations in a year, even in multiple years. See Sabine's Literary World on Instagram to see what I mean. But my European tour was slapdash at best. I intend to be better planned in 2025. 

Go to the main 2024 European Reading Challenge page to see who signed up and find links to the reviews and wrap up pages. If you finished the challenge, please add a link to some sort of wrap up post (even an updated version of your sign up post) on the wrap up post here. 

If you want to join the 2025 European Reading Challenge (and I hope you do), go to the sign up page, here. 

MY 2024 EUROPEAN TOUR

In 2024, I read 125 books set in Europe or written by European authors, mostly from the UK. However, I only visited 14 different countries, and only one book from each country counts for the challenge. 

I traveled with English-speaking authors for the most part. Only four were in translation, something I struggle with every year. I mean to read more books in translation, but I also want to read the books on my TBR shelves. Those goals compete. 

Here is my itinerary, with one book from each country: 

AUSTRIA: Chess Story by Stefan Zweig (translated)

CROATIA: The Cheesemaker's Daughter by Kristin Vukovic

DENMARK: Scandinavian from Scratch: A Love Letter to the Baking of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden by Nichole Accettola

FRANCE: The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

GERMANY: Advent: Festive German Bakes to Celebrate the Coming of Christmas by Anja Dunk

GREECE: The Light of Day by Eric Ambler

HOLLAND: King of the Rainy Country by Nicolas Freeling (translated)

ICELAND: My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean

IRELAND: Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan

ITALY: Still Life by Sarah Winman

SPAIN: The Vacationers by Emma Straub

SWEDEN: Beartown by Fredrik Backman (translated)

SWITZERLAND: Object by Kristin Louise Duncombe

UNITED KINGDOM: Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

The TBR 24 in '24 & Mt. TBR Challenges -- MY WRAP UP POST

 

THE TBR 24 IN '24 CHALLENGE

My Wrap Up Post

I have completed the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge! I read the 24 books off my TBR shelves that I picked for the challenge.

MY TBR 24 IN '24 BOOKS

I like to pick my books ahead of time for this annual challenge. I keep them stacked by my bedside to motivate me through the year. This year, I picked 12 fiction and 12 nonfiction. 

Here's a list of what is in the picture. Do any look good to you?

FICTION

Quentins by Maeve Binchy. I went on a Binchy jag years ago and read most of her books, including several that involve the fictional Dublin restaurant Quentins. But this one slipped past me.  

Rates of Exchange by Malcolm Bradbury. I loved Eating People is Wrong and The History Man and this one made me a confirmed Bradbury fan. 

The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary. This one is on Anthony Burgess's list of his 99 favorite novels, one of my favorite lists, but it fell flat for me.  

The King of the Rainy Country by Nicolas Freeling, an Edgar Award winner. This was a terrific vintage mystery with a lot of action and plenty of dry humor. 

 

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable was as fun as it looked to be.

J by Howard Jacobson. I like his books but this one is speculative, dystopian fiction, so I did not enjoy it as much as other things by him. 

Out of the Shelter by David Lodge. He is one of my favorite authors. This is his autobiographical first novel. It was very good, but not as rich as his later novels. 

The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch. So is she! This one was excellent, and a good example of Murdoch's fiction. 

The New Men by C. P. Snow. I've been plodding my way through his Strangers and Brothers series and am determine to get through the whole thing. This one was particularly dry.

A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler. As with Binchy, I went on an Anne Tyler tear several years ago. Then I just stopped. I'm trying to read the ones I missed. This one was charming. 

Come Fill the Cup by Harlan Ware. I bought this for the cool vintage cover and did not expect such a clever and exciting gangster story with a hard boiled newspaper journalist as the protagonist.

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, which also counts as my Austria book for the 2024 European Reading Challenge.  

NONFICTION

My Almost Cashmere Life by Margy Adams. I ripped through this memoir. 

Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription: Notes & Asides from National Review by William F. Buckley, Jr. This is one of my favorite titles ever. I grew up reading his Notes & Asides column and loved revisiting the columns in this collection.  

Political Woman: The Big Little Life of Jeane Kirkpatrick by Peter Collier. My husband gave this to me several years ago and I'm glad I finally read it. What a fascinating woman! 

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David. I love food writing and David is new to me. I will read more by her.  

Menagerie Manor by Gerald Durrell. I've read Lawrence Durrell books but never Gerald's. I love the TV show, The Durrells of Corfu, so was happy to finally read one of his books. I'll read more.

Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz. I bought this on a whim when it came out and am so glad I did. It was excellent.  

Songbook by Nick Hornby. Another favorite author, but I missed this one. 

The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis. I'm chipping away at reading all his books. 

Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. I found this at a library book sale and it was terrific!  

The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas by Paul Theroux. I expected to like this classic book of travel writing more than I did. There are a lot of descriptions of train rides on awful trains. It wasn't bad, just not as interesting as I anticipated.

Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull. I missed this when it came out and love ex-pat memoirs. This one was very good. 

I'll Take the Back Road by Marguerite Hurrey Wolf, a 1975 memoir about living on a farm in Vermont. Fantastic!  

THE MT. TBR CHALLENGE

This TBR 24 in '24 Challenge dovetails nicely with the Mt TBR Challenge that Bev at My Reader's Block hosts every year. Like I've done for the past couple of years, I signed up for the "Mt. Kilimanjaro" Level in 2024 to read a total of 60 books off my TBR shelves. 

I climbed much higher this year! In addition to the 24 book I read for the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge, I read 68 books off my TBR shelves, for a total of 92 TBR books. That's a record for me. 

MY MT. TBR BOOKS

Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Myers 

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier

The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean

Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle

The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life by Charles Murray

The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper by Dominick Dunne

Habits of the House by Fay Weldon

Long Live the King by Fay Weldon

The New Countess by Fay Weldon

His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle

Silverview by John le Carre

The Reivers by William Faulkner

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Pocket Full of Poseys by Thomas Reed

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer

After All These Years by Susan Isaacs

Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh

The Light of Day by Eric Ambler

With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George

Loser Takes All by Graham Greene

The Third Man by Graham Greene

The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene

The Messenger by Megan Davis

The Stranger House by Reginald Hill

Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah

The Vacationers by Emma Stroud

Hanging the Devil by Tim Maleeny

Castle Dor by Daphne du Maurier

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

God in the Dock by C. S. Lewis

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thakeray

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh

The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived by Anton Scalia

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier

Living Color A Designer Works Magic with Traditional Interiors by Gary McBournie

The Girl on the Boat by P G. Wodehouse

The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong

A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong

Cavedweller by Dorothy Allison

The Turret Room by Charlotte Armstrong

The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

Leaves of Grass, Vol. 1, and Democratic Vistas by Walt Whitman

Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler

Joe Country by Mick Herron

Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham

NOTE: Updated September 21, 2024. 

Spin Number 39 -- CLASSICS CLUB

CLASSICS CLUB SPIN

Spin Number 39

UPDATE: THE SPIN NUMBER IS 3, A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong

I started my first Classics Club list in January 2019, finished it by the end of 2023, and started my second Classics Club list in January this year. But in the six years I've been part of the Classics Club, I have missed every single CC Spin! Finally, I caught this one in time to participate.

The Classics Club is an online "Community of Classics Lovers" started in 2012 to “unite those of us who like to blog about classic literature, as well as to inspire people to make the classics an integral part of life.” To join, you create your own list of 50 "classics" (loosely defined) and read them in five years. Details are on the Classics Club website. 

Every now and again, the Classics Club organizes a CC Spin. The idea is to pick books from your CC list and on a certain date, the organizers pick a random number and you read that books by a specific date. 

You can find more details here, but these are the basics:

• Pick twenty books from your Classics Club list that you still want to read.
• Post that list, numbered 1-20, on your blog before Sunday, 20th October.
• Classics Club will randomly pick a number and announce it on their website on October 20.
• Read that book by the 18th of December and share your review (if you write one) on the Classics Club website. 

My CC Spin #39 list:

1. The Elected Member by Bernice Rubens, Booker Prize
2. Beat Not the Bones by Charlotte Jay, Edgar Award 
3. A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong, Edgar Award
4. The Secret City by Hugh Walpole, James Tait Black
5. Without My Cloak by Kate O'Brien, James Tait Black
6. England, Their England by A. G. Macdonell, James Tait Black
7. Unconditional Surrender by Evelyn Waugh
8. The Devil's Advocate by Morris West, James Tait Black
9. The Ice Saints by Frank Tuohy, James Tait Black
10. Langrishe, Go Down by Aidan Higgins, James Tait Black
11. Eva Trout by Elizabeth Bowen, James Tait Black
12. The Black Prince by Iris Murdoch, James Tait Black
13. Laughing Boy by Oliver Lafarge, Pulitzer Prize
14. The Aerodrome by Rex Warner, Burgess Top 99
15. Indian Summer by William Dean Howells, Burgess Top 99
16. The Fox in the Attic by Richard Hughes, Burgess Top 99
17. The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov, The College Board
18. The Jungle Books by Rudyard Kipling, Easton Press Greatest
19. Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw, Easton Press Greatest
20. The Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov, Easton Press Greatest

Come Fill the Cup by Harlan Ware -- BOOK REVIEW

 

BOOK REVIEW

Come Fill the Cup by Harlan Ware

Do you ever read some random book and end up mesmerized by it? I found a vintage hardback hiding on my shelf and decided to give it a read. It was excellent! Come Fill the Cup is a 1952 novel by journalist-turned-fiction-writer Harlan Ware about journalism and alcoholism, with a little romance and gangsters thrown in.

The story follows Lew Marsh, a hard-bitten newspaperman and recovering alcoholic, on a side assignment from his publisher to dry out the drunken son of the publisher’s best friend. Boyd Copeland is a charming playboy with mommy issues that drive him to drink. Two women complicate the matter. One is Boyd’s wife Paula, who was a cub reporter working for Lew before she married Boyd. Lew is in love with Paula and wants her to divorce Boyd and marry him. The other is Maria de Diego, a lounge singer Boyd ran around with when he was on a bender. Maria is the girlfriend of gangland boss Lenni Garr. When Garr and his thugs go after Boyd, Lew has more trouble on his hands than trying to keep Boyd sober.

It’s a rollicking, hard-boiled tale, well told. A crowd of big characters jostle each other for attention. Chicago, with its energy, wind, tall buildings, sweltering summer, and snow-covered winter is a character in itself. For all its richness, the story simmers along slowly before coming to a rolling boil with an exciting ending.

Two things fascinated me about the book. The first was how Ware made the newsroom come alive. I worked for a newspaper for a year before law school, back when “copy aids” like me were employed to move paper copies of draft stories from reporters to editors to photographers to lay-out people. My first husband was a reporter, then editor at the same paper. I’ve never worked anywhere with such a bustling environment and tight-knit group of colleagues. Those newspaper folks spent all day together, then hung out in the evenings, ate at each other’s houses, partied, and even vacationed together – talking about news, politics, and current events all the while. Ware captured that energy and feeling of intense interaction.

The second thing was how Ware wrote about alcoholism. Boyd is an affable, but fundamentally destructive alcoholic, heading to divorce and an early death. Lew has been off the bottle for seven years and helped many of his fellow recovered drinkers by hiring them at the newspaper. But Lew is never free from the desire to drink. Every day, he fights the battle with the bottle. He’s antsy and has a very short fuse. Having worked with a dry drunk for many years, I thought it was a spot-on portrait of an ex-drinker. My former law partner, the recovering alcoholic, always told me, “You can take the alcohol out of the fruitcake, but you still have a fruitcake.” Reading this book helped me understand my law partner better than I ever did, even after working with him for seven years.

I know I bought this one for its campy, vintage cover. What a delight that it ended up being a terrific yarn.

NOTES  

Come Fill the Cup was the basis for a movie starring James Cagney as Lew and Gig Young as Boyd. Young was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. Confusingly, the movie came out in 1951, and the book the following year. I can’t find an explanation for the timing.

I was also charmed by the memories this book brought back. There is a price sticker on the back of my copy reminding me that I bought it off the $1 shelves at Powell’s City of Books here in Portland. Prior to the most recent glamorizing remodel, Powell’s had a run of shelves under the windows in the main fiction room stuffed with a haphazard collection of books for $1 each. I used to walk over there on my lunch hour to hunt for treasures. 

This was one of the books I picked for the TBR 24 in '24 challenge, which I personally use to help me clear book off my shelf that have lingered the longest. 

The Cheesemaker's Daughter by Kristin Vukovic -- BOOK BEGINNINGS

 

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

The Cheesemaker's Daughter by Kristin Vukovic

Thank you for joining me for Book Beginnings on Fridays. Please share the opening sentence (or so) of the book you are reading this week. You can also share from a book that caught your fancy, even if you are not reading it right now.

MY BOOK BEGINNING

Marina gripped the rental car's wheel just as the heavens opened.

-- from The Cheesemaker's Daughter by Kristin Vukovic.

This debut novel just came out. It is the story of a woman in a shaky marriage who travels to Croatia to help her father with his cheesemaking business. It sounds charming! And it will count for a Croatia book for the European Reading Challenge. I've never read a book set in Croatia. 

YOUR BOOK BEGINNINGS

Please add the link to your Book Beginnings post in the box below. If you share on social media, please use the #bookbeginnings hashtag.

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THE FRIDAY 56

The Friday 56 is a natural tie-in with Book Beginnings. The idea is to share a two-sentence teaser from page 56 of your featured book. If you are reading an ebook or audiobook, find your teaser from the 56% mark.

Freda at Freda's Voice started and hosted The Friday 56 for a long, long time. She is taking a break and Anne at My Head is Full of Books has taken on hosting duties in her absence. Please visit Anne's blog and link to your Friday 56 post.

MY FRIDAY 56

-- from The Cheesemaker's Daughter:

Luka picked up the heavy box with ease. She couldn't help but notice his fine build, how his biceps flexed under his black T shirt.

Oh, looks like there's more to the story than cheesemaking! Romance and travel -- a perfect book for the summer. 

FROM THE PUBLISHER'S DESCRIPTION

In the throes of an unraveling marriage, New Yorker Marina Marzic returns to her native Croatian island where she helps her father with his struggling cheese factory, Sirana. Forced to confront her divided Croatian-American identity and her past as a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, Marina moves in with her parents on Pag and starts a new life working at Sirana. As she gradually settles back into a place that was once home, her life becomes inextricably intertwined with their island's cheese. When her past with the son of a rival cheesemaker stokes further unrest on their divided island, she must find a way to save Sirana--and in the process, learn to belong on her own terms.

TBR 24 in '24 and Mt. TBR Challenges -- My Sign Up Post

 

THE TBR 24 IN '24 CHALLENGE

My Sign Up Post

This is my sign up post for the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge. The simple idea is to read 24 books off your TBR shelves between January 1 and December 31, 2024. If you want to join me (and I hope you do), go to the main challenge page here to sign up. You can participate through your blog, social media, or just in the comments on the challenge pages.

You do not have to pick all your TBR 24 in '24 books ahead of time. I like to, so I do. You can pick them now. Or you can pick some now and some as you go. You can pick them all at whim. Or you can pick now and then change your mind. The only real rule is that you read books that you already owned before January 1, 2024. Find all the rules on the challenge page.

MY TBR 24 IN '24 BOOKS

I like to pick my books ahead of time and keep them stacked by my bedside to motivate me through the year. This year, I picked 12 fiction and 12 nonfiction. I plan to alternate fiction/nonfiction as I read through the stack in alphabetical order by author name. In years past, I read my challenge picks as my mood struck. But I always ended up in December with the least appealing books and that was no fun. 

Here's a list of what is in the picture. Do any look good to you?

FICTION

Quentins by Maeve Binchy. I went on a Binchy jag years ago and read most of her books, including several that involve the fictional Dublin restaurant Quentins. But this one slipped past me. FINISHED 

Rates of Exchange by Malcolm Bradbury. I loved Eating People is Wrong and The History Man so look forward to reading more of Bradbury's books. FINISHED 

The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary. This one is on Anthony Burgess's list of his 99 favorite novels, one of my favorite lists. FINISHED 

The King of the Rainy Country by Nicolas Freeling, an Edgar Award winner. FINISHED 

 

A Paris Apartment by Michelle Gable, looks like fun! FINISHED 

J by Howard Jacobson. I like his books but this one is speculative, dystopian fiction, not my favorite genre. We'll see how it goes. FINISHED 

Out of the Shelter by David Lodge. He is one of my favorite authors. FINISHED 

The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch. So is she! FINISHED 

The New Men by C. P. Snow. I've been plodding my way through his Strangers and Brothers series and am determine to get through the whole thing. FINISHED 

A Patchwork Planet by Anne Tyler. As with Binchy, I went on an Anne Tyler tear several years ago. Then I just stopped. I want to get back and read the ones I missed. FINISHED 

Come Fill the Cup by Harlan Ware, This is probably the most random novel I have on my TBR shelf so I decided to dust it off. FINISHED 

Chess Story by Stefan Zweig, which will also count as my Austria book for the 2024 European Reading Challenge. FINISHED 

NONFICTION

My Almost Cashmere Life by Margy Adams. I already ripped through this memoir. FINISHED 

Cancel Your Own Goddam Subscription: Notes & Asides from National Review by William F. Buckley, Jr. This is one of my favorite titles ever. I grew up reading his Notes & Asides column and look forward to revisiting the columns in this collection. FINISHED 

Political Woman: The Big Little Life of Jeane Kirkpatrick by Peter Collier. My husband gave this to me several years ago and it's time I read it. FINISHED 

An Omelette and a Glass of Wine by Elizabeth David. I love food writing but have never read this classic. FINISHED 

Menagerie Manor by Gerald Durrell. I've read Lawrence Durrell books but never Gerald's. I love the TV show, The Durrells of Corfu, so want to try his books. FINISHED 

Lost in Thought: The Hidden Pleasures of an Intellectual Life by Zena Hitz. I bought this on a whim when it came out and don't want it to languish on my shelves. FINISHED 

Songbook by Nick Hornby. Another favorite author, but I missed this one. FINISHED 

The Four Loves by C. S. Lewis. I'm chipping away at reading all his books. FINISHED 

Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art by Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo. I found this at a library book sale and it looks terrific! FINISHED 

The Old Patagonian Express: By Train Through the Americas by Paul Theroux. This classic book of travel writing has waited too long for me to read it. FINISHED 

Almost French: Love and a New Life in Paris by Sarah Turnbull. I missed this when it came out and love ex-pat memoirs. FINISHED 

I'll Take the Back Road by Marguerite Hurrey Wolf, a 1975 memoir about living on a farm in Vermont. FINISHED 

THE MT. TBR CHALLENGE

This TBR 24 in '24 Challenge dovetails nicely with the Mt TBR Challenge that Bev at My Reader's Block hosts every year. Like I've done for the past couple of years, I am signing up for the "Mt. Kilimanjaro" Level in 2024 to read a total of 60 books off my TBR shelves. That means 37 books in addition to those listed above.

MY MT. TBR BOOKS

I will try to remember to list my Mt. TBR books here as I read them, although I completely forgot this last year.

Here's the list. Consider them all marked FINISHED:

Need Blind Ambition by Kevin Myers 

The Loved One by Evelyn Waugh

Can You Forgive Her? by Anthony Trollope

Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

Moonflower Murders by Anthony Horowitz

Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier

The Year I Stopped to Notice by Miranda Keeling

Tom Jones by Henry Fielding

Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell

Slow Horses by Mick Herron

My Kind of Place: Travel Stories from a Woman Who's Been Everywhere by Susan Orlean

Phineas Finn by Anthony Trollope

The Vintage Caper by Peter Mayle

The Curmudgeon's Guide to Getting Ahead: Dos and Don'ts of Right Behavior, Tough Thinking, Clear Writing, and Living a Good Life by Charles Murray

The Way We Lived Then: Recollections of a Well-Known Name Dropper by Dominick Dunne

Habits of the House by Fay Weldon

Long Live the King by Fay Weldon

The New Countess by Fay Weldon

His Last Bow by Arthur Conan Doyle

Silverview by John le Carre

The Reivers by William Faulkner

Dead Lions by Mick Herron

Pocket Full of Poseys by Thomas Reed

Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott

The Millionaires by Brad Meltzer

After All These Years by Susan Isaacs

Put Out More Flags by Evelyn Waugh

The Light of Day by Eric Ambler

With No One as Witness by Elizabeth George

Loser Takes All by Graham Greene

The Third Man by Graham Greene

The Fallen Idol by Graham Greene

The Messenger by Megan Davis

The Stranger House by Reginald Hill

Angel Falls by Kristin Hannah

The Vacationers by Emma Stroud

Hanging the Devil by Tim Maleeny

Castle Dor by Daphne du Maurier

Brighton Rock by Graham Greene

God in the Dock by C. S. Lewis

Men at Arms by Evelyn Waugh

Phineas Redux by Anthony Trollope

The Dark Vineyard by Martin Walker

The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett

Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thakeray

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Cost of Living by Deborah Levy

In Five Years by Rebecca Serle

The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle

Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh

The Prime Minister by Anthony Trollope

Scalia Speaks: Reflections on Law, Faith, and Life Well Lived by Anton Scalia

Cold Comfort Farm by Stella Gibbons

What Came Before He Shot Her by Elizabeth George

The Pickwick Papers by Charles Dickens

Don't Look Now by Daphne du Maurier

Living Color A Designer Works Magic with Traditional Interiors by Gary McBournie

The Girl on the Boat by P G. Wodehouse

The Unsuspected by Charlotte Armstrong

A Dram of Poison by Charlotte Armstrong

Cavedweller by Dorothy Allison

The Turret Room by Charlotte Armstrong

The Duke's Children by Anthony Trollope

Lipstick Jungle by Candace Bushnell

Leaves of Grass, Vol. 1, and Democratic Vistas by Walt Whitman

Saint Maybe by Anne Tyler

Joe Country by Mick Herron

Christmas Holiday by W. Somerset Maugham

NOTE: Updated September 21, 2024. 

The 2024 European Reading Challenge -- WRAP UP PAGE

 

THE 2024 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE

WRAP UP PAGE

THIS IS THE PAGE FOR WRAP UP POSTS

TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE, OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR POST

When you complete the 2024 European Reading Challenge at whatever level you signed up for, please do a wrap up post and enter a link to your post here. Please link to your wrap up post, NOT the main page of your blog or social media profile.

A wrap up post can be very simple. You can do a separate post on your blog or social media platform. Or, if you participate in the challenge on your blog and just update your original post without doing a separate wrap up post, that's OK too. Just post a link to your updated post here. If you participate on social media, please do some kind of wrap up post listing the books you read and link it here.

OR LEAVE A COMMENT

If you want, you can also simply leave a comment below listing the books you read. Please include your name, the names of the books, the authors of the books, and the countries of the books.

WANT THE PRIZE? WRAP IT UP!

Without some kind of wrap up post, I don't have any way to know if you finished the challenge. I like to know so I can visit everyone. But it is more important if you are competing for the Jet Setter Prize. If you want to compete for the prize, you have to leave a wrap up post or I will have no way to know if you visited more countries than the other people competing with you. This is also why you need to identify the country of your book. I don't want to guess and I don't want to research.

When I announce the prize winner, Honorable Mention will go to the participants who visited the most countries (but not as many as the winner), with links to their wrap up posts. If you don't link a wrap up post, I won't be able to find you.

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NOTE ABOUT DATES

You have until December 31, 2024, to finish reading the books. You have until January 31, 2025, to finish your reviews and your wrap up post. I will announce the winner as soon as possible after January 31, 2025.

The 2024 European Reading Challenge -- REVIEW PAGE

 

THE 2024 EUROPEAN READING CHALLENGE

REVIEW PAGE

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS

IF YO HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO ON THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE, HERE,

OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR REVIEWS HERE

Please add links to your review posts in the Linky box below. Please put your name and/or the name of your blog or social media handle, the name of the book you reviewed, and the country of the book or author. For example: Gilion at Rose City Reader, War and Peace, Russia.

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LINKS

When you review a book for the 2024 European Reading Challenge, please add it to this list using the Linky widget above. Please link to your review post, NOT the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not need a blog to participate. If you review books on Instagram, Facebook, goodreads, or some other platform that generates a URL, you can add link to the review in the Linky box above the same as a link to a blog post. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment to ask me, email me at gilion at dumasandvaughn dot com, or DM me on Instagram @gilioncdumas.

REVIEWS

You do not have to review books to complete the European Reading Challenge. You can complete the challenge simply by reading one to five books (or more), each set in a different European country or written by an author from a different European country. But if you do review books, please link your reviews here so other people can find them.

Also, if you want to win the Jet Setter Prize, you have to review the books. Only books reviewed count for the prize. If you are competing for the prize, definitely link your reviews here. You can link all your reviews, but only one book per country counts towards the prize.

WRAP UP

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post on the wrap up page. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post -- you just update your original post -- that's fine! But please, please, please link to the updated post after you finish the challenge. It is too hard for me to count all your reviews to figure out if you finished the challenge or not.

NOTE ABOUT DATES

You have to finish reading all books by December 31, 2024. You have until January 31, 2025 to finish your reviews and your wrap up post. I will announce the winner(s) as soon as possible after January 31, 2025.

The TBR 24 in '24 Challenge -- WRAP UP PAGE

 

WRAP UP PAGE

FOR THE TBR 24 IN '24 CHALLENGE

January 1, 2024 to December 31, 20243

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LINK YOUR WRAP UP POSTS

TO LINK A REVIEW, GO TO THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP FOR THE CHALLENGE, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE OR CLICK THE CHALLENGE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR WRAP UP POSTS HERE

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WRAP UP LINKS

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post in the Linky box above. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you just update your original post and do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post that's fine! Please still add the link to the updated post in the box above.

If you have trouble adding your link, leave it in a comment and I will add it or email me your link at gilion (at) dumasandvaughn (dot) com and I will add it for you. Please put your name and the name of the your blog or your social media handle and the platform in the comment or email so I can find you. Thanks!

REVIEWS

If you review a book for the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge, please add the link to your review on the review page. Please link to your review post, not the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not have to have a blog to participate in this challenge. If you review books on Instagram, goodreads, or some other social media, use the link from your social media review post in the Linky box on the review page. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment, email me at gilion (at) dumasandvaughn (dot) com, or DM me on Instagram @gilioncdumas.

The TBR 24 in '24 Challenge -- REVIEW PAGE

 

REVIEW PAGE

FOR THE TBR 24 IN '24 CHALLENGE

January 1, 2024 to December 31, 2024

THIS IS THE PAGE TO LIST YOUR REVIEWS

IF YOU HAVE FINISHED, WRAP UP POSTS GO ON THIS PAGE

TO SIGN UP, GO TO THE MAIN CHALLENGE PAGE OR CLICK THE BUTTON ABOVE

LINK YOUR REVIEWS HERE

Please put your name and/or the name of your blog or social media handle and the name of the book you reviewed. (EX: Rose City Reader, War & Peace or @gilioncdumas, Pride & Prejudice.) Please link to your review post and not your blog home page or main social media profile page.

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LINKS

If you review a book for the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge, please add the link to your review in the Linky box above. Please link to your review post, not the main page of your blog or social media account.

You do not have to have a blog to participate in this challenge. If you review books on Instagram, goodreads, or some other social media, use the link from your social media review post in the Linky box above. Please link to the review, not your profile page. If you have questions about how to find the URL for a social media review post, leave a comment, email me at gilion (at) dumasandvaughn (dot) com, or DM me on Instagram @gilioncdumas.

If you have trouble adding your link, leave it in a comment and I will add it or email me your link at gilion (at) dumasandvaughn (dot) com and I will add it for you. Please put your name and the name of the book you reviewed in the comment or email. Thanks!

BOOKS AND REVIEWS

You do not have to review books to complete the TBR 24 in '24 Challenge.

The only point of the challenge is to clear 24 books off your TBR shelf in 2024. You can pick all of them them ahead of time, some of them, or none of them. If you pick them, you can change your mind later and switch books. The only "rule" is that you must own the book before January 1, 2024.

Your TBR shelf can include a virtual shelf of ebooks or audiobooks, as long as you owned them prior to January 1, 2024. It does not include library books.

This is supposed to be fun!

WRAP UP

If you complete the challenge, please link some kind of wrap up post on the wrap up page. That way, I know who finished the challenge. If you just update your original post and do not do a wrap up post separate from your sign up post that's fine too! But please still add the link to the updated post on the wrap up page.