2017 Challenge Updates: Mt. TBR and 2X17

My favorite book challenge every year is the Mt. TBR Challenge, hosted by Bev at My Reader's Block.

I combined it with my own challenge to read at least 34 books from my TBR shelves to mark the year: 2X17. I picked those 34 books at the beginning of the year and have made surprisingly fast progress on them. I only have the seven pictured above left to finish.

What looks good?

Those I've already finished from the original list of 34 are:

The Biographer's Moustache by Kingsley Amis

When You Lunch With the Emperor by Ludwig Bemelmans

The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen

No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters

Poetic Justice by Amanda Cross

The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business; The Manticore; World of Wonders by Robertson Davies

Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered by Tod Davies

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick

Spotted Dick, S'Il Vous Plait: An English Restaurant in France by Tom Higgins

Ultimate Prizes by Susan Howatch

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman

Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally

The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison

Paradise News by David Lodge

An Oxford Tragedy by J. C. Masterman

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan

The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch

Rebus: The Lost Years: Let It Bleed; Black & Blue; The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo

Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö

The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark

Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler

Beck at Bay by John Updike

The Road to Burgundy: The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France by Ray Walker

The Life and Loves of a She Devil by Fay Weldon

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

Part of the reason I've read so many is that I haven't reviewed any of them. I've been so busy at work because we have several cases heading to trial. I can read on a plan traveling for work, or in bed before I fall asleep, but I don't have the mental energy to write a book review.

Book Beginning: Shadow of the Wind

BOOK BEGINNINGS ON FRIDAYS

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

MY BOOK BEGINNING

I still remember the day my father took me to the Cemetery of Forgotten Books for the first time. 

-- Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón. I am always slow to read popular books! Who read it already? What did you think?

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING

Book Beginning: The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch

SORRY FOR THE DELAY!

I SCHEDULED THIS TO POST WHILE I WAS TRAVELING FOR WORK. BUT MY OPERATOR ERROR -- I HAD THE WRONG DATE AND IT WAS GOING TO GO UP TONIGHT INSTEAD OF LAST NIGHT.

BIG APOLOGIES!

BUT IT'S MY BIRTHDAY TODAY, SO PLEASE BE NICE TO ME!!!

THANKS FOR JOINING ME ON FRIDAYS FOR BOOK BEGINNING FUN!

Please join me every Friday to share the first sentence (or so) of the book you are reading, along with your initial thoughts about the sentence, impressions of the book, or anything else the opener inspires. Please remember to include the title of the book and the author’s name.

EARLY BIRDS & SLOWPOKES: This weekly post goes up Thursday evening for those who like to get their posts up and linked early on. But feel free to add a link all week.

FACEBOOK: Rose City Reader has a Facebook page where I post about new and favorite books, book events, and other bookish tidbits, as well as link to blog posts. I'd love a "Like" on the page! You can go to the page here to Like it. I am happy to Like you back if you have a blog or professional Facebook page, so please leave a comment with a link and I will find you.

TWITTER, ETC: If you are on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Google+, or other social media, please post using the hash tag #BookBeginnings. I try to follow all Book  Beginnings participants on whatever interweb sites you are on, so please let me know if I have missed any and I will catch up.

TIE IN: The Friday 56 hosted by Freda's Voice is a natural tie in with this event and there is a lot of cross over, so many people combine the two. The idea is to post a teaser from page 56 of the book you are reading and share a link to your post. Find details and the Linky for your Friday 56 post on Freda’s Voice.

YOUR BOOK BEGINNING



MY BOOK BEGINNING

"How far away is it?"

-- The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch. Well, that's a nothing beginning that could go anywhere. But a good one for a book I started on a plane. This is one of the books for my 2X17 Challenge.

I finally got on Instagram, which immediately became my favorite #timesuck. And I see that several Book Beginners have been posting there, some of you with very clever visual interpretations. I'll try to do a better job of following along. Thanks for the inspiration!

2017 CHALLENGE: 2X17 & Mt. TBR

2X17: READ 34 BOOKS IN 2017

COMPLETED

I'm combining the Mt. TBR Challenge with a TBR challenge I came up with to read two books for each year of the century. This is the fourth year I've done it, so it gets a little more challenging each year. If anyone wants to join me, grab the button and play along! Leave a comment and I'll start a list here.

I am going to read 34 books for the 2X17 part of the challenge, one from each of 17 separate shelves on my TBR bookcases.

I have 27 fiction books and seven non-fiction books picked out. All seven of the non-fiction books are food-related, to overlap with the Foodies Read 2017 Challenge. For the fiction books, I picked books that I've most been meaning to read for a long time and aimed for a mix of long and short, heavy and light.

These are the books in alphabetical order by author, but I am going to read them as the mood strikes.

MY 2X17 BOOKS

One of the books I picked is a trilogy and the other is an omnibus edition of three Ian Rankin mysteries, so although there are 34 volumes on this list, I'll end up reading 38 books.

The Biographer's Moustache by Kingsley Amis FINISHED

When You Lunch With the Emperor by Ludwig Bemelmans FINISHED

The Heat of the Day by Elizabeth Bowen FINISHED

No Way to Treat a First Lady by Christopher Buckley FINISHED

A Morbid Taste for Bones by Ellis Peters FINISHED

Poetic Justice by Amanda Cross FINISHED

The Deptford Trilogy: Fifth Business; The Manticore; World of Wonders by Robertson Davies FINISHED

Jam Today Too: The Revolution Will Not Be Catered by Tod Davies FINISHED

Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis FINISHED

The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Eriksson FINISHED

Birdsong by Sebastian Faulks FINISHED

A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick FINISHED

Spotted Dick, S'Il Vous Plait: An English Restaurant in France by Tom Higgins FINISHED

About a Boy by Nick Hornby FINISHED

Ultimate Prizes by Susan Howatch FINISHED

Friday the Rabbi Slept Late by Harry Kemelman FINISHED

Schindler's List by Thomas Keneally FINISHED

The Whole Fromage: Adventures in the Delectable World of French Cheese by Kathe Lison FINISHED

Paradise News by David Lodge FINISHED

On Rue Tatin: Living and Cooking in a French Town by Susan Herrmann Loomis FINISHED

An Oxford Tragedy by J. C. Masterman FINISHED

The Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan FINISHED

The Unicorn by Iris Murdoch FINISHED

Blue Angel by Francine Prose FINISHED

Rebus: The Lost Years: Let It Bleed; Black & Blue; The Hanging Garden by Ian Rankin FINISHED

Remembrance of Things Paris: Sixty Years of Writing from Gourmet, edited by Ruth Reichl FINISHED

That Old Cape Magic by Richard Russo FINISHED

Roseanna by Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö FINISHED

The Girls of Slender Means by Muriel Spark FINISHED

Earthly Possessions by Anne Tyler FINISHED

Beck at Bay by John Updike FINISHED

The Road to Burgundy: The Unlikely Story of an American Making Wine and a New Life in France by Ray Walker FINISHED

The Life and Loves of a She Devil by Fay Weldon FINISHED

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón FINISHED

MT. TBR CHALLENGE:

READ A TOTAL OF 48 TBR BOOKS

COMPLETED

Bev at My Reader's Block hosts the Mt. TBR Challenge and I am signing up for the Mt. Ararat Level to read a total of 48 books off my TBR shelves. So in addition to those listed above, I need to knock off another 14. I don't know which ones they will be, but I will list them here as I read them.

THE MT. TBR BOOKS

The Panther by Nelson DeMille

Steve Jobs by Walter Isaacson

How to Hepburn: Lessons on Living from Kate the Great by Karen Karbo

Amarcord: Marcella Remembers by Marcella Hazan

Original Sin by P. D. James

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

Books: A Memoir by Larry McMurtry

The Song of the Lark by Willa Cather

The Architecture Pack : A Unique, Three-Dimensional Tour of Architecture by Ron Van der Meer

Slay Ride by Dick Francis

Free to Choose by Milton and Rose Friedman

Bandits by Elmore Leonard

Any Human Heart by William Boyd

The Narrow Road to the Deep North by Richard Flannigan (Booker Prize winner)

Through the Children's Gate: A Home in New York by Adam Gopnik

Any Woman's Blues by Erica Jong

The Heirs by Susan Rieger

The Question of Max by Amanda Cross

Reptile by David Ball

The Group by Mary McCarthy

The Journalist and the Murderer by Janet Malcolm

A Certain Justice by P. D. James

MT. TBR CHALLENGE CHECKPOINT

Bev added a Words to the Wise According to Mt. TBR checkpoint for those interested. I'll give it a go. The idea is to use titles of the books above to finish the aphorisms listed below:

A stitch in time...[saves] Girls of Slender Means
Don't count your chickens...[before] The Panther
A penny saved is.... No Way to Treat a First Lady
All good things must come... Through the Children's Gate
When in Rome... [be] Free to Choose
All that glitters is not... Original Sin
A picture is worth [the] ... Shadow of the WInd
When the going gets tough, the tough get... A Reliable Wife
Two wrongs don't make... Any Human Heart
The pen is mightier than.... The Whole Fromage
The squeaky wheel gets... Ultimate Prizes
Hope for the best, but prepare for... A Certain Justice
Birds of a feather flock... [to] Birdsong



NOTE: Updated January 1, 2018

In addition to the 34 books I read for my 2X17 Challenge, I read 22 other books for the Mt. TBR challenge, for a total of 56 books off my TBR shelves in 2017.