Thursday, January 2, 2014

The 2014 TBR Pile Challenge!

Since I'm still failing at this whole "blogging" thing, I knew that this challenge would be one to churn things up a bit. This is easily my favorite challenge....even though I fail at it every year (ha! I really do!). So, I am officially announcing that I am participating in the 2014 TBR Pile Challenge!

I'm taking this challenge on with a different approach. In years past, I focused on pulling books that had been lingering on my reading list for far too long. I did try and help myself out-books I wanted to read, books I was dreading....and well, you can see how that went (my aforementioned failure). This year, I'm pulling books from everywhere and pretty much ALL of them are books I want to read....not just books I'm making myself read because I "should."

In any case, I'm excited by my list and already started the first book (I started it on January 1, so that's not cheating, right??).

Onward to the list!

12 Titles:
1. A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin (quite honestly I'll probably read all of them, but that felt like cheating. So book 1 it is).
2. A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
3. Tess of D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy
4. The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro
5. John Adams by David McCullough
6. Truman by David McCullough
7. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
8. Autobiography by Benjamin Franklin Replaced with The Dark Mirror by Juliet Marillier (I realized I had already read the Franklin autobiography. Whoops!)
9. Charles Dickens by Claire Tomalin
10. American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House by Jon Meacham
11. A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway
12. Night and Day by Virginia Woolf

Alternates:
13. A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
14. Beloved by Toni Morrison

So, there you have it, the 12 books I am determined to read (I would really like to read all 14, but we'll see).

Let me know if you're signing and leave a link to your list-I'd love to take a look!

18 comments:

  1. I'm so tempted by this challenge but I just don't read enough these days and am afraid it will dictate most of my reading for the year. I loved a Remains of the Day. I hope you do too.

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    1. Thanks Trish! My reading quantity has slowed way down, so I know that feeling.

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  2. I love this challenge too, it forces me to commit to reading books that I've been putting off forever. Last year, though, I picked some books I'd been dreading, so this year I put more fun books on the list.

    You have such great choices! Game of Thrones is totally addictive, and I really enjoyed Tomalin's Dickens biography -- I listened to the audiobook last year, it's really good. Good luck with the challenge!

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    1. Yep, I tried to put some fun reads on there! Looking at my list from 2013....what was I thinking?

      I'm already reading GOT. I love the show, so I knew I would love the book more. I'm sure I'll fly through the series.

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  3. A Game of Thrones is on my TBR list as well - and was on my list last year (oops, slacker!). I really hope to get to it asap though! Good luck with your list! :)

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    1. Good luck! I started it and I'm already hooked. Do you watch the show?

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  4. Ooh, so many good ones on here! I plan to read A Game of Thrones too. Jason got me the first four books in a set for Christmas. Hopefully I like them! We should do a readalong or something this summer. :)

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    1. My partner got me the set for Christmas, too! We just finished watching Season 1 via Netflix. I really want to read them, but they're so freaking long.

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    2. I've had the box set for a couple years (I think Matt bought it for me before the show debuted). I've been putting them off even though I love the series. I told myself I would read them last summer....and here I am. I already started book 1, but I'd be game for a readalong of the remaining titles!

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  5. I'm joining in with this as well - it's my favourite challenge! My list is here http://beholdthestars.blogspot.co.uk/p/2014-challenges.html

    I'll be re-reading Night and Day this year, one of my favourite Woolfs. :)

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    1. I'll have to head over to check out your list!

      I love Woolf, but haven't gotten to this one....and it seems like the most interesting of the ones I own. :)

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  6. A Streetcar Named Desire is so, so good. I actually have most of these books sitting on my shelves unread, too. And most of them from publication date, which is pretty sad. Lol But that's kinda what we do, right? Benjamin Franklin's Autobiography is cool, too - he was quite the character. Glad you're with us - good luck!

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    1. Haha. I'm glad you're also a book hoarder.

      I actually have to change out the Franklin Autobiography...I read it in college and forgot until I pulled my copy down earlier! Whoops! I guess I need to think of another title...

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  7. A Tale of Two Cities!!! John Adams!! Claire Tomalin!!! :-)

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    1. I love your enthusiasm!

      I've been avoiding A Tale of Two Cities for a long time. I think I'm going to read it next, followed by the biography. I miss Dickens. :)

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  8. Wow some great titles there!
    I also now have the philosophy of only reading what I want to read (no more 'shoulds'). I even had a huge clean up of my TBR pile and got rid of the 'shoulds' completely - the pile is still out of control, but at least they're all friendly faces staring back at me :-)

    Good luck

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  9. Amazing list! You have some really good titles here. I read A Moveable Feast last year and was really pleasantly surprised by it. I'm really excited to do this challenge for the first time and see what treasures await in my pile! My list is here: http://www.litnerd.co.uk/2014/01/tbr-pile-challenge-2014-list.html#.Us_0btJ_uE4

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  10. What a great list of classics! Remains of the Day is so poignant- I loved it. Have fun with your reading this year!

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