Mount TBR 2018

[frayadjacent]

My reading goals for 2016 and 2017 only involved number of books, because I was trying to get back in the reading habit. Now that I am, I want to focus more on reading the books I own. I've done a lot of purges over the years so Mount TBR isn't as huge as it might be for some people, but I want to get through it anyway. I'm doing the 12 book challenge. My twelve books are:

Three graphic "novels" (what do you call them when they're nonfiction/biography-ish?):

The Art of Charlie Chan Hock Chye, by Sonny Liew. A graphic biography about comics and the history of Singapore.
Footnotes in Gaza, by Joe Sacco. A journalist does a graphic memoir about his time in Gaza.
Red Rosa, by Kate Evans. A biography of Rosa Luxemburg.

One non fiction:

The Many-Headed Hydra: Sailors, Slaves, Commoners, and the Hidden History of the Revolutionary Atlantic, by Marcus Rediker and Peter Linebaugh

One memoir:

One Day I Will Write About This Place  (ebook) by Binyavanga Wainaina

Five novels:

White Teeth by Zadie Smith
We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves (ebook), by Karen Joy Fowler
Orsinian Tales, Always Coming Home,  and The Beginning Place by Ursula K Le Guin. I haven't read two of Le Guin's first three novels, I haven't read her Powers series from ~10 years ago, and I haven't read these. I did start Always Coming Home back in, like...2002? And got bored. But I was working full time and going to school full time back then, so maybe I'll have more patience now.

Two short story collections:

The Compass Rose and The Wind's Twelve Quarters by Ursula K. Le Guin. These are the only re-reads on the list. I last read these more than ten years ago, got rid of the books four years ago, and re-purchased them last year. So I reckon it counts. Plus

cahn and luzula were recently discussing them and it really made me want to re-read them.

 

I learned about the challenge from tinny! Apparently this is a thing you can sign up for, but I don't know where (and don't intend to do so myself).

Pike's Peak: Read 12 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Blanc: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Vancouver: Read 36 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Ararat: Read 48 books from your TBR piles/s
Mt. Kilimanjaro: Read 60 books from your TBR pile/s
El Toro: Read 75 books from your TBR pile/s
Mt. Everest: Read 100 books from your TBR pile/s
Mount Olympus (Mars): Read 150+ books from your TBR pile/s

And the rules:
*Once you choose your challenge level, you are locked in for at least that many books. If you find that you're on a mountain-climbing roll and want to tackle a taller mountain, then you are certainly welcome to upgrade. All books counted for lower mountains carry over towards the new peak.

*Challenge runs from January 1 to December 31, 2018.

*You may sign up anytime from now until November 1st, 2018.

*Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2018. No library books.

*Rereads may count only in the following circumstances: If you did not own the book when you read it long ago and far away [based on your age, you can decide what that might mean--definitely not within the last five years...my arbitrary pick for a limit] and you bought the book pre-January 1, 2018 intending to reread it now that it's your very own. [To clarify--the intention is to reduce the stack of books that you have bought for yourself or received as presents {birthday, Christmas, "just because," etc.}. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.]

*You may count any "currently reading" book that you begin prior to January 1--provided that you had 50% or more of the book left to finish in 2016. I will trust you all on that.

*You may count "Did Not Finish" books provided they meet your own standard for such things, you do not plan to ever finish it, and you move it off your mountain [give it away, sell it, etc. OR remove it from your e-resources]. For example, my personal rule (unless it's a very short book) is to give a book at least 100 pages. If I decide I just can't finish it and won't ever, then off the mountain it goes and I count it as a victory--the stack is smaller!
 

Comments

[luzula]

Looking forward to your reactions on all your Le Guin-reading! And the Atlantic book sounds intriguing.

[frayadjacent]

Yes! After reading Cahn's thread and your comments the other day, I am excited to re-read Le Guin.

I bought the Atlantic book a couple of years ago, when I was really getting into Hamilton. It made me want to learn about people from that time and place (roughly) who I'd actually find politically inspiring/interesting.

[monanotlisa]

I've only read White Teeth of these...do tell us about the Le Guin collection after reading, by the way! :)

[frayadjacent]

Will do! My pattern seems to be to be fairly consistent in posting about my reading for the first half of the year, then fall off in the second half.

[calvinahobbes]

(what do you call them when they're nonfiction/biography-ish?):
Still graphic novels, actually!

I cheer you in your endeavor! It's a really cool challenge, and I should totally join in, but - meep!

[frayadjacent]

Ha ha! I hope to finish it but then I look at my library to-read list and I'm not so sure...

[tinny]

Oooh, good luck! I haven't read a single one of those, I think. ...but rydra_wong keeps gushing about the pirate book if I'm not confusing it with another one.

I've finished my first book last week, right on time, yay! (Now I just have to catch up to my flist and post all those reviews ;D)

p.s.: i am pretty sure you can sign up through goodreads, or in the blog of the person who came up with the challenge, but since i don't have an account at goodreads and i don't know the person. so just leaving a comment in her blog will be much less of a motivation for me than posting the challenge here on dw.