Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge

Take Control of Your TBR Pile

The Take Control of Your TBR Pile Challenge is entering its fourth year, but this is the first year I’ll be participating.

The Rules:

For the entire month of March, read books in your TBR pile released before March 1, 2016. They can be eBooks, physical books, or audiobooks.

My Goals:

  • I will read nothing but physical books I already own.  That means no borrowed books, whether from the library, a friend, or the Boyfriend’s bookshelves.
  • I’ll update my progress in my weekly “Monday’s Minutes” posts, and write a final wrap-up post at the end of the month.
  • I’ll also write a review for every book I read.
  • I will participate in the 24-hour TBR Readathon on March 12th.
  • I will try to participate in the Twitter party on March 16th.

My TBR:

As you all know by now, I have an entire floor to ceiling bookcase full of books I’ve never read.  Thanks to the Boyfriend and giveaway winnings, I haven’t cleared out any space yet this year.  While I also haven’t run out of space again, that needs to change because we’re moving in March, and I’d love to have at least one box of books headed to the used bookstore before then.  While I don’t have any specific books I plan to read during the challenge, I do plan on attacking the paperbacks I’m pretty sure I won’t want to keep after I finish them.

Feel the Paper Love February: My TBR

2015-12-29 11.54.22

Yep, that’s right!  The photo above of my bookcase is my TBR mountain for Feel the Paper Love February.  Why?  Because, with the exception of three books I want to read this month, I don’t have a plan.  It depends on the weather, my mood, and how quickly I get through the other three books.

What are those three books?

  • An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon – I started it on the 1st of the year but kept getting distracted by other books.
  • The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith – I borrowed this from the Boyfriend’s Mom’s Husband when we went to visit for Christmas.  I don’t know how it will work out, but the plan is that we will exchange books when the Boyfriend’s Mom comes down to Austin every couple of months.  Since I don’t know when she’ll be in town next, I want to have the book finished, a note with my thoughts about it written, and a book of mine ready to send with it.
  • Warren the 13th and the All-Seeing Eye by Tania Del Rio – This is an ARC that I’ve had on my shelf for far too long.

One thing I did decide is that, since I’m choosing to read nothing but physical books this month, but I usually listen to audiobooks when I’m in the car, I’m going to catch up with the ridiculous number of podcasts I’ve been neglecting instead.  They’re not books, so I’m not breaking my commitment to the printed page.  I’ll return to my audiobooks next month.

Feel the Paper Love February

FeelPaperFeb

Litha over at Victorian Soul Book Critiques is hosting the Feel the Paper Love February reading challenge!  I’m joining in because if there is any section of my TBR mountain I need to concentrate on, it’s clearing some space on my physical bookshelves.  As most, if not all of you know by now, I live in a small apartment with the Boyfriend, and between the both of us and our book collections, there just isn’t enough space to display all of the books we own.  At least half of my books are in storage, and the ones I’ve never read are residing in a floor to ceiling bookcase that, to put it frankly, is overstuffed.  I’ve lost count since the last time I updated my Goodreads shelves and have since added more, but there are at least 150 physical books I have never read.

The rules are simple: participants have to either read nothing but physical books -or- set a goal number of physical books to read during the month of February.

I’m going with the first option.  I don’t know how many books I’ll get through, or even which books I’ll read, but they’ll all be sniffable 🙂

Are you participating in the Feel the Paper Love February challenge?

Bout of Books 15 Mini-Challenge: Would You Rather?

Bout of Books

Lori @ Writing My Own Fairy Tale has challenged those of us participating in Bout of Books to a game of BookishWould You Rather?”  Below are the questions and my responses.

Would you rather…

  • Lend books to someone who dog-ears pages or to someone who reads with cheesy Cheetos fingers?  I’d much rather lend books to someone who dog-ears pages than someone who eats Cheetos while they read.  Why?  Cheetos stains never come off the page.  I know this from experience.  I purchased a used book awhile back, and while I was reading it, it became apparent that the previous owner was a lover of the orange powdered covered snack.  *Sigh* maybe someday I’ll be able to find a better copy.
  • Be able to meet one character of your choice or meet one author of your choice?  Usually, I would rather meet a favorite character than an author, but I think I’d prefer meeting Diana Gabaldon.  After all, Jamie Fraser will always belong to Claire, and I’ve got my own Scot to snuggle.
  • Never be allowed in a bookstore again or never be allowed in a library again?  I’ll take the library over the bookstore any day.  Libraries are free, and this is the 2nd year I’m participating in the Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge, so I can’t buy any books anyway.
  • Have to choose one of your favorite characters to die in their book or have to pick one of your favorite couples to break up in their book?  I’d rather have a favorite couple break up than have any of my favorite characters die; unless the break up causes so much heartache the character(s) die anyway.
  • Be required to read Twilight once a year for the rest of your life or The Scarlet Letter once a year for the rest of your life?  The Scarlet Letter hands down.  I’ve read Twilight, and I once started The Scarlet Letter but got distracted by another book.  Being a classic, I think The Scarlet Letter would stand frequent re-reads much better than Twilight.

Bout of Books 15!

Bout of Books

The Bout of Books read-a-thon is organized by Amanda @ On a Book Bender and Kelly @ Reading the Paranormal. It is a week long read-a-thon that begins 12:01 am Monday, January 4th and runs through Sunday, January 10th in whatever time zone you are in. Bout of Books is low-pressure. There are challenges, giveaways, and a grand prize, but all of these are completely optional. For all Bout of Books 15 information and updates, be sure to visit the Bout of Books blog. – From the Bout of Books team

It’s that time again!  Unfortunately, I’m considerably more busy than I was during Bout of Books 14, but I’m determined not to let that stop me from reading every day instead of doing other things with my free time.

My Goals

  • Read for at least 2 hours each day.
  • Finish at least 1 book, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to finish 2.

Books to Read

  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling
  • An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
  • Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

Updates

I will be posting an update each day with the amount of time I read, the number of pages read that day, and the titles of any books I’ve finished.

#ShelfLove 2016

Shelf Love Challenge 2016
I’m joining the Show Your Shelves Some Love Challenge again!  Below are my goals.

My Goals

  • Read at least 51 books from my personal library that I got before January 1, 2016 (my shelves and I are going steady).
  • With the exception of one book, I can only buy books using gift cards.  I can “buy” as many free books as I would like, accept ARCs, and enter giveaways to my heart’s content, but I may only use my hard earned cash to buy one carefully chosen book.
  • The one book I buy this year must be purchased with the funds I raise from selling books to the used bookstore.
  • Participate in the monthly discussion posts.

My TBR

2015-12-29 11.54.22

These are, of course, only my physical books, and not all of them are books I haven’t read yet, but the majority of them have never been opened. Total, I have approximately 400 unread books sitting on my shelves or in my Kindle and Nook.  One of my projects this year will be to update my TBR shelf on Goodreads to get a more accurate total (none of the ebooks on my Nook are on it).

The Twelve Books of Christmas Challenge

12 Books of Christmas

Shaina @ Shaina Reads has challenged those of us who wish to participate to read 12 books during the month of December!  I would have posted this earlier, but I refuse to do anything Christmas related, other than stashing away presents for those I love, before Thanksgiving.

The only rule is that the books have to be at least 100 pages in length.  So, I’m making up a rule for myself.  All the books I plan to read for the challenge will be Christmas or Winter related.  Some of the books on my challenge TBR are maybe stretching that a little bit, but it’s my rule, so I can do what I want 🙂  I doubt I’ll be able to read all 12 on the list since a couple of them are door stops, but I’m going to try.

My TBR List

  • A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens (I read this every year.)
  • A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon
  • Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
  • Snowglobe 7 by Mike Tucker
  • The Paris Winter by Imogen Robertson
  • White Fang by Jack London
  • The Winter Freak Show by Daniel Parsons
  • Greenglass House by Kate Milford
  • Around the World with Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis
  • Fire and Ice by Patty Jansen
  • The Girl from Krakow by Alex Rosenberg
  • Ice Demon by Elizabeth Watasin

I have several backups in case any of these wind up being DNFs.

Are you participating in the 12 Books of Christmas challenge?  Even if you’re not, are your December reads Christmas or Winter themed?  What are your favorite Winter books?  Comment below!

#COYER Going Back to Basics Challenge

COYERBTBsignup

From December 19th to March 4th, I’ll be participating in the Clean out your E-reads (COYER) Challenge hosted by Fantasy is More FunBecause Reading & Books, Movies, Reviews! Oh, My!

The Rules

  • Read your e-reads. Every book read for the challenge must be in an electronic format – meaning ebook or audiobook.
  • The books must be FREE or NEARLY FREE. What’s nearly free? No more than $5 for ebooks and no more than $16 for audiobooks.
  • Review & link reviews.

My Goals

  • Read at least ten ebooks/audiobooks.
  • Clear out my Netgalley ebooks.
  • Participate in at least one Twitter party.

TBR

This list will probably change by Dec. 19th since I’m hoping to have several of the books already finished and reviewed by then.

Dewey’s 24 Hour #Readathon – Cover Escape Mini-Challenge

Audra @ Unabridged Chick has challenged those of us participating in Dewey’s 24 Hour Readathon to find a book with a cover we would love to escape to and away from where we’re at now.

Lisey's Story

I chose the cover of Lisey’s Story by Stephen King.  I understand that most people living anywhere that isn’t Texas won’t understand how anyone could possibly want to escape to all that snow, but it’s still getting up into the mid to high 90s here in Austin!  Also, I’m not a native, and I was born during the Winter in a considerably colder locale (Japan).  I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the Texas heat, no matter how long I live in the South.  It’s been over four years now, and I’m not convinced I’m acclimated yet.  Plus, I miss snow!!!  I also miss all the wintry stuff that I used to wear and do when I was a kid staying at my grandparent’s house in Wisconsin.  Yeah, I know, shoveling is back-breaking work that no one wants to do, and the salt on the roads slowly destroys cars but forget about all that grown up stuff.  If you’ve ever built a snow fort, snowman, or created an angel in the snow, remember how much fun you had, and the taste of hot chocolate and peppermint sticks, and the smell of pine trees and that crisp cold air.  Don’t even get me started on Christmas!  *sigh*

The Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge

I recently found out about the Never-Ending Anne Rice Reading Challenge and decided to join in.  However, I’m only challenging myself to re-read the “Vampire Chronicles”, including Anne Rice’s latest book, Prince Lestat, and “The Lives of the Mayfair Witches” trilogy.  I’ve already finished Interview with the Vampire, but the Boyfriend is currently reading The Vampire Lestat.  So, I’ll have to wait until he’s done.  He takes awhile to finish the books I loan him, mostly because he’s busy reading other books, and that’s ok.  I just won’t be able to set a time goal, but while I wait, I’ll be reading The Witching Hour.  I’ll update this post as I finish each book, and link the titles to my reviews.

The Vampire Chronicles

  • Interview with the Vampire
  • The Vampire Lestat
  • Queen of the Damned
  • The Tale of the Body Thief
  • Memnock the Devil
  • The Vampire Armand
  • Merrick
  • Blood and Gold
  • Blackwood Farm
  • Blood Canticle
  • Prince Lestat

The Lives of the Mayfair Witches