An Easy Challenge for Next Year

I will probably still be finishing my around the world and around US tours next year because of Candy Crush the job hunt and move, but I am taking on a new challenge to read “Chunksters” (books over 500 pages) on Goodreads. That is not the one I am talking about here. This is the antidote. I am going to work on clearing the shelves of all the pipsqueaks (under 200 pages) which often are too short to count for other challenges I participate in. I’ll be doing that in the context of The 2014 TBR Pile Challenge.

Here are the rules from the original post by RoofBeamReader:

The Goal: To finally read 12 books from your “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:

1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2013 or later (any book published in the year 2012 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

2. To be eligible, you must sign-up with Mr. Linky below – link to your list (so create it ahead of time!) and add updated links to each book’s review. Books must be read and must be reviewed (doesn’t have to be too fancy) in order to count as completed.

3. The link you post in the Mr. Linky below must be to your “master list” (see mine below). This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge). See THIS LINK for an idea of what I mean. Your complete and final list must be posted by January 15th, 2014.

4. Leave comments on this post as you go along, to update us on your status. Come back here if/when you complete this challenge and leave a comment indicating that you CONQUERED YOUR 2014 TBR LIST! Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!

5. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published before 2013!

*Note – You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. As you complete a book – review it, and go back to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review – that will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered. For an example of what I mean, Click Here.

Monthly Check-Ins: On the 15th of each month, I’m going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.” This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress. There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!). I’m hoping this will help to keep us all on track and make the challenge a bit more engaging/interactive. I started these mini-challenges last year, and I think they were a great success, so I am continuing them this year!

It looked like fun, so here is my list:

1. Ironweed by William Kennedy
2. The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela
3. The Time Machine by H.G Wells
4. Execution Dock by Anne Perry
5. Hallucinating Foucault by Patricia Dunker
6. The Water Babies by Charles Kingsley
7. Maus I by Art Spiegelman
8. Nausea by John Paul Sartre
9. The Lover by Marguerite Duras
10. The Breast by Philip Roth
11. Sexing the Cherry by Jeannette Winterson
12. The Baron in the Trees by Italo Calvino

Alternates:
The Wasp Factory by Iain Banks
The Last Tycoon by F. Scott Fitzgerald

I made this list from my oversupply of pipsqueaks using this “fruit machine.”

To join this yourself, sign up on Mr. Linky