LibraryLover23's 2016 TBR Challenge

TBR Challenge List
1. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander
2. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Braun
3. The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot
4. The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay
5. Suspension by Richard Edward Crabbe
6. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
7. American Gods by Neil Gaiman
8. The Cellist Of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway (finished 3/1/16)
9. The Beach by Alex Garland (finished 7/6/16)
10. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay (finished 6/21/16)
11. The Password To Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene (finished 4/8/16)
12. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
13. In The Garden Of Beasts: Love, Terror, And An American Family In Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson (finished 11/11/16)
14. All The Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
15. Becoming Madame Mao by Anchee Min
16. Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky
17. The Blind Mirror by Christopher Pike
18. The Sixth Wife: The Wives Of Henry VIII by Jean Plaidy
19. The Blue Bear: A True Story Of Friendship And Discovery In The Alaskan Wild by Lynn Schooler (finished 9/9/16)
20. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd
21. Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout
22. Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor
23. The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman
24. To The Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf

>1 LibraryLover23:

Great list! Curious to hear your thoughts on American Gods - I've wanted to read that one forever.

Happy reading and happy holidays. :)

>2 artturnerjr: Thank you! Happy holidays to you too!

Lots of great books on your list. I enjoyed the Prydain Chronicles. I am a big Cormac McCarthy fan (as I always say), but I know some don't care for him, so I look forward to seeing what you think of ATPH.

Ah, good ole Olive Kitteridge - such an interesting character.

Great list - I've read two (The Princess Diaries and To the Lighthouse). There are quite a few that I haven't read but want to - I'll be watching with interest to see what you think of them!

I read the Prydain Chronicles in my school days, one of the series that hooked me on genre fiction. I thought the fourth book was the worst at that time, but it sounds the most intriguing now. Near the bottom of my TBR pile I still have The Mabinogian that this series is based on.

The Power of One and Ragtime occupy the fuzzy "not sure if I'll commit" area for me. American Gods didn't leave much impression on me (although I've toured the actual House on the Rock, so that's cool), and while I love Guy Gavriel Kay I'm not sure how I feel re Fionavar. Looking forward to your reviews of The Poisonwood Bible (I don't remember it well) and In the Garden of Beasts (read another by Larkson and considered this one). And that's the Woolf title I've placed on my TBR pile to sample her that I haven't gotten to yet. So basically, you have my attention!

>4 billiejean:, >5 LittleTaiko:, >6 thebookmagpie:, >7 Cecrow: Thank you all for the comments! I will try my best to get through most of this list so I can share my thoughts with everyone. ;)

1. The Cellist Of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
I read this one in little choppy bits but it really deserves better than that - an account of the siege of Sarajevo told from the perspective of four different characters, a father, a baker, a sniper and a cellist. It was very well written but the impact was lessened somewhat by my haphazard reading style.

>9 LibraryLover23: - That sounds like a lovely book. I'll have to add it to my wishlist.

>11 LibraryLover23: It made me want to learn more about that time in Sarajevo, the only thing I remembered about it was that Zlata's Diary was all the rage back then.

2. The Password To Larkspur Lane by Carolyn Keene
Another charming Nancy Drew mystery. The characters' actions can be so goofy, especially when Nancy makes some obvious observation and everyone treats her like a genius. But that's part of the fun of the series.

>12 LibraryLover23: - Hard to go wrong with a Nancy Drew - always fun to revisit her world.

Based on others' reviews I think it's interesting how, from today's perspective, the original 1930s editions permit Nancy more action/girl-power compared to the 50s/60s rewrites that came later and added in all the obligatory "girly" stuff. Original 1930 Hardy Boys were also different, but in a less positive way (more violence, etc) that in their case made the rewrites better.

>13 LittleTaiko: I agree!

>14 Cecrow: I've never read the later rewrites, but it'd be interesting to do a compare and contrast. I also have yet to read any Hardy Boys books...maybe someday!

3. The Summer Tree by Guy Gavriel Kay
Two things I didn't like about this one: one, ever since I read Stephen King's On Writing I've been hyper-aware of when an author uses too many adverbs ("he said angrily," etc.). And this author uses a lot of adverbs. The other thing I didn't like was the ease with which the characters from our world joined Silvercloak on his trip to Fionavar - it was laughingly abrupt and unrealistic. But as I was reading, the book itself became so darn good that I happily overlooked those two initial problems. There were so many twists and turns that I'm amazed there are still two books left in this series. I know how well-regarded Kay is, so even though this early effort was a little clunky at times, I can't wait to see what else he has in store.

>16 LibraryLover23: I really need to read GGK one of these days. Have two of his books in my TBR pile.

>17 Narilka: I'm glad I have other books of his to read, he's worth checking out!

4. The Beach by Alex Garland
Well this one was...interesting. Don't get me wrong, I really liked it and found the short chapters made it easy to keep reading, but I also didn't like Richard, the first-person narrator who was unreliable, kooky, and at times downright irritating. And let's not forget that he kills people as well. But it was a fascinating story all the same, about Richard and his friends' discovery of a secluded Thai beach and the off-the-grid people who live there. I didn't care for Richard, (although he was certainly never boring), but the world he lived in was definitely intriguing.

5. The Blue Bear: A True Story Of Friendship And Discovery In The Alaskan Wild by Lynn Schooler
I thought this one was great - very lyrical, detailed writing, which can sometimes annoy me but worked beautifully in this book's case. This is non-fiction about the author's life in Alaska as a guide, his friendship with a Japanese photographer, and their quest to find a glacier bear, one of the rarest types of bears in the world. Fascinating story overall, although tinged with sadness throughout.

I loved your review and have added it to my wishlist.

>21 billiejean: Thanks BJ! It's a "quiet" kind of book, but very well done I thought.

6. In The Garden Of Beasts: Love, Terror, And An American Family In Hitler's Berlin by Erik Larson
Non-fiction about William Dodd, the American ambassador to Germany, whose service started right at the start of Hitler's rise to power. It also focuses on Dodd's family, in particular his daughter Martha, and their interactions with members of the Nazi party and other important figures from that period. Like Larson's other books, it's very well-written and eminently readable.

Talk about a great time to get hired, lol

Another great review! You keep adding to my wishlist.

>24 Cecrow: I know! It's particularly disconcerting how everyone thought Hitler was just blowing hot air. Well, at least most people did.

>25 billiejean: Thanks BJ! I hope you like it!