Handshake's 2022 Challenge

Hello everyone. I'm new to this group and challenge, but like the rest of you, I have books sitting on my TBR shelf that have been haunting me for years. Now seems like a perfect chance to tackle some of those tomes. I am a bit behind, given the month, but I'm pushing through to see if I can make it!

Primary List:
1. The Descent by Jeff Long | ★★★★☆
2. Journey of Awakening by Ram Dass | ★★★☆☆
3. Left Behind: The Kids #16 by Jerry B. Jenkins | ★★★★☆
4. Left Behind: The Kids #17 by Jerry B. Jenkins | ★★★★☆
5. Left Behind: The Kids #18 by Jerry B. Jenkins | ★★★★☆
6. The Cellar by Richard Laymon | ★★★☆☆
7. The Stand by Stephen King | ★★★★☆
8. Song of Kali by Dan Simmons | ★★★☆☆
9. Sphere by Michael Crichton | ★★★★★
10. The Ice Limit by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child | ★★★★☆
11. I am Legend by Richard Matheson | ★★★☆☆
12. City of Glass by Paul Auster | ★★★☆☆
13. Mortal Fear by Robin Cook | ★★★★☆
14. Brain by Robin Cook | ★★★★★
15. Revival by Stephen King | ★★★★☆
16. Point Omega by Don DeLillo | ★★★☆☆
17. Running Wild by J.G. Ballard | ★★★☆☆

Next Year's List: Books to Pay Off (Already Owned)
1. The Trench by Steve Alten
2. Running Wild by J.G. Ballard
3. The Floating Opera by John Barth
4. Blood Music by Greg Bear
5. The Deep by Peter Benchley
6. The DaVinci Code by Dan Brown
7. The Forgotten Room by Lincoln Child
8. 3001 by Arthur C. Clarke
9. Travels by Michael Crichton
10. White Noise by Don DeLillo
11. The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles
12. A Frolic of His Own by William Gaddis
13. The Grid by Philip Kerr
14. The Bad Place by Dean Koontz
15. The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
16. Vigil by Robert Masello
17. Lolita by Vladmir Nabokov
18. Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven & Jerry Pournelle
19. My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk
20. Tyrannosaur Canyon by Douglas Preston
21. Gravity's Rainbow by Thomas Pynchon
22. Map of Bones by James Rollins
23. The Fall of Hyperion by Dan Simmons
24. Anathem by Neal Stephenson
25. Ghosty Story by Peter Straub
26. FreedomTM by Daniel Suarez
27. The Widow's Son by Robert Anton Wilson

Alternates:
Mastery by Robert Greene
The Encyclopedia of Bodybuilding by Arnold Schwarzenegger

Welcome! I ended a challenge year myself with Anathem not long ago, great story.

>2 Cecrow: Oh, really? How did you like it? I'm about 1/4 of the way through and I still have no idea what is going on, haha.

He does some interesting twists on real-world history in his world-building, which you must be seeing already, and then some even bigger twists will build on that. There's eventual payoff for all the backstory he's dumping on you (even if you can't quite keep it all straight - I couldn't!) Definitely worth your continuing.

I'm assuming you've already read Hyperion if you have its Fall lined up? Really the two books should be bound together, it's the second half of the story.

That's a relief. I've been having a hard time keeping track of all the lingo and whatnot in Anathem. Glad to hear it pays off.

I have read Hyperion. Loved it. I read somewhere that the two books were originally slated to be published as one volume, but the publishers decided it was too costly and split them up (hence the back-to-back years of publication).

Looking at my list now, I think I can safely say that I'm definitely not going to make it! :(

>6 handshakes:, me either, but I'm having fun trying. In 12 attempts, I've only completed it three or four times.

>7 Cecrow: As long as you have fun, I suppose that's all that matters!

>6 handshakes: that's ok...im also not going to make it this year...not by a long shot!

as a bookworm, its quite a nice problem to have...to know there's always more to read ^.^

>9 riida: This is true... but it can be overwhelming at times. Especially when I go to pick out a new book to read and I have infinite choices! Very difficult to make up my mind. I used to sit in front of my bookshelf for hours, just looking and trying to decide what to read next.

>10 handshakes: ah...i feel your pain...i have several times attempted to learn how to speed read so i can get to books on my shelves faster...but i just cant speed read for pleasure, and each year it seems i barely make a dent on my unread stack O.O

Same, if I could read faster I'd get through a lot more before the ultimate Time's Up, but I wouldn't enjoy it nearly as much. I try to read at whatever speed the book I'm reading deserves, lingering over the better ones.

Someone in another thread had a great line about the TBR pile: it's not a mountain to climb, it's a forest to explore.

>12 Cecrow: 'it's not a mountain to climb, it's a forest to explore' -> nice! if i knew how, i'd knit or crochet this and hang it by my bookshelves ^_^

I agree with both of you: I can't speed-read at all or I lose comprehension and I start to lose interest/enjoyment. Sometimes it feels like a mountain of forests though, haha.

It would probably help if I stopped adding so many books to my alternate list!

I finished The Ice Limit today. Definitely didn't match up with the blurbs on the back of the book which proclaimed it to be "frightening" and "thrilling" but it was still a solid read.

I finished Revival by Stephen King a few days ago. There were definitely a few scenes that could have been cut out without having any impact on the plot whatsoever (but that's just how King writes). And the ending wasn't worthy of the 450+ page buildup. But, as always, with The King, it's hit or miss... and this time it missed.

I haven't read much of his more recent work, although Fairy Tale sounds up my alley.

>18 Cecrow: A friend of mine recently read Fairy Tale. He said it was great. I'm not willing to pay $30 for a hardcover, so we'll see what I think when it comes out in paperback.

>19 handshakes: King comes up with the most ridiculously intriguing ideas for his books! a shame that his books are, as you mentioned, either hits or misses. I hope Fairy Tale turns out to be a hit...i'd love to read it!

>20 riida: I've noticed that he can get away with publishing just about anything these days which is unfortunate; if I were to have written the book it would have never gotten published! His early stuff is my favorite.

>21 handshakes:, same general feeling. Looking at his bibliography, I think he lost most of my interest sometime around 1990 or so:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_King_bibliography

I don't like to say that though, because it coincides with when he stopped drinking himself to death and started writing sober, which he should absolutely be congratulated on.

>22 Cecrow: 100%. Especially since he struggled with painkillers after his accident too. But not all of his cracked-out books were good, either. Tommyknockers was definitely written under the influence and it's not great. I'd have to agree with your statement for the most part (see 1990), but I haven't read too many of his recent books. I always tell people he could wipe his butt and sell it and people would line up to buy it. There comes a point where the publishers no longer care about providing quality literature but just making money.

wow, i did not know this about king...i've not read his newer efforts. i do have his 'Outsider' on my shelves...maybe i should add it to my tbr challenge for next year...

I think the most impressive (?) bit of trivia I learned while reading his On Writing was when he said he couldn't remember writing Cujo at all, he was so far gone at the time. Which he said was too bad, because he liked that one.

>25 Cecrow: Yes, I remember this as well! It's gotta be crazy to not remember something as monumental as that.

>25 Cecrow: i found that kind of funny :p

Just finished Brain by Robin Cook. Didn't know I liked medical thrillers so much until just recently!

Finished City of Glass by Paul Auster last night. The book was compelling enough to read all the way through, but not enough to read another one of his works. Too many plot-holes.

>29 handshakes:, that trilogy interests me, I've been meaning to tackle it.

>30 Cecrow: It was... a disappointment, to say the least. It read like a poor-man's Borges. He basically got halfway through the story and then just said oops, it's over.

Wow! I did it! Despite having read only seven books by September, I cruised through five since then! Using the Bookly app has helped so much. I highly recommend it.

wow! amazing ^_^ having not reached my main goals this year, im very jealous!

The Stand was an old King favourite...City of Glass is one of those books that intimidate me :p I think I have it somewhere but havent gotten around to giving it a proper go yet....

>33 riida: Thanks! You can still hustle, hehe. City of Glass was the easiest book I read this year, so don't be intimidated. It's a very short, easy read. Honestly, I'm not sure I'd even recommend it... However, it was my first Auster book so I may be biased.

Just finished Point Omega by Don DeLillo. There were a few moments where I thought, "whoa..." as my mind probed itself deep into a realization that things were happening on a subconscious level. Things I felt as I read. It's not something I could describe other than saying it felt like an acid trip during those moments. Otherwise, the book holds no value. Nothing of substance happens. There is no plot. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone except diehard DeLillo fans.

>35 handshakes:, haven't tried this author yet but planning to read Underworld at some point.

Primary list COMPLETED!

>36 Cecrow: I am as well! I found it alongside Point Omega a few weeks ago so I bought them both.

seems like a brilliant reading year for you :)

>38 riida: Thanks! I've been trying different genres and trying to read at least one hour per day. It's helped a lot.