I finished 20 books in August:
1 perennial re-read:
5 books in the Top Mysteries challenge, one of them part of a trilogy that’s listed as one book in the CWA list, so you could say I have read 4 1/3 TM titles. They are:
5 in the Icelandic books challenge: 2 so-so short story collections, 2 pretty good poetry books, and one travelogue that pretty much sucked due to being mostly a rewrite of the historical and descriptive chapters of some guide book, interspersed with only a handful of observations by the author herself. They are:
2 books from the TBR list:
Unfortunately I must admit that I have failed to keep to the TBR challenge list. The sin registry numbers a whole 8 books that I read because I wanted to read them more than I wanted to read any book on the challenge list, although at least 4 of them actually fit the challenge criteria. The books were:
The TBR-for-over-a-year challenge:
I am beginning to feel that having such a long master list is becoming a chore. Since reading is supposed to be fun, I have decided to change the TBR challenge, make it more spontaneous and allow myself to read books I am in the mood for reading that don’t belong in the challenge. I am now going to run the challenge on a monthly basis, at least to the end of the year. At the beginning of each month, I will pre-choose 5 books that fit the original criteria (I have owned them for more than a year but not read them yet), to read during that month. When I have finished reading those 5 books, I will be free to read all the non-challenge books I want, to the end of the month when the cycle begins again. Any books I read that fit the criteria but aren't on the list count towards the final tally. I am beginning with the 4 books on the original list I am most interested in reading right now (indeed, I have started reading one of them already), and adding 1 new one I am in the mood for reading.
The Books:
Heaven’s Command by James Morris
La Cucina by Lily Prior
Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald
Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
1 perennial re-read:
- Gerald Durrell: Catch Me a Colobus - memoir, animal collecting
5 books in the Top Mysteries challenge, one of them part of a trilogy that’s listed as one book in the CWA list, so you could say I have read 4 1/3 TM titles. They are:
- E.C. Bentley: Trent's Last Case - Murder mystery
- Erskine Childers: The Riddle of the Sands - Espionage thriller
- Len Deighton: Berlin Game - Espionage thriller (to be reviewed with the rest of the trilogy)
- Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird - Novel
- Dorothy L. Sayers: Gaudy Night - Murder mystery
5 in the Icelandic books challenge: 2 so-so short story collections, 2 pretty good poetry books, and one travelogue that pretty much sucked due to being mostly a rewrite of the historical and descriptive chapters of some guide book, interspersed with only a handful of observations by the author herself. They are:
- Andrés G. Þormar : Hillingar - short stories
- Eggert Ólafsson : Kvæði (Íslensk úrvalsrit) -poetry
- Helgi Valtýsson : Þegar Kóngsbænadagurinn týndist og aðrar sögur - short stories
- Jón Þorláksson : Ljóðmæli (Íslensk úrvalsrit) - poetry and poetry translations
- Rannveig Tómasdóttir : Fjarlæg lönd og framandi þjóðir - travelogue
2 books from the TBR list:
- Anthony Bourdain: Gone Bamboo - Mafia thriller
- Sharyn Mccrumb: Ghost Riders - Historical novel
Unfortunately I must admit that I have failed to keep to the TBR challenge list. The sin registry numbers a whole 8 books that I read because I wanted to read them more than I wanted to read any book on the challenge list, although at least 4 of them actually fit the challenge criteria. The books were:
- Andrea Camilleri: The Terracotta Dog - Murder mystery
- Polly Evans: Kiwis Might Fly - Travelogue
- Ngaio Marsh: Off With His Head and Scales of Justice - Murder mysteries
- Nora Roberts: Midnight Bayou and Northern Lights - Romantic thrillers
- Dorothy L. Sayers: Have His Carcase - Murder mystery
- (No. 8 was the reread).
The TBR-for-over-a-year challenge:
I am beginning to feel that having such a long master list is becoming a chore. Since reading is supposed to be fun, I have decided to change the TBR challenge, make it more spontaneous and allow myself to read books I am in the mood for reading that don’t belong in the challenge. I am now going to run the challenge on a monthly basis, at least to the end of the year. At the beginning of each month, I will pre-choose 5 books that fit the original criteria (I have owned them for more than a year but not read them yet), to read during that month. When I have finished reading those 5 books, I will be free to read all the non-challenge books I want, to the end of the month when the cycle begins again. Any books I read that fit the criteria but aren't on the list count towards the final tally. I am beginning with the 4 books on the original list I am most interested in reading right now (indeed, I have started reading one of them already), and adding 1 new one I am in the mood for reading.
The Books:
Heaven’s Command by James Morris
La Cucina by Lily Prior
Onions in the Stew by Betty MacDonald
Portrait in Death by J.D. Robb
The City of Falling Angels by John Berendt
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