SusanJ tackles Mount TBR

Hello fellow tome-readers! I'm joining this challenge because I have amassed a gazillion ebooks which I really need to read instead of just collecting. I don't have that many hard-copy books due to a lack of space, and I made some progress with them over the summer when I accidentally killed my Kindle, but I should add those in too.

I'll make a list later, and create a ticker with my goal number (I am still thinking about what might be realistic), but I wanted to bookmark the group and get my thread going. Thanks to Christina for the link to the group!




Yay, my ticker works! I've decided on 30 books as my goal, because I am so often waylaid by new things at the library.

I've looked at my hard-copy TBR pile and had a peep at the Kindle (terrifying) and I definitely want to read these books in 2013, so I am listing them now as a reminder:

Non-fiction

The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain by Juliet Gardiner (finished 24 March)
White Heat: A History of Britain in the Swinging Sixties by Dominic Sandbrook
When The Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies by Andy Beckett
No Such Thing As Society: A History of Britain in the 1980s by Andy McSmith
Courtiers: The Secret History of Kensington Palace by Lucy Worsley
The Churchills: In Love and War by Mary S Lovell
The People of the Abyss by Jack London (finished 10 Jan)
Domestic Manners of the Americans by Fanny Trollope (finished 9 Jan)

Classics

The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope (finished 16 March)
The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (finished 11 July)

Modern fiction

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes (abandoned)
The Secret Intensity of Everyday Life by William Nicholson
The Slaves of Solitude by Patrick Hamilton
The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman (finished 25 March)
Look At Me by Jennifer Egan (finished 25 February)
Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas (finished 20 February)
The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain (finished 6 May)
A Body in Berkeley Square by Ashley Gardner (finished 23 March)

Romancelandia

I have a bad habit of downloading free and cheap Kindle romances, often 1980s books republished by their authors who have the rights back. But I love them...Anyway, I am going to try and read some of the box sets this year and resist adding too many more.

Fierce Eden (finished 3 Jan), Louisiana Dawn (finished 6 Jan), Embrace and Conquer (finished 2 March), Southern Rapture, Perfume of Paradise and Prisoner of Desire by Jennifer Blake, which together with Spanish Serenade (read last year) make up the Louisiana History Collection

The Mysterious Maidservant (finished 7 Jan), The Temptation of Torilla (abandoned), Lucky Logan Finds Love (abandoned) and Fragrant Flower (abandoned) by Barbara Cartland, acquired from amazon on special offer

A Love for All Seasons, Autumn's Flame, Spring's Fury, Summer's Storm and Winter's Heat by Denise Domning

Welcome Susan!

No problem, Susan -- glad you joined also! :)

Susan, glad you found your way here...welcome!

Hi Susan, dropping by to leave a star so I can visit on a regular basis and root you on!

Hi Susan, glad to see we are both here trying to work on our TBR piles! *waves*

Hi Susan - I'm trying this challenge for the first time this year, too. Hopefully, we'll both be successful!

#2: Hi Jean! I've added a few more books to my first post, as I think it will help me to focus.

#3: Hi Christina! I've got a lot of kissing books on the Kindle, and I definitely want to try and make some progress with those.

#4: Hi Chèli - glad I could join and try and make some progress.

#5: Hi Judy, and thanks for starring me. I'm going to need cheering on as I get distracted by all the new library books.

#6: Hi Lori *waving back* - my main goal is to be able to look at the Kindle without fear, I think!

#7: Hi Mamie - best of luck with your own challenge!

Well, I don't have a finish to report, as my first 2013 book was from the library, but my next start is going to be The Thirties: An Intimate History by Juliet Gardiner, which is from my ROOT pile. It's a real chunkster so probably best read at home, but I remember getting it for a great price which was too good to pass up. Oh wait, I don't have to make excuses here ;-) I enjoyed the author's book about Britain during WW2 but I know less about the Thirties than about the war.

Lots of succes and ROOting for you!

Thanks Connie! I'm really hoping this will whittle down the TBR pile.

Just popping by to say hi. You've got some good books on your list, especially Trollope one of my favourite authors. You've given me an idea as there are definitely some books languishing in my tbr mountain that I want to read this year, will have to think about this.

Ooh, The Way We Live Now! I watched the TV adaptation of that one and it was really good. Hope you like the book! :) And good luck with tackling Mt TBR!

#11: I've loved the Trollope I've read so far. I read the Palliser series a few years ago and just have the last Barchester one now and then I'm onto the stand alone novels.

#12: Thank you! I'll do the same for you.

#13: I loved that TV adaptation too. Did you see He Knew He Was Right? I read the book afterwards and thought it was better than the TV version. I'm looking forward to The Way We Live Now.

>14 susanj67:: I did indeed see He Knew He Was Right... watched it mainly because of David Tennant :P But I enjoyed it very much and also liked Bill Nighy's portrayal of Col. Osborne. Tried reading the book but had to stop 1/4 of the way through because I wanted to throttle the titular "he". However I did like the parts of the book that didn't feature him.

Another Palliser fan here. :)

#15: I liked the sub-plot involving the elderly lady who disapproved of Young People Today and everything about them :-) I did think "His" reasons for knowing he was right were pretty thin, but I suppose there were no incriminating Facebook posts or text messages to brandish in those days.

#16: Jean, The Eustace Diamonds is one of my very favourite novels :-) I have the Pallisers as a set of Penguin classics, bought in the pre-Kindle days. Now I just download them, but I'm still tempted to buy a couple of other Penguins. The notes are so good, and were a real help with all the politicking in that series.

Hi, Susan, I like your idea of listing certain books that you WILL (goshdarnit!) read this year. Thanks for the inspiration!

Loving this Trollope discussion! It reminds me that I really need to get back into the Barsetshire Chronicles.

#18: Thanks Karen - I thought I needed a list to focus on, and I do feel better for having it. I've also started on one of the romance novels, Fierce Eden, as I tend to have a fiction and non-fiction book going at the same time.

#19: Christina, I am thinking the same about The Last Chronicle of Barset! I don't know why I haven't read it (well, I do...) when it is just sitting there, and free too. Maybe that should be my next start...after the library books I have acquired this morning.

I have finished my first ROOT tome:



It is Fierce Eden by Jennifer Blake, which is a republished 1980s romance (my favourite kind) and I'm so pleased to have finally made a (small) dent in the Kindle pile. I read this while I was waiting for the library to open again, so next I have some library books, but I have a non-fiction tome going as well, so I will keep up with that.

Hooray for getting that first book cleared. You're off to a great start.

Good work, Susan!

Thanks Judy and Mamie! It really is helping to have a list. It stops me dithering, and having too many choices.

This afternoon I finished my second ROOT tome:



It is Louisiana Dawn by Jennifer Blake, and part of the same Kindle collection as the one above, which is books set in Louisiana. I preferred the first one, but the historical part was interesting. My non-fiction one is also progressing well, so I'm pleased with my progress so far.

Well,my third ROOT tome has led to me deleting three more books by the same author, so I'm really cracking through them!



It was The Mysterious Maid-servant by Barbara Cartland, which was a Kindle freebie that I downloaded for nostalgia purposes. I loved these books when I was younger, and the plot of this one was OK but oh, the writing...I wish I hadn't tried to revisit them. I'm not going to read the other three, so this one has got rid of four ROOT books, although I will only count it as one :-)

#26: That's true! I'm aiming (longer-term) to get my Kindle to a point where I'm not scared to open up the bookshelf. I know it sounds ridiculous, but all those covers staring out at me are a bit oppressive, as if however much I read I'll never get through them. But this challenge is helping.

It's funny I feel no guilt whatsoever about how many books are stored on my Kindle, perhaps because I feel I've saved space on my double stacked shelves :)

#28: There is a space saving, but there is more electronic clutter, and in a way, because I can't see all of what is on the Kindle at once, it seems like more books :-)

#29: The Kindle books are certainly an important part of my challenge, and I have just finished another one:



It was Domestic Manners of the Americans by Frances Milton Trollope, mother of the more famous Anthony. It is her impressions of America in the last 1820s, and none of them is flattering! Funny to read now, though, when the US is such a world power. You would never have thought it, from Mrs Trollope's views of everything wrong with the country and the people in it.

My fifth ROOT tome is The People of the Abyss by Jack London, which investigates poverty in the East End of London in 1902. It's a shocking story, which made me realise how far we've come in terms of protections against the terrible lives that people lived then.

Poor Fanny had such a horrible time when she visited the U.S.; it's fun to compare her experiences to those of other British visitors.

Yes, everything seemed to go wrong for her, didn't it? I wonder what she thought it was going to be like when she set out?

Ooh, Domestic Manners of the Americans sounds like a lot of fun. I'll have to add it to the endless TBR list.

Yes, I kept reading it wondering what on earth she could find to complain about next. But America is a big country, and there was always something :-)

Susan,
Try having a kindle with 20+ books and a Nook with with nearly 200 unread!

I have 414 books on my Kindle at the moment, and I think I've read about 100 of them, so I have a way to go! My hard-copy TBR collection is tiny, though, because I just don't have the space for books at home. I've been distracted by new things over the last few days, so I'm making no progress in pulling up ROOTs.

Hi Susan, you are doing well at reducing the electronic tbr. Those free books are very tempting, aren't they? Trouble is, by reading what everyone else is reading, I'm increasing my wishlist - it will probably end up as next year's tbr list!

Vivienne, yes, I do sometimes have to refrain from clicking on titles in people's posts if they look good, because I really don't need any more books at the moment! But you make a good point about next year's TBR list. Hmmmm :-)

It's a never ending circle! E-readers are deadly in that it's just so darn easily to click that "Buy" button. With real books I tend to add them to the wishlist and eventually I may order them, but with electronic books, I often go right to the store and buy.

I write down anything that sounds good, since your never know when you'll be sort of blank on searching for books. I always just check my library first though.

#40: Judy, I agree - whoever thought of the one-click method for ebooks certainly knew what they were doing...You can't even put them all in a basket and then remove half of them at the checkout :-)

#41: Yes, I am trying to do that too.

But really I have not had a very successful January on the TBR front. My last tome was finished on 11 January - 20 days ago! The library books have got me. In February I want to concentrate on the TBR pile, and specifically I want to finish The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain, which I started at the beginning of the year and keep putting down. It's a really good read but I wish I had the Kindle version as the paperback is chunky and quite hard to hold open.

Finally I have some more ROOT books read!



I have finished The Eagle in the Ninth, The Silver Branch and The Lantern Bearers, all by Rosemary Sutcliff. These have been on the Kindle for a while, so I am pleased to be making some more progress with the Kindle.

I finished ROOT book 9 last night - Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini, which was a fun, fairly fast read I bought a while ago when it was on sale for the Kindle. But now I want the second and third in the trilogy...

Of course you want them. It seems to be a never ending story with those books ;-)

So true, and I am weak...Maybe I should focus my ROOT reading on single works!

ROOT 10 - Small Holdings by Nicola Barker. Very annoying. But short! I've met my February target, but I'm still determined to try and finish The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain.

#48: Just that I found it an unsatisfying read that made no sense to me. I've had much better luck with my next ROOT read:



Bright Young Things by Scarlett Thomas is book 11 in my challenge. It's one of the author's earlier books, and I know she is better-known for the later ones, but I really liked the writing style and definitely want to try some more.

Wow, 11 books! Well done!

Thanks Connie and Samantha!

Book 12 was quite similar to book in theme, which was a bit of a coincidence as I didn't know much about it before I started it:



It was Look At Me by Jennifer Egan, which I bought in a Kindle sale at some point because I enjoyed A Visit from the Good Squad which I read last year.

Book 13 was a romance, from the same collection as ROOT tomes 1 and 2.



It was Embrace and Conquer by Jennifer Blake, set in historic New Orleans.

Book 14 was The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

I've read this series over the last few years but never quite got to the last one. The ROOT challenge made me write it down and read it!

Book 15 was A Body in Berkeley Square by Ashley Gardner

This is book 5 in the Captain Lacey Mysteries, set in Regency England, which I've been reading for a while. These are quite short reads, but interesting for both the mysteries and the character development as the series progresses. Like most historical mysteries, they'd be solved these days with a quick DNA test, but Gabriel Lacey has to do some good old-fashioned detective work to save his old Colonel from the gallows when it seems that he has stabbed a young man to death at a party.

Book 16 was The Thirties: An Intimate History of Britain by Juliet Gardiner, which was an absorbing look at many different aspects of life here, in a decade which tends to get overshadowed by the glamour of the Twenties and then WWII. Lots to read and think about.

Ah, I haven't seen The Thirties before! I'll definitely have to add that one to my list.

Meredith, it was a really interesting read but it's a real chunkster, so I am recommending the Kindle version for ease of reading!



Book 17 was The Bones of Avalon by Phil Rickman

This is the first in what I think is intended to be a crime/mystery series about Queen Elizabeth I's astrologer, John Dee, and in this one he is sent with the Queen's Master of the Horse, Robert Dudley, to solve a mystery in the West Country. An entertaining read from an author whose knowledge of the area and its customs (demonstrated by his Merrily Watkins series) is impressive.

Hi Susan, I am just passing through and checking up on your progress. You are doing really well with your goal more than halfway in sight. Way to go!

Hi Judy! Thanks for the encouragement - I've been a bit distracted by the shiny and new this month, but I have another TBR to record today - yay!



Book 18 was Agatha Raisin and the Quiche of Death by M C Beaton which has been sitting on my Kindle for ages. I've been comparing and contrasting the US and UK "cosy mystery" genre (much more popular in the US than here in the UK). I didn't like this much, so now I don't have to read the rest of the series!

Book 19 was Trouble in Mudbug by Jana DeLeon

I found it when I was looking for any cosy mysteries that I might already have.

This is described as a "ghost-in-law mystery romance", which is a pretty good summation. The main character, Maryse, attends her mother-in-law's funeral only to see the horrible lady rise from the coffin and ask what's going on. But Maryse is the only one who can see her, and soon realises that she's a ghost, and a pretty crabby one who insists that she's been murdered. Soon someone is trying to kill Maryse too, but why? Is it because of her unexpected inheritance? Is it because of her research on the plants in the bayou in Mudbug, Louisiana? There is lots of running around and intrigue and, while this doesn't quite fit the "cosy" mould, it was an entertaining read. There are two more in the series and at the end of book one we are still waiting for the mother-in-law's murderer to be discovered. So once again I have read one book, only to add two more to my list...

Book 20 was Wait for Me! by Deborah Devonshire

This is the memoir of the Dowager Duchess of Devonshire, formerly Deborah Mitford. The youngest of the famous family, born in 1920, she seems to have known most of the interesting people of the 20th century, and is still going strong. There is plenty of Mitford lore in this book, but also plenty about just what is was like to take on the enormous project that was Chatsworth, at a time when crippling death duties meant decades of payments and the loss of many valuable art works and property to the state as part payment. Chatsworth is known now as one of the most successful stately homes in the country, with its famous farm shop, horse trials and other events, but there was a time at which it could easily have failed and disappeared.

Nancy Mitford used to call her youngest sister "Nine", which was her alleged mental age, but this is a beautifully-written book, funny and sad, and proof that Nancy was not the only writer in the family. One of the LT reviews suggests that this is not the place to start if you are new to the Mitfords, and I would agree with that, but for fans who are familiar with the family it is a jewel of a read, and I have given it five stars.

Book 21 was The Good Father by Diane Chamberlain

This is the story of single father Travis, who finds himself homeless and unemployed through bad luck...but with his four-year-old daughter to look after. It's also the story of Ellen, whose own child has recently died, and Robin, the mother of Travis's child, who has never seen her daughter. Told from their alternating viewpoints it's a great read, and I'm glad I finally got to it as I've had it for a while.

Book 22 was The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope

Probably the most famous of Anthony Trollope's novels outside the Palliser and Barchester series, this one looks at the effect on London society when Augustus Melmotte, a mysterious man of immense but questionable wealth, arrives and sets up business. Enthusiastic investors pile into a scheme to build a railway from Salt Lake City to Mexico. Titled young gentlemen line up to marry his daughter (a competition described as the "Marie Melmotte Plate", as though she was a horse). Objections to his presence and influence are many and varied, but somehow overcome by all that money. Can it last? Or will it all end in disaster?

I'm very glad I finally got to it, and now I want to read some of the lesser-known books, having read the most famous ones. But not before I finish a few more ROOTs!

Just came across your thread, you've got an interesting mix of books there. And you're so close to your goal, I envy you that.
I've been reading The way We Live Now on and off during lunch breaks, I find it easier to pick up on the plot of books if I know them beforehand from the BBC version. I loved David Suchet as Melmotte...

Thanks MissWatson. I loved the TV series too, and particularly Shirley Henderson as Marie Melmotte. I can remember David Suchet as Melmotte, but I can't remember now who played any of the other roles. I should see if the library has the DVD as I'd like to watch it again.

I will never meet my goal if I don't stop reserving library books! I have five at home for the weekend, so no more ROOT tomes for me for a few days.

The TV series was fantastic! Loved Suchet although it took me a while to get used to him not being Poirot ;) One of these days I'll read the book!

I'm sure you'll enjoy it, rabbitprincess. I had two Trollopes that were ROOTs for this year and I've read them both, so now I feel like I've really achieved something. I'm not sure what to pick next, though.

I bought the DVD in a set of three because it was an amazing bargain, the others were the Barchester Chronicles (Alan Rickman in top form as a smarmy reverend) and He knew he was right. Trollope is more or less unknown in Germany and I only heard of him when he was mentioned as (former Prime Minister) John Major's favourite author. Watching the film versions was an easy way to have a peek at him and now I've always got one going. I find the Palliser novels easier, though, politics is a little more diverting than the Church of England.

I also noticed that the film versions of The way we live now and He knew he was right don't sport so many of the familiar faces that you always come across in English TV versions of famous books. The only ones I recognized were Anna Massey and Matthew MacFadyean.