2012 To Be Read (TBR) Challenge
Posted: December 31, 2011 Filed under: Reading 9 Comments »It’s 
that time of year again – time to set reading goals for the coming year. Last year, I read 11 of my 12 listed books, and have actually started the 12th, but just haven’t had time to finish it. I am disappointed, and was stressing over this last week – until I realized that because of the challenge, I checked 11 books off my long-term reading wish list. I think that’s pretty impressive.
This year, I want to be more strategic with my list. I have decided that 1/3 of the books will be non-fiction (I continually buy and never finish non-fiction books), 1/3 will be classics, and 1/3 will be modern fiction.
My Twelve Chosen:
Cutting for Stone by Abraham Verghese- The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
- A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry
Payback by Margaret Atwood- Dubliners by James Joyce
Agnes Grey by Anne Bronte- The Shock Doctrine by Naomi Klien
- A Short History of Progress by Ronald B. Wright
The Town That Died by Michael J. Bird- Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
The Divine Ryans by Wayne Johnston- Uncle Tom’s Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe
My Two Alternates:
The Call of the Wild by Jack London- A Fair Country by John Ralston Saul
Here’s how the TBR Challenge works:
Specifics:
1. Each of these 12 books must have been on my bookshelf or “To Be Read” list forAT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2011 or later. Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.
2. Every listed book must be completed and must be reviewed in order to count as completed.
3. List must be posted by Saturday, December 31st, 2011, at the Roof Beam Reader website (Challenge host). I will also be posting there periodically, and linking to my reviews of the 12. 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 The Book Depository. Incentive is always good.
Do you have a reading challenge for 2012? What’s on your list?
Sounds like a good list to me! Some might be challenging but should all be interesting. I LOVED Call of the Wild by Jack London and hope you get a chance to read that one too. Good luck!
I have never forgiven Rohinton Mistry for that book.
Suddenly I am apprehensive…
I can’t really discuss what bothered me without spoiling the book. It is well written and a gripping story, but I was deeply unhappy with it, in the end.
I can’t believe I actually have read a couple of those books. The Divine Ryans will have you on the floor, laughing: I promise. Are you still doing ‘A Book A Week’?
I am still planning on one a week – though I hope to recruit a few guest bloggers to help me, maybe one a month or every second month. I haven’t done a final count on last year, but I think I missed about 6 weeks, scattered through the year. Interested?
rohinton mistry is such a good read. I’m looking forward to your review of a Fine Balance, since that is one my all-time favourite books. Perhaps I’ll reread it so I can leave long literary comments!
[...] I have decided to seek another challenge or two to help me meet some of my 12in12 commitments, one being: the 2012 To Be Read (TBR) Challenge [...]
Wow. I am so, so far behind. I have only read six. I have only reviewed five. I have four weeks left. What to read next?