Well, I usually do single-author challenges (starting with reading all of Iris Murdoch’s novels in order of publication, then Thomas Hardy’s, which overlapped with a re-read of “Dance to the Music of Time”, and now I’m reading all of the “Forsyte Saga” this year (my reading of Trollope is just an obsession, not a challenge as such). I also take part in All Virago / All August (which includes Persephone books!) every August. But I saw this one on Heaven-Ali’s blog today and thought it might be a good way to pick up some books that are associated with my TBR but not directly part of it, as well as chipping away at the To Be Read mountain.
The challenge was set by Cathy over at the 746 Books blog (that’s the number of books in her TBR – eeps!). She’s set herself a challenge to read 20 books between 1 June and 3 September this year. Lots of people have joined her, and there’s a list of them on her challenge post. She’s kindly let me join a bit late – thank you again!
So, here is my first batch of books. I have two to add from my Kindle, too … We are “allowed” to post mini-challenges of a few books at a time until our 20 is complete, so here goes with my first eight!
“Sogur ur Biblikunni” – this is a book of Bible stories in Icelandic – for children – which I bought on holiday there in April. I don’t promise to have read all of this by September, but I want to have managed a couple of the stories in it.
“Oxford Guide to Plain English” by Martin Cutts – I have a little pile of language textbooks that are to be read when I need to or feel like it. This is one of them, and also belongs to my “Reading a Century” project as it fills in a year. It’s time to read it!
“To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee – I wasn’t going to, but I have got caught up in the excitement about the new Harper Lee novel, “Go Set a Watchman”, which is due out this summer. I really need to re-read “Mockingbird” before I read that one, and I think Matthew’s going to do the audio book, too. So I pulled this one out of the fiction shelves in anticipation.
“The Act of Reading” by Iser – I’ve only had this since September, and regular readers will know but new ones (hello!) won’t, that I read my books in order of acquisition. I’m on November 2014 in my reading now, and I keep skipping over this one because I bought it for my research and it’s going to be Hard. But I am quite capable of reading and noting it, and I’m sure I can do so before the end of the summer, right?
“Patricia Brent, Spinster” by Herbert Jenkins (not pictured: lives inside my Kindle) is another book that fills in an (early) gap in Reading a Century. Simon from the Stuck-in-a-Book blog heartily recommends it and it’s been sitting on my Kindle for to long.
“Clayhanger” by Arnold Bennett (again, inside the Kindle) is the first in a trilogy, the third of which fits in with Reading a Century. So I do need to read those first two!
“No Word from Winifred” by Amanda Cross and “Years of Hope” by Tony Benn are simply the next two on my TBR – reminders that I do need to keep chipping away at that, too, because there are some very good books on there!
So, hello to anyone new to my book reviews blog who has got this far and are any of my regular readers taking part in this challenge? There may be a book review coming later today, and I have at least 2 more (one read already, one part way through) before I’ll be reviewing for the challenge, so please bear with me.
Anyone else got any (other) challenges on the go?
Adventures in reading, running and working from home 
Jun 14, 2015 @ 14:11:59
It’s always good to chip away at the TBR. I am repelling all challenges, however tempted I am, because I always seem to fail. I’m just a fickle reader and I’m going to continue being fickle because at least that way I’m always reading what I want to at any given time! š
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 16:15:59
I think that’s a lovely way to go about things, though! I do “my way” through sheer laziness, and obviously I still skip things which is how come the Hard Book is still there. I’ll see how I go with this.
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 19:57:44
I struggle with fixed book list type challenges – I think something in my head tells me that those books are ring-fenced and safe, and so I really should read something else – but of course I wish you luck.
I do better with themed challenges, and I’m going to be perusing my shelves soon to see what I have for Paris in July.
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 20:31:02
That’s quite funny as I’m the other way around – give me a pile of books to read and I will, but tell me to read books about Paris in July and I’ll immediately take against them! Have fun in Paris in July, though!
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 20:55:25
So glad you are going to re-read Mockingbird I so loved it last month. Patricia Brent,spinster is lovely, and I know I read Clayhanger years ago but didn’t get round to the two books that followed it, I suppose I shall have to re-read it too one day so that I can.
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 21:03:46
Yes, that encouraged me, and when Matthew said he fancied reading the new one it seemed like a good idea to go for it. Some to look forward to here!
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 21:58:41
Just popping in to greet a fellow 20 book challenger. I still haven’t decided whether to read Go Set a Watchman, but I’m going to be doing a re-read of Mockingbird too… just in case! Enjoy your summer of reading! š
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Jun 15, 2015 @ 05:16:10
Hello there, thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment! I wonder how many people will have Mockingbird on their list this summer! I’m going to go and see what you’re planning – have a lovely reading summer yourself!
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Jun 14, 2015 @ 23:03:38
My reading is determined by whim, interest and what I hear about from other readers. Thus Trollope is a new love for me and I am reading Framley Parsonage. Soon I will read the Angela Thirkwell book I purchased recently.
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Jun 15, 2015 @ 05:18:59
I think I buy by whim, interest and recommendation, certainly – I just downloaded 14 Mrs Oliphant ebooks in two collections, having been reminded that she’s compared to Trollope, for instance! I’ve always read my TBR in order of acquisition, but there are also always some outliers sitting around, which makes this challenge a good opportunity to make a proper plan to get those read. My Reading a Century project happens mostly by chance – I’ve only bought one book JUST because it fits a year, and that was “The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists”, because I was having trouble finding a 1914 book. And – of course – I’ve just read one from that year that I was given, anyway!
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Jun 16, 2015 @ 01:51:17
I recently re-read To Kill A Mockingbird ahead of the release of Watchman…and it really held up. Just as wonderful as I remember it being. Maybe even more so.
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Jun 16, 2015 @ 06:19:46
Welcome to my blog and thanks for commenting! I am glad that a good few people have said that about Mockingbird now – I seem to have avoided it in all the intervening years, worried it wouldn’t stand up to my memories of it. I think it will be my first book of July, so I can read it alongside my husband, who’s 2/3 of the way through Gormenghast at the moment!
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Jun 16, 2015 @ 13:05:13
I found myself responding to the book in similar and different ways than I had when I’ve read it previously. I’m going to watch the movie again at some point as we get ready for the Watchman to hit the shelves.
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Jun 16, 2015 @ 14:25:31
It’s always interesting to see how your opinions change – I used to have a regular Month of Re-reading and took note of that as it happened. I’ve never seen the film, though! You can find all the re-reads under their category https://librofulltime.wordpress.com/category/month-of-rereading/ if you’re interested!
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20 Books of Summer! | 746 Books
Jun 16, 2015 @ 14:43:45
Jun 17, 2015 @ 05:47:30
TBR is a term that’s new to me – my Pinterest “reading list” board is 160 strong, and that includes a few series, and other books that I know I want to read and haven’t put on the board. Nor does it include music and theatre books that I should be reading for professional reasons. 20 books for the summer is a steep goal, but I’d love to see how close I get. (And yes, I think TKAM is a must – I’m looking forward to *everyone* rereading it this summer and the general swirl of conversation!)
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Jun 17, 2015 @ 06:59:13
I refer to it as Mt. TBR sometimes …! Although it’s not as bad as it has been. I do still have a little pile of books outside the main TBR, mainly books in a series where I haven’t got the earlier ones yet and books to read for work – maybe I’ll pick off more of those as the summer goes on. It’s going to be fun to read TKAM along with the whole of the rest of the world. I haven’t read it since I was a teenager! And welcome to my blog, by the way!
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Book reviews – Race Horse Holiday and The Silver Spoon | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Jun 19, 2015 @ 18:04:51
Book reviews – Patricia Brent, Spinster and Oxford Guide to Plain English | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Jun 23, 2015 @ 16:20:14
State of the TBR – July 2015 | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Jul 01, 2015 @ 15:40:08
Book reviews – No Word from Winifred and Clayhanger | Adventures in reading, writing and working from home
Jul 05, 2015 @ 17:48:10
Aug 02, 2015 @ 15:37:42
I’m haphazardly catching up with several months of your blog posts. Reading (out of order) your reviews of Forsyte Saga – which I’ve neither read nor seen on tv/DVD – really tempted me. But we are supposed to be giving away and generally cutting down on the numbers of books in our house. And I live in a remote rural area – no second hand bookshops, library loans take ages and books often not available at all. But I suddenly thought of my elderly and little used kindle and discovered I could order all 9 for a total of Ā£1.49. On one level this is so cheap it feels *wrong*ā¦ but on another, it feels like Christmas and I can’t wait to get started.
As it happens, this summer I’ve re-read Testament of Youth (dug it out in hope our 16 year old would read it on/following his history trip to Belgium, esp now it’s a film…But not even those factors would tempt him). Then Testament of Experience. Followed by ‘Scenes from provincial life’ and ‘Room at the top’. So I hope the Forsyte Saga will sit nicely with this immersion in the first half of the 20th century!
I’m also going to keep my eye out for Amanda Cross, sounds just the sort of thing I’d like and I’d never heard of it.
Thank you!
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Aug 03, 2015 @ 05:59:55
Glad to give you some recommendations. I’m reading the Forsyte Saga on Kindle as it’s much more convenient than lugging my big brown hardback around. Make sure you have the version including all the Interludes, though, as they do add a lot. And happy reading! I think that is a great contrast with your other reading, too!
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