LibraryLover23's 2019 TBR Challenge

2019 TBR Challenge List
1. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (finished 7/24/19)
2. The Power Of One by Bryce Courtenay
3. Ragtime by E.L. Doctorow
4. Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert
5. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (finished 4/7/19)
6. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver
7. Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky (finished 5/11/19)
8. Alive: The Story Of The Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read (finished 1/21/19)
9. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd (finished 12/15/19)
10. Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor (finished 6/25/19)
11. The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman
12. The Once And Future King by T.H. White

Well, I thought long and hard about this, and I refreshed my memory with the rules of the game, and I've ultimately decided to not have an alternates list (for the first time ever!). I find that I gravitate more toward the alternates because they tend to be newer, and as a result I've had this same batch of books kicking around here for years. And with rereading the rules it seems much more doable to me to just try to read one a month, as I can usually handle 12 of these in a year... Plus, if I can actually finish these then next year I'll be able to start with a clean slate, which gives me something to aim for. Good luck everyone with your challenges!

You have lots of great reads on that list. I also have the problem of reading more off the alternate list. The Prydain Chronicles is great fun, as is The Once and Future King. I also thought The Poisonwood Bible was a good one, and I still think of some of the scenes in that one from time to time. Alive is a tough one to read due to the material, but also quite a story of survival. I can't wait to hear what you think of Mr. Mercedes and Ragtime, a couple of books that I want to read sometime. Good luck!

>3 billiejean: Thank you! I'm hoping by prioritizing these, and only these, I'll finally be able to read them.

That sounds like a great plan. Good luck :)

>5 Narilka: Thanks!

>2 LibraryLover23:, I tend to have the same problem, scoring better with my alternates while I struggle with the primary, although for me it's because they tend to be shorter/easier.

Prydain is a series I'd love to re-read to my kids, just haven't found one who's interested yet (and I'm running out of kids fast). Courtenay tempts me but I've never read him. Doctorow I've sampled (Billy Bathgate), that would be a good one to try. Flaubert is fantastic, even in an English translation. You're the second to list a Tuchman title, guess I should queue her up for 2020? I read The Sword and the Stone and then skipped the rest of T.H. White's collection, but maybe you'll encourage me to circle back.

Oh hey you're doing Bovary, too, cool! haha. Ragtime is the only one of these I've read. :)

>7 Cecrow: Hopefully one of your kids gets on the Prydain bandwagon with you! I think that'll be a good summertime read - one of the things I'm looking forward to with having only 12 titles this year is reading them in a time that I think "fits." My first read was perfect for winter, In God We Trust is a Christmas read, etc. Should be interesting!

>8 .Monkey.: Good - I hope we both enjoy Bovary!

1. Alive: The Story Of The Andes Survivors by Piers Paul Read (398 p.)
In 1972 a plane carrying a Uruguayan rugby team crashed in the Andes mountains. Of the 45 passengers some died on impact, some in an avalanche that occurred later, and 16 ultimately survived the ordeal which lasted for 70 days. This book was so well-written and impactful - I was particularly struck by the resourcefulness they used to survive and how their faith carried them through their ordeal.

>10 LibraryLover23:, I've heard some unpleasantness about that 'resourcefulness'. I think there was a movie.

>10 LibraryLover23: That sounds intense. >11 Cecrow: That sounds vaguely familiar. Didn't they have to resort to cannibalism to survive?

>11 Cecrow:, >12 Narilka: Ha! I saw the movie version during a friend's sleepover in the sixth grade and I'm sure that was my first introduction to cannibalism, of course I was utterly horrified. The author, however, conveys it in a moving way - there really were no other options, the boys struggled with it immensely, but ultimately they saw it as a sacrifice, their friends' deaths allowed them to live. It was a great, great book.

2. Mr. Mercedes by Stephen King (437 p.)
Retired Detective Bill Hodges is still brooding over one final case that was unsolved when he left the force - that of "Mr. Mercedes," a man who plowed a car into a group of people, leaving several dead. When Mr. Mercedes contacts him a game of cat and mouse begins, and Hodges has to race against time to make sure he doesn't kill again. I liked this one a lot, the chapters alternate back and forth between Hodges and Hartsfield (the killer), and I'm curious to see how things will progress in the later books as this is the first in a trilogy.

I got into so much trouble with the Prydain Chronicles in elementary school. I kept reading ahead and the teacher kept getting irritated by it! I loved those books, I still have my copies that I bought when I was in elementary school, probably 39ish years ago!!

>14 LibraryLover23: So you're planning to read the whole trilogy? I'm not very well read on Stephen King's works and feel like I should give another a try, though I was leaning more towards The Stand maybe next year.

>15 Jenson_AKA_DL: I've heard lots of good things about those books and your good memories reinforce that!

>16 Narilka: I've read all of Stephen King's books up to Mr. Mercedes. There's a challenge group here on LT where we're working our way through his bibliography. I don't comment in the group anymore, I think it's sort of petered out, but I'm still determined to finish the challenge! The Stand is a great book, although if you're not too familiar with his stuff I like to recommend his short stories, Rita Hayworth And Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorites. If you like fantasy, The Eyes Of The Dragon is another good one. I'm looking forward to the day I finish all of them and can go back and reread my favorites. :)

3. Suite Française by Irène Némirovsky (431 p.)
Two books of a planned five-book series about the German occupation of France during World War II. What makes this story unique is that the author wrote it during the time period in which it was occurring, and like the characters, didn't know the outcome of the war. It lends a sense of authenticity and urgency that's missing from historical fiction books about this time period.

What's sad about the whole thing (and the reason only two of the five books were written), is that the author was of Russian-Jewish descent and was deported to Auschwitz where she died in 1942. The edition I read included the author's correspondence which was gut-wrenching, particularly the letters Némirovsky's husband wrote to friends pleading for help after she was deported. (He too was eventually arrested and died in a concentration camp.) From a historical perspective it's a fascinating piece of literature, but it makes you wonder what could have been had she been allowed to live her life.

>17 LibraryLover23:, I've some kind of love/hate thing with Stephen King, would not call him a favourite author but I've read maybe seven or eight of his and will probably do a couple more. Not sure why I keep going back, lol.

>3 billiejean:, I felt a similar way when I read The Cruel Sea; knowing it was written close the time that it happened made a lot of difference in how I received it. Your discovery sounds a bit similar to Anne Frank's diary. I've never heard of it, will look into this.

>19 Cecrow: I love that his work has become part of our cultural lexicon, but I understand that not everyone is a die-hard fan like I am!

4. Let The Circle Be Unbroken by Mildred D. Taylor (394 p.)
A continuation of the Logan family's story started in Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry. Cassie is now a little older and a little wiser, but there's still a lot to learn, including the fate of family friend T.J. who was accused of murdering a white man, Stacey's longing to go off to work and help the family financially, and talk of forming a union between the black and white families to counteract the unfair labor practices. By the end of this book I felt there was maybe one too many storylines coming into play, but it was still a sobering read about the lengths people go to to keep their family together.

5. The Prydain Chronicles by Lloyd Alexander (767 p.)
A sweeping children's fantasy series which is loosely based on Welsh mythology. The edition that I read contains the five books that make up the series plus a few short stories.

The Book Of Three: Taran, an assistant pig-keeper, leaves home for the first time when the oracular pig Hen Wen escapes. Out in the forest he befriends a motley group of companions which includes the Princess Eilonwy, faithful Gurgi, and (my personal favorite) Fflewddur Fflam the bard. The crew encounters many adventures along the way, which finally leads them to a showdown with Arawn Death-Lord's war lord, the Horned King.

The Black Cauldron: Taran and company work together to destroy Arawn's black cauldron which produces the Cauldron-Born, deathless warriors who do Arawn's bidding.

The Castle Of Llyr: Taran sets off with Eilonwy back to her homeland where she must learn the rules and customs of being a princess. Of course, things don't go according to plan...

Taran Wanderer: Taran and Gurgi journey throughout Prydain so Taran can learn more about his heritage and place in the world.

The High King: Taran and friends face off against Arawn once and for all.

The short stories include tales of Dallben's childhood with the three enchantresses of Morva, Doli the dwarf's encounter with a farmer, and how Spiral Castle and the sword Dyrnwyn came to be.

Overall I thought it was a great series, I was sorry to see it end.

>22 LibraryLover23: That was one of my favorite series as a child. I need to pick up an edition like yours as I don't remember ever reading the short stories.

Do you agree with most that Taran Wanderer reads best for adults? Are the short stories worth tracking down?

On my TBR pile I have The Mabinogian, looking forward to finding connections to Prydain.

>23 Narilka: I found this edition at a library book sale. It was in great shape too for being an older book, I lucked out!

>24 Cecrow: Yes, I never read these as a child but I can see the benefits to reading it when you're young, but I also got a lot out of it as an adult reader. Taran Wanderer did seem pretty deep for a children's book, although I thought there were moments like that throughout the series. For example, I legit cried when Fflewddur sacrificed his harp in order to keep the companions warm during a snowstorm.

The short stories were good, they were all prequels, but they were very short. I think there were five in all (I don't have the book in front of me), and each was maybe 10 pages long with some of those pages being illustrations. So maybe if you can borrow them sometime, or if you ever come across an edition like mine. (I think I paid 50 cents or so, it was the tail end of the Gettysburg Library's book sale.)

And The Mabinogian looks great!

I've sorely neglected this poor thread and even with only 12 titles I still couldn't quite finish the challenge! Ah well, I'm still going to get to work on crafting next year's list, which is always a favorite activity...

>26 frahealee: I can understand the trepidation that comes with King, his reputation is pretty far-reaching! Even if you don't read his books, I think his influence still can be felt in other ways.

6. In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash by Jean Shepherd (264 p.)
The book that the movie "A Christmas Story" is based on. Shepherd co-wrote the screenplay for the film, does the narration, and can be found in the mall scene when he says, "Hey kid, the line ends here, it begins there." Not all of the stories in this somewhat semi-autobiographical book are found in the film, but the crucial one (will Ralphie get a Red Ryder BB gun for Christmas?) is front and center. Overall I found the pacing of some of the stories to be a little slow at times, but at other points it was laugh-out-loud funny. This probably won't become a perennial Christmas reread for me, but the film version remains a favorite.

Fun side facts: Shepherd's dramatizing of the ordinary, everyday aspects of life was a huge influence on comedian Jerry Seinfeld, who even named his third child Shepherd.

The coming-of-age theme and adult narration of the film "A Christmas Story" went on to inspire TV shows such as "The Wonder Years."