mathgirl40's 1010 Part 2: Reduce the TBR Pile

In my first challenge (http://www.librarything.com/topic/72070), I finished 10 books in 10 categories and during the challenge, I actively sought out new books to read. For my second challenge, I have more modest goals. I want to read 3 books from 10 categories, but all of them are going to be from my current TBR pile. These are books that I already own, or ones I've made a commitment to read even if I don't have them yet (e.g. future selections from my book clubs). No doubt I'll read some spontaneous choices as I go, but I'll only include ones from my current TBR list as "official" entries for my categories.

These are my categories for Part 2:
- Mysteries
- The Millennium Trilogy
- Ontario Library Association's Evergreen list
- Recommended books
- Penguin Great Ideas series
- Sci-fi
- Young adult
- Non-fiction
- Classic
- Miscellaneous

Category 1: Mysteries
1. Still Life by Louise Penny (Aug. 18)
2. A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny (Aug. 23)
3. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie

Candidates
Death of a Macho Man by M. C. Beaton

Category 2: The Millennium Trilogy by Stieg Larsson
1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (August 10)
2. The Girl who Played with Fire (Nov. 11)
3. The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Nov. 21)

Category 3: Ontario Library Association's Evergreen List
1. February by Lisa Moore (Aug. 25)
2. Underground: A Novel by June Hutton (Sept. 27)
3. Small Beneath the Sky by Lorna Crozier (Nov. 6)

Category 4: Recommended books (including book clubs)
1. No Small Thing by Natale Ghent
2. The Borrowers by Mary Norton
3. All the Way Home by Natale Ghent

Category 5: Penguin Great Ideas
1. Where I Lived and What I Lived For by Henry David Thoreau
2. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin
3. On Power (Penguin Great Ideas) by William Shakespeare

Category 6: Sci-fi/Fantasy
1. Julian Comstock: A Story of 22nd Century America by Robert Wilson (Sept. 1)
2. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Oct. 29)
3. Plain Kate by Erin Bow (Dec. 1)

Candidates:

The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson

Category 7: Young adult
1. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Aug. 28)
2. Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman (Oct. 7)
3. 39 Clues: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (Oct. 9)

Candidates:
The Tin Princess by Philip Pullman
Gravity Brings Me Down by Natale Ghent

Category 8: Non-fiction
1. Burmese Lessons by Karen Connelly (August 13)
2. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson (Sept. 8)
3. The Way We Are by Margaret Visser (Dec. 6)

Category 9: Classic
1. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
2. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse
3. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky

Candidates:
The French Lieutenant's Woman by John Fowles

Category 10: Miscellaneous
1. A Man in Uniform by Kate Taylor (Aug. 20)
2. Her Mother's Daughter by Lesley Crewe (Oct. 16)
3. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (Nov. 25)

Candidates:
The Best Laid Plans by Terry Faillis
The Beggar Maid by Alice Munro

Looks like you have a lot of the books that I keep saying to myself -I should read that! Of course others always seem to come along. . . :-)

DS
(Bruce's evil twin :-))

Congratulations on finishing your first challenge mathgirl!

I think reading the Millennium triology back to back is a good move. I still have Hornet's Nest to read and I feel as though I don't remember some things from Played With Fire. I also loved Grapes of Wrath when I read it earlier this year.

I'm glad you're staying with us and you have some interesting selections for your continuation so I'll look forward to following your new thread.

Congrats on completing your challenge! You have some interesting choices lined up for the rest of the year. I am eagerly waiting to get my hands on Mockingjay, and I too applaud your decision to read the Millennium Trilogy back to back, I have the second book in my TBR pile but I am having a hard time remembering the first one!

15: I pre-ordered a copy of Mockingjay and can't wait to get it on the 24th. However, I'm going to have to fight my 15-year-old for it.

I just started the series last month and am currently about half way through the second (listening to it as an audio book to slow down the pace a little). I figure this way, I will be perfectly timed for the last one and I won't have to wait!

Here are my first reads for Part 2 of the challenge:

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (Aug. 9) -- I can't say much about this book that hasn't already been said. It was a terrific read, very engrossing with a satisfying conclusion. Some of the graphic violence was a bit disturbing, so I wouldn't necessarily recommend this book to everyone.

2. Burmese Lessons by Karen Connelly (Aug. 13) -- These are Connelly's memoirs, describing her involvement with Burmese artists and dissidents and her brief and passionate affair with one of the rebel leaders. Connelly's neediness irritated me somewhat, but the writing is beautiful and candid.

3. Still Life by Louise Penny (Aug. 18) -- I'd read The Brutal Telling earlier this year and enjoyed it. So I decided to go back and read the Armand Gamache mystery series from the beginning. I loved the story and the characters. Penny is great at creating atmosphere.

4. A Man in Uniform by Kate Taylor (Aug. 20) -- This was an ER win. My review is here.

5. A Fatal Grace (also published as Dead Cold) by Louise Penny (Aug. 23) -- This is the second Armand Gamache mystery, and like the first, I listened to this on audiobook. The narrator is very good, though I got tired of hearing "toque" pronounced as "toke" rather than "took". (Though "toke" is an acceptable pronunciation, I can't say I've ever heard it said this way when I was growing up in Quebec.) Apart from this minor irritation, I loved the story. With every Louise Penny book I read, I'm becoming a bigger fan.

re Louise Penny: I've loved all of them, and they just keep getting better.

Those regional pronunciations can trip up the best narrator. I have to say, I'd never heard of toque being pronounced at toke, ever.

Recently, a local author down here complained that in the audio version of her book, Beaufort was pronounced Bow-fort and not Byouferd, as it's called here.

I suspect there are dozens of instances of this, but we only notice them when it's local to us.

Note: the ones marked "Extra" are books that were not in my original TBR pile, so I'm not counting them as "official" entries in my challenge.

6. February by Lisa Moore (Aug. 25) -- A beautifully written story about a woman whose husband died in the Ocean Ranger oil-rig disaster off the coast of Newfoundland in 1982. I enjoyed the book, but I was somewhat surprised that it made the Booker longlist.

7. Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins (Aug. 28) -- This was a totally satisfying conclusion to the Hunger Games trilogy. Like the others, I couldn't put it down when I started!

8. Julian Comstock: a Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson (Sept. 1) -- A steampunk sci-fi novel set in a future version of America which has regressed to Victorian technology and beliefs. This novel had been nominated for this year's Hugo. It didn't win, but it's a worthwhile read.

Extra: The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny (Sept. 7) -- I didn't like this one as much as the first two Louise Penny books, but still enjoyed it.

9. The Lost Continent by Bill Bryson (Sept. 8) -- A hilarious (sometimes bordering on offensive but often heartwarming) look at small-town America, as only Bill Bryson can present it. This was written 20 years ago, but I'm sure much of it is still relevant today.

Extra: The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (Sept. 10) -- A beautiful book. I love Ishiguro's writing. He manages to convey so much in a small number of words.

10. Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (Sept. 13) -- This was a reread of a book I'd read once in high-school and then again in my early 20's. The experience gets better all the time. It most definitely deserves to be called a classic.

The Grapes of Wrath is one of my all time favorite books, I try for a re-read every ten years or so and I always find another aspect of the book that I hadn't considered before.

I've been trying to talk my husband into reading Grapes of Wrath. He went to high school in southern California and they still don't assign it there. At least in some schools. A book came out last year about how very unpopular it was in that area -- Obscene in the Extreme -- but I was still surprised he wasn't exposed to it.

I didn't know that about Grapes of Wrath - see another aspect of that book that I just learned about!

Been doing well with the reading, but am having trouble keeping up with the recording. :-)

Below, "Extra" means books that were not in my original TBR list.

11. Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie (September 17) -- This was Agatha Christie's first Miss Marple mystery. Enjoyable with some interesting twists.

Extra: The Master of the Moor by Ruth Rendell (September 18) -- A creepy and suspenseful mystery with a great setting. I didn't like this as much as her Inspector Wexford mysteries but it was still a good read.

12. No Small Thing by Natale Ghent (September 22) -- My 11-year-old and I both read this YA book about three children living with their single mom in impoverished circumstances and their adventures when they manage to get a horse. This is a lovely, well-written and heartwarming story. The author has won a number of Canadian children's literature awards.

Extra: They Do It with Mirrors by Agatha Christie (September 25) -- Another Miss Marple mystery. Started off very, very slow, but picked up later on and was reasonably entertaining.

13. 8223129::Underground by June Hutton (September 27) -- A historical novel about a survivor of World War I and the Spanish Civil War, and his journey of self-discovery. Good story and good writing from a new Canadian writer.

Extra: The Namesake by Jhumpa Lahiri (Oct. 2) -- On the 1001 list, this was a very enjoyable novel about a Bengali family who adjusts to a new life in the United States. Highly recommended.

14. Steppenwolf by Hermann Hesse (Oct. 3) -- Another book from the 1001 list, this novel is about a man who tries to reconcile the spiritual and animal-like sides of his nature. The novel is dark, poetic and poignant, but I also found certain passages a challenge to read.

Extra: Foreign Bodies by Hwee Hwee Tan (Oct. 5) -- A hip, funny and suspenseful novel about three 20-somethings, set in Singapore. My brother lives in Singapore, and I was there for a brief vacation. I really enjoyed the references to local places and characteristics of the population.

15. Once Upon a Time in the North by Philip Pullman (Oct. 7) -- This is a novella written by Pullman after he wrote His Dark Materials that describes how Lee Scoresby and Iorek Byrnison met. It's a good story that can be read on its own, but probably better appreciated after reading the trilogy.

Extra: A Charlie Salter Omnibus by Eric Wright (Oct. 8) -- This is a volume consisting of the first three Inspector Salter novels. They're not particularly outstanding or memorable, but just good, entertaining stories with likable characters.

Underground was on my list of options for my Canadian authors in 1010 Challenge that I didn't get around to this year. Have bumped it up the list for next year's challenge!

I've added No Small Thing to my wishlist, despite the LT oracle predicting that I'd hate it. I think that'd be a good one to read with my daughter.

"Extra" denotes books that were not part of my original TBR list. I'd get through my TBR list (and my challenge) much faster if I didn't keep finding new books to read!

16. 39 Clues: Storm Warning by Linda Sue Park (Oct. 9) -- The penultimate book in the 39 Clues series, this one takes place in the Caribbean, where Dan and Amy find out more about their past. Another good one.

Extra: Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell (Oct. 9) -- The debut novel from Canadian film-maker Shandi Mitchell, this novel is about the trials of a Ukranian family living on the prairies in the 30's. I had a hard time putting this novel down. Highly recommended.

Extra: 39 Clues: Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix (Oct. 16) -- This book was a fitting conclusion to the 39 Clues series, which both my daughter and I loved. It had an exciting ending, tied up some loose ends and set the stage for a new series to follow.

17. Her Mother's Daughter by Lesley Crewe (Oct. 16) -- I received this as part of Early Reviewers and my review is here.

Extra: The Murder Stone by Louise Penny (Oct. 17) -- The fourth book in Penny's Inspector Armand Gamache series, this was another well plotted story with good character development and plenty of local colour.

18. The Borrowers by Mary Norton (Oct. 19) -- This was a selection in our parent-child book club. The parent seemed to enjoy it more than the kids did, perhaps because some of them had read it as children and had fond memories of the story. I liked it and hope to eventually get to the sequels.

Extra: Never Look Away by Linwood Barclay (Oct. 22) -- This thriller, about a man searching for his missing wife and discovering secrets from her past, is fast-paced and exciting. It's a good story that makes you think about your relationships with the people you think you know best.

Extra: Stealing Buddha's Dinner by Bich Minh Nguyen (Oct. 25) -- In Nguyen's memoirs, she writes about growing up in the US after leaving Vietnam as a refugee in the 70's. Her observations are interesting, funny and frequently heartwarming.

Extra: Bury Your Dead by Louise Penny (Oct. 27) -- The sixth and latest book in the Armand Gamache series, this novel is the best yet! The plot lines are complex, there is plenty of fascinating historical detail and the familiar characters grow in many ways. There is also a satisfying conclusion to some of the open-ended questions left at the end of the previous book, The Brutal Telling.

19. Old Man's War by John Scalzi (Oct. 28) -- Fun and fast-paced sci-fi novel reminiscent of some of Heinlein's earlier works, with a number of thought-provoking ideas. I enjoyed this one and am looking forward to reading the sequels.

Extra: Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (Oct. 30) -- This book consists of two stories, both about young women coping with loneliness and loss. Despite the heavy themes, the stories were uplifting and the characters memorable.

I'm now adding "Stealing Buddha's Dinner" to my TBR list. That looks like an interesting read!

Wow - some excellent books listed. Glad to see you also had a hard time putting down Under This Unbroken Sky - such riveting writing! Louise Penny is going to be one of my first, or near first reads for the 11 in 11 challenge, before I become the last person on LT to read one of her books in the Inspector Gamache series.

I'm still on track for finishing by the end of this year, but I'm a bit behind on my recording!

"Extra" denotes books that were not part of my original TBR list.

Extra: After Dark by Haruki Murakami (Oct. 31) -- My second Murakami, this novel set in the hours when most of us are asleep in bed was a good story, but I didn't enjoy nearly as much as Kafka on the Shore.

20. All the Way Home by Natale Ghent (Nov. 3) -- This novel, about a boy and his horse, is the sequel to No Small Thing. Both books feature well-developed characters, fast-moving plots and some truly moving moments. It surprises me that these books, which have won a number of awards in Canada, are not better known.

21. Small Beneath the Sky by Lorna Crozier (Nov. 7) -- The memoirs of poet Lorna Crozier, this was my final read from the Ontario Library Association's Evergreen list for 2010. Crozier writes beautifully, and I though the description of her relationship with her mother was quite moving.

22. The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (Nov. 11) -- The second book in the Millenium series, I enjoyed this as much as the first.

23. The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Stieg Larsson (Nov. 21) -- A satisfying conclusion to the Millenium series. Apart from the graphic violence, I liked this trilogy very much. It had a great story and characters, though perhaps it was a bit over-hyped.

Extra: At Home by Bill Bryson (Nov. 22) -- Like Bryson's other books, I thoroughly enjoyed this one, which covered architecture and industrial design as they related to the domestic setting. Some of my friends complain that Bryson's books don't have enough depth, and that may be true enough, but I love hearing all the wonderfully interesting details, trivial or not, about a broad range of subjects.

Extra: Airman by Eion Colfer (Nov. 24) -- My 11-year-old read this and insisted that I also read it, immediately! There's drama, intrigue, flying machines, royalty and villains. What's not to love?

24. Dead Man's Folly by Agatha Christie (Nov. 25) -- An entertaining, though not terribly memorable, Hercule Poirot mystery featuring Ariadne Oliver.

Extra: Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin (Nov. 26) -- This was my first Ian Rankin novel. I enjoyed the plot and characters enough that I will definitely seek out more Inspector Rebus mysteries.

You're ending the year with some great reads, I love the Inspector Rebus mysteries and although I have only read the first Inspector Gamache book, I hope to get to some more next year.

I really enjoyed Airman as well. Colfer is so versatile.

Only 2 more books to go before I complete part 2 of my challenge! I think I'm going to make it. Then, I'll have to get working on my 11/11/11 list!

"Extra" denotes books that were not part of my original TBR list.

25. Plain Kate by Erin Bow (Dec. 1) -- My daughter and I both loved this debut novel from Erin Bow. I've added a review here.

26. The Way We Are by Margaret Vissser (Dec. 6) -- A collection of newspaper columns written by Margaret Visser. I've added a review here.

27. Where I Lived and What I Lived For by Henry David Thoreau (Dec. 9) -- This small, compact book is from the Penguin Great Ideas series and includes excerpts from Thoreau's Walden. The excerpts left me wanting more. However, if the point of this book is to give the reader a taste of Thoreau's ideas and encourage him/her to eventually read the full work, then it's not a bad choice.

Extra: Essex County (Tales from the County, Ghost Stories and The Country Nurse) by Jeff Lemire (Dec. 12) -- These three volumes were chosen for the 2011 Canada Reads list. These graphic novels, with their spare and stark illustrations, were sad, poignant and entirely compelling. The story dealt with the relationships among several characters living in rural Ontario and touched on aging, loss, betrayal and hockey. I thought this was a terrific choice for this year's Canada Reads and it showed me how very much can be conveyed in a graphic novel by a talented artist.

28. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction by Walter Benjamin -- This volume, from Penguin's Great Ideas series consisted of three essays: the most well-known of Benjamin's works on mass reproduction of art, along with ones on Kafka and Proust. I have to confess that this was a challenging read for me, and I don't think I got as much out of it as someone with a stronger background in philosophy and literature would.

Extra: The Secret of Terror Castle by Robert Arthur -- This book is the first in the Three Investigators mystery series, which I loved as a preteen, and which my 11-year-old daughter is now enjoying as well. In this book, the three teenage boys investigate a haunted house in order to expose its secrets. It wasn't as good as I nostalgically remembered it to be, but it was a light, entertaining read nonetheless.

Only one more to go before I'm finished for the year! Then, I can get moving on my 2011 list.

"Extra" denotes books that were not part of my original TBR list.

Extra: Harvest by Tess Gerritsen (Dec. 20) -- A medical thriller about a young doctor who discovers an organ-harvesting ring. A good page-turner.

Extra: My Life in France by Julia Child (Dec. 22) -- Not considering myself a gourmet cook, I didn't think I'd enjoy this book as much as I did. Though there is plenty of food talk, the real appeal of the book is Julia Child's wonderful outlook on life. I found this a hugely entertaining and very inspirational read.

Extra: Break No Bones by Kathy Reichs (Dec. 23) -- Not particularly memorable, but an enjoyable mystery. I liked very much the character of forensic anthropologist Tempe Brennan and I will probably read more novels in this series.

Extra: We All Fall Down by Eric Walters (Dec. 25) -- This is a young-adult novel about a teenage boy who, along with his father, attempts to escape the collapse of the twin towns on 9/11. Intense and moving, this book won a major children's literature award in Canada several years back, but the author is not so well-known elsewhere. I highly recommend this book.

29. The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky (Dec. 26) -- A very challenging read, with its long passages on philosophy and religion, but well worth the effort. I lurked during the read-along in Le Salon Litteraire (http://www.librarything.com/groups/thequestforthelastpa) and the discussion helped immensely in my understanding. I'm not sure why this book got taken off the "1001 Books to Read Before You Die" list.

I lurked around those discussions, too. I learned an enormous amount, but still think Ivan is the hottest brother.

36: You'll hear no disagreement from me about that! :)

30. On Power (Penguin Great Ideas) by William Shakespeare (Dec. 28) -- A nice and varied selection of sonnets and excerpts from Shakespeare's plays, all dealing with the theme of power. Sometimes the excerpts were difficult to understand, as there is no context information provided. However, seeing the lines on their own made me appreciate the beauty of Shakespeare's language.

And I am done with part 2 of my challenge, just in time for the start of the 1111 challenge!

Congrats on finishing part 2 and I look forward to following your reading over in the 11 in 11 Challenge!

Congratulations on completing part 2. A well timed challenge.

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing what you read in the 11 in 11 Challenge.

Congratulations!

Thanks to all for the congratulations!

I finished off the year with a few more books:

Extra: Petals of Blood by Ngugi wa Thiong'o (Dec. 29) This novel, written in 1977, describes the intertwined lives of four characters in Kenya. Written as a series of flashbacks, the novel deals mainly with their disillusionment with life in Kenya after indepedence. I've not read many Africa authors previously, and this book provided good insight into the culture, politics and history of Kenya.

Extra: United We Stand by Eric Walters (Dec. 30) This is a sequel to We All Fall Down and describes the days following the destruction of the twin towers for two teenage boys caught in the devastation. I didn't think this novel was as strong as the first one, but nevertheless, it is a moving story about the strength of family and friendship in the face of disaster.

Extra: Hercule Poirot's Christmas (Dec. 31) This was a typical Agatha Christie mystery, where all the suspects are gathered in an English country house. It was a fun read for the holiday season and to finish off the year!