Mount TBR 2016 discussion

Wow! Three months into the year already. Well, you know what that means...Your mountaineering guide is calling for the first quarterly check-in post. Let's see how our challengers are doing. Made it a couple of miles? Camping out in a cave 1/3 of the way up the mountain face? Taking refuge in a mountain hut along the way? Let us know how you're doing. For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to do two things:


1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.

I have read 39 of my pledged 100 books for Mt. Everest. I am (according to Goodreads) on track to hit 150 by the end of the year, which would enable me to finally (after three years trying) plant my flag on the top of Olympus as a bonus.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far. Here's mine (one of my vintage mysteries)


B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

Mine: Dr. William Blow, Professor Gideon Manciple, and Simonetta Blunt in Dead Against My Principles. This trio of elderly sleuths are a real treat--wacky and bumbling, but they do help the police get their man.

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

D. Title Scrabble: See if you can spell a word using the first letter of the first word in the titles of some/all of the books you have read so far. Feel free to consider "A," "An," or "The" as the first word or not as it helps you with your word hunt.

My word: Prowl

(The) Purple Cloud by M. P. Shiel
Red for Murder by Harold Kemp
Oh Myyy! by George Takei
Who's Calling by Helen McCloy
(A) Lesson in Secrets by Jacqueline Winspear

And what do you get for all that hard work (and distraction from the actual climb)? Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, April 9. On Sunday, April 10, I will crank up the Custom Random Number Generator and pick a winning climber. He or she will have the chance to add to their TBR stack via my gently-used book vault (prize list will be sent). Just think, if you win a book you can start up a pile for next year's Mount TBR Challenge.

Even if you're not in the mood for a prize or if you've only got one leg of the journey under your belt, I'd love to have you check in and tell us how your climb is going!

***Please note--comments are for Checkpoint posts only. If you would like to cheer fellow climbers on (and I encourage you to do so!), please visit their climb folders. Comments that are not Checkpoint-specific will be removed--to make it easier for me to track a winner.

1. I've read 16 physical books towards Mount Blanc. At the rate I'm going I'll be able to climb more than one mountain! I also selected 15 books as top choices to get through at some point this year and I've been able to knock 5 of them out! It's been nice clearing my physical shelves of books I've been waiting to read for ages.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.


B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.
Matilda→ She is such a plucky little kid and such a role model. I just adore her!

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)
I think the book that has surprised me the most is Pretty Girl-13. I was not expecting to love it as much as I did! There was just so much more to it than just mystery. I feel like it was really more about Angela growing up and learning who she is.

D. Title Scrabble
S The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
T Throne of Glass
R Red Queen
A Afterworlds
W The Wrath and the Dawn

Well, I'm currently very low on oxygen as I've been barreling along and am almost at the top of Pikes Peak!

I'm 11 books into my challenge and it's looking good for me to make the leap across the ocean to Mont Blanc. I've also been doing the TBR Triple Dog Dare (where you read only from your TBR for the first three months of the year) so my progress this quarter has been really good but I will be slowing down now that April is here and I can pick up anything that catches my eye again.

I've had a couple of surprises so far - a few of us did a read along for Crimson Petal and the White and I enjoyed it so much more than I thought I would. It had been languishing on my shelf for far too long and I enjoyed it so much that I'm disappointed I didn't pick it up sooner. I also got around to The Secret History and that really surprised me, as well - particularly the ending, which I didn't see coming at all.

I've read 17 out of 36 books so I'm off to a strong start. I've scaled 5,102 feet up Mount Vancouver. This is my third climb and my pattern has been to start strong then lag in the middle. I hope to avoid that this year and keep climbing steadily during the next quarter.

A. Prettiest cover is this scene of the San Francisco coast


B. Favorite character is Meg Langslow in the Donna Andrews' mystery series. I read three of those: Duck the Halls, The Good, the Bad, and the Emus and The Nightingale Before Christmas.

C. The book that surprised me was Every Day Is for the Thief by Teju Cole. It read more like a travelogue than a novel. That was unexpected.

D. Title Scrabble:

D - Demise in Denim by Duffy Brown
A - A Radical Departure by Lia Matera
N - The Nightingale Before Christmas by Donna Andrews
G - The Good, the Bad, and the Emus by Donna Andrews
E - Every Day Is for the Thief: Fiction by Teju Cole
R - A Root Awakening by Kate Collins

I've read 20/36 on my Mt. Vancouver trek. That's 8770ft up the mountain. It's been a great trek that has allowed me to reduce the physical books on my shelves. Unfortunately the ebooks on my nook seem to be reproducing! I seem to add books as fast as I read them.
My favorite cover http://static.oprah.com/images/o2/201... because I love chickens even though I didn't love this book.
I couldn't do the word scramble....I didn't have any vowels

I've read 29 out of 150 for my Mt. Olympus trek. I'm a little bit behind, but considering I'm 8 books ahead on my reading challenge goal of 250 books, I'm sure I'll be able to get to the top if I just stop letting myself get distracted by library books.

A) Favorite cover

I love the grasping branches and the designs on the trunks of the trees.

B) Favorite characters
Tehanu from Tehanu and The Other Wind is such an engaging character to me, despite her silence. In The Other Wind especially I enjoyed seeing her figure herself out and where she belongs in the world.

1. I've completed 14 books out of my pledged 24. I only set my goal at 55 books and I've already read 43. Obviously I need to up that. I had hopes of reading some of my huge books and it's not happening.

2. My favorite cover so far. You can't go wrong with a cute graphic novel cover.

C. I was surprised at how much I loved . It was just a little book with not many ratings, but it hit the right spots.

D. The only word I can come up with is DISCS.

D.
I.
S.
C.
S.

I cleared Pike's Peak! I have a lot of audiobooks on the TBR, so I think that helped. On to Mount Blanc!. Favorite cover...hmm...possibly this one: What Angels Fear, for a book I haven't been able to finish yet. For some reason, I can't get it to display the cover, rather than a link.

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read).

I have read 43/60 books so far of kilmanjaro. So I'm impressed with my progress.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.

I've read 14 books from my TBR pile so I'm just over a quarter of the way up Ararat.

My favorite cover so far:

I have finished 14 print books on my way up Mount Ararat (48) so I am a little ahead of schedule :)

I have completed Pike's Peak (12 books) so I'm 20% done with my climb up Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Favorite cover:

Who has been your favorite character so far? Bee from . This is also my book that surprised me, I liked it way more than I thought I would.

C
H
E
W
S

I have completed 21 out of 48 books so far as I climb Mount Ararat.

My favourite cover is

My favourite character has always been Dave from the Vinyl Cafe in Vinyl Cafe Turns the Page. I've read a number of Stuart McLean's books and just laugh out loud at many of the stories. Always a treat when I get to read one of his books.

Title Scrabble: climbing the mountain by leaps and bounds!

B - Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness
O - Oryx and Crake
U - Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
N - Nice to Come Home To
D - Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim
S - The Sugarless Plum: A Memoir

I have read 8 out of 12 books for Pike's Peak, I'm currently reading book #9. At this rate, I can easily go up to Mount Blanc :D

My favorite cover is , because it looks badass
Favorite character goes to... (drumroll) Elias from An Ember in the Ashes, for his bravery.

One book did manage to surprise me, Night Circus. I knew it was a good book, but did not expect it to be so different from anything I've ever read.

For the title scrabble, I got a basic word:

T - To All the Boys I've Loved Before
R - The Rise of Nine
A - An Ember in the Ashes
I - The Iron Queen
N - The Night Circus

Ok, that's it! Hope to see you from the mountain's peek at the next checkpoint.

I've already planted a flag up Pike's Peak and finished book #18 of my 60 books goal! Which means I'm 1.768,5 m up Mt. Kilimanjaro, 30% of the way! I'm currently reading book #19 and #20 and very soon I'll be planting a flag in Mount Blanc.

As for my favorite cover, it has to be . I love all of Starbound trilogy covers and this is my favorite after These Broken Stars.

My favorite character has to be Sharhzad from The Wrath and The Dawn, she's amazing.

I've Got Your Number was a nice surprise, since I haven't read any Sophia Kinsella's book before, but I was sorely disappointed in both The Girl on the Train and Soundless.

For the title scrabble, since I'm awful at this, I got MAPS as my word:

Me Before You
An Ember In Ashes
Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon Vol. 3
Soundless

Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain

I've reached book 10 out of 36. Mount Vancouver's peak is (according to Wikipedia) 4812 m high (15787 ft). So to speak I'm currently at 1336,67 m (4385,28 ft). - I enjoy the view and hope to make it to the next mountain sometime later this year!

Post a picture of your favorite cover so far


The Universe versus Alex Woods by Gavin Extence - not only the cover, but the whole book is a beautiful object.

Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain

I have read 7 of 12 for Pike's Peak.

Post a picture of your favorite cover so far


Who has been your favorite character so far?
All of the Fool's Gold characters are my favorite. It's like returning home.

Have any of the books you read surprised you?
The Marshmallow Test: Mastering Self-Control
I already have a handle on self control but to learn how to handle it in all aspects of life was great.

1. I've read 16/36 so far.

2a. No standout covers. There wasn't anything really special about any of them.

2b. My favourite character was Shanti from Chosen. She was an absolute badass. And not in an I'm a special snowflake kind of way, but an I've trained for years, i will kick your ass or die trying kind of way.

2c. I was very disappointed by An abundance of Katherines. I absolutely adored Illuminae.

2d. SUBCAVITY
Six of Crows
Unwind
Bad Feminist
Chosen
An Abundance of Katherines
Veronika Decides to Die
Illuminae
The Virgin Suicides
Yes Please

I have scaled 2,629.67 feet of my mountain (4 books). My favorite cover was

My favorite character so far has been Donna Stone. I really enjoyed the tongue & cheek story line provided for her....although some readers didn't seem to catch on by the reviews. This book was also my surprise read. I thought I would hate it. Since it had been recommended & gifted to me I decided to read it (2 years later). It was entertaining, a quick read & made me want to read the sequel.

My word is Chug! LoL because I'm chugging along my mountain.

The Changing Season by Steven Manchester
The girl in the Spider's Web by David Lagercrantz
The Housewife Assassin's Handbook by Josie Brown
Unnatural Selection: Choosing Boy's Over Girls & the Consequences of A World Full of Men

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc. And feel free to tell us about any particularly exciting adventures you've had along the way.

I've read 9/12 books for the Pike's Peak Level. (According to Wikipedia, Pike's Peak is 14,115 ft tall. So that divided by 12 is 1.176.25 ft. And 1,176.25 ft x 9 is 10,586.25 ft! Woo, 3/4ths of the way!)

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:

A. Post a picture of your favorite cover so far.



B. Who has been your favorite character so far? And tell us why, if you like.

My favorite character out of the 9 books I've read for the challenge is definitely Henrietta Brown from Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front 1939-1942 and Henrietta Sees It Through: More News from the Home Front 1942-1945. She was a charming narrator and yet so amusingly practical.

C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read ever? Etc.)

Well there is one I've read this year that REALLY surprised me, but I didn't read it for this challenge--it was a library book. Out of the 9 challenge books I've read, I found Philomena: A Mother, Her Son, and a Fifty-Year Search to be an unpleasant surprise--I didn't enjoy it at all. I love its movie so that was disappointing.

D. Title Scrabble: See if you can spell a word using the first letter of the first word in the titles of some/all of the books you have read so far. Feel free to consider "A," "An," or "The" as the first word or not as it helps you with your word hunt.

My word is PATH, as in "I'm making my way up the path!":
P Personal History
A (The) Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
T Through Painted Deserts: Light, God, and Beauty on the Open Road
H Henrietta's War: News from the Home Front 1939-1942

I've read 4 of the needed 24 books for Pikes Peak. A slow start but I'm currently in the middle of book #5, Don Quixote. Overall I've read 13 books so far, the others satisfying another challenge, just not this one.

The book that has surprised me the most is the one I'm currently reading, Don Quixote. I picked it up because I felt like it was something I should read and it has sat in my TBR for years. I was dreading reading it but I am actually enjoying it very much.

The book also contains one of my favorite characters, Sancho. I love every time he has an abrupt change of opinion when he finds something that will benefit him more than the current situation.

Okay, it's time to pick a winner! I'm going to feed all the checkpoint comments in to select the winner. Let me just grab the Custom Random Number Generator and feed all the numbers in....Can you hear it clanking and whirring?

We have a winner! I've warmed up the Custom Random Number Generator and I'm feeding entries 2 through 22 in (since mine doesn't count...). After much buzzing and whirring, our lucky climber is #12 Catherine! Congratulations, Catherine! I'll be contacting you about the prize list very soon.

Thanks again to all of you who checked in, I've enjoyed reading your posts. And I'm amazed at the words some of you came up with from your titles! Thanks also to all who are busy climbing with us! See you at the next checkpoint!

OMG no way!! I never win anything! Thank you!!!

Catherine wrote: "OMG no way!! I never win anything! Thank you!!!"

Congratulations!!!!

Thanks Sarah! :)

Congrats Catherine!

Thanks Leslie!

Catherine wrote: "OMG no way!! I never win anything! Thank you!!!"

Yes, way! So glad to break your "never win anything" streak.

Honestly, I'd rather win a book than almost anything else so this is perfect :)

Sorry, I'm late with my comments. Congratulations to all so far!

I've read 7/36 for the Mt. Vancouver Level. So, I'm about a sixth of the way through my list! Here's what I've read so far:

Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel
Looking for Alaska by John Green
China Dolls by Lisa See
The Greater Journey by David McCullough
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I loved them all and couldn't pick a favorite so far.

I know this is a tad late - congratulations Catherine

Thanks Jesika! And that reminded me to say thanks again to Bev -- I got the book in the mail! :)

Catherine wrote: "Thanks Jesika! And that reminded me to say thanks again to Bev -- I got the book in the mail! :)"

Yay! Glad it arrived safely. Hope you enjoy it.

As of March 30, I had read 13 of my books. Figured I'd post that in the checkpoint even though I am way too late since I just joined this group. :-)

Lavender wrote: "As of March 30, I had read 13 of my books. Figured I'd post that in the checkpoint even though I am way too late since I just joined this group. :-)"

Thanks for checking in! That's good progress for the first quarter! The next check-in post will be coming at the end of June (which is approaching must faster than I expected!)