The VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge discussion
Level 4: White Plume Mt.(48)
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Pamela Plunging into the Plume
Mod
I love me a good alliteration - what a fun title :) Good luck and happy reading Pamela!
Thanks Sam, had fun with thinking of titles! 🙂
Running List:----------- Rum Doodle ----------------
January:
1. Elizabeth Warren: Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life. by Antonia Felix (audio)
2. The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
3. Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben (audio)
February:
3.5 The End of Nature by Bill McKibben (audio/print)
4. Virgil Wander by Leif Enger
5. Tap Out: Poems by Edgar Kunz
6. Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land (audio)
March:
7. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
8. The River by Peter Heller
9. Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick
10. The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness by Diana Winston
April:
11. The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World's Greatest Library by Edward Wilson-Lee (audio)
12. The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life by Bill McKibben
----------- Mt Crumpit -----------------
April:
13. The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert
14. The Parade by Dave Eggers (audio)
15. The Ash Family by Molly Dektar
16. Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center (audio)
May:
17. The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick (audio)
18. The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver
19. A Hero on Mount St. Helens: The Life and Legacy of David A. Johnston by Melanie Holmes
20. The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee
21. Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner
22. Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa
23. The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future Is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe by William Poundstone
June:
24. One Night in Georgia by Celeste O. Norfleet
----------- Mt Munch ------------------
June:
25. A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea by Don Kulick
26. The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames (audio)
27.The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson (audio)
July:
28. On Drinking by Charles Bukowski (audio)
29. Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth by Gordon L. Dillow
30. Embattled River: The Hudson and Modern American Environmentalism by David Schuyler
31. In Oceans Deep: Courage, Innovation, and Adventure Beneath the Waves by Bill Streever
32. In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond: In Search of the Sasquatch by John Zada
August:
33. Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch (audio)
34. Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle
35. We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca White
36. The Last Redwoods and the Parkland of Redwood Creek by Philip Hyde
----------- White Plume Mt -----------
August:
37. The Warehouse by Rob Hart
38. Opioid, Indiana by Brian Allen Carr
39. The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia by Shelby Harris
September:
40. Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson (audio)
41. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
42. The Mind at Work: Valuing the Intelligence of the American Worker by Mike Rose
43. Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
44. Call Upon the Water by Stella Tillyard
October:
45. Snowflake, AZ by Marcus Sedgwick
46. The Lightest Object in the Universe by Kimi Eisele
47. A Season on the Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration by Kenn Kaufman
48. Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me by Adrienne Brodeur
First book done Elizabeth Warren: Her Fight. Her Work. Her Life. by Antonia Felix. 
4.5 stars audio book.
Probably is better in print, there's pictures.
I listened to the audio book from the library and have an ebook copy through NetGalley. Since I am doing the other Mt.TBR challenge it could count there instead of here, but I've decided my NetGalley books will be listed under the virtual challenge. Exception if I also have the print book. I somehow managed to get a few books from NetGalley that I had a print book as well. Go figure.
Book two done The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers.
4 stars print book
I had this on my to read list since December 2017, not too long really. It's a classic book and not one I've come across too much, but it should be talked about more. Amazing writing. Slow book too, although it only took about a week to read felt like much longer. Not an easy read either, but glad I tried it.
Book three done with Radio Free Vermont: A Fable of Resistance by Bill McKibben.
3.5 stars audio book
I haven't read any books by McKibben but he's been on my radar for years. Since I plan on attending an event where he's speaking next week, thought I should rectify that. Started with his latest, and only novel. It was quick. Although I didn't put this on my gr read list, I've been aware and interested in the book since it came out in November 2017.
I just finished a book that I'm only counting as a half-step (so really not at all). The book is The End of Nature by Bill McKibben. 
5 stars print/audio
This book is another that was on my radar for many, many years. I checked out a copy from the library and started reading the print. Then I went ahead and bought an audio copy and listened to most of it. I did switch to print at times, so I partially read the library book. Since I do own a copy I feel like it doesn't really count, but it's a half-step.
Book 4 done with Virgil Wander by Leif Enger.
3.5 stars print book
A decent book, quirky for sure. It reminded me of A Man Called Ove with the quirkiness, small town, and odd characters. I had a netGalley copy of the book but waited too long to read it. Since my library (where I work) bought the book, that's the copy I read.
Book 5 done with Tap Out: Poems by Edgar Kunz.
5 stars eBook
I was drawn to this book from it's cover. It's those hands, they tell a story I wanted to know. These poems are amazing. More prose than poetry, mini stories. I enjoyed it. Got access to the book via netGalley.
Book 6 finished this morning Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive by Stephanie Land.
5 stars audio book
I've read a few of these books about people in poverty, read their stories. I actually didn't expect much, especially as the author as narrator. I was surprised by both accounts. This is a good book.
Book 7 completed Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid. 
4 stars eBook
A unique approach to have the story told as a long interview, much like any documentary biography of rock bands. I got into the book early on then felt like the book wasn't sustaining itself enough. In the end I did enjoy it.
Book 8 completed with The River by Peter Heller
4 stars, eBook
This was a wild ride of a book. I really enjoyed it. One thing that would have made it a five star read was better differentiation between the main characters, especially in the beginning. Boy did the book keep shifting and surprising me.
Book 9 finished today with Lights All Night Long by Lydia Fitzpatrick.
4.5 stars eBook
Another amazing book, quite enjoyable and surprising. I didn't think this was going to be a mystery but there was a bit of that in this book. It was mainly about this smart Russian kid and his older brother. Ilya, the smart one, learned English easily was lucky to go to the United States in an exchange program through these oil refinery companies. Half the book is about his time in the U.S. and other in Russia.
Book 10 finished with The Little Book of Being: Practices and Guidance for Uncovering Your Natural Awareness by Diana Winston.
4 stars eBook
A non-fiction book about meditation. I don't really meditate, but I'm interested in it. This book is written for people with more experience than me, but it's also useful for beginners.
Book 11 completed with The Catalogue of Shipwrecked Books: Christopher Columbus, His Son, and the Quest to Build the World's Greatest Library by Edward Wilson-Lee
3.5 stars audio book
Another non-fiction book, this a biography and some history of the late 1400s to early 1500s mainly about Hernando Colón, a son of Christopher Columbus, who amassed the largest personal library in Spain and created a categorical system to organize it. If the book focused on the library and other projects of Hernando it would have been a better book. Fascinating in parts, and frustrating in other parts, particularly in the beginning. I listened to the audio book but had an ebook copy which I browsed at times, which was useful as there were many included images.
Book 12 completed this morning with The Bill McKibben Reader: Pieces from an Active Life by Bill McKibben.
4 stars print book
Third non-fiction book in a row. Next is also non-fiction. Might be one of my longest streaks. Anyway, I didn't think I was going to read this book entirely, but enjoyed it well enough that I kept going. Wasn't the quickest read, took me two months, as it was mostly by the bed. My faster reads I take with me on my commute. I'm happy to have read this one, third book by McKibben this year too. Might do one more.
Book 13 completed today The Sun Is a Compass: A 4,000-Mile Journey into the Alaskan Wilds by Caroline Van Hemert.
4 stars eBook
This was a solid 4 stars, and yes, non-fiction. It was a good read, well written and amazing adventure across Alaska and up into the Arctic. So not for me, but happy to read about it. And hey I'm going up Mt. Crumpit now.
Book 14 was The Parade by Dave Eggers.
4 stars audio
Got this one read, actually listened to, entirely in one day. It is short, but not that short...hardcover says 179 pages. Anyway, I liked the story and like Eggers writing. Didn't know anything about the book going in so it surprised me, and it was a good book. Looks like I broke my non-fiction streak, this was definitely fiction.
Book 15 now completed The Ash Family by Molly Dektar.
3 stars, eBook
This was okay, and interesting in parts, but overall I just wanted a little more. Better character development for the main character, better ending. Anyway, it was an interesting premise....a cult like group with a bent on environmental awareness instead of religious reasons.
Nearly forgot to log in my last for April that I squeezed in: Book 16 was Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center.
3 stars, audio
This was a light and easy book, and tends toward a genre I don't normally read in, romance. But the book was centered around a hiking wilderness survival outing that made me interested in the book. It was an okay book, all in all, just not my typical. For those who read in this genre they may enjoy it a bit more.
Finished book 17 The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick. 
4 stars, audio
This started out very charming but turned into something much more than what I expected. The book grew on me and now wish there was more to the story. ❤️
Book 18 done with The Never Game by Jeffery Deaver.
3 stars, eBook
I actually finished this one before listed book 17, by a day, just forgot to log it in. Oops!
Anyway, a good first book for a new series by Deaver. I haven't read any of his previous books, but he seems to know what he's doing. This book was a fast paced action mystery book that takes place in Silicon Valley. Colter Shaw, our main character takes on jobs where rewards are offered. He finds the missing girl but stays on to help solve this mystery of why someone is trying to reenact a video game in real life with deadly outcomes.
Book 19 done with A Hero on Mount St. Helens: The Life and Legacy of David A. Johnston by Melanie Holmes.
4 stars, eBook
A great tribute to David Johnston and his family, as an official record of his full life with scientific achievements and legacy. I learned more than I expected about volcanos and eruptions. Also specifics of what happened 39 years ago today, with the explosion of Mount St. Helen. Good book.
Book 20 finished with The Crofter and the Laird by John McPhee.
5 stars, print book
My second book by McPhee and another good book. I loved this small book of essays about the small island off the coast of Scotland. McPhee's ancestors come from this island, so he goes to live there for a while with his family, and he tells us about the people that live there, and a wee bit of history as well.
Book 21 done with Mrs. Everything by Jennifer Weiner.
3 stars, eBook
This was a mediocre book by Jennifer Weiner. It was ambitious for her and perhaps needed more work, too much exposition and very little of the actual details of life. Oddly, as the book goes forward in time then there is the moments of thinking back. Good parts, but overall not stunning for me.
Book 22 done with Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist by Sunil Yapa.
3 stars, print book
This book is only one day, the first day of the Battle in Seattle the WTO protest back in 1999. There are several viewpoints, a young homeless teen is perhaps the main focus, his father happens to be the Chief of Police. There is a protester and two other cops POV, although one only briefly. Anyway, it had a odd way of storytelling that worked a little, but not enough for me.
Book 23 finished today with The Doomsday Calculation: How an Equation that Predicts the Future Is Transforming Everything We Know About Life and the Universe by William Poundstone
5 stars, eBook
Wow, this book. Not an easy one, kinda mind blowing, with lots of thought experiments. And not the good kind. Mainly about when doomsday, or extinction of humans, but also applied the probabilities to aliens, robots taking over and maybe we're living in a simulation. yeah, maybe the matrix. yikes! Interesting read!
PS: I really need to refocus on my owned books. Killing it here, and yet several more unowned in the works.
Quickly finished book 24 One Night in Georgia by Celeste O. Norfleet.
4 stars, eBook
I did read this book quick, but it isn't a feel good book. It's a nail biting novel of three college girls taking a week to drive back to school in a flashy convertible from New York to Atlanta in 1968. The main character, Zelda knows this is a mistake but joins her friends. Of course danger is ahead and they have surprisingly good interactions with some whites, and predictable racist police.
With this book I finished another peak, now onto Mt. Munch.
Book 25 now done with A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea by Don Kulick.
5 stars, eBook
A fascinating book about a very small village deep in the rainforest in Papua New Guinea. While Don Kulick went there to study a death of a language, this book is gives us much more than the language, also how the villagers live and their beliefs. It's enlightening in many ways, highly recommend.
Book 26 done this week with The Seven or Eight Deaths of Stella Fortuna by Juliet Grames.
2.5 stars, audiobook
I downgraded to 2 stars. The book started out great, was interesting and unique, then it lost it's way somewhere around the middle third. The end just slid into too "I just don't care anymore". I thought the book was overly long, even though it was a generational tale. If the focus from the beginning remained throughout it would have been a better book. Then again, there are many great reviews. So maybe it's me not the book.
I'm doing great on this climb, but faltering on owned books. Got to get back to that! :)
Finished book 27 recently with The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek by Kim Michele Richardson.
4 stars, audiobook
I really enjoyed this book. A woman dedicated to bringing books to the people who can't get to a library, what is not to love? There is so much in this story, mining, women without agency, people of color, poverty, and in the end some romance too.
Finished book 28 with On Drinking by Charles Bukowski.
3 stars, audiobook
This is my third poetry book by Bukowski, although the other two were years and years ago. This book also includes a few essays and interviews, all around his writing about drinking. Bukowski is known to be a heavy drinker so there was a lot of material. Despite that, some of it became a bit repetitive, and some was contradictory. Wasn't sure I'd listen to the whole collection, but it was short enough.
Book 29 took a while to finish. It's Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth by Gordon L. Dillow.
3 stars, eBook
I was very interested in the topic, but did not enjoy the writing style so it was slow going for me. I'm glad I stuck with it as the writing improved, focused more on the actual information than trying to crack jokes. The author was way too breezy for me. The rating is for the information, history, science and organization of the book, that all worked. Glad I read it in the end too.
Pamela wrote: "Book 25 now done with A Death in the Rainforest: How a Language and a Way of Life Came to an End in Papua New Guinea by Don Kulick.[bookcover:A Death in the Rainforest: How a Langu..."
this book looks fascinating, Pamela! I'm glad to see your 5* rating and recommendation. I've added to my TBR!
I hope you enjoy it Anne. The book is my favorite non-fiction book for this year (so far).
Happily done with number 30 Embattled River: The Hudson and Modern American Environmentalism by David Schuyler.
3 stars, print book
This book also took me a considerable amount of time to finish. It was dense text that read more like a textbook. Some chapters were interesting, but many fell into dull bureaucratic type text. I had hoped this book would focus more on the "modern environmentalism" but instead it was more about the overall ordinances and battles for protecting the Hudson River. I'm happy to have read it but it wasn't easy going.
Book number 31 done with In Oceans Deep: Courage, Innovation, and Adventure Beneath the Waves by Bill Streever.
4 stars, eBook
This was a well written book mainly about diving to the deepest depths of the ocean. There's a bit more than that, but it is the underlying theme. The author covers diving without gear, to the submersibles and robots, submarines and the few attempts at setting up a colony on the ocean floor. It was interesting and still I'm not too terribly interested in it myself. I think the whole pressure and confinement would be too much for me to handle.
Book 32 was done a couple days ago with In the Valleys of the Noble Beyond: In Search of the Sasquatch by John Zada.
3.5 stars, eBook
Still trying to figure out my overall feelings on this one. It was decent writing, mainly one man's quest in the coastal North of Canada on the West coast. Not quite the level of the previous book (#31) above, but getting close. The most interesting parts of the book to me where of the landscape and the First Nations people.
Book 33 now done with Stay and Fight by Madeline Ffitch. 
3.5 stars, audiobook
This was a tough book to read in some ways as the three main women would fight, and argue all the time. I did not like these characters. But I stayed with the book and the ending made up for much of the discomfort.
Book 34 was completed with Hustle and Gig: Struggling and Surviving in the Sharing Economy by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle.
4 stars, eBook
This is a sociological look at how workers are doing in the gig economy. The author looked at four app based services and how well they do for the workers. Uber, AirBnB, Kitchensurfing and TaskRabbit, and basically found it takes money to make money. I enjoyed the book, I found it enlightening for these apps and how it works for all involved.
Book 35 now done with We Are All Good People Here by Susan Rebecca White.
4 stars, eBook
A multi-generational book, but perhaps a bit too brief. I think I like it when the author dives deeper when covering so much time. Yet, the book was good. Mainly about the changing attitude in the South and how it affects two friends through their lives.
Book 36 finished as 36. The Last Redwoods and the Parkland of Redwood Creek by Philip Hyde.
5 stars, print book
An old book, 50 years old, for what it is, a plea to stop clear-cutting the redwoods and to have more of them saved as parks. The book is short and includes color photographs. A previous version of this book worked to save some redwood groves. Certainly more work was needed than just this second book, but there still exists a little bit of the old virgin redwood forests.
Forgot to post last week. Starting up White Plume Mt. with book 37 The Warehouse by Rob Hart.
4 stars, eBook
I enjoyed this book, an all to realistic look at how things could go with a huge online company becoming not only the only place to shop, but also to work. It might be made into a movie too.
Book 38 finished as Opioid, Indiana by Brian Allen Carr.
2 stars, eBook
I didn't enjoy this book. There were some great sentences, but overall the book didn't hold together well for me. I expect another couple of books finishing up soon, not sure they will make it for August or not.
Book 39 done with The Women's Guide to Overcoming Insomnia: Get a Good Night's Sleep Without Relying on Medicationby Shelby Harris.
3 stars, eBook
It's sometimes hard to rate self-help books, and this one definitely fits in that category. It is book to help you sleep better, if you follow the program explained in the book. One reason for a lower rating is the repetitiveness, another for lack of examples. Yet it still had tons of useful advice. I don't have insomnia, maybe a night or two here or there, or a week at most at a time, but nothing long lasting. Still I will likely add some of these recommendations to my sleep routine.
Book 40 finished yesterday with Coders: The Making of a New Tribe and the Remaking of the World by Clive Thompson.
3 stars, audio
I feel mediocre on this book. Some parts were interesting and other parts not so much. Also there was some sloppy writing (poor grammar, not like I'm perfect but this is a published book and editors!) some sloppy research as well; felt like he didn't try very hard to write a good book. Still trying to decide my rating, but middle of the road, 3 stars feels right, or 2.5.
Another one quickly done, book 41 Women Talking by Miriam Toews.
4 stars, print book
I read this in two days, it was quick! The book was based off what happened in Bolivia some years ago, and fictionalize the women's response to being brutalized by their men. A non-action book, just talking really, but odd how the book was framed and it didn't stick to it either. Maybe 3.5 stars is a better rating.
The VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me (other topics)Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me (other topics)
A Season On The Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration (other topics)
A Season On The Wind: Inside the World of Spring Migration (other topics)
The Lightest Object in the Universe (other topics)
More...
Tackling White Plume Mountain will help me reduce these checked out books and maybe open a little space on my bookshelf.