The VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge discussion
Level 2: Mt Crumpit (24 books)
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Just north of Whoville, the library calls
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Welcome to the challenge and good luck climbing up to the Grinch's lair.
Aw shucks! Thanks, Bev! Thank you for hosting these fun challenges.
I just saw your rhyming signup post and it’s magnificent! My heart grew three sizes!!! Proud to climb with you!
Aw, thanks :) Same to you! Happy climbing!!
Book 1 completed 1/7/19The World According to Bertie by Alexander McCall Smith
Read on Kindle
Time on TBR: 10+ Years
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 4 in the 44 Scotland Street series. The serial format makes this feel like a quick read. It was a lot of fun to revisit these characters! AMS’s characteristic wry humor, incisive wit, and gentle philosophy elevate this book from a simple soap opera to a more satisfying reading experience.
Book 2 completed 1/17/19The Feather Thief: Beauty, Obsession, and the Natural History Heist of the Century by Kirk Wallace Johnson
Time on TBR: 1 year
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was not what I expected, and the author ended up playing quite a significant role in the investigation. Although unsatisfying as a formula mystery, I found it deeply engaging on a philosophical and psychological level.
Book 3 completed 2/12/19Rigor Mortis: How Sloppy Science Creates Worthless Cures, Crushes Hope, and Wastes Billions by Richard Harris
Time on TBR: 18 months
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This is a very clear and well-organized recounting of some of the structural problems plaguing biomedical research. Highly recommended.
Book 4 completed 2/15/19Dark Matter by Blake Crouch
Time on TBR: 2 years
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
This was tough to rate. The plot was original, highly engaging, and intellectually stimulating, and I enjoyed it. On the other hand, from a literary standpoint, the characters were little more than functionaries and the writing itself verged on hackish. Crouch is a fan of choppy, one-sentence paragraphs, perhaps to create a sense of urgency, and it was grating. I migrated to the audiobook and enjoyed it more in that format.
Book 5 completed 2/20/19The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin
Time on TBR: 10 years
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Rounding up, since this is written for a middle-grade audience in 1978, so I'm bound to be a bit unfair. I'm not sure how much my dissatisfaction was related to the book just not matching my expectations. I expected the puzzle to be more prominent, but like seemingly all 70s children's literature, this book was about being true to yourself, and being really seen by others, and seeing the people around you as more than what they appear on the surface. That said, the resolution wasn't robust enough to support a character-driven story: it ended like a puzzle mystery, with a quick epilogue-y "where are they now" wrap up, leaving the reader still a bit uncertain as to some of the motivations involved. Still, inventive and interesting.
Book 7 completed 6/20/19The Tangled Tree: A Radical New History of Life by David Quammen
Time on TBR: 12 months
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This took me a long time to read, but really it was quite good. Good use of characters and highlighting the personalities of the researchers involved to move the story along. Sometimes I didn't appreciate his attempts at a breezy tone ("I won't scare you off by going into detail" or "another unpronounceable microbe name") but overall a very interesting look at evolutionary history.
Book 8 completed 7/20/19Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple
Time on TBR: 5 years
Stars: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
I found this one to be a very fast read, with moments of sheer hilarity and razor-sharp satire wrapped in all the whimsical absurdity you'd expect from one of the writers of Arrested Development. Not too concerned with following through on the various plot entanglements, and the happy ending is plastered on a bit unnaturally, but overall, highly entertaining.
Ooooooof! I have sorely neglected this thread. Here goes:Book 9 completed 8/28/19
The Hidden Kingdom
Time on TBR: 2 years
Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
The third installment of the Wings of Fire series, much beloved by 2 of my kids. This one was quite clever, the plot was engaging, and characters developed. A highly satisfying MG read, looking forward to the next one.
Book 10 completed 9/11/19The Invention of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd
Time on TBR: 5+ years
Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A moving and poignantly drawn fictional portrait of two real women who grew up wealthy in the antebellum South and became prominent abolitionists. The story weaves back and forth between the white women of the family and the slave women, making for a very interesting picture of life on the plantation. Vivid, moving, and powerful.
Book 11 completed 11/5/19Beartown by Fredrik Backman
Time on TBR: 2 years
Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Still thinking about my review of this one. I can see why so many people raved about it, but it was a bit club-you-over-the-head for my personal enjoyment.
Book 12 completed 11/11/19Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis
Time on TBR: 10+ years
Stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Loved the way the prose really put me into the time and place. The author creates some very vivid characters and the plot is well paced. There are a few times where the political message seems a bit too direct; having characters monologue on political themes can be a bit risky but still I found it enjoyable.
The VIRTUAL Mount TBR Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Babbitt (other topics)Beartown (other topics)
The Invention of Wings (other topics)
The Hidden Kingdom (other topics)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette (other topics)
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Checking out from the library, that's more my style!
But the list of the books that I'm hoping to read
Has grown far too long, it's extensive indeed!
So for 2019, I'm making a vow
To read all the books that are on my list now!
And not to be lured by the shelf "new releases"
Or tempted by interesting NPR pieces
Which advertise books that I cannot resist
So gems from past years get forgotten and missed
So bring it on, new year, let's get this thing going
And slow down the pace that my TBR's growing!