Mount TBR Challenge 2025 discussion
Mt. Ararat (48 books)
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Bea's Climbing for the Stars
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Bea
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Dec 13, 2024 07:18AM
I decided to abandon my Mt. Ararat climb for 2024 in favor of starting here in the new year.
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The first 12 anticipated books for this climb: The Simple Truth - TBR 2015
The Pony Wife - TBR 2011
I am beginning this year with 6 owned books: √Shaman
√Palindrome - TBR 2015
√The Great Passage (Kindle since 2018)
√Ya-Yas in Bloom
God Is in the Small Stuff - this one will be slow as it is meditative thoughts
The Beginner's Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera - this one might take awhile as I will be learning how to use the camera while I read.
1. Ya-Yas in Bloom - TBR 2022I enjoyed this story of the Ya-Ya friends and their extended families. I especially enjoyed the "feel good" ending.
2. The Great Passage - Kindle since 2018Wow! A much better read than I had anticipated. Another book that waited to long to be read.
3. Palindrome - TBR 2015I can't believe that it took so long for me to get this book read. Thoroughly enjoyed it!
4. Cave of Bones - Kindle, since 2020Continued series. I enjoyed this book and characters, although it was perhaps a stretch for the prompt for which I read it. Prompt: A book set underground, under sea or in an underworld.
5. High Noon - TBR 3/2024A stand-alone book by one of my favorite authors Nora Roberts. The protagonist is a woman who is juggling many aspects of her life alone: job, her family, and threats. Very engaging story that made me want to know more.
6. Mistletoe Murders - Audible, since 1/2024I listened to the second in the series before this one. A bit of a mistake in that characters that died in the second podcast series, were introduced here. I actually liked the overall story of this one better than the second. There is a third to go. Maybe, maybe later.
7. Xoe: or Vampires, and Werewolves, and Demons, Oh My! - Kindle, since 2020This book has changed its title since I bought it. Now known as Demon Moon (The Xoe Meyers Series).
It is an interesting take on the paranormal. High school kids...three girl friends, one of whom is scratched by an evil werewolf...and a couple of new friends who help (male, of course). Fun story. Well-written.
8. The Aviary - Kindle, since 2019Loved this book. I am amazed to find that it is a series and that sales help various organizations dealing with sex trafficking. What a wonderful connection between a good story and a societal action. 4.5*
9. Deerskin - Kindle, since 2019Loved this book! It definitely fit the Healing Fiction genre in that the main protagonist was brutally beaten and raped and, as a result, lost her memory. She escapes and over time gradually heals. By the end of the book, her memory returns and she faces her demons...and finds love. 5*
10. Face the Fire - Audible, since 2022This book finished a trilogy by Nora Roberts, a favorite author. Very satisfying. 4*
11. Shaman - On TBR since 2015It took me a while to read this historical fiction story of the Sauk and Fox tribe, mainly because it was an owned book that kept being pushed aside by library books. Very interesting. 3*
12. Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics - Audible, since August 2024I enjoyed the back story of many of the songs but got tired of Dolly saying repeatedly that each was her favorite.
13. Prairie County Fair - on TBR since 2017Four interconnected stories centering around the county fair in different time frames. Christian, finding love stories. 4*
14. The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street - Kindle, since 2019A cute, sad, fun story of a family wanting to get the landlord to renew their lease at Christmas. Should have read this a long time ago! 4*
15. The Devil's Feather - on TBR since 2011When I started this book, I thought it was non-fiction; and, because I owned it, I put it aside for a bit. However, when I came back to it, I realized it wasn't non-fiction but rather fiction. That changed how I approached the story. I ended up enjoying it a lot.
17. Broken Angels - Kindle, since 2019I really enjoyed this WW II story of a stolen Polish child, a Jewish ghetto girl rescued just as she was to be loaded on a death truck, and the SS doctor who took both in and tried to save other children.
18. This Side of the Grave - TBR since 2020This book is a paranormal look at a power grab that would result in war between the vampires and ghouls. To make it work, Cat is targeted to be killed, since she is different from the usual vampire. This story includes misinformation and prejudice elements against Cat. 4*
19. Aunt Bessie's Holiday - Audible, on TBR since 2024This is a cozy mystery series set on the Isle of Man off Scotland's coast. A fun series with an elderly sleuth.
20. Go - Kindle, on TBR since 2019I'm not sure why, but most Asian stories make me work hard to understand the story. Perhaps it is that the culture is so different from my own. This story was of a young man of several cultural histories who had lived in Japan his whole life. His family changed citizenship several times; he went to a couple of different cultural schools and seemed to never find a place to fit in. Even his love interest broke due to cultural issues. 3*
21. Vengeance in Death - Audible, on TBR since 2016I have been avoiding the In Death series as I felt it was too dark for me, so it has been awhile since I last read in the series. This time, instead of a book, I listened to the story. And, I enjoyed it. I wonder if this is a series that I will enjoy more as an audible experience. 4*
22. Scraps of Paper - Kindle, on TBR since 2021This story was delightful! I loved the mystery and the characters of Spookie. 4 *
23. Key of Valor - Audible, on TBR since 2022This is the end of a trilogy by a favorite author. Thoroughly enjoyed. 4*
24. The Palace of Lost Memories - Kindle, on TBR since 2020Fantasy with a twist. All the people in the magical palace have no memory of who they are or where they were from. The innocent healer's daughter believes this is something that can be cured. Love occurs as does death. 4*
25. Born of Water - Kindle, on TBR since 2019This fantasy centers around the five elements: fire, earth, water, air, and spirit. The people of this world who are born with talents of one of the elements (or more) are hunted and made part of the Church of the Four Elements or killed if of the spirit element. And, thus the story begins of several young people who are running from the Church and seeking answers. Love occurs. 4*
26. After Alice Fell - Kindle, on TBR since 2021This is a book about family, evil intent, murder, and sister love. Set during civil war. 3*
28. The Passion According to Carmela - Kindle, on TBR since 2019I found this story a bit disjointed due to the dual POV. 3*
29. The Good Son - Kindle, on TBR since 2019I had no idea that I would actually enjoy this book. It starts from the point of "the good son" which did not seem to be the right name for this main character...but I did understand the label later in the story. 4*
30. Life - Kindle, on TBR since 2020I found this book hard to follow. 3*
This is not unusual for Asian books for me. I think, overall, that the emotions attributed to the main character felt overblown...way too demonstrative.
It is really a shame that I could not "get" this book. The author is a highly esteemed Chinese writer who only wrote two books in his life. Maybe sometime in the future, I will attempt this book again. Maybe.
31. This Life or the Next - Kindle, on TBR since 2019Another hard book to follow. It reads more like a memoir and bounces around a bit with the narrator occasionally interrupting his story to respond to an unheard voice who apparently asked a question. I gathered it was another writer who was getting his story into print. Still...
It actually is fiction, although, as I said, it reads like a real life memoir. The story of a Norwegian Arab who discovers a faith in Islam and goes to Syria to fight against Assad.
Overall, interesting, but not compelling. A book I could choose not to pick up instead of drawing me into the story and characters. I am glad to have finished it. 3*
32. Kate: The Journal of A Confederate Nurse - TBR since 2012This is a journal kept by a woman of means of Mobile, Alabama, who decides that her patriotic duty includes caring for the wounded soldiers of the Confederacy during the Civil War. She is a Christian by faith. Many of her entries concern her thoughts about Christian duty of the southern woman as well as whether the soldiers died in the faith. She lists the name and company of those she cares for who die in the fight. She moves from one hospital to another during the five years and details the food fed and conditions in which they lived. And, her statements of where, when, who and conditions are backed up with footnotes of the editor as to books that document what she records.
As a former nurse myself, I was a bit surprised at her journal entries as nursing (changing bandages etc) was reserved for wounded warriors who had basically healed from their injuries. The women fed, got clothes, cooked and took care of the laundry. They also wrote letters and read or talked with the wounded. Initially women were not allowed in the hospitals and nursing as we know it now did not exist.
Very interesting slice of history from the Southern viewpoint. 4*
34. Small Miracles for the Jewish Heart: Extraordinary Coincidences from Yesterday and Today - Added to TBR 10/27/24Jewish stories of love and salvation through G-d's intervention.
35. Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All - Added to TBR 11/4/12I am amazed that I finished this book. Way too long. A bit confusing at times. Taken as stories, it was interesting. 3*
38. Zeus's Cookbook: Most Ungodly Appetizers - Kindle. Added to TBR 8/27/19An unbelievable but fun story of spices with supernatural power. 4*
39. Curse the Day - Kindle. Added to TBR 5/2/22A paranormal story of a young woman who tries to save an angel from suicide and ends up trapped in Spellbound, a town of paranormals. 4*
40. Vendetta. Kindle. Added to TBR 8/20/19This book had another name when I added it, which caused some confusion by the time I chose to read it.
Gia discovers that her parents did not die by accident but by murder. Can she trust her godfather? An exciting read involving the mafia. 4*
Mount TBR Challenge 2025
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