tbr-reading-challenge discussion

OK so last year I set 12 books at the beginnning of the year, but then I had to change some. So this year I am just going for 6 books for the first 6 months:

1. The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte
2. Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens - for his anniversary in 2012
3. The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay by Michael Chabon
4. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini
5. War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy
6. Exercises in Style by Raymond Queneau

Setting 3 more books in February:

7. David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
8. Martin Chuzzlewit by Charles Dickens
9. Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens

Setting the last 3 books in June:

10. Tom Jones by Henry Fielding
11. The Unconsoled by Kazuo Ishiguro
12. The Coming Storm by Paul Russell

You should look forward to reading The Kite Runner, it's a great book!

Thanks Helena! For some reason it is one that I keep putting off. I need to fit it into a challenge - so this should get it read in the next 6 months!

Today I have finished The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Very interesting for its portrayal of the position of Victorian women who find themselves trapped in an unhappy marriage.

Finished The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay. Starting with Joe Kavalier's escape from Prague in 1939, it tells the story of his comic book writing partnership with his cousin Sam Clay in New York. In true comic book style, there are wild successes and failures, amazing escapes, comedy and heartbreak.

Finished War and Peace today. It's taken me about 6 weeks - I started in December, reading 20 pages a day which increased when I found I was enjoying it. 5 stars.

Finished Exercises in Style. A very unusual book but a quick read.

I am racing through these. I picked books that I need to read for other challenges, which probably was not the best way to do it. I will not do that next time.

Finished Nicholas Nickleby. I loved it!

Since it is Dickens' anniversary, I am adding to this list the rest of his major works that I haven't yet read.

Finished David Copperfield. I loved this one too! Dickens really doesn't put a foot wrong in this one.

Finished The Kite Runner in one day. I realised I why I had not read this book before - I was a little scared of how it was going to make me feel. I did find it very painful to read. Still, it is a 5-star book.

Finished Martin Chuzzlewit. Bleah. A big disappointment after Copperfield and Nickleby.

I read Our Mutual Friend in June and loved it. Dickens was right back on form in his last book, IMO.

Just finished Tom Jones. So funny, especially at the end! Much funnier than Dickens. Highly recommeded.

Finished The Coming Storm on November 29th. 5 stars for this portrayal of an illicit teacher-student relationship.

Now reading The Unconsoled ...

Finished The Unconsoled! That's my 12 done for this year :)