2015 TBR Pile Challenge Complete!

Adam, the Roof Beam Reader hosted the TBR Pile Challenge again this year and despite the craziness of the past few months, I actually completed it! Here's the link to my original post.
The goal was to read 12 books from your “to be read” pile within 12 months. Each of the 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile. 

There were two on my main list that I didn't get to, but I read both of my alternates. I found a new favorite, A Girl of the Limberlost, tried Haruki Murakami for the first time, and read a good book set in my home state, The Circus in Winter. It was definitely a successful challenge.

Here’s my list:

1) Gulliver's Travels (Done)
    by Jonathan Swift 
2) A Girl of the Limberlost (Done)
    by Gene Stratton-Porter 

3) The Ghost Map (Done)
    by Steven Johnson 

4) Tess of the D'urbervilles (Done)
    by Thomas Hardy 

5) Asterios Polyp (Done)
    by David Mazzucchelli 

6) Master and Commander (Done)
    by Patrick O'Brian 

7) Kafka on the Shore (Done)
    by Haruki Murakami 

8) The Night Watch (Done)
   by Sarah Waters 

9) Light in August  
    by William Faulkner 

10) The Circus in Winter (Done)
    by Cathy Day 

11) Inherit the Wind (Done)
    by Jerome Lawrence 

12) On the Beach  
    by Nevil Shute
ALTERNATES:

1) A Monstrous Regiment of Women (Done)
     by Laurie R. King   

2) A Quiet Storm (Done)

     by Rachel Howzell Hall

Asterios Polyp and Berlin

Asterios Polyp

by David Mazzucchelli

★★★☆

Asterios is an architect who escapes from his life one day when his apartment burns down. We watch his life fall apart in flashbacks. He falls in love and then slowly alienates his wife Hana. We watch him become an auto mechanic and learn about his stillborn twin brother.

This graphic novel didn’t have the same emotional depth as others I’ve read, but it’s one of the most cerebral GNs I’ve found. It discusses the duplicity of a person’s character and highlights the ways we can see the people we love every day and yet not really see them. It’s beautifully told with unique fonts for each characters’ voice.

BOTTOM LINE: Wonderfully drawn and intellectually stimulating.

 A couple quotes I loved from the book...

Berlin: Part 1 
by Jason Lutes

★★★☆ 

Set in Berlin from September 1928 - May Day 1929, this graphic novel charts the rise of the Third Reich. At times it was hard to follow because there are lots of characters that are drawn in a very similar way. The story deals with the communists in Berlin at that time, the growing Nazi party, and prejudice against Jews. Two of the main characters are a journalist named Kurt Severing and artist, Marthe Muller, who meet by chance on a train. 

BOTTOM LINE: I will definitely read the next segment “Part 2” as the book ends on a cliffhanger. I enjoyed it, especially the historical side, but didn’t love it. 

“One thing I love about this city is the way all of our different worlds rub shoulders every day.”

Images from Asterios Polyp and Berlin

Dewey 24 Hour Readathon!

*********  UPDATED HOUR 24 ********

I was doing so good, but I keep falling asleep. I am going to keep reading as long as I can, but I might be done for the night. I'll try to get up early and read a bit more then. 

Ok, I've been asleep, but I'm back for the final hour and a half!

Pages Read: 1,507 pages
Currently Reading: Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale, I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron 
Books Finished: 7 - Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamill, Girl Walks into a Bar... by Rachel Dratch, Berlin: Part 1 by Jason Lute, Crow Call by Lois Lowry
Breaks Taken: Tons, to cheer, do mini challenges, a bit of yoga, a dinner with the Huz
Snacks Eaten: Raspberries, coffee, apple chips, salad for lunch, guacamole, fish for dinner, mint milano cookies, amazing breakfast made by the Huz.
Mini-Challenges Completed: 17
Blogs Visited and Commented On: 74

You can also find me here on Instagram, Twitter, and LibraryThing. 

End of Event Meme: 
1) Which hour was most daunting for you? Hour 17, I kept nodding off.  

2) Could you list a few high-interest books that you think could keep a Reader engaged for next year? Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli
 
3) Do you have any suggestions for how to improve the Read-a-thon next year? I was a little confused if the mini challenge winners were being announced on the main blog (like past years) or on individual blogs. I probably just missed a note saying one way or the other. 

4) What do you think worked really well in this year’s Read-a-thon? Heather absolutely rocked the cheerleader coordination! There were so many readers, but we were all split into teams. I also felt like there was a lot of great promotion of the event before the big day.
 
5) How many books did you read? 7 completed, three more that I got halfway through. 

6) What were the names of the books you read? Asterios Polyp by David Mazzucchelli, The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, Interworld by Neil Gaiman, The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo, Girl Walks into a Bar... by Rachel Dratch, Berlin: Part 1 by Jason Lutes, Crow Call by Lois Lowry, Bonjour Tristesse by Francoise Sagan, Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale , I Remember Nothing by Nora Ephron 

7) Which book did you enjoy most? Asterios Polyp and The Tiger Rising were both powerful stories in very different ways.
 
8) Which did you enjoy least? Berlin was good, but maybe too detailed/complicated for the later hours of the readathon. 

9) If you were a Cheerleader, do you have any advice for next year’s Cheerleaders? I really like splitting up my cheering instead of doing it all in one or two hours. I cheered for 5 or so blogs every hour and then went back to reading.  

10) How likely are you to participate in the Read-a-thon again? What role would you be likely to take next time? Yes, of course!!! I will probably read and cheer and maybe host a mini challenge.

Mini Challenge Hour 18: Best of your reading year, hosted here.
 
Best Main Character of Your Reading Year: Elnora from A Girl of the Limberlost by Gene Stratton-Porter. Elnora is such a unique character. She is stubborn and driven to succeed. She's fiercely intelligent but incredibly compassionate. She is patient, giving her mother the benefit of the doubt for years. She's a hard worker, willing to make money to achieve her dreams. She has self-respect and is willing to sacrifice in order to find true happiness.
 
Best Setting of Your Reading Year: Middle Earth from J. R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. I reread the books this year and was once again blown away by the intricasies of the world he created. The different races, the different lands, the whole world comes alive for readers. 

Best Story Line of Your Reading Year: I just loved the plot of Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel. I was hooked from the first chapter and the traveling Shakespeare performers in a post-apocalyptic world were just enthralling from start to finish.

Mini Challenge Hour 16: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 15: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 14: Hosted here and posted on Instagram. 

Mini Challenge Hour 13: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mid-Event Survey: Hour 12:
1. What are you reading right now? Midnight in Austenland, I need something lighter because I was hitting a wall with Berlin.
2. How many books have you read so far? Four completed and in the midst of 3 others.
3. What book are you most looking forward to for the second half of the Read-a-thon? Inherit the Wind, I can't believe I haven't picked it up yet!
4. Have you had many interruptions? How did you deal with those? I've stopped to cheer a lot. Other than that I haven't had too many interruptions.
5. What surprises you most about the Read-a-thon, so far? I thought I would have napped by now. This has been the smoothest readathon I've done so far! 

Mini Challenge Hour 11: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 10: Hosted here and posted in the comments. 

Mini Challenge Hour 9: Hosted here and posted in the comments.

Mini Challenge Hour 7: Hosted here and posted to Twitter

Mini Challenge Hour 3: Hosted here and posted to Instagram

Mini Challenge Hour 2: Classic Words of Wisdom hosted by A Literary Odyssey

“Let me be something every minute of every hour of my life…And when I sleep, let me dream all the time so that not one little piece of living is ever lost.” — A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I've always loved that quote (and that book!) because it's how I want to live my life. So many people put off the things they want to do, but you never know how much time you have. I want to make every single minute of my life count!

Introduction Quiz:
1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? Indianapolis, IN

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? Inherit the Wind by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and Gaiman's Interworld. 

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Guacamole and Roasted Coconut Chips from Trader Joe's, but not together.
 
4) Tell us a little something about yourself! By day I’m an editor of a monthly magazine. I also review live theatre once a week. I'm one of the moderators at The Classics Club Blog. I am hopeless at keeping plants alive, but I manage to do just fine with my 80 lb. lap dog named Ollie.
 
5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? This is my 8th readathon (I've linked to the others at the bottom of the post). I think I’m going to try walking on the treadmill and listening to an audiobook at some point. I always make the mistake of not moving enough.  
Tomorrow is the Dewey Readathon! This will be my 8^th time participating in the event. Every April and October, if other obligations don’t get in the way, I spend one whole day reading. It’s always so much fun and I get a ton of reading done. There’s a great sense of community, mini-challenges each hour, cheerleaders and prizes.  Heather and Andi are the incredible ladies who help organize the whole thing and you can get more details at the official site. 
 

Tomorrow I will be reading from 8 am until whenever I fall asleep. I have my stack of books ready to go (see my pile above) and I will be cheering for at least 4 hours. 

A FEW NOTES: 
- I will be updating this post throughout the day so I don’t bomb people with half a dozen new posts.
- Please turn off your comment word verification for the day! It’s such a pain for cheerleaders.
- Tweet about your day with the hashtag #Readathon or by tagging @readathon 

PAST READATHON POSTS:

April and October 2011  /  April and October 2012 / April and October 2013 / April 2014