The Gilmore Guide to Books

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2014 TBR Pile Challenge: Master List

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Hello 2014! I hope all of you had a nice holiday season and, if applicable, some time off from work to read. I got a few books read (and need to get writing about them) but was also able to visit more of the blogs I enjoy. It was when I was visiting Shannon at River City Reading that I first saw the 2014 TBR Challenge. TBR means To Be Read—which is the shorthand we book freaks use for all the books that languish on our Goodreads list, Evernote, Excel spreadsheet or whatever we use to keep track of it all (and don’t say you just remember because then we can’t be friends). Adam over at Roof Beam Reader came up with the great idea to challenge himself to read one book a month from his list and challenged other bloggers to do the same. The kicker is that these have to be books that were released over a year ago.

I was a bit hesitant at first because I already read a lot but when I started going through my Goodreads list (which goes back to 2009) I was reminded of all the wonderful books still waiting to be read and I was sold. Yes, it is great fun to read and write about books before they even come out but what about the ones I’ve missed? The ones that are just as wonderful but in our ADHD society have already been forgotten? After an afternoon browsing, here are the twelve books (and two alternates in case I bail on one of the originals) I’m going to get to this year. The most notable thing about this group? How much more non-fiction I’ve chosen. I don’t read nearly as much of it as I used to so am going to try and make up for that.

Once a month I’ll post a review of the the book I’ve read and update this list.

How about you? Anything you wanted to read but never got to? Now’s your chance! 



2014 TBR

 

Sharp Objects Review 9/30

Me Before You Review 8/1

Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman

Slow Motion

An Exact Replica of a Figment of My Imagination

Divergent Review 11/24

We Need to Talk About Kevin Review 12/10

How to Be a Woman did not finish

The Empty Glass  Review 1/22

But Inside I’m Screaming Read in Feb but no review- title was my favorite part

Starvation Heights: A True Story of Murder and Malice in the Woods of the Pacific Northwest Review 4/30

Hunting and Gathering Review 3/28

Alternates:

Bringing Home the Birkin

May We Be Forgiven

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Comments

  2. Ahh, I’ve been thinking about doing this, too. There are so many books that have eluded me over time, some of which I was absolutely mad to get my hands on and then still never read. It’ll be hard to narrow it down, but definitely a great way to put a dent into those books that somehow got left behind.

    P.S. I’ve felt like the only one who hasn’t read Me Before You, so glad I’m not alone. And I completely forgot about Bringing Home the Birkin! That’s a must, obviously.

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  3. Great list! The only one on here I’ve read is How to Be a Woman, which I really enjoyed. I can’t wait to hear what you think of some of these others – a lot of them are new-to-me titles, which I always love!

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  4. I don’t know of ANYONE else who has read, “But Inside I’m Screaming.” I loved it so, so much, but I think it’s because I’ve been in that, um, situation before and could relate on a personal level. I’ve also read the Moran book and liked it, but I read it before I read a lot of snarky reviews so my judgement was completely unbiased. Still, both were winners for me.

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    • BOTH of those books are on the list because of your recommendation! I’ve not read any reviews about the Moran one so will hopefully be coming at it with an empty mind. Wait…that didn’t sound right. 🙂

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  7. Awesome! I’m hoping to read Me Before You this year too, but it won’t be part of this challenge since I just bought it 🙁 Can we read more than one a month?

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  9. I just discovered your blog from your comment on Roof Beam Reader’s challenge post. I’ve only read Divergent, We Need to Talk About Kevin, An Exact Replica of a Figment of Your Imagination from your list. If you cry at all easily, don’t read the last one out in public. I cried my way through it, but it was an amazing book, I thought.

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    • Thanks for that advice because I am a crier! Thanks also for stopping by- I want to browse Adam’s list of bloggers doing the challenge but am afraid it will my make my TBR list explode!

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  10. This is a great idea! The book that I’m hoping to get to in 2014 is Life After Life by Kate Atkinson. That’s been on my TBR list for months and months. Problem is, I just keep adding more books to the list. It’s an addiction!

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  11. That’s what I realized last year…that I have tons of gems on my TBR, languishing unread, and there’s a darn good chance of them being wonderful. Maybe even more wonderful than the ARCs that haven’t been vetted by as many bloggers just yet. The ones on my TBR are books I’ve seen praised for years! And I’m happy to report that reading mostly from my TBR in the latter half of last year made for some of the best reading I’ve done in many years.

    In short (long), I was convinced that the TBR Pile Challenge is totally for me in 2014. Can’t wait! You have some wonderful books on your list. I loved Me Before You and How to Be a Woman.

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  13. Good luck! I loved Me Before You, and have Sharp Objects in my wishlist. Since I have Flynn’s Dark Places on my shelf, I should try getting to it soon.

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  14. Very very excellent list — and I think it’s smart to have two alternates, in case you’ve predicted Future You’s reading mood imperfectly. :p The ones of those that I’ve read were uniformly good. Enjoy!

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  16. Great challenge. I need to do this, and just put them beside my bed and work through them. You’ll like Me before You.
    I want to read Life After Life (with you on that one, Jackie), and also The Woman Upstairs.
    Happy reading in 2014, Catherine!

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  17. I like how you made this so visual! I should do that, too. . . I just decided to join, too. I took a stack of physical books that I’ve had for too long and plan to try to get the challenge done early, if possible. Why not? 😀

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  19. Great choices! I also want to read “we need to talk about kevin” and “sharp objects”, but I’m still not sure if I’m going to participate in this challenge, because I’m already in so many challenges.. Good luck!

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Please let me know what you think!

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