Time to take a look at my final tally for MizBook's 2007 TBR Challenge. Looking back at my list, I'm pretty satisfied with my results. Of the dozen titles chosen, I finished the following 7:
The Great Santini by Pat Conroy (2.5/5)
Up Island by Anne Rivers Siddons (3/5)
Harvesting the Heart by Jodi Picoult (2.5/5)
Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris (3.5/5)
One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (4.5/5)
The Baker's Apprentice by Judith Ryan Hendricks (2.5/5)
Women of Silk by Gail Tsukiyama (3/5)
I attempted (but gave up on) these 2:
The Tall Pine Polka by Lorna Landvik
A Stranger's House by Bret Lott
I ran out of time and left the following 3 unread:
Water Witches by Chris Bohjalian
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl! by Fannie Flagg
Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher
It felt good to read some of these books, as I've had many of them for quite a few years!
Best book(s) I read for the challenge:
One True Thing, which will probably wind up on my Top Ten list for 2007. I'm actually a bit surprised that there weren't very many high scoring books in this group. I wonder if I subconsciously sensed this and that's why they've languished on my shelves for so long.
Books I could've done without:
Well, that's fairly obvious. Pretty much all but the Quindlen and the three I haven't yet attempted.
Any new authors? Will I read them again?
OK, that's interesting. There is not one single "new-to-me" author in this bunch. Wonder how I managed that?!
Best thing about the challenge? What did I learn?
Well, as I said, it feels good to have finally knocked some of these books off my shelves. It was nice to have the challenge to motivate me to read some of these older titles. I haven't decided if I'll participate in the 2008 challenge, but I will make an effort to read more of what I already own!
Thanks, Jen, for hosting this fun challenge!
Hi there; just found your blog and wanted to comment on One True Thing - it's one of the best books I've ever read! I also read her Rise and Shine and really enjoyed it, and although Black and Blue was good, it didn't warrant all the hype.
ReplyDeleteHappy New Year!
That is interesting that they were all authors you'd read previously. Too bad that most of them weren't that great. At least it's a nice feeling to get them off the shelves.
ReplyDeleteKatie - Thanks for stopping by my blog. I'm enjoying yours, too.
ReplyDeleteYes, isn't One True Thing a wonderful book? I enjoyed the movie just as much, but it'd been so long since I'd seen it, a lot of the details were long forgotten, making for a great read. I haven't read Rise and Shine, but I did like Black and Blue. Her collections of essays are also very good.
Nat - As I recall, when I put together my list for this challenge, I tried to pick books by authors I'd previously enjoyed. Funny that not too many were winners this time around. Yep, it's good to have them off the shelves!