I'm so happy that Adam from Roof Beam Reader is hosting this challenge again! I've been doing it on my own the last couple of years and I'm really looking forward to participating with other people again.
As you know, I stopped keeping an official TBR list, though I started up again recently in a very limited fashion. My books are ones that I know were on my Goodreads "To Read" shelf previously, that I've wanted to read since they came out (pre-2017), or that I'm somehow otherwise fairly certain I've wanted to read for more than a year. For instance, I first read about Assata last December when I was prepping for my January display of books by black women. And one of them was on my 2017 Personal Reading Challenge and I failed to read it but still want to. I swear I'll read you this time, A Little Life!
Without further ado, here's my list:
1. A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (finished 1/21)
2. Longbourn by Jo Baker (finished 2/25)
3. Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson (finished 7/14)
4. Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones (finished 2/16)
5. The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (finished 11/2)
6. Assata: An Autobiography by Assata Shakur (finished 3/18)
7. Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman by Robert K. Massie (finished 10/2)
8. A Short History of Nearly Everything by Bill Bryson (finished 5/30)
9. The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith (finished 7/6)
10. NOS4A2 by Joe Hill
11. Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin (finished 7/28)
12. The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith (finished 1/27)
My alternates:
1. The Lottery and Other Stories by Shirley Jackson (finished 4/21)
2. The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller (finished 8/25)
There are some long books on here, and also more non-fiction than usual. But that's why they call it a challenge, right? I feel most intimidated by Catherine the Great by Robert K. Massie. Even some of the more fun ones are pretty long, like NOS4A2. I'm reassured by the shorter books like Giovanni's Room. I think it's a great mix of titles and I'm hoping to find some new favorites here!
2 comments:
I have wanted to read The Good Life but I keep getting intimidated by the size of the book, which I know is crazy because my next thing to say was that The Cuckoo's Calling is awesome! It is a long book but so worth it. I listened to all of the Robert Galbraith books on Audio and recommend them if you like listening to books. Great List! Enjoy your 2018 reading!
Just Mercy is such an important book - I've taught it a few times in the last 2-3 years. I'm glad to see Giovanni's Room on a few lists, too; it is so beautiful, though sad. I wrote about it in my dissertation, so I have some special feelings about it. The Song of Achilles is achingly beautiful.... one of my favorite contemporary novels, by far. And Shirley Jackson? Gosh. What a genius. The only other I've read from this list is A Little Life, which is quite the challenge. I don't think there's anything else like it, though, which perhaps makes it worth it? Anyhow - I wish you luck & I'm glad you're with us! I do hope you get to both your alternates.... they're amazing. :)
Post a Comment