Top of the Hoard is my personal challenge for 2015.
I decided to chose 20 books that have been on my TBR list for a year or more, and commit to reading them in 2015. This is the “must-read-in-2015 list” I’ve mentioned in a few previous posts. My choices were pretty arbitrary: some are books I heard about through other bloggers’ reviews, some were recommended by friends, some are continuations of series I love, and one is written by a friend (so I really should have read it by now!) Several I own already, but most I’ll need to borrow or buy. But one way or another, I’m going to get these read this year!
(List updated as of 12/18/15)
- Deborah Crombie – Kincaid & James mysteries #9, #10, and #11
- Charles Finch – Charles Lenox mysteries #1 through #6 (Reviews: A Beautiful Blue Death – #1; The September Society – #2; The Fleet Street Murders – #3)
- Neil Gaiman – The Ocean at the End of the Lane
- Amie Kaufman & Meagan Spooner – These Broken Stars
- Susanna Kearsley – The Winter Sea
- Robin LaFevers – Grave Mercy
- Erin Morgenstern – The Night Circus (read)
- Diana Peterfreund – For Darkness Shows the Stars
- Sharon Shinn – Summers at Castle Auburn (read)
- Megan Whalen Turner – The Thief (and the other books in the series)
- Catherynne Valente – The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland
- V. V. Wedding – An Uncivilized Yankee (read)
- Gabrielle Zevin – The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry
I’ve gathered them together on Goodreads, which is probably the easiest way to check them out if there are any you don’t recognize. As you can see, the list is a mixed bag in terms of genres and even age range, but it’s heavy on the fantasy and mystery, both of which I seem to be hungering for these days.
There are, of course, plenty of other books that could have gone on this Top of the Hoard list, but my hope is that by publicly committing to these 20, I’ll get them read. I hope to get to others on my overall TBR list as well, of course!
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review
You have some wonderful books on here! I love that you made your own personal challenge. I’m thinking of doing the same, but I’m having a hard time picking from my list. I just need to commit.
Lory @ Emerald City Book Review recently posted…Words and Pictures: My Brilliant Friend
Lark_Bookwyrm
I debated “announcing” my list, but decided I’d be more likely to fit them all in if I went public and felt more accountable, so to speak. 🙂 As for choosing which books, I started with books I knew without looking at my Goodreads list that I really wanted to read, and then went through the first half of my Goodreads to-read shelf and picked the ones that really called to me… and stopped when I got to 20. (I sure hope I get more than 20 of my current to-read list read this year, though!)
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library
Love it! AJ Fikry is a pretty fast read and I really enjoyed it. Of course Crombie is always on my TBR list and I’m several books behind in the series. I have the first Charles Finch that I’d love to get to as well. Good luck! I’m looking forward to your reviews on these!
Katherine @ I Wish I Lived in a Library recently posted…I’ll Have What She’s Having – Review
Lark_Bookwyrm
I had an ARC of AJ Fikry, but it turned out to be badly formatted for some reason (must just have been my copy) and I gave up on it. So now that I’ve decided to read it this year, I’ve requested it from my library. And I literally just started the first Charles Finch this morning – my first foray into the 20 books on my list! 🙂
Bea @Bea's Book Nook
What a great idea! I love the mix of books you have. Have fun with it and good luck.
I’m using COYER, Kimba’s Take Control of Your TBR pile challenge and Between My Lines Dust Off Your Classics and my February gifted/won challenge to help whittle down my TBR pile.
Bea @Bea’s Book Nook recently posted…Veiled Intentions by Eileen Carr – Guest Post & Giveaway!
Lark_Bookwyrm
Good challenges! I’m doing COYER too, and I need to sign up for Kimba’s Take Control of Your TBR Pile. I’m not familiar with the Dust Off Your Classics, but I’ll check out that one and your February challenge!
Lark
Looks like we’re all trying to read from our TBR lists this year. You’ve got some great books on yours; I loved Night Circus and The Winter Sea. Good luck checking off all twenty books in 2015!
Lark recently posted…Back to the Classics Challenge
Lark_Bookwyrm
Looking at people’s resolutions this year, I saw a lot of “read from my TBR pile” variations, so yes, I’d agree! Thanks for the good wishes, and best of luck to you, too!
Jan
Great idea, Lark! I keep an informal list on MS Office OneNote of TBR books–many of which also work for COYER and my TBR Pile Challenges. I have quite a few lists on OneNote and try to remember to check them (and add to them) regularly!
Jan recently posted…WoW: Dead to Me by Mary McCoy
Lark_Bookwyrm
I created a shelf on Goodreads for this “challenge, as well as a list (on MS Word.) And my extensive TBR list is on Goodreads also. Plus I keep an Excel document of all review books. Keeping track of what I need to read has gotten complicated!