Monday, December 17, 2012

My master list for the 2013 TBR Pile Challenge


After reading about the TBR Pile Challenge on several different blogs, I knew this was one I had to join. As in previous years, Roof Beam Reader is the sponsor, and there will be many other participating bloggers around to cheer us on.  The rules are simple:  Create a master list of 12 novels that have been sitting on your TBR for at least 12 months, and read and review them over the next year.  I read on average 85 books/year, so this shouldn't be tough, right?  Especially since my TBR isn't really a pile but fills several rooms...

It may be a sad statement that I need a challenge like this to force me to read books that enticed me into buying them years ago, but the call of newly published titles often proves too strong... which means my older historical novels lie ignored for years if not decades.  I had such a fun time participating in Historical Tapestry's Alphabet in Historical Fiction challenge two years ago, since it gave me a good reason to return to authors' backlists.  The TBR Pile Challenge should do the same, and I'm looking forward to it.

Here's my list of 12 titles and 2 alternates, in no real order.  I've also posted it on Goodreads.  I spent way too much time going through my shelves at home and choosing these books.

1.  Rose Tremain, Music and Silence (2000) - royal scandal in 17th-century Denmark.  I've owned this for about a dozen years, and after just finishing her new novel Merivel: A Man of His Time, I'm eager to read more of her work.

2.  Paullina Simons, The Bronze Horseman (2001) - romantic epic centered on the Siege of Leningrad, 1941.  So many bloggers seem to love this one, and the prequel, Children of Liberty, will be out next spring.

3.  Liz Curtis Higgs, Here Burns My Candle (2010) - love and betrayal in the 18th-century Scottish Lowlands.  Her trilogy beginning with Thorn in My Heart, in which the biblical Jacob-Leah-Rachel triangle is transported to the same setting, is a favorite.  Why haven't I read this one yet?

4.  Rosemary Sutcliff, Rider on a White Horse (1959) - the story of Anne Fairfax and her husband Thomas, during the English Civil War.  Because it's a Sutcliff I haven't read before.

5.  Dorothy Dunnett, Niccolò Rising (1986) - the first book in her House of Niccolò series set in the Low Countries in the 15th century.  I have the entire 8-book set, all shiny 1st edition hardcovers with gorgeous jackets.  I picked up the first one many years ago, read 25 pages, was utterly confused as to what was going on, and put it back down (please don't hate me).  Meanwhile I've gotten older and have developed a taste for literary fiction.  This is a good time to try again.

6.  Diana Norman, Daughter of Lir (1988) - 12th-century Ireland and England.  A long out-of-print title from one of my favorite historical novelists.

7.  Donna Baker, Bid Time Return (1993) - I own many of Donna Baker's books but have yet to read one.  I also didn't know until googling her name just now that this is a pseudonym for Lilian Harry, best known for her WWII British sagas.  This is the first in her two-book Cumbrian Saga, set in and around Furness in the early 20th century.  Her website says that her novels written as Baker are being re-released as e-books.

8.  Elizabeth D'Oyley, The Mired Horse (1951) - the drama surrounding Thomas, Duke of Norfolk, and his relationship with Mary, Queen of Scots.  I had to create a new entry for it in Goodreads because it wasn't in the system... which is a very good reason to review it.  Someone ought to!  This will be one for my Obscure Books series. 

9.  Esmeralda Santiago, Conquistadora (2011) - one of my newer choices, a literary epic set in mid-19th century Puerto Rico.  I got my ARC signed at BEA last year and always meant to read it.

10.  Brian John, On Angel Mountain (2006) - first in a six-book family saga set in late 18th and early 19th-century Wales.  One of my favorite subgenres, and I love Welsh settings.
 
11. Elizabeth Laird, The Betrayal of Maggie Blair (2011) - YA historical about an accused witch in 17th-century Scotland... adventure, religious repression, and so forth.  I don't read much YA but should.

12. Tracy Chevalier, The Lady and the Unicorn (2003) - fictional drama surrounding the creation of the gorgeous Cluny tapestries, which I've had the fortune to see in person on two occasions.

Some old, some new, some classics, and some lesser known.  My alternates are Sena Jeter Naslund's Ahab's Wife and Lisa See's Snow Flower and the Secret Fan.  With luck I'll get to all fourteen within the next year, and maybe some others, too.  Hope you'll follow along with me!

(Edited later to add the novels' publication dates.)

32 comments:

  1. Music and Silence, Niccolo Rising, and The Lady and the Unicorn are three favorites of mine. Looking forward to your impressions!

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    1. That's encouraging - pleased to hear it! I've been waiting to read them for far too long.

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  2. I love The Bronze Horseman. It's my favorite of the trilogy, and Simons's descriptions of the siege of Leningrad have stuck with me. The later novels in the trilogy rely too much on coincidence, and Tatiana and Alexander's relationship starts to drive me crazy after a while, but The Bronze Horseman is great.

    I can't wait for Children of Liberty! I've been hoping that the publisher would add it to Edelweiss or Netgalley, but I haven't seen it.

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    1. I don't think I've read other novels about the Siege of Leningrad, which is strange considering I know there are others out there. Glad to hear your recommendation!

      Per the publisher two weeks ago, print ARCs of Children of Liberty are just out, so hopefully they'll show up in e-format soon, too.

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  3. Great list, Sarah. The only book I've read is The Lady and the Unicorn, which I enjoyed. I have a couple of the others on my tbr pile. I'm also participating in this one since my tbr pile is massive and I really should focus more on reducing it...but I probably won't since I just can't seem to set aside new releases.

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    1. Just found your list via your newest post! I'll leave a comment there too, but yes... I'm easily distracted by the new releases. I'm still behind on reviews, too, but am hoping to catch up over the break.

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    2. I totally forgot to mention that it's a great idea to include the date, like you have. I'm going to go back and add that information in.

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  4. Ooo, I read The Lady and the Unicorn several years ago and really enjoyed it!

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    1. Glad to hear it - it's one of those books I always meant to get to. I bought a copy when it first came out!

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  5. Music and Silence is an excellent one. Rose Tremain is one of my favorites. Can't wait to read Merivel! Have you read others by her?

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    1. Merivel is the first one I've read, and I loved it. I need to read Restoration next. I know I should really have read them in their proper order!

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  6. And The Lady and the Unicorn is fun! It returned to the story-behind-the-art that I loved in The Girl with the Pearl Earring, but lighter, livelier. It was one of those books that I finished too quickly!

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    1. Lighter and livelier sounds appealing! I loved Girl with a Pearl Earring too - it's been ages since I read it, and I really ought to reorient myself with her work. Her first novel The Virgin Blue was also very good, but quite dark.

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  7. As a writer, I see some kind of poetic justice in your image of an historical novel being set aside for decades!

    Sometimes aging helps.

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    1. Thus the novels become even more historical. I had more time to read when I was younger, but my tastes have definitely changed since then!

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  8. What a wonderful list ... it's interesting how the TBR pile grows. We all have such good intentions when acquiring novels but life has a habit of getting in the way. Those that have been sitting in my pile for ages are: A Backward Glance by Edith Wharton, When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro, Day After Night by Anita Diamant, The Memories We Keep by Walter Zacharius and The History of Love by Nicole Krauss. Perhaps this year??

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    1. That's a good way of putting it. It's rare these days that I can buy a novel and read it immediately, and I miss that. I haven't read any of those you mention, though own many of them. Best of luck getting to them!

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  9. Fabu list and great idea -- I'm super tempted! I might have to do this -- although I'm half tempted just to add all the books on your list to mine! ;)

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    1. You're very welcome to do that if you'd like :)

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  10. Sarah, you've got a wonderful year of reading ahead of you! Music and Silence is one of my favorite books, and I've read and adored the entire Niccolo series. This TBR challenge is a great idea...I'll have to come up with my own list! I have plenty of unread books to choose from. :)

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    1. Music and Silence is one that I know I own... my LibraryThing account says so! But I haven't seen it in a while and think it may be buried behind other books. I need to find it asap. I hope you'll decide to participate, Julianne! I'd be interested to hear what you decide to read.

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    2. Anonymous11:38 AM

      Just the books I want to read - although a series is kind of a commitment (it might last longer than some marriages these days . . .)

      Sarah Other Librarian

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    3. This is partly a test to see if I want to read the rest in those series! I don't take on many new ones either... although I just started The Passing Bells yesterday.

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  11. Glad you're taking the Challenge with us! I know nothing about any of these books, so I'm interested to read your thoughts and possibly add some new material to my lists (which always happpens, despite the whole point of this challenge! Lol). Good luck!

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    1. Thanks for organizing the challenge. It's one I needed, and I should have participated in past years, too! I look forward to reading your thoughts on your 12 titles, as I haven't read most of them.

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  12. Anonymous12:17 PM

    I'm wondering if the Rosemary Sutcliff title might be a possibility for reprinting (several of her titles have been reprinted recently). I also see two title variations (US? UK?) - Rider on a White Horse and The Rider OF the White Horse.

    One more 17th Century England title to add to my list . . .

    Sarah Other Librarian

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    1. My copy is Rider on a White Horse; wonder why they bothered with a title change, since they're so similar. How confusing. Her Sword at Sunset is being reprinted this month in the UK...

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    2. Anonymous1:12 PM

      The "juvenile" titles at least have enjoyed a resurgence because of the Rick Riordan mythology/Percy Jackson popularity (and perhaps also because of homeschoolers . . .)

      SOL

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  13. I'm going to do this as well, though I'm not sure I'll officially sign up (I'm not always very good at sticking with challenges). I do have a list going though I keep changing my mind--will have to post it soon. I loved The Bronze Horseman--have read it twice as well as the sequel (I didn't realize there was a prequel--have added it to my wishlist, thanks!). Ahab's Wife is marvelous, too, and I really should reread it someday. And Tracy Chevalier is a favorite author--I've read almost all of her books. I'd love to read the Dunnett books someday (am trying to get back to Cynthia Harrod-Eagles's series of Morland books). You've got a great list--it should be fun to read from it.

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    1. I changed my mind quite a few times but finally decided to go with what I had! It's my hope that by posting my list publicly that I'll be more apt to stick to it. Now I'm thinking I shouldn't have included so many lengthy books, but I suppose there's no point in signing up for a challenge unless it really is a challenge.

      It's been quite a while since I've read any of the Morland series. Those would be good ones to include. I believe there are two sequels to Bronze Horseman, Tatiana & Alexander and then The Summer Garden - have you read all three? The Chevalier is one I'm especially anticipating. And here she has a new one out in a few weeks; I might as well add it to the TBR as well!

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  14. Great list Sarah! I have just gotten some of the Liz Curtis Higgs books, and wish I had put those on my list but that defeats the purpose, eh?
    I picked some that I am mad that I have let sit around so long, but then again, I can say that about 600 other books. It is hard when we like to review so many new releases, that the oldies get pushed aside through no fault of their own. Here is my list, in case you hadn't seen it. Happy New Year, and good luck with the challenge!

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    1. Hi Marie, if you haven't read Liz Curtis Higgs' Scotland novels yet, you're going to love them. I hope :) They take risks, and the setting and writing are both wonderful.

      I'm going to be reviewing fewer new releases that arrive as review copies in 2013 in the hopes of catching up with the TBR. At least I'm going to try to control myself. Happy New Year!

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