This is self-explanatory. I hope so anyway! Twelve books from my to-be-read pile(s) that have been around since before 2022 and need to be given due consideration are slated to finally get the recognition they deserve – or had coming to them.
At the rate of roughly one every month that shouldn’t be too hard, should it? And it will be an additional incentive to create more shelf space of course – for new titles!
Adam Burgess (RoofBeamReader.com) is hosting this jamboree for the tenth year, and I’m duly tempted to join in, as detailed on this post. So – temptation having been yielded to – here goes!
The medium-sized print
1. Each of these 12 books have to have been on my bookshelves for AT LEAST one full year. Luckily two alternates are allowed, just in case one (or two) of the books ends up in the did-not-finish pile.
2. I shall now be signing up to the Mister Linky on Roof-Beam Reader’s advance notice page. Books have to be read and must be reviewed in order to count as completed.
3. The link posted in the Mister Linky is to my master list below. My complete and final list is – just in time now! – to be posted by the 15th January 2023 deadline.
4. I’ll be leaving comments on the monthly posts published at RoofBeamReader.com.
5. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as I’ve never read the book before.
The list
1. Anonymous, Hrolf’s Saga* (c 1400 / 1998). Nordic FINDS. January.
2. Amanda Craig, The Golden Rule* (2020). February.
3. Terry Pratchett, Going Postal* (2004). March Magics. March.
4. Jostein Gaarder, Maya* (1999). April.
5. Carlo Collodi, Pinocchio* (1883). Wyrd & Wonder. May.
6. Charlotte Brontë, Villette* (1853). 20 Books of Summer. June.
7. Niccolò Machiavelli, The Prince* (1532). Classics Club. July.
8. Robertson Davies, The Rebel Angels* (1981). Reading Robertson Davies. August.
9. Andrea Camilleri, The Voice of the Violin* (2003). Readers Imbibing Peril. September.
10. Jorge Luís Borges, The Book of Imaginary Beings (1969). Witch Week. October.
11. Gabriel García Márquez, Chronicle of a Death Foretold (1981). Novellas in November. November.
12. D H Lawrence, The Princess and other stories (1981). Classics Club. December.
The spares
13.George Eliot’s Middlemarch (1872) and 14. Mervyn Peake’s Gormenghast (1950). Both are Classics Club titles, and both though begun are currently stalled.
Will I make a significant dent in that book pile? Even if this is part 17¾ of an effort to declutter the bookshelves? Watch this space … to see if I create some more space!
As there are a fair number of classics here I’m assuming a fair number of you will have read a fair few of these – are there any here that you wouldn’t mind revisiting, or at least recommending?
* Read and reviewed
Calmgrove 
Impressive how you’ve coordinated with all those events! I wish you every success with this project. I’m particularly fond of Villette, Pinocchio, and of course The Rebel Angels. I may have to read that one along with you, it’s been a long time since I did.
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Oh, I’d be very happy to compare notes on the Davies in August, Lory, and I’d naturally aim to post a review on his special day! I enjoyed De Toro’s recent updated version of Pinocchio but I really want to experience Collodi’s own vision away from modern reinterpretations. I also do want to read the second of Anne Brontë’s novels and of course Emily’s sole title, but Villette is calling more strongly to me!
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Some great titles! Going Postal, Borges, THE Prince? I wish I could read these for the first time again :-) I’m trying do do the same with some of my books, mamy waiting over a decade, one memorable title was AJ Cronin’s Doctor Robert Shannon, an interesting book that I decided I don’t need to keep, but enjoyed reading – and now I have an extra slot on my shelf :-) My grandfather had a lot of Cronin’s books, and I need to spend more time in that part of my library…
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I’ve never read any Cronin, Piotrek, but my curiosity has been piqued now! Perhaps after 2023’s TBR titles have been done and dusted I may try the title you mention, especially if our public library can access a copy.
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Grandfather must have liked him, as he had not only Polish translations, but also some pre-war editions in English
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Your grandfather sounds like a man who I’d have liked to have interesting conversations with, as you no doubt did. 🙂
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I quite enjoyed Going Postal by Pratchett when I first read it. For me it was an easy read but not quite as good as the Witches stories. Then again the Witches were all time favourites for me.
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The Witches series deserve every chef’s kiss that comes their way, I agree, and especially if they include the Tiffany Aching sequence! But Going Postal will doubtless be a worthy instalment, and I’ve a few other Discworld titles dotted around, picked up at random over the years, still to come.
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A nice mix there Chris, veering towards the (modern) classic, but not exclusively. I am aiming to read as much from my TBR piles as possible anyway this year, but not proscribing which titles I’ll read – which always means not reading them in my experience. Good luck.
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Much as I hate commitments when pleasurable things are concerned, Annabel, I definitely need structure where TBR piles are concerned – even when I largely choose to ignore it! Glad you like the mix though, I’ve picked a few shortish titles to sweeten the pill…
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Good luck with this. I’ll also be trying to read more from my TBR piles this year but I think I would struggle to stick to a list. I’ve read Maya, as you know, and I also enjoyed Villette, but haven’t read any of your other books.
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It’s pointless struggling with a list, Helen, as I’ve found to my cost with my tally of Classics Club titles! Anyway, thanks to your subconscious promptings (!) I shall soon see whether I was right to substitute Maya with another title. 🙂
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Good luck! Borges – yay! And I do hope you can get to the Peake. I don’t commit to a particular list of TBR books, but I always use our Club weeks or reading events like the Japanese Literature Challenge to get to books I already own – always very satisfying when I can!!
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Thanks, Karen, maybe I won’t need luck for once… 😁
I’m feeling guilty though about not getting on with Gormenghast last year (Goodreads tells me I stopped at 39%) but I hope to regain that particular mojo in the coming months. And the Borges – it was a toss-up between this and his history of infamy, and this one won!
Anyway, Club week – I must see what I can finish in time for 1940, hopefully from what volumes I already have. 🙂
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A great set of titles, and I’ll be looking out for your thoughts on these. Good luck! The only ones I’ve read are Pinocchio, Villette and The Prince, the first and last fairly long ago.
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Glad you approve of my choices, Mallika, and I’m also eagerly anticipating what I might have to say about them all, including the three you mention!
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Last year was the first time I actually completed this challenge (I attempted it and others like it many times). Part of what finally made it work for me was coordinating it with other reading projects, so good work there! I am a big fan of Terry Pratchett and Going Postal is one of my very favorites. Also, I have loved anything by Robertson Davies so that book is highly recommended. Good luck!
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Thanks, Mary, I found it helpful to link so many of these titles to other events and challenges – it only remains for me to actually settle down and read them!
I’m looking forward to the Pratchett as several bloggers have rated it quite highly, while the Davies novel is the start of the last of his completed trilogies I’ve yet to read: both the Deptford and the Salterton trio were great fun while proving very different in their constituents as well as their wholes. I’m assuming you’re also doing this challenge this year?
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I thought you were going to hold back on the challenges this year??!!
I will be digging into the TBR and aiming to read 30 of them though I know from past experience making a list means I will read everything but those books.
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Ah, but I don’t consider this a challenge as it’s eminently doable! In any case, a good third of the 74 books I read last year I’d had for more than two years, and a handful were in my possession for around fifty years – so, I say pah! to a paltry dozen. 😁 Which means I raise a glass to your goal of thirty titles, even if they’re not on your list!
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This is a very organic challenge. I adore Pinocchio and anything by Marquez, specially this short title. Haven’t read that Borges but you know I also approve and encourage any Spanish writer. I always wanted to read The Prince. Looking forward to your reviews on these.
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I chose the Márquez mainly because it’s short, Silvia, rather than the rather longer One Hundred Years of Solitude which is also on my shelves. And I read a lot of Borges in translation half a century ago (still have those copies) but not this one. As for the Collodi, I think I read a condensed version of Pinocchio when I was young but not the unabridged version; I’m hoping that there’ll be some motifs there that I might remember from reading Calvino’s collection of Italian folktales a few years ago!
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I forgot, I have heard excellent things about Going Postal.
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Another boost to my hopes of enjoying this, thanks!
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Nope, afraid I haven’t read a single one of your main list, though I did read Middlemarch. So all I can do is wish you luck!
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Luck gratefully received and accepted, thank you! And I really need a kick up the pants to get on with the Eliot – I fear I may have to start from the beginning again having left it several months since…
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I was surprised by how interesting Pinocchio was. I hope you enjoy it.
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Then I’m even more encouraged, thank you! I already know the outline (and not just from the various animations) so I’m looking to appreciate the writing and the manner of its telling.
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Eons ago, we did Amblesideonline for a year or two. Introduced us to some GREAT books and Pinocchio was one. We actually read it year after going back to public school–my son was 13, my d 11 but we all enjoyed it and they had fun spotting differences to the Disney version even at their ages.
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Great to enjoy an original and find that in spite of, or as well as, an adaptation it stands up to modern scrutiny after all these years.
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As interesting and eclectic a mix as I would expect from you, sir. Good luck with the challenge!
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“Interesting and eclectic” I’ll take, thank you – now to do them justice in my reviews!
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Of those from the list I’ve read, Villette is the one I’ve read most often, Going Postal was my favourite, and Gormenghast is the one I want to reread. From the others I’d be most likely to pick up the Borges, I think. Good luck with the challenge, hope the anticipation proves worth it!
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Villette is, apart from the juvenilia, the only one of Charlotte’s novels I haven’t read (and they include her unfinished works) so I’m eager to tuck into it before tackling The Tenant of Wildfell Hall and Wuthering Heights! And I’m sure I’m going to enjoy the Eliot and the Pratchett as well as pretty much all the rest – though I’m slightly daunted by one or two, like the Machiavelli. We shall see!
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Villette is my favourite Charlotte Bronte novel. That and the Amanda Craig are the only ones I have read from your list. How many books in total do you hope to read this year?
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I’ve put myself down for a conservative 52 titles, but I expect to complete more! The Craig novel is due to be read next month so you should know soon enough what I think of it, while I know there’s a lot of love out there for the Austen offering. 🙂
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I admire your earnest good intentions as well as the likelihood that you will – at the very least – come close to realizing them. I’m more of the lazy, idle good-for-nothing type who never falls short because is never so ambitious!
Also – that is a very interesting list.
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Methinks the reader doth protest too much, Josie, I’m always impressed with the quality of your reviews, the thought you put into them, and the range you cover. “Lazy, idle”? I think not! But thank you for your assessment. 😊
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Awesome! My son has finally got back into reading for pleasure as an adult now. He’s reading Wyrd Sisters right now. It fills me with happiness to see him finally enjoy books again after the long slog of A levels and University (even if he does liken me to Granny Weatherwax when she’s listening to the play!)
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I’m sorry, try as I might I just can’t imagine you as Granny Weatherwax! But hurrah for your son getting back to reading for pleasure – it’s what we always hope for our kids and, for me, grandkids. 🙂
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Lol, no worries! I had the same feeling. My son said that the bit that reminded him of me was when Granny was watching the play in Wyrd Sisters and she kept commenting on it. Apparently this is what it is like watching a TV show with me. All the best!
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😄
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You’ll certainly make a dent if you finish Middlemarch and Gormenghast!
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Both titles are languishing on my bedside table at the moment, Jane, both after only a few chapters read before something shinier (and shorter) happened along!
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I hope you’ll enjoy Going Postal, Chris! I must admit I really abhor Pinocchio, it is a horrible tale which I read as a kid 😉 The Book of Imaginary Beings is a fun read and I’m sure you’ll have a good time with it! Not a fan of Marquez, here, I much prefer Llosa and Cortazar, but I’ll be curious what you’ll make of Chronicle of a Death Foretold!
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Yes, Ola, I’ve heard negative reactions to Pinocchio (the moralising, for example, or the cruelty, if I remember correctly) but I’m still curious to see what I’ll pick out from a read! Ditto the Márquez, I know his brand of magic realism doesn’t appeal to all.
But the Pratchett and the Borges I’m definitely looking forward to, the former because, well, it’s Pratchett, and the latter because I’d like to see what he includes in what another author has characterised as a ‚magic zoo’. 🙂
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Nice list! I’m also planning to read your #11 this year
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I look forward to your thoughts, Emma – whether before or after November. 🙂
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