December Checkpoint #TBRYear10

Posted on December 15, 2023 by

15 Comments

All good things must end.

So it is with years (was it a good one?) and books, and reading challenges, too!

As we head into the final week of 2023, I wanted to post briefly about the challenge and people’s progress, including my own. First, though, I want to share that I will not be bringing this challenge back next year. I think ten years is a good place to stop, especially since I’m stepping away from Roof Beam Reader to focus on my new project. However, I will be keeping this blog live and will try to continue to post my monthly and annual reviews.

As to my challenge progress this year, while I was hoping to finish all fourteen books on my list, which means the twelve challenge titles and the two alternates. As many of you know, though, I’ve turned my attention to The Contemplative Reading Project, which means this challenge (and this blog) have suffered some neglect. It looks like I’ll end this year’s challenge having read ten of twelve on my list, although I might try to sneak in at least one more!

Books Read:

  1. The Poppy War (2018) by R.F. Kuang (Chinese Historical Fantasy) (Completed 1/10/23)
  2. Pachinko (2017) by Min Jin Lee (Korean-American Lit Fic) (Completed 2/12/23)
  3. Look (2016) by Solmaz Sharif (Poetry/Iranian-American) (Completed 3/10/23)
  4. Steppenwolf (1927) by Hermann Hesse (Philosophical Novel) (Completed 4/22/23)
  5. North and South (1854) by Elizabeth Gaskell (British Lit Fic) (Completed 6/19/23)
  6. The Power of Now (1997) by Ekhart Tolle (NonFiction/Spirituality) (Completed 6/30/23)
  7. Why I Write (1946) by George Orwell (Craft/Memoir) (Completed 7/21/23)
  8. Patron Saints of Nothing (2019) by Randy Ribay (YA/Filipino-American) (Completed 07/28/23)
  9. Sons and Lovers (1913) by D.H. Lawrence (Classics/British Fiction) (Completed 08/11/23)
  10. Going to Meet the Man (1965) by James Baldwin (American Short Stories) (Completed 09/21/23)

Of these completed, my favorites were Pachinko by Min Jin Lee and Patron Saints of Nothing by Randy Ribay. One is an adult historical fiction, and the other is a contemporary young adult, but I can highly recommend both.

We do have some folks who have commented on the master post indicating that they are finished – outstanding! After the year ends, I will be going back to The Mister Linky to randomly select a winner from all the participant posts this year. Remember, all your linked reviews for completed books from your original TBR Pile list (which I have saved), plus ONE final wrap-up post, will earn you entries into the final giveaway, provided you have linked them all to our Mister Linky by January 14th. I will be selecting the winner on January 15th and announcing here. To put it simply:

  • How to be entered to win: Link up reviews for any completed book on your original list by 1/14/24.
  • How to get a bonus entry: Link up a challenge wrap-up post before January 14th.
  • How to get a second bonus entry: If you COMPLETED your challenge (at least 12 out of 14 books read and reviewed), leave a comment on this post by December 31 saying so; I will check your links and/or your wrap-up post, if you provide one, and add your name to the “Current Completers” list below.
  • One winner will be selected randomly on January 15th and be notified via blog/email.
  • Only those who originally registered for this challenge last year and have been participating are eligible to be entered. (I have all original lists saved.)

If you’re out there and you’ve finished your challenge, be sure to leave a comment letting us know! If you didn’t finish – what kind of progress did you make?  1 of 12?  6 of 12? Even reading one book is a step in the right direction, so if you gave it a shot – good for you!

Challenge Wrap-Up Questions

  • Which books from your list did you love? Which ones did you hate?
  • Which books or reading challenges are you looking forward to in 2023?

2023 TBR Pile Challenge Completers!

Category: Books

15 Comments on “December Checkpoint #TBRYear10”

  2. Congrats on 10 out of 12. Not a bad run. Speaking of good runs, 10 years hosting TBR Challenge is a long run and changing things up is always good.

    Pachinko has been languishing on my shelf for far too long. Maybe I will finally read it in 2024.

    Best wishes with your new project!

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  3. I was doing so well, but fell behind. I managed to finish eight. I’ll try to remember to do a wrap-up.

    I’m excited for you about your new project. I will be keeping up with it, though I may not always comment. I understand the ending of this challenge. I totally know where you’re coming from. I’m pairing back a lot of the extraneous because my main goal for 2024 and beyond is to make my writing the top priority in life. With no kids at home any longer, and no significant other, I have the time to do just that. I’m not getting any younger. lol

    Wishing you and yours a blessed Yuletide season, and a Happy New Year ahead.

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  4. I managed to read and review 12 + 1 (or 13 out of 14). It helped that I planned to read one a month and had your TBR Challenge to live up to. Thanks for that! Wishing you great success with your new reading project.

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  6. I only read 8 of my books, but they were really good ones. I challenged myself to read books about different countries. My favorites were memoirs The Choice and The Last Girl but I also loved The Wolf Den and The Arsonist’s City. Next year I’m going to concentrate on reading more of the physical books on my shelves, and also re-reading some old favorites. Wishing you the very best with your new venture!

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  7. I’ve finished! Not only have I finished but I’ve even written the reviews and linked them!! The two I didn’t read will be going to charity and my biggest discovery was Zadie Smith who I had never read before but had two on my list. Cannery Row will probably be my treasured read though! Thank you Adam for hosting this challenge, I’ve really enjoyed taking part and next year might have to list 12 TBR’s just on my own. Good Luck with your new projects.

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    • I really loved Zadie Smith’s WHITE TEETH, which I read when it first published many years ago, and I have her newest sitting on my shelf, too, though I haven’t gotten to it yet. Steinbeck is one of my favorites, and Cannery Row is definitely a good one!

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  8. Adam: I’ve enjoyed this challenge so much. It was one of the first ones I ever did when I started blogging. I managed 13 of the 14 books listed (including alternates)–and just couldn’t finish one of them. It wasn’t a bad book necessarily–just not what I thought I was getting into. Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper and I, Robot: The Illustrated Screenplay by Ellison & Asimov were the best of the bunch. Cooper’s book was delightful and I’m sorry I didn’t discover her when I was young–I would have loved those books even more then. And Ellison & Asimov together are dynamite–explosive ideas and story line with terrific illustrations. When revisiting science fiction authors I loved as a teenager, I’m sometimes disappointed–but Ellison and Asimov never disappoint. Full wrap-up has been posted to the link.

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    • Thank you for always participating! It has been a blast. I love Cooper’s Dark Is Rising series—so glad you enjoyed the first book in it!

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  9. I’ve finished the challenge! I read 12 books on my list. Thanks for the reminder to link-up the reviews. I’ve just added all of mine. 🙂

    Sad to see this challenge disappearing for next year. Thank you for all the wonderful years of the challenge!

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