Hello, TBR Pile Challengers! 

Yahoo! It’s time for our very first Checkpoint (with mini-challenge #1 — see below). I have also decided to extend the sign-up deadline to January 31st, so if you know of someone who would love to join and/or if you have been trying to make up your mind, here’s your chance P.S. This also means currently registered participants should feel free to make a change, up to January 31st, provided the link leads to an updated list as of that date. 

Progress: 1 of 12 Completed / 0 of 12 Reviewed

So far, I’ve read 1 of my 12 required books. I’ve also started the second book on my list, Dean Koontz’s The Funhouse. I’ve actually never read a book by Dean Koontz, so hooray? I’m feeling pretty great about that because the new semester starts tomorrow and I never have a whole lot of time for pleasure reading while school is in session.

I plan (really, I do!) to read all 14 of the books on my list this year, the main 12 plus my 2 alternates, so getting a jump-start on this list before spring semester began was important. 

Books read:

• The House of the Vampire (1907) by George Sylvester Viereck (review coming)
• The Funhouse by (1980) by Dean Koontz (currently reading)

How are you doing?

Below, you’re going to find the infamous Mr. Linky widget. If you read and review any challenge books this month, please link-up on the widget below. This Mr. Linky will be re-posted every month so that we can compile a large list of all that we’re reading and reviewing together this year. Each review that is linked-up on this widget throughout the year may also earn you entries into future related giveaways, so don’t forget to keep this updated!

MINI-CHALLENGE #1

As I mentioned in the Announcement post, there are four mini-challenges planned for this year. Our first checkpoint also brings with it the first mini-challenge!

Here’s the plan: Visit this link to see the list of linked-up participants. Travel around and leave a comment (or two, or five) with some encouragement for this new year and new challenge. Then, when you’re done, come on back to this post and comment with a link to the blog where you left your encouragement.

Everyone who spreads a little cheer and positivity to another challenger’s post(s) will be entered to win a book of choice, up to $15 USD, from The Book Depository! Comments need to be posted and linked-up here by the end of January and the winner, drawn randomly from the collection of comments, will be announced in the February checkpoint post. Only those who registered for the 2019 TBR Pile Challenge by January 31st are eligible to participate in these challenges and/or to win any of the TBR Pile prizes. 

LINK UP YOUR REVIEWS 

P.S. I’m going through the 2018 challenger posts and will announce the 2018 grand prize winner on February 15th! Stay tuned!

About:
As we wrap up The 2018 TBR Pile Challenge, I am pleased to announce that Roof Beam Reader’s official TBR Pile Challenge is back for its EIGHTH YEAR!
This challenge started when I realized I had some MAJOR issues with buying books but never reading them (not because I don’t read – but because I have such a book buying problem!) Year after year, books would sit on my shelf untouched, and I would end up reading newer ones first. I realized I was missing out on a lot of great books because I let them sit there gathering dust instead of reading them as I bought them.
The Goal: To finally read 12 books from your “to be read” pile (within 12 months).
Specifics:
1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2018 or later (any book published in the year 2017 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.
2. To be eligible, you must sign-up with the Mr. Linky below. Link to your list (so create it ahead of time!) and add updated links to each book’s review. Books must be read and must be reviewed (doesn’t have to be too fancy) in order to count as completed.
3. The link you post in the Mr. Linky below must be to your “master list” (see mine below). This is where you will keep track of your books completed, crossing them out and/or dating them as you go along, and updating the list with the links to each review (so there’s one easy, convenient way to find your list and all your reviews for the challenge). See THIS LINK for an idea of what I mean. Your complete and final list must be posted by January 15th, 2019.
4. Leave comments on this post as you go along, to update us on your status. Come back here if/when you complete this challenge and leave a comment indicating that you CONQUERED YOUR 2019 TBR LIST! Every person who successfully reads his/her 12 books and/or alternates (and who provides a working link to their list, which has links to the review locations) will be entered to win a $50 gift card from Amazon.com or The Book Depository!
5. Crossovers from other challenges are totally acceptable, as long as you have never read the book before and it was published before 2018!

*Note: You can read the books on your list in any order; they do not need to be read in the order you have them listed. Audiobooks count. Graphic novels count. Poetry collections? Essay collections? All good! As you complete a book – review it, go to your original list and turn that title into a link to the review. This will keep the comments section here from getting ridiculously cluttered. For an example of what I mean, Click Here.

Monthly Check-Ins: On the 15th of each month, I’m going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.” This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress. There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!) I’m hoping this will help to keep us all on track and make the challenge a bit more engaging/interactive. I started these mini-challenges in 2014, and I think they were a great success, so I am continuing them this year!

Chat: On Social Media, please use #TBR2019RBR

My 2019 TBR Pile Challenge List:

1. Maybe–Tomorrow by Jay Little (1965)
2. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi (2016)
3. Kindred by Octavia Butler (1979)
4. Gemini by Michel Tournier (1998)
5. Sanctuary by Christopher Golden (1996)
6. Timequake by Kurt Vonnegut (1997)
7. Don Juan in the Village by Jane Delynn (1990)
8. We by Yevgeny Zamyatin (1924)
9. The House of the Vampire by George Sylvester Viereck (1907)
10. Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke (1934)
11. The Funhouse by Dean Koontz (1980)
12. The Ascent of Woman: A History of the Suffragette Movement by Melanie Phillips (2004)

Alternates:

1. Reading Like a Writer: A Guide for People Who Love Books & Those Who Want to Write Them by Francine Prose (2006)
2. Light the Dark: Writers on Creativity, Inspiration, and the Artistic Process edited by Joe Fassler (2017)

Sign-Up to take the 2019 TBR Pile Challenge: