Well guys, I did it. I completed the 2015 TBR Pile Challenge as hosted by Roof Beam Reader.
Samantha Shannon’s The Bone Season was the last book I needed to read, stepping in after that time I tried to read The Teleportation Accident and just couldn’t carry on.
The Bone Season is the story of Paige Mahoney, a high level clairvoyant living in London in 2059. She is part of an underground crime syndicate that pays her really well and keeps her off the radar of the people in charge. Clairvoyants like Paige are illegal in this world and the leaders of Scion (the collective in charge of London) hunt them. If you’re caught, you’re imprisoned in The Tower and probably killed.
Except when Paige is captured after an unfortunate incident on the Tube, she isn’t executed; she’s sent to this penal colony in Oxford, where ‘voyants like her are trained to protect their new overlords from these creatures called Emim.
Doesn’t sound like something I would normally read, right?
Yeah, I thought about not finishing this book a lot. In the end, the only reason I finished it was because this was the last book for the challenge. The thought of having to finish The Beautiful and the Damned if I didn’t finish The Bone Season was the only thing keeping me from abandoning it.
I really think that this time, it was completely me. Shannon is an incredibly imaginative writer – she’s created an entirely new world with a new government and social order. That’s no small feat. But there was almost too much new information, it’s too different from anything I know and I couldn’t keep up. I suspect that this is because I am old. My sister didn’t seem to have this issue at all.
I also had an issue with being told how Paige felt. It seemed like this was a late development, like suddenly Shannon thought “oh, maybe I should explore how this all makes Paige feel now!”
I had a houseguest when I had 40 pages left to read and it was torture to not be able to finish it and just be done with it already. I’m definitely not going to continue with the series. I’ll just have to be ok with never finding out what else happens.
But hey, I did it. I read the 12 books from my TBR List that I said I would and that feels pretty great. I know that Adam @ Roof Beam Reader isn’t doing the TBR Pile Challenge for 2016 but I’m teaming up with Holly and Amanda @ Gun in Act One to do our own version of this anyway!
The Paperback Princess 
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Woot!! I hope you win Adam’s prize! I especially applaud you for finishing when you didn’t want to! Holly’s making a late run, but I am totally not getting through 3 of the books on my list in the next 2 weeks.
Thanks! I hope Holly manages it! I think you did really well! Any time you can get ONE book off your list, you’re winning the battle. Am excited for our challenge next year!
Well, I’d like to clarify that my late run is in the hopes of warding off shame from being woefully behind, but I’ve got no intention of finishing my list by 12/31. However, I’ve got a plane ride tomorrow, during which I am pretty sure I can finish something off my list!
Eva, I am impressed, and I’m ready to dial up a new TBR list for 2016!
Amazing! Congratulations for finishing the challenge and that’s so great you’re hosting a version of it next year.
It’s going to be pretty informal but I liked how it kept me on track this year.
Congrats on completing this challenge! 12 books off your TBR list is awesome.
Thanks! It definitely feels good!
Woohoo! I bet it feels pretty good to finish it. I know it feels good just to read one.
I had to laugh about your house guest problem. I’m so glad we rarely have house guests – it’s really hard to go a day without reading, which spoils the fun of socializing. Glad to hear I’m not the only one with that problem. 🙂
I finally said that I would ride in the back seat on the way to my parents’ so that I could finish it. She was very understanding and I did finish it and then I sent it home to my sister. One less book in my possession that’s not mine!
Wow, congrats. Having done the TBR challenge before, I know this is quite an accomplishment.
I remembered what you said about your challenge, that you had left a massive book til the end! I made sure to get the biggies out of the way early for that reason!
Congrats on finishing your challenge!
Congrats on finishing the challenge! I have failed miserably at it every time I’ve tried. Cheers to you!
Thanks! I’m surprised I managed it, to be honest. I’m excited to see how your reading challenge pans out in 2016. You really seem to have struck a chord with bloggers!
Nice job, lady! 12 books of your personal TBR is an amazing challenge. I’m happy for you! I am totally challenging myself with something similar (Andi’s #ReadMyOwnDamnBooks challenge) for next year! You go girl :).
It feels so good to get to cross books off my list every time! Never gets old.
Congrats on finishing your TBR challenge! I’m not sure if I finished mine or not – I still need to do a final accounting of the books I’ve read over break 🙂
I keep remembering that I still haven’t done a 2015 rundown. But I do know that this challenge was done so that’s something. Hope you had a productive break!