The Unofficial 2016 TBR Pile Challenge

I really enjoyed the structure that the 2015 TBR Pile Challenge gave me. Even though it’s not an official event this year, Holly and Amanda @ Gun in Act One asked if I wanted to join them in a little unofficial challenge and I can’t ever say no to them. (You can check out their lists here)

Same rules apply: 12 books, 2 alternates, all have to have been published in or before 2014. The challenge runs from January 1-December 31^st 2016 and each book read must be reviewed to count.

After careful consideration, here’s my 2016 challenge list:

1. 11/22/63 by Stephen King (2011)
2. The Custom of the Country by Edith Wharton (1910)
3. The Book of Unknown Americans by Cristina Henriquez (2014)
4. Matriarch: Queen Mary and the House of Windsor by Anne Edwards (1984)
5. The Mathematician’s Shiva by Stuart Rojstaczer (2014)
6. Bellweather Rhapsody by Kate Racculia (2014)
7. My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier (1951)
8. The Slap by Christos Tsiolkas (2008)
9. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (1939)
10. In Triumph’s Wake: Royal Mothers, Tragic Daughters and the Price They Paid for Glory by Julia P. Gelardi (2008)
11. Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie (2006)
12. I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes (2013)

Alternates:

• The Little Book by Selden Edwards (2008)
• Thunderstruck by Erik Larson (2006)

I like this challenge because, while there is structure to it and some pressure, they are also books that I’ve already told myself I want to read. 11/22/63 would be the first Stephen King I ever read and I’m putting another Steinbeck on the list this year because I LOVED East of Eden so much this year. I’m keen for more Daphne du Maurier and I need to read the final New York novel from Edith Wharton.

The difference this year is that I only own 3 of the titles on my list, flying right in the face of the #ReadYourOwnDamnBooks movement over at Estella’s Revenge. Last year I already had 6 of them in my possession. But it’s nothing a trip to the library (or the bookstore in extreme cases) won’t fix!

I’m excited to get started on this challenge again! Thanks Holly and Amanda for including me! Are you doing a reading challenge this year?