I happened upon the Beat The Backlist challenge while lurking on Megan the Bookslayer’s blog, check out her post here. The challenge was created by Austine @ NovelKnight.com with the purpose of helping you get rid of the books that have been on your TBR for so long they might as well have applied for permanent residency.
In February I read 15 books, 9 of which made it onto my TBR this year. And 6 of those in February. The book that was on my TBR the longest, was placed there on June 2016. Not good enough. So, this is my cry for help (who says I can’t do melodrama? 😉 )
I decided that if I was going to participate in this challenge, I would take this literally and list books that have been on my TBR since ‘ever. The latest or newest books were added in the Spring of 2015 and the oldest in the Summer of 2014. I said 2014 folks; I am not good with this new math that the urchins are studying nowadays, but I believe that works out to more than 2.5 years. Wow. These books intrigued me enough for me to want to add them, and after all this time, I still want to read them. So here they go…
Christian Non-Fiction
Christian Fiction
Classics
Fantasy
Non-Fiction
This is just a little taste of my #BeatTheBacklist list of books I would like to finish this year. The full list is here on goodreads.
Beat the Backlist Hogwarts Mini Challenge
I would like to participate in the Beat the Backlist mini-challenge, but I haven’t the slightest idea what I’m doing or what house I’ll be playing for. As long as I am not Uncle Vernon, I’ll be a happy camper 🙂
Update 03/13/2017: I am StoneNewt. Do not let my name or size fool you for I am a force to be reckoned with. When this moniker was given to me, I immediately wanted to proclaim that I am the rightful heir to The Iron Throne, then I realized that I was in the wrong series.
I am StoneNewt and I will play for The House of Gryffindor.
I’ve been contemplating doing this challenge for since reading Megan’s post. This seems like a fun way to hold myself accountable and to get those books read and off my list. If you need the extra motivation to trim down your TBR, feel free to join the Beat The Backlist reading challenge.
Victor!! So happy you’re joining the challenge and that my post inspired you to join! We need a lot more Gryffindor’s, so maybe you should be on team Gryffindor with me ? I love your list of books, by the way. It seems you read from many different genres, and I like that. Same Kind of Different As Me looks really interesting… as well as The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Stand (which I’ve been meaning to read both!) Good luck in the challenge! And I’m looking forward to seeing how many books you can knock off your TBR!! ?
Hi Megan. It took me long enough to join 🙂 I’ve had a tab open on my browser with your post since first reading it. At least once a day I would read your post and all the information on Novelknight. I was about to do a Classics challenge when I realized, knocking the classics off my list will not make me feel as good as getting rid of the old-timers. I’d love to be your teammate, so Gryffindor it is. This way I can cheer you on without feeling guilty 🙂 Ah yes, my list. Thank you. I love reading good stories so I try not to limit myself. Although I must say that I am still fairly new to fantasy and I only just recently added a romance shelf. (don’t tell my dad 😉 ) The Time Traveler’s Wife and The Stand have been on my TBR since before I had a TBR – TTTW for at least a decade and TS for at least three. This year for sure. Thanks again Megan and Good Luck!
You really are taking this seriously! I love your idea to find the oldest books and go for those. I’ve only read two of the book on your list myself. The Time Traveler’s Wife is a great one. Good luck with the challenge!
I have to Kristen. I have more than 500 titles on my TBR that were added prior to the summer of 2015. I have borrowed books in my reading queue that were added in 2016 that I’ll use for the challenge, but the priority is to show the oldtimers some love 🙂 When I was preparing the post for the challenge, I kept seeing all these great books that I wanted to read but never made time for. TTTW is one that I am really looking forward to reading. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Thank you so much, Kristen.
P.S. Now that I’ve subscribed to your blog with an email I actually check, I won’t miss your posts and discussions. If I could, I would buy you a mini-elephant 🙂
Victor, I have come to your blog in response to a notice that you are now following mine. Thank you!
As a fellow bibliophile, I like the idea of getting some of the books on a back list read. I’ve read nine of the books (from four of the categories; I don’t read Christian fiction) you have on this post. As for “The Stand,” get the version that is his uncut version. When it was originally published, it was edited for length. I believe you will enjoy “Same Kind of Different as Me.” It’s a simple story. Simple can be good.
I enjoyed reading your reviews so far and will be following back. Blessings to you.
Hi Paula. My apologies for taking so long to reply – I was out of commission which led to an indefinite hiatus. I’m back and I hope to be around and reviewing on a regular basis.
When I accepted this challenge, I wanted it to mean something, to make a real difference. I’ve had books on my TBR for years with no plan on reading them anytime soon. So I used this as an opportunity to focus on those books. Once the year is up, I’ll update the post with statistics on how this challenge went.
I picked up the uncut version of The Stand in April with the intention of reading it by July. Then I fell into a reading funk and read a total of 2 books in July 🙁 I finally read it in September. Woohoo!
Thank you, Paula. I hope you’re having an amazing day!