TBR Pile Challenge – 2019

As I wrote in one of my recent monthly recaps, I failed abysmally at completing my 2018 TBR Pile Challenge. Like, real bad. I gave myself twelve measly books to read—all books that I had already purchased, that were sitting on my shelves just begging to be read—and I think I read three, yikes.

And yet, here I am again. Setting myself up for failure and disappointment. Or maybe not. Hopefully not. We’ll see. Since I’ve already told myself that this year I’m going to focus on reading the books I genuinely want to read, and not necessarily whatever is new, I am feeling slightly more confident that I can actually complete this challenge this year. Plus, instead of telling myself to read one TBR Pile book a month (twelve for the year), I’m going to set my goal at reading six. I CAN DO THIS!

I’ve gone through my bookshelves and have recorded every single book that I own but have not read. Here is that list, and, no, I’m not proud.

MEMOIR

As I typed this list, I realized that my husband likes to buy me memoirs, which is thoughtful. Unfortunately, I have a tendency to not read them because if I have to read about one more person’s depressing experiences I’m going to have no option but to suicide myself. Query: does anyone have a happy life?

• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• Pretty Mess by Erika Jayne
• Food and the City edited by Ina Yalof
• Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon and Shana Knizhnk
• What Happened by Hillary Clinton
• Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrick
• A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston
• Fear by Bob Woodward
• One Day It’ll All Make Sense by Common
• The Book of Leon by Leon Black
• Make Trouble by Cecile Richards

FICTION

Not as many to choose from here (and all are recently purchased), because I plow through stories like whoa and usually get them for free anyway. I only buy fiction when I really love the book and want to support the author—or when my impulse control for spending is weak…

• Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens
• News of the World by Paulette Jiles
• Men Without Women by Haruki Murakami
• You Think It I’ll Say It by Curtus Sittenfeld
• There There by Tommy Orange

GARDENING

I get myself into trouble with this category. Most of my gardening books are for reference, but I have way too many coffee-table-style books, too. Technically, I’ve read all of them, but does one need six different gorgeous books on succulents, I wonder? 🤔

• The Know Maintenance Perennial Garden by Roy Diblik
• The Illustrated Hidden Life of Trees by Peter Wohlleben
• Midwest Home Landscaping by Roger Holmes and Rita Buchanan
• Pruning Made Easy by Lewis Hill
• Pruning and Training by The American Horticultural Society

MISCELLANEOUS

Wellness, relationships, self-defense, meditation, parenting, science, and home decorating. This last category is an eclectic mix.

• The Art of People by Dave Kerpen
• The Inspired Room by Melissa Michaels
• Presence by Amy Cuddy
• Design Mom by Gabrielle Blair
• Peace Is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh
• Meditations and Mindfulness by Andy Puddicombe
• The Asshole Survival Guide by Robert Sutton
• 100 Deadly Skills by Clint Emerson
• Dare to Lead by Brene Brown
• Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil de Grasse Tyson
• Raising an Emotionally Intelligent Child by John Gottman
• Brain Lock by Jeffrey Schwartz

That makes 33 books for me to choose from! Surely I can manage to read six of them this year, right? I mean, right? Wish me luck. And I’m curious to know if anyone has suggestions for which books to start with first. It’d be nice to begin with a success. It keeps the motivation levels high. 😀