LibraryLover23's 2021 TBR Challenge

2021 TBR Challenge List
1. Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts And Minds About Animals And Food by Gene Baur (finished 2/8/21)
2. Sixpence House: Lost In A Town Of Books by Paul Collins (finished 4/18/21)
3. The Round House by Louise Erdrich (finished 10/2/21)
4. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (finished 3/27/21)
5. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (finished 9/6/21)
6. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (finished 10/31/21)
7. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (finished 8/29/21)
8. State Of Wonder by Ann Patchett (finished 8/1/21)
9. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (finished 1/30/21)
10. The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman (finished 5/21/21)
11. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (finished 12/5/21)
12. A Slipping-Down Life by Anne Tyler (finished 1/7/21)

I'm feeling confident about this list, but as always we'll see what happens. Good luck, everyone, with your challenges!

Good luck with your list. May you like Daisy Jones better than I did. Probably should have tried the audio version.

Lots of other interesting books on the list.

Tuchman is back! I like Anne Tyler, and I need to try Ann Patchett sometime.

>3 LittleTaiko: Uh-oh, haha

>4 Cecrow: I've read Patchett's Bel Canto and liked it. I've really only ever heard positive things about her books.

>1 LibraryLover23: You can do it! Happy reading in 2021 :) Salt is on my wish list so I'm looking forward to your review.

>6 Narilka: Thank you! I'm looking forward to Salt too.

>5 LibraryLover23: - Never fear - I'm one of the very few people who didn't love the book. I may have gone into it with too high of expectations.

Happy reading!!

>8 LittleTaiko: No worries! I actually snagged it from my sister's donation pile, so I can't say my expectations are super high either, especially since I didn't pay for it!

>9 misscleasia: Thank you, same to you!

1. A Slipping-Down Life by Anne Tyler (222 p.)
One of Tyler's earliest books, and I'm afraid it doesn't quite have the same level of brilliance as some of her later ones (her Saint Maybe is in my all-time top five favorites). Tyler's known for her characterization, but unfortunately I didn't warm up to either the main character, Evie, or her musician love interest, Drum. There were also a few surprising turns of events that I didn't see coming at all, but that's also a Tyler trademark. Published back in 1970, it did hold my interest, but this is one that didn't age very well.

>11 LibraryLover23:, even the greats can have an off day. :)

>12 Cecrow: Very true!

2. Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid (367 p.)
An oral history of the rise and fall of a 1970's rock band. I really liked the unusual format and got a kick out of how every member of the band perceived things a little differently. An enjoyable, fairly quick read.

3. Farm Sanctuary: Changing Hearts And Minds About Animals And Food by Gene Baur (286 p.)
Baur is a co-founder of Farm Sanctuary, which is a nonprofit organization that works to combat the abuses of factory farming and to promote a more humane society. In this book, Baur talks about the current systems and practices in play in the cattle (beef, dairy, veal), pig, duck and geese (foie gras), and chicken (meat and egg) industries. Let’s just say, it’s not pretty. Baur also talks about how Farm Sanctuary has worked to advocate on animals’ and people’s behalf, and although it’s an uphill battle, it’s a thriving movement that continues to grow.

Interesting quotes:
“There’s one thing that Rudy, Truffles, and Terrin have in common with nearly all the other pigs: they can’t stand the sound of clanking metal. Even though they were very young, they must remember what it was like to be crowded behind metal slats on that transport truck. They hate the very sound of trucks. When the UPS truck drives up to the farm, they run and hide. It’s a reminder of how sensitive and intelligent pigs are and that, while they may forgive, they don’t forget.” (p. 54)

“Numerous public opinion surveys show a vast majority of people in the United States and around the globe are uneasy with industrialized animal farming. It doesn’t sit well on our conscience, leaving exactly two options: we can live in denial, looking the other way, or we can find it in ourselves to confront the cruelty and do something about it.” (p. 186)

4. A Lesson Before Dying by Ernest J. Gaines (256 p.)
Set in the 1940’s in Louisiana, this story centers on Jefferson, a young man who is sentenced to death for a crime he didn’t commit. Devastated by the news, his godmother enlists the help of the local schoolteacher, who reluctantly agrees to impart some wisdom and help Jefferson face death with dignity and courage. It’s a powerful, moving story that’s very well told.

5. Sixpence House: Lost In A Town Of Books by Paul Collins (246 p.)
The author, his wife, and their baby move from San Francisco to Hay-on-Wye, Wales, with plans to open a bookshop. As with most stories of this nature, not everything goes according to plan. This was a good one, with lots of bookish references and some laugh-out-loud bits.

6. The March Of Folly: From Troy To Vietnam by Barbara W. Tuchman (447 p.)
Tuchman looks at four events that she characterizes as “folly” throughout history: the fall of Troy, how the decadence of the Renaissance popes helped bring about the Protestant Reformation, Britain losing the American colonies, and America losing the Vietnam War. Her definition of folly is “the pursuit of policy contrary to the self-interest of the constituency or state involved” (p. 5). (She goes into more specific parameters, but that’s the gist of it.) Why do people act in their own worst interest? Well, that’s one for the ages, really. Tuchman doesn’t answer it, necessarily, but she does illustrate how it stretches to pretty much everyone, everywhere, for all of history, and her illustrating how it can come about was particularly illuminating. It made me look at some things in a new light, which is the goal of any good reading experience. I will say, though, that it’s not the most exciting book. She nearly lost me in the “British Lose America” chapter, but the overall message is clearly stated and it’s a fascinating subject to study.

>18 LibraryLover23:, Tuchman impressed me a lot with A Distant Mirror last year, and I'd like to try The Guns of August.

>19 Cecrow: I’d be interested in reading more of her works as well. She certainly knows her stuff!

I've owned The Guns of August on my shelf for way too long now just waiting to be read. I think it may have even been part of a TBR challenge a few years ago. You're reminding me that I really do need to read it. The book you read sounds fascinating.

>21 LittleTaiko: She's definitely an author worth checking out I think!

7. State Of Wonder by Ann Patchett (353 p.)
Beautiful, evocative writing, and an unusual setting in the Amazon jungle, but I'm afraid this one didn't really work for me. The premise involves a woman traveling to the Amazon to check on the progress of a fertility drug that's being developed, and also to learn more about the circumstances of a colleague's death after he recently traveled to the area. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly warm to any of the characters, and as a result, I wasn't too invested in their various outcomes. Great writing, but not a favorite overall.

>23 LibraryLover23:, I'm still looking forward to trying Bel Canto some time. It's unfortunate when you think you've found a good author to follow, try some more of their work and find out you only happened to hit the good one on your first try.

>24 Cecrow: I agree, although I did read Bel Canto in the past and if memory serves, I liked it. I think her books might be a touch dark, or melancholy or something, so I might have to be in the right frame of mind to read them.

8. Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky (484 p.)
A micro-history about the only rock we eat. Its main focus was on the uses of salt. For most of the time, salt's primary function has been to preserve and pickle foods, although in the last few centuries, it's shifted to include manufacturing and chemical uses. There were plenty of interesting facts throughout, but nearly 500 pages felt way too long on a subject that isn't overly compelling.

>26 LibraryLover23:, sounds like what I would have expected, and the page count surprises me too.

>27 Cecrow: To be fair, the font was fairly big and there were pictures throughout, but still. ;)

9. And The Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini (431 p.)
Just amazingly good. The story begins with Abdullah and his beloved sister, Pari, in Afghanistan in 1952. It then spins off to follow other characters in their orbit, from their stepmother, to their stepmother’s brother, to the brother’s neighbor, etc. It was more like linked short stories than a novel, but it all works. While I was reading, I had to have it at hand at all times, so if I had a spare moment, I would think, “Well, I have time for a page or 10.” So, so good, and easily one of my top books for the year.

Good; did you like The Kite Runner too?

>30 Cecrow: Yes, and A Thousand Splendid Suns. He's a great writer!

interesting...makes me want to finally pick up Khaled Hosseini :)

>32 riida: He’s worth it, I think!

10. The Round House by Louise Erdrich (321 p.)
Joe is thirteen during the summer of 1988 when his mother is attacked on their reservation. It brings an end to his childhood, in a sense, but also starts him on a quest for vengeance. This was the kind of story that gripped me from page one, although I thought it lost a bit of steam about halfway through. It picked up again towards the end, though, and the ending itself literally gave me chills. A very good book, and highly recommended.

11. The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver (546 p.)
An American Christian missionary family (mom, dad, and four daughters) travel to the Congo in 1959. The chapters alternate between the characters’ perspectives, except the father, who is purposefully kept at a remove. I thought this was very well done, the culture shock the characters experience is realistic and I liked how it went on to do some forward jumps in time, which allowed the reader to see the different life paths each family member took. I also liked how each character was distinct with her own clearly defined voice.

>35 LibraryLover23:, read it maybe twenty years ago now and don't remember it well. But I do recall a "what was the message?" question that lingered. I thought it was going to be about the foolishness of their mission, but it seemed to avoid that (along with the father), only interested in how the Congo experience impacted each of the women ... I guess? Something about how they came to make an impression, but then it became about the impression made upon each of them instead?

>36 Cecrow: Ha! What was the message indeed… That’s a good question. In the foreword, Kingsolver mentions that she lived in the Congo herself, so I imagine it was partly a way of her reliving those memories, although she mentions her parents were nothing like the ones she created in the book. But I think you’re right, maybe it’s just meant to be about how Africa shaped each of them in their own way.

12. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner (219 p.)
My final book of the challenge, but unfortunately, I found it to be very boring. I've never come across a main character in fiction who slept so much. I even flipped to the first page of the second book in the series to find that it begins, "He was asleep..." which tells me everything I need to know.

And that wraps up what may be the first time I've ever finished this challenge! Next year's list is all shiny and ready to go. Bring on 2022!

Congrats on completing your challenge!

Congratulations on finishing!!! Looking forward to seeing what's on your list for 2022.

>39 Narilka:, >40 LittleTaiko: Thank you both!

>38 LibraryLover23: , nice! Similarly I read a book this year that was unusually attentive to every call of nature. Weird, the things that some authors get focused on, lol.