Read What You Own Challenge

[ÚlldemoShúl]

I’m going to start a Read What You Own Challenge on the 1st of July to try and reduce down my ridiculously huge TBR both physical and kindle.
My rules for me are-

• No buying any new books after midday on July 1st
• Unsubscribe from the kindle daily deals email
• I am allowed to break it for the Booker Prize longlist when it’s announced, but must check my library for the books first.
• Keep going until August 21st as my first goal. (Maybe until 2026 in total)

These rules are specific to me and anyone who wants to join me is free to make their own set of rules for their challenge. I’m going to log each book I read here to keep me accountable. Anyone else up for it? I know some 50 Bookers are considering it…

@elkiedee I just find it cleaner. Yes, you can set the filters to only show you downloaded books etc but if you have decided that you won't finish a book cos you didn't like it, why not delete it?

Wrt kindle - I only delete books I dnf or didnt enjoy.

Yeah I just find my Kindle Cloud Reader too cluttered. Anyone know if there's a way of deleting or filtering then on there? The options seem very limited.

I read the books on my Kindle but I like to browse on the cloud reader on my phone laptop as it's quicker and colourful!

I permanently delete books I’ve hard DNFed. My kindle is very organised and I don’t want to keep unwanted clutter. Me? Need to unclench? Surely not 🤣🤣

Well, TIL kindle cloud reader exists! But it doesn’t look possible to do much filtering on it.

Hmm. My kindle is also very organised and tidy. I haven't actually deleted any books though and still have all my late mother's books on there, in a folder "mum's books".
How can I be so ruthless with paperbacks and not e books?

Finished “The Kamogawa Food Detectives” by Hisashi Kashiwai (library)

I finished The Wolf Den yesterday and started The Cloisters by Katy Hays, which is one I have had for at least 18 months, so is well overdue me giving it a go!
I am still off work this week and am discovering that actually, the probablem might not be the rate that I buy books but the fact that work gets in the way of my reading time and therefore I should quit immediately.....my husband is not so fond of this new theory 😆

From 2020 - Dark Fire (Shardlake 2) - C J Sansom This was excellent.

I am on a roll (on holiday) and have now read:

Caledonian Road - Andrew O'Hagan bought earlier this year

and

Kiss Myself Goodbye - Ferdinand Mount which I have owned since May 2022.

I have finished another that I’ve been reading for a bit- 100 Selected Poems by Robert Frost. I’ve paused the William Shirer history. It’s a period I know too well to listen to right now.

I really must finish lion hearts today

I have finished Machines Like Me - Ian McEwan. Been on my Kindle since 2019.

I finished The Cloisters yesterday and started The Kings Witches by Kate Foster, which I think is only about a year old so not too bad!
I have also made some progress on my non fiction and my classic that I am slowly reading alongside these.
Back to work next week so I'm sure I'll slow back down.
The plan this weekend is to go over the pile of soft dnf I have and see if any can be moved over to the definitely not pile ready for me to take to the donation shelf at work on Monday. The shelves will look better after this, the challenge is definitely helping!

Just finished The Story of the Lost Child by Elena Ferrante. A definite favourite!

Read Immaculate Conception by Ling Ling Huang last night. Utterly compelling

I've finished The Mum Who Got Her Life Back by Fiona Gibson. It's been on my tbr for years and I have ignored it because I had gone off both the author and the genre. I really enjoyed it. Entertaining and witty empty nest story. If you have ever had an awkward 18 year old son you will recognise him.

I've realised that one of the things I do is Save For Best. A book by a favourite author that I know I will love gets overlooked because I know I will whizz through it. It's like saving clothing or any nice things for best, I shouldn't do it!

And now read:

The Talisman Ring - Georgette Heyer bought May 2023

Platform Seven - Louise Doughty - not sure how long I have has this - certainly a while!

Finished The Forgotten Girls by Monica Potts.

Finished The Foundling - Stacey Halls which has been languishing on my Kindle since 2019.

Such a good idea! Joining you.

Two more down
Dead in Devon by Stephanie Austin
Sherlock Holmes and the Rosetta Stone by Linda Stratmann

Finished The Kings Witches and moved most of my soft DNF pile to the donate pile.

I am starting a Steve Cavanagh book that I picked up at the library this weekend next, I really fancied some crime and my tbr is running low on that now so did allow myself two library books this week. Back to my own after that.

And another one down: Mrs England - Stacey Halls (owned since May 2023)

I'm not sleeping, I'm too hot and I still haven't finished my book 🙃
I really must crack on...