Read What You Own Challenge

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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…

Wakenhyrst - Michelle Paver

A gothic read bought in 2019 - eerie happenings on a Suffolk fen. Enjoyed it.

Difficult Women - Helen Lewis

From 2020. I was partway through this and had a pause, decided I should finish it. Interesting history of the last 150 years or so of feminism, in 11 “fights”

My whole family loved the Chronicles Of Darkness series. Now I have twitchy fingers trying not to buy this one. I shall download a sample instead 😇

I have this! It will be next on list!

I have finished one more - King Stakh's Hunt but reading very slowly at the moment.

Finished Precipice by Robert Harris

Finished The Waiting by Michael Connolly and Agnes Grey.

This is such a good idea. I'm planning to sort through my books before the end of the year and I know I will get some for Christmas so I think I'm going to commit to doing this in 2026. Such a ridiculous tbr - suffering from too much choice and took much access to any book I want!

(I also had to pause Audible as I currently have 5 credits with about 3 audio books to be read too)

I have finished Winter by Ali Smith

Welcome @usedtobeaylis

Finished Malcolm Castle - All Fired Up Tales of a Country Fireman
Finished Emma Cowell - The House in the Olive Grove

I finished The List of Suspicious Things by Jennie Godfrey. Quite enjoyed it. Set in Yorkshire at the time of the Yorkshire Ripper. And discovered the author lives in Somerset and in her acknowledgement she references a Dave at Waterstones in Taunton - I lived in Taunton and he was definitely responsible for a lot of my book purchases - I often popped in for a browse and would end up buying something he recommended.

@SheilaFentiman - I have Wakenhyrst on my TBR pile. DS got it for me one year for Christmas I think. Must read!

My next read will be one I just bought this week - Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor. About Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and her aunt Emily. I feel I should read something older but reading this means at least it’s not ended up in the TBR pile.

Next one finished, 4.50 From Paddington by Agatha Christie. My first Marple which I enjoyed but so far I still prefer Poirot.

I seem to be reading really slowly at the moment. Am reading Jane Eyre which has the bonus that when I finish it will reduce my pile by two as I have a hard copy and a Kindle copy.

Just finished Before Dorothy. Really enjoyed it.

Now to pick another….

I loved A time to change by Callie Langridge, not least because it's about time travel and I love a bit of time travel.
Started the next in the series called The Mandeville Secret and what a disappointment. I have given up at 65% and filed in DNF.

I’ve now finished my second book: the Spy and the Traitor by Ben Macintyre. This was a DNF for a while, which I rediscovered after reading some of Ben Macintyre’s other books in the 50 Books thread. My review is in that thread, but I definitely made a mistake stopping reading it as it is gripping.

I like all his books but I think that one is the best!

@SheilaFentimanHis work has definitely been one of the best recommendations from the 50 Books thread for me. I was a bit surprised to find it on my Kindle as I’d enjoyed reading A Spy Among Friends and Operation Mincemeat, but I think I’d stopped reading just before the really gripping stuff began.

Phew, finally finished Jane Eyre which I did enjoy but was slow to get through - much more of St John banging on about Jane becoming a missionary than I remembered.

I have finished two books and bought two more (aghh!).

Just finished Fiona Leitch - The Cornish Wedding Murder
hoping to finish The Empire by Michael Ball before starting on some Christmas reads

Read Day by Michael Cunningham

Finished a few that have been in residence on my kindle or audible purchases for a while- How to Build a Boat by Elaine Feeney and Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (both fairly good- 3/5ish) and an enjoyable thriller The Torrent by Dinuka McKenzie.

Anne Boleyn - Norah Lofts

Bought this in 2013! Easy read about her life, with the occasional bizarre reference to witchcraft.