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…

Reading The Ship of Brides by JoJo Moyes, a 2016 purchase

And just finished The Cypress Maze - Fiona Valpy which I bought in September 2023.

Finished The Ship of Brides, about the transport of Australian women who married British servicemen during WWII. A lovely one to tick off from 2016!

How many have you finished now @SheilaFentiman ? You are smashing this RWYO challenge. I’ve finished two books- one is not RWYO because a library hold became available so I just went ahead and listened (The City Changes its Face by Eimear McBride). The other is RWYO from 2022- Bad Actors the most recent Slow Horses book (until the new one comes out I. September) That brings me to 13 RWYO so far.

I’m up to 11

I'm on my 11th - I have surprised myself!

I've finished book 3 of the challenge, A Prayer For The Dying by Stewart O'Nan. This is set in the years after the American civil war and follows a guy who is the town preacher, constable and undertaker all rolled into one. When a plague starts wiping out the town members, he wonders if he's up to the task if doing the right thing by everyone. Loved this and couldn't put it down.
Might be able to squeeze another in before the Booker announcement next week.

@ÚlldemoShúl I am not quite sure - I am
counting a bit differently to others, cos I’m using the thread to encourage me to read books I’ve owned for at least a year or two, and therefore not counting more recent purchases 😀

Anyway, I just finished Uncrowned Queen - Nicola Tallis, which I have had on the go in paperback for a while now. It’s about the life of Margaret Beaufort, mother of Henry VII. This was very good, as was Young Elizabeth by the same historian, and I will be stealing her other books off my mum next time I am visiting 😀

Just finished another - #12 What A Way To Go by Bella Mackie

I’ve just finished The IT Girl by Ruth Ware

I should use your method more really- for now I’m just trying to stop buying! Have finished another which definitely wouldn’t fit Sheila’s version of RWYO- The Age f Guilt by Catherine Chidgey which DH gt me as part of my birthday present. Great read- recommend.

I was on a previous thread about reading the very oldest books you owned, but that felt too restrictive. I’m enjoying this much more 😀

The One that Got Away - Simon Wood
A paint by numbers kidney thriller that I bought in 2015. 15 months ago, Zoe was kidnapped with her friend Holli and woke up from being drugged to see Holli being shackled and tortured. Rather than trying to save Holli and probably getting herself killed too, she escaped in her car and gave a garbled account to the local police, who never found the scene and half suspected her of being the criminal,

She chucks in her PhD, becomes a mall security guard in SF and learns considerable self defence, suffering from both PTSD and a hair trigger temper. But one day she sees a murder/torture case on the news that looks familiar, and she gets involved in the cop search for the (serial) killer, nicknamed the Tally Man.

Decently gripping and, refreshingly, she doesn’t end up dating her FBI “handler”.although it looks like she might 😀

oh oops that was a full on review. Will copy to the 50B thread!

Well done to all of you smashing the RWYO.

I'm only on my fifth "real" one but have read a few I bought just before the challenge started. And have only bought books from my wishlist apart from the Elaine Feeney one.

It has been helpful though as has made me categorise everything on my Kindle and I've realised there's quite a lot on there that I have no real desire to read, mainly Scandi crime and non fiction.

I'm not sure about carrying on into August - I feel like Booker season + holiday season means I'm going to want to read quite a particular selection anyway.

A very quick one - Kindle single - from 2014. Alan Turing: Unlocking the Enigma - David Boyle

It was ok but rather weird timeline wise; on one page Turing died and then the next it was in a time before that.

Oh wow, I have just discovered this thread! Can I join? I definitely need to read the books I already own... In summer I tend to go crazy 😗

I'm feeling quite smug that I haven't bought any of the kindle daily deals for a week!

Welcome @NameChangedOfc
@Stowickthevast 5 read and your books sorted is a win I reckon. I still hope to get to the end of September bar the Booker books and hoping the Elaine Feeney is longlisted so I can excuse it. I have a free day ahead of me and 2 I’d like to finish so going to see how I go!

Congrats @ObtuseMoose 🎉

Have you read The Nightingale by Kirsten Hannah? It’s phenomenal

Finished “Everyone on the train is a suspect” by Benjamin Stevenson (library).

Forgot to log that I finished The Cut - Chris Brookmyre yesterday which had been sitting on my Kindle since November 2023.

@KrankySchwesterno, but ironically I have that on my (very large) TBR list 😆

Just finished Just For The Summer by Abby Jimenez. Total letdown.