The Mount TBR Reading Challenge (to read books one already owned) has checkpoints every quarter where we can report how we’re doing. So far for this challenge I have read (each title links back to my review of it):
- What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears With Faith by David Jeremiah (Finished 2/22/16)
- The Bronte Plot by Katherine Reay (Finished 2/2/16)
- Searching for Eternity by Elizabeth Musser (Finished 1/16/16)
- Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens (Finished 2/22/16)
- A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court by Mark Twain (Finished 3/8/16)
- Big Love: The Practice of Loving Beyond Your Limits by Kara Tippetts (Finished 2/14/16)
- Gilead by Marilynne Robinson (Finished 1/13/16)
- SEAL of God by Chad Williams and David Thomas (Finished 1/24/16)
- Not In the Heart by Chris Fabry (Finished 3/26/16)
The levels, or “peaks,” for this challenge are met with every 12 books read, so I am well on my way to the first one. I had only committed to the first one, but it looks like I may reach the second one by year’s end as well.
Only five of these were on my original list, but I don’t think that matters. I do still plan to read the rest of them plus others if I can. In fact, I am nearly done with one of them and partway into another one.
Bev (our hostess) also suggested some other things we could share about the books we’ve read, like a favorite book cover or character. I think for me the favorite book cover would go to Searching for Eternity by Elizabeth Musser.
I like elements of the story that are there – Emile, the scene from the Varsity in Atlanta, and the passport from France. I tend to like drawn/painted rather than photographed covers for fiction.
Favorite characters….that’s a hard one. But I think it would be Truman Wiley from Not In the Heart by Chris Fabry, even though he’s not a good guy for most of the novel. I like his journey and how he is written.
Another question was whether any of the books surprised us. That would again go to Not In the Heart by Chris Fabry. The initial description of the story intrigued me, but there were so many more layers to it than I expected. It was my first of Fabry’s books, but I immediately bought another one after finishing this one.
One that surprised me negatively was Gilead by Marilynne Robinson. Perhaps that was due to having heard such wonderful things about the writing, so my expectations were built up overly high. I did come to agree about the writing by the time I finished, but it was awfully hard to get into.
Bev didn’t ask this question, but probably the most beneficial of these books would be What Are You Afraid Of? Facing Down Your Fears With Faith by David Jeremiah.
So that wraps up this checkpoint – looking forward to the next one!
Stray Thoughts 
I think it’s wonderful that you are keeping up with the challenge. I dropped out pretty quickly mainly because I came across books that I wanted to read that I didn’t have already.
Good for you! It feels good to get books knocked off the list that have been hanging around a bit, doesn’t it?
I read Gilead years ago and remember thinking it was very hard to get into. I’ve always thought I should re-read it and lo and behold, my church ladies book club is up to read it next month! I’ll have my chance then. 🙂 I’m kinda looking forward to seeing how I feel about it after this re-read.
Oh! P.S. I mean to to say that this sounds like a very fun reading challenge!
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