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#TBRChallenge2020: My Reading List

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Following up on my previous post for the #TBRChallenge2020, here are the books I've chosen for the prompts. I normally do not plan out reading this systematically, but thanks to this reading challenge, I came up with the list. 24 prompts, 24 books. Of course, these are not the only books that I plan to read this year. I've planned to read a total of 50 books this year and this would cover 24 of it. The rest of the 26 will be my free choice. God knows that I have more than enough books to cover it.

My choice of books for the #TBRChallenge2020 prompts are:

1. A book from a genre you generally avoid.

~ Pride, Prejudice And Other Flavors - Sonali Dev. 

I love classics and do not like them being retold. This is a retelling and has garnered quite some praise. I usually avoid this genre, bit I'm going for it this time.

2. A book that is a part of a series.

~ Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo. 

This book is the first one of a certain 'Alex Stern' series, I believe. Over the past few months, I've seen it being shared and praised enough all over social media that I picked it up on an impulse. While the rest of books in the series is yet to be out, people are already calling it the next HP series. I'm really looking forward to read this one.

3. A book you started but never finished.

~ One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - Ken Kesey. 

I read the 22 page prologue of this book and was blown away by it. After that, I ended up abandoning this book as the concept was pretty grim and I was not in the best of mind to read it. I'll get to it this year.

4. A book by an author you have been meaning to read but haven't dared to so far.

~ Fifty Shades Of Grey - EL James. 

This book has been on my shelf since forever and I have never felt the need to read it. I don't even know how I got the book in the first place. I either borrowed it from someone or was curious enough to buy it some random day. 2020 is the year I'll finally dare to read this one.

5. A book written 100 years ago /A Classic.

~ The Catcher In The Rye - J. D Salinger. 

I recently got the original hard-bound copy of this book and I'm looking forward to read it. I'm a sucker for classics and I was pretty surprised with myself that I hadn't read this gem. Time for redemption this year.

6. A book picked up after reading a favorable review on a book blogger's site or a recommendation from a book obsessed friend/relative.

~ The Dutch House - Ann Patchett.

Enough bloggers and bookstagrammers have recommended this one and I had to pick it up. This is one book I'm thrilled about reading this year and I'll probably start my reading of the year with this one.

7. A book set in the past or the future.

~ Water For Elephants - Sara Gruen.

This story is a series of memories told by a 93-year-old and it revolves around a circus. As someone who loved 'The Night Circus', I'm really looking forward to read this one.

8. Re-read an old favorite.

~ The Fountainhead - Ayn Rand.

I read this book when I was pretty young, during my teens. I only remember falling in love with the protagonist and nothing else. Hence, I'll be re-reading this one this year.

9. A book to be read on a vacation or the plot is based around a holiday (could be a travelogue).

~ The Far Field - Madhuri Vijay.

This JCB award winning book has a beautiful cover and is praised highly. I bought it a couple of months ago and I'm looking forward to read it. The tale of a privileged woman from Bangalore setting out to the troubled region of Kashmir to deal with the loss of her mother, could make for a gritty albeit poignant read.

10. A free hit (choose any book you wish here).

~ 10 Minutes, 38 Seconds In This Strange World - Elif Shafak.

This author's writing is poetically magic and this is a book I'm really excited about.

11. A book that would be a foodies delight.

~ The Plumberry School Of Comfort Food - Cathy Bramley.

I bought this book just for its cover! As a foodie and a bibliophile, I just cannot ignore this delicious combination.

12. A book with the cover in your favorite color.

~ Tin Man - Sarah Winman.

I hadn't heard of this book until I saw it being praised highly by people whose reviews I trust. The beautiful yellow cover is a treat to the eyes as well.

13. A book with a love triangle.

~ Me Before You - Jojo Moyes.

I normally do not like reading romance, but this one was highly praised and is the only one I could think of for this prompt.

14. WWI or WWII drama (could be a true story or fictional).

~ The Tattooist Of Auschwitz - Heather Morris.

I've had this book on my shelf for quite some time now. While there are mixed reviews about this one, I want to read it this year to decide for myself.

15. A book written by a famous personality (could be an autobiography/memoir or just fiction).

~ Becoming - Michelle Obama.

This was a gift from Shalini and this is a treasure I now own. I was waiting for the right moment to pick this one and this prompt would do full justice to it.

16. A book gifted to you.

~ The Island At The End Of Everything - Kiran Millwood Hargrave.

This was another gift from Shalini and everything about this book looks and feels like magic. I'm looking forward to reading this.

17. A YA book.

~ Fangirl - Rainbow Rowell.

Another gift from Shalini, this one. I normally do not enjoy reading young-adult fiction, but I'm going to give this a try this year.

18. A book based on mythology (Indian, Roman, Greek, etc).

~ The Fisher Queen's Dynasty - Kavita Kane.

I bought this one years ago but never got to reading it. This one again has received mixed reviews and I think this could be an interesting read. I enjoy mythology in small doses and hopefully I'll get through this one.

19. A book that’s been on your shelf for more than 5 years.

~ All The Light You Cannot See - Anthony Doerr.

This book was another impulse buy all thanks to the praise it received by the book bloggers I trust. Somehow, I just never got to reading it so far. 2020 will finally see me reading this one.

20. An award winning book.

~ Girl, Woman, Other - Bernadine Evaristo.

I normally do not read award winning books and this one won the Booker Prize for 2019. On Barack Obama's list of best books he read in 2019, I'm really looking forward to read this.

Bonus Prompts (Optional):

21. A self help book.

~ The Little Book Of Hygge - Meik Wiking.

I bought this one along with 'Ikigai' when I was looking to give non-fiction a try. While I loved the latter, I never got to reading the former. Everything about this book looks so warm and fuzzy that I might save it for a winter read this year.

22. A book by an author whose name starts with the first letter as your name.

~ Misery - Stephen King.

I've never read a fully fledged Stephen King novel. While I've watched this movie and loved it, I hope the book is just as good if not better.

23. An Audiobook/ebook or a PDF read.

~ Verity - Colleen Hoover.

With a rating of 4.4 on Goodreads, this book seemed like a really interesting read. While looking it up on Amazon, I noticed that it is a really pricey book. The Kindle version was a tad cheaper and while I was looking to buy it, it turned out to be free for a day for the Prime users. Lucky me! The book revolves around a writer and ghost-writer, so it could be quite thrilling.

24. A crime fiction.

~ The Silkworm - Robert Galbraith. 

As much as I love J. K. R, I'm not a big fan of her alter ego. I read 'The Cuckoo's Calling' a few years ago and did not enjoy it at all. I've had this book on my shelf since then but never felt the need to get to reading it. I will give it a try this year.

I doubt if I will change the books listed here, so this is pretty much a concrete list for the challenge. Have you come up with your list yet? Today is the last day to share your list. If you have come up with your list, do go to this post and link it up! I'm looking forward to all your reading choices.


Comments

  1. Looks like a good list, Soumya! Have fun and happy reading!
    I have read The Fisher Queen's dynasty, and liked it, too!

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  2. OMG how many of my gifts are here and I am super duper thrilled to see that!!!

    Cheers on the challenge and I am now very very excited by it!!

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  3. That's a nice list you have there, Soumya. Good luck with the challenge. I wanted to join in but realized that I don't have too many books fitting many categories here. And I have such a huge backlog that I just can't buy any new books. So I will not be taking part but will cheer you guys on. Happy New Year and Happy reading!

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  4. Looks like an interesting reading list for 2020. Good Luck with it.

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  5. Hey Soumya, I signed up for the challenge here https://awomanofwords.com/ and am very excited about it. The linky is not working it seems.

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