Last year I started the “Back to the Classics” reading challenge. It seemed like a great idea, but then I got bogged down in “The Brothers Karamazov,” and after that I read some but never really recovered from being over-ambitious in January and then not moving on from that quickly enough to keep going. So I didn’t post any updates. Fail.

Also, in the fall we bought a house, so that kind of ate up my free time. Guys, buying a house is like having a part-time job. My head was too full to do much serious reading.

This year, instead of trying that challenge, I’m going to try one called the “TBR Challenge,” which is basically an attempt to read those books you’ve bought or otherwise had on your list of books to read, but for whatever reason, haven’t gotten around to yet.

I’m picking one per month, so 12 books, but I realize some longer books might take a while. We’ll see how I do.

Here’s a link to the post in case you want to sign up or check out the rules.

And here are my 12 books (not necessarily in the order I want to read them in):

1. The Picture of Dorian Gray – Oscar Wilde (1891)
2. The Man Who Was Thursday – G.K. Chesterton (1908)
3. North & South – Elizabeth Gaskell (1855)
4. Special Topics in Calamity Physics – Marisha Pessl (2006)
5. Awakenings – Oliver Sacks (1973)
6. Gilead -Marilynne Robinson (2004)
7. The Secret Adversary -Agatha Christie (1922)
8. Crooked House – Agatha Christie (1949)
9. The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks – Rebecca Skloot (2010)
10. The Ocean at the End of the Lane -Neil Gaiman (2013)
11. A Wizard of Earthsea -Ursula K. Le Guin (1968)
12. Ender’s Shadow – Orson Scott Card (1999)

And 2 alternates, in case I get in too deep and am not going to make it with one of the others (such a kind rule!):

1. Nathan Coulter – Wendell Berry (1960)
2. Bird by Bird – Anne Lamott (1995)

I’ll also try to remember to link back to this post with updates throughout the year. Here’s to hoping I’m steadier in my reading plan in 2015 (apologies in advance if I’m not).

• January
• February – Special Topics in Calamity Physics
• March
• April
• May
• June – North & South
• July – Crooked House and A Wizard of Earthsea
• August
• September
• October
• November
• December

Photo by C.J. Kershner used under Flickr Creative Commons license.