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It's hard to believe that we're approaching the end of the second quarter and it's time for Mountaineering Checkpoint #2. I'm calling for the second quarterly check-in post. [Imagine me in Alpine mountain gear with one of those long horns tootling away.] Let's see how our challengers are doing after 6 months are under the ol' mountain-climbing belt. Made it a couple of miles? Camping out in a cave 1/3 of the way up the mountain face? Taking refuge in a mountain hut along the way? Let us know how you're doing. Checkpoint participation is absolutely voluntary and is not considered necessary for challenge completion.

For those who would like to participate in this checkpoint post, I'd like you to do two things:

1. Tell us how many miles you've made it up your mountain (# of books read). If you're really ambitious, you can do some intricate math and figure out how the number of books you've read correlates to actual miles up Pike's Peak, Mt. Ararat, etc.

2. Complete ONE (or more if you like) of the following:
A. Using any number of titles from your conquered list, compose a poem. You may add extra words, if needed, up to the number of titles used. (I thought this was really cool when another blogger used it as a mini-challenge for a read-a-thon that I participated in.) Here's my contribution to that mini-challenge as an example (I added 6 words--not capitalized--for 7 titles):

Sweet, Adelaide
Surprised By Joy,
contemplates
The Love Songs Of Sappho
in The Distant Hours

after A Long Fatal Love Chase
it's just
A Question of Time
before
The Lady Vanishes


B. Who has been your favorite character so far? Why?
C. Have any of the books you read surprised you--if so, in what way (not as good as anticipated? unexpected ending? Best thing you've read all year? Etc.)


And what do you get for all that hard work (and distraction from the actual climb)? The link will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, June 30. On Sunday night (or possibly Monday) I will crank up the Custom Random Number Generator and pick a winning climber. He or she will have the chance to add to their TBR stack via my gently-used book vault (prize list will be sent). Just think, if you win a book you can start up a pile for next year's Mount TBR Challenge.

Even if you're not in the mood for a prize or if you've only got one leg of the journey under your belt, I'd love to have you check in and tell us how your climb is going!

***Please note--This topic is intended for Checkpoint posts only. One post per participant, please. Comments that are not Checkpoint-specific, by which I mean your Checkpoint post, will be removed (this also means any responses to others' Checkpoint posts that only comment on their post will be removed). This is an effort to make it easier for me to track a winner. Thanks!

I'm to 70 books up Mount Everest so far.

I can say that my favorite character so far (as of this point) is Chet the dog from Dog on It which was far better than I thought it would be.

I was surprised by Ash, which was much better than I thought it was going to be. My favorite book so far, however, I think is the feminist book about the wives of Henry VIII.

I am at 45, have really read 63 books but not all of them were books I owned.
My favorite character was Lieutenant Mellas in Matterhorn as well as Sydney Carton in A Tale of Two Cities because they were men of integrity and strength of character.
There were two books highly touted that I did not like at all. One was A Confederacy of Dunces which was just plain stupid and The Children's Book which was ever too long.

I especially loved And was surprised by Birdsong: A Novel of Love and War and would have to rate it my favorite currently.

Btw I will finish Ulysses this weekend. I think one should get 10 books credit for that one. What a piece of .....!

My best ones so far are The Magnificent Ambersons, The Glitter and the Gold by Michael Dyne (what fun!) and definitely The Storm and the Splendor by Jennifer Blake.

My Mt. Arrarat count is at 34. I fail at poems :/

Slightly OT, but the boss is currently climbing McKinley with his daughter for a climb for the cure. I think he said they were at the 13,000 ft level.

Hi Bev... wow, time (and books) fly when you're having fun!

I've read 22 23 24 books out of 40 (just finished Tale of Two Cities, and Girl in Hyacinth Blue) to reach the top of Ararat. I'm not feeling poetical (is that a word?), at least not this evening, so I will say that my favorite character was Anne of Green Gables, with Lyra from The Golden Compass a close second. That was the book that surprised me. I thought it would be just an okay fantasy, but I ended up loving it. The alternate world was described so perfectly and I totally believed everything.

Best thing I've read in a long time was Cutting for Stone. And I was totally disappointed by A Fraction of the Whole, as it had been highly recommended by several people and started off so well, only to sprial into boring nothingness.



I'll give you 10 points for Ulysses, Marialyce. I will never read that one, so I'm glad you have done it for me!

I committed to Pike's Peak (12 books) and have read 14! In some ways this has been success (after all, I need exceed my original goal!); but on the other hand, I only read 2 from my original list of oldest books on my goodreads to-read shelf. Using the mountain climbing metaphor, I guess you could say I got sidetracked onto an alternate route; but am still going up!

My favorite character so far as been Fegan from The Ghosts of Belfast (by Stuart Neville; narrated by Gerard Doyle.)

From my review:

Gerry Fegan is a man haunted by ghosts. As a foot soldier in the strife between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, Gerry was a hit man for Northern Ireland's interests, or more accurately, for the men who sought to exploit The Troubles for their own personal gains. Now, decades after the tensions have nominally ceased and the Good Friday Accords have set Ireland on the path toward a more peaceable future, the ghosts of twelve of Gerry's victims have come back. Gerry himself has spent time in prison for his crimes and only wants to be left alone in peace; but the ghosts won't let him be. "Everybody pays," so says the mother of one of Gerry's victims. This becomes the theme of the vendetta tale as Gerry seeks to expunge the curse: The ghosts will leave, but only after Gerry kills the men ultimately responsible for the each of the ghost's respective deaths.

Stuart Doyle creates an immediately sympathetic character in Gerry Fagen. At once both the cold and crazy killer and, a man who seeks the peace of a good night's sleep, Gerry must put past matters to rest before he can face an uncertain future. Remaking himself, becoming the better man, is a process that requires some dirty work before absolution and progress can be made. In this, Gerry Fagen becomes a metaphor for Stormont (the Northern Ireland Parliament) in that Stormont, even as they eagerly race forward toward the economic promises of the future, seeks to shed it violent past; but must deal with political "necessities." The Ghosts of Belfast is about Gerry and Stormont: their pasts, their presents and their hopeful futures.

Fegan was the bad guy that you were actually rooting for...




The Ghosts of Belfast
(by Stuart Neville; narrated by Gerard Doyle)

I've read 8 of the 12 to make it up Pike's Peak. I figure I'm at about 10,586.25 feet.

I put three classics on my list, and i am pleased with myself for finishing them. I was most surprised that The Count of Monte Cristo was such a fun, fast read, especially for a book that tops 1078 pages. I think my favorite character comes from this book: Grandpa Noirtier.

I was also proud to have completed my first work by Thomas Mann: Death in Venice.

Poetry Corner:

I want to read the classics;
I really think I should.
The Count of Monte Cristo
Was very, very good.

Then came Mr. Dickens,
With his Tale of French and Brit.
Despite the Ladies knittin'
'twas really not a hit.

Sorry, I'm not much of a poet..... ;P

I've entered this challenge last week. I have already read 10 books of my mountain TBR pile, which I added to another challenge. So I count these 10 books here to. I have created a thread on Mt.Vancouver at Sylvia's Mt. Vancouver TBR . I've traveled 6,314 ft to the top so far.

Having only started in April, I'm now half way up Pike's Peak and may be catching up to Dawn soon with all her sightseeing she does along the way, so she better watch out!

Magic Bites, The Familiars,
the Ravenmocker caw,
It's a Dog's Life, turning into song,
The Death Of An Irish Politician,
George M Cohan soon saw.

That wasn't easy.

- Ron

No poetry from me and all of you should be grateful for that! I completed the ascent of Pike's Peak a while ago and transferred my Pike's Peak credits to Mt Vancouver. I've now reached the top of Mt Vancouver and am heading down the other side.

My very favourite reads of this year have probably been books which don't count for the challenge, such as Bring Up the Bodies, Wives and Daughters and Lolita. However, the challenge books have given me lots of great reading, particularly the buddy reads with Jemidar (such as A Civil Contract and The Sylph) and the group buddy read of A Tale of Two Cities.

As I don't have another fifteen books at home acquired before 2012 which I actually want to read, I doubt I'll be able to meet the requirements for the next challenge level. However, I still have a few to read, which may get me back down to the bottom of Mt Vancouver!

I've read 8 making it almost 3/4 of the way up the mountain. As Ron says my sightseeing trips slow me down a bit, but all the matters is that we both complete the climb. Then we can both look forward to climbing down the mountain together.

Nope, a poem I cannot do out of the titles I've read,
but here is the best that I can do.
My favorite book by far is Regeneration,
its powerful tale of war still resonating.
Pure joy, Emily Windsnap and her mermaid's tail
simply fun and sure to bring a smile.
At times Dickens and his Tale of Two Cities,
often quite perplexed was I,
did the reader need to suffer so,
wondering if to a point he ever would get?
When he did, quite sharp was his quill,
every emotion felt over every drop of blood spilled.

While not quite characters are these,
all left their impressions upon me.
The Regency art of miniature paintings of people's eyes,
in the second of Stephanie Barron's Austen series,
so tantalizing, they held me mesmerized.
Oh, the little puppies from The Second Duchess,
so special they brought me a friend,
and reminded me my furry ones are always near.

How ugly was that?
Just ask my cat Spats,
who walked away
having had enough of that!

I am at 16 of 25 going up Mt Vancouver.
April was a good month as I finished off The Hunger Games trilogy and found the ending most satisfying and complete. Katniss is definitely my favourite character.
April also held It's Kind of a Funny Story which was a pleasant surprise - more uplifting and less depressing than I had expected.

May and June have been less pleasant though Shade was surprisingly more thoughtful and realistic than I had expected.
I think the weather is getting me down so for July I'm planning a short break involving library books.

Entries for the Quarterly Prize are now closed. Stay tuned for the winner. And...feel free to check in anyway with an update. We like to see how you're doing (and I'm loving the book title poetry!).

My Checkpoint Update:

Even though Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ says that I'm behind on my overall reading goal (150 books), I'm right on track in my trek up Mt. Everest. So far, I've managed 51 books (or about 14,805 ft up the mountain). The air has gotten a bit thin and I took a bit longer over my latest book (The Taming of the Shrew) than anticipated. Hopefully, this isn't a sign of rough travels ahead.

I may still have a fuzzy brain from my Route 66 excursion, so my poetry attempts are a little weak this time...but having said how much I liked that little activity, I thought I better make a showing. And since I've been reading a huge number of mysteries, the poems are a little doom and gloomish. Here goes (almost in haiku form):

Such Friends Are Dangerous
The Morning After Death,
the Death of a God

So Many Steps to Death
lead from a Bland Beginning
to A Finer End

Good luck to all the climbers on our next quarter's journey!

As promised I have plugged in and warmed up the Custom Random Number Generator this morning. Feeding in all the entries....watching the lights flash....listening to it whirr and clank...and...the winner is: Comment #5 Hayes!

Woo Hoo! Let's have a big round of applause for our winner. Congratulations, Hayes, ! I'll be contacting you shortly to discuss getting the list of books from the prize vault (so you can start building your mountain for next year's challenge **evil grin**).

Thanks to everyone who participated in the Checkpoint (and especially for humoring your host with poetry!). Good luck with the next quarter's climb!

Oh wow, and I didn't even write a poem!

Thank you so much. I have sent you a message with my contact details, etc.

I'm a little behind in the reading too, but June is always that way. I'm hoping that July and August will leave me with more time.

Hayes wrote: "Oh wow, and I didn't even write a poem!

Thank you so much. I have sent you a message with my contact details, etc.

I'm a little behind in the reading too, but June is always that way. I'm hoping ..."

Well, I thought about making the poem a required item for winning, ;-), but after struggling with my own titles I decided that wouldn't be fair. Lol.

Congrats Hayes!

Good for you, Hayes!

Congrats Hayes!

Thank you ladies.

I have been trying to come up with a poem, but with very little success. The best I could come up with is this:

Pure Drivel!
A Fraction of the Whole were worthy:
The Irresistible Henry House was not;
A Tale of Two Cities caused Roman Blood;
Anne of Green Gables won The Golden Compass award.

Hayes wrote: "Thank you ladies.

I have been trying to come up with a poem, but with very little success. The best I could come up with is this:

Pure Drivel!
A Fraction of the Whole were worthy:
The Irresistibl..."

I like it!

Well done Hayes! And all you others who have done so well!

I am late to the party as always but can report that I have read my 25 books and made Pike's Peak. Though I could well hit the next peak up I've decided not to extend my challenge and will take the rest as jam. Ahem, a verse:

The Girl from Penvarris pondered
The Eagle's Fate.
Some Brief Folly or
Were Witches Abroad?

Of those characters in books I read for the challenge so far, Tyrion from A Clash of Kings is probably my favourite so far but I have an inkling that Thomas Cromwell in Wolf Hall which I am currently reading may come out ahead overall.
I've been listening more than reading as I frantically knit ahead of my visit to my three month old grand daughter next week.
When we get back I hope to catch up on other reading including A Tale of Two Cities which got set aside (sorry for that but I will get back to it)

Catie wrote: "Well done Hayes! And all you others who have done so well!

I am late to the party as always but can report that I have read my 25 books and made Pike's Peak. Though I could well hit the next peak ..."

I think I'm two away from Arrarat, and like Catie I'll just be coasting after that.

Catie wrote: "Well done Hayes! And all you others who have done so well!

I am late to the party as always but can report that I have read my 25 books and made Pike's Peak. Though I could well hit the next peak ..."

Oh, well done! Both on the climb and the poem! Congrats on making it to the peak of the Peak!

Misfit wrote: "Catie wrote: "Well done Hayes! And all you others who have done so well!

I am late to the party as always but can report that I have read my 25 books and made Pike's Peak. Though I could well hit ..."

The top of Ararat is in sight!

Well done Misfit - O Frabjous day!
And Bev. Aren't we all wonderful?

Bev wrote: "It's hard to believe that we're approaching the end of the second quarter and it's time for Mountaineering Checkpoint #2...."
Late to the party as well, but here is my check-in. I have read five books which equals about 5,900 miles up Pikes Peak, so very appropriate for a check-in since I am in Colorado this week.

My favorite character is Eliza Sommers from Daughter of Fortune, I loved following her on the journey from girl to woman. Yeah for this challenge, reading those books I have owned forever!!!

Catie wrote: "Well done Misfit - O Frabjous day!
And Bev. Aren't we all wonderful?"

Yes, yes we are!

MichelleCH wrote: "Bev wrote: "It's hard to believe that we're approaching the end of the second quarter and it's time for Mountaineering Checkpoint #2...."
Late to the party as well, but here is my check-in. I have ..."

The party is still going on...it's hard to get this rowdy crowd to calm down. ;-) Thanks for checking in. Glad you're enjoying the challenge. Be safe in Colorado!

I'm at 15/25 so I'm on pace to finish this challenge.

I've read too many good books to list and at this point, I can't identify a favorite.

This challenge has been a great way for me to knock out books that I've had sitting around. However, I just bought about 10 books so the overall numbers aren't coming down, but we'll worry about that next year :)

Fourteen read from a target of 25 on Mt. Vancouver. I have enjoyed most from what is a fairly broad range of mostly non-fiction, and find it hard to name a favourite.

That said the most rewarding book was Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities. Not for the story but the achievement through the Mount TBR Group read of finishing my first ever book of his. Had it not been for the group read and reading other's posts I probably would have given up.

Congrats Hayes!! Glad somebody in Italy won this weekend! ( low blow, I know.....)

Congrats to everyone who kept climbing. I've read 3 books on vacation, including a Bronte doorstopper.

Geevee wrote: "Fourteen read from a target of 25 on Mt. Vancouver. I have enjoyed most from what is a fairly broad range of mostly non-fiction, and find it hard to name a favourite.

That said the most rewardi..."

I'm glad the group made it through Dickens together. I'm looking forward to the next group read.

Congrats to Hayes!

Also clocking in a bit late, somehow June just seemed to fizzle out in rain and wind, kind of forgot that it was June at all.....

I've just this minute logged number 15 of 25, so well ahead. I think the most rewarding one was The Age of Wonder: How the Romantic Generation Discovered the Beauty and Terror of Science, and my favourite character this quarter was the narrator in Tomorrow in the Battle Think on Me.

In an Age of Wonder
let me see
Dickens and Franny
And Strong Women Three

Tomorrow in the Battle
Think on Me
Haunted by Anil's Ghost
(According to Queenie)

Me too!

Ben Franklin and I are ready...:)

Karen wrote: "Congrats to Hayes!

Also clocking in a bit late, somehow June just seemed to fizzle out in rain and wind, kind of forgot that it was June at all.....

I've just this minute logged number 15 of 25, ..."

I'll look for your review of The Age of Wonder -- it's on my tbr pile.

Jeannette wrote: "Congrats Hayes!! Glad somebody in Italy won this weekend! ( low blow, I know.....)
"

Low, but fair! Italy played very badly in the final.

Well done, Karen. Love your poem.

Andreas said the same about Germany.......

Karen wrote: "Congrats to Hayes!

Also clocking in a bit late, somehow June just seemed to fizzle out in rain and wind, kind of forgot that it was June at all.....

I've just this minute logged number 15 of 25, ..."

Love that poem! Your title really worked well for that particular requirement!

Congrats Hayes! I was pulling for Ron (can't blame me there), but am glad you won and guess what, you don't have to pay any taxes on it! ;D

Geevee, there are many of us that would either still be plodding through ToTC or have set it aside by now. That group read saved many of us and made it so memorable.

Dang, those poems, or even half attempts like mine, are difficult to do, Ron struggled with his, even came back the next day trying to rework it. Having to work in the full titles, whew, what a way to make us sweat Bev. Have us worried for the next checkpoint.

Congrats Hayes!!

Congrats from me too, Hayes :-).

I'm late checking in also. By the end of June I was 21 down with a goal of 25. Was very pleased with my overall stats as I'd read 42 books of which 21 were from Mt TBR which is exactly on target as I'm aiming for half my books to come from my TBR pile this year.

Onwards and upwards everyone!!

Thank you all.

I have chosen #3 in the Maisie Dobbs series (Pardonable Lies) as my prize, and I am looking forward to it. Thank you Bev!

Good job, Jemidar! That's an accomplishment worth noting. :)

Thanks Jeanette. I only hope I can keep it up!

Congrats, Hayes! Now if you could just knock A Suitable Boy out :)

Sera and Hayes and anyone else who loves to challenge themselves with a !000+ page book...

The girls at Chicks on lit are reading A Suitable Boy in August. You can always join us there.

Thanks, Marialyce. Another group of mine will be reading it later in the year as well. I've decided to pass. I just started Infinite Jest and have some other lengthy books in the queue so unfortunately, I won't be able to join in.

Thanks, again, for the invite though :). The group sounds like fun.

I'm almost there. There will be fireworks and marching bands... stay tuned! lol!