Annual TBR and Nonfiction Reading Challenges

So last year I found out that I totally lose track of challenges. Sometime around late August / early September - poof - I forgot about all of them. I was still reading lots of books, including books from my TBR pile, just not the ones that I planned to read and I didn't update any challenges for ages.  Oops.

However,  I am going to try a few again - 1st) Roof Beam Reader’s 6th Annual TBR Pile Challenge. 

The 2015 TBR Pile Challenge hosted by Roof Beam Reader

The Goal: To finally read 12 books from your “to be read” pile (within 12 months).

Specifics:
1. Each of these 12 books must have been on your bookshelf or “To Be Read” list for AT LEAST one full year. This means the book cannot have a publication date of 1/1/2014 or later (any book published in the year 2013 or earlier qualifies, as long as it has been on your TBR pile – I WILL be checking publication dates). Caveat: Two (2) alternates are allowed, just in case one or two of the books end up in the “can’t get through” pile.

Monthly Check-Ins: On the 15th of each month, RBR is going to post a “TBR Pile Check-In.” This will allow participants to link-up their reviews from the past month and get some recognition for their progress. There will also be small mini-challenges and giveaways to go along with these posts (Such As: Read 6 books by the June Check-in and be entered to win a book of your choice!).

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My 2015 TBR Pile Challenge List: Once again I am going to keep my TBR list to non-fiction books, since that is where I have the worst book accumulation issue. (I am going to admit to cheating a little here - in a couple of places I list an either/or because I have two books covering the same topic hiding in my TBR pile - there is no sense necessarily in reading both, unless they both turn out to be terrific, but I want to at least read one of them. Please excuse this quibble.)
1. Cradle to Cradle by William McDonough and Michael Braungart (2002)
2. dirt: The Erosion of Civilizations by David R. Montgomery (2007) OR Dirt: The Ecstatic Skin of the Earth by William Logan (1995) - I want to complete one of these.
3. Plows, Plagues, and Petroleum by William Ruddiman (2005)
4. Travels of A T-Shirt in the Global Economy 2nd ed by Pietra Rivoli (2009)
5. Hubbert's Peak by Kenneth Deffeyes (2001) OR his When Oil Peaked (2010) - I want to see how this holds up
6. How to Build a Habitable Planet by Charles Langmuir and Wally Broecker (2012) - this one is 718 pages long! I have read bits and pieces but really need to read the whole thing.
7. Toxic Truth: A Scientist, A Doctor, and the Battle Over Lead by Lydia Denworth (2008)
8. Tom's River: A Story of Science and Salvation by Dan Fagin (2013) another one that is big (538 pages) and that I have read bits of but not the whole thing in order.
9. Running Dry: A Journey from Source to Sea Down the Colorado River by Jonathan Waterman (2010)
10. Gaia: A New Look at Life on Earth by J.E. Lovelock (1979) - this one is short, but I have the feeling I am going to spend a lot of time trying to strangle it.
11. Living Downstream by Sandra Steingraber (1997) - another one that I have picked up and put down multiple times. Too many people in my life (heck in everyones' lives) that have/had cancer.
12. Coal: A Human History by Barbara Freese (2003)

I see that authors named William are overrepresented on this list. Odd. I also see that we need more women nonfiction writers in physical science!

Alternates (TBA)
1. At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson (2010) - Because I need something fun on this list       
2. Periodic Tales: A Cultural History of the Elements, from Arsenic to Zinc by Hugh Aldersey-Williams (2012) 

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2nd) Since I am focused on non-fiction for the TBR pile challenge, I am going to overlap with The Introverted Reader's Nonfiction Reading Challenge. 

I actually completed this challenge last year in terms of books read (not even including the 107 elementary/middle school nonfiction books I read for the Cybils), but as I mentioned, I totally spaced on writing reviews and linking them for the challenge. Since I am such a goof - I am going for the Seeker level of completing 11-15 books.  

All Nonfiction books completed :
1. When Oil Peaked by Kenneth Deffeyes 
2. The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey

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Finally I just realized that I should include the one challenge that I actually did complete last year! So 3)

 ~ 2015 Mount TBR Reading Challenge ~ 

Books must be owned by you prior to January 1, 2015. No ARCs (none), no library books. +++Amended Rule: Rereads may count only in the following circumstances: If you did not own the book when you read it long ago and far away [based on your age, you can decide what that might mean--definitely not within the last five years...my arbitrary pick for a limit] and you bought the book pre-January 1, 2015 intending to reread it now that it's your very own. Audiobooks and E-books may count if they are yours and they are one of your primary sources of backlogged books.

I am going for Mount Blanc level: Read 24 books from your TBR pile/s. I managed this last time (probably more than this) but goofed with the whole forgetting to link reviews etc. I hope to do better this year.

Link to the Mount TBR Headquarters: Reviews & More

All TBR books completed:
1. When Oil Peaked by Kenneth Deffeyes 
2. A Natural History of Dragons by Marie Brennan
3. The Secret Rooms by Catherine Bailey 
4. The Eye of Zoltar by Jasper Fforde