TBR Pile books 2014

These are the books I plan to read for the 2014 TBR challenge at The Roof Beam Reader: http://roofbeamreader.com/2013/11/27/announcing-the-2014-tbr-pile-challenge/. I'll add some commentary on why I haven't gotten around to reading these titles yet. I also wil participate in the Take Control TBR Pile in March 2014, probably with books published in 2013. http://caffeinatedbookreviewer.com/2014/01/take-control-tbr-pile-march-2014-challenge.html

1. Swan's Way: I bought this volume several years ago, read the first few pages and then put it aside. I will come back to in in earnest, because this kind of reading is good for me and will count toward a Classics challenge and the Chunkster Challenge, in which I'm also participating. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/378309

2. Wolf Hall: I picked this up used at a bookstore in Asheville, N.C., and while the first few pages were inviting, I got distracted by classwork. Now is the time to finish it and add it to the Chunkster Challenge. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/317928695

3. Freedom: Like The Corrections before it, I procrastinated on reading this Franzen title, even though his first two books -- The Twenty-Seventh City and Strong Motion -- are among my favorite novels. Maybe it's the bird-watching. I'm not a bird-watcher. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/548616620

4. Shelter -- This novel by Susan Palwick is a noted long SF novel that features a Mister Rogers AI. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/84904017

5. A Star in the Family -- I'm going to read a novel a yar by Irvin Faust, who was the head guidance counselor at my high school as well as a noted writer. I've owned this book at least since the 1980s. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1111271 FINISHED 3/11/2014

6. Cryptonomicon -- Yes, it's incredibly long. But I read the Baroque Cycle, which served as a kind of prequel for this volume, and Neal Stephenson usually goes down easy. Plus my dad read it. 

7. Brendan -- Frederick Buechner's novel about an early Irish saint follows up his more well-known Godric. It's written in imitation of a directly translated Gaelic, which makes the novel somewhat difficiult to read. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/15365751 FINISHED 1/11/2014 

8. Terrorist -- John Updike is one of my favorite authors. This title split the critics and apparently has a controversial ending, but I want to read it anyway. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/62331102

9. Three Girls and their Brother -- I bought this well-received title by Theresa Rhebeck in 2008 at the Strand. It's supposed to be highly entertaining. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/216929780

10. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell -- Yes, at last I'm going to read this in the summer, because nothing says summer in Alabama like early 19th-century wizards. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54372887

11. The Complete Novels of Flann O'Brien -- I have a volume that contains all the novels. The nice part of rading an omnibus volume like this is you can read one novel (out of order), read other stuff, then come back to it. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/154799614

12. The Colour of Magic -- This is Terry Pratchett's first Discword novel, and I'd like to read it before the latest one, Raising Steam, comes out.http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/9533162 FINISHED 3/23/2014

Alternatives:

13. The Guy Under the Sheets -- I know it's weird, but Chris Elliott is one of my favorite writers. His spoof novels Shroud of the Thwacker and Into Hot Air were hilarious, and I've owned his kind of fake memoir for a couple of years. Time to read it now. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/778419269

14. The Man With the Wooden Hat: Jane Gardan's follow-up to the wonderful Old Filth; it promises to go deeper into the fascinating life of a well-traveled man who ends up a judge in Hong Kong.

15. Home: Marilynne Robinson has another book out that will function as a follow-up to her wonderful Gilead, so I think I should read this second book, which I've owned for quite awhile.