Winter Biannual Bibliothon 2019 TBR

My plan is generally to only participate in one readathon per month, but the Winter Biannual Bibliothon is really just too amazing to resist.  Like my TBR for the NewYearsathon, I’m going to list out a few books for several of these prompts so I have some choices.  Unlike my last TBR, however, I’m actually going to try and stick to these selections this time and not go completely off the rails (more on that in a future post)!  Here are the books that I will be prioritizing from Saturday, Jan. 12th through Friday, Jan. 18th.

1. Read the Group Book, Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

This is the one challenge that I am unlikely to complete.  At this moment, I just don’t want to spend the money on this.  I keep a pretty tight budget on my reading habits and this doesn’t sound interesting enough for me to pick it up.  If everyone is saying that it is absolutely amazing, I may reconsider, but at this moment, I would rather focus on the other challenges.

2. Read one of the hosts’ 5-star reads

My choices for this prompt are:

Pivot Point by Kasie West

Eliza and her Monsters by Franchesca Zappia

Summer of Salt by Katrina Leno

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo by Taylor Jenkins Reid

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Emergency Contact by Mary HK Choy

Since I already own both Strange the Dreamer and Eliza and her Monsters, these two books will be taking priority.  If neither of them appeals to me as I’m reading, I have checked and found that most of the other choices are available via Overdrive and I will swap out if necessary.  At this moment, I think I’m more likely to read Eliza and her Monsters because it has been on my TBR longer, but who knows how I will feel as I’m reading?

3. Read a book that got you into reading

Given that I’m doing my own Potteralikes challenge this year, it seems only fair to read an actual ‘Harry Potter’ book at some point.  I’ll probably read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, but I’m not going to tie myself to a specific book if I determine I would rather read a different one.

4. Read an adult genre

Speaking of Potteralikes, I want to use this challenge to knock out a few of the books that I have set out to read, starting with The Magicians.  Getting this one out of the way early in the year would be a good idea because I haven’t heard great things and am a little nervous going into it.  I’ll be keeping an open mind, though, because I have found I frequently enjoy unpopular books.

Speaking of Potteralikes, if The Magicians turns out to be a DNF or I can’t bring myself to read it, A Darker Shade of Magic will swoop in to save the day!  I’m really excited to read this book because I have heard a lot about it.  Hopefully, it hasn’t been overhyped and I enjoy it because this is my first V.E. Schwab book and I really want to love it.

5. Combine your favorite genre with your least favorite format or the opposite

While I enjoy dystopian worlds, space-oriented science fiction is not a genre I get along with overly well.  Therefore, my pick for this prompt is to read a genre I don’t like in the form of Ancillary Justice using a physical book copy, which is my favorite format.  I’m concerned about this one because science fiction tends to have a bit of a learning curve to it, but I have heard great things and hope this is amazing!

If I did my least favorite genre and favorite format, then it is only fair to offer up the opposite combination as a potential option, as well.  With The Cruel Prince, I am combining my personal love of the fantasy genre with an audiobook copy, which makes me nervous.  I don’t hate audiobooks so much as I never use them and have no great opinion on them.  This would be a great opportunity to expand my horizons.

6. Read a book with a cover you don’t like

After reading both Scythe and Thunderhead, I really want another book in that series.  Unfortunately, that may take a while.  In the meantime, I can read more of the author’s other series with Unwholly!  I’m really excited to read this, but this cover is not at all appealing.  It hits the creepy vibe of the series well, but I definitely wouldn’t have picked this up in a bookstore if I hadn’t already wanted to actively read it.

Both Unwholly and A Wrinkle in Time are carry-overs from NewYearsathon, so maybe I’ll actually get to one of them this time around!  I know this is a terrible thing to admit, but the boring-looking cover of this classic children’s book is a large part of the reason that I’ve never picked it up previously.  Since I want to read every Newberry Medal winner at some point in my life, this is something I will have to tackle sooner or later, so why not now?

7. Read a book by an author you’ve never read before

The Lightning Thief being on this TBR serves two purposes.  First of all, with my love of mythology, the fact that I’ve never read a Rick Riordan book before is borderline criminal.  Secondly, this is another Potteralike title that I need to get to this year.  I’m guessing that I will enjoy this book, though I also imagine that I will wish I had read it when I was far younger.  Since I don’t have a time machine, however, I figure it’s better late than never.

This is another Potteralike because I want to ensure that I have completed at least two of my required titles before the end of the readathon.  By taking two prompts and only picking books I need to get through for my challenge for each one, I should be secure in accomplishing this.  Just based on the cover, I’m highly confident that I’m going to adore this, even with my usual slight hesitation towards picking up middle-grade titles.

Those are my potential selections for the Winter Biannual Bibliothon for 2019!  My ultimate goal is to finish seven of these books by finishing every prompt but the group read and finishing prompt five by using both my favorite and least favorite genres with the corresponding format.  This is going to be a stretch and not likely to happen, so I’m going to first prioritize the challenges where I picked my Potteralike titles.

What are you reading for the Biannual Bibliothon?  Let me know in the comments below!