Overview
The Beat the Backlist Challenge is hosted over at NovelKnight and is focused on knocking off titles that have been on your TBR for a while, or even ones that get pushed aside for new releases. Over the years, and especially this one, we’ve noticed that new releases are getting more and more attention while our TBRs continue to grow. While we LOVE new releases, we also want to show some of those older titles love too.
This challenge doesn’t have levels or a set number of books you need to read.
YOU set your own reading goal. YOU pick the books. YOU read at your own pace.
The idea here isn’t to make this a competition, but to help you shrink your TBR with a bunch of other people doing the same thing.
Guidelines
THIS CHALLENGE WILL RUN FROM JANUARY 1ST TO DECEMBER 31ST, 2017.
That’s right. You have an ENTIRE YEAR to complete your goal.
BOOKS MUST BE RELEASED PRIOR TO 2017
(this challenge isn’t for new releases)
That’s it! Those are the only guidelines!
Potential Reads
Cell – Stephen King
Golden Hill – Francis Spufford
The Trees – Ali Smith
Feed – Mira Grant
Feedback – Mira Grant
Needful Things – Stephen King
Misery – Stephen King
The Cuckoo’s Calling – Robert Galbraith
The Aeronaut’s Windlass – Jim Butcher
Life After Life – Kate Atkinson
The Goldfinch – Donna Tartt
Red Rising – Pierce Brown
I am setting myself a fairly low target for my only other reading challenge this year, the Goodreads challenge, because I always choose such long books that it takes me a while to complete them. For Goodreads I’m aiming for 20 books, so for the Beat the Backlist challenge I’ll aim for 8 books to start with, but hopefully I’ll manage more, because I really do want to stop neglecting books that have been on my TBR list for ages.
Monthly Progress
January
Cell by Stephen King
Golden Hill by Francis Spufford
The Trees by Ali Shaw
February
The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
The Muse by Jessie Burton
March
North and South by John Jakes
April
The Autumn Republic by Brian McClellan
May
The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher – This is the book at which I reached my original 8 book target for this challenge 😀
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty
June
No new books added
July
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J. K. Rowling
The Magicians’ Guild by Trudi Canavan
Feed by Mira Grant
August
The Novice by Trudi Canavan
september
Nothing new to add
October
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J. K. Rowling
Needful Things by Stephen King
November
Nothing new to add
December
Nothing new to add
Pages And Tea 
The Goldfinch and Life after Life are two I really want to get to as well. Maybe I’ll join you!
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Sounds good! I can’t wait to try both of those books, especially Life after Life as people keep telling me it’s really good.
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I think I’m going to participate in this challenge too 🙂
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Good luck! 🙂
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I am definitely signing up for this! One of my goals (well, two), is to read more from my shelves and to buy less books. I know my 2017 release list is growing by the day but I have a dream of my unread books at home to be waaaaay less than they are currently. Good luck with this!
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Good luck! For me it’s the library that keeps me from reading from my own books or my TBR list. I request so many new books and end up having to prioritise them because other people have requested them too. And so my own books never end up getting read. Hopefully doing this challenge will change that.
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