Overview
The Beat the Backlist Challenge is hosted over at NovelKnight, where you can find all the info you need to take part, but here’s a brief intro…
Welcome to Beat the Backlist (the 2019 edition)! This reading challenge is all about knocking off those older books from your to-read list. Any genre, any format, any length. Whether you’re a casual reader looking to work on your TBR list, or a competitive reader seeking a bit of extra motivation this year, Beat the Backlist is for you.
YOU set your own reading goal. YOU pick the books. YOU read at your own pace.
Guidelines
The book must have been published in 2018 or earlier to count. It can be in any format (including an ARC/eARC) as long as the release date is earlier than 2019.
You have to start and finish the book in 2019 to count it. Any books started in 2018 and finished in 2019 do not count. Any books started in 2019 and finish in 2020 also do not count.
The challenge runs from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019
(your local time)
Potential Reads
2019 marks my third time participating in Beat the Backlist. I’ll set an initial target of 10, but hopefully will be able to manage more. My TBR pile is HUGE so there will be no shortage of books to choose from! Here is just a short selection…
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Any Agatha Christie titles
Red Sister by Mark Lawrence
Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
Different Seasons by Stephen King
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott and Sasha Laika
Gilded Cage by Vic James
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The Invisible Library series by Genevieve Cogman
Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
The Illumination of Ursula Flight by Anna-Marie Crowhurst
Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh
Senlin Ascends by Josiah Bancroft
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
Misery by Stephen King
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
The Remnant by Charlie Fletcher
Monthly Progress
January
The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding (Poirot #35) by Agatha Christie
The Stranger Diaries by Elly Griffiths
The Psychology of Time Travel by Kate Mascarenhas
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
February
Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
March
Nothing to add
April
Nothing to add
May
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
Beat The Backlist Bingo
This year I’m having a go a something a little different – Beat the Backlist Bingo. I have no idea how many of these boxes I’ll manage to tick but it’s a little extra to add to my challenge.
Book with under 1000 Ratings on GoodReads – 830 for The Stranger Diaries at time of Completion.
Part of a trilogy – The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
New-to-me Author – Kate Mascarenhas with The Psychology of Time Travel
Cover with your Favourite Colour – Taken at the Flood (Poirot #28) by Agatha Christie
Title is a Name – In this case, the title contains the name – The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Poirot #4) by Agatha Christie
Pages And Tea 
Great picks! I loved The Death of Mrs. Westaway – it was very Agatha Christie-ish. And I have lots of Agatha Christie on my list this year since I’m going to try and read all of her books. The only other book I have on my list to read is The Secret History and I’m looking forward to it since I’ve heard lots of good things! Good luck with your challenge. 🙂
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I’ll have to put Mrs Westaway near the top of my TBR if it’s Christie-ish because that’s definitely something I’m in the reading mood for at the moment. 🙂
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Oh yay, I see The Invisible Library on your list! It’s on a LOT of Beat the Backlist TBRs this year which is super exciting! One of my favorite series!
Thanks for joining Beat the Backlist again and happy reading!!
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It sounds so good I have no idea why I’ve never managed to pick the first book up before now. Beat the Backlist is the perfect excuse to finally give it a try. Thanks for hosting 🙂
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