Ah. The backlist. I have always been the backlist type of reader; a backlist pertains to a book published beyond the current year. I guess this is in part because of my late start in reading; I started reading works of fiction when I was a senior in high school although I read magazines and encyclopedias when I was younger. It comes as no surprise that my want-to-read list is brimming with backlist books. Even my bookshelf is going to agree with me. To decongest my growing backlist, I again signed up for the Beat the Backlist Challenge. This is the fifth year running that I am joining the challenge.

For the 2023 challenge, I set a modest target of 60 books, although it is ten books higher than my target in 2022. Given my natural tendency, I am that confident about hitting my target. It came as no surprise that I went above and beyond my target. Of the 130 books I read in 2023, a whopping 118 were backlists, or 90.77% of all the books I read in 2023. This is an improvement from the 84% I logged in 2022. For comparison, I read 71 backlist books in 2021 and 67 in 2020 for 77% and 72%, respectively of the total books I read.

Ever since I started doing the challenge, my Beat the Backlist has had two layers. Apart from setting a target for the year, I also craft a list of backlist books that I resolve to complete for the year. During the first time I participated in the challenge in 2019, I listed fifteen books. I fell short of this target so I reduced my target to twelve books in the next two years. I was able to complete these twenty-four books before the year ended. In 2022, I picked up a notch by listing fifteen books. I was again successful in reading all of these books although I had to cram again toward the end of the year. In 2023, I picked it up again by a notch. I listed 20 books because I wanted to challenge myself. I liked most of the books in my 2023 Beat the Backlist challenge list but some fell short of my expectations. Nevertheless, I am glad that I came up with the list for I have crossed out several books that have been gathering dust on my bookshelves.

Here’s my 2023 Beat the Backlist challenge list:

For the first time, I also joined Beat the Backlist Bingo, particularly the 52 prompts. Unfortunately, I was not able to complete all the fifty-two prompts. Here was how I fared in the bingo.

  • Cozy read or cover (a story or book cover that gives you cozy vibes)
    – The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa. I love cats. I loved Arikawa’s The Travelling Cat Chronicles as well.
  • About dragons or robots (pick your favorite and read a book about one of them)
    – None
  • Takes place primarily in winter or a cold region (the majority of the story is set in the winter season or a cold region of the world)
    – The Magic Mountain by Thomas Mann. My first book by the Nobel Laureate in Literature, The Magic Mountain was set in the Swiss Alps.
  • Meant to read it last year (a book you planned to get to in 2022 and didn’t)
    – Yonder by Jabari Asim. I read positive reviews of the book which piqued my interest. However, my reading list is so congested I had to push it back.
  • Giving an author a second chance (an author (or specific book) you previously didn’t jive with)
    – Ulysses by James Joyce. The book was part of my 2017 Top 20 Reading List but I had to give up halfway through as the story barely made sense. I then resolved to read it at a later date. The day of reckoning came in 2023 when I made it the 1,000th novel I read.
  • An author writing under a pseudonym (the author(s) is not writing under their real name)
    – No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai; Dazai’s real name is Shūji Tsushima
  • Fairy/folktale you haven’t heard of before (the more obscure the better)
    – Marcosatubig by Ramon Muzones is riddled with various Philippine folktales, some of which I have not heard of or read before.
  • Non-fiction just for fun (something you want to read just because it sounds interesting)
    – None
  • Set in or inspired by the 1700s or 1800s (the setting is either inspired by the time or set in it)
    – The Doctor’s Wife by Sawako Ariyoshi. The novel was partly inspired by the life of noted male physician Hanaoka Seishū (October 23, 1760 – November 21, 1835).
  • Bought and forgot it (a book you bought (or borrowed) and forgot about it)
    – Someone Else’s Garden by Dipika Rai. I bought the book during the 2018 Big Bad Wolf Sale but it was left to gather dust on my bookshelf. I then made the book part of my 2023 Beat the Backlist challenge.
  • 2022 debut novel (an author’s first book released in 2022)
    – Wahala by Nikki Mae. The book was originally part of my 2022 Top 10 Reading List but obtaining a copy of the book was a challenge.
  • Name in the title (the title has a character name in it)
    – Elizabeth Costello by J.M. Coetzee. Just my second book by the Nobel Laureate in Literature, after Disgrace which I read in 2018.
  • Multiple points of view (there is more than one character perspective throughout the story)
    – Traveller of the Century by Andrés Neuman. Most of the book is narrated by the main character, Hans, the titular traveler. However, the story ventures to the perspective of the other characters.
  • A character is lost royalty (one of the characters doesn’t know they’re actually royalty (until they do))
    – None
  • Won an award (the book won an award. any award!)
    – The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Shehan Karunatilaka, winner of the 2022 Booker Prize
  • Here there be monsters (monsters are involved and, remember, they can come in all shapes and sizes)
    – Lonely Castle in the Mirror by Mizuki Tsujimura
  • No romance (no romantic plot or subplot)
    – The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide
  • Recommended by a bookseller (ask your local bookseller for a recommendation! if you don’t have a local store, there are plenty with social media accounts to reach out to)
    – None
  • Set on or involving a train (the story either is set on a train or involves a train in some way)
    – None
  • Featuring travel (time optional) (about travel (as in distance) or time travel)
    – Before the Coffee Gets Cold by Toshikazu Kawaguchi. Characters walk into a secluded cafe that has the power to transport them to various points in time, mainly in the past.
  • All the nature vibes (something about the book reminds you of nature)
    – Deep River by Shūsaku Endō
  • That heist plot tho (has a heist plot or subplot)
    – None
  • Family drama or court intrigue (the story has family drama and/or court intrigue as a component)
    – The Memory Keeper’s Daughter by Kim Edwards
  • The point-of-view character is an adult (18+) (at least one point-of-view character is 18 years or older)
    – Disoriental by Négar Djavadi.  The story is narrated in the first person by Kimiâ Sadr. When she was 10, she, her mother, and sisters fled Iran in 1979 as violence started to escalate.
  • Standalone (the book has no prequels/sequels)
    – Man Tiger by Eka Kurniawan
  • Let’s play sports ball (a book about sports, involving a sport, etc. (real or fictional))
    – The Last Chairlift by John Irving. The book’s main character, Adam Brewster, played wrestling when he was in high school; Irving’s main characters share this interest. Meanwhile, Adam’s mother, Little Ray, was a slalom skier.
  • It’s a trope! (your favorite) (pick your favorite trope and read a book featuring it)
    – Unreliable narrator – When We Were Orphans by Kazuo Ishiguro. To be honest, I don’t have a favorite literary trope but I listed unreliable narrators because they are getting to me.
  • Less than 170 pages (make sure it’s a short one!)
    – At Night All Blood is Black by David Diop. The International Booker Prize-winning book is 145 pages long.
  • Set on a continent you don’t live on (the story is set on a continent (or heavily inspired by a place on a continent) you do NOT live on)
    – July’s People by Nadine Gordimer. The Nobel Laureate in Literature’s novel is set in South Africa.
  • Released at least 23 years ago (that’s right, we’re taking it back to the ’90s (release dates in 1999 or before))
    – Paradise by Abdulrazak Gurnah. The novel by the Nobel Laureate in Literature was originally released in 1994.
  • The protagonist’s name starts with “M” (the main character has a name beginning with “M”)
    – The Preying Birds by Amado Hernandez. The novel’s hero is named Mando Plaridel
  • The point-of-view character is under 18 (one of the point-of-view characters is 17 years old or younger)
    – Room by Emma Donoghue
  • “Lost” or “found” in the title (one of the words appears in the title)
    – Lost Children Archive by Valeria Luiselli
  • Novel in verse, poetry, or anthology (pick your poison from one of the three options)
    – The Garden of the Departed Cats by Bilge Karasu
  • Letter “z” in the title (the letter “z” appears somewhere in the title)
    – The Zenith by Dương Thu Hương
  • First in a trilogy (the book is the first of three)
    – None
  • All the romance (a book with lots of romance or featuring romance prominently)
    – Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
  • Spooky vibes (this one puts you in a spooky mood or spirit)
    – Our Share of Night by Mariana Enriquez
  • Your favorite genre (a book that falls in your favorite genre)
    – The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata is a work of historical fiction.
  • This school isn’t what it seems (features a school that isn’t your typical school in some way (example: magic school, there’s a hidden secret, etc.))
    – The Robber Bride by Margaret Atwood. The majority of the novel is set in a university where three friends converge. A fourth one threatened to destabilize the friendship with her secretive and manipulative personality.
  • Graphic novel outside your fave genre (find a graphic novel that isn’t in one of your favorite genres)
    – None
  • This house is alive (or at least very important) (features either a house that’s alive in some way and/or is important to the story)
    – The Hacienda by Isabel Canas
  • Protagonist has a pet (any pet will do)
    – Whale by Cheon Myeong-Kwan. Although the elephant is considered as the character’s friend.
  • Five word title (only 5 words, count ’em up!)
    – The General in His Labyrinth by Gabriel García Márquez
  • More than 450 pages (grab a tome and get reading!)
    – 2666 by Roberto Bolaño which is 893 pages long
  • Plants on the cover (any kind of plant on the cover is fair game)
    – The Rose and the Yew Tree by Agatha Christie
  • Epistolary or an unusual writing style (a story written through letters or another format that isn’t the typical prose)
    – The Notebooks of Malte Laurids Brigge by Rainer Maria Rilke
  • Character is keeping a big secret (one of the characters has a big secret they’re keeping from the rest)
    – Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter by Mario Vargas Llosa. The novel’s main character is keeping his love affair with an older woman a secret from his family.
  • Horses. that’s the prompt. (interpret as you see fit)
    – A Horse Walks Into A Bar by David Grossman.
  • Main cover color is your least favorite color (find a book prominently featuring your least favorite color on the cover)
    – The Crying Mountain by Criselda Yabes. I don’t have a color that is my least favorite. I guess I just have a history with purple. LOL
  • All about music or the arts (the story revolves around music or the arts in some way)
    – The Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
  • Picked out by a friend with no context (ask a friend for a book rec without telling them why, then read it!)
    – None

Here’s how I fared with the bingo.

I was hoping for a black-out but I only managed to complete two lines. Hoping for a better outcome this 2024.