TBR Pile Challenge 2015 Wrap Up

I finished book 12 in the TBR Pile Challenge two days ago, and am officially calling it done for this year.

Here's what I read for the challenge, clearing these books off my TBR shelf:

1. State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett - loved this book and now a fan of Ann Patchett, with Bel Canto now on my TBR shelf.
2. Travel as a Political Act, by Rick Steves - interesting and inspiring.
3. When Christ and His Saints Slept, by Sharon Kay Penman - I'm working my way through Penman's historical novels and this one about the sinking of the White Ship and the early years of Elinor of Aquitaine and Henry Plantagenet was excellent.  Planning to read the next in the series in 2016.  
4. 12 Years a Slave, by Solomon Northup - no idea that this was a memoir and not a novel, but it was excellent.
5. Excellent Women, by Barbara Pym - I have been wanting to read this for years, and it did not disappoint.
6. Charles Dickens and the House of Fallen Women, by Jenny Hartley - fascinating account of Dickens' involvement in a scheme to save prostitutes and unwed mothers from a life in the streets.
7. Ross Poldark, by Winston Graham - motivated by the new TV series, I read this and the second book in the series, Demelza, and enjoyed them both.  Third in the series will be on a list for 2016.
8. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini - wonderful, gripping novel and again, the next book that Hosseini wrote is on my TBR shelf.
9. The Jewel in the Crown, by Paul Scott - absolutely riveting, and next book in the series is on my TBR shelf.
10. Plainsong, by Kent Haruf - my introduction to this late, great Colorado author...you will see a theme emerging, as I have his next book on my TBR shelf.
11. The Stone Diaries, by Carol Shields - interesting, 20th century-spanning novel.
12. I Know This Much is True, by Wally Lamb - absolutely fabulous, one of the best books I read this year, and another story about the American experience.  Definitely want to read more by this author.

What I didn't get to were Paris by Edward Rutherford and Bring Up the Bodies by Hilary Mantel.  I've already started Paris, which I'm really enjoying but I prefer to read Rutherford's books slowly so this may take awhile.  

I'm sorry that Adam at RoofBeamReader.com will not be hosting this favorite challenge in 2016.  I like making a list and checking off the books I read, so I am looking for a new similar challenge.