The 2013 Annual Reading Challenge - Discussion Thread!

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^While I applaud you for keeping the economics of bookselling going on your own, someone needs to encrypt your paypal account into oblivion.

I actually tend to agree. Or at least with the notion of letting someone else change your password so that you have to get through at least one other persons' smell test before you buy more books that you may or may not get to for a few years...or decades.

I know it sounds really silly, but I have always found with my students that if you make them accountable to at least one other person they respect, it goes a long way.

[BelleZora]

Like pdurrant, I've about given up on controlling my ebook budget for the year. But as HomeInMyShoes mentions, I comfort myself with the thought that I'm supporting the publication of books. I never bought so many books before buying my first ereader.

Right now I am facing a struggle of what to do about eight of Ann Bridge mysteries dropping to $1.99. Let the rationalizations begin: two are the cost of a latte which I won't have today. Or one was already on my wish list, so that's all right. Or all 8 are the cost of a movie and popcorn... or....

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Like pdurrant, I've about given up on controlling my ebook budget for the year. But as HomeInMyShoes mentions, I comfort myself with the thought that I'm supporting the publication of books. I never bought so many books before buying my first ereader.

Right now I am facing a struggle of what to do about eight of Ann Bridge mysteries dropping to $1.99. Let the rationalizations begin: two are the cost of a latte which I won't have today. Or one was already on my wish list, so that's all right. Or all 8 are the cost of a movie and popcorn... or....

My rationalization for buying all of the James Bond books, when they were that price, was that I had no idea if/when they would be that low again.

My book purchasing also skyrocketed once i was the proud owner of an ereader. I say, get the books and forego the lattes for a few days.

[BelleZora]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

I say, get the books and forego the lattes for a few days.

Rationalization #4: Books have fewer calories than lattes.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Rationalization #4: Books have fewer calories than lattes.

Exactly!!!

And can be read while working off any extra pounds on a treadmill or stationary bike!

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by BelleZora

Like pdurrant, I've about given up on controlling my ebook budget for the year.

I haven't given up! I just recognise the problem I might have meeting my goal.

My average purchase price for ebooks this year is $2.87 so far. I don't expect it to rise much beyond $3.00 by the end of the year.

So I am being quite frugal. I'm just being frugal a lot of times!

[HomeInMyShoes]

Two month in check-up.

17 books read and almost 5,000 pages. Pretty good start to the year. More importantly, there are only 27 more years to complete.

[DrNefario]

25 books added to TBR, 11 of which cost money, and 7 read. Not great. I'll be reasonably happy if I read more than I buy, but I've just started a 900-pager.

[treadlightly]

I'm a few books behind schedule, largely because I chose some longer books to start the challenge with. I won't let it bother me until the second half of the year

[Dazrin]

4,660 pages and 11 books so far, well ahead of my pace last year for pages.

[Fat Abe]

It's been such a long time, I do not recall which R.A. Lafferty books I read. His estate has been sold to a publisher, and it is not certain when the books will be re-released. His catalog is effectively OOP. Only two short stories are in the public domain. His books sell for 10 - 20 times their original price on ebay. When you get the urge to reread an author, that obsession is not easy or inexpensive to satisfy. There goes an entire year's book budget!

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by DrNefario

25 books added to TBR, 11 of which cost money, and 7 read. Not great. I'll be reasonably happy if I read more than I buy, but I've just started a 900-pager.

Oh yes, and I bought one book that superseded another on my TBR, so it's actually 7 read and one removed. Poirot: The Complete Short Stories contains the whole of Poirot's Early Cases, so I will take that back to the charity shop unread.

I think The Complete Stories contains about five books' worth of material. If it was formatted as an omnibus of separate books, I'd have counted it as 5 more books on the TBR. Luckily it's just a different way of compiling the stories and I get to count it as 1.

[Anabana]

I did far better than I expected for the month of February. A total of 4438 pages - 15 books and, again, 2 short stories. Of course, these weren't deep and complicated tomes -- mostly mysteries, 250-400 pages. I was visiting relatives most of the month and I'm awake long before the rest of the household. That gave me 2-3 hours each morning to quietly enjoy my coffee and read. Heaven.

[faithbw]

Originally Posted by treadlightly

I'm a few books behind schedule, largely because I chose some longer books to start the challenge with. I won't let it bother me until the second half of the year

I'm also behind but for different reasons. I've been busy with school work and by the time I get some down time I'm too drained to do any serious reading. So I end up watching crap programming on Netflix. I'm trying to get better with that.

[pdurrant]

I think I really shouldn't have set a buying target this year. 17% of the way through the year, and I'm already at 39% of my target...