The 2016 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

[DrNefario]

My alphabet challenge is for (SF&F) series, but for Q I'm planning to read The Quiet War by Paul McAuley, which is the same title for the book and the series.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

Quo Vadis?, The Quiet American and And Quiet Flows the Don are what occur to me of the top of my head.

Also Queen and Country for the more graphic-novel minded.

[JSWolf]

How are you handling books you started in December that you are finishing in January? I'mcounting this one because I was less than half finished in 2016.

[DrNefario]

I just count them when I finish them. As long as I'm consistent about it it all evens out.

[CRussel]

I am also of count them when I finish them persuasion. Though I admit to a bit of planning of the reading order to avoid being in the middle of a really long book at the end of the year.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

How are you handling books you started in December that you are finishing in January? I'mcounting this one because I was less than half finished in 2016.

I just counted the book I finished in January as being in 2016. Trying to assign based on percentage read seems too hard.

I suppose if I only read 20 books a year instead of 200 I might worry about it more.

[sakura-panda]

Since I'm only tallying books that I've completed, I track it in the month that I completed it. Even if it took me six months to read a book, I only track it after I have finished it.

When January 1 rolls around, I move all my "currently reading" books to the new list. (I started this year with four books rolling over from last year and one of them I started in early August.)

I do tend to refrain from starting books in the last couple of weeks of the year, if I don't think I'll finish them, just to have less to carry over.

[Dngrsone]

As do I-- I'm not going to delay reading the next book just because the new year is beginning day after tomorrow...

As a matter of fact, I've just finished number two for the year... I am currently on track

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

As do I-- I'm not going to delay reading the next book just because the new year is beginning day after tomorrow...

As a matter of fact, I've just finished number two for the year... I am currently on track

I too track on the date completed. I also listen to on average two short stories a day, but I don't track those in terms of page count; I just make note of the titles.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Technically I should have one book finished today and I do. I've got a couple more on the go. I think I'm going to have a hard time with the challenge this year.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

Technically I should have one book finished today and I do. I've got a couple more on the go. I think I'm going to have a hard time with the challenge this year.

I finally finished a book, to keep my GR counter at one behind, lol. I think there can be a lot of pressure at the start of the year, because I only feel comfortable when I've built up a cushion. This pep talk is directed at me, really; I have to keep the purpose of my challenges in mind as I also feel as if I'm going to be struggling. Now that it's cold, I'm yearning for comfort reads, not reads of the mind-expanding type. I also find it easy to lose sight of the reality that I have more time to read in the summer, which may mean I run behind until then, when I can play catchup. But I also can't rely on that; I can only do so much catching up, halfway into the year.

Hey, you're on track! Good on you! I hope to join you on such elysian heights soon.

[HomeInMyShoes]

^Setting the bar lower makes those heights less dizzying.

I think I'll do fine on my sub-challenges, but I'm suffering from too much of the rest of my life right now. My book club participation might suffer this year a bit. I did start The Untouchable, but I've got three books on the go right now and need to clear some time.

In other news I've got my spreadsheet set up almost perfectly. I'd need to do some coding to actually generate year, country, and author lists, but the totals look good.

[CRussel]

Winter weather does lead one towards comfort reads, doesn't it. Probably why I dug out Miss Silver for a couple right on either side of the new year -- if anything is a comfort read, it's Patricia Wentworth. Not only are they cozy mysteries, with a female protagonist, they're set in an earlier era (definitely a comfort level for me), and best of all, they're free and in the public domain so I can feel some satisfaction on that level too.

That being said, I do hope to push myself to read more books that push me a bit. Probably more non-fiction, since I have no real desire to read "difficult" fiction. For me, fiction is all about having a break from work, not being work. But some non-fiction, when well written and interesting, can provide both the break and some value. I have two non-fiction books on hold at the BC Library downloads site, both biographies. One is Carly Simon's Boys in the Trees, which I have a mild interest in, but the other I'm really looking forward to -- Open Heart, Open Mind, by Clara Hughes, the Canadian Olympian who has struggled through some very difficult challenges.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Please keep us informed of how Open Heart, Open Mind is. I might be interested in looking at that one.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Winter weather does lead one towards comfort reads, doesn't it. <snip>

It's funny, this works exactly the opposite for me. I think because I teach August to May, I am inclined to pick up lighter works when I am not teaching because then the whole time feels like more of a mental break for me. Much of the hardest work of teaching for me happens in May to August because I am preparing for the next year's classes, so light reads are my go-to then.

Winter, on the other hand, encourages me to brew a pot full of tea and really settle in for a hefty read.