The 2012 Annual Reading Challenge - Discussion Thread!

[jbcohen]

I see charlie has made some progress into reducing that to be read stack. Personally I have called a halt to all book buying until I can get that stack under control, its going to be a while before I can get that stack read, I am estimating by XMas I will have that stack under control, assuming none of the authors that I follow add something to the stack: at the moment thats just David Weber, who has added a novel thus far and looks like he is going to add another to the Harringtion series.

How many of us are going to readuce that to be read stack?

[issybird]

It's a little past the halfway mark, but I'll take stock anyway.

My challenge to read 25 books set in 25 countries is going gangbusters. I'm slightly ahead of the pace; moreover, it's been highly stimulating and satisfying. Just as one example, A Chronicle in Stone by Albanian author Ismail Kadare is one of the best books I've read all year and I never would have discovered it if I hadn't been actively seeking out new countries. I'm so happy with this challenge that I'm already planning a variant for next year, which will only count literature originating in the country itself and not count travel and other non-fiction by non-nationals. As an aside, as a result of this challenge I'm also reading more fiction than I've read in years and I'm greatly enjoying it.

My other challenge, to read 25 books from my paper TBR pile, languished for a while and as a result, I was way behind come June. I was close to throwing in the figurative towel, but I've girded my mental loins and made a concerted effort and now I think I'll do it, or at least not fail by not trying.

Originally Posted by orlok

Altering a challenge because I'm not going to do it seems a bit pointless to me. It's not a challenge if I can change the rules at any time (is how it feels to me). If I don't get round to them, then I'll just fail the challenge.

My thoughts exactly. I was tempted to abandon the pbook challenge, but a challenge is supposed to chafe at least a little. A challenge consisting of books I'd have read anyway is not a challenge, IMO. It's why I downgraded the 100 books challenge to a benchmark this year. I know sometimes a challenge may be unreachable because of unforeseen external exigencies or unwarranted because of a seismic change in interests, but as long as it wasn't entirely unrealistic in the first place, most often falling way off is because of laziness or simply because "I don't wanna." After all, there's a reason why the books have lain around all this time; they never appealed sufficiently. OTOH, there's also a reason why I bought them, so I have to keep that in mind.

I'm quite happy if I decide I'll never read a book and offload it where it'll do some good. I can't count it, but reducing the clutter is liberating.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

How many of us are going to readuce that to be read stack?

Not me. It's not really a goal. I try not to *buy* as much as last year, but that's a separate thing. I've been grabbing some backlist and repub freebies that have come on offer lately, and I'm not going to turn them down. It might be different if I had books spilling out into the floor or something, but they are all neatly organized in calibre.

I joke about the insane size of my TBR list, but I'm actually rather proud of it.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by issybird

I know sometimes a challenge may be unreachable because of unforeseen external exigencies or unwarranted because of a seismic change in interests, but as long as it wasn't entirely unrealistic in the first place, most often falling way off is because of laziness or simply because "I don't wanna."

My "side challenges" were rather unrealistic - adding up the totals of those blew way past my main challenge goal of 50 books. For ex, just the Harlequin Decimation + Kindle Freebie Decimation + Harry Potter re-read = 42. And there were about 5 others on top of that. So either I was manic when I came up with those, or I didn't intend them to be mandatory anyway. (You would think I'd remember if I intended them to be mandatory, but being away for 3 months messed with my brain a bit.)

[sun surfer]

Originally Posted by dreams

Nice job. I like the stars, as it makes it easy to see what you thought were great reads.

I still need to get caught up on mine. I start out great but always get lazy as the year moves on.

Thanks!

I hope I will more regularly update mine now, instead of waiting until December for the next one.

[jbcohen]

I am glad to say that when it comes to the number of pages read rather than the number of books read I have gone past my goal so I have moved the finish line out a ways and now I am running towards a new goal line which is further than the original one wasy. In terms of the number of books read, I am trailing where I need to be, my goal was and still is to read 85 books, which means that I need to have read 53 books by this point in the year and I am only up to 42 books, thus I am trailing the goal by approximatly 11 books, I do not imagine that I am going to meet the goal in terms of number of books however I have already exceeded the goal once in terms of hte number of pages read.

[DrNefario]

I make it around 45 books. We're about 54% of the way through the year, according to the counter on my blog. (I'm hoping that wasn't a cached version I just looked at.) Which is still more than you've read, but not by so much.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

How many of us are going to reduce that to be read stack?

I'm making good progress this year so far. Of course, I don't count freebies in my TBR stack.

[DrNefario]

Mine's definitely still going the wrong way. I've even bought a handful of pbooks recently.

I've been thinking of buying several things from my wish list and then starting to work on my TBR.

[sun surfer]

I've just now passed the halfway point in my challenge. My goal is 50 sections of 260 pages each, or 13,000 pages, and I've just passed 25 sections or 6,500 pages. Woohoo! And oddly enough I did it on the 200th day of the year.

I'm behind schedule but oh well, better late than never, and I've had spurts of catching up in other months so I hope another one will happen.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Only 158 days of reading left in 2012!!!!

[jbcohen]

How many of us are reading short books so as to be able to ensure that you meet your target?

My current book: Stars at War II is rather long at 1058 pages and thats becuase its monibus edition of two smaller books. I could count that as two different books, however if Iassume that each of the two sub-books are half of the omnibus book that makes each book about 529 pages and that still a long book. I still like long books becuase it gives the author the time to really develop the characters and their environment and really get the sotry fleshed out rather than a shorter book, such as some of the executioner books that I read now and then at 180 pages, seems a tad rushed to me.

So how many of us preferr to read longer books than the shorter ones? For sake of measurement lets say that a long book is over 350 pages.

[CWatkinsNash]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

How many of us are reading short books so as to be able to ensure that you meet your target?

I just read what I want to read. Sometimes I don't even know how long a book is until I open it on the Sony (except, of course, for those in the Short Fiction collections on the T1). When I read a slew of shorts (because I generally do so in groups) I add up the total pages afterwards and then divide by 200 to count "books". I shelve the selected number for the Goodreads count then make a note in my GR challenge thread next to those entries. Ex: "This Book plus several other shorts".

I will shelve the others later, but won't add them to the 2012 count until the year is over. I do, however, count them in my separate "freebie decimation challenge" if they were, indeed, freebies.

There's no wrong way (or right way) to do it. I do it the way that works for me.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

How many of us are reading short books so as to be able to ensure that you meet your target?

...

So how many of us preferr to read longer books than the shorter ones? For sake of measurement lets say that a long book is over 350 pages.

When I generate my list of required books I do take length into account and give myself about 40 pages a day to read. I just can't read 50 500 pages books in a year. Some books are shorter, some are longer. Average length right now is 298.8 pages. I've read 11 books over 350 pages this year, but then I'm averaging over 60 pages a day right now.

[jbcohen]

60 pages a day wow that's great. Depending on the book I can do that, if I am reading a Mack Bolan book.