100 books in 2010 Challenge

[Crusader]

Originally Posted by Harryplopper

I tend to read thick books(at least they were big before I got my Sony Reader) like George R R Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, and I'm planning on reading The Night's Dawn Trilogy by Peter F Hamilton next. Do I get any extra credit towards my 100 books? If not, I can't possibly win but I'd have fun trying.

That's my problem too. Normally I view a book as a "short story" if it's less than 400 pages . I finished the last book in the Night Dawn Trilogy in January and on length alone it should actually count as 3 books! Alas any single title just counts as 1, but if I'm not mistaken in the US some of the NDT was broken up into 2 separate novels, so you could gain points if you read the US editions.

The challenge shouldn't be seen as too serious. It's just a fun thing to do and it's definitely not a race to see who gets there first! If you don't think you'll make it to the 100 mark or if you'll exceed it that's fine. The main thing is to participate and have fun.

That being said, I'm now at 24! Finished Shadows by Shaun Hutson - very gruesome at times, but a good read overall.

[Nakor]

The reason I set a goal for myself this year is because I had really stopped reading altogether. I would go through the library and not find anything I was motivated enough to bother reading. So the goal was kind of a way to force myself to get back into reading, because as soon as I actually started reading stuff I naturally found books that I liked again. It doesn't at all mean I'm not fussy about what I read; even with the goal in place I've tossed aside a few books that I simply didn't feel were worth continuing to read.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by CapnKirk

I applaud anyone who reads consistently in our modern society. I set goals for myself, and a friend and I read books together and meet weekly at a coffee shop to discuss them.

But may I make a plea for quality of reading? There's a lot of stuff that just not worth reading. Reading for entertainment (sci fi for me!) is great. But there's a lot of important books out there that don't get read and when they do, they aren't read well enough! Now definitions of "important" vary; I have mine, but my purpose here isn't to advocate a particular set of values. Booklists are easy to come by. I used to always read the Pulitzer Prize winners for fiction, non-fiction and history every year (until the choices became the "best politically correct" books rather than the best written....) on the idea that they represent someone's idea of great writing. There's Britannica's Great Books list; that's what I started out working on as a college student. Difficult books take time to read, and will often reward a second or even a third re-reading.

Make it your goal to include several "important" books this year.

I'm trying to work my way through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I'm definitely not a rereader though. I'd rather tackle the next book than read something twice. It's just not my style.

[WT Sharpe]

I set the same goal for myself, but Gone With the Wind (which should count for at least eight books) and the one I'm currently reading (The Origin of Species) have put me pretty far behind!

[ficbot]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

I'm trying to work my way through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I'm definitely not a rereader though. I'd rather tackle the next book than read something twice. It's just not my style.

I read for fun. I used to see people post lists of 'important' books they ought to read, and most of those people never read them. I was the same way. I downloaded every by a certain classical author once feeling like as a book lover, I 'ought to' read them. I tried a few and found after a few pages that they are just not my thing and I am no going to force myself to slog through them just because someone said they are 'important.'

I do have a list of books I want to read, and I will read those. But some arbitrary 'these books should be read' thing does not appeal to me. There are some 'important' authors whose books I genuinely enjoy (Shakespeare, for example. I really do enjoy reading those). And others I do not enjoy. And whole genres I do not enjoy (I wish I liked sci-fi more because Baen Books seems really cool, but whenever I look at their website I can't find anything I would like on it).

[Kevin2960]

OK I'll start yesterday when my new replacement PRS-600 arrived,

Currently reading

Sherlock Holmes Omnibus (Count as 1)

Origin of the Species

Voyage of the Beagle

Elijah's Coin

All of course from this site,

Good Luck

[K8Ereader]

Good for you, I'll try and keep track of what I read , but no idea how many I'll get through! I'm on 15 so far so I don't know if I'll make it...

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by ficbot

I read for fun. I used to see people post lists of 'important' books they ought to read, and most of those people never read them. I was the same way. I downloaded every by a certain classical author once feeling like as a book lover, I 'ought to' read them. I tried a few and found after a few pages that they are just not my thing and I am no going to force myself to slog through them just because someone said they are 'important.'

I do have a list of books I want to read, and I will read those. But some arbitrary 'these books should be read' thing does not appeal to me. There are some 'important' authors whose books I genuinely enjoy (Shakespeare, for example. I really do enjoy reading those). And others I do not enjoy. And whole genres I do not enjoy (I wish I liked sci-fi more because Baen Books seems really cool, but whenever I look at their website I can't find anything I would like on it).

I agree, actually. I felt before that i was really missing something, so I used that list. Luckily, since it's so giant, I can pick out books that interest me. It's gotten me to read some really awesome books, that I otherwise wouldn't have read. It has definitely expanded my horizons. But it's only because I'm willing. If you don't want to read them, then don't A book that I loved, you might hate. But, like yourself, I'm not going to slog through something because someone said I had to. I always read for fun. My definition of fun might be different from everyone else's though.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Kevin2960

Sherlock Holmes Omnibus (Count as 1)

I think you can count this as 6 (or 8 I forget). It took me a few months to read the full Omnibus.

BOb

[banjobama]

So far this year I'm averaging a book a week. I'm in school full time and will be all year round so I don't think I'll manage to read more than that this year. I like the idea of making a special Goodreads shelf for 2010 so I did that. I'll just see how many I finish in a year, without doing the challenge.

[Format C:]

Originally Posted by Crusader

At the start of the year I set myself the challenge to read 100 books (of 300+ pages for PB's or 200+ for ebooks) during 2010. So far I'm faring reasonably well, but it seems as if I'm losing momentum.

I'm wondering if anyone else would like to join me in the challenge? A bit of friendly competition might just be the inspiration I need to keep going.

All you need to do is keep track of all the books you finish and posting here when you complete a new addition.

I've found creating a Goodreads shelf called 2010-read to be the easiest method to keep track. Of course you would be welcome to use any method of your choosing.

Anyone willing to join me?

I'll join you as soon as I win the Lottery...

[lovelyloey]

Regarding the "good book" vs implied "bad" book issue - I always joke about how Twilight may become the Dracula to the kids in the year 2100s. Just because it's classic, doesn't mean it's good. My opinion, yea.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Crusader

I'm wondering if anyone else would like to join me in the challenge? A bit of friendly competition might just be the inspiration I need to keep going.

All you need to do is keep track of all the books you finish and posting here when you complete a new addition.

I'm keeping track over in another thread.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...547#post704547

44 so far this year. Unfortunately, my TBR pile has gone from 420 to 460+, instead of going down. If I can get it under 350 by the end of the year I'll be extremely pleased.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by lovelyloey

Regarding the "good book" vs implied "bad" book issue - I always joke about how Twilight may become the Dracula to the kids in the year 2100s. Just because it's classic, doesn't mean it's good. My opinion, yea.

When I consider how many people think Faulkner's works are a classic, I realize just how subjective that sort of thing is.

--
Bill

[bill_mchale]

I am not sure that challenges like this are a good idea. As others have pointed out, reading should be fun... and putting this sort of pressure on yourself can detract from the fun of reading.

Another thought is, that such pressure can lead a participant to choose different works than they might otherwise. They might start choosing shorter works to make it easier to meet the challenge (No time for War and Peace this year...), and they might feel that they can't choose short story collections unless they intend to read them cover to cover.. and they might omit literary magazines all together (after all, does a literary magazine count as a book?).

--
Bill