Thread: The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread!
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Old 12-04-2014, 05:00 PM   #869
Rev. Bob
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNefario View Post
I'm intending to go for fewer and/or more open-ended challenges next year. I took on a bit too much this year, and didn't get to read some of the stuff I'd hoped to.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT View Post
What I do personally is to alternate "reading challenges" with other reading.
Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNefario View Post
I always think that book clubs sound like a good idea, and then I resent being "forced" to read a specific title. I like to leave myself plenty of room to change my mind in my challenges.
I tackle this by using a specific challenge to direct my general goal. RoofBeam Reader runs an annual "dusty shelf" challenge, where you pick a dozen unread books you've owned for at least a year and resolve to read them. I need to whittle down my physical stacks, so I make my selections for that challenge from my physical library...and I've also been picking series books that have been languishing.

Thus, every book I read for that challenge helps me four times: reduce clutter, satisfy the specific challenge, progress in a series, and get one step closer to my general goal. The one aspect I don't care so much for is having to name the books in advance, but he does allow you to choose a couple of alternates.

Quote:
Originally Posted by DrNefario
- Books from omnibuses. I have a lot of omnibuses. I love to buy them, because they're usually good value, but I also don't love to read from them, because you can't mark them as done until you've read all of the individual books collected in them.
If they're DRM-free, it's not all that hard to peel them apart, especially if you use calibre's editor to do so. For a 3-in-1, get the omnibus set up the way you want it (e.g. fix any font settings or other problems), then make three more copies - one for each contained book. Go into each new copy in turn, delete the two books that don't belong, edit the OPF/NCX to fix the title and identifier (easier than it sounds), and you're set. You may wind up with a few extra files in each solo book, like unused CSS files or fonts, but Check Book will alert you to most of those...and as a quick-and-dirty method, it ain't bad.
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