MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - The 2016 Annual Reading Challenge List Thread

elaysee · 12-01-2015, 09:10 PM

2016 looks to be a tough, tough year, and I can already see my reading preferences shifting to "comfort." Setting goals accordingly and with little concern for completion.

104 books Jan: 33 Feb: 21 Mar: 21 Apr: 29 May: 28 Jun: 30 Jul: 34 Aug: 22 Sep: 30 Oct: 21 Nov: 31 Dec: 25
Bucket list: Iliad/Odyssey/Aeneid year-end: regrouped
Check out a new mystery series Jan: 3 May: 1 Jul: 2 Nov: 1
6 fewer physical TBRs year-end: epic fail
Dent in short fiction Jan: 4 Feb: 1 Mar: 1 Apr: 3 May: 3 Jun: 6! Jul: 11!!! Aug: 2 Sep: 5 Oct: 4+1 Nov: 3 Dec: 5
Evaluate 24 freebies Feb: 2 Apr: 3 May: 2 Jun: 1 Jul: 1 Aug: 2 Sep: 6 Oct: 5 Nov: 1 year-end: just missed!
Watch value for money from subscription sources relative to library. Jan: OK Feb: half Mar: OK Apr: OK May: OK Jun: OK Jul: OK Aug: OK Sep: OK Oct: mostly OK Nov: OK Dec: OK

2 books a week is just a number, I'll likely exceed it.

Spoiler:

January: 18 books, 7 shorter works, 4 magazines, 4 re-reads, 5000 (new) pages.

February: 5 novels, 5 shorter works, 1 magazine, 1 essay collection, 1 short story collection, 8 re-reads (Poirot binge), 2800 new pages.

March: 11 novels, 6 shorter works, 1 magazine, 1 short story collection, 2 re-reads, 2400 new pages, 10200 ttl. Also some uncaptured Hugo consolidation reading. Notable: The Traitor Baru Cormorant (econ in fantasy!).

April: 13 novels, 5 shorter works, 4 magazines (one via subscription service thus not above), 1 short story collection, 1 anthology, 4 graphic novels, 7000 new pages, 17200 ttl. Notable: Laline Paull's The Bees, Ilona Andrews' Sweep in Peace, Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway.

May: 13 novels, 7 shorter works, 3 magazines (one via subscr.), 2 anthologies, 3 non-fiction, 6000 new pages, 23200 total. Notable: Kate Williams' Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch, Jennifer Worth's Call the Midwife.

June: 15 novels, 5 shorter works, 2 magazines, 5 anthologies (4 owned), 3 graphic novels, 6900 new pages, 30100 total. Notable: David D. Levine's collection Space Magic.

July: 16 novels, 5 shorter works, 10 magazines, 1 collection, 2 re-reads, 6900 new pages, 37000 total. Notable: Patrick Ness' The Rest of Us Just Live Here; Michelle Diener's Dark Horse and Dark Deeds.

August: 12 novels, 6 shorter works, 2 magazines, 1 graphic novel, 1 re-read, 5500 new pages, 42500 total. Notable: Attica Locke's Black Water Rising.

September: 15 novels, 6 shorter works, 5 magazines, 2 re-reads, 3 non-fiction, 5100 new pages, 47600 total. Notable: Adrian Tchaikovsky's Spiderlight, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, Theresa Brown's The Shift.

October: 8 novels, 4 shorter works, 3 magazines, 1 re-read, 1 how-to, 2 non-fiction, 4000 new pages, 51600 total. Notable: Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible, Heather Rose Jones' Daughter of Mystery and sequel, re-read Robin McKinley's Sunshine.

November: 13 novels, 9 shorter works, 3 magazines, 1 re-read, 4 non-fiction, 1 poetry, 7200 new pages, 58200 total. Notable: Tansy Rayner Roberts' Kid Dark Against the Machine; Frank Baker's Miss Hargreaves, more for sheer oddity than pure enjoyment.

December: 11 novels, 3 shorter works, 5 magazines, 2 collections, 3 non-fiction, 1 re-read, 4600 new pages, 62800 total. (Think more than typical items without a page count in GR.) Notable: Le Guin's The Dispossessed, Alexis Hall's Looking for Group, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin.

In 2014 The Three Musketeers kept being referenced in my reading, so I finally read it in 2015. This year the Odyssey has cropped up a few times. Maybe I'll try to re-read it and/or the Iliad, or maybe it's time to tackle the Aeneid.

Spoiler:

2014 was the year of Miss Silver, 2015 was all about the SFF. Look at a new mystery series or two, read if enjoyable.

Spoiler:

Keep cutting down the physical TBR shelf - last year saw a very small net decrease.

Year-end: failed failed failed! Kept saying I'd get to it eventually.

Don't beat myself up over the short SFF magazines, but try to read maybe 2-3 a month including any anthologies.

Spoiler:

Keep evaluating those freebies, and highlight any that are worthwhile.

Spoiler:

Track subscription services month to month to see if I'm using them. Possibly see if a external library card would be a worthwhile change.

Spoiler:

Memo to self: copy to buffer before posting in case the "not logged in" quirk bites me.

12-01-2015, 09:10 PM	#19
elaysee Groupie Posts: 167 Karma: 1319590 Join Date: Jun 2012 Device: iPad/MapleRead	Read happy! 2016 looks to be a tough, tough year, and I can already see my reading preferences shifting to "comfort." Setting goals accordingly and with little concern for completion. 104 books Jan: 33 Feb: 21 Mar: 21 Apr: 29 May: 28 Jun: 30 Jul: 34 Aug: 22 Sep: 30 Oct: 21 Nov: 31 Dec: 25 Bucket list: Iliad/Odyssey/Aeneid year-end: regrouped Check out a new mystery series Jan: 3 May: 1 Jul: 2 Nov: 1 6 fewer physical TBRs year-end: epic fail Dent in short fiction Jan: 4 Feb: 1 Mar: 1 Apr: 3 May: 3 Jun: 6! Jul: 11!!! Aug: 2 Sep: 5 Oct: 4+1 Nov: 3 Dec: 5 Evaluate 24 freebies Feb: 2 Apr: 3 May: 2 Jun: 1 Jul: 1 Aug: 2 Sep: 6 Oct: 5 Nov: 1 year-end: just missed! Watch value for money from subscription sources relative to library. Jan: OK Feb: half Mar: OK Apr: OK May: OK Jun: OK Jul: OK Aug: OK Sep: OK Oct: mostly OK Nov: OK Dec: OK 2 books a week is just a number, I'll likely exceed it. Spoiler: January: 18 books, 7 shorter works, 4 magazines, 4 re-reads, 5000 (new) pages. February: 5 novels, 5 shorter works, 1 magazine, 1 essay collection, 1 short story collection, 8 re-reads (Poirot binge), 2800 new pages. March: 11 novels, 6 shorter works, 1 magazine, 1 short story collection, 2 re-reads, 2400 new pages, 10200 ttl. Also some uncaptured Hugo consolidation reading. Notable: The Traitor Baru Cormorant (econ in fantasy!). April: 13 novels, 5 shorter works, 4 magazines (one via subscription service thus not above), 1 short story collection, 1 anthology, 4 graphic novels, 7000 new pages, 17200 ttl. Notable: Laline Paull's The Bees, Ilona Andrews' Sweep in Peace, Seanan McGuire's Every Heart a Doorway. May: 13 novels, 7 shorter works, 3 magazines (one via subscr.), 2 anthologies, 3 non-fiction, 6000 new pages, 23200 total. Notable: Kate Williams' Becoming Queen Victoria: The Tragic Death of Princess Charlotte and the Unexpected Rise of Britain's Greatest Monarch, Jennifer Worth's Call the Midwife. June: 15 novels, 5 shorter works, 2 magazines, 5 anthologies (4 owned), 3 graphic novels, 6900 new pages, 30100 total. Notable: David D. Levine's collection Space Magic. July: 16 novels, 5 shorter works, 10 magazines, 1 collection, 2 re-reads, 6900 new pages, 37000 total. Notable: Patrick Ness' The Rest of Us Just Live Here; Michelle Diener's Dark Horse and Dark Deeds. August: 12 novels, 6 shorter works, 2 magazines, 1 graphic novel, 1 re-read, 5500 new pages, 42500 total. Notable: Attica Locke's Black Water Rising. September: 15 novels, 6 shorter works, 5 magazines, 2 re-reads, 3 non-fiction, 5100 new pages, 47600 total. Notable: Adrian Tchaikovsky's Spiderlight, Ta-Nehisi Coates' Between the World and Me, Theresa Brown's The Shift. October: 8 novels, 4 shorter works, 3 magazines, 1 re-read, 1 how-to, 2 non-fiction, 4000 new pages, 51600 total. Notable: Curtis Sittenfeld's Eligible, Heather Rose Jones' Daughter of Mystery and sequel, re-read Robin McKinley's Sunshine. November: 13 novels, 9 shorter works, 3 magazines, 1 re-read, 4 non-fiction, 1 poetry, 7200 new pages, 58200 total. Notable: Tansy Rayner Roberts' Kid Dark Against the Machine; Frank Baker's Miss Hargreaves, more for sheer oddity than pure enjoyment. December: 11 novels, 3 shorter works, 5 magazines, 2 collections, 3 non-fiction, 1 re-read, 4600 new pages, 62800 total. (Think more than typical items without a page count in GR.) Notable: Le Guin's The Dispossessed, Alexis Hall's Looking for Group, The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. In 2014 The Three Musketeers kept being referenced in my reading, so I finally read it in 2015. This year the Odyssey has cropped up a few times. Maybe I'll try to re-read it and/or the Iliad, or maybe it's time to tackle the Aeneid. Spoiler: Apr:Started reading The Canterbury Tales. Dec: decided not to race through Canterbury. Did read Wuthering Heights, after four or five bounces, so am counting that. 2014 was the year of Miss Silver, 2015 was all about the SFF. Look at a new mystery series or two, read if enjoyable. Spoiler: Jan: began reading Catherine Aird's Inspector Sloan series. 10 books in so far would appear to count. Read Elly Griffith's first Ruth Galloway book, may read on. Bounced hard off Christianna Brand. Feb: read 2 more Sloan, not continuing with Galloway for now. March: read 3 more Sloan, new Scribd rules complicate things. April: read another Sloan novel and a short story collection. Will need to get remaining from library soon. May: read Clara Benson's first Angela Marchmont mystery. Will likely get back to them soonish. Jun: 3 more Benson/Marchmont. (And a very silly non-Silver Patricia Wentworth.) Jul: Louise Penny's first Ganache mystery. Undecided whether to continue - enjoyable lead, but I loathe the tiny village with endless murders. Took a look at Muller and Pronzini's (mostly his) Carpenter and Quincannon book, bounced off fast, did not finish. Aug: Through 8th of 10 Benson/Marchmont, though I'm mainly reading to learn the overarching plot at this point. Gave up on Penny/Ganache - tiny murder village syndrome got to me, as did the secondary characters. Sep: finished Benson/Marchmont, disappointed by the resoution of the overplot. Nov: bounced off James Runcie's Sidney Chambers and The Dangers of Temptation. Keep cutting down the physical TBR shelf - last year saw a very small net decrease. Year-end: failed failed failed! Kept saying I'd get to it eventually. Don't beat myself up over the short SFF magazines, but try to read maybe 2-3 a month including any anthologies. Spoiler: Jan: 1 Lightspeed, 3 BCS. Feb: 1 Uncanny. March: 1 F&SF. April: 1 Uncanny, 1 BCS, 1 Lightspeed, 1 F&SF. May: 1 Clarkesworld, 1 Apex, 1 F&SF, anthology Temporally Out of Order. June: 2 BCS, 4 (owned) anthologies/collections: Help Fund My Robot Army, Vivian Vande Velde, Martha Wells, David D. Levine. July: 2 Apex, 4 BCS, 1 Clarkesworld, 2 Lightspeed, 1 Uncanny, A. Lee Martinez's Robots versus Slime Monsters. Go me! August: 1 Clarkesworld, 1 Lightspeed. September: 1 Apex, 3 BCS, 1 Lightspeed. October: 3 BCS + 1 I abandoned, 1 Apex, 1 F&SF. November: 1 BCS, 1 Apex, 1 Lightspeed. December: 1 Apex, 1 BCS, 1 Clarkesworld, 1 Uncanny, 1 Asimov's. Keep evaluating those freebies, and highlight any that are worthwhile. Spoiler: Feb: Read one, looked at and abandoned one. April: Going to count the three old Hugo packet short stories I got off the ereader. May: read two freebies; Annie Bellet's Justice Calling was an adequate series start. June: Annie Bellet short from a series that apparently never got going in earnest. July: a short fail from Sarah Mayberry - knew the trope would be trouble even from her. August: a short light success from Kelly Hunter, and a similarly tropic fail from her. Must've been the Aussies-in-Montana factor. September: read an Eryn Scott, an odd chick-lit that partially worked. Bounced off several SF freebies and marked two more never on the basis of authorship. October: none finished or noteworthy. An awful month for DNFs overall, 20 of them. Nov: an unremarkable Charlotte English. Track subscription services month to month to see if I'm using them. Possibly see if a external library card would be a worthwhile change. Spoiler: Jan: relative to Amazon purchase price, read $97, DNFed $21 from Scribd. I'm the reason the business model is unsustainable... KU: read $16 (-$8 could have been had from Prime), DNFed $14. Met with some conscious effort. Feb: Scribd: read $63 and forced them to change their business model. KU: read $3 - hit Scribd harder with intent after announcement of change. March: Scribd: read $29. KU: read $24/$16, DNF $1. April: Scribd: read $23. KU: read $11/$3, DNF $5. May: Scribd: read $28 unlimited, $16 library. KU: read $17/$9. June: Scribd: read $5 unlimited, $14 library, DNF $9 unlimited. KU: $15/$11 July: Scribd: read a public domain unlimited, $1 perm-unl, $12 library, DNF $15 unlimited, DNF $4 library. Total $13 read, $19 DNF. Feeling like deciding how to commit credits is a bit of a chore, will need to consider this. KU: $12/$8, $1 DNF August: Scribd: $11 unl, $21 library, DNF $15 unl, plus one that turned out to also be KU, sigh. Hit upon a series to complete and didn't struggle with the credits for a change, am through September's allotment. KU: $25/$20. September: Scribd: $21 unl. KU: $15/$10, DNF $5. October: Scribd: $8 library, $10 unl, $72 DNF-unl KU: $10/$2, DNF $19 November: Scribd: $6 library (nearly positive another one wasn't free on Kindle when I picked it up...), $15 unl, $10 DNF-unl. KU: $15/$10, DNF $17. December: Scribd: $16 unl, $49 DNF-unl. KU: $10/$6, DNF $4. Feel like it's time to start tracking what I spend and what I acquire - will try to pick this up next month. August: bought 14 bargain-priced books-and, read 1 of 'em. Bought 4 full-ish priced. 8 freebies, read 1 of them. Bought 6 bargain-priced old favorites. 5 magazines came in. 13 reference books (Humble Bundle, programming). Total: 50; $95(magazine subscriptions not included). One observes that 37 non-reference items came in and 22 items were digested, including subscription and library items. One is moved to contemplate the long-term implications of this. September: 10 bargain-priced, 6 classic bargains, 9 fareebies, 7 subscription arrivals, 4 Kickstarted, 3 subscriptions renewed and one added. At least 31 items in and 30 read is an improvement. Total: 31; $143, more than half subscription renewals. October: 7 subscription/KS arrivals, 1 KS, 21 bargains, 3 classic bargains, 6 freebies, 4 full price. Total: 42; $80. Had been doing well until the Great Novella Binge at the end of the month. November: 7 subscriptions/KS arrivals, 11 free, 22+12 bargains (incl StoryBundle), 4 classic bargains, 3 full price, 6 full price shorts, 17 technical (Humble Bundle). Total: 102, $144. Turns out I buy books when I can't deal. December: not even worth trying to count, with over 100 Open Road freebies in the mix. Spent $125. Memo to self: copy to buffer before posting in case the "not logged in" quirk bites me. Last edited by elaysee; 12-31-2016 at 07:02 PM. Reason: December update