MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - The 2015 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

sun surfer · 01-01-2016, 01:11 PM

Time to take stock. I had three challenge areas for 2015.

-My first was to read 50 books in 2015. I did that! I was very far behind heading into mid-December - I was at 40 out of 50 read. But I battened down the hatches and even pulled a partial all-nighter on the 30th because I was on my 50th book and determined to finish it out.

So, I read a fifth of my year's books in the last half month, heh. It's not quite as grand as it sounds though. I read some really long books earlier in the year and I'd focused on the longer subchallenge books first and purposely left many of the shorter and easier ones for the end knowing I could go through them quicker. After finally finishing Les Miserables midway through December everything went much faster. Still though, they weren't all short and easy reads the last few weeks and I had to really focus and put in time and effort at the end to complete it. I do now know that, judging by my pace the last few weeks, it's theoretically possible for me to have a 100+ year.

-My second was January-June subchallenges. I outlined my final progress on those mid-year but suffice to say that I completed them all.

-My third was July-December subchallenges. This included reading 8,000 pages, which I'm almost positive I did even though I haven't tallied it all up yet. This also included a variety of specific books and themes:

6 Partially Read.

Spoiler:

Status: 5/6 completed. Everything but A Brief History of Time. I'd even already newly bought the special illustrated version in pbook in preparation but alas, I just ran out of time. It would've been the very next one. I purposely benched it though when on my final mad reading dash because, though short, I knew I might get bogged down in it as I did the first time I tried to read it years ago.

3 Young Adult.

Spoiler:

Status: 3/3 completed! When I said above that I saved easier ones for the end, that included these and so I breezed through all three in the last week or so. The Maze Runner was my 50th book and the one I pulled the partial all-nighter for on the 30th.

2 Print Pile.

Spoiler:

Status: 1/2 completed. I never got to Start Your Own Business and I didn't decide to nix it without reading which I'd allowed myself the possibility of. I almost started it a few weeks ago but, it being long and dry, decided that I needed put it off to better my chances of reaching my main goal of 50 books read.

1 Tome.

Spoiler:

Status: 2/1 completed! I planned on it being Les Mis, but I read a tome in Dhalgren for the book club first so that's how I ended up with two. If I had taken the easy way out and skipped Les Mis entirely, I probably would've finished all my challenges completely. As it is though, I'm very glad I read Les Mis anyway.

1 Club Nominee.

Spoiler:

Status: 0/1 completed. I planned on The Martian but I preferred to work on specific subchallenge books first at the end and so didn't get to this one.

All in all, I read 10/13 of my subchallenge books for July-December. Those three unread were the only thing I missed completing for the entire year so I'm happy anyway.

Overall, as for my three challenge areas, I completed two. As a wise man once said, and I agree with him, two out of three ain't bad.

01-01-2016, 01:11 PM	#513
sun surfer languorous autodidact ✦ Posts: 4,235 Karma: 44637926 Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: smiling with the rising sun Device: onyx boox poke 2 colour, kindle voyage	Time to take stock. I had three challenge areas for 2015. -My first was to read 50 books in 2015. I did that! I was very far behind heading into mid-December - I was at 40 out of 50 read. But I battened down the hatches and even pulled a partial all-nighter on the 30th because I was on my 50th book and determined to finish it out. So, I read a fifth of my year's books in the last half month, heh. It's not quite as grand as it sounds though. I read some really long books earlier in the year and I'd focused on the longer subchallenge books first and purposely left many of the shorter and easier ones for the end knowing I could go through them quicker. After finally finishing Les Miserables midway through December everything went much faster. Still though, they weren't all short and easy reads the last few weeks and I had to really focus and put in time and effort at the end to complete it. I do now know that, judging by my pace the last few weeks, it's theoretically possible for me to have a 100+ year. -My second was January-June subchallenges. I outlined my final progress on those mid-year but suffice to say that I completed them all. -My third was July-December subchallenges. This included reading 8,000 pages, which I'm almost positive I did even though I haven't tallied it all up yet. This also included a variety of specific books and themes: 6 Partially Read. Spoiler: This sounds open-ended; however, I only have six books listed as partially read on Goodreads, so really it's a set list, and I am excited at the prospect of it being emptied out. As the title implies, these are books I'd begun but never finished for whatever reason and that I'd still like to read. This list consists of Madame Bovary (which I've already started on), Cold Comfort Farm, The Satanic Verses, A Canticle for Leibowitz, A Brief History of Time and an Osho (philosophy/spirituality) book called Love, Freedom and Aloneness: The Koan of Relationships. Status: 5/6 completed. Everything but A Brief History of Time. I'd even already newly bought the special illustrated version in pbook in preparation but alas, I just ran out of time. It would've been the very next one. I purposely benched it though when on my final mad reading dash because, though short, I knew I might get bogged down in it as I did the first time I tried to read it years ago. 3 Young Adult. Spoiler: It's time for me to catch up on some books in this genre that I've been meaning to read for awhile! However, this is also a set list that I've lumped together so that they take up less room in my subchallenge listings. The three books are Holes, If I Stay and The Maze Runner. Status: 3/3 completed! When I said above that I saved easier ones for the end, that included these and so I breezed through all three in the last week or so. The Maze Runner was my 50th book and the one I pulled the partial all-nighter for on the 30th. 2 Print Pile. Spoiler: Again, a set list - I only have TWO books left on my old print pile! After they are gone, I am done (probably forever) with having a physical stack of books waiting to be read and I can't wait. Of course, this only means the similar enjoyment (and possible feelings of frustration) will transfer to my online tbr list (my GR list is over 300!) but I've gotten much better ever since going digital with my reading about not actually buying books until I'm about to read them. I know that's not the case for many of you, but I think I'm the outlier - when I had to go out and buy books, if I saw something interesting, I wanted to snatch it up to have at home for whenever. Now, I know that most books are just clicks away at my fingertips at any time and so I can wait until I'm exactly ready to read a book until I buy it. So once I complete this subchallenge it will be the end of an era for me. Of course, the final two books are nothing to write home about; there's a reason that they're the final two. On the other hand, they've survived the print pile purges I've done so I do still have some interest in them. They're both non-fiction and both business/money related - The Road to Wealth by Suze Orman (Includes 2003 U.S. Tax Law Changes! lol) and Entrepreneur Magazine's Start Your Own Business. I should also mention that I don't necessarily have to read these straight through for this subchallenge - these are both the type where a skimming and skipping and jumping around may suffice. Also, I don't even necessarily have to read them - I either need to read them or get rid of them. And, there's a possibility that I may buy updated and digital versions to read instead, although I understand that by going that route I run the risk of never finding out those 2003 tax law changes... Status: 1/2 completed. I never got to Start Your Own Business and I didn't decide to nix it without reading which I'd allowed myself the possibility of. I almost started it a few weeks ago but, it being long and dry, decided that I needed put it off to better my chances of reaching my main goal of 50 books read. 1 Tome. Spoiler: An open-ended subchallenge, though not really. I had the same subchallenge January-June and said I'd probably read either Les Mis or Don Quixote, and i read Don Quixote. So unless I find something more intriguing, it will probably be Hugo. Status: 2/1 completed! I planned on it being Les Mis, but I read a tome in Dhalgren for the book club first so that's how I ended up with two. If I had taken the easy way out and skipped Les Mis entirely, I probably would've finished all my challenges completely. As it is though, I'm very glad I read Les Mis anyway. 1 Club Nominee. Spoiler: The only truly open-ended subchallenge this time, I've pared it from three last time to one this time because I have so many subchallenge books this time and I didn't want to overload. This is any book club nominee from June-December that doesn't win in a vote. Status: 0/1 completed. I planned on The Martian but I preferred to work on specific subchallenge books first at the end and so didn't get to this one. All in all, I read 10/13 of my subchallenge books for July-December. Those three unread were the only thing I missed completing for the entire year so I'm happy anyway. Overall, as for my three challenge areas, I completed two. As a wise man once said, and I agree with him, two out of three ain't bad.