The 2018 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

[kansaskyle]

I only finished three books in February, but all were on my TBR list.

I'm hopeful things will calm down at work because my hectic schedule cut into a lot of my free reading time in the evenings and weekends.

[Wearever]

I'm glad I read the prequel : New Spring by Robert Jordan. It did clear a lot of things up for me. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Although he can be a bit wordy. I guess it's just his style of writing.

[latepaul]

Doing really well on number of books, but haven't made much of a dent in TBR and previously started-but-not-finished books.

[CRussel]

I'm really struggling with one sub-goal this year -- keeping my list up to date here on MR. The problem has been a combination of injury and being on the road. Between the two, I'm spending a lot less time at my desk where I normally do updates. I can read MR well from my Fire, but maintaining the list and keeping track of books bought/read/listened to is just not realistically possible on the Fire.

Hopefully, this next trip will be my last for a while. In which case, this should improve. Or at least, that's the plan.

[Tarana]

I've been reading a lot of older books in my library. Currently reading the Murder-by-Month series by Jess Lourey. Just finished book 4 and am still enjoying this mystery cozy series. I might add that I have relatives who live in those towns (yes, they are real towns!). I bought most of these during the Kobocaplyse of 2012 or was it 2013? (Can't remember now). My goal is to get caught up with the series as she will be publishing her final book of the series in the next year or so.

Also listening to Twilight Eyes by Dean Koontz on audiobook, which I bought in 2009 and am finally getting to. Creepy (as many of his stories are), but good.

I too find it very difficult to maintain my listing on MR using the Fire, even the 8" Fire, so I just don't. I catch up after a week or so on the desktop.

[issybird]

After falling far behind in January, I caught up and pulled ahead on my benchmark total. But. The guts of my challenge, various topics of interest, is going nowhere at all and currently I'm in the middle of several no-better-than-three-star reads, which is disheartening. I need both to up my game and to focus.

[Wearever]

For my fantasy challenge, I'm reading another first book" Age of Myth " by Michael J. Sullivan. Book 1 of Legends of the First Empire.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by issybird

After falling far behind in January, I caught up and pulled ahead on my benchmark total. But. The guts of my challenge, various topics of interest, is going nowhere at all and currently I'm in the middle of several no-better-than-three-star reads, which is disheartening. I need both to up my game and to focus.

I know the feeling. Were it not for the New Leaf Book Club reads, I'd find myself reading dreck that struggles to be 3 stars. (And which you would undoubtedly rate at 1 or 2 stars. ) Hemingway, of all people, pulled me out of my doldrums this month, and I can only hope that next month's book does as well. But I'm _not_ hopeful. OTOH, perhaps I'll read one or two of the others that didn't make the cut -- there were definitely a couple that looked like they would be winners.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by CRussel

Hemingway, of all people, pulled me out of my doldrums this month, and I can only hope that next month's book does as well. But I'm _not_ hopeful. OTOH, perhaps I'll read one or two of the others that didn't make the cut -- there were definitely a couple that looked like they would be winners.

Amusing as I dreaded Hemingway and am really enjoying the Fry. You can only take so many white, male professors teaching you about dead, white male writers bit for so long during the course of a 4 year degree in Literature before you have a knee-jerk reaction against them. I think I had to read or write about Hemingway almost every semester.

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Amusing as I dreaded Hemingway and am really enjoying the Fry. You can only take so many white, male professors teaching you about dead, white male writers bit for so long during the course of a 4 year degree in Literature before you have a knee-jerk reaction against them. I think I had to read or write about Hemingway almost every semester.

Oh, I get it! (Even though I am a white, heterosexual male.) But I'm far enough past my college days (with an English co-major) that I have no memory of reading any Hemingway, though I know I did. And this book really worked for me, and got me past some recent bad reading experiences. I like Fry -- as a writer, as a narrator, and as a person. But the book we're reading hasn't really caught my fancy yet, at least in the description. But we'll see. I've bought it from Amazon UK, and will endeavor to get it read before next month's discussion.

[gmw]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Amusing as I dreaded Hemingway and am really enjoying the Fry. You can only take so many white, male professors teaching you about dead, white male writers bit for so long during the course of a 4 year degree in Literature before you have a knee-jerk reaction against them. I think I had to read or write about Hemingway almost every semester.

Originally Posted by CRussel

Oh, I get it! (Even though I am a white, heterosexual male.) But I'm far enough past my college days (with an English co-major) that I have no memory of reading any Hemingway, though I know I did. And this book really worked for me, and got me past some recent bad reading experiences. I like Fry -- as a writer, as a narrator, and as a person. But the book we're reading hasn't really caught my fancy yet, at least in the description. But we'll see. I've bought it from Amazon UK, and will endeavor to get it read before next month's discussion.

I can really relate to both these posts. I dreaded the Hemingway; it turned out to be not as bad as I feared, though nothing I'd write home about (except that, being a book club, we're supposed to ). And I am a fan of Stephen Fry but the description of Making History really didn't do it for me (never has, which is why I hadn't read it). Still to get my copy and find out how it goes for me, I'm a bit more hopeful now after reading others' reactions to it.

[June]

I’m falling behind on my target of 200 books, I have only read 38 so far this year. Darn work getting in the way of hobbies :/

[Dngrsone]

Work is actually helping my reading out at the moment.

[PurpleStar]

Only managed 8 books so far, but goodreads insists I’m ahead of schedule. Playing xbox games is kinda cutting into my reading time, but oh well, variety is good.

[Dngrsone]

I think I am actually ahead... slow days at work lately.