The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by latepaul

But really, I'd like to recover some of the joy of reading that I've lost somehow.

Originally Posted by Dazrin

And that is the important part here! This is all for fun and our own personal enjoyment, so there is no need to keep up with the Jones'.

If you have lost your joy of reading, I suggest an easily attainable goal rather than a goal that pushes you. Nothing makes fun into "work" like having a deadline.

I agree wholeheartedly!

[Stephjk]

My goal for 2013 was 52 books and I was doing fine until I joined the bookclubs and got a bit bogged down with some of the monthly selections.

However, I'm setting my goal at 52 again and will try to read all bookclub selections next year. Maybe I should leave the soduko alone!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Stephjk

My goal for 2013 was 52 books and I was doing fine until I joined the bookclubs and got a bit bogged down with some of the monthly selections.

However, I'm setting my goal at 52 again and will try to read all bookclub selections next year. Maybe I should leave the soduko alone!

No, don't give up your other hobbies..thats the quickest way (I've found) to end up burning out all together! Just pace yourself.

[Stephjk]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

No, don't give up your other hobbies..thats the quickest way (I've found) to end up burning out all together! Just pace yourself.

I've really struggled with a few of the bookclub selections over the last couple of months and it is just too easy to switch to Sudoku on the kobo! I think I need to intersperse the more highbrow stuff with some trashy chicklit to keep me going!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Stephjk

I've really struggled with a few of the bookclub selections over the last couple of months and it is just too easy to switch to Sudoku on the kobo! I think I need to intersperse the more highbrow stuff with some trashy chicklit to keep me going!

You can add the sudoku into your challenge, as a reward!

For every "x number", or "x type" you read you earn one hour of pure sudoku time!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

My goal this year is to keep reading! I'd like to read a minimum of one book a week. I've decided not to add any additional challenges. *Yeah, I know, I've said that before.

I will be updating my progress on my post in the The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge List Thread!.

My list and reviews will also be on my 2014 shelf on GoodReads.

And already I'm wavering on my promise to KISS! One of the book clubs I'm in over on GoodReads is starting a really cool (and flexible) series challenge.

I'm so tempted, especially since I do have a ridiculous number of series I'd like to both start and finish.

[issybird]

Generally, I have a benchmark of 100 books with 50 of them assigned to challenges. After a non-fiction heavy 2013, my first challenge will be to read 24 litfic books. Since it'll be the centenary of the Great War, I'll read/reread 12 books on that topic. Finally, since I failed abysmally at my 17th century England challenge in 2013, I'll carry that forward to 2014 and read 12 non-fiction books plus ancillary fiction both contemporary and later. I've assigned my challenges in 12s for an easy mental checkmark each month, but for those who are keeping track, I'll add the missing two books as floaters in any category.

The litfic shouldn't be a problem, but there are potential issues with the other two. Maybe 15 years ago I immersed myself in Great War literature and revisiting might prove tedious, so I'm reserving the right to change that part of my challenge if it doesn't work for me. Similarly, I've found that the thrill can be gone with a repeated challenge, but I'm still interested in 17-th century England and hope to avoid the mistakes I made ths past year which kept me from meeting my goal.

Not a formal challenge per se, but the ebook TBR has reached stratospheric heights and must be scaled. Right now I'm keeping the number of ebooks on my readers at just below 400 (there are more unread in my Calibre library); I'd like to get this number much closer to 300 by year-end. I know that's unrealistic, but I'd like to see the numbers go down and not keep climbing. My other failed challenge for last year was in regard to my paper TBR; I've decided to shift my focus for this year, as the number of unread ebooks has far outstripped the DTBs.

[pdurrant]

Many thanks to Nyssa for doing the 2014 threads, and for the 2013 and 2012 thread. Thanks also to lilac_jive for the 2010 thread and The Terminator for the 2011 thread.

I find it hard to believe I've been keeping track of my reading for four years now!

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Many thanks to Nyssa for doing the 2014 threads, and for the 2013 and 2012 thread. Thanks also to lilac_jive for the 2010 thread and The Terminator for the 2011 thread.

I find it hard to believe I've been keeping track of my reading for four years now!

Thanks!

[Yapyap]

I think I'll basically stick to the same goals I had this year: read 120 books, not buy more than 120 ebooks for myself (I'm excluding the ebooks I will buy for my mother, and I'm excluding paper books I buy because I want those books on my shelves - those shouldn't be more than a dozen, anyway).

The reading part was not a problem this year - I'm at 134 and a half books now - but the buying part, well.

On the bright side, during the recent Kobo coupon rain, I actually started to run out of books to buy.

There are already at least 15 books I know I will want to buy and read next year (the books I'm willing to preorder and read if not on release date then as soon as my current book is done); for the rest...

Let's say either no more than 120 ebooks-for-myself a year or no more than $50 spent on ebooks-for-myself per month? That latter should give me some leeway in case there are really good sales of the "oooh, I've heard of this, that might actually be good" sort of books...

I have over 1000 unread ebooks (+ who knows how many paper books) now, so my basic aim, really, is to read more than buy. Even if I manage to make a tiny dent into that pile, that'll be a step in the right direction.

[Stephjk]

Originally Posted by Nyssa

You can add the sudoku into your challenge, as a reward!

For every "x number", or "x type" you read you earn one hour of pure sudoku time!

That's a good idea, thanks

[GeoffR]

In 2013 about 90% of my fiction reading was SF/Fantasy, so I am going to try to read a bit more from other genres in 2014. My goal is at least 33% of fiction reading from outside of SF/Fantasy genres.

[jersysman]

Thank you Nyssa for setting up these challenge threads again.

I am going to keep my same goals that I had in 2013 of 35,000 pages. Of those pages 10 books will deal with the Civil War and 10 will be biographies of Westerners (Native Americans, Cowboys, Gunfighters, etc.)

I was away from reading for about 6 months this year, so I was not able to give a serious push to my challenge. This year should be different.

[Tarana]

I wanted to focus on reading books and listening to audiobooks that I already have for 2014. So, I decided to abandon a couple of my book clubs and just stick with the 3 that have worked the best for me.

Giving up hobbies isn't necessarily a bad thing if your reading is giving you more enjoyment. While I'm fortunate that I can listen to audiobooks while doing most of my hobbies, I'm also eliminating two hobbies that I've not done much with for a couple of years. That will give me more time to read. That said, don't give up a hobby that helps you interact with other people. You need the exercise.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by GeoffR

In 2013 about 90% of my fiction reading was SF/Fantasy, so I am going to try to read a bit more from other genres in 2014. My goal is at least 33% of fiction reading from outside of SF/Fantasy genres.

That sounds like me in 2012 (60% fantasy, 20% SF), I made a concerted effort this year to stay away from the fantasy books I normally like and it was very worth it. I read a lot of books I never would have tried before this year and plan on trying maintain some diversity for next year.