The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread!

[Tarana]

I do set a goal for books and pages. That keeps me from padding out the book count by reading a whole bunch of short books.

Goodreads automatically gives you a page count based on the version of the book you select, so make sure you select the right one and don't select audiobooks if you listen (because it won't give any pages at all). I don't mind 'padding' my book count with short books because I have additional challenges (age challenge, series challenge, etc.). In fact, I read several short books in a row to get ahead enough to read/listen to two doorstops.

Which means there are at least 270 authors where I've bought at least one of their books, but not yet read it!

Excellent! You will avoid a rut! It is not a rut if you are trying to catch up with series and such. It is if you find you never read anything else.

I love my current e-reader because it's my first one, bought in 2011. I feel like I've married the love of my life.

I also love my Kindle Keyboard. Since I have multiple devices now, and I like how the Kindle sorts stuff into collections, I use this one to keep my series' books. Thank goodness for Alf and Calibre, I can keep them all on the same unit.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Goodreads automatically gives you a page count based on the version of the book you select, so make sure you select the right one and don't select audiobooks if you listen (because it won't give any pages at all).

I agree. It's best to search by ISBN or ASIN if it's kindle edition.
Actually some audiobooks have hours instead of pages (Goodreads policy) so you might get 12 hours/"pages" when you finish a book if an audiobook is 11 hours 40 minutes for example.
What I do when I listen to an audiobook I just add a kindle edition so I can keep the page count.

[jbcohen]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Goodreads automatically gives you a page count based on the version of the book you select, so make sure you select the right one and don't select audiobooks if you listen (because it won't give any pages at all). I don't mind 'padding' my book count with short books because I have additional challenges (age challenge, series challenge, etc.). In fact, I read several short books in a row to get ahead enough to read/listen to two doorstops.



Excellent! You will avoid a rut! It is not a rut if you are trying to catch up with series and such. It is if you find you never read anything else.



I also love my Kindle Keyboard. Since I have multiple devices now, and I like how the Kindle sorts stuff into collections, I use this one to keep my series' books. Thank goodness for Alf and Calibre, I can keep them all on the same unit.

Personally I have never been a fan of short books, I feel like the author really does not take the time to develop the story line and the characters in the shorter book. If he/she does develop the story line or characters than its sort of a rush job and I can always tell if its a rush job or not.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Personally I have never been a fan of short books, I feel like the author really does not take the time to develop the story line or characters than its sort of a rush job and I can always tell if its a rush job or not.

I look at it differently. Some stories are short, some are long. It doesn't matter if it's 200 page book or a 1000 page book. What matters is that you have a good story and an effort on the writers part not to cut it down or fluff it up. But honestly, there is so much more of the fluffing going on in the genre I read (fantasy) than cutting things down.

[Katsunami]

I think there's a large chance I'll not make this year's challenge either, and read even less than last year. Due to lack of time to just sit and read a damn book, I've been stuck in Hitchhiker 6 (which is just 250 pages) for 3 weeks.

I'll just go sit in the corner and rust, or alternatively, fall apart where I'm standing.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

I think there's a large chance I'll not make this year's challenge either, and read even less than last year. Due to lack of time to just sit and read a damn book, I've been stuck in Hitchhiker 6 (which is just 250 pages) for 3 weeks.

I'll just go sit in the corner and rust, or alternatively, fall apart where I'm standing.

Why not just adjust your challenge? Make it more realistic for this year. It's yours, you can do what you want with it.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Geralt

Why not just adjust your challenge? Make it more realistic for this year. It's yours, you can do what you want with it.

My challenge was realistic at the beginning of the year; for the first few months, the projection was that I'd actually read around 1500 pages more than the challenge required.

I got stuck in April, and now in August/September, due to lack of time (switching jobs, suddenly having a deadline moving forward for a serious amount of time; several weeks, actually, planning a move to a different location).

I'd rather try to make up for the time lost when things quiet down again, as I did in June, July and the beginning of August, and either succeed or fail, than adjust the challenge.

If a challenge can be adjusted, it's not a challenge anymore.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Katsunami

If a challenge can be adjusted, it's not a challenge anymore.

I'd wager it is. It's an adjusted one.

Kidding aside, guess you can try and make up for the lost time, I just hope you don't stress yourself out with that. That's the problem with shooting too high, and not taking into account that you might have setbacks.
Good luck.

[Katsunami]

Originally Posted by Geralt

I'd wager it is. It's an adjusted one.

LOL

Kidding aside, guess you can try and make up for the lost time, I just hope you don't stress yourself out with that. That's the problem with shooting too high, and not taking into account that you might have setbacks.

I won't stress myself out over something like this. I'll at least complete all the subchallenges, as I can (and did) read shorter books for the "Read 6 non-Fantasy books" and "Read 6 classics by different authors" parts. The part I might not make is to read 14,600 pages. (Using my very own patented 2400 characters per page thermonuclear algorithm... eh... setting in Count Pages.)

Standing a chance to rescue this challenge depends on if I can still finish Musashi and Tai-Pan (good for 2500 pages total) this month. If not, so be it.

Good luck.

Thanks

[CRussel]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I must admit that there are only 762 authors in my calibre database of bought books. Hmm.. and only 492 authors if I look at read books. Which means there are at least 270 authors where I've bought at least one of their books, but not yet read it!

I think I can see what part of next year's challenge might be!

My list isn't quite that long - I've got 468 authors in mine, but I don't yet have a count on how many are not read at all, though there certainly are some. I haven't completely updated my Read column, though it's on the list to do as soon as I have time. Along with the Source and Price columns. I've got all the recently acquired books covered, but not some of the early purchases.

[jbcohen]

Originally Posted by Geralt

I look at it differently. Some stories are short, some are long. It doesn't matter if it's 200 page book or a 1000 page book. What matters is that you have a good story and an effort on the writers part not to cut it down or fluff it up. But honestly, there is so much more of the fluffing going on in the genre I read (fantasy) than cutting things down.

Here is a historical fact for you, what you are talking about was most common about the time Moby Dick was written. In those days authors were paid based on the number of pages that they wrote so authors tended to write very long winded novels. I may be wrong, however I believe that this is not so these days, an author, I believe, gets paid based on how well his/her works sells to the public rather than the number of pages.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Geralt

I look at it differently. Some stories are short, some are long. It doesn't matter if it's 200 page book or a 1000 page book. What matters is that you have a good story and an effort on the writers part not to cut it down or fluff it up. But honestly, there is so much more of the fluffing going on in the genre I read (fantasy) than cutting things down.

Do you still prefer Fantasy to all other genres? If not, please change. No one here is reading in a genre out of loyalty, no? Are they?

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by Luffy

Do you still prefer Fantasy to all other genres? If not, please change. No one here is reading in a genre out of loyalty, no? Are they?

Yes I still prefer it. Recently I've started reading science fiction as well, and I'm loving that too. I also plan to read Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series, so I'm open to mysteries. And I like horror as well.
I can pretty much say that all the branches of speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi and horror) appeal to me way MORE than any contemporary or classic literature, romance (yuck!), non-fiction...etc.

So I don't know about everyone, but yup those are my reading choices in a nutshell.

[Luffy]

Originally Posted by Geralt

Yes I still prefer it. Recently I've started reading science fiction as well, and I'm loving that too. I also plan to read Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series, so I'm open to mysteries. And I like horror as well.
I can pretty much say that all the branches of speculative fiction (fantasy, sci-fi and horror) appeal to me way MORE than any contemporary or classic literature, romance (yuck!), non-fiction...etc.

So I don't know about everyone, but yup those are my reading choices in a nutshell.

I have tried to read greatly touted fantasy books, books that people say are "better than LoTR!" But LoTR remains my favorite fantasy book, which is kind of sad. I wonder how can you make yourself like a genre. Maybe I'm not ready yet, maybe I'll never be.

I tried to read The Lies Of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch, it was so underwhelming I gave up after 20 pages. I hope to retry it some day. I've not given up the genre yet.

[Geralt]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Here is a historical fact for you, what you are talking about was most common about the time Moby Dick was written. In those days authors were paid based on the number of pages that they wrote so authors tended to write very long winded novels. I may be wrong, however I believe that this is not so these days, an author, I believe, gets paid based on how well his/her works sells to the public rather than the number of pages.

Moby Dick was a long time ago. I'm not talking about that, even though that is true. Today authors aren't payed by number of pages, but big books are sort of an expectation in Fantasy. In the 80s and early 90s, things were completely opposite, and if you check out works from that period, that is plain to see. But something changed in recent years and big tomes became a sort of a standard in Fantasy.
I remember hearing an interview with Michael J. Sullivan about his Riyria Revelations series (6 books total). Those books are 300 pages. He was first a self-published author, so he published them like that. Not a small number of pages you might think.
Here comes Orbit, and he signs with them. What do they do? They ask him why he chose to write such "short" books, and next thing you know they publish him with 3 books, combining two books in one tome. Why? Because big books sell in Fantasy nowadays.
I constantly come across debut books that are in 500-700 pages range.
You know when would that happen in the 80s? Never.
So there is a standard to follow, and that's why there's a lot of fluffing especially with debut authors.