The 2014 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread! - Page 54

HomeInMyShoes · 10-28-2014, 09:17 AM

300 days gone by and only 65 to go!

Geralt · 10-28-2014, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

300 days gone by and only 65 to go!

pdurrant · 10-28-2014, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

300 days gone by and only 65 to go!

And I'm on my 195th book of the year. So that puts me on track for just over 235 books this year. My best yet.

And I'm still not (quite) over budget for the year!

And the books I've read (so far) this year have even cost me a little more than the ones I've bought.

Which is all great.

Even if my TBR pile has reduced hardly at all so far this year.

Hampshire Nanny · 10-28-2014, 12:03 PM

To date, I've completed 134 books toward my goal of 150. Goodreads says I'm 10 books ahead of schedule, so at this point, I'm pretty confident that I'll reach my goal.

Recently completed:

129. V is for Vengeance by Sue Grafton
130. Magic 101 by Mercedes Lackey
131. Burning Water by Mercedes Lackey
132. POD by Tobias Roote
133. Children of the Night by Mercedes Lackey
134. Stone Guardian by Danielle Monsch

I enjoyed all of them except the last. What ruined the last book was that I was turned off by the explicit description of lovemaking that popped up near the end of the book. The plot and characters and the world were actually very well done and it's the beginning of a series that I would have very much enjoyed continuing with except it's just too much for my taste.

jbcohen · 10-29-2014, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

And I'm on my 195th book of the year. So that puts me on track for just over 235 books this year. My best yet.

And I'm still not (quite) over budget for the year!

And the books I've read (so far) this year have even cost me a little more than the ones I've bought.

Which is all great.

Even if my TBR pile has reduced hardly at all so far this year.

Kindle Unlimited would help you maintain the budget, It helps me put a lid on the book spending. Last month I would have spent $170 on the books that I read and only payed $10 for them.

I am thirty percent past my goals for 2014 and I have exceeded my goals for 2013. Don't know how far past my goals I will get this year but this has turned out to be a record setting year for me. And Kindle Unlimited has helped me keep a lid on the book costs.

Katsunami · 10-29-2014, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BelleZora

On Oct. 1 I was 13 books behind schedule to meet my challenge, but having read 22 books so far this month I am now two ahead of schedule. I was assisted in this by having had a total knee replacement four weeks ago.

I had also challenged myself to adhere to a book budget of $40 monthly and have failed spectacularly. But Barnes & Noble has done me the favor of requiring me jump through hoops to retain any books I might buy from them in the event of the company's demise. Fictionwise, Diesel, and Books on Board taught me valuable lessons. Also, ADE 2 quit working for me and I do not have the interest (or the lack of books) to solve the problem, although [a drm-removal plugin] has enabled me to continue buying from Kobo.

I am actually not saddened (much) that my single option for buying books is eroding to Amazon only. This month I spent only $5 on books.

If ADE does not work, then deauthorize the computer, remove the program, restart, reinstall, and authorize again. Often, this resolves weird problems.

BelleZora · 10-29-2014, 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katsunami

If ADE does not work, then deauthorize the computer, remove the program, restart, reinstall, and authorize again. Often, this resolves weird problems.

Thanks, Katsunami. Tried it and still got the same error which is that ADE cannot communicate with the activation server. Since I'm done with B&N, I would likely now use it only to open Google books, and I suppose I don't really need Google Play, either. Or I'll spend some time trying to solve it when even a shred of motivation returns.

Just reached 100 books for 2014 and am one book ahead of schedule. I read 24 books in October and may finish one tomorrow, a new personal best. Books truly have the power to transport the reader far away from even intensely unpleasant situations. I am unable to tolerate narcotic painkillers or nsaids, a sorry state after major surgery when the only option of acetaminophen seems as effective as Chiclets. I am more in love with books than ever.

HomeInMyShoes · 10-30-2014, 09:08 AM

And country number 70 is complete which marks the end of my challenge for this year.

orlok · 10-30-2014, 09:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

And country number 70 is complete which marks the end of my challenge for this year.

Very well done!

HomeInMyShoes · 10-30-2014, 10:10 AM

^

Spoiler:

orlok · 10-30-2014, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

^

Spoiler:

And what does the 6p, 7p, 8p etc. in front of the country name represent?

HomeInMyShoes · 10-30-2014, 10:57 AM

Haha. I think I forgot the explanation this year. I rate books from 1 - 9 and the e or p is electronic or paper. There was a lot of paper this year.

The arbitrary rating system:
9 Kill your neighbours to get a copy of this book.
8 Drive to your bookstore. NOW!
7 Definitely pick this up.
6 Pretty reasonable.
5 An option if you're stuck in the airport with no Internet access.
4 Meh.
3 I could have had a V8!
2 I can't believe the ink stuck to the paper.
1 Give your neighbours a copy in hopes of killing them.

Dazrin · 10-30-2014, 11:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok

And what does the 6p, 7p, 8p etc. in front of the country name represent?

From HIMS's 2013 link:

Spoiler:

Not sure what the "N" for Latvia (#40) is though; did Not finish? Not sure how to rate?

Edit: I expect it is for Nonfiction after looking through the list some more.

orlok · 10-30-2014, 11:28 AM

Thanks both.

So HIMS, how do you rate books on Amazon or Goodreads, for example, where they only allow up to 5 stars?

HomeInMyShoes · 10-30-2014, 01:13 PM

I fudge a lot of them. I hate the five star rating list because there is such a variance within things I rate as any amount of stars. I look at what I rated 4 stars and I can point out which were better fairly easily which tells me that the rating level isn't granular enough. I find 9 stars is much better at sorting out similarly enjoyed books which is what I want.

Again, ask me to rate a book and it will vary on almost every day. Especially on those waffly ones that are slightly better than most in the category, but not really as good as many in the next set.

Mmmm....waffles.

10-30-2014, 10:10 AM	#805
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	^ Spoiler: 1. 6p Canada (38) Rez Sisters by Thomson Highway 2. 7p United States (190) The Pearl by John Steinbeck 3. 7p Mexico (1) The Death of Artemio Cruz by Carlos Fuentes 4. 7p Guatemala (1) The Beggar's Knife by Rodrigo Rey Rosa 5. 8p Belize (1) Beka Lamb by Zee Edgell 6. 5p Cuba (5) Havana Blue by Leonardo Padura Fuentes 7. 8p Dominican Republic (2) Geographies of Home by Loida Maritza Perez 8. 7p Barbados (1) Water with Berries by George Lamming 9. 5p Nicaragua (1) A Thousand Deaths Plus One by Sergio Ramírez 10. 6p El Salvador (1) One Day of Life by Manlio Argueta 11. 7p Ecuador (1) Huasipungo: The Villagers by Jorge Icaza 12. 6p Peru (1) Lost City Radio by Daniel Alarcón 13. 6p Chile (1) House of Mist by María Luisa Bombal 14. 6p Argentina (1) Asleep in the Sun by Adolpho Bioy-Casares 15. 8p Uruguay (1) Genesis by Eduardo Galeano 16. 8p Brazil (1) In Praise of Lies by Patrícia Melo 17. 6p Venezuela (1) Doña Barbara by Rómulo Gallegos 18. 5p Trinidad and Tobago (1) The Wine of Astonishment by Earl Lovelace 19. 8p Angola (1) The Book of Chameleons by José Eduardo Agualusa 20. 6p Zambia (1) Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin 21. 6p Zimbabwe (1) An Elegy for Easterly by Petina Gappah 22. 6p Mozambique (1) The Tuner of Silences by Mia Couto 23. 4p South Africa (1) Summertime by JM Coetzee 24. 9p New Zealand (1) Genesis by Bernard Beckett 25. 6p Australia (8) Remembering Babylon by David Malouf 26. 9p Indonesia (1) The Rainbow Troops by Andrea Hirati 27. 5p Malaysia (1) Evening is the Whole Day by Preeta 28. 8p Vietnam (1) Novel without a Name by Duong Thu Huong 29. 7p China (6) Shifu, You'll do Anything for a Laugh by Mo Yan 30. 7p South Korea (1) Your Republic is Calling You by Young-ha Kim 31. 7p Japan (10) Audition by Ryu Murakami 32. 8p Russian Federation (3) Roadside Picnic by Arkady Strugatsky 33. 6p Kazahkstan (1) The Silent Steppe by Mukhamet Shayakmetov 34. 7p Kyrgyzstan (1) Farewell Gul'sary by Chinghiz Aitmatov 35. 4p Afghanistan (3) Earth and Ashes by Atiq Rahimi 36. 8p Ireland (9) Two Pints by Roddy Doyle 37. 5p Uzbekistan (1) The Railway by Hamid Ismailov 38. 6e United Kingdom (106) The Jennifer Morgue by Charles Stross 39. 4e Egypt (1) The yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany 40. Ne Lativa (1) Song to Kill a Giant by Sandra Kalniete 41. 7e Sweden (1) Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell 42. 8p Pakistan (1) Moth Smoke by Mohsin Hamid 43. 8e India (9) The Bus Stopped by Tabish Khair 44. 6e Albania (3) Chronicle in Stone by Ismail Kadare 45. 6e Kenya Nairobi Heat by Mukoma wa Ngugi 46. 6p Sri Lanka The Sandglass by Romesh Gunesekera 47. 5p Tanzania (1) Village in Uhuru by Gabriel Ruhumbika 48. 8p Poland (2) The Pianist by Władysław Szpilman 49. 6p Uganda (1) Tropical Fish by Doreen Baingana 50. 6e Turkey (1) Silent House by Orhan Pamuk 51. 9p Bulgaria (1) Natural Novel by Georgi Gospodinov 52. 7p Ethiopia (1) Beneath the Lion's Gaze by Maaza Mengiste 53. 7e Switzerland (1) Heidi by Johanna Spyri, 54. 4p Czech Republic (3) Gargling with Tar by Jachim Topol 55. 8p Syria (1) Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami 56. 7p Sudan (1) Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela 57. 6p Libya (1) In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar 58. 7p Austria (1) The Bone Man by Wolf Haas 59. 8p Finland (1) The Year of the Hare by Arto Paasilinna 60. 4e Greece (1) Zorba the Greek by Nikos Kazantzakis 61. 7p Germany (1) Visitation by Jenny Erpenbeck 62. 7p Norway (2) The Transformation by Mette Newth 63. 6p Iceland (1) The Atom Station by Halldór Laxness 64. 2p France (1) Mythologies by Roland Barthes 65. 7p Italy (2) The Lost Girls of Rome by Donato Carrisi 66. 5p Tunisia (1) The Blue Manuscript by Sabiha al Khemir 67. 5p Morroco (1) Wedding by the Sea by Abdelkader Benali 68. 5p Ukraine (1) The Year is '42 by Nella Bielski 69. 8p Algeria (1) The German Mujahid by Boualem Sansal 70. 4p Portugal (1) South of Nowhere by Anotonio Lobo Antunes Note, the number in parenthesis is the number of books I've now read from that country. Last edited by HomeInMyShoes; 10-30-2014 at 10:58 AM.

10-30-2014, 10:57 AM	#807
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Haha. I think I forgot the explanation this year. I rate books from 1 - 9 and the e or p is electronic or paper. There was a lot of paper this year. The arbitrary rating system: 9 Kill your neighbours to get a copy of this book. 8 Drive to your bookstore. NOW! 7 Definitely pick this up. 6 Pretty reasonable. 5 An option if you're stuck in the airport with no Internet access. 4 Meh. 3 I could have had a V8! 2 I can't believe the ink stuck to the paper. 1 Give your neighbours a copy in hopes of killing them. Last edited by HomeInMyShoes; 10-30-2014 at 10:59 AM.

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10-28-2014, 09:17 AM	#796
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	300 days gone by and only 65 to go!

10-28-2014, 12:03 PM	#799
Hampshire Nanny Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 8064562 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505, Kindle 3 KB, iPad2	To date, I've completed 134 books toward my goal of 150. Goodreads says I'm 10 books ahead of schedule, so at this point, I'm pretty confident that I'll reach my goal. Recently completed: 129. *V is for Vengeance* by Sue Grafton 130. *Magic 101* by Mercedes Lackey 131. *Burning Water* by Mercedes Lackey 132. *POD* by Tobias Roote 133. *Children of the Night* by Mercedes Lackey 134. *Stone Guardian* by Danielle Monsch I enjoyed all of them except the last. What ruined the last book was that I was turned off by the explicit description of lovemaking that popped up near the end of the book. The plot and characters and the world were actually very well done and it's the beginning of a series that I would have very much enjoyed continuing with except it's just too much for my taste.

10-30-2014, 09:08 AM	#803
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	And country number 70 is complete which marks the end of my challenge for this year.

10-30-2014, 11:28 AM	#809
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	Thanks both. So HIMS, how do you rate books on Amazon or Goodreads, for example, where they only allow up to 5 stars?

10-30-2014, 01:13 PM	#810
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	I fudge a lot of them. I hate the five star rating list because there is such a variance within things I rate as any amount of stars. I look at what I rated 4 stars and I can point out which were better fairly easily which tells me that the rating level isn't granular enough. I find 9 stars is much better at sorting out similarly enjoyed books which is what I want. Again, ask me to rate a book and it will vary on almost every day. Especially on those waffly ones that are slightly better than most in the category, but not really as good as many in the next set. Mmmm....waffles.