The 2018 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread - Page 11

orlok · 04-28-2018, 07:00 AM

I've just upped my challenge from 75 books to 100 (currently 43 read), as I've read a few shorts, including a number of graphic novels, and have also DNF'd more than usual, possibly because I've recently joined Kindle Unlimited. Or maybe I'm just getting to a point where I'm not willing to spend time over something I'm not particularly engaging with.

issybird · 04-28-2018, 07:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok

Or maybe I'm just getting to a point where I'm not willing to spend time over something I'm not particularly engaging with.

A worthy point to reach!

latepaul · 04-28-2018, 09:04 AM

I've just upped my target from 45 to 80 since it's only April and I've already read 32 books.

As for abandoning books, I agree it's a good thing to do, however...

There's this episode of the sitcom Friends where they're throwing a ball to one another. After a while someone notices they've been doing it for a while continuously without dropping it. Then it becomes a thing they try to keep doing, with increasingly bizarre things they need to do to achieve that.

I feel a bit like that about my books. At some point, without planning it, I realised that I've finished every book I started this year. So far...

However I may need to let that go. Because it's now making me wary of picking up certain books because they may not be that great (or they may be but who knows before hand). I think I value being more experimental in my reading than always finishing everything. But there's still that obsessive part of me that doesn't want to let go.

Historically I've usually stopped reading for days or weeks when I'm in the middle of a book I'm not loving. Even when I 'power through' and finish it it often leaves me feeling I don't want to read for a while.

So I guess the key is to feel OK about stopping and pick up something else right away.

orlok · 04-28-2018, 11:06 AM

I used to never not finish a book (pardon the double neg), always battling through to the end whatever. Now I realise life's too short.

issybird · 04-28-2018, 12:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok

I used to never not finish a book (pardon the double neg), always battling through to the end whatever. Now I realise life's too short.

Pardoned, but I'll never get over that split infinitive.

orlok · 04-28-2018, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

Pardoned, but I'll never get over that split infinitive.

To boldly go...

Catlady · 04-28-2018, 12:55 PM

Books must be finished.

pdurrant · 04-28-2018, 01:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Catlady

Books must be finished.

Some books, if started, should be abandoned as quickly as possible. Some novels live up to the quip that Dorothy Parker didn't say "This is not a novel to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force."

Catlady · 04-28-2018, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Some books, if started, should be abandoned as quickly as possible. Some novels live up to the quip that Dorothy Parker didn't say "This is not a novel to be lightly tossed aside. It should be thrown with great force."

I'm picky in what I start, but once I've started, I've made a commitment to finish.* If a book is a slog at first, I optimistically figure it will get better--and many times it does, and disparate threads come together. If not, I know to avoid the author in the future and not be sucked in again by an intriguing blurb.

*This does not apply to the Russian novels assigned in high school, though I'm not dead yet and expect to pick them up again ... eventually.

Apache · 04-28-2018, 02:15 PM

I used to finish all books when I was younger (except The Scarlet Letter).

Now if a book is not to my liking I will abandon it. To many good ones out there to waste on badly written books.
Apache

orlok · 04-28-2018, 06:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apache

I used to finish all books when I was younger (except The Scarlet Letter).

Now if a book is not to my liking I will abandon it. To many good ones out there to waste on badly written books.
Apache

My thoughts exactly.

CRussel · 04-28-2018, 06:56 PM

Well, if this keeps up, I'm going to go WAY over my stretch goal even. I'm now on track to read well over 200 books this year. I don't actually think it will hold, and it does include a couple of "Abandoned" books, though they actually tend to lower my overall rate, since they usually have me looking for something, ANYTHING to do instead of read them, and it always takes me a while to realize I really don't want to bother. Today I abandoned Stephen Fry's Mythos, but devoured L.R. Wright's The Suspect.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Apache

Now if a book is not to my liking I will abandon it. To many good ones out there to waste on badly written books.

Amen. It often takes me longer than it should to give up on a book, but I no longer regret it when I do.

issybird · 04-29-2018, 08:37 AM

My 2018 challenges have been an abysmal failure. I'm ahead of the pace on my overall benchmark total, but I've done minimal reading in all of my challenge categories, which is the guts of my annual challenge. I have only myself to blame; I know it's a mistake to repeat challenges and to have too many categories and I erred in both respects.

So I'm acknowledging reality and have edited my goals to reflect what I actually seem to be pursuing this year and I'll see where it goes. Perhaps I'll come up with a goal for the second half of the year that will get me outside my usual, but I'm going to cruise for the time being.

Rumpelteazer · 04-29-2018, 06:49 PM

It wasn't a good month for my challenge. Due bronchitis I didn't read much for the last week of last month and the first week of this month. Still it could have been worse: 9 books finished, 1 book I didn't finish, and 2995 pages read. Which is almost 100 pages on average a day. This year so far I've read 12674 pages, which averages 106.5 pages a day.

I'm still behind when looking at previous years, but it seems my recent obsession with podcasts is waning a bit. Which means I've more time to read.

astrangerhere · 04-30-2018, 09:21 AM

Goals:

Total Books: 50 (stretch goal of 75) | Total Pages: 25,000 | TBR Reduction: 25 (stretch goal of 50)
Read at least 51% non-American authors | Read more female/gender-fluid authors than male | Read at least 52 short stories | Read at least 10 of the New Leaf Book Club selections | Complete a re-read of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of War and Peace

Aggregate Totals (Updated through April):

55 books - 110% of my goal (73% of stretch goal) - on target; might expand again
27 short stories - 52% of my goal - on target
16,125 pages - 64% of my goal - on target
49% female/nonbinary authors / 51% male authors - off target - Balance again improved by 1%
52% US authors (down from 60%) / 48% non-US authors (up from 40%) - off target but making gains
128 of 365 chapters of War and Peace complete - on target
TBR Reduction: Reduced by 21 - 84% of my goal (42% of stretch goal) - on target
New Leaf Book Club selections - 5 for 5 - on target

04-30-2018, 09:21 AM	#165
astrangerhere Professor of Law Posts: 3,658 Karma: 66000000 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Chapel Hill, NC Device: Kobo Elipsa, Kobo Libra H20, Kobo Aura One, KoboMini	Goals: Total Books: 50 (stretch goal of 75) \| Total Pages: 25,000 \| TBR Reduction: 25 (stretch goal of 50) Read at least 51% non-American authors \| Read more female/gender-fluid authors than male \| Read at least 52 short stories \| Read at least 10 of the New Leaf Book Club selections \| Complete a re-read of the Pevear and Volokhonsky translation of War and Peace Aggregate Totals (Updated through April): 55 books - 110% of my goal (73% of stretch goal) - on target; might expand again 27 short stories - 52% of my goal - on target 16,125 pages - 64% of my goal - on target 49% female/nonbinary authors / 51% male authors - off target - Balance again improved by 1% 52% US authors (down from 60%) / 48% non-US authors (up from 40%) - off target but making gains 128 of 365 chapters of War and Peace complete - on target TBR Reduction: Reduced by 21 - 84% of my goal (42% of stretch goal) - on target New Leaf Book Club selections - 5 for 5 - on target Last edited by astrangerhere; 06-01-2018 at 07:41 AM.

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04-28-2018, 07:00 AM	#151
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	I've just upped my challenge from 75 books to 100 (currently 43 read), as I've read a few shorts, including a number of graphic novels, and have also DNF'd more than usual, possibly because I've recently joined Kindle Unlimited. Or maybe I'm just getting to a point where I'm not willing to spend time over something I'm not particularly engaging with.

04-28-2018, 09:04 AM	#153
latepaul Wizard Posts: 1,265 Karma: 10203040 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: a variety (mostly kindles and kobos)	I've just upped my target from 45 to 80 since it's only April and I've already read 32 books. As for abandoning books, I agree it's a good thing to do, however... There's this episode of the sitcom Friends where they're throwing a ball to one another. After a while someone notices they've been doing it for a while continuously without dropping it. Then it becomes a thing they try to keep doing, with increasingly bizarre things they need to do to achieve that. I feel a bit like that about my books. At some point, without planning it, I realised that I've finished every book I started this year. So far... However I may need to let that go. Because it's now making me wary of picking up certain books because they may not be that great (or they may be but who knows before hand). I think I value being more experimental in my reading than always finishing everything. But there's still that obsessive part of me that doesn't want to let go. Historically I've usually stopped reading for days or weeks when I'm in the middle of a book I'm not loving. Even when I 'power through' and finish it it often leaves me feeling I don't want to read for a while. So I guess the key is to feel OK about stopping and pick up something else right away.

04-28-2018, 11:06 AM	#154
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	I used to never not finish a book (pardon the double neg), always battling through to the end whatever. Now I realise life's too short.

04-28-2018, 12:55 PM	#157
Catlady Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,345 Karma: 52398889 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite, AGPTek Bluetooth Clip	Books must be finished.

04-28-2018, 02:15 PM	#160
Apache Readaholic Posts: 5,149 Karma: 90000000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Location: South Georgia Device: Surface Pro 6 / Galaxy Tab A 8"	I used to finish all books when I was younger (except The Scarlet Letter). Now if a book is not to my liking I will abandon it. To many good ones out there to waste on badly written books. Apache

04-29-2018, 08:37 AM	#163
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 20,316 Karma: 223000000 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: H2O, Aura One, PW5	My 2018 challenges have been an abysmal failure. I'm ahead of the pace on my overall benchmark total, but I've done minimal reading in all of my challenge categories, which is the guts of my annual challenge. I have only myself to blame; I know it's a mistake to repeat challenges and to have too many categories and I erred in both respects. So I'm acknowledging reality and have edited my goals to reflect what I actually seem to be pursuing this year and I'll see where it goes. Perhaps I'll come up with a goal for the second half of the year that will get me outside my usual, but I'm going to cruise for the time being.

04-29-2018, 06:49 PM	#164
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,116 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	It wasn't a good month for my challenge. Due bronchitis I didn't read much for the last week of last month and the first week of this month. Still it could have been worse: 9 books finished, 1 book I didn't finish, and 2995 pages read. Which is almost 100 pages on average a day. This year so far I've read 12674 pages, which averages 106.5 pages a day. I'm still behind when looking at previous years, but it seems my recent obsession with podcasts is waning a bit. Which means I've more time to read.

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