The 2015 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread - Page 15

Hampshire Nanny · 03-20-2015, 07:47 PM

For March, I'm focusing on reading down the TBR backlog a little bit. I have thousands of unread printed and electronic books, so I'll only make a small dent in it during this month. So this month I'm not getting any books from the library, not buying any new books, and not taking any new review/ARC copies. And, I'm trying to make sure that I emphasize the books I paid good money for -- not the freebies.

Tarana · 03-20-2015, 09:24 PM

Hampshire Nanny, I get that. It's so easy to be distracted. I have too many ereaders and Ipods - so it's pretty easy to get distracted. The thing is, in the 'old days', I had a hard time finding authors whose books I wanted to read. With ebooks, shoot, there are SO MANY choices and they are so easily obtainable that it's like being in a candy store. It's also easier to get info ON good books - you just have to find a good source for your genre.

It's also easy to get distracted by freebees. I've abandoned my 5th book of the year and it's only March. This one was a freebee. I've decided to just trash anything that is in certain genres in my freebee library. The problem is that it's sometimes difficult to tell if the book is junk or backlist from a good writer that I don't know yet. At least this time, I only wasted 2 hours.

Luffy · 03-21-2015, 04:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tarana

Luffy, you can also reset your challenge goal at Goodreads. I suggest doing so. Keep in mind that many people only read 30 minutes to an hour a day. For many years, I only read during my commute (bus/train). Don't beat yourself up over it.

Thanks for your thoughtfulness. I've got used to reading little and it's something over which I'll have no regrets. I've taken your advice and updated my reading challenge.

Stephjk · 03-23-2015, 03:29 PM

At last! I've finally finished GoT.

I'm a little behind on this year's challenge already but, hopefully, now that I've got through GoT I can start to catch up again by reading books I enjoy!

WT Sharpe · 03-23-2015, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stephjk

At last! I've finally finished GoT.

I'm a little behind on this year's challenge already but, hopefully, now that I've got through GoT I can start to catch up again by reading books I enjoy!

I had a GoT once, but my wife said it made me look too much like the Devil, so I shaved it off. Now all I have is a mustache.

I haven't really challenged myself this year, but so far I have 14 books under my belt for 2015.

CRussel · 03-27-2015, 01:01 PM

Well, at this pace, I'll probably make my main goal of 120 books this year, but no way will I make the stretch goal. I've been managing to read audio books, but finding it increasingly hard to find time to read eBooks. Hopefully when the current project is finished, I'll both have more time, and more interest, in reading.

WT Sharpe · 03-27-2015, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

...I haven't really challenged myself this year, but so far I have 14 books under my belt for 2015.

I must not have been paying attention when I wrote that. I had more than 14. At the moment, the count stands at 20 for the year, or what pdurrant would call a slow evening of reading.

CRussel · 03-27-2015, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WT Sharpe

I must not have been paying attention when I wrote that. I had more than 14. At the moment, the count stands at 20 for the year, or what pdurrant would call a slow evening of reading.

ROFLU. Indeed. But still, reasonable for as much as you've been up to this year. I'm lagging a bit behind what I'd really hoped, and not "feeling the love" with a whole lot of books in my TBR. But still looking forward to a couple that are on their way (the new Foreigner, due out in 2 weeks, for one.)

Hampshire Nanny · 03-27-2015, 02:59 PM

Due to an increase in business travel and a couple of long-distance road trips, I'm slightly ahead of "schedule" to meet my base goal of reading 200 books. (Currently at 47 books and closing in on #48.) When March is over and I'm no longer participating in the TBR Challenge, I'll be free to concentrate on several of the secondary challenges I've taken on such as finishing the Cadfael and Kris Longknife series.

PandathePanda · 03-27-2015, 03:23 PM

Recently "caught up" with my reading challenge. But I did "cheat" a bit, read a few Tor.com Originals (the short ones).

HomeInMyShoes · 03-27-2015, 03:49 PM

Thirty-one so far. Cruising nicely along. I finished my second sub-challenge with read number five for second chance authors.

Spring and summer are definitely going to slow my pace a lot though. So much work to do on the house and yard this year. I'm looking forward to the work though.

sakura-panda · 03-27-2015, 04:31 PM

I am about 4 books behind, according to Goodreads. I'm also "reading" seven books at once, so I expect that at some point I will finish several close together and get caught up again. (Two audiobooks, one book I've read before, three time-fillers, and the one "real" book that I read when I'm reading intentionally.)

My husband bought me a subscription to Next Issue (he's in the trial period; "bought" will come in the future). It's one of those subscriptions where you get the latest issue of an assortment of magazines each month for a flat rate. I've been reading The New Yorker, in place of one of my time-fillers, so I might end up falling *way* behind if I decide to keep up with it.

pdurrant · 03-29-2015, 10:23 AM

At 59 books read so far this year, and I expect that will rise to 60 by the end of today.
Of course, that does include 4 books that I abandoned early on.

Having at least an hour reading during my daily commute helps, of course.

jbcohen · 03-30-2015, 11:46 AM

I have a rule the book needs to be at least 3/4s read to count in my yearly page count. I have about two that I abandoned this year, a lot more than that last year. This year since I have Kindle Unlimited there is no penalty for starting a book that I don't like, since I get the books per month not per book. I have a similar length commute to you pdurrant, also an hour, eventhough I shortened it considerably a few years ago when I moved my wife from the outer suburbs to the middle burbs. I would still like to get it down a bit further but that does not look like its in the cards, since my wife and I fell in love with our current home, of sixteen years so far.

42% off my challenge taken care of, so I guess I am good since we are only 25% of the way through the year.

Interesting service this next issue is, however I use a kindle and that service does not include Kindles. New Yorker is an interesting magazine, since I live in the Nations Capital not the big apple that is of little interest. I also tend towards intellectual magazines such as National Affairs who's current issue is about race issues.

PandathePanda · 03-30-2015, 02:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PandathePanda

Recently "caught up" with my reading challenge. But I did "cheat" a bit, read a few Tor.com Originals (the short ones).

Just when you think you can "relax" you end up with three books that "lands on your lap" and you have to read them all quickly (Early Reviewers copies) and they aren't small books

03-30-2015, 11:46 AM	#224
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,032 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Where am I? Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature edition and a Samsung S24 Ultra	I have a rule the book needs to be at least 3/4s read to count in my yearly page count. I have about two that I abandoned this year, a lot more than that last year. This year since I have Kindle Unlimited there is no penalty for starting a book that I don't like, since I get the books per month not per book. I have a similar length commute to you pdurrant, also an hour, eventhough I shortened it considerably a few years ago when I moved my wife from the outer suburbs to the middle burbs. I would still like to get it down a bit further but that does not look like its in the cards, since my wife and I fell in love with our current home, of sixteen years so far. 42% off my challenge taken care of, so I guess I am good since we are only 25% of the way through the year. Interesting service this next issue is, however I use a kindle and that service does not include Kindles. New Yorker is an interesting magazine, since I live in the Nations Capital not the big apple that is of little interest. I also tend towards intellectual magazines such as National Affairs who's current issue is about race issues. Last edited by jbcohen; 03-30-2015 at 11:54 AM.

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03-20-2015, 07:47 PM	#211
Hampshire Nanny Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 8064562 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505, Kindle 3 KB, iPad2	For March, I'm focusing on reading down the TBR backlog a little bit. I have thousands of unread printed and electronic books, so I'll only make a small dent in it during this month. So this month I'm not getting any books from the library, not buying any new books, and not taking any new review/ARC copies. And, I'm trying to make sure that I emphasize the books I paid good money for -- not the freebies.

03-20-2015, 09:24 PM	#212
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,040 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Hampshire Nanny, I get that. It's so easy to be distracted. I have too many ereaders and Ipods - so it's pretty easy to get distracted. The thing is, in the 'old days', I had a hard time finding authors whose books I wanted to read. With ebooks, shoot, there are SO MANY choices and they are so easily obtainable that it's like being in a candy store. It's also easier to get info ON good books - you just have to find a good source for your genre. It's also easy to get distracted by freebees. I've abandoned my 5th book of the year and it's only March. This one was a freebee. I've decided to just trash anything that is in certain genres in my freebee library. The problem is that it's sometimes difficult to tell if the book is junk or backlist from a good writer that I don't know yet. At least this time, I only wasted 2 hours.

03-23-2015, 03:29 PM	#214
Stephjk Cruiser Posts: 525 Karma: 1157886 Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: on a small yacht! Device: kobo glo, samsung galaxy tab note	At last! I've finally finished GoT. I'm a little behind on this year's challenge already but, hopefully, now that I've got through GoT I can start to catch up again by reading books I enjoy!

03-27-2015, 01:01 PM	#216
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,296 Karma: 80074820 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), iPad Air M3	Well, at this pace, I'll probably make my main goal of 120 books this year, but no way will I make the stretch goal. I've been managing to read audio books, but finding it increasingly hard to find time to read eBooks. Hopefully when the current project is finished, I'll both have more time, and more interest, in reading.

03-27-2015, 02:59 PM	#219
Hampshire Nanny Guru Posts: 615 Karma: 8064562 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS-505, Kindle 3 KB, iPad2	Due to an increase in business travel and a couple of long-distance road trips, I'm slightly ahead of "schedule" to meet my base goal of reading 200 books. (Currently at 47 books and closing in on #48.) When March is over and I'm no longer participating in the TBR Challenge, I'll be free to concentrate on several of the secondary challenges I've taken on such as finishing the Cadfael and Kris Longknife series.

03-27-2015, 03:23 PM	#220
PandathePanda a toy panda Posts: 2,568 Karma: 26020474 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Onboard the Queen Anne's Revenge Device: Various Android dvices	Recently "caught up" with my reading challenge. But I did "cheat" a bit, read a few Tor.com Originals (the short ones).

03-27-2015, 03:49 PM	#221
HomeInMyShoes Grand Sorcerer Posts: 19,226 Karma: 67780237 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: none	Thirty-one so far. Cruising nicely along. I finished my second sub-challenge with read number five for second chance authors. Spring and summer are definitely going to slow my pace a lot though. So much work to do on the house and yard this year. I'm looking forward to the work though.

03-27-2015, 04:31 PM	#222
sakura-panda Guru Posts: 935 Karma: 9558874 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southeast Michigan, USA Device: Kindle Oasis; 11" iPad Pro (Books, Kindle, Kobo, MapleRead SE)	I am about 4 books behind, according to Goodreads. I'm also "reading" seven books at once, so I expect that at some point I will finish several close together and get caught up again. (Two audiobooks, one book I've read before, three time-fillers, and the one "real" book that I read when I'm reading intentionally.) My husband bought me a subscription to Next Issue (he's in the trial period; "bought" will come in the future). It's one of those subscriptions where you get the latest issue of an assortment of magazines each month for a flat rate. I've been reading The New Yorker, in place of one of my time-fillers, so I might end up falling way behind if I decide to keep up with it.

03-29-2015, 10:23 AM	#223
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,036 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	At 59 books read so far this year, and I expect that will rise to 60 by the end of today. Of course, that does include 4 books that I abandoned early on. Having at least an hour reading during my daily commute helps, of course.

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