The 2016 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread - Page 24

drjd · 08-05-2016, 12:24 PM

Month of July was not an aspiring one. I could read only seven books. Been too busy in other activities. Total books read in the subject year have reached 77, still a manageable average for my annual target of 140 books. I hope August will be more fruitful.

TBR - 1430 Ebooks, 27 Pbooks, 48 in Wish list.
Books bought this year - Ebooks 11, Pbooks 0, Freebies 25.

sakura-panda · 08-11-2016, 10:29 AM

So I've more or less reached my goal -- that is, I've matched my highest read-book-count-in-a-year since I started keeping track about seven years ago. It's unchartered territory for here on out!

I've been racing through the romance novels I bought back when I was part of a romance novel subscription service (that closed a couple of years ago) and I almost feel like I'm cheating because those books are not only shorter than what I usually read, but also often have content that I skim through, which make them quicker to read.

On the other hand, none of these books are "new" (to me or otherwise) and I could have chosen to read them in an earlier year; it's not like I'm purposely reading quicker books to get my totals up!

CRussel · 08-27-2016, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CRussel

I'm almost exactly on target for hitting my stretch goal of 150 books this year. And I'm doing fairly well at not buying new books beyond the ones I really want. But I'm really having trouble keeping my log post up to date. (And I strongly suspect I've completely missed recording a couple of readings and at least one purchase. BAD.)

I'm not sure things will improve. I definitely feel a bit powerless about this. I've tried several different things to improve my reporting, but so far none of them have really answered.

Now I'm starting to fall off that stretch goal of 150 books. And I can see that there's little chance things will improve in the near future. Life is starting to intrude in a major way. OTOH, I'm doing fairly well at not buying books I shouldn't, and that's certainly an improvement.

issybird · 08-29-2016, 07:00 PM

I was struggling to stay abreast late last spring and early summer; then emergency eye surgery six weeks ago pretty much put paid to my achieving any of my sub-goals (which are the most important to me). I haven't been allowed to read since my surgery and I still have several weeks to go.

Fortunately, I already liked audiobooks and I can probably achieve my benchmark goal of 120 books. I admit I keep an eye on length, but I'm also in the middle of the 28-hour The Romanovs, so I haven't totally abandoned my standards.

I've also tried to keep to the spirit, if not the letter, of my various challenges by listening to fictional works in the categories in question.

There's always next year, right? The problem for me is that I had already tentatively set out my 2017 goals and I've also found that repeating a goal is rarely successful for me. I think I'll just have to chalk this year up to "Stuff happens."

orlok · 08-29-2016, 07:01 PM

Sorry to hear about your eye problems, issy. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

issybird · 08-29-2016, 07:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orlok

Sorry to hear about your eye problems, issy. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

Thank you! And I don't know what I'd have done without audiobooks. I don't like television and I couldn't see it anyway, lol!

Rumpelteazer · 08-30-2016, 03:05 PM

August was a busy month and I just didn't read as much as I normally do. I read about 800 less than average. But I'm still just over a month ahead of schedule of reading 40000 pages this year. I'm also three categories ahead of schedule for my other reading challenge, so I've given myself September off on that challenge.

pdurrant · 08-31-2016, 02:24 PM

Two thirds of the way through the year, and how am I doing?

2016 Challenges:

To finish 2016 with my TBR below 700
To read my 75 unread ebooks bought before 1st July 2008
To spend no more than £20 per month on average

2. I've done. I've read them or decided that I never want to read.
3. I've failed at - £253.59 spent already this year.

1. Mt current TBR is 757. Books read this year is 140. So I should read about another 70 or so this year. From subscriptions I'll be adding at least another 15 books to my TBR this year. It seems unlikely that I make my sub-700 target. We'll see.

DrNefario · 09-01-2016, 08:27 AM

My status at the 2/3 mark:

Reduce TBR - I am 2 books ahead of my TBR, having had a bit of a wobble after a great start.

Reduce paper TBR by at least 7 - I am 6 ahead right now, and feel I am likely to achieve this target.

Sub-challenges:

1. BSFA Award - I've read 3 with a target of 6. Slipping slightly behind, and a couple of the ones I was expecting to read for other challenges have been pre-empted. Still, it's a fairly low target, so I should be OK.

2. Short Story a Day - I haven't missed a single day so far this year.

3. 50 Years of SF - This is ongoing, so I can't really fail it. I've currently read up to 1981. I sort of had in mind that I wanted to reach the end of the 80s this year, but I doubt I will make that, now.

Other challenges not listed on MR:

SF/F Series A-Z (Started last year) - 24/26 - I have X and Z left. I have a book for X, but not Z, and none of the choices for Z really call out to me, but I guess I'll manage this.

Tie-in Fiction - 5/6 - Reduced target when I got a bit fed up of it, so I'm not sure that's an unqualified success.

Reddit Fantasy Bingo (April-March) - 16/25 - Should be OK.

drjd · 09-02-2016, 06:43 AM

August was an encouraging month. I could finish 13 books and therefore I have reached on a total of 90 books in this year, against my annual target of 120 books. I hope to achieve the target well in time, leaving more room for further reading. I have been successful in reducing my TBR and to control my buyings too. I hope to cut down the TBR below 1400 by the end of year. I'm also planning to thoroughly review the TBR and kick out some books, particularly some freebies, which I am carrying over since long time and really do not feel like reading them. This exercise will help me attain a decent number of books in my TBR list.

Current statistics are :

90 books finished during the year.
TBR - 1419 Ebooks, 25 Pbooks, 46 in Wish list.
Books bought this year - Ebooks 13, Pbooks 0, Freebies 24.

CRussel · 09-14-2016, 04:32 PM

Well, it's pretty clear I'm not going to make my stretch goal this year. The work load is just too heavy. But I'm still on track, barely, to make my primary goal of 120 books read. And I've managed to only buy about 30% more books than I've read, so that's not too bad. Not great, but better than it used to be.

Fbone · 09-14-2016, 04:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

My mid-year totals:

13 books read (one more than this time last year)
TBR stands at 5605 (I didn't record what I started the year with)

5 books purchased totaling $4.65 ($500 budgeted)

Quick update.

17 books read (four less than this time last year)
TBR stands at 5813

8 books purchased totaling $6.87 (avg 86 cents)

WT Sharpe · 09-15-2016, 08:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Quick update ... books purchased totaling $6.87 (avg 86 cents)

pdurrant · 09-15-2016, 09:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fbone

Quick update.

17 books read (four less than this time last year)
TBR stands at 5813

8 books purchased totaling $6.87 (avg 86 cents)

I'm really impressed.

I'm at 175 books purchased so far this year and counting...

WT Sharpe · 09-15-2016, 09:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

...I'm at 175 books purchased so far this year and counting...

I thought you were cutting down.

08-31-2016, 02:24 PM	#353
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 74,002 Karma: 315160596 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Oasis	Two thirds of the way through the year, and how am I doing? 2016 Challenges: To finish 2016 with my TBR below 700 To read my 75 unread ebooks bought before 1st July 2008 To spend no more than £20 per month on average 2. I've done. I've read them or decided that I never want to read. 3. I've failed at - £253.59 spent already this year. 1. Mt current TBR is 757. Books read this year is 140. So I should read about another 70 or so this year. From subscriptions I'll be adding at least another 15 books to my TBR this year. It seems unlikely that I make my sub-700 target. We'll see.

09-01-2016, 08:27 AM	#354
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,206 Karma: 12029046 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	My status at the 2/3 mark: Reduce TBR - I am 2 books ahead of my TBR, having had a bit of a wobble after a great start. Reduce paper TBR by at least 7 - I am 6 ahead right now, and feel I am likely to achieve this target. Sub-challenges: 1. BSFA Award - I've read 3 with a target of 6. Slipping slightly behind, and a couple of the ones I was expecting to read for other challenges have been pre-empted. Still, it's a fairly low target, so I should be OK. 2. Short Story a Day - I haven't missed a single day so far this year. 3. 50 Years of SF - This is ongoing, so I can't really fail it. I've currently read up to 1981. I sort of had in mind that I wanted to reach the end of the 80s this year, but I doubt I will make that, now. Other challenges not listed on MR: SF/F Series A-Z (Started last year) - 24/26 - I have X and Z left. I have a book for X, but not Z, and none of the choices for Z really call out to me, but I guess I'll manage this. Tie-in Fiction - 5/6 - Reduced target when I got a bit fed up of it, so I'm not sure that's an unqualified success. Reddit Fantasy Bingo (April-March) - 16/25 - Should be OK. Last edited by DrNefario; 09-01-2016 at 08:29 AM.

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08-05-2016, 12:24 PM	#346
drjd The Couch Potato Posts: 34,509 Karma: 230999999 Join Date: Aug 2015 Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch, Archos 9, Onyx Boox C67ML Carta	Month of July was not an aspiring one. I could read only seven books. Been too busy in other activities. Total books read in the subject year have reached 77, still a manageable average for my annual target of 140 books. I hope August will be more fruitful. TBR - 1430 Ebooks, 27 Pbooks, 48 in Wish list. Books bought this year - Ebooks 11, Pbooks 0, Freebies 25.

08-11-2016, 10:29 AM	#347
sakura-panda Guru Posts: 934 Karma: 9558874 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Southeast Michigan, USA Device: Kindle Oasis; 11" iPad Pro (Books, Kindle, Kobo, MapleRead SE)	So I've more or less reached my goal -- that is, I've matched my highest read-book-count-in-a-year since I started keeping track about seven years ago. It's unchartered territory for here on out! I've been racing through the romance novels I bought back when I was part of a romance novel subscription service (that closed a couple of years ago) and I almost feel like I'm cheating because those books are not only shorter than what I usually read, but also often have content that I skim through, which make them quicker to read. On the other hand, none of these books are "new" (to me or otherwise) and I could have chosen to read them in an earlier year; it's not like I'm purposely reading quicker books to get my totals up!

08-29-2016, 07:00 PM	#349
issybird o saeclum infacetum Posts: 21,318 Karma: 234636059 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: New England Device: Mini, H2O, Glo HD, Aura One, PW4, PW5	I was struggling to stay abreast late last spring and early summer; then emergency eye surgery six weeks ago pretty much put paid to my achieving any of my sub-goals (which are the most important to me). I haven't been allowed to read since my surgery and I still have several weeks to go. Fortunately, I already liked audiobooks and I can probably achieve my benchmark goal of 120 books. I admit I keep an eye on length, but I'm also in the middle of the 28-hour The Romanovs, so I haven't totally abandoned my standards. I've also tried to keep to the spirit, if not the letter, of my various challenges by listening to fictional works in the categories in question. There's always next year, right? The problem for me is that I had already tentatively set out my 2017 goals and I've also found that repeating a goal is rarely successful for me. I think I'll just have to chalk this year up to "Stuff happens."

08-29-2016, 07:01 PM	#350
orlok Close to the Edit! Posts: 9,797 Karma: 267994408 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis, Amazon Fire 8", Kindle 6"	Sorry to hear about your eye problems, issy. Thank goodness for audiobooks!

08-30-2016, 03:05 PM	#352
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,334 Karma: 27919658 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	August was a busy month and I just didn't read as much as I normally do. I read about 800 less than average. But I'm still just over a month ahead of schedule of reading 40000 pages this year. I'm also three categories ahead of schedule for my other reading challenge, so I've given myself September off on that challenge.

09-02-2016, 06:43 AM	#355
drjd The Couch Potato Posts: 34,509 Karma: 230999999 Join Date: Aug 2015 Device: Kobo Glo, Kobo Touch, Archos 9, Onyx Boox C67ML Carta	August was an encouraging month. I could finish 13 books and therefore I have reached on a total of 90 books in this year, against my annual target of 120 books. I hope to achieve the target well in time, leaving more room for further reading. I have been successful in reducing my TBR and to control my buyings too. I hope to cut down the TBR below 1400 by the end of year. I'm also planning to thoroughly review the TBR and kick out some books, particularly some freebies, which I am carrying over since long time and really do not feel like reading them. This exercise will help me attain a decent number of books in my TBR list. Current statistics are : 90 books finished during the year. TBR - 1419 Ebooks, 25 Pbooks, 46 in Wish list. Books bought this year - Ebooks 13, Pbooks 0, Freebies 24.

09-14-2016, 04:32 PM	#356
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, it's pretty clear I'm not going to make my stretch goal this year. The work load is just too heavy. But I'm still on track, barely, to make my primary goal of 120 books read. And I've managed to only buy about 30% more books than I've read, so that's not too bad. Not great, but better than it used to be.

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