The 2019 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread - Page 6

Tarana · 03-31-2019, 12:34 PM

It's the end of March. The only goal I'm doing well on is that I've read 46 of my goal of 100 books, so nearly half at the end of the first quarter. I'll be moving on to some longer books in April.

As to TBR reduction, not going so well yet. I've added 70 books/audiobooks since the beginning of the year (some being Storybundles) and have read 28 owned books. The majority of recent purchases are audiobooks of series I'm already reading such as Diskworld. But, I'm being terribly tempted by the current Audible sale.

Now that I'm done with the 3 month Whispersync deal, I can focus more on books that I already own, so that should help knock down this year's acquisitions on the TBR provided I can stop being tempted by sales.

pdurrant · 03-31-2019, 04:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

It wouldn't have been so bad, but my reading was down this month too - only seven books read, compared to 14 in January. My time for reading in February was restricted, and looks to be even more restricted in March. I'll just have to try to be even more discerning about any purchases.

March was actually a bit better than February - nine books finished. I should have even more reading time in April, I hope.

But purchases keep coming even quicker, and they're all good buys. My TBR is now 22 higher than at the start of the year, or seven higher than at the end of February.

I have, at least, finished all my new purchases from January.

Dazrin · 03-31-2019, 05:22 PM

I finished 15 books in March which is phenomenal, my third most ever, until I note that they were mostly short stories or novellas (only 3 novel length books - all Discworld) which add up to only 1,750 pages, well below the pace I need to have in order to hit my yearly goal.

Oh well, at least I am reading something again and enjoying it.

Rumpelteazer · 03-31-2019, 05:25 PM

I've read nine books in March, which means I'm now, according to Goodreads, 5 books ahead of schedule. Page count is slightly lower than average, but I'm still about 1000 pages ahead in total this year.

This surprises me, since I've read a couple of long books this month. For April I have high hopes, extra free days and at the end of the month I'm house sitting.

On my series challenge I was less successful, I did manage to read the final book in The Void trilogy, but I only finished two other books of my active series list, and they were short. I did start a new series and read the latest release of a series I'm up to date with. So in April I'll be focusing more on my series, I'll aim to finish at least four series books.

DrNefario · 04-01-2019, 08:18 AM

March was a tricky month for me. I picked up quite a lot of freebies and loans, so the only way I could stay ahead of my TBR was to delete some old junk. It was kind of nice that I was able to go through and prune some of my old freebies, but it still feels a bit like cheating.

Wearever · 04-01-2019, 08:47 AM

I've read 6 books for March including one for my sci fi challenge. I'll pick a 1st in series book for my sci fi challenge, it worked well for my fantasy challenge last year.

Dngrsone · 04-01-2019, 10:38 AM

I've gotten to the point where I am no longer looking at the bargains emails... my TBR is too large as it is.

I think I am right on track for my reading target, and me new read to re-read ratio is pretty good.

PurpleStar · 04-01-2019, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I've gotten to the point where I am no longer looking at the bargains emails... my TBR is too large as it is.

I think I am right on track for my reading target, and me new read to re-read ratio is pretty good.

I gotta get to that point too. I have a ridiculous amount of books.

rainerm · 04-02-2019, 05:02 AM

I don't have a particular number in mind as a target, but I do aim to alternate between fiction and non-fiction whenever I read. Mostly I read two books a month; sometimes I start a third, but I don't finish it in the same month.

This March I read:

Fiction: Hanif Kureishi's short story collection titled "Love In a Blue Time." Kureishi has always been keen on the underside of London and Britain. His Britain is not a peaceful multicultural haven. It is a place wrestling with problems that we don't really associate with Britain: unemployment, vandalism, anti-immigration impulses, and more. At the same time, he also never fails to deal with the underside of the human condition. Love and living, in Kureishi's works, are not all-redemptive; they are ugly, painful, and tinged with a lot of despair. It's not a sad read, just a very truthful one.

Non-Fiction: Been reading "Introduction to Physical Anthropology" since last month. I don't buy biological determinism, and there's a lot of that in physical anthro., but the book gives me enough to speculate.

Tarana · 04-03-2019, 03:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I've gotten to the point where I am no longer looking at the bargains emails... my TBR is too large as it is.

I quit those mostly because I already spend enough from Audible sales, Storybundles, Baen Bundles and recommendations from here and Reddit that I don't need to be wasting time and money looking for bargains for mediocre authors. I think I have 5-6 years of reading already between audiobooks, ebooks and magazines.

I'm trying VERY HARD to limit my purchases until November solely on series that I'm reading/listening.

Wearever · 04-24-2019, 07:35 PM

I've read 24 books so far this year, it looks like I'll meet my challenge of 52 books if I keep up this pace. I still need a sci fi series first book for May. Once again I stayed on Earth for the most part in April. Gotta get into an interstellar sci fi or deep space this time.

Dngrsone · 04-25-2019, 02:21 PM

I'm dragging... only 26 so far.

DO you need recommendations, @Wearever?

Wearever · 04-26-2019, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

I'm dragging... only 26 so far.

DO you need recommendations, @Wearever?

I could always use recommendations Dngrsone

Still searching for a sci-fi book for May. I'm still not sure how I've only gotten to the moon so far in my challenge. The rest all took place on earth, I liked them all.

Dngrsone · 04-26-2019, 01:00 PM

The Martian is a little farther away, but still close to home.

Wearever · 04-27-2019, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dngrsone

The Martian is a little farther away, but still close to home.

Thank you Dngrsone for the Martian suggestion.

I have read it a couple years ago and loved it ! I was on the moon with Artemis this year. I'm thinking maybe Pluto ? There is potential for life on one of it's moons. A frozen moon of course. I don't mind the cold. Lol. I'll see if I can find a sci-fi book on Pluto. At least it's the last of the planets ( I still think it's a planet) in the solar system.

03-31-2019, 12:34 PM	#76
Tarana Wizard Posts: 3,982 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	It's the end of March. The only goal I'm doing well on is that I've read 46 of my goal of 100 books, so nearly half at the end of the first quarter. I'll be moving on to some longer books in April. As to TBR reduction, not going so well yet. I've added 70 books/audiobooks since the beginning of the year (some being Storybundles) and have read 28 owned books. The majority of recent purchases are audiobooks of series I'm already reading such as Diskworld. But, I'm being terribly tempted by the current Audible sale. Now that I'm done with the 3 month Whispersync deal, I can focus more on books that I already own, so that should help knock down this year's acquisitions on the TBR provided I can stop being tempted by sales. Last edited by Tarana; 03-31-2019 at 06:55 PM.

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03-31-2019, 05:22 PM	#78
Dazrin Wizard Posts: 2,631 Karma: 73864785 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: PDXish Device: Kindle Voyage, various Android devices	I finished 15 books in March which is phenomenal, my third most ever, until I note that they were mostly short stories or novellas (only 3 novel length books - all Discworld) which add up to only 1,750 pages, well below the pace I need to have in order to hit my yearly goal. Oh well, at least I am reading something again and enjoying it.

03-31-2019, 05:25 PM	#79
Rumpelteazer Grand Sorcerer Posts: 5,101 Karma: 24047426 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Utrecht, the Netherlands Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature Edition	I've read nine books in March, which means I'm now, according to Goodreads, 5 books ahead of schedule. Page count is slightly lower than average, but I'm still about 1000 pages ahead in total this year. This surprises me, since I've read a couple of long books this month. For April I have high hopes, extra free days and at the end of the month I'm house sitting. On my series challenge I was less successful, I did manage to read the final book in The Void trilogy, but I only finished two other books of my active series list, and they were short. I did start a new series and read the latest release of a series I'm up to date with. So in April I'll be focusing more on my series, I'll aim to finish at least four series books.

04-01-2019, 08:18 AM	#80
DrNefario Wizard Posts: 2,100 Karma: 11315768 Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: UK Device: Kindle, Kobo Touch, Nook SimpleTouch	March was a tricky month for me. I picked up quite a lot of freebies and loans, so the only way I could stay ahead of my TBR was to delete some old junk. It was kind of nice that I was able to go through and prune some of my old freebies, but it still feels a bit like cheating.

04-01-2019, 08:47 AM	#81
Wearever Wizard Posts: 1,063 Karma: 10944084 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: New England Device: Oasis 2,Voyage, Kindlle hdx 8.9, Ipad mini 4. Air 2	I've read 6 books for March including one for my sci fi challenge. I'll pick a 1st in series book for my sci fi challenge, it worked well for my fantasy challenge last year.

04-01-2019, 10:38 AM	#82
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	I've gotten to the point where I am no longer looking at the bargains emails... my TBR is too large as it is. I think I am right on track for my reading target, and me new read to re-read ratio is pretty good.

04-02-2019, 05:02 AM	#84
rainerm Addict Posts: 200 Karma: 200000 Join Date: Aug 2018 Device: none	I don't have a particular number in mind as a target, but I do aim to alternate between fiction and non-fiction whenever I read. Mostly I read two books a month; sometimes I start a third, but I don't finish it in the same month. This March I read: Fiction: Hanif Kureishi's short story collection titled "Love In a Blue Time." Kureishi has always been keen on the underside of London and Britain. His Britain is not a peaceful multicultural haven. It is a place wrestling with problems that we don't really associate with Britain: unemployment, vandalism, anti-immigration impulses, and more. At the same time, he also never fails to deal with the underside of the human condition. Love and living, in Kureishi's works, are not all-redemptive; they are ugly, painful, and tinged with a lot of despair. It's not a sad read, just a very truthful one. Non-Fiction: Been reading "Introduction to Physical Anthropology" since last month. I don't buy biological determinism, and there's a lot of that in physical anthro., but the book gives me enough to speculate.

04-24-2019, 07:35 PM	#86
Wearever Wizard Posts: 1,063 Karma: 10944084 Join Date: Jun 2014 Location: New England Device: Oasis 2,Voyage, Kindlle hdx 8.9, Ipad mini 4. Air 2	I've read 24 books so far this year, it looks like I'll meet my challenge of 52 books if I keep up this pace. I still need a sci fi series first book for May. Once again I stayed on Earth for the most part in April. Gotta get into an interstellar sci fi or deep space this time.

04-25-2019, 02:21 PM	#87
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	I'm dragging... only 26 so far. DO you need recommendations, @Wearever?

04-26-2019, 01:00 PM	#89
Dngrsone Almost legible Posts: 1,457 Karma: 4611110 Join Date: Dec 2013 Location: In a high desert, CA Device: Galaxy Note 9, Galaxy Tab A (2017), Likebook P78	The Martian is a little farther away, but still close to home.

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