The 2019 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread - Page 10

CharredScribe · 10-07-2019, 03:06 AM

Ok things are looking up. Since I posted in mid-September (when I had read 18 of my 50 books that I set as a goal), I have read another ten books and am about to finish my 11th. I might not reach my goal this year but I am reading more, and liking it. I haven't been adventurous with my reading at all, and I've also read a few doozies I regret trying to finish - they were rubbish. Here's hoping the rest of the year is a bit better

Timboli · 10-13-2019, 06:06 AM

In a very real sense, I don't have a TBR list, though I have a goal of reading one to two books a week.

My obtainment of books (99% ebooks) is still far larger than the amount I read, though most of those are freebies by way of BookBub from Amazon and Kobo, and I don't feel I need to read all of them, despite being very selective over what I do grab for free.

I can say though, that currently the number of books I actually pay something for, is less than the number I have been reading, but probably not by much ... but hard to judge, because it happens in fits and starts ... a lot of that to do with price, pre-orders and so on. While I mostly seem to be purchasing pre-orders now, the odd ebook slips past my notice ... especially as I only do a round of checking on my favorite authors when it occurs to me, and only for those that I recall off the top of my head.

Personally, I don't feel I have to read every book I have. It is more a case of feeling like I have my own well stocked library at my service, where I can pick whatever according to mood, while also loosely following a to-read plan. Now and then I will try a new author, but having a huge backlog of authors I know I love, doesn't encourage that much, so very much a whim based on whatever. That last happened not long ago, with J. Robert Kennedy. I already had one of his ebooks as a BookBub freebie, but saw another in passing that interested me enough to pay the small asking price of about $1. That was book 4 in one of his series, and the freebie I had was book 1, so I read book 1 first, then enjoyed it enough to purchase books 2 & 3 as a very cheap trilogy boxset, which also included book 1, so then I had two copies of that. I then read books 2, 3 and 4 - so finally reading the one that had inspired me most to get. I enjoyed them enough to purchase even more of his ebooks, though only the cheaper ones at this point ... not that the others are expensive ... I just want to read a few more first, and then review my feelings, as there are elements that make me worry over potential sameness to stories, plus some religious/race/political overtones, that might get out of hand. I read for entertainment mostly, and the 4th book seemed to get a bit preachy in those areas.

Just recently I felt like a change of pace, from the intensive ones I have mostly been reading lately, so I ended up reading 3 books in Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies Detective series. While they don't shy away from the bad behavior of some people, they are very much a good feel light read, with philosophical overtones, mystery and humor ... where the focus is often on trying to see the good in others and coping with inevitable chance happenings. After that break, I have now returned to the darker world of murder & mystery.

Wearever · 10-16-2019, 06:49 PM

I just met my goal of 52 books read this year. I guess I will be a little over that for the year.

pdurrant · 10-17-2019, 03:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wearever

I just met my goal of 52 books read this year. I guess I will be a little over that for the year.

Congratulations!

astrangerhere · 10-17-2019, 08:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wearever

I just met my goal of 52 books read this year. I guess I will be a little over that for the year.

Well done!

I have surpassed my Goodreads goal, but am still working on my personal goals. I am creeping up on 70 books, but my page total is not where I want it yet.

Timboli · 10-17-2019, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wearever

I just met my goal of 52 books read this year. I guess I will be a little over that for the year.

Excellent.

I was hoping to read at least 60, but around 70+ was what I have been aiming for, which I am currently looking good at meeting.

I've caught up with or got up to speed with a few reading ambitions this year, and I have already started listing next years in my head.

Something new, something old, and maybe something borrowed. Usually the something borrowed will be from my kids, maybe even my wife.

Currently I am reading something borrowed from my youngest son, the first book in The Witcher series.

Wearever · 10-17-2019, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

Congratulations!

Thank you

Wearever · 10-17-2019, 05:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

Well done!

I have surpassed my Goodreads goal, but am still working on my personal goals. I am creeping up on 70 books, but my page total is not where I want it yet.

Thanks for the inspiration by surpassing your goodreads goals as well.

Wearever · 10-17-2019, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Timboli

Excellent.

I was hoping to read at least 60, but around 70+ was what I have been aiming for, which I am currently looking good at meeting.

I've caught up with or got up to speed with a few reading ambitions this year, and I have already started listing next years in my head.

Something new, something old, and maybe something borrowed. Usually the something borrowed will be from my kids, maybe even my wife.

Currently I am reading something borrowed from my youngest son, the first book in The Witcher series.

Those sound like fun goals !

I should try something like that too.

jbcohen · 11-08-2019, 08:04 AM

Glad to see that so many of us have met or passed there goal line, with a little under two months to go in the year I am having a bad year. I am making a push to get past the one hundred book mark, something I typically do all the time, except this year I am having a lot of trouble. I do not expect to hit the goal lines this year and should move them in, something I have trouble doing.

I am also trying to move more into espionage and anti-terrorist novels away from my typical Harry Potter like books. Something that I have succeed in doing this year.

Hopefully 2020 will be a better literary year for me that 2019 was not.

pdurrant · 12-06-2019, 03:38 AM

I hope everyone's still enjoying this year's challenge.

I have actually got my TBR below 1000! I'm very pleased. I just have to make the same sort of progress next year, too.

pdurrant · 12-06-2019, 04:02 AM

The 2020 list thread is up!

Go and sign up now for 2020!

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=325392

(The discussion thread is also open)

Wearever · 12-06-2019, 08:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I hope everyone's still enjoying this year's challenge.

I have actually got my TBR below 1000! I'm very pleased. I just have to make the same sort of progress next year, too.

That's quite an accomplishment pdurrant ! Well done !

Byrdie · 12-07-2019, 01:35 PM

My 2019 reading goals were:

75 books -- 76 done and I'm ahead of schedule so I guess I'll have leftovers.

5 nonfiction books -- unfortunately I only managed 3. Hopefully I'll get the one I've been working thru done before New Year's, if not I'll have to add it to the 2020 challenge.

3 books outside my usual preferences (aka "read something different") -- done. Actually read more than 3 but not in the categories I thought I'd try, like sports & politics. I still can't go there, especially with the latter and the former bores me stupid.

Read more Lesbian novels -- done. Still nowhere near the amount of M/M books I devour but hey, that's 5 more than last year so I'm pleased with that. And there are more in my TBR list for 2020.

Series reading -- as in, finish off at least 1 from the heap on my Kobo -- done! I am all caught up on Jon's Mysteries by A.J. Sherwood, the Holmes & Moriarity series by Josh Lanyon, and the Plumber's Mate mysteries to name a few. Very satisfied with my progress there.

My minor goals of more poetry, comics, and a trashy M/F romance of the type I haven't read since I was in junior high have yet to be met. Perhaps next year? :crosses fingers:

Overall, I am pleased with my accomplishments in 2019 and already planning for the 2020 challenge.

CRussel · 12-16-2019, 01:09 PM

Just a note in here to say that I've effectively abandoned any attempt to keep my tracking up to date here. The last 7 months have not really allowed me to focus on anything but "life", and while I've certainly read as much (or more) than other years, the vast majority of it has been comfort re-reads. As for buying new books? Well, THAT is pretty much precluded by said life, but fortunately my libraries have picked up the slack.

10-13-2019, 06:06 AM	#137
Timboli Fanatic Posts: 573 Karma: 2092844 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: AUS Device: Kindles & Samsung Tablet	In a very real sense, I don't have a TBR list, though I have a goal of reading one to two books a week. My obtainment of books (99% ebooks) is still far larger than the amount I read, though most of those are freebies by way of BookBub from Amazon and Kobo, and I don't feel I need to read all of them, despite being very selective over what I do grab for free. I can say though, that currently the number of books I actually pay something for, is less than the number I have been reading, but probably not by much ... but hard to judge, because it happens in fits and starts ... a lot of that to do with price, pre-orders and so on. While I mostly seem to be purchasing pre-orders now, the odd ebook slips past my notice ... especially as I only do a round of checking on my favorite authors when it occurs to me, and only for those that I recall off the top of my head. Personally, I don't feel I have to read every book I have. It is more a case of feeling like I have my own well stocked library at my service, where I can pick whatever according to mood, while also loosely following a to-read plan. Now and then I will try a new author, but having a huge backlog of authors I know I love, doesn't encourage that much, so very much a whim based on whatever. That last happened not long ago, with J. Robert Kennedy. I already had one of his ebooks as a BookBub freebie, but saw another in passing that interested me enough to pay the small asking price of about $1. That was book 4 in one of his series, and the freebie I had was book 1, so I read book 1 first, then enjoyed it enough to purchase books 2 & 3 as a very cheap trilogy boxset, which also included book 1, so then I had two copies of that. I then read books 2, 3 and 4 - so finally reading the one that had inspired me most to get. I enjoyed them enough to purchase even more of his ebooks, though only the cheaper ones at this point ... not that the others are expensive ... I just want to read a few more first, and then review my feelings, as there are elements that make me worry over potential sameness to stories, plus some religious/race/political overtones, that might get out of hand. I read for entertainment mostly, and the 4th book seemed to get a bit preachy in those areas. Just recently I felt like a change of pace, from the intensive ones I have mostly been reading lately, so I ended up reading 3 books in Alexander McCall Smith's No.1 Ladies Detective series. While they don't shy away from the bad behavior of some people, they are very much a good feel light read, with philosophical overtones, mystery and humor ... where the focus is often on trying to see the good in others and coping with inevitable chance happenings. After that break, I have now returned to the darker world of murder & mystery. Last edited by Timboli; 10-13-2019 at 06:29 AM.

12-07-2019, 01:35 PM	#149
Byrdie Walking Library Posts: 234 Karma: 3869938 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Canada Device: Kobo Libra H20, Kindle Paperwhite 5, 16 gb version	My 2019 reading goals were: 75 books -- 76 done and I'm ahead of schedule so I guess I'll have leftovers. 5 nonfiction books -- unfortunately I only managed 3. Hopefully I'll get the one I've been working thru done before New Year's, if not I'll have to add it to the 2020 challenge. 3 books outside my usual preferences (aka "read something different") -- done. Actually read more than 3 but not in the categories I thought I'd try, like sports & politics. I still can't go there, especially with the latter and the former bores me stupid. Read more Lesbian novels -- done. Still nowhere near the amount of M/M books I devour but hey, that's 5 more than last year so I'm pleased with that. And there are more in my TBR list for 2020. Series reading -- as in, finish off at least 1 from the heap on my Kobo -- done! I am all caught up on Jon's Mysteries by A.J. Sherwood, the Holmes & Moriarity series by Josh Lanyon, and the Plumber's Mate mysteries to name a few. Very satisfied with my progress there. My minor goals of more poetry, comics, and a trashy M/F romance of the type I haven't read since I was in junior high have yet to be met. Perhaps next year? :crosses fingers: Overall, I am pleased with my accomplishments in 2019 and already planning for the 2020 challenge. Last edited by Byrdie; 12-07-2019 at 01:36 PM. Reason: mixed up a date

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10-07-2019, 03:06 AM	#136
CharredScribe Addict Posts: 266 Karma: 959704 Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: South Africa Device: Kobo Aura HD, Aura ONE	Ok things are looking up. Since I posted in mid-September (when I had read 18 of my 50 books that I set as a goal), I have read another ten books and am about to finish my 11th. I might not reach my goal this year but I am reading more, and liking it. I haven't been adventurous with my reading at all, and I've also read a few doozies I regret trying to finish - they were rubbish. Here's hoping the rest of the year is a bit better

10-16-2019, 06:49 PM	#138
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 just met my goal of 52 books read this year. I guess I will be a little over that for the year.

11-08-2019, 08:04 AM	#145
jbcohen Wizard Posts: 3,025 Karma: 11196738 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Piper College Device: Samsung A21	Glad to see that so many of us have met or passed there goal line, with a little under two months to go in the year I am having a bad year. I am making a push to get past the one hundred book mark, something I typically do all the time, except this year I am having a lot of trouble. I do not expect to hit the goal lines this year and should move them in, something I have trouble doing. I am also trying to move more into espionage and anti-terrorist novels away from my typical Harry Potter like books. Something that I have succeed in doing this year. Hopefully 2020 will be a better literary year for me that 2019 was not.

12-06-2019, 03:38 AM	#146
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,511 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	I hope everyone's still enjoying this year's challenge. I have actually got my TBR below 1000! I'm very pleased. I just have to make the same sort of progress next year, too.

12-06-2019, 04:02 AM	#147
pdurrant The Grand Mouse 高貴的老鼠 Posts: 71,511 Karma: 306214458 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Norfolk, England Device: Kindle Voyage	The 2020 list thread is up! Go and sign up now for 2020! https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sh...d.php?t=325392 (The discussion thread is also open)

12-16-2019, 01:09 PM	#150
CRussel (he/him/his) Posts: 12,161 Karma: 79742714 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Sunshine Coast, BC Device: Oasis (Gen3),Paperwhite (Gen10), Voyage, Paperwhite(orig), Fire HD 8	Just a note in here to say that I've effectively abandoned any attempt to keep my tracking up to date here. The last 7 months have not really allowed me to focus on anything but "life", and while I've certainly read as much (or more) than other years, the vast majority of it has been comfort re-reads. As for buying new books? Well, THAT is pretty much precluded by said life, but fortunately my libraries have picked up the slack.