The 2021 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

[hildea]

Thanks for the suggestion, Luffy! That reading challenge looks nice, although I wouldn't go as far as to say "unrivalled" - that's obviously a matter of taste.

I've read some of the books on that list, astrangerthere, but the ones I haven't don't look all that tempting - I'm in a mood for fluffy and fun books these days

Originally Posted by Byrdie

...for extra special credit, a heterosexual romance novel -- assuming I can find something that won't bore me silly or worse, hit my "Grrr! So stupid I wanna KILL these characters!" rage button. Which probably rules out most Harlequins, if they're anything like I remember from my early teens. Can NOT believe I read such drivel!

Heh, rereading books I loved in my teens is at times a painful exercise The romance genre has changed a lot since the seventies. If you want recommendations you only have to ask!

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by Elektron

No difference at all. The problem is, I read entirely too many eBooks on my Kobo. I've resolved to read less on it, but not entirely switching to pBooks of course.

I kind of have this goal as well. Not necessarily have to read more of books versus e-books, but I have so many of both and need to catch up on the books I own. There are some books and authors I've owned for years that I'm not sure I'll enjoy or have as keepers, so I need to start going through these for space requirements and better organization too as I read through them.

[Uncle Robin]

The anthology of Māori poetry I read was my tenth book for 2021, getting off to a good start on my 130 goal before work resumes in earnest at the end of January. It also showed me a useful way to complete my personal Five Eyes challenge while reading from VERY diverse authors. The thees addressed in the poems, and the styles used made me think that reading indigenous poetry in English from the remaining three of the Five Eyes (Aus, Can, US) will be a very informative and challenging experience, as the Māori one was.

[Luffy]

Hi Hildea. I think I was speaking for only both myself and the participants of the challenge when saying it's unrivalled.

[Uncle Robin]

Ticking another box on my Challenge list
"Something English from indigenous Africa." - Born a Crime by Trevor Noah fits nicely.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Luffy

The Popsugar challenge is unrivalled among challenges. I'm going to undertake it when I'd have retired.

It's fun to follow. I limit solely to books that I own, so it's a surprise what books I end up reading in which categories!

[Uncle Robin]

Another twofer on my Challenge list: Blandings ... and Elsewhere ticks the "short story anthology" box and EMPHATICALLY ticks the "read for fun" box.

[frailtyy]

Fumbled through a read of Command and Control by Eric Schlosser as a final piece of my run of atomic/nuclear energy books. About two-thirds of the way through, I realized I wasn't giving it the right attention and needed to restart. Hopefully going to palate cleanse with a nice fiction work and then give it another crack.

Side note, I'm getting the following error when trying to edit my reading challenge post:

The administrator has specified that you can only edit messages for 5 minutes after you have posted. This limit has expired, so you must contact the administrator to make alterations on your message.

I'm guessing this is a restriction against newer users (read as lurkers/new posters). What's the threshold for being able to edit again?

[issybird]

Originally Posted by frailtyy

I'm guessing this is a restriction against newer users (read as lurkers/new posters). What's the threshold for being able to edit again?

Probably ten. We don’t know for sure.

[frailtyy]

Originally Posted by issybird

Probably ten. We don’t know for sure.

That's not so bad. Probably shouldn't have just lurked for so long but I'll cross that eventually.

[issybird]

Oy, I’m off to a slow start, as in, I haven’t addressed my challenges at all. Mostly because I can’t tear myself away from the news. I’m just barely staying at benchmark reading level as well.

Two weeks in; if this goes on much longer I’ll be defeated for the year by the end of the month.

[Paperbackstash]

I started off strong and into easy, addictive fantasy series. My reading was heavily reduced last year for me until the end of the year, and thankfully i'm still in a reading mood that struck about Sept and has continued. The change of routine and life, while not bad (2020 had a lot of great things for me happen even if it was harsh for so many), is likely why the reading reduced. This year I'm hoping to continue strong, we'll see.

[Paperbackstash]

Originally Posted by issybird

Oy, I’m off to a slow start, as in, I haven’t addressed my challenges at all. Mostly because I can’t tear myself away from the news. I’m just barely staying at benchmark reading level as well.

Two weeks in; if this goes on much longer I’ll be defeated for the year by the end of the month.

One thing that reduced my reading a lot last year was Twitter and keeping up with the news and events on there. I think I burned out a little on it since I was on there so much, which is one reason my reading is picking up again. That stuff definitely draws you in, especially when Governments start resembling the Twilight zone.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

Oy, I’m off to a slow start, as in, I haven’t addressed my challenges at all. Mostly because I can’t tear myself away from the news. I’m just barely staying at benchmark reading level as well.

Two weeks in; if this goes on much longer I’ll be defeated for the year by the end of the month.

I'm starting off slower than last year, but I am less stressed about it because I have been reading heavier books (and yes, the news). Starting out with a Thomas Hardy and then moving to one of Madeline Albright's memoirs was never going to win me any speed races.

[Tarana]

Two weeks in, I'm doing OK. I will have no problem reaching my pages goal this month. One more book and then to pick this month's 600+ page book/audiobook. I'm 9 over my Jan 1 ebook TBR. With the exception of a Ben Bova ebook (bought on discount in honor of his recent death), the rest of those purchases are parts of series already reading. I'm break even on the audiobooks.

I have definitely been hanging out on the computer too much trying to keep up with current events, but gave myself a break yesterday (watched a used copy of the movie 2010 - love that air breaking!). Today it will be sewing all evening although whether listening to an audiobook or music has yet to be decided.