Reading Challenge - Are you on track?

[carpetmojo]

I find myself a little bemused by this thread really.

I'm not trying to be a party pooper, but, for me, it goes against everything that reading means to me..........

What relationship the number of pages/books one reads has to the enjoyment/information/experiences to be gained from the pursuit of reading, is quite beyond me.
If I find a subject I want to find out more about, I may read 6 books over a couple of months - sometimes because they're really big (!) sometimes 'cos they cover complex issues, and need careful consideration.
On the other hand, I may hit on an author I click with, and I could race through 6 books in a couple of weeks (ie the George Martin 5, recently).

I can what is rather grandly described as speed-read if necessary, but I rarely use it if at all possible.
And I am not suggesting that my approach is any more "righteous" (!) than the target-led method.........

I suppose I look on my reading as a leisurely family meal (rather like memorable ones in France) or perhaps an Irish wake - where the end is relatively irrelevant, but the company and the getting there is all-important !

Of course, it may be a hang-over from childhood, when I was always told/nagged "don't rush your food, you never know where the next meals coming from."

(Not desperately logical, but it fooled me, I suppose.............

[Namekuseijin]

carpetmojo, I think the purpose was to tease people into reading by estabilishing a goal. It succeded in this. I'm certainly not rushing through the books and certainly am enjoying reading much more than the prospect of getting a medal at the end of it.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Namekuseijin

carpetmojo, I think the purpose was to tease people into reading by estabilishing a goal. It succeded in this. I'm certainly not rushing through the books and certainly am enjoying reading much more than the prospect of getting a medal at the end of it.

You are exactly right. The challenge is to encourage reading! It is so easy to be distracted by other things, and to forget one of the basic joys in life...a good book.
When I was younger I read all of the time. I read to escape, I read to pass the time, I read to be alone, I read to have a friend, and sometimes I actually read for knowledge. I could check out 10 books and actually have them all read in the allotted 2 week period....but for me, that is practically unheard of now. So I joined the challenge (and the book clubs) to get back to reading, and I'm tracking what I've read just to see how I'm doing.

[orlok]

to everything you just said

[Hellmark]

Right now, I'm only a quarter of the way through. Partially it is me, because the books I picked to read are like a 1000 pages each (The Lord of the Rings books are the shortest on my TBR list right now), part of it is because haven't had as much opportunity to read (Normally fulltime work and fulltime student hasn't caused big limitations on my reading, but between moving, and having mandatory overtime (11 hour days, and they're even forcing us in on the weekends, yay!). Usually the books I read are in the 300 page range, which last year read 160. I think I'll be able to pick up and get back on track. Years only half over.

[pdurrant]

I've finished 109 books so far this year. I read about 160 in 2010, and it looks like I'm on track for 200 this year.

If I keep this rate up, I'll be getting to the end of my TBR pile mid-2013! Well, if I don't buy any more books before then, and that seems most unlikely....

[carpetmojo]

'ang on, 'ang on - I didn't realise there was a medal at the end of it.

Plinky, plonky, discordant tinkle of ivory keys......

[ Me possibly changing my toon......? ]

[rdfry]

I like these kinds of challenges they are fun and help me keep track of what I have read. i have always been a consistent reader, but until getting an ereader never kept track of the books I have read.

[shanghaichica]

No as I've only read 36 books so far, so it's unlikely that I'll reach 100. However I will make my secondary goal which is to read more books than I read last year (49).

[Rumpelteazer]

I've almost finished my 71st book of the year, so I'm 20/21 books ahead of schedule. However, I know that in November and December I won't be able to read as much since those are the two busiest months of the year and I'll help out in the store more often. I've read several short(er) stories but since I also read several 600-800 page books I figured the length of the average book I read is still well over 150 pages long.

Although I've set 100 as my goal I was more interested to see how many books I would read in a year. I figured my average is about 2 books a week, a bit more in summer and less in winter so a 100 book goal seemed reasonable.

[Aladyleyna]

-hides- Compared to all the lofty goals set by everyone else, I feel like a kid. My goal this year is to read 12 new books (1 new book per month; does not count re-reading books in my collection). However, I think I've overshot my goal. By this time I've read at least fifteen or more books, I lost track after that.

I always forget to count the books I've read.

So yeah, I guess I've overshot my goal.

[SensualPoet]

My other goal -- apart from about 1 book a week -- is to post a review of each book. By review I mean a paragraph or two that sums up the story and my impressions. Most of these I have posted here in Reading Recommendations or over at Goodreads. These "reviews" are generally nothing elaborate but a bit more than "I loved it" -- enough to give a flavour to someone else to pique their interest.

[mayoi]

Not even close for me, but better than in years past.

[GraceKrispy]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

My other goal -- apart from about 1 book a week -- is to post a review of each book.

I think I would have read more by now had I not been posting a review for every book as well My reviews are several paragraphs, in general.

[sabredog]

Read 52 so far and a third of the way through the 53rd. I reckon I am on track currently.