The 2012 Annual Reading Challenge - Discussion Thread!

[Dazrin]

Does Marion Zimmer Bradley count as both B and Z?

It is a good thing I am not doing that challenge, I am missing 16 letters. I don't track publication years, so I don't know how I am doing there, but doubt it is good. I did better last year though with only 8 missing letters.

I am on track and even a bit ahead for my goal, so that is good, although I didn't get any reading done over the long weekend. Oh well, I guess that is why I wanted to get ahead. To allow for the times when I know I won't get much done.

[HomeInMyShoes]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

Q selection and W?

I'm finished reading Paul Quarrington's Whale Music for an author with a last name beginning with Q. I just have an author with a last name beginning with W to go.

Originally Posted by DrNefario

For a bit of fun, I tried plugging my year's books into a spreadsheet for the decades and letters, to see how I was doing. On the years, not bad at all. I'm missing the 1900s, 1930s, 1980s and 1990s. The latter two will undoubtedly happen naturally - I'm in the middle of an 80s book already - but the 1900s and 1930s might need a bit more work.

The letters of the alphabet is a bit more problematic, though. I'm still missing more than half of the alphabet, and there just isn't enough choice for some letters. Particularly X and Q. (I'm actually okay with Z - I have a Roger Zelazny in my in-tray, and might already have read a short by Timothy Zahn.) I doubt I will specifically pursue either target, but I am considering publishing my own book under a pen-name beginning wih X.

I do admit that some letters were difficult to find, but it did make me find some interesting things.
X - Xingjian, Gao Soul Mountain
Q - Quarrington, Paul Whale Music
1900s - London, Jack The Call of the Wild
1930s - Huxley, Aldous Brave New World

Originally Posted by Dazrin

Does Marion Zimmer Bradley count as both B and Z?

It is a good thing I am not doing that challenge, I am missing 16 letters. I don't track publication years, so I don't know how I am doing there, but doubt it is good. I did better last year though with only 8 missing letters.

Lol. I'd file it under Z since it's a pseudo-hyphenated last name, born as Zimmer, but then that would be open to interpretation for some. Publication years are a cinch with Goodreads since you can look at your stats and gauage the spread a bit.

I choose my challenges to get me reading more variety. It's worked pretty well. Sure, I did read four Terry Pratchett titles this year, but I've read nineteen authors this year that I had never read before.

[DrNefario]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I do admit that some letters were difficult to find, but it did make me find some interesting things.
X - Xingjian, Gao Soul Mountain
Q - Quarrington, Paul Whale Music
1900s - London, Jack The Call of the Wild
1930s - Huxley, Aldous Brave New World

I'm a bit uncertain about transliterated Chinese names, because the transliteration schemes seem open to change. See Mao Zedong/Tse-tung.

And then there's Xenophon, who apparently only has the one name, so does it count as a surname?

I went so far as to look in my local phone directory to see if there were any English/European surnames beginning with X. There were only three Xs, all Chinese, two of whom seemed to be the same person with a slightly different spelling.

I guess if I'm close enough when we approach the end of the year I might go for it.

[HomeInMyShoes]

It wasn't easy and it's open to interpretation, yes X may or may not be accurate, I can only go with what I find. It's Xingjian on the Nobel Prize site for whatever that is worth. Mileage may vary and it may not be accurate, but there's not a lot of options when you peruse the bookstore alphabetically.

It is what it is and I can only go with what I can find. I've got a plan for next year which is a bit easier, but longer.

Oh oh, I might be in trouble, I just say a news item saying my library may be having service disruptions due to an on-going labour dispute and potential strike.

[Dazrin]

Originally Posted by HomeInMyShoes

I choose my challenges to get me reading more variety. It's worked pretty well. Sure, I did read four Terry Pratchett titles this year, but I've read nineteen authors this year that I had never read before.

Just having an e-reader has done this for me which has been great. I have read books or short stories from 62 different authors since I got my Kindle (December 2010), 55 of which were new to me. Several are going to be must-reads in the future.

[Nyssa]

I've just finished the last short story in More Than Honor, the first anthology written for the Honor Harrington Universe.

With that I've completed 6 out of 13 novels and 15 out of 21 short stories/novellas of the Honorverse. Besides the remaining novels and short stories there are also 4 sub-series novels left to go.

[jbcohen]

The honorverse includes some of the best sci-fi litterature ever written, in my opinion. I am waiting around with bated breath for the next in the Honor Harringtion series. However for now I think that I will take a trip back to my old favorite type of books, thrillers - more specifically terrorist and presidential thrillers. Terrorist thrillers are those books that involve terrorists of any stripe or nationality or faith and presidential thrillers are books where the US President is involved in some manner. At the moment I have a pair of free Thomas Hoover books to read and a new David Wood book. Well the David Wood books are more of the Indiana Jones type of books then either of the types that I mentioned earlier. After getting into the Tomas Hoover books a little further the action and writting is picking up quite a bit and it turns out that this is a presidential thriller not the terrorist thriller that I thought it was, since it involve the US President who at the moment is sequestered with the secretaries of state and defense. Plus it has the type of price tag that I prefer $0 as I preferr to pay less for my reading not more, which is something that most publishers seem to not understand.

[Rumpelteazer]

I'm thinking of changing my series challenge a bit. At the moment I'm not allowed to start a new series unless I've finished/am up to date with/stopped reading two series that I'm reading.

I am going to allow myself to read the first book in a new series without it counting as starting a new series. My "series waiting" list is longer than my "current series" list, there are several series on the waiting list that I'm not sure I will like enough to continue with.

Hopefully this way I can not only cut down the current series I'm reading but also my TBR series list.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by Rumpelteazer

I'm thinking of changing my series challenge a bit. At the moment I'm not allowed to start a new series unless I've finished/am up to date with/stopped reading two series that I'm reading.

I am going to allow myself to read the first book in a new series without it counting as starting a new series. My "series waiting" list is longer than my "current series" list, there are several series on the waiting list that I'm not sure I will like enough to continue with.

Hopefully this way I can not only cut down the current series I'm reading but also my TBR series list.

That sounds like a good plan! Good Luck.

[jbcohen]

You know about fictfact rumple? Its a web site that helps you keep track of books in a series.

[Rumpelteazer]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

You know about fictfact rumple? Its a web site that helps you keep track of books in a series.

Yes, I use it for my series which is much more easy than the complicated spreadsheet I used to have.

[jbcohen]

Unfortunately the thrillers that I have been reading lately don't make use of series like sci-fi books do. Oh, well perhaps I will need to chose another sci-fi author to try as I generally like books in a series where you get to know a group of characters who are developed as the series goes on.

[Nyssa]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

You know about fictfact rumple? Its a web site that helps you keep track of books in a series.

I know this was intended for Rumple, but I'd like to thank you for the reminder. I've been meaning to check this site out.

[victauria]

Originally Posted by jbcohen

You know about fictfact rumple? Its a web site that helps you keep track of books in a series.

This is BRILLIANT! It is really clever and helpful (just set up an account with several of my series).

I'd never heard of it, so thanks for recommending.

[jbcohen]

June 30th marks the half way point in 2012, frequently called the end of the second quater. Meaning that if we want to have any hope of meeting the goals that we have set we need to be approaching the half way mark. Will you be half way done in three weeks? In temrs of the number of books read there is no way I will make it, however in terms of the number of pages read I will definitely be on track.