Read More This Year with the 2018 Reading Challenge

Joseph wrote: "I love the yearly reading challenge here on goodreads but I wish they could change a few aspects on how it functions. It is great they allow you to set a set amount of books but annoys me that it u..."

I agree with you. I don't want to be told I'm a book behind. That is too much pressure. I like to enjoy books on my "own" time. Everyone is different.

2017 was my first year trying the Reading Challenge and it motivated me to actually exceed my goal. This year raising the bar and looking forward to another year of Good Reads.

Do textbooks count? I have to read so many for my courses........

My goal is to read 12 books associated with the yeat or place of my birth (Wisconsin, 1949)); 12 books from my TBR stacks; 12 "free choice" for a total of 36 books for the year. I logged 38 this year, so should be doable....

In 2016 I read way over my goal, and in 2017, I was under my goal. Will set reading challenge at 100 for 2018, and see if this is doable with my life right now.

Aenea wrote: "My goal is to make this pile smaller:



And not buy any new books until it is down to 20-30 books >:]"
and maybe get to enjoy the heat put out by that radiator in the process! :) btw, you're not the only one with piles of books on the floor.

Becky wrote: "Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"

I got an..."

Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"

Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"

It came right up on my home page when I logged in.

I enjoy the gr yearly challenge. I started to read 3 books in nov.-dec. and when I finish them they will be counted to my 2018 challenge. Is it fair to count these to my challenge?

Heni wrote: "I set the bar low this year: one book a week.

And tips number three is downright true. Read what you want to read. When I'm stuck reading the books I don't like, I need two weeks to finish 300 pa..."

why read books you don't desire to read unless its something for work? That is a waste of precious reading time!!

Lisa wrote: "Do textbooks count? I have to read so many for my courses........"

I counted mine, especially since we actually covered all of the chapters in at least two of them.

Nyssa wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Do textbooks count? I have to read so many for my courses........"

I counted mine, especially since we actually covered all of the chapters in at least two of them."

OF COURSE! WhY would it not? You have to read them and the time spent reading them takes time away from the books a person really wants to read.

Bottom Billion: Even though high profile critics have pound on the book, it still remains a starling reference on value addition and a pointer to economic development, indeed some data used doesn't represent the real fact yet instrumental.

Ever since I first signed in here I've been doing the reading challenge. That first year I was here I started with 50 books, since then I've been increasing the number by ten every time I completed it. Some years I couldn't even read half of my goal but It was okay, it's not a race. This year my goal is 80 books. I'm planning on re-reading some of my favorite books so it's perfect we now have the option of recording them ;)

I would like to read at least 8 to 10 books, Classics with no. of pages ranging 250 to exceeding 500 some really good and meaningful literature in 2018.

Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"

I found mine when I click "profile" in the top right corner, and then "my year 2017 in books" on the right-hand side.

I usually read around 100 books a year, but I'm doing it with my 11yo this year, and she has set the goal to 52 to start and we'll see how we go.
I love being able to see my total building up! I reckon it would be great if we could set more individual sub-goals each year such as a goal to read an amount of non-fiction books, biographies, a page goal, a number of complete series or of a specific genre.

Sue wrote: "and maybe get to enjoy the heat put out by that radiator in the process! :) btw, you're not the only one with piles of books on the floor. "

I'm glad to hear that! :D
I started feeling like a total nerd xD

Joseph wrote: "I love the yearly reading challenge here on goodreads but I wish they could change a few aspects on how it functions. It is great they allow you to set a set amount of books but annoys me that it u..."

I didn´t like that, too.
This message always stressed me, but didn´t motivate.
Although I should be happy about every book I finish, I was more demotivate about how many books "I´m left behind".

Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"
If you go to your profile, you can see it on the right side of the page. When you click on it, it allready shows you the year 2018, but on the left above your photo there is a "see previous year" button.

Interesting comments here.
I may be the odd one out but I don't see the reading challenge as a challenge. I see it as a helpful tool to show what books I've read in that year as (in my opinion) it looks neater and is more organised than having to rifle through the 'My Books' tab.

Last year I listened to 170 books (although goal was 150). 200 this year and I could have made 171 or 172 last year but birthday and Christmas prep took over. 1 book into my challenge already with The Crown Prince's Bride as I needed to read it for NetGalley review.
Now reading book #2 of my challenge Salvation on Death Row: The Pamela Perillo Story for a blog tour.

Aenea wrote: "My goal is to make this pile smaller:



And not buy any new books until it is down to 20-30 books >:]"

Wow! Best of luck!

Lisa wrote: "Do textbooks count? I have to read so many for my courses........"

I count textbooks! I read them for personal learning sometimes and they take time just like any other book :)

Ueeh for content people!

I can't handle the GoodReads challenge without stress. When I come online and it says "You've behind your shedule!" it doesn't matter if I know that there is a long time to go yet, it sets me on edge. I started to leave it blank and only fil it in the last days of december...

Katherine wrote: "Wow! Best of luck!"

Thank you! I'm down to 88 ^^ (from around 120...)
Good Luck with your challenge too! :)

Heni wrote: "When I'm stuck reading the books I don't like, I need two weeks to finish 300 pages. But when it comes to my favorite, I only spend two days to finish 600 pages. So, there is that.
"

So true. When it takes you a week or two to slog through a short book, you know it's bad! But I will whip through Stephen King's Needful Things (a favourite of mine), 700+ pages, in a matter of days.

Joanne - is from Canada wrote: "I like to set my goal to a number I know I can achieve fairly easily, so that I can read long 1000 pages books every once in awhile without worrying about falling behind."

Same. I don't set a really high goal, because I want to complete it. Instead, I set an achievable goal (which for me is 20 to 25 books), and increase it if I am doing really well that year.

Rose wrote: "I would like it better if the challenge was not in number of books, but number of pages.
I have read half as many books in 2017 than in 2016, but more than twice as many pages.
I does not seem fair..."

They should have a "pages read" challenge as well!

Jasmine wrote: "Heni wrote: "When I'm stuck reading the books I don't like, I need two weeks to finish 300 pages. But when it comes to my favorite, I only spend two days to finish 600 pages. So, there is that.
"
..."

OMG, you are the only other person I have met so far who lists Needful Things as one of your favorite King novels. I also loved The Dark Half.

It's not just one of my favourite Stephen King novels, but one of my favourite books ever. I just love it. I re-read it every few years.

This year, I am not sure I can read as many books as I did this year (I set my goal to 25, read 30), as I will be travelling, and there are some longer books I want to read. So I will set my goal to 20, and hopefully I can complete that. I will increase my goal if it seems I can easily surpass 20.

Jasmine wrote: "It's not just one of my favourite Stephen King novels, but one of my favourite books ever. I just love it. I re-read it every few years."

Nice! :)

It is one that I hope to revisit someday, but I rarely reread stand-alone novels. Most of my rereading is to refamiliarize myself with previous books in a series. In fact, if I reach my reading goal this year, then more than 50% of my reading will have been rereads, as there are six series that I want to complete.

A common theme in comments I am reading is a) don't set too high b) do this and this book count c) adjusting the goal throughout the year.

These themes reveal that there are issues with the reading challenge. First it reveals that this challenge is only a tool, a soft goal, and not standardized. Is it then really a "challenge" since there is no standardized rules? Some would say yes because the tool is used to challenge the individual at a personal level while others would say no because without a set of rules such as a) one cannot change their number throughout the year b) this many pages can constitute a book etc....

A question and few suggestions I have for the developers on the website/tool is a) presenting the reading challenge as a more personal goal rather than a competition of who reads the most between users b) since there are no standardized rules, make the tool more personable like "Goal for a set number of pages", "Books read in a specific Genre such as YA or Fantasy", do away with the mathematical formula feedback of "you're behind" or "you're ahead", c) using motivational wording and positive reinforcement like "You have completed % of your goal, remember to have fun reading and you can accomplish it by the end of the year". Don't use phrases that can be perceived as guilt or failure such as "You are behind # books".

Anyway, these are just suggestions and idea for developers. I like the reading "challenge" and goodreads. Enjoy, read, and as Debbie Ridpath Ohi has in her art "Turn it off and read a book". Enjoy

Joseph wrote: "presenting the reading challenge as a more personal goal rather than a competition of who reads the most between users "

I thought that personal challenge, and not a challenge between readers, was the point.

I am glad that it is not standardized (ex. number of books one must read to complete the challenge), because everyone has their own goals/number of books one can read in a year--some people can only manage a book a month, some a hundred a year. I would be pressured to read an arbitrary number of books. I am a slow reader and only have so much time in my life to read, so I prefer to set my own personal goal (which is 20 to 30 books a year). And I like that one can modify the goal as well.

Every year I set the same goal - 60 books, because it's the absolute minimum I'd like to have read in a year. Because I read a lot, it's not that hard for me to reach. Anything else is a cherry on top. I also don't count graphic novels or picture books towards my goal, because I still like to have a challenge.

I usually set my age every year. So my challenge for 2018 is 68.

Eule wrote: "Where are the people that are content with their reading life because they know they read as much as it possible for them?"

Eule wrote: "Where are the people that are content with their reading life because they know they read as much as it possible for them?"

I'm here Eule. I have always got time to read.

Joseph wrote: "A common theme in comments I am reading is a) don't set too high b) do this and this book count c) adjusting the goal throughout the year.

These themes reveal that there are issues with the readin..."

Since I can't like comments, I just answer. :D
Really like your thoughts on it.
I saw it as a personal challenge, or better, a Motivation for myself, to read as much as I can, but I feel a Little bit pressured because of the way, Goodreads is handling the "Goodreads challenge".

Hmm. I think the pressure one feels might be coming from your own perception. We tend to feel a usual level of stress everytime we are working towards a goal (with a time limit).
I think the fact that Goodreads lets you basically "cheat" by giving you the option to change your challenge throughout the year at any time should eliminate the stress level pretty much :)

For example, at the beginning of the year you set a number you are comfortable with and know you will reach for certain. As the year progresses, you can either up the goal as you progress, or accumulate a random number over 100% and set the final goal later so you will still have completed the challenge at about 100%.
This basically takes away all qualifications as a "challenge", but also negates any stress level :)

Another possibility would be to simply wait till late in the year to set a goal :D

To me, entering the challenge early means I will have both good track of my progress and a motivation to read more.

Don't forget to have fun everyone!! :))

I'm new to the challenge and like the the idea of books and not page count. Doesn't matter to me how many pages a book has . A book is a book and that's what I'm going to count. I set my goal low this first time. I like seeing what others are reading too. Thanks everyone for sharing on Goodreads

First time saw this. Voracious reader. Let's start at 25. Will probably go much higher.....

39 - 2016
26 - 2017

The past two years of my life have been very busy and stressful. I'm looking forward to having a relaxing 2018 and reading 12 books.

My only goal is a monthly minimum. I have a handwritten log that I've used for 20 years. My wife and I have a tradition of not keeping track of book totals until counting them up on New Year's eve.
What is beautiful about books is that you can enjoy them in sooo many ways.

I wish a year of happy reading to all who love books!

I don't want to set goals anymore. I am 81 and generally read between 40 and 50 books a year. That is enough for me.

Kimmy wrote: "Previous years there has been a roundup of the books you read that year, with stats like "total pages read", "shortest book", "longest book", etc. I cant find it this year?"

Yeah, I was expecting that too and kind of read with that in mind but then nothing.

Previous goals have been 50 books, which I do with no problem. This year I would prefer not to have a number of books, but to read ONLY books with solid 5-star ratings. So since there is no way to set that goal, I suppose I will set it at 20 - 5 star books...knowing the goal will look diminished, but the quality of the books will be better. Thanks to my Goodreads friends who honestly review & rate books, so the rest of us are not wasting our time on something disappointing. There are a lot of books, but they weren’t created equal.

Kensley wrote: "Sonja wrote: "Sorry, I know a lot of people like them, but my personal worst nightmare would be joining a book club. I prefer reading on my own and in my own time and at my own pace. Loving that I ..."

I belong to a Book Club & totally agree with you. I am amazed at some of the books chosen. One lady chose her monthly book “because it had a Lighthouse on the cover” and she likes Lighthouses. The discussion is NEVER as in depth as I hope for. I loved dissecting books in college lit classes & sure miss that approach. At 66 yrs old, I refuse to read something just because someone else likes it. I only read books recommended by people whose opinion I respect.

My challenge this year is to read my 400+ stash down by at least three books a month, paper preferred in order to clear shelves but ebooks count too. If I’ve read three in a month, I may allow a new book in. My Goodreads challenge is set to 40 to accommodate book club readings. As for challenges being stressful, they can be but they also motivate me to get more reading done which I want to do anyway and which reduces stress in a way.

How do you find the time to read?