Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."


My advice is to read your books in your leisure time how you want, and to not worry about anyone else's stats, or how they arrive there.

I do the challenge for my own fun. I don't compare myself to anyone else, because it doesn't matter, and there are too many variables. One of the variables is highlighted here -- some people read shorter works. Sometimes *I* read shorter works.

None of this means I, or anyone else, races through books for the sake of the numbers, or reads without care or reflection. At least it's not anything you can assume, or that it should matter to you in any case.

This is truly a you do you situation.

The goal could be about more time spent, not less or rushing. A prod to remind you that you get more joy, or rewards, from reading than other time-fillers.

And I bought 4 books from the list. :)

Betty wrote: "Isn't the Challenge set by that person alone? Whether it is 20 books a year or 100 books a year - it's whatever you can/want to do so this is rather pointless.

I rather see a list of books that wo..."

Shorter works can do that -- get you out of your slump -- so I think the list works at that level.

Inna wrote: "Can't believe this has not even one Murderbot story... #inconceivable"

Agreed!

Katie Marie Carlaw wrote: "I would like reading challenges based off of pages instead of books. Feels like you have more freedom to decide what you want to “sink your teeth into” rather than just trying to read enough books...."

Audiobooks are counted as 1 page per chapter, and so for some people page count wouldn't really represent as much as book count.

Anthony wrote: ""Maybe I’m just ‘weird’ in that respect. But I usually need time to savour what I’ve read. To go back to the book and re-read certain passages that truly resonated with me. I simply need to think a..."

Oh, Anthony considers himself one of them there "intelligent authors."

Heather wrote: "After reading some of the comments I feel compelled to say thanks for putting this together! I'm an avid, but slow reader compared to others. It's been a goal of mine to complete the PopSugar chall..."

Good luck, Heather!

Wow. I appreciate all the open minded commenters and I'm (not at all, sigh) shocked at the judgey McJudgersons.

Some of the most prolific readers I follow on GR post the most thoughtful and in-depth thoughts about what they've read, so this ridiculous idea that a high number of books read means someone isn't actually retaining anything is BS. (Emily May and Will Byrnes are top of mind.)

Every year, I have set my goal higher as I have found more time to read. (And practice makes better!) But my Goodreads goal isn't my actual goal. I try to average about 350 pages per book by the end of the year. That means I read some very long and very short books. (I love reading kids books to pick gifts!) But my actual goals are related to the unread shelf project, my library's monthly themes, ATY, Popsugar, and if I can, at least some of Reading Women and BookRiot read harder challenges. Some short books for prompts I don't own a book for is a great way to get more exposure to some authors I might not read otherwise.

Lastly, audiobooks. I can't even understand how this is still an argument! I bet you don't use a wheeled suitcase either. (Massive eye roll.) I actually have a separate shelf for "heard" because I LOVE listening to certain types of books, often WHILE I'm reading the ebook. (That's mostly nonfiction.) Audiobook haters are missing out. There are some amazing narrators out there. I'll count all of them read and you can't stop me.

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

I think it's sorta like how different people get different things out of drinking alcohol. Some want to go to a winery and slowly taste the notes of a few wines. Some want to go to the club and have several drinks and get a little smashed.

Some readers want to read slower and less to really think about their books and be all philosophical about them... Others just like the act of reading and during the holidays some smaller suggestions may be nice so they can keep reading between things and be able to read more than they might otherwise.

Not every reading list or book list on Goodreads is made for the same kind of reader.

It’s literally the amount I need to finish my challenge but I don’t know that I’d want to read 3/4 of them

Although my problem is, is that I started too many books at once currently and haven’t been able to finish them. I need to stick to a few to get them finished.
I look at these challenges much like watching the latest hit shows on any streaming service. After I finish a show I immediately want to watch something else. Whether it’s a show or film I have my lists as well. So my book challenge is high simply because there are so many books I have to read and hope to read as many of them as possible throughout a year. Not because I want to read more than others. I don’t really care how many books someone else reads or for what reason. I just like absorbing new content.

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

It's easy to explain - Amazon owns Goodreads so they want you to buy as many books as possible every year. Doesn't help them if we want to ponder over a book, just consume, consumer, consume.

Christy wrote: "Mara wrote: "I can't believe there's an argument over this. Some of us like having reading challenges because it motivates us to read more. I find personal satisfaction in meeting my reading goal f..."

I agree, and I have to say, it is surprising to me that some of the responses are...full of rage? I am confused as to how a list to help people meet whatever self-designated reading goal prompts this kind of anger and/or opposition.

Although I agree it is what you read not how many you have under your belt, or what you enjoy not your quota. This is just a way for them to help these authors get their content out there and that just happens to be a catchy gimmick to help. Just because it's a short story doesn't mean it has any less heart, blood, sweat, and tears. I have a small goal something practical and it isn't to be pretentious, it is to push me through my reading slumps. I LOVE to read it is my favorite thing to do, but sometimes my eyes are too big for my current mental capacity and I need to cool down with a smaller book. My reading goal helps me to see what I have been reading and adjust so that I don't burn myself out. I tend to gravitate towards the larger more intense reading and my goal reminds me that I need to read something a little more "fun" here and there. The saying size doesn't matter is true just like you should never judge a book by its cover.

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."
I generally agree with your opinion. I console myself thinking that well at least it gets more people into the habit of reading. Perhaps at some stage down the road, they will read because they enjoy reading and not because they want to reach a target number of books.

I read the book “a long way down” by Jason Reynolds as a prompt from one of these a few years ago. I am still recommending it to others. It was a great book.

Oh correction…I listened to it, and highly recommend the audiobook that is read by the author.

I listened to it, while doing laundry, dishes, driving, walking, etc. and I still remember it, enjoyed it and got something out of it….and my house is clean. Audiobooks for the win!!!

Ooops, I didn't know Amazon now owned 'Good Reads' what a shame. I do buy old books - that is, ones published a long time ago - from Amazon if I cannot get them anywhere else and I need them for work/research. However, my first choice is a Library, followed by wonderful local bookshop (Harbour books in Kingsbridge) or Waterstones/ W.H.Smith... especially if someone has bought me tokens. However, I'm not about to read anything just because someone bangs on about it in an advert-feature.
Patty wrote: "Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out..."

Mary wrote: "Viktoriya wrote: "Isn't it a bit neurotic of a message to make people read shorter (even if interesting) stories to "crush" the challenge and tick off more boxes for the sake of it? Let's start mar..."

Mary wrote: "Viktoriya wrote: "Isn't it a bit neurotic of a message to make people read shorter (even if interesting) stories to "crush" the challenge and tick off more boxes for the sake of it? Let's start mar..."

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

I think the yearly reading challenge is an incentive for those of us (speaking for myself) that have drifted away from reading for one reason or another. It's a self-motivating challenge to have a goal to meet by the end of the year. Kind of like waking up and making a 'to-do' list for each day/week. It helps keep you on track. I know I would have missed out on MANY awesome books had I not entered this yearly challenge. And to see what others are reading and their reviews and recommendations helps me to choose those books I would be most interested in. I mean...all of life is a challenge, init? This is just a fun one to balance out the not-so-fun ones :-)

This is probably stating the obvious, but this list of short books is for people who feel that they are falling behind on their 2021 Reading Challenge goal and want to add some quick reads to catch up. And I get people asking what the point is of crushing a reading challenge in the first place. I have done the challenge every year since 2014. I started out with a goal of 20 books until my husband suggested that I go for 100. That was a crazy goal, but I hit it a few times and even exceeded it in 2019 and 2020. Those two years were really important because I was challenging myself in my husband's memory.
That being said, I admit to having a short attention span. If a book doesn't grab me within the first ten pages, I count it as read (because technically, I DID read it, just not the whole thing. Why would I keep reading a book that I hate?) so it counts toward my reading goal. I don't know or care if that's cheating, b/c like I said, I'm not doing these challenges for anyone but myself.
This year I set a goal of 150, and I've already surpassed that (yes, it includes a lot of terrible or insanely boring books), so I pushed it up to 200 and I'm only ten away from that. We'll see how it goes.
The problem with trying to read so many books is that, like someone else said, there's no way to remember what you liked about all 100 or so books that you read. Earlier this year I was reading through my reviews of books that I had rated four or five stars and one of them ("The Next Thing On My List" by Jill Smolinski) grabbed my curiosity, so I read it a second time. I don't like reading books a second time because like most things, the second time wasn't nearly as good as the first and I ended up lowering my review from four stars to two. It's the same reason I will no longer read a book that is based on a movie b/c I will most likely be disappointed and vice versa. There are very few exceptions and I have to admit that whenever I see that a movie is based on a book, I immediately consider checking out the book from the library. But then it presents a problem of wanting the two to be exactly the same, which they never are and I end up being disappointed on either end. Obviously that doesn't ALWAYS happen and I end up loving the movie and the book, but that is RARE.
Anyway, I've rambled on way too long, but I'm thinking that my husband would't mind if lowered my reading goal for 2022. =) That way when you surpass it, you get that amazing feeling of "Wow, I had a goal of 50 and I read 75!"
But I do like this reading list and I have already put a couple on hold at the library. One I have at home, actually so I'm excited to see that it's on this list.
Unless it's something you're reading for school or work, reading is supposed to be relaxing and sometimes these reading challenges make me forget that. If you read 25 wonderful books in a year, that's even better than reading 100 books that you probably won't remember anything about by the time New Year's Eve comes around.

Marc *Dark Reader of the Woods* wrote: "Life hack: set your reading challenge to 1 book over your current total for the year. Repeat periodically to get more confetti."

That's an awesome idea! I love it!

PS I'm not that bothered about the 'challenge', but my problem with it all ... is that I can't be bothered to write down the details of the all the book on here (given that, if they are important: for my work/research ... or for reading and/or writing groups, I will write notes in a notebook). I do mention a few books, occasionally, on this site, but it's usually when I'm putting off doing something I don't want to do. However, if I was to spend the necessary time needed to list and comment on all this year's books- that is, all the ones read, but not yet noted on here - that would mean losing all the precious time when I could be: reading, writing, knitting, sewing, walking... etc.

Thank you Anna, Jim and Kylie for all your insites!! I love people's well thought out views!

With all due respect, why are some people in this comment section so concerned about why other people read books? It feels like gatekeeping and I didn’t even know that this was possible with books.

Why does it matter to you how many books someone else is reading in a day/week/month/year? Focus on yourself and your own reason for reading. If you feel like a crappy reader because someone else is reading up to 100 or 500 books a year and you’re only reading 20 or whatever, then that’s on you. Why are you comparing yourself to another reader? It’s not a competition so why are you making it seem like one? It’s not Goodreads or the readers making you feel like that, you’re doing that to yourself with the mindset you have. There are so many reasons as to why one person could read more books in a year and I don’t believe anyone is in a place to make comments about stuff like that. Yes, everyone is entitled to an opinion but that doesn’t mean you need to voice it out and really you’re calling it an opinion when it’s really judgement on your part.

My sister and I equally love reading books but she’s able to read about 3 times the number of books I’d read in a year for many reasons. That doesn’t make me feel any type of way and I go through what she’s read from time to time to see if there’s something in her list that I would enjoy.

And to the one user that addressed audiobooks: shaming people on using audiobooks, really? Just because you pick up a hard copy of a book and read it doesn’t make you better than another person who prefers to make use of audiobooks. And I know you didn’t specifically say you were better than those people but that it is what you’re implying with your comment. Take myself for example, I’d rather buy hard copy of books than read e-books or listen to audiobooks because it is simply what I prefer. So does that mean people who’d rather read books on their phone (and/or other electronic devices) or have someone read to them are not getting the same intrinsic value? The answer is no, point blank period.

Personally I see the Goodreads challenge as more of a goal. I grew up reading a lot but as time went on and life got more complicated, I found it difficult to find the motivation to read books. This really helped me motivate myself into continuing something I loved doing once upon a time. So please stop making people feel bad about why they’re choosing to read because in all honesty, it’s really none of your business.

I wanted to add that lately I have been reading a lot of children's books and as someone who doesn't have kids, I read these for pleasure. Some of them are quite good and in some cases better than a lot of "novels". A 99% guarantee of no swearing, sex or nudity. Reading is reading. I don't like e-books and I cannot get into the audio book craze but those absolutely count as reading. If you're doing it for yourself, it shouldn't matter. If it didn't count, there wouldn't be so many audio books listed and reviewed on this site.
As for the challenge itself, it's not like you get a prize for reaching your goal, except for maybe a boost of self-esteem. That's a prize I'd love to have.
And as far as a friend count on Goodreads goes, I always accept friends on here. It's not like Facebook where they're going to find out a ton of stuff about your life. I'm flattered by the friend requests and I even asked once how people get 50 + comments on their reviews when I only get a few and the answer was that they have a lot of friends. Seems silly, I guess, but I try to put a lot of thought into my reviews, so it's nice when someone appreciates something I've written.

I get wanting to finish something quickly, but isn’t reading about enjoying the time you have with that particular story? Personally, I’m not trying to rush through or crush my challenge without remembering what I’ve read. If I get there, great, if not, I’ll have so many new stories to associate with that my completion of the challenge won’t even matter.

Sorry for the tirade!lol

I realize you are now owned by Amazon so you want us to read more and more but don't we get enough pressure to measure up to some invisible standard? I like to enjoy my books not meet a standard like you must back in school. I'm 67 years old and like to enjoy my books as odd as they may be.

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

You're not weird, but not everyone thinks like you! Not everyone has a list of essay questions ready to think about after each book! I am currently studying towards an English degree so I feel like I read both your way and the other, less time-consuming way. If I manage to find time to read for pleasure rather than read for university, I don't really have time for giant epic sagas. Also, as I study books so much, when I read for pleasure sometimes I just want a bit of fun and don't necessarily want them to linger in my mind forever afterwards! It's just a different way of reading; neither is better than the other.

Alyssa wrote: "Reading is reading is reading is reading. Read what you want to. Don't let snarky comments from people who think their reading habits are superior for some unknown reason bully you into their habit..."

^^^ this!

Maureen wrote: "Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out..."

Lame? Are you really gatekeeping reading right now? No reading is better than other reading. We are all on the same team here.

Jim wrote: "Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out..."

Why do you care so much when people have fun in ways you don't find fun? Reading is reading, no? Don't be jealous, be kind.
Some people's 500+ books might include children's books, and there is nothing wrong with that. Are children's books not books? If I read a 400 page book, but someone else reads an 800 page book, does that make them better than me? Should their book count for two books on the goodreads challenge? Sigh. Just be kind.

P.S. I know people who read 300+ page books everyday, so some people just read a lot!

Not sure why people are getting annoyed over this. If you don't appreciate the list, ignore it. On the other hand, I read hella slow and I appreciate them giving me a list of short books so I can finally meet my reading challenge - which I haven't met since like 2015. I've already got Nothing but Blackened Teeth on hold but I had no idea it was less than 200 pages! Bonus :D

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

If I could give you a thumbs up, then I would! Absolutely this!

I totally get some people's complaints about not reading for fun. I didn't set a goal until recently because I didn't want this number hanging over my head all year. (Surprise! You don't have to whine. You could just... not participate)

But I love having a list of short books! Sometimes I need something quick to get me out of a book hole and back into reading regularly. And many of these look really good.

Way to go, readers, and good luck with your reading goals!

I appreciated the list. I enjoy novellas and am always on the hunt for good ones. Not sure why all the panties are in a wad about this, its just another list to help you explore new authors and genres. And yea, help you achieve your reading goals for the year. Also to the guy who said listening to audiobooks isn't real reading, (and anyone like him) you haven't passed the vibe check sir. Please collect your belongings and exit the premises.

reading challenges should count pages or words instead of books. That would equalize this problem of long books only count for 1. Maybe audiobooks count for half the pages.

Therese wrote: "I think the yearly reading challenge is an incentive for those of us (speaking for myself) that have drifted away from reading for one reason or another. It's a self-motivating challenge to have a goal to meet by the end of the year. "

I have always been a reader my entire life. However, for various reasons, I fell away from reading in the early 2000s, and I didn't step foot in a library for several years -- very uncharacteristic of me! (Yeah, I was going through a rough period.) I started reading again around 2005 and keeping track of what I read. I read about a dozen a books a year, and made it a personal goal to read more. I then discovered Good Reads around 2013, and the challenge helped me with my goal to "read more".

Because there are SO MANY books to read (plus all the books I want to re-read), I try to read a minimum of 25 books a year (which can be a challenge). If I read more, that is fantastic, and the reading challenge helps motivate me. However, that doesn't mean I read a dozen short or poorly written books just to increase my count. I read because I enjoy reading, and the challenge just helps to motivate me.

My problem is my to-read list keeps growing and growing. I do read books off of it, but I have had books on there for years because I keep reading new (to me) books. I should create a sub-challenge of reading a certain number of books off of my to-read list!

This is my first year using good reads or setting a reading goal. For me, it was a focused way to get me away from mindless tv viewing and expand my mind I don’t always remember the finer points of a book over a longer period of time. But I do reflect, ponder and learn from every book. Sometimes I simply learn that im not fond of an author or genre! I’ve read books this year over 1000 pages and under 100 pages. They were selected based on my interest. I often pick a short book when I’ve just finished an Epic and need to have an easy read. Essentially, reading and especially reading for pleasure is a very individual experience for everyone. (Typed on my phone- please excuse typos and missing punctuation!)

Neil wrote: "Is this the section where I put forth my outrage at the idea of people reading to complete a challenge, rather than for some other reason, so I can gain some unearned moral superiority?

If so,......"
I have always wondered about challenges that say "Read a book with a color in the title," "Read a book that takes place in your home state," or "Read a book who has a character with your name." This is a really dumb way to choose how to spend your precious reading time.

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out of them. It’..."

I agree! It’s a silly concept that someone at GR thought was a good marketing ploy. To what end? Selling more books? It’s mystifying.

Christy wrote: "Mara wrote: "I can't believe there's an argument over this. Some of us like having reading challenges because it motivates us to read more. I find personal satisfaction in meeting my reading goal f..."

Neither can I. I’ve found some fun books to read, ones I probably wouldn’t have found. I set my personal reading goal, hoping to surpass it……

Mara wrote: "I can't believe there's an argument over this. Some of us like having reading challenges because it motivates us to read more. I find personal satisfaction in meeting my reading goal for the year. ..."

Well said! Thanks!

Marina wrote: "I read a lot and the Goodreads challenge really motivates me. Even though I don't need this list, I appreciate it. Setting up a certain number every year really encourages me. So, seeing people com..."

Thanks for this! I want to add that listening to books (unabridged) gives me great joy too. I drive 2000mi each month and love that I can have people read to me while I drive!

why is everyone so pressed in the comments ? some people set goals to get themselves to read more….. there’s nothing wrong with that. sounds very egotistical to be like “i read long books because i enjoy the act of reading. not to reach a goal 🤓” ok? without setting a goodreads challenge the past couple years I would have never gotten into the habit of reading at all. Setting goals for myself has helped me work up to reading as much as I do.

Well said Kylie Burns, couldn't agree more 💖🦄

Avedon wrote: "It’s literally the amount I need to finish my challenge but I don’t know that I’d want to read 3/4 of them"

Of the books here I've read, I really liked The Past is Red. For horror, Things Have Gotten Worse Since Last We Spoke, but I can't stress enough it's extreme body horror.

As mentioned in the comments, the Murderbot Diaries are amazing. The first one is All Systems Red. The stories follow a security bot in a world where corporations rule everything. The corporations sanction and outfit trips to other planets by exploratory groups, and "sec units" are part of that.

The books, spaceships aside, are about what it means to be human. Murderbot is made up of some "organic" materials, but treated like equipment. MB really just wants to watch soap operas and not see anyone get hurt. At a previous assignment, people got hurt, and MB wants to understand why.

The tone is funny, snarky, and poignant.

Patty wrote: "Anna wrote: "I’m afraid I don’t understand the very concept of this list.
Why would anyone want to “crush” their reading challenge?
It sounds like people no longer read books to get something out..."

If it helps, Patty, I took the list to B&N. LOL!

Anjali wrote: "I generally agree with your opinion. I console myself thinking that well at least it gets more people into the habit of reading. Perhaps at some stage down the road, they will read because they enjoy reading and not because they want to reach a target number of books.

I... what? You think non-readers are hanging out on Goodreads, AND going into the weeds by, ironically, reading the blog? And the blog is the thing that will make them finally give reading a shot?

You can both be someone who loves reading AND (because you love reading) set a goal to spend more time doing this thing you love, taking in x amount of stories. Goodreads, on the user end, exists to keep track of books -- and possibly discuss them -- which the challenge does using another metric.

As someone who does the thing, I assure you no one who knows me has accused me either not enjoying books, or not being in the habit of reading. I regularly annoyed teachers with my paying more attention to the book in front of me than the lesson. My mother-in-law, may she rest in peace, said I spent too much time reading and couldn't be much company for her son.

I can't speak for everyone doing the challenge, but it's a tough sell that people who don't like reading are going to do a lot of it to impress those super-cool voracious readers who are so busy with their own books that they're unlikely to pay a lot of notice to anyone else. I don't see this imagined reward. The 5 people who will comment "congratulations" when you reach your (super personal) goal is not the prize you think it is.

DrMama wrote: "Ooops, I didn't know Amazon now owned 'Good Reads' what a shame. I do buy old books - that is, ones published a long time ago - from Amazon if I cannot get them anywhere else and I need them for wo..."

They've owned Goodreads since 2013.

Maxwell wrote: "I get wanting to finish something quickly, but isn’t reading about enjoying the time you have with that particular story? Personally, I’m not trying to rush through or crush my challenge without re..."

I'm always confused by the rush through assumption. I mean, I'm sure some people do, but it's not a given. The goal could be "last year I savored 10 books, and had a blast. This year, I hope to spend time with 20 books."

I think this is why arguments and judgements against the challenge confound (and sometimes) annoy me. No one really knows what someone else is doing, unless you go full stalker, or how or why they read.

My goal is literally what feels right to me. Because I'm not competing with anyone, that means that if one of the books above catches my interest, it can count toward my goal. It means a middle grade can count. It means what I want it to mean -- a nerdy late middle-aged woman who is going to stop reading most books at least a few times to research a mention that catches my attention.

I stopped my current read So Many Beginnings: A Little Women Remix to research Freedmen's Colony of Roanoke Island. Rushing? Do my habits even count as a stroll?

"A book mentioned a king in passing. I must know who his parents were, who he married, their offspring, where he summered, what he ate for dinner ..." LOL!

Fai wrote: "reading challenges should count pages or words instead of books. That would equalize this problem of long books only count for 1. Maybe audiobooks count for half the pages."

What problem? I think people should keep track any way they want, but problem implies we're all competing, and that only creates more problems.

Ellen-Nora wrote: "With all due respect, why are some people in this comment section so concerned about why other people read books? It feels like gatekeeping and I didn’t even know that this was possible with books...."

You're awesome! Love your comment.