Jason wrote: "Is this cheating Duncan? If I read 100 100 page books in a year vs. 10 1000 page books?"

I SO agree with you! These are personal goals and NOT a competition! But if reaching a certain number of books is important to a reader, it shouldn't matter to anyone else what that person chooses to read!

I'm probably not going to reach my goal--which is fairly large--this year, but the reason is that there have been lots of things going on in my life that have reduced my reading/listening time. No problem. I feel no guilt for having "failed" in this particular thing, Another factor is that I've dropped a lot of books that have not satisfied me. Life is too short to fixate on numbers!

Or just read exactly what you want. I'm not changing what I read so that I can hit my goal. I ended engaging in more volunteer work during the year, which cut into my reading time. Guess what? I'm ok with that.

none of them are kid friendly

Jen wrote: "The Deep and Ring Shout are both very good novellas about generational trauma, they're a little difficult for different reasons but so good."

This makes them even more interesting to me, I did not know they were about generational trauma, I just bumped them to the top of my reading pile, since it is a topic that really interests me.. Thanks for mentioning!

Janet wrote: "Jason wrote: "Is this cheating Duncan? If I read 100 100 page books in a year vs. 10 1000 page books?"

I SO agree with you! These are personal goals and NOT a competition! But if reaching a certai..."

Well put, I will probably also not reach my reading goal, this year has been very shitty for me personally so I spend most of my time working through things, and working in general.

Which is also growth right, so not reaching your reading goals can also mean that you have spend you time doing something else that was important to you.

And that is more important then reaching a goal, feel happy, have a good life your rich life. Reading will come as it comes..

🐺🐴Missy🦄💕 wrote: "Hi guys, I am new to Goodreads. Can someone help me out with what to do. I don’t fully understand."

I’m not sure what you want to learn to do, but basically Goodreads allows you to find and shelve books that you want to read, are currently reading, or have read, and then to review them if you wish to do so.

You can set yourself a goal for the amount of books you’d like to read in a year, and you can also join groups to discuss with other readers and writers!

I hope that could help, but if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask!

The Empress of Salt and Fortune is also a short read that is absolutely beautifully written, and really atmospheric as well! I couldn’t recommend it more!

Loved A Psalm for the Wild Built, that and the sequel are great short books to try!

Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

Because page length is directly related to excellence, to experience, to enjoyment???

I love short books. I've read a number of these on this list. Sometimes I just go to the library and look for the smaller books. Challenges are all just for "bragging rights" anyway, and all reading is good.

I've been working on the 1001 books you should read before you die list and am trying to do the shorter books first. Here are books that are all under 250 pages:

Things fall apart
The Green Man
Dead Babies - M. Amis
Time’s Arrow
I’m not scared - ammaniti
Ashes and Diamonds - Andrzejewski
Memoirs of Marttinus Scriblerus
The Twilight Years - Ariyoshi
Surfacing - Atwood
Timbuktu - Auster
The Music of Chance - Auster
Giovanni’s Room
The Atrocity Exhibition
High Rise
The Drowned World
The Wasp Factory
The Sea - Banville
Silk - Baricco
Sense of an ending
Nightwood - Barnes
End of the Road - Barth
Blue Noon - Bataille
How it is - Beckett
Mercier et Camier - Beckett
Yes - T. Bernhard
Wittgenstein’s Nephew - Berhard
Concrete - Bernhard
Ficciones - Borges
Arcanum 17 - Breton
Queer
Junkie
Wild Boys
The Tartar Steppe - Buzzati
House in the uplands
Path to the nest of spiders
Castle of crossed destinies
Kingdom of this world - Carpentier
The Passion of new Eve - Carter
Journey to the Alcarria - Jose Cela
Soldiers of Salamis
The big sleep
On the heights of despair - Cioran
2001: a space odyssey
Veronika decices to die
Life and times of Michael K
Waiting for the barbarians
Elizabeth Costello
Youth - Coetzee
In the heart of the country Coetzee
Dusklands Coetzee
Foe Coetzee
Claudine’s house - Colette
Clear light of day
Play it as it lays
Uncle Petros and Goldbach’s Conjecture
Castle Rackrent
Caught - Henry Green
Blindness - Henry Green
Back - Henry Green
Quiet American
The power and the glory
The Third Man
The Thin Man
The Glass Key
The old man and the sea
The sun also rises
To have and have not
Death in Venice - Thomas Mann
Black Dogs - Ian McEwen
The comfort of strangers
The cement garden
The Breast - Phillip Roth
Reveries of a Solitary Walker
Cain - Saramago
A Handful of Dust – Evelyn Waugh
Summer – Edith Wharton
Ethan Frome – Edith Wharton
The Beautiful Room is Empty – Edmund White
A Boy’s Own Story – Edmund White
Written on the Body – Jeanette Winterson
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit – Jeanette Winterson
Sexing the Cherry – Jeanette Winterson
The Passion – Jeanette Winterson
Between the Acts – Virginia Woolf
Jacob’s Room – Virginia Woolf
Therese Raquin - Zola

Law wrote: "Jim wrote: "i despise this idea.
social media fucks up everything by turning it into some form of self-validation or avenue for bragging.
ick."

Is this challenge just for attention-seeking or what?"

I don't know but I know a few people who brag about reading "200 books" this year because it makes them feel smarter. Let's stop viewing reading as something elite because there are books about everything!
Anyway, yes, some people are doing it for the sake of attention, while some are putting insane amounts of pressure on themselves for this challenge, I tailored it through the year, starting with 20 books, jumping to 45, and now going back to 40.
It's for fun guys, there's no cheating and pressure, and I guess if people enjoy bragging let them brag even though there's nothing to brag about.

Sorry, I just had to rant, have a nice day/night!

Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

I read what I want to read, there is no cheating.

I am glad to see that Fahrenheit 451, my favorite classic book, is on the list!

I also love Of Mice and Men, although, I'm not a huge Steinbeck fan.

Jasmine wrote: "Matthew wrote: "I wish I could choose a reading challenge by word count so I don't feel like I'm killing my reading challenge by reading some epic fantasy novels."

A reading challenge by page coun..."

Yes, I've noticed it's often wrong for me. There are usually more pages listed than the book contains.

Meredith wrote: "I add an extra 12 books to my challenge and try to go back to some of my childhood favorites (one for each month).

They’re often on the shorter side, and it’s quite interesting to see how the thin..."

I'm reading Number the Stars tonight, which I thought I had read as a child, but it turns out, I had only read an excerpt of it, chapter 5.

Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is EXCELLENT and it's a very short book. Only 52 pages. It will blow you away.

Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

Look up the word "challenge" in the dictionary.

Hint: It's not a contest.

coty ☆ wrote: "Morgan wrote: "Loved seeing so many on my to read list! I’d love to have this as a filter for sorting books I’ve shelved. Because sometimes I can only focus enough for a short book and being able t..."

Love this! Thank you!

Jancee wrote: "Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

Reading is reading is reading.

No one is better than anyone else for reading chunky tomes instead of novellas."

Right??... If they think novellas aren't worth reading because they're short, does that mean we should throw poetry out the window as well? Lol...

Edith wrote: "Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

Because page length is directly related to excellence, to experience, to enjoyment???"

Apparently.... I guess F. Scott Fitzgerald, George Orwell, Ray Bradbury, Isabel Allende, Franz Kafka and Joan Didion didn't get the memo.

I'm reading picture books since I'm buying new ones for my library, so what?

Meredith wrote: "I add an extra 12 books to my challenge and try to go back to some of my childhood favorites (one for each month).

They’re often on the shorter side, and it’s quite interesting to see how the thin..."

This is such a cool idea! I think back over my favourite childhood/teen books often and how they shaped me. Nice idea to reread one a month and get a quick dose of nostalgia!

Jasmine wrote: "Matthew wrote: "I wish I could choose a reading challenge by word count so I don't feel like I'm killing my reading challenge by reading some epic fantasy novels."

A reading challenge by page coun..."

So true! Word count would be good too, as sometimes I pick up a short book for a quick read but the writing is so tiny (and vice versa)

Law wrote: "Jim wrote: "i despise this idea.
social media fucks up everything by turning it into some form of self-validation or avenue for bragging.
ick."

Is this challenge just for attention-seeking or what?"

I appreciate that opinion and a lot of things people do seem to be just for bragging rights,
but honestly I read just for myself, I like the annual challenge because setting a personal goal and progressing towards it feels good! It encourages me to pick up a book and enjoy a new world rather than absent-minded scrolling and as a break from a TV screen (I work at a computer).

Maddy wrote: "I read just for myself, I like the annual challenge because setting a personal goal and progressing towards it feels good! It encourages me to pick up a book and enjoy a new world rather than absent-minded scrolling and as a break from a TV screen (I work at a computer)."

Same! I love reading and having a "goal" encourages me to try and read more. I don't know why people get so uptight about this.

Sylvia wrote: "I'm reading picture books since I'm buying new ones for my library, so what?"

Picture books are fun!

Oooh, you missed The Little Prince, Jonathan Livingston Seagull and Love Story

Donald wrote: "I'll add "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (Tolstoy). Roughly 80 pages or so and well worth the read."

ditto.

Pradnya wrote: "I would add The Little Prince to the list. Some nice books in the list."

ditto.

Between the World and Me
very short and good book!

Meredith wrote: "I add an extra 12 books to my challenge and try to go back to some of my childhood favorites (one for each month).

They’re often on the shorter side, and it’s quite interesting to see how the thin..."

Thanks Meredith! I have never heard of the Wayside School series but it is now on my TBR list. Sounds like so much fun and at 58 yrs I could use a little youthful fun!!!

Great books to consider. I love challenges and I've had some twists and turns in my reading choices this year. But, it's just fun to challenge yourself to a variety of reading experiences. I don't like to consider the number of pages read. I've read some pretty tiresome long books. Anyway, this year, I finally finished ...And Ladies of the Club (over 1100 pages) so I feel entitled to a break before year's end. A couple more interesting ideas for good short reads are On Juneteenth by Annette Gordon-Reed (non-fiction) and The Neon Bible by John Kennedy Toole.

Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

How??? Short book. Long book. As long as it's a book, who cares?

How come none of the Murderbot books are on this list? They are less than 300 pages each. I read the first book about a month ago and loved it. I plan on purchasing the rest in the series as part of my book challenge for next year. But I guess that would be considered "cheating" by Duncan's standards.

It is your goal. You make the rules. You decide what counts and what doesn't. There are 2 books on this list that interest me and a few that I have already read. For myself, I am very ahead of schedule in my personal reading challenge.

Read what appeals to you.

One of the tenents of readers' advisory in libraries is:
First Law of Reading—"Never apologize for your reading taste"-- Rosenberg, Betty. (1982). Genreflecting: A Guide to Reading Interests in Genre Fiction

Pradnya wrote: "I would add The Little Prince to the list. Some nice books in the list."
Excellent idea and excellent book.

Infernal Parade, by Clive Barker is around 81 pages and some good horror fantasy.

Duncan wrote: "Cheating."

Haha, sound logic there....

Ana (Cabanel's version) wrote: "Law wrote: "Jim wrote: "i despise this idea.
social media fucks up everything by turning it into some form of self-validation or avenue for bragging.
ick."

Is this challenge just for attention-se..."

I enjoy challenging myself but my reading has dropped off over the past few months for personal reasons, I did manage to hit the 140 goal I wanted to hit though :)

Donald wrote: "I'll add "The Death of Ivan Ilych" (Tolstoy). Roughly 80 pages or so and well worth the read."
Beautiful novel.

Thank you sm: needed!

Nicole wrote: "Address Unknown by Kathrine Kressmann Taylor is EXCELLENT and it's a very short book. Only 52 pages. It will blow you away."

Thanks for the recommendation, I've downloaded the kindle :)

Ilona wrote: "🐺🐴Missy🦄💕 wrote: "Hi guys, I am new to Goodreads. Can someone help me out with what to do. I don’t fully understand."

I’m not sure what you want to learn to do, but basically Goodreads allows you ..."
This helps a lot.

Ana (Cabanel's version) wrote: "Law wrote: "Jim wrote: "i despise this idea.
social media fucks up everything by turning it into some form of self-validation or avenue for bragging.
ick."

Is this challenge just for attention-se..."
I completely agree.

I pretty much listen to every book. I almost always can double the speed, thus halving the time. Right now I'm listening to Viola Davis' memoir at 2.3x the speed she recorded it. So instead of taking 9:15 it will take less than 4.5. I've read that most audio book readers intentionally read slower than normal speed because it's harder to rewind to catch something you missed. There are so many titles on my TBR list. This is a great way for me to make a dent.

Thank you so much for this list! As someone fairly new to fiction, including more short books keeps the interest flowing.

Farron wrote: "Why do some people think it's some sort of contest and that only the "right" books should be read? I will gleefully add picture books that I've picked up at work out of boredom to my list. It doesn..."

Yes!

Niche wrote: "Would you rather have too little of a good thing or too much of a bad thing?

I'm more likely to take an adventurous shot on something short because a 50 page book I loathe feels longer than a 900 ..."

SAME! I feel like my TBR is always the same no matter how much I read. I always regret taking risks and trying something new b/c "I could be reading all those books I know I'll rly like/love" but something short...who knows!
(LOLing at ppl calling it "cheating." Are they expecting a prize.)