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What Else Are You Reading?
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Reading Goals/Challenge for 2013?
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Mathew
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Jan 27, 2013 11:15PM
I'm hoping to get through 6 novels and two fiction magazines per month. So far so good.
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No one should worry about "competing" with other people, or feel bad if their number of books is smaller than others. This group has some people who just devour books.
Also, whether or not you count audio books, graphic novels, or short stories towards your goal: Totally up to you.
For me the goal is something to shoot for, but reading is recreational. I'm not going to give up stuff just to hit some arbitrary number. It is motivation though.
I think the number should be something you feel is barely obtainable, or maybe just a bit of a stretch. If you don't hit it, but come close, that's still a victory.
I've already raised my number from 36 to 48, and based on the pace I started the year, I'm considering pushing that to 52, which is going to be a stretch.
What's the old saying "Reading is it's own reward?"
I count "books" as anything that isn't a magazine or an article. To me it's based on library GMD of Book, Audiobook or EBook. Audiobooks are books, graphic novels are books - if you read it, it's probably a book in some form as even journals can be seen as serialised volumes... As an aside, I personally can't listen to an audiobook WITHOUT fully concentrating.
My goal is 54. I wanted to get through a re-read of the Wheel of Time series before Memory of Light came out, but that didn't happen.
Emy wrote: "I count "books" as anything that isn't a magazine or an article. To me it's based on library GMD of Book, Audiobook or EBook. Audiobooks are books, graphic novels are books - if you read it, it's p..."Word! :)
Plus, if it's got an isbn, then it's a book.
Pablo wrote: "Seriously though, how can anybody find time to read so many books. "Don't watch as much TV and listen to audio books during your commute if possible :)
Emy wrote: "I count "books" as anything that isn't a magazine or an article. To me it's based on library GMD of Book, Audiobook or EBook. Audiobooks are books, graphic novels are books - if you read it, it's p..."I agree with you 100%, Emy. I read novels, graphic novels, and listen to audiobooks and consider them all books. I also agree with you about needing your full concentration to listen to an audiobook. Listening to audiobooks is relatively new to me and I really love them as a change of pace from reading.
The key to audio books, for me anyway is to be busy doing something you normally do repetitively. If I just listen while not doing anything my mind tends to wander. But driving to and from work I can give both my driving and my listening full attention - if I'm not listening to something while driving to work, then my mind occupies itself with other things anyway. But if I have to drive somewhere unfamiliar, and need to concentrate on finding directions or a park etc - then I can't give the audio my full attention.On the exercise bike is another good activity to do with audio books I've found.
I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who reads graphic novels. It's a fairly new reading genre for me, but I love them! I know that some people find it baffling that our sunroom doubles as a library (my boyfriend doesn't read), and that I read over 150 books a year. However, it's my hobby. My boyfriend watches a lot of TV that I'm not terribly interested in, and I much prefer to cuddle up with my pups to read. Books have been a way to fuel my imagination, deal with tough times, explore this world and the next... Besides, it only has to make sense to the people in my life, and everyone seems to think that, as "addictions" go, my reading is relatively safe and hurts nothing but my pocketbook ;)
It's been great hearing everyone's opinions!
AndrewP wrote: "Pablo wrote: "Seriously though, how can anybody find time to read so many books. "Don't watch as much TV and listen to audio books during your commute if possible :)"
Hmm... sorry, I misquoted that last post. I don't watch TV. But reading 3 books a day or even 1 full 400 page book a week sounds like all I should be doing would be reading.
I would usually not consider magazines as counting, but I make an exception for magazines such as Lightspeed as they are almost entirely textual short stories. For example January issue was 251 pages of which 197 pages is purely story, the rest mostly being interviews with authors. Similarly December had 208 pages of story.
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I'm not sure about 3 books a day, but 400 pages a week isn't much for many people in this group I think. That's only 57 pages a day. Personally, I can easily read that much after work and still have plenty of time for other things. Most days I read at least that.
But I wouldn't spend anymore time reading than you want. Go at your own pace, and don't worry what everyone else does.
I think I average about 3 books a week, unless I'm reading old historical romances and have insomnia then I can get to 3+ a day ;)@Leslie - working on the GR database has shown me how much random stuff has ISBNs that isn't a book - rather worrying considering its a BOOK number... >.< For example, the trug packs that shops get for sale, and the promo popups, sometimes get ISBNs which is bloody annoying! :) Otherwise, yeah, ISBN = book :)
Pablo wrote: "Hmm... sorry, I misquoted that last post. I don't watch TV. But reading 3 books a day or even 1 full 400 page book a week sounds like all I should be doing would be reading. "
Some people are just fast readers. 400 pages is two days if I'm feeling slow.
Some people are just fast readers. 400 pages is two days if I'm feeling slow.
Pablo wrote: "Hmm... sorry, I misquoted that last post. I don't watch TV. But reading 3 books a day or even 1 full 400 page book a week sounds like all I should be doing would be reading. "It may look like I read 3 books a day but I split them up.
My main read is always a deceased tree edition, I have another on audio that I read/listen during my daily 1-2 hour commute. Usually I have some other very light book on on my phone & tablet that I read 10 mins at a time during breaks etc.
Laurel wrote: "I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one who reads graphic novels. It's a fairly new reading genre for me, but I love them! I know that some people find it baffling that our sunroom doubles as..."
In my family I'm the reader and the tv addict. My boyfriend isn't in to either, but he loves his video games. I've been able to get him to listen to audiobooks with me in the car and he seems to enjoy that.
I just kept it simple and set my goal at 100 books this year. I'm at 13 so far, but I've also been on winter break.
I keep it simple. No quibbling over definitions of what is "valid" reading material or what constitutes a book. Why not count pages or words. Valid reading = enjoyable and/or informative.My ongoing goal is to read as much as possible. If I can set an average of aside 2-3 hours a day for recreational reading, I'm doing pretty well and, at my reading speed, I will read a great deal, at least in languages I already read well.
Same as last year: 30 books. I read slowly.
65 books in total, I am doing the Shut up and Read Starwars challenge and A-Z challenge.Plus my own - The Silmarillion (currently reading)
Reread The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit (I have done that last one)
I might try for the complete Terry Pratchett collection at some point.
My goal is 70 books. This includes about 30 of those books that I've been hoarding. Secondary goal not to obtain additional books to hoard. LOLI also figure that another 20 - 30 will be graphic novels, but I'll make up for those by reading some bricks. Still have the The Dark Tower to read plus A Memory of Light. I'll probably also read a couple more of Diana Gabaldon's Outlander bricks.
Alexandra wrote: "65 books in total, I am doing the Shut up and Read Starwars challenge and A-Z challenge.Plus my own - The Silmarillion (currently reading)
Reread The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit (I have done tha..."
I like the idea of a 'Shut up and Read Star Wars' challenge. Is this your own challenge or is it a group thing?
A group challenge, let me see if I can find it.
I thought that getting everyone to read the book of the month was in itself a tricky enough group challenge ;-)
I'd like to "discover" some newer authors. I used to read sci-fi all the time, but I got out of touch with it because of raising kids and the like, but now they're blissfully out of the house, and my book collections are old. I have no idea who the hot new sci-fi writers are, so I'll be perusing the board to get a feel for it.
I'd just like to read more in general. I have been on reading hiatus for what I am ashamed to say, has been years. It wasn't that reading didn't interest me, I just kept myself occupied with so many different projects that I never gave it much thought. I had also been busy completing my sci-fi superheroine book,
and that consumed so much of my free time, it was exhausting.Last year around Halloween I picked up
and
and really enjoyed them immensely.So then I thought, "Why not try Sci-fi since my book covers that genre?" I grabbed Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson and... well disappointing would be understating how I felt.
I tried him again with Snow Crash and... well it was certainly better but, yeah... I don't think he's my kind of author. I'm hoping this year I'll be able to find some really damn good sci-fi books and maybe even some political conspiracy ones.
Alexandra wrote: "Lots of good challenges in this group. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1..."oooooo wow! Thanks for the link!!!
Leslie wrote: "Plus, if it's got an isbn, then it's a book."Holy crap, that means I can RIP through my 52 books!
Check it out, this standee of Katniss has an ISBN! It's a book! Leslie says so!
I went to the bookstore last week and saw at least 11 standees. That means I'm so far ahead of schedule that I'm done with March's reading already! So awesome! Thanks Les!
Ah. Sarcasm. Yes. *Sigh*If you want to count it as a book, go ahead. I'm not about to dictate what you call a book and don't. I'm only saying that graphic novels and audiobooks have ISBN's and are books.
Really, when did this become an issue? It shouldn't be. Reading is for pleasure (unless it's for school and then it's maybe a pleasure as well as a 'gotta'. ha ha)
Nowhere is there an official rule that says "you can only call it a book if there are no pictures and it's over a certain number of pages" if that's your personal rule, then it's your personal rule.
Wilmar wrote: "So then I thought, "Why not try Sci-fi since my book covers that genre?" I grabbed Diamond Age by Neil Stephenson and... well disappointing would be understating how I felt.I tried him again with Snow Crash and... well it was certainly better but, yeah... I don't think he's my kind of author. I'm hoping this year I'll be able to find some really damn good sci-fi books and maybe even some political conspiracy ones. "
If you didn't like The Diamond Age or Snow Crash, then we can't be pretend-married any more.
(I have no idea what that means. I overheard an 11-year-old girl say it at the store, so I figure it's the new hip lingo.)
Try Ex-Patriots by Peter Clines or Prepare to Die! by Paul Tobin.
Ha ha, I guess we'll have to get a pretend divorce.I was curious about Ex-Patriots and Prepare to Die, I may give those a look see once I'm done going through Snow Crash.
Leslie wrote: "Nowhere is there an official rule that says "you can only call it a book if there are no pictures and it's over a certain number of pages" if that's your personal rule, then it's your personal rule."Which is pretty much exactly what I said earlier.
When we say "read a book" we have a certain expectation of what that means, just as we understand what we mean colloquially by the word "book."
Sure, a 70-page story like Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss is a book, but I doubt many adults (who aren't developmentally disadvantaged) would consider that "reading a book". If our baseline is the average fully-functioning adult, we do pretty much assume that "reading a book" means something along the lines of a typical novel, short-story anthology or essay collection that is hundreds of pages long with few if any pictures.
It feels a bit like cheating to claim one of those tiny books you see at bookstore checkout counters as "reading a book" when they might have fewer words than the back of a cereal box.
True that. As much as I love reading Seuss...I would feel like cheating to count it in the challenge.
And truly I'm a bit surprised that posters have isbn #s. never noticed that before.
Don't get caught up on numbers... If you must, count pages.
Jenny wrote: "Don't get caught up on numbers... If you must, count pages."Don't you still run into that problem, though?
For Christmas a few years ago my cousin bought me a 232-page book about the moon by Michael Light called Full Moon which has something like 15 pages of text and is comprised primarily of photographs. Great book, but I wouldn't count it as "reading a book".
I know what I'm saying is pedantic, but having just read that Slate article where the guy claimed to "read a book a day", I was annoyed at the corner-cutting he did. I have a dozen books just like Full Moon and I could easily knock those out on a Saturday afternoon. I read the first Walking Dead collection the other night while half-watching CSPAN, and his list is chock-full of graphic novels.
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/cu...
I think if I add a short book I will just not count it as part of my challenge. I already added a far side book, so I need to make a note to read 101 books instead of 100.
Set my goal at 52 books sine I had never done the challenge before (I'm new to GR). So far I am ripping through it. Have 8 done, which GR tells me is like 17% of my goal or something. I also noticed a few trends with me and everyone else. (1) I too and attempting a re-read of WoT and (2) am hoping to bank some books here at the beginning of the year because I am going to try for Infinite Jest this year. Also, I am going to re-read the first couple Song of Ice and Fire books and get caught up on that series.
I'm going to try to hit 15 books this year. I'm a little ahead of schedule so far.Last year I tried for 30 and failed; turns out that reading a lot and writing a lot are mutually exclusive, at least within my life.
Leslie wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Lots of good challenges in this group. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1..."oooooo wow! Thanks for the link!!!"
No problem. I didn't really get that involved with many of the challenges last year but I am this year.
Leslie wrote: "Ah. Sarcasm. Yes. *Sigh*If you want to count it as a book, go ahead. I'm not about to dictate what you call a book and don't. I'm only saying that graphic novels and audiobooks have ISBN's and..."
Amen Leslie!
How does Scalzi's latest get counted in Goodreads? Does each installment count as a seperate book?
It looks like Goodreads is classifying it as one book to be released in May. I don't see entries for the divisions.
Just wanted to put this out there as something that is happening: http://bookriot.com/2013/02/04/no-mor...I actually did laugh out loud when I saw this.
LOL! I'd seen the email earlier. I guess my first thought was 'Why would people do that on Goodreads?' but then I remembered... Oh yeah...people. LOLLoved the added .gifs
I set my actual Goodreads Goal pretty high this year but my big overall challenge is to just branch out and read new genres or try new authors. The only specific goal under that overall challenge being to read at least ten classics, but aside from that the sky is the limit. :]
Only Feb 6th and after a couple of very short audio books I am up to 11 so far this year. Time to get stuck into those doorstops.
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Books mentioned in this topic
Full Moon (other topics)Green Eggs and Ham (other topics)
Prepare to Die! (other topics)
Ex-Patriots (other topics)
Hell House (other topics)
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