2013 Reading Challenge: ALL

[[deleted user]]

How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?

[Shona]

Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Sounds intriguing Eric....who would you pick to read?

[[deleted user]]

Nabokov maybe? Or Margaret Atwood? Or Mark Twain?

[[deleted user]]

Cormac McCarthy, Martin Amis...

[Esther]

I have already planned that 2013 will be the year of Jasper Fforde. Not exclusively but I will do my level best to catch up with all his current series.

[Ann]

Darn, I thought you were resolving to read ALL OF THE BOOKS.

[[deleted user]]

Imagine how much crap you'd have to read to read all the books. I'd have to finish The Night Circus! And Bridges of Madison County!

[Matt]

Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Dang it! I was recently thinking that very thing about P.G. Wodehouse... not only about reading all his books, but all of his the books in order of publish date. That's 97 books (according to Wikipedia)... so this could take a while...

[Esther]

Eric wrote: "Imagine how much crap you'd have to read to read all the books. I'd have to finish The Night Circus! And Bridges of Madison County!"
Just the thought of all those Nicholas Sparks novels and having to finish Moby Dick!!!
And not necessarily crap but stuff I just don't like. That is the most liberating element of my GR experience - learning that no matter how renowned a book maybe, there is no shame in DNF.

[[deleted user]]

AS much as I love Wodehouse, I think it would get repetitive after a while. Not to mention that it might be hard to track down a lot of them.

And I love Moby Dick!

[Esther]

Matt wrote: "Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Dang it! I was recently thinking that very thing about P.G. Wodehouse... ..."
In between JF I was considering reading Agatha Christie in chronological order.

[Katie]

For those of us with Kindles, today's Daily Deal (12-15-12) lists Booktopia Oxford's author Tom Franklin's novel Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter on sale for $1.99! Woot! Woot!

[[deleted user]]

Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Hmmm, I'd consider reading three or four more novels of Margaret Atwood, Dennis Lehane and the Circus books of John LeCarre; but I'd admit that I probably wouldn't read the entire canon of any one author in one year. After three or four titles, even with other books in between, the writing becomes stale to me and I lose interest in the author.

Come to think of it, it applies to subject matter as well. I can read three or four books about a particular topic and after that I need to move on.

This may explain why my reading lists are so very... eclectic :-)

[Matt]

Esther wrote: "Matt wrote: "Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Dang it! I was recently thinking that very thing about P.G. ..."

Agatha Christie wrote 66 novels, almost 150 short stories, and 16 plays... I think this is doable!

[melodie]

sound likek a idea but who to read idea welcome

[Shona]

I might try William Boyd and Ian McKewan....I've only read one of their books each but I've loved them both.

[Elizabeth☮]

i might try steinbeck.

[[deleted user]]

Anybody want to tackle Harper Lee?

[Linda]

Eric wrote: "Anybody want to tackle Harper Lee?"

I think I could handle that, Eric. We could throw in Arthur Golden for good measure.

[Chris]

Eric wrote: "Anybody want to tackle Harper Lee?"

LOL Eric! I was going to give a snarky response that I'd read her, but you beat me to it! :-))

[Stacie]

I'm thinking Mark Twain and Ayn Rand since I've been meaning to revisit them.

[Lekeshua]

Eric wrote: "How about this: pick one or more of your favorite authors and resolve to read EVERYTHING they've published?"

Love this idea. The hard part for me is deciding which author.

[Amy]

Great idea! I did this in 2011 with ALL of the Booktopia authors (luckily there was only the one retreat, or else it might of been challenging). I highly recommend all of Chris Bohjalian's books, though some I actually felt connected to while others were just good reads.

[nancy]

For the 2011 challenge I added 11 books to the amount I read the year before and in 2012, I added 12 more. But, I don't know if
I can read 43 + 13 for 2013. It seems like a lot of books but I sure have enjoyed doing it. It really helps to always have an audiobook going as well as reading a "real book".
I'm thinking maybe I'll challenge myself to 13 booktopia books this year instead since I'd like to try and get to two of the weekends.

[Trina]

I would like to try to reduce my stack of TBR books so I was thinking that for every new book I buy in 2013, I need to read at least 2 that I have previously bought and not read yet.

[Sabrina]

I think I will try to read at least 4 Neil Gaiman books and finish 2 graphic novels. That's in addition to my goal of 24 books for 2013.

[[deleted user]]

Sabrina wrote: "I think I will try to read at least 4 Neil Gaiman books and finish 2 graphic novels. That's in addition to my goal of 24 books for 2013."

You can kill two birds with one stone there. Sandman is Neil Gaiman's best work.

[Robin]

Going to try one book of short stories and one TBR book each month, and fill in the rest with whimsical choices.

[Sabrina]

Have Sandman series on the radar.

[Jay]

If I was going to read all of an author's work that author would have to bounce around topics and genres or I would burn out quickly.

I failed pretty miserably on my 2012 goals so this year is going to be the year of the tome. I am usually trying to run up my total books to meet a goal so I end up avoiding longer books. This year I plan to try and read as many 500+ page books as I can in a year and see how I do. Throw in the usual graphic novels and the books for the book club I am in and I think I have a pretty good plan for 2013.

[Ann]

Jay wrote: "If I was going to read all of an author's work that author would have to bounce around topics and genres or I would burn out quickly.."

Both Ian McEwan and Margaret Atwood would be good choices because of that, I think.

[JoLene]

Reading all the works by an author is probably not a good challenge for me. I don't even like to read series books in a row. I suppose if the person had a limited body of work, I might be able to space it out.

I'm actually thinking along the lines of Jay's goal of reading "chunksters". I keep upping the number of books I read each year and I participate in some challenges where I am focusing on quantity and lean toward shorter books. I've had Gone with the Wind on my TBR for too long!!!

[Tracey]

I would like to read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series and re-read some that I've already read. That may be an idea I can get behind. I also like the idea of using a random number generator to choose which book I read next. But I'd definitely have to learn how to put a book down that I'm not enjoying. (I guess that could also be a challenge. I always feel like I have to finish a book even if I'm not enjoying it.) Thank you to Tanya for the random idea. I guess I have a little while to think about it.

[[deleted user]]

Tracey wrote: "I would like to read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series and re-read some that I've already read. That may be an idea I can get behind. I also like the idea of using a random number generator to choose which book I read next. But I'd definitely have to learn how to put a book down that I'm not enjoying. (I guess that could also be a challenge. I always feel like I have to finish a book even if I'm not enjoying it.) Thank you to Tanya for the random idea. I guess I have a little while to think about it. "

I seriously need to tackle my TBR stacks next year! I pulled down the stacks and sorted them over the Thanksgiving holiday and, in the past 6 years, I've hoarded about 600 books that I haven't read yet! I've decided that for 2013 I'm going to use the random number generator to select 13 of those titles and; read the 13 oldest titles in the stacks. That will take care of about 25% of my reading next year and though it's not much relative to my stacks, it's a start!

As for reading the complete works of an author, I'm going to go for Dennis Lehane's catalogue :-)

[melodie]

Margaret Atwood read her for the year of 2013

[Bobbi]

Tanya/dog eared copy wrote: "Tracey wrote: "I would like to read Jasper Fforde's Thursday Next series and re-read some that I've already read. That may be an idea I can get behind. I also like the idea of using a random number..."

I'm afraid to tally the number of books I own but haven't read because I know it will be astronomical, and then I'll get depressed! But honestly, it still probably wouldn't stop me from buying more books!

[Amy]

For 2013 I am giving myself 13 challenges. I am hoping to get through some of the "newer" TBRs (meaning after 2009 when I joined Goodreads, as I made quite the dent the year in those titles), while also allowing flexibility to read some new 2013 titles.

1. +13 in 2013
2. 3 oldest TBR from 2009
3. 4 oldest TBR from 2010
4. 4 oldest TBR from 2011
5. 1 oldest TBR from 2012
6. 12 published in 2013
7. 12 oldest on bookshelf
8. Booktopia 1 (which I get to attend!!!!)
9. Booktopia 2
10. Booktopia 3
11. 12 randomly selected
12. 2 history books (titles I ran across in Don't Know Much About History: Everything You Need to Know About History but Never Learned for Booktopia in 2012).
13. 12 books with the numbers 1 - 12 in the title ( and Ready Player OneA Tale of Two Cities are my first two)

[Michelle]

I read my first John Irving and David Mitchell in 2011. I read one additional Irving and two Mitchell in 2012 and was impressed by my first Barbara Kingslover. In 2013, I want to continue to read one book from the three authors I have already mentioned and add one Stienbeck, and one McEwan. It will take some time, but I hope to read all of the books each author has written and add at least one new "favorite author" to the list each year.

[Betty]

Michelle wrote: "I read my first John Irving and David Mitchell in 2011. I read one additional Irving and two Mitchell in 2012 and was impressed by my first Barbara Kingslover. In 2013, I want to continue to read..."

If you have not read her, Geraldine Brooks is great.

[Melissa]

My challenge this year is big books. For the past several years, I have avoided big books so that I could increase my total number of books read for the year. I also want to finish some of the books in my TBR pile. When Borders went out of business, I went on a buying spree, and I still have about 30 paperbacks I haven't touched. I discovered some new-to-me-authors this year, and I would like to find more next year. I read several graphic novels this year (Sandman, Persepolis, Batman: Year One) and I would like to read some more.
I am also determined to attend a Booktopia.

[Marianne]

So, what is the 2013 reading challenge?

[Ann-Marie]

Melissa wrote: "My challenge this year is big books. For the past several years, I have avoided big books so that I could increase my total number of books read for the year. I also want to finish some of the book..."
I just decided that my 2013 challenge will be to read at least six of the Big Fat Books in my shelf. Just like Melissa I tend to avoid the big fat ones (because they leave less time to read all the other books I want to read ( I know, stupid...) so I´ve chosen these (I´m allowed to choose others if I want to) A Big Book has more than 500 pages.

Jerusalem: The Biography,Parade's End, Atlas Shrugged, De fattiga i Łódź, Agaat, Existence

[Sophie]

Due to a new job my reading challenge went really badly in 2012- so 2013 will be much better for me!

I'm going for 39 books:
13 classics
13 recommendations from friends/ books on the nightstand
And 13 books I own but have never read

Anything else I want to read has to be extra

[Ann]

Marianne wrote: "So, what is the 2013 reading challenge?"

Marianne, unless Michael has a plan, I don't think BOTNS is doing an "official" challenge this year. But if you'd like to make your own, feel free!!

My personal challenge is to have people read more or learn to like or try out short stories. More on that coming soon.

[[deleted user]]

Marianne wrote: "So, what is the 2013 reading challenge?"

I don't think there is one per se, so you can create one however you like! For me, I'm incorporating several different types of challenges into my overall 2013 Challenge of reading 113 books. I'm including Eric's suggestion of reading the entire works of one author and have chosen Dennis Lehane. I started reading/listening to Dennis Lehane's novels last year and I'm going to focus on reading the remaining eight books that I haven't gotten to yet. :-)

I'm also looking forward to Ann's Short Story challenge :-)

[Kendra]

I know this will probably sound odd to most of you, but I have never kept track of how many books I've read in a year. So, this year, I am going to start a reading journal, try to read a few more non-fiction books along with the fiction that I tend to favor, and try to add some short stories, which I haven't read much of since college (a long time ago!). I'd also like to dive into some of the literary classics that I've never taken the time to read. I look forward to suggestions from this group on that subject!

[Esther]

Kendra wrote: "I know this will probably sound odd to most of you, but I have never kept track of how many books I've read in a year. So, this year, I am going to start a reading journal, try to read a few more n..."
I hardly kept a book journal until I got online and realised I'd forgotten which books I'd read.
I didn't keep track of how many each year until I joined GR and only started creating a separate shelf in 2009.
Now I would feel lost without them.

[Esther]

I am join Eric's All Challenge - I will try to read every book I own by Jasper Fforde and maybe Agatha Christie too.

[Karen]

For 2012: I have finished 18 books and could possibly finish 2-3 more for a total between 19 and 21.

This is the first year I've tracked my books read since 2009 when I joined a group: 52 Books in 52 Weeks (on Ravelry) - and since I'm an overachiever I actually read 104 books instead of just 52...

I don't want to revisit that accomplishment in 2013. I have enjoyed getting ideas from other commenters.

My goals for 2013:
3 books already on my nightstand (already owned; never read)
3 Booktopia books
4 Books recommended by BOTN
3 Read-alongs (with various groups, mostly on Ravelry)
13 Other random books (library, borrowed, etc.)

26 Books to be read in 2013

I feel this is a very do-able goal! (Thanks for the challenge!)

[Deborah]

I own so many books that I have not yet read so I will go with reading 13 that I already own - it is the only way I can justify my book buying habit :)