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Personal Challenges - 2014
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Kassandra's 2014 Reading Challenge
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Kassandra
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Apr 29, 2014 05:06AM
I cannot believe that it's the end of April already. Where did that month go? I started off pretty well but got really busy in the last two weeks so I haven't had much time to read at all, and it shows in my numbers. I hope that May will be a more forgiving month. There is a massive stack of books on my bedside table begging for my attention!
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Lorah - I'm trying not to plan too much for May as I will really be focusing on what strikes my fancy at the time. I find I read much more quickly that way and I'm hoping to get my May numbers up a bit. Having said that, I'm definitely putting the following as my priority for the month as must reads: Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers, The Kite Runner, The Maze Runner.How about you - what's on your list for May?
I finally finished The Sting Man and it took me forever to get through. Because of that, this is my first book that I have finished for May! I was hoping to be much further ahead than this so I'm feeling a little pressure. I'm really excited to start Stiff now, especially after seeing how much people are enjoying it. I've just realized that although I'm doing well with my newly increased target, I'm falling behind on my mini-challenge to clear out my TBR. I set a goal of clearing out 25 and so far, I've only gotten to 7 of them. There are just so many good books to read! To finish these up this year, I'm going to have to get through 3 a month for the rest of the year...that's a tall order for me considering how bad I am at sticking to a list! I'm going to have to draft a plan on how best to attack these.
Mod
Holly, we are in the same boat! I'm trying to think of a solution but with so many great books coming out in the next few months, it's going to be very tough to stay away from bookstores!
Slow month so far, just finished up my second read. I'm at a cross-roads on whether I should read multiple books. I've never been one to read multiples but then I got my iPad and now I kind of have to (so I tell myself :) )Reading multiple books seems to have slowed down my overall progress...yet when I stick with one book at a time it takes me ages to get through books if I'm not enjoying them. Really, this is probably a great problem to have - one should never complain about how much reading they need to do!
It is quite a dilemma for me too, Kassandra. I try to read a non-fiction book while I'm reading fiction, that bumps my read count up :-)Good luck with your challenge, you are doing great, don't worry about deviating from your lists, I came across some really interesting books which I enjoyed by browsing other people books and reading their reviews.
You are absolutely right about " one should never complain about how much reading they need to do!" LOL
May is still a slow month for me so far - there is just too much going on right now! I've just finished the first James Potter series so hopefully that will move me along at a faster pace as I continue to read the series.
Wow! May has been such a struggle! It's been a busy month so I'm going to have to really step it up to even get halfway to my goal for the month.
Just finished A Field Guide to Burying Your Parents and loved it. I took it to work with me and couldn't put it down during my lunch and ended up finishing it. It was a surprisingly poignant read and because I read it in a day, I should be able to get into something else quickly to try and bring up my May numbers. They need all the help they can get!
May has been a struggle for me too. I think my problem is that I keep accidentally picking 500+ page books this month though.
I'm trying my best to pick up my numbers for the month because May has not been a great month. Luckily I have found some really good authors this week (2 totally new to me) that have helped me get through some books quickly. I have to make better selections for the rest of the month and keep to some smaller (350 pages or less) books when possible.Chase - I have a habit of picking chunksters too! I hope you're able to pick some shorter reads for the rest of the month.
Mod
I did it...I caved and bought books! I've been trying to be so good because May is a nightmare month for expenses for me but my favourite bookstore is having a 3 day sale where everything is at least 50% off. I knew I shouldn't have walked in but I couldn't resist - who could resist being able to get twice as many books for the same price?!?!? I tried justifying it by saying that I had a gift card, but since the gift card only had $7 left on it, I don't think that really counts! Funny enough, I don't regret it at all now that I'm home. I'm so excited to dive into these in June!!!!
Thanks for the support, Iasa! Hubby didn't see it that way but I'm glad you understand me ;)
Hi Kassandra- I find that I pressure myself into picking up the pace for reading if I fall a little behind in my goal. I know it's strange, but I'm glad to see someone else does the same thing!I'm also having the similar issue that I want to read a bunch of my hardcopy books this year, but I keep being distracted by buying Kindle books.
Good luck!
Hi Bridget - thanks for the feedback! Do you have any strategies that you have found to be helpful for getting your numbers back up when you fall behind?
I wish I did! I usually just end up picking shorter books to make myself feel like I'm making more progress--usually it works!
That sounds like a pretty good strategy - I'm going to have to give that a try. I have 2 days left to get 5 books done :)
Wow, my secondary challenge to knock off books on my TBR is wayyyy harder than I thought it would be. While all of the books I have selected really excite me, every time I get a new book it knocks my TBR further down the list. This is the best kind of problem to have, I know, but it's still a problem that needs to be resolved :)
I've tried to include as many books from my TBR mini-challenge to the new Book Bingo challenge in hopes that this will help me get through both of my lists. It should be a fun summer of reading!
Lol that's very true Iasa! If I were to stop buying books altogether then I might stand a chance of bringing it down...once I was on a desert island!
Completely agree with both of you ladies! someone said that trying to shorten one's tbr list is utopia, one can only try
Hmm - I don't know if I would think of shortening my TBR as utopia...as much as I want to get it down, I think I would feel quite sad not to have it! Maybe that's why I can't stop getting new books!
I'm loving the mini-challenges that I'm doing (Book Bingo and TBR) because they are forcing me to knock off some titles that I probably would have waited to read otherwise. This group has been such a good thing for my reading!I finished Looking for Alaska today and that was a tremendous book. It hit really close to home for me with an experience that I had in high school. It's always interesting to see how others have survived and coped with situations...it gives you great perspective.
Mod
Holly, his works are definitely worth the read. Thus far (and despite all the hype) my favourites have been Looking for Alaska and An Abundance of Katherines.
Kassandra wrote: "I finished Looking for Alaska today and that was a tremendous book. It hit really close to home for me with an experience that I had in high school. It's always interesting to see how others have survived and coped with situations...it gives you great perspective. "I liked The Fault in Our Stars for the YA challenge in March and Looking for Alaska is also on my tbr list, I hope I can squeeze it in before the end of the year
Kassandra wrote: "Hmm - I don't know if I would think of shortening my TBR as utopia...as much as I want to get it down, I think I would feel quite sad not to have it! Maybe that's why I can't stop getting new books!"I think it's a process of rise and fall. You have periods of adding a bunch of books you want, and then you have periods of knocking books off the list. I think the problem though is that the books that we add latest tend to be the ones we want to knock off first.
Chase, I'm glad I'm not the only one with that problem! What is it about the new books that totally distract you from those you already have?
Mod
I finally finished Journey to the Centre of the Earth, which I have been working on since April. I really got into it at the end and I'm glad I stuck with it!
I read The Bear today. An emotional book, told from the perspective of a five year old. A really surprising read that will stay with me for a long time.
Despite a slow start to the month, I'm moving quickly through my books this week. I love the weather that we are having - it is keeping me outdoors and that means finding new ways to read outside!Plus, there are two weeks and one day left (yay!) before I got on vacation so I have to narrow down my book list. This is the hard part - do I take hard copies of my books, like I have always done on beach holidays...or do I take my iPad? Decisions, decisions!
I am always worried about taking electronics to the beach but I usually take it and pack one paperback just in case.
I think more than anything I'm worried about it getting lost or stolen but you're right, Iasa, it's great for variety! I think I will take both. Thanks for the advice, Roseanne and Iasa.
I finished This is Where I Leave You today. The author is new for me but I read it because the movie adaptation is coming out soon and I like to read the book first. I really liked this book! I can completely relate to being unable to communicate with siblings so it was reassuring to see that it's not just my family :) I definitely recommend this one.
I found a WIFI zone on vacation and wanted to post my updates as I've done quite a bit of reading in the last few days! I've just started The Maze Runner and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. I'll keep at it and see how it goes.
Back from vacation, hurray! I finished off The Maze Runner and Take One With You today, which was great. I've been meaning to get to them for a bit so I'm happy to have crossed them off the list.
I finished the Kings of Cool today, which I enjoyed quite a bit.With 5.5 months left to go in the year, I'm thinking of changing my goal again. It's presently 80 (upped from 65) but since I'm 14 ahead of schedule, I'm considering pushing it up to 100. This was my ultimate dream goal for the year, so I'm super excited that I'm even within range as it's a HUGE improvement over last year. This group has been so helpful for that! I think I'll wait until the fall to reassess the goal though, just in case!
Congratulations on your progress Kassandra!
Mod
Lol thanks Holly! That's the ultimate goal.
I did it! I did it! I did it!It took a few months, but I have FINALLY completed reading The Count of Monte Cristo. While it's definitely not my favourite read this year, I'm extremely happy and RELIEVED to knock this one off my TBR list.
YAAAY Kassandra! Isn't that a great feeling?!
It's a fantastic feeling! That was a tough battle.
Huzzah! That's worth a year's worth of reading on its own!
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