2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Megan wrote: "Winter wrote: "Wow this year has just been going so fast!! I have never read more varied than now, so a really good reading year. It's my first year with challenges, and you could say I went bana..."
So it won't be bad for group statistics or something? I am a completionist, so I have a tendency to be very strict, but at the same time this is reading and I want to enjoy the books also. :)
I am the same way Winter. I signed up for way too many challenges this year and actually ended up leaving a few groups because I was so stressed out. I am trying very hard not to beat myself up if I can't finish a challenge. Working on thinking of it as motivation to read, rather than something I have to finish. I find if I work too hard to finish them it starts feeling like a job rather than a fun hobby.
Next year I am definitely going to cut down though. Going to try signing up for the longer term challenges instead of shorter ones which stress me out more. I have also learned this year that I really don't like doing challenges that force me to read certain things. I am far too moody for that!
Next year I am definitely going to cut down though. Going to try signing up for the longer term challenges instead of shorter ones which stress me out more. I have also learned this year that I really don't like doing challenges that force me to read certain things. I am far too moody for that!
I think the challenges and group reads have forced me to pick up authors I normally wouldn't which is fantastic!
For me I could and should (?) probably have taken up more challenges this year than I did. Saying that though this was my first year doing the reading challenge (first year on Goodreads too), so a bit of opening night jitters is probably to be expected ;) In all seriousness though, I didn't want to feel forced into reading one thing or another and didn't want to worry too much, so I only joined two more challenges later in the year [which I'm well on top of, I've no fears there], and those were early ones. I'd like to say that I'll do more challenges next year to make up for it, but I reckon I'll be busier then than I am now so I might just stick to quarterly and yearly goals. Would like to be more active in the group though and finally sort my threads out, which I think I'm kind of doing right now really. Just have it be something I stick with I suppose.
Winter wrote: "Megan wrote: "Winter wrote: "Wow this year has just been going so fast!! I have never read more varied than now, so a really good reading year. It's my first year with challenges, and you could s..."
Nope, group stats don't matter. We want you to enjoy the reading! I'm a completionist as well, so I understand the tendency. I'm constantly reminding myself that if I'm not enjoying my hobby, I'm putting too much pressure on myself.
I have almost all challenges here, so at least it's collected here, but I signed up for too many yearly. They all looked so fun! I should try to tell myself that more Megan, I'm way too harsh. I have fallen in love with having my own corner, and I hate not being able to write finished on everyone ment to be finished this year. Trying to tell myself that I will have a new thread next year and that it won't look messy though :P
I joined goodreads challenges this year.I have put my 'foot' in a couple of them, ( or eyes, lol )
to get the feel of them.
There's a couple others I want to try, but, have not.
There's one, I do, but, for myself, count the pages.
I will join in that one for sure next year..
Like you, the stress, of committing myself to a challenge ,
Then can't finish it..
Speaking of yearly challenges, we're getting ready for 2016, so please vote for what challenge you'd like to see brought back next year. (Feel free to use the comments on the poll if you feel strongly about more than one.)
Hm haven't seen that poll.
Have a great weekend everyone!! ^^
What are everyone's weekend plans?My husband and I are doing our own little 5K run tomorrow, and then I have some work to get done (work has been crazy!).
Hurricane Patricia has slammed the western coast of Mexico at 165 mph, and Texas is expecting heavy rains tomorrow related to that. I'll be spending my birthday listening to a good audiobook (title to be chosen in the morning) and working on a beautiful sweater that I've started knitting.
Theresa, stay safe!I am currently at my parents' home for a couple of days but am going back to my home in the afternoon. I expect to get some work done and read the rest of the weekend. I was invited out with my boyfriend's friends tonight but I don't feel like going out.
That's scary Theresa, stay safe!
I am celebrating tonight, it was my three-year anniversary with my boyfriend on Wednesday and it is his birthday today. We are going out for dinner at an Irish whiskey pub and going to see Pan. Looking forward to it! :)
I am celebrating tonight, it was my three-year anniversary with my boyfriend on Wednesday and it is his birthday today. We are going out for dinner at an Irish whiskey pub and going to see Pan. Looking forward to it! :)
My cousin is visiting. She's a book nerd too, and we found an amazing reading spot in the local nature preserve. Totally going back with our books tomorrow!
I just got back from a quick mid-week break, where all i did was read (on the beach, at the hotel, in bed) so i'm updating goodreads (fun!) and catching up on house work (not fun!) this weekend!I hope everyone affected by the tropical storm stays safe and dry!
Megan wrote: "My cousin is visiting. She's a book nerd too, and we found an amazing reading spot in the local nature preserve. Totally going back with our books tomorrow!"That sounds amazing!!! Love reading with other's, but it doesn't happen too often.
I have an idea for a quarterly challenge for next year! Where should I post it?I'll put it here for now but if I need to post it elsewhere I'll do that too! :)
I was looking at the bookshelf for this group, it contains the list of all the monthly group reads that have been read since the group began. I thought it would be fun to make it a challenge to read as many books from this groups bookshelf as we can. There are a lot on the list I haven't read yet but would like to.
We have a Challenge Ideas topic that members can post suggestions in. We pull from that topic for the vast majority of our monthly challenges (since those are the most commonly suggested), but we appreciate all ideas, especially now that we're officially in 2016 planning mode!
We did this particular idea as a monthly challenge in December of last year, but that doesn't mean we can't do it again! I'll pass your suggestion along to the other mods.
Amazon is opening a bookstore near my university. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'll check it out soon and report back.What do you think about an Amazon brick-and-mortar bookstore?
Cassandra wrote: "Amazon is opening a bookstore near my university. I'm not sure how I feel about it, but I'll check it out soon and report back.What do you think about an Amazon brick-and-mortar bookstore?"
Interesting. I'd be curious to see what kind of inventory they'll have. How large will the store be, do you have any idea?
I have very mixed feelings about this! While I like the idea of having physical access to Amazon products and prices (and no shipping fees), I worry about what this is going to do to all of the private bookstores out there. Amazon seems to be taking over so much of the world's business as it is, having a physical bookstore almost seems like they are trying to push even more businesses out.
Catherine, I'm not sure how big the store is (although the space used to be a Blue C Sushi if that is a frame of reference for you). An article I read said they will carry between 5000-6000 books, but it's still hard to gauge size because all of the books "face out" meaning that fewer books can be displayed per linear foot of shelf space.I agree with you, Kelsi! I really appreciate smaller bookstores, although I don't actually give them very much of my book-buying budget because I'm really quite cheap when it comes to buying books. It's kind of nice to be able to browse freely and know that you are going to get the best price, but it doesn't bode well for independent (or even other chain) bookstores.
I actually buy a lot of used books from third-party sellers on Amazon. I know a lot of people don't like Amazon, but they do offer smaller sellers a way to reach a large audience of people.
Wow I can't nomitate any of the books, I need a "what you didn't get to read in 2015-challenge" lol
I'm kind of in the same boat as you Winter - I did read some 2015 books this year, but not many, and I'd be surprised if any of them had made it into the nominees. In any case it feels almost wrong to nominate or write-in something when I only read a book or two from that category, though I might just end up doing that eventually. At least I have a few days yet to make up my mind and see if I want to go for it or not. ... Or I might just do it now :p(In all seriousness though I think a 2015 challenge for sometime next year would be a very good idea :))
It's that time of year... I'm soooo excited/anxious to see the 2016 challenges so I can start planning my reading list!
Alisia wrote: "It's that time of year... I'm soooo excited/anxious to see the 2016 challenges so I can start planning my reading list!"Stay tuned! :)
This is my second year in the group and at the beginning I decide to join a lot of challenge... Sadly I know that many of them I will not finish but I am happy to see that some of them I will. For me the most interesting one has been the Bookriot challenge that also have some reading recommendations for each of the task in their youtube challenge. It has been opening my mind to read more diverse that was (as many I guess) My main goal of the year. Sadly I still see that most of my writers are americans, so I can see that one of my goals for 2016 will be to try to reduce it to less than 50%.
But if it wasn't for this group and their challenge I guess that my reading stats will not be so high (compared to what I was reading a few years ago). So I am waiting to see what the challenge for 2016 will have to offer to make me a better reader.
Oo, I'm excited for 2016 challenges, too! And... is there going to be a Secret Santa thing, this year?
As concerns the Amazon physical bookstore, I agree that this is going to be bad on smaller, independent bookstores, but I have to say I like Amazon. I buy many of my books there, because I use to read obscure authors and difficult to find books (or at least, difficult to find in my small Italian town), and it's easier to find them there. Also, as it's already been said, I think Amazon (and online bookshops like AbeBooks, which is also Amazon owned) give smaller bookshops the opportunity to have their catalog online and be known in this way.I am very intrigued by the Amazon physical bookstore, but I'd like to know if they have that same huge variety in books as they have online. If they don't, I don't see the added value in buying at their online bookstore.
As regards 2016 challenges, instead, I'm super excited and am just now rushing to see what's up!
Karina, absolutely! It's, like, my favorite thing about this group. :)
So exited for 2016!! Will be mye first full year, and I learned a lot this year!
Christine wrote: "GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!"Good afternoon! ;)
Winter wrote: "Christine wrote: "GOOD MORNING EVERYONE!"Good afternoon! ;)"
Good evening! ;)
Yay! First challenge for next year published! Can't wait to see more challenges!
I made it to the Amazon bookstore over the weekend, so I'm reporting back as promised.First of all, it was SUPER BUSY so I couldn't look around too much. The shelves were set up a little bit like a maze, so you had to pass by shelves of other books on your way to whatever you were looking for.
I'd like to go back and browse some more after the holiday season, but the one thought that struck me was "This is my Goodreads group in a bookstore." Not the social aspects (nothing could every replace you!) but all of the books I find out about after seeing what you're reading... Those are the books that are on the shelves. I think this will be most helpful for people who DON'T spend a ridiculous amount of time on Goodreads.
One thing that bugged me was that there were no prices on the books or shelves. This is because the price would change too often (since all of the prices are "lowest on Amazon"). There were scanners that you could use to check the price, but I wish they would have just used auto-updating electronic shelf tags.
Cassandra wrote: "I made it to the Amazon bookstore over the weekend, so I'm reporting back as promised.First of all, it was SUPER BUSY so I couldn't look around too much. The shelves were set up a little bit like..."
That sounds AMAZING. I would probably spend hours in there! I agree though, nothing can replace my Goodreads community. :)
That does sound pretty cool! I would also spend a lot of time there. It sounds a bit like Ikea...you have to look at everything to find the exit lol. It sounds like it would be good for people who aren't sure what they are really looking for. I wish there was one near me to check out! It will probably take a while for them to come up to Canada though.
Cassandra wrote: "I made it to the Amazon bookstore over the weekend, so I'm reporting back as promised.First of all, it was SUPER BUSY so I couldn't look around too much. The shelves were set up a little bit like..."
You wouldn't mind me for hours in this place if I went there. I would have to make sure that I didn't take any money with me so I wouldn't be tempted to spend what I don't have.
Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate today!What holiday traditions do you have? What are you thankful for?
My family goes to Vegas every Thanksgiving. We're all over the US, so Vegas is actually fairly central for us. :) It's the best tradition.
I remember you mentioning that last year! I think that's so cool. Everyone in your family gets to go on vacation to be together.My extended family is kind of crazy, so we do Thanksgiving with just my parents and I. My mom is an excellent cook, though, so we still do all of the the traditional American Thanksgiving dishes and have leftovers for days.
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!! Here we do not celebrate this holiday but on the 6th of December there is the tradition of Saint Nicholas and he gaves a small present for kids, also in the night of the 29 till the 30 is St Andrew's and here is huge party... I will not party this year because I will go to a business trip to Barcelona (I can't complainI escape the cold!). But now I am a manager and my team are like kids so they expect a present from me for Saint Nicholas... Oh well... Like all good kids they do like candies, so candies from Spain will do....
Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I got together with my dad and stepmom and we had a traditional turkey meal for lunch ... turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, corn casserole, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie for dessert! It was delicious :)
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
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American Gods: Tenth Anniversary (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Hampton Sides (other topics)Stephen King (other topics)
Otto Penzler (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
Stephen King (other topics)
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It's my first year with challenges, and you could say I went bananas. Every one ..."
I did the same my first year in the book club. I scaled back this year, preferring year-long challenges to some of the shorter ones. Really, though, it comes down to not judging yourself and giving yourself some grace in whether or not you finish. There is no judgment from the rest of us if you do or do not finish the challenge. I'm really just interested in what you're reading and if you like it:)