In Order or Jumping Around?

[Marina]

I've already made several changes to my plan, and there's quite a few topics where I haven't decided which book to read, but I definitely don't consider it cheating. I'm also a mood reader, and last year I learnt that I loose interest in a book, if I'm planning to far ahead when I'm going to read it. We all have different ways to tackle the challenge, and one way is as good as the other!

[Katie]

I want to bring this question up again as we're beginning to plan for 2017. In 2016, I did not plan my books and I jumped around because I'm very much a mood reader. It looks like most of you who responded to this thread also jumped around. For 2017, I'm considering following the order, but not planning my books. I would do this for the added challenge of going in order, but also the flexibility to read according to my mood.

Do you plan to do the 2017 challenge in the same way that you've done this year's? And I'm especially interested in those who have read in order. What has been you're experience with doing the challenge that way? Has it felt constraining to you?

[Zaz]

I'll do again "mostly in order". It's satisfying for me this way because it keeps me interested in all the books all along the year (which wouldn't work if I read the books I like the most first). I've decided most of my books, but there are some categories for which I've nothing I want to read for the moment, so I'll wait to see if some of my side-reads fit the prompts. Overall, the 2017 list is really more sequels-friendly for me so I succeeded to fit at least 6 in my plan :)

There are several books I'd like to start shortly after the start of the year, so for these ones, I'll read a little out of order. For example, my pick for the doorstop is 1000p long, so I'll start it in November this year and will try to finish it during Jan-Feb 2017. I've also some end-of-2016 or 2017 releases planned, so for some of them I'll have to wait a sale.

[Marta]

Katie wrote: "I want to bring this question up again as we're beginning to plan for 2017. In 2016, I did not plan my books and I jumped around because I'm very much a mood reader. It looks like most of you who r..."

This year I planned but I found that I read mostly in order for 10 weeks, then I started jumping around. I also had a lot looser plan at the beginning - 2-4 possibilities for each - then it really settled down.

[Marina]

I was a "jumper" this year, and I'll do the same next year. My only new tactics are completing some of the more challenging prompts. By that I mean prompts that doesn't appeal that much to me or prompts where I find it difficult finding books I want to read.

It'll be too difficult doing the challenge in order because I'm limited by the library and when books are available.

[Kirsten]

I've always been a "jumper", I guess. What I do is fill in as I read. There are always easy fillers for me. Like "a library book" or "a mystery" -- those are easy.

Then, when it starts getting harder, I just look for books that will fill the others.

[Rachel]

I'm definitely planning on jumping around, the same that I did this year. I get the majority of my books from the library so I can't guarantee they will be available when I need them, and I also like the freedom to choose which book I feel like reading. It's also partly a strategic move for me so I can spread out books that I'm most interested in to make sure I'm not struggling at the end of the year with categories that I'm not looking forward to. I've learned this year that it works better for me to get rid of some of the more difficult topics early on in the year, regardless of where they are placed in the list.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I've never had much choice in the matter since, like others, I get all of my books from Overdrive. Most of the time, I have to read whichever book is close to expiring and it's really hard to predict when a hold is going to come through. I also think it prevents me from getting tired of the challenge. I manage to fit a little more than just the ATY challenge but it's the bulk of my reading for the year so I have a feeling it would become tiresome if I did the order every year.

[Sophie]

This year, I planned one or two books for each category, only switched 3 or 4 books and I jumped around depending on my mood.

But, I still felt "stuck" by the challenge, for example when someone told me "you really should read this book", I would answer "yeah, in 2017, because all my books are planned for this year". That felt weird and I don't want that for next year.

So, I exported all my GR books, kept only the to-reads and noted down each book option for each category. My strategy for next year is to start with categories for which I have fewest options.

I prioritized between books I really want to read next year, books I'd like to read, but aren't top priority and the rest.

[Jody]

Last year, I jumped around and completed our Popsugar challenge, the Book Riot challenge, and the Popsugar Fall challenge. I had a vague plan for books for each challenge, but I did a lot of book swapping once I came across something that I really wanted to read, and I really enjoyed the jigsaw puzzle aspect of it.

This year, I decided to plan my books, read in order and not diverge from this. I've absolutely hated it. I haven't finished any of the challenges (I'm doing this, Popsugar and Book Riot) and won't. I haven't enjoyed reading nearly as much this year.

Next year, I'm not planning anything at all. I'll read what I want and see where it fits. I'll swap things around if I want to. And for prompts where nothing fits, then I'll go hunting for a book to fit it.

[Clare]

I want to try and keep as close to the order as possible but most of my books will be coming from the library/overdrive so i'll be jumping around a bit depending on what I can get my hands on. I'm also quite a slow reader so I plan on missing out a few categories along the way realistically i'm aiming for 42-45/52 books.

[Amy]

Jody wrote: "Last year, I jumped around and completed our Popsugar challenge, the Book Riot challenge, and the Popsugar Fall challenge. I had a vague plan for books for each challenge, but I did a lot of book s..."

I definitely feel like it's more fun to d it that way, Jody!

[Kirsten]

Laura wrote: "I've never had much choice in the matter since, like others, I get all of my books from Overdrive. Most of the time, I have to read whichever book is close to expiring and it's really hard to predi..."

Isn't Overdrive wonderful?

[Kirsten]

Sophie wrote: "This year, I planned one or two books for each category, only switched 3 or 4 books and I jumped around depending on my mood.

But, I still felt "stuck" by the challenge, for example when someone t..."

I just can't do that! I'm just not a planner. I may put down a couple of books I need to read. But I don't set them down in a row.

[Amy]

Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Laura wrote: "I've never had much choice in the matter since, like others, I get all of my books from Overdrive. Most of the time, I have to read whichever book is close to expiring and it's really..."

What is this Overdrive, Kirsten? Looking up as we speak!

[Rachel]

I don't think I'd be able to stick to the order. I don't like feeling restricted because it would make the books feel like a chore. I loved to read, but I hated reading anything for school because it was always on a time limit (and analyzed to death).

[Charity]

I'm a mood reader so jumping around works better for me. The last two years I have made a plan and mostly stuck with it. The problem is I get stuck on books that just don't pull me in and it takes way too long to read it. For next year I have a spread sheet with several options for each week. If I start one that doesn't grab me I will just pull another option. Some categories I've chosen a book for but will change if necessary. The others I just have options and I will pick up a book when the mood strikes.

[Elizabeth]

Next year I'm not jumping around, that's what I did this year and I got kind of behind, so i'm playing cacth up, even though I only got 10 books to read for this year ,

[Peter]

I've always been a jumper, but I also like to plan my list out. That said I haven't ever felt restricted by my list, but I've also never made it to the full 52. I'm a slower reader and have an extremely erratic and abnormal work schedule which also severely impacts my sleep and everyday routines. I've definitely improved because of this challenge though - only 18 last year but this year I'm already at 26 and will probably top 30 the way things are going.

[Jody]

Amy wrote: "I definitely feel like it's more fun to d it that way, Jody!"

Yes, for me, definitely! But, I'm all for trying new things and new approaches so I figured I'd give something different a try this year. Never again!! I also think, maybe, that because I've been focusing on classics and more "serious" books the past couple of years that it's starting to bog me down a little bit. The book I'm reading at the moment, A Fine Balance, I am absolutely loving, but it's taking me forever because it's so bloody depressing! I'm planning to amp up the fun element next year. Life is serious enough as it is!

[Jill]

I'm a jumper, but I do plan. A lot depends on my mood at the time. If I have read a book that I didn't like I prefer to read one I'm almost certain I will like next. This stops me getting bogged down. Having said that, I'm not worried about changing my plan at any time if something better turns up

[°~Amy~°]

I am a jumper, partly because of getting books at the library and partly because of my moods.

It's also hard to stick to the one book a week thing when I read 2 or 3 books every week. I'd have 'extras' that I guess I could fit into Popsugar or Bookriot but I really only like working on one challenge at a time. This year I finished 52 books, then I worked on Popsugar and then I started a mini-rejects challenge. Now I am free reading mostly.

As for planning, I did plan ahead in 2016 and had started planning 2017 until I erased the whole thing to start over. Having back up plans and what not was getting a bit overwhelming. I think I will fill out my plan again but I am very aware that the list will change as I go along, as it did this year.

[Sophie]

Amy wrote: "Kirsten *Dogs Welcome - People Tolerated" wrote: "Laura wrote: "I've never had much choice in the matter since, like others, I get all of my books from Overdrive. Most of the time, I have to read w..."

Amy, I'm not sure about others, but I have overdrive through my city library's online borrowing system. The library has thousands of ebooks and audiobooks that I can borrow through overdrive. The library will have access to only a couple of licenses for specific ebooks/audiobooks, so I have to place a hold and wait until it is available. I can also postpone taking a book out if I'm not ready for it or have too many on the go.

It's great because it's free. The main drawback is that if a book is very popular, you only have 3 weeks to read it. If not, you have to get back in line to reborrow it. (At least the system remembers exactly where you were if you do.) So new books can take a while until they become available.

I use it alot for audiobooks for my commute. I don't know if city libraries are the same elsewhere (I'm in Canada). And I don't know if peope use overdrive the same way we do at our library. Worth checking into if you like ebooks and audiobooks.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

I use the Ohio system and the Boston one since I've had cards in both cities. I'm not aware of the ability to delay the checkout but I may just not have explored the features a lot. A trick (that I maybe shouldn't be broadcasting :P) is that if my borrow expires then it won't actually return the book until I close it on my kindle. So if my borrow expires, I can finish the book as long as I keep it open on my kindle. The downside is that I can't switch to a different book during that time but at least I avoid getting back in line. It disappears off my checkouts still so I don't think it affects the license or the person receiving it after me.

[Sophie]

The way our system works is that we can "suspend" our hold up to 90 days (which you can suspend again and again). When you suspend your hold, you keep going up on the wait list, but when it's your turn to borrow it, if your hold is still suspended, the book goes to the next person in line after you, but you keep your position as the next person in line, so as soon as you cancel the suspension, when the next license becomes available, it's yours to borrow. I can keep up to 30 books on hold at once, with various suspension times.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Oh, I can do that! I hadn't thought about using it in that way though. I may have to take advantage of it next year :)

[Barbara]

In order. And that's why I'm very late :/

[Sophie]

This was my first year doing the challenge and I really enjoyed the way I did it. Not only did I jump around, I had no plan at the beginning except to try to read 52 books from my TBR list. I started the year reading whatever book struck my fancy and was available at the library. Once read, I noted down in the private notes all the topics that the book could fulfill. I did that until the end of July, then I downloaded my list to excel, checked which topics had not been fulfilled. I then chose several books that could fulfill these topics from my TBR list and that were available at the library and then placed holds on them. Now I have about 8 books to go, and except for one topic (the 16th book on my tbr list), I still can fulfill each of the remaining topics with a few choices.

So I will finally have my 2016 plan in place likely the last week of 2016 :)

Even though out of fun, I'm now going through the list for 2017 and selecting books from my tbr list that could work for each topic, I'm likely going to take the same approach next year.

My goal was really to see, now that my kids were school, whether I could find the time to read 52 books. The challenge was just a way of doing it in a more fun way. I came across this group by luck last December and it coincided well with my plan to read a book a week, so I joined the group only for that. Now I'm finding that I'm also beginning to follow the group and several threads more closely. The downside of getting involved too much in the group is that I may not finish 52 books next year if I spend too much time reading comments on this site.....;)

[°~Amy~°]

Soap wrote: "The way our system works is that we can "suspend" our hold up to 90 days (which you can suspend again and again). When you suspend your hold, you keep going up on the wait list, but when it's your ..."

I have three library cards so I occasionally get a log jam of books all becoming available at once. I use the suspend feature to hold my place in line until I have cleared the jam up a bit. I like not holding others up from reading the books, but also not having to go to the end of the very very long line. :-)

[°~Amy~°]

Laura wrote: "I use the Ohio system and the Boston one since I've had cards in both cities. I'm not aware of the ability to delay the checkout but I may just not have explored the features a lot. A trick (that I..."

My kindle app will actually delete a book mid-read if the license comes up in the middle. The trick for me is to keep my internet turned off on my tablet until I am done that book. I can read any other book that I have downloaded already, but I can't download any new ones obviously.

[Sophie]

Soap wrote: "The downside of getting involved too much in the group is that I may not finish 52 books next year if I spend too much time reading comments on this site.....;) "

This is my main problem, but as I'm prone to hang out on the internet instead of reading, at least on this group I don't feel as guilty ;)

[Katie]

Amy, that is such a good idea! I share account info with my friends all around the country, so we can access each other's libraries. I have 10 libraries on my Overdrive, and I all the time have books come in from multiple libraries, so it's a mad dash to finish them all in time. I will have to try using suspend as a way to manage it better. Do you have to suspend the hold before it comes in, or can you do it when the book comes in?

[°~Amy~°]

Katie wrote: "Amy, that is such a good idea! I share account info with my friends all around the country, so we can access each other's libraries. I have 10 libraries on my Overdrive, and I all the time have boo..."

I think you have to do it before. I keep a list of all the books I have on hold and what position I am currently in. When I see that I am first or second in line to get several books, I suspend them.