2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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Lifetime Reading Goals
Some lists to get you startedThe Modern Library's List
List Challenge's 200 Books
Pulitzer Prize Winners
Also, don't forget, you could just set a number, any number, it's really up to you.
My life time reading goal is to never forget to read for fun. I know many teachers who read so much for their job, that they forget to read for fun. Hopefully I will have a full time job starting this fall, and I don't want to become too busy to find time to read for fun.
Kelly wrote: "My life time reading goal is to never forget to read for fun. I know many teachers who read so much for their job, that they forget to read for fun. Hopefully I will have a full time job starting t..."I think that's an amazing goal!! And truly important! I have kind of been in a slump past weeks and I picked some boos ( a series) just for the pure entertainment value ^^
I guess I would say I have a few lifetime goals. The most important one is the 1001-list. But if it ever is not fun any more I won't do it. I also want to read the whole Pulitzer list and be well read in Norwegian (home country), Polish and Russian literature. Finally I want to read all of Stephen Kings' fiction. That should keep me busy for a while ^^
My lifetime goal is to read the Complete Works of William Shakespeare. So far, I know the story of most of his plays but have actually only read 7 plays and two sonnets. The Bard mini challenge in this group really helped to motivate me and I hope to read at least a couple more plays by the end of the year.
I've been working my way through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I don't want to read the whole thing, necessarily; I think it would be practically impossible, at least for me...especially because they update it with more books every few years. But I use it as a source for finding time-tested titles for my TBR. I've currently read 127 from the list, and I have another 200-300 I'm keen to read.Additionally, I have a goal of reading the entire oeuvres of my dozen or so favorite authors. I try to limit myself to no more than one book by each per year, depending on how many titles they've written, whether they are still living, how prolific they are, etc. I want to potentially be able to enjoy their work for years to come.
I have a new project I intend to start soon. In my head, I'm calling it "Reading the Nobelles." I want to read at least one, but probably more as time goes on, by each of the (currently only, but hopefully increasing) 14 women who have been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. I have read something by a couple of them before, but I will read additional works by them for this project. I want to focus on the female Laureates, because I have read and will likely read in future so many of the men, anyhow, and the women are often practically forgotten through the years, with a few notable exceptions.
For the record, these are the authors:
1909 - Selma Lagerlöf
1926 - Grazia Deledda
1928 - Sigrid Undset
1938 - Pearl S. Buck
1945 - Gabriela Mistral (poet)
1966 - Nelly Sachs (poet)
1991 - Nadine Gordimer
1993 - Toni Morrison
1996 - Wislawa Szymborska (poet)
2004 - Elfriede Jelinek
2007 - Doris Lessing
2009 - Herta Müller
2013 - Alice Munro
2015 - Svetlana Alexievich
My goal for a few years now has been to have read 1,000 books by the time I'm 30. There will definitely be books that I've missed from my total list here on GR as there's no way I'm going to be able to remember all the books I've read since I was 3. I'm now just over 4 years away from that and only 300 books away so I think I'm going to be able to do it. When I first set myself the goal I thought it was unattainable so I'm happy to see myself closing in on it.
My lifetime goal is to finish every series that I've started and enjoyed.
Among my lifetime goals: read all of the Pulitzers, read through the majority of the Rory Gilmore list (maybe even watch the series again and read them in order?), finish all my series books, and get through my entire TBR stack.
Because I have noticed that my reading tastes have not remained exactly the same over the decades, that I never like all the books in any of those famous lists, that I feel that at my age I should spend less time finishing books I hate, and my dad has all but stopped reading fiction now that he is in his 80s (he read a lot of it), this is very tough. My one lifetime reading goal is to continue reading a mix of fiction and nonfiction for the rest of my life, either visually or by audibooks.
My lifetime reading goal is to read a book that was published from each year I am alive. I was born in 1984, so read a book from that year, then '85, 86', so on and so on.
I am fickle when it comes to what I'll pick up next, so sticking to a genre or author doesn't sound fun to me. The only goal that really makes sense to me is to read more books this year than last, thus keeping myself constantly working at it AND entertained. :)
My number one goal is to read every book I have at home. I keep changing books (either trading, selling or giving some of them), but the number always stays the same because I don't read fast enough and I keep choosing books that I don't have/buying new ones.Now that I've read all books written by Gillian Flynn, my #1.2 goal is to read all of the books written by Nora Roberts/J. D. Robb. Quite impossible given the fact she publishes 6 books per year since the 80's and I've only started to read them in 2008/2009. So far, I've read only 61 of around 230. But I have almost all of the works published in Brazilian Portuguese (yes, almost half of my books were written by her).
#2 goal is to read all works by Tolstoy.
I think my goal is simple but still quite an undertaking:read every book I own!
Since I acquire books at a much faster rate than I read them, and I'm already way behind, I think this will take quite a while. But I want to have an opinion on every book on my shelf when someone asks.
Candiss wrote: "I've been working my way through the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list. I don't want to read the whole thing, necessarily; I think it would be practically impossible, at least for me...e..."I love your idea of reading the "Nobelles"! I have been planning to read at least the first volume of Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset for awhile now. If you want to do it as a buddy read, let me know.
Rachel wrote: "I think my goal is simple but still quite an undertaking:read every book I own!
Since I acquire books at a much faster rate than I read them, and I'm already way behind, I think this will take ..."
I'm with you Rachel...
I think my lifetime reading goal will be to make sure everyone I meet can read, and enjoys reading a good book every now and then. With technology developing so fast, I think we often overlook the joy and emotions we can get through reading a really good book.
I have been trying to read all of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels(read 43), Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels(read 64), Time Magazine 100 Best Novels(read 39), BBC Top 200(read 106), BBC Top 100 of 2011(read 61) and BBC Top 100 of 2012(read 65). Of course many overlap but I am making good progress.
My lifetime goal is to just keep spreading the 'reading' word. It is amazing how many people I meet who don't read, they often say they don't have time, so I model it (my kindle is always in my bag) I share a favourite book, I talk about books, I buy them a book.I know that this works as some of my friends, children I've taught get in touch and share what they've read - and so I've helped them discover a whole new world - a lifetime project :)
I love reading all your goals, keep 'em coming! So many different goals ^^
I have about three lists of books I want to read, but I guess the most important life time goal for me is to read all the books on my shelf that I haven't read yet. And all the books on the floor. And in the cupboard... I have a lot of books. I suppose my big lifetime goal is to create my own library. That would be cool.
my personal challenge is to read as many books as I can, across all genres. one being at least one western.
I have a pretty common goal of reading books from every country of the world. I love to learn and read about other cultures and hope to do this for the rest of my life.
I think my reading goal is to read 10,000 books in my life. Since I've already read over 1, 000 so I don't think 10, 000 is impossible. I also have a goal of seeing a significant gap on my physical book shelf. The problem with that is that I keep buying more books lol
My long term reading goals include reading all the books on the Booktrust 100 Best Books for Children and the BBC Big Read 0 - 200 lists. I'm also slowly making my way reading around Britain.
My personal lifetime goal is to continue to read all the books I own! At the end of 2014, I enforced a book-buying ban long enough to catch up. Since then I haven't ever been even, as I continue to buy new books, but in general I try to read books within a year of buying them. The challenges in this group certainly help!
This is great! I don't personally have a lifetime reading goal, but seeing all of your goal ideas is making me start to think about it.
Have you all written down to here (for my own remembrance). These goals are inspiring, so many interesting ones!
I didn't have a life reading goal but seeing all your goals here I started thinking about it. I think I would like to read at least 1.500 books in my lifetime. I would be very happy with that. :)
Karin wrote: "Because I have noticed that my reading tastes have not remained exactly the same over the decades, that I never like all the books in any of those famous lists, that I feel that at my age I should ..."1. That's part of mine too- to read a mix of fiction and non-fiction.
2. I find I share goals with some of the others mentioned above- to read for fun and to keep my reading a fun activity and not let all the TBR piles and lists turn it into a chore.
3. To read try new genres from time to time- for instance, I never thought of myself as liking 'chick lit' but enjoyed a whole bunch of Sophie Kinsella I read over the new year break.
4. Finally, to read regularly in other languages too- at least Hindi, for starters, which I know well enough to read in.
I can come up with a few goals.1. I'd like to read all the works of certain authors: Shakespeare, Dickens, Tolstoy, John McPhee, Edwin Way Teale, Victor Hugo, Bernd Heinrich. I'm sure others will come to mind as I ponder this.
2. I'd like to read more "hard" books, more nonfiction. McPhee, Heinrich, and Teale will help with that.
3. I hope to keep reading forever, and to keep track of all my reading. When I think of all the books I'd read before Goodreads came into my life... what a list that would have been. I do encourage my kids to keep lists, but they don't like to do it. I guess I didn't want to do it when I was young either. (But I do have several years of lists for my kids, because of keeping track for homeschooling purposes.)
4. I have achieved two goals that I didn't know I had till now: I married someone who likes to read, and I raised readers. (At least, so far. But if they are still reading for pleasure at 17 and 18, I think it's safe to assume they'll be readers for life.) I love it that sometimes my little family is sitting around the living room, together but separate, lost in our own books.
Janet wrote: "I have been trying to read all of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels(read 43), Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels(read 64), Time Magazine 100 Best Novels(read 39), BBC Top 200(read 106), BBC Top 100..."Janet, that is my lifetime reading goal as well! I was just going to post it until I saw yours. You are much farther ahead of me, but it's nice to see a companion in books.
I am slowly working on 1001 books to read before you die, BBC top 200, Rory Gilmore reading challenge, and 1001 children's books to read before you die.
Kadijah Michelle wrote: "Janet wrote: "I have been trying to read all of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels(read 43), Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels(read 64), Time Magazine 100 Best Novels(read 39), BBC Top 200(read 106..."I have had a few more years to do it and I am retired with no kids at home so I probably have more time to read than you do. You will get there.
Everything under the sun, but in the likely even that I fall short of that, enough books to line the walls of a modestly large room. This way I'll have my own library. And I'll also add, to read a book I've written.
Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore 4. Finally, to read regularly in other languages too- at least Hindi, for starters, which I know well enough to read in.I actually want to do almost the opposite, I've never been very good at learning foreign languages (after three years of Spanish I managed to learn how to count to twenty, that's it), but I think reading children's books in a foreign language could help. So I guess a lifetime reading goal of mine is to learn polish by reading books written in polish.
Kelly wrote: "My life time reading goal is to never forget to read for fun. I know many teachers who read so much for their job, that they forget to read for fun. Hopefully I will have a full time job starting this fall, and I don't want to become too busy to find time to read for fun.I can't really put it much better than this. I mean, I do definitely have some other ideas that could count (read [nearly] all the winners of the Booker Prize and the Goldsmith Prize, read all the books by people I like, like Neil Gaiman [there are others], and so forth), but they don't really feel like goals to me, I'm not really working towards them as such. I do generally always want to be on the lookout for new interesting and exciting things, but does that really count as a goal? Probably.
As well as that, I want to read every book I own too, even if I'm not really sure anymore why I have it. Hopefully that'll help me make sure I don't keep buying too many books ... it probably won't though. ^^ I could have simply put down "don't keep buying too many books", but let's face it, that's never going to happen, and I'm kind of OK with that ;D
Janet wrote: "Kadijah Michelle wrote: "Janet wrote: "I have been trying to read all of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels(read 43), Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels(read 64), Time Magazine 100 Best Novels(read ..."That is true, but now the kids are getting old enough to join me. My oldest, who is a sophomore in high school, lets me pick his books for him and little does he know, I have started him on the Modern Library's List this year. He loves it because he likes the books and his English teachers are very impressed.
At this point my lifetime reading goal is to pass my love of reading to my children. I think I have a pretty good handle on that goal at this point. As I type, my four year old girls are hauling little pink wagons full of books around my house in an attempt to find a spot for their reading club. My seven year old came home with a note from her teacher the other day saying it would be best if she didn't bring any more books from home as she reads them during class and doesn't pay attention.Aside from that, I would really love to read all of the books I own some day. Considering I need to go out and buy another bookshelf to contain all the books I bought in the last month, this just might be the ultimate lifetime reading goal for me.
Kadijah Michelle wrote: "That is true, but now the kids are getting old enough to join me. My oldest, who is a sophomore in high school, lets me pick his books for him and little does he know, I have started him on the Modern Library's List this year. He loves it because he likes the books and his English teachers are very impressed. "That's awesome.
I'm on the fence about ideas such as the Rory Gilmore challenge or those lists of "1000 books to read before you die." In theory, I love the idea of having the list to cross things off...but whenever I look at what books are on there, many of them just don't appeal to me. I guess my goal is just to always keep reading and trying new books.
The first time I was taken to a big bookshop as a child, I apparently stood and looked at the books and said "Look at all these books, and I haven't read them yet". I suppose my lifetime goal is to never lose that sense of wonder.Apart from that I have always wanted to read War and Peace (I'm half way there through the buddy read) and I would like to read more Classics.
David wrote: "Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore 4. Finally, to read regularly in other languages too- at least Hindi, for starters, which I know well enough to read in.I actually want to do almost the opposite..." I'm pretty bad at it too. I studied French at college for two years (because we had do do one additional language)- but can't still read it well enough to read a book in it. But Hindi I've read for longer and used a little practically so am a lot better at it. But reading books in a new language (even basic ones) I find helps as you said, though one tends to be painfully slow at the beginning.
Rachel wrote: "I'm on the fence about ideas such as the Rory Gilmore challenge or those lists of "1000 books to read before you die." In theory, I love the idea of having the list to cross things off...but whenev..."That's kind of my attitude too- I cross stuff off lists and see how many I've read but don't read a book BECAUSE it is on a list.
David wrote: "Lady Clementina ffinch-ffarowmore 4. Finally, to read regularly in other languages too- at least Hindi, for starters, which I know well enough to read in.I actually want to do almost the opposite..."
I'm trying to learn Polish too! It's rough sometimes and I know little yet, but a lot of fun too ^^
Kadijah Michelle wrote: "Janet wrote: "Kadijah Michelle wrote: "Janet wrote: "I have been trying to read all of the Modern Library 100 Best Novels(read 43), Radcliffe's Rival 100 Best Novels(read 64), Time Magazine 100 Bes..."He will thank you later when he decided to read the list and he discover he is already well on his way :-D Awesome tactic lol ^^
My lifetime goal is just to keep reading for enjoyment. I don't want to set a number or say book lists I have to read. I think that would take some of the enjoyment out of reading.
For my lifetime reading goals, I want to keep learning, keep increasing my emotional IQ, and keep having fun. With some wonderful books I can do all three at once, but usually I try to balance my work-hard books with just-for-fun ones. The challenges this group has are great for me because I can use them to push myself in lots of different directions! I use lists for ideas, but don't feel compelled to read everything on any particular list.
My lifetime reading goal is to read 5000 books and has been for a long time. Winston Churchill allegedly read 5000 books in his lifetime, so I'd be in good company. I guess that you can cram a lot of amazing books in that goal. I am not really serious with this, as I know that with my reading habits being what they are, it's probably impossible, but it's a little motivation that keeps me reading :P Currently at 385 books (that I can remember reading) :)
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Ocean at the End of the Lane (other topics)The Old Man and the Sea (other topics)
Vernon God Little (other topics)
Ivanhoe (other topics)
The Three Musketeers (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Selma Lagerlöf (other topics)Grazia Deledda (other topics)
Sigrid Undset (other topics)
Pearl S. Buck (other topics)
Gabriela Mistral (other topics)
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Duration: May 1 - June 30, 2016
This group is all about setting yearly goals, quarterly goals, and monthly goals, but we know reading is a lifelong passion. Do you have any lifetime reading goals? We would love to know what they are?
If you have one, share it with us! If don't have one, think about if you'd like to set one, and let us know. It can be for total number of books read, to read all the books on a particular list, or anything else that makes sense to you.
As you post them, we will add them to our list for the other challengers!
If you share or set a lifetime reading goal by June 30, you will receive one entry for our raffle prizes at the end of the celebration.