SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
SciFi and Fantasy Book Challenge
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2018 SFFBC Owned Books Challenge!
true... they werent on my shelf at the beginning of the year though :P
doesn't matter - it's whether or not your reading keeps pace with or overtakes your buying. I'm terrible at it.
True, I have been better at just buying books if I start reading them straight away :)
Hmm.. February is turning out not to be a great month for me. Buying too many and requesting too many ARCs and not reading enough.Sarah I hope it's okay if I leave a couple of point suggesting prompts for next year? (I really hope you'll run this challenge again next year, it's fun because I'm a nerd who loves spreadsheets.)
Maybe possible points for:
Authors of color or authors who are on the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
Double points for finishing a book you historically DNF'd.
Giving an author a second chance (meaning you tried them once but didn't like the book, but somehow or other ended up with a different book of their's on your shelf).
Originally written in a language that was not your own
Yes, ideas are definitely welcome :) We should probably have a phrase so I can find them easier. Like "my fuzzy monster ideas" and then I can find them by searching for fuzzy monsters.
Sarah Anne wrote: "Yes, ideas are definitely welcome :) We should probably have a phrase so I can find them easier. Like "my fuzzy monster ideas" and then I can find them by searching for fuzzy monsters."
Haha- whatever key phrase you come up with, let me know. I'd be happy to update my post for you.
Let's go with something reasonable, like "ideas for next year" at the start of the post.
I just checked in to see how people were doing. I have an embarrassment of riches, 2055 points. I guess I probably have a good headstart. I'm still going by the first definitions, trying to be conservative. As in, if I bought it in 2017, it wasn't over a year. And if the dog is not ON my lap (she is glued to me somewhere about 98% of the time when I'm reading), I don't count it.
I did contemplate asking for extra points for reading Watership Down aloud to the rabbit, but I guess I don't really need the boost.
Anyhow, I charmed and amused by all the wonderful stories here.
Data wrote: "I just checked in to see how people were doing. I have an embarrassment of riches, 2055 points. I guess I probably have a good headstart. I'm still going by the first definitions, trying to be con..."
I'm at 2240, but I did add the 2017 points (110 points)
It's very painful to give myself the points for a 17 hour audiobook because mine was 24:30 instead of 25:00 long.How is everyone handling DNFs?
Sarah Anne wrote: "It's very painful to give myself the points for a 17 hour audiobook because mine was 24:30 instead of 25:00 long.How is everyone handling DNFs?"
I'm not counting them personally.
Sarah Anne wrote: "It's very painful to give myself the points for a 17 hour audiobook because mine was 24:30 instead of 25:00 long.How is everyone handling DNFs?"
TBD. Normally I count them for the challenges, but this is a bit different. If it gets them off/out of my bedside table reading pile I might just give myself credit anyway.
Sarah Anne wrote: "It's very painful to give myself the points for a 17 hour audiobook because mine was 24:30 instead of 25:00 long.How is everyone handling DNFs?"
I usually force myself to finish them via rapid skimming
I used to do that, but now I only force myself to finish if I really need it for a challenge or I'm almost done.I just cant be bothered with bad books any more, when there are so many good ones and not enough time.
I'm with you, DoodlePanda. I can only read so many books in my life, I'm not wasting one.
you could always go to the last page...
I'm going to count them as a book "read", hence off my TBR, and no longer hanging over my head... but I won't count other points, like pagecounts, etc unless I've actually read them. If I DNF a thousand pager at 400 pages though, I will count the 300 I made it thru. I think that's only fair. LOL
@Becky I think that’s probably fair. Or you could always take the percentage of points based on the percentage you finished. Like if you only read half you get half points. I haven’t had a DNF yet but I’m guessing I probably won’t count them or I’ll do this.
Yeah, I haven't DNF'd a book yet for the challenge either, but I think its only a matter of time. I have a LOT of books that I have to read, and some of them HAVE to be duds. It's just statistics!
That's the way I was leaning, Sarah. Although I hesitated when I realized that would cut my 35 points to ten.
Yeah that’s kind of a bummer. I guess it’s better than zero though? It seems like we should get something because we still read pages and put time into it.I think the only hesitation I’d have in taking full points for a DNF is the temptation to quit early and still get full points.
Maybe if you make it to the halfway point you get full and anything less you get half?
There are certain books that I have never considered part of my TBR pile as they are cookbooks, travel guides and language books. I normally would never read all of them, just use them as reference.
Becky wrote: "I'm going to count them as a book "read", hence off my TBR, and no longer hanging over my head... but I won't count other points, like pagecounts, etc unless I've actually read them. If I DNF a t..."
That seems reasonable. Like I said, normally I don't count them but for this challenge, I probably should and take points based on how long I've had it, if it's part of a series etc and leave it at that.
Sarah wrote: "I think the only hesitation I’d have in taking full points for a DNF is the temptation to quit early and still get full points. ..."That's my dilemma. I usually count 20% as being far enough along to read it and rate as "read" so it seems like that would work for points, also. But I don't feel entirely comfortable claiming them all.
Sarah Anne wrote: "I usually count 20% as being far enough along to read it and rate as "read""Maybe I need to stop feeling bad if I skim the last 20% and still mark it as read. I was just talking about this with my friend. I think it depends so much on how much time you have to read. My friend is only able to read about 20 books a year, so she doesn't feel bad at all DNFing. I read much more, so it's not the biggest deal if some of them suck.
I once calculated how many more books I could read in my lifetime based on how many I read per year. The number was so appallingly low that I've never again had trouble with DNFing.I think it was 200x40 years =8000 books. I'm no longer reading 200 per year and this math is based on living until I'm 80.
Sarah Anne wrote: "I once calculated how many more books I could read in my lifetime based on how many I read per year.I think it was 200x40 years =8000 books. I'm no longer reading 200 per year and this math is based on living until I'm 80."This kinda makes me wonder about the people who have over 20,000 Kindle books stored on their accounts...
I figure I have enough books stored to hold me for 2-3 years
I'm not worried about not reading all the books, it's not going to happen anyway. I'm more worried about trying to pick what to read, I get too caught up in reading things for the wrong reasons. I should focus more on reading what I want, and maybe even reading less. Quality over quantity.
And yet I'm once again forcing myself to read something I would instantly DNF if it wasn't a group read. If I DNF I don't get to add a read (group) book to my yearly stats. That's just stupid, but that's me.But I'm doing pretty well with my owned physical books. I don't feel bad at all leaving most of them unread forever. I already donated 20 books to the library a few days ago, and plan on taking the rest one shelf at a time until they're all gone. The few I actually want to read I might keep if I don't get to them this year.
So true, Anna! That's the way to do it.
My DNF threshold for rating it, is 50% and I am in no danger of wining this contest so that is the same for me counting the book (and points).As others have said, the real goal of this challenge is to get those books that have been hanging around my house and kindle consumed, judged and moved on so DNF counts just fine for that.
Two months down and I have read 6 books for a total of 1005 points. I seem to be averaging about 160 - 170 points per book. I have got to find some older mysteries with more that 300 pages to increase my point total. I still have one book to go before I make the break even point. That's if I can resist the call of the bookstore.
Mod
That's awesome, Karin!
I'm up to 11 books read for this challenge! Wooo! I have hit the 11-30 group of owned points. :D
Becky wrote: "I'm up to 11 books read for this challenge! Wooo! I have hit the 11-30 group of owned points. :D"Congrats! :D
I read 7 in February, with 4 counting towards reducing my pile of owned books. I would also like to point out that one of these books had an embarrassing cover and I deliberately read it in public SO I COULD GET THE EXTRA POINTS.
I bought 3 books in February, making me +1 for the month and I'm +3 for the year. This has taken an enormous amount of self-restraint.
Points for the year so far: 620.
Mod
I would also like to point out that one of these books had an embarrassing cover and I deliberately read it in publi..."
Please to show us the cover. I am so curious and pleased.
.Descriptive narration:
Scene: A shopping mall.
Dude with a glowing sword is fighting a knight in mail with a very plume-y helmet. In the foreground, person with pointy ears, sprawled on the ground. In the background, a woman holds a glowing pink magic wand. There is also a cat, but that is the least embarrassing element.
Yes! Nice job, Meredith! That's awesome that you deliberately read it on public :)
I have this on my shelf. I'm not really interested in reading it at all, let alone in public. I would donate it to the library, but I'm too embarrassed to take it.
Mod
You should just leave it on a park bench... Or donate it in a box of books you toss out of a slowly moving car at midnight...
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
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Uneven Break (other topics)
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Erin Morgenstern (other topics)
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that does decrease your TBR pile so it helps to read them in the long run:
BONUS: If you have fewer unread books on your shelves on 1/1/19 - 500 points.