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[2018] Team: Reading in Order
message 51:
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Lizzy
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Mar 10, 2018 04:05PM
Jody — I must admit that the Goldfinch is one of my few DNF. I read about half and could not bear to pick it up any more, even though literary fiction is one of my favorite categories. I know several people who loved it, though.
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I know Overdrive works differently for different library systems so maybe this isn’t possible for everyone, but I make lots of use of the “pause” function on my hold list. I also can have 20 books on hold at a time. When I finish a book, I return it immediately, but I don’t feel bad about being slower with some books no matter the length of the hold line. I’m still on track, waiting till Monday to start my literary fiction although my hold came in yesterday. I will start a longer book early so that I can finish it during the correct week, including some audiobooks and things I’ll use Serial Reader for.
Jody, I’ve also been distracted by other books I’ve been mood reading so even though I’m ahead of my total reading goal for this year, I’m way behind on the challenge. The problem with reading in order is I can’t mood read and then try to fit that book to a prompt later on in the challenge.
Bryony wrote: "That happens to me too Ann, I always feel like I should rush to return a book if I know someone else is waiting for it. Overdrive shows me how many people are waiting for a book and often I feel ba..." The Heart of Everything That Is: The Untold Story of Red Cloud, An American Legend It is interesting, but small print, big book, lots of info I could do without. But it is a book club book for next month.
Jody wrote: "I'm reading The Goldfinch. I've had it on my shelf for years - pretty much since it came out - but I've found the thought of reading it oddly intimidating. It's actually ended up be..."I loved it - keep going!
I have been doing pretty well with keeping up with reading in order, and filling in with Popsugar books that I am doing randomly. I did add one ahead when we read a book for book club that fitted for week 13. It is pretty easy for me as I'm trying to work my way through my large collection of 2nd hand books so far unread, and the structure of reading in order is helping me get into books I have been avoiding though I still want to read them, and have so far enjoyed most of them very much. Literary fiction is my usual genre so this coming week gave me many choices. I will be reading The Ancestor Gameby Alex Miller, which won the Miles Franklin Award back in 1993. Just got my copy signed by the author at our Writers Week a couple of weekends ago!
I'm doing good with reading in order, although I'm not too strict about the order (e.g. I'll start my next audiobook even if it's not the next topic I need to read). And I fit any mood read or hold at the library in the reject challenge.
Chrissy wrote: "I know Overdrive works differently for different library systems so maybe this isn’t possible for everyone, but I make lots of use of the “pause” function on my hold list. I also can have 20 books ..."20 books on hold??? I'm jealous... I can only have 2 books on hold, so I have great difficulties timing my books and getting them at the right time.
I've been doing fine reading in order up until week 11. Then my loan on Little Fires Everywhere went through and there are too many others on hold for that book so I couldn't start over with my reservation.
So I'm almost done with week 14 but missing week 12 and 13. I can't be bothered changing my plan so I just have to accept a little detour this time 😊
I’m still on track, reading week 24 now and I’ll start the audiobook for next week soon so that I can finish it within the correct week. But trouble is brewing on the horizon! My summer vacation is during the overcoming hardship week, which just seems wrong! I might switch it with the following week if I can’t bring myself to read about war in Chechnya while enjoying the mountains and beaches of Catalonia.
I started the challenge vowing to read in order this year. It lasted all of a week, lol!Although I initially added a few "intentional" reads, I became distracted by the allure of other books and found that they met challenge requirements. I have 19 more tasks to fulfill and hope to finish by fall. If I do, then perhaps I will revisit the 2017 challenge.
I’m still reading in order! I’ve finished Week 24, and am doing a couple of side reads while I decide what I want to read for the villain/antagonist prompt. I’ve been ahead, behind, on track ... I still have no idea if I’m going to finish. 😂
I'm still reading in order also! It's been difficult because I'm reading books for a classics group also and they don't always fit in. I also put interesting 2018 books on hold at the library and they come in at unexpected times. So I've started a second "Reading Out of Order" plan also. Kind of crazy. But I'm at Week 29 on my Read in Order plan. I find I am now reading shorter books for this plan and the longer books in the out of order. Hmmm....
I’m still kinda reading in order and it works for me. I set two prompts aside because of lack of availability or I’m listening to the book on audio with my boyfriend, but I don’t mind and still consider reading kinda in order for the rest of the challenge ;)
Not reading in order at all, and I'm also a couple books behind! This year, I didn't do as good of a job of putting together a reading plan so a lot of the books I'm reading on the fly and just hoping they fit in with a prompt.
I’m still reading in order but also really, reallybehind. But I’m ahead with PS and BR and got sidetracked into doing the Goodreads Summer Challenge, so I’m probably still fine to finish if I just start getting in gear. I have definitely started feeling that slotting in a short story of other short option is a good way to move past prompts that for whatever reason are holding me up.
Chinook wrote: "I’m still reading in order but also really, reallybehind. But I’m ahead with PS and BR and got sidetracked into doing the Goodreads Summer Challenge, so I’m probably still fine to finish if I just ..."That's a great idea Chinook. Sometimes I look for short books at the library just to help with challenge prompts. I have found some really good books by this method! Here are a few recommendations: Chess Story, Ghost, The Old Man and the Sea, And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, and the Binti series. I just read Chess Story and loved it. It can be used for lots of prompts: 20 (if you are my friend), 21, 27, 30, 42, 48 (pride).
Like a Mule Bringing Ice Cream to the Sun is really great too. Hilariously I tried to do this last night - I thought I’d find a picture book in Overdrive and push through the Africa prompt (see, REALLY behind!) because all my picks for that are on long holds but it was such a terrible book - totally no sense of place from the book at all, that it felt like cheating. So I found a book of short stories instead set in Somalia.
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For example, I'm teaching Frankenstein in the spring (probably April), and so I'm hoping that the monster prompt ends up somewhere in the early to middle part of the list... I'm also teaching fairytales and their adaptations in January/February, so Children's Classic would be nice in the beginning.
It's only August and I'm already getting all nervous about what I'll be reading next year haha!
Emily wrote: "I'm not reading in order this year, but I plan to next year! I'm already getting anxious about the final list coming out, because, as an English teacher, I already know some definite reads that I h..."Teaching Frankenstein and Fairytales/adaptations sounds so much more appealing than teaching the dreaded Fundamentals of Nursing....I'm feeling a little envious right now lol
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Haha Tracy! I only have one English class this year (I usually teach all economics and personal finance), so I'm going all in. It's senior literature for the lower level students, so I'm doing gothic lit with A Monster Calls, The Graveyard Book, Grimm's fairytales, and Frankenstein. Hopefully the kids will enjoy it as much as I will!
I guess I'll just have to wait for the final list to come out before I start stressing about if those will fit in the prompts I would like them to fit into haha! I'd just hate to waste Frankenstein on a side read when it is the perfect monster book.
Emily wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Emily wrote: "I'm not reading in order this year, but I plan to next year! I'm already getting anxious about the final list coming out, because, as an English teacher, I already know ..."That sounds so amazing!! Excellent books, I wish I could take that class!! I'm sure your students will love it :-)
Still managing to read in order and on time, despite the demands of book club and books being read by clients I am working with - enjoying the challenge!
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I’m vaguely contemplating putting The Kindly Ones into the intimidates prompt even though I’d have then read it out of order. There’s no way I’ll read a more challenging or difficult book between now and December.
I have gone out of order lately, though I am actually a now ahead. My science book #38 Where Song Began is very good, but I needed something a bit more engaging to read at the same time, so quickly got through the next prompt #39The Cat's Tableplus two later ones. These were a book I needed to reread for a club discussion about a book that changed my life #43 He Went With Marco Polo, and a Liane Moriarty's new one Nine Perfect Strangers which I wanted to read before going to her author talk this week #52.
I know what you mean, Sue. I read my #45 book, Middlemarch out of order, starting it in July and finishing last week. It is a long book and I wanted to make sure I got it in. Now I'm reading Life on the Mississippi for #42 because of reading this book in another group. Still have to read #40 and #41. Oh well, just a bit out of order!
I came to this too late to read in order, but I will try doing that next year. I can see how it might make things a bit more difficult, especially when you are trying to use books for two purposes--like a group read.
You're right, Sara. I made it through #39 in order but now that the year is ending, I need to fit in all the books from all my groups, plus my real life book club. But it's worth a try. Good Luck!
It’s definitely slowing me down compared to other challenges, where I fill in things after I read and find they fit. Partially because I’m a library user and so sometimes I’m left waiting - I started off organized and keeping up but I fell really far behind at the first snag. I may have to give up going in order if I want to finish this year.
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How is everyone going? I’m up to Week 42 (water) and am feeling more and more certain that I’m not going to finish the challenge this year. It’s funny, even at the beginning of the year when I was so far ahead, I was saying I had a feeling I wasn’t going to finish. I started working in September, and at the moment I’m still trying to balance everything, and unfortunately my reading is suffering. It’s a good reason not to finish the challenge, I guess!
I am reading out of order now. Last night I went to see Jane Harper talk, so read Force of Nature which was my pick for week 49. I still haven't read 41 or 42, but have read 43, 47, 49, 50 and 52 - I will still get through them all, but will just now read what I feel like reading first. Still struggling a bit with Popsugar as I still have some really long ones there. Have read some great books this year though!
I am super far behind in this, book Riot and Pop Sugar. It’s because I decided to do the Goodreads Summer Reading Challenge and focused on that over the summer. It was the challenge that broke the camel’s back, basically. I’m going to have to really focus to get finished anything in time and I’ve had to stop reading in order as part of that.
I’m still reading in order and up to date, on track. I don’t think I’ll be able to finish Popsugar though, this is my higher priority.
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I’m still reading more or less in order, currently reading number 50 and 51. I did set aside the legal or medical thriller, I think I’m going to use a wild card for this one... 🤔
I have read my last few out of order, but now only have 2 to go, #42 and #51, so will definitely finish. I do however still have 8 on Popsugar - it will be a very tight squeeze! Now trying to decide if I will try again next year in order.
I’m still trucking! This week’s audiobook will probably spill over into next week, but the rest of the year will be smooth sailing. I plan to go in order by weeks next year too - I found it relaxing to not have to choose, for at least one of the books I read each week.
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Yay team!!I’ve seven books to go now, and I feel like I could possibly make it. My next book is short (250 pages), plus I can do a short story for that prompt rather than the full book I was planning ... hmm ... I was going to give up a couple of weeks ago, but I am going to keep pushing!
good for you Jody. I literally have a book and a half to finish the challenge but today I'm thinking of just throwing in the towel.... Maybe that will change towards the end of December, who knows? But You've got this. If you got through Ulysses you can definitely conquer the rest :-)
You can do it!! Finish that half a book and then find a graphic novel or kids book. I believe in you!!
Hi everyone! This will be my first time really doing the 52 week challenge because I just came in on June of this year and thought as long as I do a book a week I qualified, I did not learn until a few weeks ago that there was other stuff involved HAHA! So this year I am going to try to do this stuff in order... It all started when my dad said that I "was not smart enough to read the classics" sitting here with a Master's degree... so yes I have been reading non-stop since then so I am going to stick to the list but if I can sneak a classic in on any of the categories that is what I am going to do to prove him wrong... I usually read about 120 books a year, so I will probably be completing my A-z challenge too this year... but I am planning on going in order.. and I think this challenge is a good challenge to round out my reading... so thank you all for being around and God bless... by the way is there a page where I can see all the categories of the challenge? In order? and do I have to wait until January?
Hi Christine, you'll find the complete list here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...Not cool from you Dad to say you weren't smart enough for classics! Has he read any? 😜 It least it gives you a kick to read more and I'm sure you're going to find a few that you love! For inspiration don't hesitate to check out the discussion here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
WOW! I agree with Sophia about your Dad saying that was uncool. Being intelligent has nothing to do with the classics. Some of them are so dated that only a person studying that time period can understand what is going on. That is not intelligence, just knowledge.
But does your Dad read 120 books a year Christine??? Welcome to the group :-)
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Finished!! I still have 7 to go in the Popsugar Challenge though..., but have been busy making my list for next year. Will do the same again I think - AtY in order, and Popsugar in between, though there are several topics I don't like in the 2019 Popsugar so might not bother too much
Around the Year in 52 Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Force of Nature (other topics)Middlemarch (other topics)
Life on the Mississippi (other topics)
Nine Perfect Strangers (other topics)
He Went With Marco Polo (other topics)
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