Helen's Get Them Read Challenge

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

2020 Challenge
To read books bought prior to 2018

January
Ashes- 24/5/12
The Bear and the Nightingale- 10/10/17
The Accident- 3/9/13
Sworn To Silence - 9/8/12
Out of the Woods - 16/8/12

[Virginie, Meow.]

Oooh, good luck with this challenge! Out of curiosity, how big is your collection? :)

[Tnkw01]

That's a really good challenge. I really like the creativity of some of our challenges. Virginie has a good one also.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I last counted my unread paperbacks at 120ish but there are definitely a few more then I have 300+ unread on my kindle. I fell foul to the daily deal for a while!

[Tnkw01]

Me also. It's hard to pass up 99 cent books. I'm afraid to see how many I have on my Kindle.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

It’s scary stuff!

[Virginie, Meow.]

Tnkw01 wrote: "That's a really good challenge. I really like the creativity of some of our challenges. Virginie has a good one also."

I love how members come up with original challenge ideas to fit their reading tastes :)

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Me too.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Hmmm, I’m reading all new/ newish stuff still.

[Janette]

I can’t imagine having that many books that I haven’t read. I only buy stuff that I want to read. I do have unfinished books that I get bored of but the only book J can think of that I own but haven’t read is Great Expectations! Good luck with getting those books read!

[Virginie, Meow.]

I have a friend that set up a challenge that could suit you: she's tackling her own-unread bookshelf from both ends. She identified the 10 books she's had the longest, and her 10 newest purchases, and is trying to go through those 2 lists.

The idea is to slowly get through her bookshelf (old books) while not adding to the problem (new books).

[Tnkw01]

I have to admit, if I get 100 pages or so into a book and don't like it, i don't finish it. That's just me. Also, I really think it's ok to rate DNF books.

[Jim]

Tnkw01 wrote: "I have to admit, if I get 100 pages or so into a book and don't like it, i don't finish it. That's just me. Also, I really think it's ok to rate DNF books."

Ditto. Life is too short & there are too many books to read. I do it for enjoyment. It's not a job. I rate my DNF books & include why I didn't like them to remind myself & help my GR friends decide if they want to try them or not. I even have 'do-not-read' shelf for books that caught my eye for some reason & shouldn't be read. Some are supposedly nonfiction, but are BS. Others are just horrors.

Occasionally I'll try to reread books I haven't managed before. If they're often referenced (classics) & a group is plowing through them a couple of chapters at a time or if I can find them in a different format. Some audiobooks make a boring print one a good read.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I have a friend who gives me a lot of books :)

[Tnkw01]

Thanks Jim. It's nice to have someone agree with me. I've actually been scolded for rating a DNF.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Was that me? Oops?

[Jim]

I've been scolded too, Tnkw01. It's asinine. My reviews of books are my opinion, not a Federally mandated study or a text from the gods. Sheesh.

I give new books & authors a break. If a new book/author only has a few ratings, I generally won't post a 1 or 2 star review, but I also don't get very far before abandoning them.

Some books I won't read & will still give a bad review, but those are backed up by other reviews. If a history book hasn't paid attention to the facts, it will get a review simply so I don't read it in the future. For example, The Rudolf Report: Expert Report on Chemical and Technical Aspects of the Gas Chambers of Auschwitz is a BS denial of the Holacaust. My 1 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Other books deserve all the bad press they can get. For example, To Train Up a Child, a book on using the Christian bible to abuse children. My 1 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

And sometimes books are just so bad that they should be ridiculed, held up as an example of idiocy, & they're good for a sad laugh. That's the case with Birth Control Is Sinful in the Christian Marriages and Also Robbing God of Priesthood Children!!. The book is written in all caps & often sells for over $100. Apparently some idiots have even bought it! Wow. My 1 star review is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Besides, I don't go looking for them. I only have 19 books on that shelf & over 3500 shelved.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Wow! I can’t imagine the people who’d want to write those!

If I dump a book I don’t rate it. But it’s get 1 on the basis I can’t give zero. Generally 1 is a book I don’t enjoy. It could be an excellent book just not for me.

That said, in the buddy group I’m in, we count monthly books and pages read, so if I’m a chunk in I’d probably finish and then rant!

There aren’t many I DNF. Technically, Senlin Ascends is one as I stopped reading but I do intend to try it again at some point.

[Virginie, Meow.]

My personal rule on DNF is that I rate them only if I got past the 50% threshold. (never happened since I joined GR). Otherwise, I simply remove them from my books. That being said, I very rarely DNF books for the simple reason that I'm quite picky about my reads.

But I'm thinking that perhaps I should create a DNF shelf and rate all of them simply to let the people following my reviews know.

[Tnkw01]

@ Helen. No it wasn't you. It actually was a troll who made 2 or 3 comments, one of which was to chastise me, and then never came back.

@ Jim, yes it's just an opinion. Opinions never had me not read a book if I wanted to. I'm stubborn like that. But good ratings never influenced me either.

[Jim]

I use ratings to choose a book, but only in conjunction with reviews. I give a lot of weight to specific GR friend reviews, depending on the genre, but if a book is iffy, I'll look through 1 & 5 star reviews. 1 star reviews are often the most helpful. I have several things that turn me off like stream-of-consciousness writing & I'm not alone.

[Bill]

I’m doing a similar challenge in another group but mine is more about suppressing my buying.

I usually only drop books if I’m reading a few at the same time but usually go back to finish them. 95% of my reads work for one challenge or another so it’s not a waste to finish them. I’ve got pretty good at picking what I’m going to read so not a lot of books I’m hating these days.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I generally at least like the ones I read.

[Tnkw01]

I actually have gotten pretty good at picking books I like. I use several things to make my decisions. Usually it's overall rating, what people think, the plot summary and even the cover. Then, I decide. If I see anything that turns me off I move on. There are way too many books out there to worry about something I don't think I'll like.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Started Poison Study, I bought this and the following five in a kindle daily deal 29/12/13

[Tnkw01]

I actually read Storm Glass first. I thought it was the first book in a trilogy (which it kind of was) and then realized it was book 4 in the overall series. So now I'm reading Poison Study. I'm not sure if I'm going to read more of the series or not but I'm giving it a fair shot. (view spoiler)[I don't like stories where children and women are abused and/or tortured. Women being tortured seems to be a theme with Ms. Snyder. (hide spoiler)]

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Oh right. I quite like it.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I have updated but can’t edit from a phone!

Read a thriller and now Hollow World, go me!

[Tnkw01]

Good job! I think I would like to read Hollow World. I'm interested to see what you think.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I went in not knowing what it was about. I bought it as I love his fantasy. I’m about a third in, I think, not had time/energy to read last few evenings.

It’s interesting, I ploughed through a chunk without noticing the time passing. I saw a couple of things coming but it definitely held my interest. Hate the cover still :)

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I’m at 40% and it’s starting to feel long.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Turns out that it finishes at 49%!!

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I've finally updated post one.

[Virginie, Meow.]

Great job! How are your shelves faring? :)

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I’m bravely giving some books away - although as I don’t own a car I they may end up shelved :O

[Virginie, Meow.]

Hahaha. Baby steps!

[Jim]

Helen wrote: "I’m bravely giving some books away - although as I don’t own a car I they may end up shelved :O"

Why don't you join Book Crossing & leave a book or two a day in a public place? That would be a way to make the parting less of a pain & give you something to look forward to. Watch them fly!
:)

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Oh that looks good, I can do some certainly.

[Tnkw01]

Do you have a used book store in your area? We have one here that pays cash or allows you to trade for other books. You get more value for trades. The place is always packed. To me, this shows the love of books in people.

[Jim]

We also have 'Little Libraries' around. I don't know of any that belong to that club, but our local store has a rack of books that acts the same way. Hmmm... Maybe you should start your own little library. You can find out more here:
https://littlefreelibrary.org/

I really miss Bookmooch & PaperBackSwap. They were good until ebooks took over. I liked the first the best, but they both petered out. PBS were better for longer, but they were also jerks about a lot of things.

[Alexis]

Little free libraries are a great idea. There are a few in my town which I visit occasionally.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

No, I've been looking. I have released some into the wild :)

[Virginie, Meow.]

I hope they find a good home :)

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I've read 16 now. Given I was aiming at 10 that sounds good but I've owned 100 paperbacks since before I had a kindle which is over 6 years!

[Tnkw01]

100!! You read so fast though. You probably can finish that list pretty quick.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

I could actually, I hadn’t thought of it like that. I’ve just passed 102 books this year. Perhaps I should put 50 on a separate shelf to do next. Or at least complete ones - whether complete in paper or e.

[Tnkw01]

Sounds like a plan.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

Well I've read 16 actual books but I kept series as one, so I'm two short.

My plan next year is to read paperbacks, think I'll have more success of its old and physical books.

[Tnkw01]

There's something to be said about actual books. There sentimental and great.

[Helen, I·ᴍ ɪɴ ᴛʜᴇ ʟɪʙʀᴀʀʏ]

2019
My aim was to read 12 books of my owned shelf and I have, although I'd have liked them to have been 12 separate works.
1. The Harbors of the Sun books 4-5
2. Half Bad trilogy
3. The Last Continent
4. Poison Study trilogy
5. Or She Dies
6. Hollow World
7. Red Queen
8. Brisingr and Inheritance
9. Red Seas Under Red Skies and The Republic of Thieves
10. Messenger’s Legacy