2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
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Mary Pat - 53 Books in 2015 - Exceeded! (55 and counting!)
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Mary Pat wrote: "While I would someday like to match my father who reads a book a day, I think a book a week is a good place to start! (Not to make excuses but he is retired and I am not!)Progress: 39 Complete, ..."
I'm with you there!
Turns out there are 53 weeks this year so I have updated my goal!:) I said a book a week - and since I am well ahead of schedule - reading one more should be easy!
Good for you to be so far ahead of schedule! What do you think caused you to read more than you thought you would?
Mary Pat wrote: "Zoo"What did you think of Zoo? Have you watched any of the mini-series this summer?
Megan wrote: "Mary Pat wrote: "Zoo"What did you think of Zoo? Have you watched any of the mini-series this summer?"
I had no idea it was a mini-series! But to be very honest, I never watch commercial TV. What video I watch is on Hulu Plus or Netflix so I don't see a lot of ads and I generally miss the new stuff. What channel?
The first couple of chapters made me think it was going to be a little too light and fluffy but I did end up getting involved in the story. I looked for the second in the series - which is Kansas' story - but she's still writing it? Or is it just not published yet? I think Kansas' story should be quite interesting!
It is books like these that make me hate the star rating system. Usually I would rather just write what I think. (Although I haven't written reviews for many books I've read this year!) I gave this book a three because it just didn't feel like a four but I feel guilty giving it only a three! :)
Cassandra wrote: "Good for you to be so far ahead of schedule! What do you think caused you to read more than you thought you would?"Thanks, Cassandra! It feels really good to be ahead of the game! I think there are many reasons for it.
I think joining this group really motivated me! I appreciate all the choices it puts in front of me AND the fact that they are choices! I feel like I have a cool reading group to hang out with that understands that sometimes life interrupts reading time! ;)
Signing up for every single challenge might have helped too! :) Knowing that it is ok if I don't complete a challenge makes it ok to sign up for everything. However, I have discovered I am more of a competitive person than I thought! I am only competing with myself, but I do find that I challenge myself to meet all of those goals. (Which is why I finish every challenge even if I miss a deadline!)
Being in this group has also led me to some new material - some in my favorite genres and others I would never have picked up on my own. The combination of interesting members whose reading habits and posts attract my attention and the variety of the challenges have led me to read quite a variety of material and not very much that has disappointed.
The most important reason, though, is my love of reading has been re-established. I was a passionate reader at a very early age but I pretty much stopped reading the last few years. Being a single mom with a high stress, high demand job got the better of me! This group helped me remember how important reading is to me and how much happiness I derive from books!
Whew! Sorry for the long post but your question got me thinking! :)
Megan wrote: "Mary Pat wrote: "Station Eleven"What did you think? I read that book a few months ago for the group challenge and really enjoyed it up to the ending."
Megan, I apologize for not responding! I missed this post!
I enjoyed Station Eleven quite a bit. I thought it was very well written and I loved how the various story threads were entwined. The ending didn't bother me too much - a little boring perhaps - but the writing was so enjoyable I decided not to let it bother me! :)
Mary Pat wrote: "Megan wrote: "Mary Pat wrote: "Zoo"What did you think of Zoo? Have you watched any of the mini-series this summer?"
I had no idea it was a mini-series! But to be very honest, I ..."
I completely understand about the ratings - I wish the site would give us half stars. Glad you liked both Station eleven and zoo. Zoo is on CBS - doesn't quite follow the storyline but Patterson is one of the exec producers.
That's great, Mary Pat! I'm glad to hear that this group (and Goodreads tracking in general) has a had a positive effect on your reading. I joined this group right before the start of 2014 and I went from reading very little to reading over 100 books in one year. It definitely helped that I had an hour-long bus commute each way to school to devote to reading.
I like the idea of finishing challenges even after the deadline. Sometimes I commit to too many books and can't finish them all, but I usually try hard to get there. Challenges also help me narrow down choices from my mammoth to-read list. I might try out your strategy for the rest of the year. :)
Without checking, my guess is you're reading the works of Ayn Rand for the Complete Works challenge. What do you think of reading so much of her work all at once? Do you enjoy it? I haven't binge read any authors before, so I think this is really interesting.
Jackie B. wrote: "Without checking, my guess is you're reading the works of Ayn Rand for the Complete Works challenge. What do you think of reading so much of her work all at once? Do you enjoy it? I haven't binge..."
You are correct - I was reading Ayn Rand for the Complete Works challenge! I started with the books she is most known for - Atlas Shrugged and the Fountainhead. I found them difficult to read and, truthfully, boring. I think she is a good writer but these two books were more about her philosophy than writing good fiction! Too often, it was clear it was Rand on a soapbox instead of her characters. Too much telling and not enough showing. Interestingly, I ended up enjoying her other, earlier work. Anthem was shorter and more effective in making her points. (It also had more of a sci-fi feel to it which I enjoyed.) And We The Living - which she said was the closest she would ever get to an autobiography - really helped me to understand what she grew up with and why she felt so strongly about individualism. But it was some of earlier, shorter works that I found most enjoyable. They were lighter in tone and length but very well written. I especially enjoyed The Husband I Bought. I thought it was a beautiful, sad, intricate love story.
I am glad I am done though. If they do a similar challenge in 2016, I am going to pick a "lighter" author! :)
Winter wrote: "Mary Pat wrote: "An Ember in the Ashes"Was it good?"
It was a good read especially after reading all of that Ayn Rand! :) I love sci-fi so this is right up my alley. I am curious to see if the next book will be more interesting or a disappointment. It will have to have some interesting twists to avoid being the same book over again.
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Red Queen (other topics)An Ember in the Ashes (other topics)
An Ember in the Ashes (other topics)
The Girl on the Train (other topics)
An Ember in the Ashes (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Mercedes Lackey (other topics)Steve Almond (other topics)
Ryan Hackney (other topics)
Christopher Paolini (other topics)
Christopher Paolini (other topics)
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What did you think? I read that book a few months ago for the group challenge and really enjoyed it up to the ending.