September 2023 Which of our group challenges is your favorite and why?

[Lynn, New School Classics]

So, which Group Challenge is your favorite? I would have to say Bingo. The year I joined it was the only one I tried, but it was fun. I always like the categories. Also the number of books needed seems about right to fill the year for my reading.

I do like Member's Choice and Short Stories as well in the Buffet Challenge.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

I do the Bingo every year, along with a selection of the other challenges, but Old and New is my favorite.

I think this is so because it forces me to look at the books I have been pushing back for years and bring them to the forefront. You know the ones I mean? You know they are books you want to read, but somehow you never fit them into the schedule. All the other challenges are reversible--I can switch out my choices as I go--but the O&N ties me in. I frequently find these are some of the best books I read all year. There is a reason they keep popping up on my radar over and over. I have only failed to complete once since I began in 2015.

[Wobbley]

This is my first year in the group, so I don't have a lot of experience with the challenges. There are a lot of good ones.

Although I didn't do this one this year, the one I'm most excited about for next year is Challenge #11 - Old and New Linked Categories, from the Buffet Challenge. I have a lot of ideas for that one. I think what appeals to me about this one is that it is very adaptable to my interests, and that it is making me think creatively about how to categorize books.

I also enjoy the challenges with lots of categories to fill in (Bingo, and Member's Choice in the Buffet), as well as the Century and Decade challenges from the Buffet.

[Kathleen]

I like almost all of them. Every year I promise myself I'll just do one or two, but when it comes to planning time, I get swept up.

My favorite is the new author challenge. It's effortless, and fun to see a list of authors appear at the end of the year who used to be strangers but are now friends (mostly). But Bingo is maybe second, because of the fun challenge of finding or coming across books for each category.

[Terris]

I love the Bingo challenge and over the years it has "encouraged" me to read many more Classics! I also enjoy the Old/New challenge but, for some reason, it is more difficult for me to finish. I've only done that once!
But now, I am also enjoying the Buffet. It just feels like I'm adding a few more little accomplishments at a time.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Kathleen wrote: "I like almost all of them. Every year I promise myself I'll just do one or two, but when it comes to planning time, I get swept up.

My favorite is the new author challenge. It's effortless, and fu..."

Now that I think about it, I do really like the new authors too.

[Wobbley]

Matt wrote: "Classic BINGO challenge is also great - I think the camaraderie and encouragement from the other group members is what keeps bringing me back to it."

I totally agree -- it's the encouragement from group members that makes all these challenges work so well!

[Wobbley]

I was just thinking -- one challenge that I would like to see added to the Buffet is an around-the-world type of challenge. Something like: read 10 books, each from a different country. However, the Buffet already has lots of great challenges, so I can understand if people would prefer not to expand its scope (and of course it's possible for an individual to work this idea into many of the existing Buffet challenges). Just a suggestion.

[Janelle]

Bingo is my favourite. I like seeing what books that I’m interested in I can read for each category and I also like seeing what everyone else is reading as well.

[Angie]

I like them all, but Bingo is my favorite.

[Angie]

Whoops. Forgot the why. I love the various categories and how they give me incentive to read outside of my usual realm.

[Marilyn]

Wobbley wrote: "I was just thinking -- one challenge that I would like to see added to the Buffet is an around-the-world type of challenge. Something like: read 10 books, each from a different country. However, th..."

I have thought about a ‘books in translation’ century challenge but next year I am focusing on books I own. I tell myself this every year and then get distracted by the buffet. This time I mean it.

[Sara, Old School Classics]

Marilyn, I literally promise myself that every year, and at the end of the year I possess more books than I started with. I truly need to mean it as well.

[Wobbley]

Well, not to encourage your usual habits or anything :), but this year I made myself do books I own for the Old & New TBR challenge (the challenge where there are few swap-outs available), and it has not been very satisfying. I'm all for reading what you want to when you want to, and letting yourself get swept up in the challenges you most enjoy!

[siriusedward]

I like all challenges in the group.. they always makes one explore more books and genres and authors..

[Lynn, New School Classics]

Wobbley wrote: "I was just thinking -- one challenge that I would like to see added to the Buffet is an around-the-world type of challenge. Something like: read 10 books, each from a different country. However, th..."

I like how this is just ten countries of the reader's choice. It could be really difficult to get that many countries if they were specifically listed. I think the geographical squares are tough for me in the Bingo. They are usually the last ones I finish.

Just to run a little personal test, I have read books by authors from 12 different countries so far this year. I have read books set in 15 different countries if we count an imaginary Star Trek planet as a country and the moon Ganymede as a country. We would need to decide if the challenge would be set in 10 countries vs. authors from ten countries. LOL, and what to do with those pesky imaginary settings. Another way to look at it is languages with books-in-translation. If counted that way I read books originally written in 9 different languages. I am not a heavy reader, so if I could do it most people could.

Interesting thought. I am sure Bob will look at it. He runs the Buffet Challenge. He does like to change it up a little from year to year. There are some challenges we know just can't be done too many times. You run out of book options.

[Pamela]

My favourite is the Bingo challenge, closely followed by the Decade/ Century challenge. I try to choose different challenges from the buffet each year - this gives me a good balance of pushing me to read more classics and offering variety so I can go with my mood.

I like the idea of a geographical challenge too, and agree it needs to be wide enough to give plenty of choice,

[J_BlueFlower]

Lynn wrote: "Just to run a little personal test, I have read books by authors from 12 different countries so far this year. I have read books set in 15 different countries if we count an imaginary Star Trek planet as a country and the moon Ganymede as a country."

I have read books set in 11 different: USA, Ukraine, Japan, Denmark, Russia, Canada, Norway (The Moon Is Down), Antarctic (The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket), France, UK, Germany

I am not using Moby-Dick (where is that?). Not counting some imaginary and Mars.

Authors from I also have 11: USA (Reginald Rose), Denmark (Matilde Kimer), Japan (Ryūnosuke Akutagawa), Russia (Dostoevsky), Yugoslavia (Enki Bilal is listed as Yugoslavia, not a country anymore....), Ukraine or Soviet (Mikhail Bulgakov), Australia (Greg Egan), Israel (Daniel Kahneman), France (Vercors), UK (Stephen Wolfram), Germany (Rudolph Kippenhahn)

[Kathleen]

Lynn wrote: "We would need to decide if the challenge would be set in 10 countries vs. authors from ten countries. LOL, and what to do with those pesky imaginary settings. Another way to look at it is languages with books-in-translation. If counted that way I read books originally written in 9 different languages. I am not a heavy reader, so if I could do it most people could."

I think you're right, Lynn, that it's easier than you think. Even though it seems like most things I read take place in England, I just checked and have read books set in 16 countries so far this year. Reading lots of short stories helped. I think we've had a challenge like this before maybe? Would be fun to keep track!

[Nike]

I love the Bingo challenges (even if I never seem to finishing them).

[Annette]

I love the challenges. Bingo was my very first so it has a special place in my reading. Old & New is great because it makes me read what I said I would. But I think the A-Z challenges are my current favorites. I try to complete both authors and titles including X and Y and Z. I randomly read and end up with multiple books for lots of letters then as December approaches I have to read a couple specific entries to finish.

[Lynn, New School Classics]

J_BlueFlower wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Just to run a little personal test, I have read books by authors from 12 different countries so far this year. I have read books set in 15 different countries if we count an imaginary ..."

Oh I forgot about The Moon is down!!

16 different countries as settings.

[Wobbley]

Lynn wrote: "We would need to decide if the challenge would be set in 10 countries vs. authors from ten countries. LOL, and what to do with those pesky imaginary settings. Another way to look at it is languages with books-in-translation. If counted that way I read books originally written in 9 different languages."

Good point! I guess I was originally imagining the ten countries referring to the authors, which would solve the "imaginary location" problem :) But we could always leave it open to the reader's interpretation of "country of origin", which is how the current regional challenges are set up.

Your idea of books originally written in 10 different languages is an interesting one. I think that would be a more difficult challenge (my in-translation reads tend to stem from only a handful of languages).

Lots of options!

[Klowey]

What a great question!

I love the Personal Challenges:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...

My own Personal Challenge page is here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Within that I organize a TOC of my personal challenges, which include reading all the books I own (despite ending up with more books each year) and all of the work of my favorite 3 authors.

The TOC also includes links to my BINGO challenge, which I love, and some choices from the Buffet. From the Buffet, these are my favorites:

Challenge #4 - Members Choice
Challenge #5 - Short Story
Challenge #6 - Group Reads and/or Buddy Reads
Challenge #7 - Expand Your Horizon With New Authors

[RJ - Slayer of Trolls]

I don't do Challenges, but I know a lot of people love them.