The Sword and Laser discussion
Reading Goals for 2011
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Jenny (Reading Envy)
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Jan 01, 2011 07:17AM
Does anyone have any reading resolutions for 2011? Maybe a book or series or genre you want to try getting to finally? I don't really have any specific ones myself, except for maybe to slim down my to-read list and physical shelves by reading, haha.
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I would like to read the 'The Commonwealth Saga' by Peter F Hamilton. Going to start the first book, Pandora's Star today. It's my first epic sic-fi book that I have read but it sounds interesting but the the size of the saga being over 2200 pages it might take me all year to finish :-)
My wife and I have the general goal to read at least a book a month this year, which we both hope to exceed, but we'll see. I too have many books on my shelves that I have had for a while and haven't read, and I plan to slim that down at least by a little.
I'm hoping, hoping to hit 100 books this year.
I've got no real "goal" for reading this year, except to keep it up.Work is going to be crazy hectic this year, and it'll be easy to come home and flop on the couch with TV and internet...so, if I can maintain reading about a book or two a month (as I did this year), I'll be pretty happy.
I'm thinking my goal is to end the year with fewer books on my to read list (currently at 207) than I started the year with... Unfortunately, my penchant for starting new series kinda undermines this goal.
My resolution is to read fewer books at a time. At the moment there are 17 books on my currently reading list. This is ridiculous.
Mod
Oh, Simmons' Hyperion and more William Gibson, too. I better get to work!
I have far too many books that I haven't read yet. I will not buy any more books until I have read at least ten from my TBR pile.
Jlawrence wrote: "Some 2011 goals: Stephenson's Baroque Cycle, Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind (before the sequel comes out in March, in case I love the series as much as I think I will)....attempt to run through some of the Hugo winners and nominees in chronological order (allowing myself to jump ship on any of them I don't get into)Chronologically starting from the present or the earliest? Sounds like a fun project! I've done that with some of the Bookers.
Mod
Starting from the earliest, except I'm cheating and only doing the ones that look most interesting to me. I'm starting with Mission of Gravity by Hal Clement, which was nominated for best novel in 1954. I'll see how far I get in the list!
Maybe get threw Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I tried the audio book once, but it isn't the best thing to listen to while driving. Nearly put me to sleep a few times.Really I just want to get more reading done in general.
Destroy all paperbacks. Consume digital library.
I'd like to read the Revelation Space series by Alastair Reynolds. I own the first two already due to 2nd book store accumulation. I've read Chasm City before and thought it was a good read and I'm about 15% of the way into Revelation Space now and I'm enjoying it so far.I'd also like to read some Peter F. Hamilton this year. I read The Reality Dysfunction once before and I really like it (but I found that Mr. Hamilton's 80-100 page chapters interfered with my enjoyment of the book. I can't stop a book in the middle of a chapter and a 1000 page book with only ~30 chapters is a killer for me).
I finally found a copy of City of Golden Shadow in Trade Paperback (matching the rest of my collection) so an Otherland re-read seems in order. Although given my other reading goals for the year that one might have to wait.
On the Sword side of things I need to finish the Joe Abercrombie series (I just got Before They Are Hanged today) and I'd like to explore the works of Brandon Sanderson probably starting with the Mistborn trilogy.
I need to continue my Dark Tower journey with Wolves of the Calla this year. I seem to read one dark tower book a year or so. I'm not sure what it is about that series but I can never just finish a book and then jump immediately into the next one (despite really loving the series).
I only read 2 Sword and Laser Books last year and I didn't get time to participate much in the forum so I'm hoping to fix that this year too. Hmmm, that list seems kinda scary when you write it all down. Ah well (turns off PC to go and read).
I'm going to give The Wheel of Time series a shot. I'd also like to re-read The Dark Tower series this year.
I have a few reading goals for the coming year.1) Read at least one new book each week, ideally a nice mix of fiction and non-fiction.
2) Discover new authors whose work I really enjoy.
3) Improve my French enough so that I can read Voyage au centre de la Terre (after having it sit, neglected on my shelf for the last year).
They should be a fun challenge.
I just want to read the 'perfect' book, that takes no 'work' and is pure pleasure.
I own a ton of books that I have not read yet, my goal is to finish most of these.
I am going to read 36 books this year. With nothing specific in mind, but whatever peaks my interest will get read. Be it in paperback, E-ink, or audio format. It will be read.
Ala wrote: "I'm hoping, hoping to hit 100 books this year."I'm the same. I know that I read at least 61 books in 2010, but I wasn't keeping track in the first part of the year and don't know if I may have forgotten a few. So I figure a doable goal is 80 and a hope is for 100.
I'll have to give this some thought, as I've currently have way too many books on my book pile (80+) and I really want to decrease that amount.I also would like to try and find more "quality" books, so I'll have to look into the Hugo/Nebula awards winners and nominees. (Anything else you think I should look into?)
I'll definitely commit to a book a week, as I've averaged about that for the last ten years, but beyond that I'll have to get back to this later.
Hugo & Nebula winning books don't necessarily make for a good read. Awards seem to be given out more for the research than for a good plot and characters.
So any idea on a better approach on how to find thought provoking quality books?
Martin wrote: "So any idea on a better approach on how to find thought provoking quality books?"The Sword and Laser Book Club!
Seriously, though, I've found more recommendations than I know what to do with from you lot.
Mod
There's never a guarantee that personal taste is going to match up with award-winners *but* I don't think the Hugo & Nebula awards necessarily lean toward rewarding scientific rigor over character, mood and narrative these days. Take for example the S&L pick The Windup Girl, which just won a Hugo. As discussed in this forum, some of its worldbuilding seems scientifically shaky, and as Sean's last post in that discussion shows, Bacigalupi himself admitted to just throwing out a bunch of important alternate energy sources in order to create the world he wanted. That's something hard sci-fi purists would balk at, yet the novel won a Hugo.
Martin, I agree with aldenoneil, you'll find tons of recommendations by following the discussions in this group (the What Else Are You Reading? and What Should We Read Next? threads are good examples). Also, following the reviews of people on Goodreads who seem to have similar tastes to yours is also a great way to build-up a to-read list.
Additionally, I read through things like David Pringles' "Ultimate Guide to Science Fiction" and other such round-ups and note down books that sound interesting, but that's less reliable than finding like-minded readers and following their recommendations.
Thanks for the tips and sorry for the slight derailing of the thread.
Vikz wrote: "I plan to read as many Terry Pratchett novels as possible. Any ideas where I should start?"Just start at the beginning, they're all good and get better as you go along. While each book works well as a stand-alone, he does occasionally mention previous events or minor characters show up in other books. If you've read from the start you'll catch all the little in-jokes and references.
About the only books that need to be read in order is his YA books, the Tiffany Achting quartet.
Snokat wrote: "Vikz wrote: "I plan to read as many Terry Pratchett novels as possible. Any ideas where I should start?"Just start at the beginning, they're all good and get better as you go along...."
I too suggest going chronological. You can find a good list at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discworld or you can check a rather good list of threaded stories here : http://www.lspace.org/books/reading-o...
Guards Guards is my favorite.
Enjoy!
While I like them all, I think my top 3 are:1) Monsterous Regiment
2) Night Watch
3) Going Postal
My goal for 2011 is to read the shortlists of the Hugo, Nebular, Nova, Arthur C Clarke, Philip K Dick and BSFA awards.I found from last years lists that nearly every book on the shortlists had some idea that seemed interesting and worth a read and they all ended up on my wishlist (tho i didn't get through many of them). This year im planning on getting through as many as possible.
My goal for 2011 is to not read any less than I did in 2010.There are two trilogy's I'd like to read this year that I put off last year. The Mistborn Trilogy by Brandon Sanderson and The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb
Some other books that I'd like to read this year The Black Prism, Battle Royale and World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War. I'm sure there's more but I don't want to get too far ahead of myself.
I just want to get as many books read as I can before I start veterinary school in the fall. I have a huge back up from when I was working on my bachelor's, and I know I won't have much time anymore again when I start, so hopefully I can make a nice dent in all the reading I've been wanting to do.
To read more from the Warhammer 40K series. To read the Old Republic novels from Star Wars. To read the new books from my favorite authors and hopefully to discover a new favorite. :)
I came late to this group, so my goal is to go back and start catching up on past reads! First up: A Game of Thrones, Watership Down, and The Mists of Avalon.
Martin wrote: "So any idea on a better approach on how to find thought provoking quality books?"That's the ultimate question. Sometimes I just read the 1st page of a book or spend 20 minutes on it in a store, looking for a chemical reaction. Conversations in these forums. http://sfbrp.com , http://sffaudio.com , http://sfsignal.com , http://io9.com , author interviews on podcasts (although that doesn't always work out).
First of all, I would like to participate with the discussion here a little more here and catch up on the books I missed! I just bought the Yu book and I hope to read it by this weekend, and then I'll go back and pick off the others I've missed (White, Heinlein, Bacigalupi). Like Jenny, I want to read the Baroque Cycle this year by Stephenson. The entire trilogy has been sitting on my shelf since last spring. If I can knock each of those out, catch up on the last few S&L books, and read an additional book a month, I'll be very happy.
Goodreads is also asking for you to set a goal. I set mine at 100 books. Going to start off with a Peter F. Hamilton marathon. Currently reading Pandora's Star, then moving to Judas Unchained, and finally the Dark Void trilogy. Other series I want to plow through are Revelation Space, Saga of the Seven Suns, James Bond, First Law, Dark Tower, Mistborn, and if possible The Wheel of Time.
Mod
But as for reading I hope to plow through the Dark Tower series, keep up to date quickly on all book club picks and possibly get some Pratchett read before the year is out.
How did you like the Lost Fleet series, Tom?
Mod
Tamahome wrote: "How did you like the Lost Fleet series, Tom?"
Tom wrote: "What is the Lost Fleet series?Tamahome wrote: "How did you like the Lost Fleet series, Tom?""
The first one is Dauntless by Jack Campbell. Steve Gibson liked it. I thought you said you were reading it. Nevermind. :) (Maybe there's another Tom)
40 books for me, although I am sure that I will read more.
If you make it part of your daily routine to always read at least 100 pages, then you'll get through 36500 pages in a year.Assuming an average book is about 450 pages in length, this will correspond to about 81 books in a year.
Of course, some books have pages that are more text-dense than other pages, so it may be "work" to read 100 pages of such a book compared to 100 pages of a lighter book with less dense text.
So... you can help yourself out by reading 2-3 books at a time. If one book is a bit dense, and 100 pages daily is a chore, you can switch up after 25-40 pages, and then still meet your page goal.
Also, you can carry an ebook with you if you have an ereader installed on your smartphone (or carry a dedicated ebook reading device). The benefit of using a cellphone is that you don't need to carry anything extra, as most people already have their phone with them. Then, any spare few minutes throughout your day become reading moments. I've found it's a nice stress-buster, too.
Also, if you commute by driving to work, you can pop in an audiobook and listen. If it's unabridged text, you get the entire content of the book, and may also help you "read" a lot more without changing too many of your usual habits.
Personally I read for fun. So there are days in which I may read a whole book and days in which I do not read.
Mod
Tamahome wrote: "Tom wrote: "What is the Lost Fleet series?
Tamahome wrote: "How did you like the Lost Fleet series, Tom?""
The first one is Dauntless by Jack Campbell. Steve Gibson ..."
Your quoting method is throwing me all kinds of off, Tom.
Mine is to read more, this last year my reading output dropped quite a bit due to various things. I am aiming to make more time to read a book. At least one a month minimum.
The Sword and Laser
Books mentioned in this topic
Quicksilver (other topics)The Alchemist (other topics)
Wolves of the Calla (other topics)
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War (other topics)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Terry Pratchett (other topics)Michael Crichton (other topics)
Robin Hobb (other topics)
Peter F. Hamilton (other topics)
Brandon Sanderson (other topics)
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