The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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How do you work on the challenge?
First time for me on this challenge, but the strategy I've adopted is as follows:I have a private/personal group set up for just myself that I use to track my reading with. I've set up a thread folder just for this challenge within that, essentially copying and pasting each challenge and assigning a pick for it. I also have a thread that serves as a sort of rough draft for my completed challenge postings. I have a comment for each challenge and jot down what book I picked and any additional requirements so that when I finish that particular challenge, all I have to do is copy and paste it into the official "Completed Tasks" thread.
As far as how I pick my books go, I try, wherever possible, to only choose books that are currently on my TBR list to try and whittle that down a bit. I also selected all my books right at the beginning of the challenge and will work through them based on what kind of mood I'm in and what sort of book I feel like reading at that time.
Ashley wrote: "First time for me on this challenge, but the strategy I've adopted is as follows:I have a private/personal group set up for just myself that I use to track my reading with. I've set up a thread f..."
I set up a personal group for me and another GR friend to use for tracking our records for this challenge :) I find that it's much easier than a spreadsheet. I have a thread for my reading plans as well as a posting record list that I just copy and paste from when I am ready to "claim" my tasks here in the Completed Tasks thread. If I were to try to keep up with a spreadsheet things would be in an absolute mess.....better for me if everything is all here on GR.
I have only completed the challenge once but real life has put a damper on my reading time. I used to plan ALL of my books for every single tasks but then found myself NOT reading what I planned. I am trying something a little different this season to see if I can get more read. I am going to start off with the 5,10, & 15 point tasks first. Then I am going to move on to the tasks that don't have specific page numbers required & the tasks that allow the children's genre because I read a lot of YA and they often get labeled as children's but do comply under the new AR guidelines. IF I manage to make it through those then I will go back and pick up what I can of the rest. When the real world starts settling down again and I have more time to read I will probably change back to the way I used to work on the challenge which is working on the higher/2 book tasks first.Until then, I am going to see if I can get more read by sticking with the tasks that follow the general SRC guidelines.
Well, this is my first time doing the Seasonal Reading Challenge. I'll admit that I'm starting to feel a little panicky with the end of October approaching! I was originally planning on adding each finished book to the Finished Tasks board but I sort of changed my mind along the way and now I'm going to post them all at the end in one cogent lump.I was a little overwhelmed when I first started. It seemed like a LOT to understand and take in but now I'm doing fine. I just haven't been as active here as I would like in a perfect world. I also imagined myself reading ten books a month or so ... Ha! Life has been crazy so I know there's no way I'll complete the challenge this time. My totals won't be the highest but I'm just proud to be reading at least a little every day (minus the days I have migraines, of course) and knowing that by the end, I'll have a good little book list for Finished Tasks.
As for how I actually work on it .... Well, not very neatly after seeing some of the spreadsheets and things other members have. I just listed each challenge in a Word document and type in the books that go with each challenge as I finish it. I also started with the higher-point tasks and am working my way to the lower-point tasks. Depending on how well this works on the day I finally submit my books to Finished Tasks, I may go the spreadsheet route for the Winter Challenge.
Based on my first-time experience here, my goals for the Winter Challenge so far include more social activity here and reading less long books!
Nox wrote: "Well, this is my first time doing the Seasonal Reading Challenge. I'll admit that I'm starting to feel a little panicky with the end of October approaching! I was originally planning on adding each..."I hear ya! This is my first time doing the SRC as well...I see some of the quick readers posting and are almost finish and just wonder how many hours a day must some people read! I wish I had more hours I could read!
One suggestion someone told me at the beginning is to not wait too long to post the finished tasks...especially if it's your first time doing it. There's so many rules to remember (don't forget to claim GR Author/big book, don't forget to include page numbers where needed, don't forget to include cover when required, don't forget to check ebook approval, don't forget genres, don't forget.....) that it's easy to overlook some of the rules! If you wait too long and do them all at once, there may be a lot of tasks you don't get credit for because you forgot something.
I've tried to post them as I complete them, or once I complete a few just so I'm not waiting until the last minute to get them all in. My first two posts ever got kicked back because I forgot something...I've got a spreadsheet on my side that I've tried to go for the bigger point single-book tasks just to get them done...now I'm trying to finish up on the nickle-and dimes!
I'd love to get my hands one a few different templates people have used for their spreadsheets...it's interesting to see what people have found that work for them (feel free to share your spreadsheet with me!). Half way through the first SRC and I'm at 340 points so I'm pretty okay with myself!
@Nox, are you going to post all the books you finished at the end? I wouldn't advise posting all your books at the end. I post them as I finish each task. The mods will have alot of work at the end. If you don't have a spreadsheet, I just use pen and paper or you can use your word program to keep track of your tasks and books.
Mod
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PLEASE do not do this. You are taking a big risk with this - we have had times when GR goes down on the last day, we have had people save them all up and then have computer issues, stuff happens. If you mess up any of your posts, you may well not have time to fix problems. And you will make the moderators very unhappy.
It's not like I'm planning on waiting until the last five minutes or anything. My game plan is to get everything posted, once I've confirmed (myself) that I'm in line with the rules, in the last two weeks, starting around November 17th-19th, as I'm completing reading my last books. I guess I wasn't specific enough in my first post.
i'd start posting now - even if its just a couple of tasks - you can always re-arrange books to different tasks - but get on the board now
Mod
It's still much harder on us to deal with lots and lots of tasks late in the challenge. MUCH better to post as you go along.
I've checked my reading challenge records in-depth.Several of the books in my reading plan are new books pre-ordered from Amazon and I won't receive them until they are released at the end of October and beginning of November so I won't even be finished reading them until the final weeks of this Seasonal. Coincidentally, most of them are part of the higher score two-book challenges. I've read one book for almost all of the two-book challenges but, as stated above, am still waiting for my chosen second books to be released for these two-book challenges.
So, while I am working on reading for the single book challenges while I wait, I have little of note to actually add as "completed" today. I'll put what I do have tonight or, more likely, late tomorrow on the Finished Tasks board.
I'm only a couple of tasks away from having all the two-book tasks done. I like to get those out of the way first, if at all possible. I normally have to adjust a bit since I'm committed to getting every title I possibly can from my local library. Those I can't, I pick up through SCRIBD, my nook, and my kindle app…I post as I go. I'm a list maker at heart, and I love checking stuff off my list. Seeing my spread sheet shrink as I finish tasks is a great motivator.
I'm a fast reader. I can finish a less than 300 page book in an afternoon.
I echo the advice "do not wait." The end of the challenge is pretty crazy with players posting last minute tasks up to the end, and often the challenge closes while players are still trying to post. If you want the points, you should get them now. It's less for both you AND the mods to keep track of once they're all filed.
This is my first time doing the challenge.I'm a born list-maker, and I've always been a paper and pen kind of girl. I printed the list of tasks, and then I wrote down possible selections below each task.
I have been collecting books since I was a child, and I have amassed a pretty substantial personal library. There are more unread books in my collection than ones I have completed, as any obsessive bibliophile can probably understand. lol
I literally took my printed list into my library and started matching titles and authors for each task to books that I already owned. I had a book already on hand for most of the challenges, so those were the ones I started with first.
Of course, the reason I have so many books is because I continue to buy them, regardless of anything else, so I ended up buying newly published books during the challenge, and then re-worked them into the tasks if I could.
My interest jumps around a lot during any given time period, so sometimes a book that sounded good a week ago ends up falling lower on my priority list simply because something sounds more interesting. I don't try to complete any point groups as a whole, rather I just read what I have on my list that appeals to me in the moment that I need a new book.
After each book I read I immediately mark is as "read" in my Goodreads profile, rate and review the book, and then enter it in the completed task list. I then use a highlighter to mark it off of my printed list. I'm old school for sure. :)
I am a convert to OneNote and have used it for planning the winter challenge, which took 3 full days, leaving me with 3 days of nothing before I can start actually reading. I copy the entire task list into OneNote and then start assigning books to tasks. I try to use one of the many Kindle books I have first, then go back fill in the holes with new or specific books. Hopefully, with a break between semesters, I will be able to make good progress. I am considering reading shortest to longest to see how many I can get read. I add a shelf to hold books assigned for this challenge and they will be moved to read once I finish them. With 60 books selected, I am going to have to average about one book each day.
It was my first time too, and I did it pretty similarly. I kept two master lists on blog posts (in progress/unchecked & completed/checked by mods), and then had hand written lists too of what I had on hand/what I was reading currently/what I planned next for each slot (kindle/physical book/audio--different colors for each. haha.) because I read different types at different times of the day--commute/work/breaks/free time at home.Glad I am not the only highlighter, pen, and paper one. :D
Mindi wrote: "This is my first time doing the challenge.
I'm a born list-maker, and I've always been a paper and pen kind of girl. I printed the list of tasks, and then I wrote down possible selections below e..."
Morgan wrote: "Glad I am not the only highlighter, pen, and paper one. :D"Me too! :)
I hadn't thought about the shortest to longest approach, but I can see that working pretty well. I'm sort of realistic about the Winter 2014. There are so many tasks and it looks like it's going to be in the neighborhood of 81 books (just because I managed to find 1 book tasks for a couple of the 15 point tasks). There's just no way that I can read that many books in 3 months.
So, knowing there's no way to finish takes a lot of the pressure off. I'm going to relax, read what I want, when I want, and let the points land where they end up.
I'm participating in the MMP's Hogwarts Challenge this next year, so it's been fun finding books that will crossover both massive reading lists!
I usually do the SRC challenge, the RWS challenge and the Historical Fictionistas challenge so I try to find a book for all three challenges. I can usually fit it in two of the three. I also write out all the tasks in my journal with pen. That way they are all kept in one place.
This winter challenge will be my first time. I copied all the tasks to a word document. Then did up a spread sheet with each task on its own line. I have task title, requirement, approval post if needed - if recieved,anything that must be posted then title, author, if author is a goodreads author and number of pages. I have 15 planned for sure - but will add others as I go along I'm sure.
Will see how it pans out and can make tweaks for next season if necessary.
Oh dear - I'm thinking of next season already - has this newbie got hooked?
I got hooked 5 years and 20 seasons ago.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I got hooked 5 years and 20 seasons ago.":)
I heard about Goodreads through my work bookclub.
I started in November of 2009
My first, and only other time(s) was in 2011. Then I went back to work parttime and reading slipped way down on my list of priorities. But slowly, I am getting it back to the top. :) The Kindle is great by allowing me to read any time, any where.
I just finished my 3rd season, so I'm a relative newbie, but I've finished 2 of 3 seasons, so I'm obviously hooked pretty deep! I'm excited about the next season, but I fear that it's going to be too big a mountain for me to climb. It looks like in the neighborhood of 83 books for the winter season. There will be finishers - there always are - but I won't be among them!
May 2010 joined so summer 2010 was my first
This season Fall 2014 was my first time...a lot of fun and I did a lot better than I expected I would! I'm trying to finish one last book to end at 645/815. If I hadn't had my spreadsheet where I tried (emphasis on tried) to plan it out, I'd have struggled to get that much! I did my my best to use books I already had on my Kindle that I had downloaded over time and never read and only purchased a few new books of which I would have done anyway! New releases got exchanged on my reading plan a few times and a few other challenges' requirements mad me swap things around but overall I stuck pretty close to my original spreadsheet!
I have never finished this challenge. I average about 12 books a season. I usually have around 100-120 points on average.
I ended with 715 points. That is the best I have ever done. I am pleased. Retirement and a quiet three months (no moving, unpacking, etc) gave me more time to read.
So there's more than 80 books for the Winter challenge? OMG!This is my first challenge and I got 675/815, but I don't think I'll be able to read all the books needed for next one.
I'm a fast reader, but there's other stuff I have to do in real life, and as much as I would like to read all day long I can't do it.
I usually try to read all the books I already own, paper or Kindle, and I look for books that fit other tasks on Oyster reading app, but I will surely end up buying about 5 books that I'm really interested in doing
@Pia,Just do as much as you can.
My mistake, this challenge, was reading books for tasks that weren't really interesting for me...So I lost a couple of weeks with books that I didn't care for and now I've tried to move them to the Winter challenge.
And as you say Jayme, I'll just read what I can.
Sometimes, I don't have a book assigned to every task. t=The book may come later.
@ Pia,The idea is to read what you really WANT to read. The tasks are only to help you find books that might interest you that you wouldn't find otherwise.
Life is too short to spend it reading a bad book. I read in a blog post somewhere that in your lifetime, at a book a week, you'll only read something like 3000 books. That's not many considering the length of my TBR list! So I only stick it out with those I'm not enjoying a lot if it LOOKS like I might finish the challenge.
In this case, with the number of books that are going to be required to finish it, I'm not even going to worry about it. I'm going to relax and have fun reading books on my list and let the points fall where they're gonna.
I read 22 books in 3 months, which is a lot for me. I mean, I work full-time and I have a garden. lol My points won't blow anybody's skirt up, but I'm delighted to have found motivation to get that much reading in.
Mindy wrote: "I read 22 books in 3 months, which is a lot for me. I mean, I work full-time and I have a garden. lol My points won't blow anybody's skirt up, but I'm delighted to have found motivation to get that..."And that's what this challenge is all about! I'm usually reading 2-3 books a week, but I haven't finished a book since Nov 25 and no hopes of finishing one either before Thursday. I haven't finished a challenge yet, and probably never will. That's okay ... I'm still having fun.
It is all about the fun, and finding books in other genres that we enjoy but would not read without encouragement. We all tend to find our preferred genre and stick with it. It is fun to try to find a book in a new genre that I am interested in reading.
Pia wrote: "My mistake, this challenge, was reading books for tasks that weren't really interesting for me...So I lost a couple of weeks with books that I didn't care for and now I've tried to move them to th..."
This was my first challenge and although my reading list changed a lot as the months went I had identified several which were 'only if I finish everything else'. I rolled a couple of business books and I wasn't interested in any of the group reads for instance. I knew from the start that I probably wouldn't finish and I wasn't going to waste time on things I couldn't be bothered with otherwise. I've got my combined list to get through, that's enough of a challenge :-)
I think that is one reason I am going to read short to long, so I can read as many books as possible in the first few weeks. If a short book ends up being a dud, at least it only takes an hour to figure that out, whereas longer books I feel compelled to keep reading longer to give them a chance to get interesting. My goal is to complete as many small books and then as many tasks in the first half of the challenge. I start back for my last semester the middle of January so I expect the bulk of what I complete will be before the mid-point. Speaking of, I am ready to start reading for the winter challenge. I have been distracting myself with Sims and Star Trek. :)
It was my first time too, and I had a couple duds that fit, but I ended up replacing. I didn't think that I would finish, because non-fiction rarely appeals to me. Thank God for audiobooks though...they got me through a couple fiction and non-fiction that I probably would have put down. Being at work with nothing else to listen to kept me going. It was preferable to silence. lol.But Winter is very intimidating. We added up the possible points the other night and I think I whimpered. :P
I have a week off for Christmas which (other than the drive) I think will slow me down on my reading. Even if just being around the dogs.
Luckily so far I am excited about almost all the books, so hopefully at least I'll enjoy the things I get to reading.
People who finish the challenge every season read shorter books usually. One of the finishers told me said that on a thread. I have a TBR list that is like 5 pages long, typed. I have lots of series books.
But not all of us who finish do and it pisses me off when people say that!How I opt to do the challenge is my choice and to have other readers pass judgement because I may do short books, audiobooks, romances etc (all of which have been complained about in the past) just piss me off and it sounds like sour grapes
I am not judging. It was just something I heard from ONE of the finishers. I would never hope to finish one of these. So finishing is an accomplishment.
This was my first season as well. I had a big spreadsheet, color coded and all.The order I read in was mostly based on what books I could fit into other challenges as well as here, but also based on "books I most wanted to read", and left the books I wasn't all that interested in until the end. I ended at 615 points so I'm actually pretty proud of myself!
As far as book length, I didn't too much take it into consideration when choosing a book. But I did try to read long and short spread throughout the challenge because sometimes after slogging through a long one, a 200 page book felt like eating dessert lol
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I am not judging. It was just something I heard from ONE of the finishers. I would never hope to finish one of these. So finishing is an accomplishment."But that is what it sounds like when you make comments like 'people who finish read shorter books ususally' - that is judging because ppl opt to do that
Well that's what she had said. I didn't mean it to be judgmental.
I know I was angling for as many big book tickets as I could get. lol.But I don't pay attention to length when I assign a book to a task or plan this out (I read Under the Dome -- 1000+ pages for a 5 pt task.) unless the task calls for a specific # of pages or in the total page #.
It's definitely a case of 'every reader is different'. We all have differing tastes/speeds/etc, and you're all terrible and giving me lots of books that I want to read. :|
Stop enabling my book addiction. (THAT'S SARCASM. PLEASE DON'T STOP. I GET THE SHAKES IF I DON'T ADD NEW BOOKS TO MY TBR MOUNTAIN.)
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
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