2009 challenge to Read 100 books

[Janis]

I will give it a try:)

[Chloe]

Wow, you set your sights high! You've got a lot of great books on there, both that I've read and that I've been wanting to read. I can't wait to hear your thoughts on Corelli's Mandolin.

[Beth A.]

I'll take the challange. But I can't choose them in advance, what I want to read changes week by week.

[Janis]

Yeah mine changes too:) I will create the list as I go....

[Christina Stind]

I'm trying to read 100 books this year but still have about 16 to go ... so I'm probably not going to make it ... but I'm game again next year!

[Christina Stind]

203?! How on earth did you do that? That's a lot of books!!

[Beth]

OMG Leah, 203 books! Congratulations. I'd like to try to read 100 books in 2009 but I don't know if I'll make it. On another group I set the goal for 75 books in 2009. I'll try for 100 but like Beth A and Janis I can't commit to the actual books b/c I'd want to change them!

[Beth]

Thanks Emilee! I am looking forward to the challange!

[Ann from S.C.]

I have read 90 so far this year. I did not have a goal going in, just to keep up with each book I read. I kept up with them in a big calendar. I am going to do it again this year.

[Julia]

I'm not sure if I can find all the time but this sounds like a very worthy goal! To make a list or not to make a list...

[Petra X]

I've read 25 of your list.

I couldn't read a 100 books in a year, not now anyway. Before I had the bookshop I read 4-7 a week, but now the maximum I can read (if you don't count kiddies' books - and I don't) is probably 3. I'm always reading book blurbs!

[Petra X]

I can't Emilee. I'm trying to get my cafe open which means I have to be in the bookshop/cafe all day and then I get home at night and I am doing admin and buying books (and playing on Goodreads) until 12.30 at least. Then I read for a while. If I count kiddies books I could do it though.

[M]

Fun ---I saw this thread when I was putting in my latest 'read' book --- as an odd coincidence, it happened to be my 100th book of 2008 (there are a number of poetry books in there -- and some fluffy reads). My 'to read' list is threatening to overtake my 'read' list -- so I shouldn't have any trouble choosing books in 2009. I will look forward to seeing everyone's lists and hearing what they think.

[Petra X]

Well I'm quite poor so I can't afford to employ any more staff and I don't have any choice.

[CLD]

I had thought I was an avid reader until I found this thread. I read one book/month - at best. I am a slow reader. How do you guys find the time?

[Petra X]

Neither me.

[Lisa Julianna]

wow 100 books in a year. I don't think I could do that. I set myself up on another book club to try to read 50 for the year. LOL

Good Luck to everyone!! :~)

[Petra X]

Lisa, I could do that. Why don't you set up another thread for those of us with aspirations to 50 books? I'd like to read 100, but it just isn't possible.

[Mary]

I am so curious as to how you came up with your list of 100 books. That in itself is pretty impressive, let alone reading them all. ;0

[Laura]

I want to try and read more, but I don't know if I could do 100. I could try for 75, but at an average of more than 1 book a week, I think even that might be pushing it for me.

[Laura]

You do have some great ones on your list Emilee, so good luck with them!!

[Beth]

I only read 64 books in 2008 so getting to 100 may be very difficult for me. I'm going to give it a try, though.

[Christina Stind]

So - how is everyone doing on the challenge?
I'm currently reading book 6 this year so I'm off to a really good start but I need it since I plan to tacke heavyweights 'War and Peace' and 'Anna Karenina' this year!

[Sarah]

i dnt think i'll b really able to read 100 books this year,it's not gonna b easy...too busy with exams and other school stuff,so i'll try shooting for 50 books, which also doesnt look too easy,but what to do?

[Beth A.]

I just started my seventh book too, Prettymisslara. Two are audio-books, otherwise I'd never be able to reach 100.

[Wendy T]

I download audio books for when my son plays hockey and I can listen to them on the bus. I did try and read on the bus, but found with the noise from the kids or the movie (which is usually pretty loud) that I could not stay focus. So audio books work great for bus trips.

[Clickety]

My concern is that if I make a big long list NOW, I'll find myself stuck between "do I continue with my list?" or "do I read this awesome new book?"

Right now I've got 22 books out from the library; 14 of them are still unread. Four of the unread ones are due back tomorrow - yikes! maybe I should've been more careful about reading those FIRST, mm?

anyway, all 22 are ones that I've only found out about within the last two or three months.

[Kathy]

Last year I read 70 books, so I have set a goal of 75 for 2009. If I reach that number, then I might try for 100 the next year. I have a to-read list for 2009 with 85 books on it so far, but I'm sure that I will pounce on some newly published books instead of some of the ones on my list.

[Catamorandi]

I'm going to give it a try.

[Tricia]

Wow I never thought to count how many books I read in a year. Well now is as good a time as any right? I think I'll set my goal at 36. That's 3 a month and all I think I can get to with work and school to get through. 2 down, 34 to go...

[[deleted user]]

You can even add it as a shelf in your GR shelves!

[Petra X]

I was only going for the 50 book challenge, but I'm reading so much, that I think I will transfer over to this one. So far this month I've read 10 books (not including children's books):

1. Flower Confidential (about the business of flowers)
2. Alex & Me (a not-very-good book about Alex the famous, sentient, talking parrot).
3. Otherwise Normal People (people, extremely ordinary, who grow and show roses competitively).
4. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance (best book so far this year, essays on the practice of medicine and philosophy).
5. Within These Walls (so good I couldn't put it down - a chaplain on death row)
6. Kabul Beauty School (Hairdresser takes on the UN in Kabul and has more success, or similar)
7. The Family Tree (gasp, fiction, first in ages. Lil black baby born to two white parents. Not that good, but ok for chicklit).
8. The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery (neurology and prion diseases)
9. Rumpole and the Reign of Terror (more fiction, always did like court dramas, especially Rumpole)
10.Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel. Amazing book about a girl who was not at all a beauty living in primitive villages in the Sudan transformed into a New York supermodel.

[[deleted user]]

I haven't been reading as much as I usually do so I am really behind (four books to be exact) but this is what I have read so far.

Completed books for 2009:

1. Clockwork Orange
2. Loving Frank
3. Marley Me
4. Secret Life of Bees
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

[Christina Stind]

I'm still on track - have read 8 so far and will finish at least one more in January.
Completed books '09:
1. One Day in the life of Ivan Denisovich (amazing book from nobel prize recipient about life in a Siberian work camp)
2. Beginner's Greek (nice novel about love...)
3. Rebecca (Last night I dreamt of Manderlay...)
4. Sippy Cups are not for Chardonnay (funny book about being a new mother)
5. The Rules of Attraction (my first Brett Easton Ellis - liked it a lot!)
6. Alias Grace (real life Canadian murder mystery)
7. The Social life of dogs (funny book about the author's dogs (some of them))
8. Anna Karenina (simply amazing!!!)

Currently reading Barack Obama The audacity of Hope and The Year of Fog by Michelle Richmond - those of you liking Picoult will probably like this one as well!

[[deleted user]]

Yeah Christina! I am going to follow your lead! I am actually close to finishing another book so I really need to concentrate on reading this weekend.

[Beth]

Ok, I only read 6 books in January, so it's probably going to be tough for me to reach 100. Plus, I've got a ton of knitting projects to do.

[[deleted user]]

Beth I didn't do as well as usually. But it's one month! You can do it. We can support each other in this as I only completed 5 books.

[Beth]

Thanks Emilee. It's a deal: we'll support each other. I really want to do this!

[[deleted user]]

So do I! We can do it.

My calcualations we should have 16 books done by February 28th. We can do this!

[Beth]

Yikes! I'm going to have to get my butt off computer and pick up a book!!!!! I think this is one of my biggest problems. I spend a lot of my day here on GR and a couple of other reading blogs. I am in the middle of several books, though so I just need to buckle down and finish them!

[Christina Stind]

And I need to buckle down and do it as well right now - reading a long book (880 pages) and it's not a book I love so it takes a lot of time to get it done... So no books read yet in February - and February are so short...!
But come on girls, we can do it!!! :-)

[[deleted user]]

We can all do it. We have 25 days to get up to 16 books done (include books read in January).

[[deleted user]]

Completed books for 2009:

1. Clockwork Orange
2. Loving Frank
3. Marley & Me
4. Secret Life of Bees
5. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
6. The Comfort of Strangers

Only 10 books for February!

[Beth]

Emilee, did you like Loving Frank? I keep debating about this one. Extremely Loud...is on my TBR list.

[Laura]

Go Emilee Go Beth Go Christina GO GO GO!

I've been reading more since the Winter Challenge on TNBBC, so I'm actually going for the 100 this year. We'll see. So far I've read 10, but Outlander's slowing me down a bit.

We can do it !!!

[Laura]

Yeah, but at least with Outlander you really wanna keep reading to see what happens! So that's the good thing about it.

[Laura]

Me neither - for the same reason. The first couple pages are dry as dirt! But my sister raves about it and she isn't a way "let's go read the 1000 pp. book" person - so I think from her recommendation alone it might be worth a try.

Also the woman who recommended Guernsey to me recommended it too!

It's just so thick, and the beginning is so dry...I don't know if I ever will.

Plus it's like 12th cent. or something. I'm having enough trouble w/18th c. in O.

[Beth]

Thank you Laura for your vote of confidence! I think we're all going to do it! I'm so glad we're all doing this together. It makes it even more fun when there's a lot of people.

[Petra X]

I was wavering, 50 or 100 books, but I've decided, its a 100. I haven't got anything better to do than read now anyway.

1. Flower Confidential
2. Alex & Me
3. Otherwise Normal People
4. Better: A Surgeon's Notes on Performance
5. Within These Walls (so good I couldn't put it down).
6. Kabul Beauty School
7. The Family Tree (gasp, fiction, first in ages).
8. The Family That Couldn't Sleep: A Medical Mystery (neurology and prion diseases)
9. Rumpole and the Reign of Terror (more fiction)
10.Alek: From Sudanese Refugee to International Supermodel.
11. My Horizontal Life: A Collection of One-Night Stands by Chelsea Handler.
12. Annie May's Black Book - rubbish.

[Beth]

I think I'll put Loving Frank on my TBR list! These are the books I've read in 2009 so far:

1. Family Planning
2. Angus, Thongs, and Full-Frontal Snogging
3. Testimony
4. Knucklehead
5. The Gargoyle
6. Songs for the Missing
7. Stuff White People Like
8. Multiple Blessings
9. The Trouble with Boys
10.Educating Esme

Nothing as heavy as Moby Dick, Emilee. You're amazing for having read that. Right now I'm going to spend my time finishing Prodigal Summer, which I'm really liking.