Reading Challenge 2020

[fitnessgurl]

Finished book 5!

[Scaly Freak]

2 minutes ago, juliebarkley said:

For example, in Canada, the latest Michael Connelly cost $22.80 for the hardcover, and the publisher charges us $87 for the ebook. For other titles, we pay the regular price, but the title can only be loaned out 26 times. One publisher also started embargoing newly published books so that we could have only one e-copy until six weeks after publication. They did mercifully back down on that when the pandemic started, but it's only a matter of time until they try again.

 

This reminds me of how the music industry treated online streaming and file sharing a couple of decades ago, and it is as stupid now as it was then. The new technology is here and is not going anywhere. The way to profit from it is to embrace and use it, not to hamstring it and try to avoid using it... eBooks means you can reach people who cannot get to a library or book store, and offers you the possibility of exponentially increasing your target market. 

 

Let's fight it with everything we've got because we don't like it! *eyeroll* Stupid luddites.

[juliebarkley]

3 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

This reminds me of how the music industry treated online streaming and file sharing a couple of decades ago, and it is as stupid now as it was then.

It's exactly the same thing. I don't think it's turning into a whole bunch of extra print sales for them AND we buy fewer ebook copies, so it's utterly pointless.

[Scaly Freak]

12 minutes ago, juliebarkley said:

It's exactly the same thing. I don't think it's turning into a whole bunch of extra print sales for them AND we buy fewer ebook copies, so it's utterly pointless.

 

Not entirely. It makes them feel more in control, just like it did the large record companies back then... just as it was with music, TV shows, and movies, the majority of consumers actually prefer digital/electronic copies if given a choice. Smart business minds will run with that and profit from it. The not so smart ones will go out of business.

[juliebarkley]

5 hours ago, Scaly Freak said:

Smart business minds will run with that and profit from it. The not so smart ones will go out of business.

We're already starting to see that. It's really the big 5 publishing houses that are failing to move with the times. Authors are starting to realize that they don't need a big publishing house to get a following. In fact, the big name house won't do very much to promote them unless they're already a big deal, so they'll get a better career boost by going indie. Just like musicians, actually.

[Edgedancer]

16 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

However, if your library has budget issues (and who doesn't?) and you are comfortable going to a physical branch for a physical book, do consider it. The publishers charge US and Canadian libraries way more than they decently should for their ebooks. For example, in Canada, the latest Michael Connelly cost $22.80 for the hardcover, and the publisher charges us $87 for the ebook. For other titles, we pay the regular price, but the title can only be loaned out 26 times. One publisher also started embargoing newly published books so that we could have only one e-copy until six weeks after publication. They did mercifully back down on that when the pandemic started, but it's only a matter of time until they try again.

 

That's good to know! I never would have guessed. I like using ebooks when I read in english so I have a translator/dictionary integrated, but books I borrow from a library are always in french so I'll go for physical books!

[Scaly Freak]

10 hours ago, juliebarkley said:

We're already starting to see that. It's really the big 5 publishing houses that are failing to move with the times. Authors are starting to realize that they don't need a big publishing house to get a following. In fact, the big name house won't do very much to promote them unless they're already a big deal, so they'll get a better career boost by going indie. Just like musicians, actually.

 

There are a lot of similarities between the music industry and the book industry, from the way their products are produced and consumed, to the way the large publishers do business. 

 

I've long been of the opinion that the reason the RIAA was so rabidly against free sharing of music was a combination of being bitter that Napster beat them to it, and a growing terrifying realization that their infrastructure was not set up in a way that allowed them to take advantage of this new technology, and was too large and bulky to be able to change before it was too late.

 

Some of the decisions the big publishing houses have made regarding eBooks make a lot more sense if we assume they are in the same situation now. The fact that a paper back book often costs less than the electronic version is one of the more ridiculous side-effects of this... no consumer in their right mind will be willing to accept the notion that once the book is written, edited, and published, the electronic version costs more to print and distribute, than the mass-market paper back. Don't even get me started on the travesty that is DRM on books.

 

The video game industry is going in this direction as well, but moving at a much slower pace. It takes a lot more money and people to create a successful video game, than it takes to write a song or a book. 

[Jupiter]

How did everyone's reading challenges go this year? Original goal for me was to read 40 books, but I ended up reading 70 for the year.  

[juliebarkley]

I didn't keep track of numbers. I've consistently had a book on the go for mealtimes, and one at work. However, my goal to read more of the classics got sidetracked by the overflowing pile of library books that no longer even come close to fitting on their designated shelf. Maybe when I get my checkouts below 100 again.

[Defining]

Welp. Um. How did everyone's reading go this year? 😅

[Aquarii]

My goal was 36 books this year, and I finished exactly 36 this year. 

[bigm141414]

Summary time!

 

My goal was 36 books, and I finished 44. It was a lot of reading towards the end, especially when Brandon Sanderson released Rhythm of War. I reread Oathbringer (451,912 words) right before RoW (455,891). So from Nov 9th to Nov 27th I read both books, over 900k words and that was a marathon of reading. Looking back at the list, I hit my 4 nonfiction books for the year but I could have sworn I read 5.

 

Below is my full list for the year. Looking ahead to 2021 I have two main goals: 1) read outside my normal habits 2) read more deeply. I've spent the last few years clocking in over 35+ personal books read a year which is great and all but it's not always a numbers game. I am going to strive to go deep on 2 or 3 topics this year instead of reading just surface level nonfictions, and I want to spend some time outside of the scifi/fantasy genre. There are genres I have never read, like westerns or mystery or romance so I want to broaden my reading palette in 2021

 

Spoiler

2020 Books

 

Bold - Nonfiction

Italics - Graphic Novels

 

1) The Light of All That Falls - James Islington (Jan 3)

2) The City in the Middle of Night - Charlie Jane Anders (Jan 10)

3) The Testaments - Margret Atwood (Jan 17)

4) The Peripheral - William Gibson (Jan 24)

5) Doctor Aphra - Vol 1 (Jan 26)

6) The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates (Feb 8 )

7) Circe - Madeline Miller (Feb 14)

8 )Agency - William Gibson (Feb 22)

9) The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (Feb 29)

10) The Rat Queens Vol 7 (March 3)

11) The City of Brass - S.A Chakraborty (March 19)

12) Upright Women Wanted - Sarah Gailey (March 24)

13) Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo (April 3)

14) The Better Angels of Our Nature - Steven Pinker (April 4)

15) Nevernight - Jay Kristoff (April 5)

16) The Wicked and The Divine Book 2 - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (April 7)

17) Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo (April 21)

18) The Immortal Hulk Vol. 1 - Al Ewing, Joe Bennett (April 23)

19) Kingdom of Copper - S.A Chakraborty (May 2)

20) Artificial Condition - Martha Wells ( May 4)

21) The City We Became - N.K Jemisin (May 10)

22) The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (May 25)

23) The Immortal Hulk Vol 2-6 - Al Ewing, Joe Bennett (May 26)

24) Invisible Kingdom Vol 1 - G. Willow Wilson, Christian Ward (May 26)

25) This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (June 1)

26) Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow (June 30)

27) The Wicked and The Divine Book 3 - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (June 30)

28) Dawn of X Vol 1-5 - Hickman et.al (July 4)

29) Rea Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch (July 5)

30) Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky (July 12)

31) Peace Talks - Jim Butcher (July 18)

32) Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (July 19) novella

33) Three Parts Dead - Max Gladstone (July 31)

34) Ten Arrows of Iron (Grave of Empires Book 2) - Sam Sykes (Aug 22)

35) Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (Aug 29)

36) Battlegrounds - Jim Butcher (Oct 5)

37) Invisible Women - Caroline Criado-Perez (Oct. 24)

38) Blindsight - Peter Watts (Oct. 26)

39) Signs Preceding the End of the World - Yuri Herrera (Nov 5)

40) Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson (Nov 9)

41) Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (Nov 17, reread)

42) Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson ( Nov 27)

43) Two Serpents Rise - Max Gladstone (Nov 30)

44) The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein (Dec 24)

 

[Scaly Freak]

My reading goal was not a reading goal. My reading goal was to learn to get rid of books I have no intention of finishing because I don't enjoy reading them. I have not been very successful with paper books, but I did a good job with teaching myself to delete electronic books from my eReaders, rather than let them sit and clog the internal storage.

[miss_marissa]

On 1/3/2021 at 8:44 AM, bigm141414 said:

Summary time!

 

My goal was 36 books, and I finished 44. It was a lot of reading towards the end, especially when Brandon Sanderson released Rhythm of War. I reread Oathbringer (451,912 words) right before RoW (455,891). So from Nov 9th to Nov 27th I read both books, over 900k words and that was a marathon of reading. Looking back at the list, I hit my 4 nonfiction books for the year but I could have sworn I read 5.

 

Below is my full list for the year. Looking ahead to 2021 I have two main goals: 1) read outside my normal habits 2) read more deeply. I've spent the last few years clocking in over 35+ personal books read a year which is great and all but it's not always a numbers game. I am going to strive to go deep on 2 or 3 topics this year instead of reading just surface level nonfictions, and I want to spend some time outside of the scifi/fantasy genre. There are genres I have never read, like westerns or mystery or romance so I want to broaden my reading palette in 2021

 

  Hide contents

2020 Books

 

Bold - Nonfiction

Italics - Graphic Novels

 

1) The Light of All That Falls - James Islington (Jan 3)

2) The City in the Middle of Night - Charlie Jane Anders (Jan 10)

3) The Testaments - Margret Atwood (Jan 17)

4) The Peripheral - William Gibson (Jan 24)

5) Doctor Aphra - Vol 1 (Jan 26)

6) The Water Dancer - Ta-Nehisi Coates (Feb 8 )

7) Circe - Madeline Miller (Feb 14)

8 )Agency - William Gibson (Feb 22)

9) The Blade Itself - Joe Abercrombie (Feb 29)

10) The Rat Queens Vol 7 (March 3)

11) The City of Brass - S.A Chakraborty (March 19)

12) Upright Women Wanted - Sarah Gailey (March 24)

13) Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo (April 3)

14) The Better Angels of Our Nature - Steven Pinker (April 4)

15) Nevernight - Jay Kristoff (April 5)

16) The Wicked and The Divine Book 2 - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (April 7)

17) Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo (April 21)

18) The Immortal Hulk Vol. 1 - Al Ewing, Joe Bennett (April 23)

19) Kingdom of Copper - S.A Chakraborty (May 2)

20) Artificial Condition - Martha Wells ( May 4)

21) The City We Became - N.K Jemisin (May 10)

22) The Lies of Locke Lamora - Scott Lynch (May 25)

23) The Immortal Hulk Vol 2-6 - Al Ewing, Joe Bennett (May 26)

24) Invisible Kingdom Vol 1 - G. Willow Wilson, Christian Ward (May 26)

25) This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar, Max Gladstone (June 1)

26) Alexander Hamilton - Ron Chernow (June 30)

27) The Wicked and The Divine Book 3 - Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie (June 30)

28) Dawn of X Vol 1-5 - Hickman et.al (July 4)

29) Rea Seas Under Red Skies - Scott Lynch (July 5)

30) Children of Time - Adrian Tchaikovsky (July 12)

31) Peace Talks - Jim Butcher (July 18)

32) Binti - Nnedi Okorafor (July 19) novella

33) Three Parts Dead - Max Gladstone (July 31)

34) Ten Arrows of Iron (Grave of Empires Book 2) - Sam Sykes (Aug 22)

35) Harrow the Ninth - Tamsyn Muir (Aug 29)

36) Battlegrounds - Jim Butcher (Oct 5)

37) Invisible Women - Caroline Criado-Perez (Oct. 24)

38) Blindsight - Peter Watts (Oct. 26)

39) Signs Preceding the End of the World - Yuri Herrera (Nov 5)

40) Dawnshard - Brandon Sanderson (Nov 9)

41) Oathbringer - Brandon Sanderson (Nov 17, reread)

42) Rhythm of War - Brandon Sanderson ( Nov 27)

43) Two Serpents Rise - Max Gladstone (Nov 30)

44) The Color of Law - Richard Rothstein (Dec 24)

 

Finish WicDiv so we can talk about it 😁

Seriously though I think we have very similar tastes! Much of this list is on my read or to-read!

[bigm141414]

1 hour ago, miss_marissa said:

Finish WicDiv so we can talk about it 😁

 

It's definitiely on my list. I haven't read any comics since this summer so I plan to load up and get all the volumes of all the comics all at once.

 

1 hour ago, miss_marissa said:

Seriously though I think we have very similar tastes! Much of this list is on my read or to-read!

 

We totally do. I have totally lurked your threads for book recommendations for yeaaaaaars.

[juliebarkley]

On 1/3/2021 at 9:44 AM, bigm141414 said:

There are genres I have never read, like westerns or mystery or romance so I want to broaden my reading palette in 2021

We had to do this for one of our library courses - read two books from genres we had never read or were unfamiliar with and review them. One of the ones I read was Wanderer of the Wasteland by Zane Grey for the western genre (because I happened to own it for some reason). There was no blurb on the back and I knew nothing about it, so I went in completely blind. I had never seen a western film or read a western, and my preconception was that it would be some sort of melodramatic action adventure. I was so, so wrong.

 

Or, you could combine mystery and humour in a western setting and try out the Holmes on the Range series.

[miss_marissa]

My 2020 reading goal was to have a smaller pile of books than what I started the year with. I think I managed to decrease it slightly!  Considering I barely did any reading August-December, I think I managed alright.  I also managed a handful of books not shown, either because kindle, library, or borrowed & returned. I think the single issue comics stack ended up being a wash with those read vs those incoming. At some point I will tackle this with kindle books also, but that is future Marissas problem.

 

Spoiler

Stack as of Jan 2020 with all books read crossed out.  

    

Troubled apologies is in work ~80% complete. 

 < This last one is graphic novels

 

Here are the books procured throughout the year. All are graphic novels except the top 3. Oracle code was read and legend of the stone keepers 2 in is work ~40% complete.

 

 

And because this isn't a full listing of everything I read in 2020 here is a link to my Goodreads 2020 challenge. And here are some of the favorite things I read the past year:

 

Graphic Novels

The Wicked and The Divine - I read the whole series but Vol 7 was absolutely fantastic. Very satisfying series beginning to end.

Saga - caught up through Vol 9. - give me all your space operas w/ a ragtag team of adventurers please

Invisible Kingdom - Vols. 1&2 - beautiful art. Again, love a good space opera

Harley Quinn Breaking Glass - DC has this run of young adult graphic novels that are standalone stories and they are easily becoming my favorite thing to read. This one in particular stood out. (I believe nominated for Eisner?)

 

Non-Fiction

Becoming by Michelle Obama - much has been said about this by many people more eloquent than me.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks - I read this in May/June right in the middle of COVID lockdown & just after the racial injustice protests swept the world. Timely and relevant read. It would be a good read now, in particular w/ vaccine distribution underway & discussions over equity of the American healthcare system.

 

Fiction

Broken Earth Trilogy by NK Jemisin - Stunning series! No wonder she won the Hugo 3 years in a row. 

The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - I don't know if I have mentioned this yet or not guys, but I love a good space opera.

[Defining]

Quick question, do we want a new thread for 2021? Doesn't have to be me who starts it, I did a crappy job checking in with people last year.

[bigm141414]

9 hours ago, Defining said:

Quick question, do we want a new thread for 2021? Doesn't have to be me who starts it, I did a crappy job checking in with people last year.

 

Me just waiting outside for the 2021 thread:

 

[bigm141414]

14 hours ago, miss_marissa said:

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

 

Oh man this book was such a mind blowing read! Like, all of modern medical research hinged on one person's cells. I read it years ago but reading it during a pandemic and racial tension would definitely give it a lot of resonating context.

[miss_marissa]

8 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

 

Oh man this book was such a mind blowing read! Like, all of modern medical research hinged on one person's cells. I read it years ago but reading it during a pandemic and racial tension would definitely give it a lot of resonating context.

It really was! I remember having to set it down and go for a walk multiple times to process some if it or just blow off steam from being so angry at other parts.