Reading Challenges 2021

[Defining]

No rules, no restrictions, everyone welcome! Post your annual reading goals here, and report back in with progress updates and/or reading recommendations.

 

 

 

Oh, I lied, there are a few rules:

 

Any reading is good reading:

It doesn't have to be books; graphic novels, long-form internet content, periodicals, etc. are all totally legitimate reading materials. Read what you like!

**Audiobooks count!**

 

 

Read at your own level:

You may NOT compare your own goals to someone else's - it's all about what works for YOU, and there is no goal too low or lofty to be included. Set goals that will help, not hinder.

 

 

Read for your own reasons:

It could be for the discussion of the topics, for time to yourself, to entertain, to escape, or even just to learn something new - there are no wrong answers.

  

 

 

Tag your fellow NF-reading-keen buddies, and away we go!

 

 

 

Recommendations for reading material are always welcome! Let's do this.  

[Artemis Prime]

Did somebody say books?

 

My reading goal is 80 books this year. Finished On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness last night. Honestly, it made me sad because if it had been written when I was the target audience (middle grade) I would have loved it. Still going to check out the rest of the series, though, and highly recommend to anyone with little nerdlets in the right age range.

[bigm141414]

I am here for this!

 

I'm still figuring out the structure of my reading goals. But I have a few books already on the radar, like Leviathan Falls (the final Expanse novel), and probably a binge reading of comic volumes I have been waiting for (X-Men, Immortal Hulk, WicDev, Rat Queens Vol. 8 etc).

 

As for non-fiction I want to go deep on like 2-3 topics this year, I am thinking economic inequality (i've started reading Piketty's latest books Capital and Ideology, having read his historical econ novel Capital back in 2015) and maybe something along the like of ethics/law around technology development (I read The Age of Surveillance Capitalism in 2019 and it was eye opening as far as how technology can be abused. I've also read one Lawrence Lessig book that explored the copyright aspects of software and I want to know more about the nuances of patent law.

 

 

[Rhovaniel]

A book thread! I am so here for this!

 

So, my original goal for this year is 20 different books, as in not including the ones I will inevitably re-read, because I can't remember the last time I didn't read my favorites several times in a year. They count on the first read through, not subsequent ones. 

 

However, a glance at last year's reads tells me I read 24. So, I think I undershot and will adjust as necessary as I figure out what is actually a reasonable goal. Much of it is time-dependent. I had nothing to do today so read for hours, another day I might be run ragged at work...

 

Anyway, so far I've read one book this year, a non-fiction book on human endurance, and am almost done with number two. I'm currently reading the first of 'the railway detective' series by Edward Marston. It's set in the 1850s and so far, I'm really enjoying it  Okay, no more rambling, sorry. I just get very excited when it comes to books!

 

[Artemis Prime]

58 minutes ago, Rhovaniel said:

, no more rambling, sorry. I just get very excited when it comes to books!

No, ramble away! If you can't get excited avout books here where the heck can you?

Just added Railway Detective to my want to read shelf on good reads. It rings a faint bell but I've never read it. Sound right up my alley though.

What was the nonfiction you read?

[pureleeawesome]

Apparently the me of this year wishes to accept ALL THE CHALLENGES

 

So, I'm in.

 

I do have a bujo tracker for books I've read this year but I hadn't decided how many books to read so I'm going to go easy on myself (because I have uni this year) and say I will read 12 fiction and 12 non-fiction.

The fiction book I have read so far is Jeff Abbott's The Three Beths.  I'm not usually a mystery crime reader but once I got through a few pages and settled into wanting to know how the mystery was solved I was hooked.

I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

 

Now I need to find a non-fiction book to read.

[Aquarii]

Oh, I am so in!

 

Total # of Books to read for 2021 = 50

- 5 Fiction 

- 2 Finance

- 2 Biographies

- 1 Fitness or Nutrition

- 5 History

- 5 Philosophy

- 5 Psychology

- 5 Marketing

- 5 Business + Productivity

- 5 Science + Tech

- 5 Creativity

- 5 Flex (any category)

[Rhovaniel]

8 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

No, ramble away! If you can't get excited avout books here where the heck can you?

Just added Railway Detective to my want to read shelf on good reads. It rings a faint bell but I've never read it. Sound right up my alley though.

What was the nonfiction you read?

Every day, I am reminded how awesome this place is!  

The nonfiction was called Endure by Alex Hutchinson. Mostly it focuses on feats of endurance, like ultra marathons, Everest climbers, etc. But it also goes into the science behind - and the arguments in science behind - the body's physical and mental limits. And much like goodreads, I also gave it 4 stars. 

 

6 hours ago, pureleeawesome said:

Apparently the me of this year wishes to accept ALL THE CHALLENGES

 

So, I'm in.

 

I do have a bujo tracker for books I've read this year but I hadn't decided how many books to read so I'm going to go easy on myself (because I have uni this year) and say I will read 12 fiction and 12 non-fiction.

The fiction book I have read so far is Jeff Abbott's The Three Beths.  I'm not usually a mystery crime reader but once I got through a few pages and settled into wanting to know how the mystery was solved I was hooked.

I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars.

 

Now I need to find a non-fiction book to read.

Oooh, another BuJo user! I had a book tracker for last year and have just finished setting mine up for this year. I'm somewhat handicapped by the very limited artistic skills I have, but it makes me happy nonetheless!

 

[Artemis Prime]

12 hours ago, Aquarii said:

Oh, I am so in!

 

Total # of Books to read for 2021 = 50

- 5 Fiction 

- 2 Finance

- 2 Biographies

- 1 Fitness or Nutrition

- 5 History

- 5 Philosophy

- 5 Psychology

- 5 Marketing

- 5 Business + Productivity

- 5 Science + Tech

- 5 Creativity

- 5 Flex (any category)

That's so organized! My reading is all over the place. Just went from middle grade to Blood of Elves  Could have used something in between to ease the transition.

[Aquarii]

7 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

That's so organized! My reading is all over the place. Just went from middle grade to Blood of Elves  Could have used something in between to ease the transition.

 

Haha, thanks. This is my first year trying a more organized structure in an attempt to force myself to diversify my reading habits a little more. There are lots of books that I want to read, but I tend to prioritize Business and Productivity books, because they make me feel more "productive" with my reading. This year I want to make sure I am hitting all my interest categories instead.

[Renate]

An Introduction

I always feel out of place when I say "I love reading" since most book lovers read a lot more actual books than me.  I mean, sometimes weeks can go buy without me opening an (e-)book or an audiobook. Other than the handbooks that I have to read for my uni studies, which are nice and phat. I do read quite a lot of articles outside of my curriculum, though usually it's still in the my studies' area. Sometimes scientific articles. Sometimes blogs. Also, I read webnovels. And I have some (web) mangas (or manhwas) standing by, though I only opened them at the end of last year.

 

When I DO read books, I switch it up a lot. I am "currently reading" 16 books according to Goodreads. Lots of books in that list have been there for anywhere between 2 and 5 years. (I might have one that has been on there for longer ;D. And it's not because of the sunken cost fallacy, I am pretty good at deciding I won't read something if it's not engaging me. I just keep getting distracted, or simply not sitting/lying myself down properly to read. ) Some have been added last year.

 

2019 is the first year I set and actually tracked a reading goal (8 books). I read 9 books that year, although it was the Artemis Fowl series that I started and finished in that year. I also finished 1 Agatha Christie book (that I had been reading for a while).

In 2020, it says I only read 4 books out of my 9 book goal. I'm not sure if that's true. (I finished the last book of the Artemis Fowl series, and started+finished Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, an Agatha Christie book & a book about how employees and employers should look at career coaching according to the author.)

My reading goal

I am going to set my goal for 10 books this year. Even though I did not hit my goal of finishing 9 books last year, I have only one uni subject this year, and my thesis. So, how much I read is entirely up to me from this year on. Nobody else is assigning reading to me. Hopefully, that means I'll go well beyond that goal, and I'll be able to set a nice and thick reading goal (20+ books) for 2022

 

In particular,

 

Spoiler

 

I hope to finish:

[to be edited when I am close to hitting my goal well on time]

 

Non-fiction

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People: Powerful Lessons in Personal Change

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder

Susan Sontag: The Complete Rolling Stone Interview

 

Fiction

Mort (Discworld #4) finished on 16 January 2021

Dune #1

Opening the door of your heart and other Buddhist tales of happiness

 

and start + finish:

 

Non-fiction

?

 

Fiction

Guards! Guards! (Discworld)

Wyrd sisters (Discworld) finished on 26 January 2021

Dune #2

 

 

[foxinthenorth]

On 1/5/2021 at 9:50 AM, bigm141414 said:

Leviathan Falls (the final Expanse novel)

*EXCITED SCREAMING*

 

9 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Blood of Elves

*MORE EXCITED SCREAMING* (I thought the English translation of Blood of Elves was dreadful but I am a huuuuuge fan of the Witcher books overall; my favorite Tower of Swallows)

 

8 hours ago, Athena said:

I always feel out of place when I say "I love reading" since most book lovers read a lot more actual books than me.

My husband reads literally more than double the number of books I do so uhhhhh I feel ya...

 

--

 

I'm in! I keep track of my reading challenge on Goodreads from year to year. Over the past 4 years, I've read either 17 or 18 books, and that works pretty well for me, so I'm going to set my goal to 17 books. I'm an obsessive reader, so who knows what I'll actually read, but I am rabidly eagerly anticipating Leviathan Falls and Alecto the Ninth. I started re-reading Lord of the Rings last year and really need to finish...planning to read Season of Storms because it's the only Witcher book I haven't read yet...was thinking about re-reading Name of the Wind because I don't remember much of it...definitely need to start re-reading the Stormlight Archive because I don't remember enough to start Rhythm of War...so basically I've got a lot to choose from.   

[bigm141414]

1 hour ago, foxinthenorth said:

Alecto the Ninth

 

*EXCITED SCREAMING*

 

 

XD

[foxinthenorth]

10 minutes ago, bigm141414 said:

*EXCITED SCREAMING*

 

[Aquarii]

12 hours ago, Athena said:

An Introduction

I always feel out of place when I say "I love reading" since most book lovers read a lot more actual books than me. 

 

You are totally not out of place. A few years ago I was only reading between 3-10 books a year, depending on what my year was like. Loving to read has nothing to do with how much TIME you have for reading in a year. The fact that you make some time for it in your busy schedule shows you care about it  

[Artemis Prime]

22 hours ago, Athena said:

I always feel out of place when I say "I love reading" since most book lovers read a lot more actual books than me.

Not at all! How much you read is not a measure of how much you love to read. I can get a lot of reading done because I have no SO, no kids, and no television (though that might have to change now that NHL is coming back next week) and also have a job where I can sneak reading breaks in now and then. And my sister still manages to consistently out-read me. Comparing yourself to others is pretty consistently a bad idea.  You most definitely belong here! 

[Scaly Freak]

On 1/6/2021 at 4:10 PM, foxinthenorth said:

*EXCITED SCREAMING*

 

*MORE EXCITED SCREAMING* 

 

22 hours ago, bigm141414 said:

 

*EXCITED SCREAMING*

 

 

 

 

.... 😇

[Artemis Prime]

My library is doing curbside pickup right now, so you get on the website and request a book and they call you when it's ready to be picked up. The problem with this is, you can't always see what you're getting yourself into. Requested Priory of the Orange Tree on someone else's recommendation, then they handed that sucker out the window to me and my eyes about bugged out. This one is going to take me a while...

[Scaly Freak]

7 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

My library is doing curbside pickup right now, so you get on the website and request a book and they call you when it's ready to be picked up. The problem with this is, you can't always see what you're getting yourself into. Requested Priory of the Orange Tree on someone else's recommendation, then they handed that sucker out the window to me and my eyes about bugged out. This one is going to take me a while...

 

Your library doesn't show page count in their online catalog? 

[juliebarkley]

26 minutes ago, Artemis Prime said:

My library is doing curbside pickup right now, so you get on the website and request a book and they call you when it's ready to be picked up. The problem with this is, you can't always see what you're getting yourself into. Requested Priory of the Orange Tree on someone else's recommendation, then they handed that sucker out the window to me and my eyes about bugged out. This one is going to take me a while...

The best is when people order art books and don't realize they're going to be two feet long and weigh like ten pounds. Since we are currently checking things out for the customers and carrying them to the door, it's harder for the customers to refuse them too, 'cause they're already checked out. Even in the before times, their expressions were often pretty funny.

[Artemis Prime]

31 minutes ago, Scaly Freak said:

 

Your library doesn't show page count in their online catalog? 

They probably do. I had it saved to my wish list, though, so wasn't actually on the item description, just clicked the title to place a hold.

[Artemis Prime]

Started Dolly Parton: Songteller this morning. It's a big book, but there's lots of pictures so it's a fast read. It's funny because I can hear her voice in my head while I'm reading. I don't usually go in for celebrity books, but I'm enjoying this one.

[bigm141414]

2 hours ago, Artemis Prime said:

Started Dolly Parton: Songteller this morning

 

 

Dolly Parton is a national treasure. I haven't read her book but I've seen a lot of documentaries about her life and she's just the sweetest celebrity soul I've ever seen.

[Artemis Prime]

1 hour ago, bigm141414 said:

 

 

Dolly Parton is a national treasure. I haven't read her book but I've seen a lot of documentaries about her life and she's just the sweetest celebrity soul I've ever seen.

Exactly! She is such a genuinely good person and going from dirt poor to crazy rich did not do a thing to change that.

[Rhovaniel]

Well, I think I am definitely going to revise my goal. As of today, I have read 4 books in 2021 and it's not even mid-January yet. It's the railway detective series. I've read three now and they're the perfect combination of easy-reads, short enough to finish in a day (when there is not much work to do at work!) and enthralling plots and well-written characters. Luckily, I think I have the whole series in my collecction, and just never made it round to reading them!

 

I may need to read a few others in between as palate cleansers though!