Reading Challenge 2020

[Jupiter]

1 hour ago, SMintYoongi said:

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

 

Sarah J Maas' books are fantastic! This series is one of my favorites. 

[Jupiter]

2 minutes ago, Defining said:

Okie dokie, I've added a spreadsheet to the first post, but you can also find it here. I tried to set it up to accommodate several different types of tracking, let me know if you have any suggestions to improve/change it!

 

Looks cool. Thanks @Defining!

[NeverThatBored]

I'm in too! My goal for the year is to read 24 books. I've done 36 some years, but I've been spending more time on other hobbies lately. I've got a huge backlog of books to read so I'm also aiming to focus on reading what I have instead of picking up new books.

 

*immediately puts 5 books on hold at the library instead*

 

On 1/1/2020 at 11:14 AM, Elastigirl said:

My goal for 2020 is a bit different, but I want to play. My goal is to write down  the title of every book I read. Bonus points if I record a rating of it. I really have no idea how many books I read, and I'd like to know.Also,  I often forget the titles and so I'm not very good at book recommendations, and I'd like to be better at that.

 

Have you ever looked at Goodreads? It's a great tool for that!

 

On 1/1/2020 at 1:48 PM, Defining said:

I'd recommend the Mistborn trilogy (Brandon Sanderson), if you need a place to start.  

 

Have you read his Stormlight Archives series?? It's AMAZING. I haven't read Mistborn yet but that's high on my list for the year! 

[Morag]

I am in!

 

I have been rereading good stories for years. Been a bit snobby about new books and so hesitant to try a new read, just because it may or may not turn out to be time well spent.

 

I will allow myself to stop if a book (or other reading format) is not enjoyable and if I've given it a fair chance. But no putting it aside to read later then never getting around to do that. Read or not, be decisive.

 

I have to think about metrics though... i think I'll just keep track of how much I read for now, then extrapolate after a month or two, adjusting later if needed.

I have a very fluid schedule, so daily stuff doesn't work for me. I may go with at least 3× per week sit with a book (or other reading format). I think that may work.

[Mad Hatter]

I wasn't planning on a reading goal, I just wanted to stalk for book tips. ?But why not aim for something - let's say 25 books.

 

How would people feel about an extra column in the spreadsheet for marking books they'd recommend?

[fitnessgurl]

2 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

How would people feel about an extra column in the spreadsheet for marking books they'd recommend?

That's a great idea!

[fitnessgurl]

9 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

I've got a huge backlog of books to read so I'm also aiming to focus on reading what I have instead of picking up new books.

 

*immediately puts 5 books on hold at the library instead*

This is so me! 

[fitnessgurl]

I mada a spreadsheet, but it needs tweaking that I can't do from my phone. I'm not really tracking minutes or anything like that. Just book information, whether I would recommend it, & date completed.

 

I decided to add a book that's been on my shelf & sporadically read since I have so many bought but not read sitting on my shelf. The title is Body Into Balance by Marie N. Groves. I'm going to begin at the beginning & read a chapter per week.

 

Edit: anyone who wants to use my sheet is free to do so; but you may want to wait till I have access to a computer so I can spruce it up a bit.

[Harriet]

19 hours ago, Chris Tarly said:

Moby Dick, Herman Melville (started, need to finish)

 

I started this. I have rarely read something so meandering (although I did quit reading the brothers Karamazov after a monologue in the middle grew to about thirty pages). I love how free authors in the good old days felt to just accumulate content while only visiting their plots occasionally, like a guest. I don't think I'll be finishing it, somehow.

[Harriet]

Argh. The spreadsheet is a little unwieldy with all the tabs and boxes. Maybe I'll start keeping my own list of things I read. Could be useful.

[NeverThatBored]

4 hours ago, Morag said:

I am in!

 

I have been rereading good stories for years. Been a bit snobby about new books and so hesitant to try a new read, just because it may or may not turn out to be time well spent.

 

I will allow myself to stop if a book (or other reading format) is not enjoyable and if I've given it a fair chance. But no putting it aside to read later then never getting around to do that. Read or not, be decisive.

 

I have to think about metrics though... i think I'll just keep track of how much I read for now, then extrapolate after a month or two, adjusting later if needed.

I have a very fluid schedule, so daily stuff doesn't work for me. I may go with at least 3× per week sit with a book (or other reading format). I think that may work.

 

What are some of your favorites? Maybe we can help you come up with a list of similar books?

[Defining]

11 hours ago, NeverThatBored said:

Have you read his Stormlight Archives series?? It's AMAZING. I haven't read Mistborn yet but that's high on my list for the year! 

I've read pretty much everything he's published - when I find an author I like, I tend to go through their whole bibliography.

 

3 hours ago, Mad Hatter said:

How would people feel about an extra column in the spreadsheet for marking books they'd recommend?

I set up a separate documents for recommendations, but this is an awesome idea in the tracking one as well!

 

4 hours ago, Morag said:

I have to think about metrics though... i think I'll just keep track of how much I read for now, then extrapolate after a month or two, adjusting later if needed.

I have a very fluid schedule, so daily stuff doesn't work for me. I may go with at least 3× per week sit with a book (or other reading format). I think that may work.

100% no metrics needed.

 

12 minutes ago, Harriet said:

Argh. The spreadsheet is a little unwieldy with all the tabs and boxes. Maybe I'll start keeping my own list of things I read. Could be useful.

I know, sorry. I just don't know how else to format it!

 

6 minutes ago, NeverThatBored said:

What are some of your favorites? Maybe we can help you come up with a list of similar books?

[Akura]

Reading Challenge? I'm in!

 

Currently reading the auto-biography Never Grow Up by Jackie Chan. It's amazing that every second sentence is "I was such an asshole"... ?

[miss_marissa]

Thank you @Defining!! Awesome PVP idea!

 

I'm also going to shamelessly plug the Read Harder Challenge over in book club. I know at least a few people participated last year. It's also might be great for some of you with lofty reading goals to help diversify your reading  

 

Also... 

???GRAPHIC NOVELS ARE BOOKS???

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

 

[Defining]

Just now, miss_marissa said:

I'm also going to shamelessly plug the Read Harder Challenge over in book club. I know at least a few people participated last year. It's also might be great for some of you with lofty reading goals to help diversify your reading  

Recommendations are ALWAYS(!) welcome, especially to diversify the type/source of reading materials. And I definitely like the 'idea list' of your challenge, so there's some great synergy here. Thanks for popping in!

[TheGreyJedi]

3 minutes ago, miss_marissa said:

 

Also... 

???GRAPHIC NOVELS ARE BOOKS???

Thanks for coming to my TED talk.

 

[Harriet]

3 hours ago, Defining said:

I know, sorry. I just don't know how else to format it!

 

Is it in keeping with the intention of the thread to just write whatever I'm currently reading and what I just finished? 

[Syren]

2020 -- The goal is 12 books -- because since becoming an adult, I don't read like I did as a kid -- ah, responsibility... ok it might be a reliable and high speed internet connection

            +2  

2020 List

January - Hard Luck Hank: Screw the Galaxy by Steven Campbell (suggested by my SO when I finished my last book)

The Everglades: River of Grass by Marjory Stoneman Douglas (given to me by a co-worker when they left for a job in California)

The Girl With All the Gifts by M.R. Carey (Xmas gift from...2017? need to read)

Endless Forms Most Beautiful by Sean B. Carroll (Xmas gift from...2018? need to read)

Mona Lisa Overdrive by William Gibson (suggested by SO)

What is Life? by Addy Pross (b-day gift from 2018... need to read)

Land of Mist and Snow by Debra Doyle and James D. MacDonald (when did I get this? what do you mean I haven't read it yet?)

Stalking the Wild Asparagus by Euell Gibbons (xmas gift from...2019! read this one too)

The Raw Shark Texts by Steven Hall (...I feel like I bought this because it had "Shark" in the title, but didn't read it, and now I need to read it)

The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart (b-day gift from 2019... reading this one too)

Gone Bamboo by Anthony Bourdain (aw... impulse buy from 2018, read it)

Close to Shore by Michael Capuzzo (given to me as a high school graduation gift... 2006... I've had this book since 2006 and I haven't read it... wut?!)

 

Additional books that I will obligatorily be buying and reading as they come out:

Shakespeare for Squirrels by Christopher Moore (5/12/2020 because it's a Christopher Moore book)

Title to be determined The Stormlight Archive #4 by Brandon Sanderson (11/17/2020 -- how do you have a publishing date but not a title or cover Sanderson?!)

And if Rothfuss or Martin actually end up publishing a Kingkiller Chronicle or the Winds of Winter this year

[BombshellBanshee]

OOOH! Is it too late to be "in" on this one? #NewbQuestions 

 

I love reading. Problem is, I've devoted so much of my free time to meal prep and fitness on top of a demanding job with long hours and rare days off, that I can't seem to find a moment to sit down with a favorite read or a new one.

 

But that said - that means I am TOO DAMN BUSY if I can't spend at least 20 minutes a day with a good read. So yea, that's about to have to change. Can't go wide open all the time! Reading would be a great way to find a slow down to balance all that powerlifting and cardio crack. Maybe next I'll find a way to get back to crochet and knitting too lol.

Warriors totally do that right?!?

 

I will say that I've been trying to revisit Carl Sagan's Cosmos and Pale Blue Dot, but only a couple pages here and there because I never seem to find a moment to not be in a hurry or be interrupted. 

 

I think this just turned into a time management challenge for me.

 

So... thanks for that too! LOL

 

OK starting this weekend, 20 min a day to read, no fudgin'. This is now an important part of my schedule! Lift and read. Be a smart Hulk.

 

OMG duh. Totally just found that 20 minutes lurking on my indoor recumbent bike that legit has a "book shelf" ?

 

Mystery: Solved ☑️

 

BTW, can't remember who said it, but love the Rory Gilmore reading list!!!

[Scaly Freak]

52 minutes ago, Harriet said:

 

Is it in keeping with the intention of the thread to just write whatever I'm currently reading and what I just finished? 

 

I am going to count how many books I have managed to make myself get rid of, so I don't see why just stating what you're reading would not work just as well.

 

21 minutes ago, BombshellBanshee said:

Be a smart Hulk.

 

This sounds like a good motto for 2020. I'm stealing it.

[Manarelle]

Didn't realize this was going on, so late to the club, but in. I already have a spreadsheet tracking what books I read (paper books only 'cause if I included graphic novels, etc, it would get unwieldy - though I do agree they count as books!). Not aiming for a number for the year, per se, but I like keeping track of what I'm reading and not letting too long go between books. 

 

I'd like to pick up some YA novels in Russian this year - I've grown past the children's books I bought when I was there - but I don't want to read Soviet (or older) works, I don't want to read books translated into Russian (because you don't get cultural norms that way), and I can't afford to hop back over to Russia from the US just to go book shopping. Also, I read so much slower in Russian than in English, so I'm hesitant to make reading goals even when I do get my hands on some books. If anyone knows some good sites to get YA books from, I'd love insight. 

 

Currently reading Don't Think of an Elephant by George Lakoff (political book, lots to digest) and Life Undercover: Coming of age in the CIA by Amaryllis Fox for funsies. I re-read the graphic novels series Girl Genius by the Foglios and the entire Discworld series by Terry Pratchett on a rotating schedule when I have just a few minutes to relax between things, so I don't really count them. 

[Lateral Planet]

5 hours ago, Harriet said:

I started this. I have rarely read something so meandering (although I did quit reading the brothers Karamazov after a monologue in the middle grew to about thirty pages). I love how free authors in the good old days felt to just accumulate content while only visiting their plots occasionally, like a guest. I don't think I'll be finishing it, somehow.

I tried reading Moby Dick when I was about eight because that's what Matilda was reading at the end of the film and I wanted to be Matilda. Got about three pages in before I was like 

"Yo where this whale at??" So I'm always in awe of people who've persevered ?

[Harriet]

On 1/3/2020 at 12:18 PM, BombshellBanshee said:

Maybe next I'll find a way to get back to crochet and knitting too lol.

Warriors totally do that right?!?

 

 

We do whatever we want. And knit sweaters:

 

Spoiler

 

 

On 1/3/2020 at 12:18 PM, BombshellBanshee said:

OOOH! Is it too late to be "in" on this one? #NewbQuestions 

 

It's still zero week so you're not late. Also, we do whatever we want  

[Defining]

3 hours ago, Harriet said:

Is it in keeping with the intention of the thread to just write whatever I'm currently reading and what I just finished? 

The intention of the thread is to celebrate reading! Tracking/goals are optional, and only if constructive to the experience. Sharing is highly appreciated.  

 

2 hours ago, BombshellBanshee said:

OOOH! Is it too late to be "in" on this one? #NewbQuestions 

 

34 minutes ago, Harriet said:

It's still zero week so you're not late. Also, we do whatever we want  

It's never too late! Even if someone wanted to join in on Dec 30, 2020.

 

2 hours ago, Manarelle said:

Not aiming for a number for the year, per se, but I like keeping track of what I'm reading and not letting too long go between books. 

Love it! Also, you can READ RUSSIAN!?!? ?

 

 

@Syren That looks like a KICK-ASS reading list!

 

 

1 hour ago, Lateral Planet said:

I tried reading Moby Dick when I was about eight because that's what Matilda was reading at the end of the film and I wanted to be Matilda. Got about three pages in before I was like 

"Yo where this whale at??" So I'm always in awe of people who've persevered ?

Maybe we should also have an 'anti-recommendation' list, where we can warn one-another off from 'must-reads' that are actually just like pulling teeth.  

 

[Harriet]

All right. We are set for the rest of the challenge, most likely: We've got viking myths, gothic tales, american history, and a history of psychedelics.