The 2021 Annual Reading Challenge Discussion Thread

[issybird]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I think we all need to be more willing to abandon mediocre books.

It's something I struggle with. I only abandoned 6 books last year (less than 4%). I suspect I should abandon more.

I’ve gotten better about abandoning books; I abandoned 11 of my starts last year, about 6.4%. But at that, there are still a lot of books not quite bad enough to abandon, in that I’m somewhat curious to see how it turns out or it’s a not very good book but on a topic that interests me, with the upshot on finishing it of dissatisfaction. Then there’s waiting too long to abandon a book, which I did at least once this past year; I kept thinking it had to get better.

[Uncle Robin]

I set myself the goal of reading more poetry this year and also reading something from each of the Five Eyes. I thought that I could kill whole flocks of birds with a brace or three of carefully chosen stones by reading anthologies sourced from diverse authors. The problem seems to be that poetry anthology publishers appear to be biased against those who read only ebooks.

I thought I would start with the smallest of the Five Eyes, New Zealand, and work up (population-wise), but finding ebook anthologies of NZ poetry is proving harder than finding ie in the Sahara. It is of course, quite possible that it is my search fu that is wanting, not the publishers' attention to the ebook market

[Byrdie]

Since I'll be turning 60 this year -- God/Fate/Whomever willing -- I've decided on 60 books as my target goal. My other goals include more non-fiction, more poetry and plays, especially by local/Canadian authors, more audio books, more comic books, more books that I already have in the TBR pile (Miss Marple, I am looking at you!) and for extra special credit, a heterosexual romance novel -- assuming I can find something that won't bore me silly or worse, hit my "Grrr! So stupid I wanna KILL these characters!" rage button. Which probably rules out most Harlequins, if they're anything like I remember from my early teens. Can NOT believe I read such drivel!

Oh, and an actual paper book. I'll probably have to buy or borrow from the kiddie section because those usually have print big enough that I can see but if it's a good story, who cares?

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

I've never bothered with the library since I got into ebooks. Now that libraries do ebooks, perhaps I should. But I rather like being able to refer back to books I've read, and it's not an expensive hobby, really.

Originally Posted by PurpleStar

I don’t really like the library much either. I like having my own library! Then I can read whatever I want whenever I want!

I never saw the inside of a bookstore until I was 17 years old. Books were cost prohibitive in my childhood, so I took what I could get. Libraries were literally transformative in my life. They taught me the value of what I own now and also the value of retention and selectivity.

While I use my library now more for throwaway mysteries and other brain candy, I save a great deal not buying those titles instead. The lists my librarians curate have also led me to many new authors.

At the end of the day, I know it is preference for some and necessity for others. But I adore my library and how much it helps me control my own impulses.

[Elektron]

All my books are from OverDrive. To be honest, I don't really see the point of buying books from the store. I only read fiction books. After I buy them, I'm not going to want to reread it. I read twice at most, then I return them.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by bookaho!ic

Definitely worth laughing over. I've already bought 5 ebooks and 2 whispersync companions. It's only the 3rd of January! But! But! Both are part of series I for which I have earlier books.

[bookaho!ic]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Definitely worth laughing over. I've already bought 5 ebooks and 2 whispersync companions. It's only the 3rd of January! But! But! Both are part of series I for which I have earlier books.

I have bought 5 books so far this year. oh dear i am a bookaholic

[Tarana]

We joke on the quilting board that quilting and buying fabric are actually two different hobbies.

I decided the one thing that might help is to read/listen to new purchases right away, if I can (remember, I'm completing series). So, the two Whispersync titles are books 2 & 3 in Wayward Pines trilogy by Blake Crouch. So doing a quick relisten to Pines and then immediately into those two. I need a refresher anyway since it's been a couple of years since I read Pines.

Completely unrelated - why does my signature end up with columns? The 2020 and 2021 are on different lines. I copied and pasted earlier years an just plugged in the thread number and it still does it. How do I fix this? Please PM so as not to gum up the thread with techie stuff.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Completely unrelated - why does my signature end up with columns? The 2020 and 2021 are on different lines. I copied and pasted earlier years an just plugged in the thread number and it still does it. How do I fix this? Please PM so as not to gum up the thread with techie stuff.

I took a look at it and figured I might as well fix it while I was looking; I hope that’s ok with you. It was just a couple of extra spaces, but hard to see.

[hildea]

I'm thinking about trying one of the bingo card-type reading challenges, with lots of different prompts, like this one or this one. The treasure hunt aspect looks fun! I'd welcome suggestions of such challenges -- I haven't picked one yet.

I'm also thinking I should set a goal of writing more reviews - partly for my own sake (I like recommending books when people ask in threads here, and I guess writing reviews shouldn't be that different) and partly because that's a nice thing I can do for an author.

[Luffy]

The Popsugar challenge is unrivalled among challenges. I'm going to undertake it when I'd have retired.

[astrangerhere]

For those of a certain age and persuasion, my favorite reading challenge is the Daria Morgendorffer reading challenge.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by astrangerhere

For those of a certain age and persuasion, my favorite reading challenge is the Daria Morgendorffer reading challenge.

A provocative and worthy list. I’ll comment on three of the titles: I read sections of both Critique of Pure Reason and Being and Nothingness in college and nothing could get me to pick them up again and finish them, so I’d be beaten before I started. And Our American Cousin surely didn’t make the list because of literary significance, but because of its historical association.

[astrangerhere]

Originally Posted by issybird

A provocative and worthy list. I’ll comment on three of the titles: I read sections of both Critique of Pure Reason and Being and Nothingness in college and nothing could get me to pick them up again and finish them, so I’d be beaten before I started. And Our American Cousin surely didn’t make the list because of literary significance, but because of its historical association.

Some of the titles on the list were clearly meant to be used as placement during the plot of a particular episode. But Daria's misanthropy and borderline nihilism were the driving forces of the show and her reading always showed that. There used to be a social media post running around that had screenshots of each of these books actually making an appearance in the show.

I will never forget the flashback image of 12 year old Daria climbing into her cardboard "play fort" to read Moby Dick.

[Tarana]

Originally Posted by Tarana

Completely unrelated - why does my signature end up with columns? The 2020 and 2021 are on different lines. I copied and pasted earlier years an just plugged in the thread number and it still does it. How do I fix this? Please PM so as not to gum up the thread with techie stuff.

Thank you to the staff member who fixed my signature!!