Isis Posted December 31, 2013 Share Posted December 31, 2013 Following on from Inigima's 2013 Reading Challenge thread I wanted to think about different kinds of reading challenges. For the past ten years or so I've kept a record of the books I've read each year, at first on paper then later on Goodreads. I was happy to sign up in the aforementioned thread because this time last year I was keen to 'beat my previous records' by reading at least 55 books in one year. At first I did quite well and easily kept up with the challenge but as we got into the spring and summer I fell behind for various reasons. That made me feel guilty for being a failure. But more importantly it altered my reading behaviour. I was looking at my record and working out how many books I needed to read to catch up with my target. Then I started choosing shorter or 'easier' reads in order to catch up. As we got closer to the end of the year I felt more and more annoyed at how I didn't feel able to read what I felt like reading, but instead had to choose titles to help me meet my goal... I decided a while ago that I wasn't going to set any targets for number of books read in 2014. I'm going to aim for Quality over Quantity instead. I'm also going to make more of an effort to i) read books I already own instead of buying new ones, and ii) read some classics that I've been meaning to read for years. I wondered if anyone else would be interested in setting some reading goals which aren't about high scores? It could be anything you like. For instance, do you want to read the complete works of Shakespeare? Or everything Dickens ever wrote? Do you want to read more non-fiction? Do you want to read something completely out of your comfort zone? If people are interested, we can use this thread to keep track of our goals - however small or large. Or, if nobody else is into joining me in my Quality > Quantity quest then I don't mind converting this thread for other people to set their '2014 reading high score challenge'. :) My own challenge for 2014 is two fold. Firstly, I've realised recently that I've read a few Booker Prize winners already (and a few shortlisted titles too) and I own even more of them (which are on the TBR pile). I'm going to aim to read all the winners for the past ten years in 2014. I might extend that, we'll see how I get on. Secondly I want to read some things that I've had for years and genuinely wanted to read FOR YEARS. To begin with I'll be doing non-fiction. My reading challenge for 2014 is to read the following titles: Eleanor Catton - The LuminariesHilary Mantel - Wolf HallGraham Swift - Last Orders*A. S. Byatt - Possession: A Romance*Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children* Herodotus – HistoriesSuetonius – The Twelve CaesarsJared Diamond - Guns, Germs and SteelJames Frazer - The Golden BoughRobert Graves - The White Goddess *I know these three aren't from the past ten years but I'm trying to read things I already own first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maarsen Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I am setting one challenge for myself. I finally intend to read the Iliad. I have been meaning to do this since almost childhood and I still have not gotten around to it. This year I will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
red snow Posted January 4, 2014 Share Posted January 4, 2014 I think my goal is to spend more time reading irrespective of how many books I actually read. For some reason I only really read a lot when using public transport which given my current location is only on holidays and weekend social trips (where I travel alone). So I'm going to try and set a rule where I read for 30 mins in the evening twice a week. I waste 2 hours a night on the internet so I think this is an achievable goal. I'm not buying any physical books until I've made a dent in my "to read" pile. My digital "to read" pile is becoming scary as well but when a 99p deal turns up it would be silly not to buy it (as sometimes it can be ages for it to turn up at that price again) I want to read a few different genres from my usual SFF. I have some war fiction, westerns, historical fiction (also including wolf hall) and some crime (ellroy/brookmyre). I'll try and do a SFF/something else rotation where possible but like you said it's sometimes better to just go with whatever takes your fancy at that time. In terms of classics I feel like I should read Frankenstein. I think I'll probably give Sherlock Holmes another spin as well as I haven't read any of those since childhood. I need to finish "the air war" by Adrian Tchaikovsky! It's not bad but it's proving a drag and because it's so bloody huge I always wind up taking the kindle or a smaller book when travelling which inevitably ends up gathering more momentum resulting in "air war" being put on hold for another month. I want to finish it though so that I can get the ninth book read in time for the final book. That will be the first mega series I've completed so it'll encourage me to attempt some other long series out there whose size prevents me from even starting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry. Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I have a few 2014 reading goals that aren't purely about numbers. For example, I plan on reading and reviewing every single Spanish-language Premio Alfaguara winner (25 books once the 2014 winner is announced in a few months), and perhaps every one of the Portuguese-lanaguage Prémio Litératura José Saramago (8 books to date) as well. I want to review the fiction of Thomas Wolfe, one of my favorite Southern writers. Would like to write about several poems that have personal significance (I'm also blogging about The Aeneid using my 1994 translation notes from a university course on that poem in Latin to discuss past/present views of that epic). Those are the things that can't quite be reduced to a catch-all number. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guinevere Seaworth Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I'm going to continue and expand my personal challenge in the past few years, that of reading more classics. In the past few years I've been reading a couple a year. This year I want to read at least 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestripe Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I don't have any formal goals set yet, but I'm going for quality over quantity this year also. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rorshach Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 Continuing from last year, my goal is to read all fiction in our living room that I have not previously read. Hope to have that done by summer, but there are a couple of books that look daunting.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted January 5, 2014 Author Share Posted January 5, 2014 Well, I hope you enjoy The Iliad, maarsen. I read it in my early 20's and loved it. Also, manageable goals ftw. My goal of 10 books might start looking difficult if I struggle to get into any of them. I'm not feeling too good physically today and I've tried a starting number of books with no joy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitestripe Posted January 5, 2014 Share Posted January 5, 2014 I found that listening to the Iliad was much easier than reading it. I stumbled over all the names, but loved hearing someone read it to me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ductastic Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 Since I'm german most of the classics I've read so far were from authors like Goethe, Schiller, ect. So this year I've planned to read 5 classics of English literature. Not so sure what books I'll choose ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted January 7, 2014 Author Share Posted January 7, 2014 I found that listening to the Iliad was much easier than reading it. I stumbled over all the names, but loved hearing someone read it to me! One of my school friends said this to me when I was a teenager and it put me off trying to read it for years. So I think I actually expected it to be worse than it was. I found it far easier to read than I expected. The names didn't bother me. I have actually begun one of my challenge books now: Guns, Germs, and Steel. I'm finding it pretty gripping. The scientist in me is loving the structure and the 'Introduction' where the whole work is thoroughly laid out in advance like a journal article. I'm on 40 pages in and I'm already making a list of people to buy it for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 Michelle-The Illiad was meant tp be heard!! I should try that as well:).Isis-Guns, Germs, and Steel is a great book. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isis Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 I've kind of stalled with GG&S. It's still fascinating to me but I'm just not always in the mood for learning when I pick up a book. It's too factual to be very escapist. Yes, the intro describing how it was possible for such a small group of invaders to capture the leader of a much bigger group and subdue them is very cool. I will check and see if my copy has that afterword in it... I also started Possession but that's a literary novel and I don't seem to have the energy for getting into it in small bites of time on the tube or the bus. I need a holiday where I can do some concerted reading! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamjm Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 I've kind of stalled with GG&S. It's still fascinating to me but I'm just not always in the mood for learning when I pick up a book. It's too factual to be very escapist. I thought it was a fascinating book, but it is very dense with information so I was reading it fairly slowly and I put it down for a while to read something lighter - intending to go back to it after a short break. That was probably about 7 or 8 years ago, which doesn't really count as a short break. I should go back and re-read the whole thing some time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Wolves Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Since I'm german most of the classics I've read so far were from authors like Goethe, Schiller, ect. So this year I've planned to read 5 classics of English literature. Not so sure what books I'll choose ... If you don't mind any recommendations i have some-Treasure Island: great book- Pride and Prejudice- Dracula Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fragile Bird Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 Ok, I said I would read 26 books this year in Ini's thread, but I also like the idea of targeted reading, especially of books I already own. Eleanor Catton - The LuminariesSusanna Clarke - Jonathan Strange and Mr. NorrellMarkus Zusak - The Book ThiefNeil Gaiman - NeverwhereJ.K. Rowling - The Casual VacancyPaul Cornell - London FallingTerry Goodkind - Wizard's First Rule I will try to read this year's Canada Reads books: Margaret Atwood - The Year of the FloodJoseph Boyden - The OrendaEsi Edugyan - Half-Blood BluesRawi Hage - CockroachKathleen Winter - Annabel And I also have classics that I have never gotten around to reading: James Joyce - UlyssesLeo Tolstoy - Anna KareninaSun Tzu - The Art of WarHomer - The Illiad (I may try to pick up an audio book as well)Arthur Conan Doyle - Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (since I first read it over 40 years ago, I think I can count it again :) ) And a whole bunch of others. I may read more than 26 after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deleted01 Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 My goal is to stop buying new books and actually read the ones on my to-read pile. I have way too many, and am fast running out of space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Queen of Whores Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Since the books I have to read for school are really simplistic and uninteresting but easy and quick to read, this leaves me with some more time to read actually good books. My list:House of Chains - Steven Erikson (it's harder to get through than the other three combined -_-)War and Peace - Leo TolstoyAnna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (my friend read it, and she somehow found time between school and constant parties, so I think I'll be able to manage it)Lolita - Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov (I've seen the Kubrick film and loved it, and the same friend I mentioned above has read it and said it was great, so this is probably the top if my list). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
3CityApache Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 My goal is to stop buying new books and actually read the ones on my to-read pile. I have way too many, and am fast running out of space. Yes, that's my case as well. Especially since I receive only books as Christmas and (usually) birthday presents for a couple of years now. Every year I have 10-20 new books, not counting the ones I buy myself (and I buy like maniac). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg Posted February 1, 2014 Share Posted February 1, 2014 ETA: Yeah, Greg, it's a great one. I never got around to Collapse though as much as I wanted to. Did you?No, I haven't. As you might know most of what I "read" is on audio and books that dense don't do well in that medium. At your prompt, however, I just dl'ed a PDF version.:)Isis-yeah, it is incredibly fact dense. It delivers an incredible number of absolute gems, most of which I had never heard before. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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