Tag: Reading Challenge

Bookish Question #259 | Have you set a Reading Goal for 2023?

At the risk of being exceedingly boring and routine, I’m going to go for exactly the same target as last year, and the year before, and the year before that:

I aim to read 150 books

Last year, I planned to be more creative and intentional about the kinds of books I want to read:

  • Books from authors I’ve read and enjoyed before, and debut or new-to-me authors.
  • A mix of review copies, new books, and books I’ve had on my to-read pile for too long.
  • A mix of books from US and international authors.
  • More books from Black authors, indigenous authors, and authors of colour (aka BIPOC authors).
  • More nonfiction books (and not just writing craft books).

So here’s my list:

  • Read 150+ books
  • Read 48+ books from my to-read pile
  • Read 40+ books from debut or new-to-me authors
  • Read 40+ books from non-US authors
  • Read 12+ books from BIPOC authors
  • Read 18+ nonfiction books

Fortunately, some books fall under multiple categories (which I do allow, so a nonfiction book from my to-read pile that’s written by a non-US BIPOC author I haven’t read before, then the book counts under each of those categories).

Yes, that’s similar to 2022 … but that should make it achieveable.

Have you set a reading goal? If so, what is it?

(Or do you also have more than one?)

Have you read more or less books than planned in 2021?

Bookish Question #183 | Have you read more or less books than planned?

We’re halfway through 2021 already (and I’m sure it’s a sign of age that the years are going faster and faster).

It’s been a busy six months, and the last few weeks have been beyond hectic. It’s “the season” at work, which means my three-day-a-week job has morphed into four days in a good week, and six in a less-good week.

As such, I haven’t had as much time for reading as usual. When I do finish work, I find my brain is often so fried that I can’t concentrate on anything longer than an email or blog post. This has definitely affected the number of books I’ve read. I’ve managed to keep on top of my reviewing list (well, I’ve managed to read them. Writing and posting the reviews isn’t going so well).

I volunteered to judge a couple of writing contests, and I’ve managed to get those books read and the scoresheets back to the organisers in good time. It’s a small win, but I’ll take it.

But my reading for pleasure has really fallen by the wayside.

According to Goodreads, I have read:

  • 45 books in total (against a target of 150)
  • 15 books off my to-Read list (against a target of 48)
  • 2 writing books (against a target of 12)

As you can see, I have a way to go … and possibly some books to check off as read. But “the season” will be over soon, and hopefully that means I can go back to a shorter work schedule and more time (and brain space) to read.

How about you? Have you read more books than planned, or are you also playing catch-up?

Have you Set a Reading Challenge for 2021?

Bookish Question #158 | Have you Set a 2021 Reading Challenge?

Yes!

I’ve signed up to read 150 books this year through the Goodreads Reading Challenge.

I don’t see at as much as a challenge as a way of keeping track of what I’ve read (helped by the fact that most new books I read are on Kindle, which automatically marks a book as Read at Goodreads).

I’ve also signed up to the Mt. TBR Challenge again, in the never-ending attempt to reduce the number of unread books I own. I’ve done this challenge for the last four or five years, usually aiming for 48 books per year. I actually aimed for 60 last year, but only got 48 so that’s the level I’ve chosen this year. Now to read books I own and not buy new ones!

I set myself the challenge of reading 30 books by new-to-me authors in 2020, and I achieved 47!

My rationale for this challenge was that I want to be able to support debut authors. The problem is that if I focus too much on debut authors, I don’t have time to read new books from favourite authors. So while I will still record how many new-to-me authors I read this year, I won’t be aiming for a specific number.

Another personal challenge was to read 50 independently published books last year. I managed 45. This is another figure I’ll continue to track, but won’t set a specific goal. I want to focus on content, not how the book was published. The reality is that the books I buy tend to be independently published, because they’re cheaper (yet the author receives a similar royalty per copy sold).

I also aimed to read 12 writing books and 12 marketing books last year.

I actually read 12 writing books (win) but only 4 marketing books. My focus this year is going to be on writing, so I’m going to ignore all the unread marketing books and focus on the writing books (and the writing).

So my Reading Challenge targets for 2021 are:

  • 150 books
  • 48 books off my to-read pile
  • 12 writing books

What about you? Have you set a 2021 reading challenge? If so, what is it?

Have you set a reading challenge for 2020?

Bookish Question #136 | Have you set a reading challenge for 2020?

I’ve done the Goodreads challenge every year since 2011, and I’ll be doing it again in 2020. It’s a simple challenge—just how many books you plan to read during the year.

Over the years, my target has ranged from 150 to 200 books, and I’ll be aiming for 150 books again in 2020.

I will supplement that with some personal targets, similar to last year. I want to keep expanding my reading, which means proactively deciding to read debut and new-to-me authors. I set a target of 50 last year, and hit it (just!). Some of those authors I probably won’t read again, but there are many I want to add to my ongoing reading list.

Another 2019 target was to read 50 or more self-published or indie-published books.

There are some great self-published books out there, many from authors who initially published through a big-name publisher but who have now moved to self-publishing. As an added bonus, self-published books are often a fraction of the price of traditionally published books (yet the author earns as much or more per copy). So that’s another great reason to support self-published authors!

My final personal target for 2019 was to read at least one book on writing craft and one book on marketing each month. I didn’t do so well on these challenges, but think they’re important, so will try again in 2020.

So my personal reading challenges for 2020 are:

  • 150+ books read in total (which does include novellas).
  • 30+ books from debut or new-to-me authors.
  • 50+ self-published books.
  • 60+ books off my to-read piles (ebook and paperback).
  • 12+ marketing books.
  • 12+ books on writing craft.

Obviously, some books will count for more than one challenge—a self-published book on writing craft from a new-to-me author will count four times 🙂

What about you? Have you set a reading challenge for 2020? If so, what is it?

Bookish Question: How many books have you read in 2018?

Bookish Question #84 | How many books have you read in 2018?

I actually don’t know. I’d set myself a target of 180 books for the 2018 Goodreads Reading Challenge, roughly one every other day. I’ve just looked through the list of books I’ve read.

It’s kind of disturbing.

There are a lot of books I remember reading (yay!).

There are the novel or novella collections, which mess with my reading challenge. Does a four-novella collection count as one book or four? Novellas are short, so I’m usually happy to count that as one book, especially if I read them all.

But does a nine-novel collection count as one book or nine? Does it count towards my reading challenge if I read only read five of the books in the collection? (It’s rare that I find a collection where all the stories are compelling enough to keep me reading. I usually end up skipping some.)

There are quite a few books I remember starting and giving up on (boo!) I find the more I read and edit great fiction, the less patience I have for poor writing. But (as best as I can tell) Goodreads won’t take the book off my Am Reading list unless I mark it as read, so it then counts toward my annual total. There might be a way of taking it off my bookshelves completely, but I don’t know if I want to. If it’s on my Read list, then I know not to read it again (or buy it again).

Then there are the books Goodreads says I’ve read, but I can’t remember reading. I guess those are the three-star reads, the ones I didn’t love enough to rave about, and didn’t dislike enough to remember.

So how many books have I read?

As of mid-November, Goodreads says I’ve read 140 books, but I have no idea how many of those were collections (so maybe count as more than one book), or books I started but didn’t finish. Maybe I need a new system for 2019. Any suggestions?

What about you? How many books have you read in 2018?

Book Chat

Bookish Question #40 | Are you doing a reading challenge in 2018?

I have participated in the Goodreads Reading Challenge for the last six years. I’ve committed to read between 150 and 200 books each year, and have succeeded … although some years it was down to the last couple of days and relied on a fair few novellas or short non-fiction books. I kind-of cheated last year and included books I started and gave up on, because if I start a book three times and still can’t finish it, I’m never going to finish it. So I count it as read.

I’ve tried other reading challenges over the last few years, with less success. I tried a Mt TBR Challenge a couple of times. Mt TBR is Goodreads shorthand for the mountain of unread books many of us own (To Be Read). The first year I attempted to climb Mt TBR, I met my low goal of two books a month, a win made less impressive by the number of books I added to Mt TBR during the year.

I tried again the following year, with a more ambitious goal, and fell by the wayside by around March. My excuse was there were too many good new books to read.

Another year I tried a challenge where we had to read books that fit various categories. This was fun for the first nine months, but then I got towards the end of the year and realised that while I’d chosen books that fit all the remaining criteria, I didn’t have any interest in reading them. So I quit because spending time reading books I didn’t want to read when there were other books I did want to read seemed silly.

I’ve signed up for the Goodreads Reading Challenge again for 2018. I’m aiming for 180 books, the same as in 2017 (which I did achieve, although I cheated a little by including those books I didn’t finish). No conditions. No specific genres to read (although I will be reviewing a contemporary Christian romance novel here each week, and guest reviewing historical or non-romance novels at Australian Christian Writers and International Christian Fiction Writers).

I’m also doing a read the Bible in a year challenge with an online group. I’ve completed this twice before, but fell away in the middle of 2017 because of a lack of accountability. I’m looking forward to reading the Bible with a group of new friends. (Although it would be a lot easier for my Goodreads challenge if the Bible counted as 66 books, not one!)

What about you? Are you doing a reading challenge in 2018? Which one, and how many books are you aiming for?