Challenge Yourself discussion

What are your personal challenges for the coming new year?

Almeta 2015
Cheryl 2015
Darkpool 2015
Elizabeth S 2015
Janice 2015
Roz 2015

From Paulette

"My challenge for the New Year is to read at least 6 books a month.

Two of the books are Free Choice - whatever I want from any category. For these two I have chosen The Snowman by Jo Nesbo and In The Woods by Tana French.

The other four by category are:

1. Non-fiction - for January I have chosen The Aleppo Codex by Matti Friedman.

2. Give a book a 2nd chance: I have chosen The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. I just couldn't get into it when I first tried to read it.

3. New author to me: I have never read anything by Philip Kerr so for January I have chosen Prague Fatale.

4. Best Seller - For January I have chosen The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Avana Mathis.

Of course I hope to read more than these six books. My Free Choice Shelf can be added to as needed. I wanted a way to try something new, finish something I started, read something that isn't fiction, and choose something from the best sellers list.

I don't think this is a particulary hard challenge which makes it easier to complete!"

Almeta wrote: "From Paulette

My challenge for the New Year is to read at least 6 books a month.

Two of the books are Free Choice - whatever I want from any category. For these two I have chosen The Snowman by ..."

YOU have a great Plan. I'm not so organized!

The Reality Check challenge should work for yout Non-fiction
and the Authorization challenge for the New author


I like your other ideas and have created two more challenges: Another Chance and Shelving Unit.

Thanks for your input!

Ive decided I need to start reading some of the books that I downloaded to my Kindle when I first bought it so starting in February one of my Free Choices will be selected from my Kindle.

I love that system, too. I'll have to think about participating in Another Chance.

I would like to read more books off my Nook.

I spent this morning adding some of the books from my Kindle to Goodreads. I made it up to C so far. I'll work on it some more this afternoon. I was surprised. I have some really good books! I just forgot about them.

Almeta, what is your definition of "Shelving Unit"?

Paulette wrote: "Almeta, what is your definition of "Shelving Unit"?"

"Have a certain shlef that has been neglected? Or have you determined to read more from one of them, such as Non-Fiction or Best Sellers? Challenge yourself to a goal of a certain amount of books to read, from a special bookshelf."

I thought that in your case you might have a shelf called Best Sellers. You could set up a challenge with thi shelf as the source.

If you have others in mind which would fit better, please let me know and I will create it for you.

Debra wrote: "I would like to read more books off my Nook."

The eDingus challenge.

Would you believe I read none in 2012?

Wow! None!

Hi,
I'm Nieves and I'm Spanish. This year, as always, I want to improve my English, so I've set a goal to read 20 books in this language.
I chose the option Shelving Unit 2013, adding my shelf for books in English.

Edit: I've noticed that the best fit challenge is Rosetta Stone

Hi Nieves,

Yes Rosetta Stone is the challenge for you.

20 is a grand goal.

Good luck and good reading. I look forward to watching your progress and seeing what books you choose to read.

Thanks Almeta :)

I've never actually commented here before so I thought I would say hello and that I have entered some of the challenges. A lot of the challenges coincide with other reading goals I already had.

I exclusively use an ereader so my eDingus challenge is pretty much my book goal for the year. I hope it works okay. I've never used a group challenge thing before.

I was the "first on my block" to buy an eReader. Always debated the pros and cons of eBooks versus paper and ink.

Shamefully this past year, although I carried it around, I never finished a single digital book!

I have to get back to it. So I'll see you in the challenge at some point, I am sure.

I think I'll just do Home Alone - I really do need to keep my focus tight to make this happen.

I have decided to tackle AT LEAST two challenges, eDingus and Home alone; 35 books for each. I may add goodreads authors, too. This year, I am kicking the year off right and going to try harder to complete a challenge, or at least make a huge dent in it.

I need to read the ebooks I've already downloaded on my ereader, so I hope to complete the eDingus challenge! I've set 20 books as my goal for this year.

Looks as if I will have lots of company for Home Alone and eDingus. :)

All the challenges are intriguing! I'm glad you set up such a variety and if I keep up the good pace that I've started I might be able to join more. I'll check again in a week or two.

I have way too many unread books on my ereader so I'm going to give the eDingus challenge a go. I'm still thinking about if I should do another challenge - I like the sound of the movie one

I don't know if this is the right thread, but I've a question concerning the Books/Movies challenge. I'm planning to read The dead Zone by Stephen King next month; when can I set the data read?Since the tv show has 6 seasons, do I have to watch them all before marking the book has read or one is enough?
Thank you!

Almeta wrote: "Looks as if I will have lots of company for Home Alone and eDingus. :)"

You certainly will, Almeta. I have too many collecting dust. Which, as fellow bibliophiles, I am sure that is not uncommon.

Stefania wrote: "I don't know if this is the right thread, but I've a question concerning the Books/Movies challenge. I'm planning to read The dead Zone by Stephen King next month; when can I set the data read?Sinc..."

Don't know how I missed answering your question Stefania. In fact I could have sworn that I had written back to you. (Must of just composed it in my head on not typed my answer in!)

In these challenges you have the freedom to choose some of your own rules. So you are challenging yourself and determining the accomplishment yourself.

Personally, if I am viewing a TV show based on a book, I wait until I feel that I can honestly compare the two. Sometimes this can be done after one episode because this "introduction" brings in all of the book's elements and I know what the show will be like. Sometimes it takes a few more installments
before I decide that the visual "Is nothing like the book" or "spot on".

Sooo it is up to you. Register the "Read Date" as soon as you can make a comparison of the two.

Of course with Dead Zone, I would just watch the movie (not the TV episodes), register my disappointment and move on!!! lol

Almeta wrote: "Stefania wrote: "I don't know if this is the right thread, but I've a question concerning the Books/Movies challenge. I'm planning to read The dead Zone by Stephen King next month; when can I set t..."

Thank you very much Almeta!I didn't know there's also a movie! I think I'll take your advise and watch that instead of the tv show.

Stefania wrote: "Almeta wrote: "Stefania wrote: "I don't know if this is the right thread, but I've a question concerning the Books/Movies challenge. I'm planning to read The dead Zone by Stephen King next month; w..."

There were actually two released. One as a "pilot" and the other "main-stream".

Quicker than 21 discs for the TV series!

I think I have lost my mind! "One year-long challenge in 2014", is what I told myself. And then I joined this group. But, I can justify all the challenges I signed up for. 6 of the "Left Over Stew" is from the Around the World Challenge. Seven are from the Cross Canada Tour Challenge. I read at least 2 audiobooks a month... so it's not like these will be additional books I'll be reading.... Right?

I signed up for:

Doorstops - 10 books
eDingus - 25 books
Hear ye! Hear ye! - 25 books
Home Alone - 5 books
Hot off the press - 5 books
Left Over Stew - 18 books
O' Canada - 7 books
World Tour - 6 books
Where's Your Card? 6 books

Edited to remove Boxall's Books and add Where's Your Card.

Janice wrote: ".. so it's not like these will be additional books I'll be reading.... Right?

Ri.i.i.i.ght!☻

My point exactly! Hehehe!

Great idea for a group!
My 2014 plan
12 Hot of The Press
2 another chance
12 Now that was classic
10 Boxalls 1001 books to read before you die
30 Doorstops ( go big or go home - right)
12 and the awards go to
15 Hear ye! Hear ye

Okay, here's what I'm doing for 2014:
(marking as I finish)

And the Award Goes To - 12 books, reading all the Sibert award books that I haven't read yet - DONE
Doorstops - 12 books - DONE
Home Alone - 75 books - DONE
Hot Off the Press - 100 books published in 2014 - DONE
Left Over Stew - 30 books, I'm using this one for all those random books that I've been just not getting to read - DONE
Now That Was Classic - 5 books DONE
Reality Check - 50 books - DONE
Shelving Unit - 100 books, I've been reading so many picture books and juvenile books recently, so I'm challenging myself to read 100 adult books this year - DONE
That's Unreal - 20 books, this year I'm doing mysteries - DONE
Shortcut - 250 books - DONE
Yearbook - 60 books from the year 2013 - DONE

These are the types of New Years' resolutions that are fun to make and accomplish.

I decided to do a few more challenges than last year. I think I only completed my ebook one though. This year I am tackling audiobooks, ebooks, tomes, and reviews since I am a literary blogger at indiewritergirl0329.wordpress.com. Can some of the books overlap for some of the challenges? I didn't put big numbers for the reviews because I wasn't sure about overlaps. I would like to do 52 at least so may update it.

Good luck and happy reading everyone!

Hannah wrote: "I decided to do a few more challenges than last year. I think I only completed my ebook one though. This year I am tackling audiobooks, ebooks, tomes, and reviews since I am a literary blogger at i..."

You may use one book for as many challenges as it will fit. You will have to be careful to place that book on several different and appropriate shelves.

So that larger tome on audio that you reviewed would fit Doorstops, Hear Ye! Hear Ye! and Review To Do.

Good multi-tasking Hannah.☺

Yay! Thanks Almeta. Means I can definitely up some goals. Going to get in better (reading) shape this year. Another goal: be more active in groups.

Elizabeth S wrote: "Okay, here's what I'm doing for 2014:

And the Award Goes To - 11 books, reading all the Sibert award books that I haven't read yet
Doorstops - 12 books
Home Alone - 75 books
Hot Off the Press - 10..."

Very impressive. Good luck. Look forward to seeing your progress.

Happy reading!

Here's my plan (my hope) for 2014:

30. Serial Eyes
12 Doorstoppers
10 eDingus
26 Leftovers

Hopefully some of these will overlap and do double duty, because my 2014 reading challenge is 65.

Looks as though everyone plans to tackle the big books this year.☺

Yes, they always are tempting. I don't know which ones, yet. Or if I will make them only classics. I just downloaded the audiobook of The Signature of All Things by Elizabeth Gilbert that can count as a tome. Almost 20 hours of audio I think.

Here are my challenges this year:

Home Alone (3) from own-it shelf
Reality Check (2) from non-fiction shelf
Guardian's 1000 Novels (3) from guardian-novels shelf
Shelving Unit (6) from 2014-to-read shelf
Now That Was Classic (3) from classics shelf
Another Chance (1) from redo shelf
That's Unreal (3) from mysteries shelf

My overall goal is to read 15 in the year (1 up from 2013 number completed).

Teresa wrote: "Here are my challenges this year:

Home Alone 3
Reality Check 2
Guardian's 1000 Novels 3
Shelving Unit 6
Now That Was Classic 3
Another Chance 1
That's Unreal 3

My overall goal is to read 15..."

Good goals Teresa!☺

wow, love the way some of you have put the links in your post. It's always seemed a bit of a pain to scroll through the whole list, looking for the ones I'd signed up for to check my progress. Having them all as clickable links in one post is a genius idea (and one I may have to copy when I get myself sorted... still undecided over "Where's your card?" cos I know I could totally kill that one.)

Darkpool (protesting GR censorship) wrote: "wow, love the way some of you have put the links in your post. It's always seemed a bit of a pain to scroll through the whole list, looking for the ones I'd signed up for to check my progress. Havi..."

I'm pretty impressed with the links also. I'm surprised that I didn't think of it myself, so I'm going to go back and do that now!☻

Wait a minute. How do I do that?

Roz wrote: "Wait a minute. How do I do that?"

If you want to post a link to a page in a particular site, you first need to go to the destination and copy the url. Paste the url into your post.

For example if you wanted to direct people to the Doorstop Challenge link, you would paste this url https://www.goodreads.com/challenges/....

If you would rather display descriptive words for the link, instead of the url -

♦Immediately to the left of the url string, type a left pointing caret (<) followed by the characters a href= " (that includes the a and the quotation mark).

♦Then at the end of the string, type (">YOUR WORDS), without the parenthesis,

♦Followed immediately by a left pointing caret (<) and a slash (/) and the letter a and the right pointing caret (>)

♦Replace YOUR WORDS with the text that you want to display.

In this example I chose Doorstops

Just figured out how to do that!
These are my challenges so far. I may add to it.

Serial Eyes 20 books
Doorstoppers 12 books
eDingus 10 books

Thanks Almeta.
Took me a while to get it right.

Now I've gone link crazy!

At the top of this thread, you will find links to each of your stated goals, so you can find them more quickly. (Instead of browsing through this discussion.)

Let me know if I've skipped you.

So here's mine, in no particular order...


* GR Authorization 10 books
* Serial eyes 15 books
* Hear Ye! 15 books, but I may increase this.
* Doorstops 6 books, and feeling confident as I have 2 down already!
* Reality Check 6 books
* Shelving Unit - my "to read 2014" shelf 15 books
* Home Alone 5 books (I know, pathetic right?)
* Where's your card? 40 books

Darkpool (protesting GR censorship) wrote: "So here's mine, in no particular order...* Doorstops 6 books, and feeling confident as I have 2 down already!..."

Off to a good start! True to form, Even though this is my main challenge this year, I am avoiding the big books. :(

I have added your link in message 1.