The Sword and Laser discussion

It's that time of year again! As a follow up to the 2013 Did you hit your reading goal? thread and a corollary to the Sign up for the 2014 TBR Triple Dog Reading Dare! thread, what are everybody's reading goals for 2014?

After a bad year this year (I blame my broken body, I spent a lot more time sleeping this year than reading) where I'm not sure I'll hit my goal of 36, I'm upping my goal for next year to 50 (something I either achieved or came close to achieving in years past). For me, though, there's a catch. The 50(+) books I read must fall into one of these categories:
- be a book club pick or
- be a book I'm reviewing or
- be a book I've already bought (or pre-ordered)

I realized my stack (real life and virtual) of "books I've obtained but not read" is well over 100 right now (*raises fist at Kindle and Audible daily deals and sales*), so this will be an opportunity to read some of those. I've created a "tbr_2014" bookshelf here on GR that as of right now includes all my Kindle and Audible books in the queue. I still need to add the physical books that are waiting to be read to the virtual shelf...maybe tonight, if my technology cooperates.

So...how 'bout the rest of you? :)

Well I will be finally finishing up my undergraduate degree (I'm a mid life college student) in 2014 so that will free me up with more time to read books that I pick myself. So I think I may set a goal of 10 - 15 books that I myself pick once my degree is completed. I enjoy reading most of my assigned readings (history major) but I have to usually read them with a critical eye rather than for enjoyment.

So this year I want to take 10 - 15 "real books" (I.E. not star wars books) and read them for funnsies. I think I will take on quite a few of the past book club picks that I have been unable to keep up with. I just picked up The Lies of Locke Lamora and Bitter Seeds has been sitting on my Nook for awhile now. I will probably start with those two.

I think I am going to shoot for 50 books. Some of those will be shorter pieces so I tend to gauge my reading by page count at the end of the year. The big change this year is that I need to stop buying books and just read what I own. I had to create a list of all of my unread books just to keep track. Sword and Laser is excepted of course, I blame all of you for my reading habit, and I love it.

I'm going big this year… with 100. But in all fairness, a lot of those will be middle-grade books. I tend to pre-read a lot of what my kids read. Just to make sure it's age appropriate and I like to discuss what they're reading. (And you know sometimes those middle-grade books can be pretty good.)

My original goal for 2013 was 100 books but I raised it higher after I achieved that. I'll probably hit 150 by year end. In 2013 my goal was to immerse myself in story and to expose myself to as many of them as possible.

I'm torn for 2014 but am thinking about doing two things - clearing out my TBR pile while also re-reading favorites (maybe every other book will be a re-read). Will probably shoot for 100 in 2014 and spend more time on quality instead of quantity (although 2013 was my most enjoyable year of reading ever).

My original goal for this year was 50 books over 180 page count, no pictures (so art books, graphic novels, etc. and such don't count either). I am at 74 right now and may make 80 by Dec. 31st since I've started quite a few books. For next year, I think I'll up my goal to 85 books over 180 pages long, no pictures (I like short stories but I hate counting them in my books read count). So, yeah, 85 books next year. Let's see how that goes...

I will set my goal at 365 since I don't know what next fall will bring for me. The last three or so years I have set my goal to about 500, and I just reach that for this year earlier in the week. I know compared to the average reader on Goodreads that is about somewhere 10 times more books. But I don't think I will be getting closer to finishing the growing tbr, but I think it will grow even more.

I am going to go for 100, which is half of what I read this year, but I now teach a double load at my university and I'm working on my PhD, so I'm well and truly prepared to fall on my face and then fall on my sword for my failure.

That being said, out of that hundred I want: 1/10 to be "classic," 1/10 from the "to be read" pile, I want to read at least half the S&L picks, I want to read at least a few books that I Lemmed, and I want to read some of the huge books I skipped this time around. Oh, and like I said before, I will probably ask for reader suggestions again, because that was a lot of fun.

Ambitious? Yes. Nerdy? affirmative. A pretty little show to take my mind off my lack of a life and steady march towards death?.... shut up.

My goal for 2013 was 40 books. I hit that a few weeks and slowed down considerably. I'm setting my goal a little lower next year. 30 or 35. I want to play more video games now that I have Playstation Plus. Also want to finish the Malazan series. I have 5 books left and they take me a while to read.

This year my goal was 208 (I am up to 242 so far), I am going to bump it to 260 books.
I expect of those around 100 to be novels and the rest comics ( graphic novels or omnibus, I do not count single issues), bandes dessinees ( french-belgium comics) and manga. The increase in goal accounts for me starting to read Manga recently and bandes dessinees halfway through 2013, this time I have to account for a whole year of that.

I'm going to keep my yearly goal at 52 for 2014.

Similar to terpkristin I am setting a personal goal to read at least 30-40 books that I currently have on my physical, or kindle shelf. I'm also going to try and read either Narnia or the Books of Amber in their entirety. Catching up on at least one other series would be nice too.

My main goal is to NOT buy any more new books! Except for Sanderson's second Stormlight book of course :)

I'll probably set my goal as 40 again. Its a good number for me. I'll not be putting any restrictions on my reading. To me, its much more fun if you can read whatever you want whenever you want. Except I do plan on reading the Wheel of Time series.

AndrewP wrote: "My main goal is to NOT buy any more new books! Except for Sanderson's second Stormlight book of course :) ."

I forgot about Sanderson! I will be buying books next year after all. Should I be happy or sad?

I always shoot for 150 to give myself flexibility.

In 2014, I want to read more books from countries I never have. I want to read some Delany and some Zelazny, because I never have.

I'm debating what my goal should be. After reading 57 books this year, it's tempting to have a 50 or 60 book goal next year. But I do read less when I'm pregnant. I might do a 40 book goal so there's not so much pressure.

I handily hit 200 the last 2 years so that is probably where I'll set my goal. I learned long ago if I try to set goals to read a particular thing then that's the thing I want to read the least.

Christopher wrote: "I handily hit 200 the last 2 years so that is probably where I'll set my goal. I learned long ago if I try to set goals to read a particular thing then that's the thing I want to read the least."

This happens to me too!

So I don't have a complete plan, but I've got a good outline already. I had originally planned on 48 books for this year will end up doing over 100 thanks in large part to the amount of audiobooks I now consume (about 50 this year).

I'm not sure I'll keep up the pace of this year, so I'm going to shoot for 72 (or maybe 75) books, or roughly 6/month.

1) Read Every Sword & Laser Pick
I managed to do this this year, and assuming I get to His Majesty's Dragon, I'll have done both alt picks as well.

2) Read Next Book in series:
Skin Game (TBD)
Words of Radiance (March)
The Crimson Campaign (February)
The Shadow Throne (July)
Firefight (TBD)

3) Finish Malazan:
Still reading/doing detailed discussion of Steven Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen with Malazan Fallen. Will finish that up the first half of next year.

Toll the Hounds (January)
Dust of Dreams (January-March)
The Crippled God (March-May)

4) Finish Rainwild Chronicles
Currently reading Rainwild Chronicles with the Robin Hobb group. Will finish that up sometime early next year.

City of Dragons
Blood of Dragons

5) Side Reads Group
My Side Reads group has become pretty active this year. We even had Django Wexler come by and answer questions about The Thousand Names. We tend to about a book a month, so I'm sure that will be another 12 or so books right there, although I imagine some of those will be the ones included in my next in series list above. Additionally I'll be doing:

Dangerous Women (January)
Stardust (TBD)

6) If they come out (not holding my breath)
The Winds of Winter
Untitled Rothfuss #3
The Thorn of Emberlain

7) Audio Re-reads
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King

8) Misc
The Aeronaut's Windlass (because I'd read Twilight Fan Fiction if Jim Butcher wrote it!)

I dont usually pick a number. Starting Jan 1( or when I finish the current book I'm reading on Jan 1) I like to go back to all the series I have in process and read the next book (along with club picks). Last year I think it took me until April.

In 2013 i decided not to set a goal because in years past I sent a goal of 140 and hit 140. I didnt keep track this year until a few minutes ago when I checked my count and I was at 178. The setting of a goal was actually keeping me from reading. so in 2014 no goal. Just read to enjoy.

Rob wrote: "So I don't have a complete plan, but I've got a good outline already. I had originally planned on 48 books for this year will end up doing over 100 thanks in large part to the amount of audiobooks ..."

You forgot to mention The Fool's Assassin by Robin Hobb.

My main aim for 2014 is to have a lot of fun reading and pick some books that I will just get a lot of pleasure out of reading. It is sometimes easy to go for "worthy" books but I want to make sure that most of my reading time is spent reading stuff that I very much enjoy reading.

Beyond that I have a few more specific goals such as:-

- Working my way through The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories a 2000 page collection

- Finally getting round to reading some Patrick Rothfuss

- Making a decent dent in my TBR pile

- To have less paper books by the end of 2014 than I have now

I suspect I will read about 150 books being reasonably flexible as to what counts as a "book".

Ben wrote: "- Working my way through The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories a 2000 page collection"
Oh man I want to at least dip into my copy of this mighty tome in 2014.

I was going to hijack this thread with an IMPROVED VERSION that is BETTER, but that would be rude, so I started over here:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

The question is how to get the time to hit those goals.

I think I'll set my goal at 52 books again -- a nice, round number and I'll feel a sense of accomplishment when I blow past it in September or October (if this year is any indication). Yes, that'll probably include some shorter YA novels and even short stories (if GoodReads counts them as standalone "books"), but that'll be offset by the occasional honking great tome or omnibus.

I don't really have any specific titles/authors in mind at this point -- just going to shoot for a good mix of new & old, and stuff I've previously read and stuff I haven't previously read.

Joseph wrote: "I think I'll set my goal at 52 books again -- a nice, round number and I'll feel a sense of accomplishment when I blow past it in September or October (if this year is any indication). Yes, that'l..."

Same for me, this year I did a book a week as a nice, comfortable starting goal and passed 52 in October so will do the same for 2014.

More translated literature. Other than that, it has to be a prime number of books.

Yea, I think I might set my goal at 52 as well. A goal of a book a week seems like something I can do. This year my goal was smaller because I knew I'd be busy with baby. Now that she is getting a little older (8 months already!), I am finding some regular time in the evenings to start reading in earnest again.

My other goal will be to read all the book club picks each month for the two book clubs I'm a member in (S&L and a local bookclub). Which I did this year for S&L (minus April's Dragonrider -- I had read it before and I was getting very little sleep with a newborn baby to care for). This book club is not so much the challenge for me, because every pick lately has been an interesting one for me. The other group is more hit and miss on the selections, but I figure it'll be a good experience for me to broaden my reading experience. :)

Hey new to the group here. I haven't kept track of my reading habits the past couple years but I'd like to for 2014. I had a running tally on my blog up through 2011.. most I got was 35. Since I have been going nuts between the used book store and buying stuff on my Kindle I'm going to aim for at least 50 this coming year. And I'm not including any that carry over from 2013 that I'm in progress with.

I hit my goal of 100 books (36400+ pages), but I don't count graphic novels. My goal for 2014 is to read 100 books from my TBR pile

I'm going to set my goal at 50 again. Or I may decide to count short story magazines and try for 100. Aside from the total book count I'm going to try and read:

All S&L picks
5 non-fiction
5 past Hugo Winners
5 books written by authors outside the US, Canada & UK
2 books written in the 19th Century
2 books written in the 1st half of the 20th Century

I'm adding to my goal. I'm gonna read every S&L pick. And try to read more with my other club.

Matthew wrote: "I'm going to set my goal at 50 again. Or I may decide to count short story magazines and try for 100. Aside from the total book count I'm going to try and read:

All S&L picks
5 non-fiction
5 past Hugo Winners
5 books written by authors outside the US, Canada & UK
2 books written in the 19th Century
2 books written in the 1st half of the 20th Century "

Interesting! I'd like to see which books you come up with.

I will probably shoot for 80 because I will be finishing up my undergraduate degree next year.

Wow...just...wow...and I thought I was doing great this year. Between the graphic novels and 20+ comic book series that I follow, I thought finishing about 35 books this year put me in beast mode. And then I read this discussion and promptly got put in my place. Ah well, my goal for 2014 is 40 books of over 300 pages long. Also, if Rothfuss gets around to putting out the end of the Kingkiller Chronicles, based on the last book, I'm probably gonna count that one as two minimum!

Well, looks like I'll be reading The Weird, as well. I can't resist a two thousand page omnibus of weird tales.

This year, I read a lot of Viking stories (sad how little there are, really). In the new year, I plan to read some swashbucklery.

Darren wrote: "Well, looks like I'll be reading The Weird, as well. I can't resist a two thousand page omnibus of weird tales.

This year, I read a lot of Viking stories (sad how little there are, really). In th..."

Styrbiorn the Strong. Just in case it wasn't on your list.

It's not on my list, Joseph. I'll have to add it! Thanks.

Im aiming for at least 100. I have alot of free time next year and my studies are not overwhelming, so 3 to 4 books per week.

Wow, a lot of you make me feel really bad that I was planning on setting a goal of 30, lol.

My reading goal for 2014 is to not let my book addiction spiral out of control and ruin my life.

I know exactly what your mean Moonlitfractal. Every year I try to set a low goal but I always end up reading a lot more.

I gave up a long time ago on trying to keep that under control.

Misti wrote: "Wow, a lot of you make me feel really bad that I was planning on setting a goal of 30, lol."

You shouldn't. That's more than most people read in a year. This group is just full of "overachievers"

My goal for 2014 is 52. Same as this year.

In the past ive have a hard time focusing on audio books and I'm still not a fan of ereaders but I want to try again in 2014 and read at least one on each medium. The rest will be good ole fashioned paper books.

I currently have about 45 books physically piled up in my bedroom waiting, I'd like to get through at least half of them.

I want to finish up LoTR and GoT series'. At least what's been released of GoT.

Also want to get through re-reading some more books that I know I've read before but it was before I started keeping track. Eg Narnia, Dark Tower, WoT. Not all 3 complete series' but I'd like to at least make a dent in them.

Phew, now that its all typed out it seems very ambitious. Lol.

Misti wrote: "Wow, a lot of you make me feel really bad that I was planning on setting a goal of 30, lol."

Don't. Not everyone reads at the same pace, or has the time for it.

I'm probably going to repeat my 2013 goal of 25 books. I'm probably going to read fewer clubs picks so I can try to make a small dent into to read list

Don't. Not everyone reads at the same pace, or has the time for it."

Oh, I know. I don't have as much time to read as I once did so I'm a little jealous! :)

I'm doing the same as Terp. The amount of books I own and haven't read yet is pretty staggering, especially when you consider I read somewhere between 15-20 books per year. If it's a book club pick I'm interested in, I'll buy/find at the library, otherwise I'm working through my pile, that's sitting around 80 books.

What I really need is an anti book buying goal. Something like not buying more than 24 new kindle books and just reading the ones I own. I've read 87 books so far this year, but I think my next year reading goal will be 75. But the important thing is really buying fewer books and reading what I own.