2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Hi all,

I've committed to a number of reading challenges this year. To not lose track, I thought I could list them here (and mark my progress on each, updating throughout the year):

1) Main goal: read at least 130 books (fiction, non-fiction, short story collections, whatever)

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Update: I'll try 150.

Progress: 150/150 ✔

2) Around the world in 52 books challenge. See my overview here:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Progress: 52/52 ✔

3) The String Theory Challenge. I hope to do 10 books.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Progress: 10/10 ✔

4) I want to read more books by Belgian/Dutch authors this year, so I signed up to a "Ik lees Nederlands" challenge, reading 30 books. Here's my bookshelf for this:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Progress: 36/30 ✔

Update Jan 04, 2014:

I finished Quesadillas which is book #3 of the year, and also counts as the first book in my String Theory Challenge (1/10), and the third book in the Around the World challenge (3/52).

Fantastic start An! Good luck with your challenge (:

Adriana wrote: "Fantastic start An! Good luck with your challenge (:"

Thank you!

Joyce wrote: "Good luck with your Challenge. You're very organized; I like that!
:-)"

Thank you. I like making lists, that's for sure :-)

Update Jan 05, 2014:

I finished Het gym, which is book #4 read this year. It also counts as:

book 4/52 for the Around the World challenge
book 2/10 in the String theory challenge
book 1/30 in the I read Dutch challenge

If you read Dutch, you can read my review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Update Jan 06, 2014

The last day of my Christmas holiday. Tomorrow back to work, but today I had time to finish book #5 of the year: Eurydice Street: A Place in Athens

All 5 books I have read so far have been set in different countries, so the Around the World challege is going really well. I have also very much enjoyed all of these books. So, good start to my year in reading.

Update Jan 9, 2014

Another book read: The Black Lake. I listened to the Dutch audiobook actually, read by Hella Haasse herself, which was a wonderful experience.

Update Jan 11, 2014

I finished another Dutch audiobook, by Arnon Grunberg, De man zonder ziekte. I'm having fun with the challenge to read more Dutch books. In recent years I have neglected books written by Dutch and Belgian authors in favour of UK/US authors, and I've missed out on some great books. So, catching up, one book at a time.

I finished Life After Life and Caesarion this week. Especially Life After Life will stay with me. 2014 has really started well as far as reading goes.

I like how participating in some reading challenges has guided me to some excellent books so far. For the String Theory Challenge I looked into the theme of Japanese PoW camps which led me to read a book by Dutch author Jeroen Brouwers (Bezonken rood) who was a prisoner in such a camp, together with his mother, grandmother and sister. He describes really well the atrocities he witnessed, and the effect these had in his later life, and on the relationship with his mother.

Hey how do I set my goal?

Fatima wrote: "Hey how do I set my goal?"

Fatima, here's a post on how to get started: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

How did you like Life After Life? I just bought it - looking forward to reading it.

Sarah wrote: "How did you like Life After Life? I just bought it - looking forward to reading it."

I liked it a lot. The book kept getting better and better as the story progressed. Definitely one of my favourite books this year.

Thanks to audiobooks, I've been reading more than ever. Such a great invention! Not only in the car, but also when my eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen at work all day, and before going to sleep. So far I've been lending them from my local library. I hope their stock will be sufficient, as they are quite pricey.

An wrote: "Thanks to audiobooks, I've been reading more than ever. Such a great invention! Not only in the car, but also when my eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen at work all day, and before going t..."

I LOVE audiobooks. IMO some books just need to be experienced in audio format. Harry Potter read by Stephen Fry. Baudolino and The Graveyard Book are also two I recommend trying as audio.

Daphne wrote: "An wrote: "Thanks to audiobooks, I've been reading more than ever. Such a great invention! Not only in the car, but also when my eyes hurt from staring at a computer screen at work all day, and bef..."

Thank you for the tips. I loved The Name of the Rose and The Ocean at the End of the Lane so maybe I should give the ones you mention a try!

Helped by the flu, which gave me time off work, I finished The Goldfinch this week. I really liked it. For a book that long, it was an easy, enjoyable read.

Hope you feel better An! One good thing about being sick is that you get to read more (:

Adriana wrote: "Hope you feel better An! One good thing about being sick is that you get to read more (:"

Well I do, thank you. And as it's now weekend, more reading time ahead :-)

Finished a few really good books the past few weeks. I really liked the new issue of Granta Granta 126: do you remember. It had some really funny stories, by Lorrie More, Joy Williams, Bernard Cooper, Lydia Davis...

Also very good wasJoe Speedboot, which I listened to on my commute to work. Tommy Wieringa is my new favourite Dutch author. I loved his book Caesarion as well.

And this weekend I read The Dig and Looking for Transwonderland: Travels in Nigeria, both published by Granta Books, which as usual did not disappoint.

good job! so how many books are u up to now?

Alison wrote: "good job! so how many books are u up to now?"

I update my first post in this string to keep track of how many books I have read for each challenge. So 20 books read in total. My 21st book, currently reading, is the new Haruki Murakami (the Dutch translation is out already Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage. It's a great book, I'm really enjoying it.

I finished The Woman Upstairs today. Loved it. I identify with Nora. Worrying, maybe.

Brooklyn by Colm Tóibín. Great story about emigration and choices.

A few more books finished.

For the I read Dutch challenge I've read Asta's ogen by Eveline Stoel and De laatkomer by Dimitri Verhulst. Some of Dimitri Verhulst's books are also available in English, like The Misfortunates.

For the string theory challenge, I've read The Panopticon by Jenni Fagan, which I very much enjoyed.

The past few weeks I've been listening to De leesclub by Renate Dorrestein which I thought was so-so, and to Infidel, the autobiography of Somalian Ayaan Hirsi Ali. That one was particularly interesting. She caused quite a stir in the Netherlands a few years ago, and it was good to hear her tell her story from the beginning.

I've also been reading Half Blood Blues, which I liked, and On the Jellicoe Road, wich I also enjoyed but got a bit annoyed with near the end. Very subtle it is not.

This week I really enjoyed Drowned by Therese Bohman, I've listened to the audio version of Anne Frank's diary, and I read a book about a most interesting topic, the so-called Albanian "Sworn Virgins" (Sworn Virgin by Elvira Dones)
Fascinating, that. Have a look at these pictures: http://www.messynessychic.com/2013/09...

I read a 6th book for the String Theory Challenge, When the Emperor Was Divine, told from the perspective of a Japanese American family sent to an internment camp in the Utah desert during World War II.

A book I also enjoyed very much was The Flamethrowers. Fun and exciting. I gave it 5 stars.

Book #50 finished: The Interestings by Meg Wolitzer. ★★★★★

A few more ★★★★★ books read:
The Marrying of Chani Kaufman and Me Before You
Gets me to a total of 56 books read, many of which I gave 4 or 5 stars, so a good year for reading so far.

I've been reading a bit, but haven't been making much progress on my various reading challenges. I did finish another one (Granta 127) for the String Theory Challenge, so that makes 7/10.

Another book finished for the Around the World challenge: The Old Man and His Sons. It's 23 of 52 so I will have to make an effort to get all 52 books read this year.

book #24 (The Almond Tree) and #25 (Crazy Rich Asians) for the Around the World challenge read.

... and that's #26 (A Meal in Winter and #27 Zeven vette jaren for the Around the World challenge. Two very fine books.

I'm going to read more of Etgar Keret's work, I've been hearing lots of good things about him but this collection of autobiographical short stories was the first I actually read myself.

Finally another book read for the "I read Dutch" challenge. I had to give up on La Superba because although it won an imporant prize recently, I absolutely hated it. I chose an audiobook instead, Vinexvrouwen, which was ok for in the car. It's a column-style book about a woman of Moroccan origin living in the Netherlands.

Best book I've read in a long time: The Letter Bearer by Robert Allison. Brilliant.

Two perfect summer reads: Bonjour Tristesse and Nullzeit

I'm glad my "52 books, 52 countries" challenge led me to Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick. Shocking.

Finally another Dutch book read. Belgian, actually. Problemski Hotel by Dimitri Verhulst. Brilliant. I'm going to read his Dinsdagland - Schetsen van België next.

Problemski Hotel is available in English, should anyone be interested. I recommend it!

Finally another book read for the String Theory Challenge: Granta 128: American Wild

The first book I read in September was book #100 for me and to me surprise that's exactly the same situation as last year. Then it was Taipei now it was The Blazing World.

I also finished another book for the String Theory Challenge: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, which is a brilliant book. Very glad I read it.

I'm finally making good progress with my reading of Dutch/Flemish authors. I like this challenge; I have discovered a few gems already that I otherwise wouldn't have picked up.

Done with my 'I read Dutch' challenge. 30 books read, but there will be more Dutch/Flemish books in the coming weeks. I'm really glad I committed to this challenge. I hadn't been reading a lot of Dutch/Flemish literature in recent years and thought it simply wasn't for me, but the last few weeks I really discovered a few gems. Dutch/Flemish authors are now high on my radar and I will certainly keep reading them.

I found the book which will be number 10 in my String Theory Challenge: The Plague of Doves by Louise Erdrich. The only challenge which will be a little tricky to complete before year-end is the Around the World challenge, but I'll do my best.

Going into December, I'm having a look at the reading challenges I signed up for and what it will take to finish:

1) reading 130 books: easy. I'll try for 150 though. It will be a close call but if I squeeze in some short ones and a few audio books while I drive to work, it might happen. (Next year I won't set a goal in terms of quantity anymore)

2) Around the world: with still 5 to go, it's do-able. I just have to prioritize books that fit into this challenge above other books on my TBR list.

3) String theory: 1 to go and I know exactly which one that will be, so this will be easy.

4) Reading Dutch books: I've already exceeded my goal so that's done.

Another challenge finished. Just read book n°10 for the String Theory Challenge.

Third challenge finished. Eight months on Gazzah Street by Hilary Mantel was my 52nd book for the Around the World challenge.

The only reading goal that remains is to read 150 books. 9 books to go but I'll be on vacation as of tomorrow and it's raining small goats (I guess that's not an English expression but you know what I mean) so that should be no problem at all.

It's the holiday season so I'm reading like there's no tomorrow. 145 books read. I need to get to 150 this year and that will be the very last time I'll set a goal for my reading in terms of numbers. Ever.