50 Book Pledge discussion

hi there!!

i thought it would be nice if we each took a moment to introduce ourselves, and share our goals for our reading this year!

my name is jennifer, and i live in toronto. i am hoping to read 60 books this year, but i am still plotting my reading for 2014. i always have a few classics i hope to get to, in any given year, and i know there will be a dickens in my future. but...i have been pretty disorganized in making my plans this year.

:)

Hi, I'm Kimberly. My goal is to read somewhere between 100-150 books this year. I'm off to a slow start though. Haha. :)

Hi! I'm Laura Lee, and I'm an American living in Tokyo, Japan. My goal is to read 52 books this year. Another goal is to try to read at least one critically acclaimed new release each month, so when annual book awards are given out I can actually have an informed opinion about what should win!

Hello Laura! That's such a cool goal to try and do that. I hope you succeed. (:

Hi! What welcoming and warm introductions so far! My name is kevin, i live in a small BC community, and books are my enemy... i want to destroy most of them with my eyes and brainwaves.

I believe i pledged to read 25, but will likely get through 3 collections of contemporary poetry. As an English teacher, i WILL endure probably 1500 sour pages of first-year composition essays, so, yeah. Reading is a frustrating luxury.

If reading works vicariously, please give me your book experiences so that i can feel like i'm reading too!

Hi friends!
I'm Christina, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I managed 32 books last year, would like to hit 50 this tear, but 40 might be a more manageable goal! First book is Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt. Happy reading!

*year, not tear. Heh.

Christina wrote: "*year, not tear. Heh."

Nope, i think "tear" (as in "drop") is correct!

Ha

hi Jo-Anne from Sarnia, Ontario here. I would like to read 50 this year and since I now have a tablet should be easy

It's so nice to "meet" you all; thank you for saying hello. :)

I am hoping we can be a little more interactive this year, in sharing our reads for the 50 Book Pledge. Since I began using Goodreads, I tend to rely on it the most for my recommendations - it's much nicer being able to decide on a book because of someone's personal endorsement. And it's especially helpful when you find people who enjoy the same types of books.

@ Laura - That's a really cool idea!! How are you determining which books to choose as your critically reviewed new releases? New York Times reviews? The Guardian? I am totally curious!! :)

Hi, I'm Andria from Milton, Ontario. My goal is to read 50 books this year. I'm at 2 1/2 right now.

Hey - Jamie from Toronto and I'm hoping to read sixty books this year, but I'll be happy with fifty. I also re-read books fairly often, so I hope those count.

Hello, my name is Dominique l`m from Montreal. I want to read at least 45 but 5 more books won`t hurt me!

Hey everyone :). I'm Krissy from just outside Toronto. I read 52 last year, and my goal this year is 50. I'm getting married in July, so I'm hoping 50 won't be a stretch! Currently on book 4.

Jamie wrote: "...I also re-read books fairly often, so I hope those count."

they totally count!! (as far as i know!) :)

Hi all,

I'm An, from Belgium. My goal is 130 books for 2014 but I'm flexible :-)

I've also signed up for some challenges (like read 52 books set in 52 different countries) so that should be fun.

Nice to meet you all.

Hello Everyone,
I am Patti & am live in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.
I have pledged to read 200 books this year but I try not to think about the numbers and just enjoy the books.
I am trying to balance between reading books that I 'should' read, according to various best sellers lists / recommendations and just random books that take my fancy while I'm browsing the book shelves.
Recently I have started to use the 'other people enjoyed this book' feature on a lot of book reviews and used it to deliberately pick a book I would never of otherwise read.
As you can see - I ramble on almost as much as I like to read!
Patti

Jennifer wrote: "It's so nice to "meet" you all; thank you for saying hello. :)

I am hoping we can be a little more interactive this year, in sharing our reads for the 50 Book Pledge. Since I began using Goodread..."

Thank you! I think I will primarily rely on the New York Times, but I also read a lot of reviews from NPR Books and Slate.com and will probably take cues from them, too. I don't always love or even like everything that the critical community seems to adore, but I at least want to be able to participate in the conversation! :)

Hello,

I'm Emma and I am from Queensland Australia and I aim to read 100 books this year :)

Laura Lee wrote: "Thank you! I think I will primarily rely on the New York Times, but I also read a lot of reviews from NPR Books and Slate.com..."

i use all of those resources too, for book news and reviews (and The Millions http://www.themillions.com & Book Riot http://www.themillions.com). though i always tend to hold off on reading full reviews until after i have had a chance to read a book myself. i have this weird thing about not wanting to be swayed but what someone else has said, or thinks.

do you follow, or participate in, 'the tournament of books'? http://www.themorningnews.org/article...

i ask because each year they cull the previous year's 'best books' for their tournament's roster. it's a pretty cool event.

Hi,

I'm Cory and my goal is to read 50-60 books again this year. I'm actually the Marketing Director at HarperCollins Canada so thank you everyone for participating with us! Feel free to add me, too.

Hi,

My name is Erin, and I live in Toronto. I signed up for the 50 book pledge and am already behind thanks to Eleanor Catton's The Luminaries. Less than 100 pages left and then I start The Goldfinch! Might be poor strategy? :-)

Heh!! Maybe there should be an option for tracking page count? (Or a 50BP badge for reading chunksters?)

Reading an 800+ page book like 'The Luminaries' is a great reading achievement!! :)

Hiya all, I'm in London, ON and I set my goal for 50 books this year. It includes a few bricks/door stoppers and some mandatory business reads for work. These tend to slow the progress down some :)

Hi all. I am Shatlene from Toronto, Ontario. I am aiming for 50 books but since starting a new job last year my reading has slowed down ... Sighes ... Hopefully I can find my stride for managing both this year. :-)

Hello, and thanks to Harpercollins for the invitation. Between writing my own and reading fellow authors I hope to do as much as possible in both realms, writing and reading.

Glad to meet all of you.

M

Christina wrote: "Hi friends!
I'm Christina, from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. I managed 32 books last year, would like to hit 50 this tear, but 40 might be a more manageable goal! First book is Goldfinch, by Donn..."

I recently finished The Goldfinch. I would love to hear your thoughts on it when you are finished.

Hello! I'm Stephanie from Pennsylvania. my 2014 goal was 50 books, but I have been reading more so i might have to up it. I switched careers and now that i work in a supermax federal prison it's very hard to get some reading in at lunch time when your not allowed electronics in. :(

Hello :) My name is Amber and I am from the Florida Panhandle. I love it here though I plan in the next couple years to move up to Canada. I plan to read at least 60 books this year. This is 10 more than what I read last year. I don't have a set list of books to read. I plan to just read everything on a month to month basis :)

Glad to meet you all!

my blog www.paradiseofpages.com

Hi! I'm Tamye and I live in LaSalle, Ontario. I am a bookseller at Chapters Windsor and also organize my own children's literacy initiative that I call Link to Literacy Children's Book Drive. My goal is to read 50 books this year. Hopefully, I don't get too sidetracked by other things and reach my goal. I read primarily fiction, but I'm trying to branch out into other genres.

Looking forward to hearing what everyone else is reading. It helps me to make recommendations to my customers at Chapters and also adds to my ever increasing "To-Read" list. Cory Beatty can attest to that!

Hello! I'm Steven. I love to read, volunteer at my local library and blog about books at http://pacifictranquility.wordpress.com/

Hi!

I'm Trine, and I live in Denmark.
My goal is to read 80 books this year. I'm hoping I can do it on top of my studies in university at the same time, but only time will tell.

Hi everyone!

I'm Meaghan from Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada. I'm a university student currently doing my Masters in History.

For that last few years the majority of the books I've read have been school textbooks. So this year, even though I'm still reading A LOT for school, I'd like to read more for fun. I've set my goal for 50 books to be realistic but I'm hoping to surpass that.

Happy reading everyone!!

Good stuff - Thanks for replying, Jennifer! I would have still re-read whether it counted or not, but it's nice to know that they do. To me, some books are like songs - meant to be enjoyed over and over again.

Hello! I'm C.J. from Oakville, Ontario and I blog at ebookclassics. I'm trying to branch out from the classics in 2014 by reading more Canadian and contemporary literature.

Jamie wrote: "Good stuff - Thanks for replying, Jennifer! I would have still re-read whether it counted or not, but it's nice to know that they do. To me, some books are like songs - meant to be enjoyed over and..."

cool! i don't officially represent HCC, or the 50BP, but I really don't think (that i have discovered or heard about, anyway) there are rules in place about what you can or cannot count towards your 50BP reading. my first book of 2014 was a re-read from last year, and i certainly registered it on my shelf! :)

Hi all, I'm Rachael from Edmonton and I also work at Coles as a bookseller! I plan on reading about 150 (but i'm secretly trying for 200). Another goal I have is to shorten down the amount of books I have not read on my bookshelf because there are just way....way...way..too many to handle.

Hello! I'm Wendy from British Columbia, Canada. Goal is to read 50 or more books this year. I'd also like to branch out and read different genres and authors this year.

Hi Everyone,

I'm Cleo. My goal is to read a minimum of 52 books, one per week. I work full-time in medical aesthetics, but I just self- published my first romance novel and hope to have book two in the series completed by spring of this year. I would love to read more than one book per week if possible but I'm trying to be realistic. Thank you for letting me join the group.

Hi! I'm Julie from Mississauga, ON a suburb of Toronto. I gave myself a 50 book challenge this year as I read 42 books last year and thought I could do better this year. I typically have two books on the go at once. An audiobook which I listen to during my commute and a hard copy book to read in the evenings. I am looking forward to adding even more books to my 'want to read' section.

Jennifer wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Good stuff - Thanks for replying, Jennifer! I would have still re-read whether it counted or not, but it's nice to know that they do. To me, some books are like songs - meant to be en..."

Hi Jennifer & Jamie,

Re-reads definitely count! The #50BookPledge is meant to encourage reading, whether it be classics, re-reads, graphic novels, children's books, etc. What qualifies for your 50 Book Pledge is up to you!

Happy reading :)

Hello to all and some. I am new to the group in the incarnation of White Beard Books. WBB is a business entity and is the parent of Augusta-Heritage Press and Heart of Valentine Publishing. I am one of the founding partners and the COO since 1984. I am also in my normal incarnation a multi-published author with 28 novels and novellas to my credit. Part of what I do on GR is participate with other like minded folks about writing and publishing as well as reviewing, which I do regularly. I look forward to getting to know some of the members here and to sharing my opinions and reading yours about the titles that we can read this year. My 2014 goal is, as it started in 2013, 52 novels. Alas, last year I ran out of goal in May and increased it to 104 and finally actually read 106. I’ve already finished 8 titles in January and feel certain there may be a repeat of last year. But, I don’t mind!

Darcy wrote: "Hiya all, I'm in London, ON and I set my goal for 50 books this year. It includes a few bricks/door stoppers and some mandatory business reads for work. These tend to slow the progress down some :)"

Those mandatory reads still add to your total!

Are there any other writers who've taken the pledge to write every day in January? I took that pledge to write at least a full page, 350 or so words each day in January and so far am ahead of that schedule but only barely.

Whitebeard wrote: "Those mandatory reads still add to your total! "

Absolutely! It's just they're not as pleasurable to read ;)

Hello, I am Wanda and live in Manitoba. Our cold winter is allowing me to get in some extra reading and so I set my goal at 50 again this year. I did not quite make my goal last year and hope to keep up with my to-read list which is never ending. Happy reading to all!

Christina wrote: "Ha"

Halifax, eh? ever read any books from one of the country's best kept secretes, Invisible Publishing?

http://invisiblepublishing.com/

Hello, I'm Maggie and I live in British Columbia. I'm hoping to actually reach my goal of 50 books this year. Last year, I was off by 19 books so maybe this time I'll reach it!

Maggie wrote: "Hello, I'm Maggie and I live in British Columbia. I'm hoping to actually reach my goal of 50 books this year. Last year, I was off by 19 books so maybe this time I'll reach it!"

You can do it, Maggie! Let us know if you need any reading recommendations :)