The Reading Challenge Group discussion

When you enter a challenge on Goodreads and select a number of books to shoot for, you get your very own widget telling you how many books you've read and what percentage of your goal you have achieved so far. Depending on whether or not you're reading at a pace that will get you to your goal by the end of the year, this widget can reward you with positive feedback (Congratulations! You're # books ahead!) or pile on the guilt (Oh no! You're # books behind!).

So... what does YOUR widget say? Are you ahead? Behind? Right on track? This is the place where you can rejoice over being ahead of schedule, cry over being behind schedule, or kick the widget for its very existence reminding you that you need to sit on your butt and read something.

My widget has been all over the place this year, but right now it's telling me that I'm 1 book ahead. Yay! Much better than last year's widget, which kept adding more and more to the "# books behind" count until I was ready to throw it out the metaphorical window. I think it must have had a glitch... yeah, that's what it was... *nods*

My widget has been kind to me so far this year, although I'm sure that will change as the year progresses. I'm doing 2 different goals at the moment and increased one of them because I had already met it (I guess I wasn't giving myself enough credit when I started)! Currently, my yearly widget says:

You have read 15 books toward your goal of 65 books.
15 of 65 (23%)
Great work, you're 6 books (8%) ahead of schedule.

Mine says you're right on track!

Kassandra wrote: "My widget has been kind to me so far this year, although I'm sure that will change as the year progresses. I'm doing 2 different goals at the moment and increased one of them because I had already ..."

6 ahead! Nice!

mine says 6 ahead. 13 of 50 books 26%

Mine says that I am +2 at the moment.

Wow, you guys are all doing great so far!

5 ahead of schedule. I know I'll then let it get down to on track or 1 ahead, then I'll manically start reading.

Judging the rest of my year, I want to be rather ahead by April, as I know I won't get a lot of reading done during exam period...

Holly wrote: "5 ahead of schedule. I know I'll then let it get down to on track or 1 ahead, then I'll manically start reading.

Judging the rest of my year, I want to be rather ahead by April, as I know I won't ..."

I'm currently 2 books ahead, (5/25), and trying to shoot for more for the same reason as Holly!

I have read 31/150. 21% and 9 books ahead. Not bad! Because I know I am going to have slow months!

It says I'm one book ahead of schedule, but there are two novels I'm not counting because there were ebooks and my challenge is about physical books. So I'm in fact a book behind!

My horror has come true. I am 3 books behind:( So I am trying to cheat by abandoning my monthly list and picking off the easy reads. I hope I won't pay too much for this. I plan to tackle a couple of biggies after i get back on track.

Shreya, we read what we want to read, don't put yourself down for it. I did the same for this month too!

Don't worry about being behind. I anticipate not being so far ahead in a month or so. There are several biggies that I have on my tbr list one of which I am waiting on from the library. The larger ones are the reason I haven't uped my goal yet. I want to get through a few larger books before I do that.

The last time I looked it said 2 books behind. I would guess it is 2-4 behind now. I need to quit talking on here and facebook so much!

Sara wrote: "The last time I looked it said 2 books behind. I would guess it is 2-4 behind now. I need to quit talking on here and facebook so much!"

I always say the same thing if I wasnt on here I would be reading!

I'm 8 ahead right now.

Roseanne wrote: "Don't worry about being behind. I anticipate not being so far ahead in a month or so. There are several biggies that I have on my tbr list one of which I am waiting on from the library. The larger ..."
Me too. I will much confident about finishing my list if the 'Biggies ' are done with. Most of them are not just one book but an entire series that I am counting as one. Hence the anxiety :)

I'm around 30 ahead at the moment. But I've also got a few chunks to read this month and next. I've just started game of thrones, and each book is over 800 pages and I've planned to read war and peace and a few others! So I will probably level out again. The widget makes me read more because I want to see it fill up.

war and peace is the one book I never get to. I am just so intimidated by it. I have decided this is the year I am going to read it!

Good luck Iasa! Keep us updated on how you get on!

Iasa wrote: "I'm planning to reading War and Peace in March, just a few chapters a day"

I just came home after renting books....looked at that book today. The size scared me, so didn't bring it back:P Anyway, hope you like the book!

Rose wrote: "The widget makes me read more because I want to see it fill up."

It's amazing how it does that, isn't it?

I am one book behind!!! But, maybe I should double check that because I am thinking that maybe I haven't added some of the more recent books I have read on my kindle? hmm, I will have to look into that. Otherwise, I really need to pick up the pace. This has definitely been a difficult month for me to find time to read. Summer is really going to have to be my saving grace on this! Part of it too, I had started a few books this month that I could not seem to get into and decided to just try another time, so I feel like I wasted precious reading time on 3 or 4 different books this month.

Mine says I am 1 behind...I am okay with this as the last month I have been plagued with migraines. I am hoping to pick up again once I've got rid of the most recent one.

I'm 6 books behind! I just have no time at all. :( I will catch up, I will catch up..

Amy wrote: "I'm 6 books behind! I just have no time at all. :( I will catch up, I will catch up.."

Yes you will!

Mine says I'm 6 ahead of schedule. Part of me is a tad wondering if that #'s going to bother anyone, because I know 1 was a novella and 1 was a short story. On the other hand, I'm re-reading Dune right now, which is almost 900 pages I think...

Haha. My widget says I'm 52% ahead of schedule and I should consider increasing my goal. But, Widgee doesn't know I was snow/cold bound in January, during which time I read 23 books, several of which were just finishers left over from 2013. My February number, of 4, was more in keeping with my expectations.

Oh! I loved Dune!

I've been meaning to read Dune. The length is just so daunting!

Yes, it was a long one... Read in paperback, with its teeny, tiny print, back when my eyesight could handle the minuscule. But, it was thoroughly memorable and endlessly fascinating.

I'll hopefully get round to it one day.

I don't usually pay much attention to the #s, except when I post them here. I do look at page counts just to have an idea what I'm getting into, or if I'm looking at a book I think I "should" read.

I had a sudden overwhelming impulse to re-read Dune, even though I've never felt any fangirl tendencies for it. I found myself trying to play Mentat in Scrabble, and inspecting some of Herbert's son's books because they might tell me more about the Bene Gesserit. It dawned on me that this book I read once 30+ years ago seemed to have sunk in a lot more than more recent reads that I couldn't say what they were about or how they ended. Maybe that could be a whole new way of rating books: by how much sticks after a few years. Anyway, it's going pretty quickly for me, and there's more to it than I caught the first time. (I didn't realize some "flaws" were intentional.)

Sorry for the long post not really about widgets... I got carried away :)

My widget's changed - I'm 1 book ahead of schedule:):)

So I went through and compared the books on my widget to the shelf I created for this year, so glad I made that shelf now, and all the books I have read this year were not on the widget. The widget was missing 11 of the books I've read. So I had to go and edit the date read on those books, the date wasn't there at all. Now the widget says I am 25% complete ad 9 books ahead of schedule! Such a relief!

Tara wrote: "So I went through and compared the books on my widget to the shelf I created for this year, so glad I made that shelf now, and all the books I have read this year were not on the widget. The widget..."

I sometimes have the same problem. I check my books all the time on the widget to make sure it is right

Roseanne wrote: "Tara wrote: "So I went through and compared the books on my widget to the shelf I created for this year, so glad I made that shelf now, and all the books I have read this year were not on the widge..."

Now I will know to do the same! I can't figure out why one book makes it and another doesn't. The only thing I can think of is that maybe it's the ones I add the same day I finish them.

sometimes it doesnt save my read date and I know that if there is no read date it doesnt count. I check that first

To get around the absence of a 'read' date, make sure you always click 'currently reading' and then onto 'read', rather than just adding it straight to your read shelf.

Holly wrote: "I've been meaning to read Dune. The length is just so daunting!"

Wait, Dune was abnormally long? I honestly didn't even notice, it was so engrossing! As soon as I finished the first book I was craving the second. I've had to limit myself to only reading that series in the summer, or I would have flown through it ages ago!

2 books ahead of schedule =]

Offtopic: Every time I scroll by this topic, I sing it to myself like the song, "What does the fox say?" I am suitably ashamed.

Lol. Ah, poop. Now it's in my head, too.

I am 13 books ahead! My goal was 100 books and I'm at 35 finished now. Last year my goal was 100 also, and I finished ... i think it was 126 books. But to be fair, I'm always reading at least 3 books, currently 4: 1 audio in the house (I listen while I do things around the house), another audio in the car to listen while I drive, one Kindle book - a library book that has to be returned in 2 weeks - and a "real" book that was lent to me by a friend.

Iasa wrote: "I'm planning to reading War and Peace in March, just a few chapters a day"

If there was an audio version of War and Peace I probably would give it a shot. Maybe I should check Librivox, I've been waiting for them to finish recording Anna Karenina, I've seen 3 versions of the movie and it's high time I actually read the book.

Theresa, there's a good selection of audiobooks on YouTube if you don't mind downloading.

My widget says I'm 2 books behind. Boo. I'm aiming for 52 as I'm working full time and doing lots outside of work. I'll have much more time after June, though. :)

I thought I saw a cd of War and Peace at the library last time i was there. I am going to have to check next time I go.

My widget says I am 7 books ahead of schedule. Yea me!

I'm at 28% at the moment, 11 Books ahead of schedule. I wouldn't count 9 of them though as I think they were far too short to matter, so I'm going to make sure I read at least 9 more than my goal.
My goal is 214 (fitting for 2014) and I've read 59 (50). My only excuse is that my job is weird hours and I have thousands of books and no tv...

I am ten ahead.