2015 Reading Challenge [Closed] discussion

The 2016 Reading Challenge will continue the concept of this year's challenge, with 52 weekly topics. Users then choose a book fitting each topic in order to complete the challenge.

Tenth poll:
Voting ends October 6 at 8:00am EST

Rules:
- One vote per poll per user

Now that we are in the final stretch, it is really important to look at how the suggested themes would fit into the current list

Survey Link

*The survey will navigate to the home page after you submit but results have been recorded

A biography, autobiography, or memoir
A book with a beautiful cover
A book of poetry
A book about a major world event (fiction or non-fiction)
A book recommended by someone you look up to
A family saga
A book that takes place during a holiday
A book written by an author of your nationality
Reread a book that has a special meaning to you
A book where the protagonist has the same name as someone you know well
A book with a famous building/sculpture on the cover
A book set during world war II
A book from a genre that you don't usually read
A book that was made into a TV movie, series, or mini-series
A book where you share your name (first, middle, last, or maiden name) with the main character
Reread a book from a series you didn't want to end (like harry potter, true blood, hunger games, etc)
A book a friend has told you multiple times to read
A book published in 2016
A book longer than the longest book you read last year
A book with an element in the title (earth, air, fire, water)

Some interesting suggestions for this batch. I made a screen capture so I'll remember for what I voted for :p

I'm not really fan of the "name" topics as I'm not english and I've an uncommon first name in my language (and there's no way I'll find a book with my last name). It's interesting to select with this but it can be really difficult to find several books which can fit.

Zaz, where are you from?

I agree with you Zaz I'm not a fan of the name ones either. It's impossible for people with uncommon names. Also, unless your name just happens to be the main character's name it's pretty impossible to locate books with your name.

It's hard for me, too since my "Ana" only has one N. And no way am I reading 50 Shades of Grey.

Jennifer > France :)

Ana wrote: "It's hard for me, too since my "Ana" only has one N. And no way am I reading 50 Shades of Grey."


LOL

Zaz wrote: "I'm not really fan of the "name" topics as I'm not english and I've an uncommon first ..."

I agree. I also don't like the reread topics; what's the use of rereading a book, if the aim is to broaden your horizons and find new books?

Camilla wrote: "I also don't like the reread topics; what's the use of rereading a book ..."

I don't mind the name ones. They're not my first choice, but I do not mind them. Then again, I have a pretty common first and last name. I can see how it would be frustrating from people with less common names. I'm also not a fan of re-reads because, like you said Camilla, I'd prefer to expand my reading horizons. I like re-reads... just on my terms and when I'm in the mood.

I don't mind the reread ones in some cases like the favorite book from childhood. I don't reread very often and when I do there are years in between. The only book I plan to reread next year is To Kill a Mockingbird before I read Go Set the Watchmen.

Ana I do not want to read 50 Shades of Grey either. The other one I can think of is Disney's Cinderella and she is one of the ugly step sisters. There must be an interesting book somewhere though.

I don't really care for the reread either. I will reread a book if need be, but i'd prefer not to. The name one doesn't really bother me either, but I know there are a handful of people in this group where it wouldn't work or would be near impossible to find a book, so I tend not to vote for those.

The name ones would be hard for me. The initials one is bad enough!

I am ok with re-reads.

Ana wrote: "It's hard for me, too since my "Ana" only has one N. And no way am I reading 50 Shades of Grey."

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

I know it's not the exact spelling of you name but here is a list of books that are close.

Zaz wrote: "Jennifer > France :)"

I really want to visit France before I die. I took French in middle/high school, but don't remember much of it anymore, lol.

I'm sure that finding a variation of your name would be allowed, although I would understand that it may take away the "fun" of the challenge if you can't follow it exactly!

Nicole wrote: "I'm sure that finding a variation of your name would be allowed, although I would understand that it may take away the "fun" of the challenge if you can't follow it exactly!"

This is how I feel.

I was making up my tentative list. I left the most generic topics open so I had flexibility next year and so I could squeeze in some books new to 2016. We do have some name ones already (book title that begins with the first letter of your name, book with a first name in the title), so I'm hoping for something else anyway but we'll see where the polls take us! :)

We have some items next year that I'm super excited about, others that stump me completely (like a book I'm embarrassed to read - I'm really not ashamed to read anything), and some I'm dreading. Yeah, I'm looking at you Top 100 Mystery. I did say I wanted to read outside of my comfort zone though, haha.

I also noticed, as I was filling it out, we have a lot of short books.

A Classic Book With Less Than 200 Pages
A Novella From Your Favorite Genre
A "Between the Numbers" Book of a Series
A Short Story from a Well-Known Author

The short books were intentional. People wanted to make sure there were enough short books so people could use them as catch up topics in case they fell behind in the challenge.

Personally, I think they were unnecessary as there is no length requirement for any other topic, so people are free to determine the length of their books on their own, but that's the way the polls went.

It was mostly just an observation but, yes, Peter, I guess that was kind of my point too. If you are behind (as I am now -- oops!) you can always adjust your reads and find shorter ones. The challenge is a collaborative effort, so I'm fine with how the polls shake out and look forward to challenging myself accordingly.

Agreed, it's the way the polls went.

My point about them being unnecessary was more that they don't counter-balance any "long book" topics. I just don't really see the point in specifying reading multiple short books when there is nothing in the challenge indicating that we would be required to read a long book.

Fully agree. A "Between the Numbers" Book of a Series one will be a challenge for me just because I really dislike the idea of these books and, on principle alone, I never read them. But a challenge is a challenge, right?

I'm with you on that topic. It's an odd one and most of the series I'm reading don't have a "book 2.5". However, I'm not a fast enough reader to make it to 52 books a year, so I choose the topics that interest and leave the ones I don't like for the books I don't get to.

That said, if you've read The Name of the Wind / Thw Wise Man's Fear (which if you haven't, you totally should), A Slow Regard For Silent Things is a really great book that fills in some backstory and has a lot of foreshadowing for third book. I would highly recommend

I want to re-read 2 of my favorite series (which are 7 books long) and maybe 1-2 of my favorite standalones from this year, so a re-read topic is ok for me. The WWII topic is making me really worried, I'll definitely read something short (like a graphic novel) if it won.

Jennifer > France is worth it if you travel in several parts of the country as we have really different landscapes and cities (I don't see the point of going only to Paris. London is more beautiful, interesting and friendly as a big city).

I haven't read The Name of the Wind yet, but it is definitely something I'm hoping to get around to sooner rather than later. The thing is, I don't think I would mind them so much if they hadn't become such a thing. If you're an author writing a trilogy (which basically means asking a reader to invest in your story enough to purchase three books) and you still need to sprinkle in 4-5 short novellas on top of it, well, I am losing faith in you as an author. I guess, to me, it gives the impression of trying to squeeze every last penny out of a series that you can get. Or, I don't know, you're a terrible story teller and you need these side stories to further develop your characters? I just can't wrap my head around why any author would need that much filler.

Take the Dorothy Must Die series, for example... 9 works, 3 primary works. What?! That's insanity. If you have THAT much extra material, then write another full-length book. Make it a quartet instead of a trilogy.

0.5 books are often used to tell something which doesn't fit in the other books, like past stories of the main characters or events related to a side character. Sometimes when I finish a series, I'm frustrated because I want to know more about some details and, for this, 0.5 novella are great. Some authors do it really in the right way, others are just making money (like retelling a known story but from another main character's point of view).

Yes, I can see how they could be useful. I guess I just think they're just becoming too common and less quality. I'll have to find the perfect one to read for this challenge week. ;)

Emm, I completely agree with you. I'm not a fan of them just for the sake of adding in more to the story between main works.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is outside of this category because although it takes place in the same world and follows a minor character from the series, it is not directly related and it is written in a completely different way. I found it fascinating, but some people really don't like the style. The author himself also considers it separate from the series, so it's not technically a 0.5 book.

I also understand the reason for 0.5 book in some cases. One of my other favourite authors, Scott Lynch, got a few books into "The Gentleman Bastards" series and wrote a 0.5 book because of demand for more about some of the events referenced in the main series that take place prior. It wasn't originally planned for the series, but he wrote it because people wanted it. I understand that. But just writing filler 0.5 books to put in between the main books is annoying.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is actually what I have on my list for the in-between series category. I read The Name of the Wind last month and absolutely loved it.

Michelle wrote: "The Slow Regard of Silent Things is actually what I have on my list for the in-between series category. I read The Name of the Wind last month and absolutely loved it."

I think I'm sold on it. That might be my choice. Although I haven't read The Name of the Wind, it's my pick for the highest rated book on my To-Read list. I may just have to read it, The Wise Man's Fear, and The Slow Regard of Silent Things in 2016. I have not heard anyone not enjoying Patrick Rothfuss and the reviews seem to confirm it.

I might be biased, but his writing is amazing. His writing is just superbly constructed and flows so well, and his story is so engaging that you get lost in the story.

Make sure when you read Slow Regard that you go into it with an open mind without any expectations you might have picked up from the other books. It is very differently written. It's a story and a great one, but it doesn't follow the same patterns most story arcs do. Even Rothfuss himself warns readers at the beginning that it's not a normal story.

I really hope you both enjoy his books!

**spoiler alert** You don't really need to worry about the "name" theme being in the final list ;)

(I just don't want people worrying and putting time into finding books)

Laura, you're the best!

That's good news!

I like re-reads to an extent...mainly my favorites like fifty shades, harry potter, true blood, and a couple of the classics, but typically once I read a book I don't touch it again unless its one of my top reads of all time!

I agree with most of you about the #.5 novellas, I don't read them. However, sometimes they are handy when they tie into another series by the same author. I've noticed them a lot with MaryJanice Davidson just because she has the "Undead" series which then also evolves into the "Whyndom Werewolf" series because the characters are seen in both books. So for the most part, I don't read them; but they are nice as a short pick-me-up if you're missing the series and don't want to invest time in a whole book.

Yeah, name ones are hard for me as well. I was so excited when Ella Enchanted and the song Umbrella was released. LOL.
I rarely reread now because my TBR is crazy long. I was using this challenge to go through some of my TBR, but I think it's only making it longer. *sigh*