The Sword and Laser discussion

We do it every year, so 2016 should be no different. We already have the Thread for Reading Accomplishments in 2015.

What are your reading goals (S&L-wise or otherwise) for 2016? My only real goal in 2016 is to read more than I did in 2015. Work kicked my butt this year and de-motivated me for awhile. 2016 may not be any better...work-wise, it will only be harder/longer (the trouble with a 2-year design/build cycle for what I work on...).

I usually make a goal of reading every S&L pick, but I'm not sure that will be my goal this year. I am going to try to read more SFF from women authors, though. The January pick will be a good start for that. :)

How 'bout the others here?

My goals are the same every year when it comes to reading. Enjoy my books and try to find a few gems along the way. I tend to read about 50-50 fiction -nonfiction and I think it will be about that this year. I expect to read about 50 books next year as compared to 75 this year. I am going to conquer both The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: A History of Nazi Germany and The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York and read 48 other works, not an easy year. As Science Fiction, I will read as much as possible and will join various reads as they catch my attention.

My goal is to read one book per week. But I think I will amend that to include only the books I already own and the monthly picks for my book groups. I need to stop buying more for a while.

Ariel wrote: "My goal is to read one book per week. But I think I will amend that to include only the books I already own and the monthly picks for my book groups. I need to stop buying more for a while."

Good luck with that.

I only read 20 books this year, mainly because I got a kid, so I will first of all try to read more. My second goal is to cut down my "to read" backlog and finishing off a few lingering half-read series (such as finally getting around to reading the oft-criticized Absolution Gap after a two-year hiatus from Revelation Space; hope I don't have to re-read the other books to get my bearings).

My goal in 2016 is going to be my former 2015 goal (at which I failed kind of spectacularly): Read at least one or two really big series (Ice and Fire or Malazan), even if it means fewer books overall this year.

I'm still working on reflecting on how I did on 2015's goals but I do know one of mine - in my epic attempt to read a book set in or from every country, I want 2016 to be the year I finish all the countries of Africa. There are a few SFF titles that can count - Who Fears Death for Nigeria or Sudan, Kirinyaga for Kenya, The Girl in the Road for Ethiopia (and a bit of Djibouti.)

I'm not sure what my 2016 goals should be. One of the side effects of my ongoing medical condition getting somewhat more difficult is that I read some 230 books this year. I'm arguably reading too much, which I never thought that I would say.

Ugh, Joanna, I totally sympathize. The years I had spine fusions were my best for reading. Lots of time in hospitals, doctor's offices, and driving to and from those places...

I am going to finish all those series I have only read the first book in. Some are S&L picks, some should have been picks but have been overlooked or not gotten around to yet. Jasper Fforde, John Scalzi and Anne McCaffrey to mention a few. Plus I am hoping 2016 with see the next installment in all those unfinished series I have been waiting for.

I'm hoping to read Discworld next year, and some Robin Hobb books.

Ariel wrote: "My goal is to read one book per week. But I think I will amend that to include only the books I already own and the monthly picks for my book groups. I need to stop buying more for a while."

"To dream.... the impossible dreeeeaaammm..."

Same here. My to-read pile is out of control.

Joanna wrote: "I'm not sure what my 2016 goals should be. One of the side effects of my ongoing medical condition getting somewhat more difficult is that I read some 230 books this year. I'm arguably reading too ..."

Too much of a good thing stemming from too much of a bad thing. I feel your pain. I hope you get better yet still find time to read.

Other 2016 goals: Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor. Some of the Tor novellas. And some K.V. Johansen.

I am going to take yet another run at my annual Alphabet Challenge. Two books whose titles start with each letter of the alphabet. 26 letters times two equals 52. A book a week. Sounds easy enough, but I never quite get there. This year I got sidetracked by a whole mess of books that start with C plus the videogame XCOM: Enemy Unknown and the expansion Enemy Within, so I only read 32 books.

They have to be "real" books; graphic novels and art/photo books don't count.

The good news is I already have both books that start with X (XCOM 2: Resurrection and something like "X the Unknown" but it is currently 900 miles away) and Z (Zero Sum Game and Zoom: How Everything Moves: From Atoms and Galaxies to Blizzards and Bees).

My Amazon wish list was raided by my family for Xmas, so I also have a stack of new books to add to my 10-foot pile. Most excited about Word Puppets by Mary Robinette Kowal because I've thoroughly enjoyed every one of her short stories I've read so far.

I *Might* Read Shannara Books Next Year

I am trying to read more scifi because I almost always find it satisfying and to stay away from literary scifi which almost always is not.

I will try to read some of my more recent purchases and although I will allow myself to buy books I will restrict myself to reading books on my shelves from before 01.01.2016

My general goal is once again 75 books. I've crushed that the last few years (even this year), but I suspect I may be closer to 75 than 100 this year, unless this funk goes away. The year is long, so it probably will, but hard to say for sure. 3 years of mostly non-stop SFF reading might finally be catching up on me.

I also have some additional goals.

1) Read more books I already own. Most of them are ebooks though, and I don't read that fast. So it's hard to put a number on it. I guess I'll say 24 (or about 2/month). Largely I suspect this will be more Discworld and Saxon Stories, as I own a bunch of both of those series.

2) Read at least 12 books from my next in series shelf. Many of these books haven't been published yet, some definitely will be in 2016, some might be, but others won't. However there are a decent number that are. I'd like to finish up some series if possible. I don't have time right now to make a list, but I'll try to remember to do so later. I like lists.

3) Read more non-SFF. This year I read 107 books (counting the last 2 audiobooks I'll get in this week). Of those, here are the genre breakdowns:

Total MYSTERY Count: 4
Total HORROR Count: 1
Total FANTASY Count: 58
Total NONFICTION Count: 4
Total HISTORICAL Count: 3
Total STEAMPUNK Count: 2
Total SCIFI Count: 35

That means over 90% of what I read was SFF, and over 50% was fantasy.

I'd like to find some general fiction that I'll enjoy. In particular mystery/thrillers that don't revolve around murder/murder investigations. Stuff like heist/con stories, ancient mysteries, maybe some spy stuff. Everything non-SFF seems to involve murder or romance.

Maybe some historical fiction that's not set in medieval Europe. I always loved ancient Egypt. I did a book set in Rome this year, that was alright, but a bit too dry at times for me. I want fun and light stories. Maybe that's mutually exclusive with Historical Fiction?

I want to continue to read more Nonfiction too. I have some reading I'll do/continue for work, but I've enjoyed several history of Computer and Video game type books this year. I'd like to find/read a few more of those. Maybe some more on Computer Crime too, though I think I've already read all the best ones on that subject. There are probably some other subjects that would peak my interest, but I'm not sure what off the top of my head.

I may look for a group or two on good reads to help me find some stuff (but I welcome suggestions).


4) Only buy books I plan to read right away, or relatively soon. I'm making an exception for Discoworld and Saxon story books if they go on sale. I own most of both series, but I'm missing some, and plan to read them all eventually. I'd prefer to pay less money. My owned and unread pile keeps getting larger, a great deal means nothing if I never read the book I'm "saving" money on.

...And then I bought six more from the holiday deals. /sigh (Impossible dream is right.)

Joanna wrote: "I'm not sure what my 2016 goals should be. One of the side effects of my ongoing medical condition getting somewhat more difficult is that I read some 230 books this year. I'm arguably reading too ..."

terpkristin wrote: "Ugh, Joanna, I totally sympathize. The years I had spine fusions were my best for reading. Lots of time in hospitals, doctor's offices, and driving to and from those places..."

Interesting because when I was off for my foot surgery for 5 weeks, I barely read anything.

My goal is to continue reading Robin Hobb's books. I'm up to the second book in the Rainwilds quartet. I think I'll shoot for 30 books again.

My main goal is to read books I already own and not buy anything unless it's in a series I've already started. That will be the hardest goal.

For the last couple years I had set my goal at reading 66 books (After one of my idols Mario Lemeiux's number) But Ive been blowing that away especially this year near 130 so next year I will set the goal for 100 and hope I have another good year.

Other that that I always just read things that interest me for the most part. I have given up on trying to read the Sword and Laser picks as Ive been very disappointed there.

I just want to finish some series I have Started.
Start some stuff Ive been curious about.
And stop reading GARBAGE like Veronica Roth, just because Im curious what all the fuss is about, and find that Im just more disappointed in peoples taste. Seriously every damn time I read a "Gen Pop" book that is all the rage and a "Must Read" I am miserable ...Girl on a Train...should have been called "Wish for a Train Wreck"

And I NEED! to work on my TBR pile which is literally over 200 books tall now and growing and I got 2 Barnes and noble gift cards for Christmas...My books and Board games now have there own Bedroom...sigh

Need to read 11/22/63 Before the King/ J.J. Abrams TV series stars.
Read the first Shannara trilogy before I watch the MTV show.
And for god sakes finally start reading the Gunslinger Dark Tower series

2015 was a great year for me and 2016 might be even better, I have already started to look at the lists given by the members above so I can catch up on the good books I missed.

140 books so far read in 2015 with a rating average of 3.2

Top picks:
1. Paradox series by Rachel Bach
2. Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty
3. Red Rising trilogy (the first 2 are published) by Pierce Brown
4. One of Us: Anders Breivik and the Massacre in Norway by Ã…sne Seierstad
5. Mistborn series (5 books published so far) by Brandon Sanderson
6. The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
7. The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman
8. The Paris Wife by Paula McLain
9. The Neapolitan Novels (3 or 4 novels) by Elena Ferrante
10. The Kingkiller Chronicle (2 published) by Patrick Rothfuss
11. Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie
12. The Winner's Trilogy by Marie Rutkoski
13. Tell the Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt
14. Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand

Lots of fantasy/science fiction, a few historical and fiction, two non-fiction

It's hard to say. I just started grad school this fall, so no telling how that will impact my reading. I'll certainly be reading a lot more non-fiction, but I'd like to read at least 2 "fun" books a month. I think I'll set my overall goal at 50 and see how it goes.

Paul wrote: "For the last couple years I had set my goal at reading 66 books (After one of my idols Mario Lemeiux's number)"

*thumbs up*

Well I upped my goal to 65 this year (which is really good for me) and I think I'll be 2 books shy but only because I got bit by a Star Wars gaming bug and all my free time is spent gaming. That being said I didn't feel rushed at all (until these last two weeks) but I have a feeling I won't have time to read as much this year as a few other personal goals will be taking precedent.
Goals: Read more fantasy! Good stuff, adult stuff like Robin Hobb, Brandon Sanderson, and Joe Abercrombie; large series I've been hearing about ie Chronicles of the Black Company and Ancillary Justice; and then perhaps more historical fiction since I seem to have abandoned my first reading love.
I'm thinking about 38 books, something small to not feel overwhelmed. I can always increase the goal or just leave the number and crush it!

I don't do numeric goals since I read in spurts and tend to read things that grab my attention in some way. In the past I've read the entire Dresden Files series in 3 weeks and just finished a reading of all the Neal Asher Polity and Cormac books. But I also go through fallow periods. Plus, I just don't think that way (X books/year is good, etc).

My main goals are thus less concrete. More non-fiction and more non-SFF but not at the sacrificed of SFF that I enjoy. Read S&L things that seem interesting to me. I also really want to try out the Malazan series - people who like it RAVE about it and, while there are some who really don't like it, I need to try it myself. GotM was checked out of the library so I grabbed Deadhouse Gates to see if the style is at all for me.

My goal for 2016 is to read 100 books, 50 of which I already own. I'm also planning a Dune cycle re-read, just Frank, none of the Abomination-level drek by his kid, and a re-read of the Revelation Space trilogy

And not a goal per se, but my last book of 2015 (which will also be my first book of 2016) is my first big physical book in maybe two years? (The only other non-eBook I find in my history for 2015 was a short, illustrated Neil Gaiman work.)

I'm finding that I really like my Kindle, especially when compared to a floppy 800 page trade paperback.

My goal is to finally read through some of those physical (non-Kindle) books I own! I peruse thrift shops quite a bit and am always picking up books for $1 or $2. I need to work through them at a faster rate.

Here's a goal I'm considering. Like many of you I have a big stack of books waiting to be read.

I think I may go to a "fixed bookshelf space" model. For every new purchase, I think I may give away (sell, trade, or somehow get rid of) a book that has been waiting on the shelf for more than two years. After all, if I haven't looked at it in two years, the chances of me actually reading it are probably pretty small.

I've talked to the local library about donating old books. They said they seldom ever add any donated books to the general collection. Most are sold in fund raisers, or put on the "take one, leave one" rack. So, that's where most of them will likely end up.

I will avoid these:
1. SFF classics/well known works I only have an inkling of interest in. I have too many disappointing reads in 2015 because of this.
2. YA fantasy. Except if it's written by Jonathan Stroud.

I will continue my favorite series:
1. Old Man's War
2. Bas-Lag
3. All remaining books from lots of series I've waited as soon as I get them.

I will read more short stories/novellas especially sci-fi ones.

I've thought more about 2015 and I've achieved all sorts of goals. I'm reading more writers of color. I'm reading more short fiction, especially by new writers. I've reread an old favorite series I've been meaning to reread in order.

I think this year I want to try to finish series I've started. My previous book list method broke up series so I wouldn't read through them so fast and then be sitting on my hands waiting for the latest installment. But my book list is so long now (25 pages of 12pt font!) that I'm starting to forget fine detail when I get back to it. I might read a standalone book in between each, but not like 20.

I think I won't set a number goal. I'll set like, 50 just to make the goal thingy count up, but I'll let that fall where it will.

Yesterday I saw that I had 249, so I deliberately up-prioritized a short story I had previously bought Chupacabra's Song because I knew I could read it up fast and bring me to a nice, even 250. Although the way I mark dropped books, I believe those are counted.

I'd like to read 35 books.
I'd like to enjoy what I read and not feel guilty about what I don't read or don't finish.
I'd like to pick up a couple of series again (Discworld and The Dresden Files)

Joanna wrote: Although the way I mark dropped books, I believe those are counted."

It would depend if you set a read date or not. If it doesn't have a read date matching the year it won't be counted.

My goal is 120. I finally finished my Masters so I am looking to pick up non-Masters/Work related nonfiction. I am also going on a trip to Japan in the Summer and am looking at reading 12ish nonfiction and fiction books about Japan. Finally, I am going to continue my quest to read every book that has won a Goodreads Choice award and have some series to read through to get to the winning books. So 120 of the 185 possible according to my "currently reading" list.

Adam wrote: "My goal is 120. I finally finished my Masters so I am looking to pick up non-Masters/Work related nonfiction. I am also going on a trip to Japan in the Summer and am looking at reading 12ish nonfic..."

Two books about Japan that I recommend are American Fuji by Sara Backer and Learning to Bow by Bruce Feiler.

For the last couple of years, I've had goals of 50+. This year I'm cutting it back to 30. Mainly due to balancing my time w/ other things in life & also dropping my Audible subscription. For some time it felt I was just hearing what was playing versus listening. So I want to give books my undivided attention. Plus lots of books in previous years were graphic novels (not saying those will show up) but I want to stick to typical books. We'll see if I underestimated.

Adam wrote: "My goal is 120. I finally finished my Masters so I am looking to pick up non-Masters/Work related nonfiction. I am also going on a trip to Japan in the Summer and am looking at reading 12ish nonfic..."

Congrats on the Masters. What is the Masters specialty?

My goals are slight tweaks on last years, though once the baby comes in April, who knows what will happen

- read more non-fiction
- finish completed series I've started (I'm 75% done with Malazan, a goal from last year)
- read more of the classic SFF series i've never read
- finally read Gravity's Rainbow (failed goal for the last 20 years)
- read less new releases (opposite my goal from last year, to read more new releases), unless -
a) they finish a series
b) I'm already invested in the series
c) it's from one of my favorite 5 or so authors
d) it's a stand alone work
It's not so much that I mind the wait in between books, its that by the time the next book comes out I've totally forgotten what the last book was about, and I hate re-reads.

I increased my numeric goal from 70 to 75, but i don't pay that much mind.

George wrote: "... I've talked to the local library about donating old books. They said they seldom ever add any donated books to the general collection. Most are sold in fund raisers, or put on the "take one, leave one" rack. So, that's where most of them will likely end up."

If you have a decent used book store in your area, you can turn a pile of books into a smaller pile of books. Great way to shrink the collection and support local business (not that library donations are in any way bad). Some of them give you a better deal in trade than in cash.

Aaron - good idea. There's a used bookstore not far from here. I'll have to see what they have to trade.

Aaron wrote: "George wrote: "... I've talked to the local library about donating old books. They said they seldom ever add any donated books to the general collection. Most are sold in fund raisers, or put on th..."

I wish I still had a used book store in my area. She retired and there is not one very close in my area.

I've set my goal at 36 books for this year. Three a month seems to work out about right for me. I'll probably end up passing that number thanks to a few shorter-length reads. I kind of wish there was a way to mark an item as read, but only count as a half or a third of a 'book' towards the Goodreads goal!

Apart from the numbers, I'm going to try to focus on books that I've already bought or prioritised on my list, instead of adding too many new ones. There are, of course, authors who will automatically bypass that resolution, and lets not forget the Sword & Laser picks! I'll want to read along on a few of those for sure.

2015 was the year that I really embraced audiobooks as a way of getting through more 'reads'. The audible app is becoming almost as indispensable as my Kindle, which is really saying something.

Good luck with your goals, everyone!

I've met my numerical targets the last few years but the one thing I've never gotten round to is finishing the Malazan Book of the Fallen... only read the first two which I enjoyed.

I've set mine to 45. I made it to 41 in 2015, I figure I can probably squeeze in four more books.

The main goal related to this crowd is:
2. Read some of my shelf of anthologies (perhaps develop strategies for this)

For my other goals, see here.

I'm hoping to read 30. Most of my time last year went into listening to podcasts and very little audiobooks and reading. This year I will listening to/read more books.

I read 81 last year so I am setting my 2016 goal at 70. Like a lot of people I'm trying to reduce my physical pile of unread books. Last year I only managed 19, so this year I am determined to break 25. I will be trying to stay out of the library and $1 bookstores :)

Still lot's of classics and ongoing series to catch up on so I will be continuing that task.

@rob For historical Ancient Egypt I have been recommended River God by Wilbur Smith.

Cool, thanks Andrew.

Reading goal this year is 75 books, 25,000 pages and to get my TBR list under 100. Life is busy so a little less this year than in 2015 when I read about 130 and knocked off 34,000 pages.