Pick-a-Shelf discussion

New challenges are being posted especially with new season coming up but there will be a flurry of new challenges being announced in the next month for 2019!

Lusie mentioned in one of the other threads that she's going to try to limit the number of challenges she's participating in. Marina & I have confessed to have tried the same only to fail spectacularly (well, I did, anyway). This, however, prompted me to seriously consider what is something achievable for me.

My resolution was 2018 was to prioritise PAS challenges especially since I created most of them! I don't think I failed but I won't say it was a big success either. I haven't been able to say 'no' to other challenges and as most of PAS challenges are annual, I'm rather lax with the reading until now... (1 month to go, 10 books to read to complete MM18 & WoB).

So, 2019! I WILL NOT read a book that was not already on my TBR and/or am not particularly interested in just to complete a reading challenge task. This will mean that I will probably Not finish certain seasonal challenges but will hopefully help me focus on my TBR and have more joy in reading. Not that I don't have joy in my reading life but there were times that I struggled (not in a good way) and it shouldn't be like that at all. In any case, my TBR is so extensively wide that most times, I probably will have a book to suit a task so this resolution shouldn't be too hard to keep. **fingers cross**

On to you, what's on your mind for 2019?

Great topic, Tien, thanks for opening it!

I make reading resolutions each and every year, only to fail spectacularly as you so rightly say. Usually, it's: a) sign up to fewer challenges, b) read only books that I already own. Both are my resolutions every year. I've always failed so far, lol!

So I don't really know about New Year's resolutions for 2019... I definitely want to buy as few books as possible, so I will try hard to only limit my book buying sprees to free downloads or .99 € ebooks. It's sort of worked this year, I haven't bought that many full-priced books.

As for challenges, I intend to just read for pleasure next year, so yes I will sign up to challenges, maybe to many of them, but I won't chastise myself in case I don't manage to finish them, lol!

Moreover, I've recently become moderator of two groups, one of which is my very own creation, so I will definitely read group reads of both groups.

i know i *SHOULD* sign up for less challenges...the liklihood of me actually doing it...well...ummm...i could lie i guess...

i do enjoy bookopoly and the series challenge - i've found that over time i've read less off the featured shelves - so one of my goals for next year is to get back to the essence of PAS and try to read more of them (and integrate them into challenges as best as possible)

As always, I will set my usual goals relating to certain literary prizes. But next year I am also going to:

Sign up for as many challenges as I want, because I love love love the planning part....but not stress if I don't complete them in time

Read the books I want to at any particular time even if they don't fit any challenges .....but give myself a pat on the back if they do

Allow myself to buy as many books as I want to even if my TBR goes up and up..... because I will be supporting authors and publishers and I'll be happy about that.

I predict 2019 will be my most satisfying reading year EVER!!!!

Great discussion idea, Tien!
I like your idea of no reading books that aren't already on your tbr. But I don't think that is really an issue for me.

I seem to fail each year with my resolutions too.
For 2019 I want to read more for fun instead of being restricted by challenge. I want to be able to just read what I feel like.
I'm going to try not to sign up for more than 10 challenges. But that will likely fail so maybe 15? lol It's already hard to stick to the goal!

Good luck with your new role as a moderator in another group, Marina! It can be pretty hard to stick to a budget when it comes to books.

Dee lol I´ve the same problem. But I´m really going to try to sign up for too many challenges. I hadn´t thought about series yet.
The series challenges was an eye opener for me. I started so many new books...maybe I should make it one of my goals to finish more series.

Lagullande, signing up for any challenge you like sounds like fun! Sounds liek you are going to be really kind to yourself next year. I

I am wondering...how many challenges is everyone participating in at the moment?

Lusie, I am in 5 groups. Two are one big challenge each (RwS and SRC). One group has no time limit on their challenges, and I have 4 currently going there (SFR); but, as there is no time limit, they only get updated about 4 times a year. The other two (PAS and ALC) have multiple challenges. For PAS, I am currently doing 8 with more to come. (Some are old challenges that I am finishing.) For ALC, there are 5 (two are old).

I am addicted to challenges!

Lusie wrote: "I am wondering...how many challenges is everyone participating in at the moment? "

Currently 10, with some ending on December 31st and some without a definite time limit. This already seems too many challenges for me, since I also want to read for group reads and for PAS' monthly shelf.

Marina (Sonnenbarke) wrote: "So I don't really know about New Year's resolutions for 2019... I definitely want to buy as few books as possible, so I will try hard to only limit my book buying sprees to free downloads or .99 € ebooks. It's sort of worked this year, I haven't bought that many full-priced books."

I tried to do this too but there are just SOME books I have to have. Certain auto buy authors/books so I gave myself leeway for that. But another lesson I have learnt in the last couple of months is that if you want matching sets, you really have to get onto it and not wait cuz you'll NEVER get matching sets that way. :'(

"Moreover, I've recently become moderator of two groups, one of which is my very own creation, so I will definitely read group reads of both groups."

oooh... which group/s?

Dee wrote: "i do enjoy bookopoly and the series challenge - i've found that over time i've read less off the featured shelves - so one of my goals for next year is to get back to the essence of PAS and try to read more of them (and integrate them into challenges as best as possible)"

This is what I tell myself every year so hopefully our 2019 challenge will help ;)

Lagullande wrote: "As always, I will set my usual goals relating to certain literary prizes. But next year I am also going to:

I predict 2019 will be my most satisfying reading year EVER!!!! "

Which certain prizes do you usually focus on, Lagullande?

And it certainly does sound like you're going to have a FAB year! Loved your resolutions best! ha ha ha... no limitations = success!

Lusie wrote: "I like your idea of no reading books that aren't already on your tbr. But I don't think that is really an issue for me."

ah, I think you missed the "and/or am not particularly interested in..." lol

There's NO way I'd be able to keep reading only what's on my TBR. But I made up my mind NOT to pick up books that are of NO interest at all even if that means leaving a challenge incomplete. I just have to learn to "let it go..." lol

Well, Bea has about 19 there

I've just counted mine... about 25? One's finishing and I'm about to start a monthly bingo in Dec so that cancel each other out. I've just scraped one this week (ending Dec 31 but I've only read 1 out of 20 I committed to, um yea... forget completing that one!).

I'm about to scraped another 2 or 4... some challenges you think are fun when you started then just sort of drag. oh wells *exhales* time to let go

Tien wrote: "Well, Bea has about 19 there

I've just counted mine... about 25? One's finishing and I'm about to start a monthly bingo in Dec so that cancel each other out. I've just scraped one this week (endin..."

Soon you will be closer to my number...of course, I will be trying to end some of them...:)

Tien wrote: "There's NO way I'd be able to keep reading only what's on my TBR. But I made up my mind NOT to pick up books that are of NO interest at all even if that means leaving a challenge incomplete. I just have to learn to "let it go..."

This is exactly what I told myself last week and it's my resolution for 2019!
Also, this year I'm going to focus on the featured shelf in PaS more.

Let's keep each other accountable, LynnB ;)

Tien wrote: "Let's keep each other accountable, LynnB ;)"

Sounds like a deal! ....but be warned I have to add that I'm terrible at follow-through on NY resolutions, haha!

Me too! That could be cuz there's been no one to hold me accountable so maybe this will work ha ha ha

I am in 4 challenges. The fourth though is a stress free group. I just read a book and if it fits in one of my challenges, I add it. i actually finished 1 Reading with style challenge.

I'm going to try and just stick to Bookopoly and my Aussie Readers monthly challenge so that I get some Australian authors in.

I also have a list of books to read in my 30s so I want to include atleast 3 of them in the next year so that I'm on track ;)

Another goal is to read on my Serial Reader app every day. I am going to start with Wuthering Heights on Jan 1 :)

Tien wrote: "I made up my mind NOT to pick up books that are of NO interest at all even if that means leaving a challenge incomplete."

This should be my resolution for 2019, too. But it is so hard. I hate not finishing challenges. But I have just taken on more work, so I may have to accept not finishing more often.

I currently have 8 GR challenges running, plus 4 groups that have a monthly read, although if I have read the book before, I don't read it again. Then I also do 5 challenges on another site, but I have finished two of them for 2018.

Wow, I didn't realise it was so many! And that is less than earlier in the year because I already finished some :-o

Tien wrote: "Lusie wrote: "I like your idea of no reading books that aren't already on your tbr. But I don't think that is really an issue for me."

ah, I think you missed the "and/or am not particularly intere..."

lol you are right.
I t's hard to let go. I always want to finish a challenge I started

Bea and Tien you sure are in a lot of challenges! That's what I did last year and I felt it were too many challenges.

Marina, 10 challenges sounds like a good amount of challenges.

I like reading everyone's NY resolutions.

Tien wrote: "Which certain prizes do you usually focus on, Lagullande?"

I do Nobel, Man Booker and Women's Prize for Fiction. I also like the Costa book prizes.

This year I changed from a long-term "read all the winners or shortlists" to a more specific "read 3 winners" or "complete 3 shortlists" type of goal, and it seemed to work better for me.

Tien wrote: "But I made up my mind NOT to pick up books that are of NO interest at all even if that means leaving a challenge incomplete. I just have to learn to "let it go..." lol "

You're totally right there. I should be doing that, too. Actually, I've started doing this in 2018 without even realizing. I concentrated more on challenges related to my owned TBR. I do own LOTS of books that I have yet to read, especially on my Kindle...

Tien wrote: "oooh... which group/s?"

As for the groups I'm moderating, they are both in Italian... The one I created is about world literature (if that definition has any sense at all), the other one was created by a GR friend and is about horror :)

No way I could stick to my TBR as it is now! Especially when I'm moderating the SRC - I see SO many books that I hadn't run across, so my TBR and my library hold list gets longer and longer...……….. And my library has a weekly newsletter listing its new orders - when I read that on Saturday morning, my finger is busy clicking "place hold"!!!

And one thought on reading just because the book fits a challenge - my first time participating in the SRC, there was a task requiring a title with the word "fling" or "throw" in it. I did a search on my library website and came up with No Applause--Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous. I had no particular interest in Vaudeville, but I picked this up so I could finish the challenge - and I really enjoyed it. It has happened more than once that I have read a book just to finish off a challenge, and wound up discovering a new author I like or reading about a subject that was fascinating, even though I didn't realize I was interested in it!

Probably helps that I enjoy nonfiction.

If I'm really hating a book, I'll bail on it, but I never know ahead of time whether some random book will turn out to be interesting. So, if I can get it from the library, I go ahead and give it a try - and stop if it turns out to be poorly written or boring.

For 2019? I never participated in any challenges other than SRC before 2018 - too busy with work and with SRC moderating. Now that I'm retired, I theoretically have more time (altho travelling and grandchildren take up more time than I had anticipated), so I want to dip into a couple more challenges. I really enjoyed the challenges I participated in here - Wheel of Bookshelves, Moving Mountains, series challenge - so I think I may do more.

Sandy, it is nice to see you here. I have been on SRC since 2010, although I am not as active as before. I love this group, PAS. I should as I am a moderator! So...welcome!

Reading goals for 2019:

1. Finish PAS old challenges: 5 books
2. Finish challenges started in SFRC: 21 books
3. Finish 4 RwS old challenges: 12 books
4. Cross-plan needed books for 1, 2, & 3 into PAS challenges, since I read primarily for this group
5. Cross-plan monthly read from PAS and ALC into challenges

Other than that, I will continue reading books I own and library books - avoiding the cost of new books. Maybe occasionally I will purchase books at library or used book sales...just not ruling that out.

Bea wrote: "Sandy, it is nice to see you here. I have been on SRC since 2010, although I am not as active as before. I love this group, PAS. I should as I am a moderator! So...welcome!"

Thanks, Bea - the challenges I've participated in here have been a lot of fun!

Sandy, as Bea said, it's great to have you join in our challenges. Feels like giving some back ha haha. I've been participating in SRC since it's very humble beginning; in another group when Cynthia (?) started it with very simple tasks.

I have tried SRC but didn't like their system of completion posts. That was driving me nuts.

I just thought of another NY resolution. I want to read more of the thriller/crime/detective genre.

Lusie wrote: "I have tried SRC but didn't like their system of completion posts. That was driving me nuts."

It's definitely a lot of work! I have lots of fun just planning :D

Tien wrote: "Lusie wrote: "I have tried SRC but didn't like their system of completion posts. That was driving me nuts."

It's definitely a lot of work! I have lots of fun just planning :D"

I like their tasks and the planning is fun. But I just didn't like posting all the completions posts. Too much hassle for me, so I left the group.

I am limiting my challenges to one Very Easy One this year at this point. Only ones that let me mostly read for fun and books I like. Well, I have one group of voted in books from Shelfari I might stay with, but am not sure yet--hard to let go of a long term reading group that I otherwise like.

I finished ALL my currently-reading books (except for War & Peace) yesterday... 3 books I started some time in October!

So this morning, I was wondering what the first book of 2019 should be and since I was late for one of my Bookopoly moves (due on 29th), I thought I should read one of them: The Christmas Lights but I really don't feel like reading this one... but if I don't read this now, I'd never read this & I'll probably won't complete a couple of seasonal challenges which require a holiday setting... *conundrum*

But then I remembered that I wasn't going to force myself to read what I don't feel like and it's not a good start of the year if I do that with my first book! I'm going to read the other option instead; The Dream Daughter

Yea! Thanks for the support, Goodreads-ians xo ha ha ha

Lusie wrote: "Tien wrote: "Lusie wrote: "I have tried SRC but didn't like their system of completion posts. That was driving me nuts."

It's definitely a lot of work! I have lots of fun just planning :D"

I like..."

I get that - they used to do multiple competion tasks in a post - but it was a headache for the mods to deal with - so I don't blame them to going to the single task requirement

Tien wrote: "Sandy, as Bea said, it's great to have you join in our challenges. Feels like giving some back ha haha. I've been participating in SRC since it's very humble beginning; in another group when Cynthi..."

I think it started in the Next Best Book Club and then spouted its own wings - so did the Around the World in 80 books challenge - that is now its own group

I joined SRC the season that Sandy and DLMRose took over when Cynthia ghosted