The Reading Challenge Group discussion

We have one month left to make a final effort on our challenges for this year! How have you done this year? Will you try anything differently next year?

Is there anything different you'd like to see in the group for 2019?

Well, I've read more books than I had planned but joined in on too many buddy reads, resulting in not clearing all my dust bunnies. So that means I have 9 more books to read and 1 to finish. I read 3 books last month.... So I have quite a challenge in December:

The Way to Paradise
The Slap
The Corrections
Deception Point
The Angel Maker
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Turtles All the Way Down
A Christmas Carol
The Girl in the Ice

And finishing:
Handboek EMDR bij kinderen en jongeren

My plan for next year was to have no books planned and just see what I felt like reading each month. With all the challenges I joined in one of the other groups I already have more books planned than I can read in a year.... So...hmmm....

I had high hopes for my reading this year, but it hasn't gone quite as well as I'd hoped. I originally had a goal of 150 books but when I realized how far behind I was, I changed it to 100. Now, with a month left, I am still 13 books away from that goal.

Next year, I'm hoping to read more, participate more in the group, and enjoy my reading and interactions.

My goal for the rest of the year is to finish Robot Dreams, a short story collection I started reading in July. I love the stories, but I always get bogged down in short story collections no matter how good they are.

I had fun this year and read a lot of my own books, which was good, but still bought a lot more books too. I took on too many challenges in other groups so I will do fewer next year overall. My next year's goal is to keep reading books I own so that I have room for those new books.
Next year I am planning to read Gone With the Wind and Lonesome Dove (which I got for Christmas last year).

Oh, yes, you should definitely confine your challenges to THIS group. Heheh. 😉

🤣

Finished Handboek EMDR bij kinderen en jongeren.

9 more to go...

I completed my annual reading goal earlier this year, and read more this year than ever (60 books). Yay!

For the buyer's remorse challenge -- getting unread books off of my shelves -- I've read just eleven. I think I will continue this challenge in 2019 since I still have so many unread books at home.

This group has been great for providing interesting ideas to encourage the reading habit. :)

I am not even close to reaching my goal of 80 books. Hoping to have read at least 60 books. Going to try next near to reach 80 books.

I have lots on my ready g list.

I need to put all my challenges in one place next year. I can’t remember what or where things are this year.

Yes, it definitely helps to put everything in one thread and link out from there.

I have two books that I need to read this month to finish my challenges. I need to finish one series, and read one more Gothic novel. I'm pretty happy about my progress this year!

You can use the Personal Challenges folder to keep track of all your challenges. Just copy & paste each that you want to do. Then you can edit in any updates as you read. There will be a new PC folder set up in 2019. All we ask is that you let us know your progress in the folder for each challenge her & again. Especially as you finish them off so we can congratulate you. :)

Checking in!

I participated in 3 challenges this year.

1) The annual Goodreads reading challenge. My goal was 52 books, but I have only completed 40 so far. I am working on this, and may have to end the year with a few comic books :))

2) The Monthly Genre challenge. I feel good about this one. I am reading the December Children's book and will finish this. This has been my favorite challenge as it made me read genres like Horror that I usually avoid. I will do this next year!

3) The Anti-Alphabet Challenge. I finished one round and am on the second. Won't get to finish that, but I enjoyed this challenge.

Overall, I am so happy to have found this group and finishing challenges. 2018 has been a difficult year for reading for me as our town was directly hit by a hurricane which changed the rest of the year at work and at home.


Looking forward to more challenges in 2019!

Thanks for checking in. You did well considering your drastic change in your town.
I didn't read Horror until joining goodreads. I don't read the gory stuff, just the weird supernatural type. I don't like anything too realistic in that genre.

Goodreads is not updating my read books on my mobile phone. Help

It just updated. Never mind

I find that sometimes goodreads is a little slow at busy times.

Ok. Rosemarie. Thank you

I'm at 10/12 books read. 1 book behind. 28% into current read. I went many weeks without picking up the current read.

I'm excited about a book I ordered on Ebay last Thursday. Package tracking says it was delivered a little before Noon today. I plan on that one being a quick and exciting read. I have liked all the books I've read from the author.

I should just complete my challenge this year. Last year I came up short a book.

I read past my goal last year, so I increased the number for this year and missed it miserably! Lol...not kicking myself. Life just changed. Back to a book a month and enjoy! I'm "retired" again... Project keep popping up. We'll find balance again!
I really enjoyed the "genre of the month" schedule. It pushed me out of my comfort zone just enough...
Looking forward to the coming year!!

Glennis wrote: "I read past my goal last year, so I increased the number for this year and missed it miserably! Lol...not kicking myself. Life just changed. Back to a book a month and enjoy! I'm "retired" again......"
That is what happens to me. I miss the goal, usually by just >< that much. It is hard to estimate an exact number. Some years I get to read a lot each month, others I barely have extra time to read.

Yeah Yeah I know you have to plan ahead, get some kind of schedule set up, keep up with it, pace yourself and push yourself at times. I'm bad at pushing myself sometimes.

My goal was 42 books but I read 52. 😂

Way to go, Feyzan!

My target was 100 books - I have totally smashed that and read 173 so far....and I'll probably finish a few more before the end of the year

Fantastic, Sara! 👏🎉

Rosemarie wrote: "Fantastic, Sara! 👏🎉"

Thank you Rosemarie

I have set a goal of 50 books the last 2 years and read more so I am afraid of jinxing myself by setting a higher goal but I am going to go for 55 next year. The trick for quantity is to read books that aren't too long and to stuff a whole lot of fun ones in there. I read a mystery (my favorite genre) every month.

I agree about stuffing a whole lot of fun ones in there, Candy! I usually don't have a hard time making my goal because I'm reading for fun.

Finished Turtles All the Way Down; 7 more to go.

You can do it, Susy.

Thank you so much for your encouragement Rosemarie! Very much appreciated! :)

Candy wrote: "I have set a goal of 50 books the last 2 years and read more so I am afraid of jinxing myself by setting a higher goal but I am going to go for 55 next year. The trick for quantity is to read books that aren't too long and to stuff a whole lot of fun ones in there. I read a mystery (my favorite genre) every month."

I do usually try to only go for books I think will be fun or interesting to read. Sometimes I'm just not ready for the subject matter or I try reading them at a time when I'm too busy to concentrate well on my reading.

I do have children's books I could resort to knocking out some time. I always have those in the back of my mind and bookshelf. They will only take between 10-20 minutes or so a piece. :)

CaptKirk42 Classic Whovian wrote: "Candy wrote: "I have set a goal of 50 books the last 2 years and read more so I am afraid of jinxing myself by setting a higher goal but I am going to go for 55 next year. The trick for quantity is..."


I always save the last 10 days for comic books and children's books. It feels great to reach a goal even though it is "cheating" :)

I met and exceeded my goal for the year.
I don't know if we offically did the Popsugar Challenge fro 2018, but I have 2019s if we'd like to do it. I will be doing it.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... :
another 2 down, 5 more to go.

My goal for next year is to only buy books from series I have already started and to read mostly books I already own. I have 7 books from the library to read next year, other than that am trying to only do comics from there.
I hope to be more active here as well, but we will see... My dad is possibly going to have to go on dialysis soon, we will find out in a few weeks if he will be starting soon soon, or if he will hold for a while.

I hope all goes well with your dad and he won't have to start it yet.
Good to hear from you.

Good to hear from you, Jenny!

My goal was to read 70 books this year, so far I've read 84 books! Haven't read this much books in ages. Hoping I can add more before the year ends :)

Way to go, Hali! Happy reading.

Thanks Rose and Ali, I am hoping so too!
Good job Hali, and have fun squeezing in a few more!

I over did myself in college this past semester with 18 credit hours, an internship and a job... so I’m really hoping to pick up reading right back where I was before the semester was over and participate in the group more again!

That sounds intense, Kiersten. Hope you get some time to read for fun in 2019.

Wow, Kiersten! I hope you have a lighter load this coming semester.

megan wrote: "I met and exceeded my goal for the year.
I don't know if we offically did the Popsugar Challenge fro 2018, but I have 2019s if we'd like to do it. I will be doing it."

I often refer to the Pop Sugar Challenge to pick a book that has been sitting on my shelf for too long. They have great ideas but I have never done the whole list!

Completed 12 book Challenge! Yay me. Last year was one book short.

Congratulations, Captain!

I have a much lighter load this semester. I actually only have three classes! Then I graduate!

Checking in for 2018! Final update -- as of 1/1/19!

My goal was to read 52 books -- finished with 74! Really surprised myself. Two big things helped: 1) Audible - did 15 books on audio, and 2) just finding 10 minutes to read here and there - less time on Ipad or phone.

I did a bunch of challenges:
- Completed Around the Year in 52 books.
- Almost done with Popsugar -- need to finish 2 books this weekend.
- Completed Modern Ms. Darcy.

In this group I did several more:
- 50 books per year (finished in September and moved on to the Overachievers challenge)
- Summer Bingo (got all of them except 2!)
- Chunkster (completed 2 rounds, working on #3)
- Featherweight (completed 1 round, about half-way on #2)
- Alphabet Soup (21 of 26 complete)
- Anti-Alphabet (completed 2 rounds, won't quite finish #3)
- New Releases (completed as of 12/25/18!)
- Decades Challenge (didn't do as well with this, but should complete 10 this year if I finish Little Women in the next 2 days! - yay - I did!)
- Seize the Day (didn't quite finish - 8 of 10)

Looking forward to 2019! My goal will be 60 books since I'm turning 60 this year.