Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

When I started this group a year and half ago, there weren't many reading challenges going on, except for the usual reading-goal oriented ones. Now, almost every group I'm in have some kind of reading challenges going on.

So the question is, what's the appeal? Why do you enjoy reading challenges? Does it have any impact in your reading habits or your book choices?

Are you addicted to them that you have to participate in almost every challenge that you see, or are you more discriminating and sensibly pick those that you like and feasibly finished?

Do you simply enjoy participating, not really worried about completing or are you obsessive enough that you get stressed if you do not complete a challenge?

Do you go into a challenge, like going to war, planning meticulously in advance, or do you play it by ear, squeezing books you read into categories?

Do you like to only join one and make sure you complete it before you take on another one or do you jump into as many challenges as you can handle?

As a challenge group, I think it would be fun to know such answers. So stop by and share your challenge opinions. : )

I'll start.

Obviously, I love reading challenges. I wouldn't have started a group devoted to it, if I don't. Reading challenges give my reading direction. I like knowing in advance what book to read next, since I already picked them in advance due to the challenges categories.

I used to participate in almost any challenge I see, but since my reading time had become extremely limited these days, I have decided to pick those that I feel I can complete. Also, I try not to stress to much about not completing anymore.

I try to pick my books in advance for challenges, and as much as possible stick to those choices, but once in a while, I'll adjust if a book that really begs to be read comes up.

I like the challenges because I think it focuses me and expand my horizons at the same time. Meaning that it helps me plan and know what I'll read next but it also helps me discover new authors/genres, etc.

I also try to participate in challenges I feel that I can complete and enjoy. If I find a challenge too restrictive I don't join because I want to be able to tailor the challenge as my taste and mood changes or whatever is available in my TBR (which is a constrain for me...I like to be able to read something I already own instead of getting more books.) Also, I like to challenge myself more with genres/authors that with numbers of books read because I'm not a very fast reader.

I plan the books I'll read but I enjoy changing them mid-way. :) I also join multiple challenges at at time but I try to balance them so they are all different lenghts (yearly, quarterly, monthly, etc.) and I feel like I can work on them and don't stress out too much.

I agree with D. G. I love to read & completing challenges make me feel like I made an accomplishment for something I was gonna do anyway. My TBR shelf has gone way up since I joined so now I only do challenges that help me shorten my list of books I want to read. In the beginning, I only joined 1-2 challenges but I admit that now I'm a challenge whore on top of being a book bitch. I think I'm doing 4-7 now.

First, thank you for starting this group Yz. This is one of the few sites I make sure I check every day. Often I check several times a day at that.

Every month I do the pick it for me challenge and the monthly challenge. I may do one or two others, but I don't really care if those get completed or not. The only ones I make sure I complete are the two mentioned.

I don't think I'm competitive about the challenges. But I pretty much HAVE to get them done. Each of these challenges makes sure I read one or two books that I would not otherwise have read. That is the biggest draw to a group like this.

Almost every month I read 15-20 books. Most of those books are from authors I have previously read and or a genre with which I am rather familiar. No reading risk leads to no reading surprises. I like being surprised every now and again by what I read. That is why I like the introduction of something I would not be reading otherwise.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the kind words, Photojim.

Just like you I have two challenges that I make sure I complete each month. For me, that would be the Pick-it-for-Me and the Featured Author challenge. Then I will fill all the categories for the monthly challenge, and that become my pool of books from which I will read from for the month. If I'm lucky, I can finish up to 5-8 books, and I've learned to be contented with that. :)

I definitely missed the days when I have more time reading.

Photojim wrote: "Each of these challenges makes sure I read one or two books that I would not otherwise have read."

Isn't that the truth! My TBR is full of books that stay there for years so the best way to finally read them is to fit them into a challenge. I love to be pleasantly surprised by a book that's been on my TBR for a while!

I add my thanks to Jim's. This is the only group on Goodreads I belong because I feel I can contribute something every day. ;)

Yz, I'll add my thanks to everyone else's for starting this group. It's one of my favorite groups on GR.:-)

I enjoy the challenges because they help to focus my reading choices. As a result, I've been able to read more than I did before participating in challenges. It's also just simply fun to find books that fit the categories.

I've become pretty addicted to challenges, but I still try to pick the ones that sound the most interesting and/or fun, and that I think I would be able to complete in the alloted time frame. The only exception would be the monthly challenge. I'm just too slow of a reader to get in 10 books in one month (unless they were really short books), but I love participating in it anyway just for the fun of it. All the other challenge I choose, I make every effort to finish.

Although I don't post my lists ahead of time, I've been planning my reading choices pretty carefully and trying to stick with that plan. I find I usually get more reading done that way, but I still leave open the possibility of changing my mind if something else catches my eye.

When I first started the challenges I barely dipped my toe in with one at a time. Somewhere along the line, I dove in headfirst. Now I'm treading water with 9 challenges going simultaneously.;-)

There may be lots of other challenges out there but none of them compare to the range of fun ones here so thank you from me as well Yz!

I love doing reading challenges because it makes me look for new books instead of just picking up a favourite and rereading it (something I did far too often before Goodreads).

When I first joined this group in January, I participated in almost every single challenge (and the paranormal ones too) but I read almost a book a day in the winter. Now I'm down to 10-15 a month so I have to be choosier as to which one's I'll do. I love the monthly challenge and the quarterly challenges the best, but I always read the month and try the FAC as well. I like to pick all my books as soon as the thread is up even though the list always changes depending on my mood. Choosing what to read is my favourite part regardless of whether I actually read them or not.

For me the joy is in participating in rather than completing the challenge. If I don't finish there's always next month :)

I'm a challenge addict...I joined this group in Feb (I think) and dived right in. For me, it helped give me some guidance on what to read next, because I can look at my list of challenge books and go from there - I normally change them, but i'm really bad about making decisions like this (even though I can do it on my job with no problem)...I've since branched out into challenges with other groups

I really enjoy the challenges. I have found several new authors that I like. Plus , my tbr pile has went down a little.I'm a book junkie, so I am always looking for new books.:)
Thanks for the wonderful challenges !

I like challenges because I enjoy trying to find books that will fit them. Choosing what I want to read next can be overwhelming sometimes. At the same time though I don't want to be too limited so I choose challenges that are more flexible and have been drawn more to the multi-month challenges lately. If I want to read something outside of a challenge I want to have the freedom to do that. However most of the books I have read I have been able to apply to at least one challenge if not more than that. If not, I still count them towards my books read this year. I am sadly far behind my goal of 100. I am at 26 and have 2 in progress. I need to spend less time on the computer and more time reading!

well for me a challenge answers the question: "what do I read next" My list of to-reads is pretty long and growing with the finding of goodreads (lol) I just signed up for the read your name challenge and deliberately chose books already on my to-read list. I had to choose a couple that I've kept pushing aside but still want to read. Also for me, its a way to see what others are reading since I don't have many friends here yet.

I am a challenge addict! I stumbled across my first true reading challenge in December 2008 when the “Seasonal Reading Challenge Group” was just a thread in “The Next Best Book Club”. I got involved with that and as each season progressed I became more and more entrenched for three reasons:

1 – I love crossing things off a list – this has been a lifelong delight for me. My mom always got me to do all kinds of chores when I was a kid by writing tasks on a list with my name on top. To this day this is the only way I can get myself to do housework.
2 - I read more when I have a plan.
3 – My enjoyment in the books I read skyrocketed.

I think this is because the challenges forced my reading habits into a blender, so to speak. Before the challenges, if I found an author I liked I would track down every book they’d ever published and read them all asfastaspossible. Once it was over, I often struggled to find something new that appealed to me and it wasn’t uncommon for weeks and sometimes months to pass before I’d have the heart to pick up something else. Participating in challenges forced me to jump around between authors and genres which keep me constantly guessing not to mention constantly reading!

I don’t remember exactly when I clicked “join” in this group but it was probably sometime last year because I remember being in a fog when I did. And the reason I’m guessing it had to have been sometime last year because I was pregnant and for whatever reason being knocked up does some weird ass things to your memory. Lady Danielle the Book Huntress was the person who pointed me in the direction of this group saying that since I loved challenges so much, I should check this one out.

So I joined blindly but never got involved, because the “Seasonal Reading Challenge Group” is so unbelievably, massively, insanely large that I couldn’t fathom trying to add the pressure of another challenge group (in addition to adjusting to motherhood and life with an infant). In March, I started feeling frustrated with the SRC because I’d just read 3 “meh” books in a row that I’d only picked up in the first place because they fit uber-restrictive tasks which is what got me sniffing around over here.

I love the monthly challenges in this group. I can comfortably read 8-15 books a month, so 10 is a perfect number for me (as opposed to the 30+ per month that are often required to finished the seasonal challenge in the other group). I also enjoy the concept of the quarterly challenge because I can usually incorporate many of my monthly reads in there and have further things to cross off a list. I’ve also joined a couple of the other challenges in this group and maintain a spreadsheet with monthly and weekly “assignments” for myself so I can complete them all in time.

Which brings me to the crux of the real reason why I love this group: the challenges challenge me but aren’t so restrictive as to make them impossible to fit in with my lifestyle. I like the challenge of fitting a book in to match certain parameters and I like the freedom of knowing that I can switch things around if I feel moved into reading something that wasn’t originally planned.

Um…wow…sorry for such a LONG POST! Sheesh.

yikes 30 books a month! LOL That's a lot of pressure!

I joined this group because I enjoy doing challenges. I usually do one monthly challenge and two quarterly or seasonal challenges if I can overlap at least a few of the books. I don't get upset if I don't finish them all. I just do it to have fun. I really like the twists you come up with for the monthly PNR group challenge YZ!

Doing challenges doesn't seem to be making my TBR pile any smaller though. But they have made me read some books that I probably wouldn't have read otherwise.

Man, Beth(MN) and I must be twins separated at birth ;o). I'm also a challenge addict, love to cross things off lists (that's the only way things in my house ever get cleaned, too, Beth), and I'm also in the Seasonal Reading Challenge Group.

I found and joined my first reading challenge in October 2007 when I discovered a blog called "A Novel Challenge." I've been a goner ever since ;o).

I've found that I read WAY more now than I did before I discovered reading challenges. Last year was the first year I've ever read 100 books in one year and I'm well on my way to surpassing that this year. I think challenges work this way for me because they give me a goal to shoot for.

But, after playing around with the internet challenges for a couple of years, a weird thing happened -- I began to feel like the challenges were no longer challenging. They were either too restrictive (read all the books in a particular series, for example), or not restrictive enough (read 10 romance novels in a year -- well, jeez, I could knock that one out in a month by just picking up books from my Nora Roberts shelf). This dissatisfaction lead me to Goodreads and this group (and the Seasonal Reading Challenge Group).

I like this group's challenges because they're actually a challenge. Oftentimes they require me to move out of my comfort zone and read something I'd have never picked up on my own (often with surprising and satisfying results) but they still have enough wiggle room that I can use at least some of the books on my way-too-large TBR pile for some of the categories.

Reading challenges also allow me to make lists of books. Sifting through my TBR piles to find just the right book for a category just makes me happy ;o). So, even if I never finish the challenge I at least get to enjoy going through all the wonderful books that I could have read.

Before joining this group last year, I had never done a reading challenge. Now, I'm a reading challenge "junkie".

Last year, I was able to participate in the two monthly challenges, although I was not always able to finish them both. I could do the Read-the-Month challenge just fine, but I struggled with completing the catagorical reading challenge. Then the answer to my problem came along in the form of the quarterly reading challenges. These I can complete...and they have become my favorites...although that does not keep me from signing up to participate in others.

I love the challenges because it helps to focus my reading. Before, I would look at my TBR pile and just be over whelmed. I didn't even know where to start and that frustrated me. Now, I can take a challenge, go to my TBR pile and work it from there.

I used to list the books for my challenge right away, but found that I was constantly wanting to change it. Now, I just sign up for the challenge and post my lists as I go. I try not to change a book once I've posted it, although I've have done so.

I also just love, love, love completing a challenge.
For me personally, I always reward myself if I complete a challenge. For example, after completing the "Women We Love" challenge, I treated myself to an Amazon gift card...to use for purchasing books for my kindle. Sometimes it's the purchase of an audio book (something YZ has now got me hooked on by listening to it on my commute to and from work every).
This is just a personal thing...I love finishing the challenge and rewarding myself.

I love this group...the challenges, the creativity, and sharing the love of books and reading with others.

I love doing challenges because they help me decide what to read next on my extremely long TBR pile. I like the challenge of finding specific books to match the topic. The challenges allow me to read books that I may not find interesting to begin with but then made me glad that I read them. I also like them because it forces me to read more books per month and I like to see how long it takes me to finish a challenge!!

I've been a member of this group for a full year before I realized that there were challenges. At first, I stress about finishing all ten and it took the fun out. Now, even if I didn't finish the monthlies I still have fun. Presently, Im involved in 6 yearly challenge which I'm more than half way to finishing. :) I love the categories and I love the discussions and I discovered new books. I'm very lucky to have picked this group and to have accomodating and friendly admins. More power to RRRC.

I like the "thrill of the hunt" of finding the books to meet the challenge requirements. Initially, I felt the self-imposed pressure of having to complete every challenge, but then I started zenlaxin' and just enjoying each book in the "moment". The challenges also have helped me to discover books/authors that I might not have picked up to read on my own. Spreading my wings in my reading world!

The challenges feed and satisfy my competitive nature, even though I know I'm mainly competing against myself and the goals I set. I also love the treasure hunt for books to fill the various tasks, and making lists of the books I'll be reading that month. I've joined more challenges than I ever expected to, but I like the variety of books that these challenges push me/entice me into reading. And sometimes that just means that it motivates me to pick up a book that's been languishing on my shelves for far too long! And then there's the TA-DA moment when I've completed another challenge. I like southpaw's idea of rewarding herself for a challenge completion!

Beth(MN) wrote: "I am a challenge addict! I stumbled across my first true reading challenge in December 2008 when the “Seasonal Reading Challenge Group” was just a thread in “The Next Best Book Club”. I got invol..."

OH MY GOSH you sound so much like me. I love making lists (whether I finish them all in time or not) and I also use a spread sheet to keep track of my reading challenges. I should set weekly goals. Love that idea! :)

I just think they're fun. I've been doing DG's challenges in PBS and I confess that winning some credits is a big incentive. But mostly I do it for fun.

I don't usually do challenges that require me to go out and get a lot of books. I have a huge TBR and I try to only do ones that I have books for already. Sometimes I'll do a challenge that requires me to get a lot of library books but only if they're books I want to read anyway. Like series books I'm missing or books from my PBS reminder list that I would have ordered if I didn't already have so many books.

I'm sorry I missed the Christine Feehan one. I have about 20 of hers in my TBR and she's a favorite of mine.

I was so excited to find this group earlier this year! At first, I just lurked for awhile but then I finally entered a Pick it For Me challenge and the rest is history. I LOVE to read! Books have been my passion since I was a little girl reading all the E.B. White books. I don't take on all the challenges because I know that wouldn't be realistic with a full time job and two little ones. In June, I did read the 10 books (plus FAC and Pick it For Me)but I found that I was just choosing books to fit a category and speeding through them rather than choosing books I really wanted to read, and that made it not as enjoyable for me. As a result, I am being more selective while still expanding my horizons and reading new authors and genres. I doubt I ever would have discovered the Black Dagger Brotherhood on my own, and this group inspired me to read the Outlander series (which I had started and given up on before). I don't think I would lose any sleep if I didn't complete a challenge, although I am a bit competitive by nature. I have told many friends about this group and have encouraged them to join. Thanks, Yz, for creating this board!

I do better with challenges when I can read pretty much what I feel like and make it work. I rarely do challenges where I have to commit to reading specific books in a specific timeframe.

I actually joined this group because of the genre and wanting to find new book suggestions. I was on a reading hiatus for YEARS. Yeah, pathetic I know, then all of a sudden I picked up a romance about a year ago maybe and wham, went back full force into reading again.

Then I joined GoodReads at a suggestions of a friend (not in this group) so I could keep track of books and get book recommendations, etc. Then I found this group and joined it because romance is by far my favorite genre to read.

Then, I started joining challenges and those are an added bonus. Because I've been known to spread myself thin and turn into a raving lunatic (okay, not really, but that's how I feel inside sometimes when I do that to myself) I don't join in many challenges, especially the big ones. But I do love to do the "Pick It For Me" and "Featured Author" challenges each month and will stick with those.

Challenges help me pick my next book, and it's like working on a puzzle.

For me, just joining in is the appeal, I hardly ever meet my goals and some times after setting my goals, I no longer am in the mood to read some of the books I have chose :/

I just like recommending and seeing what others are reading in their challenges, as most of the time, others have come up with better "answers" than me :)

Cupcake Cassie wrote: "For me, just joining in is the appeal, I hardly ever meet my goals and some times after setting my goals, I no longer am in the mood to read some of the books I have chose :/

I just like recommen..."

I like seeing what others are reading also. When I do my challenges I post as I go rather than picking the books ahead of time. That way I can use whatever I feel best about reading at that time.

for me joining in and seeing what others are reading are the main draws. i hardly get to talk to my RL people about books, especially about the paranormals that i love. the challenges give me a chance to read, talk about and see what else is out there. posting as i go leaves me flexibility with what i read and still satisfies the competitive parts of me.

i enjoy the scavenger hunts, a-z and broad based monthly challenges for those reasons. i finish almost every challenge i enter because i leave myself so much flexibility with the books.

the bad part about the challenges is also seeing what everyone else is reading - somehow a lot more books end up on my tbr stack!