2008 Personal Reading Challenges

I am hoping to end 2008 with fewer books in my tbr than I started the year with. My tbr is at 97 right now and there are an additional 3 in ebook format (can't see them collecting dust though). A lofty goal, but I hope to succeed

I am setting a goal to get my older tbr pile down for sure! I did horribly last year so this year I have set a goal to put a dent in them. And ofcourse that pile grew since last year.

My 2008 personal challenge is to listen to more audiobooks.  I listen to the audiobooks as I exercise.  So, I figure more audiobooks = more exercise = less weight!  A win-win deal!!!

the house which probably means FEWER books read with my eyes, more with my ears.  And to continue with Cady's TBR challenge from last year.  I really need to whittle away at my existing tbr.

Penn

I haven't been keeping score this year, but last year from May when
you "invented" your challenge I made more or less of an effort each
month

In May it was 72% of my reading
June 22%
July 24%
August 41%
September 27%
October 24%
November 70%
and December 51%

which corresponds to a "yearly" average of 41%

Irrespective of how many books you read, if you decide not to visit bricks and
mortar bookstores between the time you order from eharl and the time
your order arrives, and during that period you decide to concentrate on
your "old" TBR, well you'll see results

Okay the time between my orders and my deliveries is slightly longer than for the rest of you, but the same principle applies

A wishlist is what you'd like to have available to read RIGHT NOW, but
you can save it on computer or write it on a post-it, the main thing is
to bring it to the bookstore with you WHEN you go, not going racing to
the bookstore just because you have a wishlist

If we applied that logic, we'd never leave the bookstore

Hugs

Sadhbh

I liked your challenge last year Cady and was reading from the TBR. Since I currently have cataloged 388 in the TBR I can easily jump in there and make some headway. (I read 158 last year)  If I have any issues it is that they are closing a Waldenbooks (my fave place too) and everything in the store is 25% off.  I just picked up some Lora Leigh's and some new authors and want to check which Feehan's I need to start the Dark series.... tooo much temptation. 

Goal 1 - read from the TBR at least 25-30% each month

 Goal 2 - broaden my horizon's with new authors/genres  

Goal 3 - catalog all the books upstairs and figure out which have been read / which have not / separate them/ read read read

Hmmmm live in a bookstore.... it could work, there are chairs in the larger ones and coffee shops and bathrooms.....

LOL   Jeannie

I really enjoyed Cady's older tbr reading challange as well...it was just the motivation i needed to read books i'd kept planning to, but would bypass for a nicer newer looking book/cover...and it was great fun to actually dig in and start reading them. I had pledged 50% and did really well at sticking to it for the alotted time(i forget what it was now). I'm still reading from the older tbr, just not at quite the high percentage rate.

I'm still hoping to keep reading from my older tbr.

I'm hoping to curb my book buying more(good luck me!)

And i'm hoping to finish all the part books i have started, that i have put aside for being in the wrong reading mood...but which i could tell the stories were good, but i could also tell i wasn't doing them justice.

That's all this tired brain can think of right now...so i best put it to bed and resume fresh tomorrow.

Its easier to resist things I have to feed.  Books require no extra care.

I know what you  mean, the majority of my books are romance and I planning on trying books from different genres. One that I want to read that is not romance is the Kite Runner, I heard some good things about this book so I decided to give it a go.

I once had the same fear Cady. For many years i wouldn't try anything out of my comfort zone, but then a customer kept talking about her books and showing me them(this is when i used to read mostly just the quick Har. & Sil. reads). She made her thick books(they were pretty much historicals) sound sooo good, and then one day she handed me a box of her books, and said "try them", and when your finished reading them, bring them back, and i'll give you another box. Well, i absolutely loved reading the more meatier stories...not all of them mind you, but alot of them...the ones i didn't enjoy, i'd put back in the box and grab another one.

If i hadn't told myself, "if you don't like the book, you can stop reading it", i may never have ventured outside my comfort zone as much as i have...and oh what an exciting reading world it is now...so much variety.

I was going to modify your 2007 Challenge a bit but use it.  I was so conscientious...cleared off an entire shelf and was going to use it to put in incoming books.  My goal would be to read the incoming books, as many as come in during a month, particularly from subscriptions and add ssome Medieval historical fiction and mysteries to the mix, before I let blogs divert me so much.  Well, it is not even at the mid point of January and I am already failing miserably!  The entire shelf is full already and most of my Jan. orders/subscriptions are not here!  In my defense, I put some Dec. subscription books on the shelf since mail was soooo slow in Dec. and many of the books were gifts.  Love books as gifts.

getting to the blog.  But I want in on this.  lol

 I have over 300 books in my current TBR pile.  By the end of this year I would love to see the number dwindle down to something a little more manageable.  And my manageable I mean something that will fit on one bookshelf!  lol  So, my goal is by the end of the year I want to have my TBR pile down to 250 books.  This won't get everything on one bookshelf but it's a start.  Taking in to consideration that I only read 144 books last year (I say only like that's not a lot) knocking my pile down that much is going to be a larger accomplishment.  This is going to tie in with my read more/buy less goal this year also. 

I gotta make some room.  One day I dream of having both my keepers and my TBR all in the same room!!  lol 

I hear ya.  But honestly, I have more books than my home can handle.  You've probably heard this before but I have soooo many books I've got them in storage.  That is not good.  If I want to re-read I have to wait until the storage place is open, go to storage, find the right tote then dig through said tote until I find the book I want.  It's just a mess.

My own personal goal is blog/review 365 books.  That is one book a day.  Which is what I read anyway.  With me it's finding time to blog.  I read to much to keep up.  My dh laughs at me because when I go down the book asile at the store my hand reachs out and grabs a book and I keep on moving I don't even stop.  LOL

Well, definitely get those TBRs down - the problem is that while I'm doing that I'm buying others and by the time I get to some of those they are now TBRs!  I'm getting dizzy!

One goal I have this year is to log my library.  I've been thinking about it for about 3 years now and 2008 is it.  I've just ordered a cutecat barcode scanner to help with the project.  I hope to cull some of the keepers while my head is in the shelves!  I will also log my TBRs - I have no idea how many I've have but I'm estimating over 300.

I want to at least maintain my TBR challenge 2007 rate.  From May to Dec 07 I averaged at 34%.  Today I'm at 41%, but I'm expecting new books any day now so that will go out the window fast!

I have the perfect excuse to read from my large TBR pile and not buy, I'm going to France in May!  Everytime I go into a store and think there's something I want to buy, I think, "No, you're going to France in May!"  It works as long as I stay away from the book sections of Target and Walmart!  Last year I had to buy a small bookcase for my TBR pile and each of the three rows is three rows deep plus some piled on top.  Smack me upside the head if I buy any more books!  Got to save my pennies so I can turn them into Euros!  Going to France is the only thing that would make me pass up buying more books!

Cady - I am amazed at the great books I have been hoarding instead of reading. My TBR boxes are full of gems.

if you don't want to tell me online - you may not want to tell the
world exactly where you're going or when, and I can fully understand
that - we can email each other

I just realised I had two windows open and I've just made a comment, feeling slightly multipersonality here

how long will the trip take?

and who was your childhood penpal?

I
chose to go to college in Clermont-Ferrand because of a childhood
penpal (whose name I'd forgotten) and that led me to doing placement in
a company near Lyons, which is how I met my DH (his brother worked for
the company)

Penpals have a lot to answer for