Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Is it time to be thinking about goals for 2014?

I had revised my 2013 goal to a total read of 140 list books, which was 40 list books for the year. I'll be very very close, but I'll have to push to make it.

I think I'll set my 2014 goal to reach a total of 175, and see what exciting reads it brings me.

My 2014 goal will be to get to 150. That will be 37 list books.

I think that my 2014 goal will be at least 10 list books.

I want to read 52 books in 2014 and I want at least 35 of them to be list books. That will push me up over 100 finally.

My goal for next year is set to pass the 300 mark. I am currently at 244, so it's quite doable.

I'm thinking of setting a goal of 60 books total next year, with 46 of them as list books to get me to a total of 150 off the list.

My real goal however is to finally finish at least one Jane Austin book. I've tried her at least a dozen times over the years and it always ends with me chucking the book across the room by the third chapter.

Sarah wrote: "I'm thinking of setting a goal of 60 books total next year, with 46 of them as list books to get me to a total of 150 off the list.

My real goal however is to finally finish at least one Jane Aust..."

I'm also not a fan, but I've struggled through two of them so far. Everyone loves her so much. I thought there was something wrong with me.

Sarah wrote: "My real goal however is to finally finish at least one Jane Austin book. I've tried her at least a dozen times over the years and it always ends with me chucking the book across the room by the third chapter. "

Unless you are determined to read everything on the list, I see no reason why you cannot skip Austen entirely. I finished one of hers, and one was enough.

Tasha wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I'm thinking of setting a goal of 60 books total next year, with 46 of them as list books to get me to a total of 150 off the list.

My real goal however is to finally finish at least..."

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Sarah wrote: "My real goal however is to finally finish at least one Jane Austin book. I've tried her at least a dozen times over the years and it always ends with me chucking the book across the r..."

I am not alone! I couldn't even finish Persuasion. Thank you so much.

I am trying for 225 books all together. I'm at 197 right now (175 was my goal this year). I downloaded the 1001 app and it's telling me I have to read at least 3 list books a month so that's 36 for the year? I think that might be doable. I might have to schedule them out though so I don't get distracted. I read 23 this year so I'd just have to step it up a little. :)

I'll probably complete close to 80 by years end, so I think my goals for next year will be 2 list books/mo which would be 24 list books with a total of 75 books as my overall goal for 2014.

In 2013 I read ca. 50 books from the list and am at a current total of almost 160 books.
For 2014 my goal is to definitely hit the 200 mark, maybe even 225.

Going to try and get some doorstoppers in over 2014 - not all of them are on "the list", but have books that have been loitering with intent for several years. Making efforts to read what I already have before indulging my addiction.....hmmm.....I think I made that same comment last year.

I'd like to get 50 in next year, perhaps match this year's eventual sixty if I manage to reach it.

I want to try and reach 70 list books total before the end of next year. So that leaves me with 33 more, with hopefully Infinite Jest amongst them.

Not setting a number goal for myself.

Wanting to concentrate on the books (List and Off-List) on my physical TBR shelf, as part of my informal pack-rat recovery. After I read them, if its not realistic to think I'll read them again soon (in the next, oh, five years at the most), then they need to be sent out into the world instead of collecting dust here on a shelf.

Stephanie "Jedigal" wrote: "Not setting a number goal for myself.

Wanting to concentrate on the books (List and Off-List) on my physical TBR shelf, as part of my informal pack-rat recovery. After I read them, if its not r..."

a most admirable goal!

My overall reading goal is 52 books/year with ten of those books being "list" books. I discovered that my focus on list books was preventing me from reading other books that I really want to read, and was taking away some of the pleasure of reading.

I'm not going to set a specific number, but this year I ended up reading about half list books and half non-list books, and I felt that was a pretty good mix.

I'm not setting a specific number goal for myself either, but I've been on a pretty steady pace of reading list books this year, and I'd like to maintain a similar pace next year. (I just looked, and I've read 36 books from the list this year.)

One of the things I'd like to do in 2014 is tackle one of the multi-volume entries. To that end, I may join in on a year-long read of In Search of Lost Time.

I'll be going for 52 books again next year, no specifics on how many will be list books. I'm making Infinite Jest my first goal after I finish White Teeth. I managed to read 70 books this year, 53 of them list books. But I figure 52 is a sensible place to start.

I just made my 2013 list goal to reach 100 this morning (in the nick of time)! However, I don't think I'm going to set a numbers goal for 2014 - in order to reach my 2013 goal I had to leave In Search of Lost Time half-finished this year, and ended up reading a lot of the shortest list books (3 Poe stories for example) just to keep my numbers up.

Instead, I'm hoping to finish In Search of Lost Time and Land 3 Volume Set, both tomes I'm currently in the middle of. Also, this year I'm going to be better about posting reviews for the books I've read! Somehow I've gotten really far behind and haven't reviewed for ages.

Jamie wrote: "Also, this year I'm going to be better about posting reviews for the books I've read! "

Thank you for this! Reviews are so helpful to learn more about a book.

Going for 40 books total. I love the 1001 list but I agree with so many posts that state we wont give up our own TBR's in favor of 'The List' :D I do love dipping into those books that I would not have tried had they not been on the list. Always greatful for the vast library available! Happy reading/2014!!

I'd like to get to 250 on the combined list (currently on 220) and to read something from the remaining 14 authors who have 5 or more books on the list that I haven't read any of.

I hope to read at least 50 list books in 2014, bringing me up to 300 on the combined lists. I hope to get in somewhere between 50-75. I hope to include a few more of the longish ones.

My goal is to read at least 10 list books this year. Last year I only got 1 read. Gotta remedy that this year!

My goal is to read one list book a week on average.

I'm new to this group, but I'm going to try to read at least one a month. We'll see!

I am aiming to read 16 list books to get me to the milestone of 100 books from the 2006 list. Seems so small - I am a slow reader. But, love the challenge of it!

I plan to read at least one a month. I read other books as well, so this seems do-able.

One a month is doable, but if you want to complete a list of 1001 books, it will take 83 years at that rate.

I've decided to read selectively, otherwise I'd have time for nothing else in life but 1001 book reading! I've given up on finishing the list completely. Work, family, life need some time :)

I did not know exactly where to ask this question. Are the books listed on this group's bookshelf considered as part of the 1001 book list? Or are there other lists that I need to select from?

Jean wrote: "I did not know exactly where to ask this question. Are the books listed on this group's bookshelf considered as part of the 1001 book list? Or are there other lists that I need to select from?"

They are all of the books on the list and only the books on the list.

Thanks Elizabeth.

I read 64 list books last year but felt I neglected other books not on the list to make that total. I'll set this year's goal at my usual 53, but hope to make it an even 60.

I would like to read at least 30 list books this year to reach 100. I will also be reading non-list books.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "One a month is doable, but if you want to complete a list of 1001 books, it will take 83 years at that rate."

Wow, that is an intimidating figure.

I think so too! But remember a lot of authors have more than one book, some of them are short too. While I don't think I will get through the 1001 list I do like setting goals and trying out new genres/authors :D

I'm only going for 10 or so, but that includes some extremely long ones--the unabridged Arabian Nights (5000 pages), The Tale of Genji (over 1000 pages), and the unabridged Dream of the Red Chamber (so big they published it in 5 volumes).

I'm reading them chronologically, more or less, which accounts for all these being bunched up together. I'm looking forward to getting to some shorter works. :)

Wow! You go! I think I could only tackle one of those .... a year :(

Ginger wrote: "Wow! You go! I think I could only tackle one of those .... a year :("


Thanks. They're intimidating for sure. :) I also just realized that I was a little wrong--Dream of the Red Chamber isn't on the list. I was confusing it with Romance of the Three Kingdoms (which is equally long). I do want to read Dream of the Red Chamber at some point though. From what I hear it's a staple of Chinese literature.

Dream of the Red Chamber is on the list - my spreadsheet has it titled as "Dream of the Red Mansions".

Actually you were right and Red Chamber is on the list as well. Maybe it's got a different name on your copy, like Red Mansions?

If you were looking at a chronological list, Red Chamber was first published in the 18th century.

You're both right. It's on my list too--and listed in the 1800s. I feel a little foolish now. :)

As a newbie to the group, I'm aiming for 26 list books for me this year. I have to say, I've never tried counting the number of books I've read in a year before, so it's a bit of a stab in the dark, but....I figure aiming for one a fortnight is a respectable place to start. Hats off to the 52 book (aka one-a-week) readers - that's some serious commitment you're showing there!

I'm not going to set a rigid target this year. I think in 2013 I leaned too heavily on the shorter books, so 2014 I'm going to relax into a few more longer reads. I will also read one off-list book per month. After all, you can't live on caviar alone.

I try to read 10-12 classics a year. This year will be no different. Not all that I choose are on the lists but most of the authors are.

I read 34 list books last year, going to aim for that again.