The Reading Challenge Group discussion

We're looking for ideas for next year's reading challenges! Please consider the following questions and give any constructive feedback that you have to offer. This group is for all of us, so we value your input!

1. What do you like, that you would like to see continue next year?
2. Do you have any ideas for new challenges?
3. Is there anything you would change about current challenges?
4. Group reads - which genres do you like best? Any improvements you would suggest here?
5. Is there anything you'd like to see more of?
6. Is there anything you could do without?

I think we shoukd keep the Alphebet Soup, Decades and Chunkster Challenge. I also like the bingos.

I like any challenge which will get me to read books that are on my bookshelves. The calendar challenge is fun, and I liked Buy a Vowel too.

In mini-challenges I'd love to see the Serial challenge and Chunkster challenge continue. The Let's Have Pie challenge was one I got started a little later in the year, but I really liked the concept and would love for that to continue, maybe with another must-read list. I didn't get to participate in the Genre or World Lit group challenges and I'd like to see those continue.

I like the chunkster challenge too.

I love Bingo! It really allows me to read what I want while also providing a few different genres to challenge my reading.

So far it looks like people like the longer challenges the most.

BINGO!!!

Martha wrote: "In mini-challenges I'd love to see the Serial challenge and Chunkster challenge continue. The Let's Have Pie challenge was one I got started a little later in the year, but I really liked the conce..."

Do you have any specific lists that you'd like to focus on for Let's Have Pie, Martha?

Allison wrote: "Martha wrote: "In mini-challenges I'd love to see the Serial challenge and Chunkster challenge continue. The Let's Have Pie challenge was one I got started a little later in the year, but I really ..."

Not really. I liked the two lists and the themes. There are certainly enough books from the lists to choose from for another year. In thinking of other ideas, another theme list could be book prize winners with the themes being different book prize lists, but I would be happy to continue with the present pie list with same themes.

Bookopoly has been fun. Stretched my usual choice of books. To me, that's the point of a challenge. My 1st reason to join in the challenges. I have encountered some great books & authors. I have also satisfied my curiosity about others which turned out not very satisfactory. I learned that what works for the critics & list makers do not always work for me. And that's ok!

I really like Bookopoly as it gives me a chance to work on my TBR pile.

For Group Reads, I like Classics and World Lit. I also suggested earlier going for themes maybe and see how it goes.

Camille wrote: "I also suggested earlier going for themes maybe and see how it goes."

I still really like this idea, Camille, especially because it offers more flexibility in choosing what to read. Are you thinking that we'd collect theme nominations and do a poll every month? Or choose themes ahead of time?

Allison wrote: "Camille wrote: "I also suggested earlier going for themes maybe and see how it goes."

I still really like this idea, Camille, especially because it offers more flexibility in choosing what to read..."

In the othrr group I follow, they nominate themes each month and then do a poll. This way people get involved and you don't lose momentum of things planned too much in advance.

I like the bingos - very challenging.

I had trouble generating interest for some of the genres selected this year for the genre challenge (manga/graphic - I've tried them and they are not my cup of tea; minority - I get this by doing the world challenge; poetry/plays - too much like high school) and I get that this is to stretch your horizons but with my stacks of reading stretching is not a problem for me.
Also I'd like to suggest to relate the genre to the month (this year some were and some weren't) - romance in February; humor in April; travel in June or July; horror in October; inspirational in December...I know some months don't lend themselves to a theme but it is fun when it works out.

I think it would be more challenging to expand the alternate group read to 4 to 6 categories (vs current 3).

1. What do you like, that you would like to see continue next year?

I really liked all of the challenges, though it would be helpful to organize them into folders for the different year-long, quarter long and month long. I found it hard sometimes to keep scrolling through the list to find the one I needed to update.

2. Do you have any ideas for new challenges?

I'd like a challenge that allows us to go through some of the old book of the months if we haven't had a chance to read them before.

3. Is there anything you would change about current challenges?

Nope - I loved them - including the games. The only thing I didn't enjoy is keeping points for all of the different challenges - it just got too much so I stopped.

4. Group reads - which genres do you like best? Any improvements you would suggest here?

Like others, I'm not a big fan of some genres, but I liked that the list had me try them. I would try any genre again, though having recommendations for the genre would be great.

5. Is there anything you'd like to see more of?

I like the year long challenges & the bingos!

6. Is there anything you could do without?

The point system :)

Sorry I haven't been around much this year. I try to check in once in a while, and I definitely enjoy this group! I can't really answer the questions because I haven't participated much, but I wanted to let you know I like being here, seeing what you are all doing, reading your discussions and everything. I wish I had more time and motivation to play!

I have not tried them all. But I do the genre challenge each year to broaden my reading horizons. I just change the genre for the month if it is something I really can't get into. So I have added a few such as Biography.
I really like the Bookopoly game, too. It adds certain elements to choosing books that I wouldn't ordinarily think of.

My favourites this year were

Let's Have Pie: 1000/1001 Books Before You Die -
This one pushed me a little out of my comfort zone and by doing that I discovered two books that i'd place in my top 10 favorite books ever. I'm not sure i'd have read them if it wasn't for this challenge. I'd love something like this again. Seven books is about the right number for me too.

Buyer's Remorse -
Never a bad thing to save a few £s and read the books already on my shelves.

Bookopoly game -
Fun fun fun!

Sam F wrote: "1. What do you like, that you would like to see continue next year?

I really liked all of the challenges, though it would be helpful to organize them into folders for the different year-long, qua..."

I really like your idea of revisiting old books of the month!

Allison wrote: "We're looking for ideas for next year's reading challenges! Please consider the following questions and give any constructive feedback that you have to offer. This group is for all of us, so we val..."

BINGO!!

I'm a newbie here and am super anxious for next year to start. All of the mini- challenges are very creative, fun and interesting. I love all of them.

I agree, the mini-challenges are a lot of fun because of the variety of types there are.

I'd like to see an anti alphabet soup challenge, read one book missing each ketter for the alphabet, to pair with the traditional one!

For fans of The Gilmore Girls, I did see a challenge somewhere called The Rory Gilmore Challenge. You read every book that Rory read on the show. The list has about 300 books - so it's not for the faint of heart

Marianne- I saw that list too. It might be fun to choose some of the books because 300 is a lot of books for one year.

Sonia wrote: "I've enjoyed the readathons this year too because we seem to post more about what we're reading."

Agreed, the readathons are great!

Have more creative challenges. I like themes. Sometimes it seems like the same mini challenges are recycled from the last year. I had fun with the Decades challenge. A new Bookopoly might be fun. I didn't have time to play the last one. I am not a fan of the group reads, especially when I read the book and there is no discussion. I agree the point system was a great concept but too confusing.

Cindy wrote: "Have more creative challenges. I like themes. Sometimes it seems like the same mini challenges are recycled from the last year..."

Cindy, many will be recycled again because we still have lots of people interested in them who either haven't had a chance to complete them yet, or who do enjoy repeating challenges.

We'll try to have a good mix of new and returning challenges for those who don't want to repeat, but feel free to offer any ideas you'd like for us to develop!

Betsy wrote: "I just saw the Bookopoly challenge. That looks fun, can we do this for 2017 as well. I don't care if it is the same board or a new board :)"

I think we can do that :)

I joined the group not that long ago, so the mini challenges are new to me. The good thing about mini challenges is that they are short, so I can do more, which is fun.

I am adding my wish to continue Bookopoly.

I joined Wacky Reading Challenges because they are more creative and have fun challenges every month. Not saying this group has to do what everyone else might do. Their Bingo challenge has pictures and usually follows a theme, such as winter, summer etc... I am doing a genre challenge from Wacky, I got to choose any genre and have a list of twenty tasks to complete. Just some ideas to think about for 2017.

What type of tasks, Cindy? Maybe we coukd add something like that each month with our themes

I liked Alphabet Soup. I was close this year to completing all the letters

Some of the tasks in the genre challenge
Pick a genre you usually don't read
Task 1 Read a book of choice for that genre
Read a book recommended by Goodreads based on book read in Task 1
Start a new series by reading first book in the series
Read a book from one of your Goodreads friends bookshelf
Explore the library-read a book you checked out from the library
Popular when-read a book published the year you were born or the year you joined Goodreads
There are twenty tasks. Once you set your genre there is no changing it. The whole list is at Wacky Reading challenges, called genre challenge take 2

Thanks Cindy, that does sound pretty interesting!

There's a new 2017 Pop Sugar Reading Challenge if no one has mentioned it yet.

Thanks Megan! I just finished typing it up. :)
It will be in the Year-Long Challenge folder for 2017.

This is the fun reading challenge we are doing on our blog... some folks might enjoy, let me know what you think?

http://worldgonegeek.com/blog/134/