2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

"Reading Resolutions"
Every year many people make resolutions for their New Year goals. Here are some tweaked common resolutions makin' them reading resolutions!

Duration: 1/1/12 - 1/31/12
Rules:
✘You may post as you go or right away (all updates should be within the same initial posts as edits)
✘Please edit your initial list with updates stating # of books read so far, date read, # of stars given and which category it goes into
✘All formats of books (eBook, audio, paperback, hardcover) are allowed
✘Re-reads are not allowed
✘Can be combined with other challenges

You will not have to do all categories but should pick which level you will be participating at.
Level A: 2 Categories
Level B: 4 Categories
Level C: 6 Categories
Level D: 10 Categories
Expert Level: All 13 Categories


Categories:
Quit Smoking: A hard habit to break - Read a book in a series that wish you could stop reading, but stick with anyway (If you don't have a series like that -lucky you!- read a book with a character who is a police officer (smoking is a vice)) Other options for this category ... a book about firefighters or dragons. Going with the whole "smoke theme".

Lose weight: drop those extra lbs - Read a book that has been on your TBR shelf (real or virtual) for more than 6 months -OR- Read a chunky book that's been sitting on your TBR, but you keep passing it by because of it's size

Exercise more: get active - Read a UF book

Eat better: smaller portions - Read an anthology
(not just one story, but all the stories in the anthology)

New job: make a good first impression - Read a book who's cover drew you to it

Save money: pinch those pennies - Read a book you borrowed (from anyone or anywhere - friend, library, swap, online loan) -OR- Read a book you bought in 2011

Have a baby: new life - Read a 1st in series book

Go back to school: new professors - Read a book by a new-to-you author

Get married: blissfully in love - Read a PNR book

Take a vacation: get away for a while - Read a book set somewhere you've been or would like to go on vacation

Buy a house: personal property - Read a book you own

Reconnect with old friends: long time no see - Pick a book off of one of your first 5 GoodReads friends' bookshelf (I'm sure they'd love to hear how you liked it when you're done)

To find your first 5 GoodReads friends:
Click on friends along the GR menu bar
Sort by date added
Newest friends show up first, so scroll to the bottom of the list and pick a book from the "last" 5 listed (those are your 1st 5 friends added)

**again this was borrowed from another group.

Hmmm.. okay.
I don't really understand the challenge.

First you are going to deside how many of the catigories you want to participate with over the course of the month. Once you do that then you will pick books that fall within those catigories. as you finish each one you will update your thread here with what the book was and what you thought of it.

Exercise More
Take a Vacation

ohhh those are good ones.

I am going to try to do, Have a Baby and loss weight. I may add more later but I think that I better start with these..

Haha! Have a baby and lose weight. Polar opposites.
Hope you get that baby :D if only...

Sara wrote: "New job
Go back to school

Also-what does PNR stand for?"

It stands for Paranormal Romance.

Lose weight
Get married
Save money
Buy a house

New Job
Save Money
Get Married
Buy a House
Have a Baby

I want to read 5 books a month so this helps me out! :)

January Resolution Challenge
Level C: 6 Categories

I actually selected books for all 12 categories, in case I manage more, but the six with * beside them is what I am aiming to achieve. :)

1) Quit Smoking: Paint Your Dragon * Done! 01/19/12
2) Lose Weight: Another Fine Myth
3) Exercise More: Moon Called
4) Eat Better: Vampires: The Greatest Stories
5) New Job: Undead and Unwed
6) Save Money: The Secret Adversary *
7) Have a Baby: One for the Money
8) Go Back to School: The Lightning Thief *
9) Get Married: Witch Fire
10) Take a Vacation: The Silver Pigs *
11) Buy a House: The Sea of Monsters *
12) Reconnect with Old Friends: The Help * Done! 01/15/12

The discerning eye will note that I can also use some of these for the "I Spy" Challenge, so I will be doubling up some.

Good luck to all participants! :)

Edited: I will track progress for this challenge in my personal folder in the Member's Corner.

I will be doing two categories. The categories I chose were Saving Money and Losing Weight.

1. Saving Money: The Martian Chronicles
2. Losing Weight: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

I'll try all of them ... let's see how it goes ;).

SilverRaindrops' January Resolutions Challenge - Expert Level

1) Quit Smoking: The Strange Affair of Spring Heeled Jack ... I keep wanting to give it away and say I'll read it some day but I never do ... so here we go ;). (Plus, it's a group read this month).
2) Lose weight: My Century ... that's the longest I can do with all those other books. No sense in trying A Suitable Boy at all.
3) Exercise more: Darkborn ... I'm defining this as urban fantasy ... it takes place in a city so it should count ;).
4) Eat better: Ox-tales: Earth ... I should really try to read ALL of the stories, not just one or two ;).
5) New job: The Owl Service ... yes, I am reading this because of the owl on the cover ;).
6) Save money: The Help ... bought that in october of 2010. Justified it for this category so I can do the group read ;).
7) Have a baby: 100 Cupboards. I even bought the entire series. Had it on my shelf for ages.
8) Go back to school: The Summer Book. I've never read any of her books. Even though I watched the Moomin series.
9) Get married: Changeless ... thank God there's a PNR series out there that I like ;).
10) Take a vacation: Apricots on the Nile: A Memoir with Recipes ... I'll also attempt to cook the recipes ;).
11) Buy a house: The Castle in the Pyrenees ... one book out of my mum's and my Jostein Gaarder-themed library ;).
12) Reconnect with old friends: Verrat, because me and my friend have been avoiding reading it for years ;).

Good luck to everyone with their resolutions ... all the none-book-related ones, too ;).

Adriana wrote: "Nikki what does UF stand for?"

Adriana, UF means Urban Fantasy. The story is set primarily in an urban setting ( = city). Most UF stories are also paranormal romance today, but really it doesn't matter as long as your story is set in a city.
This urban fantasy list should give you some ideas ;).

oooo sorry I cleaned that one up....

Nikki wrote: "oooo sorry I cleaned that one up...."

Better too thoroughly than too sloppy ;).

My January Resolutions
I am going to do 4 categories.

Having a baby: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Save Money: Mona Lisa Eclipsing
Go Back to School: Some Girls Bite
Finished 1/2/12 - The book is fun and inventive. I enjoyed.
Reconnect with old friends: The Devil Wears Prada

I'm in and I will track progress in the Members' Corner.
Level B 4 Categories

Lose weight, Exercise more, Eat better and Save money.

Brianna wrote: "January "Resolutions" Challenge--I'll be tracking progress in my member's corner.
Level B: 4 Categories


Have a Baby: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson..."

Brianna, have you seen the original "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" movie, too? Or are you going to see the new one?

I'm going to do two categories: Lose weight and Save money. Progress can be seen in Member's corner.

That's a great idea Robyn - should be especially helpful when you get to the "Lose Weight" part ;).

I will be participating in Level A:
Save money: Borrowed To Kill a Mockingbird from library
Back to School (new author): Room by Emma Donoghue

I think I shall try:
New Job
Have A baby
Go back to school

Not going to promise anything but I will try

Good Luck with your resolutions everyone. I'm excited for all the books I have planned, I can't wait to start.
Happy new reading year!

I completed my saving money one. Now, I need to complete the lifting weights challenge for the book.

James wrote: "I completed my saving money one. Now, I need to complete the lifting weights challenge for the book."

What did you read?
I'm still reading leftovers from last year (i.e. finishing The Way of Kings), so I'll have a late start to the challenge. (Or I could change my challenge and put that book into it, but that would be cheating).

I'm in for Level A (2 categories): Save Money and Back to School. I'll be keeping track in Members Corner.

SilverRaindrops wrote: "James wrote: "I completed my saving money one. Now, I need to complete the lifting weights challenge for the book."

What did you read?
I'm still reading leftovers from last year (i.e. finishing [..."

I read The Martian Chronicles for Saving Money.

Level C (8 categories)
Complete 8 of 8

(1.) New Job: Cover that drew you in - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

(2.) Go back to School: New-to-you author - The Night Circus

(3.) Have a baby: First book in a series - Twilight

(4.) Buy a house: a book you own - The Sense of an Ending

(5.) Reconnect with old friends: a book from a friends goodreads bookshelf - The Book Thief

(6.) Take a vacation: Set somewhere you would like to visit - Before I Go to Sleep

(7.) Lose weight: a book that has been on your TBR list for six months - New Moon

(8.) Save money: Book bought in 2011 - On Canaan's Side

I´m trying for level B as well, I´m now at 2/4 done.

Done:
Back to school: new author Rosa Liksom
Lose weight: on to-be-read shelf for more than 6 months: Coraline

I think I have a change to get to 6 in total at the moment, but we´ll see!

How are you all doing a week in?
I've read two books out of the thirteenth I've planned; so far I took a vacation and bought a house :).
Plus, in an added resolution, I've also dealt with all the stuff from last year that held me down, i.e. Brandon Sanderson's 1000-page-monster ;).
How was your start into the new year?

Robyn wrote: "well so far i have had a baby or at least i am on the final push of it... about 20 pages max to go on Beautiful Creatures. unfortunately this one will be an only child, i dont forese..."

On the plus side, you won't have to provide for quite so many children ;). My best friend always goes mental when she finds out she accidentally started a series with more than three books.

I took a vacation (Odd and the Frost Giants) and then went back to school(Hytti nro 6). After the vacation I lost some weight(Coraline). I am still planning to save some money(Veden vanki) and then buy a house(Oliver Twist)where I can reconnect with old friends(The Help).

If I actually succeed in that..well I have never read that much before!

I just finished my first January Resolution with Back To School - New To You Author - Elizabeth the Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch by Sally Bedell Smith.

Johanna wrote: "I took a vacation (Odd and the Frost Giants) and then went back to school(Hytti nro 6). After the vacation I lost some weight(Coraline). I am still plann..."

I love your description here!!

Ugh. I hate when that happens. Authors orment us.

I have pretty much stopped reading book 1 of a series if I know that the series is still continuing. I already forget what has happened in the first before the second one is published. I now have plans to read some series that have finished already, or will this year.

Johanna wrote: "I have pretty much stopped reading book 1 of a series if I know that the series is still continuing. I already forget what has happened in the first before the second one is published. I now have p..."

My friend and I have a series where we can still remember some scenes and settings, but don't know any of the characters. And the second book came an entire year after the first. But we're both waiting for the other to read the first book again so we don't have to ;).

Robyn wrote: "and i just realized that i am doing that resolution in real life as well, i start classes monday. i just made that connection. love it!"

lol Robyn, that's great. Have fun in going back to school :).

I completed my second requirment for January which I did the Losing Weight challenge. I am so glad that I completed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Good going James! I love the Harry Potter series myself. I spent a couple of years mistakenly thinking it was just for kids and then when my son kept going on and on and on about the series I read the first one and got hooked :)

James wrote: "I completed my second requirment for January which I did the Losing Weight challenge. I am so glad that I completed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

That is my allllll time fav HP book. Did you like it?

Tatum wrote: "Good going James! I love the Harry Potter series myself. I spent a couple of years mistakenly thinking it was just for kids and then when my son kept going on and on and on about the series I read ..."

I'm trying to get my mum to read it. So I'll just annoy her some more and that will work? Interesting tactic ;).

I finished the four resolutions I had said I would do:
Lose weight The Help
Get married Morrigan's Cross
Save money 1st to Die
Buy a house Theodore Boone, Kid Lawyer
and one more Have a Baby Dead Until Dark

Still have half the month might work on some of the others :)

Sharon wrote: "I finished the four resolutions I had said I would do:
Lose weight The Help
Get married Morrigan's Cross
Save money 1st to Die
Buy a house [book:Theodore B..."

Wow Sharon, you sure set an example. Good going!

January "Resolutions" Challenge Complete


Level B 4 Categories

Lose weight: The Iron Daughter by Julie Kagawa 1/10
Exercise more: Hunting Ground by P. Briggs 1/7
Eat better: Enthralled: Paranormal Diversionsby M. Marr and K. Armstrong 1/17
Save money: Viper Moonby Lee Roland1/14

SilverRaindrops wrote: "Sharon wrote: "I finished the four resolutions I had said I would do:
Lose weight The Help
Get married Morrigan's Cross
Save money 1st to Die
Buy a hou..."

Now if I just keep my real resolutions! Actually the only one I made was to be better organized in all areas of my life so that is a continual, ongoing process.

I admit I looked quickly, but I think we now have 5 people who've completed this challenge. Way to go all! :) Now the rest of us better get reading, still 2 weeks left!

Nikki wrote: "James wrote: "I completed my second requirment for January which I did the Losing Weight challenge. I am so glad that I completed Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire."

That is my allllll time fav ..."

I enjoy the book.

Robyn wrote: "i just saved some money! finished One for the Moneywhich i found at the library. i had been wanting to read this series and i am glad i finally picked it up and read it. it was an extr..."

ohhh that is my TBR for Feb. Except I baught the book. Did you like it?