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General Discussion -> Roll-Your-Own Reading Challenge	Message format

DrNefario

Posted 2014-01-15 4:17 PM (#6104)
Subject: General Challenge chat

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Well, I've foolishly signed up for five of the challenges, and I'm still tempted by a couple more. The problem is that my intended reading for the year includes books that could fill about 3-6 places in most of the challenges, so it doesn't seem like I'd have to go too far out of my way to fill the rest, but it all adds up.

The five challenges add up to a possible 60 books, which is more than I read last year, but I only need to make each book count for two challenges to knock it down to 30, which I think is about doable. Two of the challenges are mutually exclusive, so there's no way I can get it below 24. I'm expecting it to work out at about 36-40 books, which will be something of a stretch. Last year I read 57 books, 34 of which were SF&F.

I wanted to do the WoGF again because I felt I had unfinished business. I had a few books that didn't quite make my final list last year, and a few more from recommendations at the end of last year's challenge. Additionally, many of my favourite books of the year were read for the WoGF, so this is going to be a priority. I may yet decide to ignore the random author requirement, though.

I guess I really ought to make a point of finishing my own challenge, The Book of Ones, too. I'm not expecting that to be a difficult one. It's the only one I've already filled all 12 slots in, although I'm a bit concerned about the eligibility of one book.

The other three - 12 Awards in 12 Months, Second Best and Masterworks - I think I'll just have to see how I get on. The awards in particular may force me into reading some horror, which is not really my thing. There are 14 awards on WWE, currently, and I've read all the Hugo winners. There will be a new one this year, but there's a chance I'll have already read it.

The really good thing is that most of the books I've been meaning to read for years seem to fall under one challenge or another, so I shouldn't need to venture outside the boundaries too often.

HRO

Posted 2014-01-15 8:02 PM (#6107 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: RE: General Challenge chat

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DrNefario - 2014-01-15 5:17 PM The awards in particular may force me into reading some horror, which is not really my thing. There are 14 awards on WWE, currently, and I've read all the Hugo winners. There will be a new one this year, but there's a chance I'll have already read it. .

Many of the books nominated for the Shirley Jackson Award tend to be more psychological thriller - dark fantastic than horror so you should be safe with that one. I would highly recommend The Drowning Girl, and The Silent Land is also very good. And Gone Girl is straight up literary mystery - no horror creepiness at all. The Bram Stoker books seem to be mostly hardcore horror, with the exception of the aforementioned The Drowning Girl, which won last year.

I've signed up for 6 challenges, and with crossovers I have a total of 56 books to read. I read a little over 100 books per year so I'm not too worried about completing the challenges as long as I stay focused and organized. (And providing no one comes up with more brilliant challenge ideas!) Some titles I want to read aren't in the database, but I'm hoping the Powers That Be will add them by year's end so I can fill in all the pretty little boxes.

Good luck with your challenges, DrNefario.....and everyone else!

DrNefario

Posted 2014-01-16 7:39 AM (#6109 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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I've got The Drowning Girl on my wishlist. There's a fair chance I'll pick it up before the end of the year. i guess there's no great rush to fill in the spaces, given that we're barely half way through January. I will admit I've started a spreadsheet to try to keep track of which books are good for which challenges, and which awards I have covered.

I hadn't spotted Gone Girl. I've seen that on offer several times, but I've passed over it because I'm trying to control my in-tray a bit. I see there's also a Chuck Palahniuk in the Stoker nominees. I've read a few of his and always found them interesting. I think I'll focus on the books I already own to begin with, though.

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-01-16 10:18 AM (#6114 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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A spreadsheet is a good idea. I joined a bunch of challenges. The only one I worried about is the Translation Challenge which is going to be tough. I need to buy 11 books for the Women of GF Challenge. I have a bunch of women authors on my TBR but except for 1 they are not new to me.
My main problem is that I'm trying to cut down my TBR so that I've set myself the target of only buying 1 book for 5 read. That means 55 books just to finish the WoGF challenge. I may have painted myself into a corner here.

daxxh

Posted 2014-01-16 12:30 PM (#6120 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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I am only signed up for two challenges, but am very tempted to sign up for the Masterworks Challenge and the Number of the Counting Shall Be Three Challenge. If I choose my WoGF books right, I will only have to read five more for the Masterworks Challenge. Three of the Counting Challenge will count towards the Read the Sequel Challenge. But, with all the nonfiction I read and the technical stuff I have to read for work and the library holds that will appear in a month or so, I am not sure that I can do four challenges. I have books on my TBR bookcases that would fit the Second Best, the 12 Awards in 12 Months, and Read More of That Author Challenges as well. Too many fun challenges...

DrNefario - 2014-01-16 7:39 AM

I've got The Drowning Girl on my wishlist. There's a fair chance I'll pick it up before the end of the year. i guess there's no great rush to fill in the spaces, given that we're barely half way through January. I will admit I've started a spreadsheet to try to keep track of which books are good for which challenges, and which awards I have covered.

I read The Drowning Girl for the 2013 WoGF Challenge and I didn't like it at all. Not saying that you won't, since a lot of people did like it and it won the Bram Stoker Award. I didn't think it fit any of the genres. To me it was just a general fiction novel and although the prose was eloquent in places, the characters weren't that likable and it rambled on and on. Had it not been nominated for a Nebula Award, I never would have picked it up to read. And had I not been stuck on a plane with it, I probably wouldn't have finished it.

Edited by daxxh 2014-01-16 12:33 PM

HRO

Posted 2014-01-19 7:37 AM (#6153 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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O dear. I'm now I'm up to 10 challenges and 69 books.

Must. Stop.

Edited by HRO 2014-01-19 7:58 AM

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-01-19 10:21 AM (#6159 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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So you had to go and create another one huh? (And which of course I had to join). I'm up to 14 which would be 168 books without overlap. With overlap? I don't know I've lost count.

DrNefario

Posted 2014-01-19 11:42 AM (#6162 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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I like the look of that new one, too, but I'm worried that it might be a step too far. Even though I've already read a book that would count towards it...

HRO

Posted 2014-01-19 5:01 PM (#6166 - in reply to #6159)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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justifiedsinner - 2014-01-19 11:21 AM So you had to go and create another one huh? (And which of course I had to join). I'm up to 14 which would be 168 books without overlap. With overlap? I don't know I've lost count.

Yep, I sure did.

Without overlap, I would have 108 books. Doable, yet ridiculous. Thanks goodness overlap brings it down to "only" 69. I have a crazy long & complicated Word document to keep track of everything.

HRO

Posted 2014-01-19 5:03 PM (#6167 - in reply to #6162)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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DrNefario - 2014-01-19 12:42 PM I like the look of that new one, too, but I'm worried that it might be a step too far. Even though I've already read a book that would count towards it...

The End of the World challenge works well with a lot of the other challenges, so I hope you'll consider joining. Of course, we have to draw the line somewhere and stop joining challenges, don't we? Er, maybe not.

DrNefario

Posted 2014-01-20 7:26 AM (#6175 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Well, I caved in and joined.

And added the sequels one while I was at it. I think I'm going to prioritize, and concentrate my efforts on a couple of challenges, and then just see where I get with the others. It's not like there's a penalty for failing.

Almost everything I want to read in the WWE genres is now likely to fall under one challenge or another.

dustydigger

Posted 2014-01-20 11:08 AM (#6176 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Phew! Thank goodness I already had a challenge to read 144 books,and even with overlapping I am up to 170 plus reads now.Perhaps I should just ban myself from looking at the RYO challenge page!

HRO

Posted 2014-01-20 12:57 PM (#6178 - in reply to #6175)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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DrNefario - 2014-01-20 8:26 AM It's not like there's a penalty for failing.....

Uh oh, you didn't read the fine print when you signed up did you?

"...death awaits you all with nasty, big, pointy teeth." (Tim, of Monty Python & the Holy Grail)

Textual

Posted 2014-01-22 1:46 PM (#6205 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Hey everyone. Some really cool books being requested. I'm curious if anyone knows of any Marxist/Socialist/Bolshevik writers who are women. I've made a challenge with this theme but I feel like its an old white man's club in there. Hmmmm...perhaps there is some connection here.

HRO

Posted 2014-01-22 2:10 PM (#6206 - in reply to #6205)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Textual - 2014-01-22 2:46 PM Hey everyone. Some really cool books being requested. I'm curious if anyone knows of any Marxist/Socialist/Bolshevik writers who are women. I've made a challenge with this theme but I feel like its an old white man's club in there. Hmmmm...perhaps there is some connection here.

Disclaimer: I know nothing about what qualifies for this challenge.

That being said, there is THIS LIST of "50 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Works Every Socialist Should Read" that was put together by China Mieville.

Textual

Posted 2014-01-22 4:14 PM (#6209 - in reply to #6206)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Thanks very much. Will mine this for authors and see if I can get a slightly more varied set of works.

DrNefario

Posted 2014-02-05 9:29 AM (#6352 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Which challenges are people finding it hardest to fill?

Weirdly, in my case, it seems to be Read the Sequel. I have loads of possible sequels I can read, but hardly any of them double up for other challenges.

Rhondak101

Posted 2014-02-05 9:50 AM (#6353 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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So far, for me, it is The Second Best. Most of the books I have on my TBR have won one of the awards or were never under consideration. This one will probably be one of the last ones I finish because it will take the most strategizing and locating of copies.

HRO

Posted 2014-02-05 10:43 AM (#6354 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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My most difficult challenge is Short Fiction because (1) a lot of what I planned to read isn't in the database and (2) there isn't any easy way to find the short fiction that IS in the database (no subgenre tag, no lists, no awards. etc). I had to go hunting elsewhere and then check the database; I went through probably 100+ options before I managed to fill most of the slots. (I still have three empty slots and I'm hoping some of my requests are added to the database by the end of the year.)

I'm guessing that I'm not the only one struggling, though, if the vast number of empty slots on the challenge page is evidence.

At least I learned my lesson to research whether a challenge is doable before signing up for it!

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-02-05 10:58 AM (#6355 - in reply to #6353)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Rhondak101 - 2014-02-05 10:50 AM

So far, for me, it is The Second Best. Most of the books I have on my TBR have won one of the awards or were never under consideration. This one will probably be one of the last ones I finish because it will take the most strategizing and locating of copies.

Funnily enough, I was thinking of having another challenge called "The Unloved" for books not being on any list or nominated for any prize in WWE. Since I was on so many challenges I decided to leave this until next year. (I assuming we're doing a re-do in 2015).

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-02-05 11:02 AM (#6356 - in reply to #6354)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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HRO - 2014-02-05 11:43 AM

My most difficult challenge is Short Fiction because (1) a lot of what I planned to read isn't in the database and (2) there isn't any easy way to find the short fiction that IS in the database (no subgenre tag, no lists, no awards. etc). I had to go hunting elsewhere and then check the database; I went through probably 100+ options before I managed to fill most of the slots. (I still have three empty slots and I'm hoping some of my requests are added to the database by the end of the year.)

I'm guessing that I'm not the only one struggling, though, if the vast number of empty slots on the challenge page is evidence.

At least I learned my lesson to research whether a challenge is doable before signing up for it!

The PKD and the Mythopeotic feature short story collections some are more obvious than others unfortunately.

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-02-05 11:05 AM (#6357 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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In Translation and Short fiction are going to be the hardest for me. There just isn't much overlap with the other challenges. For short stories I usually try to read one short SF story for each SF novel I read. With an average of 8 short stories per collection that would be 96 SF novels.

HRO

Posted 2014-02-05 11:15 AM (#6358 - in reply to #6356)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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justifiedsinner - 2014-02-05 12:02 PM

The PKD and the Mythopeotic feature short story collections some are more obvious than others unfortunately.

Most of the prizes have a short story collection category but only the novel categories are included in the prize listings on WWEnd. I think the PKD and the Mythopoeic are the only prizes that give an award to either a novel or a collection, without separating them out into categories.

For example, Angry Candy by Harlan Ellison won the World Fantasy Award and was nominated for the Bram Stoker and the Locus Award (all for the "best collection" category). Silently and Very Fast by Catherynne Valente won the Locus Award for Best Novella and Stranger Things Happen by Kelly Link was nominated for the World Fantasy Award for Best Collection. None of that info is included in the listing for those books here on WWEnd.

Edited by HRO 2014-02-05 11:35 AM

justifiedsinner

Posted 2014-02-05 12:04 PM (#6359 - in reply to #6104)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Yes, Kelly Link would fall into my Unloved category which is unfair since I believe she is very popular. I can see the difficulty in including individual short stories and novellas in the DB but collections shouldn't pose the same problem. I guess it's a matter of time. First novel prizes aren't included either.
One big omission on the short story front is Ted Chiang's collection "Stories of Your Life and Others", widely regarded as the best collection in a decade. His story "Hell is the Absence of God" is one of the most heartbreaking I've read, in any genre.

Rhondak101

Posted 2014-02-05 12:14 PM (#6360 - in reply to #6357)
Subject: Re: General Challenge chat

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Yes, In Translation is also a hard one. I have not "officially" signed up for it yet. I'm waiting to see how many books I can find that will fit with other challenges I'm already doing. I've started a list. I'm now getting very excited when I discover that a book is in translation that I had not realized before. My list thus far is

The Little Prince (also Guardian and Short Fiction)

The Master and Margarita (also Guardian)

Solaris (Guardian and Socialist)

Vathek (Guardian and Short Fiction)

The Meaning of the Night (not on WWE and not sure if it belongs. it might be more thriller than horror).

Hmm..a little slow on the uptake here. It seems that Translation and Guardian might make a very good combo