2012 reading goals

[Fried Egg]

Why do people keep saying it is a good series as if it is even finished, as if it is ever going to be (not by Robert Jordan anyway)? It doesn't start too badly but by the middle it had developed to shameless padding and an obvious cash cow he author never tired of fattening.

[Warren_Paul]

Do we say George R.R. Martin's books are a good series?

Anyway, its only got 1 book to go that will be released later this year. I don't think Robert Jordan can help it that he passed away before finishing the series.

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by Warren_Paul

Anyway, its only got 1 book to go that will be released later this year. I don't think Robert Jordan can help it that he passed away before finishing the series.

Well, he only died 17 years after publishing the first volume, it would have been unreasonable to write a complete story in such a short time...

[thatollie]

I am epically failing at my reading goals.

[J-Sun]

I'm not doing so bad. I've sort of specified my strict goal as two books a week and, if I finish my current book today, I'll be a week ahead with 20 books in 9 weeks. Unfortunately, this includes stacking the deck by tending to pick shorter books.

[Fried Egg]

Originally Posted by thatollie

I am epically failing at my reading goals.

Indeed, I could be doing better. After a couple of disappointing fantasy masterworks entries (one I managed to finish, the other I didn't) I've take a break from this year's reading goal although I hope to relaunch my efforts shortly...

[Connavar]

I have read several of the authors, the type of books i was planning to read. I have read Chinua Achebe,Howard and i have an anthology of interesting African author names.

I have no trouble reading books since i have one literary class and read my own books on the slower weekend days.

[Grunkins]

Despite my best efforts and reading two and a halfish books a week my TBR stacks keep getting higher. I'm up around one hundred books in them as of now, with a few more on order. At some point I should cut myself off and just be content that I have my reading for the next year covered, but I keep finding new interesting books. And of course there are a few upcoming new-releases that I'm going to have to get (Caliban's War I'm looking at you).

[Extollager]

Originally Posted by thatollie

I am epically failing at my reading goals.

Doing okay; and having set some goals, weeks ago, has helped me to make some good choices regarding use of bits of time since then.

[CyBeR]

I'm doing excellent on my goals for this year. Thankfully, apart from a few missteps, I have had only good books to enjoy lately and that's helping me along. I'm on the second Malazan book (AWESOME) and doing well on my interest in the others. I read an epic tome and then slow down with a couple of shorter novels and different genres and I feel I can keep going like this all year long.
12 books out of my projected goal of 35...if I keep on this rate, I'll be surpassing that goal nicely by the end of the year.

[ljdevet]

Reading goal: 5 novels
Writing goal: 2 novels

I am contemplating beginning 'Eragon', although every time I go to look at it, the sheer volume of it causes me to reconsider

[Snowdog]

Originally Posted by Warren_Paul

I'm not sure if I understand what you mean by emotionally grueling, (But then I love a good emotional book myself) but I'd say that book is Steven Erikson's crowning pinnacle of achievement, Mine, as well as many other people's favorite book in the entire series.

For myself, I think I'm at last getting around to reading Guy Gavriel Kay's books, just got Tigana on my ereader. China Mievelle would be next on the list after that, as well as Ian Esselmont, since he is throwing out books quickly now and I've only read his first.

It's so intense that I find I always need a break halfway through and I go and read something else. Next time I'll start from half way because I now know the first half quite well

I didn't get on with Tigana, though it's highly thought of. I thoroughly enjoyed his Fionavar Tapestry trilogy though. It can be a bit melodramatic in places but Kay really gets you caring about the characters. If you like emotional books, the Fionavar Tapestry might be right up your street.

[Randy M.]

Since last October, I've been concentrating on horror/dark fantasy. I'm aiming to read a mix of newer and older works, and to read a selection outside American and British work.

So far I've read Ghost Stories by Walter de la Mare, Bag of Bones by Stephen King, Holiday, a story collection by M. Rickert (I may also read her first collection Map of Dreams before the year's over because Holiday was excellent),Tamsin by Peter Beagle, Lost by Gregory Macguire, Sharp Teeth by Toby Barlow, The Snowman's Children and American Morons (story collection) by Glen Hirshberg, The Dead Letters and Headstone City by Tom Piccirilli.

Right now I'm reading To Charles Fort, With Love a story collection by Caitlin Kiernan with the intent of following it with her new novel, The Drowning Girl. Her last novel, The Red Tree was terrific, so I have high hopes for this one.

Over the rest of the year I'm looking to choose from The Sacred Book of Werewolves by Victor Pelevin, A Dark Matter by Peter Straub, The Passage by Justin Cronin, Generation Loss by Elizabeth Hand, The Loving Dead by Amelia Beamer, Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist, The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson, The Man with the Barbed Wire Fists by Norman Partridge, The Grin of the Dark and at least one full story-collection by Ramsey Campbell, at least one of three or four novels I have by Kathe Koja, The Accursed by Claude Seignolle, Signs of Life by M. John Harrison, a collection by Edogowa Rampo, the title of which escapes me, continuing to read through the Night Shade collections of Clark Ashton Smith, and probably a couple of dozen others. I have a lot to choose from and no clue right now what I'll eventually choose.


Randy M.

[Extollager]

Did lots of good reading in 2012, but my reading plan for the year didn't correspond very closely with what it turned out that I read. Among the things that I listed for 2012 but didn't read (and don't expect to read in the next two weeks) -- Mirlees' Lud in the Mist; lots of Borges; Hesse's Glass Bead Game; lots of German Romantics (really bogged down with Hoffmann's "Golden Pot," though I expect to finish it eventually)...

[J-Sun]

My reading actually did correspond fairly well to my "plan" except that I fell short and don't know what I was talking about with "50-some books". Granted, I picked up a few more along the way (maybe about 10 that went into that group) and took time out to read some non-SF/F books but I've read 68 SF/F books (well short of the 104 that 2 per week would have gotten me) and I still have about 17 to go. So I won't meet my 2012 goal but maybe I can make it in 5 seasons instead of 4.