50 books in 2020!

[Linea_Norway]

As I would like to log what I'm reading next year, I am creating the new thread for this year.

[jeroly]

I’m in!
I’ll probably only make it about halfway to the 50-book goal but it’s worth trying for...who knows?
I’ll try for 25 fiction and 25 nonfiction.  I’m in a fiction-oriented book club that should allow me to get halfway to the fiction goal (we meet monthly), and I tend to read nonfiction on my own initiative.

[MrsPennyPincher]

I am in! Probably won’t make it, but it’s good to have a goal!

[Vashy]

I'm in. Was actually aiming for 26, but I'll try harder than that. :)

[Adventine]

Hello @Linea_Norway ! Thanks for creating the 2020 thread. I'm in again (as always) :D

[SquashingDebt]

I'm in! Aiming for 100 again. 

I'm also doing 2 challenges to diversify my reading:  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (https://bookriot.com/2019/12/03/2020-read-harder-challenge/) and the 2020 Reading Women Challenge (https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/reading-women-challenge-2020).

If else anyone is interested in doing one or both of these challenges, it could be fun to track that together, either on this thread or a separate one.

[Serenity]

I think the only way I could achieve this is if I also include audiobooks in my total. Would that count? I love reading e-books but struggle for time, so I listen to audiobooks when in the car, doing household chores etc.

[SquashingDebt]

I think the only way I could achieve this is if I also include audiobooks in my total. Would that count? I love reading e-books but struggle for time, so I listen to audiobooks when in the car, doing household chores etc.

I absolutely count audiobooks!

[Vashy]

I think the only way I could achieve this is if I also include audiobooks in my total. Would that count? I love reading e-books but struggle for time, so I listen to audiobooks when in the car, doing household chores etc.

They definitely count. :)

[cerat0n1a]

I'm likely to hit 50 within the first few months, but it will be interesting to record what I read.

[redhead84]

I'm in! Aiming for 100 again. 

I'm also doing 2 challenges to diversify my reading:  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (https://bookriot.com/2019/12/03/2020-read-harder-challenge/) and the 2020 Reading Women Challenge (https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/reading-women-challenge-2020).

If else anyone is interested in doing one or both of these challenges, it could be fun to track that together, either on this thread or a separate one.

I'm also aiming for 100 - I should hit 96 this year. I like the idea of your challenges. I did a pretty good job with diversifying my reading this year, but I can continue to step it up, and the Read Harder Challenge has some interesting categories that I have not read before.

[norajean]

Somewhere along the way, I lost my ability to read an entire book. I can skim one at the bookstore and get the gist of it in 15 minutes. Most of my reading is online content. For fiction entertainment I prefer video on demand.  US book sales are as high as ever, so everyone else is still reading like mad?

[Linea_Norway]

Somewhere along the way, I lost my ability to read an entire book. I can skim one at the bookstore and get the gist of it in 15 minutes. Most of my reading is online content. For fiction entertainment I prefer video on demand.  US book sales are as high as ever, so everyone else is still reading like mad?

Reading a book is good me-time and offline entertainment. (counting a Kindle as a book)
It is a way to escape from your normal worries for the time you read.

[outdoorsyfreedom]

I am in again!

[katekat]

I have a personal resolution to try to read more after a long spell of not reading much at all, so I will join this challenge despite being nervous that I will get nowhere near! Personally I will be counting audiobooks in my total and also books I finish in 2020 having started in the last few days of 2019.

[wannabe-stache]

For the history-buffs, I strongly recommend Rick Atkinson's pieces on the Revolutionary War.

I started with "The British Are Coming" and it is both amazing and humbling.  The latter is in reference to how little I actually knew of what occurred in places where I have lived (NYC) during the 1775-1777 period!

[Luz]

I'm taking on the challenge this year!
First up: The Unwinding of the Miracle: A Memoir of Life, Death, and Everything That Comes After by Julie Yip-Williams

[robincanada]

I have 200ish books I bought since I moved in July.  Almost all of them used.  And no
Internet at home soon.  So I will read 1 book minimum a week.  50 would maybe encourage me to not read if I read a few in one week. 

I just read White Tiger the 2008 Booker Prize winner.  It is worth a read, India is very different and I he poverty portrayed will make you realize you can always get by with less. 

[grantmeaname]

I've aimed for one a week the last few years but next year I'm gonna try for 104. My best ever year was 2018 with 91 books, so it's a bit of a stretch.

[grantmeaname]

US book sales are as high as ever, so everyone else is still reading like mad?

As high as ever? Hardly. Americans are still reading as little as ever, averaging 12 books per year and with the median an even more pathetic four.

[qbird]

I am in!

[MaybeBecca]

I have been pretty consistently working on one book for the bulk of December. 50 books seems pie-in-the-sky for me, but I will try my best regardless. I used to be really big on reading, but somewhere along the way the internet took up all my reading time.  Still learn plenty, but it just isn't the same.

[Linea_Norway]

I have been pretty consistently working on one book for the bulk of December. 50 books seems pie-in-the-sky for me, but I will try my best regardless. I used to be really big on reading, but somewhere along the way the internet took up all my reading time.  Still learn plenty, but it just isn't the same.

That's right. I remember a research article where they checked how people spent their time, now and in the past, some decades aho. Nowadays people feel they don't have time. It turned out that people use the same amount of time on work, commuting, household, cooking and shopping. And all the time that has disappeared in modern time was time spent on internet. If you get an interesting enough book, you might not want to stop reading and prioritize it over internet use.

[dblaace]

I'd like to try but not likley to make it. I only read 18 for 2019.

[nick663]

I'm in.  I have a shelf full of books that I have wanted to read for a while and want to make it a priority for 2020.

[slowstart]

Much like @nick663 I have a large selection of books that I've been meaning to read.  I keep adding to the shelf but "can't find the time" to read them (yet spend unknown hours watching netflix or playing videogames).  Not sure if the 50 books is achievable but will attempt to read 2/month and hopefully gain momentum.

[haypug16]

I'm in. I hope to find more time to read in 2020 than I did in 2019.

[hal]

I'm in! And luckily had a full free day to read yesterday, so I read a book recommended years ago by MMM.

• A Guide to the Good Life: The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy, William B. Irvine -- Finished Jan. 2, 2019

[kaleidoscopicalkris]

I am in this year! Last year I only managed to finish 17, but I graduated in December, freeing up a lot of my time. I finished one already this year! My goal on Goodreads is 24, but aiming for 52 would be good for cutting down on my internet time. Hopefully I can get through my TBR pile so I can clear those books out of my house and pass them on to my sisters. We read a lot of the same genres, but they're both broke, so I know they appreciate them.

1. Crier's War by Nina Varela - finished 01/01/2020

[Raenia]

I'm in again this year!  I've updated my tracker spreadsheet to keep some other information as well, such as if it is a library book or mine, genre, and why I read it (Popsugar challenge, TBR list, sequel, recommendation, etc).

[outdoorsyfreedom]

I'm in! Aiming for 100 again. 

I'm also doing 2 challenges to diversify my reading:  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (https://bookriot.com/2019/12/03/2020-read-harder-challenge/) and the 2020 Reading Women Challenge (https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/reading-women-challenge-2020).

If else anyone is interested in doing one or both of these challenges, it could be fun to track that together, either on this thread or a separate one.

I am going to do the book riot challenge! I am going to try to find one for each category and not double up.

[SquashingDebt]

Awesome!  I read my first challenge book yesterday - The Day You Begin by Jacqueline Woodson, for the picture book prompt. 

[Linea_Norway]

I'm in! Aiming for 100 again. 

I'm also doing 2 challenges to diversify my reading:  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (https://bookriot.com/2019/12/03/2020-read-harder-challenge/) and the 2020 Reading Women Challenge (https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/reading-women-challenge-2020).

If else anyone is interested in doing one or both of these challenges, it could be fun to track that together, either on this thread or a separate one.

I am going to do the book riot challenge! I am going to try to find one for each category and not double up.

I looked at that book riot. A good number of the challenges I have read in previous years. But I guess that doesn't count. I find it too much fuss to put all in one year.

[FICurious]

I only hit 14 in 2019. The goal this year is 25. Ill track it here.

[redhead84]

I decided to start 2020 with the same author I started 2019. Book #1 is completed. Book #1 of 2019 was The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid so I started 2020 with Exit West by Mohsin Hamid.

[HJenesis63]

I'm hoping to make more time for myself to read for pleasure this year, rather than just for school. Hoping for 1 per month after going a year without reading a single book outside of those needed for classes. Wish me luck!

[khanzade]

I'm in !
First book is one that I started last week : Small World from David Lodge.
I hope to balance between, novels, history & philosophy this year.

[Linea_Norway]

So far this year, I have been reading a cookbook with the intention to try out many of the remaining recipes that I didn't try out before. And at the same time I'm starting with sourbread baking. It is both quite time consuming and I haven't found time to read a normal book. Maybe also because I had forgotten that I had started in Frankenstein some days ago, but didn't have the option to read for a while. When you stay in a story, it is no so eadily forgotten. Now that I recall it, I can read some more chapters, although I also want to priotitize yoga. And the new bread I am supposed to fold every two hours...

What am I doing here? I should be reading a book!

[haypug16]

2020 Books
1. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough- Currently Reading
2. In the Garden of Beasts by Erik Larson - Currently Listening

[Rosy]

I'm in - my goal for the past three years has been to stop reading so many romance books and make an effort to read more educational books. I actually read over a hundred books last year - but only 30 of them educational.

Right now I'm on a garden book binge, but I still have a stash of time travel, romance, finance, economics and general topics. I want to read some sci-fi next.

Currently reading:

1. Gaia's Garden - Toby Hemenway - it's about Permaculture gardening - highly recommend!

2. The Garden Awakening - Mary Reynolds -
Great book, talks about sustainability and being a good steward of the land.
Even if the first chapters are a bit woo woo - I'm good with that:). Her designs,  google them, are out of this world.
Awesome read, extremely helpful, creative garden design and advice. The second half of the book is all about her take and great advice and insight about permaculture gardening.
She won a Gold Medal for her garden design at the famous British Chelsea Flower Show.

Both are slow reads since I'm taking lots of notes and will adapt what I can for my garden. It is a lot to take in and I'm taking breaks in between chapters or re-reading for better understanding.

Just finished:
Two historical romance books - kindle.

[jeroly]

1. Severance by Ling Ma

A Chinese immigrant to America tells the story of being one of the few survivors of a mysterious epidemic that zombifies almost all of humanity.  No brain eating, just good writing.

[MaybeBecca]

I have been pretty consistently working on one book for the bulk of December. 50 books seems pie-in-the-sky for me, but I will try my best regardless. I used to be really big on reading, but somewhere along the way the internet took up all my reading time.  Still learn plenty, but it just isn't the same.

And that's one down, 49 to go! Finished "The Great Hunt" by Robert Jordan, book two of the wheel of time series. I would like to finish the series at some point, but I think it's going to have to wait until I have more free time or a better reading habit. Both book one and book two took me two tries to read all the way through, and it's got so much content that I forgot between the two, that I want to start over again before I read through the last dozen books. Plus it's so many books, at my current rate it would take me a year to read them all, which would put me nowhere near 50. I also nearly have up 75% through book two, so I think a break is needed.

Next on my list is The Curated Closet by Anushka Rees.

[sui generis]

I'm in this year!  I should have read more last year, but only got to something like 39.  I'm starting to retrain myself not to fall asleep when I read, after years of mostly only reading a few minutes in bed and then falling asleep.  Remarkably effective for falling asleep, but really ruins reading!  I think I'll have no problem with 50, but it's hard to tell since about once every year I end up reading a dense 800-page book that takes me like 4 months.  I also do audio books, so I usually have 2-3 books going at any one time.  So far this year:

1.  The Far Field by Madhuri Vijay, finished 01/02/2020 (excellent writing and timely with respect to Indian politics and Hindu nationalism, even though I was a bit disappointed in the predictable ending)

I'm in! Aiming for 100 again. 

I'm also doing 2 challenges to diversify my reading:  Book Riot's Read Harder Challenge (https://bookriot.com/2019/12/03/2020-read-harder-challenge/) and the 2020 Reading Women Challenge (https://www.readingwomenpodcast.com/reading-women-challenge-2020).

If else anyone is interested in doing one or both of these challenges, it could be fun to track that together, either on this thread or a separate one.

Thanks for posting these!  I am going to explore them more and possibly do the actual challenge, but will definitely use them for inspiration!

[goldensam]

I set a goal for 40 books this year. This includes audiobooks.

Today I finished "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah.
I will start "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed" by Lori Gottlieb tonight.

[jeroly]

I set a goal for 40 books this year. This includes audiobooks.

Today I finished "The Great Alone" by Kristin Hannah.
I will start "Maybe You Should Talk to Someone: A Therapist, Her Therapist, and Our Lives Revealed" by Lori Gottlieb tonight.

That Gottlieb book is excellent! Enjoy!

[Luz]

I'm doing the "own up to your internet use" challenge on MMM, which goes perfectly with this thread.

Read:
1. The Unwinding of the Miracle by Julie Yip-Williams

Reading:
Elemental: How the Periodic Table Can Now Explain (Nearly) Everything by Tim James
Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance

In Queue:
Sea Prayer by Khaled Hosseini (though I'm not sure I can count this one since it's quite short)

[travelbug]

I'm in. I would read more than 50 books per year though, which is fun.
DD (12yo) made her NY resolution for 2019 to read 100 books. Proper books, not just little ones, and she hit 118 for 2019. She was very happy with herself.

My first book for the year is The Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles. It is excellent. Historical fiction, but written in such a poetic manner. Highly recommended.
I have also started Spark Joy by Marie Condo.

[Linea_Norway]

1) Frankenstein, May Shelley

[Splashncash]

I am in this year as well.  2020 started off well.

1. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (never read it as a kid, felt like I needed to)
2. To the Land of Long Lost Friends by Alexander McCall Smith
3. The Dinner by Herman Koch

[penguintroopers]

I'm in! It'll be good to record how many books I read this year. I think last year was somewhere in the 30's, so its good to have a stretch goal.

Right now my audio book is The Painted House by John Grisham (just have 45 minutes left).