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How did it go?

Did you finish something from days gone by?

Or did you get distracted by a new shiny?

Either way, I hope you're having a lovely new year!

kalloway

Happy Holidays! It's time for the annual

readingtogether Lingering Challenge!

Since the year is nearly over, it's time to see what's lingering.

We all have that book. The one we'll get to later. The one that doesn't get chosen. The one that's well-intentioned. (It's been sitting there for a long time, okay.)

While it doesn't have to be the absolute oldest thing on your TBR shelf, if you even know what is, this is the time to read* something that's been waiting for awhile.

I'll post again at the end of the year to see how it went for you~

*read/listen/watch/play. Whatever media you choose is fine.

fred_mouse

Check in post! Tell us in the comments how you went. Did you finish the book? Did you make progress? Did you procrastinate and read something else instead? Did life or something else get in your way?

kalloway mentioned in the comments of the last check in that they will be running a challenge starting this weekend, so rather than having two challenges running at the same time, I'll put this one aside for this week, and start up some time in the New Year*.

* For values of 'new' and 'year' that are determined by the Gregorian Calendar. If I'm getting this pedantic, I should probably not be posting, but this is the last thing on tonight's to do list :)

fred_mouse

Check in post! Tell us in the comments how you went. Did you finish the book? Did you make progress? Did you procrastinate and read something else instead? Did life or something else get in your way?

And! Because this was so successful for me, I'm going to run this at least two more weeks, with the goal of picking one book each week, and getting to feel smug if I achieve it. So! The other thing you can do in the comments is tell us about a book you want to make progress on this week. I'll aim to put up a check in post at about the same time next week ('tis Sunday morning where I am, but I'm aware it is still Saturday evening for a large number of people)

fred_mouse

I'm seeing the end of the year heading for me very fast, and the list of books I was going to read This Year is nowhere near as small as I want it. So! for this week (umm, say, between now and sometime Sunday) the challenge is to select one book, and focus on finishing it.

What book are you going to try and get to the other end of this week?

glinda

I haven’t forgotten, I’m just in unexpectedly in Edinburgh for work for a few days so my schedule is all to pot! (I did manage to finish a book last night, hotel rooms being good for that, so, victory!)

So it's time to review your joys and woes for this month! Did you get through everything you wanted this month? Or did you read something entirely different? Discover anything new or odd about your reading habits? Did you start strongly then crash and burn completely half-way through the month? (Not me for once!)

Did you saunter over your self-set target deadline or are you reading furiously right up to the final minute of the final day, just to finish one more book?

glinda

It's the end of week three of the challenge, how goes it for all of you? Hope you've all had a better reading week than I have, mine really doesn't bear close scrutiny! (I had toothache, and then antibiotics, it was not condusive to concentrating.)

Are we starting to flag a bit as November grinds on or have we triumphs to share? Anyone defeat a book that's been taunting them for long and weary? Share your reading triumphs and disasters in the comments below.

glinda

We're (almost) half way through the month now and how are we getting on? Procrastinating wildly? Reading everything except what we intended to? Forging ahead and putting everyone else to shame?!

*waves pompoms enthusiastically*

Check in below with your triumphs and tribulations. Celebrate the achievements big and small, whether you got through a whole book or merely made a start on a book that's been taunting you for ages.

glinda

The first week of the challenge has reached it’s conclusion. Time to share with the class your triumphs and tribulations. Finish a book? Make a start on something that you've been meaning to get round to for ages? Or finally accept that that one book everyone recommended you is just not your thing and you're never going to get past the second chapter? Dedicated way too much time to reading today just so you don’t have to admit you only read two chapters this week? (Or is that just me?!)

Successes and failures in the comments below!

glinda

Alright, so that was an overwhelmingly positive response so let's do the thing.

Checkins will be on Wednesdays except for the final one which will be a Thursday! As ever, there are no penalties for checkin in late, missing a check-in or not making your target. It's all about encouraging each other to read more than we would have otherwise. If you've got a list or a target, feel free to share it in the comments below! And most importantly - have fun!

glinda

It's almost that time of year, and I've a couple of looming new year's resolutions about reading books from my shelf that I could use some moral support catching up on, so I ask: anyone up for the November Group Read? As per tradition, there would be no themes or minimum entry requirements, the books could be any format - fiction/non-fiction, audio books, ebooks, poetry, comics, graphic novels, novellas, short stories, whatever you like! Any interest?

fred_mouse

Oops, 'tis Tuesday, and I was going to do this two days ago, and then I just needed to do This One Thing...

Did you do any reading? Planned or unplanned? Any successes you want to celebrate?

fred_mouse

Anyone got plans for reading this weekend?

I might possibly have gone overboard at a second hand book sale today, and now I have so many choices! But first, Revenant Gun, because I now have a copy in hand :)

fred_mouse

Did ya read something? Did ya? Tell us about it!

If you didn't, tell us about what you wish you'd had time for.

fred_mouse

I failed follow up on it*, but I appreciated mekare's post last week, so am going to attempt to post Weekend Reading posts at least some weeks.

Of a weekend, I give myself permission to just grab another book, regardless of where my currently reading list is at, and see whether I finish it. This week, I've picked up Seanan McGuire's The Girl in the Green Silk Gown. I haven't read book one, but I've decided not to care -- this is what was right in front of me when I was looking for something else, and I'm in the mood for light horror.

What are you planning to read this weekend?

*as in I made a plan, and then didn't.

mekare

So, how many pages/chapters did you read?

I managed about 15 pages of Galsan Tschinag and listened to Elena Ferrante's My Brilliant Friend during chores (unfortunately my audiobook CD version does not include a track list so I have no idea how long that was. I finished the part about her early childhood).

mekare

I challenged myself to read 20 books earlier this year, and am currently at less than 50% of this goal. So I want to get cracking! There is a relatively short book I want to make good headway with this weekend, plus I recently bought another one that drew me in within its first two pages. So, everyone who would like to make some progress on books, join me this weekend! I‘ll make another post on Sunday evening.

In case you‘re interested, the two books in question:

Galsan Tschinag - The Blue Sky (the shorter one, 178 pages)
Anuk Arudpragasam - A Passage North (317 pages)