READING GOALS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

[Colleen0701]

I think there is a huge loophole in the system when it comes to reading goals and the percentage completed.
I have just looked at the leaderboard for 2018, there are a few members with a reading goal of 1000 books this year.
That equals 2.8 books per day.
The other loophole is in the same place with the top rankings.
There are people with a reading goal of 1000 books for 2018 and they have already completed 100% of their reading goal on the second of January.

I think they just took a list of 1000 books, used the mass adder and added those books to their reading shelves as read.

I appreciate that the bookclub does not want to discourage people from reading, and it is a very cool stat to have. I also appreciate that if the measures were stricter, it would discourage those with large goals and large shelves, but what does the honest member do?
To get into a top ranking they would have to lie, and that would be a shame.

[kandscreeley]

I understand where you are coming from. For me, I think I just look at it more for my own personal satisfaction. For example, when I post I can see that for 2017, my goal was 100 books and I completed 94 of them! I think that's pretty darn successful even if I didn't quite make it... I don't even bother looking at the website statistics...

[Colleen0701]

I'm on level zero everywhere. You can afford to ignore other stats except your own kandscreely, I would have to lie.

Honestly, I don't know where some people get the time to do certain things.

It's actually quite unusual for me to respond to a reply so quickly. I don't have the time to make 20 or 30 posts or unique comments a day, everyday.

I sound like I have very sour grapes, okay, I do begrudge them a bit.

Then again, maybe I should not complain. I did eat supper tonight, I have a suspicion that the mega posters and the superstat-ers are perhaps here because of the give aways and cash competitions.

[kandscreeley]

You might be right about the megaposters... However, most of us didn't get to where we are overnight... Give it time and do what you can. You'll get there!

[Colleen0701]

Also true kandscreely, thank you for your advice and support. It feels strange being on the other side of the fence, normally my rules are followed. Now I have to follow rules to get somewhere, and in my family, failure is not an option.

Perhaps it's a good thing. I always say "I never lose, I win or I learn."

[gali]

I think there is a huge loophole in the system when it comes to reading goals and the percentage completed.
I have just looked at the leaderboard for 2018, there are a few members with a reading goal of 1000 books this year.
That equals 2.8 books per day.
The other loophole is in the same place with the top rankings.
There are people with a reading goal of 1000 books for 2018 and they have already completed 100% of their reading goal on the second of January.

I think they just took a list of 1000 books, used the mass adder and added those books to their reading shelves as read.

I appreciate that the bookclub does not want to discourage people from reading, and it is a very cool stat to have. I also appreciate that if the measures were stricter, it would discourage those with large goals and large shelves, but what does the honest member do?
To get into a top ranking they would have to lie, and that would be a shame.

The reading goal is just for fun, but I agree with you that it isn't fair.

@Scott

[Colleen0701]

The reading goal is just for fun, but I agree with you that it isn't fair.

@Scott

thank you for your support @Scott.

[gali]

The reading goal is just for fun, but I agree with you that it isn't fair.

@Scott

thank you for your support @Scott.

I am gali, but I tagged Scott.

[Scott]

@Colleen0712

I believe the issue with goals being marked as 100% compete on the 3rd was actually a very brief glitch at the time of the post caused by division by 0. Their goals were actually 0% complete.

I have just checked now and the most books marked as read is 50.

Regarding the issue of members setting unrealistic goals, please take a look at the text on the Reading Goal Leaderboard page:

shelves/reading-goal-leaderboard.php

You will notice it says in part: "After about one month into the year, readers who are significantly not on track to complete their goal will be hidden on the above list. For instance, if someone sets their reading goal at 24 books but only reads 3 in the first 6 months, they will not be shown above."

[Colleen0701]

Thank you for your reply Scott. I had better make sure I keep updating my reading shelves then. I wasn't really concerned for myself but rather members who do honestly read a lot and take part in the give aways.
But in the end it's not so important that it will solve world hunger, gali is correct: It's a fun stat to have.

[suetropez]

I know I am new to all of this, but I need to ask; How do you guys keep up with reading books on a reading list (more than 5), writing new books (at least 1 every 2 years), taking care of a family and working a full time job? I don't seem to have enough time in the YEAR to get all of that done. How do you do it?

[Colleen0701]

I don't have time to do that either. I don't have a reading list. I have roughly 200 books, half kindle half real books which I have bought.
I very much doubt I will read more than half this year. And I will probably buy more.

I have a meagre reading goal of 36 books for the year.

As for writing, Norah Jones has the best advice, she says that writing is as much a habit as it is a gift. Everyone goes through stages where they write utter sh*t, but keep hitting those keys. You can write shitty stuff and then delete it when you get over the block, but if you walk away from the keyboard, you have broken a habit. That is the difficult part to restart.

I use a calendar and schedule my work accordingly. In that calendar day I block out 2 hours, in that time I type 1000 words or more. But the goal is 1000.

My job is writing, and I freelance so depending on workload, it's either a tight fit or not but at 5pm, I shut off the cp.

The rest of the day is family time. Today, I am alone at home for the day. So I'm going through my mail on my phone. Which is why I'm responding.

Other days, I don't have time. Then social media must wait for another day. Nobody really has time to do 5 jobs perfectly. You do the best you can.

Welcome to the Bookclub, do have a look at the reading forums. There are many interesting conversations about many books and I'm sure once you're settled and you see how the forums operate that you will enjoy it even more.

[suetropez]

Thanks Colleen,

That helps. Today is a light day at my job so I can steal away and be online to communicate with other writing folks. I do set time aside to write and Friday afternoon is my day to spend writing, no matter what. The other days, well, it really depends on my job's demands. At least I don't have to feel like a slacker if I don't set a number of books to read a month or a year and just read for fun whenever I can.

Have a good day!

[Colleen0701]

My pleasure, you have a good day as well.

[Lillianhausgaard]

How do I update my goals?