Fifty books.Fifty movies. One challenge. One year. The best New Year’s resolution you’regoing to fulfill in 2015.
***Frequently Asked Questions
No really, what are the rules? It’s that simple. Read 50 books you’ve never read before. Watch 50 movies that you’ve never seen before. Doesn’t matter if it was filmed in 1939 or written in the seventeenth century. If it’s new material for you, it counts!
Do I win something? An expanded mind.
Can I lie? The sheep can smell lies.
Who tracks my progress? You do. I’ll keep everything organized so everyone can easily see your amazing taste in media.
What counts as a book? Resident bookworm @LP says a book is longer than 100 pages. But really, it’s up to you.
Do comics/graphic novels count? Of course! How you want to count them is up to you. They’re quicker to read, so most of us might count a “run” as a book. Say you’re reading a few of theSaga trade paperbacks. You might want to count four or so as a single book. Use your best judgement!
What if it’s really, really long? If it’s more than 500 pages, feel free to count it as two books. But if it’s 1000 pages, don’t count it as three.
**What counts as a movie?**A film around 90 minutes.
What about tv showsWe’re gonna go with no. A lot of folks keep track of the tv seasons they watch, in addition to movies.
What about school textbooks? As far as academic/research/school material goes, my rule is, if I read it cover to cover, I count it as a book.
I haven’t seen this movie/read this book in a decade. Can I count it? It’s up to you, but it’s a bit frowned upon.
**Why sheep? **It’s the year of the ram!
***Hints and Tips ***
Prioritize reading early and often!
Read every night as you fall asleep, or find time to squeeze in a chapter or two during break times at work. If you can read ~30 minutes to an hour a day, you should be able to finish the challenge quite easily (and maybe even early).
Lists can be super helpful! Goodreads, in particular, is a great way to track what you’ve read and what’s in your queue to read next.
Check out some classics. Some stuff may be dated, but there are a ton of gems out there ready to be discovered by a younger generation.
Find your niche! I’m a science fiction and fantasy guy. I can blast through a 1K page fantasy book faster than I could ever finish a 300 page love story. F
Ask for suggestions in this thread and monitor what others are enjoying. A few of the very best books I read or movies I saw were direct recommendations in last year’s thread.
Similarly, if you’ve discovered the best book/film ever, shout it from the rooftops! You might just sell us all on our next story.
**1. Scheherazade Goes West by Fatema Mernissi
2. Kaghzi Ghaat by Khalida Hussain
3. Why I Supported The Emergency by Khushwant Singh
4. 'Punjab ka Muqadma' by M Hanif Ramay
5. Among the believers by V S Naipaul
6. 'The shadow lines' by Amitav Gosh
7. 'Amongst the Sikhs - Reaching to the stars' by Dr Surjit Kaur
8. What the body remembers by Shauna Singh Baldwin
9. 'The diary of a social butterfly' by Moni Mohsin
10. The forty rules of love by Elif Shafak
(@muqawwee123)
50/50 ho jayega