10,000 Page Challenge

That's my goal for my 2009 IT reading. It breaks down to about 27.4 pages per day, which doesn't look too bad. I think consistency is going to be the hardest part; it seems like it would be easy to fall behind quickly.

Anyone else in?

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wedge1988

Doubt ill ever read that many pages, i focus more on labs and revision subjects, i tend to find that i will only ever read a book once to get an understanding on the subject.

ThunderPipe

I can read 10,000 techexam post this year no sweat.

Slowhand

10,000 pages, huh? Well, I've got a few New Year's resolutions to upkeep, so I think I'll toss my hat into the ring on this one. Let's see here. . .

Sybex 70-293 book - 888 pages
MS Press 70-298 book - 700 pages
MS Press 70-294 book - 1360 pages
MS Press 70-620 book - 848 pages
Windows PowerShell in Action - 576 pages
Mastering Exchange 2007 - 816 pages
MS Press 70-649 book - 1104 pages
Sybex 70-647 book - 456 pages
Routing TCP/IP, Volume 1 (2nd Edition) - 936 pages
Routing TCP/IP, Volume II - 976 pages
Troubleshooting IP Routing Protocols - 912 pages
Understanding IPv6 2nd Edition - 544 pages
Fedora Linux Toolbox - 307 pages

Total: 10,423 pages

This, of course, doesn't include extracurricular-reading and other reading in preparation of going back to school full-time in 2010, as well as some 'for fun' reading:

Classics of Philosophy - 1296 pages
Precalculus mathematics in a nutshell (review to prepare for calculus classes) - 119 pages
Watchmen - 416 pages
My Life (Bill Clinton) - 1024 pages
Never Have Your Dog Stuffed - 272 pages
The Fountainhead - 752 pages

Total: 3879 pages

Well, with a grand total of 14,302 pages to read, not including the books I'll be assigned in the couple of classes I'm taking, whitepapers, etc, it's going to be a very busy year for page-turning. Of course, there'll be plenty of hands-on work, (both in production and lab environments,) as well as both CBT Nuggets and TestOut training, so I've got my hands full. Who's bringing the coffee?

dynamik

Oh, so we're going to be all detailed and organized now?

Here's what I have so far; it's not a complete list:

CEH Exam Cram - 696
Gray Hat Hacking - 434
Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit - 750
ICND2 - 744
CWSP - 636
(ISC)2 SSCP CBK - 608
(ISC)2 CISSP CBK - 1112
CISSP AIO - 1145
MCTS/MCITP Upgrade - 800
Powershell for the Absolute Beginner - 376
CCNA: Security - 672
MCITP: EA - 720
Hacking Exposed - 720
VI3 Whitepapers - ~800
In Progress: Firewalls for Dummies, VCP Exam Cram, and Time Management for Systems Administrators - 475 remaining
Total - 10,688

You can probably drop 100 pages or so off of all of those though. I know there's glossaries, appendixes, etc. that I don't always read. I have a little more college and some leisure reading as well. The Watchmen is also on my leisure list. The trailer for the movie looks interesting, so I figured I'd give it a read before it was released. I might pick up some of his other works too; this will be the first one of his I've read.

I knew this wasn't going to be for everyone, but I'm not sure why some you of automatically equated that page count with a lack of other study methods (CBTs, labs, etc.) or lack of depth. I'm sure the theme of my reading list is fairly evident. There is going to a great deal of overlap between a lot of those resources, and I don't see how that would possibly prevent a thorough understanding of that area. More than anything, I just wanted to start a regular reading log, and this seemed like a manageable goal.

Slowhand

dynamik wrote: »

Oh, so we're going to be all detailed and organized now?

Anything to make you suffer through those umpteen-per-day posts you make.

As for the "thorough understanding" debate, I'm going to say this: When I say 1,000+ pages, I mean read and understood. I don't really see the point in reading if you don't understand it. You don't enjoy a novel if you don't grasp the storyline or get to know the characters. On the same note, you won't learn anything from textbooks if you don't read them in such a way as to learn what they're attempting to teach.

ULWiz

Wonder if he already read the Time Management book I just bought this morning?

royal

I started reading it on Safari. Up to Chapter 3 but so far it's been pretty useless. But I'm a consultant and so far it's talked about what you should do when internal users come up and bug you. Also, it's only stated the obvious. Don't procrastinate, if it's not an emergency then write it down and come back to it, etc.. Really!?!?! Hopefully it'll get better. If it doesn't by Chapter 5 then I'm going to skip the rest and read this AD book:
http://www.amazon.com/Active-Directory-Designing-Deploying-Running/dp/059652059X/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1230955024&sr=8-1

But personally, one of my goals this year is to read as few books as possible and read more white papers and focus more on PowerShell. You get a lot more in-depth knowledge from Microsoft Whitepapers than you would get from a book. Plus I'm the type that likes to get a deep understanding of a couple pieces of technology rather than learn a bunch of different technologies. So it makes sense for me to do that.

dynamik

Sorry you're not liking the book; it does seem to be directed towards in-house staff and not consultants. Hit up the table of contents again and check out the second half of the book; that might be geared more towards what you do. One of the underlying themes is developing good habits. I think a majority of it will seem like common sense while you read it, but it's important to evaluate how you actually spend your time and see if that indeed reflects what seems obvious in the book. You may just already have excellent time management skills; it wouldn't surprise me

And just for the record, I'm not disagreeing with your personal strategy. I think that makes sense for you.

GT-Rob

I'd be up for the challenge, although I doubt I will be able to hit 10k. I have about 3k pages worth of books in "queue" right now, so if I hammer those out sooner than later I may have a sporting chance

UnixGuy

Dynamic, these are extremely interesting things to read, but IMHO I think they need A LOT of practice to comprehend. I suggest you keep this in my mind, so many thing you have to actually do more than once to be comfortable with the concept.

I want to dig UNIX more and learn Red Hat mean while, reading only won't be of much help for me

dynamik wrote: »

Oh, so we're going to be all detailed and organized now?

Here's what I have so far; it's not a complete list:

CEH Exam Cram - 696
Gray Hat Hacking - 434
Penetration Tester's Open Source Toolkit - 750
ICND2 - 744
CWSP - 636
(ISC)2 SSCP CBK - 608
(ISC)2 CISSP CBK - 1112
CISSP AIO - 1145
MCTS/MCITP Upgrade - 800
Powershell for the Absolute Beginner - 376
CCNA: Security - 672
MCITP: EA - 720
Hacking Exposed - 720
VI3 Whitepapers - ~800
In Progress: Firewalls for Dummies, VCP Exam Cram, and Time Management for Systems Administrators - 475 remaining
Total - 10,688

You can probably drop 100 pages or so off of all of those though. I know there's glossaries, appendixes, etc. that I don't always read. I have a little more college and some leisure reading as well. The Watchmen is also on my leisure list. The trailer for the movie looks interesting, so I figured I'd give it a read before it was released. I might pick up some of his other works too; this will be the first one of his I've read.

I knew this wasn't going to be for everyone, but I'm not sure why some you of automatically equated that page count with a lack of other study methods (CBTs, labs, etc.) or lack of depth. I'm sure the theme of my reading list is fairly evident. There is going to a great deal of overlap between a lot of those resources, and I don't see how that would possibly prevent a thorough understanding of that area. More than anything, I just wanted to start a regular reading log, and this seemed like a manageable goal.

dynamik

UnixGuy wrote: »

Dynamic, these are extremely interesting things to read, but IMHO I think they need A LOT of practice to comprehend. I suggest you keep this in my mind, so many thing you have to actually do more than once to be comfortable with the concept.

I want to dig UNIX more and learn Red Hat mean while, reading only won't be of much help for me

Again, I'm not sure why that page count seems to make people think that achieving it is going to preclude other forms of studying. I completely agree with you. I'm actually starting a security-based website that I will work on along with my studies. It's primary focus is going to be hands-on exercises. I'm still learning the ins-and-outs of Drupal, but hopefully it'll be going soon. I'll make an official announcement once I get some content up.

HeroPsycho

I'm not saying that, just to be clear. I'm saying it's very hard to get sufficiently deep knowledge and understanding by reading boatloads of material on so many different technologies and topics. If you can, good for you. Your brain must operate at 10 times a higher level than mine.

While I understand that not everyone wants to be an expert on something, you do need a certain amount of depth of understanding and skill in something before it becomes valuable to current and future employers.

Dynamik, I guess my entire point to you is IMO you're better off at this point in your career to get solid in something specific before you branch out into that many things. Perhaps objecting to 10,000 pages of reading wasn't really what I'm concerned about. It's more that your books are spread out on so many different, complex, and deep topics.

dynamik

I know what you're saying. I believe we've had this conversation a few times on IM

It's just the way my mind works though; I need variety

UnixGuy

I just wanted you like to put practice time along with the daily pages read, to make it more realistic and avoid any frustration..

Good luck with the website, looking forward to it

mamono

UnixGuy wrote: »

I just wanted you like to put practice time along with the daily pages read, to make it more realistic and avoid any frustration..

Good luck with the website, looking forward to it

I agree with your stand point also. There is only so much that book study can do without actual applied practice. That is just like trying to take the CCNA which requires both book study and practice in order to accomplish. Supposedly, that's what Dynamik's project website is for as he had stated earlier as he puts things to practice.

I doubt I'd be able to read 10,000+ pages this year, but I know that I can hit the 6,000 mark. Retention of all that information is a whole different world entirely. :P

Slowhand

Hmm. . . as I stated earlier, I plan on reading over 14,000 pages-worth of information this year and I have no intention of skimming through or trying to push for the sake of the pagecount. What's the point of reading if you don't retain the information? It's like reading a Sherlock Holmes book and forgetting who the murderer is after you're done.

As for hands-on practice, that's going to be the real time-killer for my work this year. The reading is easy, that's just grabbing a book and going to a coffee shop. Once the theory is there, it's a matter of sitting down and running configs, setting up servers/routers, and actually doing the stuff. (Translated: "spending hours and hours breaking things until you finally get it right.") This is also the reason why I've made sure to include recreational reading, so I won't always be running back and forth between my lab and my books.

It's odd to me, though, why members of this forum would assume that reading somehow equates to no hands-on work. I think this is, quite literally, one thread among thousands that discuss the importance of experience and reading, and I thought we'd all established that any self-respecting TE member saying "I'm going to read this book" is loosely translated from "I'm going to read this book, do all the chapter reviews, play around in my lab with what I've learned, and essentially leave this damn thing frayed and worn to the point of crumbling to dust"? After all, we don't just read books, we assimilate them.

Claymoore

Nobylspoon wrote: »

Hopefully rereading counts too. The 70-620 MS Press book is about 800 pages and I plan on reading it cover to cover 2 more times.

2 more times? You already read it at least once? Instead of reading the 620 MSTK two more times, try reading the Vista Resource Kit once. You'll learn more, prepare for every Vista exam, and save about 400 pages.

IMO, quality of the pages counts more than quantity. I also rarely read a technical book cover-to-cover like a novel. I am more likely to read a few chapters from several books and skip or skim the redundant material. Still, with plans for the MCITP:EA and starting on the CCNP I should be able to manage 200 pages a week to keep up with the rest of you.

I won't try keeping up with the gf though, she reads like 200 pages a day - but it's fantasy/romance so it's not as interesting.

HeroPsycho

Claymoore wrote: »

2 more times? You already read it at least once? Instead of reading the 620 MSTK two more times, try reading the Vista Resource Kit once. You'll learn more, prepare for every Vista exam, and save about 400 pages.

IMO, quality of the pages counts more than quantity. I also rarely read a technical book cover-to-cover like a novel. I am more likely to read a few chapters from several books and skip or skim the redundant material. Still, with plans for the MCITP:EA and starting on the CCNP I should be able to manage 200 pages a week to keep up with the rest of you.

I won't try keeping up with the gf though, she reads like 200 pages a day - but it's fantasy/romance so it's not as interesting.

Or take notes when you read it the first time. Forget rereading an 800 page book which doesn't contain all the info you need to pass the exam 2-3 times. Gotta be more efficient than that...

Also, I know people who say they can read like three times as fast as I do. However, they have to reread substantial portions over and over before they retain and comprehend it as well as I do, and it's not like I'm more intelligent than they are. If taking your time reading it results in significantly higher retention and comprehension, take your time!

I read at a snail's pace, and I'm proud of that for this very reason!

NetAdmin2436

Well either way, I think reading/studying for these exams is much better then getting liquored up at the bar every night or sitting in front of the TV for 4 hours. As long as your learning everyday I have no opinion how or what someone should study.

Dynamik,
You're on pal!

jibbajabba

You guys still keeping up ?!?

Slowhand

Gomjaba wrote: »

You guys still keeping up ?!?

Every night.

Plantwiz

SO.....

How is everyone doing on this challenge?

I've lost about a month (3 weeks) due to a new committee and wrapping up a science competition with the school.

Otherwise,
Still reading every day and my 3 weeks I lost, I lost on my personal reading....reading to the kids every night....so if I were to count all those books....I'm well aheadh of the game (and they like chapter books now, not kiddie books).

Slowhand

Let's see, I had to sit down and tally it up, since I'd totally forgotten about this thread.

Finished:
* Sybex 70-293 book - 888 pages
* MS Press 70-298 book - 700 pages
* Mastering Exchange 2007 - 816 pages (I've read every chapter, but not in order)
Subtotal: 2404 pages

Partially finished:
* Routing TCP/IP, Volume 1 (2nd Edition) - about 400 pages in
* Understanding IPv6, 2nd Edition - about 200 pages in
* CCNP BSCI Official Exam Certification Guide (4th Edition) - about 300 pages in
* - read 200+ pages
* Windows Server 2008 Security Resource Kit - read about 300 pages
* Windows Server 2008 Networking and Network Access Protection (NAP) - Read 100+ pages
Subtotal: 1,300 pages

Total Estimate for IT Books: 3700 pages

As for other books:
* Watchmen - 416 pages (finished it)
* Classics of Philosophy - about 500 pages in
* Monty Python and Philosophy - about 100 pages in
* Goodbye, Columbus - 320 pages (finished it and the five short stories)
* Logic and Contemporary Rhetoric: The Use of Reason in Everyday Life - 408 pages (finished it)

Total Recreational and Other Reading: 1744 pages

Grand Total Estimate: 4150 pages read as of March 23rd, 2009

neo468

Nice work, this thread is a great motivator to keep on track for the year regardless if I read 10,000 pages or not.

Bokeh

Based on current projections (geez I sound like one of those accountant-weenies at work, lol) should be at 6300 pages by end of June.

Slowhand

The funny thing, though, is that when I look at my number I realize that I'm averaging only about 50 pages per day. At that rate, I'll be pushing a 20,000 page count come New Year's. . . (well, 18,250, but it's still pretty high).

Let's see. . . 10,000 pages is about 28 pages per day, or 39 pages every weekday. When you think about it, it's not really such a huge investment of one's time. That's one chapter in a solid sysadmin or networking book every night after work for a year. Rounding out at anywhere from 500 to 1,000 pages each, that averages to be about 13 IT books every time we go around the sun. If you include thinner books that are only 200 or 300 pages long, that number jumps up to maybe 17 or 18. Just think, investing an hour or two after work each night and knocking out ten or twelve exams in a year, (putting in a bit of hands-on work on the weekends, of course

Angie1313

is it too late to join in?

Turgon

Angie1313 wrote: »

is it too late to join in?

I don't think so. You know I haven't counted the pages I looked over this year but it's quite a lot.

Slowhand

Angie1313 wrote: »

is it too late to join in?

Of course not, join in and see if you can make it to 10,000 pages before New Year's.

Heh, I'm pretty sure Turgon's already halfway there. . . and that was just this week.

Bokeh

If you read a book twice, is that supposed to count for twice the pages?