Moderators of NBRC’s
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(group member since Jan 22, 2011)
Moderators of NBRC’s
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from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.
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Team Noisy Neighbours
🔊 Louise (Captain)
🔊 Fiona (Co-Captain)
🔊 Nistha (Co-Captain)
🔊 Maria Jo
🔊 vian
🔊 brooke
🔊 Patti
🔊 Joyce
🔊 Cecily
Team Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Challenge Status Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
A place to share the pre-challenge gossip
Leaking Pipes
Fixing Appliance
Off-balance Washer
Utility Repairperson
Overdue Bills
Never-ending Laundry
Income Tax Returns
Annual Performance Review
Mowing Lawn
Household Budget
HOA Violations
Mortgage Renewal
Loft Conversion
Power Wash Patio Furniture
Take Out Garbage
Clogged Shower Drain
Out of Essentials
School Forms
Insurance Paperwork
Coworker from Hell
Office Cubicle
Projectile Vomit Cleanup
Unblocking the U-bend
About Team Captains
◈ We need people to volunteer to be Team Captain(s) or Co-captains whose duties include:
- Keeping a Google Spreadsheet that all members can view (we will provide you with a template)
- checking team members books read and page counts
- Captains are generally expected to be active on the team thread every couple days at a minimum (exceptions for travel).
- checking that the books are posted within the right time frame and submit each week by posting to the captains group (Posts will be due at the end of each round by Friday at 9PM, London UK Time)
- communicating with a NBRC Moderator
- communicating with all Team Members
- making sure Team Members are staying active
- notifying the NBRC Mod if someone drops out
- have effective and kind (this is a game, remember) on-line communication skills to help members having trouble
- making sure Team Members belong on your team
- posting weekly status updates/reminders
- dealing with minor issues that arise
- be comfortable wearing Captain Pants! Meaning making decisions yourself/with input from co-captains and team members.
◈ Please let us know, when you make a request to sign-up, if you are interesting in being a Team Captain or Co-Captain.
Important:
Do not sign for captain/co-captain, if you're not comfortable with sharing the personal info below:
*Captains are required to befriend the mod account or one of the mods to be invited to the captains group
*Captains will have to share their email account to be able to edit google spreadsheets
Theme
In the cycle of life, we have to deal with many incredibly boring, sometimes tedious problems, as well as annoying yet important chores, often finding ourselves multi-tasking to get it all done. The dishwasher needs to be emptied and everything put away, or the table needs to be set, washing needs to be folded and put away, all preferably while something is currently not burning in the oven or on the stove. The garden needs to be wrestled back into shape and the car needs to be serviced as well, and then there is that invoice that urgently needs to be paid (actually, the deadline for that was last week..), oh and the pantry is empty so a little grocery shopping would also not go amiss. Not to forget that the floors could use a little scrubbing.
We have sometimes endless seeming to-do lists, but we must strive to find the small quotidian joys to brighten the day when all this multitasking is requiring so much of our attention.
So! In order to make chores a little more fun, this year's wheel will spin for all of those dreaded chores that are always put on the backburner for literally anything else, the ones that are cursed, forgotten, even insulted. Boring Life - this one's for you!
About this Challenge
◈ Starts on 12 October and runs for EIGHT weeks (ending 7 December)
◈ The start / end time for each round will be 9pm UK time
◈ Each round is 2 weeks
◈ The team with the highest points at the end of the game wins!
◈ Each round the mods will “spin the wheel" and assign each team a word
◈ The team's task is to read books to spell out the word, gaining points per letter tiered by book length (see below)
◈ Once teams have read their word for the week they can "re-read" the word for unlimited additional spellings
◈ Only one incomplete spell-out is allowed
◈ Only books STARTED after the challenge begins can count
◈ Books must be at least 100 pages in length
Rules
◈ Audio books are allowed. For page numbers, use the "default" GR book page numbers. If the "default" is a Large Print version, use the next most popular edition for page numbers. If there is no print / ebook, then the audio book must be longer than 3 hours, and page numbers will be set at 100 pages, no matter how long the audio is.
◈ Books with MPGs Childrens / Kids / Poetry / Play / Graphic Novel / Illustrated / Photography / Art (or which have "Illustrated" in the title or an "Illustrator" contributor in the metadata) must have at least 30,000 words (must be a verified count. Sites that provide estimated word counts are not valid sources for verifying word count). ArBookFind is a great site to double check (there are .com, .co.uk and .com.au versions). If in doubt, ask your captain. Another rule of thumb is the audiobook version should be over 3 hours.
◈ Any book in any language will count, as long as it meets the criteria.
◈ "Re-reads" will be allowed, if it has been six months since you have read the book. This includes listening to the audio version, if you've already read the book.
◈ Only books read during the specified round can be used (“read date” is what counts, not the day you start.) Books cannot be “banked” from previous rounds to use later in the challenge.
Point System
◈ Books less than 100 pages = 0 points
◈ Books between 100 and 1000 pages = 0.1 points/page
◈ Books over 1000 pages = 100 points
(points will be rounded up/down from 0.5 as per standard maths)
Bonus points
To brighten your multi-tasking lives a tiny bit, each book used in the spell-out might also work for bonus points:
- 5 points for books published more than 2 years ago
- 10 points for books published more than 50 years ago
- 20 points for books over 100 years old
- 5 points for books over 400 pages
- 10 points for books over 600 pages
- 20 points for books over 800 pages
Yes, these points stack (published in 1963 & 605pgs = 30 points).
For current BOM (Book of the Month) discussions
Writing a day's worth of discussion questions = 40 points
Participating in a current BOM discussion (3 sets min.) = 20 points
The first BOM for this challenge is the Themed BOM starting 16 Oct.
NOTE: We will accept one team member per book per team for writing a days DQs. If, by three days prior to the BOM starting, we don't have enough volunteers to write all DQs, then we will let more than one team member per team write questions. If we have more people than days sign up (prior to 3 days before start date) we will randomise the volunteers to determine those who can write DQs.
Remember that you can collect your participation points from previous BOM (from January 2022) for an extra entry in the randomiser, on a basis of 3 participation points to 1 extra entry. Your team will be allowed a maximum of 6 entries for each BOM.
How a "spell it out" works
Find the letters needed using the first letter in:
◈ book / series title*
◈ author first/last name
◈ FICTION ONLY: character name**
◈ If listening to the audio book: audio narrator first/last name
◈ If you are reading a translation: translator first/last name
* if the first word in the title/series is a definite or indefinite article you can ignore them if you prefer
** characters must be significant to the plot. you can use first, last or nickname.
Note that non-fiction books don't have characters
◈ This challenge involves adding a special bookshelf to your personal GRs bookshelves other than "read". You may choose a preexisting one.
◈ Those people who want to keep their Profiles Private, must be willing to "Friend" their Team Captain(s), the NBRC Mod account, or one of the Moderators, to allow page count verification and to assist you if you are having difficulty with your bookshelves.
◈ Please wait to be told to which Team you are assigned. It might take awhile; however, you will be able to count the books you have read from the START date of the challenge.
◈ Once you actually join, please check-in with your team discussion thread by posting the name of your bookshelf. Remember to add a HYPHEN between words for your bookshelf.
◈ Helpful Tip: Knowing about Sticky Shelves may help you put your assigned bookshelf near the top of your dropdown box.
◈ With MOBILE DEVICES there have been major problems when trying to add books. If that is all you have to access the Internet, or you don't know how to Cut & Paste on it, then this challenge probably is NOT the right fit for you.
◈ Discussion threads will be in the regular NBRC group. (No secret groups allowed)
◈ You do NOT have to join the discussion, if you don't want to; communicating via posting a book is good enough. Nevertheless, Your Team wants to know if you are still participating. We understand Real Life gets in the way. However, please plan to "check-in" in some manner at least once every week. If we don't hear from you for two weeks, you may be replaced with another team member and be prevented from joining future team challenges
Sign-Up Information
Challenge requirements
IMPORTANT: To be a part of this challenge you need to be able to:
◈ Read at least one book per WEEK
◈ Create a special shelf for the challenge for the books you are reading (for ease of captains' lives)
◈ Check-in on your team's discussion thread at least once per week
◈ Have fun!
★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
To join, we are using a Google Form to collect the below data.
Follow this link to complete the form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Hc1U...
★Name
★Goodreads User ID Information (see under spoiler for how to find this)
(view spoiler)
★Approximate number of books read per ROUND! Be accurate - look at your Goodreads stats to work it out!)
★Your continent (so we can try and match time zones)
★Your shelf name (for books read during the challenge)
★How often you'll be checking in on the team thread (note that you are required to check-in at least ONCE a week
★If you are willing to be a team captain or co-captain (note that you are required to be active on your team thread)
Individual Reading Caps
There has been some grumbling in recent team challenges about how many books people read in a given month. The moderators believe people are honest and would not misrepresent themselves. That being said, we do endeavour to create balanced teams to keep the challenge fun and fair for all participants whether they are a book a day or a book a month reader.
While a person's individual reading may differ from their sign up in either direction, drastically different reading can throw off the balance. The mods are trying out a different type of reading cap for this game. Each player will be capped at either 4 additional books or 50% over their sign up number (whichever is higher) per round with a max of 30 books per round (reminder: round = 2 weeks). For example, if you sign up with 10 books per round, the maximum number of books you can read in a given round is 15.
Books read by team members over their cap can be kept in reserve in case of players ghosting. To use any of these however, a discussion needs to be had with the NBRC Mods about the number of reserved books that can be used.
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Theme Book Of the Month - Tradition
The theme for December is tradition. This could be the retelling of a traditional tale, the exploration of a lesser-known tradition, or the celebration of a well-loved tradition. Perhaps it is a character working in a heritage tradition, or even about the creation of new traditions!
Nominations will be open until 27 October, UK evening
***Please pay special attention to the Rules and Guidelines listed below.***
Rules and Guidelines
1. Books nominated after the deadline will not be included in the polls. Sorry.
2. Each person is limited to nominating ONE book per category.
3. Please use the add book/author tool located at the top of the comment box when nominating a book. (Please make your nomination clear because side conversations do happen and we don't want to accidentally miss a nomination)
4. Please add the Goodreads synopsis for the book you nominate; you should also include an explanation of how it fits the theme for the month.
5. Books that were read as a past BOM will not be considered for the poll. (link to the sheet under the spoiler (view spoiler))
6. Books that are #2 or higher in a series will only be considered if all earlier books in the series have been a past BOM.
7. Books must be published at the time of nomination.
8. If your book is successful in being picked as the BOM you are expected to actively participate in the discussion. This will include writing a set of DQs as well as engaging in conversations.
The BOM nominations are for our members to nominate a book they are truly interested in and have no affiliation with. Promotional activity is NOT permitted and nominations that the Moderators perceive to be promotional will be deleted without warning
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Please nominate an Adult Fiction or a Non Fiction book that you would like to read in the month of December 2024.Nominations will be open until 27 October, UK evening
***Please pay special attention to the Rules and Guidelines listed below.***
Rules and Guidelines
1. Books nominated after the deadline will not be included in the polls. Sorry.
2. Each person is limited to nominating ONE book per category.
3. Please use the add book/author tool located at the top of the comment box when nominating a book. (Please make your nomination clear because side conversations do happen and we don't want to accidentally miss a nomination)
4. Please add the Goodreads synopsis for the book you nominate; optionally you can include a reason why we should read your nomination.
5. Books that were read as a past BOM will not be considered for the poll. (link to the sheet under the spoiler (view spoiler))
6. Books that are #2 or higher in a series will only be considered if all earlier books in the series have been a past BOM.
7. Books must be published at the time of nomination.
8. If your book is successful in being picked as the BOM you are expected to actively participate in the discussion. This will include writing a set of DQs as well as engaging in conversations.
Also, please be aware of your nomination's genre and list them in the appropriate BOM category.
Genres that DO NOT go here:
Young Adult
Middle Grade / Children's
Erotica
The BOM nominations are for our members to nominate a book they are truly interested in and have no affiliation with. Promotional activity is NOT permitted and nominations that the Moderators perceive to be promotional will be deleted without warning
Sep 29, 2024 09:04AM
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Sep 29, 2024 08:56AM
Participation VerifiedJudith https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Angie https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Insiyah https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Catherine https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Sep 29, 2024 08:56AM
Chapter Breakdown
Date Chapters %age MPDQs
2 Oct I - Chapter Two 21% Catherine
3 Oct III - Chapter Four 41% Judith
4 Oct V - Chapter Six 66% Jenny
5 Oct VII - Chapter Eight 82% Insiyah
6 Oct IX - Afterword 100% Cat
Guidance for DQ setters
Aim for a reasonable number of questions: 4 - 5 is typical. Please don't post too many - any more than 7 gets unwieldy!
Use consecutive numbering of the DQs for your days. So, for example, if Day One is posted as questions 1-4, Day Two should start at number 5 etc.
Don't worry too much about your questions: you aren't being tested on how clever your questions are!
Hints and tips:
- Is there a quote that jumped out at you? Use that in a question.
- What about the characters - do they generate strong feelings? No feelings? - either way, we can explore that!
- What about that plot twist?!
- Explore the writing style: is there an unusual structure being used? what's the tone of voice like? or the point of view?
Want more information about how NBRC runs their Book of the Month discussions? Check out the information here
Sep 29, 2024 08:56AM
A time travel romance, a spy thriller, a workplace comedy, and an ingenious exploration of the nature of power and the potential for love to change it all:
In the near future, a civil servant is offered the salary of her dreams and is, shortly afterward, told what project she’ll be working on. A recently established government ministry is gathering “expats” from across history to establish whether time travel is feasible—for the body, but also for the fabric of space-time.
She is tasked with working as a “bridge”: living with, assisting, and monitoring the expat known as “1847” or Commander Graham Gore. As far as history is concerned, Commander Gore died on Sir John Franklin’s doomed 1845 expedition to the Arctic, so he’s a little disoriented to be living with an unmarried woman who regularly shows her calves, surrounded by outlandish concepts such as “washing machines,” “Spotify,” and “the collapse of the British Empire.” But with an appetite for discovery, a seven-a-day cigarette habit, and the support of a charming and chaotic cast of fellow expats, he soon adjusts.
Over the next year, what the bridge initially thought would be, at best, a horrifically uncomfortable roommate dynamic, evolves into something much deeper. By the time the true shape of the Ministry’s project comes to light, the bridge has fallen haphazardly, fervently in love, with consequences she never could have imagined. Forced to confront the choices that brought them together, the bridge must finally reckon with how—and whether she believes—what she does next can change the future.
======
nominator: Catherine
Participation VerifiedMelindam https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Judith https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Insiyah https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Sammy https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Judy https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Christina T https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Melissa https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Marie UK https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Preeti https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Angie https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Catherine https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Ashley https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Randomised ListJam is guaranteed as nominator
There were 13 items in your list. Here they are in random order:
Painting
Commute
Noisy
Sorting (extra entry)
Broken
Cage
Roof
Tax
Bill
Commute (extra entry)
Sorting
Disaster
Meal
Timestamp: 2024-10-15 08:22:49 UTC
VolunteersJudith - nominator - guaranteed (Jam)
E (Disaster)
Catherine (Sorting)
Catherine (Sorthing) - extra entry
Insiyah (Cage)
Tina (Broken)
Christina (Commute)
Melissa (Jam)
Cat (Roof)
Teddie (Jam)
Lexi (Jam)
Ashley (Bill)
Angie (Tax)
Apoorv (Bill)
Jenny (Tax)
Lousie (Noisy)
Keely (Roof)
Kaley (Meal)
Judy (Commute)
Megan (Broken)
Melindam (Painting)
Christina (Commute) - extra entry
Chapter Breakdown
Date Chapters %ages MPDQs
16 Oct Now - Now 19% Judith (Jam)
last line "...reach out and touch her."
17 Oct Then - Now 38% Melindam (Painting)
first line "Can't the girl find..."
last line "shitshow of a strategy"
18 Oct Then - Then 58% Christina (Commute)
first line "Marcus changes completely..."
last line "...serious chat about your future"
19 Oct Now - Then 79% Louise (Noisy)
first line "It's just a sprained ankle..."
last line "Don't contact me again."
20 Oct Now - end Catherine (Sorting)
first line "Marcus's nose is bleeding..."
Guidance for DQ setters
Aim for a reasonable number of questions: 4 - 5 is typical. Please don't post too many - any more than 7 gets unwieldy!
Use consecutive numbering of the DQs for your days. So, for example, if Day One is posted as questions 1-4, Day Two should start at number 5 etc.
Don't worry too much about your questions: you aren't being tested on how clever your questions are!
Hints and tips:
- Is there a quote that jumped out at you? Use that in a question.
- What about the characters - do they generate strong feelings? No feelings? - either way, we can explore that!
- What about that plot twist?!
- Explore the writing style: is there an unusual structure being used? what's the tone of voice like? or the point of view?
Want more information about how NBRC runs their Book of the Month discussions? Check out the information here
