NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II discussion
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Mango Tango
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Moderator's Mailbox May Read-a-Thon!
For those who’ve missed it, the group mods have organized a challenge-wide Read-a-Thon. You can read the details here: The biggest thing to note is that participation is OPTIONAL, so you are not required to participate. However, if every team member plays along, we get extra points right off the bat, so we’d love to have you all join in!
The Read-a-Thon in a nutshell:
DURATION: May 1 – May 12
What time is that where *I live?
Countdown to start of RaT
WHAT DO I NEED TO DO TO PARTICIPATE?
Just post a message here and tell us how many pages you hope to read during this RaT. We don’t get any extra points for exceeding our goals, but we do get points for each team member who reaches his/her goal -– and bonus points if we ALL meet our goals. If you need to, you can change your goal up until May 8th PDT 8:00 AM (BST 4:00 PM).
The mods have set a minimum number of pages for goals for this RaT: If your reading goal is 50 books or fewer for the year, this minimum is 300 pages. If your goal is more than 50 books for the year, the minimum is 600 pages.
WHAT ELSE IS INVOLVED?
Each team is to choose a theme for the RaT, and at least one person on the team must read a book that fits that theme. We get more points if more than one person reads the theme, and even more if we ALL do, so we need to think of a theme that will be something we can all get behind.
Each team is also supposed to read at least one book with a cover that represents the color of the team name. Again, we get more points if everyone reads a book with a color match. Sonia was kind enough to post a photo of mangoes in various stages of ripeness, which gives us a lot more color options :)
Each team is also awarded extra points for suggesting games or NON-READING mini-challenges to the mods. Examples would be:
Mini-Challenge #1: Over the Rainbow (*This is choose-a-book only, no reading included)
Build a rainbow with book covers.
Optional: build a rainbow with book covers from your actual bookshelf, then take a picture and post it on the thread.
Mini-Challenge #2: Leave your Mark
What do you use for bookmarks (whether you use them at all). Take a picture of your bookmarks (or what you use) and post them.
WHAT DOES OUR TEAM GET OUT OF THIS?
Besides boosting our reading and challenging us to read more books, the team with the most points at the end of the RaT will have 4 books added to the team total. That’s four “free” books, which could make a difference with the smaller teams this time around.
And of course, let’s not forget that it will be a lot of fun, and having fun with our reading is what it’s all about, right?
If you'd like to read the entire post from the mods, check out The Mods' Read-a-Thon
So ... how many pages do YOU plan to read during this RaT?
MODS' READ-A-THON, MAY 1 - 12MANGO TANGO TEAM THEME:
Read a book that's been on your TBR list for at least a year
We get 1 point for each participant who reads a book that meets this team OR 30 points if half of us read a theme book OR 50 points if all of us read a theme book
Team theme books:
- Barb
- Evana
- Steven 
- Jane
- Karla
- NancyMANGO TEAM BOOOK COVER COLOR:
Read a book with a cover whose color that corresponds to our team name. See the photo in the post above for examples of colors that will count.
We get 1 point for each participant who reads a book with our team's color on the cover OR 30 points if half of us do OR 50 points if we all do
Team color books:
- Evana
- Steven 
- Nancy
- Barb
- Karla
- Sallie(Shuga)updated 12:45am EST Tue. May 7
TEAM
MEMBER GOAL THEME COLOR PAGES READ
Evana 3000 X X 2116
Steven 750 X X 627
Barb 2500 X X 1973
Jane 1000 X 650
Karla 1000 X X 1258
Alba 750 removed from RaT due to inactivity on team
Nancy M 600 X X 1150
Sallie(Shuga) 750 X 988
We get 1 point for each participant who meets his/her goal during the RaT OR 20 points if half of us reach our goals OR 30 points if our team's total goal is reached (no matter how many of us it takes to reach that goal) OR 50 points if all of us reach our goals.
We also get 5 points for submitting a NON-READING game/mini-challenge to the mods for possible use during the RaT.
NOTE: Steven has already done this, which means we've already earned 5 points :)
DAILY PROGRESS REPORTS:
DAY ONE, MAY 1 - reported to mods' thread 5/7
EVANA 240 p team color complete
STEVEN 320 p team color complete
BARB 432 p team theme complete
DAY TWO, MAY 2: - reported to mods' thread 5/3
EVANA 893 p team theme complete
KARLA 372 p
SALLIE (SHUGA) 298 p
BARB 421 p
DAY THREE, MAY 3:
NANCY 384 p team color complete
EVANA 564 p
BARB 624 p
STEVEN 111 p
DAY FOUR, MAY 4:
BARB 192 p. team color complete
SALLIE 409 p.
DAY FIVE, MAY 5:
KARLA 276 p. team color complete
EVANA 419 p.
SALLIE 281 p. team color complete
DAY SIX, MAY 6:
KARLA 190 p.
STEVEN 196 p.
BARB 304 p.
DAY SEVEN, MAY 7:
DAY SEVEN (5/7):
NANCY 357 p. team theme complete
JANE 330 p.
KARLA 420 p. team theme complete
****************************************
NOT YET REPORTED:
We might want to keep our non-reading challenge/game ideas to ourselves :) I *think we only get points if they USE our idea during the RaT, but I could have misunderstood that part. If you have an idea for this, how about if you send a PM to Steven, Evana or me instead of posting a great idea here for another team to 'steal'? :) For our team's theme for this RaT, I've had a couple of thoughts:
* author whose initials can be found in MANGOTANGO
* book titles whose FIRST word begins with a letter in MANGOTANGO (other than A, An and The)
* books we need to complete a challenge ending in May
* books that have been on our TBR list for over a year
Remember, we get more points if EVERYONE participating in the RaT reads a book to fit the theme, so we need to choose a theme that will work best for all of us. So we need your input before we choose a theme!
When you post your page goal HERE, please tell us which of these themes you like -- or suggest one of your own :)
My son and DIL are supposed to be home during this time for an extended visit before they leave for three years in Okinawa, so I'm going to set a conservative goal of 750 pages for this RaT.
As far as our team's theme, I'm open to any of the suggestions above, although I'm partial to the "book for a May challenge" option :)
I will take part in the May RaTMy page goal will be 1000 pages (I am on holiday but there is also a lot of travelling and visiting going on, so I don't dare put my number higher)
Of the 4 suggested themes I like 1, 2, and 4.
I actually haven't got any challenges ending in May, most of the challenges I take part in are yearlong ones.
Thanks, Jane, I'll add your goal to the chart above :)
We should choose a theme and our page goals within the next week -- by Sunday, April 28 -- so Steven and Evana have time to submit the information to the mods before the RaT begins. If you want to participate and haven't already posted, please let us know :)
I'm in for the RaT. I'm going to set my goal at 600 pages, I don't want to set it too high and not meet my goal.I like the option of reading a book that has been on your TBR for over a year.
Kayla won't be able to participate in the RaT. She is in school and doesn't get too much time to read.
I'll add your goal to our list, Karla. And thanks for letting us know about Kayla :)
I like the "read a book that's been on your TBR for over a year"... but since I've not been on Goodreads for over a year, it'll have to be the honor system!I'd also be fine with anything other than the one that says "completing a challenge in May" as I have no challenges that aren't year long. :)
Other ideas: books with numbers in the titles, books with rhyming words in the titles (a la Mango Tango) [could be hard to find them], books with food/fruit in the title [also could be hard to find], etc.
I have some books that have been sitting on my shelf to read for years, and I always forget they are there. Could be a good time to pick one up as the "TBR for over a year" book? :D
Hi, New Team Member here :) I would love to join in the Read-a-thon, my page count goal would be 750 pages.I don't have a long TBR (I could pick one I have had the longest?) and I'm not taking part in any other challenges.
I also have an idea, we could pick a book from another Mango Tango team members shelf that isn't on our own to read, so we would be reading something new? I also like Barbs ideas :
* author whose initials can be found in MANGOTANGO
* book titles whose FIRST word begins with a letter in MANGOTANGO
Steven wrote: "I like the "read a book that's been on your TBR for over a year"... but since I've not been on Goodreads for over a year, it'll have to be the honor system!"Well, there's nothing there that says "on your GOODREADS tbr," it just says "your TBR" :)
It honestly never occurred to me that there would be so many folks who are involved in year-long challenges that all end in December :) In my primary GR group, our year-long challenges are staggered so they don't ALL end in December! Every month, a new year-long challenge is introduced -- along with monthly challenges, and challenges lasting 3, 4 or 6 months. I've got at least one challenge ending in every month from now till March 31, 2014 ... unless you count the five-year challenge that doesn't end until September 2017 LOL
ღღ Alba ღღ wrote: "Hi, New Team Member here :) I would love to join in the Read-a-thon, my page count goal would be 750 pages.I don't have a long TBR (I could pick one I have had the longest?) and I'm not taking pa..."
Oh, I like the idea to read a book off someone else's shelf!!!
ღღ Alba ღღ wrote: "Hi, New Team Member here :) I would love to join in the Read-a-thon, my page count goal would be 750 pages.I don't have a long TBR (I could pick one I have had the longest?) and I'm not taking part in any other challenges. "
Sure, we could make that allowance :) I'll add you and your goal to the post at the top of thread!
I think we need to set up a poll (if we can?) for our RaT participants to vote on which theme we should choose. What say you, Cap'n Steven?
ღღ Alba ღღ wrote: "Hi, New Team Member here :) I would love to join in the Read-a-thon, my page count goal would be 750 pages."Oh, and welcome to the team, Alba :)
You're the Challenge Queen... I defer to your rule on all mini-challenges and read-a-thons. :)
LOL I'll poke around later tonight to see if I can figure out how to do a poll just for our team. Right now, I need to tend to my laundry -- the washer is beeping at me -- and a few other chores that can't be ignored any longer. Ick!
JanBreesmom, Nancy and Sheila, would you please let us know if you're participating in the RaT, and if you are, how many pages you intend to read? Thanks!
Well, we only got five votes in the poll to determine our team's theme for the mods' RaT that starts next week. Unfortunately, two responses both got two votes, so I made an executive decision and asked my daughter to choose for us -- without telling her what the two options were, I said only "option A or option B?" She chose option B, which is books that have been on your TBR list for more than a year. This doesn't have to be your GR list, since I know some of our teammates are new to GR. If you've been wanting to read a book for a year or more, it counts. If you're a new reader and didn't have a TBR list a year ago, just choose a book that's been on your want-to-read list the longest :)
Remember, we get one point for each participant in the RaT who reads a book with this theme, and we get bonus points if *everyone in the RaT reads a 'theme book,' so start looking at your list now to find a likely candidate!
I'll give it a try. I think I'll try to read 600 pages.
Great, Nancy, I'll add you to the chart in the post above :)
For the readathon, should we create a separate topic to hold those posts? Or just post in our thread back on the mother group? I was thinking in terms of having place to list what I hope to read during the week, whether it fits the group theme or the color challenge, page count, etc. I can do it either place. Just asking what you all think.
I think that's what Steven had in mind with *this thread, Evana. It would be easiest for me to keep track of who's read the theme or color challenge books if you post that info here. I plan to record that in the chart at the top of this thread, to make it all neat and tidy for our captains to report to the mods at the end of the RaT :)
Yeah, Evana, this thread is specifically for the Moderator's Read-A-Thon. (The mailbox is a reference to the post Lisa Kay put up everywhere about it having a big mailbox picture).
Mod
Is everybody ready? The RaT starts in just under 24 hours :)
I finished a book early this morning that needed to be finished in May but which I did not feel was fair to count for the readathon since I had already read most of it. My starting page count is: 26332.I also have a question. I did the first two parts of the early mini-challenge but couldn't figure out how to post the pictures. Are there instructions somewhere on how to post pictures from your computer? Just asking in case this comes up in other mini-challenges during the readathon.
There may be an easier way to post a screen shot, but the mods have instructions HERE on how to post a picture to GR, complete with screen shots :)Edit: Just noticed that these instructions start with have a photo already saved in Photobucket :( I'll post instructions for starting from scratch when I get home from work this afternoon. Sorry!
Two hours until the RaT starts! I won't be able to start reading till after work today -- with the exception of my half-hour lunch break -- but I've already got my books lined up and ready to go :)
I'm starting today with
The School of Essential Ingredients to get my Mango-color done first.I'll also be listening to Angels & Demons when I'm out running errands.
Does this count as a Mango-color?
I was trying to finish
so I could start
today for my mango-colored book... but I guess since A is for Alibi covers the green stage of the mango, that'll work too. Also working on
which doesn't count for the main challenge but will add some pages.And I started listening to
while I walked yesterday. I won't finish it before the read-a-thon ends though, because it's long and I am only going to be walking 40 minutes or so a day. :D
Nancy wrote: "Does this count as a Mango-color?"That should work. Sonia's pictures of mangoes showed green, orange, yellow and red as the varying shades of ripeness for mangoes. :D
Steven wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Does this count as a Mango-color?"
That should work. Sonia's pictures of mangoes showed green..."
Ok. then I will read that for my Mango-color
"That should work. Sonia's pictures of mangoes showed green..."
Ok. then I will read that for my Mango-color
GR only counts the pages of the books you have finished reading. So, if I start a book for the RaT, but don't finish it I won't get credit for the pages I have read, right?Also, I am currently on page 167 of the book I am reading. The first 166 pages should not be counted for the RaT since I read them before the start. Should I put this book on hold and read something else?
I'm posting this in the official RaT thread as well.
You don't have to worry about the start dates. Just finish the one you're working on and it will count. :)And make sure you read your theme and color books too!!!
Yes, we really need for everyone in the RaT to read a book for our team's color and another book for our team's theme before the RaT ends, so we can get the 50 point 'reward' :)
Steven wrote: "You don't have to worry about the start dates. Just finish the one you're working on and it will count. :)And make sure you read your theme and color books too!!!"
Just wanted to keep things fair. Going to the library to pick up my color book. And am putting a hold on the one for the theme.
I finished
The School of Essential Ingredients for my mango-colored cover.I'm working on Love, Aubrey and starting up Extinct Languages.
Evana wrote: "I'm working on Love, Aubrey and starting up Extinct Languages."I read
earlier this year. What do you think so far?
I'm liking it so far. It was very vocally recommended to me by a group of 9-11 year old girls. I keep waiting for her Gram to do something to sort of jumpstart Aubrey because she isn't doing it on her own.Karla, you could use the cover for that in the current mini-challenge for books with green covers over at http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
Evana wrote: "I'm liking it so far. It was very vocally recommended to me by a group of 9-11 year old girls. I keep waiting for her Gram to do something to sort of jumpstart Aubrey because she isn't doing it o..."I just did the challenge and used the book! Some I've read, some I have to read.
You know, these mini challenges and games are taking away a LOT of reading time! I want to get back to my reading, but I want to do the minis and games too -- just in case the mods decide to award some kind of bonus or whatever for participation. It's getting kind of ridiculous, though, that there's so much stuff spread over so many threads in the group.I'm glad you guys mentioned the green cover thing, or I would have missed it! Thanks to you, I've posted my five green covers -- and even went with unique titles, just in case that somehow factors into anything somewhere down the road.
Yeah, I would never have seen it either! X)
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NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II
Books mentioned in this topic
Well-Schooled in Murder (other topics)Stardust (other topics)
Angels & Demons (other topics)
Swimming Without a Net (other topics)
The School of Essential Ingredients (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Annamaria Alfieri (other topics)Maria V. Snyder (other topics)
Suzanne LaFleur (other topics)
Rosemary Sutcliff (other topics)
Dan Brown (other topics)
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Barb, the challenge queen, will be posting once she's off work and has a few moments, so leave the first few posts for her to reserve!
Thanks! :)