NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II discussion
Mauvelous
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7% Solution Challenge - June/July
Mauvelous Mavens,We have several people who read A LOT --- so I think that we could at least complete a couple of these with no additional effort. I'm willing to try to wrangle all the books to slot them into categories for maximizing getting the most categories completed.
I will put together a Google spreadsheet to try to track everything. Tracking Spreadsheet
If you want to participate (VOLUNTARY ACTIVITY):
1) Please indicate to me what your reading plans for June and July in one of the following ways:
* A post in the thread below or on the team thread in the NBRC group
* Create a shelf specifically to indicate your upcoming reads. For example, I do a MayTBR, JunTBR, etc so I can track my upcoming reads
* If you are planning to do a buddy read or a former NBRC BOM read, then let me know
* If you have a place where you track all your challenges and do planned reads, you can point me there.
Don't worry if you don't have this planned out yet -- I haven't done my June/July list yet.
Also --- I realize that this is just a plan so you if things change, then we will be flexibile and adjust :-D
I will use this information to "slot" into the challenges. We can see where there are some holes -- I should have some flexibility on reading during this period.
I will do weekly updates based on what has been marked as read.
Hi. I can participate as well. Here is my reading plan for June - I don't have one planned out for July as of yet, but this changes almost daily. Also, what I don't get to in May on my May 2013 shelf, will automatically be moved to my June 2013 shelf. I will post what I have remaining as of this morning as well, just to give you an idea of where I am. I also have a bookshelf entitled "on deck", and those are the books I have planned to read next. Some of the books listed there may be different than what is found on the "June 2013" reading list, as I add things randomly all the time to that shelf.
June 2013
1. 311 Pelican Court by Debbie Macomber
✔2. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton - 06/11/13
✔3. All That Remains by Patricia Cornwell - 06/02/13
✔4. About That Night by Julie James - 06/03/13
✔5. C is for Corpse by Sue Grafton - 06/04/13
✔6. Dragonfly in Amber by Diana Gabaldon - 06/08/13
7. Eggs in Purgatory by Laura Childs
✔8. Eleven on Top by Janet Evanovich - 06/05/13
✔9. Head Over Heels by Jill Shalvis - 06/09/13
✔10. Kiss the Girls by James Patterson - 06/06/13
✔11. Murder Most Frothy by Cleo Coyle - 06/07/13
✔12. Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean - 06/07/13
13. Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn
14. Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell
15. The Viscount Who Loved Me by Julia Quinn
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July 2013
1. Voyager by Diana Gabaldon (A)
2. Yellow Crocus by Laila Ibrahim (K)
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Glad I could help, ETO. However, should you find yourself doing more "updating", please do not throw books at me. Lol.
FYI.....Only the books finished on or after June 1 will count.Given how much some of you read, I think you could do the challenge on your own :-D
Also....with last weeks' update, we are in 4th or 5th place --- GREAT JOB everyone :-D
I'm sorry, Jolene. I may have made it more confusing by posting the May list. I only did so in order for you to be able to see what will potentially be moved to June. There are only 8 days left in May, so I will not be able to finish all of the 14 books I still have listed to read in May. Some of them will have to be moved to June, but I don't know which ones yet.Does that make sense?
I'm sorry if I confused things. I do realize though, that only those finished on or after the June 1 start date will count.
:)
Hi everyone. Looks like #5 has been changed to include the letters N.B.R.C.Here's the link with info http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...
It seems that we don't have to spell the entire saying. If using task #5 once, we need only complete 7 letters, if using task #5 twice, complete only 14 letters.
No worries jingles ---- but I can't believe that you won't finish off all 14 in 8 days, there is a long weekend after all ;-) Totally kidding!!
@ Barbara - I saw that addition too. @ Jolene - Lol. I always, always have more books lined up than I can possibly get finished. Then, there is the problem of constantly adding to my "on deck" list.
@Jingles - I'm the same way. I currently have 30 books set for June though I'm sure a few more will be added. That darn SRC is a killer.
Wow, Barbara. Lol. I don't have that many. That may change at some point though, as I'm new to all these challenges.I have peeked at the Seasonal Reading Challenge, but I must confess that I am too chicken as of now to try it. It is very intimidating to me.
@jingles --- the way that I do the SRC is that I look at the group reads/bookclub reads and anything else that I find at the library and then I match up stuff.I know that I won't ever read everything to get all the points so I just try to slot things that I already plan to read.
My problem is that I'm the challenge master in Historical Fictionistas group. Whenever I validate people's scores, I end up adding a lot more things to my TBR list. :-D
That sounds like a good plan, Jolene. I may try the SRC challenge towards the end of the year. I keep looking at it.I am also in the Historical Fictionistas group, and am currently working my way through the HFU BA Challenge. That is going very slowly for me though.
I know what you mean about adding all those books though. That is quite frequently what happens to my "on deck" shelf. I see the books and think I have to read them "right now". Lol
Any interest in doing a buddy read within our team --- (although I think that others can join in as well)??I'm not exactly sure how buddy reads work in this group.
Maybe Barbara who has the most solid list has something that others would be interested in. It should probably be something that is either 1st in a series or stand-alone.
The June BOM are:
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, The Passage, and The Diviners
,
, and
I'm planning to read the first 2 and also do the buddy read of A Discovery of Witches. I might even do The Diviners as it's on the "want to read" list.
jingles wrote: I am also in the Historical Fictionistas group, and am currently working my way through the HFU BA Challenge. That is going very slowly for me though."
I know --- I made the HFU challenge up and still haven't done any tracking for it. Even though I find books all the time that I think would be good for it :-D.
I would be interested in participating in the 7 books challenge.
jingles wrote: "I also have a bookshelf entitled "on deck", and those are the books I have planned to read next. Some of the books listed there may be different than what is found on the "June 2013" reading list, as I add things randomly all the time to that shelf."I am SO going to do this! Thanks for the idea!
Valerie wrote: "I am SO going to do this! Thanks for the idea! ..."
Lol. Glad I could help, Valerie. It always helps me with the "what to read next" issue.
:)
I have created a Google Spreadsheet and am allowing to edit it. However, if you just want to put point me to your books, I can add them and you can review for some items (example, the cover that you read meet one of the criteria).Tracking Spreadsheet
jingles wrote: "I have peeked at the Seasonal Reading Challenge, but I must confess that I am too chicken as of now to try it. It is very intimidating to me. "
No reason to be intimidated. You just work at your own pace and read how many (or few) you want. I think the thrill is just finding books for each task. That in itself is almost enough of a challenge. I'm on my 4th season and haven't finished one yet. I got closest the first time but there is always one task that I just refuse to do so I guess I'll never actually finish it. Besides with all the other challenges I'm involved in, making books fit everything is nearly impossible.
I rarely do the BOM as I've already read them or have no interest. The books JoLene mentioned don't appeal so I won't be reading those.I think for the BOM task you have to answer the DQ or if you do a personal buddy read, you have to make up questions. I am absolutely no good at something like that so I'll pass.
No worries Barbara.......many times, I have no interest as well. It just happens that I like all three this time! Most of the time I make a couple of comments, but don't answer all the questions.
OK - see if I have this straight:Cat 1 - don't know yet
Cat 2 - Moonstone cover:
Cat 3 - Red cover:
Cat 4 - BOM:
Cat 5 - Spell it out: Cracks in the Sidewalk (the letter C)
Cat 6 - green cover:
Cat 7 - 7 letters in title: Birdman
So - reading the books listed, plus the book for Cat 1 that I don't know yet would complete this challenge?
@Valerie,Are these on your list of what you want to read already? Each person does not need to read one book per category, and can read multiple books per category. I was just planning to slot what you are planning to read into the spreadsheet and then see where we have "holes".
We can also do each category twice and the "Spell It Out" three times, so if we are short one category can substitute one that we have a lot of. For categories 2 and 3' we have to check on Sunday to get the final cover colors. It is based on who is directly ahead and behind us in the standings on last Sun in May.
In short --- your list is good, but only if those are books you want to read anyway.
JoLene wrote: "@Valerie,Are these on your list of what you want to read already? Each person does not need to read one book per category, and can read multiple books per category. I was just planning to slot w..."
Oh, I see. I thought we all had to read one of each. No problem, I can definitely find books on my TBR list that will fit most, if not all, of the categories. And all the above books are on my TBR list. These challenges just help me decide what to read next, lol.
JoLene have you seen the new conditions to the challenge? It's just getting more and more confusing. Here's the link http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1...Here's the cupcake spreadsheet (we have 28 cupcakes): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/c...
Thanks Barbara ---- I did a couple of the mini-games, but not many so I think I lost an update to that thread.I think that we are pretty good without even using cupcakes but that might depend on our final cover colors :-D
I'll read through again --- the checking others shelves is the one that I was going to ignore if possible just because it is more steps. So having the people's names highlighted and checking shelves seems like more of the same.
Let's see what we come up with given our own TBR lists. Between you and Jingles we have a great start and I know that Hina also plows through a lot of books. I can be flexible for filling in slots.
Yeah but you can only choose books off of MAUVELOUS team members and since you and I are the only name on the list, it shouldn't be too hard to check.Here's my shelf with all books read in 2013: http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/...
It's a neat alternative for those hard to find categories.
Aaahh -- I didn't read carefully enough -- I thought it still had to be another competitor.You can pretty easily see mine from the year because they are either tagged ch13-tower-teamc or ch13 mauvelous.
So if we don't have a category covered, we can use these freebies. That should definitely help on those hard to do tasks.• For the 7% Solution Challenge, seven cupcakes = can replace any book needed in any of the categories.
• For these color-coded columns, you may look at that member's bookshelves and choose any book they have read this year (since January 1st) that fits in the 7% Solution Challenge where you need it - and you will only have to use six cupcakes to do so (not seven).
Hey JoLene, I will help you out with the buddy read if needed, like Barbara I actually avoid them as well. But since no one really seems to be that interested in it. I can pick up one or two of those.
As soon as the new updates are done, I will post with the color ahead and behind category. I am just waiting to see if anything changes.
Good morning Team Mauvelous. I just popped in to work real quick to check up on things (trying to stay on top of it, lol).First, I must sadly admit - and apologize, as I had no idea about the Cupcake thingy. I feel terrible because I haven't participated in that at all, and if I understand correctly, it may have given us a little bit more of an advantage?
I'm sorry I've not followed it more closely, but will try to do so from here on out.
JoLene, the spread sheet looks really good. Thank you for putting it together for us. I do have another book that fits Task #6 - Flower on the Cover, and that is Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener by M.C. Beaton. Here is the cover:
You may have missed it, or it may be that we don't need it. I just wanted to point it out in case you didn't see it.
As I randomly add and read books from my "on-deck" shelf, each time I do that in June/July, I will check it against each task and let you know where all it will fit in, so that you can place it where it's needed the most.
Again, I will try to stay on top of the Cup Cake thingy.
I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe Memorial Day holiday.
@Jingles, don't worry about the cupcakes. We got the maximum cupcakes because Barbara did all the cupcake mini-challenges. Yeah Barbara!!!I will update the spreadsheet.
FYI.....I will be travelling back home today so I won't be on-line much. Really looking forward to those 10 hours of travel --- but the good news is that I usually get a lot of reading done :-D
Great! Have a safe trip home.A very big thank you to Barbara for keeping us in the game with the Cupcake thingy. :)
For everyone --- for the really important stuff, I will send out a PM to folks since I know that notifications do not work all the time and not everyone checks GR every day because you are too busy reading :-D.
And remember we can use the cupcake thingie for any task we can't cover.
Barbara ★ wrote: "And remember we can use the cupcake thingie for any task we can't cover."probably buddy read/BOM lol
Thanks Barbara for doing all thsoe mini challenges.
NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round IITeam Mauvelous
7% Solution Challenge
Duration: 6/1/13 - 7/19/2013
0/xx Completed
Category 1: Behind the Enemy Lines
1. Leather Jacket Black: Marcella Edelbrock - Hunted by Evangeline Anderson.
2. Purple Mountain's Majesty: Lara - White Heat by Jill Shalvis.
3. Atomic Tangerine: ShoSho - What Happens in Scotland by Jennifer McQuiston.
4. Cerulean AKA Hobbit Blue: Turtlecollector - The Other Side of Us by Sarah Mayberry.
5. Wild Blue Yonder: ~♥ Kat ♥~ - Moon by Laurann Dohner.
6. Pewter Blue: Imke - The Mating by Nicky Charles.
7. Blast off Bronze: Mandy Beyer - How to Drive a Dragon Crazy by G.A. Aiken.
Category 2:Colors Ahead - Moonstone (
Category 3:
Category 4: Book of the Month or "Buddy Read":
1. The Passage by Justin Cronin.
Category 5:
Category 6:
Category 7:
Ok here's what I can do. JoLene, these can be moved around if need be to fill a whole. #1 - Behind Enemy Lines
✔Lover At Last - J.R. Ward 6/4 (Cathy -B'dazzled Blue)
#3 - Color Behind - Electric Lime
1. Untraceable - S.R. Johannes
2. The Immortal Fire - Anne Ursu
3. Unzipped - Lois Greiman
#5 - Spell-It-Out
G - Silk Dreams - Diana Groe
T/O - This Dark Endeavour - Kenneth Oppel
W/M - The Well of Shades - Juliet Marillier
O/B - Over the Edge - Suzanne Brockmann
R/O - The Rook - Daniel O'Malley
L/G - Under Your Spell - Lois Greiman
E/A - Everneath - Brodi Ashton
#6 - May RaT Mini-challenges
1. Payback - Fern Michaels (flowers on cover)
2. Enchantment - Orson Scott Card (flowers on cover)
A- The Friday Society - Adrienne Kress
N - NOS4A2 - Joe Hill (or #5 - H/N)
Y - On Dublin Street - Samantha Young
R - The Rising - Kelley Armstrong
O - Delirium - Lauren Oliver
S - Six Seconds - Rick Mofina
E - Everbound - Brodi Ashton
#7 - Seven
1. Dawn in Eclipse Bay - Jayne Ann Krentz (7 words in title + author)
2. Hannah's Dream - Diane Hammond (7 Letters in Author's Name)
3. Magic's Child - Justine Larbalestier (7 Letters in Author's Name)
4. Tiger's Voyage - Colleen Houck (7 Letters in Author's Name)
5. Citadel - Kate Mosse (7 letters in title)
6. Unencumbered: Of Love, Life, and the Law - Dennis Glawe (7 letters in title + subtitle)
Miscellaneous - read but needs placement
✔Someone Like You - Roald Dahl 6/7
Hina wrote: "Barbara ★ wrote: "And remember we can use the cupcake thingie for any task we can't cover."probably buddy read/BOM lol
Thanks Barbara for doing all thsoe mini challenges."
I agree that one is going to be the hardest to fulfill.
Hina and Barbara,Thanks......we will really have to no problem getting to the 49 books. I am using a spreadsheet to track since many books track to multiple categories. Reading from others shelves was the hardest for me to validate, but I think that we even have that one covered.
I will try to update the spreadsheet today, but I have to work :-(. Joys of working in retail ;-).
NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II
Books mentioned in this topic
Flashpoint (other topics)The Obituary Writer (other topics)
Magic's Child (other topics)
Decaffeinated Corpse (other topics)
M is for Malice (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Erik Larson (other topics)James Patterson (other topics)
Carol Marinelli (other topics)
Jillian Stone (other topics)
Patricia Cornwell (other topics)
More...
Official Post
Quick summary
* General idea is to read 7 books in 7 categories in 7 weeks
* We must complete the entire category for it to "count"
* We can divide the categories however we would want
* We can actually repeat most categories twice and therefore avoid some other harder categories.
CATEGORIES:
1: "Behind Enemy Lines" - Read books that other Tower Team competitors have already read for the Tower Team II challenge. (Not from your own team).
2. Color Ahead: Read books with the cover of the team directly ahead of us on the last Sunday update in May or June.
May color: Moonstone - blue, pearl or white
2. Color Behind: Read books with the cover of the team directly behind of us on the last Sunday update in May or June.
May color: Electric Lime
4. Book of the Month or "Buddy Read": Read books that are BOMs AND in the participate in the discussion questions. You can also set-up a Buddy Read in the NBRC group (it cannot be a buddy read from another GR group).
5. Spell-It-Out: Read books whose title, author's name (first or last), series name begins with one of the letters in "NBRC TOWER TEAMS READING CHALLENGE".
(NOTE: We can do this challenge up to 3 times).
6. May RaT Mini-challenges: Read books with a predominantly green color; or have a flower on the cover; or are set in a favorite holiday destination; or have a moon on the cover; or have a iconic landmark or monument on the cover; or would spell out “A.N.Y. R.O.S.E.” (NOTE: Can do any combination of these)
7. Seven: Read books with
* 7 letters in the title,
* 7 words in the title (may include Sub-title or series name and can ignore "a", "an", or "the" if that helps
* 7th in a series
* author's name has 7 letters (can be first or last or both)
* book published in July (7th month)
* spell out SEVEN-UP
TIMING:
Starts - June 1 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time
Ends - July 19th at noon Eastern Daylight Time
(The time converter is in the official rules post)