Pewter Blue August Challenge Discussion

[Moderators of NBRC]

I think what you have started looks great, Mary: HDLS.

[Vicky]

Hey, there's nothing wrong with being prepared!

I like the idea of basing it off things that happened in August, maybe we could use 2-3 of them for the same category so it's not so restrictive?

[Riya]

Definitely!! The 8x8 thing with the end of summer spell out is AWESOME!!!!!
If we need to change #1 and #2 to both be 8, I think we should still keep #1 somehow related to us at Pewter Blue- it's a nice personalization. I was thinking Pewter something, but nothing is just 2 letters!!!! Also, August is What Will Be Your Legacy month so we could always spell out Legacies and only spell it out with great classics with important legacies??? I'll look more tomorrow for August themed stuff.

[Moderators of NBRC]

G.O.  P.E.W.T.E.R.

W.E.  P.E.W.T.E.R.

B.E.  P.E.W.T.E.R.

U.S.  P.E.W.T.E.R.

[Riya]

Thanks for that, it is so helpful!!!!!!!! I personally like GO PEWTER, but they all work!! :D

[Sarah]

Go Pewter

[Mary X]

Well it looks like we can earn a cupcake by reusing one of the 7% categories. My vote would be for #6 because it had parts of some of our categories in it: green covers, vacation settings etc..,

Although I don't think we've had to use any cupcakes for anything so..., But it might mean less books we have to read for this.

Also if we come up with a plan that calls for more than 75 books, we only have to finish 75. So if we did an 8 x 10 theme, we just need to get 75.

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

So, you mean if we reuse/redo one of the 7% solution categories for our August challenge, we earn a cupcake toward whatever they would be used for?

8x10 could be interesting. So, 10 categories with 8 requirements each or something? Or 8 categories, 10 requirements? Might give more options, hmm...

[Vicky]

I thought the extra cupcakes were a bonus for 7% categories before the end of the 7% challenge, so we can cash in 5 of our 7% Round II categories for 1 cupcake each.


And I don't think a 10x8 challenge would be too bad. We're averaging 27 books a week, so that would be 108 in a month. As long as the categories aren't too restricting (which they aren't), I think we would manage 80.

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Vicky wrote: "I thought the extra cupcakes were a bonus for 7% categories before the end of the 7% challenge, so we can cash in 5 of our 7% Round II categories for 1 cupcake each."

Oh, that sounds familiar, Vicky. I read that somewhere yesterday but I don't remember where now. I wonder if that's what Mary is thinking of and maybe got mixed up?

[Mary X]

I'm totally confused. We already finished the 7% challenge. So I don't know if we get cupcakes for doing it a 2nd time. Or what. I figured I'd wait a day or two for all the questions to be asked and answered.

[Mary X]

So yay! the cupcakes are for doing it a 2nd time which Vicky has already been keeping track of, we were smart to keep on keepin' on.

We get 1 cupcake, a max of 5, for redoing some categories by July 19th.

[Mary X]

Ok here's my latest attempt at our August challenge:


Pewter Blues Not Quite An Octagon Challenge

Mods approved: minimum of 1 for categories 2-8 but no need to set a limit on them.

1: Spell-GO PEWTER BLUE (12)
2: Beach Reads: books we'd take to read on the beach.
3: 8th in a series, 8 words, 8 letters, published in August etc.,
4: Green covers for Peridot birth stone.
5: Books with Sun, Fire on cover or in title, red or orange cover.
6: Summer Fling: books under 300 pages
7: 19th Amendment: books by female authors in honor of women in the US getting the vote on August 18, 1920.
8: Water, Water Everywhere: books set near water, water in title, water on cover etc..,

Need to hit 75

[Sarah]

I am going to make a list for my August books to help me keep track of a plan of action. Some I can start in July but finish in August so they will count. , both with water or beach read. - looks like Sun on cover. All are female authors. - green cover-up *but may not get to this one. - summer fling. could be for P in Pewter otherwise don't know where to fit in a horror book?

[Karsyn]

Is #2 as loose as it seems? I have a Kindle, so any book I read, I would take to a beach to read if I could go to one. I'd just go with my Kindle and my thousands of books. :D

[Mary X]

I thought the same thing about my Kindle. So yeah that one is pretty loose.

I don't think they want us to make a too hard challenge just to hit 75 books with some sort of plan involved.

[Mary X]

I know I can read at least 1 in each category so I probably won't make much of a reading plan.

Awe, who am I kidding. I'll end up listing some.

ETA: I added published in August to #3 which I had meant to have in there to begin with.

[Karsyn]

Thanks Mary. That'll be an easy category then.

I don't ever plan ahead on books, except for when books are coming out that I'm waiting on. Other than that, I'm not a planner, I read what sounds good at the time. Hope that's ok.

I'll read 15-20+ books in Aug, I'll try to make sure they will all fit in somewhere.

[Mary X]

Sure it's ok. I hardly ever stick to whatever I plan ahead. And usually I base it on my next in a series books, books that work for multiple challenges and whatever comes up for me on my library holds. If I make a list ahead it's usually just to see if I have a category that I don't have on hand.

I'm going to create some threads for this.

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Yeah, I think beach reads covers whatever *you* think you'd enjoy if you were just lounging around on a beach. For me, that's thrillers/mysteries or a fun, fluffy romance or a fast-paced YA contemporary.

[Mary X]

For me it would be cozies or light romances. Or maybe a reread.

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

Oh yeah, cozies and re-reads are great beach reads, too!

[Sarah]

I would read any of the books I already read at the beach

[Riya]

Here's an idea, how about we use books off of NPR's Best Beach Books list: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/st...

[Sarah]

Well there is a huge variety of genres in that list. Does it have to be from that list?

[Mary X]

They said our challenge looked great and didn't say we had to make the beach read one more restrictive. So I don't see any reason to restrict it to a list. But we can if that's what the majority wants. If we did that, I'd rather use the goodreads Beach-reads shelf which has over 18,000 books on it instead of the NPR one. I don't see any thing on the NPR list that I would read at the beach. I like light fluffy stuff that doesn't require a lot of concentration on my part, when I'm at the beach-which happens about once every 10 years.

beachreads

[Riya]

That makes a lot of sense- I think it's fine if we choose them, but we should also make sure that we're not just putting random books on there, only ones that we would each read on the beach. You're right- everyone does have a different beach read!!!

[ilovebakedgoods (Teresa)]

I suggested the Beach Reads category with the express desire for everyone to read what *they* feel qualifies to *them* as a beach read. I would rather not restrict anyone because we all have different feelings of what we'd read on a beach. Me, I wouldn't read something I find hard to get into, something that would require too much thinking. Other people may desire such a thing so that works for them. I really do not want to be restricted so I'd rather not use a pre-made list of what someone else considers a beach read. I looked at both suggested links and don't see much of anything on my "beach reads" list. My taste is very different from what those lists suggest.

The challenge is supposed to be fun and not overly restrictive and we're already restricted in a sense on other categories. Loose restrictions but restrictions nonetheless.

I feel it should be a fun category and everyone can use their own discretion on what they'd choose as a beach read and I don't think they should be questioned on their integrity in doing so. So, I say, if you'd take it to the beach and get lost in it, add it. No questions asked.

[Lisa Kay]

I agree, Teresa; it means different things to different people. To me a "beach read" means something I've really wanted to get to, but haven't had the time. Or is a popular blockbuster, thriller or a "chunkster."

Love the pic. So neat.

[Mary X]

Ok no list. I hadn't intended to put a list up but one was suggested and so I just offered an alternate list that was a whole lot longer.

I'd prefer to just leave it open since too since we weren't told we had to make any requirements on that.