MobileRead Book Challenges discussion
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Oh, and....FIRST!!
lol!
Training Wheels: ReviewsOne of my goals for next year is to write "better" reviews; I mean something a little more substantial than fangirl squeals, this book bad, and/or meh.
I would like to stay away from synopsis, however (thats what the back of the book or book jacket is for). I also try not to include spoilers (when possible) but I understand that they are sometimes necessary in explaining why we like or dislike an aspect of the book.
What I'm looking for is a set of "Beginner" points to touch on in each review.
What do you all like to see?
Things Christa likes to see in a review:1) If there were a lot of usage / spelling errors, I want to know about it because these ruin the reading experience for me.
2) Whether or not the plot makes sense, at least on a basic level. Suspending disbelief is one thing - gigantic plot holes are something else entirely.
3) Character info: Whether or not the characters were relatable in some way. Note whether protags and antags were walking cliches and/or one-dimensional.
4) What tense the story is told in. I'm not a huge fan of first-person present tense. I've read some really good stuff written that way, but I like to know going in.
What MrsJ looks for in a review: - how the book affected you
- did you roll your eyes, get fed up, etc?
- awkward writing, holes in plots, etc.
Thank you ladies..Things To Remember List, So Far:
Grammar
Plot/Continuity
Character Traits
Writing Style
Personal Response
Annoyances
Does anyone here know how to remove books that you have added several times on TBR? I have somehow added 3 editions of the same book and want to remove 2 of them, but I can't figure out how... It's annoying me :P
Is TBR something special on GR, or just a list/folder you have created? Normally to delete a book I just click on the "x" to the right of the listing, but I may be misunderstanding what you are after?
You mean on your shelves here? Go to My Books, then switch to whatever exclusive shelf they are on, (optional) use the little search box above the book listing to search by title. Once you have the ones you want to delete, click the little X to the far right of the book entry on the list.
Ah yes! Thanks! I remember I have actually done it before now... I guess my brain is still recovering from working all night :P
It took me three years to find this thread?You can also use the handy dandy Find Duplicates link in the left menu when you're on the My Books page to see if you've done stupid things previously. I know I do all the time.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "It took me three years to find this thread?You can also use the handy dandy Find Duplicates link in the left menu when you're on the My Books page to see if you've done stupid things previously. ..."
Yes, that works also, if the book info and combines have been done properly. Something I can't always count on, unfortunately. It is helpful if you know you have multiple duplicates and / or aren't sure of the exact titles, though.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "It took me three years to find this thread?"Haha. Me too!
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "You can also use the handy dandy Find Duplicates link in the left menu when you're on the My Books page to see if you've done stupid things previously. ..."Hmmmm. Not used this before so I had a look. Of the 17 reported, 11 of them were genuine duplicates, so I've tidied that up. Thanks!
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "You can also use the handy dandy Find Duplicates link in the left menu when you're on the My Books page to see if you've done stupid things previously. I know I do all the time"This is genius! Thanks! :D
^No problem.I don't think they are going to make me a librarian around here anytime soon. I think I've requested twice. Can one of you who is one update some information on Chaff On The Wind: A Novel? It needs some pages information. 208 specifically.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "^No problem.I don't think they are going to make me a librarian around here anytime soon. I think I've requested twice. Can one of you who is one update some information on [book:Chaff On The Win..."
Done :)
Can't believe you've been refused. I just asked and was okayed really quickly.
Thanks.They used to okay everyone, but they don't anymore. They probably shouldn't okay everyone. Now you write why and they "get back to you if you're accepted."
I'm basking in the silence of disapproval.
Homeinmyshoes wrote: "Thanks.They used to okay everyone, but they don't anymore. They probably shouldn't okay everyone. Now you write why and they "get back to you if you're accepted."
I'm basking in the silence of d..."
I think it depends when you ask. I asked during a heavy load time and I was approved automatically. Later - as things died down - it got harder again.
I'm sure I've read in one of our threads about the following question, but I can't find it... I want to add a re-read of a book as a "new" read for 2017, but even if I select the book and look for other editions, whichever one I choose it just swaps to on my original entry of the read, say in 1998 or something. I want both entries to appear, the 1998 and the 2017 ones.Anyone remember how to achieve this?
^They are still working on rereads. You used to be able to do that, but it doesn't look like that works now (I just tried it). I sense much anger in the GoodReads crowd.
Christa wrote: "Re-reading feature released an hour ago: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/..."Thanks. I can't believe the synchronicity of my question!
Every now and then I am stumped by a Goodreads recommendation. Okay, more than every now and then, but this one is exceptionally special:Because I shelved A Land without Jasmine by Wajdi Al-Ahdal, Object of My Affection by Stephen McCauley. I see.
I'll take random books GoodReads is getting paid to shill for $300 Alex.
I...don't see how the two are related at all. This is why I avoid most GR recs, lol.
So I went with my aunt to the library, wasn't planning on borrowing anything but thought I might as well look. Ended up borrowing 5 books. I have no idea how I finish them all in a month... LOL
I mean, I'm already reading 3 others right now...
DoodlePanda wrote: "So I went with my aunt to the library, wasn't planning on borrowing anything but thought I might as well look. Ended up borrowing 5 books. I have no idea how I finish them all in a month... LOL
I ..."
My suggestions:
- don't sleep
- don't eat
- don't watch TV
- don't play 7 Days to Die
;)
Haha, I guess that's the only solution! :P
When planning for 2018 already has you thinking about 2019!I may change my mind later, but I think a 10th Anniversary Good Reads Choice Award Challenge might be fun, especially since they include links to all of the previous years.
Players will be allowed to remove one category from the list but must read the winning book in all of the other categories.
Nyssa wrote: "When planning for 2018 already has you thinking about 2019!I may change my mind later, but I think a 10th Anniversary Good Reads Choice Award Challenge might be fun, especially since they include..."
That IS a good idea.
WOW
lol
Hey Darzin, do you think you could give me some pointers on how to format a spreadsheet for THIS challenge?https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
O_O
*rubs hands*
^Lol. Reading though the points is hilarious. Bought twice. Do I have to read each copy once in order to receive the 25 extra points?
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "^Lol. Reading though the points is hilarious. Bought twice. Do I have to read each copy once in order to receive the 25 extra points?"LOL
I'm awarding myself points if I just read the damn book, lol! I have a least a few multiple copies without pages read...
Looking at you Deadhouse Gates
Fortunately I don't have a huge TBR list so I don't feel compelled to participate in another challenge. :)I might have to point this out to a couple other people at MR though. There are a few people with perpetual "reduce my TBR list" challenges.
Anyway, here's where I would start: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
You should make a copy (File > Make a copy...) in your own Google Drive for this, I probably won't leave it up for that long.
I made this from the 2017 sheet and since it looks like you can claim points multiple times for most categories I had to change the "Other" part to separate columns. For all of those (plus the "owned book read" column, just enter an "X" in the cell to say "I get these points". The other three columns have drop-downs with choices. I also assumed "Finish a series" is bonus points on top of the points for reading a series book.
Oh WOW! This is amazing!! It's amazingly amazing! Thank you so much!!
Dazrin wrote: "Fortunately I don't have a huge TBR list so I don't feel compelled to participate in another challenge. :)I might have to point this out to a couple other people at MR though. There are a few peo..."
See, you're waaay better than me cause my TBR list is...so big that even my OCD gets intimidated and I can hide from myself how many books I have to read.
:) I have been watching several people at MR moan about their TBR lists for years without making much progress. It has been a good motivation to avoid that situation.
I AM ignoring all of the freebies I got when I first got my Kindle though. I don't feel guilt about just trashing them without actually reading them. I have about a thousand of those but only 30 or so paid books I haven't read yet.
Thanks for the template Dazrin. Not that I need it for my TBR which is about ten books that will probably never get read. But I will certainly do some reverse-engineering to make a series challenge sheet that I can use for a series point gathering challenge i dreamt up a couple of years ago.
Dazrin wrote: ":) I have been watching several people at MR moan about their TBR lists for years without making much progress. It has been a good motivation to avoid that situation.
I AM ignoring all of the f..."
I'm not counting freebies, either. Just the books I paid for. And it also doesn't count the books I had prior to getting better software.
I have subscriptions. O_O
HomeInMyShoes wrote: "Thanks for the template Dazrin. Not that I need it for my TBR which is about ten books that will probably never get read. But I will certainly do some reverse-engineering to make a series challenge..."You know I want to see this, right??
It's not that exicting,. I've got a lot of work to figure out how to determine a few things like unallocated statistic points and if the level bonus item has been picked up or not. I'm also working on making random numbers that only calculate once (when you enter the book for some fun bonuses and penalty.) I'd like the penalties to work better, but I've got the outline working a bit. It's more the problem of I would like some penalties to be based on stat points at a certain time, so other than entering them with the book I'm not sure how to solve that.
MrsJoseph wrote: "You know I want to see this, right??"Link to the series adventure spreadsheet
I'll probably remove access after awhile as well. Thanks to Dazrin because I stole most of it and then simplified and added a few setup fields.
Just edit white and not grey fields and the experience points field could be modified to be [1000 + sum...} where 1000 is any incoming experience points value. Otherwise use the defaults or modify some incoming values to make it easier or harder.
Only enter the Incoming Series and not the Current Open Series field as it autocalculates and the same with the inventory area, just give yourself some starting potions in the white area and not the grey which will tell you what is left after you use things against books. What else...give yourself whatever stat points for Strength, Intelligence, Dexterity, Clairvoyance which work in the calculations. I started my journey with 20 points amongst the four, but whatever, maybe you born with advantages.
Ask me anything else. Right now only D and C go against the scoring bonuses, but I want to work in the other two.
Well I updated that already to push the incoming series to the values section and also added an incoming experience field so the calculated field can remain untouched.
MobileRead Book Challenges
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