NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II discussion
Mango Tango
>
October Mods Challenge - Discussion Thread
Barb has messaged me when the rules were first posted that she will be spelling out GHOST for another challenge already, and will take TASK #5 with THEME FOUR: Trick or Treat – SPELL IT OUT with the perfect costume or candy name from Trick or Treating.She will spell out GHOST.
She will begin working on this as soon as it starts, and plans on reading all five during the Read-a-thon dates.
That leaves 9 other possible themes, and 10 books for the rest of us to cover. We have to post the completed tasks in order, and since she's working hard to ensure that she finishes that as quickly as possible, we need to WORK HARD and WORK TOGETHER to get through tasks ONE, TWO, THREE, and FOUR as quickly as we can. :)
I'm definitely in for both!Most of the books I'm reading will fit into multiple categories.
Planned reads that will work:
House of Hades by Rick Riordan (Special Powers, Supernatural Creatures)
Dresden Series (Special Powers, Supernatural Creatures, next book starts with G for GHOST spell out if needed, and next book is orange and black cover for Halloween covers)
Sookie Stackhouse series (Special Powers, Supernatural Creatures)
Some Stephen King for a Horror Aficionado (a GR Group) Horror's Best Challenge, along with some Joe Hill and some others (Masters of Horror, some are Horror Classics)
Sue Grafton Alphabet Mysteries (Murder fits into Face Your Fears)
Agatha Christie buddy read (Murder fits into Face Your Fears)
Harper Connelly buddy read (Special Powers)
Kate Daniels book 2 buddy read (Special Powers, Supernatural Creatures)
So I have a few options to read, and Special Powers and Supernatural Creatures seem to be my preferred themes! :P
And of course, I can read more in the Sue Grafton alphabet series for Murder mysteries (which fits into FACE YOUR FEARS category), in addition to the Agatha Christie buddy read (same category).
I am a little confused about Reading Like a Banshee - Oct Mods Chal Event #1 .Do I set my goal in books and then update in pagenumbers?
Jane, you set a goal in pages, strictly for yourself. You don't have to meet that goal for the the pages to count.We will take the total pages read by the team, divide that by their year long Tower Team goals added together (yours is 150), and then multiply the result by 100 to get a SCORE for our team.
For example, if you and I are the only participants, and we each read 2000 pages...
2000 pages total / (your goal 150 + my goal 100 = 250) = 2000/250 = 8... times 100 = 800.
Our score for the Event would be 800, and the top 5 highest scores would earn BAPs.
So, in essence, you set a goal to push yourself (it doesn't affect the overall game, just to inspire yourself) and report in PAGE COUNTs for that event, not books finished.
Don't worry about the book goal. That one is already settled, and is the same as the TTRC round two - we're going to use it to rank teams, nothing more..If you want, you can set your personal page goal, only for you, to keep you motivate and have a number to beat.
The updates will be the number of pages read - those we need :o)
Thank you Steven and Sonia. As I have been tracking my pagecount this year hopefully I will be able to set a challenging but realistic goal.
I'm in for both parts, of course! Are we allowed to use character names for the spell it out themes, or only title and author name? I'll start requesting the books I need from the library right now :)
Main character and major character names work :)
I'm going to set a goal of 3000 pages for Event 1. About a third of those pages will be a book club read of Under the Dome by Stephen King which should help for the horror authors.I don't typically read horror but would be able to help with spelling challenges and maybe the magical abilities one since I'm still going through the Harry Potter series.
I'll put together a reading list and post it later this evening or tomorrow.
I'm intending to read six books - these are my first choices but I have a million paranormal in my TBR so I can probably adjust to suit...1. Chasing Magic by Stacia Kane. 376 pages. Fits Supernatural Creatures or special abilities.
2. Harvest Moon by Robyn Carr. Pumpkins on cover so fits theme 9 Halloween Cover Hunt. 359 pages.
3. Stray by Rachel Vincent. 618 pages. Fits Super Creatures.
4. A Rush of Wings. Adrian Phoenix. 416 pages. Fits Supernatural creatures or Halloween cover hunt - cover colour.
5. Dead man Rising. L Saintcrow. 416 pages. Fits Special Abilites, Super Creatures or Halloween Cover Hunt (Red,black cover.)
6. The Devil's right hand by L Saintcrow. 432 pages. Fits Special Abilites or Super creatures.
So both events for me.
Steven wrote: "Main character and major character names work :)"Great! Then I should have a book that works for G after all -- The Whole Enchilada, which is the newest in the GOLDY Schulz series :) I just have to remember not to read it till October LOL
So the page goals for the read-like-a-banshee part are just to challenge ourselves, right? It's not going to matter whether we meet those goals or not, and it won't hurt the team if we don't? I just want to be sure I don't do anything to hurt our chances if I reach a bit too far :) It's hard to set a goal for a two-week period!
The only goal that affects this challenge is your year long TTRC goal number. The page count goal is just so you inspire yourself to push further. ;)I probably won't be setting a page goal. I'll just be pushing to read as fast as possible as much as possible and especially the books I commit to. ;)
That's what I thought, but I wanted to clarify the rules before we got too far into the planning of this beast. Thanks :)I should be able to finish all five books to spell out 'ghost' in relatively short order. I have three of them on hand already and the other two are checked in at my library (I'll have daughter pick them up for me when she works tomorrow!). Then all I'll have to do is leave them alone till October 4 LOL
Yeah I'm mostly worried about tasks one and two. 20 easy points towards the event but lots of speed readers competing!
Yes, I thought about that too. Whoever takes on those tasks needs to read FAST :)
That brings up a good point. My book goal for the year is 250. Is it better for the team if I don't participate in that since it adds 250 to that all-important divisor?
I'm in for both. I am only going to commit to two books, I am praying that I get to work every weekday so most of my reading will be done on the weekends. I will post a list of books soon. I'm too tired to go through my TBRs tonight.
Evana, if you think you can get a lot of reading done and you *want* to participate, I'd hate for you to sit out over that! I think, especially with how much you've read this month, that you'll add enough to the pages to make it worth it. But if you feel like you'll be a hindrance, you can just do event two and read some of the books quickly. Honestly though, I don't think your goal will be that big of a deal breaker.
Karla, if you're not sure if you're going to be able to read much or read quickly or read during the week, it might be better if you sat out. I hate to ask anyone to do that, but event one is about reading as much as you can during those two weeks, and event two is about finishing those books quickly and being the first team to turn in tasks. If you're only aiming to read on the weekends, other teams would be able to finish those tasks before us. But event one, we can use all the pages we can get, so if you want to participate, that would probably be the best place for you.
Steven wrote: "Karla, if you're not sure if you're going to be able to read much or read quickly or read during the week, it might be better if you sat out. I hate to ask anyone to do that, but event one is about..."I made the mistake of reading this this morning, before I headed off to work. I have been obsessing over it all day. Half of the time I was pissed and the other half I was hurt. I was excited about the challenge, it sounded fun.
Based on this and a few past posts, I get the feeling that you don't like me. I read as fast as I can. I am five books ahead of my yearly goal. I read during my lunch at work, on the bus, and at home. I figured, you would add books where they fit as we read them. If I finish a book that fits into one of the categories before someone else, then what sense does it make not to use it? If the categories are full before I finish one book (which I highly doubt) then it wouldn't bother me at all if none of the books I read count for that part of the challenges.
But, it is messed up asking anyone on the team NOT to participate in any of the challenges.
Mod
Karla, I apologize for you taking it as me not liking you, which is certainly not the case, but mostly I apologize for letting the game overrule my compassion.Of course you are welcome to participate in both events. I just didn't want your feelings to be hurt if we didn't get to even use a book you read for event 2 as a turn in because you very clearly said you wouldn't be able to read during the week. I did say that event one would be a good place for you as well and said we could use as many pages as we can get.
I didn't mean to offend anyone.
And it actually really hurts my feelings that you've taken it so personally. As basically a solo captain, I have done my damnedest to make sure everyone is included and encouraged and pushed to read more the ought this whole challenge. That's a long time to handle duties and be there for a group of people you just met.
It also hurts my feelings that instead of handling things privately with a message, expressing your confusion and feelings to me directly, that it's been dragged out into public view. I've made clear that anyone on our team can talk to me about anything, and I'm not scary or demanding or overbearing, so I'm not sure why you felt like I was unapproachable. Perhaps I should have messages you myself asking for more clarification on your planned reading.
Again, I'm sorry if you felt singled out or disliked. I don't dislike you, I wasn't singling you out, and my intention wasn't to hurt or upset. I love our team, and everyone on it - which includes you.
Looking back, I didn't word it correctly, but the intent is clearly there at the end of my first post that she SHOULD participate, at the very least in event one.event two is about finishing those books quickly and being the first team to turn in tasks. If you're only aiming to read on the weekends, other teams would be able to finish those tasks before us. But event one, we can use all the pages we can get, so if you want to participate, that would probably be the best place for you.
Karla, I would appreciate if you would send me a message telling me about the past posts. I'd like to figure out what I'm saying or how I'm saying it so that I can communicate with you more effectively without making you feel unliked.
Steven, thanks for the apology. I am a bit sensitive (because of the crap I went through in Junior High and High School) and sometimes I read more into things than I should. It tends to get worse when I am tired. I went from reading your message to Evana encouraging her to participate to your message to me which felt like you discouraging me to participate. Which I took as you not liking me.I am sorry for hurting you. It never occurred to me to send you a private message. I don't know why I didn't just do that... There is a reason I am writing this here.
I like you (and everyone else on the team), otherwise I wouldn't care if you liked me or not. If there is anything I can do to help you out with the group, just let me know.
Karla, I definitely understand about a past like yours (have a similar one myself). I'm sorry there was miscommunication and that I even left room for misinterpretation and I'm glad we got things cleared up.We are doing awesome, and have moved from tenth place to hovering in the fifth or sixth spot (and only a few books behind fourth!)... So the only thing I can think of to help is to keep reading! We've all pushed so hard and while we might not win, we can definitely say we rocked this round! But, we have a few months to go, so let's stay strong!
And please, always let me know if I've done something so I can make it right. Just know I would never do it on purpose and I definitely like everyone on our kickass Mango team :)
Looking at the current positions in the challenge I'd say 4th position is definitely a goal worth pursuing.
I need to go through our books and redeem more cupcakes. I was trying to wait until that big series of Differences was done so I could turn in more at one time hehe
I am sorry but I think I will only take part in event 1. If I am in Denmark when it starts I will be out and I also might have to travel around that time so I can't promise to read fast.But I have looked at my monthly pagecount and they range from 3360 to over 7000 pages. But is seems my average is about 4400 a month. This means I have decided to make my personal goal 2500 as that is just above my average for a forthnight.
The books I will read:
1. Witchlove by Emma Mills (343)
2. the trouble with spells by Lacey Weatherford (320)
3. Tales of the last witch by L.A. Jones (269)
4. An Imperfect Witch by Debora Geary (250)
5. The witching Hour by Anne Rice (1056)
6. The Colorado Kid by Stephen King (184) (Masters of horror)
7. Illicit Magic by Camilla Chafer (341)
8. Wyrd Girl by Jon Jacks (200)
Most of my books just fits to Supernatural creatures
If Possible I am going to take part in Dewey's RaT but I have shorter books ready for that.
Haha, someone likes books about MAGIC! :PI heard that show Haven was based off Stephen King's The Colorado Kid... but I haven't watched it! (or read it!)
Thanks, Jane!
So far:For round I, Evana, Lisa, Jane, Barb, Karla, and Steven have expressed interest.
For round II, Evana, Lisa, Barb, Karla, and Steven have expressed interest.
As Karla made an excellent point about fitting books in where they can work, we'll just say everyone who expresses interest will play.
My current idea is as follows:
Task One (One Book) -- Masters of Horror (The Carrie buddy read starts on the 2nd, so I can finish that one on the fourth, or I can start Salem's Lot which I need to read for another challenge before Dec 31, also Evana is going to read Under the Dome)
Task Four (Four Books) -- Supernatural Creatures/Supernatural Abilities or Powers (Almost everything Lisa and I need to read this month has supernatural creatures or someone with special abilities) [this could also be task 3]
Task Five (Five Books) -- Trick or Treat Spellout (Barb has to spell out GHOST for another challenge and has kindly offered to do so as quickly as she can for this challenge).
That leaves tasks two and three (or four). I *really* need to know your opinions!
I think I could put tasks three/four as Special Abilities and Supernatural Creatures, as both Lisa and I have a *BUNCH* of those to read.
That leaves task two, which could be a spellout.
Karla said she was going to push on the weekends... and luckily, this challenge starts on a weekend. So perhaps Evana and Karla could pick some books for a spellout and tear through those as quick as they can?
Also, Evana, what are the dates you're reading Under the Dome? If my question about what percentage of the book needs to be read within the dates gets answered soon, maybe you could read that BEFORE the 4th and FINISH it on the fourth and cover that task one and maybe a book for task two, and Karla can take one for task two? Then I could focus on three/four with Lisa?
This is an easy challenge when it comes to NUMBER of books, but dang the timing and scheduling are HARD!
Also, VERY IMPORTANT! People might have to pay close to attention to what is finished and turn it in in the official thread on their own, rather than leaving it for me to turn in, so we can finish first.There will be links in the tracking threads once those official threads are made.
For example, if I finish two books with Special Abilities and then Lisa finishes one and it's task three... then Lisa can open the official thread and post the stuff really fast, so we can have it turned in :)
Steven wrote: "Task Five (Five Books) -- Trick or Treat Spellout (Barb has to spell out GHOST for another challenge and has kindly offered to do so as quickly as she can for this challenge)."And since I don't read ANY of the other categories, please, please, PLEASE leave these spaces for me unless I yell for help! I would hate for my books not to count because someone else took "my" spaces :)
Steven wrote: "perhaps Evana and Karla could pick some books for a spellout and tear through those as quick as they can?"And if I understand the rules correctly, they wouldn't even have to complete the spell out, just read two books that would qualify for it. The other spell out category is theme #7, Halloween party. If they chose to spell out the song Monster Mash, for example, all they would have to do is read TWO books (one book each) that fit that spell out!
The only issue would be to read those two books as quickly as possible so our team can report theme #2 completed as soon as we can. We have to report the themes IN ORDER, but if we finish them all at the same time, we can report them one right after the other :) Bonus points are awarded to the first team to report EACH theme completed, so there's the potential for a LOT of bonus points in this thing.
Steven, am I right in remembering that we can use the first letter of the first word of the title, the author's first or last initial OR the first letter of a (MAIN) character's name to spell out our word/phrase?
That's right Barb. All those work for the spellouts, and if we choose to do that for task two, TWO letters from the phrase are all that is necessary!
And remember, these points for turning in first are NOT BAPs, they are read-a-thon points that will help determine the five teams that will get the BAPs for event 2?
Hi everyone, my grandson was born over the weekend so I will be only away from Thursday to Sunday, Aussie time. It actually is between challenges, LOL, so I am good to go for the October Spooky Fest. Yes, Steven I can fill supernatural creatures/special abilities no worries as paranormal/urban fantasy are my go to books. I had a few books which could fit Halloween theme covers too but a spellout with title, author and character names is always good too.
Oh and is this the same as other challenges where you can start them before the official start date as long as you read more than half and post them as finished after that date?
YAY Congratulations!!! That is so exciting!!!! :DLisa, it looks like you'll be away for the start of the October event and that's it (if you're gone Thursday to Sunday, and it starts on Friday)... but we can work with that :)
We can make it work. 7 books between the two of us... all of my planned books are the next few Sookie Stackhouses, one Harper Connelly, one Kate Daniels, and the next few Harry Dresdens -- which all count for Special Abilities and other than the Harper Connelly book also can be used for Supernatural Creatures. Well, everything but the Stephen King book I plan to start with (unless Evana's Under the Dome will count).
Oh and is this the same as other challenges where you can start them before the official start date as long as you read more than half and post them as finished after that date?
I actually posted to verify this, so we're waiting on a response from Sonia (it's 2am where she is, and she went to bed early with a bad migraine, so we'll get a response tomorrow).
Depending on Karla and Evana's responses, we might do a Halloween cover find for task two also, as the next Harry Dresden I have to read (Grave Peril) has Orange and Black cover, and some of your books work for that too.
Or we can just do this one because it's fun, and who knows, we might get something out of it -- but not rush, or worry about planning for it, because it's so complicated... but focus on Event 1's page count and really tear into books. Still do this one of course, because it's fun, but not stress over finishing first... as, honestly, this one is skewed towards teams who A- read fast, B- have more people on the team reading books at once, and C- everyone on the team can update their read books fast and post it first.That's a little... crazy! :D
Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Hi everyone, my grandson was born over the weekend so I will be only away from Thursday to Sunday, Aussie time."Congrats, Lisa, how exciting for all of you!
Steven wrote: "Or we can just do this one because it's fun, and who knows, we might get something out of it"I think it should be fun either way, really. But yeah, there's no reason to stress over it -- then it's not FUN anymore!
I have Partners in Crime by Kim Harrington and The Whispering House by Rebecca Wade on hold at the library. Both fit Halloween covers. The second one will fit supernatural creatures. I will start the first one Friday, it is the shortest of the two. 
Steven, do you want us to set up individual tracking posts in the Banshee section? Am I interpreting things correctly when I read that the mods want each of us to track and record our progress
daily
?!?! Would that be until midnight where we're at each day, or in 24-hour periods from when the challenge starts?
Barb,You guys do need to update our tracking thread daily (and having a specific post would be AWESOME, so I could find them easier... just remember to do updates by date, and not lump updates from the same book together...).
I have to post updates to the official thread every two-ish days.
I was thinking along the lines of:
---
Steven's page tracking post:
Oct4: 50 pages in [book1] by author
Oct4: 75 pages in [book1] by author
50 pages in [book2] by author
Finished books:
[book1] by author, finished 10/6, 300 pages total, 275 read within RAT.
---
Opinions?
Hmmm, Karla has two Halloween covers... Lisa has a few Halloween covers...And Karla's second fits into the supernatural creatures one.
I'll work on posting the tasks today or tomorrow then. It's a hard job figuring out which to do hehe. Good thing we can change it before a certain date if we need to!
(thanks for the post, Karla!)
I would now like to take part in the book hunt as well. We have been expecting a death in the family and that has now happend ( sad yes, but not in a bad way as she was 94 and needed peace). This means I will now be able to read fast and furious when our challenge starts. I still won't be able to read on the 4th as I am out so I would like not to be part of task one. According to the Mods task two doesn't have to be reported till the 7th ( I think it was) I can read a lot that weekend.
I also won't be able to take part in the final unknown task as I am away without internet connection.
A question: When we report read pages, do they all count towards the Banshee or only books we finish during the challenge? I will be listening to an audio but I am not sure I will finish it before the 19th.
NBRC: Tower Teams Read 2013, Round II
Books mentioned in this topic
Harvest Moon (other topics)Chasing Magic (other topics)
Partners in Crime (other topics)
The Whispering House (other topics)
The Whole Enchilada (other topics)
More...
Please post HERE if you are planning to participate in EVENT #1 and EVENT #2, and specify which of the two you will be participating in (either or both).
Also, please list the books you have available to read during the dates of the Read-a-thon that fit the themes and that you would be willing to COMMIT to reading AS FAST AS POSSIBLE without sidetracking on ANYTHING else that doesn’t apply to the event. Time is of the essence on Event #2!
Once I get an idea of what everyone will be able to read, I’ll pick the five themes that best fit those. Then, I’ll point out to you the books that fit those categories so you can be prepared to read those books during the time frame AS FAST AS POSSIBLE. :)