Play Book Tag discussion
2016-19 Activities & Challenges
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Announcing the 2017 PBT Challenges -- updated with Group Stair
Anita wrote: "Even if the tag is the same, you could read a book for the PBT monthly tag, AND if that tag is one of your stairs, you can count it as a step. ..."Oh that is excellent, thanks. Same for the High Notes challenge? It certainly makes things a lot more manageable.
KateNZ wrote: "Anita wrote: "Even if the tag is the same, you could read a book for the PBT monthly tag, AND if that tag is one of your stairs, you can count it as a step. ..."Oh that is excellent, thanks. Same..."
Yes Kate, if you read one for High Notes and it works for a tag (or any personal challenge you are doing) it's fine.
So I've tried to narrow down some options for Hitting the High Notes. I know many of you (vaguely) know my tastes, and these are all highly regarded books of PBTers since they made the list to begin with. But any suggestions/recommendations to sway these lists to narrow it down to 1 per year? 2008: Outlander, To Kill a Mockingbird, Time Travelers Wife, Love Walked In, The Other Boleyn Girl
2009: Hotel Con the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, Garden Spells, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, The Handmaid's Tale
2010: Columbine, The Book Thief
2011: The Book Thief, 22 Brittania Road, Moloka'i
2012: 11/22/63, The Dog Stars, Rules of Civility, The Orphan Masters Son
2013: Life After Life, The Light Between Oceans, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
2014: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, All the Light we Cannot See, The Snow Child, Shotgun Lovesongs, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry
2015: A Man Called Ove, The Boys in the Boat, The Housekeeper and the Professor, The Nightingale
@Joi: We have some of the same tastes (historical fiction, some light fantasy elements)For what it's worth, I would recommend:
2008: To Kill a Mockingbird --> universal appeal
2009: any of them
2010: The Book Thief (haven't read other one)
2011: I haven't read 22 Brittania or Moloka'i but seems like you would like either of these
2012: 11/22/63 (haven't read others)
2013: any of them
2014: any (but I haven't read Shotgun Lovesongs --> but that's the one I will read)
2015: any (but I haven't read The Housekeeper and the Professor --> but that's the one I will read)
Joi, from your list I think the must reads are Ove, A Constellation, and The Book Thief.
Oh, and Life After Life. The audio is spectacular if that's your thing.
Joy four of these are in my 2017 list too...
Joi, my choices would be: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Time Traveler's Wife, The Other Boleyn Girl, and The Book Thief.I've read Life After Life. I didn't like it as much as everyone else. I thought it was too repetitive and didn't deliver on its promise. I've also read The Handmaid's Tale and didn't like it because of the writing style.
I haven't read any of the others yet.
Joi wrote: "So I've tried to narrow down some options for Hitting the High Notes. I know many of you (vaguely) know my tastes, and these are all highly regarded books of PBTers since they made the list to begi..."Hi Joi,
I think our tastes overlap quite a bit, so here's what I would do in your shoes . . .
2008: To Kill a Mockingbird - The others are probably all good, and I've read some of them, but this is a great classic so why not give it a shot!
2009: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan - I absolutely loved this book about friendship . . .
2010: Columbine, The Book Thief - Read both of these, and honestly, I think you'll really be fascinated by Columbine, but the Book Thief made me cry. I give the nod to The Book Thief.
2011: The Book Thief, 22 Brittania Road, Moloka'i - Read all three of these. I'd most likely take the Book Thief here and read Columbine for 2010 . . .but if not, definitely 22 Brittania Road. I thought Moloka'i was overrated. Based on other things we've both liked, I suspect 22 Brittania Road will engage you.
2012: 11/22/63, The Dog Stars, Rules of Civility, The Orphan Masters Son - Haven't read the Dog Stars and that's on PBT Top 100. But if not that, I'd say Rules of Civility . . .
2013: Life After Life, The Light Between Oceans, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena. Haven't read The Light Between Oceans. I preferred A Constellation of Vital Phenomena to Life after Life. By a wide margin. Neither is fast moving. Constellation is realistic though . . .so that's my choice.
2014: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, All the Light we Cannot See, The Snow Child, Shotgun Lovesongs, The Storied Life of AJ Fikry. I've read Constellation, All the Light We Cannot See, and Shotgun Lovesongs. While I think Constellation is the best of those, I thought Shotgun Lovesongs was really enjoyable and not to be missed for pleasure.
2015: A Man Called Ove, The Boys in the Boat, The Housekeeper and the Professor, The Nightingale . . .Yowser, we were really good at picking this year! You can't go wrong with any of these, but The Housekeeper and the Professor is one of my very all time favorites. But I would pick what appeals to you most from reading the descriptions. All terrific!!
No matter what, I think you have some great reading ahead of you!
Joi wrote: "So I've tried to narrow down some options for Hitting the High Notes. I know many of you (vaguely) know my tastes, and these are all highly regarded books of PBTers since they made the list to begi..."Joi, I'm not all that good about judging what other people will like or not, but I wanted to put my two cents in (for some of the years), anyway. :-)
2008: The Other Boleyn Girl
2009: Hotel Con the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
2010: Columbine
2011: Moloka'i
2012: 11/22/63
2013: The Light Between Oceans
2015: The Boys in the Boat
Joi wrote: "So I've tried to narrow down some options for Hitting the High Notes. I know many of you (vaguely) know my tastes, and these are all highly regarded books of PBTers since they made the list to begi..."These would be my choices:
2008: To Kill a Mockingbird
2009: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan
2010: The Book Thief
2011: 22 Brittania Road, Moloka'i (Toss up)
2012: 11/22/63, The Dog Stars, Rules of Civility, The Orphan Masters Son (Any one of these would be a great choice)
2013: A Constellation of Vital Phenomena
2014: All the Light we Cannot See
2015: The Boys in the Boat
Ladyslott wrote: "Joi wrote: "So I've tried to narrow down some options for Hitting the High Notes. I know many of you (vaguely) know my tastes, and these are all highly regarded books of PBTers since they made the ..."Everyone of the ones you've chosen that I have read ranges from very good to excellent.
I knew you guys would come through with help!!! Thanks for all of your input. You've all suggested so many I wish I could read them all!! ...or maybe I will ahhahah.
Sounds like I really can't go wrong.
J.W. wrote: "Anita wrote: "J.W. wrote: "Just to be clear -- on the PBT Stairs Challenge -- Can it be a book that has not already been tagged here on Goodreads, but is appropriate for the tag? Say I read a book ..."Yowser - - four kids! When did that happen, lol? Yeah, I barely have enough time to read with two young adults and a part time job. Good to see you around here regardless!!
Oh my! Voting for the group tag for the 2017 Climbing the PBT Stairs Challenge is neck and neck! If you haven't yet voted, please remember to cast your votes by midnight tonight!
Nicole R wrote: "Oh my! Voting for the group tag for the 2017 Climbing the PBT Stairs Challenge is neck and neck! If you haven't yet voted, please remember to cast your votes by midnight tonight!"If you used the polls here, I could see what's neck and neck and vote accordingly ;). However, I will cast my vote(s) blindly.
We do not want people to vote according to the polls but instead to vote for what they want. Plus, the polls here have limited functionality. So, we are using the method that works best for PBT given our needs!
Nicole R wrote: "We do not want people to vote according to the polls but instead to vote for what they want. Plus, the polls here have limited functionality. So, we are using the method that works best for PBT g..."
Yes, I recall the discussions, and of course it's best overall. I was just stumped when I got there this time. In groups that use the polls I often wonder how much peer pressure fits into the votes, or how people are sure the one they want will lose so they vote differently than they might otherwise.
JoLene wrote: " --- yes the PopSugar or the Re..."I am doing the 2017 PopSugar challenge. There is a a group here on GR that is all about the challenge, and I have my entire line up set - but subject to change depending on what books I have available to me. I am trying very hard to do this all with my TBR and books I know are available from my library.
The voting was very close! But, eeking out the win by a mere 5 points is: series!!Be sure to designate one of your stairs with this tag!
Nicole R wrote: "The voting was very close! But, eeking out the win by a mere 5 points is: series!!Be sure to designate one of your stairs with this tag!"
Now I have to rethink it all as I was going to have series as one of my stairs anyway and had a blank TBA.
It will actually work out very nicely for me.
Nicole R wrote: "The voting was very close! But, eeking out the win by a mere 5 points is: series!!Be sure to designate one of your stairs with this tag!"
Excellent. I don't remember if I voted for this one, but it's okay, because I have one or two series I read books in now and then.
Nicole R wrote: "The voting was very close! But, eeking out the win by a mere 5 points is: series!!Be sure to designate one of your stairs with this tag!"
LOL! I already had this as one of my stairs. Off to pick something for the other stair now...
This sounds like a lot of fun. I will work on both challenges.
So this offers interesting possibilities- for instance if you haven't read Frederik Backman's My Grandmother and Britt Marie, as I have not, aren't those two considered a series? Also Wally Lamb has a new book out, I'll take you there, which is supposed to be a sequel to wishing and Hoping from long ago. I would recommend the Eight and The Fire, written about 20 years apart. Also Ken Follet's Century Trilogy which is unbelievably worth it, if you can do two of them in a month. Also his Pillars of the Earth has a sequel, as does Shadow of the Wind has an entire Forgotten Cemetary Series. Then there is Clan of the Cave Bear, and my beloved Phillipa Gregory Tudor Series. The list goes on. One question: can this be stair one if it is from a series, like a Stand Alone Harry Potter or Percy Jackson? Or is the spirit of the challenge intended for Stair Two and Up?
Amy wrote: "So this offers interesting possibilities- for instance if you haven't read Frederik Backman's My Grandmother and Britt Marie, as I have not, aren't those two considered a series? Also Wally Lamb ha..."It can be a stair #1 - - and in that case, you would read one book from a series. Goodreads marks each series book with a number of where that book falls in its series - - so if you stick to series that are demarcated in that fashion, I'd say you've met the qualification.
It has always been a hard and fast rule that for games a book must have an exact tag. I find that perhaps a little harder with this game. If a book is obviously a series (marked as such on book page, Ie # 7, etc) what about if one chooses Award Winners. Does it have to been taged Award Winners (with an s) or will books marked Pulitzer, Booker, National Book Award, etc count or does it have to be Award Winners with an s.
Kristel wrote: "It has always been a hard and fast rule that for games a book must have an exact tag. I find that perhaps a little harder with this game. If a book is obviously a series (marked as such on book pag..."The hard and fast rules apply to games with prizes where we can't have tags be arbitrary at the risk of people pushing the boundaries too far in order to win. For challenges and the monthly tag, we are just happy people want to participate, and it is fine if you are operating within the spirit of the tags you choose.
Anita wrote: "Kristel wrote: "It has always been a hard and fast rule that for games a book must have an exact tag. I find that perhaps a little harder with this game. If a book is obviously a series (marked as ..."Thanks, that makes it a bit easier to pick tags.
Question: I belong to an in-person book club. We meet 10 times per month and select our reading list for the in advance for the year. Can any of the books from my book club be eligible for the book club tag?
Hahtoolah wrote: "Question: I belong to an in-person book club. We meet 10 times per month and select our reading list for the in advance for the year. Can any of the books from my book club be eligible for the book..."I think that's up to you. Personally, for me, that would be a little too loose, though many of the books may be tagged as "book club" if you traditionally read books that lend themselves to discussions. But, for example, my f2f book club is reading Born to Run this month - - so a non-fiction, memoir - - I don't necessarily view it as a book most book clubs would read . . .
But I'd say it is really your choice since it is your challenge!!!
Nicole R wrote: "The voting was very close! But, eeking out the win by a mere 5 points is: series!!Be sure to designate one of your stairs with this tag!"
So what was the other tag that came so close?
Sara wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "The voting was very close! ...
So what was the other tag that came so ..."
I was wondering the same. I'm feeling a bit lazy about selecting tags, and was thinking to just pick the top four voted on plus a random one from the librarian's choice.
Amy wrote: "Also Ken Follet's Century Trilogy which is unbelievably worth it, if you can do two of them in a month..."I don't believe they have to be read in the same month. At least, I didn't see anything in the rules that said this. Can one of the admins verify, please?
Rory Gilmore Reading Challenge was a close second.
Sara, you are correct. The books don't need to be read within a month. You have the year to finish the challenge. The next closest tag was the Rory Gilmore one.
Wait! You don't have to do each step in a month? The challenge just got a hundred percent simpler! I'll be fine by March or April!
This may have been asked and I missed it, but do the stairs have to be read in order and does one stair have to be finished before moving to another stair? Does that make sense?Like do we have to start at stair one, complete it, then move to stair 2, or can we jump around?
So ... when will we have a thread to post our stairs and/or high notes?
~*Kim*~ wrote: "This may have been asked and I missed it, but do the stairs have to be read in order and does one stair have to be finished before moving to another stair? Does that make sense?Like do we have to ..."
You do not have to finish one stair before moving on to the next and you can read the stairs in any order you would like.
However, the stairs are set from the beginning so once you declare, for example, that you are going to set Step 4 as "series" (the group stair) you can't then move it down to Step 1 if it looks like you won't get to that many steps.
Make sense?
Book Concierge wrote: "So ... when will we have a thread to post our stairs and/or high notes?"Well, since the challenges do not start until the 1st, reporting threads will not be posted until then.
I guess I'd better figure out then what my step three is going to be. I thought I could figure that out later.
To be clear for everyone, the intention for the Climbing the PBT Stairs Challenge is that you announce your tag selections for each stair prior to starting the challenge. Once those are announced, they are set.Otherwise, it wouldn't be much of a challenge to simply look at the books you have read, see which tag is the most prominent, and then retroactively assign tags to stairs accordingly!
However, I do think it would be perfectly acceptable to reassign books to different categories as you continue to read. For example, I plan to read the fourth Outlander book this year and let's say that I assign it to my stair #1 of time travel. But, then, later on I read another great time travel book that I would really like to use for my stair #1 instead, so I move Outlander form stair #1 of time travel to my stair #2 of series and assign my newly read time travel book to stair #1.
Does that make sense?
That sounds fair... like if you end up reading three books for stair two, and two books for stair three you can just switch em? I will have over five for four and five...
Amy wrote: "That sounds fair... like if you end up reading three books for stair two, and two books for stair three you can just switch em? I will have over five for four and five..."You cannot switch the stairs. But, if one of the books that you read for stair #2 ALSO fits stair #3, then you can move the book.
For example, say I have this:
Stair two: time travel
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey N.
Stair three: series
Naked In Death (In Death Series #1) by J.D. Robb
Dead After Dark (True Blood Series #1) by Charlaine Harris
And then I decide to read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. I cannot put it on Stair two because Stair two is already full but I can move Outlander to Stair Three because it is book 1 of the Outlander series and then put The Time Machine on Stair two.
My stairs would then look like this:
Stair Two: time travel
The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey N.
The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
Stair Three: series
Naked In Death (In Death Series #1) by J.D. Robb
Dead After Dark (True Blood Series #1) by Charlaine Harris
Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Is that clear? What you said above did not seem correct and I want to be sure no one is confused.
Forgive me - can move books, not stairs - got it!
Do I have to post my stairs by Jan 1? I was planning to work on that on Jan 1 or 2 as I have some reading to finish and review before the end of the year.
Nicole R wrote: "To be clear for everyone, the intention for the Climbing the PBT Stairs Challenge is that you announce your tag selections for each stair prior to starting the challenge. Once those are announced, ..."Thanks for that helpful explanation. I appreciate that flexibility. I was afraid once I picked a stair the book would have to remain on that stair.
Do I need to pick my high notes books ahead of time? I have some picked but not all yet.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
Born to Run (other topics)Vision in White (other topics)
Can You Keep a Secret? (other topics)
I've Got Your Number (other topics)
Fall on Your Knees (other topics)
I picked contemporary romance for my stair 1 because it is so outside my comfort zone (but I'm sure I can manage at least one)! Recommendations please??"
I have TONS of recommendations! We should chat about what you typically read and maybe we can dovetail the two genres.