The Team Reading Competition Signup Sheet!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

There are a number of options for audiobooks... I have the 24 books/year subscription to audible... and you can get a lot of books even cheaper on all their $5 sales... and then there's your local library, and the online libraries like Overdrive.com you gain access to with a library card... Kindle Unlimited and Amazon Prime also come with limited access to free audiobooks...

If you're into the classics, a google search can find you a ton of open domain books that have been read aloud by someone... not sure of the quality, since I tend to shy away from the classics...

[Tammie]

I don't listen to audio books very often, but I use Audible, download from the library if it's available, or if I have to get up and do something while I'm in the middle of reading I'll turn on the text-to-speech on my Kindle. That is not the best way to listen, but it works ok if I don't want to stop reading.

[Bill]

I use audible, library and hoopla for audiobooks. I get 5 loans from hoopla a month through my library.

I'm overrated around here since my numbers are bloated because of reading Sandman.

[Margret, Caladan Brood Face]

I'm same as Bill. I look on overdrive and hoopla first to see if the library has them. The rest I use audible

[Liam]

I've never heard of Hoopla -is that another overdrive type of service?

[Bill]

I also traded audible accounts with a friend so we both expanded our libraries that way.

[Bill]

Liam wrote: "I've never heard of Hoopla -is that another overdrive type of service?"

https://www.hoopladigital.com

I think that it only is associated with certain libraries at this point but well worth checking.

[Olivia]

Yes, I'd like to participate!
18th of March
Blue, sometimes purple
Hufflepuff (according to Pottermore but my sympathies lie with Slytherin)
Owl
104 books in 2016
Approximately 40 books in 2015, BUT I'm on track for over a 100 in 2017 again. I've changed my reading habits drastically last year. 104 is my yearly goal from now on.

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

I do what Tammie does but I'm venturing into Hoopla like Bill and Margret. I can do 10 Hoopla titles per month through the library.

[Olivia]

Sadly in the UK where I live both the audio and e-books selection in my county's library is not too great... plus I tend to fall asleep over audiobooks a lot. So, I'm doing mostly physical books still.

[C.P.]

I'm trying to do more audiobooks, since I drive quite a bit, but they give me a headache a lot of the time, so I have to be careful with how I use them. They come in handy when you commute though.

[Kris]

I have only just started reading audio books. Much slower going for me than reading physical or e-book copies!

[Elizabeth]

I've only tried audiobooks once, and it just didn't really work for me, maybe it was the narrator, I'm not sure, but I've been reluctant to try again. It was one of the game of thrones books, not sure which one. I only listened to a small portion the switched to e-book.

[Bill]

I found it easier to start listening to audiobooks with YA or Urban Fantasy as the plots weren't as intricate and the casts are usually smaller. I listen at a faster speed too because 1x puts me to sleep. A good narrator is important too. There was a thread about everyone's favorite narrators.

[RuinEleint]

Whoever does the narration for the Peter Grant books by Ben Aaronovitch is great. Like honey on the ears after the Witcher narrator with his silly high pitched voice for Ciri

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Audiobooks are about the balance of slower reading speed and more reading time per day... if you can listen for 6hrs vs read yourself for 3hrs, you'll get more pages read... complexity and content and narrator can affect the experience...

I don't listen to audiobooks if I'm not doing something else as well... listening in a situation where you can close your eyes is just asking to fall asleep... most people I know who listen in bed are doing re-listens of favorites and intending to fall asleep...

[Silvana]

I would suggest everyone who has not taken the Sorting Hat quiz in Pottermore or still don't know their Hogwarts house, to try it. It is the canon quiz/classification anyway :)

And you can also be sorted into your Ilvermorny House (I'm a Thunderbird).

[Liam]

For first timer audiobook listeners, I typically recommend picking a book that you know you already like to re-read, and just make sure it has a good narrator. I got into audiobooks by listening to The Way of Kings after I already read it, and I was hooked after that.

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

Bill wrote: "I found it easier to start listening to audiobooks with YA or Urban Fantasy as the plots weren't as intricate and the casts are usually smaller. I listen at a faster speed too because 1x puts me to..."

Historical fiction is generally easy to do for audio as well.

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

BTW the best series ever to do on audio is Wheel of Time. Kramer and Reading are brilliant and it gets you through the slower parts. Yes I'm talking about Valan Luca and the 4000 braid tugs.

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Yes
August 8th
Yellow
Winter
Ravenclaw
Dog
2016 - 96
2015 - 50

[Ann]

Yes, please.
May 23rd
Burgundy
Ravenclaw
Dog
2016 - 75
2015 - 50

[Angela, I'm Silverfox lost]

Yes
14th October
Blue
Autumn
I don't have one.
Tiger
2016 - 63
2017 - 77

[Jenna, I'd be free if not for Temper & Edgewalker]

Silvana wrote: "Yes
August 8 Hear Me Roar
Blue
Uh, we in the tropics only have two. Dry season, then.
SLYTHERIN
Doggos!
92
65"

Woah, I just realized we have the same birthday! Cool!

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Lundos wrote: "Would you like to sign up for the challenge?
Sure, but I would like to see the point system before completing my entry - so I wouldn't hold my potential team back.

When is your Birthday? (spell it..."

I believe we are going to go by page count. I am currently organizing the teams and we'd love to have you. I've separated them pretty evenly based on total overall books read, so there would be no "holding your team back" with your book count. At least 10 other signups have comparable numbers to yours :)

So... you game?

[Mayim]

Sha wrote: "Would you like to sign up for the challenge?

Yes!

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues)

13th April

What is your favorite color?

I tend t..."

oh wow a fellow lucky 13 :D

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Mayim wrote: "Sha wrote: "Would you like to sign up for the challenge?

Yes!

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues)

13th April

What is your favorite colo..."

I was excited to see that too. We rock ^_^

[Saar The Book owl]

Yes
June 16th
Black
Winter
Gryffindor
Horse
About 40, I think.
About 50, I think.

[Rob]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge?
Yes - but hopefully I don't kill off a team on my own. I'm not as prolific a reader as some in this forum. But if I focus on my shame list which includes some rather easier reads than Erikson and Esslemont and Chernow (Butcher, Bujold, etc) I think my pace will rise exponentially.

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues) December 13th

What is your favorite color? Green

What is your favorite season? Fall

What Hogwarts house are you in? Gryffindor! (per Pottermore)

What's your favorite animal? Horses

How many books did you read in 2016? 65 (I don't think I'll eclipse that this year as I'm about to undertake Ron Chernow's George Washington Bio).

How many books did you read in 2015? (If you don't know an exact, give me an estimate) 39.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

We can always make all the people worried about dragging their team down a team, right? :D... just kidding...

I think it was confirmed that the teams are being built so that each team reads a similar total number of books per year... altho there will still be a lot of variance if someone reads mostly 1000 page books vs 300 page books...

[Rob]

Iain wrote: "We can always make all the people worried about dragging their team down a team, right? :D... just kidding...

I think it was confirmed that the teams are being built so that each team reads a simi..."

Iain wrote: "We can always make all the people worried about dragging their team down a team, right? :D... just kidding...

I think it was confirmed that the teams are being built so that each team reads a simi..."

Good to know. I've been reading Erikson, Esslemont, Chernow, and rereading Stormlight Archive. If I were to switch to 300 to low 400 page level books in 2018, I'll churn :)

[Diana Stormblessed]

Just seeing this thread. Hope it's not too late to join.

Would you like to sign up for the challenge? Yes please!

When is your Birthday? January 18

What is your favorite color? Blue

What is your favorite season? Fall

What Hogwarts house are you in? Gryffindor I guess? I read the books but admit to not being the biggest HP fan

What's your favorite animal? Dog

How many books did you read in 2016? 78

How many books did you read in 2015? 75

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Yes, signups are still being accepted. :)

I'm setting a cutoff date for signups OCTOBER 1, 2017! Teams will be announced the next day. Any signups after that will have to wait a few months to be added.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Is there a PHASE 2 to this or something?... between October 1st and January 1st?

[Margret, Caladan Brood Face]

Phase 2 is when we trash talk

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I WONDERED if this was like the Reshi island wars when the turtles get close to one another in Stormlight Archive...

[Veronica]

Were they turtles? I think I was picturing something more in line with the crustacean family.

Giant turtle is the Discworld. :-)

[Choko]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge?
Yes

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues)
December 30th

What is your favorite color?
Black and Red

What is your favorite season?
Fall

What Hogwarts house are you in?
Apparently, Gryffindor, which I would not have known had it not been
for this thread:):):)

What's your favorite animal?
Dragon!

How many books did you read in 2016?
270

How many books did you read in 2015? (If you don't know an exact, give me an estimate)
350

[Tânia]

Yes!
January 24th
Blue and black
Fall
Ravenclaw
Dogs and phoenix
Eeh according to the amount I have on my kindle, which I received on my birthday in 2016, something like 50-60 books.
Sorry really have no idea, was not active on goodreads then, and my memory ain't that good.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

You're probably right Veronica... I imagined them as much larger chulls since they're relatively docile... but chasmfiends are greatshells as well, so...

[Charlie]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge? Yes please!

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues) 4th May

What is your favorite color? Purple... and green.

What is your favorite season? Autumn

What Hogwarts house are you in? Ravenclaw

What's your favorite animal? Monkey

How many books did you read in 2016? 170

How many books did you read in 2015? (If you don't know an exact, give me an estimate) 225

[Scott , Karsa Orlong]

Margret wrote: "Phase 2 is when we trash talk"

Amen, sucka.

[Zaara]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge? Yes, please
When is your Birthday? Midnight on Xmas night, so that officially makes it Dec 26
What is your favorite color? Pale creamy yellow and deep smoky purple
What is your favorite season? Winter. But autumn's cool too.
What Hogwarts house are you in? Like she said. Ravenclawsome.
What's your favorite animal? Dragons and direwolves. But also horses and dogs.
How many books did you read in 2016? I read about 2 average-sized books a week (around 750 pages a week without audio) but haven't been very consistent about uploading them on GR. I uhhh seem to have skipped 2016 entirely. Life. It Happened. Anyway, my read shelf currently holds about a tenth of what I've actually read. Obviously that will change if my team's counting on me. I intended on keeping better track of what I read anyway. So this challenge will keep me committed to uploading my reads on GR too. Double or nothing, eh?
How many books did you read in 2015? (If you don't know an exact, give me an estimate)
To give you an estimate I read THE BIG KAHUNA in six days, 1200 pages approx. But my, that one was breathless.
Additional and (I'm hoping) insanely helpful to Your Modships blethering regarding my reading tastes and personality here.

[Jessica]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge? Yes, please
When is your Birthday? October 27
What is your favorite color? Purple
What is your favorite season? Fall (Halloween is my favorite time of year)
What Hogwarts house are you in? Hufflepuff
What's your favorite animal? Wolves, various birds of prey and horses
How many books did you read in 2016? Around 30, but it was a crazy year and I hadn't discovered Overdrive yet (I've read about 55 so far this year)
How many books did you read in 2015? Around 50

[Anne-Marie]

Would you like to sign up for the challenge? Yes, I will! If i still can

When is your Birthday? (spell it out for me so we don't have regional interpretation issues)
November 22

What is your favorite color?
Pink

What is your favorite season?
Fall

What Hogwarts house are you in?
According to http://time.com/4809884/harry-potter-..., I'd be a Ravenclaw 50%, hufflepuff 45%

What's your favorite animal?
Penguins and Horses

How many books did you read in 2016? About 17

How many books did you read in 2015? (If you don't know an exact, give me an estimate) at least 30.

[Anni]

Yes, please, if it isn't too late yet?
April 19
Red and Darkpurple
Spring
Ravenclaw
That's very hard to decide, but I will go with cat, because I own a little tabby cat :)
Both 52 in 2016 and till now in 2017

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

It's undecided if late sign-ups will get to join in on January 1st immediately, but there are plans to use either these late signups or the ones throughout 2018 as back-ups held in reserve should anyone bow out or not show up come January 1st... the details are in one of the other threads...

[Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely]

Iain wrote: "It's undecided if late sign-ups will get to join in on January 1st immediately, but there are plans to use either these late signups or the ones throughout 2018 as back-ups held in reserve should a..."

Thank you Iain :)

[Seán]

So this is the first I'm seeing of this for some reason! I'll add myself as a late sign-up at least :)


Yes
Twenty Sixth of November
Orange
Winter
78% Slytherin lol
Dog
24
30

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Statistically you're likely to be Ravenclaw... someone posted a quiz you can take to find out tho...