Iain's BR Tracker -- The Rebel Spreadsheets of the Free-Realms

[Soo]

Yah, I think that's been my experience for most of my BRs on here. That's kind of sad right?

[Soo]

There's a Time Traveler Challenge in SFFBC and I decided that it's a good time to try out Classics via Audio. So that lead to talking to people who are going to read/listen to Iliad and I found a super annoying part of GR. There are a bunch of different translations for the Iliad but they are not separated by translators.

I have to do different little searches to find the right book and it's a pain to look for that book in the "add book/author" section.

Upside is that I think I'll get pretty good points in January because I will be reading two versions of Iliad and listening to three. BWAHAHAHAHAAH

So what would like 150,000 pages with only say 45% BRs end up as Challenge Points?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

1750 points... 1900 if you manage to fit them all into challenges... 2100 or so, once you account for reading vs audio

[Soo]

Bwahaha! Thanks. I knew you could math it up for me. =D

Around 2000 pts is good? I have no reference for this.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I was the only person to break 2000 points last year... most teams had 8-9k points total... 5-10 people had 1000-1800 points, and the rest were under 1000 I think... you'll probably be the only person to hit 2000 points, with them reading goals... and maybe Julia

[Soo]

My page count almost made it to 160k this year but that's over 400 books. I figure I'll end up somewhere between 275 and 350. Need to see if I'm going to travel more than just my birthday trip. Get back into dancing. Stuff!

[Virginie]

Haha :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "My page count almost made it to 160k this year but that's over 400 books. I figure I'll end up somewhere between 275 and 350. Need to see if I'm going to travel more than just my birthday trip. Get..."

I managed 138,481 pages this year... a 34k spike over my old record from 2013... to be fair, tho, I didn't start going reading-crazy until mid-to-late February 2013... so I probably read about the same amount per day...

[Soo]

Did ya finish updating your books on GR? *nudge nudge*

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Did ya finish updating your books on GR? *nudge nudge*"

I've been putting it off, while I'm sick... as a congested mess, I don't feel like doing any "work" :)

[Soo]

*grins* BUT you don't mind Spreadsheeting it. Hehehe

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "*grins* BUT you don't mind Spreadsheeting it. Hehehe"

I uh... added most of it to the spreadsheet weeks ago, and just have to plug in the Date Read and the formulas take effect... doing tons of reviews requires tons of page loads and button clicks and such... pull up book, rate, pick shelves, pick read date, etc... it's actually easier doing the spreadsheet first, because I link all the book titles to their book pages on Goodreads... so I can open each book link in a new tab and do rapidfire ratings/reviews...

[Karishma]

Iain I don't remember if you said you have read it or not but you should join in the Darkest London BR - I just finished the prequel and the first book and both were great.

I would however suggest reading the prequel 4 chapters into the 1st book or after the 1st book.

[Virginie]

Soo wrote: "*grins* BUT you don't mind Spreadsheeting it. Hehehe"

Spreadsheeting is fun, not work! :p

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Karishma wrote: "Iain I don't remember if you said you have read it or not but you should join in the Darkest London BR - I just finished the prequel and the first book and both were great.

I would however suggest..."

I read the whole Darkest London series January 2017... I reference details/influences for the whole series in that review you liked...

[Karishma]

Timelord Iain (Eeyawn) wrote: "Karishma wrote: "Iain I don't remember if you said you have read it or not but you should join in the Darkest London BR - I just finished the prequel and the first book and both were great.

I woul..."

Yes I saw that review after I had commented here!

[Soo]

Wanna be a part of my audiobook rampage? Pretty sure I am going to love this LitRPG series I just started. We can totally get the BR bonus.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Wanna be a part of my audiobook rampage? Pretty sure I am going to love this LitRPG series I just started. We can totally get the BR bonus."

Which one are you reading now?... my schedule should be open pretty soon, and I can get a headstart on LitRPG, between whatever this is, and Arcane Ascension later this week... me and Virginie are doing Way of the Shaman over the summer, still...

[Soo]

Life in the North is the one I started and have pegged for probable fav. The books are on KU.

I recommend you keep a rotating 3 credits to audio rampage with me. Ya know I use Audible as a rotating paid lending library. Even with that thougj, I own over 150 audios. Haha

[Soo]

Nick Podehl is the narrator and he's doing a great job.

[Soo]

I think I will have around 45-50 books done this month.

ZOOM ZOOOOOM!

This is great! I feel like I am starting the year on a book reading high. More than likely, I will have this nice burst of super reading, then balance out into regular pace of 25-30 and maybe have a couple of other bursts depending on inspiration. =)

I like having a mix of epic books mixed with lighter ones. I don't feel like I need to hop genres as much.

[Siobhan]

:D 🎉🎉🎉

[Zaara]

OHK…this is redirected from that Ilona Andrews thread because I don’t want to disturb there further but meanwhile your posts warranted replies.
Timelord Iain wrote: "They say diet soda isn't really good for you either, but in a pinch, Diet Mt Dew and Diet Dr Pepper are good for giving..."
Naaaah, I don’t need an out Fin tyvm. Soda’s my byaatch and I can do what I want with her. Deprive the vampiress of blood chocolate on the other hand and within a month, esp when the moon is a certain way, she will turn into a weak, needy, pathetic, cranky…
Heh now I imagine you’ll wander the soda aisles, all forlorn and grumped, because you can look but not buy…no shame if you can’t go that long, Eeyawn.
*KICK* :D
Ok tell you what…I’ve been really looking forward to a slice of all the gorgeous fall pies that are around the corner. But to even the Stevens, I’ll scratch pie too until December. Since you are working so hard + we all really want to support you in kicking the pills.
As for the rest you seem like you’ve got everything sorted, man…and yep you’re right…it IS a good idea to vary your protein/carb/veg…so the engine doesn’t lose steam purely out of boredom.
Ha, I’m TOTALLY feeling the throwback to when me, Shaitarn, and Ron were discussing this in 2017…I drink coffee and tea (both B&W), sometimes hot choc + real actual juices (not beverages). Mostly orange juice with a twist of lime …though today it’s apple + always still/sparkling water with twists of lemon in it….gives you that citrus taste without any the sugar load.
Ok now…..wtf is DIET green tea? I drink green tea too but isn’t it just a bunch of dried leaves you pour hot water over + allow to steep? How can you DIET that? Uhhh, take away the leaves? Isn’t it then just hot water? I’m not playing now…this seriously is a doubt…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Zaara wrote: "OHK…this is redirected from that Ilona Andrews thread because I don’t want to disturb there further but meanwhile your posts warranted replies.
Timelord Iain wrote: "They say diet soda isn't reall..."

I dunno... it's iced green tea, I guess... not hot green tea... whatever it is, they remove the calories and add ginseng... I started taking it when I wanted the ginseng for ulcer help... the caloric version has honey in it instead...

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Arizona-Ze...

[Zaara]

It's Fall and that means ughly "themed" picture time, I-yay-n.
(view spoiler)[





(hide spoiler)]

But haaaaw I am too graceless and clumsy...therefore I ask...are you earning it?
Are you even in the Top 3 in this year's Team Tourney, Brother?
Tick tokkkkk...
And then with Chok and Soo and Jules and Arka and Pefrik and Franck and Billiam (if I remember correctly) + all those changes to the rules and your Vampire Timetable...I am *snort* heavily skeptical of your performance this year...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Zaara wrote: "It's Fall and that means ughly "themed" picture time, I-yay-n.

...

But haaaaw I am too graceless and clumsy...therefore I ask...are you earning it?
Are you even in the Top 3 in this year's Team..."

I'll have you know I've made the rules changes my b*tch, thank you very much: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

2nd place in points and pages (1595 points and 123.5k pages to Julia's 1647 points and 126.4k pages), and first in Challenge points and BR points, despite doing many less BRs this year... 3rd to 6th place are 100s of points and 25-45k pages behind... Soo should probably be somewhere in the top 3, but she hasn't updated her sheet since February, and didn't like Virginie trying to catch her up in May, so it's inaccurate...

My BR and Challenge points vs Julia's Eyeball Reading points are the main competition, lol...

[Zaara]

:O despite the new rules and less BRs???
Aaah uuuuhh...
*wears Malfoy face*
So basically you're saying you was thrashed silly by a li'l girl?
👢👢👢
Well done, Finbar. This year turned out very different from what we all had planned.......

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Zaara wrote: ":O despite the new rules and less BRs???
Aaah uuuuhh...
*wears Malfoy face*
So basically you're saying you was thrashed silly by a li'l girl?
👢👢👢
Well done, Finbar. This year turned out very differ..."

You just doing appreciate the dangers I face.......

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lp68K...

[Siobhan]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Zaara wrote: "It's Fall and that means ughly "themed" picture time, I-yay-n.

...

But haaaaw I am too graceless and clumsy...therefore I ask...are you earning it?
Are you even in the Top 3 in this..."

Do you know if Soo is still participating? I was wondering if she was going to update her sheet again and turn the competition upside down!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Zaara wrote: "It's Fall and that means ughly "themed" picture time, I-yay-n.

...

But haaaaw I am too graceless and clumsy...therefore I ask...are you earning it?
Are you eve..."

No idea... all I know is she didn't like Virginie messing with her sheet to try and catch her up in May...

[Siobhan]

Oh well! Hopefully she's still around watching the progress.

[Virginie]

Hey there! How are your TTS experiments going? I'm going to start Fire & Heist very soon (probably tonight), if you want to join me :)

Also, I've noticed that Small Medium: Big Trouble got an audiobook. I still have to read Threadbare #3, but maybe we can BR the sequel at some point? Or we could wait until the entire series (3 books) gets 'audiobooked'... :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Virginie wrote: "Hey there! How are your TTS experiments going? I'm going to start Fire & Heist very soon (probably tonight), if you want to join me :)

Also, I've noticed that [book:Small Medium: B..."

It's been a hard experiment to put alot of time into... I liked the one book I did so, and having the option, but there's generally so many audiobooks that I also want to read, and I think I can listen to audiobooks faster, since humans read the sentences more naturally, and I can speed that up more... still plan to do more TTS when I have time and inclination... I can try and do Fire & Heist with you... my first book was a BR with Elinor that I was relatively on time for... every other book I want to do is a BR I missed from earlier this year, and I've been weighed down with all the things I'm reading right now to go back, just yet :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Virginie wrote: "Hey there! How are your TTS experiments going? I'm going to start Fire & Heist very soon (probably tonight), if you want to join me :)

Also, I've noticed that [book:Small Medium: B..."

Re:Seiple: I wish there was more info on if/when the 2nd and 3rd book will get audio treatment... it's probably the biggest factor in whether I wait or not... they're also narrated by TGReynolds, who is great... Seiple's blog was no help, but I did see he's starting a new prequel series with dragons, set before Threadbare...

[Anni]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Hey there! How are your TTS experiments going? I'm going to start Fire & Heist very soon (probably tonight), if you want to join me :)

Also, I've noticed that [boo..."

So you won't read/listen to [book:Location, Location, Damnation|18634299]?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sir Anni wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Hey there! How are your TTS experiments going? I'm going to start Fire & Heist very soon (probably tonight), if you want to join me :)

Also, ..."

I still plan to, it's just a lower priority than the other things in the queue right now... Nick's books, the 4th Graeme book, and Adrian Tchaikovsky's Shadows of the Apt series are at the top of my TTS list for the year, but BRs I can participate in right now, like Florian Bates and this Fire & Heist book I recommended, get to jump the line...

[Virginie]

So... Basically, I just threw a wrench into your reading schedule?

YAY :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Virginie wrote: "So... Basically, I just threw a wrench into your reading schedule?

YAY :D"

I throw a wrench into my reading schedule almost every day, trying to read things I'm in the mood for, in between BR commitments that felt like a good idea awhile ago...

I haven't particularly been in the mood for heavier books lately, and I read Dragon Republic anyway, and I'm probably about to start A Little Hatred... just been going way outside my usual habits and pausing to read other lighter books after a couple hours of listening...

[Anni]

Virginie wrote: "So... Basically, I just threw a wrench into your reading schedule?

YAY :D"

Well done 😂

[Virginie]

Starting Fire & Heist right now.
Should we ask for a thread, invade the YA book club (I think they're reading something right now though) or discuss it here? (Or in my tracker, if you don't want to clutter this thread).

[Anni]

Virginie wrote: "Starting Fire & Heist right now.
Should we ask for a thread, invade the YA book club (I think they're reading something right now though) or discuss it here? (Or in my tracker, if y..."

We're starting Sorcery of Thorns on Saturday, if you're quick you can maybe use it before 🙃

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sir Anni wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Starting Fire & Heist right now.
Should we ask for a thread, invade the YA book club (I think they're reading something right now though) or discuss it here? (Or in..."

Oh, we'll be quick... I'll try and start it right after I finish A Little Hatred... 2.5hrs left... near the end of Part 2 already...

[Siobhan]

Do you want me to change the thread to say Fire & Heist? :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sure, Siobhan... about to start...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

For all I felt like I was out of the BR game over the summer, I seem to be deep in it again this Fall...

Here's my October so far:

10/2 -- Issola -- Vlad Taltos "binge club" -- off hiatus
10/4 -- Boundary Crossed -- MMM Club
10/7 -- Arm of the Sphinx (10/5)
10/8 -- Dragon Republic -- super late (9/27)
10/9 -- Boundary Lines --- MMM Club
10/9 -- A Little Hatred (10/5)

Late: Rise of a Merchant Prince (1st), Wild Justice (5th), Shadow of What Was Lost (today)

Soon: Force of Nature (Mystery Club), Boundary Born (MMM Club), Dzur (Vlad binge), Playing with Fire (Skulduggery binge), Limited Wish (Timey-Wimey Club), Fire & Heist (YA Club)

Coming Up: Vicious (17th)

Missed: Brackenford Cycle by Nick Moseley... I just don't have time at the moment, since I only started using the TTS app recently...

The crazy thing is how many were unscheduled additions...

[Siobhan]

Are you joining Wild Justice? :)

Edit: ignore me, read your post properly this time! 😂

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Are you joining Wild Justice? :)

Edit: ignore me, read your post properly this time! 😂"

Yea :D... finishing Fire & Heist right now, then doing Wild Justice and Force of Nature... then probably Boundary Born and Shadow of What Was Lost... then Dzur and Rise of a Merchant Prince... then Playing With Fire and Limited Wish... then Vicious...

Probably mix some other reads in there, too... right now I've been working through the Haunted Guesthouse cozy mystery series...

[Siobhan]

Wow, I wish I could keep your pace! I've been so busy this week I'm so behind. Been looking after Frosty & Co while my mam and dad are on holiday. Can't complain at getting to spend time with donkeys and sheep, but I've definitely lost reading time!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Siobhan wrote: "Wow, I wish I could keep your pace! I've been so busy this week I'm so behind. Been looking after Frosty & Co while my mam and dad are on holiday. Can't complain at getting to spend time with donke..."

I've had some extra time off this week, so there's been less pausing... and I've been listening to things at 2.5-3x speed, which is a 25%-50% increase in reading accomplished... I can do TTS at about 230 words per minute, which seems to be about equivalent to 1.75-2x speed, or a page per minute... I can't speed up TTS as much, since it doesn't make sentences sound as natural, and take a bit more mindspace to parse...

I read over 900 pages yesterday and 600 today... on track to set some new personal records... it's much easier with Mysteries and the like than with Fantasies and anything with serious worldbuilding...

We'll see how it goes when I'm working...

All this speeding up, tho, is wreaking havoc on my ability to enjoy music... I've been toying with learning the lyrics to Rap God, which has this super fast section: https://youtu.be/XbGs_qK2PQA?t=260

A couple years ago, at least, the song had the Guinness World Record for most words per second...

[Zaara]

Siobhan wrote: "Do you want me to change the thread to say Fire & Heist? :)"

You know Siobhan from just the blurb I was thinking this may be a book you and I'd enjoy at some (vague, unnamed and possibly fictional) point in time when we aren't so overbooked and oo let's wait and see how these two get along with it....then I saw their comments....heh, saved by the advance company...😜