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

Haha that's funny. I totally remember what you're talking about. The last book was one of the best, so hopefully that's the case for you.

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

^one of the best of this quartet

[Petrik]

Thanks, Niki! I hope so too. Cant believe that i'm so near the end now. It feels bittersweet :')

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

I can't believe it either. It took me YEARS to get to the end of it. Although I used to have so many incomplete series that it's amazing I finished it at all lol.

[Virginie]

Virginie wrote: "I'm doing a reenactment of Zaara's juggling performance of last month. Currently reading 5 different books and a few mangas on the side. I'm hoping to bring those points in 10 days or so... :p"

*10 days later*
Stack of books - 1
Me - 0

[Virginie]

@Petrik: Wow, you're reading your way through the Elderlings series so fast! I agree with Niki, the last book of the Dragon quartet is better than #2.
I caught up with the Elderlings books when the first book of the quartet was being published. I was so bored AND had to wait for more Elderlings. Back then, Hobb hadn't announced the Fitz and the Fool trilogy. Was really hard to keep reading without this motivation :p

[Petrik]

Virginie wrote: "@Petrik: Wow, you're reading your way through the Elderlings series so fast! I agree with Niki, the last book of the Dragon quartet is better than #2.
I caught up with the Elderlings books when the..."

I dunno... I'm now struggling through the last book too... I just can't stand Thymarra and Rapskal and Tats. Love triangle in books are the bane of my existence and this series is so damn full of these trio drama on who will get STD and AIDS

[Solseit]

I forgot to post it in the group so I am adding it now!
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 465
Buddy Read? Y
Challenge? Y (cover)

[Veronica]

Virginie wrote: "Virginie wrote: "I'm doing a reenactment of Zaara's juggling performance of last month. Currently reading 5 different books and a few mangas on the side. I'm hoping to bring those points in 10 days..."

This is me right now. I have four books going and I feel like I'm making slow progress on all of them.

[Solseit]

Veronica wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Virginie wrote: "I'm doing a reenactment of Zaara's juggling performance of last month. Currently reading 5 different books and a few mangas on the side. I'm hoping to bring those ..."

Progress is progress! That is all that matters!

[Virginie]

@Veronica: I scheduled tons of BRs between the 1st and 15th of March, and wanted to read all of those on time to comment on the threads. So now, I'm behind in ALL my BRs hahaha.

I think I'll focus on one at a time from now on :p

[Veronica]

That's true, Aristea. Thanks! I just start to feel antsy when it takes me longer than usual to finish a book.

[Virginie]

Aristea wrote: "I forgot to post it in the group so I am adding it now!
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 465
Buddy Read? Y
Challenge? Y (cover)"

Updated your spreadsheet for you. I added a column for you since you're specifying which challenge the book counts for each time :)

And before you say it... It's not bothering me :) I like filling the spreadsheets and watching the numbers "magically" go up. I'll keep doing it for you if that helps you, and stop if you're an Excel nerd like me and want to do it yourself haha.

[Veronica]

Virginie wrote: "I think I'll focus on one at a time from now on :p "

Good plan!

[Solseit]

Veronica wrote: "That's true, Aristea. Thanks! I just start to feel antsy when it takes me longer than usual to finish a book."

And if I wrote the sentence in English, I would have said "that's what matters". I should re-read what I write! Apologies for that!

[Solseit]

Virginie wrote: "Aristea wrote: "I forgot to post it in the group so I am adding it now!
Title: Six of Crows
Author: Leigh Bardugo
Pages: 465
Buddy Read? Y
Challenge? Y (cover)"

U..."

I'll take all the support I can get! So thank you!

[Solseit]

Virginie wrote: "@Veronica: I scheduled tons of BRs between the 1st and 15th of March, and wanted to read all of those on time to comment on the threads. So now, I'm behind in ALL my BRs hahaha.

I think I'll focus..."

Yes that was insane! All books I would have been interested in! While I noticed that April has significantly less interesting reads for me!

[Diana Stormblessed]

Veronica wrote: "Virginie wrote: "Virginie wrote: "I'm doing a reenactment of Zaara's juggling performance of last month. Currently reading 5 different books and a few mangas on the side. I'm hoping to bring those ..."

I'm with you guys. I think I'm going to have to drop some from this month. I've been reading Kushiel's Avatar for 3 weeks already and I'm only 35% in. I'm so failing at keeping up with my buddy reads this month. Some of the ones I'm less excited about are going to get dropped...

[Veronica]

Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I'm with you guys. I think I'm going to have to drop some from this month. I've been reading Kushiel's Avatar for 3 weeks already and I'm only 35% in. I'm so failing at keeping up with my buddy reads this month. Some of the ones I'm less excited about are going to get dropped..."

Yeah, going forward I'm definitely going to try signing up for only those BRs that I'm really, really interested in.

[Solseit]

This is the "curse" of an active group like this one with so many good reads going on at the same time!
My decisions are more and more "not to join" vs "to join". Again, it speaks to the quality of the group and reads but it is my sad reality.

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

I eventually got tired of feeling rushed to get to buddy reads and being at the mercy of a schedule I couldn't keep. I eliminated 75% of the Reads I was signed up for, figuring if they came around and I happened to be ready, then I'd join. I even cut out a few books I wanted to read in theory, but couldn't muster excitement to actually pick up. I've been going through a huge reading crisis, but I think I made enough changes to make it fun again.

It also doesn't help that I've been finding some of the discussions not much fun to participate in. There was one where everyone had finished the book within the first day, and so I was basically talking to myself the whole time. In another, I couldn't get anyone to actually discuss the book with me. It was a bit frustrating. In others I'm so worried about someone accidentally spoiling a major plot point that I'm hesitant to say anything (because someone already did for that series and it really affected my enjoyment). I'm starting to think big buddy reads just aren't my thing and I need to stick to just the small group one or one on one ones lol.

Bit it has been a weird week, so maybe I'm over thinking everything and will be fine tomorrow.

[Petrik]

"It also doesn't help that I've been finding some of the discussions not much fun to participate in. There was one where everyone had finished the book within the first day, and so I was basically talking to myself the whole time."

See what I was talking about?? Some of the BR doesn't even make any sense imo. Only a person saying one or two updates on starting and finishing and liking the book or not. That's just like a reading update instead of buddy reading.

Again... I don't wanna be flamed for this.. just my personal opinion that a buddy reading is a discussion thread. Not a reading update on "I began" "I'm halfway, liking it" "I finished, it was good/bad"

[Solseit]

Niki and Petrik, really good points I have not thought about in forever.
I confess I am guilty of that behavior more often than not; mostly because to do a BR you really need dedication and I might miss that every now and again.
I also often feel I have very little to contribute so I rather read what the others have to say.

[Virginie]

@Diana: See, I took your advice! No more drowning :p

@Aristea: Don't worry, I'm making toooons of mistakes! I decided I wouldn't care about my broken English ;)

@Niki & Petrik: I'm always wondering if I'm commenting enough during my BRs. I'm usually late and everyone stopped discussing already :(
I joined the group in January so I don't really know how it used to be but... Maybe people are "joining" BRs but not really commenting 'cause BONUS POINTS :p

[Veronica]

@Niki - That sounds like a good game plan. Reading should always be fun, not made to feel like a chore.

@Petrik - No flaming here! I know what you're talking about and I've experienced it too on some of the BRs I've been involved with. Sometimes I think it's the book; some are just made for discussion while others are more simple and straight-forward so there's really not much to pick apart.

@Aristea - You should never feel like you don't have something to contribute. I'm always interested in hearing someone else's opinion about books.

[Virginie]

+ what Aristea said. I'm sometimes keeping quiet 'cause I don't think I have anything relevant/interesting to say.

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

To each his/her own I guess. I suppose if people are actually finishing the books in a couple of hours and rushing to the next read it can be difficult to care enough to really break it down (some, like Iain, manage to get a bunch of thoughts down before moving on, which I appreciate) . I just usually read a LOT slower than that. I think I'm finally coming around to appreciating actual lengthy book discussion. The most fun I've ever had in a buddy read was when everyone was doing like a section or chapter a day and discussing each one afterwards. It was my favorite one to date. This tells me something about myself I didn't know lol.

[Diana Stormblessed]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "To each his/her own I guess. I suppose if people are actually finishing the books in a couple of hours and rushing to the next read it can be difficult to care enough to really break it down (some,..."

That's why I like the TOR buddy reads. They're a chapter a week so everyone is discussing the same thing.

I get what you're saying about everyone finishing in 1 day and then you're just talking to yourself. I do that a lot. The problem is you never know which buddy reads will be active, or how active, until you already start.

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

Just to be clear, I'm not knocking anyone for participating differently. I'm just having an ah-ha moment about why they haven't felt as much fun to me based on comparing a bunch I've participated in lately (where I also didn't feel compelled to comment much). There still have been some fun ones. I think I'm just in the mood to get down and dirty with a story and really break it down. I also love when people go at the relative same pace and can geek out about the little things as they go.

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

I'm all about the "whatever makes it the most fun for you is okay with me" mentality.

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

Diana, very true! It's a crap shoot.

[Virginie]

@Niki: I don't think we've ever done a BR together, did we?

[Veronica]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "I also love when people go at the relative same pace and can geek out about the little things as they go. "

That sounds like the perfect BR to me too. *sigh*

I used to be pretty active on a few forums for tv shows a few years ago and it was a lot of fun to discuss episodes for favorite shows in the days after they aired. The advent of dvr and streaming services has really affected that because now no one is watching the show at the same speeds. It took all the fun out of the forums for me.

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

Not one that I can remember. Granted, I bailed on like ten of them in jan and feb lol.

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

Maybe the next small one I suggest I'll propose a paced read. I've also seen Laura ask beforehand how fast people are planning to read, and I think that's a great idea. I might try gauging a few upcoming ones that way.

[Miche]

I prefer the bigger discussions too, but I did notice some books don't have enough material for it.

Series I am passionate about like Stormlight Archives and Malazan I find very easy to talk about, others I don't have much to say.

I stopped signing up for new buddy reads and I signed up on attempt only on others. Finishing Malazan with Angela this year is my top priority. The Fallen and Faithful is the second in line in priority. The rest will depend on my mood. :)

I do think this competition changed the dynamics of the group. There are too many BR up at the same time but most are too quiet. Some I don't even see until it is too late as I now ignore the notifications I get as 99% don't interest me. I think this is curbing a bit my enthusiasm for new buddy reads too. I liked more when we had less going on at the same time. If only the book of the month got extra points from buddy reads would have been a better strategy in my opinion. But that's only mine. ;)

[Diana Stormblessed]

Miche wrote: "I prefer the bigger discussions too, but I did notice some books don't have enough material for it.

Series I am passionate about like Stormlight Archives and Malazan I find very easy to talk about..."

Agree. I wish we had less buddy reads. It's too much pressure. I want to sign up for them all. lol

[Petrik]

@Veronica, Ariestea, & Virgine:

Yeah, I know some books are too straightforward, but like Virginie said, that doesn't seem to be what's happening. It's more like "I want to read something, let's suggest it for a BR for bonus point." then proceed to comment a few times for bonus point.

I participated twice so far, one for Iron Gold and one for Ship of Magic. The Iron Gold was almost like talking to the empty sky because I started late. Only one or two person replied to my comment or thoughts once even though there were a lot of people in it.

Again, it's okay! I'm happy that it seems a lot of readers here enjoyed this method. I'm just saying that I don't. My idea of a BR is a discussion as if we're truly reading the book together. That's why I don't participate anymore unless there's one that somehow fits my personal schedule.

[Veronica]

Miche wrote: "I do think this competition changed the dynamics of the group. There are too many BR up at the same time but most are too quiet. Some I don't even see until it is too late as I now ignore the notifications I get as 99% don't interest me. I think this is curbing a bit my enthusiasm for new buddy reads too. I liked more when we had less going on at the same time. If only the book of the month got extra points from buddy reads would have been a better strategy in my opinion. But that's only mine. ;) "

Yeah, I'm thinking of skipping out on the team challenge next year if it's repeated. I don't like the pressure - which I know is totally self-inflicted - of feeling like I'm letting down my team if I don't participate in enough BR for the extra points. I don't know. I have the rest of the year to think about it.

[Virginie]

@Veronica: I was so excited by the challenge at the beginning that my reading pace went up like crazy. Ended up burnt out and stressed.
Now I don't really care about the points. I'm enjoying our team conversations though ^^

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

The comradere we have is my favorite part too. ^_^

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I see I'm not the only one having these thoughts... I just made a similar comment on group dynamics over in House of Chains, because they were commenting on what a quiet week it's been...

I probably wouldn't be continuing with so many 3-star series if not for the competition... and don't see myself being able to do a competition like this every year... I've gone from a Pantser reader to a Planner reader... no middle ground...

EDIT: I actually meant to suggest over in the competition pages that the bonus points should be smaller next year... Buddy Reads and Challenges should be equal, and both should be 25% or maybe even less... Buddy Reads are just too beneficial... I'm the perfect example... I just added it up and I have 139.6 Buddy Read Bonus points right now... my BR bonus points would be in 26th place right now, and I'd still be in 2nd place with 414 points from pages and challenges...

[Solseit]

And as if I did not read a single line (which I did) maybe we should do a BR with most of this group. It seems we tend to converge to the same type of approach to reading in a group. This might be an interesting approach.
Just saying to prove the points we are making!

As to the BR, I agree they are way too many, it is getting out of control. We might want to consider suggesting a different approach in the wider group!

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

I like those ideas. :)

[Veronica]

Virginie wrote: "@Veronica: I was so excited by the challenge at the beginning that my reading pace went up like crazy. Ended up burnt out and stressed.
Now I don't really care about the points. I'm enjoying our te..."

And it's only March! lol

[Veronica]

Niki Hawkes wrote: "The comradere we have is my favorite part too. ^_^"

It's definitely nice to see I'm not the only one feeling this way.

[Virginie]

The BRs I'm enjoying the most right now are the Red Queen's War. I'm having some nice conversations with Zaara there. Also waking up the Stormblessed monster :p

@Niki: I'd enjoy a BR with a set reading pace I think. We could get some real discussions going then :D

[Veronica]

Iain wrote: "I probably wouldn't be continuing with so many 3-star series if not for the competition... ."

Now that's one thing I haven't done. If I'm not feeling a series I have no issue dropping it, points be damned. lol

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

I agree!

[Virginie]

Veronica wrote: "And it's only March! lol "

I know, right?