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Hi everyone! I finished one book yesterday and just updated the review. I'd be really happy to get some feedback on it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I think I will be able to finish another review copy today itself.
March looks promising. I want to be able to finish at least 5-7 books. (The next three days are vacation in India!!)
I will upload their names once I have finalised my TBR. :)
Mishika wrote: "Hi everyone! I finished one book yesterday and just updated the review. I'd be really happy to get some feedback on it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Wonderful review! Well put together.
Hello team! I have a huge TBR list but nothing set in stone as to what I may read next. I go from book to book like a leaf on the wind. Starting Jim Butcher's Blood Rites today.
Just a reminder for all, for the '# pages read' on books you'd already started before today, only include the actual pages that you read starting today onwards! Here's an example: So if you are mid-way through a book yesterday (Feb 28) (say at page 100), and then you keep reading today onwards until the book is finished (say book total is 355 pages), you would record 255 pages as the actual pages read (355 total pages MINUS 100 pages read BEFORE the contest started = 255 pages actual read between Mar 1 & May 31).Hope that makes sense?! :)
Hello everyone :)Just updated my reading progress. I'm almost done with Finnikin of the Rock so will just log the pages I have left. No idea what I'll be reading next though :/
Happy reading!
I am planning on finishing Cinder then probably the Hate you give us.
LucyQueen wrote: "Hello friends. Many greetings from Slovakia.
Let's get started with the challenge :)
I have already started to read the #4 book from Peter.V.Brett, Demon cycle series. The Scull throne. Peter is ..."
Hi LucyQueen, sounds like an exciting read! Sure, war/battles are competitions, so would earn that bonus for you!
As each person can only earn each bonus point once, I think it's totally fine if we use 'more broad' vs. 'more strict' interpreations - It's all for fun, right? :) Posting for clarification is good though, in case others wondering the same thing!
To All: Some great questions are being asked by all the teams! So I've set-up another tab on the Google spreadsheet, titled 'FAQ' to capture all of the questions being asked/answered. So you can check there first, and then post here if your question hasn't been answered yet.It's awesome to see the flurry of activity with everyone jumping in on the challenge so quickly!
Hello everyone! I have started reading Everyday and I hope I can read many more (5+) books this month.
Robert wrote: "Mishika wrote: "Hi everyone! I finished one book yesterday and just updated the review. I'd be really happy to get some feedback on it. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Thank you! :)
Hi Guys, Manged to finished Cinder, now onto the Raven Boys for a Copy Cat Challenge. I will get to the Hate U Give us at some point...Hope you are all well!
I've had a few questions on scoring bonus points.. Here's clarification by way of an example:
- Book ONE that you read has winter(#1) and music(#4) in it. => you score bonus #1 and bonus #4
- Book TWO that you read has winter(#1) and fire(#5) in it. => you score bonus #5 only, because you already scored #1
- Book THREE that you read has music(#4) and fire(#5) it it => you score no bonus points, because you scored both already
- Book FOUR that you read has a Norwegian author and gold in it => you score bonus #7 and bonus #6
And so on.... until you've scored all 8 bonus points once, and then you're complete with the bonus portion of the challenge!
(A given book can earn you multiple bonus points. But you can only score a given bonus ONCE in the challenge. So your maximum to earn is 8 points overall.)
I've added a column to right side of the tracking grid to summarize which of the bonuses you've earned so far
Hope that helps!
hi LucieQueen, I really enjoyed it i feel it is well worth a read, now i am planning on reading the sequels.
To ALL - Re: Bonus # 8 (Reading the Book of the Month)We've updated the criteria to make it a little easier to earn bonus #8 :) You now have 32 books to choose from that can earn this bonus, instead of just 3, by including the past BOTM (book of the month) too.
So you can earn the bonus with either of:
- you read a book that is a BOTM during the contest (Mar, Apr*, May*)
- or you read a book that was a BOTM in the past. You can find the past BOTM's on our PenPal Readers Bookshelf here(any book on this bookshelf qualifies)
- reminder you can only score this bonus ONCE, even if you read more than one book that was or is a BOTM.
*The April and May book polls will be coming out very soon, so that we can confirm those two books)
Happy Reading and competing everyone! :)
To ALL - We're getting ready to send out book polls for our April, May, and June BOTM reads. April: "Fantastical World:" fantasy, folklore, fairytale, myths, magic, creatures, retellings, etc.
May: "Night at the Movies": book made into a movie (or being made into one soon)
June: "Intergalactic Travels": sci-fi, time travel, space etc
We're taking book suggestions to include in the polls! So if there's a book that you've been wanting to read that fits any of those themes, please go the appropriate thread and post your comment.
thread 'Suggest a Fantasy book for our April BOTM'
thread 'Suggest a Movie book for our May BOTM'
thread 'Suggest a Sci-fi book for our June BOTM'
This Challenge is certainly making me read more! How is everyone finding it so far? Anyone have any plans to read specific books?
To ALL - I've added a new topic for competition highlights and results, which I'll update every week or so.View the thread here to read the Week 1 update
Anne wrote: "To ALL - I've added a new topic for competition highlights and results, which I'll update every week or so.View the thread here to read the Week 1 update"
Thank you!
Sam wrote: "I found the highlights really helpful!"Thanks Sami! I love how everyone is helping motivate each other through the conversation threads! Life gets busy, but participating in challenges and connecting in the threads helps keep reading in the forefront! YAY! (The secret for me is audiobooks... I listen while I'm in the car, doing chores, going for a walk, etc...it's been great! )
If anyone's looking for a book to earn the bonus for Korean author/setting:Here's a few books that I've either read (A River in Darkness), or that I've heard good things about and have added to my TBR...
Pachinko
The Orphan Master's Son
Human Acts
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
Also..
I was just thinking that there's probably some good children's books that are from/about Korea... I did a quick look, and found this one in my library, it has wonderful illustrations, it's a collection of 13 korean folk tales handed down over the generations. It's only 96 pages. Originally published 2004 so could be used copies around. Digital available via kindle.
Korean Children's Favorite Stories
LucyQueen wrote: ""This Challenge is certainly making me read more! How is everyone finding it so far? Anyone have any plans to read specific books?"This challenged has motivated me to finish ( still in progress) ..."
Have you read the Bound trilogy by Kate Spakes? Another fantasy series I really liked was The Fouth Elemental series by Kat Ross
Hi All, How is everyone's reading going? I am currently reading three books at once which is unusual for me. How are you enjoying the challenge so far?
Hi Sam, Reading is going well, I might have to change my reading challenge as it looks like I'll be reaching the halfway point soon! So the challenge is going well :D
Sam wrote: "Hi All, How is everyone's reading going? I am currently reading three books at once which is unusual for me. How are you enjoying the challenge so far?"
hi Sam! I always have 3 books on the go. Welcome to the club ;) I spent all of yesterday afternoon reading, something I haven't done in years!
I'm glad it's not just me that spent all afternoon reading. I have taken this week off work and i am determined to finish the assassin quest.. all 858 pages of it! I have never been able to read more than one book at once, before now I have always been someone who had to read a book in almost 1 siting.
Sam wrote: "I'm glad it's not just me that spent all afternoon reading ..."what with the Easter hols coming up I guess I'll be spending a lot more time reading as well. Might be a good time to start The Brothers Karamazov
I'm more of a, let's sneak a page in here, a page in there, kind of person.
I often read thrillers which makes the books difficult to put down. I usually only read while on holiday but this challenge has given me a reason to read more. I am also too competitive for my own good so I am determined to do what I can to improve our score. I hope you enjoy The Brothers Karamazov. I have never read any Russian literature.
Sam wrote: "I have never read any Russian literature."But Russian literature is so beautiful! War and Peace is definitely my second favourite book. Perhaps you could start with the short stories of Chekhov
The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories
http://www.1minyoga.com/cmadras/223/2...
To ALL - I've added an update to the highlights thread, after ONE MONTH into the challenge :)And we've added some more bonus point opportunities, so be sure to check out the highlights post :)
Hello All, Can you please reccomend one of your books for the new bonus point of read a team member's book?
Usually prefer YA/Fantasy. But I do like murder mysteries (as long as they are not too gory).
For YA I would suggest A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J Maas and for a YA murder mystery, I would highly recommend One of Us is Lying By Karen M. McManus.Here are the Goodreads links if you want to have more of a look
ACOTAR https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
One of Us is Lying: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...
Do you have any suggestions from your shelf?
Happy Reading,
Annie
Hi Annie,Raven Boys is an interesting book, it is YA (I will warn you that it is the first if a series). my other ones are mainly crime which your profile says you are not a fan of (they are Agatha Cristie though, so it is easy reding).
Hi Sam,That series keeps popping up, so I guess that means I should read it! Once I finish my current book I shall give it a try :)
Hey Chapter Curlers! Wonderful news - you have a new team-mate! Say hello to Alex, who is from Kazakhstan, but currently living in Toronto, ON, Canada for 3 years. Alex is a Professional Writing student at York University, Toronto., and she reads a LOT of Canadian authors. So she'll have lots of suggestions for us for books to read to meet bonus #7 and #11 for Canada. Welcome, Alex :)
Hey guys, I am late with my response but thank you! :) I might mess up my part of the tracking grid at first, but I won't touch anyone else's, don't worry!
Now I'll start right after Teena, I think? Because she still can insert more rows right? And I don't know how to do a red line between our parts. :D
I also feel like I need more explanation on some criteria, like "flame", "medals", "monthly read", "book your team", "book other team" and "winning country" - can I find them anywhere?
Sorry for being so lost, I promise I'll get better at this. I put in some info already, whenever I figure everything out I'll complete it!
Alexandra wrote: "Hey guys, I am late with my response but thank you! :) I might mess up my part of the tracking grid at first, but I won't touch anyone else's, don't worry!
Now I'll start right after Teena, I th..."
Hi Alex! Yes, if you just enter your books read in an empty row on the spreadsheet with all the BLUE colors. Your first two books are at the top, but you can enter your next reads at the bottom where space, and we will do all the rest of the sorting of the rows to group them together, and add colored lines etc.
For the bonus criteria, they are explained on the tab of the spreadsheet named 'Bonus Points' Criteria.. but i'll list them below. Each bonus can be earned once by each person. If it's too confusing, no worries, you can choose to just add your books and not worry too much about the bonuses... we want everyone to have fun and interact... Bonus #9 and #10 are good ones, because you choose books that other team-mates/participants have read during the challenge, so you can chat about books together :)
--- Bonus #1: Winter Olympics. Read a book with winter, snow, ice in it = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #2: Olympic Sports. Read a book with any sport or competition in it = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #3: Olympic location - Korea. Read a book with a Korean author or setting = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #4: Opening ceremony. Read a book with any of parade, music, dancing, fireworks, drones, animals, or young children in it = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #5: Olympic Flame. Read a book with flames, fire, or torches in it = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #6: Olympic Medals. Read any award winning book, or a book with metals in it (ie gold, silver, steel etc) = 1 bonus point
Olympic Countries. (earn once)
--- Bonus #7: Olympic Countries. Read a book with author or setting from any one of the top 10 winning countries of 2018 olympics [Norway, Germany, Canada, USA, Netherlands, South Korea, OAR (Russia), Switzerland, France, or Sweden] (AND your book must be a country that is NOT where you currently live) = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #8: Monthly book bonus. Read the BOTM (Book of the Month) for March, April, or May, or any of our previous group reads from the PenPal Readers Bookshelf = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #9 Read a book that someone on your own team has read during the challenge = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #10 Read a book that someone on another team has read during the challenge = 1 bonus point (earn once)
--- Bonus #11 Read books with an author or setting from any of these winning Olympic countries* and earn a bonus point for EACH country that you read from. Maximum 1 point per country = 16 points. EXTRA BONUS: at challenge end, if you have read from at least 6 of these countries, you get 2 extra bonus points for your team!
Anne ✨ wrote: "Alexandra wrote: "Hey guys, I am late with my response but thank you! :) I might mess up my part of the tracking grid at first, but I won't touch anyone else's, don't worry!
Now I'll start right..."
!!! Sorry! Found it! I haven't even noticed first that there are different tabs at the bottom. :D Now it seems clear! Thank you!
To ALL - I would like some input on when you all would like the challenge to end? This was a new challenge, and we initially set it at 3 months. I'm checking in on how the group is feeling... It's been a small loyal group and you've all been reading an amazing assortment and quantity of books. I think it's been motivating us all to read more, and that's a good thing :)Here's a poll for group vote on whether the challenge should end on May 30 as originally planned, or if it should end a bit sooner...
LAST DAY of our Olympic Challenge - Be sure to update all your books read in May to be included in final totals that I'll summarize tomorrow! And please join us for the SUMMER READ MORE and PENPAL ICEBREAKER challenges which start tomorrow :)
PenPal Readers
Books mentioned in this topic
The Lady with the Dog and Other Stories (other topics)War and Peace (other topics)
The Brothers Karamazov (other topics)
Korean Children's Favorite Stories (other topics)
Pachinko (other topics)
More...
Here are your teammates: Mishika/India , Robert/USA , Sami/England , Minnie/USA , Lucy/Slovakia , Elena/Spain , Annie/China , Rachel/USA, Alex/Canada