2019 Read-A-Thon #4: Team Twinkle Lights

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hello, Team Twinkle Lights!

Here's your thread for plotting and discussing and figuring out how you will tackle this challenge. As a reminder, group members include:

Captain: Chrissy
Devin
Samantha (Message 8)
Perri
MKay
Kathy
Jackie
Edie
Kelly
Alaina
Kathy Jo
Elzecat
Rachel
Allegra

In this challenge, you'll be working your way through holiday-inspired prompts to earn badges for your group. Each level must be completed before you can move on to the next level!

The prompts are:

Bronze Level
December 1: World AIDS Day - Read a book where someone is sick
December 2: Cyber Monday - Read a book where the first letter of the title is found in the words AMAZON or EBAY
December 3: Giving Tuesday - Read a book rated 5 stars by a friend on Goodreads
December 4: National Dice Day - Read a book with a 6 in the page number
December 5: International Ninja Day - Read a book set in Asia
December 6: Free Read!
December 7: National Cotton Candy Day - Read a “light and fluffy” book
December 8: Pretend To Be A Time Traveler Day - Read a book relating to time in some way
December 9: National Pastry Day - Read a book with a yellow cover
December 10: International Human Rights Day - Read a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in HUMAN RIGHTS
December 11: National App Day - Read a book whose cover is the same color as your favorite app
December 12: Free Read!
December 13: Friday the 13th - Read a spooky book
December 14: National Postal Worker Day - Read a book that features a letter
December 15: Bill of Rights Day - Read a historical fiction or history book set in the US

Silver Level
December 16: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day - Read a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in CHOCOLATE
December 17: Wright Brothers Day - Read a book that features a plane or brothers
December 18: International Migrants Day - Read a book that features an immigrant or someone migrating from their home country
December 19: National Emo Day - Read a dark and depressing book
December 20: National Ugly Sweater Day - Read a book with an ugly cover
December 21: Winter Solstice - Read a book with less than 200 pages
December 22: Free Read!
December 23: First Day of Hanukkah - Read a book with a light source on the cover
December 24: Christmas Eve - Read a book centered around family
December 25: Christmas Day - Read a book related to Christmas
December 26: Boxing Day - Read a book that you received as a gift or that you would give as a gift
December 27: National Fruitcake Day - Read a book with a fruit on the cover
December 28: National Short Film Day - Read a book related to a TV show or movie
December 29: Free Read!
December 30: National Bacon Day - Read a book starting with a letter in the words BACON or PIG
December 31: New Years’ Eve - Read a book by an author you’ve read before

Gold Level
January 1: New Years Day - Read a book by a new-to-you author
January 2: National Science Fiction Day - Read a sci-fi book
January 3: Free Read!
January 4: World Braille Day - Read a book featuring someone with a disability
January 5: National Screenwriters Day - Read a book that is not a novel (nonfiction, poetry, play, etc.)
January 6: Three Kings Day - Read a book with three words in the title
January 7: National Bobblehead Day - Read a book with a larger than life character
January 8: Elvis Presley’s Birthday - Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in THE KING
January 9: National Apricot Day - Read a book with a red or orange cover
January 10: National Houseplant Appreciation Day - Read a book with a plant on the cover
January 11: National Vision Board Day - Read a book with multiple timelines
January 12: National Youth Day - Read a YA or Middle Grade book
January 13: Free Read!
January 14: National Dress Up Your Pet Day - Read a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in DOG, CAT, or FISH
January 15: National Hat Day - Read a book with a hat on the cover
January 16: National Nothing Day - Read a book with a 0 in the page count
January 17: Free Read!
January 18: National Thesaurus Day - Read a book that has a word with 7+ letters in the title
January 19: National Popcorn Day - Read a book with a snack on the cover
January 20: Heroes' Day - Read a book featuring someone who is a hero

If your team finishes all of these prompts, they will be given a *Platinum Level* to complete January holidays.

Your team's spreadsheet can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Grab your badges here:


Good luck, and happy holidays!

[Edie]

Hi Team Twinkle Lights. This should be fun.

Books in progress that could fit prompts.

12/2 - One Day We'll All be Dead and None of this will matter:Essays
12/11 White Teeth It's orange cover is the same as orange for Candy Crush... which is my favorite app This is a long book so not sure I will finish it.

Looking Ahead


12/25 A Treasury of African-American Christmas Stories

Available to read and plug in as it might fit The Muralist

[MKay]

Excited! Currently reading a Christmas series. I am almost finished with the one I am on but the next one could count as a Christmas read or a light and fluffy.

[Kathy]

Hi Team! Looking forward to this Read-a-Thon

I've added to the "Planning" tab of our spreadsheet the following book:
Envious Casca by Georgette Heyer
It fits:
12/2, 12/3, 12/10 Plus the Free Reads

[Chrissy]

Hi all! I added a column to our team spreadsheet where folks can insert their in progress (or planned) books. You can put a book in more than one category until you've finished it - at this point you (or me) needs to choose where to slot it and put it in the Finished column. If you can't access the spreadsheet or would rather not bother with it, just post your books (in progress and finished) here and I'll take care of the record keeping.

Go team!

[Chrissy]

My personal plans for this week:
I'm reading The Starless Sea right now and hope to finish it by the weekend. I don't know much about the plot right now, but it can fit for the Dec 10 prompt. I also hope to start the audiobook of This Is How You Lose the Time War soon, not sure where that might fit. My book for next week will be Krik? Krak!, and I also have a couple mysteries and HP and the Half-blood Prince on tap if I finish everything else (for my challenges!).

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Chrissy, y'all can use the spreadsheet however you'd like, but there is a planning tab that y'all can use to show books that fit a variety of prompts (rather than filling up that first tab). Feel free to do whatever works best for your team, though!

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

My big goal is to finish Notre-Dame de Paris which I have been working on all year. I went ahead and checked off all its possibilities through all the rounds because there is a good chance you all will finish the bronze and silver ahead of me. I've got about 100 pages of it left, but that's a massive amount to me. The french is just so dense...

I've got a couple other books out from the library on my kindle just in case I need something lighter while I'm at my parents'.

[EllenZReads]

Should Dec. 4 National Dice Day be "a book with a 6 in the title" not a "6 in the page number?" If so, I might read 1776 by David McCullough for that one, unless someone else had an idea already.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Elzecatreads wrote: "Should Dec. 4 National Dice Day be "a book with a 6 in the title" not a "6 in the page number?" If so, I might read 1776 by David McCullough for that one, unless someone else had an idea already."

No, it's a 6 in the page number, so 196 pages or 673 pages or 265 pages, for example. Sorry!

[Perri]

Hi Twinkle Team! Still trying to figure out my reading plans

[EllenZReads]

Emily wrote: "Elzecatreads wrote: "Should Dec. 4 National Dice Day be "a book with a 6 in the title" not a "6 in the page number?" If so, I might read 1776 by David McCullough for that one, unless someone else h..."

Thanks for explaining that! I think that book can still be used for a number of other prompts, so I added it where it seemed appropriate in the "Planning" tab.

[Kathy Jo]

Hello Twinklers!

I just finished Notre Dame- but in English!

I started Invisible Man, and I would like to finish it this year. But it is over 500 pages and I am on about page 60!

So I may need to throw in some fluff!

[Kelly]

Hello Friends! I so love read a thons, and this time of year, so it is a double bonus!!

I started Dear Edward at the beginning of the week, thought I would be through it before tomorrow, but got sick with a nasty head cold instead. So that is where I will be starting. I could pick out categories for it, but I am a slow reader, and those categories are usually filled by the time I am done.

I would also love to finish off a couple of big, lingering reads, and who knows what may end up under the tree too! Good luck to everyone!

[Samantha]

Good morning twinkle team! I tried hard to finish the book I have been reading last night but still have about 15% left and have a busy day ahead so may not get started on book for the read a thon until tomorrow :(

[Kathy]

I finished my last 159 pages of The Dutch House by Ann Patchett. I used it for Dec. 1, World AIDS Day, Read a book about where someone is sick. The character Maeve has diabetes.

[Chrissy]

I only made a little bit of progress... keep reading everyone, and stay cozy!

[Kelly]

I made a bit of progress, but I had Christmas shopping to do today, which hindered the amount I really wanted to do.

Tomorrow I have a road trip, so we will see how much I can get done. Happy weekend everyone!

[Rachel]

I'm 118 pages into Violent Ends, hoping to finish it off tomorrow. It could work for December 10: International Human Rights Day - Read a book by an author whose first or last initial can be found in HUMAN RIGHTS. It's by multiple authors, but I think technically credited to Shaun David Hutchinson

[Perri]

Good morning team! I made good progress on The Grace Year and Recursion. Also picked up a Audible CD The Way I Heard It so I can listen while wrapping presents or baking :)

[Kathy Jo]

I am making progress on Invisible Man. It is going faster then expected. May finish Monday to Wednesday, depending on how busy I am.

[Kathy]

I've started listening to Normal People by Sally Rooney. It works for the Free Reads, Dec. 2 - first letter of title in AMAZON or EBAY, Dec. 3, book rated 5 stars by a friend on Goodreads.

I've added to the Planning Tab.

I hope it's okay that I added my finished book, The Dutch House, to Dec. 1, a book where a character is sick. I highlighted it in yellow to show that prompt is finished.

Happy reading!

[Kathy]

Perri wrote: "Good morning team! I made good progress on The Grace Year and Recursion. Also picked up a Audible CD The Way I Heard It so I can listen while wrapping presents or baking :)"

That's what I did yesterday, Perri. Listening to a good book makes wrapping seem faster!

[Samantha]

Hi team, I started listening to The Wedding Date while wrapping and taking care of other things around the house. I would say I got about 35-40% of the way through. I have a lot more to do tomorrow so hope I get close to finishing it up. I also got started on The Party.

[Samantha]

I found a manga, My Brother's Husband, Volume 1, that is set in Japan will try to get this read quickly for the International Ninja Day. Not able to update spread sheet right now so Will try again later.

[Kathy]

After looking over the books people have in progress, the only one we need someone to start is Dec. 14, a book that features a letter. Anyone have one?

[Chrissy]

I started This Is How You Lose the Time War today on audio, and it only 4.5 hours, PLUS it is mostly letters written back and forth between the main characters! Hopefully can finish by Tuesday. Great job everyone! Let me know if I can be helpful in some way.

[Kathy]

That's great, Chrissy. Soon we'll be finishing up a lot of books!

[Rachel]

I finished off Violent Ends today, and also did the Would You Rather game.

[Kelly]

Just checking in! Everyone is doing awesome. I got a bunch of reading done yesterday on the road. Don't know how much I will get done today with being at Busch Gardens. Enjoy the day!

[Chrissy]

Devin, do you think those fit any of the categories?

[Kathy]

Some of us are putting our books in progress on the first sheet under "Possible Books in Progress" and some of us are putting them under the second sheet called "Planning Tab" with all the possible prompts they fill.

How do we decide which prompt our finished books should go under?

[Perri]

Kelly, Busch Gardens! Have fun. Seems like my time is getting eaten up with holiday activities. Hope to sneak some reading in there

[Samantha]

Good morning! I didn't even notice the planning tab, I added my books to that. I finished My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 so added that to the completion tab and highlighted yellow hope that covers everything.

Will continue to listen to Wedding Date and try to get some more of The Party read today.

[MKay]

Mine will fit the one featuring a letter as it opens with a letter to Santa and the subject discusses how that letter plays out.

[Edie]

Finished One Day We'll All be Dead and None of This Will Matter: Essays Recorded it on the spreadsheet.

[Alaina]

Hello everyone! So sorry for the late start, I tried setting a reminder on my phone calendar and it never notified me.... Anyway, today I finished two books: Don’t Read This! The Private Diary of Piper Pastore, which I put in the free read space as it was an odd one for sure, and The Giver, which several of my Goodreads friends have given 5 stars so I put it in that category

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

I'm making decent progress on Notre-Dame de Paris; I'm down to the last section which should (hopefully) go by pretty quick. I spent today mostly baking cookies and getting ready to head out tomorrow. We leave after my husband gets off work, so I'm planning on getting everything ready tomorrow morning and then having the afternoon to read.

[Kathy]

We're making good progress! Way to go, everyone.

I finished Margaret the First and put it for "a book with a 6 in the page number." (167 pages)

[Chrissy]

It looks like we are only 5 books away from a bronze medal! I made progress on The Starless Sea, but it’s a long one.

[Rachel]

I read 100 pages of What Was Mine, which I should be able to finish tomorrow or (more likely) Tuesday. I also played the Guess the Cover game.

[Samantha]

I didn’t get much reading done today :(. I am traveling most of tomorrow so may not get a chance to check in but will probably not have anything new to report either. Hope everyone has a great reading day!

[Edie]

I still have a long way to go on White Teeth so if someone else can take care of the December 11 prompt (book cover the color of your favorite app) that will move us through the bronze medal faster. Had some great family time and didn't get a lot of reading done this past weekend.

[MKay]

I finished my ebook but don't think we can use it as it was only 97 pages. Started How to Make an American Quilt. Loving it so it should go pretty quickly. Not sure where it will fit in yet.

[Kathy]

I finished Normal People and put it for Dec 1, a book where someone is sick. Then I moved The Dutch House to Dec. 15, historical fiction set in the U.S.

So we have 4 books left for the Bronze Level!

I just started a graphic novel which could be used for a book the same color as your favorite app. If anyone finishes before those listed as in progress, just take those spots!

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

I did it! I finished Notre-Dame de Paris. Phew what a book. Sadly, it does not fit any of the remaining bronze prompts. So do I just wait until other people finish those and then add it to a silver prompt?

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Devin wrote: "Jackie wrote: "I did it! I finished Notre-Dame de Paris. Phew what a book. Sadly, it does not fit any of the remaining bronze prompts. So do I just wait until other people finish th..."

Great! Notre-Dame is pretty much the opposite of light and fluffy lol.

[Perri]

I finished Recursion but am away from a computer. Feel free to plug it in wherever!!

[Perri]

Finished Recursion but am away from my computer. Feel free to plug in wherever!

[Chrissy]

Sorry to be AWOL today, I just got back from the movies! So, I just have time to squeeze in a bit of reading before bed. More time tomorrow while sitting around at my in-laws with not much to do.