2021 Read-a-thon #1: Team Tulip

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hello, Team Tulip!

This week, you will be working together to complete a series of prompts. While some prompts only require one single book, others will require 2 or 3 or 4!

Use your spreadsheet to track which prompts you've completed, as well as any Wild Cards you've earned. Please place only completed books on the Tracking tab, and use the Planning tab for planning purposes.

*Wild Cards: For every 1000 pages read or 15 hours of audio listened, you will earned one Wild Card, which can be used in the place of one book. Your spreadsheet will track how many Wild Cards you've earned and used.

MEMBERS:
Team Captain: Robin P
Dori
Trish
Rachel (Message 19)
Roxana
Chrissy
Devin
Jax
Emily
Kellie

THE PROMPTS:

Single Book Prompts
For those who are rocking it solo this Valentine's Day

A coming-of-age book
A book with themes related to hope, self-love, or self-respect
A book with an inspiring title or cover
A debut author
A book featuring an activity you consider "self care" (i.e. travel, pets, video games, reading, cooking, etc.)
A book about fresh starts
A travel book
A book where the character moves to a new home
A book with just one person on the cover
A book with the word "one" in the title (can include "someone", "no one", "everyone", etc)

2 Book Prompts
For those of us in love

Two books whose titles start with "L"
Two LGBTQIA+ books featuring a love story
A book written by a male and a book written by a female
Two books featuring elderly characters
Two books with "matching" covers (however you define that)
Two books with two people on the cover
Two books with hearts on the cover
Two books featuring the enemies-turned-lovers trope
Two YA rom-coms
Two books connected to Shakespeare

3 Book Prompts
Grab a friend and share a book

Three books featuring a theme of friendship
Three books that span more than 10 years
Three books in which a romantic love story is not featured
Three books featuring protagonists at different stages of life (one YA, one new parent, one elderly character, for example)
Three books that feature roommates who are not romantically involved

4 Book Prompts
We love our four-legged friends

Four books featuring characters who have pets
Four books that make you feel "warm and fuzzy"
Four books that have the letter "P" in the title

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hey Tulips!

I'm working on my Black History Month TBR. I'm starting Monday's Not Coming today, but I'll definitely have more than 100 pages left of it tomorrow. I also have exactly 100 pages left of All Boys Aren't Blue, which I need motivation to finish. I put both of them on the planning tab on the spreadsheet, but I do think we need to strategize some of them, like the matching covers or the stages of life prompt.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Welcome, Team Tulip! I am thrilled that we have Emily on our team, so if I have any spreadsheet questions (my only concern in being team captain), she will bail me out.

I will have 100 pages left of The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine (has 2 people on the cover) and over 100 of Don't Forget to Smile (could fit under fresh starts or matching covers if anyone else has a cover with flowers on it). Kind of typical for me, reading a serious book about women's history and a romance involving a woman who has been in beauty pageants. Listening to True Grit, which isn't a very long book.

I am supposed to read Between the World and Me this week for a study group on race. It is very short, probably only a couple hours read. It would fit under self-love, self-respect.

[Chrissy]

I have more than 100 pages left in both Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good and The Kingdom of Gods, and I’m near the beginning of listening to The Prophets.

[Jax]

Checking in. Updated the spreadsheet with a few books I am thinking of reading. Looking forward to this!

[Dori]

Hi All,

I'm reading Reasonable Lies by T.A. Rosewood, I will have 100 pages left for tomorrow, it could fit the 'debut author' prompt nicely. I have just started The Mothers, not sure where this might fit but I will update the planning spreadsheet as I progress with the book and learn more about the characters and the theme!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Chrissy wrote: "I have more than 100 pages left in both Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good and The Kingdom of Gods, and I’m near the beginning of listening to [book:The ..."

I see you also read very diverse types of books! The Prophets can fit under LGBTQIA+

[Roxana]

Hi all! I’ve added some of my planned books to the spreadsheet, and I’m looking forward to reading with y’all!

[Dori]

Hi All,
I have finished Reasonable Lies this morning and have put it down for 'a debut author', I hope this is OK!

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hooray Dori!

Good morning Tulips! I meant to read more of Monday's Not Coming yesterday but it was busier than expected so I still have about 400 pages to go on it. Hopefully I can knock out a large chunk of it today.

I have a friend coming over to watch the newest installment of To All the Boys I've Loved Before but that's my only distraction today!

[Kellie Lyn]

Hello to all,
I am reading Closely Harbored Secrets this morning (200 pgs left) and then starting Little Fires Everywhere. I am hoping to finish both this weekend. My distractions this weekend are lesson planning for next week but they are almost finished, then I am free and clear. Southeast Texas is about to be hit with a major ice storm so I am not leaving my house for the next three days and the kindle is charged.

I have filled in the Spreadsheet planner for both books and will add categories as I find out more about the books. Glad to be part of the team.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I have finished The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine

It could go under character moving to a new home or one of the 2 books with 2 people on the cover.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Hey Kellie! I'm a teacher in Louisiana, so I feel all your pains and distractions haha. Luckily we have the week off for Mardi Gras, so I won't have to worry about lesson planning until later in the Read-a-Thon.

Should we strategize to fill the prompts that require the most books before we place books in the single-book prompts?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Great, Devin. I grayed it out on the planning spreadsheet so we know it is already placed. I think that's a good spot for it since we have so few options for that prompt!

[Chrissy]

I just finished The Kingdom of Gods, which could fit in a few places... there’s a queer love triangle, a character who goes through several stages of life... maybe that’s it. Where should I slot it in? I find the planning tab difficult to use since it’s gotten so large.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'm good with that... I think slotting it in for LGTBQIA+ is the way to go!

I just finished Monday's Not Coming. I'm going to slot it in for one of the friendship books.

[Jax]

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone listened to that while finishing out a bunch of housekeeping and then finished reading A Woman of No Importance: The Untold Story of the American Spy Who Helped Win World War II

I put HP under Three Books That Feature a Roommate but if that fills up it can be put under books with a letter P in it too. A Woman of No Importance got put under 3 Books In Which a Romantic Love Story Is Not Involved.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Oooo how is A Woman of No Importance?? It’s on my list of books to read this year.

[Jax]

Read it. Highly reccomend. It's a fast read and it's a lot of interesting information that gets overlooked in big battles. It's not a great spy story, but it's a really good story about toughness.

Edited: I noticed that on the tracking sheet lines 43 and 44 are the same, I think one should be male?

[Roxana]

Just finished Yesterday is History and put it in for the second LGBTQIA+ love story, but it can go a few other places if we need to move things around.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Robin P wrote: "I have finished The Doctors Blackwell: How Two Pioneering Sisters Brought Medicine to Women and Women to Medicine

It could go under character moving to a new home or one of the 2 b..."

I put it under 2 people on the cover but can move it if something else works out better.

[Roxana]

Also just finished The Haunting of Tram Car 015! There was an unexpected Shakespeare connection in it (a major part of the plot, actually), so I'll put it there, since we don't seem to have any other options for that one on the planning tab yet.

[Kellie Lyn]

I finished Closely Harbored Secrets and put in under "four books featuring characters who have pets". It did not look like we had many books in that department. It could also go for books with elderly characters if it is needed more there.

I am starting Little Fires Everywhere and hope to finish it tomorrow or the next day.

[Roxana]

After finishing a book and putting it on the main tab, should I remove it from the planning tab, or leave it so we can see which other prompts it fits if we need to move things around?

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I think it's fine to leave it on the planning tab. For the ATY main challenge, I regularly change my mind and move things around.

I finished Don't Forget to Smile and put it under A book about fresh starts -
Divorced upscale heroine moves across the country and opens a bar in a small town

[Trish, Annular Mod]

Morning all. I managed a total fail yesterday, by forgetting we'd started. Face palm.

I shall try to do better!

Roxana wrote: "Also just finished The Haunting of Tram Car 015! There was an unexpected Shakespeare connection in it (a major part of the plot, actually), so I'll put it there, since we don't seem..."

I really enjoyed that when I read it as a Hugo nominee last year.

I'm going to try to read Hamlet, Revenge! today, which should cover the other half of the Shakespeare prompt: "As the guests prepare for their amateur production of Hamlet, thinly veiled threats are secretly delivered among attendees."

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Good morning!

Good catch, Jax. I've updated the spreadsheet.

I have been shading the books we've completed and moving the column to the end of the spreadsheet.

I bought a few books on Amazon's Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale, and they came in yesterday, so I'll probably be starting How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House today!

[Rachel]

Sorry, I completely forgot the readathon started yesterday! I have a biweekly project at work that completely consumes one day every other weekend, and I was too tired yesterday afterwards to check anything online.

I did finish an entire audiobook yesterday though, which was More Myself: A Journey. I'm also about 1/3 of the way through The Wedding Party, which I started before the readathon, and I'm planning to finish that off today.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

No worries, Rachel!

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Rachel wrote: "Sorry, I completely forgot the readathon started yesterday! I have a biweekly project at work that completely consumes one day every other weekend, and I was too tired yesterday afterwards to check..."

Of course, no problem, Rachel. If you had more than the equivalent of 100 pages left in the audiobook, you can count that. Otherwise, just jump in when you are ready!

[Rachel]

Robin P wrote: "Rachel wrote: "Sorry, I completely forgot the readathon started yesterday! I have a biweekly project at work that completely consumes one day every other weekend, and I was too tired yesterday afte..."

Other way around actually. The audiobook was started and finished yesterday. I have more than 100 pages left of The Wedding Party, which I'd started on Friday, so that should still count too.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I finished Between the World and Me and put it under Coming of Age book.

Now I just have to enter it under Yearly Challenge, Winter Challenge, Personal Readathon, Yearly Spreadsheet, plus challenges for 3 other groups! Think how much more I would read if I didn't spend so much time tracking!

[Trish, Annular Mod]

I managed 200pg of Hamlet, Revenge! yesterday. I'm hoping I'll get it finished today.

[Rachel]

I finished The Wedding Party. I'd started it before the readathon, but read 204 pages today to finish it off. It's currently about 1:30 am so I'll have to look tomorrow to see where it might fit. Although if someone wants to go ahead and fit it in somewhere, go right ahead.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Robin I know how you feel... I was part of a challenge group, and at one point, I had 27 challenges going! Ended up dropping it because I was having to track more than I was reading lol.

Good morning folks! I woke up to a bit of snow on the ground, which only happens once every few years here in south Louisiana. My husband will be working from home, so I'll need to be reading so I don't distract him too much lol.

Didn't get much reading done yesterday but hoping to make up for it today! Should knock out How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House... it's a quick read.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Also, I have these two books in progress and will finish both of them today or tomorrow. I think they would go great for matching covers:

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Emily wrote: "Also, I have these two books in progress and will finish both of them today or tomorrow. I think they would go great for matching covers:

[bookcover:How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House|53369..."

Yes, great covers!

[Roxana]

I finished Master and Commander last night, and have just put it in the second slot for “roommates who are not romantically involved,” so we’re just one away from completing that prompt. I’ll probably finish A Chorus Rises today, it’s very short, then have to figure out what I’m reading next!

[Chrissy]

I finished Red, White & Royal Blue yesterday and added it, and I’ll start Djinn Patrol on the Purple Line today, should finish in a couple days.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

I finished the audiobook of True Grit I put it under A Travel Book, since most of the book is about horseback travel to track down a villain.

[Jax]

Finished The Battle of the Labyrinth and The Last Olympian and put them under the Characters Who Have Pets and Books That Have the Letter P in the Title.

[Rachel]

I finished all of The Fire Never Goes Out: A Memoir in Pictures and read about a quarter of Red, White & Royal Blue. There's a slim chance I'll have a snow day tomorrow. I hope I do so I can keep reading it!

[Chrissy]

Ugh, today I had no motivation and got no reading done! Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

[Trish, Annular Mod]

I'm rather letting the side down this Read-a-Thon. In between work and getting my Covid jab, I only managed another 55pg of Hamlet, Revenge! yesterday. I'm hoping I'll get it finished today.
After Atlas
Update. I've finished it and added it to the spreadsheet as the other book for "Two books connected to Shakespeare".

A couple of hopefully quicker reads next: The Whispered Word and Writing All Wrongs, which should be usable for either "Three books featuring a theme of friendship" or "Four books featuring characters who have pets", although Whispered also has a P in it. Possibly also After Atlas

[Dori]

Hi All, please excuse my slow reading, I'm 6 months pregnant and fatigue is hitting me harden than I thought it would but I will definitely finish at least both of my current reads by the end of the week The Mothers and First-time Parent

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

You're not alone, Dori. I'm reading much slower than I expected to as well.

We had an ice storm hit so my husband has been home from work the last few days... and he wants me to spend time with him? How dare he lol.

Made some progress, just not as much as I would have liked, but I'm going to try to buckle down today and knock out at least one of my two books in progress.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

On another note, it looks like we are really lacking in the "warm and fuzzy" books. Should we throw some of our Wild Cards on that prompt? We have 8 outstanding, so we can put some there and move them around if we need.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Cheer up everyone, there is no grading on this team! Everyone is dealing with life, so please don't feel bad if you don't get to read as much as you hoped. We are happy to have all of you contributing to the team.

I am in process with a couple books that could be considered warm and fuzzy but won't finish them today. I think a difficult prompt will be books starting with L.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Finished How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House and it was SO GOOD. Very layered with lots of nuance and perfectly revealed details. Going to try to finish up All Boys Aren't Blue tonight or tomorrow so we can check off both of the matching cover prompts.

[Rachel]

I have to admit I'm completely confused by the planning tab on the spreadsheet so I haven't been using it. I'm bad with spreadsheets in general, lol