25k Readathon Central

[oshizu]

READATHON CENTRAL
25K Celebration: Team Readathon
Duration: March 25 to April 7, 2021

Once our team readathon goes live, here’s the thread where you can find FAQs and where the team leaders/assistants can post questions on behalf of their teams.

FAQs

May I start a book before the readathon starts?
Yes, but be sure to leave at least 100 pages in your book (or 2 hours in your audiobook) to complete once the readathon starts on March 25th. On the Tracking page, only count those pages/hours you finished during the readathon.

I'm a Team Leader, what exactly are my responsibilities?
As Team Leader (TL), your responsibilities are to double check that the team is updating your team spreadsheet correctly, moving books that could fit other prompts if needed, and being the designated question-asker for your team in this thread.
As TL, please create a post for your team in the Readathon
Team Progress thread to report how your team’s doing.
An Assistant supports the TL as the TL requires (assistance), or when the TL's not around. When agreed upon between the two, an Assistant may permanently assume one or more of the TL's duties or temporarily during the TL's absence.

*I’d planned to read a book for a specific prompt, but when I finished the book, that prompt was already filled by a teammate. What should I do?
Make sure that you’ve checked off all the prompts that your book will fill. As the readathon progresses, your team captain can look at which books can be moved around to optimize prompt coverage. Ultimately, your book will also count toward a Wild Card.

*What is a “Wild Card”?
Your team will earn one Wild Card for every 1,000 pages the team reads or every 15 hours of audiobook listening. Your team can use a Wild Card to check off that pesky prompt that nobody on your team has planned a book for.

Any book you read during the readathon counts toward your team's overall performance. If your book doesn't fit a prompt, it still counts toward your team's Wild Cards.

Whenever you use a Wild Card, be sure to indicate that in its corresponding "Completed" column. Choose wisely how your team wants to use its Wild Cards. Once one is used to complete a prompt, you cannot take the Wild Card back later.


For the "Read 4 books that include a party or anniversary celebration" task, do I have to read all four books myself?
This is a team marathon so, no, you don't. If you read one book that fits, that task will be 25% done; your teammates can read three more qualifying books to complete the task. Of course, you may read multiple books for a single task if your teammates are working on other prompts.
This applies to all multi-prompt tasks.

*I don’t feel like reading today. Will my team hate me?
No, of course not. Read what you want when you can and, most importantly, have fun.

*How do we fill in our team’s spreadsheet?
Each team member is responsible for typing in their reading plans (not all of them, only what they're currently reading) as well as their daily progress in reading or listening.
Be sure to also report on the spreadsheet when a book you finish completes a prompt.

More detailed instructions on the spreadsheet, please?
On the Planning page:
(1) Post each book you are currently reading in a separate column as follows:
*Book title (your name) at top of the column
*Possible Fits: place a lowercase "x" in every prompt your book fits
*When you finish the book, highlight your book title/name cell as well as the prompt you selected (out of the possible fits). Any kind of highlighting is fine (like changing the cell color), but the whole team should use the same method.

On the Tracking page
*Find your name at the top of one of the columns. You will be adding your pages read/hours listened by day and any books you've finished that fits a prompt.
*When you finish a book, add the book title in your column in the row of the appropriate prompt. Be sure to type Yes or Completed in the rightmost "Completed?" column so the spreadsheet will include your book in the total prompts completed.
*If you finish a single-book task or read the final book for a multi-book task, please also go to the Planning page to highlight that task so your teammates will know it's been completed.

Help! Nobody on our team is 25 years old or younger!
Here's what you do in that case.
On the Planning page
Leave the first trio task as is unless it really bothers your team.

On the Tracking page
Have which team member in charge of spreadsheet upkeep overwrite the first Trio prompt (A book you wish to read at 25)
with either of the remaining two prompts:
*A book you read at age 25
*A book you’d recommend to your 25-year-old self <--this one's easier *coughs

**Our team is close to completing all 50 prompts. What now?
If that happens, please let us know in this thread. Seriously, though, you should first try to complete your 50 prompts without Wild Cards.

[oshizu]

YOUR TASKS/PROMPTS

Here are the tasks your team will be trying to complete, some consisting of a single prompt and some consisting of two-, three-, or four prompts.

Solos (1-book tasks, 8 prompts total)
Read a book read by a teammate for this readathon
Read a book you read in 2012
Read a book with 20, 12, 2012 or 25 in the title.
Read a book which has been translated into 25+ languages.
Read a book with at least 25 chapters or sections.
Read a book written when the author was under 25 years old.
Read a book with the word ‘silver’ in the title or with a silver cover.
Read a book published in 1996

Duets (2-book tasks (14 prompts total)
Read 2 books with a scene of two or more people reading together.
Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet.
Read 2 books in a series, one with at least 12 books and one with at least 25 books.
Read 2 books either published in 2012 or in the Best Books of 2012 listopia.
Read 2 books with over 25,000 ratings each on Goodreads.
Read 2 books with a title consisting of 25 characters minimum, excluding spaces.
Read the 12th and 25th books on your TBR list.

Trios (3-book tasks, 12 prompts total)
Read 3 books: one you wish to read at 25 (if you’re under 25), one you read at that age, and one you'd recommend to your 25-year-old self.
Read 3 books by an author who has written for 25 or more years.
Read 3 books by an author who has written 25 or more books.
Read 3 books you shelved during the month you joined this group.

Quartets (4-book tasks, 16 prompts)
Read 4 books about making new friends.
Read 4 books that include a party or anniversary celebration.
Read 4 books that feature a bibliophile, bookworm, librarian, or bookshop.
Read 4 books in a series of 4 (25% of a series).

[oshizu]

THE TEAMS

Here are our seven teams for the readathon.
Though team size varies in some cases, the teams are evenly matched in terms of total books pledged per team.

Tome Raiders
Captain: Alison
Assistant: Debra
Barbara
El
Mie
Sahiary
Tara
Vian
Zeejane

Guardians of the Library
Captain: Karin
Assistant: Angie
Alyana
Avery
Shari
Snezana
Sunny
Trisha

House Ravenclaw
Captain: Diane
Assistant: Niharika (msg #13)
Bobbi
Daisie
Dominique
KaraBeta
Maitha
Sara

Dewey Decimators
Captain: Amy
Assistant: Kelly
Chalmation
Iton
Joan
Lisa
Marleen
Willemijn

Textual Healing
Captain: Almeta
Assistant: Ziggy
Brittany
Deidre
Kristina
Michelle
Nikki
oshizu
Regina

Fellowship of the R(ead)ing
Captain: Lynn
Assistant: Theresa
Anu
Jennifer
Manni
Meghna
Pamela
Rebekah
SarahKat

Reading Direwolves
Captain: Ushashi
Assistant: Ruthie
Bernadette
Carmen
Connie
Ilse
Natasha
Niharika (msg #11)
Pooja

[oshizu]

reserved

[Ushashi]

Hi oshizu, is there a limit on the number of wildcards that can be used?

[Niharika✩]

I'm confused about how to fill in the planning spreadsheet.

[Almeta]

I am passing along this question from one of my team members

"I have a question about a prompt: I am currently 25 and there is a prompt about books you read when you are 25. Does that mean all of my books that I read fit that prompt :p?"

[Alison]

Help...Team Tome Raiders spreadsheet link is not working! :)

[Trisha]

Ushashi wrote: "Hi oshizu, is there a limit on the number of wildcards that can be used?"

Hi Ushashi, we haven’t put a limit to the number of wild cards that can be used. I’ll still take this up with the other members of the organising team and if we decide to update our rules, we’ll definitely let you all know.

[Trisha]

Almeta wrote: "I am passing along this question from one of my team members

"I have a question about a prompt: I am currently 25 and there is a prompt about books you read when you are 25. Does that mean all of ..."

Haha, perks of being 25! Unless it’s her birthday today, she is over 25 now. 25 years 1 day also counts as over 25. 😛
Btw, she can interpret it in both ways - read a book that she wished to read by her 25th year, or reread a book that she read after hitting 25. Let’s not make it too hard for her!

[Trisha]

Alison wrote: "Help...Team Tome Raiders spreadsheet link is not working! :)"

Alison, we have spotted the problem and oshizu will correct it when she logs in next.

[Alison]

Trisha wrote: "Alison wrote: "Help...Team Tome Raiders spreadsheet link is not working! :)"

Alison, we have spotted the problem and oshizu will correct it when she logs in next."

Trisha, Thank You!!

[SarahKat, Buddy Reads]

Regarding the spreadsheet link on the Tome Raiders and Dewey Decimators, I have added the link for the spreadsheets in my own comment in each thread. It's down farther on the thread, but that way you can have access before oshizu is on and fixes the link in the first post.

[Trisha]

Niharika wrote: "I'm confused about how to fill in the planning spreadsheet."

Niharika, in the planning sheet, please add a column for yourself after the ‘Possible fits’ column (there’s already an example posted for a fictional member Miriam), then mark x against the prompts you are currently reading to fulfil. The ‘Possible fits’ column can be used to see how many books your teammates are currently reading that will fill that particular prompt. When you finish your book, it would be a good idea to "complete" the prompt with the least number of options. Just a tip!

[Alyana]

I'm not sure if I missed it or something but is there an official countdown to start the readathon? Like if we start a book before March 25 and finish it during the course of the readathon, will it count?

[Trisha]

Alyana wrote: "I'm not sure if I missed it or something but is there an official countdown to start the readathon? Like if we start a book before March 25 and finish it during the course of the readathon, will it..."

You can start a book early but you have to ensure that there are more than 100 pages remaining to be read strictly during the readathon. Also, you can only input the page count that you’ve read during the readathon and not the page count that you read before the start of the event.

Copying the exact rule from our sign-up thread:
Note: Please only include books that are at least 100 pages long, or you have 100 pages left in at the start of the Readathon.

[Trisha]

Zeejane (Sara) wrote: "Alyana wrote: "I'm not sure if I missed it or something but is there an official countdown to start the readathon? Like if we start a book before March 25 and finish it during the course of the rea..."

That’s right!

[Alyana]

Trisha wrote: "Alyana wrote: "I'm not sure if I missed it or something but is there an official countdown to start the readathon? Like if we start a book before March 25 and finish it during the course of the rea..."

Ok got it covered! Thanks a lot Trisha! You should sleep now :)

[oshizu]

Hey folks!
I've added the following bit to the FAQs.

More detailed instructions on the spreadsheet, please?
On the Planning page:
(1) Post each book you are currently reading in a separate column as follows:
*Book title (your name) at top of the column
*Possible Fits: place a lowercase "x" in every prompt your book fits
*When you finish the book, highlight your book title/name cell as well as the prompt you selected (out of the possible fits). Any kind of highlighting is fine (like changing the cell color), but the whole team should use the same method.

On the Tracking page
*Find your name at the top of one of the columns. You will be adding your pages read/hours listened by day and any books you've finished that fits a prompt.
*When you finish a book, add the book tile in your column in the row of the appropriate prompt. Be sure to type Yes or Completed in the rightmost "Completed?" column so the spreadsheet will include your book in the total prompts completed.
*If you finish a single-book task or read the final book for a multi-book task, please also go to the Planning page to highlight that task so your teammates will know it's been completed.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

You are our hero!

[oshizu]

Ushashi wrote: "Hi oshizu, is there a limit on the number of wildcards that can be used?"

Ushashi
As long as your team has earned the Wild Cards, you can use them.
To provide more of a challenge to your team, though, you might wish to hold off on using the Wild Cards until the team's absolutely sure a certain prompt won't/can't be covered.

[oshizu]

Almeta wrote: "I am passing along this question from one of my team members

"I have a question about a prompt: I am currently 25 and there is a prompt about books you read when you are 25. Does that mean all of Does that mean all of my books that I read fit that prompt :p?""

Almeta
Sorry for the delayed response.
The answer is YES! You lucky 25-year-old reader, you!

[oshizu]

A big thank you to Trisha for hold the fort by answering questions.

Thank you, too, to SarahKat who figured out that my Share setting on the team spreadsheets was wrong.
I'm so sorry about that!

Thanks to everyone for your patience. We hope you are enjoying quality time with your teams. :D

[Ushashi]

oshizu wrote: Ushashi
As long as your team has earned the Wild Cards, you can use them.
To provide more of a challenge t..."

Thanks, oshizu. Of course we will hold on the Wild Cards till the end.

[oshizu]

Howdy folks!
After reading through all the team threads, I'm adding another FAQ to the first post.

For the "Read 4 books that include a party or anniversary celebration" task, do I have to read all four books myself?
This is a team marathon so, no, you don't. If you read one book that fits, that task will be 25% done; your teammates can read three more qualifying books to complete the task. Of course, you may read multiple books for a single task if your teammates are working on other prompts.
This applies to all of the multi-prompt tasks.

[Alison]

I am passing along a question from one of our team members:

"I know that I have to have min. 100 pages left of a book when we start the Readathon, but was there also a limit to the time left of an audiobook?"

[Trisha]

Alison wrote: "I am passing along a question from one of our team members:

"I know that I have to have min. 100 pages left of a book when we start the Readathon, but was there also a limit to the time left of an..."

That’s a valid question, Alison. For an audiobook, you should have at least 2 hours remaining to be listened in order to have it counted.

I’ve asked oshizu to update this information in the FAQs.

[Alison]

Another Question...my own this time :)

If a teammate lists a book they are going to read and you have read that book in the past (within the last year or so), can you count that book "read a book read by a teammate for this readathon"? Or do you need to "read a book read by a teammate" during the Readathon?
For example, a teammate has listed "The Wicked King" and I read that book 10 months ago :)

[Trisha]

Alison wrote: "Another Question...my own this time :)

If a teammate lists a book they are going to read and you have read that book in the past (within the last year or so), can you count that book "read a book ..."

Alison, the latter! You need to read (or reread) a book that is being read by another member for our readathon. :)

[Alison]

Trisha wrote: "Alison wrote: "Another Question...my own this time :)

If a teammate lists a book they are going to read and you have read that book in the past (within the last year or so), can you count that boo..."

Thank You, Trisha!! I thought that was the case but I thought I would ask :)
Recruiting for The Dark Tower Series underway!! ;)

[oshizu]

Added to the FAQs

May I start a book before the readathon starts?
Yes, but be sure to leave at least 100 pages in your book (or 2 hours in your audiobook) to complete once the readathon starts on March 25th. On the Tracking page, only count those pages/hours you finished during the readathon.

[oshizu]

On your Planning page, the first 3 columns are now frozen so you can scroll horizontally while keeping the Tasks & Possible Fits column in view.
This was done for all teams except Reading Direwolves, because they beat me to the punch, hehe.

[Ushashi]

oshizu wrote: "On your Planning page, the first 3 columns are now frozen so you can scroll horizontally while keeping the Tasks & Possible Fits column in view.
This was done for all teams except Reading Direwolve..."

😄😄
Effects of spending too much time on datasheets 😝😝

[Angie]

Hi lovely mods,
I have a question:
For the "Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet"- prompt, is that supposed to be one book for each letter, or would it be possible to have two "L-books", for example?

[Trisha]

Angie wrote: "Hi lovely mods,
I have a question:
For the "Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet"- prompt, is that supposed to be one book for each letter, or would..."

Hello Angie, our intention was to have the teams read 1 book each starting with L and Y, totally 2 books. I see what could have caused the confusion, sorry about that! :)

[Angie]

Trisha wrote: "Angie wrote: "Hi lovely mods,
I have a question:
For the "Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet"- prompt, is that supposed to be one book for each le..."

Ok, got it! Thanks very much!

[Niharika✩]

Mods, I need help. So team Ravenclaw's TL hasn't been active. I don't know whether I should wait or I should act as temporary TL.

Help

[Trisha]

Niharika wrote: "Mods, I need help. So team Ravenclaw's TL hasn't been active. I don't know whether I should wait or I should act as temporary TL.
Help"

Niharika, I just checked her profile, she is definitely not inactive. It seems like she hasn’t noticed the announcements. Why don’t you start with messaging her? If she fails to respond, you can step up! Also, until she has responded, you can fulfil the duties of a team leader.

[Niharika✩]

Trisha wrote: "Niharika wrote: "Mods, I need help. So team Ravenclaw's TL hasn't been active. I don't know whether I should wait or I should act as temporary TL.
Help"

Niharika, I just checked her profile, she ..."

I did PM her.

[Trisha]

Niharika wrote: "I did PM her."

Okay, in that case, please step up as the acting-TL in her absence. I will drop her a message myself and let your team know once she responds.

[Niharika✩]

Trisha wrote: "Niharika wrote: "I did PM her."

Okay, in that case, please step up as the acting-TL in her absence. I will drop her a message myself and let your team know once she responds."

Thanks!

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Two questions:
For the 25 languages prompt, how can we easily find out how many languages a book has been translated into? (I thought maybe Googling the book would work, but it's not working at all.)

How are we dealing with graphic novels? I have three on my stack at the moment between 250 and 500 pages each (and all of them are serious works), but I wasn't sure if I should maybe read them outside the readathon? But if they can count that would be great too.

[oshizu]

Niharika wrote: "Mods, I need help. So team Ravenclaw's TL hasn't been active. I don't know whether I should wait or I should act as temporary TL.

Help"

Niharika
I messaged your team leader yesterday. Some folks don't visit Goodreads over the weekend. Glad to hear you also PM'ed her.

[oshizu]

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "Two questions:
For the 25 languages prompt, how can we easily find out how many languages a book has been translated into? (I thought maybe Googling the book would work, but it's not working at all..."

Amy
*Translations
Here's what I used to choose a book for the "translated into 25+ languages" prompt. It starts from 30 languages, but still faster than checking individual books. :)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...

*Graphic novels
Let me run your question by SarahKat & Trisha. We will get back to you on this.

[oshizu]

Angie wrote: "Hi lovely mods,
I have a question:
For the "Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet"- prompt, is that supposed to be one book for each letter, or would..."

Angie
Whenever you're in doubt about a task on the Planning page, it usually helps to check the same task out on the Tracking page.
On the planning page, If you check the task you mentioned on the Tracking page, you'll see that the "L" title book and "Y" title book are listed as separate prompts. :D

[Angie]

oshizu wrote: "Angie wrote: "Hi lovely mods,
I have a question:
For the "Read 2 books starting with “L,” (12th letter) and "Y" (25th letter) of the alphabet"- prompt, is that supposed to be one book for each le..."

Oh yes, I should have done that first. Sorry!

[oshizu]

Angie wrote: "Oh yes, I should have done that first. Sorry!
."

No need to apologize, Angie. There's been a lot for everyone to take in over the last 2-3 days. :D

[oshizu]

Just a quick note to say that I'm going through the team spreadsheets now to:
*Make sure your team's Planning page has at least 60 available columns to input your books; and
*Edit the Possible Fits formulae to accommodate the additional columns.

Note: The team spreadsheets are yours to edit in ways that work best for your team. If you have a team member who's skilled with Google Sheets, feel free to go to town.
Also, spreadsheet instructions for the Planning page in the FAQs are simply general guidelines. Your team leader may prefer you to input your info differently, though, so follow their lead. :D

[Snezana]

I have noticed that on the tracking page, where the prompts are listed in the trios section there are three tasks about reading books about making new friends (they are listed again in the quartets). Maybe they should be removed so that some team doesn't make a mistake when the readathon starts. :-)

[oshizu]

Snezana
Thanks so much for catching that and letting us know!
I'll go through the team spreadsheets again to delete them.
Very much appreciated!

Edited to add: Done!