2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2022
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World Mysteries Readathon - Team Chupacabra
Lorraine wrote: "Oshizu. I am open to read Kitchen if needed so you can read something else."Haha, let's wait to hear back from Canadian Dragon first before deciding anything.
😊
Meanwhile, would be interested in reading a book for the "ancient civ" prompt? I'm not sure Leslie will have time to finish her book.
Lorraine wrote: "I also have this book to read in the next 2 weeks that maybe can fit a prompt we have? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."
I can't imagine which prompt that book would fill.
3 different climates?
oshizu wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "I also have this book to read in the next 2 weeks that maybe can fit a prompt we have? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."
I can't imagine wh..."
I’ll wait for directions then. Take care and good evening all. Talk to you tomorrow.
I've started Wonder. It should fit the physical impairment prompt. I had a slow reading day yesterday. But I'm really liking the book.
Lorraine wrote: "I also have this book to read in the next 2 weeks that maybe can fit a prompt we have? https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5..."
This will fit the climate one I think (Tundra). Or the doubles prompt for set beside a sea seeing how Iceland is an island. less than 1000 ratings too.
What about new to you author or added to tbr in last year Lorraine? Will it fit any of these two?
Hi everyone, It is up to you both who want to read Kitchen, it sounds nice and short. It would take some weight off, I have 2 more to go.Just finished Sea Witch. That knocks off the prompts of Non-Human Characters or somewhere else if it needs to go
Good morning everyone. It is a rainy day here in Quebec so lots of time to read!1- I have receive The summer book so will read it in the next 3 days.
2- I added The horses of Iceland to the spreadsheet with all the possible prompts I know for now.
questions:
1- I have received Pedro Paramo. I can read it if this will bring us points? not sure how many team mission we can do?
2- I am open to read Kitchen if Oshizu wants to read something else. Let me know.
Have a good day.
oshizu wrote: can we skip posting page count for individual reads"What do you mean by page count of individual reads?
The formatting you have done on the spreadsheet looks fine to me. So if that's what you meant then it's fine.
Canadian Dragon wrote: "Hi everyone, It is up to you both who want to read Kitchen, it sounds nice and short. It would take some weight off, I have 2 more to go.Just finished Sea Witch. That knocks off the prompts of No..."
We can keep sea witch here for the time being. In case we have to move it later to the team mission prompt like oshizu said, we can do that.
Lorraine wrote: "1- I have received Pedro Paramo. I can read it if this will bring us points? not sure how many team mission we can do?"We can get points for only two team missions.
Ushashi wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "1- I have received Pedro Paramo. I can read it if this will bring us points? not sure how many team mission we can do?"We can get points for only two team missions."
So we wont get point for this book if I read it?
Not if Canadian Dragon reads both her books and it doesn't fit any other alternate prompt (which I think it will). And we will still get page points. So if you want to read it, I'm sure we can fit it somewhere.
I've completed The Horses of Iceland and The summer book.
Here's my understanding of what's been going on this morning:Team Books
Canadian Dragon still plans to read Death Comes at the End (277p) and remarked (msg 219) that someone else reading the 2nd Team Book would "take some weight off" (since her 2nd book is 394pg).
If Lorraine were to read either
"Different historical eras" prompt (now at 3/3)
Leslie has yet to check in with her page count but her profile page shows she's reading The Girl on the Train, so I've moved my "ancient civ" book (The Red Tent) to the "different historical eras" since it's set in Old Testament Egypt.
I chose the "different eras" prompt since Usashi's 12 Years book also fits the nonfiction prompt.
Here are my remaining books:
1. The Betel Nut Tree Mystery - physical impairment, Asia (Singapore), orange cover, 1930s
2. The Quarter Storm - book involving magic, new-to-me author
3. The Dying Day - set in big city (Mumbai) , tropical climate, 1950s (post-partition India), yellow cover
4. Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener - rural setting, amateur sleuth, Europe (England), green cover
That's 4 books over the next 4 days (including today), so I better get reading! I'm flexible--if i'm needed to help with other prompts instead of the ones I've listed above, let me know by tomorrow.
E.g., I could skip the city/rural prompt and read The Dying Day for the climate/tropical prompt.
Oshizu wrote:Team Books
Canadian Dragon still plans to read Death Comes at the End (277p) and remarked (msg 219) that someone else reading the 2nd Team Book would "take some weight off" (since her 2nd book is 394pg).
If Lorraine were to read either Banana (160p) or Pedro Paramo, not both, we could finish both Team Books and Canadian Dragon could read something else (something shorter).
I think Oshizu meant Kitchen. I have both on my Ipad, borrowed from Library. I will certainly read one of them I'll decide later and add the one I chose to the spreadsheet.
Thanks for the summary Oshizu and also for the directions! Very helpfull.
Lorraine,Yes, I meant Kitchen but mistakenly wrote the author's given name (Banana). I edited my comment and fixed it. Thanks!
My vote would be for you to read Kitchen. Not only is it a lovely book but, more importantly, if Canadian Dragon decides she has time to read 20,000 Leagues for her 2nd Team Book, you could add Kitchen to the "different sexualities" prompt and I could move Tomboyland: Essays to our unfinished "love triangle" prompt.
At one point, the author lives with a man and woman, and both women are the man's lovers. That counts as a love triangle, right?
oshizu wrote: "Lorraine,Yes, I meant Kitchen but mistakenly wrote the author's given name (Banana). I edited my comment and fixed it. Thanks!
My vote would be for you to read Kitchen. Not only is it a lovely bo..."
No problem. I also chose Kitchen. And yes, sound like a love triangle…😁
Canadian Dragon wrote: "Hi everyone, It is up to you both who want to read Kitchen, it sounds nice and short. It would take some weight off, I have 2 more to go.Just finished Sea Witch. That knocks off the prompts of No..."
Hurray! 🥳
Oh, I'm so sorry Leslie. That's absolutely fine. Health comes before everything else.
So with Leslie unable to continue, our team mission for a mythical creature was empty. So I've made some changes:>I am switching Canadian dragon's Sea witch to that prompt.
>That leaves my Circe in the double prompt of book with non-human characters. So I switched it to the singles prompt of book that involved magic.
> oshizu's Quarter storm was assigned to the magic prompt, which I've now switched to the new to you author.
Hope this is alright with everyone.
Status of our prompts and planned books Completed: Singles - 9, Doubles - 5, Triples - 3, Team mission: 2
Unfinished prompts:
Singles
*Read a book by a new-to-you author: Quarter storm (oshizu) - in progress
*Read a book about books: The Thirteenth Tale (Canadian Dragon) - in progress
*Read a nonfiction book:
*Read a book with a love triangle: Tomboyland (oshizu) have to switch from sexuality prompt if Canadian dragon doesn't read one of the team books, else Unclaimed
*Read a book you were supposed to read in school but didn’t: Unclaimed
Doubles
*Read 2 books: 1 with a morally gray main character and 1 with a main character with strong morals (0/2): Unclaimed
*Read 2 books featuring an ancient civilization (0/2): Unclaimed
*Read 2 books: 1 set in a large city, 1 in a rural environment (0/2): Dying day (oshizu) and Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardner (oshizu) - TBR
*Read 2 books: 1 set on or beside the sea, 1 set in on or beside freshwater (creek, river, lake) (0/2): Unclaimed
*Read 2 books with nonhuman characters (0/2): Unclaimed
*Read 2 banned books (1/2) - Of mice and men (Ushashi) - TBR
Triples
*Read 3 books that have been translated from any language other than English (1/3): The alchemist (Lilac), Birth of a Theorem (Emily) - In progress
*Read 3 books that have less than 1,000 ratings on Goodreads (2/3): The Lovliest Dead (Emily) - TBR
*Read 3 books featuring a character who has a physical disability or impairment (1/3): Betel nut mystery (oshizu), Wonder (ushashi): In progress
*Read 3 books which are set on three different continents (2/3): Stay with me (Lilac) - In progress
*Read 3 books set in different climates (desert, tundra, rainforest, etc.) (1/3): Stolen Innocence (Lilac) - In Progress
*Read 3 books with 3 different colors on the cover or in the title (0/3): Unclaimed
*Read 3 books you have added to your TBR within the last year (0/3): Unclaimed
*Read 3 books that take place in the summer (2/3): Unclaimed
Team Books
*Death Comes at the End (Canadian Dragon)
*Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (Canadian Dragon) or Kitchen (Lorraine)
It would be great if everyone could give an update about their reading status and if they are planning to read all the books listed above, or if there's any change in the plan. We already have oshizu's update. I will certainly finish Wonder and Of mice and Men. 12 years a slave is a little doubtful for me.
Hello everyone. Ushahi. I will look into the prompts you noted and get back to you this morning. I do have a question about banned book? Were did you move l’attrape-coeurs by JD Salinger ?
I also think that it will be impossible to do all the prompts as we are missing 2 players. I think we should concentrate on the one that are missing 1 book. What do you think?
Leslie wrote: "I am sorry but I had a devastating health issue and am unable to continue"Take care Leslie. I hope you feel better soon.
Lorraine wrote: "Hello everyone. Ushahi. I will look into the prompts you noted and get back to you this morning. I do have a question about banned book? Were did you move l’attrape-coeurs by JD Salinger ? "
It is still there under the banned book prompt. I didn't move it.
Ushashi wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "Hello everyone. Ushahi. I will look into the prompts you noted and get back to you this morning. I do have a question about banned book? Were did you move l’attrape-coeurs by JD S..."
Sorry. My mistake. Too early in the morning ahahahah
Here is my update and questions 1- I am at 40% of Kitchen. It will fill out the team prompt if Canadian Dragon read a second book if not it would fill out Read a book by a new-to-you author- set in a large city- have been translated from any language other than English-featuring a variety of sexualities
2- Read a nonfiction book :Ushashi, I can take care of this one if you prefer not to read Twelve year a slave. I have “The fire next time by James Baldwin” that would fit this prompt. Let me know what you prefer.
3- I also have Blackwater on my iPad. In French. Blackwater I: The Flood (Blackwater, #1) by Michael McDowell | Goodreads Quite sure it could fill out some prompts but need to start the book to know more but for sure it would work for 1 set in on or beside freshwater
4- I also have this book in French on my iPad. I Have the Right to Destroy Myself by Kim Young-ha | Goodreads. Could work for have been translated from any language other than English maybe more but do not know yet.
I will add those books to the spreadsheet.
I will finish Kitchen and another book today.
It would be great if you read for the non-fiction prompt, Lorraine. Something has come up at work suddenly and I'm not quite sure I'll be able to finish this.For Kitchen, it will either go on the team books prompt or the sexuality one (switching with oshizu's Tomboyland for love triangle prompt).
We can play around with where to fit your other books once everyone else updates their status. By then you will also know better where all these will fit.
Ushashi wrote: "It would be great if you read for the non-fiction prompt, Lorraine. Something has come up at work suddenly and I'm not quite sure I'll be able to finish this.For Kitchen, it will either go on the..."
Thanks Ushashi. I will take care of the non-fiction prompt. No worries. You concentrate on your work.
I will definitely finish Stay with Me and The Alchemist. I will most likely finish Stolen Innocence but I'm currently behind where I wanted to be in it.I agree that we won't be able to finish all the prompts so we should make an effort to make sure all the books read will fit a completed prompt. Earlier I highlighted in pink the doubles and triples prompts which we have too few books committed to. We might have to do some rearranging to make sure we can fit everything into a prompt. I'm happy to have a look at this later and see what rearranging might be possible, if we won't be committing any more books at this stage.
That's great, Lilac. Stolen Innocence is on the climate prompt for which we are one book short anyway. So no pressure. We certainly cannot finish all prompts. If everyone reads the books planned as of now, we would have the summer and climate prompt incomplete. I believe we can play around a bit and fit those books with other prompts. The different-colored cover prompt is empty and is an easy one to fill. We can target that one to fit books from the unfinished prompts in the end.
Leslie wrote: "I am sorry but I had a devastating health issue and am unable to continue"Sending good vibes, feel better soon
Hello team. I have completed Kitchen ( Thanks Oshizu for the recommandation, I liked that book a lot) and Blackwater Volume 1: The flood.I received another 2 short books. I'll see if I can add them later. This readothon starts to feel like a marathon ahahahah I need to find my second wind ( hope this is how you say it :-) )
Leslie wrote: "I am sorry but I had a devastating health issue and am unable to continue"Leslie
Sorry to hear that you're not feeling well, Leslie.
Hope you feel better soon!
just a question, instead of twenty thousand leagues under the sea do you want me to go for Every Summer After as a summer book prompt?
Lorraine wrote: ".This readothon starts to feel like a marathon ahahahah I need to find my second wind ( hope this is how you say it :-) )."Lorraine,
Naturally, it feels like a marathon, because it is!
Readathon is a portmanteau of reading and marathon.
You, my friend, have been reading up a storm!
Hello friends!We are a smaller team but we've been doing great!
Spreadsheet Stuff
*Lilac, thanks for adding the pink highlighting! Definitely gives us a clearer picture of what's left.
*To help Ushashi with her final decisions about which books go where, I've also added a "Completed" column to our Completed tab. Yes, I'm a nerd. I'm sure you've figured it out by now.
Don't worry about this column on either the Planning or Completed tab; I'm happy to update it. But feel free to chip in if you wish. :D
*Personally, I've gone back through my finished books and added as many more "possible fit" checks as suitable. Some fits I didn't see until after finish the book.
*For viewing ease, each person's books have been grouped together on the Planning tab. If you're wondering why your column moved, that's why. :D
*To avoid confusion, I've moved Leslie's planning columns to the far right of the Planning tab and removed her possible fits.
Hello teamso happy that some of us are taking take care of 'ze spreadsheet! I love that you guys removed some columns so we have a clearer picture. Each of your adding, changes, comments etc. made 'ze spreadsheet' easier to use! (for me!)
I just finished The Fire next time by James Baldwin which could take care of the non-fiction prompt. What a great book!
If I start anything else today, I will complete it tomorrow. But for now, I will add another 2 books to the planning tab. My total would be 3 left until Sunday midnight. If the 3 books are good it is manageable.
Let me know if you need more information from me.
or if you want me to change a book for another one that would complete a prompt...Like Oshizu I am trying to indicate all the prompts a book could fill so Ushashi can move them around.
Canadian Dragon wrote: "just a question, instead of twenty thousand leagues under the sea do you want me to go for Every Summer After as a summer book prompt?"Canadain Dragon
Yes, in Ushashi's absence, I say please go ahead and start Every Summer After for the summer prompt. I'ved replace Under Her Care for a different book.
Aslo, I've changed the header of your previous 20k Leagues column to Every Summer After. You can check the Possible Fits yourself later.
Thank you!
Ushashi & Lorraine
I've accordingly also moved Lorraine's Kitchen into the Team Book slot on the Tracking and Completed tabs.
oshizu wrote: "Canadian Dragon wrote: "just a question, instead of twenty thousand leagues under the sea do you want me to go for Every Summer After as a summer book prompt?"Canadain Dragon
Yes, in Ushashi's a..."
Oshizu. I also finished La crue. Hope it fits somewhere. I have added another book to the planning.
Lorraine wrote: "Oshizu. I also finished La crue. Hope it fits somewhere. I have added another book to the planning.."Lorraine
Yes, I saw that you finished La Crue.
I moved your column to the Completed tab so Ushashi can decide later where to put it.
My plans for Fri/Sat/Sun Sorry I keep changing my mind but, like all of us, I'd like to help complete as many prompts as possible.
I have replaced two of my three remaining books with shorter books that fill multiple prompts.
1. Finished/River of Teeth different sexualities (bisexual) , new-to-me author, green cover.
For "different sexualities," so I've moved Tomboyland: Essays to the "love triangle" prompt.
This leaves the easier "new-to-you" prompt unclaimed.
2. In progress: The Ballad of Black Tom - big city prompt (NYC). I replaced my previous 352-pg book with this much shorter one.
3. TBR: Agatha Raisin and the Potted Gardener - rural setting prompt. This is already a short book, so I'm sticking with it.
These are my last two books for the readathon. Frankly, I'm exhausted, lol.
oshizu wrote: "My plans for Fri/Sat/Sun Sorry I keep changing my mind but, like all of us, I'd like to help complete as many prompts as possible.
I have replaced two of my three remaining books with shorter boo..."
My firend, you are on fire!
I finished Birth of a Theorem today and will be starting The Loveliest Dead later tonight. I shouldn't have any problems finishing it by Sunday night, but that will definitely be my last book for the readathon. I'm amazed by how much some of you have been able to read during this past week (and how much more you plan to finish this weekend)! I thought I was doing great with 5 haha
Canadian Dragon wrote: "Just finished Death Comes as the End, not my cup of tea but completed"Yay!!!! *throws confetti
Emily wrote: "I finished Birth of a Theorem today and will be starting The Loveliest Dead later tonight. I shouldn't have any problems finishing it by Sunday night, but that will definitely be my last book for t..."Go Emily! 🧡
Amazing work everyone! I am amazed at the number of books Lorraine and oshizu has read in such a short period.I have finished Wonder, which completes the physical disability prompt.
As we stand now, apart from the previous assignments,
>With Canadian dragon's book, the summer prompt will be covered.
> oshizu's books will cover the city/rural prompt.
> I haven't yet assigned Lorraine's La crue to anything. I can move Circe from magic to non-human to complete that prompt. But I'm going to wait to finalize that.
> La digue and Un barrage contre l'Atlantique, should complete the sea/freshwater prompt.
>La mort à demi-mots will complete translated prompt.
> I have found a pretty short Bengali book, which if time permits I will read to finish the climate prompt.
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Inspector Chen and Me: A Collection of Inspector Chen Stories (other topics)The Quarter Storm (other topics)
Every Summer After (other topics)
Every Summer After (other topics)
A Wrinkle in Time (other topics)
More...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5...