Middle Grade Madness! discussion
August MG Reading Challenge 2022
>
Team Zenobia
Mod
1. REFER TO THE RULES
- You can find them here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
- They list every detail from how the points are calculated to information on the bonus tasks.
- If you have a question please check it against the rules and if you’re still looking for an answer please put it to your team captain who will ask me in the Captain's Chat and refer back to you.
2. MAKE SURE YOUR BOOKS COUNT
It’ll be really sad if you spend the time reading a book and then end up realising it doesn’t even count towards the challenge, so always check it counts before starting to read it!
Refer to the rules to remind yourself of what counts as an mg book for the challenge: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Remember you can now check books against the US website: https://www.arbookfind.com/ AND UK website: https://www.arbookfind.co.uk/
If you’re reading a book with a specific task in mind and you’re not sure if your book will count towards the challenge, please check the Task Guidance tab on your team spreadsheet. If it doesn’t help then ask your team captain who will either answer if they can or pass on the question to me on the Captain's Chat and they’ll let you know the answer.
Mod
1. Introduce yourself! Tell your fellow team members what your favourite genres to read are and some things you like to do besides reading.
2. Decide on a team name! Choose the name of a protagonist (or main character) from a middle grade book/series. This challenge has been hosted twice now and here are what past teams have chosen: Coraline, Alice Queensmeadow, Logan Sweet, Lucy Pevensie, Sirius Black, Merlin, and Charlotte, so please don’t choose those!
Hai hai guys! So glad to join this team and challenge :) You can call me Filli/Aya.
My favourite genre is Fantasy and science fiction. but i really don't mind to read any other genre as well. Current favourite right now is Frostheart! (but mm hard to choose just one fav lol)
Beside reading, i love to watch movies or K-drama, or just listening to Kpop overall, oh my, i just said all the things about Korean stuff, pardon me.
But anyway, i cant wait to join the hype woohoo!
Hi I’m Chara pronounce Care-a I also love fantasy and sci-fi.
My hobbies include drawing and knitting or any type of creative crafting.
Don’t know much about K-pop, K-drama or anything Korean. I’m more of a Japanese manga anime weebo, but I’m willing to learn more. You may talk my ear off about the joys of K-Anything
Aya, Have you’ve seen Dramaworld?
As your team captain I promise to rule cruelly and unfairly 😉 My first degree is we shall order our library books right now. For that they may get here when the challenge starts.
Team name suggestions.Arthur Spiderwick The Field Guide
Artemis Fowl Artemis Fowl
Jinx Jinx
Star Butterfly Disney Star vs The Forces of Evil: Deep Trouble: Comics Collection
I would really like something unique. When you hear the name you immediately think of the book.
I'm Abigael.I enjoy reading almost exclusively middle grade fiction - I only rarely read non-fiction or books for other age demographics.
Other than reading, I enjoy learning - I spend a lot of time learning from different groups of people on YouTube.
I have an invisible disability, so do not work and have A LOT of time to do as I wish. Thus, when motivated, I read a lot - last year's MG Read-athon for the month of August, I read 39 books.
I am a "completionist" - I will read as many books as necessary to finish the challenge, in as much as it's up to me/possible for me. Having done this read-athon once before and learning a lot about myself from it, I have strategies and plans for myself before & during the challenge.
Also, my current (very outdated) technology limits my ability to update the spreadsheet. Last year, my team captain & I had an arrangement where I wrote each book title, author, & applicable task(s) on our team chat page and team captain would update the spreadsheet for me. I am aware this might be extra work for whoever can help me with this aspect of the challenge, so I offer my gratitude in advance.
Abigael wrote: "I'm Abigael.I enjoy reading almost exclusively middle grade fiction - I only rarely read non-fiction or books for other age demographics.
Other than reading, I enjoy learning - I spend a lot of ti..."
I'll be happy to help you. I also have an invisible disability and can empathize.
I hope that you'll share your strategies with us. So happy to have you on our team.
Thank you, Chara! I will be happy for your help!I should add that I'm happy to only read 15 books for the Read-athon - I am happy to be flexible & look forward to completing this read-athon as a team.
Having an idea of how many books each person reads in an average month & disclosing any barriers (planned social media absences, vacation plans that will give more or less time to read on certain days, work/school/life commitments that will cause unavailability, etc.) is very helpful. Be sure to only share what you're comfortable with, but if you can say some things to help us communicate & divide tasks, that will help us to all have clear expectations of each other. For example, here's mine:
I read 11-40 books in a good reading month, I have basically no plans for August & very few responsibilities (i.e., no children or other people who expect things from me), I dislike romance, violence, and scary genres and am intimidated by long books and would like to avoid all these as much as possible (but may read them if necessary for completion). My favourite genres are fantasy, mystery, & adventure.
Kadi may offer an additional 50 challenges halfway through if she thinks we're getting through the tasks quickly. I [probably] do not want extra tasks, but I am determined to have our team complete the initial 100 tasks + the bonus tasks (should be 10-12 bonus ones, I think) that we'll receive later on in August.
If possible, it would be a good idea to start collecting a broad range of books: books published a long time ago & recently, short books & long books, the full spectrum of colours on covers/dust jackets, lots of different genres, different styles of writing, author names that match one or more of your initials, different series lengths (duology, quintet, etc.), and different character dynamics (golden trio, absent or present parents, family dynamics/orphans, etc.). Kadi will not give us information about the tasks until the challenge begins & tasks change every year, but there are some plans we can make now. The initial 100 tasks will be in 20 categories which also change every year, but if you know you like certain genres or themes or such, we can start to work those out as soon as we get the list because we will want to divide categories as soon as possible - reading all of the tasks for any one category on the list is extra points for the team.
We will also get some super obscure tasks, so if you are or have people who know how to find, for example, a copy of a book that has an image of a rotary phone on it (one of last year's obscure prompts), be ready when the list is released because it can take a few weeks to find these obscure books.
Goodreads has listopias of a lot of unique books. I'm sure that we can find stuff.Thanks for the tip.
Team name suggestions (I tried to pick ones that would be obviously from a certain book if you've read that book, as someone else on our team suggested):Audacity Jones (by Kirby Larson)
Fred Korematsu (by Laura Atkins)
Twilight Sparkle or Rainbow Dash (yes, MLP has books)
Claudia Kishi (Baby-Sitters Club)
Malsum (Rez Dogs by Joseph Bruchac)
Madam C.J. Walker (Denene Millner)
Okwaho (Peacemaker by Joseph Bruchac)
Uwohali (Talking Leaves by Joseph Bruchac)
Zenobia (Elizabeth & Zenobia by Jessica Miller)
Tom Token (The Black Mage by Barnes & Kirkland)
Another challenge that might come up because we had it last year is to read something someone else in your group read last year. If you haven't updated your "Read" shelf for MG books you read in 2021, that might be a useful thing so that other teammates have options.Also, if you're able to get a copy of the book you recommended and at least one book someone else in our team recommended, that might be useful, too. (I have the book I recommended, and obviously Harry & Percy are both easy for those w/ library e-book apps to access, so thank you to the folks who gave those 2.)
Abigael wrote: "Thank you, Chara! I will be happy for your help!I should add that I'm happy to only read 15 books for the Read-athon - I am happy to be flexible & look forward to completing this read-athon as a ..."
hai Abigael. nice to read your tips! thank you so much.
i feel secured for having both you and Chara.
Woa, the name that stand up the most is Arthur Spiderwick for me.but if i can give some suggestion, it might be:
Luna Lovegood from Harry Potter,
Tobu (the Yeti) from Frostheart
Rozzum (the robot) from The Wild Robot
Sorry, I haven't read most of the books referenced.Also, what about Remus Lupin or Tonks or Professor McGonagall?
Nymphadora Tonks! it's fine for me.how about the other members here?
or should we go with the name of magical creature in Harry Potter series? :D
niffler seems like a cute one
I think that we’re supposed to reference characters not creatures. Let’s check just to be sure.Here’s my top 3
Luna Lovegood
Zenobia
Arthur Spiderwick
Hey I’m Allyson and I love to read middle grade and fantasy !
Hi Allyson! We seem to have a lot of fantasy lovers in this group.
I'm with Filli on Tonks - many other names others have suggested I don't know or I have unpopular opinions about (sorry, Luna!). I don't remember if I like Zenobia as a character but her name is kinda cool. So my ones that anyone else agrees on are:Tonks
Zenobia
Just curious: does anyone know if any of the characters others have mentioned are part of a minority, visible or invisible? I'm thinking racial minorities or disabled or refugees or something? That was the reason for many of my suggestions.
Zenobia is a ghost and a nettlesome one at that. I suggested her for her name not for the goodness of her character.Tonks is a half blood witch who can shapeshift. She marries a werewolf who are considered to be outcasts and had a son with him.
Nymphadora Tonks or Zenobia?Allyson, Aya, (Charlotte) Your thoughts?
Chara: Thank you for the reminder of who Zenobia is.Sorry if my opinions are overly picky - I didn't think choosing a character name would be so difficult. The deadline to choose is approaching, so those with opinions they wish to share should do that soon.
Also, do we need a pronoun check? Since no one else has brought it up, should I assume you are all she/her (everyone's names are traditionally feminine)? I am she/her myself.
Also, my first choice is Tonks. I will settle for Zenobia.
so sorry for not being active these past 2 days, my workload were crazybut now, it's okay.
wow. i will go with Zenobia!
ah! will definitely check elizabeth and zenobia, by Jessica Miller, too for sure.
Fillisita wrote: "ah! will definitely check elizabeth and zenobia, by Jessica Miller, too for sure."So, it seems to be 2½ For Zenobia.
Sunday is the cutoff date.
I've been avoiding all my MG books for about a week now and it's made me pretty sad, so I'm looking forward to Sunday @11:59pm.Also, I'm curious what timezone everyone is in? I live pretty close to the North American (but not U.S.) side of the Pacific Ocean, so I won't be able to start reading until many hours after Kadi posts the list.
Despite living here, I'm actually not sure how eastern North America timezones work - is ADT only in Canada?
me too! not reading middle grade for about 2 weeks, preparing for August loli'm in GMT+7.
so, August 1st is Monday for me
Abigael wrote: "Despite living here, I'm actually not sure how eastern North America timezones work - is ADT only in Canada?"I think so.
GMT-3
August 1 is also a Monday for me
Mod
Your team spreadsheet has been sent to all of you via email invite, so please check your junk mail. If you don’t see the invite soon then please let your captain know or message me privately and I can send you an invite again or we can try with another email if you want.
The spreadsheet has 4 tabs at the bottom:
1. MG Challenge – The official challenge sheet. Points calculate themselves here so please don’t change any of the points coding!
2. Tracking Sheet – An informal tracking sheet for everyone’s book details.
3. Task Guidance – Specific and helpful guidance for individual tasks. Please check this first before asking your captain or me questions.
4. Example of MG Challenge – An example to show you how to fill in the first tab.
Your team captain is in charge of the MG Challenge sheet (the first tab) so please leave it to them to fill in the official challenge sheet unless they’re fine with you doing it too. The tracking sheet is for everyone, fill it in as you please!
For page numbers please either:
1. Use the number in the goodreads’ book entry OR
2. Use the number in your own copy
(They shouldn’t be too wildly different anyway)
Please wait for August 1st in your time zone before you start reading books for the challenge!
The bonus tasks will be added to your spreadsheet on August 15th.
And happy reading!😊
Some book ideasFor memory lost (I have already read them) The Son of Neptune The Hidden Oracle
Question mark titles. https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Clue hunt The Westing Game The Maze of Bones
Musicals https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Diary https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Disney https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
I would like to claim the following Categories on the spreadsheet: 1, 3, 8, 18.I'm also considering claiming the following Categories but will not commit yet: 5, 14, 19.
By claiming the category, I plan to do all 5 tasks in the category on my own. Suggestions for books that fit the task are welcome.
Works well for me because I want 2, 4, 11, 15.
Abigael wrote: "I would like to claim the following Categories on the spreadsheet: 1, 3, 8, 18.I'm also considering claiming the following Categories but will not commit yet: 5, 14, 19.
By claiming the category,..."
For Category 3 Number 15. I suggest The Loner
and for Category 19 Number 95 https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
is it a must to take 1 category for 1 person?i can try to take one task in the category you guys didnt mention above, from time to time.
Fillisita wrote: "is it a must to take 1 category for 1 person?i can try to take one task in the category you guys didnt mention above, from time to time."
Here's the thing. It's 10 points per task is if complete the category by yourself. If it's more than one, then it's 5.
2, 4, 11, 15. Are categories that I can complete by myself for max points. Though I/we don't have to
Book recs. A Small Zombie ProblemForce of Fire
The Splintered Light
Half a World Away
A Portrait of Pia
On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness
Chara: I don't want any of those, so you could have them without complaint from me. Hooray for opposite interests! 😀
Filli: There's no requirement to read more than one applicable book for the whole month (less than one book obviously isn't participating in the challenge). I was eager to claim the ones I'm interested in because I didn't for last year's challenge and it was not a good move for me or my team. Someone else can help you fill any category/ies you aren't able to finish yourself. (There are actually several tasks I'm interested in but I refuse to read certain topics because they are much too stressful for me, so I can't commit to the category.) Alternatively, you can pick one category & finish it throughout the month if you wish.
Chara's Craftsations wrote: "Fillisita wrote: "is it a must to take 1 category for 1 person?i can try to take one task in the category you guys didnt mention above, from time to time."
Here's the thing. It's 10 points per ..."
OMG Yes! i forgot that rule. but i will try to read some books in other categories. will tell you more in this group.
Also, i have suggestion for category 15, task 5: Otherland by Louie Stowell
Was anyone around in 2019? Can you confirm that we only have 6 books to choose from for Category 8, Task 1? Also, can anyone confirm that the book Drama that was an event book in 2019 is by Raina Telgemeier? Thirdly, am I on the right track?
Chara: Smekday is an AMAZING choice for many of the prompts on this list! Great choice! I'm not sure if we're allowed to have different people reading the same book for different tasks, so I'm curious if you're planning to read this one?
i'll try category 13 for task 4 and 5 first.but when you guys want to read the book that the prompt is in category 13, please do that. i dont mind to tackle the category together with other friends too hehe
because i just have time to read in the night-time, probably, i wont read as many as Abigael and Chara. But, for sure i'll try my best to read as many as i can too :))
Abigael wrote: "Was anyone around in 2019? Can you confirm that we only have 6 books to choose from for Category 8, Task 1? Also, can anyone confirm that the book Drama that was an event book in 2019 is by Raina T..."yesss by Raina Telgemeier.
is it 8 instead? because December have 2 book of the month haha
Middle Grade Madness!
Books mentioned in this topic
A Destiny of Dragons (other topics)Tune: Still Life (other topics)
Olu's Lions (other topics)
Olu's Lions (other topics)
The 12 Dares of Christa (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sarah Mlynowski (other topics)Geronimo Stilton (other topics)
Bill Myers (other topics)
Zillah Bethell (other topics)
J.K. Rowling (other topics)
More...
Members:
1. (CAPTAIN) Chara - The True Meaning of Smekday by Adam Rex
2. Allyson - Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
3. Fillisita - The Shark Caller by Zillah Bethell
4. Charlotte - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
5. Abigael - My Life as a Toasted Time Traveler by Bill Myers
*Please take note of your assigned numbers, they may be important for some of the tasks*
(Each person’s name is linked to their challenge bookshelf and the book listed beside their name is their mg book recommendation)
The spreadsheet containing all the tasks will be shared with every team member via email invite on August 1st: (countdown: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...)
I understand that may make it a bit hard to plan your first few books if you need to borrow them from a library in advance, but the tasks are many and wide enough in criteria that you can read any book at first and easily apply it to a task.