2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2023
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Reading Rainbow - Team Red
YOUR PROMPTSRegular Prompt
Read a book with a red cover.
Bonus Points Prompt
Read a book with the word "red" in the title.
Please refer to this website for examples of color shades: https://digitalsynopsis.com/design/co...
Incidental finds for the bonus prompt will not be accepted. Examples such as Redeeming Love, Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption, etc. These would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find for teams other than red. So to keep things fair we will not include titles that are not explicitly about the color.
📕❤️📕 Welcome, Team Red! 📕❤️📕"Red is the ultimate cure for sadness."
- Bill Blass
I'm officially the Team Leader, but each of you is welcome to pitch in with any ideas, suggestions, edits and such, and I am not opposed to an assistant or co-leader if anyone is interested.
I've already added our member names into the Team Red spreadsheet. We can use the first sheet to record our planned reads, and later mark them completed. There are currently enough columns for each member based on sign-up answers. If you need more space as we go, you can insert columns as needed (or let me know if you'd prefer I do it).
We can use this thread to check in, chat, ask questions, etc. I'm excited to seek red covers and title words in my TBR, so I'll be ready to read when the event begins.
TEAM MEMBERS
Brittany - 3 ✔️📁
Karen - 4 ✔️📁
Kat - 5 ✔️📁
Lorelai - 4 ✔️📁
Mary - 3
Naomi - 3 ✔️📁
Robynne - 2 ✔️📁
Shari - 5 ✔️📁
TerryJane (TL) - 7 ✔️📁
✔️ - checked in
📁 - plan entered
TOTAL PLEDGED: 36
Before we start, how would you all feel about introducing yourselves? I'll start.I'm TerryJane. I live in north Georgia, USA, and am a lifelong reader. I fell off the adult book wagon for a while when my daughters were young, but I came back with a vengeance after I found this group around 2015.
I adore this group's reading challenges, and after creating and leading several challenges as a member, I was asked to fill a challenge moderator spot on our mod team. The invitation came at a perfect time for me, as my roles as homeschool mom, Girl Scout leader, and day camp business manager, had all just come to an end.
I participated in one team readathon before -- World Mysteries in 2022 -- and I really got caught up in the excitement of reading with a team.
Aside from my voracious reading habit, I also enjoy family time, musical theatre (viewing, not performing!), word games, needlecrafts, and backyard birding.
Next?
RESOURCESTEAM RED SPREADSHEET
(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...)
This is where we plan our reads and track our points.
QUALIFYING BOOKS
Qualifying book formats include print, ebook, large print, and audiobooks (graphic novels, comics, and books under 100 pages will not count)
POINT BREAKDOWN
📕 Regular Prompt (red cover): 50 POINTS EACH
🍒 Bonus Point Prompt ("red" word in title): 100 POINTS EACH
📃 Pages Read: 1 POINT PER PAGE
🎧 Audiobook Hours Listened: 15 hours = 1,000 pages
For audio hours, please be sure to track the time you spend listening and not the length of the audiobook if you listen at a speed greater than 1x.
READING RAINBOW TIPS & TRICKS
RED COVERS
Books With Red Covers
Seeing Red
Red Hot Covers
RED WORDS IN TITLE
Shades of Red
A Study in Scarlet
SHADES OF RED
Here are some red shades to look for as you plan. These "red" words in the title will make your book count for a 100-point bonus prompt! There may be additional red words in other color charts or lists. Share if you find any extras.
Note: If your book has both a red cover and a red word in the title, count it for the bonus prompt for extra points!
OTHER RED SHADES
More: https://www.colorsexplained.com/shade...
These come from HTML color names, paint companies, etc. There are many, many more.
Bean
Valentine
Ferrari
Fire Engine
Lava
Love
Grapefruit
Chestnut
Chili Pepper
Cranberry
Burgundy
Sienna
Firebrick
Fahrenheit (Thanks, Brittany!)
Mulberry (Thanks, Shari!)
Barn
Salmon
Imperial
Indian
Redwood
Persian
US Flag
Carmine
Burgundy
Maroon
Passion (Thanks, Karen!)
Hello! My name is Naomi, and I am delighted to be part of the Red Team. I hail from the beautiful island of Mauritius, where I have spent a significant portion of my life.During my teenage years, reading was a passion that fueled my imagination and provided me with a sense of escape. However, as life got busier and responsibilities grew, my once-beloved hobby took a backseat. Little did I know that a serendipitous encounter on BookTok earlier this March would reignite my love affair with books in the most unexpected way.
Curiosity led me to give it a try, starting with just one book. But that single book turned out to be a gateway to a world I couldn't resist exploring further. Before I knew it, I found myself devouring one book per week, eagerly immersing myself in captivating narratives and thought-provoking ideas.
Of course, like many of us, I faced the challenge of juggling a demanding work schedule. However, I soon realized that incorporating reading into my daily routine was not only a source of enjoyment but also a much-needed respite from the demands of the outside world. It was during my lunch breaks that I discovered the perfect opportunity to indulge in the pages of a good book. Embracing the solitude that reading offers, I found solace in those moments of escape, allowing my mind to wander through the realms of literature.
Now, as someone who may not be the most outgoing or social individual, I have found reading to be a faithful companion during those moments of introspection and self-reflection. It has become a part of my daily ritual, providing me with a sense of calm and fulfillment that I once thought only social interactions could offer.
Can't wait to start this Readathon with you guys!
Naomi wrote: "Hello! My name is Naomi, and I am delighted to be part of the Red Team. I hail from the beautiful island of Mauritius, where I have spent a significant portion of my life.During my teenage years,..."
Naomi, what a lovely introduction! You have quite a way with words. How wonderful that you rediscovered your love of reading. I'm glad you found your way to our group and our team.
Hiya! I am Lorelai, and I am from North Alabama, USA.I am a teenager, and although I have always loved reading, I never knew Goodreads existed until a few months ago. Since I have joined, I have absolutely loved it and have practically not gone a day without checking it. This is my first read-a-thon ever and I am thrilled to take part in this.
I think Red has got this :)
Hello. My name is Robynne and I live in Ontario, Canada. I did used to read a ton when I was younger, but in the last few years I am lucky if I can read 1 book a week. Which is why I committed myself to reading only 2 books for this read-a-thon.
I also have other challenges to participate in as well - reading, scrapbooking and genealogy - all of which are my favourite hobbies.
For reading, I love to read mostly Non fiction but also some historical fiction as well.
For RED books, I can offer the following
A Lucky Life Uninteruppted by Tom Brokaw - I have the dark red cover edition
The Time of Our Lives by Tom Brokaw - red and white striped cover (like the USA flag)
Warriors Don't Cry by Melba Patillo Beals - red sections at top & bottom over the top of a sepia photo cover. This is about the first African American students who entered a high school in Little Rock, Arkansas after segregation was forced on the schools.
The Last Soviet by J. Robert Kennedy - pretty much an all red cover.
Battle of the Brothers by Robert Lacey - the tension between Prince William and Prince Harry - All Red Background with foreground photo collage
First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies by Kate Andersen Brower - The Lady on the cover is wearing an all RED power suit!!
1 Novel and 5 Nonfiction books!! That should be a big enough choice for mood reading for 10 days!!
ETA -- Edited to Add
for Bonus Points I also have these!!
Red Scrolls of Magic by Cassandra Clare
Campari Crimson by Tracey Andrighetti
The Case of the Crimson Kiss by Erle Stanley Gardner (Perry Mason)
Wine Girl by Victoria James
Scarlett (GWTW) By Alexandra Ripley - 800+ Pages - Sequel after GWTW
Raspberry Truffle Murder by Wendy Meadows.
And that's it for now!!
Here is what I have to offer. This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua
8 Lives of a Century-Old Trickster by Mirinae Lee
Under Lock and Skeleton Key by Gigi Pandian
The Last Flight by Julie Clark
Chameleon by Remi Adeleke
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Extended Stay by Juan Martinez
The Maid by Nita Prose
The Library Book by Susan Orlean
Bonus :
The Cherry Robbers by Sarai Walker
A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle
The Red Tent by Anita Diamant
Lorelai wrote: "Hiya! I am Lorelai, and I am from North Alabama, USA."Hello, Lorelai! With tens of thousands of members living in countries all around the world, it surprises me when I run into a group member from our neck of the woods. Looking forward to reading with you, neighbor. 😉
Robynne wrote: "Hello. My name is Robynne and I live in Ontario, Canada. "Good to see you again, Robynne! You've found a slew of book choices for both the regular and bonus prompts. Wow!
You can add them all to the team spreadsheet if you want, but you may want to narrow it down to a smaller number, and keep the text list over here just in case you end up wanting extras. (I've only been in one team readathon, but the group effort and enthusiasm was contagious, and I ended up reading more than I expected.)
Hi everyone, I'm Kat from West Yorkshire, UK. I have loved reading for as long as I can remember and spend a lot of my free time curled up with a book. I read almost any genre and hope to get through 4 or 5 books during the readathon.I was excited to be assigned to team red as its my favourite colour but it turns out I don't have that many books that immediately jump out as having red covers.
Kat wrote: "I was excited to be assigned to team red as its my favourite colour but it turns out I don't have that many books that immediately jump out as having red covers."Kat?
Do you have any books with a red or a reddish shade (see the colour diagram above) WORD in the title?
Those will be helpful.
TerryJane wrote: "Good to see you again, Robynne! You've found a slew of book choices for both the regular and bonus prompts. Wow! "TerryJane,
I have over 3000 books in my library and many of these are either DNFs or I have never read them at all. Those that I have read is a very low number. Probably less than 600 books I have actually read!!
Someone mentioned "The Library by Susan Orlean".
I'd forgotten about that, but I DO ALSO have that book. Right now it is a DNF. It's not that I didn't like it. I did. I just lost interest. I might add that book back to my list as well.
Also I am a mood reader, and so I would prefer to not state which books I will read for this read-a-thon. This is why I make up such a long list. I hate being locked into a specific book. That feels too much like homework, which makes it a chore!!
So I will add the book to the spreadsheet - AFTER I have read them.
Naomi wrote: "Hello! My name is Naomi, and I am delighted to be part of the Red Team. I hail from the beautiful island of Mauritius, where I have spent a significant portion of my life.During my teenage years,..."
Hi Terryjane! Thank you so much for your compliment. I really appreciate it! As for the readathon, I've got some exciting books I can offer:
1. "How to Kill Men and Get Away with It" by Katy Brent (Big reddish neon orange cover)
2. "Honey & Spice" by Bolu Babalola (Rose)
3. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas (Red)
4. "Good Girl, Bad Blood" by Holly Jackson (Scarlet)
Happy reading!
I've had a look and found these which I would class as red. Should keep me busy for the week. 
My books are in the spreadsheet. Y'all can click over there to see them. I added 7 regular and 7 bonus, all shown as TBR. I know it's overkill, but once the event begins, I will mark them In Progress while reading, then Completed when finished.Kat, welcome! I have Klara & the Sun on my list, too. I'm reading that one this month for both of the monthly challenges, so I'll just plan to do so during the Readathon time frame.
Naomi, in your list above, I would suggest the first two for regular prompts and the second two for bonus prompts, since Rose and Blood are shades of red in the title. Bonus books are 100 points rather than 50.
Good morning!My name is Brittany and I currently live in Fort Myers FL. I made a committment this year to read more books and to stay at home more (I mean, I pay a lot to live there so I should enjoy it more).
I currently teach 11th and 12th grade AP Literature, so I am always sharing my love of reading with students. Since school is out in a couple days, I committed myself to 3 books, but I know I will probably read more. I am excited as this is my first challenge that I have participated in! I am also kind of bummed that I just finished A Court of Thorns and Roses recently because that would have fallen under the "Red" category. Are we allowed to read the same books?
Books that fit this challenge on my TBR list already:
-Red Rising
-House of Earth and Blood (This might be too long to read)
-Lucky Red
-Ripe
-Silver Nitrate
-Never
-The Maid
-Battle Royale
-Scarlet Oak (Does scarlet count?)
-Interior Chinatown
-The Red Parts
-Dark Matter
-Concrete Rose
-Scythe
-Fahrenheit 451
-I, Robot
-Ruby Red
-Blood Meridian, or, the Evening Redness in the West
-A Dream of Red Mansions
-Ruins and Red Sails
-Redeeming Ruth: Everything Life Takes, Love Restores
-The Red Queen
-The Heart of Redness
-Red Harvest
-Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
I am going to start off with the list with the books that I am most excited about reading and go from there.
Brittany wrote: "Good morning!My name is Brittany and I currently live in Fort Myers FL. I made a committment this year to read more books and to stay at home more (I mean, I pay a lot to live there so I should e..."
Good morning, Brittany! Welcome! Same time zone here, but I'm in the mountains rather than at the beach.
I found a lot of the same books in my TBR. I decided not to pursue A Dream of Red Mansions at this time. It would be an audio version from the library, and the edition descriptions are all over the place from around 500 pages to upwards of 2000. I'll tackle that one some other time, I guess.
Yes, scarlet does count. So does wine, blood, ruby, etc. (See the red shades in post #5.)
And, yes, we are allowed to read the same books for this readathon. So if you and I and/or others choose to read Blood Meridian or Interior Chinatown, we will get the points for each team member's reading.
Once you decide on your favorites, plug you choices into our spreadsheet, linked in the top post. The first sheet is for planning purposes, and the second sheet is where we'll track finished books, pages/hours read, etc.
I sent our team thread location to all of our team members via private message with one exception. Mary has her privacy settings locked down to where only her friends can contact her. This is quite a longshot, but are any of you GR friends with Mary?
Hello! My name is Shari and I'm from Southern Ohio. My passion of reading started very young. I didn't live close to the library, but I remember the bookmobile coming to my town and I would ride my bike to where it was parked and pick out my books for the week. Several years ago I started reading before bed to help me de-stress so I could fall asleep better. I'm the type of person who can read multiple books at a time, so I read a hand-held book at home, and read using either the Libby app or Kindle during my lunch hour at work. Sometimes if the book is really good, I will continue reading it at home and skip my hand-held book for the evening. 😊
I have participated in one other Read-a-thon and had a lot of fun with it. I love the Goodreads website and have referred a lot of my friends.
I don't usually make a list of books to read, I will just read whatever I find in my pile with red on the cover.
I like to make cards, scrapbook and other paper crafts. I love to go on crafting retreats with my friends.
Looking forward to this Read-a-thon! Thanks TerryJane for being our leader. It's a lot of work and we appreciate your willingness to lead us.
Shari wrote: "Hello! My name is Shari and I'm from Southern Ohio. "Welcome, Shari! As you're checking your pile for books with red covers, remember to watch for title words such as red, blood, wine, ruby, etc. Those are worth more points. 😊
As for my leading the team, you're quite welcome!
OK I have one more question.Can we start a book before the read-a-thon begins, as long as we finish it after it starts?
This is usually the standard for most other prompts and challenges. And I rely on this - especially for the longer books.
I'm thinking about starting Scarlett this week - several days early and finishing it after the 9th of June. It has over 800 pages - which will give us huge page number points!!
Is this allowed or not?
Robynne wrote: "OK I have one more question.Can we start a book before the read-a-thon begins, as long as we finish it after it starts?"
Good question, Robynne! If you have at least 100 pages left when the readathon begins, you can count it towards a prompt, but only the pages read during the readathon would count for page points, not the entire 800+ in the book.
This info is from bailey's Reading Rainbow Tips & Tricks thread. I'll copy the link into the RESOURCES post #5 for easy reference.
TerryJane wrote: "Good question, Robynne! If you have at least 100 pages le..."Thanks TerryJane!!
Hello all! Sorry I'm late to the party. I'm Karen from Texas and am looking forward to reading books featuring my favorite color. This is my first readathon and it is nice to read everyone's introductions.I've gone through my Kindle Library and found quite a few that meet the requirement with the actual word "Red" in the title. I'll go look at the Google doc to see what I need to post there.
Karen wrote: "Hello all! Sorry I'm late to the party. I'm Karen from Texas and am looking forward to reading books featuring my favorite color. This is my first readathon..."Hi, Karen! Glad you're here. Most of us are new to team readathons, so you're in good company. I think only 3 or 4 have tried one of these before.
When searching your Kindle, remember you can seek other red title words, too, such as crimson, cherry, blood, etc.
How about the color: MulberryI looked it up and it says: The color Mulberry belongs to the color family Crimson.
One of my books has this in the title.
Shari wrote: "How about the color: MulberryI looked it up and it says: The color Mulberry belongs to the color family Crimson.
One of my books has this in the title."
If it's in the crimson family, then I'd say yes.
Someone on Team Purple had a similar question about Blackberry in a title. When we mods discussed it behind the scenes, we found it to be in the violet family, and felt it was a good purple.
I added a few more reds below the color chart in post 5, including Fahrenheit and Mulberry. Also, since she hasn't checked in yet, I sent our teammate, Mary, a friend request. If she accepts me, I will be able to send her a link to this thread by private message. If not, maybe she'll come back to the Readathon folder in the next 2-3 days to find her team assignment on her own. 🤞🏻
Hopefully that works out! Also, is this book cover “red” enough? Or does it need to have more red?
Lorelai wrote: "Hopefully that works out! Also, is this book cover “red” enough? Or does it need to have more red?"Definitely, Lorelai! I'd say that's at least 80% red.
It's almost time! Let's get ready. Or rather, RED-y? 😍Remember, the readathon begins at midnight in your own time zone. Naomi reaches the start time first, then Kat a few hours later. Those of us on the east coast of US and Canada start in just over 24 hours. Karen and Lorelai will follow an hour later.
If you have books in progress that qualify, you must save at least 100 pages to read during the readathon in order for it to count for a prompt.
Mary has not accepted my friend request yet, but she hasn't declined it either, so I'm hoping she'll join us some time tomorrow. Everybody cross your fingers that she'll find us.
Karen and Robynne, could you please put some of your favorite possibilities in the spreadsheet? If you try a book that doesn't suit your mood and you choose to DNF it, we can still count the pages, so don't delete it or mark it complete. Just add another column for the next attempt, and let me know how many pages you read. DNFs won't earn prompt points, of course.
I need to transfer some red audiobooks to my phone tomorrow to be ready for the next 10 days. Looking forward to reading together with y'all! Go, Red!
TerryJane wrote: "It's almost time! Let's get ready. Or rather, RED-y? 😍Karen and Robynne, could you please put some of your favorite possibilities in the spreadsheet?
Done!
Any chance Mary had accepted the request?
Lorelai wrote: "Any chance Mary had accepted the request?"Not yet. *sigh*
Man. Hopefully she will, but I am pretty confident that we will read enough to make up for it if she doesn’t turn up!
Lorelai wrote: "Man. Hopefully she will, but I am pretty confident that we will read enough to make up for it if she doesn’t turn up!"You're an enthusiastic cheerleader, Lorelai! 😁📣🤸🏻♀️
TerryJane wrote: "Karen and Robynne, could you please put some of your favorite possibilities in the spreadsheet?:"Done - I have put down 2 books.
Mary only opted to read 3 books. I'm sure that 3 team members can read 1 extra book each, to cover for her, if she cannot join us. I might be able to read an extra book, but I make no promises.
Robynne wrote: "I'm sure that 3 team members can read 1 extra book each, to cover for her, if she cannot join us. I might be able to read an extra book, but I make no promises."Don't stress yourself, Robynne. It would be nice to have the whole team here, and increase our chance to win, but the most important thing is that we have fun doing this together. And if we DO read an extra three books, terrific!
I'm going to look for some red books in my TBR that are short, but still over 100 pages.
Karen wrote: "Karen and Robynne, could you please put some of your favorite possibilities in the spreadsheet? Done!"
Thanks, Karen!
Y'all may notice changes in the spreadsheet during the readathon.To make the Total Books Completed formula work properly, each book needs to be in a separate column. So, Karen, for example, now has her possible books in eight columns rather than four. This doesn't mean you have to read all eight, Karen.
I moved Shari's Mulberry book from regular to bonus.
I added TBR where no status had been given. Once you start reading a book, change its status to In Progress. When you finish, change it to Completed.
Throughout the readathon, fill in the tracking page with your daily number of pages or actual audiobook hours. If you finished any books, add them the bottom of that page in your column, either as a regular prompt or bonus prompt. Mark Yes under Complete in column L on the same row as your book, as well as the pages or audio hours in columns N and O.
It's not as complicated as it sounds typed out, and is pretty self-explanatory when you look at it. I believe all the rest is calculated.
If anybody reads pages or complete books that don't count for a prompt, we will need to add another section to capture page points only. This would include DNFs and/or books that have no red cover or "red" title words. Does anyone anticipate needing rows for this?
I still haven't loaded red audiobooks to my phone yet. Ack!
What book editions should I use for e-books for page counts? Usually its hardback, right?
ALL my books are E-books
Also Where EXACTLY does the page count go? I do not see a Page Count row?
Are you looking at the Tracking tab, Robynne? It's the second tab, not the one we've been planning on.Actually, Team Red, I'm going to rename the first tab to Planning rather than Completed. Just letting y'all know to alleviate confusion.
HOW THE TRACKING TAB WORKS
Your daily page counts will go on rows 2 to 11 under your name. That would be H2 to H11 for you, Robynne.
Individual finished books should be added one per row beginning at row 29 for a regular prompt book (red cover) and at row 107 for a bonus prompt (red title word).
As an example, if Robynne is the first to complete a regular prompt book, she would put the title in H29, add Yes (for Complete?) to L29, and the page count on N29.
Let's say Naomi finishes a regular prompt book. She will enter hers on the next row, putting her title in G30, then Yes on L30, and her page count in N30.
Brittany finishes a bonus book and scrolls way down to enter her title on B107, Yes in G107, and page count in N107.
We can't add multiple books on one row since we need to put individual page counts or audio hours listened. By the way, do not add both count pages AND hours, even if you listen and read along at the same time.
Karen and Naomi added their books to the tracking tab already. Note that I'm moving some titles so that we have only one book per row.
Anyone else who is sure of your picks, you may go ahead and add them to the tracking tab. Just be sure you add them on blank rows.
Note: The N-column page count won't necessarily match one's daily page count. Say, if someone reads 200 pages on June 9, they may have completed a 150-page book and have a 50-page start toward the next.
I'm happy to answer your questions, Team! I will pass along to bailey any questions I don't know how to answer. Keep 'em coming!
DUH!! Cannot believe how BLIND I am!! LOL Sorry about that!!
I will try and remember to check out BOTH tabs in future!!
OK I need to have the page tracking clarified. I read E-Books ONLY!!!
I am not sure if i can track my pages in an E-books since they are numbered very differently from the Hardback.
I can do chapters, but not pages.
And I do not buy the physical books. so I cannot even look at the table of contents to judge how many pages I am up to judging by how many chapters I have read.
Any ideas?
PS It is now 1 hour till midnight EDT!! And then we can start reading!!!
2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Study in Scarlet (other topics)Klara and the Sun (other topics)
House of Earth and Blood (other topics)
A Court of Thorns and Roses (other topics)
The Guest List (other topics)
More...
Team: Red
This thread is for members of Team Red to use however you wish in relation to the readathon. Your teammates are: TerryJane, Shari, Kat, Lorelai, Karen, Mary, Naomi, Brittany, & Robynne
Here is the link to your team’s spreadsheet, where you’ll be tracking your progress as you go. https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
If you have any questions about the readathon, how to interpret the prompts, how to use the spreadsheet, and so on, ask your Captain or Assistant first. If they don’t know, they can post the question(s) on the Readathon Central thread.
Happy reading! Let’s have a blast during this 10-day readathon!