UNO Pre Challenge Chat

[Elisabeth]

Hi everyone. This will be my sixth UNO.

Here's my limerick in honour of us, the UNO tragics.

The fans of UNO are thrilled
Our dreams will soon be fullfilled
By hook or by crook
We'll pick up a book
And read till the craving is stilled.

[Melindam]

Ashley, I simply thought to collect the poems in a separate thread, but thanks for the tip. ;)

[Ashley]

I can't decide if I'm excited or horrified!

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

Ashley wrote: "I can't decide if I'm excited or horrified!"

🤭

[Melindam]

Nice one, fellow Limerick-poet, Elizabeth. :)

[Thieryn]

Name - Amy
TC Experience - Limited but I am learning fast!
UNO before? - Nope, but I used to date someone called Uno, does that count? :P
Fav Genres - MM, Urban Fantasy, Dark, Thrillers
2024 Book Goal - Glitterland by Alexis Hall, The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

[Melindam]

Thieryn wrote: "Name - Amy
TC Experience - Limited but I am learning fast!
UNO before? - Nope, but I used to date someone called Uno, does that count? :P"

lol, as long as you have fond memories of them, it does. ;)

Hope you'll have fun with us. :)

[Eldarwen]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Oooh, UNO. Let the colour cover hoarding begin!

I'm looking forward to this one this year.."


This is my most anticipated book of the year as well!! :-)

[Eldarwen]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Melindam wrote: "Ooh, an anthology of UNO verses are in the making. ;)"

Are you... taking note for a ... mini ... because ... oh geez."

😂😂 how fun would that be??!!"



It could be.. arranged... :-))

[Donna]

Hi,I’ve been following the Uno Challenge for a few years but never participated, I love all challenges, team or individual.

📕 Name: Donna
📕 Team Challenge experience: little
📕 Have you joined UNO before?: No but can’t wait
📕 Favourite genres: Historical Fiction is my favorite but like any genres except horror
📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024: the Briar Club by Kate Quinn

[Melindam]

Glad you decided to join us, Donna. :)

[Carrie]

📕 Name - Carrie

📕 Team Challenge experience - I have played a ton of team challenges and typically have loved them all. I usually play only as a team member but have been a co-captain a few times.

📕 Have you joined UNO before? - I've played the last 5 years and am looking forward to playing again 😊

📕 Favourite genres - I love mystery, thriller, nordic noir and horror but will read just about anything!

📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024 - I have a ton on my to read list:

[Elisabeth]

Melindam wrote: "Nice one, fellow Limerick-poet, Elizabeth. :)"

Hi there, Melindam . Thanks 😊

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

It is NYE in some parts of the world already, so here is a special gift to those of you who made it to the pre challenge chat. Early sign up!

:)



Fill out this SIGN UP FORM
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FA...
with a few details and we will start assigning teams the second last week of January. You will need to "check in" to your team thread by January 25 or you will be replaced
If you have problems with the form, please let us know.
===
SPECIAL NOTE: If you signed up last year, but were replaced because the captain did not hear from you, or you withdrew from the challenge, you will need to send a message to the Pixie account as to what has changed this year. Your sign up will get flagged and you will not be placed in a team unless you message us first.
===
You can see if your form responses worked, and check out who else has signed up Here
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...


***********************



◈ Every month when the team gets their monthly UNO hands the Captain will need to work with the team to create a plan for how to read the hands. We will provide you with a spreadsheet to complete.
◈ We would expect the captains to track the teams books
◈ At the end of each month the Captain will need to check their teams books are marked as "read" and meet the page counts and submit their team's info to the moderator to have points confirmed

[Bernadette]

📕 Name: I'm Bernadette from Media, PA - just outside Philadelphia.

📕 Team Challenge experience: Wheel V in 2020 was my first team challenge and I got hooked. That was how I found out about other challenges.

📕 Have you joined UNO before? YES! This will be third year playing. In my first UNO, I ended being co-captain even though I hadn't originally volunteered to be one when our team's captain & co-captain both had to drop out.

📕 Favorite genres: I love historical fiction, literary fiction, mystery, thriller, horror, and biographies (but not memoirs) - I will read almost anything if it sounds good! I'm not much into Sci-Fi.

📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024: not sure but there are plenty in on my TBR list

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

Now I'm all signed up for this year's UNO... I'm wondering what the theme will be.. There hasn't been any hints, has there?

[Teddie]

Oh boy, had to try this too:

Beneath the veil of winter's somber shroud,
By the hearth's warm glow, tales unfold,
A challenge met with books, diverse and proud,
In realms of science, mystery, and gold.

As coffee's essence, rich and dark, imbues,
Each sip a prompt, a muse for tales unknown,
In fantasy, where imagination strews,
Worlds spun in words, their mysteries intone.

By flickering flames, I turn the page's key,
To distant lands where dreams and wonders twirl,
Our team, a fellowship, united and free,
With covers hued in blue, red, yellow, and green swirl.

Transported, we, on wings of prose and lore,
Through winter's haze, our spirits do explore.



what a hoot :)

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

Teddie wrote: "Oh boy, had to try this too:

Beneath the veil of winter's somber shroud,
By the hearth's warm glow, tales unfold,
A challenge met with books, diverse and proud,
In realms of science, mystery, and ..."

Oh and you even got the colours in!! 😊

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Now I'm all signed up for this year's UNO... I'm wondering what the theme will be.. There hasn't been any hints, has there?"

I haven’t seen any yet 😊

[Elisabeth]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Now I'm all signed up for this year's UNO... I'm wondering what the theme will be.. There hasn't been any hints, has there?"

Hi Lisa. I'm signed up too. Hope we're on the same team again but the chances are probably slim given the number of people involved. All fun either way. Happy New Year.

[Lisa - (Aussie Girl)]

Elisabeth wrote: "Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Now I'm all signed up for this year's UNO... I'm wondering what the theme will be.. There hasn't been any hints, has there?"

Hi Lisa. I'm signed up too. Hope we're on ..."

Happy New Year to you to, Elisabeth! Usually the Aussies are on the same team so fingers crossed.

[Lauri]

Yaaaayyy for UNO! I’m Lauri from Hawaii & I love UNO! This will be my 9th year playing. I love the big group challenges, especially with a chatty team. I will read just about any genre, but my favorites are historical fiction, cozy mysteries and chick lit. I don’t really have a particular book I’m looking forward to reading because I want to read them all!
Happy New Year to one and all!

[Melindam]

Teddie wrote: "Oh boy, had to try this too:

Beneath the veil of winter's somber shroud,
By the hearth's warm glow, tales unfold,
A challenge met with books, diverse and proud,
In realms of science, mystery, and ..."

Bravo!! 😆

[Melindam]

Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Now I'm all signed up for this year's UNO... I'm wondering what the theme will be.. There hasn't been any hints, has there?"

Hint, hint .... 😉

[Melanie]

I'm so excited for UNO! This is one of my favorite challenges.

I'm Melanie from New Jersey where I live with my husband and our 2 cats. This will be my 6th year of doing UNO, I look forward to it every year. I am primarily a romance reader (historical, contemporary, suspense) but I also read a lot of thrillers with the occasional urban fantasy or sci-fi thrown in. At the moment my most anticipated release for next year is probably Ghost Station by S.A. Barnes although it's very hard to pick only one.

Hope everyone has a good new year!

[UNO Pixie, Our UNO Helper]

For posterity, your verses will also be collected in a different thread where you can peruse them at leisure. :)

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

But introductions are very welcome in prose as well. Just bring them on in every form you feel comfortable with. :)

[Angela]

Name: Angela from a town south of Chicago IL
📕 Team Challenge experience: I used to do a lot of team challenges about five years ago, but got away from them. I started again with UNO last year, which then led me to Towers and Wheels. So much fun!

📕 Have you joined UNO before? Yes, last year was my first one.

📕 Favorite genres: I love mystery, thriller, romance, literary fiction, historical fiction, memoirs and a bit of speculative/ magical realism (time travel is my favorite trope). Horror is not my thing (too much of a scaredy cat) and most sci-fiction or fantasy intimidate me.

📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024: I have so many I cannot wait to get to but the ones I am most excited about are: The Women by Kristin Hannah, A Love Song for Ricki Wade by Tia Williams, Bye Baby by Carola Lovering, Funny Story by Emily Henry, Just for the Summer by Abby Jimenez, Same as It Ever Was by Claire Lombardo, Come and Get It by Kiley Reid and One Perfect Couple by Ruth Ware

[Sammy]

📕 Name - Sammy
📕 Team Challenge experience - LOTS!
📕 Have you joined UNO before? - this will be my third.
📕 Favourite genres - I enjoy everything except YA and romance, but that doesn't stop me reading them 😆
📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024 - All of them! Definitely planning a LotR re-read though!

[Sammy]

ok, so I 'poemed' the above and was thoroughly amused by the fact the AI went on a lotR tangent! 😆

In the realm of literary games, Sammy's the name,
Facing countless challenges, rising to their fame.
UNO, oh UNO, their third journey awaits,
A testament of grit, a team that never abates.

Through the realms of prose, they've traversed them all,
From fantasy to sci-fi, embracing the mystical call.
YA and romance may not be their delight,
But all other genres, Sammy holds tight.

Unbounded by the confines of earthly time,
In 2024, their eager heart does climb.
A journey they plan, an epic re-read,
Lord of the Rings, a favorite they need.

With Aragorn's valor and Frodo's devotion,
Sammy embarks on this grand emotion.
Trekking through Middle-earth, page by page,
Rediscovering tales, as old as an ancient sage.

From Bilbo's unexpected party 'til Mount Doom,
The wonders of Tolkien's creation shall bloom.
Sammy, the brave reader, they shall be,
Adventuring alongside heroes, wild and free.

So, raise a glass to Sammy's team challenge endeavor,
A literary voyage that they'll savor forever.
In UNO's realm, they've conquered before,
And in this third joining, they'll surely soar.

[Melindam]

Love it, Sammy! 😍😆

[Brittany]

📕 Name: Brittany
📕 Team Challenge experience: Player
📕 Have you joined UNO before? Yes
📕 Favourite genres: Speculative Fiction (all of them), Contemporary, GOOD historical fiction, biography, psych thrillers
📕 Book you can't wait to read in 2024: Lots... I am in the middle of a lot of series

**want to play with Laura..devouring books like crumpets

[Erin]

📗Name: Erin O’Donnell
📗Team Challenge Experience: None.
📗Have you joined UNO before? No this is my first UNO challenge!
📗Favorite Genres: My favorite genres are Art, Fiction, Young Adult, Mystery, and Science Fiction.
📗Book you can’t wait to read: It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover.

[Melindam]

Welcome to the UNO Challenge, Erin.

Hope it will be "the beginning of a beautiful friendship" for you and all who are here for UNO for the 1st time. ;)

[Melindam]

Just a reminder for those of you who have posted in this chat, but have not signed up yet.

SIGN-UPS ARE NOW OPEN.

You can find the link to the form here.

[Kirsten]

I haiku review,
so poetry is my jam.
Been waiting all year!

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

Sammy wrote: "ok, so I 'poemed' the above and was thoroughly amused by the fact the AI went on a lotR tangent! 😆

In the realm of literary games, Sammy's the name,
Facing countless challenges, rising to their fa..."

Awesome 🤩

[Karen ⊰✿, Avaricious Reader]

Kirsten wrote: "I haiku review,
so poetry is my jam.
Been waiting all year!"

🤭😍

[Jennifer]

Hello! I'm Jennifer and I am new to this group and to Uno. I am very excited to try this challenge though. I really love to read almost all genres but am currently into fantasy and magical realism right now.

[Melindam]

Welcome to the Group and to UNO, Jennifer! 🙂

[Melindam]

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎆🎇🧨✨️🎉🎊

Only 31 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes till UNO 2024 starts. 😄🙃

[Eldarwen]

Not that we're counting.. :-p

[Denise]

Melindam wrote: "HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎆🎇🧨✨️🎉🎊

Only 31 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes till UNO 2024 starts. 😄🙃"

When I got this notification, I just saw the 1 hr and 53 minutes part and thought I'd missed sign ups. 😱

[Melindam]

Denise wrote: "Melindam wrote: "HAPPY NEW YEAR! 🎆🎇🧨✨️🎉🎊

Only 31 days, 1 hour and 53 minutes till UNO 2024 starts. 😄🙃"

When I got this notification, I just saw the 1 hr and 53 minutes part and thought I'd missed..."
Sorry Denise. Did not mean to cause panick.

[Melindam]

Eldarwen wrote: "Not that we're counting.. :-p"

Of course not. 😉

[Frida]

the fact that its a leap year as well means we get an extra day of uno. cheers to that 🥂

[Barbara]

📕 Hi, I am Barbara!
📕 I adore the UNO challenge!
📕 Yes, three times!
📕 Historical (Fiction or Non-Fiction), Contemporary, Romance
📕 I am looking forward to re-reading The Chronicles of Narnia

[UNO Pixie, Our UNO Helper]

Frida wrote: "the fact that its a leap year as well means we get an extra day of uno. cheers to that 🥂"

Cheers, indeed. 😉

[Insiyah]

Am I the only one, or has the update progress button disappeared from my main page?

[Ana]

no you're not the only one, i was wondering what happened too...

[Melindam]

You are not the only one. ☹️