Feb24 Read-a-Thon: Team Challenge Intro & FAQs

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

It's time for Mardi Gras! And if you know anything about Mardi Gras, you probably know about the *beads*!

This week, from February 10-18, you and your teammates will be collecting beads. You are able to collect as many from each color as you'd like, but make sure you are adding pendants to your beads!

How do you collect pendants? From reading! Your team will earn one pendant for every 1500 pages read and 25 audio hours listened.

PURPLE
- Earn one pendant
- A book with purple on the cover
- A book in which a character gets justice
- A book written by an author whose first or last initial is found in NOLA
- A book that is "spicy"
- A book whose main character's name starts with a letter in MARDI GRAS

GREEN
- Earn one pendant
- A book with green on the cover
- A book set in (or written in) the 18th century
- A book whose cover shows a source of light
- A book where the outdoors plays a significant role
- A book featuring a character who is overcoming a life or death struggle

GOLD
- Earn one pendant
- A book with gold on the cover
- A book set in France
- A book featuring a king or queen
- A book featuring someone who wins at something
- A book with a family drama

PINK
- Earn one pendant
- A book with pink on the cover
- A book that includes a dance or ball
- A book where someone goes to a hotel
- A book in which a character plays a musical instrument
- A love story

SILVER
- Earn one pendant
- A book with silver on the cover
- A book related to mythology
- A book whose cover has someone wearing jewelry
- A book in which a character cooks a meal
- A book with a character whose name starts with a letter in SILVER

BLACK
- Earn one pendant
- A book with black on the cover
- A book that has a food item on the cover
- A book where alcohol is featured
- A book whose main character breaks a law
- A book whose title begins with a letter in BLACK

BLUE
- Earn one pendant
- A book with blue on the cover
- A book set in the southern US
- A book where someone travels to another state/country
- A book with a body of water on cover
- A book whose author has a first or last name starting with a letter in BLUE

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

KREWES


Krewe of Orpheus
CAPTAIN: Sue
CAPTAIN: Kate
Tanu
Bec
Tamara
Joyce
Fee
Meg

Krewe of Bacchaus
CAPTAIN: Sheena
CAPTAIN: JennH
Ira
Ellie
Kat
Anna
Camilla
Joi

Krewe of Endymion
CAPTAIN: LYNN
CAPTAIN: Sophia
Jen K
Sherri
Shelby
Wendi
Kendra
Rachel

Krewe of Muses
CAPTAIN: Emily
Elizabeth
Robin P
Kathy
Kellie Lyn
Sheyanne
Chrissie
Laurii

Krewe of Zulu
CAPTAIN: Nancy
CAPTAIN: Chrissy
Emma R
Jillian
Erica
Caitie
Kathryn

Krewe of Rex
CAPTAIN: Irene
CAPTAIN: Roxana
Robin
Samantha
Katherine
J
Traci
JessicaMHR

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

FAQs

Q: Are there page requirements on the books we read?
Yes! Traditional novels must be at least 100 pages. Graphic novels or books with illustrations must be at least 200 pages. Poetry and anthologies must be at least 200 pages.

Q: I started reading a book before the Read-A-Thon. Does it still count?
A: Yes! As long as you have at least 100 pages left at the start of the challenge, you may count the book.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Emily, you have A book set in France twice, under Gold and Silver. I wouldn't mind personally but that probably wasn't your intention.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Whoops, fixed it. Thanks Robin. Moving too quickly!

[L Y N N]

Hi, Emily! Yet another great listing of prompts and themes for a Team Readathon! You guys rock!! 👍😁👏👏👏👏

Questions:

1) With regard to the PURPLE prompt:
A book whose main character's name starts with a letter in MARDI GRAS
Does this refer to only the MCs FIRST name? Or can we use the first letter of their surname/last name?

2) With regard to the SILVER prompt:
A book with a character whose name starts with a letter in SILVER
Are we to only use the first letter in the character's FIRST name? Or can we use the first letter of their surname/last name?

Those were my only questions as I began populating the spreadsheet!!

Awesome preparation, as usual!!

[Tanu]

Silly question incoming, but what is "spicy", please? Is it specifically romance? Or any book that contains a sex scene?

[Ellie]

Just confirm this isn't like the last readathon, we don't have to finish one colour before moving onto the next?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

LYNN: For the both prompts, you can use either first or last name. I intentionally left it vague.

Tanu: The word spicy is up to your interpretation. It can be romance, sex scene, or you can use it for a character that is spicy, maybe there is a lot of sass and sarcasm... however you choose to interpret the word!

Ellie: That's correct, you can fill the beads as you choose to fill them!

[Sheena]

Hi Emily,
If someone reads a book in a language other than English, would they use the language of the edition they're reading or the English translation to fill the letter prompts?

ie. Swedish title "Det blå mellan himmel och hav" = English "The Blue between water and sky"

PS Thanks for putting this together - this is a fun one!!

[JessicaMHR]

I have a book where the author's name is Silver can that count for having silver on the cover?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Sheena, they should use whichever version they read!

JessicaMHR, yes, I'd say that counts!

[JessicaMHR]

I have one more question... are we reading these in order again or can we work on any color at anytime?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

You can work on any color at any time!

[Nancy]

How much of a book needs to take place in France for the Set in France prompt? In A God in Ruins the MC is in WWII in France but it takes place during different time periods and it's only the war chapters that he's in France.

[Tanu]

Well done, team! It's slow and steady for me - making good headway with A Shadow at the Door :)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Nancy, I think that would be fine to count!

[Nancy]

Great thanks! I have another question :)

For king or queen, what if the book has a character named King?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'll allow it!

[Nancy]

Yay!

[Irene]

Hi, I have a quick question: do beverages count as food items? (For example, if a teapot, glass of water, or cup of coffee are on a book cover?)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yes!

[Irene]

Emily wrote: "Yes!"

Thank you!!

[Irene]

Hi Emily - I think our group's (Krewe of Rex) spreadsheet has an issue with recognizing when we've completed a round of the black and blue tabs ("pendants used" doesn't update when the "earn one pendant" box has text in it). The other color tabs seem fine and do reflect that a pendant has been used when there's text in that box. Could you help us troubleshoot this?
Thank you!

[Roxana]

Irene wrote: "Hi Emily - I think our group's (Krewe of Rex) spreadsheet has an issue with recognizing when we've completed a round of the black and blue tabs ("pendants used" doesn't update when the "earn one pe..."

Oh - I think I fixed it (sorry I didn't see you were asking about it in this thread!). The "pendants used" cell on the Pendant Tracking tab was just missing counting the black and blue tabs.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ahhh I forgot to add those two tabs to the spreadsheet's formula. I'll go fix the other teams now... thanks for pointing this out!

[Sue]

Hi Emily,
For the book title starting with a letter in Black, can we ignore The, An, A??

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yes!

[Allie]

Does this count for " A book with silver on the cover"?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Sure!

[Camilla]

Quick question, as I am not sure everyone is on the same page:
The 18th century prompt is for a book SET in that century or PUBLISHED in that century?

Further, just to confirm that the 18th century is 1700 to 1799, right? :)

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Set in or published in that century, and yes, 1700 to 1799!

[Edie]

Hi Emily,
Once again I missed the signup for this read-a-thon. Would it be possible to post the schedule for read-a-thons for the year, so we can have more advanced notice of WHEN they will occur? Off hand, I would love to have it posted right after where the listopia for the year is posted or perhaps under the calling all spreadsheeters post. Thanks for considering. I LOVED the read-a-thons, but often miss when they are starting.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Edie wrote: "Hi Emily,
Once again I missed the signup for this read-a-thon. Would it be possible to post the schedule for read-a-thons for the year, so we can have more advanced notice of WHEN they will occur? ..."

We are so sorry to hear this, as we want everyone to be able to participate! The Mods have to set it up for weeks when enough of us will be available. Sometimes it's hard to know that ahead of time. It should be listed in the Monthly Newsletter, or at least a notice saying - "Read-a-thon coming soon". We can also broadcast a separate notice to all members, but generally we try not to send too many emails to our members.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Aw I'm sorry you missed it Edie! Like Robin said, we don't usually plan the dates more than a month in advance, as it's hard to know when we will be available (like with Jackie getting a whole baby this week!).

Of course, check out the newsletter, but I also recommend following the Mods Announcements thread, as I usually post a separate post on there when we have the dates and when we open sign ups: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Edie]

Emily wrote: "Aw I'm sorry you missed it Edie! Like Robin said, we don't usually plan the dates more than a month in advance, as it's hard to know when we will be available (like with Jackie getting a whole baby..."

Thanks Emily... and Robin. I appreciate all you do and understand why putting together a read-a-thon schedule for the year is problematic. I did look at the mods notices heading... which currently has pages and pages of notices for 2023. The notice for the read-a-thon is pretty much buried. Maybe a heading for Upcoming events... which lists only the events that are soon to occur. Thanks.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Edie wrote: "Emily wrote: "Aw I'm sorry you missed it Edie! Like Robin said, we don't usually plan the dates more than a month in advance, as it's hard to know when we will be available (like with Jackie gettin..."

Excellent feedback, we will look into that!