Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
Team Challenge - Book Games
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District 7
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I've got Malevolent Seven, but haven't found Salt and Broom yet so might be skipping that one. I'm really not great at reading to schedule along with everyone else which makes the BOM tricky for me.
Teddie wrote: "@Vicky - I know you and I have played on a team together before, but I can't remember which challenges :) How is Rocky dealing with the young pup Daisy? We recently introduced a feisty tuxedo kitty..."Rocky is an old man now and not getting around as easily as before, but he's good with Daisy's playfulness 99% of the time. He's had a few "leave-me-alone" barks/growls and 2 (I think) "leave me alone or I'm going to kill you" more than bark/growl moments...thought he was going to kill her if we hadn't been there. But overall she's learning when she can or can't bother him. He likes to play too but not as rough as she does. lol
BTW, I am so very envious of the UK & US library systems, piecing together the info from team members in all these challenges.I am "starving" in Hungary, as books I am interested in mostly never find their way here either in English or Hungarian, or if they do, it is with a delay and mostly with sloppy translations.
I spend more money on books than on cosmetics, shoes and dresses combined and I am very lucky I can afford them. :) I have a kindle + Audible subscriptions. If I'd like to get something in print in English, I usually order it via a HU bookshop.
They are awfully nice at my local library, but whenever I venture there and tentatively ask for a book, they are just shaking their heads at me in wonder (and probably in despair). :D They don't have e-books or audiobooks at all.
Bookshops are better supplied with most of the bestsellers getting here of course (Fourth Wing + Iron Flame for example are a huge success here as well at the moment), but I am not willing to pay out hard cash for bad translations.
Teddie wrote: "@Lucy - I'm with you re: an unwieldy TBR - seems like every time I try to go in and clear books out, I'm like "Oh, but I do want to read that ONE of these days." At this point, I just leave it be f..."@Teddie & Sophie, weirdly enough it wasn't much of a thing. I adopted him when he was about 8 months old and I wanted to give him some physically active enrichment beyond toys, so he wouldn't get/bored/destructive/anxious. One day I just put a harness on him. He didn't fight it much, so I took him out to walk in my tiny backyard. Once he decided that was fun, we started walking around my little townhouse community. There's a big live oak across from the activity center that he loves to climb (I don't let him go far). He also likes to chase lizards. In short, he now begs to go outside...loudly. He's very vocal.
ETA - We have quite the reputation in the complex. There are a lot of college students living here, so we get rubbernecked on the regular when new people move in.
@Ushashi, I have not heard about bookstagram. I'm happily scrolling through it right now.
@Lauri, I'm a multiple book reader too. Currently have two in process. I also tend to have multiple challenges going, so I have to put reminders on my phone. (Which I just did for this one.)
@Cecily, I'm envious of all the furbabies you have! I keep thinking I should get Bagheera a companion, but he's a bit of a bully with other cats (he thought it was fun to charge other cats in the shelter, and was bewildered when they didn't like it).
@Suzanne, Peru!!! How exciting! I've been no farther south than Cuernavaca, Mexico (beautiful city by the way).
@Vicki, you are one busy person with all those family members! I see you're an avid pet parent too. I bet you have the best holiday get togethers!
@Melindam, I've always had a fascination with Budapest. I would love to visit there one day. I'm hoping one of my international library organizations will decide to have their annual conference there. Good for you, getting your son started on GR.
Melindam wrote: ":D :D :DYusss, we are the Entwives."
I'm embarrassed to say, I had to look this up. * Shamefacedly hands in my nerd card.*
Mod
I am starved in Hungary, as books I am interested in mostly never fin..."
If you decide you need a UK address to get kindle books, let me know.
Library systems seem so variable even within countries, but I feel v lucky that mine does ebooks and I can normally find something I want to read. It is better for the kids.
I bet they find it fascinating to see what you come in and ask for (and to then see if any of those appear within the next 6-12 months).
Mod
Aww that sounds like a fantastic way to keep him active and out of trouble if he's mainly an indoor cat. I suspect that it would take a while for people in our area to adapt if someone had a cat on a lead rather than a dog.
Melindam wrote: "BTW, I am so very envious of the UK & US library systems, piecing together the info from team members in all these challenges.I am starved in Hungary, as books I am interested in mostly never fin..."
I totally understand your point now after moving to US. The library system here is just wonderful. I never found a library in India that stored all the kinds of books I wanted, and they barely have any stock for audiobooks. I had to buy nearly every book I ever read (not that it's a bad thing to have happened).
@Marty, yes, I keep very busy with my large family...always something! This year there are 3 graduation ceremonies: Kindergarten, 8th grade, and high school. lol I have 4 months that we have 4 birthdays, only 1 birthday in May and July, but 2-3 in most other months. But my BIG one is October with 7 and December with 6. That doesn't include all of their better halves, for those old enough. lol
@Stephanie, thanks for being our captain. I feel like I've played a version of this challenge before, but if I have it's been a while so it'll take me a minute (or two) to know what I'm doing. I think it's so fantastic that you're a kitty foster mom! We need more animal fostering/rescuing. I always own dogs and it's only been in the past year that I've gotten to where I'm not afraid of cats anymore. My aunt had a MEAN gray alley cat, the only cat I was ever around, so I never liked them until my daughter got 2 a little over a year ago for my two youngest grandkids, Lily (now 6) and Juju (now 4) and over time I have learned a lot about cats. They both like me and I am not afraid anymore of them, but still iffy on unknown cats. @Melindam, I've seen you all over the place! (In GR, that is.) I've always wanted to play with you and I feel like we did play together in a challenge or maybe 2 but not a lot! I know you're a good player and that you're an excellent participant! If I remember correctly, you live in Belgium, right? I'm glad you have the means to get the books you want. I use my public library, Libby, Scribd, and Amazon's Audible for my ebooks and audiobooks. It's so good to have plenty of resources. What I can't get through one of those nor wait for a book I really want, that's when I buy books. Plus, I subscribe to BOTM so I still get hardback books but I don't read nearly as many of those as I do ebooks. Glad to have you on our team!
@Sophie, a doctor? Quite impressive! And I have always wanted to see London and the guards there. I only know what I hear and I've learned that's not always very reliable. Hopefully one day I can make it there.
@Lucy, I'm a mood reader too IF I don't have a book I have to read for a challenge but that's not very often! lol I do love just deciding on what I feel like reading, though. I feel like I probably should know or be able to figure it out but I don't know...what does SFF mean?
@Suzanne, one thing we don't have in common is a math brain! lol I used to tell my students something like, "Get into groups of 4" as I held up 3 fingers and then realized what I did and I'd say, "That's why I don't teach math." lol I taught seniors for 5-6 years and they had to do senior projects out in the community, and their papers were were 20%. What I could never wrap my brain around is WHY their grade would sometimes go down AFTER they turned in their papers. I always felt like if they had a zero score then why wouldn't it go up? One of the math teachers, Brad Garletts (who had previously been a student of mine) came into my class and showed me on the board how it worked. All I can say is thank goodness for programs because I never did get it! lol
@Ushashi, another brain in our group! YAY! (Not to say you aren't all brains, though!) I feel such admiration for people who have careers like yours and do such important work in fields like cancer. I hope you enjoy Boston. Just curious if you moved there alone or do you have family who also live there or moved with you? I'm glad you now have library access to so many more books! I have one library that I have a library card for but live too far away to get my physical books from...darn it! They allow 100 books for checkout and it's 3 stories high. It's the San Francisco Public Library. I only get their ebooks and audiobooks, but they still allow 25 at a time so that's not too bad. Good luck finding all the books you ever hoped to find!
@Cecily, I went to the most beautiful place ever last summer and I just loved it there! I went to Canmore-Banff, Canada! The waterfalls were the most beautiful I've ever seen! My daughter and her girlfriend went with us and they loved it so much that they went back in December to see it during winter. The Rockies there were so gorgeous! I will definitely go back! There were many things we liked about the communities there as well. You are a lot more brave than I am to have so many animals, but that's very cool.
@Lauri, aloha! Which island to you live on and were you born in Hawaii? We've been to Kauai several times, I was in Oahu WAY back in 1973. We've also been to the big island and Maui both once during the same summer. Thankfully we went before the volcano erupted and went on a tour to see it and we got to see it at night through a telescope and wow, it was beautiful to see! But so sad about the eruption and what some people went through. We miss Kauai, especially...so much greenery!
I think I responded to everyone, but if I missed you it wasn't purposeful. I did want to connect with each and every one of you, so hopefully I did. I'm so excited to play and get to know all of you a lot more. We have quite a diverse group of people, which I love. I've always loved different ethnicities, traditions, cultures, religions, etc. I find it all so fascinating. I happen to be Christian and I used to tell my students that one of my very best friends was Buddhist. All that matters to me is a person who's good-hearted, kind, respectful, and who cares about others. And, you certainly all sound like you're nice and caring people, too. :)
Happy MAY the FOURTH to all! Watching my fill of Star Wars movies in lieu of book-reading today… A good time was had by all!
Happy May the 4th! Lauri, which SW film is your favourite? :)
I love the original trilogy b/c of happy childhood memories (had a huge crush on Luke as a 9-year-old ;), don't like the Anakin Skywalker movies at all, and from the "new" movies Rogue One is the favourite. :)
Marty wrote: "Melindam wrote: ":D :D :DYusss, we are the Entwives."
I'm embarrassed to say, I had to look this up. * Shamefacedly hands in my nerd card.*"
😅 No worries, it was just an honest mistake, Marty. 🤭
Marty wrote: @Melindam, I've always had a fascination with Budapest. I would love to visit there one day. I'm hoping one of my international library organizations will decide to have their annual conference there. Good for you, getting your son started on GR
Marty, fingers crossed you can come and visit some time. It is a great city with a very good public transport system.
There are some gorgeous Library buildings, too. 😊
This is one of the most famous, but there are some others as well. :)
Melindam wrote: "Happy May the 4th! Lauri, which SW film is your favourite? :)"
Because I am *cough* OLD I love the original 3 films best. Nothing like the very 1st one! I was in high school when it came out and somehow our drama teacher arranged a field trip for us all to meet at a theatre with a huge screen & then be released directly from there on our own! This would definitely NOT fly today! But it was so thrilling to watch! Episode IV is on right now & I don’t remember anything so far (about half an hour in.) at least I recognize most characters!
Sophie wrote: "If you decide you need a UK address to get kindle books, let me know.Library systems seem so variable even within countries, but I feel v lucky that mine does ebooks and I can normally find something I want to read. It is better for the kids.
I bet they find it fascinating to see what you come in and ask for (and to then see if any of those appear within the next 6-12 months)."
Thank you, Sophie. I may try it one of these days, if I figure out how it works. 🥰
Some books may appear in 6-12 months as you say, but most of the books I'd like won't really find their way to Hungary, but that's b/c my taste mostly is not mainstream enough. 😉
The bestsellers, especially YA/NA, Romance, Mystery/Thrillers and Sci-Fi do get translated quickly enough, but these are the ones I am less interested in.
But I am always on the lookout for SciFi as my husband's fav genre and I am reading Project Hail Mary in Hungarian as I bought it for him on publication.
One of my first books for the challenge will be
. It's quite a doorstopper and got translated into Hungarian (one of the more "academic" publishers had it translated) and I bought it for my mum as we both love Alan Rickman (she loves him as Colonel Brandon, I love him as Colonel Brandon and everything else🤭 ).
Lauri wrote: "Melindam wrote: "Happy May the 4th! Lauri, which SW film is your favourite? :)"
Because I am *cough* OLD I love the original 3 films best. Nothing like the very 1st one! I was in high school whe..."
The original 3 are the BEST. You are not old, you just have very good taste. 😉
Vicki wrote: "@Melindam, I've seen you all over the place! (In GR, that is.) I've always wanted to play with you and I feel like we did play together in a challenge or maybe 2 but not a lot! I know you're a good player and that you're an excellent participant! If I remember correctly, you live in Belgium, right? I'm glad you have the means to get the books you want. I use my public library, Libby, Scribd, and Amazon's Audible for my ebooks and audiobooks. It's so good to have plenty of resources. What I can't get through one of those nor wait for a book I really want, that's when I buy books. Plus, I subscribe to BOTM so I still get hardback books but I don't read nearly as many of those as I do ebooks. Glad to have you on our team!"Thank you for your kind words, Vicki. 🥰
I think we were on teams on "For Love of a Book" and "Hooked on Books" challenges, but not in NBRC challenges or in UNO.
I am from Hungary, but work for the European Commission that have their HQ in Belgium. Our Agency is situated in Budapest.
Usually I get books either on Audible or on Kindle, and if I fall in love with any of them, then I try to get the print book. Otherwise my husband and I are constantly fighting for bookshelf-space, so I tweaked my printed books 2 years ago, when we had our house renovated and gave books that I did not like or knew I wouldn't read again, to charity.
Marty wrote: "I'm a multiple book reader too. Currently have two in process. I also tend to have multiple challenges going, so I have to put reminders on my phone."I think as book challenge addicts, all of us are bound to be multiple readers. :)
As you, Sophie and Lauri wrote, I have also at least 2-3 books on the go: 1 on Audio, 1 on kindle and 1 in print. 😊
Do we have some kind of strategy for the game? I'd like to plan a TBR of some sort but not sure how to focus my choices
Vicki wrote: "@Stephanie, thanks for being our captain. I feel like I've played a version of this challenge before, but if I have it's been a while so it'll take me a minute (or two) to know what I'm doing. I th..."I feel like I try to choose the books for a challenge that I'm in a mood for. To be fair, sometimes the mood is only 'something I can listen to on audiobook' :D SFF is sci-fi and fantasy.
Cecily,I also like planning some of my books ahead and pick the other half on a mood. :)
I am sure our captains will let us know, but the general tasks are giving us quite wide opportunities and encourage creativity, so I am sure that we can find ways to fit our books in whatever we are reading.
I guess the mini challenges will require a more targeted approach. :)
Cecily wrote: "Do we have some kind of strategy for the game? I'd like to plan a TBR of some sort but not sure how to focus my choices"Yes, should we be looking at a good mixture of books for each category that we could possibly read for them? Or is it more read how you want at first and then see what category more people are going towards?
It seems that the books I am planning to read will fit either all 4 or at least 3 of the options. :)I am planning to list all options and leave it up to the captains to decide which category to deploy them. :)
I’m just going for a numbers approach. I have 80+ books checked out from the library right now. We have no limit to the number of books we can borrow! I have about 4 more on Libby. We have a limit of 10 there… I think my first books will be Murder and Mamon & The Pursuit for quick easy reads! I have a pink cover with the first & lots of weapons in the 2nd plus they’re both generally hilarious!
Okay! It is pretty broad. I am going to get out a notebook and everything in case things come up in the book.I'm an audiobook listener mostly so I need something class when I hear something.
Mod
It's the first time this challenge has been done so it'll be interesting to figure out the best tactics and Stephanie, Teddie and I are open to ideas!
Makes sense, Sophie, but I am OK with whichever way you captains choose. You are welcome to play tetris with my books. :)
Thought so! I know the mini game in June will change things but it does really look like many books can fit more than one category.
Mod
I'm an audiobook listener mostly so I need something class when I hear something."
I can understand needing that! I never can remember stuff from audios when I need it.
@Melinda - Drool!!! That interior is stunning. Love all the beautiful wood on display, especially the ceiling and spiral staircase.@Cecily - I was wondering about strategy too. Lord knows, I have plenty of books to choose from. I have a couple of TBR-tamer type challenges going in other groups, I should check and see if the titles on those lists will work for our game.
@Lauri - I want your library. East Baton Rouge Parish Library has a 20 book max check-out policy (print books, that is).
@Marty Bookstagram is soo addictive!@Vicki That's so sweet of you! I actually moved here alone, but Boston has been kind so far (apart from the winter temperatures). I want visit SF even more now to see the library.
And we are onto the planning stage! I love it. Shifting through my tbr for prompts are so much fun.@Captains, is there any over-reading penalty this time?
@Vicki - Sorry! I missed your question earlier. Yes, I was born & raised on the island of Oahu. I live in the small town of Kaneohe. It’s kinda a suburb of Honolulu. We’re about 13 miles away from the state capital of Honolulu. I joke that I will live & die in a 5-mile radius! Only it’s not a joke. I’ve never been out of the country except for Mexico when I was very young. I hope to see Europe before I die! Everyone dreams of visiting Hawaii & we just want to leave!
Mod
@Captains, is there any over-reading penalty this time?"
Nope, just read to your heart's content.
Mod
If you make it to Europe there will be plenty of friendly book people ready to offer recommendations of places to visit.
Apologies if this is already included in the Rules and I'm just blind, but when do we start on the 15th?
Mod
OK, book question time, because obviously my TBR needs possible boosters, right? 🤭 - What have been the most memorable reads of 2024 for you so far?
- If you could recommend only 3 books from your 2023 read shelf, which books would those be? 😊
Hi Good Morning Guys,I'm Maritza, I live in NYC where the weather is cloudy and cool.
I love team challenges as they motivate me to complete more tasks and read more. My reading has been down this year and I just can't seem to get into a reading mode. My time has been more spent on Tik Tok watching.
I hope to be able to contribute and I will generally read any genre to complete a challenge but have been more into thriller / mysteries lately.
Mod
Informal buddy reads will be held for the original trilogy of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. One informal buddy read for each month of the challenge.
Informal buddy reads means there will not be formal discussion questions as with our groups BOMs.
However, in order to earn the 20 points for participation, players need to post at least 3 posts that provide a reasonable contribution to the discussion of the book. You do not need to provide a school worthy book report, but the posts need to be more than "Katniss is awesome" or "I love this book" to count for participation points.
The Buddy Reads for each book will run as follows:
The Hunger Games: May 15th to June 15th
Catching Fire: June 15th to July 15th
Mockingjay: July 15th to August 15th
Mod
I'm Maritza, I live in NYC where the weather is cloudy and cool.
I love team challenges as they motivate me to complete more tasks and read more. My reading has been down this..."
Project Hail Mary has been memorable so far as was In Five Years (with its nice yellow cover).
Starter Villain tops my list from last year. John Scalzi at his snarky crazy best.
Mod
Sophie wrote: "Hunger Game Buddy ReadsInformal buddy reads will be held for the original trilogy of the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. One informal buddy read for each month of the challenge.
Informal buddy ..."
I will most probably re-listen to Books 1 and 2. Maybe this time round I can finish Book 3. I dnf-ed it first time when I tried.
Oh that's cool about the informal buddy read! It has been quite some time since I've read that series.Off to look at my read books so I can answer that great favorites question.
For 2024: I read the God King Chronicles series starting with
and really enjoyed it. It was a buddy read with another group, and I think everyone in the group liked the series a lot.
such a good series start! I'm also loving so far (30% done) of
. I didn't think I'd like it - the cover looked a bit silly to me - but the audio version is excellent, and I think the snarky asides would work in text as well. Hopefully it can continue to be enjoyable the rest of the way through :)For 2023, I'd recommend:
11/22/63
Remarkably Bright Creatures
and Orphan X (cheating I know - but I read the most recent up to that time2 books of the series in 2023)
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For those of you that do decide to travel to District 1 when the challenge starts, please remember that Sammy is aiming to distract other teams to give hers an advantage, so please don't dally too long."
Mischief? Distraction? I'd call slander!
...
But you're not wrong 😆