Fall 2024 Read-a-Thon: Team Challenge Intro & FAQs

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

We've reached the fall, and that means it's time to go back to school!



For this team challenge, you will be tackling all the major school subjects, with the goal of making all As!

Completing one prompt in each category will increase your grade by one letter. Here's how the grades are given:
Completing one prompt for the subject: F
Completing two prompts for the subject: D
Completing three prompts for the subject: C
Completing four prompts for the subject: B
Completing five prompts for the subject (plus required pencils): A

Pencils can be earned by reading 1500 pages or listening to 25 hours of audiobooks as a team.

Literature
Two Pencils
A book about books
A book featuring a student, teacher, writer or librarian
A book that is a retelling
A book that has been translated into English
A book with a title of 5 words or more

Math
Three Pencils
A book with a geometric shape on the cover
A book with more than one author
A book with over 500 pages
A book with under 200 pages
A book with multiple points of view

Science
One Pencil
A book involving nature
A book involving a person in a STEM field
A science fiction book
A book with an animal on the cover
A book with a plant on the cover

History
Two Pencils
A historical fiction book
A book published at least 50 years ago
A book featuring a real historical figure
A memoir, biography or autobiography
A book taking place during a war

Geography
One Pencil
A book set on an island
A book written by an Asian author
A book set in the southern hemisphere
A book involving travel
A book containing a weather event (storm, quake, blizzard, etc.)

The Arts
One Pencil
A play, screenplay, or book of poetry
A book featuring a protagonist who has a career in the arts
A book with all three primary colors on the cover (red, blue, yellow)
A book whose title starts with a letter in EGOT
A book containing a map or illustrations

Recess
A book featuring sports
A book featuring a hobby
A children's book (can be less than 100 pages)
A young adult book
A humorous book

THE TEAMS
The Tigers
Captain: Sue
Captain: Ellie
Fee
Bec
Ira
Jen K
JessicaMHR

The Lions
Captain: JennH
Captain: Kat
Liz
Shelby
Tamara
Rosalind
Rachel

The Bears
Captain: Sheena
Captain: Kim
Sherri
Joanna
Alisa
Abbie

The Knights
Captain: Kendra
Captain: Erica
Allie
Robin P
Sheyanne
Kathy
Roxana

The Eagles
Captain: J
Captain: Ciara
Nancy
Jillian
Emma R.
Isabella Taylor
Traci

The Cardinals
Captain: Emily B
Captain: Katherine
Elizabeth
Edie
Andrea
Samantha
Denise

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

FAQs

[Allie]

Under Recess, what are the parameters for a children's book? Is there a minimum of pages?

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

I would say if "childrens" is one of the main genres on the book's page on goodreads that would count.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

And for a children's book, it can be less than 100 pages (which is the requirement for all other prompts).

[Joanna G]

So for math's under 200 one, does that mean 100 - 200?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yep!

[Kendra]

Does the poetry book still need to be over 200 pages?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yep!

[Emma R.]

For a historical fiction book, does a book with a fantasy historical genre count?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yes, anything that has been tagged as historical fiction will count.

[[deleted user]]

For those of us who are new to the group and our first time doing this challenge, how does this work?

Do the captains assign who reads what prompt or does each reader say they will read a particular prompt?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Welcome! You can work within your group to strategize. Generally, I've found that people kind of plan what they are going to read, put it on the Plans tab on their spreadsheet, and then those who are more prolific readers may fill in any holes that are missing. The goal is to get you reading books you want to read, so we leave it to you to decide what you pick up and how it can benefit the team!

Only requirement is that a book must be at least 100 pages long (200 pages for poetry and graphic novels), OR you must have at least 100 pages to go when the read-a-thon begins. Other than that... it's up to your discretion!

[[deleted user]]

Thanks Emily! This helps a lot.😀

[Joanna G]

I asked in my team thread, but will check here as well - do I start counting pages read at midnight my time, or when I wake up tomorrow?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

It starts when you wake up on the first Saturday, and ends when you go to sleep on the last Sunday. We found this was easier than saying a specific time for start and finish.

But if you're up at midnight, you can get started lol.

[Jillian]

Emily, can you make sure I didn't mess up anything on the Eagles spreadsheet. We have a random sheet 2 and sheet 3. My internet kept disconnecting while I was adding my books to the spreadsheet and I was trying to undo a mistake I made.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

All good! I removed the extra pages.

[Jillian]

Thank you!

[Sheena]

Question for the Mods: Does listening to Levar Burton Reads podcast, where he reads out a short story count as audio book time for pencils? They wouldn't meet the page count for anything topical.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Generally, we'd say no to podcasts, but if it's just him reading a story out loud (sans commentary, etc.), then it's basically an audiobook and could count for audio hours.

[Sheena]

Thanks Emily!

[Sue]

Hi Emily,
One of our team members posted this below ... Can you please tell us if it can count as translated?
Thanks!
Hey Team, I finally finished Deaf Utopia: A Memoir—And a Love Letter to a Way of Life

I would like to add for the translated prompt. The preface explains how important it was to the author to tell his story in American Sign Language and have his friend translate it into American hearing English and explained some the differences in how the languages work (beyond the obvious). GR doesn't officially note a translator though in the metadata.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Yes, I think that's fine to count!