2025 Reading Challenge discussion
ARCHIVE 2025
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TEAM Novel Navigators - Through The Decades
Good morning everyone!The bad news: I ended up really sick yesterday and am still fighting a fever.
The good news: I'm stuck in bed with plenty of time to read.
Going to try and knock out The Outsiders since it is relatively short and easy to focus on.
Great work, everyone!
Good morning! My book goal right now is to finish one a day. I’m a slow reader. I hope yall are having fun! Good luck!
woot woot, team! We are definitely a force to be reckoned with! You're amazing!!
Lorraine wrote: "Good morning everyone. Good afternoon Anton. WOW! 21 books read! If we do seven a day everyday, we will finish this readathon in a flash!
I hope to finish two books today and start the other tw..."
We're at 25 books now!
I hope your books get better!
Antun wrote: "Good morning Lorraine! Good morning everyone!You’re all such fast readers — I’m not even halfway through book 3 yet! But I’m glad you’re all enjoying the books so far.
I hope the books' endings ..."
Yeah, I'm a fast reader. But I also plan for readathons. I tend to allot quick easier reads, unless the prompts call for a longer book. I remember participating in a readathon requiring a 500 page book. There was a collective groan from the team.
And you are doing great! You're on book 3 on day 4. You pledged 3-4 books and we're not even halfway through. And everyone's contribution to the team is appreciated! So don't compare yourself to others. And most importantly, have fun!
Brianna wrote: "Good morning everyone!The bad news: I ended up really sick yesterday and am still fighting a fever.
The good news: I'm stuck in bed with plenty of time to read.
Going to try and knock out The O..."
Oh no! I hope you get your rest and recover quickly, Brianna! That's most important! I'm impressed that you can read with a fever. I generally just feel sleepy and am unable to concentrate on anything. Feel better!
Syd wrote: "Good morning! My book goal right now is to finish one a day. I’m a slow reader. I hope yall are having fun! Good luck!"I don't know if I'm misunderstanding you but finishing a book a day does not sound like a slow reader. hahaha
Syd, I hope you're having fun, too!
Beth wrote: "woot woot, team! We are definitely a force to be reckoned with! You're amazing!!"Completely agree, Beth! We have a great team!
Good afternoon, Novel Navigators! Way to go!I cleaned up on the spreadsheet some. Just making sure all the books were marked off on the Completed tab, so all the pages were aligned.
On the Completed page, I changed the highlighting of the completely completed prompts from green to blue to match the Planning page, and also because it stood out more than the green. The green seemed too close in shade to the existing spreadsheet green. Now at a quick glance you should be able to see which of the Singles, Doubles or Triples are completed, and which still need to be fulfilled. Let me know if you'd like me to do that and color coordinate on the Tracking page as well.
I didn't do anything with the yellow highlighted rows, as I don't totally understand it. Some had completed books and some did not, so I left it alone.
Please let me know of any errors or anything you'd like me to change back.
I thought the yellow was set up to show tasks that had at least one book for but were not fully completed. 🤷🏼♀️ I had changed coloring on some header cells to black to make them more distinct from the tasks but looks like that got changed. I still have lots to read so I’ll focus on that for now. Woo hoo! 👍🏻
Team, team, team!!!🎉🎉🎉
@Syd:I agree with JennH, one book a day does not sound like a slow reader!@Antun: Like JennH, I’ve been prepping for the Readathon. I strategically stopped nine books with just over 100 pages left in each—because yes, I play by the rules.😊 Perks of being retired: plenty of time to plan my reading. But now that I actually have to read full books… well, things might slow down...
JennH wrote: "Good afternoon, Novel Navigators! Way to go!I cleaned up on the spreadsheet some. Just making sure all the books were marked off on the Completed tab, so all the pages were aligned.
On the Compl..."
I really like what you did. I think we should do it for the tracking tab also.
JennH wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "Good morning everyone. Good afternoon Anton. One of the two I finished this morning, had a very interesting ending...
25 books in 4 days—and the day’s not even over? I’m flabbergasted! (Finally got to use that word—this moment truly called for it!)
I am done for today as for the spreadsheet. I am actually reading two 2025 books that will either fit the 2020 prompts, if we finish everything, or will count for pages. (They are not on the planning tab for now). I will be starting my 2 books on the spreadsheet tomorrow: Ethan Frome and Cannery Row. Honestly, I needed a break from classics! P.S. If anyone wants me to take one of their prompts let me know.
Have a great evening. Happy reading.
Beth wrote: "I thought the yellow was set up to show tasks that had at least one book for but were not fully completed. 🤷🏼♀️ I had changed coloring on some header cells to black to make them more distinct from..."That's what I thought, too. But there were yellow highlighted prompts that didn't have any books read, e.g., Read a book set in two or more time periods. So I thought it'd best to leave it alone. But I can fix those, now that I'm clear.
I'm not quite spreadsheet savvy. I'm only good for highlighting finished prompts, copying and pasting, adding columns, and cross referencing across the pages to try to make sure it's aligned. Speaking of which, I'm not sure but I think there's a discrepancy. The Completed page shows 28 completed books, and the Tracking page shows 31 books (27 books for prompts + 4 books for page points only.) I will try to cross reference to see if I can figure it out....
Lorraine wrote: "I am done for today as for the spreadsheet. I am actually reading two 2025 books that will either fit the 2020 prompts, if we finish everything, or will count for pages. (They are not on the planni..."At the rate we're going, the odds are high that we'll finish the main prompts. We're 4 days into the readathon with more than half of the 50 prompts fulfilled! You can perhaps hold off on a few pages of your 2025 books, so we can count them for the bonus round? And like you said, if we don't get that far, we can still count them for pages. And speaking of pages, can you enter the pages for your non-prompt books? We get page points for those. Thanks!
Spreadsheet discrepancy - I think I figured it out. Syd's latest read book is on the Tracking page but not on the Completed page. And Lorraine's Non prompt books are also not on the Completed page. I'll add the books and the numbers should now match. 😁
Yep, it's a match!
Good morning, TEAM! WOW — 27 books already for the prompts! That’s amazing progress. Unfortunately, I’m feeling a bit under the weather today, so I may not get as much reading done as I’d hoped. Fingers crossed tomorrow is a better day. Happy reading, everyone!
JennH wrote: "Lorraine wrote: "I am done for today as for the spreadsheet. I am actually reading two 2025 books that will either fit the 2020 prompts, if we finish everything, or will count for pages. (They are ..."Will do. Most of them have to be returned by July 30th. So I can hold them.
JennH wrote: "Spreadsheet discrepancy - I think I figured it out. Syd's latest read book is on the Tracking page but not on the Completed page. And Lorraine's Non prompt books are also not on the Completed pag..."
Great work Jenn. Thank you!
I have changed Ethan Frome for Arctic Summer for the 1910's.Finished. Prompt completed
Checking in for the day. I have a fairly slow day, so I should be able to do a bit more reading today than I have been. And I'm going to focus on some shorter books that I can pretty much buzz through.
Hello, team! We're about at the midway point now. How is everyone doing, and how do you feel about the books and prompts that you have planned?We are at 34 books read, 30 out of 50 prompts completed. We are doing awesome!
Brianna & Lorraine, I hope you are both feeling better!
I'm off to a slow start today. But I plan to at least finish the two books I am in the middle of and then see where to go from there. I was at the library and picked up a few books. And I'm off to another library in a little bit to see what else I can find. I have books but can always use some more! 😉
Happy reading!
Thank you Jenn. A good night sleep should make things better. I am done for today. I am almost finished one of my 2020 books. I'll start Cannery Row tomorrow. Have a good evening everyone
Hey all! My reading is going well! I've gone through the spreadsheet and removed from the Planning tab books that I had tagged to certain tasks but realize the task has been completed. This was just for my own books so I could didn't read something that was already covered.
On the Tracking tab, I entered the names of the books I have left to read. I was getting confused going back and forth between sheets, so to keep things visual for me, I highlighted the cells in yellow and filled in the title of each book in italics. Again, I did this only with my books. I need the visual triggers!
Hope everyone is doing well and recovering from whatever they need to recover from! 😊 I just keep reading!!
@Lorraine, I hope you did indeed get a good night's sleep!@Beth, glad that your reading is going well! That's good to know about the spreadsheet. I was very impressed that we suddenly had 41 books completed! 😁
I won't be around much the next few days. I will still be reading! And I will hopefully be able to still update the spreadsheet on my iPad. But I won't have access to my computer until late Friday. To help focus my reading, I went through the spreadsheet and these are the open prompts and how many books we still have to read for them. There are planned/possible fits for almost all the prompts, but whatever we can read for the team would be great. Even if prompts get filled, the extra books can go for page points.
SINGLES
Read a book containing time travel. - 1 book
Read a book with a timepiece on the cover. - 1 book
Read a book you haven’t read since you were younger. - 1 book
Read a book set in two or more time periods. - 1 book
DOUBLES
Read 2 books set in a future decade. - 1 book
Read 2 books with a day of the week or month in the title. - 1 book
Read 2 books with a year or date in the title. - 2 books
Read 2 books published or set in the 1920s. - 1 book
Read 2 bookS published or set in the 1930s. - 2 books
TRIPLES
Read 3 books published or set in the 1940s. - 2 books
Read 3 books published or set in the 1960s. - 2 books
Read 3 books published or set in the 1970s. - 1 book
Read 3 books published or set in the 1980s. - 1 book
Read 3 books published or set in the 1990s. - 1 book
Happy reading, everyone!
Hello everyone!I’m almost done with my book no. 4, Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking, for the prompt “Read a book set in two or more time periods.” I’m also planning to re-read Flaubert’s November next, which should count for the prompt “Read a book you haven’t read since you were younger,” if that’s okay with you all.
And wow, 41 books done is incredible! Great job! I’m glad you're all having fun and I hope you’re feeling better, Lorraine and Brianna.
Happy reading!
Sorry to disappoint, but I think the 41 completed includes the ones I have on the Tracking spreadsheet as planned. I forgot about the formulas the kept count, so I’ll remove them to keep things less confusing. I’ll just keep the yellow cell color for my visual cue.
Good morning everyone!Thank you all for your nice wishes. I do feel much better today. 32 books read! WOW!
What a great team!
Jenn, I hope this is OK. I added the names of our colleagues beside the prompts to see where we are at day 6. Easier for me to see where help could be needed.SINGLES
1- Read a book containing time travel. - 1 book (Brianna or Antun ?)
2- Read a book with a timepiece on the cover. - 1 book (Jenn started Peach Tea Smash that fit this prompt)
3- Read a book you haven’t read since you were younger. - 1 book (Antun will be reading November by Flaubert for this prompt)
4- Read a book set in two or more time periods. - We have six possibilities. For now I see both Antun and Brianna have started a book that could fit.
Brianna, Antun: How do you feel about the books you planned to read for the time travel prompt? Do you think you'll have time or we can help?
DOUBLES1- Read 2 books set in a future decade. - 1 book (Beth)
2- Read 2 books with a day of the week or month in the title. - 1 book (Beth)
3- Read 2 books with a year or date in the title. - 2 books (Beth and Brianna)
4- Read 2 books published or set in the 1920s. - 1 book (Beth)
5- Read 2 books published or set in the 1930s. - 2 books (Jenn and Antun)
Brianna: I hope you are better. How do you feel about the Stephen King book, will you have time or you need help.
Antun: How about Brave New World? You will have time or need help?
TRIPLES1- Read 3 books published or set in the 1940s. - 2 books (Beth is taking care of both so I can put aside Cannery Row and help someone else))
2- Read 3 books published or set in the 1960s. - 2 books (We have 3 possibilities: two with Brianna, one with Syd)
3- Read 3 books published or set in the 1970s. - 1 book (Beth)
4- Read 3 books published or set in the 1980s. - 1 book (Beth)
5- Read 3 books published or set in the 1990s. - 1 book (Beth)
Brianna, Syd: How do you feel about your books for the 1960's?
JennH wrote: "@Lorraine, I hope you did indeed get a good night's sleep!Jenn: if you need me to update the spreadsheet while you are away, let me know. Enjoy your time away!
Yeah, it's my plan to read Brave New World after November. I'm not sure if I'll have time to do the time travel prompt too though...
Antun wrote: "Yeah, it's my plan to read Brave New World after November. I'm not sure if I'll have time to do the time travel prompt too though..."That's perfect Antun. We just need one. Let's see if Brianna is feeling better and can do it. If not I'll jump in.
Looking forward to see what you think of the Didion. I have it on TBR.
I've added two possibilities for Read a book containing time travel on the planning tab.
I'm finishing at least 2 books today. I'll start another 2 or 3 as well.
Beth wrote: "I'm finishing at least 2 books today. I'll start another 2 or 3 as well."That is great Beth!
Hi friends,I am finally starting to feel better today. I've been sleeping a lot, so it took me a lot longer to finish The Outsiders than I was hoping. I logged the book into the "completed" section of the spreadsheet, but was not sure how to implement it into the "tracking" section of the spreadsheet.
Lorraine wrote: "Jenn, I hope this is OK. I added the names of our colleagues beside the prompts to see where we are at day 6. Easier for me to see where help could be needed.SINGLES
1- Read a book containing tim..."
Of course, it's okay. It would have been too confusing for me to also cross reference the names. 😊
Brianna wrote: "Hi friends,I am finally starting to feel better today. I've been sleeping a lot, so it took me a lot longer to finish The Outsiders than I was hoping. I logged the book into the "completed" secti..."
So happy you feel better! I will help you with the tracking. Look at the other prompts and let us know what you think is possible for you. Your health being the priority ! 😊
Lorraine wrote: "JennH wrote: "@Lorraine, I hope you did indeed get a good night's sleep!Jenn: if you need me to update the spreadsheet while you are away, let me know. Enjoy your time away!"
Thanks. I might need your help to add my books. I will try on the iPad. I just don't love using the app.
It's a bunch of appts. So I should have a decent amount of time to read while waiting.
I'm bringing with me a few books
Peach Tea Smash
Before We Say Goodbye
The Time Machine
I wasn't planning on re-reading The Time Machine but it was there on display at the library, so I thought why not. It is also short and fits a few prompts. If those prompts are met before I read it, I can just put it towards page points. I also have a bunch of audiobooks planned with the same thought process.
Brianna wrote: "Hi friends,I am finally starting to feel better today. I've been sleeping a lot, so it took me a lot longer to finish The Outsiders than I was hoping. I logged the book into the "completed" secti..."
I suggest we use your book for Read 3 books published or set in the 1960s. We will need you to add the number of pages or you want me to do it?
Hi Lorraine,I can continue working on finishing All the Light We Cannot See to cover a book set in two time periods. I can also work on the Stephen King book to cover books with dates in the title and time travel!
Brianna wrote: "Hi friends,I am finally starting to feel better today. I've been sleeping a lot, so it took me a lot longer to finish The Outsiders than I was hoping. I logged the book into the "completed" secti..."
So glad you're feeling better!
I'm sure someone can help you with the Tracking page. I have to run now!
Jenn: if you need me to update the spreadsheet while you are away, let me know. Enjoy your time away!"Anytime Jenn. You'll see for The Time Machine. I have started two books that will work for time travel.
Funny thing is that I also lent The Time Machine but have to say I did not felt like reading it! 😮
Lorraine wrote: "Brianna wrote: "Hi friends,I added the page numbers, although the formatting where I inserted the title looks a little funky now. Maybe you can help me fix it haha I think my brain is still trying to recover as well.
Brianna wrote: "Hi Lorraine,I can continue working on finishing All the Light We Cannot See to cover a book set in two time periods. I can also work on the Stephen King book to cover books with dates in the titl..."
If you think you're OK for both that would be great. Do not hesitate to let us know if you realize you are tired and need help!
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Happy Birthday, Turk! (other topics)We (other topics)
All the Light We Cannot See (other topics)
We (other topics)
Brave New World (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Jakob Arjouni (other topics)Yevgeny Zamyatin (other topics)
You’re all such fast readers — I’m not even halfway through book 3 yet! But I’m glad you’re all enjoying the books so far.
I hope the books' endings make up for the less enjoyable stuff that came before, Lorraine.
Happy reading and have fun!