Archived - WELCOME MESSAGE FOR NEWBIES!

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome!

We have no idea how you found us, but we are very happy to have you join us.

So, now that you are here, what to do next?

First, stop by at our Introduce Yourself folder. Tell us a little something about yourself and where you from. A great way to break the ice in a new group, so jump right in.

Now on to the challenges, since I’m pretty sure that’s part of the reason why you decided to join us.

We have many reading challenges available, so here is a little guide to help you navigate among them.

We have Monthly Challenges which are usually launched at the beginning of a month and runs for the full month.

Regular Monthly Challenge - This is the group's main challenge with 10 categories to fill.

Pick-It-For-Me Challenge - A popular recommendation challenge which allows participants to try a new book.

Read-The-Month Challenge - Read books which titles or authors start with the letters of the month.

Featured Author Challenge – Read one book written by the Featured Author within the month.

We also have Quarterly Challenges with a duration of three months.

Quarterly Themed-Challenge (Changes every quarter)

Read-The-Season Challenge (Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn) Rules will be the same as the Read-The-Month.

Then we have the Yearly Challenges that are good for the whole year.

A-Z Book Challenge
A-Z Author Challenge
A-Z Character Challenge (Male)
A-Z Character Challenge (Female)
Create-Your-Own-Reading Challenge
Chubby Chunkster Challenge

We also have Other Challenges folder which is a hodge-podge of challenges.

Romance 101 Challenge - Explore the different sub-genres in the romance field.

A LifeTime of Books Challenge - Read a book published for every year of your life.

Count-off-Challenge - Hosted by Kenjii, its a great thread for those trying to limit their book buying addiction.

Build Your Boxed Sets Challenge - Come up with creative ways to put your reading list together, and read without pressure of a deadline

Read-Your-Name Challenge – Pretty much like the Read-the-Month and Read-the-Season challenges, but this time, you used your name.

Serial Reader Challenge – For those who have too many different kinds of series in their TBR shelf.

Sshhh….That’s Taboo! Reading Challenge - For those who are intrigued with controversial and non-mainstream themes and the books that feature them.

Also be sure on the look-out for member-sponsored challenges within this folder.

Also, if you are the competitive type, you might want to test your reading ability by joining RRRC's Reading Tournament.

For those who wants only one book at a time, you can pick from our Random Book List Challenge threads.

Now to help you keep track of the challenges you are participating, you can create your own personal thread under the Reading List Folder. Also do not forget to add any books you have read for any of our challenges in our Group Bookshelf.

Now if you like to discuss books, check out the following sections:

BHB Reads Ably managed by Melody and Flib, these two lovely ladies pick three books and one author that were mentioned in the controversial Beyond Heaving Bosom book, to be discussed for a month. Pick one, two or all of them and join in the conversation anytime.

Dare-You-To-Read Challenge Up for a dare? Check what is available for group reads in this section. Have a book, author or series you want to read, and want others to read with you? Put up your own dare, and see who will be interested in joining.

RRR Discussions and Top-Lists Looking for a specific category? Wants suggestions on a certain theme? Like to compare lists with others? Look at what’s already up or create a new one.

How about meeting new authors and possibly winning a book? Then you would like to check out our Ask An Author, Win A Book Corner.

For the writer in you, stop by at our Writers' Lounge and try your hand on some of our writing prompts, or read some thoughts on those who have posted their work. Don't forget to leave a tip.

Now be forewarned, GoodReads is addictive and there are many of us who practically spend most of our waking hours online.

So if you are just hanging out in GR, feel free to play with some of the games we have going on in our Fun and Games folder. You can also check out the interesting Polls Kasia have created for the group.

For those of a generous spirit and also interested in winning a book, check out our Pay-it-Forward RRRC Style Raffle thread.

Need a break from reading? Check out our DVD Club, and see what movies we are planning to watch and discuss.

For those who have books, groups, blogs, websites, contests, etc to promote, you are more than welcome to post info in our Promotion folder.

*lets go of newbie hand*

Okay, toddle along now, and have fun.

If you have any questions, just ask, and we will be more than happy to help you out.

[Mel W]

Yz, with the Read Your Name Challenge, can you do that any time?

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Mel W wrote: "Yz, with the Read Your Name Challenge, can you do that any time?"

Yes, you can do that anytime. You set the start date and the end date. Duration is three-months.

[Mel W]

Cool, thank you :)

[Colleen]

Oh boy as a newbie I got all excited and posted a new discussion in the "other Challenges" folder. I have a feeling I'm not allowed to do that.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Colleen wrote: "Oh boy as a newbie I got all excited and posted a new discussion in the "other Challenges" folder. I have a feeling I'm not allowed to do that."

No worries, Colleen. I moved your thread to the General Discussion folder.

Good luck to your study. : )

Oh, and Welcome to the group!

[Arrian]

Hi guys...I'm new to this group and i hope you can help me pick a nice romance book to read.

[Mel W]

Hi Arrian and welcome to the group. What sort of romances do you like to read - historical, contemporary ...? The group's bookshelf may give you some ideas.

[Ѽ Cher Ѽ]

Heya Everyone. My name is Cher and I am new to the group. On most days, I'm technically slow, so I'm hopeing I'll get some help navigating through this group. A few things about me.
BD: March 5th
Fav. Color: Blue( of course... :D )
Fav. Food: Pasta
First Romance Novel: Harlequen(sp)back in the days...
Fav Romance Genre: Right now, it's got to be Paranormal(sp???) Love me some vampires and weres...
I KNOW I'M A BOOK ADDICT BECAUSE, in 5 months of 2009, I read 63 books in total.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Hi, Cher. Welcome to the group.

You might want to repost your introduction to this thread:

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/9...

[Janet]

HI all,
I'm Jan, and I love to read books with romance, time travel, and just books with meat. Sometimes, it's just fluff! I live in Hollywood, FL and am a teacher. Got any recommends for me?

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to the group, Janet!

Romance and time travel? You might take a look at Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. First book is Beyond the Highland Mist.

[Janet]

Yz the Whyz wrote: "Welcome to the group, Janet!

Romance and time travel? You might take a look at Karen Marie Moning's Highlander series. First book is Beyond the Highland Mist."

Thanks, I read her. She's also good. My favorite series is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Have you read her?

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Janet wrote: Thanks, I read her. She's also good. My favorite series is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Have you read her?...."

I have her on my TBR list, but haven't gotten around to reading the books.

There is currently a dare going on in the group with this series.

Here is the link, in case, you want to drop by and discuss the books.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

[Janet]

Yz the Whyz wrote: "Janet wrote: Thanks, I read her. She's also good. My favorite series is the Outlander series by Diana Gabaldon. Have you read her?...."

I have her on my TBR list, but haven't gotten around to re..."

The first book, Outlander, has a slow start, but when you get into the past, it picks up and becomes a book you don't want to put down. After reading Diana's Outlander series (I've read all), I haven't found any others to compare, even though Sara Donati's "Into the Wilderness" series is up there.

[Christy]

Hi-

I am Christy. I love romance novels and saw this site recommended on another website. I thought I would give it a shot. I am open to recommendations and ideas about new books to try or old favorites that I might have overlooked.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to Goodreads, Christy. If you love to read, this is a great site to hang out.

[Emily]

Hey Everyone,
I just joined the group, I was recently "kicked out" of my other group for unknown reasons. when I asked to rejoin I was told I did not meet the group requirements. wow thats nice huh? I was more involved in teh group than the moderator who kicked me out has been but hey whatever. anyway I hope to be able to meet some of you and share some stories and read some books with you all.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to the group, Emily.

[Shabrien]

hi everyone,

i am shabrien,i love to read romance novels.checked out this group so i joined in.so please recommend me some good romance novels.The first book, Tender triumph by Judith mcnaughty

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome, Shabrien. If you like romance novels, you are in the right group.

[[deleted user]]

HI all! Im therese! not just a newbie but im also new in as simple as reading novels and stuff. i read a couple of books that interests me, and of course periodicals. i use to be a feature writer in campus newspaper but it stopped after high school. i do love to write, it where i can express my feeling and all. i compose songs too. on the side, i dance and sing. reading is quite a new thing for me as i have never been as interested as now. specially romance. paulo coelho and nicolas sparks became my inspiration to further enhance the skills i have. i just need to read more, write more and get it deep in me. thanks for having me here.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to the wonderful world of reading, Therese. Hope you'll get more ideas on what books to read from our group.

[Claudia]

Hi there my name is Claudia and I have always loved romance novels. I think it's nice to get away in a novel and I can't wait to see what this group brings. I can't wait to join the discussions. I hope to bring something and add something to the group.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome aboard, Claudia. Don't be a stranger and feel free to join any discussions that catch your interest.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to GR and to the group, Stacey. We love romance novels, too, so you are in good company. : )

[Penny]

Hi, I just join the group and have only recently decided to put the goodreads page to use, my name is Penny, I love romance novels, but I not sure how the challenges work, For example my first langue is Spanish does it matter is I read a book in Spanish? Can it still count? The books I'm currently reading are both romance, but I don't know if they can count for the challenge ("The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks and "Of Love and Shadows" by Isabel Allende,this one in Spanish of course :P)? I don't exactly know how to pick the right books to fit in any of the challenges.

Please let me know.

And sorry if this post is too long or in the wrong place, and for any mistakes.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Happy to have you aboard, Penny.

Sure, you can use books that you read in Spanish as long as they fit a challenge category.

You might want to visit this thread to give you more ideas when it comes to participating in the challenges.

http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3...

If you still have anymore questions, just feel free to ask.

Again, welcome to Goodreads!

[Gaby]

hi
i am new to this group can you tell me of a good book that is romantic.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome to the group, Gaby! What kind of romance books are you into?

[Gaby]

any kind i really like sciece fiction but what other do you recommend

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

If you like futuristic romance, you can try Linnea Sinclair's Gabriel's Ghost or Deidre Knight's Parallel Attraction. I highly recommend them.

[Penny]

Thanks :D

[Baillie]

hi im baillie and i just got into romances after reading the twilight series and then i got into the last song, dear john , the notebook is what i am reading now and i <3 challenges they r the best thing!
so anyways i like to fit in right away so u willl c me in alot of topics posting my thought.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Welcome Baillie! Sure, feel free to jump into any discussions and participate in any challenges that interest you .

[Marissa "one of the crazy seven" Bacon]

hi im Marissa. Im from ca. I love vampire books , romance novels, and many others types like fiction.

[Yz the Whyz, Moderator]

Marissa wrote: "hi im Marissa. Im from ca. I love vampire books , romance novels, and many others types like fiction."

Welcome Marissa. With the kind of books you like, you are in the right group. :)

[Marissa "one of the crazy seven" Bacon]

Yz the Whyz wrote: "Marissa wrote: "hi im Marissa. Im from ca. I love vampire books , romance novels, and many others types like fiction."

Welcome Marissa. With the kind of books you like, you are in the right group..."

:)

[Lynn]

Hello everyone! I'm so excited to have found a place that will help me get through some of the many books in my endless TBR pile. If I can manage to knock off 5-10 challenges a month, I'll be so pleased.

Can anyone tell me how to put cover pictures in the body of their posts when they state what books they are going to read to meet the challenges, usually at the very bottom? I'm kind of html-challenged and don't know how exactly to access book cover artwork. Any help is appreciated! Thanks.

[Dee]

Lynn - if you look in the upper right hand corner above the text box there is a link that says add book/author - click on that, and you will get a pop up box...type in the name of the book you want to find, and then down the bottom of that box, there are two radio buttons that say link and cover - click on cover and add, and voila!

[Lynn]

Thanks, Delicious Dee!!

This worked perfectly. My book covers looks so pretty in my post.

[Michelle]

Hi everyone ! I actually joined goodreads a few months ago , but I just found this thread ! This answered several questions I had. :) Sorry for any mistakes I have made. I love goodreads!After reading different reviews & challenges I have found several new books/ authors that I have enjoyed .

[Dee]

np - have fun this place is addictive!!

Lynn wrote: "Thanks, Delicious Dee!!

This worked perfectly. My book covers looks so pretty in my post."

[Shannon]

Hi, I joined Goodreads a while ago but never did anything with it. I have recently joined a facebook page for nook owners and many of them are on Goodreads so I am here and trying to get this started. I love lots of books but tend to favor romance of all sorts so here I am..Looking forward to some new ways to choose books!!

[Macwolf01 [Elise]]

Lynn wrote: "Hello everyone! I'm so excited to have found a place that will help me get through some of the many books in my endless TBR pile. If I can manage to knock off 5-10 challenges a month, I'll be so pl..."

Sadly we seem to build the TBR shelf as fast as we knock some off ;) but you won't be alone in that little quirk around here

[southpaw285]

Hi Shannon. The challenges here are wonderful. Have you had a chance to check those out yet?

[Katherine]

HI I'm Katherine and new to the group. There looks like lots of stuff going on here and am excited to start.

[Zixuan]

Hey! I'm new to this group since I'm really interested in reading mostly any type of book, romance included...So...anyone can suggest a good book to me?

[Diane ~Firefly~]

Zixuan wrote: "Hey! I'm new to this group since I'm really interested in reading mostly any type of book, romance included...So...anyone can suggest a good book to me?"

You might want to sign up for the August - Pick It For Me! Challenge to get some great suggestions to read.

[Maggie]

Where do I find the folder for "Introduce Yourself"?