Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

OMG

When I have time (damn work getting in my damn way) , I will revise my lists to include plurals. Like, POINSETTIAS! Hah!

You're already looking at Christmas?!😱

(I feel like such a slacker now. 🙈 LOL)

Hi Team! I never get notifications when the team threads are made, so thank you for the message!

MY Shelf Is: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Hi Brittany! Welcome to the madness!

Hi Team I am Brittany, creator and mod of the group For Love of a Book but I'm a challenge addict hahaa

I live in Texas with a 7 year old son, 2 dogs Keeshond-Kiri, Dachshund mix rescue-Comey, and rescued Maine Coon cat named Azrael.

I work full time, am a single mother, have a couple of side businesses, finally just finished my degree and am about to start on my master's degree. I am a bibliophile and a glutton for busy punishment.

Favorite Genres: Fantasy/Horror/Psych Thriller/Nonfiction/Sci-Fi, etc. I can read BOMs if I can get my hands on the books in time

I look forward to reading with you all. I did a similar challenge sometime last year, so I get the basic deal of how it works, I'm sure there will be some changes though.

**I cannot access the spreadsheet most of the time, if anyone is ok with assisting me on this, I can post my books read and as many details as needed** I spend more of my time on goodreads from work and google docs are blocked here

Brittany wrote: "Hi Team I am Brittany, creator and mod of the group For Love of a Book but I'm a challenge addict hahaa

I live in Texas with a 7 year old son, 2 dogs Keeshond-Kiri, Dachshund mix rescue-Comey, and..."

Welcome Brittany!

Brittany wrote: "**I cannot access the spreadsheet most of the time, if anyone is ok with assisting me on this, I can post my books read and as many details as needed** I spend more of my time on goodreads from wor..."

That is perfectly fine. Just post here, and Ashley or I will be happy to update the spreadsheet.

We will also post status updates and requests for letters here in the thread as each week progresses.

Excellent! And thank you so much Deanna. I try to make it as easy as possible to get what you need.

Deanna wrote: "You're already looking at Christmas?!😱

(I feel like such a slacker now. 🙈 LOL)"

Hahaha, I haven't even looked at the Thanksgiving wheel. Go Alysa, go!

Brittany wrote: "**I cannot access the spreadsheet most of the time, if anyone is ok with assisting me on this, I can post my books read and as many details as needed** I spend more of my time on goodreads from wor..."

Welcome Brittany! I love your cat's name <3 I can definitely help any time you need something put on the spreadsheet! I think as long as it gets on here someone will be able to see it and add it on. I'm a bit fantasy fan also, what are some of your favorites? I recently finished the 2nd book in The Kingkiller Chronicle and am still reeling a bit from it. So dang good. I picked up a short companion piece, The Slow Regard of Silent Things but haven't started yet,. I want to make the feeling last as long as possible!

I love epic sweeping fantasies like Kushiel's Trilogy , The Wayfarer Redemption sereis , The Sword of Truth Series , The Otherworld series , etc I don't think I have read anything from the Kingkiller Chronicle

Brittany wrote: "Hi Team I am Brittany, creator and mod of the group For Love of a Book but I'm a challenge addict hahaa

I live in Texas with a 7 year old son, 2 dogs Keeshond-Kiri, Dachshund mix rescue-Comey, and..."

Welcome Brittany!!! I am in Texas too

Brittany wrote: "I love epic sweeping fantasies like Kushiel's Trilogy , The Wayfarer Redemption sereis , The Sword of Truth Series [bookco..."

Oooh my cousin is currently reading the 3rd book of Kushiel's Trilogy and is heavily pushing me to try it out. I need to pick it up! Definitely adding those ather 3 books to my tbr list.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is an amazing series. It will be a trilogy but the 3rd book isn't out yet. The first book, [book:The Name of the Wind|186074] starts a little slow but man, it's just amazing. Definitely fits the sweeping epic criteria. The second book, The Wise Man's Fear might even be better than the 1st book, lots of development and awesome characters. They're hefty but incredible. Sigh, I love this series so much. I convinced my husband to give it a go but he's mainly an audiobook guy and he disliked the narrator too much to commit to almost 28 hours. He didn't want to go into a book I loved already disliking it because of the voice.

JanEyre9 wrote: "Deanna wrote: "You're already looking at Christmas?!😱

(I feel like such a slacker now. 🙈 LOL)"

Hahaha, I haven't even looked at the Thanksgiving wheel. Go Alysa, go!"

Ah, the Thanksgiving wheel. 🤨 Who on earth refers to Mashed Potatoes as “Potato Mash”?!? Were the words sourced from the U.K. or something? I have a million books w/ mashed potatoes but ZERO with potato mash.

I would... really like to eat mashed potatoes now. With candy corn for dessert.

Hey Ashley, I'm in West Central Texas, what about you?

JanEyre9

I added the first book to my TBR! I hope you like it. IT's very epic and a bit long, but once the story gets moving, it's amazing!

Brittany wrote: "Hey Ashley, I'm in West Central Texas, what about you?"

I'm in the Dallas area, this is the first day in awhile it hasn't rained. I am so tired of the rain!

*spies on other teams*

What is it with other teams’ members (even some captains!) still wondering when start date is, or thinking that bonus point books don’t need to be part of spell-it-out, or — the latest — telling everyone to read short books if they are fast readers because they can spell out the word as many times as possible and get the Completion Bonus for every time (which is not true).

We are in such good shape, fellow Locks. We are good at, you know, reading. (/end snark)

I think last winter’s Cutthroat challenge ruined me for these “friendlier” ones, lol.

Alysa wrote: "*spies on other teams*

What is it with other teams’ members (even some captains!) still wondering when start date is, or thinking that bonus point books don’t need to be part of spell-it-out, or —..."

I ran my poor librarians ragged placing holds for cutthroat, and roughly half the books ended up getting sent back unread because my team got hit with so many sabotages. Some of the books I ended up reading just to finish a task were pretty bad. Of course, then I played quidditch and found new truly horrible books to reset my perception of what an awful book actually is.

I'm looking forward to having so many more book choices available for this challenge and knocking some longer books off my tbr list.

Speaking of books and extra points, candy corn genre and candy corn in the title are claimed. That leaves candy corn in the text and on the cover. I'm happy to take either of those. Does anyone else have a book for either of those that they want to volunteer to read?

Which team were you on for Cutthroat, if I may ask?

I read some bad books for that too, but luckily not too many. I am hoping that doesn’t happen this time around. I have a bunch of potentially-bad indie and self-published books with word-in-text or title for a few wheel words, but not exclusively.

I had a few library book snafus back then too! This time I’ve preemptively checked out a couple of things that I may not end up using, but they’re mostly from the academic library where I work, as opposed the public library, and I can keep them for way longer. You will probably see me in late-Dec/early-Jan reading books with random Wheel words in their titles :D

Alysa wrote: "Who on earth refers to Mashed Potatoes as “Potato Mash”?!? Were the words sourced from the U.K. or something?"

Hey! We in the UK call it mashed potatoes too! I assumed it was another American weirdness, like biscuits not being delicious sweet crunchiness that can be dipped in coffee but some abomination instead...

Cat wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Who on earth refers to Mashed Potatoes as “Potato Mash”?!? Were the words sourced from the U.K. or something?"

Hey! We in the UK call it mashed potatoes too! I assumed it was another..."

Lol! Srsly, nobody but nobody says “potato mash”. I bet it is going to be contested by whichever team ends up with that word. I am probably jinxing my team right now.

Alysa wrote: "Cat wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Who on earth refers to Mashed Potatoes as “Potato Mash”?!? Were the words sourced from the U.K. or something?"

Hey! We in the UK call it mashed potatoes too! I assumed it..."

Apparently we all need to read more cooking magazines and blogs.

Savory Sweet Potato Mash
Broccoli Potato Mash
Golden Potato Mash
Red Skin Potato Mash
Turnip and Potato Mash
Cheesy Broccoli Potato Mash

And these recipes are only from the first google page.

Alysa wrote: "Which team were you on for Cutthroat, if I may ask?

I read some bad books for that too, but luckily not too many. I am hoping that doesn’t happen this time around. I have a bunch of potentially-ba..."

Team Sting.

I still can't believe there is a book with candy corn as a genre!

I found a book called The Fall of Candy Corn if anyone is interested, that could apply for word in title then the book I'm planning to read could be used for word on cover. or someone else could read Candy Corn Murder also, it was available on overdrive!

Sorry if this was covered and I missed it but are we supposed to put a letter in the orange "Letter Used for" column on the spreadsheet or should the captains be filling that in? I've been claiming letters there but just realized that might not be correct. Thanks!

I also played cutthroat. We kept having a player or two that would give up and then get replacements, we got hammered all the time with sabotages also haha.

Will we be having an updated task list posted here for what we still NEED books for?

JanEyre9 wrote: "Sorry if this was covered and I missed it but are we supposed to put a letter in the orange "Letter Used for" column on the spreadsheet or should the captains be filling that in? I've been claiming..."

I'm fine with you putting down the letter that you think is most useful. If you leave it blank, Ashley or I will fill it in. I think the only blank ones right now have several options, so we're waiting to see where they are most needed.

Brittany wrote: "Will we be having an updated task list posted here for what we still NEED books for?"

Yes. We're thinking once a day. Do you all have a preference for a morning or evening update?

Whatever is easiest for you guys. I am predominately on in the morning and afternoons (central time zone), but I can check it at that time no matter when it is posted :)

Deanna wrote: "Apparently we all need to read more cooking magazines and blogs."

I am actually an editor on a food blog! I am not saying the phrase “potato mash” doesn’t exist, but it is a very uncommon usage outside the world of recipe writing. It’s used more for short. As in, “savory sweet potato mash” is easier to grasp as a recipe title than “mashed potatoes that are savory but made from sweet potatoes”. I think it will be extremely difficult to find in a fiction book... And it’s not like we can use cookbooks for the challenge. 🧐

Team Sting

Ah, fierce competitors! But not the official sworn enemies of my team. ;)

Brittany wrote: "I also played cutthroat. We kept having a player or two that would give up and then get replacements, we got hammered all the time with sabotages also haha."

Yes! And on my team we kept getting “replacements” that did not even respond when they were placed into the game.

I read soooo many books though. It was awesome.

Is anybody willing & able to do DQs for a November BOM? It looks like some of the other teams are already on it. :/

I volunteered to write DQs for The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. I'm a little nervous, I've never written DQs before! I'm hesitant to volunteer for Crazy Rich Asians. My library has a really long wait so I'm not sure if I'll get it in time.

JanEyre9 wrote: "I volunteered to write DQs for The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. I'm a little nervous, I've never written DQs before!"

I wrote DQs for the first time during the last Tower Teams and ended up getting chosen twice, for I Hunt Killers and Magic Triumphs. It was easier than I expected (although I did scan through questions from several previous BOM to get some basic ideas the first time).

Alysa wrote: "Is anybody willing & able to do DQs for a November BOM? It looks like some of the other teams are already on it. :/"

My library has both books, so I volunteered for both. During tower teams the mods took the volunteer names and randomized the list. The top names get picked to do DQs with a one person per team limit. I imagine they'll do the same here.

JanEyre9 wrote: "Do we know if the October BOMs will count? I nabbed one from Overdrive and have the other on hold but only want to hold onto them if they're going to count."

Just wanted to let you know the mods current answer is that this is still under discussion. I hope they decide before the second bom starts, so I know whether to go ahead and participate on the schedule or wait until the challenge starts.

I can't get Crazy Rich Asians in time, but I will try to get a hold of the Elizabeth Frankenstein one. Hopefully it will fit for at least one of whatever letters we'll be needing for spell-it-out once November rolls around!

I'm not volunteering for DQs, but hopefully can still get the 20 points for "participation"! That doesn't seem to limited to one person per book per team, if I understand correctly, so if there are three of us reading it and one gets picked for DQs, the other two can still rake in 40 points combined, yeah?

I should be able to get Dark Descent in time, I’m #1 in line, but not Crazy Rich Asians. I didn’t volunteer to do the DQs but I can participate!

Ashley wrote: "I should be able to get Dark Descent in time, I’m #1 in line, but not Crazy Rich Asians. I didn’t volunteer to do the DQs but I can participate!"

It'll be fun if there are 4 of us (or more!) out of 8, all reading Dark Descent in the same week. Team Lock will be like a mini book club!

Deanna wrote: "JanEyre9 wrote: "Do we know if the October BOMs will count? I nabbed one from Overdrive and have the other on hold but only want to hold onto them if they're going to count."

Just wanted to let yo..."

October BOMs won't count for wheel-a-thon. :(

From the mods:

"GENRES

For these "word as genres" we have alternatives you can use as follows:

Word:			Can also use:
SKELETON		CLOSET
BROOMSTICK		FLYING
TOMBSTONE		GRAVEYARD
POTION			MAGIC
CANDY CORN		TREAT	
JACK-O-LANTERN		VEGETABLE
COBWEB			WEB
CAULDRON		WITCH

All other genres, you need to use the word as given

You CAN use plurals
You can NOT use hypenated words (e.g. black-author does not work for black)
Where a word is already hyphenated, you can take out the hyphens (e.g. trick-or-treat you can use trickortreat)


Yes, we know some of the words will be tough. Some will require reading out of comfort zones and/or delving into the Kindle Unlimited back catalogue. But that is kind of the fun of it.

However, if you get in a real pinch and think we have missed a word that is impossible and needs an alternative, let us know and we will have a look."

Now that we've got our answer on BOMs, I added a couple of books to the spreadsheet.

I've been wanting to try by Yancey, which seems like a good Halloween choice and gives us a second Y. (With the bonus that if I enjoy it, I could continue the series.) I've also been meaning to get back to the Jack Reacher series, so I added book 4 .

I can definitely take an O. I just can't decide which book. I've decided to just stack some books for the other letters and read whatever is most needed.

I already read Crazy rich Asians, I could write DQs

I will be able to participate in the 2nd one as well

I plan to join the discussion for too. :)

Hehe, that is 6 of us already :)

I'm kind of relieved that October BOMs won't count. Frees up some space on my overdrive!

Alysa wrote: "Hehe, that is 6 of us already :)"

Come to think of it, BOM participation points are one place where we’re potentially hurt by having one of the smaller teams. Eh well!

Question of the day

What soon to be released book are you excited about this fall?

For me it's in the Rivers of London series by Aaronovitch. I'm debating whether to do a reread of the series before the release on November 6.