Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Lucy wrote: "So I just finished my book:


READ: August 3rd
Rating: ****
Pages: 281

Yay! One more goal down!"

Way to go, Lucy!!!

Does that mean only 1 man, or just that there must be a man on there somewhere, it doesn't matter what else is there?

Good job Lucy!

Lucy way to go!!!!

Marguerite wrote: "❀Tea❀ wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "Do the books over 500 pages and under 500 pages have to be hardcover or can they be soft cover as well?"

We are usually looking for book you have on your shelf tag..."

I don't think it has to be hardcover. I'm sure that whether hardcover or paperback as long as it's over 160 pages, it counts. That specific detail is probably more relevant regarding the goals/tasks.

Teri-k wrote: "Lucy wrote: "So I just finished my book:


READ: August 3rd
Rating: ****
Pages: 281

Yay! One more goal down!"

Way to go, Lucy!!!

Does that mean only 1 man, or just ..."

The goal is very vague. I think as long as it has a man, it should be okay. It says "read a book with a man on the cover" not read a book with only one man on the cover. ya know what I mean?

Thanks everyone!!! :)

Oh and I just finished reading:

READ: August 3rd
Rating: *****
Pages: 305

Way to go! What an awesome cover. :)

Lucy wrote: "Thanks everyone!!! :)

Oh and I just finished reading:

READ: August 3rd
Rating: *****
Pages: 305"

Way to go!!!!

FINISHED 8/4/15


Christine by Stephen King
Rating: ♥♥♥
Pages: 411

I don't think this fits any of the tasks currently up.

Ashely, it might fit a later task, who knows? :-)

Marguerite wrote: "Not the task part just reading, doe the books over 500 and under 500 pages have to be hardcover for the 1 point and half point? "

No, it doesn't matter whether the book is paperback or hardcover. All that matters is that the edition you tagged as read on your gladiator shelf corresponds to the number of pages you're claiming for the spreadsheet.

It only matters if it's hardcover or paperback if a goal requires a specific kind of cover.

Eldarwen wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "Not the task part just reading, doe the books over 500 and under 500 pages have to be hardcover for the 1 point and half point? "

No, it doesn't matter whether the book is paper..."

Ashley ♦Sugar & Spice♦ wrote: "FINISHED 8/4/15


Christine by Stephen King
Rating: ♥♥♥

Thank you!!!!
Pages: 411

I don't think this fits any of the tasks currently up."

Way to go!!!!!

I also started reading , which I really quite like so far. I blasted through the first one in the series quite quickly as well and it seems that this one will be very fast, too.

Wow, we are getting through goals quickly! Is anyone else inventing goals that would fit the book they are currently reading?

An author born in South America really stumped me, and no-one has claimed that one yet. I was sure I didn't have anything that would work, but Google came to the rescue. I could put the book I'm reading aside for now and pick up
by Paulo Coelho, who was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

It's quite short but I'm short on reading time this week, so if anyone has any other ideas and will be quicker, then go for it!

Oh, and I'm also down twice on the spreadsheet for Just One Damned Thing After Another. It would be great if we really could count it twice, but I suspect the Mods would spot it! Lol.

I have Ripper by Isabel Allende, who was born in Peru, which will work for that goal, also. So which ever one gets finished first can count. At least we know we have it covered. :)

And I'm reading a couple that have a man on the cover. I suspect others are, too. That one should just be a matter of which book gets finished first.

The Alchemist is a fairly quick read yes, and quite interesting! I read it last month.

Oh oops! Didn't even notice you were on there twice. Thanks for pointing that out, Sarah!

Awesome though that we have 2 book options for the South America goal. I'll just add whoever is finished first for the goal, as Teri suggested.

I figured man on cover would be easy enough hehe.

Great, always good to have options. Isabel Allende was the only author that came to mind, but I've never read anything by her and don't have any of her books. Would you recommend her Teri?

Sarah wrote: "Great, always good to have options. Isabel Allende was the only author that came to mind, but I've never read anything by her and don't have any of her books. Would you recommend her Teri?"

Well, this is the first book I've read by her. And it's not her typical style, I understand. Normally she writes female-centered magical realism, I think. I'm not a huge fan of magical realism; I actually wanted to read Zorro. But my library didn't have it, they only had Ripper, which is a contemporary mystery.

I can say she writes well, creates interesting characters, and this book has a good sense of place. (It's set in San Francisco, where I've lived, and it feels like SF.) I skimmed a bit when there was an illegal dogfight, but otherwise it's a quick, interesting read. But then I like character-driven books and this is full of characters.

Don't know if that helped any. :)

Sarah wrote: "Great, always good to have options. Isabel Allende was the only author that came to mind, but I've never read anything by her and don't have any of her books. Would you recommend her Teri?"

Hi Sarah, I listened to Isabel Allende's book Island Beneath the Sea on audiobook and really enjoyed it. I would certainly try another of her books. Although the book has elements of voodoo and the like in it (it's told from the point of view of a Haitian slave) I wouldn't consider it too much of a magical realism book either as I am not much of a fan of that genre either.

So, an afternoon stuck waiting for new tires allowed me to finish The Firefighter's Match. It has a man on the cover.

Wonder what will pop up next?

I don't understand why the Master Spreadsheet already has wins and losses on it. I thought we read for 2 weeks and then our scores were compiled and wins/losses tabulated. Does anyone know what's going on with that?

I guess half the teams will be wins and the other half will be losses so they will know who to match with who. Since a winner and a loser gets teamed up all the way down the line.

Finished Ripper: A Novel by Allende, a SA author. It's also 512 pages.

I will now be returning to my regularly scheduled life, so I don't expect to get quite as much reading done from here on out. lol

Great job Teri-K!!!! That's two goals down yourself! Amazing job! :)

The two new goals are as follows:

"Read a book that contains the word asparagus."
"Read a book written by an author born in Australia or New Zealand."

Teri-k wrote: "I don't understand why the Master Spreadsheet already has wins and losses on it. I thought we read for 2 weeks and then our scores were compiled and wins/losses tabulated. Does anyone know what's g..."

Regarding this, I think that it's like this because the excel formulas are already in place, also it kinda tells everyone where their team is depending on ranking. So it's also a motivation if their team is lower in the rank, and they are competitive, they will try to read more so their team gets more points. lol at least I think so, it's what would motivate me.

I'm going to read I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak for the "..author born in Australia.." unless someone is already reading a book by an Australian author or wanna read one. Lemme know

But awesome job guys, keep up the great work!

Teri-k wrote: "I don't understand why the Master Spreadsheet already has wins and losses on it. I thought we read for 2 weeks and then our scores were compiled and wins/losses tabulated. Does anyone know what's g..."

In addition to what Lucy already said about competition:

The gladiator games are an ongoing battle, so every book that has been read and added to the spreadsheet counts towards points and as such towards wins/losses/ties.
It's designed to make things more interesting than just looking at a finished scoreboard at the end of the two week round.

Hmm "asparagus", I checked all the books except Haunting Me (because neither amazon nor google wanted to let me look inside the books) and I couldn't find it.
When I'm home tonight, I'll check Tempting Fate but I don't think we'll get lucky in that one either.

I've just finished The Funhouse 336 pages

Good job, Emma! Hope you enjoyed the book!

I found "asparagus" in Changes at Fairacre, an old British book I'll be happy to reread. But I haven't started it yet, so if someone else finds it first...

Just finished
501 pages = 1 point
gave it 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Just started

Emma wrote: "I've just finished The Funhouse 336 pages"

Way to go!!!!

Teri-k wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Great, always good to have options. Isabel Allende was the only author that came to mind, but I've never read anything by her and don't have any of her books. Would you recommend he..."

Thanks, that was very helpful! Maybe I'll check her out some time. Isn't it great there are always new authors and genres to discover?

Emma wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Great, always good to have options. Isabel Allende was the only author that came to mind, but I've never read anything by her and don't have any of her books. Would you recommend he..."

Thanks Emma. I've never knowingly read any magical realism books, so I don't know yet if it's my kind of thing or not. Although generally I find there is good and bad writing in all genres, so I try not to judge a whole genre on one bad experience. ;)

EDIT: That could have come out wrong - umm. Sorry if I accidentally implied that it was wrong not to like a genre as a whole. 'Cause there are some I won't touch! (I may be overthinking this..)

Marguerite wrote: "Just finished
501 pages = 1 point
gave it 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Just started [bo..."

Hurray! It's great that your book clocked in at 501, instead of 499, isn't it. :) And you gave it 5 stars, too. I'll have to check it out, I like Nora Roberts.

Teri-k wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "Just finished
501 pages = 1 point
gave it 5 stars
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list......"

I am like you I love Nora Roberts!!!! You will love the book!!!

SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile

Marguerite wrote: "SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile"

I do the same thing. I don't expect every book to be a classic, but if it's really good in its genre I think it deserves a high rating.

And it doesn't matter what I thought of the author's other books. Though I confess sometimes I expect a great book from a really good author and it's hard not to be extra disappointed if the book doesn't measure up, even if it's OK in general.

Teri-k wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile"

I do the same thing. I don't expect every book to be a classic, but if it's r..."

I hate it when a book does not live up to that authors past books. But authors are human.lol But I rate all books on their own merits.smile

Teri-k wrote: "I found "asparagus" in Changes at Fairacre, an old British book I'll be happy to reread. But I haven't started it yet, so if someone else finds it first..."

If you want to reread that one, feel free to! :-)

As predicted, I didn't find "asparagus" in Tempting Fate, so unless it's hidden somewhere in Haunting Me (which seems doubtful), the sooner we find a book with the word, the better, because it isn't the most common! ;-)

EDIT: Teri, if you do read it, could you please indicate the page number where the word is to be found? As well as the sentence? Thanks!

Marguerite wrote: "Teri-k wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile"

I do the same thing. I don't expect every book to be a classic..."

Yes! That can be so disappointing sometimes! But as you said, authors are only human, so it happens. As long as the next one is good again, I'm more than willing to forgive ;-) I do judge each book on their own as well. I don't give high or low ratings simply because I like or dislike an author.

Way to go team!!
I've checked both books I'm currently reading...no asparagus.

Do the goals roll over, or do we get brand new goals each week? I thought I read somewhere that the first round lasts 2 weeks.?

I found my answer front and center on the first page of about the games :)

I'm almost finished with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and plan to start a book that has been a NBRC BOM.

Eldarwen wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "Teri-k wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile"

I do the same thing. I don't expect every b..."

One of the things I don't care for is reading a series and each book being an exact copy of the ones before it. As in repeat word for word almost. No imagination.

Ashley ♦Sugar & Spice♦ wrote: "I found my answer front and center on the first page of about the games :)

I'm almost finished with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and plan to start a book that has been a NBRC BOM."

Glad you found the answer to your question. Sometimes it's hard to find just what you're wondering about, isn't it?

Congrats on finishing a book already!

ETA - I've started the asparagus book. lol

Teri-k wrote: "Ashley ♦Sugar & Spice♦ wrote: "I found my answer front and center on the first page of about the games :)

I'm almost finished with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and plan to start a ..."

Thanks Teri-K! :)

Ashley ♦Sugar & Spice♦ wrote: "I found my answer front and center on the first page of about the games :)

I'm almost finished with The Perks of Being a Wallflower and plan to start a book that has been a NBRC BOM."

That is such a good book! :-) I hope you are enjoying it as well!

The NBRC BotM goal is almost done in case you want to read a book for that goal (the goals tab on the spreadsheet shows which books are being read and have been read for the individual goals). I have 50 pages left in that book so it'll definitely be done some time today!

Eldarwen wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "Teri-k wrote: "Marguerite wrote: "SO you and everyone knows when I rate any book I rate that book by itself on it's own merits.smile"

I do the same thing. I don't expect every b..."

Classics to me are books written in the 1960's and before but mainly 1950's and before, especially before the 1920's. Showing my age I guess (56 going on 57 this year).smile