Crusader’s Comments (group member since Feb 14, 2010)

Crusader’s comments from the SA Book & Challenge Lovers group.

This year I'm hosting a Speculative Fiction Invaders Reading challenge. Same concept as last year, but all speculative fiction genres count.

Full details and game sheet available here:
https://worldsinink.blogspot.com/2023...

Grab the game sheet at the link to print out or keep as a digital file. Each time you complete a prompt you can cross off an invader and award yourself the indicated amount of points. All points earned count towards your yearly total. Be sure to keep track of your accumulated points. During the year we'll have quarterly check-ins and you can share your high score at the end of the year to claim a spot on the leaderboard.

You can read as much or as little as you want. To successfully finish the challenge you need to complete at least one full game sheet which will require reading 18 short stories, 7 novellas/graphic novels, 7 novels with 350+ pages, 4 novels with 500+ pages and 3 novels which are part of a trilogy or the last 3 books in a series.

Main prompts:
Finish a speculative fiction (SF) trilogy or series - 50,000 points
To complete this prompt you need to start and finish reading an entire science fiction trilogy during the year. For a longer series you need to finish the last 3 books in that series during the year. The 3 books used for this prompt do not count towards any other prompt.

Read a SF novel with more than 500 pages - 10,500 points
Read a SF novel with more than 350 pages - 5,000 points
Read a SF novel/novella/graphic novel with more than 100 pages - 2,000 points
Read a SF short story - 500 points

Bonus points:
You can earn bonus points by completing any of the following in conjunction with any regular prompt for novellas and above. Only one bonus condition can apply per prompt.

Read a SF novel by a female/non-binary/POC author - 1,000 points
Read a SF novel by an author from a country outside the US/UK - 1,000 points
Read a SF novel released in 2023 - 500 points

Extra bonus points:
Golden Triad: Read a novel (350 pages or more) from each of the three genres (1 x horror, 1 x fantasy and 1 x science fiction novel.) - 7,000 points.
The Golden Triad can be earned for each set of 3 genre novels completed and counts in addition to any other bonus prompts.

Tame the TBR: Read a SF novel which has been on your TBR/shelf for longer than a year - 200 points
Can be earned in conjunction with any other bonus prompts.

Hard mode [optional]:
For the novel categories (2nd and 3rd row from top) you can have fate decide which genre you will be reading. For each novel decided by fate you earn 300 extra points.
You'll need a D8 die to roll. The roll result for genres will be:
1 = Science Fiction
2 = Horror
3 = Fantasy
4 = Genre of your choosing
5= Science Fiction
6 = Fantasy
7 = Horror
8 = Genre of your choosing

Diane wrote: "Thanks for arranging this challenge, Crusader.

My points add up to 8500, if I’m working it out correctly.

Diane = 8500 points

I’ll need to work on this more in 2023."

Thanks for participating! Have your score on the list.

In 2023 you can do the Speculative Fiction Invaders challenge. Basically the same, but all speculative fiction genres count.

Carolien wrote: "Glad to see you are back with us, Crusader! Mine is 8000 points as far as I can see.

I like the changes to this year's version. I seldom read sci-fi, but adding some fantasy may help me!

Happy 2023!"

Thanks. Happy New Year to you too! Yeah, I had to take a break from April onward since I suffered from severe burnout. Struggled to even look at a book. It's much better now, so hopefully I'm back to normal.

Have added your points to the list.

Just a quick note for all those who participated in the challenge:
If you want your name featured on the leaderboard please provide me with your total score and preferred name/nickname by no later than 3 January.

Example:
Crusader - 259,000

For 2023 I'll be hosting a Speculative Fiction Invaders Reading challenge - https://worldsinink.blogspot.com/2023....

Same idea with a few subtle twists. And this time around all speculative fiction (fantasy/horror/scifi) counts!

Deathworld 1 + 2 + 3 = 6
The Ascendant Stars + Ancestral Machines = 3 + 4 = 7
Sporting Chance + Winning Colours = 2 + 3 = 5
To Sleep In a Sea of Stars = 1

Total: 19

Results for the 4th quarter are in:
Wayne - 8540
Diane - 5239
Bibliogothica - 3650
Crusader - 3623
Carolien - 1822

Congrats Wayne!

Yearly totals:
Wayne - 22373
Crusader - 14276
Diane - 11805
Bibliogothica - 10808
Carolien - 7317
Jax - 5588
Robert - 1456

And the epic reader for 2021 is Wayne! Congratulations.

@Carolien: You are welcome to post progress here. The whole idea is to have fun and have a goal to work towards. Plus it's hugely satisfying to cross an invader of the list. You can take your time and work through as many prompts as you want.

@Wayne: Unlike Space Invaders you can complete the prompts in any order you want. You don't need to clear them row by row from the bottom up. I didn't want things to be too restrictive.

I'm running a fun, science fiction themed reading challenge on my blog. While this is not an official SA Book & Challenge Lovers reading challenge I think some of you might be interested in participating and I'd be happy to run an offshoot of the challenge here.

Full details and game sheet is available here - https://worldsinink.blogspot.com/2021...

Think space invaders with sci-fi books. You download a game sheet, complete reading prompts and for each prompt completed you get to cross-off an invader. For each prompt you also earn points + bonus points (for additional criteria).

Prompts and criteria
As a general rule, unless otherwise stated, you are required to finish one book per prompt. Books cannot be used for multiple prompts. Each story in an anthology/collection counts as a single short story. (And yes, audiobooks and short story podcasts count too!)

Finish a sci-fi trilogy or series (50,000 points)
To complete this prompt you need to start and finish reading an entire science fiction trilogy during the year. For a longer series you need to finish the last 3 books in that series during the year. The 3 books used for this prompt do not count towards any other prompt.

Read a sci-fi novel with more than 500 pages (10,500 points)

Read a sci-fi novel with more than 350 pages (5,000 points)

Read a sci-fi novel/novella/graphic novel with more than 100 pages (2,000 points)

Read a sci-fi short story (500 points)

Bonus points:

You can earn bonus points by completing any of the following in conjunction with any regular prompt for novellas and above. Only one bonus condition can apply per prompt.

Read a sci-fi novel by a female/non-binary/POC author (1,000 points)
Read a sci-fi novel by an author from a country outside the US/UK (1,000 points)
Read a sci-fi novel released in 2022 (500 points)

Once you have destroyed all invaders you have completed the challenge OR you can level up and continue adding to your high score by completing multiple levels (game sheets) if that's what you want to do.

There's also a YouTube promo video I cobbled together - https://youtu.be/aGljEm0dN6A

Remember to update your epic reads for the last (fourth) quarter. I'll be compiling the results next weekend.

Quarter 1: Jan - March 2022: Total 752 pages
The Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O. - 752

Quarter 2: April - June 2022: Total 1970
The Ascendant Stars - 591
Ancestral Machines - 501
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars - 878

Quarter 3: Jul - Sept 2022: Total

Quarter 4: Oct - Dec 2022: Total

Grand total for 2022: xxx pages

The epic challenge is for 500+ page tomes - those epic novels we sometimes shy away from especially when trying to complete other reading challenges. You only need to read one 500+ page book in the 3-month period to complete the challenge, but you can read as many as you want and list them here, with the number of pages you've read.

To make things easier for me and to be sure I get the tally right at the end of the challenge, please use one post for planning and keeping track of your total page count, and be clear about how much you've read. You can post individual updates and chat about your books, as long as you have one post with all the info :)

Happy reading!

Rules
- Books must be at least 500 pages long.
- Because some people read eBooks that don't have page counts, they are allowed to choose an *appropriate* page count from the editions listed on Goodreads. To avoid being unfair to those reading print copies, they may also choose a higher page count from the list, even if it differs from their copy. After all, you can't always choose the print copy you buy, because of price, availability, etc.
- Note that I said an *appropriate* page count. Use basic editions, not large print, or editions with extra content that you haven't read. Also, you may only use the editions in the language in which you read the book.
- Omnibus editions are not allowed.
- Short story anthologies are allowed.
- If reading a book with indexes or any other content that you skip, make sure the page count of what you actually read amounts to 500+.

* Above text taken from original challenge.

******
Example:
Quarter 1: Jan - March 2022: Total xxxx pages
Book Title 1 - xxx pages
Book Title 2 - xxx pages

Quarter 2: April - June 2022: Total

Quarter 3: Jul - Sept 2022: Total

Quarter 4: Oct - Dec 2022: Total

Grand total for 2022: xxxxxx

I hope everyone has had time to update their totals.

The results for the third quarter are:
Crusader - 3625
Wayne - 3360
Carolien - 1012
Bibliogothica - 912
Diane - 559
Marlese - 550

Good luck for the fourth quarter!

Reader's Warehouse has a 50% off sale on selected stock both online and in stores. Selection varies by store.

The results for the second quarter are in:

Wayne - 6169
Crusader - 4856
Diane - 4231
Jax - 2916
Carolien - 2159
Bibliogothica - 1031

Congrats to Wayne for being our Epic Reader.

Just a reminder for everyone to update their information as the end of the quarter is approaching fast. Results for the 2nd quarter will be calculated by 9 July.

Jax wrote: "Crusader wrote: "The results for the 1st Quarter are in:
Wayne 3695
Bibliogothica 2802
Crusader 2172"

Oh man! I'm going to need to set myself reminders this year!
I completely forgot to update! *..."

As long as you don't dethrone Wayne, I'm fine if you still want to post updates. I might have been in a hurry to get the totals up before I forgot about them.

Next time I'll wait at least a week.

The results for the 1st Quarter are in:
Wayne 3695
Bibliogothica 4708
Jax 2672
Crusader 2172
Diane 1776
Robert 1456
Babz 1229
Carolien 1043
Lu 561
Marina 501

Our epic reader for the first quarter is Wayne. Congratulations!

Edit:
Bibliogothica, Diane & Jax updated after totals were announced.

Read 45 books

Read 20 books I already own

Read 20000 pages

Gardens of the Moon - 1
Edgedancer - 2.5
Deadhouse Gates - 2
The Calculating Stars + The Fated Sky = 3
Tiamat's Wrath = 8
Proxima + Ultima = 3
Safehold (1-3) = 1+2+3 = 6
Absolution Gap = 3
Shards of Earth - 1
Dune + Dune Messiah - 1 +2 = 3
Alphabet Squadron - 1
Reviver - 1
The Human - 3
The Relentless Moon - 3
Thousand Deaths of Ardor Benn - 1
Leviathan Falls - 9

TOTAL: 50.5

Need something fun to make the year a bit brighter so I'm in!