The Next Best Book Club discussion

OBJECTIVE –
To touch all of the 400 shelves on the official list or have touched the most shelves by the end date, July 31st.

DATES
Start: May 1, 2016
*Any book that you finish after this date can be used for this challenge.
End - July 31, 2016

TOUCHING A SHELF

1). Here is how you find the page and “touch” a shelf -
- Find the book you just read and click on it so you get to the book's main page page.
For example - Click on the link - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee- After you get to this page, look all the way to the right hand side and scroll down a little to find "Genres" and then a link to click on "See top shelves... click on it and you should get to this page (https - //www.goodreads.com/work/shelves/44458285) which is a list of the most popular shelves for Go Set A Watchman. Now you mark off the shelves you "touched" from our official list of Shelf-a-Thon shelves.

In this case you would "touch" 119 shelves.

2). A single book may be found on several shelves however we will only count the first 2 pages of top shelves for this book. For example, you may find a book that has 80+ pages of shelves (Go Set a Watchman), but only count the first two pages.

3). You don’t have to read off the shelves in any particular order.

4). The name of shelves must MATCH EXACTLY to the shelf you are trying to count. No deviations are acceptable (check the spelling off the official list below). For example one shelf reads - 2014-read and another 2014-reads or childrens or children-s.

5). It is highly likely to read a book that is found on a shelf you've already counted. I may read 10 books that include the shelf "books-i-own". Once I crossed it off, I do not count it as an additional shelf.


REPORTING -
All we want you to report on the thread is the number of books you've read and the number of shelves these books are found on. Do not report titles because that will give your competitors a strategic edge. I will be creating a another thread where people can post questions on where to find a shelf. So if someone is looking specifically for economics, they can ask other players where they found that shelf. Some of us would like to keep this a secret, as it may give the competitors who are trying to get the most shelves more of an advantage.

For example -
52 shelves
2 books

You must track the titles read and the shelves on your own. You can come up with your own method of tracking. Some print the list and highlight the shelves they have hit, but some challengers (including myself) have made a excel spreadsheet, which can be requested by other players via email.

HOW DO I GET RID OF SHELVES I CAN'T TOUCH??

1). If you read a book with a certain amount of pages, you can cross off a shelf you are finding difficult to hit. If you cross off a shelf and later hit it, you CANNOT change your original shelf.

* If a book has 400-499 pages - Mark off 1 extra shelf of your choice
* If a book has 500-599 pages - Mark off 2 extra shelves of your choice
* If a book has 600-699 pages - Mark off 3 extra shelves of your choice
* For more than 700 pages - Mark off 4 extra shelves of your choice
Please include this in your reporting.
For example -
216 shelves
23 books
Book over 400 pages, crossed off: so and so shelf.

2). We will continue to celebrate GR authors, so if you read a book by a Goodreads author, you can eliminate one shelf. Again, this information should be included in your reporting. If a book is written by dual authors and both are Goodreads authors, only one is allowed for an extra shelf cross-off.
For example - Book by a Goodreads author, crossed off: so and so shelf.

3). At the end of the first and second month, the top three shelvers will be allowed to cross off 3 shelves. I will also randomly (names out of a hat) pick 3 people to cross off 3 shelves of their choice.
This must also be noted in reporting
For Example - Top Shelver this month crossed off: so and so shelf

4). So I read a book and had no new shelves!!!
I know this has happened to me plenty of times and it is disappointing to not have a single cross-off. This time around any book you read that is over 200 pages that did not touch a new shelf, you are allowed one cross-off extra. This also must be noted in reporting
For Example - Book with ### pages but no cross offs, crossed off: so and so shelf

5). Every Sunday, a random shelf will be posted. If you finish a book that touches that shelf (even if you have already previously touched the shelf) before the next random shelf is posted, you will get to cross off 5 extra shelves. This also must be noted in reporting
For Example - Hit selected random shelf, crossed off: 5 shelves

***Please keep track of extra shelves you mark off. These will be important in the next challenge****

Here is a sample post
244 shelves (17 extras)
7 books

Cross-off extras -
Book #1-GR author - crossed off: lgbt
Book #3->400 pages - crossed off: business
Book #4->GR Author and over 500 pages - crossed off: Manga, psychology and politics
Book #5->400 pages - crossed off: music
Book #6-GR author and Hit Random Shelf (on-deck) - crossed off: picture-books, mm, manga, religion, school, science and sub
Book #7 250 pages No Shelves hit - crossed off: children-s-books
Top Shelver!! - crossed off: graphic-novel, graphic-novels, and overdrive


If you have any questions, please ask here.

CHALLENGE 20 SHELVES

Our second random shelf is read-2012
If a book you read between 9pm Sunday May 8th and 9pm Sunday May 15th touches this shelf, you may mark off 5 additional shelves. Please indicate this in your reporting.

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2012-reads
2013-books
2013-read
2013-reads
2014-books
2014-read
2014-reads
2015-reading-challenge
2015-reads
3-star
4-star
5-star
abandoned
action
action-adventure
adult
adult-fiction
adventure
all
all-books
all-time-favorites
alpha-male
already-read
amazon
american
animals
arc
art
at-library
audible
audio
audiobook
audio-book
audiobooks
audio-books
available
bdsm
biography
book
bookclub
book-club
books
bookshelf
books-i-have
books-i-own
books-i-want
books-owned
books-read-in-2013
books-to-buy
borrowed
bought
british
business
buy
check
chick-lit
childhood
children
childrens
children-s
childrens-books
children-s-books
christian
christian-fiction
classic
classics
collection
college
comedy
comics
coming-of-age
coming-soon
considering
contemporary
contemporary-fiction
contemporary-romance
cookbooks
could-not-finish
couldn-t-finish
crime
currently-reading
dark
death
default
did-not-finish
didn-t-finish
digital
dnf
done
do-not-own
downloaded
drama
dystopia
dystopian
ebook
e-book
ebooks
e-books
ebooks-i-own
education
england
english
epub
erotic
erotica
erotic-romance
europe
family
fantasy
fantasy-sci-fi
faves
favorite
favorite-author
favorite-authors
favorite-books
Favorites *****This is a free shelf, everyone gets to mark it off***
favorites
favorite-series
favourite
favourite-books
favourites
favs
fiction
fiction-to-read
finished
first-in-series
first-reads
for-review
for-school
free
freebie
freebies
french
friendship
fun
funny
gave-up
gave-up-on
general
general-fiction
german
giveaways
graphic-novel
graphic-novels
hardcover
have
have-it
have-read
have-to-read
high-school
historical
historical-fiction
historical-romance
history
home
home-library
horror
humor
humour
in-library
in-my-library
interesting
i-own
i-own-it
ipad
juvenile
kids
kids-books
kindle
kindle-books
kindle-owned
kindle-to-read
kobo
later
lendable
lgbt
library
library-book
library-books
literary
literary-fiction
literature
love
loved
loved-it
magic
*****Manga******* GR glitch, everyone can cross off this shelf
manga
maybe
maybe-read
maybe-to-read
meh
memoir
middle-grade
might-read
military
mine
misc
mm
m-m
modern
music
must-read
must-reads
my-books
my-bookshelf
my-collection
my-ebooks
my-favorites
my-library
mysteries
mystery
mystery-suspense
mystery-thriller
mythology
need
need-to-buy
need-to-get
need-to-read
netgalley
never-finished
new
new-adult
next
next-to-read
next-up
nonfiction
non-fiction
nook
nook-books
not-finished
not-interested
not-out-yet
not-owned
not-read
not-yet-released
novel
novella
novels
on-deck
on-hold
on-kindle
on-my-bookshelf
on-my-kindle
on-my-shelf
on-the-shelf
other
overdrive
own
own-a-copy
own-but-haven-t-read
own-but-not-read
own-ebook
owned
owned-books
owned-but-not-read
owned-not-read
owned-tbr
owned-to-read
owned-unread
own-it
own-kindle
own-not-read
own-tbr
own-to-read
own-unread
paperback
paranormal
paranormal-romance
part-of-a-series
personal-library
philosophy
picture-book
picture-books
plays
poetry
politics
print
priority
psychology
purchased
read-2011
read-2012
read-2013
read-2014
read-2015
read-again
read-for-school
read-in-2009
read-in-2010
read-in-2011
read-in-2012
read-in-2013
read-in-2014
read-in-2015
read-more-than-once
read-next
read-soon
realistic-fiction
really-want-to-read
recommendations
recommended
relationships
religion
reread
re-read
review
reviewed
romance
romantic-suspense
scanned
school
science
science-fiction
science-fiction-fantasy
scifi
sci-fi
scifi-fantasy
sci-fi-fantasy
self-help
series
series-to-read
SF *****This is a free shelf, everyone gets to mark it off***
sf
shelfari-favorites
shelfari-wishlist
shelved
short-stories
short-story
soon
speculative-fiction
spirituality
standalone
stand-alone
started
stories
sub
summer-reading
supernatural
suspense
tbr
tbr-own
tbr-pile
teen
thriller
thrillers
to-be-read
to-be-released
to-buy
to-buy? *****This is a free shelf, everyone gets to mark it off***

to-find
to-get
to-purchase
to-read
to-read-2
to-read-fiction
to-read-kindle
to-read-later
to-read-maybe
to-read-next
to-read-own
to-read-owned
to-read-series
to-read-soon
to-reread
to-re-read
to-review
travel
unfinished
unowned
unread
unsorted
up-next
urban-fantasy
usa
vampire
vampires
waiting
want
wanted
want-to-buy
want-to-own
want-to-read
war
wishlist
wish-list
women
ya
ya-fiction
young-adult

Hey Beth, Manga and manga are both on the list. Is that a mistake?

Sorry guys, I'm not sure I understand this but I'll watch and see what happens. That is likely to help me. Never done a challenge like this before.

Sure, I'll do this, and I'll be sure to read some long books so I can choose shelves I don't read.

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2012-reads
2013-books
2013-read
2013-reads
2014-books
2014-read
2014-reads
2015-reading-challenge
2015-reads
3-star
4-star
5-star
abandoned
action
action-adventure
adult
adult-fiction
adventure
all
all-books
all-time-favorites
alpha-male
already-read
amazon
american
animals
arc
art
at-library
audible
audio
audiobook
audio-book
audiobooks
audio-books
available
bdsm
biography
book
bookclub
book-club
books
bookshelf
books-i-have
books-i-own
books-i-want
books-owned
books-read-in-2013
books-to-buy
borrowed
bought
british
business
buy
check
chick-lit
childhood
children
childrens
children-s
childrens-books
children-s-books
christian
christian-fiction
classic
classics
collection
college
comedy
comics
coming-of-age
coming-soon
considering
contemporary
contemporary-fiction
contemporary-romance
cookbooks
could-not-finish
couldn-t-finish
crime
currently-reading
dark
death
default
did-not-finish
didn-t-finish
digital
dnf
done
do-not-own
downloaded
drama
dystopia
dystopian
ebook
e-book
ebooks
e-books
ebooks-i-own
education
england
english
epub
erotic
erotica
erotic-romance
europe
family
fantasy
fantasy-sci-fi
faves
favorite
favorite-author
favorite-authors
favorite-books
Favorites
favorites
favorite-series
favourite
favourite-books
favourites
favs
fiction
fiction-to-read
finished
first-in-series
first-reads
for-review
for-school
free
freebie
freebies
french
friendship
fun
funny
gave-up
gave-up-on
general
general-fiction
german
giveaways
graphic-novel
graphic-novels
hardcover
have
have-it
have-read
have-to-read
high-school
historical
historical-fiction
historical-romance
history
home
home-library
horror
humor
humour
in-library
in-my-library
interesting
i-own
i-own-it
ipad
juvenile
kids
kids-books
kindle
kindle-books
kindle-owned
kindle-to-read
kobo
later
lendable
lgbt
library
library-book
library-books
literary
literary-fiction
literature
love
loved
loved-it
magic
Manga
manga
maybe
maybe-read
maybe-to-read
meh
memoir
middle-grade
might-read
military
mine
misc
mm
m-m
modern
music
must-read
must-reads
my-books
my-bookshelf
my-collection
my-ebooks
my-favorites
my-library
mysteries
mystery
mystery-suspense
mystery-thriller
mythology
need
need-to-buy
need-to-get
need-to-read
netgalley
never-finished
new
new-adult
next
next-to-read
next-up
nonfiction
non-fiction
nook
nook-books
not-finished
not-interested
not-out-yet
not-owned
not-read
not-yet-released
novel
novella
novels
on-deck
on-hold
on-kindle
on-my-bookshelf
on-my-kindle
on-my-shelf
on-the-shelf
other
overdrive
own
own-a-copy
own-but-haven-t-read
own-but-not-read
own-ebook
owned
owned-books
owned-but-not-read
owned-not-read
owned-tbr
owned-to-read
owned-unread
own-it
own-kindle
own-not-read
own-tbr
own-to-read
own-unread
paperback
paranormal
paranormal-romance
part-of-a-series
personal-library
philosophy
picture-book
picture-books
plays
poetry
politics
print
priority
psychology
purchased
read-2011
read-2012
read-2013
read-2014
read-2015
read-again
read-for-school
read-in-2009
read-in-2010
read-in-2011
read-in-2012
read-in-2013
read-in-2014
read-in-2015
read-more-than-once
read-next
read-soon
realistic-fiction
really-want-to-read
recommendations
recommended
relationships
religion
reread
re-read
review
reviewed
romance
romantic-suspense
scanned
school
science
science-fiction
science-fiction-fantasy
scifi
sci-fi
scifi-fantasy
sci-fi-fantasy
self-help
series
series-to-read
SF
sf
shelfari-favorites
shelfari-wishlist
shelved
short-stories
short-story
soon
speculative-fiction
spirituality
standalone
stand-alone
started
stories
sub
summer-reading
supernatural
suspense
tbr
tbr-own
tbr-pile
teen
thriller
thrillers
to-be-read
to-be-released
to-buy
to-buy?
to-find
to-get
to-purchase
to-read
to-read-2
to-read-fiction
to-read-kindle
to-read-later
to-read-maybe
to-read-next
to-read-own
to-read-owned
to-read-series
to-read-soon
to-reread
to-re-read
to-review
travel
unfinished
unowned
unread
unsorted
up-next
urban-fantasy
usa
vampire
vampires
waiting
want
wanted
want-to-buy
want-to-own
want-to-read
war
wishlist
wish-list
women
ya
ya-fiction
young-adult

Pamela wrote: "Sorry guys, I'm not sure I understand this but I'll watch and see what happens. That is likely to help me. Never done a challenge like this before."

Please feel free to ask any questions you have. It seems complicated but it really isn't.

You will be posting your results in the reporting thread. You do not need to tell us the shelves you cross off for the book itself. Just the number of books read and the number of shelves crossed off. However, extra shelves that you cross off due to GR Authors, Page Length etc.....you do need to list.


Here is an example of a reporting post.

Here is a sample post
244 shelves (17 extras)
7 books

Cross-off extras -
Book #1-GR author - extra crossed off: lgbt
Book #3->400 pages - extra crossed off: business
Book #4->GR Author and over 500 pages - extra crossed off: Manga, psychology and politics
Book #5->400 pages - extra crossed off: music
Book #6-GR author and Hit Random Shelf (on-deck) -extra crossed off: picture-books, mm, manga, religion, school, science and sub
Book #7 250 pages No Shelves hit - extra crossed off: children-s-books
Top Shelver!! - extra crossed off: graphic-novel, graphic-novels, and overdrive

Maggie wrote: "Hey Beth, Manga and manga are both on the list. Is that a mistake?"

It seems that the Manga shelf is a glitch on Goodreads, since it has the same exact books as manga. So I am considering that a free spot.

Everyone can mark it as crossed off.

Thanks Beth! I spotted another two more that seem like glitches, Favorites and favorites, and SF and sf.

Another question – are audiobooks allowed?

Thank you also for restarting this challenge. There have been a few false starts since Challenge 19, and I'm so glad that we're back. I really appreciate your efforts. If there's any way I can make your job easier, please let me know.

No Favorites and favorites are two different shelves as are SF and sf. Audiobooks are allowed as long as there is a paperback edition that you can use.

Our first random shelf is to-read-maybe
If a book you read before next Sunday (May 8th) touches this shelf, you may mark off 5 additional shelves.

Thanks Beth, but SF and sf have the same books, as do Favorites and favorites, from what I can see on this page: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf

Maggie wrote: "Thanks Beth, but SF and sf have the same books, as do Favorites and favorites, from what I can see on this page: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf"

Thank you for pointing that out. Odd, because when I looked the other day, they had different numbers on them. Since the challenge has started, lets leave them as they are. If you hit one, you will hit both of them anyway.
I will make sure and remove the extras from the list in the next challenge.

Thanks Beth! So we cross off Manga from the start, but we cross of Favorite and SF only when we cross off their counterparts? Got it :)

Maggie wrote: "Thanks Beth! So we cross off Manga from the start, but we cross of Favorite and SF only when we cross off their counterparts? Got it :)"

That has now changed. Sorry for the confusion.....This resurrection is a work in progress.

Everyone can cross Manga, Favorite and SF off from the beginning.........

This is the first time I'm doing this challenge -- I finished a book on May 1, does that one count for this challenge?

Deedee wrote: "This is the first time I'm doing this challenge -- I finished a book on May 1, does that one count for this challenge?"

Yes, any book you finish between May 1 and July 31 count

if anyone needs it - i have a spreadsheet from one of the previous shelf a thon challenges, and have put the new shelves in

I am going to give this challenge a try. I may drive myself crazy trying to figure this "touching shelf" reporting thing out.

Does a shelf "I-own-it" count for "i-own-it" ?

This sounds fun. I am going to try to play along and hopefully it will make more sense as I go along.

Chere wrote: "Does a shelf "I-own-it" count for "i-own-it" ?"

That shelf is actually 'l-own-it' as in L not 'I-own-it'.

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/l-ow...

When listed shelves don't get capital letters. I think that's the issue with the duplicate shelves as they are all ones with capitals.

Another shelf issue - when I try to find the 'to-buy?' shelf I just get 'to-buy'.

I just tried creating a 'to-buy?' shelf on my profile and it defaulted to 'to-buy'.

Pigletto wrote: "
When listed shelves don't get capital letters. I think that's the issue with the duplicate shelvs as they are all ones with capitals...."

You are right Pigletto, the shelves with capital letters are a glitch in the Goodreads shelf listing. With this being my first challenge as a moderator, I am still working the bugs out.

Pigletto wrote: "Another shelf issue - when I try to find the 'to-buy?' shelf I just get 'to-buy'.

I just tried creating a 'to-buy?' shelf on my profile and it defaulted to 'to-buy'."

Yep, one more freebie...

to-buy? is also a free shelf for everyone but NOT the to-buy shelf.

Beth wrote: "to-buy? is also a free shelf for everyone but NOT the to-buy shelf."

Don't you just love the GR glitches and how they create so many problems for challenges???????????????

Sandy wrote: "Beth wrote: "to-buy? is also a free shelf for everyone but NOT the to-buy shelf."

Don't you just love the GR glitches and how they create so many problems for challenges???????????????"

Well we wouldn't want it to be boring now would we? LOL I have to say my admiration and respect for challenge moderators which was already high is growing by leaps and bounds.

Pigletto wrote: "Chere wrote: "Does a shelf "I-own-it" count for "i-own-it" ?"

That shelf is actually 'l-own-it' as in L not 'I-own-it'.

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/l-ow...

When listed shelves don't get c..."

OK, thanks for clearing that up for me.

Wow, so many glitches! So we all get 4 free shelves? Nice head start!

And don't worry about there being some mistakes, Beth. You've already done so much getting this challenge set up and I'm very grateful to you that we're even doing this. We can fix the mistakes in the next challenge, but for now, I'm loving the current challenge :)

Maggie wrote: "Wow, so many glitches! So we all get 4 free shelves? Nice head start!

And don't worry about there being some mistakes, Beth. You've already done so much getting this challenge set up and I'm very ..."
Thank you so much Maggie and am glad you are enjoying the challenge

Our second random shelf is read-2012
If a book you read between 9pm Sunday May 8th and 9pm Sunday May 15th touches this shelf, you may mark off 5 additional shelves. Please indicate this in your reporting.

Hi Beth, I was wondering which Nicole I was on the challenge page?

Nicole wrote: "Hi Beth, I was wondering which Nicole I was on the challenge page?"

You are Nicole_MD

Beth wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Hi Beth, I was wondering which Nicole I was on the challenge page?"

You are Nicole_MD"

thank you!

Our next random shelf is borrowed
If a book you read between Sunday May 15th and Sunday May 22nd touches this shelf, you may mark off 5 additional shelves.

If I hit the random shelf with two books in a week, can I cross off an additional five shelves, ie ten shelves altogether?

If I hit the random shelf with two books in a week, can I cross off an additional five shelves, ie ten shelves altogether?

Maggie wrote: "If I hit the random shelf with two books in a week, can I cross off an additional five shelves, ie ten shelves altogether?"

Yes as long as it is in the time period for that shelf

Sorry I was out of town for the weekend and had no internet. I will update totals tomorrow.
Meanwhile.....
Our next random shelf is summer-reading
If a book you read between Sunday May 22nd and Sunday May 29th touches this shelf, you may mark off 5 additional shelves

I finished a book and checked the main page for the book, there isn't a genres link to shelves for the book what does that mean?

Chere wrote: "I finished a book and checked the main page for the book, there isn't a genres link to shelves for the book what does that mean?"

It means that it's a book that hasn't been shelved by very few people so there is no list of shelves. I'm taking it that we can cross off one shelf re 4). So I read a book and had no new shelves!!! rule. The book has to be over 200 pages. I may be wrong though.

Thank you, for the help Pigletto. Lucky for me it is more then 200 pages. I enjoyed the book so even if no shelves were gained It was worth my time.

Pigletto wrote: "Chere wrote: "I finished a book and checked the main page for the book, there isn't a genres link to shelves for the book what does that mean?"

It means that it's a book that hasn't been shelved b..."

Sorry guys, I had a death in the family and got a little behind. I will get new totals posted tomorrow and a new random shelf.

Since we didn't have a random shelf for last week we will have two this week. Our Random Shelves this week are gave-up-pm and need-to-buy if you hit touch either of these shelves between May 29th and June 12th you get to mark off 5 additional shelves.

The highest scorers for May were:

Rebecca NJ with 369 shelves
Sandy with 336 shelves
Pigletto with 323 shelves

Congratulations you get to mark off 3 additional shelves!!!!!!

The three random players chosen were:

Chere
Maggie
Jessica

Congratulations you all also get to cross off 3 shelves!!!!!!!

Our random shelf this week is love

Our random shelf this week is contemporary If you touch this shelf between June 19th and June 26th you get to mark off 5 more shelves.

It is echoing in here.................