Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

• Jenny Stephenson (Captain)
• Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* (Co-Captain)
• Alysa
• Christina
• Donna
• megan
• Nancy

Team sheet
Status sheet

r

r

Important Links

Planning Spreadsheet

AR Bookfinder

Rules

timeline

res

res

Progress and Coverage Tracking

WEEK ONE Game Placement: SECOND PLACE
WEEK TWO Game Placement: FIRST PLACE
WEEK THREE Game Placement: FIRST PLACE
WEEK FOUR Game Placement: FIRST PLACE

Tips and Such For Extra Points

◈ The team will get an extra 15 completion points if all the letters in the word are part of their spell-it-out
◈ Each word on the wheel has been paired with a genre. If you read and use a book with the matching genre, you will gain 5 bonus points per book, for a maximum of 10 books / 50 points.
◈ BOM's earn extra points. 20 for answering questions. 40 additional points for asking, making 60 bonus points total.

🔹 Genres have to match EXACTLY. They can be singular or plural, but the word has to be by itself and cannot be combined with another. For instance, I asked if Action-Adventure would be acceptable for Adventure, and was told no.

50 Genre Points can be earned per week. If we max out for all 8 weeks, that's 400 extra points.

💡 Important: Make sure the edition you mark as completed is the same edition that is on your shelf as "read", because we have to go by the page count of the edition you have marked read.

Points: (view spoiler)[
◈ Books between 160 and 200 pages = 5 points
◈ Books between 201 and 300 pages = 10 points
◈ Books between 301 and 400 pages = 20 points
◈ Books between 401 and 500 pages = 40 points
◈ Books between 501 and 650 pages = 60 points
◈ Books between 651 and 800 pages = 80 points
◈ Books over 801 pages = 100 points (hide spoiler)]

👼🏽 Need Help with Genres? See our Planning Spreadsheet Genre Tab Here

⏱️ Time Zone Conversion

BOOK OF THE MONTH COVERAGE



🔸June 16 - The Upside of Unrequited | Genre: YA Romance | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Jenny, Christina - Christina wins the Q&A (Day 4) 🔥
🔸June 17 - Backroom Book - Perfect Formation | Genre: Erotica | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Erin, Jenny, Nancy, Christina - No Daily Questions
🔸July 2 - Daisy Jones & The Six | Genre: Historical / Literary Fiction | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Jenny, megan, Christina, Erin - No Daily Questions
🔸July 16 - Dry | Genre: YA Science Fiction | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Erin, Alysa, Jenny, Christina
🔸July 17 - Backroom Book - What Remains | Genre: LGBT Romance | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Erin, Jenny, Megan, Alysa
🔸July 17 - This is How It Always Is | Genre: Drama | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Jenny, Christina
🔸August 2 - Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch | Genre: Fantasy | Discussion
↪ Who's Reading: Megan, Jenny, Alysa

💪🏼 BOM's earn additional points. When answering questions, please answer at least three day's worth to make sure it counts and points achieved. NBRC Backroom will also have a BOM that would count for points - these are usually Erotica or Adult Romance.

Hi team!
Welcome to the wonderful world of way too much brown!
The challenge starts in a couple of days, and I hope that everyone is getting excited. We will be posting links to rules, spreadsheets, and other important stuff shortly.

If you have not played Wheel before, don't worry, it is easy to figure out. We will have a planning spreadsheet set up to enter books into. If there is anyone who is not comfortable using the spreadsheet, we can enter stuff for you.

I am Jenny, from Phoenix, AZ, where it is getting into the "why do I live here when it is soooooo hot?" time of year. I own/run a custom picture frame shop, live with two lovely fuzzy kitties (pictured), read too much (if there is such a thing as too much), am a political junkie ( : (( ), football (American) fan, and science nerd. Me in a nutshell.

Looking forward to a great challenge!

Hi folks!
I am excited!
I'm Alysa, from NYC... which is also about so start the "why do I live here when it is soooooo hot?" time of year, but in the dirty humidity way. At least today it is windy and rainy, so there's that.

I'm a librarian in real life, and I have an 8 1/2 year old daughter. Like Jenny, I also read possibly too much and am something of a political junkie, though focusing on reading challenges helps me to lay off from constantly refreshing the news sites.

This is my 3rd team challenge, the previous being Cutthroat and Wheel in 2018. My team won Cutthroat, and my team won 2 of the 3 categories in that Wheel (!)... I am apparently super-competitive and have gotten used to winning. :D :D :D

I don't want to step on any captains' toes, but I am more than happy to share winning strategy and "backseat captain", basically.
Looking at the rules/point system of this Wheel challenge, in which there is only one winning category, the traditional "Most Points Wins!", it makes sense to stick to the longest books possible, as much as possible, with some detours for bonus points if we think it's worth it (Genre Shelves, BOMS, and apparently "difficult letters"). I realize that we'll all have different book/reading preferences, but, like, math says 10 books worth 80 or 100 points each is going to be a lot better for us than 30 books worth 20 points each.

During the 1st week, I'm still reading for the Right Side Up Challenge, but I'm gonna start in on some tres long stuff too.

Hey team, excited to be playing another round of Wheel-a-thon. I'm your Co-Captain this time, have the tendency to go into random annoying cheerleader modes (who knows why??), and seriously love these team challenges.

Like Jenny, I live somewhere that gets too hot this time of year - Florida. I live with my son part of the time, my two cats (Kibbles and Malz), with my parents across the street - they have four indoor cats and two outdoor ones, and my brother inside there somewhere. We're a happy family; God has greatly blessed us.

I read almost every genre, but my favorites are Urban Fantasy, Romance, Mystery, Drama and Horror.

Hi Jenny (so we meet again ;)) and everybody else! *waves*

My name is Christina, and apparently I'm the only European in this team (I originally sort of messed up my application but thankfully still got squeezed in with you guys yesterday). I live in Austria and I can confirm that I am as well wondering why I haven't emmigrated to Iceland yet. I may be an anomaly but I definitely prefer winter to summer and I am proud to say so.

When I'm not at work, I spend way too much time on youtube watching booktube videos, vlogs, and sims 4 builds + let's plays while playing the sims 4 myself lol, and on days where work hasn't been too busy and stressful I usually take my dog for a walk at night and listen to audiobooks while doing so.

I'm super excited for this challenge to start - it's my first wheelathon! - and here's the link to my wat bookshelf: wheelathon-iv (I named it differently than I had originally planned)

Alysa wrote: "Hi folks!
I am excited!
I'm Alysa, from NYC... which is also about so start the "why do I live here when it is soooooo hot?" time of year, but in the dirty humidity way. At least today it is windy..."

Welcome, Alysa!

First, congrats on being a Librarian. I think that is the dream job for many wee bookworms as we're growing up.

I didn't participate in Cutthroat, avoided, but I love the Towers and Wheels challenges here. I was also around for the infamous Wobble.

I like seeing different strategies since of course I also like for our team to do well. Longer books give more points, but I've seen several teams do well with quantity too if they can dish out enough short books. Ideally we could all read nine 800 books a week, but alas... :)

And feel free to keep offering brainstorming advice and plotting - that's what we're here for, after all.

*rubs hands together somewhat gleefully*

Alysa, feel free to backseat captain all you want. I do not get offended by suggestions or ideas.

Christine, good to be playing with you again. I am from Wisconsin originally, and I do miss the cold as well. Iceland? Sure. let's go.

Hi All!

I am Donna, a stay at home mom in Pennsylvania. I have 3 kids, one of whom is now a marine! I have my fur babies also (my 4 cats and 1 dog- yeah they seem to multiply because I can't help but take in the strays). I love to read and read mostly anything but nonfiction. My favorites are science fiction and Fantasy. I will probably not read much the first couple weeks of the challenge as I am in the middle of packing. We are moving at the end of the month. Once I am settled, I am sure my reading will go back up to normal levels. I can't wait to get settled and really get into this challenge as it is always one of my favorites.

I think this is going to be a good team.

*evil laugh*

Well, with you on the team, it definitely won't be boring....LOL

@Christina: If it makes you feel any better, I am an honorary European. My partner of 17 years is from France and his entire family is still there. (We'll be visiting for a couple of weeks this summer, in late-July.)

@Jenny: I've never been to Wisconsin, but am going for the first time over Labor Day weekend to reunite with some long-lost relatives. It's not cold then, but still. :D

@Erin: re quantity of short books. It can be pulled off, but it's REALLY difficult depending on what other teams do. In the last Wheel, there were 2 teams *miles and miles* of everyone else in the "Traditional Points" category, in large part because they had some power readers w/many long books.

Hey all!

I'm checking in from eastern Canada, and who the heck knows what our summer will be! Last few days were too muggy and too hot, now we are cooler and rain .

I did a few team challenged a few years ago, but took a break cause life got hectic. I'm picking a heck of a time to jump back in, as life is about to get hectic again! I'm about 6 1/2 months pregnant, but this challenge ends before my due date, so should be good. I did sign up at only 1 book a week just in case though :)

Looks like our first word is Umber?

Just looking at my TBR there are two books that stand out as options for me to read this week.

Written in Red A shifter book at 430 pages that would work for at least M,B,E. Or Under the Never Sky a shorter non-shifter book that would work for U if we are having trouble finding those :)

I'm on mobile and can't quite figure out linking books, but will add once I'm on a computer.

Really looking forward to working with you all!

Christina wrote: "Hi Jenny (so we meet again ;)) and everybody else! *waves*

My name is Christina, and apparently I'm the only European in this team (I originally sort of messed up my application but thankfully sti..."

Hey, Christina! I also love Sims, but still play 3

Donna wrote: "Hi All!

I am Donna, a stay at home mom in Pennsylvania. I have 3 kids, one of whom is now a marine! I have my fur babies also (my 4 cats and 1 dog- yeah they seem to multiply because I can't help ..."

Welcome, Donna!

Welcome Nancy!
We will be figuring out how to enter books shortly, so don't worry about it today.

I am checking out my TBR shelf to see what long books I have been waiting to read. Also U books. I think in the group we will fill out the quota on shifter books for the week.

This is going to be fun!

Nancy wrote: "Hey all!

I'm checking in from eastern Canada, and who the heck knows what our summer will be! Last few days were too muggy and too hot, now we are cooler and rain .

I did a few team challenged a ..."

Welcome Nancy, and congrats on the upcoming baby!

You are correct, this first word will be UMBER, and the bonus tag Shifter. I am working on a shifter series right now actually

I am building a planning spreadsheet today that will be out today as well.

I like Alysa's suggestion on longer books for more points when possible.

Perhaps an idea would be a to compile a list of long books that we know for sure are easy reads (not dense writing styles) that match some themes, in case anyone ever wants to read them for one of our themed words. This pre-planning stage is certainly fun

Ooh, good idea. I love looking for books!

I still have all my planning docs from the last Wheel (because of course I do), and unfortunately I blew through nearly all of my U books then.
I do have one that's 416 pages... though there's some Amazon/GR confusion over whether it's actually 390 or 416 pages. I will look for more stuff if more Us are needed. I can do a character name search on my Kindle(s) if nothing else.

Just FYI:
My planned RSUC books include Brown Girl in the Ring (B title), Wilder Girls (R author), This Is How You Lose the Time War (M and E authors), and Cold Waters (may not have any letters). All will be checked for character names. None of them are especially long. :/

I may try to bang out Cold Waters before Wheel starts, in case of no matching letters anyway.

If anyone is looking for a really long U book, because, why not, the King'sUnder the Dome is one of his better books, and good on audio. I may re-listen.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Perhaps an idea would be a to compile a list of long books that we know for sure are easy reads (not dense writing styles) ..."

I made a list of the longest books on my TBR that I own or can get quickly from libraries, and matched them to the Genre Shelves bonus list. Pretty much all fantasy books are shelved "Adventure" so that ones is easy, but the rest can be tough.
With so many fantasy fans, I think this team can definitely cover "shifters" for maximum points in Week 1. :)

I am going to try reading a series of 100 pointers and 80 pointers alongside more "regular length" books, so that I can finish a 100 point book in every week or at least every other week. I also recommend holding off on finishing these types of books until we know what word we will get for any given week, in case they match/don't match a particular genre shelf for Bonus points.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "I am building a planning spreadsheet today that will be out today as well."


Squeee! Can't wait to see it!
*spreadsheet love*

I'm already loving our team :D

Love the idea of compiling a list of longer books for the genres! I can definitely fit in longer books, as long as I can get them in time from the library :)

Under the Dome is a beast, and I'd love to read it, but there's a wait at my library unfortunately.

As another fellow spreadsheet lover, can't wait to see the planning document!!

Who would like their own tab on the planning spreadsheet?

I am almost done.

You will be able to put in your planned books in the spreadsheet already in the official team tab, but if anyone wants their own "name" spreadsheet for planning, notes, their private space - let me know

I found another U book (U series name) that is a 40 pointer. Better than nothing, perhaps. Doesn't match the genre though.

@Erin, I think my private planning notes are way too messy and embarrassing to reveal to anybody else, LOL.

I'm gonna wait and see what our Team planning tab looks like. What we did in Wheel III was certainly successful so I'm curious to see how this'll compare.

Alysa wrote: "I'm gonna wait and see what our Team planning tab looks like. What we did in Wheel III was certainly successful so I'm curious to see how this'll compare.
."

Oh. Now you have me intimidated, I'm not really fancy with it lol

Well, I do like decorative spreadsheets, you should see how much time I spend on some of them (sighs at self) - if you have any suggestions on improvement, let me know. It's not really sophisticated.

Let me know if anyone has trouble seeing it - you should be able to edit already.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

A note on spreadsheet --

When doing a planned read, if you don't finish a book that is planned, it is not the end of the world. We will move books around when submitted to the final, official spreadsheet anyway, so a lot of the Planning Spreadsheet is just about that --- planning. It's supposed to take some of the stress off and help organize, but not set in stone.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Who would like their own tab on the planning spreadsheet?"

I wouldn't mind if possible! I was keeping track of some stuff in excel, but it would be easier if it was all in one place, and on the cloud :)

EDIT: Looks like I can just make one myself, haha, makes sense!

Nancy wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Who would like their own tab on the planning spreadsheet?"

I wouldn't mind if possible! I was keeping track of some stuff in excel, but it would be easier if it w..."

=0) Yes, you can make one too! I didn't know if all knew how, but I'm sure a lot of you are Spreadsheets wizards by this point after so many years of challenges

Looks good Erin!

Thanks, Jenny. I'm getting off here for about an hour, will check back in.

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Nancy wrote: "Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Who would like their own tab on the planning spreadsheet?"

I wouldn't mind if possible! I was keeping track of some stuff in excel, but it would be ..."

Thanks for putting in the work on this, it looks great!

I made a copy of a sample week from our spreadsheet from previous Wheel:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

First tab worked really well because you could plug in all possible letters for each book. Then column G, once populated, would fill in Tab 2.

Hi everyone! I'm Megan. I live in Indianapolis, which is also in the currently hot and humid temperate zone. I can't remember when I last walked my dog without mud involved.
I am an engineer in the aerospace industry. I'm a workaholic, but I love what I do, so it works. When I'm not working, I try to get to the dog park (with or without mud) with my boxer, Brady, as often as possible. Reading comes in between those and a lot of times during.
I am open to reading anything. I love reading challenges, because I need direction when choosing my next book. I was in the Cuthroat and Wooble team challenges, and a few of the tower teams and wheel-a-thons over the years.
Everything I've read since 2013 has been logged and sorted in Excel. My TBR list is there as well. I may have programmed said spreadsheet to sort by everything from author's first name to cover color percentage with TinyEye.

That looks great too, Alysa. I'm pretty sure i recognize it from when I was spying on the previous wheel spreadsheets!

To me it's a bit cluttered/confusing but maybe just because I'm not used to it, I usually just have the books filled in, but I could make extra spaces for options letters. Or if you'd like to do a tab that copies this format for those who would like to use it, we can do that too. The planning spreadsheet is editable by all of us if you want to add another way to track as well.

Hm, looking at the BOM's in June, Dry looks pretty good. Will try to read that one.

Anyone else going to try for some of the BOM's?

Welcome Megan!

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "Hm, looking at the BOM's in June, Dry looks pretty good. Will try to read that one.

Anyone else going to try for some of the BOM's?"

I just read The Upside of Unrequieted, which is a shame cause I totally would have done the BOM! It's a decent and quick light read for those of you who like YA/LGBT/Romance, can recommend!

For the July books, I'll have to check to library closer to their tbr dates, but Dry looks promising!

I just looked up The Upside of Unrequited Love, and it looks interesting - sadly looks like my library and Hoopla do not have it. It looks other Florida libraries do, according to Overdrive, but leave it to mine to leave it out.

Edited to add - Searched for Under the Dome too and same thing, out of luck. I'd actually like to read that one, but it's a bit pricey as an e-book or new, and I don't have time to order a used copy to read for this week's challenge. $@#%@#