Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion

PASS THE PARCEL - Round 13
THEME - INTERNATIONAL AWARDS

Start date - FRIDAY 6 September
Sign up - now through to FRIDAY 30 August 4pm US EST
Teams assigned by 30 August after sign ups close
Last theme call - 15 November

If you sign up for this challenge, you must be prepared to:
* Read roughly one book each week
* Follow the format for the selection and completion posts.
* Post your selection book BEFORE the next theme is called, or you will be eliminated
* Technically be able to put links to other threads/bookshelves/lists, and insert book links and book covers in your posts. (These are not difficult but you MUST be able to do these links; they don't have to look pretty, but they do need to go to the intended location)


PLEASE READ THE RULES OF THE CHALLENGE CAREFULLY.

IF YOU HAVEN'T POSTED EACH WEEK WITHIN THE TIMELINES ABOVE AND YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY TOLD TEAM-MATES OR A MODERATOR - no questions - YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR TEAM and the challenge.

This is a team challenge to encourage members to meet new friends and find new books.



PLEASE READ EVERY LINE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS

I will be referring members back to this post if you ask me something already outlined here.


For this challenge we will have teams of roughly 6 players. The group will have a team captain who will track the completion of books for their team and remind their fellow team-members about compliance to the rules. Teams will be allocated before the reading starts. This will be done randomly by me.


Members signing up need to be prepared TO READ APPROXIMATELY ONE BOOK EACH WEEK.


Each week a theme will be randomly selected from the list posted in msg 4. This theme will be posted in the Discussion/Q&A thread between 3pm and 6pm US EST each Friday. (Feel free to prompt me if I forget :)

PLEASE NOTE THE TIMES for the theme announcements. I cannot guarantee I will post by the 3pm mark since that is 6am for me ~ but I suspect I often will.


Each member in the group has the following options:

1. Read a book that matches the theme (the parcel)

OR

2. Select a book from the 'READ' list of a team-mate that they read in the last 6 months AND that the team-mate rated at least 3 stars. (This essentially passing on a recommendation.)
If the book is in a series but does not match where you are up to, you may read another book from that same series.

OR

3. 'Pass' on reading a book that week.


BUT each team member can only select #3 once each 5 (five) weeks. AND each team may only have ONE person 'passing' for the round each week. It is up to the team as to how they manage a 'pass'. (Yes - this means that one or two team-mates per group can't claim a pass in a 5 week block.)

Each team member must post their selection (option 1, 2 or 3) in the week that the theme is announced. Please follow the format provided in msg 3. You can only change your book selection in its posting week. So choose carefully.

Each team member must return to their team thread and post a short review of the book that they read. This review should be enough to indicate that the member DID read the book. A couple of sentences is sufficient. "I liked it" is not.

Key information is required in both the selection and completion posts. Please ensure that you and your team-mates follow the format set out in msg 3 below. You and your Captain cannot claim to have completed your book until the post holds all the required information.


This challenge will run for 11 weeks. The winning team is the one that completes the challenge first; they win bragging rights :)

No-one can use the 'pass' option in the last week of the challenge.


Rules:
* Each team member MUST post their selection book into their team thread each week or they will be removed from the challenge. It isn't fair on your team-mates if you are not committed to participant each week.
* You MUST post your selection book in the week of the announced category. If you miss selecting your book (or pass) in that week, you will be removed from the challenge. The only exception is if you have contacted your team, team captain or one of the Mods with a valid reason. The decision to not remove you is solely up to the moderator running the game.
* You can only change your nominated theme book in the week that the theme is announced. You CANNOT change your book once a new theme is announced.
* '5 weeks' will be counted in blocks of five, with a new count starting in week 6.
* No-one can use the 'pass' option in the last week of the challenge.
* To qualify for a theme, the book's eligibility must meet the rules for the theme as posted each week (eg tagged, in the precis or found on an official list as contained in the theme announcement). Refer to the Q&A thread for more clarification on this rule.
* You can change your nominated book only during the week that it's theme is called.
* Books must be at least 100 pages in length.
* Anthologies and bundled books are fine, but you must read the full set.
* You must quote the page numbers for your selected book each week. Please quote the goodreads page numbers (any edition of the book is fine).
* The 'series' rule for Option 2 only applies to Option 2. The same book can be used under option 2 for multiple weeks so long as that book remains within the 6 month timeframe.


Important!!! If a team member falls behind by more than 2 books then they WILL be removed from the challenge. The team who loses that member will continue with the lower number of team-mates. This rule is to ensure that ALL participants are committed to their team and the challenge.

PLEASE NOTE - I will not remove, nor accept retirement from, any players in the last two weeks of the challenge. This will mean that the team cannot win if their players are MIA in the last two weeks.

IMPORTANT:
In the last week of the challenge, Option 2 will be altered. Book selections under option 2 will have to be taken from a different team's members' bookshelves. I will allocate the teams out on posting the final theme (week 11).

For example (and this allocation will be randomly done on the day of the last theme call)
Option 2 for Team 1 must come from the bookshelves of Team 4.


******

For those of you who didn't play this growing up, a 'parcel' is passed from one person to another. ...When setting this game up, a prize (or 'gift') is wrapped in a large number of layers of wrapping paper. Smaller prizes may be placed between some or all other layers of wrapping.

During the game, music is played as the parcel is passed around. Whoever is holding the parcel when the music stops removes one layer of wrapping and claims any prize found under that layer. The music is then restarted and the game continues until every layer is removed and the main prize claimed.

This is the RRRC version of the game with a few more options and rules than we may remember from our childhood ;)

Key selection and completion post information. You must have ALL elements in your book posts.


For the initial selection post Option 1 I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
How the book qualifies - please note which qualifying bookshelf/list you are using or the tags that justifies that it works.
If the theme is based off the bookcover or a letter in the title etc, please note HOW.

For the initial selection post Option 2 I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
Name of the team-member, their star rating, the date they read the book.



For the completion post I need:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Rating (1-5)
Review


Please DO NOT CHAT in these selction/completion posts. It needs to be super clear.

If you 'waffle' about your decided book - please REPOST your selection once you decide. DO NOT go back and edit your waffling post.

IF YOU NEED TO CORRECT A POST FOR MISSING INFORMATION or because the didn't qualify etc, please REPOST this inforamtion in a NEW post. I don't want to have to keep going backwards in the thread.

International Awards


This round we are going to base our book choices on a variety of international awards.

1. Nobel prizes
A set of annual international awards bestowed in several categories by Swedish and Norwegian institutions in recognition of academic, cultural, or scientific advances.
* Read a book with a crazy smart MC from one of the following lists:
Brainy/Genius romantic heroes
Brainy/Genius romantic heroines
Intelligent erotica with a real storyline
Best gay romance with bookish/nerdy/geeky characters

2. Booker prize
The Booker Prize for Fiction is a literary prize awarded each year for the best original novel written in the English language and published in the United Kingdom.
* Read a book written by a UK author.
No foreign language editions to be used when showing how your book qualifies.
You may use a novel written by two authors, only one of which is from the UK. If you wish to use an anthology, at least 50% of the authors must be from the UK.

3. Academy Awards
The Academy Awards, also officially and popularly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in the film industry.
* Read a book with alliteration in the title. Eg Borrowing Blue or Devil's Daughter
The alliteration can be anywhere in the title and can have 'a', 'an', 'the' or 'and' in between the two alliterating words - eg Twisted and Tied. No other words.

4. BAFTAs
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts or BAFTA Film Awards honour the best British and international contributions to film.
* Read a book with an MC who is an actor or works in the film industry, from one of the following lists:
Best gay romance involving performing arts
Romance with actors/actresses/acting
Best historical romances with actor heroes/heroines
Best contemporary romance starring actors/actresses

5. Palme d'Or Cannes Film Festival
The Palme d'Or (Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee.
* Read a book with a tree on the cover.

6. Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.
* Read a book with the letter 'U' or 'Z' in the title.
(Anywhere in the title; does not need to be a capital)

7. UNESCO Peace Prize
The Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize is intended to honour living individuals and active public or private bodies or institutions that have made a significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maintaining peace.
* Read a book with one of the following words in the precis/blurb on the book's main page:
'peace', 'happy', 'cooperation', 'good' or 'tranquil' or words that have the same root word.

8. Olympics
The modern Olympic Games are leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competitions.
* Read a book with an MC who plays sport from one of the following lists:
Sports Romance
Romance with hero/heroine are athletes
Best Gay Athletes

9. Global Music Awards
Global Music Awards is a top-tier music competition that honors talented musicians around the world. It is a showcase for musical gems and unique voices.
* Read a book with an MC who is a musician, from one of the following lists:
The ultimate bad boy / rock star list
Musically inclined heroes/heroines in romance
MMR profession musicians / rockstars bookshelf If you can't see this shelf from the MM Romance group, let me know and I'll look into providing a list of the books.

10. Golden Raspberry
The Golden Raspberry Awards is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements.
* Read a book from one of the following lists:
Guilty Pleasures - Crap You're Embarrassed to Love
Male characters you would run from if they tried to date you
Would Rather Pluck My Eyebrows
Most Unappealing MM book covers of 2015
Most Unappealing MM book covers of 2014

11. Darwin Awards Chlorinating the Gene Pool.
The Darwin Awards recognize individuals who have supposedly contributed to human evolution by selecting themselves out of the gene pool via death or sterilization by their own actions.
* Read a book from one of the following lists:
Death gods and reaper protagonists
OMG you almosts DIED mm with hospital scenes
Gay romance featuring a grieving MC
OMG you almost died - straight edition
Best near death angst books - romance historical
Best injured or ill heroine with hero angst
Black widow/widower romances - hero/heroine is suspected of killing spouse or lover
Grim reaper theme

12. Longines Prize for Elegance
The Longines Prize for Elegance is an award given by Longines to a male and female currently at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships.
* Read a book with a beautifully dressed person on the cover. E.g. wearing formal attire or a smart business outfit.

13. Archibald Prize
The Archibald Prize is awarded annually to the best portrait, 'preferentially of some man or woman distinguished in art, letters, science or politics', painted by any artist resident in Australasia.
* Read a book set in Australasia or written by an author from Australia or New Zealand.
Australasia comprises Australia, New Zealand, and some neighbouring islands.

14. Best in Show
"Best in show" is the title that is given to a winning animal in an animal show/competition, such as a dog show, cat show, or horse show. (Source: Urban Dictionary)
* Read a book with a dog, cat or horse on the cover.

15. Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The highest rated romance movie to date is It Happened One Night from 1934.
* Read a book with 3 or 4 in the publication date. You cannot convert the month to a number equivalent.


MPG = Main Page Genre. This is the list on the far right side of the book's summary/precis.

Sign Ups


If you are happy to be a Captain (Presenter), please let me know in your sign up post.

I'd really appreciate that bit of extra help from anyone who is happy to take on this fairly minor role :D

Presenters
Miriam
Dale
Lisa
Nicole P
LaurLa
Calila
KarenH
MKat
[[ Frankie ]]
Michaelle
Carmen
Amanda

Nominees
Emeli
bamaace83 (Anna)
Kristen
Trio
KathyD
Fran
Christy
Michaele
Nicole
Mandy
Sexyladi
HeatherMarie
Courtney
Stacie
Cyndee (maybe Presenter? if needed)
Hazel
Himanshi
Diane
Grace
Ezinwanyi
Ladybug (PM)
MarianaS
Roger (Presenter backup)
Amanda A
Danielle Gypsy
Nikk
Sally906
Sassafrass
Alice
Mell
Erica
Kat
Rachel
Christina T
Brenda
Tink
Suzanne
Mamacita
Louise
Chan
Sunshine
CB
Camille
UnusualChild(beppy)
Laura
SandyC
AliciaJ
Logan
Chris
Laila Jane
Shelby
(51)

Teams allocated

Team 1
★ Calila
☆ Emeli
☆ Trio
☆ AliciaJ
☆ Shelby


Team 2
★ Dale
☆ Mamacita
☆ Sexyladi
☆ Nicole
☆ Louise


Team 3
★ KarenH
☆ Christina T
☆ HeatherMarie
☆ Courtney
☆ Tink


Team 4
★ Michaelle
☆ Fran
☆ Hazel
☆ Ezinwanyi
☆ Danielle Gypsy


Team 5
★ LaurLa
☆ SandyC
☆ Himanshi
☆ Cyndee
☆ Ladybug
☆ Laura


Team 6
★ Frankie
☆ Grace
☆ Laila Jane
☆ KathyD
☆ Nikk


Team 7
★ MKat
☆ Suzanne
☆ Brenda
☆ Sally906
☆ Chan


Team 8
★ Nicole P
☆ Sassafrass
☆ Amanda A
☆ Chris
☆ CB
☆ Erica


Team 9
★ Lisa
☆ Michaele
☆ Diane
☆ Roger
☆ Sunshine


Team 10
★ Amanda
☆ bamaace83 (Anna)
☆ Kristen
☆ UnusualChild(beppy)
☆ Stacie
☆ Alice


Team 11
★ Carmen
☆ Rachel
☆ Mandy
☆ Christy
☆ Mell


Team 12
★ Miriam
☆ MarianaS
☆ Kat
☆ Camille
☆ Logan

As you read through this round's themes, please think of adding books that qualify to the lists in the theme post. This will help everyone with their selections :D

This thread is now open for sign-ups!

I'm in

I can be a Presenter (Captain) if you need

I'm in. I can be a captain

I am in. Will captain

I'm in. Happy to captain as well :)

Im in no to captain

I'm in but no captain please. Thanks!

i'm in, no captain please :)

I'm in, no to captain - thank you :)

i'm in. . .just as a nominee

I'm in! Yes, I will help present an award ;-)

I would like to join in!

I'd like to sign up please!

I'm in!

Im in

I'm in as a nominee, please

I'm in, Nominee thanks!

I’m in

In for Captain!

I'm in!

I'm in, and happy to be a Captain! =)

I'm in but no to captain. I'm traveling too much the rest of the year and won't be able to be the kind of captain I want to be.

I'm in! I can't make up my mind about captain, so can I let you know for sure soon? Maybe just put me down for it if you find yourself one short for now?

I’m in. I have a lot going on the next couple of months so would prefer not to be a captain this time.

Please count me in too!

I'm in as Nominee

I'm in! (Thank goodness someone shared in their Bachelor team thread or I would have kept forgetting!)

I can captain or be a Presenter as well! 😊

I'm in.

I’m in

I'm in as Nominee

I'm in. prefer nominee but can present if needed.

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "I'm in. prefer nominee but can present if needed."

I'll put you as a nominee for now Roger :)

I'm in.

Signing up! I can be captain (presenter) again, if you need me to. Either way is fine with me. :]

I'm In

I am in. I would rather not be captain/presenter though

Woo Hoo! I’m in please - do not want to be a presenter/captain

I'm in - and I'll captain if you find you don't have enough volunteers.

woot! I am in!!!!

I'm in - this will be a first for me.

I'll give it a go - I've never done PtP before, but this looks fun and I've enjoyed the Bachelor challenge :)

I’m in! No to captain this time around. Maybe next challenge. 😊

I'm in

Welcome to our newbies :D Hope you have fun!