SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Since R10 was our first round of BSB focusing solely on Freebies, I wanted to get some feedback from the players.

Please take a minute to share your thoughts with us. Here are some of the things I'm wondering:

~ What'd you think of the format (using letters as shelves)?
~ How difficult was it for you to find a suitable book for each shelf?
~ What other formats (shelf options, categories, etc) would you like to see should we host another freebie-only round of BSB?
~ Would you play freebie-only BSB again?

Feel free to include any add'l suggestions or comments. Thanks for your feedback!

I really enjoyed the format of the freebies mixed with the new letter shelves. I had a much easier time finding a book for each shelf than I expected. If we did another round, I think it's doable with some categories mixed in, as long as they're pretty broad like genres. Maybe one category call and one letter call each week?

I relied more on library books than I expected for this round, but probably only because I happen to have a huge stack at the moment.

I would love to play freebie-only again. I really liked it!

Make it 2 rows of Bingo so the game can last longer :D

^---- THIS +1000

:)

I really enjoyed it and would play again! It was nice to get some freebies done.

I enjoyed playing a lot, especially since I reduced my freebie pile significantly.

I agree with lOgan that we can mix in broad categories with the letters.

Perhaps we could read one book per week instead of two to make the game last longer like in regular Bingo.

It was a fun game. I liked the 100 pages rule because there is no story with less page count but I ended up reading a lot of +200 pages books anyway.

Unfortunately I used more library loans but I did read a few freebies and discovered series I would not have started otherwise....but it also moved me to read smaller page count freebies in between shelves so I did put an infinitesimal dent into my pile.

The letter format made it simpler to have a wide selection than a category (some freebies have not been read much and tags are less readily available).

I sure would like to play again another freebie round.

The only downside is that some books I was waiting on were released during bingo...and I could not read them. Maybe we could have a trump card for an exception if it fits the category? It would make the captain's job harder a bit but I think we could attract more players for the next freebie round.

Liked the format and reduced page count that seems to fit a lot freebie downloads.

Finding books was not a problem so the letter shelves worked well.

The only change... Round went way too fast, maybe two rows of 5 or some other category.

Will definitely play again, SOS Bingo addict no matter the format ;). You guys do a great job setting this up! Was valuble in getting some of these hoarded books knocked off the list since I used Kindle freebies exclusively....

MY Lesson learned so far is that I am reducing the number of freebies I download in the future... Some have been good, but too many are hitting that OK to meh meter and are just not worth it... Sticking with recognizable authors or freebies that have been read by more than 20 of the authors closest friends.

Yay! This is great news! I enjoyed it as well. It not only forced me to finally read some of the horde, but also helped me flag some that I can avoid. Thanks to all who took the hit and read a less than good freebie.

I didn't have any problems finding books for the letter shelves, but wouldn't be opposed to broadening it a bit to include some very general categories in the future.

Another option for future rounds would be to set a specific layout or pattern of stamps for a win. I've chatted with the BSB ninjas about this in the past. For instance, winners would need to spell out an F on the board: All of the B column, BING across the top, and BIN on the third row down. Does that make sense? Of course, if we set this sort of rule, we'd have an example card displayed to make it clear for everyone.

Keep your feedback coming! I love to hear what did or didn't work for everyone. We not only want to entice as many people to join us as possible, but also make it a fun team challenge for all.

~ What'd you think of the format (using letters as shelves)?
I think it was great idea. Since we are limited with the number of freebies we own, it's much easier to find the book that fits criteria this way.
I also liked that number of pages was smaller since a lot of freebies are short.

~ Would you play freebie-only BSB again?
Yes. :)

My only problem is I downloaded so many Kindle freebies during Bingo with excuse that I might need them. :D So maybe add rule for next bingo that you can only read free books you acquired before Bingo started?

I thought it was a great and I would definitely play again.

It didn't help with the freebie pile unfortunately as I ended up adding more - just in case as Dragana said! I think our team was the worst in this LOL!

I also think being able to use books bought with gift cards shouldn't be allowed. Even though I really benefited from this rule, it felt wrong. I had still purchased them.

I like the letter format and the fact that you could use them with in the title or authors name. And I liked the 100 page limit as it allowed the reading of so many shorts.

Great job, Mods!!

LOL! I found myself adding several for each freebie I read, so while it was a push to read those I had, I still grabbed more. I just can't help myself!

I like the idea of placing further restrictions on which freebies qualify (example you named: no gift card acquisitions) - we'll have to consider that next go'round.

I'm glad to hear finding a book that qualified for each shelf wasn't a problem for anyone.

I enjoyed the game a lot. It was my first time doing a Speed Round and I have to say that the struggles were my own. Some weeks I struggle to read one book but some weeks I read 3. I liked the Letter Shelves (the double letters were a bit more challenging but I liked them a lot). Another problem I had is that up until recently I didn't use Goodreads shelves to their fullest. Meaning I wouldn't add them to specific shelves until after I read them. Had I immediately put the freebies I got from amazon on a freebie shelf I wouldn't have struggled so much. As it was I struggled to go through my kindle cloud searching for a book that might fit then had to go see what I paid for it to see if I got it free. I ended up just using either my NetGalley books, library books, or from my trial membership of Scribd to come up with my books. So, the 1000 freebies that I've acquired from amazon still sit mocking me LOL. It does look like I'm one of the only ones who struggled with this though. It looks like I'm looking at a long process to go through my kindle purchases so I can shelve the books for next time.

I don't think I'll join in any more speed round bingo's in the future so I'd love the next Freebie Bingo to be a one shelf a week type.

Glad you enjoyed it regardless Christina.

Maybe you should start a freebie shelf now, ready for when we do it again. I didn't have one till the freebie bingo idea came up and it certainly helped me to pick books.

We definitely want to help you read some of them, not just let them sit there.

Got one now Sandra. Lesson learned. Just have all those others that I need to work on shelving.

Good. How about checking out some of the freebies used by other players, that could give you some clues instead of checking all the books.

My book library app on my computer saved me. I don't enter all of my freebies here on GR, but I do have a shelf for some. Too bad Amazon's Kindle Cloud doesn't offer a way to sort.

Several times, I've thought of adding all of my Amazon freebies by using the GR <-> Amazon thingy that keeps popping up on my home page. But, then I remember I have hundreds *gasp* maybe thousands *sigh* over there and don't want to be overwhelmed by seeing them all listed here patiently waiting to be read. LOL!

When I started getting Amazon books I actually created shelves in my email account, Amazon bought & Amazon free, so when the email came in I put em on the right shelf. Then I just went through & listed some of them on here when the freebie round came up.

GMTA! I have an Amazon freebie mail folder too :D I've used it several times. Actually, now that I think about it - I could've sorted further by genre or maybe a very interested folder.

That's a great idea, I also got just one big pile. Very interested folder sounds nice. :)

:D