The Procrastinators Book Club discussion

Do you feel that chill in the air? It's Winter Wars time (or Summer Days Redux if you're in the southern hemisphere).

The Wars begin November 1st

HOW TO JOIN
1. Reply to this thread with "I want to participate in a group" or "I want to participate by myself," and the number of books you read/listen to each year (this isn't to judge your reading habits but to attempt to create balanced teams).
2. The deadline to join a team is October 23
3. Anyone can join Winter Wars as long as the competition lasts, but after October 23 all newcomers will be soloists.

RULES
✧ Members will be broken out into up to 3-4 separate teams (or go solo option) before the start date (November 1st). You will work together to complete a series of tasks together and complete as many of them as you wish.
✧ Books must be read and reviewed during November 1st through December 31st. Any books or audiobooks started before November 1st or finished after December 31st will not count.
✧ If you read an Audiobook version of a book convert the hours to pages using this site: https://alamantus.itch.io/time-to-page or use the print equivalent on Goodreads.
✧ Graphic/Manga novels are accepted but will only count for half of the listed page count
✧ You must post at least 3 status updates OR a review. It doesn't have to be super detailed but try to not just say "this was good" for the book to count.
✧ For prompts: if it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit, and it will not count.
✧ Page Limits:
• Books: 150 pages
• Graphic Novels: 200 pages (halved=100 pages)
• Audiobooks: 150 pages (use GR print equivalent length)

POINT SYSTEM
+1 point for every book that has been read and reviewed that correlates with a category
+2 points for participating in a buddy read (must take place in the group)
+3 for one completed category
+4 points for reading/participating in a group read (must take place in the group)
+5 points for every 1,000 pages read
Note: Mods keep track of all points in a shared Google Sheets spread to keep everything as organized as possible.

CATEGORIES

Who's that?
1. Read a book where the main character is Black
2. Read a book where the main character is Latine(o/a/x)
3. Read a book where the main character is LGBTQIA+
4. Read a book where the main character is indigenous
5. Read a book where the main character is South Asian

What's in a Name?
1. Read a book with the character's name in the title
2. Read a book with a title or occupation (mr/ms/mrs/miss/mx, doctor, hangman, librarian, etc.) in the title (hereditary titles will not count for this prompt)
3. Read a book with a noble rank in the title (princess, king, queen, duke, earl, etc.)
4. Read a book with pronouns in the title (he/him/his, she/her/hers, xe/xim/xyr, they/them/theirs, we/us/our, you/your, etc.)
5. Read a book where the title has this format: A [Noun] of [Noun] and [Noun}

When is this?
Majority of the book (60% or more) must fit the prompt
1. Read a book that takes place during a holiday
2. Read a book set during the winter
3. Read a book set in the future (after 2022)
4. Read a book that has time travel (not dual POVS or flashbacks or jump forwards in narration, but the characters actually do a Back to the Future/Outlander thing)
5. Read a book set or published before 1880

Where are you?
1. Read a book set in your home state (or home country if not US)
2. Read a book that takes place in Asia
3. Read a book that takes place in Africa
4. Read a book that takes place in Europe
5. Read a book that takes place in South America or Australia/Oceania

Why are these prompts so hard?
1. Read a book that has been translated into the language you read (i.e., Spanish into English)
2. Read a nonfiction history book
3. Read a book written by an author who died before 1970
4. Read a collection of short stories/essays
5. Read a memoir/autobiography

How did this happen?
1. Read a book with snow or mountains on the cover
2. Read a book with a white cover
3. Read a book with a mostly-naked person on the cover
4. Read a book with a blue cover
5. Read a book with a bird or feline on the cover

LINKS TO DISCORD
Chat with your fellow soloists on our discord channel

Participants

Roksy
Isabella
Mara
Jeeya
Michelle
Ilse
Laurel

COMPLETION POST:
The mods are going to be needing this from every participant for every book they finish for us to be able to track everything better. Only books that have a completion post will be considered for scoring points. Here is the template:

Title:
Author:
Start Date:
Finish Date:
Category and task: (only one task per book read)
Graphic Novel? (Yes or no)
Buddy Read? (Yes or no)
Group Read? (Yes or no)
Pages: (if a graphic novel, please post original and halved numbers)
Review: [link of your review]

Please ensure you include the category and task number. It really helps us when we input into our master spreadsheet <3

I need a visual for my possible pool:

Who:
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

What:
(1) (2) (3) (5)

When:
(3) (4) (5)

Where:
(4)

Why:


How:
(4)

UPDATE

Winter Wars starts tomorrow (or whenever November 1st is for you)!

A couple quick reminders:

1. Only book started on or after November 1st count for this challenge
2. Buddy and Group Reads are your money makers!
3. Categories and prompts can be completed multiple times
4. Rereads are okay, but you can't reread a book that you've read for this challenge already (back-to-back rereads won't count)
5. If you have a question on a prompt, please ask in the General Sign-Ups thread—I'm sure others will have similar questions
6. Weekly updates will post on...Sundays. Yes, Sundays. Fingers crossed I remember.

And most of all: have fun!

Title: Parable of the Sower
Author: Octavia Butler
Start Date: Nov 1
Finish Date: Nov 4
Category and task: When 3
Graphic Novel? No
Buddy Read? No
Group Read? No
Pages: 345
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Blindsighted
Author: Karin Slaughter
Start Date: November 2nd, 2021
Finish Date: November 4th, 2021
Category and task: How, Task 2
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 418 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Wings of Ebony
Author: J. Elle
Start Date: November 1st, 2021
Finish Date: November 1st, 2021
Category and task: Who, 1
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 368 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

updated

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WINTER WARS update 7 November 2021

We try to post updates each Sunday of this challenge for teams and solo participants. It might not be Sunday yet in some parts of the world but this is for consistency purposes.

TEAMS:
The Abominable Abdominals: 19
The Jet-Setting Yetis: 29
The Suffering Succotash Sasquatches: 2
The Blistering Bigfoots: 34
The Laughing Lake Monsters: 13

The Cryptic Cryptids

Laurel: 1
Isabella: 2

It's our first weekly update! Woohoo!

Remember, those buddy and group reads are where the points are won—and if you buddy read within your teams your points add up a lot faster. And if you're feeling a little behind, that's okay! In the past it's not always the groups that jump ahead in the beginning that win in the end. Points can change dramatically from week to week—the goal is to keep reading, keep posting updates, and rack up those bonus points!

Three housekeeping notes as we roll past our first week:
1. Don't forget to put the prompt category and number in your completion post. It helps us out a lot!
2. If you are participating in a Group or Buddy Read, don't forget to post in that thread!
3. Have a question? Ask in the sign-up thread (because other folks might have the same question)...and check to see if anyone else has asked the question before :)

Happy Winter Wars

❤︎ From the Procrastinator Mods

Title: Bone Shard Emperor
Author: Andrea Stewart
Start Date: Nov 1
Finish Date: Nov 7
Category and task: What 3
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 416
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Year of the Reaper
Author: Makiia Lucier
Start Date: Nov 7
Finish Date: Nov 8
Category and task: What 2
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 336
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry
Author: Joya Goffney
Start Date: Nov 4
Finish Date: Nov 8
Category and task: What 4
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 368
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: A Holly Jolly Diwali
Author: Sonya Lalli
Start Date: Nov 8
Finish Date: Nov 8
Category and task: When 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 336
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Reverie
Author: Ryan La Sala
Start Date: November 4th, 2021
Finish Date: November 8th, 2021
Category and task: What, 3
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 397 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

Title: Come Fly the World
Author: Julia Cooke
Start Date: Nov 8
Finish Date: Nov 10
Category and task: Why 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 228
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Gods and Monsters
Author: Shelby Mahurin
Start Date: November 9th, 2021
Finish Date: November 10th, 2021
Category and task: Where, 4
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 624
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: All These Warriors
Author: Amy Tintera
Start Date: November 3rd, 2021
Finish Date: November 11th, 2021
Category and task: Who, Task 2
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 336 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Lapse
Author: Sarah Thornton
Start Date: November 10th, 2021
Finish Date: November 12th, 2021
Category and task: Where, Task 5
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 320 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

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WINTER WARS update 14 November 2021

We try to post updates each Sunday of this challenge for teams and solo participants. It might not be Sunday yet in some parts of the world but this is for consistency purposes.

TEAMS:
The Abominable Abdominals: 30
The Jet-Setting Yetis: 78
The Suffering Succotash Sasquatches: 29
The Blistering Bigfoots: 92
The Laughing Lake Monsters: 60

The Cryptic Cryptids

Laurel: 16
Isabella: 16

Lots of big points in our second week! Remember, it's a marathon not a sprint. Don't get discouraged if you're behind, and not just because these games are all for fun (there are no prizes for the winners, sorry)—but also because with a little strategic planning teams can really jump ahead quick.

Good luck, all!

Happy Winter Wars

❤︎ From the Procrastinator Mods

Title: Squire
Author: Sara Alfageeh
Start Date: Nov 14
Finish Date: Nov 14
Category and task: What 2
GN Yes
BR GR? No
Pages: 336/168
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Undertakers
Author: Nicole Glover
Start Date: Nov 8
Finish Date: Nov 15
Category and task: When 5
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 448
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Box in the Woods
Author: Maureen Johnson
Start Date: November 14th, 2021
Finish Date: November 16th, 2021
Category and task: When, Task 1
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 400 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: My Dark Vanessa
Author: Kate Elizabeth Russell
Start Date: Nov 16
Finish Date: Nov 16
Category and task: What 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 373
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Such a Fun Age
Author: Kiley Reid
Start Date: Nov 10
Finish Date: Nov 17
Category and task: How 4
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 310
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Five Total Strangers
Author: Natalie D. Richards
Start Date: November 17th 2021
Finish Date: Nov 18th 2021
Category and task: When, Task 2
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 302 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Wild Women and the Blues
Author: Denny Bryce
Start Date: Nov 16
Finish Date: Nov 18
Category and task: Who 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 352
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Clear to Lift
Author: Anne Wilson
Start Date: Nov 20
Finish Date: Nov 20
Category and task: How 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 320
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Reckless Girls
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Start Date: Nov 20
Finish Date: Nov 20
Category and task: Where 5
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 320
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Evolution of Mara Dyer
Author: Michelle Hodkin
Start Date: November 18th 2021
Finish Date: Nov 20th 2021
Category and task: What, Task 1
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 545 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

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WINTER WARS update 21 November 2021

We try to post updates each Sunday of this challenge for teams and solo participants. It might not be Sunday yet in some parts of the world but this is for consistency purposes.

TEAMS:
The Abominable Abdominals: 51
The Jet-Setting Yetis: 123
The Suffering Succotash Sasquatches: 72
The Blistering Bigfoots: 168
The Laughing Lake Monsters: 103

The Cryptic Cryptids

Laurel: 33
Isabella: 24

Keep trucking along, all! I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving week for those of you in the United States, and a great fourth week of November for those who aren't.

Also, the November Readathon is this week from the 20th-26th—still time to join if you want to have motivation to boost your reading numbers!

Good luck, all!

Happy Winter Wars

❤︎ From the Procrastinator Mods

Can A Vow So Bold and Deadly count for:
Read a book where the title has this format: A [Noun] of [Noun] and [Noun}? ^^

Isabella wrote: "Can A Vow So Bold and Deadly count for:
Read a book where the title has this format: A [Noun] of [Noun] and [Noun}? ^^"

Unfortunately no.

But if you find "The/blank [Noun] of [Noun] and [Noun]" that'll work. It's mostly the of/and and the three nouns (or compound nouns, that works too) that are really needed to get the prompt.

Title: The Shaadi Set-Up
Author: Lillie Vale
Start Date: Nov 17
Finish Date: Nov 22
Category and task: Who 5
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 368
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Goblin Emperor
Author: Katherine Addison
Start Date: Nov 21
Finish Date: Nov 22
Category and task: When 2
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 446
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

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WINTER WARS update 28 November 2021

We try to post updates each Sunday of this challenge for teams and solo participants. It might not be Sunday yet in some parts of the world but this is for consistency purposes.

TEAMS:
The Abominable Abdominals: 95
The Jet-Setting Yetis: 163
The Suffering Succotash Sasquatches: 114
The Blistering Bigfoots: 225
The Laughing Lake Monsters: 163

The Cryptic Cryptids

Laurel: 40
Isabella: 24

We're one month down, one month to go! It's still anyone's game—lots of big changes always happen in the last month of the games.

Just a quick reminder from earlier this week: if you want BR and GR points, you need to participate in the threads. Buddy Reads are meant to be read and discussed with a buddy.

Happy Winter Wars

❤︎ From the Procrastinator Mods

Title: Two for Joy
Author: Amy McCulloch and Zoe Sugg
Start Date: November 25th, 2021
Finish Date: November 26th, 2021
Category and task: How, 5
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 352
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Guncle
Author: Steven Rowley
Start Date: Nov 22
Finish Date: Nov 28
Category and task: Who 3
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 326
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Pet
Author: Akwaeke Emezi
Start Date: Nov 28
Finish Date: Nov 29
Category and task: Who 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 208
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Jasmine Project
Author: Meredith Ireland
Start Date: Nov 29
Finish Date: Nov 29
Category and task: What 2
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 400
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: A Psalm of Storms and Silence
Author: Roseanne A. Brown
Start Date: November 28th, 2021
Finish Date: December 1st, 2021
Category and task: What, 5
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 480 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Trial of Lizzie Borden
Author: Cara Robertson
Start Date: December 1st, 2021
Finish Date: December 1st, 2021
Category and task: Why, 2
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 375 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Jade Legacy
Author: Fonda Lee
Start Date: Nov 22
Finish Date: Dec 2
Category and task: How 4
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 736
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

Title: Cinderella is Dead
Author: Kalynn Bayron
Start Date: Nov 30
Finish Date: Dec 3
Category and task: Who 3
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 400
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: The Department of Rare Books and Special Collections
Author: Eva Jurczyk
Start Date: Dec 2
Finish Date: Dec 3
Category and task: What 5
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 336
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Quicksand
Author: Malin Persson Giolito
Start Date: December 1st, 2021
Finish Date: December 3rd, 2021
Category and task: Why, 1
Graphic Novel?: No
Buddy Read?: No
Group Read?: No
Pages: 512 pages
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

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WINTER WARS update 5 December 2021

We try to post updates each Sunday of this challenge for teams and solo participants. It might not be Sunday yet in some parts of the world but this is for consistency purposes.

TEAMS:
The Abominable Abdominals: 121
The Jet-Setting Yetis: 186
The Suffering Succotash Sasquatches: 152
The Blistering Bigfoots: 263
The Laughing Lake Monsters: 218

The Cryptic Cryptids

Laurel: 59
Isabella: 33

Happy Week 5? of Winter Wars

Don't be alarmed if you see some differences between the team spreadsheets and what is listed here—there are a couple of BRs that were not counted due to a lack of participation.

Keep reading, we're over halfway there! If you're feeling slumpy (understandable since these games are A LOT), the December Readathon will be held December 11-17—hopefully right after finals for those of you in school and right before the holidays.

Happy Winter Wars

❤︎ From the Procrastinator Mods

Title: An Elderly Lady Must Not Be Crossed
Author: Helene Tursten
Start Date: Dec 3
Finish Date: Dec 4
Category and task: Why 1 (Swedish to English)
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 272
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Vacation Guide to the Solar System
Author: Olivia Koski
Start Date: Dec 6
Finish Date: Dec 6
Category and task: How 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 234
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Sisters in Arms
Author: Kaia Alderson
Start Date: Dec 3
Finish Date: Dec 6
Category and task: Where 4
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 374
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

UPDATED

Title: Payback's a Witch
Author: Lana Harper
Start Date: Dec5
Finish Date: Dec 7
Category and task: When 1 (Halloween)
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 313
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Title: Must Love Books
Author: Shauna Robinson
Start Date: Dec 6
Finish Date: Dec 8
Category and task: Who 1
GN BR GR? No
Pages: 336
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...