The Challenge Factory discussion

Team 3 - Serious about Series

Co-Captains: Mamacita aka MawMaw & Eunice
R~wka
Mouse333
Leslie Ann

(view spoiler)[
Used 24 Feb 2023 (hide spoiler)]

Bonus Points:
Earned: 6
Used: 6

Helpful Links:

Dice Roll: https://www.random.org/dice/ (2 dice on Fridays, US Central Time)
R14 SS Post Your Spot
R14 SS Discussion Thread

Time Zone Converter: https://www.timeanddate.com/worldcloc...

ALTERNATE LIST:
**titles exclude leading articles (a, an, the)

2. Published between 1950 and 1999
3. Title 'L'
4. Several authors
5. Cover: Green
6. Author 'Y'
7. Science Fiction
8. Title 'N'
9. Cover Item: Building
10. Author 'L'
11. Cover: Orange
12. Published 2020
13. Book with a funeral in it
14. New to You Author
15. MC travels by airplane
16. Title 'G'
17. MC has at least one child
18. Young Adult/New Adult
19. Europe
20. Author 'M'
21. Cover Item: Umbrella/Parasol
22. Non-Fiction
23. Number in the Title (Third Grave Dead Ahead or Every Fifteen Minutes)
24. Set on an island
25. Book to Movie/TV (must state how book qualifies: listopia, imdb, precis)
26. Africa
27. Title 'T'
28. Cover Item: Hands/Arms/Feet/Legs (no other body parts visible)
29. Author 'O'
30. Romance
31. Title 'Z'
32. Mystery/Thriller
33. Cover Item: Water
34. GR average rating >4.0
35. Set sometime before 1600 AD
36. MC is older than 60
37. Cover: Pink
38. Published 2001-2010
39. Set in a Fictional Location/Universe
40. Title 'E'
41. Cover: Black
42. Cover Item: Furniture
43. Published before 1950
44. Author 'D'
45. Cover Item: Mode of Transportation
46. Author 'H'
47. Title has a subtitle
48. Cover Item: Lamp/Candle
49. School/College/University
50. Author 'W'
51. Cover: Red
52. Award Winner (must state which/when)
53. South America
54. Cover Item: Dress
55. Cover: Brown
56. Re-read
57. Seasonal Theme (i.e Christmas, Halloween etc)
58. Author 'B'
59. Three Word Title (excludes articles like A, An, The) Behind Closed Doors or Etched in Bone
60. Published 2022
61. Set in a place you've visited
62. Cover Item: One person
63. Author 'R'
64. Title 'C'
65. Cover Item: Food/Drink
66. LGBTQ+
67. Cover: Blue
68. Author 'I'
69. Oceania
70. Four or More Words Title (excluding articles like A, An, The) The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
71. Favorite Author
72. Cover: Purple
73. Fantasy
74. Author 'F'
75. Title 'G'
76. Set in the future
77. Published 2011-2015
78. Cover Item: Weapon
79. Set anytime between 1600-1837
80. Published 2021
81. Cover: White
82. Cover Item: Sun/Moon
83. Author 'P'
84. Author uses their middle name/initial (e.g. Robert J. Sawyer, Rita Mae Brown)
85. Cover Item: Hat/Helmet/Other Headwear
86. Title 'J'
87. Originally published in a language other than English
88. Two Word Title (excluding articles like A, An, The) Deadly Silence, The Hunger Games
89. Cover Item: Book
90. Set anytime between 1837-1901
91. Asia
92. MC is in their 20's
93. Title 'V'
94. Cover Item: Animal
95. Book that a teammate rated 5 stars
96. Less than 100 ratings
97. Published the year you were born
98. Cover: Yellow/Gold
99. Author uses a pseudonym
100. Author 'S'
101. Title 'B'
102. North America
103. Debut Novel or Debut Author
104. Book with a wedding in it
105. Cover Item: Jewelry
106. MC has a pet
107. Set in space
108. Published 2016-2019
109. One Word Title (excluding articles like A, An, The) The Witness or Divergent
110. Title 'F'
111. MC travels by train
112. Cover Item: Two or more people

A couple of things to keep in mind:

✸ Communication is key. Please make sure to check in regularly with your team.

✸ Let your team know if it looks like you won't get your review posted by Thursday, 11:59pm. You do have all of Friday to submit your review, but it can be intensely frustrating for your captain if they don't know when or if they can expect your review before the deadline.

✸ If you know beforehand that you won't be able to read and review a book during a certain week, you can request a pre-arranged absence from me, either by posting the request in the discussion thread or by sending me a pm. The request has to be submitted before the team rolls for the week in question, can only be approved by me as the mod in charge of running the game, and has to state a reason for the absence. (Reasons for pre-arranged absences can include e.g. going on vacation or work trips, planned hospital stays, exam period, etc.)

✸ If you do not have a pre-arranged absence and won't be able to finish your book in time for an unforeseen reason, please let your team know as soon as possible. If the team has earned the free pass, it can be used to cover the missing review. Without a free pass, the team has to sit out the next roll.

✸ We all know that real life gets in the way sometimes, be it through family emergencies, work emergencies, natural disasters, technical problems making it impossible to get online, or in other ways. That being said, please do keep in mind that this is a team challenge and your team relies on you to do your part unless an emergency occurs.

✸ If you find that the pressure of keeping up with the pace of the game gets too much for you or you wish to stop playing for any other reason, you can drop out of the challenge at any time. In that case, please let your team captain and/or me know that you wish to drop out rather than just disappearing without a word so your team won't be penalized when you fail to turn in your review. Thank you!


Captain's Handbook

✸ The team's captain is its chief organizer. This includes rolling the dice, posting the team's new spot to the team thread and the Post Your Spot thread, collecting links to team members' review posts in a single post to be linked in the Post Your Spot thread, doublechecking that books and review posts comply with requirements, reminding team members to post their reviews in time if necessary, etc.

✸ The captain may delegate some tasks, such as rolling and posting the new spot to the team thread, to another team member if they so choose. (Either a designated roller who fulfills this role every week, or whichever team member is online first once rolling is possible.) Collecting reviews into a single post and posting to the Post Your Spot thread should always be handled by the captain.

✸ Instead of having everything handled by a single team captain, teams can also choose two co-captains to handle the workload.

✸ Selection posts are not strictly required by the game's rules and I won't be checking for them. It's up to the team captain to decide whether they want them.

✸ If the team captain requests a pre-arranged absence, it's their responsibility to arrange for another team member to step in as temporary captain.

✸ The team captain is my primary point of contact for the team and should allow receiving private messages.

Hey Teammates!



Anybody wanna Captain or Co-Captain?

I'm up for Co-Captaining if someone will help out. I don't mind rolling dice & collecting reviews into a post & reporting that but I don't wanna pm & remind & hound people to finish their reviews.

Hello, everyone! Checking in! I don't mind co-captaining either

Hi Teammates!

I'm happy to be in this team (3 is my favorite number :) )
I'll be less talkative because English is not my first language and to have less grammar errors :D so I'll stay away from Captain or co-captain post.

Hi, checking in

Hi everyone , ready to play!

Soo does anyone have any ideas for a team name? My mind is blank, and I suck at naming things DX

R~wka wrote: "Hi Teammates!

I'm happy to be in this team (3 is my favorite number :) )
I'll be less talkative because English is not my first language and to have less grammar errors :D so I'll stay away from C..."

3 is my Favorite too!

Eunice wrote: "Hello, everyone! Checking in! I don't mind co-captaining either"

Would you mind being responsible for PM'ing Reminders to people who haven't posted they're completions and reviews?

Team names aka I'm not good at this either.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Show me that Review or
Show me that Number!
*like
*My 2nd Favorite

3 for the Win

Series Lovers

Serious about Series

* My Favorite

We Be Rolling' for that Series.

Game starts tomorrow & I can roll tonight @ midnight.

Mamacita aka MawMaw wrote: "Eunice wrote: "Hello, everyone! Checking in! I don't mind co-captaining either"

Would you mind being responsible for PM'ing Reminders to people who haven't posted they're completions and reviews?"

Yep, no problem! I can help with other stuff too, if needed.

Also, am I right in saying that midnight for Central time is in around 11.5 hours? Not an American here, so American timezones tend to confuse me. Just wanted to be sure XD

Mamacita aka MawMaw wrote: "Team names aka I'm not good at this either.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Show me that Review or
Show me that Number!
*like
*My 2nd Favorite

3 for the Win

Series Lovers

Serious about Se..."

I like Serious About Series!

Mamacita aka MawMaw wrote: "Team names aka I'm not good at this either.

Winner, winner chicken dinner.

Show me that Review or
Show me that Number!
*like
*My 2nd Favorite

3 for the Win

Series Lovers

Serious about Se..."


I like:
We Be Rolling' for that Series.
3 for the Win
Series Lovers
Serious about Series

I'm not so good with ideas too. But... Maybe...
3 more pages
Serial Readers (a variant of serial killers 😅)
Let's read at 3: 1. 2. 3

Ooh, I like your ideas too, Rwka

K so far...

I really like

1. Serious About Series
2. Serial Readers
3. 3 more pages
* I think we ought to add Just to that As in Just 3 More Pages

Do we want to start throwing in votes?

Eunice wrote: "Mamacita aka MawMaw wrote: "Eunice wrote: "Hello, everyone! Checking in! I don't mind co-captaining either"

Would you mind being responsible for PM'ing Reminders to people who haven't posted they'..."

There is a time converter in Msg #2

I'm in CST (Central Standard Time) right now in Texas & it's almost 2 pm or 14:00 in military time

I'm not good at names either, but I like Just 3 More Pages and Serious about Series

Just wanted to make sure, only the captain rolls the dice and everyone reads a book for that prompt?

Or does everyone roll a dice and read a book for different prompts?

The captain rolls the dice, every member of the team reads for the same prompt.

I am open about names..really anything will work.

K. So please vote on the following names.

Give us your Top 2 Team Names. Please state your 1st & 2nd choices of the following. Itooks like most people like Serious about Series the most but I wanna make sure it's fair.

1. Serious About Series
2. Serial Readers
3. Just 3 more pages...

Mama Votes for

First Choice
Serious About Series

Second Choice
Just 3 more pages...

Also, introduction says that Selection Post are not required. I don't care whether you make a Selection Post or not. However, I would like you to check in before Monday & just let us know that you have seen the roll and are planning on reading a book for the week.

Also, here's some more housekeeping I wanted to make you aware of.

Free Pass ~ **To earn your free pass your team has to complete their reads a day before the next roll. So ONE week we need to all try to get together & see if we can get all the reviews in a day early so we can get a Free Pass which can help us roll if a review missing before the cutoff. Otherwise we stay where we are & loose a whole week.

*Once you've used it, you can't earn another one. It's a one-time shot.

Do y'all wanna go for Extra Points...

I will TRY to do the never picking a book from the alternate list. extra points tasks


✸ 2 in 1: One point can be earned for reading a book that fits both the series number and the alternate for the spot you are on.
*Everyone can try to do this


✸ One point can be earned for starting and finishing a series. There must be at least 4 books

✸ One point can be earned for never picking a book from the alternate list. This point is awarded when your team rolls past 90.

✸ One point can be earned for reading a book with >500 pages.

✸ One point can be earned for ALWAYS picking a book from the alternate list. This point is awarded when your team rolls past 90

My Vote
First Choice
Serious About Series

Second Choice
Just 3 more pages...

Mamacita aka MawMaw wrote: "Do y'all wanna go for Extra Points...

I will TRY to do the never picking a book from the alternate list. extra points tasks


✸ 2 in 1: One point can be earned for reading a book that fits both t..."

I can try for always picking a book from the alternate list then, but no promises that I'll actually be able to do it.

Our Team Roll


Team #3 Roll

Week: 1
Previous Spot: 0
Roll: 1 +5 = 6
(view spoiler)[Time stamp: 2023-01-27 06:03:28 UTC (hide spoiler)]

New Spot: 6
Choices ~ #6 in series
Alternate task ~ 6. Author 'Y'

Mama Posted It

Eunice wrote: "My Vote
First Choice
Serious About Series

Second Choice
Just 3 more pages..."

same with me, I like both Serious About Series and Just 3 more pages.

About extra points,
I will try to see if I survive with "always picking a book from the alternate" because can be difficult and if we are 2 in it, one of us can go "alive" till 90

That's means I need to decide about a Y author new :)

and in parallel maybe fit for:
- three or more books in a series
or
- starting and finishing a series (+4 books series)

Since it's a draw so far, I'll vote for Serious about Series

I have a book with more than 500 pages that I can read for this prompt

Awesome. I will turn in our Team Name

Serious about Series

Mama Reported It

SS Weekly Checked In since Roll

Mama ~ ✔️
Eunice ~ ✔️
R~wka ~ ✔️
Mouse333 ~ ✔️
Leslie Ann ~ ✔️

Found a book for the task.

Bury Your Dead is 6th in the series, I will read this

Week 1 - Completion Post
Spot 6 ~ Alternate task: Author 'Y'


Book: Crowned for His Christmas Baby (Pregnant Princesses, #1) by Maisey Yates
How It Qualifies: Author "Y" : Maisey Yates
Date read: Jan 28
Rating: 3 ⭐️
Review:

I chose the book to be able to match alternative task. (there are less Y authors I know😅) . I didn't have expectations... being a harlequin book, but it wasn't that bad. The action and events sometimes seemed to go too fast. I haven't been able to feel the chemistry between the two. Overall it was a quick book to read over the weekend.

Week 1 - Completion Post
Spot 6 ~ Alternate task: Author 'Y'


Book: Spells for Forgetting by Adrienne Young
How It Qualifies: Last name starts with Y
Date read: Jan 30
Rating: 4
Review:
The synopsis of the book on Goodreads intrigued me, and the book did not disappoint. The start was slow, but by the middle of the book, the tension and mystery began to build to the point that I did not want to put the book down. I enjoyed the build-up and the writing, but I do wish that there was more fantasy included throughout the book even if it was the backbone of the story. Also, the motive of the mystery seems ridiculous, especially when you consider the extent of what they're willing to do for their motives.

Week 1 - Completion Post
Spot 6 ~
Bury Your Dead
1/31/23
4 stars
6th in the series
Review:
I think the is the best book in the series so far. I have fallen in love with 3 Pines and all the residences. Louise Penny is a master at characterization and plots. I reccomend her books highly.

Mama's Serious about Series
Weekly Completion Post


Week #1
Spot: #6


Book: Justice for Boone 3* ✔️ 1/31
Pages: 328 pages
Fits: Badge of Honor: Texas Heroes Series #6
Bonus: Not Yet

Review: OK. So First of all Susan Stoker. Love most of her books, But they seem to fall into one of two categories for me. They are either GREAT or just OK. This was the latter.

I really liked Boone. He was a true cowboy that raised cattle.




So basically, the story is Hayden is a cop, And Boone is a DELICIOUS COWBOY with a CRAZY ex-girlfriend. Boone & Hayden met on a fake Domestic Abuse call to his ranch.




My only issue with Boone was in these cases Hayden was the safety & security expert & he should have listened to her many times in this. But he thought it would blow over. But she kept driving him crazy.



My only real issue with Hayden is that I could not relate to her in any way except for her wanting Boone.



Too bad Dana wanted what didn't want her because she could have been a great character. Kinda reminded me of Beth from Yellowstone if she would have had just an ounce of self respect & not been a totally idiot. Cause Beth is my spirit animal.



Anywhore. Finally It all came to a head, the fire station and some of the other guys from her station showed up. And then they all left happily ever after.

Week 1 - Spot 6

Book: Dead Man Walking by Giana Darling
How it fits: #6 in The Fallen Men
Bonus: One point can be earned for reading a book with >500 pages - this book has 542 pages.
Date finished: 01 Feb 2023
Rating: 2 stars

Review:
This book was fine, but this series just doesn’t seem to be for me.

I liked Bea and Priest, but this book just sort of dragged. There was the whole thing about the stalker and yet no one was doing anything about it. Every time something new happened, they would all swear and say how they were going to kill the stalker, and yet no one even tried to find him. Also, the stalker aspect of this book ends up being predictable, and it felt forced and out of place.

There were some other characters in this book, but I didn’t really care about any of them. I liked the short scene with King and Priest, but it was over and done with very quickly. Bea’s grandfather seemed like he could have been a fine character, but he wasn’t shown enough. Lion was rubbish as he butted in and just made everything worse, and even before it happened it was obvious that the plan he came up with was going to fail. Also, I don’t really understand his part in the MC as he’s with the president’s daughter and yet he almost seems to be against them. I really didn’t like Lou because she was a hypocrite, and Bea’s mother was just rubbish and I didn’t see why they kept trying with her. I liked how clear it’s made how Zeus cares about everyone, but again, those scenes were short.

The epilogue was nice, but I wanted to see the reaction of the other characters.

I’m not going to continue with this series as I just don’t care about the characters, and I probably won’t try other books by this author.

All reviews in more than a day early. Nice!

Eunice wrote: "All reviews in more than a day early. Nice!"



Yup which should have earned us a Free Pass.

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

Thanks Mouse for getting us our 1st Bonus!!!

Weekly Review Links for Team Team 3 - Serious about Series


Week: #2
Roll:
Old Spot + New =
New Spot:

*Last Weeks Review Links
✔️ Mama's Review Post #45

✔️ Eunice's Review Post #43

✔️ R~wka's Review Post #42

✔️ Mouse333's Review Post #46
✔️ Bonus Earned: One point >500 pages - Dead Man Walking has 542 pages.

✔️ Leslie Ann's Review Post #44

Bonus Points
Free Pass
Earned: 1
Used: 0


***All Reviews were done a day early earning us our free pass.



Working on Bonuses... (view spoiler)[
Never using Alternates
Week #1 ~ Mama post #45
Week #2 ~
Week #3 ~
Week #4 ~
Week #5 ~
Week #6 ~

Always using Alternates
Week #1 ~ R-wka Post #42
Week #2 ~
Week #3 ~
Week #4 ~
Week #5 ~
Week #6 ~

Week #1 ~ Eunice Post #43
Week #2 ~
Week #3 ~
Week #4 ~
Week #5 ~
Week #6 ~
(hide spoiler)]