2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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READATHON CENTRAL ~ Through The Decades (Team)
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FAQs*I'm a Team Leader, what exactly are my responsibilities?
Double check that the team is updating your team spreadsheet correctly, move books that could fit other prompts if needed, and be the designated question-asker for your team in this thread.
Message any missing team members who have not shown up to discuss your reading plans prior to the start of the readathon.
Please create a post for your team in the Team Progress thread to report how your team’s doing.
Be a cheerleader for your team! Encourage teammates to keep reading and let them know that they’re doing a great job.
*I’d planned to read a book for a specific prompt, but when I finished the book, that prompt was already filled by a teammate. What should I do?
Make sure that you’ve checked off all the prompts that your book will fill. As the readathon progresses, your team captain can look at which books can be moved around to optimize prompt coverage.
*I don’t feel like reading today. Will my team hate me?
No, of course not. Read what you want when you can and, most importantly, have fun.
*How do we fill in our team’s spreadsheet?
Each team member is responsible for typing in their reading plans (not all of them, only what they're currently reading) as well as their daily progress in reading or listening.
Be sure to also report on the spreadsheet when a book you finish completes a prompt.
*What about audiobooks? Large Print, ARCs, multi-volume editions? Graphic novels/comics, screenplays?
Audiobook hours can be used for our readathon! See the Point System section above for more info.
Large print, ARCs, and multi-volume editions are also more than welcome! Please only use the large print page count if the edition you read is large print. Please only count ARCs if they have an accurate listing on Goodreads. And use your best judgment when reading multi-volume books if you should use the page count for that edition or split it up into however many volumes exist.
Unfortunately, graphic novels/comics and screenplays will not count for this readathon. In an effort to make things fair for everyone, we have decided that graphic novels/comics, screenplays, and books under 100 pages will not count. While we understand that some of these media have just as many words as a typical novel, it would be too difficult for the mod team to monitor which should be allowed and which shouldn’t. We hope you understand.
*Some of my teammates haven't shown up yet to discuss reading plans. What should I do?
Firstly, don’t panic! Send me a message letting me know which members you are missing from your discussion thread. I will work to contact them to let them know they have been assigned to your team. Unfortunately, we cannot ensure that all group members will show up, however, in the event that the majority of your teammates are missing, we will work to relocate those of you who did to uphold fairness and allow everyone to have fun while participating.
*What do you mean I can’t “double count” a book?
A book you read for one prompt cannot be counted towards another prompt simultaneously. i.e. I read Romeo and Juliet for the Single prompt ‘A romance.’ I cannot also count Romeo and Juliet for the Double prompt ‘Works written by Shakespeare.’
*How do I find the most popular edition of the audiobook I’m reading?
First, go to your book’s page and scroll down until you see this button:
Click on Show all [XX] editions.
Num Ratings as seen here in the red circles:
The yellow circle shows the number of pages for Goodreads’s most popular hardcover edition of The Hobbit as 277.
*I have a question that isn’t listed on this FAQ.
Please reach out to your Team Leader and/or Co-Leader in your team’s discussion thread. Your TL/CL can then post your question in this thread for a moderator to answer.
Team Leaders are listed first. Have fun!Team Announcements:
Team 1: TerryJane & Jaida
Teammates: Sahiary, Carrie, Jennifer S., Aide, Ju, Alina
Team 2: Betty
Teammates: Brianna Raquel, LinaVer, Shari, Blagica, Billie-Jade, Kay-Mika
Team 3: Jennifer R. & Susan
Teammates: Charlotte, D.L, Theresa, Denise, Whitney
Team 4: Lisa Marie & Janine
Teammates: KSMary, bailey, Kate, Manisi V, Rachael
Team 5: Beth & JennH
Teammates: Lorraine, Brianna, Antun, Syd
PROMPTS
Singles
Read a historical fiction novel.
Read a historical nonfiction novel.
Read a memoir by someone born in a different decade than you.
Read a book containing time travel.
Read a book with a timepiece on the cover.
Read a book you haven’t read since you were younger.
Read a book set in two or more time periods.
Read a book published in the year or decade you were born.
Doubles
Read 2 books set in a future decade.
Read 2 books with an older adult main character.
Read 2 books with a day of the week or month in the title.
Read 2 books with a unit of time in the title.
Read 2 books with a year or date in the title.
Read 2 books published or set in the 1900s.
Read 2 books published or set in the 1910s.
Read 2 books published or set in the 1920s.
Read 2 books published or set in the 1930s.
Triples
Read 3 books published or set in the 1940s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 1950s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 1960s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 1970s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 1980s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 1990s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 2000s.
Read 3 books published or set in the 2010s.
Bonus category:
Read books published or set in the 2020s.
The introduction and sign up thread is available under Readathons. You'll find it in this thread as well.
Hope to see you then.
I am so excited about participating in this Team Readathon ~ "Through The Decades" ~ I think it is going to be a lot of fun!! I can't wait to find out the prompts :) I really enjoy finding books to fit prompts!! I find it challenging but so much fun!! I look forward to finding out who my team mates with be and getting to know them throughout the Readathon!!
HAPPY READING!!
Hi, one of my team members asked a question about the 'unit of time' prompt. "would a title like Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would work as a unit of time? Night being a period in the day?"
JennH wrote: "Hi, one of my team members asked a question about the 'unit of time' prompt. "would a title like Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would work as a unit of time? Night being a period in the..."
I think the word 'night,' as part of the book title, works.
I researched a bit since my original thoughts were hours, minutes, etc.
Words like: day, night, morning, week, are good to use, for the unit of time prompt.
But not words like Friday and January since those work for other prompts.
Thanks for the quick response, Theresa. I had the same question. 👍🏻
One of my team members has asked about translated fiction. Do we consider the published date as the year it was first published in its original language, or the year the English (or language we're reading in) version was published? Thanks!
Is there a minimum word count for books with MPG Children? I have in mind a book that has 224 pages, Children 1st MPG, and WC of 23,946. Some challenges I've participated in require a minimum of 25K words for this genre even through page count is met.
Theresa wrote: "JennH wrote: "Hi, one of my team members asked a question about the 'unit of time' prompt. "would a title like Night Flight by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry would work as a unit of time? Night being a..."
Yay. I thought the same as you at first. But thought I'd check just to make sure. Thanks, Theresa!
Janine wrote: "One of my team members has asked about translated fiction. Do we consider the published date as the year it was first published in its original language, or the year the English (or language we're ..."I'll say the version that is being read, for this event.
Beth wrote: "Is there a minimum word count for books with MPG Children? I have in mind a book that has 224 pages, Children 1st MPG, and WC of 23,946. Some challenges I've participated in require a minimum of 25..."Not that I'm aware of, from past readathons
Sorry if this is the wrong place, but it's the only place I can find!Team 5 would like our name to be Novel Navigators.
Thank you!
Theresa wrote: "I'll say the version that is being read, for this event."This applies to all books, not just translated ones? We should count pub date for the edition we read? (That will make a big difference in some of my book choices!)
Thanks!
That definitely affects my plans - I was going to read The Wind in the Willows which was originally published in 1908 and count it for the set or published in the 1900s. But the copy I got at the library was not published that long ago. It is the original, unabridged text. It feels like maybe it should go by when that translation of it was published rather than just a new publication of the same text. I’m thinking it will really limit things from those early years to just set in rather than published in.
The original publication date can be used after all, whatever edition you read.It does make sense.
Enjoy the readathon!
Thanks for that answer!Looking for clarification: We can count only the pages we read during the readathon time period, yes? If we have a 300 page book and save the last 100 pages for the challenge time frame, we can count only 100 pages, correct? That sounds fair to me, but it wasn't obvious to me until it was pointed out during a past readathon.
Another question from my team: In a book published in English in 1962 and French in 2015, the original content is made up of various articles or letters he wrote between 1947 and 1992.Since the Readathon prompts mention using the year a book was published or the time it is set in, can I use any of the years reflected in the content (1947 to 1992)?
Beth wrote: "Thanks for that answer!Looking for clarification: We can count only the pages we read during the readathon time period, yes? If we have a 300 page book and save the last 100 pages for the challen..."
Yes, you can use a book you are still reading, as long as there are 100 or more pages left for the readathon. Only the pages read during the readathon count.
Beth wrote: "Another question from my team: In a book published in English in 1962 and French in 2015, the original content is made up of various articles or letters he wrote between 1947 and 1992.Since the R..."
Yes, you can. I know another mod has marked one book set in multiple decades. Of course, the book can only be used for one prompt.
Question from our team: Would a book title containing 'tomorrow' fit within the prompt 'unit of time', or potentially another prompt? Thanks!
From google:"Tomorrow" is not a unit of time in the same way that a second, minute, or hour is. It's a word that refers to the day after the current day, so it's more accurately described as a day of the week or a time-related term, specifically indicating the next day in sequence. It can also refer to the near future.
Based on the above, it could be used as a day of the week.
So with audiobooks, we go by the hardcover page count, but what about with e-books? Many e-books have more "pages" than the hardcover, but they contain the same content. I have been tracking the hardcover page count for mine, but one of my teammates was talking about using the Kindle page count for hers, which was (for some reason) much lower for hers (probably because I have a tiny phone). I just want to make sure we are all using the same metric.
Jennifer wrote: "So with audiobooks, we go by the hardcover page count, but what about with e-books? Many e-books have more "pages" than the hardcover, but they contain the same content. I have been tracking the ha..."Great question! I would say the kindle edition that you’re reading (with the same ISBN) would be the preferred edition for page count. So the page count according to goodreads rather than the number that your device calculates. I always encourage readathoners to use your best judgment and if the page count feels wildly off one way or another do what you think is the most fair.
This is just my answer while Theresa is temporarily unavailable. When she returns she may want to change things up. I hope you and your team are having fun reading regardless! 😄
A book was written in the 1950s but set in the 1970s. Can that be counted as set in a future decade?
Beth wrote: "A book was written in the 1950s but set in the 1970s. Can that be counted as set in a future decade?"It sounds more like it was published in the 1950s and set in the 1970s. It could be used for one of the mentioned decades.
Theresa wrote: “It sounds more like it was published in the 1950s and set in the 1970s. It could ..."Right. So “future decade” means future from today, not when the book was written. Got it, thanks!
I hope you all enjoyed this readathon! Thank you for participating!Team Leaders Only.
Please see this thread to let us know how your team did.
2025 Summer Readathon: Through the Decades Team Readathon
Duration: July 18th-27th
Sign-ups: June 27th-July 10th
Team and prompt announcements: July 11th
Once our team readathon goes live, here’s the thread where you can find FAQs and where the team leaders/assistants can post questions on behalf of their teams.
Through the Decades Readathon
Welcome to the 2025 Reading Challenge’s Summer Readathon! We are hosting a 10-day team readathon that we hope you will all enjoy just as much as last time! Didn’t participate in the last readathon? That’s totally cool! We will create teams with an even mix of seasoned and first-time “readathon-ers” as well as folks who read at different paces.
Here’s how it works: Your team will work together to read one, two, or three books that fit the prompts, which will be posted below on July 11th.
General Information
🕰️Teams and prompts announced: July 11th in the comment below
🕰️Check in with your teammates and decide on a team name
🕰️Read, Read, Read!
🕰️Begin and end at midnight in your timezone
🕰️Open to all teams
🕰️Three types: singles, doubles, and triples. Singles require 1 book to receive points, doubles require 2 books to receive points, and triples require 3 books to receive points.
🕰️Teammates collaborate on prompts to reach the amount of books required
🕰️Bonus prompts available for teams who complete ALL regular prompts (reach out in this thread or personal message to Theresa)
🕰️Team members may read the same book
🕰️Each book read counts for one prompt only
i.e. I read Romeo and Juliet for the Single prompt ‘A romance.’ I cannot also count Romeo and Juliet for the Double prompt ‘Works written by Shakespeare.’
We also encourage you to count books you read for the readathon towards your quarterly, monthly, and yearly challenges!
Point System
Books for double and triple prompts cannot be redeemed for points until all 2 or 3 books have been completed. The point breakdown is as follows: