The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Team Venus

Team Members:
📓 Suzanne - Captain
📓 Hayes Bennet - Co-captain
📓 Avamuc
📓 Anna
📓 Victoria
📓 Sabrina Street
📓 Jenny McDonagh
📓 Lauren Martin
📓 Nanci Drum
📓 Bernadette

📓 Tracy Nagy - Co-captain (Withdrawn)

🃏 Team Spreadsheet

r

r

r

Team Shelves
📕Suzanne
📕Bernadette
📕Hayes
📕Ava
Anna
📕Victoria
📕Sabrina
Lauren
📕Nanci

Key: 📕means recommendation thread task is done

Helpful Links
Working Spreadsheet

Team Comparisons

Our Team's Spreadsheet

Frequently Asked Questions

You can either report your books in this thread or put them into the working spreadsheet, whichever is easiest. List all of the cards your book can be used for, and the captains will place it into the Team Spreadsheet. We can shuffle books around so that we get all our hands filled =) Feel free to use the spreadsheet for planning too.

Book Requirements
Books must be more than 100 pages in length and Children's books, Graphic Novels, Cook Books, Plays and Poetry books can not be used unless by word count they can be verified as more than 25,000 words using arbookfind.com

Note
For book titles starting with an article (A/An/The), the article can be ignored or used. So The Hiding Place, for example, could be used as title starting with T or H

Re-reads are ok provided it has been more than 6 months since last read

Strategy

Feel free to chime in! I feel like the best strategy is just to read! Find books you love so that reading is fun! The categories are super flexible, so except for the special books below, most books will fit in TONS of spots. (So I'm kind of against "claiming" spots except for those specific books.) I'm quite positive we can use anything you read (as long as it meets the challenge rules). And if you read a book that meets one of the specific ones below (like Blue 6), please note that, which would also allow us to shuffle if needed.

The other thing to do is have fun with the team. We'll all find new books we want to read, and hopefully make lots of new friends :)


Special Books

Below are the books that take a little more planning. If you have a book that would fit one of these, let us know!

1. Blue cover, 6 card - Nanci will read (Author's last name is Scott)

2. Yellow cover, 0 card Suzanne has or

3. Red cover, 8 card Suzanne has: or
Note: Ava has that we will use if she feels like using it. But BABY! <---first priority

4. Green cover, 2 card - Nanci will read (title starts with T)

5. Blue cover, 5 card Character named Iggy - Hayes can read

6. Yellow cover, 6 card - Victoria will read (Author starts with S) - approved as yellow in Captains group

7. Red cover, 9 card Nanci will read Author's last name starts with N

Note 1: Nanci has found books for #3 and #5 if we have an emergency. See post https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Cards

(view spoiler)[
◈◈◈Perks UNO cards◈◈◈
O (Zero)
Read a book that:
- has a 0 or Zero in the title
- has a title starting with Z
- has an author first name or surname starts with Z
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with Z
- is set in a place name starting with Z
- is a "stand-alone" book (i.e. not part of a series)

1 (One)
Read a book that:
- has a 1 or One in the title
- has a title starting with O
- has an author first name or surname starts with O
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with O
- is set in a place name starting with O
- is book 1 in a series

2 (Two)
Read a book that:
- has a 2 or Two in the title
- has a title starting with T
- has an author first name or surname starts with T
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with T
- is set in a place name starting with T
- is book 2 in a series

3 (Three)
Read a book that:
- has a 3 or Three in the title
- has a title starting with H
- has an author first name or surname starts with H
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with H
- is set in a place name starting with H
- is book 3 in a series

4 (Four)
Read a book that:
- has a 4 or Four in the title
- has a title starting with F
- has an author first name or surname starts with F
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with F
- is set in a place name starting with F
- is book 4 in a series

5 (Five)
Read a book that:
- has a 5 or Five in the title
- has a title starting with I
- has an author first name or surname starts with I
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with I
- is set in a place name starting with I
- is book 5 in a series

6 (Six)
Read a book that:
- has a 6 or Six in the title
- has a title starting with S
- has an author first name or surname starts with S
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with S
- is set in a place name starting with S
- is book 6 in a series

7 (Seven)
Read a book that:
- has a 7 or Seven in the title
- has a title starting with V
- has an author first name or surname starts with V
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with V
- is set in a place name starting with V
- is book 7 in a series

8 (Eight)
Read a book that:
- has an 8 or Eight in the title
- has a title starting with E
- has an author first name or surname starts with E
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with E
- is set in a place name starting with E
- is book 8 in a series

9 (Nine)
Read a book that:
- has a 9 or Nine in the title
- has a title starting with N
- has an author first name or surname starts with N
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with N
- is set in a place name starting with N
- is book 9 in a series

Skip
Read a book that:
- has a title starting with K or P
- has an author first name or surname starts with K or P
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with K or P
- is set in a place name starting with K or P
OR you can choose to "skip" reading a book for this cards (and get no points for this card)

Draw 2
Use the same book for two cards in this hand (and get points for both cards)

Reverse
One member of your team must read a book another team member has already read

Wild
Read a book that can fit for any of the cards in that SAME hand (i.e. you are duplicating one of the cards in that same hand)

Wild draw four
Read a book that can fit for any of the coloured cards you have that month (i.e. you are duplicating one of your coloured cards)

Coloured cards
Special coloured cards will be randomly provided each month. for these cards you need to read for the card number (as above) and the book must also have a coloured cover for the colour specified (blue, red, yellow or green)

◈◈◈Points◈◈◈
For each book read to match a 0-9 card, the team gets 20 points
For each book read to match a Skip or Reverse, the team gets 25 points
For each book read to match a wild or Wild draw four card the team gets 30 points
For each book read to match a special Coloured card, the team gets 30 points
For each hand completed, the team gets a bonus 15 points

(hide spoiler)]

Reserved 4

Hi everyone! I'm so excited to play Uno with all of you this year! It was my first group challenge ever on Goodreads, and it got me truly hooked!

I'll be sending everyone a friend invite tonight or tomorrow, and I'm glad we'll have a bit of time to get to know each other and plan before the challenge starts!

Just a little about me - I live in Idaho, I have 3 kids, but they are all grown up and 2 grandkids. I teach math at the college here and I read a lot because it fits in well between other stuff!

Suzanne wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm so excited to play Uno with all of you this year! It was my first group challenge ever on Goodreads, and it got me truly hooked!

I'll be sending everyone a friend invite tonight o..."

Well, well, well, fancy seeing you again :) Glad they were able to put us on the same team! Although it's a shame the others couldn't join us (but I have a feeling this is still going to be an awesome team)


For those that don't know me my name is Victoria and this is my third time playing uno. I've had Suzanne as my team captain multiple times (including uno now that I think of it) and can attest to the fact that she's a great captain!

I'm an American who recently move to the UK, which is exciting for me. The time difference shouldn't be a problem since I do shift work and time zones are more or less meaningless to me.

I read most everything, but the last few years I've been reading mostly UF/PNR and romances. My goal this year however, is to read more mysteries, historical-fiction, and non-fiction.

I think we have a scattering of people from all different timezones, which is awesome! And yes Victoria, I think Uno was our very first challenge together!

Hi everyone! I am so excited that it is time for UNO again! This is my third time joining this challenge it and it still is one of my favorites. :)

My name is Ava and I am from Germany. I enjoy reading different kinds of books (mysteries, fantasy, bios,....)

Hi everyone! I'm Lauren, and I'm a newbie! :) I'm a non-profit lawyer and adjunct law professor (I specialize in animal law), and I usually read "literary fiction" (I hate that term--who's to define what constitutes literature?) and classics. Right now I'm reading Oliver Twist. :) I'm looking forward to reading with all of you! I'm not sure I understand the rules exactly yet, but it sounds like fun!

Hi Ava and Lauren. I'm pretty happy we have teammates living all over the world!

Lauren, this is a great, easy challenge. I think the real goal is just to read as much as you want/can - the Uno cards and hands are SO flexible so we can always fit in whatever people are reading.

I stuck the few special cards up in message 6 - we'll create some strategy with them once it's closer to actual game time.

Hi teammates!
I'm very excited for UNO to start! I've played it 3 times and it is so much fun! Cool that we are scattered over the globe. I live in Virginia and we have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. I am a retired teacher/school counselor, so I'm now able to read even more and also travel. Suzanne, thank you so much for being our captain. I've captained before and know it can be a bit of work, although I thought it was fun. Just to let you know, we leave January 13 for our big dream trip. We will be traveling to Australiza, NZ, Tahiti and Hawaii over the next 5 weeks. I will check in, but just wanted you to know in case I'm out of touch for a bit. I'll give you a heads up for the week we're sailing in Tahiti, as we won't have any internet during that week. So excited to get UNO going and get to know all of you better! I'll look now on my iPad for the harder cards.
Cheers!

Wow Nanci - that sounds like SUCH a fun trip - that is wonderful you're doing that!! You are going to see so many beautiful things!!

For the UNO cards above I have:
#1. 6blue The author's last name is Scott.
#3. 8red Character named Elizabeth
#4. 2green Title starts with "T".
#5. 5blue Author's last name starts with an "I".
#7. 9red Author's last name starts with "N"

Suzanne, you may want to double check the covers to make sure the colors are acceptable. I certainly don't need to read all of them, but I could read 2-3 if needed. My favorite choices would be: The Sympathizer, Trail of Broken Wings, or The Luck of Rainbow Gold, but I'll read whatever is needed.

Suzanne wrote: "Wow Nanci - that sounds like SUCH a fun trip - that is wonderful you're doing that!! You are going to see so many beautiful things!!"

Thanks, Suzanne. We are super excited! We love nature and being outside, so we're really pumped for all the outdoor exploring.

Wow Nanci - awesome! I double checked all of them in Tineye and they all officially work.

How about I put you down for the three favorite choices, and I'll make a note that you have the others as backups. Is that ok? And if you'd rather just have me put you down for two at first, then let me know and we'll do that!

Hi Ava, Lauren, and Nanci!

We do seem to have a lot people either living or traveling all over the world! And Nanci, you have to keep us updated on your travels, it sounds like you have an amazing trip planned.

Well, I was going to offer to read for yellow cover/6 card, but tineye is showing it to be more green than yellow. It certainly looks yellow to me... maybe I did something wrong when I checked

And I need to read this book, I feel as though everyone’s read it but me!

I feel like tin-eye is really strange with yellow/green. I'll ask about that one in the Captain's Group. It looks yellow to me too (with green threads).

Tineye can be funny sometimes. I think you'll enjoy the book and we'll find a place for it somewhere. That's what's good about UNO.

Yay - we got approval for that one to be counted as yellow. Someone said she has the physical copy and it definitely looks yellow =) So good find Victoria!

Haha and Nanci is right - even if it wasn't approved it's a good one to read. It seems like with UNO, everything fits.

Suzanne wrote: "Yay - we got approval for that one to be counted as yellow. Someone said she has the physical copy and it definitely looks yellow =) So good find Victoria!"

Hooray! I do like how you can take it to the group when a Tineye diagnosis is suspect. :)

Me too! It saves running in mental circles about it!

Yay, I’m glad it works! And yeah, I figured I could use if for something else anyway, but I’ve been meaning to read it for ages and never got around to it, so I thought this would finally give me the proper motivation

Here is our working spreadsheet (I also linked it at the top).
Working Spreadsheet

If you enjoy planning books, feel free to use it for that. And be sure to let me know if you have any problems editing.

Hey Suzanne,
I've not been on a team before that had a working spreadsheet before, so maybe I'm not doing something correctly, but it's marked "view only". Do you want me to send a message through Google Docs to get "edit" privileges? I love the idea of this!

Thanks for checking! You were the guinea pig I think. I changed the permissions, so it should hopefully let you edit now. Let me know if it doesn't.

I like using it because for me it's easier than typing in the thread (especially all the cards a book might fit). But I've had lots of team members that just want to work in the thread and not touch the spreadsheet, which is fine. Always good to have options!

Please check and make sure I added my books the correct way, if you don’t mind. I’m doing it on my iPad since that’s mostly going to be the way I communicate when we’re on our trip and sometimes it’s a bit funky getting everything to work.

I'm on my phone, but it looks fine. If entering your books in the thread instead of the spreadsheet is easier for you, you're more than welcome to to that ! Just do whatever you prefer. Lol I personally dislike spreadsheets on my mobile devices, but I like them on my computer :)

Hi, my name's Adriana but Anna is much easier. I'm French & I live near Paris. I'm getting 22 yo in April, and I'm studying Modern Literature at university. It's my third time playing UNO and I looove it!! So excited!!

Nice to meet you all, & yes Nanci, we want updates during your awesome journey :p

Welcome Anna! I'm so happy you are on our team!

Hi Anna! I have such fond memories of our visit to Paris! We hosted a foreign exchange student when he was 11 years old for 9 weeks. Now he's 34 years old and we still communicate with his family. You live in a beautiful area!

Suzanne wrote: "I'm on my phone, but it looks fine. If entering your books in the thread instead of the spreadsheet is easier for you, you're more than welcome to to that ! Just do whatever you prefer. Lol I perso..."

Thanks, Suzanne. Glad it worked!

Hi Anna, great to have you on the team!

Nanci wrote: "Hi teammates!
I'm very excited for UNO to start! I've played it 3 times and it is so much fun! Cool that we are scattered over the globe. I live in Virginia and we have 3 grown children and 5 grand..."

New Zealand must be so great....a very close friend of mine just returned a few days ago from her second trip to NZ and one of her first comments was: I want to go back for a third time! :) Have a great trip :D. It sounds amazing! :)

Thanks, Ava. Everyone I know who has gone to NZ wants to go back! I imagine we'll feel the same. We're just going to try to make the most of it while we're there this time!

Hi Everyone! My name is Hayes and this is my frst time playing Uno. I'm so excited to do it, it seems like a lot of fun!

Welcome Hayes, and thanks for serving as one of our co-captains. You're going to love this challenge!

The Angel Experiment For 5Blue I can do the angel experiment by James Patterson. It has a character named Iggy. I know not all editions of this are blue, but the cover of mine is.

Welcome Hayes ! And that is perfect for 5 blue. The only one that matters for color is the edition we read. Thanks for finding that! I hope you love Uno!

Hi Hayes! Welcome to the team!

I just finished playing several rounds of uno! And I tried explaining to everyone that while it’s been years since I’ve played uno, I was about to play a reading challenge version of uno - I don’t think they understood

Ha! My non GR friends don't get it either when I talk about our challenges. My friends who don't read much just look at me like I'm crazy. They cannot fathom how it could be fun to read books as a challenge.

Hi Everyone, I'm Jenny and this is my first time play GR Uno (played the card version at home many times). I live in London and use reading to distress from my day job so my books tend to be light-hearted/non-political.

I'm super excited about Uno, but a little confused so I may need a little help for where my books would help best with our strategy - sufficient to say I have a huge number to read so hopefully can fit into a number of different slots.

Hi Jenny, and welcome!
UNO is pretty flexible, so it’s usually easy to find the books needed for a card. Our captain and co-captains will help with strategy and do all the work behind the scenes. All we have to do is find books we like that fit the cards and enjoy reading them!

Hi Jenny!

Nanci is perfectly right - the best thing about this challenge is we can just read all the books we would like. All those card rules seem overwhelming, and I DO find myself when reading thinking "oh there is an "S" character" or "Look, a location that begins with "E"!" But don't let the card rules overwhelm you because the bottom line is that they just make most books fit a large variety of tasks.

So I'm glad you decided to give Uno a try =)