The Challenge Factory discussion

Team 6 - Super Sixers

Captain: Elena
Joyce
Shelley
Roger - president of NBR United -
Jen K
Mamacita wants a Bedtime Story
Lynn
Dale

(view spoiler)[
Used 10/25 (hide spoiler)]

Bonus Points:
Earned: 4
Used: 0

Helpful Links:

Dice Roll (2 dice on Fridays, US Central Time)
R11 SS Post Your Spot
R11 SS Discussion Thread
Time Zone Converter

ALTERNATES:
*Titles exclude leading articles like A, An, The)
❀Each number corresponds with the spot on the board.
❀ Colors: The cover has to be at least 50% Guidelines
❀ Locations: As long as the book takes part at all in the given location.
❀ Publication Years: Any edition so long as it is published in the given year according to GR.
❀ Authors' Names: The first, middle, or last name of the author is ok.
❀ Cover Items: Must have the given item on the cover
❀ Titles: Only the first word of the title. A, An, and The do not count.

LIST:
2. Title N
3. Cover Item: Furniture
4. Author L
5. South America
6. Cover: Black
7. Published 2016
8. Character has a pet
9. Cover Item: Lamp/Candle
10. Character has at least one child
11. Romance
12. Set in a place you've visited
13. GR average rating <3.6
14. Cover Item: Jewellery
15. Book that one of your teammates read shelf rated a 5-star
16. Cover: Pink
17. Four or more Words Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
18. Multi-Colored (3 or More Colors)
19. North America
20. Title G
21. Cover Item: Animal
22. Historical
23. Female Author
24. Cover: Green
25. Published 2015
26. Non-Fiction
27. Cover Item: Two or more people
28. Author uses their middle name/initial (e.g. Robert J. Sawyer, Rita Mae Brown)
29. Cover: Red
30. Cover Item: Water
31. Young Adult/New Adult
32. Set in a Fictional Location/Universe
33. Africa
34. Seasonal Theme (i.e Christmas, Halloween etc)
35. Author I
36. GR average rating >4.0
37. Number in the Title (i.e. Third Grave Dead Ahead or Every Fifteen Minutes)
38. Originally published in a language other than English
39. School/College/University
40. Cover Item: Food/Drink
41.Title B
42. Cover Item: Weapon
43. LGBTQ+
44. Author W
45. Published 2011-2012
46. Cover: White
47. Published 2019
48. Australia
49. Author D
50. Cover: Blue
51. Published 2017
52. Cover Item: One person
53. Author R
54. Published before 1950
55. Favorite Author
56. One Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Witness or Divergent)
57. Cover: Yellow/Gold
58. Mystery/Thriller
59. Author H
60. Asia
61. Several authors
62. Author A
63. Award winner (must state which/when)
64. New to you author
65. Published 2013
66. Title V
67. Cover Item: Book
68. Published the year you were born
69. Title C
70. Cover Item: Mode of Transportation
71. Title F
72. Published between 2001 and 2010
73. Cover Item: Hands/Arms/Feet/Legs (no other body parts visible)
74. Book to Movie/TV (must state how book qualifies i.e. listopia or precis)
75. Male Author
76. Two Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. Deadly Silence or The Hunger Games)
77. Title J
78. Cover: Purple
79. Debut Novel or Debut Author
80. Cover Item: Instrument
81. Title K
82. Cover Item: Building
83. Published between 1950 and 2000
84. Author O
85. Cover: Grey/Silver
86. Title T
87. Cover Item: Sun/Moon
88. Sci-Fi
89. Title E
90. Cover: Orange
91. Published 2014
92. Three Word Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. Behind Closed Doors or Etched in Bone)
93. Europe
94. Author P
95. Cover Item: Dress
96. Fantasy
97. Cover Item: Hat/Helmet/Other Headwear
98. Author M
99. Cover Item: Plant
100. Author S
101. Four or more Words Title excluding articles like A, An, The (i.e. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone)
102. Cover: Brown
103. Published 2014
104. Author B
105. Title L
106. Romance
107. Award Winner (must state which/when)
108. Cover: Green
109. Title A
110. Favorite Author
111. Author Y

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.

Hello team I am Roger from Milwaukee, WI so Central US Time. I read mainly M/M and fantasy. am 50 and a fast reader. Will be friending people on the team as soon as I can use their link to get to where I can Friend them.

Hey there, happy to be here as well. This is my first Super Series but I participated in the Bingo over the summer and thoroughly enjoyed.

Not so great on team names but Super Sixers?

Hi I'm checking in. I like Super Sixers for a name.

or I'll just throw this out there

Pick up Six
Sizzling Sixers

Hi ya'll! Cking in. This is my 1st time to play. A little nervous as I'm not sure exactly how it's all gonna work, but have a bunch of series going, so that may help.

Names
Pick up Six & Super Sixers sounds good. I was also thinking along the lines of 6 dice games & could only come up with Farkle. So I guess that's a no go. We could be the Furious 6. IDK.

Also, who volunteers to be captain?

I'm a No for captain as it's my 1at go around.

All the name suggestions sound good.

I could possibly co-captain if someone could teach me how to link posts? I don't want to fully commit because I need to go to Zambia soon for a few weeks and if I'm outside of Lusaka, I may not have consistent internet.

Excited to get started and glad to team with you all!

I really cannot be captain as I work too many hours

Hey everyone. Glad to be a part of the team. This is my first go round also. Took me a minute -- more like a couple of hours -- to figure out where and how the team communicates. 😊
I usually go with the flow, so whatever team name the majority picks is good. Whoever wants to be captain and co-captains are okay with me.

Lynn wrote: "I can be the captain if everyone's okay with that :)

I just need to know if there's an exact certain time I'm supposed to roll the dice on Fridays :)"

Hopefully they will explain all things to the captain! They might even have a special threads only for team captains. IDK

Thanks Lynn for offering to be captain!!

I read somewhere that the rolls should be done at 1 PM Central time but hopefully they confirm for all.

Hello team! Great to meet all of you, I'm looking forward to playing!

I like Super Sixers for our name too :)

Lynn wrote: "I just need to know if there's an exact certain time I'm supposed to roll the dice on Fridays :)"

You can roll at any time on Fridays, starting from 0:01am till 23:59pm Central Time - provided all members of the team have submitted their reviews for the previous week. So ideally, everyone would have their books finished and reviews posted by Thursday 23:59pm Central Time, then you can roll right away at midnight.

good with Super Sixers

Lynn, thanks for stepping up as Captain.
Super Sixers sounds good.
Just to be clear - we post our reviews here?

Too excited to start tomorrow! and for a long weekend.

Hope everyone is well and ready!

Any suggestions?

Yes. I like mystery and suspense. The Secret Place by Tana French or The Gods of Guilt by Michael Connelly. Anyone recommend either?

Woohoo! Also couldn't sleep.

Since it is a long weekend and because its been on my kindle for 2 years, I will read Wolves of the Calla which is #5 in the Dark Tower Series.

Sorry Shelley, I haven't read those either.

Will post selection post later but going with Against the Grain book 5 in THIRDS series.

Hey Lynn, do you want a more formal selection post for tracking? Happy to do whatever makes it easiest for for you!

I will be reading
Silver Borne by Patricia Briggs
It is the #5 book in the Mercy Thompson series.

Selection Post Week #1
Book: Against the Grain
Pages: 220
How it fits 5th in thirds Series

I'm gonna read book #5 in Bad Things by Cynthia Evans.

Good, you? Loving the 3 day weekend and just finished my monster of a book.

Week 1

Spot: 5

Book: Wolves of the Calla by Stephen King
Qualification: Dark Tower Series #5
Finished: 2 September 2019
Rating: ★★★★

Review: I first started the Dark Tower series in 1999 when my dad gave me the cassette tape (!!) before a week long road trip. Since then I have slowly (very) been making my way through the series. All the books are amazing but epic. I read #4 over 2 years ago but was ready to jump back in with the Wolves of the Calla.

Wolves of the Calla built a brand new, yet not new at all world in Calla. It was in fact fairly meta with Salem's Lot showing up in the middle of the story. The Ka-Tet is faced with saving Calla from the Wolves who come once a generation to steal and ruin about half of the region's children. At the same time, the continue to make progress to save the tower and facing a growing problem of one of their own members. After all the build up, it ended somewhat quickly left with a major cliff hanger. We will see if it will take me another 2 years to read the next. Love King's Fantasy Western series.

Bonus Point: Qualifies for pages greater than 500. My Kindle version has 778 pages and the mass market paperback is 931.

Great review, Jen! I started Dark Tower series a couple of times over the years, got as far as third book and then let too much time go by and had to start over :)). One of these days I'll stick to it till the end!

Thanks Elena! The series is so good and the next one is slightly smaller so maybe I can use this challenge to finish. Maybe. :)

Week 1
Book: Against the Grain by Charlie Cochet
Pages: 220
How it Fits: book 5 in THIRDS series
read: 8/31/19
Rating 5 stars
Review: This is the first of the series that is not mainly focus on Dex and Sloane. the Main Characters for this are Cael, Dex's adopted brother and a cheetah thieran and Ash, Sloane's best friend and a lion thieran. Ash swears he is not gay but we do find out he is at least bisexual because we find out he was making out with a boy instead of being with his twin brother when he was killed in riots when they where teenagers. Cael is a sweet person who can sink his claws when hurt or angered, Ash and Sloan are kidnapped and to get them back Cael has to face his abusive ex and defeat him. They (Cael and Ash) are working there way slowly to a relationship when both are carrying past hurts with them.

Mama's Completion Post


Week # 1
Spot: 5
Book: Heart of Stone 4* ✔️ 9/3
Qualification: #5 in Bad Things Series
https://www.goodreads.com/series/181728
Review: Really liked it. Sabrina was amused and needing a protector. Adam Cross was a gargoyle and since he had a Heart of Stone he was the only one she couldn't influence. It had a couple twist that I didn't see coming then I really liked. Will be continuing with Leo's book which is next in series.

Hey all, how's everyone's week? I always find that 4 day work weeks are ridiculously crazy. Hope the week and the books are going well and really hoping we make it into the teens in the next roll!

COMPLETION POST
Week # 1
Spot: 5
Book: Silver Borne
Qualification: # 5 in the Mercy Thompson series
Finished: 9/4/19
Rating: 5 stars
Review:
This was so good and potato chippy. I could not put it down. Mercy's friend Samuel is having trouble with being a wolf and his wolf takes over. Her friend Finn is missing. Someone in the pack is making trouble for her. She has a lot to deal with but does it with her usual bluntness and flair. So looking forward to the next book.

How are we doing in term of reviews completed.

I'm about 80% done with mine, will be updating closer to the end of the day.

Week 1
Spot: 5
Book: The Bitter Season by Tami Hoag
Qualification: #5 in Kovac and Liska Series
Finished: Sep 5
Rating: ★★★★

Review:
Homicide detectives Sam Kovac and Nikki Liska, who used to be partners, are leading separate investigations in this installment. Liska is in charge of unsolved murder of a police officer committed 25 years prior that had gone cold, and Kovac investigates bizarre and exceptionally brutal murder of a wealthy couple in their own home.

This is a good, solid police procedural which I really liked. Well-written, fast-paced, with great characters and dialogue (banter!) and complex plot (with a few red herrings) that held my interest throughout. Pieces started falling into places for me in the second half but some of the bigger revelations didn't occur to me until the end. I haven't read previous books in this series and though it didn't spoil the enjoyment of this mystery, now I really want to go to the beginning and see how it all started!

Lynn wrote: "Sorry I have been MIA for most of the week. I've been really sick! But I'm here now lol The completion post is ready. Just waiting on the last 2 review/completion posts :)"

Just posted mine!

Sorry to hear you've been sick, Lynn. I hope you're feeling better!

Week 1
Spot 5
Book: The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye - Book 5 in Millennium Series
Finished: September 5, 2019
Ratting: ☆☆☆☆

Review: This is the latest book featuring Lisbeth Salander. The story is told almost in 3 parts. It was a little hard for me at first because there seemed to be too many characters to keep up with. But, I was glad I kept with it. Had enough twist I too keep me intrigued about a third of thw thru. After that, I couldn't stop reading.

If you've never read any of the previous books, not to worry. There is a section at the beginning giving you background on the continuing characters. It's also not necessary to have read the previous books to enjoy or follow the plot.

Once again Lisbeth is fighting for the underdog, Faria Kazia, whose story line is almost a book by itself. Lisbeth enlist the help of her friend Mikael Blomkuist, again.

Definitly read it if you like solving a mystery.

Sorry, should say third if tbe way thru.

the way. Sorry for the typos

You've earned your free pass, it's been added to the first post. :)

Lynn, don't forget that you can also read a #5 for spot 15! :)

Stand alone

The Last to Know - Wendy Corsi Staub

This book also qualifies for a bonus. >500 pages,

Nice work team!!!

@Lynn, hope you are feeling better!! Also did you note that I hopefully qualified a bonus point for a book over 500 pages? I wasn't sure how to note it.

This week I will read Every Heart a Doorway which is #1 for the Wayward Children series.

Great work, everyone!!

Not sure what I'm reading yet but will post my selection as soon as it's chosen :)

So, is anyone interested in trying for "start and finish a series" bonus? I feel like this one requires a bit of planning ahead on the off chance we won't get another 1 going on :)