The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Team New Beijing

Team Members:
❅ Apoorv - Captain
❅ Gwen Landis - Co-Captain
❅ Vicki
❅ Anna
❅ Anne Garrood
❅ Carrie
❅ Val Lawrence
❅ Robynne Lozier



♕ Team Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

R

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LET'S BETTER READ THIS, OR I'VE HEARD THE MODS GET GASSY :P
Rules - UNO 2022
General Questions

➦ Only books STARTED after the challenge begins can count.
The challenge starts on Monday 1 Feb, 2022 at 9pm UTC

➦ Books must be more than 100 pages in length.
If it is a Children's book or a graphic novel, we need to verify it is more than 25,000 words on arbookfind.com (https://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.a...)

➦ Your finished books need to be on your Uno shelf
AND marked as "read" for them to count.

➦ Please make notes of how your book may count.
The more options we have the better!
(Letters used in UNO are Z, O, T, H, F, I, V, E, S, N, K, P and of course if another team member has read the book before. Please friend our team members!)

➦ For coloured cards, the cover needs to be 50% or more of the colour.
You can ask us in this thread for our opinion, or use xx to get an idea. If in doubt, ask me or a co-captain as we can check it and/or take to the captains group for another opinion.

➦ This is a social challenge, not a competitive one.
We'd love to get points, but the main aim of the game is to have fun, read lots and get to know each other :)
---------------------------------------------------------

Team Information (alphabetical)

✔ Anna | 2022 Uno
✔ Anne | Uno 2022
✔ Apoorv | Challenge-PBBA-UNO2022
✔ Carrie | Uno 2022
✔ Gwen | Uno Game 2022
✔ Robynne | Uno 2022
✔ Val | Uno Challenge Reads 2022
✔ Vicki | UNO 2022

---------------------------------------------------------

COUNTDOWN!
(https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...)

We start February 1, 2022 at 9AM UTC.

I HAVE EYES ON YOU! :P


Well, let's say you have eyes on yourself (I mean, duh!).
(But, I want to tell you that the cap and the co-cap see you. You are seen!
Uff, this is turning into therapy. Eh, well! :P Two at the price of one!)

Team Spreadsheet
(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...)

You don't have to worry about this one!
I got this (till I haven't - but then we have an awesome co-cap, so we are totally fiiiiiiine!)

New Beijing Planning/Tracking Spreadsheet
(https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...)

Now, THIS is your playground! Bookmark this baby because you will be needing this one a lot over the next three months!

P.S. I am going on record and saying this new GoodReads update of blocking links to external websites is going to make me go bananas. Gah! Let me know if you have any issues accessing any links posted throughout.

OMG! I AM SOOOO EXCITED NOW!
I CAN'T WAIT!! LET'S GO ALREADY! :D

I know! I know! Your excitement is palpable. I totally get it! :D
So, let's get started, shall we?

A couple of things:

1. You can read absolutely ANYTHING you want! The only request is you track every little thing that the book offers you! Names, locations - the works!

The best way, of course, is New Beijing Planning/Tracking Spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...). You can start filling in information as you come across it in the "February" (and later "March", and "April" folders). The reason for having all that information is that we can then move things around to complete our hands without waiting on someone to finish a certain book.

2. Color Cards: This is a fun one! We can have people claim certain color cards if they want, but irrespective of that, I would request you to note any cover color-related information from your book that would fit the bill.

Always better to have multiple books that may fit multiple options. Again, you don't have to read for a particular color, but you can if you so choose.

WELP! I FINISHED A BOOK.
WHAT DO I DO NOW?

YAAY! Well done, New Beijing-ites!
Now we make sure that we count that book.
Every book is precious and we do not want to miss tracking it.

So, three things:

1. Stop by here and make a quick post about the completed book with as much information you can provide.

Here is an example how:
--------------------------------------------
Completion Post

Book: This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance! |
Author: Jonathan Evison
Pages: 296
Date: 01-Feb-2021
UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone
1: Character O - Osier, Terrance
2: Title T
3: Character H - Harriet Chance
4: Character F - Fitsimmons, Charlie
6: Character S - Skip
8: Author E
9: Character N - Nathan, Harriet
Skip: Character K - Kurt Pikins

Cover Color : Blue (73.3%) (https://labs.tineye.com/color/50aeebd...)


-------------------------------------------

2. Hop over to your profile and make sure you have logged in that book in your respective UNO folder as "read".

This is important because at the end of the month, only books logged into the respective shelves can be counted. And these mods are pesky (shhh!), they like to sneak, I tell you! Oh, you'll see! :P
------------------------------------------

3. Take a minute to go to our planning/tracking spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...) and put in the relevant information of your next read.

I mean, we can't stop at 1, or 2, or errm 6!

APOORV, SERIOUSLY SHUT UP!
YOU'RE YAPPING AROUND WAY TOO MUCH. GET TO THE POINT! :P

Eeks! Sorry!
So, here are our FEBRUARY hands.
------------------------------------------

Required Reads
👉 0 : 4
👉 1 : 8
👉 2 : 6
👉 3 : 5
👉 4 : 9
👉 5 : 9
👉 6 : 9
👉 7 : 8
👉 8 : 7
👉 9 : 8
👉 Skip : 5
👉 Reverse : 6
👉 Draw 2 : 7
👉 Wild : 3
👉 Wild Draw 3 : 1

We also have eight (8) colored cards:

Required Reads
👉 1 Green : 1
👉 4 Green : 2
👉 4 Yellow : 1
👉 6 Green : 1
👉 6 Yellow : 1
👉 9 Green : 1
👉 9 Yellow : 1

---------------------------------------------
Quick peek at what can be used for each of the cards:
(view spoiler)[
O (Zero)
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
1 (One)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
2 (Two)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
3 (Three)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
4 (Four)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
5 (Five)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
6 (Six)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
7 (Seven)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
8 (Eight)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
9 (Nine)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
Skip
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Draw 2
(view spoiler)[Use the same book for two cards in this hand (and get points for both cards)
(hide spoiler)]
Reverse
(view spoiler)[One member of your team must read a book another team member has already read
(hide spoiler)]
Wild
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Wild draw four
(view spoiler)[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. Each coloured card can only be duplicated once)
(hide spoiler)]
Coloured cards
(view spoiler)[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) (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

OMG! ANOTHER MONTH OF UNO?
I MIGHT FAINT! SOMEONE HOLD ME!!

So, here are our MARCH hands.
------------------------------------------

Required Reads
👉 0 : 4
👉 1 : 6
👉 2 : 6
👉 3 : 5
👉 4 : 8
👉 5 : 3
👉 6 : 9
👉 7 : 7
👉 8 : 13
👉 9 : 7
👉 Skip : 10
👉 Reverse : 10
👉 Draw 2 : 9
👉 Wild : 1
👉 Wild Draw 3 : 4

We also have ten (10) colored cards:

Required Reads
👉 0 Green : 1
👉 1 Green : 1
👉 2 Yellow : 1
👉 3 Green : 1
👉 4 Green : 1
👉 5 Green : 1
👉 6 Blue : 1
👉 6 Green : 1
👉 7 Green : 1
👉 7 Red : 1

---------------------------------------------
Quick peek at what can be used for each of the cards:
(view spoiler)[
O (Zero)
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
1 (One)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
2 (Two)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
3 (Three)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
4 (Four)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
5 (Five)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
6 (Six)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
7 (Seven)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
8 (Eight)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
9 (Nine)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
Skip
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Draw 2
(view spoiler)[Use the same book for two cards in this hand (and get points for both cards)
(hide spoiler)]
Reverse
(view spoiler)[One member of your team must read a book another team member has already read
(hide spoiler)]
Wild
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Wild draw four
(view spoiler)[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. Each coloured card can only be duplicated once)
(hide spoiler)]
Coloured cards
(view spoiler)[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) (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THIS IS THE LAST MONTH OF UNO?
NAW, BUT I'M JUST STARTING TO HAVE FUN!

So, here are our APRIL hands.
------------------------------------------

Required Reads
👉 0 : 2
👉 1 : 10
👉 2 : 10
👉 3 : 6
👉 4 : 8
👉 5 : 6
👉 6 : 8
👉 7 : 10
👉 8 : 10
👉 9 : 9
👉 Skip : 3
👉 Reverse : 6
👉 Draw 2 : 7
👉 Wild : 5
👉 Overload : 3

We also have sixteen (16) colored cards:

Required Reads
👉 1 Red : 1
👉 1 Yellow : 1
👉 2 Blue : 2
👉 2 Yellow : 1
👉 4 Yellow : 1
👉 5 Green : 1
👉 6 Blue : 1
👉 7 Yellow : 1
👉 9 Blue : 1
👉 9 Red : 1
👉 9 Yellow : 1
👉 Skip Blue : 1
👉 Skip Green : 1
👉 Skip Red : 1
👉 Skip Yellow : 1

---------------------------------------------
Quick peek at what can be used for each of the cards:
(view spoiler)[
O (Zero)
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
1 (One)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
2 (Two)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
3 (Three)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
4 (Four)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
5 (Five)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
6 (Six)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
7 (Seven)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
8 (Eight)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
9 (Nine)
(view spoiler)[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
(hide spoiler)]
Skip
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Draw 2
(view spoiler)[Use the same book for two cards in this hand (and get points for both cards)
(hide spoiler)]
Reverse
(view spoiler)[One member of your team must read a book another team member has already read
(hide spoiler)]
Wild
(view spoiler)[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)
(hide spoiler)]
Wild draw four
(view spoiler)[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. Each coloured card can only be duplicated once)
(hide spoiler)]
Coloured cards
(view spoiler)[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) (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Phew! Did I throw in too much information at you folks? Let's just collectively blame it on my excitement to meet all of you and play the coolest UNO game ever! :D Hope everyone is doing well, and massive props to all of us for managing to keep afloat through this deluge of the last two years - hope you're staying safe and continue to do so! :)

I am Apoorv - the captain! (I know! I know! I rolled my eyes at that news too! :P)
I live in Boston, Massachusetts in The United States and my association with the game goes as far back as 2015, which was I think the first edition of UNO! This is my 7th year doing this - so, yeah - I'm the old horse in the barn! :P

I have played with Vicki last year and WE HAD A BLAST!! :D (I have bribed Vicki to say yes, so let me know if she secretly says no, and then we will have a talk! :P) I am super excited to meet all of you and have another year of memorable reading and winning this darn thing (I say why not! :P) Haha! But irrespective of the end result, we almost always have tons of fun with wonderful conversations and hundreds of books added to the TBR by the end of it.

I try and read almost everything (genre no bar), so it's always an exciting aspect of this challenge for me to see all the plethora of books my teammates read.
So, as an icebreaker, how about, if you don't mind, each of you share your top 5 books that you read in 2021?!

I'll start:
1. Shuggie Bain | Douglas Stuart
2. Interior Chinatown | Charles Yu
3. Anxious People | Fredrik Bachman
4. Blindness | Jose Saramago
5. The Troop | Nick Cutter

Please feel free to ask any questions that you may have.
As I like to say, I promise I'll answer all the easy ones, and make sure our wonderful co-captain, Gwen answer the difficult ones! :P

SUPER-EXCITED! Let's do this! :D

YAY!!!! Apoorv, you’re stuck with me again!!! I’m all smiles now!

Hi There. My name is Robynne. I live in Canada and this is my 3rd UNO.

Top 5 books in 2021

Illuminae Illuminae files

The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, Hope, and Survival in Theresienstadt The Girls of Room 28

My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past My grandfather would have shot me

From Yellow Star to Pop Star: How one young girl survived the Holocaust and became a singing sensation From yellow star to pop star

My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business My Lucky Life - Dick Van Dyke


As you can see - 4 of those above are NON fiction - 3 of them happened to be from WW2. I actually prefer reading non fiction - my most favourite genre - but I do read other genres as well - scifi, historical fiction, mysteries, adventures and cozy mysteries.

My Shelf is just UNO-2022
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Hope to get to know you all.

I have claimed the 6 green book as it is the only Green book I have that fits. The only yellow book I have is Midnight in Chernobyl and That is a yellow 3 which we dont have.

Most of my books are red, white and blue!! LOL

I am desperate to read the Lost Apothecary and I cant until we get the right blue Colour card for it!!

Apoorv, I am watching two of my grandchildren today but as soon as I get home tonight I’ll respond to your question about books and anything else that isn’t showing up on my phone. I am truly so HAPPY to be on your team again! :)

Hello all!

I'm co-captain of this here vessel! I love the UNO challenge and have so much fun finding books to fit the cards and getting to know the people playing. Here's my little intro:

My name is Gwen and I live in Vermont, up near the Canadian border (just over an hour to Montreal, I miss going there!). I love to read and will read almost anything. Some of my fave genres are: thriller, horror, post-apocalyptic, some sci-fi, some fantasy, YA, memoirs, true crime, paranormal, historical fiction, and just about anything that someone else highly recommends. I have more trouble finding TIME to read than finding SOMEthing to read.

Some of my 5-star reads from 2021 were (in no particular order):

1. Dear Edward by Ann Napolitano
2. The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
3. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
4. Smoke Gets in Your Eyes & Other Lessons from the Crematory by Caitlin Doughty
5. Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier

I'm looking forward to playing with everyone.

Robynne wrote: "Hi There. My name is Robynne. I live in Canada and this is my 3rd UNO.

Top 5 books in 2021

Welcome, Robynne! Those are some really interesting titles. I am particularly intrigued by The Girls of Room 28 and From Yellow Star to Pop Star - such fascinating lives people have lived through history. Thank you for sharing these. I am going to see if I can get my hands on these.

I have already been meaning to read The Lost Apothecary, so hopefully we can have one Reverse card and two Blue color cards covered amongst us in the next three months. :)

Vicki wrote: "Apoorv, I am watching two of my grandchildren today but as soon as I get home tonight I’ll respond to your question about books and anything else that isn’t showing up on my phone. I am truly so HA..."

Vicki, you are awesome! And I am thrilled to be on the same team as you again. You were the MVP last time and your addition to this year's team is super valuable. Hope the lil kiddos are doing fine and you're having fun with them! :)

Gwen wrote: "Hello all!

I'm co-captain of this here vessel! I love the UNO challenge and have so much fun finding books to fit the cards and getting to know the people playing. Here's my little intro:

My name..."

Hey Co-Cap!! Great to have you here. So nice to know that I can totally skip on my job and you will totally steer the vessel to safety. Haha! :D

Finding books for UNO should be totally classified as a hobby - because it is soo much fun! :)
And I love that you have Dear Edward on your list. That book is very close to my heart and I loved every bit of it. Also, I plan on reading Project Hail Mary, sometime during the challenge - so excited to see that on your top 5 list as well.

This is going to be a super fun challenge. Can't wait to get started. :)

Hi all! Carrie from Pennsylvania here!

I love to read just about everything and anything but my favorite genres are definitely mystery, thriller, horror, and noir.

Some of my top reads last year include:

1. The Last House on Needless Street Sneak Peek by Catriona Ward

2. The Curator by M.W. Craven - honestly the entire series is great!

3. House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J. Maas (First and only book I've read by this author but I really liked it!)

4. Bath Haus by P.J. Vernon

5. The Nothing Man by Catherine Ryan Howard

I love Uno. I've played several years now. Can't wait to get started!

Gwen wrote: "Hello all!

I'm co-captain of this here vessel! I love the UNO challenge and have so much fun finding books to fit the cards and getting to know the people playing. Here's my little intro:

My name..."

I loved The Broken Girls and Jamaica Inn as well!

Hi everyone! So excited to meet you all!

I’m Val and live right outside Atlanta, Georgia (US).

This is my 2nd year playing UNO. I had a blast last year. I read a lot from NetGalley and have an active Bookstagram page. My faborite genres are Women’s Fiction and Thrillers. My least read are Romance and Non-Fiction.

I have a hard time limiting my favorites for ‘21 to 5… (in no order)

1. Razorblade Tears
2. The House in the Cerulean Sea
3. Anxious People
4. Thirteen
5. The People We Keep
6. The Good Sister
7. In Five Years
8. Th3 Push

Look forward to learning more about all of you🥰

Hey Everyone! I'm Anna and I live in the Louisville Metro area but am originally from Alabama. I've played Uno a couple of times and always look forward to playing it. My work schedule can get a little crazy but I'll be around for sure. I've played with Vicki on multiple teams and I'm thinking Carrie and I have been teamed up before. I'm always looking for new friends.

Picking my top 5 books is a little difficult. Let's see these are probably mine from last year. I'm probably missing something but here's a snapshot.

Chain of Iron - Always love this author.

Big Little Lies - Just a fun book to read.

The Midnight Library - If you haven't read it, it needs to be added soon, it's so good!

Rebel's Karma - A great series to start with hot, steamy characters.

All Rhodes Lead Here - You can never go wrong with her books. Audio is the best.

Carrie wrote: "Hi all! Carrie from Pennsylvania here!

I love to read just about everything and anything but my favorite genres are definitely mystery, thriller, horror, and noir.

Some of my top reads last yea..."


Welcome, Carrie! I loved Bath Haus, so glad to see it represented here and I am definitely reading The Last House on Needless Street next month because it has a green cover - and after seeing it on your list, it definitely has moved up my reads for February. :) Thank you!

Also when you get a chance, would you mind dropping in a link to your UNO shelf? Thanks! :)

Val wrote: "Hi everyone! So excited to meet you all!

I’m Val and live right outside Atlanta, Georgia (US).

This is my 2nd year playing UNO. I had a blast last year. I read a lot from NetGalley and have an a..."

Hey Val! Welcome, welcome! :)
Women's Fiction and Thrillers are some of my top read genres as well, so I'm absolutely going to keep an eye on your reads throughout the challenge to find some of my next favorites. Haha! :)

The House on the Cerulean Sea, Anxious People were just perfect pieces of literature. Love them so much! :) I'm on the waiting list of my library for Razorblade Tears for 2 months now, and my patience is wearing thin. Gah! I wasn't, unfortunately, as impressed by The Good Sister as everyone else was but I totally see why it is raved. Super nice to see in your list. And I will most likely be reading The Push through this challenge. Exciting times! :)

Welcome again. :D

bamaace83 wrote: "Hey Everyone! I'm Anna and I live in the Louisville Metro area but am originally from Alabama. I've played Uno a couple of times and always look forward to playing it. My work schedule can get a li..."

Hey Anna, welcome! It is always nice to see The Midnight Library show up in best-of lists, because it gets such polarizing reviews normally. I personally loved it.

Also, totally understand the work schedule, Anna. If anything comes up and you are going to be tied up for a few days, just drop in a word here or message me so that we don't file a missing person's report. Haha! :P

Do drop in your UNO shelf link here, when you get a chance. Thanks! :)

Apoorv wrote: "Val wrote: "Hi everyone! So excited to meet you all!

I’m Val and live right outside Atlanta, Georgia (US).

This is my 2nd year playing UNO. I had a blast last year. I read a lot from NetGalley a..."

Oh yea! I'll have to follow your lists also - especially for the reverses!!! So happy to be on your team.

Oops! Let me fix that link. Here's the shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I can totally pop in and let you know before the report gets filed. :) I'm upset with Mother Nature this morning for icing our roads on a scheduled day off. I'm like you could've given us a little ice to delay work another day this week. We would've gladly taken it.

So Apoorv,

I love your sense of humour for your opening and instruction posts. I think we will get along just fine.

I also apologise in advance if I get "too chatty". I sometimes do ramble on.

Since I have never had you as a captain before, how will things work on the spreadsheet?

How do the coloured sections with our names work?

Do we claim all of the books we read in the coloured sections, or is that just for the colour card books?

I apologise for jumping the gun and claiming a book, but in my experience, on other teams, all the coloured books would have been claimed by now!! (12 to 24 hours after the teams were opened). And thanks to the limited range of colours we have, I really only have the one book that fits those colours.

Ciao

Robynne

Okay, so let's see if I can make it clear as mud. :P

Since I have never had you as a captain before, how will things work on the spreadsheet?"

In the Tracking Spreadsheet, there are tabs for the months "February" for now (March, April later) which would be where you would fill in all the details of the books you'd be reading/planning on reading.

How do the coloured sections with our names work?

Ah, that's just conditional formatting in place to differentiate all of us, so that I don't get names and books confused. I love color and since we are 8 of us, it kind of worked with the rainbow pattern. But that absolutely has no bearing over the color cards that we have, it's just fancy formatting. :)

Do we claim all of the books we read in the colored sections, or is that just for the color card books?

That would be all the books you will be reading. I just added 5 rows each for everyone to start with, but you can add more rows and type in your name and it will automatically pop the color assigned to your name. For the specific color cards, note that there is a separate column (Column E) where you can write the cover color that the book fits.

Note: You can use TinEye to verify the color, but you don't have to. (Mostly because it is weird and spits out some weird names, I use it as a reference just in case)

In my experience, on other teams, all the coloured books would have been claimed by now!! (12 to 24 hours after the teams were opened).

I personally do not force anyone to choose a color or a number and read a book for that, because our reading plans can change, and then people might end up having to read a book just because they said they would. Where is the fun in that? :)

So, long story short, the easiest way to go about this is to choose a book (ANY book) you want to read, fill in all possible details (character names, locations, series, title, etc.) in the row next to your book as you read it, and enjoy the book. Gwen or I can gladly take over from there after you finish and place the book in its rightful location on the main sheet. (Note: the reason I would appreciate as much detail as possible because there will inadvertently come a time during the month, where there would be a need to shuffle the books to squeeze in other books - letters like F, V, I, are painful and hard to come by and S, T, N are comparatively common!) :)

Feel free to ask more questions. The harder ones will be answered by the co-cap anyway. Hehe! :P

Thanks Apoorv,

That explains things very nicely!!

I am so sorry for being MIA the last couple days, but my computer took a dive and long story short I JUST got it fixed. Thank goodness for family members who are tech savvy. That being said, I am once again on my way to watch two of my grandchildren but will most definitely come back tonight and post what I had wanted to post previously.

Apoorv, I have needed your sense of humor back in my life, so thank you for that!

Anna, it is so good to see you were added to our team! YIPPEE!

To the rest of our team, it's good to be working with all of you and thank you to those who've requested my friendship. I look forward to getting to know you all! :)

I will do an intro tonight and hoping you all don't mind that I am wordy! I'm a retired English teacher, so I can't resist writing books on these threads! lol

Apoorv, here's my shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Here's my shelf:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

bamaace83 wrote: "Hey Everyone! I'm Anna and I live in the Louisville Metro area but am originally from Alabama. I've played Uno a couple of times and always look forward to playing it. My work schedule can get a li..."


Yep. I was just racking my brain trying to think what challenge we did together before!

Couldn't take it...had to look back. We did Tower Teams together - Team Acedia!

I also knew I recognized Apoorv as well. We did Cutthroat - Long Claw together. (Which was one of my favorite challenges!)

For those of you who don't know me yet, I'll be brief but give a few important things about myself. First, I am very happily married. Second, I have five grown children. Third, I have 21 beautiful grandchildren and five great grandchildren.

I am a retired high school teacher and I taught English for 25 years, yearbook for 18, multicultural literature for five, and reading and writing proficiency for several years.

My favorite genres are historical fiction, mystery, thriller/psychological thriller, romance, and some fantasy.

Favorite authors: Colleen Hoover, Brittainy C. Cherry, Amy Harmon, James Patterson, Karin Slaughter, Kendra Elliot, and a few others.

Picking five of my favorite books in 2021 isn't easy for me, but here are five I loved:

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
Cilka's Journey by Heather Morris
A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer
The Second Blind Son by Amy Harmon
Somebody's Daughter by Ashley C. Ford

Robynne wrote: "Hi There. My name is Robynne. I live in Canada and this is my 3rd UNO.

Top 5 books in 2021

Illuminae Illuminae files

[book:The Girls of Room 28: Friendship, Hope, and Survival..."

We have planned a trip to Canada for three years in a row now. Our first one was to be in 2020, then we thought sure last year we'd make it but the pandemic interfered again. This year is yet to be seen. I am cautiously hopeful.

Vicki wrote: "For those of you who don't know me yet, I'll be brief but give a few important things about myself. First, I am very happily married. Second, I have five grown children. Third, I have 21 beautiful ..."

I also loved It Ends With Us and Colleen Hoover. Did you read Verity? If so, I wonder what you thought of it...

Vicki wrote: "I am so sorry for being MIA the last couple days, but my computer took a dive and long story short I JUST got it fixed. Thank goodness for family members who are tech savvy. That being said, I am o..."

VICKI!! Welcome, welcome! It is always a joy to be on the same team as you - super excited to recreate the fun we had last year. Thank you in advance for all the fun we will have reading wonderful books this time around. :D

You also have the coolest stories about your grandkids, and its wonderful to read about them. (I also have to make sure I haven't made any grammatical mistakes when I type these messages to you, who knows when the English Teacher will scold me. Haha! :P)

I have been meaning to read Cilka's Journey, because I absolutely loved The Tattooist of Auschwitz, but I always get a little skeptical when authors add another book to a perfectly fine standalone. Seeing it on your top 5 list definitely pushes me to read it. Thanks! :)

Welcome again - and hope you read some amazing books through this challenge (and the rest of the year ofcourse) :)

Carrie wrote: "I also knew I recognized Apoorv as well. We did Cutthroat - Long Claw together. (Which was one of my favorite challenges!)."

YES!! OMG, I LOVED Cutthroat. I was just checking our spreadsheet for that challenge, and boy did we read!! That was one of my absolute favourite challenges as well - the tasks were so cool (and sometimes crazy :P). So, glad to reconnect! I am sure we will have just as much fun this time around. :)

Apoorv wrote: "Carrie wrote: "I also knew I recognized Apoorv as well. We did Cutthroat - Long Claw together. (Which was one of my favorite challenges!)."

YES!! OMG, I LOVED Cutthroat. I was just checking our sp..."

Definitely one of the best challenges I participated in without a doubt!

I sent a request to gain access to the SS. I couldn't get in it.

Thanks!

Carrie wrote: "I sent a request to gain access to the SS. I couldn't get in it.."

Oh, that's weird. I didn't get a message. It was the Tracking Spreadsheet, right?
Do you want to try once more? Or you can send me you email address and I can add you.

Ah, got the request! You should be in now, Carrie!
Let me know if you still have any trouble with it. :)

Apoorv wrote: "Ah, got the request! You should be in now, Carrie!
Let me know if you still have any trouble with it. :)"

Good to go. Thanks!

Val wrote: "Vicki wrote: "For those of you who don't know me yet, I'll be brief but give a few important things about myself. First, I am very happily married. Second, I have five grown children. Third, I have..."

I was a little conflicted about Verity, but I still really liked it and gave it 4 stars. It has excellent reviews and a high average GR rating and 75% of the readers from Amazon gave it 5 stars, so I would say it's definitely worth your time to read it. If you do, I hope you love it.

Apoorv wrote: "Vicki wrote: "I am so sorry for being MIA the last couple days, but my computer took a dive and long story short I JUST got it fixed. Thank goodness for family members who are tech savvy. That bein..."

We most definitely will have fun! Jeez, I missed your humor so much after the last round of UNO!

BTW, I am one of those who said I'd read "between 25-30 books" or something like that. I had to choose so I am pretty sure I ended up saying 30. IF I had known that I was NOT going to Florida for 3 weeks as planned, I would've posted for a few more than that. But the MOD said to let my captain know I am down for 30 books per month.

OKAY, now on to my favorite subject...grandkids. :) Lily is now going to be 4 on March 19 and JuJu (Julian) will be 2 on March 6. They are incredibly smart (no prejudice here...honest), funny as heck, and they make me laugh and smile every time I am with them.

Me: Lily, I love you all the way up to the sky! *Pointing to the sky.*
Lily: Grandma, I'm not in the sky!

Another favorite just because it's so darn cute! I never watch TV at their house when I am watching them. I put it on Puppy Dog Pals or something similar or nothing at all and we play, read, etc.

Lily while watching Puppy Dog Pals: Grandma, it's okay if you want to...*stuttering* uh, uh, uh, you can watch a grandma show. LOL I mean how cute and sweet and thoughtful is that!

They're my youngest grandkids. My oldest granddaughter now has 2 children, Warren who's 3 1/2 and Reesey who will be 2 on the 21st of this month. Brianna, my granddaughter, sent me an audio of her reading to Reesey and that tugs at my heartstrings! I don't think there's anything I love more than fostering the love of reading. In fact, for those of you who have young ones, one of my favorite books I read and bought for Lily and JuJu is . Such a fun book and, of course,

Oh, and regarding Cilka's Journey I know exactly what you mean! I am oftentimes disappointed in serial books after book 1 because it's so difficult to match the quality; however, in this case it follows the sisters' individual plights and I thoroughly enjoyed all 3 books. In fact, books 2 and 3 have just slightly higher ratings than book 1. I believe it's because after book 1 the reader is already invested in the characters and their lives. I'm not sure they're actually better than book 1. I hope you'll read Cilka's Journey and give me your input. I think it's one trilogy worth reading. :)

Anne, thank you for your friendship request. I feel the same way as you do regarding not limiting oneself to certain genres. I have to admit that I never got into fantasy at all until I joined Goodreads even though I taught English. I encouraged students to read genres that they liked. They are much more likely to read a book (oftentimes only some of it) when they got to select their own material for what I called "outside reading" and that worked well. I had quite a few books that my department ordered for me that were "low level, high interest" books for those students who were not reading on level (9th grade). Plus, I always took them to our school library for time to search for books.

Anyway, I am looking forward to getting to know you via this challenge. I am assuming we all asked for a "chatty" group. You almost have to be with Apoorv as our captain! lol

Hi! I’m Anne. This is my third UNO and (of course) I love it. Last year we all read our little hearts out and came in last, but we had a blast.
I just turned 70 (OMG!). I am a retired veterinarian and live in the DC suburbs of Northern Virginia. I live with two dogs (miniature long haired wieners), two cats and one husband. I am originally English, but I have lived in the U.S. for 40 years now.
My reading habits are pretty eclectic, so I find it hard to name a favorite author. I love following trails from one book to the next. My favorites from last year are:
Beowulf Seamus Heaney
Moon Tiger Penelope Lively
The Garden of Evening Mists Tan Twan Eng
American Gods Neil Gaiman
Vesper Flights Helen Macdonald
But that was very hard to choose just five. I am not into thrillers or blood and gore and I get bored with series.
It is great to meet you all.
So let’s get started! 😁

Apoorv, I can’t get into the tracking spread sheet. I sent you a request.
Thanks.

Anne wrote: "Hi! I’m Anne. This is my third UNO and (of course) I love it. Last year we all read our little hearts out and came in last, but we had a blast.
I just turned 70 (OMG!). I am a retired veterinarian ..."

Hi, Anne, I have you beat in age! I will be 72 on January 27 and I am thankful and feel blessed every day that I am granted another day of life!

I have 2 dogs, Rocky who is assumed to be border collie and lab mix. My daughter found him and 5 siblings in a box someone left on the side of the road when the pups were only about 5 weeks old. At that time we had Buddy who was Australian shepherd and lab mix...BEST dog ever! We also had Jazzmine who is a bichon frise and was only 6 months old. So, we had 3 dogs until Buddy died :( I am a dog lover and animal lover in general; however, I have never liked cats other than to look at because the only cat in my life was a mean gray cat that belonged to my aunt. The cat was feral in nature so I have always been afraid of cats in general. But dogs are definitely my best friends!