The Challenge Factory discussion

Team Challenge
September 2023- November 30, 2023

Please take some time and choose a team name and your first monster. Let me know once you have decided.

Team
✔️MN Lisa
✔️Michelle (6)
✔️Carrie

Links
Team Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Q&A
Monster Depository (check-in)
Scoreboard
Collectible
Feedback

Rules
🧛Each monster has specific chains that need to be completed.
Examples:
1. Create a chain of 3 using titles consecutively (ABC)
-All the Light We Cannot See
-Becoming Mrs. Lewis
-Catching Fire
2. Create a chain of 3 with "dog" in the titles
-Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
-The Dog Stars
-Hot Dog Girl
🧛One person should NOT complete a whole chain by themselves. This is a team challenge. However, if a monster has multiple chains and a slower reader can only/want to only read for 1 or 2 chains (they must read at least one), then the other two faster readers on the team can complete the other chains between the two of them.
🧛You may choose which creature to capture first but you MUST complete it BEFORE starting a new creature.
🧛You may use or drop articles: A, An, The
🧛If you somehow manage to incorporate a Formal Buddy Read book into a chain, you will earn 2 bonus points. See the buddy read folder for the current book. They are also listed in the spreadsheet dropdown list (when your team has a thread & spreadsheet assigned to them).
🧛Books should be a minimum of 140 pages
🧛Reading the monthly Group Read book for a task will earn you 2 bonus points.

Scoring
You will get 3 points for every completed book (9 per completed chain) PLUS page points.

Monster List

Frankenstein
Mummy
Witch
Vampire
Zombie
Ghost
Werewolf

Checking in and saying hello!!

Some ideas for a team name..

The Boo Crew
The Howling Hunters
The Reaper Readers
Book Biters

As for which monster to start with, I really have no preference. Last year when I played we just started with the first one that appeared on the spread sheet and worked our way to the end.

I am horrible at team names, so I'm good with just about anything.

I think going from top to bottom is a good idea.

Also, just so everyone knows. I will be unavailable to post between Sept 9th and 17th for a vacation. I can read, so I can plan a bunch that will help, but won't be able to post completions.

Hi Michelle and Lisa!

I like The Boo Crew 😊

I think I'm okay with going in order. I remember playing last year and really enjoying this challenge but I don't remember much about it. I'm hoping looking at the spreadsheet will help me remember!

Awesome.. I will let them know our name will be The Boo Crew.

Are we ready to start on Friday! I'm taking a look at the spreadsheet now to start planning...

Or not....not a lot on there right now that describes what we need to do....

As long as you have a team name, a spreadsheet and your 1st monster picked then you are good to go.

We have a name and we are working top to bottom, so first Monster is Frankenstein

Do the tasks show up on the spreadsheet at some point or are they added here? not sure what to pick to read yet...

I will post your first list of tasks tomorrow or maybe late tonight.

Sounds good. Thanks Donna!

Technically Frankenstein is not the name of this monster. It is the last name of his creator. He was created by Victor Frankenstein out of multiple corpses. He is 8 feet tall and proportionally large. His features are hideous as well with dull, watery eyes and yellow skin. Most people are scared of him and hate him on sight. He gave up hope of ever being accepted by humans. Then he decided that he had a right to happiness and Victor was to blame. He demanded that Victor create a female companion for him. Victor started to comply but had second thoughts. This angered him and he started killing people that Victor loved.

To catch Frankenstein complete the following tasks:

Arm 1: Create a chain of 3 using titles with a common word (all titles have "Dark" in them)
Arm 2: Create a chain of 3 using books with "CORPSE" in the title or series
Leg 1: Create a chain of 3 books with a monstrous character (your interpretation)
Leg 2: Create a chain of 3 using books with black covers (minimum 50%)

What is everyone starting off with?

I was looking at my bookshelf and I have a book called A Beautiful Corpse. So I guess that’s what I’ll read for that part. Hope it’s good 🤞

Any thoughts as to what our common word should be?

Books I kind of have planned (but can obviously change)

The Long Game
Krie Captivity
Cold Justice
Hope
Edge of Forever

Any of those work for anyone else?

I'm adding my books to the spreadsheet so you can see what I've planned.

Also, how fast are we trying to get through these? Are we fast readers? Just trying to prioritize these with my other challenges too.

Clarifying Arm 1: Dark was an example. You may use any word except words like A, An, The, And, Or

I typically read 1 to 2 books a week. My dad has been having some health complications and that has thrown my schedule off. I’ll try to go for 2 a week if that works for others.

Thanks! This helps a lot.

I know this is kind of competitive, but I'm not a super competitive person. I can match my reading to yours, unless they happen to work for other challenges I am in.

Sounds good! I have a couple other team challenges as well and I’m trying to be strategic so that some of the same books can be used for multiple challenges!

Ever heard the saying "Ask and you shall receive"? Well, I had a question about Buddy Reads earlier. After some thought and some consultation with other mods, I have decided to give you the same bonus points for an informal buddy read as the TCF Group Read. Here are the rules:

*Your buddy must be on your team
*You may do a buddy read of 2 or 3 (as you have teams of 3)
*The book must fit one of your tasks, of course

To sign up for an informal buddy read click Here and a thread will be set up for you. This option will be added to the Group Read bonus dropdown in your spreadsheets shortly.

I usually read anywhere from 2-4 books a week.

As for the common word to use, you guys can pick the word. With a gazillion books on my TBR shelf, I probably won't have a problem finding something to fit. Except Krie Captivity. I don't have anything to match that.

Carrie wrote: "I typically read 1 to 2 books a week. My dad has been having some health complications and that has thrown my schedule off. I’ll try to go for 2 a week if that works for others."

That works for me. I can also read 2 books for a chain if need be.

I just wanted to let you know that the following dates I may not be reading a whole lot:

Sept 7 - I have surgery that day.
Sept 14-18 - I will be going on vacation and will be out of town.

This is what I have planned so far

Arm 1: Create a chain of 3 using titles with a common word (all titles have "Dark" in them) - The Winter Long by Seanan McGuire
Arm 2: Create a chain of 3 using books with "CORPSE" in the title or series - The Corpse Queen
Leg 1: Create a chain of 3 books with a monstrous character (your interpretation) - City of the Dead
Leg 2: Create a chain of 3 using books with black covers (minimum 50%) - Where the Forest Meets the Stars - 54% Black

Here are some of the books that I will be reading this month and teh common words in the tiitle that could work for Create a chain of 3 using titles with a common word

City
Shadows
Winter
Long
Fear
Night
Little
World
where
Forest
Stars
Shadow
Hunter
House
Earth
Blood

Looks like we both have Long already planned. Carrie would that work for you?

I can find something with Long!

Do we have to do a completion here too?

I can't remember.

Whomever pre filled out the SS, thank you.

It looks like the last person to read for the monster needs to post here and then in the Depository to get the next monster.... Here are the details of the post.

Team thread link:
Team SS link:
Completed Monster:
Next monster:

I know about that one, I was unsure whether or not each person has to make a completion post in here after every task they complete or whether we just have to do it in the SS. I asked in the Q & A thread.

I hope to have my “monster” task (leg 1) completed tonight or tomorrow morning!

My corpse book is coming in at the library, Hopefully it will be here on Tuesday or Wednesday so I can possibly read it by the end of the week.

Ok. I finished, but really just because those books happened to work for other challenges too.

Just an FYI. I'm on vacation from 9/9 to 9/17. I may be able to log in and check to see what's going on, but not much. We are on an Alaskan Cruise and will really only have internet when at the Ports.

That was fast Lisa!

I’ve always wanted to take an Alaskan cruise! I hope you have a fantastic time! Are you leaving out of Seattle or one of the Alaskan ports?

MN Lisa wrote: "Ok. I finished, but really just because those books happened to work for other challenges too.

Just an FYI. I'm on vacation from 9/9 to 9/17. I may be able to log in and check to see what's going ..."

I'm confused on the book you posted for arm 2. I don't see corpse in the title or in the series name. Am I missing something?

Michelle wrote: "I'm confused on the book you posted for arm 2. I don't see corpse in the title or in the series name. Am I missing something?"

Hmm. I'll have to ask about that. In other challenges when its "CORPSE" in the title/series it's just the letters of the words. When I read that again, maybe I misunderstood the task. I'll double-check and update as needed.

Carrie wrote: "That was fast Lisa!

I’ve always wanted to take an Alaskan cruise! I hope you have a fantastic time! Are you leaving out of Seattle or one of the Alaskan ports?"

Seattle is where we leave and come back to. I'm excited. Its a bucket list item for us.

MN Lisa wrote: "Carrie wrote: "That was fast Lisa!

I’ve always wanted to take an Alaskan cruise! I hope you have a fantastic time! Are you leaving out of Seattle or one of the Alaskan ports?"

Seattle is where w..."

Sounds like an amazing trip! Will you see the inside passage? (If I’m too nosy just say so!). We have this on our bucket list as well! Had planned to go right when Covid happened so it was delayed. Now my daughter is getting married in less than a year so we’ve put it off for another year or so.

What cruise line did you select? I love to cruise - such an easy way to see so many places!

My husband likes to visit lots of places and be busy sightseeing and I like to unpack, so its really the best for us.

We are going with 4 other couples and someone else planned this one. We are going on Norweigan and going to Sitka, Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan and Victoria BC.

I'm trying to talk hubby into an Hawaiian one in 2025 and Australia/New Zealand in 2028.

MN Lisa wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I'm confused on the book you posted for arm 2. I don't see corpse in the title or in the series name. Am I missing something?"

Hmm. I'll have to ask about that. In other challenge..."

I always add "letters of" or (any order) to the end for letters. This task is the word.

You’ll have to let me know what you think of Norwegian. We’ve not used them yet! Did you plan a lot of excursions? It’s fun to go with other people!

We did Hawaii several years ago. We didn’t do a cruise but we spent 2 weeks there. Went to Waikiki and Honolulu. Then we took a plane to the big island to visit Hawaii National Volcano Park. We saw lava pour into the ocean, a black sand beach, a green sand beach and we stayed in an actual treehouse. It was an amazing trip.

I’d love to see Australia but that plane ride sounds torturous!

Michelle wrote: "I just wanted to let you know that the following dates I may not be reading a whole lot:

Sept 7 - I have surgery that day.
Sept 14-18 - I will be going on vacation and will be out of town."

Hope your surgery went well today! Speedy recovery wishes!

Carrie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I just wanted to let you know that the following dates I may not be reading a whole lot:

Sept 7 - I have surgery that day.
Sept 14-18 - I will be going on vacation and will be ou..."

Thank you, sadly I had to cancel. I was up all night throwing up. It was probably my anxiety that was making me sick or I caught some kind of 24 hour bug. I was fine when I woke up this afternoon and feeling much better. I really wanted to get this done and over with

Michelle wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Michelle wrote: "I just wanted to let you know that the following dates I may not be reading a whole lot:

Sept 7 - I have surgery that day.
Sept 14-18 - I will be going on vacation..."

I totally get how nerves can get the best of you before having surgery. Sorry that you had to cancel. Hopefully you can get it taken care of soon and put it behind you!

Hi!

Just wanted to update you both that I'm still working on my books.

Quick question - I looked through Q and A and the groups intro pages but couldn't find an answer. I'm sure I'm overlooking the answer but is 50% color based on sight or must we use tin eye color extractor?
The book I'm reading looks black to me but tin eye shows no black at all - it's brown with other colors mixed in.

Carrie wrote: "Quick question - I looked through Q and A and the groups intro pages but couldn't find an answer. I'm sure I'm overlooking the answer but is 50% color based on sight or must we use tin eye color ex..."

When I did it on tineye, it showed 75% black. Did you click off the checkmarks for:

Exclude background and interior color from extracted colors

Once you do that you get the black.

I did not do that - didn’t realize you could. I’ll try again! Thanks.