Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

The Capitol



Team Members

• Laura Captain
• Yasmine Co-captain
• Keely Co-captain
• Carrie
• Claire
• Daniel
• Fallyn
• Kamariia
• Kari
• Lexie
• MelanieJoy
• Patti
• Preeti
• Sana
• LeaChiara


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

.

.

Some helpful links:

The Rules of the Game

Team Tracking/Planning spreadsheet: (Under Contstruction)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

To verify word count for Childrens/Poetry/Plays/etc:
https://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx

Tineye, to help with color decisions. Tineye is notorious for not always seeing the correct color, so this is just to help, especially for questions of if a book cover is 50% a certain color:
https://labs.tineye.com/color/

Team Member Shelves

• Laura
• Yasmine
• Keely
• Claire
• Patti
• Sana
• Kamaria
• Preeti
• Kari
• Lexie
• MelanieJoy
• Carrie

Mini-Challenge:

Arena Battles Vs. District 2

Round 2 - Completed

Round 3 - Completed

.

.

.

Welcome to The Capitol. The other teams will underestimate us because we live in the lap of luxury. But you know what that means? It means we have the time to read!

Let the Games begin!

Please, introduce yourself and post a link to your Book Games shelf! It looks like we have a very international team.

My name is Laura. I live in North Carolina (USA). I moved across the country to here last year, and I finally feel like we are settling in. I have 5 of my 6 kids here with me, and we moved 5 cats and one Guinea Pig with us. That was an adventure!

I'll read just about anything for a challenge. Although I do draw the line at straight horror, I can usually find something that I'm willing to read that has been tagged for just about any genre. I knew I had a real problem when I read How I Stole Johnny Depp's Alien Girlfriend for a challenge. But that's never stopped me!

My favorite genres are Fantasy, Science Fiction, and a generous helping of Contemporary Romances as well.

Hi Team! I’m Patti and I live in Florida USA. I don’t have any kids but and old, lovely, sassy fur baby named Lizzi.

I read anything but Science Fiction or Classics — don’t love Horror either

Looking forward to a fun game!

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

Happy Hunger Games!

Hello! I'm Yasmine, I'm Swiss and I live in Switzerland, but I grew up in Singapore. I've recently moved in with my boyfriend and I'm still deciding on how to best set up my home library and which decorations to get for my massive bookshelves. This involved multiple ikea trips just because I couldn't figure out the right amount of bookshelves from the beginning. Moving my book collection from my parents' house was definitely my favourite undertaking of this year so far. However, right now I lose out on a lot of reading time because I fall down the instagram-rabbit hole filled with bookshelf inspos and home library reels. If you have any ideas, photos or links to share, feel free! I love to get inspired by what other people have done with their libraries.

This whole move also came with the realization of how big my tbr has gotten and that I should stick to reading the books I already own instead of just adding new ones to the pile... So I'm currently actively trying to tackle my physical tbr, which ranges from Fantasy, over Sci-fi, to contemporary and historical fiction (and recently some romance), with the first genre being my absolute favourite. I also really like to read comics (mainly Marvel and DC) and mangas. (But of course I love book shopping too much and I want to stay up to date with certain authors, so I do end up getting a new book or two every now and then still.)

I'm looking forward to these games and being your Co-Captain for this challenge and don't forget: "Remember who the real enemy is." Let's show those district players how things are done :)

Oh and for the check-in, here's my shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Hey everyone! I’m Daniel. I’m from SE Texas just a little NE of Houston. I’ve got a husband and two cats in a house we share with two friends and all their furry brood. I like reading just about every genre. My favorites are urban fantasy and mystery, but I also love a good historical fiction or non-fiction science books. Right now my very small book club is reading Everyone in My Family Has Killed Someone and I like it so far. I’m starting a new job on June 10 and hopefully it won’t interfere too much with my reading. I put down four books/month but it may be more like three. Excited to play the Games! May the odds be ever in our favor!

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

Hey Everyone! I'm MelanieJoy! I go by Melanie or Mel in real life but there's a few Melanie's on GR. Feel free to call me any of the 3! I live on the west coast in the US currently, with my husband, 7 month old son, and my two cats Dipper and Winter. Since going on maternity leave last year I rediscovered my love for reading. The books I can get through really fast are in fantasy and romance, but I also like literary fiction, mystery, and suspense, as well as some hystorical mystery. I do stay away from horror but for some challenges, specifically NBRC BotMs, I do branch out and I appreciate the discussion. I really like books about books and bookstores.
Two of my favorite books last year were The One Hundred Years of Lenni and Margot and Remarkably Bright Creatures I love to give and receive book recs because I love talking about the books I read.

It's going to be a great challenge! As a capitol citizen, you'll find me dressed in yellow and orange ombre with a cape, bandeau, and flare pants :D

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

Hi everyone! I'm Sana from Pakistan. I live with hubby and two sons. Both are going through exams. Thankfully it will be over soon.

I read all genres except non fiction but I'll read anything for a challenge.
Favorite genres: Fantasy and Paranormal Romance.
I'm excited to know you all!

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

So. Hunger Games. Read it? Want to? Are y’all fans? I have the best memory of watching the first movie at the Alamo Drafthouse, which is a Texas movie theater chain that serves hot food and cold beer during the movie. They were known for showing things related to the movie like old trailers for movies with a similar theme or music videos before the show. For this showing they played the trailer for Battle Royale and showed a parody video with the Hamburger Helper mascot saying “Peeta sucks, I’m Team Gale” and we died laughing. I had read the first book and was trying to explain the love triangle on the way to the theater, so it was particularly funny to us. That memory is now always connected to the books for me, so they have a special place for me. #TeamGale4Lyfe

Daniel wrote: "My favorites are urban fantasy and mystery, but I also love a good historical fiction or non-fiction science books."

My favorite non-fiction reads are autobiographies/memoirs read by the person. I just love hearing it their words in their voices. Most of my non-fiction reads are history related. But I do love the What If? series! The audio is narrated by Wil Wheaton and he has become the voice of science/science fiction for me!

Yasmine wrote: "Happy Hunger Games!

Hello! I'm Yasmine, I'm Swiss and I live in Switzerland, but I grew up in Singapore. I've recently moved in with my boyfriend and I'm still deciding on how to best set up my ho..."

I don't think the perfect home library set up exists. You'll get to a point where you're happy with it, and then you'll buy more books and end up re-arranging everything!

Maddielucy(Patti) wrote: "Hi Team! I’m Patti and I live in Florida USA. I don’t have any kids but and old, lovely, sassy fur baby named Lizzi.

I read anything but Science Fiction or Classics — don’t love Horror either

L..."

If you ever do need a Science Fiction for a challenge, I highly recommend All Systems Red. Murderbot is a comfort read for me when I just want a friend.

The other one I recommend to people who don't care for Science Fiction is the Vorkosigan Saga, starting with Shards of Honor. The Science Fiction is secondary to the characters in these and Miles is ADHD personified!

MelanieJoy wrote: "I do stay away from horror but for some challenges, specifically NBRC BotMs, I do branch out and I appreciate the discussion. I really like books about books and bookstores."

Same! I have already made sure I have both of the May BOTMs that work for the challenge.

I have discovered in the past year or two that I am a book dragon. I love a nice sprayed edge to display on my shelves!

Sana wrote: "Hi everyone! I'm Sana from Pakistan. I live with hubby and two sons. Both are going through exams. Thankfully it will be over soon.

I read all genres except non fiction but I'll read anything for ..."

I have such a hard time differentiating Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. So I just lump them all under Fantasy in my mind. I love a good PNR, though!

Laura wrote: “Murderbot is a comfort read for me when I just want a friend.”

Me too! How do feel about Alexander Skarsgård being cast in the show?

Daniel wrote: "So. Hunger Games. Read it? Want to? Are y’all fans? I have the best memory of watching the first movie at the Alamo Drafthouse, which is a Texas movie theater chain that serves hot food and cold be..."

That sounds like such a cool theater! We saw them all in the theaters for 4 years in a row for my daughter's birthday. And then Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes this past year.

I'm team Peeta. I just don't see how Katniss could ever get over Gale's idea being the reason Prim died. And Peeta has admired her from a distance, and then sacrificed for her as soon as he was able. I think Gale gets Katniss, but Peeta softens her edges. And she needs that going forward after the end.

It's for a much younger audience, but have you read her Gregor books? It's an Alice in Wonderland re-telling. Gregor the Overlander

Daniel wrote: "Laura wrote: “Murderbot is a comfort read for me when I just want a friend.”

Me too! How do feel about Alexander Skarsgård being cast in the show?"

I didn't even know there was going to be a show! I might have to subscribe to Apple TV for it!

I'm not familar with his acting (I do a lot more reading than watching!), but I think he could look the part.

Hi teamies, checking in!
Excited to start, I liked Hunger Games when it first came out, but it's been a while since I read them or watched the movies (team Gale, sorry Peeta).
I read mainly romance, mostly MM, contemporary, PNR and some historical, and I also love cozy mysteries. I rarely read anything outside of that, but I'm a very moody reader so who knows.

Here is my shelf before I forget!

Hi, all! My name is Preeti (she/her/hers) and I live in the south of India.
I will read pretty much anything though romance is one genre I do not enjoy as much.
I have been travelling a lot this year so I ended up watching many movies. I can never sleep on flights, even very long ones. I am planning on watching the new Hunger Games one next week. I watched the trailer and it looked very good.
I used to buy a lot of books at once, but as I get older, the thought of cleaning so many things has me downsizing everything, even my book collection. I am slowly getting rid of books I will never read again and trying to keep a very minimal and highly loved collection.

For this challenge, I am most looking forward to reading as many of my very long books as I can. I normally hold on to them for the NBRC challenges.

My shelf: book-games-2024-preeti

Hello team!

I don't have time to read through everything at the minute, but wanted to do a quick introduction.

My name is Keely. I am from the UK but I will be in Norway for most of this challenge. The long term plan is to move there so I can live with my Norwegian boyfriend, but that is proving more difficult than you would think so I just visit as often as I can. I fly out on the 8th May so I am very busy at the moment making sure I have everything sorted.

Bookwise, I will read pretty much anything although I tend to enjoy books with a bit of mystery/adventure. I also enjoy dystopian books so I have read The Hunger Games. I really enjoyed the first book, and other two not as much but still good. I haven't read the prequal yet.

That's all I have time for right now!

Shelf: book-games-2024

Hello,
I'm Kamaria and I'm from Lebanon.
I'm currently in my last semester mastering computer and telecom engineering.
I've played Uno for three years and I'm in other challenges too.
Regarding my books, I read anything, but mostly Fantasy, and I read a lot too!
Being reaped from the District is tragic, but being one of the Capitol is even more... the odds should be in our favour.
My book shelf is this book-games

Hello team !!
My name is Claire, and I'm from Brussels, Belgium.
I am very excited about this challenge as I'm just getting out of a 3 month long reading slump, and I feel like this challenge will help me not fall back into it. Team challenges usually motivate me a lot.
I read a little bit of everything, but I tend to read more Romance and Fantasy, MM Romance, some classics here and there too. Lately I've read quite a few light novels, which while not the greatest literature has to offer, did help a lot getting our of my slump.

Here is my dedicated shelf for this challenge: Challenge-NBRC-BookGames

Hi all. I saw the SS that says I am part of this team but my name is not included as a team member up top. My name is on the tracking SS so I think I’m in the right place 😊

I live near Pittsburgh, PA. Married with 1 daughter who is getting married in August! I love football - Go Steelers. I’m also a huge animal lover and volunteer for a rescue. We have 5 rescue cats!

I’ll read just about anything but mystery, thriller, horror and Nordic noir are my preferred genres.

I see that we our team members are scattered worldwide. I love that we have the opportunity to come together as a group for this challenge. My husband was prior military and we lived in Italy for 3 years. I worked as a travel agent while there and got to travel quite a bit which I’m forever grateful for!

My book shelf is:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

It’s been awhile since I read and watched Hunger Games!

Kari wrote: "Hi teamies, checking in!
Excited to start, I liked Hunger Games when it first came out, but it's been a while since I read them or watched the movies (team Gale, sorry Peeta).
I read mainly romance..."

Another Team Gale? Poor Peeta. :)

Preeti wrote: "Hi, all! My name is Preeti (she/her/hers) and I live in the south of India.
I will read pretty much anything though romance is one genre I do not enjoy as much.
I have been travelling a lot this ..."

The new movie is good!

I don't like buying books I haven't read, unless I know I like the author. I use the library a lot! So the books I do own physical copies of are always favorites. They're my trophies. :)

Keely wrote: "Hello team!

I don't have time to read through everything at the minute, but wanted to do a quick introduction.

My name is Keely. I am from the UK but I will be in Norway for most of this challen..."

What a fun (and possibly scary) new adventure for you! Good luck on the move and the process!

Kamaria wrote: "Hello,
I'm Kamaria and I'm from Lebanon.
I'm currently in my last semester mastering computer and telecom engineering.
I've played Uno for three years and I'm in other challenges too.
Regarding my ..."

Uno is one of my favorite challenges. I've played every year. It was my first team challenge and really started my love of team reading challenges.

Claire wrote: "Hello team !!
My name is Claire, and I'm from Brussels, Belgium.
I am very excited about this challenge as I'm just getting out of a 3 month long reading slump, and I feel like this challenge will..."

The dreaded reading slump! I'm in a mini one right now and I think I might have to breakdown and listen to Murderbot again to get out of it. That usually does the trick for me. I think it's the short length, the audio as opposed to physical or e-book, and Murderbot itself as my soulmate in regards to peopleing.

Carrie wrote: "Hi all. I saw the SS that says I am part of this team but my name is not included as a team member up top. My name is on the tracking SS so I think I’m in the right place 😊

I live near Pittsburgh,..."

The tracking spreadsheet has your name because we copied from the official one. Honestly, I didn't even notice that the lists aren't the same. I've messaged the mods in our captains' group, just to verify, but it does look like you are suppose to be here. So Welcome!

I don't follow football much. I'm a baseball fan. And right now a tiny bit embarrassed to admit that the Angels are my team. Not really, just not happy with the season so far.

Carrie wrote: "Hi all. I saw the SS that says I am part of this team but my name is not included as a team member up top. My name is on the tracking SS so I think I’m in the right place 😊

I live near Pittsburgh,..."

Sorry I think it was a copy and paste error. I’ll edit the post above 😊

@Claire, I've been in many many reading slumps before! Hope you find something enjoyable to read!

@ Keely so excited for you!

@Kamaria and Laura I love UNO! I've done it 3 times and really enjoy it each time. Kamaria, best of luck in your studies! Those emphasis sound intense; I only got a bachelors in early childhood education.

I think I'm a Peeta fan all in all. I liked Gale at first, but Peeta was so loving and sacrificial, how can you ignore that?!?!

@Laura I usually buy books I don't own at a stepp discount that I'm pretty sure I'll really enjoy. I don't usually read books more than once. But I have only 1 shelf of books and most of my reads come from the library. I'm trying to figure out how to obtain a copy of The Malevolent Seven for the BotM, because I love De Castell, but this book isn't in any of the libraries in e-book form that I'm a part of.

PS - haven't read or seen the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Is it worth my time?

MelanieJoy wrote: "@Laura I usually buy books I don't own at a stepp discount that I'm pretty sure I'll really enjoy. I don't usually read books more than once. But I have only 1 shelf of books and most of my reads come from the library. I'm trying to figure out how to obtain a copy of The Malevolent Seven for the BotM, because I love De Castell, but this book isn't in any of the libraries in e-book form that I'm a part of.

PS - haven't read or seen the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Is it worth my time?"

I had a few Audible credits, so I went ahead and used one to purchase it. I couldn't find it from my libraries either.

I really enjoyed Songbirds. I was afraid it was going to be tragic backstory and an attempt to redeem Snow, but it wasn't. If you liked the original trilogy, I would say go for it!

Laura wrote: "I really enjoyed Songbirds. I was afraid it was going to be tragic backstory and an attempt to redeem Snow, but it wasn't. If you liked the original trilogy, I would say go for it!..."

I haven't watched it either for the same reason, I thought it'd be all about redeeming Snow (ugh). Glad to know it wasn't. :)

Laura wrote: "Claire wrote: "Hello team !!
My name is Claire, and I'm from Brussels, Belgium.
I am very excited about this challenge as I'm just getting out of a 3 month long reading slump, and I feel like this..."

Interesting choice to get out of a slump. I think I've read 4 of them, I was caught up at the time, but I didn't stay up to date with the releases after. I should get back to it.

For me re-reading doesn't help me get out of slumps at all. Because I feel guilty for not making progress in my TBR... :( The thing that helps me the most is reading something unusual for me. Hence all the light novels I've read lately. First time I try those. Whould I recommend them? Not sure, but I enjoyed the ride and I actually read something. So yeah !

MelanieJoy wrote: "@Claire, I've been in many many reading slumps before! Hope you find something enjoyable to read!

Thanks Melanie !

MelanieJoy wrote: "PS - haven't read or seen the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Is it worth my time?"

I watched the movie, and I enjoyed it. I didn't have any interest in reading the book tbh, but after watching the adaptation, I might give it a try.

Hello team! Super excited to get this started. Not sure how I feel about being in the Capitol for these games, but I'm determined to own it nonetheless, hehe.

lexie wrote: "Hello team! Super excited to get this started. Not sure how I feel about being in the Capitol for these games, but I'm determined to own it nonetheless, hehe."

I feel the same way!! But I'm excited about our chats and getting to know you all and getting some good book recs!

Claire wrote: "Laura wrote: "Claire wrote: "Hello team !!
My name is Claire, and I'm from Brussels, Belgium.
I am very excited about this challenge as I'm just getting out of a 3 month long reading slump, and I ..."

I think there are as many different ways of getting out of a reading slump as there are readers! Different strokes for different folks, as they say. :)

lexie wrote: "Hello team! Super excited to get this started. Not sure how I feel about being in the Capitol for these games, but I'm determined to own it nonetheless, hehe."

Welcome. It's time to put on the most outrageous things you own, and read!