The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Team Independence Day

Team Members:
👾
❅ Helke - Captain
❅ Diane Bayley - Co-Captain
❅ Skye Blue
❅ Ingeborg
❅ Jessica
❅ Rachael McClellan
❅ Ashley Reindeau
❅ Cilla Fleig
❅ Suzanne Kramb


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

R

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Hi team. Glad to meet you all and finally get to play UNO. If you happen to look in please wait for Diane and me to reserve some spots for ourself first before commenting. We need them for generell informations. Thanks.

I´m Helke from Germany. I hope at the end of the challenge we all will be good friends even if we don´t know each other now.

I live near Berlin with my hubby and my kids. I love to read and if I didn´t need to go to work I would spend whole days reading. Lately I started crocheting. Friends of mine had new grandkids and I made some dinosaurs for them.

Hope you all enjoy this challenge. As a challenge addict I´ve played quite a few others too but this one is my favorite as you nearly can read every book you like and still make it fit for the challenge.

So please for the sake of the whole team tell us who you are, what you like to do and what books you like to read. Please accept friend requests from each others as we might need to take a look at each others book shelves.
And please click the button for notification so you know if there are new posts in this thread. Sometimes we will need to be all online to get a team decide done.

This is the link to our team spread sheet. (The one above from Uno Pixie is only for the captains, sorry.) But our ss is essentially the same as the one for the captains so you are not missing out.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

You can take a look and send me a pm with your email address. I´ll give you editing rights then. The cards for February are already filled in. So you can take a look and start planning if you like to plan your reading in advance. If you need help with working these form of spread sheet please don´t hesitate to ask me or Diane. We are glad to help.

At times during this challenge I'll be super busy with work. So please try to go these steps for your books:

1. If you find a book you would like to read go to the ss and find a place for it there. You don't need to fill all informations in at that time. A title with a link and your name will be enough. If you like you can chose a colour for yourself and mark your books with it. It might make it easier for you to find them in the filled up ss. Just please don´t use yellow or green as these colours are reserved for special purposes.

2. After you finished your book please make a completion post. Post all possible cards the book could fit with the reason it fits the cards f.e. card 1 because book is #1 in series. For an example look at message 7 please.

3. Go to the ss, find your book and enter the read date in the correct column. If you like to do it also enter the info about the other cards the book fits. Then change the line colour to yellow so Diane and I know there was a new book completed. This way we don´t need to search the whole ss for new entries. That helps with working economical with our time.

INFORMATIONS TO HELP
Colour extractor to find out the main colour of a book cover if we can´t decide by vote. You are not required to use it, but it might help.
https://labs.tineye.com/color/

Shelfs with mainly colored covers:
red covers
blue covers
green covers
yellow covers

THE CARDS AND THEIR MEANING
(view spoiler)[

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to post books
We don´t need you to post a selection post. Please go to the ss insted and fill your book into a slot where it fits.

But we need you to do a completion post like the following:

Completed
Six Ways from Sunday by Mercy Celeste
227 pages
read: 02/05/20

1: #1 in series
6: title
9: set in New Orleans

This way we can see which cards your book could also fit if needed. It is a huge stress for us to find out which cards a book could also fit if you don't do it. As you read the book you know best which cards fit.
Please don´t get angry if you don´t find a book where you put it. Sometimes Diane and I swap the books around to fill in for more cards. F.e. if you put a book for a 3 and we see it will also work for a 5 and we need a book fitting a 3 and a 5 for a Draw 2 card we will put it there.
Or we will put it in one of the first hands to finish them as we only get points for the finished hands from hand 1 down. F.e. if we have finished the hands 1, 2, 3 and 5 we will only get points for the hands 1, 2 and 3 as we have not finished hand 4.

After completing the book and posting it here please go back to the ss, add your read date and change the colour to yellow. After Diane or I added the book to the captains ss we will finally change the colour to green. This way we can easily see which books you have newly finished that have to be added to the captains ss and we can see what has been done already. It saves us a lot of trouble and time if you all keep to this colour system. Thank you.

I know it is a lot to take in especially for a newby but don´t worry we will all help each other and over time you will find it easy.

xxx

xxx

xxx

Hello!

First, I wanted to give a heads up that the red covers link is broken. And with the colors, the covers don't need to be a specific color unless otherwise stated in the spreadsheet, correct? This is my first time playing UNO so I have no idea what I'm doing :)

*I live in a suburb area of Denver, Colorado.
*I work your standard 8-4 office job, but I did volunteer as a high school mentor- I just ended with 7 years under my belt with my last group of kids.
*I have a 7 year old dog who still acts like a 6 month old puppy - tons of energy!
*I absolutely love reading, but definitely go through phases where I don't read at all...sometimes I struggle to find a book that keeps me engaged. BUT in this last year I've really delved into the wuxia genre and I LOVE IT! I'm practically obsessed at this point. It's like I fell in love with reading all over again.

I've never done a reading challenge and I'm super excited to give it a try. I appreciate your guidance and patience with me in advance!

Suzanne

Can you please let me know if you got access to the ss? Thanks.

Oh and I also saw you and Diane would like to pick cards first...once you're all set, do you mind chatting the group again so I know we are good to go in and decide what card(s) to pick?

Suzanne wrote: "Hello!

First, I wanted to give a heads up that the red covers link is broken. And with the colors, the covers don't need to be a specific color unless otherwise stated in the spreadsheet, correct?..."

Fixed the link. Thanks for letting me know.
What is wuxia genre? I sometimes struggle a bit with abrivations. Sorry.

Suzanne wrote: "Oh and I also saw you and Diane would like to pick cards first...once you're all set, do you mind chatting the group again so I know we are good to go in and decide what card(s) to pick?"

No we don´t want to have first pick. Where did you get that idea from? Please tell me so I can change the text. The idea was to reserve some spots here for posts with informations so they won´t get lost in the chatter and all be in the first 10 posts. Ok that ship has sailed already lol.

Hi all, I am here too, and very eager to meet you and get started. I know Helke from many challenges, but this is the first time I am Co-Captaining, so please go easy on me!! Helke and I are hoping to make this a fun experience for all of us.

I am from Toronto, Canada, and live here with my husband and 4 children. My two youngest are grown up and living on their own, but my two oldest boys are both special needs (autism spectrum) and still live with us. When not reading, I spend a lot of time taking care of the house and family and driving one of my son's to his daily programs. Am also an avid plant lover, so since it's too cold for gardening right now I have a whole bunch of houseplants that help me fulfill my need to get my hands dirty!

Suzanne, you picked a great reading challenge to start with for sure. Helke and I don't have to pick books first at all, just fill in one or two to start and then see where that takes you.

My advice from playing in the past is that it is really nice to claim the few color coded books first as they are generally more difficult to find than the others. I would also caution that if you have a book with a specific color cover that doesn't fit one of the ones we need in this month, perhaps you could save it to see if it we need it for March or April.

Helke wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Hello!

First, I wanted to give a heads up that the red covers link is broken. And with the colors, the covers don't need to be a specific color unless otherwise stated in the sprea..."

Wuxia is Chinese fiction that features martial artists in ancient China. I've enjoyed it so much!

Helke wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Oh and I also saw you and Diane would like to pick cards first...once you're all set, do you mind chatting the group again so I know we are good to go in and decide what card(s) to ..."

Oh my gosh, I totally misunderstood this didn't I?
"If you happen to look in please wait for Diane and me to reserve some spots for ourself first before commenting." I thought you were talking about the spreadsheet but I think I was super wrong. Oops!

Suzanne wrote: "Helke wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Oh and I also saw you and Diane would like to pick cards first...once you're all set, do you mind chatting the group again so I know we are good to go in and decide wh..."

Lol. It's OK Suzanne. And to answer your first question no we don't need all books with colour on cover. We only need the ones especially marked in the ss. But it helps to post it in your completion post if your book has a colour. So Diane and I can switch books around easier if need be.

Suzanne wrote: "Helke wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Hello!

First, I wanted to give a heads up that the red covers link is broken. And with the colors, the covers don't need to be a specific color unless otherwise state..."

Thanks for explaining. Sounds like something not for me. I like more mm books than ma.

Hello, team!

I'm Ingeborg from Norway. In addition to reading, I draw and write, hike (and if the snow returns, cross-country ski) and I have a horse, who I devote a lot of time, love and energy to.

My main book genre is definitely fantasy, but I'll read other genres as well. I'm a mood reader, both with regards to reading speed and what books I prefer. I read physical books, ebooks and audiobooks.

This will be my ninth year playing UNO! It's such a fun challenge. I'm looking forward to getting started and to getting to know you all. :)

Hi,
I'm Skye. I'm from California.
I have 3 grown boys. 2 still at home.
I'm hoping to move in a few months.
Figured if the birds won't leave the nest, I'll pack up and make a new nest, and leave them to the old one. Lol.
Nah, I bought my mother-in-law's house a couple years ago, so she could continue to live in it rent free for the rest of her life. She's passed now. So I'm stuck paying 2 mortgages. Figure if I have to pay for them both, I'm moving into the nicer house.

I work full time, but luckily I can listen to audiobooks while working a lot of the time. I actually read less on the weekends because of that.

I crochet a lot. I'm currently a little burned out after Christmas. So I've only been doing some wall hangings lately.

I mainly read m/m. Mystery and paranormal is my jam.
I don't care for historical in m/m. And I avoid space books.

I'm horrible at determining if a cover has enough of a color, so I'll be asking a lot.

"I'm horrible at determining if a cover has enough of a color, so I'll be asking a lot."

I feel ya, Skye -- I will be asking a lot too!

I think the mods want us to use Tineye (https://labs.tineye.com/color/) for determining colour, so that makes it all a bit easier. Just make sure you uncheck " Exclude background color from extracted colors" and you'll get a nice percentage.

I got a package of three new books in the post today, so I'm excited to get started. Planning on saving them until the challenge.

Ingeborg wrote: "I think the mods want us to use Tineye (https://labs.tineye.com/color/) for determining colour, so that makes it all a bit easier. Just make sure you uncheck " Exclude background color from extract..."

No you don't need to use tineye. You can but you don't need to. We as a team decide if it is the colour or not. Only if we can't get a majority we have to use tineye.

Lucky you. Hope you don't mind to much to save the books for the challenge.

Diane wrote: "Hi all, I am here too, and very eager to meet you and get started. I know Helke from many challenges, but this is the first time I am Co-Captaining, so please go easy on me!! Helke and I are hoping..."

I am right there with you - I have a home full of plants! I even have some jalapeños growing...my first attempt at trying to grow vegetables :)

Also, thank you all for helping me out! We haven't even started yet and I got all confused. But I took a stab at it and added a book to the spreadsheet. Please let me know if I did it wrong. I appreciate you guys helping out a total newbie!

Happy to help, no problem!

Suzanne, I have a couple of jalapenos I brought in over last winter, then put outside in the summer and I got more peppers from them. I have them back inside now, and they are staying alive. Hoping they will perk up again this summer.

Hi everyone! I'm Jessica (ovbviously haha) from the Hudson Valley in NYS with my husband and 2 kitties (we can't have our own human kids so we treat the kitties like kids)! This is my 3rd time participating in the Uno game!
I work full time as a unit secretary in our local birthing center! I adore my job!
In my free time I'm a BIG reader...love romance, rom/com, thriller, mystery..recently enjoying some historical fiction..and 2 weeks ago got thrown into the world of dragons and read Fourth Wing (which I LOVED) and am now reading the 2nd book Iron Storm.
I also crochet! Although with reading these huge fantasy books right now, I have put my crocheting on the back burner currently. I really like making hats! I'm thrilled there are fellow crocheters in our group! So awesome!

Looking forward to playing with you all!

I just bought some patterns for amigurumi on Etsy. I plan on making a Stitch for my daughter and a cuddle dragon for the grandkid of my friend I Northern Norway. And some puffins for myself. I adore puffins. There are a lot of free patterns out there but sometimes the best are only to buy.

Helke wrote: "Ingeborg wrote: "I think the mods want us to use Tineye (https://labs.tineye.com/color/) for determining colour, so that makes it all a bit easier. Just make sure you uncheck " Exclude background c..."

Ok good to know! I may have confused it with another challenge or an earlier year. That said, do you reckon this is red enough for a red cover? It can work for 2 or 6 red if so.

I think it works for red, but will defer to Helke! (she has more experience)

Ingeborg wrote: "Helke wrote: "Ingeborg wrote: "I think the mods want us to use Tineye (https://labs.tineye.com/color/) for determining colour, so that makes it all a bit easier. Just make sure you uncheck " Exclud..."

It looks red to me. And nice choice BTW. I love Terry Pretchet's books.
Have you read David Eddings? His Belgariat saga is great too.

Hi everyone. I'm Cilla and I live in Missouri. I love to read a variety of genres and frequently listen to audiobooks so I can knit, crochet, spin yarn, quilt, etc.........My Kindle goes with me to any appointments so I have something to do while I wait.

I am not real chatty, but it doesn't mean that I don't read what people post.

I'm waiting for approval for our spreadsheet so I can get my books organized. I'm getting excited - not much longer to wait.

Cilla wrote: "Hi everyone. I'm Cilla and I live in Missouri. I love the read a variety of genres and frequently listen to audiobooks so I can knit, crochet, spin yarn, quilt, etc.........My Kindle goes with me t..."

Hi Cilla. You should have access now. Please let me know if not.

I love how many crocheters/crafters we have!

Hello everyone! My name is Ashley, I am from the USA and live in New Jersey. I am a mama of three young children: boy & girl twins that just turned seven and a son that recently turned 10! I also work full time as an IT Project Manager, so I stay busy! But I am constantly reading during any free time I get.

Because I am so busy, I don't chat often, but I will respond when I am needed, and I do always read anything that's posted.

I love mostly YA books, mystery, thriller, paranormal, horror but am not much of a romance fan. I am definitely a mood reader, therefore, I may not be great help on the cover colors but I do try to find books that can fit a lot of the cards.

Most of the books I read are ARC copies, as I do write reviews for small companies on the side. This is my third year playing UNO, but first time using a SS so I may need some assistance there. I did request access and will take a look as soon as it's approved.

I am looking forward to playing with all of you!

Ashley wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Ashley, I am from the USA and live in New Jersey. I am a mama of three young children: boy & girl twins that just turned seven and a son that recently turned 10! I also w..."

Hi Ashley. You should now have access. Please notify me if not.
As for ACR please be careful as the books need to have a GR page to count.

Helke wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Hello everyone! My name is Ashley, I am from the USA and live in New Jersey. I am a mama of three young children: boy & girl twins that just turned seven and a son that recently turn..."

Hello, Yup I am aware of the ARC rules :) I have been playing for awhile now, appreciate the heads up!

Welcome Ashley and Cilla! Good to meet you.

Helke wrote: "I just bought some patterns for amigurumi on Etsy. I plan on making a Stitch for my daughter and a cuddle dragon for the grandkid of my friend I Northern Norway. And some puffins for myself. I ador..."

I usually just drool over the great paid of patterns. But once in a while I break down and buy a few.
I had to buy the Anchor Octopus. OMG, he's so cute.
I really thought I'd love the big one...but once I made both, I like the smaller one better.

Skye Blue ☆*~ﾟლ(´ڡ`ლ)~*☆ wrote: "Helke wrote: "I just bought some patterns for amigurumi on Etsy. I plan on making a Stitch for my daughter and a cuddle dragon for the grandkid of my friend I Northern Norway. And some puffins for ..."

I'm working on a dragon. But I have problems with the placing of the ears and the horns. I'm still a beginner.

I was denied access to our spreadsheet

Hello All
I am Rachael and this is my 2nd year doing this challenge. For the four years before 1/1/24, I had leaned into being an introvert and stopped challenging myself to get out of my comfort zone. (Because almost every time I did, I was not disappointed) So, last year my top goal was to get back to pushing my boundaries, and the first thing I did was finally signing up for this challenge. I had seen the posts year after year about UNO and was so envious, and after last year I kick myself for not joining sooner, I had such a blast.

I live in Colorado Springs, CO, I work from home, I am a single mother of an adult son and I am finally an empty nester and loving it. When I am not working I love to get outside, cook, upcycling/repurposing (finding a way to reusing something instead of throwing it away is so fun, strange I know 😂).

Right now I am on a paranormal romance kick, but I pretty much love a good book/series that has great characters, a captivating story, and if you add a strong woman and not a wilting flower, I am there.

I am excited to do this challenge again this year, reading some good books and meeting some new people.

So good to meet you Rachael! I hope you have a good time with our team this year. Before I switched to reading MM books, I was a huge Ilona Andrews fan -- really strong female characters. Have you read their books? And the Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs of course. Oh, and Kelly Armstrong. And maybe Jeaniene Frost Cat and Bones series.

Diane wrote: "So good to meet you Rachael! I hope you have a good time with our team this year. Before I switched to reading MM books, I was a huge Ilona Andrews fan -- really strong female characters. Have you ..."

Yes, I love IA's Kate Daniels series, JF's Cat & Bones and the rest of the crew and I adore Mercy Thompson and the Alpha & Omega series by Briggs. I love the J.R. Wards Black Dagger Brotherhood series and am catching up with Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunter, Chronicles or Nick and The League series. I also love Nalini Singh' Psy Changeling & Guild Hunter Series. Wow, I am ready to read a bunch of books I haven't read in a while, now. I forgot about these great characters.
I haven't read any Kelly Armstrong, books though, I will need to add those to my list. Would you recommend any particular series or book to start with?

Looks like we are all accounted for and ready to go. Again hello to you all. I'm happy to meet you and looking forward to doing this challenge with you. It looks like we will all get a lot of refs for interesting books and maybe swap a pattern or two.

@Jessica: I'll look into it.

Jessica wrote: "I was denied access to our spreadsheet"

I can't give you access without your email or you asking for access. So please go back to the ss and ask for access. I'll be looking for it and giving it to you ASAP.

Ashley I changed your colour as yellow is for finished books only. Otherwise it would get to confusing. Sorry.