Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
Tower Teams XI
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Team Sky Tower
Important LinksTracking Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Tower Teams Rules: All About Tower Teams
AR Bookfinder: https://www.arbookfind.com/UserType.a... - Use to verify word count if your book is Childrens / Kids / Poetry / Play / Graphic Novel / Illustrated / Photography / Art / Cookbook / Guidebook
Mini 1: Novels Around the World
Mini 2: Travelling Around the World
Mini 3: World Wheel
BOM Tracker
Important Information for Mini Challenges
Mini 1: Novels Around the World
Countries Read Once:
Belize
Bolivia
Botswana
Brunei
Fiji
Haiti
Rwanda
Uganda
Countries Read Twice (And can not be used any more):
Iraq
Mini 2: Travelling Around the World
Completed Tasks:
2 Read a book where a character lives in a small place or in the countryside
4 Read a book tagged "Review" at least 10x
5 Read a book set in the time period "Contemporary / Modern History"
6 Read a book which has the main location (setting) as a space station, space ship or anything along those lines
8 Read a book where a character gains independence
10 Read a banned book
Mini 3: World Wheel
Current Countries:
New Zealand
Canada
Completed Countries:
(view spoiler)
Mod
❅ Insiyah ttxi_2025 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Karen towerteams_xi Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Tina 2025-nbrc-ttxi Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Kylie tower Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Preeti tower-teams-11-preeti Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Elen world-tt-xi-2025 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Lisa nbrc-tower-teams-xi-2025 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Elli ttxi Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Elisabeth tt-25 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ LavenderLane challenge-shelf Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Sanskriti tower-teams-xi Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Chava towers2025 Read Currently Reading Comments
❅ Richard tower-team-books Read Currently Reading Comments
Mod
Mod
Mod
Books by African countries : https://www.goodreads.com/topic/group...
And this one for different countries:
https://readaroundtheworldchallenge.c...
when you pick the country there's also a link to authors from that country under the next page buttons
Mod
I'll admit to having no idea where the Sky Tower is. And when I googled the first thing that came up was Sydney Tower (which tbh if that had been renamed that would have been embarrassing I was unaware!) but then I discovered https://skycityauckland.co.nz/sky-tower/ which looks like our team picture.
I used to go to Auckland all the time for work in the mid 2000s (I would spend one week a month in NZ), but I don't think I ever went there. I've never been much of a tower person.
Although I went to Melbourne Skydeck last year with the kids and it was kind of cool. Otherwise I've been to Sydney Tower, Brisbane SkyDeck, Tower of London (does that count? lol), Empire State Building, Eiffel Tower and CN Tower. Not sure I've worried about any others on my trips but perhaps I should stalk the team threads and see what is familiar!
Most of us have been on team challenges together before, so welcome back! And to those that are new to challenges, or we just haven't played togetehr before, I'm looking forward to getting to know you and learning about the books you enjoy :)
What will be your first read for Tower Teams?
I need to get to two chunksters which I am saving.
and
.In the meantime I don't feel like reading anything heavy as I have been making my way through the Stormlight Archive, so I've been listening to anything narrated by Julia Whelan which has so far involved
and now
. Both great books when you really aren't in the mood to read ;)
Hi Everyone, I’m excited to get to know you all better over the coming months of Tower Teams 🥳.I’m not a big tower person, probably because I’m not a huge fan of heights and the cost to go to the top is often too much for me to pay to be uncomfortable for 30 minutes+ 😂. The only towers I think I’ve actually gone to the top of is the Space Needle in Seattle a couple of decades ago and the Telstra Tower in Canberra many years ago. I have stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower, does that count 🤔😆.
I’ve got so many books I want to read, but I’ll probably start with
as it fulfils a mid-level country for the book itinerary challenge and
because I’ve wanted to read it for a while now but it’s never fitted in with another challenge. I also need to get to the next book in a couple of series
and
.Karen, I’m trying to finish
so I can finally get to Book 2. Way of Kings is a reread for me because I last read (and loved it) about five years ago and never managed to get to Words of Radience. Maybe I will get to finish Radience during Tower Teams (if I can finish my reread of Way of Kings before the challenge starts) 😁.
Hi Team Mates. So nice to see so many familiar names again!I’m kicking off with
because I’m using it for a May challenge and then
. They are both set in the US but a look through my book cases turned up a book set in Algeria
and another in Cameroon
both in the tough category.I like going up a tower although The World Trade Centre was disconcerting as it moved quite noticeably. That was in 2000. Also been up the Empire State, The Leaning Tower of Pisa and the Eiffel Tower plus a few smaller ones like the Galata Tower in Istanbul.
Hi Team. I'm Kylie on the list. I have no idea what I'll be reading. I haven't played in Tower Teams before, is there anything in particular I should be reading?
Hi Everyone! I'm Sanskriti, or Sanz for short :)I have quite a few books on my TBR and I'm not sure yet what I'll kick off with. What I love about this edition of TT challenge is that it will take us around the world! I LOVE to read books from different countries so this should work out well for me.
Looking forward to getting to know you all over the next few months!
Good morning everyone, and welcome to Team Sky Tower! I'm Insiyah, your captain for this round of TT. I live in Dubai, and for once, I think I'm actually a few hours behind all of you (I'm in GMT + 4:00).
I also had to google where Sky Tower was 😂. I've been up to quite a few of these towers, but never been to New Zealand just yet sadly. The day I get to go though, I'm spending at least a few days lost in Middle Earth.
I've got the Stormlight Archive on my TBR as well - I'll start
on the 17th. I've also got
and
re-read lined up. Basically, I've been saving my giant books for this challenge. I'm hoping to make it through a few books before TT starts, so I'm going to read
today and knock if off the ever-growing TBR list.It's great to see all of you; I've played with some of you before, and some for the first time. Please don't hesitate to ask if you have any questions!
Catsalive wrote: "Hi Team. I have no idea what I'll be reading. I haven't played in Tower Teams before, is there anything in particular I should be reading?"Beyond the basic criteria:
- 100+ pages,
- Childrens / Kids / Poetry / Play / Graphic Novel / Illustrated / Photography / Art / Cookbook / Guidebook must have at least 30,000 words
- Re-reads" will be allowed, if it has been six months since you have read the book
You can read any book you'd like to. Generally, most readers tend to also try to match their books to any ongoing Mini challenges.
LavenderLane wrote: "Karen, I’m trying to finish The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson so I can finally get to Book 2. Way of Kings is a reread for me because I last read (and loved it) about five years ago and never managed to get to Words of Radience. "If you're done with The Way of Kings by 17th, we can buddy read Words of Radiance together :)
Mod
Oh you can join our buddy read thread for book one here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and book 2 here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and handful of us started the series last year and have just continued on, so we still lurk in the old threads 😁
Mod
Oh yeah I forgot about that one. I went there in the NY summer of 2000 as I was living in Canada at the time. It was so ridiculously high!
My office is up 50 floors and that can be a bit disconcerting sometimes but nothing on what the WTC was
Insiyah wrote: "LavenderLane wrote: "Karen, I’m trying to finish The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) by Brandon Sanderson so I can finally get to Book 2. Way of Kings is a reread for me because I last re..."Oh yes, let’s! From Karen’s advice it looks like there is a thread ready to go when we start 😀
Catsalive wrote: "Hi Team. I have no idea what I'll be reading. I haven't played in Tower Teams before, is there anything in particular I should be reading?"There’s some mini-games in the team spreadsheet that have some criteria, but the great thing about TT is you have a lot of freedom to read what you like. This is also a great challenge if you like chunky books because the bigger the page count the more points you get, so you don’t get penalised if you need more time to read a bigger book.
Hi, all. I am so very happy to be taking part in this challenge with all of you. I see a lot of familiar names... Hi 👋🏻 ... and I am glad to be meeting lots of new people!
My planned TBR (so far...)
Book set in Fiji
A Disappearance in Fiji (Akal Singh #1) by Nilima Rao
Book set in Bhutan
Married to Bhutan by Linda Leaming
BOTM (I have volunteered for the DQs for our team)
What the River Knows (Secrets of the Nile #1) by Isabel Ibañez
Massive book (1796 pages)
Sherlock Holmes: The Definitive Audio Collection (Sherlock Holmes #1-9) by Arthur Conan Doyle
I will be adding more books as soon as I finish the first three... the fourth is going to take me longer.
I had to look up Sky Tower too, and it has now been added to my travel wish list. New Zealand was already on the list so it isn't too much of a stretch.I am terrified of heights, but for some reason, I also find myself wanting to go to the top of every high building I come across. I think it is partly FOMO and partly wanting to overcome the fear. So far, my favourites have been the WTC in New York (on July 4th, 2000 - the queues were ridiculous), Petronas Tower in Kuala Lumpur, Oriental Pearl TV Tower in Shanghai (so cool, it has a roller coaster inside the building), Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame in Paris.
Oh, and one question, where do we add our completion posts, here or on the spreadsheet or both? Thanks!
Hi everyone!I can't wait to start reading with you all and have a good reading time.
I don't have any reading plans at the moment. But, I read mostly thriller/mystery/crime, a little fantasy, and sci-fi.
For the mini, I'll definitely read something for Estonia (as I'm Estonian)
LavenderLane wrote: "Oh yes, let’s! From Karen’s advice it looks like there is a thread ready to go when we start 😀"We can do both 😀
Preeti wrote: "Oh, and one question, where do we add our completion posts, here or on the spreadsheet or both? Thanks!"You'll be adding them on the Planning Spreadsheet. Keep an eye on Message 4 - all the links you need will be there soon.
Hello everyone!It's so nice to see familiar names and some new names! Excited to play with you all and learn about Towers!
I haven't been to many of the big towers, but it is fascinating how they make such big structures that don't collapse. I think there's a documentary on either Disney+ or Netflix that shows big and complex buildings/towers and how they were built. I watched one episode, then forgot about it haha.
Anyway, I think my first book will be
. I'll hunt to find others and a few chunky ones
Hihi everybody!!I don't have much planned out yet as based on my past experience, my plans always fall through in the end :P
So I guess I'll just read whatever that makes sense at the time.
I'm trying to recover from a recent book slump by re-reading favorites. I'm on the Mercy Thompson series right now. From the speed I'm reading... the next book in the series might be my first book for the challenge.
Gonna start hunting for books from other countries in my TBR mountain.
Hi peeps. Checking in & clicking the Notify thingy. Some of your names I know & some I don't. For those who don't know me, Richard's the name, reading's the game. From Australia.
I only like to read non-fiction, across many subjects. My value on teams is usually as a power-reader, to which I'm sure some of you could attest.
I'm not a tower guy. It's a heights thing.
Question for the captain or a co-captain:Is there a monthly cap for each of us?
I'm okay to be capped, if needed. I average at least 30 books a week.
Hi everyone, checking in. Good to see some familiar faces and hello to new reading buddies.
I’m just away at the end of an amazing 5 week holiday with my sister. We started in Milan and are just ending up in the north of Romania.. seen absolutely amazing things but looking forward to getting back home to the family.
I think I’ve been to the sky tower around 1998 or 1999 on a family holiday when my kids were little. We did the Aussie family holiday driving around New Zealand as my kids introduction to travel.
I get back the day before the challenge starts so I’ll check out everything more fully when I return. The phone is a bit of a pain in this regard.
Looking forward to another fun TT - my 10th and the travel theme is awesome!! 🤩
Insiyah wrote: "Preeti wrote: "Oh, and one question, where do we add our completion posts, here or on the spreadsheet or both? Thanks!"You'll be adding them on the Planning Spreadsheet. Keep an eye on Message 4 ..."
Thanks, Insiyah!
Richard wrote: "Question for the captain or a co-captain:Is there a monthly cap for each of us?
I'm okay to be capped, if needed. I average at least 30 books a week."
Yes. "Each player will be capped at 5 additional books over their sign up number. Books per month will be capped at 60 books, including for the 5 book overage."
Aka, the maximum number of books each reader can read is either 5 more than you've signed up for, or 60, that being the maximum number of books per reader per month.
For the colours on covers slots does that mean exclusively eg for Canada a red and white cover? Or is it simply that those colours need to be there somewhere amongst other colours?Also what if a book doesn’t fit anything? Can It be held in store for later? I’m thinking about my first book Money: A suicide note. It only fits the country USA atm but as we can only have 2 books set there it’s limited.
Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Shelves to be created
Chava Towers2025
Tina 2025-nbrc-ttxi
Lisa nbrc-tower-teams-xi-2025"
Hi
Shelf is here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Hi teamI’m Chava from Melbourne, Australia. I’ve been at the Auckland Sky tower when I lived in Auckland. It used to have a rotating restaurant at the top.
I look forward to playing with you all.
I have a question on the itinerary mini challenge.The instructions for the mini challenge seems to indicate that if you chooses a fictional book, the author needs to have been born in the same country the book is set in, but if it’s non-fiction the book just needs to be about the location but the author doesn’t need to be born there - is my understanding correct?
LavenderLane wrote: "I have a question on the itinerary mini challenge.The instructions for the mini challenge seems to indicate that if you chooses a fictional book, the author needs to have been born in the same co..."
That is what I understood of the challenge. The two books I have selected are one of each, the fiction book is set in Fiji where the author was born, and the non-fiction book is a memoir set in Bhutan. I am hoping that they work for the challenge.
"each set in a different country, written by an author born in the country, or a nonfiction book where events in the country are the primary subject of the book."You're good to go as long as your book meets one of the above criteria.
Mod
Also what if a ..."
no, just those colours need to be on the cover. Books can be banked for mini 2 only (noting it is 100 tasks in total with 10 revealed at a time).
Captains will work out as loose strategy and come back to everyone. I think for the moment we do need to start thinking about what books you have in the "hard" and "mid-level" countries for those itineraries
Thanks Karen.For Hard I have Algeria and Cameroon in my bookcase. Also Mali is coming up in July for my book group read. How about this for a title?
The Bad-Ass Librarians of Timbuktu and Their Race to Save the World’s Most Precious Manuscripts
For "mid -level" I can do Kenya and Singapore.
I can do a mid-level (Chile) and a hard (Holy See) with my current reading plans
I think the easy level books will get more restricted over time given we can only use a country twice across all itineraries.
Let's also try to read as many Mid and Hard level books, because we get more points that way.
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Vengeful (other topics)When Blood Lies (other topics)
Call the Midwife: A True Story of the East End in the 1950s (other topics)
When Blood Lies (other topics)
Last Act in Palmyra (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
John Steinbeck (other topics)Alexandre Dumas (other topics)
Xinran (other topics)
Team Members
• Insiyah Captain
• Karen (mod) Co-Captain
• Tina Co-Captain
• Kylie
• Preeti
• Elen
• Lisa - Aussie Girl
• Elli
• Elisaberth Rose
• LavenderLane
• Sanskriti
• Chava
• Richard
Team Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Challenge Status: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...