Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Team Lotus Tower




Team Members
• Eldarwen Captain
• Keely Co-Captain
• Heather Milne
• Sana
• Vikki
• VNerd
• Janine
• Ashleigh
• Nistha
• Audrey
• Charlotte
• Caipi
• Logan
• Jessica S
• klare
• Lauren McClain


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

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All About Tower Teams, aka RULES

Mini 1: Novels Around the World

Mini 2: Travelling Around the World

Mini 3: World Wheel

Mini 4: Food Around the World

Say Cheese: Cheese Rules

COUNTDOWN to End of TT: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Team PLANNING Sheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

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Team Shelves
• Eldarwen
• Keely
• Heather
• Sana
• Vikki
• VNerd
• Janine
• Ashleigh
• Nistha
• Audrey
• Charlotte
• Caipi
• Logan
• Jessica
• Klare
• Lauren

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Completion Post

Bookcover (needed for several tasks)
Book: title and author
Date Read:
Pages: **
Rating: optional but it could spark some interesting conversation


Mini 1
- task and why the book works for the task (unless it is obvious)


Mini 2
- task and why the book works for the task (unless it is obvious)


Mini 3
- task and why the book works for the task (unless it is obvious)


Cheese
-
-


(If tasks are a spell-out option, please provide the entire name of the character wherever possible, first name and surname, thanks!)

================

**IMPORTANT!! if your book has a main page genre from the list mentioned in the rules (aka childrens, middle grade etc.) please mention that you have verified the word count and where

It helps to avoid misunderstandings or frustrations to verify the word count before you start reading such a book.

Say Cheese
✔

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Mini 2: our remaining tasks


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Mini 3: our tasks

WW183	Author born in Mexico - Nistha
WW185	character eats mexican food
WW186	character visits a (coral) reef
WW188	"Day of the Dead" mentioned or celebrated
WW189	M - Nistha


WW102	character considered to be part of a dynasty

reserved

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Hello and welcome to Tower Teams Around the World!

I will be your captain on this boat, or spaceship, or train.. whatever your preferred mode of travel is. :-) And with my trusty sidekick Keely, we shall endeavour not to get lost on our way through the many countries we shall be visiting. It's going to be a lot of fun!

If you have played Tower Teams before, you know the drill. If you haven't, then you'll learn very quickly, not to worry :-)

Have a look at the rules, newbie or veteran, especially because all the details for the various mini challenges are laid out in that thread as well. There is a lot to take in, I know, but fret not! It is pretty straight forward in what we're supposed to be doing. Finding books for this year's Towers edition is going to be much more of a challenge than following the rules hehe. Keely and I will go into more detail about the various mini challenges once people have found their way here.

So, yes, do read the rules. (I mean it.) If you're unsure, read them again. And if things are still unclear, feel free to ask, we're happy to help!



Once you check in, feel free to introduce yourselves in as much or little detail as you wish. Please also give us a link to your challenge shelf!

Now, off to compile a little bookish tower of my own for this adventure :-)

Hello all! I am Keely, your co-captain for this round of Tower Teams! I am from the UK, but I am currently in Norway and will remain here until mid-June. I have a pretty non-existent sleep schedule at the moment so you will find me online at all random times of the day.

As far as reading goes, I will give pretty much anything a go especially for points! I've been enjoying fantasy a bit more lately and enjoy a good book with a bit of mystery to it.

I have sent friend requests to those of you who I wasn't already friends with. As E said, if you are unsure of anything, ask us and we will be happy to help. I look forward to another fun Tower Teams!

My shelf

Hi all 👋👋. That was the quickest ive ever seen one of my teams open ..well impressed girls 👍

Im Janine from England , currently enjoying the gorgeous sunshine here ..esp as i have the house to myself fo the next few hours .
I work part time in a coffee shop so have lots of spare time to read and alway on GR
I cant remember how many books i signed up for ( do you mods know ) . Im doing that many challenges that i tend to sign up a bit lower as some books i read never fit elsewhere .

Ive played before so i know the basics
Looking forward to getting to know everyone ..i only know Caipi & Jessica at moment

Sign-up numbers are marked on the team sheets so everyone can always keep an eye on what they signed up with and what they've read so far - official sheet will always be up to date.

====

And most importantly, hello and welcome! :-)

Hello everyone! Nistha here .. This is my 3rd time in the TT challenge, and I have been so excited ever since the sign-ups had opened. Thanks, cap and co-cap, for opening the threads so early!

More about me - I am currently based in London but originally from India. I read a mix of all types of books (except non-fiction) but enjoy romance and thrillers the most. My current goal is to focus on the zillions of books I already own rather 👀 👀 than other books haha. However I am ready to read pretty much a lot of things for points.

Link to my shelf if needed.

Looking forward to a great summer of reading!

Hello Nistha..im not use to being in a team with so many from in UK

Do we need a shelf ..i an do one if needed

For those of us that read mainly MM Romance ( at least 4) here is a list of books from around the world

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Helloooooo

Jumping in to say Howdy 🤠
I know a few people here, but not everyone.

I'm VNerd from South Wales UK, I've played this game a few times and it's the best fun.
I'm an Usher working in the Crown Courts, I look after all of the juries and bring the judges in and out of court 🗣️COURT PLEASE RISE! so I get to sit in all of the trials going on 😬

I'm an exclusive audiobook reader and get through between 2-3 a week depending on how big they are.

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

Janeylou wrote: "Hello Nistha..im not use to being in a team with so many from in UK

Do we need a shelf ..i an do one if needed"

It is required that you make a shelf so it is easier for us captains to check your books meet the requirements such as page length. We will remind you to add books to your shelf if you forget, but books cannot officially be counted unless they are on your Tower Teams shelf.

Here it is
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Welcome everyone who has popped in to say hi already! I'm usually on a team with people more Europe based, but we seem to have a lot from or at least based in the UK!

We are working up some sort of planning sheet. E and I have decided that we would like you all to post completion posts here when you finish a book which will have all the information we need and the planning spreadsheet will be primarily for the mini challenges. In particular Mini 2 in which any books finished during the challenge can be use for tasks as they come up. That is as long as they haven't been used for another task.

Mini's 1 and 3 require sets to be completed before books can be finished and used for the next ones.

Remember, books can on be started once the challenge has begun to be used for this challenge. You can, for example, start a book on day one but hold off on finishing it until it can be used for a specific task in Mini 3, if you so desired. This is by no means a requirement or even a suggestion to do that. But you could if you wanted.

We understand not everyone likes to plan what they are going to read and would rather read depending on what mood they are in. This is absolutely fine. It will help us greatly if you keep us updated if you are reading a book for a specific task, especially as if it is a harder task.

Don't forget there are bonus points available for participating in the Book of the Month's that are running during this challenge. We will keep you updated on those as we get information about them.

I will shut up now. Just remember the most important thing is to have fun!

Yay! I thought I was too late.

I'm Jessica from the UK. This is my first time playing Tower Teams.

I mostly read MM romance but starting to branch out more for reading challenges. I work part-time around my two children, and always have an audiobook playing whatever I'm doing. If there is a challenge on Goodreads I'm most likely playing it

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

Hello Team Lotus Tower. Just popping in to say hi and admire the pics of your beautiful tower. Seriously - so pretty! Happy reading! :)

So we dont add anything to SS, just tell you what tasks we planning to read for and just do a completion post ..have i understood that correctly

For the Novels Around the World task, how many of us are expected to read each book? Is it a case of us doing one each, or do we get points for every person who reads it?

How will we be selecting books? Should we be making suggestions then vote on them?

E will explain in more detail about how a completion post should look.

Once we have finalised the planning sheet we will share that will you and you will be able to add books for mini tasks on there so that it is easier to see what has been claimed. Alternatively you can just let us know here what tasks you are reading for and one of us will add the information to the spreadsheet as not everyone likes spreadsheets.

You don't HAVE to tell us what you are planning to read and can just do completion posts with any and all tasks the book works for, but it would help to know what tasks are being read for.

We'll find the right communication as a team, so don't worry about all the finer details too much at the moment.

Jessica wrote: "For the Novels Around the World task, how many of us are expected to read each book? Is it a case of us doing one each, or do we get points for every person who reads it?

How will we be selecting ..."

It's doesn't really matter who reads what. As we have members who read at different speeds it could be that one or two members read more per list and some members don't read any in a list.

It is just one country per book and each country can be used a maximum of 2 times in different lists. So a maximum of 2 people will read for a country.

I think to begin with it will just be a case of people saying what books they have ready to start for certain countries and seeing what we get. Again, this might be easier to plan once we have the planning sheet sorted.

The hard country list looks daunting for 1st mini... but I am sure we will figure it out

I have that many challenges on the go i have to be a planner otherwise id be all over the place 😄😄

Nistha wrote: "The hard country list looks daunting for 1st mini... but I am sure we will figure it out"

I'm currently trying to find any books I can use, but I've not been very successful so far. It is going to take some time. Any suggestions will be most welcome and I'll post anything useful that I find.

This list i posted above has lots..they all MM though, but i can read a few

Hi team, checking in! 😊👋🏼
I'm Caipi from Germany, playing this challenge for the first time. TBH it looks a bit overwhelming but I'm sure I'll get it once we get started. At least I hope so.... 🙈😂😂

Nistha wrote: "My current goal is to focus on the zillions of books I already own rather 👀 👀 than other books haha."

And how is that working out for you?? ;-))

I have that goal every year. It works... semi well, let's put it that way hehehe.

Caipi wrote: "Hi team, checking in! 😊👋🏼
I'm Caipi from Germany, playing this challenge for the first time. TBH it looks a bit overwhelming but I'm sure I'll get it once we get started. At least I hope so.... 🙈😂😂"

It looks like a lot, and it is a lot, but it will all be fine :-)
Take your time to read the rules and then look at the team's spreadsheet. That will help.
And as you've said, once we get going, it will all become clear and easy peasy :-)

Denise wrote: "Hello Team Lotus Tower. Just popping in to say hi and admire the pics of your beautiful tower. Seriously - so pretty! Happy reading! :)"

Heya Denise!
Right? Such a pretty, colourful tower! :-)
Happy reading to you, too!

My shelf

challenge-tower-2025

Eldarwen wrote: "Nistha wrote: "My current goal is to focus on the zillions of books I already own rather 👀 👀 than other books haha."

And how is that working out for you?? ;-))

I have that goal every year. It wor..."

I am the same. I am doing a very poor job of it so far. My TBR has gone way above what I started with this year. Hopefully this challenge will help bring it down again though!

I am very hopeful for this challenge!

With a friend, we exchange bookish advent calendars (self-curated with mostly second hand books because otherwise the costs would be horrendous) and 2023 her theme for me was "Around the World". And guess what? I still haven't read most of them, so... :-))

Eldarwen wrote: "Caipi wrote: "Hi team, checking in! 😊👋🏼
I'm Caipi from Germany, playing this challenge for the first time. TBH it looks a bit overwhelming but I'm sure I'll get it once we get started. At least I h..."

I second this. It is a lot of information, especially for new players. But it will all become clearer as we play. As E said, check the rule and if you aren't sure a book qualifies for this challenge, it could be better to ask before you start reading it just in case.

Hi all

I'm Vikki from Northern Ireland. I've played Tower Teams many times and always enjoy it. I love the country theme for this one!

My go-to genres are crime & thriller, but I also like fantasy, historical fiction, chick lit, and anything that happens to grab my attention.

My shelf is here

Vikki, ive always wanted to go to Northern Ireland , travelled around southern a lot , but never got round to going further north 😔😔..one day !!

V_Nerdbooks wrote: "Helloooooo

Jumping in to say Howdy 🤠
I know a few people here, but not everyone.

I'm VNerd from South Wales UK, I've played this game a few times and it's the best fun.
I'm an Usher working in t..."

I used to work as a criminal barrister

Alright!!

*claps hands excitedly*

Hello and welcome to the team everyone who swung by while I was gone - it happens, captains aren't glued to the screen all the time ;-) Just saying! Sometimes it can take us a while to respond because of pesky things such as, you know, work.. life at times as well.. It just gets in the way of reading and GR, you know? So annoying ;-)


I shall repeat this again, because it IS important: read the rules and don't panic hehe.

==

As Keely has already told you, there is no need to plan if you are not a planner (looking at you V ;-)). There is also no need to tell us in advance what tasks your book might work for. You can just read and let us know what tasks it works for once you're done with it.

What is important is communication. Communication is key! Planning or no, without communication, a team challenge will not be fun or work (well) without frustrations. :-) The same goes for when you have to be away for a while and will not be able to check in over a longer period - say, spotty internet in a wonderful actual vacation you're going to take. Let us know should this be the case, just so you don't actually get flagged for having poofed into thin air.


Over the coming days when the team is all here, Keely and I will go into more detail, talk about the minis a bit more. Explain what completion post should look like as well as what the planning spreadsheet will be used for and how.

But for now, read through it all in peace. Take it in at your own pace. There is a lot of text to get through, but we're all readers here, right? So no problem! There is no need to stress or worry; it will all come together as soon as we start playing next weekend if you're unsure about anything, even after explanations.

However, no matter if you got it all 100% or not, no matter if you've got all your books planned and ready to go, no matter what your reading speed is, there will be plenty of tasks for all of you, so please do not worry! It may be a challenge (I know, some of the countries will be crazy difficult haha), but it is FUN! :-)

Don't be frightened away, sometimes I ramble. *grin*

Hello friends!

I’m Logan and looks like I’m the first teammate in the US! (Please don’t hold it against me 🙈😅). I live in Denver, Colorado which is Mountain Time/GMT -6, so I’m 7 hours behind BST.

I love Tower Teams! It was the first team reading game I ever played and I think TTII was my first iteration. It’s wild how long I’ve “known” some of you!!

I used to be a 100+ a year reader but the last few years have really slowed down for me. I love these games because it gets my butt in gear again. I put a pretty conservative estimate for books in this challenge based on my current slowness, but I’m hoping to read more.

Let’s see. I’m married 18 years now, no kids, 2 dogs (a Boston Terrier and a Chihuahua/Pomeranian mix who is currently being tortured at the groomer’s). I work from home as a software engineer for an insurance company. I’ve had soooo many different jobs but my first career path was as a legal assistant/paralegal so it’s exciting to see a criminal barrister and court usher on the team! So cool!

I like to read a little of everything, honestly. I have a sweet spot for historical mysteries and anything fantasy/sci-fi.

Oh I forgot - here’s my shelf: nbrc-ttxi

Welcome Logan! You may be our only US player but a few people haven't yet checked in so there may be one or two more! As I mentioned in my first post, I'm awake at all sorts of hours so at least you and I will most likely be online together at some times!

Logan wrote: "Hello friends!

I’m Logan and looks like I’m the first teammate in the US! (Please don’t hold it against me 🙈😅). I live in Denver, Colorado which is Mountain Time/GMT -6, so I’m 7 hours behind BST...."

After I graduated with my law degree I spent 3 years working as a legal executive (paralegal). I specialised in conveyance & re-mortgage cases then (but my heart always lay in criminal).
These days my main work is sales, marketing & social media. I'm also an examinations invigilator so May & June are busy months for me.

Eldarwen wrote: "Nistha wrote: "My current goal is to focus on the zillions of books I already own rather 👀 👀 than other books haha."

And how is that working out for you?? ;-))

I have that goal every year. It wor..."

He he ..not that great to be honest, but I still keep loading my shelves more and more and running out of space now. But luckily, I own many books set in middle-range countries of this challenge so hopefully I knock a few off

Hi, I'm Tori. I'm from New Mexico in the USA, also mountain time.

I feel its become necessary to let people know...I am autistic and struggle with communication at times. Sometimes I'm just a bit late, or sometimes it seems as if I'm being rude or I'm irritated. I'm typically always in a good mood, so I just want to make sure I do communicate as best I can.

I read a lot of MM so thank you Janeylou for that :)

Hello and welcome! :-)

Ah, New Mexico always makes me think of the show Roswell, I loved that series :-) Even the newer remake is quite good.

Not to worry, Tori! But thanks for letting us know :-)

Can you send a link to your TT shelf, please? Thanks!