The Challenge Factory discussion

Let's practice gratitude by playing a gratitude game.

team member: D.L.
team member: Agnieszka
team member: Kathy KS
team member: Michelle's Empty Nest

The game begins Monday, Sept. 29 and ends Sunday, Nov. 23.
There are 8 weeks of the game.

Week 1: Sept. 29 - Oct. 5
Week 2: Oct. 6 - Oct. 12
Week 3: Oct. 13 - Oct. 19
Week 4: Oct. 20 - Oct. 26
Week 5: Oct. 27 - Nov. 2
Week 6: Nov. 3 - Nov. 9
Week 7: Nov. 10 - Nov. 16
Week 8: Nov. 17 - Nov. 23

Details:
You have seven (7) days to read one (1) book.

Rules:
You can't begin reading your book until Monday morning, 12:01 a.m. your time.
You must finish and report your book by Sunday night 11:59 p.m. your time.

If a team member does not make a Completion Post for a week, the team misses out on the points that team member's book would have added to the total. If that team member misses a second week, they will be removed from the team.

Exceptions are made for a planned absence or emergency. Another player on the team can use a second book to replace the missing points caused by the absence or emergency.

A player may roll for the next Week's task on the Friday before the next Week.

Books must be 140 pages or more.
Graphic Novels must be 200 pages or more.
Audio books must be at least 3 hours long.

Sample Completion Post
Book and Author:
Pages:
Date Read:
Task:
How it fits:
Is the word 'gratitude' or 'grateful' in the text of your book? (If so, quote the phrase and page or location in the book for an additional point.)

How the game works:
* Each week one player on each team rolls two dice.
https://www.random.org/dice/?num=2
* Using die 1 for the row and die 2 for the column, find the intersection on the grid.

Example: if you roll a 3 and a 2, move down the Rows to #3, and scan across for #2 on that Row. It is "Name a book you are thankful for"

* Read a book for the task in that intersection. As easy as that.
* Each book read during the week receives one (1) point for the team.
* Your book will receive an extra point if 'gratitude' or 'grateful' is in the text.

The team with the most points wins.

A team can only read the task in a certain box once. If you roll the exact numbers (in the same order) from a previous week, you must re-roll the dice for a different task.

Because the picture is difficult to read, all boxes are listed below with their tasks.
Row 1:
1) Name a friend you are grateful for - read a book from a teammate's Goodreads shelf
2) +2 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
3) Share a memory you are grateful for - read a book set 50+ years ago, about an event that happened 50+ years ago, or published 50+ years ago
4) Name a holiday you are thankful for - read a book centered around or about a holiday
5) -1 point - read any book you'd like; your team loses 1 point
6) Share an activity you are grateful for - read a book with an action verb in the title

Row 2:
1) +3 points read a book with '3' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 3 points
2) Name a place you are grateful for - read a book about or set somewhere you have lived or visited
3) -4 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 4 points
4) Share a family moment you are grateful for - read a book where family is important to the plot, or about an entire family
5) Name an object you are grateful for - read a book with no human or animal on the cover
6) +1 point - read a book with '1' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 1 point

Row 3:
1) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter
2) Name a book you are thankful for - read a book in a series that you have started
3) Name a family member you are grateful for - read a book written by an author with any initial found in FAMILY
4) +4 points - read a book with '4' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 4 points
5) -3 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 3 points
6) Name a person you admire - read a book by a favorite author that you have not read yet, or read a biography or autobiography

Row 4:
1) Name an ability you are thankful for - read a book where a significant character has a disability
2) +1 point - read a book with '1' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 1 point
3) Share something that makes you happy - re-read a book that you rated 4 or 5 stars
4) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter
5) Name a song you are grateful for - read a book with 'song(s)', 'sing(s)', or 'singing' in the text
6) Share a moment when someone helped you - read a book from a teammate's Goodreads shelf

Row 5:
1) +2 points read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
2) Name a game you are grateful for - read a book where a competitive sport is mentioned
3) -3 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 3 points
4) Share a vacation memory you are grateful for - read a book where the MC goes on vacation or holiday, or about a popular vacation site
5) +5 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 5 points
6) Share a experience you are grateful for - read a book with 'X' anywhere on the cover

Row 6:
1) Share a challenge you overcame - read a book that fits a current task in a challenge that a teammate is participating in (other than this challenge :)
2) -1 point - read any book you'd like; your team loses 1 point
3) Name a food you are grateful for - read a book with food or drink on the cover
4) +2 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
5) Name a gift you are thankful for - read a book with a title that begins with a letter in GIFT (you can ignore 'A' and 'An')
6) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter

To do list -

First of all, pick a name for your group.
Second, decide who will roll the dice.
Third, decide who will make the team's Completion Posts. (It can be one person, or you can take turns. The team's Completion Post can be posted as soon as everyone has reported. Please have your team's Completion Post in by Monday around noontime.)
Fourth, decide who will be the team's verifier. I need someone to make sure that a book fits the task for the week. In a few instances, you will have to take the word of the reader that a book matches the task, but if it's a tag, cover, title, author initial, page count or publication date, those are verifiable.
Fifth, practice counting all that you are grateful for. There will be a lot!!!

Tracking:


Row 1:
✅ 1) Name a friend you are grateful for - read a book from a teammate's Goodreads shelf
2) +2 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
➡️ 3) Share a memory you are grateful for - read a book set 50+ years ago, about an event that happened 50+ years ago, or published 50+ years ago
✅ 4) Name a holiday you are thankful for - read a book centered around or about a holiday
5) -1 point - read any book you'd like; your team loses 1 point
✅ 6) Share an activity you are grateful for - read a book with an action verb in the title

Row 2:
✅ 1) +3 points read a book with '3' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 3 points
2) Name a place you are grateful for - read a book about or set somewhere you have lived or visited
3) -4 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 4 points
4) Share a family moment you are grateful for - read a book where family is important to the plot, or about an entire family
5) Name an object you are grateful for - read a book with no human or animal on the cover
6) +1 point - read a book with '1' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 1 point

Row 3:
1) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter
2) Name a book you are thankful for - read a book in a series that you have started
3) Name a family member you are grateful for - read a book written by an author with any initial found in FAMILY
4) +4 points - read a book with '4' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 4 points
✅ 5) -3 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 3 points
✅ 6) Name a person you admire - read a book by a favorite author that you have not read yet, or read a biography or autobiography

Row 4:
1) Name an ability you are thankful for - read a book where a significant character has a disability
2) +1 point - read a book with '1' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 1 point
3) Share something that makes you happy - re-read a book that you rated 4 or 5 stars
4) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter
5) Name a song you are grateful for - read a book with 'song(s)', 'sing(s)', or 'singing' in the text
6) Share a moment when someone helped you - read a book from a teammate's Goodreads shelf

Row 5:
✅ 1) +2 points read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
2) Name a game you are grateful for - read a book where a competitive sport is mentioned
3) -3 points - read any book you'd like; your team loses 3 points
4) Share a vacation memory you are grateful for - read a book where the MC goes on vacation or holiday, or about a popular vacation site
5) +5 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 5 points
6) Share a experience you are grateful for - read a book with 'X' anywhere on the cover

Row 6:
1) Share a challenge you overcame - read a book that fits a current task in a challenge that a teammate is participating in (other than this challenge :)
2) -1 point - read any book you'd like; your team loses 1 point
3) Name a food you are grateful for - read a book with food or drink on the cover
4) +2 points - read a book with '2' in the page count or publication date; your team gains 2 points
5) Name a gift you are thankful for - read a book with a title that begins with a letter in GIFT (you can ignore 'A' and 'An')
6) Take another turn - read a book with two words in the title that begin with the same letter

ChatGPT offered these as some name options:


The Grateful Hearts
The Gratitude Gang
The Thankful Bunch
Team Appreciation
The Grateful Crew
Joyful Journeys
Team Sunshine
Everyday Blessings
Silver Linings
The Bright Siders
Thankful Together
Good Vibes Only


And of course, I'm open to any others as well.

Good morning ladies. D.L. so happy to be on a team with you again!

My first idea for a team name is 'The Grateful Four' or should another team snatch it first with any synonym for grateful like appreciative, delighted, pleasing or even thankful.

I can be verifier or roll the dice. It could be tricky for me to post the completion posts as I don't have regular access to internet and don't have any possibility to go online on Sundays (the mall is closed, as on October 3rd - public holiday in Germany) but would be willing to give it a try a time or two if I know it early enough to plan accordingly. The only day I know I'll be online for sure is Wednesdays when I go to my sister's and care for my nephew (or like this week when he's sick and I stay longer). Most weeks I go grocery shopping either Friday or Saturday so that would work too. I'll try to go to the mall I use for WiFi access as often as possible but it's very unlikely I'll manage it daily. During the duration of this challenge I'll do my best to access the challenge thread at least three times a week and hope my health will make it possible.

Just in case it would be helpful, I'm one of the volunteer librarians on GR, so should it turn out there are issues with your chosen book's main page I can help to some extent (stuff like page numbers differing from the actual one in your book or on Amazon, series names, etc.; Alternative Cover Editions for paper books - GR disabled the option to add ACEs for Kindle and audible editions - I just made Lanelle aware of it)

Michelle's Empty Nest wrote: "ChatGPT offered these as some name options:


The Grateful Hearts
The Gratitude Gang
The Thankful Bunch
Team Appreciation
The Grateful Crew
Joyful Journeys
Team Sunshine
Everyday Blessings
Silver L..."

Oh I love The Gratitude Gang & Everyday Blessings.
You're so creative!

I'll be glad to roll the dice or submit the completion posts.


I'm also a GR librarian.

I'm also a GR librarian, plus a retired professional librarian, so can clean up some of the other issues, too.

I'm new to the team challenge world (I do the Seasonal Challenge), so I may be still catching on to the routines. (I have to admit that I've always had trouble being told when and what to read, so will try to curb that and do my part. I read my undergraduate history textbooks cover-to-cover AFTER graduation; unlike during college).

The teamname I will throw out is: Thanks4...

It appears that a couple of you have volunteered for the dice and posts, so I'll sit back and read/post. If someone needs to step in on a week, let me know and I'll give it a whirl.

Added: I can be either verifier OR dice thrower, if you don't want to do both, Agnieszka.

Hey, everybody. This sounds like so much fun! Lanelle always comes up with the coolest challenges. Agnieszka, I'm so excited to be on a team with you again, and I'm excited to meet new friends too!

I can help when needed with the dice rolling. I am a big night owl and I'm most likely going to be up to roll when the clock turns 12:01 a.m. (It's 3:30 a.m. right now and I have not been to bed yet LOL)

RE: team names, I like the idea of Grateful Four or Thanks4 as mentioned above, something with Four in it. There's always Four Grateful (opposite of Forgetful lol)

Or maybe since we're team 10, something with ten in it. Maybe Ten Little Blessings or 10 Things I Love About Gratitude?? IDK.

P.S. Here's some food for thought for the day ahead:

This is a bit random, but I have the theme song to the Golden Girls ("Thank You for Being a Friend") running through my head right now.

Reba McEntire and Little Big Town performed a rendition of the theme as a tribute to the 40th anniversary of the show at the Emmys a couple of weeks ago. Check it out on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0Y_g...

I am grateful for the many laughs the GG's have provided me all these years. xox

I can make it a majority with The Grateful Four. Do we want to go ahead and grab that one?

Why not? I’m not sure if we need to post it somewhere else or if Janelle is monitoring all the threads :-D

Agnieszka wrote: "Why not? I’m not sure if we need to post it somewhere else or if Janelle is monitoring all the threads :-D"

Are you kidding!?! They don't me the nosy moderator for nothing! :D

Shall I go ahead and put your team name on your thread?

😂 Yes, please!

Done.

Lanelle wrote: "Done."

Thank you!

Since it’s Friday we can roll the die. Who wants to go first?

Go ahead. I'd love to be able to pick a book today; going I can piggyback on my other challenge!

I got 1&4, which would be
Row 1: 4) Name a holiday you are thankful for - read a book centered around or about a holiday
if I understood it correctly

Selection Post

I'm so happy I didn't get around to re-reading the following book last week:
Book and Author: Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb
Pages: 312
Date Read:
Task: Read a book centered around or about a holiday
How it fits: Set around Christmas and the killer uses a disguise linked closely to Christmas
Bonus point?: YES!
Scanning the ballroom, Eve could only be grateful Roarke never expected her to have any input into the preparations. (p. 243)

Lanelle wrote: "Done."

Thanks!

I found two possible holiday books. Both have the word grateful in them multiple times:

Since I'm new to the team-type challenges, I have a learning curve here...
Are we supposed to tell the team ahead of time what we're going to read, or are you posting just to give us ideas?

I think I'll be listening to either
OR


If I use the second one, it may be a combination of listening and reading the ebook.

Don't know about bonus points until I get them.

Kathy KS wrote: "Since I'm new to the team-type challenges, I have a learning curve here...
Are we supposed to tell the team ahead of time what we're going to read, or are you posting just to give us ideas?

I thi..."

You don't have to, per se, but it helps the verifier in advance make sure all the details fit. To be honest, I usually end up changing my book anyway lol

Is everyone chomping at the bit to start the game?? :)

Here's another thought for today:

D.L. wrote: "Is everyone chomping at the bit to start the game?? :)

Here's another thought for today:

"

Can’t wait until midnight and thank you for the thought food.

D.L. wrote: "You don't have to, per se, but it helps the verifier in advance make sure all the details fit. To be honest, I usually end up changing my book anyway lol"

I see it in the same way and if it’s not a re-read like this time I often change my book if I can’t deal with it and am not that far into the book. Which is why I often posted a selection of several books I consider to use for that task.
All in all you’ll find at some point a way that’s working best for you :-D

Your books look interesting and I added to my KU list and would add if it were available in ebook form (I’m no fan of audiobooks)

I love so much the challenges we can’t start before a given day as it helps me to finish the stack of books I started but either lost interest or there were other more pressing stories to read :-D

^^ I've read other Leslie Meier books (before I was a stickler for reading series in order) and they were enjoyable. Now I am going back to the beginning with that one and starting over the whole series from #1. Since I somehow skipped this one before lol

Booked for the Holidays is one I ended up with the Audible copy (I usually don't do Audibles), but since it was audio-only I couldn't use it on my Seasonal Challenge. But now the rules have changed and I was ready to use... the timing here was fortuitous!

I have almost 4 hours to go till it's 12:01 in my time zone lol Hope you all have a nice reading week!

I started my audiobook awhile after 12am here. I'll be stopping and heading to bed in short while now. Good reading everyone!

I already changed my book lol I am reading Kissing Christmas Goodbye by M.C. Beaton instead. I love Agatha Raisin. She's such a fun, cranky sleuth lol

I guess this is where I am to submit my Completion Post...

Completion Post - Week One

Book and Author: Booked for the Holidays, by Liz Maverick
Pages: Audible Audio only, 4 hours
Date Read:Completed 30 Sep 2025
Task: Row 1: 4) Name a holiday you are thankful for - read a book centered around or about a holiday
How it fits: Leads up to, and after, Hanukkah, including a celebration with friends

Bonus point: "Grateful' is found in Chapter 5, at location 4:02:
"Abby looks back at me, and, in her eyes, I am so grateful to see compassion."

D.L. wrote: "^^ I've read other Leslie Meier books (before I was a stickler for reading series in order) and they were enjoyable. Now I am going back to the beginning with that one and starting over the whole s..."

I started that way with the Stephanie Plum and Jack Reacher series but realized pretty quickly it’s not working for me. In the meantime I gave up on the first (too many instances it’s unrealistic and Lula became plain annoying to me) and work my way very slowly through the second - whenever I get my hands on the next in series without paying for it.

The last two days weren’t the best, so I’m only today back online but was able to start my book shortly after midnight on Monday and finished yesterday around noon, so that worked perfectly


Completion Post

Book and Author: Holiday in Death by J.D. Robb
Pages: 312
Date Read: 9/30
Task: Read a book centered around or about a holiday
How it fits: Set around Christmas and the killer uses a disguise linked closely to Christmas
Bonus point?: YES!
Scanning the ballroom, Eve could only be grateful Roarke never expected her to have any input into the preparations. (p. 243)

Week 1: Completion Post


Book and Author: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard
Pages: 244
Date Read: 10-1-2025
Task: Read a book centered around or about a holiday
How it fits: set over Labor Day weekend
Bonus point?: YES!
Page 11; "and yet he expresses GRATITUDE"

Team The Grateful Four: Week 1 Completion Post


D.L.: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Agnieszka: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Kathy KS: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Michelle's Empty Nest: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Michelle's Empty Nest wrote: "Team The Grateful Four: Week 1 Completion Post..."

Those look all great. Thank you Michelle

Wow, you are all doing great! I will have my book finished tonight or tomorrow. Here's a thought for the day:

"It's not happiness that brings us gratitude. It's gratitude that brings us happiness." - Unknown

I'll be done with my book by morning and post my completion. Thanks for your patience, everybody. Hope you're doing well.

D.L. wrote: "I'll be done with my book by morning and post my completion. Thanks for your patience, everybody. Hope you're doing well."

You still have 3 days, no one is rushing you... I'm a bit anxious about finishing every week, because I seem to be in a spell where my longer books are coming up. I'm trying to pull some shorter ones for here (I did mention earlier that I tend to procrastinate when told to read something by a certain time. I discovered taking a test about Dante's Inferno did not go well without actually reading it (during college)... never did go back to that one!

Should we set up a plan who’s rolling the die which week or give the task to one person? Who wants to today? I’ll try to check in later today but it’s very cold and windy and due to the public (or is it legal?) holiday I can only access a very open hotspot, so I’m not sure if I won’t wait until tomorrow for a bit of more security.

BTW I’m living in Germany and therefore at least six hours ahead of the US though (still) don’t have WiFi at home so any advantage would be reversed by the time I’m up :-D
Kathy are you also in the US (like most GR members)?

Agnieszka wrote: "TayTay wrote: "Hi can someone talk to me I need someone to talk too"

Sorry but who are you?"

I looked at TayTay's profile. This person has posted versions of the same question on several different groups. I have deleted the comment.

Lanelle wrote: "Agnieszka wrote: "TayTay wrote: "Hi can someone talk to me I need someone to talk too"

Sorry but who are you?"

I looked at TayTay's profile. This person has posted versions of the same question o..."

Thank you.

I am in the middle of the US and can definitely roll tomorrow! I'm also a night owl, so it may be about the time you would have! I have a grandson stationed in Germany, so I'm used to texting with him before I go to bed and he's already up and around in his day!

Now I feel foolish!

I just returned from a retirement reception for a former coworker and read Agnieszka's post asking me to roll.
For some reason, I was thinking this was Thursday! (Ah, the life of a retiree!)

Will roll now.

Our week 2 roll is 1-6 :
"Share an activity you are grateful for - read a book with an action verb in the title"

Duh, I'm thankful for reading... today and always, whether it's print, audio in all variations!

Enjoy it, teammates!

Kathy KS wrote: "Our week 2
roll is 1-6
:
"Share an activity you are grateful for - read a book with an action verb in the title"

Duh, I'm thankful for reading... today and always, whether it's print, audio in ..."

Thank you