The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Post any general questions here

Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challenge, and it was such a headache lol

Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challenge, and it was s..."

I have one I'd be happy to share. I'll message you.

Trish wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challeng..."

Thank you so much!

Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challenge, and it was s..."

I also have one that I will try sharing with you. Then you will have options, I love having options-LoL

sure - mine has a lot of built in math that automatically calculates pages read/remaining etc

yess, seeing multiple helps me figure out which way of organizing is best for me!


Thank you all so much :)

bringing this out of a task thread and to here

I asked about the use of an ARC that had a year published of 6 in it - and was told by moderator that anything that requires a date that an ARC couldn't be used. That isn't indicated in the rules of the challenge - which simply say:

3. Advance Reader Copies

--A) Completed task posts MUST include a link to the book and identify the book as a publisher's advance copy.

i would request if there is going to be a restriction placed on the use of ARC's for instances like that that is it clarified in the rules.

I would also submit that if you have an actual digital copy of the ARC in hand and that the publisher has provided and listed the date (and its indicated on the GR book profile) that it should be acceptable based on a chalk line in the sand (I select a book, read and post on X date and then 15 days later that date gets pushed - its not something anyone could predict)

if i'm interpretating that wrong please let me know because it totally changes several of the books I had planned to use - i.e. an ARC i have that has a January publish date and another that has a 6 in the publish year

Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challenge, and it was s..."

**I requested to add you as a friend, Amanda, so I can send the simple one I use.
It does no math, I adapted it from something shared with me when I started. (after I tried to do it in a document or by actually printing out and marking the Task List - that was a mess!) I color in blue the books I plan to read under each task. When I am in the middle of a book, or have done part of a task, I color that yellow. When it is done and posted, I color it green. I also learned the hard way to record the Message # of the post in case there is a discrepancy with the Mod's records or if I need to unclaim something.

Added!! Thanks so much. The color coding is a great idea. I'm a visual person, too, so that helps a ton!

Robin P wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challeng..."

i do the same - mine is:
purple - task completed posted, pointed on readerboard
orange - task completed, posted, points not yet recorded
blue - task completed, not yet posted
red - task in progress (i.e. one book out of 2 read)

Dee wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes a..."

Does your spreadsheet track by the color? I hadn't thought about that because, when I started it, I was printing it out fairly regularly so I use shades of grey to color code different statuses of the tasks.

I have three statistics that I have mine tracking with categories within them:
Books: read, posted, verified
Tasks: posted, verified
Points: posted, verified

Robin P wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes app last challeng..."

I also learned the hard way to note the message # the task was posted in. But that also helps me track between my posted tasks and my verified tasks. It counts as posted when I add the message # and then I have a check box when it has been verified. But now I am thinking that maybe I can use a color code like Dee to track this and just change the color of the highlighting instead of the checkbox.

KmarieD wrote: "Robin P wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Does anyone use a spreadsheet for the challenge that they'd be willing to share? I would just like to see how you all organize it. I tried to keep track in my notes a..."

That's smart! I kept having to go through pages to find when my last post was lol it was quite tedious

Not sure where to post this question but where are the threads for suggesting group reads and tasks and themes for next challenges? I see the polls go up but never saw people suggesting

Rebekah wrote: "Not sure where to post this question but where are the threads for suggesting group reads and tasks and themes for next challenges? I see the polls go up but never saw people suggesting"

group reads nominations are typically done via messaging - its the top 30 at that point of the season (and who didn't nominate in the current round)

tasks will come out at the start of Feb for ideas and next challenges will be mid-year because we just started this round

Winter Calendar answers some of your questions

15 January= Logo Contest for Next Challenge begins
18 – 31 January= Group Reads Books nominated for next challenge (as Dee noted, this is a reward for those who are in the top 30)
1 – 14 February= Task Ideas brainstorming for next challenge


In the Moderator Announcements section, we nominated for yearly themes in October, so that won't happen again for a while.
Challenge Bonus Themes

Also in the Moderator Announcements section, we nominated Group Read categories in March 2025, so I expect that will open up around the same time this year.
Group Reads Categories

Thanks