The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

TEAM MAROON 5

🌰🟥 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...



Team Members:
❅ Captain Steph
❅ Co-Captain Heather
❅ Amanda
❅ Kat
❅ Frida
❅ Sarah Twiggs
❅ Ashley Reindeau
❅ Kirsten



🌰🟥 Team Spreadsheet
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...


💹 Teams Current Points
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Reserved

Welcome to UNO 2026! Here are some important links to have handy and information about the challenge. If you have questions, please just ask.

IMPORTANT LINKS
* Official team spreadsheet (for captains use only) - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
* Team tracking spreadsheet (what we'll be using regularly to track the books we're reading) - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
* Current points across all teams - coming soon
* Countdown clock to the start of UNO 2026 - https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

BASIC RULES
✔ 100 pages (verify 25k words / 3hrs for Children's, Poetry, Plays etc MPG)
✔ rereads OK after 6 months
✔ Letters for cards use title / author name / speaking character name / location
✔ Letters to find E F H I K N O P S T V Z
✔ Numbers in the title of the book or the number in a series of books

For book titles starting with an article (A/An/The), the article can be ignored or used. So A Thousand Ships, for example, could be used as title starting with A or T

More info can be found here.

EXPECTATIONS
✔ Check in once a week on the team thread, so that we know you are actively participating, even if you have not completed a book.
✔ Only books started after the challenge starts can count (countdown clock linked above). Please make sure all books you have finished are marked as read with a read date from the month you want it to count for and must be on your Uno shelf. We will not be able to record your book on the official sheet without this, so don’t waste your reading by not recording the books correctly!
✔ Friend all the members of the team so that your captains (Steph and Heather) can verify your completions and your team members can find Reverse books.

Important Tracking Spreadsheet Info

There are different ways that teams like to keep track of the books everyone reads...Heather and I prefer to keep track of books read using a tracking spreadsheet (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...).
We use all the information you provide to fill out the official team spreadsheet, which is linked in my prior post (linking again here https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...).

Note for those who have done completion posts in the past: You do NOT need to do a completion post if you are using the spreadsheet, and you do NOT need to use the spreadsheet if you are doing completion posts. That said, if you CAN use the spreadsheet that would be super helpful, and will reduce the chances that we miss something or enter something incorrectly.

There will be a sheet for each month (March and April will be filled in once we have more details), and we’ll be adding sheets to help keep track of mini-challenges when they happen. For each book you read, fill out Columns B-D (book, your name, completion date) and then H-S (all of the criteria the book fits).

Column A is for us to keep track of special cards, and colors. You’ll see we have the color cards at the top of the list, marked in Column A. Columns E-G are for the Captains to show that we’ve checked that books are recorded on your UNO shelves and where we’ve placed the book in the official spreadsheet.

Besides color cards, don't worry about planning for a specific card! Please just indicate ALL the ways a book can work in the columns provided, including the reason it works for that card, and then Heather and I will figure out the best way to use the book, including moving books around as we get toward the end the month. For "reverse", the reason just has to be the name of the team member who read it. I like looking through the sheet as people are updating it and adding my name to that column for any book I've already read.

The only cards we want to make sure we plan out beforehand are the color cards, so those are at the top of each spreadsheet to make it easier to see that we've completed them! If you volunteer for a color card, please make sure to finish it by the end of that month, as they are worth a lot of points and much harder to cover in a pinch.

As we get further in the month, we'll let everyone know if there are cards that we're struggling to cover, at which point we may ask you to try to find a book that can cover a Reverse, or maybe a 5.

I know this is a lot of information, so if you aren't sure about anything please just ask!!

R

R

Team Info


✔ Steph - uno-2026 | Comments
✔ Heather - uno-2026 | Comments
✔ Amanda - uno2026 | Comments
✔ Kat - uno | Comments
✔ Frida - uno-2026 | Comments
✔ Sarah - uno-challenge-2026 | Comments
✔ Ashley - uno-26 | Comments
✔ Kirsten - 2026-uno | Comments

Planned Absences
Steph - Jan 30-Feb 2, March 18-22
Kat - Feb 7-12
Heather - Feb 13-16; April 5-9

T

S

Hi everyone! Welcome to Team Maroon 5!

I'm Steph and I'm your team captain. This is my fifth year playing the UNO challenge and, like every year I've played, I'm really excited to finally get started 😊

I live in the Los Angeles area with my dog, Chorizo. He's loud and needy, but he is quite adorable, which almost makes up for all the barking. I love reading romance as well as fantasy and mysteries/thrillers. Last year I ventured more into the horror genre, which I loved, so this year I'm trying to focus more on sci-fi. Outside of reading, I love keeping up with movies and shows, building my Lego collection, and relaxing with some coloring books. I also started my first physical reading journal this year, which has been so much fun! Now I just need to finish my spreads so I can actually start journaling 😅

Please go ahead and introduce yourself! Would love to hear more about who you all are and what you enjoy reading 😊

Eeeeek! So excited UNO is here!

Hi everyone, I'm Heather, and I'm your co-captain. This is my 10th year (I think) playing UNO, and have been a captain or co-captain for most years. Steph and I have captained/co-captained together many times, and I'm so happy to be on a team with her again!

I also live in the Los Angeles area with my husband, two kids (13 and 10), and 3 dogs. I own my own business, which I love…it’s been really fulfilling, and it allows me to have more flexibility in my schedule. I love to read (why else would I be here?), but also really enjoy crafting (cross-stitch, crochet, knitting, etc), puzzles, spending time with friends, and recently took up golf, a game that I both enjoy and hate. I like to read a mix of books…romance, YA, mystery/crime, true crime, some historical fiction, horror, etc.

Looking forward to getting to know everyone and to a fun 3 months of UNO!

Hello Team!

I’m Sarah. I think this is my tenth year of UNO!

I currently live in Maryland with my two cats Gus (named after Gus Gus the mouse of Cinderella), and Tibbs (From 101 Dalmatians) but am a Midwest girl through and through!

Reading is pretty much my entire personality, and I love it. Outside of that, I enjoy sports and being outdoors.

I read pretty much anything, except horror. My go-tos are: Historical Fiction, Thriller/Mystery, Fantasy/Romantasy

Can’t wait to get started!

Sarah wrote: "Hello Team!

I’m Sarah. I think this is my tenth year of UNO!

I currently live in Maryland with my two cats Gus (named after Gus Gus the mouse of Cinderella), and Tibbs (From 101 Dalmatians) but..."

Welcome, Sarah! I love that reading is pretty much your whole personality - I often feel the same 😊

Are you a sports fan or do you partake as well?

Love being in good company!

And I played volleyball, basketball, and softball growing up. Wasn’t good enough for college, but knew I still wanted to be involved, so worked in Sports Information in college and fell in love with the behind the scenes athletics

That led into a career in college athletics!

I always love watching sports. Live events are always fun!

Hello everyone!

I'm Ashley, I live in Northern New Jersey, have three kids (11 year old boy and boy/girl twins that just turned 8), and I work remote as a full time IT Project Manager. If I'm not working or reading, I'm watching my kids play one sport or another. We stay busy!

I don't get much time to myself, but in those rare instances I do, besides reading I also love to play around with makeup, coloring, or writing.

This is my third year playing Uno. It's one of those events I look forward to every year and am excited to get started! I'm a big YA reader and lean more toward mystery/thriller, horror, and dystopian reads. I'm not a big romance reader but I'm very much a mood reader so once in awhile I'll pick one up. I have a never ending ARC list as well as a TBR I couldn't fulfill in my lifetime (a good problem we all struggle with.) It's great to meet you all and am glad to be apart of the team!

Hello all!

I'm Amanda, I live in Michigan (EST), with one rambuctious 2 year old, a husband, and two beagle mixes...so this house is neither quiet nor clean. 😂

I also am someone who has reading as like my entire personality. If I have even one spare minute, I'm probably reading or doing something book related! I mostly read queer romance but occasionally will read horror, litfit, etc.

I think this is my 6th or 7th time playing UNO. It might be my first time not captaining though so that's a new feeling lol.

Hi guys! Excited for another year of Uno. This is my 5th year playing, and it's by far my favorite challenge. I live in Paris with no pets of my own yet but a fair amount of plants. A cat shall arrive soon though, hopefully.

I read absolutely any genre, but I've realized that in the past few years I haven't really read any books that swept me off my feet. There have been some good books but only 1-2 that have really stuck with me. So my goal for this year was to read less, but choose books a bit more intentionally. Add to that the fact that the next few months are a bit busy for me personally and professionally, I set my bpm lower this year than I usually do. Can't say I have all too many hobbies other than reading though 😅

Can't wait for another year of Uno!

Ashley, Amanda, and Frida – welcome! It’s great have you all on the team. We have a lot of UNO veterans on the team 😊

Kirsten is my friend, so I'll reach out for her to check in :)

Thank you, Amanda! I checked on this thread before it opened but forgot to come back. I’m a theatre professor at the University of Illinois, and that’s suddenly become a big part of my life (again). I got so busy I’m down to about half my reading from a year ago.

I used to read queer romance almost exclusively but now read a fair amount of litfic, a bit of horror, mysteries, and seek out BIPOC authors in all genres.

This is my 4th or 5th year playing Uno and I captained the last 2 rounds but know I can’t manage that with my current schedule.

Welcome everyone! Nice to meet you all!

Love that so many of us have reading as our entire personality (or close to). It clearly is for me...whenever I have to play 2 truths and a lie or say something interesting about myself, I include reading challenges/UNO as one of my things. And nobody ever thinks it's a lie coz they know I read all the time. lol.

I started to plan out some books to start off February with. I need to read Things We Never Got Over for my Romance book club, and it fits a color card! And then my first audio will be another color cover, so I've got those loaded in there.

Now I just need to finish up the books I'm reading so I'm ready!

Thanks Heather for letting me know it was opened. Didn’t realise we were already friends. :)


I’m Kat and live in Glasgow with my fiancé John and two of our cats Bonnie and Clyde. They’re brother and sister. I think this is my third year playing uno and it’s became one of my favourites to play.

I’m a sales assistant for a heart charity shop. And I’ve been doing that for over ten years. I recently moved shops as they had more hours and some big changes within the company is happening so hopefully my reading helps me de stress from it.

Reading wise I love physiological thrillers, crime, romance both contemporary and new adult. And the odd memoir and biography.

Just to let you know I’m away from February 7th until 12th so may not be able to update much whilst away.

Heather wrote: "I started to plan out some books to start off February with. I need to read Things We Never Got Over for my Romance book club, and it fits a color card! And then my first audio will..."

I always love to finish my current reads before a new month. I have a few colour cards planned so hopefully they fit in February.

Kat wrote: "Thanks Heather for letting me know it was opened. Didn’t realise we were already friends. :)


I’m Kat and live in Glasgow with my fiancé John and two of our cats Bonnie and Clyde. They’re brother..."

Welcome Kat! And thanks for the heads up for when you'll be away!

I have been dying to read Kaveh Aktar's Martyr! and it works for yellow S for sure.

Amanda, expect to see this in our voyagers challenge--I think you'd like it.

Kirsten wrote: "I have been dying to read Kaveh Aktar's Martyr! and it works for yellow S for sure.

Amanda, expect to see this in our voyagers challenge--I think you'd like it."

It's already on my TBR too so we can definitely buddy!

I know this may be too early. But when can we claim colour cards?

Feel free to claim color cards starting now!

Welcome, Kirsten and Kat!

Heather, love that you added in our planned absences! 'm going to be away from 1/30-2/2 and also from 3/18-3/22. For my February trip, I'm going to be driving ~6 hours on the 2nd, but I'm driving back with my sister, so I'm bummed I'll miss out on key listening hours!

I don't have as many color covers on my TBR to pick from as I thought I might, but I'll see if there's at least one I can snag.

Can I claim yellow6 So, I Met This Guy . . .

Go for it Kat!

Heather wrote: "Go for it Kat!"

Not letting me… not sure if I need to do something?

Kat wrote: "Heather wrote: "Go for it Kat!"

Not letting me… not sure if I need to do something?"

Are you trying to put it in the tracking sheet or the official sheet? Official sheet is locked for editing, but the tracking sheet should be available. LMK if it's not.

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

Steph wrote: "Welcome, Kirsten and Kat!

Heather, love that you added in our planned absences! 'm going to be away from 1/30-2/2 and also from 3/18-3/22. For my February trip, I'm going to be driving ~6 hours on..."

Got your absences down!

Heather wrote: "Kat wrote: "Heather wrote: "Go for it Kat!"

Not letting me… not sure if I need to do something?"

Are you trying to put it in the tracking sheet or the official sheet? Official sheet is locked for..."

Was on the wrong one. Thanks

It's almost time! So excited to get started!

Ashley wrote: "It's almost time! So excited to get started!"

Next Sunday. Almost there!

Almost there! I’ve started thinking through what I want to read for the month, but need to plan it out. Do you all have books planned (besides the color ones)?

I have another challenge that needs 11 books a month, and I've planned those. They will be going into uno, and I'll probably start filling things in this week.

I’ve got a few planned books but they are for other challenges and they just happen to fit for UNO

Kirsten wrote: "I have another challenge that needs 11 books a month, and I've planned those. They will be going into uno, and I'll probably start filling things in this week."

Wow, 11 books is a lot? I have 4 for one challenge!

Yay I'm excited! I've planned absolutely nothing, I'm really such a mood reader. I'll try my best to fit books into the unclaimed cards!

I'm counting down the days!

I have my color cards planned, and I have a couple of other books that I need to read so I'll probably try to hit those early to get them out of the way, but otherwise I'm going to see where the mood takes me.

Frida, I'm also very much a mood reader. I can never answer the favorite genre question because I really do read a bit of everything!

I'm so anxious to start reading. I keep looking at books I have and picking more and more to read in February. lol.

Only a couple more days!!!

Hi all!

Sorry for a little bit of radio silence - the month of January has been a nightmare - and we are not even done yet!

I added my name to the reverse column for Vicious & The Seven Year Slip :-)

I am still reading a few books from January so wont be able to read and add any books until their finished.

UNO is finally here!

I’m excited to start a couple new books today! Had been putting these off last week. What are you all kicking off the challenge with?

Happy reading!

So excited for UNO to finally start! I finished my last non UNO book in the back of time yesterday!!

I’m starting off with Things We Never Got Over (I think that’s that it’s called), Anatomy of an Alibi and We Were Dreamers.