Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Team Kinabalu




Team Members
• Teddie - Captain
• Audiophile Archives (gov't name: Audrey) - Co-Captain
• Marie-Anne - Co-Captain
• Tricia
• Nistha Chakraborty
• JL Roberts
• Heather Price
• Cass
• Laura Logsdon
• Paula
• Natasha
• Heather




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

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KINABALU CLIMBERS:
Teddie (captain)
Audiophile Archives (co-captain)
Marie-Anne (co-captain)
Tricia
Nistha
JL
Heather P
Cass
LaurLa
Paula
Natasha
Heather C

CHALLENGE RESOURCES & LINKS
tracking ss: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
** (Please request access so you can edit :) **

Tower Team Challenge Rules
Time to Climb: Mountains & Ladders mini

Mount TBR Base Camp

TinEye: https://tineye.com/labs/color-extract...
ARB wordcount lookup: https://www.arbookfind.com/default.aspx

These resources & links are also on the tracking tab "team-dash"

CHALLENGE COUNTDOWN:
start: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

BOOK OF THE MONTH (BOM)

Participating in current BOM discussion (3 days minimum) = 20 points.
Writing a day's worth of discussion questions (randomly chosen volunteers) = 40 points

So far, several of the upcoming BOMs are also in the TBR Pile, so extra points on top of BOM participation! Writing 3-5 questions is pretty straightforward, so don't hesitate to volunteer if you plan to read the book!

MAY

The Will of the Many discussion runs May 18 - June 18


The Astral Library discussion runs May 25 - June 25

JUNE

This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me discussion runs June 2 - July 2


Memoirs of a Geisha discussion runs June 16 - July 16

JULY

Discussion TBD


Discussion TBD

AUGUST
TBA

These links and BOM info are on the tracking tab "BOM".

Mt. Kinabalu, Malaysian Borneo


The 4,095-meter-high Mount Kinabalu is found in Borneo, in the province of Sabah. Mount Kinabalu is the second highest mountain in Southeast Asia. This challenging mountain is climbed daily by 150 people. In fact, only 150 permits are issued per day to protect nature and ensure that Mount Kinabalu does not become too crowded. When in Borneo, climbing Mount Kinabalu is a nice challenge.

The mountain itself represents one of the world’s youngest batholiths, formed when large volumes of magma rise into the crust but do not erupt, slowly cooling and crystallizing under the surface. (Half Dome and El Capitan in Yosemite are also examples of this type of formation.) Though young, it is the central focus of Kinabalu Park and the legends of the KadasanDusun people, Sabah’s largest ethnic group. The KadasanDunsun believe that the mountain is the sacred resting ground of the spirits of their ancestors.

Legend of Mt. Kinabalu
There are many folklores and fables that tell stories of how Kinabalu got its name. The local KadazanDusun people believe that the word is derived from "Aki Nabalu", which translates into "revered place of the dead". The mysterious KadazanDusun tribe believes that spirits dwell on the mountain top. According to another popular folklore, the name Kinabalu actually meant "Cina Balu". "Cina Balu" translates into "chinese widow". Legend tells a story of a Chinese prince who ascends from the mountain in search of a huge pearl guarded by a ferocious dragon. He married a Kadazan woman upon his successful conquest, whom he soon abandoned for return to China. His heartbroken wife wandered into the mountains to mourn whereby eventually she turned into stone.

Hi Team Kinabalu!

I hail from Buffalo, NY, USA. I’m a long-time challenge player and Tower Teams is a great opportunity to read those chunky books you’ve had in your TBR and be rewarded!

I read across most genres - character development and integrity are my biggest thumbs up / thumbs down deciders. I’ve gotten more into audiobooks in the last few years, so I usually have an audiobook and a text book going at the same time.

Once everyone checks in and introduces themselves, we can do a little more getting to know each other. :)

Housekeeping note: I think we found all the TTXII shelves except for those for Paula and Heather C - would you please post a link to your shelf when you check in?

Also, if you want to update your player name, please let us know.

I’m looking forward to summiting many a TBR mountain with you all!

Hi Kinabalu Alpinists! My GR name shares my audiobook love but my gov't name is Audrey and I'm a first time Tower player. I look forward to hiking with you as a co-captain. I'm in the CST zone and read all genres (more fiction than non-fiction, more romance than horror or YA). Some BOMs will be hard for me to participate as I only utilize Libby to get my audiobooks.

I'm trying to remember the highest peak I've been atop which I believe is the Wasatch Mountains (Telleride) though my favorite has to be watching the sun rise from the summit of Haleakalā. What's yours?

Hello Team,
I'm located in the Pacific Northwest, just north of Seattle, moved here from the North Texas area r years ago. I'm originally from Flanders in Belgium. I've participated in the ast few Tower challenges and really enjoyed it.

I like to read paper books and ebooks, always have many books going at the same time. I'm not into audio books, I like to hear character voices in my head as I image them, and so I'm not among the fastest readers. I like a wide variety of genres, but avoid most horror, military and romance, unless paired with something else, like mystery or fantasy. I also like non-fiction, particularly biographies of scientists and artists of all kinds, history and archaeology.

My mountains of choice are ... pyramids! I've never climbed anything taller than an average size hill, but like looking at mountains - and there are plenty of those where I live now!

Looking forward to playing the Towers challenge with all of you. Happy reading!

Hi climbers! I'm Heather from southern rural Michigan (EDT). This is my first time playing as a Tower Team member, but @Teddie recommended it to me so I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

About 98% of my reading is done on audio because I like to do work with my hands while I read. I have an Etsy shop and am lucky to be able to work on orders while listening to books. And knit and spin while I listen as well.

I'm not sure about my highest peak. Probably either the Porcupine Mtns (Michigan's UP), White Mtns (NH), or the northern part of the Rockies.

Hello team Kinabalu! I'm Jillian, JL, is fine, from Western Michigan. This is my 6th TT, and I love it. I have a good mix of paperback, Kindle, and audio going at all times. I tend to lean mostly into romance, but I love a good thriller or murder mystery. I'm not so much a hiker, but I have driven through plenty of mountains.

Heather wrote: "Hi climbers! I'm Heather from southern rural Michigan (EDT). This is my first time playing as a Tower Team member, but @Teddie recommended it to me so I'm sure I'll enjoy it!

About 98% of my readi..."

Hello fellow Michigander!

✋️💚💙😁

JL wrote: "Hello team Kinabalu! I'm Jillian, JL, is fine, from Western Michigan. This is my 6th TT, and I love it. I have a good mix of paperback, Kindle, and audio going at all times. I tend to lean mostly i..."

Yeah... my mountain experience comes from either light hiking or driving... ;)

Hello everyone!

My name is Natasha and I'm from New Jersey. I've done a number of tower teams before and am looking forward to this one. My favorite genres are fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction (before 1800), science, nature, history, and literary criticism.

I'm a librarian for my full time job. In my spare time, I enjoy playing video games, hiking, doing jigsaw puzzles, nature photography, playing with my pets, traveling, and watching cooking and baking shows.

Hi All! :)

To answer the mountain question: my highest climbed peak is probably Mt Marcy in the Adirondacks, though I was probably higher in altitude when camping in the Cascades when I lived in Seattle, or driving through the Alps with my parents in high school - lol.

If you haven't accessed the tracking sheet, you can do so here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Feel free to start adding books you're planning to read! There is also a TBR PIle tab on the tracking sheet: this has all the books people suggested from their TBRs. If you add a book to the BOOKS tab that happens to be on the TBR Pile list, the tracking sheet will highlight that book. Generally only the first book in a series is listed on the TBR tab, but any book from a series counts. Each TBR book earns an extra 5 points.

Hola Hello!
My name is Paula and I'm from Santiago, Chile (South América). This is my 8th TT, and I love these kind of challenges.
I read almost any genre, but I avoid Romantasy and Horror hahaha

I'm a chemical engineer and I work as a Project Manager in a Mining and Environmental consultancy office, so I can't read while working sadly, but all of my free time is for reading (and some family time with my husband hahaha)

I'm not a hiker, but, because I work in mining, the highest altitude where I've been is near Lago Chungará in the North of Chile, something like 4600 meters above sea level (masl), I didn't hiked of course, I went by pickup truck hahaha.

Fun fact, in Chile we have the highest volcano in earth, it's called Nevado Ojos del Salado (6893 masl)

My shelf

Hi everyone!
I'm Heather C, and I'm in California near Los Angeles. This is technically my 3rd time doing TT, but it's been a while, and I don't know that I ever really figured it out before, so let's pretend it's my first time. I do love challenges though, and religiously play UNO every year.

I mostly read mystery, thriller, horror, romance, true crime and some historical fiction. I'd say anything miltary and most non-fiction are my least favorite things to read.

I used to hike more (now I spend most of my free time taking kids to activities, golfing, doing crafts and reading). I've hiked Half Dome (a batholith like Kinabalu!), and been on a variety of other mountains but couldn't name them. lol. We camp every summer in the Sierra Nevadas but not sure that we get to super high elevations usually.

Looking forward to playing with you all!

My shelf

Teddie wrote: "Hi All! :)

To answer the mountain question: my highest climbed peak is probably Mt Marcy in the Adirondacks, though I was probably higher in altitude when camping in the Cascades when I lived in S..."

I see where to add planned books. Do we need to worry about placing them in the mountains or ladders or will the captains/co-captains handle that?

Good question Heather!



For these initial climbing minis, Mountains and Ladders, we can work on the Ladders concurrently, but must do the Mountains one at a time. So, I would say if you are reading a book at the low end of a ladder (i.e. pre-2015) claim a lower ended spot and then captains can fill in the later books that aren't being used for Mountains.

With the Mountain 1, we need to go up and then back down with 1 peak, so if you are reading a book at either end of the pages spectrum, claim a spot at the edges for short books and in the middle for chunky books.

I expect as books get read, captains will be moving some of these around, but communicating on the thread will be key. I think we'll learn what works for us as a team as we go.

Got it, thanks Teddie!

Thank you for asking! I got to pull out a graphic - lol

A couple other things that have come up in the captain Q&A:

- We have to do a 1 peak mountain, then a 3 peak mountain - but after that, we can do all 1 peaks or 3 peaks - whatever we decide works better for how we read. (There is only a completion bonus for the first 2.)

- On the TBR Pile, there is usually only 1 book of a series listed, but ALL the books from that series will garner the bonus 5 points

Hi team! I am Nistha and currently live in London (originally from India). This is my 3rd TT and I have to say my absolute favourite challenge of the year. I started doing it 3 years ago and I keep looking forward to the sign ups every year haha!

I read across genres but I don't read a lot of non-fiction. I love reading weird books. I work in finance so usually work keeps me away from books - but I try to read in every little pockets of time I get every day.

I can't quite remember the highest peak I have been on top of. I do remember the highest one I trekked - it was in Chamonix, France (I am not much of a trekker but I do enjoy some light hikes).

Hello Team! I'm so excited to be here. This is my third or fourth TT and it's my favorite.

My name is Tricia and I live in the suburbs of Seattle (hi Marie-Anne!!) with my husband. I have three adult kids - one in college in Oregon and two back at home after college. We're all adapting to a multigenerational household!

I read all sorts of books, but my favorites are scifi, fantasy, horror, and some romance and nonfiction. I read a lot of novellas because I love finishing a book, but I'll really try to get to some of my neglected big books for this challenge.

I've recently become a huge fan of audiobooks as I love doing other things while reading - driving, puzzles, crochet, etc.

I've traveled quite a bit, but am not much of a climber. So I've been on a glacier, I've climbed a pyramid in Mexico, and I've been to an French alpine peak (by gondola).

Welcome Tricia & Nistha!

Our climbing crew is almost complete!

As this is a TBR challenge, I'm curious: Do you work to keep your TBR as a smaller collection of books you definitely want to read, or as a group of options you may want to read?

I fall into the later group - my TBR is full to bursting with books that sound interesting or got high reviews from others who seem to like and rate books similarly to me. I do though cull books from that list occasionally, mostly when I've tried authors a couple times and decided they just weren't for me.

What is the oldest book from your TBR shelf (from an added to your TBR point of view) you think you'll read this challenge?

My tbr shelf was quite full of books that looked interesting to me for some reason, but since some were from 2015, I went through my list and culled at least a thousand. I plan to go through it again at some point. I try to make a monthly tbr of books I want to read this month (for various challenges).

Teddie wrote: "Welcome Tricia & Nistha!

Our climbing crew is almost complete!

As this is a TBR challenge, I'm curious: Do you work to keep your TBR as a smaller collection of books you definitely want to read,..."

My TBR is massive and I will never finish it in this lifetime. I'll try to pluck one off the shelf when I finish one I "just had to read", especially as I have a huge paperback collection of 400+ books at home, and don't think I've even read half of them. Kindle is my go-to, audio when at work or long car rides, but it's harder to keep a paperback on me so they kinda get shelved and forgotten about, but I can't stop buying them.....It's a problem.

Natasha wrote: "My tbr shelf was quite full of books that looked interesting to me for some reason, but since some were from 2015, I went through my list and culled at least a thousand. I plan to go through it aga..."

I've gone back and looked at old added books, but I seem to say "Oh yeah, I remember that - still sounds interesting..." more often then not, and leave more than I delete. Like many on GR, I have a spreadsheet that manages books, tasks, when to read, etc - probably overkill, but I do have fun noodling around with it.

@JL : seriously, I'm with you. I've had to put a monthly limit on my thriftbooks spending. But it IS comforting to be surrounded by enough reading to last if the world shuts down - haha.
Well hopefully haha.
Anyhoo... lol

I have way too many spreadsheets. It's helpful to keep track of all the various challenges I'm doing, both on Goodreads and beyond.

I try really hard to read books off my TBR, but I often end up picking something random that wasn't even on there instead. lol. I usually have around 200 books on the TBR, and I have who knows how many books around the house that aren't even on the list, and idk what I have on the kindle that I haven't actually read yet.

I think my oldest stuff was added in 2015 or 2016, and I've gone through and deleted stuff I know I'll never read. And some that I decided to try to find and they just aren't available anywhere (library, kindle, Amazon, even sometimes Thriftbooks). But like Teddie, I've usually looked at the description and thought "yeah, I'd still want to read that" so they end up staying.

As I'm picking books to read, is it better to read longer books, even if that means I don't read as many books as I could? I'm so used to UNO, which is sometimes a numbers game, that I'm afraid I'll do this one wrong. lol.

For the most part, TT is a challenge that rewards pages. So if you can read longer books and still hit your bpm: optimal. We do have a book cap of 5 books over what you submitted on the signup form (you can check your numbers on the Members tab if you want) so if you read more than that, we'll put the shorter books on our reserve pile in case. (ETA: unless they have already been locked on a mountain completion.)

I know the Mods will be tossing a few more minis into the mix, so we may eventually have some specific books to read as a result, but really, I think you all should read what you want and what makes you happy - we'll make it all work out :)

I also wanted to say that if anyone ever hits a google sheet snag or simply doesn't want to work with the ss, just post your books to the thread and one of the captains will get them onto the ss, no problem.

My TBR is big but not too big.. It keeps getting bigger every day. However, I have a habit of repeatedly going through my physical book library and all my new buys, adding them to my tbr and to a shelf. Since I have started doing that, I have become more disciplined in trying to make sure I read the books I own - I also have a habit to buy books and my husband spoils me a lot with books.

@Teddie: indeed comforting to know I have enough books to read haha. To be fair, sometimes I want everything around to slow down a bit so I can just sit and read

I love TT because usually I can read whatever I want but also because of the minis I end up picking/finding books I would have otherwise never read. Sometimes they turn out to be really bad but I have also found gems. Anyway, what's the fun in always reading what I want to actually read haha!

I keep track of my physical and kindle TBR, but the one on GR is not a real TBR haha, sometimes I clean it =P

My physiscal TBR is 158 books and thekindle ione is 23, I'de say that I've manage to have a reasonable number for me, and I've been pretty good at not buying every book I see hahahaha

I love a spreadsheet, so I have several to keep track of my reading, even a daily one hahaha, and I have a physical reading journal that is never up to date, but I like to have it finish by january of the next year =)

I love TT because I can read really old books from my TBR, and also, I checked and there are several of the TBR pile of the challenge that are among my physycal and kindle TBR =)

My GR TBR goes back to 2019, and is somewhat out of control. I just add possible books whenever I find more. Oh well! 😜

Much worse is my yarn and fiber stash (and queue on Ravelry). I am surrounded, and will definitely be set if the world shuts down.

I have a number of long books that I want to read so TT seems like the perfect to do that.

I just checked, and my oldest TBR is from Aug 2009 - LOL

I've started it a couple times, and would give up except that I love the author, so I can't quite quit it yet. Maybe I'll read it for this TT!

But I doubt it.

I started really reading in 2020 as my kids finally got old enough to give me a minute of peace so my tbr jumped dramatically at that time. I went through and read the ones from the years before that and now I have about 400 that never seems to go down as I add as many as I read.

Heather wrote: "As I'm picking books to read, is it better to read longer books, even if that means I don't read as many books as I could? I'm so used to UNO, which is sometimes a numbers game, that I'm afraid I'l..."

The way to think about it is you get 10 points for every 100 pages, so if you have to pick a book that meets a task for 10 points, but instead can read a book that's 300 pages longer, that's worth 30 points. So yeah, read what you want. And we should read for tasks. But really, if you want to read a chonker and it happens to work for a task also, that's the best of all worlds! :D

I don't know if this team wants to try and win, or just have fun with it, but the teams that typically win are the ones that have people reading big books.

I'll probably be able to read only one relatively big book through the challenge, and I want it to be Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson.

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Team Kinabalu


Team Members
• Teddie - Captain
• Audiophile Archives (gov't name: Audrey) - Co-Captain
• Marie-Anne - Co-Captain
• Tricia
• Nistha Chakraborty
• JL Roberts
• Heather Price
• ..."

Hi MODS....is it me or does the THREAD link to our team on the TTXII Status Sheet lead to a different team? I think it directs us to Team Chimborazo.

Hello Team Kinabalu!

I am so sorry that I hadn’t checked in until now! I am a HS English teacher and graduation deadlines are quickly approaching, so I have been buried under grading. I will be much more active from now on!

My name is Cassandra, but I do prefer Cass! I was born and raised in the Pacific Northwest. I was excited to see another team member is from the PNW too! I did attend university in Arizona, so I left for a few years, but I have been back for nearly 10 years now! As mentioned earlier, I am a HS English teacher and I teach 12th grade.

This is my third time participating in Tower Teams. I have always really enjoyed it and I am excited to be on Team Kinabalu!

As far as reading goes, I definitely gravitate towards romantasy, romance, and literary fiction the most. I do love to explore other genres though! I prefer reading physical books, but I have been reading more on my kindle. I have also been finding myself preferring listening to audiobooks over music while driving and working out.

The highest peak that I have climbed is probably Superstition Springs in Arizona. I love hiking but I don’t summit mountains very often!

In regard to the TBR question, I am currently doing my own TBR knockout challenge, because it’s gotten a little out of hand. 😂 I have always purchased books that peaked my interest and gotten solid reviews. So, I have a huge personal library at home(I haven’t counted in a year, but I would guess I’ve crossed into 4k books). I need to do a recount and create a spreadsheet. That is a goal for the summer! I am hoping to whittle my physical TBR down to under 100 books by the end of 2027.

For this challenge, I’ll try to focus on my books that are on the tbr pile list as well as the BOTM picks!

Oh my gosh! I hate GR for taking away DM... I forgot to follow the Base Camp thread for notifications so of course missed the posting of teams! Sorry I'm late...

I am LaurLa, I live in Indiana and I read almost exclusively romance - but almost any genre within that. I've been known to read whatever is needed for a challenge but, please, don't ask me to read horror!!

I am married with 2 grown boys and daughter-in-law who I might like more than the son (just kidding!) and we have one fur-baby dog we affectionately call 'poophead' because that seems to be all he does 🤣 But we love him anyway.

Yay!!!


The whole team is ready for this challenge! Let's goooooooooooooo.

Question for captains - I had some library books come in for me that are not great for the challenge as they are pretty short. My team last year had a page for books on reserve - ones over cap or small ones we could log but not use until we knew if we needed them. How do you guys want to handle it? I can keep them on my own personal spreadsheet if you prefer.

We can totally keep a reserve list - only logged mountain books are non-swappable. Thanks!

And welcome Cass & LaurLa! :)

The Mods just dropped another Mini in honor of mod Sophie's retirement: The Mountain Maze!

As a team, we'll work our way through the maze by deciding which direction to head at each step then reading books for tasks about Sophie, :)

Read all Mountain Maze mini details here!

Our first step task: Read a book set in New Zealand

Oh wow, I have played 5 of Sophie's mazes! They were so fun. Has anyone else done them?

Just a head's up that in addition to the task, you have to pick a direction and fulfil that requirement. So this first move has to be East, which means the book has to have an even number of pages.