Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Kate S wrote: "I was very lucky to have a birthday right around the release of Go Set a Watchmen, so I was gifted a copy and am no longer on the wait list at my library. How long does it take to get a book like this in Italian?"

I guess that really depends on publishers. Regarding the Italian edition of Go Set a Watchmen I've heard that it will be released around Christmas or so. Plenty of time to re-read To Kill a Mockingbird then ;)

Oh,...and we hate each other


Ashur vs Crixus

Nothing lined up here, but I've just found out another possibile read, Orient Express by Graham Greene.

Apoorv wrote: "Sara wrote: ""Murder on the Orient Express" maybe? Captain Obvious here ;) "

I am absolutely thinking of the same book.. and a couple of other Agatha Christie books.

Does anyone have anything lin..."

I am taking my mom's copy of The Great Train Robbery home with me after dinner this evening. Sounds as if it will work.

Abbie wrote: "Oh,...and we hate each other


Ashur vs Crixus"


I had no idea about this. Makes it all the more fun ! *MWAHAHA* :D
Honestly, I dont even know much about either of them.

You guys are killing it today! Looks like we're tied with Agron for 5th place or so. The book I mentioned in my post should have been The Lord of Illusion, stupid autocorrect. :(

I'm also listening to Viva Jacquelina! Being an Account of the Further Adventures of Jacky Faber, Over the Hills and Far Away, which I should be done Tuesday or Wednesday depending on my commute and how much I decide to not be lazy and get out for a walk every day! haha

Congrats on completing the first goal Kate. I watched Winter's Tale as a movie and had some problems with it, although I liked the idea. I wonder if I would like the book better...

I'm 20% into my book but I hope I will finish it tomorrow if not today...

Our next goal is a tough one.
I remember I read Backstage Pass which was set on a bus. It's contemporary romance with pretty explicit sexual scenes, but pretty good. So if anyone likes that genre...

Another goal completed!


Ladra (Fingersmith) by Sarah Waters
Date Read: 03/08/15
# Pages: 510
Goal: Read a book with more than 1000 goodreads reviews (2,703 reviews)
Points: Attack 1 — Defense 1

Way to go, Sara!

Kate S wrote: "Way to go, Sara!" Ditto.

@Vicky: I loved the first book in The Elven Lords series, but second one was boring - no talking dragon or mystery. How was Lord of Illusion? Similar to book #1 or #2?

Yay, Sara! I added it to the sheet and our new goal is Read a book that contains the word artichokes. Anyone seen any artichokes lately? haha Good news! I found artichokes in Scarlet, which Apoorv read yesterday. How lucky! Waiting for our next new goal now!

@Dragana: I'm only on Chapter 7 or so, but it seems more like the first than the second. The heroine is "friends" with the dragon in Dreamhame, so it seems like he'll play a role in the story. :) I'll let you know when I finish it!

That is a great find, Vicky! Artichoke seems a bit obscure. Glad
we already had one.

Kate S wrote: "That is a great find, Vicky! Artichoke seems a bit obscure. Glad we already had one."

Totally agree!

Our new goal is Read a book written by an author who was born in Central America.

*goes off to check her TRB list*

I have tons of South American authors and no Central American ones. :( I have one book written by an American/Mexican writing team that I'm seeing if the mods will take. I'm not sure about the writing team OR whether they'll accept Mexico as Central America since it's not always included.

In the mean time, I'm going to go get into a fight with the hotel that my guests are staying at for the wedding. >:|


PS: We moved up to being tied for 4th!

I needed to google a bit as I too seemed to have South American authors only in my TBR list, Vicky!

However, I found Wikipedia rather helpful with this List of Central American writers and managed to download a digital copy of Senselessness by Horacio Castellanos Moya, so this is going to be my next read.
160 is the miminum page requirement, right? ;)

Wow, I just realized.. I have never read anything either set in or written by someone in Central America.

Glad you have a book, Sara.
I dont even know what to look for.

Apoorv wrote: "Wow, I just realized.. I have never read anything either set in or written by someone in Central America.

Glad you have a book, Sara.
I dont even know what to look for."

Honestly it took me awhile to find something fitting, Apoorv, especially because I'm not too fond of magical realism and books by Latin American authors are usually plenty :)
But this is going to be a rather quick read I guess — just started it and I still have to get used to its stream-of-consciousness style though.

BTW, we've been pretty lucky to find such a unusual word like artichokes directly from the book you read. Good choice I'd say! ;)

Sara wrote: "I needed to google a bit as I too seemed to have South American authors only in my TBR list, Vicky!

However, I found Wikipedia rather helpful with this List of Central American writers and managed..."

I'm not sure Senselessness will work. All other editions are under 160 pgs. I'll check with other mods in captains group

❀Tea❀ wrote: "I'm not sure Senselessness will work. All other editions are under 160 pgs. I'll check with other mods in captains group"

Oh, I didn't think to check all other editions, Tea :/
Hope we can use it though, but if not it's okay.

Oh, I hope we can use it.
Honestly, I think if the edition that you are reading, Sara, is more than 160 pages.. we should be good.

.. and I have to thank Vicky for checking Scarlet for artichoke. It sure was a tricky word, lucky indeed that we had it in the book just read. Boy ! Looking for that word, would have been a task. :O

But, I must say the goals set in general for this challenge are awesome. Tough/tricky but fun ! :)

.. and all you guys are doing awesome with your books.
I am glad to be a part of this team already. :D

The Kindle edition I'm reading is exactly 160 pages so I sincerely hope it is valid. Otherwise we should go for something else to take care of that goal. And it couldn't be too easy either but probably a tan more than finding artichokes elsewhere ;)

Hehe.
I really hope it works !
Grr.. I dont even know any good authors from Central America. I checked the names and none ringed a bell (doesnt mean they are anyway less famous/good).

But would be interesting hunting that down. ;)

Wow ! This is just the beginning.. hopefully the tasks dont get too meticulous going ahead.

The official word from the mods is that Mexico does not count as Central America.

Apoorv wrote: "Abbie wrote: "Oh,...and we hate each other


Ashur vs Crixus"


I had no idea about this. Makes it all the more fun ! *MWAHAHA* :D
Honestly, I dont even know much about either of them."

Whattt?????

Never seen Spartacus: Blood and Sand???

If you have Netflix, give it a try!

Wow, while I was sleeping you were busy.

I just finished and it was not as bad as I expected from some friends reviews. I liked that we learn a lot of history of Tearling and characters get developed (although not all of them in a way I liked).
I hope next goal will be better/easier that Central American one....

Sorry guys, looks like Senselessness is to short. All paper editions don't have over 160 pages and I couldn't find word count to check. If you can find word count and that's enough, we'll take it.

Dragana wrote: "Wow, while I was sleeping you were busy.

I just finished and it was not as bad as I expected from some friends reviews. I liked that we learn a lo..."

Way to go, Dragana!
I too have finished Senselessness but asked confirmation to Tea for the word count. Fingers crossed :)

Edit: we will have to find another book for the goal of Central American authors as mine doesn't count: not enough words either.

Too bad Senselessness didn't count. :(

I am willing to read something, if someone can recommend to me some nice fantasy/sf or magical realism novel by some Central American author... Everyone I find/remember are from South America... :/

Just checked out The Inhabited Woman by Gioconda Belli in this edition from my local library. Team Crixus will overcome those tricky authors from Central America! :)

Next Goal:

Read a book that is book 3 in a series.

I can take that if no one has one lined up.. since I will be getting to it after a day or two.

Bummer that Senselessness didn't work out, but I'm glad to see that didn't stop your search! I was looking last night but was struggling to find someone who wasn't a poet.

I updated the spreadsheet with Dragana's latest book and our new goal is to read a book that is 3rd in a series. The Lord of Illusion, which I'm hoping to finish today since my job got cancelled, qualifies!

ETA: Sorry Apoorv, I didn't see you post until after i posted! Silly GR app!

Wohoo !
So Vicky has the 3rd in the series covered.

WTG, guys.. we are rollicking ! :)

Way to go Sara - you are unstoppable. :)

And yay for another goal that will be soon down.

I am bidding my time and reading The Duchess War until the next available goal pops out. ;)

Finished The Lord of Illusion! I actually liked this the best of the three, it was the last in the series (I guess it didn't sell well enough for her to get the full 7 books in) so it had a lot more adventure and a "final battle" to wrap things up. Good ending to the series, but the romance of this particular pair ended... strangely. Kind of a shame she didn't get the full contract, the series definitely has an inventive world!

Anyway, enough rambling. Our next goal is Read a book that contains the word watermelon. I didn't find it in any of our books we've read but haven't used as goals, so I'm off to check on my TBR list!

Vicky wrote: "Finished The Lord of Illusion! I actually liked this the best of the three, it was the last in the series (I guess it didn't sell well enough for her to get the full 7 books in) so ..."

Vicky, I've just checked Margherita Dolcevita and it contains the word watermelon :)
Look here and here — p.128 English edition.

Oh, yay! I thought I pulled up an English version when I searched, but I guess not! ;)

New Goal: Read a book with a red cover

Oh! I think Apoorv's would qualify as red.

Apoorv wrote: "Yay ! Just waiting on Dragana and we are all set ! *hii everybody, my first challenge with all of you.. super-glad*
I am so excited for this challenge.. amongst all the team challenges I have playe..."


Just popping in to say hello. Waves *HI* to Apoorv! Hey everyone have fun:)

Yikes, our new goal is Read a book where a character's first name starts with the letter Y.

Since we've gone through quite a few goals today, here's a recap of our current goals:

Read a book which has the main location (setting) as a bus, train, or other road based vehicle -- Kate has The Great Train Robbery for this
Read a book written by an author who was born in Central America -- Sara has The Inhabited Women for this
Read a book where a character's first name starts with the letter Y -- Currently open

We're in 3rd place with 4 attack and 7 defense, only losing to Agron and Gannicus.

I am not sure The Great Train Robbery has enough "train time" to qualify for the goal. I will finish the book tonight, and the focus is a train robbery, but a lot of the action has taken place in London, not on the train. I am not a page counter, so I do not know exactly how many pages are on the train, but we may need a back up for that.

On the other hand, the other book I will finish tonight Death of a Red Heroine there is a character named Detective Yu Guangming.

Based off what you said The Great Train Robbery won't count, I'll post over in the captain's group for a mod opinion.

Yay for Y characters though! :)

Holy Guacamole !
Work tied me up today so I couldnt check in the day.. and bam ! we completed 3 goals. *whistles*

WTG, team.. you are an awesome bunch ! :D

Laura wrote: "Just popping in to say hello. Waves *HI* to Apoorv! Hey everyone have fun:) "


Hey, Laura !
So nice to see you here.
Which team are you in ? Boy ! There are so many teams.. I had a hard time finding myself the first time.. hehe..

But, hope you are playing and moreover enjoying yourself. Need to be aware of your team.. can be a threat to us.. :P :D

@Kate, here's what the mods had to say when I asked about how much of the story has to take place on the vehicle for that goal.

Kelly wrote: "Personally I'd base it off of whether the bus/train/vehicle was a critical aspect in moving the main plot forward. Something like, they took a long road trip and discovered a lot about each other. I'd say there should be at least a few critical scenes on the vehicle."

What do you think about The Great Train Robbery based on that?

Apoorv wrote: "Laura wrote: "Just popping in to say hello. Waves *HI* to Apoorv! Hey everyone have fun:) "


Hey, Laura !
So nice to see you here.
Which team are you in ? Boy ! There are so many teams.. I had a h..."

This challenge is such an awesome idea. I love the concept.. it will be interesting to see what happens when teams are merged!

I am on team Agron. Lol, I 'm not much of a threat , I think I got a little burnt out.. I haven't read much since early May (a book or two a week)I'm hoping I can read a few more to help out my team!
Pop in and say hi to us!! Have fun and good luck!!

Vicky wrote: "@Kate, here's what the mods had to say when I asked about how much of the story has to take place on the vehicle for that goal.

Kelly wrote: "Personally I'd base it off of whether the bus/train/ve..."

So, this book was chosen specifically for this goal. I tend to be a bit more lenient in those situations. There were a couple of key scenes which occurred on the train (kinda obviously). I am a bit torn about how I feel. I can re-read Murder on the Orient Express in a couple of hours, but that feels more like gaming the system to me.

There may not have been many scenes on the train, but the train was crucial to the plot of the story and the scenes on the train assured there would be a story. Let's take it (unless someone else disagrees)!

FINISHED


The Great Train Robbery by Michael Crichton
302 pages
Goal: Setting-Train (?)
Attack: 0.5 Defense: 1(?)

FINISHED


Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong

465 pages
Goal: Character whose first name begins with Y (Detective Yu Guangming)
Attack: 0.5 Defense: 1

I have no desire to be a goal hoard. If someone else is reading a book for this goal, by all means, hold off on this.
The author of this book has a name with both a Q and an X. There are characters with some of the hard to find letters as well. If you want to hold onto this title for a few days, I have no problem with that.
The book is set in China, by an author born in China. There may be harder goals for this book to fill. Or we may want to just use it and move forward. I have complete confidence in my team!