Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Gulliver's Travels





Team Members
• Louise (Captain)
• Rina (Co-captain)
• Brigia
• Celia
• Chris
• Christina
• Claire
• Joanne
• Keely
• Rachel L
• SandyL
• Shelby
• Sunny
• Jeremy Wood

Team Spreadsheet
Challenge Status Sheet

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Welcome fellow travellers to the 5th edition of Wheelathon.
I am Louise and I will be your Captain for this journey.

Please link your shelF when you drop by. Introduce yourself to the team, there are some new faces amongst us.

Please read the rules carefully whether your a seasoned traveller or just starting out it does’nt hurt to familiarise yourself with the rules. If you do have any questions feel free to ask and we will do our best to answer.

Has anyone read the book?

Book Completions
I have linked a planning spreadsheet above, Completions can be input straight into there or you can post in here.
Completions need to include the following:
the link to the book edition you read
- the page count of the book edition you read (or the default if you read an audio version / large print)
- the date you finished it
- the spell out letters and reasons (i.e. Simon char / Robert author / Expanse series etc)
- if it has one of the tags for the round
- the task you are using it for, with reason

All About Wheelathon 5

Countdown To Start

Team Shelves
• Louise
• Rina
• Brigia
• Celia
• Chris
• Christina
• Claire
• Jeremy
• Joanne
• Keely
• Rachel L
• SandyL
• Shelby
• Sunny

Planning Sheet

June BOMs
Adult BOM:

The Jetsetters by Amanda Eyre Ward
Discussion Starts 14th June
Pages: 352
Discussion Thread
Tasks: Yellow Cover; Deckchair on Cover; 4 people on cover; Set in a boat; MPG Contemporary; 2-Word Title; Multiple POV?

YA BOM:

Five Feet Apart by Rachael Lippincott
Discussion Starts 21st June
Discussion
Tasks: Blue Cover (some editions); Romance/Contemporary Young Adult MPG; 2 people on cover; 3-Word title; GR Award;

July BOMs
Adult Fiction:

The Sun Down Motel by Simone St. James
Discussion starts 2nd July
Discussion
Tasks: Set In A Hotel

YA BOM

Dear Martin by Nic Stone
Discussion starts 16th July
Discussion
Tasks: epistolary novel; some eds have a red cover

BOM Points
Participating in Book of the Month (BOM) discussions during the time frame of the challenge will score points as follows:
◈ 40 points for writing a discussion question set
◈ 20 points for participating in the discussion

Recommended Books
Keeley -
Brigia -
Joanne -
Louise -
Christina -
Claire -
Rina -

Chris -
Rachel -
SandyL -
Shelby -
Jeremy -

Other Team Recommendations

Round 3
Duration 11 Jul - 17 Jul
Wheelathon Word: DRIVE TO ULURU
Genre Tags:
• GAMES
• BACTERIA
• TURKEY
• POISON
• UMBRELLA

(view spoiler)[Round 2
Duration: 27th June - 10 Jul
Wheelathon Word: TOURISM
Genre Tags:
• Tiger
• Safari
• Desert
• Africa
• Indegenous

Countdown to Check-In

(view spoiler)[Round 1
Duration: 13 - 26th June
Wheelathon Word: ZOOM CALLS
Genre Tags:
• Delusion
• Liquor
• Hallucinogenic
• Trippy
• Crazy

End of Round 1/Start Of Round 2 (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Hi Everyone, looking forward to this challenge. We have just over a week to get ready for the start so a little time to get to know each other. This is my 3rd Wheel and I’ve also played UNO, Tower Teams and Wobble as well as other smaller Team Challenges. I am a little bit addicted to Team challenges which I find is great for expanding my reading, although some of the books I have read have been rather dubious 😂

Although originally from North Wales, I live in South Wales with my OH and 4yr old SpanielxDaschund. Since lockdown I have been “reading” more audiobooks as I can listen while working from home. We had planned a road-trip to visit long lost relations in May but unfortunately this had had to be put on hold until next year 🤞.

My favourite genres are Mystery, Thriller, Romance and YA but will read most genres. I don’t think I’ve read Jonathon Swift’s Gulliver but I have watched the Ted Danson and Jack Black adaptation. I do prefer Ted Danson’s version.

Hey guys ! It's nice to meet you all!
I'm really excited to start another round of the Wheel-a-thon. I've participated in it quite a few times now and it's one of my favourite reading challenges.

I live in Brussels, Belgium. I currenly work as a bookseller at our Waterstones (although, not for long as my contract with them ends at the end of the month... Saaaad). I basically spend all my free time reading. My favourite genres are Urban fantasy, fantasy, YA, some science fiction and MM romance. I like to read a bit of everything, really.

I haven't read Gulliver's travels yet, but I more or less know what goes on this bool. maybe I'll take this opportunity to take it off my tbr shelf.

Here is my shelf: Challenge-WheelV

I've already decided what my first two reads are going to be.
First I'm going to read Tormentor Mine by Anna Zaires for a Z. Then The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alex E Harrow. I just bought the book and I cannot wait for the challenge to start so I can get to it. Both of them were tagged as "crazy".

Hi everybody! I'm really looking forward to this challenge with you all. It is my first wheel-a-thon and my first team challenge in this group, though I have taken - and loved - many in other groups.

I live in Germany. I'm a psychologist, but at the moment I'm a stay-at-home mom - my son is now 8 months old. My favorite genre of the moment is romantic suspense, but I'll read anything.

I have never read Gulliver's Travels, nor watched the movies. I might have to change that.

My shelf for this challenge: Wheel V

✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "I've already decided what my first two reads are going to be.
First I'm going to read Tormentor Mine by Anna Zaires for a Z. Then The Ten Thousand Doors of January b..."

I read The Ten Thousand Doors of January earlier this year and loved it!

I also found some books on the trippy and crazy lists that are on my tbr. Before I start planning: Are we waiting for some kind of task list? And we can do one letter multiple times, right?

Hey guys! This is my first wheel-a-thon but I've taken part in UNO for a fews years.

I'm from the UK and I am currently off work because of Coronavirus. I had only been at my current job for a month before lockdown and was still in training. I'm not sure if I've read more since being at home as I was able to listen to audiobooks at work anyway so I've probably just read different books than what I would have if I had been at work.

I have not read Gulliver's Travels either, but I believe it was one of the earliest books I added to my to-read list, so I have been meaning to read it one day.

My shelf is wheel-a-thon-5

I had planned to read The Opal Deception as it is next in the series I am reading as it would fit an O, but it doesn't seem to fit any of the tags, so unless we need it for an O, I can postpone that till later.

I also had One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest planned for this year so it would help me get that off my to-read list and it's tagged as 'crazy' and would cover an O.

I'm a fairly slow reader when it comes to physical books (unless they are really good) but when it comes to audiobooks, I can listen to them for longer periods of time so I could get one done every 3-4 days depending on length. I will look later to see what audiobooks I can get that would fit this challenge.

Brigia wrote: "✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "I've already decided what my first two reads are going to be.
First I'm going to read Tormentor Mine by Anna Zaires for a Z. Then [book:The Ten Thousand Doors of ..."

If I remember right, tasks will come a bit later, when we'll have settled into the game.
Letters can indeed be repeated, as long as we can finish the words.

Thank you Claire! I'll start planning :-)

There are five books tagged "crazy" that I wanted to read soon:

which would work for C with the series name
- M in author name
- O in title
- C or S in author name, S in the title
- C in author name

I have all of them, so I'll see which one we need.

Brigia wrote: "There are five books tagged "crazy" that I wanted to read soon:

which would work for C with the series name
- M in author name
[boo..."

I read the Rachel Caine one and really liked it. I haven't continued with the series after that, though I really want to at some point :)

Welcome Claire, Brigia and Keely. Shelves are linked above. Feel free to add books to the planning spreadsheet. Everyone has the same task list (200 each) this is on the 2nd Tab on the s/sheet.

Bonus points are available for our first complete word. Every other complete word per round is only on page points.
Genre specific tag (Max 10 books)
Task list - each player can complete the task list but can not duplicate a task. (I.e if you use your book for Set in Canada this task will not be available for further books; other team members can complete this on their list). (Hint: if your book works for an obscure task use that one first)

Brigia wrote: "There are five books tagged "crazy" that I wanted to read soon:

which would work for C with the series name
- M in author name
[boo..."

Tempted by the Nora Roberts, but I may have to take up the Rachel Caine. I really enjoyed the first in the series

Hi everyone. I'm Sandy and I feel like the odd woman out - I live in California in the US, so my time zone is pretty far away from all of yours. I live with my two Golden Retrievers and two cats. I'm working right now - I do taxes and our tax season in the US was extended from April until July 15th. After that I'm off for the rest of the year. I think this is my third Wheel - its a lot of fun! My preferred genre is romance, but since I do a lot of challenges I end up reading all different genres (especially for SRC.)

I've got some Mariana Zapata books on my TBR that I want to read that will also help for Z.

My shelf: wheel-v

Hi Sandy, you’re all linked up 😄

Hey everyone! My name is Christina and I live in Austria. From what I've seen we have quite a few Europeans in our team which is a first for me lol, it's usually just me and maybe one other person from Europe. It doesn't matter either way though as I'm awake until late into the night anyway haha. And we're generally a big team it seems!
My family owns a restaurant where I'm usually waiting tables although currently not as much due to covid19, but at least we were able to open again :)

I've taken part in several team challenges before, and co-captained for uno in the last couple of years, but I wouldn't be able to do that right now. I know you'll be amazing captains, Louise and Rina :) I also did wheelathon last year but this year there seems to be more to it so I will definitely read through the rules again.

I have to admit I haven't read much in the last 2-ish months since I was in a reading slump and couldn't concentrate on reading, but I commited to 5 books a month and can definitely finish 1-2 a week, especially once I'm getting back into audiobooks. I already signed up for DQs for the two June BOMs (fingers crossed I get picked!) as BOMs are generally where I like to get my team some extra points.

My favourite genres are contemporary, mystery and thriller, but I will read something of almost every genre. Most books I read are YA (which is not a genre but a category btw ;)) and (new) adult, and I generally would like to read more diverse books.

shelf: wheelathon-v

and now I'll shut up haha!

Hi Christina, welcome to the team. Hopefully the randomiser will look favourably on us, I know Rina has Requested to be back up, I’ve managed to get hold of the audiobook for the BOM, can’t wait.

Hi Team!

I'm Joanne, from Manitoba, Canada, so I'm also going to be on a different time zone than most of you. I have participated in tons of NBRC team challenges over quite a few years, ranging from multiple wheelathons and tower teams, to wobble and cutthroat.

I'm looking forward to getting back into reading more with this challenge, as I've been struggling a bit this year. Between stress and lack of free time, rereads seem to be the only type of books that get me going lately. I work in healthcare (lab scientist doing patient testing for blood transfusions, and mother/baby testing) so although I don't have direct patient contact, I've been working as usual.

Excited to get started with this and here is my shelf: wat

Louise wrote: "Welcome Claire, Brigia and Keely. Shelves are linked above. Feel free to add books to the planning spreadsheet. Everyone has the same task list (200 each) this is on the 2nd Tab on the s/sheet.

B..."

Ah cool! I didn't realise Tasks were already available. I'll have a look to see if any of the books I choose fit any of the "obscure" ones

Hi Joanne I'm sure we've been on some team challenges together. I forgot about cutthroat, that was fun.

✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Ah cool! I didn't realise Tasks were already available. I'll have a look to see if any of the books I choose fit any of the "obscure" ones

."

That's great. I've added your books to the first tab on the planning sheet. The spellout tab is for Rina and Myself to complete and move as necessary. Can you add your alternate letters :)

so if I got this right we can read as many tasks as we want each round which means in order to get as many points as possible we should also fulfill as many tasks as possible, right?

Louise wrote: "✿ Claire ✿ wrote: "Ah cool! I didn't realise Tasks were already available. I'll have a look to see if any of the books I choose fit any of the "obscure" ones

."

That's great. I've added your book..."

Oh sorry.
Sure! I’ll add the alternate letters now

Christina wrote: "so if I got this right we can read as many tasks as we want each round which means in order to get as many points as possible we should also fulfill as many tasks as possible, right?"

That’s right, as the challenge progresses we will black out the tasks that have been used.

What do they mean with the MPG genre in this challenge again? Is it just the 5-ish top shelves that you see on the book's page or does it mean that it has to be on the first page of the top shelves?

MPG is main page genre. So this is the book’s main page. If you’re Tag is showing as the last one on the main page I would screenshot it and post it here. I have had tags drop off the main page before know.

Louise wrote: "MPG is main page genre. So this is the book’s main page. If you’re Tag is showing as the last one on the main page I would screenshot it and post it here. I have had tags drop off the main page bef..."

alright, thanks !

I added a new tab to our planning sheet with the task list put in categories to have a better overview. hope that's okay. I would have made a list for myself anyway so I thought why not share it with y'all :) it's here if you just wanna click a link haha.

Christina wrote: "I added a new tab to our planning sheet with the task list put in categories to have a better overview. hope that's okay. I would have made a list for myself anyway so I thought why not share it wi..."

That’s fine I was going to have a play about with the list today to arrange into categories for ease.

Hi everyone, another European here :-)

I am Rina, from Switzerland (the country with the best cheeses and chocolate, lol). I have played Wheelathon and some other team challenges before, and I am very excited for this one to start.

I read pretty much all the genres, though nonfiction is probably my least favorite one. I will still participate in BOM and I hope we'll get chosen for DQ as well.

I hope we all have fun during this challenge and read some great books!

My shelf

oh, and yes, I've read Gulliver's Travels at school, though I think as a child I probably didn't get all the meaning/satire, I think it was more like an adventure book to me then. I've been meaning to reread it sometime, but never did.

Hello~ I am a librarian in Ohio (Midwest US). This is my first time playing Wheelathon, but I've been in other challenges (with this group and with others). I love challenges for their ability to both encourage me to finish books in my TBR and also to get me reading things I wouldn't have otherwise.

My favorite genres are romance and fantasy/science fiction, but I read a little bit of everything, especially best sellers (occupational hazard, haha).

My shelf is take-the-wheel.

I haven't read Gulliver's Travels, but I plan to one day as it is my father's favorite book! (Do we get extra points if we read our team name, haha?)

I'm also signed up for the BOM, and put in for DQ!

I've read both The Ten Thousand Doors of January (a really cute portal fantasy) and Something in the Water and found them both enjoyable!

Question: am I able to add books to tags I know would fit before we start? Or is that considered cheating?

Christina wrote: "I added a new tab to our planning sheet with the task list put in categories to have a better overview. hope that's okay. I would have made a list for myself anyway so I thought why not share it wi..."

This sorting is amazing and will make things so much easier. Thank you!

Louise wrote: "Christina wrote: "I added a new tab to our planning sheet with the task list put in categories to have a better overview. hope that's okay. I would have made a list for myself anyway so I thought w..."

I’ve organised this, put some Color and definition in and tracked it back to the main task list.

Chris wrote: "Question: am I able to add books to tags I know would fit before we start? Or is that considered cheating?"

Ooh controversial. The general rule of thumb is it needs to be tagged by at least one person, but you cannot claim the tag if you’re the only one who has tagged it. Hope that makes sense :)

Task List: Read a book recommended by someone in your team
This is available 3 times. Can you all submit 3 books that you would recommend to the team, bearing in mind the 160pg minimum.

Oooh, I have a hard time picking favourites so I'll just choose three that I remember really liking.

The Letter by Kathryn Hughes was one I really enjoyed a few years ago. The version I had was over 400 pages and from memory would cover the two timelines task as well as several others. I'm planning to read The Key by this author this year and maybe for this challenge at some point.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak was another one I enjoyed and was over 550 pages. It should also cover several tasks.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I really enjoyed the first book in the triology. I struggled to put it down, however I struggled a little with the rest of the triology. It was around 360 pages. I may even re-read it during this challenge as I know it is something I will read quickly and I've been meaning to re-read it anyway.

I'll go with these three:

A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles is a sweet, funny and sometimes heartbreaking historical novel that really stuck with me.

The Chestnut Man by Søren Sveistrup is a Scandinavian thriller that I really enjoyed

And The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson is an all-time favorite, which I recommend to fans of high fantasy and in case someone wants to try a book with over 1,000 pages :-)