Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Cathy M. wrote: "Thanks Zuzana! So, if I post a request for recommendations for a next read, that will work"

No problem. If you use the "Friends' recommendations" feature to do it, then yes, that's it.

Cathy M. wrote: "I was a Little Girl Lost, feeling incomplete
Until a Dance with the Devil brought Visions of Heat.
In One Fell Sweep, I fell Into the Deep.
Awakened, alive and feeling my heart beat."

This came out quite nicely. :)

Zuzana wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "I was a Little Girl Lost, feeling incomplete
Until a Dance with the Devil brought Visions of Heat.
In One Fell Sweep, I fell Into the Deep.
Awakened, alive and feeling my heart bea..."

That took me like 3 hours because i couldn't think of a last line! And I suck at writing so a limerick was the easiest thing i could think of.

Zuzana wrote: "Cathy M. wrote: "Thanks Zuzana! So, if I post a request for recommendations for a next read, that will work"

No problem. If you use the "Friends' recommendations" feature to do it, then yes, that'..."

Oh, I forgot about that! Thanks!!

My Well is complete!

I'd say come by for a drink, but I won't have any water until Sunday...

Good job, Rebecca and Cathy! Next month there will be a new monster weak to Water magik. Those Sunday pails of water will come in handy.

As Rebecca predicted, the changes to the Duplication Potion use are here. Every book can be duplicated only once. (This rule is effective immediately.) Also, Starting July 1, 2025, books read before the end of 2024 cannot be duplicated.

Other minor tweaks:
- The Knowledge is power quest is now repeatable.
- The Academy - Part II quest has a new Task 13 to replace the original, which is no longer doable due to the removal of Quizzes from Goodreads.
New Task 13: "Ask your friends and the Goodreads community what you should read next. Use a Goodreads feature to do that."

For more details, check out the announcement here.

To explain the changes to the Duplication Potion in more detail:

The rule that "Every book can be duplicated only once" takes effect today. This is not retroactive, meaning any books duplicated more than once in the past are fine. However, moving forward, if a book has already been duplicated in the past, it cannot be duplicated again.

To help keep track, I’ll be adding a duplication log to my adventure thread to note which books I’m duplicating from now on. That said, I don’t expect veteran players to dig through years of adventure log entries to check past duplications. I only ask that if you know—or strongly suspect—a book has already been duplicated, you avoid duplicating it again.

This rule also applies to purchases in the Open Market. If you buy a book that was duplicated as part of the transaction (e.g., the seller required a Duplication Potion), the buyer may not duplicate that book again in the future.

I hope everything is clear. Do you have any questions that were left unanswered?

I don't expect any more substantial changes to the rules. Any future changes will likely fall under the category of "minor tweaks," similar to those announced today.

That said, there’s one mechanic that may require adjustment: the use of the SLINGSHOT. Currently, it doesn’t make much sense to shoot 500 nuts in a single turn. I plan to revisit this and propose limiting the maximum number of nuts shot per turn to 1, 2, or 3.

I’d love to hear your feedback on this! Let me know your thoughts.

Oops, Rebecca, I mystified you in the Caravan Hill thread. You need to complete Slingshot: The Art of Manliness to get a new slingshot.

Pipsqueak is to get a magik shard.

Sorry about that.

Fellow adventurers,
I am pleased to announce the completion of my well. Come by tomorrow for a drink (of water).

I really like the unlimited nuts, but if you need to limit it, the higher the better.

Cathy wrote: "I really like the unlimited nuts, but if you need to limit it, the higher the better."

Yeah, but it's way too convenient and doesn't make any sense. And got it, the more the better. ;-)

BTW Congrats on your new well, Cathy!

Here’s a slightly updated description of the Magic Pumpkin. While the core functionality remains unchanged, this version clarifies the original wording. I’ve also removed Potion Tokens from the list of eligible items—potions alone should be enough. I realize items like Pelts and Bones might seem questionable as "consumables," but it’s important to keep the rules clear and consistent.

As always, your feedback is welcome!

The Magic Pumpkin holds the magical power to duplicate any one consumable item every two weeks. This includes potions, nuts, cooking ingredients, spell ingredients, and drop items from Common and Timed Monsters (e.g., Goblin Bones or Kindlecorn Meat). However, it cannot duplicate one-of-a-kind quest items, items dropped by Uncommon or Rare Monsters, or cooked meals (e.g., Dropbear steaks) . To ensure successful duplication, you must hold onto the item being duplicated for the entire two-week period—failure to do so will disrupt the process.

You can get your own Magic Pumpkin by completing the Halloween Event.

List of items that can be duplicated by the Magic Pumpkin
◈ Potions unless their description states otherwise.
◈ Nuts and Lemons
◈ Cooking ingredients: Salt, Herbs, Fish*
◈ Spell Ingredients: see here
◈ Items Dropped by Common Monsters: Goblin Bone, Rat Tail, Bat Wing
◈ Items Dropped by Timed Monsters: Drop Bear Meat, Merely Kat Pelt, Nook Squirrel Carcass, Kindlecorn Meat, Kindlecorn Pelt, Kelpie Skin, Tree Branch


* Note: fish - there will be a recipe for a fish stew in the future - might as well put the fish on the list now.

Love all of these tweaks and modifications!!

I always thought it was once only for the Duplications...

Is there an updated Slingshot - or is that the OG quest to get the initial one?

Can you please clarify "Potions unless their description states otherwise"? Like which potions would not be eligible? Because if you already have one potion in your supplies, regardless, why wouldn't you be able to duplicate it?

Cathy M. wrote: "Can you please clarify "Potions unless their description states otherwise"? Like which potions would not be eligible? Because if you already have one potion in your supplies, regardless, why wouldn't you be able to duplicate it?"

Currently all potions can be duplicated. But the Ressurection Potion that is planned to appear at Jack's store later this year as a highly luxurious item will be exempt from duplication. You can check out the draft in the Melting Pot thread. Some items are way too powerful to have 1 "for free" every two weeks.

Cathy M. wrote: "I always thought it was once only for the Duplications...

Me, too. But it wasn't stated in the Duplication Potion description and because of that some people did multiple duplications. And that was okay, it was within the written rules.

Cathy M. wrote: "Is there an updated Slingshot - or is that the OG quest to get the initial one?"
It's the OG quest (Sligshot: The Art of Manliness) and the OG slingshot. Only it's use will be limited to up to 3 nuts shot per round. I didn't like "the let's shoot 250 nuts at once and kill the monster without a proper battle" tactics.

Ok, got it. Thanks for the explanations! Really appreciate all your help :)

I'm trying to familiarize myself with the battles again. The one-shot ones are easy... just the baddies need a little more thought. I may have some questions but will let you know!

You're welcome. Just keep the questions coming, Cathy.

As for battles, I plan to open The Training Yard (thread) next month. I will work on it next week and it should be ready for the February update. That I hope will help with all kinds of battle questions.

"To ensure successful duplication, you must hold onto the item being duplicated for the entire two-week period—failure to do so will disrupt the process. "

Does this mean you can't do anything else since you're busy holding your duplicating item?

Cathy, that wouldn't make any sense. You wouldn't be able to play the game for two weeks. :) It means only you need to have possession of the item for those two weeks. i.e. it has to be in your inventory for the whole time. You can't use it up. It can be an issue with items you have only small amount of in your inventory.

Example: You have only 2 Minor poison potions in your inventory, you intend for the Pumpkin to duplicate one of them. In the following week you use both the potions and only then you buy another one at Jack's. You can't claim a duplicated Minor poison potion the next week. The process was disrupted. If you used only 1 of them in the battle or restocked BEFORE using 2 in the battle, everything would have been fine and the Pumpkin would have done its magic.

TLDR: You need a continued undisrupted possession of the item that's being duplicated.

Again this is how it should have worked all the time, but somehow because it was not written down, some people understood that and some didn't.

I added Kelpie Skin and a Tree Branch to the list of items eligible for duplication by the Magic Pumpkin.

So it's super clear that Timed Magical Monsters count as Timed. Their drops are coincidentaly also spell ingredients, so they are on the list twice.

What I'm currently working on:

- Clarifying the rules for using the Orb of Air and the Find Item potion. These were pain in the butt from the very beginning. I remember the heated discussions as far back as 2015 - never satisfyingly resolved.

- Clarifying the rules for using Halloween Potions (there will be zero changes in the usage - only better wording, e.g. for the Greater Poison Potion) & I am haunting the mods to change the title of the thread and lose the "2017" - it's confusing newer players. You can complete the event whenever you like, even in 2025. The restriction is that you can do it only once.

- The Training Yard - place to either display your past victories for small rewards or plan your future battles asking for feedback and combat tips.

- there will be new Hero levels added - so you know how many XP you need to reach levels 17 to 20.
The gaps between LVLs 1 through 16 are progressively widening, but I believe that the gap between LVLs 15 and 16 (4,005 XP) is so large, that we can keep it the same for higher levels as well.

These are my contributions to the FAQ thread to complete the Knowledge is power quest:

1. When do Timed monsters appear?
• Monthly Timed Monsters: Appear on the first day of each month.
• Weekly Timed Monsters: Appear every Sunday.
• Bi-weekly Timed Monsters: Appear every other Sunday.

(Bi-Weekly Timed monsters appeared fairly recently - so this I believe deserves to be clearly stated)

2. What are Halloween Monsters, and where can I find them?
Halloween Monsters are unique event monsters that appeared one year during Halloween. There is only one of each, and they’ve been lingering in the Kingdom ever since, waiting for brave adventurers to challenge them. You can locate them here.

3. What are hidden monsters and how can I find them?
Hidden monsters can be found after you’ve obtained a puppy (from The First Puppy of Novel Kingdom quest) and trained it in tracking (via Jill’s Dog Training).
• To attack monsters labeled as "Minor Hidden," you’ll need a puppy with the Beginner Tracking Certificate (e.g., Woolymarks).
• To attack monsters labeled as "Hidden", you’ll need a puppy with the Intermediate Tracking Certificate (e.g., Merely Kats).

(There is a shorter explanation there, but I would exchange it for this more detailed one.)

After submitting your proposed FAQ posts here, please wait for approval from the mods or the Keeper of the Books account before publishing them in the Ye Olde FAQ thread. Alternatively, you can ask the mods to approve the posts they like and have them post those directly. This approach saves you time and ensures that the final post aligns with all the game's rules and guidelines.

Important Note: You will earn 1 XP and 1 Gold for each of up to 3 FAQ drafts you submit. The reward applies regardless of whether your drafts are ultimately approved or posted in the FAQ thread. It's your effort to enhance the game for everyone that deserves recognition!

This quest can be repeated every 3 months. It means I can repeat it no sooner than 4/12/25.

Okay, so it seems I need to approve my own post above to be posted in the FAQ thread. So that's me approving all three drafts for publication...Not feeling schizofrenic at all... not one bit! LOL!

Note: I added an alternative way to complete the quest to make things easier for players. I'm usually on my PC only during weekends, and during the week, I’m mostly replying from my phone. [Let me tell you, the mobile Goodreads app is atrocious—you can’t quote anyone, check other threads, or even edit your posts. Rant over!] To keep things fair, it wouldn’t make sense for players to sometimes wait an entire week for approval of their drafts. So, here’s the solution: post your drafts here in the Tavern and ask the Keeper of the Books to publish whichever they like to the FAQ thread.

To make this process practical, simply posting your draft in the Tavern is enough to earn your reward. No waiting, no need for re-drafting.

Yeah, not schizofrenic at all.

I made my post in the FAQ thread here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I added a couple of other monster questions - all mostly aimed at new-ish players.

Schizofrenic ~ LOL Zuzana!

Zuzana wrote: "Cathy, that wouldn't make any sense. You wouldn't be able to play the game for two weeks. :) It means only you need to have possession of the item for those two weeks. i.e. it has to be in your inv..."

Just double checking:)

I'm working on reading plan for the next couple weeks and need some help finding books for the following tasks -

People make peace
Someone hides food

Any help would be appreciated!

I have built my well 👍🏻

Okay, I’ve hit a snag with the Stick to your New Year's Reading Resolutions quest.

7. Organize Your Bookshelves & Manage your ‘to be read’ pile.
Either read a book that you added to your TBR in the year you joined Goodreads or read a physical book that has been sitting on your bookshelf longer than that.

I joined in March 2007. I have since read the 30+ books I added to my TBR that year, and I have moved 7 times. No unread hard copies have survived 17ish years. So… impossible task for me. 😔 I don’t even care about the time walking potion but I was gonna go for the bonus 5xp this year… I’ve skipped #7 the last 2 years..

Ray, I think that the most logical thing would be to read a book from the year of your oldest unread addition to your TBR. I will add it to the rules next weekend.

BTW Congrats on your new well.

Cathy, what genres do you prefer?

I've just finished Star Wars: Truce at Bakura and the Imperials and the Rebel Alliance agreed to a truce. I think it counts as "making peace".

My genres of choice are romance or fantasy.

I feel like a lot of romances would work for "make peace" because there is usually a 3rd act break up and then a happy ending.

If I can recommend then I'm going with anything Jasmine Guillory! Sorry I can't think of anything specific, my brain is fried from the flu.

Hope you feel better soon Rebecca!

That's true, I guess I'll find an angsty romance and hope it works.

The hiding food one though is a tough one!

I actually was able to find something pretty quick. Got as a freebie from Amazon. Enemies with Benefits seems like it would work - childhood nemeses "making peace" to work together, and other things.

Zuzana wrote: "Ray, I think that the most logical thing would be to read a book from the year of your oldest unread addition to your TBR. I will add it to the rules next weekend.

BTW Congrats on your new well."

Sweeeeet

Cathy M. wrote: "The hiding food one though is a tough one!"

3 books came to mind, but 1 was a bust. The 2nd might work… Foxfire — a guy has a bottle of liquor hidden in a paper bag. Do drink count as food?

3rd’s indisputable tho. Even cowgirls get the blues — she sneaks a bunch of food into her pockets before leaving home, apple, olives, bread, cheese.

If you like romance, If Only You works -- Ziggy hides cookies from her brothers

Thanks for the recommendations! I'm able to get If Only You, which is more in my wheelhouse.

Thanks again everyone for your input!

I was thinking about the Resurrection Potion that might be released and reading over the monsters I’ve already killed (all of them lol) to see who I might want to resurrect and I found some questions.


Monster details updates needed:

Great Red, Green, & Blue Dragons, & Hydra - Greed = halved atk, round up or down?

Hydra - Sloth - average atk round up or down?

Hydra - Envy = is spell damage affected at all?

The Thesaurus = does the “reduce its attack by half” round up or down? If using multiple books :
30/2=15, 15/2=8, 8/2=4, 4/2=2, 2/2=1 (rounded up)
Or
30/2=15, 15/2=7, 7/2=3, 3/2=1 (rounded down)

Correction Fluid = GWEB, if Hero has both, does it erase both?

Sorcerer = halves atk power for everything? Both weapons, all spells, Spock’s phaser, etc? Round up or down?


If the Resurrection Potion is released:
Rock - how to calculate its atk & hp when resurrected?

Pain giant = how to calculate its atk when resurrected?

The Hydra = “However each time a head is slain, the attack power of the remaining heads increases by 1.” How to calculate if resurrected?

Zombies = is it assumed we still have required items? Shotgun, machine gun, etc.

All Halloween monsters from 08Oct on = do we get Miffy’s help? At same level she was when we last saw her or…?

Re-Animated Corpse = if we want the potions of Re-Death, Life, and Meekness, do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters? Or just use a book?

Miffy's Ex-Boyfriend = if we want the stake, do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters? (Also, there’s a typo: “heals the monster or the same amount.” Should be “for” the same amount.)

Necromancer = if we want the Essence of Fire, Essence of Ice, Essence of Earth and Essence of Wind, do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters?

Leprechaun = we NEED Essence of Dandelion, Essence of Hyacinth, Essence of Goldenseal and Essence of Echinacea to make it mortal, so do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters?

Magus = if we want the stones, do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters?

Ghost of A Baby Book = if we want the Essences, do we have to resurrect and kill the prior 4 monsters? Or just spend the books?

The Source of All Evil = we NEED the orbs, so do we have to resurrect and kill ALL the prior Halloween monsters? Just every 5th monster? Just spend the 4 books?

Emerald & Sapphire dragons & Eisdrake = eligible for resurrection? (I expect no, so may have more questions if it’s yes)

😬

Double posted somehow, whoops!

Ray, I'll start with the easy part. Halloween monsters are special event monsters. They won't be eligible for ressurection.

Most of your other questions were asked when the monsters were new-ish (mostly when Reva or I were battling them for the first time. I was never comfortable exploiting loopholes without asking first Kelly and Tea whether it was okay. So I'm quite sure that all my battles should be within rules. The problem might be all the new features introduced since then.) I will have to go through posts in the Local Tavern to find the answers. It will take me some time.

Also, by the time the Ressurrection potion is rolled out, the Training Yard will be open. So any remaining battle mechanics questions can be solved there.

Does anyone else like to hoard items and get too nervous to use them? That's how I'm feeling about the HP Bounce Potions hahaha

Guilty as charged.

Rebecca wrote: "Does anyone else like to hoard items and get too nervous to use them? That's how I'm feeling about the HP Bounce Potions hahaha"

Definitely! And the Stoneskin Potion. They are super handy to have for those big battles!

Ok, I am so annoyed. I spent the last 2 weeks listening to Empire of Silence because he destroys a sun that kills his enemies, the Cielcins (among others). Come to find out - it doesn't even happen in this book! It's apparently a 7 book series, with each book 700+ pages, and I think it happens in one of the later books. UGH!!! 2 weeks wasted!

Has anyone read a book - that's actually decent - for the moon/sun is destroyed task?

And easy to find/obtain from library? I can't seem to find some of the ones previously recommended.

That sucks, Cathy.

I read a non-fiction for this task: Death from the Skies!: These Are the Ways the World Will End.... Not sure it's what you're looking for.

A quick Google search brought this Reddit page: https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comm...
or
https://www.reddit.com/r/whatsthatboo...

I have a similar problem searching for a book with "heal" in the title. I need it to activate the white gem in my shield.

So fellow adventurers, please, can you share which books with the word "heal" you read for your white gem quest?

I need some inspiration.