The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Quick Update

As we rocket towards the end of our Feb reads here (because you guys are so awesome that you just made a mockery off that challenge, haha), please make sure you take a beat and check that all your reads are added to your UNO shelf, and that the information we have captured on our spreadsheets is accurate.

The "Feb Read" tab on our tracking spreadsheet will have well-laid out details about all our reads, and of course the main challenge sheet will have our actual hands filled out.

We are finishing well before time, so if there are any changes you think that need to be done, please feel free to drop in a comment here.

Also, did I say you guys are awesome?
Because, what a performance!

Hi Apoorv, As you asked, I just crosschecked the spreadsheets with my Uno shelf for the read dates. Tina pointed out earlier this week that sometimes I entered the Aus date on the tracking sheet or the completion post and they didn't match up. Tina helped me get that sorted but I just found my first read The Ex doesn't match on the Feb read sheet. It should be Feb 2. Sorry about that. I promise I'll concentrate for March and April!

Elisabeth wrote: "Hi Apoorv, As you asked, I just crosschecked the spreadsheets with my Uno shelf for the read dates. Tina pointed out earlier this week that sometimes I entered the Aus date on the tracking sheet or..."

It's all good! Fixed it to the 2nd.
Thank you for taking the time and looking through it all, Elisabeth! :)

Tina ❣ wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "This month was terribly busy for me, but I'm SO READY to rock March. good job everyone!!"

Hope you're okay Kathryn!"

I'm doing okay, Tina! February just always seems to get ridiculously busy for me, but just extra busy this year. My dad had to get knee surgery and I've been trying to be there for him. And a million other things seem to have stacked up on top of it all. LOL. Nothing I can't handle, though! Things are starting to calm down. My birthday is on the 27th, so that's the only really MAJOR thing I still have coming up. March should be MUCH quieter around here...I hope! LOL.

Would you say that this cover is mostly yellow?

Kathryn wrote: "Tina ❣ wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "This month was terribly busy for me, but I'm SO READY to rock March. good job everyone!!"

Hope you're okay Kathryn!"

I'm doing okay, Tina! February just always seem..."

Kathryn, you must be getting to the age where ageing parents start to consume more of your time. We've just moved my mother-in-law into aged care which is a traumatic experience for everyone concerned.

My sister-in-law has to have her knee done in a few months and my brother has a hip replacement on the cards! Both seem to be common operations these days and usually very successful so your dad should be back to his normal activities relatively soon.

Elisabeth wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Tina ❣ wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "This month was terribly busy for me, but I'm SO READY to rock March. good job everyone!!"

Hope you're okay Kathryn!"

I'm doing okay, Tina! February ..."

Yeah, he's sadly getting up there. I'm 30 this month. Dad is 56 this year. He's worked hard labor his entire life, and he's a bit of a workaholic, so his knees were bound to end up like this eventually. He also needs back surgery, but refuses to get it until he has absolutely no choice. He's the moneymaker between him and my mom, so he wants to be able to provide for as long as possible (even though my mom is amazing and would totally rock taking care of them if she had to). He's stubborn, though. Doesn't know how to sit still and not work. Drives us all a bit crazy.

He's already had 1 knee surgery, so I imagine he'll bounce back from this one just as well. He's a tough guy.

56! A mere chicken. But you're right about the heavy work creating issues. My 98 yr old dad (a farmer) is in constant pain from his hip and knee and should have had his knee done 30 years ago. Your dad will be glad he had it done when he's my dad's age!

Elisabeth wrote: "56! A mere chicken. But you're right about the heavy work creating issues. My 98 yr old dad (a farmer) is in constant pain from his hip and knee and should have had his knee done 30 years ago. Your..."

He's definitely stir crazy during his recovery, but I'm definitely sure that he'll be glad later on that he got it done now. He wouldn't think of himself as a chicken, but I'd like to think of him as still pretty young. LOL. Not sure he'll make it to 98, as sadly most people on his side of the family are lucky to see 65. But, I'm hoping he'll be an exception!

Oh Captain, My Captain, and Co-captains You guys have done a SUPERB JOB this month! What a fantastic start to our team's challenge! I'm so glad that I was put on this team!

Apoorv, you have kept us so organized and I love your posts so much! You always brighten my day when I see your posts! :)

I have double checked that all of my books on the SS are on my UNO 2021 shelf AND that my completion posts, SS dates, and actual dates read all 3 match and they do! That might be a first for me. LOL

I am ready to MARCH ON!!!

Okay Vicki, now I'm really determined to get all my dates right! The trouble is half the time I don't even know what the date is here let alone in the US...and daylight saving is going to end sometime in April and the US will start and then my brain will explode. Hahaha

Apoorv definitely rocked in keeping us organized. This has been my favorite group challenge.

and I've really just enjoyed getting to know you all, too. great group!

Kathryn wrote: "Would you say that this cover is mostly yellow?

"

I would say that it isn't

Kathryn wrote: "Tina ❣ wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "This month was terribly busy for me, but I'm SO READY to rock March. good job everyone!!"

Hope you're okay Kathryn!"

I'm doing okay, Tina! February just always seem..."

February and December are my busiest months of the year so I understand! and only a few more days left of Feb so nearly over! :P

Oof. Hope he keeps recovering well. Knee surgery is tough but always a good thing after recovery. and it doesn't take too long to heal after it as well

Elisabeth wrote: "Okay Vicki, now I'm really determined to get all my dates right! The trouble is half the time I don't even know what the date is here let alone in the US...and daylight saving is going to end somet..."

Haha don't worry Elisabeth. I'll help you out with the dates. We'll get through it together

We have ONE book left.

A standalone!

Then we're done! Woohoo!

You guys are such an awesome team and are so diligent with your completion posts and updates on the spreadsheet, it really wasn't much of a hassle. So, thank YOU guys for being so on point! :D

Having said that, please feel free to let me know if there is anything you'd want us to change or add or make amends too if it would help everyone and make things easier. This challenge is super fun and very team-oriented, so your suggestions are absolutely and always welcome. :D

I can't wait to crack on with March. We have 16 hands this time - 1 EXTRA! Hehe! :P

Elisabeth wrote: "Okay Vicki, now I'm really determined to get all my dates right! The trouble is half the time I don't even know what the date is here let alone in the US...and daylight saving is going to end somet..."

I understand what the concern is here, but I believe except the beginning of the month, beginning of the mini challenge, and the end of the month - all other dates ideally do fall within the required time period, so a day here and there wouldn't really be a major question. But, I appreciate the preciseness and the want to get it all right! :)

It's not a real problem, more of a joke, Apoorv, don't worry. But it is now a challenge!

I'm slow reading two books for the next few days and if I get the pace and the switching right they'll both be finished on March 1st. The correct March 1st!

LOL! I am still amazed when I see that we are literally spread across 4 continents. I love this team! <3

Completion Post

Book: The Betrayals
Author: Bridget Collins
Pages: 425
Date: 25-Feb-2021

UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone
2: Character T - Throckmorton
3: Character H - Magister Holt
4: Character F - Felix Weber; Freddie Lantz; Fallon, Emile
6: Character S - Sarah Paget; Simon Charpentier
8: Character E - Emile Fallon
Skip: Character P - Paul; Paget, Sarah


...... AND WE'RE DONE!!!!!

We have such a great team, thank you to everyone! I know we have 2 months left but I'm already feeling sad about the challenge finishing haha!

HAHA! We started with Dear Justyce and ended with The Betrayals. What. A. Month!!

THANK YOU, everyone for being so on-point with all the minor requirements of the challenge. I feel like we are already a well-oiled machine. Credit goes to all of you for being so particular with your completion posts!

We quite possibly might end up second on the leaderboard, which is amazing because then it really just comes down to luck and what card we have in our hands, and we have done everything we could potential can. Love that!

THANK YOU FOR BEING A FABULOUS TEAM
*wipes a stray tear* :P

Elisabeth wrote: "Okay Vicki, now I'm really determined to get all my dates right! The trouble is half the time I don't even know what the date is here let alone in the US...and daylight saving is going to end somet..."

Elisabeth, I am right there with ya! At least I am in the PST zone, so that makes it a bit easier for me. Our daylight savings beings March 14 at 2:00 AM, so we'll be even more different from your time zone for a few weeks, I guess. I think we'll have a start and stop clock each time and that really helps! :)

Apoorv wrote: "Elisabeth wrote: "Okay Vicki, now I'm really determined to get all my dates right! The trouble is half the time I don't even know what the date is here let alone in the US...and daylight saving is ..."

Well, in that case, I'll get the first and last day as well as the start of the mini challenge accurate and then I'll guess! LOL JK But I won't have to be so obsessed either. It's just that I do tend to (sometimes) put the date added as the date finished when I post books a couple days after reading them, which sometimes works best for me due to my schedule which is 100% all over the place! What my schedule is for tomorrow might change tonight at 11 or 12 or in the morning at 7 or 8, normally if my son-in-law's work changes and they need me to watch the children. It's often unplanned.

Apoorv and co-captains, do we have a countdown clock for March somewhere that I missed?

Countdown is here Vicky - https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Excellent! Monday at 8pm for us in Aus and somewhere in between for India and Europe hahaha.

Would you say this is red?

Danah wrote: "Would you say this is red?
"

Yes, Dana

Elisabeth wrote: "Excellent! Monday at 8pm for us in Aus and somewhere in between for India and Europe hahaha."

Woohoo! Not that long to go! (:

Tina ❣ wrote: "Countdown is here Vicky - https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown..."

Thanks, Tina :)

I really enjoyed Ace of Shades. great set of characters!

Completion Post

Book: The Art of Racing in the Rain
Author: Garth Stein
Pages: 321
Date: 01-Mar-2021

UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone; Character - Zoe
2: Character T - Trish
4: Character F - Fein, Mark
6: Author S; Character S - Swift, Denny; Place - Seattle
8: Character E - Eve; Enzo
Reverse : Read by Aproov

Completion Post
A Caribbean Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Pages : 176
Date: March 1st
Cards
2 C: Tim
3 C: Hillingdon
6 Place : St Honore
7 C: Victoria
8 C: Esther
Skip C: Kendall

Updated to here

Well done to Elisabeth and Paris for the first completed books!

Completion Post

Book: Detransition, Baby
Author: Torrey Peters
Pages: 340
Date: 01-Mar-2021

UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone; Character - Zoe
1: Character O - Omar
2: Author T; Character T - Thalia; Tammi
3: Character H - Herzog, Werner
4: Character F - Felicity
5: Character I - Iris
6: Character S - Sebastian; Snelling, Ronald; Stanley
7: Character V - Virignia
8: Character E - Etteens, Dave
9: Place N - New York
Skip: Author P; Character K - Katrina; Character P - Patrick

Elisabeth wrote: "Completion Post
A Caribbean Mystery
Author: Agatha Christie
Pages : 176"

Hey Elisabeth, was this the version you read? Since that one says 223 pages. Was just curious if your version was actually a 176 pages and GoodReads has it incorrect.

EDIT: Unless you read this version,

Goodness there are lots of editions! This is the correct one. The cover is almost the same as the one I mistakenly picked.

Completion Post
No Second Chance
Author: Harlan Coben
Pages: 338
Date: March 1st

Cards
Cover: Blue 74.9%
0 C: Zia
2 C: Tickner
3 C: Hardman
6 C: Seidman
8 C: Edgar
9 Title
Skip C: Portman

What a great book!

Completion Post

Book: Ace of Shades
Author: Amanda Foody
Pages: 411
Date: 2 Mar 2021

UNO Cards it fits:
0: Character Z - Zula Slyk
1: First in series
2: Character T - Torren, Sedric
3: Character H - Harvey Gabbino
4: Character F - Foody, Amanda
6: Character S - Sanguick, Lola
7: Character V - Vianca Augustine
8: Character E - Enne Salta
9: Location N - New Reynes
Skip: Character K/P - Kitamura, Raymond
Reverse: Kathryn
Color: Red

Completion Post

Book: City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Pages: 485
Date: 3 Mar 2021

UNO Cards it fits:
1: First in series
3: Character H - Hodge Starkweather
4: Character F - Fray, Clary
5: Character I - Isabelle Lightwood
6: Character S - Simon Lewis
7: Character V - Valentine Morgenstern
9: Location N - New York City
Skip: Character K/P - Pangborn
Reverse: Vicki, Tina, Kathryn, Laura

Hey guys, I sort of went MIA there for the past week, so sorry! I'm so happy we finished February in such an awesome way.
It's clear already that reading-wise March is going to be a lot less successful for me than February was, I've barely even started reading my first book but hopefully I can make up for that by the end of the month.
I'm still psyched though and I'm already excited and curious about the mini challenge for this month!
Also wow to all of you who already finished a book in the past three days! :)

Hi Laura, don't be fooled by what looks like quick reading on my part. Hahaha. I started two books at the end of Feb when it was obvious they wouldn't be needed that month. I read slowly and had to pause Miss Marple at the last chapter so I didn't finish before March ticked over, which was a bit frustrating. I switched to the very exciting Harlan Coben thriller instead and couldn't put that down so finished it the next day.

Now I'm reading 1984 which is much slower but absolutely spine chilling and brilliant.

My goodness Orwell would be horrified to see the Big Brother techniques in full blown action today having lived through what Hitler did using the same methods.

It's interesting for me because when I read it at school back in 1969 it was more of a 'wow, how scary that would be but it'll never be like that' reaction but now it's actually happening and people don't even recognise it for what it is.

Completion Post


Book: The Wedding
Author: Ruth Heald
Pages: 346
Date: 01-March-2021

UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone; Character- Zoe
2: Character- Tracey
3: Author- Heald, Ruth
6: Character- Sam
Skip: Character- Keira

Completion Post


Book: Exciting Times
Author: Naoise Dolan
Pages: 243
Date: 03-March-2021

UNO Cards it fits:

0: Standalone; C: Zhang, Edith
1: C: Oisin
2: C: Tony Ng
3: P: Hong Kong
6: C: Scott
7: C: Victoria
8: Title E; C: Edith Zhang
9: Author N; C: Ng, Tony
Skip: C: Kenny Chan; Peggy

Cover - Green 83.8%

Completion Post
1984
Author: George Orwell
Pages: 311
Date: March 4th
Cards
0 ; Standalone
1 : Author Orwell
6: C: Parsons
Reverse: Read by Danah and pretty much the whole team

So glad I reread this book!

Updated to here

Completion Post
Flying the Nest
Author : Rachael Johns
Pages: 448
Date: March 5th
Cards
3 C: Hayley
4 : Title
6 C: Saxon
8 C: Emerson
Skip C: Payton

Someone in this book had called their child Prosecco. I thought Saxon was odd enough and his mother was called Ashling, then along came Prosecco (only a mention though) Hahaha

Completion Post

Book: Cinder
Author: Marissa Meyer
Pages: 400
Date: 6 Mar 21

UNO Cards it fits:
1: First in series
2: Character T - Torin, Konn
4: Character F - Fateen
5: Character I - Iko
6: Character S - Sybil
7: Character V - Vargas, President
8: Location E - Eastern Commonwealth
9: Location N - New Beijing
Skip: Character K/P - Kai
Reverse: Vicki, Apoorv, Kathryn, Tina

I'm on vacation until next Friday, so I might not get things posted as usual but I'm still here!