The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Vanessa wrote: "Why is our team so inactive 😟"

Haha! This week before the start of the challenge tends to be a major dead space because many folks are trying to either complete their current reads or getting other stuff out of the way - atleast I am! LOL!

Tina ❣ wrote: "What does everyone have planned for this weekend? It's summer in Australia here so I'm heading off to the beach as it's a long weekend here..."

Ummm... please don't make people who are shivering in the cold jealous! :P

I am going to vicariously live through you now, Tina. Haha!
Those Australian beaches! Ah!
Soak in all the sun you can.
#Jealous

Vanessa wrote: "My weekends are filled with sleeping and hunting for books to read during the week😎 Of recent I have developed an interest in cooking. So I have been looking up new recipes in YouTube , that's my new hobby 😃."

Oooo... what fun receipes are you cooking, Vanessa?
Cooking is sooooo much fun. I'm so glad you're interest in it is growing!

...and now I'm hungry... again! *sigh*

Yesterday was very hot here in Canberra and today will be too. Luckily the nights are cool so I'm playing tennis this morning before it gets oven-like.

I also spent an hour yesterday on the phone with a telco getting our landline fixed. Groan.

Oooh I'm so jealous it's summer there! It's 2°C here today so I'm really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, like I said before with all the windows and doors open all the time it's practically as cold inside as it is outside so I hate it!
The weekend is nearly over here, I finished my book and relaxed, mostly. Later today I'll do a workout even though I'm not really looking forward to it, then we'll probably watch a movie tonight. We watched Kong: Skull Island yesterday, it was pretty good though super predictable. I haven't actually seen all the movies for the team names, I don't even know Willow (will google that right now though!) There are several really good ones in there however, but I think E.T. is one of the best :)
@Vanessa, I also love cooking but mostly baking, I used to bring a lot of treats for my co-workers. But now with the whole covid situation, I don't want to risk infecting anyone so I basically stuff 2/3 of most of what I bake in the freezer... My freezer is very full right now :D I hate watching recipe videos though, I prefer to have everything written out. I don't like watching videos in general, I like reading things instead of watching them :)

Beautiful descendants of E.T.,

Here are some more questions and answers that may help in understanding the game the little better. Special appreciation for those who after reading all this, could still come up with questions which are not being answered anywhere. Haha!
(This is also cross posted in Message 6 at the beginning of this thread, so that future generations are not lost! :P)

General Questions

Elisabeth wrote: "I also spent an hour yesterday on the phone with a telco getting our landline fixed.."

Elisabeth, you really need to stop having so much fun! :P

Hahaha Apoorv, It was actually a most of the day operation because I spent time with the guy earlier then we waited to see if the thing was fixed and he rang back when it wasn't so we tried more things. It's back to normal now so it was worth it. At least it was such a hot day there wasn't much else to do.

Here's a question.
In regard to our colour cards are we claiming them specifically in the Feb hands so we don't waste a colour cover book? eg I have a blue that will suit a few things but if someone else has a blue that will only do one Feb card we should use that shouldn't we? I might add this book is not one I'm keen to read but will for the team when it's needed.

Apoorv wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "My weekends are filled with sleeping and hunting for books to read during the week😎 Of recent I have developed an interest in cooking. So I have been looking up new recipes in YouTu..."

I tried baking brownie yesterday! I don't have an oven yet, so I tried it with a pressure cooker (like some experiment!). I was so glad when it worked. Phew! Or else I would be kicked out of the house considering the mess I made :D

Elisabeth wrote: "Yesterday was very hot here in Canberra and today will be too. Luckily the nights are cool so I'm playing tennis this morning before it gets oven-like.

I also spent an hour yesterday on the phone..."

Oh Elisabeth! We have the same problem here at home. Our landline works maybe for like 60 days a year, the rest of the time, it's dead! I have given up on it.

In fact I was planning on not renewing our subscription. But my grandma is firm on having a landline connection. So hence, the struggle is on!

Laura wrote: "Oooh I'm so jealous it's summer there! It's 2°C here today so I'm really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, like I said before with all the windows and doors open all the time it's prac..."

Baking is definitely more therapeutic! I do realize almost everyone hates watching recipe videos. But in my case, I find them helpful. Once I watch how it's done, I write it down and experiment.

And I so want to ransack your freezer!

Actually our landline works well and I prefer using it. Calls are free with our package deal of internet, TV and phone. The issue came from a planned power cut the previous day and the guy finally figured out the modem had to be rebooted. Technology--sometimes I wonder if it really does improve things for the user. Someone used to come to the house and fix the TV or phone. Now they make you do it yourself.

I have a prepaid mobile but rarely use it. Weird, I know but I only use it for calls and texts when I'm away from home.

Vanessa wrote: "Tina ❣ wrote: "Vanessa wrote: "Why is our team so inactive 😟"

Haha not sure Vanessa. The weekend has begun for me which sometimes becomes as busy as my work week.

What does everyone have planned ..."

Oh that sounds like a good way to spend the weekend! What's your favourite recipe you've made so far?

Apoorv wrote: "Tina ❣ wrote: "What does everyone have planned for this weekend? It's summer in Australia here so I'm heading off to the beach as it's a long weekend here..."

Ummm... please don't make people who ..."

hahaha I'm always jealous when it's winter here and summer over there!
The beach was great! It was busy with people but we got to see a puffer fish at night in the water. I have no idea what it was doing there though. Small fish yes, but not puffers. I'm just glad jelly fish aren't here

Elisabeth wrote: "Yesterday was very hot here in Canberra and today will be too. Luckily the nights are cool so I'm playing tennis this morning before it gets oven-like.

I also spent an hour yesterday on the phone..."

I do like that we get a cool change as it's definitely needed in my home. It gets hot quickly and hard to cool down after. I'm glad the phone lines are back up now for you

Vanessa wrote: "And I so want to ransack your freezer!"
Haha I wish I could send you some goodies :) if you like baking, I can definitely recommend the website Sally's baking addiction. It's where I get most of my recipes and she explains everything really well. She also has some videos :D

Apoorv wrote: "I tried baking brownie yesterday! I don't have an oven yet, so I tried it with a pressure cooker (like some experiment!). I was so glad when it worked. Phew! Or else I would be kicked out of the house considering the mess I made :D"
OMG that's so awesome! I would never dare try that :D I do experiment a bit in the kitchen but that's more of a "I know better than the recipe so I'll just double the cinnamon" than any REAL experimentation :)

I am currently a bit stressed about choosing a book to read next because I don't want to accidentally read something that would've been great for UNO! So now I'm reading a children's book because it won't count for the challenge anyway.

Also, how do I add emojis to these posts? I can't figure it out!

Laura wrote: "Oooh I'm so jealous it's summer there! It's 2°C here today so I'm really not looking forward to going to work tomorrow, like I said before with all the windows and doors open all the time it's prac..."

Oof! That's cold! Keep in mind I think 18° Celsius is cold too haha. Your weekend sounds great as well. You raise a good point with baking and Covid. I used to back a lot and then refused to touch eggs (never liked using them) so it took me a year or two to find egg replacements. I'm still trying to figure out what is the best replacement for different types of recipes. Trial and error, it is.

Wow! I missed a lot here. Our internet got shut down all over the city Wednesday. A construction company cut through a cable and then a fight came out as to who should fix it. The main internet company for our internet, television, and phone, kept saying it wasn’t their fault. What a mess! Thankful it came back Friday afternoon. We all had to play catch up over the weekend for work/school.
Taking a break from work right now. At least I didn’t have to walk in. It snowed overnight and the roads are a mess because no one came to plow the streets.

Tina ❣ wrote: "Hi Paris,

With non-fiction, we can use the title and author/s. Not setting :( So a person in a book won't count for character. It's why I do most non-fiction reading outside team challenges.

Tha..."

Ah I see, thanks Tina! Definitely should of read all my books that way round - I have 4 non-fictions that I need to read as they are due back at the library! Going to try and squeeze at least 2 (maybe 3 if it's a quiet week at work) into this week before the challenge starts..

I already finished Grown Ups last night! I enjoyed it definitely, was 600+ pages but I managed to get through it really easily which I always like about a book.

It's freezing here in London! Currently -1° celsius. Lots of snow yesterday, went for a walk in the park with a friend and got a coffee and my hands nearly froze off but it was very pretty and thankfully most of it has melted overnight so we don't have to deal with the horrible slushy ice on the pavements everywhere.

Hope everyone had a lovely weekend :D

Tina ❣ wrote: "Oh that sounds like a good way to spend the weekend! What's your favourite recipe you've made so far?"

I think it has to be the first one I tried,i.e., 'Lemon Pepper Chicken'. Made it for my parents wedding anniversary. So I was relieved that it turned out good.

Also, some of my friends are vegetarians, so they use oil and a bit of lemon juice instead of eggs while baking. I haven't tried that personally so I am sure if it tastes good!

Laura wrote: "Haha I wish I could send you some goodies :) if you like baking, I can definitely recommend the website Sally's baking addiction. It's where ..."

I shall definitely check out that site. Thanks for the recommendation 👍

Danah wrote: "Wow! I missed a lot here. Our internet got shut down all over the city Wednesday. A construction company cut through a cable and then a fight came out as to who should fix it. The main internet com..."

It's annoying when sucb things happens. Especially when your weekend gets ruined because of that.

Paris wrote: "Currently -1° celsius"

Brrrr! That's definitely freezing!

Elisabeth wrote: "Here's a question.
In regard to our colour cards are we claiming them specifically in the Feb hands so we don't waste a colour cover book? eg I have a blue that will suit a few things but if someone else has a blue that will only do one Feb card we should use that shouldn't we? I might add this book is not one I'm keen to read but will for the team when it's needed."

Totally agree with you that we don't want to waste a color cover book.
But as I mentioned in the first posts, we don't have to claim them! If a book you're reading does fit in, absolutely mention that and so we can make sure it that is used accordingly.

But, of course, we can have folks claim certain colored books if they so choose. As long as you're sure you'll read the book anytime throughout the month, it was be easy to put your name in front of it.

My intention and/or hope is not to bog anyone down with a specific set of books, because then it becomes less fun and more work.
There will be a time towards the end of the month wherein some of us might have to squeeze in a crazy V or an I book to complete a hand but it really more the most part is read what you like to kind of challenge.

So, I thoroughly appreciate you willing to take one for the team, if need be! :D Go, champ!

Vanessa wrote: "I tried baking brownie yesterday! I don't have an oven yet, so I tried it with a pressure cooker (like some experiment!). I was so glad when it worked. Phew! Or else I would be kicked out of the house considering the mess I made :D."

Brownies actually do come out pretty week in a pressure cooker. So glad you made them and they turned out well. I'm sure your folks at home completely forgot about the mess after eating through scrumptious brownies.

... ummm, who am I kidding? Indian fams! You better get up and clean that thing no matter what! LOL! :P

Tina ❣ wrote: "hahaha I'm always jealous when it's winter here and summer over there!
The beach was great! It was busy with people but we got to see a puffer fish at night in the water. I have no idea what it was doing there though. Small fish yes, but not puffers. I'm just glad jelly fish aren't here"


I'm actually not a summer person - very much in love with winter and the cold. But there is something about the summers Down Under that just look cool.

And I'm especially glued to all things Australia this time of the year, because whatever sports I follow all are headed that way. Haha.

Ah! Puffer Fishes randomly strolling on the beaches - only in Australia! Haha! :P

It was -1°C here this morning, but it warmed up to 2°C. It snowed so much this morning, but it's already melting.

All the north hemispherer's, stay safe in the snow and keep bundled up (am I the only one who loves the chilly cold? :O It got down to -10°C last night (no snow though) and I was practically giddy!).

All the southern hemispherer's, stop showing off and making the others jealous! LOL! :P

Apoorv wrote: "(am I the only one who loves the chilly cold? :O It got down to -10°C last night (no snow though) and I was practically giddy!..."

I love the snow! When it gets cold, I love to bundle up and get all cozy with my kids on the sofa after a great day of sledding and snowball fights.

So I read above that there are 15 hands. It looks like one big giant hand. Are we supposed to read in order: 0, then 1, then 2, etc?
Also, when we get access to the spreadsheet (right now access is denied), will it be obvious where to put things?

Danah,

Please request access to this spreadsheet, which is our tracking and planning spreadsheet where we can list the details of all our books (completed and forthcoming).

You can read any book you want.
All you have to do is mention all relevant details i.e. author name, character names, location etc. that work for these alphabets E, F, H, I, K, N, O, P, S, T, V, and Z

Thanks Apoorv. Will you be filling the hands throughout the month
so we can see what we need to choose from our TBR piles to fill gaps? I don't mind what order I read books in and am more than happy to scour the library for something we need.

I love going to the library even though I have more than enough books by my bed and on the shelves. Not to mention the secondhand bookshop and the charity bookshop at the markets.... fortunately my husband reads as much as I do.

Elisabeth,

I will most likely be updating the master spreadsheet daily (sometimes even sooner given how addicted to GoodReads I am. Sheesh!), so you certainly will have an idea as to how we are progressing.

Plus, either Tina or I will be posting regular updates of our progress and where we are headed. So, hopefully we'd all be on the same page throughout the challenge.

Thank you, Apoorv. I shall now shut up!

Except, what does everyone think about this cover? Yellow or too much orange?


Flying the Nest

Elisabeth wrote: "Thank you, Apoorv. I shall now shut up!

Except, what does everyone think about this cover? Yellow or too much orange?


Flying the Nest"

More Orange than Yellow, for me!
I know we don't have to use TinEye, but it also says 55% Orange

Tina, no doubt you've used tinned chick pea water as a sub for egg whites in meringue? I think it's chick peas. Apparently it works really well.

Thanks. That's what I suspected, too. At first glance there's a lot of yellow but look more closely and no. Not to worry, I'm looking forward to reading it anyway.

Please welcome new team member and co-captain Kathryn!

replacing Jill

Hello Kathryn, welcome to the madhouse!
They are all well behaved and non-threatening (for now! :P) I must say I feel absolutely at home here.

Look around. Do read the first few messages to get acquainted with the basics and I will get you all set up with the spreadsheets and stuff in a bit.

Glad you're here. This will be fun! :D

Hi Kathryn. Great that you could step in to help wrangle us.

Hello everyone!
Just joined up as a Co-Captain. Really excited to be here. May need help playing catch up, but I'll be reading through the thread. :)

Welcome Kathryn!

So, purely out of curiosity, what jobs do you all do?
As I said before I'm a teacher. Recently though, I've been thinking I would love to be a proofreader, especially for books. But in English, not in my mother tongue which is Dutch, because I hate it :D if I never had to speak or read Dutch again i'd be perfectly happy.
But as a non-native speaker in a country where English isn't an official language, I don't really see it happening. Shame, because I think I would be really good at it. I'm good at spotting mistakes (as I should be, as a teacher!) and I love reading :) and I also read very fast. Oh well, maybe someday...

Thank you for the welcome, everyone.

I'm an author by trade. I write fiction. Books, video game narrative, comic book narrative, and screenplays. I hope to break out with an actual stage play eventually. But that's what I do for a living. Other than that, I also tutor from elementary school up through university in English, History, and Math.

Apoorv wrote: "Please request access to this spreadsheet,"

Done!

Kathryn wrote: "Hello everyone!
Just joined up as a Co-Captain. Really excited to be here. May need help playing catch up, but I'll be reading through the thread. :)"

Welcome!

Alright, good folks,

As we inch closer to the start of the challenge, please make sure

- All of you have editing access to the tracking spreadsheet and you can actually edit the "February" tab and input your books.
- Your respective UNO shelf is created and the cross-reference to it mentioned at the beginning of this thread is accurate.
- All of you have gone through the rules and the FAQs linked at the beginning of the thread as well.

Of course, as always, don't for a second hesitate in asking any question that you may have. We have wonderfully smart co-caps who know everything. :P

We are almost there.
Excited, yet?
Anyone knows what's the first book they'd start with?

Kathryn wrote: "I'm an author by trade. I write fiction. Books, video game narrative, comic book narrative, and screenplays."

That's so cool! I wish I had enough imagination to write. My boyfriend said last week that he doesn't understand why I don't write books, since I read so many I should know how to :D but I don't have a lot of ideas of my own.

Apoorv wrote: "We are almost there.
Excited, yet?
Anyone knows what's the first book they'd start with?"

I am ridiculously excited.
My boyfriend doesn't quite know what to think :D
I'm in a bit of trouble because I hadn't planned on reading much this week, I wasn't going to have a lot of time and that was okay because I don't want to "accidentally" read anything that would've been good for UNO...
But then I got sick yesterday (nothing terrible, just balance issues) so I'm home from work all week! I've managed to spend a lot of time on goodreads instead of actually reading though :D and I'll figure it out... I can always read comics or manga.
I will probably read Eragon first, then we already have one of the coloured cards out of the way.
I've added a few books I plan to read to the sheet.

Welcome Kathryn!

Apoorv wrote: "Alright, good folks,

As we inch closer to the start of the challenge, please make sure

- All of you have editing access to the tracking spreadsheet and you can actually edit the "February" tab an..."

I'm going to start with Swing Time by Zadie Smith - I've read a couple of her other books and really enjoyed them so I'm looking forward to it. It's also a library book that I've had on loan for a while so would be good to be able to return it.
Although I have a good collection of books that I own, I do get most of my new reads from the library, and then if I fall in love with a book, I buy myself my own copy!

In London we are still in lockdown (yes, our government is a shambles), but luckily we are still able to reserve books at the library for a 'click and collect' service - so yesterday I reserved lots of books which I will pick up over the next few weeks as they become available.

I was planning to read the non-fiction book Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men as part of the challenge but I'm now going to try and squeeze it into this week if I get the chance, to free up time in Feb to focus on novels which will be better to complete our hand!

Although it is my boyfriends birthday this weekend so I'm not sure I'll have the reading time needed...

What's everyone else trying to squeeze into this week? Or are you having a break before the challenge starts?

Laura wrote: "That's so cool! I wish I had enough imagination to write. My boyfriend said last week that he doesn't understand why I don't write books, since I read so many I should know how to :D but I don't have a lot of ideas of my own."

I love his analogy! Although, if all readers became authors then who would read? Haha!

But then I got sick yesterday (nothing terrible, just balance issues) so I'm home from work all week!

Goodness! I hope you feel better and get a nice rest this week that you are home. Funny how our body decides to make its presence felt sometimes. Take care, Laura!

Eragon is a great start to the challenge. Hope you enjoy it! :)

Paris wrote: "Although I have a good collection of books that I own, I do get most of my new reads from the library, and then if I fall in love with a book, I buy myself my own copy!"

OMG! That is so me! I for some reason, don't understand the idea of buying a book for the sake of buying it and then never reading it. I prefer reading a book first and then if it appeals to you, have it in your collection. That way, it just seems more cherished. But then having a massive bookshelf full of books is just a pleasant sight! Such conundrum, I tell you! :P

You can absolutely read non-fictions for the challenge, like in case of the book you mentioned, it can totally be used for I because of its title. So, if that is your preferred genre to read, feel free to do so. We might have limited options, but we can make it work.

P.S. HAPPPPYYY BIRTHDAY to the boify!! Paaaartyyyyyyy time! :D

Speaking of which,

I know some of you would want to read certain books for certain specific letters, and we will make that we adhere to that - but, our biggest goal is to complete hands and for that me and/or the co-caps will be moving books around to make them fit as snuggly as possible in open slots. (Thus, the push to mention as much detail as possible from any given book).

Also, in my experience with this challenge, letters like V, I, Z are trickier to find and complete books for as opposed to a T, E, S, so we will be moving books to those harder alphabets if we have the option. So specifically keep an eye out on those while you read.

I'm kicking off with The Ex because I've been wanting to read it for a while. It worked as a Reverse because Jill had read it but luckily Vanessa has too!

I've had to scour our bookshelves for another pre Feb filler non UNO read and found a Daphne Du Maurier book of 5 stories I didn't know we'd picked up somewhere. I love her writing. Don't Look Now