Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Sammy wrote: "*buts in*

I'm currently working on two 60x90cm ones, and have a third tucked away for when I'm done with those :D

It's the easiest thing in the world to do, but I find it gives me something for m..."

I am totally trying this out this summer. I just found a Snoopy Starry Night one that I love. Do you any of you have a particular website / store you use to purchase these?

I love puzzles. My daughter has an Edward Gorey one on the table right now that we're picking away at.

I butted in to Team Achilles ...
They are writing poems, so I thought I'd try a haiku

Here it is:

My book is finished
Now I stare at the countdown
Better than housework

Countdown Clock: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...

Sounds like someone is impatient to start :D

Maddy wrote: "Sounds like someone is impatient to start :D"

Maaaaybeee I'm staring at a stack of books.......

Melissa wrote: "I am totally trying this out this summer. I just found a Snoopy Starry Night one that I love. Do you any of you have a particular website / store you use to purchase these?

I love puzzles. My daughter has an Edward Gorey one on the table right now that we're picking away at."

I would highly recommend going for a good quality one from a specialist supplier, rather than a cheapie from amazon, as it really makes a huge difference.

I got mine from https://victoriasmoon.co.uk/ on a 3 for 2 offer, but I'm sure someone who lives in the US will be able to point you to somewhere more suitable for you.

One note: You can usually get a canvas in several different sizes. The very small ones don't give a lot of detail, so the bigger they are, the better the finished product tends to look.
Some also give you the choice between round or square diamonds (called 'drills'). The round ones are easier to do, but the square leaves less gaps between. (I'd recommend starting with round)

I'm currently working on



and



and have this one waiting for when they're done:

Oh dear.. a whole stack? I can see why you might need to wacth hit so intently :D

Sammy wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I am totally trying this out this summer. I just found a Snoopy Starry Night one that I love. Do you any of you have a particular website / store you use to purchase these?

I love ..."

WOW
Those are AMAZING

Maddy wrote: "Oh dear.. a whole stack? I can see why you might need to wacth hit so intently :D"

:)
Well there is the arranging by author's name, and then by size, and then....
:)

Sammy wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I am totally trying this out this summer. I just found a Snoopy Starry Night one that I love. Do you any of you have a particular website / store you use to purchase these?

I love ..."

Those are gorgeous I'm still working on an elephant one that was supposed to be a Christmas present for my mother last and I failed miserably at getting it finished an framed in time. But it was my first one with square drills and oh they are so much nicer than the round ones.

Also Melissa in the US there's a company called Diamond Dotz that has great beginner ones at affordable prices, and Michael's/JoAnne's usually has a 20%-50% off sale on them a couple of times a year to make room for new designs if you wanted to give it a try.

Oh that's fab!

My elephant and unicorn ones are going to be presents for my twin nieces. The peacock is going up in my room! :D

I'm currently working on a wolf one and the one back home is of the northern lights. I've got another two the same size (60x90cm) in stock and some smaller cheaper ones. I've also started making my own cards with the spare diamonds and I keep looking for other things to jazz up with them.






Those a few examples of what I've done so far.

I have mostly purchased my diamond paintings from a website called Homecraftology. They are based in Australia but the actual paintings come from China so they ship pretty much worldwide. I haven't actually purchased any for a long time because I haven't had the time or space to work on the ones I have already, but I hear nothing but good things about their customer service.

I've been eyeing that peacock one for years, Sammy. I wouldn't know what to do with it once I've finished it though so I have resisted the urge to buy it.

Keely wrote: "I'm currently working on a wolf one and the one back home is of the northern lights. I've got another two the same size (60x90cm) in stock and some smaller cheaper ones. I've also started making my..."

I love those original pokemon starters they're so cute in diamonds. Did you get them from Homecraftology as well?

No, I found the patterns online and used some double sided tape and then put some gloss mod podge over the top to help them stay in place.

I don’t do diamond painting but I do hand embroidery and needlework. Hubby frequently goes to bed earlier than I do and I’ll listen to audio book while I stitch.

Melissa, I think I'm going to have to do "book flights" from now on. Definitely a plus if it helps with library funding.

And Library sales are dangerous, I never remember what I've already bought so sometimes I end up with doubles.

Hello ladies! It's challenge starting day! =D

Challenge will start in roughly 8h. You can check the countdown here: https://www.timeanddate.com/countdown...
(Thanks Melissa for posting it on an earlier post =) )

I will be hopping on and off GR to finish last details and to answer questions. Sorry i haven't been on much lately. My sister tested positive and then coughed all over me and the little one. So the last week we've been dealing with that. I'm also not a very talkative person, unless i'm excited about the subject of the conversation :p

For those of you of age (>18years) there's a back room group that has discussions about.... well adult books. If you are interested in joining let me know and i can add you there. They also have BOMs and they count for tower teams points. The poll for late May BOM ends tonight, so go ahead and check it out if you think it's your cup of tea.

When you finish a book you can turn it in with one of two ways:
1 - you can fill in the planning spreadsheet
2 - OR you can do a post here on the thread with
Book
Date Read
Pages
Spelling
Tasks

Example of a completion Post
(view spoiler)[Completion Post


Book: Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris
Read: 30th of April
Spelling:
T - char Tony Hedon
H - char Harry
F - char Finn
E - char Ellen Gray
P - author
Tasks:
Yellow cover (this was for another challenge. There is no color task for this mini) (hide spoiler)]

There's no need to do both options. Just choose whatever is more comfortable for you.

I'm currently catching up on The Pillars of the Earth, whilst waiting for 9. I had Rabbit, Run on my currently reading shelf,but as i hadn't even cracked the spine, I've taken it off to re-add it in 7 hours. It will be my first book for the challenge. I'm so excited to get this started.

I think I saw the TV series for The Pillars of the Earth. wish that counted for reading that door stopper :D

40 mins to go :D

Maddy wrote: "I think I saw the TV series for The Pillars of the Earth. wish that counted for reading that door stopper :D"

I never saw that but I heard it was really good. I don't think I could read it but I do like to watch shows like that

The first books I'm going to start is The Pillars of the Earth. I haven't seen the TV series.

Just finished my last non Tower book! Ready to go. Happy reading!

Keli wrote: "I'm currently catching up on The Pillars of the Earth, whilst waiting for 9. I had Rabbit, Run on my currently reading shelf,but as i hadn't even cracked the spine, ..."

I am planning to read all of the Kingsbridge series over the next month or so.

I read The Pillars of the Earth last year and loved it, so I decided to read all of the books in the series. I have high hopes for the rest of the series.

I cannot decide if I want to read The Pillars of the Earth or The Evening and the Morning first.

I'm wrapping up tasks in another challenge in a different group that runs through the end of May. Unfortunately, the books I'll be finishing there are ones I had already started, so they won't help for TT. 😭 But I'll start a new audiobook today, which will count, so I can juggle both! 🤹‍♀️

Laurie B wrote: "I'm wrapping up tasks in another challenge in a different group that runs through the end of May. Unfortunately, the books I'll be finishing there are ones I had already started, so they won't help..."

It's OK Laurie. It's a marathon, not a sprint 😉

How are your books going? I am listening to The Once and Future King, a book I wasn’t so sure about, and I’m finding it pretty funny! In an old English sort of way. I’m reading it too, and it’s kind of fun.

Since rules change depending on challenges/groups -- for page numbers are we using the version we read, or the default? I'm assuming what we read, but want to confirm.

Stacey wrote: "Since rules change depending on challenges/groups -- for page numbers are we using the version we read, or the default? I'm assuming what we read, but want to confirm."

It's the version we read. Unless it's an audiobook. For audiobooks we use the default edition.

Is it ok if I volunteer for the Backroom BOM DQs?

Hello teamies!
It's been so long since I checked in. As I mentioned earlier, even though I have checked and rechecked while "only notifications" is checked as my preferred method, I am not getting notifications for this group. My other groups all work, so I'm at a loss, but I just need to make myself remember to look at our thread.

So much going on with all the artistic people in this group. I'm very impressed! I'm not crafty at all, although I am artistic with my cooking, baking, and decorating and I can still play guitar. I used to play so much more and thought I would pick it back up when I retired, but...too many books to read!

Melissa, I love your description of the book grabbing at your library. We don't have anything like that, but it sounds fun.

I stopped buying books years ago, although I do occasionally buy "air" if I buy an e book. Mostly I get paper books and digital books at our library. I go there at least once a week to pick up books or browse.

I used to also think audiobooks weren't really reading, but now I probably listen to 1-2/month. Listening helps me "read" more books and especially when the narration is good, I can really get into the story. If I don't walk with friends, I always have another good "friend" with me with my audio book.

Our planning sheet is looking really good! We're knocking it out of the park! I just finished The Exiles, so I'll add it to the SS. Very good historical fiction, if you like that genre.

Eni wrote: "Stacey wrote: "Since rules change depending on challenges/groups -- for page numbers are we using the version we read, or the default? I'm assuming what we read, but want to confirm."

It's the ver..."
Good question.
I'm sharing the time between audio and book.... I'll go with the book I have in hand?
It helps to make the long books go faster for me :)
I can go with default though if need be!

Nanci wrote: "Hello teamies!
It's been so long since I checked in. As I mentioned earlier, even though I have checked and rechecked while "only notifications" is checked as my preferred method, I am not getting ..."

The Exiles looks great! I'm going to check it out.

GR is working for notifications for this group for me now! Yay!

I have now started 3 books for this challenge. The Pillars of the Earth, The Travelling Cat Chronicles and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.

I managed to read chunk of Pillars yesterday, about 1/5th of the book. I've found it pretty enjoyable so far and if I keep that pace up I might finish it over the weekend.
The Cat Chronicles I am also hoping to be finished with over the weekend and the Harry Potter book I might drag out a bit. I know from past reads that it can be a fast read so I'm not too concerned about finishing it just yet.

I also often get books in both Kindle and audio and I just go with the page count on the Kindle unless it seems really off. Then I use the default edition. I've noticed that ebook page counts can sometimes be way off compared to all the print editions.

Keely,
I loved all the Ken Follet series books, but Pillars of the Earth was my favorite. I never read such a fat book, so fast!

Yikes, I just noticed that my name was chosen to write DQ for The Travelling Cat Chronicles. Lucky for me I've been reading along and commenting and that I was chosen for the end of the book chapters. Now I'll get busy writing some questions that I can post on the 19th!

Nanci wrote: "Keely,
I loved all the Ken Follet series books, but Pillars of the Earth was my favorite. I never read such a fat book, so fast!"

I definitely plan to read the rest and check out some of his other books after this. I've never read such a big books this fast either!

Read May 19

No page count - https://www.amazon.com/Pitcher-Perfec...

Keely wrote: "Nanci wrote: "Keely,
I loved all the Ken Follet series books, but Pillars of the Earth was my favorite. I never read such a fat book, so fast!"

I definitely plan to read the rest and check out som..."

Yes, it was a real page turner! Loved the characters and setting. The series does not disappoint, although as is typical in series, some of the original characters die off as time progresses and are replaced by new ones. I always hate to say goodbye to those characters that I liked so much. Glad you enjoyed it!

I am being so slow reading my books this week. I started a new job and I just get a page or two and I am asleep. I do an audiobook on my way back and forth from work but it's not that far.

Joyce wrote: "I am being so slow reading my books this week. I started a new job and I just get a page or two and I am asleep. I do an audiobook on my way back and forth from work but it's not that far."

Congratulations on your new job!
No worries about the reading. Settle in first :)

Finished a good mystery set in Australia.

Briana wrote: "Sammy wrote: "Melissa wrote: "I am totally trying this out this summer. I just found a Snoopy Starry Night one that I love. Do you any of you have a particular website / store you use to purchase t..."

Perfect. The elephants are so beautiful.

Melissa wrote: "Finished a good mystery set in Australia."

I read that book in September of 2021. I still remember it well! I listened to the audio.

Melissa wrote: "Finished a good mystery set in Australia."

Last year, I read this book and Force of Nature. There is meant to be a third Aaron Falk book coming out, Exiles, in February of next year which I am looking forward to reading.

Joyce wrote: "I am being so slow reading my books this week. I started a new job and I just get a page or two and I am asleep. I do an audiobook on my way back and forth from work but it's not that far."

Congratulations on starting your new job!