Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

I feel like I've read a romance pretty recently where the male lead was a farmer, but I can't remember more details.


I'd say a cattle rancher etc is a type of farmer if that helps anyone.

I figured there would definitely be a romance with a farmer but they don't tend to be my kinda romance reads. I had a scout through my various piles of books scattered around the house and I have Burn by Patrick Ness, I think it would work. It's just going to be a question of how much reading I can do by Friday and for what task.

I did also think of Last Thing To Burn by Will Dean. It's a thriller set on a farm and really good.

some lists that might help:
Farmers in Romance
Farm and Ranch Life in YA and Middle Grade Fiction
Books about Organic Farmers
Female Farmers
Farming and Agriculture in Literature

Caucasian Eagle



The Caucasian Eagle has taken to the skies over your lands in the search of do-gooders who don't think the rules apply to them. Not so hard to defeat with a little effort and maybe setting some traps with organ meat.

To vanquish this monster you must:
1.) Read a book between 200 and 299 pages (inclusive).
2.) Read a book set in Russia.
3.) Read a book with a bird on the cover.
4.) Read a book with the letters LIVER in title (any order)
5.) Read a book where a character goes to prison/jail (or is already there).

did anyone read the master and Margarita in the last month?

We've got at least one copy that hasn't yet been used on the SS.

Only a few days left for this one to run!


Charybdis F
1. 800+ pages

Cerberus N
1. 500-650 pages. Sophie in progress (1hr left!)

Cyclops (U)
1,2,4 claimed not read Audrey
5.) Read a book whose MC is a farmer.

Colchian Dragon (T)
3. Musical instrument on cover

Caucasian Eagle (W)
3. Bird on cover
5. Character goes to prison/jail or is there already

Thanks for the update, Sophie! If I remember correctly JL Roberts recently read a book with an owl on the cover (Savage Bonds I think it is). Might be used for bird on the cover. Will check tomorrow if I can help with the farmer task but will have to be something short.

I'm listening to Knight's Shadow at the moment, it will work for the jail/prison task. I've only got around 3 hours left so will definitely finish it within the next couple of days

Sophie wrote: "

Only a few days left for this one to run!


Charybdis F
1. 800+ pages

Cerberus N
1. 500-650 pages. Sophie in progress (1hr left!)

Cyclops (U)
1,2,4 claimed not read Audrey
5.) Read a book whos..."

if you haven't used Whoever Fights Monsters: My Twenty Years Tracking Serial Killers for the FBI yet, it works for character in prison (several of the people in the book are either already there or end up there, since they are serial killers).

Too bad the book I am working on today doesn't count. Since it is a collection (box set); the books have to be counted separately, but none of them meet the word count requirement individually. If the whole thing could be counted as one book, it would be well over 1000 pages (I think the page count shows as 1728). So disappointing.

A good farmer romance, if cattle counts, is Red Dirt Heart by NR Walker. It’s MM though, just a heads up if it’s not your thing. Really sweet though.

Amy the book-bat wrote: "Sophie wrote: "

Only a few days left for this one to run!


Charybdis F
1. 800+ pages

Cerberus N
1. 500-650 pages. Sophie in progress (1hr left!)

Cyclops (U)
1,2,4 claimed not read Audrey
5.) R..."

Unfortunately we can't use that as it is non-fiction so doesn't have characters by NBRC rules.

Finally finished my book for Cerberus.

Next up:
Python



Python has been seen on your lands, searching for Apollo and Artemis. He's not that hard to kill as Greek monsters go being just a really big snake, may be interested in ladies with buns. Be warned though, his death may require a penance be paid to satisfy Zeus.

To vanquish this monster you must:
1.) Read a book between 100 and 175 pages (inclusive). note the higher page count
2.) Read a book that features twins.
3. Read a book whose author name (first or last) starts with a letter in SWORD.
4.) Read a book where a character is pregnant.
5.) Read a book that mentions some type of championship games (World Cup, Olympics, World Series, etc).

The benefit of that being an older monster is that we can defeat it immediately!

Manticore



The man-eating Manticore has been terrorizing your people. Very hard to kill with 3 rows of sharp teeth that completely devour their victims. Not even the bones left to bury. If you find them, it's best to turn them into a nice 'Persian" rug before they decide to eat you first.

To vanquish this monster you must:
1.) Read a book between 500 and 650 pages (inclusive).
2.) Read a book set in Persia (Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan).
3.) Read a book with the letters MAN EATER in title (any order).
4.) Read a book with MPG Paranormal > Shapeshifters.
5.) Read a book with a 3 in the publication date.


This might take more work!

For The Wolf added to my shelf. Sorry about that!

Keri, unfortunately Heartstopper Vol 1 doesn't meet the word requirement for a graphic novel to count, so it can't be used in the challenge. Can you please remove it from your Tower Teams shelf? thank you!

Carrie wrote: "For The Wolf added to my shelf. Sorry about that!"

Thanks! :D

Steven - i added the night they vanished to my tower teams shelf but lost films was already on the shelf, maybe goodreads was acting up with that one? let me know if it's still not showing up for you though

I see it now! Thanks for the quick response :D

Just finished Knight's Shadow. I've added to the spreadsheet but I'm on my phone so can't link. It could work for the jail task (does that finish off the Caucasian Eagle?) or it's 606 pages so could do first task for the Manticore.

Caucasian Eagle is no more thanks Alison!

This interesting creature has come calling! I suspect we might not finish any more monsters, but if you can shout if your books work for any tasks.

Penanggalan



The Penanggalan has been hunting on your city streets. They may not be well known in this part of the world, but that doesn't make them less deadly. Learn what you can about them before planning your attack, it may be what saves your life.

To vanquish this monster you must:
1.) Read a book 800 pages or longer.
2.) Read a book set in Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timore-Leste, Vietnam).
3.) Read a book where author identifies as female.
4.) Read a book with MPG Paranormal.
5.) Read a book with the word "vinegar" in text.

Well, we did our best with this mini :) There's no way we can catch up with the other teams anyway. But loved this monster mini. Thank you to the mods who came up with it. It was very creative !

Fyi, I started a book late last night that works for 'MC is a farmer' (I did a quick word search on my kindle and this book came up). I needed to skip 6 books in the series but I don't mind. It's a series that spans generation, I will pick up where I left later. Unfortunately it's short, especially the English translation but I had no choice as a slow reader. Will definitely finish before or on Friday. That will put an end to our cyclops :)

Sophie wrote: "Caucasian Eagle is no more thanks Alison!

This interesting creature has come calling! I suspect we might not finish any more monsters, but if you can shout if your books work for any tasks.

Penan..."

The book I am working on is set in Thailand, has vinegar in the text, and has a female author. I am about halfway and if I concentrate on it before reading anything else, I could possibly finish tomorrow/later today (I haven't gone to bed yet and it is already 5:30 am!)
Oh... it looks like it is currently slotted for Manticore... whichever is most useful, I guess...
Think I'll grab a little sleep and then try to get the book done. Too bad I couldn't find an audio for it. I'm a much slower reader with a print version, especially with the Thai names that I don't know how to pronounce slowing me down even more.

Thank you Audrey and Amy!

I've got a book for battleship, then I'll try to get an instrument on the cover completed.

We've got a lot of books finished but not on the official SS that will make us look a lot better once I transfer them all over at the end of the week.

Only a few days left for this one to run! As Alison pointed out it finishes at 9pm on Friday.


Charybdis F
1. 800+ pages

Cyclops (U)
1,2,4 claimed not read Audrey
5.) Read a book whose MC is a farmer.

Colchian Dragon (T)
3. Musical instrument on cover - Sophie in progress

Manticore Z
1.) Read a book between 500 and 650 pages (inclusive).
2.) Read a book set in Persia (Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan).

Penanggalan AE
1.) Read a book 800 pages or longer.



I'm going to have a search through for MPG tasks. I don't think we are going to get the longer page counts we want.

Is it 9pm on Friday that it ends? I've slightly lost the plot with the various different mini's

Alison wrote: "Is it 9pm on Friday that it ends? I've slightly lost the plot with the various different mini's"

Yeah it does. I'm about to make it worse and post the info for the last mini. It should be more straightforward to get your head round - if not that is entirely my fault as I've created it.

The Muses have been having a wonderful time watching everyone getting lost in their maze, fighting the sudden onslaught of monsters that overtook NBRC and are watching the supergroup battles with their hearts in their mouths and their hands covering their eyes. They have been kept beautifully entertained, but now it’s time to see whether any of their inspiration has rubbed off onto the teams.

(view spoiler)[
Thalia



The muse of comedy needs a laugh. Using book titles, it is time to write a comedy. Anything that makes you laugh goes.

You can use a maximum of 20 book titles.



Melpomene


After reading your comedies inspired by Thalia, Melpomene appears and everything takes a darker turn. As muse of Tragedy, she has your team holding you head in our hands as you write a tragedy using book titles.

You can use a maximum of 20 book titles.



Urania


Also known as the muse of mathematics, Urania feels there has been a lack of numbers in this TT. It’s time to make chains of sequential series numbers to placate her.

Your chains must contain at least 4 books and you can use up to 16 books in this section.


Polyhymnia



Numbers don’t interest Polyhymnia as much as they do Urania, but geometry and shapes certainly catch her eye. To pay homage to this muse, we’d like you to create 3 title squares (I.e. 12 books).

The book along the top and down the left edge should share the 1st letter. The book along the top’s last letter should match the right hand edge’s 1st letter.

The book along the bottom should have the same 1st letter as the last letter of the book on the left and a matching last letter with the book on right.


Erato



Erato wants to feel the love and the romance. She’s quite traditional so polyamory isn’t her thing. Instead she’d like 10 pairs of books. How you create your pairs is up to you, but creativity is to be applauded.

Possible examples include a pair where one book has a dog on the cover and the other a cat; books where the authors initials are the reverse of each other; identical covers.



Calliope


Sometimes thought of as the leader of the muses, Calliope would like to see a demonstration of team work. To do this you can read books read by a team member during the challenge. A maximum of 16 books can be used here.


Clio


The muses of history would like you to look back in time. As far back as your tbr will allow. Now is the time to stop being distracted by shiny and new, and instead appease Clio by reading books that have been languishing on your tbr shelf. She is only interested if it has been there longer than a year though. Between your team you can read 16 books for Clio.



Euterpe


You have all been doing a great job finding musical instruments for the muse of music, song and flute playing. She wants to throw a concert to celebrate the end of Tower Teams. Please find her 8 books with instruments on the cover or in the text to create your band or orchestra and 8 books that have song lyrics or poems quoted within the story for the playlist.
16 books in total should be used to put on your concert.



Terpsichore



What event would be complete without a ball being thrown. The muse of choral lyrics and dancing is hoping that she has given you enough inspiration for a wonderful evening to be held in honour of you all and the work you have put into creating your book towers.

Every ball needs guests in fancy outfits, which can be found on the covers of books (12 books).

The food and drink are another key component; anyone for fish and chips (with vinegar)? To cater for your ball, use words from your books. Up to 12 books can be used. Points will be awarded per book but if you want to use more than one food item from each you can.

Finally you need to pick the setting for your ball. This should be created from items on the cover of your books (6 books).


Rules

Each book can only be used for 1 task in this mini challenge.

We like players to be creative, that's what makes this fun. However, please do not hurt yourself over thinking the tasks. If you aren't sure a book works for a task, ask your team. If there still is some indecision, your captains can ask within the captain's group. Decisions made in the captain's group are final.

Books used may be started at any point during TT but cannot be finished before the start of the mini challenge. Books used for this must be completed by the end of the mini challenge timeframe. This mini challenge starts on 15th July at 9pm GMT and finishes at the end of Tower Teams.

Books used for this mini challenge cannot be used for other mini challenges.
(hide spoiler)]

Sophie wrote: "Alison wrote: "Is it 9pm on Friday that it ends? I've slightly lost the plot with the various different mini's"

Yeah it does. I'm about to make it worse and post the info for the last mini. It sho..."

I'd already spotted the new mini I think that was what was confusing me, too many things all starting and stopping at the same day/time.

I think I'm more or less ok with the new mini. Not sure how easy some of the tasks will be ("song lyrics or poem in text" is not the easiest). The only one I'm really struggling to get my head round is the book square one but I think it may be my brain on a go slow. I probably need to see it as a grid rather than trying to follow the description :D

If you ignore the letters in the middle, this is what the 4 titles should make. They don’t need to be the same lengths.

Thanks, I think I was confusing myself at first by thinking all 12 books were part of the same square. Took me longer than it should have to put together it was 3 squares with 4 books in each 😂

I don't want to think about how you would put 12 books in the same square.

24 hours to go! Does anyone fancy speed reading a #6 in a series?


Charybdis F
1. 800+ pages

Cyclops (U)
1,2,4 claimed not read Audrey
5.) Read a book whose MC is a farmer. In progress

Manticore Z
1.) Read a book between 500 and 650 pages (inclusive).
2.) Read a book set in Persia (Iran, Egypt, Turkey, Afghanistan and Pakistan).

Penanggalan AE
1.) Read a book 800 pages or longer.


Stymphalian Birds P
2. #6 in series

Small ss hunt and the stymphalian birds are gone. Thanks for all the work you have done marking where your books can be used! Means we can speed through some bits.

Drop Bear



The Drop Bear has been rumored to inhabit your wooded lands. They may look cute and cuddly but beware they are very hard to defeat and come out of nowhere. Just remember, all wildlife from Australia is apparently out to kill you, no matter how cute.

To vanquish this monster you must:
1.) Read a book between 500 and 650 pages (inclusive).
2.) Read a book set in Australia.
3.) Read a book with a surprise twist (your interpretation).
4.) Read a book with a carnivore on the cover (make sure it's not an omnivore!).
5.) Read a book with author initials found in VEGEMiTE.

Do we still need a farmer book? I've got about 40 pages left in The Glass Room. The title character is a police officer, but her neighbors are farmers and they are being investigated for murder. I think there are about 7-8 main characters in this one, but the neighbors are included in that.

Audrey is reading one as well, but I'm happy to have both as options; especially since she is reading for the rest of the cyclops.

currently reading one that works for Drop Bear 5 (author Sue Grafton) also has olive and vinegar in text should we end up needing those

Amy the book-bat wrote: "currently reading one that works for Drop Bear 5 (author Sue Grafton) also has olive and vinegar in text should we end up needing those"

oops... just noticed it needs both initials, not just one... I guess it won't work for drop bear...

My next book is set in Australia, hopefully I can get it done in time

I have a book set in Australia too, The Rosie Result, but I've got 4 hours left on the audio and family round today so I'm unlikely to finish it in time.

I also have Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow on the go and am close to finishing but thought I'd probably be as well waiting till after 9 tonight so we could use for the new challenge. I don't think it works for any monsters.

Drop Bear 1 and 5 are left open (initials in vegemite and page length).

If Audrey finishes her book we can complete the cyclops and get 1 more monster in. Then we can submit 5 monsters partially complete for points.

At what time does the mini end?. I will finish my 800+ book tonight, but I am not sure if it will be before the end of the challenge because of my time difference.

Exactly seven hours and ten minutes from now.

7 hours from now is the switch to Inspire the Muses from monster hunting.

9pm gmt if you want to convert it yourself.

Why did my brain go 9pm local time? :/

Finished The Glass Room. Not on a laptop, so just jotted down a couple of things that may or may not be useful for the mini on the spreadsheet.

buuu, I won't be able to finish it before the switch. I am at work right now and will go out in about 7.5 hours