Romance Readers Reading Challenges discussion
Archive - Pass The Parcel
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Pass The Parcel Round 20 - Playing.
This is a team challenge to encourage members to meet new friends and find new books.PLEASE READ EVERY LINE OF THESE INSTRUCTIONS
I will be referring members back to this post if you ask me something already outlined here.
For this challenge we will have teams of roughly 6 players. The group will have a team captain who will track the completion of books for their team and remind their fellow team-members about compliance to the rules. Teams will be allocated before the reading starts. This will be done randomly.
Members signing up need to be prepared TO READ APPROXIMATELY ONE BOOK EACH WEEK.
Each week a theme will be randomly selected from the list posted in msg 4. This theme will be posted in the Discussion/Q&A thread between 3pm and 6pm US EST each Friday. (Feel free to prompt me if I forget :)
PLEASE NOTE THE TIMES for the theme announcements. I cannot guarantee I will post by the 3pm mark since that is 6am for me.
Each member in the group has the following options:
1. Read a book that matches the theme (the parcel)
OR
2. Select a book from the 'READ' list of a team-mate that they read in the last 6 months AND that the team-mate rated at least 3 stars. (This essentially passing on a recommendation.)
If the book is in a series but does not match where you are up to, you may read another book from that same series.
OR
3. 'Pass' on reading a book that week.
BUT each team member can only select option #3 once each 5 (five) weeks. AND each team may only have ONE person 'passing' for the round each week. It is up to the team as to how they manage a 'pass'. (Yes - this means that one or two team-mates per group can't claim a pass in a 5 week block.)
Each team member must post their selection (option 1, 2 or 3) in the week that the theme is announced. Please follow the format provided in msg 3. You can only change your book selection in its posting week. So choose carefully.
Each team member must return to their team thread and post a short review of the book that they read. This review should be enough to indicate that the member DID read the book. A couple of sentences is sufficient. "I liked it" is not.
Key information is required in both the selection and completion posts. Please ensure that you and your team-mates follow the format set out in msg 3 below. You and your Captain cannot claim to have completed your book until the post holds all the required information.
This challenge will run for 11 weeks. The winning team is the one that completes the challenge first; they win bragging rights :)
No-one can use the 'pass' option in the last week of the challenge.
Rules:
* Each team member MUST post their selection book into their team thread each week or they will be removed from the challenge. It isn't fair on your team-mates if you are not committed to participant each week.
* You MUST post your selection book in the week of the announced category. If you miss selecting your book (or pass) in that week, you will be removed from the challenge. The only exception is if you have contacted your team, team captain or one of the Mods with a valid reason. The decision to not remove you is solely up to the moderator running the game.
* You can only change your nominated theme book in the week that the theme is announced. You CANNOT change your book once a new theme is announced.
* '5 weeks' will be counted in blocks of five, with a new count starting in week 6.
* No-one can use the 'pass' option in the last week of the challenge.
* To qualify for a theme, the book's eligibility must meet the rules for the theme as posted each week (eg tagged, in the précis, MPG or found on an official list as contained in the theme announcement). Refer to the Q&A thread for more clarification on this rule.
* You can change your nominated book only during the week that it's theme is called.
* Books must be at least 100 pages in length.
* Anthologies and bundled books are fine, but you must read the full set.
* You must quote the page numbers for your selected book each week. Please quote the goodreads page numbers (any edition of the book is fine).
* The 'series' rule for Option 2 only applies to Option 2. The same book can be used under option 2 for multiple weeks so long as that book remains within the 6 month timeframe.
Important!!! If a team member falls behind by more than 2 books, they WILL be removed from the challenge. The team who loses that member will continue with the lower number of team-mates. This rule is to ensure that ALL participants are committed to their team and the challenge.
PLEASE NOTE - I will not remove, nor accept retirement from, any players in the last two weeks of the challenge. This will mean that the team cannot win if their players are MIA in the last two weeks.
IMPORTANT:
In the last week of the challenge, Option 2 will be altered. Book selections under option 2 will have to be taken from a different team's members' bookshelves. I will allocate the teams out on posting the final theme (week 11).
For example (and this allocation will be randomly done on the day of the last theme call)
Option 2 for Team 1 must come from the bookshelves of Team 4.
******
For those of you who didn't play this growing up, a 'parcel' is passed from one person to another. ...When setting this game up, a prize (or 'gift') is wrapped in a large number of layers of wrapping paper. Smaller prizes may be placed between some or all other layers of wrapping.
During the game, music is played as the parcel is passed around. Whoever is holding the parcel when the music stops removes one layer of wrapping and claims any prize found under that layer. The music is then restarted and the game continues until every layer is removed and the main prize claimed.
This is the RRRC version of the game with a few more options and rules than we may remember from our childhood ;)
Key selection and completion post information. You must have ALL elements in your book posts.For selection post Option 1 you must have:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
How the book qualifies - please note which qualifying bookshelf/list you are using or the tags that justifies that it works.
If the theme is based off the bookcover, post the cover. If there is a letter count in the title, publication date etc, please note these details.
For selection post Option 2 you must have:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Page numbers
Name of the team-member, their star rating, the date they read the book.
For selection post Option 3 you must have:
Week #
PASS
For the completion post you must have:
Week #
Bookcover/link
Rating (1-5)
Review
Please DO NOT CHAT in these selection/completion posts. It needs to be super clear.
If you 'waffle' about your decided book - please REPOST your selection once you decide. DO NOT go back and edit your waffling post.
IF YOU NEED TO CORRECT A POST FOR MISSING INFORMATION or because the didn't qualify etc, please REPOST this inforamtion in a NEW post. I don't want to have to keep going backwards in the thread.
Pass The Parcel - Round 20😴 Sleep 💤
The ability to sleep is something that proves elusive to many. This challenge is inspried by Matthew Walker's book: Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams. Within it we will explore some attributes of sleep as we enjoy our weekly dose of romance ;)
1. Author: Matthew Walker
Read a book with the letters M & W in the book title and/or author's name.
2. More than a third of adults fail to get enough sleep each night.
Read the third book in a series OR any book from a trilogy.
You must specify which option is used.
3. Charlotte Bronte once wrote: "a ruffled mind makes a restless pillow".
Read a book with MPG Historical or by an author whose last name starts with either C or B.
You must specify which option is used.
4. Too little sleep swells a hormone that makes you feel hungry.
Read a book with food or drink on the cover.
Include the book cover in your qualification
5. Until recently, medical science was unable to consistently and fully explain why we sleep.
Read a book from on of the following medical romance lists:
Creatures Great & Small : Veterinarians in Romance
Doctor Medical Romance Heroes
Doctor Medical Romance Heroines
Best Gay Doctors
Heal Me! Best Male Doctors in Romance
Nurse Themed Romances
Include the list used in your qualification
6. Every animal species sleeps - some for up to 22 hours each day.
Read a book featuring an animal from one of the following lists:
Favourite Romances with Pets
Pawsitively Love
Cats: Wonderful Pets in Romance
Dogs: Great Pets in Romance
MM Small Shifters
Gay Romances With Pets
Include the list used in your qualification
7. Sleep regenerates both the mind and body.
Read a book with an exposed human body on the cover.
Cover model must be predominately unclothed with more than 50% of their skin showing.
Include the book cover in the qualification
8. Within the brain, sleep enriches our ability to learn, memorise and make logical decisions and choices.
Read a book from one of the brainy/nerd lists:
Romance Novels with STEM Heroines
Brainy Romantic Heroes
Nergasms
Gay Bookish, Nerdy, Geeky Characters
Nerdy Geeky Heroines of Romance
Include the list used in your qualification
9. Sleep is referred to as the Swiss Army knife of health.
Read a book with a military MC from one of the following lists:
Military Romance & Fiction
Military Romance & Fiction part 2
Girls with Guns: Miliary Space Opera
Best Military Romances
Any of the "MM_Military_Spies_Intelligence_Officers" from any year. Please link to that list. eg MM Military | Spies | Intelligence Officers of 2015
Gay Romance Feat MC suffering from PTSD
Include the list used in your qualification
10. The author states that he would be delighted if you found yourself nodding off as you read his book.
Read a book that would 'comfort' or 'relax' you. The book MUST NOT have a MPG of Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Action or Adventure!
Specify that the list of MPG do not use the above genres
11. Jet lag - drowsiness after moving through too many time zones too quickly.
Read a book where the MC travels to a different country.
Qualification may be from the precis, list or tag.
12. The likelihood of breaking an Olympic record has been tied to the time of day, being at the maximal peak of the circadian rhythm in the early afternoon.
Read a book featuring an athletic MC or sport.
Qualification may be from the precis, list or tag.
13. In 1927 a French geophysicist discovered that plants generate their own internal time.
Read a book with a plant on the cover.
Trees, bushes, grass count.
Include the book cover in the qualification
14. In the absence of sunlight (days/nights) humans continue to maintain the circadian rhythm of roughly 15 hours awake and 9 hours asleep.
Read a book with the numbers 15 and 9 in the publication date and/or the page numbers.
The numbers (15 & 9) need to be complete within each component, eg day, month, year, page count. You may convert the month of publication into a number.
E.g. book published on 15 May 2005 paired with the same edition's page number 209.
Something like 1 May will not work for '15' since the numbers are spread over day and month. But 15 September will work.
Any edition can be used, but both 15 & 9 must be used in the date/page numbers of that same edition.
15. About 40% of the population are Early Birds
Read a book that was first published in the last 6 months.
For the purpose of this challenge, it will be a book published on or after 1 October 2022.
Date of publication must be stated in the qualification
16. And 30% of the population are Night Owls
Read a shifter romance.
Qualification may be from the precis, list or tag.
17. Caffeine artificially mutes the sleep signal to keep you awake
Read a book that has a MPG tag of Horror, Thriller, Mystery, Action or Adventure.
Specify the MPG used to qualify
Sign UpsIf you are happy to be Captain, please let me know in your sign up post.
I'd really appreciate that bit of extra help from anyone who is happy to take on this fairly minor role :D
🩹Deep Sleep (the healing sleep) - Captains
Diane
Lisa
MKat
KarenH
Hazel
Jean*
Teresa*
LaurLa
Kira*
Carmen*
KathyD
👁️REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) - Dreaming readers
Roger
Sexyladi
Michaele
Amanda
Trio
Geri
Kate
Emeli
Kat
Iliana
Liza
Mouse
Karen kmk
MN Lisa
Van
Jamie
Shandrea*
Darkness
Bailey
Shan A
Allie
Louise
Vi
Maddie
Shelby*
bamaace83
Jodi
Jill
R~wka
Logan
Shannon
Unusual Child (beppy)
Fran
Misericordia*
Nicole
Truitt
Vanessa
Alicia
Ariel
*Either Captain or Player
As you read through this round's themes, please think of adding books that qualify to our lists in the theme post. This will help everyone with their selections :DThis thread is now open for sign-ups!
I am in for rem sleep
I'm in and happy to be a captain. Perhaps one who day dreams about Deep Sleep more than one who actually gets enough of it... 🤷🏻♀️🤦🏻♀️
I'm in, and happy to be captain. Maybe some of that Deep Sleep will rub off on me in RL!
I really need some ZZZs, so sign me up! REM dreaming reader please.
We’ve lost internet- will post tasks when it comes back on 😊
I’m in and happy to be back playing this challenge. I can be captain if needed.
I’m in for deep or rem sleep whichever you need.
I need sleep of any sort so REM or Deep - whichever you need :D
I'll play. I can be captain if needed!
Me too please. Deep or REM, happy to captain if needed.
I'm in! 👁️REM Sleep (Rapid Eye Movement) - Dreaming readers
I’m in for REM but can do Deep Sleep if you need me :)
What is the difference in teams? I tried finding something in the rules but I must have missed it
Maddie wrote: "What is the difference in teams? I tried finding something in the rules but I must have missed it"Members who are happy to be a Captain of a team sign up as Deep Sleep / Captain. Those who do not want to be a Captain are signing up as REM.
Jane (PS) wrote: "Maddie wrote: "What is the difference in teams? I tried finding something in the rules but I must have missed it"Members who are happy to be a Captain of a team sign up as Deep Sleep / Captain. T..."
Thanks! Rem please :)
I'm in for a bit of rem sleep please. If we're short captains let me know and I can probably help out.
THEME - 😴 Sleep 💤
Start date - FRIDAY 31 March
Sign up - now through to FRIDAY 24 March 4pm US EST
Teams assigned by 24 March after sign ups close
Last theme call - 9 June
If you sign up for this challenge, you must be prepared to:
* Read roughly one book each week
* Follow the format for the selection and completion posts.
* Post your selection book BEFORE the next theme is called, or you will be eliminated
* Technically be able to put links to other threads/bookshelves/lists, and insert book links and book covers in your posts. (These are not difficult but you MUST be able to do these links; they don't have to look pretty, but they do need to go to the intended location).
PLEASE READ THE RULES OF THE CHALLENGE CAREFULLY.
IF YOU HAVEN'T POSTED EACH WEEK WITHIN THE TIMELINES ABOVE AND YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY TOLD TEAM-MATES OR A MODERATOR - no questions - YOU WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR TEAM and the challenge.
FURTHER, if you have dropped out of this challenge without explanation in the past or have been removed for lack of attendance, and you sign up and wish to play again, I will be PMing you...
This does not include those players who have PMd me or their Captain and dropped out due to real-life issues... We all understand that sometimes life throws curve-balls that mean you can't continue playing with us 🧡