2025 Reading Challenge discussion

READATHON CENTRAL
2023 Fall Readathon: Team Readathon
Duration: September 15 to September 24, 2023
Sign-up deadline: September 8
Team announcements: September 9
Once our team readathon goes live, here’s the thread where you can find FAQs and where the team leaders/assistants can post questions on behalf of their teams.

We Are Family Readathon
Welcome to 2023 Reading Challenge’s Fall Readathon! We are once again holding a 10-day long team readathon that we hope you will all enjoy just as much as last time! Didn’t participate in the last readathon? That’s totally cool! We will work to create teams with an even mix of seasoned and first-time “readathon-ers” as well as folks who read at different paces.

The readathon is based on a suggestion from Terry Jane! Thank you so much for the amazing idea. If you would like to suggest a readathon theme, please send it via private message to bailey or in the Readathon Wrap-Up thread that will be posted at the end of the readathon.

General Information
This 10-day readathon runs from September 15 to September 24, 2023, beginning and ending at midnight in your personal time zone. Participants will be divided fairly into teams of up to 11 based on the amount of books pledged when signing up.

There are 36 prompts including singles, doubles, and triples.

The teams will be announced around the 9th of September after sign-ups conclude. Please be sure to check in with your teammates prior to the start of the readathon!

The Prompts
Anyone on any team can read books that fulfill the prompts listed below. There are three categories of prompts: singles, doubles, and triples. Singles require 1 book to receive points, doubles require 2 books to receive points, and triples require 3 books to receive points. You can collaborate with your teammates on these prompts to reach the amount of books required. Keep in mind that if you are reading a book for one mission, you cannot double count it towards another mission simultaneously.

Ex. I read a book for a triple mission, I can only count that book towards the triple mission and not also towards a single or double prompt. It is allowed for team members to read the same book. We also encourage you to count books you read for the readathon towards your quarterly, monthly, and yearly challenges!

Point System
Although teams may have varying amounts of members, you have all been divided fairly based on the number of books pledged. The point breakdown is as follows:

Singles: 50 POINTS EACH
Doubles: 150 POINTS EACH
Triples: 300 POINTS EACH
Pages Read: 1 POINT PER PAGE

Audiobook Hours Listened: 15 hours = 1,000 pages
For audio hours, please be sure to track the time you spend listening and not the length of the audiobook if you listen at a speed greater than 1x

FAQs

I'm a Team Leader, what exactly are my responsibilities?
As Team Leader (TL), your responsibilities are to double check that the team is updating your team spreadsheet correctly, moving books that could fit other prompts if needed, and being the designated question-asker for your team in this thread.

As TL, please create a post for your team in the Team Progress thread to report how your team’s doing.

An Assistant supports the TL as the TL requires (assistance), or when the TL's not around. When agreed upon between the two, an Assistant may permanently assume one or more of the TL's duties or temporarily during the TL's absence.

*I’d planned to read a book for a specific prompt, but when I finished the book, that prompt was already filled by a teammate. What should I do?
Make sure that you’ve checked off all the prompts that your book will fill. As the readathon progresses, your team captain can look at which books can be moved around to optimize prompt coverage.

*I don’t feel like reading today. Will my team hate me?
No, of course not. Read what you want when you can and, most importantly, have fun.

*How do we fill in our team’s spreadsheet?
Each team member is responsible for typing in their reading plans (not all of them, only what they're currently reading) as well as their daily progress in reading or listening.
Be sure to also report on the spreadsheet when a book you finish completes a prompt.

*What about audiobooks? Graphic novels/comics?
Audiobook hours can be used for our readathon! The formula is 15 hrs = 1,000 pages read.

Unfortunately, graphic novels/comics will not count for this readathon. In an effort to make things fair for everyone, we have decided that graphic novels/comics and books under 100 pages will not count.

*Some of my teammates haven't shown up yet to discuss reading plans. What should I do?
Send me a message letting me know which members you are missing from your discussion thread. I will work to contact them as quickly as possible to let them know they have been assigned to your team. Unfortunately, we cannot ensure that all group members will show up, however, in the event of the majority of your teammates missing we will work to relocate those of you who did to uphold fairness and allow everyone to have fun while participating.

PROMPTS

Singles:

Read a book with a character/author on the asexual and/or aromantic spectrum
Read a book about someone who is looking for a partner
Read a book about a person who has taken a vow of celibacy (religious, etc.)
Read a book about a lost family member
Read a book about a family that has been separated
Read a memoir in which the author describes their family
Read a book featuring an orphan
Read a book that involves the mob (fiction or nonfiction)
Read a book featuring an only child
Read a book about someone living with a caretaker other than their parent
Read a book about a person who becomes a parent
Read a book about a family vacation
Read a book about the loss of a family member and/or its aftermath

Doubles:

Read 2 books that have dual POVs
Read 2 books with a parental figure as the main character
The Family Pets: Read 2 books with an animal as the main character
Read 2 books about family ceremonies, rituals, traditions (wedding, funeral, reunion, etc.)
Read 2 books with a character who has secret or unknown heritage
Read 2 books that were recommended by one of your family members
Read 2 books about families living in foreign countries
Read 2 books about siblings
Read 2 books about ‘nontraditional’ families
Read 2 books about best friends
Read 2 books about grandparents
Read 2 books about children in foster care

Triples:

Read 3 books featuring the found family trope
Read 3 books featuring the title of a family member in the book title (ex. Dial A for Aunties, My Sister’s Keeper)
Read 3 books with elderly protagonists
Read 3 books about characters who are viewed as ‘loners’ or ‘outsiders’
Read 3 books in the Family Saga genre
Read 3 books about people who were adopted
Read 3 books about blended families
Read 3 books featuring historical (fiction or nonfiction) families
Read 3 books featuring a group or club
Read 3 books featuring poly relationships or characters
Read 3 books about family conflict

Hello,
Quick question from team 4: Are we allowed to repeat prompts, or does there need to be no overlap?

For instance, for the double of "read2 books about siblings" - can we potentially read 4?

I have the same question.
I think if we are able to use the rows for multiple books for the prompts in the tracking tab, the tracking on the right hand side (hours/pages for those prompts) will turn into a complete mess if we move books around - so probably we can only fill prompts once? And we add only one book per row - so that is why there are three rows for the triples, not because we can fill the prompt three times (meaning nine books).
Is that correct?

Regarding the prompt points, I think the spreadsheets possibly need to be adjusted, it seems to only add 50 points for all the rows; while it should be 75 for the doubles and 100 for the triples per row, if I understand it correctly? (and the team captains will be adding yes for those once the right amount of rows for the prompt are filled in?)

Can i ask what does this prompt mean? "families living in foreign countries"
Foreign to where? The country the character was born in? Or the country we live in?

Hola!
Can we read books, that don't fit any prompt or that fit but the prompt is fulfilled already, just for the pages points like in the Rainbow Readathon?

Lisa & Lina, prompts can only be fulfilled one time for this readathon. So, singles would only require one person to read one book; doubles require one or two people to read a total of 2 books; and triples require 1-3 people to read a total of 3 books. I hope this explanation is a bit more clear!

Lina, I will go through and adjust the spreadsheet points, thank you for pointing that out!! As for the "yes" columns, I'd say it's a good idea to leave that up to the team captains to review and mark complete since there will be a bit more to it than June's Rainbow readathon.

Meg, I would say foreign to the family in the story.

Carmen, yes! I can't believe I forgot to update that on the spreadsheet. I will go through and update them!

Fantastic! Thanks for clarifying.
Will DNF's count aswell this time round, for the "pages points" only?

bailey wrote: "Carmen, yes! I can't believe I forgot to update that on the spreadsheet. I will go through and update them!"
Great!
Thanks bailey!
P.S.: I've already updated the points count issue for doubles and triples in the spreadsheet of Team 6 😘

Lisa, yes! DNF's will once again count for the pages only points. All spreadsheets should be updated now with the spaces for pages only and the prompt point adjustments.

As always, please let me know if there are any other spreadsheet discrepancies that need looked at!!

I also wanted to add:

Once your team comes up with a name, please post it in this thread so I can get your discussion name updated!

bailey wrote: "I also wanted to add:

Once your team comes up with a name, please post it in this thread so I can get your discussion name updated!" 👍

In this challenge, may we count books that were begun before the challenge start date as long as there are at least 100 pages remaining by then?

Beth wrote: "In this challenge, may we count books that were begun before the challenge start date as long as there are at least 100 pages remaining by then?"

Yes Beth. According to the sign-up thread, those qualify :)

Beth wrote: "In this challenge, may we count books that were begun before the challenge start date as long as there are at least 100 pages remaining by then?"

Yes, Beth! Lisa is correct on this one.

If you are wanting to count a book towards a prompt, whether it be single, double, or triple, it has to have 100 pages left to be read at the start of the readathon at midnight on Sept 15. So you can start any book you want to read for the readathon and just leave 100 pages to finish after it begins!

Thanks for clarifying. I had looked but didn’t see it confirmed anywhere.

Hola!
I have a tricky question:
I plan to read a book that is a triology in itself (End of the Chapter: The Forsyte Saga Volume III), I mean 1 volume that contains 3 books.
Does it count as 3 books for the prompt "family saga", or do I have to detach each book independently, even though I'm going to read the one volume.
Thanks

Carmen wrote: "Hola!
I have a tricky question:
I plan to read a book that is a triology in itself (End of the Chapter: The Forsyte Saga Volume III), I mean 1 volume that contains 3 books.
Does it ..."

Let me consult with the other mods and I’ll get back to you!

Hey Bailey,
Team 4's new team name is "Page Turners" :)

Hola!
I am pleased to announce that the name chosen by Team 6 is:
🎉🎉👯‍♀️Pointer Sixters👯‍♀️🎉🎉

Hi! Team 5 would like to be known henceforth as

insert drumroll

📖🐛Bookworms United📖🐛

Team 2 has decided to be named after a fictional family
So we will be The Addams Family

bailey wrote: "Let me consult with the other mods and I’ll get back to you!"

The readathon is underway in Carmen's time zone. Do you have an official ruling on the family saga trilogy in one volume? Thanks, bailey.

Are we allowed to count plays?

Carmen wrote: "Hola!
I have a tricky question:
I plan to read a book that is a triology in itself (End of the Chapter: The Forsyte Saga Volume III), I mean 1 volume that contains 3 books.
Does it ..."

Whoops, sorry for the late reply, I definitely thought I responded to this but clearly didn't! The mods and I discussed and think it is fine to count each volume as a separate book so long as they are at least 100 pages if you plan to count them for a prompt.

Lisa wrote: "Are we allowed to count plays?"

In the interest of fairness, we are going to say no due to the amount of white space on the pages. Plays would be a great thing to line up for an individual readathon where fairness isn’t so much of a factor :)

bailey wrote: "Carmen wrote: "Hola!
I have a tricky question:
I plan to read a book that is a triology in itself (End of the Chapter: The Forsyte Saga Volume III), I mean 1 volume that contains 3 ..."

Thanks!
I'll count each book individully in the "completed" section 😘

bailey wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Are we allowed to count plays?"

In the interest of fairness, we are going to say no due to the amount of white space on the pages. Plays would be a great thing to line up for an indiv..."

Fair enough!
I had just come across the quintessential "family conflict" play :D
Thanks for the reply, bailey :)

On the spreadsheet, should the multiples for M28:M122 (or whatever the exact range is) be 50, 150, and 300? I thought the double point books were = 150 each (the multiplier now is 75) and triple = 300 each (the multiplier now is 100).

Thanks!

Hola!
Can we count the loss of a best fried as the loss of a family member?
Thanks

Beth wrote: "On the spreadsheet, should the multiples for M28:M122 (or whatever the exact range is) be 50, 150, and 300? I thought the double point books were = 150 each (the multiplier now is 75) and triple = ..."

That would be fabulous! 😁
I'm afraid that the multipliers are right as they are.
You win 150 point for each double (when you read the 2 books for the prompt) and 300 for each triple (when the 3 books for the prompt are finished)

Hey Beth, I think the multipliers are correct.
Its 50 points per Single Book, Doubles give you 150 (so 75 each), and Triples 300 (so 100 each). (Its one book per row, so adds up to being the correct multipliers. You just have to make sure to only add the 'yes' for doubles/triples if they have actually been filled completely :) .)

Ah. The way it’s worded led me to think that each book was worth the 150 or 300. It’s actually that each prompt is worth those values as long as both or all 3 are read. 👍🏻

Appreciate the clarification!

Beth wrote: "Ah. The way it’s worded led me to think that each book was worth the 150 or 300. It’s actually that each prompt is worth those values as long as both or all 3 are read. 👍🏻

Appreciate the clarifica..."

Yes this is the correct multipliers for the prompts! Your team will only get prompt points for the doubles and triples once both (or all 3 for triples) books are completed! So with the multipliers at 75 and 100, each person can type 'yes' in the complete column and once all books are read for the prompt, it will add up to the total of either 150 or 300. I hope this helps!

Carmen wrote: "Hola!
Can we count the loss of a best fried as the loss of a family member?
Thanks"

I would say yes because best friends can fall under the category of 'found family' and many people consider their friends to be a part of their family!

bailey wrote: "Carmen wrote: "Hola!
Can we count the loss of a best fried as the loss of a family member?
Thanks"

I would say yes because best friends can fall under the category of 'found family' and many peopl..."

Great!
Thanks bailey 😘

Question on the spreadsheet. I saw someone mention not to enter Yes in the "Complete?" column on the Tracking tab unless it is a single prompt. We shouldn’t mark yes on Complete for doubles or triples until/unless all books for that prompt are read.

Yay or nay?

Beth, that is correct! Waiting until all books are completed for a double/triple prompt is a good way to ensure that all books get read before adding the prompt points to your total score.

bailey wrote: "Beth, that is correct! Waiting until all books are completed for a double/triple prompt is a good way to ensure that all books get read before adding the prompt points to your total score."

Thanks!

Spreadsheet Calculations question:
The prompts completed points total at the bottom of the tracking sheet was calculating at 2 times what it should have been. It looks like it relates to including row 103 in the totaling, since row 103 is set to total the prompt completion points. I changed the formula for the prompt points total at the bottom to be equal to row 103, but not sure if it's set up right on the other sheets.

Betty wrote: "Spreadsheet Calculations question:
The prompts completed points total at the bottom of the tracking sheet was calculating at 2 times what it should have been. It looks like it relates to including ..."

Ah, I see what you mean! When I added the non-prompt rows I forgot to update the correct M cell for that formula to M131. I've updated your team's formula and am going through and updating the remaining teams spreadsheets now. Thank you, Betty!

Team Page Turners, and Team Bound by Books spreadsheets' are fixed, bailey.