PenPal Readers discussion

Team Bookmark Biathletes - this is your discussion thread for the Team Olympics Reading Challenge Mar 1 - May 31st. Say hello to your teammates, share the books you will read, cheer on your team etc.

Here are your teammates: Amber M./USA , Sakshi/India , Jazzy/England , Teena/USA , Mion/Estonia , Lucy/USA , Catarina/Portugal , Anne/ USA

Greetings :)

Hello fellow Bookmark Biathletes :) - I'm in Austin, TX. It's spring here already, the trees are budding and flowers are peeking through the soil. So I'm not sure that I want to read a book with ice/snow in it.. haha - will focus on the other bonus points... :)

Hello everyone :)

Hello, everyone!
It's really cold and snowy here, so if anyone knows a great book with winter, snow and ice, let me know!

Hello Everyone!!

Mion wrote: "Hello, everyone!
It's really cold and snowy here, so if anyone knows a great book with winter, snow and ice, let me know!"

Oooh, Mion, if you like fairytale/folkloric fantasy reads, the book The Bear and the Nightingale, (Winternight Trilogy #1) is an enchanting winter read - it's based on old Russian folklore, set in the deep frozen forests of Russia. It has LOTS of snow and ice, and even a Frost Demon who is dangerous but just a little bit charming too :)

The second book in the series is 'The Girl in the Tower' and it's great too! I'm eagerly awaiting book 3, 'The Winter of the Witch', which releases Aug 14, 2018.

Lovely and snowy here in the northeast of England. I'm reading:

The Ice Storm - Rick Moody
which I picked up at Oxfam during a thunder-snow-storm this week.

Also reading:

The Easter Parade - Richard Yates
Bonjour Tristesse - Françoise Sagan

Now I have to figure out how this works....!

Jazzy wrote: "Lovely and snowy here in the northeast of England. I'm reading:

The Ice Storm - Rick Moody
which I picked up at Oxfam during a thunder-snow-storm this week..."

Yay, Jazzy, 3 books on the go, so glad you are on OUR team :) Way to get us some early points :)

So, we're logging anything we read - the bonus criteria are just extra points, yes? And we're putting them in before we actually finish them...? In that case, I have Illuminae, Many Waters, and Golden Son to put on there... And do we post the completions in here then?

Amber wrote: "So, we're logging anything we read - the bonus criteria are just extra points, yes? And we're putting them in before we actually finish them...? In that case, I have Illuminae, [boo..."

Hi Amber, Yes!!! You got it! Log everything you read during the 3 months. You get 1 point for each book you read, as well as points for each page you read. Then ADDITIONALLY, you can earn some extra bonus points if any of the books you read meet the criteria.

Here's the link to the spreadsheet where you record your books..

You can add the book to the spreadsheet as soon as you start reading, as that's one point already :) then you can update the pages and bonus points as you read... For the pages, only include the pages you read starting today!!

I hope this makes sense!

Just a reminder for all, for the '# pages read' on books you'd already started before today, only include the actual pages that you read starting today onwards! Here's an example: So if you are mid-way through a book yesterday (Feb 28) (say at page 100), and then you keep reading today onwards until the book is finished (say book total is 355 pages), you would record 255 pages as the actual pages read (355 total MINUS 100 pages read BEFORE the contest started = 255 pages actual read between Mar 1 & May 31).

Hope that makes sense?! :)

Ok, thanks :)

I have a quick question. When we finish a book, do we have to do anything to acknowledge that on the spreadsheet?

Teena wrote: "I have a quick question. When we finish a book, do we have to do anything to acknowledge that on the spreadsheet?"
That's a good suggestion, Teena! I'll add a column for you to indicate when you are done with a book. (and even if you DNF a book, you're still 'DONE' with it, right? 😉)

To All: Some great questions are being asked by all the teams! So I've set-up another tab on the Google spreadsheet, titled 'FAQ' to capture all of the questions being asked/answered. So you can check there first, and then post here if your question hasn't been answered yet.

It's awesome to see the flurry of activity with everyone jumping in on the challenge so quickly!

Thank you :)

This is probably silly but can anyone agree that Terry Pratchett's Maskerade would count as Bonus #4? It's kind of about music/opera.

Mion wrote: "This is probably silly but can anyone agree that Terry Pratchett's Maskerade would count as Bonus #4? It's kind of about music/opera."

YES, I agree! Sure! Opera is music/singing/performance, so fits criteria for #4 well!

This book sounds like such a fun read! I'm happy to learn of it, I've actually never read a Terry Pratchett yet (gasp! HA)

Anne wrote: "Mion wrote: "This is probably silly but can anyone agree that Terry Pratchett's Maskerade would count as Bonus #4? It's kind of about music/opera."

YES, I agree! Sure! Opera is music/..."

Great! I'll log it on the spreadsheet when I get home later!

Also, I'm about 1/3 into the book and it's amazing! I absolutely love Pratchett's style and sense of humour! I definitely recommend!

I've had a few questions on scoring bonus points. So here's a bit of clarification:

Example:
- Book ONE that you read has winter(#1) and music(#4) in it. => you score bonus #1 and bonus #4
- Book TWO that you read has winter(#1) and fire(#5) in it. => you score bonus #5 only, because you already scored #1
- Book THREE that you read has music(#4) and fire(#5) it it => you score no bonus points, because you scored both already
- Book FOUR that you read has a Norwegian author and gold in it => you score bonus #7 and bonus #6
And so on.... until you've scored all 8 bonus points once, and then you're complete with the bonus portion of the challenge!

In summary,
A given book can earn you multiple bonus points. But you can only score a given bonus ONCE in the challenge. So your maximum to earn is 8 points overall.

I've added a column to right side of the tracking grid to summarize which of the bonuses you've earned so far
Hope that helps!

I'm not sure I can get all 8 bonus points, but will try. I don't have any books about Korea, a shame really. I notice someone is reading one of the books I bought for a different challenge - Anne is reading The Penguin Lessons and I have a second hand paperback winking at me from the shelf.

Jazzy wrote: "I'm not sure I can get all 8 bonus points, but will try. I don't have any books about Korea, a shame really. I notice someone is reading one of the books I bought for a different challenge - Anne i..."

We couldn't make the bonus points TOO easy, now could we :) LOL. I know getting all 8 will be a challenge for me too! I read a really good book about North Korea/Korean author, but I read it in February ... ugh! In case anyone else wants to read it, here's the link:
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea

Re: The Penguin Lessons - Wow! It's not a well known book, so that's so neat you have it on your shelf too! The cover totally drew me into that one - I'm a sucker for penguins!

Hm, A River in Darkness is not for sale in my country.
As for the Penguin Lessons it was on the shelf at the Oxfam for £1.99 so I picked it up.
What are the other Book of the Month books so we can get another point? The current book sounds depressing and dire. I was going to say I don't like books about Americans, but then realised that's not true, I love the Beat Poets - especially Jack Kerouac - and Richard Yates with his yummy use of the english language, even if his stories of fractured and lonely people are often disturbing. I had read a lot of 'free kindle books' and fell out of love with my kindle and all these horribly written atrocities, and gave it up when for 50p I picked up Yates' Cold Spring Harbor. THIS. This is what was missing, those careful and brilliant nuances of the pure art of writing. The dedication was to Kurt Vonnegut, and I had just picked up Cat's Cradle at the Oxfam on the same day, so read them back to back.

What are the other Book of the Month books so we ca..."

@Jazzy,
We will be sending out more info very soon about upcoming monthly reads ideas and seeking everyone's input! Going forward we do hope to be able to finalize and communicate with more lead-time, so that everyone will have plenty of time to source the book and plan their reading schedule etc.

Hopefully the following months books will have something of interest for you. It's a lofty challenge (near impossible) to find a single book that will appeal to all our members, as we're a diverse group! But we are for sure aiming to have lots of variety of themes/genres over the year, so, hopefully there will be enough variation that everyone finds something they like and participates at least once or more!

And then or course the other wonderful option for any member is to post a new Buddy Read topic for any book they'd like to read, and other members can then join a read along and discussion! That's a GREAT option for a member if the current month's book doesn't sound appealing to them. :)

What about the past books of the month? Wouldn't they count for a point? if we knew what they were that would help. As for books of the month, it would be good to make sure the prices are low (or free) and the book is easy to find.

Anne you said "And then or course the other wonderful option for any member is to post a new Buddy Read topic for any book they'd like to read, and other members can then join a read along and discussion! That's a GREAT option for a member if the current month's book doesn't sound appealing to them. :) "

So...does that mean if we do we get a point for the winter bookathon?

Jazzy wrote: "What about the past books of the month? Wouldn't they count for a point? if we knew what they were that would help. As for books of the month, it would be good to make sure the prices are low (or f..."

Hi Jazzy! I LOVE your competitive spirit, and you are a voracious reader!! It's AWESOME!

Bonus point #8 is intended to encourage people to participate in the book of the month! But I can see how it's limiting with only 3 months of Book of the Month (Mar/Apr/May), and we haven't got Apr or May chosen yet. So, to make this bonus more achievable, I'm good with including all of the past books of the Month too (essentially any book that's on the PenPal Bookshelf).. I will add this the Bonus Points Criteria information in the thread and on the spreadsheet. Thanks for the suggestion :)

The buddy reads will not count for the olympic bonus point, as it would add a bit too much complexity from a tracking/validating perspective...

To ALL - Re: Bonus # 8 (Reading the Book of the Month)

We've updated the criteria to make it a little easier to earn bonus #8 :) You now have 32 books to choose from that can earn this bonus, instead of just 3, by including the past BOTM (book of the month) too.

So you can earn the bonus with either of:
- you read a book that is a BOTM during the contest (Mar, Apr*, May*)
- or you read a book that was a BOTM in the past. You can find the past BOTM's on our PenPal Readers Bookshelf here(any book on this bookshelf qualifies)
- reminder you can only score this bonus ONCE, even if you read more than one book that was or is a BOTM.

*The April and May book polls will be coming out very soon, so that we can confirm those two books)

Happy Reading and competing everyone! :)

Hey everyone :)

I just wanted to check if Caraval fit the criteria for bonus point #2 (a sport or competition).

Thank you

Teena wrote: "Hey everyone :)

I just wanted to check if Caraval fit the criteria for bonus point #2 (a sport or competition).

Thank you"

Yes! the book blurb mentions game, competition, and winner!

I read Caraval and I thought it was great! There were definitely characters competing against eachother to solve the mystery of Tella's location and win the game!

I hope you're enjoying it! I'm eagerly awaiting book #2 which releases May 29th :)

Way to go, Jazzy! First participant to score all 8 bonus points!

And thanks to whoever tweaked the spreadsheet shading to make it all clearer to understand! Looks great - big improvement!

To ALL - We're getting ready to send out book polls for our April, May, and June BOTM reads.

April: "Fantastical World:" fantasy, folklore, fairytale, myths, magic, creatures, retellings, etc.
May: "Night at the Movies": book made into a movie (or being made into one soon)
June: "Intergalactic Travels": sci-fi, time travel, space etc

We're taking book suggestions to include in the polls! So if there's a book that you've been wanting to read that fits any of those themes, please go the appropriate thread and post your comment.

thread 'Suggest a Fantasy book for our April BOTM'

thread 'Suggest a Movie book for our May BOTM'

thread 'Suggest a Sci-fi book for our June BOTM'

Anne wrote: "Way to go, Jazzy! First participant to score all 8 bonus points!

And thanks to whoever tweaked the spreadsheet shading to make it all clearer to understand! Looks great!"

Cheers, Anne :)

I think we're all winners - everyone on every team. Some people haven't added their bonus points though.

And, uh I couldn't leave the bloody spreadsheet alone, and tried several different colour combinations. (So far).

I was out charity shopping yesterday asking everyone, have you a book on Korea? About Korea? By a Korean author? With Korea in it? and looked at hundreds of books before I found a book with breakfasts around the world for £2 - and one of those breakfasts is from Korea! Sorted!

Teena wrote: "Hey everyone :)

I just wanted to check if Caraval fit the criteria for bonus point #2 (a sport or competition).

Thank you"

I hope you like it!! I loved it way more than I thought I was going to :)

Anne wrote: "Teena wrote: "Hey everyone :)

I just wanted to check if Caraval fit the criteria for bonus point #2 (a sport or competition).

Thank you"

Yes! the book blurb mentions game, compe..."

Me too!! I think May is too long of a wait >_<

Hi, everyone! I'm in :) I'll update everything tomorrow, I've been busy with college, Lots of love

Catarina wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm in :) I'll update everything tomorrow, I've been busy with college, Lots of love"

Whoop Whoop! xx

Catarina wrote: "Hi, everyone! I'm in :) I'll update everything tomorrow, I've been busy with college, Lots of love"

Woohoo, that's GREAT, Catarina!! Go team Bookmark Biathletes :)

Anyone found any fun/interesting/pleasant/silly quotes in the books they're reading?

These are from Maskerade, a book about opera:

“The Departure Aria, a very important and romantic song -
This damn door sticks,
This damn door sticks
It sticks no matter what I do.
It is marked 'pull' and indeed I am pulling
Perhaps it should be marked 'push'?”

“Books’ve got to have a name on ’em so’s everyone knows who’s guilty.”

To ALL - I've added a new topic for competition highlights and results, which I'll update every week or so.

View the thread here to read the Week 1 update

Hey Anne and Lucy. Thank you for sharing your opinion on Caraval. I can't wait to start it today!

I just finish Island of Glass and I think it fit bonus point #5 (Olympic Flame). However, fire is not the main focus. There is some battles that has fire throughout the book. Does it still count? Please let me know. I do not want to put it and it doesn't fit the criteria. Thank you.

Teena wrote: "Hey Anne and Lucy. Thank you for sharing your opinion on Caraval. I can't wait to start it today!

I just finish Island of Glass and I think it fit bonus point #5 (Olympic Flame). H..."

I'd say yes :)

Jazzy wrote: "Teena wrote: "Hey Anne and Lucy. Thank you for sharing your opinion on Caraval. I can't wait to start it today!

I just finish Island of Glass and I think it fit bonus point #5 (Oly..."

Thank you :)

oh and by the way, I found Caraval at the charity shop for £1.99 so bought it yesterday :)

Would David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas qualify for Bonus point #3 (Korea)? Some of the story takes place in Neo-Seoul, a dystopian futuristic state in Korea, so I'm thinking yes, but since it's about 1/6th of the book, does it count? I'm not sure I want to reread the book yet, but kind of leaning on it. Any thoughts?

Mion wrote: "Would David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas qualify for Bonus point #3 (Korea)? Some of the story takes place in Neo-Seoul, a dystopian futuristic state in Korea, so I'm thinking yes, but since..."

Sure! Past, present, or future Korea is all good! :) That book has been on my 'TBR' list for a long time, for some reason I'm intimidated by it :)

Anne wrote: "Mion wrote: "Would David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas qualify for Bonus point #3 (Korea)? Some of the story takes place in Neo-Seoul, a dystopian futuristic state in Korea, so I'm thinking y..."

Have you seen the movie? That's what made me tip over and dive into that masterpiece! Although I'm usually very normally into "book first, movie later", I think this book-movie combination is my absolute favourite

Here's a few books with Korean setting that I've either read (A River in Darkness), or that I've heard good things about and have added to my TBR...

Anne wrote: "Here's a few books with Korean setting that I've either read (A River in Darkness), or that I've heard good things about and have added to my TBR...


Ooh, I've got Human Acts, so I'm probably going to read that one!

Anne wrote: "Here's a few books with Korean setting that I've either read (A River in Darkness), or that I've heard good things about and have added to my TBR... "

My eyesight is far, far too poor to read the titles on those book covers, they're always just blurry little rectangles, I would respectfully ask for titles instead. Age pfft. It's nothing but a number til you want to read something and don't have any glasses. :)

Anyway....

Pachinko looks good, but is VERY pricey at about £10 with shipping, more or less (that's $14)!!

The Orphan Master's Son can be bought second hand for £5 ($7)

Human ActsHuman Acts, second hand £6 (about $8.50)

A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea Cannot be bought in my country at all.

None of these books are available at my library either.

I try to only spend 2-3 quid per book so I had to make do with a breakfast cookery book that has a Korean recipe, I hope everyone else can find something too! :)

By the way that cookbook is really hard to read, many words on a page and a lot of ingredients! Once I read an Italian cookbook out loud on the Metro and one guy came and sat closer and said, it sounds so good!