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The results are in and we have our two challenges for PBT in 2021!

The runaway favorite and top vote getter is...

Fly the PBT Skies!

We had two options that were neck-and-neck for the vast majority of the voting period, but in the last couple of days, one option pulled into the lead...

Pursue It! Book It! Track It!

Thank you to everyone who voted! I will post the rules for each of the challenges in the messages below this, and feel free to ask any questions you have! In addition, check out the Q&A that I posted in messages 202, 203, and 204.

Cheers to 2021!

Fly the PBT Skies

The goal of this challenge is to "travel" the most miles. Here's how it works:
� You start your trip at your home town. For the start location, since you do not have to read a book for it, please use your actual hometown and not the state or country. If you have trouble getting the distance calculator (linked to below) to find your home town, then send me a PM and we'll figure it out.
� You plan your first trip to a location you want to go to! While the goal is to rack up some "frequent flyer miles," you can absolutely travel domestically or internationally. You then read a book that is tagged at least 5 times with the name of that location (city, state, country, attraction).

Note: the distance calculator will not work for regions such as New England or Middle East, so those will not count. Continents are also not allowed with the exception of Antarctica

� The next month, you plan your next location, and you travel from your previous destination! Same rules for the book apply.
� You travel each month, "seeing" new places and "experiencing" new activities.
� Your final book of the year in December must be set in your home town/state/province/etc. so that you can safely return home after a year of adventures!

Note: before deciding on your location/book, be sure to test it in the distance calculator! If the "location" is not recognized by the calculator, then chances are you'll have to pick a new location! I'll see if this ends up being an issue, but I did several test places and they all worked.

You are limited to one book/location a month, so be strategic! All distances will be calculated using . Simply type in your hometown as the starting place and then the destination tag you are using (i.e., city name, country name, attraction, etc.) and click "Calculate Distance."

You get a bonus 500 miles if the book is also tagged the monthly tag by at least 5 GR users!

I will start a reporting thread at the start of each month for you to post the "travel" for that month. It will have directions at the top of how to format your entry, but will likely be something like:

Starting location: NAME
Destination: Location name including the link to the book's tag page to verify it has been tagged as such by at least 5 GR users
Miles: as calculated by the official miles calculator
BONUS Miles (if applicable): 500 plus the link to the book's tag page to verify it has been tagged with the monthly tag by at least 5 GR users
Book title and review (or link to review): the standard stuff

I will also do the official scoring in a google spreadsheet that I will post the link to so you can all follow along! I will do the scoring once a month. There will also be a bookshelf for the challenge (Fly the PBT Skies) and you can shelve your books if you like, but I will also do that when I do the scoring.

If you miss a month that is okay! Just post your new destination in the current month's reporting thread and calculate the distance from the last "place" to visited.

Questions? Ask away!

Pursue It! Book It! Track It!

Each month as you dive into your books that fit the monthly tag, the admins will provide items for you to scour the pages for!

After the monthly tag is announced each month, the admins will huddle up behind the scenes and select 4 things for you to "search" for as you read your books. These may be items or events or people or places. Or anything really! We will do our best to get these announced as close to the monthly tag announcement as possible, but will need a couple of days to brainstorm!

Then, as you read for the month, you collect the scavenger hunt items. You can collect the items using a single book or up to as many as it takes to find them all! (I guess four books would be the max!)

You then post on the reporting thread the item you found and the book in which you found it. You will get one participation point per item found, with a bonus point if you collect all 4 items! You can only collect each item once.

For an example of this, who here remembers back in the Shefari days of yore when we had the tag Africa and we "bagged the Big 5" game animals? You had to find mention of a lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, and water buffalo. This will be similar to that only each month will fit the tag!

I will post a reporting thread each month for you to post your scavenged items. It will have reporting directions at the top, but will likely be something like:

Item Collected: name the item that you found
Location in Book: describe where you found the item. This may be something specific like a page number if you have to collect something like a specific location, or a really brief description. For example, if contemporary romance is the tag, you may have to find something like "friends to lovers." A brief description may be "lifelong friends Jack and Jane kiss at midnight one New Year's Eve and realize they may be more than just friends!"
Number Collected: E.g., 1/4, 2/4, etc. This just helps me as I score to be sure I didn't miss anything.
Book title and review (or link to review): the standard stuff

The book you read to collect the monthly items does NOT necessarily have to fit the monthly tag. For example, if the monthly tag is "love," and one of the items to collect is "a character goes to Virginia (because Virginia is for lovers!)" then you could theoretically collect the "Virginia" item by reading a book about a serial killer in Virginia.

I will also do the official scoring in a google spreadsheet that I will post the link to so you can all follow along! I will do the scoring once a month. There will also be a bookshelf for the challenge (exact title TBA, but likely Pursue It) and you can shelve your books if you like, but I will also do that when I do the scoring.

You can participate as little or as much as you want each month!

Questions? Ask away!

I’m first to see it! The winners! I had just got onto wonder if it has been posted and I had just finished seeing that it hadn’t yet, when Nicole popped in. I’m happy because these were my top two. But you know what I always say. The challenge is a great whether I voted for them or not. They’ve all been fantastic. Congratulations again to the moderators who always put together such amazing experiences for us and such amazing community. Congratulations congratulations to all of our members who nourish it!

Amy wrote: "Congratulations congratulations to all of our members who nourish it!"

I wholeheartedly second this sentiment! I may be biased, but I think we have the best group on GoodReads!

WooHoo! I've been cooped up a long time, and I'm ready to travel the world. I'll be checking out some museums and scenery online while I read the books too.

Amy, if mental health wins for January, I'll meet you in Sweden to discuss Anxious People.

I want to visit every continent this year, with extra countries in the largest continents. So far, I plan to visit Sweden, India, New Zealand, Russia, China, and Columbia. I'll probably also make some side trips that won't count for the game.

Excellent! Both fit well into the Popsugar Challenge I am doing. One of the prompts for it has me reading a book from my TBR that happens to be set in India. I always have something in hand set in Paris to read. I also have books on the bedside TBR set in Japan and Australia. Fly the PBT Skies will be starting off strong.

I am very interested to see how Pursue it! Book it! Track it! evolves. It was one of my primary votes. I can see ebooks and their easy search and highlight features being an asset.

I'm pleased, as these were my top 2.

Reading the rules quickly, I'm realizing the Nicole has her work cut out for her again this year, with the challenges.

Easier than the Poll Ballot, perhaps, but still challenging.

Thank you, administrators for all your hard work.

Looks great! I do have a question on Pursue It. If I read on Kindle/ nook, sometimes there aren’t page numbers or the page numbers are off because I made the print bigger. If there’s a chapter number I could mention that. But I assume we are on the honor system, just as we are for reporting all our reading? I voted for this one and I am looking forward to it.

Happy to see the challenges I voted for!
I have some questions about Fly the PBT Skies.
Can we visit the same country 2 times a year?
Should it be the tag only or the events in the book should take place in the chosen destination? (I was doing some researches, and the book may have tag "Australia" because an Australian author wrote it but the events are set in the UK)
Can we travel to Australia (as it's a continent)?

Well one out of two isn't bad! I have a couple of questions before I commit re Fly the PBT Skies.

1. I know we don't have to read a book set in our home town for January, but I take it we still have to fly somewhere?!
2. Will we get the 500 extra miles that each monthly tag our destination matches, or is this a one-time thing? Eg. one month the tag is Curry and I visit India, the next month is Geisha and I go to Japan - would this be 500 extra points or 1000?

Yay!!!
I'm definitely in for Fly PBT, possibly also the word hunt.

But I have questions (I always have questions):
One of the books I want to read is about two guys who travelled by kayak 2000 kilometers along Earth's northernmost coast line at 84 degrees north. It's a rather unknown Danish book and has 1 rating on GR, which means it doesn't have the 5 required tags. Can I still use it or is it no-go?
The other question this leaves me with: For books where the people are travelling do you use the starting point going forward next month, or their end destination (if it is tagged)?

Robin P wrote:

I do have a question on Pursue It. If I read on Kindle/ nook, sometimes there aren’t page numbers or the page numbers are off because I made the print bigger. If there’s a chapter numb..."

Honor system always!

I am SUPER flexible with this. If you are on your Kindle, then perhaps even just a chapter number or location number, or anything like that.

Diana H. wrote:

Can we visit the same country 2 times a year?

Hmmmm, let me confer with Anita and get back to you on this.

Should it be the tag only or the events in the book should take place in the chosen destination? (I was doing some researches, and the book may have tag "Australia" because an Australian author wrote it but the events are set in the UK)

Only the tag matters! So, if it is tagged by at least 5 GR members as "Australia" then that is your destination regardless of where the book actually takes place.

Can we travel to Australia (as it's a continent)?"

For sure. It is a country too.

Jenny wrote:

1. I know we don't have to read a book set in our home town for January, but I take it we still have to fly somewhere?!

Yep! You always read for your destination each month. So, if I want to travel to Italy first, then I may read Under the Tuscan Sun. But, I am starting my travels from my home, so I calculate the miles from Boston.

Then, in February, wherever I go, I calculate my miles from Italy.

2. Will we get the 500 extra miles that each monthly tag our destination matches, or is this a one-time thing? Eg. one month the tag is Curry and I visit India, the next month is Geisha and I go to Japan - would this be 500 extra points or 1000?."

The bonus can be earned each month! If you are super dedicated and get it each month, you could earn an extra 6,000 miles for the year!

Johanne wrote:

One of the books I want to read is about two guys who travelled by kayak 2000 kilometers along Earth's northernmost coast line at 84 degrees north. It's a rather unknown Danish book and has 1 rating on GR, which means it doesn't have the 5 required tags. Can I still use it or is it no-go?

It is a no go, unfortunately. The 5 tag minimum is a solid rule. There are lots of books out there so hopefully you can find something else set in that country that interests you!

For books where the people are travelling do you use the starting point going forward next month, or their end destination (if it is tagged)?"

You must use your exact destination location for Month A as your starting location for Month B.

Nicole R wrote: "Johanne wrote:

One of the books I want to read is about two guys who travelled by kayak 2000 kilometers along Earth's northernmost coast line at 84 degrees north. It's a rather unknown Danish book..."

Thanks Nicole. I was really looking forward to that book ... But I'll have no problem finding something else.

Johanne wrote: "Thanks Nicole. I was really looking forward to that book ... But I'll have no problem finding something else."

It does sound interesting! Hopefully you can fit it in just as a regular, non-challenge read!

Nicole R wrote: "Johanne wrote: "Thanks Nicole. I was really looking forward to that book ... But I'll have no problem finding something else."

It does sound interesting! Hopefully you can fit it in just as a regu..."

Yes, I can. It just fit so perfectly with the zigzag travelling of the world :D

Thank you!

Circling back to Diane's question...

Can we visit the same country 2 times a year?

You can visit the same country more than once, but you cannot visit the same "location" more than once.

Let me give you an example.

In February, I leave my January destination (probably someplace warm!) and travel to Paris (Valentine's in Paris, right?!?).

I have a great time and then head to Ireland for March.

But, I realize there is so much more in France to see! I can go back to France, but I cannot use the tag "Paris" again for my destination. BUT, I can use France or Eiffel Tower or another city name in France.

- OR -

Perhaps I want to set up my whole year as a driving tour of the US! No problem! But I'll have to read books with city/state/attraction names to bounce around as I can't visit the same tag "location" of "United States" over and over.

And, I can hear the question already...."United States" and "U.S." -- even though technically different literal words -- are the same location as they convey the exact same thing. So I couldn't travel to the "United States" then bounce around a bit then come back to the "U.S."

I'm excited for fly the PBT skies. Diana asked all the questions I had :-). I'm not sure yet if I'll join pursue it, book it, track it. Once we can set up our individual planning threads I look forward to planning visits to lots of places (no pressure to moderators I just like planning books to read even if I don't follow the plan).

Rachel N. wrote: "I'm excited for fly the PBT skies. Diana asked all the questions I had :-). I'm not sure yet if I'll join pursue it, book it, track it. Once we can set up our individual planning threads I look for..."

You can float in and out of Pursue It! as you like! Or, you can not actively participate but if you happen to stumble upon some of the items to collect, you can report them if you want.

That is definitely the lower key challenge and you can do as much or as little as you want!

And we'll be setting up the new folder for individual tracking threads in the next couple of days.

These look like fun. Oliver travels by plane quite often so all he needs is a few vaccinations and a suitcase for his souvenirs.

I'm glad I have a Kindle for Pursue It! Book It! Track It!

I am amazed very year with the wonderful choices for yearly challenges and the enthusiasm we all have as we put our plans together.

Robin P wrote: "Looks great! I do have a question on Pursue It. If I read on Kindle/ nook, sometimes there aren’t page numbers or the page numbers are off because I made the print bigger. If there’s a chapter numb..."

Usually there are location numbers in the Kindle format. Not sure about the Nook, but you could use the Kindle location number if your book doesn't have page numbers (some do not).

You can also use the percentage completed number which would get us very close (location number would be better).

Thank you, Nicole, for such detailed answers! :))

These look really fun!! I normally travel quite a bit for work and have been feeling grounded with Covid so it will be fun to travel more in my reading at least.

These both look great! I’m looking forward to both of them. I’ll probably be really casual about them, but I know I’d like to visit every continent for Fly the Skies. (I also really do like that there’s a one-book-a-month maximum for that one!)

Question re the location tag for FLY THE SKIES

Say I want to read a book set in Valparaiso Chile .... And there is no tag for Valparaiso ... but the book IS tagged CHILE 5+ times. Do I calculate the miles from Milwaukee to Valparaiso or Milwaukee to Chile?

Also, when coming home at the end ... Does the tag have to match the city or just the state? (I actually live in Bayside which I am certain has no books tagged with that village name ... And the book I have in mind which I know is set in Milwaukee isn't tagged with the city name)

OK - There will definitely be a buddy read for Anxious People set in Sweden, whether Mental Health wins or not. Its also 2019 as Kelly pointed out this morning, for those finishing Bingo. Nancy, we might end up traveling half the world together or meeting in various places. Wouldn't if be fun if there was a pair who ended up doing just that! Was going to save this for the announcement of the January tag, but I think there is also a Buddy Read brewing for the Exiles in January as well. I do not know where that takes place, but I am planning to be in both places in January.... Just saying. I'm happy to hear that so many people voted for both of these. Again, I always think the challenges turn out great, but this is going to be a fun year for all.

Need I even say it, I welcome you guys to laugh with me. How long do you think its going to take the anti tech literary specialist and spiritualist to figure out that damn distance calculator? I'm sure once I actually look at it after each of you have explained it to me like five times a piece, it will be nothing, but its funny to me how that is the daunting part. Don't worry - the Phd is here! (Press Here Dummy!)

Book Concierge wrote: "Say I want to read a book set in Valparaiso Chile .... And there is no tag for Valparaiso ... but the book IS tagged CHILE 5+ times. Do I calculate the miles from Milwaukee to Valparaiso or Milwaukee to Chile?"

You travel to the exact location of the tag you are using for your destination location. So, if the book is tagged "Chile" then you travel to "Chile."

The distance calculator picks a central location when you enter a country.

If you want to travel specifically to Valparasio, then the book must be tagged "Valparasio."

Audio for the Beantown Girls set for December 2021. Its on my TBR and in my audible ready to go.....

Book Concierge wrote: "Also, when coming home at the end ... Does the tag have to match the city or just the state? (I actually live in Bayside which I am certain has no books tagged with that village name ... And the bo..."

When you come home you can travel back to your home town, a close large city, or the state. I am not too picky about this, but the goal should be to get as close as you can!

Amy wrote: "OK - There will definitely be a buddy read for Anxious People set in Sweden, whether Mental Health wins or not. Its also 2019 as Kelly pointed out this morning, for those finishing Bingo. Nancy, we..."

I'm more concerned with the "I don't understand miles, you don't understand kilometers" confusion ;D

Johanne wrote: "I'm more concerned with the "I don't understand miles, you don't understand kilometers" confusion ;D "

LOL, the calculator gives distances in miles first but also show kilometers, feet and yards so hopefully no confusion :-). Amy the calculator Nicole picked is very easy to use, just type in two places and hit the calculate button. Thanks Nicole for letting me know that I don't have to stress about Track it and can float in and out of the challenge.

Well, it looks like I will be reading Look Homeward, Angel in December to bring me home to Asheville.

Nicole - I'm assuming we're consistently using "strait line distance", never "driving distance" - even if we are traveling from point to point within the same country.

Nicole R wrote: "Book Concierge wrote: "Also, when coming home at the end ... Does the tag have to match the city or just the state? (I actually live in Bayside which I am certain has no books tagged with that vill..."

Just curious, could I consider Washington, DC for my home book? It is my closest large city, literally 1 mile from my home, but not in my home state. Otherwise I will stick to Nora Roberts and Anne Tyler which is fine too.

These were my top choices and will for sure be playing both. Pursue will be more laid back for me, just searching as I read, whatever it is I am reading that month. Don't do e-readers so all manual search for this old lady ;)

I agree with BnB, Nicole-big job again, but I am thankful you are willing to take these massive challenges on!

Nicole wrote:

I'm assuming we're consistently using "strait line distance", never "driving distance" - even if we are traveling from point to point within the same country."

Yes, we will use straight line distance for everything, even if there is a driving path you could take.

Anita and I considered different options and combinations, and decided that was the easiest and fairest option.

Jen K wrote: "Just curious, could I consider Washington, DC for my home book? It is my closest large city, literally 1 mile from my home, but not in my home state. Otherwise I will stick to Nora Roberts and Anne Tyler which is fine too."

I would consider this acceptable! DC is kind of a unique situation, and if you live in the DC metro area--even though it is technically another state--using that sounds totally reasonable.

You must live in Maryland...Silver Spring?

Nicole R wrote: "Jen K wrote: "Just curious, could I consider Washington, DC for my home book? It is my closest large city, literally 1 mile from my home, but not in my home state. Otherwise I will stick to Nora Ro..."

Chevy Chase between Bethesda and DC, definitely part of the DMV metro area. Thanks for the consideration!!

The scavenger hunt of Pursue It sounds fun. Looking forward to it.

Jen K wrote: "Chevy Chase between Bethesda and DC, definitely part of the DMV metro area. Thanks for the consideration!!"

No problem!

I'm super excited for the Fly the PBT Skies and now to find a Macomber Christmas book tagged for either Seattle or Puget Sound that I haven't read.

That leads me to the question and I think it is answered above but want to confirm... I could feasibly read different books for the challenge for Rainier, Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest, or Seattle?

i.e. I could read a book in February for Rainier, a book in June for Puget Sound, a book in Sept for Pacific Northwest and in December for Seattle?

JUST A SUGGESTION for the moderators ...
Why not discuss / pick out the 4 items for searching for each of the three tags in the poll each month. Then when the tag is announced you can also announce the 4 items.

I realize this is a bit more work each month, picking 4 items for each of 3 tags rather than for only 1 tag, so feel free to ignore.

QUESTION re Fly the Skies ...

Does our beginning need to match our end exactly?

For example ... The largest city to me is Milwaukee Wisconsin
So using my previous question example: I'd plug in Milwaukee to Chile for my first distance calculation.

When I'm coming home in December must I use "Milwaukee" or can I use "Wisconsin"?

I ask only because there are exactly two books with 5+ "Milwaukee" tags .. and I've read both already. (Though I wouldn't mind re-reading either of them.)

If the start and end must match exactly, I'll just use "Wisconsin" as my starting point.

Charlotte wrote: "That leads me to the question and I think it is answered above but want to confirm... I could feasibly read different books for the challenge for Rainier, Puget Sound, Pacific Northwest, or Seattle?

i.e. I could read a book in February for Rainier, a book in June for Puget Sound, a book in Sept for Pacific Northwest and in December for Seattle?"

You are on the right track! The only thing is that the distance calculator doesn't like geographic regions like "Pacific Northwest." So type that in there and give it a test before committing, but I am going to guess that, like "New England," it stumps the calculator.

But, so long as the distance calculator recognizes "Seattle" (it will), "Rainier" (likely, especially if you modify it when you enter it to be Mount Rainier), and "Puget Sound" (unsure on this one) then your plan would work!

Book Concierge wrote: "JUST A SUGGESTION for the moderators ...
Why not discuss / pick out the 4 items for searching for each of the three tags in the poll each month. Then when the tag is announced you can also announce..."

Thanks for the suggestion but that is a hard pass. That is three times the work we need to do each and every month!

On months where there is a runaway winner, we can certainly get a jump on brainstorming a few days in advance. And even when the vote is close, we have a good sense of the winner the day before at least.