Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
Tower Teams XI
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Team Eiffel Tower
✔️ Amanda - Tower2025 - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 37✔️ Shannon O'Flynn Co-Captain - ttxi - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 11
✔️ Lisa Co-Captain - A-tt-xi - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 35
✔️Rebecca Guyer - Tower - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 27
✔️ Shan ~A~ - 2025 NBRC Tower Teams - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 35
✔️ megan - SHELF - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 11
✔️ Haley - Tower Teams 14-2025 - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 18
� Reed - SHELF - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 9
✔️ Trio - Tower Teams - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 17
✔️ Natasha - World Tower Teams 2025 - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 13
✔️ Teresa Fletcher - SHELF - MAX BOOKS PER MONTH: 15
Link to Rules/Announcements
PLANNING SHEET -
MINI INFO
(these will take place the entire competition!)
Novels Around the World
Each team will create their own Book Travel Itinerary of 11 books, each set in a different country, written by an author born in the country, or a nonfiction book where events in the country are the primary subject of the book. No more than 6 books can be chosen from among a list of easier to find countries (easy). At least 3 books will have to be chosen from off the beaten track countries (midlevel), and at least 2 more books should be from challenging countries (hard).
Note your itinerary may use fewer easy countries and more midlevel or harder countries but each itinerary must have at least 3 midlevel and 2 hard countries. There is a tab in the team spreadsheet that provides a list of countries in each category. The reason on the spreadsheet should match exactly the spelling of the country provided in these lists.
Once one Book Travel Itinerary has been finished, the team can start on a new Book Travel Itinerary. Countries may only be duplicated once. If, for example, your team has read a book set in the UK for Itinerary 1 and for Itinerary 2, you will not be able to read a book set in the UK for Itinerary 3.
The next itinerary can only be started once the previous itinerary has been completely finished. Within the itinerary, you don't have to read books in order, meaning your first 11 books can be finished in any random order. But you cannot move onto your next itinerary if all books from the previous itinerary have not been finished.
� Each book read can only be used for one mini challenge.
� Each book read can only be used for one task.
� Each book read must be set for 50% or more in the selected country, verifiable that the author was born there, or clear that the country is the primary subject matter of the nonfiction book.
� Fantasy settings of real countries are allowed. Korea fantasy books or historic books where is it otherwise not clearly set in the north are defaulted to South Korea.
� Contemporary boundaries are to be used in determining which country a book takes place in and if it is not clear, save everyone the headache and use it for a different task. Please and thank you.
� Books can be started at any point since the start of Tower Teams XI (17th May 9am UTC).
� The usual book length rules apply.
� You will gain 5 points for each easy country, 10 points for each midlevel country, and 20 points for each hard country.
� One partial itinerary will be allowed
Traveling around the world
Let's go on a trip! Or five! Are you excited? Who wants to tag along? Pack your bags and most importantly your books, and let's gooo!
Whether you'd rather go on a road trip, an all-inclusive beach vacation, an adventurous hike through unknown lands, or an easy-going city trip, this mini challenge will have something for everyone's tastes.
There are several tasks you can read for. Alright... there are a LOT of tasks that you can read for. You will only ever have a set number of tasks on your spreadsheet. Once you have completed a task, a new one will appear on your spreadsheet until all tasks have been revealed. For these tasks, you may use any book that the team has read since the beginning of the challenge as long as they have not yet been used for a different task or mini challenge. Books can only ever be used once.
This mini challenge runs from the beginning of Tower Teams XI until the very end of the challenge.
Remember, Tower Teams is a marathon and not a sprint. So take your time and enjoy the trip(s)!
� Each book read can only be used for one mini challenge.
� Each book read can only be used for one task. Once books have been entered for a task and a new task has been received, you cannot swap books around for different tasks.
� For books with a specific setting, books with an alternate universe/reality are acceptable.
� Series substitutions are allowed for the shelves/lists.
� Books can be started at any point since the start of Tower Teams XI (17th May 9am UTC).
� The usual book length rules apply.
� The usual spell-out rules apply unless stated differently.
� You will gain 10 points for each task you complete.
World Wheel
We all love spinning a wheel and enjoying the randomness it'll churn out. Twenty-four countries were placed on the World Wheel. Teams will have 2 countries at a time and once a full set of country tasks are completed and entered on the official spreadsheet, captains can get a new spin for the next country.
Countries cannot be repeated. Tasks include things related to each country including colors from the flag, authors born in the given country, and the country name spelled out.
� Each book read can only be used for one mini challenge.
� Each book read can only be used for one task.
� For books with a specific setting, books with an alternate universe/reality are acceptable.
� Books can be started at any point since the start of Tower Teams XI (17th May 9am UTC).
� The usual book length rules apply.
� The usual spell-out rules apply unless stated differently.
� You will gain 10 points for each task you complete.
Our Planning Sheet
This is where you will put all your books! The main sheet is for captains only. If you have to request access you're in the wrong place!
📚 Spreadsheet Time! 📚
Everything you enter will go under the "Books" tab. The other tabs will come from us! We've added some new columns to the Books tab and here's what you need to know:
🗺� New Columns:
Country/Reason � This helps with the 11 Book Itinerary and the World Wheel Mini challenges.
➡️ Reasons can be:
50%+ set in the country
Author born there
For non-fiction: subject is about that country
I added a note in cell J2 with a quick reference.
Cover Colors � For all our rainbow challenge and visual sorting fun 🎨
Series, AFN, ALN, Character Name � This is to help with spellouts and easier searching.
🟩 Status Highlighting (conditional colors):
To help us track where a book stands, we’re using color coding:
GREY � Read, shelved, and moved to the official sheet
RED � Moved, but not read and/or not shelved
YELLOW � Read, but not shelved
GREEN � Read and shelved, but not moved
Please fill in details wherever possible � this helps us captains/co-captains rearrange or cross-check books as needed.
💬 There are times when we will need to move things around to make things fit or to complete tasks. If it's an extremely hard task and you don't want us to move your book under any circumstances, please let us know!
Hello Everyone! I'll be your captain this time around, looking forward to the next couple months with you all! Please take a moment to read through everything above and ask any questions you have. If you look at the tabs on our planning spreadsheet for each mini it'll hopefully become a bit clearer, but we're here to answer any questions you have!
As a quick getting to know each other, let's all answer the following:
- Is this your first time playing TT?
- Where's your favorite place you've ever travelled to?
- What's your number one bucket list place you'd travel to if money/time were no object?
Hello everyone! I'm so so excited for this challenge, I haven't played tower teams since 2023 (feels like forever, but only 2 years ago). This would be my 3rd time playing
So far my favorite place I've traveled (this is a hard one), but I'd have to say Ireland. It was absolutely beautiful there & although I went primarily for school, I was able to explore on the weekends. Absolutely loved it there, the food, weather (rained a bit but wasn't so much where it put a damper on plans), and the nature.
My number one bucket list... hmmmm I'd love to visit Australia at some point and swim with sharks (if money wasn't an issue). & of course if I was able to take off this much time from work, that'd be a dream. Hopefully in the future though
Is there anything I could/should do to start preparing for any of the mini challenges?
Hey Haley!!I think the hardest is going to be the "hard countries" so if you have any books to recommend to fit those share them here! Also just look through them and see if there's anything you're unclear on.
Hi everyone, I'm Rebecca from rainy NY.I have played tower teams a few time and I love it! Especially the mini challenges. I'm kind of in a reading rut so I'm hoping the travel theme will re-energize my TBR.
Hmmm favorite place I've traveled was probably Paris with my hubby right after we got married (pre-pandemic, pre-kids) it was fabulous and freeing.
I don't have one bucket list item, I just would love to visit more countries. I love both relaxing beach vacations and city adventures.
Sorry I don't know what I said my shelf would be, but it's here
/review/list...
Hello All! I'm Co-Captain Lisa. If you have spreadsheet questions, let me know. I'm obsessed.This is not my first time. I'm actually not sure how many TT I have played, at least two others.
Favorite place I traveled to was...hmm. we haven't really traveled.
#1 Bucket List: Australia and Scotland.
Excited to get started!
Hi everyone! I'm Shannon! Another one of your co-captains!I have done quite a few TTs in the past!
My favorite place that I've travelled to was Mexico! We went to Chichen Itza, Xcarat, and swam in Cenote Ik Kil! It was such a magical trip!
My number one bucket list place to visit is Iceland! I've been wanting to go forever, but have yet to convince my family that we won't freeze to death there lol. I've always been fascinated by the Northern Lights and I love nature and taking hikes, so Iceland is top of the list for sure!
Anyways, I'm really excited to get started reading with everyone!
I just realized I didn't even answer the questions lolI think I've done three TTs? Definitely a couple.
My favorite place that I travelled was either Berlin or St. Petersburg!
One day I will go to Ireland. Every time we've planned a trip there something has gotten in the way. It was supposed to be our honeymoon...we got married in March 2020 LOL. Then we planned it for a couple years later and a month later found out I was pregnant with a due date 2 weeks before the trip. It's just not meant to be yet but one day!
Hi everyone - glad to be here!- Is this your first time playing TT? - YES! and I always have tons of questions, please be merciful lol 🌺🌺🌺
- Where's your favorite place you've ever travelled to? That's a tough one! I love Europe, but there's some great stuff in the US too. About 6 years ago we went to Savannah, Georgia and it was amazing. I remember reading those books like Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and it was great to see those places.
- What's your number one bucket list place you'd travel to if money/time were no object? Australia!
Hello! I’m Natasha. This is my third or fourth year playing TT.I haven’t traveled as much as I would like to. My favorite place I’ve visited so far is Glacier National Park in Montana. I have been there twice and feel like it’s a place I could go back to every year.
Norway is number one on my bucket list. I love waterfalls and that seems like the place to go if you like them.
My shelf is:
/review/list...
US KUUnder the Smoke and Thunder
**Zambia - Hard
Under the Twilight Rainfall
**Philippines - Hard
Under the Firefly Sky
**Argentina - Midlevel
Under the Madagascar Moon
**Madagascar - Midlevel
US Not KU
Under the Arabian Sky
**Oman - Hard
**For out MM Readers on the team. Love Abroad Series, Multi-Author. There are 9, but the other 4 are easy countries.
Other Books I found for MM readers:
A Mage's Guide to Wicky
Ex On The Beach
**Thailand - Midlevel
Just a Bit Guarded
**UAE - Hard
Zenko
**Syria - Midlevel
To Claim a Ghost
Jonah's Compass
**Afghanistan - midlevel
To Tame a Ghost
**Finland - Midlevel
Malik's Redemption
**Israel
Micah's Promise
**possibly Pakistan
Oh I forgot, but I changed my shelf to /review/list...I got confused and accidentally deleted it, so had to remake it
Here is my shelf! /review/list...adding all of your bucket list locations to my list especially - scottland & iceland I'd love. ugh the pictures I see of those places *beautiful*
also I've been looking into the hard countries & found some ideas
although I'm not sure if they've all been set in the country for at least 50% of the book
hard countries
� ~ on my tbr
Algeria
The Stranger
Azerbaijan
The Orphan Sky
Barbados
River Sing Me Home
Belarus
The Invisible Life of Ivan Isaenko
Bulgaria
The Shadow Land
Burundi
The Girl Who Smiled Beads: A Story of War and What Comes After
Cameroon
Behold the Dreamers
Croatia
Girl at War
Democratic Republic of the congo
�The Poisonwood Bible
Grenada
Starter Villain GoodReads choice award nominee
Guatemala
We Are Not From Here
Guyana
Sharon Maas *anything by this author*
Honduras
The Lost City of the Monkey God
Kuwait
�The Stardust Thief anything by this author: Chelsea Abdullah
Maldives
Bad Tourists
Mali
Masquerade GoodReads choice award nominee
Moldova
The Power I personally didn't like this book but also not my typical genre
Mongolia
Book of a Thousand Days
Nepal
Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mt. Everest Disaster
Breathless quick and easy mystery read for this one
North Korea
The Orphan Master's Son GoodReads choice award nominee
Papua New Guinea
Euphoria GoodReads choice award nominee
Phillippines
�The Fox Wife
�Water Moon
The Blue
When We Had Wings
Odin
Qatar
author Sophia Al-Maria
Romania
�I Must Betray You
Serbia
author: Téa Obreht
The Tiger's Wife GoodReads choice aware nominee
Slovakia
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
Solomon Islands
One Blood detective novel
Tunisia
The Ardent Swarm
Uganda
Vain
Yemen
Henna House
Malta
The Wedding Proposal
Sierra Leone
�A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier
United Arab Emirates
�Faebound **anything by this author
MIDLEVEL COUNTRIES
for that Mini, you can only use a country twice, so i'm thinking (and I admit i am NOT good at strategy, that we should concentrate on the others first??
I am also terrible at strategy and will go with whatever everyone else wants to do!
I've messaged everyone except Reed as they are not accepting messages and they have yet to accept my friend request. Hopefully everyone shows up soon!
Sorry I didn't post earlier. I don't have a PC at home and didn't feel like fighting with the app to respond.I'm megan.
I've been doing Towers Teams since 2016ish. I get them mixed up with Wheel-a-thon in the timeline of my head.
My favorite place I've visited is Rome. I was last there over Christmas 2019.
A bucket list item would be transiting the Panama Canal.
I read a lot of non-fiction, so hopefully NF will be able to cover prompts.
Thanks Megan! I think NF will be great for this as it often has diverse settings and author's from diverse countries. I've recently started dabbling more in NF so I'm looking forward to grabbing some ideas from you too
Haley and Lisa thanks for the lists! I'm going to see what I have on my TBR for the hard countries too and will put them here as well :)
MN Lisa wrote: "for that Mini, you can only use a country twice, so i'm thinking (and I admit i am NOT good at strategy, that we should concentrate on the others first??"Yes! This sounds good with me & can refer to these hard country lists for the most points if anything
Amanda that link is amazing!! Wow wow
Hi everyone! I didn't realize threads were up.
Link to shelf: /review/list...- Is this your first time playing TT? ~ not my first tiem
- Where's your favorite place you've ever travelled to? ~ New Orleans is a favorite, but I also had fun in Vegas
- What's your number one bucket list place you'd travel to if money/time were no object? ~ Scotland and Ireland or both at the top
Oh, I've never been to New Orleans, I've got to get that onto my bucket list!
I sent friend requests to everyone I wasn't already friends with. Natasha, you live in Minneapolis? Lovely! I grew up in Minnetonka :)
Trio wrote: "I sent friend requests to everyone I wasn't already friends with. Natasha, you live in Minneapolis? Lovely! I grew up in Minnetonka :)"How did I miss that! I'm in Duluth. I just spent Saturday in Minneapolis
Yes it is my first timeit is hard to pick a favorite. I loved Greece and Ireland...Germany is still at the top of my list. love the experiences!
Bucket list would be China and Egypt
I added conditional formatting to the Mini 1 tab. It will highlight neon pink if the country has been used 3 or more times. We can only use each country Twice.I also made the country column a drop down list
Teresa and Megan, please link to your shelf when you can. (No rush!)
I don't remember what I put on the submission form and I didn't make one at the time, so here's a new one
Hi team! Is it okay if we start planning a bit on the sheet? I will be away this weekend, but will be reading Saturday and Sunday so I want to at least get my first book on there for a mini. Also my brain loves to plan in advance haha.
I love to plan in advance too. Feel free to get started. One thing to keep in mind when working on Mini 1. Each country can only be used once per Itinerary and twice in the entire Mini.
Yay! Also...do we know where the Sizzling Summer Sensations list is?
ooo yes yes good idea on planning, I'll see if I have anything for this first weekend :) I'll be traveling as well, but hoping to get through at least 1/2 books
Rebecca wrote: "Yay! Also...do we know where the Sizzling Summer Sensations list is?"I'm not sure what this is. Did I miss it somewhere?
MN Lisa wrote: "Rebecca wrote: "Yay! Also...do we know where the Sizzling Summer Sensations list is?"I'm not sure what this is. Did I miss it somewhere?"
It's task 10 on Mini 2
Ok all - I am a planner too - and trying to be safe - here is what I am thinking for my first book - ŷ describes it's setting as Copenhagen (Denmark), Vilnius (Lithuania) - can I pick either?
/book/show/1...
has to be 50% or more in the country...
It’s gotta be 50% to count for set there. But Denmark would definitely work though because the author is from Denmark!
yikes, I'd better get started planning my stuff!
Sounds good - I will put Denmark for now and if I read it and feel like 50% or more is in Lithuania - I will grab that since it is harder to fill :) do you have tips and tricks for deciding what to code a book as before you read it? I would hate to get through a book and then find out it doesn't count!
Good morning everyone! I'm Reed, sorry to check in so late I was traveling for work but now I am back at my desk on Long Island. I'm going to catch up on all the posts in a few. So excited to be doing Tower Teams again!Okay I caught up! This is definitely the most challenging TT I have done, I might be a little clueless at first even though it's my third time.
My favorite place I have traveled to outside the US would be London, I've been twice, once to visit my brother for 10 days (so much sightseeing!) and the other time to run the marathon (what a blast!).
I'm with Natasha, Norway is the top place I would like to visit though if I did not have money constraints or a job I would travel all year round to ski at different mountains. That would be the life!
My shelf: /review/list...
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Fever Dream (other topics)Kiss Me, Maybe (other topics)
Make a Killing: A Billie Levine Mystery (other topics)
Kiss Me, Maybe (other topics)
10 Minutes 38 Seconds in This Strange World (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sharon Maas (other topics)Chelsea Abdullah (other topics)
Sophia Al-Maria (other topics)
Téa Obreht (other topics)
Team Members
� Amanda Captain
� Shannon O'Flynn Co-Captain
� Lisa Co-Captain
� Rebecca Guyer
� Shan ~A~
� megan
� Haley
� Reed
� Trio
� Natasha
� Ի˫SԲڳٴǰ�
Team Spreadsheet:
Challenge Status: