Reading challenge for June - Embrace your inner child

June 1st is International Children's Day and we are celebrating it here at NBRC with a reading challenge for you to read books from the Top 100 Children's Books on Goodreads.

So, come on, embrace your inner child and join us for this cute June challenge :)

Survive Your Own Apocalypse Reading Challenge

"If you are writing any book about the end of the world, what you are really writing about is what's worth saving about it."
~Justin Cronin 

Help save the world and join us for our "Survive Your Own Apocalypse" Reading Challenge here

May Adult Fantasy Book of the Month starts May 22

Having sold over 15 million copies, The Shadow of the Wind​ by Carlos Ruiz Zafón  is one of the biggest selling books of all time. 

Find out why by joining our discussion starting May 22 here

READATHON: Waiting for Wobble

Waiting for Wobble ~ a 4 Day Read-a-Thon

May 20-23

➜ 4 Day Read-a-Thon (RaT) open to any and all
➜ You do NOT have to read every day to participate. Can read as much as 24/7 for 4 days or as little as 1 hour. As much or little as each person is able.
➜ To make it stand apart from other run of the mill RaT, this will be set up differently. There will be Daily Questions/Interactions, Daily Recommendations & an overall Task.
➜ Participation in Daily Challenges is not mandatory to join in for RaT. Join in as MANY, or as FEW, Daily Questions, Daily Recommendations, Overall Task as you would like.
➜ You don't have to read during the RaT to participate in the Daily Questions or Recommendations. 
➜ Create goals to help you keep on track (page count / hours read / books read) or just go with the flow. Goals not mandatory for participation.
➜ Mandatory for RaT ----- Have FUN and READ.

Join us here

Have you ever wanted to travel around the world?

Well you can with our ongoing Around The World team challenge. There are teams now looking for new players here. 

There are two spots on  team"Journey to the Center of the Library" and two on team "Readers of the World, Unite!".

You can read more about this challenge here ; and visit the team threads if you'd like to travel with them!

Bon Voyage :)

Sign ups are open for our next team challenge

Our next team challenge, WOBBLE, starts June 17.

Sign ups are now open!

Click on this link to go to the sign up form.

NetGalley Review Weekend

Everyone loves weekends, and this weekend is even more exciting because it is REVIEW WEEKEND for our May NetGalley reading challenge.

This "Review Weekend", once each month, is meant to be a time set aside to review. Take one, or both days and get caught up on reviews so you can spend the rest of the month reading!!

Remember to update your post and give us a link to your Goodreads review :)

Friday 13th May is "Show us your Blog" day!

Please feel free to comment on our Facebook post here with a bit about your blog, and the address.

We try and keep self promos, including blogs, in our group to specific threads. So we thought we would try this as a way you can showcase what you have. That's a better way to spend this Friday 13th rather than staying away from black cats and avoiding ladders!

May Book of the Month

Our May "Anything Goes" Book of the Month is Orphan Number 8 by Kim van Alkemade.

You can join the discussion, starting May 12, here

WOBBLE: Before you sign up

WOBBLE Sign ups will be open from May 15

IMPORTANT
Before you sign up, please note:
* You must be able to read at least a book every week for the duration of the challenge (18 weeks)
* You may be required to read certain books to meet the challenge requirements. If you do not want to be flexible with the books you intend to read this is NOT the challenge for you
*This is NOT a read-a-thon and WILL go for a few months, so please only sign-up if you are a consistent goodreads user and are willing to discuss books with your team mates over a period of time
*You must be willing to discuss strategy with your team and check in to your team thread at least once EVERY week
*If you only use Goodreads via the app, this is probably not the challenge for you. There is the requirement to look at Google sheets and interact on team threads which is limited if only using mobile devices

CAPTAINS
We can only make teams if we have people willing to be captains and we think you are awesome! But as this will be a fairly crazy challenge, we have some requirements:

*You must have been an active captain or co-captain in a previous team challenge with us
*You must be willing to make calls on books (colours of covers, if a goal fits etc.) and only escalate to mods where you are really unsure
*You must be able and willing to use Google sheets
*You must be over 18 years old, patient & polite with your team and encourage them in a constructive manner

We understand that there will be INCREASED requirements on captains for this challenge so therefore if we don't get enough captains we will be capping participants. (i.e. if we only get 3 captains, and 300 sign ups, we won't be having 3 teams of 100 members! ; it will be first come first served for sign ups).

We won't be sending broadcast messages about reminders of challenge start times etc. If you follow our Facebook page or blog you will be able to get those reminders, so if you haven't already, now is the time to follow us!

Gem Coin Rewards

Have you read about our NBRC Gem Coins yet?

They are now available for rewards for certain challenges, and for BOM participation.


What are Gem Coins
- Gem Coins are Rewards received in a variety of challenges around NBRC
- Gem Coins are REWARDS for you to keep/display
- Gem Coins are NOT for competition, no prize for the "most"
- Gem Coins are rewards for you to see what challenges you have completed


Find out more here

WOBBLE Rules

WOBBLE rules have been posted here

◈Those people who want to keep their Profiles Private, must be willing to "Friend" their Team Captain(s), the NBRC Mod account, or one of the Moderators, to allow page count verification and to assist you if you are having difficulty with your 
    bookshelves.
◈ Books must be started after the start date of the challenge to count towards the challenge 
◈ Books must be />100 pages. NOTE: This number is lower than our other team challenges! 
    For page number questions, please check with your captain who can ask in the Captains group for verification.
◈ Audio books are allowed. (For page numbers, use the "default" GR book page numbers.)
◈ No graphic novels. (Sorry.)
◈ Boxed sets are not considered as "one book" and need to be shelved as separate books
◈ No little children's books less than 25,000 words.ArBookFind is a great site to double check. If in doubt, ask your captain.
◈ Any genre counts.
◈ Any book in any language will count, as long as it meets the criteria.
◈ "Re-reads" will be allowed, if it has been six months since you have read the book. This includes listening to the audio version, if you've already read the book. 
◈ This challenge involves adding a special bookshelf to your personal 
    GRs bookshelves other than "read." You may choose a preexisting one. 
◈ Please wait to be told to which Team you are assigned. It might take awhile; however,
    you will be able to count the books you have read from the START date of the challenge.
◈ Once you actually join, please check-in with your team discussion thread by posting the name of your bookshelf. 
    Remember to add a HYPHEN between words for your bookshelf. 
◈ Helpful Tip: Knowing about Sticky Shelves may help you put your assigned 
    bookshelf near the top of your dropdown box.
◈ With MOBILE DEVICES there have been major problems when trying to 
    add books. If that is all you have to access the Internet, or you don't know how to Cut & Paste
    on it, then this challenge probably is NOT the right fit for you. 
◈ Discussion threads will be in the regular NBRC group.
◈ You do NOT have to join the discussion, if you don't want to; communicating
    via posting a book is good enough. Nevertheless, Your Team wants to know if you are
    still participating. We understand Real Life gets in the way. However, please plan to 
    "check-in" in some manner at least once every week. If we don't hear from you for two weeks, you may be replaced with another team member

Waiting for Wobble Read-a-Thon ~ May 20-23

Waiting for Wobble ~ a 4 Day Read-a-Thon

➜ 4 Day Read-a-Thon (RaT) open to any and all
➜ You do NOT have to read every day to participate. Can read as much as 24/7 for 4 days or as little as 1 hour. As much or little as each person is able.
➜ To make it stand apart from other run of the mill RaT, this will be set up differently. There will be Daily Questions/Interactions, Daily Recommendations & an overall Task.
➜ Participation in Daily Challenges is not mandatory to join in for RaT. Join in as MANY, or as FEW, Daily Questions, Daily Recommendations, Overall Task as you would like.
➜ You don't have to read during the RaT to participate in the Daily Questions or Recommendations.
➜ Create goals to help you keep on track (page count / hours read / books read) or just go with the flow. Goals not mandatory for participation.
➜ Mandatory for RaT ----- Have FUN and READ.



Daily Questions FAQ -
╰⊰✿ Each Day will have a Daily Questions
╰⊰✿ You may choose to participate as much or as little as you'd like. You could answer all questions one day, none another, it's all up to you!



Recommendations FAQ -
Through this read-a-thon, we're going to recommend books in the hopes of putting a ton more books on our TBR! With recommendations ~
╰⊰✿ Recommendations Thread for Recommendations ONLY! Separate threads will be for Chat/Interactions and so on. Please only make your Recommendations, and nothing else, in the Recommendations Thread!
╰⊰✿ Try to recommend something not extremely popular (no Harry Potter!) We want to get new books and with extremely big series/books, people already know about them. Give us something new to want!
╰⊰✿ REMEMBER: Our group is an ALL AGES group. Please no recommendations of a mature nature. Gore and violence is ok (it's in Hunger Games after all) but nothing too over the top and no erotica please.



Tasks FAQ -
╰⊰✿ There will be one Task (suggestions for books to read)
╰⊰✿ The Task is a fun suggestion and not mandatory for participation in the RaT
╰⊰✿ You can chose to do task or not, it's up to you


Waiting for Wobble Read-a-Thon

WOBBLE UPDATE: E is for.... Emerge the Victor!

E is for Emerge the Victor!


About this Challenge
◈ Emerge the Victor is the last of six challenges within our W.O.B.B.L.E Event
◈ Emerge the Victor will last 4 weeks and is a Multi Player version of our popular Novel RPG
◈ Each team will level up their own hero based on action cards given to them.
◈ Action cards may be discarded occasionally and are replaced when completed or discarded.
◈ Every week, heroes will battle each other in a live turn by turn battle.
◈ Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events
◈ Unlike Leprechaun, books can not be used to cover multiple events/tasks
◈ All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making
◈ Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only


You can chat about WOBBLE at our Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

Mod Picks!

MOD PICKS!

Every month our Mods will share with you one book that they loved. Today, Karen's pick for last month is The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E.Lockhart.

Genre: Young Adult Fiction

Why it is a Mod Pick: You may remember E.Lockhart from We Were Liars and she is quickly making a name as a unique voice in the YA market which is so often saturated with dystopia and love triangles. Along with a great title, this book has wonderful characters making their way through their second year of high school. Lockhart's writing is so interesting. She is able to construct and examine relationships in unique ways ; often highlighting the often unsaid or taboo nuances of social interactions.

You can check out more by clicking the book to go to GoodReads:

WOBBLE UPDATE: L is for Labors of Bookules!

L is for.... Labors of Bookules!

◈ Labors of Bookules is the fifth of six challenges within our W.O.B.B.L.E Event
◈ Labors of Bookules will last 3 weeks and has 12 major events - the W.O.B.B.L.E version of the 12 Labors of Hercules
◈  Events are split into two parts: Quest and Earn the Gods' Favor
◈ Quests can be done at same time, regardless of the order but the Gods' Favor can only be earned after the correspondent Quest is completed
◈  Individual Events may have reading or non-reading tasks
◈  Reading will be task oriented
◈  Individual Events may have their own rules and points system, if not, All W.O.B.B.L.E rules apply (e.g. page number requirements) so,  please review carefully  
◈   All Members participation in Labors of Bookules will be rewarded
◈   Labors of Bookules WILL require Team Work, you MUST be able to communicate regularly with your team
◈  Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events
◈  Unlike Leprechaun, books can not be used to cover multiple events/tasks
◈  All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making
◈  Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only

Come and chat about WOBBLE here:
Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

WOBBLE Update: B is for Bingo

WOBBLE UPDATE

B is for... Bingo!

About this Challenge

◈ Bingo is the fourth of six challenges within our W.O.B.B.L.E Event

◈ Bingo will last 2 weeks and feature at least 2 cards

◈ Bingo cards will consist of 1: finding IMAGES on cover & 2: finding WORDS in title

◈ Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events

◈ Unlike Leprechaun, books can not be used to cover multiple events/tasks

◈ All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making

◈ Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only

Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

Free Audiobooks

Have you ever wondered about audiobooks? Not sure where to start?

Every year over the Northern American summer, Audiobook Sync release a free pair of audiobooks every week for 15 weeks which are usually a mix of Young Adult and Classic titles.

The first two books have just been released and can be downloaded between 5th May and 12th May. Vivian Apple at the End of the Word and The Great Tennessee Monkey trial. Enjoy!

AudiobookSync

Once you have downloaded, come and join our audiobook challenges. Part one is here:

All About Audiobooks Challenge

WOBBLE UPDATE: B is for Battleship

WOBBLE Update!

B is for.... Battleship!

About this Challenge
◈ Battleship is first challenge in this W.O.B.B.L.E. challenge mash-up (yay!)
◈ Battleship will last 2 weeks
◈ Each team will get it's own battleship board where ships will be hidden
◈ Every few days teams will have opportunity to guess ships locations on their board by reading books for randomly assigned tasks
◈ Books that fit the tasks will be needed to be read for each guess, hit or miss, by different team members
◈ For book page requirements etc. standard W.O.B.B.L.E. rules apply
◈ Points will be rewarded according to guess (hits or miss) and by page numbers of books read and used for task. There will be opportunity to get bonus points and/or some additional perks (more info to follow)
◈ Battleship WILL require Team Work, you MUST be able to communicate regularly with your team
◈ Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events
◈ All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making
◈ Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only

Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

WOBBLE Update: O is for Olympics!

About this Challenge
◈ Olympic Games is the second of six challenges within our W.O.B.B.L.E Event
◈ Olympic Games will last 3 weeks and has 5 events
◈ All Members participation in 3 of Olympic Events is required (must be able to read at least 1 book per week for 3 weeks)
◈ Individual Events have their own rules and points system, please review carefully
◈ Olympic Games WILL require Team Work, you MUST be able to communicate regularly with your team
◈ Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events
◈ Unlike Leprechaun, books can not be used to cover multiple events/tasks
◈ All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making
◈ Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only

Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat


***Please note, our Ancient Olympic games are of and for NBRC group only. This segment of WOBBLE is not connected in any way to any other groups that may also be doing Olympic events.

Wobble Update: W is for.... Wheelathon

WOBBLE UPDATE. As promised, today we reveal what the W stands for...

Of course, it is Wheelathon!

About this Challenge
◈ Wheelathon is the third of six challenges within our W.O.B.B.L.E
◈ Wheelathon will last 4 weeks
◈ Each week the mods will "spin the wheel" and assign each team a W.O.B.B.L.E themed word
◈ The team's task is to read books to spell out the word for 10 points per letter
◈ The team will get an extra 15 bonus points if all the letters in the word are part of their spell-it-out
◈ Once teams have read their word for the week they can "re-read" the W.O.B.B.L.E name to gain more points (10 points per letter, but no bonus points)
◈ All W.O.B.B.L.E rules apply (e.g. page number requirements)
◈ Books may be used for one event/task across all Wobble Events
◈ Unlike Leprechaun, books can not be used to cover multiple events/tasks
◈ All Questions go to Captains/Co-Captains who have majority in decision making
◈ Any questions Captains/Co-Captains cannot answer may be taken to mods BY Captain/Co-Captain only

Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

WOBBLE is coming....

As some of you have already guessed, WOBBLE is an acronym.
Our new team challenge will be six consecutive challenges within one overarching challenge.

As such, there will be lots of things to read so we will be posting here every day with information on the challenge between May 4 and 12 to give everyone a chance to read everything and ask questions.

Sign ups will then be open from May 15

Tomorrow we will reveal what the W in WOBBLE stands for and give you the overview for that game :)

A word to the wise...
☀You can NOT sign up for some of the challenges and not others. If you sign up for WOBBLE, you are signing up for all six!

☀WOBBLE is not for the faint of heart.
☞There WILL be times that you need to find a book to read that may not have been in your reading plan
☞You MAY find yourself having to read out of your usual genres in order to find a suitable book
☞You WILL need to be able to commit to reading at least ONE book per week
☞This is a LONG challenge. It will last for about 18 weeks. (From June until October)

Wobble Pre-Challenge Chat

May 2016 Newsletter

(Click on the cover to go to discussion)

US by Sarina Bowen (NBRC Back Room BOM*) Starts May 17, 2016



Survive Your Own Apocalypse
CYOA: Circus & Carnival



Eurovision: May 2016
May NetGalley Challenge
Mostly May Idioms
May: Tea Timer Reading Challenge
Major League Baseball Season



Event: The Great White Dragon



Anything Goes
Young Adult
Adult Sci-Fi/Fantasy
*Back Room





Gem Coin FAQ

What are Gem Coins
- Gem Coins are Rewards received in a variety of challenges around NBRC
- Gem Coins are REWARDS for you to keep/display
- Gem Coins are NOT for competition, no prize for the "most"
- Gem Coins are rewards for you to see what challenges you have completed

How to Earn Gem Coins
- Gem Coin rewards will mainly appear within new challenges, but that's not to say they won't pop up in some older ones.
- **NOTE: Only challenges hosted by "NBRC Mods" (or current mods) will contain Gem Coins. Older hosted challenges by former Mods (not joint account) can not be changed to reflect the Coins. These challenges will never have coins unless renewed under Mod Account.
- To earn any Gem Coin, you must have to have started the challenge after April 1, 2016
- Individual Challenges / Threads will reflect the coins within the first thread or two
- There will be a thread that is kept updated that will show current ways to earn Gem Coins

What to do with Gem Coins
- Gem Coins can be used for display (think of it like a medal)
- Directions on how to post photos, and change sizes to come
- A thread will be opened where you can keep all your coins
- Direct links to coin images will be provided
- Gem Coins can be displayed in a variety of ways
1: Display all individual coins at desired size:


2: Display one coin, and note how many of that coin you have:
5 Emerald Coins:


3 Ruby Coins:


- Gem Coins can be used to "buy" things at the Gem Coin Mine (Coming Soon)


Gem Coins FAQ
Gem Coins by Challenge
Gem Coins Q&A
Gem Coin Mine ~ (Coming Soon)
Gem Coin Display ~ Display your Gem Coins




Our new TEAM CHALLENGE will be starting in June. This challenge will go for a few months and have multiple components. We will be posting the different components of the challenge over the next week in this folder so that everyone can have time to read and ask questions before we post sign-ups. If you follow our blog or Facebook page, you will receive notifications for when each section is posted. :)

✿ NBRC Blog
✿ NBRC Facebook Page

The Moderators of NBRC,


P.S. New to our group? Not sure where to start? We have created a new thread explaining the different areas of our group here

*You must be over 18 years old to join the NBRC Back Room

You are receiving this monthly newsletter as a member of our group. If you no longer wish to receive these, you will need to change the settings in your profile (refer to Goodreads Help here if you are unsure how https://www.goodreads.com/help).