Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It! - Team Challenge - Finished

 

UnCover It! - Team Challenge hosted by Nothing but Reading Challenges on Goodreads.

This  challenge has now finished and my team came in on a shared second place. This was a fun challenge, thanks to Nothing but Reading Challenges on Goodreads for hosting it.

TEAM ARLECCHINO

Winners of UNCOVER IT!

Team              Points    Ranking
Arlecchino         540         1
Moretta            505      Equal 2nd
Medico della Peste 505      Equal 2nd
Volto              500         4
Pantalone          480         5
Bauta              405         6
Colombina          160         7

UNCOVER IT - A NBRC Team Challenge

Duration: Six weeks, starting May 16th - June 27th, 2014

Sign-Ups: Close May 12th, 2014. Thread is here.

As a player, you need to read at least a book a week. (Books read for this challenge need to be 160 pages or greater in length.) 

The Basics: 
• Each team is assigned a book to be “uncovered.” NOTE: You are NOT expected to read this book.
• Each week the teams ask a randomly selected team (their “opposing team”) one question OR they take a guess as to the identity of the other team’s book.
• Points are assigned each week based on choices made and books read (further explanation below).
• The “opposing team” changes each week (selected randomly).
• Winner is the team at the end of the 6 weeks that has the most points.

Books to be Uncovered.

Start of Challenge: 
• Members are assigned to teams (probably 5-7 people per team including captain).
• Mods randomly assign the “uncover” book to each team.

Weekly: 
• Mods will randomly determine for each team their “opposing team” for the week.
• Each team must select a genre they would give to the opposing team for a wrong guess (from the genre list used in Books Buffs’ Battleship*; each genre may only be used once by any team selecting throughout the challenge).
• Teams must ask a question of their opposing team for the week in a specified time period.
• NO SPOILER QUESTIONS (e.g. “Does the heroine die at the end?”). Please, no “open-ended” questions, only yes/no questions. In addition, you may NOT ask when it was BOM.
• Since all books have been past NBRC BOMs, there are discussion questions available for inspiration.

The genres are the same as used for Book Buffs’ Battleship challenge.  In order for the book to be accepted it either have to have been tagged as the genre by more than 10 on Goodreads or the moderator for the challenge has to approve it.

Week 1: No  = History ➜ I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Week 2: Yes = Fantasy ➜ I read Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch (which was banked)
Week 3: special = Young Adult  ➜ I read Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan
Week 4: Yes = Fantasy ➜ I read A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews (which was banked)
Week 5: Yes =Thriller ➜ I read Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong
Week 5: Extra ➜ I read Ever After by Kim Harrison (which was banked)
Week 6: No = Non Fiction ➜ I read Drifting Home by Pierre Berton
Week 6: Extra  ➜ I read The Keepers by Donna Augustine (for New Adult)

The Keepers by Donna Augustine

Two days ago, Jo Davids was a waitress by night and a college kid by day, with the unnerving problem of things floating around her.
One day ago, Jo's sexy boss, Cormac, noticed her for all the wrong reasons when she witnessed a man transform into a monster in the basement of his casino.
Today, Cormac ordered her shot. If he's real lucky, she won't die. Because if she does, all hope is lost. From Goodreads.

This was better than expected. Jo has never known her parents and lived in foster homes all her life. She has been different and done all she could to hide it, now it saves her life. She then has to help save earth. I might continue this series.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Book Titles 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (A-quail)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
The Challenge Factory - June 2014 Dusty Book Challenge

Drifting Home by Pierre Berton

In the 1970s, Pierre Berton and his family recreated the trip down the Yukon made by his father, Francis George Berton, in 1898. This compelling story of the later journey is a valentine from son to father, a magical tale of a family adrift, and a poetic exploration of the region’s rich history. In experiencing this great wilderness, Berton and his family discover their deep connection to nature — and each other. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book. It was an interesting story about a family trip down the Yukon river. It describes how it looked in the 1970s when this trip takes place but also about the thriving place it was in 1898 when Pierre Berton's father made the trip for the gold rush.
I am looking forward to see some of the places described in this book.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Literary Exploration Reading Challenge
2014 Full House Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Crazy Challenge Connection: 1000 Member Celebration!
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (D-leopard)
Crazy Challenge Connection Monopoly
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews

Once in a very long while, betwixt and between the humdrum of everydayness, something magical happens: life gives us a fairy tale. Sometimes it begins with a door; sometimes by following a peculiar cottontail down his hole. For Phinnegan Qwyk, it begins with a chilly November night, two wet footprints and Periwinkle Lark.
A flamboyant and cunning Faë with a penchant for mischief, Periwinkle is also a bit of a thief. When he snatches Phinnegan away to a Place-Beyond-the-Map, Phinnegan discovers that fairy tales aren’t all they’re cracked up to be: at least, not when you are being attacked by the wild wolves of the Faolchú, being hunted by a gholem that lurks unseen in the shadows, or bargaining for your very life with a troll—even if she is beautiful.
When all seems lost, Phinnegan finds hope in the form of a shy pixie and a jolly, if rather messy, old man. His journey is not a mistake.
Evocative, purposeful and winsome, A Place Beyond the Map is what children’s dreams are made of. A simplistic tale spun within the world of fairy tales and myth, it is a story for children, and for those of us that are finally old enough to read fairy tales again. From Goodreads.

I enjoyed this book though I found the start quite slow going. After that it was a real fairy tale full of all sorts of creatures and not all looking as expected.
Phinnegan has to find his way home with the help of the not too trustworthy fae Periwinkle but he also gets involved in the local affairs.
My biggest problem with the story was that the ending is no ending but more of a setting the scene for the next book - but there is no sequel.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 Monthly Motif Reading Challenge
2014 Monthly Key Word Reading Challenge
CCC A-Z Authors 2014
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (Q-quail)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan

Having returned to the real world from Tir Na Nog at the end of the last book, our hero Conor finds himself arrested for the murder of his father.
When he explains to the cops that his dad is safe and well and enjoying life as king of a land of elves, imps and banshees they understandably think he is a nutcase.
That is until he is rescued by Celtic warriors on horseback and taken back to Tir Na Nog, accidentally bringing a policeman with him.
Once safely back in The Land, Conor finds that all is not well. His father is dying, the girl he loves is betrothed to another and a rather confused American cop is wandering around causing havoc.
It falls to our young hero, and his band of friends, to find a cure for the king. On their epic journey they encounter one of the most mystical and dangerous races in The Land, the shapeshifting Pooka, and find their fates linked in ways they could never have imagined.
The Prince of Hazel and Oak is a stunning fantasy adventure that takes fans of Shadowmagic further in to the land and brings back many of the favourite characters from the first book. From Goodreads.

It took me 1½ years from buying Shadowmagic, the first book in the series, before reading it and now another 1½ years later I finally got around to reading the second book.
I really enjoyed this book. Conor has come back to the real world but it is just not the same to him any longer and after being accused of his father's murder and arrested he is saved by his mother and brought back to Tir Na Nog. This time his quest is to find a cure for his father who is dying. Conor is just a teenager and quite often behaves as such but the book is humorous with him also trying to tell jokes that nobody understands.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Romance Readers Reading Challenges: Yahtzee Challenge
Sequel Spring Reading Challenge
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Crazy Challenge Connection - Sub-Genre Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (P-polarbear)
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5

Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch

I'm told the dead are all around us. I wouldn't know about that, I see only the violently slain. They can be victims of hit-and-run, innocents caught in a cross-fire, the murdered. They whisper to me and they never, ever, forget the face of their killer. I've learned to live with my uncanny ability, in fact I've made a career out of it.
The departed aren't the only supernaturals I see. No, they're not vampires or werewolves or fae - those things don't exist. We live side by side with what some call the Otherworldy. That's too much of a mouthful for me, I call them demons. If you saw them as I do, you'd know why.
Right now I'm trying to track down a missing six year-old boy whose mother was murdered. Or maybe she wasn't. To further complicate the case, Clarion PD gave me a partner I'd rather shoot than work with.
I can't tell them he's a demon.
They'd think I'm crazy.
I'm Tiff Banks. Welcome to my world.
WHISPERINGS. Paranormal mystery with a splash of humor and dash of romance. From Goodreads.

Again a free Kindle book that was better than expected. Tiff can see and talk to the dead, only the ones that died an violent death. She can also see "demons" or that is what she calls them, beings from another dimension. She has to help solve the case of a missing kid and she gets paired with a demon. It is despite the killing and torture also quite humorous when she discusses things with the two ghosts that live in her house.
It was close to a 4 star book but ended as a high 3 instead. I might get the next in the series, I like it when free books reel me in.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Ebook challenge
2014 TBR Pile Reading Challenge
2014 Read Your Freebies! Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
The Challenge Factory - R2: Team Challenge SS?
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (W-wolf)
Nothing but Reading Challenges - 50 States Challenge
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon
Crazy Challenge Connection 2014 RaT #5

A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson

The Appalachian Trail trail stretches from Georgia to Maine and covers some of the most breathtaking terrain in America–majestic mountains, silent forests, sparking lakes. If you’re going to take a hike, it’s probably the place to go. And Bill Bryson is surely the most entertaing guide you’ll find. He introduces us to the history and ecology of the trail and to some of the other hardy (or just foolhardy) folks he meets along the way–and a couple of bears. Already a classic, A Walk in the Woods will make you long for the great outdoors (or at least a comfortable chair to sit and read in). From Goodreads.

I liked this book although I have read it before, many years ago. I enjoyed Bill Bryson's talk of buying the gear as I know it can be quite scary to buy new gear. Though his stories about the people he met on the trail were humorous they were also a bit belittling and I don't remember him approving of anybody he met, even though he himself was very ill prepared for hiking the trail.
Still I am impressed by how much both he and Stephen Katz managed to hike.
What I especially liked was the description of the areas he walked through. I could almost close my eyes and see it.

This book qualifies for:
2014 Full House Reading Challenge
You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge 2014
Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It
Goodreads Reading Challenge 2014 
Nothing but Reading Challenges - Spell it Out - Animal Alphabet (B-umbrellabird)
CCC-Read your age
Crazy Challenge Connection Bard of Avon

Nothing but Reading Challenges - UnCover It! - Team Challenge

 UnCover It! - Team Challenge hosted by Nothing but Reading Challenges on Goodreads.

UNCOVER IT - A NBRC Team Challenge

Duration: Six weeks, starting May 16th - June 27th, 2014

Sign-Ups: Close May 12th, 2014. Thread is here.

As a player, you need to read at least a book a week. (Books read for this challenge need to be 160 pages or greater in length.)

The Basics:
• Each team is assigned a book to be “uncovered.” NOTE: You are NOT expected to read this book.
• Each week the teams ask a randomly selected team (their “opposing team”) one question OR they take a guess as to the identity of the other team’s book.
• Points are assigned each week based on choices made and books read (further explanation below).
• The “opposing team” changes each week (selected randomly).
• Winner is the team at the end of the 6 weeks that has the most points.

Books to be Uncovered.

Start of Challenge:
• Members are assigned to teams (probably 5-7 people per team including captain).
• Mods randomly assign the “uncover” book to each team.

Weekly:
• Mods will randomly determine for each team their “opposing team” for the week.
• Each team must select a genre they would give to the opposing team for a wrong guess (from the genre list used in Books Buffs’ Battleship*; each genre may only be used once by any team selecting throughout the challenge).
• Teams must ask a question of their opposing team for the week in a specified time period.
• NO SPOILER QUESTIONS (e.g. “Does the heroine die at the end?”). Please, no “open-ended” questions, only yes/no questions. In addition, you may NOT ask when it was BOM.
• Since all books have been past NBRC BOMs, there are discussion questions available for inspiration.

I saw this challenge and then forgot all about it. I was lucky enough that I was still allowed to join even though I was one day late in signing up.
This is all about asking the other teams questions about their book. If we get a no to our question we will be allocated a genre our team has to read, if we get a yes answer we decide the genre our selves.
The genres are the same as used for Book Buffs’ Battleship challenge.  In order for the book to be accepted it either have to have been tagged as the genre by more than 10 on Goodreads or the moderator for the challenge has to approve it.

Week 1: No  = History ➜ I read A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson
Week 2: Yes = Fantasy ➜ I read Along Came A Demon by Linda Welch (which was banked)
Week 3: special = Young Adult  ➜ I read Prince of Hazel and Oak by John Lenahan
Week 4: Yes = Fantasy ➜ I read A Place Beyond The Map by Samuel Thews (which was banked)
Week 5: Yes =Thriller ➜ I read Wild Justice by Kelley Armstrong
Week 5: Extra ➜ I read Ever After by Kim Harrison (which was banked)
Week 6: No = Non Fiction ➜ I read Drifting Home by Pierre Berton
Week 6: Extra  ➜ I read The Keepers by Donna Augustine (for New Adult)