Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Questions?

First. Please. Read the rules! :)

Can't find the answer?

Post them here. Don't forget to check the FAQ first as someone may have already asked the same question. We highly recommend watching the video to walkthrough the spreadsheet. You can play around with your team sheets before the challenge starts to test out how everything works

FAQ

Q: For the spell-it-out, can you reuse a spell out letter? e.g. I want to use Of Mice and Men for O (title) twice? Or once I use a letter, that's it? (I assume that it's once for each). But if Of Mice and Men had an Oliver character I could use it for two Os with the two different reasons.
A: You can only use a justification once. So the O for title is once only. But if there is a character Oliver, you could also use O for Oliver. (but not 6 Oliver's if the word Oliver appears 6 times)
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Q: For the scavenger hunts, if my book has multiple mentions of an item (e.g. wine): can I use each time to produce 20 wine drinks or can I only use the food once?
A: Multiple wine drinks. Kind of like the coffee example in the spreadsheet. The trick is that you may not have enough customers to drink all that wine so the "easy" option isn't always best
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Q: How many customers are teams getting? Or is this a surprise?
A: It will be a surprise! Every team will get the same number of customers but the categories of each type of customer will differ for each team.
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Q: when a book can be use as an scavenger or spell it out?
A: If you use a book for a "scavenger hunt" item, the book needs to contain specific food words that you are looking for. So if the word "coffee" is in the book, you can use it for coffee. If words for things in a sandwich are in the book, like the word "bread" or "ham" or "jelly", you can use it for a sandwich.

With spell-it-out, you are looking for first letters of:
* Author, Character, Narrator (if listening to audiobook), or Translator (if reading translated book) names (first name, last name, or nick name)
* Title
* Series name

And using those to spell out a word needed to make a food. So for example, If the book Abaddon's Gate in the Expanse series by James A. Corey has the character Alex Kamal, you cake make the word Cake with spell-it-out
* C for Corey, the author's last name
* A for Abaddon, the first word of the title
* K for Kamal, a character's last name
* E for Expanse, the first letter of the series name (note- this demonstrates a rule where if the title or series starts with "the" or "a" you can use the first letter of the second word).

I think the best way to go about this if you're confused to start is to just keep track of all the food and drink words you find, all the characters you come across, and let your team help you find foods you can use the book for!
Also remember he number of spell-it-out letters you can use per book is limited by the length of the book.

up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book >50 pages and <=160 pages
up to 4 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >161 and <=300 pages
up to 8 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >301 pages and <=500 pages
up to 12 scavenger words / spell-it-out letters per book >501 pages
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Q: If two team members read the same book in the same round will that impact the formulas?
A: Yes. Some of the formulas are referring to the book name. So make sure you name the second book something different (e.g. "Of Mice and Men Karen")
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Q: Is there a limit on how many times you can spell out a word per round? (i.e., can a team spell out PASTA more than once, assuming the justifications are all different?)
A: Nope, as many as you'd like is fine. As long as the justifications are different, as you mentioned, you are good.
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Q: Is there a limit on how many times you can spell out a word per round? (i.e., can a team spell out PASTA more than once, assuming the justifications are all different?)
A: No limit provided the justifications are different
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Q: but what if we read e.g. a graphic novel or children's book that's 160+ pages, but not long enough based on word count? the spreadsheet will still say FRESH OR FROZEN, but of course the rules state that there's no restrictions on graphic novels, poetry etc for fresh foods.
A: True! I've just done an extra IF in the formula which means that if anyone has a book that is a children's, graphic novel etc. that doesn't meet the wordcount, the box needs to be ticked. That will then change the category to FRESH no matter the page numbers
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Q: I just want to clarify the minimum/maximum limits for spell outs. For coffee it is 1 minimum and 6 maximum. Does that mean we cannot spell cappuccino? And if the minimum is 1, does that mean we can spell a word with 1 letter? Or am I just not understanding?
A: You wouldn’t be able to spell out cappuccino but you would be able to find it in a scavenger hunt.
A spell it out of one letter wouldn’t be a word related to coffee so that wouldn’t work. But you could scavenger hunt the word coffee and then that is fine as one word
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Q: What about books in another language than English; can I use e.g. Finnish words in the scavenger hunt?
A: Yes
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Q: For the scavenger hunt are plurals allowed.
marshmallows vs marshmallow?
A: We aren’t being very prescriptive with the words you need to find (except perhaps vinegar) so plurals aren’t an issue. Only if you are doing a spell it out really and then you need to check you are under the maximum allowable letters
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Q: I have a question when it comes to desserts where only 1 item is needed to complete the category.

I get how dessert would work with spell it out, but when it comes to words found in text could you build desserts with things that could be part of a dessert but aren't the dessert specifically? Something like cinnamon or syrup, things that aren't a dessert necessarily on their own but are ingredients in many desserts
A: Not with desserts. If you look at the details for the categories, whereas the others give examples of ingredients that is not the case for desserts. It needs to be the name of a dessert or a generic term such as "tart".
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Q: If we are reading via audio...for the justification on words in text, is noting the chapter number adequate? Or something more specific?
A: that is fine
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Q: BOM question: Does it have to be read in the calendar month it starts for it to count, or will it count as long as we finish it within a month?
i.e., for Chain of Gold, do we need to finish it by the end of September, or just within round 1 for it to be eligible for the customer swap bonus?
A: You would get the BOM swap bonus if you finish the book and take part within a month of the start date
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Q: Can we read books we have read before?
A: Yes, as long as it has been 6 months or more since you last read it
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Q: new question here
A: new answer here
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Q: new question here
A: new answer here
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Q: new question here
A: new answer here
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r

r

Is the usual 6 month rule on re-reads in effect?

Sammy wrote: "Is the usual 6 month rule on re-reads in effect?"

Yep :)

Awesome, thanks.

no... I'm not planning already. Whatever gave you that idea...

haha
I've added to rules now, thanks for picking it up!

I'm a little confuse: when a book can be use as an scavenger or spell it out?

Nayara wrote: "I'm a little confuse: when a book can be use as an scavenger or spell it out?"

Not a mod, so please correct me mods if I'm wrong!

If you use a book for a "scavenger hunt" item, the book needs to contain specific food words that you are looking for. So if the word "coffee" is in the book, you can use it for coffee. If words for things in a sandwich are in the book, like the word "bread" or "ham" or "jelly", you can use it for a sandwich.

With spell-it-out, you are looking for first letters of:
* Author, Character, Narrator (if listening to audiobook), or Translator (if reading translated book) names (first name, last name, or nick name)
* Title
* Series name

And using those to spell out a word needed to make a food. So for example, If the book Abaddon's Gate in the Expanse series by James A. Corey has the character Alex Kamal, you cake make the word Cake with spell-it-out
* C for Corey, the author's last name
* A for Abaddon, the first word of the title
* K for Kamal, a character's last name
* E for Expanse, the first letter of the series name (note- this demonstrates a rule where if the title or series starts with "the" or "a" you can use the first letter of the second word).

I think the best way to go about this if you're confused to start is to just keep track of all the food and drink words you find, all the characters you come across, and let your team help you find foods you can use the book for!

Bethany wrote: "Nayara wrote: "I'm a little confuse: when a book can be use as an scavenger or spell it out?"

Not a mod, so please correct me mods if I'm wrong!

If you use a book for a "scavenger hunt" item, the..."

Thanks, Bethany! This sounds right. And the number of spell-it-out letters you can use per book is limited by the length of the book.

up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book >50 pages and <=160 pages
up to 4 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >161 and <=300 pages
up to 8 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >301 pages and <=500 pages
up to 12 scavenger words / spell-it-out letters per book >501 pages

Thank you Bethany and Aiswrya!

Can you explain in the spreadsheet what the "meal category can be used" column is in the KITCHEN meals created sheet?

Bethany wrote: "Can you explain in the spreadsheet what the "meal category can be used" column is in the KITCHEN meals created sheet?"

Oh nevermind, I think I figured it out. It's how many more letters or scavenger hunt things you can use it for, right? So if you put a book in and it's less than 0 you've messed up and have to get rid of some things you're using it for?

Also, wouldn't the formula for this cell mess up if two people read the same book, or even different books with the same title? Because it only looks for title (I think) and not user or another distinguishing feature. We can get around this by modifying the title to something like You (read by Bethany) but it might be easier for team members if the formula was fixed to not have that problem.

Aiswrya wrote: "Bethany wrote: "Nayara wrote: "...
Thanks, Bethany! This sounds right. And the number of spell-it-out letters you can use per book is limited by the length of the book...."

Is this, below, info someplace else? If so I missed it, so could you tell me for future referance.

up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book >50 pages and <=160 pages
up to 4 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >161 and <=300 pages
up to 8 scavenger words/ spell-it out letters per book >301 pages and <=500 pages
up to 12 scavenger words / spell-it-out letters per book >501 pages

Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "Aiswrya wrote: "Bethany wrote: "Nayara wrote: "...
Thanks, Bethany! This sounds right. And the number of spell-it-out letters you can use per book is limited by the length of the book...."

Is this..."

The spreadsheets help you keep track of it automatically! In the example spreadsheet, books read sheet. It will auto-fill column G when you put in the number of pages in your book.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

Oh, ok
Missed that specific info when I looked over the spreadsheets. But upon second look I see what you are talking about.
Thanks

Bethany wrote: "Bethany wrote: "Can you explain in the spreadsheet what the "meal category can be used" column is in the KITCHEN meals created sheet?"

Oh nevermind, I think I figured it out. It's how many more le..."

Yes that's right. If you haven't watched the video, that may help with how the spreadsheet works.

The formula looks for the book name so if two people read the same book in the same round you will need to differentiate them.

EDIT - actually I was thinking of the books read tab. The Kitchen tab it should say the category. the formula was pointing to the wrong column nfor some reason! Fixed now

Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "Oh, ok
Missed that specific info when I looked over the spreadsheets. But upon second look I see what you are talking about.
Thanks"

It is also on the "meals and points" tab on the s/sheet. :)

We highly recommend watching the video to walkthrough the spreadsheet also and you can play around with your team sheets before the challenge starts to test out how everything works

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "Oh, ok
Missed that specific info when I looked over the spreadsheets. But upon second look I see what you are talking about.
Thanks"

It is also on the "meals and point..."

Thanks did, but the video almost intimidated me more. lol!
But it is done well, it is just all the fascist of this challenge.
😲😲😁😉

Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "Thanks did, but the video almost intimidated me more. lol!..."

haha, I understand!
It will probably take another viewing once you need to add books to the sheet too. Hopefully we have enough auto folrmulas in there to help with checks and balances that it will become easy quickly

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Alison (Lady Coffin) wrote: "Thanks did, but the video almost intimidated me more. lol!..."

haha, I understand!
It will probably take another viewing once you need to add books to the sheet too. H..."

Yes, it looks like you have set up a lot of checks and balances within the spreadsheet and I am counting on my team as a whole to do the same.
🤓🤓😁

I have a question:
for example you can use up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book: for the spell - it out letters, is that 2 letters per book?

Saar The Book owl wrote: "I have a question:
for example you can use up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book: for the spell - it out letters, is that 2 letters per book?"

Yes; for those page numbers either two scavenger words or two spell it out letters. The spreadsheet will calculate for you based on page numbers

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Saar The Book owl wrote: "I have a question:
for example you can use up to 2 scavenger words / spell-it out letters per book: for the spell - it out letters, is that 2 letters per book?"

Yes; for ..."

but what if we read e.g. a graphic novel or children's book that's 160+ pages, but not long enough based on word count? the spreadsheet will still say FRESH OR FROZEN, but of course the rules state that there's no restrictions on graphic novels, poetry etc for fresh foods. I hope that makes sense, and I get that it's not easy (if possible at all) to work this into the spreadsheet.

Is there a limit on how many times you can spell out a word per round? (i.e., can a team spell out PASTA more than once, assuming the justifications are all different?)

Kaley wrote: "Is there a limit on how many times you can spell out a word per round? (i.e., can a team spell out PASTA more than once, assuming the justifications are all different?)"

Nope, as many as you'd like is fine. As long as the justifications are different, as you mentioned, you are good.

That’s true, Christina. It may be a bit complicated to add into the sheet all those scenarios.
What we might do is create a “check” list where you can look for those kinds of things towards the end of the month to make sure you have everything captured correctly

Maybe we could just use a different page count (e.g. 159) for books that officially only work for fresh food 🤷

Christina wrote: "Maybe we could just use a different page count (e.g. 159) for books that officially only work for fresh food 🤷"

I've just done an extra IF in the formula which means that if anyone has a book that is a chilkdrens, graphic novel etc. that doesn't meet the wordcount, the box needs to be ticked. That will then change the category to FRESH no matter the page numbers

Okay great! Thanks Karen!

There are minimum and maximum items listed for meals to be complete. Does that mean in order for a sandwich to be complete it has to have at least 4 items? For example, bread, ham, mustard, tomato? These items can be spelled out or found in text? Because I noticed on the spreadsheet words like carrot say complete. Is that just referencing the word, not the meal? Do we track if a meal is complete ourselves?

Yes the minimum is how many letters you must use if doing a spell it out or how many items you must find if doing a scavenger.
You need to track everything yourself as a team.
If you watch the video it may help to get across how the spreadsheet works 😉👍

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Yes the minimum is how many letters you must use if doing a spell it out or how many items you must find if doing a scavenger.
You need to track everything yourself as a team.
If you watch the vid..."

Thanks, Karen! I have watched the video once. But I think I will have to watch it a few more times. 😁

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Yes the minimum is how many letters you must use if doing a spell it out or how many items you must find if doing a scavenger.
You need to track everything yourself as a team.
If you watch the vid..."

OK. I have watched the video again. 🙂 I just want to clarify the minimum/maximum limits for spell outs. For coffee it is 1 minimum and 6 maximum. Does that mean we cannot spell cappuccino? And if the minimum is 1, does that mean we can spell a word with 1 letter? Or am I just not understanding?

What about books in another language than English; can I use e.g. Finnish words in the scavenger hunt?

I don't think I have seen this question yet.

For the scavenger hunt are plurals allowed

marshmallows vs marshmallow?

Geri wrote: "Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Yes the minimum is how many letters you must use if doing a spell it out or how many items you must find if doing a scavenger.
You need to track everything yourself as a team.
If ..."

You wouldn’t be able to spell out cappuccino but you would be able to find it in a scavenger hunt.
A spell it out of one letter wouldn’t be a word related to coffee so that wouldn’t work. But you could scavenger hunt the word coffee and then that is fine as one word

I hope that helps

Camilla wrote: "What about books in another language than English; can I use e.g. Finnish words in the scavenger hunt?"

Yes

Leslie Ann wrote: "I don't think I have seen this question yet.

For the scavenger hunt are plurals allowed

marshmallows vs marshmallow?"

We aren’t being very prescriptive with the words you need to find (except perhaps vinegar) so plurals aren’t an issue. Only if you are doing a spell it out really and then you need to check you are under the maximum allowable letters

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: ". You wouldn’t be able to spell out cappuccino but you would be able to find it in a scavenger hunt.
A spell it out of one letter wouldn’t be a word related to coffee so that wouldn’t work. But you could scavenger hunt the word coffee and then that is fine as one word

I hope that helps"

Yes, that does help. Maximums are what is most important in spell out. Got it! 🙂

This may be somewhere that I missed in the rules, but I have a few questions. Do we know ahead of time how many customers are going to visit even if we do not know the breakdown? Second, can people have a meal and a drink and a dessert, or is it one item per a customer? Can people have multiple alcoholic drinks or are we running a very strict alcohol policy here? Also, can pensioners have alcohol? There may be some very grumpy pensioners otherwise. (By a few questions, I seem to mean five questions).

Lexi wrote: "This may be somewhere that I missed in the rules, but I have a few questions. Do we know ahead of time how many customers are going to visit even if we do not know the breakdown? Second, can people..."

Do we know ahead of time how many customers are going to visit even if we do not know the breakdown?
No
Second, can people have a meal and a drink and a dessert, or is it one item per a customer?
one per
Can people have multiple alcoholic drinks or are we running a very strict alcohol policy here?
;)one item per customer
Also, can pensioners have alcohol? There may be some very grumpy pensioners otherwise.
nope. grandma and grandpa need to stick with tea & coffee

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Lexi wrote: "This may be somewhere that I missed in the rules, but I have a few questions. Do we know ahead of time how many customers are going to visit even if we do not know the breakdown? Secon..."

Thank you, I will direct the grumpy wine loving septuagenarians in your direction if they complain :)

teehee

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "nope. grandma and grandpa need to stick with tea & coffee"

My parents will want a word with you... lol!

Haha
And I wouldn’t blame them, Sammy 👍😂

Sammy wrote: "Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "nope. grandma and grandpa need to stick with tea & coffee"

My parents will want a word with you... lol!"

My step dad too. His covid prevention routine included a lemon-honey tea with bagaço (a very high alcohol content drink) for months. He only stopped drinking it, because I stopped making the tea... now he settles for a shot of bagaço .

My parents will join the angry mob with pitchforks...or maybe just bring a little flask of some amber liquid to add to their coffee at the restaurant.

Jenny wrote: "My parents will join the angry mob with pitchforks...or maybe just bring a little flask of some amber liquid to add to their coffee at the restaurant."

Tsk, tsk, no BYOB!