📚Book Talk December Reading Challenge & Christmas Reads-Note - P16 - Page 17

Originally posted by: nutmeg7

Oh idhar kuch drama hua kya? Missed it

It is sad that it has been discontinued. I wanted to point out one thing. Reading has to be a pleasurable activity, not a race. Initially, it was great but as months progressed, the themes, BINGOs, and other rules put so much pressure, especially when it was a group activity, that I started despising this book monthly challenge. Also, the reason why I did not participate in the 1-2 reading challenges. I know I must be in the minority here.

However, I will look forward to reopening of this book reading activity if it is does not have the extra fluff.

Fluff meaning ?

I would like to respectfully disagree here.

I have been part of the BTRC since its inception, and none of the themes you've mentioned were mandatory or imposed on readers. Many participants bypassed the themes, group activities, or Bingo simply because they couldn’t commit due to personal schedules, exams, or other commitments.

It has never been a race. The one time it seemed like it was, Lizzie addressed the issue, and dropped the whole bingo theme to make sure no one felt stressful.

There was no pressure to participate either, as I've seen participants take a month or two off due to exams. In fact, MVPs of one month have logged fewer than 1,000 pages in a different month because they didn’t have the time.

In September, there was no theme specifically because people wanted a theme-free month to read whatever they liked. If there's one thing the BTRC has consistently been, it's inclusive.

A lof of people didn't sign up for Bingo in November, so it was dropped.

The only rule that was enforced after the first two months was that anyone signing up should read at least 200 pages to earn a badge. This was necessary because some participants would sign up and then disappear, which affected the team results.

Since this is a recurring event, there needs to be some incentive to keep things interesting; otherwise, it could easily become monotonous.

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

Fluff meaning ?

I would like to respectfully disagree here.

Originally posted by: nutmeg7

Sorry haven’t read anything after this. I wanted to share my POV. If you disagree, I am cool with it too.

No problem. I'm cool with you disagreeing with me as well. Everyone is entitled to their own perspective. I wanted to share mine, that's all. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

No problem. I'm cool with you disagreeing with me as well. Everyone is entitled to their own perspective. I wanted to share mine, that's all. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Originally posted by: nutmeg7

Agree disagree ka question nahi hai. just didn’t read. sorry. Just went through some older posts. Why so miffed?

Well,

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

Well,

Originally posted by: nutmeg7

Haila! Merko idea hi nahi. Kabhi vistaar mei samjhao

Vistaar bahut lamba chahiye hoga to understand it.

Originally posted by: missFiesty_69

... In September, there was no theme specifically because people wanted a theme-free month to read whatever they liked. If there's one thing the BTRC has consistently been, it's inclusive.

A lof of people didn't sign up for Bingo in November, so it was dropped.

The only rule that was enforced after the first two months was that anyone signing up should read at least 200 pages to earn a badge. This was necessary because some participants would sign up and then disappear, which affected the team results.

Since this is a recurring event, there needs to be some incentive to keep things interesting; otherwise, it could easily become monotonous.

That's what I liked. I anyways listen to/read books, so writing about them was/is a pleasure to me. I also liked the possibility of a theme (e.g. the rainbow-culture or now Christmas) so much that I even tried to find books refering to the team's name (e.g. Glasgow/Rangers in november). I easily had found 5 books with Christmas-crime theme...and the book I've listened to the last three days for the regular part (Umberto Ecco - The Name of the Rose = murders in an abbey combined with philosophical-religious discussions and book culture) even happens at Christmas time.

So, if ever I'd the time, I enjoyed to participate However, I guess that it is a lot of work for those organising it in addition to their other work they have. Therefore again:

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

I always love reading, But was never disciplined. Because of which I always used to be inconsistent.....But this Reading book challenge was boosting me up.and I was happily reading every month without hurdles....

Lo abh main kya karun ...🤧

Kaise padun......

Yeh sabh abhi hi hona tha....

🫣🥴🙂‍↔️🥲😮‍💨😨😫😭

Originally posted by: Viswasruti

Hi, BT Forum members and friends,

Let me share a few thoughts with you all, spending a few precious moments together before sharing the important decision.

When we joined as DT members of this forum after seven years of its inactivity and total silence, we felt like waking a sleeping princess. With total dedication, we revived this space. Later, Lizzie joined me with her creativity and launched the BT Reading Challenge in April 2025. It was truly her idea, her baby, and she led it with passion and imagination. Her sudden exit made it necessary for me to step in. Until then, my role was mostly limited to posting results and awarding badges, but I tried my best to give a meaningful theme to the closing month of this year.

Prior to my involvement, a small misunderstanding during the October Bingo RC unfortunately led to its halt. There was another misunderstanding about the November Results post, which led to more confusion and emotional outbursts in the forum. What began as a minor ripple eventually turned into a tidal wave that swept across the entire space and divided the core spirit of the forum into two “other-wise” sides.

The sudden exit of two voluntarily joined captains made the challenge feel like a depleted and rocky bookshelf, one where every book seemed to lose its place, and nothing remained to read, explore, or share.

With a heart burdened by recent events, I announce that the BT Reading Challenge is being paused for now.

I express my sincere regrets for this discontinuation. I truly wished to continue the December BT RC, especially because so many were reading actively and engaging in meaningful discussions. Announcing this pause saddens me deeply.

Thank you every reader, captain, badge maker, and graphicer for your contributions. Each one of you is valuable to this forum. I regret this discontinuation, and I look forward to meeting again with a new format, with a renewed warmth and positivity.

I am grateful to WildestDreams for the wonderful Christmas Badge, and thankful to Leprechaun for the beautiful tags. Unfortunately, I am not able to use those now. Sorry for this.

Regards.

I do not want to question this decision but can I ask why it was taken? If it is the lack of captains, as sad as I will be to see 2 passionate readers leaving this place, I'm sure others would step up if given the chance. If it is the lack of a google sheet to log our reads, again... one of us could easily help with that... all that needs to be done is ask. We don't know what problems you're facing while organizing the RC this month, but if it is anything that we can help with, all you really need to do is post a message in this thread asking for assistance.

Most of us had started with our winter reads, the badge was prepared as were the tags. It feels such a waste of time and energy to cancel this RC after it has already begun. As for the vibe of the forum right now, things were simmering down anyway... continuing the RC as usual would have helped the cause rather than hinder it. Most of us are merely here to read, the RC helped bring structure to our chaotic reads and it would be tragic to see it go down after all these months.