Sam’s Comments (group member since Jul 23, 2010)

Sam’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

Cait wrote: "I was looking for Polish authors and found these on my tbr. Can you tell me which country (Poland, Ukraine, either/or) they would work for? The information listed comes directly from their GR aut..."

Schulz was born in a part of the Ukraine that was returned to Poland after WWI. I would take the Ukraine or Poland in his case.

Borowski was born in a Polish-minority area of USSR-Ukraine, so he'd qualify for the Ukraine only.

colleen wrote: "For YA books, if they have no Lexile score or a score below 700 are they still eligble for task points? Is over 700 just required for adding in style points? I need a little clarification please...."

Yes, they're still eligible for task points but not style points.

Karen GHHS wrote: "I have a question about the cyberpunk task. I was looking at the list of books and saw that it was last updated in 1995. If this task wins would it be possible to have the list be just suggested in..."

I'd like to keep the task limited to the list. That leaves me the option of using more recent cyberpunk or steampunk for a task later on.

Liz M wrote: "Sam wrote: "Unfortunately, there are book on the list that aren't 20th Century, which is what the list is supposed to be (Pride & Prejudice...?). You'll have to double-check your book choice to be ..."

Let's just avoid this particular controversy and say 1900-2000 is okay.

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Could we go back to a country we already been or no? Like could we go go from Ireland to the UK if we already been to the UK previously in our travels?"

Your route should be designed so that there isn't any backtracking.

Liz M wrote: "What are the general guidelines to determine which country an author is associated with, if they have lived many places, or if there works were written & published in a country that no longer exist..."

The general rule is that the author's birthplace should be used when considering destinations. In the case of someone who was born in a part of the British Empire like Kipling, the U.K. is fine. For someone who was born outside of Europe but has become a citizen of a European country like Ishiguro, you can use that author for that European country.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Question specific to 10.2 A Special Gift from Reading with Style. It's a stretch and I think you'd have to be generous to give it to me, BUT . . . I received some gift certificates for my birthday ..."

I can live with that.

-We'll most likely limit the Noel task to unique authors.

-When we both went looking for modern romance lists, we both came up with the GR list. Unfortunately, there are book on the list that aren't 20th Century, which is what the list is supposed to be (Pride & Prejudice...?). You'll have to double-check your book choice to be sure, but they definitely should be from the 20th century.

-Check out the following link on cyberpunk. Also, once you've voted in the poll, you'll be able to see the link to the book list that is part of the task.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyberpunk

Joanna wrote: "Can this be a fiction book? For example, would Philippa Gregory's books about the Tudors count?"

This task was intended to be non-fiction when we came up with it...I'll adjust the task to make that clearer.

Reading through Time - Constant Traveler
15.2: The Hound of the Baskervilles - Arthur Conan Doyle (1902)
+25 points

10.6 - Work: Adventures in the Screen Trade - William Goldman (Memoir about career as a screenwriter)
+ 10 Task Points
+ 5 Jumbo Points (594 pages)
Task Points: 15

10.9 - A.K.A.: The Sign of Four - Arthur Conan Doyle (A.K.A. The Sign of the Four)
+ 10 Task Points
+ 5 Series Points (Sherlock Holmes #2)
Task Points: 15

New Points: 55
Grand Total: 610

Rebekah wrote: "I'm not sure what you meant by "time periods" in the part of the Task description about how points can be earned."

The description has been fixed...new sea routes have also been added.

You can only vote once, but the top three vote-getters will become those three tasks.

Ask any questions you have about playing Backpacking through Europe here.

Ask questions or post suggestions about books that would be ideal for Backpacking through Europe.

Sam's Itinerary:

Italy
Spain
France
Germany
Netherlands
U.K.
Iceland
Norway
Sweden
Russia

Post your "Land & Sea" itineraries for approval here. When your itinerary is approved, you will see your name in this first post. If you want to make a change to your itinerary before completing your first book, please make a new post rather than editing your old one.

Sam - APPROVED!
Rhea - APPROVED!
Rachelccameron - APPROVED!
Jayme - APPROVED!
Liz - APPROVED!
Coralie - APPROVED!
Elizabeth - APPROVED!
Jackie - APPROVED!
Cait - APPROVED!
Deana - APPROVED!
Joanna - APPROVED!
Colleen - APPROVED!
Karen - APPROVED!
Christy - APPROVED!
Liz Vegas - APPROVED!
nsfancy - APPROVED!
Erin - APPROVED!
KatieDE - APPROVED!
Tobey - APPROVED!
Melissa W - APPROVED!
Potjy - APPROVED!
Miki - APPROVED!
Krista - APPROVED!
Rachel Lee - APPROVED!
Katy - APPROVED!
Allie - APPROVED!
Jane - APPROVED!
Tammy - APPROVED!
Rachel - APPROVED!
Rebekah - APPROVED!
Sara Grace - APPROVED!
Deedee - APPROVED!

Reading with Style Cruse Line Routes:

Denmark -> Sweden
France -> Ireland
France -> Portugal
France -> U.K.
Germany -> Sweden
Germany -> Russia
Germany -> U.K.
Greece -> Italy
Iceland -> Ireland
Iceland -> Norway
Iceland -> U.K.
Ireland -> France
Ireland -> Spain
Ireland -> Iceland
Ireland -> Portugal
Italy -> Spain
Italy -> Greece
Netherlands -> U.K.
Norway -> Iceland
Poland -> Russia
Portugal -> France
Portugal -> Ireland
Portugal -> U.K.
Romania -> Turkey
Russia -> Sweden
Russia -> Germany
Russia -> Poland
Spain -> Ireland
Spain -> Italy
Spain -> U.K.
Sweden -> Denmark
Sweden -> Germany
Sweden -> Russia
Turkey -> Ukraine
Turkey -> Romania
U.K. -> Iceland
U.K. -> France
U.K. -> Netherlands
U.K. -> Germany
U.K. -> Portugal
U.K. -> Spain
Ukraine -> Turkey

Backpacking through Europe . . . 10 countries, 10 books.

Your goal is to “travel” to ten different European countries by reading books by ten different European authors. Travel to France, read a book by Victor Hugo . . . travel to Spain, read a book by Carlos Ruiz Zafon . . . travel to Sweden, read a book by Stieg Larsson. And so on. Just like last season, there are two routes you can follow, one of which offers more challenge and reward. Here’s what you need to do to play . . .

Step 1: Plan your journey (more information below).

Step 2: Start reading.

Step 3: Post what you read in the Completed Tasks section to receive 15 points.

Destination #1 (Task 15.1)
Destination #2 (Task 15.2)
Destination #3 (Task 15.3)
Destination #4 (Task 15.4)
Destination #5 (Task 15.5)
Destination #6 (Task 15.6)
Destination #7 (Task 15.7)
Destination #8 (Task 15.8)
Destination #9 (Task 15.9)
Destination #10 (Task 15.10)

A few quick notes . . .

1) You cannot claim regular style points for any book you read for Backpacking through Europe (nor do the Backpacking through Europe tasks count as Combo style points for regular Reading with Style tasks).
2) For the purposes of this challenge, Scotland, Wales, England, and Northern Ireland are all one stop, the United Kingdom.
2) Before starting on your journey, you must designate whether you are traveling by “Land and Sea” or by “Air”:

“Land and Sea” backpackers can only travel from country to country by crossing land borders or by traveling on Reading with Style Cruise Lines (see routes in message #2). L&S travelers will receive 10 style points for every book completed after the first book (i.e., books 2-10). At the end of the reader's travels, he/she will receive a 100-point "Well-Traveled" bonus if all ten countries have been visited. Finally, L&S Travelers must post their complete itinerary in the “Itinerary” folder for approval before posting for points.

“Air” travelers need no set itinerary and can travel to any European country at any time. This reader will receive 10 style points for every book completed after the fifth book (i.e., books 6-10). At the end of the reader's travels, he/she will receive a 50-point "Sightseer" bonus if ten countries have been visited.

(Scorekeeping Note: Each time you post in the Completed Tasks thread, please specify whether you are “Land & Sea” or “Air.”)

20.7 – Goodbye, So Long, Good Riddance...
Read a non-fiction book about an event that took place between the 00's-10's (e.g., 1400-1410, 1500-1510, etc.). Selections can be a biography/autobiography of someone who was born or who died in those years or about a specific event that took place during those years. You may repeat this task as many times as you like, but each time you repeat it you should read a book about an event in a different century.

When posting for points, make sure you include a description of the event/date.

10.4 – William and Kate: The Private Lives of Public Figures
Prince William and Kate Middleton have finally announced that they're getting married. In honor of events like this one that people can't seem to get enough of, read a non-fiction book about the private life of a monarch, elected official, or candidate.