Kate S’s Comments (group member since Sep 13, 2010)

Kate S’s comments from the Reading with Style group.

20.8 Appalachia (Rebekah's Task)

Dolly Parton, the famous singer, musician, songwriter and actor was born 19 January 1946 in the Appalachian Mountain Region of Tennessee. Her Dollywood Foundation promotes literacy and has established a program known as Imagination Library. The purpose is to get books into the lives of underserved children early on. Enrolled children receive a book a month which is mailed to them from birth until they begin kindergarten. Currently there are about 850,000 children receiving books monthly across the USA, Canada, UK and Australia through her charity. This year she was honored by the Library of Congress.

In honor of her work and her beloved Smoky Mountain homeland, read a book based in Appalachia. This is the area considered Appalachia https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Appal.... Note it is not by state but designated by the Appalachian Mountain Range in which there is a common culture and heritage. ie the Eastern part of Tennessee ( about 1/3 of the state ) is considered Appalachia but not the entire state. Here are some lists to help,
Best Books Set in Appalachia
Appalachian Fiction
Best Appalachian Trail Books
* be careful. Sometimes books set in the Ozarks are mistaken for Appalachia

Questions/comments/suggestions about Task 20.8 should be posted here.

Read a book by an author whose initials in any order can be either the two-letter postal abbreviation for a U.S. State/Territory or Canadian Province. Examples: O. Henry=OH (Ohio); Ayelet Waldman=WA (Washington); Carol Rifka Blunt=BC (British Columbia); Anna Katherine Green=AK (Alaska). All initials can be used. Note: both "NB" and "NE" will be accepted for Nebraska.

Please discuss Task 10.9 here.

Pick a book with a title including a coordinating conjunctions. The coordinating conjunctions are for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so.

Please post any discussion about Task 10.7 in this thread.

Completion Bonuses

1. RwS Finish (100 points): Complete all Reading with Style tasks (20 book minimum -- one claimed for task points for each 10 & 20 point task. Using a book for combo points for a task does not qualify as completing that task).

2. Mega Finish (200 points): Complete all Reading with Style tasks and sub-challenge (15-point) tasks. (30 book minimum -- at least one book claimed for task points for each task. Using a book for combo points for a task does not qualify as completing that task and a book may only be claimed for task points once).

Other Rewards*:
1. Group Reads -- the Spring 2019 "group reads" books will be chosen by a combination of moderators, mega-finishers, and members that read at least 5 books and earn the highest percentage of Jumbo points in the Winter 2018-19 Challenge.

2. 10-point task creation -- the top three readers for the Winter 2018-19 Challenge, as determined by overall points, will each get to create a 10-point task for the Spring 2019 Challenge.

3. 20-point task creation -- the "most strategic" reader, the member that, on average, earns the most points per book (with a 5 book minimum) will have the opportunity to create a 20-point task for the Spring 2019 Challenge. In calculating this number, we are taking into account the Task & Style points for the RwS tasks, and the Task, Bonus, and Completion points for the sub-challenge. The RwS Finish & the Mega-finish will not be included in the calculation, so that members who are unable to read more than 20 books in three months have an equal chance at being the "most strategic reader" as our fastest readers.

4. Random -- All participants (except mods) who claim at least five books during the Winter 2018-19 season will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $25 US Amazon gift card to be awarded at the beginning of the Spring 2019 season. As this will repeat from season to season, the winner will not have won the drawing in either of the two previous seasons.

* although participants may be eligible for multiple rewards, only one will be granted per challenge. (Random excepted)
* Participants that create tasks for three consecutive challenges are ineligible for a task-creation reward on the fourth. Instead, the member will be asked to submit a group read book. Eligibility is reinstated on the following challenge.


A note on young adult books: If you want to claim style points for YA, you can do so--with one catch: You must have read a YA novel (designated YA, Assignment, or Juv by the Brooklyn Public Library) with a Lexile score of at least 800. Not familiar with Lexile? Want to find out if your book has a high enough score...go here.

A note on graphic novels: Graphic novels can be read and claimed for tasks, unless otherwise specified. However, they are not eligible for style points.

Sample BtE2 Post

15.2 BtE2 Land and Sea

France: A, B, and C

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

+25 Task

Post Total: 25
Season Total: 405 (assumes mid-season with a previous total of 380)

Post your completed tasks here. In order to help us better manage our score keeping: PLEASE ONLY POST ONE BOOK PER MESSAGE.

Please use the add book/author link for the book titles. When claiming combo points, tell how the book qualifies, and provide a link if requested in the task description.

If using an outside source to qualify a book for points or combo, please be sure to post in the appropriate task thread prior to posting in this thread.

Sample RwS Post

20.3 Isaac Asimov

The Collected Stories by Eudora Welty

+20 Task
+ 5 Combo (10.3 - pub'd 1980)
+10 Aged
+10 Canon
+10 Prize Worthy
+ 5 Jumbo

Post Total: 60
Season Total: 380 (assumes mid-season with a previous total of 320)

Read a book of at least 700 pages.

Please post questions and suggestions for task 20.9 in this thread.

Read any book with an average rating over 3.74 AND under 1001 ratings. (3.75/1000)

Please post any questions or comments about task 20.10.

Read a book recommended by an RwS reader from the following list:

Elizabeth (Alaska): A Very Long Engagement by Sébastien Japrisot
Kate S: Churchill and Orwell: The Fight for Freedom by Thomas E. Ricks
Rosemary: The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett
Karen Michele: There There by Tommy Orange
Ann: A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay
Tien: The Goddess Chronicle by Natsuo Kirino
Owlette: Nine Essential Things I've Learned About Life by Harold S. Kushner
Joanna:
Valerie: Death of a Red Heroine by Qiu Xiaolong
June: The Diamond Age: Or, A Young Lady's Illustrated Primer by Neal Stephenson
Heather: The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin
Megan: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Lagullande: From a Low and Quiet Sea by Donal Ryan
Karin:

This list will grow over the next week or so.

Martin Luther King Jr was a champion of Social Justice. Read one of the top 250 books from this list.

Please post questions/comments/suggestions for task 10.6 in this thread.

Read any book on the Amazon Editor's Choice Best 100 Books of 2018.

Please use this thread for comments/questions/suggestions for task 10.5.

Read an author's debut novel. An author may have previously published non-fiction and/or short fiction. To qualify for this task, the book in question must be the author's first long-form, published work of fiction.

Please post questions about task 10.4 in this thread.

Read a book first published during Gerald Durrell's lifetime (1925-1995).

Comments? Suggestions? Questions about task 10.3? Post them here please.

Read a book written by a goodreads author. Hint: on your My Books page, goodreads authors have an asterisk* after their name.

Please post discussions about task 10.2 in this thread.

Read a book which does not qualify for any other 10- or 20-point task. This task may only be completed once during the Winter Challenge.

Please post any questions/comments about task 10.1 in this thread.

From Post 797

Coralie wrote: "20.5 Singled Out

The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi

+20 task
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.9)

Task Total: 30
Season Total: 2110"

+5 Prize

From Post 782

Bea wrote: "10.2 Next?

Dead Slow Ahead by Stella Whitelaw

+10 Task (#2 in series)

Task Total: 10
Season Total: 150"

+5 Combo 20.7

From Post 780

Bea wrote: "10.2 Next?

A Morning for Flamingos by James Lee Burke

+10 Task (#4 in series)

Task Total: 10
Season Total: 120"

+5 Combo 10.9
+5 Oldies

From Post 779

Bea wrote: "10.2 Next?

The Chatelet Apprentice by Jean-François Parot

+10 Task (#1 in series)

Task Total: 10
Season Total: 110"

+5 Combo 10.9

From Post 777

Lagullande wrote: "10.5 Pet Day

Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens

+10 Task (Penguin)
+15 Oldies (pub 1839)
+15 Jumbo (817pp)
+5 Prizeworthy (Audie Award for Classic 2012)


Points t..."

+5 Combo 20.8