The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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Spring 2013 Rules Discussion
Mod
Part II
Posting Requirements
1. To claim a task in Completed Tasks, the book you use MUST exist on Goodreads. Instructions on manually adding a book to the Goodreads database can be found in Add a book instructions You MUST include a link to the book edition you read. If a task requires details about an author, the author link must be included. For instructions on adding a link, see Add book/author/cover Instructions in General Help. Further details on posting requirements can be found in Posting Requirements in the Rules folder
2. New players and players returning to the challenge after seasons away must consult the Readerboard Names discussion thread to set up or verify the name they will use to post completed tasks. See the details in posts #1 and #2 of that thread.
3. It's fine to change your mind about which books you plan to use for which task at any point...just explain in your post if you have already claimed points for a task and are moving that book to another task.
4. To determine if a book fits a task moderators will rely on Goodreads’ main book page for information such as title, author name(s), Goodreads author status, page number, ratings, etc. The moderators will make their decisions based on the information in the book link you provide. Therefore, make sure that you provide a link to the exact edition of the book you read.
Task Requirements
1. For tasks that require a word in a title, only the title and the subtitle may be used. Series subtitles will NOT apply ex. "a novel of Series name", "A Series name book", "Book # of Series name", etc.. Task creators may allow series subtitles if explicitly included in the task description.
2. For tasks that require a specific image or color on their cover, the player must read the book edition that has the required element.
3. For tasks that require reading a book from a Goodreads listopia list or shelf, the book must appear on the list or shelf when you access it and the player may not add books to the list to be used for that task.
4. For tasks that require books within specified genres the main book page's front page genre list will be used to determine suitability. Unless explicitly limited by the task creator, reasonable variations of genres will be accepted: ex. genre- mythology: myths, myths-and-legends, mythological, etc. would be accepted genre variations. The genre must appear on the list when you access it and the player may not shelve a book as a genre in order to use the book for that task.
We (myself and several other "players" I work with) are curious about the new rule on which books are acceptable.The rule states:
"5. Books with the genre "childrens" or "kids" that are between 100 and 299 pages may only be used for 5, 10, and 15 point tasks unless they are excluded by Rule 4. Books with the genre “childrens” or "kids" on their main page may ONLY be used for tasks above 15 points IF they are at least 300 pages long."
However, because the "genre" shelves are based on Goodreads user's shelves, books are often categorized as childrens when they should be Young Adult. Does this rule exclude any YA book under 300 pages just because someone categorizes all books for those under 18 as childrens? One example of this is The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton. This is the classic teen/YA book, but it is also classified as childrens on the "genre" list. What is the ruling on this? As my library's YA Librarian, I obviously read a lot of YA, as do my co-workers, so we are distressed by the news that we may not be able use those novels we enjoy.
I've been asking myself the same question, Miranda. Besides the example you provided of books categorized as childrens when they should be YA, some other books are categorized as "childrens" because the main character is a child even though the topic is sort of adult. Good examples of these are: A Monster Calls and The Giver.
Both of these books are written on an adult level with really painful subjects and they are both less than 300 pgs. They are not even appropriate for young children (I wouldn't recommend them to anybody younger than 12 unless the parent is willing to discuss the book with the child.)
ETA: Most of the Narnia books are in the list too.
Mod
The new rule does not mean these books are excluded from the challenge. They can be read for any of the 5, 10, or 15 point tasks (30 tasks), and any book marked "childrens" that has 300+ pages can be used for any task. And task creators can choose to include "childrens" books with 100-299 pages in their tasks.
What if a book has both Children's and YA on the main page? Is that book automatically excluded from the higher tasks because someone classified it that way? Maybe I'm not reading the responses correctly, but where these are user-generated classifications and not librarian classifications, perhaps there could be some leeway on that?
I understand that there's probably a reason behind it and given the range of books that are in the Children's category, there's probably not an easy way to make a rule that would exclude certain books without making it difficult for you mods to award points.On the other hand, it's a bit jarring to triple the number of pages allowed for the category. If there are some concerns about people using really simple books for higher tasks, I understand upping the page count, but triple it seems too much.
The genres shown on the main page of the book are not the top ten genres/shelves of the book at all. To use the above example of A Monster Calls, "childrens" is actually number 24 in terms of user-shelved, but is shown 8th on the main page. Some of these shelves are of course "to-read" or variations of what is already generated. I understand and agree with the attempt to limit the usage of actual children's books. But should we account for what GR arbitrarily shows on the main page?
Ems (Ems Reviews Books) wrote: "Is that book automatically excluded from the higher tasks because someone classified it that way?"D.G. ~Shameless Hussy~ wrote: "but triple it seems too much.
Correct. As Dlmrose said, we've been keeping lists and researching this issue for months. For the most part, the classifications are correct. There are a few, such as The Outsiders and a few others that get caught in the position of being misclassified, but we need a clear definition to make moderating a challenge this big manageable.
We also debated the page length requirement at length and, based on the lists we made of children's books claimed in past challenges, we've determined that 300+ pages is an appropriate cut-off.
I think the new rules make a lot of sense. As stated, the "children's" books (except Easy Readers) can still be used for 30 of the tasks! And the 300-page rule is also a fair one for the higher-point tasks. I would ask everyone to remember how much time the volunteer moderators put into running this challenge for us. I'm for anything that makes their job a little easier (i.e, going by the "genres" on a book's main page).
Ann A wrote: " And the 300-page rule is also a fair one for the higher-point tasks. "Then why not use that for all genres?
I like the new rules also. Thanks mods - I'm sure it's hard to make changes and try to keep everyone happy but we definitely appreciate the hard work you put into this challenge!
I wonder. One of my other groups has chosen to use a particular library as the defining authority on how the book is shelved - particularly as related to YA. It has an online catalogue so the average person can check for themselves.Perhaps such a step would help here.
Thank you, moderators, for making this decision. While I understand the concerns of people about the new rule, especially since there are some books that fall into multiple categories, there are very few tasks that would tend to have one book and only one that fits the category. There is nothing to say that you can't read a book that might not fit a task.
Remember that our moderators would like to have a life outside the confines of this group. Let them manage the group. It is supposed to be a challenge, so it is up to you to fit into it.
Oh no! Manga cannot be used for higher point tasks :( Though I totally understand where you guys come from!
I have the same concerns as expressed by Miranda. Some of the best and deepest literature being produced today is Young Adult literature, and according to the New York Times, as many adults are reading these as teens are, myself among them.Could we have a work around - provide information concerning the intended target audience for the work? I agree that works aimed at middle school children may not be appropriate for the higher point tasks, but why exclude high school and early college materials simply because some Goodreads Users don't understand the difference between "young adult" and "children's?"
If a participant in the challenge wishes to use a young adult novel, but it does have "children's" listed on its main page, could we perhaps provide a link to someplace like Amazon or Barnes and Noble - both of which provide target audience information - to prove these materials are not intended for children but for older teens? It seems unfair to exclude materials such as "The Outsiders" because of this new rule.
Also, I greatly appreciate the work the moderators go to in this challenge - I don't think anyone is criticizing them! But allowing participants to provide a link proving the target age range takes the work from the moderators and puts the onus of proof on the reader. The moderators would simply have to click the link to find the information. That way the readers could be happy and read those materials they wish to, and no addition work would be placed on the moderators.
Data freak that I am, I took a look at the first page of the childrens shelf (which is the one with the most books) and here's the distribution of pages:- More than 300 pgs: 23.3% of books (these would fit regardless)
- Between 100-300 pgs: 33.3% of books
- Less than 100 pgs: 43.3% of books (most of these won't fit either under the new 100 pgs. rule.)
So if we assume that this distribution keeps in the rest of the shelf (doubtful, but let's go with that premise), around 33% of books in these shelf would be affected by the rule. I haven't read many of the books in these group but from what I can tell, some of them seem to be middle grade books while others are written on a higher level. So there's probably no easy to way to draw the line as to which books would be appropriate and which ones aren't.
Bekka's idea is not a bad one but I imagine that requiring another level of verification just complicates matters because some players don't read the rules as carefully or just don't pay attention even when they know the rules (I'm guilty of this....I've forgotten to get approval for some ebooks/audiobooks without print version so I'm not accusing anybody.)
So here's an idea: let's see how the new rules works for the Spring Challenge. As some of you have pointed out, using those books for the lesser points may be enough and it won't cause too many issues. BUT if we find that it really hampered the challenge for those of us who read a lot of YA, then we can bring it up once the Spring challenge is over (with examples.)
I think this is a nice idea to try - it is hard to draw bright lines, but I think this is a good effort at balancing competing interests. Maybe as we work through the next challenge (or even ongoing) we can create a discussion thread for people to report books like The Outsiders that they come across as they work through the challenge. I don't envision this thread as a space to fight about whether this or that book should be allowed, but just a place to say, "Hey, this one's caught in the middle." That way, there's a forum for all of us to see what books are problematic and we (or OK, maybe just me!) can get a sense of how big a problem misclassification is.
Of course I do this challenge for fun; it's a fun way to choose new books to read. I love it! But I am not a fast reader and it would be near impossible for me to finish the challenge so of course I want to do the higher point tasks. It feels like a waste of time, to me, to read a big book for just 5 points, so I tend to just skip the lower point ones. While I do read a variety of adult/young adult books, I have noticed several times that a book I've read was shelved as children's and I would not agree that it was a children's theme so I was relieved I could count it anyway. So I have to admit this new rule will definitely take some of the fun out of it for me.I really appreciate all the work the moderator's do to keep this challenge going. I know it's a ton of work but hopefully it's still a little bit fun for them. I'm just not understanding how this particular rule change makes the job any easier....
Marie wrote: " I'm just not understanding how this particular rule change makes the job any easier.... "Any rule that clearly tells you 'do this' and 'don't do that' is easier to implement.
As to the necessity of the rule (this is pure speculation on my part), I figure that the mods have noticed that some players are using young children's books for high point tasks and they were trying to limit the use of these books. As I mentioned above, books that are over 300 pages are (most likely) written in an adult level but there seems to be a mix in 100-300 pg. range. In this group you find
Winnie-the-Pooh and The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I haven't read either so I cannot say with certainty but the first one seems to be for young children while the latter is written at a higher level. Making an exception with these books would be difficult to determine on a case by case basis given the number of players who participate in the challenge so the mods just decided to go with an easier rule.
Marie wrote: "Of course I do this challenge for fun; it's a fun way to choose new books to read. I love it! But I am not a fast reader and it would be near impossible for me to finish the challenge so of course ..."I had the same concerns that you expressed. Soooo.. I did some checking and went back and counted the books in my last 6 seasons that worked then but would not under the new rule. There were 10 altogether, but out of the 10 only 4 were books I'd consider to be "true" YA. So technically, the other 6 books should not have worked. While it's annoying not to be able to count the YA exceptions, I don't think it's going to make all that much difference in over all points.
Lorna wrote: "Marie wrote: "Of course I do this challenge for fun; it's a fun way to choose new books to read. I love it! But I am not a fast reader and it would be near impossible for me to finish the challenge..."Funny- I kind of did the same thing! Most of the books I had read that I did not think were for middle grade readers were over 300 pages, so it probably won't affect me as much as I originally thought.
Building on Jessica's suggestion, if we find there are enough books like The Outsiders caught in the middle, perhaps the moderators can start a thread or official list like the ebook verification one where these books can be listed as exemptions to the childrens genre rule. Then when someone posts to claim points, to make it easier on the moderators, they can be required to mention that the book they read is on the childrens genre exemption list.
Can someone clarify for me? You can read young adult books and use them for tasks above 15 points IF they are longer than 300+ pages? Is that correct?
Lindsey wrote: "Building on Jessica's suggestion, if we find there are enough books like The Outsiders caught in the middle, perhaps the moderators can start a thread or official list like the ebook verification o..."I'd be willing to volunteer for that job. Since I work with middle school students, I know plenty about children's vs. YA.
I've been following this discussion even though I haven't been able to do much for this current challenge for personal and health reasons. I love YA and middle-grade novels, and I read as many as possible for that reason, but also so I can recommend books to my kids. I'm willing to try the 300+ page rule for the upper-level tasks--for the moment, it seems reasonable. It blocks many of the Newbery winners and honors from the 20+ tasks, but some of those are blocked anyway by other rules. I might change my opinion based on how it works out for the Spring.
However, I agree with those who have brought up the fact that the genre shelves are arbitrary. The same genre doesn't even come up for all the books in a particular trilogy, so how can readers necessarily be trusted to shelve their books properly. What one person might consider appropriate for children (and hence shelve as "children's") might be considered YA by another person. I call all my students "kids," even though some of them are almost 15, well within YA range.
I, like others here, use this challenge to broaden my horizon and find books I'd otherwise overlook. I tend to read YA, middle-grade books, and manga because I want to be able to help my students, and that tends to be what's interesting to them and on their level. The 300-page rule might make this more difficult to accomplish, but it also might make me dig even deeper to find books that will work.
I'll give it a shot and see what problems arise. If we ended up needing a mod for a "YA Validation" thread, I'd be willing to help.
(After all, it's the least I can do--I sometimes feel like half the rules here are made in reaction to things I've done! lol)
Sam wrote: "Can someone clarify for me? You can read young adult books and use them for tasks above 15 points IF they are longer than 300+ pages? Is that correct?"100 to 299 pages:
If the book has "children's" on its genre list on the book's main page, then the book can only be used for 5, 10, or 15-point tasks.
ex. Lincoln: A Photobiography (160 pages)
300+ pages
The book can be used for any task, regardless of whether it has "children's" as a genre or not.
Ms Anderson wrote: "I call all my students "kids," even though some of them are almost 15, well within YA range. "My husband teaches in College and he does the same thing. ;)
Wow!!! This is a big disappointment and seems unfair to the YA genre readers.
mm, but most YA Genre books are going to be more than 300 pages - especially now days...I think its going to be the rare one that is less than...
Mod
and, when I was checking many of the YA lists, most of what I would call "real" YA books, as opposed to books geared toward elementary/middle schoolers, did not include "childrens" as a main page genre.
And YA books without "childrens" on its main page under 300 pages still can be counted for any tasks, correct?
Mod
yes indeed
I don't mean to beat a dead topic, but I find this whole issue of disallowing children's lit extremely problematic. While I understand the need to exclude picture books, easy readers and early chapter books, I think it's unfair to lump middle-grade fiction in with those books as well. It implies, to me, that middle-grade fiction is "less than" or not equal to legitimate fiction. Which is simply not the case. I speak as a librarian who focuses almost exclusively on collecting this type of fiction and creating programming for this age group. This new rule is downgrading an entire class of literature. Some of the most daring and complex writing has come from middle-grade fiction. It continues to be provocative, well-written, and worthwhile. Yes, I get what you're saying about these books still being eligible for 5-15 point tasks, but I don't think it's fair to exclude them from the higher point tasks. As someone pointed out, if you want to make the higher point tasks require a bit more effort, then shouldn't the page number rule apply across the board? After all, there are many adult and young adult novels that don't reach 300 pages and no one seems to have a problem with these being used for the higher point tasks.I realize this is a bit lengthy and obviously not an issue for everyone. And I truly appreciate all the work that the moderators perform in making this challenge fun and interesting. But this new rule seems to have come out of nowhere and I find it remarkably troubling.
I've been away for a bit and just saw these new rules. I have to say that I think they're great.The rule on disallowing children's books for 30+ point tasks makes complete sense to me. Children's books, no matter how "provocative, well-written, and worthwhile" are, unarguably, able to be read more quickly than adult books on the whole. This is NOT to say that every children's book is easier to read than every adult book, but it's clear that, on the whole, this is the case. The legitimacy of the genre is not being called into question here--from what I can tell, the only reason this is a rule is because of how quickly someone can read these books. It's the same reason the rule for manga and comics exists. This challenge is all about speed: getting through as many books in three months as possible, and it makes sense that the mods would try to level the playing field.
The issue, as I see it, is merely that sometimes books that aren't children's books are shelved as such. I think this is a problem across the board for this challenge, though. The genres are based on popular opinion, and this can be especially problematic for books only on a few shelves. It makes sense to me that the mods would write a rule that creates the least amount of additional work. Managing this challenge is already a monumental task--I couldn't imagine doing it myself.
This is a long way of saying: thank you, mods, for all that you do, and I fully support the rule changes.
I have a question-Books that say YA and also Children's on the main
page have to be 300+ pages.
Is this correct?
The Outsiders says childrens also.
Kathy G. wrote: "I have a question-Books that say YA and also Children's on the main
page have to be 300+ pages.
Is this correct?
The Outsiders says childrens also."
Yes, books that have "children's" on the main page must be 300+ pages to be used for the 20, 25, 30, and 50 point tasks. Books that have "children's" on the main page that are 100+ pages, but have less than 300 pages, may be used for the 5, 10, and 15 point tasks only unless specifically allowed by the task creator (of the higher point tasks).
From all the comments about The Outsiders, it sounds like it had better be a group read soon!
Drat! My copy of The Hobbit won't work for Task 30.4 because it is less than 300 pages and childrens is a genre on the main page. Back to the drawing board...
Sarah wrote: "I don't mean to beat a dead topic, but I find this whole issue of disallowing children's lit extremely problematic. While I understand the need to exclude picture books, easy readers and early chap..."AMEN!!! I totally agree with you on this...especially making the page number being across the board and not just one particular genre!!!
I personally can read a 100 page adult novel a lot quicker than I can read a 300+ page YA/Middle Grade book.
Would it be as simple as saying that if both YA and Childrens appear, treat it as YA? Then the rule only applies to those that only have childrens.At least for the 4 examples of problem books given above (A monster calls, the outsiders, the giver, the hobbit) they all have YA listed as well as childrens.
Additionally for those four, YA is higher on the list, but I feel like that adds yet another level of complication.
Edit: though to be clear, I would probably just leave it as described originally for the current challenge and possibly change it to my suggestion (or someone elses) for the next challenge. Makes more sense not to be changing the rules around after they have been posted.
♥Robin ♥ wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I don't mean to beat a dead topic, but I find this whole issue of disallowing children's lit extremely problematic. While I understand the need to exclude picture books, easy readers ..."I agree! I can definitely read Of Mice and Men (107 pages) faster than, say, Little House on the Prairie (335 pages).
Ms Anderson wrote: "♥Robin ♥ wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I don't mean to beat a dead topic, but I find this whole issue of disallowing children's lit extremely problematic. While I understand the need to exclude picture boo..."Exactly Ms Anderson. IDK...just makes no sense to me.
Didn't notice this new children's book rule until now so I'm glad I've only slotted in a couple to the 5/10/15 point tasks up until now. I'm an avid YA reader but none of the ones I had slotted into the 30 point tasks were listed as childrens. Means I have to be careful when I plan because I do have a few less than 300 page YA books on my tbr but hopefully they come without childrens tags if I need to slot them in.
I have a question that I don't think has been brought up yet. In the past few challenges, books of comic strips or syndicated comics could only be used if 500 or more pages were read. I'm not seeing mention of that in the new rules. Does that mean that a single book could be used for a 5, 10, or 15 point task?
I'm troubled by this new change in YA rules also. I'm a big reader of YA books, and I agree that it does seem they're being relegated to a "less than" status based soley on page count and GR readers arbitrary shelf selection. It does seem nonsensical that I can read Of Mice and Men (107 pages), Night (120 pages), The End of the Affair (160 pages), and The Bridge of San Luis Rey (160 pages)--not to mention a host of Harlequin Romances--for the higher-point tasks, but I can't read Ella Enchanted (240 pages), Fever 1793 (256 pages), or The Chocolate War (270 pages - and while I doubt anyone would call this a children's book, 28 people shelved it that way). Is there a sense that too many members are completing the challenge based on reading children's book? From what I see of the finishers, it sure doesn't look that way. I have the utmost respect for all the work that the moderators do, but I am very disappointed in this move.
Chris wrote: "I'm troubled by this new change in YA rules also. I'm a big reader of YA books, and I agree that it does seem they're being relegated to a "less than" status based soley on page count and GR reader..."I think this is what my biggest problem is with the new rules. YA novels are not "less than" adult fiction - in fact I think there is a lot of YA out there way above and beyond what is being written for adults. Those who feel that YA is lower quality should try some out. There are wonderful novels out there dealing with a wide variety of topics. It just seems like teen reads are being sold short as not being "smart enough" for adults.
Perhaps to be fair to all, the page count should apply to all ages of literature.
I do appreciate all the work that goes into this group. It is an amazing thing to have it go as smoothly as it does. I just see this new rule as a fairness issue. It doesn't seem fair for those who read Harlequin novels to get more points than those who invest themselves in broadening their reading horizons just because of the age assigned.
Thank you for all your hard work!
I'm going to bite my tongue on what I think should be done, because I'm not one of those very few people (especially compared to how many people participate) who have to keep track of all our crazy posts and points (you mods need to be considered for sainthood from what I can tell!). I'm just glad I saw this before I started reading for next challenge!!
I think it's less about declaring YA "less than" an adult book in terms of quality but about recognizing that YA books, in general, are written at a somewhat easier reading level than books targeted at adults, in general. I think a 300+ page requirement isn't outrageous as a means of drawing an enforceable line that says, "YA books of substantive length are more nearly equivalent to books for adults than shorter ones."While there are certainly lots of shorter books for adults that are fast reads, short does not necessarily equal fast - A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man comes to mind as one that is brief in length but by no means speedy. Likewise, there are books that are pretty long page-wise but have short chapters, lots of dialogue, and fast-paced plots that move you through quickly (think Lee Child and other thriller writers here). Coming up with a fair estimate of the degree of difficulty for adult books that's universal and enforceable is a lot harder than drawing a bright line between YA-targeted and adult-targeted.
I can certainly understand that YA's many fans may find it tough (and I know I'll need to pay closer attention too, since I do dip my toe in sometimes), but I'm willing to let this play out and see how it goes.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Day No Pigs Would Die (other topics)Conduct Unbecoming (other topics)
Bus Stories and Other Tales (other topics)
The Bobbsey Twins of Lakeport (other topics)
Go, Dog. Go! (other topics)
More...
Part I
General Information
1. Everyone is welcome and can join in at anytime during a currently running challenge.
2. Challenge dates are:
• Winter = December 1st to February 28th
• Spring = March 1st to May 31st
• Summer = June 1st to August 31st
• Fall = September 1st to November 30th
Note: Challenges start and end at MIDNIGHT EST on their respective start/end dates.
3. In order for points to be counted, tasks must be reported correctly in the Completed Tasks thread by Midnight EST on the final day of the challenge.
4. All books read during the dates of the currently running challenge can be used for that challenge, even if starting the challenge late.
For example, should you join the challenge after any start date (January 1st, for instance), you can include all books read in the period of that current challenge (in this case, from December 1st) into that challenge, providing they fit a task.
5. Tasks can be completed in any order
6. Each task can be completed only once for points.
7. Each book must be read completely and can be counted only once per challenge.
All elements of books separated into multiple audio or paperback parts (often identified as “Part 1”, “Part 2”, etc.) must be read. Individual chapters of a book or unfinished serialized books (released by chapter) cannot be used.
8. Re-reads are acceptable unless otherwise stated in a specific task.
9. If you aren't sure if a book will fit a task, please ask about the suitability of the book in the appropriate Task Help thread.
10. Pre-reading: Books longer than 499 pages that were started any time before the beginning of a challenge can be used to fulfill a task if more than half the book is read during the challenge.
For example, if you were to read 249 pages (or less) of a 500 page book before the start of a challenge, this book would count if it met a task requirement. However, if you had read 250 pages (or more) of a 500 page book before the start of a challenge, this book would not count. Books less than 500 pages should NOT be begun before the start of a challenge.
Book Formats and Page Numbers Explained
1. Any form of a book (hard copy, audio, or e- book) is acceptable unless otherwise stated in a specific task. See rule 8 for page number specifics.
2. Books in languages other than English may be used. Please provide information on the book and/or title to your English speaking moderators so they can understand how the books fit the tasks. Any task requiring a specific title (number of letters, number of words, specific word in title, etc.) should apply to the title that you use.
3. Books must have 100+ pages to be used for points in the SRC. Only plays or books of poetry may be combined to reach the 100 page minimum. Other genres of books must meet the 100+ page requirement on their own.
One book between 80 -100 pages may be used for ONE 5 point task.
4. Picture books, “easy reader,” and “transition” books designed for beginning readers may not be claimed for points in the SRC. For the purposes of the SRC, the definition of each is as follows:
Picture books - In its broadest definition, a picture book is a book in which the illustrations play a significant role in telling the story. There are typically illustrations on every page or every other page, and the plot and text are simple. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Easy readers - Also called "easy-to-read", these books are designed for children just starting to read on their own. They generally have color illustrations on every page like a picture book, but the format is more "grown-up" -- smaller trim size, sometimes broken into short chapters. The stories are told mainly through action and dialogue, in grammatically simple sentences (one idea per sentence). Books average 2-5 sentences per page. See the "Amelia Bedelia" books by Peggy Parish or other "I Can Read" books published by Harper Trophy.
Transition books -- Sometimes called "early chapter books" for ages 6-9, they bridge the gap between easy readers and chapter books. Written like easy readers in style, transition books have a smaller trim size with black-and-white illustrations every few pages. See "The Kids of the Polk Street School" series by Patricia Reilly Giff (Dell) or the "Stepping Stone Books" published by Random House.
When evaluating a book under this rule, ask yourself, "Who is the intended audience of this book?". If that intended audience is 9 years old or younger, it probably doesn't work for SRC tasks.
5. Books with the genre "childrens" or "kids" that are between 100 and 299 pages may only be used for 5, 10, and 15 point tasks unless they are excluded by Rule 4. Books with the genre “childrens” or "kids" on their main page may ONLY be used for tasks above 15 points IF they are at least 300 pages long.
Omnibus editions of childrens books may not be used to reach the 300 page threshold unless the books contained in the omnibus edition are 300+ pages individually.
6. Books with at least 100 pages whose main page lists any of these genres: Sequential Art, Comics, Comic Book, or Manga may only be used for 5, 10, and 15 point tasks.
"Coffee table", Art books, and other books consisting primarily of images without a substantial written component (essays, criticism, etc.) may not be be claimed for points. Vanity Fair: The Portraits: A Century of Iconic Images, National Geographic Simply Beautiful Photographs, Underwater Dogs,
7. Poetry and Plays may be used throughout the challenge. Regular page number rules apply, except as noted in Rule 3.
8. When determining page count, you should go by the copy you read- EXCEPT as noted below for ebooks, audiobooks, and large print books. Therefore, if you obtain (own, borrow, check out from the library, etc.) the hardback edition, use the page count for the hardback edition. If you obtain the paperback edition, use that page count.
If you read an ebook, or audiobook use the page count for the mass market paperback if one exists. If there is no mass market paperback edition, use the paperback edition and if no paperback is available use the hardcover edition.
9. Using ebooks
If no printed edition of a book exists, you MUST get the book pre-approved by a moderator in the topic "eBook verification-no print edition" in General Help.
ebooks without print versions cannot be used for tasks requiring a specific number of pages. ebooks can be used for specific page number tasks as long as there is a print equivalent that can be used to determine page numbers- see #8 above. ebooks without print equivalents can be used for tasks without specific page requirements, since it is usually possible to "guesstimate" from the word count that a book is at least 100 pages long.
If you claim a book in Completed Tasks that exists ONLY in ebook format, you MUST provide a reference to the ebook verification document when you post ex."Approved @ line #" or provide the post number in the ebook verification thread where it was approved ex. "ebook Approved post #"
10. Audiobooks may be used for SRC tasks. Page numbers should be counted as described for ebooks above. Audiobooks that do not have a written word equivalent, either published in paper or digitally, may NOT be used for SRC tasks.
Audiobooks that are noted as being “abridged” may be used to meet the general 100+ page book requirement as long as they are at least 2 hours in length. Abridged audiobooks may NOT be used for tasks with defined longer page requirements as there are no direct print equivalents.
11. Advance Reader Copies may be used to fulfill SRC tasks. Completed task posts MUST include a link to the book and identify the book as a publisher's advance copy.
12. Books identified as an "omnibus" (a volume of reprinted works of a single author or of related works), as a "bundle" (a digital collection of works of a single author or of related works) or as collected works (The Complete .... , anthologies, etc.) may be isolated into component parts and read separately as long as the isolated work has been published separately and meets the minimum page requirements.
The Harry Bosch Novels: The Black Echo / The Black Ice / The Concrete Blonde contains 3 independently published titles: The Black Echo, The Black Ice, The Concrete Blonde. These titles in this omnibus may be read as separate books.
If you choose to read an element isolated from an aggregate work, you MUST include a link to the book (isbn) that you read AND provide a link to a separately published work that relates to the isolated title. The use of particular title words, cover colors, or cover images to fulfill tasks applies to the actual book that you read.
Page numbers should be determined by the copy you read whenever possible. If a component part has 200 pages in the volume you read, record those numbers. For digital or audio formats use the page numbers provided if possible or follow the page number guidelines in item 8 above for the isolated title.
13. Large Type books may be used. The mass market paperback edition of the title must meet the 100 page threshold. If there is no mass market paperback edition, use the paperback edition and if no paperback is available use the hardcover edition. Big Book tickets may be claimed for Large Type books if the mass market paperback meets the Big Book requirement. If there is no mass market paperback edition, use the paperback edition and if no paperback is available use the hardcover edition.
Continued in Part II