YA Reading Challenge #1: Tasks & Discussion

[[deleted user]]

I remember when Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows came out I had a cold, but I still read out loud through the night. Haha... he does read to me sometimes to give my throat a rest, but I tend to fall asleep when he is reading... oops

[Laura]

:)

[Ashley]

Thanks Laura, I figured I'd only be able to use it once, but figured I'd ask.

About The Book of Lost Things: I haven't read it yet, but I know enough about it from what other people and the author have said to know that it is about a 12 year old boy who goes to a magical type world. In that world, the author retells several fairy tales. In the back of the book, it talks about the true origins of all the fairy tales he used, and it includes Snow White, Rumpelstiltskin, Little Red Riding Hood, Hansel and Gretel, The Three Billy-Goats Gruff, Goldilocks, The Goose Girl, Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, and two or three others that are not as well known.
I don't know if it counts still because it is not a retelling itself, but those are the fairy tales that are included as retellings in the story. Hope that helps!

[Laura]

OK, well since it's good for task 20.5, if someone wants to read it and report back if any fairy tale was actually re-told, then you could use it for either 30.3 or 20.5.

Let us know, thanks!

[Laura]

There are three tie breakers, Heather. Points accumulated is the first one (in case more than one person finishes and earns all possible points), pages read is the second, and the date you finish the Challenge is the third.

Let me know if you need more clarification, I know it's confusing.

[Becky]

I don't think speed has anything to do with it, except in a tie-breaker situation.

From what I understand, the winner is the person with both the most points AND the most pages read. If two people are tied, then whoever finished first would be the winner.

[Laura]

So if lots of people finish, the person who read the longest books would win out, even if it took them until the last day to finish - because date finished is the last tiebreaker.

[Laura]

We probably won't have to use the last tiebreaker, because it would be really weird if 2 people finished the Challenge with the same number of pages read.

[Becky]

Oh, so are the number of points accumulated the only determining factor in the winner, and pages read is just for tie-breakers?

Let's say that I have earned the maximum number of points (350) but have less pages read than Heather, would I still win?

[Laura]

Heather would win.

[Laura]

BUT only if you both earned the max points and completed the Challenge....

[[deleted user]]

Unless Heather hasn't finished all the tasks...

[Becky]

I should say assuming that Heather has less points than I do. (Sorry Heather, you're my guinea pig!)

[Laura]

If she read more pages than you, but didn't complete the Challenge, then you would win.

[[deleted user]]

Laura, I love how involved you are. Good job!! :)

[Laura]

I'm actually haunting the computer today just to make sure everyone gets their questions answered as they're putting their lists together. But next week, I gotta get back to work!

;)

[Becky]

OK I got you...

So, points earned is the main factor. I thought we had to have both the most points at the end AND the most pages read.

[Laura]

I'm just assuming lots of people will finish, so wanted to factor in the number of pages too.

[[deleted user]]

Well, good job anyhow! Very impressive.

[Laura]

Yeah, we got a couple Speedys around, for sure....I'm excited too! It should be fun. I think I'll play along, but not for points.

[Lizzi]

So then, say five people finish all the tasks. The person who has the most pages read AND finished quickest wins first place?

I think I am just confusing myself...:-)

[Laura]

If five people finish, the one who read the most pages wins.

If two of those people just happened to have read the same number of pages, then whoever finished first out of those 2 wins.

[Lizzi]

Oh! That makes more sense. :-) And then how is the second and third place determined if 5 or more people finish?

[Laura]

Sorry - that was whoever finished FIRST out of those 2 wins if the same # of pages were read.

Highly unlikely, but....wanted to have that 3rd tiebreaker just in case.

[Laura]

If we have 5 people who finish the Challenge, we'll use the number of pages read to determine 1st, 2nd and 3rd places.

If any of the top 3 finishers read the same number of pages, then we'll go by the date they finished the last task - fastest would then win. But only if we need that third tiebreaker.

[[deleted user]]

When searching for authors, is there a way to specify YA author?

[Laura]

I wish. Not that I know of - anyone know?

[Lizzi]

Thank you for clarifying! I was misinterpreting it as a speed read too and it didn't sound as fun. This sounds muuuch better - and good incentive to read some of those large YA books! :-)

[Laura]

Yeah, and either you're gifted with that speed reading ability or you're not. You really can't change your *ahem* spots.

[[deleted user]]

Hmmm... I'm searching for task 10.1 to find a new YA author. It would so much easier if they had classifications. Maybe I will check on my library website.

[[deleted user]]

For 10.1 it doesn't have to be a GR author right?

[Becky]

You know, what I've found helpful is using GR's Explore feature. Click on Explore, then choose books, and use the popular shelves area.

I had to search for my "Fairytale Retelling" book that way, although it seems that I had a few on my TBR List already and didn't know it. :)

Anyway, search by shelf name, and be creative. Try searching by "YA", "Young Adult", "YA books", "childrens", "YA fantasy", "YA fiction", etc. and then just browse the options from each shelf.

Hope that helps! It helped me when I thought of it.

[Lizzi]

I read super fast, but I shy away from the "tomes" because my attention span doesn't usually hold out for them, so this is a great way to really challenge myself. :-)

[Laura]

Linda wrote: "For 10.1 it doesn't have to be a GR author right?"


No

[Laura]

Linda - re: your message #138:

http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yal...

Fiona's posted a link to the Morris Award in the Awards section, but there it is. This award is specifically for new YA authors, and it was first awarded in 2009. There are several to choose from, including the winner and the finalists.

Hope this helps.

[Becky]

SCORE!!!! Graceling is on that list!!

[Laura]

:)

[[deleted user]]

I also found a list on amazon that shows debut authors from 2008...

http://www.amazon.com/Class-nbsp-of-n...

[Laura]

Yeah, but that is a Listmania list so check it out before reading that it does fit the specifics stated in 10.1.

[Laura]

A different title needs to be used for each task. Also, rereads count, but can only be used once. You can't re-read the same book twice to use for 2 different tasks.

[Allison]

oooo Becky and Heather if you read Graceling tell me IMMEDIATELY!!

[Becky]

Allison wrote: "oooo Becky and Heather if you read Graceling tell me IMMEDIATELY!!"

I think someone was supposed to send it to me, but I don't remember who or when that was. LOL Either I'm going senile, or this could be a sign I've been trading too many books.

... I prefer senile. ;)

[Laura]

*hands BenGay to Becky*

[Lisa Julianna]

Becky I'm going to send it to you. LOL
My girls just finished it. If you want you can PM me your address and I'll get it out to you next week. :~)

[Laura]

Awww, feelin the Wild Love!

*dancing*

[Becky]

Lisa wrote: "Becky I'm going to send it to you. LOL
My girls just finished it. If you want you can PM me your address and I'll get it out to you next week. :~)"

Oh! Awesome... Thanks! :D

[Samantha McNulty]

Allison wrote: "oooo Becky and Heather if you read Graceling tell me IMMEDIATELY!!"

Ditto, on the above. It's recently been added to my TBR list, so I hope to get around to it someday.
I like input though.

[Fiona (Titch)]

Laura wrote: "Yeah, we got a couple Speedys around, for sure....I'm excited too! It should be fun. I think I'll play along, but not for points."

We are not callin moi a Speedy lol

[Samantha McNulty]

I'm a semi-speedy.

I used to be a really quick reader, but in recent years, since I recieved a diagnosis of an illness, I've had to slow down how quick I read books :(

[Becky]

I promise to try to keep everyone updated on my Graceling progress when I read it. :)