Help needed or questions? Ask here!

[Zaz]

I'm ok with your interpretation, I've the same.

[Silvia]

Zaz wrote: "I'm ok with your interpretation, I've the same."

Thanks! :)

[Katie]

I agree. Anything that fits for the first would fit for the second, but if for the second, I read something about rainwater or drinking water it wouldn't fit for the water setting prompt.

[Silvia]

Are we going to have the topic Suggestions for Each Week for the 2018 challenge?

[Perri]

Is there brainstorming on how books can be intimidating? All I can think of is long (not intimidating for me) or hard (rather not)

[Tammy]

Perri wrote: "Is there brainstorming on how books can be intimidating? All I can think of is long (not intimidating for me) or hard (rather not)"

I guess it all depends on what you are willing to put yourself through. Finnegan's Wake is probably considered one of the most difficult books to read because of its experimental style. I'm intimidated by Moby Dick because I've heard that the whaling descriptions are long and boring. I don't know if I could muddle my way through it. Infinite Jest, it has been said, is one of the most purchased and least read books. I know many strong readers who haven't completed that one. Thomas Pynchon's books can be pretty complex. I guess it all comes down to your patience. I'm attempting Ulysses for that category. It intimidates me because I'm fairly certain that I won't understand it!

[Jody]

Another one could be A Clockwork Orange, as the language used can definitely be described as intimidating.

ETA: It could also be the first book in a new series. I always find the thought of starting a new series quite intimidating.

Tammy, I'd totally recommend giving Moby-Dick or, The Whale a go. Some of it is very dry, I agree, but it's really worth the slog - it's surprisingly hilarious in parts!

[Erica]

I loved the whaling descriptions in Moby Dick, but it seems I'm the only one :)

[Perri]

Tammy OMG, Moby Dick was so dull for me. The huge climax was a (finally! )blip of interest (sorry Erica)

Jody, that's the kind of thing I was hoping to find. You're right the first book in a series would be intimidating. So would Clockwork Orange, but I'm not going there.

Another one I thought of is poetry, a genre I find intmidating

[Tammy]

I loved A Clockwork Orange. David Bowie did a song on his last album using the language from the book!

Poetry is very intimidating. I have to admit that I am not a fan. I feel guilty about that.

I just checked out Joyce's A Portrait of the Artist in preparation for next year's challenge. I've read that it is best to read it before Ulysses.

[Katie]

Ooh thanks for the tip about Portrait of an Artist. I should read it this year too. But to be honest, I think I'm intimidated by all Joyce.

[Jody]

Maybe I'll try that one first too. I'm definitely intimidated by him.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Silvia, right now the plan is to merge the suggestions thread with the progress posts in some way.

[Jill]

Laura wrote: "Silvia, right now the plan is to merge the suggestions thread with the progress posts in some way."

Oh ,that's a shame I thought the suggestions list worked great. So easy to get to when in a hurry to find the next book.

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

Jill, there will still be suggestions posted, they will just be at the top of the progress post given the preferences expressed in discussion and the polls.

[Katie]

It should actually be as easy to find the suggestions this year because you'll just go to the thread about the topic & they'll be in the first post. We mods are just starting the process of getting those suggestion lists put together so be on the lookout for them in the next week or so.

[Silvia]

Katie wrote: "It should actually be as easy to find the suggestions this year because you'll just go to the thread about the topic & they'll be in the first post. We mods are just starting the process of getting..."

That sounds great, thanks! :)

[Jill]

Laura wrote: "Jill, there will still be suggestions posted, they will just be at the top of the progress post given the preferences expressed in discussion and the polls."

Thanks for explaining. Makes a lot of sense.

[Perri]

I read the book maps won't be a thread next year, Will there be other changes?

[Sophie]

Yes Perri, in the polls we set up about a month ago, most of the members said they're not planning on using either the book map, the author map and the timeline. Those features take my fellow mods a lot of time so we decided to abandon them.

Since the others polls showed that the other features are used by most of the members, we're keeping them.

If you have ideas of other features we could implement, please don't hesitate to suggest them!

[Perri]

Thanks Sophie, I can see how they would be time consuming!

[Amanda]

Is it against the spirit of the challenge to reread books? I'm going to try the challenge in 2018 (for the 1st time), and am curious if the categories are supposed to be fulfilled by reading new-to-me books only.

[Sophie]

Absolutely not! Some members don't like re-reads and some do, it really depends on what rules YOU set up for your challenge :D

Generally you'll find that we are very open as to how people do the challenge, be it in the books you choose to fill the prompts, how many prompts you complete (people don't read enough to fill all 52, so they chose their 20 favourite for example), etc.

[Alysa]

2018 will be my first time participating, so I'm still figuring things out. This might be a senseless question, and I'm sure it's been addressed before, but is it acceptable to count a book for more than one challenge if it works for more than one?

I feel like this group is pretty laid back about how people choose to participate, but I wanted to check!

[Sophie]

Yes you can perfectly use one book for more than one challenge (e.g. ATY and Popsugar). We try to avoid using one book for more than one prompt inside ATY, but like you said, we are pretty laid back and aren't going to yell at you if you do ;)

[Ira]

I have a question for you. Do you count plays as part of the Reading Challenge? I was thinking of reading Julius Ceasar by William Shakespeare for the historical figure prompt. I am really trying to read more plays this year and I have been enjoying the ones I read. My goal is 10 plays and till now I have read 4. I haven’t counted the other plays toward the Challenge, but I am really stuck on this prompt, and I don’t want to use a wildcard this year.

[Sophie]

Yes of course you can count any body of literature you want! Most of us read graphic novels, picture books, poems, short stories, etc.

[Ann]

OK I give up! Really want to do the 2018 challenge, but can't seem to understand blogging etc... Newbie here. Trying to post my list but it looks different than everyone else and I can't seem to make edit work. Should I give up?

[Tracy]

Anngt wrote: "OK I give up! Really want to do the 2018 challenge, but can't seem to understand blogging etc... Newbie here. Trying to post my list but it looks different than everyone else and I can't seem to ma..."


Nope :-)

What is it that looks different? If I remember looking at your list, its because you haven't figured out how to link the books to your post.

On second thought.... I thought you had started a list but now I can't find it? Did you delete it?

[Ann]

Tracy wrote: "Anngt wrote: "OK I give up! Really want to do the 2018 challenge, but can't seem to understand blogging etc... Newbie here. Trying to post my list but it looks different than everyone else and I ca..."

Yup I deleted it and yes it is because I can't link the books to the list

[Jennifer]

Anngt wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Anngt wrote: "OK I give up! Really want to do the 2018 challenge, but can't seem to understand blogging etc... Newbie here. Trying to post my list but it looks different than everyone..."

When you're in a comment box or trying to post in the threads, there's a link right above the comment box that says "Add book/author". That's what you click on to add the link. It brings up a box that lets you search by book. You can add either a link to the book using just text, or a link using the bookcover. Both ways use this method.

[Ann]

Jennifer wrote: "Anngt wrote: "Tracy wrote: "Anngt wrote: "OK I give up! Really want to do the 2018 challenge, but can't seem to understand blogging etc... Newbie here. Trying to post my list but it looks different..."

Thank you I will try again.

[Kelly]

It's also a lot better to do the bigger posting from a computer than the app. The app is very limiting. And it doesn't matter if it's a little different . This was my first year I didn't know links until after I made my list! And i just left it that way. ;) hope you join us! It's fun group!

[Zaz]

Also, plenty of "how to" are in the 1st post of the help topic:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I also recommend to work on plans only on computer. The app is nice for discussions or reading the group, not so much for the rest.

[Ann]

Zaz wrote: "Also, plenty of "how to" are in the 1st post of the help topic:
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

I also recommend to work on plans only on computer. ..."
were talking newbie here, don't even know what app you are talking about. I have read "the how to" and actually got my list posted, but the editing instructions didn't make sense. Also the fact that the 2017 stuff keeps getting mixed in with the 2018 doesn't help.

[Jody]

Anngt, if you want to add a link to a book, when you are typing in a comment, there's a small link above the box you type in that says "add book/author". Click on that, and a search window will come up - type in your book title and click "Search", and a list of options will come up. Click "Add" on the appropriate book and it will create a link in your post. But, you don't have to make a list in order to participate in the challenge, and even if you choose to make one, you don't have to have links in there. So don't let it stress you out too much!

I'm not sure what you mean about the 2017 & 2018 stuff getting mixed together, but there are separate folders for each year's plans. The one you want for your 2018 plan is here.

[Ann]

Thank you I will try one more time and then just participate without a plan

[Ann]

Kelly wrote: "It's also a lot better to do the bigger posting from a computer than the app. The app is very limiting. And it doesn't matter if it's a little different . This was my first year I didn't know links..." Did it, YAY Thanks for advice

[Ann]

Jody wrote: "Anngt, if you want to add a link to a book, when you are typing in a comment, there's a small link above the box you type in that says "add book/author". Click on that, and a search window will com..." Thank you, I made it through

[MJ]

Hey Mods!

I think I have said this before, but I need to say it again. (I know this isn't a question).

Thanks so much for all the effort you put into this group. I love this group, and feel at times overwhelmed at how much planning and participation goes into making it work. Happy reading!

[Sophie]

Thank you MJ 😃☺️

[Tracy]

This is definitely one of my two favorite groups :-)

[Zaz]

Thank you MJ :)

[Beth]

I'm thinking about jumping back into the group after taking 2017 off. Can anyone remind me how to mark all discussions as read? I used to know how to do it, but apparently I've forgotten everything, lol.

[Zaz]

On the main page of the group, clic "unread" at the right of "discussion board", then clic "mark all as read" at the bottom of the new page.

Welcome back :)

[Beth]

Thanks so much, Zaz! I knew it was easy, I just couldn't remember. Excited to jump back in. You guys picked some really interesting categories this year :)

[Chrissy]

When will the 2018 topic threads be unlocked so we can start discussing options? I need to get on library waiting lists and hope I won't have to wait till January to see what others are thinking and share my own ideas!

[Zaz]

Some of the mods seem to be unavailable, so the threads will open when they have time to post their topics. We initialy scheduled the opening for December.

[Tracy]

Hi all, Question. The second page for the 2018 topics seems to still be locked. Are we waiting until later in the year to open them up since they are for the end half of the challenge?

[Laura, Celestial Sphere Mod]

That's my mistake, Tracey. I thought I had gotten them. Unlocking now.