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2017 Monthly Challenge - The Twelve Labours of Hercules
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Labours Points
The Other Diane 8 26
Patrick 8 24
Diane Z. (aka CafeMom) 8 22
Book Worm 7 20
Pip 7 19
John 5 14
Sushicat 6 14
Beverly 5 13
Lynn 1 2
Paula 1 2
This sounds as much fun as last year's Monthly Challenge. Loved the modern take on the Labours of Hercules. Thanks Patrick!
Ooh, this sounds like fun! Thanks, Patrick!
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Patrick wrote: "Despite coming up with the idea, I must also give credit to John with whom I have discussed the concept, got some advice and some book suggestions for the challenge. And I already have an idea for ..."Patrick gets all the credit for the idea and the work in putting it together. I will take credit (or blame) for some of the more attenuated links of books to Labours. As if y'all wouldn't figure that out without me.
This sounds like a really fun challenge!
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You don't have to read all the books (you can skip some Labours if you want/need to) and you don't have to start from the start. I wanted to ensure that everybody had a chance to be in the challenge whenever they want and how ever they want; I'm also keeping in mind that we might pick up new members throughout the year.
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You don..."
Sounds good to me as right now I have way too many books off list that I am trying to read.
Can you receive credit for reading both books?
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If you or somebody else had asked the question at the beginning of the month, I would probably have said 'yes', with the proviso that it would still only count for one completed Labour. However, since there are only a few days left in the month and I would like to make it fair for everybody, I will defer judgement to the admins. Jen? John? Kristel? Book Worm?
Patrick wrote: "Diane wrote: "Can you receive credit for reading both books?"If you or somebody else had asked the question at the beginning of the month, I would probably have said 'yes', with the proviso that ..."
I was talking about February and not January, since I have read neither of the February books. I already read the other January book and will not be re-reading it.
You can get Herculean points for only one book per month. If you read the other book it would score as an "other." It's not really much of a challenge to slay the Hydra if you've already lopped off all of its heads, right?You would get the challenge points for the first of the two books you read.
John wrote: "You can get Herculean points for only one book per month. If you read the other book it would score as an "other." It's not really much of a challenge to slay the Hydra if you've already lopped off..."Thanks!
If you don't finish reading the book by the deadline, can you still get a point as a "Other 1001 Book" read? (Relocating with 3 kids, 4 goats, 2 cats, and a dog put a damper on my reading time in January.)
Becky wrote: "If you don't finish reading the book by the deadline, can you still get a point as a "Other 1001 Book" read? (Relocating with 3 kids, 4 goats, 2 cats, and a dog put a damper on my reading time in J..."Yes, if you don't finish, you can claim the 1 point for an "other."
John wrote: "Becky wrote: "If you don't finish reading the book by the deadline, can you still get a point as a "Other 1001 Book" read? (Relocating with 3 kids, 4 goats, 2 cats, and a dog put a damper on my rea..."Thanks!
Did I miss it? Has labour 4 been revealed yet?
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No, Lynn, you haven't missed anything. Apologies to everybody, I ended up being busier than expected while in Romania and have just made it back to Sydney. I will post #4 a bit later today and, fear not, the selections are short this month.
"fear not, the selections are short this month..."
Woohoo!
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No, Lynn, you haven't missed anything. Apologies to everybody, I ended up being busier than expected while in Romania and have just mad..."
Patrick I would like to be a fly on your luggage. You are always going to interesting places.
Patrick wrote: "Lynn wrote: "Did I miss it? Has labour 4 been revealed yet?No, Lynn, you haven't missed anything. Apologies to everybody, I ended up being busier than expected while in Romania and have just mad..."
No worries just trying to plan my reading for April. Please no rush.
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If you were a fly in my luggage, we would never make it back to Australia due to our strict quarantine and biosecurity rules. I have to say that I am quite lucky that my job requires me to travel a fair bit (I'll be on the road again very soon). One common trait between Australians and New Zealanders (as Pip would know) is that we are affected by the travel bug, due to our geographical "isolation".
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Question about bonus points. Do we get bonus points after reading the fourth book or at the end of the year?
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Question about bonus points. Do we get bonus points after reading the fourth book or at the end of the year?"
Bonus points are awarded as soon as they are earned. So, two bonus points for those who have reached 4 books this month.
Hi Patrick,When will you be posting Labour 5? I want to make sure I can secure a copy somewhere. Thanks.
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When will you be posting Labour 5? I want to make sure I can secure a copy somewhere. Thanks."
Done!
Patrick wrote: "Diane wrote: "Hi Patrick,When will you be posting Labour 5? I want to make sure I can secure a copy somewhere. Thanks."
Done!"
Thanks! I guessed Dirty Havana Trilogy right but not Story of O. I wrongly guess A Handful of Dust.
Have we got October's Challenge yet? And what have I missed? I have read and reviewed every challenge but others have more points than me!
Sorry, Patrick, I have just realised that some books are worth more than others and that I have yet to review Nana. I was thinking I only had til midnight, Sydney time but I have just checked the rules and i can submit my review tomorrow morning. Yeah, as I am spending today travelling.
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You still have until tomorrow 3pm, Sydney time (daylight savings kick in tonight) to complete and review Nana. This still corresponds to 30/09/17 23:59, New York time.
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Apologies for the delay in posting the 10th Labour. I had a Herculean September of sorts myself, being overseas for half the month, snowed under by work and finalising the purchase of my new home (and the moving that comes with it). I will post the Labour a bit later today; fear not, both options are short and easy to locate/buy.
Thanks! I am delayed in Broome, so should finish Audible before reaching Sydney.tonight. Good luck with settling in to your new abode!
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The Labour has now been posted.
and do we have a Labour for November? I just enjoy your version of the myths so much!
The Myth (how I understand it)
Hera, queen of the gods, drove Hercules nuts, to the point where he compulsively killed his wife Megara and his kids. Hercules felt really bad about it, but he still had good mates in high places. King Thespius initiated his rehab by purifying him and then sent him to Delphi, this spa of knowledge, where Pythia suggested that he does community service for 12 years in the kingdom managed by Eurystheus. The latter, suffering from an inopportune lack of blue-collar manpower, set Hercules to complete ten tasks from the too-hard basket; on completion, he would be rewarded with immortality and maybe some time off. Hercules, reluctantly, complied with the order and finished the tasks. However, Eurystheus found out that Hercules cheated a bit, getting some external help on one task and receiving a brown paper bag full of dough on another, and ordered him to do two more tasks (hence, twelve). Nobody is really sure what happened to Hercules after he completed the last task; rumour has it that he joined a boat trip with a band of rough sailors who were seeking a special woollen blanket…
The Rules
Fear not, the challenge will not last 12 years, but only 12 months. Every month, a new Labour will be posted, with two books to choose from to complete the Labour. The books chosen all have some relationship (albeit tenuous at times) with the theme of the Labour. Completing a Labour is simple: you must read and review the book that you have chosen during the month of the Labour; not before, not after.
There are some restrictions though. You may not read a book you’ve already read in 2017. If a book read as part of this challenge is later selected as a BOTM, you may get 1 point for participating in the BOTM discussion (but not the reading points associated with the BOTM).
I will try to post the Labour books for a month 7 days before the beginning of the month so you have time to track them down. Normally, at least one book from each pair is reasonably available, either from Amazon (at least in the US and France) or your local library (or maybe our resourceful Shuva might be able to find pdf versions).
The Rewards
Most books chosen for this challenge will be worth 2 points; however, some books/Labours will be worth more points, as they are a bit lengthier. In any case, I will clearly indicate how many points each book is worth when I post the Labour each month.
Unfortunately, unlike Hercules, completing the challenge will not earn you immortality. However, you will receive the ambrosia of this group’s book worms (bonus points) for completing in part or all the challenge:
- Completing 4 monthly Labours: 2 bonus points
- Completing 8 monthly Labours: 3 additional bonus points
- Completing 12 monthly Labours: 4 additional bonus points
Once again, I would like to emphasise that this is a monthly challenge - Do not begin reading a challenge book before the beginning of the month. You must also finish the book and post your review before the end of the challenge month to count that book in the challenge.
And maybe the winner of the challenge (most points) will be elevated to the status of reading god or goddess of our group! Good luck everybody!