2018 Zany Zodiak - Questions & Discussion Showing 1-50 of 1,258

[Janice, Moderator]

Use this thread to post questions, discuss, or request rulings for the 2018 Annual Challenge.

[Janice, Moderator]

I'm trying something a bit different this year. I want to keep the challenge thread clean, so I've closed it. We'll discuss here, and if there are clarifications arising, I will update the challenge thread.

I've also set up a thread for book suggestions like we had last year. That thread is for people who need help finding a book for a task.

[Camilla]

I have immediately a question about determining the book length. What about books that don't have any paper editions, i.e. are available only as ebooks, can they be used at all?

[Almeta]

Janice, the work you put into this one is unbelievable!
Gonna love it!

[Janice, Moderator]

Camilla wrote: "I have immediately a question about determining the book length. What about books that don't have any paper editions, i.e. are available only as ebooks, can they be used at all?"

They can be used. From the general rules:

4. Books must be at least 175 pages long. They may be any format (audiobook, ebook, hardcover/paperback). In the case of ebooks & audiobooks, use the hardcover edition to determine page length.. If there is no hardcover edition, use the paperback edition. From the book page, select “all editions”, then select “hardcover”. If no hardcover editions, select “paperback”. If more than one edition, sort by “num ratings” and go with the first listing. If you are still unable to identify, ask for a ruling.

Should I reword that to make it clearer?

[Janice, Moderator]

Almeta wrote: "Janice, the work you put into this one is unbelievable!
Gonna love it!"

Thanks Almeta! I hope you enjoy it.

[Camilla]

Thanks Janice, I read the rule but interpreted the wording to mean that there had to be at least a paperback edition for the book to be acceptable.

[Fee]

I love the year long challenges. 2018 will be my third year and I'm sure it will be great again. Thanks.

[siriusedward]

Wow!
Thanks ,Janice !

[Peggy]

Lol, in the app you can't see when a thread is closed so I typed a long message in the other thread and lost it.

Anyway, the main thing was that I love this one and you're brilliant and thanks for putting so much effort in!

[Camilla]

Another question: are we allowed to "save" read books to be used for the next badge? I mean that if I'm working for, say, the first badge and have already read for a sign and then happen to read a book that would work for the same sign (but a different task of course), can I sort of "save" it and use it for the next badge? Or do we have to read "in order", i.e. no completing of books for the next badge while the previous badge hasn't been completed yet?
Uhh, that was difficult to explain, hope you understand what I mean, Janice.
And the challenge is great, BTW.

[[deleted user]]

Janice, I want to get inside your head - it must be an amazing place to be! This is a fantastic challenge - thank you!

[Peggy]

I came here to ask the exact same question as Camilla. Thanks for explaining it for me ;-)

[Sandra, Moderator]

Just read the whole thing. Amazing challenge! Thank you, Janice!

[Sarah]

Awesome challenge Janice. Thanks for all the effort and creativity you pit in to making it. I think I might have to have a spreadsheet this time around to make sure I have everything covered.

[Cherie]

You are amazing! I can see elements of the last couple of challenges overlapping the research too. Thank you for stretching our horizons!

[Fee]

I have one question concerning your description "...must be on the main book page as a genre". What do you mean by "main book page"? The goodreads-page of the book?

[Lisa]

Wow! What an incredible challenge! Thanks for all the hard work you have put in to creating it for us.

[Kirila]

Amazing work, Janice! I love the variety - everybody can read what they like, and I also like that there are some easy categories, but then some very difficult ones, which would require a lot of gophering! Thank you for all the work you put in!

[siriusedward]

Yes Janice..Thanks for all the work you put in...the categories and the choices are just awesome...

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Janice, the Wonder Woman, blows us all out of the water again!

[Janice, Moderator]

Camilla wrote: "Thanks Janice, I read the rule but interpreted the wording to mean that there had to be at least a paperback edition for the book to be acceptable."

When I wrote that rule, it was cumbersome and I wondered if would cause confusion.

If there is no hardcover or paperback edition, just ask for a ruling.

[Janice, Moderator]

Camilla wrote: "Another question: are we allowed to "save" read books to be used for the next badge? I mean that if I'm working for, say, the first badge and have already read for a sign and then happen to read a ..."

I'm going to say that you can "save" a book. You just can't claim it until the next badge.

My reasoning is that the books must be read between your starting date and Dec 31, so anything after your starting date is fair game. I will update the main thread with this clarification.

[Janice, Moderator]

Anna wrote: "Janice, I want to get inside your head - it must be an amazing place to be! This is a fantastic challenge - thank you!"

Hahaha! You might find it a scary place to be. :)

[Trudy]

Janice, this is amazing! I so appreciate the work you do to create such a fun, diverse challenge for all of us in this group. Our organizational and gophering skills will be truly tested next year. A most challenging challenge!

[Janice, Moderator]

Thanks so much for the compliments. I just hope everyone enjoys the challenge and has fun.

[Janice, Moderator]

Fee wrote: "I have one question concerning your description "...must be on the main book page as a genre". What do you mean by "main book page"? The goodreads-page of the book?"

Yes. When you do a search for a book on Goodreads, it will take you to its main book page.

[Margo]

Janice, I didn't think last years challenge could be topped but WOW! Thank you soo much for all the hard work <3

[Cody]

Great challenge Janice, a bit daunting for my first time but like hunter said, buy the ticket take the ride.

I actually just finished putting a spreadsheet together if anyone wants it? it is fairly dreary as i am not good at things that make my eyes burn but it will definitely do. also feel free to change it, i am not sure how to do an excel online upload as janice did though

[Kristie, Moderator]

For anyone that is not good at spreadsheets. I just added a quick checklist in each of my badge threads. I will check off each sign as I complete it, so I will know with a quick glance which tasks I still need to complete for each badge. I will also just cross off the original task to make sure I don't repeat any. That just seems an easy way to keep track to me.

[Dominique]

Hi Janice,

The Link for the Libra - scales is not working

[Peggy]

I set up my thread and had a better look at the tasks. I'm in awe! They're so creative and I love that you give explanations.

[[deleted user]]

Is it OK for the month to be embedded into another word? For example, March - could I read Middlemarch?

[Dominique]

For

Pisces – fish
- Time to go fishing! Read a book set near or on a lake or river, OR the words Lake or River are in the title, or is the author’s name. If going for title or author, the words must be exact. Plurals will be accepted.

Is the word Sea acceptable?

[Peggy]

For Cancer - symbol there are several varieties of crab. Are plurals (kings instead of king) allowed here too?

And for "Aquarius – Water-bearer
- Read a book that has an urn, jug, or other vessel used for holding water. (Glasses, cups, mugs are accepted)."
Should one of those items be on the cover or significant in the story?

[Lori Z]

WOW! Another amazing challenge, Janice! I am in awe of all the time and effort you put into these things. Wondering how you still manage to get any reading done, lol. Thank you so much for all you do!

[Camilla]

More questions regarding the task wordings:

1. Symbols - Cancer – Crab
- These are the names of common crab varieties: Coconut, Hermit, Horseshoe, King, Japanese Spider, Dungeness, Rock, Snow, Blue, or Fiddler Crab. Read a book with any of those words (other than “crab”) in the title.
Are compound words accepted? Like snowfall?
Same question applies to e.g. Scorpio – Scorpion: - Read a book that has “Poison” in the title

2. Elements: I assume that for the tasks that state "Read a book where 70% of the cover is red" (or whatever color), this actually means "at least 70% of the cover", right? Will we use tineye to determine the percentage, and do we have to give the actual percentage when reporting the task?

3. Elements - Virgo – Earth
- Read a book with an Earth-like planet on the cover.
Is Earth allowed, or does it have to be another planet?

[Peggy]

Camilla, for poison Janice has specified in the task instructions that compound words are fine. Since this is the only task where she specified this and there are a lot of word-tasks, I guess all other tasks should be just the word. Plurals are usually also fine, except for the 4 tasks where it says 'exact word'.

[Pragya]

Holy moly, Janice. 84 books. A treat for the speed readers! Just wow. You're the best. :)

[Maggie the Muskoka Library Mouse]

This will be a lot of fun, I think!

[Janice, Moderator]

Dominique wrote: "Hi Janice,

The Link for the Libra - scales is not working"

It worked for me. Anyone else having a problem with it?

https://www.goodreads.com/genres/lega...

[Janice, Moderator]

Anna wrote: "Is it OK for the month to be embedded into another word? For example, March - could I read Middlemarch?"

Unless the task specifically says you can use imbedded words, you need to stick with the word as it's presented.

[Janice, Moderator]

Dominique wrote: "For

Pisces – fish
- Time to go fishing! Read a book set near or on a lake or river, OR the words Lake or River are in the title, or is the author’s name. If going for title or author, the words mu..."

No. As I was writing this task, I was thinking of fresh water fishing so went with fresh water locations.

[Janice, Moderator]

Peggy wrote: "For Cancer - symbol there are several varieties of crab. Are plurals (kings instead of king) allowed here too?

And for "Aquarius – Water-bearer
- Read a book that has an urn, jug, or other vessel ..."

Yes, plurals are accepted for Cancer.
Aquarius was supposed to read "on the cover".

Both have been corrected. Thanks for proof-reading for me. :)

[Janice, Moderator]

Judy wrote: "Thanks for creating this great challenge!

Are there any rules regarding "children's" books? (If childrens is listed on the main page)

And to clarify that I am understanding correctly- if we hav..."

As long as the children's book meets the page requirement rule, it will be accepted. There is a notation about graphic novels and books that have a lot of pictures. You need to make sure that the text of the book is equivalent to 175 pages.

If there is no paper equivalent for an ebook or audiobook, then please ask for a ruling.

[Peggy]

Janice/Dominique, I think the links work in the original thread, but not anymore when you copy/paste in your own thread. It doesn't copy the whole link, just the part that is visible in the post.

[Janice, Moderator]

Peggy wrote: "Camilla, for poison Janice has specified in the task instructions that compound words are fine. Since this is the only task where she specified this and there are a lot of word-tasks, I guess all o..."

Yes, confirming this. The reason that I specified compound words for poison is because your options might be limited if I specified exact word. With the Crab task, there are lots of options there, and I will accept plurals.

Camilla, re your question about colour cover tasks, I don't want to get too hung up on exact amounts of colour. I used the 70% as a guideline. If the cover screams "I'm red!", it will be accepted. If there is a disagreement, we'll probably go with tineye to resolve the issue. It's not required that you state the percentage.

[Kristie, Moderator]

Just an interesting tidbit - Tim Curry has A Christmas Carol listed as one of his films. It is too short for the challenge, but I plan to listen to A Christmas Carol in December and it is narrated by Tim Curry.

[Janice, Moderator]

I love Tim Curry. That's why he's included. :)

[Kristie, Moderator]

I've been looking forward to listening to that book all year just because he narrates it. I can't wait to listen to it in December.