Questions? Ask the Concierge

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

This is the thread where you can ask questions and we will post an FAQ in the next message of this thread as questions are answered.
Many questions related to tasks can be found here. You should also check the FAQ in the next post before posting a new question

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

FAQ

◈Q: If you cross into a player category above yours for month three, how does that work when you were in a lower category for month one and two? (i.e. does the needing to read for the requirements for the higher category work retroactively?)
◈A: I think doing the maths it has to.
So let's take, Isaac. He signs up as Beach and reads 15 books in December, 15 in January and 16 In February.
In Dec and Jan, he read 13 x 100 points and 2 x 50 points. So he is on 2800 points before heading into February.
Tori on the other hand, signed up as Poolside and reads 16 books in December, 16 in January and 16 In February. Because of the Poolside requirements, she read 1 x 10 point, 2 x 20 point, 3 x 50 point, and 11 x 100 points. So she has 2600 points before heading into February.

Moral of the story... If your reading is on the cusp of one of the categories, it is a good idea to read for the requirements of the category above
(and maybe read a few extra smaller books if you need to push yourself into that category!)

◈Q: For the tautogram, do the words 'the' and 'a' count? What about an ampersand?
◈A: The/A is ok.
"&" doesn't count but "and" does

◈Q: For task 78 and 79 what is the difference between a Greek and a Olympian God?
◈A:You can use this site for the list of the 12 Olympian gods. You will see a full list of gods here which you can use for Greek Gods (except those listed as Olympian obviously)

◈Q: for title with "The Chariot" in the title can I use The Charioteer?
◈A: Charioteer would not be acceptable for Chariot as it is changing the meaning of the word. Generally only plurals can be used

◈Q: For Main Genre romance would Romance > M M Romance work?
◈A: Yes, where the main genre is listed (even if there is then a subcategory), that is ok

◈Q: what is a tautogram?
◈A: Let Google be your friend :). Here is the wiki entry

◈Q: is the spreadsheet the only place i need to log my read books?
◈A: Other than marking as read on your goodreads shelf? Yes 😀

◈Q: For the bonus task, are those books a task on their own or can we use a book we've read for a different task and count it towards the bonus?
◈A: No, every task has to be separate books

◈Q:For the December bonus task, the spreadsheet gave me points even though I have only read one of the books. I tried putting in a second to see what happened, and it gave me a second 250 point
◈A: For that one please put both books in the same row. I couldn’t really split it as 2x125 because the task is for two books and if someone only reads one they shouldn’t get 125 points. The formulas required to do otherwise do my head in 😉
Just leave the read date blank until the second book is read
--edit-- you could also have a second line leaving the task number blank if you wanted to link to both books

◈Q:Probably chancing my arm a bit here but given the whole Aussie/NZ thing would you consider Christmas a summer related word?
◈A:Well... for me it is! When I think of Christmas I do think of summer as that is how it has been for me for my whole existence. And seeing this is an upside down challenge. Sure! Fits the theme

◈Q:For the task to read a book where a character's name is also a word, does it have to be the first name? Or can it be the last name if that's what they go by?
◈A:Yes, either is fine

◈Q: If we have less than 251 books on our TBR, then does that mean we cannot complete task 7 (for Jan) or is there an alternate TBR we could use (a mod or something)?
◈A:The task was designed to help people move off old books, but if you are fortunate enough to have a tbr less than 251 and you want to complete the task, I’m happy for you to choose one from my shelf (Karen- Mod) instead

◈Q: For the January bonus, do they have to move during the course of the book or can it be talked about? Example from the text: Tex had moved to Australia when he was 5 after his parents died.
◈A: Yes they need to move during the book. It is worth lots of points so is meant to be a bit difficult 😉

◈Q: I finished a book on Jan 1 Australian time, but that was still Dec 31 for me. What date do I use on the spreadsheet?
◈A: It is fine to use your time or GR time. (i.e. have Dec 31 as a read date on your Jan spreadsheet)

◈Q: Can "ger" also be used for "Read a book with the word "yurt" in the text"? Ger is the Mongolian word of which yurt is the Russian/Turkic form
◈A: Yes

◈Q: where can I find pet names?
◈A: try this challenge for ideas: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... and the previous version here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

◈Q: Does a country that lies partially in both hemispheres count, such as Colombia?
◈A: any countries listed in that link including the “partial” ones count

◈Q: If I start a book in January, but finish it in February, is that allowed? will it count as a February book?
◈A: Yes, provided books are started after the challenge began, the read date is what counts


◈Q: task no. 14 - Read a book where someone is described as having a Type A Personality. Does it need to state that wording exactly?

◈A: The task does not have to have the specific wording, but the character should be described as someone with tendencies as per wikipedia.
Which is "competitive, highly organized, ambitious, impatient, highly aware of time management and/or aggressive"

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[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

r

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

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[Lexi]

(First question): If you cross into a group/level above yours or below yours for one month, do you need to keep reading the requirements for the highest level or the level you are at for that month?

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Lexi wrote: "(First question): If you cross into a group/level above yours or below yours for one month, do you need to keep reading the requirements for the highest level or the level you are at for that month?"

If you want to have a chance at winning in your category by the end of the challenge, then you will need to read for the highest category your reading puts you in for the challenge. (even if it is just one month of the challenge)

So, Sally signs up as 4 books per month. She is in the SAND category. By the middle of December, she has read 3 books. Sally thinks she will read 6 by the end of the month (BEACH category). In order to be eligible to win, Sally needs to make sure she has the minimum requirements for BEACH met (i.e. 1 x 100 point and 2 x 50 point tasks) for December.
If Sally does not meet these requirements, she will not be eligible to win the BEACH category at the end of February.

If Sally reads 6 books in December, 4 in January and 4 in February, she would still be considered in the BEACH category as for one of the months she was eligible for that category.

[Lexi]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Lexi wrote: "(First question): If you cross into a group/level above yours or below yours for one month, do you need to keep reading the requirements for the highest level or the level you are at f..."

I got that. I will try on asking from a different angle. What if Sally reads 4, 4 and 6 but does not meet the requirements for the 6 in the first two months because she did not know she was going to get to 6 in the last month. Does meeting the requirements have a retroactive effect?

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Gotya.

I think doing the maths it has to.
So let's take, Isaac. He signs up as Beach and reads 15 books in December, 15 in January and 16 In February.
In Dec and Jan, he read 13 x 100 points and 2 x 50 points. So he is on 2800 points before heading into February.
Tori on the other hand, signed up as Poolside and reads 16 books in December, 16 in January and 16 In February. Because of the Poolside requirements, she read 1 x 10 point, 2 x 20 point, 3 x 50 point, and 11 x 100 points. So she has 2600 points before heading into February.


Moral of the story... If your reading is on the cusp of one of the categories, it is a good idea to read for the requirements of the category above
(and maybe read a few extra smaller books if you need to push yourself into that category!)

[Lexi]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Gotya.

I think doing the maths it has to.
So let's take, Isaac. He signs up as Beach and reads 15 books in December, 15 in January and 16 In February.
In Dec and Jan, he read 13 x 100 points and 2..."

Got it, thank you

[Erin *Proud Book Hoarder*]

I don't fully get it, but I signed up and am excited to try it.

[Jessi]

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "I don't fully get it, but I signed up and am excited to try it."

I think I "mostly" get it haha this sounds interesting and very fun! See you there Erin!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Erin *Proud Book Hoarder* wrote: "I don't fully get it, but I signed up and am excited to try it."

haha

Sometimes these things make more sense once you start

[Karolyn]

Mods - I hate asking this because y'all do so much for us. I signed up for Beach and read about 15 books a month. I'm right on the line between Beach and Poolside.

After reading this, could you bump me to Poolside... so if I read 16 or more one month I can track like I'm "competing" at the Poolside level? Would that be a complete pain to tweak my spreadsheet?
And again... NBRC Mods ROCK!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Karolyn wrote: "Mods - I hate asking this because y'all do so much for us. I signed up for Beach and read about 15 books a month. I'm right on the line between Beach and Poolside.

After reading this, could you b..."

seeing how much flattery you added in there how could I refuse? lol!
No problems at all, I have updated your s/sheet

[Karolyn]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Karolyn wrote: "Mods - I hate asking this because y'all do so much for us. I signed up for Beach and read about 15 books a month. I'm right on the line between Beach and Poolside.

After reading t..."

Flattery works every time :) Thanks!

[Cat]

As the Childrens word count requirement is 25k (and the one, yes), does that mean page limit generally is 100?

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Thanks Cat - yes I’ll add that in. It would be 100 pages or more unless the task allows otherwise

[Lexi]

Can we use plays?

[❀Tea❀]

Books need to be started on December 1st?

[❀Tea❀]

Lexi wrote: "Can we use plays?"

I would group plays with poems and things like that as they don't have full page of text. So that would be a no unless task permits it.

But this is Karen's idea so she may overrule me. :)

[Lexi]

Thanks, they weren't specified and wasn't sure if they were similar to children's and could use if could prove sufficient word count.

[Alysa]

❀Tea❀ wrote: "Books need to be started on December 1st?"


Same question! And if yes, is there a specific time?

[Lexi]

Last question from me for now, for the tautogram, do the words 'the' and 'a' count?

[Alysa]

Lexi wrote: "Last question from me for now, for the tautogram, do the words 'the' and 'a' count?"

And similarly, what about ampersands?

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Added to book requirements

Books must be started on or after 8am, December 1st, 2018, AEDST to count for this challenge. Click here for the countdown.


Re-reads are ok provided it has been more than 6 months since you last read the book.

The minimum page requirement is 100 pages unless a task specifies differently.

Edited to include plays:
* Childrens / Middle Grade novels and plays/screenplays can only be used where you can verify the word count through AR BookFind as 25,001 words or more. If you can't verify it with that site, you can check if audible has the unabridged version as more than 3 hours. If you can't verify either, then you can't use it (unless the specific task says you can)

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Alysa wrote: "Lexi wrote: "Last question from me for now, for the tautogram, do the words 'the' and 'a' count?"

And similarly, what about ampersands?"

the/a are fine
& would need to be written as "and" to count

[Jillypenny]

I am new to all this so sorry if this is an obvious answer, but where can we see the actual tasks? I would like to plan ahead what I’m going to read.

[Alysa]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Lexi wrote: "Last question from me for now, for the tautogram, do the words 'the' and 'a' count?"

And similarly, what about ampersands?"

the/a are fine
& would need to be written as..."

To count as a word you mean? Or to count in the sense of not being ignored?

For example:
Book title is W: W, W & W
Is this a tautogram because the ampersand “doesn’t count”?

[Cat]

BTW, there might be a small formula error in the player templates: the 20 point countif is looking for "200" not "20".
It's in the locked cells, so I can't fix mine...

[❀Tea❀]

Jillypenny wrote: "I am new to all this so sorry if this is an obvious answer, but where can we see the actual tasks? I would like to plan ahead what I’m going to read."

You can see tasks in spreadsheet.
When you sign up, you'll get your spreadsheet and there'll be tab with tasks. Since there is a lot of options and each month will have new ones, it would be really really big post. :P

If you still didn't sign up, and want to check what's for December, you can see it in this spreadsheet (link is in rules under 'how to play' ;)

[Jillypenny]

Thank Tea! I knew it would be somewhere right in front of me!!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Alysa wrote: "To count as a word you mean? Or to count in the sense of not being ignored?

For example:
Book title is W: W, W & W
Is this a tautogram because the ampersand “doesn’t count”? ..."

"&" doesn't count as a word
And it can be ignored, so your example is ok

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Cat wrote: "BTW, there might be a small formula error in the player templates: the 20 point countif is looking for "200" not "20".
It's in the locked cells, so I can't fix mine..."

Got it! Thanks :)

[Natalie]

Sound like fun. I've signed up. Stupid question, as the last week clashes can the books read in wheelathon be used?

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Yes Natalie 😉 books used for this can also be used for other challenges - no problems 😎

[Jane]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Lexi wrote: "(First question): If you cross into a group/level above yours or below yours for one month, do you need to keep reading the requirements for the highest level or the level you are at f..."

so basically, let's just say I read 16 books this month (I'm in the beach category) then I have to complete the higher category's level challenges in order to be eligible to win?

[Jane]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "



This is the thread where you can ask questions and we will post an FAQ in the next message of this thread as questions are answered"

Is this the dnf bookshelf that is listed in the 100 points challenge (https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...)?

Let's just say I read a book that is published before 1900 (Dec challenge number 9) and it also contains 41-50 chapters (Dec challenge number 16) will I get 150 points (basically can I finish 2 challenges with one book?)

[Sammy]

Jane wrote: "Moderators of NBRC wrote: "



This is the thread where you can ask questions and we will post an FAQ in the next message of this thread as questions are answered"

Is this the dnf bookshelf that i..."

I'm pretty sure you can only put a book towards one task in this challenge, but I could be wrong...

[Rayne]

Jane wrote: "Moderators of NBRC wrote: "

This is the thread where you can ask questions and we will post an FAQ in the next message of this thread as questions are answered"

Is this the dnf bookshelf that i..."

I thought it only had to be on the first page of the book's top shelves.

[❀Tea❀]

Jane wrote: "Moderators of NBRC wrote: "



This is the thread where you can ask questions and we will post an FAQ in the next message of this thread as questions are answered"

Is this the dnf bookshelf that i..."

Sammy is right. You can use a book for only one task. So pick carefully where you're gonna put it :)


As for dnf (or any other 'shelf' task), as Brooklyn said, book needs to have that tag on it's first genre page (when you are on a book page, click on genres and that's where tag needs to be found). You can use that list as help, but not all of the books on the list would work

[Rayne]

For #67, main genre poems, would "poetry" count? or does it have to say "poems"?

[Cat]

heyyyyy! I just saw the stilton task! love you guys! :)

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Brooklyn wrote: "For #67, main genre poems, would "poetry" count? or does it have to say "poems"?"

I'm ok with poetry

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Cat wrote: "heyyyyy! I just saw the stilton task! love you guys! :)"

xD

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

OK For Main Genre romance would Romance > M M Romance work?
Also what is a tautogram?

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Would the cover model sitting on the right side of the cover be considered a blonde or alternately illustrated?

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

For task 78 and 79 what is the difference between a Greek and a Olympian God?
for title with "The Chariot" in the title can I use The Charioteer?

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "For task 78 and 79 what is the difference between a Greek and a Olympian God?
for title with "The Chariot" in the title can I use The Charioteer?"

You can use this site for the list of the 12 Olympian gods. You will see a full list of gods here which you can use for Greek Gods (except those listed as Olympian obviously)

Charioteer would not be acceptable for Chariot as it is changing the meaning of the word. Generally only plurals can be used

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "Would the cover model sitting on the right side of the cover be considered a blonde or alternately illustrated? "

Looks ok to me

[Shan ~A~]

Read a book shelved (listed on the first page of the "top shelves" of the book) as next-up - plurals and minor spelling variations are acceptable

Will next or read-next work for this?