Questions? Ask the Concierge

[Rayne]

Do we have to wait til Jan 1 to read for January tasks or can we start early as long as we finished after?

[Stacie]

That's what I thought but I wanted to check. Thanks!

[Lucy]

For the December Tasks, no 54 'Read a book with a simple cover (no people and only one object)' would this cover count? It doesn't have any objects on the cover but it is a very simple one.

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

OK January task 68 is it first name only and can it be someone sharing the same last name or if like in my case the last name could be someone first name would that be acceptable. (my Last name is Grace)
Also would a possesive like Wolf's Sweet Chipmunk count for task 87 in January
For Main Location USA if the main setting is a state in the united states would that count?

[Marie (UK)]

yellow book with black writing does all the writing have to be black

I have there is some black writing on it but also other colours

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Brooklyn wrote: "Do we have to wait til Jan 1 to read for January tasks or can we start early as long as we finished after?"

You can stat prior and then finish them in January

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lucy wrote: "For the December Tasks, no 54 'Read a book with a simple cover (no people and only one object)' would this cover count? It doesn't have any objects on the cover but it is a very simple one.

[book..."

Well, I guess the pudding could be the "one object" which would have it count

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "OK January task 68 is it first name only and can it be someone sharing the same last name or if like in my case the last name could be someone first name would that be acceptable. (my Last name is ..."

Yes to all, Roger

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Marie (UK) wrote: "yellow book with black writing does all the writing have to be black

I have there is some black writing on it but also other colours"

That's fine

[Rayne]

For January task 5, pavlova ingredients, so the words need be used as ingredients or can they just appear in the text in a different context?

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Any context is fine 😀

[Lexi]

For January task 10, two questions:
1. Can we do highest rated that is already published?
2. More of a stretch, if it a book later in the series, can we pick the first in the series or do we need to read that specific book?
Thanks

[Lexi]

My December task 11 is missing. My drop-down menu goes from 10-12, thank you.

[Alysa]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Lexi wrote: "Lots of books say orginally published on Jan 1 but these are older books and it just means that they didn't log a date, mind year, for that version. How do you all want to handle this,..."

Yeesh, ALL of the books in my TBR with 1 Jan dates are the “fake” kind with unlogged or incorrect dates in the original publication date field (some of which have since been corrected).
Do any “genuine” ones exist?! It doesn’t seem like publishers (or self-published authors) would find 1 Jan an optimal day for a book release.
I tried the NetGalley trick you mentioned, but I am not seeing anything. 😕

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Alysa wrote: "Yeesh, ALL of the books in my TBR with 1 Jan dates are the “fake” kind with unlogged or incorrect dates in the original publication date field (some of which have since been corrected). ..."

To clarify - I'm not expecting everyone to have to double check every date. It's more if you come across, for example, Wuthering Heights or such with a 1 Jan date than we know that is clearly incorrect.
But something like Confessions of a Murder Suspect could be genuine.
With Netgalley, I went to "find titles" then clicked on "read now", then sorted by publication date. Jan 1 is on page 15
Not sure if this link works: https://www.netgalley.com/catalog/rea...

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Lexi wrote: "For January task 10, two questions:
1. Can we do highest rated that is already published?
2. More of a stretch, if it a book later in the series, can we pick the first in the series or do we need t..."

1. yes
2. no, sorry ;) With 88 other players to chose from hopefully you can find something

--edit-- and fixed your Dec tab

[Lexi]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Yeesh, ALL of the books in my TBR with 1 Jan dates are the “fake” kind with unlogged or incorrect dates in the original publication date field (some of which have since been corrected..."

I used netgallary and used that method to find books so thank you.

Last question, I can use any of the 88 players and not just the ones in Poolside with me?

[Alysa]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Yeesh, ALL of the books in my TBR with 1 Jan dates are the “fake” kind with unlogged or incorrect dates in the original publication date field (some of which have since been corrected..."

Point taken, for the purposes and duration of the challenge.
But even your example (Confessions of a Murder Suspect) was first published in Sept of that year and should according to GR policy be edited to correct. As a GR librarian I am itching to correct it — but I won’t! Until March, if I remember.
Because now that it’s been named here, Upside Down players might be using it and I don’t want to mess anybody up 🙂
I managed to find one “genuine” 1 Jan 2019 NetGalley read-now book but am sad for those people who don’t have access to that site.

Different question, sort of the other side of the coin of Lexi’s question re Jan task #10:
Can we read highest rated that’s not a later book in a series from which we have not yet read the preceding books?

For example, if sorted by highest rating the first four items on the TBR are a Book #2, another Book #2, a Book #7, and a Book #3.
I have not read the #1, #1, or #s1-6 of the first three items, but I have read the #s1-2 preceding the fourth item. So could I read that fourth item?

[Lexi]

Well, Frankenstein was orginally published on January 1, 1818 so anyone should be able to find and read that.

[Rayne]

If we have less than 251 books on our TBR, then does that mean we cannot complete task 7 or is there an alternate TBR we could use (a mod or something)?

[Alysa]

Lexi wrote: "Well, Frankenstein was orginally published on January 1, 1818 so anyone should be able to find and read that."

That is true! Great Find, Lexi!

[Karolyn]

I went through the top 200 books published in January 2018... these have a 1/1 publication date. My library doesn't have digital copies of any of them, but several are on KU if you have that.

Pretty Girls Dancing
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
The Last Thing She Ever Did
Daughters of the Night Sky
Neon in Daylight

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Great finds Lexi and Karolyn!

I gave netgalley as an example just because anyone can sign up and download the “read now”, so thanks so much for finding some more easily accessible options! 😉👍

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Re task 10: I’m going to change my mind because it’s Christmas Day here 😎🌲
But also because I was thinking 88 players to choose from, but actually it’s players per category and some categories don’t have many players. My bad.

So if the book with the highest GR rating on your other players want to read shelf is a series book, you can read the higher/lower book in the series depending on where you are up to in the series

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Hi Brooklyn
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 instead

[Stacy]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Hi Brooklyn
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 ..."

I may have to use your TBR Shelf too. I was just wondering when sorting by date added are you talking about sorting ascending or descending? I usually have mine sorted descending so newest are shown first.

[Rayne]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Re task 10: I’m going to change my mind because it’s Christmas Day here 😎🌲
But also because I was thinking 88 players to choose from, but actually it’s players per category and some categories don’..."

Thanks! And Merry Christmas!!

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Hi Stacy - yes, goodreads defaults the sort to descending. But I guess it doesn’t matter as long as you have the “#” field showing so you can see which are number 251 or higher

[Alysa]

Happy day after Xmas!!

This is possibly a dumb question but is there a countdown clock for end of Dec/start of Jan? I can’t seem to find it in the challenge info (yet?), and what with time zone differences it would be helpful in terms of if/when spreadsheet tabs will be locked.

Thanks!

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Also not all of us have access to a computer at our home, but at a public library or something similar. and do we have some leeway for books read before deadline but can't get to a computer before deadline?

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Merry Boxing Day (?) to you too Alysa! haha

Start of January is 8am on the 1st Jan in Sydney Australia (ADST)

Countdown is here


Yes Roger, that is fine if you need some extra time. Particularly as it is a public holiday on the 1st. I won't lock yours straight away and if you can let me know when you're done

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Merry Boxing Day (?) to you too Alysa! haha

Start of January is 8am on the 1st Jan in Sydney Australia (ADST)

Countdown is here


Yes Roger, that is fine if you need some extra time. Particularly..."

I will be sure to let you know.

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Ok For January task do we need to see them leave from the other country. I am thinking of Red Dirt Heart where Travis, we are told, is getting picked up at the Airport in Alice Springs and he is an American agronomy student.

[Alysa]

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Yes Roger, that is fine if you need some extra time. Particularly as it is a public holiday on the 1st. I won't lock yours straight away and if you can let me know when you're done."

I may also need a similar concession, if possible:
I will be spending most of the 31st on a plane, and won’t land [in Eastern Standard Time] until a few hours after the cut-off.
I don’t have a smartphone so I can only get online (via iPad or PC) when there’s decent WiFi. I am trying to plan my reading so that everything I finish before my flight gets logged beforehand, and just start on books for Jan after that. But if I end up finishing something *during* my flight, before the cut-off, can I let you know and get it added for Dec?

Also, thank you for the countdown link! 😄

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

No worries Alysa, just let us know when you are ready and back safely on dry land :) and we will lock yours up then

[Alysa]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "No worries Alysa, just let us know when you are ready and back safely on dry land :) and we will lock yours up then"

Thank you so much! 🥰
All of the books I have in progress or planned for the remainder of Dec are on my spreadsheet, so it’s just a matter of filling in the read date as I finish each one.

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "Ok For January task do we need to see them leave from the other country. I am thinking of Red Dirt Heart where Travis, we are told, is getting picked up at the Airport in Alice Spri..."

You don't need to see them leave, but they do need to move here, so provided Travis is coming here to live

[Tina ❣]

I'll be heading off to a festival on Dec 31st and won't have internet access there. I don't know if I'll finish any books whilst I'm there. So can I get my December sheet locked on the third of Jan when I'll be back home with internet? I can put in whatever I might finish on Dec 31st then

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Yes he does live in Australia now I have read most if not all of the series and he is now a permanent resident of the outback.

[Rayne]

Just for future reference...what would be an example of a book with no images/objects on the cover?

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Tina wrote: "I'll be heading off to a festival on Dec 31st and won't have internet access there. I don't know if I'll finish any books whilst I'm there. So can I get my December sheet locked on the third of Jan..."

No problems

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Brooklyn wrote: "Just for future reference...what would be an example of a book with no images/objects on the cover?"

As luck would have it - this just came up in my feed as someone reviewed it and is a good example (although wouldn’t meet the page count for this challenge) . Your basically after a cover with only text on it

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

Getting ready for January

Players - here a few key things as we move into January:

* If your spreadsheet remains with 0 books read by the start of January, we will be deleting your individual spreadsheet and removing you from the leaderboards. This helps us keep our google drive less cluttered and helps the players know who is actually in their category

* As December has progressed we have been messaging players who have bumped into the category above and moved you as per your request. In January, whatever your category is for December, if what you are now playing for. If you want to change categories (up or down) you need to request that before Dec 31. If you end up in a category above in January, then you won't be moved unless you request it (i.e. we won't be messaging you), and you can only be moved if you met the requirements for that higher category in terms of the #s of different point books read in December.
You will only be eligible to win in your category if you meet the requirements for it for the three months (book # read and books per points required)

* Start of January is 8am on the 1st Jan in Sydney Australia (ADST). Countdown is here
If you are away / without access to the internet and need some time after this to finalise your Dec spreadsheet, please let us know in advance, otherwise your Dec sheet will be locked on Jan 1

* We hope you are enjoying yourselves and stretching your reading!

[Tati]

I'd like a little longer to update my spreadsheet as well! I'll be traveling and won't be able to log my books until the 2nd

[Alysa]

Moderators of NBRC wrote:
"* If your spreadsheet remains with 0 books read by the start of January, we will be deleting your individual spreadsheet and removing you from the leaderboards..."

LOL😅, the only person in my category who currently has 0 books logged happens to be the only person with a book that straightforwardly works for me for Jan Task #10. I hope they log some stuff in time!

Re not moving people between categories, perhaps I am just confused but you would still automatically move someone up a category if they read beyond the max # of books in the lower category, right?
Like for example, someone in Poolside (16-25) cannot just log 30 books in Jan and still remain in Poolside, even if they do not meet the minimum task requirements for the next category up, correct? Or do they just stay in their same category, but get disqualified?

[Roger - president of NBR United -]

Ok I notice that some sheets have the links for books to goodreads on them but I don't, were we supposed to do that and if so how?

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Alysa wrote: "Like for example, someone in Poolside (16-25) cannot just log 30 books in Jan and still remain in Poolside, even if they do not meet the minimum task requirements for the next category up, correct? Or do they just stay in their same category, but get disqualified?..."

They can remain in the category, but can't win. To be eligible to win, you need to meet the requirements for your category for the 3 months.
So in your example, they may stay in Poolside, but they can't be eligible to win in that category (or the one above). That is why it is really important to get your category right, and if on the cusp of one, then go into the category above now before Jan clicks over

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Alysa wrote: "LOL😅, the only person in my category who currently has 0 books logged happens to be the only person with a book that straightforwardly works for me for Jan Task #10. I hope they log some stuff in time!."

haha
maybe send a friend request with a nice nudge "hey... are you still playing?" LOL

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

Roger - president of NBR United - wrote: "Ok I notice that some sheets have the links for books to goodreads on them but I don't, were we supposed to do that and if so how?"

You don't need to. If you want to, you can either copy and paste the book title directly from your shelf (google now copies the text and the link - for example, try copying and pasting this: One Day it should work for you ) or you can type in the book name, crtl-k on the cell and add in the link

[Alysa]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Alysa wrote: "Like for example, someone in Poolside (16-25) cannot just log 30 books in Jan and still remain in Poolside, even if they do not meet the minimum task requirements for the next categor..."

Got it. Thanks!
I am safe, but there are others who might not be. Hence your announcement ;)