Winter 14/15 A-Z Questions & Answers

[Liz M]

A to Z (A-Z) – Read ten books, whose titles are in ascending alphabetic order, while the author’s last name is in descending alphabetic order:

15.1 The B east Within by Émile Z ola
15.2 The D ay of the Triffids by John W yndham
15.3 The F east of the Goat by Mario V argas Llosa
And so on.

Click on the link above to read the full challenge description. Post questions about the A-Z challenge here.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Interesting challenge, but one to plan carefully!"

Theresa - I moved your comment over here where members will likely agree and have more comments.

[Karen Michele]

This looks like great fun! Now to take a look at my TBR and find out how tough it is;)

[Deedee]

Karen Michele wrote: "This looks like great fun! Now to take a look at my TBR and find out how tough it is;)"

Same here. I'm considering starting with The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Deedee wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "This looks like great fun! Now to take a look at my TBR and find out how tough it is;)"

Same here. I'm considering starting with The Angel's Game by [author:C..."

I had thought of that too, but his name is Ruiz Zafon, Luis so would sort with the Rs, not the Zs.

[Deedee]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote:
I had thought of that too, but his name is Ruiz Zafon, Luis so would sort with the Rs, not the Zs.

I'm glad to know that before I get too far in my planning!

[Jenifer]

Am I correct in reading that we can skip letters as long as the order stays ascending/descending?

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Jenifer wrote: "Am I correct in reading that we can skip letters as long as the order stays ascending/descending?"

Yes, you've got it!

[Jenifer]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Jenifer wrote: "Am I correct in reading that we can skip letters as long as the order stays ascending/descending?"

Yes, you've got it!"

Thanks!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

John le Carré is alphabetized as Le Carre, John at BPL, so sorts with the Ls, not the Cs.

[Rosemary]

Oh no - that's everything else I planned to do today out the window, while I do this instead :-)

I have a book by Ted van Lieshout who is not listed at BPL. BPL does list two other van Lieshouts:

Elle van Lieshout = Lieshout, Elle van.
Maria van Lieshout = Van Lieshout, Maria.

V or L?

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Rosemary wrote: "Oh no - that's everything else I planned to do today out the window, while I do this instead :-)

I have a book by Ted van Lieshout who is not listed at BPL. BPL does list two other..."

New York Public Library has him as Lieshout, Ted van, so we'll go with that. (I used WorldCat, and that's the way he's listed at several libraries.)

[Rosemary]

OK, thanks, Elizabeth!

[Tony]

What about people with only one name? I'm thinking particularly here of Xenophon's Conversations of Socrates

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Tony wrote: "What about people with only one name? I'm thinking particularly here of Xenophon's Conversations of Socrates"

Alphabetizes under the name, in this case, Xenophon.

[Tony]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Alphabetizes under the name

Great. Just checking in case the rule was that they didn't have a last name, and so wouldn't count at all, or something :)

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Ha! You did well to find an X.

[Sarah A.]

If the first word is a number like The 5th Wave, do the numbers get put alphabetically like "5th" would go under "F" or do numbers go before the letter "A"? (Can't remember how that works!)

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Sarah wrote: "If the first word is a number like The 5th Wave, do the numbers get put alphabetically like "5th" would go under "F" or do numbers go before the letter "A"? (Can't remember how tha..."

We will consider titles with numbers as if the numbers were spelled out. In this case, Fifth for F. (This isn't how a computer sorts, so your thinking was correct, but we human scorekeepers will think in our old-fashioned way.)

[Sarah A.]

That's what I figured, thanks for the quick response! =)

[Tony]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Ha! You did well to find an X."

Yeah; most of the authors who appear in "Names beginning with X" lists tend to be Chinese, which uses the reverse name order. So people like Gao Xingjian and Lu Xun are really "Gao, Xingjian" and "Lu, Xun", etc.

[Krista]

Will a subtitle be considered part of the title?

For example: Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by Mitchell Zuckoff

(Keeping my fingers crossed that subtitle words are allowed as this will then be a perfect 'A to Z' book, and it's on my TBR list)

Thanks!
-Krista

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Krista wrote: "Will a subtitle be considered part of the title?

For example: Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II by [..."

Not sure what you mean by subtitle. This would be alphabetized for the title as "Lost" and the author as "Zuckoff".

[Krista]

Okay, here's another question. Can I use two books by authors who have last names starting with the same letter -- as long as the title, and names are in alphabetical order?

For Example:
Brown Girl Dreaming by Jacqueline Woodson

To---
The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

Title Word: Brown Author: Woodson
Title Word: Castle Author: Walls

----------------
Update:

I now know I can't use this combo because it's the first word only of the title that can be used, but I'm still curious as to whether or not words or names starting with the same letter can be re-used if they're used in the correct ascending or descending order. (I know --- so many questions!)

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

No, a letter can only be used once for titles and once for authors. And this was my biggest roadblock for making my list!

[Krista]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Krista wrote: "Will a subtitle be considered part of the title?

For example: [book:Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War I..."

Oh -- okay. I think I misunderstood. It's not ANY word in the title that can be used, it's only the first word (excluding A, The, etc.) that can be used.

Thanks! Back to the drawing board.

[Krista]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "No, a letter can only be used once for titles and once for authors. And this was my biggest roadblock for making my list!"

Again -- many thanks Elizabeth!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Krista wrote: "It's not ANY word in the title that can be used, it's only the first word (excluding A, The, etc.) that can be used."

Yes - Sam started us off on instituting a twist here and there when he introduced these sub-challenges!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Krista, you need to check your list again. The authors are alphabetized by last name only.

[Krista]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Krista, you need to check your list again. The authors are alphabetized by last name only."

Oh My Goodness! Thanks for checking my list. I'll get this down yet!! I'll revise as needed.

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Can books be read in any order as long as the ten fit the A to Z requirements? For Example, if I read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for 15.1, may I next read The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood for 10.10 as I decide what goes in between?

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Can books be read in any order as long as the ten fit the A to Z requirements? For Example, if I read The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton for 15.1, may I next read [book..."

No, as the scoring is graduated. The reward for the later books are dependent on the completion of the earlier books. Of course you can read books for the 10- and 20-point tasks while you formulate the rest of your plan.

[Theresa~OctoberLace]

Thanks Elizabeth. I thought of the graduated scoring after I posted that question, and I agree with you. I'll take AtoZ one step at a time!

[Karin]

To further Theresa's question: Which starts the list? The author or the title? In other words, do I start my list w Alvarez, Julia? Or Black Boy?

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Karin wrote: "To further Theresa's question: Which starts the list? The author or the title? In other words, do I start my list w Alvarez, Julia? Or Black Boy?"

This time, we'd like the titles first, so start with Black Boy.

[Liz M]

The titles must be in ascending alphabetical order while the authors are in descending alphabetical order:

15.1 (B-W) Black Boy by Richard Wright
.
.
.
.
.
15.10 (Y-A) Yo! by Julia Alvarez

[Kathleen (itpdx)]

Just realized I inverted Sherman Alexie's name on my list. He would be an A not a S. Need to hunt up another book!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Heather, your list has two authors for "R" - you'll want to find a substitute for one of them as you can't repeat author letters.

[Heather]

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Heather, your list has two authors for "R" - you'll want to find a substitute for one of them as you can't repeat author letters."

and that's why I posted the list. lol. I was under the impression we could use first names, too. Derp. I have no idea why, either. but one is a lot easier to change than almost all of them. whew!

[Liz M]

Don (The Book Guy) wrote: "The title is The 4: 8 Principle: The Secret to a Joy-Filled Life. If I use it for this task, do I place it in order as if the numeral 4 is spelled out four?..."

Yes -- the title is an "F" title.