The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
READING WITH STYLE
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Spring 2010 Questions, Answers, and Suggestions
*All tasks for the Spring Reading with Style challenge are now posted*
I'm happy to see Donna Jo's task (as suggested by Liz). I love this one, it's my favorite!As far as suggestions, my only one would be to change how the YA books are handled. My suggestion would be that people could read them and use them for style points, but that if you don't read YA, you get bonus for level of difficulty at the end.
Oh, and I also wanted to add that I am super excited to have our own category in the seasonal challenge!
Sam, I had a a different idea for style points. One of the best things for me about reading is learning. It seems I learn something new from each and every book I read. Sometimes, reading one book sparks my interest in a subject and I want to read more about that subject. I'm wondering how it would work out to have a category for reading an additional book that relates to subject matter from the current book. Here is an example, I read Sworn to Silence which made many references to the amish and their way of life and that really perked my interest to I added Plain Truth to my TBR. Really, the possibilities for this would be endless. You might read Odd Thomas, who is visited several times throughout the book by Elvis, and so you may want to read another book about Elvis? What do you think? Is this too broad?
Jenilyn wrote: "I'm happy to see Donna Jo's task (as suggested by Liz). I love this one, it's my favorite!"*blush* Thanks! I was SO excited to see Donna Jo choose it, as it may be the only way I ever get to design a task.
One of the statistics I have been the most curious about is average points per book. Any way to include this in the Spring style challenge?
Ah ha! Sam posted his reading plan, from which several tasks can be discerned.For 15.3a are the books listed the only acceptable choices, or can we use any book that is related to the best-picture movie?
15.6 There doesn't seem to be a defined list of countries (even the wikipedia entry defines it in a variety of ways). Are the following acceptable Asia-Pacific countries?:
Australia, Brunei, Cambodia, People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Fiji, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands
I have a question on 10.1 Read a book with the word tree/trees or a type of tree. Could we read a book with a picture of a tree on it as well? I had a book originally picked out for that one with a picture of a tree on it.
Liz wrote: "Ah ha! Sam posted his reading plan, from which several tasks can be discerned.For 15.3a are the books listed the only acceptable choices, or can we use any book that is related to the best-pictur..."
Here's the definition from asianpacificheritage.gov: May is Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month – a celebration of Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States. A rather broad term, Asian-Pacific encompasses all of the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia (New Guinea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji and the Solomon Islands), Micronesia (Marianas, Guam, Wake Island, Palau, Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Nauru and the Federated States of Micronesia) and Polynesia (New Zealand, Hawaiian Islands, Rotuma, Midway Islands, Samoa, American Samoa, Tonga, Tuvalu, Cook Islands, French Polynesia and Easter Island).
So, basically, any country on the continent of Asia or in the Pacific Ocean (with the exception of Australia or New Zealand, which have their own task) counts.
Jayme wrote: "I have a question on 10.1 Read a book with the word tree/trees or a type of tree. Could we read a book with a picture of a tree on it as well? I had a book originally picked out for that one with a..."I'm "just saying no" on the picture of a tree on the cover. I have to admit...I can't stand the tasks that ask you to pick a book because of the picture on the cover or its color scheme.
okay, I have a back up book with the world tree in the title.
For the task Mr. Watson come here I want to see you, Cynthia ok'd The Wednesday Letters. Will you accept that as well? or should I come up with something else?
Jenilyn,Actually, Cynthia said NO to Letters and yes to chat:
message 4: by Cynthia, The SCM
Feb 17, 2010 08:52PM
Jenilyn wrote: "would "letters" count" as in The Wednesday Letters?"
No
Sara ♥ wrote: "How about "Chat"? (As in Entr@pment: A High School Comedy in Chat?)"
Yes
Jenilyn wrote: "Oh, ok I missed that. Thank you Liz."No problem, I'd hate for you to read it & then not be able to get the points you expected!
Looking through Bloom's Western Canon list, the are a number on non-specific items. For 10.1, can I assume any collection of poetry by a poet listed by Bloom will count for the Canon style points? Or do I have to specifically read an edition titled "Selected Poems" "Collected Poems"?
This question also applies to 20.9 - there are a number of playwrights where "complete plays" or "plays" is listed rather than the individual titles.
And finally, there are novelists where "collected stories" or "short novels" or, in the case of H.G. Wells, "The Science Fiction Novels" are mentioned rather than the individual titles. I assume if I read The Time Machine, I can claim Canon style points.
Hey Sam: I've added the corresponding years for the time frames outlined for this bonus. I thought it would help those of us that have trouble figuring out complex math problems.
(But you'd better check my calculations and make sure I got the years right.) :-)
4. Oldies (5 to 15 points): Put down the bestseller list and read something with a bit more mileage on it. Based on a book's original publication date, style points will be awarded based on the following scale:
-25 to 75 years old: 5 points (1935-1985)
-76 to 150 years old: 10 points (1860-1934)
-151+ years old: 15 points (1859 and older)
Just verifying a couple of differences between Spring Challenge Tasks and Reading w/Style Tasks:For Task 10.1
10.1 - "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." Read a collection of poetry. (Must be at least 75 pages).
This task is similar to the Spring Challenge Task 15.5 except that no Haiku poem is required when posting the points.
Correct? That would be a big 'Whew' on my part if that's corect.
15.4 - Freedom Of The Press
Corresponds to Spring Challenge Task 10.5 Except that this Style task requires part B to be a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist.
Here's another one....Style Task 10.4 - Beware The Seven Deadly Sins
Read a book with one of The Seven Deadly Sins in the title: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
Similar to the Spring Challenge Task 15.7 – Except.... We can’t use the word ‘sin’ and we don’t have to post how the book related to the sin when claiming Style points.
Can someone please explain to me the difference between the Seasonal Challenge and this Reading with Style? Is the Style just a modified Seasonal?
yes, the majority of the tasks come from the regular seasonal challenge although Sam may change them a tad bit and she always picks a few tasks that are exclusive to the style challenge. Here are the details http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2...
Liz wrote: "Looking through Bloom's Western Canon list, the are a number on non-specific items. For 10.1, can I assume any collection of poetry by a poet listed by Bloom will count for the Canon style point..."
For poets who don't have a specific volume listed, any collection or volume will do (as long as it meets page requirements).
For playwrights who don't have a specific volume listed, any play or collection will do (as long as it meets page requirements).
For novelists or short story writers who don't have a specific novel or collection listed, any novel or short story collection will do (as long as it meets page requirements).
For the record, there are flaws with Bloom's list. Actually, I don't even really care for Bloom as a critic/theorist. In general, however, it's the best canon list I've seen put together.
Krista wrote: "Just verifying a couple of differences between Spring Challenge Tasks and Reading w/Style Tasks:For Task 10.1
10.1 - "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom." Read a collection of poe..."
If I used a task from the Seasonal Challenge that required something "extra" other than reading, I took it out. No haiku or film viewing or knitting will be necessary for task completion.
I'm actually about to change the Pulitzer requirement on the journalism task since there's a task specifically for Pulitzers now.
I can put the word "sin" in the task. Was it there originally or did it get added later? I don't think I noticed it at first.
A quick status update as we near the beginning of the Spring Challenge:-I'm going to add the 1st/2nd/3rd place challenges soon. If the scores for the Winter Challenge change between now and midnight, I will of course change the tasks to reflect the score change.
-I'm adding one more "Reading with Style Exclusive Challenge" in the 10-point section...I think you all will like it.
-I haven't figured out my task yet...as soon as I do, I'll post it.
-At this point, I still do intend to add the italicized tasks in post 1 of this thread to the challenge. I'm holding off on posting them officially, however, because they're the first ones to go if anything more attractive shows up on the Seasonal Challenge task list.
-Last-minute tweaks to tasks are likely to occur...so if have any questions about any task, please ask.
Sam wrote: "A quick status update as we near the beginning of the Spring Challenge:I can put the word "sin" in the task. Was it there originally or did it get added later? I don't think I noticed it at first. ..."
Yep, it was added later when someone asked Cynthia about it on the Help thread. Thanks!
For the debut book task, how debut does the book have to be? Does it have to be a book that just came out or can it be a book that is first in a series?
Hi Jayme. My thoughts for the task were just to read an author's debut novel, meaning their first book. Of course Sam is more than welcome to tweak the task in any way. Here is a list from wiki if it helps. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category...Makes sure you click "next 200" as there are several pages. Hope this helps!
For Donna Jo's task, we have to read two books. So is it like an AND task, where you read a book for each part before getting the points for each book or is it two books for 20 points total?
Does anyone know a good true crime author besides Ann Rule that would go with Sam's task?
Jayme wrote: "Does anyone know a good true crime author besides Ann Rule?"The Cases That Haunt Us is an awesome book.
You could try Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders or And the Sea Will Tell by Vincent Bugliosi.
thanks Cait, I think I will go with The Cases That Haunt US. It is shorter.
Jayme wrote: "For the debut book task, how debut does the book have to be? Does it have to be a book that just came out or can it be a book that is first in a series?"Like Jenilyn said, the intent was the author's first novel published.
Liz wrote: "For Donna Jo's task, we have to read two books. So is it like an AND task, where you read a book for each part before getting the points for each book or is it two books for 20 points total?"Yes, you'll have to read both book before getting the 20 points for each book.
Jayme wrote: "Does anyone know a good true crime author besides Ann Rule that would go with Sam's task?"Are you talking about 15.1 or 20.10? 20.10 is novels only written by authors on this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edgar_aw...
the 20.10 one and I looked at that list but it doesn't say the books are true crime.
Jayme wrote: "the 20.10 one and I looked at that list but it doesn't say the books are true crime."Yes, there's a big difference between "crime fiction" and "true crime."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_fi...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/True_crime
There are Edgar Awards for both of these categories, but the 20.10 task specifically deals with the Crime Fiction category.
I thought it was true crime my apologies.
I'm sorry Jayme, I was giving you recommendations for the 'Beware the Ides of March' task.
The list I posted was for non-fiction crime novels. It may be different from true crime, I thought it was a good place to start though as In Cold Blood and Monster of Florence were on the list. I'm under the impression that these books are considered true crime? I could be way off and if so, sorry for the confusion! =)
It's non fiction crime and true crime the same thing?
I think they are the same as long as the book is written about a real life crime, but just in case here is a "true crime" list from goodreads. http://www.goodreads.com/list/show/90...
Okay will Zero at the Bones by Mary Willis Walker work for 20.10?
Jayme wrote: "Okay will Zero at the Bones by Mary Willis Walker work for 20.10?"Yes...and you would get style points because it's a debut novel.
Also, "True Crime" is the official title for "non-fiction crime."
I had some choices for a debut novel. Do we have the combo bonus where one book can fit into another challenge option?
For a list of minerals for 20.8 try this:http://www.galleries.com/minerals/byn...
There are a lot of ones that there isn't a chance there is a book with the name in the title (Ajoite, yeah, right! But I am partial to Greengooseite), but there are some common ones that you can use.
I have a question about the debut book challenge, if you are a self published author, can you read the first book you published? :)
Jayme wrote: "I have a question about the debut book challenge, if you are a self published author, can you read the first book you published? :)"No...I'm going to say self-published books or manuscripts don't count.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Plain Truth (other topics)Pretties (other topics)
Uglies (other topics)
Beowulf (other topics)
Unaccustomed Earth (other topics)
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Are there any tasks that just HAVE TO BE added to Reading with Style?
How does this thing work anyway?
Post your questions and answers here.