Reading with Style discussion
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WI 10-11 General Challenge Questions & Answers
Cait wrote: "This was slightly confusing and I just want to make sure I complete the task correctly:10.9 - Cheryl TX's 2nd Place Task - Alphabet Soup
This task is about matching two different letters of the ..."
Seriously, just copied that to paste and ask the same thing! Ha!
I think a line was left out of the explanation, because the Marquez example would require a Z for the title.
I am also a little confused about this task. Does the position of the word in the title/name matter? For instance can you match the second word of the title with the middle name of the author? And can you match in reverse e.g. "T" in the title and "G" in the author's name?
nsfancy wrote: "I am also a little confused about this task. Does the position of the word in the title/name matter? For instance can you match the second word of the title with the middle name of the author? And ..."From what I understand,
The Chosen - Chaim Potok or
Player One: What Will Become of Us - Douglas Coupland
should both work.
Cait wrote: "nsfancy wrote: "I am also a little confused about this task. Does the position of the word in the title/name matter? For instance can you match the second word of the title with the middle name of ..."I understood it that any word in the title (minus the exceptions) would count. "if your book's title has a word
edited for confusing myself, lol
Rachel Lee, you're right, it does sound like that. Hmmm...
nsfancy wrote: "I am also a little confused about this task. Does the position of the word in the title/name matter? For instance can you match the second word of the title with the middle name of the author? And ..."I think the answers to both questions is yes. If I am interpreting it correcting, you can read the following books for the A-N pair:
All Souls' Day by Cees Nooteboom
Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz
The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul
None to Accompany Me by Nadine Gordimer
Nampally Road by Meena Alexander
Growing Up Native American by Bill Adler
Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
Child of All Nations by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
By the way, that makes finding a book for this task infinitely easier than I had initially thought. :o)
Liz M wrote: "nsfancy wrote: "I am also a little confused about this task. Does the position of the word in the title/name matter? For instance can you match the second word of the title with the middle name of ...I think the answers to both questions is yes. If I am interpreting it correcting, you can read the following books for the A-N pair:
All Souls' Day by Cees Nooteboom
Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz
The Enigma of Arrival by V.S. Naipaul
None to Accompany Me by Nadine Gordimer
Nampally Road by Meena Alexander
Growing Up Native American by Bill Adler
Noah's Compass by Anne Tyler
Child of All Nations by Pramoedya Ananta Toer
"
The letter combo for "A" is A-N (Not A-Z as used in the task's explanatory paragraph.)
All the books that Liz listed above are acceptable for the A-N combo.
A few combos that I've figured out using my TBR shelf are:
F-S: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See
G-T: The Story of Lucy Gault by William Trevor (Trevor has also been shortlisted for the Man Booker prize. Gotta love those Combo points.)
I have these:Parrot and Olivier in America (combo with 10.7 and 20.9) by Peter Carey
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (combo with 20.9) by David Mitchell
We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
The Chosen (combo with 10.6) by Chaim Potok
The Wives of Henry Oades (combo with 10.6) by Johanna Moran
I just addedd a Help folder for Cheryl's task. It might be a good place to share books we've figured out that will work for the task. -Krista
I am struggling with 10.1. Since I don't read a lot of short stories/essays I am not sure what is considered a compilation of essays if they are all by one author. For example, would any of these be considered essays?
Stories Behind The Best-Loved Songs Of Christmas
Breakthrough!: How the 10 Greatest Discoveries in Medicine Saved Millions and Changed Our View of the World
Stupid History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions Throughout the Ages
Stupid Christmas
can i use Brazil as a setting for the tropic of Capricorn task even though not a lot of Brazil is below the tropic of Capricorn?
For task 10.1, will you consider Ellery Queen one or two author(s)?And I'm totally confused about the Tropic of Capricorn task. (And I've thought I was good at geography. *sobs*) Which list should we use, this - https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
this - https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
this - https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...
or all of them?
Thanks a lot.
Potjy wrote: "For task 10.1, will you consider Ellery Queen one or two author(s)?
And I'm totally confused about the Tropic of Capricorn task. (And I've thought I was good at geography. *sobs*) ..."
Sorry for the confusion - the idea is to read a book set in one of the countries that the Tropic of capricorn passes through - that would be your first link, the pretty blue box.
And I'm totally confused about the Tropic of Capricorn task. (And I've thought I was good at geography. *sobs*) ..."
Sorry for the confusion - the idea is to read a book set in one of the countries that the Tropic of capricorn passes through - that would be your first link, the pretty blue box.
Melissa W wrote: "can i use Brazil as a setting for the tropic of Capricorn task even though not a lot of Brazil is below the tropic of Capricorn?"
Sure can, the Tropic of Capricorn passes through Brazil and that is the requirement for this task.
Sure can, the Tropic of Capricorn passes through Brazil and that is the requirement for this task.
Melissa W wrote: "For 20.10, can I read First Family: Abigail and John Adams?"Yes, it meets the task requirements.
Hey, if you guys want any other specific task topics in this this "Help" area, let us know and we can add them.
Melissa W wrote: "can i use Brazil as a setting for the tropic of Capricorn task even though not a lot of Brazil is below the tropic of Capricorn?"Yes, Brazil is on the list. It is approved.
Rachel Lee wrote: "I am struggling with 10.1. Since I don't read a lot of short stories/essays I am not sure what is considered a compilation of essays if they are all by one author. For example, would any of t..."
I'm going to let Sam have the final say on this set of books. But on the surface they look okay to me.
Melissa W wrote: "For 20.10, can I read First Family: Abigail and John Adams?"Yes it works, and you can claim Combo points with Task 10.4. :-)
Potjy wrote: "For task 10.1, will you consider Ellery Queen one or two author(s)?I considet Ellery Queen to be one author, even though two individuals co-wrote under this penname.
And I'm totally confused about the Tropic of Capricorn task. (And I've thought I was good at geography. *sobs*) ..."
It's all the countries that lay under the Tropic of Capricorn on Dec 23rd. The first link you used is correct.
Here's a list of the countries:
Namibia
Botswana
South Africa
Mozambique
Madagascar
Australia
Chile
Argentina
Paraguay
Brazil
I wish to read Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History for 20.5, but I when trying to find the Lexile for the book, I got a NP (Non-Prose) designation for the book. Can I still read the book for the challenge?
Melissa W wrote: "I wish to read Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History for 20.5, but I when trying to find the Lexile for the book, I got a NP (Non-Prose) designation for the book. Can I s..."You can read it for the challenge and receive task points. The lexile score is used to determine if a YA book is eligible for STYLE points. And in this case, Sam/Krista will have to weigh in on whether or not this book is eligible for style points.
I have a question about combo points and 20.7I am reading Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation- for task 20.10 and wanted to use combo points with 20.7 as it deals with the media events revolving around the election of Obama (2008)
HOwever, I also plan on reading The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine for 20.7 - the event is the financial crisis of 2008.
Am I allowed to use the combo points in 20.10 if its the same era, different event?
For 10.1, would a book of poetry -- e.g. Whitman's Leaves of Grass -- count as a collection of short fiction?
Rachel Lee wrote: "I am struggling with 10.1. Since I don't read a lot of short stories/essays I am not sure what is considered a compilation of essays if they are all by one author. For example, would any of t..."
It might be splitting hairs, but the examples you mentioned are non-original stories/discussions that are anthologized by one author. What we're looking for is more something along the lines of David Sedaris, Dave Barry, etc. I'm sure others can name plenty more examples.
Dan wrote: "For 10.1, would a book of poetry -- e.g. Whitman's Leaves of Grass -- count as a collection of short fiction?"A book of poetry won't count for this task. I do, however, currently have two poetry tasks in mind for the spring challenge.
Liz M wrote: "Melissa W wrote: "I wish to read Maus I: A Survivor's Tale: My Father Bleeds History for 20.5, but I when trying to find the Lexile for the book, I got a NP (Non-Prose) designation for..."I had a rule during the first RwS challenge that said YA and Graphic Novels both wouldn't count for style points. I thought the Lexile route was a better way to adjudicate the YA issue, but I'm still not sold on the idea that Graphic Novels should be eligible for style points (and I'm reading one right now as it happens). I'm going to stand by my original feeling that they're okay for task points but not for style points.
In Msg 8 -- Liz Vegas wrote: "I have a question about combo points and 20.7I am reading Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation- for task 20.10 and wanted to use combo points with 20.7 ..."
Hi Liz:
For this task lets follow the same standard we were using last quarter. When claiming points (Task or Combo) for Task 20.7, each century can only be used once for Task points, and once for Combo points.
The way you outlined claiming the points for your two books is fine. But that's it for this century after that. :-)
Krista wrote: "In Msg 8 -- Liz Vegas wrote: "I have a question about combo points and 20.7I am reading Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation- for task 20.10 and want..."
Thanks, Krista! That's what I thought, just making sure. Thanks for the response. I appreciate it.
Liz Vegas wrote: "Krista wrote: "In Msg 8 -- Liz Vegas wrote: "I have a question about combo points and 20.7I am reading Obama Zombies: How the Liberal Machine Brainwashed My Generation- for task 2..."
Glad I could help.
Sam wrote: "Rachel Lee wrote: "I am struggling with 10.1. Since I don't read a lot of short stories/essays I am not sure what is considered a compilation of essays if they are all by one author. For exampl..."
A few more authors who come to mind for this short story or essays task are:
Bill Bryson
Grace Paley
Alice Munro
Tim Cahill
Anthony Doerr
Raymond Carver
Jhumpa Lahiri has two wonderful collections, Interpreter of Maladies, which won the Pulitzer, and Unaccustomed Earth.
Would traveling to another world be considered part of time travel?
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "Would traveling to another world be considered part of time travel?"Hi Jayme:
Not in and of itself. It would only count if the time on the other world is ahead or behind the current time set in the book. Simply travelling to another world doesn't qualify the book as time travel. The travel needs to be into the future or the past.
I wanted to use "voyage of the Dawn Treader for the time travel task. Time passes in Narnia faster than in "our" world so would that work?
For Task 20.2 A Wrinkle in Time is listed as #31 on the list but it is the first book in the series. Do I need to read the whole series to claim points for this task?Thanks.
Tobey wrote: "For Task 20.2 A Wrinkle in Time is listed as #31 on the list but it is the first book in the series. Do I need to read the whole series to claim points for this task?Thanks."
Hi Tobey:
As long as the WHOLE series isn't included in the "book" entry you're okay. (See entry #1, and 4 for examples of series entries.)
A Wrinkle in Time is fine. It's shown as a single book in entry #31 on the list. You don't have to read the the whole series to claim points for this book/task combo.
I'm requesting clarification about task 10.6 Noel, Noel. Last month Sam said the task would most likely be changed to limit it to using each author only once for this task. I was wondering if a decision has been made on this. Can each author only be used once or is it okay to use an author multiple times for this task?
I decided to read the play The Golem by H. Leivick for the 100 best Jewish literature task. It wasn't listed on Goodreads, but I found a copy on abebooks.com and ordered it. It just arrived, but it is only 84 pages. Can I still use it? Could I combine it with another play on the list?Thanks,--- I'm fascinated by the golem story!
Karen GHHS wrote: "I decided to read the play The Golem by H. Leivick for the 100 best Jewish literature task. It wasn't listed on Goodreads, but I found a copy on abebooks.com and ordered it. It just arrived, but it..."No problem...it's on the list, so it's fine.
Sam wrote: "Karen GHHS wrote: "I decided to read the play The Golem by H. Leivick for the 100 best Jewish literature task. It wasn't listed on Goodreads, but I found a copy on abebooks.com and ordered it. It j..."Thanks so much!
well it was published in 2006 so presumably he did it in 2005 or around there ... and its his adventure so it might count as an event that happened in 00-10 for task 20.7?
I'm requesting clarification about task 10.6 Noel, Noel. Last month Sam said the task would "most likely" be changed to limit it to using each author only once for this task. Since it has not been changed, I was wondering if a decision has been made on this. Can each author only be used once or is it okay to use an author multiple times for this task?
colleen wrote: "I'm requesting clarification about task 10.6 Noel, Noel. Last month Sam said the task would "most likely" be changed to limit it to using each author only once for this task. Since it has not bee..."I've made a change to the task specifying that an author be used only once.
Sam wrote: "I've made a change to the task specifying that an author be used only once. "Thanks for clearing that up.
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Reading with Style
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Olive Kitteridge (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Julius Lester (other topics)Jhumpa Lahiri (other topics)
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10.9 - Cheryl TX's 2nd Place Task - Alphabet Soup
This task is about matching two different letters of the alphabet between title and author.
First, here's the list of letters that "match": A - N, B - O, C - P, D - Q, E - R, F - S, G - T, H - U, I - V, J - W, K - X, L - Y, M - Z.
Now, if your book's title has a word beginning with A, then your author's first or last name (or if the author consistently uses a full third name (i.e., Gabriel Garcia Marquez)) must start with Z (or vice versa). Authors' initials cannot be used for this task nor can articles (i.e., a/an/the), conjunctions (e.g., and/or/but), or prepositions (e.g., in, on, around, between). You can repeat this task as many times as you wish but you may only use each pair once.
The list of matching letters pairs A & N together, but in the description the example used is A & Z. Is there a discrepancy there or am I just reading/interpreting the task wrong?
Thanks!
ETA: Based on my understanding of the task, all of these books from my tbr should work:
The Chosen - Chaim Potok
The Crying of Lot 49 - Thomas Pynchon
Player One: What Will Become of Us - Douglas Coupland
Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn
The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner
Telling Tales - ed. by Nadine Gordimer
The Tin Drum - Gunter Grass