Questions about The DR Challenge?

[Claudia]

Beezus and Ramona
May I read this book for the year my dad was born (1955)? I wondered if perhaps it might be too short.

[Lauren]

The Goodreads profile says it's 160 pages, so that definitely counts.

However, can anyone comment on the minimum page count for books in these challenges? I thought it was 100, but Barbara says it's 150... Lu?

I used Carmilla for several other challenges. Would I have to remove it? It's over 100 pages but less than 150.

[Barbara]

Now I feel bad for asking. :(
In my own thread for TDRC I asked in message 7 if we could use the grpahic novel in other challenges and Lu stated in message 8 that if it was more than 150 pages we could. Also I remember asking the question before and getting the 150 pages answer. I just can't find where I asked it, maybe it was deleted. But let's hear Lu's final verdict and maybe it's wise to have a section somewhere were these rules are written down so we can always check?

[Lauren]

Oh bugger... I was under the impression that sometime last year we decided on 100 pages, but I don't know if that's 'officially' stated somewhere or if it was a more casual thing. It can be hard to judge. Sometimes short books are much harder to read than longer ones, or a book can have many pages because of the spacing of the text and the size of the font.
A rule thread for all challenges is a good idea.

[Barbara]

I know. I was talking to Niecole about that some time ago. There are paperbacks around you know the small ones that have like 25 lines on a page and you go through them like lightning. But with books like Don Quixote there were 50-60 lines on a page and it had really small letters and it took forever to read a page. And indeed the contents itself are really important. Let's only mention Paradise Lost in comparison to any simple romance novel. I think the number of pages should always be after subtraction of empty pages and stuff like that. But let's first wait on what Lu has to say before you go deleting your book in the challenges.

[Barbara]

I have a question about the task were you have to read a book that has been nominated for a book prize but never won. Does that mean any prize or only the major ones? Like if they receive minor awards from bookstores or are placed on for example Time's All-Time 100 Novels does that count as an award or are we looking for Pulitzer losers etc.?

[Claudia]

I'd like to know too. I have books that were nominated for a few bigger awards and won some smaller awards like bookshops, high school, library stuff. Should it be a book that has won nothing whatsoever?

[Barbara]

While we're still waiting on the 150-100 pages final verdict and someone who can answer the question about the prize loosers I have another question about the debut novels and last novels written before the author's death. Do the three novels written before the author's death be written by three authors from whom you have also read the debut novel? Yes or no or it doens't have to but you can? Crusader I believe it was you who nominated the task so what is your final verdict? Please help me out of my misery :)

[Crusader]

It doesn't matter. You are welcome to read different authors or the last novel from a debut author. In general I think most debut novel authors would be alive and kicking so it might be difficult to read their last novels.

[Barbara]

Ok does that mean that the author of the debut novel has to have only one book published? Because I could for example read the debut novel of Hemingway and also read the last book he published before he died. The first novel of an author always stays his debut novel even if he or she lived centuries ago, provided of course it was published in his of her time by a publisher.

[Lauren]

I was also a bit thrown by the bit about most debut novel authors still being alive. If we're just referring to the first book, then you can read the first and last book of any dead author.

[Crusader]

Yes, you can read any debut novel (first novel). It's just that I meant that unless you go to classics or much older authors most of the contemporary authors would still be alive. 99% of the authors I like to read are all alive and well.

[Barbara]

ok, you scared me for a moment there. I like to read some of the classics too and most of them are dead. So I was thinking for example to read the debut novels of Jane Austin and Oscar Wilde and at least in the case of Oscar Wilde also his last novel. I am trying to find as many books as I can in the library that I have instead of buying books. I have bought a lot already and am now trying to minimize what I still have to buy and I have a lot of classics. So I have found a couple of books there. Thanks for answering the question so quickly. I can now browse through my books in search of debut and last novels.

[Janette]

I don't know if this has been answered elsewhere, for the challenge about twice or two in the title (not the second book in the series), does Double count?

[Barbara]

No it hasn't and it is a good question.
So just to summarize because there is a lot of talking going on without the questions being answered and so we don't loose track of what is still to be answered. There are three questions open:
1) Lu: could you tell us if a book has to have 100 or 150 pages to participate in a challenge?
2) Does a book has to have won nothing at all and do small prizes of local things and list of 100 best novels count or are we just talking about the big world wide ones?
3) the question of Janette: does double count for the book with the word two, twice, second in the title but is not the second book in a series?

[Lauren]

I'd like to add something to question 2 - if it's big prizes only, what constitutes a big prize and how can we tell if we're not sure?

Edit: by the way, for this one I would say that it's no prizes at all. Big prizes only complicates matters, but I'm fine with it if that's the case.

[Lauren]

Question 3: it's Lauren F's task, so if she allows it then yes, but otherwise I think we should stick to the terms she set out.

[Barbara]

You know I love you but when you start talking about Lauren when your own name is also Lauren it's just weird.

I know you mean the other Lauren, but you must admit if you're new in our group and you read your comment it's really confusing :D

[Lauren]

Haha, good point, will edit. I also feel a bit weird when I do it.

[Barbara]

I must say even I had to do a double take here. I was reading your comment and I was like why is she saying this when it is her task and then I remembered we have more than one Lauren. I had to laugh at myself for that. It took me some time in the beginning to keep you apart, thank God for the little profile pictures.

[Lauren]

Yeah, I also rely on profile pictures; it always throws me a little when someone changes theirs.

[Barbara]

I know, Niecole has a habit of doing that and everytime she does I am like who is that and then I figure it out, but it always takes some getting used to.
Niecole: keep changing them, never mind what I am saying. I always like your pictures. Why do you change them btw?

[Janette]

No worries, I'll stick to the original task then. Just finished a book with double in the title, so was hoping I could use it.

[Lauren]

Barbara wrote: "Why do you change them btw? "

I just get bored with mine and want a change, or I get a cool picture that I'd like to use. I actually feel like I could use a change now.

[Barbara]

Tell me when you do please? So I still know who you are.

[[deleted user]]

Hey guys...
I think its going to change again :)
I like changing them, keeping myself fresh

[[deleted user]]

My new picture is in memory of my dog Shiba...
May she rest in peace, she was the best dog, never naughty and I miss her very much

[Crusader]

Sorry for your loss Niecole. Losing a pet can be very tough.

I've got a challenge question. Would "The Last Hero" by Terry Pratchett qualify as a graphic novel? (Sorry, can't link via my phone).

[[deleted user]]

Thank you so much Crusader, that really means a lot :).

[Lu]

Sorry this post went of watch for some reason

1) 150 sorry Lauren :(

2) Nothing at all

3) Nope sorry Doubles doesn't count :(

[Lu]

Is that everything?

[Lauren]

Lu wrote: "Sorry this post went of watch for some reason

1) 150 sorry Lauren :(

Oh bugger... I better go and check the challenge threads :(

[Lu]

Sorry :( Not sure where you got mixed up with 100 and 150

[Lauren]

It's ok, not your fault. I can't recall where I got that idea either.

[Crusader]

I don't see why we can't make an exception for Carmilla since the criteria for that specific challenge task is very restrictive narrowing choices severely. Although that should only hold for that one task.

[Lauren]

Have you found a book based on Carmilla though? A book that just features a sexy lesbian vampire isn't enough to qualify.
I provided a few other options for this task in the suggestion thread, if you want to check those out.

I am however concerned about the mythology and folkore challenge task where you have to read a pre-1900 vampire novel. That task is even more restrictive - I could only find 3 options for that task and Carmilla was one of them. Does anyone mind heading over to the suggestion thread for the mythology challenge to address the problem I posted there?

[Crusader]

I was actually referring to the pre-1900 task. For the diabolic challenge I'm going to go for Dracula. Most modern Vampire tales are based on that. Thinking of Salem's Lot or The Passage.

[Claudia]

11. Read a book that's cover depicts someone that is about to die in some way or other.

Does it need to be a human dying? For instance, will an elf killing a troll work? Or something in that line.

[Lu]

Yea I would say so

[Crusader]

Lu wrote: "Yea I would say so"

Would a spaceship being destroyed count? The ship is crewed by humans and obviously exposure to vacuum would kill all people in the ship.

[Barbara]

Lu does your I would say so answer the question does it need to be a human being or the question wil an elf killing a troll work?

I am sory but I am having a blond moment (can't help it I am blond) and I don't understand your answer :(

[Claudia]

My brunet has just mutated to blond =P
I have no idea what Lu means either.

[Lu]

As long as someone (elf and toll included) is about to die, I say yes :)

And yea Crusader, those guys are going to die

[Crusader]

Would The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time count for task 14?

C - I - O - T follows alphabetically, unless I'm missing something.

[Lauren]

I don't think so - it's ok to leave out words like "of" and "the" but not "dog". It would be too easy if you could selectively ignore the words that don't fit.

[Crusader]

Ok, I understood it that only 3 words need to follow alphabetically. So all words need to follow in alphabetical order then?

Can anyone point me to the updated version of task 14?

[Lauren]

Yes, it is 3 words, but the way I understand it is that however many words there are in the title, they have to be in alphabetical order (with the exception of words like 'of' and 'the'. I think). The minimum number of words you can have in the title is 3.

But this is just what I thought it was - either Kahlan (who nominated the task) or Lu should make a final decision.

[Claudia]

(You can use that book for the 7 word title challenge too.)
All the words must be in alphabetical order, minimum of 3. I guess it's OK to skip a, an, of, the - but I'm going to include them in my chosen book because I am just that good, mahahaha.

[Crusader]

A Game of Thrones it is for me then. The Curious Incident was just a impulse read, so I wasn't really planning to use it in a challenge.

[Claudia]

That's the one I'm picking too.