Questions about The DR Challenge?

[Barbara]

I have a question about the debut novels? Can we read both the debut novel of an author and the novel written using his or her pseudonym. For example Stephen King and Richard Bachman or Robin Hobb and Megan Lindholm. Sometimes the style is very distinct. And how do we treat novels written by a duo of authors? Can we read the novel of a author duo and can we then read novels by the seperate authors.
Lots of questions but just something I was thinking about.

[Crusader]

It would be fine to read a debut by an author and one using their pseudonym. A perfect example would be Iain Banks and Iain M Banks.

As for duo authors I guess it would be fine as well. Haven't really thought about that.

[Barbara]

ok, then I can adjust my selections.

Totally different question. Has anyone heard anything from Niecole? I haven't seen her in any of the discussions for over a week now and she isn't responding to our private email chats and I am getting worried. Does anyone know anything?

[Lauren]

Niecole uses her work email, and she's been on leave to study so she wouldn't have been able to reply. South Africa just went through a slew of public holidays (you could take about 3 days off and get an 11-day holiday), and I think Niecole took advantage of it. She pops up on Facebook every now and then. She had a bit of flu, but otherwise I think she's fine :)

[Barbara]

I just got an email from her saying exactly that. She was on holiday and didn't have the possibility to be online. So everything is ok. It's just in my nature to wonder where someone is if they are a regular and suddenly they don't write anything. I worry. I mean well.

[Lu]

Its sometimes good to worry :)

[Lauren]

Is this acceptable for a character about to die:
?

[Claudia]

Did the scene happen in the book, and if so, was that guy killed? :P
Or well, I don't know. I had a similar cover in mind, but in the book it turns out no one dies in that particular scene, so it felt like cheating.

[Lauren]

Yes, scenes like that happen multiple times in the book and the cover could depict any one of them, but the guy never actually gets killed. But "about to die" doesn't necessarily mean the person actually dies, does it? Or at least, I'm hoping so...

[Lu]

That cover is fine, we will never know if someone is really going to do, but it sure looks like it

[Lauren]

Cool, thanks!

[Claudia]

Ooh, thanks Lu.

[Claudia]

Can someone please help, I'm getting frustrated over here. Is there a place to look up if a book is currently banned and where? Or a recent accurate listing of banned books and in which countries they are banned?
I've found a few lists, but they don't seem recent and some weren't accurate. Googling "Title X" and "banned" is also not proving very helpful.

[Lauren]

I used the Wikipedia list of books banned by governments, which I'm guessing you've probably already seen. If it helps the book doesn't have to be currently banned, and if the details read something like "this book was banned in Iran and other Arab states" it's acceptable because it implies at least 3.

I actually haven't found a really good list of books banned by governments, where all the countries that banned the book are listed. You't think someone would have compiled one by now.

[Crusader]

For no 18 must the original be translated from only Finnish, or would other Scandinavian languages count?

[Lauren]

From the task description I'd say Finnish only. However, if there's a problem with availability or something perhaps we can expand it?

[Crusader]

Don't know if there would be availability problems. I've never looked at Finnish authors. It's just that I have a book by Jo Nesbo which was translated from Hungarian on my shelf.

[Barbara]

Don't want to be a pest, but we have already adapted a lot of tasks because they were to hard. I don't think finding a book translated from would be hard if you put some time in it. I don't think we should be adjusting tasks so they fit books we have on our shelf already. The point of some of these tasks is to read books you wouldn't have read if it weren't for this challenge. But that is my humble opinion.

[Crusader]

I have no problem with trying to find a book translated from Finnish. I just came across the Nesbo book while looking for authors from Finland. A site mentioned his name, but further searching showed he writes in Hungarian.

No big deal.

[Claudia]

Task 31 - colors. I need help with "title containing a word that implies colour". The examples are polka-dot / striped / rainbow. I don't understand, =|
Well, I do but no other words come to mind, or the ones I think of don't seem right. Obviously I did not deserve that distinction I once got in English, haha.

Only word suggestions, not books.

[Lauren]

To my mind stripes and polka dots are related to patterns rather than colours, so I wouldn't use those. But anyway, here are a few suggestions:

shades
hue
paint/er/ing
tint(ed)
dye
stain(ed)
dark(ness)
light

You can get plenty more if you look any of those words or just the word "colour" up in a thesaurus.

[Claudia]

Thanks Lauren.

[[deleted user]]

28. The terrible threes: Read three trilogies. (Re-reads allowed, but you must start from book 1)

Does it have to be only trilogies or will longer series also count?
i.e. Can I read the first 3 books of a 7 part series?

[Lauren]

I'd stick to the task description and say trilogies only.

[[deleted user]]

Too bad. So is the Hitchiker trilogy out as well?

[Lauren]

Well, you can wait for another opinion :)
Hmm, the trilogy in five parts? Not sure...

[[deleted user]]

It's six now.

[Lauren]

Hmph, I don't count the last one.

[Claudia]

Ooh, that was the task I came up with. Terrible threes = series with ONLY 3 books.
It's meant to be hard , and participants are meant to dislike the people who came up with the tasks. :)

[[deleted user]]

GRRRR. Hope you get chased by zombies.
Not a problem really. At the moment I'm trying to fit the books I'm reading to the challenges as opposed to reading for the challenge.

Just to confirm:
No 37. read 33 books in your favourite genre.
The requirement of authors you haven't read applies only if you choose to read 11 books.

[Crusader]

Mohammed wrote: "No 37. read 33 books in your favourite genre.
The requirement of authors you haven't read applies only if you choose to read 11 books. ."

That is correct. You can read either 33 books regardless of author, or just 11 provided each one is from an author you haven't read.

[Claudia]

If I get zombies, Crusader gets chainsaw wielding zombies.
=)

[Lauren]

Agreed! That task is going to take me ages to finish :(

[Crusader]

Kahlan wrote: "If I get zombies, Crusader gets chainsaw wielding zombies.
=)"

Bring em'. My shotgun is locked and loaded. All that FPS practice should count for something! ;)

[Lauren]

What's FPS?

[Crusader]

FPS = First Person Shooter.

[Lauren]

Oh, right, duh! I was wondering if you had training for some sort of Police Service, lol.

[Crusader]

Lauren wrote: "Oh, right, duh! I was wondering if you had training for some sort of Police Service, lol."

Ha, ha. No, but I did empty a 9mm clip with a Police service pistol once. ;)

[Barbara]

Crusader wrote: but I did empty a 9mm clip with a Police service pistol once. ;)


Do tell!

[Lu]

Was alcohol involved? It normally is

[Crusader]

Lu wrote: "Was alcohol involved? It normally is"

Nothing much to tell, and no alcohol involved at all. My brother-in-law is a policeman (as is most of the rest of my family) and he took me for some shooting practice. It was years ago though. I hit all the targets, which was pretty good for a first time!

[[deleted user]]

Then I'm sending a hundred chainsaw wielding zombies. Just to test your skills.

[Barbara]

I have a question about task 39 where you have to read a greek mythology novel. The only thing I can really find is Homer, is that right or can we read the plays too? There are several plays by for example Sophocles but they are plays and not novels and not really strictly about mythology. So I think that leaves only Homer or am I forgetting something?

[Lauren]

I was also wondering about that one. The concept of a novel is relatively modern - is there anything that really counts? Isn't it all epic poems and plays?

[Barbara]

Yeah it is. And the myths as we know them aren't written down at least as far as I know. They are mentioned in plays and poems and stuff but the collections as we know them by for example Graves aren't translated from an original collection but brought together an more importantly pieced together.
Homer is the only thing that I think comes even close to what is asked in the task. Now I don't mind reading Homer, but I don't want to read it and then hear it isn't what was asked for. But if we can read the plays that would be even better.

[Barbara]

You guys, can anyone give a definite answer about the greek novel task and put Lauren and me out of our misery? Do we have to read either the Iliad or Odyssey by Homer or can we read the Greek plays?
Just to point out Homer wrote epic poems not novels. As far as I know there are no Greek novels.

[Lauren]

Or how about a novel written by a Greek author, or translated from Greek (as with the Finnish task).

I love Greek mythology, but I'm not all that keen on the style of writing it was initially recorded in.

[Lu]

Mmm who nominated the task?

[Barbara]

That would be Chanté. She hasn't been active on Goodreads since April though so I don't believe we can ask her. I don't mind reading something by the ancient Greeks but I know some people do, so why not change it to anything translated from Greek. Then the people who want to can still read something from ancient Greece, either the plays or Homer or something by Aristotle or who knows what but it also means that other people can read something more modern and written something that was published this year.

[Lu]

I think anything translated from Greek sounds reasonable.