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HF Challenge #8 Task List and Q&A Thread
5.1 - Happy Birthday Mark Twain!!! Read a book that either Mark Twain wrote or a biography on Mark Twain Autobiography okay? They just released an expanded version of his biography last year.
Probably will sit this one out as I have too many books definitely planned to get to this year and they don't fit the challenge. But I hope to join in again in 2012.
Shay wrote: "5.1 - Happy Birthday Mark Twain!!! Read a book that either Mark Twain wrote or a biography on Mark Twain Autobiography okay? They just released an expanded version of his biography last year."
Yeah, that is fine Shay. I'll have Becky amend it to include it.
10.2 - October Awesomeness Awaits! - Read a book recommended by one of your favorite authors. How do we find a book for this? Do we go by if they endorsed it in a blurb on the book's cover, or something from their website or blog, or ??
Blurb on the book or author's blog or website is good...I can't think of any other ways at the moment. lol.
LemonLinda wrote: "Probably will sit this one out as I have too many books definitely planned to get to this year and they don't fit the challenge. But I hope to join in again in 2012."Hope you can come back for 2012 :)
Jackie wrote: "Blurb on the book or author's blog or website is good...I can't think of any other ways at the moment. lol."http://www.toptenbooks.net/newtotalar...
A list of top ten books from quite a few contemporary writers.
5.2 - Here's to Starbuck's Pumpkin Latte! Read a book with a Fall title- ex.House of Leaves Fall words like "harvest", "apple", etc. are okay?
Also, what about fall when they're not related to autumn. Like The Fall of the House of Usher.
Mod
http://www.toptenbooks.net/newtotalar...
A list of top ten books ..."
Oooooh! Nice find Shay! :)
Mod
Shay wrote: "5.2 - Here's to Starbuck's Pumpkin Latte! Read a book with a Fall title- ex.House of Leaves Fall words like "harvest", "apple", etc. are okay?
Also, what about fall when they're not related to a..."
Shay, nice link to the author recommendations :)
Those Fall words you mentioned are fine, but since I didn't specify yes, you can use books not related to autumn.
Mod
Great task, Shay. If I have time after reading my designated books this year, I think I will come back and do this task just for the sheer fun of it. Or at the very least check it out and put some of those books on my very soon to be read list.Good idea!
LemonLinda wrote: "Great task, Shay. If I have time after reading my designated books this year, I think I will come back and do this task just for the sheer fun of it. Or at the very least check it out and put some ..."Thanks, I wanted to do a challenge that it was quite likely people had a few books on their shelves already that would work. And that people could choose short books- I find it hard to get reading time in from mid-November through all of December. Finally, I have a shelf on GR for books I couldn't finish. So, books I thought were so bad/boring that I just couldn't force myself to even finish. But, GR recommends books based on shelves and quite a few books I really want to read were recommended based on books I hated. So, it made me question the accuracy of the recommendations. Plus, I keep getting a whole bunch of paranormal erotica and romance books of the "Highland Shirtless Warrior" type because of "Outlander". Very strange.
Becky wrote: "Shay wrote: "Jackie wrote: "Blurb on the book or author's blog or website is good...I can't think of any other ways at the moment. lol."http://www.toptenbooks.net/newtotalar...
A list of t..."
Someone mentioned it in another group I belonged to mentioned the list and I bookmarked it. I found some of the books chosen interesting- like the Dickens for John Irving. Because I always thought of Irving as the modern Dickens. I also thought that some of the choices were "odd"- like David Mitchell's list. I get the Borges, but I thought he would have more Asian authors.
Would you accept any of these for Fall words: moon, storm, wind?
I was thinking more along the lines of: school, harvest, autumn, leaves, crisp, pie, apple, pumpkin, etc. I can see wind and moon, but I don't get storm for Fall. I guess if you can justify it as a Fall word then it'll be acceptable.
Jackie wrote: "I was thinking more along the lines of: school, harvest, autumn, leaves, crisp, pie, apple, pumpkin, etc. I can see wind and moon, but I don't get storm for Fall. I guess if you can justify it as a..."Thanks for the list! I was just looking through books I will read in the near future for fall words, but I'll pick "pie" since that is in one of my upcoming reads.
I'm exploring the "Recommendations" option for Shay's task. I wasn't interested in this when it became available since I don't shelf my books by genre and the recommendations were all over the place; I shelf by audio, challenge books, borrowed books, etc. So this is the first time I've really looked at it to find a book to read. One thing I'm noticing: none of the recommended books are on my TBR. Does anyone know if this remains true for all GR recommendations? If we choose the recommendations option for the challenge, as opposed to the "readers also liked" option, then all of the books will be from outside of our TBR list? Just want to find out before I do too much more searching since I wouldn't be interested in this option and would go with the "reader's also liked" one, since it seems that some of these are on my TBR already.
I think this is true Jen. I've taken a look at the Recommendations page and even though I have some things sorted by genre, none of the books recommended to me are on my TBR. But, for the Readers Enjoy Section some of the books mentioned on there are on my TBR.
Another resource for author recommendations is www.fantasticfiction.co.uk On lots of the pages after it lists all the authors books it will have some recommended by the author.
Will September or witch be acceptable for fall words? also is imposture acceptable for a word not used in everyday language?
JenC. wrote: "I'm exploring the "Recommendations" option for Shay's task. I wasn't interested in this when it became available since I don't shelf my books by genre and the recommendations were all over the pla..."I think if you do it from the GR Recommendations link, it only adds books that are "new" to you. Books that you haven't added. I think it will even "remove" them if you add them from the recommendations page. If you don't want to add another shelf, go to the "Recommendations by Genre". Next to it will be a "?". If you put your mouse over the "?" it will say "Customize by selecting your favorite genres". If you click on favorite genres, it will take you to a page that you can select genres. It will then generate recommended books.
I checked on the "readers also liked". It will show you books regardless of whether the books are on your TBR list or even your "read" list.
I think if you do it from the GR Recommendations link, it only adds books that are "new" to you. Books that you haven't added. I think it will even "remove" them if you add them from the recommendations page. If you don't want to add another shelf, go to the "Recommendations by Genre". Next to it will be a "?". If you put your mouse over the "?" it will say "Customize by selecting your favorite genres". If you click on favorite genres, it will take you to a page that you can select genres. It will then generate recommended books.I checked on the "readers also liked". It will show you books regardless of whether the books are on your TBR list or even your "read" list.
Thank you!
20.3 - Oh the Wonder of it All! Read a book with a setting that takes place at or near one of the new 7 wonders of the world:So, for the Colosseum, you couldn't use a book about Julius Caesar. Because it wasn't built yet. So, it would have to be a novel set in Rome after 72 AD (Emperor Vespasian).
For Egypt, is a novel about Cleopatra okay? Even if she doesn't go to the Pyramid?
Shay wrote: "20.3 - Oh the Wonder of it All! Read a book with a setting that takes place at or near one of the new 7 wonders of the world:So, for the Colosseum, you couldn't use a book about Julius Caesar. Be..."
Good question - I was considering I, Claudius for this one, so I'll be interested in the answer as well.....
I also had a question for 20.3, could the book be set in that country? I was considering Great Wall of China and Pryamid of Giza and possibly the Coloseum.
Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "I also had a question for 20.3, could the book be set in that country? I was considering Great Wall of China and Pryamid of Giza and possibly the Coloseum."And, the Great Wall wasn't built all at once. It was being built even in the Ming Dynasty. So, it may not be in a particular geographic location in a specific century. Also, the Great Wall is pretty far north, obviously, so how close to the setting of a novel would it have to be? My dad went to the Great Wall and he says it's by nothing. I think only the extreme eastern portion (near the coast) is by major population centers. Most of the population of China is coastal, so I would imagine the setting of a book would usually be at or near the coast. So, good question- how close to the Wall (or to any of the Wonders) does a novel need to be set?
Mod
Does that work for everyone?
I feel so intimidated by this folder. I do enjoy challenges but think I'll have to ask many questions inorder to participate. Will that bother anybody?First up what does 20.3 mean? And how does the scoring work. Are there group questions to answer?
Becky wrote: "We discussed and we're going to be pretty flexible on the 7 Wonders task. As long as the book takes place in the general vicinity (country is fine) and era (Ancient Rome, etc) then we'll allow the ..."So a book about Julius Caesar is "close enough" as long as it's not set entirely in Egypt?
20.3 is just the task number people refer too. There are no group questions to answer. You just read and report your points.Here is an example of how to score a book:
Example:
24.4 In honor of Valentine’s Day read a historical romance
Read: Outlander
Pages: 853 pgs- 8 pts
HF: 1 pt
Total points: 33 pts
Grand total: 120 pts
Mod
So a book about Julius Caesar is "close enough" as long as it's not set entirely in Egypt? "
Yeah, that'd be fine. :)
Shay wrote: "Becky wrote: "We discussed and we're going to be pretty flexible on the 7 Wonders task. As long as the book takes place in the general vicinity (country is fine) and era (Ancient Rome, etc) then we..."Yes :)
I figured out the 20.3. Are you suppose to read all of the books under a point value? is that considered a task. I previously read a book about the building of the Taj Mahal by John Shor - would that count? I think if I read this a few times, I'll get the hang of it but for now I will ask questions.
No the challenge starts Oct 1, so any books read before that don't count. If the book is in progress and you finish it during October that can count.Each task is separate and it's up to you how you want to tackle the challenge. Not all tasks under the point value have to be completed.
Mod
First up what does 20.3 mean? And how d..."
Nancy, don't be intimidated! This is meant to be fun and a bit challenging. Ask all the questions you want. :)
We just number the challenges by point value, so 5.1 is the first 5 point task, 10.2 is the 2nd 10 point task, etc.
You can only do each task one time for points. So say if you read a book and claim it for points, you won't be able to claim points for that task again on a different book.
Books have to be a minimum of 200 pages long (Using the most popular edition on Goodreads as a guide).
Scoring is determined by task, and by number of pages, and whether or not the book is historical fiction.
So if you complete task 10.1 (Read a scary story), and your book is 400 pages long AND historical fiction, you'll receive 10 points for the task, 4 bonus points based on page length, and 1 point for the book being HF.
Does that help clarify? Feel free to ask any other questions you need to.
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ALL - I'm opening up the scoring thread now. :)
Diane wrote: "Will September or witch be acceptable for fall words? also is imposture acceptable for a word not used in everyday language?"
for 10.3 Expanding Your Vocabulary, a word popped into my head that you probably don't use in every day speech but I think it would be kinda hard to find a book with that title in it. The word that came to mind: mastication.Update: I was wrong, there are books with the title Mastication in them.
Jackie wrote: "No the challenge starts Oct 1, so any books read before that don't count. If the book is in progress and you finish it during October that can count.Each task is separate and it's up to you how..."
Thanks so much Becky and Jackie.
Does a reread count?
I see that members have totoal points - does this begin in January or is it ongoing as far as points go? Can I begin now?
@ Nancy Rereads count, You can begin reading now because it is October 1st and the total points are for the current challenge.
Had enough of me? lolThanks for your help-I'm going to look through my books which I can read for this challenge.
Not sure how I'm going to keep up with Good Read reads, my f2f groups and my pleasure reads.
Nancy wrote: "Not sure how I'm going to keep up with Good Read reads, my f2f groups and my pleasure reads. "LOL. This is a problem we all have.
15.3 - Let's take a journey! Read an HF book about a journey that involves more than one country.The country of origin doesn't count, right. If a character went from New York to California to Japan, that's only visiting one country.
What about countries that don't exist anymore? Like if you went from California, to Hawaii, to China, but it was in the 1800's. When Hawaii was still a kingdom. Is that two countries?
Mod
Yes, they'd have to visit more than one country, regardless of how many destinations in each they go to.
And yeah, if they were an independent nation at some point, it will count if they are visited during the time-frame that was the case. So, visiting Hawaii post-addition to the US wouldn't count, but if it was before then, it would be fine. But be sure to advise of this when claiming the points for it.
Holly P wrote: "Another resource for author recommendations is www.fantasticfiction.co.uk On lots of the pages after it lists all the authors books it will have some recommended by the author."
This is a fantastic site and the recommendations are more recently published books. I spent quite a bit of time there just perusing the authors. There are many, many authors there! Thanks for the link.
Historical Fictionistas
Books mentioned in this topic
A Discovery of Witches (other topics)Entwined (other topics)
Jane Eyre (other topics)
The Tale of Despereaux (other topics)
The Tale of Despereaux (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
W. Michael Gear (other topics)Sara Douglass (other topics)
Norah Lofts (other topics)
Tasks can be completed in any order and it is not required to complete all regular tasks before doing the bonus tasks.
RULES:
1) Books must be Historical Fiction if specified as HF. If no specification is made, the book can be ANY genre.
2) Books must be at least 200 pages long. Eligibility for this is determined by the most popular edition on Goodreads. If the most popular edition is 197 pages, it will not count, even if the edition read is 215 pages.
3) The first book used for the challenge should be started on or after October 1st.
4) Re-reads and audiobooks are accepted unless specified otherwise in the task. (Audiobook page counts will be determined by the most popular edition on Goodreads.)
SCORING:
5) Task categories are assigned a point value, and points are awarded when all parts of the task are completed. Partial points will NOT be awarded for partially completed tasks.
6) Bonus points will be awarded based on the length of each book read, as follows:
200 to 300 pages = 2 bonus points
301 to 500 pages = 4 bonus points
501 to 750 pages = 6 bonus points
751 to 1,000 pages = 8 bonus points
1,000+ = 10 bonus points
Bonus points will be awarded PER BOOK READ. Task points are awarded ONE TIME once the task is complete.
7) Page length used to determine task bonus points is determined by THE MOST POPULAR EDITION OF THE BOOK ON GOODREADS -- NOT the edition you actually read. This is an attempt to make the scoring more fair across the board, as there can be very large page variations between editions. To determine the most popular edition on Goodreads, simply do a title/author search - the first result that matches your book is the most popular edition on GR.
8) As this challenge contains both HF and other genre books, you will receive 1 additional bonus point for every HF book read, whether the task requires HF or not. Please be sure to list that the book is HF to make sure that the additional points are counted.
WE WILL NOT AWARD HF POINTS IF IT IS NOT REPORTED UNLESS WE ARE POSITIVE THE BOOK IS HF. In other words, we aren't going to research the book for you. It is your responsibility to report your scores accurately; we will merely verify and record them.
9) HAVE FUN!!!
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Challenge #8 Tasks:
Any Genre
5 points
5.1 - Happy Birthday Mark Twain!!! Read a book that either Mark Twain wrote or a auto-/biography on Mark Twain
5.2 - Here's to Starbuck's Pumpkin Latte! Read a book with a Fall title- ex.House of Leaves
5.3- Expand Your Vocabulary! Read a book with a word in the title that you wouldn't use in everyday speech. (Examples: triptych, templar, amulet, bouganvillia, boogaloo, caliphate, caribee, corsair, cotillion, etc.)
10 points
10.1 - Happy Halloween! Read a scary story (you can determine your level of scariness)
10.2 - October Awesomeness Awaits! - Read a book recommended by one of your favorite authors.
10.3 - Let's Clean those Shelves! - You know that book you've been meaning to get to, but keep shoving it back because "someday" you'll read it? Well, that someday has come! Read a book you've put back on the shelf at least twice.
Historical Fiction
15 points
15.1 - Gobble, Gobble!! Happy Turkey Day! Read a book based on Colonial America, Pioneers or Native Americans.
15.2 - Be brave! Discover a new author! Read an HF author you haven't read before by following this link: http://literature-map.com/. Put the name of your favorite HF author into the literature map, pick one of the authors that comes up and read one of their books.
15.3 - Let's take a journey! Read an HF book about a journey that involves more than one country.
20 points
20.1 - Wild, Wild West! Read a book about cowboys or Indians or both
20.2 - Double Take! Read a book written by an author whose first and last names start with the same letter. (ie: Michael Moorcock or Dorothy Dunnett)
20.3 - Oh the Wonder of it All! Read a book with a setting that takes place at or near one of the new 7 wonders of the world:
Great Wall of China, China
Petra, Jordan
Christ the Redeemer, Brazil
Macho Picchu, Peru
Chichen Itza, Mexico
Colossuem, Italy
Taj Mahal, India
Great Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
50 points
50.1 - Murder in the Library:
There is a dead body found in the library, the doors are locked and no one else has been around. What happened?
Choose one of the below choices and read a book at least 400 pages for your choice.
A. He died of natural causes - Read a HF where the main character is a medical practitioner of some kind
B. He fell off the ladder reaching an older book from the top shelves - Read a HF that was published prior to 2000
C. Someone murdered him - Read a HF that centers around a murder
D. There is no rational explaination - Read a Paranormal HF
Have fun solving the crime.
50.2 - The weather is getting cooler and it is the perfect time to curl up with your favorite blanket, a warm beverage, foot warming cat/dog, and a nice loooong book. Choose and read one of the historical fiction titles from this list: Big Fat Books Worth The Effort
100 points
100 - Shay's Task: Read 5 books recommended by Goodreads.
- Three (3) books must be historical fiction. Go to the Recommendations link (at the top of the GR page) and click on it. Read a book that's listed on your recommendations page.
- Alternatively, every GR book page has a section called "Readers Also Enjoyed". Search for a book you rated 4 or 5 stars and go to the "Readers Also Enjoyed" section (about the middle of the page on the right side) and read one of the suggested books.
- When you're done with all five books, rate GR recommends by letting us know how many ( 1/5, 3/5, etc.) books recommended by GR you rated as 4 or 5 star books.
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If you have any questions about the tasks, please ask them here. We will open a point reporting thread on October 1st. Rachel will be scorekeeping for this challenge, also. :)