HF Challenge #8 Task List and Q&A Thread

[Jackie]

Poisonwood Bible counts as HF

[Christina]

Wow! You are fast! Thank you!

[Jackie]

LOL. Not fast, just procastinating here at work :)

[JC]

and it's an excellent book, too!!

[Nancy from NJ]

I chose to read The Songmaster for challenge 5.3 expand your vocabulary but after 50 pages decided to put this book down. Then I cam across The Princeling one of the books in the Morland Dynasty by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles. And while it shows up as a book from Good Reads, apparently it also has the title The Distant Wood, which shows up in books reading instead of The Princeling. So I just wanted the members who are also doing this challenge to know that this book has two names.

[JC]

I can't remember if we have restrictions on reading levels of books (children's vs. YA for example). I've just finished The Tale of Despereaux and want to use it for one of the 100pt. task books (I'm using the 'reader's also enjoyed' option), but I wasn't sure if it would be considered to "young". It's shelved as both "children's" and "Young Adult". It's a book of mostly text with chapters and a few illustrations, not many. Can I use it for the 100pt. task?

[Shay]

JenC. wrote: "I can't remember if we have restrictions on reading levels of books (children's vs. YA for example). I've just finished The Tale of Despereaux and want to use it for one of the 100pt...."

I think the restriction is page count- minimum of 200 pages in the most popular edition of the book. Unless restricted by the particular challenge. I'm pretty sure I've seen people use YA books.

[Nancy from NJ]

Nancy wrote: "I chose to read The Songmaster for challenge 5.3 expand your vocabulary but after 50 pages decided to put this book down. Then I cam across The Princeling one of the books in the Morland Dynasty b..."

I put down this book when I realized I already read it and didn't feel like rereading it again. I'm now on a quest to find a book for the 5 pt task.

[JC]

Thanks Shay, since it's your task I'll go ahead and use the book. One down!

[Shay]

Diane Whitney wrote: "Just finished Jane Eyre will that fit for 50.2? I know it was first published in 1840's but, there is no specified date when the story takes place and on the book's page HF is a liste..."

I don't think this counts as HF. Also, GR relies on "crowdsourcing" for genre classification. (Think Wikipedia as opposed to peer review journal) So, it's been acknowledged by GR that genre classifications are inaccurate- some of it due to crowdsourcing, some inaccuracies due to the "formulas" used.

[Jackie]

No I don't think Jane Eyre counts as HF. I think we had discussions on it before but I don't remember the thread.

[Rachel]

Would a book full of magic be considered Paranormal? I'm currently reading a fairy tale-esque book, Entwined.

[Becky, Moddess]

I'd say yes.

[Becky, Moddess]

I'd say yes.

[Nancy from NJ]

Hi - I was just looking at 10.2 - read a book recommended by a favorite authors. Did somebody post the Top Ten Writers Pick Their Favorite Books for us to use in conjunctrion with this task. I have this website from somewhere and wondered if it was from this challenge. Also does the book we read which is recommended need to be an author we never read before?

Thanks in advance.

[Jackie]

Nancy, I think someone here posted that link, but you don't need to use it. It can be as simple as looking at the cover of a book you're interested in and seeing your favorite author's endorsement on it. And no it doesn't have to be an author you never read before.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks so much Jackie. I was using only that website which really narrowed the field.

[JC]

Does anyone know if A Discovery of Witches is HF? I would like to use it for 50.1 HF/Paranormal and the description says:

"Carefully researched, this debut novel will appeal to fans of historical novel infused with strong paranormal elements."

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I believe it is. I was told it was. People have used the book for the last challenge and it was a group read previously.

[Shay]

But, Discovery of Witches was not scored as HF by that person. I read it a while back and think it was set in the present day. I think they get the historical fiction aspect from the main character doing research in a library and they allude to historical events. (BTW: I know it's overall rating is high, but most people I know thought it was an overhyped bit of garbage.)

[JC]

Shay wrote: "But, Discovery of Witches was not scored as HF by that person. I read it a while back and think it was set in the present day. I think they get the historical fiction aspect from the main character..."

That was my initial thought; that the historical aspect may come from research rather than a flash-back type story or another POV. I'll probably read it anyway because the concept sounds interesting to me and it sounds spooky enough for a Halloween read. I'm not usually one to base my reading choices on what other people think of a book - I just finished The Red Tent and on just my friends list people rated it from 1 star, wishing they could have rated it zero, to 5 stars, most amazing book ever! I rated it 5 stars.

Thank you both for your input!

[Jackie]

What?! O_o The Red Tent was good! Glad you didn't listen to the haters. :P

[Shay]

Is anyone besides me finding it slow going this challenge? I've only finished 5 books; I think there are 19 total books for the challenge. So, that puts me far behind. I find myself starting books and not being able to really finish them.

[Becky, Moddess]

I'm finding it kind of slow going when it comes to reading ANYTHING lately. LOL

I'm totally failing at my goal. I think I'm like 5 books behind now. :(

[Maude]

I, too, am behind in my reading for the Challenge. In fact, I have decided to just let this one go and hope I'm up to more in the next one. BTW Becky, I would love to mock up an Around the World Challenge and see what you thought.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I like that idea although we kinda did one with the backpacking around the world.

[Becky, Moddess]

Maude wrote: "I, too, am behind in my reading for the Challenge. In fact, I have decided to just let this one go and hope I'm up to more in the next one. BTW Becky, I would love to mock up an Around the World C..."

I'm open to the idea... You want to mock it up and PM me with the information?

[Nancy from NJ]

I have about 4 books to go but with our impending move in the middle of November, I'm not sure I will finish. I do listen to a book as I pack but find that my mind wanders as I think about most of the items when I pack them. I feel as though these items own me and not the other way around. The bigger the house, the more we keep. BAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[Maude]

Just saw your post, Becky. It will take me a few weeks maybe but will do. Thanks for considering it.

[Nancy from NJ]

Hi - I would like to begin reading Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen which was recommended to me on the Good Read site but am now wondering if this qualifies as a Historical Fiction read.

Please let me know.

[Shay]

Nancy wrote: "Hi - I would like to begin reading Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen which was recommended to me on the Good Read site but am now wondering if this qualifies as a Historical Fiction read.

Please ..."

Yes, the series is HF.

[Nancy from NJ]

Thanks - I will now begin it. LOL

[Holly]

Very original challenge. I am in the midst of moving and hope I can participate in the next one.

[Jamie]

Would "half-sick" count as a word not used in everyday speech (5.3). I'm hoping to fit in "I am Half-sick of Shadows" by Alan Bradley, but it's not working out too well for me!

[Becky, Moddess]

Hmmm... I think Jackie was going for more of a "high-brow" intellectual word type there. Sorry Jamie!

[Jackie]

Becky wrote: "Hmmm... I think Jackie was going for more of a "high-brow" intellectual word type there. Sorry Jamie!"

Yeah, definitely more high-brow words.

[Jamie]

Alright. Thanks for the response.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

For task 20.2 Double Take, does the book have to be a HF?

[Shay]

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "For task 20.2 Double Take, does the book have to be a HF?"

I'm almost positive that it does have to be HF. Yes, I know Michael Moorcock is not HF, but I think they said that was a mistake. The reason I'm pretty sure is that I think they already disallowed a non-HF book in this category.

[Becky, Moddess]

Yes, 20.2 would need to be HF - the authors given were just examples.

[Heather]

Okay, probably not the right spot for this question, but when is the next Challenge starting?
I couldn't do this one due to finals, but I NEED a challenge for Winter Break. :D

[Jackie]

Since the holidays are usually stressful for people we thought it would nice to give our members a break for December. So the next challenge will be in January.

[Heather]

Dang. Well, I'm sure I can find a challenge somewhere to keep me occupied. Can't wait for January though!!!

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

You can join the Seasonal Reading Challenge

[Maureen]

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "You can join the Seasonal Reading Challenge"

What is that?

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Check this out. I been in this challenge since Fall of 2009. http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/2...