The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Sara ♥ wrote: "El wrote: "Teresa in Ohio wrote: "Is Dracula acceptable for translation task? thanks "

I think Dracula was written/published in English...?"

Yes, it was written in English, according to Wikipe..."

thanks : ) somehow I thought this was from Hungary. LOL

Teresa in Ohio, there's a bunch of classics originally written in other languages. Check out: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2... Couple of readers and I found some links that may help you locate books which MAY be more easier to find in your library.

And I DEFINITELY understand about the library hold situation for the popular novels. Maybe we could add a thread somewhere about book swaps?

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "Sara ♥ wrote: "El wrote: "Teresa in Ohio wrote: "Is Dracula acceptable for translation task? thanks "

I think Dracula was written/published in English...?"

Yes, it was written in English, ..."

If you want a translated vampire novel, Let the Right One In was originally written in Swedish.

Tanja wrote: "Teresa in Ohio, there's a bunch of classics originally written in other languages. Check out: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/2... Couple of readers and I found som..."

I've been fortunate with my library, but I've also just getting books that are at one of two branches and tried not to reserve any popular books. But I also know how Ohio was facing problems with funding with their libraries shortly after I got settled in here. I don't know how it is with other libraries, but if I were in Texas right now trying to do this challenge it would be a LOT harder! I would only have one branch to pick from and it can be very tough to get popular books without long waits. And then if the library is cutting back, there are fewer copies of the book circulating and thus longer waits. Then you have to read like a feind before the book is due because you certainly can't renew. I'm with Teresa about group reads, that is if there will be any for the next challenge, and if we could start taking nominations. Book swaps might be good too--never done that so not sure how well that would work as alternative.

For 15.4: A science fiction novel plus a viewing of the Discovery Show Mythbusters? (For those who have never seen Mythbusters, a team take myths and test them out to see if they are true or could be true; they use scientific methods to determine the validity of their hypothesis.)

Deedee wrote: "For 15.4: A science fiction novel plus a viewing of the Discovery Show Mythbusters? (For those who have never seen Mythbusters, a team take myths and test them out to see if they are true or coul..."

I'm pretty sure that's fine, since I got the okay. I believe I was told to watch 2 hours of the show (as something with the length of watching a movie?)

I'm new! Bear with me!

For 25.8 (person, place, thing) Can it be an imaginary place that is a proper noun?

Thanks!

Stephanie wrote: "I'm new! Bear with me!

For 25.8 (person, place, thing) Can it be an imaginary place that is a proper noun?

Thanks!"

Stephanie, under "Task Help", there's a thread answering questions about this task (called Cait's Task). I'm not sure if this question has been answered or not. If not, Cait may see your question there quicker than here.
Sorry, I can't answer your question directly.

Yes Stephanie, imaginary places (and people) have been approved.

Cait wrote: "Heidi wrote: "Hi Cait

Great task! Can the place be somewhere that isn't real, e.g. A Wizard of Earthsea?

Thanks.

Heidi"

Fictional places are fine, as are fictional characters."

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "More of a question for the next challenge, if we are doing group reads for the next one, would it be possible to start nominations now?

I HAVE to use the library for books due to the economy a..."I'll be going out of town not this coming weekend but the next and I planned to start taking nominations for group reads and task ideas for the next challenge after I came back so like the 19th or 20th.

Cynthia wrote: "Teresa in Ohio wrote: "More of a question for the next challenge, if we are doing group reads for the next one, would it be possible to start nominations now?

I HAVE to use the library for book..."

Oh, yay, I always like nomination time and task selection time... I think I just like seeing the new tasks (not that I don't enjoy the ones we have) but there is something about going over your bookshelves time and time again and picking that perfect book for that perfect task!

Hmmm... now I have to start thinking about what I want to read IN TWO MONTHS. I'm such a mood reader... who knows! Is there anything good coming out in the next little bit we could pick?

Sara ♥ wrote: "Hmmm... now I have to start thinking about what I want to read IN TWO MONTHS. I'm such a mood reader... who knows! Is there anything good coming out in the next little bit we could pick?"

I'm a mood reader as well, but I figure there are at least forty books my mood can swing back and forth on!

Cynthia wrote: "Teresa in Ohio wrote: "More of a question for the next challenge, if we are doing group reads for the next one, would it be possible to start nominations now?

I HAVE to use the library for book..."

thanks : )

There is a different thread called "Completed Tasks". You will only get your points if you write there and say which tasks you have completed, and what the titles and the authors are.

Yep! When you post over there, just make sure you're clear about which task you're claiming points for, and which book (w/ author) you read for it.

If you have any questions about any of the 5 to 15 point tasks, ask here. For the tasks with people's names in front of them (the 20-50 point tasks), it's helpful to ask the person who created them. There are a bunch of different threads under the "TASK HELP" section, where you can check with the task creator and they will let you know if the book you want to read will work or not.

For 10.8, the person,place,object task...
Would A Little Princess work for the thing/object section?
I know that technically its a person, but since its not a proper name....can a princess be a thing/object?

Rachael wrote: "For 10.8, the person,place,object task...
Would A Little Princess work for the thing/object section?
I know that technically its a person, but since its not a proper name....can a princess be a ..."

Hi Rachael,
Someone had a similar question over in the "Cait's Task" thread in the help folder. The question was if a traitor would be considered a thing. Cait said no in post 76:
"Traitor is a common noun for a type of person (just like reader, teacher, liar, singer, etc.). It won't work as a thing."
Princess should be in that same category

Do you already have a book for the three word title part of 25.7? If not, it could work there.

Katie wrote: "Rachael wrote: "For 10.8, the person,place,object task...
Would A Little Princess work for the thing/object section?
I know that technically its a person, but since its not a proper name....can a ..."


Awesome! Thanks. I didn't even think about using it there!

Or if you haven't done your ABC task yet, you could fit it in there. :-)

okay I have totally confused myself, even more so after reading the posts for these tasks. Can someone unconfuse me

I want to move Time machine to 5.10 since my child wants me to read it with him, is that right?


So if I do that which one of these work for 15.2 Eyre affair or lost in a good book.

thanks for the help

Question on task 5.8, just wondering if I can use Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, since both Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen are listed as authors. Or does it have to be a book that the authors collaborated on together?

Thanks!

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "okay I have totally confused myself, even more so after reading the posts for these tasks. Can someone unconfuse me

I want to move Time machine to 5.10 since my child wants me to read it wit..."

All of the Thursday Next books are good for the alt.history challenge.

Leigh wrote: "Question on task 5.8, just wondering if I can use Pride & Prejudice & Zombies, since both Seth Grahame-Smith and Jane Austen are listed as authors. Or does it have to be a book that the authors co..."

The challenge is meant to apply to collaborative authorship...I think that was actually clarified when someone asked about P&P&Z a while back.

oops, thank you! I'm still new at this and I must have missed that one. Off to replace it with another choice!

Sam wrote: "Teresa in Ohio wrote: "okay I have totally confused myself, even more so after reading the posts for these tasks. Can someone unconfuse me

I want to move Time machine to 5.10 since my child w..."

thank you for unconfusing me : )

Hi Cynthia,

Posting over here as well since not sure which threads is easiest for you to check. I need a clarification for the Science Fiction challenge. I had asked whether of not Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson would be accepted for the quest. We've actually had a good discussion for pro/con. One of the last postings, Sam brought up a very good point.

Quote: "Jekyll & Hyde--without doubt--is science fiction. It is quintessential science fiction...as is Frankenstein for that matter.

The thing that you have to remember is that these two novels are not contemporary science fiction. For the Victorian time period which these two novels bookend, however, what Stevenson and Shelley were writing was very cutting edge sci-fi."

I've already watched three eps of Mythbuster and waiting until I get the final word before I start on my book. I had mentioned that I could even re-read Frankenstein since I always considered that contemporary Sci Fi for its time as Sam stated.

Another book also mentioned was Uglies by Scott Westerfeld, and other authors like Jules Vern, H.G. Wells, and more contemporary--Asimov, and Bradbury.

Help please? :) Thanks!

Kari ♪ wrote: "Hi Cynthia,

Posting over here as well since not sure which threads is easiest for you to check. I need a clarification for the Science Fiction challenge. I had asked whether of not [book:Dr. Jek..."I'm going to preface this by saying Sci-Fi is not my genre of expertise and I haven't the book so I had to look to other sources to come up with an answer and from everything I have seen and looked at - I can't say its science fiction - it's really gothic/mystery/horror...so I'm going to say no on that one.

Cynthia wrote: "Kari ♪ wrote: "Hi Cynthia,

Posting over here as well since not sure which threads is easiest for you to check. I need a clarification for the Science Fiction challenge. I had asked whether of not ..."

Thank you, Cynthia. I can't believe I had so much trouble on this one myself. I'll look through the other options I've come up with.

Cynthia wrote: "Kari ♪ wrote: "Hi Cynthia,

Posting over here as well since not sure which threads is easiest for you to check. I need a clarification for the Science Fiction challenge. I had asked whether of not ..."

I noticed NoveList doesn't have it listed as sci-fi (sending a message to get that changed now), but Project Gutenburg does. Plus, it's pretty difficult to claim that a story with a mad scientist as main character isn't science fiction. J&H is a novel about experimentation with human physiology...thus, literally fiction about science. I did study this novel about ten years ago during an independent study in Gothic literature. At the time, I wrote an essay discussing the intersection of Gothic and sci-fi genres in J&H and Frankenstein. Determinations for the challenge are one thing, I suppose, but J&H is--once again, without question--science fiction.

Sara ♥ wrote: "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde... I read it not too long ago, and I guess it's TECHNICALLY science fiction... emphasis on SCIENCE.... but it's not... SCI-FI, you know what I mean? It's more of a gothic, ..."

Technically "science fiction" but not "sci-fi"? This is what happens when you let preconceptions get in the way of good reasons. It's true that Robert Louis Stevenson is a much different writer than Philip K. Dick, Douglas Adams, William Gibson, etc...mostly because he was writing in a different time period but also because RLS wrote things that definitely weren't sci-fi. However, Jekyll and Hyde deals with the science of the human body in a similar way that, oh, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, did years later. Speculation about scientific issues was different in 1886 than it was in the second half of the 20th century because of where science was at the time, but it's still speculation about science, which is the heart of the sci-fi genre.

As to fitting into other genres better...genres are not mutually exclusive. Frank Herbert is claimed by both science fiction and fantasy. Douglas Adams falls into science fiction and comedy/nonsense. Some William Gibson readers claim cyber-punk is completely different than sci-fi, but guess where his books are shelved!

Here's something to think about: H.G. Wells, author of The War of the Worlds and The Time Machine, is categorized--on NoveList and elsewhere--as a science fiction writer. He and his novels show up on a lot of sci-fi top 10 lists. Two of his other well-known novels, both classified as sci-fi, are The Island of Dr. Moreau and The Invisible Man. What makes those novels science fiction is that they are both about a mad scientist who works to alter human physiology...and bad things happen.

It's not the author that makes those novels science fiction...it's the story. And that one-sentence plot summary for both of Wells' novels? It's the same one I used to describe Jekyll and Hyde earlier. Sci-fi is about subject matter...not about where the books are shelved. You can't say one book is science fiction and another is not when both books have the EXACT SAME SUBJECT MATTER.

If you're not a sci-fi person, that's fine...but don't contradict people who know better.

Finally, there's a lot of playing fast and loose with genre in this challenge. Specifically, I'm thinking of two tasks that are genre-based where books have been approved that are so far out of the stated genre that it's frankly ridiculous. Here, we're talking about a novel that is legitimately part of a genre that has been denied because the definition of that genre has been made too narrow by uninformed preconceptions of what that genre is. There needs to be some consistency from task to task...it would cut down on a lot of the questions and angst.

I do have a problem with genre-confusion overall as well. However, when you walk in a bookstore you find Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde not in sci-fi but in the horror or simply the literature section. I did look at the Barnes and Noble website, and saw they classified it as Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror, but upon closer inspection found it was narrowed simply to Gothic Horror and Horror - Inner Demons.

Additionally, if you do a search for the Best Horror Novels of All Time you will find the Stevenson title on there. If you do a search for the best science fiction novels, it is not even in the Top 100 there. Though Frankenstein is.

So maybe there is some confusion on Goodreads as to the proper classification of some titles such as this, but it seems to be a universal problem. My argument is always to lean in the direction of where it is found in bookstores, physically on the shelves. I've worked in bookstores and libraries and have never seen it on a science fiction shelf but have always seen it on the horror shelves.

El wrote: "I do have a problem with genre-confusion overall as well. However, when you walk in a bookstore you find Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde not in sci-fi but in the horror or simply the literature section. I..."

I understand your argument, but I'd rather not let money-grubbing corporations define what genre is...the people who choose where to place J&H are more likely to possess M.B.A.s than M.A.s in Literature. As to libraries, when I told my wife, the *ahem* librarian, that people were claiming J&H isn't sci-fi, she said, "Since when?" And, when you put something on a physical shelf based on genre, you're creating mutual exclusivity, which is a false notion when it comes to literary genre. Just because Shakespeare's The Tempest doesn't get shelved in Sci-Fi/Fantasy at B&N doesn't mean it's not fantasy. Watchmen is shelved in the Graphic Novel section at my library (non-fiction) as well as at most bookstores...doesn't make it not sci-fi.

I'll keep my own counsel on genres. Jekyll and Hyde is science fiction. Everyone who says it's not here hasn't even touched on the merit of the novel itself...seriously, google "jekyll," "hyde," and "science fiction"--I'm not making this up, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

Though, more to the point, if we're going to say "where it's shelved" defines genre--which, although I don't agree with it, is somewhat reasonable--then that ought to be a uniformly applied standard to all genre-based tasks, which would mean an awful lot of selections made for other tasks ought to be disallowed.

El wrote: "If you do a search for the best science fiction novels, it is not even in the Top 100 there. Though Frankenstein is."

That actually supports my earlier point that J&H is sci-fi because it's about the same central issue--mad scientist monkeying around with the human body/humanity through scientific experimentation. It also supports the idea that J&H isn't one of the best sci-fi novels out there (I agree with that, BTW), not that it isn't sci-fi.

Sam, I'm not disagreeing with you that titles can cross genres. That's absolutely true, and I'm not disagreeing with you that Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde has elements of science fiction in it. But when it comes to challenges such as these the idea of genres is really the more popular classification. That's why I had difficulty with the Christian Fiction task - because the titles that were being allowed would never ever be classified as Christian Fiction in any way. But the more traditional genres (sci-fi, mystery, horror) are a little more cookie cutter. Again, that's not saying there aren't crossover elements all the time. Frankenstein is still more popularly expected to be in Horror than Science Fiction, probably because there is a "monster". Which may also be the explanation for Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde, even if said monster came about through scientific means.

El wrote: "Sam, I'm not disagreeing with you that titles can cross genres. That's absolutely true, and I'm not disagreeing with you that Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde has elements of science fiction in it. But whe..."

Ok, I see where you're coming from. And I think the way you put it is a good way to look at it as far as the challenge goes.

We (meaning everyone) could argue about genre all day, but as far as the challenge goes, I think it comes down to this: Even though different people are approving books for different tasks, there ought to be consistency. If sci-fi is going to be restricted to a "cookie-cutter" definition, then so should Christian Fiction (and Self-Improvement/Self-Help). However, if anything that even remotely deals with some element of Christianity be considered Christian Fiction, then anything that remotely deals with science that is fiction should be considered science-fiction.

Like I said before, norms would cut down on questions and confusion. I think consistency is one of the hallmarks of fair play and enjoyable games.

Wow....I had no idea that this would strike up such a discussion. This book no doubt has many classifications. When I found it at my library, it was in the "Classics" section. I just did a search on my library's card catalog and it came up under a variety of "tags," so even the library has cataloged/classified it under many different areas. I've just finished with Invisible Man by H.G. Wells, which I was going to claim for the science fiction book instead. But for giggles, I searched Invisible Man again in my library's card catalog, and it too had a lot of different tags, just like JH did. However, wikipedia does call it science fiction.

I think that there will always be books that will be hard to classify as to where it "fits" for a genre and likely that will just be the case since as the years go by, the factors and time period during which something was written will have some type of influence, but will change over the years (I hope that made sense.)

Hi

Can't join Sci-Fi discussion. Not my type of books.

Anyway, I have questions:
- Would Jemima J A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans be acceptable for Addition task? Her food acciction shows in only a few first chapters.

- Would The Song Reader be acceptable for Fortune task?

Hi Cynthia - Question for the Coming of Age/Senior citizen task. Would any of these work:

Dumbstruck - main character is a retiree

Engleby A Novel - description calls it 'almost an anti-coming-of-age' but i take that to mean that it is basically a coming of age story, but instead of growing up and maturing, the main character actually degenerates as he grows older and becomes less and less himself

68 Knots - this follows seven young friends as they form bonds and deal with various challenges over the course of a summer

Let me know! THanks!

Sam wrote: "If you're not a sci-fi person, that's fine... but don't contradict people who know better."

Wow. Thanks for that.

Ok, rhyming question-after the spring challenge I am scared of anything to do with rhyming!

Do line and blind rhyme? I THINK they do but I would love a second opinion!

Leora wrote: "Ok, rhyming question-after the spring challenge I am scared of anything to do with rhyming!

Do line and blind rhyme? I THINK they do but I would love a second opinion!"

I just looked over on http://rhymezone.com/ and checked. When I typed in line to find words that rhymed with it, blind did not show up (under one syllable). However, when I typed up blind, it did show a form of line..."lined." That website should help you out for looking up words.

Leora wrote: "Ok, rhyming question-after the spring challenge I am scared of anything to do with rhyming!

Do line and blind rhyme? I THINK they do but I would love a second opinion!"

Nicole may need to give the definitive answer.
"Line" and "bline" (not a word, I know) would rhyme but "line" and "blind" wouldn't because of the "d" sound.

Thanks guys!

And again on the DJMH debate - as I said I HAVE NOT read the book and I ALMOST NEVER READ SCIENCE FICTION - and so because I only know the very basics of the plot of the story I had to make a Judgment call (because it was a task that I created) based on what I could find about it online in various locations (novelist being one of them)and the conclusion I came to was that science fiction though it may be an element of the story was the primary genre associated with it - in the case of this task I was looking for a more clearly evident science fiction book.

If I was making the decisions about what counts on the Christian Fiction task (or any of the tasks designed by other members)I might not have allowed some of the books they have said are ok - but they are NOT my tasks and therefore I leave it up to the member who designed it to have the ultimate say in whether or not it was what they was looking for.

I do know that lots of genres blend with others and most books don't fall into ONE limited category - I think they would pretty boring if they did. I hate the way bookstores are set up that way - it drives me nuts - that's why I prefer my library where if I want a fiction book all I need to know is the first 3 three letters of the authors last name and I can go pull it off the shelf - makes things really easy lol.

All that being said since it is one that crosses genre lines I will go ahead and allow Dr.J & Mr.H for that task.




Bridgit wrote: "Hi Cynthia - Question for the Coming of Age/Senior citizen task. Would any of these work:

Dumbstruck - main character is a retiree

Engleby A Novel - description call..." Yes on Dumbstruck, no on Engleby and 68 knots.

Night wrote: "Hi

Can't join Sci-Fi discussion. Not my type of books.

Anyway, I have questions:
- Would Jemima J A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans be acceptable for Addition task? Her..."Jemima J A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans doesn't work for addictions, and you should ask the fortune question in the thread for that task

Thank you, Cynthia. I can switch Jemima J. to another task. (Too bad I have many interesting books for that task alone.)

Hello All! Sorry if I'm repeating a question, but I would like to know if What I Thought I Knew A Memoir would work for 5.4 (Adoption)? and, if not, is there another one it would work for? Thanks!

Deedee wrote: "Hello All! Sorry if I'm repeating a question, but I would like to know if What I Thought I Knew A Memoir would work for 5.4 (Adoption)? and, if not, is there another one it would w..."

Under the TASKS section is a whole thread for the Adoption Task.

Janice wrote: "Deedee wrote: "Hello All! Sorry if I'm repeating a question, but I would like to know if What I Thought I Knew A Memoir would work for 5.4 (Adoption)? and, if not, is there another..."

after reading the review, I thought of the self help task,

would Memoir be considered a thing for the noun task,

would it fit under the math task or abc task?

Deedee wrote: "Hello All! Sorry if I'm repeating a question, but I would like to know if What I Thought I Knew A Memoir would work for 5.4 (Adoption)? and, if not, is there another one it would w..."

There's an Adoption sub-thread on the Task Helps thread http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/1... which has lots of ideas, good and bad.