The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

If you have a question or need clarification about a task for this particular challenge please post it here.

10.10 - The Cat's Meow:

Are we talking housecats? Or lions, tigers, etc.?

Sam wrote: "10.10 - The Cat's Meow:

Are we talking housecats? Or lions, tigers, etc.?"For the book cover option a picture of any kind of cat pet or wild is fine.

For Let's Get Physical, does it have to be an audio book? I read on the elliptical at the gym, could that count?

Leslie wrote: "For Let's Get Physical, does it have to be an audio book? I read on the elliptical at the gym, could that count?"If you can do it with a regular book that's fine too...I just was thinking audio would be more practical.

For the adoption task, that fact might be a crucial point in a novel. So stating the book title in the thread can be a spoiler. If that is the case, can personal message to you be an option?

And I just want to inform you that you made me cry with the River Phoenix task. *sobs*

p.s. but you're übercreative as usual!

5.1 Children: Can we use "baby"?

10.3 Collection of children's stories: Can I just read a juvenile fiction book? I was thinking Alice in Wonderland or Are You There God? It's Me Margaret

15.9 "Home" or "work": Can I read a book with "homes" in the title?

5.6 Halloween Adjective: Do "fatal" or "mad" (as in crazy) count?

10.7 Heroes/Superheroes: Can we apply "hero/heroine" to anyone who saves the kingdom, rescues the princess, etc. I'm thinking of fantasy books...often the characters turn into heroes by the end (at least, I think of them as heroes).

Quick question - for the maths task should we use our proper name if the number of letters is different (e.g. Nicola instead of Nicki)?

And can I just say hooray for the cat task! I've been saving the perfect book in hope :D

My problem with the cat task is that I have like 5 books on my TBR list with cats on the cover! How am I supposed to pick?

Donna Jo, a question please!

I've mention this in the Help folder, but think I should repost here too, to be sure everyone will come across it.

For "related by marriage", are the in-laws counted? I'm thinking about Nick Hornby and Robert Harris. Harris is married to Hornby's sister.

(Just a personal musing: I'm a little taken aback every time I see Hornby's photo, I always think of him as Hugh Grant in About a Boy. Curious, why not Colin Firth in Fever Pitch or John Cusack in High Fidelity.)

Ooohh... I read Pompeii by Robert Harris for the Spring Challenge (or was it last Winter?). So good! I definitely wouldn't mind reading another of his books!

More questions:

Would Dorothy Gale be considered "adopted" since her parents are dead and she lives with Uncle and Aunt?

I'm assuming "Satanic" would be a good Halloween adjective, no?

For the Geography task, does the book have to be completely set in the country? As in "All the Pretty Horses," which is partly set in Mexico (the first part of the narrative, as I understand it, is about traveling to Mexico).

Sam wrote: "More questions:

Would Dorothy Gale be considered "adopted" since her parents are dead and she lives with Uncle and Aunt?

I'm assuming "Satanic" would be a good Halloween adjective, no?

For the G..."Unless the book specifically states they adopted her no, Satanic is ok, and if the majority of the book takes place in the country it's fine

Nicki wrote: "Quick question - for the maths task should we use our proper name if the number of letters is different (e.g. Nicola instead of Nicki)?

And can I just say hooray for the cat task! I've been savi..."You should use your legal name for that task

Bonnie wrote: "5.6 Halloween Adjective: Do "fatal" or "mad" (as in crazy) count?

10.7 Heroes/Superheroes: Can we apply "hero/heroine" to anyone who saves the kingdom, rescues the princess, etc. I'm thinking of..."Yes to both of your inquiries

Sara wrote: "5.1 Children: Can we use "baby"?

10.3 Collection of children's stories: Can I just read a juvenile fiction book? I was thinking Alice in Wonderland or Are You There God? It's Me Margaret

15.9 "H..."For 5.1 I don't want to go down the baby/toddler/teen route so I'd like to stick to the ones already listed. And no I don't want a Juvenile Fiction book for the Berenstain task. But homes is acceptable.

Potjy wrote: "For the adoption task, that fact might be a crucial point in a novel. So stating the book title in the thread can be a spoiler. If that is the case, can personal message to you be an option?

And I..."I would just put a spoiler line at the top of the post.

By children's books, then, you mean something like Dr. Seuss (i.e., reading books of his that add up to 100 pages)?

Sam wrote: "By children's books, then, you mean something like Dr. Seuss (i.e., reading books of his that add up to 100 pages)?"Yes that's what I meant

Would The Clan of the Cave Bear or The Graveyard Book work for task #5.4?

Dionisia wrote: "Would The Clan of the Cave Bear or The Graveyard Book work for task #5.4? "

It doesn't seem like either of those would work since she told me it had to be formal adoption.

(BTW, I checked on Dorothy Gale for anyone interested...Baum writes that she is an "orphan," but the word adoption is never used...he uses the euphemism "went to live with.")

For task 25.4 - Candace's Task - does a TV movie count?

And, for task 15.4 - Science vs. Science Fiction - does the non-fiction/fiction book have to relate to the fiction/non-fiction film in terms of subject matter, or can they be about totally unrelated science subjects?

Jennifer L. wrote: "For task 25.4 - Candace's Task - does a TV movie count?

And, for task 15.4 - Science vs. Science Fiction - does the non-fiction/fiction book have to relate to the fiction/non-fiction film in t..."I would think tv movie would be okay (but check with her) and they don't have to relate in subject matter

Roseann: what qualifies as a "Book That Is Somehow Related To Your Current Profession"? For example, in a fair number of 18th/19th century novels, there are important scenes involving social intrigue that take place at the opera. I work for an opera company. Is this close enough? Or does the book have to be primarily about opera?

5.3 Will The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway work? He doesn't really travel, but the story does take place on the sea as he is a fisherman...

For task 5.5 can it be a book that we were supposed to read in high school, but never did? I know we all have one or two of those!

Mandy wrote: "For task 5.5 can it be a book that we were supposed to read in high school, but never did? I know we all have one or two of those!"I was specifically looking for a re-read for that task but it doesn't have to be from high school it could be from any point in your schooling.

Katie wrote: "5.3 Will The Old Man and the Sea by Hemingway work? He doesn't really travel, but the story does take place on the sea as he is a fisherman..."If the character spends a great deal of the book at sea vs. on land then ok.

For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?

Patricia wrote: "For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?"Actually I don't think there is (I didn't think about that) so in that case you could use your middle initial

Patricia wrote: "For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?"

maybe Wales could count? or a pre-wall falling Western Germany?

For the 15.5 task, does it have to take place in the modern day country? For example, my last name starts with T. If I chose Turkey, could I do a book that takes place in Constantinople? Or during the Ottoman empire or something?

Same take but totally unrelated to the above. Would Tibet or Taiwan work for countries even though technically they are part of China?

Thanks Cynthia!

Cynthia wrote: "Patricia wrote: "For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?"Actually I don't think ther..."

Ha! I had to google that one to make sure I wasn't missing something (and to doublecheck Wales). Thanks for the feedback Cynthia & Bridgit! I'll go with my middle name.

Patricia wrote: "For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?"

The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies is set in Wales and is supposed to be very good! (I haven't read it yet, but it is on the TBR mountain ...)

SuzieR wrote: "Patricia wrote: "For task 15.5 (Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials), is there a country which starts with a W?"

[book:The Welsh Girl|1377..."

Thanks for the recommendation! It does look interesting. Officially added to my own TBR mountain. : )

Julia wrote: "For the 15.5 task, does it have to take place in the modern day country? For example, my last name starts with T. If I chose Turkey, could I do a book that takes place in Constantinople? Or during ..."It should be that country at the time the book is set so no to the first part but yes Tibet and Taiwan would be fine

I just found this website that people might find helpful when looking for countries that match their initials: http://www.factmonster.com/countries.....

A couple of questions Cynthia!

5.9 Would Ferneyby James Long work for this? I'm assuming he's a main character as the book is named after him, and on the back he is described as 'elderly'

15.7 Would Moods of Future Joysby Alastair Humphreys work? It's non-fiction, about his cycling trip around the world, but I'm not sure if this is 'sporting' enough as there's no competetive element?

15.10 I would like to read The American Boyby Andrew Taylor for the 'teacher' part and Never Let Me Gofor the 'student' part ... do they work?

That's it for now .... sorry to ask you to ok specific books!

For the sea task, could it be any body of water like the ocean?

Hi Cynthia, the challenge looks fantastic! A few questions:

Would Time's Arrow work for the Daylight Savings task?

Would A Theory of Relativity work for the adoption task?

For the profession task, would I just read a book where the main character is a homemaker/stay at home mom? That's my current job. :o)

Last but not least, would Dark or Fearful work for the Halloween adjective task?

Thank you!

Would "wicked" work for the Halloween adjective?

Oops, one more.

For the subtraction task, can we count the words " a novel" in the title if that is the way it appears on GR?

Cait wrote: "Oops, one more.

For the subtraction task, can we count the words " a novel" in the title if that is the way it appears on GR?"No a novel should be excluded from the count but subtitles would count

Jamie wrote: "Would "wicked" work for the Halloween adjective?"Wicked is fine

Cait wrote: "Hi Cynthia, the challenge looks fantastic! A few questions:

Would Time's Arrow work for the Daylight Savings task?

Would A Theory of Relativity work for the adoption ta..."Time's Arrow - Not really what I'm looking for, A Theory of Relativity is fine, Yes a book about stay at home mom would work, Yes dark/fearful are fine

Angela wrote: "For the sea task, could it be any body of water like the ocean? "Yes if they travel by any type of body of water (river, sea, ocean) it's ok

SuzieR wrote: "A couple of questions Cynthia!

5.9 Would Ferneyby James Long work for this? I'm assuming he's a main character as the book is named after him, and on the back he is described as 'el..." Ferney is fine, Moods of Future Joy is fine then you would need to either watch a cycling event or go cycling,The American Boy works but Never Let Me Go doesn't because the character should be a student at the time the story takes place not reflecting on the past.

Cynthia wrote: "Mandy wrote: "For task 5.5 can it be a book that we were supposed to read in high school, but never did? I know we all have one or two of those!"I was specifically looking for a re-read for that ta..."

OMG he spends forever on sea!!!!!!!!

Cynthia, can I use One Thousand White Women The Journals of May Dodd for the Native American task? Thanks!

Two questions (and many advance thanks):

For 15.4 - Can it be a book on behavioral science, ie something by Malcolm Gladwell?

For 25.1 - Does homemaker/housewife count as a job? I so think it does, but I want to double-check. I plan on using The Family Manager, by Kathy Peel for this, since it's about how to manage a home.

Amanda R. in Louisville

Cynthia, for Task 5.3, would Shadow Divers be acceptable? It takes place "in" the sea, I think, as opposed to "at sea". Thanks!

Petra wrote: "Cynthia, for Task 5.3, would Shadow Divers be acceptable? It takes place "in" the sea, I think, as opposed to "at sea". Thanks!"Not really what I was thinking of when I decided on the task - I was thinking more of characters making a journey across the ocean (like Columbus) but I'll take it

Amanda wrote: "Two questions (and many advance thanks):

For 15.4 - Can it be a book on behavioral science, ie something by Malcolm Gladwell?

For 25.1 - Does homemaker/housewife count as a job? I so think it doe..."Behavioral science is fine, and yes homemaker is fine

Nicole NC wrote: "Cynthia, can I use One Thousand White Women The Journals of May Dodd for the Native American task? Thanks!"There are quite a few Native Americans in that book so yes it would work - an interesting book I hope you enjoy it - if you do pick that

Would The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet work for task #15.9?

A sudden thought - for the Arts task could I read The Quilter's Apprentice and then do some quilting?

Nicely done, Cynthia !!!

Nicki wrote: "A sudden thought - for the Arts task could I read The Quilter's Apprentice and then do some quilting?"That would be fine

Dionisia wrote: "Would The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet work for task #15.9?"Yes that's fine

For the Halloween task, would the adjective "dead" work as in All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris?

Kathleen wrote: "For the Halloween task, would the adjective "dead" work as in All Together Dead by Charlaine Harris?"Yes that's fine