You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

As I was reading titles for Rusalka's November challenge, I was struck by how long some of the titles were, and an idea was born!

The challenge for December is to read a novel with six or more words in the title, and yes, subtitles will count. Please note, the book must be fiction.

General Rules:

1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may be in any genre, as long as it is FICTION.
3. The book may NOT be combined with the Year Long Chunkster Challenge.
4. The book must be read between December 1 to December 31 (based on your own time zone).
5. The challenge is for one book. You may read more books if you chose, but only the highest scoring book will apply.
6. The book must be 150 pages or more determined by the issue you read. If reading eBook or audiobook page numbers will be determined by the issue that comes up on a Goodreads search.

Scoring Score all that apply:

TITLE: If title is -

6 pts - 6 words (including subtitle)
7 pts - 7 words (including subtitle)
8 pts - 8 words (including subtitle)
9 pts - 9 words (including subtitle)
10 pts - 10 words or more (including subtitle)

Bonus title points:

If the main title without a subtitle is:

6 words - add 6 pts
7 words - add 7 pts
8 words - add 8 pts
9 words - add 9 pts
10 words or more - add 10 pts

eg. - The House of the Four Winds (One Dozen Daughters #1)
- Main title is 6 words.
- Subtitle is 3 words.
- Total words with subtitle = 9.

Count 9 pts, plus add 6 bonus title points.

A word about subtitles - we will not count the book number as a word. In the example above, the subtitle shows "One Dozen Daughters #1". The #1, or Book 1, is to be ignored for the purposes of this challenge.

AUTHOR: If the author's last name is:

6 pts - 6 letters long
7 pts - 7 letters long
8 pts - 8 letters long
9 pts - 9 letters long
10 pts - 10 or more letters long

A word about authors - if there are more than one author, we will consider only the first author listed. If Stephen King and Joe Hill collaborated on your book, you'd get a big fat zero. If Richard Bachman and Joe Hill colloborated on a book, you'd get 7 pts. Bachman would have be the author credited, even though we all know it's a pseudonym for King.

PAGES:

2 pts - 200-299 pages long
3 pts - 300-399 pages long
4 pts - 400-499 pages long
5 pts -500-599 pages long
6 pts - 600-699 pages long
7 pts - 700-799 pages long
8 pts - 800-899 pages long
9 pts - 900 + page long

Bonus Points: Each Bonus is worth 3 points.

- In honour of Christmas, count 3 points if the book has a Christmas theme.

- Sachertorte is one of my favourite desserts, and it has it's own day - December 5th. Count 3 pts if there is a cake in the story.

- December 5th is a great day apparently. You can eat cake and soak in a bath. In honour of Bathtub Party Day, count 3 pts if someone takes a bath in the story.

- December would indeed be a great day if this holiday was also observed, but it's delayed until December 21 - Global Orgasm Day! Count 3 points if there is a wedding in the story.

Ooh, now we are talking. Was looking for December Challenge in the group threads today. Finally it's here. I will go gopher.

Sounds nice! Let the gophering begin!! ;)

Fiction books are surpringly short.take 2 seconds to find a non fiction

Travis of NNY wrote: "Fiction books are surpringly short.take 2 seconds to find a non fiction"

That's why non-fiction is out. It would be a continuation of the November challenge.

This sounds fun, although I don't quite understand the scoring for the title and subtitle.

If the title, sans the subtitle, is 8 words long, and has a subtitle of 4 words, you get 10 pts plus 8 = 18 pts for your title.

I don't quite get this. When I try to work it out, the title and the subtitle together would get 12 points, plus 8 words for the title by itself, so that would be 20 (using the same method as the example you give). Or am I doing something wrong?

I noticed that using the "add book/author" link won't always give you the full name. I had to add the subtitle to The House of the Four Winds. You may have to let me know if the book page shows a longer title than the link obtained when adding a book.

Gail wrote: "This sounds fun, although I don't quite understand the scoring for the title and subtitle.

If the title, sans the subtitle, is 8 words long, and has a subtitle of 4 words, you get 10 pts plus 8 = ..."

That's what I thought, too!

Also, to clarify, do names of series count as subtitles, even when they are not part of the original title? I'm just thinking that '(One Dozen Daughters #1)' is something that is added afterwards, when several books have been written, to show they are in the same series, and is not part of the title on the book itself. For instance, you get 'The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games #1)', but the book is simply called 'The Hunger Games'. But for the purpose of this challenge, do we also count the bit in brackets as a subtitle?

And if there is no subtitle, do you still count the points of the main title twice?

Gail wrote: "This sounds fun, although I don't quite understand the scoring for the title and subtitle.

If the title, sans the subtitle, is 8 words long, and has a subtitle of 4 words, you get 10 pts plus 8 = ..."

I'm having the same problem!☻

I get the scoring of: "eg. - The House of the Four Winds (One Dozen Daughters #1) Main title is 6 words. With the subtitle, it's 9 words. Count 9 pts for the whole title and another 6 for the main title = 15 pts. "

but not the scoring of: "If the title, sans the subtitle, is 8 words long, and has a subtitle of 4 words, you get 10 pts plus 8 = 18 pts for your title.
8+4=12+8=20...do you mean a subtitle of 2 words instead of 4? 8+2=10+8=18
Never-mind! "10 words or more" is the misunderstood phrase.

I think these scores are correct:
18 The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy and Other Stories Not enough pages, Drat!
13 The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror (Pine Cove) (view spoiler)[
5 - Chirstopher Moore
3 - 306 pages
3 - Christmas
24 Total
(hide spoiler)]
18 A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (Angelique De Xavier) (view spoiler)[18 -
9 - Christopher Brookmyre
5 - 502
32 Total (hide spoiler)]
6 The Rider on the White Horse
7 Beneath a Rising Moon (Ripple Creek Werewolf)
9 The Conjure-Man Dies: A Mystery Tale of Dark Harlem
13 What's The Worst That Could Happen? (Dortmunder) (view spoiler)[13 - What's The Worst That Could Happen? (Dortmunder #9)
8 - Donald E. Westlake
3 - 373
24 Total (hide spoiler)]

AND what about the above contracted word? "What is"

LOVE this idea! Suddenly my lethargy is gone! Off to gopher more!☺☺☺

I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Stole the Heart of a Nation. OH DARN ☺

Those are the scores I also get for those books, Almeta, except that I imagined contracted words, and words separated with a hyphen (such as 'Conjure-Man'), would count as one word, because in a word count they count as one word.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, [book:Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Sto..."

Hehe - love it! Although that's a non-fiction, so you couldn't use it. This is my difficulty - the books I'm finding with lovely long titles and subtitles are non-fiction!

I just thought of something - do books of poems count? They sometimes have long titles and subtitles.

That is a long title jmom! Too bad it's non-fiction :(

jaxnsmom wrote: "I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Sto..."

Ahem...Must be fiction!☻

Otherwise I would have gone for: Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory!

Gail wrote: "I don't quite get this. When I try to work it out, the title and the subtitle together would get 12 points, plus 8 words for the title by itself, so that would be 20 (using the same method as the example you give). Or am I doing something wrong? "

Looking at the whole title, including the subtitle, there would be 12 words.

This score would apply: "10 pts - 10 words or more (including subtitle)"

Then, because the main title is 8 pts (without the subtitle) you would get 8 pts.

So, you would get a total of 18 points.

I should maybe reword that to make it more clear.

Do the double title points only count if you have a subtitle? So if you have a title of 8 words and a subtitle of 4, you get 12+8=20, but if you have a book with an 8 word title without subtitle it's just 8?

The longest title on my ereader is The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. I might go for that, it seems a quick easy read and I need that in December, with also two chunksters to read!

It doesn't link it, but if I look at the GR page the book has a subtitle (Fairytale #1). Would that be 13+12=25?

I've reworded message 1 to hopefully make it clearer.

Look at the title as a whole including subtitle and assign the title points. Then, look at just the main title without the subtitle and assign bonus points if applicable.

Oh nevermind, max of 10. So it would be 10+10=20, which is the maximum title score?

Gail wrote: "Also, to clarify, do names of series count as subtitles, even when they are not part of the original title? I'm just thinking that '(One Dozen Daughters #1)' is something that is added afterwards, ..."

"One Dozen Daughters" is a subtitle.

If, on the book's page, there is a title in brackets behind the main title, it is considered a subtitle. It may, or may not be a series title.

Gail wrote: "And if there is no subtitle, do you still count the points of the main title twice?"

Edited to correct:

If there is no subtitle, you count the words that are in the title by themselves. If the title is 6 words or longer, it would qualify for the bonus. So it is possible for it to be counted twice. I'm trying to give more weight to the actual title than to the subtitle.

Janice wrote: "Looking at the whole title, including the subtitle, there would be 12 words.

This score would apply: "10 pts - 10 words or more (including subtitle)" ..."

Ah, I see now. I was counting it as 12, and forgetting 10 was the max. Thanks for explaining. :-)

Almeta wrote: "8+4=12+8=20..."

Where do you get 12 points? There is no allocation for 12 points. If your title is 12 words long including the subtitle, you can only get 10 points.

So in that example, you would get 12 words = 10 pts for 10 or more words. Then, you would get a bonus of 8 points for the main title. 10 + 8 = 18.

I've reworded message 1 and taken that example out.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, [book:Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Sto..."

I haven't read this one but I've read books where Sgt Stubby is mentioned. What a cutie he was!! :)

I guess I need to find a book which is part of a series that has a very long name. :-)

Almeta wrote: "I think these scores are correct:..."

18 pts for A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (10 + 8 bonus)

13 pts for What's The Worst That Could Happen?
(7 + 6 bonus)

All the others are correct.

Ooops - I edited my response to Gail for clarification and will repeat it here because it is important:

If there is no subtitle, you count the words that are in the title by themselves. If the title is 6 words or longer, it would qualify for the bonus. So it is possible for it to be counted twice. I'm trying to give more weight to the actual title than to the subtitle.

Contracted words are going to count as one word.

jaxnsmom wrote: "I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, [book:Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win World War I and Sto..."

It wouldn't have counted anyway because it's non-fiction.

Are we only counting additions in brackets as subtitles? Not additions that come after a colon and are not in brackets?

Gail wrote: "I just thought of something - do books of poems count? They sometimes have long titles and subtitles."

If it's fiction, it counts - like The Odyssey or The Iliad. But if the poems aren't fiction, no.

Almeta wrote: "Ahem...Must be fiction!☻

Otherwise I would have gone for: Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory! ..."

ROFL! That is quite the title!

Gail wrote: "Are we only counting additions in brackets as subtitles? Not additions that come after a colon and are not in brackets?"

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subtitle...

If it is an explanation, defines what series it's in, or is an alternative title, separated by a colon or contained within brackets, it is considered a subtitle.

Peggy wrote: "Oh nevermind, max of 10. So it would be 10+10=20, which is the maximum title score?"

Yes, 20 would be the maximum title score.

interesting I am in

Janice wrote: "Almeta wrote: "I think these scores are correct:..."

18 pts for A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (10 + 8 bonus)

13 pts for What's The Worst That Could Happen?
(7 + 6 bonu..."

Thanks.

I read, not calculate mathematics, obviously!☻

Which is the subtitle in this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Is it the bit in brackets, or the bit after the colon?

Almeta wrote: "WAIT shouldn't The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland) score at 22 points? "

From my understanding, you get a maximum of ten points for the title together with the subtitle, and a maximum of ten additional points for the title without the subtitle. So it could only get 20 points, no matter how long it is.

Gail wrote: "Almeta wrote: "WAIT shouldn't The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making (Fairyland) score at 22 points? "

From my understanding, you get a maximum of ten po..."

Yeah, I caught that and removed that post. I was hoping no one noticed!☻

Lol! Incidentally, I was wondering why you put a big black dot at the end of your sentences, and then I enlarged the page, and saw it's a black smiley face. :-)

Gail wrote: "Lol! Incidentally, I was wondering why you put a big black dot at the end of your sentences, and then I enlarged the page, and saw it's a black smiley face. :-)"

It's my darker humor side.

Hmmm looks like my choices are Murakami or Murakami. Not sure if I want to read him again so soon though... Back to the gophering.

I am soooo in! Off to do some gophering ☺

Gail wrote: "jaxnsmom wrote: "I'm sooo disappointed the points only go up to 10 for title length - I have a book on my tbr with 22 words, [book:Sergeant Stubby: How a Stray Dog and His Best Friend Helped Win Wo..."

Yeah, I forgot to mention that I knew it didn't count - I was too busy laughing and thinking I could have been near the top in score for the first time if it did.

Almeta wrote: "Otherwise I would have gone for: Alphabet Juice: The Energies, Gists, and Spirits of Letters, Words, and Combinations Thereof; Their Roots, Bones, Innards, Piths, Pips, and Secret Parts, Tinctures, Tonics, and Essences; With Examples of Their Usage Foul and Savory!"

Really good one!

Bonus Points:

December would indeed be a great day if this holiday was also observed, but it's delayed until December 21 - Global Orgasm Day! Count 3 points if there is a wedding in the story.

Why ruin such a holiday with a wedding? ☺ ☺

Gail wrote: "Which is the subtitle in this book: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Is it the bit in brackets, or the bit after the colon?"

I'm going to say a big NO to this bundle of books. This is 4 books, not 1.

I found this on my tbr so I'm thinking it's going to be the one:

Oscar Wilde and a Death of No Importance: A Mystery