The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

20.5 - Bigger is Better - Julia103's task: The Sixties, but When?

This task was inspired by a Jeopardy category “Name the Decade” where the answers turned out to be “What are the 1450s?”, “What are the 1550s?”, “What are the 1650s?”, “What are the 1750s?” and “What are the 1850s?” (Actually I don’t remember which decade it was, just that it was the same decade in different centuries.)

This is a one book task.
Required: State which option you chose when posting.

Option 1: There are already a number of tasks inspired by events in the 1960s. So read a book which is set at least 60% during a ‘60s decade in any century EXCEPT the twentieth century (1960s).
Required: If the date is not mentioned in the book description or metadata, include a reference in your post to show when the book was set. Ex: a link to a review (inside or outside GRs), an article about the book, the author's website establishing how the book fits the task, etc.

Examples:
Books set during the U.S. Civil War (1861 – 1865): The Red Badge of Courage,March, Gettysburg, Gone with the Wind
1666 was the year of the Black Plague in England: Year of Wonders
1666 was also the year of the Great Fire of London: The Dreadful Judgement: The True Story of the Great Fire of London
Vermeer painted "Girl with a Pearl Earring" in 1665: Girl with a Pearl Earring
The Norman Conquest of England was in 1066: 1066: What Fates Impose
Future dates are allowed. (examples: 2061: Odyssey Three, Year 2160)
Alternate History is allowed as long as the events in the book take place in a ‘60s decade.

Option 2: Read a book first published in the 1560's, 1660s, 1760s or 1860s. Suggestions can be found on these lists, but your book is not required to be on the lists:
Best Books of the Decade: 1760s
Best Books of the Decade: 1860s

Option 3: (For people who are really uncomfortable outside your time zone) Read a book of at least 360 pages where the page count ends in 60 or 66 (360 pages, 366 pages, 460 pages, 466 pages, 560 pages, 566 pages, etc.)

These work:

Option 1:
Promises in Death (set in 2060)
Broken Wish (set in 1865)

Option 3:
One of Us is Lying (this edition has 360 pages)

No

This thread is now open!

Hello! What an unexpected task! I wanted to make sure that this would work for option 1: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao (set in 1865).

Thanks!

Jessica wrote: "Hello! What an unexpected task! I wanted to make sure that this would work for option 1: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao (set in 1865).

Thanks!"

Hi Jessica,
I'm not familiar with Broken Wish.
The book description says 1865 but this review says "the story takes place in a small village (Hanau) in Germany at the edge of the North Woods in 1699." And Amazon "look inside" shows Chapter 1 starts in January 1848. Can you confirm that more than half the book actually takes place in 1865?
If it is mostly in 1865 then it would work.

Julia wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Hello! What an unexpected task! I wanted to make sure that this would work for option 1: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao (set in 1865).

Thanks!"

Hi J..."

Okay, I only looked at the Goodreads description and though, "Oh, that's convenient!" I'll probably go ahead and read it, and if it turns out NOT to be set in 1865 I'll use it for a different task, but I'll let you know either way :)

Jessica wrote: "Julia wrote: "Jessica wrote: "Hello! What an unexpected task! I wanted to make sure that this would work for option 1: Broken Wish by Julie C. Dao (set in 1865).

..."

Sorry I couldn't give a definite yes or no.

Just to be ultra cautious, will Promises in Death work for option 1 because according to the metadata it is set in 2060?

Brooke wrote: "Just to be ultra cautious, will Promises in Death work for option 1 because according to the metadata it is set in 2060?"

Yes.
The In Death series started in 2058 and appears to be chronological. Books #23 through #38 in the series are all set in 2060. This includes Promises in Death, #28.
#39 through #44 are set in 2061, which also works. After that I didn't see a date in the descriptions or metadata.

(More than you wanted to know, but possibly helpful for others.)

Thank you, Julia! :-)

I bought the paperback edition of One of Us is Lying for my classroom library and it has 360 pages, (this edition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) as long as I link to the correct edition of the book when I post, can I use this book? I'm not familiar with how different editions of different books work for the challenge and wanted to be sure!

Meagan wrote: "I bought the paperback edition of One of Us is Lying for my classroom library and it has 360 pages, (this edition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) as long as I link ..."

According to the SRC Rules:
7. When determining page count, you should go by the copy you read- EXCEPT as noted below for ebooks, audiobooks, and large print books. Therefore, if you obtain (own, borrow, check out from the library, etc.) the hardback edition, use the page count for the hardback edition. If you obtain the paperback edition, use that page count.

So if you read the edition that you linked to in your above post and you link to that edition when you post for the task it would work for Option 3.

Julia wrote: "Meagan wrote: "I bought the paperback edition of One of Us is Lying for my classroom library and it has 360 pages, (this edition https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3...) as ..."

Thank you so much for your quick response!! I've been out of the challenge for a while. I will review the rules again!

Julia wrote: "I'm not familiar with Broken Wish.
The book description says 1865 but this review says "the story takes place in a small village (Hanau) in Germany at the edge of the North Woods in 1699." And Amazon "look inside" shows Chapter 1 starts in January 1848. Can you confirm that more than half the book actually takes place in 1865?
If it is mostly in 1865 then it would work..."

I just read it, and 80% of the book takes place in 1865. The first 18% is in 1848, and the next 2% is in 1855 - these are the "back story years" telling us about the protagonist's mother and her promise to the witch and so on.

At 20%, the book moves on to 1865, when the protagonist is 16, so in classic fairy tale fashion, stuff starts happening. The rest of the book takes place that year. So, 80% of the book in 1865.

I have no idea where that reviewer came up with 1699 - I didn't see any reference to 1699 anywhere in the book. There was certainly no part of the plot taking place then!

Julia wrote: "Brooke wrote: "Just to be ultra cautious, will Promises in Death work for option 1 because according to the metadata it is set in 2060?"

Yes.
The In Death series started in 2058 an..."

this is definitely helpful to me I love this series and am on 21 at the moment

Sandy wrote: "Julia wrote: "I'm not familiar with Broken Wish.
The book description says 1865 but this review says "the story takes place in a small village (Hanau) in Germany at the edge of the North Woods in 1..."

Thanks for the information!
I have added this book to post #2 as approved for Option 1.

Would The Silent Cry work for option 1? I can't find an exact date in any reviews, and I'm not far enough in to see if it's explicitly mentioned in the book, but in the first few pages a character mentions that he's been a police officer "for over 5 years, since 1855," so I'm pretty sure it's set in 1860/1861.

ETA: Just searched text (hooray, ebooks!) and found mention of the date being January 7, 1860.

Brooke wrote: "Would The Silent Cry work for option 1? I can't find an exact date in any reviews, and I'm not far enough in to see if it's explicitly mentioned in the book, but in the first few pages..."

I'm glad you found the date. Make sure you include that information when you post the task.