The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

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

For task 5.1 (Disney), does the book have to directly relate to our favorite Disney movie? For example, my favorite is The Little Mermaid, so do I have to read a book about the Disney version, or can I read a book about mermaids, sea life, etc?

Amy wrote: "For task 5.1 (Disney), does the book have to directly relate to our favorite Disney movie? For example, my favorite is The Little Mermaid, so do I have to read a book about the Disney version, or c..."The relation doesn't have to be exact so yes a book about mermaids/sea life is fine - just explain the connection when you post the points. That's my favorite too.

Newbie here. Hi!

For task # 15.7, could that be expanded to include nonfiction books or memoirs with recipes? I'm thinking of M.F.K. Fisher or Laurie Colwin, for example.

Amanda wrote: "For 5.3, Royal Reading, could we read a play or an epic poem? For example, Henry V by Shakespeare, or the Illiad by Homer?"

Oh! I would love to read King Lear for this task!

For 5.3 Royal Reading can I read The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici ?

Amanda wrote: "For 5.4, the Decades task, does the book itself have to be award winning, or can it be the author? For example, Philip Roth won the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2001, but for no particul..."The book would need to be something first published within that decade in that case

Angie wrote: "For 5.3 Royal Reading can I read The Devil's Queen: A Novel of Catherine De Medici ?"Yes

Amanda wrote: "For 5.3, Royal Reading, could we read a play or an epic poem? For example, Henry V by Shakespeare, or the Illiad by Homer?"Yes

Kathy wrote: "Newbie here. Hi!

For task # 15.7, could that be expanded to include nonfiction books or memoirs with recipes? I'm thinking of M.F.K. Fisher or Laurie Colwin, for example."Those would also be acceptable yes

Amanda wrote: "Is a satire and a parody the same thing? The description of Cold Comfort Farm says it's a parody- would that count for the Black Comedy task?"Parody and satire are similar (like cousins) and this is also a satirical novel so yes it will work.

Are crossword puzzles considered a "game"?

For 10.5. POPULARITY CONTEST – Discovering The Hot Books Of 2009….

What if you are a December baby (like me)? Do you need to wait until the end of the month to do this task? Or can you pick 2008? I'm going to guess wait since this is supposed to be for the end of 2009, but I just had to ask :)

Thanks!

Kari ♪ wrote: "For 10.5. POPULARITY CONTEST – Discovering The Hot Books Of 2009….

What if you are a December baby (like me)? Do you need to wait until the end of the month to do this task? Or can you pick 2008..."The list is not what was popular during that month of the year on GR - it's books that were published/will be published during that month - so the lists are always going to be changing so you just have to check to see if the book is on the list when you go to do the task.

Jensownzoo wrote: "Are crossword puzzles considered a "game"?"It would be a word game so yes it's fine.

Yay!

About the satire/parody question, so a parody of a book, would that work? Like there are a lot of Twilight or Harry Potter paradies. An examble isNightlight A Parody. Thanks for everything, Cynthia!

Cynthia, for Task 15.9 "Read The Book That Has Been On Your TBR Pile/Shelf The Longest", can the book be the oldest on my RL shelf or on my Goodreads TBR shelf?
I just joined GR early this year and there are books years older on my RL TBR shelf than on my Goodreads shelf.

Since crossword puzzles are a game, then will logic puzzles work, too?

task 15.4...one of my favorite games is "Hearts" on the computer. could i read In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essexfor this task? it has the word "heart" in the title! :)

For 25.2 Donna Jo's task- do the books have to contain one of each word in the phrase chosen- or can they be two books using the same word. ie- Warm Beach- could I choose 2 'beach' book titles?

Kim wrote: "For 25.2 Donna Jo's task- do the books have to contain one of each word in the phrase chosen- or can they be two books using the same word. ie- Warm Beach- could I choose 2 'beach' book titles?"It needs to be one of each word

kiki wrote: "task 15.4...one of my favorite games is "Hearts" on the computer. could i read In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essexfor this task? it has the word "heart" in th...",Yes

pjreads wrote: "Since crossword puzzles are a game, then will logic puzzles work, too?"Sure

Petra wrote: "Cynthia, for Task 15.9 "Read The Book That Has Been On Your TBR Pile/Shelf The Longest", can the book be the oldest on my RL shelf or on my Goodreads TBR shelf?
I just joined GR early this year a..."Yes either one is fine.

Kathryn wrote: "About the satire/parody question, so a parody of a book, would that work? Like there are a lot of Twilight or Harry Potter paradies. An examble isNightlight A Parody. Thanks for eve..."Yes

For task 10.2 Louis, Louis - could I use a book where the son is hearing and is born of two parents who are deaf? It is ... Hands of My Father A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love
Thanks!

Also, can I use Their Eyes Were Watching God for the Zora Neale Hurston task (10.3)? The protagonist is of mixed ancestry - although partly African American.

Kim wrote: "For 25.2 Donna Jo's task- do the books have to contain one of each word in the phrase chosen- or can they be two books using the same word. ie- Warm Beach- could I choose 2 'beach' book titles?"

One book should have warm in the title, the other should have beach. (Sorry, Cynthia. I read Kim's message and responded, then I read yours.)

I posted this under the individual task in the help section but I think that's the wrong spot (forgive me, I'm coming back after a little challenge hiatus...):

For 10.7 -- How specific does the TV show/connection have to be? I'm not a TV watcher, but when I do watch it's either the news or a kids' show with my son. So could I read something like Two Years, No Rain about a TV weatherman-turned kids' TV performer?

Jen B wrote: "I posted this under the individual task in the help section but I think that's the wrong spot (forgive me, I'm coming back after a little challenge hiatus...):

For 10.7 -- How specific does the ..."That's fine.

Julie wrote: "Also, can I use Their Eyes Were Watching God for the Zora Neale Hurston task (10.3)? The protagonist is of mixed ancestry - although partly African American."Yes

Julie wrote: "For task 10.2 Louis, Louis - could I use a book where the son is hearing and is born of two parents who are deaf? It is ... [book:Hands of My Father A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Langua..."Yes

Cynthia, would you accept Running with Scissors A Memoir as a black comedy for 15.1?

Katie wrote: "Cynthia, would you accept Running with Scissors A Memoir as a black comedy for 15.1?"For that task I would like it to be fiction so no

Cynthia-- For the Fun and Games one..one of my favorite games that my boyfriend and I play is the card game War..could I read Suite Française because it's set during a wartime/about war?

Jamie wrote: "Cynthia-- For the Fun and Games one..one of my favorite games that my boyfriend and I play is the card game War..could I read Suite Française because it's set during a wartime/about war?"Yes

Also, for the gift challenge, for my birthday my boyfriend took me to NYC for the day..Could I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?

Jamie wrote: "Also, for the gift challenge, for my birthday my boyfriend took me to NYC for the day..Could I read A Tree Grows in Brooklyn?"Yes

Cynthia wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Cynthia-- For the Fun and Games one..one of my favorite games that my boyfriend and I play is the card game War..could I read Suite Française because it's set during a wa..."

Thanks!

Wow Cynthia! You are so quick to respond! Thanks!! :)

Hi Cynthia - another question about the Fun and Games task - does the entire name of the game have to be in the title or can just part of it be in the title? Like can it just say "Crazy" instead of "Crazy Eights" or "apple" instead of "Apples to apples"

5.2 A. Read A Book That Has A Red, White, And Blue Cover. (Other Colors May Appear But R/W/B Should Be The Primary Colors Of The Book)

The cover of Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris is red/white/blue. The background is blue; there are copious white clouds; and the title is RED. The other color is the black bird (a crow?), but most of the colors are red/white/blue. The only red is the title; however, the title is all red. So ... my question ... will this one be accepted for 5.2?

Cynthia wrote: "Katie wrote: "Cynthia, would you accept Running with Scissors A Memoir as a black comedy for 15.1?"For that task I would like it to be fiction so no

"

Okay, thanks.

So I guess that for Lady and the Tramp I can read a book about dogs for the Disney challenge??

Amanda wrote: "Would this work for the Red, White and Blue task, 5.2? I can't tell if that's red or orange..

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11...

or this one? is it red or pur..."The second is definitely ok - the first it's hard to tell

Roseann wrote: "So I guess that for Lady and the Tramp I can read a book about dogs for the Disney challenge??"Yes

Deedee wrote: "5.2 A. Read A Book That Has A Red, White, And Blue Cover. (Other Colors May Appear But R/W/B Should Be The Primary Colors Of The Book)

The cover of Grave Secret by Charlaine Harri..."As long as all 3 colors are there its fine so yes.

Bridgit wrote: "Hi Cynthia - another question about the Fun and Games task - does the entire name of the game have to be in the title or can just part of it be in the title? Like can it just say "Crazy" instead of..."It should be the entire title.

For the Disney task, WALL-E is my absolute favourite. Would The World Without Us by Alan Weisman work? The book looks at what would happen if human beings suddenly ceased to exist, and what would happen to our everyday objects, infrastructure, and how nature would flourish.

Is this too much of a reach?

Thanks.

Jennifer L. wrote: "For the Disney task, WALL-E is my absolute favourite. Would The World Without Us by Alan Weisman work? The book looks at what would happen if human beings suddenly ceased to exist, ..."I haven't seen the movie but from the IMDB description it seems as if humans do still exist that wouldn't match that book but a book about Robots would work.

Cynthia wrote: "Jennifer L. wrote: "For the Disney task, WALL-E is my absolute favourite. Would The World Without Us by Alan Weisman work? The book looks at what would happen if human beings sudden..."

Ok, no problem. However, WALL-E is not just about robots - it's a cautionary tale about the environment. Therefore, would a book about the environment, such as

An Inconvenient Truth The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming and What We Can Do About It work?

Also, for Task 5.7 (Small Screen Stories), would Mistress of the Art of Death or The Serpent's Tale (both by Ariana Franklin) work for CSI? The main character in both is a 12th century woman who uses the foresic science of the time to solve crimes.

Jennifer L. wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Jennifer L. wrote: "For the Disney task, WALL-E is my absolute favourite. Would The World Without Us by Alan Weisman work? The book looks at what would happen if hum..."Yes & Yes

For 5.1, my favorite Disney movie is The Lion King. Could I read Hamlet since the creators of The Lion King state the movie is loosely based on the plot of Hamlet?

Asho wrote: "For 5.1, my favorite Disney movie is The Lion King. Could I read Hamlet since the creators of The Lion King state the movie is loosely based on the plot of Hamlet?"Yes

For 10.3 Renaissance Reading, may I read If I Stop I'll Die Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor by John Alfred Williams and Dennis A. Williams, who are both African-American?

Jan (the Gryphon) wrote: "For 10.3 Renaissance Reading, may I read If I Stop I'll Die Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor by John Alfred Williams and Dennis A. Williams, who ar..."If it's Non-Fiction it has to be about a figure from the Harlem Renaissance period so no.

Cynthia wrote: "Jan (the Gryphon) wrote: "For 10.3 Renaissance Reading, may I read If I Stop I'll Die Comedy and Tragedy of Richard Pryor by John Alfred Williams and [author:Dennis A..."

I'm guessing it won't fit into 15.1 MAKE ME LAUGH either, as that asks specifically for a novel.
;^D

Cynthia wrote: "Kari ♪ wrote: "For 10.5. POPULARITY CONTEST – Discovering The Hot Books Of 2009….

What if you are a December baby (like me)? Do you need to wait until the end of the month to do this task? Or can you pick 2008..."The list is not what was popular during that month of the year on GR - it's books that were published/will be published during that month - so the lists are always going to be changing so you just have to check to see if the book is on the list when you go to do the task."

Except December babies have a shorter time frame for this task since the books have not been published yet. And it'll be harder to get a super-newly published book from the library (of the three books on the Dec 2009 list I want to read, two have over 100 people on the wait list with only a few copies on order, and the third hasn't been ordered by the library yet).

Liz wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Kari ♪ wrote: "For 10.5. POPULARITY CONTEST – Discovering The Hot Books Of 2009….

What if you are a December baby (like me)? Do you need to wait until the end of the month to do th..."If you can't get one of the books from that month then you may use one from the overall 2009 list - http://www.goodreads.com/book/popular...

Hi Cynthia, where will I find a list of the Group reads for Classics, Winter, Romance for task 20.3?
P
S A million thanks once again for all your hard work setting this up, it's so much fun!

Another question about 10.6 - when I looked up my month, I found a previously published book (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) that came out in a paperback edition in that month. Can I use that one?

Cynthia wrote: "If you can't get one of the books from that month then you may use one from the overall 2009 list - http://www.goodreads.com/book/popular..."

Excellent!