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Challenge length: August 1, 2013 until September 30, 2013

Participants may join at any time during the challenge. All points must be reported by 11:59pm EST on September 30, 2013 to be counted.

Any books that you read can also be claimed for other challenges (like HFU). All books read need to be started and finished during the challenge period. Please use the "currently reading" shelf, because this sets the start date of when you read the book (especially if it's something that has been on your TBR for a while.

RULES:
1) Books must be Historical Fiction if specified as HF. If no specification is made, the book can be ANY genre.

The definition of historical fiction that our group uses is a work published at least 50 years after at least half of the events in the work. Historical fantasy, alternate history and magical realism books are not considered historical fiction for our group.

2) Books must be at least 200 pages long. Eligibility for this is determined by THE MOST POPULAR EDITION OF THE BOOK ON GOODREADS -- NOT the edition you actually read. If the most popular edition is 197 pages, it will not count, even if the edition read is 215 pages.

To determine the most popular edition on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ, simply do a title/author search - the first result that matches your book is the most popular edition on GR. If the first book is an audio book or ebook without page numbers, then use the 2nd book shown in the editions.

3) The first book used for the challenge should be started on or after August 1st.

4) Re-reads and audiobooks are accepted unless specified otherwise in the task. (Audiobook page counts will be determined by the most popular edition on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.)

SCORING:
5) Task categories are assigned a point value, and points are awarded ONE TIME once all parts of the task are complete. When claiming a book, please link to the TITLE of the book (the most popular one) using the add book/author link above the comment box. If the task involves a cover, then also add the cover link (this is a radio button at the bottom of the dialog box to add a link for the book).

For multi-book tasks, please post only when ALL of the books are completed. Each book read for a multi-book task is eligible for book bonuses (HF, page and review)

The point value is the 1st number before the decimal point when looking at the task list. There are 3 tasks that have a value of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25. There are 2 50 tasks and 1 100 point task.

6) There are several opportunities to earn Bonus Points. Bonus points will be awarded PER BOOK READ when task points are awarded. Partial task points and/or bonus points (page count, HF point, etc) will NOT be awarded if the task is unfinished. Bonus points can only be claimed when task points are claimed (so make sure to check your postings)

6a) Book Length Bonus:
Bonus points will be awarded based on the length of each book read, as follows:
200 to 300 pages = 2 bonus points
301 to 500 pages = 4 bonus points
501 to 750 pages = 6 bonus points
751 to 1,000 pages = 8 bonus points
1,000+ = 10 bonus points

6b) Historical Fiction Bonus = 5 point
WE WILL NOT AWARD HF POINTS IF IT IS NOT REPORTED.

6c) Review Bonus = 5 points
In order to receive these points:
- You MUST link to the review in the scoring thread. If it is not directly linked, points will not be awarded. To link to your review, click on the view hyperlink on your bookshelf and copy the URL that is displayed in the address bar.
- It MUST be a new review. Points will not be awarded for a review written before the challenge start date.
- If writing a review after reporting points for a book, please link to the review in a NEW COMMENT, state the title the review is for, and refer to the comment number containing your original points for the book. Do not edit posts to add your review link as I will not be going back to check for them.
- A valid review should consist of at least 3 sentences and contain what you specifically liked or disliked about the book.

7) A separate scoring thread will be opened prior to August 1st.

8) HAVE FUN!!!

CHALLENGE #12 TASK LIST: Aug - Sept 2013

5.1 Back to School: Read a book where the main characters attend middle school or high school (grade 6-12).
5.2 Picture Books: In honor of National Comic Book Day (Sept 25), read a graphic novel. NOTE: for this task, the minimum page requirement is 100 pages.
5.3 Frankenstien’s Birthday: In honor of Frankenstein author Mary Shelley’s birthday (Aug 30), read a book with the genre of horror or gothic on the book’s main page (at least 10 users)

10.1 It’s all about you! Read a book which has a cover that represents you! It can feature a symbol from your zodiac sign, the animal in your chinese birth year, or holiday or major activity in the month that you were born. Please post the cover and an explanation.
References: ,
10.2 Lighting the Way!: In honor of National Lighthouse Day (Aug 7), read a book with a lighthouse on the cover or setting that is on a coastline town or city.
10.3 Hispanic Heritage Month: September is hispanic heritage month so read a book by an author who has hispanic heritage.

15.1 Weigh anchor and hoist the mizzen! In honor of Talk Like a Pirate Day (Sept 19), read a book set on a ship or where the main characters are robbers.
15.2. Summer Storms: Read a book whose authors first name is found on the list of future
15.3 Founding Fathers: : In honor of Mayflower Day (Sept 16) and Constitution Day (Sept 17), read a HF book set during the colonial times or during the revolutionary war.

20.1 Check-mate: Read a HF book which has the name of a chess piece in the title, sub-title or series name: King, Queen, Bishop, Rook, Knight, Pawn
20.2Supporting our Authors: Read a HF book by an author who qualified for our Featured Author Group Read. Go to Featured Authors - 2013 and look at posts: 28 and 63. You can read any of the authors who qualified.
20.3 Woman’s equlaity day: In honor of the Woman’s Equality Day (Aug 26), read a HF book which has a woman who is fighting for a cause (equality, human rights, saving the animals)

25.1 Fun with homonyms: Read 2 books which have homonyms in a title or series word; the words can be part of a compound word or a verb form (Examples: The Winter Sea and I'll Be Seeing You )
25.2 We were here first: In honor of International Day of the World’s Indigenous People (Aug 9), read a book which features a character that considered an indigenous people or written by an author who is an indigenous people (Indigenous people: Native Americans, Intuit, Aboriginal, Mayas, Aztec, Inca, Maori, Sami) or a non-fiction book which discusses the issues/treatement of indigenous people
25.3 Cult of the New: Read two HF books newly published in 2013. Starting list Historical Fiction 2013

50.1 How do you like your history?: Read a HF book and a non-fiction book about the same historical figure or event.
50.2 Book-loving Friends: August 4 is Friendship Day and Aug 9th is Book Lover’s Day so let’s celebrate both by reading 2 HF books from a friend(s) shelves which they have rated a 4 or a 5. Each book must be at least 300 pages and you may read 2 books from 2 different friends. Please list the friend(s) when reporting points.

100.1 Banned Books: Banned book week is from Sept 22-18, 2013. Please read 4 banned books from this list Banned books listopia or from a book listed here . I will accept any book listed on this site if it is a banned or a challenged book, but please provide a link if different than the one above. One book should be a classic published more than 50 years ago, and one book should published in 21st century.

Post questions below.

Cheryl has volunteered to do the scoring for this round!! I greatly appreciate this!!

Okay, for the banned books listopia, Smoking Seventeen and "The Freedom Writer's Diary was on that list. I don't consider those books aimed at kids. I don't see why people shouldn't read them if they wanted to.

@Jayme -- I think that some communities ban books that are aimed at adults as well.

As far as I am concerned, adults can read whatever they want.

Jayme(the ghost reader) wrote: "As far as I am concerned, adults can read whatever they want."

Some communities don't agree with you. I think it was in FL where they tried banning 50 Shades of Grey. It's not unheard of, particularly in small or religious communities.

I still think it is wrong. These people have way too much time on their hands.

Wow, I just took a look at these lists of banned and challenged books and am amazed at how many really good books that I (and my teenage daughters) have read are on these lists. These people apparently don't want us to read anything good. And they should realize that challenging something often has the opposite effect to what they want...it makes some of us want to go out and read it. I have read a lot of books after hearing that some church somewhere wants to ban it. I guess I'm a rebel.

I was also surprised what was on the list, even the more recent lists.

I read 48 books on the banned list. Most of them were in my junior year of high school.

What's crazy is the reason why they are banned. Some of them crack me up.

JoLene - In the previous challenge, HF bonus points were NOT awarded if the task specifically called for a HF book. Is that the case with this challenge, or are all HF books eligible for the bonus?

No, going back to the old way :-)

Which is the old way?

Every that is historical fiction gets the bonus. During the summer challenge, you did not get the bonus if it was a requirement of the task

ah

JoLene, regarding task 100. Banned Books, can I use another source? I'd like to read The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath, and couldn't find it in the other lists, but I found it here:

and here:

"In the late 1970s, The Bell Jar was suppressed for not only its profanity and sexuality but for its overt rejection of the woman's role as wife and mother. For these reasons, the book was deemed unsuitable for high school students in Indiana."

Yes -- I will allow it as I can remember when it was quite controversial.

Thanks!

I like to know what's so controversial about Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. It was on that list Macarena had. I think it is on the second link.

@jayme, we didn't make lists so there is no way for us to explain why they are on the list. We are trying to highlight freedom of speech by honoring banned book week.

Jayme, it was A Study in Scarlet the book that was banned because of the way A. C. Doyle portrayed Mormons in the story. The bad guys were Mormons.
Here is the explanation:

@macarena, thanks for the explanation. I had even recently read this story. Wild reading, I was really surprised at the story because the 2nd half of the story was very different than the first. :-)

You're welcome :)
This reminds me of Oliver Twist, which has been banned/challenged because of "antisemitism", due to the way Dickens portrayed Fagins, the man who trained children to pick pocket so as to give him what they've got. He was Jew and was known as The Jew.

I think people read too much into these books. Sometimes a book is just a book.

I think it's a shame that books are banned because they portray historical attitudes or events, even if they are offensive to some people. We can't change history to make it all 'politically correct' or nice to everyone. Surely it's better if we look at it clearly, reflect on it, and learn from it.

Agreed, Carol! I find that when I see bigotry in a historical work, it serves to remind me of how far we have come and how far we still need to go. I think it is important for the younger generation to see how it used to be so they can avoid allowing such things to happen again. And I don't think we should shield our kids from the nastier side of life.

On one of the ban lists I saw, "Where's Waldo" was banned because Waldo or some other people on the page were naked. They are like six inches tall. Someone had to look pretty closely :)

JoLene, the one clarification I need is if each task can only be completed once. For instance, for 15.1 (book set on a ship) can you read more than one book set on a ship and get credit for each one...say Treasure Island and The Dark Frigate. Would I only be able to count one of them or can I do the 15 points twice? (I hope the question makes sense!)

Can the symbol on the cover of the book be a cross to represent Christian faith in 10.1 "It's All About You!"?

@Cheryl, each task can only be done once and each book can only count once in each task. You will see when I give you the scoring spreadsheet.

For the all about you! --- In my mind, this was more about the month/year you were born. It wasn't about your hobbies or religious beliefs. That being said, you are going to be the scorekeeper so you can decide how you would like to interpret the tasks. :-D

For the same event, the nonfiction and fiction books, how broad or narrow should the event be? Can I read two books on WWII or do I need to specify something very specific like the Evacuation of Dunkirk?

Broad is fine......the same war, not battle

JoLene wrote: "Broad is fine......the same war, not battle"

Thank you so much!!!

For "10.2 Lighting the Way!: In honor of National Lighthouse Day (Aug 7), read a book with a lighthouse on the cover or setting that is on a coastline town or city."

Would Nantucket count as a setting for this?

Is Nantucket an island?? If the ocean figures into the life of the setting, then yes.

For 5.1-Back to School- I would like to read

My Name is Not Easy. It takes place at a boarding school in Alaska in 1960s and it was published in 2011. Would I be able to count it for HF?

Yup Nantucket is an island and the beach/ocean are very important in the book. Thanks

This is the first time I am doing this so pardon my stupid question. I was wondering for those that say read 2 books and let's say 50 points, it means 50 points for both or for each? I am thinking for both but could be wrong... so in that case, then would the bonus points be separate for each book even though the book points are together or would we add up the pages to get the page count bonus, for example? Again, I apologize if this is a completely idiotic question.

@wanda, if most of the action is prior to 1961, than it is HF by our definition.

@alicja, no worries, everyone started somewhere. I suggest that you look at past challenge reporting threads to get the general idea. If a task requires multiple books, you have to read that number to get all the task points. It is an all or nothing. The book bonuses are for each individual book and you do not add them together.

@Jolene, thanks! I'll take a look at those.

Me again with all my questions. :)

This is about the zodiac one (I like to plan my books in advance), since I am a cusp-ie, can I use the two elements for my two signs combined in a cover? What I mean is that I was born literally a bit over an hour away from being another sign. Cusp-ies are supposed to (for those that believe these things) show qualities of both signs. My sign is air and the next sign in a water sign. My moon sign is also a water sign, so I am air surrounded by water. I know it is not the symbol for either of the signs, just their elements, but when I saw the cover below, and the air literally surrounded by water, I just had to ask if I could use it.

Yes, since you really only need one element.

A question regarding task 100.1 - Banned Books. Banned book week is from Sept 22 - 18, 2013. Not sure what that means? Does that mean that you have to read the 4 books between Sept 18th and 22nd (5 days)?

No -- you can read any of the banned books anytime during the challenge. I just try to point out the events that trigger the idea for the tasks. :-D

For task 15.2, would Ted work for Teddy for the author first name?

JoLene wrote: "@wanda, if most of the action is prior to 1961, than it is HF by our definition.

@alicja, no worries, everyone started somewhere. I suggest that you look at past challenge reporting threads to g..."

It states on the cover that the action takes place from 1960-1964 so I think I will pass on it for this task. I can use it for another challenge.

@Jayme --- since Cheryl is scoring, I'll let her decide.

Another question, for the school book would summer school (between years of high school) be ok? They are still attending classes in this novel.

And would Tokyo be considered a coastal city (for the lighthouse challenge) since it only lies off a bay (the bay does flow out into open ocean)?