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

Under the Harvest Moon



The Harvest Moon is the full moon closest to the Autumn Equinox (which occurs up in the Northern Hemisphere in October). The full moon being as bright (and pretty) as it is, allowed the peasants to gather the Harvest by the moonlight. This meant they had more food for the winter and their Harvest Festivals (nom nom nom), but also they were lurking around at night while other creepy crawlies possibly were too... especially around Halloween...

So for October, the challenge is to read a book with a word for NIGHT in the title. I will allow evening, twilight, dusk, midnight as well as the straight night.

The rules:

1. The book may be in any format - paperback, ebook, audiobook.
2. The book may be in any genre.
3. The book may not be combined with the October Group Reads.
5. The book must be read between October 1 - 31, 2012.
6. Sub-titles do not count. The word must be in the main title.

Point Qualifiers:

Genre:

5 points - Mystery
4 points - Romance
3 points - Memoir
2 points – Thriller
1 point - Horror

Theme: (Please explain how your book fits the theme.)

5 points - Astronomy
4 points - Food
3 points - Family
2 points - Festivals
1 point - Mythology

Location:

5 points - Hungary
4 points - Turkey
3 points - Greece
2 points - Chile
1 point - Kentucky

Author:

3 points - has the first name starting with M O O or N
2 points – has a European letter in their name, eg. é, ç, æ, ü, ø
1 point – is from the northern hemisphere

Cover (must be the version you are reading. If you are listening, most popular version):

5 points – Has a telescope on it
4 points - The title is in “pumpkin” orange
3 points - Has a full moon on it
2 points – Is predominantly green
1 point - Has a wolf on it

Title (must contain night, dusk, evening, twilight or midnight):

5 points - Has a title starting with H A R V E S or T (The, A, An, and And do not, unfortunately, count)
4 points – Has a type of food in it
3 points - Has the word “moon” in it
2 points – Is 4 words long
1 point - Has some word describing the night also. Eg Black, Cold, Dark, Long.

Pages:

500+ - 5 points
400-499 - 4 points
300-399 - 3 points
200-299 - 2 points
less than 200 - deduct 3 points

Stars:

5 points - 5 stars
4 points - 4 stars
3 points - 3 stars
2 points - 2 stars
1 point - 1 star

Bonus Points: 10 points each:

1) St Francis of Assisi's Feast Day (Oct 4). Has a main character who is an animal (shifters and werewolves are not valid for this bonus).
2) Columbus Day (Oct 12). The characters undertake an ocean voyage.
3) Halloween (Oct 31). Has a supernatural being in it.

Scoring example:

Book read: Twilight

Genre – Romance 4pts (some may argue this is Horror, but I feel the only horror is the writing).
Theme – Mythology 1pt. Vampires are mythological creatures from many different cultures, the most noticeably Slavic mythology (along with Rusalkas as an aside). There are parts of this book where Bella is working out what parts of the myths are true.
Location – in Washington. 0pts
Author – is from the northern hemisphere 1pt.
Cover - Nothing. 0pts
Title – Begins with T 5pts.
Pages – 498 pages, 4pts.
Stars – I gave it 1, so 1pt.

Bonuses
1) None. Werewolves don’t count.
2) None. No sailing on the high seas.
3) 10pts. Has vampires and werewolves.

Total: 26 points!

Another Scoring example:

Book read: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

Genre – Mystery 5pts (Christopher is trying to work out what happened to the dog in the night-time.).
Theme – Family 3pt. There is a family break-up in the book, and the intricacies of dealing with those relationships, especially when the child is autistic.
Location – in the UK (can’t remember the specific town but London as well) 0pts
Author – has the first name starting with M O O or N. 3pts
is from the northern hemisphere 1pt.
Cover - has a dead dog, but no wolf. 0pts
Title – Nothing 0pts
Pages – 272 pages, 2pts.
Stars – 4, so 4pt.

Bonuses
1) None. Unfortunately, the dog in question was dead, so not a character. A prop :(
2) None. No sailing on the high seas.
3) None. It was a very real worldy book.

Total: 18 points!

Also, not freaking any one out as we have ages... well I am telling myself ages... I'm uncontactable from the 20th until the 31st.

So if you have any questions, please hit me up BEFORE the 20th.

Our other lovely mods will be around, although Oct sounds insane for everyone, if panic situations arise. But I will be spending 60 hours on planes and in airports going to Europe for work.

I will arrive home in the morning on the 31st, but after 35 hours travelling, I will be sleeping for several days, then awarding badges sometime in November.

Just think of all the reading you can do sitting in the airport and on the plane!!

Rusalka wrote: "Also, not freaking any one out as we have ages... well I am telling myself ages... I'm uncontactable from the 20th until the 31st.

So if you have any questions, please hit me up BEFORE the 20th.
..."

Oh talking about all that flying gives me flashbacks! Audiobooks, make sure you have audiobooks!

Rus, I am so envious of you! I so wish I could have your experiences!

Luckily, the day I leave crosses over with the end of the Toppler! The problem is I have so many Goodreads reads, I need to take the books with me and then back again. Damn luggage.

And April, it is pretty cool. But I will be thinking you're silly wishing to be me when I have my 6 hour lay over in Heathrow (I hate Heathrow).

Happy traveling, Rus!

Having tried to pick last month's book for a points haul - and hated it, I'm determined to pick one I enjoy this month. Seeing as I think my choices are going to struggle to reach double figures, I will fall back onto the taking part being what matters...

That's what I do too Helen :) Life's too short to struggle through books we don't enjoy.

42 it is (title I will allow, so remind me people if I forget)!

All good Helen, that's my plan too.

Gaeta1 wrote: "Judy wrote: "Gaeta you have set the bar high. 42 points!"

This is why I invite everyone to share in my book choice--it was so easy-peasy that I feel a bit guilty."

I picked up at the library yesterday. Thanks Gaeta!

Hmmm... it sounds like Rusalka may have to come up with a tie breaker.

Bah! No one mentioned tie breakers!

*puts on thinking cap*

lol Not at all!

I'm going to read Celery Stalks too, but I won't count it for this Rusalka.

Maybe Gaeta should be the winner if it's a tie, since she was the first one to read it.

What if a person reads 2 challenge books?

Top scoring one counts.

I've finished Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick
Genre:

5 points - Mystery
4 points - Romance

Theme: (Please explain how your book fits the theme.)
0 points

Location:
0 points

Author:
1 point – is from the northern hemisphere

Cover (must be the version you are reading. If you are listening, most popular version):
o points

Title (must contain night, dusk, evening, twilight or midnight):
1 point - Has some word describing the night also. Eg Black, Cold, Dark, Long. - Can I claim 1 for midnight? I won't, as it's not an adjective.

Pages:
300-399 - 3 points

Stars:
4 points - 4 stars

Bonus Points: 10 points each:
3) Halloween (Oct 31). Has a supernatural being in it. I'm going to claim this one - it's a lot about psychics and mediums and the spirit world.

So that's 27.

Started my read for this with Night Passage by Robert B. Parker :-)

Oh! This reminds me - I forgot to pack my book. For some reason, this book is taking me forever to finish.

How can you forget to pack you're book Janice...and only one book? Really? :-S

I read by Terry Pratchett. The timing of this challenge was perfect - it was the next one on my list!

Genre, theme and location: a big fat zero all round, I'd say
Author: 1 - from the northern hemisphere
Cover: 0
Title: 0
Pages: 3 (354)
Stars: 4

Bonus points: 10 - includes a supernatural being. Being Pratchett, there's always something kicking about. Not loads this time, but there is a zombie.

Thank goodness for bonus points, I wouldn't have made double figures without that!

So, I end up with 18. Not my finest hour...

I don't know, Gemma - I think you could make a claim for mythology, even if only because this describes events that are very much the start of a folk tale. But apart from that, I agree, it's a great book and the score doesn't do it nearly justice.

That's just because Rusalka chose the wrong point qualifiers! :) Maybe a little bribery for next month...

I don't think my book's going to get many points either, but it's what I'm in the mood for.

I don't mind a low score. I've read all the Pratchetts up to this one and I'd say this was one of my favourites, so I'm happy enough :)

I know. I think it's funny when you read a book from your tbr for this challenge, and you get low points but absolutely love the book. That means we've won the challenge anyway :)

Sam wrote: "How can you forget to pack you're book Janice...and only one book? Really? :-S"

Only one physical book plus a whole library of iBooks & Kindle books on my iPad not to mention the half dozen audiobooks on my iPad. I could never go anywhere with just one book.

I finished my book last night:

Night of the Ripper by Robert Bloch

Genre:
5 pts - mystery
1 pts - horror
Theme: 0
Location: 0
Author:
1 pts - northern hemisphere (Chicago)
Cover: 0
Title:
2 pts - 4 words long
Pages:
2 pts (288 pages)
Stars:
3 pts
No bonus Points

Total points: 14

Look Gemma - you liked your book better and got more points than Janice :)

Janice - Hope you had fun! Sorry your book wasn't better than three points if you spent part of your away time reading it.

jaxnsmom wrote: "That's just because Rusalka chose the wrong point qualifiers! :) Maybe a little bribery for next month..."

Ahha! That's the answer, it's the challenge's fault not the book's.
>;-)

Janice wrote: "Sam wrote: "How can you forget to pack you're book Janice...and only one book? Really? :-S"

Only one physical book plus a whole library of iBooks & Kindle books on my iPad not to mention the half..."

Oh thank God! I was getting worried there!!

Finished my book over the weekend:

Night Passage by Robert B. Parker

Genre - Mystery and Thriller = 7 points
Theme - Family = 3 points
Location - 0 points
Author - Northern Hemisphere = 1 point
Cover - 0 points
Title - 0 points
Pages - 324 pages = 3 points
3 Stars = 3 points

No bonus points

Points Total = 17 points

All my fault!

And look at you all go! I am hoping I am on more this week after the last couple of weeks of hell.

I am plodding along with my vamps in Moscow. I was hoping to be done before the Toppler but not going to happen.

But to business!!

Helen, I'm sorry. Not midnight :(

Gemma, I've been told by my official referee that I'm not allowed to give extra points for reading Prachetts :P Lucky your Zombie helped out.

Just realized the book I'm planning to read is an example. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time lol
I'm not sure I'll have time to read it anyway...though I am hoping to next week. Hoping...of course I have to finish reading The Color Purple first.

Yay Robin.

At least you don't have to think about scoring, it's already done for you! (well besides the stars and what ever versions you're reading page numbers).

Just finished: Nightmare At 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories By Richard Matheson

Score:
Genre: Horror- 1pt
Author:N Hem - 1pt
Title :4 words-2pts
Pages : 336 - 3pts
Starts: 4 - 4pts

Bonus: Supernatural Beings - 10pts

Total: 21 points

That was fun. I'm also reading the Pine Deep Trilogy this month. You should check it out if you like creepy fall reads. First book is: Ghost Road Blues

Would NightWhere or Nightwoods: A Novel work for this challenge?

Yay Marcus! And thanks for the spooky reads. Always good to have some up your sleeve.

Glad you are clearing one of your shelf Judy, for double points!

Both title-wise will work Debra.

Marcus wrote: "Just finished: Nightmare At 20,000 Feet: Horror Stories By Richard Matheson

Score:
Genre: Horror- 1pt
Author:N Hem - 1pt
Title :4 words-2pts
Pages : 336 - 3pts
Starts: 4 - 4pts

Bonus: Supern..."


Exciting! I have added it to my wish list! Thanks!

Jkmays - Oct 14, 2012 03:54pm

I read Day After Night.
Genre--0
Theme--3 Family. The main characters became a family after the holocaust when their biological families were lost.
Location--0
Author--1 (Massachusetts)
Cover--0
Title--0
Pages--3 (308 pages)
Stars--2 I wanted to like this book, but it left me very disappointed.
Bonus Pts--10- for supernatural being--God!

19 points total

jaxnsmom - Oct 15 2012

I read Midnight in Austenland

Genre:
5 points - Mystery
4 points - Romance

Theme: (Please explain how your book fits the theme.)
3 points - Family Charlotte kept thinking about her scumbag cheating ex and how he hurt her, and was missing her kids terribly. The kids actually had an impact on the ending. There's a wonderful she-bear mother scene where Charlotte gives it to ex about the kids.

Location: 0

Author:
1 point – is from the northern hemisphere
Oh and I have to share this, the end of her bio, "... and their pet, a small, plastic pig."

Cover:
3 points - Has a full moon on it (A little of it hid by clouds)

Title: 0

Pages:
2 points - 272 pages

Stars:
3 points - 3 stars

Bonus Points: 0 points
3) Halloween (Oct 31). Has a supernatural being in it. Only a fake one

21 total points

Almeta - 16 Oct 2012

The Celery Stalks at Midnight (under the harvest moon challenge)

Genre:
5 points - Mystery
1 point - Horror

Theme:
1 point – Mythology (vampire lore)
2 points - community festival, with teacher dunking and a vampire play, etc. (Thanks Gaeta)

Author: James Howe
1 point – is from the northern hemisphere

Cover
3 points - Has a full moon on it
2 points – Is predominantly green

Title:
4 points – Has a type of food in it

Pages:
-3 for 144 pages

Stars:
4 points - 4 stars

St Francis of Assisi's Feast Day (Oct 4). Main characters are animals.
10 points: cat and two dogs

Halloween (Oct 31). Has a supernatural being in it.
10 points: vampire bunny

40 points

(ed: plus 2 for 4 word title, so 42)

Look at all these night readers!

We're being overrun by vampire bunnies!

Yeah, book completed!

Carnivorous Nights: On the Trail of the Tasmanian Tiger

Genre: 0 - it's not a memoir really, more of a travel tale.

Theme: 0 (this is not going well!)

Location: 0

Author: 3 (first name starts with M) & 1 (from northern hemisphere)

Cover: 0 (it has a tiger on it, not a wolf, boo!)

Title: 0

Pages: 3 points (336 pages)

Stars: 3 points (3 stars)

Bonus points: 10 (St Francis) - I'll leave this up to you to judge Rusalka - although it's not told through the eyes of an animal, it's about a group of artists searching for the (supposedly) extinct Tasmanian Tiger.

So that's either an earth shattering 10 points, or 20 depending on the bonus points.

(There should be an award for least amount of points, like book golf or something LOL!)

While I would love to give you extra points Kat as I quite like Tassie Tigers and everyone should know everything about them. But unless it's got the Tiger as a character (doesn't have to be talking, just more than a random animal) I can't give you the 10 points I'm afraid... Sorry :(

I ran a Melbourne Cup (big horse race in Aus) sweep at my work once for all my employees. And that year one of the horses didn't finish as it collapsed on the track. I gave the guy who picked that horse out of the hat a glue stick. He didn't get it.

Maybe I need to find us a glue stick...

Rusalka wrote: "While I would love to give you extra points Kat as I quite like Tassie Tigers and everyone should know everything about them. But unless it's got the Tiger as a character (doesn't have to be talkin..."

No worries, I had to try ;-)

LOL! I remember one Melbourne Cup I was the one that was sent to the betting shop to put the bets on for about 20 of my colleagues. I'd never put on a bet before and it was so busy I accidentally used the jockey number on the slips, rather than the horse numbers.....I was mortified when I realised that I'd put everyone's bets on horses that were 100:1 or 75:1 - it would have been OK if one of the outsiders had won.....

Book: Twilight

Genre: 
4 points— Romance

Theme: 
1 point– Mythology
Vampires are a part of mythology.

Location:
0 points— Forks

Author:
1 point – is from the northern hemisphere (England)

Cover:
0 points– nothing

Title:
5 points - Has a title starting with T

Pages:
 4 points– 498 pages

Stars:
5 points-5 stars because I absolutely loved it more than I thought I would.

Bonus Points:
3) Halloween (Oct 31). Has vampires in it. 

Total Points: 30 points
That was surprisingly good!