Christian Fiction Bloggers discussion

Have any questions? You can ask them here.

Also, if you don't know if a certain book works for a task, just ask here and I'll answer as quickly as I can. :)

Well, since I've never done this, I guess I'm a little confused on how it works! ;) I've read over what we have to do, but anymore help would be great! ;)

R.A., take a look at the books you've got up next to read. Do any of them fit into any of the categories that are available? A great place to look for checking within the text is books.google.com. If the book you want to read has a preview on that site, it's searchable. The search box is on the left-hand side of the screen (on a computer; not sure about the setup on a smart phone or other device), once you're on the book's page.

Andrea wrote: "R.A., take a look at the books you've got up next to read. Do any of them fit into any of the categories that are available? A great place to look for checking within the text is books.google.com. ..."

Thanks, Andrea!! :)

Glad to help.

And what if I don't have any books that fit into those categories?

Most of the categories aren't terribly hard...glancing at your to-read shelf, it looks like you have several possibilities. :) It doesn't specifically have to be Christian fiction, either, so if I need something to fit and don't have it, I often go online and read a vintage book that does. :)

Hannah wrote: "Most of the categories aren't terribly hard...glancing at your to-read shelf, it looks like you have several possibilities. :) It doesn't specifically have to be Christian fiction, either, so if I ..."

Right okay. :) Do people have to buy some books to do this?

R.A., I think I've gotten two from the library in three full team challenge games. I've previously owned all the other books I used. You'll be amazed how many books currently sitting on your bookcases will fit the categories.

Andrea wrote: "R.A., I think I've gotten two from the library in three full team challenge games. I've previously owned all the other books I used. You'll be amazed how many books currently sitting on your bookca..."

That's true! Our library is pretty bland, so I'll check out our own "library" here!! ;)

It's funny you call your books your library. My parents have been saying for years that I could easily start my own library with how many books and movies I own. I would too, except things don't always get returned (or in good condition) once they are lent out to that many people.

Andrea wrote: "It's funny you call your books your library. My parents have been saying for years that I could easily start my own library with how many books and movies I own. I would too, except things don't al..."

Haha!! Yeah with my books, my sisters books, my brothers books, my mom's books, and my dad's books we could easily start one! :D So when I said "library" I meant ALL our books, not just mine!! :p
Yeah, that's true!!

I haven't bought any books yet. :)

For the challenge, I mean!

Hannah wrote: "I haven't bought any books yet. :)

For the challenge, I mean!"

Haha! ;) Okay!!

"For the challenge, I mean!"

Hannah, I'm so glad you cleared that up. I was about to worry about you, not buying books before... :)

:D:D That would be drastic!

Yes, and quite impossible for me, to be sure.

Haha, yeah, for me too! :D

Most of my books I've read for the challenges have either been review copies or ones I've had. I have bought a few though. Depended on the book and whether or not I wanted to own it. I've checked several out from the library too.

Dawn wrote: "Most of my books I've read for the challenges have either been review copies or ones I've had. I have bought a few though. Depended on the book and whether or not I wanted to own it. I've checked s..."

Great, thanks! :)

Melanie, would you mind double-checking this one for me?

Would this cover work for a majority of blue:

I think it might because blue is the only color featured, and it really pops, drawing the eye directly to the color.

Thank you!

Andrea wrote: "Melanie, would you mind double-checking this one for me?

Would this cover work for a majority of blue:

I think it might because blue is the only color f..."

(Also, blue is mentioned in the text several times.)

(Several of the characters wear blue on a regular basis - Navymen.)

So sorry! I completely missed the part about "BLUE... in the text in word form."

Didn't mean to waste your time, Melanie. :)

Thanks, Kellyn! It totally works, then.

REWORDED

Melanie - Does work for task #1? Are there enough of the task colors in the cover? Also, is it okay that this is a collection of four books —each under 100 pages in length, with the word "leaf" (for the bonus point) being in one of the books in this collection?

#1: Fall Colors: Red/Orange/Yellow/Brown
*Read a book using one of the following options:
- Cover has majority color of RED, ORANGE, YELLOW, and/or BROWN.
- One of the above colors is on the cover in word form (author name, title, etc.).
BONUS POINT: if the book contains the word "LEAF" in its text.

Task #1 is proving to be rather difficult. Can this task's bonus point instructions be modified slightly to lessen its difficulty? It is more common for someone to refer to multiple "leaves" than a single "leaf", so maybe the Task #1 bonus point instructions could read:

BONUS POINT: if the book contains the word "LEAF" or "LEAVES" (as the plural form of the word "leaf") in its text.

:)

I like that it was a difficult task. It made the hunt more fun for me, and it was a great balance to some of the simpler tasks.

Monique, I will count that book for the task. There's just enough of the colors (her hair is red and takes up a big section of the cover).

Yes, that's fine. But since each novella is under 100, the entire collection/book has to be read (which I'm sure that's what was planned anyway).

---

I don't want to reword the task. It was purposeful to make it a little more difficult, but not too hard. I think finding just "leaf" does that. :))

Melanie wrote: "Monique, I will count that book for the task. There's just enough of the colors (her hair is red and takes up a big section of the cover).

Yes, that's fine. But since each novella is under 100, t..."

Thank you Melanie! :)

As some of you may have noticed, we have review discussion threads for each of our teams, found here . When we have finished reading and reviewing a task, we will post our task submissions in the review thread specific to the team we are on. These posts will be similar to previous challenges, and will look like this:

ROUND # : TEAM NAME

TASK NUMBER & TITLE
BOOK COVER
*Read by: NAME
*Page Count: 
*Date Finished: 
*How it works: 
*How it works for the BONUS POINT [if a bonus point is attached to the task]:
*Link to review: 


When there is a word in the text task requirement, in the "How it works" section of this post, be sure to give a quote from the book with the keyword in it, and include the page number.

For example, my post in my team review thread for Round One, which I finished this morning, looks like this:

ROUND ONE: TEAM CRANBERRIES

#2. Thanks-giving (November 23)

*Read by: MONIQUE
*Page Count: 208
*Date Finished: November 15, 2017
*How it works: “GRATEFUL” is in the text. "As we become increasingly grateful, God exchanges our worries and sorrow for his peace, joy, and abundant life" (p. 87).
*Link to review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...


I spoke with Melanie (CFB and challenge moderator) about this, and she gave her approval. :)

Be sure to post your task submission within the dates of the round you wish it to count for. Also, keep in mind that the review threads are only for our task submissions. All other discussions will be in the chat threads.

Happy reading everyone! Round One has officially begun! :)

For those who don't know, to add a book link or cover to a post, simply click on the "add book/author" link above the comment box, select link or cover, search for and find the edition of your book, and click "Add." :)

To make sure you don't miss out on your team's discussions, click on "Notify me when people comment" above or below the comment box on your team's chat and review threads found on the main "Fall Into Winter Challenge!" discussion page (which you can get to by clicking on the link at the top of this page). If you do not want to receive notification emails and only want to receive notifications on Goodreads, select the "Notification Only" option.

Melanie, would something like this quote work for #3 Thanksgiving Gathering:

"They'd celebrated Thanksgiving together two weeks ago, as several of them were working this long weekend." (The Protector by Dee Henderson)

Yes, that works.

Thank you!

Melanie - For the Round One bonus task, will the plural form of the word "basket" be okay ("baskets")?

That will work. :)

Awesome! Thank you Melanie! :)

I've got a question about the color appearing in written form. For example, if I wanted to read a book that has cover text in GOLD, would that be acceptable?

Here's the book I'm thinking about:


The title is in GOLD, so would work for the Christmas Color task. But that's if I'm understanding the meaning of color appearing in written form on the title/cover correctly.

#26. Christmas Colors: Red/Green/White/Gold
*Read a book using one of the following options:
- Cover has majority color of RED, GREEN, WHITE, and/or GOLD.
- One of the above colors is on its cover in word form (author name, title, etc.).

With this task, the majority of the cover has to be RED, GREEN, WHITE, or GOLD, or a combination of these colors... This means there must be more RED, GREEN, WHITE, and/or GOLD than any other color on the cover.

The second option requires one of the words "RED," "GREEN," "WHITE," or "GOLD" to be on the cover. For example:
- the word "RED" is in the title, Where the Red Fern Grows.
- The author's name (on the cover) is Hope White.

I hope this helps Dawn. :)

Thanks. I was confused as to what the color appearing in word form meant. That helps a lot!

Melanie - Is it okay to read the same book for a task that someone on your team read for a different task in a previous round, as long as books don't show up for more than one task per round? There is a book that someone on my team read for Round #2 that I have since purchased and would like to read for another task in Round #3 or #4. :)

I would think as long as it isn't the same person reading the same book, it wouldn't matter how many people read it (in the same round or different rounds). But I'd love to hear Melanie's perspective on this too.

Last challenge my team had a book that three members read for different categories...two of us in the same round.

Monique wrote: "Melanie - Is it okay to read the same book for a task that someone on your team read for a different task in a previous round, as long as books don't show up for more than one task per round? There..."

It doesn't matter, so long as it isn't the same person reading a book they read in an earlier round again. Everyone on a team could read the same book in a round, so long as it works for different tasks. ;)

Melanie - Would and/or qualify for the bonus point instructions of task #35?

#35. Valentines Day (February 14) + BONUS
*Read a book using one of the following options:
- LOVE or HEART can be found in the book's title or in its text.
- A HEART can be found on the cover.
- A character receives flowers or a box of chocolates.
BONUS POINT: if the book has a [?mostly?] red cover.

Or does this require a book with an almost entirely red cover? If this is the case, would work? Or ? Or ?

Monique wrote: "Melanie - Would and/or qualify for the bonus point instructions of task #35?

#35. Valentines Day (Feb..."

The New Diary would work for a mostly red cover, as would the last three. The only one I don't think would work is "Journey to Love Marie's Journey, 1901 (Orphan Journeys #1) by Amanda Tero".

Melanie, what's your policy for rereads? ;) I read Emily of Deep Valley in August 2016 ... which seems like a long time ago, but was it too short a time ago to count in the challenge? :)

For this challenge, I believe it's okay to reread any book you've read before the start of this challenge. I think the only rule in this is that one person cannot read the same book more than once for more than one task in the challenge.

Monique is correct. :) Kellyn, you can definitely count that one for the challenge.

Okay, thanks!