The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Please post your general questions about the Fall 2018 Challenge here. Specific questions about individual tasks should be posted in the Help Threads for those tasks. You may find answers to some questions in FAQs.

What happened to task 20.5?

Paula wrote: "What happened to task 20.5?"

It's on the way.

Technically, less of a question than raising an issue, but I wasn't sure where else to post this.

If I remember rightly, this is the first season when any books involving colours on the cover are being referred to TinEye. Now I don't know if this was instituted to try to make it easier to confirm a colour, but I'm having real problems with its consistency.

I also noticed in the Questions thread that there are multiple instances where the reader and the mods got different TinEye results.

I think the problem is that when the covers are uploaded to the book records, it isn't done with consistent lighting, so the pictures of what are clearly the same cover are coming up with different readings, especially in the white/grey/light brown ranges.

I have a book with a cover that, if I look at it in front of me, to my colour vision is white

The hardback edition confirms that in TinEye is:

#f6f0f6 74.8% White Smoke (White)
#919290 5.8% Delta (Grey)
#304438 4.4% Timber Green (Green)

However, the image that was uploaded to the book page for the paperback - which is physically the edition I have - was obviously photographed in a different light, so it comes up as grey:

#ede7e2 77.8% Desert Storm (Grey)
#b0aea 36.7% Cloudy (Grey)
#4c5342 4.8% Cabbage Pont (Green)

Meantime, the kindle version comes up with different numbers again:
Rueful Death
#eae9e2 74.5% Desert Storm (Grey)
#9c9e97 8.6% Delta (Grey)
#c79e97 4.5% Careys Pink (Pink)

And what they say is the ebook is different again:
#eae9e3 74.7% Desert Storm (Grey)
#979b95 6.3% Delta (Grey)
#c49e97 5.8% Careys Pink (Pink)

And this is all despite the fact that it is obviously the same cover.

So I tried an experiment. I photographed my copy of the book four times, three in slightly different lights and once with the flash. Then I uploaded the pictures to TinEye. The first one gave me:

#cbcbc6 81.4% Alto (Grey)
#728c87 3.8% Gumbo (Green)
#af3735 3.4% Medium Carmine (Red)

The second was
#d4cac2 80.4% Swirl (Grey)
#cc9791 8.8% Quicksand (Brown)
#b71217 3.1% Venetian Red (Red)

The third was
#cfe1e1 74.5 % Jagged Ice (Green)
#839492 10.8 % Granny Smith (Green)
#c19899 2.8 % Viola (Red)

And the one with the flash was
#ccbea4 82.0% Soft Amber (Brown)
#c5816e 3.8% Burning Sand (Brown)
#ca1410 3.4% Venetian Red (Red)

IE, I can't even get the same result twice with my own book, in my own front room. Obviously factors like exposure and ambient light make a lot of difference.

Now, to me, that seems to say that using TinEye actually seems less reliable than just having the task owner eyeball the cover, and make a decision. At least that's consistent within a task, as its the same person's colour perception.

Why did I bother with all this? Because there's a task I want to use this book for. If I were claim it on the hardback it works. But I don't have the hardback, I have the paperback. And sure, I could pretend I was reading the hardback, but that wouldn't be right.

Is it possible to put a common sense human filter into reviewing tasks relying on TinEye?

Margaret wrote: "Just to make sure, since I'm almost finished with the book at last:

may I claim a Big Book ticket for a 640-page book that I started before the Fall Challenge began? I read 230 pages of this book ..."

Yes, you can. You're required to read more than half the book during the challenge. You've done that and the book is over 499 pages, so you're good.

For a task requiring 2 books and a total number of pages, if one book meets the total number of pages can the second book be an eBook with no print edition that has been approved in the eBook verification thread? I thought this had come up before but I couldn't find it.
And a variation - if the first book is less than 100 pages short of the total requirement (i.e. 600 total pages required, print book is 592 pages, ebook approved for length as 100+)

Julia wrote: "For a task requiring 2 books and a total number of pages, if one book meets the total number of pages can the second book be an eBook with no print edition that has been approved in the eBook verif..."

No, ebooks without print editions cannot be used for tasks requiring a specific number of pages.

Not a question, but something for consideration when Shree and the Mods refine Task 50.1: Goodreads often lists several versions of some awards, such as "longlist", "shortlist", or "finalist", and it is not always obvious that there are not award "winners". The Tiptree and Man Booker awards come to mind.

Just letting you know, in case you want to expand on examples of lists that are not "wins" when the final 50.1 Task gets published.

(If there is a better place to say this, someone let me know!)

If a task calls for a book that is not part of a series, and there is an unnamed sequel included in Goodreads as a book 2, does that book count as a series? I'm thinking of this book in particular at the moment, and though I'm not actually interested in using this book, I'm curious about how this would work.
Ready Player One and it's sequel Untitled

Shanna_redwind wrote: "If a task calls for a book that is not part of a series, and there is an unnamed sequel included in Goodreads as a book 2, does that book count as a series? I'm thinking of this book in particular ..."

The basic principle here is that we go by the GR information as it shows. The volume of posts here is too great for us to research individual books and keep records of ones where we are not going by the GR info.

That said, the individual user can pursue this, if they feel that the GR info is incorrect. As the rules of the challenge state, "6. If information in a Goodreads record is incorrect or incomplete, you may ask a Goodreads librarian to update the record if possible."

I looked at the info in the librarian manual, and this "book" seems rather questionable under the guidelines for what is "not a book": "untitled books where no verifiable publication information about the book exists (often these are titled "Untitled #3" and represent placeholder ISBNs that were never used) "

This one has no publication info, including no ISBN, placeholder or not.

So, if the GR data as it exists is preventing you from using a book, I would suggest pursuing this in the Goodreads Librarians Group. If you are relying on this info to use a book (for instance, using Ready Player One as #1 in a series), you should take care since if the Untitled book is not valid, it could be removed at any time by a librarian.

Are we getting a task ideas thread for the next challenge?

Coralie wrote: "Are we getting a task ideas thread for the next challenge?"

Oops!!

Coralie wrote: "Are we getting a task ideas thread for the next challenge?"

Sorry for the delay!
Winter Challenge 2018 Task Ideas

I'm going to read Rivers of London for one of the tasks. When they published this book in the States, they changed the title to Midnight Riot -- which will be the edition I will read. Do I need to get this approved somewhere? It is listed in the alternative editions on its GR page.

Stacey wrote: "I'm going to read Rivers of London for one of the tasks. When they published this book in the States, they changed the title to Midnight Riot -- which will be the edit..."

that depends on what task you are using it for. If it involves words/letters in the title, the edition you read is the one that must meet the requirements.

Sandy wrote: "Stacey wrote: "I'm going to read Rivers of London for one of the tasks. When they published this book in the States, they changed the title to Midnight Riot -- which w..."

No, its just a task to read from one of the lists, but its listed as Rivers of London.

I have a book on my Kindle (An Oblique Approach). There is a mass market paper edition listed, but it doesn't have page numbers. The top paperback edition has 467 pages. Would this be usable for a task requiring specific page numbers? Or would a librarian have to research how many pages the mass market edition has?

Julia wrote: "I have a book on my Kindle (An Oblique Approach). There is a mass market paper edition listed, but it doesn't have page numbers. The top paperback edition has 467 pages. Would this ..."

just move on to the next edition with page numbers - another MMPB if one is there, otherwise, the top PB edition.

I'm all out of sorts (new job, living in two places, etc.) and I can't find the thread I am looking for so hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

Can someone please add the PB edition Amazon link for An Event to Remember... and combine it with the kindle edition - An Event to Remember. . .or Forget.

Thanks!

Rebecca NJ wrote: "I'm all out of sorts (new job, living in two places, etc.) and I can't find the thread I am looking for so hopefully someone can point me in the right direction.

Can someone please add the PB edi..."

The PB edition was already there, although mistakenly marked ebook. I checked the ISBN...and found it belonged to the paperback. Entry corrected.

Bea wrote: "Rebecca NJ wrote: "The PB edition was already there, although mistakenly marked ebook. I checked the ISBN...and found it belonged to the paperback. Entry corrected."

Thanks Bea!