Reading with Style discussion

For general questions about our Summer 2019 challenge.

The author list in the Quick Links post has been updated to include a column for Young authors.

All authors born 1969 or later will qualify for this new style, as will any author who died at age 50 or younger.

All the tasks announced so far are right up my alley.... thanks.

Young Style

Will Murasaki Shikibu be considered young?

It is unclear how old she was. But it looks like the best guess is that she died just under 50 if you accept the 1014 date of death.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muras...

Mary wrote: "Young Style

Will Murasaki Shikibu be considered young?

It is unclear how old she was. But it looks like the best guess is that she died just under 50 if you accept the 1014 date of ..."

Yes, you can claim Young style points for her. We will make sure the dates work.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "Young Style

Will Murasaki Shikibu be considered young?

It is unclear how old she was. But it looks like the best guess is that she died just under 50 if you accept the ..."

Thanks. Now I just need to get thru 1000 pages!

Mary wrote: "Thanks. Now I just need to get thru 1000 pages! "

Jumbo, Oldies - lots of incentive!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Mary wrote: "Thanks. Now I just need to get thru 1000 pages! "

Jumbo, Oldies - lots of incentive!"

That was my thought. And it will be my carryover book from this seasons’ Asia task! No way I am finishing it in two weeks when I am only 10 percent thru!

Love the tasks!

Just to check I'm interpreting the Young style correctly ... if the author is alive now, they must be 50 or under in 2019 (born 1969 or later). So if they are now 60, but the book I'm reading was written when they were 30, it would not qualify.

Is that right?

Correct. It is the author's current age, not the age at which the book was first published.

Another question on age: David Mitchell Cloud Atlas was born January 12, 1969, So does he count? He is 50 years and a few months old.

Yes, he will count. We track only birth/death years and ignore the day/month.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Yes, he will count. We track only birth/death years and ignore the day/month."

Thank you.

hello! i am wondering when the rest of summer's 10-point tasks will be posted? i am sorry if this was asked and answered somewhere, and i've missed it. thank you!! :)

With the polls closing last night, additional 10- and 20-point tasks will be posted today or tomorrow. The member tasks (3 10-pointers, 1 20-pointer) aren't chosen/posted until the beginning of the season.

excellent! thank you, elizabeth. :)

When reading the style points, I noticed the 10 points for a review was gone. Correct? No points for writing reviews?

Lynn wrote: "When reading the style points, I noticed the 10 points for a review was gone. Correct? No points for writing reviews?"

Correct. There are 5 styles each season. Combo/Jumbo are our perennials, but the other 3 styles rotate, and there is no regular sequence for any of them.

Just a comment. Seems like we get a lot of chances to read about history, both fictional and non fictional, which appears to be the largest stack of my hard copy TBR books so thank you, thank you, thank you, Taskmakers!

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "With the polls closing last night, additional 10- and 20-point tasks will be posted today or tomorrow. The member tasks (3 10-pointers, 1 20-pointer) aren't chosen/posted until the beginning of the..."

One more newby question here. I realize there is still a day to go and things might change..... If a person is responsible for picking a book recommendation or making a task, what is the etiquette? Do the moderators notify people? Are members responsible for keeping up and posting somehow on their own? Honestly, watching the Readerboard makes me nervous and I want to shut down the computer today.

Lynn wrote: "Honestly, watching the Readerboard makes me nervous and I want to shut down the computer today. "

This is a fun time for all of us. When Kate has finished tallying all the posts and scores, she sends out a message to all task and group reads winners. She usually asks for 3 options for tasks, and she and I select one, usually their first selection, but sometimes not. The group reads selections are whichever the member selects as the one they'd most like to recommend to the group.

And don't let your nerves get the best of you. At 100% of reviews, you're sure to be one to select a group reads. While that task almost always has the fewest options, it sometimes has as many as 18-20 books.

Anika's announcement is unusual, because, well, it is an unusual situation.

Thank you for the prompt response as always!!

Lynn wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "With the polls closing last night, additional 10- and 20-point tasks will be posted today or tomorrow. The member tasks (3 10-pointers, 1 20-pointer) aren't chosen/posted..."

I want to chime in here. I typically message members for task ideas or book recommendations the first day or two of the challenge. However, in order for that to work, each member must have their account set to receive messages. If an account is not set up to receive messages, the member may need to initiate contact with me or change their account settings.

Should we still post review for the Summer 2019 season?

Lynn wrote: "Should we still post review for the Summer 2019 season?"

You can post if you wish, but there are no style points.

Guess it has been awhile since I checked BPL for YA. The Alienist by Caleb Carr is listed as “assignment”. Is that the same as YA assignment? It doesn’t have a Lexile rating.

itpdx wrote: "Guess it has been awhile since I checked BPL for YA. The Alienist by Caleb Carr is listed as “assignment”. Is that the same as YA assignment? It doesn’t have a Lexile ra..."

Yes, and I just checked the database to see if it was grandfathered in. Sorry, no. It can be used for RwS tasks, but no styles.

Could I assume that any author who has won the Betty Trask award in the last fourteen years would qualify for young style points?

Coralie wrote: "Could I assume that any author who has won the Betty Trask award in the last fourteen years would qualify for young style points?"

We will need to have a birth year. I'm guessing that will be readily available, but I don't want to give an unqualified yes to the question.

I have some young authors to approve:

Jericho Brown
https://www.google.com/search?q=jeric...
Preti Taneja
https://penguin.co.in/thepenguindiges... - I'm still searching for the actual birthdate on her.
Wayétu Moore
https://www.google.com/search?q=wayet...
Is this how you want it done for approval or should we include the link when claiming the book? These three did not have the date on Goodreads.

If the author's birth year is available from a google search you don't have to post a request or a link in the claim thread at all. If you have to search further, then, yes, a link in the post will be fine. That is when I do the work to add the author to the database, and am looking for information at that time. We do need an actual birth year, not an estimate.

is there a place for people to share their summer challenge reading plans? browsing reading plans is almost as fun as snooping someone's real bookshelf! :)

I put my plan with my RG plan

Jennifer wrote: "is there a place for people to share their summer challenge reading plans? browsing reading plans is almost as fun as snooping someone's real bookshelf! :)"

We don't usually have one, but I can set one up.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "We don't usually have one, but I can set one up. "


oh - that's amazing. thank you, elizabeth! i think they used to be around in years gone by, so i really appreciate you resurrecting it this season!

Jennifer wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "We don't usually have one, but I can set one up. "


oh - that's amazing. thank you, elizabeth! i think they used to be around in years gone by, so i really appreciate yo..."

We did, but it of petered out. I'm glad it's resurrected too - 'cause I'm nosy like that.... ha, ha!

Anyone know Lauren Wilkinson's birth year (author of Group Read American Spy)? I have the sense that she qualifies for the Young category, but I haven't found her birth year yet.

Joanna wrote: "Anyone know Lauren Wilkinson's birth year (author of Group Read American Spy)? I have the sense that she qualifies for the Young category, but I haven't found her ..."

It's listed as 1984 on her GR author page.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "It's listed as 1984 on her GR author page."

Duh!

Joanna wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "It's listed as 1984 on her GR author page."

Duh!"

Since she added it to her GR page, I added it to her wikipedia page.

Valerie wrote: "We did, but it of petered out. I'm glad it's resurrected too - 'cause I'm nosy like that.... ha, ha! "

heh! :)

i am glad i am not alone, valerie. i really enjoy seeing what other people plan, and all the different possibilities!!

In the Completed Tasks thread Lynn wrote: "NOTE: I believe that "Cannot be used as a combo." means I can still claim other tasks as Combo points on this one?"

Yes, that's exactly what we mean. Several years ago, my brother designed a database for us to use for scorekeeeping. Among other things, it has the ability to catch combos that members might miss. But to do so, individual titles must qualify for the same tasks. This season both the 10.1 and the 20.8 are user specific; that is, books that you can read for one of those tasks might not qualify for another user. The query we use allows for that.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "In the Completed Tasks thread Lynn wrote: "NOTE: I believe that "Cannot be used as a combo." means I can still claim other tasks as Combo points on this one?"

Yes, that's exactly what we mean. Sev..."

Perfect. Thank you.

Young Style

Could you confirm that Jassy Mackenzie will qualify for the young style based on this

Happy Birthday, Jassy Mackenzie, born 19 May 1970

Found at
https://writerswrite.co.za/literary-b...

Thanks!

Mary wrote: "Young Style

Could you confirm that Jassy Mackenzie will qualify for the young style based on this

Happy Birthday, Jassy Mackenzie, born 19 May 1970

Found at
https://writerswrit..."

Yes. Please remind us when you post.

I have read two short works by F. Scott Fitzgerald for 10.7 and want to make sure I am understanding the rules correctly. The short story The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has a Lexile of 610. It is listed by itself on BPL with no YA designation. However, it is included in a short story collection that does have a YA designation. But it's okay for styles because of the "A single volume that contains multiple titles will not be used to determine YA" rule?

Denise wrote: ""A single volume that contains multiple titles will not be used to determine YA" rule? "

Are you claiming the single volume containing multiple titles?

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Denise wrote: ""A single volume that contains multiple titles will not be used to determine YA" rule? "

Are you claiming the single volume containing multiple titles?"

No, I am claiming the individual titles:

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (64 pgs.) by F. Scott Fitzgerald and

The Diamond as Big as the Ritz (58 pgs.) by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Sorry, Denise. I should have looked more carefully before trying to respond. I don't see either of those titles listed as YA at BPL, so there is no Lexile rule to apply. You're good with any styles that apply.

Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Sorry, Denise. I should have looked more carefully before trying to respond. I don't see either of those titles listed as YA at BPL, so there is no Lexile rule to apply. You're good with any styles..."

Great, thank you Elizabeth!