Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ

Well, here we are almost at the end of Challenge #10! Given all the holidays and such, I was thinking we might like to work on the next challenge now, before we are all totally immersed in cooking, wrapping, sending cards, etc.

Again, I'm willing to help, but who is interested in working on this challenge? What ideas for tasks are out there?

I would like to suggest a set of tasks centered around our various categories on the site.

Lydia wrote: "Well, here we are almost at the end of Challenge #10! Given all the holidays and such, I was thinking we might like to work on the next challenge now, before we are all totally immersed in cooking,..."

Agreed. Want to throw some ideas out there?

Ideas:

1. Read a book by an author whose name (first or last) begins with J, F or M

2. Read a book with a romantic storyline or subplot (Feb 14, and all!)

Lydia wrote: "Well, here we are almost at the end of Challenge #10! Given all the holidays and such, I was thinking we might like to work on the next challenge now, before we are all totally immersed in cooking,..."

Good idea! I'll help you if you like. Let me think and I will get some ideas together...

Working from the format of the last challenge, here was what I came up with:

Section 1 "Involve Yourself"
1.1 Read any book discussed in one of the discussion threads here at Wild Things, and contribute to the discussion.
1.2 Read one of the group reads chosen during January, February, or March and contribute to the discussion.
1.3 Read a book that's at least 4 star-rated on goodreads and with your post tell us if you think it deserves the rank.
1.4 Read a book from the WT Top Novel list and discuss why you think it should or should not be on the list.
1.5 (20 Points) Read two books that were recommended to you from goodreads (either the from the site or from a member) and post how you liked them

Section 2 "Firsts" (As in the first day of a new year)
2.1 Read the first book of a series
2.2 Read a book where the main character has a major "first" (first date, first day of high school, etc.)
2.3 Read the first book published by an author you enjoy (can be non-YA)
2.4 Read a book that is ranked first on a listopia list (list should have at least 100 voters)
2.5 (20 Points) Read two books with one of the following in the title: First, One, Start, Begin/Beginning

Section 3 "2012"
3.1 This is a leap year! Read a book that has 366 (or more) pages, since we will be getting a bonus day this year
3.2 Hopefully the Mayans were not accurate in their prediction of 12/21/12, but there is sure to be much talk of it this year. Read a book about a post-apocalyptic world.
3.3 This is an election year in the U.S. Read a book where politics plays a role (main character could be on student council, or a family member could be a politician)
3.4 Read a book published in 2012
3.5 (20 Points) Read two books with the words happy, new, or year in the title

Section 4 "Lucky in Love" - That's right, Valentine's Day (perhaps overly commercialized, but it's always nice to take the time to remind someone you care) & St. Patrick's Day are soon upon us
4.1 Read a book where the main character falls in love
4.2 Read a book that features one of the following pictured on the cover: lips, candy, shamrocks/clovers, or rainbows
4.3 Read a book that's title starts with L, O, V, or E or L,U,C,K (5 Bonus Points if your title includes multiple letters of either LOVE or LUCK)
4.4 In honor of the leprechauns, read a book that has magical creatures/beings
4.5 (20 Points) Read two books with one of the following in the title: love, kiss, sweet, luck(y), gold, or green

Section 5 “As the world turns� - A lot happens in the first three months of the year, read a few books to tie in with events
5.1 Chinese New Year is January 23rd, and it's the year of a dragon! Read a book with a main character of Chinese descent/written by an author of Chinese descent, or a book that has a dragon in it.
5.2 Super Bowl Sunday is February 5th. Read a book with an NFL mascot on the cover or in the title, can be plural or singular (i.e. Bears, Saints, Dolphins, etc.) *If you are not in the U.S. you can read a book with a team mascot from another sport if you prefer, please let us know the team you choose if you pick this option*
5.3 Many schools have spring break in March, read a book set in a place you would like to go
5.4 March 20th is the vernal equinox, aka the first day of SPRING! Read a book with a plant or flower on the cover, or as part of it's title (e.g. Wild Roses)
5.5 (20 Points) The Academy Awards are on February 26th, read a book from each listopia list below, you can choose non-YA (+5 Bonus points if you watch the movie as well and let us know if you agree which was better)

The Book Was Better Than the Movie List




I didn't add a BONUS Section like last time, but if that was popular enough I'm sure we could add it again. As with the last time, I'm very open to tweaking things
:-)

Maybe we can do GR Choice Award nominees and winners for part of it?

Those are all great ideas. I like incorporating the GR winners, I think that'd be new for our challenge.

I always like to stretch my comfort zone a little with the challenges; I'd like to see tasks that take us into different sub-genres. We could specify reading something you wouldn't normally pick up as part of a task, it is the honor system anyway.

I like these ideas in general, but they seem a bit heavy on the "read a book with X in the title" (six books total) I find these are ones that I am least likely to fulfill, since I feel like there are only so many options, so I have to read a random book instead of one that I am at least vaguely interested in. The "find X on the cover" is much broader, since there are often small unnoticed bits on covers, and there are usually several elements per book. It seems like single word titles are becoming more and more prevalent.

February is Black History Month and March is Women's History Month, it might be nice to see these acknowledged, if only in a Bonus section like last time.

Ann wrote: "I like these ideas in general, but they seem a bit heavy on the "read a book with X in the title" (six books total) I find these are ones that I am least likely to fulfill, since I feel like there..."

Agreed. I also don't love doing the WT Top Novel List again. I had a hard time with that one on this challenge because I've read most of the books on that list that I find even remotely interesting and I don't like to re-read.

Maybe instead of "read two books with the word first..." we could make that "read two books that are the first in a series". (It seems like every other book is part of a series these days, so that shouldn't be too hard to find.) And then we could replace the original 2.1 with "Read a book by a first time author (with only that one book published so far".

Or is that too much like read the first book published by an author you enjoy? I feel like reading the first work of someone I already like is a different experience from reading a book that is, by definition, not only their first work but also my first experience with the author.

Ann wrote: "Maybe instead of "read two books with the word first..." we could make that "read two books that are the first in a series". (It seems like every other book is part of a series these days, so that ..."

I like a book by a first time author better than the first book by an established author, myself. I like 1.3 a lot, but would like it a *tiny* bit better if we made it a book rated 4 stars by a WT member.

I like to encourage discussion within our group, so anything that requires posting thoughts after reading has my vote as well.

Other things we've done in past challenges that were cool (in my opinion, anyway!) were read books that were nominated for the monthly read but didn't make it or read a book from our WT bookshelf that we haven't read before. I certainly have not read every book we've selected as a group read.

Also, please don't forget about including the Monthly Challenge somehow into the quarterly challenge. Would really love to see everyone who participates here participate there.

Also like the posting idea. Would love to see some of the discussions get going.

I like the posting idea too. In fact, I'd like to see it be required to post as a separate thread about the book for at least one of the challenges. I often read what other people post in the challenges thread, but I'm sure that not everyone does, and I'm fairly sure that a lot of the books that are mentioned in the challenge thread already have previous discussion threads in their genre sections, or would acquire a vivid discussion if one was created. The more interaction between group members, either dissecting books or gushing wholeheartedly, the more vibrant our community.

Perhaps instead of the WT top books list we could use someone else's list, like the 1001 Children's books to read before you grow up or a Listopia list.

Jennifer W wrote: "Perhaps instead of the WT top books list we could use someone else's list, like the 1001 Children's books to read before you grow up or a Listopia list."

Or Nerdy Book Club will have a best of 2011 list-

Jennifer W wrote: "Perhaps instead of the WT top books list we could use someone else's list, like the 1001 Children's books to read before you grow up or a Listopia list."

There are loads of great YA Listopia lists out there! I like that idea better. The WT list is kind of tired at this point. The more active members of the group have all posted their selections long ago, so there isn't a lot of newer fiction...

Cristen, do you want to oversee tthis Challenge?

I totally agree that is may be time to change the beginning in the first section about the WT Top Novel list. I think that is a great idea.It also seems very cool to pick a book from one of the many Listopias. That still keeps us in Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ.

The idea of a separate posting forum is also an excellent idea. Then our comments won't get mixed up with the counting procedure and it will be easy to see things like did you think the book was worth the 4 or 5 stars it received.

These are all great ideas. Keep them coming.

I was just throwing out some ideas, I think I'll take a backseat for this round because I'm running a challenge in another group

Does someone else want to run the challenge starting in January? You can use some, or all, or none of the tasks suggested by Cristen. I'm sure there are people willing to help, so it doesn't have to be just 1 person.

Here's my basic ideas of an outline:


Wild Things Challenge #11
1. The Challenge begins at 11:00 A.M. local time on January 1, 2012 and ends at 11:59 P.M. local time on March 30, 2012.
2. This Challenge is just for fun, so make sure you enjoy yourself and all the books you will be reading!
3. All books must be classified as Young Adult or Juvenile Fiction, unless otherwise noted in the task. If your local library classifies the book you chose as such, then the book may be included.
4. All books must be at least 100 pages long to count for any of the tasks, unless otherwise noted in the task.
5. Re-reads count, unless otherwise noted in the task.
6. Audio books and electronic books (unabridged), such as Kindle, all count for this Challenge. Page counts will be according to the Good Reads page count. You may want to note if you have read a hardback or paperback version of the book, just to accommodate page counts.

Tasks:

Wild Things

1.1 Read any book discussed on one of the Wild Things discussion boards and contribute to the conversation. [Discussion does not count for points.]
1.2 Read ONE of the groups reads for January, February AND/OR March and contribute to the discussion. [You will only get points for reading one of the two books selected for each month. Therefore, this task is worth at least 30 points. Discussion will not count for points.]
1.3 Read a book that WON a Young Adult award (nationally or state-wide). Discuss on the WT #11 Discussion Board whether you thought it deserved or did not deserve the award.[10 pts]
1.4 Read a book listed in the top ten (10) of a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Young Adult Listopia list. Discuss on the WT #11 Discussion Board why you think it should/should not be there.
1.5 Read a book that has received 5 stars from a Wild Things member To get points for this task, you must post whether or not you liked the book on the WT #11 Discussion Board.

It’s a Year of Firsts!

2.1 Read a book published in 2011 by an author you have never read before. Discuss on the WT #11 Discussion Board.
2.2 Read a book where the character has a “first� (e.g., first date, first day at school).
2.3 Read a book that is the first in a series by an author you enjoy.
2.4 Read a book that is the first on a Young Adult Listopia list (that has at least 100 votes) by an author you have never read before.
2.5 Read two books that have one of the following words in its title: First, One, Start, Begin/Beginning.

Happy Leap Year!

3.1 Read a book published in 2012.
3.2 Read a book that has 366 pages (or more). Post your opinion on the WT #11 Discussion Board.
3.3 Hopefully the Mayans were not accurate in their prediction about 11/21/11! Read a book about a post-apocalyptic/utopian/dystopian world.
3.4 Make sure you vote in this election year! Read a book where politics plays a role (e.g., main character is running for a student council position; family member is a politician; characters deal with a political issue).
3.5 Read two books that have the following words in the title: Happy, New, Year; and/or the theme/character is involved in a civil rights issue.

Lucky in February and March

4.1 It’s time for Ground Hog’s Day, Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and the Ides of March! Read a book where the main character falls in love, acts on Ground Hog’s Day, is Irish, involves some form of death, or has an Irish or Celtic theme/setting.
4.2 Read a book that features one of the following on its cover: lips, candy, shamrocks/clovers, rainbows, or an element of death. Discuss it on the WT #11 Discussion Board.
4.3 Read a book whose title begins with L, O, V, E, U, C, K. You may have 5 points for any title that has multiple letters.
4.4 What is St. Patrick’s day without magic? Read a book that has magical beings/creatures.
4.5 Read one book that has one of the following in its title: love, kiss, sweet, luck(y), gold, green, black, brown.

Celebrate Good Times!

5.1 It’s Chinese New Year on the 23rd of January � the Year of the Dragon. Read a book where with a main character/author of Chinese descent, or China as a setting. Participate in a discussion on the WT #11 Discussion Board.
5.2 Read a book by an author whose name begins with “J�, “F� or “M� [first or last name]. Discuss on WT #11 Discussion Board.
5.3 Let’s go on Spring Break! Read a book where the character(s) are travel/or are traveling for a holiday (5 extra points if there are really on spring break).
5.4 Ah! The Vernal Equinox! Let’s celebrate Spring. Read a book with a plant or flower on the cover or in its title.
5.5 The Academy Awards are another time to celebrate. Read either a book that has become a movie or the ORIGINAL novel that became a movie. [Check out the Listopia lists for some help � and 10 extra points for checking out both the movie and the book.] Discuss on the WT #11 Discussion Board.

BONUS:
6.1 Read a book with a character from India or Asia and you must post on the multicultural discussion board.
6.2 Read a book with a lesbian, gay, transsexual, or bisexual main character and you must post to the LGBT discussion board.
6.3 Read a book with a character named for any month on the calendar (e.g., May, April).
6.4 Read a book by a favorite author and you must post on the WT #11 Discussion Board, about not only why you like this author but why you do or don’t like this particular book.
6.5 Read a sequel/next in a series of any book you have read for tasks 1.1-5.5 and you must post on the WT #11 Discussion Board why you selected this specific author/book and whether or not the book lived up to your expectations.


Given this outline, how about:
10 pts for each task;
5 points for genres;
5 points for participation in discussions (which means, if a person does or does not want to participate in a discussion, they simply would not get the points) unless otherwise noted on the task.
2 points for each additional book on a task.

There would be, as suggested a separate board for discussions for this particular challenge (WT #11 Discussion Board).

I am willing to take on this challenge if that is okay. But if ANYONE ELSE wants it, just consider this my suggestions and go for what you want.

Lydia wrote: "Here's my basic ideas of an outline:


Wild Things Challenge #11
1. The Challenge begins at 11:00 A.M. local time on January 1, 2012 and ends at 11:59 P.M. local time on March 30, 2012.
2. This Cha..."

Lydia, could you please include something with the monthly challenges in the challenge?

3.5 Read two books that have the following words in the title: Happy, New, Year; and/or the theme/character is involved in a civil rights issue.


I'm not sure I'm following the logic. What do civil rights have to do with the New Year?

The Academy Awards are another time to celebrate. Read either a book that has become a movie or the ORIGINAL novel that became a movie.

Did you mean either a novelization of a movie (movie -> book) or the original novel (book -> movie)?

1.2 Read ONE of the groups reads for January, February AND/OR March and contribute to the discussion. [You will only get points for reading one of the two books selected for each month. Therefore, this task is worth at least 30 points. Discussion will not count for points.]

I'm not clear on what you mean by "Discussion will not count for points." If you have to discuss the book, then doesn't that mean the discussion counts for points? Because if you don't discuss it, then you don't get the points.

Also, since only one of the two books counts it should read "Therefore this task is worth a MAXIMUM of 30 points" not "at least", since "at least" implies that you could earn more points if you wanted to.

I would love to see something for Black History Month and/or Women's History Month.

Ann wrote: "3.5 Read two books that have the following words in the title: Happy, New, Year; and/or the theme/character is involved in a civil rights issue.


I'm not sure I'm following the logic. What do civi..."

The toughest part of running a challenge is often writing the tasks concisely! I found that while I knew what I meant, others did not automatically.

I'm sorry if I came off as a bit abrupt. I was just intending to clarify so that the organizers don't need to spend time clarifying when the official contest begins. I suspect more people read the actual challenge than read the prep-work part, so I was trying to head it off at the pass, my own attempt to help, since I do not have the time or energy to run a challenge. I'm well aware of how much work it must be. I appreciate that others are willing to run them!!!

Ann wrote: "I'm sorry if I came off as a bit abrupt. I was just intending to clarify so that the organizers don't need to spend time clarifying when the official contest begins. I suspect more people read the ..."

I didn't mean that negatively either. I knew what you were getting at! :)

These are all good comments and I thank you.

Perhaps I should explain my basic approach to this challenge. This is a difficult time for many WTs'. I was trying to give us a lot of easy options. There are so many things going in these three months and I wanted this to be more fun than a problem.

I agree that writing the tasks concisely is important! I welcome all comments which is why I posted this "draft" so we could all discuss it.

One of the reasons I didn't want to count the points on the monthly reads is because it seemed to me you would naturally want to discuss them on the designated boards. Since a separate discussion board created for this challenge seems to be desired, I did not want to conflict with the designated board for the monthly reads. Rather every entry on our designated board would be worth points. I stated one book of the monthly challenge because it might be easier for participants to read one and not both.In the end, I wanted to encourage people to read a book from the monthly challenge, but not tie them to writing multiple discussions.Yes!! I will change it to a maximum of 30 points -- however I was thinking about if people wanted to contribute also to the WR #11 Discussion Board. What do you all think?

Kellee, does this meet your request?

I included the civil rights to celebrate Martin Luther King's birthday in the month of January but did not want to mandate such a book. I just wanted to give people options.

I was not sure how to write the Academy Award thing that Cristen originally suggested. It may be difficult for some to get the movie AND the book. Often the movies are BASED on an original novel -- so I meant to give that option. What do you think would be a better way of wording it? Should I keep Cristen's original wording? Would that make it clearer? I don't personally read a "movie tie-in" since it is so --- icky? --so let me know what you think.

To be honest, I'm not quite sure what to do about the Black History Month, Women's Month, Hispanic Month, etc. I had a b**** of a time finding a Native American book for the last challenge. Plus, like the novel I'm writing, many YA books are multicultural -- which I wholly endorse [though in some ways I even have trouble with that!]. I guess I don't know what to do about such issues and I'm not sure why it is important to put it in the challenge.This is also why I did not include this in the Bonus section.

I would really appreciate input about this from everybody. I am terribly conflicted. So many books are about young women; there is an increasing number that are multicultural in an American culture sense; and I can honestly say I have no great love about the fiction or even the nonfiction for YAs about Black people. So, I would just like to know what you all think.

What I posted was DEFINITELY a suggested outline. I did not take offense at all. Please let me know what everyone thinks.

(Yeah, if you didn't know before, I am a woman of color.)

OH! If someone else wants to take over this challenge, JUST TELL ME! I would not be upset at all.

In the end, I wanted to encourage people to read a book from the monthly challenge, but not tie them to writing multiple discussions.

I think I was the person who originally suggested making posting a larger component. Everyone after me took that to mean creating a separate forum/posting place, but that wasn't what I had originally meant. (We are all unclear sometimes!) My original thought was to require posting in the already existing forums - exactly to prevent the problem here. So people would be required to post in the discussion for the monthly book, or if they were posting about a book that wasn't a monthly discussion book, they would go to the appropriate place. For instance, if I read ShipBreaker as my 1.3, I would go to the Sci/Fi forum and find a previous post about Ship Breaker and add to it, or, if there wasn't a previous discussion already, I would start one. I wanted to get the conversations flowing, and I think that would be both easier - in that we don't have to worry about the double posting issue you bring up here - and more likely to jump start conversations even among people who are not participating in teh challenge. I like to use the Unread folder, or look at the most recent posts. Sometimes seeing the title of a book I've enjoyed is more of an incentive to open the file than just a generic heading that covers many books.

We've had a requirement in past challenges that people have to post in already existing folders (or create one) and I believe it has worked OK for the purposes of the challenge. In another group I'm in where posting elsewhere is a requirement, when people post their points, the also include "posted in thread _____, message #____" then the challenge leaders can quickly find their post.

I think Kellee was trying to encourage participation in our on-going monthly challenge as well. The rules for that can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3.... Those of us who play both like to be able to "double dip" for points! We currently have 2 polls up for the themes for January's and February's topics. I could include March, too, if people wanted to be able to plan ahead. Polls are here: http://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/17....

Finally, thank you Lydia, and anyone else who has ever run one of these challenges. It's a lot to keep a handle on, and I personally couldn't do it.

I agree with the AA month and Women's Rights. Those are both great holidays, but I cannot stand reading books about them. It may just be me, but I love fantasy and sci-fi and those are hard to find in these genres. I think it's an awesome draft for a challenge. I already started looking for books for some of them.

Emily wrote: "I agree with the AA month and Women's Rights. Those are both great holidays, but I cannot stand reading books about them. It may just be me, but I love fantasy and sci-fi and those are hard to find..."

Agreed! I hated the the Hispanic/Native American thing this time around (no offense). I'm honestly thing about re-reading Twilight or Part-time Indian again, just to be done with it... I've got so much new stuff to read for review, it's hard when the focus becomes SO narrow. Maybe one book focusing on one of the the history weeks would suffice? Like, "Choose a book relating to one of the following themes: x, y, or z" with possible bonus points if you read more than one.

I have a few other ideas as well... I think Lydia/Cristen have a great start going, but there are a few things that I might tweak. (And since I'm so full of ideas, I am happy to help with this one, or even take over if Lydia doesn't feel like doing it...)

As far as award winners, maybe we could include 2011 nominees as well? Most of them have been announced, but winners haven't yet, and won't be for awhile. We did a challenge that was heavy on award winners over the summer and it would be nice to include some more current award nods. Or maybe Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Choice Award winners, which were just recently announced.

5.1 is pretty narrow too. It's fairly easy to find authors/characters of Asian descent, but not necessarily so to determine Chinese vs. other Asian heritages (I found birthdates on the current challenge a problem too- they just aren't available for everyone). Maybe we could make it China/Chinese/or dragons?

I do love dragons

Lydia wrote: "These are all good comments and I thank you.

Perhaps I should explain my basic approach to this challenge. This is a difficult time for many WTs'. I was trying to give us a lot of easy options. Th..."

I would just like there to be something to encourage challenge participants to take part in the monthly challenge as well. For example, in past challenges they offered bonus points if the book for the challenge fit the monthly challenge as well. It just helps us get people to participate in the monthly challenge. It does not need to be any more than that.

Ann wrote: "In the end, I wanted to encourage people to read a book from the monthly challenge, but not tie them to writing multiple discussions.

I think I was the person who originally suggested making posti..."

And I agree with Ann. By posting on discussion boards, I think the originally post-ee meant that they just post on the existing threads or make a new one in the correct folder to help discussions get going again. It can be bonus points too...

Yes, I'd also rather see threads started/updated in our existing folders than make new (and possibly duplicate) discussion threads in another area.

Ann wrote: "In the end, I wanted to encourage people to read a book from the monthly challenge, but not tie them to writing multiple discussions.

This was then a COMPLETE misunderstanding. I have always believed that the posts should be in the files/folders for each subject. And it is really easy to find out if a person has posted. I must have just interpreted that statement incorrectly! So sorry.

What if we made participating in the monthly challenge (and I am assuming you mean the group reads -- if not tell me) worth more points? Perhaps, we could even make the first task have fewer components because we are asking for participation.

Jennifer, I have run one challenge before and remember that. I think it would be great just to ask people to list their posts. But then again, they can be pulled up on the search function.

Karis, when I did an intensive search on Native American YA books, I found ONE! That seriously depressed me but also made me decide not to complete the task. However, I hope it makes some of us encourage such writings.

Also Karis, I was wondering the exact same thing you were! It is very difficult to find 2012 when most of the books will be released some time that year. Thanks for the support for the idea that was in my head to use 2011!

In fact I think broadening the 5.1 task is cool. I could then encourage people to check the multicultural board for ideas. It might just be easier to read one of the books from that board.

Emily, thanks for thinking about those particular celebrations. While I obviously do not ignore them (in my own personal way), they have been included in several of the Jan-Mar challenges. For those participants who are students (and facing midterms) or parents of children, or whatever (for me it is preparing my taxes!), I know these months may be a bit heavy. So, I would really like people to have fun, maybe try a new book or a new author, to connect with others in the challenge or with those active on a board.

I am ready to just take on this challenge. My excel sheet is lined out and I would like to work out the problems in the suggested challenge.

I will post my changes by tomorrow. AND please do not hesitate to comment. This challenge belongs to all of the WT's and why every idea can't be incorporated, everyone should be heard.

Here is my new suggested format. PLEASE make your suggestions.


Wild Things Challenge #11
1. This Challenge is just for fun, so make sure you enjoy yourself and all the books you will be reading!
2. The Challenge begins at 12:00 A.M. local time on January 1, 2012 and ends at 11:59 P.M. local time on March 30, 2012. The final list of winners will be posted by 12:00 A.M on 5 April 2012.
3. All books must be classified as Young Adult or Juvenile Fiction, unless otherwise noted in the task. If your local library classifies the book you chose as such, then the book may be included.
4. All books must be at least 100 pages long to count for any of the tasks.
5. Re-reads count.
6. Audio books and electronic books (unabridged), such as Kindle, all count for this Challenge.
7. Page counts will be according to the Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ page count. Most books on Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ now have page counts for the various book formats (e.g., hardcover, softcover, e-book). If you used anything other than a hardcover, please note when you post for points.

Point Counts:

10 points for each task. Contributions to “appropriate boards� refer to the boards on WT. Please indicate which board you contributed to get all the points for the specific task, e.g., “Discussed on _____ board.�
5 points for genres (which can only be used once)
2 points for each additional book on a task

Tasks:

Wild Things Rule!

1.1 Read any book discussed on one of the Wild Things discussion boards Contribute to the conversation.
1.2 Read any or all of the groups reads for January, February and March and contribute to the discussion. This task is worth a total of 30 points.
1.3 Read a book that won a Young Adult award (nationally or state-wide). Discuss on the appropriate board whether you thought it deserved or did not deserve the award.
1.4 Read a book listed in the top ten (10) of a Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ Young Adult Listopia list (that has at least 100 votes). Discuss on the appropriate board why you think it should/should not be there.

It’s a Year of Firsts!

2.1 Read a book published in 2011 by an author you have never read before.
2.2 Read a book where the character has a first (e.g., first date, first dance, first day at school, first travel out of the state/country).
2.3 Read a book that is the first in a series by an author you enjoy or have never read. Discuss why you selected this particular book on the appropriate discussion board.
2.4 Read a book that is the first on a Young Adult Listopia list (that has at least 100 votes) by an author you have never read before.
2.5 Read two books that have one of the following words in its title: First, One, Start, Begin/Beginning.

Happy Leap Year!

3.1 Read a book published in 2011.
3.2 Read a book that has 366 pages (or more).
3.3 Hopefully the Mayans were not accurate in their prediction about 11/21/11! Read a book about a post-apocalyptic/utopian/dystopian world and post your thoughts/opinions on the appropriate board.
3.4 Make sure you vote in this election year! Read a book where politics plays a role (e.g., main character is running for a student council position; family member is a politician; characters deal with a political issue).
3.5 Read two books that have the following words in the title: Happy, New, Year; Leap, Celebrate or any word related to sound (e.g., whistle, toot, blow. � like the horns we use at midnight!).

Lucky in February and March

4.1 It’s time for Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day and the Ides of March! Read a book where the main character falls in love, is Irish or of Irish descent (hey, or even has an Irish name), involves some form of death, or has an Irish or Celtic theme/setting.
4.2 Read a book that involves any form of death.
4.3 Read a book whose title begins with L, O, V, E, U, C, K. Get 5 extra points for any title that has multiples of the letters. (Check it out! The only vowels not included are “a�, “I�, and sometimes “y�!)
4.4 What is St. Patrick’s Day without magic? Read a book that has magical beings/creatures/setting.
4.5 Read one book that has one of the following in its title: love, kiss, sweet, luck(y), gold, green, black, or brown. If you find vernal or equinox in the theme, that deserves an extra 5 points.

Celebrate Good Times!

5.1 It’s Chinese New Year on the 23rd of January � the Year of the Dragon. But let’s celebrate any culture other than American! Read a book about any place or protagonist other than American. Check out the boards for help. Many, other than the multicultural boards, include recommendations. Participate in the discussion on the board from which you selected your book.
5.2 Read a book by an author whose name begins with “J�, “F� or “M� [first or last name].
5.3 Let’s go on Spring Break! Read a book where the character(s) are traveling for a holiday (5 extra points if there are really on spring break).
5.4 Ah! The Vernal Equinox! Let’s celebrate Spring. Read a book with a plant or flower on the cover or in its title.
5.5

BONUS:
6.1 Select three books from three different WT boards where you have never/or rarely (less than 4 posts) posted before. After reading the books, post on the boards. [30 pts]
6.2 Read a book by a favorite author and post to the appropriate board..
6.5 Read a sequel/next in a series of any book you have read for tasks 1.1-5.5 and post on the why you selected this specific author/book and whether or not the book lived up to your expectations.

10 pts for each task;
5 points for genres;
5 points for participation in discussions (which means, if a person does or does not want to participate in a discussion, they simply would not get the points) unless otherwise noted on the task.
2 points for each additional book on a task.
Discussions: There are never any hard and fast rules about contributing to discussions when posting to a board. However, it would be very cool if you could help stimulate discussion if you talked about why you liked/disliked the book; what you think of the author’s writing; and/or what audience you might/might not make a recommendation (e.g., a specific audience such as preteens, young adults, teachers, etc.).

Who knows? You might find a new genre to explore or a new WT friend.


I do have a couple of questions.

(1)My library now lists some sequels as adult fiction. Should we specify that if the initial book in a series is subsequently listed as YA, the rest of the series can be considered YA?

(2) I have also included a 6th standard -- Jennifer -- because the GR librarians are making a concerted effort to make sure all books have the various formats listed. Should we always use the hardcover page counts or make some distinctions?

All suggestions are welcome!!

Oh, and one more question! Should we separate science fiction from fantasy in the genres?

In regards to your library listing some sequels as adult fiction...

The publishers are actually more often rereleasing some childrens/teen books with new covers for the adult sections of stores too. Some examples that I have seen are The Graveyard Book by Gaiman and Witch and Wizard by Patterson. I think they are trying to tap into the adult world without making the adult feel odd for reading kid books or something.

Interesting new trend if you ask me.

I tend not to use my library's classifications at all. They classify A LOT of YA as Adult because of content. For example, I just read How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr. I didn't even know my library had it because I had been looking in the YA/Teen section. Same with Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley. Both are YA, without question, but when I asked my library they told me that any books with "known sexual content, mature themes, or language" is put in the sdult section because they don't want coplaints from parents. All of Ellen Hopkins's books are "Adult" as are Carrie Ryan's (which I TOTALLY do not understand). So... for a reference point, I use the publisher or the book store. There's ton of crossover too. A recent example is The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It's in both areas in my bookstore, plus all over the YA blogs.

Lydia wrote: "Oh, and one more question! Should we separate science fiction from fantasy in the genres?"

I believe that they are already separated... At least they were in past challenges.

Also, I know I am harping on this (sorry), but could you please put that if a person's book fits the monthly challenge they can get bonus points? I saw the discussion board aspect in your draft, but I didn't see anything about the monthly challenge...

Lydia wrote: What if we made participating in the monthly challenge (and I am assuming you mean the group reads -- if not tell me) worth more points? Perhaps, we could even make the first task have fewer components because we are asking for participation.

Hey, Lydia, sorry for the confusion, but Kellee and I are talking about the on-going monthly challenges. We keep points for books with a certain theme every month. They are much broader and easier than these quarterly challenges. They are not the monthly group reads. Our rules for the on-going challenge can be found here: http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/3....

Many books would work well for both challenges and we want to get people participating with us! For example, February's topic (in the polls) looks like it might be about dragons, that might work nicely with the task about Chinese New Year.

Let Kellee or I know if you have any more questions about our on-going challenge. Thanks!

As a head's up: 5.3 says (5 extra points if there are really on spring break). when it should say "they're". (I know, I know, I'm a grammar Nazi. I can't help it!)

Someone asked for guidance on setting up their spreadsheet last challenge... I just set mine up, if anyone wants to copy. The link is below. Starting to think about books...

wow that is fancy thanks!!!

For 3.3 The date should be 12/21/12

Jennifer W wrote: " Lydia wrote: What if we made participating in the monthly challenge (and I am assuming you mean the group reads -- if not tell me) worth more points? Perhaps, we could even make the first task hav..."

I was wondering about that! I think that's absolutely wonderful. Can you tell me how to word that?

Thanks -- I just copied the other.

As a head's up: 5.3 says (5 extra points if there are really on spring break). when it should say "they're". (I know, I know, I'm a grammar Nazi. I can't help it!)

I love grammar Nazis! (I am too, but of course I can't see it when I'm doing it).