15th
Dusting Off The Shelves :: The Competitive Reading Group Update
It’s just over 2 weeks into the 3rd quarter of 2009. That means it’s time to update my competitive reading group’s totals.
As of June 30 the 9 of us have a combined total of 196 books worth a staggering 43,705 pages.
Adam Thada is in the page count lead with 7,587 pages read (between January 23-June 30), I’m breathing down his neck with a mean 7,555 pages. However, in total books read I’ve barely kept the lead with 36 books completed to Adam’s 34.
After writing about this a few months ago, many of you have asked me to post the rules for the group.
Here ya go:
As an approved member of this group, you are competing against the other members to read more books and/or pages in 2009 than anyone else here.
To keep this simple, once a quarter post the books you’ve completed along with a page count on the ‘Discussion Board.’ Only the books completed and the pages read in those completed books between January 23, 2009 and December 31, 2009 count toward your total.
The fine print, rules, terms and conditions of this competition are listed below:
A) TERMS
1) A ‘2009 Dusting Off the Shelves’ trophy or plaque will be awarded to both the person(s) who read the most books and the most pages during 2009 (between January 23, 2009 and December 31, 2009 count toward your total).
2) There is an entrance fee of $5 solely to be used to cover the awards, this must be paid to one of the Administrators by March 1, 2009 to remain eligible.
3) Membership will be limited at 25 participants who will be invited to this hidden Facebook group by February 15, 2009.
4) Quarterly Reading Report (QRR) lists need to be submitted to the entire membership of this group page by posting them on the ‘Discussion Board’ section for review and approval.
5) QRR not posted within 2 weeks after the end of the quarter will not count toward your annual totals.
6) QRR that are not “challenged” by membership of the group will be accepted as official totals. A “challenge” can be made against any book listed on a QRR that another member deems unsuitable for this competition. The “challenge” must be posted on the “Wall” of the group page. If at least 5 other members agree (by affirming the “challenge” with a wall post) that a “challenged” title should not count toward a reader’s totals then that book and those pages will be subtracted from the QRR.
7) All “challenge” disputes only have 2 weeks once “challenged” to be resolved.
B) WHAT COUNTS
1) A book must be completely read to count—no partial page totals will be added to annual total.
2) If the Introduction, Forward, Chapters and Conclusion are read then the Footnotes, Endnotes and Bibliography pages of that can be counted.
3) The first re-read of a book during the year of competition does count, but not a third read.
4) Unpublished manuscripts that are contracted will count at a 250 words per page total. If/when such manuscript is published during the year of competition the final page count of the actual book will be recorded.
5) Books started in a previous year and/or before January 23, 2009, but finished after January 23, 2009 count as a book read IF more than 50% of the pages are read after January 23, 2009. However only the actual pages read after January 23, 2009 will count in page totals.
6) Kindle editions of books do count but must be noted on the QRR.
C) WHAT DOESN’T COUNT
1) Children’s books, coloring books, pop-up books, read-along books do not count.
2) Joke books do not count.
3) Cook books do not count.
4) Phone books do not count.
5) Re-re-reads do not count, only the first re-read of the year will count.
6) Unfinished books will not count as a book completed nor will the pages read in an unfinished book count.
7) Periodicals such as journals and magazines do not count.
8) Books on tape or CD do not count.
