Chaitra’s
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Chaitra’s
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August1, 1965: Frank Herbert's novel, Dune was published for the first time. It was named as the world's best-selling science fiction novel in 2003.
🗓️Read a science fiction book.
2, 1939: Albert Einstein and Leo Szilard write a letter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, urging him to begin the Manhattan Project to develop a nuclear weapon.
🗓️Read a book in which the Manhattan Project is mentioned (tell us how your book fits if not obvious).
3, 1859: The American Dental Association is founded in Niagara Falls, New York.
🗓️Read a book with teeth shown on the cover (post the cover).
4, 1693: Date traditionally ascribed to Dom Perignon's invention of champagne; it is not clear whether he actually invented champagne, however he has been credited as an innovator who developed the techniques used to perfect sparkling wine.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character owns or works at a vineyard (tell us who).
5, 1926: Harry Houdini performs his greatest feat, spending 91 minutes underwater in a sealed tank before escaping.
🗓️Read a book in which an important character is a performing artist of some sort (tell us who and what they do).
6, 2012: NASA's Curiosity rover lands on the surface of Mars.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character works for an alphabet company (CIA, FBI, NASA etc., tell us who the MC works for).
7, 1947: Thor Heyerdahl's balsa wood raft, the Kon-Tiki, smashes into the reef at Raroia in the Tuamotu Islands after a 101-day, 4,300 mi journey across the Pacific Ocean in an attempt to prove that pre-historic peoples could have traveled from South America.
🗓️Read a book set on an island (tell us where your book is set).
8, 1969: At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a busy city road (post the cover).
9, 1897: The first International Congress of Mathematicians is held in Zürich, Switzerland.
🗓️Read a book in which mathematics is important (tell us how if not obvious).
10, 1835: P. T. Barnum begins his career as a showman and circus entrepreneur by exhibiting Joice Heth, an octogenarian African slave whom he claims was George Washington's nursemaid.
🗓️Read a book set at least partially in a circus or carnival.
11, 1929: Babe Ruth becomes the first baseball player to hit 500 home runs in his career with a home run at League Park in Cleveland, Ohio.
🗓️Read a book whose page count is > 500 pages (tell us how many pages).
12, 1865: Joseph Lister, British surgeon and scientist, performs the first antiseptic surgery.
🗓️Read a book in which a surgery is performed (tell us what kind of surgery).
13, 1905: Norwegians vote to end the union with Sweden.
🗓️Read a book set either in Norway or Sweden (tell us where your book is set).
14, 1885: Japan's first patent is issued to the inventor of a rust-proof paint.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows something that is rusted (post the cover).
15, 1057: King Macbeth of Scotland is killed at the Battle of Lumphanan by the forces of Máel Coluim mac Donnchada.
🗓️Read a book whose author’s last name contains a Mc or a Mac.
16, 1977: Elvis Presley, the king of Rock and Roll, dies at his Graceland estate.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character has substance abuse issues (tell us who).
17, 1876: Richard Wagner's Götterdämmerung, the last opera in his Ring cycle, premieres at the Bayreuth Festspielhaus.
🗓️Read the last book of a completed series (tell us the series).
18, 2005: A massive power blackout hits the Indonesian island of Java; affecting almost 100 million people, it is one of the largest and most widespread power outages in history.
🗓️Read a book set in South East Asia (tell us where your book is set).
19, 2010: Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait.
🗓️Read a book with a war in it.
20, 1962: The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage.
🗓️Read a book in which a sea voyage forms part of the plot.
21, 1911: The Mona Lisa is stolen by Vincenzo Peruggia, a Louvre employee.
🗓️Read a book in which an important scene is set in a museum.
22, 1639: Madras (now Chennai), India, is founded by the British East India Company on a sliver of land bought from local Nayak rulers.
🗓️Read a book set in India.
23, 1973: A bank robbery gone wrong in Stockholm, Sweden, turns into a hostage crisis; over the next five days the hostages begin to sympathize with their captors, leading to the term "Stockholm syndrome".
🗓️Read a book in which a hostage is held for however long.
24, 2023: Japan officially begins discharging treated radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, sparking international concerns and condemnation.
🗓️Read a book that deals with climate in any way.
25, 1944: World War II: Paris is liberated by the Allies.
🗓️Read a book set in France during WWII.
26, 1910: Mother Teresa, nun, missionary, Catholic saint and Nobel Laureate, is born.
🗓️Read a book whose main character is a nun or a missionary.
27, 1955: The first edition of the Guinness Book of Records is published in Great Britain.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains a superlative word (something that ends with -est).
28, 1963: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gives his I Have a Dream speech.
🗓️Read a book that deals with civil rights.
29, 1966: The Beatles perform their last concert before paying fans at Candlestick Park in San Francisco.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character attends or plays in a concert.
30, 1835: Australia: Melbourne, Victoria is founded.
🗓️Read a book set in Australia.
31, 1888: Mary Ann Nichols is murdered. She is the first of Jack the Ripper's confirmed victims.
🗓️Read a book with a serial killer in it.
July1, 1520: Spanish conquistadors led by Hernán Cortés fight their way out of Tenochtitlan after nightfall.
🗓️Read a book set in Mexico.
2, 1979: The United States issues the Susan B. Anthony dollar coin, making Anthony the first woman to be depicted on U.S. currency.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows money of some sort (post the cover).
3, 1938: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicates the Eternal Light Peace Memorial and lights the eternal flame at Gettysburg Battlefield.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a man made light source (post the cover).
4, 1776: The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress.
🗓️Read a book of your choice.
5, 1937: Spam, the luncheon meat, is introduced into the market by the Hormel Foods Corporation.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a savory dish on the cover (post the cover).
6, 1885: Louis Pasteur successfully tests his vaccine against rabies on Joseph Meister, a boy who was bitten by a rabid dog.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is gravely ill (tell us who and what they have).
7, 2019: Led by Megan Rapinoe, the U.S. women's football (soccer) team defeats the Netherlands to win its fourth World Cup.
🗓️Read a book in which a professional sport is played (tell us which).
8, 1932: The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.
🗓️Read a book in which the stock market is discussed for any reason (tell us how your book fits).
9, 1762: Catherine the Great becomes Empress of Russia following the coup against her husband, Peter III.
🗓️Read a book in which an empress, a queen or a princess is an important character (tell us who and what they are).
10, 1942: World War II: An American pilot spots a downed, intact Mitsubishi A6M Zero on Akutan Island (the "Akutan Zero"), which the US Navy then uses to learn the aircraft's flight characteristics.
🗓️Read a book in which someone figures out how to use unknown technology (tell us how your book fits).
11, 1893: The first cultured pearl is obtained by Kōkichi Mikimoto.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a pearl (either by itself or in jewelry, post the cover).
12, 1543: King Henry VIII of England marries his sixth and last wife, Catherine Parr, at Hampton Court Palace.
🗓️Read a book whose author is a Henry or a Catherine (reasonable variations okay).
13, 1814: The Carabinieri, the national gendarmerie of Italy, is established.
🗓️Read a book set in Italy.
14, 1960: Jane Goodall arrives at the Gombe Stream Reserve in present-day Tanzania to begin her study of chimpanzees in the wild.
🗓️Read a book whose main character is a scientist.
15, 1799: The Rosetta Stone is found in the Egyptian village of Rosetta by French Captain Pierre-François Bouchard during Napoleon's Egyptian Campaign.
🗓️Read a translated book (tell us the source language and the language of your book, if not English).
16, 1994: The comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is destroyed in a head-on collision with Jupiter.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains a cardinal number (9 or nine).
17, 1918: Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his immediate family and retainers are executed by Bolshevik Chekists at the Ipatiev House in Yekaterinburg, Russia.
🗓️Read a book in which a political execution occurs (tell us who, use spoilers if needed).
18, 1976: Nadia Comăneci becomes the first person in Olympic Games history to score a perfect 10 in gymnastics at the 1976 Summer Olympics.
🗓️Read a book that you give a perfect 10 to.
19, 1903: Maurice Garin wins the first Tour de France.
🗓️Read a book set in France.
20, 1848: The first Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, New York, a two-day event, concludes.
🗓️Read a book in which women’s rights are part of the plot (tell us how your book fits).
21, 356 BC: The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is destroyed by arson.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows any of the current seven wonders of the world (post the cover).
22, 2013: Prince George of Wales is born.
🗓️Read a book marked “Childrens” or “Middle Grade” on the main GR page.
23, 1962: Telstar relays the first publicly transmitted, live trans-Atlantic television program, featuring Walter Cronkite.
🗓️Read a book that has been made into a TV show (tell us which if not immediately obvious).
24, 1567: Mary, Queen of Scots, is forced to abdicate and be replaced by her one-year-old son James VI.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains a female name.
25, 2007: Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first female president.
🗓️Read a book whose author’s first and last initial are the same letter.
26, 1882: The Republic of Stellaland, a short-lived Boer Republic, is founded in Southern Africa.
🗓️Read a book set in a country that no longer exists as it did when the book was set (tell us where your book is set).
27, 1940: The animated short A Wild Hare is released, introducing the character of Bugs Bunny.
🗓️Read a book in which an anthropomorphic animal is part of the plot (tell us the animal if not obvious).
28, 2018: Australian Wendy Tuck becomes the first female skipper to win the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character travels to several different places over the course of the plot (tell us where they travel).
29, 2021: The International Space Station temporarily spins out of control, moving the ISS 45 degrees out of attitude, following an engine malfunction of Russian module Nauka.
🗓️Read a book set in near space (the planets as opposed to the stars).
30, 2003: Three years after the death the last Pyrenean ibex, Celia, a clone of her is born only to subsequently die from lung defects. Within minutes, the Pyrenean ibex becomes the first and so-far only species to have ever gone de-extinct as well as go extinct twice.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a horned/antlered animal (post the cover).
31, 781: The oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a painting (post the cover).
June1, 1495: A monk, John Cor, records the first known batch of Scotch whisky.
🗓️Read a book with alcohol on the cover (post the cover).
2, 1924: U.S. President Calvin Coolidge signs the Indian Citizenship Act into law, granting citizenship to all Native Americans born within the territorial limits of the United States.
🗓️Read a book whose author or main character is a Native American.
3, 1844: The last pair of great auks is killed.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows at least two of the same object (post the cover).
4, 1917: The first Pulitzer Prizes are awarded.
🗓️Read a book whose author has won a Pulitzer prize (tell us the year, the category and the book that won, if you’re not reading it).
5, 1883: The first regularly scheduled Orient Express departs Paris.
🗓️Read a book written by Agatha Christie.
6, 2002: A near-Earth asteroid estimated at ten meters in diameter explodes over the Mediterranean Sea between Greece and Libya. The explosion is estimated to have a force of 26 kilotons, slightly more powerful than the Nagasaki atomic bomb.
🗓️Read a science non-fiction book mentioning asteroids.
7, 1906: Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania is launched from the John Brown Shipyard, Glasgow, Scotland.
🗓️Read a book in which an important scene is set on board an ocean liner.
8, 793: Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles.
🗓️Read a book in which Vikings are mentioned (tell us the line and location in the book).
9, 1965: The Viet Cong commences combat with the Army of the Republic of Vietnam in the Battle of Đồng Xoài, one of the largest battles in the Vietnam War.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains an X somewhere (only title, not subtitle).
10, 1793: The Jardin des Plantes museum opens in Paris. A year later, it becomes the first public zoo.
🗓️Read a book set at least partially in Paris.
11, 1892: The Limelight Department, one of the world's first film studios, is officially established in Melbourne, Australia.
🗓️Read a book that has a speaking character who is a movie actor (tell us who).
12, 1817: The earliest form of bicycle, the dandy horse, is driven by Karl von Drais.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a bicycle (post the cover).
13, 1971: The New York Times begins publication of the Pentagon Papers, the United States Department of Defense history of the United States' political and military involvement in Vietnam.
🗓️Read a book (fiction or not) that describes military action of any kind. (tell us how your book fits).
14, 1928: Argentinian-Cuban physician, author, guerrilla leader and politician, Ernesto “Che” Guevara was born.
🗓️Read a book whose main character is referred to by a nickname (tell us the name and the nickname).
15, 1896: One of the deadliest tsunamis in Japan's history kills more than 22,000 people.
🗓️Read a book in which a natural disaster occurs (tell us what).
16, 2010: Bhutan becomes the first country to institute a total ban on tobacco.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character smokes tobacco (tell us who).
17, 1631: Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
🗓️Read a book with a white building prominently shown on the cover (post the cover).
18, 1858: Charles Darwin receives a paper from Alfred Russel Wallace that includes nearly identical conclusions about evolution as Darwin's own, prompting Darwin to publish his theory.
🗓️Read a book whose author or main character is a Charles, Darwin, Alfred, Russell or a Wallace.
19, 1865: Over two years after the Emancipation Proclamation, slaves in Galveston, Texas, United States, are officially informed of their freedom. The anniversary was officially celebrated in Texas and other states as Juneteenth. On June 17, 2021, Juneteenth officially became a federal holiday in the United States.
🗓️Read a book set during a summer-time holiday (tell us which).
20, 1840: Samuel Morse receives the patent for the telegraph.
🗓️Read a book in which a telegraph or morse code is used for whatever reason.
21, 2004: SpaceShipOne becomes the first privately funded spaceplane to achieve spaceflight.
🗓️Read a book in which a space flight occurs.
22, 1633: The Holy Office in Rome forces Galileo Galilei to recant his view that the Sun, not the Earth, is the center of the Universe in the form he presented it in, after heated controversy.
🗓️Read a book in which the Catholic Church plays an important role.
23, 1961: The Antarctic Treaty System, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and limits military activity on the continent, its islands and ice shelves, comes into force.
🗓️Read a book set at least partially in Antarctica.
24, 1374: A sudden outbreak of St. John's Dance causes people in the streets of Aachen, Germany, to experience hallucinations and begin to jump and twitch uncontrollably until they collapse from exhaustion.
🗓️Read a book in which mental health or illness is part of the plot.
25, 1978: The rainbow flag representing gay pride is flown for the first time during the San Francisco Gay Freedom Day Parade.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is LGBTQ+. (tell us who).
26, 2012: American director and screenwriter Nora Ephron dies.
🗓️Read a book that has a meet-cute in it.
27, 1905: During the Russo-Japanese War, sailors start a mutiny aboard the Russian battleship Potemkin.
🗓️Read a book whose title is one-word long and begins with a letter in POTEMKIN (all words count).
28, 1859: The first conformation dog show, in which individual purebred dogs are evaluated for how well they conform to the breed type for their breed, is held in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
🗓️Read a book set in England and whose cover shows a dog (post the cover).
29, 1613: The Globe Theatre in London, built by William Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, burns to the ground.
🗓️Read a play (bonus for Shakespeare; disregard the 150 page count rule for this one).
30, 1864: U.S. President Abraham Lincoln grants Yosemite Valley to California for "public use, resort and recreation".
🗓️Read a book set in a national park (tell us where your book is set).
May1, 1840: The Penny Black, the first official adhesive postage stamp, is issued in the United Kingdom.
🗓️Read a book with letter paraphernalia on the cover (envelope, letter, stamps etc.)
2, 1536: Anne Boleyn, Queen of England, is arrested and imprisoned on charges of adultery, incest, treason and witchcraft.
🗓️Read a book in which someone commits adultery, incest, treason or witchcraft (tell us who and what they commit).
3, 1953: Two men are rescued from a semitrailer that crashed over the side of the Pit River Bridge before it fell into the Sacramento River. Amateur photographer Virginia Schau photographs "Rescue on Pit River Bridge", the first and only winning submission for the Pulitzer Prize for Photography to have been taken by a woman.
🗓️Read a book whose cover is a photograph (not a painting or illustration; post the cover).
4, 2018: The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is held at St George's Chapel, Windsor, with an estimated global audience of 1.9 billion.
🗓️Read a book in which a wedding occurs.
5, 1891: The Music Hall in New York City (later known as Carnegie Hall) has its grand opening and first public performance, with Tchaikovsky as the guest conductor.
🗓️Read a book that is predominantly white or black (post the cover).
6, 1889: The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
🗓️Read a book with the Eiffel Tower on the cover (post the cover).
7, 1718: The city of New Orleans is founded by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne, Sieur de Bienville.
🗓️Read a book set in the state of Louisiana.
8, 1886: Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.
🗓️Read a book in which someone drinks a branded soda (bonus for Coca Cola; tell us which).
9, 1960: The Food and Drug Administration announces it will approve birth control as an additional indication for Searle's Enovid, making Enovid the world's first approved oral contraceptive pill.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is trying to be or is pregnant.
10, 1773: The Parliament of Great Britain passes the Tea Act, designed to save the British East India Company by reducing taxes on its tea and granting it the right to sell tea directly to North America. The legislation leads to the Boston Tea Party.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows tea things (post the cover).
11, 868: A copy of the Diamond Sūtra is published, the earliest dated and printed book known.
🗓️Read a book in which religion is an important part of the plot.
12, 1328: Antipope Nicholas V, a claimant to the papacy, is consecrated in Rome by the Bishop of Venice.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains words that mean the opposite of each other.
13, 1989: Large groups of students occupy Tiananmen Square and begin a hunger strike.
🗓️Read a book set in China.
14, 1918: Cape Town Mayor, Sir Harry Hands, inaugurates the Two-minute silence following the death of his eldest son Reginald Hands.
🗓️Read a book in which someone dies and is mourned.
15, 2004: Arsenal F.C. go an entire league campaign unbeaten in the English Premier League, joining Preston North End F.C. with the right to claim the title "The Invincibles".
🗓️Read a book in which an important character is a huge fan of a sports team (tell us who and which team).
16, 1929: In Hollywood, the first Academy Awards ceremony takes place.
🗓️Read a book that has been made into an award winning movie (tell us the movie and which award it has won, if not obvious).
17, 1875: Aristides wins the first Kentucky Derby with the jockey Oliver Lewis.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a horse (post the cover).
18, 1980: Mount St. Helens erupts in Washington, United States, killing 57 people and causing $3 billion in damage.
🗓️Read a book set in the state of Washington.
19, 1962: A birthday salute to U.S. President John F. Kennedy takes place at Madison Square Garden, New York City. The highlight is Marilyn Monroe's rendition of "Happy Birthday".
🗓️Read a book in which the main character celebrates a birthday.
20, 1570: Cartographer Abraham Ortelius issues Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, the first modern atlas.
🗓️Read a book marked “travel” on the main GR page.
21, 1927: Charles Lindbergh touches down at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is an aviator.
22, 1762: Trevi Fountain is officially completed and inaugurated in Rome.
🗓️Read a book in which a water feature is shown on the cover (post the cover).
23, 1995: The first version of the Java programming language is released.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is a coder.
24, 1883: The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City is opened to traffic after 14 years of construction.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a bridge (post the cover).
25, 1977: Star Wars is released in US theaters.
🗓️Read a Star Wars book.
26, 1998: The first "National Sorry Day" is held in Australia. Reconciliation events are held nationally and attended by over a million people.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character is sorry about something they did and atone for their actions (tell us how your book fits).
27, 1703: Tsar Peter the Great founds the city of Saint Petersburg.
🗓️Read a book whose title or author’s name has a Saint or St.
28, 585 BC: A solar eclipse occurs, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales, while Alyattes is battling Cyaxares in the Battle of the Eclipse, leading to a truce. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other dates can be calculated. It is also the earliest event of which the precise date is known.
🗓️Read a book set in an ancient civilization (tell us when your book is set, anything BC is fair game).
29, 1953: Edmund Hillary and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay become the first people to reach the summit of Mount Everest, on Tenzing Norgay's 39th birthday.
🗓️Read a book in which someone climbs a mountain.
30, 1539: In Florida, Hernando de Soto lands at Tampa Bay with 600 soldiers with the goal of finding gold.
🗓️Read a book set in the state of Florida.
31, 2005: It is publicly revealed that former FBI official Mark Felt is “Deep Throat,” the anonymous informant at the center of the Watergate scandal that involved U.S. President Richard Nixon's administration.
🗓️Read a book in which espionage occurs.
April1, 1976: Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak found Apple Computer, Inc.
🗓️Read a book in which an important character owns an Apple product (tell us who and what they own).
2, 1800: Ludwig van Beethoven leads the premiere of his First Symphony in Vienna.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character has a disability (tell us who and what they have).
3, 2016: The Panama Papers, a leak of legal documents, reveals information on 214,488 offshore companies.
🗓️Read a book in which finance and/or financial fraud is part of the plot (tell us how your book fits).
4, 1968: Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated by James Earl Ray at a motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
🗓️Read a book set during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
5, 1614: In Virginia, Native American Pocahontas marries English colonist John Rolfe.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking female character’s first name is the name of a Disney princess (tell us the name, and the Disney movie if not obvious).
6, 1896: In Athens, the opening of the first modern Olympic Games is celebrated, 1,500 years after the original games are banned by Roman emperor Theodosius I.
🗓️Read a book set in Greece.
7, 1933: Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, eight months before the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution. (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States.)
🗓️Read a book set during the years of Prohibition (for the purpose of this task: 1920-1933, inclusive. Tell us when your book is set).
8, 1820: The Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a statue (post the cover).
9, 1942: World War II: The Battle of Bataan ends and the Bataan Death March – the forcible transfer of 72,000 to 78,000 American and Filipino prisoners of war from the Bataan peninsula to Camp O’Donnell - begins.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a person walking (post the cover).
10, 1972: Tombs containing bamboo slips, among them Sun Tzu's Art of War and Sun Bin's lost military treatise, are discovered by construction workers in Shandong.
🗓️Read a book in which a construction project is being undertaken (tell us what).
11, 1951: The Stone of Scone, the stone upon which Scottish monarchs were traditionally crowned, is found on the site of the altar of Arbroath Abbey. It had been taken by Scottish nationalist students from its place in Westminster Abbey.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows something made of stone (post the cover).
12, 1961: The Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin becomes the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first crewed orbital flight, Vostok 1.
🗓️Read a book whose author’s or main character’s first name begins with a Y (tell us the MC’s name if using that option).
13, 1699: The Sikh religion is formalized as the Khalsa – the brotherhood of Warrior-Saints – by Guru Gobind Singh in northern India, in accordance with the Nanakshahi calendar.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character has or is serving in any branch of any military (tell us where they served).
14, 1935: The Black Sunday dust storm, considered one of the worst storms of the Dust Bowl, sweeps across the Oklahoma and Texas panhandles and neighboring areas.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows some kind of bad weather (post the cover).
15, 2019: The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris in France is seriously damaged by a large fire.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a place of worship (post the cover).
16, 73: Masada, a Jewish fortress, falls to the Romans after several months of siege, ending the First Jewish–Roman War.
🗓️Read a book written by a Jewish author (post the link to the author’s GR page).
17, 1986: An alleged state of war lasting 335 years between the Netherlands and the Isles of Scilly declared peace bringing an end to any hypothetical war that may have been legally considered to exist.
🗓️Read a book whose story is told by an unreliable narrator.
18, 2018: King Mswati III of Swaziland announces that his country's name will change to Eswatini.
🗓️Read a book set in a country in Africa (tell us where your book is set).
19, 1770: Marie Antoinette marries Louis XVI in a proxy wedding.
🗓️Read the 16th book in a series (tell us the series name). If you do not read series books, read a book with an intact 16 in the year the book was first published (tell us the year of publication).
20, 2008: Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 becoming the first female driver in history to win an Indy car race.
🗓️Read a book with a car prominently shown on the cover (post the cover).
21, 1960: Brasília, Brazil's capital, is officially inaugurated. At 09:30, the Three Powers of the Republic are simultaneously transferred from the old capital, Rio de Janeiro.
🗓️Read a book set in the capital city of any country (tell us where your book is set).
22, 1915: World War I: The use of poison gas in World War I escalates when chlorine gas is released as a chemical weapon in the Second Battle of Ypres.
🗓️Read a book in which someone is poisoned, gas or otherwise (tell us who),
23, 1985: Coca-Cola changes its formula and releases New Coke. The response is overwhelmingly negative, and the original formula is back on the market in less than three months.
🗓️Read a less successful book from a successful author (it doesn’t have to be sales related; a comparison of GR rating is fine).
24, 1916: Ernest Shackleton and five men of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition launch a lifeboat from uninhabited Elephant Island in the Southern Ocean to organise a rescue for the crew of the sunken Endurance.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows snow or ice (post the cover).
25, 1953: Francis Crick and James Watson publish "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA.
🗓️Read a book in which DNA is important to the plot (tell us how your book fits).
26, 1986: The Chernobyl disaster occurs in the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic.
🗓️Read a book in which a nuclear fallout occurs.
27, 2011: The 2011 Super Outbreak devastates parts of the Southeastern United States, especially the states of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Tennessee. Two hundred five tornadoes touched down on April 27 alone, killing more than 300 and injuring hundreds more.
🗓️Read a book set in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia or Tennessee (tell us where your book is set).
28, 1881: Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
🗓️Read a book in which someone escapes captivity (tell us who).
29, 1945: Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character has been imprisoned in a concentration camp (tell us who).
30, 1927: The Federal Industrial Institute for Women opens in Alderson, West Virginia, as the first women's federal prison in the United States.
🗓️Read a book in which an important character is in or has been in prison (tell us who).
March1, 1872: Yellowstone National Park is established as the world's first national park.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a beautiful landscape (post the cover).
2, 1903: In New York City the Martha Washington Hotel opens, becoming the first hotel exclusively for women.
🗓️Read a book which is mostly set in a hotel, inn or B&B.
3, 1923: US magazine Time publishes its first issue.
🗓️Read a book that has appeared on the 100 Must-Read Books of any year on the Time magazine (tell us which year).
4, 1519: Hernán Cortés arrives in Mexico in search of the Aztec civilization and its wealth.
🗓️Read a book in which an important character is an explorer of distant lands (tell us who).
5, 1953: Joseph Stalin, the longest serving leader of the Soviet Union, dies at his dacha in Moscow after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage four days earlier.
🗓️Read a book in which Joseph Stalin is mentioned (tell us the line and the location).
6, 1869: Dmitri Mendeleev presents the first periodic table to the Russian Chemical Society.
🗓️Read a book in which a character references the periodic table for whatever reason.
7, 1989: Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a fight over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses.
🗓️Read a banned book.
8, 2017: The Azure Window, a natural arch on the Maltese island of Gozo, collapses in stormy weather.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows an arched shape (post the cover).
9, 1959: The Barbie doll makes its debut at the American International Toy Fair in New York.
🗓️Read a book whose cover is predominantly pink (post the cover).
10, 2023: Silicon Valley Bank collapses due to a run on its deposits, in the second largest bank failure in US history. Its operations are taken over by the FDIC.
🗓️Read a book in which an important scene is set in a financial institution.
11, 1784: The signing of the Treaty of Mangalore brings the Second Anglo-Mysore War to an end.
🗓️Read a book that is set in the town or state that you were born (tell us where the book is set).
12, 2020: The United States suspends travel from Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
🗓️Read a book set during a pandemic (tell us which, it can be fictional).
13, 1964: Kitty Genovese is murdered in New York City, prompting research into the bystander effect due to the false story that neighbors witnessed the killing and did nothing to help her.
🗓️Read a book in which someone spreads a false story for whatever reason (tell us how your book fits).
14, 1900: The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains a color.
15, 44 BC: The assassination of Julius Caesar, the dictator of the Roman Republic, by a group of senators takes place on the Ides of March.
🗓️Read a book published on the ides of any month (15th of the month of March, May, July, October and 13th of every other month; tell us the date your book is published).
16, 1968: Vietnam War: My Lai massacre occurs; between 347 and 500 Vietnamese villagers are killed by American troops.
🗓️Read a book set in a location beginning with a letter in MYLAI (tell us the location).
17, 1973: The Pulitzer Prize–winning photograph Burst of Joy is taken, depicting a former prisoner of war being reunited with his family, which came to symbolize the end of United States involvement in the Vietnam War.
🗓️Read a book that makes you happy.
18, 1940: Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini meet at the Brenner Pass in the Alps and agree to form an alliance against France and the United Kingdom.
🗓️Read a book set in a mountainous region (tell us where).
19, 1918: The US Congress establishes time zones and approves daylight saving time.
🗓️Read a book that shows a sunlit scene on the cover (post the cover).
20, 1616: Sir Walter Raleigh is freed from the Tower of London after 13 years of imprisonment.
🗓️Read a book set in London.
21, 1970: San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop and culture festival in the world, hosts its inaugural event.
🗓️Read a comic book or graphic novel (>300 pages, or as many books to make 300 pages).
22, 1784: The Emerald Buddha, considered the sacred protector of Thailand, is moved with great ceremony to its current location in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
🗓️Read a book whose cover is emerald green (post the cover).
23, 2001: The Russian Mir space station is disposed of, breaking up in the atmosphere before falling into the southern Pacific Ocean near Fiji.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains the word PEACE or WORLD (reasonable variations okay).
24, 2008: Bhutan officially becomes a democracy, with its first ever general election.
🗓️Read a book set in a country in South Asia (tell us where your book is set).
25, 421: Italian city Venice is founded with the dedication of the first church, that of San Giacomo di Rialto on the islet of Rialto.
🗓️Read a book with a body of water on the cover (post the cover).
26, 1812: A political cartoon in the Boston-Gazette coins the term "gerrymander" to describe oddly shaped electoral districts designed to help incumbents win reelection.
🗓️Read a book marked Humor on the GR main page.
27, 1912: First Lady Helen Taft and the Viscountess Chinda, wife of the Japanese ambassador, plant two Yoshino cherry trees on the northern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., the origin of the National Cherry Blossom Festival.
🗓️Read a book set in spring.
28, 1979: A coolant leak at the Three Mile Island's Unit 2 nuclear reactor outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania leads to the core overheating and a partial meltdown.
🗓️Read a book with a unit of distance in its title.
29, 1984: The Baltimore Colts load its possessions onto fifteen Mayflower moving trucks in the early morning hours and transfer its operations to Indianapolis.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character moves their residence for whatever reason.
30, 1867: Alaska is purchased from Russia for $7.2 million, about two cents/acre, by United States Secretary of State William H. Seward.
🗓️Read a book set in Alaska.
31, 1959: The 14th Dalai Lama crosses the border into India and is granted political asylum.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is a refugee seeking asylum in a different country (tell us who).
February1, 1884: The first volume (A to Ant) of the Oxford English Dictionary is published.
🗓️Read a book which makes you reach for the dictionary (tell us at least one word you had to look up, and what it means).
2, 1887: In Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, the first Groundhog Day is observed.
🗓️Read a book set in the state of Pennsylvania.
3, 1637: Tulip Mania collapses within the Dutch Republic.
🗓️Read a book with flowers prominently shown on the cover (post the cover).
4, 1703: In Edo (now Tokyo), all but one of the Forty-seven Ronin commit ritual suicide as recompense for avenging their master's death in what comes to be called the Ako Vendetta.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character commits suicide (tell us who).
5, 1939: Generalísimo Francisco Franco becomes the 68th "Caudillo de España", or Leader of Spain.
🗓️Read a book whose main character’s first name begins with an F (tell us the name).
6, 1952: Elizabeth II becomes Queen of the United Kingdom and her other Realms and Territories and Head of the Commonwealth upon the death of her father, George VI. At the exact moment of succession, she was in a tree house at the Treetops Hotel in Kenya.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows the top of a tree (post the cover).
7, 1497: In Florence, Italy, supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn cosmetics, art, and books, in a "Bonfire of the vanities”.
🗓️Read a book whose cover prominently shows fire (post the cover).
8, 1587: Mary, Queen of Scots is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
🗓️Read a book whose series name begins with a letter in BABINGTON PLOT (tell us the series, ignore A, An and The).
9, 1986: Halley's Comet last appeared in the inner Solar System.
🗓️Read a book whose author’s last name contains double consonants.
10, 1996: IBM supercomputer Deep Blue defeats Garry Kasparov in chess for the first time.
🗓️Read a book with a mostly deep blue cover (post the cover).
11, 2001: A Dutch programmer launched the Anna Kournikova virus infecting millions of emails via a trick photo of the tennis star.
🗓️Read a book in which a virus (computer or biological) plays an important plot (tell us how your book fits).
12, 1947: Christian Dior unveils a "New Look", helping Paris regain its position as the capital of the fashion world.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a fashionably dressed person (post the cover).
13, 2004: The Harvard–Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics announces the discovery of the universe's largest known diamond, white dwarf star BPM 37093. Astronomers named this star "Lucy" after The Beatles' song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".
🗓️Read a book whose main character or an author is a Lucy.
14, 2005: YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.
🗓️Read a book in which someone makes a video.
15, 1949: Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
🗓️Read a book whose location begins with a letter in QUMRAN CAVES (tell us the location).
16, 2006: The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains the letters M, A, S, H in any word, in any order.
17, 1959: Project Vanguard: Vanguard 2: The first weather satellite is launched to measure cloud-cover distribution.
🗓️Read a book whose cover prominently shows clouds (post the cover).
18, 1911: The first official flight with airmail takes place from Allahabad, United Provinces, British India (now India), when Henri Pequet, a 23-year-old pilot, delivers 6,500 letters to Naini, about 6.2 mi away.
🗓️Read an epistolatory book (the book needn’t be completely an exchange of letters, but at least a few important scenes need to be related in letters).
19, 1985: William J. Schroeder becomes the first recipient of an artificial heart to leave the hospital.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a heart shaped object (post the cover).
20, 1872: The Metropolitan Museum of Art opens in New York City.
🗓️Read a book in which an important character is an artist (tell us who and their medium).
21, 1842: John Greenough is granted the first U.S. patent for the sewing machine.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character has something to do with clothing (tell us what they are).
22, 2022: Twosday, the name given to Tuesday, February 22, 2022, at 2:22:22, occurs.
🗓️Read book #2 of a series that also has at least 2 twos in its publication year or number of pages (tell us the series and the publication year or the number of pages).
23, 1455: Traditionally the date of publication of the Gutenberg Bible, the first Western book printed with movable type.
🗓️Read a book marked Classic on its main GR page.
24, 1607: L'Orfeo by Claudio Monteverdi, one of the first works recognized as an opera, receives its première performance.
🗓️Read a book in which angels, demons, Satan, ghosts or spirits are characters (tell us which your book has).
25, 1836: Samuel Colt is granted a United States patent for his revolver firearm.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a firearm (post the cover).
26, 1616: Galileo Galilei is formally banned by the Roman Catholic Church from teaching or defending the view that the earth orbits the sun.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows the sun (post the cover).
27, 2004: Shoko Asahara, the leader of the Japanese doomsday cult Aum Shinrikyo, is sentenced to death for masterminding the 1995 Tokyo subway sarin attack.
🗓️Read a book in which a cult forms an important part of the plot.
28, 1993: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group's leader David Koresh, starting a 51-day standoff.
🗓️Read a book whose main character or author is a David (maybe first or last name; tell us the MC’s full name if using that option).
29, 2020: Luxembourg becomes the first country in the world to render public transport free nationwide.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character uses some form of public transport (tell us what they use).
The Challenge Tasks
January
1, 153 BC: For the first time, Roman consuls begin their year in office on January 1.
🗓️Read the first book of a series (tell us the series).
2, 1492: The Emirate of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, surrenders.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is a practicing Muslim (tell us who).
3, 1957: The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a clock or watch (post the cover).
4, 2010: The Burj Khalifa, the current tallest building in the world, officially opens in Dubai.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a tall building (a tower will do, post the cover).
5, 2024: Alaska Airlines Flight 1282 makes an emergency landing at Portland International Airport after a door plug blows off the Boeing 737 MAX 9 operating the flight. There are no fatalities, but the accident prompts the 737 MAX to be grounded and renews scrutiny on Boeing's manufacturing and design issues.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character flies in a commercial aircraft (tell us where they’re going).
6, 1907: Maria Montessori opens her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome, Italy.
🗓️Read an adult book in which an elementary school aged child is an important part of the plot.
7, 2015: Two gunmen commit mass murder at the offices of Charlie Hebdo in Paris, executing twelve people and wounding eleven others.
🗓️Read a book whose title follows the format I Am _____ or We Are ________.
8, 1940: World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character cooks either professionally or for themselves.
9, 1960: President of Egypt Gamal Abdel Nasser opens construction on the Aswan Dam by detonating ten tons of dynamite to demolish twenty tons of granite on the east bank of the Nile.
🗓️Read a book that is set close to a river (tell us which river).
10, 1863: The Metropolitan Railway, the world's oldest underground railway, opens between Paddington and Farringdon, marking the beginning of the London Underground.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character takes the train (bonus for a subway).
11, 1569: First recorded lottery in England.
🗓️Sort your TBR by random and read one of the first five books that show up.
12, 1967: Dr. James Bedford becomes the first person to be cryonically preserved with intent of future resuscitation.
🗓️Read a book in which a scientific first of some kind occurs (tell us how your book fits).
13, 1898: Émile Zola's J'accuse…! exposes the Dreyfus affair, a political scandal in which Captain Alfred Dreyfus, a 35-year-old Alsatian French artillery officer of Jewish descent, was wrongfully convicted of treason for communicating French military secrets to the German Embassy in Paris.
🗓️Read a book marked Espionage on the main GR page.
14, 1973: Elvis Presley's concert Aloha from Hawaii is broadcast live via satellite, and sets the record as the most watched broadcast by an individual entertainer in television history.
🗓️Read a book set in Hawaii.
15, 1936: The first building to be completely covered in glass, built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company, is completed in Toledo, Ohio.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows something made of glass (post the cover).
16, 1605: The first edition of the Book One of Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes is published in Madrid, Spain.
🗓️Read a book that shows a windmill, a horse, a donkey or a knight on the cover (post the cover).
17, 2007: The Doomsday Clock is set to five minutes to midnight in response to North Korea's nuclear testing.
🗓️Read a book marked “Thriller” or “Politics” in its main GR page.
18, 2008: The Euphronios Krater is unveiled in Rome after being returned to Italy by the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
🗓️Read a book with a vase, bowl or urn on the cover (post the cover).
19, 1883: The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows electrical wires (post the cover).
20, 1993: British actress and humanitarian Audrey Hepburn dies.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a woman wearing a black dress (post the cover).
21, 1895: Cristóbal Balenciaga, Spanish fashion designer and founder of Balenciaga, is born.
🗓️Read a book in which the main character wears branded clothes or accessories (tell us at least one brand they use).
22, 1992: Rebel forces occupy Zaire's national radio station in Kinshasa and broadcast a demand for the government's resignation.
🗓️Read a book in which a radio broadcast is heard.
23, 1986: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Fats Domino, The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
🗓️Read a book whose author shares a name with one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inaugural members above.
24, 1989: Notorious serial killer Ted Bundy, with over 30 known victims, is executed in the electric chair at the Florida State Prison.
🗓️Read a book whose cover shows a chair prominently (post the cover).
25, 1924: The 1924 Winter Olympics opens in Chamonix, in the French Alps, inaugurating the Winter Olympic Games.
🗓️Read a book set in winter.
26, 2009: Nadya Suleman gives birth to the world's first surviving octuplets.
🗓️Read a book whose main character has more than two kids (tell us how many kids they have).
27, 1996: Germany first observes the International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
🗓️Read a book in which an older character remembers their younger days.
28, 1813: Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice is first published in the United Kingdom.
🗓️Read Pride and Prejudice or any book that is a retelling/adaptation of it.
29, 1891: Liliʻuokalani is proclaimed the last monarch and only queen regnant of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
🗓️Read a book whose title contains a quotation mark.
30, 1948: Mahatma Gandhi is assassinated in his home compound.
🗓️Read a book in which a speaking character is one you would consider great.
31, 1901: Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters premieres at Moscow Art Theatre in Russia.
🗓️Read a book in which the female main character has at least one sister.
This Day In HistoryStarts: Dec 01, 2025, No Deadline
Sign-ups close on Nov 30, 2026
Here’s a challenge based on an interesting historic event that occurred in each day of a year. These are not always the most significant, I’ve chosen them based on what popped out at me, so there are definitely gaps! The dates are from Wikipedia and the online Britannica.
There are 366 days in total, because I didn’t want to forget leap day. But you don't have to read all 366 days to call this challenge complete. You can choose 14 dates of the month when you sign up for the challenge and complete any 10 of them for every month. That way you will read 120 books to finish the challenge.
Note that it’s the same 14 dates for each month, so choose wisely. As in, if you choose the dates 1, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 24, 27; the tasks for these dates are the ones among those you will have to complete each month. Within these you can choose to do 1, 3, 4, 7, 12, 13, 14, 15, 17 in January; 4, 7, 12, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 24, 27 in February and so on.
If you choose the dates 30 or 31, for the months that do not have these dates, do the task for the nearest date that you did not choose. If you choose 28 and 31 for example, in February do the task for 29, and in April and the rest of the months that don’t have 31 days, the task for 30. If you choose both 30 and 31, in February do the task for 28 and 29, in April for 29 and 30 and so on!
Beyond the 10 tasks per month, if you want to read extra tasks or do the whole thing, go right ahead. If you don't choose your dates at sign-up, I'll assume you want to do the whole thing. Reserve at least 3 posts if you're doing 120 tasks; 8-10 if you're doing all of them. You do not have to do the tasks in order, you can jump ahead to whichever month. The only ask is that you pick your 14 dates at signup.
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Reserved for PARTICIPANTS
The link below will take you directly to your post.
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Amanda K | All
August | All
Carolyn | All
Chaitra | All
Ellen
Frankie
Lali & Michelle
*Olivermagnus
Rachel | All
Robin
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CHALLENGE RULES - PLEASE READ!
See this thread for more detailed rules for CCC challenges.
❖ If you want to participate in a challenge, sign up by posting at least a partial list of the challenge requirements. This gives us a post to link you to, which you can use to update your books as the challenge progresses.
❖ Books must be at least 150 pages long (unless they are graphic novels, see below) and may only be used for one task in this challenge, but cross-challenge posting is encouraged.
❖ Graphic novels must be at least 300 pages long, but two books can be combined to make up the page count as long as they both meet the same criteria.
❖ For each book you read, please post a link to the title and mention the author and the date you finished reading it. If a challenge task gives several options, make it clear which option you’ve chosen. If the task calls for an item/color on the cover, include a link to the book cover.* If it’s not obvious from the book title or cover, be sure to explain how your book fits the task. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for completing that task.
❖ DNFs do not count for this challenge!
❖ If you want the challenge moderator to verify those books as you post them, please copy/paste your update into a new message. If you do this while you still have the Edit window open, it will copy all of your formatting, etc. too. It will make it easier on the moderators if we won't have to scroll back through the entire thread looking for "message #15," or to follow links back to an original post.
❖ When you complete the challenge, please post your entire list as a new message to make it easier for everyone to see what you’ve read :) If you don’t repost your list, your name will not be added to the list of those who have completed the challenge.
❖ Rereads are allowed, as long as you read the entire book and not just skim the best portions! :)
* If you don’t know how to post a link to the book title, cover or author, see the instructions HERE.
Countries of the World #17 – CroatiaDuration: Dec 01, 2025 – Dec 31, 2025
Completed: 0/6+
CROATIA
A country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea bordering Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast.
🚩Read a book whose title starts with a letter in CROATIA (ignore A, An and The or equivalent if not English).
Stats
- Capital: Zagreb
🚩Read a book whose author's first and last initials are in the word ZAGREB (letters can only be used as many times as they appear in the word).
- Population: 3,871,833 (2021 census)
🚩Read a book whose total number of pages contain at least 2 of the numbers in the population (tell us the page count).
- Area: 21,851 sq mi
🚩Read a book whose year it was first published has at least 2 of the numbers in the area (tell us the year published).
Trivia
1. The Sinjska Alka is an equestrian competition held in the town of Sinj. It commemorates a Croatian–Venetian victory in the Ottoman–Venetian war in the night of August 14, 1715, in which around 700 professional Venetian soldiers and 100 Croats defended Sinj against an Ottoman army of at least 40,000. The Alka itself is an equestrian competition in which various horsemen riding at full gallop aim their lances at a hanging metal ring (alka) and are awarded points according to which sector of the ring they are able to pierce.
🚩Read a book in which an unlikely victory is won (in a game, a battle; tell us how your book fits) -or- read a book in which a horse is a primary means of transport (either because your book is historical fiction or it’s a fantasy or dystopian world; tell us why your book works).
2. Moreska is a traditional sword dance from the town of Korcula on the Croatian island of the same name. Dating back hundreds of years, the Moreska is an elaborate production involving two groups of dancers, engaging in a mock battle over the fate of a veiled young woman. The two sides of battling dancers were originally Moors and Christians, recalling the Spanish battles of the Reconquista in the Middle Ages. However, at some point in the 19th century in Korcula, the sides changed from Christians vs. Moors, to Croats vs. Moors, or simply "White" and "Black", with the non-Moor side emerging victorious.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a weapon of some sort (post the cover) -or- read a book with a love triangle in it.
3. Licitars are colorfully decorated, heart-shaped biscuits made of sweet honey dough. They are a traditional symbol of Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city. They are edible, but they are meant as an ornamental gift rather than a snack, often given at celebrations such as weddings and Valentine’s Day. In 2010, UNESCO added gingerbread craft from Northern Croatia to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for Croatian culture.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a baked item(s) prominently (post the cover, the baked goods must be visible on a thumbnail) -or- read a book whose main page shows the genre ROMANCE.
4. The Dalmatian is a breed of dog with a white coat marked with dark-colored spots. Originally bred as a hunting dog, it was also used as a carriage dog in its early days. The origins of this breed can be traced back to Croatia and its historical region of Dalmatia.
🚩Read a book with a largely black and white cover (post the cover) -or- read a book with a dog playing a large part in the story.
5. The necktie traces back to Croatian mercenaries serving in France during the Thirty Years War. These mercenaries wore their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs and aroused the interest of Parisians. Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646 when he was seven and set the fashion for French nobility. Because of the difference between the Croatian word for Croats (hrvati) and the French word for Croats (croates), the garment was called the Cravat.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a necktie (either worn around someone’s neck or by itself; post the cover) -or- read a book in which at least part of the plot is set in Paris.
6. In the coastal town of Zadar, concealed beneath a set of large white steps leading into the water, is the Zadar Sea Organ. The instrument consists of a series of 35 tubes and a large resonating cavity, which is played by the wind and the sea. The organ’s music sounds like the sound of whale calls.
🚩Read a book whose title starts with a Z (ignore A, An and The) -or- read a book with a 35 intact in its page count (tell us the page count).
Reserved for PARTICIPANTSThe link below will take you directly to your post.
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Amanda K
August
Chaitra
Frankie
Joann
Jonquil
Lali & Michelle
Mary!
Olivermagnus
Patrizia
Robin
Ruth
Countries of the World #17 – CroatiaDuration: December 01, 2025 – December 31, 2025
To finish, you will have to complete a total of six tasks, choosing at least four of the tasks from the Trivia section of the challenge. You do not have to choose the tasks beforehand; you can fill in as you go. You may choose to do all 10 tasks if you wish also. Happy reading!
CROATIA
A country in Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea bordering Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east and Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro to the southeast.
🚩Read a book whose title starts with a letter in CROATIA (ignore A, An and The or equivalent if not English).
Stats
- Capital: Zagreb
🚩Read a book whose author's first and last initials are in the word ZAGREB (letters can only be used as many times as they appear in the word).
- Population: 3,871,833 (2021 census)
🚩Read a book whose total number of pages contain at least 2 of the numbers in the population (tell us the page count).
- Area: 21,851 sq mi
🚩Read a book whose year it was first published has at least 2 of the numbers in the area (tell us the year published).
Trivia
1. The Sinjska Alka is an equestrian competition held in the town of Sinj. It commemorates a Croatian–Venetian victory in the Ottoman–Venetian war in the night of August 14, 1715, in which around 700 professional Venetian soldiers and 100 Croats defended Sinj against an Ottoman army of at least 40,000. The Alka itself is an equestrian competition in which various horsemen riding at full gallop aim their lances at a hanging metal ring (alka) and are awarded points according to which sector of the ring they are able to pierce.
🚩Read a book in which an unlikely victory is won (in a game, a battle; tell us how your book fits) -or- read a book in which a horse is a primary means of transport (either because your book is historical fiction or it’s a fantasy or dystopian world; tell us why your book works).
2. Moreska is a traditional sword dance from the town of Korcula on the Croatian island of the same name. Dating back hundreds of years, the Moreska is an elaborate production involving two groups of dancers, engaging in a mock battle over the fate of a veiled young woman. The two sides of battling dancers were originally Moors and Christians, recalling the Spanish battles of the Reconquista in the Middle Ages. However, at some point in the 19th century in Korcula, the sides changed from Christians vs. Moors, to Croats vs. Moors, or simply "White" and "Black", with the non-Moor side emerging victorious.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a weapon of some sort (post the cover) -or- read a book with a love triangle in it.
3. Licitars are colorfully decorated, heart-shaped biscuits made of sweet honey dough. They are a traditional symbol of Zagreb, Croatia’s capital city. They are edible, but they are meant as an ornamental gift rather than a snack, often given at celebrations such as weddings and Valentine’s Day. In 2010, UNESCO added gingerbread craft from Northern Croatia to the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage for Croatian culture.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a baked item(s) prominently (post the cover, the baked goods must be visible on a thumbnail) -or- read a book whose main page shows the genre ROMANCE.
4. The Dalmatian is a breed of dog with a white coat marked with dark-colored spots. Originally bred as a hunting dog, it was also used as a carriage dog in its early days. The origins of this breed can be traced back to Croatia and its historical region of Dalmatia.
🚩Read a book with a largely black and white cover (post the cover) -or- read a book with a dog playing a large part in the story.
5. The necktie traces back to Croatian mercenaries serving in France during the Thirty Years War. These mercenaries wore their traditional small, knotted neckerchiefs and aroused the interest of Parisians. Louis XIV began wearing a lace cravat around 1646 when he was seven and set the fashion for French nobility. Because of the difference between the Croatian word for Croats (hrvati) and the French word for Croats (croates), the garment was called the Cravat.
🚩Read a book whose cover shows a necktie (either worn around someone’s neck or by itself; post the cover) -or- read a book in which at least part of the plot is set in Paris.
6. In the coastal town of Zadar, concealed beneath a set of large white steps leading into the water, is the Zadar Sea Organ. The instrument consists of a series of 35 tubes and a large resonating cavity, which is played by the wind and the sea. The organ’s music sounds like the sound of whale calls.
🚩Read a book whose title starts with a Z (ignore A, An and The) -or- read a book with a 35 intact in its page count (tell us the page count).
CHALLENGE RULES - PLEASE READ!
See this thread for more detailed rules for CCC challenges.
❖ If you want to participate in a challenge, sign up by posting at least a partial list of the challenge requirements. This gives us a post to link you to, which you can use to update your books as the challenge progresses.
❖ Books must be at least 150 pages long (unless they are graphic novels, see below) and may only be used for one task in this challenge, but cross-challenge posting is encouraged.
❖ Graphic novels must be at least 300 pages long, but two books can be combined to make up the page count as long as they both meet the same criteria.
❖ For each book you read, please post a link to the title and mention the author and the date you finished reading it. If a challenge task gives several options, make it clear which option you’ve chosen. If the task calls for an item/color on the cover, include a link to the book cover.* If it’s not obvious from the book title or cover, be sure to explain how your book fits the task. If you don’t, you won’t get credit for completing that task.
❖ DNFs do not count for this challenge!
❖ If you want the challenge moderator to verify those books as you post them, please copy/paste your update into a new message. If you do this while you still have the Edit window open, it will copy all of your formatting, etc. too. It will make it easier on the moderators if we won't have to scroll back through the entire thread looking for "message #15," or to follow links back to an original post.
❖ When you complete the challenge, please post your entire list as a new message to make it easier for everyone to see what you’ve read :) If you don’t repost your list, your name will not be added to the list of those who have completed the challenge.
❖ Rereads are allowed, as long as you read the entire book and not just skim the best portions! :)
* If you don’t know how to post a link to the book title, cover or author, see the instructions HERE.
May I get another set please?Round 50
✔ U - Ukulele of Death | E.J. Copperman ★★ (11/02/25)
✔ G - The Giver | Lois Lowry ★★★★ (10/30/25)
✔ R - Reel of Fortune | Jana Deleon ★★★★★ (10/28/25)
✔ L - All That We See or Seem | Ken Liu ★★★ (11/14/25)
✔ O - The Impossible Fortune | Richard Osman ★★★★★ (10/27/25)
✔ P - Shadow Ticket | Thomas Pynchon ★★★ (10/30/25)
✔ Q - Queen Demon | Martha Wells ★★★ (11/20/25)
Finished.September 2025 Spell
Duration: Sep 01, 2025 - Sep 30, 2025
Completed: 12/12
✔ R - Ballad of the Whiskey Robber: A True Story of Bank Heists, Ice Hockey, Transylvanian Pelt Smuggling, Moonlighting Detectives, and Broken Hearts | Julian Rubinstein ★★ (09/14/25)
✔ E - The Essex Serpent | Sarah Perry ★★★ (09/09/25)
✔ Q - Queen Demon | Martha Wells ★★★ (11/20/25)
✔ U - Undeading Bells | Drew Hayes ★★★★★ (09/02/25)
✔ I - The Intuitionist | Colson Whitehead ★★ (09/08/25)
✔ R - Murder on the Marlow Belle | Robert Thorogood ★★★ (10/04/25)
✔ E - Chardonnayed to Rest | J.C. Eaton ★★★ (09/11/25)
✔ M - Murder on Madison Square | Victoria Thompson ★★★ (09/08/25)
✔ E - The Bronze Bow | Elizabeth George Speare ★★ (09/18/25)
✔ N - The Harlem Charade | Natasha Anastasia Tarpley ★★★★ (09/22/25)
✔ T - Some Danger Involved | Will Thomas ★★★ (09/01/25)
✔ S - Flashlight | Susan Choi ★★★ (09/01/25)
*** Completed (11/20/25) ***
Thanks Michelle! Congrats, Frankie and Michelle!
Congrats, Jodie!
steel
Congrats, Amanda!
Congrats, Amanda!
☼♎ Carmen the Bootyshaker Temptress ☼♎ wrote: "Next guess: R-6Daughter of the Deep by Rick Riordan
Pages: 336
Read: 7/5/25"
R6 is a miss.
