The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
SPRING CHALLENGE 2017
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Spring Challenge 2017: Task Ideas
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For CN Tower wonder: A book set in Toronto or featuring something about the sports team names- Maple leaves, Blue Jays, Raptors.
Small Time big time: a book set in or where the main character lives in a small town or a book where the character sets out from small town to the big city
Let history never repeat: read 2 books set during wwii(a historic fiction work set overseas and a nonfiction work)
Channel and Tunnel both have 2 N's - read a book with 2n's sequentially in title/authors nameGolden Gate Bridge - a book with a bridge on the cover or set in San Fran
since all the modern wonders are engineering - a book that is shelved as engineering or architecture
none of the modern wonders exist in Australia, asia or Africa
Trip back in time: read 2 books which you havent read since you were a kid. Must be within 5 pages of 100 pages minimum each.
Iguazu Falls & Itaipu DamWider & Taller than Niagara Falls...pretty rainbows!
*Read a book with 4 of the colors of the rainbow present on the cover.
*Read a book by an author whose name (first or last) begins with & contains a second 'I'.
*Read a book with a title containing 3 'U's.
Sits on the border of 3 countries: Brazil, Argentina, and Paraguay
*Read a book set (>50%) in one of these 3 countries.
Soooo all the new wonders seem to be engineering related (as someone said earlier) so how about a book with the genre urban fantasy or steampunk to counterbalance the non fiction engineering option.They all also seem to be based on the idea of connection or communication. Maybe read a book from Powerful International Non-Fiction ? Or a book with "International" or "Cultural" as their genre (fiction or nonfiction)?
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Also, as an aside, it is tax season and my wonderful inner accountant (and out-er, it is my job, soon anyways) gets some weird pleasure with taxes and auditing. We could embrace the season and read a nonfiction book with the tag business, finance or economics? Lol. I'm kidding.
Both the CN Tower and the Empire State are in big cities. How about a book with a cityscape on the cover.I seem to remember the CN Tower has a glass floor section that lets you look down on Toronto. So what about an aerial view on the cover (doesn't have to be of a city).
Also, film and TV makers quite often film in Toronto, and make believe that it's NY. How about something about aliases or mistaken identity?
An oldie, but goodie - what about a book set in one of the countries, either with one of the modern wonders, or connected by them (England, France, US, Canada, the Netherlands, Panama and the three countries Justme mentions in message #9.)
England, France and the Netherlands all have North Sea coasts, both SF and NY are port cities, the Canal is also for maritime vessels, and I remember a lovely afternoon on Centre Island in Toronto. What about a book set at least 50% at sea, or on an island.
The North Sea Protection Works are a defence against natural disaster - maybe something about a flood, tempest or tsunami?
Losing Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds so close together seems like it should be commemorated in a task. Carrie Fisher - science fiction, biography, humour, mental health? Debbie Reynolds - music, singing in the rain. romance, chick lit? Or something about mothers and daughters.
Okay, so the Statue of Liberty isn't a Wonder of itself, but it is as iconic as the Empire State. So perhaps we can work something around “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me: I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”
The Netherlands protection works were built to protect the country from flooding. So how about a book about a flood either fiction or non-fiction?
Doug, I love your suggestions!March is Women's History Month. Read a non-fiction book about women who have made a difference.
April is National Volunteer Month. Read a book where the main character gets involved in the community, or read a non-fiction book about how a national project got started.
This is an interesting list and seems fitting for this upcoming season's challenge - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...Also, I am reading a book about Malaria right now, and one of the modern wonders, The Panama Canal, was greatly impacted almost to the point it failed, by malaria and yellow fever, all caused by such a tiny bug. How about a task around insects, or infectious diseases, plagues, etc.? Sounds creepy, but, the actual history of fighting infections is quite fascinating, and there are many novels around this topic as well that are exciting.
1 other 1 just came to mind: Dont spoil the ending: read a book(thats in the works for being made into a movie within the year of the challenge, 2017 in this case) before seeing the movie. share the title of the book and whether or not you want to see the movie(yes or no is fine here though details as to why may help others decide as well)
idea#2: Read 1 book from the general knowledge catagory of your library, one from the history section(preferably american history but history works) and 1 from the biography section. share the decimal catagories where you found each book.(as long as the history book is clearly history/nonfiction it works).
May is Graduation month - Read a book set in a school.Mother's Day - Featuring a mother
Mother's Day - Flowers on cover
Cinco de Mayo - Set in Mexico
Cinco de Mayo - Author initials in CINCO DE MAYO
Cinco de Mayo - Series book # 5
Earth Day (Apr 22) - NATURE or ENVIRONMENT main page genre
Spring is GARDENING! Read a book with the genre Gardening, or Horticulture, or Plants, or Herbs, or Flowers, or Vegetables, or Fruits (can be embedded).
Check out this list: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/9...
Too bad there are only 16 currently...I just might have to add some!
Book from list Civil Rights :https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... or a book about an immigrant experience
Books with a single name as an author or a titleHere's a list of books with a single name as a title https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/3...
Terri FL wrote: "This is an interesting list and seems fitting for this upcoming season's challenge - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."Ooh. Some nice ideas on that list.
Since the list of modern wonders contains something in New York and something in California, my first thought was 'road trip'. How about a book that features a major road trip as part of the plot?
A few ideas ..To celebrate the Netherlands North Sea Protection Works, let's read a book written by a dutch writer or situated for the most part in Holland.
... or a novel where the action mostly takes place out at sea, or about ship, sailing, pirates etc.
For Golden Gate Bridge, we could read a book where there will be
- something gold
- a gate
- a bridge
on the cover.
The CN tower - the name of the author or the title of the book need to contain the letters CN.
The Empire State Building was build at the start of the 30's, let's read a book from that decade.
... or it is currently the 29th tallest building in the world. We could read a book with a total number of pages containing a 2 and a 9.
Itaipu Dam - Itaipu means "the sounding stone" in Guarani. Read a book with something in 'stone' on the cover, or with the word 'stone' in the title.
The dam is across two countries: Brazil and Paraguay. Read a book from a South American writer.
Panama Canal - read a book where the title has three 'a's as in Panama.
The Channel Tunnel - this project idea was considered at the start of the 20th Century as belonging to the realm of science-fiction. It became a reality in 1994. Read a book with main genre science-fiction and/or from the year 1994.
Difficult actually to be original! Better luck next time. :P
The PEN Literary Awards are announced in March, in the middle of this challenge, so, a task around current finalists or past winners would be great.An oldie that we have used but is always fun is a book from the Tournament of Books. I love following their contest! (I just noticed that I haven't read a single book on the 2017 list. Time to get busy!)
http://www.themorningnews.org/article...
KSMary wrote: "Book from list Civil Rights :https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1... or a book about an immigrant experience"I'm on the mailing list for the wonderful Powells Bookshop in Portland (also a sponsor of the ToB), which has come up with a mixed fiction/non-fiction Black Lives Matter reading list. I thought it might tie into KSMary's suggestion as well as Black History month, for anyone who's interested. http://www.powells.com/post/lists/bla...
Spring in Bloom: Celebrate springtime with books that fit the season. Read 2 books. Book one needs to have a flower in the title or subtitle, ex; Dandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. Book two needs the authors initials to make up the word FRESH, ex; Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys.
As the Channel Tunnel connects two countries read a book set across two countries.A lot of the modern wonders seemed to the about 'the biggest...', 'The longest...' so read a work over a 1000 pages,
Spring is about new life and new beginnings so read a book about a new life or new start in life. OR as Easter celebrates the death and rebirth of Jesus read a book about death or birth.
Read an author born in March, April, May.
April 1st is April Fool's Day so read a book about a hoax.
April features International Children's Book Day so maybe we could read a children's book for this task
There are seven modern wonders (as well as seven classical wonders) so read a book with exactly seven words in the title/subtitle.This could also be a book with 3, 4, or 5 words in the title (for March, April, May)
The end of WWII occurred in May, so: a book about war or peace.
World Health Day is April 7th so a book with a MPG of health or medical.
World Poetry Day is March 21st, so a book of poetry or with a MPG poetry.
For Women's History Month, reading a book off of this list of books about trailblazing women would be fun! Or this list of memoirs by women!
April is Autism Awareness Month- Read a book where the main character has an Autism spectrum disorder (autism/asperger's syndrome) OR a non-fiction book about autismMarch Madness! Read a book about an athlete or non-professional sports
St. Patrick's Day: Read a book with green on the cover
St. Patrick's Day: Read a book where the author's name is a form of Patrick (http://www.behindthename.com/name/pat...)
St. Patrick's Day: Read a book with luck in the title
Many interesting suggestions already. - Major modern art/architecture works, geographically distributed, so that each major area of the world is represented. Maybe even paired, along the lines of architecture/Asia, painting/South America, and so on.
- Based on book/play/movie ect. titles that promote tolerance, getting along, peace, etc. For example Il faut du tout pour faire un monde, It takes a village, Live, love, laugh, Sisters of the raven, etc.
Trish wrote: "Terri FL wrote: "This is an interesting list and seems fitting for this upcoming season's challenge - https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1..."Ooh. Some ni..."
I like it!
I just thought of another one. So many wars, so much fighting and conflict. How about a 2-book task based on having to read a book set in/about 2 opposing sides in the same conflict.
Marie-Anne wrote: "I just thought of another one. So many wars, so much fighting and conflict. How about a 2-book task based on having to read a book set in/about 2 opposing sides in the same conflict."That's a great idea.
Panama canal: "A man, a plan, a canal, Panama" is a well known palindrome. Read a book with a palindrome in the title or author name CN tower: read a book with an author who uses 2 initials instead of a first name, eg JK Rowling.
North sea: a book set in a country that borders the north sea.
Since none of the wonders are in Asia Africa or Australasia; read a book at in one of those continents
When I think of 'modern wonders' the first thing that comes to mind is the space station. I looked up to see these modern wonders were selected a few years before the International Space Station was constructed, so the timing would have been Space Station Mir (which holds all the records for an astronaut's consecutive spaceflight or length of time in space, btw).Salyut, Almaz, and Skylab (1971–1986)
Mir (1986–2001)
ISS (1998–present)
* Read a book in which the characters spend at least 25% of their time on a space station.
* Read a book with the letters 'Mir' intact within the title/subtitle or author's name.
* Read a book published between 1986-2001 inclusive.
* Read the longest book on your TBR or a book over 878 pgs (longest combined time in space).
* Read a book whose author's initials can be found in VALERI POLYAKOV (the record holder at 438 days).
* Read a book with a word in the title that can be found in the letters: SALYUT ALMAZ SKYLAB MIR ISS (minimum 4 letters).
* Read a book from this list: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Anatoly Solovyev (SSMir) & Yuri Malenchenko (ISS) have each made 5 trips to the space stations of their time (the most listed).
* Read a book 5th in a series or includes 'quints' in the storyline.
* Read a book where all the letters of the title can be found in the word QUINTUPLE.
* Read a book with 241 pgs (the # of trips, 134, plus the number of fliers, 104, to Space Station Mir)
* Read a book authored by someone who shares a name with a visitor to Space Station Mir: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
I would say that medicine and its developments are one of the worlds modern Miracleswho would have thought 50 years ago that life expectancy would be into the 80"s and 90"s maybe read a book written over 80 years ago or by author who lived over that length of time ago
We have made so many advances - in cancer treatment, cosmetic surgery, heart surgery fertility treatment, transplantation etc etc
could we not have something around that either non fiction, memoir or simply a character who provides such treatments
could even go dystopian society after epidemic or similar
@Brittany msg 28 mentions St Patrick's Day.Two of the other GB national saints are in the spring season:
Wales - St David (everyone always forgets him, poor chap!) on 1 March - Wales is associated with dragons, singing, daffodils...
England - St George - on 23 April. Dragons too, red cross & roses...
could add something around them into the mix? Maybe a 15 point task with two of three options?
Read a biography/ memoir/ autobiography from someone born in another country, who then immigrated to the US.
Flatpack films a modern wonder https://www.visitengland.com/experien...
Books that were made into movies maybe
Mothers day is of course in March here in the UKBooks with a suitable present for mothers day on the cover
Books with word Mother in title
Written by authors whose initials are in Mothering Sunday
Character who is pregnant or just had baby
March 15th is the IDES OF MARCH. Read a book with the author's initials found in IDES OF MARCH.April is National Poetry Month in the US. Read a book of poetry.
Cinco de Mayo: On May 5, 1862, the Mexican army defeated the French army at the Battle of Puebla. This single military battle signified defeat of a European colonial power, and a victory for the Mexican people. This single battle was the roots of Cinco de Mayo. Read a book by a Mexican author or takes place in Mexico.
National Library Week is in April (Apr 9-15 this year) ...- Featuring a librarian or library
- Cover image of book shelves w/ multiple books shelved (must be more than 1 book in a library!)
- Book you got from the library
- Author First & Last initial in NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
- 1st letter of each title word (3-word minimum, all words count) in NATIONAL LIBRARY WEEK
I second book you got from the library! Increasing patronage is a good thing. Hope that includes ebooks; my library is just awesome at filling my requests!
I like Alycia's road trip idea. Could expand it to include an option of 1) a title with the words "road" or "trip" or 2) a map on the cover. Spring is the time of birth. An award-winning book from the decade you were born.
"Spring Forward" - a book that alternates between different time periods (not chronological).
The word "flower" or type of flower in the title or author's name.
"Spring cleaning" - a book that has been on your TBR list or bookshelf for a long time!
Doug wrote: "1 other 1 just came to mind: Dont spoil the ending: read a book(thats in the works for being made into a movie within the year of the challenge, 2017 in this case) before seeing the movie. share ..."
I like the book into movie idea But i am not a movie goer where would we find a list of such books
There are some great ideas on this list but finding an appropriate book might not be easy to do
Book Concierge wrote: "National Library Week is in April (Apr 9-15 this year) ...- Featuring a librarian or library
- Cover image of book shelves w/ multiple books shelved (must be more than 1 book in a library!)
- B..."
i love this idea my Library is so good
Justme wrote: "I second book you got from the library! Increasing patronage is a good thing. Hope that includes ebooks; my library is just awesome at filling my requests!"As long as a library can include kindle unlimited! :-) It's the only "library" I'm a member of, as I usually buy books, rather than borrow them (even from my friends!), as I can't always be sure when I'll read them.
Separately, maybe we should add George Michael to the memorial tasks.
Book Concierge wrote: "National Library Week is in April (Apr 9-15 this year) ...- Featuring a librarian or library
- Cover image of book shelves w/ multiple books shelved (must be more than 1 book in a library!)
- B..."
I am a librarian and thinks this suggestion is awesome!
Hey Trish, one of the benefits of borrowing ebooks from the library is they automatically return themselves! That means I don't have to slog through the snow to return a book... You can put stuff on 'hold' with 21 days to read it, or you can find something to borrow immediately, should you be ready to read. Which is no different than Kindle unlimited, download & read cause you are in the mood, right? You can do just that with the library, too. And they have format options that include Kindle. I guess it would just be a matter of patronizing a library & getting a card.
Five of the seven wonders are concerned with water. Read a book with water on the cover or water in the title.
With everything happening in the world right now, how about a book on the immigrant experience. There are Goodreads lists, plus, I also just saw this shorter list from Signature Reads that has some great choices specific to refugees - http://www.signature-reads.com/2017/0...
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
A Tale of Two Cities (other topics)The Scarlet Pimpernel (other topics)
As in past challenges, some tasks may revolve around the seasonal theme of spring. Others may reflect the bonus theme. Other tasks may have nothing to do with either of these themes, they’re just fun ideas for unique reading challenges.
Feel free to post as many ideas as you can come up with. Don't worry about repeating what another player might have already suggested. The more ideas, the better!
The moderators will draw from these ideas as well as their own to create the 5, 10, and 15 point tasks. This thread will be open for ideas until February 16. Spring tasks will begin to be posted on February 18. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!