Team Challenge: Changing of Seasons -- SIGN-UPS OPEN!

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Changing of Seasons is our end of summer/beginning of fall team challenge. It is a little bit like our last challenge, Travelling the World...Through Books, except this one focuses on the seasons and things associated with them.



Here are the basics:

Each round, teams will have two weeks to complete five tasks. Now, depending on how many members a team has, you might only have to read 1 book per team member, or if you have a faster reader, they might be able to take on more tasks, if needed. In total, though, there are only five tasks to be completed.


There will be 6 rounds, each round is 14 days.
Challenge starts August 16th and ends November 8th.

This time, there will not be any designated categories or "umbrellas" for the tasks, instead they will be chosen randomly from a list of tasks (below).

TASKS (to come)
1-50

#1: School’s out for summer…
*Read a book that features or mentions kids on their summer break from school in the book’s text.

#2: Independence Day (the 4th of July)
*Read a book using one of the following options (all on book cover):
-Cover has a majority color of red, white, and/or blue
-The United States flag can be found on book cover
-Fireworks can be found on book cover

#3: A day at the beach…
*Read a book with a beach scene on the book’s cover or in its text.

#4: Pool Party
*Read a book with a swimming pool on the book’s cover or in its text.

#5: Camping/Hiking/Fishing
*Read a book with a camping, hiking, or fishing scene on the book’s cover or in its text.

#6: Sunny/Hot Weather
*Read a book that has bright, sunny weather displayed on the book’s cover or mentions sunny/hot weather in its text.

#7: Clouds
*Read a book that has clouds on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#8: Rain or Hail
*Read a book that has rain or hail on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#9: Lightning
Read a book that has lightning on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#10: Severe Weather
Read a book that has a tornado or hurricane on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text

#11: Cold Desserts
*Read a book that has some sort of ice cream, popsicles, or slushies on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#12: Cold Drinks
*Read a book that has some type of cold drink (lemonade, iced tea, soda, etc.) on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#13: Fresh Fruit
*Read a book that has some type of fruit that’s enjoyed cold on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.
*BONUS POINT: A bonus point will be received if the fruit is WATERMELON.

#14: Backyard Barbecue
*Read a book using one of the following options:
-A barbecue grill can be found on the book’s cover or in its text.
-Hamburgers, hot dogs, steaks, barbecued chicken, ribs, AND/OR kabobs (popular grilled foods) can be found on the book’s cover or in its text.

#15: World Vegan Day (November 1)
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- has a character in the story that is vegan/vegetarian
- contains Tofu, Miso, Tempeh, or Seitan in the text
- title begins with one of these letters: V-E-G-A-N

#16: Thanksgiving turkey
*Read a book with a turkey on the cover or in its text.

#17: Halloween costumes
*Read a book with a character wearing a costume on the cover or in its text.

#18: Labor Day (September 4th)
*Read a book using one of the following options:
-title starts with one of the letters in LABOR (not including articles [A,An,The])
-features something related to sports on cover or in text (i.e. football, basketball, tennis racket, etc.)
-Picnic scene on cover or the word "picnic" in the book's text.

#19: Hot Drinks
*Read a book that has some type of hot drink (tea, coffee, hot cocoa, etc.) on the book’s cover or mentioned in its text.

#20: Baked goods
*Read a book that has some type of baked good on the book's cover or mentioned in its text.

#21: Spices
*Read a book with the word of a spice in the title (i.e. nutmeg, cinnamon, rosemary, etc.) or mentions a spice in the book's text.

#22: Memorial Day (May 29)
*Read a book using one of the following options:
- a book with a soldier on the cover or mention of a veteran or a character/relative who gave their life in battle
-a book set during America Civil War
-part of the story takes place in the state of Virginia

#23: Sleepovers
*Read a book with sleeping bags OR pillows on the cover or mentioned in the book's text.

#24: Changing leaves
* Read a book with a cover that has a tree with colored leaves or a pile of leaves on the ground.

#25: Reformation Day & Halloween (October 31)
*Read a book using one of the following options:
-candy on cover or in book's text
-part of the story takes place in Germany
-either the publication date or number of pages contains the number "9"
BONUS POINT if your book has a character named "Martin" or "Luther"

#26: Harvest
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-a book with a tractor or some type of farming equipment on the cover.
-part of the book takes place in the country or on a farm/ranch.
-contains the word "harvest" in the title or in the book's text.

#27: Columbus Day (October 9)
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-A Ship on the cover
-Page count contains TWO of these numbers: 1,4,9,2
-Character named Chris (or any variation)

#28: Veterans Day (November 11)
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-A book with "11" in the page count or publication date (November would count for 11).
-Takes place during WWI
-Title or author's name starts with the letter V.

#29: Talk Like a Pirate Day (September 19th)
*Read a book with a character who's a pirate or where part of the story takes place on a boat/ship.

#30: Sweetest Day
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-Heart on cover
-Takes place in one of these US States: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Washington, New York, or Pennsylvania
-Where a woman proposes or asks a guy out.

#31: National Grandparents Day (September 10)
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-a grandparent appears at least once in the story
-has blue flowers on the cover
-title starts with one of these letters: N,G,D

#32 International Cat Day (October 29)
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- has a cat on the cover
- title contains the letters C-A-T in it (in any order)
- a cat plays a large role in the story

#33: National Dog Day (August 26)
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- has a dog on the cover
- title contains the letters D-O-G in it (in any order)
- a dog plays a large role in the story

#34 National Pasta Day (October 17)
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- set in Italy
- has pasta on the cover or in the text
- Page count contains TWO of these numbers: 1,1,5,4

#35: Baseball Season
Read a book that fits one of the following:
- with a character who plays baseball
- with a baseball on the cover or mentioned in the text
- Page count contains TWO of these numbers: 1,8,4,6

#36 School supplies:
Fill a backpack! Read a book with one of the following on the book's cover:
Pencils, pens, rulers, binders, notebooks, paper, etc

#37 Higher education
A main character attends/attended college
*must be in text

#38: Lawn Maintenance
Read a book with a lawnmower or other lawn/gardening equipment on cover or mentioned in the book's text
BONUS POINT: if the word dirt is found in the book's text.

#39 Growing in the garden:
Read a book with a vegetable garden OR flower garden on cover.
Bonus point: if the word tomato is found in the book's text

#40: Spark a Blaze
*Read a book that fits one of the following:
-Fire on cover
-Character is a firefighter
-Fire or fireplace occurs in the text

#41: Daylight Savings Time (ends in the first week of November)
*Read a book with a clock on the book’s cover or in its text.

#42: Fall Colors
*Read a book with the majority color of orange, red, or yellow on its cover.

#43: International Literacy Day (September 8th)
*Read a book with:
-a person reading or writing on its cover
OR
-a character reading or writing in a scene of its text

#44: International Chocolate Day (September 13th)
*Read a book with some type of chocolate on its cover or the word chocolate in its text.

#45: International Music Day (October 1st)
*Read a book with a musical instrument (piano, guitar, drums, bass, violin, etc.) on the book’s cover or in its text.

#46: World Animal Day (October 4th)
*Read a book with an animal on the book’s cover.

#47: World Teachers' Day (October 5th)
*Read a book with the word teacher in its title or in its text.

#48: International Internet Day (October 29th)
*Read a book with a computer, tablet, or smart phone (devices used to surf the internet) on its cover or in its text.

#49: National Hammock Day (July 22)
-Read a book with a hammock on the cover or in its text.
OR
-Read a book with a book on the cover.

#50: Summer vacation
Read a book with luggage on the cover OR in which the characters go on a vacation during the course of the story.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Important note!

If ever during a round, a task is too difficult and no one of the team can cover it, you may choose to use this option:

**Swap**
where you can swap a task and read a book that a mod or another player has read and rated 3 stars or higher instead.

*Only one (1) swap can be used during a single round/turn.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Book Rules:

• Books may be started prior to challenge start date, but must be FINISHED on or after the round starts for which you are using that book.

• Books must be at least 100 pages.

• Cookbooks, Picture books, Manga, Graphic Novels, Poetry books are not allowed for this challenge. Aside from that, any books over 100 pages count for the challenge.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

There will be 6 rounds, each round is 14 days.
Challenge starts August 16th and ends November 8th.

Points:

Teams earn 1 point for each task completed and some of the tasks have bonus point options included, which if completed will earn an extra point for that task.

Winner:

The winning team will be determined by the team that has the most points at the end of the challenge. The challenge lasts 6 rounds.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

*

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

****

Hannah (15-20)
Susan (2-4)
Dawn (2)
Andrea (5-7)
Deanne (15-20)
Kimberly (8-10)
Tracy (2-4)
Monique (4-7)
Tiffany (4-7)
Melanie (10-15)
Megan (12-16)
Joy (2-10)
Jamie (5-10)
Sarah G (10-20)

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Sign-ups are open!!

*When signing up, please list how many books you read a month, on average. Thanks!!

[Hannah]

I'm in! Usually I read 15-20 books a month.

[Susan]

Count me in. Now that school will be starting again, count me for an average of 2-4 books/month. I really enjoyed this last challenge.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Hope I didn't miss anything, but if you guys have any questions just ask. :) Megan and I are both hosting this challenge, so feel free to ask either her or me and we will try to answer any questions you have.

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

Susan wrote: "Count me in. Now that school will be starting again, count me for an average of 2-4 books/month. I really enjoyed this last challenge."

Hannah wrote: "I'm in! Usually I read 15-20 books a month."

Awesome! :) So glad you guys are signing up! :))

[Dawn]

I'm in. I average 2 books a month right now.

[Andrea]

I'm in! I read 5-7 books per month.

Question: If teams are tied going into the final round, what will the tie break be?

[Sam]

Will have to pass on this one... Have fun everyone :D

[Deanne]

I'm in 15 to 20 a month sometimes more. Sounds like fun!

[Andrea]

Sam wrote: "Will have to pass on this one... Have fun everyone :D"

Aw, we're gonna miss you, Sam. Hopefully you'll still get to read some wonderful books during these months.

[Kimberly]

I can't wait. Usually about 8-10 books a month
HUGS

[Tracy]

I'd like to sign up again. I can read two to four books a month.

[Monique the Book Geek]

Over the span of this challenge I'll be reading about 4-7 books per month. Although these books are already predetermined, I'm confident that they will match up with many of the selected tasks. If any of them don't match up in a round, I am so grateful for the swap rule! 😃

[Monique the Book Geek]

I'm noticing that not many people are signing up for this challenge in comparison to the previous challenge... The smaller the teams, the more difficult it's going to be to complete each round's tasks...

[Monique the Book Geek]

Sam wrote: "Will have to pass on this one... Have fun everyone :D"

You will definitely be missed Sam! Like Andrea, I hope you'll still get to read some wonderful books in the coming months! 🙂

[Tiffany]

I 'd like to sign up, if it's not too late. I can read 4-7 books a month right now.

[Monique the Book Geek]

It's not too late Tiffany. You're a great addition! 😀

[Melanie, ✞Moderator, Avid Reader, & Blogger ✞]

I'm in. Book per month varies...but I'll say 10-15. :)

[Megan, ☘I Lost My Shoe ☘]

I'm in. 12-16 books a month. :)

[JanetW]

would love to be part of this ... but I won't have time to read more than 4 books until October when our fall workload finally ends. I usually read somewhere around 80 books a year ~ most during the warm cuddled up by the fire winter reading :) :) :)

[Monique the Book Geek]

Janet wrote: "...warm cuddled up by the fire winter reading" - Sounds dreamy! 😍

[Hannah]

I used my status update box to post a link to this thread and invite all my friends. :) Anyone else inviting friends to sign up?

[Joy]

I've never done this before, but sounds like fun! On average I probably read 2-10 books a month - I enjoy reading and read quickly when I do, but also have four toddlers so don't always get to as many. As long as that's ok, I'd love to join. :)

[Hannah]

Joy wrote: "I've never done this before, but sounds like fun! On average I probably read 2-10 books a month - I enjoy reading and read quickly when I do, but also have four toddlers so don't always get to as m..."

Wow, four toddlers! You're a busy lady! :)
As long as you keep your teammates posted on whether or not you're in or out for a particular round, or if you're having a hard time finishing on time, it's not an issue. I had a teammate last challenge who was traveling overseas, one who got a new job, and I moved, and we all covered for each other nicely. :)

[Joy]

Awesome! This will be fun. :)

[Monique the Book Geek]

Joy wrote: "I've never done this before, but sounds like fun! On average I probably read 2-10 books a month - I enjoy reading and read quickly when I do, but also have four toddlers so don't always get to as m..."

Busy indeed! 😉 As Hannah mentioned, in keeping your team updated on your ability to participate in each round, teammates often cover for one another when needed. 🙂

Thank you for joining us in this challenge Joy! This is definitely going to be fun! 🙂

[Monique the Book Geek]

Hannah wrote: "I used my status update box to post a link to this thread and invite all my friends. :) Anyone else inviting friends to sign up?"

Thank you for inviting your friends Hannah and Deanne! 🙂 I'll do the same.

[Jamie]

Im in! 5-10 books a month

[Merrillee]

I would do this, but I joined a challenge at the beginning of the year and can't figure out why the books I post don't show up as read for the challenge.

[Hannah]

We just post in the threads here. It doesn't involve our bookshelves at all; Melanie keeps track of them for us, after we read them. We comment with the title, a link to our review, and how it works for the challenge option, and she tallies our score.

So hop on in! :)

[Tiffany]

Awesome! I'm excited about getting started!

[Hannah]

Hey! Message from Andrea....she doesn't have internet this week, and will hop back in when she gets it on the 21st. :)

[Merrillee]

I don't do reviews. I just try to keep track of my books.

[Merrillee]

I just finished reading Together with You by Victoria Bylin.

[Sam]

Merrillee wrote: "I would do this, but I joined a challenge at the beginning of the year and can't figure out why the books I post don't show up as read for the challenge."

Hi Merrillee! For book to show up in challenge trackers (either group challenges or GR year challenge) you need to set a finished date and that date must but 2017 (for the year challenge) or between that challenge start and finish dates for the trackers. Hope that helps!

[Monique the Book Geek]

Merrillee wrote: "I would do this, but I joined a challenge at the beginning of the year and can't figure out why the books I post don't show up as read for the challenge."

Hello Merrillee. If you go to "My Books" at the top of the page, and then select your "read" books on the left, you'll see all of the books you've marked as read. From here, look at the "date read" column. In this column you can set the year "2017" for the books you know you've read this year, and they should show up in your 2017 READING CHALLENGE. 😃 Hope this helps Merrillee.

[Monique the Book Geek]

I'm excited to start this Summer challenge with you all! 😃 Is it beginning some time today? The challenge start date is listed as August 16th.

[Joy]

Let me know which team I'm on and what I should read! (or what my options are) :)

[Hannah]

Melanie will let us know later today, I believe.

[Merrillee]

Monique wrote: "Merrillee wrote: "I would do this, but I joined a challenge at the beginning of the year and can't figure out why the books I post don't show up as read for the challenge."

Hello Merrillee. If you..."

Thanks, Monique.

[Deanne]

Aren't we supposed to start today :)

[Tiffany]

That's what I thought, too.

[Deanne]

Maybe they are waiting to see if anyone else signs up

[Megan, ☘I Lost My Shoe ☘]

Team threads will be created and posted sometime tonight or tomorrow. Sorry about the delay.