The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
FALL CHALLENGE 2017
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Fall Challenge 2017: Task Ideas
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Relating to the phrase: Seven Wonders of the Natural World1- Title with 7 words
2- Title with one of the following words: world, earth, planet, globe (or variation like globally, worldly) or with a planet on the cover
3- Environmental/nature theme or MPG
4- 7th in a series
5- Title with: ___ of the___
1. Orange is often a colour associated with fall/Autumn, read a book with a 50% orange cover2. The peak of Mount Everest was reached in 1953. Read a book published in the 1950s
3. Mount Everest is the highest mountain in the world, and truly fearsome to conquer as a result. Read a book with 500+ pages.
4. The Grand Canyon shows almost 2 billion (according to Wikipedia) years of geological history. Read a book with MPG Geology, archaeology or history.
5. Read a book set in a place where the Northern lights are seen (E.G. Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Finland and Russia)
6. One of the most famous features of the Rio de Janeiro Harbour is the 130-foot (40m) tall statue named "Christ the Redeemer." Read a book with a page number ending in 1, 3 or 0.
7, The most recent olympics was Rio 2016. Read a book with MPG sports.
8. The Great Barrier Reef is located in Coral Sea. Read a book with the sea on the cover.
9. The Great Barrier Reef is, unfortunately, quickly dying. Read a book by an author who has (unfortunately) passed away.
10. Many people used to go over Victoria Falls in a barrel. Read a book where the author's initials can be found in the word BARREL.
11. Many people used to go over Victoria Falls in a barrel. Read a book where the author's initials can be found in BADIDEA
12. Paricutin is/was the youngest volcano in the western hemisphere. Read a book written by an author born after 1950.
I'd been thinking of some ideas in case I managed to complete the challenge and design a task. However as I'm barely over 300 points so far I can't imagine I'll finish so I may just share some ideas here. To start with....
In September 1642 Parliament ordered the closure of London's theatres, including the Globe which is most famous for staging Shakespeare's plays. Read a book by an author who shares a name with a character in one of Shakespeare's plays. An example list is here
1. A 2 book option: 1) novel of your choice and 2) non-fiction related to the other book. Explain the connection. 2. The word FALL intact in title or author's name.
3. A book where a main character is in school
1. Cover with a pumpkin on it2. Author initials found in Samhain
Bryony wrote: "I'd been thinking of some ideas in case I managed to complete the challenge and design a task. However as I'm barely over 300 points so far I can't imagine I'll finish so I may just share some idea..."I like this idea
natural wonders makes me think of the UK's fabulous coastline cover with sea on it - rock formations etc
we have walked half of the 650 mile south west coast path, others choose to hike mountains
MPG adventure
•Aurora Borealis - a book cover with an evening sky
- set in a place where you can see the Aurora Borealis
•Mount Everest
- something to do with mountain climbing (biography or non-fiction task), or mountain ranges;
- maybe use this as a 10 category and do like the 10 highest peaks in the world or 10 different mountain ranges...
•Paricutin
- title with the letters LAVA in it;
- a book about a natural distaster (volcano, tornado etc)
•Victoria Falls \
- 355ft tall - a book with 3 or 5 in the page count
- on the border of Zambia/Zimbabwe - a book title with Z in it
- Tonga name is Mosi-oa-Tunya— The Smoke That Thunders
- a hyphenated word in the title
• Harbor at Rio de Janerio
- Rio de Janeiro translates “river of January” in Portuguese - a book published in January of any year
- Largest bay in the world based on volume of water - read a "large" book
• Great Barrier Reef
- Can be seen from outer space - a book set in space
- The 133,000 square miles (344,000 km) includes 900 islands - a book set on an island
quick question? when will the fall 2017 tasks be posted?
Mod
Fall tasks will begin to be posted on August 19.
Read a book with main page genre "Environment" or "Nature"Read a book by an author whose initials can be found in AURORA BOREALIS.
September 8 is International Literacy Day. Reread a book you read as a child.
Banned Books Week falls this year on the week of September 24. Read a book from the list of 2016's most frequently challenged books
Hispanic Heritage Month runs from September 15 to October 15. Read a book set in Central or South America.
Read a book with main genre Horror.
Halloween is a time for the supernatural. Read a book from the list "Vampires and Werewolves and Witches...Oh My!"
November is National Novel Writing Month. Read a book about a writer. Fiction Books About Books Or, read a book about writing. Books for Writers
November is also Native American Indian Heritage Month. Read a book with a Native American protagonist or author.
November 11 is Remembrance Day, dedicated to those lives lost in the First World War. Read a book set during World War I.
1) The New7Wonders of Nature competition deemed that the seven wonders of the natural world were the Amazon Rainforest and River, Halong Bay, Jeju Island, Iguazú / Iguaçu Falls, Puerto Princesa Subterranean River, Table Mountain, and Komodo Island. Read a book set in a country where one of these New7Wonders of Nature are found: (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana), Guyana, Indonesia, Peru, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Suriname, Venezuela, Vietnam)
2) The Seven Summits (highest mountain peaks on each continent/major tectonic plate) are Everest, Aconcagua, Denali, Kilimanjaro, Elbrus, Puncak Jaya, Vinson.
Conquer two of them by reading two books by two different authors. The author initials of each must be found in one peak, and you must "summit" two different peaks.
3) Read a book with OCEAN, SEA, LAKE or RIVER in the title or represented on the cover
4) Fall for Waterfalls - a 1 or 2 book option
Option 1: Read two books, one with FALL in the title, and one with WATER in the title
Option 2: Read one book, with WATERFALL in the title or a waterfall pictured on the cover or a waterfall used as a prominent setting or location in the book
5) International Talk Like a Pirate Day (a "real" holiday) is September 19 - read a work of fiction or nonfiction in which pirates are prominently featured.
6) Seasonal Theme with a twist: it's fall in the Northern Hemisphere, but for readers in the Southern Hemisphere, spring has sprung! Here's a 1 or 2 book option in recognition of that:
Option 1: read one book with FALL or AUTUMN intact in the title and one book with SPRING intact in the title (meaning can be different so long as word is intact, i.e. Before the Fall
Option 2: read one book with FALL/AUTUMN or SPRING intact in the title AND the author initials can be found in the corresponding equinox names, AUTUMNAL EQUINOX or VERNAL EQUINOX.
A book with no human or man made object on the cover (other than the letters of the title, author, etc) Fall is time for new television. Read a book mentioned in a tv show, provide the reference. Gilmore girls and Orange is the new black would be easy options for this.
October is when Nobel prize for lit is awarded. Read a book by a Nobel winner (not limited to literature winners).
Regarding the Victoria Falls barrel jumpers, read a memoir written by a daredevil - mountain climber, race car driver, cave explorer, etc....For Halloween, read a book set somewhere you'd be afraid to visit. For example, a morgue, jail, or a jungle - anywhere that frightens you.
Sam wrote: "1) The New7Wonders of Nature competition deemed that the seven wonders of the natural world were the Amazon Rainforest and River, Halong Bay, Jeju Island, Iguazú / Iguaçu Falls, Puerto Princesa Sub..."I really like #2. That would be the only way I would ever reach the summit of one of those mountains. Fabulous idea!
This season is known as Fall in American English and Autumn in British English. Read a book by an author who has published under at least two names - e.g. J.K. Rowling / Robert Galbraith or Stephen King / Richard Bachman.Or maybe a variation on this could be read a book by an author who was a secret pen name of an already well known author (as are both of the examples above).
The winner of Booker prize is announced at a ceremony that takes place in London in October. Read a book that has been shortlisted for the Booker prize. Perhaps this could be expanded to be any book by an author who has been shortlisted for the prize.
For International Talk Like a Pirate Day - read a book that begins with R (aarrrrrrrrgh)For Victoria Falls - read a book set during the Victorian era (1837-1901)
The Great Barrier Reef is becoming more and more damaged by bleaching - read a book with a mostly white cover
Many of these natural wonders were 'discovered' by Europeans despite being known by Indigenous people for millennia - read a book by an Indigenous writer.
One of the most impressive features of the harbour at Rio is Sugarloaf mountain - read a book with a sugary treat on the cover (e.g. cake, chocolate)
Bryony wrote: "The winner of Booker prize is announced at a ceremony that takes place in London in October. Read a book that has been shortlisted for the Booker prize. Perhaps this could be expanded to be any b..."
Or this year's long list -- or any book by an author on the list:
The 2017 Man Booker prize longlist
4321 by Paul Auster (Faber & Faber)
Days Without End by Sebastian Barry (Faber & Faber)
History of Wolves by Emily Fridlund (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, Orion Books)
Exit West by Mohsin Hamid (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)
Solar Bones by Mike McCormack (Canongate)
Reservoir 13 by Jon McGregor (4th Estate, HarperCollins)
Elmet by Fiona Mozley (JM Originals, John Murray)
The Ministry of Utmost Happiness by Arundhati Roy (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)
Lincoln in the Bardo by George Saunders (Bloomsbury)
Home Fire by Kamila Shamsie (Bloomsbury)
Autumn by Ali Smith (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)
Swing Time by Zadie Smith (Hamish Hamilton, Penguin Random House)
The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead (Fleet, Little, Brown)
https://www.theguardian.com/books/201...
The second season of Stranger Things is available on Netflix in October. It's a sci-fi/horror drama set in the 1980s. Main characters are a group of kids. Read a book with 1) title including one of the words intact: strange or thing; 2) set in the 1980s or published in the 1980s; 3) main characters are children; 4) MPG of horror, sci-fi, or paranormal; 5) a strange thing on the cover (explain why you find it strange).
the new season of TV shows in general is getting ready to premiere - Season 3 of outlander is in September (yay droughtlander is over)
True Dee! I forgot about new fall shows, in general. Maybe we could have a "What are You Watching on TV this fall" task? A word in the title from a tv show on air this fall.
For a two book task, how about two books where the authors' first and last initials are the same but in opposite places (I'm sure someone else could word this more clearly!). Examples:
Sarah Waters // William Shakespeare
Katie Fforde // Franz Kafka
Liane Moriarty // Mary Lawson
Nick wrote: "Or this year's long list -- or any book by an author on the list"I like this idea too, some really interesting titles on this year's list.
CEELEE: There are 18 towns and cities named Columbus in the USA. To celebrate Columbus Day October 9th read a book set at least 50% in one of these states: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. Source: Wikipedia "Columbus: Places" For some reason Wisconsin is named with two places named Columbus but for this purpose I only used it once but according to Wikipedia there are really 19 places called Columbus in the USA.
Pam wrote: "True Dee! I forgot about new fall shows, in general. Maybe we could have a "What are You Watching on TV this fall" task? A word in the title from a tv show on air this fall."i like this idea but shows are different in Uk to US and that is probably true for a lot of countries. For instance i had never heard of Gilmore Girls until a task in this season i think mentioned it. Many of your shows mean nothing to me
The Maine Farmers' Almanac from c. the 1930s began to publish Native American "Indian" full moon names.Such names have gained currency in American folklore.For this task, read a book with one of the words in the Title that describe the Fall Months Moons:
September: "Harvest Moon", "Full Corn Moon",
October: "Hunter's moon", "Blood Moon"/"Sanguine Moon"
November: "Beaver Moon", "Frosty Moon"
My idea certainly wasn't limited to US TV shows. Unless there is a list, though, it might be hard to validate a post. I appreciate your point Marie!
Back to the phrase "Seven Wonders of the Natural World"- a cover with a nature setting (e.g., any type of landscape; not a city scene.)September, October, & November all have 3 syllables- title or author with a 3 syllable word/name. Or, an author with a first or last name starting with S, O, or N.
I like the orange cover idea, especially since I have several sitting on my bookshelf! My library usually has an orange cover display this time of the year, also. The task could be expanded to include an option for orange in the title or an orange on the cover.
Ceelee wrote: "CEELEE: There are 18 towns and cities named Columbus in the USA. To celebrate Columbus Day October 9th read a book set at least 50% in one of these states: Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Ken..."
I like this idea!
Crop Over (formerly called "Harvest Home") is a traditional harvest festival which began in Barbados, having had its early beginnings on the sugar cane plantations during the colonial period. The crop over tradition began in 1687, and featured singing, dancing and accompaniment by bottles filled with water, shak-shak (maracas or shakers), banjo, triangle, fiddle, guitar, and bones. Read a book that has shak-shak (maracas or shakers), banjo, triangle, fiddle, guitar, or bones on cover.
or Read a book with an author's initials found in "CROP OVER"
In honor of the 7 Natural Wonders of the World, read the #7or #77 book on your Goodreads "Want To Read" (TBR) Shelf
"Things that Go Bump" in the nightHalloween is October 31st:
Read a book with something that goes "bump" in the night in the title or on the cover.
Examples:
- RatFour Blind Mice
- black cat
- Bat206 Bones - Bones
- Owl
Victoria Falls is named after Queen Victoria. Read a book set in a place named after a British Queen.
Coralie wrote: "Victoria Falls is named after Queen Victoria. Read a book set in a place named after a British Queen."Good idea, although the snag is it would only be four names - Mary, Elizabeth, Anne and Victoria - unless you want to include Queens Consort as well, which would certainly increase the field. :-)
A couple of ideas for harvest tasks:
Spelling it Out: Read a book where the title (including subtitle) contains all the letters of the word HARVEST, or where teh author's initials can be found in HARVEST.
Gathering In: Read a book which has either fields or crops on the cover - like grain (wheat, maize, etc) and fruit and vegetables, either still in the field, or harvested, for example hay bales, sheaves of corn or baskets of produce.
I also always like the "set in a country with" tasks, so books set in or by an author from: Tibet/Nepal, Arizona (the whole US would be too easy!), Scandinavia, Brazil, Australia, Mexico or Zambia.
Something related to Norse Mythology for the Northern Lights? Or perhaps containing the letters of, or author initials in BIFROST - the Norse rainbow bridge.
Rio Harbour - maybe something at least 50% set on a ship or boat, or perhaps one of the characters lives on a boat? Or with a harbour on the cover.
Captain Cook ran aground on the Great Barrier Reef. Maybe a book set in one of the countries/states he visited in his travels? http://www.cookmuseumwhitby.co.uk/cap....
The stunning thing about the Grand Canyon (other than the size!) is the rock colours. Read a book with bands of red or yellow somewhere on the cover, or a cover with visible rock strata on it.
Also stunning is the Grand Canyon Skywalk, built on Hualapai Tribal lands. Read a book where the author's initials can be found in either HUALAPAI, or SKYWALK. Or perhaps showing a building or structure made of glass on the cover. Or a book with a native American protagonist.
Everest was finally conquered by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Perhaps a book with two authors? or where the author has the initials EH, HE, TN or NT.
Volcanos are associated with Vulcan, Roman god of metalworking, smithing and the forge. Read a book where one of the characters is a smith or metalworker, or some other type of craft person (e.g carpenter/woodworker, jeweler, artist). Or maybe a book with fire on the cover.
For Victoria Falls, a book with a waterfall or cascade on the cover?
Trish wrote: "Coralie wrote: "Victoria Falls is named after Queen Victoria. Read a book set in a place named after a British Queen."Good idea, although the snag is it would only be four names - Mary, Elizabeth..."
I was thinking also of places like Queensland, named for Queen Victoria or Virginia for Queen Elizabeth I.
Daylight Saving Time ends on November 5th this year. We'll all set our clocks back one hour and go ever-so-slightly into the past. Do the same with your reading and read a MPG Historical Fiction.
A fall fair theme, with each choice representing an aspect of a fall fair-Book with an amusement park ride on the cover
-Book with a MPG Crafts
-Book with a farm animal in the title
-Book about a con artist (for the games)
-Book from a list of food books
It's Fall/Autumn in the northern hemisphere ... but it's Spring in the southern hemisphere, time for new growth and renewal. Read DEBUT work by a New-to-you author.
Melanie wrote: "Daylight Saving Time ends on November 5th this year. We'll all set our clocks back one hour and go ever-so-slightly into the past. Do the same with your reading and read a MPG Historical Fiction."I have noticed that GR has changed Historical Fiction to just Historical. Sounds like a good idea :)
Melanie wrote: "Daylight Saving Time ends on November 5th this year. We'll all set our clocks back one hour and go ever-so-slightly into the past. Do the same with your reading and read a MPG Historical Fiction."I really like this idea. However, if it's chosen please can the task description say DST ends on 5 November in North America, so as not to confuse those of us from parts of the world where DST ends on other dates.
No, of course I've never been an hour late to an appointment after being confused about the start of daylight saving time, why do you ask? ;-)
but Bryony, we call it BST (British Summer Time)! though it's fair to say that our priorities - focus on the country not the thing that actually changes - might be wrong. all about us!
I have noticed that GR has changed Historical Fiction to just Historical. ..."I've recently noticed this as well. I read a book that I personally tagged Historical Fiction .... but when I looked it up the mpg was simply HISTORICAL
Yet, when you expand the search on the book's main page to see all the shelves you notice that
Historical Fiction - 556 people
Historical - 127 people
So clearly there are MANY more using "historical-fiction than simply "historical" .... who know what GR is thinking?!
So many good ideas! Can't wait to see the tasks. I have a couple of ideas:~ Set in/on one of the natural wonders from a list, or one on the cover. I like the Atlas Obscura lists, for example.
~ Besides my job and family, in the fall I am also very busy volunteering for the regional Ballet company. A task with anything ballet, on the cover, in the title or setting.
~ Fall is the start of the academic year. My field is computer science and informatics. A task with computer equipment on the cover, with additional requirement of female author, female on the cover or as a main character. :)
~ Fall also is cool-down from the hot Texas summer. The word cool or synonym in title or author name.
Bryony wrote: "Melanie wrote: "Daylight Saving Time ends on November 5th this year. We'll all set our clocks back one hour and go ever-so-slightly into the past. Do the same with your reading and read a MPG Histo..."I once arrived at work an hour late and it took me another hour to realise what i had done
Cat wrote: "but Bryony, we call it BST (British Summer Time)! though it's fair to say that our priorities - focus on the country not the thing that actually changes - might be wrong. all about us!"IMO we should stop messing with the clock and accept it is darker in winter than in summer but it is farmers and in particulate Scottish farmers who want the clock to move around
I notice that some genres and authors are my fall back position - for instance Agatha christie is always good for author initials in"..." A and C being really common letters and cosy mysteries are often free on KU so I se them a lot - perhaps for setting perhaps we could have a cosy mystery task -
Marie (UK) wrote: "Cat wrote: "but Bryony, we call it BST (British Summer Time)! though it's fair to say that our priorities - focus on the country not the thing that actually changes - might be wrong. all about us!"..."Actually, "winter" is the "real" time ... it's summer that has the artificially set-forward clock.
And I agree with you .... I hate daylight savings time... Just leave the clock where it is and let your body's circadian rhythms dictate your up-and-at-'em time.
i say the whole world should just go to zulu time (greenwich mean time) and let everything fall naturally - the military operates that way - everyone is on common time - none of this, 6pm Eastern, 5pm, central, 3 pm pacific BS
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Owl Keeper (other topics)The Bat (other topics)
206 Bones (other topics)
The Treatment (other topics)
Four Blind Mice (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Liane Moriarty (other topics)Mary Lawson (other topics)
Franz Kafka (other topics)
Katie Fforde (other topics)
Sarah Waters (other topics)
More...
As in past challenges, some tasks may revolve around the seasonal theme of fall. 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 August 17. Fall tasks will begin to be posted on August 19. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!