The Great American Read discussion
Challenges and Favorites 2018
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2018 Challenge and Achievements - REVISED. First five ...
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Q: Can we include books we counted in the Summer READVOTE challenge?
A: Yes. You can include any GAR books you read between Jan 2018- Jan 31 2019.
Q: Do all books have to be on the Great American Read list?
A: Yes, only GAR books qualify for this particular challenge. (We'll expand to some other books in 2019.)
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Edited Jan 2019 12 challenges completed
Bookshelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
1. Read and discuss the winning book (To Kill a Mockingbird) Read 11/4/18. Posted on the group thread. DONE
2. Three Century Challenge DONE
1800s Frankenstein (1818), read 10/1/2018
1900s A Prayer for Owen Meany (1989), read 7/21/18
2000s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime (2003), read 9/7/18
3. Three Country Challenge DONE
US - The Color Purple
UK - Pride and Prejudice
Nigeria - Americanah (Nigerian author and lead characters, set in Nigeria, US and UK).
4. Three Genre Challenge – List three books you read from three different genres. DONE
YA Looking for Alaska - Read 6/11/18
Adventure/Western- Lonesome Dove, Read 8/20/18
Horror - Frankenstein Read 10/1/18
Sci fi - Sirens of Titan, Read 8/18/18
- Handmaid's Tale, Read 9/22/18
Romance - Pride and Prejudice
5. Big Book Challenge – Name a book you completed with more than 800 pages. DONE
-Lonesome Dove, 935 pages, Read 8/20/18
6. Diversity Challenge - DONE
-Americanah (Race, immigrant experience). Read 9/3/18-
-A Prayer for Owen Meany (religion) . Read 7/21/18
-Curious Incident (autism spectrum). Read 9/7/18
7. Comfort zone challenge – DONE
Name and discuss a book you read that was most outside your comfort zone (e.g. one you wouldn’t have read otherwise).
- Sirens of Titan. I don't like a lot of classic Sci-fi books so I wouldn't have chosen this on my own. Still I'm glad I tried it.
- Their Eyes were Watching God. The title and pub date made me expect something sort of preachy. When I saw the dialect in print, I felt uncomfortable and thought, "I can't read that" and I put the book back. But when the group voted for it, I decided to try the audio and I fell in love. The print turned out to be easy to read too.
DONE
8. Biggest Surprise. Name and discuss the book that you are most happy you read this year. Write a review and post the link here.
- Their Eyes Were Watching God - This was my favorite discovery of the year. It's a wonderful tale about an African American women in Florida early in the 1900's. It's a great story for all women really. We follow the twists and turns in her life, with three marriages that represent 3 different types of roles that women might hold in a marriage. I particularly like the writing style, the imagery and the way the book made me feel. The audio book narrated by Ruby Dee is rich, beautiful, and perfect for the story.
9. List a series book you read in 2018. DONE
A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Outlander series). Read Feb 2018
Ghost (#1)
10. Series bonus. List any series that you completely finished in 2018. N/A
11. Movie bonus. Watch and discuss a movie adapted from a GAR book. I watched Fellowship of the Ring. DONE
12. More than 5 GAR books. See link. DONE
13. Classic Challenge. DONE
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, read 7/11/18
1. Read and discuss the winning book (which will be announced next Tuesday). If you already read it in a prior year, you can either reread it, or select another book in the top 10.2. Three Century Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different centuries (based on the original publication date). 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s, 2000’s.
3. Three Country Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different countries. (Based on the setting, author’s nationality, or original language. Examples US, Canada, UK, Japan, Russia, France, Spain, Nigeria, Mexico, etc.)
UK - Rebecca - Read @ 2018
Nigeria - Americanah
US - To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel
4.Three Genre Challenge – List three books you read from three different genres. (Based on the PBS genre categories, or a primary genre shelved by goodreads members. e.g. Sci-fi/futuristic, fantasy, romance, horror, mystery, historical fiction, classic, war, adventure, children's, YA, etc.)
Children's - Charlotte's Web - Read @ 2018
YA's - The Giver - Read @ 2018
Romance - The Notebook - Read @ 2018
5. Big Book Challenge – Name a book you completed with more than 800 pages.
6. Diversity Challenge – Name a book you read about race, immigration, religion, orientation (LGBTQ), or other diversity theme.
Race - Americanah - Read @ 2018
7. Comfort zone challenge – Name and discuss a book you read that was most outside your comfort zone (e.g. one you wouldn’t have read otherwise). This can be the same as in any other category.
8. Biggest Surprise. Name and discuss the book that you are most happy you read this year. Write a review and post the link here.
9. List a series book you read in 2018.
10. Series bonus. List any series that you completely finished in 2018.
11. Movie bonus. Watch and discuss a movie adapted from a GAR book
Mod
2. Three Centur..."
Vivian, you're off to a good start. You have at least two countries too.
The Golden State killer book sounds really interesting, but it doesn't qualify for this particular challenge. All the books have to be on the Great American Read book. I'm not much into true crime either, but I was really impressed by the Killers of the Flower Moon. It floored me.
NancyJ wrote: "Vivian wrote: "1. Read and discuss the winning book (which will be announced next Tuesday). If you already read it in a prior year, you can either reread it, or select another book in the top 10...."
Thanks for correcting me :) I had finished Killers of the Flower Moon a month ago and I was really impressed by it too :)
Kudos to all those who completed the challenge. Great job!
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The first five people to complete 6 of the 13 challenges will be eligible for a prize. Another drawing will be done after Jan 2019.
Anyone who completes 12 of the 13 challenges will earn the title QUEEN (or KING) of the GAR group 2018. (Or a similar title of your choice)
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Check.
2. Three Century Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different centuries (based on the original publication date). 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s, 2000’s.
1700s- Gulliver's Travels
1800s- Alice in Wonderland
1900s- Anne of Green Gables
2000s- Looking for Alaska
3. Three Country Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different countries. (Based on the setting, author’s nationality, or original language. Examples US, Canada, UK, Japan, Russia, France, Spain, Nigeria, Mexico, etc.)
Americanah- Nigeria
Alchemist- Spain/Egypt
Oscar Wao- Dominican Republic
4. Three Genre Challenge – List three books you read from three different genres. (Based on the PBS genre categories, or a primary genre shelved by goodreads members. e.g. Sci-fi/futuristic, fantasy, romance, horror, mystery, historical fiction, war, adventure, western, children's, YA, etc.)
Sci-Fi- Sirens of Titan
Mystery- And Then There Were None
Western- Lonesome Dove
5. Big Book Challenge – Name a book you completed with more than 800 pages.
Outlander
6. Diversity Challenge – Name a book you read about race, immigration, religion, orientation (LGBTQ), or other diversity theme.
Tales of the City
Another Country
Siddhartha
7. Comfort zone challenge – Name and discuss a book you read that was most outside your comfort zone (e.g. one you wouldn’t have read otherwise). This can be the same as in any other category.
The Watchers
8. Biggest Surprise. Name and discuss the book that you are most happy you read this year. Write a brief review.
This Present Darkness
This is not a genre I would typically pick up. Couple that with the people I'd known previously who recommended the book being very evangelical, I did not think of it as something I would enjoy. I'm happy to say I was wrong. Although the book is obviously based on a spiritual battle of good vs. evil, I found it to be engaging without getting too preachy. I would not have read it outside of this list.
9. List a series book you read in 2018.
Clan of the Cave Bear
10. Series bonus. List any series that you completely finished in 2018.
None
11. Movie bonus. Watch and discuss a movie adapted from a GAR book.
I just rewatched Fellowship of the Ring.
12. Five Book Challenge. Read at least five books from the GAR list.
Their Eyes Were Watching God
Americanah
Sirens of Titan
Lonesome Dove
Siddhartha
13. Classic Challenge. Read at least one book on the list considered to be a Classic. Here is my list, but there may be others:
Call of the Wild
I don't know how fair/reasonable my list is; I read five GAR books in this time frame, and they just happened to accomplish a number of challenges on this list. I'm still pretty pleased, though, to have crossed off War and Peace and Don Quixote, both of which have been on my to-read list for years and neither of which I would have read in the past year without this group!*12. Read a Classic (GAR) book (other than Mockingbird)
Don Quixote
War and Peace
Siddhartha
*13. Read at least 5 GAR books.
Don Quixote
War and Peace
Lonesome Dove
Siddhartha
The Sirens of Titan
1. Read and discuss TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD.
*2. Three Century Challenge – Three books, three different centuries (based on original pub date.
Don Quixote - 1605
War and Peace - 1867
The Sirens of Titan - 1959
*3. Three Country Challenge – Three books, three different countries.
Don Quixote - Spain
War and Peace - Russia
Siddhartha - India (setting), Germany (author)
Lonesome Dove - US
*4.Three Genre Challenge – Three books, three different genres.
The Sirens of Titan - science fiction
Lonesome Dove - Western
War and Peace - historical fiction
*5. Big Book Challenge – Finish a book with more than 800 pages.
Don Quixote - 1023
War and Peace - 1392
Lonesome Dove - 945
*6. Diversity Challenge – Read a book about race, immigration, religion, LGBTQ, or other diversity theme.
Siddhartha - religion
*7. Comfort zone challenge – Read and discuss a book you might not otherwise choose.
Lonesome Dove - not normally interested in Westerns
8. Biggest Surprise/Favorite. Discuss. (This should be easy.)
*9. Read a series book on the list
Lonesome Dove
10. Series bonus. Complete a series.
11. Movie bonus. See a movie based on a GAR book.
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in process
2...."
Joy you are aiming for that crown, aren't you? Great job!
Mod
Great job Jacinta. You may have only read 5 of the books, but you tackled some tough ones, and you met 9 of the challenges. Congratulations!
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in p..."
I don't need a crown! I'm happy just participating!
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Congratulations to Jacinta for winning the Prize!
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The Great American Read
Books mentioned in this topic
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel (other topics)Rebecca (other topics)
Charlotte’s Web (other topics)
The Giver (other topics)
The Notebook (other topics)
More...
In this challenge, you can include any GAR books you read from January 2018 to January 31, 2019. Each book can count in more than one category unless otherwise stated. The goal is to complete at least 6 of the challenges below.
Create one post for your list that you can edit over the next few months.
For each challenge, list the book, and the date you completed it. To make it easy to keep track, set up a bookshelf in MyBooks with the GAR books you read during the challenge period, and provide the link in your post.
*1. Read and discuss the winning book- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD. If you already read it in a prior year, you can choose another book in the top 10. Add a post to our group discussion.
2. Three Century Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different centuries (based on the original publication date). 1600’s, 1700’s, 1800’s, 1900’s, 2000’s.
3. Three Country Challenge – List 3 books you read from three different countries. (Based on the setting, author’s nationality, or original language. Examples US, Canada, UK, Japan, Russia, France, Spain, Nigeria, Mexico, etc.)
*4.Three Genre Challenge – List three books you read from three different genres. (Based on the PBS genre categories, or a primary genre shelved by goodreads members. e.g. Sci-fi/futuristic, fantasy, romance, horror, mystery, historical fiction, war, adventure, western, children's, YA, etc.)
5. Big Book Challenge – Name a book you completed with more than 800 pages.
6. Diversity Challenge – Name a book you read about race, immigration, religion, orientation (LGBTQ), or other diversity theme.
*7. Comfort zone challenge – Name and discuss a book you read that was most outside your comfort zone (e.g. one you wouldn’t have read otherwise). This can be the same as in any other category.
*8. Biggest Surprise. Name and discuss the book that you are most happy you read this year. Write a brief review.
9. List a series book you read in 2018.
10. Series bonus. List any series that you completely finished in 2018.
11. Movie bonus. Watch and discuss a movie adapted from a GAR book
ADDED:
*12. Five Book Challenge. Read at least five books from the GAR list.
*13. Classic Challenge. Read at least one book on the list considered to be a Classic. Here is my list, but there may be others:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
WINNERS
The first five people to complete 6 of the challenges will be entered into a drawing for a prize. Another prize will be drawn after Jan 30, 2019.
NEW MEMBER CHALLENGE - If you joined us late, the New Member Challenge is to complete 3 of the challenge items above.
QUESTIONS?