The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
SPRING CHALLENGE 2019
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Spring Challenge 2019: Task Ideas
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Short and Sweet-Read a book with a 1 word title and less than 300 pages that begins with a Title that begins with either "Sh" or "Sw".
What about a cover with an item on it or a word in the title that would be something that you might find in a villains closet or basement. That could be fun.
Read a book from one of these lists or websites:The Best Villains in Literature
Best Female Villains
The Greatest Villains of Literature
The Greatest Villains in Literature (This one has each book on a separate page)
40 of the Best Villains in Literature
i love the Disney villians - they are soo devilish...how about a series of tasks (like the 5 pointers) focused around themsome thoughts:
Gaston (Beauty and the Beast) - known for his handsome-ness - a book with a single male on the cover
Ursula (the little mermaid) - Listopia about Sea Monsters/Sea Creatures
Scar (the lion king) - the scar over his eye is the first thing i always see - listopia - SCARS ARE SEXY- Books with imperfect/disfigured/disabled heroes
Yzma (The Emperor's New Groove) - turns the emporer into a llama - a book with an animal (and only an animal on the cover); or a shapeshifter book
I like the Disney idea too.read a self help book that helps one overcome a flaw, weakness, or an inner villain trait
villains wear a lot of black...so maybe a cover that is mostly black. They also wear capes...so maybe a cape on the cover.
How about "real life villains"-Read a non-fiction book about someone you think deserves the title of Villain, if necessary explain why this person is a villain to you
Spring Theme-
Read a book with a cover that has flowers on it
Read a book, of at least 3 words, where the first letter of all words in the title can be found in "April Fools Day"
Read a book published in March April or May
Spring is for lovers-read a book tagged Romance on MPG
Julia wrote: "Read a book from one of these lists or websites:The Best Villains in Literature
Best Female Villains
The Greatest Villains of Literature
The Greatest Villains in Literature (This one has ..."
You're an ace at deciding these ideas. No wonder you've done 2 50-point tasks.
Spring Break!: Coastal settingFlowers & Trees: specific type of flower or tree in the title or author’s name
Celeste wrote: "Julia wrote: "Read a book from one of these lists or websites:The Best Villains in Literature
Best Female Villains
The Greatest Villains of Literature
The Greatest Villains in Literature ..."
Thanks for the compliment, but I've only done one 50 pointer. Shree and Coralie have done the others.
the word villain is often misspelled with the i coming before the a.......so maybe have a word in the title that has the letters "AI" in it consecutively.
Global warming/climate change as the villain.- fire, drought, melting ice caps, air pollution, hurricane, polar vortex, and other natural disasters/problems attributed to climate change : word in title or image on cover
- the dying of bees: bee or word bee/s on cover
- coral reefs: set in country that has coral reefs
Mythological figures that are villains (i.e. Loki, Kerberos, Ouranos, Kronos, King Midas, Baal ), or those that are seen sometimes as hero, sometimes as villain (Zeus/Jupiter, Ares/Mars)
March - St. Patrick's Day - read a book set in Ireland or by an Irish authorApril - April Fool's Day - read a book with MPG humor
May - Mother's Day - read a book about a mother
April Showers Bring May Flowers - rain in the story or on the cover, flowers on the cover
Easter - read a book with MPG religion, rabbit on cover, egg on cover
March Madness - read a book about basketball
May brings Graduation ceremonies - Book set in an academic institution (high school, college, boarding school, etc)Cinco de Mayo - Book with TWO 5's in total page count - do NOT need to be consecutive (155, or 525 both work)
March 14 is Pi Day - MPG Mathematics or Math /or/ Total pages 314 (exactly)
3/14 - pie on coverMay the forth be with you - mpg science fiction or fantasy
Easter motif on cover - chicks, bunnies, lambs, eggs, spring flowers, etc
spring as rebirth - baby (human or animal) on cover - maybe combine with fall (southern hemisphere) as dying - old or dead person/animal or skeleton on cover
Towel Day"Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, to demonstrate their appreciation for the books and the author. The commemoration was first held 25 May 2001, two weeks after Adams' death on 11 May." (source: Wikipedia)
Read a book with a towel on the cover OR a book with science fiction as a main page genre, that was first published between 1952 and 2001 – Adams' birth and death years.
The American Film Institute in 2003 came up with a list of the 100 Greatest Heros and Villains with 50 of each. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AFI'...Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with an actor who played one of the characters on the villain list.
Amanda wrote: "Towel Day"Towel Day is celebrated every year on 25 May as a tribute to the author Douglas Adams by his fans. On this day, fans openly carry a towel with them, as described in Adams' The Hitchhiker..."
Yes! Love the towel day idea
Like heroes, I'm having difficulty with ideas for villains. However (to steal one from the ATY challenge), how about reading a novel with a criminal as a main character. Also, I'd second true crime on the non-fiction side. Or maybe do it as a two-book task (15.1 or 15.2).
I also found a "worst people in history" list: https://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-li... (albeit however you feel about Hillary Clinton, I'm not sure she deserves to be above Heinrich Himmler...) How about a book about one of the first 100 people in the list.
Pi(e) DayPi Day is celebrated on March 14th (3/14) around the world. Pi represents a constant, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, and its decimal representation never settles into a permanently repeating pattern. Besides being a day to celebrate maths, Pi Day offers a good (and delicious) excuse to eat pie.
For this task read a book with a title of one, three or four words in which all the letters in "pie" appears only once, that is, without repetition.
Examples:
Parasite, Autobiography of Red, Dermaphoria, Prince of Thorns
March 5th is Mardi Gras-Read a book where the first letters in the title appear in either Mardi Gras OR Fat Tuesday(you may use only one of the phrases)March is Women's History Month-Read a book(fiction or non)with a a POV of a famous women
March 10th Daylight Saving Time begins-Read a book whose Authors initials appear in the phrase "Spring Forward"
In honor of St. Patricks day read a book by and Irish author
Beware the Ides of March: read a work by or inspired by Shakespeare
Cruella de Vil in 101 Damations is a favorite villain of many. Read a book that has the word cruel, devil, or evil in the title.EASTER Sunday
Read a book that has dress shoes on the cover
`
EASTER parade
Read a book that has a bonnet or fancy hat on the cover
EASTER eggs
Read a book that has only pastel colors on the cover.
MARCH, APRIL, MAY
Read a book that has a title that contains the word march, April, or may in the title (example: marching, maybe, ect)
Nurse Ratched - author's initials in UNIFORMLord Voldemort - fantasy mpg
Hannibal Lecter - first letter of title words in DEATH ROW
Professor Moriarty - mystery mpg
Wicked Witch of the West - a pet on the cover
Dracula - vampire mpg
Norman Bates - letters PSYCHO in title
Joker - clown face on cover
Sith Lord - Sci-fi mpg
Grinch - Green on the cover
Donna wrote: "Nurse Ratched - author's initials in UNIFORMLord Voldemort - fantasy mpg
Hannibal Lecter - first letter of title words in DEATH ROW
Professor Moriarty - mystery mpg
Wicked Witch of the West - a pe..."
I like these!
A villain is also referred to as a "bad guy." Read a book where all of the letters in BAD GUY are found in the title, subtitle and/or author's name.
I loved the villain (Annie Wilkes) in Misery by Stephen King. She was Paul Sheldon's "Number one fan". So maybe read the 1st in a series. Or center a task on the character names and/or the actors who played them in the movie. (Kathy Bates was amazing in that role.)The movie, Fatal Attraction, was another one that had the perfect actor in the villain role.
Extraterrestrials make good villains: how about author's initials in that word. Ghosts are also good villains: paranormal mpg.
Read a book that Good Reads notes as having won a non-European or North American literary award...winner...not nominee.
April 15th is Tax Day in the US.- Read a book where a character has a job in finance. (accountant, stock broker, banker, etc)
- Or where the cover has a picture of money.
- or where the title contains a mathematical term (ie. Kiss Quotient or The Divide)
March 8 is International Woman's Day
- read a book where a female character is in a position of power
Mother's Day is in May
- read a book with a mother as a main character...motherhood should play a dominant role in the story
- read a book where the title contains the word Mother
May 16 is Biographer's Day
- read a book from this list: Best Biographies
I also give another vote for true crime
The 2016 movie Suicide Squad is all about the DC Comics super villains. Read a book with an author who shares a name (first or last) with a member of the cast:
Will Smith
Jared Leto
Margot Robbie
Joel Kinnaman
Viola Davis
Jai Courtney
Jay Hernandez
Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje
Ike Barinholtz
Scott Eastwood
Cara Delevingne
And/Or read a book where a character shares a name (first or last) with a character from the movie:
Floyd Lawton
Harley Quinn
Rick Flag
Amanda Waller
George Harkness
Chato Santana
Waylon Jones
June Moone
Tatsu Yamashiro
GQ Edwards
Christopher Weiss
Adding to the Suicide Squad idea...movie premiered in August 2016
- read a book first published in August 2016
movie won an Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hair Styling
- read a book with a cover that has someone in costume
- read a book where a character is a stylist
a sequel is scheduled for release in 2021
- read a book that is 1st in a series with a 2nd book scheduled but not yet published (book 2 needs to be listed in GR with an expected publish date)
V is for Villain- Read a book by an author whose first, middle, or last name starts with a V
The Egyptian Revolution of 1919- a revolution 100 years ago against the British occupation of Egypt and Sudan.
- Read a book set in Egypt or Sudan
- Read a book relating to British colonialism, revolution, or Egyptology
Woman's DayRead a book that passes the Bechdel Test found in one of the following lists:
- Books that pass the Bechdel Test (by Penguin Books)
- Popular Bechdel Test Passed Books
- Top ten books that beat the Bechdel Test
- 12 Amazing Books That Pass The Bechdel Test
- Books That Pass the Bechdel-Wallace Test
Villains in LiteratureRead a book from the 40 of the best villains in literature list OR a book with a title (not subtitle) in which all the letters of "villains" are found.
March can be a windy month. Read a book with someone on the cover that has windblown hairNational Library Week is in April. Check out and read a book from the library that you know nothing about by an author you haven't read before. (Many gems are discovered this way!)
May is the month we celebrate Memorial Day and remember those who have gone before. Read a book by an author who has the same first or last name as one of your ancestors.
Melanie wrote: "Beware the Ides of March: read a work by or inspired by Shakespeare"also good for April since that is Shakespeare's birthday
April is poetry month... Read a book of poetry
Suggestions for the 15 points tasks that requires 2 books:Villanus
"Today a villain is a wicked person, whether in fact or fiction. In the 1300s, villain described a low-born rustic. It came from the Medieval Latin word villanus, or farmhand." (source: vocabulary.com)
Option 1: read one Book 1 and one Book 2.
- Book 1: a book with a MPG of "history" about the Medieval Period (Middle Ages) OR with a MPG of "historical fiction" in which the story takes place in the Middle Ages.
- Book 2: a book in which the story setting is mostly on a farm/ranch or a village.
Option 2: one book that fulfills the requirements of both Book 1 and Book 2.
Dualism
When hearing about "villains" most of us think about their opposites - "the heroes" -, too. This confrontation, and thus the clearly defined division, between Good and Evil is one example of what is called "dualism". Dualism was one of the most present themes from the Baroque Era, with its marks found even in literature. The artistic movement/era got its name from the portuguese word "barroco", meaning "imperfect pearl".
Option 1: read one Book 1 and one Book 2.
- Book 1: a book in which the confrontation between good and evil plays an important role in the plot.
- Book 2: a book from the Baroque Era or a book with all the letters of "imperfect pearl" in its title, thus 3 Es, 2 Ps and so on (subtitles may be used).
Option 2: one book that fulfills the requirements of both Book 1 and Book 2.
A villian is often found wearing a mask. Read a book with a mask on the cover.
St Patrick's Day: Read a book with a green cover or a rainbow on the cover.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Misery (other topics)Parasite (other topics)
Autobiography of Red (other topics)
Dermaphoria (other topics)
Prince of Thorns (other topics)
The bonus theme is Characters: Villains
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 14. Winter tasks will begin to be posted on February 16. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!