Winter Reading Challenge: December prompts discussion

[Bryony]

Use this thread to talk about what you’re reading for December’s prompts or ask for recommendations.

For more information about the challenge see this thread: Winter Reading Challenge: Introduction & Tasks

[Bryony]

DECEMBER

1. Winter

Brrrr. Time to break out the hats, scarves and gloves as the coldest time of the year approaches (in the northern hemisphere at least). On the other hand, cold weather is the perfect excuse to curl up under a blanket with your latest book. And, however cold you are, at least you can be glad your home town is warmer then Antarctica, where the lowest temperature on Earth was recorded: an icy −89.2°C (−128.6 °F).

1. Read a book with a title beginning with a letter in WINTER (you can use or ignore a, an or the)
2. Read a book with snow, snowflakes or a snowman on the cover OR a book with a person wearing winter clothing (scarf, hat, warm coat etc) on the cover.
3. Read a book that is between 89 and 128 pages long (you can ignore the 100 page requirement for this task).

2. December birthdays: Ann Patchett

The American novelist Ann Patchett was born on 2 December 1963. She has published eight novels, including Bel Canto, winner of the 2002 PEN/Faulkner Award and the Women’s Prize for Fiction. Her debut novel, The Patron Saint of Liars, was published in 1992 and her latest book, The Dutch House, was one of the most anticipated books of 2019.

1. Read a book published between 1992 and 2019 (inclusive).
2. Read a book by Ann Patchett or another author named Ann or a close variation (eg Anne, Anna, Annie etc)
3. Read a book that has won or been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award or the Women’s Prize for Fiction

3. Christmas

It’s the most wonderful time of the year... Time for decorating the Christmas tree, singing carols, wearing a novelty Christmas jumper, and hopefully waking up on Christmas morning to find the new release you’ve been excited to read waiting under the Christmas tree for you to unwrap. Merry Christmas!

1. Read a book that was recommended to you in our Christmas book recommendations game
Please make sure you have signed up here by 14 December if you’d like to participate
2. Read a book that has one of the gifts referred to in The Twelve Days of Christmas shown on its cover (ignore the numbers - eg a book with a gold ring works, you don’t need a book with five gold rings!)
3. Read a book on one of the following Christmas reading lists:
🎁 Oprah magazine: 35 best Christmas books of all time
🎁 Bustle: 9 classic Christmas books for adults
🎁 Stylist: 50 best Christmas books

4. Winter sports: yukigassen

Imagine if someone turned snowball fighting into an official sport with rules, a referee, a court and a snowball making machine. That’s yukigassen! Created in Japan in 1988, there are now competitions all over the world. Teams of seven players battle to capture each other’s flag, while trying to avoid being hit by a snowball and eliminated from the game. Preparation for a match involves making 270 snowballs, no wonder they invented a snowball making machine!

1. Read a book by an author whose first and last initials appear in YUKIGASSEN.
2. Read a book in a series that is at least 7 books long
3. Read a book set in a country where yukigassen is played (Japan, Armenia, Canada, China, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, or Slovakia).

[Edie]

After 2 1/2 months on the wait list Patchett's The Dutch House is waiting for me at the library. Patchett prompt is custom made for that read which didn't have a home in any challenges I have left to do.

[Pam]

For the month of December, I’m finishing up a classics challenge and focusing on reading just classics. Two books fit the December prompts: Winter #1- The Twenty-One Balloons (finished) and Winter Sports #3- Hadji Murad (set in Russia) by Tolstoy.

[Pam]

I'm going to try to finish December up with the following books:

2. Dec birthdays: 1. published between 1992 and 2019 - The Institute- pub in 2019

3. Christmas: 2. one of the gifts referred to in The Twelve Days of Christmas shown on its cover
Stay Up with Hugo Best (swan on cover) or
The Fellowship of the Ring (ring on cover)