Bookcrossers discussion
Challenges
>
2020 Monthly Challenge
This is what I plan on reading this month. I'll mark them once they're read.Reading Challenge - April
Theme: April Showers Bring May Flowers
1. Read a book with some type of weather in the title.
* Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion - read 4/17/20
2. Read a book with flowers in the title.
* Calico Joe by John Grisham - read 4/11/20
http://plants.ifas.ufl.edu/plant-dire...
Please let me know if you think they don't fit the categories.
Happy April Reading!
Wow, Diane, what an interesting flower/plant. Thanks for providing the link. Hope I can find a couple books "in house" to fit the categories this month.
Great idea to read more than one for each, or at least plan ahead to do so. I'll be copying that strategy, thank you!
My picks for April (only one each - I can't keep up with y'all!)weather: Hurricane Punch ( Edited to add: Yuk! Abandoned at 29%- I tried.)
flower: The Orchid Thief: A True Story of Beauty and Obsession
Hoping everyone is safe and well.
I've been wondering about Orchid Thief... but the only reason I'm interested is because I've liked the author on other subjects... please let us know what you think when you're done!
Will do! This book should be a little bit challenging because years ago it suffered extreme water damage. It is very fat and wrinkly. Just came across it the other day as we were attempting to clean and sort.
AprilWeather - A Fair Wind for Love - Andrea Gray - Finished
Flowers - Orchids for Heather - Beverly Marshall - Finished
March challenge picks:Beautiful Joe's Paradise (Pets/Dog Day)
Bleachers (mostly green cover for Girl Scout Day)
April challenge picks:
Some Like it HOT (Louisa Edwards)
Violets in March (Sarah Jio)
and still working on some others from previous months. Will I ever catch up with these challenges of yours, Edwina?
Edit: Finished Fool Me Once and Neverwhere (two of 2019 books)
Rainbows Are Made: Poems by Carl Sandburg was good, but not keep-able. So, one down for April!edit: finished The King of Mulberry Street, 3.5 stars, recommended to fans of historical fiction...
Done with April!
Nancy wrote: " Will I ever catch up with these challenges of yours, Edwina?"I don't think I will, Nancy. I might have to drop back to just one - the decades challenge. I just keep reading other things that don't really fit into the monthly thing. But, I'll try for a bit, and see what happens.
Finally finished a dog-themed or on the cover book from Monthly Challenge, 2019. Fern Michaels' Fool Me Once. It had Yorkies on the cover and Yorkies mentioned on nearly every page. Now to move on to the rest of the Monthly Challenges I am SO far behind on.
Nancy wrote: "Finally finished a dog-themed or on the cover book from Monthly Challenge, 2019. Fern Michaels' Fool Me Once. It had Yorkies on the cover and Yorkies mentioned on nearly every page. Now to move on ..."I'm behind also, which is sad because I'm the one who sets the challenges. I should be ashamed … but, I'm not. lol
There are just SO many books but at least these challenges are encouraging me to dig out some of my older books and bump them up the pile so that I might actually get them read instead of them gathering dust in my bookcase.
Remember The Little Engine That Could …
I think I can will (hopefully) turn into I know I can.
Question for the May Challenge.Do you have children or step-children?
3 grown children (ages 40, 34 and 27) and 1 grandson (age 5). My mom is 90 and mother-in-law is 85.
Two grown children - a daughter and a son.
Changed both of my selections for April. Flowers - Hot House Flower and the 9 Plants of Desire - finished
Weather - Snow Falling on Cedars - just started
Posting this a day early, go ahead and pull your books but, please, don't start reading them until tomorrow!************************************************************
Reading Challenge - May
Theme: Mother's Day
Pick a bookcase with at least 3 shelves.
Shelf 1 - Add together the birth month, day, and year of your first child, for example October 25, 1975 would be 1+0+2+5+1+9+7+5 = 30.
Counting from left to right you would read the 30th book on the 1st shelf.
Shelf 2 - Second child - count the letters in his or her name, for example Anna (4) Mae (3) Brown (5) would be 4+3+5 = 12.
Counting from left to right you would read the 12th book on the 2nd shelf of your bookcase.
Shelf 3 - Add the numbers together of the year that your third child was born, for example 1990 would be 1+9+9+0 = 19.
Counting from left to right you would read the 19th book on the 3rd shelf of your bookcase.
If you have no children, you can still join the fun, just use your Mother for your numbers. (Her date of birth, letters in her name, and birth year.) Also, if you don't have 3 children then you can use your Mother's info.
Try to do at least 2 books.
Happy Reading!
Shelf 1 - = Flora SegundaShelf 2 - = The Man Who Saw Tomorrow / So Bright the Vision
Shelf 3 - = Day of the Giants
Reserving the right to DNF and then use my mother.
I got pretty high numbers, but I am fortunate not to have that many unread physical books, so I just started at the top, and counted forward from the previous (instead of starting over on a new shelf). Just barely made it!
But I love this idea as it is so random. It made me pull of books that were calling my name but not getting picked for other challenges or matches, so that's fantastic!
Reading Challenge - MayTheme: Mother's Day
Child 1 - 22 - Stable Cat (#3 Big Mike) by Garrison Allen - READ 5/12/20
Child 2 - 20 - Ruby (#1 Landry) by V.C. Andrews - READ 5/28/20
Child 3 - 21 - Aunt Dimity and the Duke (#2 Aunt Dimity) by Nancy Atherton - READ 6/30/20
I only did one thing differently. All 3 books were books in a series. So I choice the next number in the series that I was ready for. Hope that's okay.
The "A" authors normally seem to get ignored. So they were quite happy to have attention paid to them. ;)
MayShelf 1 - Peter Camenzind
Shelf 2 - Hemingway
Shelf 3 - One Small Candle: The Pilgrims' First Year in America
Random is right. These books have been languishing so long, I thought I'd have to blow dust off them. Funny - having just 2 children, I used my mother's birth year for the 3rd shelf, and the book happened to be one that she passed along to me awhile ago.
Actually, Hemingway was hers, too. It only has one star here on GR - yikes!
Hey, Edwina - is it acceptable to overlap with the Decades Challenge? My three May books were written in decades that are not represented yet in my decades challenge list.
Gosh I myself would def. overlap with the Decades Challenge in that situation!
K M wrote: "Hey, Edwina - is it acceptable to overlap with the Decades Challenge? My three May books were written in decades that are not represented yet in my decades challenge list."Of course it is! :)
Hi Diane, I'm so sorry. I should have added an escape clause on the possible chance of a book being part of a series. Please feel free to either read the books that you've already picked or just skip series books and redo your count. Totally up to you.
May Shelf 1 - Love in a Goldfish Bowl - Jack Sher - Finished
Shelf 2 - Drop City - T.C. Boyle
Shelf 3 - Code Name: Bikini - Christina Skye
Still have a couple from 2019:The Snow Garden DONE
March Challenges:
Beautiful Joe's Paradise (dog) DONE
Bleachers (green cover for Girl Scout Day) DONE
Still have April challenge to finish:
Some Like it Hot DONE
The Violets of March DONE
May Challenge:
Shelf 1 (Book 31) The Slow Moon DONE
Shelf 2 (Book 13) The Running Foxes DONE
Shelf 3 (Book 13) Multiple Choice DONE
June Challenge:
1. #59 The Queen of Everything DONE
2. Susan Wiggs novel, Just Breathe, which has a summery cover DONE
3. Father's Day (a David Baldacci novel)
July Challenge:
1. (Celebrate: Kitten Day) Dewey: the Library cat DONE
2. (Wintry cover) Let It Snow (Nancy Thayer) DONE
August Challenges: need to check my shelves for these
1. (Hot, hot, hot): Fan the Flame by Katie Ruggle DONE
2. (Dog days of Summer)
3. (Gone, but Not Forgotten sci-fi) Love, Lattes, and Mutants (YA sci-fi) DONE
September Challenges:
1. Labor of Love (400+ page book) Reverie by Ryan La Sala DONE
2. Love: The Chicken Soup for the Soul gift book DONE
3. Banned Book Week: Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret by Judy Blume DONE
October Challengers: need to check my shelves for these
1. Boo - Read a ghost, vampire, zombie or other creepy creature book. Ghostcats (An Anthology) DONE
2. Something Wicked This Way Comes - Read a book with a wicked word in the title.
3. Bonus: Read a book that has an Autumnal cover or title. Her Backup Boyfriend (Ashlee Mallory) DONE
November Theme: Let Us Give Thanks by Being Kind and Listening
1. Thanks - Read a book with a title or a word that makes you feel Thankful. (to be chosen)
2. Kind - November 13 is World Kindness Day - Read a book with a Kind title. (to be chosen)
3. Listen - November 23 is National Day of Listening - Listen to an audio book. I will not do this one as audiobooks put me to sleep.
Only 6 books behind now including all challenges through November challenges. (still have to choose several books as I am struggling to find suitable books to fit the theme.)
Shelf 1 - = Flora Segunda - done, and dnf'd the sequel, so that's two fat hardcovers gone!Shelf 2 - = The Man Who Saw Tomorrow / So Bright the Vision - done, because I skipped the Sutton side of this Ace Double it didn't too long, so there's another skinny mm pb ready to go out.
Shelf 3 - = Day of the Giants - done, another skinny mm pb gone ;)
May is all done! Thank you!!
Reading Challenge - JuneTheme: Celebrate!
1. Birthday - My husband is 59 today so help me celebrate by reading the 59th book in the bookcase that is closest to your kitchen.
(Or use the age of your own husband.)
2. Summer - Read a book that has a Summer-like cover or title.
3. Father's Day - Read a book that would make your Dad smile/laugh based on the title or cover.
Great!How to Speak Dolphin is a very summery cover.
edit: done, gave it four stars and a careful review.
My dad would probably laugh at the cover of Pigs Don't Fly, which is part of a trilogy that I own, of which The Unlikely Ones was #59 on my shelf!
Well, now … doesn't it just figure that my 59th book is a 2 in 1 book containing these stories: Summer's Child & Summer of Roses?I'll be using it for both the Birthday and the Summer challenge since it's 482 pages!
1. Summer's Child - Luanne Rice - Finished
2. Summer of Roses - Luanne Rice - Finished
3. Ya-Ya's in Bloom - Rebecca Wells (Since I need to finish the trilogy AND I know that my Dad would have gotten a chuckle out of the cover - A little girl on roller-skates with a huge pillow tied to her butt!) - Finished
Reading Challenge - JuneTheme: Celebrate!
Happy Birthday to your hubby!!! My hubby is 59.5 and went for early retirement ... although this year hasn't gone as we imagined so far.
1. 59th Birthday - Nectar in a Sieve by Kamala Markandaya - READ 9/1/20
2. Summer - Summer's Child & Summer of Roses by Luanne Rice - READ 6/22/20
This is one of my sister's favorite books and her birthday is in June.
3. Father's Day - Toby Tyler or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis - READ 9/5/20
My dad actually won this book in a Salvation Army Sunday School attendance contest when he was a boy. I'm sure he'll be smiling from heaven when I read it. :)
Excellent choices, Diane!Thank you for the Birthday wishes to my husband.
Happy Reading!!!
Cheryl wrote: "Great!How to Speak Dolphin is a very summery cover.
My dad would probably laugh at the cover of Pigs Don't Fly, which is part of a trilogy that I own, of which [boo..."
Hi Cheryl,
The dolphin cover looks VERY Summery.
I had to look up the Pigs book - there are actually 4 books in the series and, of course, now I want to read them as they sound really good.
Ever notice how this site always seems to make the wish list grow? LOL
Four books in the Pigs Don't Fly series? Uh oh....
I hope it is oke, but I will be reading them randomly :P As I'm already 6 months behind :Plast book entered in 2019: Piled Higher and Deeper: A Graduate Student Comic Strip Collection
first book entered in 2020
romantic book: The Marble Collector
romantic word in title
wacky holiday 1
wacky holiday 2
weather in title
flowers in titel : The Tulip Eaters
28th book of shelf 1
shelf 2: 86th book De wand
shelf 3: 25th book
shelf 1: 59th book
summer like title or cover
would make your dad laugh. The Undomestic Goddess
June1. 59th on shelf - The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis
2. Summer - The Stones of Summer, Dow Mossman
3. Father's Day - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, J.K. Rowling (might have laughed at the illustration of Harry, or of the fact that I'm reading this at my age)
Funny thing about The Screwtape Letters. I've unsuccessfully searched twice for that book, hoping to read it for the Decades Challenges. All this time there it was, sitting in spot #59 in the bookshelf closest to the kitchen. Thanks for leading me to it!
Diane, I remember seeing the Toby Tyler movie as a kid. How lovely that you're reading a book that your father won when he was a boy.
56th is Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi AdichieSummer is Bride and Groom by Alisa Ganieva because a lot of people get married in June.
Father's Day, I'm struggling with that. My father didn't laugh much, sometimes he mirthlessly chuckled. He did write though. Maybe I will make a book of my father's letters to me.
Welcome Inge and Chana!Thanks for joining us.
Also, a reminder that you aren't required to read 3 books to complete the challenge. I only ask that you read 2 out of the 3 choices.
Happy Reading!
"Funny thing about The Screwtape Letters. I've unsuccessfully searched twice for that book, hoping to read it for the Decades Challenges. All this time there it was, sitting in spot #59 in the bookshelf closest to the kitchen. Thanks for leading me to it!"KM - That is awesome! :)
Cheryl wrote: "How to Speak Dolphin is a very summery cover.edit: done, gave it four stars and a careful review.
My dad would probably laugh at the cover of Pigs Don't Fly, which is part of a trilogy that I own, of which The Unlikely Ones was #59 on my shelf!,..."
Ok let's try this again. I am not going to read that trilogy after all, having got to p. 96 of the first it's just messed up and very disappointing.
Lemme go see...
Ok, # 59 is Galápagos, by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.. I've loved several of his short stories, struggled with a couple of his novels, and now I guess it's time to dust off this very short novel!
Funny cover is Rootabaga Stories by Carl Sandburg. I have been hoarding this for just the right time... maybe as we deal with the coronavirus it will give me enough chuckles to improve my mood.
... note the tiger in the nightshirt; I'm pretty sure that would amuse my dad.
Rootabaga Stories sounds fun, Cheryl. So does Galapagos. I'd rather read your June books than mine!! Sigh... I'm woefully behind in this challenge.
Thanks for the support!Good luck to you, too!
Ok, just to report, I did succeed in reading Galapagos, Rootabaga Stories, and How to Speak Dolphin, as outlined above. Three more titles to get out of the house and hopefully into other readers' hands.Looking forward to July's themes or hooks!
Just an UPDATE: I'm going to need to bow out of this challenge for a while. I still have 2 to do for June. And I might pop in from time to time. But we've had live change (for the better) which will pull most of our attention for now. Will miss you all (until I can return).
Reading Challenge: JulyTheme: Chill Out and Celebrate
Chill Out
A book with a Wintry cover or title.
Celebrate
A book or two that goes along with this list of Holidays.
https://nationaltoday.com/july-holidays/
Happy Reading!
Bookcrossers
Books mentioned in this topic
Dear Ijeawele, or A Feminist Manifesto in Fifteen Suggestions (other topics)The Haunting of Hill House (other topics)
Prodigal Summer (other topics)
The Little Bookroom (other topics)
Humankind: Changing the World One Small Act At a Time (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Eleanor Farjeon (other topics)Peter Dickinson (other topics)
Zilpha Keatley Snyder (other topics)
Eleanor Farjeon (other topics)
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (other topics)
More...
Now there's a chance I'll dnf the first and keep the second, but I'll try to attempt them early in the month and try again to meet the challenge if they don't work out.