22-23 Winter Reading Challenge Introduction & FAQs

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Welcome to Winter

It's time for our Winter Seasonal Challenge! Below, we have a series of prompts that relate to the winter months. You can complete the challenge by using one prompt from each category for a total of 12 books, and you can complete the challenge as often as you'd like.

When?
This challenge runs from December 1, 2022 through February 28, 2023.

What Qualifies?
Because there is no prize attached to this challenge, you can fill these prompts however you'd like! Picture books? Sure! Rereads? Love them! Short books? Go for it! It's your challenge.

How to Track Your Reading
As always, you can add your name to our Community Spreadsheet and track your progress there, and you can also create your own planning thread within this folder to track your reading and your plans for the challenge.

The Prompts

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).

a. Read a book with a title beginning with a letter in WINTER (you can use or ignore a, an or the)
b. 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.
c. Read a book that is between 89 and 128 pages long (you can ignore the 100 page requirement for this task).

2. December birthdays: Jane Austen

Jane Austen was born on December 16th.

a. Read a book written by a female author.
b. Read a novel set in the 19th century.
c. Read a romance novel.

3. The Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year! Whether you celebrate Christmas or would prefer to indulge in National Cookie Day, December is packed full of end-of-the-year holidays.

a. Read a book related to a holiday that happens in December. (Some examples: Rosa Parks Day, National Cookie Day, Dewey Decimal System Day, Nobel Prize Day, Kwanzaa, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, Hanukkah, etc.)
b. 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!)
c. Read a book that features a family gathering.

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!

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

JANUARY

1. Happy New Year!

Happy 2020! Here’s to a great year of reading. Around the world people will be welcoming the new year while watching fireworks displays, drinking champagne and singing Auld Lang Syne.

a. Read a book by an author who is new to you.
b. Read a book from a genre that is new to you (you can use a sub-genre, eg urban fantasy, historical romance, etc if you already read books from most genres).
c. Read a book in which all the words in the title have the same number of letters (eg The Bat, Ninth House, The Old Man and the Sea).

2. January birthdays: Haruki Murakami

Haruki Murakami was born on January 12th.

a. Read a book set in Japan.
b. Read a book that features a cat in some way.
c. Read a magical realism novel.

3. New Year Resolutions

Millions of people see January 1st as an opportunity to set goals for the year ahead and the practice of making new year resolutions has a long history. In Babylonia new year was a time to promise the repayment of debts and return of borrowed items. And Romans are believed to have made sacrifices and promises to the god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces - one looking to the past and one to the future. Given that history, whether you keep or break your own resolutions this year, you’re probably in good company!

a. Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title can be found in NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS (the title must be at leat three words long for this option)
b. Read a book that looks into the past (historical fiction, history, etc) or a book that looks into the future (science fiction, fantasy, etc).
c. Read a book that will help you keep one of your New Year resolutions OR if you don’t make resolutions then read a book related to one of the top ten New Years resolutions. Tell us what your resolution is when recording this task as completed.

4. Winter sports: bobsleigh

Bobsleighing originated in the Swiss town of St Moritz in the 19th century. Holidaymakers looking for entertainment in the cold winters hit on a plan to adapt delivery sleds into racing sleds and compete in races down the steep roads of the town. While undoubtedly entertaining for holidaymakers, the high speed sled races became immensely unpopular with residents of the town who, not unreasonably, objected to being mown down on their own streets by out of control sleds. In order to restore calm, a local hotel owner constructed an ice half-pipe track outside the town where the sled races could continue, and the sport of bobsleighing was born.

a. Read a book set mostly in a location that begins with a letter in SWITZERLAND.
b. Read a book in which a conflict between characters is a major part of the plot. Tell us what the conflict was (using spoiler tags if necessary) when recording the task as completed.
c. Read a book that is fast-paced.

FEBRUARY

1. Valentine’s Day

February 14th is celebrated around the world as Valentine’s Day. It was originally a feast day honouring an early Christian saint and only became associated with love and romance in the 14th century. Fun fact: Cadbury first began producing heart-shaped boxes of chocolates for Valentine’s Day in 1868. Buying overpriced novelty chocolates as a token of love has a long history!

a. Read a book with Romance listed as one of the top five genres on its Goodreads page.
b. Read a book by an author whose first and last initials appear in VALENTINE’S DAY.
c. Read a book written in or set in the Medieval period (usually defined as the 5th to 15th centuries).

2. February birthdays: Laura Ingalls Wilder

Laura Ingalls Wilder was born on February 7th.

a. Read a book set in the American midwest.
b. Read a novel that features the wilderness.
c. Read a coming of age story.

3. Winter sports: Ski jumping

Ski jumping has featured in every Winter Olympics since 1924. Athletes ski down a specially designed ramp and compete against each other to see who can make the longest jump. The current world record is over 253 metres. It was set by Austrian ski jumper, Stefan Kraft, who perhaps predictably is known by the nickname Air Kraft.

a. Read a book that is at least 253 pages long.
b. Read a book published in a year in which the Winter Olympics took place (1924, 1928, 1932, 1936, 1948, 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964, 1968, 1972, 1976, 1980, 1984, 1988, 1992, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
c. Read a book where the plot “jumps” about (a non-linear narrative as it’s normally called).

4. The Shortest Month of the Year

Take some time to explore a variety of genres and topics during the shortest month of the year!

a. Read a literary fiction novel.
b. Read a book that features a ghost.
c. Read a book that starts with a letter in the word SHORT.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

The tab is updated on the spreadsheet, if anyone was looking for it!

[Sheena]

This looks like so much fun!! thank you for creating

[Irene]

I think this is my favorite seasonal challenge yet, it seems so fun and creative, and I can't believe there are 36 unique prompts to choose through! :D

[°~Amy~°]

Looks like fun! Thanks Emily!

[NancyJ]

Thanks for giving us the literary fiction option! I love all the creative ideas here. This is my favorite challenge so far.

Just checking… we don’t have to read the prompts in order of the months do we? My book club is reading One Hundred Years of Solitude in December and I almost missed the magical realism prompt under the January heading.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

*puts ear to ground*
I would like to use Lost in the Moment and Found as the 8th book in a series December prompt, but it does not publish until January.

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

NancyJ wrote: "Thanks for giving us the literary fiction option! I love all the creative ideas here. This is my favorite challenge so far.

Just checking… we don’t have to read the prompts in order of the months..."

No order of any kind is necessary! Read in whatever order is convenient for you, and you do not need to read a book in a prompt's month.

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Amy (Other Amy) wrote: "*puts ear to ground*
I would like to use Lost in the Moment and Found as the 8th book in a series December prompt, but it does not publish until January."

That's fine! You don't need to read a book in a prompt's month for it to count.

[Amy (Other Amy)]

Perfect! Thanks.

[Irene]

Question for "Read a book set in a country where yukigassen is played (Japan, Armenia, Canada, China, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, or Slovakia)" - the countries listed do not include the U.S., where a large yukigassen tournament is hosted (in Alaska). Should we stick to the countries listed, or would any country where yukigassen is played count?

[NancyJ]

Irene wrote: "Question for "Read a book set in a country where yukigassen is played (Japan, Armenia, Canada, China, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, or Slovakia)" - the countries listed do not include the U..."

Perhaps we can change “country” to “location,” and add Alaska to the list. And Sweden. We don’t need all of America, right?

[NancyJ]

Jackie wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Thanks for giving us the literary fiction option! I love all the creative ideas here. This is my favorite challenge so far.

Just checking… we don’t have to read the prompts in orde..."

Thanks Jackie, when I thought about a bit longer I knew it would be ok. We had a similar setup in a summer challenge one year. (I think the year-end threw me off.

[Irene]

NancyJ wrote: "Perhaps we can change “country” to “location,” and add Alaska to the list. And Sweden. We don’t need all of America, right?..."

I think narrowing it down to certain regions might overcomplicate things since most of China and a lot of Japan would be excluded if we only looked at areas that are weather-appropriate for the sport

[Bea]

For January winter sports, I am assuming that I can use Switzerland as a setting.

[Irene]

Bea wrote: "For January winter sports, I am assuming that I can use Switzerland as a setting."

Switzerland does start with a letter in Switzerland! xD

[Bea]

Irene wrote: "Bea wrote: "For January winter sports, I am assuming that I can use Switzerland as a setting."

Switzerland does start with a letter in Switzerland! xD"

LOL Just thought I would check.

[Nike]

I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there are no rings on the cover. Instead there's a bird and three pears. Will someone be so kind to explain this to me, thank you 🙂

[Nike]

NancyJ wrote: "Irene wrote: "Question for "Read a book set in a country where yukigassen is played (Japan, Armenia, Canada, China, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, or Slovakia)" - the countries listed do not..."

Wow, I'm Swedish and I've never heard of Yukigassen! Now I've looked it up and it's not surprising that I've never heard of it. It's quite new and it's played up north. How exciting to learn about this! 🙂
My youngest is a dedicated "nerd" when it comes to everything Japanese and he was also surprised to hear about this, thank you for enlightening us! 😊

[Kelly Sj]

Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there are no rings on..."

Here are the 12 days (it's from a song):

Twelve drummers drumming
Eleven pipers piping
Ten lords a-leaping
Nine ladies dancing
Eight maids a-milking
Seven swans a-swimming
Six geese a-laying
Five golden rings
Four calling birds
Three French hens
Two turtle-doves
And a partridge in a pear tree

[NancyJ]

Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there are no rings on..."

Kelly Sj wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there ar..."

Nike, that book will work. There are probably lots of books with gold rings on the cover. Ladies dancing might be found on regency romance books.

I’m skipping this one, but for Geese I liked The Book of Goose


Calling birds was originally Colly birds, which are black. There are a few books with blackbird in the title, so maybe covers.

There are probably holiday books or mysteries with one of the lines in the song

[NancyJ]

Irene wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Perhaps we can change “country” to “location,” and add Alaska to the list. And Sweden. We don’t need all of America, right?..."

I think narrowing it down to certain regions might ov..."

I would only narrow it down for Alaska.

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there are no rings on..."

I'm not sure we did explain this clearly, you would just need to find on a cover any of the items mentioned in the song, and listed in Message 20. The book doesn't need to have anything to do with Christmas. I think various birds could count for "calling birds" and lots of Regency romances have "lords" and "ladies" on the cover.

[Nike]

Kelly Sj wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there ar..."

Oh, it's a song! I thought it was a book title. 😊 That explains it, thank you so much for your explanation. 🙏

[Nike]

NancyJ wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there ar..."

I didn't understand that it was a song, I thought it was a book you see, but Kelly Sj explained what the twelve gifts are. Otherwise your explanation would have been even more confusing since I didn't understand what you meant talking about geese and ladies 😂

[Nike]

Robin P wrote: "Nike wrote: "I don't get "The Twelve Days of Christmas"- prompt. I find a book on Goodreads with that title The Twelve Days of Christmas by author Jan Brett but there ar..."

I didn't know that it was a song so I had no clue what the twelve gifts were. Now Kelly Sj has explained the song and described the gifts. I thought it was a book with twelve gifts on the cover.

[Nike]

And now I've searched the song on Spotify and yes, of course I recognize it! But I've never realized that they are singing about gifts, I haven't even heard every word properly since it's not sung in my language.

[Kendra]

Or you could use one of the parody versions of the song. For example:

Canadian 12 Days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Twelve cups a-dancing
Eleven puffins piping
Ten leafs a-leaping
Nine loons canoeing
Eight Mounties marching
Seven sled dogs sledding
Six squirrels curling
Five Stanley Cups,
Four calling moose,
Three beaver tails,
Two Caribou,
And a porcupine in a pine tree

[Nike]

Kendra wrote: "Or you could use one of the parody versions of the song. For example:

Canadian 12 Days of Christmas

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
My true love gave to me:
Twelve cups a-dancing
Eleven puffins ..."

Lol 😊

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

A good reminder that many of our prompts and suggestions are American-centric!

There is a comedic response, a series of letters where the "true love" is responding to the gifts each day. She starts off charmed, starts to wonder about all the birds, feels a bit better when she gets gold rings, but then things really start getting out of hand! The last letter is from the lawyers telling the giver to cease and desist and informing him his love is in a therapeutic home of some kind.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

For the Yukigassen prompt, I'd say you should feel free to add locations that you know play Yukigassen, like Alaska (but maybe not all of the US).

Also, a reminder that we won't be looking too closely at your book selections so feel free to stretch the prompts as you need!

[Sunny]

I've really enjoyed the 12 Days of Christmas discussion! 😍

[Kelly Sj]

Kendra wrote: "Or you could use one of the parody versions of the song. For example:


Or the Bob & Doug McKenzie version!

a beer...in a tree
two turtlenecks
three french toasts
four pounds of back-bacon
five golden toques
six packs of two-four (that's cases of beer, 24 cans)
seven packs of smokes
eight comic books

and the song falls apart at this point because they can't keep up :)

[Bea]

Oh, my! Sometimes I tremble at my inability to comprehend what is in front of me. I just realized that this challenge started 3 weeks ago! I have been waiting until January. Duh!

I have all 4 of the December books on my desk. Time to start reading.

[Nancy]

Any suggestions for a book between 89 and 128 pages? That's quite the narrow range!

[Tiffy]

I have two on my TBR that meet the range. Not sure what genres you inhabit typically but mine are:

Sun-Daughters, Sea-Daughters by Aimee Ogden (Scifi/Fantasy)
Flowers for the Sea by Zin E. Rocklyn (Dystopia/Fantasy?)

Caveat that I'm not familiar with either of the authors and I have no idea how good these will be. I found them looking at Nebula award nominees.

[Laurel]

Here are some of my favorite short books:

84, Charing Cross Road - epistolary memoir - 106 pages
The Tea Master and the Detective - SF/mystery - 96 pages
Indian No More - children's book/indigenous author - 124 pages
A Psalm for the Wild-Built or the sequel A Prayer for the Crown-Shy - SF/hopepunk - 160 pages each

[Nancy]

Thanks for the recs! SFF aren't really my thing, especially high fantasy. I'll look into the others.

[NancyJ]

Nancy wrote: "Any suggestions for a book between 89 and 128 pages? That's quite the narrow range!"

Have you read anything by Claire Keegan yet? These both fit the range
Small Things Like These
Foster

I think you would love 84 Charing Cross Road - it's about book lovers

[Nancy]

That's what I plan to read! It's on the list for the upcoming read-a-thon.

[Irene]

Hello! Would a book that is linear but with a surprise reveal flashback at the end (very important to the plot, but just a very brief scene) count as having a plot that jumps around? Or would there have to be multiple flashbacks to be non-linear?

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Irene, I probably wouldn't count it for my own challenge, but you can count it if you think it works!

[Sophia]

This is kind of a specific question but I thought I'd get some opinions anyway: has what i think is a turtledove on the cover which would make it a great option for the "12 days of Christmas" prompt but my library edition has a different cover (of very pretty horses but not relevant to the prompt.) Is that just a technicality, or should I pick something else?

[Robin P, Orbicular Mod]

Sophia wrote: "This is kind of a specific question but I thought I'd get some opinions anyway: has what i think is a turtledove on the cover which would make it a great option for the..."

It's up to you. Some people will only use the exact cover they have. I have been known to take another cover if it matches better. It is a cover that is connected to the book you are reading.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I usually use the default cover on GR, no matter what cover I read.

[Kathy]

I also use whatever cover fits, especially since I don't know what cover will be coming from a library.

[Kendra]

Which states count as American midwest?

[Alicia]

The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Found this from Britanica: https://www.britannica.com/place/Midwest

But I think some could argue that Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia could count.

[Kendra]

Alicia wrote: "The Midwest, as defined by the federal government, comprises the states of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin...."

Thanks. In Canada we cover basic US geography, but what the specific regions, are not so much.