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3RC Reading Challenge
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Ridiculously Random Reading Challenge: Anastasia
Mod
Just to shake things up a bit more and keep them really random, I'm throwing caution...and my OCD...to the wind for this challenge. Your prompts will be given to you in random orders, with everyone following a different path. I'll be tracking your prompts on a separate spreadsheet to make sure we don't miss one.
If you would like to pick your starting place, tell me your favorite number between 1 and 72 before March 31st.
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Mod
Apple Pie isn't actually American at all.
The next time you call something "as American as apple pie," you might want to consider the fact that neither apple pies nor apples originally came from America. Apples are in fact native to Asia, and the first recorded recipe for apple pie was actually written in England.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🥧 1. Read a book set in America, England, or Asia.
🥧 2. Read a book that includes a recipe.
🥧 3. Read a book with a cliché in the text.
🥧 4. Read a book with an apple or other fruit on the cover.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #8: Apple PieBook:
Whip CrackAuthor: Alex Smith
Date Read: 01/04/2025
Pages: 318
Task: 🥧 1. Read a book set in America, England, or Asia.
How it Fits: Set in England
Mod
The famous Tuna Toss is held as part of the Tunarama Festival in Port Lincoln, South Australia, in celebration of the local fishing industry. The event was first held in 1979, and is still going strong.
The competition is to throw a tuna as far as possible. Originally, a fresh tuna fish was used. Since 2008, competitors throw a weighted, plastic tuna in the initial heats. In the finals, they use a frozen 9 or 10kg Southern Bluefin Tuna, with a rope handle threaded through its gills. No fish are killed for the competition, only undersized fish that have died naturally are used.
The most successful competitors use a hammer throwing technique, spinning several times before unleashing the tuna. The current record for the longest throw is held by Australian Olympic hammer thrower, Sean Carlin, who threw 37.23 meters in 1998. Carlin also holds the Australian hammer throw record. The women's record of 22.15m was set in 2002 by hammer thrower Brook Kruger. The winners take home $1,000, and second place wins $500.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🐟 1. Read a book set at least partially in Australia.
🐟 2. Read a book published since 2008.
🐟 3. Read a book where a character eats any kind of fish.
🐟 4. Read a book where the MC or the author is named Sean or Brook. {spelling variations accepted}
Ridiculously Random Prompt #51: Tuna TossBook:
The Rocky Road to RuinAuthor: Meri Allen
Date Read: 02/04/2025
Pages: 341
Task: 🐟 2. Read a book published since 2008.
How it Fits: First published July 27, 2021
Mod
The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life.
Wayne Allwine and Russi Taylor were married for 18 years until Allwine's death in 2009.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🐭 1. Read a book where someone dies.
🐭 2. Read a book published in 2009.
🐭 3. Read a book with a 1 and an 8 in the page count.
🐭 4. Read a book with some type of animal on the cover.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #13: Mickey & MinnieBook:
Lady Justice and the CandidateAuthor: Robert Thornhill
Date Read: 03/04/2025
Pages: 219
Task: 🐭 1. Read a book where someone dies.
How it Fits: Ben Foster dies
Mod
Facebook has more users than many major populations.
At 2.89 billion monthly users, Facebook overshadows China's (1.4 billion) and India's (1.3 billion) populations.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
ƒ 1. Read a book where social media is used/mentioned.
ƒ 2. Read a book set in China.
ƒ 3. Read a book with all the letters of FACEBOOK found in the title.
ƒ 4. Read a book where at least two of these digits are found in the publication date: 2, 8, 9.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #17: FacebookBook:
Nest EggAuthor: Josi Avari
Date Read: 07/04/2025
Pages: 282
Task: ƒ 4. Read a book where at least two of these digits are found in the publication date: 2, 8, 9.
How it Fits: Published March 7, 2019
Mod
The hashtag symbol is technically called an octothorpe.
According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the "octo-" prefix refers to the eight points on the popular symbol, but the "thorpe" remains a mystery. One theory claims that it comes from the Old English word for "village," based on the idea that the symbol looks like a village surrounded by eight fields!
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
#️⃣ 1. Read a book with an MPG of MYSTERY.
#️⃣ 2. Read a book with an 8 in the page count.
#️⃣ 3. Read a book with all the letters of THORPE in the title.
#️⃣ 4. Read a book with the word VILLAGE found in the text.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #1: OctothorpeBook:
The Body in the LibraryAuthor: Agatha Christie
Date Read: 08/04/2024
Pages: 191
Task: #️⃣ 1. Read a book with an MPG of MYSTERY.
How it Fits: MPG Mystery
Mod
Not every Model T was black.
For the first few years of production, Ford's famous car came in gray, green, blue and red. It was only after 1914 that customers could order "any color so long as it is black," as the dark paint dried faster than other hues.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
⚫️ 1. Read a book with a car on the cover.
⚫️ 2. Read a book with a color in the title.
⚫️ 3. Read a book with BLACK, GRAY, GREEN, BLUE, or RED found in the text.
⚫️ 4. Read a book with at least two of these numbers found in the page count/publication date: 1, 9, 1, 4.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #38: Model TBook:
A Passage to IndiaAuthor: E.M. Forster
Date Read: 10/04/2025
Pages: 376
Task: ⚫️ 4. Read a book with at least two of these numbers found in the page count/publication date: 1, 9, 1, 4.
How it Fits: First published January 1, 1924
Mod
Baby sea otters can't swim right away.
Their moms will wrap them in pieces of kelp while they hunt until the buoyant pups learn how to paddle around on their own. A raft of otters will also hold hands while they sleep so they don't drift apart!
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🦦 1. Read a book where someone swims.
🦦 2. Read a book with people holding hands on the cover.
🦦 3. Read a book with the word SLEEP found in the text.
🦦 4. Read a book MC's first initial is found in BUOYANT.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #49: Baby Sea OttersBook:
A Killer Among Us: A True Story of Murder and JusticeAuthor: Charles Bosworth Jr.
Date Read: 14/04/2025
Pages: 557
Task: 🦦 3. Read a book with the word SLEEP found in the text.
How it Fits: p9 "a scream that would haunt his sleep forever,"
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The longest wedding veil was longer than 63 football fields.
If you thought Meghan Markle's wedding veil was long, get this: there's a woman in Cyprus who set the Guinness World Record for the longest wedding veil. How long was it, you ask? Nearly 23,000 feet, which is the same length as about 63.5 football fields.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
👰🏻♀️ 1. Read a book with something related to a bride on the cover.
👰🏻♀️ 2. Read a book where someone gets married.
👰🏻♀️ 3. Read a book that is long - more than 400 pages.
👰🏻♀️ 4. Read a book with a 6 and a 3 in the total number of reviews.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #5: Wedding VeilBook:
The Fellowship of the RingAuthor: J.R.R. Tolkien
Date Read: 14/04/2025
Pages: 432
Task: 👰🏻♀️ 3. Read a book that is long - more than 400 pages.
How it Fits: 432 pages
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Baby elephants suck their trunks for comfort.
They're just like human newborns making funny faces, except a tad bigger.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🐘 1. Read a book you found comforting.
🐘 2. Read a book with an animal on the cover.
🐘 3. Read a book tagged FUNNY any number of times.
🐘 4. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in NEWBORNS.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #67: Baby ElephantsBook:
Silent SpringAuthor: Rachel Carson
Date Read: 17/04/2025
Pages: 378
Task: 🐘 4. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in NEWBORNS
How it Fits: Title starts with S, a letter in NEWBORNS
Mod
M&M stands for Mars and Murrie.
Forrest Mars (son of the Mars Company founder) first spotted the British confection Smarties during the Spanish Civil War and noticed the candy shell prevented the chocolate from melting. He teamed up with Bruce Murrie (son of Hershey Chocolate's president) and the company later trademarked the "Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand" slogan.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🔴 1. Read a book with an alliterative title.
🔴 2. Read a book with at least two men on the cover.
🔴 3. Read a book tagged SPACE any number of times.
🔴 4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in HERSHEY.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #16: M&MsBook:
TrappedAuthor: J.A. Konrath
Date Read: 18/04/2025
Pages: 332
Task: 🔴 4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in HERSHEY
How it Fits: MC is Sara Randhurst and S is in HERSHEY
Mod
Surprisingly, the sporting event of climbing a greased-up slippery pole is quite common around the world.
These traditional events are essentially the same - there is a long pole covered in grease, lard, or some other lubricant, and participants attempt to climb or walk along the pole to get to the other end, where there may be a prize or flag to recover.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🎁 1. Read a book where a character climbs something.
🎁 2. Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GREASY POLE.
🎁 3. Read a book where the MC wins a prize of any type.
🎁 4. Read a book with the word FLAG found in the text.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #27: Greasy Pole ClimbingBook:
Tomb of the Golden BirdAuthor: Elizabeth Peters
Date Read: 21/04/2025
Pages: 575
Task: 🎁 2. Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GREASY POLE.
How it Fits: Title starts with T which is not in GREASY POLE
Mod
Zorbing is considered a recreational sport that involves rolling down a hill in a transparent plastic orb – essentially a “hamster ball."
It is generally used on hills, but can also be used on water, as well as flat surfaces. Orbs with no harnesses can carry up to three people, whereas a harnessed orb can only carry 1 or 2.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🐹 1. Read a book with a Z in the title.
🐹 2. Read a book with something made of plastic on the cover.
🐹 3. Read a book with the word TRANSPARENT found in the text.
🐹 4. Read a book where the author's last name ENDS with a letter in HAMSTER.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #72: ZorbingBook:
The Girl in 6EAuthor: A.R. Torre
Date Read: 01/05/2025
Pages: 352
Task: 🐹 4. Read a book where the author's last name ENDS with a letter in HAMSTER.
How it Fits: Author's last name ends in E, a letter in HAMSTER
Mod
The largest known living organism is an aspen grove.
Pando (Latin for "I spread out") is a group of genetically identical quaking aspens in Utah with an interconnected root system. It's an estimated 80,000 years old and takes up more than 100 acres.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🟡 1. Read a book set in Utah.
🟡 2. Read a book with more than 80,000 ratings.
🟡 3. Read a book with more than 100 reviews.
🟡 4. Read a book with a mostly yellow cover. {Your discretion.}
Ridiculously Random Prompt #14: An Aspen GroveBook:
Dark of the MoonAuthor: John Sandford
Date Read: 04/05/2025
Pages: 373
Task: 🟡 3. Read a book with more than 100 reviews.
How it Fits: 1826 reviews
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Frank Lloyd Wright's son invented Lincoln Logs.
The famous architect's design for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo inspired John Lloyd Wright to produce the interlocking log beams on a much smaller scale for kids.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🪵 1. Read a book where the author goes by 3 names.
🪵 2. Read a book with at least 3 Ls in the title.
🪵 3. Read a book with a log/tree on the cover.
🪵 4. Read a book set in Japan.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #43: Lincoln LogsBook:
Alpine for YouAuthor: Maddy Hunter
Date Read: 11/05/2025
Pages: 246
Task: 🪵 3. Read a book with a log/tree on the cover.
How it Fits: trees on cover
Mod
Popular at lumberjack competitions, Axe Throwing is a sport in which players throw an axe at a target, attempting to reach the bulls-eye.
On the target, the outside ring is worth 1 point, the second ring is worth 2 points, and so on with the bulls-eye worth 5 points. In a game, each player is allowed 5 throws with a maximum of 25 points possible.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🪓 1. Read a book with all the letters of AXE in the title.
🪓 2. Read a book with a 25 intact in the page count or publication date.
🪓 3. Read a book a round object, like a target, on the cover.
🪓 4. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in LUMBERJACK.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #3: Axe ThrowingBook:
Meddling and MurderAuthor: Ovidia Yu
Date Read: 12/05/2025
Pages: 256
Task: 🪓 2. Read a book with a 25 intact in the page count or publication date.
How it Fits: 256 pages
Mod
There's a world record for the most world record titles.
It belongs to Brooklyn, New York resident Ashrita Furman, who's held more than 700 Guinness World Records in his lifetime, ranging from heaviest shoes walked in (323 pounds) to most baseballs held in a baseball glove (26).
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🥇 1. Read a book with at least 323 pages.
🥇 2. Read a book with at least 26 chapters.
🥇 3. Read a book with at least 700 ratings.
🥇 4. Read a book of your choice.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #50: Guinness World RecordsBook:
Maisie DobbsAuthor: Jacqueline Winspear
Date Read: 13/05/2025
Pages: 304
Task: 🥇 4. Read a book of your choice.
How it Fits: Book of choice
Mod
In Outhouse Racing, an outhouse (outdoor toilet) is kitted with wheels, brakes, and a steering system, and is raced down hills with competitors sitting on the toilet seat inside.
Competitors decorate their outhouses with clever names like “Royal Flush” and the first outhouse to make it across the finish line wins.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🚽 1. Read a book where a character decorates something.
🚽 2. Read a book with all the letters of OUTHOUSE in the title and/or subtitle.
🚽 3. Read a book with something with a steering system on the cover.
🚽 4. Read a book where a character sits down.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #33: Outhouse RacingBook:
New MoonAuthor: Stephenie Meyer
Date Read: 15/05/2025
Pages: 577
Task: 🚽 4. Read a book where a character sits down
How it Fits: p61 "I pretended to smile as I went to sit on the floor in front of the sofa where Charlie lounged."
Mod
Extreme Ironing is considered a ‘danger sport’ in which people take ironing boards to various, often remote, locations to iron clothes and take a picture.
Some of the locations have included cliff tops, underwater, in the middle of a motorway, and also while skiing and parachuting.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🧺 1. Read a book where the MC has a dangerous career/hobby.
🧺 2. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in EXTREME.
🧺 3. Read a book set at least partially in a remote location.
🧺 4. Read a book where a character irons or does other household chores.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #21: Extreme IroningBook:
The Devil's StarAuthor: Jo Nesbø
Date Read: 16/05/2025
Pages: 528
Task: 🧺 1. Read a book where the MC has a dangerous career/hobby
How it Fits: Harry Hole is a police detective hunting down serial killers
Mod
Four times more people speak English as a second language than as a native one.
While more people speak English as a second language, nearly three times more people speak Mandarin Chinese natively.
English has nearly two billion people learning it as a second language and only 350 million people speaking it natively.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🗣 1. Read a book where the MC could be speaking English as a second language.
🗣 2. Read a book with all the letters of MANDARIN found in the title.
🗣 3. Read a book with more than 350 pages.
🗣 4. Read a book with the word NATIVE found in the text.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #28: Speaking EnglishBook:
Six Feet Deep DishAuthor: Mindy Quigley
Date Read: 17/05/2025
Pages: 320
Task: 🗣 4. Read a book with the word NATIVE found in the text.
How it Fits: p204 "that we learned about all the state's different Native American tribes,"
Mod
A team of six women programmed the first digital computer.
While historians have only recently recognized their achievements (or female discoveries credited to men), the female mathematicians participated in a World War II program coding instructions into the revolutionary Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
⌨️ 1. Read a book with a strong female lead.
⌨️ 2. Read a book with all the letters of ENIAC found in the title.
⌨️ 3. Read a book set during World War II.
⌨️ 4. Read a book where a character uses a computer.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #65: ENIACBook:
Taken In DeathAuthor: J.D. Robb
Date Read: 20/05/2025
Pages: 160
Task: ⌨️ 1. Read a book with a strong female lead.
How it Fits: Eve Dallas is a strong female lead character
Mod
The Crown Jewels contain the two biggest cut diamonds on Earth.
They both came from the Cullinan Diamond, a 3,106-carat gem found in South Africa in 1905. The largest stone, called the Great Star of Africa, is in the Sovereign's Sceptre, while the second largest is mounted in the Imperial State Crown (pictured).
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
👑 1. Read a book with a crown on the cover.
👑 2. Read a book set at least partially in Africa.
👑 3. Read a book with a royal character.
👑 4. Read a book with at least two of these numbers in the page count: 3, 1, 0, 6.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #11: Crown JewelsBook:
Run Rabbit RunAuthor: Alex Smith
Date Read: 01/06/2026
Pages: 336
Task: 👑 4. Read a book with at least two of these numbers in the page count: 3, 1, 0, 6.
How it Fits: 3 and 6 in page count
Mod
The moon has its own time zones.
An astronomer even designed a special watch that relies on "lunations," or the amount of time it takes for the moon to revolve and rotate around the Earth.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🌙 1. Read a book with a moon, watch, or clock on the cover.
🌙 2. Read a book with the word REVOLVE or ROTATE found in the text.
🌙 3. Read a book where the MC's first name ENDS with a letter in EARTH.
🌙 4. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in LUNATIONS.
Ridiculously Random Prompt #64: Moon Time ZonesBook:
Along Came a SpiderAuthor: James Patterson
Date Read: 03/06/2025
Pages: 528
Task: 🌙 4. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in LUNATIONS.
How it Fits: Title starts with A, a letter in LUNATIONS.
Mod
Bog Snorkelling takes place in a 55-metre-long water-filled trench carved out of a peat bog (comprised of dead plant material).
Competitors wear snorkels and flippers and cannot use traditional swimming techniques, but rather must rely solely on flipper power to get across and back. Kirsty Johnson set the record back in 2014 with a time of 1 minute and 22.56 seconds.
Complete ONE of the following tasks:
🤿 1. Read a book published in 2014.
🤿 2. Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SNORKELLING.
🤿 3. Read a book with some type of plant material on the cover.
🤿 4. Read a book that does not follow a "traditional" style. {dual-timelines, epistolary, etc.}
Ridiculously Random Prompt #6: Bog SnorkellingBook:
No One Left to TellAuthor: Karen Rose
Date Read: 09/06/2025
Pages: 658
Task: 🤿 2. Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SNORKELLING.
How it Fits: Title starts with N, a letter in SNORKELLING
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Ridiculously Random Reading Challenge
Individual, Open-Ended
April 1, 2025 - March 31, 2027
You know how most reading challenges you join have some type of theme or main idea, kind of like the books themselves? Well, this one...not so much! We'll look at Crown Jewels, Greasy Pole Climbing, Model Ts, Zorbing, and anything and everything in between. So buckle up for the ride and enjoy!
Each time you satisfy a task, make a post here IN YOUR OWN THREAD. Please use the following example for your Completion Post.
Prompt # / Name: {For example: #1: Octothorpe}
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Pages:
Task:
How it Fits:
If you have any questions about this challenge, please post them in the Ridiculously Random Q&A Thread.
Challenge Rules:
📘 Standard Rules Apply
📘 I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
📘 Your first prompt will be posted on April 1, 2025.
📘 Books must be completed after the task has been posted. For example, if your task is posted on 4-15, you can't use a book you completed on 4-14.
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If a set of tasks is too difficult or just out of your comfort zone, you have 4 SKIPS to use in this challenge. In order to use a SKIP, read any book that meets the Standard Book Qualifications for Hooked on Books. The link is in the Challenge Rules above. Simply list SKIP on the Task line.