Task Ideas

[Rhiannon]

i would like to suggest that we read a book off of oprah's book club list http://bestsellers.about.com/od/oprah...

[Caz]

Ok, I know I didn't participate in this challenge but I liked the look of the 'read an entire book in bed' challenge, so maybe something similar, eg 'read an entire book in the garden' or 'read an entire book on the beach'? xx

[Usako]

Lulu! *giggles* I happen to be reading Spoon River atm for my RL book club! That's so cool!

[Usako]

The isuse with reading an entire book on the beach is an economical one. Some of us don't live near the beach and cannot afford a trip there.

I believe that's why last year's challenge had read a book entirely outdoors.

[Nicole]

Caz wrote: "Ok, I know I didn't participate in this challenge but I liked the look of the 'read an entire book in bed' challenge, so maybe something similar, eg 'read an entire book in the garden' or 'read an ..."

Or maybe just read an entire book outdoors. Many people don't live near beaches! I think we did this one last summer (the outdoors one, I mean).

And I just repeated Tanja! DUH!

[scherzo♫]

Las Vegas
- Roll one die, then read a book with that number of words in the title

- Roll one die for author's first name, second die for author's last name. Even numbers = name starting with A-M. Odd numbers = name starting with N-Z.

- Pick a Vegas hotel and read a book that is related to that hotel in some way.

- Read a book that is related in some way to a Vegas performer or performance.

Summer Fun -- Remember a game that you used to play in the summer (indoors/outdoors, neighborhood/organized, camp/home, etc.) and read a book that is related in some way to that game. Include the game in your post.

Are We There Yet? -- Read a book that is related in some way to a family/group road trip.

Cruise - Read a book that is related in some way to a cruise or a cruise stop.

Constellations - Read a book whose title includes a word in the name of a constellation.

Travel Papers - Read a book that is related in some way to papers associated with travel (passport, postcards, tour guides, maps, etc.)

Day at the Beach - Read a book that is related in some way to a day at the beach.

Water Play - Read a book that is related in some way to spending time in the water (swimming, snorkeling, diving, sand, towel, etc.)

Camp Fire / Fireworks - Read a book that is related to fire in some way.

Summer Camp - Read a book that is related in some way to a summer camp activity.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I like the Vegas idea.

[Belinda]

I love all of yours, but I particularly love the Vegas hotel one. There are so many options!

pjreads wrote: "Las Vegas
- Roll one die, then read a book with that number of words in the title

- Roll one die for author's first name, second die for author's last name. Even numbers = name starting with A-..."

[Usako]

Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task b/c the developer Gary Gygax was born in July!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to determine a character type and then roll the dice again for genre.

[Felina]

Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task b/c the developer Gary Gygax was born in July!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to deter..."

That sounds fun. I don't think we've done much task about character type.

[Beth F]

Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task b/c the developer Gary Gygax was born in July!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to deter..."

Very unique idea! I can't recall a past task that covered character type either.

[El]

Aren't character types sort of hard to determine until you've already read a book?

[Felina]

In the help thread people post tons of books that relate to a category. Why not have people post books that they have already read that had a main character that was heroic? Stupid? Wise? We could do it!

[Usako]

Chaotic Neutral! hahaha ;)

[Jay]

Very cool ideas pjreads! Love the Vegas hotel one...at first glance it seemed limiting but with Planet Hollywood, Venetian, Paris, New York, New York, etc....there are actually lots of great options!

Also loved the summer games and the constellations...both would be fun to research and pick!

[scherzo♫]

Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task ...

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to determine a character type and then roll the dice again for genre..."

Does character type mean barbarian, thief, wizard, druid, bard, etc.?

Doesn't that limit the range of genres that would match randomly?

I like the idea of using character types (which ever kind we use).

[Usako]

Ooh if we say read a book based upon the genre of a Vegas Casino, that'll be fun to research!

[scherzo♫]

LOL!

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I love the D&D idea

[Felina]

pjreads wrote: "Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task ...

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to determine a character type and then roll the dice again for genre..."

Does..."


I thought it ment more like

Character types:
1 - Jerk
2 - Hero
3 - Silly
4 - Stupid
ect.

Genre:
1 - romance
2 - Fantasy
3 - Mystery
4 - Humor
ect.

Then if you rolled say 3 & 4 and got Humor with a silly lead character you could read
Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I like that

[Emily]

Elizabeth wrote: "Sandy wrote: "First person you see reading a book in public is too risky! I'm most likely to see someone reading in public at my local branch library, and it's quite likely to be a local high schoo..."

For the read in public task, if someone doesn't have the opportunity to see someone reading a book in public, they could perhaps either read a book that they see someone reading in a movie or tv show or that a character reads in a book.

[Bluemoon]

I am amazed at how creative these suggestions are each season. I really like alot of the ideas. I think that the D&D one is great as well as alot of the others. Can't wait to see what Cynthia comes up with.

[Julia]

In an only slightly related note to the current idea of reading in public, all that talk reminded me of this site that I recently stumbled into: Hot Guys Reading Books

I love a lot of these challenges: especially the hurricane one as well as all dealing with dice.

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

Hot Guys Reading Books sounds like a dating site. :)

[Belinda]

The Dungeons and Dragons task sounds like fun. However, someone will have to explain to me how it works. I'm an old fart who was never into the whole D&D craze.

Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should create a fun D&D Summer Challenge task b/c the developer Gary Gygax was born in July!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gary_Gygax

I sorta was thinking of playing with dice to deter..."

[Tammy AZ]

Belinda wrote: "The Dungeons and Dragons task sounds like fun. However, someone will have to explain to me how it works. I'm an old fart who was never into the whole D&D craze.

Tanja wrote: "Hmm. We should cr..."

It was fairly big when I was in college and I couldn't tell you a thing about it either!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Belinda wrote: "The Dungeons and Dragons task sounds like fun. However, someone will have to explain to me how it works. I'm an old fart who was never into the whole D&D craze."


LOL, I didn't know what D&D was! Thanks for explaining!

[scherzo♫]

Jay wrote: "Very cool ideas pjreads! Love the Vegas hotel one...at first glance it seemed limiting but with Planet Hollywood, Venetian, Paris, New York, New York, etc....there are actually lots of great optio..."

Just the names of Las Vegas hotels offer a lot of options:
Bellagio (with fine art gallery), Caesars Palace, Circus Circus, Excalibur, Flamingo, Four Seasons, Imperial Palace, Luxor, Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand, Mirage, Monte Carlo, New York New York, Palazzo, Paris, Planet Hollywood, Riviera, Sahara, Stratosphere, Treasure Island, Tropicana, Tuscany Suites, Venetian, California, El Cortez, Golden Gate, Golden Nugget, Main Street Station, Green Valley Ranch, Hard Rock, Orleans, Palms, Platinum, Red Rock, Rio, Santa Fe Station, Suncoast, Texas Station, Wild West and more ...

http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/nevada/las-vegas/las-vegas-hotels-list

Plus there are options I wasn't even thinking about, like room service, etc.

I was thinking about swimming, hiking, crafts, etc. for Summer Camp ... but there are summer camps for music, space, art, computers, etc.

[Cassandra]

I think Tanja was talking about character alignment. There are nine. Lawful, neutral, and chaotic describe whether the character follows laws. Good, neutral, and evil describe their morality. It's pretty subjective.

Lawful good (Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird)
Neutral good (Harry Potter)
Chaotic good (The Cat in the Hat)
Lawful neutral (Cornelius Fudge from Harry Potter)
True neutral (The Ents from LOTR)
Chaotic neutral (Yossarian from Catch-22)
Lawful evil (Oceania from 1984)
Neutral evil (Milo Minderbinder from Catch-22)
Chaotic evil (Alex from A Clockwork Orange)

Examples from this website-
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/CharacterAlignment

[scherzo♫]

Laura wrote: "I think Tanja was talking about character alignment. There are nine. Lawful, neutral, and chaotic describe whether the character follows laws. Good, neutral, and evil describe their morality. It's ..."

Ooh! What fun!

[scherzo♫]

Wiki on June, July August birthstones (if we want to continue that):

"By her who in June was born
No gem save pearls shall be worn
They will ensure her constancy
True friendship and fidelity.

The gleaming ruby should adorn,
All those who in July are born,
For thus they'll be exempt and free,
From lover's doubts and anxiety.

Wear a peridot or for thee,
No conjugal fidelity,
The August born without this stone,
`Tis said, must live unloved; alone."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthstones

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

pjreads, the birth stones opens up good possibilities!

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I hate my birthstone

[Usako]

SQUEE! Thanks Laura! That's really explains what I meant! I simply FORGOT what I had meant. HEE!

And for those unfamiliar with D&D, here's a comedic performance centered around a D&D gaming group.

The Gamers Part I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiTEHq...
The Gamers 2 Dorkness Rising Part I - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwtH5o...

The opening credits for The Gamers shows attribute character sheets. STR - Strength, INT - Intellect, etc. When you create a character in D&D, you roll a dice to determine how many points go into each attribute. And then these attributes come into play when balanced with your skills. A mage may have high Intellect (to memorize the spells) and a skill of uuuh OOPS! I forgot all the skill names! HEE! But the combination helps you get more dice to roll and thereby making it easier for you to PASS the roll. Roll too low and you fail.

It really can get addicting. Folks can create some amazing storylines, too!

[Jayme(theghostreader)]

I am a gamer :)

[Usako]

The Gamers 2 more directly identifies with character alignments with some amusing results!

And AWESOME Jayme. Perhaps you can explain the rolling system ;)

[Manday]

Quotable Quotes - go to "explore" at the top of the page and click on quotes. Find a quote you like or that intrigues you by an author you have not read and read one of their books.

[Erin (NY)]

-I like something that causes me to explore new authors. So how about a book by an author you have never read (that has more than 1 book out)

-Bright colors of summer: read a book with a color in title AND a book whose primary color (>50%) is that color
OR
A book with "color" in title, and a book with a colorful cover

-Read a book recommended to you by a friend or a family member.

[Bridgit]

What about something with the constellations? I love stargazing in the summer. We can take a look at some of the 'summer' constellations and read a book that relates:

Boötes - Bear Driver
Circinus - Compass
Libra - Balance
Lupus - Wolf
Ursa Minor - Bear
Apus - Bird of Paradise
Ara - The Altar

etc.

OR something with the ancient Greek gods. Pick a god and read something that relates. Perhaps its a roll of a dice or some other thing that selects the god for you.

Zeus - Lightning
Hades - Death
Persephone - Spring/Feasts
Aphrodite - Love
Ares - War
Artemis - Hunt

etc.

[scherzo♫]

Read a book from the short list (includes the winner) for any award for a year ending in 6, 7 or 8.

[Lisa]

1. "Didn't Make the Cut" - Read one of the books nominated for the group read, which was not a top vote getter OR read an additional group read selection.

2. "She sells seashells down by the seashore" - Read any book with seashells or a seashore on the cover.

3. "Blog-ilicious" - Search the book blogs in cyberspace for reading recommendations and read two books referenced in the blogs. Must use two different blogs. Then, post a link to the blogs so everyone can find delicious new sources for book recommendations!

4. "Books to Die For" - Read a murder mystery AND any book you are just "dying" to read.

5. "June, July, August = Summer" - The summer games have begun. Use the task title as a word scramble. Make a word, then read a book with that word in the title or in the name of the author. (Example: "nest" - The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest OR "sun" - Under the Tuscan Sun or Neck and Neck, Volume 1 by Sun-Hee Lee.

6. "Imagination Destination" - Read a book with the proper name of a city, state or country in the title. Then post one thing you would like to visit on a sightseeing tour of this area. (Example: Motherless Brooklyn - I'd like to see the Brooklyn Bridge or spend the day at Coney Island OR Savannah Blues - I'd like to eat at Paula Deen's "The Lady and Sons" restaurant.)

[Valorie]

Love those ideas Lisa! Especially the Blog idea and the books to die for idea!

[Juniper]

Emily wrote: "Canada Day (June 30th): read a book by a Canadian author or that takes place in Canada..."

Hey Emily (and everyone!).

There are a lot of great ideas being posted. I love this particular idea but, as a Canadian, must correct an error. Canada Day is July 1st.

We have so many great authors and there are oodles of amazing books set in Canada! I hope this task is selected.

:D

[Usako]

YAY! I <3 the word scramble and books to die for!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Jennifer, I so want the Canada Day one too.

And I love the word scramble idea, and any way of getting in also rans.

[Shannon SA]

Yes for the scramble, the destination and the to die for suggested by Lisa
Yes to the short list suggested by pjreads
Yes to the constellations suggested by Bridgit
Yes to the quotes suggested by Manday
pjreads - love the poem! - will check out mine!
that's just from this page

[Felina]

I kinda like every task that involves rolling dice.

[Linda]

Get in touch with your inner child: Summer is the time for play, the season of vacations and lazy days doing nothing. Remember days gone by and read 5 of your favorite books from childhood.

[Emily]

Many libraries have Summer Reading Programs in the summer. Find out what a nearby library's Summer Reading Program theme is and read a book that connects with that theme.