Challenge and Monthly Themed Read Suggestions

[jaxnsmom]

Cherie - I wasn't planning on reading it for the Toppler. It's longer than I want to commit to, and I'm going for something light.

[Peggy]

I just thought of an alphabet challenge, where you use an online randomizer to generate a letter between A and Z, and you have to read a book of which the author's first or last name starts with that letter, or the title starts with that letter.

[Peggy]

Or: sort your to-read shelve on rating from high to low, and read the book with the highest rating (or pick one from the 10 highest rated ones).

[Sandra, Moderator]

Good ideas, Peggy. You are inspired today. Maybe is the shelves cleaning? :)

[Ariane]

I love it, Peggy, I loved to make a challenge related to my TBR

[Janice, Moderator]

Great ideas Peggy!

[Tammy]

How about a challenge to read a book by an author with the same initials as the reader?

[Janice, Moderator]

Another good idea, Tammy.

[Peggy]

Nice idea Tammy!

[Lisa]

I really like that idea, Tammy!

[Joan]

How about a challenge to read a book and watch the film adaptation? This idea was inspired by Cherie and Travis discussing "Shoeless Joe" and "Field of Dreams"

[Cherie]

@ Joan - I think we have had a Made into a Movie book challenge once or twice. We didn't have to watch the movie too, though, that might be a hoot! I still have books left over.

As a matter of fact, I was just looking at one of them on my book list. I bought by Steve Martin at a book sale and have never read it yet. It is only 144 pages. I have several others like this - more than 100 pages, but less than 150 (toppler minimum) or 175 pages (monthly challenge minimum).

I think we need a short book challenge! Something like "Short Book Challenge 1,2,3". Our chance to get some short books off our TBR or Real Life book shelf. Read 3 books. Books to be 100 pages to 174 pages. Any category, any genre. ;o)

[Lanelle]

February would be a perfect month for a short book challenge since it's a short (only 28 days) month!

[Cherie]

Hahaha - Good one, Lanelle! Maybe the mods will take it to heart.

[Janice, Moderator]

Maybe. :)

[Sarah]

I was looking at the group bookshelf yesterday when i was adding to it this month's group reads. It made me realise how many good books are in it but many i haven't read even though they've been group reads. So i thought perhaps a challenge to read a book off the shelf that we haven't read before might be a good idea.

[Peggy]

Nice idea Sarah!

[Kristie, Moderator]

I like that one too, Sarah.

[Lilisa]

Nice idea Sarah! I'd forgotten about the group Bookshelf - a great resource for my TBR list!

[Lisa]

Great idea, Sarah!

[jaxnsmom]

I like the idea too, Sarah, but...but...there are too many books and it makes my brain ache just thinking about them. It already hurts from looking at the length of my own tbr :)

[Sarah]

I was thinking earlier about how much I love x-men. I know this is really sad. But then I thought that it would be a good theme for a challenge. There are so many different mutants all with different abilities, strengths and weaknesses. So for example, Wolverine has the adamantium claws so perhaps read a book with a strong character, someone who doesn't age, is close to or is immortal, or perhaps has a wolverine on the cover or an animal with claws featured in the story. For Professor X, read a book with someone who is in a wheelchair, who is bald, who has psychic abilities, who is a professor etc. You get the idea. It could be opened up to a wider comic book theme perhaps. Guardians of the Galaxy could bring some interesting book choices - For Gamora you could read a book with a female MC, a green front cover etc. I best stop now otherwise I'll be here all day thinking about this.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Sarah wrote: "I was thinking earlier about how much I love x-men. I know this is really sad. But then I thought that it would be a good theme for a challenge. There are so many different mutants all with differe..."

oooo

I could see a toppler with this. Maybe with X Men, the Avengers, Justice League, Guardians of the Galaxy etc...

[Sarah]

That would be awesome!!!

[Kristie, Moderator]

I love that! Sarah, maybe you could help me plan a toppler around it at some point?

[Sarah]

Kristie wrote: "I love that! Sarah, maybe you could help me plan a toppler around it at some point?"

Sure thing :-)

[Janice, Moderator]

Great toppler theme! Love it.

[Peggy]

I was thinking of a news-related challenge, in which you read a book of which the topic is close to major current events. Could be world news (like the terrorist attacks in Spain or issues with migration), national news (we have poisoned eggs in the Netherlands) or local news (not really sure about an example here at the moment).

[Janice, Moderator]

That's a great suggestion, Peggy.

[Lanelle]

Extra points if the news is about something good, not negative?

[Peggy]

I'm all for that Lanelle!

[Mariab]

Peggy wrote: "we have poisoned eggs in the Netherlands.."

Do you have? 0_0

Great idea! (the challenge)

[Saar The Book owl]

Poisoned eggs also in Belgium. Apparently it goes until Japan.

It's a good idea too.

[Sandra, Moderator]

I was taking a look at my quotes and realized that I have around 40, but only have read 1 or 2 books/authors in those quotes. I thought it would be an interesting a challenge to read a book or author in your quotes. I guess it should need an option or twist for people who doesn't "collect" quotes.

[Sarah]

Sandra wrote: "I was taking a look at my quotes and realized that I have around 40, but only have read 1 or 2 books/authors in those quotes. I thought it would be an interesting a challenge to read a book or auth..."

I tend to only add quotes from books I've read.

However, you can just search quotes so perhaps someone could choose a quote they like and read a book based on it some way, whether it's the book the quote is from or another book by the author or a book that represents the essence of what the person is saying in the quote. Nice idea Sandra.

[Sarah]

I keep thinking about those fantasy books that kids read where you reach a situation and you have to choose what happens next, if you attack the dragon, you turn to page 13 or if you run away you turn to page 80. I wonder if there is some scope for a challenge surrounding decisions/choices in order to choose a book. Might work better for a toppler/longer challenge perhaps as one book could lead on to another.

[Cody]

Sarah wrote: "I keep thinking about those fantasy books that kids read where you reach a situation and you have to choose what happens next, if you attack the dragon, you turn to page 13 or if you run away you t..."

I was awful at them, I always got to a point where I was running around in circles and there was no way out!

[Sarah]

Cody wrote: "I was awful at them, I always got to a point where I was running around in circles and there was no way out!

That happened to me on occasions too. I still enjoyed them though.

[Sandra, Moderator]

Choose Your Own Adventure were my favorite. I usually read all the other options after my first choice.

https://www.goodreads.com/series/7622...

[Peggy]

Sarah wrote: "I keep thinking about those fantasy books that kids read where you reach a situation and you have to choose what happens next, if you attack the dragon, you turn to page 13 or if you run away you t..."

I never read those! It does remind of The Big Bang Theory where they play Dungeons and Dragons (I think) and it's the same idea.

It would be really cool to have a year-long challenge where you have to choose between options, get a book assignment, and based on that make new decisions and read on. But it would be impossible to create I think, even for Janice.

I really like the quote idea too! I also only save quotes from books I read and even that not very often, but you can work around that.

[Peggy]

I'm now thinking of a relay-race for a longer challenge. You form small groups and one person starts reading a book based on some criteria, has to make a choice in the end, and that decides the task for the next person in the group, and so on.

[Cody]

i suppose my main question would be did you start the book again (if you died) or did you just go back to your last choice?

also https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_...

only a penny

[Sandra, Moderator]

Cody wrote: "i suppose my main question would be did you start the book again (if you died) or did you just go back to your last choice?"

I usually just came back to my last option. My sister was completely addict to them, so we would compare our choices, and discuss all the options. :)

Peggy, I agree, I can't imagine a way of making it work, but Janice is definitively more imaginative than I am. Your idea of the group is nice, and I think it could actually work individually. Maybe according of how a book ends is the criteria you will use to chose the next one: you like or dislike the ending, you would or wouldn't live where the book is set at the end, an important character dies or all of them survive, you consider the narrator reliable or unreliable, you would or wouldn't make the same life changing decision, etc. I sounds good to start with, but I am still uncertain about its viability.

[Peggy]

Well, I guess Janice has a whole year ahead of her to figure this out for 2019 (kidding!) ;-)

[Janice, Moderator]

Hmmm... the wheels are spinning, but I need more coffee. I don't recall ever hearing of books like that - with decision making.


The relay race would be a great week long toppler.

[Sarah]

Cody wrote: "i suppose my main question would be did you start the book again (if you died) or did you just go back to your last choice?

also https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_......"

Often i'd go back to the last choice I'd made. On occasions I felt like I was cheating so I went back to the beginning and start again.

[Sarah]

If you've not read a book like that before Janice, you should. The plots aren't always that great but it's all about the events and your decisions and whether you live or die as a result of them. You are the main character of the book.

[Janice, Moderator]

Are they mostly children's books as in the two links above?

[Sarah]

Janice wrote: "Are they mostly children's books as in the two links above?"

Yes they do tend to be children's books. I haven't read one since I was about 11.

[Cody]

Janice wrote: "Are they mostly children's books as in the two links above?"

I actually remember the ones I read being more grisly than the covers of these ones make them look. but perhaps that was just because I was young? I cannot see any of the ones I read here, they actually had mainly green covers with a picture on the front.

@Sarah @Sandra, I just moved to my last section also