2012 April Monthly Challenge - Suggestions Thread

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

This thread is the suggestions thread for the different categories. The participants thread is located HERE.

Many Thanks to those who stop by the Suggestions Thread. Your help is very much appreciated!!

1. “A" is for April: Read a book that starts with 'A' or a book whose author's first or last name starts with 'A'.

2. Happy Birthday!: Read a book from a April birthday celebrant's GR bookshelf whose name/nickname starts with the same letter as yours. If no one has the same letter, choose someone with the closest letter to yours alphabetically. RRRC April Birthday List

3. Geography: Read a book whose author, character or setting is from Kansas.

4. Fourth Month: Read a book that is the fourth in a series, has four words in the title or has the number four in the title.

5. Eight Track Tape Day - April 11: Read a book either written or set during or before the 1970s, or a book where music plays an important part in the storyline.

6. Earth Day - April 22: Read a book involving environmental issues, or where the H/h spend a significant amount of time outside and/or dealing with nature, or a book with a green cover.

7. Take a Chance Day - April 23: Read a book by a new (to you) author, or a book in a new (to you) series, or give a second chance to an author or series you’ve previously given up on.

8. Babe Ruth Day - April 27: Read a book with a sports theme/athlete, or a book with candy or other sweets on the cover.

9. National Shrimp Scampi Day - April 29: Read a book set on or near the water, or with a storyline revolving around food, or a short book.

10. Reader's Choice:

Challenge Duration: April 1 to April 30, 2012

You can choose 3, 5, 8 or all 10 categories depending on your reading speed, books availability and/or time commitment.

When posting your challenge progress, please make sure to put the date/s when you finished your book/s.

Please repost your progress as it helps when updating.

Happy Reading!

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Here's a list of authors from Kansas and books set in Kansas.

[MountainKat, Moderator]

Two quick questions - I always have questions!

First, do you consider race car drivers athletes or auto racing a sport? What about retired athletes?

Second, when you say set during or before 1970s, how far are you stretching that? Would any historical work?

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

MountainKat wrote: "Two quick questions - I always have questions!

First, do you consider race car drivers athletes or auto racing a sport? What about retired athletes?

Second, when you say set during or before 197..."

I'm fine with auto racing as a sport, and retired athletes, too (so yes, you can read Slow Ride - I know that's where you were going!)

As far as the dates are concerned, you can go back as far as you want - anything prior to 1980 works for me! :)

[MountainKat, Moderator]

~KarenH~ wrote: "so yes, you can read Slow Ride - I know that's where you were going!"

You know me too well!

[Katharina]

~KarenH~ wrote: "As far as the dates are concerned, you can go back as far as you want - anything prior to 1980 works for me! :) "

Great, I'm considering going back to medieval times or maybe even Vikings. LOL
Even the vikings had music and songs Even obscene songs if you read the article. And I guess Bards were the Eight Track Tapes of olden times.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Katharina wrote: "~KarenH~ wrote: "As far as the dates are concerned, you can go back as far as you want - anything prior to 1980 works for me! :) "

Great, I'm considering going back to medieval times or maybe even..."

I'm not going back that far, but at this point I'm planning on reading something historical for that category!

[Sandra]

Katharina wrote: "~KarenH~ wrote: "As far as the dates are concerned, you can go back as far as you want - anything prior to 1980 works for me! :) "

Great, I'm considering going back to medieval times or maybe even..."

Thanks for that Katharina, loved the viking music :)

[Desperado]

I'm not satisfied for my choices for "A" reads so I've got to ask-what qualifies as a "short" book?

ETA: Also, what happens if a book is only available in ebook & doesn't have a page count?

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

LethalLovely~Say Goodnight & Go wrote: "I'm not satisfied for my choices for "A" reads so I've got to ask-what qualifies as a "short" book?

ETA: Also, what happens if a book is only available in ebook & doesn't have a page count?"

Hmmmm, interesting question. Since this isn't a competition but just a personal challenge, I hate to give a specific page count because people's reading habits vary so much, but I will say that for most people anything less than about 200 pages would probably be considered a short book. I'm not going to quibble if someone wants to go with a higher page count though - I think what you consider short depends a lot on what you read normally.

As far as ebook only goes, I know Amazon has estimated page counts on most of their listings for those, and a lot of the ebook listings here at GR have them, too. If you can't find a page count in either of those places, a reasonable guess works for me! :)

[Desperado]

Thanks for replying, KarenH! YES! Now I can still read at least 7 books for April's RRRC-& not be forced to read one of those dreaded "A" reads on my shelf! HELL YEAH!

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Glad I could help! ;)

[MountainKat, Moderator]

I am trying to figure out my books for April and what do you know, I have another question....

Does have enough green to be considered a green cover? It might qualify on it's own, but I won't know until I read it if they spend a lot of time outdoors....

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

You know, when I look at that cover I see blue, not green - but since one of the main characters is a biker and that is something that is done exclusively outside, I would say it would work for that reason if nothing else, so go ahead and us it. Actually, I hadn't really started putting together my books yet, but I might use it there, too!

[Angela]

The Geography Read is my least favourite in the challenge, but I do it because I don't like skipping any portion of a challenge.

Currently, the Geography read is 'Read a book with an author, character, or setting from (insert location). Could we add a component to this read? Maybe include a link to the locations climate or agriculture.

Using this months state as an example, Kansas is well known for its extreme weather conditions, including humidity and tornadoes. It's also known for its agriculture; cattle, hogs, wheat, and corn. If its too late for April, could we try it going forward as of May?

This is how it would sound:
Geography: Read a book whose author, character or setting is from Kansas, or link your read to the state climate (extreme humidity, tornadoes) or state agriculture (farming cattle, hogs, wheat, corn).

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Angie (Mind Malfunction) wrote: "The Geography Read is my least favourite in the challenge, but I do it because I don't like skipping any portion of a challenge.

Currently, the Geography read is 'Read a book with an author, chara..."

Hi Angie,

You might want to consider reposting your question in the Suggestions for Future Categories/Challenges thread since this one is geared more specifically to the current month only.

[Angela]

Thanks KarenH, I will.

[Nicola]

Hi KarenH,
I have a question about #8 - the sports theme. I have a book in which a PI is looking into the murder of a soccer coach. I do not know how much the sport is part of the plot, but do you think I could count it?

[Nicola]

Angie (Mind Malfunction) wrote: "The Geography Read is my least favourite in the challenge, but I do it because I don't like skipping any portion of a challenge.

Currently, the Geography read is 'Read a book with an author, chara..."

I'm with you on that Angie(Mind Malfunction)! I always have trouble with the geography one.

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Nicola wrote: "Hi KarenH,
I have a question about #8 - the sports theme. I have a book in which a PI is looking into the murder of a soccer coach. I do not know how much t..."

Hi, Nicola,

It looks like a very pivotal character in the book is an athlete (even if he does end up dead), so that works for me!

[Nicola]

Thanks! I'm off to read it now then!

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Enjoy! :)

[Nicola]

Any suggestions for the Earth Day category?

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

Nicola wrote: "Any suggestions for the Earth Day category?"

Well, I don't have much in the way of specific recommendations, but I can give you an idea of what I was thinking when I came up with the idea. The first thing I thought of was shape-shifters (Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series would be a great example). I figured any character that spends a good portion of their time in animal form would definitely qualify. I also was thinking of characters who have jobs that put them outside a lot, or even hobbies/sports that do. I can think of a few authors that seem to fit the category well - several of Jill Shalvis' books are set largely outdoors, as are some of Nora Roberts' recent stand-alone novels. Linda Howard also has at least a couple that I can think of that would work. And if all else fails, I took a peek at your TBR shelf, and you do have several on there with predominantly green covers. Hope this helps!

[Nicola]

It does. I looked at one about a cowboy - he is the main character. A cowboy obviously spends a lot of time outdoors, however that is not a significant portion of the book. He was switched at birth, and fought with his parents because he wanted to be a cowboy. His biological parents own a ranch (nature vs nurture?). The main premise is the fight between what his parents wanted him to be and what he wants to be. He lives on a farm, but this is more background information. Would this work, or should I keep looking?

[~KarenH~, Moderator]

That works for me. If the main character has a job or hobby that has them outside a good portion of the time, it doesn't really matter to me if that's actually an important part of the storyline. IOW, you don't need to actually SEE the character outside a lot, as long as it's made clear in some way (like stating an obviously outdoor profession) that he/she normally IS outside a lot.

[Nicola]

Great! I may make ten after all!