The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

It's time to starting thinking about the bonus themes for the next year of challenges. The moderators and task creators base some of the challenge's tasks on the bonus themes. Other tasks will be based on seasonal motifs and some will be added just for fun.

Bonus themes we've used so far include:

2010-2011 — Asia, Australia, Europe, and Africa
2011-2012 — Earth, Fire, Wind/Air, and Water
2012-2013 — The Chinese Four Symbols
2013-2014 — A Year of Board Games
2014-2015 — Mythologies of the World - Classical, Asia, Nordic, Americas
2015-2016 — A Year of Art: Impressionist, Pop, Abstract, Folk
2016-2017 — Wonders of the World: Ancient, Modern, Medieval, Natural

These themes have brought extra inspiration to the SRC and have given us some really fun tasks. Ideally, the overall theme would be composed of 4 related components, but feel free to get creative and submit your ideas here! This thread will be open for ideas until September 30. A poll will then be created from the popular, workable ideas in order to select our next bonus themes. We're looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

A year at Hogwarts! my suggested breakdown: Winter- slytherin;
spring: Ravenclaw; summer: Gryffindor; fall: hufflepuff

Animals: Mammals, Fish, Birds, Reptiles

Christina (AKA Babbling) wrote: "A year at Hogwarts! my suggested breakdown: Winter- slytherin;
spring: Ravenclaw; summer: Gryffindor; fall: hufflepuff"

Like that idea!

I keep nominating this one in hope (I added the form of media since people outside the US aren't as knowledgable of them)

TV/Emmys; Broadway/Tony's; Movies/Oscars; Music/Grammy's

What about the 4 stages of human history? There are a lot of ways to break the stages down into smaller categories or sub-themes.

*Ancient History: birth of civilization, Axial age (start of Buddhism, Jewish monotheism, Confucianism, Jainism and Greek philosophy), rise and fall of empires, start of contemporary Western culture

*Post-Classical History: "The Middle Ages" which includes the rise of Christianity, the Islamic Golden Age and the early Italian Renaissance.

*Early Modern Period (European Age): from ~1500-1800, including the Age of Enlightenment, the Age of Discovery and Scientific Revolution, global exploration, Ottoman Empire and Ming dynasty, the first Russian tsar (Ivan the Terrible)

*Late Modern Period: includes the Industrial Revolution, the Age of Enlightenment and birth of modern democracy

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...

Here are some I'm stealing from my own post from the last time.

Key reference books – Dictionary, Thesaurus, Almanac, Atlas
4 major rivers – Amazon, Nile, Yangtze and Mississippi
Family members – Parents, Siblings, Aunt/Uncle, Cousins
Parts of speech – Noun, Verb, Adjective, Adverb
Main styles of cuisines – Fusion, Haute, Nouvelle, Vegetarian
4 horsemen of the Apocalypse – War, Famine, Pestilence, Death (so cheery!)
4 Estates – Politics, Administration, Judiciary, Journalism
4 Estates of the Realm – Clergy, Nobility, Urban Commoners, Rural Commoners
Fantastic Four – Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, The Thing
Key historical time periods - Classical History, Middle Ages, Renaissance/Age of Discovery, Modern History

North / South / East / West

Cat wrote: "North / South / East / West"

I like the above and this suggestion:
'Key reference books – Dictionary, Thesaurus, Almanac, Atlas'

Four suits in cards. Hearts, diamonds, clubs, spades.

The four temperaments - sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic
Four states of matter - solid, liquid, gas, plasma
Four Humors - blood, yellow bile, black bile, phlegm.

I also like north/south/east/west.

Maybe, I'm on a horror kick after seeing It last weekend, but I'd like to suggest the following four types of 'scaries'

Spooky scary (hauntings/supernatural)
Slasher scary (blood, guts, and murder)
Suspenseful scary (thriller)
Spiritual scary (demons, hell, etc.)

Four big genres of literature - poetry, prose fiction, drama, non-fiction?

The group read, The Sixth extinction, gave me this idea...after looking for pictures of a sea butterfly. (I've looked up heaps of things reading this)

Ecosystems

We could chose 4 of the major types:

forests, grasslands, deserts, tundra, freshwater and marine

Or perhaps one from each of these categories:

Terrestrial
tundra, taiga, temperate deciduous forest, tropical rain forest, grassland and deserts
Aquatic - Marine
salt marshes, intertidal zones, estuaries, lagoons, mangroves, coral reefs, the deep sea, and the sea floor
Aquatic - Freshwater
Lentic: slow moving water, including pools, ponds, and lakes. Lotic: faster moving water, for example streams and rivers. Wetlands: areas where the soil is saturated or inundated for at least part of the time.

Well, now I realize in finding those...I just need one more major & that would work.
Found something!

Marine
Prehistoric
Terrestrial
Freshwater

Christina (AKA Babbling) wrote: "A year at Hogwarts!

Like it!

Dee wrote: "I keep nominating this one in hope (I added the form of media since people outside the US aren't as knowledgable of them). TV/Emmys; Broadway/Tony's; Movies/Oscars; Music/Grammy's"

The more general form of media would definitely work much better than US-specific awards, and could lead to some really good tasks!

What about transport? Land/Sea/Air/Space? Or is that a bit close to the elements that have been done before?

Or a Big-Bang Theory inspired Rock/Paper/Scissors/Lizard-Spock! Although that might be a bit limited.

I was looking at extreme fashion trends, and thought they might make a theme as follows:

~ Clothes: from simple, close to the body (Greek, Egyptian, Flapper) to large, stiff and exaggerated (Hoop-skirts, pipe-collars, fake pieces, corsets, neckties and dandies)
- Shoes: from sandals to boots, to pumps and platforms shoes
- Hats, Hairdos and Wigs (powered wigs, humongous hair arrangements with ships and birds, etc.)
- Scents, perfumes and insense

Thought of a couple more.

Types of Dance - Ballroom (e.g. waltz, tango), Jazz/African American (e.g. Swing, Tap dance), Worldwide/Latin (e.g. Salsa, Polka, Folk), and Professional (e.g. Ballet, Modern)

http://www.dancefacts.net/dance-types...

Ages of Music - Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Modern

Key film categories - Action/Adventure, Comedy, Epics, Horror (there are many more, but, maybe this is too close to book categories)

Types of Candy/Sweets - Chocolate, Sours, Gummy, Hard candy

And, since Irma is fresh in my mind - Types of Extreme weather events - High winds (e.g. Hurricanes, Dust storm, Wildfire), Heavy rain (e.g. Monsoons), Hail/Snowstorm, Drought/Heat waves

Maybe stages of life - something like infancy / childhood, young adult, middle age, geriatric. Challenges could include: Debut novels vs later works, ages of main characters , Bildungsroman....
Forgive the lack of fluency - am in the middle of a 12 hr shift lol

With the last show under the Big Top in May of 2017 perhaps a circus theme?

Animals
Clowns
Highwire Acts
Jugglers/Acrobats

Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black.

I like circus as well.

Zach wrote: "Maybe, I'm on a horror kick after seeing It last weekend, but I'd like to suggest the following four types of 'scaries'

Spooky scary (hauntings/supernatural)
Sl..."

This sounds fun!

The signs of the zodiac, divided into 4 groups of 3 signs, roughly corresponding to the seasons (or any other way)
- winter: Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius
- spring: Pisces, Aries, Taurus
- summer: Gemini, Cancer, Leo
- fall: Virgo, Libra, Scorpio

The Chinese zodiac, again divided into 4 groups of 3 signs, for example:
- winter: rat, ox, tiger
- spring: rabbit, dragon, snake
- summer: horse, sheep, monkey
- fall: rooster, dog, pig

I like the
Key reference books – Dictionary, Thesaurus, Almanac, Atlas

from Terri FL

The 1900s
Winter 1900-1925
Spring 1925-1950
Summer 1950-1975
Fall 1975-1999

This wouldn't just be about books published in that time, but could cover any events occurring in that stretch of time.

I've always liked the "award shows" suggestion: Emmy, Oscar, Tony, Grammy

Given that those are specific to the USA, however, how about:

Awards: Literature / Music / Film / Theater

Music: Classic / Rock / Jazz / Folk

I love the Hogwarts idea and also the circus theme, but I am trying to think of circus as just one theme and then 3 others, maybe:

circuses, zoos, museums, national parks

Karen Michele wrote: "I love the Hogwarts idea and also the circus theme, but I am trying to think of circus as just one theme and then 3 others, maybe:

circuses, zoos, museums, national parks"

I wanted to make this world wide, so instead of national parks I would put theater (performing arts).
Also, I'm thinking that circus and zoo could be one category, but that means I have to think of one more!

Sorry for thinking "out loud" - I think I have it now:

That's Entertainment:

Animals (zoo, circus, aquarium, safari, etc.)
Museums (natural history, art, planetarium, etc.)
Theater (movie, drama, musical, dance, etc.)
Recreation (sports, games, hikes, etc.)

Mystery: Famous Detectives, Noir, Cozy, Famous Authors

we kind of worked around it but signs of the zodiac could easily be divided into 4 - fire signs, water signs, wind signs, earth signs (I think)

I also came across a link for the Native American Zodiac last night which was interesting - https://whatismyspiritanimal.com/nati...

4 orchestra sections

woodwinds, brass, percussion, and strings

four mathematical operants add, subtract multiply and divide

Global Entertainment Awards: Film, Television, Theater, Music

I still like the idea that I suggested last season.

4H: A global network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development".

4Hs stand for:

- Head (philosophy, psychology, intellectual, citizenship)
- Heart (compassion, love, emotions)
- Hands (Activity, science/engineering/technology/agriculture)
- Health (healthy lifestyle, personal growth, fitness, food)

In parentheses, I added my ideas of related concepts. The overall theme for the year could be Youth, personal development, and leadership, which tie into all of the categories.

I like the Hogwarts idea, the four cardinal directions idea, 4 horsemen of the Apocalypse, four big genres of literature, and the four suits in cards idea.

Also thought of:

Four Cardinal Virtues: Prudence, Courage, Temperance, Justice

Forms of Media throughout time:

Take the seven forms of mass media and break into four broader categories:

Print
Recordings & Cinema
Broadcast (Radio & Television)
Internet & Mobile Phones

More info at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_media

Karen Michele wrote: "Karen Michele wrote: "I love the Hogwarts idea and also the circus theme, but I am trying to think of circus as just one theme and then 3 others, maybe:

circuses, zoos, museums, national parks"

I wanted to make this world wide, so instead of national parks I would put theater (performing arts)...."

The United States is not the only country with national parks ... so "national parks" would still work.

Thanks - i guess I should have realized National could refer to any country. I’ll let the mods decide if they like either of my 4 then.

I like:

Terri FL - Types of Dance
Book Concierge - Music: Classic / Rock / Jazz / Folk

I also still like the idea of folk heroes:

literature folk heroes:
Don Quixote - Spanish
Zorro - Mexican
Beowulf - Scandinavian
Odysseus - Greek

Or historical figures:
Genghis Khan - Asian
Joan of Arc - French
Spartacus - Roman
Jesse James - American

or fictional:
Zorro - Mexican
Robin Hood - English
Mulan - Asian
Tarzan - Africa


or simply Outlaws:
Robin Hood
Zorro
Joan of Arc
Spartacus

Card suits - Spades Hearts Diamonds Clubs

Is hogwarts not a bit specific and possibly repetitive could we mix it with other book settings or series?

I like the dictionary / atlas idea and the music ideas

something like Fantasy Worlds:

Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
Narnia
Discworld (or something else) - I was trying to think of a 4th

Dee wrote: "something like Fantasy Worlds:

Harry Potter
Lord of the Rings
Narnia
Discworld (or something else) - I was trying to think of a 4th"

I really like this idea (and Marie's comment about too much of a good thing;). I wonder if one of the choices could lean toward a science fiction world and the fall one a horror/ghost/vampire type fantasy world?

I'm open to suggestions - I was trying to think of popular ones that people might be knowledgable of

I like the fantasy worlds idea (or science fiction worlds) Pern might be a good one for a science-fantasy world.

Fantasy Worlds (revised):

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein
Narnia - CS Lewis
Pern - Anne McCaffrey

Dee wrote: "Fantasy Worlds (revised):

Harry Potter - J.K. Rowling
Lord of the Rings - J.R.R. Tolkein
Narnia - CS Lewis
Pern - Anne McCaffrey"

You could also sub in for Pern, with enough locations/cities:
A Song of Ice and Fire - Martin

And I do not like the "fantasy worlds" idea .... different strokes for different folks.

Sports: Team sports / Winter olympic sports / Individual competitions / Summer olympic sports

There's obviously some overlap between categories (figure skating can be individual or winter olympic / swimming can be individual, team or summer olympic.....), but this give us many options.

Animal
Vegetable
Mineral
Supernatural