2025 Reading Challenge discussion

REMEMBER WHEN
Duration: December 1 - 31, 2021

As the last month the year, December is traditionally a time to look back and remember the past 12 months. Memories might be related to personal, community, or world events; things that happened to/with those close to you; or anything else that stands out as memorable to you. Do you remember when....?

Choosing your books
1. Try to recall memories related to the prompts, either from 2021 or any year since your birth.
2. Find a book to match each of the memories.
Example: You and your friends watched the Tokyo Olympic Games together.
You could read a book related to an Olympic sport or athletes, set in Japan or a previous Olympics setting (that you watched on TV), written by a Japanese author, and so forth.
= = =

To join this challenge, post a comment to let the challenge leader know how many books you plan to read. (You may read up to two books for each prompt.) Feel free to share the memories, if you wish.

So, what are your memorable moments?

Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school.
2. Learning a new skill.
3. A special birthday.
4. An event that affected the entire world.
5. Time you spent with a best friend.
6. Something that made you very happy.
7. Something that made you very sad.
8. Being frightened.
9. An event that affected your town or community.
10. A first day at a new school or new workplace.

This challenge will be led by Carol, who created this challenge. Thank you, Carol!

Updating your progress
To have your challenge updated on the participants list, please post an update comment. Be sure to include both your original message number and progress:
Example: Updated msg #10: 2/8

I plan to do group updates every Saturday in December and a final update on January 8th.

If you decide to drop out of the challenge, please don’t delete your original sign-up post. Just update and let me know. Thanks!

Participants
Remembering
(message#/name/progress)


Reading
#16 Bobbi 5/6

Auld Lang Syne Club --- Challenge complete - CONGRATULATIONS!
#8 Allie 4/4
#20 Ashleigh 2/2
#3 Carol 6/6
#28 Lynn 4/2
#18 Nicole 6/3
#4 oshizu 4/4
#6 Patricia 5/5
#14 Sarah 6/6
#7 Sunny 1/1
#5 TerryJane 10/10



Statistics
Participants: 11
Books Pledged: 49
Books Completed: 52
Completion Rate: 106.12 %

Updated through msg # 62

I will sign up for 5 books, but might add more if I have time!

6/6 books completed

X 1. Being a young child in school. - Bear Came Along by Richard T. Morris - This book reminds me of being in first grade, when the teacher would read a book aloud to us and show us the pictures. - finished 12/8/21
X 2. Learning a new skill. - Alma and How She Got Her Name by Juana Martinez-Neal - When I was little, probably 4 years old, my parents started teaching me how to write my name, and my father told me that he had chosen my name and why he had chosen the names I had been given.
3. A special birthday.
4. An event that affected the entire world.
5. Time you spent with a best friend.
X 6. Something that made you very happy. - Miss Davenport's Christmas by Marion Chesney - One Christmas my friends and our boyfriends all spent the day at my house playing with the gifts that the younger children had received. It was the most fun Christmas I can remember! - finished 12/8/21
X 7. Something that made you very sad. - Needless Suicide by S. Gautham - I had a friend I'll call "D" in junior high school in the late 1960's. Over the summer break following 6th grade, she committed suicide. We found out her father had been sexually abusing her and she couldn't take it anymore. - finished 12/4/21
X 8. Being frightened. - Mystery of Purity Springs by Emily Northen - This book about a stalker reminds of a time in the 1980's when I kept receiving obscene, frightening phone calls from someone. I never found out who. It stopped when I got an answering machine and left a message that I was recording their voice for the police. - finished 12/10/21
X 9. An event that affected your town or community. - Quito Murder Mystery by Jenny Yates - A book about a teacher being killed and school employees being suspected reminds me of a murder that happened in our town's high school auditorium. It was quite controversial and there was even a book written about it. - finished 12/22/21
10. A first day at a new school or new workplace.

(I do have good memories, too! I just don't have time to read that many books and the ones I've posted were already on my reading list for December.)

Thank you for leading this challenge, Carol.
Please sign me up for five books.

Progress: 4/4

Read a book related to a memory of:
❓1. Being a young child in school. Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower
✔️2. Learning a new skill. Dancing in the Dark: An FBI Knitting Game Spin-Off
3. A special birthday.
🍜4. An event that affected the entire world. Pachinko
✔️5. Time you spent with a best friend. Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
✔️6. Something that made you very happy. Jade City
🍜7. Something that made you very sad. Good Boy: My Life in Seven Dogs
8. Being frightened.
9. An event that affected your town or community.
✔️10. A first day at a new school or new workplace. There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 10/10 -- COMPLETE

Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school. Playing games with friends during recess, though the link is only the game in the title.
📝 Rock Paper Scissors
2. Learning a new skill. Learning to read, and many visits to the library by this voracious reader.
📝 The Reading List
3. A special birthday. The MCs and I have birthdays during the winter holidays. My family never lumped Christmas and birthday together like some do. They always kept it special.
📝 This Time Next Year
4. An event that affected the entire world. World Trade Center attack on Sept. 11, 2001, and the resulting war on terror.
📝 Ground Zero
5. Time you spent with a best friend. I watched many of the 1980's brat pack movies during my college years.
📝 Brat: An '80s Story
6. Something that made you very happy. My husband, three daughters and I took a cross-country family road trip in 2006, exploring Native American culture, the Lewis and Clark Trail, and many US National Parks.
📝 This Tender Land
7. Something that made you very sad. My mother has self-isolated since early 2020 due to legacy media's fear tactics -- masking, refusing hugs, distancing -- even in her own home. She leaves home only for medical appointments, groceries and church service via car radio in the parking lot. It breaks my heart that she is so petrified and miserable.
📝 The Truth about Covid-19: Exposing the Great Reset, Lockdowns, Vaccine Passports, and the New Normal
8. Being frightened. I watched and read a lot of horror in my teens and twenties. Stephen King was a favorite back then.
📝 Later
9. An event that affected your town or community.
A woman was kidnapped from an office near mine, and was never seen again. I still look her up from time to time to see if she's been found.
📝 Local Woman Missing
10. A first day at a new school or new workplace. On my first day on a new job, I became fast friends with the daughter of a Cuban political refugee. I enjoyed dinners and game nights with her family, whose loved ones were still in Cuba. It was very eye-opening.
📝 Of Women and Salt

Hi, carol! Can I sign up for 5 books? Thanks:D

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 0/5
(I edit my message, tell me if I do it wrong:D)
Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school.


2. Learning a new skill.


3. A special birthday.


4. Time you spent with a best friend.


5. Something that made you very happy.

Hi Carol.

Put me down for one book.

1/1

7. Something that made you very sad.

One of my good friends lost her battle with cancer back during the summer and I am going to read: Where'd You Go, Bernadette which she enjoyed and recommended to me several years ago. I never got around to reading until now.

Hi Carol,

Sign me up for 4

Progress 4/4

Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school.
✔️2. Learning a new skill. Puzzling Ink
✔️3. A special birthday. A Man Called Ove
4. An event that affected the entire world.
5. Time you spent with a best friend.
✔️6. Something that made you very happy. A Promised Land
7. Something that made you very sad.
✔️8. Being frightened. The Death of Mrs. Westaway
9. An event that affected your town or community.
10. A first day at a new school or new workplace

Hello and welcome to the challenge to oshizu, TerryJane, Patricia, and Sunny!

Statistics
Participants: 5
Books Pledged: 29
Books Completed: 0
Completion Rate: 0.00 %

And welcome Allie! You snuck in while I was updating -- glad you've joined us!

Statistics
Participants: 6
Books Pledged: 33
Books Completed: 0
Completion Rate: 0.00 %

The next update will be Sat. Dec 4th

Patricia wrote: "Hi, carol! Can I sign up for 8? Thanks:D

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 7/8
(I edit my message, tell me if I do it wrong:D)
Read a book relate..."

Hi Patricia -- Are you telling me that you will read 7 books instead of 8 books? If so, your progress should be 0/7.

Carol wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Hi, carol! Can I sign up for 8? Thanks:D

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 7/8
(I edit my message, tell me if I do it wrong:D)
R..."

Yes, I'm going to read 8 books. I edit my message #6. Tell me if it's wrong.

Patricia wrote: "Carol wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Hi, carol! Can I sign up for 8? Thanks:D

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 7/8
(I edit my message, tell me if I do..."


Well, it looks like you are saying that you have already read 7 of the 8 books. But this challenge doesn't start until December 1st. So, any books you read before December 1st are not eligible for this challenge UNLESS you read them again during the month of December. So you can't say you have already finished 7 books. That's one of the rules for the monthly challenges.

So, if you intend to read 8 books in December, your progress would be 0/8.

If you only have one book to read in December, your progress would be 0/1. It looks like this is the correct way to make your edit.

Does that help?

Sign me up for 6 books

6/6-COMPLETED

✅1)Being a young child in school-The Adventures of Tempest & Serena(5/12/21)
✅2)Learning a new skill-The City Baker's Guide to Country Living(22/12/21)
✅3)A special birthday-21st Birthday(14/12/21)
✅4)An event that affected the entire world-Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19(7/12/21)
✅5)Time you spent with a best friend-Dream Factory(12/12/21)
✅10)A first day at a new school or new workplace-I Am Too Absolutely Small For School(5/12/21)

Welcome to the challenge, Sarah!

Hi Carol. Thank you for this great challenge. I'm going to try for 6, but I may up it if i finish early.


December 2021
Progress: 5/6

Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school.
2. Learning a new skill. Birthrights ❄❄ 12/4
3. A special birthday.
4. An event that affected the entire world.
5. Time you spent with a best friend. The Hawthorne Legacy ❄❄❄❄ 12/11
6. Something that made you very happy. How the Dukes Stole Christmas ❄❄❄ 12/15
7. Something that made you very sad.
8. Being frightened. Ex-Patriots ❄❄❄❄❄ 12/2
9. An event that affected your town or community.
10. A first day at a new school or new workplace You ❄❄❄❄ 12/18

Bobbi wrote: "Hi Carol. Thank you for this great challenge. I'm going to try for 6, but I may up it if i finish early.

December 2021
Progress: 0/6


Hi Bobbi! Welcome aboard and feel free to edit your challenge later if you decide to read more books. Just let me know in a message.

I'm in for 3!

3. A special birthday.= Heartstopper: Volume Two
4. An event that affected the entire world.= Seek You: A Journey Through American Loneliness
5. Time you spent with a best friend.= Overwatch: Tracer--London Calling #1
6. Something that made you very happy.= My True Love Gave to Me: Twelve Holiday Stories
7. Something that made you very sad.= The Christmas Box
8. Being frightened.= Ramona Blue

Goal Met So Far: 6/3

Carol wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Carol wrote: "Patricia wrote: "Hi, carol! Can I sign up for 8? Thanks:D

REMEMBER WHEN - Monthly Challenge
Duration: December 1 - December 31, 2021
Progress: 7/8
(I edit my message..."

uh sure. So, you mean I'm going to read a book for only December?

Sign me up for 2 please!

---

Tracking

2/2

1. Something that made you very happy - Ruthless Magic
2. An event that affected the entire world - The Goldfinch

Hello, Nicole and Ashleigh! Welcome to "Remember When"...

Patricia wrote: "uh sure. So, you mean I'm going to read a book for only December?"

Hello Patricia and welcome to our group.
I'm one of this group's three mods in charge of reading challenges.

This December challenge was initially posted on Oct 25 then only unlocked on Nov 25, giving participants to plan their reading and sign up for the challenge.
However, if you check under the challenge title in the 1st post, you'll see under the title "Duration: December 1 - 31, 2021."
This means that you can only count books that you've finished reading during the month of December (though you may begin reading a book previously).

So yes, Carol is correct. The challenge goal of each this challenge's participants indicates the number of books they plan to finish in December.

If you'd like more information about our group runs its reading challenges, please check out the "Yearly, Quarterly, and Monthly Challenges - Start Here" thread. The link is below.
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Happy December reading, Patricia

Update to Message #5: 4/10

update to #3: 1/5

Here's our first update. It's still very early in the challenge, but we've already had some progress! Keep up the good work.

Statistics
Participants: 10
Books Pledged: 43
Books Completed: 5
Completion Rate: 11.63 %

Updated through msg # 24
Next update will be Saturday, December 11th

Updated msg 4: 1/5

✔️2. Learning a new skill. Dancing in the Dark: An FBI Knitting Game Spin-Off
Such fond memories of my mother teaching me knit when I was in grade school.

Updated Msg #7

1/1

Completed!

Thanks!

REMEMBER WHEN
Duration: December 1 - 31, 2021

Uncertain about this one, so I will only commit to reading 2 books.

4/2 as of December 9

Lucked out with the first 2 I read in December. I'll keep adding if I can...

Read a book related to a memory of:

1. Being a young child in school.

2. Learning a new skill.

3. A special birthday.

🎅4. An event that affected the entire world.
Roses Are Red (Alex Cross #6) by James Patterson
Reminds me of the iconic photo of a "hippie" placing a flower inside of a gun pointed at her during Vietnam War protests.
December 2 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

5. Time you spent with a best friend.

6. Something that made you very happy.

🎅7. Something that made you very sad.
There There by Tommy Orange
My grandmother's death and funeral. I held it together until I didn't... My two-year-old/youngest son at the time came running into my arms to comfort me and patted me on the back, saying, "There there, Mommy."
December 4 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

8. Being frightened.

9. An event that affected your town or community.

🎅10. A first day at a new school or new workplace.
The Summer Wives by Beatriz Williams
Miranda felt so out of place and disconnected upon moving to Greyfriars. It reminded me of the first day on a new job once when the program director yelled at me on the first day! Right at the end of the day when everyone else had left. (He had been out of the office when I interviewed for the position, so I had never met him before that day.) Needless to say, not a great first impression! I remember how displaced I felt and could relate to Miranda's feelings.
December 9 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Wow! My next official update is Saturday, but I want to say Congratulations on completing your challenge to Sunny!

Way to go!!!

oshizu wrote: "Patricia wrote: "uh sure. So, you mean I'm going to read a book for only December?"

Hello Patricia and welcome to our group.
I'm one of this group's three mods in charge of reading challenges.

Th..."

Oh. Thanks! I'll understand now:). I'm really sorry.

Lynn wrote: "REMEMBER WHEN
Duration: December 1 - 31, 2021

Uncertain about this one, so I will only commit to reading 2 books.

2/2 as of December 4

Lucked out with the first 2 I read in December. I'll keep a..."

Hi Lynn,
I'll put you down as an original goal of 2 books. Let me know if you are able to add more! Welcome aboard :-)

I'm updating message #3:
finished 4/5

Here's our weekly update (through message #31):

Lynn and Sunny have joined the Auld Lang Syne Club! Congratulations to them!

Carol, oshizu, and TerryJane are Reading.

The other participants are still Remembering. Don't forget to post an update message once you have finished a book, so you can move up to the Reading group :-)


Statistics --
Participants: 11
Books Pledged: 45
Books Completed: 12
Completion Rate: 26.67 %

Updated through msg # 31

Update to msg #4: 2/5

Read a book related to a memory of:
✔️6. Something that made you very happy. Jade City
Going out for dim sum in San Francisco Chinatown with my Chinese sister-in-law, a connoisseur of jade.

Thank you, Carol.
(I might need to lower my goal soon--I'm hoarding all my wanna-reads for 2022 and having a hard time picking books for this month, hehe).

Hi! Can I sign up again? I'm going to sign-up for 5 books.

Sure! Just go back to your first post and change 7/8 to 0/5. Welcome back! :-)

Carol wrote: "Sure! Just go back to your first post and change 7/8 to 0/5. Welcome back! :-)"

hahaha thank you:D

Carol wrote: "Sure! Just go back to your first post and change 7/8 to 0/5. Welcome back! :-)"

I edit my first message now:)

Hello! I'm going to update my message #6
Progress: 1/5

Read a book related to a memory of:
1. Being a young child in school.
- Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This book reminds me of being a young child in school. I reread it and finished it on December 12.

2. Learning a new skill.


3. A special birthday.


4. Time you spent with a best friend.


5. Something that made you very happy.

Update to message #20

1/2

Something that made you very happy - Ruthless Magic

Growing up, Harry Potter was a huge part of my life and reading this book brought me back to those memories around a magical group of friends, a magical society.

Update to Message #5: 9/10

The last one might take a long time. It's a nonfiction print book, and my eyes just can't hold out very long for a reading session. Fortunately, the last 40+ pages are bibliographical notes and index, so I'll only need to read those pages if I want more resource or reference info.

update to message #3: I have increased my goal to 6 books and have now finished
5/6

TerryJane wrote: "Update to Message #5: 9/10

The last one might take a long time. It's a nonfiction print book, and my eyes just can't hold out very long for a reading session. Fortunately, the last 40+ pages are b..."

I know! I love it when a really long nonfiction book has a lengthy bibliography and index at the back -- LOL!

Hi! I'm going to update my message #6
Progress: 2/5

Read a book related to a memory of:

1. Being a young child in school.
- Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This book reminds me of being a young child in school. I reread it and finished it on December 12.

2. Learning a new skill.
- The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies - 5 stars - December 17.

3. A special birthday.


4. Time you spent with a best friend.


5. Something that made you very happy.

Update to posting #28:

4/2 as of December 9! DONE!!

Good morning! I've just finished the update for this Saturday and we have some good news!
Patricia and Ashleigh are now in the Reading group. Great job!
Lynn has completed her challenge by reading 4/2 books. Way to go Lynn!
I've posted our latest stats below and, as you can see, we are at almost 50% with about 2 weeks left. So, it looks like we're on schedule for a successful challenge.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to post those updates :-)


Statistics --
Participants: 11
Books Pledged: 50
Books Completed: 24
Completion Rate: 48.00 %

Updated through msg # 45

update to message #8
Progress 3/4
2. Learning a new skill. Puzzling Ink
3. A special birthday. A Man Called Ove
6. Something that made you very happy. A Promised Land

Update to Message #5: 10/10 -- COMPLETE!

Thanks, Carol, for creating and leading this stroll down Memory Lane. 🙂

Hi! I'm going to update my message #6
Progress: 3/5

Read a book related to a memory of:

1. Being a young child in school.
- Front Desk by Kelly Yang. This book reminds me of being a young child in school. I reread it and finished it on December 12.

2. Learning a new skill.
- The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies - 5 stars - December 17.

3. A special birthday.
- The List of Things That Will Not Change by Rebecca Stead - 4 stars - December 21

4. Time you spent with a best friend.


5. Something that made you very happy.

Update message #3:

completed 6/6 -- challenge finished!