Hooked on Books discussion

Ready Player One: A Year-Long Reading Challenge
January 1 - December 31st, 2024


Let's read books and complete tasks related to video games you know and love, and maybe a few that are new to you!


On the 1st and 15th of each month I will post a new video game in the Game Console Thread. You will have four tasks to choose from for each game. You only need to complete one. Participate in as many or as few games as you would like.


You will make your Completion Posts here IN YOUR OWN THREAD. Please use this format. {You are welcome to copy and paste the game tasks into your own thread if you would like.}


Completion Post
Video Game:
Book:
Author:
Date Read:
Task:
How it Fits:


If you have any questions, please post them in the Cheat Codes Q & A Thread.


Challenge Rules:
📘 Standard Rules Apply
📘I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
📘Your first video game will be posted on January 1, 2024.
📘Books must be completed after the video game has been posted.

(view spoiler)[Pong is a table tennis–themed twitch arcade sports video game, featuring simple two-dimensional graphics, manufactured by Atari and originally released on November 29, 1972. It was one of the earliest arcade video games; it was created by Allan Alcorn as a training exercise assigned to him by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell, but Bushnell and Atari co-founder Ted Dabney were surprised by the quality of Alcorn's work and decided to manufacture the game. Bushnell based the game's concept on an electronic ping-pong game included in the Magnavox Odyssey, the first home video game console. In response, Magnavox later sued Atari for patent infringement.


Pong was the first commercially successful video game, and it helped to establish the video game industry along with the Magnavox Odyssey. Soon after its release, several companies began producing games that closely mimicked its gameplay. Eventually, Atari's competitors released new types of video games that deviated from Pong's original format to varying degrees, and this, in turn, led Atari to encourage its staff to move beyond Pong and produce more innovative games themselves.


Atari released several sequels to Pong that built upon the original's gameplay by adding new features. During the 1975 Christmas season, Atari released a home version of Pong exclusively through Sears retail stores. The home version was also a commercial success and led to numerous clones. The game was remade on numerous home and portable platforms following its release. Pong is part of the permanent collection of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., due to its cultural impact.


Pong is a two-dimensional sports game that simulates table tennis. The player controls an in-game paddle by moving it vertically across the left or right side of the screen. They can compete against another player controlling a second paddle on the opposing side. Players use the paddles to hit a ball back and forth. The goal is for each player to reach eleven points before the opponent; points are earned when one fails to return the ball to the other.
Pong

To Level Up on this game, complete ONE of the following:

🕹 Read a book published in or set during the 1970s.
🕹 Read a book where any type of sport is played.
🕹 Read a book with an MPG of Historical or Historical Fiction.
✅🕹 Read a book where the letters P-O-N-G are found anywhere in the title.

Pac-Man
To Level Up on this game, complete ONE of the following:

🕹 Read a book published in or set during the 1980s.
🕹 Read a book that has been published under two different names.
🕹 Read a book with huge commercial success. {NYT List, Best-Seller, etc.}
✅🕹 Read a book where a character eats pizza.

🕹 🎮 👾 Game 3: February 1st ~ The Legend of Zelda 👾 🎮 🕹

🕹 Read a book with a subtitle.
✅🕹 Read a book with two authors.
🕹 Read a book with a female MC whose first initial is found in ZELDA.
🕹 Read a book with a male MC whose first initial is found in LINK.

🕹 🎮 👾 Game 4: February 15th ~ Final Fantasy 👾 🎮 🕹

🕹 Read a book from a series with at least 16 distinct works.
🕹 Read a book with an alliterative title.
🕹 Read a book tagged ANTHOLOGY / ANTHOLOGIES.
✅🕹 Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in HIRONOBU SAKAGUCHI.

🕹 🎮 👾 Game 5: March 1st ~ Animal Crossing 👾 🎮 🕹
To Level Up on this game, complete ONE of the following:

🕹 Read a book set on an island.
🕹 Read a book where the MC builds or crafts something.
✅🕹 Read a book published during the COVID-19 Pandemic {let's go with 2020 - 2023}.
🕹 Read a book where at least two characters are neighbors (hide spoiler)]

FROGGER: To Level Up on this game, complete ONE of the following:

🕹 Read a book with a vehicle on the cover.
🕹 Read a book where characters die in more than one manner.
🕹 Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SEGA.
🕹 Read a book with a 5 in the page count.

Completion Post
Video Game: Pong
Book: Love at Frost Sight: A Holiday Novella
Author: Torie Jean
Date Read: 01/10/24
Task: Read a book where any type of sport is played.
How it Fits: Seth was able to play football again in the parallel timeline.

Completion Post
Video Game: Pac-man
Book: Midnight Ash
Author: Ana Ashley
Date Read: 01/15/24
Task: ✅🕹 Read a book where a character eats pizza
How it Fits: Page 130, "Hmm... this pizza is delicious. . ."

Completion Post
Video Game: Final Fantasy
Book: Second Chance Weekend
Author: Hazel Belle
Date Read: 02/16/24
Task: Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in HIRONOBU SAKAGUCHI.
How Book Qualifies: Author's initials H and B

Completion Post
Video Game: Animal Crossing
Book: Best-Friend's Billionaire Daddy in Italy: Adults Erotic Sex Stories: Rough Off-Limits Dad, Older Man Younger Woman Instalove Novel
Author: Izzie Vee
Date Read: 03/01/24
Task: Read a book published during the COVID-19 Pandemic {let's go with 2020 - 2023}
How Book Qualifies: Published July 2023

Completion Post
Video Game: Asteroids
Book: Vengeance in Death
Author: J.D. Robb
Date Read: 03/15/24
Task: Read a book that has between 40,000 and 60,000 ratings on Goodreads.
How Book Qualifies: 43,355 ratings

Completion Post
Video Game: Grand Theft Auto
Book: Status Update
Author: Annabeth Albert
Date Read: 04/03/24
Task: Read a book where a theft occurs.
How Book Qualifies: Adrian's RV was stolen with his wallet and clothes.

Completion Post
Video Game: Frogger
Book: Emerett Has Never Been in Love
Author: Anyta Sunday
Date Read: 04/17/24
Task: Read a book with a title that starts with a letter in SEGA.
How Book Qualifies: Title starts with E

Completion Post
Video Game: Call of Duty
Book: Little Women
Author: Louisa May Alcott
Date Read: 05/07/24
Task: Read a book tagged WAR.
How Book Qualifies: Tagged War by 108 people, page 3 of shelves middle column

Completion Post
Video Game: Centipede
Book: Caulky
Author: K.M. Neuhold
Date Read: 05/16/24
Task: Read a book by an author who has written more than one series.
How Book Qualifies: K.M. Neuhold List of Series

Completion Post
Video Game: Super Smash Bros.
Book: Lion Lost & Found
Author: J.H. Croix
Date Read: 06/09/24
Task: Read a book that is a "crossover," meaning it appears as part of more than one series.
How Book Qualifies: Ghost Cat Shifters #2 and Catamount Lion Shifters #7

Completion Post
Video Game: Halo
Book: Ashton Scott
Author: Nina Levine
Date Read: 06/28/24
Task: Read a book where the MC's first initial is NOT found in MICROSOFT.
How Book Qualifies: MC Ashton

Completion Post
Video Game: Sonic the Hedgehog
Book: Her Wolf
Author: Fiona Davenport
Date Read: 07/13/24
Task:Read a book with an animal on the cover.
How Book Qualifies:

Completion Post
Video Game: Donkey Kong
Book: Loving Her Older Man
Author: Lisa Freed
Date Read: 07/15/24
Task: Read a book where you know the MC's first and last name.
How Book Qualifies: MC's name is Ezra Foster

Completion Post
Video Game: Sims
Book: Mave Fortune
Author: Elizabeth Dear
Date Read: 08/02/24
Task: Read a book where the MC gets married and/or has a baby.
How Book Qualifies: Mave and Blake get married.

World of Warcraft

🕹 Read a book where the MC goes on a quest of some kind. {Be creative.}
🕹 Read a book with opposing factions.
🕹 Read a book where a character belongs to a guild, or a group.
🕹 Read a book with an author who has double letters in either name, like Blizzard does.

Completion Post
Video Game: World of Warcraft
Book: The Death Series; Boxed Set
Author: Tamara Rose Blodgett
Date Read: 08/17/24
Task: Read a book with an author who has double letters in either name, like Blizzard does.
How Book Tamara Rose Blodgett

Completion Post
Video Game: Stardew Valley
Book: Reflect: Snow White Retold
Author: Demelza Carlton
Date Read: 09/01/24
Task: Read a book published in the 2010s
How Book Qualifies: Published in 2018

Completion Post
Video Game: Space Invaders
Book: The Frugal Wizard’s Handbook for Surviving Medieval England
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Date Read: 09/18/24
Task: Read a book where a pop culture icon is mentioned.
How Book Qualifies: Page 50, "The Beatles didn't invent modern rock."

Completion Post
Video Game: Fortnite
Book: Bully
Author: Penelope Douglas
Date Read: 10/01/24
Task: Read a book with at least 6 different editions listed on Goodreads.
How Book Qualifies: 74 editions listed.

Completion Post
Video Game: Wii Sports
Book: Dr. Silver Fox and His Hot Nanny
Author: Amy Beck
Date Read: 10/15/24
Task: Read a book that has a main menu, or Table of Contents.
How Book Qualifies: Table of Contents with 34 chapters

Completion Post
Video Game: Minecraft
Book: A Curse for Samhain
Author: Dahlia Donovan
Date Read: 11/03/24
Task: Read a book where the title starts with a letter in MOJANG.
How Book Qualifies: A Curse for Samhain

November 15th ~ Super Mario Bros.

🕹 Read a book that features brothers, like Mario and Luigi.
🕹 Read a book where a character is rescued, like Princess Peach.
🕹 Read a book set in a fictional place, like Mushroom Kingdom.
🕹 Read a book with alternating points of view, like when there's a Player Two.

Completion Post
Video Game: Super Mario Bros.
Book: No Redemption
Author: Alexis Winter
Date Read: 11/19/24
Task: Read a book where a character is rescued, like Princess Peach.
How Book Qualifies: Emery is rescued by Mads from her husband's plot to murder her.

Completion Post
Video Game: Pitfall
Book: The Bluest Eye
Author: Toni Morrison
Date Read: 12/01/24
Task: Read a book with a simple design on the cover.
How Book Qualifies:

Completion Post
Video Game: Tetris
Book: You Can Count On Me
Author: Fae Quin
Date Read: 12/17/24
Task: Read a book where the author's first AND last names DO NOT start with a letter in TETRIS.
How Book Qualifies: Fae Quin