The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

34 views
GENERAL HELP > What system do people use to find books that meet task requirement

Comments Showing 1-6 of 6 (6 new)    post a comment »
dateUp arrow    newest »

message 1: by Amanda (new)

Amanda Edgar | 18 comments Hi everyone, do people have any good suggestions on finding books that will meet specific task criteria?


message 2: by Marie (UK) (new)

Marie (UK) (mazza1) | 3942 comments Some tasks are easier to find books for than others

I use my TBR Books as much as possible
I try to fill the tasks from books I own either on Kindle or a physical copy first.
Then i use what i can get on Kindle unlimited / audible or the Library

If I am asked to find an author's initials in a Phrase - one fo the tasks this season asks for initials in Harvest - I just look to see what I have on my TBR

You can use that idea for almost every task if you are asked for something on the cover - say an umbrella or has lists of specific items on cover https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/co...
Sometimes i just put the word umbrella or cat into the search

If you go to this page https://www.goodreads.com/shelf you can type in a genre specific word and lists will pop up. BE careful that the book you choose actually has the genre on the Book page - some are not listed properly

If you have difficulty with a task you can always ask in the group someone will have an idea or look in the help threads and the reading plans thread to see what other people are reading

Good luck this is a great challenge


message 3: by Trish (last edited Sep 01, 2025 08:26AM) (new)

Trish (trishhartuk) | 3680 comments I have a large GR to read shelf (2,506 books at present!), and I've tried to set up a smaller "priority shelf" (a mere 305 books at present), which is my first port of call.

However, if I buy a new book that really grabs me, I put it into a "possible books" list in the word file I use to track the challenge, so I remember them.

I then spend a while at the beginning of the challenge seeing how many, if any of these will fit a task, and put them under the task in question in my file, before moving on to find the books another way (like by genre, if its not one I read a lot, like sport, art or music)


message 4: by KmarieD, Moderator (new)

KmarieD (kmariedgr) | 1275 comments Mod
I have found that for the first 'x' amount of books, I can pretty much fit any book I read into a task somewhere and I don't worry too much about a specific task. Once the spots start filling up, then I start using the same tools already mentioned to see if I have a book on my already long to-read list that will fit.

If a task has me choose a book from a specific list, I can scan the list fairly quickly to see if one of the books is already on my GR tbr shelves (I currently have 3: Want to Read, series-new, and series-next)


message 5: by Kim, Moderator (new)

Kim (kmyers) | 1047 comments Mod
Marie (UK) wrote: "Some tasks are easier to find books for than others

I use my TBR Books as much as possible
I try to fill the tasks from books I own either on Kindle or a physical copy first.
Then i use what i ca..."

These are great suggestions, and answers to problems that I've had trying to find a certain cover item or genre. Thanks.


message 6: by Lisa (new)

Lisa Hickman (lbhick) | 1535 comments In addition to what others have mentioned above, I create a shelf for the season and start tagging books from my TBR that I'd like to read in the near future. I like to add a mix of books I own, which is a lot, with books I can get on Hoopla, Libby, and Kindle Unlimited. I always add my IRL book club choices to the shelf as soon as I know what they are.

Once I have added a bunch of books, I go to the SRC shelf I created to more easily search books to fit tasks by cover, author initials, title words, etc. I always have more books on the shelf than I need and I continually add to it during the challenge. I find it helps me to have books I'd like to read immediately on one page.

When the challenge is over, I remove the books I didn't read from the shelf and add them to the next seasons challenge shelf.

I also keep a spreadsheet for each challenge, which helps me to track tasks easily and switch things around when necessary. I also lists multiple options for some tasks on the spreadsheet in case I do need to switch.


back to top