The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

DLM, I really liked your task: I thought it was a good compromise between too loosey-goosey and too tight. I found several options of books I wanted to read, but it was fun to look for them!

Another Idea: Pick a list from "listopia" and read the first book on that list, or any book from pages 6,7,8 or something like that....

Summer Lovin': Read a book whose cover reminds you of summer. Make sure to show us the cover on your post to get your points.

I got the idea when I saw this book in the store:



This just screams summer for me.

Dlmrose wrote: "I'm working on my task for Summer and I think I have an idea. I think my past tasks have been a little safe (maybe boring?) I think Cynthia does a great job of balancing different types of tasks an..."

Just to follow up on what everyone else has said, here are the things I enjoy most about tasks:

1) It requires me to be creative or do a little work in some way.
I think a lot of us on this website enjoy being challenged ON TOP of just reading...if it was all about getting through our TBR shelves, this wouldn't really be a group! Things like the 6-Degrees task or the Roll the Dice task require a little bit of research, and the work itself is rewarding and fun.

2) Something personal.
I like tasks that call for a bit of personality...the task's about your personal philosophy or your hometown--or even your first name--are a good way to ensure that it's a book someone has an investment in and at the same time helps us all to get to know each other better in an online forum

3) A new genre or a new author
Again, I think a lot of us can (and will) read whatever we want from our TBR, but part of this group is to CHALLENGE people to read different stuff. I, for one, would never had read the graphic novel Maus I without rolling the dice and getting stuck with that genre....but at the end of the day, I'm really glad I did!

4) Flexibility.
As discussed, some tasks with unusual words are just too hard to find something to fit and too easy to dismiss. I don't want to spend a ton of time desperately searching for something to fit a task, I'd rather spend time deciding narrowing down my options for a task. And, it seems everyone takes advantage of the opportunity to clear out our TBR shelves and have a few miscellaneous slots to put things in that didn't fit elsewhere--but there are creative ways to do this (i.e. Pick a book that didn't fit in your 5/10/15 points, the reduce/reuse/recycle task, the book that's been on your shelf the longest, etc) rather than just saying "read something you want"

I think it's appropriate to ask people to read one or more books in the higher point tasks, or at least a high page count.

Thanks for the feedback everybody

Summer Blockbusters - Read a book thats theme or content relates to movies, this is NOT books made into movies, rather where the plot incorporates a movie, a character is a movie actress, or nonfiction about the film industry, things like that.

Read a book from a Banned Book List, such as http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_... . Tell us where, when and why the book was banned and when the ban was lifted. Although we don’t agree with book banning, did the ban of the book have some meaning in the context of the time & place that the ban was applied. (ie: a book with “capitalistic” views banned in a communist country. Did the banning keep the peace or stability in that Country by not allowing/introducing a “radical” or “dangerous” concept?)

Read a book from page 6, 7 or 8 of the” Books That Blew Me Away and That I Still Think About” list (http://www.goodreads.com/list/user_vo...) that you have not yet read (no rereads). Did it blow you away? Will the story be one you remember and think about? Usual page requirements apply.

Read a book from the “To Read” shelf of a Winner from the last Challenge. No rereads.

Go to “Explore”, “People” and then “Top Readers”. Read a book from any of the shelves of the 6th, 7th or 8th person listed (either your Country or The World). This list changes weekly. Perhaps mention the person in your posting and which shelf the book was on.

Dlmrose,

I love your tasks. I often don't get to do everyone's tasks because RL has limited my reading options (and I wanna do other activities). HEE!

That said, while philosophies, names and hometowns have their charm, I dislike them mostly. I was a military brat so I don't have a hometown and have continued to move frequently. Where I live now, the books would be all political and that doesn't interest me (unless it's Colbert!). My name is unusual with its spelling. I got lucky with my last name to find a cute YA novel for the summer challenge. But I just didn't find much reward in it.

What I loved are the ones which require a little research and going OMG SQUEE one of my books fits! The History one is really cool. I haven't hit the library to get the mags to do the challenge but I had a LOOOOT of fun figuring out my choices.

Lists are fine and dandy but only when there's a lot of options. Limited ones esp lists that have books not normally in libraries makes it frustrating for some who are trying to save a buck!

I do like playing upon people's TBRs b/c we ALL wanna get through our lists. And I adore any excuse to shove in a classic novel so a task around that could be really cool. Maybe a Hopping through the Classics.

Reading a children's book took me back down memory lane. SOOOO adorable to be reading Dr. Seuss again!

Fun with Numbers - Read a book by an author who shares the same numerology number as your full name (first and last name).

To find out your number use this link: http://www.paulsadowski.com/numbers.asp

Tanja wrote: "Fun with Numbers - Read a book by an author who shares the same numerology number as your full name (first and last name).

To find out your number use this link: http://www.paulsadowski.com/num..."

Tanja, I had been looking at some way of using numerology for choosing a book--only I was linking it to the book title. Or maybe using the number generated by your name to read that volume number of a series.

Honoring Juneteenth (June 19th) we could read a book that deals with emancipation and the abolition of slavery - whether fiction or historical fiction. (also relevant for this task, the Amistad slave-revolt ship was captured off of Long Island on August 26th 1839 - the Supreme Court eventually freed these slaves)

Honoring the Stonewall Rebellion (June 28th) we could read a book that features an LGBT character.

Canada Day (June 30th): read a book by a Canadian author or that takes place in Canada.

Independence Day (July 4th): read a book with red, white, and blue as prominent colors (I would do this as a three parter - one book with red as a prominent color, one with blue, one with white) OR read a book (fiction or non-fiction) about the independence of any country.

July 11th, 1968 the American Indian Movement was established - read a book written by or featuring an American Indian character.

Bombing of Nagasaki (August 9th, 1945) - read a book by a Japanese author or that takes place in Japan.

Ramadan beings on August 11th this year - read a book featuring a Muslim character or set in a primarily Muslim country.

Father's Day - read a book with a word for "father" in the title OR that centers around fatherhood or a relationship with one's father.

It would also be fun for us each to think of something that we enjoy doing during the summer months and to read a book with that as a theme (fiction or non-fiction).

Donna Jo wrote: "...4. Family Ties: Count the number of brothers and sisters you have (not including you). Add three. Use that total for the total number of words in the title of the book for this task. Do not count subtitle words. Adult books only, unless you are under age 14. "

Great idea, Donna Jo, but personally I'm wondering how many books I could find with 12-word titles without counting subtitles. Would be interesting; if this task is chosen, I choose you to help me out!! **big grin!!!

As far as the more personal tasks go, I don't like when they're too personal. I know I'm not the only one who likes to maintain a certain degree of controlled anonymity around here - I don't use my full first name on this site, and it is a rather unusual one so I would have difficulty finding an author to match, and I don't think it's right to ask someone to read a book based on their last name or (even worse) their mother's maiden name. These are personal things and opens up all sorts of weird doors. Keep in mind the underage population as well.

Hometown is okay, though personally I've moved around a lot too, so I never know what to say when I'm asked where I'm from.

With Age Comes Wisdom - read a book published more than 25 yrs ago - the physical copy you are reading should be 25yrs old+. ((For those who exclusively read kindle/audio books, read a book published at least 100 yrs ago)).

With Age Comes Wisdom 2.0 - Read a book of any genre besides a novel that was published before 1900. (to include non fiction, short story, novel, plays, etc).

Aug. 19th is National Aviation Day. Read a book with an airplane on the cover or in the title Or a book with flying as the theme or the main character is a pilot

Aug. 12th is International Youth Day. Read a new-to-you YA book from one of these shelves:
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/y...
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/y...
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ya

The Tour de France takes place this year from July 3-25.
Read a book where the main theme is about bicycles or cycling, OR where the main character is a cyclist

I love this thread, the ideas are fascinating.

When asked above what you might *not* like, I have to say that I never read series books. Well, at least almost never, and probably not intentionally. Also, I understand people reading YA books, and that's fine with me if that's what they like to read. For myself, I won't be reading any YA books, at least not those intentionally written for a younger audience. I know there are books that are read by younger people that were originally written for an adult reading population.

In Mongolia they celebrate their biggest cultural festival, called Naadam, July 11th to 13th. The main activities of this festival are competitions in wrestling, horse racing, and archery. Read a book with one of the following words in the title: wrestling, grapple, horse, race, archery, arrow, bow, target, compete, win, tournament

in the summer we like to sunbathe to get a nice tan. read a book that has a cover which is mainly brown or has the word brown, tan or golden in the title!

a lot of places in britain put on air displays over the summer months. Read a book that has an aeroplane or helicopter on the cover or has aeroplane, helicopter, plane or fly(ing/s/ers)/flown in the title.

read a book that is one of the British TV Book Club books.

I'm getting excited, can't wait to see which tasks are chosen!

These are all really good ideas!

August 13th is International Left-Handers Day - read a book by a left-handed author or a book about someone who is/was left handed: http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left....

I love the cocktail idea Belinda!! I also love the hurricane and Doppelganger ideas from Nancy and Jennifer!

Emily wrote: "August 13th is International Left-Handers Day - read a book by a left-handed author or a book about someone who is/was left handed: http://www.indiana.edu/~primate/left...."

When I first read this suggestion, I thought it would be difficult to find something (how would I know who was left handed?) After I went to your link though, WOW! So many people listed that it would be really easy to find a book about or by one of them. Cool idea!

BJ Rose wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "...4. Family Ties: Count the number of brothers and sisters you have (not including you). Add three. Use that total for the total number of words in the title of the book for this ..."

Bj Rose--thanks for the warning. I'll start counting words in titles now.
Oh, wait, maybe I should save energy and wait and see what Cynthia picks for tasks. Maybe she'll amend it so that people with totals in double digits can automatically divide the total in half.
(Or maybe she'll ignore this one.)

El wrote: "As far as the more personal tasks go, I don't like when they're too personal. I know I'm not the only one who likes to maintain a certain degree of controlled anonymity around here - I don't use m..." I agree! Ethnicity is OK. Hometown is OK. Real life names are too personal .... I don't even go by "DeeDee" in my "real life", it's my online name, but now I wish I picked a cooler one like Wolfbabe :0)

I liked Fall's 15 point themed tasks that were all related to school subjects- a similar theme like "summer camp" might work: arts and crafts, sports, letters home, friendship, learn something new, into the wild, color wars, sing-a-long, coming-of age, ghost stories etc.

BJ Rose wrote: "Aug. 12th is International Youth Day. Read a new-to-you YA book from one of these shelves:
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/youn...
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ya-b...
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ya"

I think we've already had at least two tasks that required you to read YA novels in the past so it would be a little repetitive, but I just remembered this awesome quote by Proust - There are perhaps no days of our childhood we lived so fully as those we believe we left without having lived them, those we spent with a favorite book. and I think rereading one of your childhood favorites would be a really cool task. When I was a kid I spent many summer days reading in my backyard so this task feels to me considerably more summery~.

Donna Jo - Author name or title would work. I'm not sure in regards to volumes since it would be unfair if you were number 5+ to pick up in the midst of a series. There's also doing a similar genre wheel (Luck Be a Lady or the YA Book Challenge genre wheel) :)

Considering a bunch of us used our age, hometown (current residence area), full name (first and last)...yeah that's getting too personal. I, personally, have been stalked by an ex on the internet. And many may have experienced identity theft. So El does present a valid concern.

Maybe for future tasks we should avoid those types of tasks OR alter the task so the personal information needn't be identified - for example, take the numbers in your first name and put it into a fun equation. No one is asking for you to post what your name is. We're asking for the end result. For example, my full name numerology is 5. I don't have to say what my full name is though :)

It's a Bird, It's a Plane, No, It's -- YOU! Strap on your super-tights and fight crime! Read a graphic novel or book featuring superheroes (100+ pgs) AND read a news article/website about the history of superheroes OR a famous superhero author (cite reference).

Campfire Treat -- S'mores are a signature part of summer campfires. To create this delicious dessert, read 2 TBR books, each from a different genre. For example, horror and mystery. AND explain why the 2 genre combination made a delightful combo-read! (So you'll want to consider your genre recipe!)

A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words. Read an adult book with pictures in it (Can be fiction or nonfiction, but not a graphic novel.) This could be anything from a coffee table book to a novel with pictures tipped in--like 1920's novels. Line drawing or photographs, it works.

This Is Your Life. Read a biography , autobiography, or memoir of someone not so famous. No major celebrities, political figures, business execs al a Oprah, Hilary Clinton, Donald Trump.

Video Killed the Radio Star -- Authors are getting in on the act of making book trailers or author videos! Read a book by an author featured on pages 6, 7 or 8 of Goodreads Author Videos (http://www.goodreads.com/videos/autho...) AND describe why that particular video drew you in. Example: I liked Sense & Sensibility & Sea Monster's video because the opening number had the charm of Austen mixed with the humorous campfire horror monster movie scene!

Summer blockbusters - read a book that was made into a movie in the 1990s

Summer means time off for teachers - read a book where the main character is currently not working (unemployed, teacher, etc)

Graduation - the last of the graduations are in June for high school and college. read a book where at least one character graduates

Tanja wrote: "Campfire Treat -- S'mores are a signature part of summer campfires. To create this delicious dessert, read 2 TBR books, each from a different genre. For example, horror and mystery. AND explain why..."

Love this task!

I suggested this last time, but wanted to suggest it again - a task where you read a book off the shelf of someone who agrees with you on a book you love (go to the good reads page of your favorite book, find a review that you agree with, and read something off of their shelf).

Donna Jo wrote: "A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words...

Loving it! I am typically drawn to those books at the store! And the biography of a lesser known individual could be fascinating!

Tanja wrote: "Video Killed the Radio Star -- Authors are getting in on the act of making book trailers or author videos! Read a book by an author featured on pages 6, 7 or 8 of Goodreads Author Videos (http://ww..."

I like tasks that involve using Goodreads resources.

I love the additional resources Goodreads has to offer. Most I learned through the reading challenge! :)

Giving Back to Goodreads -- Read ANY book on your TBR and when finished create a goodreads quiz. Include the link to the quiz in your task claiming post. To create a quiz: http://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/new

I mainly thought to suggest this one b/c currently the quizzes by and large are Harry Potter, Twilight, Percy Jackson or Narnia. Why not get some literature in there? :)

I like the Like a Review, Read Reviewer's Book task. This increases the chances of finding a book on that stranger's lists which fits your likes. B/c your friends don't necessarily share the same reading interests.

The Orange Prize for Fiction Shortlist was chosen on April 20th and the winner is chosen 9th June. Read a book from the shortlist.

Or on the same topic: Do you agree with the professionals? choose one book from the orange prize for fiction shortlist and once the winner has been chosen read that book also (you can read these two books at any time so can be after the award) and say which out of those two books you think should have won and why. (if the book you originally chose wins then pick chose another one of the shortlisted ones!)

Summer Reading List - Most high schooler's now a days go home for the summer with a lengthy list of books to read. To show solidarity, read one book listed in this article about summer reading assignments: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/...

Read a book that's set in a place you'd love to visit (on vacation/holiday) but have never been.

While I do adore some of the Orange Prize selections, the difficulty with SOME lists are the limitations for readers which utilize the library instead of spending. Many libraries do not stock those books.

Of the 6 books on the 2010 Orange Prize for Fiction Shortlist, in my metropolitian area library system 4 of the 6 are available. That's great! But I'm not sure what that says for folks in the rural areas.

2010
http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/show/fea...

2009
http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/show/fea...

2008
http://www.orangeprize.co.uk/show/fea...

Perhaps the Orange Prize list could be combined with one or two other lists of like weight to give more options.
As more and more libraries are being hit with shrinking budgets, there is a greater chance that there with not be as big a selection of current books on the market. (I know my local public library is going to be affected for at least the next two years)

I love this idea!

Bonnie wrote: "Summer Lovin': Read a book whose cover reminds you of summer. Make sure to show us the cover on your post to get your points.

I got the idea when I saw this book in the store:

[bookcover:Nocturn..."

Re: major prizes. What about reading a book by an author that won the prize that isn't the book that won? Ex: In 2009 ]Marilynne Robinsonwon for Home: A Novel. Read a novel by Robinson *other* than Home.

I really like the idea of reading a book about a Muslim or a Muslim country!

Emily wrote: "Honoring Juneteenth (June 19th) we could read a book that deals with emancipation and the abolition of slavery - whether fiction or historical fiction. (also relevant for this task, the Amistad sla..."

Andrea:

I love this idea...I want to read "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" again.

Andreea wrote: "BJ Rose wrote: "Aug. 12th is International Youth Day. Read a new-to-you YA book from one of these shelves:
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/youn...
http://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/ya-b...
..."