The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Sheila wrote: "OK, I'll date myself even further. Those roller skates clamped onto my shoes and used a key to tighten them. Hey that could be a song too. Something like I've got a brand new pair of roller skat..."

I remember that song!

I remember both the song and roller skates with keys.

I used those key skates too--- and the silly things
would fall off if not tightened right and you'd about kill yourself. I can't imagine dancing in those things!!!

how about a task where you read a book that someone has reviewed for a blog? have we done one like that before - I can't remember

I remember a task where we had to choose a book (any book) and then use a word on page 10 of that book (the page number doesn't matter)- and use that word for the title of the book we choose.

For Example:
Use a word on page 6, 7, or 8 (for June, July, and August) and that word must relate to a summer vacation spot. (Explain the word you use and how it relates.)

Then--- Read a book with that word in it.

Example:
Fire by Kristan Cashore
Page 6 has the word "mountains" in it.
"What if we went higher into the mountains
and crossed to the other side?" Immiker asked.
***I love traveling to the mountains on vacation.***

Book read:
The White Mountains by John Christopher

ohhh i like that one Kathy ;)

Dee wrote: "how about a task where you read a book that someone has reviewed for a blog? have we done one like that before - I can't remember"

Yes we did. But I liked it!

Kathy G. wrote: "I remember a task where we had to choose a book (any book) and then use a word on page 10 of that book (the page number doesn't matter)- and use that word for the title of the book we choose.

For ..."

I love these kinds of tasks. You get to take your books off the shelves and play with them. :)

maybe we could tweak it - read a book by an author who keeps a blog, and then read a book that they have mentioned/discussed/reviewed on their blog

D-day is June 6 - maybe similar to the american revolution task, read a book set during WW2

Hmm...

1. During the summer a lot of people go on vacations, so read a book about a journey you'd like to take.

2. On the other hand, some people get dragged to places they don't want to go over the summer because of one obligation or another. Read a book about a trip you WOULDN'T want to take.

3. Summer is both hurricane AND tornado season--both of which also involve lots of damaging winds. Read a book about one or the other types of disaster.

4. Lots of my kids go to camp over the summer. How about a book that takes place at a camp.

5. What I think of when I think "camp" (aside from dirt and leaves and swimming in a lake) is...campfire stories! Read a collection of campfire stories or something genre'd horror.

6. Even though it's the summer, my kids still have to do summer reading--two different authors, two different genres, and one has to be an award-winner. That could make an interesting 15-point task.

7. They're also supposed to read a book by the author who is coming to visit the school in the fall. Read a book by an author you'd love to meet (living or dead would be okay).

8. Usually stations don't debut new shows during the summer, so TV is mostly repeats--which isn't always a bad thing, since some of the episodes can be pretty good. Reread a favorite book.

9. Or sometimes you miss an episode you really wanted to see during the normal season, so during the summer you can catch it. Choose a book from the Spring or Summer Challenge's polls that you didn't read but wanted to.

10. Maybe it's just me, but I get incredibly bored over the summer. Actually, I get incredibly bored when I'm off school for more than 10 days at a time. Anyway, read a genre or a book about a subject that gets you excited to help beat the summer doldrums.

Sorry if these are kinda random...it's late at night so my brain is a little fuzzy. I agree with other people, though--the book "game"-type tasks are awesome, and I like the "what to read next" kind, too. Maybe even have a task where you pick one of the other books you read, then read one of the books the page recommends under "Readers Also Enjoyed."

We could choose a book on a High School or College Bound reading list (getting ready over the summer for the upcoming year) and just put a link to the list we chose when we post the task.

Mx. Anderson, I liked the way your brain was working even when fuzzy. The only one that seemed obscure to me was 9. I suppose you meant to refer to past Challenge's Winter and Spring rather than the current one of Summer. Right?

Bea wrote: "Mx. Anderson, I liked the way your brain was working even when fuzzy. The only one that seemed obscure to me was 9. I suppose you meant to refer to past Challenge's Winter and Spring rather than ..."

Well, there are 30 possible books that could become group reads (that's what I meant by polls), and even of those, most of us will only choose one to read for the entire thing. So I mean that you go back and pick one that you didn't choose to read (or one that didn't get enough votes to become a group read). You're right, though--Fall, Winter, and Spring past polls would probably make more sense for that, given that those times are when new shows typically air.

Thanks for your patience with fuzzy-brain!

Much clearer for my morning fuzzy brain! Thanks!

June, July, August. Read a book whose title contains at least two words that start with the same letter and another that starts with a vowel. Examples: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, Dead Until Dark, and It's Not About the Coffee: Lessons on Putting People First from a Life at Starbucks.

ohhh i like that one Kara

Bring them up for air: Read a book that was published at least 50 years ago.

The Wind in the Willows: I always loved these stories when I was a kid. Task options could be:

1. read a book about an outdoor adventure or that generally features wanderlust
2. read a book that features one of the animals in the story or that has one of the animals on the cover or in the title (mole, rat, toad, badger, otter, weasel, stoat, ferret, fox, squirrel, rabbit)
3. read a children's classic from this list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_...

Ohohohoh! I know!

There's lots of major historical events that happened during the summer (like people have mentioned already)...but how much do we actually know and how much do we just THINK we know? Read a nonfiction book about a famous historical figure (like Paul Revere or Marie Antoinette or Thomas Edison) or event (Columbus' voyage to the New World or Woodstock) to see how much is folklore and how much is fact.

There are also several really good "debunking historical myth" books out there, too, that could be fun to read and that'd work for this task.

i thought the same Ms Anderson - I was looking at key historic dates that we could do something similar to the american revolution task this season

Dee wrote: "i thought the same Ms Anderson - I was looking at key historic dates that we could do something similar to the american revolution task this season"

This is partly inspired by how my students still believe all kinds of crazy things about US history, but their textbooks just gloss over whole sections of time. There's almost NOTHING on any events between 1800 and 1848 except a brief mention of the Alamo and maybe Lowell, Massachusetts--but then there's a few (biased) chapters covering the Civil War. I cried inside.

i didn't know about the Alamo until college when I took a sociology class...but then not high school educated in the US which explains some of it

My husband grew up in Texas and he said they learned about the Alamo before they even learned about the Revolutionary War. Some of what gets taught to kids seems to be regional more than national.

I grew up in Georgia and recall spending a fair amount of time on The War of Jenkin's Ear. Neither my husband nor any of my kids had ever heard of it until I mentioned it to them.

That's a new one to me Sandy

Haha! I have heard of the Alamo, but have no clue about it. And I have absolutely no idea what "The War of Jenkin's Ear" is?

ahh, google is your friend...lol! The War of Jenkin's Ear was between GB and Spain between 1739 and 1748

Yes Google has always been my very smart friend that could find any information that I needed to know usually :)

Wasn't the Alamo something about the United States stealing part of Mexico?

I'm seeing a task...........read a book about the Alamo or any book showing a picture of an ear on the cover!!

I'd never heard of Jenkin's Ear either.

Read a book with June, July or August in the title/author name.

Dee wrote: "ahh, google is your friend...lol! The War of Jenkin's Ear was between GB and Spain between 1739 and 1748"

ah, but there was a lot of stuff going on in Georgia about it.................

so read a book set in GA and a book with an ear on the cover ;)

I'm ready for that task Dee

I'm just getting in practice for Saturday!

let's do some series math (this could work for multiple seasons)

the months of J, J and A are the 6, 7 and 8th months of the year - read 2 books in a series where their place in the series adds up to either 6 7 or 8...so I could read book 1 in a series and book 5 in another, or book 3 and book 4 etc

i always like the read another book by an author you discovered for the first time last season

Some more one-book tasks because I'm bored and feel like being creative lol

Pour Me a Tall One
Summertime calls for refreshing drinks, be they lemonade, sweet tea, or something a little stronger. Read a book with the name of a drink in the title or a picture of a drink on the cover.

Toasted Marshmallows...Yum!
Read something fluffy and sweet.

Dog Days of Summer
Read a book that features a dog in the plot.

Stuck in the Doldrums
Read a long book (400+ pages), since every summer has a point where it feels like it'll never end.

Playing on the See-Saw
Read a book that has at least 100 5-star ratings and 100 1-star ratings (can be checked on the book's page).

Block Party
Read a short story collection written by multiple authors.

Flip-Flops
Read a paperback (since those are usually a little "floppy").

Steamy Summer Days
Read any steampunk.

1.21 Gigawatts!
"The only power source capable of generating this much electricity is a bolt of lightning." Read a book about time travel.

Sonnet XVIII
Brush up on your Shakespeare by reading something by the bard.

Are We There Yet?
Read a book released after June 1, 2012, preferably onethat you've been waiting to read for awhile.

Roadside Bingo
Read a book with some sort of street sign on the cover.

Let's Go A-Viking!
"Raid" a friend's read list and "pillage" an interesting book from it.

Summer School
Read a how-to book, such as a cookbook or one of those "For Dummies" books.

Latrine Duty
Arguably the worst part of any large-group camping experience. Read a book by an author named "John." Variants acceptable.

...And since now I'm just getting silly, I'll stop here.

That works for me!!!
I just picked up Dear John from the library today!!!

:-)

Oh--- add "John" in the title---
Hee Hee

I like the "Let's Go A-Viking!" and "Steamy Summer Days". I am falling in love the the steampunk genre :)

Its a family thing...read a book where 2 members of the family are published authors...i.e. Jim and Shannon k butcher (H/W); Suzanne Brockman/Ed Gaffney (H/w); Scott Westerfeld/Justine Larbalestier (H/W) and i'm sure there are more out there - these are just ones I remember seeing

That could be fun! I can think of some pairs, too.

A couple of my favorites are Charles Todd which is actually a mother/son combo and Alafair and James Lee Burke both whom I really like.

Tomorrow is almost here.

there is also Ilona Andrews that is a husband/wife writing team; Perri O'Shaunessy that is two sisters

Fun with homographs! "Wind" is a homograph because it has two different meanings: "air movement" and "to tighten a spring." Read a book with a homograph in its title.

(We could make it harder and go with heteronyms instead of homographs, but there are so many fewer of those.)

i don't even know what those are...lol!

heteronyms instead of homographs are both new to me. How about air being err, heir or aire?

I'm an linguistics nerd. :)

Sheila, those would be homonyms. We could do something like that too.

Dee, homographs are words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings. Heteronyms are words that are spelled the same way but have different meanings AND different pronunciations. (All htereronyms are, by definition, also homographs.)

Example: "lie" would be a homograph because it can be use as "to lie down" or "to tell a lie." But "wind" is a heteronym because it has different meanings and is also pronounced in different ways depending on its meaning.

Ok like read and read (pronounced red)?

i found this list that could be used for Heteronyms - http://richard.tangle-wood.co.uk/hete...

Exactly! That would be both a heteronym and a homograph.