The Bookworm Challenge discussion

Hi All,

Since we are nearing the end of 2015, I wanted to ask those of you who plan to continue in the Bookworm Challenge if you have any suggestions for Challenge ideas for 2016?

Please send your thoughts and ideas for challenges and specials. We need 12 challenges and 6 specials. We'll let everyone vote if we have more than that, and I'll fill the gaps for extras if we don't get enough suggestions from the group.

I was happy with this year's challenges, but it might be fun to mix things up a bit.

I've been noticing that a lot of books seem to have bodies of water mentioned in their titles - creek, ocean, river - and I thought maybe we could do a Wet Reads challenge.

The only other thing I would suggest is that we go back to doing monthly, rather than bimonthly challenges. That way, if you don't like a particular contest, you only have to wait 30 days for a new one to pop up.

I'm new here, but how about memoirs?

I just joined this group today and wish I had known about it before! I'd really like to be a part of it next year.

Melki, thanks for the suggestions. I like the "Wet Reads" idea and as long as we have enough suggestions for 12 monthly specials, I'm for it!

Rhonda and Kristen, welcome to the group, we're glad to have you join us! Memoirs is a great category, I think we had one similar a few years ago.

Please feel free to suggest any ideas you have. The main categories will be those that are used throughout the entire year, and the monthly specials are short-term, one month in which you can read whatever that month's "special" is.

I've tallied up the 2015 categories to see which had the MOST books read. Here is the result (as of today's posts):

Foreign Setting - 35
Graphic Novels - 29
Color in the Title - 27
Single Word Title - 25
Finger Crushers - 23
Prize Winners - 23
Anthologies - 23
Dystopian - 19
Urban Fantasy - 19
Historical Fiction - 18
Westerns - 16
Animal as MC - 15

When I lived in Pittsburgh, I always participated in the library's adult summer reading program. For each book you read, you would get a chance to win prizes. The CATCH was - you had to read books in the categories that the librarians chose. They tended to stick with broader headings like history, science fiction, crime (fiction and non) and the like. And every year, they would pick sports. Ugh! I was whining about it to one of the librarians one day, and she told me that since humor author Patrick McManus's books were about hunting and fishing, they counted as sports. I read one of his titles and really enjoyed it. I also read Seabiscuit: An American Legend, and a great book about dog-sledding to get points in this category.

I guess my long winded point is that sometimes it's the genre you think you're not going to like that provides the most fascinating reads, AND the best challenges.

Rhonda wrote: "I'm new here, but how about memoirs?"

Good idea! I have several on my shelves I'd like to get to next year.

How about:

books with movie/TV adaptations
written the year you were born

Rhonda wrote: "How about:
books . . . written the year you were born"

Hmm . . . that would be papyrus scrolls for me.

Melki wrote: "Rhonda wrote: "How about:
books . . . written the year you were born"

Hmm . . . that would be papyrus scrolls for me."

LOL! You and me both :)

I like a lot of these suggestions. And Melki--we do a similar thing with the adult reading programs at our library--a bingo sheet where they have to read in various categories to win extra prizes (we're nice, and if you just manage 5 books in the time period you can have a win).

I liked the categories this year but it is fun to add new ones. The new suggestions sound interesting. I would really like to see foreign settings and graphic novels stay as categories. What about novels with a person or place name in the title, books that are part of a series, or young adult fiction. I like the memoir suggestion or it could be biographies or another form of non- fiction. Just some ideas.

Connie wrote: "What about novels with a person or place name in the title. . ."

I like this idea. I can see about eight of them on my shelves right now.

I like all the ideas I've seen. Some will be easy, and others will stretch me. Which is, of course, part of what makes it a challenge.

Will these be decided on soon? I am anxious to plan my January reading list.

Stephanie wrote: "I've tallied up the 2015 categories to see which had the MOST books read. Here is the result (as of today's posts):

Foreign Setting - 35
Graphic Novels - 29
Color in the Title - 27
Single Word Tit..."

Personally I would like to see this list of categories remain as the core of the challenges.

I really like the idea of focus bi-monthly challenges to add to the core list. I was thinking it might be night to add quarterly challenges or even a semi-annual challenge.

Like a six month challenge that focuses on biography, auto-biography or even historical fiction that is biographical in nature.

Quarterly challenges could be formed by topics or books by a highlighted author. Example: A three month focus on a certain topic or a three month focus on an author like Dickens or a contemporary author like Child. Maybe a quarterly or six month focus an science fiction.

These some ideas I have just been playing with to enhance our core list and the two-month challenges.

How about a continental challenge? Read one book set in each of the seven continents.

How about...

number in title
food in title
character with a disability
road trip

Rhonda wrote: "How about...

number in title
food in title
character with a disability
road trip"

These all sound interesting. I am eager to get started!

Hi Guys! I'm back to reality now and will get all caught up with these great suggestions.

I'd like to leave this open for one more day and then I will set up a poll (or something) so we can vote on the ones we want to use for main challenges and monthly specials.

So, if you haven't already chimed in with your suggestions, please do so ASAP! We'll vote before New Year's Day, and I'll get them posted for 2016 and we can all get started.

Stephanie

If there are no other posts today after 5pm US CST, I will go ahead and set the poll to run starting at midnight tonight.

Hiya all! Sorry I missed these discussions, was in the midst of house buying and subsequent DIY over the holidays. Looks like you've got it all sorted though. Looking forward to getting going with this year's challenges :-)

Welcome back, Sam. Hope you're nicely settled into your new house.

Melki wrote: "Welcome back, Sam. Hope you're nicely settled into your new house."

Thanks Melki.

In the early decorating stages now but hope to be moving in properly in the next couple of weeks now that all the hard work is done (had radiators falling off walls and arcing light fixtures, it was all go).

Sam wrote: "Melki wrote: "Welcome back, Sam. Hope you're nicely settled into your new house."

Thanks Melki.

In the early decorating stages now but hope to be moving in properly in the next couple of weeks n..."

Good to see you back with us, Sam! I was wondering if I was going to have to rattle your cage to get you to join us! ;-)

Thanks Stephanie and no rattling required...not yet anyway!