Boxall's 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die discussion

Yes, it’s early, but we are working on next year’s Challenges and want your input. This is your chance to suggest ideas for our yearly Challenges. Also, if you have any ideas for other challenges we would love to hear about them.

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I've been having a lot of fun with this year's scavenger hunt (just one more to go), so here are some suggestions as food for thought for next year:

- Read a book that has been adapted into a film or television series
- In honour of Queen Elizabeth II, read a book featuring a royal or Elizabethan character
- Read a book you've been recommended not to read (possibly a two-parter: and read a book you've been recommended to read)

Alec wrote: "I've been having a lot of fun with this year's scavenger hunt (just one more to go), so here are some suggestions as food for thought for next year:

- Read a book that has been adapted into a fil..."

Great suggestions, I especially love the final one. It's kind of unique!

Ellinor wrote: "Great suggestions, I especially love the final one. It's kind of unique!"

Thank you! It was my attempt to honour the spirit of the challenge: "However, remember that one of the purposes of the Challenge is to get you to read more Boxall books"

I have a few…
1. Time travel - read a book that was set in the past or future from when it was published ( eg 1984 by George Orwell).
2. Reducing bias against “genre fiction” - read a book that can be classified as genre fiction eg horror, science fiction, fantasy, romance or crime
3. Read a book with a title that has a characters name in it (eg Jane Eyre)
4. Read a book from an author who is from the opposite hemisphere to you. You can choose north/south or east/west hemispheres
5. Read a book whose title contains one of the four elements: water, earth, wind or fire (eg Pale Fire by Nabokov, The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch)

Wow! These are all excellent suggestions.

Alec wrote: "I've been having a lot of fun with this year's scavenger hunt (just one more to go), so here are some suggestions as food for thought for next year:

- Read a book that has been adapted into a fil..."

Great suggestions!

SaraSian wrote: "I have a few…
1. Time travel - read a book that was set in the past or future from when it was published ( eg 1984 by George Orwell).
2. Reducing bias against “genre fiction” - read a book that can..."

Fantastic suggestions!

For 2023, read a book that that has an audio version that clocks 23+ hours

For 2023, Year of the Rabbit, a book with rabbit on the cover or in the title. Or something about a "rabbit hole"?

A to Z challenge could maybe be city names? Or any location in the book that is a proper place?

Or, for A to Z, minimum 12/13 books, the first book starts with the letter A, the next book begins with the last letter of the first book, and so on, until the last book ends with the letter z. Here's an example:
A Boy's Own Story
Youth
Henderson the Rain King
Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick
Kiss of the Spider Woman
No Laughing Matter
Reasons to Live
Everything is Illuminated
Dining on Stones
Steppenwolf
Froth on the Daydream
Memento Mori
I, Robot (Robot, #0.1)
The Death of Artemio Cruz

Suggestion for the A-Z: maybe do author's name? If you allow people to count any of the authors initials (ex for Jose Maria Eca de Quieros, you could claim J,M,E,D, or Q) There is enough to do the whole alphabet with a minimum of 2 books for each one (for Q and X- the rest actually all have more).

I've read 86% of the combined list, and I'd only have to reread for x and Y, so I think this could work for most people?

Some ones that could potentially work for bingo are:

-reference to music in title
-season in title
-animal in title
-place name in title
-number in title
-non-fiction on the list
-Colour in title
-comedic book
-book you're dreading to read
-21st century lit

(I've checked these out for bingos I've done elsewhere and there is at least 12 options for all of these categories)

Amanda wrote: "Some ones that could potentially work for bingo are:

-reference to music in title
-season in title
-animal in title
-place name in title
-number in title
-non-fiction on the list
-Colour in title..."

I like "a book you're dreading to read"!!

Taylor wrote: "A to Z challenge could maybe be city names? Or any location in the book that is a proper place?

Or, for A to Z, minimum 12/13 books, the first book starts with the letter A, the next book begins w..."

That sounds fun!

For scavenger:

Read another list book by an author you've read before (both the current and the previously read books must be on the 1001 list).

Read a book with a 2 and a 3 in the original publication year.

Read a book without the letter "e" in the title
Read a book by a local author

These are some great suggestions!

JenniferAustin wrote: "Read a book whose title includes all or part of a name of a favorite game (The Media Monopoly; Mimi Lee Gets a Clue; Battleshipped, [book:González Catá..."

Remember, all the books MUST be on the Boxall list.

-Read a book that you have read before and either forgot about, or 'didnt really get' first time around
-Read a book where characters travel across 3 continents and another where characters never leave their village/small town
-Read a book from a writer with a modest upbringing
-Read a book where the main character is a child or children play a central role
- Use 23 as a theme.

-Choose 1 book occuring in the most populous countries of the world (India or China)
-Choose 1 book occuring in the least populous countries of the world (e.g. Albania, Greenland, Iceland... )

-Choose a book from the country you live in or your nationality (if neither exists, choose one from the nearest neighbor)

-Choose a book that is one in a series
-Choose a book that was not appreciated/popular when it first got published

Read a book that has in the title or one of the characters:
your own name
the name of a friend
family member
neighbour

Yes-- it's really early, but the topic is open! Sometimes our best ideas come in January and February and are forgotten by the fall. So go ahead and add suggestions throughout the year.

A book about temperature (in the title or part of the story)
A book that is about a life (it could be a Bildungsroman or just use life in the title)

Just wanted to say that I always enjoy the "theme of the year" category (ie, read a book with a theme or reference to 23 for 2023m, or year of the rabbit etc) because it is pretty open an I have fun figuring out how to interpret it so I hope you keep it for this year :)

2024 will be the UN year of camelids so anything with camels, llamas, alpacas, (there are some list books from the middle East and South America that definitely reference Camels or llamas)

For the child inside of us all, what about reading a book that appears on the 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die list and the 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up list?

For scavenger list:
- Read a book by a Scottish author. Apparently there are about 35 of them so there should be one for almost everyone to like.
- Read five list books by women authors. This can include books you read for other scavenger items.

A-Z country theme - a book set in a country starting with that letter! (Or by author from that country?)

Scavenger - celebrating olympics. - a book that centres around a sport

Scavenger Hunt suggestion - read the classic and then the modern response book eg Jane Eyre & Wide Sargasso Sea, Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart, Robinson Crusoe & Foe, Mrs Dalloway and The Hours.
I’m sure there are more.

I thought someone else had put up a suggestion to do professions/social roles for the A-Z challenge, but I don't see it so I guess I'll suggest it? I feel like then the word itself doesn't have to explicitly appear, as long as the job description does.

It would also work for some of the harder letters as there are a lot of Queens, Kings, and Wives in these books and, as well, some zookeepers or zoologists (Life of Pi has a Zookeeper), X-Ray technicians (The Book about Blanche and Marie definitely has one), Yeoman (any books with someone who owns and cultivates their land), and undercover cops, U.S armed forces officials, umpire, and union leaders.

Good idea!

Since this seems to be the place for it I will suggest that since the US has a solar eclipse in 2024, to read a book than contains an eclipse, or a cosmic event (comet, meteor showers, etc.), or a book with a celestial event with some dark portent or sense of foreboding.

I like that one.

I love the Scavenger hunt and am delighted to see people are at work on it! Here are some more ideas (to which I am not attached):

- The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 will take place in May in Malmö, Sweden. Read a book by a Swedish author.
- Bonus question: Check on the progress of Eurovision and choose a book by a country that is a finalist or that has your personal favorite entry!

- Artemis II, the first crewed mission beyond low Earth orbit since 1972, is planned to launch in 2024. In Greek religion, Artemis was the sister of Apollo and was in later times regarded as the goddess of the moon. Read a book in which a sister or the moon is important.

- January 21, 2024, will mark 100 years since the death of Vladimir Lenin, founding head of the government of Soviet Russia. Read a book by a writer that lived in a communist country.

- TheFacebook was launched 20 years ago, on February 4, 2004 (the name was changed to Facebook in August 2005). Read a book in which a face is particularly important.

- World War I began on 28 July 1914. Read a Boxall list book that features World War I or another war. (See for example: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... )

- Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama died 500 years ago, in 1524. Read a book by a Portuguese author or by an author from one of the countries he visited on one if his voyages.

SaraSian wrote: "Scavenger Hunt suggestion - read the classic and then the modern response book eg Jane Eyre & Wide Sargasso Sea, Heart of Darkness & Things Fall Apart, Robinson Crusoe & Foe, Mrs Dalloway and The H..."

This is a fabulous suggestion. I'd definitely be looking for a thread where these were identified!

Another idea.

It has been 10 years since the release of the surprise hit song "What Does the Fox Say." Read a book that contains a fox or talking animal.

- "Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama died 500 years ago, in 1524. Read a book by a Portuguese author or by an author from one of the countries he visited on one if his voyages.
"

I'm Portuguese, could we do this without mentioning Vasco da Gama?
His voyages kickstarted colonial rule. He is still revered in my country but as a person of Indian descent- whose ancestors were horribly treated thanks to these "voyages"- I'd rather we skipped him altogether.

People are starting to see Colombo's awful impact on the Americas, I'd say Gama is not much- if at all- better.

If you want to keep a date that is important to the country, here is what I suggest:
"2024 marks the 50th anniversary of Portugal's Revolution of the Carnations, harking the end of colonial rule as well as the extinction of the dictatorship. Read a book in Portuguese or any postcolonial book/that deals with the struggle for the independence of any former colony."

Nocturnalux wrote: "- "Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama died 500 years ago, in 1524. Read a book by a Portuguese author or by an author from one of the countries he visited on one if his voyages.
"

I'm Portuguese, c..."

While doing research on the 2024 Challenge suggestions by members, I did some reading on Vasco da Gama and was concerned about his actions on his voyages. In the US, our world history courses in High School mostly just mention his achievement of rounding the Cape of Good Hope. It wasn't until a few years ago that I read about the atrocities committed by Da Gama and other Portuguese explorers. However, I feel that this should be a teachable moment regarding the Era of Exploration and Discovery (anniversaries of which we are going to be seeing for many years). By simply omitting it, we silence the voices of those who were "horribly treated" by colonization. The challenge will emphasize reading books from the countries along his routes and that he visited.

Humanity is flawed; no government is perfect. But we need to know the true history of events, so we learn from it and never repeat it.

Thanks

a book you aren’t looking forward to

A book with an adjective in the title. This is less common than you would think but there are many. Examples include "The Unbearable Lightness of Being", "The Magic Mountain", "Invisible Man". A color usually works for this such as "The Red Room".

As a different way to select books I just started an Around the World task. Don't know if, or how I'll make it. So far: Iceland to Norway to Scotland to Northern Ireland to Ireland to Wales. Has anyone else done a geographic theme?

What about a Boxall Bingo to replace the A to Z Challenge next year? On a 5 by 5 bingo sheet, you could complete the Bingo in a number of different ways -- horizontal row, vertical row, four corners, black-out. This would give more members the opportunity to complete the task as 24 books for the year can be daunting for newbies.

I love the idea of Boxall Bingo! That sounds really fun. I know there is no way I can read 24 Boxall books in a year right now. Maybe when I'm retired ;)

For the scavenger hunt, how about a book that you are scared of reading? It could be a horror book, or a long book, a book you think will be difficult, etc.

I'm currently doing a bingo and we're using Canva to update as we go, it's fun! I think that would be a cool idea. :)

Hannah wrote: "I'm currently doing a bingo and we're using Canva to update as we go, it's fun! I think that would be a cool idea. :)"

That would be interesting. Do you know how to set it up?

These are fantastic ideas! I look forward to seeing what else is suggested.

Here are some more suggestions:

2025 Challenge Suggestions:

- Around the World in 80 Days: Read a book Set in one of the countries Phineas Finn travels through
- Read a LGBTQ-book
- Read a book written in the Form of letters or as a diary or one in which such Play an important role.
- Read a book in which prisons play an important rule.
- A book Set in a European country which isn‘t and never was part of the EU
- A book in which smells or taste play an important part
- A book set in a country the author never lived in and/or of which he or she doesn‘t have the nationality
- A book in which religion or churches have a central part
- A book about indigenous people
- A book about slaves

Janet wrote: "Is there a thread for the long read suggestions? (Ive loved reading Clarissa and Middlemarch this way.) How about Infinite Jest? Just because I own it but think I'll need moral support to get throu..."

I am doing this with Blood Meridian with Cormac McCarthy. I need that moral support for this one too