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WINTER CHALLENGE 2023
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Winter Challenge 2023: Tasks
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10.1 - Poetry for Neanderthals
Help Thread
Poetry for Neanderthals is a party game where players must communicate a word to their teammates without saying the word itself. Simple enough in theory, but to make things harder, players can only use single-syllable words. Use any longer words, and your opponents get to hit you with a comically oversized inflatable club!
Read a book where all the words in the title consist of a single syllable, e.g. The Night Watch, Ice Song, Of Mice and Men
10.2 - Festive Folklore
Help Thread
Christmas traditions around the world often involve traditions and figures from local mythology: from the demon-horned Krampus of Germany and Austria who carries away naughty children in his sack, to the Mari Lwyd of Wales who battles local residents in verse and song for the right to enter their homes and partake of their food and drink.
Read a book from the first 25 pages of the Folklore shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/...
Required: State the page of the list your book is found on.
10.3 - Season of Love
Help Thread
Time to curl up by the fireside with your beloved! The Winter season sees the feast days of two patron saints of lovers - Saint Dwynwen on January 25th and Saint Valentine on February 14th - and of course, let's not forget about all the stolen kisses under the mistletoe in December.
Read a book with the MPG Romance. Genres may be embedded such as Paranormal Romance or Historical Romance.
10.4 - You All Meet In A Tavern...
Help Thread
Dungeons and Dragons might not be a party game, but it is a game with a party! Gather your band of merry adventurers as your storytelling Dungeon Master guides you through a world of wonder, facing off against fierce foes in search of legendary treasures. Just pray the dice rolls are in your favour.
Read a book that contains one of the following D&D classes in its title or subtitle: Fighter, Bard, Cleric, Warlock, Sorcerer, Wizard, Paladin, Rogue, Ranger, Druid, Monk or Barbarian. Plurals and possessives allowed, no other variations.
Required: State the class.
10.5 - A Ghost Story For Christmas
Help Thread
Think Ebenezer Scrooge and his hauntings are the only ghostly goings-on in the Winter season? Think again. From 1971 to 1978, the BBC made a tradition of adapting a classic ghost story to be broadcast in the days (or rather, nights) before Christmas. This tradition was revived in 2005, providing spine-chilling festive frights for a new generation.
Read a book that features ghosts or spirits.
Required: If the ghostly connection is not evident from the GR description, provide a reference.
10.6 - Roll the Bones
Help Thread
Dice are a common staple in games, and while many newer games (especially roleplaying games) use fancy custom dice, there are still multiple games out there based entirely around the traditional D6, from Yacht to Dudo to Bunco.
Read a book whose page count consists solely of numbers found on a traditional six-sided die: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. Digits may appear multiple times.
10.7 - It's-a Me, Mario!
Help Thread
From its humble beginnings producing the card game Hanafuda, Nintendo has gone on to dominate the video gaming world with its Mario franchise. Outside of the mainline Super Mario Bros. series, its digital party games such as Mario Kart, Mario Party and WarioWare are ever popular.
Read a book by a single author whose name contains all the letters of one of the following Mario characters: MARIO, LUIGI, PEACH, YOSHI, WARIO or BOWSER.
Required: State the character.
10.8 - Winter Migration
Help Thread
Cold weather and grey skies getting you down? Time to make like our feathered friends and fly off somewhere warmer! Since the Southern Hemisphere is currently in Summer, it seems like a perfect destination to stave off the winter blues.
Read a book set in one of these countries listed as being in the Southern Hemisphere: https://www.worldatlas.com/countries-...
Required: If the setting is not evident from the book description or GR metadata, provide a reference.
10.9 - Winners of Winter
Help Thread
Looking for a good book to cosy up with on these long dark nights? You can't go wrong with an award winner (or nominee), surely?
Read a book that has won or has been nominated for a literary award that begins with one of the letters found in WINTER. The award must show up on book's main page under Literary Awards.
Examples:
The Bone Clocks (World Fantasy Award for Best Novel - Won)
Babel (Nebula Award for Best Novel - Won)
Bad Science (Royal Society Science Book Prize - Nominated)
Required: Indicate which award fits the task.
10.10 - The End?
Help Thread
As the year turns, it's a time of endings and new beginnings. Why not reflect that in your reading this season?
Read a book from either this list of Best Endings or this list of Best Beginnings.
Required: State which list you used and which page of the list your book appears on.
Mod
15.1 Long and Short
Help Thread
The December solstice bring the day with the shortest day/longest night (northern hemisphere) or the longest day/shortest night (southern hemisphere)
This is a two book task, read one book for each option:
a) Read a SHORT book (under 200 pages)
b) Read a LONG book (over 500 pages)
Required: State the page numbers for both books
15.2 Out with the Old, In with the New
Help Thread
"Celebrate endings—for they precede new beginnings" - Jonathan Lockwood Huie
This is a 2 book task, read one book for each option:
a) Read the latest* published book in a series which has at least 3 published works.
b) Read the first book (#1) in a series
Your books may be by the same author, but must be from different series.
*Latest in this context means the latest book at the end of the series, not a prequel or other book inserted elsewhere in a timeline (this is a Ending & Beginning task after all!). If a new book in the series is published on or after Dec 1st 2023, you may count this or the previous one as the "latest in the series".
If there is only one book listed in the series, you may count it for option b.
In both cases, the series name and number must be indicated in the GR title listing in grayscale parentheses following the title or grayscale italics above the title.
15.3 Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
Help Thread
10 December 2023 marks the 75th anniversary of one of the world's most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)
This is a two book task, read one book for each option:
a) Read a book where the letters of UDHR appear in the title
b) The 2023 Theme is Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All
Read a book that is on the first 20 pages of one of the following shelves: "human rights", "dignity", "freedom" or "justice"
Human Rights
Dignity
Freedom
Justice
Required: State which shelf you chose and what page the book is on.
15.4 Feed the Birds
Help Thread
21st Dec is National Robin Day, which aims to raise awareness of small birds and other wildlife in winter and how you can help them through this tough time of year. The RSPB organise "The Big Garden Birdwatch" every January, where ordinary people are encouraged to spend an hour in their garden, park etc to record the birds they see & hear.
OPTION 1: read one book A & one Book B
OPTION 2: Read ONE book that fulfills both requirements
a) Read a book with a bird on the cover
The bird may be sketched, outline, silhouette or realistic but must be identifiable as a bird with a significant portion of wing and either beak or feet visible
Required: Post the cover
Examples:
b) Read a book where ALL of the author's initials are found in ONE of the following most common British garden birds, according to the Big Garden Birdwatch 2020:
House sparrow
Starling
Blue tit
Woodpigeon
Blackbird
Goldfinch
Great tit
Robin
Long-tailed tit
Magpie
(you cant take for instance B from Blue tit & W from woodpigeon, initials must be found in one bird)
Where a book has multiple authors, the initials of ALL the authors must appear in the same bird and can only be used as often as they appear in the bird name.
15.5 What the Dickens!
Help Thread
Charles Dickens was born on Feb 7th 1812
Read a book that shares a word of 3 letters or more in the title with one of Dickens novel/novella (excluding "The" and "And")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles...
The word must match exactly. A possessive (eg Oliver's) would be permitted. Plurals are not permitted (eg Friends)
15.6 Let's Celebrate!
Help Thread
Many festivals are celebrated during our Winter Challenge period, and fireworks form a huge part of many of these celebrations around the world.
Read a book where the authors initials can be found in FIREWORKS
15.7 When the music stops ...
Help Thread
Many party games require music (Musical chairs, pass the parcel etc)
Read a book with MPG Music
15.8 An Extra Day
Help Thread
Leap year happens every 4 years & is happening in 2024. This gives you a bonus day for this challenge - will you spend it reading?
Read a book first published in a leap year (2024, 2020, 2016, 2012, 2008, 2004 etc)
15.9 Pass the Parcel
Help Thread
Pass the Parcel is a popular children's party game in the UK.
Read a book that has been "passed on". For the purposes of this task, your book may have been gifted to you, obtained second hand, or borrowed from the library
Required: State where you obtained the book
15.10 Here be Dragons
Help Thread
Chinese New Year/Lunar New Year will occur on 10th February 2024 & welcomes the year of the Dragon.
Choose either option A or option B:
a) Read a book with a dragon on the cover
b) Read a book with the word Dragon intact in the title or subtitle
Required: state which option you have chosen.
Required: If choosing option a, post the cover
Mod
20.1 - Most Improved - TessaVanessa's Task: TessaVanessa's NYC Adventure
Help Thread
This past week I got to travel to New York City for the first time. This challenge will cover some of the highlights.
Pick an option and read a book for that option.
Required: State the option.
Option 1: While riding the boat over to the Statue of Liberty I was trying to figure out the first time I realized I wanted to visit NYC. I was 4 years old and watched Sesame Street everyday. I loved the streetscape and I think that is where the seed was planted. Read a book that has a title of at least 3 words, where the first letter of each word appears in SESAME STREET. Ignore subtitles.
Letters can only be used as often as they appear.
Option 2: How can you visit NYC and not go to a show? The show we had tickets for was Wicked. It was an amazing performance. Read a book with a cover that is at least 50% green according to TinEye. A guide to using TinEye can be found here.
Required: Post the cover.
Option 3: Seeing New York City portrayed in many television shows and movies, you see how the streets and roads are insanely crowded. We opted to take the subway everywhere (something else I always dreamed of doing.) Read a book with all of the letters of SUBWAY in the title (ignore subtitles).
Option 4: Our main reason for visiting (at least my husband’s) was to see the final show of KISS-The End of the Road Tour. He has been a fan since childhood. They celebrated 50 years as a band this year. Read a book by an author that shares a first or last name with one of the four final members: Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer. Names must match exactly, but can be in any place.
Required: State the band member.
20.2 - Rookie at the Top - Apple's Task: Christmas Special
Help Thread
I am getting too old to get excited by Christmas it seems, but when I was growing up it was magical. My favourite memories are from when I was quite young, and each night there would be shown on the television in the two weeks before Christmas would be one of the Rankin and Bass Christmas Specials. I love them so much that one of the few decorations I still display is my collection of figurines from Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer (not even the best of the specials!).
For this task, read a book that features a word of 4 or more letters from one of the television specials (not necessarily Christmas), from this list: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...
Exact matches only, no plurals or possessives.
Required: State the word and the television special.
20.4 - Golden Oldies - Joop's Task: Golden Oldies
Help Thread
For the past challenges I have read may so-called "golden oldies". This assignment is therefore all about old age. Choose one of the following options.
Required: state the option.
Option A: Read a book where 1 or more main characters is of old age. This should be clear from the book description or otherwise be made clear.
Requirement: If the character's age is not evident from the GR description, provide a reference.
Option B: Read a book published after the author's 65th birthday.
Requirement: State the author's year of birth and the book's original year of publication.
20.5 - Bigger is Better - Jenny H's Task: The Nobel Prize
Help Thread
Everyone in Sweden knows what happens on the 10th of December: the annual prize award ceremony for the Nobel Prize and the following banquet in Stockholm City Hall, attended by the Swedish royal family and more than 1000 guests. The prize came into being after the extremely wealthy scientist, inventor (for example, of dynamite) and businessman Alfred Nobel bequeathed his entire estate to a fund that was to be set up. The interest on the fund was "to be distributed annually as prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." The prize is awarded in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature, and Peace. Since 1968, The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel is also awarded. Today, Nobel Prizes are widely regarded as the most prestigious awards available in their respective fields and this year the laureates are awarded 11 million SEK (about $1,050,000 or €975,000).
For this task, choose either option 1 or option 2. Please note you may use a book with the genres "Sequential Art", "Comics", "Comic Book", and/or "Manga" for this task.
Required: State the option
Option 1: Read a book written by a Nobel Prize laureate from this list: https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/lis...
Option 2: All the prizes except one are awarded in Stockholm, Sweden. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo, Norway, possibly because Nobel thought Norwegian politicians were more active in peace issues. It might also be because Sweden and Norway were in a union at the time of Nobel's death. Read a book by an author born in Sweden or Norway.
Required: State in which country the author is born. If the author's location of birth is not evident from the GR author page, provide a reference.
Mod
20.6 - It's A Fact - MaryPDX's Task: Say It's Carol Singers
Help Thread
We start watching Christmas movies as soon as Thanksgiving dinner is over. The year 2003 brought two of my all-time favorites which I watch at least once a year: Love Actually, and Elf. Choose from the following options:
Required: Specify the option
Option 1: Read a book written by a single author whose first and last initials can be found in one of these famous quotes:
“LOVE ACTUALLY IS ALL AROUND” (Love Actually) or
“I KNOW HIM!” (Elf)
Letters may be used only as often as they appear.
Required: State which phrase you're using.
Option 2: Read a book first published in 2003
Option 3: Read one of the 12 MovieWeb’s Greatest Book-to-Movie Adaptations of the 2000s found here: https://movieweb.com/best-book-to-mov...
20.7 - Shorter is Sweeter - Sarah E's Task: The Chocolate Game
Help Thread
A party game for all chocoholics, the chocolate game involves all the best bits of a party game: speed, dice, dressing up, and chocolate.
Read one book for one of the following options.
Required: State the option
Option 1: Roll a Six
The players sit in a big circle, in the middle of which is a large bar of chocolate (still in it's wrapper), and a selection of dressing up clothes. They take it in turns to roll a dice - when a six comes up, it's your turn.
Read a book which is #6 in a series. The series must be evident in greyscale on the GR book page.
Option 2: Get Dressed Up
Usually there will be at least a hat, scarf, and gloves to put on before you can begin on the chocolate, but there may be as many items as you like.
Read a book with a person wearing at least one of a hat, scarf, or glove(s) on the cover. One glove will work, it doesn't have to be a pair, but all items must be being worn by a person.
Required: Post the cover
Option 3: Chocolate Time
Once dressed up, you can now try to eat as much of the chocolate as you can - with a knife and fork - no fingers allowed! You only have until the next player rolls a six, so you may not actually manage to eat anything before having to remove the hat, scarf, gloves, etc. for the next player's turn.
Read a book by a single author whose first and last initials can be found in CHOCOLATE.
20.8 - Nickels & Dimes - Aimee G's Task: Seeking Sanctuary
Help Thread
Halfway through last season, I embarked on a rather dramatic career change from an office job I'd been in for seven years to a new role working with refugees and asylum seekers, helping them to settle into the UK and become independent.
My city is a designated "city of sanctuary", meaning we host people who have been granted refugee status by the UK Home Office or the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). We also have several temporary accommodation sites for asylum seekers who are waiting to find out if they will be granted refugee status.
Books with an MPG of Manga/Graphic Novels etc. are allowed for this task.
For this task, themed around refugees, please choose one of the following options.
Required: state the option.
Option 1: According to the UNHCR, the top five "source countries" (countries that refugees have fled) are Syria, Afghanistan, Venezuela, South Sudan and Myanmar. The top five host countries are Turkey, Iran, Colombia, Germany and Pakistan.
Read a book that is at least 75% set in one of these countries.
Required: state the country the book is set in. If the setting is not obvious from the GR metadata or description, provide a reference.
Option 2: Read a book where the main character is a refugee or asylum seeker.
The definition of a refugee is "someone forced to leave their country to escape war or persecution", so an economic migrant wouldn't count for this task. An asylum seeker is a person who has applied for refugee status and is waiting for a decision to be made.
Required: If it is not obvious from the GR description, please provide a reference to show the main character is a refugee / asylum seeker.
20.9 - Moderators' Pet - Kathy P's Task: Winter Love... Actually
Help Thread
I love Christmas movies so I have designed this task around one of my favorites - Love Actually. This movie has a large cast with many favorite actors. Read a book by an author who shares a first or last name with one of the actors in the movie. The list of actors can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_Ac...
Books with multiple authors may be used but all authors must have a first or last name that matches an actor (they don't have to be the same actor).
The names may be found in any position, but must match exactly.
Required: state the actor and the author.
20.10 Group Reads
Read one of the books selected as a group read for the Winter 2023 season. The requirement for this task: you must participate in the book's discussion thread below with at least one post about the contents of the book or your reaction to the book after you have read the book.
Fiction: Road Trips - The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise
Discussion Thread
Fiction: Indigenous - The Only Good Indians
Discussion Thread
Non-Fiction: Treasure Hunting - The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story
Discussion Thread
Gutenberg Classic - Ghost Stories of an Antiquary
Discussion Thread
Mod
25.1 Susan A's Task: Long, Longer, Longest
Help Thread
Choose an option.
Required: State the option.
Option 1: This is a two book task. Read one book from each option.
Book 1:
Read a book with a title of 3 or more words. Each word in the title must contain more letters than the preceding word. Ignore subtitles.
Example:
The Good Daughter (3, 4, 8)
The Captain's Daughter (3, 8, 9)
- Words with a hyphen will be considered one word. Count all of the letters on both sides of the hyphen. Do not count the hyphen. Example: check-in = 7 letters
- Titles with &(ampersand) do not work for this task.
- Titles with numerals do not work for this task. Numbers written out as words are fine
Example: 1st to Die will not work
The Nine Tailors will work
- Words with a hashtag - ignore the hashtag, count the letters
- Words with an apostrophe - ignore the apostrophe, count the letters on both sides of the apostrophe
Book 2:
Read a book in which every number in the page count is greater than the number preceding it. (Page counts containing the number zero do not work for this task.)
Required: State the page count
Examples:
This works
Wreck the Halls 368 pages
This DOES NOT work
Merry Christmas Cupid 270 pages (0 is less than 7)
OR
Option 2:
Read one book with a minimum of 567 pages that satisfies both requirements.
Required: State the page count
25.2 JennRenee's Task: Oh What Fun!
Help Thread
Christmas time is a real even in our house. We celebrate 12 days of Christmas with presents, activities, food, and just spending time together. This task is about my family's favorite days of the season.
This is a 2 book task pick and option and read two books (Book 1 and Book 2) from that option.
Required: State the option
Option 1: Twelve Days: We started the 12 Days of Christmas so we could slow down and enjoy everything the season could bring. We felt like it was just about getting everything ready for one night and one day of rushing from house to house and never really enjoying the season.
Book 1: Read a book that is 1-12 of a series. The series name must be present in grayscale on the Goodreads main page. For this task only whole numbers are allowed.
Book 2 : Read a book where all authors initials can be found in Tis the Season
Option 2: Christmas Scavenger Hunt: The entire family and couple of friends love to get together to go on a Christmas scavenger hunt. We get the list from online, split into teams, and head around the neighborhood to find the items first.
Book 1: Read a book with one of these common items found on our scavenger hunt list in the title of the book (subtitles not included)
Candle, Tree, Wreath, star, bells, Santa, Angel, Snowman, Elf, Mistletoe, gift, present, Bow, red, green, gold, snowflake, holly, lights, cookie
Words may be singular or plural, and possessive, no other variations allowed
Required: State the word
Book 2: Read a book with a MPG of Christmas or Holiday.
Option 3: Christmas Movies and Hot Cocoa: This is has been a long time traditions. Everyone picks a movie, throw them in a hat, One by one they come out and we spend the day with hot cocoa and movies.
Book 1: Read a book of of one of these lists
Books That Feel Like a Hallmark Movie
Books Adapted into Hallmark Movies and Series
Books that are_or should be Hallmark Christmas Movies
Required: State the list and the page
Book 2: Read a book with a word int he title of at least 3 letters from the lyrics of this hot cocoa song (lyrics posted in help thread)
Words must be stand alone and exact.
https://pyzikmusic.weebly.com/uploads...
Required:State the word
25.3 Amy FL's task: Best Sister Ever
Help Thread
In August I had an accident that required four surgeries on my left leg with a lengthy recovery ahead. I was on vacation with a friend at the time, so I had no family support nearby. My sister put her life on hold and flew down to be with me. She spent the better part of a month at a hotel near the hospital so that she could visit me daily. I will never be able to thank her for her generosity, support and love.
This is a two-book task. Please select one book from two different options. No children’s books or sequential art may be used.
Option 1: Read a book with SISTER in the title. Plural and possessives work, but no other options (Sister’s is okay; sisterhood is not).
Option 2: My sister’s first name, Mady, is constantly mispronounced. To help people, she says “rhymes with lady.” Read a book with a title that contains at least two rhyming words of three or more letters each.
This list may help with ideas. https://byjus.com/english/rhyming-words/
Example: Dirty Thirty
The May Day Murders
Towel Dry and a Good Cry
Option 3: I can’t put full weight on my leg yet, but the doctor is allowing me to walk in a swimming pool. Once again, my sister has come to the rescue. She drives 30 minutes each way to take me to the gym so that I can begin to rehab and recover. Pool spelled backwards is loop. For this task, read a book with a title word of four or more letters that makes a different word when spelled backwards.
Required: Identify the words in your post
Example: 12 Months to Live Live backwards is Evil
25.4 Robin P’s Task: Children’s Party Games
Help Thread
When I was young, some games were common at kids’ birthday parties. Pick Option 1, 2, or 3 and read a Book A and a Book B from that option.
Option 1: Pin the Tail on the Donkey (Blindfolded children try to attach the tail to a picture on the wall. The person who is closest is the winner.)
Book A: Read a book with a four-legged animal’s tail on the cover (no birds or fish and must be a real world animal, not mythical). There must be enough of the tail to be recognizable.
Required: Post the cover
Book B: Read a book whose author’s first and last initials are found in DONKEY TAIL. Letters may only be used as often as they appear in the phrase.
Option 2: Musical Chairs (Children walk around the chairs while music plays and when it stops, they sit down, but there is always one chair fewer than child, so someone is out. Each time one more chair is taken away and the winner is the last one sitting.)
Book A: Read a book with a chair on the cover. For this task a chair is defined as a seat for one person that has a seat & a back
Required: Post the cover
Book B: Read a book whose author’s first and last initials are found in MUSICAL CHAIRS. Letters may only be used as often as they appear in the phrase.
Option 3. Fruit Basket (One person is “It” and whispers the name of a fruit to each child sitting in a circle. Then “It” says names of 2 or more fruits and those children have to change places, while “It” tries to take one of their seats. Whoever doesn’t get a seat is “It” next. “It” can also say “Fruit Basket Upset”, which means everyone must change places.)
Book A: Read a book with a piece of fruit on the cover.
Required: Post the cover
Book B: Read a book whose author’s first and last initials are found in FRUIT BASKET. Letters may only be used as often as they appear in the phrase.
25.5 Dee's Task : I Like A Good Mystery (series) and I Cannot Lie!
Help Thread
This is a two book task, choose 2 different options and read 1 book from each option. Both must have a main page genre of either MYSTERY or CRIME, both must be part of a series on Goodreads with AT LEAST 3 books listed on the series page, and the books must be from two different series.
Option 1. Historical Series. Most of my comfort read mysteries are also set in the 1920’s and 1930’s – but really any non-contemporary time will do.
Read a mystery set at least 50 years ago (before 1973). This book may be published during this time as long as its set in or before 1973.
Required: If the setting of time is not obvious on the Goodreads main page, provide a reference
Option 2. Female Protagonists. Many of the series that I am currently reading feature a female protagonist/lead investigator. Read a book where the main character solving the crime is female.
i.e. Maisie Dobbs, Eve Dallas (In Death series)
Option 3. Travel. I love discovering new places with the books that I read. This past season, I visited Scotland, England, Wales, and Italy with the books that I read. Read a book set 80% outside your home country, in a place you have never visited but would like to.
(for the purpose of this task - an airport layover, does not count as visiting)
Required: state you have never visited the location.
Option 4. Oh the Puns I often chuck when I see some of the horrible puns that mystery titles have. For this task, read a book with a pun or a play on words in the title.
This list may help - Titlemania I: Puns in Titles
i.e. We'll Always Have Parrots
Required State the original word or phrase that is a pun.
Mod
30.1 Mazza1's Task - The Life of Solomon
Help Thread
I came across this verse in a book I read for the Fall challenge and it inspired me to create a task around it.
Solomon Grundy
Born on a Monday
Christened on Tuesday
Married on Wednesday
Took Ill on Thursday
Worse on Friday
Died on Saturday
Buried on Sunday
That was the end of Solomon Grundy
For this task:
• You may read either two books or ONE book of over 600 pages that fulfills both options- no children's books allowed.
• You will use ANY ONE LINE of the verse for BOTH options
• ACROSS BOTH OPTIONS Letters may be used only as Many times as they appear in the line of verse chosen
Option 1 Two book option
a) Read a book where the Author’s FIRST and LAST initials appear in the line of verse. Only books with a single author are allowed.
b) Read a book with a word of 4 OR MORE letters in the title made from the remaining letters in your chosen line of verse
Eg: Using the line “Christened on Tuesday” You could choose to read
Endless Night by Agatha Christie using A and C
& Tone Deaf by Olivia Rivers - TONE being made from the remaining letters in the line
BUT you could not read You've Reached Sam by Dustin Theo with the Agatha Christie book as your 4 + letter word – REACHED has A and C in it which you have already used in your first book.
Option 2
Read one book that fits both options AND is over 600 pages
Eg: Using “That was the end of Solomon Grundy”
You could read
House of Earth and Blood by Sarah J Mass - uses EARTH and SM
BUT
The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch using LAMORA would not work as there is only one L in the line of verse
Required:Identify the line of verse used when posting
30.2 Katrisa's Task : Winter Zodiac
Help Thread
This is a 2 book task. Please pick one option and read a book 1 and a book 2 for your chosen option. Total page count must be at least 500 pages. One children’s/middle grade book may be used.
Option 1 - Sagittarius - November 22-December 21
Book 1 - The symbol for these freedom-loving adventurers is a centaur with a bow and arrow. Read a book from this Archery list
Archery
or
Archery Books
Required: State the Page
Book 2 - The tarot card associated with this sign is Temperance. Read a book with a single author or multiple authors where all the author’s initials can be found in the word TEMPERANCE. Letters can be used only as often as they appear.
Option 2 - Capricorn - December 22- January 19
Book 1 - The Capricorn symbol is a goat-fish, a creature of both the mountains and the ocean. Read a book set in either the mountains or by the ocean (any coastal setting will do). If the setting is not obvious from the GR page please provide a reference.
and
Book 2 - The tarot card associated with this sign is The Devil. Read a book from the first 20 pages of this devilish list
Devil Books
Required: State the Page
Option 3: Aquarius - January 20- February 19
Book 1 - The symbol for this sign is the Water-bearer. Aquarius has been associated with Ganymede the cup-bearer for the gods of Olympus. Read a book with an MPG of Mythology. Genre may be stand alone or embedded. for example : Norse Mythology
and
Book 2 - The Tarot card associated with this sign is The Star. Read a book with a star or stars on the cover or with the word STAR/S in the title (not subtitle). They can be actual stars or stylized stars.
Required: Post the Cover
Examples:
30.3 Cat : Books of the Winter Months
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Choose an option.
Required: Indicate the option.
Note that for both options you are using the same month to meet your task requirements, not different months.
Required: State your Month
Option 1: TWO book task
Pick one of the months within this season (i.e. December, January, February) and read one book for each of the tasks below. There is no page minimum for the two book option
Book 1: ALL the letters of your chosen month can be found in the title of your book (ignore subtitles)
Book 2: the author of your book has first and last initials found in your chosen month. Letters may only be used as often as they appear
Option 2: ONE book task
Pick one of the months within this season (i.e. December, January, February) and read a book that meets BOTH of option 1's requirements AND is 500+ pages
Task 1: All the letters of your chosen month can be found in the title of your book (ignore subtitles)
and
Task 2: the author of your book has first and last initials found in your chosen month. Letters may only be used as often as they appear.
30.4 Nick KY’s Task: Murder in the Manor
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The Wikipage for Murder Mystery Party game tells us: “The murder mystery fiction genre began in the first half of the nineteenth century. The party game, wink murder, dates back to at least the early twentieth century and sees one player secretly selected as a murderer, being able to "kill" other players by winking at them. A killed player must count to five before dying, and the murderer tries to avoid detection.”
Enh. In my arrogant opinion, I don’t know how much of that info is true. But the idea I am using here is that the “Murder” game started as an offshoot of fiction and involved parties set in Manor Houses.
This is a two book task. Read two books from two different options.
No books with the genre of “Children’s” may be used for this task.
Opt. A.
For this option read a book from one of the following “Manor House” lists:
Whodunit Mansions
Novels about Big Houses
Best Victorian Historical Fiction Set In Britain
Required:State the list and the page
Opt. B. My favorite literary quotes about a country manor house comes from the first paragraph of Shirley Jakson’s The Haunting of Hill House. I have chills every time I read it: “…silence lay steadily against the wood and stone of Hill House, and whatever walked there, walked alone.”
Read a book with an MPG of “Horror” – because you can still read horror over Christmas. Genre may be embedded IE Gothic Horror
Opt. C. If the murder mystery in fiction began in the early 19th century Britain, then it started out as an offshoot of Gothic literature. Because the stories often told narratives associated with prisoners who were goaled in Newgate Prison (or some other prison), the genre was called the “Newgate Novel.”
Read a book which has a three-letter-or-longer word in the title or subtitle that can be made from the letters in the phrase: NEWGATE PRISON.
Letters may be used only as often as they appear in the target phrase.
Required: state the word
Mod
50.1 - Trishhartuk’s Task: The Spirits of the Past, the Present and the Future
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Read three books totalling at least 750 pages.
No books with the genres children’s or kids (or variants such as middle grade) on the main book page may be used.
Books whose main page lists any of these genres: Sequential Art, Comics, Comic Book, or Manga may not be used.
Like various other people in the SRC, I always try to read Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol during December, as it’s one of my favourite stories. His descriptions are so vivid that I find myself visualising the scenes, and I see something new in it every time I read it.
This task is not specifically a Christmas task, but it is based on a quote from the beginning of Stave 5. “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future!” Scrooge repeated, as he scrambled out of bed. “The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me.”
Book 1: The Past
Read a book that is set in, or is about a period, before 1950, AND has one of the MPGs “History” or “Historical”, stand alone or embedded (e.g. “Historical Fiction”). It doesn’t need to have been published before that date, but it does need to be set before/about that period.
Required: if it isn’t clear from the GR description, indicate how the book fits the task.
Book 2: The Present
Read a book first published in 2021, 2022, 2023 or 2024, which is set in the present day or (for non-fiction) discusses current affairs.
Book 3: The Future
A Christmas Carol can be considered to be in the Fantasy genre, as well as a Classic.
Read a novel by an author who has published one or more novels which have the Science Fiction or Fantasy MPGs; and has also published one or more novels with a "present day" setting relative to its publishing date. For the "present day" book, there should be nothing in the GR description or setting metadata to indicate that it is set other than around the date at which it was published, and it should not have either Science Fiction nor Fantasy among its MPGs.
Examples of possible authors include: George Orwell, Emily St. John Mandel, Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Iain Banks/Iain M. Banks.
You can use either a “present day” book, or a SF/fantasy one, and both can be written either under the author’s name, or a pseudonym, as long as a link is included to establish that they are writing in both genres.
Required: as well as the book you choose to read, include a link to a book written in the other genre(s), and state the MPGs used for both.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Ghost Stories of an Antiquary (other topics)The Lost City of the Monkey God: A True Story (other topics)
The Only Good Indians (other topics)
The Mostly True Story of Tanner and Louise (other topics)
The Good Daughter (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
George Orwell (other topics)Emily St. John Mandel (other topics)
Nora Roberts (other topics)
J.D. Robb (other topics)
Iain Banks (other topics)
More...
5.1- No "L" Day
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December 25th brings a pun to Christmas Day. The play on words is a pun on the word Noël, which is especially notable during Christmas because it means "to be born
Read a book with no "L" In the title/subtitle/authors name
if multiple authors none of them may contain the letter "L"
5.2- Unique Like a Snowflake
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Snowflakes are 6 sided Snow Crystals that fall from the sky. It's true there are now two alike.
Read a book where each word in title contains no repeat letters.
EX: The Lodge
5.3- Better in a sweater
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BRRR! Winter is better when in a sweater!
Read a book with a 4 or more letter word found in betterinasweater in the title.
Required: State the word.
5.4- A Werewolf in the Mafia
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Mafia, also known as Werewolf, is a Russian social deduction game created by Dimitry Davidoff in 1986.
Read a book that is first published in or is 75% set in the 1980's.
Required: If the Setting is not evident from the GR description, provide a reference.
5.5- It's a New Year
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The New Year is all about bringing in something new! Celebrate the New Year with something new from last year.
Read a book published 2023 by a new to you author/authors (if multiple authors all authors need to be new to you)
Required: State that the author/authors are new to you
5.6- Christmas Murder Mystery Night
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Need some fun to spend inside on those cold winter nights? Host a Christmas Murder Mystery Night.
Read a MPG Mystery or Christmas. Genres may be embedded or stand alone
5.7- Telephone Pictionary
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A fun party games for the holidays or for those cold nights. All you need is a group of friends, pencils, and paper. Draw those pictures and pass it around. You will laugh for hours!
Read a book with the MPG Art or Manga/comic book/graphic novels/Sequential Art
Genres may be embedded or stand alone
5.8- Polar Bear Plunge
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Every year on January 1st, Polar Bear Plunge Day encourages people to take a dip in cold, freezing waters.
Read book with a cover of at least 70% White according to Tineye. https://labs.tineye.com/color/
Complete directions for using Tineye can be found here: "How Do I Use Tineye?
Required Post the Cover
5.9- Secret Santa
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The Secret Santa tradition goes a long way back, but a famous origin story ties it to Larry Dean Stewart, an American philanthropist and business-owner who gave anonymous gifts during Christmas.
Read a book with a Santa or a gift on the cover.
For this task the Santa needs to be clearly wearing a Santa coat hat ( red with white trim) and the Gift must be a box with a ribbon and/or bow.
Required: Post the Cover
5.10 A Holiday Gift For You
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Read a book of your choice that meets SRC rules.
For this task, a book with the MPG Childrens, Kids, Middle Grade or Juvenile that is NOT found in ARBF may be used