The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

This is the thread where you can submit a task idea for the 50 Point Task contest. The thread is now open for submissions and will close at Midnight Eastern time on January 5th. Voting will start the next day, January 6th and will close at the end of the day on January 12th. If the moderators determine that the vote is close, a 3-day runoff poll will be held. The person whose idea gets the most votes will host the 50 point task for the Winter Challenge.

The 50 point task will require:
1. Only 3 options. These options may not include more than 2 "sub options" - 6 total in the task.
2. One book per option.
3. Three books totaling at least 750 pages. Your task idea may require a higher page threshold but this must be disclosed in your entry.
4. No books with the genres children or kids on the main book page may be used.
5. Books whose main page lists any of these genres: Sequential Art, Comics, Comic Book, or Manga may not be used.
6. No “free choice” options will be allowed. This is a challenge, so tasks that have no element of challenge do not fit the purpose.
7. A task must be accessible to the majority of players, i.e. not limited to a specific format, edition, publisher, etc. and reviewable by the moderators.

Anyone eligible* to design a task may submit an idea for a task that follows the general guidelines above. Your idea should be a sketch that may be developed with the moderators.

* To be eligible to create a task, the player’s profile must be set up to accept Goodreads messages, and they must not have a task in the current challenge. Only one task per person per challenge.


The group will vote to determine the 50 point task. All ideas that fit the general guidelines will be included in a poll. The poll winner will develop their idea with the moderators to refine their task. The final task may differ from the original idea submission. The task will be posted as close to the midpoint as reasonably possible. The task creator will monitor and answer questions in the help thread.

Please include your Readerboard name and a title for your task. The entries will be listed by Readerboard name and task title in the poll. Please include only one task idea entry per post.

PLEASE DO NOT comment on people's entries in this thread - this is for submissions only - you will be able to comment when voting begins. Comments in this thread will be deleted.

Trishhartuk’s suggestion: The Spirits of the Past, the Present and the Future

Read three books totalling at least 750 pages.
No books with the genres childrens 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, 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 written since 2020 (i.e. 2021-onwards), with a contemporary setting or about contemporary issues.

Book 3: The Future

A Christmas Carol can be considered to be in the Fantasy genre, as well as a Classic. Read a book by an author that writes both contemporary fiction and in the science fiction and/or fantasy genres, for example: Emily St. John Mandel, Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb, Iain Banks/Iain M. Banks, Joanne Harris/Joanne M. Harris.

You can use either a contemporary or SF/fantasy book, which can be written either under the author’s usual 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.

More, more, more.

Read three books totalling at least 750 pages.
No books with the genres childrens 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.

Read 3 books where each next book has at least 50 pages more the one before.

Why not 50!

Read three books totalling at least 750 pages.
No books with the genres childrens 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.

For each book the number of pages must contain a “5” and a “0”.

50 Shades of Grey

Fifty Shades of Grey some like it, some don’t. However for this task you are invited to read three books related to grey. Read 3 books from the following options. Each option may be used more times.

1. 50% of the cover must be grey.
2. The letters from the word GREY must be somewhere in the title.
3. The letters from the word GREY must be somewhere in the name of the authors.

Laurah30
Game Night!

During the winter season, we gather with friends and family and play games as a way to spend time together. This task pays homage to 3 popular games that we grew up playing throughout the years.

Read one book per option. Total page count must be 750 pages or more.
No books with the genres childrens 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.


Option 1 Charades
The old classic game always comes out when we have the grandkids and kids over. Our family is known to be quite vocal so the challenge for us is to act out the person/place/thing without speaking!
For this task, choose a book which features a main character who is an actor or actress.

Option 2 Murder Mystery
Recently we attended a murder mystery party where all of the guests were involved in solving the drama that took place.
For this option, choose a book with a MPG of mystery or true crime.

Option 3 Card Night
Our favourite pastime is to play cards with our friends. We usually play UNO, Rummy, Tick or Wizards. Interestingly, these games all feature a one word title. Choose a book with a one word title that starts with the letters in UNO, Rummy, Tick or Wizards.

Michelle in Alaska - Colors of the Wind.

This task is inspired by the song “Colors of the Wind” from Disney’s Pocahontas, my favorite Disney movie. The song is rich with imagery and draws the listener in with compelling and thought-provoking language.

This is a 3-book task. Pick one book from each option. The three books must total 750+ pages.
No books with children, kids or related genres on the main book page may be used.

Option 1: Colors.

A. Read a book that has at least 5 distinct colors on the cover, according to Tineye.
-OR-
B. Read a book that has none of the primary colors (i.e., red, blue, or yellow) on the cover, according to Tineye.

Option 2: Language.

A. Read a book with one of the following words in the title (ignore subtitles): moon, Earth, rock, spirit, pine, mountain, wind, sun, rainstorm
-OR-
B. Read a book with a question in the title (ignore subtitles). For the purposes of this task, a question mark must be in the title.

Option 3: Imagery.
A. Read a book with a forest or woods on the cover. For the purposes of this task, five or more trees must be distinctly countable by their trunks.
No, doesn't work: or
Yes, does work:

-OR-

B. Read a book with both land and a natural body of water on the cover. A river, creek, stream, lake, pond, or ocean will work as long as you can see both the shore/coast/land and the water. Pools will not work.
No, doesn't work:
Yes, does work: