The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

25.4 - Sandy’s Task: On This Day in History
Let’s revisit events of the last day of each month of this season’s challenge! For this task, you will read two books. There are two choices for each month, but your two books must come from different months.
REQUIRED: For any task in which the requirement is not obvious from the title or author, you must explain how your book fits the task.

A. December
1. On December 31, 1879, the cornerstone was laid for the Iolani palace, the only royal palace in the United States (no, I know Hawaii wasn’t part of the US in 1879 – but the palace still exists). Read a book with the words palace, king, queen, prince or princess in the title, or one in which a king, queen, prince or princess is a significant character. For the title option, plurals and possessives may be used, but no other variations on the words.
OR
2. On December 31, 2009, there was both a blue moon and a lunar eclipse. Read a book with the words blue, moon, lunar or eclipse in the title, or one with a picture of the moon on the cover. If you use the cover option, you must post the cover when claiming points for the task. For the title option, plurals and possessives may be used, but no other variations on the words. This list may help you get started, with the usual caution about GR lists: Books with Moons on the Cover

B. January
1. On January 31, 1880, an ice railway was opened between Longueuil and Montreal by the Quebec, Montreal, Ottawa and Occidental Railway. Read a book with “ice” in the title or author’s name. The letters must be directly in sequence with no other letters intervening and must appear in the same word. Examples: Holidays on Ice, Think Twice, Anne Rice
OR
2. On January 31, 1886, the U.S. government ordered all Native Americans to move onto reservations. Read a book written by a Native American author or in which one or more Native Americans are the main character(s). These lists may help you get started, but the usual caveat applies – not all books on the list may fit the task.
Native American Fiction
Native American Writers

C. February
1. On February 29, 1692, Sarah Good and Tituba were accused of witchcraft in Salem, MA. Read a book in which magic or witchcraft is important to the plot.
OR
2. On February 29, 1968, Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band won 4 Grammy awards, including Best album. Read a book the title of which contains a word from the title of one of the songs from Sergeant Pepper. A, an, and the cannot be used. Plurals (or the singular form of plural words) and possessives may be used, but no other variations on the words. Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band Track Listing

Fine choices:
December #1:
Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Beauty Queens
Shadow Music
)The Sugar Queen

December #2:
Graffiti Moon
Moondogs (picture of moon on cover)
The School of Night
The Dark Lantern: A Novel

January #1:
Holidays on Ice
Pride and Prejudice

January #2:
Lakota Love Song
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West
Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World
The Birchbark House

February #1:
Visions of Skyfire
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
The Oathbound
Garden Spells
The Sugar Queen


February #2:
The Unbearable Lightness of Being
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Not so good:

February #1:
Grave Surprise
Please keep in mind that magic/witchcraft is not the same thing as paranormal or psychic abilities. A book about zombies or vampires would not work, unless someone in the book is performing magic - similarly, a book about someone who has the innate ability to read minds (like Sookie Stackhouse, in the Charlaine Harris books) would not be about magic or witchcraft.

This thread is now open.

Oh, I like this task! There's a lot of options without it being incredibly easy to find books. I enjoy having a bit of a quest :)

April wrote: "Will Beautiful Darkness work for C1?"

I've never read it and it's not clear from the description whether magic or witchcraft is important to the plot. Perhaps someone who has read it could say.

Changed my mind. Going to use The Jane Austen Book Club

Club in book title and St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

I love this task! I kind of wish I could do one from each... :) For A1 I'm down to: Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. And for C1 A Discovery of Witches, which I've been meaning to read for months. Awesome task, Sandy! :)

I've chosen Graffiti Moon for December, and Holidays on Ice (finally an excuse to read it)

I have chosen Beauty Queens for December and Pride and PrejudICE for January do these work?

★Meghan★ wrote: "I have chosen Beauty Queens for December and Pride and PrejudICE for January do these work?"

They both look fine to me.

I love the task! I can't wait to put on my Sergeant Pepper's album while I think about which books to use.

Dec:
Option 1
Feb:
Option 2
Would these work?

I'll be reading Moondogs for December (Option 2) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being for February (Option 2, "Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite").

ohh, me likey!!

i'm going to go with Lakota Love Song (Jan, B) and Visions of Skyfire (Feb, A) - in the second one, witches are hunted for being different

Will Grave Surprise work for C1?

Anomander wrote: "Dec:
Option 1

The GR description lists a princess as the central character, so this is a great choice for this option.

Feb:
Option 2
Would these work?"
I don't see how this fits Feb.#2 - maybe you mean February #1? If so, I can't tell from the GR description whether magic or witchcraft (or accusations of magic/witchcraft, as in Salem) is actually involved.

Not everything paranormal would involve magic/witchcraft - for instance, I don't think most vampire/zombie books would work.

Nonodisco wrote: "I'll be reading Moondogs for December (Option 2) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being for February (Option 2, "Being For Mr. Kite)."

Both will work. Moondogs wouldn't work for the title, because plurals/possessives are the only variations allowed on the word "moon" - but since there's a big picture of the moon on the cover, you're good to go!

Dee wrote: "ohh, me likey!!

i'm going to go with Lakota Love Song (Jan, B) and Visions of Skyfire (Feb, A) - in the second one, witches are hunted for being different"

sound like good choices, Dee.

Tineke wrote: "Will Grave Surprise work for C1?"

Sorry, the Harper Connelly books don't work as magic/witchcraft. She isn't casting spells or doing magical rites - it's a psychic ability she has.

Sandy wrote: "Tineke wrote: "Will Grave Surprise work for C1?"

Sorry, the Harper Connelly books don't work as magic/witchcraft. She isn't casting spells or doing magical rites - it's a psychic..."
Okay, didn't know about that. I have already found another slot for it. Thanks!

For February option 1 would The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane work?

thanks!

Michelle wrote: "For February option 1 would The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane work?

thanks!"

sounds good to me.

Sandy wrote: "Anomander wrote: "Dec:
Option 1

The GR description lists a princess as the central character, so this is a great choice for this option.

Feb:
Option 2 [book..."

Sandy, I'll read it and show you the review for the book. You can tell me if its suiting the task, okay?

Anomander wrote: "Sandy, I'll read it and show you the review for the book. You can tell me if its suiting the task, okay? "

Sure, I can do that. Or, if you read it and it does involve magic/witchcraft, you can just explain that in your completed task posting

Okay, thanks!

Katrina wrote: "Oh, I like this task! There's a lot of options without it being incredibly easy to find books. I enjoy having a bit of a quest :)"

Thanks! That's what I was shooting for........

Randi wrote: "I love this task! I kind of wish I could do one from each... :) For A1 I'm down to: Hush: An Irish Princess' Tale or A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court. And for..."

Thanks, Randi. All these books sound like great choices.

Is Julie Kagawa native american? Probably the type of question that gives me away as NOT being from anywhere around there, but hey... :)

Nonodisco wrote: "I'll be reading Moondogs for December (Option 2) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being for February (Option 2, "Being For Mr. Kite)."

Moondogs is a fantastic read! I hope you like it.

Dionisia wrote: "Nonodisco wrote: "I'll be reading Moondogs for December (Option 2) and The Unbearable Lightness of Being for February (Option 2, "Being For Mr. Kite)."

[book:Moondogs|87..."

Moondogs seems right up my alley! I think I was lucky to find it among the ravaged shelves during the Borders close-out sale. I'm definitely excited to read it :)

I am hoping to use The Oathbound for C1. The blubs that I have found talk about sorcery, using magical skills and using magical swords.

Will this work? Thanks

Sandy wrote: "April wrote: "Will Beautiful Darkness work for C1?"

I've never read it and it's not clear from the description whether magic or witchcraft is important to the plot. Perhaps someo..."

It definitely has magic - lots of it. There may be a witch among the many people with paranormal abilities, but he or she isn't one of the leading characters. I liked the book very much. If you haven't read Beautiful Creatures, I would definitely recommend starting with that one.

May I read , Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West for the Native American Option, please?
And Garden Spells or The Sugar Queen for the magic option?

Thank you Sandy for your hard work.

Would you say this is a moon? I think that's a moon in the "O":

Katy wrote: "Would you say this is a moon? I think that's a moon in the "O":
"

I think so. It looks like a moon, it's in the sky, and the book title and description talk about night, so I'd say you're good to go on this one.

Anne (Booklady) wrote: "May I read , Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American West for the Native..."

These are fine. The Sugar Queen also works for December option 1 (queen in title)

Chris wrote: "It definitely has magic - lots of it. There may be a witch among the many people with paranormal abilities, but he or she isn't one of the leading characters. I liked the book very much. If you haven't read Beautiful Creatures, I would definitely recommend starting with that one. . ..."

Thanks for the info, Chris!

Can I use Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the Beatles' song "Being for the Benifit of Mr. Kite" (Mr.)

Sandy wrote: "Anne (Booklady) wrote: "May I read , [book:Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee: An Indian History of the American W..."

Thanks Sandy!

Lahni wrote: "Can I use Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the Beatles' song "Being for the Benifit of Mr. Kite" (Mr.)"

yes

Thanks

Is there enough of a moon on this cover to use for A.2.? It's behind the clouds in the upper rh.

Nick wrote: "Is there enough of a moon on this cover to use for A.2.? It's behind the clouds in the upper rh. "

yes, there's enough to see that it's a moon. Please point it out when you post, though.

Sarah wrote: "Is Julie Kagawa native american? Probably the type of question that gives me away as NOT being from anywhere around there, but hey... :)"

I googled her, but couldn't find anywhere that mentioned her being Native American.

Hettie wrote: "I am hoping to use The Oathbound for C1. The blubs that I have found talk about sorcery, using magical skills and using magical swords.

Will this work? Thanks"

Hettie, I'm sorry, I seem to have skipped over your question. This book works just fine - I've read it and there's a lot of magic involved.

Sandy wrote: "Hettie, I'm sorry, I seem to have skipped over your question. This book works just fine - I've read it and there's a lot of magic involved. "

Thanks Sandy. You had a bombardment of queries all at once and there has only been a slight delay in replying so I'm not sure I would even count that as a skip!

I'm glad I've found a place for this books as it is the next in the series for me to read.Now I just need to find a book that fits in the task!

I was wondering if this book would qualify for February #1 (witchcraft):

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The synopsis says the main character is accused of witchcraft.

Question #2: If this book does qualify for February #1, do I have to wait until February to read it or can it be read at any time during the challenge period?

Darlene wrote: "I was wondering if this book would qualify for February #1 (witchcraft):

The Witch of Blackbird Pond

The synopsis says the main character is accused of witchcraft.

Question #2: If ..."

yes, it sounds as if it fits and you can read it any time during the challenge.

Is this ok for B2: The Birchbark House