2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

This is where I'll keep track of the monthly/quarterly challenges after they are complete

I'm in. Not sure how many I'll get - I'll aim for 5 but probably get more. Listed a few possibles.

THE NEW BEGINNINGS CHALLENGE
Duration: January 1 - January 31

Let's celebrate the new year with a challenge all about new beginnings!

1. Read a book by an author new to you Heather Blake2. Read a book that was released in the last six months 4. Read a book where the main character starts out on a new part of his or her life 8. “Beginnings” is a song by the group Chicago—read a book whose title shares a main word with the lyrics of the song (lyrics can be found here: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/c/chicago/...) the word is kiss 9. Read a book that is first in a series 10. Read a book by an author whose first or last name starts with the letter A Ally Condie

All About Cupid Challenge
Duration: February 1 - February 28, 2013

Try for 4 3. Long Term Relationship: 6 Tasks

Tasks:
1. It Takes Two To Tango: Read 2 books from the same Romance Series - I read a trilogy (I'm using the first book for #7)

2. The Heart of the Matter: Read a book that either has a heart on the cover or "Heart" in the title.

4. Covers of Color: Read a book that has a cover that is mostly Red or Pink.

6. Breaking Up is Hard to Do: Read a book that you thought you would have liked and actually hated.

7. Holy Matrimony: Read a book that has a bride on the cover, has marriage or wedding or a variation of one of these words in the title - word I associate with marriage is Forever

10. A Date with Prince Charming: Read a book that has a place to go on a date in the title (ex. Movies, beach, dinner, etc.)

January Mini-challenge I will read the following - if I can get them from the library in time. FAIL I'm going to read these but not before the end of January!

1. Any category in the first row (Favorite Book of 2012, Fiction, Mystery & Thriller, Historical Fiction, Fantasy)- I'm next in line at the library
finished 2/10
2. Any category in the second row (Paranormal Fantasy, Science Fiction, Romance, Horror)
finished 2/4
3. Any category in the third row: (Memoir & Autobiography, History & Biography, Nonfiction, Food & Cooking)
2/15 I'll make a couple of recipes from this book over the weekend and be done

Quarterly challenge - 1st quarter Jan-March Completed

Ok, I chose 2 favorite t.v. shows - GRIMM and ONCE UPON A TIME

G John Green R I M M Marcia Lynn McClure
O NNora Roberts CCatherine Coulter EEllen Schreiber
U P O N
A Kelley Armstrong
T I MMadelyn Alt EJanet Evanovich

AWARDS COVER HUNT
Duration: March 1 - March 31, 2013

Our March theme is award winners, so let's explore non-literary awards!

1. The Heisman Trophy is given to the most outstanding player in college football. Read a book with has something related to sports on its cover. in honor of March Madness!

6. The European Inventor Award is awarded to inventors "who have made a significant contribution to innovation, economy and society in Europe." Read a book with an innovative cover. (This one's very open to interpretation!)

7. The Pritzker Architecture Prize is given to an architect who demonstrates "talent, vision, and commitment." Read a book with a building on its cover.

10. The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards recognizes outstanding chefs. Read a book with food on its cover.

11. The winner of the premier series of of NASCAR gets the Sprint Cup Trophy. Read a book with a form of transportation on its cover. a space ship is a mode of transportation - right!?

12. The Merlin Award is an award given to magicians. Read a book with something you consider magical on its cover. humans/wolves turning into wolves/humans and back I consider that magical

It's All About the Oscars and Hollywood Challenge
Duration: January 1, 2013 - March 31, 2013
-finished 21/26
**Since we are starting this challenge a few days late, if you have read a book that completes a category you can backtrack and use it**

Thank you, Sweetpea for this awesome challenge!

1. Reviews will make or break a movie in Hollywood – Read a book with a Goodreads rating of 4 or more stars

2. Word of mouth, "You have to see this movie!" - Read a book recommended to you by a friend

3. The longest movie ever made is called "Modern times Forever." Its a whopping 240 hours long! - Read a long book (500+ pages)

4. Hollywood is in L.A. - Read a book whose author's name (first or surname) begins with L or A Amanda Quick

5. Many great movies started out as books - Read a book that was adapted into a movie - movie is in pre-production

6. It’s award season. Here come the Oscars! - Read a book that has won a major literary award (Man Booker, Pulitzer, Nobel Prize in Literature, etc.)
Hugo Award for Best Novel (1987)

7. Roll out the red carpet - Read a book whose cover is red or whose title is written in red

8. Hollywood is known for its sex, drugs, rock and roll - Read a book that features sex, drugs and/or rock and roll

9. Movies weren't always in colour?! - Read a book whose cover is mainly black and/or white

10. Paparazzi are always spying on celebs - Read a book in which the main character is a spy or is being spied on

12. They pay him how much per movie?! - Read a book in which the main character is rich

13. She dating who!? They broke up?! Celeb relationships are everywhere you look. - Read a book in which a relationship ends or a new relationship begins

14. Movie stars travel worldwide to promote their latest film - Read a book set in a country you would like to visit or have visited (not your home country)

15. Celebs are obsessed with technology such as Facebook and Twitter - Read a book that heavily features social networking or technology

17. February 14th is Valentine's day. Studios release several romantic movies this time of year - Read a book from the romance genre

18. Martha Stewart, Lindsay Lohan, 50cent. They've all spent time in the slammer. - Read a book that is set in a prison or in which the main character is a criminal or police officer

19. Harry Potter, The Godfather, The Lord of the Rings, Shrek. There are many great movie series! - Read a book from a series

22. No matter what the movie is about there's always a bad guy - Read a book in which the main character is a villain or perceived as a villain - Lucien is The Prince of Darkness

24. I'd like to thank my mom and dad... - Read a book that features a child/parent relationship

25. Paranormal Activity, The Omen, The Exorcist. Some films will give you nightmares - Read a book from the horror genre - I'm going with Paranormal Activity here!

26. Cut! And that's a wrap - Read the last book in a series

THE WORD PLAY CHALLENGE
Duration: April 1 - April 30, 2013

Our theme for April is poetry, so we thought we should have some fun with words for this challenge.

1. Palindrome. Read a book with a palindrome in its title, subtitle, or series name (a word that can be read both backwards and forward like “sagas” or “mom”) OR a character - Hannah Swensen mystery

3. Alliteration. Read a book whose title contains alliteration of some sort (words that begin with the same or similar sounds). Examples: The Lies of Locke Lamora, Pride and Prejudice

4. Anagram. Read a book that you can, using the first letters of the title, spell a word from. You do not need to use all of the letters, and they do not need to be in order. Examples: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (DEAD), In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin (HALF or LOAF or FLAT, etc.)the full title of this book is: Prodigy: a Legend Novel - so my word is PLAN

5. Homophone. Read a book with a title containing a homophone (a word that is pronounced the same as another word but differs in meaning) Examples: Cannery Row (row a boat versus a row of chairs), The Handmaid's Tale (tale versus tail) mourning/morning

7. Pseudonym. Read a book by an author who has assumed a pen name under which the book was published. J.D. Robb also known as Nora Roberts

May Spell-Out Challenge:
Duration: May 1 - May 31, 2013

What do you first think of when you hear about the month of May? Choose a word or more than one word to spell out this month. You can use the title of the book (excluding A, An, and The),the first or last initial of the author, or the first letter in the name of the main character (first or last initial)

DONE

C Cassandra Clare

A Lucy Arlington

M Richelle Mead

P P.C. Cast

I

N Stephanie Nielson

G

Mini-challenge:
Duration: May 1 - May 31, 2013
I'll try for 3 -only got 2
1) Read a book from the decade you were born. Started but didn't finish :(

3) Read a book from the decade your favorite author was born. both born in the 50's Nora Roberts John Grishamdone

4) Read a book from the decade you choose. I'm choosing our current decade!done

DECADES QUARTERLY CHALLENGE
Duration: April 1 - June 30, 2013

We will be focusing on different decades over this three month period. We will be able to learn a little history while reading.

The objective of this challenge is to either read a book from each decade or choose something that occured during the decade to read about. Here are our decades and some specific examples for reading...

1950-1959: First organ transplant, Soviet Satellite Sputnik, Antarctica becomes Scientific preserve, etc.

1990-1999: Collapse of Soviet Union, Internet becomes popular, Mad Cow Disease, etc.

2000-2009: 9/11, First Black President (US)

2010-present: read anything you want from 2010-present

KELSI'S ROYALTY CHALLENGE
Duration: June 1 - June 30
I'll try for 3-4 Duchess, Read 5 so I'm a Princess!
Our theme for June is royalty, and Kelsi created this challenge for the group.

1. Suleimon I of the Ottoman Empire r. 1494-1566 was known for conquering much of the Middle East and for reforming the criminal, tax and education systems. Read a book that is set in the Middle East or includes taxes, education, or criminal delinquency as a major topic.

2. James I of England. r. 1603-1625 was a lover of literature and the fine arts. Read a book you deem a great work of literature. (Up for interpretation and based solely on your opinion!)

3. John III of Poland-Lithuania r. 1674-1696 was brilliant both militarily and politically. Read a book where war or politics is central to the plot.

4. Henry VIII of England r. 1509-1547. There are a plethora of books on this monarch and his six wives. Read a book of fiction or non-fiction that is based on his or his wives’ life OR read a book set in England.

5. Louis XIV of France r. 1643-1715 Louis built the palace of Versailles and was all about dancing, parties, and showing his wealth off. He even invented ballet. Read a book that involves a party

6. Catherine the Great of Russia 1762-1796 was Russia’s longest ruling female. Read a book with a strong, independent heroine.

7. Queen Victoria of England 1837-1901 was Britain’s longest ruling monarch, who expanded English territory to take up a quarter of the world during her reign. The Victorian Era takes its’ name after her. Read a book set in the Victorian Era (1840-1910).

8. Isabella and Ferdinand of Castile and Aragon r. 1474-1504. The Spanish Inquisition ladies and gentlemen! Read a book where religion is closely related to the plot or is the main theme of the book.

9. Napoleon Bonaparte of France r. 1804-1814/15 came to rule after the French Revolution and created a French empire. He was either killed by cancer or by stomach poisoning (arsenic). Read a book in which a death takes place under dubious circumstances.

10. Julius Caesar of Rome r. 60-44 BCE was a Roman consul who contributed to the fall of the Roman Republic. Numerous biographies were written about him, most notably one by Suetonius. Read a biography on any figure you are interested in.


Levels
Lord/Lady: 1-2 books
Duke/Duchess: 3-4
Prince/Princess: 5-7 books
King/Queen: 8-10 books

August Types of Nonfiction Challenge
Duration: August 1 - 30, 2013

This challenge is about the different types of nonfiction books. You have two choices: read that type of nonfiction book OR do the task instead. Either counts towards this one!

1. Autobiography. Read an autobiography OR read a book told in the first person.

2. Diary. Read a diary OR read a book written in diary entries or letters. Some examples can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of... currently reading - ok didn't finish until 9/3

3. Dictionary. You're probably not going to read a whole dictionary, so instead, read a book whose title is only a single word that can be found in the dictionary. Examples: Speak, Dune

4. History. Read a nonfiction book about history OR read a book that takes place over 100 years ago.

5. Philosophy. Read a book of philosophy OR read a book in which the protagonist must make an ethical decision of some sort. (Don't forget to mark spoilers!)

6. Self-help. Read a self-help book OR read a book in which one character gives advice to another.

7. Popular science. Read a science book OR read a science fiction book.

8. Travel writing. Read a travel writing book OR read a book that takes place in a country that you would like to visit.

August Spell Out Challenge

We're at the tail end of summer! Spell out a word that makes you think about summer. Examples: SUN, BEACH, VACATION, etc. Whatever comes to mind for you!

For this challenge, you can use ANY letter in a book's title or any of the author's initials. Each book can only be used once.

Here is what I plan to read - I have these books either checked out from the library or on my kindle ...
B
DONE
E
DONE
A
DONE
C
DONE
H
DONE

I'll try for 2
September's Labor Day Mini Challenge
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2013

Labor day falls on the second day of September. In the US, it's the day we celebrate what everyday workers do for the well being of their country.

1. Read a book that highlights a particular worker (teacher, doctor, writer, etc). bounty hunter

2. Read a book in which someone achieves his or her career goal.

3. Read a book where a parent or guardian is a workaholic.

4. Read a book that has a character that does what you dream to do. It would be "interesting" to be a private investigator

5. Labor Day also marks the official last day of summer, so read a book you've been dying to read all summer but haven't gotten to it yet.

I'll try for 4

September's Back to School Challenge
Duration: September 1 - 30, 2013

1. Math. Read a book with three digits for its total page count in which the first two digits added together equal the third. Examples: 134, 257, 178.

2. Foreign Language. Read a book initially written in a language that's not one you speak.

3. Art. Read a book whose cover has all three primary colors (red, yellow, blue) on it.

4. Music. Read a book in which the main character is musical or plays a musical instrument.

5. Chemistry. Read a book whose title contains at least one word with three letters or more that can be spelled with the abbreviations of chemical elements. (Click here for a link to the periodic table.) Examples: A Scanner Darkly (Scanner = S Ca N N Er), Quidditch Through the Ages (Ages = Ag Es)

6. History. Read a book classified as historical fiction.

7. Geography. Read a book that takes place in a country you've never visited. England

8. Creative writing. Read a book you consider to be "creatively" written. Maybe it takes a unique point of view or isn't written in standard prose. This is up to your interpretation, so have fun with it.

9. Government. Read a book that is about politics or has a character who participates in politics in some way.

10. Recess. Freebie! Read a book of your choice just for fun.

I Spy Challenge
Duration: July 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

1. I spy elements from the Periodic Table: Silver, Gold, Neon, etc. Steel is not an element. Rather it is the combination of two elements: iron (Fe) and carbon (C)so I'm counting it!

2. I spy celestial bodies: Planets, stars, galaxies, MOON etc.

5. I spy magical beings: witches, wizards, elves, etc.

9. I spy a body of water: ocean, river, lake, etc.

12. I spy countries in Europe: England

3rd Quarter Challenge: Authors!
Duration: July 1, 2013 - September 30, 2013

Most of our challenges are based on books, but we thought we could do with a change, so this challenge is entirely based on authors.

2. Read a book by an author from your home country. - she's from the same state! :)

4. Read a book by a new-to-you author.

5. Read a book by an author who's known for a genre you don't primarily read. - I don't think this author is "known" for this genre but it is definitely a genre I don't read - horror

7. Read a book by an author born in the same decade as you. (If you are born in or after 1990, you may read an author born in the 80s.)

9. Read a book by a self-published author (the book you read does not have to be self-published, but the author must have self-published at some point in his or her career).
I'm sure someone I read was self-published at one time just don't know who :)
10. Read a book by a Goodreads author.

12. Read a book by an author who has published more than 15 books by July 1, 2013.

13. Read a book by an author who has fewer than 25 fans. (See the number of fans on an author's profile.)

14. Read a book by an author who has greater than 1,000 fans.

15. Read a book by your favorite author.Richelle Mead

FINISHED!

The Favorites Challenge
Duration: January 1 – December 31, 2013

Category 1:
Favorite weather:
S U M M E R
Marcia Lynn McClure Elizabeth Haynes

Category 2:
Favorite Genre:
YOUNG ADULT

Rick Yancey Stephanie Nielson John Green

Ally Condie

Category 3:
Favorite Author: read at least 3 books by your favorite author.
**Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb


Category 4:
Favorite Holiday:
C H R I S T M A S
Rachel Caine Jennifer L. Armentrout
Category 5:
Favorite Sport:
BASKETBALL


Let’s learn about each other and our favorites! Have fun with this yearly challenge! :)

THE CLUE CHALLENGE
Duration: October 1 - 31, 2013

Clue, or Cluedo outside North America, is a popular board game that matches our October theme, cozy mysteries. Mix and match the suspects, weapons, and rooms to "solve" the mystery! Each book you use for this challenge must have all three elements: the color that matches the suspect, the weapon that matches the title, and the room that matches the author.

You can reuse suspects, weapons, and rooms as long as the final answer is different in at least one element than a previous answer you've done. For example, if you use "Mrs. Peacock with the rope in the ballroom," you can't use it again, but you could use "Mrs. Peacock with the rope in the conservatory."


Suspects
The cover must contain the color of the suspect:
Miss Scarlett - Red
Colonel Mustard - Yellow
Mrs. White - White
Reverend Green - Green
Mrs. Peacock - Blue
Professor Plum - Purple

Weapons
One of the words in the title of the book must start with the same first letter as the weapon:
Candlestick - C
Knife - K
Lead Pipe - L
Revolver - R
Rope - R
Wrench - W

Rooms
One of the author's names must start with the same first letter as the room:
Kitchen - K
Ballroom - B
Conservatory - C
Dining Room - D
Lounge - L
Hall - H
Study - S
Billiard Room - B
Library - L

The plan ...
Professor Plum with the wrench in the loungedone

Rev. Green with the revolver in the study (with a little help from Pro. Plum!)done

Mrs. Peacock with the lead pipe in the library done

THE COSTUME MINI CHALLENGE
Duration: October 1 - 31, 2013

Below are the top five costumes, per the LA Times, in 2012. Read a book that suits each costume.


1. Zombie. Read a book that contains zombies OR read a book that's classified as "horror." done

4. Vampire. Read a book that contains vampires OR read a book classified as "paranormal."this book had "blood" incubus' - sound like vampires to me - odd that I haven't read a book with an actual vampire this month - done

5. Witch. This costume is a timeless classic. Read a book that contains witches OR read a book classified as a classic. done

THE DUSTY NOVEMBER CHALLENGE
Duration: November 1 - 30, 2013
trying for 6 - got 4
The word "dusty" has many different meanings. To create this challenge, we ran it through a Google search, and all the tasks are inspired by the results.

2. Urban Dictionary, Dusty: describes someone or something that's ugly and/or badly dressed. Read a book with a cover you consider to be ugly. read

4. Dusty: slightly gray, somewhat dark or dull in color. Read a book with a dark cover. read

7. Dusty Groove: Jazz, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Brazil Latin, and more... Read a book whose title shares a word with a title of one of your favorite songs. Make sure to tell us the name of the song! song would be The Devil Went Down to Georgia - Charlie Daniel's Band

10. Dusty Davidson (dustyd) on Twitter. Read a book whose author has the same initial for both his or her first and last names. Catherine Coulter

Trying for 3
GOODREADS NOVEMBER EVENTS MINI CHALLENGE
Duration: November 1 - 30, 2013

There are lots of exciting things happening in November both on Goodreads and in this group. This challenge is to get pumped up and celebrate them.

1. The Goodreads Choice Awards. All three rounds of voting are in November to determine the favorite books of 2013 of Goodreads users. For this task, read a book published in 2013. (All books published in 2013 are eligible.)

2. Group Reads. For the first time ever, we have TWO group reads. Read one of the group reads OR read a book that comes with a pair (i.e., a book that has a sequel or prequel). read last month's group read, this month. It also happens to be a pair or more realistically part of a series

3. 2014 Yearly Challenges. We'll start posting 2014 challenges this month. Double-dip by reading a book that qualifies for one of our 2013 Yearly Challenges that you're participating in. also qualifies for the member's challenge - April Lyn's challenge - read book about someone who is homeless