Book Snails Book Group discussion
Fun & Games
>
May 2017: Daily Book Tasks
date
newest »
newest »
Apologies for not getting these out by May 1st. Allison is super-busy with finals week. Hopefully she'll be able to relax a bit and catch up with us Snails soon! Thanks to Ev (our not-entirely-crazy Book Lady) for coming up with half of these book activities for May...
Can you guess which one of us did days 1-16, and who did 17-31?
~~~~~~
You go, Kelsey! This discussion's only been up for 10 minutes, and she's already caught up :)
May 1: Name 2 book characters you'd ♥ to meet in real life, OR one book character you've dreamed about.Two characters I'd love to meet are Franklin Blake, from The Moonstone, because I'm in love with him, (he's an intelligent and well traveled scholar with a beard!) and Marion Halcombe from The Woman in White, because she's absolutely amazing :)
May 2: Count the # of hardcover books on the bookshelves nearest to you.
Since I work in a library and don't want to be doing this task for an hour, I'll just count our return shelves. Right now, there's 23 hardcovers on them.
May 3: Rearrange words of a book title so that it still makes sense, OR is silly.
Ex: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants --> Traveling Pants of the Sisterhood
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire --> The Harry Goblet of Potter and Fire
May 4: Read 3 or more pages in a book that has illustrations.
The book I finished yesterday, Lost in Shangri-la: A True Story of Survival, Adventure, and the Most Incredible Rescue Mission of World War II had pictures in it. Not technically illustrations, but, basically the same thing.
May 5: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, name a book that either is written by a Mexican author, or takes place at least partly in Mexico. Alternatively, list a book in which a fiesta (party!) occurs.
May 6: Read an author's short biography on Goodreads, their website, or on the back page/slip of a physical book.
I read about Carmen Boullosa. She's a leading writer in Mexico. Her works are hard to categorize, but she focuses on feminism and gender roles, two of my favorite things :) She's also won a lot of awards!
May 7: Choose Your Own Book-related Task! What did you come up with?
I came up with the 'reorganize your bookshelves' task, which I had to do anyway, so I thought that I might as well make it a task! Originally, I just put my books on my shelves as they came, but I decided to actually organize them, so I have entire shelves now dedicated to WWII, the American Revolution, Queens and other history, black history, the supernatural, classics, Victorian Lit, ect.
May 8: Read the FIRST chapter in a book you've been meaning to start for a while.
I read the prologue to The Swans of Fifth Avenue, because I'm a little pressed for time today, and the prologue was only three pages. I'm looking to start the book very soon, within the next two weeks or so!
May 9: Create a small note (or Post-It note) with a poem, haiku, quote, or inspiring/interesting saying. Place your note inside a book that you will give away or donate this month.
I wrote, "Life is to be lived, not controlled; and humanity is won by continuing to play in the face of certain defeat," by Ralph Ellison. I don't know what book I'll put it in yet, but I am getting rid of some, so I'll figure it out :)
May 10: Name a book that was highly recommended, but which you thought was sub-par or awful.
The Girl on the Train. I bought it at a yard sale because everyone on Goodreads and the internet were freaking out about it, saying it was amazing. The person I bought it from also said it was a great book, and, well... To be frank, I absolutely hated it.
May 11: Share the LAST sentence of the next chapter you read.
"I finished my coffee, slid the empty cup into my open purse. And I waited."
May 12: Read at least 2 pages of a book out loud (to yourself, or to someone else). Bonus if you record it and play it back afterwards, without laughing!
So I recorded myself, and, man, do I hate the sound of my voice! But it was funny :)
May 13: Color in a coloring book or activity book. If you have none, see alternate task d) below
I don't have a physical coloring book, but I do have one of those coloring apps, so I did that!
May 14: Your choice: Read a short story OR read 3 poems.
I read three poems out of Straw for the Fire: From the Notebooks of Theodore Roethke.
May 15: Try reading an entire page in a book.... with one eye closed (or your hand covering one eye). Was it easy, or difficult?
Difficult! My eyesight is very bad, but my right eye is even worse, so my contacts are different prescriptions, and when only one eye is working, it's hard to focus!
May 16: Alternate task: a) Name a book that made you hungry, OR one that made you nauseous.
First Frost made me so hungry! It's set during autumn, and one of the characters is a chef who uses a certain type of magic in her food. All the recipes sounded so good!
May 17: Name a book title that contains all vowels.
Eunoia by Christian Bök. I cheated a little :P
May 18: Flip to page 160 in any book and list the first word your finger lands on. List it here. That word describes your compassion level.
Admired. That's true, I think. I tend to admire a lot of people.
May 19: Name a book character you would like to do battle with. Who would win?
Count Fosco, from The Woman in White! He tries to send a woman to an asylum so he can take her money, but it's another woman who outsmarts him (which, back in the 1800's, was HUGE), so I'd say I would win!
May 20: Name a non-fiction history book you would recommend for us Snails to read.
I would recommend The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust. It's such an interesting read! It's about a Jewish woman who pretends she's Catholic and marries a Nazi officer to give herself protection, but what's so interesting about it is that the entire book is told by a Jewish woman who lived, and sometimes thrived, in Nazi Germany, with almost no one knowing who she really was. It's such a different perspective than the books usually written about WWII, and my review, if you choose to read it, is glowing!
May 21: Make a mini-playlist (10 songs or less) for a book you're reading.
I'm currently reading The Swans of Fifth Avenue which takes place from the 1950's-1970's, so here's my playlist:
"New York, New York," by Frank Sinatra
"Crazy," by Patsy Cline
"A Boy Named Sue," by Johnny Cash
"You Make Me Feel So Young," by Frank Sinatra
"I Heard it Through the Grapevine," by Marvin Gaye
"Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me," by Rosemary Clooney
"Big Girls Don't Cry," by The Four Seasons
"You're So Vain," by Carly Simon
"Another One Bites the Dust," by Queen
That was fun! I made sure my songs made sense to the story, and went in chronological order :)
May 22: See how many of these words you can find while reading today (anything you read, not just books. It can be a street sign, store window advertisement, etc.):
special, twist, garden, dirt, floppy, grievance, tidy, wonder, star, avenue
I saw garden, wonder, star, avenue, and special.
May 23: Read 15 pages today.
I read 47, out of The Swans of Fifth Avenue.
May 24: List books you own that have wildflowers on the cover.
I own over 200 books so I can't list all of them :P but the ones that come to mind are:
I'm sure there are many many more, but I can't think of others right now!
May 25: Read from a biography today.
May 26: Read 5 pages and count how many words you found starting with the letter, "s." What was the best or strangest "s" word you found?
May 27: Name a book you've been wanting to read a long time but haven't gotten around to it.
May 28. Pick up a book, and roll a die. On pages that ends with the # you rolled, list the first and last words on each page.
(Ex: You roll a "2" -- list first & last words on page 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, etc.)
May 29: Read 10 pages and see if you can find five synonyms in any of those pages.
(Ex: smiled & grinned, red & crimson, etc.)
May 30: Finish this sentence with a word or phrase from a book you're reading. Name the book and page as well: "I swallowed......"
May 31: Read however many pages you can today.
Mod
May 1: Name 2 book characters you'd ♥ to meet in real life, OR one book character you've dreamed about.
5/3/17 - Harry Potter and Hermione Granger (and Ron Weasley) :-)
May 2: Count the # of hardcover books on the bookshelves nearest to you.
5/3/17 - 65
May 3: Rearrange words of a book title so that it still makes sense, OR is silly.
Ex: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants --> Traveling Pants of the Sisterhood
5/3/17 - The Lost World as The World Lost
May 4: Read 3 or more pages in a book that has illustrations.
5/6/17 - Read 99 pages in My Secret Guide to Paris, which has illustrations at the beginning of every chapter.
May 5: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, name a book that either is written by a Mexican author, or takes place at least partly in Mexico. Alternatively, list a book in which a fiesta (party!) occurs.
5/9/17 - The Venom Business begins in Mexico (specifically Yucatan).
May 6: Read an author's short biography on Goodreads, their website, or on the back page/slip of a physical book.
5/9/17 - Since I plan on reading Before I Fall this month, I read Lauren Oliver's Goodreads biography.
May 7: Choose Your Own Book-related Task! What did you come up with?
Read at least one chapter from each book you're currently reading
5/17/17
Before I Fall: 1 chapter
The Mysterious Affair at Styles: 5 chapters
Prime-Time Pitcher: 2 chapters
Strangers on a Train: 6 chapters
May 8: Read the FIRST chapter in a book you've been meaning to start for a while.
5/8/17 - Read the first chapter of Strangers on a Train which has been on my TBR for a while.
May 9: Create a small note (or Post-It note) with a poem, haiku, quote, or inspiring/interesting saying. Place your note inside a book that you will give away or donate this month.
May 10: Name a book that was highly recommended, but which you thought was sub-par or awful.
5/9/17 - The Dinner, recommended to me by someone at Book Club. She gave it 5/5 stars on Goodreads. I gave it 1/5 stars.
May 11: Share the LAST sentence of the next chapter you read.
5/9/17 - "He didn't like the idea of its spending the night in Bruno's room, or of Bruno's touching it and opening it." Strangers on a Train
May 12: Read at least 2 pages of a book out loud (to yourself, or to someone else). Bonus if you record it and play it back afterwards, without laughing!
5/17/17 - Read Finding Nemo: The Surprise Party out loud to my son (p. 157-174 in Disney Bedtime Favorites)
May 13: Color in a coloring book or activity book. If you have none, see alternate task d) below
5/17/17 - Colored a picture of Elmo in a Sesame Street coloring book with my 19 mo. old son. Wish I could post a picture!
May 14: Your choice: Read a short story OR read 3 poems.
5/17/17 - Read Finding Nemo: The Surprise Party in Disney Bedtime Favorites
May 15: Try reading an entire page in a book.... with one eye closed (or your hand covering one eye). Was it easy, or difficult?
5/17/17 - Prime-Time Pitcher - Not the first time I've done this (my dad is blind in his right eye)... It's not hard, but not easy. Definitely messes with your depth perception.
May 16: Unscramble these 4 book titles:
1. TS ET OTHA ESLA
2. OSLBSFREETN HADE
3. NDAROEL
4. TOWNEC AHD F
HINT: All 4 are (view spoiler above)
5/17/17 - Struggling with this immensely. Had to view the hint. (view spoiler) Really don't like this one!
May 17: Name a book title that contains all vowels.
5/17/17 - Aei by Shorei Ho
May 18: Flip to page 160 in any book and list the first word your finger lands on. List it here. That word describes your compassion level.
5/9/17 - "White" (from Strangers on a Train)
Perhaps my compassion is pure?
May 19: Name a book character you would like to do battle with. Who would win?
May 20: Name a non-fiction history book you would recommend for us Snails to read.
May 21: Make a mini-playlist (10 songs or less) for a book you're reading.
May 22: See how many of these words you can find while reading today (anything you read, not just books. It can be a street sign, store window advertisement, etc.):
5/10/17 ~ Perhaps it's cheating to read eBooks and use the search feature to find the words, but...
*Special: "Like I really thought I was special to him..." - Conviction, Ch. 14
*Twist: "I pushed off both my cleats and twisted in my seat..." - Conviction, Ch. 13 (Best I can do for this one)
*Garden: "When they’re done, there’s three rows of flowered cupcakes, like a garden." - Conviction, Ch. 18
*Dirt: "He does better this game, so I tell him so--it's one of the best things about baseball, that you get the next game to redeem yourself--and his face turns red and he scuffs at the dirt with his cleats..." - Conviction, Ch. 14
*Floppy: Did not find
*Grievance: Did not find
*Tidy: Did not find
*Wonder: "I wonder if maybe I’m making that up..." - Conviction, Ch. 18
*Star: "And, kind of suddenly, I have this image of the two of us lying places together like this—outside under the stars or maybe on the beach..." - Conviction, Ch. 17
*Avenue: "Magnolia Street and College Avenue, and this was the one-thousand block." - Strangers on a Train, Page 70
May 23: Read 15 pages today.
May 24: List books you own that have wildflowers on the cover.
May 25: Read from a biography today.
May 26: Read 5 pages and count how many words you found starting with the letter, "s." What was the best or strangest "s" word you found?
May 27: Name a book you've been wanting to read a long time but haven't gotten around to it.
5/9/17 - Pioneer Girl: The Annotated Autobiography! I got it shortly after it came out but still have not read it! HOWEVER, I will be starting it soon (either end of this month or sometime in June)
May 28. Pick up a book, and roll a die. On pages that ends with the # you rolled, list the first and last words on each page.
(Ex: You roll a "2" -- list first & last words on page 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, etc.)
May 29: Read 10 pages and see if you can find five synonyms in any of those pages.
May 30: Finish this sentence with a word or phrase from a book you're reading. Name the book and page as well: "I swallowed......"
May 31: Read however many pages you can today.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
ALTERNATE/BONUS TASKS:
a) Name a book that made you hungry, OR one that made you nauseous.
b) Play the "I Spy" book challenge with someone. Here's a video clip to show you how it's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGw5P...
c) Count how many people you see reading a book (physical or eBook) today.
d) Print and color a page from http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-...
OR
Color a picture online at one of these sites: (view spoiler)
e) Watch someone's video book review on YouTube, about a book you've read or want to read.
May 1: Name 2 book characters you'd ♥ to meet in real life, OR one book character you've dreamed about.Richard Rahl from the Sword of Truth series and Rob Nobody from the Tiffany Aching - Discworld series. (He's funny, okay?)
May 2: Count the # of hardcover books on the bookshelves nearest to you.
32
May 3: Rearrange words of a book title so that it still makes sense, OR is silly.
Ex: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants --> Traveling Pants of the Sisterhood
The Wee Free Men --> Free the Wee Men
May 4: Read 3 or more pages in a book that has illustrations.
Beyond the Deepwoods
May 5: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, name a book that either is written by a Mexican author, or takes place at least partly in Mexico. Alternatively, list a book in which a fiesta (party!) occurs.
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
May 6: Read an author's short biography on Goodreads, their website, or on the back page/slip of a physical book.
May 7: Choose Your Own Book-related Task! What did you come up with?
May 8: Read the FIRST chapter in a book you've been meaning to start for a while.
May 9: Create a small note (or Post-It note) with a poem, haiku, quote, or inspiring/interesting saying. Place your note inside a book that you will give away or donate this month.
May 10: Name a book that was highly recommended, but which you thought was sub-par or awful.
May 11: Share the LAST sentence of the next chapter you read.
May 12: Read at least 2 pages of a book out loud (to yourself, or to someone else). Bonus if you record it and play it back afterwards, without laughing!
May 13: Color in a coloring book or activity book. If you have none, see alternate task d) below
May 14: Your choice: Read a short story OR read 3 poems.
May 15: Try reading an entire page in a book.... with one eye closed (or your hand covering one eye). Was it easy, or difficult?
May 16: Unscramble these 4 book titles:
(view spoiler)
HINT: All 4 are (view spoiler)
May 17: Name a book title that contains all vowels.
May 18: Flip to page 160 in any book and list the first word your finger lands on. List it here. That word describes your compassion level.
May 19: Name a book character you would like to do battle with. Who would win?
May 20: Name a non-fiction history book you would recommend for us Snails to read.
May 21: Make a mini-playlist (10 songs or less) for a book you're reading.
May 22: See how many of these words you can find while reading today (anything you read, not just books. It can be a street sign, store window advertisement, etc.):
special, twist, garden, dirt, floppy, grievance, tidy, wonder, star, avenue
May 23: Read 15 pages today.
May 24: List books you own that have wildflowers on the cover.
May 25: Read from a biography today.
May 26: Read 5 pages and count how many words you found starting with the letter, "s." What was the best or strangest "s" word you found?
May 27: Name a book you've been wanting to read a long time but haven't gotten around to it.
May 28. Pick up a book, and roll a die. On pages that ends with the # you rolled, list the first and last words on each page.
(Ex: You roll a "2" -- list first & last words on page 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, etc.)
May 29: Read 10 pages and see if you can find five synonyms in any of those pages.
May 30: Finish this sentence with a word or phrase from a book you're reading. Name the book and page as well: "I swallowed......"
May 31: Read however many pages you can today.
Kelsey wrote: May 7: Choose Your Own Book-related Task! What did you come up with?I came up with the 'reorganize your bookshelves' task, which I had to do anyway, so I thought that I might as well make it a task! ...
Excellent idea, Kelsey!
Erin wrote: "Boy, there sure are a lot of time consuming tasks this month...Do y'all prefer more short, easy, quick book tasks, such as
'name a book that...' ,
'list the first sentence you read today...'
and fewer that ask you to read more than 10 pages, complete an activity, or look something up?
If we need more variety, or fewer of certain kinds of tasks, let us know what you think ;) Maybe something like 5 or fewer not-quite-so-quick tasks (out of 30) would be enough?
PS: I see you read 99 pages on the 'read 3 pages' day. Way to go, Erin!
Book Snails Book Group
Books mentioned in this topic
Auschwitz (other topics)The Woman in White (other topics)
Letters from Home (other topics)
Bridge of Scarlet Leaves (other topics)
The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Christian Bök (other topics)Shorei Ho (other topics)
Lauren Oliver (other topics)
Carmen Boullosa (other topics)
Laura Esquivel (other topics)
You don't have to to the tasks on the given days (you can swap days if necessary). If you can't complete some tasks precisely as listed, do something in the spirit of it -- or try some of the 5 alternate/bonus tasks instead. Can you complete at least half the fun (?) tasks for MAY?
May 1: Name 2 book characters you'd ♥ to meet in real life, OR one book character you've dreamed about.
May 2: Count the # of hardcover books on the bookshelves nearest to you.
May 3: Rearrange words of a book title so that it still makes sense, OR is silly.
Ex: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants --> Traveling Pants of the Sisterhood
May 4: Read 3 or more pages in a book that has illustrations.
May 5: In honor of Cinco de Mayo, name a book that either is written by a Mexican author, or takes place at least partly in Mexico. Alternatively, list a book in which a fiesta (party!) occurs.
May 6: Read an author's short biography on Goodreads, their website, or on the back page/slip of a physical book.
May 7: Choose Your Own Book-related Task! What did you come up with?
May 8: Read the FIRST chapter in a book you've been meaning to start for a while.
May 9: Create a small note (or Post-It note) with a poem, haiku, quote, or inspiring/interesting saying. Place your note inside a book that you will give away or donate this month.
May 10: Name a book that was highly recommended, but which you thought was sub-par or awful.
May 11: Share the LAST sentence of the next chapter you read.
May 12: Read at least 2 pages of a book out loud (to yourself, or to someone else). Bonus if you record it and play it back afterwards, without laughing!
May 13: Color in a coloring book or activity book. If you have none, see alternate task d) below
May 14: Your choice: Read a short story OR read 3 poems.
May 15: Try reading an entire page in a book.... with one eye closed (or your hand covering one eye). Was it easy, or difficult?
May 16: Unscramble these 4 book titles:
TS ET OTHA ESLA
OSLBSFREETN HADE
NDAROEL
TOWNEC AHD F
HINT: All 4 are (view spoiler)[2016 Goodreads Choice Awards titles (hide spoiler)]
May 17: Name a book title that contains all vowels.
May 18: Flip to page 160 in any book and list the first word your finger lands on. List it here. That word describes your compassion level.
May 19: Name a book character you would like to do battle with. Who would win?
May 20: Name a non-fiction history book you would recommend for us Snails to read.
May 21: Make a mini-playlist (10 songs or less) for a book you're reading.
May 22: See how many of these words you can find while reading today (anything you read, not just books. It can be a street sign, store window advertisement, etc.):
special, twist, garden, dirt, floppy, grievance, tidy, wonder, star, avenue
May 23: Read 15 pages today.
May 24: List books you own that have wildflowers on the cover.
May 25: Read from a biography today.
May 26: Read 5 pages and count how many words you found starting with the letter, "s." What was the best or strangest "s" word you found?
May 27: Name a book you've been wanting to read a long time but haven't gotten around to it.
May 28. Pick up a book, and roll a die. On pages that ends with the # you rolled, list the first and last words on each page.
(Ex: You roll a "2" -- list first & last words on page 2, 12, 22, 32, 42, etc.)
May 29: Read 10 pages and see if you can find five synonyms in any of those pages.
May 30: Finish this sentence with a word or phrase from a book you're reading. Name the book and page as well: "I swallowed......"
May 31: Read however many pages you can today.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
ALTERNATE/BONUS TASKS:
a) Name a book that made you hungry, OR one that made you nauseous.
b) Play the "I Spy" book challenge with someone. Here's a video clip to show you how it's done:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGw5P...
c) Count how many people you see reading a book (physical or eBook) today.
d) Print and color a page from http://www.crayola.com/free-coloring-...
OR
Color a picture online at one of these sites: (view spoiler)[
http://coloritbynumbers.com/online
https://www.online-coloring.com/most-...
http://www.thecolor.com/popularcolori... (hide spoiler)]
e) Watch someone's video book review on YouTube, about a book you've read or want to read.