The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
WINTER CHALLENGE 2017
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Winter Challenge 2017: Task Ideas
It's cold outside! Read a book with someone wearing a coat on the cover.
Santa Claus is coming to town. Read a book with Christmas decoration(s) on the cover.
these are teh 12 best ranked zoos in the world - could be used for a 5 or 10 point category themehttp://www.escapehere.com/inspiration...
a few thoughts:
Toronto Zoo is the largest zoo in Canada and at 710 acres - a book that has 7, 1 or 0 in the page count
a book set in the location of one of the zoos - Washington DC, Toronto, Switzerland, UK are in the top 4
re the zoos: one of my favourite stories is of Sir Nils Olav - a member of the Norwegian Army (brigadier no less) who is resident at Edinburgh Zoo. And is a penguin. http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/news/a...
read book with author initials in NILS OLAV ?
or penguin on the cover ?
historically - the Zoo in Warsaw was used to help Jewish people escape the Ghetto - a WW2 fiction/non-fiction book
Non-fiction about animal rights or a specific type of animal
Read a book with "Classics" as a genre on the book's main page.
I've come up with a few ideas about Jane Goodall as I consider her (and I suspect many others do as well) one of the leaders of the viewpoint that animals are not for our entertainment. She works extensively on issues of animal welfare and rights, as well as conservation. Of course, she is known most famously for working with chimpanzees. Some tasks:
-Playing off of the idea that animals are not for our entertainment value read a book in which the title does not contain the letters C-H-I-M-P.
-Read a book that is about or stars a female scientist.
-Read a book by an author with the initials JG
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On the other side of the spectrum, there are people who hunt animals as a form of recreation.
-Read a book in which the word HUNT (or other variations, i.e. hunted, hunting, hunts) appears unbroken in the title.
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Go on a Safari!
-Read a book in which one of the top 10 safari animals found at this link, https://www.tripsavvy.com/africas-mos..., can be found on the cover.
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Some animals are competitively shown at places like a county fair. I am thinking specifically of programs like 4-H where youth raise animals to be judged for prizes.
-Read a book in which the letter H appears at least four times in the title, authors name, or both combined.
Other ways that animals are used for entertainment are racing and rodeos. Some ideas:1- storyline related to horse or dog racing or rodeo (or more general, western mpg), or gambling.
2- title with a word from the name of a Triple Crown winner (or a specific race like the Kentucky Derby).
3- Setting (or author from) one of the 3 states where the Triple Crown races are run.
Maybe something to do with a Dog Sled Race. (Or just dog sledding if the race is a bit too specific) That's both Animals and winter.
Here are some of my thoughts.- On Dec 5, the 21st Amendment in the U.S. ended the social experiment of Prohibition. Read a book from this list of books written by, about or influenced by drinking - Drunken Masters
- December 14th is International Monkey Day. Read a book with a primate as a character or on the cover.
- December reminds us of holiday baking. Read a book with cookies on the cover.
- January is National Hobby Month - read a book about one of your hobbies or from this list - Non-Fiction books about hobbies and leisure activities
- January 26th is Australia Day, celebrating national pride & culture. Read a book set in or about Australia or from an Australian author.
- February in the U.S. is Black History month. Read a book from this list - Black History Month
- February 2nd is Groundhog Day. Read a book with a 3+ letter word made from the letters in GROUNDHOG DAY.
- February 14th is National Organ Donor Day. This is near to my heart as my dad is a liver/kidney transplant survivor. Read a book with a main page genre of medicine or medical.
I am hoping that we will have a chance to read another winner or nominee from our Group Reads poll lists. There are some fantastic books there which are -- well -- out of this world!
Groundhog Day is a movie featuring a time loop. Read a book with time travel in it.
Support engaged authors by finding one who has answered more than 5 questions from readers and read one of their books. One way to find them is through the 'ask the author' link under the 'Community' drop-down menu in GR. Optional activity could be to pose a question of your own to the author.
I like Nick's idea! I agree there are a lot of good choices this go round. I suggest a 5 or 10 point task to read any of the nominees or winners. For a winter theme, I like a winter/summer task since not everyone lives in the northern hemisphere.
Some ideas:
-Winter or summer included intact in the title or author's name
- Distinct winter or summer cover
- One of the following words in the title: hot, sun, rain, monsoon, cold, snow, ice, blizzard
- Title/subtitle which includes opposite words
Many of us are also gearing up for annual challenges with our reading plans already set. Read a book that is set in a period of 1 year or less OR a title with either READING or PLAN found intact or author's initials found in READING PLAN.
New Year - Book by a New to you authorFebruary is Black History Month - read a book by an author of African heritage (specifically an author who is Black / white colonialists born in Africa do NOT count for this task)
Dec 12 - Feast Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe - Read a book set in mexico / or a book with RELIGION as main page genre / or a book with author initials (all initials count) in OUR LADY OF GUADALUPE
i liked the mountains one in this season could do something similar with largest / best zoos
A task around the endangered or protected animals list perhaps
How about something in honour of more low-brow animal entertainment - the internet memes - I mean, who amongst us hasn't got lost in cat & dog videos on youtube??The two most obvious are Lolcats & Doge.
I like this info on the Doge meme: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doge_(m... - task could be to have one of the modifiers (so / much / very / such / many) in the title
and Lolcat ??? I Can Has cheezburger ... title with a present tense verb in it, maybe?
The only non-fiction I can force myself to sit through is about dogs. I'd love to see something with perhaps reading something off lists about service dogs, working dogs, and rescue dogs to learn more about all the ways they live and work with us.
One of my favorite things in the world is a good petting zoo. Read a book with one of the following common petting zoo animals in the title: sheep, guinea pig, goat, rabbit, pony, alpaca, llama, pig, or donkey.
I like the idea of the non-fiction book about a working/service dog, but would love to see it include any animal that has a vital job. For example, Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II or Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle.
- Read a book with an animal native to your country of residence on the cover- Read a book with a cold weather word in the title
- Read a book with something warming on the front cover (fire, a scarf, a cup of coffee...)
- In honour of Christmas, read a book that has only the following colours on the front cover: red, green, gold, silver, white (does not have to include them all)
- Do you put a star or angel on top of your Christmas tree? If it's a star, read a book with a star on the cover, if it's an angel, read a book with an angel on the cover.
- Read a book with the following letters in the title OR author name (not a mixture of both): A, N, I, M, A, L (yes, 2 As)
- Family Day is celebrated in 5 Canadian provinces on the third Monday in February. Read a novel that is featured on the Family Saga Listopia list.
It's been done several times, but I love it...Read one of the SRC Group Reads that you haven't read.
Meg wrote: "Cat - I love the lolcats/doge ideas!"that's me: always bringing the tone down! ;)
World Animal Day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare celebrated annually on October 4, the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals.Read a book from this list Best Animal Rights Books.
-Read a book with a shapeshifter in it. -Read a book about/with a mythical creature in it.
New Years marks the end of 2017 and the beginning of 2018. Read a book with one of the following words in the title: birth, death, beginning, ending, new, old.
What about a book where animal in it talks (i.e. Sneaky pie from Rita Mae Brown's series or Oberon from Kevin Helene's Druid series)
The Goodreads Award winners are announced Dec. 5th. Read one of this years nominees/winners.
Here's a list of the 10 most endangered animals in the world10 Most Endangered Animals
You could either read a book with one of the words in the title or as a two-book task, two separate books with authors whose initials are found in the names of separate animals. (Much like the highest peaks task in the Fall SRC.
Book with a title that is a complete sentence
Dee wrote: "What about a book where animal in it talks (i.e. Sneaky pie from Rita Mae Brown's series or Oberon from Kevin Helene's Druid series)"how do you search for something like that - it is a good idea but i think difficult to look for or even happen upon
Pam wrote: "Book with a title that is a complete sentence"I like
Marie (UK) wrote: "Dee wrote: "What about a book where animal in it talks (i.e. Sneaky pie from Rita Mae Brown's series or Oberon from Kevin Helene's Druid series)"how do you search for something like that - it is ..."
Not hard at all. Listopia has lists that include hundreds of them.
Marie (UK) wrote: "Dee wrote: "What about a book where animal in it talks (i.e. Sneaky pie from Rita Mae Brown's series or Oberon from Kevin Helene's Druid series)"how do you search for something like that - it is ..."
Here's one list I found:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/6...
- A book about or including Vulnerable, Endangered or Extinct Species List of Vulnerable and Endangered Animals
-A book where the main character has a pet
-A book where from a pet's point of view
-Pets can be great for psychological support. It is a evidence based approach to treat a variety of psychological conditions
read a book from Books Every Psychology/Counseling Doctoral Student Should Read
or a book with MPG psychology
-A Book with 3 consecutive letters from a common pet name can be found in the the author's name
Top 100 Male and Female Dog Names
or a book title containing a popular cat name
Top 100 Cat Names
or a book where an exotic pet is included, state a quote verifying the animal
A Book with a Big Cat (Panther, Cheetah, Lion, Tiger, Leopard, Jaguar, etc.) on the cover or in the title.
Cait S wrote: "Marie (UK) wrote: "Dee wrote: "What about a book where animal in it talks (i.e. Sneaky pie from Rita Mae Brown's series or Oberon from Kevin Helene's Druid series)"how do you search for something..."
I love Oberon. Another example is the Chet and Bernie series by Quinn
Holiday traditions: re-read an old favorite
Christmas carols: read two books with rhyming titles
February is black history month! Read a book by an African American author.
December 1st is World Aids Awareness Day. Read a book about the aids epidemic.
December 7th is Letter Writing Day. Read a book with something related to mail on the cover, like an envelope, stamp, or postmark.
December 10th is Human Rights Day. Read a biography of an activist.
Oh Christmas Tree: read a book with a tree on the cover.
The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Elephant Company: The Inspiring Story of an Unlikely Hero and the Animals Who Helped Him Save Lives in World War II (other topics)Kasey to the Rescue: The Remarkable Story of a Monkey and a Miracle (other topics)
As in past challenges, some tasks may revolve around the seasonal theme of winter. Others may reflect the bonus theme. Other tasks may have nothing to do with either of these themes, they’re just fun ideas for unique reading challenges.
Feel free to post as many ideas as you can come up with. Don't worry about repeating what another player might have already suggested. The more ideas, the better!
The moderators will draw from these ideas as well as their own to create the 5, 10, and 15 point tasks. This thread will be open for ideas until November 17. Winter tasks will begin to be posted on November 18. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!