Hooked on Books discussion

I Spy! Reading Challenge
A Create-Your-Own, Individual Game
Grab Your Spy Glass on June 1, 2025


Come play HOB's version of I Spy! You will have two years to complete the challenge. The best part? You'll be creating your own tasks to go along with the items in the images! There are SO MANY ways to make your books fit. You are only limited by your own creativity.


Here is just a small sampling of tasks that could work for the image above. {Please note: images are much larger and clearer on the spreadsheet.}


SOME EXAMPLES
I SPY = all letters of I SPY in title
telephone = someone talks on the phone
glove = set in a cold climate
ants = multiples of something on cover
word red = red cover
school bus = MC is a student or a teacher
cat = character has a cat
chicken = set on a farm
tennis racket = tagged SPORTS
rocket = set in space
books = MPG Books About Books
letter T = title or author starts with T
boombox = character listens to music
cheeseburger = character eats a meal
umbrella = rains in the story
coffee mug = character has a drink
firetruck = some type of fire in story
ship = character travels
hot air balloon = character flies; physically or in an airplane
beach pail = character goes to a beach or set at the beach
horse = character rides a horse
chair = furniture on cover
shopping cart = character buys something
SpongeBob = contains author's first & last initials
Shoe = word SHOE(S) found in text
*IF there were numbers = part of page count or publication date
AND ON AND ON!!!


I will create a thread for you to use in any way that makes sense to you, and it will have a link to your spreadsheet. HOWEVER, all official tracking and checking in will be done via the simple, individual spreadsheet and the Check-In Thread. Please don't be intimidated by the use of the spreadsheet. I will be glad to help you figure it out in the beginning.


There will be 20 images to work with and you will create three tasks/read three books for each image. You can jump around and go in any order you wish. You can complete them all, or just get to as many as possible over the course of the two years. It's all pretty laid back!


Once you have completed all three books per image, post a link to that specific tab on the spreadsheet in the I Found It! Completion Thread.


If you have any questions, please post them in the What am I Looking For? Q&A Thread.


Challenge Rules:
📘 Standard Rules Apply
📘 I will create an individual thread for you prior to the start date.
📘 You may begin reading your books and creating your tasks on June 1, 2025.

SPREADSHEET: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

✅ Image 1

1. Book: Our Place in the Sun: Canada and Cuba in the Castro Era
Author: Robert Wright
Date Read: Jun 2nd
Item: Yellow car
Task: Cover - yellow car
How it Fits:

2. Book: The Damage Done: Twelve Years of Hell in a Bangkok Prison
Author: Warren Fellows
Date Read: Jun 2nd
Item: Shoes
Task: Cover - shoes
How it Fits:

3. Book: Soul Contracts: Find Harmony and Unlock Your Brilliance
Author: Danielle MacKinnon
Date Read: Jun 6th
Item: Key
Task: Cover - key
How it Fits:

4. Book: Taiwan 101: Studying, Working, and Traveling in Today's Taiwan
Author: Matthew B. Christensen
Date Read: Jun 6th
Item: M
Task: Author - M
How it Fits: AFN initial is M

5. Book: Unchain Your Brain: 10 Steps to Breaking the Addictions That Steal Your Life
Author: Daniel G. Amen
Date Read: Jun 10th
Item: Marble
Task: Cover - marble
How it Fits:

6. Book: Probably the Best Book on Statistics Ever Written: How to Beat the Odds and Make Better Decisions
Author: Haim Shapira
Date Read: Jun 12th
Item: Dice
Task: Cover - dice
How it Fits:

7. Book: Life Lessons From the Amazon: A Guide to Life From One Epic Jungle Adventure
Author: Pip Stewart
Date Read: Jun 12th
Item: Frog
Task: Cover - frog
How it Fits:

8. Book: African American Fraternities and Sororities: The Legacy and the Vision
Author: Tamara L. Brown
Date Read: Jun 13th
Item: T
Task: Author - T
How it Fits: AFN initial is T

9. Book: Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference
Author: Rutger Bregman
Date Read: Jun 13th
Item: Green Triangle
Task: Cover - Green Triangle
How it Fits:

10. Book: Mark Twain
Author: Ron Chernow
Date Read: Jun 14th
Item: R
Task: Author - R
How it Fits: AFN initial is R

11. Book: Herb Gardening: How to Prepare the Soil, Choose Your Plants, and Care For, Harvest, and Use Your Herbs
Author: Melissa Melton Snyder
Date Read: Jun 14th
Item: Clothes Peg
Task: Cover - Clothes Peg
How it Fits:

12. Book: Unqualified : love and relationship advice from a celebrity who just wants to help
Author: Anna Faris
Date Read: Jun 16th
Item: Ribbon
Task: Cover - Ribbon
How it Fits:

13. Book: Change Your Mindset, Change Your Life: Lessons of Love, Leadership and Transformation
Author: Garrain Jones
Date Read: Jun 18th
Item: Buttons
Task: Cover - Buttons
How it Fits:

14. Book: Crime Dot Com: From Viruses to Vote Rigging, How Hacking Went Global
Author: Geoff White
Date Read: Jun 19th
Item: Padlock
Task: Cover - Padlock
How it Fits:

15. Book: The Monster's Bones: The Discovery of T. Rex and How It Shook Our World
Author: David K. Randall
Date Read: Jun 20th
Item: Skeleton
Task: Cover - Skeleton
How it Fits:

16. Book: EXTRA Secret Stories of Walt Disney World: Extra Things You Never Knew You Never Knew
Author: Jim Korkis
Date Read: Jun 21st
Item: Mickey Mouse
Task: Cover - Mickey Mouse
How it Fits:

17. Book: Big Ideas from History (NOP): A history of the world for you
Author: The School of Life
Date Read: Jun 22nd
Item: Shell
Task: Cover - Shell
How it Fits:

18. Book: Kingdom of Play: What Ball-bouncing Octopuses, Belly-flopping Monkeys, and Mud-sliding Elephants Reveal about Life Itself
Author: David Toomey
Date Read: Jun 25th
Item: Octopus
Task: Cover - Octopus
How it Fits:

19. Book: On My Honor: The Secret History of the Boy Scouts of America
Author: Kim Christensen
Date Read: Jun 25th
Item: Scout Badge
Task: Cover - Scout Badge
How it Fits:

20. Book: The Ultimate Hiker's Gear Guide: Tools and Techniques to Hit the Trail
Author: Andrew Skurka
Date Read: Jun 26th
Item: Triangle
Task: Cover - Triangle
How it Fits:

✅ Image 2

1. Book: The Art of the Bar Cart: Styling & Recipes
Author: Vanessa Dina
Date Read: Jun 26th
Item: Bottle
Task: Cover - Bottle
How it Fits:

2. Book: Burn: How Grit, Innovation, and a Dash of Luck Ignited a Multi-Million Dollar Success Story
Author: Mei Xu
Date Read: Jun 26th
Item: Candle
Task: Cover - Candle
How it Fits:

3. Book: The End of Ownership: Personal Property in the Digital Economy
Author: Aaron Perzanowski
Date Read: Jun 27th
Item: Teapot
Task: Cover - Teapot
How it Fits:

4. Book: The Spider: Inside the Criminal Web of Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell
Author: Barry Levine
Date Read: Jun 28th
Item: Button
Task: Cover - Button
How it Fits:

5. Book: The Search for Why: A Revolutionary New Model for Understanding Others, Improving Communication, and Healing Division
Author: Bob Raleigh
Date Read: Jun 28th
Item: Tack
Task: Cover - Tack
How it Fits:

6. Book: Renaturing: Small Ways to Wild the World
Author: James Canton
Date Read: Jul 4th
Item: Flower
Task: Cover - Flower
How it Fits:

7. Book: The Lost World of the Dinosaurs: Uncovering the Secrets of the Prehistoric Age
Author:Armin Schmitt
Date Read: Jul 11th
Item: Dinosaur
Task: Cover - Dinosaur
How it Fits:

8. Book: Crooked: Outwitting the Back Pain Industry and Getting on the Road to Recovery
Author: Cathryn Jakobson Ramin
Date Read: Jul 13th
Item: Thread
Task: Cover - Thread
How it Fits:

9. Book: The Human Planet: How We Created the Anthropocene
Author: Simon L. Lewis
Date Read: Jul 13th
Item: Balloon
Task: Cover - Balloon
How it Fits:

10. Book: Don't Eat This If You're Taking That: The Hidden Risks of Mixing Food and Medicine
Author: Madelyn Fernstrom
Date Read: Jul 14th
Item: Alarm Clock
Task: Cover - Alarm Clock
How it Fits:

11. Book: Human-Centered AI
Author: Ben Shneiderman
Date Read: Jul 14th
Item: Red Car
Task: Cover - Red Car
How it Fits:

12. Book: Breaking Rank: A Top Cop's Exposé of the Dark Side of American Policing
Author: Norm Stamper
Date Read: Jul 16th
Task: Police Badge
How it Fits:

13. Book: Fifty Things that Made the Modern Economy
Author: Tim Harford
Date Read: Jul 16th
Item: Battery
Task: Cover - Battery
How it Fits:

14. Book: Forbidden Knowledge: 101 Things NOT Everyone Should Know How to Do
Author: Michael Powell
Date Read: Jul 16
Item: Screwdriver
Task: Cover - Screwdriver
How it Fits:

15. Book: Identities Through Fashion: A Multidisciplinary Approach
Author: Ana Marta González
Date Read: Jul 17th
Item: Needle
Task: Cover - Needle
How it Fits:

16. Book: The Drawing Bible
Author: Craig Nelson
Date Read: Jul 18th
Item: Pencil Sharpener
Task: Cover - Pencil Sharpener
How it Fits:

17. Book: A History of Gold and Money: 1450-1920
Author: Pierre Vilar
Date Read: Jul 21st
Item: Coin
Task: Cover - Coin
How it Fits:

18. Book: Pseudoscience: An Amusing History of Crackpot Ideas and Why We Love Them
Author: Lydia Kang
Date Read: Jul 21st
Item: Alien
Task: Cover - Alien
How it Fits:

19. Book: Fish on Your Plate: Why We Eat What We Eat from the Sea
Author: Paul Greenberg
Date Read: Jul 22nd
Item: Fish
Task: Cover - Fish
How it Fits:

20. Book: Across the Board: How Games Make Us Human
Author: Tim Clare
Date Read: Jul 22nd
Item: Playing Card
Task: Cover - Playing Card
How it Fits:

✅ Image 3

1. Book: The Microstress Effect: How Little Things Pile Up and Create Big Problems--and What to Do about It
Author: Rob Cross
Date Read: Jul 23rd
Item: Tack
Task: Cover - Tack
How it Fits:

2. Book: Her Name Is Alice: A new 2025 memoir exploring grief, love and the transgender experience, from the mother of Alice Litman
Author: Caroline Litman
Date Read: Jul 24th
Item: Glasses
Task: Cover - Glasses
How it Fits:

3. Book: Haircutting for Dummies
Author: J. Elaine Spear
Date Read: Jul 24th
Item: Scissors
Task: Cover - Scissors
How it Fits:

4. Book: The Real Girl Next Door
Author: Denise Richards
Date Read: Jul 26th
Item: Toothbrush
Task: Cover - Toothbrush
How it Fits:

5. Book: Grow Your Own Tea: The Complete Guide to Cultivating, Harvesting, and Preparing
Author: Christine Parks
Date Read: Jul 27th
Item: Spoon
Task: Cover - Spoon
How it Fits:

6. Book: Shortcut: How Analogies Reveal Connections, Spark Innovation, and Sell Our Greatest Ideas
Author: John Pollack
Date Read: Jul 30th
Item: Domino
Task: Cover - Domino
How it Fits:

7. Book: Being Logical: A Guide to Good Thinking
Author: D.Q. McInerny
Date Read: Jul 30th
Item: Rubber Band
Task: Cover - Rubber Band
How it Fits:

8. Book: For Who the Bell Tolls: One Man's Quest for Grammatical Perfection
Author: David Marsh
Date Read: Jul 31st
Item: Eraser
Task: Cover - Eraser
How it Fits:

9. Book: Hometown Betrayal: A Tragic Story of Secrecy and Sexual Abuse in Mormon Country
Author: Emily Benedek
Date Read: Aug 1st
Item: Orange Car
Task: Cover - Orange Car
How it Fits:

10. Book: Algebra is Useful: 5000 Practice Problems to Show how Algebraic Identities can be used to Simplify Arithmetic Calculations
Author: Norman Sanko
Date Read: Aug 1st
Item: Calculator
Task: Cover - Calculator
How it Fits:

11. Book: The Realities of Autonomous Weapons
Author: Thomas Christian Bächle
Date Read: Aug 1st
Item: Gloves
Task: Cover - Gloves
How it Fits:

12. Book: Board Games in 100 Moves
Author: Ian Livingstone
Date Read: Aug 2nd
Item: Dice
Task: Cover - Dice
How it Fits:

13. Book: When We're in Charge: The Next Generation’s Guide to Leadership
Author: Amanda Litman
Date Read: Aug 2nd
Item: Ring
Task: Cover - Ring
How it Fits:

14. Book: Tennis For Dummies
Author: Patrick McEnroe
Date Read: Aug 4th
Item: Tennis Ball
Task: Cover - Tennis Ball
How it Fits:

15. Book: Wes Anderson: The Iconic Filmmaker and his Work
Author: Ian Nathan
Date Read: Aug 4th
Item: Blue Bow
Task: Cover - Blue Bow
How it Fits:

16. Book: Heads I Win, Tails I Win: Why Smart Investors Fail and How to Tilt the Odds in Your Favor
Author: Spencer Jakab
Date Read: Aug 7th
Item: Silver Coin
Task: Cover - Silver Coin
How it Fits:

17. Book: Color Capital of the World: Growing Up with the Legacy of Color Crayons
Author: John W. Kropf
Date Read: Aug 8th
Item: Crayon
Task: Cover - Crayon
How it Fits:

18. Book: Loan Sharks: The Birth of Predatory Lending
Author: Charles R. Geisst
Date Read: Aug 8th
Item: Paper Dollar
Task: Cover - Paper Dollar
How it Fits:

19. Book: Rinsed: From Cartels to Crypto How the Tech Industry Washes Money for the World's Deadliest Crooks
Author: Geoff White
Date Read: Aug 9th
Item: Clothes Peg
Task: Cover - Clothes Peg
How it Fits:

20. Book: Color Theory For Dummies
Author: Eric Hibit
Date Read: Aug 10th
Item: Blue Diamond
Task: Cover - Blue Diamond
How it Fits:

✅ Image 4

1. Book: Tales from the Pit: Casino Table Games Managers in Their Own Words
Author: Cavan Scott
Date Read: Aug 10th
Item: Dice
Task: Cover - Dice
How it Fits:

2. Book: Demystifying Disability: What to Know, What to Say, and How to Be an Ally
Author: Emily Ladau
Date Read: Aug 11th
Item: Dog
Task: Cover - Dog
How it Fits:

3. Book: Magic in the Air: The Myth, the Mystery, and the Soul of the Slam Dunk
Author: Mike Sielski
Date Read: Aug 11th
Item: Basketball
Task: Cover - Basketball
How it Fits:

4. Book: Magic Your Mind Happy: Amazing magic tricks for happiness, confidence and calm
Author: Richard Wiseman
Date Read: Aug 11th
Item: Red Star
Task: Cover - Red Star
How it Fits:

5. Book: ENGAGEMENT MAGIC: Five Keys for Engaging People, Leaders, and Organizations
Author: Tracy Maylett
Date Read: Aug 12th
Item: Key
Task: Cover - Key
How it Fits:

6. Book: Smelling to Survive: The Amazing World of Our Sense of Smell
Author: Bill S. Hansson
Date Read: Aug 13th
Item: Crab
Task: Cover - Crab
How it Fits:

7. Book: Music Direction for the Stage: A View from the Podium
Author: Joseph Church
Date Read: Aug 15th
Item: Trumpet
Task: Cover - Trumpet
How it Fits:

8. Book: Odyssey
Author: Stephen Fry
Date Read: Aug 20th
Item: Sailboat
Task: Cover - Sailboat
How it Fits:

9. Book: Body Intelligence: Harness Your Body's Energies for Your Best Life
Author: Joseph Cardillo
Date Read: Aug 21st
Item: Red Circle
Task: Cover - Red Circle
How it Fits:

10. Book: In the Rhododendrons: A Memoir with Appearances by Virginia Woolf
Author: Heather Christle
Date Read: Aug 22nd
Item: Airplane
Task: Cover - Airplane
How it Fits:

11. Book: A Mind of Its Own: A Cultural History of the Penis
Author: David M. Friedman
Date Read: Aug 29th
Item: Yellow Button
Task: Cover - Yellow Button
How it Fits:

Image 5

1. Book: The Longest Afternoon: The 400 Men Who Decided the Battle of Waterloo
Author: Brendan Simms
Date Read: Sep 1st
Item: Horse
Task: Cover - Horse
How it Fits:

2. Book: Hello, Habits: A Minimalist's Guide to a Better Life
Author: Fumio Sasaki
Date Read: Sep 5th
Item: Timepiece
Task: Cover - Timepiece
How it Fits:

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