2026 Reading Challenge discussion

Reading The Seasons - Winter
Duration: December 21, 2025 - March 20, 2026

Level: Super Seasonal: 5-15 points

Points: 5

TASKS:
1. Winter Fun
❄️ Read a book with the word WINTER in the title.
-->BONUS: Winter on the cover (show cover)

2. Enjoy the snow falling.
❄️ Read a book where you find the letters SNOW in any order in the author's name.

3. Build a snowman.
❄️ Read a book where characters build a snowman.
-->BONUS: Snowman on the cover (show cover).

4. Sit by the fireplace.
❄️ Read a book with a fireplace on the cover (show cover).

5. Hit the slopes. = 2
❄️ Read a book where a character goes skiing or enjoys another outdoor winter sport.
Sledding - Yours for the Season by Uzma Jalaluddin 12/22/25 (& movies & wrapping)

Curling - A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny 12/28/25


6. Decorate Your Home
❄️ Read a book where a home is decorated for the holidays.


7. Christmas
❄️ Read a book with the word CHRISTMAS in the title.
-->BONUS: A Christmas tree or wreath on the cover.
Corpus Christmas by Margaret Maron

A Killer's Christmas in Wales by Elizabeth J. Duncan


8. Have a wrapping party.
❄️ Read a book where characters wrap gifts.
-->BONUS: With a gift box on the cover.

9. New Year's Day = 3
❄️ Read a book that is first in a series. Tell us the series name.
-->BONUS: Also by an author you have not read before.
Cider Shop Mystery #1: Apple Cider Slaying by Julie Anne Lindsey


10. Go to a hockey game.
❄️ Read a book where a character goes to a hockey game.
-->BONUS: The title begins with a letter in HOCKEY.

11. Martin Luther King Jr. Day
❄️ Read a book by a black author or from the Christian genre.

12. Make snow ice cream.
❄️ Read a book where a character eats ice cream.

13. Chinese New Year
❄️ Read a book set in China OR by a Chinese author OR with a horse on the cover (show cover) or in the story.

14. Groundhog's Day
❄️ Read a book set in Pennsylvania.

15. Host an Oscar viewing party.
❄️ Read a book where a character watches movies.
-->BONUS: The title begins with a letter in OSCAR (all words count).

16. Valentine's Day
❄️ Read a Romance.

17. WINTER = 1
❄️ Read a book with a genre or tag that begins with a letter in WINTER.
Romance: The Naughty or Nice Deal by Callie Rose 12/26/25


18. WINTER
❄️ Read a book whose title begins with a letter in WINTER.
T: Trust: Mastering the 4 Essential Trusts: by Iyanla Vanzant


19. Winter Books = 2
❄️ Read a book published between December 21st and March 20th of any year. Tell us the publication date.
-->BONUS: Published between 12/21/25 and 3/20/26.
Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie 1/18/26 pub 1 Jan 95

Mourn Not Your Dead by Deborah Crombie 1/20/26 - pub 1 Jan 96


20. Read Across America Day
❄️ Read a book you borrowed from the library.


❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️❄️

Thanksgiving Foods
Duration November 1, 2025 - October 31, 2026

Level 1: 10 - 20 Tasks

Progress: 7/20

Each task can be done as often as needed. Please show the cover if doing that task.

TASKS

1. Turkey
Turkey is the most common main dish of a Thanksgiving dinner, to the point that Thanksgiving is often called "Turkey Day". Alexander Hamilton proclaimed that "no citizen of the United States should refrain from turkey on Thanksgiving Day", and Benjamin Franklin had high regard for the wild turkey as an American icon.
🦃 Read a book with a character called Alexander, Hamilton, Benjamin or Franklin or with a character who is described as wild or with a turkey on the cover.

2. Stuffing
The word "stuffing" comes from the practice of filling a bird or other food with a mixture of ingredients before cooking it... [I]ts origins can be traced back to ancient times. The Roman cookbook Apicius de re Coquinaria, dating back to the 1st or 2nd century AD, contains recipes for stuffing.
🦃 Read a book where a character eats stuffing or where a character reads or cooks from a cookbook or where the authors initials can be found in DRESSING.
Yours for the Season by Uzma Jalaluddin 12/22/25


3. Gravy
Rich, velvety and full of flavor, it's the absolute best way to enhance turkey, mashed potatoes and more. ...
🦃Read a book with a character who is rich or where a family sits down to a feast (Your interpretation) or where the authors initials can be found in HOMEMADE.
Detective Aunty by Uzma Jalaluddin 11/04/25


4. Cranberry Sauce
There is always a debate canned jelled cranberry sauce or whole berry. The tart fruit became popularly used to create cranberry sauce for turkey and other types of meat in the late 17th century. Cranberry sauce became a staple dish in the U.S. with its popularity taking off even more throughout the 19th century
🦃 Read a book with a red cover or where a character opens a can of something or that is 17th or 19th in a series.

5. Mashed Potatoes
This holiday staple may have roots in 17th century English cooking. As families get ready to set their holiday tables, one of the quintessential side dishes is mashed potatoes. A perfect complement to any main course and a creamy indulgence.
🦃Read a book set in England or that genre is tagged as holiday or where the first letter of each title word can be found in SIDE DISHES. (Three word minimum).

6. Macaroni & Cheese
Records show this popular Thanksgiving side dish can be traced back to James Hemmings, an enslaved African and Jefferson's son , who prepared mac and cheese for his father, Thomas Jefferson, after Jefferson encountered it in Paris in the 1780 and fell in love with it.
🦃 Read a book set in Paris or where a character eats mac and cheese or with a character called James or Thomas.
Paris - A Daughter's Guide to Mothers and Murder by Dianne Freeman


7. Green Bean Casserole
Green Bean Casserole is a recipe created in 1955 by Dorcas Reilly at the Campbell Soup Company. As of 2020, Campbell's estimated it was served in 20 million Thanksgiving dinners in the US each year and that 40% of the company's cream of mushroom soup sales go into a version of this dish.
🦃 Read a book with a green cover or where the page count has a 2 and 0 or where a character or authors last name is Campbell.
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen 11/28/25


8. Sweet Potato Casserole
A Thanksgiving favorite, sweet potato casserole is made by baking sweet potatoes with marshmallows and brown sugar. The recipe for this dish became popular during the Prohibition Era, when Angelus Marshmallows created a cookbook that included it in 1917.
🦃 Read a book where a character eats marshmallows or a book that you think is sweet or that is set during Prohibition Era (1920 to 1933).

9. Brussels sprouts
Though not every ones favorite this is a side dish that can be done many ways. Just plain, roasted or add something tasty to them like bacon, chestnuts or cranberries. Try adding balsamic, maple, garlic or parmesan for a tasty dish.
🦃 Read a book where a character roasts something or where a character eats bacon (Give a partial sentence and page/loc #) or where the first letter of each title word can be found in BRUSSLES SPROUTS. (Three word minimum).

10. Creamed Corn
Creamed corn is corn kernels lightly cooked in butter, stirred with cream and then heated gently. Some recipes call for cayenne pepper to spice it up a little.
🦃 Read a book where a character cooks in butter or a book you think is spicy or where the authors initials can be found in CREAMED.
The Naughty or Nice Deal by Callie Rose 12/26/25


11. Cornbread
Cornbread is a European take on a traditional Native American food. Corn was new and unusual to the early European immigrants, who were used to wheat. This cultural difference made it difficult for the colonists to follow recipes that used corn meal to make cake and bread. Cornmeal is cooked differently than wheat, which led to what we know today as cornbread.
🦃 Read a book with a Native American character or set in Europe or where the authors initials can be found in CORNBREAD.
The Sentence by Louise Erdrich


12 Rolls/ biscuits
Hot crispy rolls or butter slathered biscuits are a must for Thanksgiving. Whether you choose a fruit-and-nut-studded loaf, fluffy biscuits, or an easy-to-make, no-yeast option, you'll find that everyone has space on their plate when the breadbasket is passed around.
🦃 Read a book with a fruit on the cover or with the word biscuit in the text (Give a partial sentence and page/loc #) or where the first letter of the location can be found in ROLLS.

13 Butternut squash
A delicious side for Thanksgiving that can be prepared in many different ways. It can be roasted with something like maple or brown sugar, done as a soup for a starter, or simply mashed.
🦃 Read a book where a character eats soup (Give a partial sentence and page/loc #) or puts sugar in something or where the first letter of each title word can be found in BUTTERNUT( 3 word minimum).

14 Carrots
Simple but tasty as a side for Thanksgiving. You can jazz them up by glazing them with a brown sugar butter or a honey garlic butter. Also good roasted with honey maple.
🦃 Read a book with an orange cover or where a character listens to jazz music or where a character gets called honey.( Tell us whom).

15. Candied Yams
Candied yams are a classic Southern dish and quintessential Thanksgiving side. Candied yams are made by par-cooking sweet potatoes in boiling water, placing them in a baking dish, and topping with a mixture of butter, sugar, and spice. Then baked until tender and the sweet sauce mixture has thickened and is rich in color. A lot of recipes add marshmallows.
🦃 Read a book set in the South USA. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Souther... or read a book by a favorite author or where the authors initials can be found in CANDIED YAMS.
D, C: Deborah Crombie, Mourn Not Your Dead


16. Pecan Pie
Pecan pie is made with pecans mixed with a filling of eggs, butter and sugar. Variations may include white or brown sugar, cane syrup, sugar syrup, molasses, maple syrup, or honey. It is commonly served at Thanksgiving and is considered a specialty of Southern U.S.
🦃 Read a book with a pie on the cover or where a character puts syrup on something (Tell us what) or where the authors initials can be found in PECAN.

17. Pumpkin Pie
The pumpkin is a symbol of harvest time, and pumpkin pie is generally eaten during the fall and early winter. Pumpkin pie is ...spiced with a blend that includes cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves or allspice.
🦃 Read a book set in fall or where cinnamon is added to a dish (tell us what) or where the authors initials can be found in SYMBOL.
November: Leave the Grave Green by Deborah Crombie


18. Cranberry Pie
Yes pumpkin pie is traditional but for us who love cranberries this is the pie for us. Different types of crust can be used: a traditional pie crust, a gingersnap crust or a graham cracker crust. The filling can be cranberries plain or mixed with apples or nuts. Some have cream and gelatin others just lemon juice.
🦃 Read a book where a character eats pie (Give a partial sentence and page/loc #) or where a character follows tradition or where the first letter of each title word can be found in CRANBERRY PIE (Three word minimum).
A Fatal Grace by Louise Penny 12/28/25


19. Apple Pie
Noted first in the 14th century, apple pie recipes are a standard part of cuisines in many countries. Apple pies are an unofficial symbol of the United States and one of its signature comfort foods. Apple pie is often served with whipped cream, ice cream, custard or cheddar cheese. It is generally double-crusted, and the upper crust may be solid or latticed.
🦃 Read a book set in the USA or that is 14th in a series or where a character serves comfort food.

20, Sweet Potato Pie
Sweet potato pie first appeared in the southern United States from the early colonial days. Recipes for sweet potato pie first appeared in printed cookbooks in the 18th century, where it was included with savory vegetable dishes. By the 19th century, sweet potato pie was more commonly classified as a dessert.
🦃 Read a book set during colonial times (the early 1600s to 1783) or with vegetables on the cover or where the authors initials can be found in SWEET POTATO.

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...