The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

It's that time again! Let's brainstorm some fun ideas for the Spring 2026 Challenge.

The bonus theme is Biomes- Desert

As in past challenges some tasks may revolve around the seasonal theme of Summer . Others may reflect the bonus theme. Other tasks may have nothing to do with either of those themes, they’re just fun or unique ideas to stimulate your reading.

Feel free to post as many ideas as you can come up with. Don’t worry about repeating what someone else has 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 May 14th . Spring tasks will begin to be posted the week of May 18th. We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

The defining feature of deserts is a lack of moisture, making them "empty buckets" where evaporation exceeds precipitation.

RAB with the letters DRY found in the title

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For a 15 points task requiring 2 books

Deserts can be hot or cold.
Book 1: RAB set in one of the cold desert countries/locations noted in BOLD below.

Cold deserts are primarily located in high-latitude polar regions and high-altitude, continental rain-shadow areas in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Key Locations of Cold Deserts:
Polar Regions: Antarctica (the world's largest desert) and the Arctic (including parts of Greenland, Norway, Russia, Canada, and Alaska).
Central Asia: The Gobi Desert (Mongolia/China),
North America: The Great Basin Desert (USA—Nevada, Utah, Oregon), Columbia Plateau (Oregon/Washington), and Bighorn Basin (Wyoming).
South America: The Patagonian Desert in Argentina/Chile and high-altitude sections of the Andes Mountains.
Asia (High Altitude): The Ladakh region in the Himalayas, India


Book 2: Read a book set in one of the hot desert countries/locations listed in bold below.

Key Hot Desert Locations
Sahara Desert (Northern Africa): The world's largest hot desert, spanning Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan, and parts of Morocco and Tunisia.
Arabian Desert (Western Asia): Covers most of the Arabian Peninsula, including Saudi Arabia.
Australian Desert (Interior Australia): Covers a large portion of the continent, including the Great Victoria and Great Sandy Deserts. Australia
Sonoran & Mojave Deserts (USA/Mexico): Located in the Southwestern US (California, Nevada, Arizona) and northwestern Mexico. The Mojave is considered the hottest in North America.
Kalahari & Namib Deserts (Southern Africa): Situated in southwestern Africa. Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa
Thar Desert (India/Pakistan): Located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent.
Dasht-e Lut (Iran): Known for having some of the highest land surface temperatures on Earth.


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Desert Fauna
Animals adapted to live in deserts are called xerocoles.

RAB with the letter X in the title.


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Independence Day is celebrated by several countries during the months of June, July, August. RAB with an original publication day & month (Ignore year) that matches one of the dates listed below.

June
June 12: Philippines (Independence Day)
June 17: Iceland (Independence Day)
June 25: Croatia & Slovenia (Statehood Day)
June 26: Madagascar
June 30: Democratic Republic of the Congo

July
July 1: Canada, Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi
July 3: Belarus
July 4: USA
July 5: Algeria, Venezuela
July 6: Malawi, Comoros
July 9: South Sudan
July 10: The Bahamas
July 28: Peru
July 30: Vanuatu

August
August 1: Benin
August 6: Jamaica, Bolivia
August 7: Cote d'Ivoire
August 10: Ecuador
August 11: Chad
August 14: Pakistan
August 15: India, Republic of the Congo, North Korea, South Korea
August 17: Gabon, Indonesia
August 19: Afghanistan
August 24: Ukraine
August 25: Uruguay
August 31: Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago

Feast or Famine?
Only one letter keeps a famine from becoming a feast. Turn the desert into a dessert by reading 2 books.

Book 1) Read any book with a singular word in the title.
Book 2) Read a book whose title contains the singular title word from book 1 with an "s" added to it in book 2.


Relax at the Oasis
Weary travelers are welcome to stop and relax at the oasis. Sip a cool drink while taking a respite from arid desert conditions. To further your pleasure queue up some tunes from the Britpop band, Oasis.

Read a book with a title word that matches a title word from one of the top 40 song titles by Oasis as named by Rolling Stone magazine: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/mu...

Semiquincentennial
This 4th of July, the USA celebrates its' Semiquincentennial or 250 years of independence.

Book 1) Read a book with a title word of at least 3 letters made from the letters in "Semiquincentennial"

Book 2) Read a book whose publishing date, page number or series number contain the numbers "250"

The Painted Desert in Arizona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted...

Read a book fiction or NF about a painting/art and/or a bio of an artist.
Example
Books about a Painting:
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Other art:
The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

Artist - hist fiction:
Lust for Life by Irving Stone

Artist - NF:
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Or a book with a famous (museum ) painting on the cover
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - Norman Rockwell

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis - Hieronymus Bosch

There are several lists on goodreads that for these categories if people need help finding one.

The Painted Desert in Arizona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted...

Read a book fiction or NF about a painting/art and/or a bio of an artist.
Example
Books about a Painting
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt

Other art
The Lady and the Unicorn by Tracy Chevalier

Artist - fiction
Lust for Life by Irving Stone

Artist - NF
Frida: A Biography of Frida Kahlo by Hayden Herrera

Or a book with a famous (museum ) painting on the cover
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain - Norman Rockwell

The Monk by Matthew Gregory Lewis -

I put this in the wrong thread, I think
This has nothing to do with biomes but it is the 250th birthday for USA on July 4. Many tasks can come from that.

Takes place or published in the time period,

Authors born in allied countries that sent help, France, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands

Takes place in other countries who have gained independence from Great Britain ie Irish Republic, India, Kenya, Palestine, Belize etc

Authors share name with Signers of Declaration
https://www.ushistory.org/declaration...

Takes place in the original 13 colonies: examples
Connecticut - The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Delaware - Sunburn by Laura Lippman
Georgia - Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
Maryland - Kindred by Octavia E. Butler
Massachusetts (at the time included Maine) - The Crucible by Arthur Miller
New Hampshire - The Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving
New Jersey - One for the Money by Janet Evanovich
New York - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
North Carolina - Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
Pennsylvania - The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky
Rhode Island - The Wedding People by Alison Espach
South Carolina - The Prince of Tides by Pat Conroy
Virginia (at the time included West Virginia) - The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater

June, July, August as well as Summer all have a “U” as its second letter. Read a book with a word in the title that has a “U” as its second letter.
Examples
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly: A Memoir of Life in Death by Jean-Dominique Bauby
The Color Purple by Alice Walker
Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz
Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things by Jenny Lawson

Or authors whose names have a “U” as a second letter

Suzanne Collins
James Lee Burke
Jane Austen

desert and dessert are often found on a list of commonly misspelled words - read 2 books where each book has one of the commonly misspelled in the title

you could use this list - https://www.merriam-webster.com/gramm...

Lisa MD

Welcome to the Hotel California

"Hotel California" is the classic rock song by the Eagles that takes listeners on a drive through a dark, desert highway. Feel that cool wind in your hair while reading a book that has a title word of 4 or more letters that matches a title word in this classic song:

On a dark desert highway, cool wind in my hair
Warm smell of colitas, rising up through the air
Up ahead in the distance, I saw a shimmering light
My head grew heavy and my sight grew dim
I had to stop for the night
There she stood in the doorway
I heard the mission bell
And I was thinking to myself
"This could be Heaven or this could be Hell"
Then she lit up a candle and she showed me the way
There were voices down the corridor
I thought I heard them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
Plenty of room at the Hotel California
Any time of year (Any time of year)
You can find it here

Her mind is Tiffany-twisted, she got the Mercedes bends
She got a lot of pretty, pretty boys she calls friends
How they dance in the courtyard, sweet summer sweat
Some dance to remember, some dance to forget

So I called up the Captain
"Please bring me my wine."
He said, "We haven't had that spirit here since nineteen sixty nine."
And still those voices are calling from far away
Wake you up in the middle of the night
Just to hear them say

Welcome to the Hotel California
Such a lovely place (Such a lovely place)
Such a lovely face
They livin' it up at the Hotel California
What a nice surprise (what a nice surprise)
Bring your alibis

Mirrors on the ceiling
The pink champagne on ice
And she said "We are all just prisoners here, of our own device"
And in the master's chambers
They gathered for the feast
They stab it with their steely knives
But they just can't kill the beast

Last thing I remember
I was running for the door
I had to find the passage back to the place I was before
"Relax," said the night man
"We are programmed to receive
You can check-out any time you like
But you can never leave!"

I’ve lived in 2 desert settings. In 1976 lived in Tucson, Arizona for one year. We had moved there from the Appalachian Mountains, quite a change!
In 2012 at 50, we moved to Doha, Qatar from Houston.
I really did not live living in the desert. I found I needed lots of green in my life. In Doha, everything was shades of brown, the buildings, the roads, the vista, sometimes even the air, camels, statues, everything brown except for clothing and when you got to the ocean. I had trouble driving there because I had difficulty finding landmarks since everything was same color! Lol once when trying to pick kids up from school, I missed the turn and just kept driving until I saw a sign saying KSA 6km. I was on the phone with husband trying to explain where I was so he could help me. I told him about sign. He yelled “PULL OVER NOW! STOP! Then TURN AROUND” . Ok, I missed turn and was now going too far. I asked him if he knew where I was and he said “Yes. You are 6kms from The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia! It is illegal for women to drive there.” Good thing they had the sign in English as well as Arabic!
We lived there a little over year, then moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, back to forests, mountains and rivers. My eyes actually felt soothed.

So the point of that whole story was maybe read a book whose cover is >50% brown according to tineye
- 53.2%
Dying for Chocolate by Diane Mott Davidson

- 88.5%
Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel

- 84%
Dune by Frank Herbert

-88.1%
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

- 57.6%
The Last Camel Died at Noon by Elizabeth Peters

- 71.2 %
The Flight of the Phoenix by Elleston
Trevor

- 97%
Coconut by Kopano Matlwa

- 54.8%
The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith

Dee wrote: "desert and dessert are often found on a list of commonly misspelled words - read 2 books where each book has one of the commonly misspelled in the title

you could use this list - https://www.merri..."

Why not just read two books one with desert and one with dessert? I think there are plenty of books with these words especially if we allow subtitles, plurals and possessives
Desert examples
The Never-Open Desert Diner by James Anderson
Desert Solitaire by Edward Abbey
Queen of the Desert: A Biography of the Female Lawrence of Arabia, Gertrude Bell by Fergus Mason
Where the Desert Meets the Sea by Werner Sonne
The Sheltering Desert by Henno Martin
Desert Places by Blake Crouch
The Lamp in the Desert by Ethel M. Dell
Desert Flowers by Paul Pen
Desert Star by Michael Connelly
Desert Heat by J.A. Jance
Desert Oath by Oliver Bowden
Desert God by Wilbur Smith
A Girl's Guide to Missiles: Growing Up in America's Secret Desert by Karen Piper
American Ghost: A Family's Extraordinary History on the Desert Frontier by Hannah Nordhaus
Stolen Lives: Twenty Years in a Desert Jail by Malika Oufkir

Dessert examples
Desserts for Stressed People by Letizia Lorini
Christmas Dessert Murder by Joanne Fluke
Just Desserts by G.A. McKevett (found several books with this title in different genres)
Summer Desserts by Nora Roberts
Two Wicked Desserts by Lynn Cahoon
Eat Dessert First by Michelle Paris
Dessert at The Beach House Hotel by Judith Keim
Despicable Desserts by Mildred Abbott
Dessert Flirt Repeat by Sarah Smith
What Comes After Dessert by Ren Benton
Pastries: A Novel of Desserts and Discoveries by Bharti Kirchner
Desserts and Deception by Danielle Collins
Jam, Jelly, and Just Desserts by Carolyn L. Dean
Hoodoo and Just Desserts by Constance Barker
Dessert First by Dean Gloster
Dessert with Buddha by Roland Merullo

I did book search for each word and got 100 pages for both. Probably more for desert than for dessert since you have to eliminate several cookbooks for dessert

Rebekah wrote: "The Painted Desert in Arizona
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Painted...

Read a book fiction or NF about a painting/art and/or a bio of an artist.
Example
Books about a Painting
[book:..."

Don’t know how I repeated this. Sorry!

Author whose initials are in word desert?
DE, ED, ES, SE, ER, RE, RT, TR, DS, SD, DR, RD, DT, TD, EE, ET, TE, SR, RS, ST, TS,

I notice that goodreads is advertising 'AAPI Heritage Month', complete with a list of 132 books. I took a look -- all are related in some way to 'Asia', and include a wide variety of genres. Maybe read a book off that list? And if the list is too short, a book off of any year's list (as goodreads has made a new list of AAPI Heritage over several years).

Hot take: read the book in your TBR with the lowest Goodreads rating