2025 & 2026 Reading Challenge discussion

April Showers Make May Flowers:

Rain showers may cloud our day but soon after flowers are on their way!

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book or tell us about a book you've read in the past that made you feel good when you were feeling bad.

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person or tell us about a character you feel has grown throughout a book/series and the events that made it happen (mark spoilers if appropriate).

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.

4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series or tell us about one of your childhood pasttimes.

Rules:
1. You can combine reading with the alternate option.
2. Rereads/challenge combining/any book format is fine.
3. You can keep track in your member section, but please post here as well so we can all see your answers!

Challenge Leader: Tatum

*****This topic is closed for comments until the March 23rd. It is posted now so that you can begin planning your reads/answers. Have fun! :)*****

I'll go for all four categories on this one and I will update/answer questions here in this thread.

I'm in for all four. Going to try all books but might run out of time :(

April Showers Make May Flowers:

Rain showers may cloud our day but soon after flowers are on their way!

1. Rainy Day Blues: An Invisible Thread: The True Story of an 11-Year-Old Panhandler, a Busy Sales Executive, and an Unlikely Meeting with Destiny by Laura Schroff

2. Lightning Strike: Irises by Francisco X. Stork

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.

4. Daisy Chain: Divergent by Veronica Roth

How fun! I'll try all 4 - we'll see how far I get. Really need to read that second book in the series I started last month! (At least. Need to actually read all 4 of them. LOL)

I'll try for all four as well. I've never done a mini-challenge before. :)

Ok fine, I will go for the 4 for this one again! :)

Ooops, guess I never officially signed up for this! I'm going to try to do all four -- which shouldn't be too hard, since I've already done three of them!


PROGRESS: 4/4

CHALLENGE COMPLETE, 4/18/12

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book or tell us about a book you've read in the past that made you feel good when you were feeling bad.
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared , by Alice Ozma, finished 4/17
I enjoyed the stories about how Alice and her father read together every night for well over 2,000 consecutive nights.

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person or tell us about a character you feel has grown throughout a book/series and the events that made it happen (mark spoilers if appropriate).
Yellow Crocus , by Laila Ibrahim, finished 4/1
Lisbeth grows up very suddenly when she witnesses an abominable act on the eve of her wedding

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.
Buried in Buttercream , (Savannah Reid series #17), by G.A. McKevett, finished 4/2

4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series or tell us about one of your childhood pasttimes.
Books Can Be Deceiving , (Library Lovers series #1), by Jenn McKinlay, finished 4/4

I'm gonna try for all four this month.

2. Lightning Strike: Redeeming Love 4/2/12

#4 The Little Lady Agency 3/5/12 3/5 Stars (Part of a Series)

1/4

I just finished my second for this challenge, for Lightning Strike: I read Forever by Maggie Stiefvater. There is a lot I could say about the characters growing in this series, but I do not want to spoil that to anyone who might read it later. For me especially the character Cole fits this, but also all of the main characters might.

I'm going to try all for too. Will post books later.

I'm going to use Tess of the D'Urbervilles for number 2 because Tess has to grow at a lot of significant moments in the book. For example: (view spoiler)[the affair and subsequent loss of her child with Alec (after which she learned to depend on herself rather than anyone else), falling in love with Angel (during which she learned how to speak well and think critically, and Angel's disappearance (after which she learned to stand up for herself and what was right). (hide spoiler)]

1 completed with category 4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson

For those of you who've read these books do any of them fit into the lighning strike category or the everything's coming up roses category? I'm trying to read books that fit lots of challenges.

My Sister's Keeper
The Time Traveller's Wife
Bridge to Terabithia
Where the Red Fern Grows
The Notebook
The Book Thief
Marley & Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
The Giver
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
The Outsiders
The Golden Compass
A Wrinkle In Time

You picked some of my favorite books. :)

Lightning strike:
Time Traveler's Wife
The Giver
The Golden Compass
A Wrinkle in Time
Harry Potter

Everything's coming up roses:
A Wrinkle in Time

I haven't read Where the Red Fern Grows, The Notebook, The Book Thief (yet), Marley & Me, or The Outsiders.

Thanks :)

Kara wrote: "You picked some of my favorite books. :)

Lightning strike:
Time Traveler's Wife
The Giver
The Golden Compass
A Wrinkle in Time
Harry Potter

Everything's coming up roses:
A Wrinkle in Time

I have..."

I have the Book Thief on my shelve to be read also.

It´s on mine as well :)

Let's do it, Sara! :D

Maggie wrote: "For those of you who've read these books do any of them fit into the lighning strike category or the everything's coming up roses category? I'm trying to read books that fit lots of challenges.

..."

Definitely The Giver for Lightning Strike. The Outsiders would work for it as well, as far as I can remember (I read it about 4 years ago).

2/4 completed with 1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book
Geography Club by Brent Hartinger

I don't know if it's a "feel good" book, but it certainly made me feel good, especially after the book I read last!

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book or tell us about a book you've read in the past that made you feel good when you were feeling bad.

One Fifth Avenue 4/5 Stars (feel good book)

Total 2/4

3/4: 3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending.:
The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams | rating; 2 stars

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person or tell us about a character you feel has grown throughout a book/series and the events that made it happen (mark spoilers if appropriate).

The Orphan Sister finished 4/14/12 5/5 Stars

Total 3/4

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.

The Space Between Before and After finished 4/16/12 5/5 Stars

Total 4/4 !!

Grrr... I don't think I'll be able to finish this challenge. I've only read 2/4 of the books needed and over the next two weeks I have to read 2 books for school and study for 3 tests. That doesn't leave much time to read books for this challenge. It is my fault really because in the holidays I read 4 completely random books that are not part of a challenge at all. Ah well, I might have better luck with next months challenge.

4/4: 2. Lightning Strike: tell us about a character you feel has grown throughout a book and the events that made it happen (mark spoilers if appropriate).

One of my favorite books, The Giver by Lois Lowry is a great example.
Jonas is the main character, a soon-to-be 12 year old boy in a community where jobs are "assignments" which are handed out to children at the Ceremony of Twelve. They are assigned based on the skills that the Elders have observed in them over the years. All the children must grow up once they've been assigned but Jonas' assignment is special. And that's all I'm going to say. No spoilers here, people. Go read the book! It's worth it! ;)

Sara wrote: "I keep hearing about this book, I need to read it sooner than later!"

YES! Read it now!!!! :D

CHALLENGE COMPLETE, 4/18/12

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book or tell us about a book you've read in the past that made you feel good when you were feeling bad.
The Reading Promise: My Father and the Books We Shared , by Alice Ozma, finished 4/17
I enjoyed the stories about how Alice and her father read together every night for well over 2,000 consecutive nights.

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person or tell us about a character you feel has grown throughout a book/series and the events that made it happen (mark spoilers if appropriate).
Yellow Crocus , by Laila Ibrahim, finished 4/1
Lisbeth grows up very suddenly when she witnesses an abominable act on the eve of her wedding

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.
Buried in Buttercream , (Savannah Reid series #17), by G.A. McKevett, finished 4/2

4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series or tell us about one of your childhood pasttimes.
Books Can Be Deceiving , (Library Lovers series #1), by Jenn McKinlay, finished 4/4

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending

4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series

FINISHED: 4/4

1. Rainy Day Blues: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, *****

2. Lightning Strike: Tess of the D'Urbervilles, ****

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, ****

4. Daisy Chain: The Little Lady Agency, ***

I now have three in this challenge!

Finished April Showers 4/4

Rainy Day Blues: Listening to my children run and play outside. Their giggles are contagious.

2. Lightning Strike: Redeeming Love 4/2/12

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses:Rainshadow Road 4/28/12

4. Daisy Chain: Half-blood 4/17/12

Finished 4/4

1. Rainy Day Blues: I believe I would start feeling good when ever, if I just started to read The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, meaning the first book mostly. I remember reading it once and liking it a lot.

2. Lightning Strike: I read Shiver Trilogy Boxset. In this series many of the characters have to grow as persons, especially Cole, I think. He starts out as someone not really caring about anything or anyone but turns out as a very important person for the story..

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: I read Water for Elephants.

4. Daisy Chain: I read Linger.

I did finsh this challenge (though only just) but forgot to post it here yesterday. Anyway here we go, these were my April Books for the challenge.

1. Rainy Day Blues: Anne of Green Gables
★★★ - 22/04/12

2. Lightning Strike: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
★★★★★ - 10th of April 2012

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: A Wrinkle in Time
★★★ - 30/04/12


4. Daisy Chain: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
★★★★★ -- 4th of April 2012

Completed 4/4

April Showers Make May Flowers:

Rain showers may cloud our day but soon after flowers are on their way!

1. Rainy Day Blues: Read a feel-good book or tell us about a book you've read in the past that made you feel good when you were feeling bad.

2. Lightning Strike: Read a book where an event makes the protagonist have to grow as a person

3. Everything's Coming Up Roses: Read a book with a happily ever after ending or share some of your happy news/something you are grateful for with us.

4. Daisy Chain: Read a book in a series