The prompts, books, and points:
Prompts |
Books |
Points |
| 1. Book with summer, beach, sun or sand in the title. | Tove Jansson: The Summer Book | 6 |
| 2. Book set in a location that you would like to go on vacation. | ||
| 3. Book with a title that starts with a letter in the word B-E-A-C-H. | Truman Capote: Breakfast at Tiffany’s | 11 |
| 4. Book with either the title or author name written in the color yellow. | John Dickson Carr: The Corpse in the Waxworks | 12 |
| 5. Book with an image of ice cream on the cover or in the title or which features an ice cream shop. | ||
| 6. Book written by an author born in the months of June, July or August. | ||
| 7. Historical fiction novel with war as a theme. | ||
| 8. Book written by an author whose first and last initials can be found in the words SUMMER VACATION. | Agatha Christie: The Moving Finger | 10 |
| 9. Book that you can find on a beach reads list on GR (see, e.g. this one, or this one, or this one), or in an article that recommends beach reads for summer 2023, like this one. | ||
| 10. Book that takes place during the summer. | ||
| 11. Fantasy novel that involves a quest. | Michael J. Sullivan: Heir of Novron | 10 |
| 12. Book on a teen summer reading list. | ||
| 13. Book that is more than 500 pages in length. | Anthony Trollope: The Small House at Allington | 3 |
| 14. Cozy mystery set in a bookstore, bakery, brewery or coffee shop. | ||
| 15. Book set in a place you have visited on summer vacation. | Edith Wharton: False Dawn | 6 |
| 16. Book that features an outdoor carnival, fair, or festival. | M.R. James: Ghost Stories, Volume One | 1 |
| 17. Book with a cover image of a beach. | ||
| 18. Book that involves a road trip or other travel. | Michael J. Sullivan: Rise of Empire | 4 |
| 20. Collection of short stories. | ||
| 21. Book with a cover that is predominantly blue, green or yellow. | Anthony Trollope: Doctor Thorne | 7 |
| 22. Mystery / thriller with a coastal or seaside setting. | ||
| 23. Book set in, or written by an author born in, Australia or Oceania. | Caroline Overington: Sisters of Mercy | 9 |
| 24. Any type of romance – historical, contemporary, or paranormal. | T. Kingfisher: Paladin’s Grace | 7 |
| 25. Based on a fairy tale or mythology. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of Death | 8 |
| 26. Book with a cover image of a suitcase, duffle bag, purse, airline ticket, or other travel related image. | ||
| 27. Book published in June, July or August of 2020, 2021, or 2022. | Anand Neelakantan: Valmiki’s Women | 9 |
| 28. Book set on a lake, in a forest, or at a summer camp. | Michael J. Sullivan: Theft of Swords | 12 |
| 29. Book that includes a graduation, wedding or other milestone. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of Empyre | 2 |
| 30. Historical fiction with a woman in period costume on the cover. | Andrea Penrose: Murder at the Royal Botanic Gardens | 8 |
| 31. Vintage mystery (published before 1980) set on a plane, train or ship. | Victor L. Whitechurch: The Thorpe Hazell Mysteries | 1 |
| 32. Magical realism. | ||
| 33. Book title includes all of the letters in P-A-T-I-O or D-E-C-K. | Michael J. Sullivan: Professional Integrity | 9 |
| 34. Book title includes the words June, July, or August or Six, Seven or Eight, or that is sixth, seventh or eighth in a series. | Anthony Trollope: The Last Chronicle of Barset | 8 |
| 35. Horror with an ocean / beach / lake monster theme. | ||
| 36. Book with the name of a city / state / country in the title. |
Sue Wilkes: A Visitor’s Guide to Jane Austen’s England | 9 |
| 37. Book translated into your primary language. | ||
| 38. Book set in Canada or written by a Canadian author. | ||
| 39. Book with an animal in the title or on the cover. |
Agatha Christie: Five Little Pigs | 8 |
| 40. Book between 250 and 500 pages in length. | Michael J. Sullivan: The Crown Tower | 9 |
| 41. Book by an author who shares your birth month. | Dan Rather: Stories of a Lifetime | 9 |
| 42. Book by an author born between 1900 and 1940. | ||
| 43. Book with a night time image on the cover. | Anne Perry: The Face of a Stranger | 1 |
| 44. Book by an author who publishes under a pseudonym. | Elizabeth Peters (Barbara Mertz): The Curse of the Pharaohs | 7 |
| 45. Book set in, or written by an author born in, the United Kingdom. | Margaret C. Sullivan: The Jane Austen Handbook | 5 |
| 46. Book set in a coastal location. | ||
| 47. Non-fiction / memoir about aviation, adventure, or exploration. | ||
| 48. Book on the College Board recommended reading list. | ||
| 49. Book that has been adapted to film or television in the last five years. | ||
| 50. Book by an author whose initials are found in the words J-U-N-E or J-U-L-Y or A-U-G-U-S-T. | ||
| 51. Book narrated by a child or teen, but written for an adult audience. |
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| 52. Book set in, or written by an author born in, Europe. | Jørn Lier Horst: When It Grows Dark | 7 |
| 53. Book written or set during the interwar period (1919 through 1939). | ||
| 54. Book with a word that refers to a role predominantly belonging to a woman (i.e., wife, daughter, mother, bride) in the title. | ||
| 55. Book with a main character who identifies as LGBTQ. | ||
| 56. Book set in, or written by an author born in, Asia. | Sun Tzu: The Art of War | 7 |
| 57. Book set in, or written by an author born in, Africa. | ||
| 58. Book that primarily focuses on an immigrant experience. | ||
| 59. Book set on an island (that does not include England or Australia). | Ben Tomasson: Forsberg und das verschwundene Mädchen (Forsberg and the Vanished Girl | 11 |
| 60. Book set in, or written by an author born in, North America. | Michael J. Sullivan: The Viscount and the Witch | 5 |
| 61. Book set in, or written by an author born in, South America. | ||
| 62. Book set in a hotel or boarding house. | ||
| 63. Book with a cover image that would make a good post-card or appealing vacation destination. | ||
| 64. Book with a main character who is over 55. | Amor Towles: The Didomenico Fragment | 3 |
| 65. Mystery that involves a romantically-entangled pair of investigators. | Agatha Christie: Partners in Crime | 9 |
| 66. Book with a snowy / cold setting. | Christianna Brand: Heads You Lose | 5 |
| 67. Book set in a city of over a million people. | Martin Edwards, Various Authors: Capital Crimes | 10 |
| 68. Book where the main character has a secret. | Mark Dawson & Steve Cavanagh: Scorpion | 5 |
| 69. Humorous memoir by comedian, actor or writer. | ||
| 70. Summer concert – a book written by or about a musician. | ||
| 71. Bildungsroman / coming of age story. | ||
| 72. Book set in a boarding school or college. | ||
| 73. Historical fiction / mystery set during the medieval period (Early (c. 476-1000), the High (c. 1001-1300), and the Late (c. 1301–1500) Middle Ages). | ||
| 74. Fantasy that has a setting that is NOT based upon a European medieval period. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of Myth | 12 |
| 75. Book that is categorized alternate history. | ||
| 76. Book that is categorized space opera. | ||
| 77. Book that has been on your to-read list for more than five years. | H.C. Bailey: Mr Fortune, Please | 8 |
| 78. Book where the main character has a pet that is important to the plot. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of Swords | 3 |
| 79. Book with a dog on the cover. | ||
| 80. Book that has a character that can shift into an animal form that is not a werewolf. | ||
| 81. Book that you acquired for free. | Michael J. Sullivan: The Jester | 6 |
| 82. Book that has a picture of a house with yellow windows on the cover. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of Legend | 8 |
| 83. Book that was published before 2000. |
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| 84. Book that has a main male character named: Jack, Jason, John, James, or any related names / diminutives / nicknames. | ||
| 85. Book that is categorized espionage, spy, thriller or suspense and written by a woman author. | Inge Löhnig: Mörderkind | 2 |
| 86. Book with a picture of food on the cover. | ||
| 87. Book with a two word title. | Edna O’Brien: Lantern Slides | 7 |
| 88. Book with a proper name in the title. | James Krasner: Sherlock Holmes: Beyond the Elementary | 8 |
| 89. Book categorized urban fantasy, or that involves dragons. | Michael J. Sullivan: Age of War | 2 |
| 90. Book featuring a character who is an archeologist, anthropologist, paleontologist, wildlife or marine biologist, or who generally works in a similar field. | Elizabeth Peters: The Mummy Case | 7 |
| 91. Book set in a rural area / small community. | ||
| 92. Book with an image of a garden, park or flowers on the cover. | ||
| 93. Book published in June, July or August of this year. | ||
| 94. Book that you checked out or borrowed. | Jennifer Paxton: 1066: The Year that Changed Everything | 3 |
| 95. Book categorized crime, either true crime or fiction. | ||
| 96. Book categorized YA or Middle Grade. | ||
| 97. Book that has an unreliable narrator. | Wendy Walker: Hold Your Breath | 8 |
| 98. Any book in a series that has more than 10 entries. | ||
| 99. Book that has a cover that is predominantly pink or purple. | Anthony Trollope: Framley Parsonage | 10 |
| 100. Readers choice |
Total points (to date): |
337 |
The rules:
This is a points based contest – it commences o May 23 and ends 100 days from that date, on August 31, 2023 (just in time for Halloween bingo). In order to establish the number of points per book, each player will roll a 12-sided die when they start a book. That means that a book that is worth 7 points for me, may only be worth 4 points for a different player, or may be worth as much as 12 points. You can either roll a virtual dice or, if you happen to have a set of 12-sided dice, you can use those instead.
You can read any prompt you want, in any order you want to read, but you can only count a book once, and only fill each prompt once.
The person who ends the summer with the most points will be crowned the Queen (or King – we’re equal opportunity royalty here on the SRR) of Summer Reading!
