Saturday, November 11, 2017

Monthly Key Word Challenge 2018

Over the last several years I have participated in the Monthly Key Words Challenge. It started with Kim at Bookmark to Blog and more recently was hosted by Claudia at My Soul Called Life. Claudia's blog has disappeared and I tried to contact her through Goodreads to see if she had changed blogs and/or if she planned to host the challenge again. I've gotten no response and have decided to host a version of the challenge myself. And so, here is the 2018 version of the challenge....



Your task is to read at least one book each month whose title includes one or more of the key words for that month. For instance, in January you might read Mystery in White by J. Jefferson Farjeon. The key words are listed below.

GUIDELINES  

* The title you choose can be a variation on one of the key words. For example- your title could include the word 'icicle'
or 'icing' even though the key word is 'ice.'

*Key words can be tweaked. For example- You could read a book with "Bowler" or "Bonnet" for the key word 'Hat' and that would be just fine. If the key word is 'Family' then your title could include the word 'Sister' or 'Father.'If the key word is 'Food' then your title could include the word 'Cake.'



*You may sign up any time from now until November 1, 2018. But to complete the challenge you will need to read (or have already read) books with keywords from any months missed by the time of sign-up.

* Link up below to participate. I will create a headquarters site (like those for my other challenges) where links for monthly reviews will be housed.


*No Blog? No problem!  If you have a Goodreads shelf or other link to post, just give it to me in a comment. When the monthly review links are posted, you can just add a comment telling me the book you've read for the keyword.

*UPDATE (2/20/18): I just realized that I've posted mixed messages about reading your keyword books. Here's the final answer. I promise. Provided you clearly indicate the keyword and the month it was intended for, you may catch up on any missed months at any time. However, please don't read keyword books before the month they're due. For example--if you missed reading a book for January, you may read that book any time until the challenge ends. But you shouldn't read a "Green" book for March until March or later.
 
 










































25 comments:

Jamie Ghione said...

I'm in! Thanks for hosting.

Darlene said...

I love this challenge! Thanks for taking over and hosting this one! I'm in.

LuAnn @ BackPorchervations said...

I've had this post up in my browser for hours, wondering should I sign up again, since my am not the most organized in keeping track of my reading. But trying some new things this year (like choosing books ahead of time if possible), and hoping that will work better for me. :O)

CMash said...

I'm in!!! Thank you!

Rachael said...

Thanks for hosting the challenge. I was disappointed to find that her blog has disappeared and so I thought the challenge was gone. This has been one of my favorite challenges for many years. I love trying to find books to read to fit the keywords.

Clara said...

Can I sign up for this challenge without a blog? If I need one, I'll start one. This looks like a great challenge and I'd love to sign up.

Suzy said...

Thanks for hosting!! I was worried that there wouldn't be a Monthly Keyword Reading Challenge this year and I really enjoyed it last year. I don't keep a blog, but I use Goodreads and a Google Doc to keep track of my books as I get them read.
Thanks again!!

Anonymous said...

Do the books have to be read in the month assigned? Or could I e.g. read a Feb. theme book in Jan, and it would still count? Thanks. Nell

Bev Hankins said...

MellowNell: I have always understood the rules to be that the Keywords were particular to each month and the previous hosts have had specific monthly review links. That is how I planned to handle it as well.

Bev Hankins said...

Clara & Suzy: No blog is no problem. If you have a Goodreads shelf or other link to post, just give it to me in a comment. Otherwise, when the monthly review links are posted, you can just add a comment telling me the book you've read for the keyword.

Unknown said...

Sign me up for 2018. I assume that reading TBR books from other challenges can be cross-posted here, as long as rules for this effort are followed.

Unknown said...

One Question: As I began to look at my TBR list and project reading dates to fulfill both challenges, I began to notice that plurals of some of the words cropped up in titles. For example, in January,'Road' is a word to be used - would "Five RoadS to Death (Judson Philips) be allowed? "Pearls Before Swine (Margery Allingham) and The Mountains have a Secret (Arthur W. Upfield) also come to mind. I ask because I notice in July that Wood/s specifically seems to indicate that either form is acceptable.

Anonymous said...

I am pretty excited about this one; its like a fun bookshelf-title-scavenger hunt with a challenge. LOL Well, you know... whatever. Let's read!

Anonymous said...

I'm in! Looking forward to January.

Bev Hankins said...

Russell: I'm sorry I didn't see your questions sooner. Yes, plurals of words are fine (I would consider that "tweaking") and you are also welcome to count any qualifying books for other challenges as well.

Sarah @ SWB said...

I'm in! Looking forward to January!

Unknown said...

I'm in! Looks like a fun challenge; thanks for hosting!

Unknown said...

This is the first challenge like this I have done. I don't have a blog, I do have a goodreads, I can make a special shelf for these books? Or do you recommend something else? Ty

Unknown said...

This is the first challenge like this I have done. I don't have a blog, I do have a goodreads, I can make a special shelf for these books? Or do you recommend something else? Ty

Bev Hankins said...

Cathy: You are welcome to log these any way that works for you--if a Goodreads shelf works, then go for it. When you finish each month's book, just go to the Headquarters (sidebar) and then click the link for the month--there you can comment with the title, author, and keyword used (especially important if you tweak it and the keyword isn't obvious).

Anonymous said...

I'm in! Are we supposed to do one book per keyword? Or are we supposed to try to hit multiple keywords in each title?

Bev Hankins said...

You are welcome to read as many of the keywords each month as you like...but you are only required to read one keyword per month to fulfill the challenge.

Ms. Nose in a Book said...

I’m in! This challenge sounds super fun, thank you for hosting!

Captain Nick Sparrow said...

I've been playing along all year and completed it a few weeks ago. Your challenge got 12 books off my TBR, one I've had since the 90s! I've been tagging you on Instagram when I can remember bc I don't blog anymore. Thank you for hosting this challenge!

Bev Hankins said...

Captain Nick Sparrow: Glad you've enjoyed it. I don't Instagram, so I haven't seen the tags. But you're welcome to participate in any way you can. Hope you'll come back for another round in 2019.