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Use this thread to talk about what you’re reading for January’s prompts or ask for recommendations.

For more information about the challenge see this thread: Winter Reading Challenge: Introduction & Tasks

JANUARY

1. Happy New Year!

Happy 2020! Here’s to a great year of reading. Around the world people will be welcoming the new year while watching fireworks displays, drinking champagne and singing Auld Lang Syne.

1. Read a book by an author who is new to you.
2. Read a book from a genre that is new to you (you can use a sub-genre, eg urban fantasy, historical romance, etc if you already read books from most genres).
3. Read a book in which all the words in the title have the same number of letters (eg The Bat, Ninth House, The Old Man and the Sea).

2. January birthdays: A.A. Milne

A.A. Milne was born in London in 18 January 1882. He is most famous for his Winnie the Pooh books which are among the most popular children’s books ever published and have been translated into numerous languages, including Latin!

1. Read a book by an author who is usually known by their initials (eg J.K. Rowling, J.D. Salinger, L.M. Montgomery)
2. Read a book by an author who was born in a capital city (for this task, a capital city means the capital of a country rather than a state or province)
3. Read a book that has been . (There are several short children’s books and picture books on the list, it’s up to you if you want to count them for this challenge.)

3. New Year Resolutions

Millions of people see January 1st as an opportunity to set goals for the year ahead and the practice of making new year resolutions has a long history. In Babylonia new year was a time to promise the repayment of debts and return of borrowed items. And Romans are believed to have made sacrifices and promises to the god Janus, who is depicted as having two faces - one looking to the past and one to the future. Given that history, whether you keep or break your own resolutions this year, you’re probably in good company!

1. Read a book where the first letter of each word in the title can be found in NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS (the title must be at leat three words long for this option)
2. Read a book that looks into the past (historical fiction, history, etc) or a book that looks into the future (science fiction, fantasy, etc).
3. Read a book that will help you keep one of your New Year resolutions OR if you don’t make resolutions then read a book related to one of the . Tell us what your resolution is when recording this task as completed.

4. Winter sports: bobsleigh

Bobsleighing originated in the Swiss town of St Moritz in the 19th century. Holidaymakers looking for entertainment in the cold winters hit on a plan to adapt delivery sleds into racing sleds and compete in races down the steep roads of the town. While undoubtedly entertaining for holidaymakers, the high speed sled races became immensely unpopular with residents of the town who, not unreasonably, objected to being mown down on their own streets by out of control sleds. In order to restore calm, a local hotel owner constructed an ice half-pipe track outside the town where the sled races could continue, and the sport of bobsleighing was born.

1. Read a book set mostly in a location that begins with a letter in SWITZERLAND.
2. Read a book in which a conflict between characters is a major part of the plot. Tell us what the conflict was (using spoiler tags if necessary) when recording the task as completed.
3. Read a book that appears on one of these lists of fast-paced books:
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Bookbub require you to create an account with them to access their site, so for anyone who doesn’t want to sign up I’ve copied the books that appear on (for prompt 4) below:

The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks
The Chalk Man by C.J. Tudor
How to Stop Time by Matt Haig
Sunburn by Laura Lippman
Artemis by Andy Weir
Promise Not to Tell by Jayne Ann Krentz
Two Girls Down by Louisa Luna
Need to Know by Karen Cleveland
The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory
Only Child by Rhiannon Navin
Force of Nature by Jane Harper
The French Girl by Lexie Elliott
The Family Next Door by Sally Hepworth
The Broken Girls by Simone St. James
Not That I Could Tell by Jessica Strawser
Tangerine by Christine Mangan

I'm quite excited to have a unique opportunity to fulfill Prompt #2 - Read a book that has been translated into Latin. I work at a college and the Classics Department is hosting a Saturnalia party, which will include cookies and cocoa and readings in Latin of children's holiday books. :)

Hope everyone is having fun with the Winter Reading Challenge!

The Business Insider list seems to be behind a paywall. Anyone have a list of the books on it?

Rachel wrote: "The Business Insider list seems to be behind a paywall. Anyone have a list of the books on it?"

I was able to look at the list. Here it is:
Into the Water
The Handmaid's Tale
Big Little Lies
16th Seduction
Dead Certain
A Merciful Death
Lilac Girls
The Fix
Golden Prey
Detective Cross
American Gods
Split Second
The Black Book
The Woman in Cabin 10
Robert B. Parker's Little White Lies
Infinity Born
Silent Child
Say You're Sorry
The Missing Ones
I Am Pilgrim
Pandemic
Beach Lawyer
The Templar Legacy
Breakthrough
My Sister's Grave

What authors were born in a capital city?

Janell wrote: "What authors were born in a capital city?"

Margaret Atwood (Ottawa), Zadie Smith (London), Scarlett Thomas (London), Kiran Millwood Hargrave (London), Jojo Moyes (London). I feel there are a lot more London-born authors but I don't know them off the top of my head.

Katherine Boo of Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity was born in Washington, DC. Non Fiction but reads like Fiction.

Hiromi Kawakami of Strange Weather in Tokyo was born in Tokyo and also Marie Kondō.