Mini-Challenge | Vague Recollections

Posted April 27, 2018 by Kait in Readathon / 178 Comments

Welcome to my mini-challenge!

Fun fact: I work at a library. Technically, I work in the Children’s Room at a fairly large library. We frequently have patrons come in and ask about “that book, you know, where the main character did stuff and the cover was red, I think? Or maybe blue?” Now don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love helping people finding what they’re looking for, and decoding an extremely vague description like that -and finding the right book!- is an amazing feeling. And today you get to feel like that too!

This challenge will have two parts. For Part One, please leave a comment describing the book you’re currently reading (or your favorite book, or the book next to you, etc.) as vaguely as possible, starting with the phrase “You know, that book with the character who did the thing”. Describe the cover if you like, or some plot points, or maybe just tell me what you think it’s called (even if you’re totally wrong). Try and be as vague as possible. Bonus bragging points for anyone who describes a popular book that stumps people. Here are a few examples to show you what I mean:

Example 1: You know, that book with the character who did the thing. There’s a school, and friends, and a necklace. I think the cover has a girl on it?

Example 2: You know, that book with the character who did the thing. I think there was a mountain or like a volcano or something? And they talked about food a lot. Sometimes there was dancing, or maybe just singing.

Example 3: You know, that book with the character who did the thing. Something about a play, and there were those people that were in love maybe? The cover was definitely red. I think.

Click on the spoiler for the answer to the examples!

View Spoiler »

For Part Two, please comment on someone else’s description with what you think the book is. See how many you can get right and remember to have fun!

Comment between 8am EST on April 28 and 8am EST on April 29 for a chance to win a prize pack of 4 YA books, including ARCs and an annotated copy of The Poet X!

ETA: I’ll be gone most of the day tomorrow, so I’ll pick the winner at random on Monday and let them know they won! Good luck everyone!

WINNER: Congratulations to Rachel at Hibernator’s Library! Please send me an email at scintillatingreads@gmail.com with your mailing address and I’ll send you your prize pack asap!

well wishes candy fishes kait

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178 responses to “Mini-Challenge | Vague Recollections”

  5. Kristen McPeek

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. There is a character that’s really sick, but maybe not… The cover is whitish, and I think has a lot of colors on it. I’ve been told it’s a really good book… can you help me find it?

    Reply
  6. Susan

    I’m a librarian and started in children’s. My best story was the little girl who wanted to know if we had the book with the witch with the green fingernails. And I knew EXACTLY what book that was! Piggie Pie by Palatini.

    Here’s my clue: You know that book with the character who did the thing. The cover had some article of clothing on it? And it was romantic (except maybe not)? My best friend’s cousin’s aunt says it’s the next B.A. Paris.

    Reply
  9. Danielle Bowen

    You know that book were the kids go the tree and see some stuff. Written by that women who wrote other books about other kids going to other places and seeing other stuff…

    Reply
  10. Beth Casagrande

    You know, that one book, there’s like a boat, and they sail to that place, and the one guy’s evil. There might be a parrot too

    Reply
  11. Colleen B

    You know that book where that character did that thing. There’s a love triangle and a magic and monsters.

    Reply
  12. Leni

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. With a towel and a car. And there’s lots of space aliens. And I think there’s maths and bad poetry. I’m pretty sure the cover is blue.

    Reply
  13. Dev

    I LOVE this challenge, as I actually AM looking for a book I read–because I found out it’s a trilogy, but I can’t remember who wrote it or what it was called. But when I see it and thumb through it, I can confirm it.

    It’s the first book in a trilogy (or a duo-logy, or a quad-logy, point being, there’s more to the story). It had some dreamscape in it. It was a heritage book–or not… There were real monsters–of sorts. The main character was in some type of relationship that had to do with these monsters.

    Can you help me?

    Reply
  15. Kayleigh

    I had two on my mind:

    You know that book with those kids in it? They like to steal stuff. There’s magic too, I think.

    You know that book where there are two people? They do magic and stuff. It’s black I think. Or white maybe.

    Reply
  21. Givemeprimelaughter

    The book is rainbow … kind of …. it might have a mask …. or wings? There’s a character who caused trouble … only not really. People like her … but maybe more don’t? There is magic …. and a thing that is a place that does stuff….uhmm there might be dragons..

    Reply
  22. Julie

    You know that book where the character did that thing? There is… like… a family-island, and I think there was a fire.

    Reply
  23. Jaz

    There’s this book you know with a group of teen girls, might become involved with an exorcism… the cover is pink and features an interesting symbol.

    Reply
  25. Sylwia

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing? The cover is black and white? One of the words in the title looks funny? And the book seemed like it was about nothing but it was really about everything?

    Reply
    • Kait

      Hi Sylwia! I have to approve the comments before they show up on the page, that’s why you weren’t seeing yours at first. Then when you sent the same thing again it was marked as spam! You should be all set now, I had it post just one of your comments. 🙂

      Reply
  27. Kimberlee

    You know that book about the woman, it was like Jane Eyre…I think she was a librarian. The cover has domestic images all over it. Miss Pettigrew…or Miss someone or other?

    Reply
  28. Hannah Brown

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing? With the two people who hate each other at the start but then they get married and all of her sister’s get married? I think there’s about 50 different covers.

    Reply
  30. Angie M

    You know, that book with the guy who did the thing?
    He has a pet that he talks to all the time…and he’s quite the snarky one!
    It has that cover, you know with the guy that looks like Jamie Frasier (Outlander)?
    Oh, and I think he has a weapon….a gun maybe? or something…or maybe not?
    I think he was looking for god, or someone?

    Reply
  31. Elyse

    You know, that book with the girl who was a slave but not really? The one where she went to train with stuff and that guy and magic stuff? And no one knew she was still alive but she was the heir? That one!

    Reply
  33. Sam B

    You know, that book with the guy who did the thing? There was a woman and big font on the cover, and there was maybe some supernatural stuff…but then maybe not. I think there were movies involved somehow.

    Reply
  34. Jennifer

    You know the book where the person did a thing? Something about eyes and a necklace, the necklace might be on the cover

    Reply
  35. Rebecca

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. I think it had a single mom in it with I don’t remember how many kids. People hated her, or she thought they did or something.

    Reply
  37. Victoria

    You know, that book with the girl who did the thing? She almost died in a fire and her family hated her for something, i think the cover had something red on it.

    Reply
  38. Paula Burnett

    You know the book, it’s by that lady, the funny one. I think it’s orange? She is on the cover though, but with someone else’s arms. You know she was on those shows, and in those movies. Oh, oh , yeah, she’s best friends with that other lady, the blond one.

    Reply
  39. Jordan @callmesensei14

    You know, the one where there’s a girl… she’s really strong and likes to steal stuff… and she has to team up with an enemy she really hates to get her revenge? And there’s miiight be dragons?

    Reply
  40. Dana

    So the book is a cartoon, and it has some fantasy stuff in it. There’s a girl, I think. And the cover was dark blue. Or it might have been green. Or black. I can’t remember.

    Reply
  42. Monica S.

    Oh, do you guys remember that one book where this dude went on a business trip about real estate and barely escaped with his life? And then all his friends got sick too, and everyone stayed up SUPER LATE and slept all day, and then at the end they went back to the real estate property but I don’t know why they bothered because I think they brought some of the dirt from the backyard with them in the first place.

    Reply
  47. Lisa R

    you know, that book with the character who did the thing. like you know those archie comics? but not him, the girl with the hair…and it’s scary and stuff. it’s just about her.

    Reply
  48. Jules Q {phreneticmind}

    So there’s this book about 2 guys who hated each other and their kids fell in love but they were supposed to be enemies. The kids didn’t always exist at the same time, but they end up spending eternity together. It was really popular but kind of dark.

    Reply
  50. Jenna @ Falling Letters

    This is the fourth readathon challenge I’m trying out and they’re all so fun and creative!! This one is proving to be a real challenge for me (I have no guesses for other people’s descriptions lol) but here’s my go at it: You know, that book with those kids who did the thing. They go somewhere with another kid??

    Reply
  51. Christine Romero

    You know that book with the girl who does stuff in it? I think she gets lost, but she’s not really lost. I’m pretty sure some fictional people are real or some real people are fictional. There is a girl on the cover, I think. For some reason it makes me think of extinct animals, there may be time travel involved. And books.

    Reply
  52. Dallas @ The Wicked Bookworm

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. She lives in space, I think it’s a movie spinoff. There might be red on the cover, or maybe white. It’s by the same author who wrote a series about a phoenix that lets you travel through dimensions or something.

    Reply
  53. strina

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. There was an island? But there wasn’t usually an island and people were real mad about it? And a fisherman. I think the cover had a palm tree?

    Reply
  55. strina

    You know, that book with the character who did the thing. I read it in middle school? It was her diary and she always listed the saints days? She was going to get married even though she didn’t want to but then she didn’t have to because he was old and died. So she married his son.

    Reply
  60. Claudia

    You know that book where the thing happens? It’s an orange red cover and there’s a school and like the military and stuff. I cried so much.

    Reply
  62. SarahAnneBooks

    You know, that book with the character that did the thing. The pining, want-her-can’t-have-her thing. And there was confusion about a sibling. And lots of bad men. And hay.

    Reply
  63. Irene

    You know that book with a girl who’s moving. The cover is white with blue and brown. It’s about love too. I think. It’s a long one.

    Reply
  65. Joy Renee

    I opened this in a tab during the thon intending to participate and forgot to come back to it. I was very intrigued by the concept because I’m always trying to remember a title or author I read years or decades ago. My memory is very visual and I often can picture in my mind the book in vivid detail and even the particular shelf in the particular library where it lived. This one was from my childhood city library which from the looks of your pic could have been your grandmother’s childhood: mid to late 1960s. maybe very early 70s.

    The cover was orange and white with black line drawings of a house surrounded with trees and a fence or gate in front of it. It was very spooky. There was also a pedestal possibly of brick with a big glass or crystal ball atop it. maybe it was a gatepost. The story involved siblings one or more of which visited other worlds in their sleep. one of them was trapped in that glass ball or another one or a bubble of some kind. based on my memory of the shelf it was several feet beyond the Wrinkle in Time books and several feet before Dr Doolittle. by feet i mean horizontal but the sections were five or six 5′ shelves tall. And Dr Doolittle was near the half-way point to the Zs. I thot the shelf info might give a range of alphabet to narrow down but I just checked on Dr Doolittle author and found two names both claiming to be the classic. One starts with an L which would make the L section itself nearly a quarter of the children’s collection so it must be Earl Newton. Which might give the author’s last name a range between the Lo*** to Mc***

    Too bad that vivid image doesn’t include the image of the title or author name. But it very seldom does. Only if there was something very unique about the font. hope you can help me identify it. but I realize it is a significant challenge

    Reply

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