Duration: 1st September – 31st October
Number of books: 10
Hosted by: Crazy Challenge Connection
1. The 26th state of the United States is Michigan, joining on January 26, 1837. Lansing is its capital city. The state’s name comes from the Ojibwe word, mishigamaa, meaning “large water” or “large lake”. The Great Lake State is Michigan’s nickname, referring to the state’s boundary with four of the five great lakes. In addition to that, Michigan has more than 11,000 inland lakes. In Michigan, you are never more than 6 miles from an inland lake or more than 85 miles from a Great Lake.
✒ Read a book whose number of pages are between 260 – 269 (tell us the number of pages) -or- read a book set in a state bordering one of the Great Lakes (tell us where) -or- read a book with a title with a word ending with -ing. – Reinventing Ruby by Deborah Blake
2. Michigan has another nickname, The Wolverine State. The origin of this nickname is uncertain, but it is believed that Ohioans gave Michigan this name during a dispute over the Toledo strip, a piece of land along the border between Ohio and Michigan. Rumors in Ohio at the time described Michiganians as being vicious and bloodthirsty as wolverines. This dispute became known as Toledo War. Another reason given for the nickname is a story that has Native Americans, during the 1830s, comparing Michigan settlers to wolverines. There are no longer any living wolverines, although the state was home to wolverines in the past. The last one discovered was in 2004, in Huron County, the first to be spotted in 200 years. It has passed on and been stuffed since.
✒ Read a book with a wild animal on its cover or in its plot -or- read a book with a character you would describe as vicious and bloodthirsty (tell us who) -or- read a book whose series name starts with a letter in TOLEDO. – Hidden Currents by Christine Feehan
3. The state bird of Michigan is Robin Redbreast. The state flower is Apple Blossom, the state tree is the Eastern White Pine and the state wildflower is Dwarf Lake Iris. The state motto is “Si quaeris peninsulam amoenam, circumspice”, which translates to “If you seek a pleasant peninsula, look about you”. The state stone is the Petoskey Stones, which are made from 350-million-year-old fossilized limestone.
✒ Read a book with a mostly red cover (post the cover) -or- read a book with a fruit in its title or author’s name -or- read a book in which the main character moves to a different location (for the purpose of settling, not for travel). – Water Bound by Christine Feehan
4. Even though it is Florida that bears the nickname “Peninsula State”, Michigan is the only state of the United States with two peninsulas, upper and lower. Michigan has the largest freshwater shoreline in the world. And it has more shoreline than any other state of the United States except Alaska. Grand Haven is famous for its singing sand beaches, which make a whistling sound when you walk on them. The Detroit metro area sits on top of a gigantic salt mine. According to some estimates, there’s enough salt there to last for 70 million years at the world’s current rate of consumption.
✒ Read a book whose plot deals with music in some way -or- read a book from the list Popular Beach Reads -or- read a book with a character you would call “salty”. (tell us whom and why). – Death and Relaxation by Devon Monk
5. Sault Ste. Marie, founded in 1668, was the first European settlement in the Midwest, and the third-oldest west of the Appalachian. Michigan abolished the death penalty in 1846 for all crimes other than treason, becoming not only the first state, but the first English-speaking government to do so. Grand Rapids was named by a Newsweek article in 2011 as one of “America’s Dying Cities”. The town, annoyed, fought back by making a video with everyone in town lip-syncing to the song “American Pie”. The video went viral, and prompted Newsweek to disclaim the original article.
✒ Read a book set in the 1600s -or- read a book in which a town comes together to do something (tell us how your book works) -or- read a book whose title or author’s name contains a St., Ste., or Saint (no other variations!) – Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (to buy Wayan’s house)
6. Colon, despite the rather unfortunate name, is nevertheless a magical place. It is home to several magic supply manufacturers – Abbott Magic Company, Sterlini Magic Manufacturing Company, and FAB Magic. It is also the former hometown and the final resting place of Harry Blackstone Sr., who began his career as a magician in his teens and was popular through the World War II as a USO entertainer. He was often billed as “The Great Blackstone”. Blackstone was in the model of courtly, elegant predecessor magicians, and the last of that breed in America. His most effective illusion was one in which a woman lay on the couch uncovered unlike the versions others performed in the day. It was called Kellar Levitation, which Blackstone called “The Dream of Princess Karnac” – the couch would vanish and the lady would seemingly levitate mid-air.
✒ Read a book with a character who is a magician or illusionist -or- read a book whose title contains only words that begin with a letter in “THEGREATBLACKSTONE” (3 word minimum, A, An and The count) -or- read a book with a prone person on the cover (post the cover). – Winter by Marissa Meyer
7. Detroit is nicknamed Motor City or Motown. In 1903, Henry Ford founded the Ford Motor Company. Ford’s manufacturing – and those of automotive pioneers William C. Durant (of GM and Chevrolet), the Dodge Brothers, Packard and Walter Chrysler – established Detroit’s status in the early 20th century as the world’s automotive capital. The first air-conditioned car in the world was manufactured in Detroit by the Packard Motor Car Company in 1939. The world’s first depressed freeway ever built, the Davison, was constructed in Detroit. The city also played a key role during the World War II. Jobs expanded so rapidly that in 1950, the city held about one-third of the state’s population. It has declined since, following the gasoline crisis of the 70s which affected the US auto industry and the rise of smaller, fuel-efficient cars by foreign makers. Detroit was also severely affected during the economic recession of the 2000s. The protracted decline of the city has resulted in severe urban decay with thousands of empty buildings around the city, referred to as greyfield.
✒ Read a book that is set in a metropolitan area (tell us where) -or- read a book with a car prominently shown on the cover (post the cover) -or- read a book in which the main character worries about money. – Grave Witch by Kalayna Price
8. In June 1963, Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. gave a major speech in Detroit that foreshadowed his “I Have a Dream” speech in Washington D. C., two months later. While the civil rights movement gained significant federal civil rights laws in 1964 and 1965, longstanding inequities resulted in confrontations between the police and inner-city black youth wanting change. Longstanding tensions in Detroit culminated in the Twelfth Street riot in July 1967. Governor George W. Romney ordered the Michigan National Guard into Detroit, and President Johnson sent in U.S. Army troops. The result was 43 dead, 467 injured, over 7,200 arrests, and more than 2,000 buildings destroyed, mostly in black residential and business areas. Thousands of small businesses closed permanently or relocated to safer neighborhoods. The affected district lay in ruins for decades. It was the costliest riot in the United States.
✒ Read a book which contains a confrontation between a civilian and the police -or- read a book written by an African American author -or- read a book from an author with a quote in the first 10 pages of this list of Recently Added Quotes. Mention the quote! – Stars Above by Marissa Meyer
9. The original name of the University of Michigan, founded in 1817, was Catholepistemiad. The University of Michigan has been nicknamed the “Harvard of the West”, which led Harvard alum JFK to refer to himself as a graduate of the Michigan of the East in a speech he delivered during a 1961 campus visit. Famous University of Michigan alums include Clarence Darrow (the defense attorney of the Scopes trial, in which Scopes, a high school teacher, was found in violation of the Tennessee Butler Act, which made it unlawful to teach human evolution in any state funded school), James Earl Jones, Madonna and Gerald R. Ford, the 38th president of the United States. Michigan State University was the first agricultural college in the United States. MSU also has its own illustrious alums, such as Jimmy Hoffa, Sam Raimi and Magic Johnson.
✒ Read a book whose title has changed since original publication for whatever reason -or- read a book set around a university or school -or- read a banned book (here’s a listfor reference). – To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han
10. Grand Rapids and Brighton have a law against being annoying. A man who dropped a couple of f-words after falling out of his canoe was convicted in 1999, under a law that had been on the books since 1897 prohibiting “indecent, immoral, obscene, vulgar or insulting language in the presence or hearing of any woman or child”. In 2002, the conviction was overturned, and the law was struck down at the same time. It is legal in Michigan for a robber to file a lawsuit if they got injured while robbing your house. It is illegal in Detroit to have sex in cars, unless said car is parked in the couple’s own property. It is also illegal in Detroit for a man to scowl at his wife on Sunday. In Harper Woods, it is illegal to paint sparrows and sell them as parakeets. And in Rochester, all bathing suits must be inspected by the head of police.
✒ Read a book in which the f-word is used frequently -or- read a book in which a burglary takes place -or- read a book that has a topic or event that leaves you scowling. – The Elephant Whisperer by Lawrence Anthony (poaching for both)
Title: The Trials of Bryan Murphy
Earth and Skye 