Take It or Leave It Challenge - December 2012 - Page 1

Talk75 Books Challenge for 2012

Join LibraryThing to post.

Take It or Leave It Challenge - December 2012 - Page 1

This topic is currently marked as "dormant"—the last message is more than 90 days old. You can revive it by posting a reply.

1SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 11:59 pm

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread or this TIOLI FAQS wiki.

Simple directions for posting to the wiki can be found at the bottom of each month's wiki page.


...logo by cyderry

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Hi folks! Did you miss me? :D Well, here I am with your new challenge…

My challenge to you for December 2012 is to have you read a book for a tag round robin. This is how it will work.

I choose a book based on its tag. We’ll call that the “first tag”. I choose another tag for that book (let’s call that the “second tag”). You choose your book from that “second tag” and make *that* tag now your “first tag”. You still need to choose a “second tag” for the next person to grab as their first tag”. I hope that’s not too complicated to understand.

In other words, the next person in line chooses a book based on the *second* tag of the prior book, then adds another tag of choice.

This challenge will not be in alphabetical order so do NOT remove unread books at the end of the month. I will do that after December is over and I compile the stats.

When you choose your second tag, makes sure it has an adequate number of books associated with it so that the next person in line will have a good assortment of books from which to choose.

Other information:

1. IMPORTANT: You may not use any tag that has a number in it UNLESS the number is written in words.
2. ALSO IMPORTANT: You may not tell another challenger what tag to pick so that you may read your own already-chosen book!

3. You must only use the second tag of the book that is listed prior to your own listing.
4. You may list a shared read at any time.
5. Try to keep the tags you choose both fun interesting!

Here’s an example of what this challenge should look like:

A Boy of Good Breeding (Humor/Canadian author) – Miriam Toews – SqueakyChu
Lifeof Pi (Canadian author/shipwreck) – Yann Martel – kidzdoc
The Perfect Storm (shipwreck/disaster) – Sebastian Junger – pbadeer
Miracle in the Andes (disaster/South America) – Nando Parrado - _Zoe_
Paula (South America/daughter) – Isabel Allende – alcottacre

You may now begin. Have fun!

-----------------------------------

Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):

1. The December 2012 TIOLI Meter - Optional page on which you may track your TIOLI reading. FYI: This is not meant to be competitive - only fun!
2. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges - You may use this reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating a previous challenge. If your idea is similar to a previous challenge, just make it unique by adding a new "twist" to it. (Updated 11/22/12)

2SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 4, 2012, 11:46 pm

Wiki index:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book for a tag round robin - msg #1
2. Read a book whose title or author name contains "end" - msg #3
3. Read a book with a special cover - msg #12
4. Read a short work featuring a character who also appears in a novel - msg #16
5. Read a book you've been meaning to read all year - msg #23
6. Read a book that starts with the next letter available in the word "Christmas" - msg #27

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book where there are more than half the letters in the alphabet in the title - msg #25
8. Read a book that has both red and green on the cover - msg #26
9. Read a long poem - msg #39
10. Read a book with a photograph on the cover - msg #41
11. Read a book in which the main character has an exceptional talent or power, name the power - msg #47
12. Read an old favourite or something for an old TIOLI 2012 challenge - msg #49

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book from one of the Green Dragon compiled lists - msg #52
14. Read an author biography (not a memoir or an autobiography) or a work of literary criticism that focuses on one author- msg #57
15. Read a book recommended to you by someone you do NOT know - or by the LT automated software - msg #58
16. Read a book you were given as a present on an Occasion (e.g., Christmas, birthday) some past year - msg #80
17. Read a book aloud to someone else - msg #89
18. Read a book with two same digits within hyphens and within the last 10 digits of the ISBN - msg #114 and msg #117

Challenge #19
19. Read a book set in a country beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u) - msg #166

Note: New challenges need to be held until the January 2013 challenges go up. Thanks!

3kidzdoc
Nov 29, 2012, 8:53 pm

Challenge #2: Read a book whose title or author name contains "end"

December marks the end of the calendar year, so my challenge for this month is to read a book whose title, subtitle or author name contains "end". Embedded words are fine, and the string of letters can extend across two words.

Some examples from my library:

Julian Barnes, The Sense of an Ending
Shusaku Endo, Silence, The Sea and Poison, etc.
David Grossman, To the End of the Land
Nick Lane, Life Ascending: The Ten Great Inventions of Evolution
Chang-Rae Lee, The Surrendered
Mario Vargas Llosa, The War of the End of the World
A.B. Yehoshua, Friendly Fire

4Britt84
Nov 29, 2012, 8:54 pm

Oooh, pretty new thread :)

5SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 8:55 pm

> 3

Nice selection of books, Darryl!

> 4

Heh! I was trying to sneak in here silently. :)

6kiwiflowa
Nov 29, 2012, 8:57 pm

yay!!!! been checking all day for this :)

7kidzdoc
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:00 pm

>5 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline! I wasn't planning to submit a TIOLI challenge for this month, but I'm currently reading Foreign Studies by Shusaku Endo, and the idea for this challenge came to me a couple of hours ago.

8SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 8:58 pm

> 6

Me, too! :)

9SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:00 pm

> 7

Darryl, you know it's always my pleasure to do this. It's fun that you're spreading the word about books and authors that I like!

10raidergirl3
Nov 29, 2012, 9:00 pm

Well that sucks - I went to play tag round robin and someone beat me to it while I was entering my book.

11SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 9:01 pm

> 10

Well that sucks

You need to be quick in these matters. LOL!!

12avatiakh
Nov 29, 2012, 9:01 pm

Yes, you were missed.
Challenge #3 Read a book with a special cover
My challenge will be to read a book with a special cover - eg embossed lettering or illustration, gold or silver lettering, diecut or an anniversary edition. Shared reads can use any edition of specified book.

13avatiakh
Nov 29, 2012, 9:04 pm

#10: Sorry raidergirl - that was me

14Britt84
Nov 29, 2012, 9:04 pm

>10 raidergirl3: someone also beat me on the first tag... But I got the third spot, so I'm happy ;) Guessing I kicked you out on that one, sorry :)

15SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 9:06 pm

It's a good thing that the wiki only takes one entry at a time! :)

16lyzard
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:10 pm

Figured I'd need to get in early with this...

Short work challenge:

Challenge #4: Read a short work featuring a character who also appears in a novel


Both novellas and short stories apply (and I'm not going to fuss over definitions: if you say it's a short work, it's a short work!). The short work and the novel do not have to be by the same author. Please list the character on the wiki.

17Chatterbox
Nov 29, 2012, 9:12 pm

Ha, Kerry, you nailed my challenge -- although I was going to stick to embossing...

18lyzard
Nov 29, 2012, 9:15 pm

Re: Madeline's challenge, if someone could manage "France", "French" or "French Revolution" to facilitate the group read of A Tale Of Two Cities, that would be greatly appreciated!! :)

19Britt84
Nov 29, 2012, 9:20 pm

Ohoh! You're cheating! Look at the second rule of Madeline's challenge!

20SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:23 pm

> 18

Liz, that's a No-No! Read Rule #2 in the first message. :O

ETA: I love how challengers only see the rules they want to! ;)

21Britt84
Nov 29, 2012, 9:33 pm

>18 lyzard: and now we've caught you, so now it's also impossible for anybody to accidentally choose it as a tag... :P

22lyzard
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:47 pm

...probably because I seem to have awful trouble with tag challenges, and had already mentally docketed this one as "Not gunna happen". The plea was an afterthought. :)

(I would estimate that 90% of the books I read have no tags before I put them there; even less have ISBNs.)

But mea culpa!

23lahochstetler
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 9:41 pm

Challenge #5- Read a book you've been meaning to read all year

So, pretty self-explanatory. You have to have had the book on your TBR all year (at least the theoretical TBR in your head).

24EBT1002
Nov 29, 2012, 9:43 pm

Cool challenges already!

25cyderry
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 10:02 pm

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Challenge #7: Read a book where there are more than half the letters in the alphabet in the title
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Count how many letters of the alphabet are shown in your title and if more than 13 are include the book qualifies.

26lindapanzo
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 10:03 pm

Challenge #8: Read a book that has both red and green on the cover

Should be self-explanatory.

27DeltaQueen50
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 10:01 pm

I've been popping in and out of LT for the last couple of days waiting for this!

My challenge this month is seasonally motivated:

Challenge 6: Merry Christmas - A Rolling Challenge

Using the word CHRISTMAS, read a book that starts with the next letter available. I have started us off with a C book.

Rules:

- no skipped letters
- A, An, and The can be used as starters or can be ignored.
- joint reads encouraged
- Please enter the letter in Bold before the books title
- Only two successive entries at a time, please.

ETA: Sorry to be out of order, I guess I was typing too slow!

28elkiedee
Nov 29, 2012, 10:04 pm

For short works with no touchstone, you can include a touchstone for the collection/anthology you're reading - hopefully that will help anyone looking to share a read.

29SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 10:04 pm

Is your challenge for the words "Merry Christmas" or just for the word "Christmas"?

30DeltaQueen50
Nov 29, 2012, 10:11 pm

Just Christmas, Madeline.

31SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 10:12 pm

ok. Thanks!

32DeltaQueen50
Nov 29, 2012, 10:17 pm

For the group read of A Tale of Two Cities, I've entered it into Challenge 1. Thanks, Carrie, for the "Classic" tag!

33cbl_tn
Nov 29, 2012, 10:26 pm

You're welcome! I didn't have anything in particular in mind when I chose that tag so I didn't break any rules! I'm not doing the group read since I listened to the audio version earlier this year. I might lurk in your discussion thread, though!

34Chatterbox
Nov 29, 2012, 10:44 pm

I keep getting gazumphed on the rolling challenges -- by the time I locate the book, type it into the wiki and hit save, someone else has grabbed the spot! Has happened 4 times, so I think I'll go to bed and try again in the morning...

35SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 10:45 pm

Sleep on it, Suz. The traffic will be lighter in the morning. :)

Sweet dreams...

36SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 10:59 pm

Be aware that one of the rules for challenge #1 (the tag round robin) is that you may not use any tag that has a number in it UNLESS the number is written in words. I am going to allow the tag "WWII" because "II" is really two of the capital letter "i".

However...no more trying to get numbers into those tags!! :D

In the event that a tag is disqualified, that will disqualify all the succeeding entries...so BE CAREFUL!

37lyzard
Nov 29, 2012, 10:58 pm

>>#32 Hmm. I kinda feel like I'm being rewarded for wrongdoing there, but thanks!! :)

38SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 11:00 pm

> 36

Tee hee!

39Britt84
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 11:36 pm

Challenge #9 - Read a Long Poem

I've been thinking on how to phrase this; I sort of mean a booklength poem, so not a collection of shorter poems, but really a poem that has been published as a stand-alone. I didn't say 'booklength' because it's debatable how long that would be, so I just left it at 'long', which I guess is even more vague... Anyway, if there's any doubts, feel free to ask.
For a couple of examples, think of something like:

The Faerie Queene - Spenser
The Illiad, or The Oddyssee - Homer
The Inferno - Dante
Ode van de Zee (Ode of the Sea) - Fernando Pessoa (not sure if this was ever published in english)
Paradise Lost & Paradise Regained - Milton
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner - Coleridge

ETA: that was challenge 9 of course... My bad...

40SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 8:56 pm

Poll about Short Works

I told you that I'd have a vote at the end of the year about whether or not to include short works in the TIOLI challenges for the next year. I see nothing wrong with them as I think they add a nice variety to our reading. I also think we've worked out the kinks in how they are counted in the TIOLI meter.

Cast your vote now. The poll closes on December 7th at 12 midnight EST.

Everyone should cast a vote, but do NOT vote "undecided". Vote either YES or NO. Thanks!

Vote: Should we continue to allow "short works" in the TIOLI challenges in 2013?

Current tally: Yes 32, No 5, Undecided 1
ETA: I knew that at least one person would vote "undecided" despite my plea.

*sigh*

41Chatterbox
Nov 29, 2012, 11:28 pm

OK, here's mine:

***********************
READ A BOOK WITH A PHOTOGRAPH ON THE COVER

***********************

Should be straightforward -- black & white or color. The key is that it needs to look like a photo, not a stylized drawing or heavily photoshopped to look like something other than a photo. (For instance, I can't tell if Shake Off has a cover based on a photo or not...) It doesn't need to cover the entire jacket, but it should be the major design element (so if there's a tiny head and shoulders photo, and then a drawing or design makes up the other 80% of the cover, that wouldn't qualify.)

Final rule: the photo cannot be of the author him/herself.

42Chatterbox
Nov 29, 2012, 11:46 pm

I'm refraining adding something to challenge 1 as it seems that 19th century as a tag violates a Madeline rule?

43pbadeer
Nov 29, 2012, 11:51 pm

>>42 Chatterbox: - that would be me. I deleted it. I hadn't noticed that rule, but don't know why it was excluded. There are over 180,000 works with that tag. Madeline, what was your thought on excluding numbers

44elkiedee
Edited: Nov 29, 2012, 11:54 pm

42/43: To make it trickier? It limits tags based on dates eg year read.

You could just use a different tag for the same book - children/satire

45SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 11:56 pm

> 42

I'm refraining adding something to challenge 1 as it seems
that 19th century as a tag violates a Madeline rule?


Correct. You cannot add the tag "19th century", but you can add the tag "nineteenth century"...if you find that as a tag and it has enough books from which others can choose.

46SqueakyChu
Nov 29, 2012, 11:58 pm

> 43

what was your thought on excluding numbers

Simple. It was to make the challenge more difficult. Why else? :)

47Citizenjoyce
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 2:50 am

Challenge #11: Read a book in which the main character has an exceptional talent or power, name the power.
This would include science fiction in which the character can fly or have some other fantastic power or realistic fiction in which the person is just very talented.
My planned reads:
Charming Quirks of Others (philosophy) - Alexander McCall Smith
A Discovery of Witches (witchcraft) - Deborah Harkness
Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury (literary genius) - Alison Light
Wonder Boys (literary protege) - Michael Chabon

48humouress
Nov 30, 2012, 3:55 am

I say! I thought I'd found the thread early, having hunted for it last night and not found it - and here we are 48 messages in!

49humouress
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 12:57 pm

In the spirit of getting to the magic number 75, for anyone else like me who hasn't quite managed it, I propose

Challenge 12 : 'Ring out the old' : read an old favourite / read something for a TIOLI 2012 challenge that you didn't manage in that month

Fairly straightforward, I suspect. For this challenge, re-read an old favourite, which should be (hopefully) a quick read to make up your numbers : or read a book that you would have entered in a TIOLI challenge in a previous month, but didn't finish reading in time.

ETA: to try to clarify

ETA: Morphy's list of previous challenges

50elkiedee
Nov 30, 2012, 4:48 am

49: Also a great fallback for any current reads that we don't finish today, very handy especially for those of us in Europe, and even more in Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Thanks.

51humouress
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 5:23 am

>50 elkiedee:: Quite so ;-D . I'm in the same boat.

ETA: Pretty much always.

52Morphidae
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 1:36 pm

Challenge #13: Read a book from one of the Green Dragon compiled lists

Over the years, the members over in the Green Dragon have (with my mad organizational skillz) compiled four lists of "must" read books. Read a book from one of these fours lists. I've linked the lists below. For ease of use in the next couple of days, I'll create a compiled spreadsheet to look at as well.

1001 Fantasy Books to Read Before You Are Turned into a Newt

111 Science Fiction Books to Read Before a Supernova Kills Us All

111 Nonfiction Books to Read Before Your Brain Atrophies

50 Mysteries to Read Before They Find the Body

Compiled spreadsheet in Google Docs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmSg5qorIw0jdC15ZVEwN0FnU2V3ODYzVHZ...

The spreadsheet is sorted by list then by number of votes. You can of course, sort it by title or by author once in it.

FYI, only the first book in a genre series is listed. For the purposes of this challenge, any book that follows will also count. For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is listed. If you read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it would count. Or since The Cat Who Could Read Backwards is listed, any of the Cat Who books could be read.

53SqueakyChu
Nov 30, 2012, 9:14 am

> 49

Hmm?

Read an old favourite / Read something for a TIOLI 2012 challenge that you didn't manage in that month

Which is it? This sounds like two different challenges. An old favourite could easily be a reread rather than an unfinished book from a previous 2012 challenge.

*confused*

54Chatterbox
Nov 30, 2012, 12:22 pm

#49/#53, Well, since the intent seems to be to create one of the catch-all categories (like, read a library book, or read a book you've been meaning to read all year), it would be possible to do something like "read a book that would have fit into one of the 2012 challenges had you discovered the book in time, or had you finished it during the month". Something like that might help bridge the gap?

55cyderry
Nov 30, 2012, 12:39 pm

That was what I wanted to do in December and was trying to get a complete list of all the books finished but I ran out of time, maybe next month.

56SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 1:00 pm

You are picking such good books for challenge number #1!
A few of my favorites were:
Kafka on the Shore
Catcher in the Rye
Night
The Piano Shop on the Left Bank
To Kill a Mockingbird
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

Such terrific picks are wonderful suggestions for shared reads. Hint! Hint! :D

57DorsVenabili
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 2:22 pm

Challenge #14: Read an author biography (not a memoir or an autobiography) or a work of literary criticism that focuses on one author.

While perhaps not wildly exciting, I think this is pretty straightforward. I'm excluding memoirs and autobiographies because it looks like that has already been used as a challenge.

58ffortsa
Nov 30, 2012, 3:29 pm

I was looking at all the recommendations, from LT and from LTers, that have accumulated for me, and thought it might make an adequate challenge. So, how about

"Read something recommended by a person you don't know, or by the LT software."

59lindapanzo
Nov 30, 2012, 3:36 pm

#58 LT seems to have recommended 1,000 books for me. How far down can I go?

60ffortsa
Nov 30, 2012, 3:37 pm

however far you have the stamina to look!

61lindapanzo
Nov 30, 2012, 3:38 pm

#60 Thanks for the quick response. I like just about every one on the first page of recs but love one, in particular, so I'll go with that one, for starters.

62Britt84
Nov 30, 2012, 3:49 pm

Well, I can add lots of book to challenge 12 - waaaayyy too many books I didn't finish on earlier TIOLI challenges :/

I'd really like to get some books finished before the end of the year, I have far too many books lying about that I started but haven't finished yet, might be nice to get some of those done and start the new year with less books on the 'currently reading'-list ;)

63Chatterbox
Nov 30, 2012, 4:41 pm

How do you define a person you don't know? Is it an LTer whose thread you don't follow usually, and vice versa?

64DorsVenabili
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 6:11 pm

#58 - May I use the LT "If you like" feature for this challenge? That's a feature on LT author pages that I'm quite fond of. I actually have developed a personal challenge around this feature that involves picking a piece of paper out of a coffee can (it's hard to explain), so I hope I'm able to use it. Thank you.

65humouress
Nov 30, 2012, 5:48 pm

>53 SqueakyChu:: Madeline, I was trying to do something along the lines of "Ring out the old" for challenge 12, and make it a catch-all. Do you want me to change it?

66humouress
Nov 30, 2012, 5:50 pm

>53 SqueakyChu:: Madeline, I was trying to do something along the lines of "Ring out the old" for challenge 12, and - as Suzanne suggested - make it a catch-all. Do you want me to change it?

67SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 6:33 pm

> 65

You don't need to change it. I was just trying to understand it.

So is it a challenge to read something "old"?

"Old favorites" to me suggest books already read long ago that were favorites and are now due for a reread.

"Something for an old TIOLI 2012 challenge" suggests to me a book that would fit into any category for a previous TIOLI 2012 challenge.

Those ideas to me are very different. What is it that I'm not understanding? Or are you including both of those ideas in one challenge - kind of like "oldies but goodies"? I think that's maybe it...as you just *did* mention""Ring out the old".

Go with it. No problem.

68humouress
Nov 30, 2012, 6:36 pm

>67 SqueakyChu:: Thanks. It was an idea I had, but I'm not articulating it very well. :)

69lyzard
Nov 30, 2012, 6:43 pm

>>#64

I actually have developed a personal challenge around this feature that involves picking a piece of paper out of a coffee can (it's hard to explain)

No, it isn't! I do stuff like that all the time... :)

70SqueakyChu
Nov 30, 2012, 6:57 pm

> 68

I finally "got it". It might have also been my brain! :)

71SqueakyChu
Edited: Nov 30, 2012, 6:59 pm

I actually have developed a personal challenge around this feature that involves picking a piece of paper out of a coffee can (it's hard to explain)

We want to do your coffee can challenge, Liz!!!!!!!!!!!!! Could you do it for January? Where should I get my coffee can?

72Britt84
Nov 30, 2012, 7:08 pm

I have to admit I am now really curious about this hard-to-explain coffee can challenge... Do you think it would work with a teapot? ;)

73lyzard
Nov 30, 2012, 7:20 pm

Kerri is the one with the coffee-can (personally I make do with a snap-lid plastic container), so it is for her to explain!

Though yes, I'm sure it would work with a teapot, provided the teapot was empty. :)

74humouress
Nov 30, 2012, 7:47 pm

>70 SqueakyChu:: No; I think it was my brain. Anyway, I've edited it a bit. Hope it makes more sense now.

75EBT1002
Nov 30, 2012, 7:51 pm

56> I was assuming that shared reads would be acceptable in your challenge, Madeline. It's a rare moment in which you discourage them! It's a great list that is developing.

76SqueakyChu
Nov 30, 2012, 8:06 pm

> 74

I think your editing worked. It looks as if a few people have jumped aboard your challenge now. Hurray!

77SqueakyChu
Nov 30, 2012, 8:08 pm

> 75.

Yeah. I always like to squeeze shared reads into my challenges.

78wandering_star
Nov 30, 2012, 8:45 pm

Chatterbox - does it have to be a single photo on the cover? I'm reading a book whose cover is made up of a composite of two photos, according to the credits (one a picture of a marsh, the other silhouettes of birds).

79Chatterbox
Nov 30, 2012, 9:35 pm

# 78 -- as long as it still looks like something that could be a single photo, rather than an artistic creation based on two photos. I'll leave it up to your discretion, but the thinking behind this (which I didn't spell out clearly) was that I wanted to showcase covers that captured a kind of moment in time, which is the wonderful thing about a photograph. It can be carefully composed (think of Ansel Adams!) or a snapshot, but the upshot is that it's "a moment", not an artistic rendering of one. It's your call, however -- I'm not going to be the TIOLI police on this! :-)

80christiguc
Nov 30, 2012, 9:35 pm

I've started mine:

Challenge #16: Read a book you were given as a present on an Occasion (e.g., Christmas, birthday) some past year. FYI: note occasion and year.

At least this reminds me of how lucky I am to have so many unread books around. :) Some of my unread gifts go back five years!!

81wandering_star
Dec 1, 2012, 12:00 am

#79 OK, thanks. I think the cover on my current book falls into the 'artistic rendering' category, but I'm sure I'll be able to find others that will work for the challenge!

82Citizenjoyce
Edited: Jan 6, 2013, 11:42 pm

Love the challenges. My planned reads for the month are:
Challenge #5: Read a book you've been meaning to read all year
Moved to JanuaryJonathan Strange & Mr Norrell - Susanna Clarke - Nook
Challenge #8: Read a book that has both red and green on the cover
Dodger Terry Pratchett (4.5)
Merry Christmas from . . .: 150 Christmas Cards You Wish You'd Received - Karen Robert (4)
Challenge #10: Read a book with a photograph on the cover
Moved to JanuaryThe Oatman Massacre: A Tale of Desert Captivity and Survival - Brian McGinty
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (5)
Challenge #11: Read a book in which the main character has an exceptional talent or power
Brothers in Arms - Lois McMaster Bujold (4)
Charming Quirks of Others - Alexander McCall Smith audiobook (2.5)
A Discovery of Witches (witches, vampires) - Deborah Harkness (1.5)
The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection - Alexander McCall Smith Audiobook (3)
Moved to January Mrs. Woolf and the Servants: An Intimate History of Domestic Life in Bloomsbury (literary genius) - Alison Light
The Warrior's Apprentice - Lois McMaster Bujold - Audioobook (4.5)
Wonder Boys (literary protege) - Michael Chabon (3.75)
Challenge #13: Read a book from one of the Green Dragon compiled lists
American Gods - Neil Gaiman Audiobook (4)
Moved to JanuaryThe Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Interview with the Vampire - Anne Rice Audiobook (2.75)
Pearl Ruled Storm Front (The Dresden Files, Book 1) - Jim Butcher - Audiobook
Challenge #17: Read a book aloud to someone else
How the Grinch Stole Christmas - Dr. Seuss - (5)
Challenge #18: Read a book with an ISBN with two digits being the same within the hyphens
Down the Rabbit Hole - Juan Pablo Villalobos (4)
The Fault In Our Stars - John Green - Audiobook (5)
Challenge #19: Read a book set in a country beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u)
The Round House - Louise Erdrich (5)
Wild (From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail) by Cheryl Strayed (4)



83DorsVenabili
Dec 1, 2012, 7:50 am

#71-73 - Oh, the coffee can! Here is a brief explanation: I went to the author page of several of my favorite authors and clicked on "If you like." Then I gathered a list of all the recommended authors/books from each of those pages, but only the authors I've never read. Then I printed the list and cut it into pieces of paper, with one author/books per piece of paper. Then I put the pieces of paper in an old coffee can, and I plan to pick one author/book per month out of the coffee can next year. But I may start in December if I'm able to use this feature for challenge #15.

84SqueakyChu
Dec 1, 2012, 9:11 am

> 83

Sounds terrific! What new authors have you discovered in this way?

85DorsVenabili
Edited: Dec 1, 2012, 10:06 am

#84 - I haven't actually started it yet, but some of the authors I'll be trying are Rose Tremain, Kate Grenville, Andrea Levy, and Jonathan Lethem. So it's very exciting! Actually, maybe next month I'll create a TIOLI challenge based on the "If you like" feature.

I was feeling like I haven't been trying enough new authors, and this is a good way to branch out a bit.

86Carmenere
Dec 1, 2012, 10:45 am

That's a great idea, Kerri! I tested Travels with Charley and some interesting, never before read before, authors popped up. I'll be looking forward to your challenge.

87SqueakyChu
Dec 1, 2012, 11:17 am

> 85

My favorite Jonathan Lethem books are Motherless Brooklyn and Men and Cartoons (A short story collection). Some of his other stuff is either too weird or not good enough for my taste. I'll be looking forward to your comments about his writing. He's one of my daughter's favorite authors.

As She Climbed Across the Table is readable, but so strange! :)

88DorsVenabili
Dec 1, 2012, 12:06 pm

#86 - That's neat! I'll have to check recommendations for specific books too.

#87 - When Jonathan Lethem pops up, I'll definitely choose Motherless Brooklyn then. Thank you!

89pbadeer
Edited: Dec 1, 2012, 12:15 pm

CHALLENGE #17 - Read A Book Aloud to Someone Else

Every year, since my daughter was little, we do an Advent Book Calendar where we set aside 24 Holiday Themed books (covering all winter holidays beyond just Christmas) and read them aloud as a family. Because we read them aloud, one a night, they are necessarily short, but books like The Nutcracker and The Gift of the Magi take some time.

Sorry folks, Audiobooks are not allowed for this challenge. These are books that YOU read out loud not that are read out loud TO you. (but shared reads are always allowed).

Not sure how much variety it will show, but go ahead and list on the wiki WHO you are planning to read/did read the book to.

90Crazymamie
Dec 1, 2012, 12:44 pm

That's a lovely challenge! We read A Christmas Carol aloud every year in December. When the kids were little, I read it to them a bit at a time over several nights. Now that they are older, we take turns reading it aloud, and it is so much fun.

91pbadeer
Dec 1, 2012, 1:05 pm

We cheat a little and read Mickey's Christmas Carol which seems almost as long, but we can do it in a night, and it's a lot of fun to read.

My daughter is 13 and has a sleepover at a friend's house tonight - the first night of our advent book calendar. But when she got up this morning, she asked if we could read the book before she left, and we sat on the floor, she snuggled up next to me and I read Bear Stays Up for Christmas. I know it's just a matter of time before she "hates me", but for now, I'll enjoy these moments, and I hope she'll look back on them sometime and think she had a good childhood.

92Chatterbox
Dec 1, 2012, 4:05 pm

Can I read aloud to the cats??? :-)

93Citizenjoyce
Dec 1, 2012, 5:10 pm

>91 pbadeer: Hey, if she doesn't hate you yet when she's 13 and still wants to read with you it says wonders for your relationship.

94pbadeer
Dec 1, 2012, 5:43 pm

if the cats will sit still long enough to listen, pets are fair game

95Britt84
Dec 1, 2012, 5:54 pm

Soooo... Does that mean I can read to my fish? I mean, they can't run away exactly ;) But I also really can't say that they'll be paying attention :P

96thornton37814
Dec 1, 2012, 8:13 pm

I will have to find a book short enough to read aloud to my cat. He usually tries to get between me and the book, but what he really wants to do is sit on top of the book so that I have to give all my attention to him.

97pbadeer
Dec 1, 2012, 8:23 pm

Look, if you have the free time and inclination to actually sit down and read an entire work out loud to something that has ears (and yes, I'm pretty sure fish have ears), then go for it. There is something calming about being able to read aloud, and now that I think about it, reading to fish would probably be even more calming than reading to some children.

And before anyone asks, I'll only require the ears, not that it is alive. So your teddy bear is fair game.

But no cheating. If you do this, and Teddy or Goldy are your only audience, then they get to hear the whole thing. If they talk back, you're on your own.

I guess the only line I'm drawing is that this challenge will NOT allow you to read to the sofa, the table lamp, the Christmas Tree or the sink. Nothing "ear"-less. If you seriously desire to read to something like that, then I think there is an entirely different support group available to you outside of TIOLI.

98humouress
Dec 1, 2012, 9:21 pm

>91 pbadeer: onwards : *smile* (also slightly raised eyebrows)

99Britt84
Dec 1, 2012, 9:24 pm

@97 I always used to read to my teddies (and dolls, and other stuffed animals) when I was little... And tell them my own stories as well. Hmmmm... Maybe I should read something to my plushies again, they really haven't been read to in a very very very long time ;)

100brenpike
Dec 1, 2012, 11:55 pm

> 97 Funny, Pat.

101SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 1:01 am

> 97

If you seriously desire to read to something like that, then I think there is an entirely different support group available to you outside of TIOLI.

Haha! I had lots of fun with your challenge tonight. I read a copy of Good Night Moon aloud in Barnes & Noble to my good friend (who's in her 60's). I embarrassed the hell out of her, but at least I finished one book for the TIOLI meter, and it's only December 2nd. :D

102ffortsa
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 7:26 am

The coffee can technique is fine for my recommendation challenge. Great idea.

I dont think Jim would have the patience to listen to me read a whole book to him. Could we share the reading?

103DorsVenabili
Dec 2, 2012, 7:57 am

#102 - Great - thank you!

104katiekrug
Dec 2, 2012, 10:07 am

This is probably stretching it but I figured I'd ask...

Darryl, for your challenge, can "end" stretch across the last word of the title and the start of the author's name? As in City of Women David R. Gillham? I keep missing the "C" in Christmas to enter this in challenge 6 and can't find another place for it....

105Carmenere
Dec 2, 2012, 10:11 am

Looking for a place to insert Sweet Thursday for the Steinbeckathon. Any ideas? I've been missing the two S's in Christmas :0}

106humouress
Dec 2, 2012, 10:15 am

Well, if someone comes up with a 'days of the week' challenge, I'm reading Mister Monday :)

107kidzdoc
Dec 2, 2012, 10:18 am

>104 katiekrug: Yes it can, Katie!

108katiekrug
Dec 2, 2012, 10:25 am

Woot woot!

Thank you, sir.

109kidzdoc
Dec 2, 2012, 10:32 am

>108 katiekrug: Anything for a fellow Giants fan. :-)

110cbl_tn
Dec 2, 2012, 12:24 pm

>105 Carmenere: Would it fit in challenge 5 since the Steinbeckathon has been going on all year?

111Crazymamie
Dec 2, 2012, 1:21 pm

I just added the "I" and "S" in Judy's Christmas challenge.

I put If I Stay in I and Sweet thursday in S.

112kidzdoc
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 1:47 pm

And I added the "T", with The Trees The Trees by Heather Christle.

113MikeBriggs
Dec 2, 2012, 2:44 pm

It only took me two days (or a couple of hours, but still stretched over two days), to complete my first book. One that is 176 pages in length. My ability to read appears to be slowing down.

114paulstalder
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 2:57 pm

I started a challenge with the ISBN: the number must contain a double digit which are the same: 00, 22, 99, whatever within the same group (language, publisher or book)

'''Challenge #18: Read a book with an ISBN with a two same digits - started by paulstalder'''

3-492-26620-7 Der Aufstand der Drachen : Roman by Julia Conrad 66
3-499-22316-3 Die Brust by Philip Roth 99 and 22

Oh, could someone please help with the formulation of the challenge? Thanks

115Citizenjoyce
Dec 2, 2012, 3:59 pm

You're in luck, Challenge 19 is already started for you, just click on edit and fill in the blanks.
If you need to start from scratch click on edit at the top of the page that would contain your number challenge and enter the info with 4 = signs before and after, e.g.:
====Challenge #11: Read a book in which the main character has an exceptional talent or power, name the power -- started by Citizenjoyce====

116brenpike
Dec 2, 2012, 4:15 pm

>105 Carmenere: Lynda, How about #12 - an old TiOLI Challenge?

117paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 4:16 pm

>114 paulstalder: explanation ISBN: the double digits must be within the same part of the number, i.e. the language or the publisher. Since 2007 there are the 13-digit-numbers, so the beginning can't count. The next part is the language/ country part, then the publisher, the book number within each publisher and then the check digit. A combination with the check digit is not what I have in mind.
978-3-89397-561-1
978: additional digits since 2007
3 language (German)
89397 publisher (CLV Bielefeld)
561 book number 561 of this publisher
1 check digit

9783893975611 (978-3-89397-561-1) would not be included in the challenge, since the 1s belong to two different parts.
3492266207 (3-492-26620-7) the 6s would count but not the 2s

So, all Italian books (88) or books published in Hongkong (988) would be valid, also most book published by HarperCollins (00), Yale University Press (300), SCM Press (334), New Zealand DSIR (477) etc. So there are thousands of books around

all clarification gone?

118SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 4:20 pm

> 114, 115

Paul, It's fine. Like Joyce said above, I prefer that everyone try as hard as they can to do their own entries. Following that, I always update and edit as I see necessary to make it easiest for all challengers to understand and follow.

Joyce, Paul is already in challenge #18.

119paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 4:18 pm

>105 Carmenere:, 116 If your copy is a Penguin Modern Classics, then the ISBN would fit challenge #18 (ISBN 014118552X)

120SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 4:19 pm

> 117

Cool! I never knew what all those numbers of the ISBN meant. Now I know. Hurray!

Thanks, Paul.

121paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 4:20 pm

>115 Citizenjoyce:, 118 Thanks both of you. I was more asking for help in formulating, because "Read a book with an ISBN with a two same digits" sounds as an unfinished sentence to me but I don't know how to formulate that in short, concise way.

122Citizenjoyce
Dec 2, 2012, 4:23 pm

>118 SqueakyChu: I've never been accused of being overly observant:)

123SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 4:38 pm

> 121

The best way to improve what you've entered is to put hyphens in the ISBNs on the wiki. In that way, you can see at a glance who should be disqualified from your challenge.

Example:
In other words, make (0880642521) into (0-88064-252-1).

I don't want to mess with the entries myself lest I do them wrong.

When you see that an entry is not qualified for your challenge, you need to point that out by (1) adding a note beside the entry or (2) pulling it down to the bottom of the entries and thereby out of the qualified entries range.

124SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 4:24 pm

> 122

LOL!! Cute, Joyce!

125paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 4:25 pm

>120 SqueakyChu: Hej Madeline, pleased to be of service. I am happy that I learned something useful when training for a librarian

126SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 4:26 pm

We always love to learn new things here on the TIOLI challenges!

127paulstalder
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 4:33 pm

okay, another hint: the check digit consists of the numbers 0-10 - the 10 written as an X (because the check digit cannot consist of two digits)

128SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 4:35 pm

Hey!! I always wondered what that X was!! It always seemed so out of place... and it would never go away. :)

Thanks...again!

129SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 2, 2012, 4:38 pm

Paul,

1. What does "check digit" mean?

2. What if a publisher has more than 999 books? Can they use a book number of four digits then?

3. What do the extra numbers since 2007 mean? To what do they correlate?

130SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 4:57 pm

Paul, I changed your formulation for challenge #18 to fit the parameters you mentioned in message #117. Check the wiki and see if that's what you wanted. If not, either you fix it or let me know, and I'll fix it.

131paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 4:58 pm

Madeline, you better read the wikipedia entry http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Standard_Book_Number for clearer info in English than my Denglish

1) the last digit is meant to check to others for mistakes. There is a formula to calculate the ISBN (the 10-digit-number: the first 9 digits are multiplied and then added and then 'moduled' with module 11 in order to get the digit; that digit helps to eliminate wrong digits in the other groups) (the 13-digit-number the first 12 digits either with 1 or 3, added and then 'moduled' with module 10 - so there are no X anymore) ah, forget it, it is something like that...

2) that's why the new digits were added, it helps the publishers to keep their original part number and start again. There are also publishers who have several part numbers

3) see above: more possibilities (1,9 Milliarden with 13 digits, only 1 Milliarde with 10 digits) (Milliarde = Billion in English?)

132SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 5:00 pm

I understand your Denglish quite well! No problem there.

133paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 5:06 pm

Thanks Madeline for the reformulation of the challenge - that sounds more English now. I am glad that the challenge went through and is now 'censored'. I couldn't think of 'hyphen' - I am still learning English

134SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 5:07 pm

To challenge #18 participants:

I arbitrarily assigned those IBSN hyphens to the listings I found in challenge #18. If the hyphens are in the wrong places, please correct them as I do not have original copies of your books and cannot find hyphenated examples online. Thanks!

135SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 5:10 pm

> 133

I am glad that the challenge...is now 'censored'.

LOL!!

I couldn't figure out if I meant hyphen or dash. Hyphen will have to do as I often cannot tell the difference between the two (and they're both English words).

Das hat Spaß gemacht! :)

The google translate helps, too!

136elkiedee
Dec 2, 2012, 5:19 pm

I just read the Wikipedia link article - interesting in a weird way, but the arithmetical formula part made me start to feel a little dizzy.

137paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 5:26 pm

Hej Luci, the same feeling I had ... I felt even dizzier when trying to explain that...

138paulstalder
Dec 2, 2012, 5:32 pm

> 135 ja, macht Spass (we don't use the ß in Switzerland). I like to come here, even when not writing any messages myself.

I better go and sleep a bit. It's midnight over here and I should go to work in the morning. Bye

139SqueakyChu
Dec 2, 2012, 5:57 pm

Good night, Paul. Don't dream about ISBNs!!

140Carmenere
Dec 2, 2012, 6:17 pm

I've been holiday partying all afternoon so I haven't checked in before now, so thanks to all those who made Sweet Thursday comments.
I've placed it in Challenge 6 as two other readers of the book were there. Thanks Mamie and Ellen.

141EBT1002
Dec 2, 2012, 11:56 pm

140> You're very welcome!

142kidzdoc
Edited: Dec 29, 2012, 10:56 pm

I've entered all but one of my planned reads for December into TIOLI challenges:

Challenge #1: Read a book for a tag round robin
Divorce Islamic Style by Amara Lakhous (completed)
Nadja by André Breton
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie (reading)

Challenge #2: Read a book whose title or author name contains "end"
Before the End, After the Beginning by Dagoberto Gilb (completed)
Foreign Studies by Shusaku Endo (completed)
The Land at the End of the World by António Lobo Antunes (competed)
Scandal by Shusaku Endo (competed)
When I Whistle by Shusaku Endo (completed)

Challenge #5: Read a book you've been meaning to read all year
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima (completed)

Challenge #6: Read a book that starts with the next letter available in the word "Christmas"
The Accidental City: Improvising New Orleans by Lawrence N. Powell (reading)
The Colour of Milk by Nell Leyshon (completed)
Shifu, You'll Do Anything For a Laugh by Mo Yan (completed)
The Trees The Trees by Heather Christle (completed)

Challenge #7: Read a book where there are more than half the letters in the alphabet in the title
Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist by Erich Kästner (completed)
Mo said she was quirky by James Kelman (completed)
San Francisco Chinatown: A Guide to Its History & Architecture by Philip P. Choy (completed)
Win These Posters and Other Unrelated Prizes Inside by Norma Cole (completed)
Writing in the Dark: Essays on Literature and Politics by David Grossman (reading)

Challenge #10: Read a book with a photograph on the cover
Tough Heaven: Poems of Pittsburgh by Jack Gilbert (completed)

Challenge #17: Read a book aloud to someone else
The Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition by Carol V. Aebersold and Chanda A. Bell (completed)

Challenge #18: Read a book with two same digits within hyphens and within the last 10 digits of the ISBN
Young Man with a Horn by Dorothy Baker (completed)
Zoned Industrial by Patric Pepper (completed)

143humouress
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 6:55 am

For Challenge 12 (old TIOLI challenge), I'm adding Architecture & Design Library : Island Style by Jim Kemp for challenge #17 from November : the ampersand papers.

144Athabasca
Dec 3, 2012, 7:29 am

Okay - caught up with the changes to the ISBN challenge and have removed my book. I'm sure I'll find another home for it.

145MikeBriggs
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 7:41 am

I started and finished my second read of the month yesterday (actually, I could put that as "finished first read then started and finished second read). That book, Family Way, could go into either the Special Covers challenge or photo challenge.

What special name, if any, is used when the book has two covers? As in, it's a hardback book, there's a detachable cover, but when you detach the cover, the photograph and everything is also ... um . . permantly affixed to the book. As you can see, I do not know how to describe this thing, so I put it in the photo challenge.

As in the picture below is on the dust jacket and imprinted on the book itself.

146Chatterbox
Dec 3, 2012, 10:27 am

That's cool, Mike. I have no idea what the technical term is, but I've seen it before. Also covers that are mostly printed onto the cloth boards, but also include a half-sized paper jacket, which either includes or alters the illustration. Portrait of an Unknown Woman by Vanora Bennett did that -- the title was on a partial paper jacket, which could be removed to show the full Holbein pic of the More family. The UK issue of The Sense of an Ending also was striking, at least in its design.

147paulstalder
Dec 3, 2012, 11:29 am

I had three books with pomegranates in the title for the exotic fruit contest - but they arrived too late, Saturday and today. So, I'll put them in the Clearing Challenge, I guess
Der Granatapfelbaum by Yaşar Kemal
Granatapfelblüte : ausgewählte Gedichte by So Chong-ju
Der Granatapfelbaum, der Kirschen trägt : Roman by Er Li
Turkish, Korean, and Chinese pomegranates - tasty mixture

148MikeBriggs
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 1:33 pm

I rarely put a list of potential reads together for here, but do so this time. I've just now tried to find a place for my many library books and few newly purchased books. Normally I just let whatever is interesting catch my eye and read it then see if it can fit on the list. This time I figured I'd do the opposite, since the books already caught my eye, enough so to have been put on hold at library at some point, and/or bought. Ah, I forgot the important part: Since I did this, I'll never recall what I put on there unless I leave a list on here.

Challenge #2: Read a book whose title or author name contains "end"
1. Blue Beetle, Book 4: Endgame - John Rogers - COMPLETED
First completion, and no I'm not reading in order of the list. Second book by this author I've read, second book I've read in this version of Blue Beetle, and a lessor work of the two.

Challenge #5: Read a book you've been meaning to read all year - started by lahochstetler
2. Lord of Mountains - S.M. Stirling
One of my long held library books. Eventually I'll read it. Or return it.

3. Walking Dead: Volume 14: No Way Out - Robert Kirkman
I burned out on the series, but I did pick this up new whenever it was the next volume to be released. At least one, maybe more, volumes were released since then.

Challenge #6: Merry Christmas, A Rolling Challenge: Read a book that starts with the next letter available in the word "Christmas"-- started by Delta Queen
4. R Roman Britain: A New History - Guy de la Bedoyere
First nonfiction on my list. I like reading about Roman Britain.

Challenge #8: Read a book that has both red and green on the cover -- started by lindapanzo
5. Himmler's War - Robert Conroy
This seems vaguely "wrong". I mean, it has green and red on the cover, but it's red explosions, and green tank. Festive, eh?

Challenge #10: Read a book with a photograph on the cover -- started by Chatterbox
6. Battle of Midway - Craig L. Symonds
My second nonfiction book on the list. Not really sure I'll read it. Picking up a book because I liked the film(s) I saw about the battle seems a thin reason to pick the book up.

7. Family Way - Michael Z. Lewin COMPLETED
Second completion. I've liked Lewin's Bath set family detective agency way back when I found it in short story form. And really liked the two books which appeared shortly thereafter, which I believe I might have given 5 stars to. Then, finally, years after the second book in the series, this book popped up. I waited for it to appear at the library or bookstore, but apparently New York city is too small a place for this book, eh? mmphs. Never showed up in either the NY Public library system, nor in the Brooklyn one, nor did it ever show up at Barnes'n'Noble. So I had to get it through Amazon. Longish process.
Book was lessor of the three books, but still enjoyable. I found it vaguely funny how I left Walcott Street Bath and turned to my next book and read . . . Walcott Street Bath (Cops to Corpses - Peter Lovesey). I sense a theme.

Challenge #11: Read a book in which the main character has an exceptional talent or power, name the power -- started by Citizenjoyce

8. Cold Days (wizard) - Jim Butcher

9. Cop to Corpse (powers of observation and detection) - Peter Lovesey Reading
Slightly more violent than my last Bath England read. This time by an English author. Well, I assume. I've not gotten too far with it yet. Both books had dead bodies on Walcott Street.

10. Dresden Files: Fool Moon, volume one (wizard) - Jim Butcher & Mark Powers
I've been somewhat holding off reading this one. Especially after reading the previous two. I'm just not much of a rereader, even if this read would involve reading a graphic novel.

11. Fire Season (telepathy) - David Weber & Jane Lindskold
Weber better not disappoint me here. I've slowly weeded out series by him. This basically is the last one I'll read, though I'll probably eventually read that other Weber book I have out from the library. Safehold I think that other series is named.

12. I, Vampire Vol. 1: Tainted Love (undead) - Joshua Hale Fialkov
Well, undead, superstrength, superhealing. Has exceptional power/talent. Not sure "undead" is how I should leave it though on the list.
I'm not really interested in the book, but I have been attempting to read at least the first volume for all of the New 52 from DC Comics. Mostly from the library. If possible.

Challenge #12: Ring out the old: Read an old favourite or something for an old TIOLI 2012 challenge (which you didn't manage for that month) -- started by humouress
13. Black Moth - Georgette Heyer (TIOLI November)
I had every intention of completing this one last month. I just got distracted.

Challenge #14: Read an author biography (not a memoir or an autobiography) or a work of literary criticism that focuses on one author -- started by DorsVenabili
14. Georgette Heyer's Regency World - Jennifer Kloester
third nonfiction book on my list.

Challenge #18: Read a book with an ISBN with two digits being the same within the hyphens- started by paulstalder
15. Buddhaland Brooklyn (978-1-45166-922-0) - Richard C. Morais
A random pick-up from the library a while back. Not really sure if I'll finally get around to reading it or not.

16. Dick Francis's Bloodline (978-1-41045-223-8) - Felix Francis
Dick Francis' Bloodline, eh? Well, Felix Francis is of Dick Francis's bloodline. Still, how exactly is this book "Dick Francis's" anything? Is it based on a Francis plot out line? Anything? As far as I know, it has no real connection to Dick Francis. It annoys me that Felix Francis has to include that Dick Francis part to the title.

17. The Eagle of the Ninth (978-0-37441-930-1) - Rosemary Sutcliff
This goes back to my liking to read about Roman Britain. Though this time fiction. I believe the basis for a movie. That I saw. And liked.

18. The Forgotten (978-0-44657-305-4) - David Baldacci
I have somewhat grown tired of Baldacci, but I liked the first book in this series well enough to give this second book a try.

149Morphidae
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 1:37 pm

I've put a full list of all the Green Dragon lists in Google Docs.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AmSg5qorIw0jdC15ZVEwN0FnU2V3ODYzVHZ...

The spreadsheet is sorted by list then by number of votes. You can of course, sort it by title or by author once in it.

I've also placed a link in my original challenge post.

FYI, only the first book in a genre series is listed. For the purposes of this challenge, any book that follows will also count. For example, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is listed. If you read Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it would also count. Or since The Cat Who Could Read Backwards is listed, any of the Cat Who books could be read.

150Britt84
Dec 3, 2012, 2:28 pm

I've been meaning to do some reading from the Green Dragon lists, but I think I'll be too busy to actually read any for this month's challenge. I just don't have that much time to read, didn't read much the past two months either, so it'll have to wait...

151Britt84
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 3:28 pm

Btw, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is listed in challenge 7 and in challenge 10...

152Citizenjoyce
Dec 3, 2012, 7:55 pm

>151 Britt84: Thanks, I'll move Perks to 7 since I already have a 10.

153cyderry
Dec 3, 2012, 10:01 pm

anybody have an idea where I can fit 500 Appetizers?

154SqueakyChu
Dec 3, 2012, 10:09 pm

In your own challenge, Cheli! :D

155brenpike
Dec 3, 2012, 10:09 pm

>153 cyderry: #12 (October TIOLI - title including letters and numbers)

156cyderry
Edited: Dec 3, 2012, 10:14 pm

Didn't think about it with the full title, duh, Thanks!

157SqueakyChu
Dec 3, 2012, 10:30 pm

:D

158paulstalder
Dec 4, 2012, 4:13 am

I finished Der Granatapfelbaum by Yaşar Kemal for challenge #12. Please sort under G and not D, since der is just the article and should be treated as such. thanks

159Carmenere
Dec 4, 2012, 6:19 am

#153 I was going to answer, my tummy, but I see you found a place to fit your 500 appetizers, Cheli :0}

160gennyt
Dec 4, 2012, 12:26 pm

Like MikeBriggs (#148), I rarely list my possible TIOLI reads, and often just see if I can fit a book into a challenge once I have read it, but this month I went a bit mad and tried to plan reads for all the challenges, including fitting in quite a few that I'd set aside last month to read and either didn't start or didn't finish.

I don't expect to read all of these - in fact I'll be surprised if I read as many as half of them, but as a few are short works it may be that I'll manage more than I think.

Challenge one - Tag Round Robin:
1 Gilead - Marilynne Robinson - for some reason I have never managed to get back to this having started it in August 2011
Challenge two - author or title containing the word end
2 The corner that held them Sylvia Townsend Warner
3 Death comes as the end - Agatha Christie
4 Not the end of the world - Kate Atkinson
Challenge three - books with a special cover
5 A time of gifts - Patrick Leigh Fermor (Folio edition with block-printed cloth cover)
Challenge four - short work whose main character also appears in a novel
6 The Adventure of the Christmas Pudding - Agatha Christie (title story at least)
7 Murder in the Mews - Agatha Christie (title story again, at least)
Challenge five - a book you've been meaning to read all year (this could cover a large proportion of my TBR pile...)
8 The hare with amber eyes - Edmund de Waal
9 Room - Emma Donoghue
Challenge six - Merry Christmas rolling challenge
10 The man in the queue - Josephine Tey
Challenge seven - more than half the letter of alphabet in title
11 Apparition & Late Fictions: a novella and stories - Thomas Lynch
Challenge eight - book with both red and green on cover
12 Red, white and drunk all over - Natalie MacLean (started this for a book group and didn't finish in time)
Challenge nine - Long poem
13 Paradise Lost - John Milton (I've just downloaded an audio version - may tackle this during long car journeys to visit relatives after Christmas)
Challenge ten - Book with a photograph on cover
14 At Mrs Lippincote's - Elizabeth Taylor
Challenge eleven - Character with exceptional talents/powers
15 The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller
Challenge twelve - Old favourite/Old TIOLI challenge
16 Barchester Towers - Anthony Trollope (didn't finish in time for Nov, this qualifies as reread of a favourite too)
17 Inside the whale, and other essays - George Orwell (another one I didn't manage to finish in November for TIOLI of book of essays)
Challenge thirteen - from one of the Green Dragon Lists
18 Un Lun Dun - China Miéville (from the 1001 fantasy list)
Challenge fourteen - author biography/lit crit
19 Tolkien and the Great War - John Garth (started this 6 years ago but lost track when I moved house)
Challenge fifteen - book recommended by LT/someone you don't know
20 Children of Hurin - Tolkien
Challenge sixteen - book given as a present in a past year
21 Footprints of the Northern Saints - Basil Hume (Christmas 2006)
Challenge seventeen - read a book aloud to someone else
22 The Outing - Dylan Thomas (will read this to Ty, my dog, who won't laugh at my attempt at a Welsh accent)
Challenge eighteen - ISBN with a repeated digit within one of the sections
This is a good catch all for several books I'd half hoped to get to last month:
23 The Finkler Question - Howard Jacobson
24 Food for Life - L Sannon Jung
25 Half of a Yellow Sun - Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
26 On the Black Hill - Bruce Chatwin
27 The Wandering Fire - Guy Gavriel Kay

Challenge 15 was difficult - the LT recommendations suggests books that are not already in your library, which of course rules out the 500+ books in my TBR collection, and I'd rather read one of those than acquire yet another book to add to the pile. And many of the books that are recommended are in fact ones I've already read, but not yet got round to cataloguing (or no longer have in my possession). So I had to skip a long way down the list of recommendations to find a book which I do already own, have not yet catalogued and am in the mood for reading this month!

I don't really want LT to work like Good Reads (or like Amazon's recommendations page), but when presented with a very long list of recommendations which I've already read, it does feel as if it would be useful to be able to tick some box and mark the books as 'I've read this', so that the system no longer keeps recommending it to me. On the other hand, this list will be useful when eventually I come to try to remember what books I have read but no longer own, and retrospectively catalogue my 'Read but unowned' collection, which is only up-to-date from 2010 since I started using LT in earnest.

161ffortsa
Dec 4, 2012, 1:40 pm

Genny, you can click the link that tells LT to remove a title from the recommendation list.

162gennyt
Dec 4, 2012, 2:18 pm

Thanks Judy - I have seen that option, but have been reluctant to do so because there is no way to indicate why you are removing it (eg have already read it/own a copy), so in the meantime although the list is not much use as a list of recommendations, it is quite a handy list of many of the books which I have read in the past. I'd like to ensure I record all those somehow before removing them, so I can catalogue them.

163wandering_star
Dec 4, 2012, 7:19 pm

The Hare With Amber Eyes is listed in both challenges 5 and 10.

164humouress
Dec 4, 2012, 7:52 pm

I always wonder how people manage to spot duplicated entries.

Is there an easy way of checking if your book is already listed in a challenge, other than trawling through each individual challenge looking for it?

165Britt84
Dec 4, 2012, 7:59 pm

Well, you can use the 'find' option in your browser if you wanna look for a specific title. But I usually just spot doubles when going over the titles that have been listed...

166elkiedee
Dec 4, 2012, 7:59 pm

Last minute challenge 19 - I'm really looking to avoid adding a large number of books to the same challenge, though I will probably read more in challenges 1 and 6 just because of the temptation to help the rolling challenges keep rolling...

Read a book set in a country that has a name beginning with a vowel (a, e, i, o, u - I can't think of examples where "y" would be used as a vowel rather than a consonant at the beginning of a name).

The country should be one that existed when the book is set, but it can be defined as a country rather than the state, and different names can be used - so United Kingdom, England, United States or America work, as does Ireland for any part of the country. Another example: a novel set in the USSR would have to be set during a period when the USSR existed, post break up Russia doesn't work but Ukraine or Uzbekistan for example would.

167Chatterbox
Dec 5, 2012, 5:01 am

Cool challenge Luci!!

Quick question: do we have guidelines on what goes in the works frogs list vs the books frogs list? I'm reading a novella (56 pages?) for the short work featuring a character from a novel, and I'll be reading a Pete the Cat Christmas book to my young friend Theo for challenge #17, so was wondering whether to pop them in the main challenge or the works chart??

168wandering_star
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 5:28 am

Hooray! I can stop refreshing the wiki (and missing Ms) and list Midnight Fugue (set in the UK) under the new challenge... thanks elkiedee! (and PS, I totally agree, it's a lot of fun to keep the rolling challenge going... even if it means a very over-ambitious list for the month).

169paulstalder
Dec 5, 2012, 7:28 am

Just finished Das fünfte Kind by Doris Lessing with a double digit (55) in the publishers ISBN

170humouress
Dec 5, 2012, 8:18 am

Question, Madeline:

wandering star's last entry on Challenge 1 had the tags (Australian literature / teenager). My book, Mister Monday has "teenage" (and, incidentally, Australian literature). Is that allowed?

171SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 9:04 am

> 167

I'll be reading a Pete the Cat Christmas book to my young friend Theo for challenge #17, so was wondering whether to pop them in the main challenge or the works chart??

No rules on this, Suz. I'll leave it up to you - as the TIOLI meter is really the tally of your own reading.

However...you may vote on this, if you'd like.

Vote: Should there be a "rule" about what constitutes a "work"?

Current tally: Yes 2, No 13
P.S. Suz, I'm still waiting to see if you want to be listed in the cookbook. Private message me the answer.

172SqueakyChu
Dec 5, 2012, 9:01 am

> 170

wandering star's last entry on Challenge 1 had the tags (Australian literature / teenager). My book, Mister Monday has "teenage" (and, incidentally, Australian literature). Is that allowed?

Simple answer is "no', but...

You have to follow the tag that says "teenager" and not "teenage". Your book must be listed under the exact challenge of the second tag of the book that is already posted. Your book is most likely listed under both. Go check.

173SqueakyChu
Dec 5, 2012, 9:03 am

> 168

it's a lot of fun to keep the rolling challenge going...

My favorites are the rolling challenges as well!

174elkiedee
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 9:10 am

(My response was cross posted with Madeleine's)

If I were Madeleine I'd be inclined to say no, and it isn't listed under teenager although it could have been, but I think there's a good chance that one of the many tags associated with the book will come round again. You could wait for the other rolling challenge to fit it in.

Is Arthur's non fantasy life in Mister Monday in Australia? It looks as if it might be. You could put the book in my challenge if so.

175cyderry
Dec 5, 2012, 9:29 am

174>> When I read it, I didn't get the feel that MM was set in Australia, United Kingdom, yes.

176humouress
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 1:04 pm

>175 cyderry:: That's funny; I actually got the impression it was set in the US. :)

Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions. I'll do some more investigating, then.

ETA: I'll put it in Challenge 3 - special covers. It was posted while I was reading this, and I actually thought about it at the time. Getting old!



The figure of the boy is in blue foil.

177Chatterbox
Dec 5, 2012, 7:02 pm

#171, Madeline, I had sent you a PM on Facebook saying I couldn't lay hands on the pie crust recipe so to just go ahead & publish. Apologies, assumed you had seen that; I have been frantically busy (pulled an all-nighter last night for work; I can't do that any more...)

178SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 5, 2012, 7:50 pm

I did reply on FB - telling you that you didn't have to put in a recipe because Cheli did that for you. I just wanted to know if you wanted a mention and how. I still don't have that answer. I guess I'm just not communicating well. :(

179Chatterbox
Dec 6, 2012, 1:42 am

Sorry, no, it's fine to go ahead without a mention. I think it's my brain synapses that are fried...

180MikeBriggs
Dec 6, 2012, 9:52 am

hmm, brain fried, then baked in a pie with strawberries, served with a nice fruity desert wine.

Sounds quite unappealing.

181Chatterbox
Dec 6, 2012, 10:08 am

Precisely....

182elkiedee
Dec 6, 2012, 1:00 pm

Readers of Elly Griffiths' Ruth Galloway series might like to know there's a freebie Christmas short story on offer - via Quercus in the UK as a pdf or from ebook stores elsewhere, as far as I can make out. It would obviously fit the short work challenge. One of my UK bookworm friends had just marked it as to read on Goodreads.

183katiekrug
Dec 6, 2012, 3:31 pm

>182 elkiedee: - Thanks for that heads-up! It's called "Ruth's First Christmas Tree" according to the cover on Amazon, but Amazon is calling it "Ruth's First Christmas". I've just downloaded it for my Kindle.

184Chatterbox
Dec 7, 2012, 5:52 pm

Tks Luci; found, downloaded & read! Fun little tidbit for those reading the series.

185klobrien2
Edited: Dec 8, 2012, 10:29 am

I just finished a little book--The Kane Chronicles Survival Guide--for challenge 3 (the special cover challenge). The cover has a cool holographic picture in which the images change as your point of view changes. Very neat, and unexpected. The book itself is a kid's book, but contains some Egyptian history and mythology, nice illustrations. (And, of course, characters and plot information from the series). Here's the cover, although you won't see the special effects:

186paulstalder
Dec 9, 2012, 3:49 pm

I reread an old favourite: Die Konferenz der Tiere by Erich Kästner. A classic children's book, published in 1949. The animals had enough of the rules by the humans, started their own conference and got the humans to tear down all borders and start a peaceful world.

187SqueakyChu
Dec 9, 2012, 3:50 pm

I like the premise of that book, Paul! :)

188paulstalder
Edited: Dec 9, 2012, 4:01 pm

It's a lovely book: The elephant says: "Ich werde nie begreifen, wie aus so netten Kindern später Erwachsene werden!" (I can't understand how these nice kids grow into adults) and the giraffe:"Ich werde nie begreifen, wie aus so netten Kindern später Zahnärzte werden!" (I can't understand how these nice kids grow into dentists!)

189SqueakyChu
Dec 9, 2012, 4:26 pm

Heh!

190Deern
Dec 10, 2012, 1:31 pm

Paul, I am planning to (re)read some Kästners next year, certainly Emil und die Detektive and Drei Männer im Schnee. I never read Die Konferenz der Tiere and I'll put it on the list, thanks for recommending it.

191paulstalder
Dec 10, 2012, 3:21 pm

Nathalie, you're welcome. It is fun to read Kästner. If you come across Das fliegende Klassenzimmer and Der 35. Mai read them as well. I will reread some of his books again next year. We may start a German based children's books challenge next year with Kästner, Michael Ende, Otfried Preussler, Johanna Spyri, and Lisa Tetzner and a few others... :)

192avatiakh
Dec 10, 2012, 3:46 pm

I don't read German, but like the idea of reading some translated children's books from Germany. I read a couple by Otfried Preussler this year thanks to Nathalie and I need to read more of Kai Meyer's books.
I like this website: http://www.new-books-in-german.com/english/855/299/299/129002/design1.html

193paulstalder
Dec 10, 2012, 4:07 pm

Hej Kerry, thanks for this link. That's new to me and looks promising

194humouress
Edited: Dec 10, 2012, 6:14 pm

>188 paulstalder:: Nice quote.

>191 paulstalder:: Sounds like a good challenge (if I can read in English). Let me know.

195paulstalder
Edited: Dec 11, 2012, 8:58 am

Now I read a booklet about a sad chapter of (basically) Islamic societies: Shame killings (as part of my work). The title is so long that it gives me 21 letters.
Ehrenmord : ein Verbrechen zwischen Migration und Tradition - rechtliche, soziologische und religiöse Aspekte Christine Schirrmacher

196klobrien2
Dec 11, 2012, 7:38 pm

paulstalder, maybe you'll win a prize at the end of the month for having so many letters in your title! (and, yes, a very sad book to read).

Karen O.

197paulstalder
Dec 12, 2012, 3:40 am

Karen, I guess the title by Ende Der satanarchäolügenialkohöllische Wunschpunsch is a more likely candidate - it also contains ä, ö and ü - and it contains 8 words (satanisch, anarchisch, archaisch or archaeologisch, chaotisch, lügnerisch (lying), genial, alkoholisch, höllisch) in one single world. I haven't read the book yet, but got it from the library yesterday. There be even more words in it.

198paulstalder
Dec 12, 2012, 3:46 am

Oh I just realized that Ende's book is already in challenge 2 (Michael ENDe), I put it there in the end

199avatiakh
Dec 12, 2012, 4:20 am

If I can track down a copy of The Night of Wishes I'll add it too.

200paulstalder
Dec 12, 2012, 5:28 am

I just finished another book for my ISBN challenge: Strange maps by Frank Jacobs. A collection of 111 strange maps. Nice pictures and good descriptions - a change in reading novels

201Chatterbox
Dec 13, 2012, 1:03 pm

I have spent some evenings reading books to my neighbor's 4 year old, as he has been battling an ear infection & it seems to help. Haven't entered them in the wiki yet, but if anyone else wants to re-read How The Grinch Stole Christmas aloud to their resident spouse, partner, child, cat or dog, I will be doing so shortly and it's a great seasonal shared read.

202pbadeer
Dec 13, 2012, 10:23 pm

that is on my list to read with my daughter this month

203SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 13, 2012, 11:35 pm

If you'd like to know what book to read for the tag round robin challenge (I see we're stuck on "popular history"), I'd like to recommend Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand.

204SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 14, 2012, 9:36 am

The 2012 TIOLI FRUIT COOKBOOK (from the November TIOLI culinary fruit challenge) just went out by email to those who wanted it. If you still want a copy and did not get one, please private message me with your email address.

205SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 14, 2012, 12:53 pm

Bah! All my beautiful formatting in my Word document got messed up after I converted the cookbook to the PDF. Must have had something to do with my not being familiar with Windows 8 (which my son just installed). Too late now! All of you who wanted it have already gotten the cookbook. I never thought to go back and see if the PDF looked any different before I sent it out. I'm not sure why converting the document to a PDF changed the formatting. It never did with my old version of Windows. :(

206paulstalder
Dec 14, 2012, 4:16 pm

I just finished another Steinbeck: The moon is down for the Christmas challenge

207gennyt
Dec 14, 2012, 8:20 pm

I've just finished reading The Outing aloud - to my dog, as there is no-one else in the house to read to - for challenge 17. This was a re-read of an old favourite, a glorious short story by Dylan Thomas about a group of village men who go on a summer outing to Porthcawl by charabanc. My attempt at a Welsh accent - which is needed to do justice to Thomas' wonderful rich prose - was patchy to say the least, but I have found a version on Youtube being read by Welsh actor Philip Madoc, which of course does a far better job than I did. It's in two parts: Part 1, 10 mins 59 seconds, Part 2, 6 minutes 17 seconds. I'd heartily recommend it for an entertaining listen (though listening to someone else reading it won't qualify for the challenge.

208SqueakyChu
Dec 15, 2012, 1:33 pm

In case others are not aware, I have no objection to challengers posting challenges they are doing in other groups as their own challenge here on the TIOLI challenges. It doesn't hurt to kill two birds with one stone. Well, I'd rather you not hurt any birds...just do two simultaneous challenges with the same book instead. :)

209Morphidae
Dec 18, 2012, 10:51 am

Okay for Challenge #18, the ISBN one, I have Devil's Claw with an ISBN of 9780061998980. But I don't know if it qualifies because I sent the book back to the library and can't tell how the ISBN is broken down. I've Googled but everything shows it all together.

210paulstalder
Dec 18, 2012, 1:55 pm

This ISBN qualifies: 978-0-06-199898-0. This is a book published by 06 (Harper-Collins), isn't it?

211Morphidae
Edited: Dec 18, 2012, 2:11 pm

Yes. What about The Song by Jean Johnson with ISBN 9780425229071? The publisher is Berkley.

212paulstalder
Dec 18, 2012, 3:46 pm

Berkley is 425: so, yes, there is double 2 in the 2nd last group 978-0-425-22907-1

213MikeBriggs
Dec 18, 2012, 3:51 pm

Re: challenge 4 (if I recall correctly) - what is the novel Tiny Tim is in? I didn't realize he popped up in a novel as well as the short work A Christmas Carol.

214AnneDC
Dec 18, 2012, 4:10 pm

>213 MikeBriggs: Not another Dickens novel, but the novel Mr. Timothy by Louis Bayard is based on the character Tiny Tim. I figured that fit the definition of the challenge pretty well.

215lyzard
Dec 18, 2012, 4:28 pm

>>#213 & 214:

Yes, for that challenge it was stated that the short-work characters could appear in novels by different authors.

216MikeBriggs
Dec 18, 2012, 4:36 pm

214-215) Thanks, and sure, I noticed that other author possibility. Interesting. The novel any good?

217Chatterbox
Dec 18, 2012, 11:13 pm

Hmm, anyone else finding that all the wikis are down?

218SqueakyChu
Dec 18, 2012, 11:17 pm

Yep. I'm finding that is true, Suz.

219SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 20, 2012, 12:16 am

The TIOLI Stats for November, 2012

In November, 2012, we had 20 TIOLI challenges in which we read a total of 516 books (or works). Only in one other month this year (May, 2012) did we read less books. Of the total, 94 or 18% were shared reads. We haven't had such a small total number of shared reads since May, 2010. We ended up with a total of 51 TIOLI points. That is the smallest number of TIOLI points per month since May, 2010. However, we are still ahead with the YTD TIOLI points. Those were a record 945 YTD TIOLI Points for the month (through the end of November).

There was a tie for the most popular book of the month. Both of them were by John Steinbeck and both had 6 readers. Those books were: The Pearl and Travels with Charley. Steinbeck seems to be a very popular author among TIOLI challengers. As of this year so far, 6 Steinbeck books have turned out to be the most popular books of the month.

The most popular challenge of November was cyderry's challenge to read a book where the first letter in the title words has a Scrabble value higher than 6. There were a total of 75 books read for that challenge.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points was that of DeltaQueen50 to read a book with a LT Average Rating of 4.00 to 4.50. That challenge resulted in 11 TIOLI points.

Coming soon...the TIOLI Awards for November, 2012.

220SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 21, 2012, 8:50 am

Here you are, challengers...

The November, 2012, TIOLI Awards

The Only the Best Award goes to cbl_tn for reading The Best Cellar for her own challenge to read a book with one of the words "good", "better", or "best" in the title or author. Wisely, cbl_tn was the only individual who chose a book title or author including the word "best".

The Lorax "I Speak for the Trees" Award goes to swynn for reading the book the Trees for Morphidae's challenge to read a book where the title completes the phrase, "I am thankful for...". I am a tree-hugger; hence this award!

The Mister Clean Award goes to brenpike for reading The Young Wan for lyzard's challenge to read a second-hand book from a bricks-and-mortar bookstore. The book store from which that book was purchased is The Dusty Bookshelf. This warrants an award because the name of the book store makes me feel less worried about dust bunnies in my own home. :)

The Scrabble Maven Award goes to lindapanzo for reading How Hockey Saved a jew From the Holocaust for cyderry's challenge to read a book where the first letter in the title words has a Scrabble value higher than 6. The total value for this book title was 27...and these were not even TIOLI points!

The What a Great Book Award is shared by brenzi, Citizenjoyce, and Britt84, all for reading Team of Rivals for DeltaQueen50's challenge to read a book with a LT Average Rating of 4.00 to 4.50. That book had an LT book rating of 4.44. Wow!

The Why Not Two Award goes to wandering_star who read Tongue for her own challenge to read a book by an author whose surname is no more than three letters long. That book (which I read and thought quite fun but weird) had been written by Kyung-Ran Jo.

The Hats Off Award goes to elkiedee for her challenge to read a book with a cover showing someone wearing a hat or other headgear. Now, since we didn't have a separate thread to view these hats and headgear, let's imagine that the wind blew them all away. In the future, keep in mind that such challenges do merit a separate thread of their own.

My heartiest congratulations to the November, 2012, award winners!

221DeltaQueen50
Dec 20, 2012, 11:52 pm

Congratualtions to all the winners!

222Citizenjoyce
Dec 21, 2012, 12:54 am

Thanks for the award which goes to such a great book, Team of Rivals rather than to me for the enjoyment of reading it. It was a great shared read read at the perfect time.

223humouress
Edited: Dec 21, 2012, 1:22 am

Trying, but unable, to add to the wiki :

Grim Tuesday by Garth Nix, for Challenge 8 (red and green cover)
Redoubt by Mercedes Lackey, for Challenge 6 (spell 'Christmas')
and
The City of Ember(http://www.librarything.com/work/36181/book/91520667) by Jeanne DuPrau, for Challenge 18 (double digit ISBN) ( 9780552552387).

ETA : and I can't play leapfrog on the TIOLI meter *boo hoo*

224paulstalder
Dec 21, 2012, 3:22 am

223> I put "The City of Ember (978-0-552-55238-7) - Jeanne DuPrau - humouress" into challenge 18. But you better try again yourself

225Britt84
Dec 21, 2012, 4:10 am

I got an award! *does a happy dance* thanks Madeline! And congrats to the other winners, of course.

And Team of Rivals really was a great book, I really enjoyed it :)

226wandering_star
Dec 21, 2012, 4:24 am

Yayy - thanks for my award - what a good way to end the year!

227SqueakyChu
Dec 21, 2012, 9:03 am

> 223

I updated what you requested, but where do you want me to put you on the frog meter (and with which challenges)?

By the way, the wikis are now working for me, but if you see in the future that they don't work, drop a quick email to either Jeremy or Tim. Alternatively send, them a tweet. They are both quick to respond.

228brenpike
Dec 21, 2012, 9:31 am

An award for shopping at a bookstore. How cool is that?!
Thanks Madeline . . .
I love my used book stores and The Dusty Bookshelf is a good one, featuring not only shelves but stacks and stacks of books, possibly all a bit dusty. It's okay though, I don't wear white gloves while browsing!

229cbl_tn
Dec 21, 2012, 10:28 am

Thanks for the award! I wish I could say it was the best book I read in November, but sadly it wasn't.

230SqueakyChu
Dec 21, 2012, 10:30 am

> 229

:(

231humouress
Dec 21, 2012, 11:30 am

>224 paulstalder:, 227: Thanks, Paul and Madeline. I had another go, but it looks like I have to send that e-mail.

232Donna828
Dec 21, 2012, 3:24 pm

Love all the creative awards. Good job, all you lucky winners! Maybe I'll make it my goal next year to dust my books and shelves...as long as I can read on my breaks! I will second Brenda's claim about the merits of The Dusty Bookshelf. I plan to go back next summer.

233klobrien2
Dec 21, 2012, 7:42 pm

Ooh, it's the 21st! And the world didn't end! SO that means that it's "Recommend a quick read for shared points" Day, right?

Thornton37814 had put this book in Challenge 8 (Red and Green) - Christmas at the Mysterious Bookshop--she's finished, and I'm about to finish it up myself.

The book is a collection of mystery stories, all set at Christmas time, all featuring the Mysterious Bookshop (a real bookstore in NYC). The stories were written annually, each by a different author, and handed out to clients of the bookshop.

The stories are perfect for reading in little "bites," when you need a break from holiday hecticness.

Karen O.

234SqueakyChu
Dec 21, 2012, 9:40 pm

> 233

SO that means that it's "Recommend a quick read for shared points" Day, right?

Exactly right!

235cbl_tn
Dec 21, 2012, 11:12 pm

If you're in the mood for quick seasonal reads, I recommend A Child's Christmas in Wales or A Rumpole Christmas. I checked out an ebook copy of the Rumpole collection on a whim when I was filling my e-reader for a trip. It was my first experience with this series. It whetted my appetite for more.

236Citizenjoyce
Dec 22, 2012, 1:11 am

I have a strong recommendation for Down the Rabbit Hole by Juan Pablo Villalobos. It's a little book with deep commentary on the teaching of morality by viewing a Mexican drug king's life through the eyes of his secluded 7 year old son. I didn't believe the voice behind this book was 7, but I was very impressed by his viewpoint.

237Britt84
Dec 22, 2012, 12:38 pm

Is it just me, or is the wiki page still malfunctioning? I can't seem to make any changes :/

238cyderry
Dec 22, 2012, 2:54 pm

Anne Perry's Christmas... novellas are a quick read. I've done 4 this month already!

239SqueakyChu
Dec 22, 2012, 7:09 pm

> 237

I 'm not having any problem with the wiki.

240SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 23, 2012, 11:41 am

A note to all TIOLI challengers...
Tonight Jim put up the BRAND NEW 75 books challenge group for 2013. Woot!

...and a word to the wise:
Get yourselves well established there before the January, 2013, TIOLI challenge goes up. You're going to need to know where to look for it! :D

241Morphidae
Dec 23, 2012, 9:39 am

>Dors, for your challenge, "Read an author biography (not a memoir or an autobiography) or a work of literary criticism that focuses on one author," could I count Mapping the World of Harry Potter? Would that qualify since it's about one author's works?

242Morphidae
Dec 23, 2012, 11:18 am

I've added the following:

#5 Meaning to Read
The Complete Bible Handbook by John Bowkler

#6 Rolling Christmas
Carried Away by Jill Barnett

#8 Red and Green Cover
Sixth Column by Robert Heinlein

#11 Exceptional Talent
Crown of Vengeance by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory
Morrigan's Cross by Nora Roberts
Mark of the Demon by Diana Rowland

#12 Old Challenge
Ben & Jerry's by Fred Lager
Nightmares & Dreamscapes by Stephen King

#13 Green Dragon Lists
The Man in the High Castle by Philip K. Dick
The Innocent Mage by Karen Miller
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pullman

#18 ISBN
Devil's Claw by J. A. Jance
The Song by Jean Johnson

#19 Country Vowel
An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor

243lindapanzo
Dec 23, 2012, 12:24 pm

Thanks for the November "Scrabble Maven" award.

2013. Need to know where to look for it? Hmmmm, puzzling.

244SqueakyChu
Dec 23, 2012, 12:42 pm

> 243

Need to know where to look for it? Hmmmm, puzzling.

That's not some mysterious code, Linda. I only mean that it will show up on the 2013 group and NOT the 2012 group. :D

245brenzi
Dec 23, 2012, 5:37 pm

Wow I won an award? That hasn't happened in ages. Thanks Madeline.

246lindapanzo
Dec 24, 2012, 1:14 am

#244 Thanks. I thought you were going to use an alias. Or hide it in some other group or something like that.

This is always a tricky time of year with all the overlapping groups/threads.

247SqueakyChu
Dec 24, 2012, 10:20 am

> 246

I thought you were going to use an alias. Or hide it in some other group or something like that

If I did that, then no one would ever find it...or play along!

248streamsong
Edited: Dec 24, 2012, 1:29 pm

If anyone wants to join in on A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas for challenge 1, here is a link to Dylan Thomas reading it! This was posted by calm on the review page.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xfpf66_dylan-thomas-a-child-s-christmas-in-wale...

249paulstalder
Dec 24, 2012, 6:34 pm

I finished a little Christmas book for challenge 3 (special cover): it has two wooden stars (Christmas tree decorations) embedded in the front and the back:

250SqueakyChu
Dec 24, 2012, 7:15 pm

Wishing everyone here a very happy holiday season!

251brenpike
Dec 25, 2012, 12:16 am

Happy Holidays Madeline.

252Citizenjoyce
Dec 25, 2012, 2:31 am

I wanted to share my favorite Christmas movie of all time, It's a Wonderful Life:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OIOQZCmp02o

253Britt84
Dec 25, 2012, 2:50 pm

Happy holidays Madeline! And happy holidays to all other TIOLI-ers :)

254Morphidae
Dec 26, 2012, 7:35 am

Can I get other people's opinion's on post 241?

255thornton37814
Dec 26, 2012, 7:53 am

@ post 241 - Sounds like some form of literary criticism about J. K. Rowling to me.

256Britt84
Edited: Dec 26, 2012, 11:59 am

254: I'd say it fits as a 'work of literary criticism that focuses on one author'...

257DorsVenabili
Dec 26, 2012, 12:11 pm

#254 - I'm sorry! I missed your post. That's fine with me.

258ffortsa
Dec 26, 2012, 2:49 pm

Whew - I almost forgot to read the book I put in my own challenge! But The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie is now properly completed. Lovely little thing it is, too.

259cyderry
Edited: Dec 27, 2012, 9:54 am

I finished my last TIOLI of the year - all 132 books that I read in 2012 were part of a TIOLI Challenge - my goal has been attained!

On to the 2013 TIOLI Challenge!

Will it be soon, Madeline?

260SqueakyChu
Dec 27, 2012, 7:52 pm

*looks up innocently without an answer*

261katiekrug
Dec 27, 2012, 9:45 pm

I say nothing!

262SqueakyChu
Dec 30, 2012, 12:57 pm

Tomorrow night's the end of the year and the end of the month. It's time to do your TIOLI "housekeeping" by deleting any books from the December, 2012, wiki that you're not going to have finished by tomorrow night. Thanks!

For those who've not yet discovered it, the January 2013 TIOLI challenges are up, and its wiki is ready to receive any leftover books from December, 2013. Remember that you have time to post a challenge of your own through midnight 1/2/13.

Most of all, though, I send all of you thanks for your participation along with wishes for a safe, healthy, and happy New Year!

263DeltaQueen50
Dec 30, 2012, 3:00 pm

I've completed and entered my last book of 2012. Thank you so much for the TIOLI Challenges, Madeline. These challenges are fun to both make up and participate in, and I am looking forward to 2013!

264Carmenere
Dec 30, 2012, 3:27 pm

Once again I've removed Team of Rivals and The Shadowy Horses from the wiki. I will finish The Catcher in the Rye, if it's the last book I read this year. ;0)

265EBT1002
Edited: Dec 30, 2012, 4:49 pm

Lynda, I am also removing Team of Rivals. Again.
:-|

Maybe we should create a challenge for 2013 along the lines of "read a book that you've removed from at least two prior TIOLI challenges due to lack of completion." Oh well. I will finish it in January, regardless.

266SqueakyChu
Dec 30, 2012, 6:56 pm

"read a book that you've removed from at least two prior TIOLI challenges due to lack of completion."

Haha! Feel free...

267Donna828
Dec 30, 2012, 6:59 pm

263: Echoing Judy's comments. TIOLI is one of the highlights of my month! It has helped me whittle down my TBR stacks, too. In 2012 I read 52 books off my shelves out of a total of 109 books read for the year. Thanks for all the creative challenges that allowed me to do this!

268SqueakyChu
Dec 30, 2012, 7:02 pm

> 263, 267

You're so welcome, Judy and Donna.

269lyzard
Dec 30, 2012, 7:44 pm

Another huge THANK YOU to Madeline for all her TIOLI work!

(Yeesh, this seems to be a theme for me: I just finished thanking her on my thread for being such a good tutee!)

On a more immediate note, I'd like to thank elkiedee for #19 this month - without it, I'd've been in real trouble! :)

270SqueakyChu
Dec 30, 2012, 7:49 pm

Liz, it's fun to be thanking each all the time. I appreciate your tutoring and am only too happy to be able to entertain you here with our TIOLI challenges.

Have a great new year!

271klobrien2
Dec 31, 2012, 4:05 pm

I'll add my thanks to those thanking SqueakyChu for this wonderful thing called TIOLI. I enjoy it so much, and I've seen my reading grow, in both volume and breadth. AND it's a lot of fun!

So, thank you, thank you, thank you, Madeline!

Karen O.

272Carmenere
Dec 31, 2012, 4:44 pm

Woo Hoo! I finished The Catcher in the Rye before the clock struck 12. That does it for me and TIOLI in 2012.
It's been another great year, Madeline. I can't even remember life before TIOLI - it's added a whole new dimension to my love of reading! Have a safe, happy and healthy year! And ditto to all other TIOLI members

273Britt84
Dec 31, 2012, 6:23 pm

Also a heartfelt thanks to Madeline from me :) I haven't been around here for very long yet, but TIOLI is definitely one of my favorite parts of librarything :)

And, as the year 2013 has just started out here, I wish you all a great new year, with lots of love and happiness and other good things :)

Hugs to you all and a special hug for Madeline :)
Britt

274SqueakyChu
Dec 31, 2012, 6:29 pm

Thanks, Karen, Lynda, and Britt, I appreciate your kind thoughts.

Have a wonderful 2013!

275SqueakyChu
Edited: Dec 31, 2012, 6:33 pm

We're not going out tonight as my husband has come down with the flu, but I'm happily cozy at home baking cookies. :) Thumbprints are in the oven now (not the actual prints, the cookie called Thumbprints). :D

As the year ends, I want to wish all of you out there in TIOLI land a marvelous 2013!

Here's to you!

276brenpike
Dec 31, 2012, 7:53 pm

Happy New Years, Madeline. And thanks for all you do to make LT the fun that it is!

277SqueakyChu
Dec 31, 2012, 7:55 pm

Thanks, Brenda.

May you have a lovely 2013!

278Nancy618
Dec 31, 2012, 9:45 pm

Happy New Year, Madeline! LT wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you and TIOLI! All your hard work and amazing creativity are much appreciated! :-)

279SqueakyChu
Dec 31, 2012, 9:55 pm

Aw, thank you, Nancy.

I wish you and your loved ones a terrific 2013.

280ccookie
Dec 31, 2012, 10:47 pm

My thanks, also, for Madeleine and all the others who came up with such great challenges. I read so many books that I never would have gone near if it were not for trying to find something to fit those challenges.
Thanks everyone!!

281simchaboston
Dec 31, 2012, 11:01 pm

Thanks, Madeline, for your hard work organizing the challenges, and thanks to all those who come up with them! Happy New Year wishes to all!

282SqueakyChu
Dec 31, 2012, 11:36 pm

> 280, 281

You're very welcome, Cathy and Bostonian71.

Have a wonderful 2013!

283Citizenjoyce
Jan 1, 2013, 1:53 am

Finished my last book of the year, Dodger, and a fine read it was.
I also thank you, Madeline, for the great job you're doing here and all the joy you've brought into my life.
Happy 2013 all.

284calm
Jan 1, 2013, 6:31 am

Thank you Madeline. Just managed to finish a last TIOLI book of the year before midnight, off to update the wiki:)

285streamsong
Jan 1, 2013, 9:42 am

Thank you Madeline for your hard work and thank you everyone else for joining in and making this a lot of fun!

Madeline, do you want me to delete the book I didn't read from the rolling Christmas challenge? I hate to spoil the "A".

286SqueakyChu
Edited: Jan 1, 2013, 12:05 pm

> 283, 284, 285

You're most welcome, Joyce, calm, and streamsong.

Happy New Year to you.

streamsong, for that challenge your referenced above, either you or I can simply remove your name. I might later remove the authors as well. In any case, that will leave the rolling challenge entries intact so as not to spoil the word "Christmas".