Take It or Leave It Challenge - December 2010 - Page 2

Continued from here.

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread.
Simple directions for posting to the wiki can be found at the bottom of each month's wiki page.


...logo by cyderry

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Hi Challengers!

It’s getting tougher and tougher to come up with some new ideas about what books to challenge you to read. Here’s one that should get you pulling some books off your bookshelf, though.

My challenge to you for December, 2010, is to Read a book with an Animal pictured on the Front Cover. The story inside the book may or may not have anything to do with animals. Your edition of the book *must* have a picture of an animal on its front cover even if you’re only trying to match a book already posted. The kind of animal pictured on the cover of the same book title need not match a book already posted, but it must be noted. For example, if more than one animal is pictured on the book cover, you and another challenger might choose to mention a different animal for the same book. Ha!

Some books only have half an animal on the front cover. Go figure! I'd say that would be okay for this challenge as long as you can pretty much identify what animal it is.

The animal may also be miniscule. Let's say there's a bird flying in the distant sky at sunset. You can see those black wings. That's okay for this challenge.

To get you started, here are some ideas:
The Halo Effect (butterfly) – M.J. Rose
A Complicated Kindness (chicken) – Miriam Toews
Dance Dance Dance (ram) – harukimurakami::Haruki Murakami
The Painted Bird (dove) – Jerzy Kosinski
Scribbling the Cat (lion) – Alexander Fuller

I, of course, am starting out this challenge with a book that has a frog on its front cover. :)

Now hop to it! Run and check your bookshelves. Then let the fun begin…

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Wiki Page 1 - Challenges # 1-8
1. Read a book with an animal on its front cover - thread
2. Read a book of a previous favorite TIOLI challenge with fewer than 50 books listed on that challenge - thread
3: Read a book with a Christmas connection - thread
4. Read a book on your bookshelf for over a year written by a singleton new-to-you author
5. Re-read a book which is a sentimental favorite with fewer than 100 books on LT
6. Read a book which is an Early Reviewer or Advance Readers Copy
7. Read a book with a three word title which has “and” as the second word.
8. Read a book of 140 or less pages.
- a. A Christmas Carol - thread

Wiki Page 2 - Challenges #9-16
9. Read a book about religion - thread
10. Read a book that was on your TBR all of 2010
11. Read a book received from another LT member
12. Read a book with a time of day or night in the title
13. Read a book with a word related to sky or earth in the title
14. Read a Book Written by a Nobel Laureate
15. Read a book with a family term in the title
16. Read a new book in an existing series

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Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. The December 2010 TIOLI Meter - Some challengers use this page to track which challenges they're doing.
2. I Know I'm a TIOLI Addict When... - Frog Logo is on this page!

If you have not done so, please vote in the poll posted on message #242 of our previous thread. Thanks!

No no, your Con #3 is actually a pro of the proposal! I'm definitely in favour of anyone starting the thread. I wouldn't want that power to be restricted to the challenger! ;)

I *do* want it restricted to the participants of the particular challenge, though.

Anyone else care to comment?

>4 SqueakyChu: Who else would want to, Madeline?

Thanks for your kind comments, Madeline, but I feel that I haven't been doing my thread justice. This month is kicking my butt, but, free time is coming. It will get better.

Most of the time, my challenges are not ones suited to a separate thread, I don't feel. If someone else disagrees, they should feel free to start one.

I agree with Richard; I can't imagine that people who aren't even participating in the challenge would care to start a thread about it. Even if someone did, I don't think it would be a big problem.

Thank you for the new thread! My internet connection seems to be on a go-slow today and it took about 8 attempts and much twiddling of thumbs before the old one would load so I could read the last few messages on it.

I see no reason why a separate thread shouldn't be started by anyone who is interested, once the originator of the challenge has had a chance to do so time/energy permitting. Anyone keen to do so is presumably keen to discuss the relevant topic which is what we want to encourage. It's unlikely, as Richard and Zoe say, that anyone not taking part in the challenge would want to initiate a thread, but if they were sufficiently motivated to discuss yet for some reason not actually reading any of the relevant books (perhaps they read them last month), why not let them.

>5 richardderus: I could see if there was a LOT of discussion of a particular book or challenge on this thread; sort of the equivalent of "get a room."

"get a room". What a turn of phrase. I need to get back to holiday stuff, but now I'll do so with a chuckle.

Finished another Christmas themed book - bringing my yearly total up to 101.

Have finished An Irish Country Christmas by Patrick Taylor

I was traveling all week, so didn't get as many advent books read (my wife was reading them to our daughter instead), but added Longest Christmas List Ever for tonight's read.

Also finished Stray Sod Country for the ER challenge this week. I've been trying to figure out what to say about it for my review for the past several days. For now, the most succinct statement would be that had it not been that I needed to read it as an Early Reviewer, there is no way I would have finished the book.

But my new read, I'm Perfect, You're Doomed is making up for the less than stellar streak I've had lately with ho-hum books. I couldn't even read aloud one of the passages to my wife because I was laughing too hard (the entire section on the Smurfs being the agents of Satan hit just the right chord for me). I'm not sure this was the kind of book citizenjoyce was thinking about when she created the Religion Challenge, but it was a great incentive to read this book.

Sounds just right to me, I think I need to wishlist it.

Juggling too many books and too many priorities. I have ARCs that I need to review, library books that I need to return, books that I need to finish for my 1010 challenge and books that I need to prioritize so I can work on my own rewrites. Then there are the books that I discover I want to read. And the books that I simply can't locate. Sigh. It's amazing I manage to make it through a day without my head exploding.

>15 Chatterbox:. Wow, Suzanne, and I thought I had book pressure! I finished and highly recommend the fascinating Packing for Mars. Lots of quirky tid-bits of info mixed in with the solid facts about space exploration.

Well, the missing book is Snared Nightingale by Geoffrey Trease. So I'm going to substitute his other adult novel, So Wild the Heart, for my #5 challenge. I do wonder where the book went, however...

Okay. So now here's another poll. This is about "Related Threads". We've agreed that these can be started by anyone after the challenge originator has had days 1-7 of the month to post one. If not done by day #8 of the month, we'll open these up for posting by others....which is to say it need not even be someone who has taken up that challenge.

Alternatively...

I voted to keep it open -- minimal restrictions seem to be what this group is about. If someone is interested enough in a challenge, even if they don't have books that readily fit into it, and willing to invest the time to manage the thread, god bless 'em, say I.

I'm coming around to your way of thinking. Thinking about this issue, I realize that even a person who posts a challenge might not end up reading a book in his/her own challenge!

Suz!!!!!!! I was very excited to find your book, Chasing Goldman Sachs in The Washington Post "Book World" today. It was listed as a Best Nonfiction Book of 2010". How nice!!

"An exceptionally lucid, well-written account of how and why the financial system broke down. (James Ledbetter)"

Hearty congrats!!

#22 Yes!! Chasing Goldman Sachs is described as "an exceptionally lucid, well-written account of how and why the financial system broke down."

Oops! I added the link and quote at the same time you did, Linda.

Cheers to Suz!!!

Wow! I hadn't made the association. Totally impressive, Suz.

Congratulations Suzanne. And I'm also having problems locating my sentimental read, Below the Salt, so I might have to substitute as well.

Suzanne, that's fabulous news!!! Congrats!!!!!

"Exceptionally lucid" are two of the words I associate with Suzanne anyway. I hope, hope, hope this translates into sales to Senators, Congresspeople, and their staffs...might end up doing the world even more good than it already has!

I've finished a few on the 'Animal on Cover' challenge - the highlight of which was The Chestnut Soldier which is the final book in The Snow Spider trilogy and I can heartily recommend it. They are only short books but the whole trilogy is YA which is seeped in Welsh legend and feels more like a folk legend itself than a pure 'fantasy' book.

On the festive side of things, I've read The Story of Holly and Ivy which is a delightful and brief little tome that encapsulates the spirit of the season, albeit simplistically. In my lifelong quest to find something that Dickens wrote that I actually like, I also read A Christmas Carol which is so difficult to separate from the story's position as a cultural mainstay that it was hard to know whether I really enjoyed Dickens' writing here (although a sneaky little part of me thinks that once again, I'm not enamoured). For all his flaws though, Dickens really could write a killer character description. I am moving on to Hogfather in an attempt to keep the festive pot boiling. Ho! Ho! Ho!

Rebecca's World was my sentimental favourite. I remember reading it when I was about 6 or 7 and being captivated by the tale and although it is a short book aimed at the younger end of YA fantasy, I can still understand why I loved it then. We used to have Friday afternoons in Lower School as reading afternoons - you brought your own cushion, you could read any book you wanted and you could find any corner to curl up in (mine was behind a bookcase). A propos the book's length, it would fit nicely into the Thinster challenge *nudge nudge*.

I'm reading some non-TIOLI books (*the heresy*) but I'm hoping to complete Scott's Last Expedition, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (audio), Hogfather, Pride and Prejudice and The God Delusion by the end of the month. Hopefully. I may have to give up working to achieve it, but I'm devoted ;-)

"Exceptionally lucid" are two of the words I associate with Suzanne anyway.

Totally agree with that comment!

Reading and savoring Island of Demons, a novel about the emergence into Western consciousness of Bali as the "exotic erotic East" of our desirings, by Nigel Barley, as part of the "animals on the cover" TIOLI. Wicked fun.

I would **love** to see more of my friends here in 75land and the TIOLIhood pick this book up in December. It's quite addictive. It's set in an historical moment that's seldom visited this well: Colonialism's summer afternoon, night clearly coming on but still vigorous and seeming like the perfect point for everything, could we only do it, to *stop* and remain in stasis. Never happens, of course, but it's a very poignant moment. Barley does it brilliantly.

American Amazon has copies....

Club Read 2011 has come up with an interesting challenge idea for the coming year. Check out message #2 by avaland in this thread.

I really like that idea a lot, though it's a bit of work for the coordinator if too many want to participate and as they mention, some of the challenges could be too challenging.

I wouldn't want to coordinate such a challenge (TIOLI's enough!), but I think that idea was great. It certainly will add a bit of spice to that group. I like seeing such original ideas posted. I'll be following them to see how it plays out. I'm all for originality and getting people to jump the bounds of their usual reading. That looks as if it just might do the trick.

Tad has just reminded me of James Hilton's Random Harvest so I'm adding that to the Sentimental Challenge and taking off 'Below the Salt' which will be too hard to locate.

Tonight's Advent book was a new addition to this year's batch...not sure it's going to stay in the mix. Matchless by Gregory Maguire. Billed as a "reillumination" of the original Little Match Girl by Hans Christian Andersen, it wraps an entirely, barely related story around the original, and the ending still does not provide an uplifting holiday message. My daughter's exact words when we finished it were "well, that was depressing". Not exactly the mood I was going for.

My reading plan for the month changed when Room came up for me at the library - I wasn't tracking it closely enough to put a freeze on it. I'd planned to wait a month or two. Now, of course if I return it unread, I'll have to wait a gazillion weeks to get it again. So I added it (for a point!) to the Ghost of TIOLI past challenge. And will have to decide what to delete. The load would definitely not take one more!

Wow--is this a record?

Twelve people are reading A Christmas Carol this month for challenge #8. In fact, nine people have already finished it.

*blush* Thanks, all! It's rather good news; hopefully will give sales a boost.

And BIG kudos to Linda, who alerted me to this yesterday. She got the news to me BEFORE MY PUBLISHERS WERE AWARE OF IT! (I got to tell THEM today).

What a clever idea re the random swap of the challenge! There might be a way to do a modified version of that for a TIOLI -- individual members could note that they were up to be challenged, and someone could fire a challenge in their direction, perhaps? Just thinking of something that wouldn't be quite as time-demanding as having to match up challengers/challenges. I would be very amused by challenging Richard to read a book about cats, or Darryl to read a frivolous thriller... :-)

I'm going to have to physically move a whole bunch of stuff to get to the bookshelf where I think, I hope Winds of Heaven is located. Sigh, and I thought that this was such a good idea for the holidays... Piffle.

#39 Suz, Madeline actually spotted the WaPo item. I then went around and did my best Paul Revere imitation, alerting everyone to the news.

#34 I'd love to take part in a challenge like that, though I'd draw the line at reading a book in the original language.

In fact, I signed up at Club Read. I do quite a bit of reading beyond books and it'll be nice to talk about that other stuff as well. I think I bore my friends telling them about the latest interesting article I read.

Well, in that case -- thank you Madeline! You are SO on the ball. (Not that that surprises me...)

Hmm, Linda, you could always read a book in English -- as long as that was its original language? *chortle*

> 39

Suz, when I found the article about your book in the WAPO, I posted here instead of to your thread as you had just posted before I did. I thought you'd be right back... Oh, well!

Anyway, I still have my copy of the WAPO Book World. Would you like me to mail it to you (or can you get a copy of it where you live...or do you even want a hard copy of it?). Let me know.

> 40

Linda, we should become a duo. I'll spot stuff and you spread the word! :)

Club Read is really an excellent group for those who like to talk about book topics in depth. I, too, am a member of both groups (although tend to be more "chatty" here among the 75-ers). Club Read tends to be more serious than we are - but in a good way. I do see them lightening up a bit with the challenges they've been adding recently. I really hope that last challenge they mentioned takes effect. I'd love to see how they do it and how well received it will be.

Hmm... I wonder if there's a way to promote more in-depth book discussion in this group without becoming too serious?

#43 As mentioned, I thought I'd give Club Read a try. Half of my reading consists of mysteries, sort of fluffy, so I wasn't sure Club Read would be a good place for me. I also read some heavy duty nonfiction so maybe it'll be ok.

I don't read much literary fiction, which I always thought of as their focus.

> 44

No one's stopping you, Zoe! You may take this idea and run with it. Let us know what you come up with.

Personally, I like being a member of both groups so I can get my reading "fix" in either place depending on the topic and my mood (Do I even feel like doing in depth reading and discussion?).

For a start, is there a separate thread devoted to A Christmas Carol?

Should I make the thread since it's "my" challenge, or let someone who is actually reading that book make it?

I myownself live by the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it " creed.

>48 norabelle414: If you want to start a thread, I'd say go for it; and if not, not :).

>49 mckait: Have you been persuaded to spend some time in TIOLI? ;)

TA DA!

A Christmas Carol thread!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/104548

>39 Chatterbox: I will have you to know, little miss cat-fur-boots, that I am presently...well, obviously not *this second*, but within this 24-hr span...reading Cleo: The Cat Who Mended A Family.

Yes. That's correct. I am, voluntarily and without threat of grievous bodily harm, reading a book about a CAT.

Ha.

ETA I am officially renaming these things "touchystones". Let's see if this is the one that takes. TRY #5

outed

Outed, outed, damned Spot?

Well, we've reached a critical mass as there are 12 people either reading or planning to read A Christmas Carol for the Tinster Challenge. Norabelle started its individual thread which is here. I also put the link in message #1 of the main thread.

Norabelle, I'd suggest a link back from the thread for A Christmas Carol to the Thinster challenge and the main challenge. That will help those who are trying to navigate through the TIOILI challenges. The navigation part of teh TIOLI is getting to be a challenge in and of itself!

Anyone may start an individual book thread. I would suggest, however, that you limit this to a book that has a sufficient number of people who would be willing to make the thread a success. Too many individual book threads with little to say may work against us.

I'll try to keep up with them as they appear. How many shared reads do you think we should have in order to give the "Go ahead" for an individual thread?
Alternatively, is it better not to set a number and rely on our gut feeling?

> 48

Norabelle, it was decided at the last poll that anyone may start a challenge thread (and now an individual thread). Thanks for doing it while I was making soup for supper! :)

> 49

*waves to Kath*

>55 SqueakyChu: I'd go with gut feeling. I think the number of readers required will depend on the type of book. For Under the Banner of Heaven, for example, I can imagine that people might be interested in the discussion even if they haven't read the book (and that goes for a lot of non-fiction), while I suspect that people would be less likely to read a fiction thread unless they had actually read the book in question.

Also, going by "gut feeling" means no need for more rules!

Yeah. I agree with you (...again!).

Also if a good discussion crops up on a thread about a TIOLI book, perhaps someone could alert us here by posting a link.

>59 SqueakyChu: :D

>60 avatiakh: Oh, I like that idea!

>55 SqueakyChu: D'oh! I knew I was missing something. I edited to add the links. I don't want anyone getting lost!

> 62

Thanks!

Better watch out, Richard -- next thing you know, you'll be yearning to add a sweet little kitten to the household...

Madeline, tks for the mailing offer -- have PMed you my address, whenever you have a spare moment (ha!)

>58 _Zoe_:, 59 I'd say the decision was made by acclimation, since there was not one single complaint issued. Good work! FWIW, I think gut feeling is the best way to handle almost everything TIOLI-related. Polls for the awkward things. In other words, how it's been working so far!

> 64

I can't get your profile page to pull up for some reason. Book World will be in the mail by morning, and you should get it by Thursday. Enjoy!

I finished The Tenderness of Wolves for the Animal on the Cover Challenge. the review is here.

Now I'm reading Stones for Ibarra for the Sentimental Favorite Challenge. It's also on the list "100 Great American Novels You've (Porbably) Never Read" so I really hope I can convince others to read this wonderful little gem.

Hi 75ers...there's a terrific new thread open called What are your favorite books? or something, started here in the 75er group by someone called "karspeak"...great idea, one place to put our top suggestions, and it's already up an flyin'.

Have finished another challenge read The Gift by Cecelia Ahern for 3: Read a book with a Christmas connection

Finished an 'and' challenge book: Judge and jury by James Patterson

Finished Nothing to Envy and The Kind Diet for Ghost of TIOLI past.

Finished The Monstrumologist for Animal on a Cover.

I am having a stellar TIOLI this month! What a nice holiday present.

ETA: I know other folks out there have read The Kind Diet this month. Do you want to play along?

Hello fellow TIOLI challengers,

The TIOLI awards and stats were delayed from last night because too much other stuff was going on around LT. Not only did Jim post the new 75 Books Challenge for 2011 group, but Abby also decided to post the December Early Reviewer books last night. It was pretty wild on-line. Before everyone gets all riled up again, I wanted to slip in the TIOLI stats and awards for November…

For November 2010, TIOLI challengers read a total of 416 books. Of those, 137 or 33% were shared books. We accumulated a total of 75 points in November which brings us to the YTD total of 575 TIOLI points.

And now for our awards…

The But Is There Room For Me Award goes to bell7 for creating the challenge to read a book with four letters or less. That challenge enticed a record total of 10 challengers to share the read of Room by Emma Donoghue.

The We Are Family Award goes to AlcottAcre, Donna828, CatyM, klarusu, lindsacl, flissp, nancyewhite, pbadeer, klobrien2, and nittnut for pulling together to share that read of Room. Now that’s togetherness!

The Now Ponder This Award goes to CitizenJoyce for introducing some controversial and interesting topics (e.g. sex, religion) into recent TIOLI challenges. Can’t wait to see what other topics she has in mind for future challenges! Think it could get dangerous?! She hasn’t done politics yet. :)

The How’d You Do It Award goes to norabelle414 for her World of Harry Potter challenge which garnered 80% of books on her challenge as shared reads! Amazing!!

The Tiny TIOLI Frog Award goes to teelgee for guessing most closely how many completed reads would come back-to-back in the Alphabetical challenge. She guessed 10 and there were 9. (Terri, please PM me your mailing address, and I’ll send you your tiny frog. Feel free to post a picture of it later or tell the others about your frog!)

Just so that all of you know, the next TIOLI challenge (for January) will be posted at the end of December. It will be located in the 75 Books Challenge for 2011 group, so look for it there. If you haven’t joined that group yet, *now* is the time to do so.

Congrats to our November award winners!!

Enjoy a safe and happy holiday season and a terrific New Year!

Thank you, thank you. I'm clearing a place on the mantle for my award right now.

>73 SqueakyChu:: holds hands with fellow family members and ...



ETA: I'm the short one in the blue dress.

Joyce and Laura, you are both making me laugh. Terri, congratulations. I for one want to see that tiny frog!

Thanks, Madeline, for another fun month on TIOLI.

Love the awards! Love being part of the family. Let's see, shall I be the matronly figure in the black dress and long jacket or the gal in the leotard... how to decide?

LOL!! Is that me on the left introducing everyone?

By the way, methinks we have some lurkers on our TIOLI thread.

I'd like to invite any lurkers who are currently not participating in the TIOLI challengers to say hi to us. We're very friendly and would love to hear from you. We do not bite (...most of the time).

What are your thoughts about what we're doing? Is this something that entices you or frightens you? Do you think we're all nuts or can you find some redeeming value in what we do? Was there a particular challange that you found esepcially interesting or amusing?

By the way...if you're shy, you can just say "Hello." We'd love that as well.

> 76

You're welcome Donna. This is a fun way to amuse myself. :)

It looks as if we'll be setting a new TIOLI record in December. In the Thinster challenge, 14 (!) challengers either have read, are reading, or will read A Christmas Carol.

I love the awards too! Great job thinking up new ones every month, Madeline!

#75: Rats. Somehow I missed out on being in that pic :)

Wow! I won the frog!!! Thank you, thank you.

Congratulations to everyone. It was great to be a part of these challenges (even I will never get frogged).

I finished a 'small book' challenge: Gotthard, photaographs by Adolphe Braun

Oh, rats, the touch stone for the title is wrong, but the photographer is the correct one

BTW - way back on message 13 Patrick mentioned positive things (funny things) about I'm Perfect, You're Doomed for the religion challenge. I put it on hold from the library and it arrived much faster than expected. I'm starting this one today!

I reread Stones for Ibarra by Harriet Doerr for Suzanne's TIOLI Challenge to read a sentimental favorite and try to convince others to pick it up. I hope my review can entice some of you to read this little gem.

Now I'm reading Nothing to Envy for the Read a non-fiction book about or set in a country other than your own - North Korea- from the August TIOLI for Zoe's Challenge (#2).

I managed to read a book that qualifies for the Short Book Challenge - Waiting for Godot by Samuel Becket. I'd seen the play several times but hadn't actually read it.

This sounds like fun- I'm definitely in! I had no idea this group was more than just listing the 75 books one read in a year. I'm loving all the new stuff I'm finding. :)

Welcome, lahochstetler!

If nothing else, at least the TIOLI challenges show how much it's worth checking out all of the nooks and crannies here at LibraryThing. It's not only huge, it's fun!

Good to have you on board with us.

Hurrah, another de-lurker!

Nope, frogs don't bite.

And Bonnie, you've convinced me to pick that one up. I have had it for, oh, 20 years or so.... I just need to locate it!

Yay Suzanne. You won't regret it.

I'm listening to Bullfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable, so I know what stones for Ibarra are - stones that they threw behind them instead of casting aside their mother's bones after a destroying flood. They grew into modern people. Maybe I knew that once upon a time, but now I know it again.

I believe I'm going to have to join in on the I'm Perfect, You're Doomed read because it was just sitting there all lonely at the library calling to me. First I have to finish A Christmas Carol which I started last night, and Not In Kansas Anymore: Dark Arts, Sex Spells, Money Magic, and Other Things Your Neighbors Aren't Telling You. It's so nice to be able to read something good again after the abhorrent Little Women.

Joyce, I took you up on your Book about Religion challenge and read a marvelous book called My Jesus Year by Benyamin Cohen. Thank you for that challenge.

The author, son of an Orthodox rabbi, chose to spend a year visiting churches in the Bible Belt of the USA. I'll go into the book more in detail on your thread after I post my review. I'm still thinking about it.

Finished up A Christmas Carol on ebook.

Today I finished Job by Joseph Roth, which I added to Zoe's challenge (book with a one word title), along with two other books I read earlier this month, The Translator by Leila Aboulela (Orange July) and Clock Without Hands by Carson McCullers (book with a problem as the title). Earlier this week I read The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddharta Mukherjee for Madeline's challenge (it has a crab on the cover), which was my favorite nonfiction book of the year.

I finished I'm Perfect, You're Doomed: Tales from a Jehovah's Witness Upbringing, and I can retain my recommendation for it. Between all of the self deprecating humor and the sardonic comments that if you die during Armageddon, it's not the end of the world :), there are actually quite a few interesting facts tucked in, and I learned a lot about the religion - albeit from a very biased view.

I heard an interview with the author ofThe Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer, it sounds very good.

Madeline, My Jesus Year, what a weird concept. The book sounds interesting.

Joyce, I surprised myself with My Jesus Year. I so totally expected not to like it. I was in tears by the end of it. Maybe because my religion is so special to me? Who knows? The only thing I can say is that the book made me both laugh and cry. I like when a book does that. The last time that happened was when I read Marley and Me, a dog story by John Grogran.

Speaking of John Grogan, however, I highly recommend reading his book The Longest Trip Home. It's perfect for your Religion challenge because it's memoirs of the author's Catholic upbringing. It's a wonderful read.

Darryl, so glad to read your excellent review of Emperor of All Maladies. I have it on hold at the library and will be getting it in the next couple weeks. It sounds fascinating and even better with your stamp of approval.

My Jesus year sounds interesting, a put it on my wishlist, thanks for mentioning it.

Finished Knit the Season for a Christmas read. It was just OK. Ever feel like an author is weary of characters she's created?

Also finished Tallgrass and I'm going to say from a past (August) TIOLI with no letter e in title or author's name.

ETA: I just squeak in on that past challenge - there were 47 books in it. Phew!

I have, and haven't read, Tallgrass. What did you think, nittnut?

Loved it! A great story about a small town in CO and how their lives are changed by the Japanese internment camp built nearby. So much about prejudice of all kinds and courage. It's a keeper.

Ooh, I gotta read that one. I think Stasia even recommended it, because I just read a YA novel that touched on the subject, and I was half-asleep and forgot to note the title.

I finished Still Alice by Lisa Genova for the Animal on the Cover challenge. A moving and tender book. Stasia, Suzanne and Linda all recommended it, and I'm glad they did.

>105 nancyewhite: Bittersweet but so good and so important.

> 105

That's a wonderful book. I think there's still time if anyone wants to make Still Alice a shared read before the end of December. I highly recommend it as well.

ETA: I had to go back and look. I couldn't remember what animal was its cover. It was a butterfly.

>107 SqueakyChu: Not sure what a shared read entails exactly so maybe you could enlighten me, but I just might take up your suggestion for Still Alice Madeline. I'm finishing The Manticore very soon and could probably start on it tonight (decided to save Murakami for another time!)

A shared read is simply reading the same book that someone else is reading this month. You'll need to fnish it before midnight December 31 if you want it to qualify for this month's TIOLI challenge.

If you decide to read that book, post it on the wiki under challenge #1. Since another person has already read the book, put an asterisk in front of the names of Still Alice (both books). That indicates it's a shared read and garners a TIOLI point. All the directions for doing this are at the bottom of the wiki page. If you have questions, ask away!

>108 Smiler69: A shared read is when multiple people read the same same book for the same challenge. It gives points!

I would also highly recommend Still Alice.

A shared read will also give you someone with whom to discuss the book!

Finished The Manticore, which I'll review soonish on my thread and will start Still Alice, which I'm fairly sure I'll be done with well before the 31st.

I've read Time On My Hands for the former TIOLI challenge (November's time travel). Quite similar in story to Time And Again, although the historical bits of this one are set in 1940s Hollywood. A very enjoyable read and definitely recommended to fans of Time And Again.

Another lurker revealed - I first saw the initials TIOLI on the 1010 Challenge and I have checked it out a couple of times, looks like alot of fun. I have joined the 75 Challenge for 2011 and I can't wait to see what the TIOLI challenges are for January!

Welcome aboard, Judy.

I think that's the fun of the TIOLI - simply that no one can plan their reads ahead. Often for me, I find that if I've "planned" my read ahead of time, I less and less want to read that book when the time arrives. My favorite books are those that I choose at random and know barely anything about. Of course, it's also fun to share what I'm reading with others. I thought and thought about that...and "Voila!" The TIOLI was born!

Hope you find it fun!

Welcome Judy, I remember your name as someone who has/likes a lot of the same sort of books as me so I look forward to you joining in the madness here.

>116 SqueakyChu: Often for me, I find that if I've "planned" my read ahead of time, I less and less want to read that book when the time arrives.

Same thing goes for me. Which is why I think you'll be seeing more of me in 2011!

Which is why I think you'll be seeing more of me in 2011!

Great!

Hi all! I'm another lurker who's checking out the challenge within the challenge. I hope I'm up for it in the new year. :)

Kate

Look at all these lurkers coming out of the woodwork. Cool!

> 120

Katie, you have all the information you need for the TIOLI now. If you have any questions, just ask. Any of us can walk you through this as it's really not hard. You may enter a book now or wait until January. Your choice.

Thanks for coming out of lurkdom! :)

Finished Wolf Hall!!!

Just catching up on my TIOLI reads...

I've read The Mischief of the Mistletoe, Bink and Gollie, Reckless and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix so far. I had to put Order of the Phoenix in the "Ghosts of TIOLI Past" because my copy doesn't have a phoenix on the cover. Now I'm reading An Assembly Such as This and enjoying it so far.

I read Tinsel: A Search for America's Christmas Present which fits in the Christmas Book challenge. In this a journalist follows three families in a formerly rural now "malled" suburb of Plano, TX through their Christmases. Gosh, we are a homogenized culture these days.

I'd love for folks to share Still Alice. I'll be checking back to see what people think.

>125 nancyewhite:: LOL, Nancy. My son and family moved to Plano last January. I've only been there a few times, but "malled" is a perfect description. I'll have to check out this book.

I've already read Still Alice and will throw my recommendation in with the others.

I noticed that two people are reading Nothing to Envy: Ordinary Lives in North Korea for the Ghost of TIOLI Past challenge (August: Read a non-fiction book about or set in a country other than your own - North Korea). Also today, someone put together a list of LT's top-rated books of 2010, and this book was in the top 5, at #2 if you exclude series continuations! With an average rating of 4.41, it seems like an almost guaranteed good read.

Looking ahead to 2011

Here are some of my thoughts...

Newbies:
We've been picking up some newbies along the way, so I'd like to welcome all who've recently discovered the TIOLI challenges. I hope you find this a fun way to learn about new-to-you books and find others with whom you can talk about what you're reading within a current time frame.

If you have any questions, please just post your questions to this thread, and either I or someone else will help you. Don't be afraid to just jump right in or make a mistake on the wiki. Everything can be sorted out with ease.

End of year:
December 31st is the end of the year (obviously!) and the completion of a successful Year One of the TIOLI challenges. Thanks to all who participated and made it such a fun past-time for me. I loved setting up the challenges and seeing the enjoyment it has brought along the way.

Now is the time for everyone to be completing their December TIOLI reads. All books now on the wiki not completed before midnight December 31st should be removed (or they will later be deleted if not marked COMPLETED). Take some time as the New Year approaches to relax with some non-TIOLI reads - so you don't reach the end of the year in a reading frenzy! :)

The next TIOLI challenge (January 2011) will be found in the thread for the 75 Books for 2011 Challenge group. If you have not yet joined that group, you may not spot the next TIOLI challenge when it appears. So go join that group now so you'll be able to detect when the next challenge is posted. It will *not* be announced ahead of time. Look for it as 2011 approaches.

Recording Points:
At first my reaction to recording the points total on each challenge on the wiki was that they were not really needed. I've changed my mind on that. I think that they're an interesting addition to the wiki pages, provide some interesting statistical information, and also help me calculate the total points at the end of the month.

Anyone can feel free to update the points total at the bottom of each challenge and at the bottom of the page (totals for all pages) at any time. No need to differentiate between "potential" points and "completed" points during the month, though, as the potential points are fine to use until I do the actual stats mid-month following the month of the challenge.

Changes:
None. Er, the year will change, though! :D

I have not been made aware of the desire for any substantial changes to the TIOLI challenges so they will proceed into 2011 in much the same form as they have been during 2010.

You might have noticed that I have been a bit more secretive about advertising the TIOLI challenges, posting the link to those who inquire about it to a hidden private message to each individual. I don't care if you advertise it or not (because I think it's great!). I'm doing this myself simply to make sure that it doesn't grow too big too fast.

This is *not* a closed group. Anyone who inquires about it should be given the direct link to the current main thread page. Everyone who joins us should be given a warm welcome (which they always are!) and whatever directions they need to get them participating right from the "get-go".

Selecting Challenges:
One challenge (this is optional) per person may be posted to the wiki each month within the first seven days of the month. In addition, anyone may post a "related thread" to any challenge. If you choose to do so, please link message #1 of your related thread back to the main TIOLI thread.

In the year ahead, try to think of challenges that have not yet been posted (to keep up the surprise and fun factor). That's not to say that challenges that have already been posted may not also be added. If you add one that's been done before (or if you don't feel like checking - that's fine, too), see if you can add a special "twist" to your challenge to make it just a wee bit more difficult. We don't call TIOLI a "challenge" for nothing so keep that in mind as you proceed through 2011.

Good wishes:
Have a safe and wonderful holiday season with your loved ones!
Enjoy a healthy and joyous New Year!

Madeline

Thanks for the warm welcome :) I have a wee bit of a reading challenge addiction, so this is right up my alley.

this is right up my alley.

Fabulous!!

"a wee bit of a reading addiction" Right. That's what we all say until we find ourselves huddled in bad at 4am having not slept at all because we want to read just one more chapter. It's a pitiful state of affairs, I tell you, yet I have no power to stop.

I picked up the wrong bag today and found myself with the last 25 pages of Middlemarch to read. At least I've finished Middlemarch but it's a bit annoying - we go up to Ilkley on Wednesday and I would have preferred to finish at least one of my other current reads before we go, as it's quite a bulky ARC.

129, 131: "a wee bit of a reading addiction" I LOVE it! That's a line I'm going to use from now on!

Karen O.

Oh I am SO going to use "a wee bit of a reading addiction"!!!!

I realised I have 4 Christmas books on the go at the same time - a wee reading addiction? nah! LOL!!!

>125 nancyewhite: I'm almost done with Still Alice and honestly don't know what to say about it. I spend most of my time just horrified because I've always had a... (what's that word again?)... an unreliable memory(!), and so I'm filled with a feeling of dread. But then again, whenever I read about *any* disease I start being scared I have whatever it is I'm reading about!

By the way, I just posted my review of The Manticore (animal on the cover TIOLI challenge) right here.

>128 SqueakyChu: wishing you and your loved ones all the best too Madeline... does this mean you won't be giving news here until next year?

> 135

I'm a nurse, and I always thought I had whatever disease I was studying. Fortunately, I've had relatively few of them and hope to keep it that way.

I wouldn't worry about a poor memory or even a memory that declines with age. The woman who was the protagonist of Still Alice was a young woman, diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's Disease. That condition is relatively rare. According to the National Institutes of Health, less than 5% of those diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease have the early onset form (the inherited form of the disease which begins earlier than age 60, possibly starting as early as ages 30 to 40).

Thanks for your good wishes, Ilana!

I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be here. I usually write something (much too) long at the end of each month...and this is the end of the year as well as the end of the month! :)

The wonderful Frog Trophy arrived in the mail today (see message #73.) Thank you Madeline, I love her!

That's so cute. It looks larger than life. You're welcome.

Enjoy!

That's fantastic! Now, of course, I want one too!

Sorry, Pat, it's one of a kind! ;o) By a famous artist Madein C. Hina.

I finished A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole for challenge #2 (June challenge #1: A Book with a Problem as the Title). My review is here.

#140 Terri, it took me a while to get that but I finally did!

>136 SqueakyChu: I remember taking a psychology class in college and in our first class being told that we would all be convinced we had the various psychological conditions as we covered them in class. So, no, I'm not *seriously* concerned. However, the feeling of dread as I read the story is hardly surprising I'm sure.

>140 teelgee: That artist is incredibly prolific! I wonder if I'll ever have a chance to get one of those rare frogs myself.

>141 kidzdoc: Great review Darryl, I wish I had read it before taking on this book. I read it in 2008 and forced myself to finish it even though I didn't enjoy it for the most part.

I was scurrying past a gift store on Lexington Ave last week, en route to a lunch meeting thing, and what should catch my eye in their lower window but a display of ceramic frogs! I didn't even have my camera with me... But they were green and cute and very like our logo. I shall have to nip in soonish and find out about them...

Don't know if non-Facebook users can view this, but it's quite apropos of the self-diagnosis discussion!

>146 teelgee: Funny!

#146 LOLOL

I especially liked how sickle cell was "extra alarming."

It reminds me of taking microbiology in college. We always thought we had the diseases we were studying. One time the prof. showed pictures of people suffering from botulism. We ate lunch after class, and something disagreed with me. I was so sure I had botulism.

Happy Solstice! This is from the Writer's Almanac

American writer Minna Antrim gave these instructions-in-verse:
"Brew me a cup for a winter's night.
For the wind howls loud and the furies fight;
Spice it with love and stir it with care,
And I'll toast our bright eyes,
my sweetheart fair."

Love the frog trophy!

I can't even read the health columns in the newspapers without becoming convinced that I have some horrible and probably terminal medical condition. I shudder to think what I would be like with microbiology or psychology.

Nice bit of verse Joyce.
My youngest was up at the crack of dawn. We will enjoy every moment of Solstice daylight.

>140 teelgee:: There's that dry wit again. LOL. You deserve the very cute frog bookmark for your sense of humor, Terri.

>149 Citizenjoyce:: Thanks, Joyce. I liked this quote...also from today's Writer's Almanac:

Winter is on my head,
but eternal spring is in my heart.

Our choir just did a couple of solstice concerts; one of the songs was Eternal Winter. Our conductor (who composed the piece) said she was experiencing Internal Summer.

Joyce, I love that verse! Happy Solstice to you! Merry meet and merry part and merry meet again.

I love the frog trophy too! Congratulations, Terri.

I finished Still Alice last night and been mulling it over since to try to come up with some sort of credible review... it's usually easier for me to review a book I either ABSOLUTELY LOVE or ABSOLUTELY HATE, but harder when it falls somewhere between the two and I have mixed feelings about it. Will try to do so sometime today.

I finished my ER and it turns out it was a shared read with Chatterbox! I love points.

Alas, I'm stuck 3 hours from home for another day without I'm Perfect, You're Doomed, but I expect to make progress in that book later this week. (I packed for visiting with family, but I've had more private time than expected so I could have been reading.)

I have actually finished The Winter Solstice: The Sacred Traditions of Christmas just in time for solstice. Here is a poem from the book: (it's by Caitlin Matthews)

Here at the gateway of the year,
may we strive to make good cheer.
In our revels shall joy abound
and sorrow be cast underground.

I'll review the book on my thread either tonight or tomorrow. Depends on how long the solstice ritual lasts tonight.

Happy Solstice!!! Blessings and praise on the return of the sun.

( #149 -Joyce, love the poem.)

I noticed that The Night Bookmobile is listed by two people in two different challenges (can't remember whether this has been pointed out before).

Also, I finished A Christmas Carol this morning and it seems I was the 13th person to do so. Despite Madeline's suggestion that people finish up their December reads, it's a very short book.... ;)

>158 _Zoe_: I'm actually putting off A Christmas Carol 'til closer to Christmas. I have Christmas Eve off, so might even read it all in one sitting then.

I love it that I just started reading a murder mystery (Blood from a Stone by Donna Leon) without a thought about the TIOLI challenge and then right on the first page the scene is described as taking place just before Christmas! I've listed it under the appropriate section on the wiki of course! :-)

Hehe! Ilana, it certainly didn't take you long to catch on.

Sometimes I can be clever that way. I'm a quick study too. Sometimes. Other times, I can be totally retarded about the simplest things. I think consistency is overrated anyway. ;-)

:)

#158 Thanks Zoe for pointing that out about The Night Bookmobile. I just moved my listing from The Day or Night Challenge to the Thinster Challenge so it will earn another point.

Just finished The Magnificent Ambersons for Book on the TBR Shelf All Year. Tarkington, whose only other work I've read is Penrod, was quite a good writer, with an eye for description and a facility for character types. But the plot in this book is stupid inane, with an unbelievably weak ending. I'm glad I read it, but never again. If anyone wants it, pm me, first come, first served.

I finished my fifth TIOLI book last night, Moonlight Mile, which fits nicely into Challenge 13 - "Relating to Sky." Crime fiction is not my favorite genre, but I do like Lehane's books, although I keep "seeing" the movie versions in my head as I read...if that makes sense.

>165 Matke: Gail, I couldn't finish the book Way Back When, so I watched the movie...the first big failure of Orson Welles's career, that was. And it was a good movie!

I thought I was the only person under 90 who'd read Penrod! Funny as hell, and stood up well to a re-read in my later 30s.

Finished two books for TIOLI challenges: Zehn for the four-letter-word-challenge in November (a very intriguing but also unsettling collection of ten stories from Napoli, Italy; no English translation yet, only Italian, German and Dutch, I guess) and 'Gottes Stimme hören' for the small-book-challenge

I finished How the Two Ivans Quarrelled by Nikolai Gogol for the Thinster challenge, which was a humorous novella set in early 19th century Russia about the squabble between two long time friends and neighbors.

I've read a few TIOLI books since I last posted, including Cynthia Ozick's The Shawl for the thinster challenge, and highly recommend these two inter-related stories one set during the Holocaust and one 30-40 years later.
A Golden Treasury of Jewish Folktales for the Religion challenge. Although published for children I found this collection of tales excellent, the stories were all interesting and varied, the narrative more appealing than in some of the other collections I own.
I also read and added The Patience of the Spider by Andrea Camilleri to the Ghost TIOLI challenge for police procedures & Backroads: charting a poet's life by Sam Hunt, a great literary memoir, to the TIOLI Ghost challenge (occupation in the title). Also just read the highly enjoyable Troll's Eye View: a book of villianous tales which fits the fairytale retelling Ghost challenge so I'll add it to the wiki.

#164 & #158: I had noticed that and was going to move my copy, but phebj moved faster.

-->167 richardderus:: Richard, if the studio hadn't cut about an hour of Welles' film, it probably would have been a classic masterpiece. If you ever see it again, note that the first half is all Orson: moody, odd angles, masterful direction. Then it falls apart, as someone else takes over.

A perfect antidote for the syrup-filled ending of Tarkington's book is the one I'm reading now: The Bloody Chamber, a book of fairy tales that is most definitely not for children. Creepy in the extreme, which is how I imagine the first tales were. Also still reading A Diary from Dixie, which is interesting for a variety of reasons.

I've finished three:
- Breaking Night (Read a book which is an Early Reviewer or Advance Readers Copy)
- Case Histories (Read a book that was on your TBR all of 2010)
- Music and Silence (Read a book with a three word title which has “and” as the second word.)

My 4th (and final?) TIOLI book is The Man Who Loved Children (Read a book received from another LT member).

>172 Matke: Wasn't there talk about a restored version of 'The Magnificent Ambersons' a few years ago?

I've added a couple of thinsters to the Wiki, after realizing that some of my remaining 1010 books (happily!) qualify. Too bad about the big fat 1010 books also waiting to be read...

Have finished A Country Christmas by Miss Read - almost Christmased out

Okay, this is getting ridiculous! :)

I'm on my third book in a row for the "family members" challenge. I was already planning on reading Love Letters Between A Nobleman And His Sister, so that was just a nice coincidence; but since then both of my randomly chosen reads have fitted as well: The Rebel's Daughter, which I finished today, and Rosabella; or, A Mother's Marriage, which I'll be starting tonight.

I finished Not In Kansas Anymore: Dark Arts, Sex Spells, Money Magic, and Other Things Your Neighbors Aren't Telling You (Plus)and after all my wonder over Madeline's My Jesus Year this woman did something similar. She's a religious reporter, pretty agnostic and somewhat fearful and spends a year or so finding the influence of magical thinking from the southern and northwestern USA ending with taking communion at Westminster Cathedral in London (didn't see that one coming). There was lots of "synchronicity" (a magical word) with my other reading from transcendentalism (of Little Women) to Zora Neal Hurston, who was very big into hoodoo and from whose grave she and one of her mentors got some magical dirt; to Jung. There were vegetarian vampires and werewolves who didn't like meat and a woman who named her beloved daughter Carrion because it sounded pretty. But aside from the bizarreness, she had quite a take on how magic relates to the human condition. I'll write a little about that later on my thread. Now, on to the Jehovah Witnesses.

I finished and reviewed Mr. Ives' Christmas. I posted my comments as a short review because there are so few -- and I wanted to let people know that this is a very spiritual book. It deals with grief at Christmas so it won't appeal to a wide range of readers I'm afraid. Mr. Hijuelos is a terrific writer who reverently handles a difficult subject.

I finally posted my review on Still Alice yesterday. Here's the link if you're interested. I felt badly about not having enjoyed it more, but that's just the way it is I guess.

Me again! Finished reading Blood from a Stone for challenge #3 last night (will post review soon) and starting on The Grapes of Wrath for challenge #14 (read a book by a Nobel laureate) tonight.

I finished I'm Perfect, You're Doomed, a humorous and sad story of a dysfunctional life in a Jehovah's Witness family. A very funny look at the '80s culture and some insightful comments about morality and spirituality vs the legalism of religion. I think she does a good job of pointing out how much of our judgments are made without even understanding what we're judging.

I finished and reviewed Nothing to Envy by Barbara Demick for Zoe's Challenge #2. Fascinating read which I highly recommend.

I'll get one more in for the Book given to you by another LT member, Girl in Translation by Jean Kwok.

Finished Blood in the Holly a book of short mystery stories all set at Christmas. Have two more Christmas themed books on the go which I will finish by tomorrow then that will be Christmas done for me this year :)

I'm currently reading I'm Perfect, You're Doomed and enjoying it very much. Strangely, while I was reading this morning 2 Jehovah Witnesses came to my door. Well, not all that strange. It is Christmas after all.

Joyce, I think that is very odd timing!

There is magic all around, or so one could think if one were so inclined.

OK Have finished Blood on the Holly and You Better not Cry - reviews done. have one more Christmas book half finished then that will be it for the 2010. Will start reading non-Christmas books!!!

I've finished two TIOLI books: Anna Karenina (on TBR list all year) and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (on the shelf for more than a year, only book by that author).

Technically, I finished Death in Venice, by which I mean I was awake when the audio ended - but there are a lot of sleepy holes I need to fill in, and I'll be separated from my iPod for a few days. Maybe I'll listen via my computer, or read a downloaded text.

Aside from that, I've been in a 'what should I read next' funk, mainly because I'm avoiding starting Shantaram. Any advice from those who've read it? I don't need to read more than 150 pages a week to make my February deadline - but it's SO LONG.

The snow is going to trap me at home (ah!) for a day, so something will get read.

I finished Faithful Place by Tana French for the newest in series challenge (#16). I loved this book and highly recommend it.

>190 ffortsa: ffortsa Re: Shantaram -- I was blown away by 3/4 of the book. There's a bit toward the end that I found frustrating and didn't seem to fit, but the rest of the book is pretty awesome. It took me about 10 days to read, which is pretty fast for me for a book that size, a lot of it just flew by. All I can say is -- don't be afraid! You may be skimming the bits late in the book, though.

>190 ffortsa:, 192 Shantaram was on a wishlist of mine until I saw how long it is and I decided I wasn't that keen on reading it after all. I tend to get impatient with very big books as like to change topics after a while and it just takes me way too long to read books over 600 pages, and so I tend to only get those I'm almost certain I'll love (there are never any guarantees of course!)

I've just posted my review for Blood from a Stone the latest Donna Leon I read which happens to take place around Christmas-time. It's here if anyone would like to read it.

I also started re-reading The Grapes of Wrath, a novel by one of my favourite nobel laureates and of course included it in the appropriate TIOLI challenge!

Someone on another list said he found The Grapes of Wrath boring. I can't imagine such a reaction. Loved the book, loved the movie. But there's one weird relationship that always comes to mind when I think of it. I read the book in summer semester in college and my teacher wore the sexiest gray shoes I've ever seen. In fact I'd never before, or since, thought any pair of shoes sexy. I don't know if the book cast it's magic charms or what, but they stick in my mind to this day. The guy himself was absolutely not sexy in any way.

OK, that's just strange, Joyce! LOL!

Finished my third book for the "family members" challenge, Rosabella; or, A Mother's Marriage by Catherine Cuthbertson, a hugely complicated, five-volume (!) sentimental novel from 1817. As it turned out to be all about misplaced children and mistaken identities and the recovery of lost family members, it was a most appropriate selection!

I think I'm done for December.

196> Oh, my, you have intrigued my interest there. Is it hilariously pathetic and unbelievable to the point where it would be an awful novel if it weren't almost 200 years old and straight out of the sentimentalist traditions?

I really really really loved how Charlotte Temple (the most recent sentimental novel I've read) was just dripping with pathos and Rowson even broke the fourth wall to lecture the reader... so over the top, it was wonderful. ♥

Somehow, I adore these old sentimentalist novels for the very same reasons I can't be bothered with Lifetime movies or daytime soap operas or V.C. Andrews novels (though I quite liked V.C. Andrews when I was a young teen)... (My dad started to get annoyed with me last night because we were watching some made-for-tv Christmas movie on Ion and I was getting frustrated because the "It's a Wonderful Life" plot didn't seem to have any basis in logic, and he asked me why that bothered me but I can watch cartoons with no problem. But there's a huge difference in knowing that your story doesn't make sense and blithely going along and not caring, and in being totally serious like the story makes sense and ignoring that it doesn't. I mean, honestly, would a woman's personality really be the complete opposite of what it is now, just because she decided to focus on her career instead of getting married? Oh, wait, I think I just realized why that was the case... it is a Christmas movie on the Ion network, after all. -.-)

Oh, my, you have intrigued my interest there. Is it hilariously pathetic and unbelievable to the point where it would be an awful novel if it weren't almost 200 years old and straight out of the sentimentalist traditions?

In a word? Yes. :)

But I know I'm preaching to the choir when I say that even when these novels aren't "good" by any conventional standard, there's a strange, hypnotic quality about them that just keeps you reading, and reading... I think a part of it is their absolute sincerity. Occasionally that makes them hilarious, but it also makes them rather sweet, don't you think?

If you're interested, I'll be blogging about this...uh, at some point (stupid end-of-year disorganisation!). I'll post a link over at the Classics thread.

FIY, Charlotte Temple is on my TBR list...of course.

I have to thank Chatterbox for coming up with the category of 'sentimental favourites', as I hugely enjoyed my re-read, London Bridges by Jane Stevenson. I loved it when I read it before, but that was almost 10 years ago, and I was slightly worried that it wouldn't live up to my memories. In fact, it was even better!

My review:

A young lawyer, who is not paid as much as he believes he is worth, stumbles across some information on a fabulously valuable bequest - priceless antiques and a large plot of land in an up-and-coming part of London - which has never found its rightful owner and which only he (and soon another similar lawyer, an ally of his) is aware of. At the same time, however, an unlikely group of people - a Byzantine scholar, an Australian pharmacist and graduate student, an activist specialising in London's public spaces, an archaelogist who's just turned up a Greek memorial fountain - are following their own trails which may eventually lead them to the same information.

It's based on a huge coincidence of course, but a complete delight to read - for the plotting, the catty prose, and the underlying heart (what the good guys all have in common is that they are interested, in one way and another, in community, and it's this which does in the selfish plots of the baddies).

Fantastic.

London Bridges sounds like a good read! *Adds to wishlist*

#199> That does sound good.
Not sure if I'm going to finish all my TIOLI reads but I have finished The Angel's Game for the 'On the TBR pile all year' challenge, which I'm really happy about as I've listed it on TIOLI challenges 2 or 3 times through the year and never got to it.
Also added and finished the latest and last book (#12) in the CHERUB series, Shadow Wave, which is a great YA action series for the 'New in a series' challenge.

198> Yes, about the absolute sincerity. I don't know if I'd use the word "sweet", but I guess it is. It's definitely something that looks a lot different to a modern reader, not that people weren't cynical or that they didn't have "better" stuff to read back then, either.

I like to think that if I were reading it back then, too, I'd be laughing at the over the top sadness that permeates every page of the novels, and at the blatant tugs of the heartstrings. I really don't know if "hilarious" is the right word to describe my reaction to them, because the books aren't really funny like a comedy. They're just so unbelievable that I sit in awe and wait to see what twist is going to come next...

Do you have the Norton Critical for Charlotte Temple? If not, I recommend picking it up - it just came out this autumn. I'm meaning to work my way through the extra bits, but haven't got around to it yet. They include a lot of interesting contemporary writings, such as Benjamin Franklin's "Advice on Choosing a Mistress" (or something like that), and there's an essay about the negative effects of reading on young women, plus plenty of bits from Rowson's other writings, and a selection of sentimentalist stuff (which you might already have read - I'm certainly familiar with much of it, though like "Pamela", they're on my TBR list).

For Challenge 8 (140 pages or less), I've read Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny.

It's book 3 from The Great Book of Amber, and has 110 pages in this version.

>>202 keristars: Ah, yes, "the negative effects of reading on young women"... {eyeroll} The mistake people make, I think - then and now - is assuming that contemporary readers - even young women - took these novels any more seriously than we do. We have evidence to the contrary, after all.

The publishing dates don't allow it, alas, but I was desperately trying to believe that Jane Austen read Rosabella: the characters say "caro sposo / cara sposa" all the way through, perfectly seriously. I can only assume Miss Cuthbertson never read Emma. And of course, Northanger Abbey was written years before, but - there's a moment in this when the heroine sees the man she loves with another woman and faints - exactly as Catherine Morland DOES NOT, when she sees Henry Tilney with his sister.

Great stuff. :)

I don't have any edition of Charlotte Temple as yet, but I've noted your comments about the Norton, thanks!

>194 Citizenjoyce: It's funny because I read Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden sometime in my late teens, but as is the case with most things, only remembered them in very sketchy details which makes re-reading any book a brand new experience every time. I think I quite enjoyed the former back then, but did think the latter somewhat boring. Just this morning as I was reading and enjoying the Joad's misadventures and wondering at how beautifully Steinbeck describes things, I wondered to myself how much of the language and descriptions I could have possibly appreciated back then, because I think I recall growing restless through much of it and wanting the story to speed along. I think one's appreciation of a book has a lot to do with personal context and expectations, so I understand how someone could find it boring, and at the same time I feel grateful that I can appreciate it as much as I do now.

On the subject of shoes, I must say that I've seen (and owned) my share of sexy women's shoes, but have never seen a pair of men's shoes I'd quite describe that way. Strange indeed! :-)

#200 - I think that was the point of this particular challenge! Very pleased to have been able to introduce this particular book.

I finished Not a Creature Was Stirring by Jane Haddam for the Christmas challenge.

Edited because it never occurred to me to add kid's books. I get to add:
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Charles M. Schulz
Night Before Christmas by Clement C. Moore
Santa Claustrophobia by Mike Reiss

I finished Death in Venice for the Nobel challenge twice, once by audio, the other by text download. I'm afraid it left me rather cold. I don' recall reading any other Mann, so it might be the author's style (even in translation); I will try other titles later on this year - perhaps.

#202

I read the posts about Charlotte Temple, then read yours about the Norton Critical, then went to Amazon and blew my Christmas gift card on just that, just now. Ah, impulsive book buying.

>>209 nittnut: You've hooked another one, Keri!

LOL - sadly I think I really took the bait at mention of Benjamin Franklin, Advice to a Young Man on the Choice of a Mistress which I read in college and found absolutely hilarious. It can be found here in some form:
http://www.swarthmore.edu/SocSci/bdorsey1/41docs/51-fra.html

I finished I'm Perfect, You're Doomed and had to force myself through the last 1/3. What an obnoxious woman! The first part of the book is very humorous, but she turns into the very definition of a user, and on the last page of the book tries to sum it all up to the fact that she was never told how to plan for the future since JW's don't think there will be one, everything will be perfect and easier for the chosen under the New System. Abrahams is supposedly a very intelligent girl who, in spite of the wackiness of her religion, was told all the right things by the religious leaders who counseled her and her family: stay in school, study, do your homework, don't get married young just to escape your parents' household. She rejected absolutely every good piece of advice she got. She also took advantage of every friend she ever had. I don't know, maybe she would have been better off being a Buddhist where she would have learned to control her desires. She's one big want without a hint of acceptance.

Kindergeschichten by Peter Bichsel; very well written short stories for children and adults. Bichsel is a well known Swiss author, writing modern German literature. These seven Kindergeschichten are written in simple German, so as for children, but with a very good density and intensitivity. A really good read for all those who like to try to read German.
I had it lying around for ages (since Nov. 2008), that qualifies it for the 'forgotten books'-challenge.

I finished Deadly Spin by Wendell Potter (about the use of PR by insurance companies) for the advance readers' copy challenge. Not recommended.

I've had four LT Early Reviewer books, and my last one is, by far, my favorite.

365 Thank-yous: The Year a Simple Act of Daily Gratitude Changed My Life by John Kralik is non-fiction that reads like a novel. I found everything about the book likable: the author himself, his simple but noble views of life, his writing (he's a GOOD writer and I've read some bad writing!). He's intelligent, profound, and sometimes very funny.

He is never preachy or boring, and I'm left thinking, "Yes. This could work." I've written thank-you notes all my life, but for Christmas presents, not at this level. Now I feel challenged to give it a try.

Karen O.

>215 klobrien2: I'm glad to hear that one is good; I've been thinking about reading it once it's available.

I've abandoned one of my books and removed it. Hope that is right. Outlander from challenge #4

I finished a Christmas book which for once was NOT one of my Advent Calendar Books. Santa Responds: He's Had Enough...and He's Writing Back was a very quick (and pointless) read. Full of crude humor, it is basically a collection of fictional letters to Santa with a corresponding response by Santa. Although this kind of humor isn't really my thing, I did laugh at Santa's thoughts about Bratz vs. Barbie. It's written from a UK angle, so the addition of a few "quid" references and the fact that Leeds will never win, were an interesting quirk. Definitely NOT a family read.

> 217

I've abandoned one of my books and removed it. Hope that is right.

Exactly right!

Woo hoo! I finished and reviewed A Guide to the Birds of East Africa for Challenge No. 1. I'll start on Freedom for the 2011 TIOLI tomorrow!

I finished my last book for the year, and also for Challenge#11. I've awarded it my Favourite Book of 2010 - Clara by Janice Galloway.

I can't wait for the January challenge to appear!!!!

#221: it's already there. It has been posted in the new "75 books in 2011" group.

I finished Lost on Planet China for Challenge #13. Now I just have Under the Banner of Heaven for Challenge #9.

I'm really enjoying Under the Banner of Heaven so far, though at least one part was very disturbing.

I think I'll try to squeeze one more in before year's end since I just finished The Grapes of Wraths early in the wee hours of dawn today. I'll be reviewing it later on today. Phew! What a journey that was. Second time around was even better than the first. Can't imagine what it'll be like next time! I'm thinking of going for Jonathan Livingston Seagull for the animal challenge since it's such a short book and I don't know that I'll want to get around to it otherwise (read it as a wee child but can't remember a word of it.)

ETA: grumble grumble... touchstones not loading!

Oh dear, I waaay overcommitted this month. I think. Wait. Ummm...I'll have to go back and chekc the Wiki.

Anyway, I finished All That Glitters for the Old Favorite Challenge. In a word: Don't. Unless you grew up with Keyes, or you're a fan of romance and don't mind racial and class stereotyping.

Also read (what a contrast!!) The Bloody Chamber for the Thinster Challenge. Excellent, scary, very slightly obscene retellings of the old stories. Probably very much like the original versions of them.

I know that I'll finish A Diary from Dixie by Friday night. I just have to stay away from all my friends here. I'm going to delete the rest of my books (whatever they are; I've spent so much time at LT my memory is shot) from the Wiki now.

Amandameale, Clara looks good, I've wishlisted it.

I finally, FINALLY finished Personal History and liked it very much. I put it in the category of past TIOLI challenges.
I reviewed it a bit here - http://www.librarything.com/topic/98572#2400886.

I also finished Matchless for the thinster category.

OH! and I just realized I can add The Cruelest Month to the new in a series challenge. Cool. I've been listening to it and I think I might be falling in love with Ralph Cosham. Just a little bit.

Hemingway is going to wait for next year. If I have time to read at all the last 2 days of the year, I am going to read something not Hemingway-ish.

I finished my last book for this month's challenges, Girl in Translation, for the book given to you by another LTer. It was a 4 star read that didn't require me to think much which was just what I needed right now. I'm not reviewing it because I started next month's TIOLI challenge and I'm reading The Invisible Bridge for the Read a Top Rated Book challenge.

After much of a struggle, I am done with Daughters of Britannia for the family term challenge. I really wanted to like this book, but it had (in my opinion) organizational issues which made it very tough to read. I've heard others joke about keeping sheets on the side with family names, etc. I could have used that for this book - or at least an appendix. It covers over 300 years of British diplomatic missions and legations around the globe, and keeping track of which women were in which location in which decade became very difficult - and unnecessarily so. My best example of its poor organization is that the authors waits until page 163 to explain the differences between ambassadors, ministers, ministers plenipotentiary, missions and ligations - in addition to the fact that Turkey was "different". In 1910 the UK had only 8 ambassadors, yet dozens are described in this books - but those weren't ambassadors, they were ministers. Sigh... Maybe a true Brit would have this knowledge from birth, so I'm just late to the party.

Some VERY interesting facts are buried in this rather long-winded tome, but it took great patience to parse it out...and I have a feeling I'll forget most of it very soon.

End of the Month Reminders:

1. Finish your books by 12 midnight December 31st or remove them from the wiki.
2. Please look for your name (use control-F) to find the books you've listed on all wikis. Be sure to update them to the COMPLETED status or they will later be deleted.
3. If you haven't yet discovered it, the January 2011 TIOLI thread is up and running here.
4. All individuals who post a challenge, please continue to 'tend" your challenge on the wiki. Make sure all information is complete, all books are in alphabetical order, and a running (potential) point total is at the bottom of your challenge (I've come to find these nice to see which challenges are working best for shared reads).
5. Keep our challenge MYSTERIOUS, but be welcoming and helpful to all who inquire about it and/or find it!
6. Have an excellent 2011 ... and thanks for making TIOLI so much fun!

I've finished and reviewed the memoir Cleo: The Cat Who Mended A Family, in my thread...post #184.

I'm taking off Under the Banner of Heaven on the religion challenge. I'm reading it but will not finish by the end of the year.

I'm removing An Irish Country Christmas. Not my cuppa this year. Although I fully expect to revisit it someday.

Ooh, ooh, I am sooo excited! Back in post 211 (Monday) I mentioned that I impulse purchased Charlotte Temple on Amazon. I just got it from my sweet UPS man. He had no idea - well maybe everyone jumps up and down when the UPS man comes. I have NEVER received an order from Amazon that quickly, ever.

>231 SqueakyChu: I'm glad you reminded us to check the wiki pages to see if we indicated our books as completed Madeline, because otherwise I would have lost two that I indeed did finish! Also, I'll do my best to remember to tend to my January challenge as best I can given my newbie status.

Oh dear...I'm in trouble. I'm only halfway through Sister Carrie, and might not finish it by midnight tomorrow night. My first TIOLI, a loss! :P

Love the book, though Dreiser does tend to go on with fiddly details...actually, I rather feel a bit of kinship with him in that regard, and I'm grateful that the NCE editors included the excised portions of the novel, to provide perspective for how much longer/detailed the book could be.

235> Hooray! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! My favorite part is towards the end, when Rowson starts lecturing the reader directly. It's amazing. :D

(Message deleted and moved to January's thread - message #189)

#238 - I am going to have to add that to my pile. It sounds fascinating. I have heard of the rescue, but never read anything significant on it.

I'm probably not going to finish Under the Banner of Heaven tomorrow either, but for now I'm optimistically keeping it on the wiki.

> 239

Jenn, I see that abebooks has many copies of that book. It is so easy to find books on line these days! Previously, it had taken me years to find one copy on the internet, and I ended up buying that used copy for $35. Of course, I paid that much money for it for personal reasons. When I got it, I found it had been signed by the author!

I started reading this book already and have learned that the Youth Aliya movement started in 1936, well before there was an imminent threat of Jewish annihilation. It was just, thatafter the Nazis became more aggressive, the leaders of the Youth "Aliya" (a word which means to go up, but, in this reference it means to immigrate) had to begin clandestinely moving their charges to their ultimate destination of Palestine.

ETA: I also see that I posted this under the wrong month. I'm going to x out my above message (#238) and move it to January's TIOLI thread.

#231 - Madeline, thanks for the hint on control-F. I had no idea that was available.

You're welcome, Joyce. It sure helps, doesn't it?

> 239

Jenn, it turns out that the book I'm reading is not only about the youth who entered Israel during the time of the British Mandate in Palestine, but it starts from when the Youth Aliyah movement began in 1936 through "current times", which, in this case, means the time the book was published (1970).

The introductory chapter talks about the different groups of youth from widely varying countries and how each group had their own special difficulties. I don't know how interested you'd be in this, but to me it's absolutely fascinating as I worked as a volunteer nurse in Israel in 1973 and lived in two (what were then considered) immigrant or developing towns (Qiryat Shemona, Beer Sheva). I'm less familiar with youth from the time of the Holocaust than I am with youth from North African countries (primarily Morocco) who made aliya (immigrated) to Israel.

An aside: I've been *so* in the mood for a good non-fiction book. Too many recently-read (or started) so-so novels made me seek a more meaningful read. I'm reading this book very slowly and carefully (and liking it very much).

That sounds interesting Madeline, I'll be looking out for your review.
I've finished my last two TIOLI books for December, James Hilton's Random Harvest for the Sentimental Favourite and a children's book set in the 1930s, The Haystack, for the Animal on the Cover. Both were excellent.

>243 SqueakyChu: It sure does. I found three more books I'd forgotten about. oops. I think I deleted more than I read this month. Must rein myself in!

> 245

Re: Come From the Four Winds

Kerri,

I think you'd *really* like this book from your interest in Israel. I'm only into the second chapter, but I'm mesmerized by this book - if only because I feel so close to the people who populate it.

(posting the rest of my message on my own thread so as not to highjack this thread with a very long, detailed message about my current read (which actually is part of January's TIOLI!).

In under the wire for Challenge 7; Bedknob and Broomstick

<237 You can use Sister Carrie for the proper nouns challenge for January.

I don't seem to be able to post. This is what I get for lurking on LT when I'm supposed to be on "vacation".

That's me done for the year. I deleted a couple of books from the list that I just didn't manage to get to (work & 'flu got in the way, alas). Off I toddle to the 2011 thread!

#244 - Madeline, I was interested enough to order a used copy...

> 252

I'll be delighted to know what you think of the book after you read it. Are you interested in the history of Palestine/Israel, Jenn?

> 250

Your "I can't seem to post" message posted pretty well, though, Nora! :)

Now, back to your vacation!!

Here's to a healthy New Year to you, Claire...

Cheers!!

I finished my last book, Bullfinch's Mythology: The Age of Fable. What an impressive undertaking that was for him.

>256 Citizenjoyce:: And you! I plowed through that mighty tome years ago; don't know if I could handle it now.

And a happy, healthy new year to all TIOLI people!

I finally finished and reviewed The Hedgehog, the Fox and the Magister's Pox, which incidentally fit the first challenge of the month! Hooray. The review can be found here.

Alright, I've resigned myself to the fact that I will not manage to finish Book Lust To Go this month, and will now go remove it from the wiki. Thankfully, it fits into one of the challenges for January. :)

#253
Yes, Madeline, very interested. I love history anyway, but I find the history of Palestine and Israel fascinating. That area has had a huge effect on world history. My interest probably dates to when I was 15 or 16 and my dad gave me The Chosen to read. I loved it, and have read quite a few other books by Potok. I have Old Men At Midnight waiting on my beside table. I also was deeply affected by Night, which I first read in high school. I haven't read a lot of non-fiction, but some. Most of the non-fiction I've read is WWII/holocaust related. I'd love a list of recommendations from you, especially other periods of history.

ETA: I surrender - I won't be finishing any more books today. I'm deleting one from the wiki, then heading over to look at January.

Finished everything under the wire. I even jumped on the Christmas Carol bandwagon at the last minute today.
Happy New Year everyone!

Finished my last 'and' challenge book Black and blue, a very goodf Scottish mystery, very suspenseful, but a bit many characters involved. Now I cleaned up my challenges.