Take It or Leave It Challenge - January 2011 - 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 will soon be a new year so here's what I hope to accomplish in 2011. Keep the TIOLI challenge a mystery! You should give out information and links to it - but ONLY if someone asks. The reason for this is to keep the TIOLI from becoming too large for me to manage and yet keep it an open group.

In addition, please keep your challenges under wraps until the time the monthly TIOLI challenge is posted. Plan your creative challenges so most people will not be able to pre-plan their TIOLI reads ahead of time. This keeps the element of surprise within the challenges. Contrary to popular thought, all of your reads do NOT have to fit into a TIOLI slot, gang!! :)

So here's what you've been waiting for...

Your January 2011 challenge is to find and Read a 3.8 to 4.2 Star Book. The numbers refer to the star rating here on Librarything.

In order to know if a book is eligible for this challenge, look up its star rating first.

There are two ways to find a book's star rating:
1. On the work page of a single book: Just click on the book’s work page. The number (to two decimal places) is listed to the right of the stars.
2. On your personal Recommendation List: To get there, click on the “Profile” tab. Then click on the “Recommendations” sub-heading. The books you see listed there are recommended to you and also give you star ratings. Simply pick a book that’s rated from 3.80 to 4.20. That’s so easy!!

Add the star rating to the book information as you post your book, using this format:

The Hungry Tide (3.92) – Amitav Ghosh – SqueakyChu

Once your book is posted, you no longer need to check its star rating. It will remain qualified once posted, even if the star rating later drops below or exceeds the parameters. Do NOT change the star rating once you post it.

No, you may NOT add a book rated at 4.21 or higher (4.20 is the maximum).

FYI: Matching books need not have the same star rating, but they MUST be within the parameters set by this challenge.

Ready? Have fun with this and have a fabulous New Year!

P.S. Please note: Wiki index is in Message #2 below.

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Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. The January 2011 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!

Wiki Index of Challenges:

Challenges 1-7:
#1: Read a Book with a 3.8 to 4.2 Star Rating
#2: Read any first book in a series - thread
#3: Read a Book with a Duplicate Word in the Title
#4: Read a Book that pre-dates the printing press - thread
#5: Read a Book You Received for any Christmas - thread
#6: Read a nonfiction book about Art/Artists or Antiques/Antiquities - thread
#7: Read a book where the vowels in the title are in alphabetical order

Challenges 8-14
#8. Read a book with an elected official or a title in the title
#9: Read a Book about a brain anomaly, emotional or physical - thread
#10: Read a Book with a proper noun in the title
#11: Read a Book ranked below 10,000 on LibraryThing Popularity Index - thread
#12: Read a Top-Rated Book of 2010 - thread
#13: Read a book about migration/movement between different countries - thread
#14: Read a book naming a colour in the title - thread

Challenges 15 and on
15. Read a book about Hungary or with Hungary in the title - thread
16. Read a book with a connection to Wonderland
17. etc.

Please note: additional challenges may be posted through 12/7/11 only

Moving ahead to the next challenge...

Okay, challengers, it's time to tighten up. Next month (in only 26 more days), I'd like to see everyone narrow down their challenges a bit more. I see people sprinkling books liberally all over the wiki pages. It shouldn't be so easy to do that.

I know that everyone wants to "fit" the books they are reading into a TIOLI challenge, however (and that is a big HOWEVER)....., how challenging is that?!!

For those who will be presenting a challenge, you now have several weeks to think of a good one. Once you think of it, narrow it down even more (if you can).

If you want to play "Categories", join the 11 in 11 Group. It's great fun. If you want to do TIOLI and our TIOLI group gets even bigger (which it *is* getting!), we're going to be looking at ways to challenge each other even more.

Is that a deal?

Comments?

#3 Sigh. I'll try. I thought mine was pretty tough this month.

Linda, yours was a great one! That's exactly the degree of difficulty I'm aiming for. I seriously doubt if yours could have been tightened up much more. Even *my* challenge could have been narrowed much more.

*sigh* (from me, too!)

I'm not all that fond of being any more challenged than I am, but it's not for me to say.

I see why my Flawed Dogs has a golf club instead of a soup ladle for a leg. It's the little picture book prequel to the other Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster, which I've ordered and will read when it comes in. What a great idea these books are.

>>6 Citizenjoyce: - How odd. I have the Advanced Readers Copy of Flawed Dogs which is the novel. I wasn't aware that it was part of a series from the ARC - it does saw Westminster, but it's not on the title page. That's weird that for any kind of prequel they wouldn't have kept the same "leg" - the cover of mine actually shows a picture of the dog with a soup ladle - not a golf club. I do think soup ladle is funnier.

>>3 SqueakyChu: - Challenges - I'm game for more of a challenge. I don't know if it's because it's too limiting or too dull , but the challenge I posted (Art/Antiques) has only 14 books in it - I think by forcing the "nonfiction" limitation made it more of a true "challenge". But I will admit I am guilty of finding challenges to meet books on occasion - particularly carry over challenges - I had 2 December TIOLI reads I couldn't finish and the thought of "losing them" from TIOLI was too much, so I found easy spots for them in the January list. Is that a bad thing???

Patrick, I was going to read Luncheon of the Boating Party but then saw your nonfiction stipulation. I keep adding/deleting books from yours, which is a good thing because it is a tougher one.

Personally, I like something that challenges me to find a book or two (or three) to fit it and doesn't just let me pick up the best of many possible options.

> 7

I like your challenge, Patrick, just because it is more limiting. I also think that the nonfiction threads here on the TIOLI have spurred some really interesting conversation. I do like them. Let's get those topics even smaller, though, if we can. The religion topic, for example, was so interesting it struck out on its own (Thanks, Zoe!). We certainly can break religion down into little parcels. Anyway, that's the idea...

Is that a bad thing???

Absolutely not. There is nothing right or wrong with books you choose, challenges you create, or how you move books into a challenge from month to month. I'm only throwing out a suggestion. Beat me down, if you will! :D

has only 14 books in it

Then it's time for you to jump in with more suggestions. Talk up some books you think others should be s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d into reading. Get others to read something totally different for a change.

It's the "easy spots" I'd like to diminish. If you have a book that you want to bring over into the following month, make a unique challenge for it. Then others have to match you and you get to carry over whichever book you want. Don't make it too easy for them, either.

> 6

I'm not all that fond of being any more challenged than I am, but it's not for me to say.

But it *is* for you to say. If others don't like more narrow challenges, then we keep some broad. I sometimes think that's just a cop-out, though, for people to get all of their books labelled "TIOLI".

This does get me to thinking, Madeline. I had a TIOLI challenge in mind for Feb but it could be somewhat broad. I think I've got a way to narrow it, making it more challenging.

> 11

Atta girl! Can't wait to see it (...but will wait for 26 more days)!

Aside from narrower challenges, it's a New Year! A Happy 2011 to everyone!!

So, tell me...

What are some of your "bookish" New Year resolutions?

16 days?? You mean 26 days, right??

#14 Wishful thinking.

I finished my first TIOLI, which was technically begun for December's. Yay?

Also, I think I might have a good challenge for February, inspired by Zoë's read of Feed recently. I need to look for other potentials... but since it's based on touchstones, it's probably easy enough. Well, maybe not fulfilling it, but that's why it's a challenge, no>

13> My resolution is just to get through my TBR as much as possible and also expand my reading by trying out the new books/genres I've recently added to my wishlist, discovered by LT browsing/threads/SantaThing.

Fixed. Press the wrong key in all my eagerness to communicate.

One of my New Year's Resolutions (not bookish, but no kidding!) was to communicate better with my boss. That was her resolution as well. It should be a good year. :)

I tend to read quite a few short (250 page and under) books. For 2011, one reading resolution is that I am aiming to read some chunksters, which I'm defining as 400 pages or more. (Eleven of them, to be precise.)

I like the idea of narrowing the challenges more. I find myself looking at the challenges to see if the book I've already decided to read fits, instead of trying to find a book to fit a challenge, which is what attracted me to TIOLI in the first place.

I have an anti-bookish resolution for the year: not to buy any! We'll see. I've already passed test #1, which was not going to my favorite treasure-trove-of-books thrift shop on its monthly half-off day Monday. I'm hoping to get a bunch of dusty books read, make some space, and save some $$.

Getting ambitious here (for me) - I joined the read of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for the 1st-in-a-series challenge, and I'm joining in on Room for the Top-Rated-of-2010 challenge and adding Talk Talk for the duplicate words challenge.

Just to make you happy, Madeline, I went to my challenges for the future months and narrowed them... but don't yell if no one can meet the challenge!

> 20

Cheli, have I ever yelled? ...so that you could hear me? :)

> 19

I find myself looking at the challenges to see if the book I've already decided to read fits, instead of trying to find a book to fit a challenge, which is what attracted me to TIOLI in the first place.

...and which, oddly enough, is the purpose of a challenge!

Here's an idea for a TIOLI challenge........ Read a book that you had decided you were going to read away! (just kidding!!)

Ha!

>22 SqueakyChu: I find that contradicts what you've been saying, Madeline.

Ok so I'm *a bit* off topic here, but I thought I'd post this here for those interested:



Welcome one and all! I've just posted our new thread for our Jan 7-8 read-a-thon
so come on over and join the discussion there!

I finished Lottery for my brain anomaly challenge, though Perry would be furious at my implying that he had a brain anomaly. I'm glad I read it, but I don't like being so stressed. Oh my, what a family. I does happen for some that the best family is the one they pick for themselves rather than the one they're born into. Now for a nice calming read, The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn Saks about her experience of schizophrenia.

I think this month's challenges are (overall) narrower than they've been in the past, and I like it.

#13 New Year's book resolutions:
- read only TBRs (I know from experience that won't happen)
- read 25 TBRs this year (can probably do)
- read one new (2011 published) book each month (can do)
- read one translated-into-English book per month (might do)

I've learned to set low expectations of myself. I mean, this year I bought (and read) a book because it had a pretty cover. I'm not disciplined in this area.

>25 Citizenjoyce:: Interesting reaction to Lottery, Joyce. Yeah the family was pretty awful, but Perry was surrounded by some really wonderful people so I didn't find it as stressful as you did.

Some of my book-related resolutions are:
1. Immerse myself in the Harlem Renaissance era
2. Read an entry from my 5-volume Africana daily
3. Attend a few book festivals
4. Attend more author events
5. Read more about Spain
6. Subscribe to Callaloo literary journal

> 23

Did you read where I said "just kidding?"

My 2011 literary resolutions:

1. Read at least 75 books that I bought in 2010 or earlier
2. Read more nonfiction
3. Read more books on medicine and science
4. Revive the moribund Medicine group on LT
5. Read more contemporary African-American literature
6. Read Callaloo, which is a quarterly journal 'devoted to creative works by and critical studies of black writers worldwide' published by The Johns Hopkins University Press. My copy of the Fall 2010 issue came while I was away this past week, and I'll plan to read articles from it on a timely basis and post comments about them on my threads (thanks for the reminder, Sacil!).
7. Read the New York Review of Books, London Review of Books, and The New Yorker on a timely basis
8. Complete my 11 in 11 challenge; I'm not sure that I'll be able to read 11 books in 11 categories, so I'll shoot for at least 8 in each category and see how far I get

I just finished my second TIOLI book for January, this one for Challenge #1, Freedom by Jonathan Franzen. If anyone cares to read my brutally honest review, you can check it out here.

One of my reading goals is to be more true to my thoughts and feelings about a book in my comments and reviews...without being meanspirited. I hope I succeeded.

ETA: correct touchstone not cooperating.

My bookish resolutions for 2011 are:

1. Read at least 50 books that I already own that have been on my shelves waiting patiently Books Off Your Shelf Challenge - BOYS)
2. Do not request any ER books unless I know that I would go out and buy them anyway (Lately, I've been very lucky and been winning every time I request a book - knock on wood)
3. keep an eye on the free offerings from Barnes & Noble for my Nook
4. Try to stay on schedule - read at least 11 books every month. (11 in 11 Challenge)
5. Work on my novel getting at least 4 chapters done this year.

#2 and #5 will be the hardest.

I think you succeeded in your review and you gave people an idea on what to expect whether or not they like those things. I was surprised by your rating actually - I expected a much lower one from your post here and your review. Given that the 1 and 2 * raters have posted comments rather than reviews, I think you were more than fair. I've never read Franzen's books but you explain how you felt.

Besides reading some chunksters and also aiming to read the Shelby Foote Civil War trilogy this year, I am also aiming to cut back on my ER requests, as Cheli said in #33. (I requested only one book this last ER request period, for instance.)

I copied this from my own thread but it lays out my reading plans fairly well.

So how will 2011 play out? Well I want to get to more of the classics because I found that I really, really enjoyed them. On my shelf now I have My Antonia, Emma, Persuasion, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Age of Innocence, Madame Bovary, The Woman in White, The Moonstone, Great Expectations, The Count of Monte Christo The Radetzky Marchand Brideshead Revisited.

I have a couple of mystery series to start including The Mistress of the Art of Death, The Beekeeper's Apprentice, In the Woods by Tana French Death of a Red Heroine and Susan Hill's The Various Haunts of Men.

I have a couple of non-fiction reads waiting for me too, including The Children's Blizzardand The Forger's Spell

I have some memoirs I want to get to including Rick Bragg's All Over but the Shoutin' and Vladimir Nabokov's Speak, Memory, Amitav Ghosh's In An Antique Land, and Mary Karr's Cherry.

Yes my shelves should keep me very busy in 2011. I hope everyone else has as good a selection as I do :)

My resolution: read more. :-)

My 11 in 11 challenge is also a resolution of sorts in terms of what I want to concentrate on, though I regret now that I didn't create a non-fiction category, since that is something I'd like to read more of this year.

Well, I've taken my life in my hands and listed some books on this month's challenges. Suzanne, I listed As I Lay Dying for the first challenge, then saw you'd listed it for the proper noun challenge. Hm. Well, we can move one or the other when the time comes.

I listed Beowulf, hoping to join the throng. But I resisted listing Shantaram in the alphabetical challenge - seems a little bit cheating since it has only one vowel. Besides, it's huge, and I might not finish this month.

Ideas:

1. Feel free, challengers, to advertise any LT group read on this thread if it fits into any of our current challenges. The 75-ers are now doing group reads of Sense and Sensibility and Beowolf. You can link from this thread to reads for other groups as well. Be daring! For more information about the books just mentioned, see the wiki link (Wiki Away!) on the main page for the 75 Books Challenge for 2011.

2. For those challenges on the current wiki that still have no potential TIOLI points, recommend some books! Even those books listed already are good for recommendations in the hope that what you personally recommend will produce even more "matches".

There's a group read of A Murderous Procession for the 11 in 11 Challenge.
The book fits into the Main Challenge!

I like the idea of tightening the challenges up a bit. It makes for a more serendipitous reading experience ... plus, I just came up with a challenging idea ;-). That said, tight or loose, it's just great to see so many people sharing reads each month.

I've just finished my first book of the year, The Looking Glass Wars for what is shaping up to be my own personal little TIOLI challenge, all unique & lonely at number 16, Read a Book Connected to Wonderland. It's a really engaging reworking of the Alice tale, it really works as a story in it's own right, as good as a lot of the YA fantasy series around at the moment & a whole world more enjoyable than all that Hunger Games twaddle ;-). Come & join me, I don't bite!

>41 klarusu: Heh, I'd love to read a book for that challenge, but it has to be one of the most restrictive out there! I do have Euclid and His Modern Rivals, which is connected to Wonderland via its author, but I think I'm unlikely to get to it this month.

A few other good ones for the Wonderland challenge would be Coraline or Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, if people are looking for suggestions.

Klarusu, I might join you if I can read Lost in a Good Book, which has the Cheshire Cat in it.

I think it's funny that The Looking Glass Wars has been tagged "Alice in Wonderland" more times than the original Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.

I downloaded Allison Wonderland which someone recommended upthread, but I've already overcommitted to these challenges in my new year enthusiasm. I'll keep it in the back of my mind though.

I think a little tightening of the challenges would be good. But I also think it's good to keep a mixture of the specific and the "game-playing", for want of a better word.

For instance, this month we have "read a book about Hungary", which is very specific, and "read a book with the vowels in order", which is more like a game, and could result in any kind of book of any genre being added. I'm actually better at the latter kind of challenge, but the former encourages much more conversation.

How many other books deal with Wonderland anyway? Can't be that much. I've read Frank Beddors books and they are pretty good actually.

But I also think it's good to keep a mixture of the specific and the "game-playing", for want of a better word

I very much agree.

How many other books deal with Wonderland anyway?

You'd be surprised. Enter the term Wonderland in this search box and find out!

idea:

By the way, if you're already falling behind in your TIOLI reads (and who isn't?), you might want to join this Readathon going on NOW!!

#42 Zoë, Zoë, Zoë *shakes head* but you have to use your imagination! Just like Alice ;-) Suggestions could include any kind of justifiable link so norabelle's Cheshire cat link is just fine. Or do a search on LT for 'Red Queen', there are *heaps* of ideas there (can't link, on iPhone right now). Or one of my own personal favourites, Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (*raises a cheer for squeezing a Murakami in there*).

Time to exercise the 'Challenge' muscles ;-)

No, no, I'm currently exercising the "restraint" muscles! I need to limit myself to books currently on my shelves, not discover new ones! ;)

Amen to that! I've fallen off the wagon a bit with ebooks over Christmas but isn't TIOLI great for getting things off the shelves. The only trouble is, my wishlist is also growing exponentially!

Not having Zoe's restraint, I've just ordered the Wonderland quartet by Joyce Carol Oates Not that I'll get to them this month, but klarusu
created an itch I had to scratch. That's part of my brain anomaly.

Yay!!!

I finished and reviewed what ended up being a five star read for me, Julie Orringer's The Invisible Bridge. That was for the Top Rated Books Challenge.

Now I'm reading Case Histories by Kate Atkinson for the First Book in a Series Challenge and also for Orange January (had to get that in Madeline:)

Edited to say there's no time left in Jan. for any new books, so taking my second TIOLI challenge book off the list.

I just finished Some Sing, Some Cry for challenge #3 and reviewed it.

It was hard to get into, but I ended up liking it.

Yesterday I finished The Tenant and The Motive by Javier Cercas for challenge #11, and tonight I read Who Killed Palomino Molero? by Mario Vargas Llosa for challenge #10.

I finished the very impressive The Center Cannot Hold: My Journey Through Madness by Elyn Saks and am so impressed with that woman's ability to keep on fighting for what she believed in, and also her eventual ability to surrender. It's a great book. Next up, for the Orange Challenge is The Housekeeper. I think I put it in the not popular challenge.

If anyone is looking for a Wonderland book, I highly recommend Alice I Have Been; I gave it 5 stars December 2009 and it still sticks with me today.

As I'm doing the readathon I should be reading a book right now, but reading the threads instead. I recommend the graphic novel Alice in Sunderland for the Wonderland challenge.

Some other LT challenges that I'm participating in that would fit into TIOLI:

Group read of The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov - loved it (Pronoun/11 in 11 Challenges)

Small Island by Andrea Levy - just started (Migration/Orange January/July Challenges)

Seeing by Jose Saramago (Vowel in Order/Author Theme Reads Mini-Author for Jan-Apr)

On back-up if I can get to them are:

Death in the Andes by Mario Vargas Llosa (Pronoun/Author Theme Reads for all year) and

Elephant's Journey by Jose Saramago (possible Migration/Author Theme Reads)

I just finished reading Bad Penny Blues by Cathi Unsworth, an atmospheric crime novel set in 60s London, written by a music journalist, which I'm going to put in the colour challenge. It would also fit in the (un)popularity challenge. I rated it 4.5* although I'm on my own rating it higher than 4*.

I just posted my take on Regeneration, the first of the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker (for challenge #2), which I found completely, absolutely, incredibly brilliant. Here is the link to my review.

I finished As Always, Julia for the Christmas present challenge, and I've just added Freedom to the 3.8-4.2 challenge. I can't stop reading it, but at the same time, unless it gets less nasty it's going to be lucky to get a 3.8 from me! There are 3 of us reading it - anyone else want to join in?

I finished and reviewed The Housekeeper by Melanie Wallace and was so glad to have read this stark novel about people in the most desperate life situations. Now I'll start on The Blind Assassin for Madeline's challenge and also for a 1000 books to read before you die group read.

I've read The Elected Member for the consecutive vowel challenge and The Undrowned Child for the main 3.8-4.2 challenge. Both were excellent reads.

I finished In a Summer Season for the 'Christmas' challenge.

Just got a Kindle price-drop notice on this. Looks cute and fun for the Alice in Wonderland challenge.

I finished Nothing But the Truth: Selected Dispatches by Anna Politkovskaya - a journalist who was murdered, possibly/probably by someone on behalf of Putin's government? Excellent though I couldn't read it the way I do a novel, I thought it was better to read a bit a day. I will be reviewing it for the Bookbag.

I heard this poem by Gwendolyn Brooks on the radio today and it fit well with The Housekeeper

Kitchenette Building

We are things of dry hours and the involuntary plan,
Grayed in, and gray. "Dream" mate, a giddy sound, not strong
Like "rent", "feeding a wife", "satisfying a man".

But could a dream sent up through onion fumes
Its white and violet, fight with fried potatoes
And yesterday's garbage ripening in the hall,
Flutter, or sing an aria down these rooms,

Even if we were willing to let it in,
Had time to warm it, keep it very clean,
Anticipate a message, let it begin?

We wonder. But not well! not for a minute!
Since Number Five is out of the bathroom now,
We think of lukewarm water, hope to get in it.

I finished Madness: A Bipolar Life, and now I start listening to Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster. Ach, it starts with the poor 3 legged, soup ladled dachshund being placed in a fighting ring with a pit bull. Oh, please tell me what would happen doesn't.

>>72 Citizenjoyce: - keep reading! remember, it's a kids' book so it doesn't take the path you fear!

#71-72 Beautiful poem! Even though I have a very poor understanding or appreciation for poetry. I'm curious to find out what you thought about Madness. That book intrigues me and is on my wishlist already.

I just finished reviewing Shutter Island for the proper noun challenge. I had a hard time writing a fair review since I saw the movie version not too long before reading the book which pretty well ruined the reading experience for me, but I think I managed to come up with a happy compromise somehow. Let me know what you think.

ETA: 'compromise' to replace 'medium'.

#72: Are you kidding me? My boss called me earlier and told me she had to take her dachsund to the vet (to the tune of $300) because he had got into a fight with the neighbor's pit bull!

#72, 73: aaaawww - I love dachshunds (must be the German genes)! Flawed Dogs: The Novel is wishlisted.

So far I finished:
David Copperfield for the noun challenge
Love in a Cold Climate for the rating challenge #1
Beowulf for the pre-printing-press challenge
The Taming of the Shrew for the rating challenge.

I am now on "Freedom" and Sense and Sensibility for the rating challenge and Anne Fadiman's At Large and at Small for the ranking challenge #11.

I finished Great House by Nicole Krauss for Challenge #11. A very introspective and emotional novel. I predict nominations and prizes for this one.

P.S. Madeline, see above paragraph for challenge idea: Read a book whose title rhymes with the name of its author. Methinks such books would be extremely rare.

It's an interesting challenge idea! Can anyone think of others?

> 77

Methinks such books would be extremely rare.

LOL!! Rare...or almost nonexistent?!

I like it!

Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe is one. I'll keep looking.

That's great, Nora!

Five Children and It by E. Nesbit

Would The Shining by Stephen King count?

>74 Smiler69:: A 'happy medium' indeed on your Shutter Island review, Ilana. This is one of those tough ones to talk about without giving too much away. I thought your use of the word "surreal" was brilliant. I listened to the book and chose not to see the movie as it would have been spoiled for me. You can only be taken by surprise once!

I read and reviewed the excellent Dunmore book, The Siege yesterday. I absolutely loved reading about how one group of people dealt with the horrific trio of war, hunger, and extreme cold in WWII Leningrad. This is yet another one for the first challenge. Its LT rating is 3.85; I gave it 4.5. I guess everyone isn't as interested in reading about gloomy topics as I am!

77: Philip Kerr, The One from the Other? Probably pushing it a bit though.

84: Other people's ratings are mysterious sometimes, The Siege was one of my 5* reads for last year.

Zoe asked me to post a picture of the TIOLI anniversary surprise package of thanks that was organized by teelgee and sent to me in celebration of the TIOLI one year anniversary.

You may not see everything. Under all the cards is a Powell's tote bag. Pat sent a bookmark, Joyce sent a magnet, there were all kinds of cards, a decal, lots of frogs, and many of you contributed for a very generous gift certificate to Powell's Books. To those who contributed in any way to this magnificent surprise, I hope each of you received a private note of gratitude from me. To all of you together, many, many thanks.

Here's the picture, Zoe!

Whew.... I lost this thread for a spell under the avalanche of threads in this group.

I finished my 2nd January TIOLI challenge, There Came Both Mist and Snow by Michael Innes. Hmm.. now I'm wondering if I should do a 3rd challenge for the month. *wanders off to look at the other challenges for the month*

Caroline, you can always pull it up by just searching for the term TIOLI.

Smiler69, come over to the Brain Anomaly thread and you can see what some of feel about the books we're reading on mental illness.

I just started The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic by Darby Penney in the brain anomaly challenge. I hate to have lots of books going at the same time, but I needed something to read while standing in line at the post office. I'm hooked now and hope someone will join me.

>86 SqueakyChu: Thank you for posting that!

#83 I think it would count. I can't believe there have been two suggestions already.

#88 : LOL ... would you believe I've gone 2 years on LT and not noticed the search field in the middle of the Groups page, Madeline? Oh dear ... talk about being unobservant. So now I have a quick and easy way to find the TIOLI page when it gets lost again in the thread avalanche

92> Don't worry! The search sucked for a very long time and only this last month got tweaked and made really useful! :)

That Madeline, always coming up with ways to amaze us.

Another book for the Wonderland challenge would be A Reader on Reading by Alberto Manguel. This collection of previously published essays includes several which directly concern the Alice stories, and many, if not all, of the chapter epigraphs are quotes from the Alice books. I haven't read the book myself, but sort of casually dipped into last night, just getting my toes wet, and noted the Alice references. Apparently the books were Maguel's favorite childhood reads and remain among his favorite books even today. So, there is another option for anyone interested.

> 90

You're welcome, Zoe.

> 94

That Madeline, always coming up with ways to amaze us.

Tim has a way of sneaking things into LT as well. :)

There's an ongoing 24-hour readathon if any of you feeling like jumping in now.

89> I'm desperately wanting to read that book! I need to see if I can get it from the library (trying to not buy books this year- have made it for 10 whole days!)

Lahochstetler, my library system doesn't have The Lives They Left Behind: Suitcases from a State Hospital Attic yet. I hope yours does.

You can see the exhibit online here: http://www.suitcaseexhibit.org/indexhasflash.html

#89: I'll come over soon, thanks for the personal invite! Participating in the read-a-thon right now so have to minimize thread-surfing so I can actually spend time READING! lol

I just finished reading Super Sad True Love Story and boy am I glad I'm done with it. It's an interesting book. Entertaining too, there's no denying it. But... well I guess I should keep it for when I write my review which should be in a couple of days. My hardest decision now is which book do I pick up now? So many choices, gha!

Hello, my name is nittnut and I'm a biblioholic. Since promising my husband I would not shop for books on Amazon, I have only bought 6 new books on Amazon...

#100 I've started The Children's Book, if you're interested in joining me. It's very BIG.

There may be a 12 step program, nittnut, but you really have to want to change. Admit it, you don't. Say it loud, say it proud. We are bibliophiles and we read!

I have about 6 books in my B&N shopping cart for the past few days and I am trying really hard not to press "purchase". It doesn't help that every day B&N sends me an e-mail reminding me what's in my cart and how much I want to buy them.

Norabelle, why did you have to remind me?

I've started The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks for the top-rated books challenge. It's excellent so far.

A gentleman whose name escapes me for the moment helped me with a 12-step program on my thread:

Step One: I admit that I have no power or control over books.

Steps Two through Eleven: Who cares?

I've forgotten step 12. I think it was buy books.

My idea not to buy lasted until Sunday (Wow! 9 days!), when I ordered a few little items, all used.

#107>
Hello. My name is Jean and I'm a bookaholic. So sad.

>106 cushlareads:: Cushla, oh yeah, that book is right up your street. I can't wait to read your review.
>107 Matke:: I love that!

Oops, the Manuel I was read was Into the Looking-Glass Wood - Essays on Books, Reading, And the World not A Reader on Reading for the Wonderland challenge. I read it last year and really enjoyed it.

I'm almost sure that this was asked, but I can't find an answer. Are we allowing the proper noun to be in the subtitle or only the title. The book in question is Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town by Nick Reding.

My copy of Nothing to Envy arrived today, and as luck would have it I finished my commuting read yesterday and haven't started a new one yet since I'm working from home today, so I can start on it tomorrow morning! I'll add it to the wiki now that I know I have a copy.

>112 lorax: I'm planning to pick that one up at the library later today, so I should be reading it soon too.

111> I don't think there IS a proper noun in that one. I don't think "Methland" counts, either...

But it does work for the Popularity TIOLI, if you want to do that one.

American isn't a proper noun? Oh dear, I think this challenge is too hard for me...

I think Methland counts as a proper noun - it doesn't have to be an actual place name to be a proper noun. It's capitalised isn't it?

American isn't a proper noun as used in the subtitle, it's an adjective describing a noun (an American - adj - town - noun). If it referred to the American, American would be a noun (but would it be a proper noun?)

>>116 elkiedee:. Yep. I thought it through and came to the same conclusions you did. I too think Methland counts. It's capitalized in the title, and, I think, would always be capitalized even mid-sentence.

#102: I noticed you were reading it when I went to the wiki page and am really tempted, but a bit intimidated by the size right now.

If there is anyone out there who hasn't read Case Histories by Kate Atkinson yet, I finished and reviewed it. What a terrific read! That was for the First Book in a Series Challenge.

Now I'm reading The White Family by Maggie Gee for the 3.8-4.2 challenge.

Nothing to Envy is absolutely engrossing. I'll be interested to hear others' thoughts.

Well, another book which I had to think about quite a bit so I could write a fair review, mostly because I couldn't decide what impression it had left on me exactly. I just posted my review here for the novel Super Sad True Love Story.

#102 Amanda: I've decide I'm going to try to tackle The Children's Book tonight after all. I could do with a bit of historical fiction after spending time in a futuristic dystopia. :-)

I just added The Lies of Locke LaMora to the wiki for Challenge Nbr 10. I loved this book!

I've got The Children's Book sitting unread on a shelf just taunting me- perhaps this three day weekend is the perfect time to tackle it...

#122 HOORAY! Don't worry, I'll be with you and we should be finished by July.

I confused about how to add my TIOLI to wiki, please help!

> 126

Welcome!

1. Go to message #2 above.
2. Click on the wiki link of your choice.
3. Directions for what to do are at the bottom of each wiki page.
4. Don't be afraid to try it. You cannot mess anything up.
5. If you have more questions, just ask.

#125 July? I think you're pushing it there, Amanda. I'm hoping to finish it before 2012! :-)

I finished Notes from a small island by Bill Bryson for the "Read a Book with a 3.8 to 4.2 Star Rating"-challenge. This 3.8-rated book may just be pushed down a little by my rating. I didn't particularly like it, because it gave a rather abysmal impression of Great-Britain. I happen to have a different view on the country, but I like Bryson's witty style and I'll read his other books sooner or later.

129>

I figured out a lot about what makes Bryson tick when I read Neither Here nor There, his book about Europe. He loves sunshine. When he's somewhere warm and sunny, he's happy. When he's someplace cold and dark and damp, he's grumpy. But he doesn't seem to have figured this out, so he does things like go to Norway in the dead of winter to watch the aurora borealis and then complain that it's dark and cold. If you want cheerful Bryson talking about someplace he really enjoys, try In a Sunburned Country (UK title Down Under). Australia's got sunshine to spare, and he clearly loves the place.

#103 - So right Joyce. I don't want to change...not even really sure it's a problem. LOL

#107 - That's perfect. Who cares?

I haven't been able to read any Bryson after his complete lack of fact-checking in The Mother Tongue. Are his travel books generally better?

Bryson can be very funny. A Walk in the Woods actually annoyed me, because he didn't finish the walk and he complained a lot. I think that if you're getting paid to write about walking a trail, you walk the trail. Just saying. That said, since I love hiking and camping and would love to take that "walk" someday, perhaps I am biased.

The only Bryson book I'd recommend would be A Walk in the Woods which I thought was truly funny. I think the complaining in all his books might just be his attempt to be humorous. At least in this book, it's only he and Katz as opposed to the population of an entire country!

I didn't care too much for In a Sunburned Country because in that book Bryson was forever complaining about everything in Australia. So, go back home, if it's that bad!

> 111

In response to your question, I take exception to the fact that some people feel that Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town cannot be used for the TIOLI challenge #10. I, personally, would consider it just fine. The reason? There is an embedded proper noun in the title. Historically (TIOLI-speaking, that is), embedded words have always been counted. The word in this case, of course, is America. I would also consider Methland a proper noun.

It's not my challenge, however. The final answer should come from Suzanne (Chatterbox) who presented that challenge.

The issue about title versus subtitle is "a horse of a different color" (a quote from my favorite movie, "The Wizard of Oz"). Again, that decision should come from Suzanne. However, if no answer is forthcoming, my feeling is that subtitles count unless specifically excluded.

>135 SqueakyChu: Oh, good point! I had forgotten about embedded words.

When posting this book on the wiki, I would do it like this:

Methland: The Death and Life of an American Small Town (America) - Nick Reding - SqueakyChu

...if you want to use "America" rather than "Methland" as your choice of proper noun.

I was being a stickler about proper nouns vs adjectives, but I also didn't realize that "Methland" is used as a name in the title/book, and not just a descriptive word.

my feeling is that subtitles count unless specifically excluded

Eep! Glad to hear you say so. I've been using subtitles without even considering there might be a problem with it.

#134: I understood In a Sunburned Country as an extreme praise of Australia - okay, maybe praise in a Bryson way, but at some point he even wished he could stay. I had never before considered travelling there, but after reading this book I overcame my fear of flying and travelled to Western Australia. His book was my main travelling guide and I enjoyed it so immensely that I returned two years later, this time to see parts of the Eastern coast.

I think the main problem with the two "Notes" books is their age. Notes from a Small Island was written before he finally returned to the US and this must have been at least 15-20 years ago(?) - it's simply outdated. And he actually loved the UK, this book felt like a sad farewell to a place he was sure to miss a lot.

I also liked A Walk in the Woods, but my overall impression is that he isn't really that fond of hiking and whenever he does it (whether in the US, the UK or Australia) he can't stop complaining.

Read The Shipping News by Annie Proulx that has a rating of 3.88.

Read A Small Furry Prayer by Steven Kotler that has a popularity of 133,058!

#140 and other comments on Bryson: I agree, Bryson's love for the UK did come through in Notes from a Small Island, though I was quite put off for much of the book by the amount of grumbling and complaining he did about various aspects of British society. It clearly is his way of approaching humour, and it didn't quite work for me.

I read In a Sunburned Country as a love letter as well. To me his descriptions of all the dangers of Australia seemed less like complaining and more like being in awe. It was my favorite of his so far.

I've just posted my review of the latest Ian Rankin I read, Doors Open for the Book ranked below 10,000 challenge.

I finished and reviewed Maggie Gee's Orange prize shortlisted novel The White Family. That was for the 3.8-4.2 rating challenge.

Not sure what I'm reading next.

I just finished Just Kids tonight, Patti Smith's memoir of a relationship between soulmates, artist Robert Mapplethorpe and herself. It's on the list of LT's best books of last year (and would also qualify for Challenge 1). They were lovers for a time but they never stopped being good friends. Beautifully written and many of the illustrations are photographic portraits taken by Mapplethorpe (who died of AIDS in 1989). I cried at the end. Highly recommended.

I finished The Blind Assassin full of commentary on the balance of power within the family and society. I found myself at times just wanting to shake the characters and tell them to wake up. Quite a book, now back to The Lives They Left Behind which fits nicely.

Finished Beowulf for challenge #4.

#141 Good Heavens Morph!! Haven't seen you for over two years. Hope you're doing well. XX

>149 amandameale: I've been here - daily even! I hang out in the Green Dragon.

Well, I just posted my latest completion - Book Lust to Go. I've now reached my unofficial limit of 3 books per challenge for the 10,000+ on the popularity index challenge and won't be adding any more. This is the way I force myself to branch out my reading instead of sticking to those challenges that are easier for me to fill.

Here's the rest of my reading hopes for the month:

Challenge #1 (3.8 to 4.2 star rating):
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms by N.K. Jemisin
Mudbound by Hilary Jordan (mine)

Challenge #2 (first book in series):
The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness (mine)
Magyk by Angie Sage - currently reading

If I read all those currently planned, I'll have brought my total book of my own read up to 3 for the month/year.

Here we go...!

Stats for December and then, later, the stats for the entire year 2010. Following that, I shall present the awards for December.

TIOLI Stats for December, 2010:
For the month of December, we had 16 challenges presented and a total of 517 books read.

Of these, 118 were shared reads. Surprisingly that translates into only 23% shared reads. This equals the percentage of books shared back in April, 2010, and duplicates the lowest percentage of shared reads per month!! Are we resisting shared reads, or are we simply becoming more diverse in our reading? Time will tell. I invite comments on this particular statistic. Why are we *not* sharing more reads?

TIOLI points accumulated in December 2010 were 64 - not an exceptionally high number, which is not surprising since the number of shared reads were lower this month.

The most popular book this month was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, a book shared by 18 people. That *was* a record for the highest number of readers for just one book!

The most popular challenge of the month was Ghost of TIOLI past, attracting 111 challengers, and presented to us by _Zoe_.

More to come...

I'm also reading The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms sometime this month. You doing it for the women in fantasy challenge blog?

Now, let's take a look at some of the
TIOLI statistics for the whole year of 2010:

Since the beginning of the year, challengers have created a total of 153 challenges! Except for the rare exception, most of them were entirely different.

Together, we COMPLETED reading 3,675 books, with 1,139 of them being shared reads. This comes to a percentage of 31%, meaning that, of every three books we read, probably one of them we read along with a fellow challenger. That's terrific!!

By year's end, we accumulated a total of 639 TIOLI points. Think we can do better than that by the end of 2011? We'll see what happens.

Here's a list of the most popular shared book for each month, but sorted according to the highest number of shared books each month:

18 - A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
10 - Room - Emma Donoghue
8 - Dracula - Bram Stoker
7 - Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
7 - His Majesty's Dragon - Naomi Novik
6 - Sabriel - Garth Nix
6 - Soulless - Gail Carriger
6 - The Uncommon Reader - Alan Bennett
5 - Cranford - Elizabeth Gaskell
5 - Daddy-Long-Legs - Jean Webster
5 - Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name - Vendela Vida
4 - Bluebeard's Egg and Other Stories - Margaret Atwood
3 - Cry The Beloved Country - Alon Paton
3 - When You Reach Me - Rebecca Stead

Get ready for more...

Awards for December 2010:

The It’s a Good Thing It’s Skinny Award goes to norabelle414 for enticing an amazing number of shared reads on her “Thinster” challenge. The most popular book there was A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. As noted earlier, this book garnered a 2010 record for most books in a shared read (a record which is sure to be broken in 2011!).

The But Where Did They Go Award goes to CatyM for her puzzlement as to why no one listed A Christmas Carol on her “Read a Book with a connection to Christmas” Challenge. Maybe everyone was in such a hurry to read a thin book that they didn’t recognize its connection to Christmas? :)

The Group Hugs Award goes to lindapanzo, CatyM, phebj, Deern, klarusu, goddesspt2, klobrien2, bohemima, nancyewhite, souloftherose, Madhatter22, gennyt, calm, Citizenjoyce, _Zoe_, ivyd, bell7, and wisechild - who all together participated in the successful shared read of A Christmas Carol.

The We Can’t Stop Talking About it Award goes to CitizenJoyce and _Zoe_. Joyce began the challenge to read a book about religion, facilitated some great conversation based on that (sometimes difficult) subject, and stimulated Zoe to start a year-long thread for all 75-ers about books on religion.

The Zusammen Award goes to klobrien2 and paulstalder for reading and sharing the same book in two different languages. Karen read The Shepherd, the Angel, and Walter the Christmas Dog (obviously in English) by Dave Barry. Paul read Der Hirte, der Engel und Walter, der Weihnachtswunderhund, the same book’s German equivalent. Can we now go for the same book in three different languages?! By the way, zusammen (pronounced tzoo-zahmen) is the German word for together. See? You learned a German word today!!

The Meet the Biology Professor Award goes to wandering_star for detecting an octopus on the cover of a book that was supposed to depict a squid! This was part of the “Animal Pictured on the front of the Book Challenge. The book was Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf.

Congratulations to December’s award winners! Looking forward to having even more fun and more reason to give out awards in 2011.

Thanks for your participation in TIOLI. It's all of you who make it so wonderful!

An award?!? Gee, I've never won a TIOLI award before. I'd like to thank all the people who voted for me. They didn't? Oh wait...

I admit to being the reason behind CatyM's "where did they go award." I had plenty of Christmas books in mind but no thinsters when I put A Christmas Carol into the thin book category.

Congrats to all of December's award winners ... and to Madeline for thinking up these zany award titles! "But Where Did They Go" and "Meet the Biology Professor" were just too funny.

I finished another book for Challenge #1: The Betrayal by Helen Dunmore. Some great reviews from 75ers on the book's home page from Lisa, Bonnie R., and Rebecca. Excellent sequel to The Siege.

It actually amused me a great deal that the most famous Christmas book ended up in a different category. I wasn't actually intending to read it for my challenge, and it especially amused me that I ended up reading it for another challenge. :)

(I so admit to totalling up the TIOLI points from that challenge AND doing an alternative count for what the total would have been if A Christmas Carol had made it into my challenge. I wanted those points, darn it.)

I so admit to totalling up the TIOLI points from that challenge AND doing an alternative count for what the total would have been if A Christmas Carol had made it into my challenge.

LOL!! You know, Caty, I did that, too. You'd have blown everyone away with all of your TIOLI points!

These award categories are very entertaining. Thanks for that Madeline!

You're welcome, Ilana.

Are we resisting shared reads, or are we simply becoming more diverse in our reading?

I'm certainly not resisting them, but I use TIOLI as a way of selecting from the many books on my TBR shelves, rather than an excuse to acquire new books in order to join shared reads. So if I already have a copy of the same book that others are reading, that would be a priority for my TIOLI choices, but even if none of my books are shared with anyone else, therefore no points, I still have the satisfaction of reducing my TBR pile.

Maybe in December there were more than usual wide-open categories so encouraging a greater variety of reads (apart from the concentration on A Christmas Carol, of course.

I agree with Genny - I use TIOLI to help me get through the TBR pile. Well, OK, sometimes I get sucked in by a good review too, but I'm not browsing the wiki looking for a book to read with others, usually.

I might want to read a book others are reading so that I can discuss it with them, but points don't make a bit of difference to me.

The Zusammen Award goes to klobrien2 and paulstalder for reading and sharing the same book in two different languages.

That is so cool! For my part of the read, thank you! Unfortunately, I'm pretty much limited to English, although maybe a children's book....

Great awards--thanks, Madeline!

Karen O.

You're welcome, Karen. They sort of pop up by themselves!

#162: I use the TIOLI challenge the same way, Genny. If I have a book home from the library already and it fits one of the challenges, I will add it too, but I will not go to the library and check out a new book specifically for the intent of fitting it into one of the challenges.

I find books I own, or at least wanted to read, that fit the challenge. Then, after the TIOLI's been up for a few days, I look at what others are reading and occasionally join them.

I'm pretty much in line with Linda. With the exception of carry over challenge books, I'll look at all of the challenges, and I'll pull books from my TBR pile to meet them - and I will try to diversify as much as possible so I can fill multiple challenges. I know I can read about 10 books a month, so I'll post about 5 or 6 for challenges I know I want to read (and list them early so others can hopefully join me), and then I sit back and watch for other books to post so I can join them.

So far it's been a case of fitting my planned reads to the challenges. I'm still suffering end-of-2010 hangover, and I'm not at the point where I can use the challenges to shake up my reading or join in a shared read for the heck of it, as I'm hoping to eventually.

My normal reading tends to be "off the beaten track", so I don't expect to have shared reads. In fact, I ended up not participating in the popularity challenge because 99% of what I read would fit, which I decided wasn't really in the spirit of things.

However, I nominated All Passion Spent for the 3.8 - 4.2 challenge, and Claire and Karen have both joined up with me, and I'm quite excited about that! (None of us seem to have started, though, so perhaps we're all doing APS for Virago Week.)

Challenge #2: Read any first book in a series

I started this challenge because I thought t would be a good way to be exposed to a few series that I hadn't heard of but I think I'm getting more than I bargained for. I've seen no less than 10 series that I want to investigate or definitely read in the future. A few I may even try to squeeze in this year.

Thanks to everyone who chose and participated in Challenge #2. It's a great way for me to start the new year!

I'm pretty much in line with everyone else in that I am trying to read the books I own so I look for books off my shelf to fit into the challenges. I don't really care about points or shared reads although I've been in a number of them including the wildly successful Dracula. If I have a book that others are already signed up to read then I will try to read it that month also.

OK, I finished the real shared read, with pbadeer, of Flawed Dogs: The Novel: The Shocking Raid on Westminster. I'd thought of giving the book to my grandson but still can't decide if I will. Some rather horrible situations are referred to but not detailed. I have to decide if just the reference will affect him less than it did me. Over all, three cheers for Sam the Lion. The picture book I read first, Flawed Dogs: The Year End Leftovers at the Piddleton "Last Chance" Dog Pound, I now know, was the sequel not the prequel.

Some months I have tried harder to look for shared reads, and I will do again in other months - hopefully I will have a couple by the end of the month as someone is reading South Riding which I've already finished, and I hope to get to Sense and Sensibility, The White King (which I have from the library) and A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian. It would be more, I'm sure there are more shared reads I would like to join in.

I normally prioritise review books for obvious reasons, not so much the ER ones as they only say try and review within 2 months and even then they haven't yet penalised me for taking 3+ months on 2.

And I have ridiculous numbers of library books some of which I suddenly need to read and return because of other reservations, and my own little goals.

>>173 Citizenjoyce: - Depending on the age of your grandson, it may be OK. My daughter (11) didn't really have a detailed vision of what a dog fighting ring really entailed, so she was far less disturbed by that - while I kept dreading the next paragraph. Although buried under a LOT of extra stuff, the message of the book is a good one that kids should hear: Love should not be based on superficial appearance, and it's what's on the inside that counts. Oh, and that poodles are evil.

#171 -- the new series challenge will hopefully get me reading Jar City, and there are several other new series that people have mentioned that I wanted to try, and so I'm being prodded into action!

My only problem is that my must-read and must-do lists have been derailed by my wanna-read list. But what's new about that??

#176: My only problem is that my must-read and must-do lists have been derailed by my wanna-read list. But what's new about that??

You too, huh? Happens to me all the time!

#175, Well, the thing is, they're big fans of the Best Friends tv show, so he knows about dog fighting due to the Michael Vick dogs; but I was worried about the fact that Sam had been in a research lab for 3 years. I don't know about that "what happens in a research lab?" conversation.

I just finished and posted to the wiki my last of five books for the TIOLI Challenge for January. I love this challenge - looking forward to February already!

Finished Inkheart for the first in a series challenge. It's an excellent book: don't be fooled into thinking it's just another YA fantasy/coming of age book. It's much, much more than that.

I too try to use the challenges to clear my cluttered TBR shelves around the house. Oddly, if a number of people read and praise a book one month, I'll probably get a copy a month or two later and read it then...hmmm...I sense a defeated purpose here somewhere...

ETA: I always try to find a book to fit Madeline's challenge first, since this is her baby. I was really, really irritated with myself the one month last year when I picked a book for her challenge, left to the end, and then hated the book and didn't finish it. Pooh.

>153 Morphidae: It just happened to be on my TBR list and a book I had on its way from the library when I saw someone was planning on reading it for the TIOLI challenge. Do you have a link to the woman of fantasy challenge? Even if I don't participate myself, I'd love to see what folks are reading for that.

I just finished reading a very enjoyable chicklit novel, The Secret Shopper's Revenge - I've been sent a copy of The Secret Shopper Unwrapped which I need to read, got stressed that it was a second book in series, and discovered I got this one through Bookmooch a few months ago.

Sandie has been sacked very nastily and unfairly, Emily's husband has gone off to live with someone else soon after the birth of their baby, and Grazia has been widowed. They take on various mystery shopping assignments. Quite a simple device for a story, but what works is three interesting and distinct personalities, some wit, and the way these women help each other to rebuild their lives and their confidence. I just thought it was lovely and am so pleased to have been sent the second for free.

I finished An African in Greenland by Tété-Michel Kpomassie for challenge #13 (migration/movement between different countries), which was the author's account of his travel from his native Togo to live amongst and study the native people (Inuit) of Greenland.

Woo-hoo! I just realized my latest book fits into Madeline's challenge. I finally decided to give audiobooks a try and have to say that if I can keep finding good/inexpensive titles, a lot of things are going to get done around the house! So I got Oliver Twist (unabridged) which is over 15 hours of wonderful time when I can rest my eyes and keep my hands busy. It's rated 3.89 so on the wiki it goes!

Ooh - an award for me? Thanks! I am enjoying the fact that it's basically an award for pedantry, one of my top skills.

On the choice of books, I have a HUGE TBR pile, so almost every month there are several books on my shelves which someone else lists as a TIOLI read, and these tend to be my priorities - it's quite nice to have a choice from a small pile instead of several shelves (um, except for the times when it's not and I have to go and find a book from the shelves which is nothing to do with any of the challenges...)

>180 Matke: I've read, and own, Inkheart and the sequels Inkspell and Inkdeath. They are pretty good. And I agree with you, it's like every book lovers fantasy coming true if that book was dead real.

I wonder if Shantaram could be considered for the migration/movement between countries category. The protagonist is on the lam from Australia and ends up in Bombay (as he names it) learning about the Indian culture at all levels, from ex-pat to slum. I'm 2/5ths of the way through this huge book, which is easy to read but still 930 pages long(!).

I just finished A Life Like Other People's by Alan Bennett and had to add it to the Brain Anomaly Challenge #9. It focuses on his family's experiences with depression and dementia and largely being the son and nephew of women afflicted by them. It is sad, but also witty and urbane as to be expected from Bennett.

>187 ffortsa: Shantaram is in my TBR pile, but every time I pick it up it, I end up going for something shorter. Glad to hear it's easy reading, though, maybe I'll try for it this summer.

It might be a very good vacation read. So far, not much suspense per se, so I can pick it up and put it down without much tension building up! Considering the size of the monster, that's good!

Madeline (and anyone else who might be interested), I just wrote a comment to Mark (msf59) on my thread where I was saying I was thinking of having a few thematic months this year, and I wanted to run something by you. I got the idea because in the past couple of weeks alone I picked up several recommendations for books related in some way to Vermeer, and I think it would be cool to read them all in the same month. You can see my thread for a couple of other ideas I had. It occurred to me that I was maybe just wanting to do my personal version of a TIOLI challenge, but it's not quite that because in some cases it would require getting several books together that I might not already have, and being disposed to reading them all within a short time from each other. Then I thought maybe others would like to do something similar, or maybe even just offer suggestions and it might be a thread worth starting up, i.e. a different thread for each theme, if you see what I mean. Or something like that. I just formulated the idea this evening following a small exchange on Kerry's thread (aviatakh) and I'm very tired from a very long day so not sure I'm making sense, but would love to get your feedback on that.

ETA: That is, if anything I've just written is comprehensible, which is something I'm in no shape to assess right now.

A little over halfway through Jan and I (surprisingly,enough) am halfway through my TIOLI challenges list for Jan:
#1 The Map of True Places by Brunonia Barry
#2 All the Pretty Horses by Cormac McCarthy
#9 Left Neglected by Lisa Genova
#11 In a Strange Room by Damon Galgut
#13 The Warmth of Other Suns by Isabel Wilkerson
#15 The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer

> 191

I know what you mean, Ilana. You want to start a themed thread (or more than one themed thread). Zoe did the same thing after we had some very interesting discussion following Joyce's TIOLI challenge to read a book about religion. Zoe later decided to create a permanent thread with religion as the theme.

My suggestion would be to run your idea by drneutron (Jim). Perhaps he'd like to do a list of themed threads on the main 75 books challenge wiki (See the ETA below). In that way, anyone could join in at any time. Of course, to begin it, you'd try to advertise it to get as many people as you'd like to join you.

Alternatively, you could start with a specific theme for a TIOLI challenge to see what interest you get on a separate thread discussion. If people are interested in continuing to develop that theme in the future (as they were with Joyce's TIOLI challenge about religion & resulting in Zoe's themed thread also about religion), you, likewise, could carry the theme(s) you like forward into the future with dedicated threads.

ETA: I'm back to say that it's already right there on the wiki! Go ahead and add your theme to this page under What We Are Reading! Notice that the entries are in alphabetical order. You're now all set!!

Thanks Madeline! I do check the wiki from time to time but didn't think to do so for this! Neat! I just checked and the 'what we are reading' is for different genres, as opposed to random themes, so I think I'll go with your suggestions of both trying it on the TIOLI, and asking Jim about adding it to the wiki. That way I'll have short term and medium term options* and will be able to offer same to others**.

* Short term is just going ahead with my personal version of a chosen theme as soon as I'd like, medium term is TIOLI and/or wiki to collect ideas for later.
** I want to make it public for selfish and unselfish reasons. Selfish: more suggestions to work with on chosen themes (and possibly other people starting themes I wouldn't have thought of). Unselfish: well that's kind of obvious I think!

Will follow up later. Right now... bed. But not before walking Coco... ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzz... (will pray I can keep eyes open long enough to read a couple of chapters of S&S and The Children's Book)

ETA: so hard making sense. Bye! :-|

#194 Ilana, I'm up to p.227. Can only read it during the day because it's so bloody big it might knock me unconscious in bed. (I read lying down.)

ETA:
Elizabeth Gilbert continues her personal story in Committed - see below - so I'm reading Eat Pray Love for Challenge #2 (first book in a series). OK??
http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2010/01/11/100111crbo_books_levy

I just finished a Early Reviewers book Helen of Pasadena when I realized that it could count for the proper names challenge- so exciting!

I finished the Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks and thought it was very good.

And now for the 'unpopular' (under 10,000 index) challenge I've finished A Concise English-Chinese Dictionary for Lovers by Xiaolu Guo. I gave it 1 star, and it will almost certainly make my worst books of 2011 list. (As usual, there's a wide range of opinions on it and some people loved it!)

I finished the absolutely wonderful Lori Lansens novel The Girls and reviewed it over here. That was for the vowels in the right order challenge. If anyone wants to earn a point or two I can't recommend this one highly enough. You'll feel very grateful to be alive when you finish and happy that you got to know the girls:)

I saw there was a multi-read stacking up on All Passion Spent and have started listening to the audiobook, which is excellent.

#195 Amanda, I mostly read in bed as well, or reclining on the couch which is very similar. I agree it's a big book but I think I got practice with A Suitable Boy last year which must have strengthened my wrist muscles or something because Book of Children seems like a lightweight in comparison! I've been of two minds about it, loving it and then feeling a bit fazed by a LOT of references that weren't familiar to me, but it's been well worth sticking it through. Oh, and I've only got 100 pages left! :-P

#198 Bonnie what a great review! Thumbs up from me! I knew what The Girls was about and hesitated to get it at first and then somehow read good things about it (probably here on LT). I look forward to it though doubt I can make for a shared read this month as I've already got LOADS of books listed for TIOLI.

>198 brenzi:: I was hesitant to read The Girls because I thought it would either be depressing or overly sentimental. It was neither. Wonderful review, Bonnie. I liked this book very much.

I also liked Unbroken, reviewed here, which I read for Challenge #12: Top Rated Book for 2010.

Ilana, I like your "theme" idea; I seem to be on a WWII theme this month!

#201 Thanks Donna! I'll go over and see if Jim would be willing to include threads I start for that in the wiki. I'm taking Madeline's advice and will try both approaches.

I finished Wolf Hall today for Challenge #1. My review is here

I don't know if I will start any others for this month. I still have to look at the other ones.

Hi gang! I'm getting a new project started to get together great recommendations of books by themes. I've called it Books By Themes (BBT) and I'd love to have your suggestions! Here's the link.

(eek - just checking in to page 2. Still finding my feet after coming back from holiday)

I decided to do another one of the TIOLI challenges I read Damaged by Alex Kava for Challenge #7. My review

198: Brenzi, I've firmly placed The Girls: A Novel on my TBR. It looks great! Wonderful review, too!

I just finished All Passion Spent by Vita Sackville-West (challenge #1). Excellent, wonderful novel! Beautiful story and storytelling about a family matriarch who decides, after the death of her husband, to live life her own way (for once).

While reading, I was compelled to take note of a number of lines that I knew I would want to reread. Here's one:

"...before she could pull up yet another fish of memory on a long line, she recollected a restriction she had placed upon herself, namely, not to let her memory wander until the days of complete leisure should be come; not to luxuriate until she could luxuriate fully and freely. Her feast must not be spoiled by snippets of anticipation." (p.85)

I'll definitely want to read this one again. It's a fairly quick read (if you can pull yourself away from the gem-like prose), so you still have time to add some TIOLI points if you haven't read this one!

Karen O.

>207 klobrien2: Thanks Karen. I've had All Passion Spent on my WL for awhile but you've made me move it up although I can't get to it this month :(

I'm reading a book with two colors in it. I've been told that this doesn't count for double. Phooey.

Thanks, once again, to everyone for coming up with some great challenges, once again. Even those I don't initially decide to participate in, often get me to thinking later in the month.

>207 klobrien2:, 208: All Passion Spent is wonderful! Great quote, Karen.

#209 I've been told that this doesn't count for double
Did Madeline say that to you Linda? Maybe you can try for a shared read with somebody as we have none in the colour challenge so far!

Two colors will not count for double. Sorry, folks! It's the sharing of books that gets the points, not the doubling up of the challenge requirements.

How about the next color challenge be a book with *two* colors in the title? Anyone want to put that one out there for others? Think it's too much of a challenge? Dare ya! The next challenge gets posted in only 11 more days. Are you thinking of some challenging challenges? I hope so.

My challenge will definitely be harder for February than this month's challenge. I made it *much* too easy for you in January. NOT doin' that next time!!

Maybe you can try for a shared read with somebody as we have none in the colour challenge so far!

I'd recommend Black and Blue, The Color Purple, or White Teeth. Each is very different. I've read all three and think they'd each be good for shared reads.

I'm too intimidated to dare try to find a challenge that's worthy of you lot quite frankly Madeline!

LOL!!

I'm definitely hoping for some harder challenges next month. It seems like every book I've read so far this month has fallen into one challenge or another, just by chance.

I laughingly asked someone on the color challenge thread but never expected two colors in the title to count for extra.

The new challenge gets posted in 11 days, Madeline? So late?

11 days...or earlier. :)

I've finished two books for challenge #1, A thread of grace and The Siege.

eta: both are shared reads

I finished reading The Children's Book for Madeline's challenge and Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection for the books about art challenge, both during the ongoing read-a-thon. Now I've taken on Black and Blue by Ian Rankin for my own colour challenge which... yes Madeline, would have fit into a TWO colour challenge obviously!

I have an idea for February TIOLI when do I share it and how?

>220 Morphidae: Madeline will post next month's thread and wiki sometime before the end of this month, and that time you just add your challenge to the wiki and post about it in the thread.

I think I've come up with an interesting challenge idea as well. What happens if someone uses a challenge that didn't realize was already used?

>222 jasmyn9: Nothing. While we generally try to avoid repeating challenges, it sometimes happens. There is a summary page that you can check to see whether a challenge has been used before, but it only goes up to October.

I finished up Jar City for the 'first in series' challenge.

> 212

The Back and Blue that I recommended was actually a different book - one that was written by Anna Quindlen.

> 220

Shhhh! Keep your challenge idea under wraps until the February TIOLI challenge is posted. Then, when you see it (and you will have NO warning of its arrival - other than, perhaps, a tweet on Twitter), simply add your challenge to the wiki (there will be a maximum of 8 challenges to each wiki page).

If you decide to start a separate thread to augment your challenge, please link it to your wiki challenge and to the main TIOLI thread in your message #1. That keeps navigating easier for everyone. If you need help with this, just ask.

> 223

I don't think it's much fun to have to look through old challenges to see what has been done and what hasn't been done. Boring!!!

A good way to avoid repeating challenges, however, is to give your challenge a special "twist" that you are pretty sure no one else has used. There are no TIOLI police so post whatever challenge you'd like to offer (limit of one per person, though) and no one will complain.

I've finished a book (84, Charing Cross Road) and realised it qualifies for a challenge - the proper name one - and what's more, someone else has read it too, so that's a point!

I can't remember how to search the wiki to check which other books I've listed and need to update or eventually remove. Can any one remind me?

I can't remember how to search the wiki to check which other books I've listed and need to update or eventually remove. Can any one remind me?

1. Go to the wiki page you want to search.
2. Press and hold (together at the same time)
the "Ctrl" (control) and "f" button on your keyboard.
3. Type your screen name into the new text box.
4. Press enter. Your screen name should now be highlighted throughout that page.

Thanks Madeline. I'll favourite that message so I won't forget again! I knew it was Control something, but 'f' was not obvious to remember...

>229 gennyt:: "F" is for "Find" (that's how I remember it ...)

I finished The Pillars of the Earth for the first book in a series challenge, and we had our RL bookclub meeting on it today. Everyone except the person from England liked it, go figure. While I found it engrossing and think I learned a lot, I don't believe I'll read the next in the series. 1000 pages about the middle ages is enough for me right now.

I've started reading You Don't Look Like Anyone I Know and listening to 67724666::Marcelo in Real Life both for the brain anomaly challenge. Loving both so far.

Finished Sense and Sensibility and enjoyed it very much.

Finished Sense and Sensibility and enjoyed it very much.

I think I just finished my last scheduled TIOLI of the month with Sense and Sensibility. I've done far more reading than I expected this month.

Is anyone looking for a shared read? Currently 91% of the books listed in the Top Books of 2010 challenge are being read by at least one other member!

Yikes, Zoe. I haven't read a single one of them.

I finished Sense and Sensibility and enjoyed it. Some of the time.

I've posted my review of Egon Schiele: The Leopold Collection by Rudolf Leopold (TIOLI) ★★★½ (review)

And here's my review of The Children's Book by A.S. Byatt (TIOLI) ★★★★ (review)

Thanks for the list, Zoe. I have Revolution on hold at the library. I'm next in line, if it comes in time I'll list it.

I'm currently reading Revolution and it's living up to the hype.

For the first month I may actually read all the books I listed at the start of month... If I havent just cursed myself... only 1 1/2 books to go!

Oh, there's no way I'll read all the ones I listed, and here I am talking about listing another one.

Just finished The Whistling Season for challenge #1, and my 4 1/2 stars will nudge the rating up just a bit higher. This book has been in my TBR stash for several months and I'm so glad that this challenge prompted me to read it.

Need some concentrated time to focus on your TIOLI books? There's a 24-hour readathon right here on LT starting 8PM GMT tomorrow (1/24/11). Get your books, cozy reading place, and beverage of choice ready!

Time's running out in our TIOLI challenges. There are only 8 more days this month for your January reads!

ETA: I'm already behind schedule. I have to read 6.25 books per month to keep up my rate if I ever hope to complete 75 books in one year. I'm not able to do the readathon tomorrow, but I was thinking. I could do better if I'd only stick to reading one book at a time. Pshaw!! That won't happen. Ever.

I have a new dinner selection. I just told my family we're having TIOLI - "Take it or leave it." I have a feeling they might do the latter. Yikes!! Do you think LT is affecting my brain? :)

Ah, expanding the ol' TIOLI. It can be useful in so many ways. Try it at work, how about in an argument with a friend or loved one? Of course it only works if you're willing to go with "leave it" part of the ultimatum.

I started reading The Bells by Richard Harvell tonight for Madeline's Challenge #1. I'm about 100 pages in and LOVING it so far.

I have finished reading the massive The Children's Book by A.S.Byatt for Challenge #1. It was worth the effort and I'm giving it 4.5/5.
High five Ilana!

Woo hoo! Congrats Amanda. Let me know when you post your review, curious to see what you have to say about it!

I've posted my review of Sense and Sensibility. I was going to make it snarkier, but I toned it down so as not to offend anyone. Here it is.

Photo credit: Michael Balzer - Flicker CC-NC, Attribution

The end-of-month/one week warning:

One more week is left for the January challenge...

Challengers
1. Are you going to finish those books you have on the wiki by midnight, January 31st? If not, go ahead and delete them from the wiki now. If so, now is the time to be reading those books, being sure that they are marked "COMPLETED" when done (so as not to be deleted by me later).
2. Think of offering a counter challenge for February. If you will be offering a counter challenge, also think of some questions for your separate thread to get the conversation going. A "frivolous" challenge topic may also have separate thread.
3. Keep your eyes peeled for the February TIOLI challenge to show up near the end of this month - as I will not announce when it is posted. You need to look for it.
4. If you are a TIOLI newbie or a TIOLI wannabe, post your questions here so that we can address your uncertainties. Once you have discovered that the TIOLI challenges exist, you are a most welcome member!
5. If you have any suggestions for changes or improvements, please let me know.

Challenge Leaders*
1. Are those books listed under your challenge in alphabetical order? if not, sort them, please.
2. Be sure that "matches" are highlighted with an asterisk.
3. Be sure that your separate thread (if you have one) has a link in message #1 back to the main thread. I see that some of you also have a link there to its own wiki section. That's a nice idea as well, but optional.
4. Are the point counts correct? If not, please correct them. Use the potential number of points at all times when determining how many TIOLI points are on your counter challenge.

*I'll be doing these things eventually, but your help maintaining your own counter challenges will make my work later be easier. So, thanks!

P.S. to Cheli, I'll be starting a new thread when we reach 250 posts.

Love the frog. Hope he doesn't get flattened by the next car on the road (which is the way the TIOLI often makes me feel!).

LOL!!

>250 SqueakyChu:

Since we've reached 250 posts, I'm assuming a new thread has been started, but since I don't know how to get there... I guess I'll just post here!

I think I've posted one or two completed books on here already, but this is an up-to-date list. I've completed Faithful Place by Tana French for Challenge #1, The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand for Challenge #12, and The Color Purple by Alice Walker for Challenge #14. I've started A Drink Before the War by Dennis Lehane for Challenge #2. That's a fairly short book, so I'm hoping if I read fast enough, I can squeeze one more in before the end of the month!

I just love the TIOLI!! I'm glad my friend Donna told me about it. (Thanks,Donna!)

Btw, Madeline -- I love the frog, too!

I was out grocery shopping instead of creating a Page 3. However, the January, 2010, TIOLI Page 3 (Main Thread) is up and running here.