Take It or Leave It Challenge - April 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 or this TIOLI FAQS wiki.

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


...logo by cyderry

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

For the month of April, I challenge you to Read a Book with Striking Cover Art. You may choose whichever book you like, but it should be one over which, when you first saw the book, you thought to yourself how special the cover art was. If one such book has already jumped to mind, that’s the book to choose for this challenge.

In addition, I’m asking that each person who participates in this challenge PLEASE post a picture of your chosen book (unless someone else has already posted it) in the separate thread which is associated with this challenge. In a link from that thread, you will learn how to get the graphic image of your book cover to appear.

It would also be helpful to know who created the cover art. So often, the credit for cover art is hidden on an inconspicuous place in the book. Let’s recognize and cheer for those who create striking cover art. Please include a few thoughts as to what made the cover art of your chosen book stand out for you.

In summary, here’s what to do:
1. List your book on the wiki as usual.
2. Post an image of your book cover on the separate thread.
3. Name the person who created the cover art.
4. Tell why you like the cover art.
5. Start again with item #1 above.
6. Have fun!

Further clarification: In the event that you are matching a chosen book, do not post a second picture of the same book in the separate thread. You may, however, contribute your own comments about the book’s cover art there.

”Judging books by their covers may be wrong, but it's oh so much fun.” (norabelle414)

The question remains…can you judge a book by its cover? Let’s go find out!

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

Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. The April 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

Challenges 1-7
1. Read a book with striking cover art - thread
2. Read a book whose title is a prepositional phrase (FYI: list of prepositions)
3. Read a book which takes place in Paris, France....Or Paris, anywhere - thread
4. Read a book from the tag mirror of the person listed below you in the sign-up thread - discussion thread
5. Read the 4th book in a series or by an author
6. Read a book that has won the Alex Award
7. Read a book with the word "spring" in the title

Challenges 8-14
8. Read a book by a Japanese author or that takes place in Japan
9. Read a book with a title starting with Who, What, Where, Why, When -- or How
10. Read a book which has been made into a movie
11. Read a book on the 2011 Orange Prize longlist - thread
12. Read a book about autism
13. Read a book that was published before you were born
14. Read a book with a flower or a place you would find flowers in the title

Challenges 15-20
15. Read a book written by Diana Wynne Jones
16. Read an autobiography or diary of a writer
17. Read a non-fiction or fiction book about Passover or Easter
18. Read a book for National Poetry Month - thread
19. Read a book with nested narratives - thread
20. Read a Book Set in New York or New Jersey

Wow, didn't we just get started? How did that happen?

I just finished my first TIOLI of the month for Challenge #14 - the garden challenge - Murder on Gramercy Park.

> 3

didn't we just get started? How did that happen?

We're just a talkative bunch!

How did that happen?

Everyone just goes nuts when Madeline posts the thread for the upcoming month, to post about their challenges and whatnot. I just checked, and on the first day alone we'd posted 97 messages!

I've just finished Annabel by Kathleen Winter for challenge #11 (2011 Orange Prize longlist). It was an interesting novel, about a hermaphrodite born in Labrador in northeastern Canada, but I had major problems with the medical misinformation throughout the book, so I'll give it 3 stars.

Wow, I just checked the TIOLI Meter, I've completed four books for this month already. I am neck to neck with Chatterbox, but I know she will soon leave me in her dust. The amount of books I read in a year has tripled since I joined LT in 2008!

> 6

on the first day alone we'd posted 97 messages!

LOL!!

> 7

but I had major problems with the medical misinformation throughout the book

I wonder why the author didn't have a medical person proof the book prior to its release. Too bad it's not an Early Reviewer book. We could have at least given our input directly to the book's publisher to get it in better shape prior to its wider circulation!

These are my planned reads for this month's challenges, as entered on the wiki. They are, of course, subject to change!

#1 COVER ART - Disquiet by Julia Leigh
#2 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE - In the Woods by Tana French (shared)
#3 PARIS SETTING - Luncheon of the Boating Party by Susan Vreeland
#4 TAG MIRROR - The Cruelest Month by Louise Penny
#5 FOURTH IN A SERIES - A Rule Against Murder by Louise Penny
#6 ALEX AWARD - The Whistling Season by Ivan Doig (shared)
#8 JAPAN - In the Realm of a Dying Emperor by Norma Field
#9 WHO WHAT WHEN ETC - How To Be Cool by Johanna Edwards
#10 BOOK INTO FILM - Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte (shared)
#11 ORANGE PRIZE - Room by Emma Donoghue (shared)
#13 PUBLISHED BEFORE I WAS BORN - My Man Jeeves by P.G. Wodehouse
#14 FLOWERS - A Walk in the Woods by Bill Bryson (shared)
#16 WRITER'S AUTOBIOGRAPHY - Memories of a Catholic Girlhood by Mary McCarthy
#19 NESTED NARRATIVE - The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
#20 NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY - Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann

I had a ton of potential reads for challenges #11, 14, and 20, so those are the most likely to change, but we'll see...

Katie, you have some great reads planned. I loved The Whistling Season, The Thirteenth Tale, In The Woods and A Walk in the Woods. Enjoy.

#10: I wonder why the author didn't have a medical person proof the book prior to its release. Too bad it's not an Early Reviewer book. We could have at least given our input directly to the book's publisher to get it in better shape prior to its wider circulation!

Actually, it was an Early Reviewer book in June, but only in Canada. It was longlisted for three major Canadian literary awards, the Giller Prize, the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize and the Governor General's Award for Fiction, in addition to making this year's Orange Prize longlist, and at least two 75ers loved it, so I am probably in the minority in my criticism of it.

I'll start two books for TIOLI challenges: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell, for challenge #13 (book published before you were born), the account of the author's participation in the Spanish Civil War, which was published in 1938; and The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed for challenge #1, a novel set in present day Kashmir that was published in the UK earlier this year.

I'm starting on The Rehearsal by Eleanor Catton for challenge #1. I've been looking forward to this one for a long time, hopefully I'll find it was worth the wait!

>8 DeltaQueen50: The amount of books I read in a year has tripled since I joined LT in 2008! Isn't that the truth! I didn't record the books I read before joining LT, but I know without a doubt my number has at least doubled.

Posted by mistake on the end of Thread One, so re-posting here:

I've finished The Homeward Bounders by Diana Wynne Jones and am just about to add it to the Wiki. Haven't added any yet as I haven't really planned my reading for this month at all...

And I've now also added my other two reads so far this month: The murder of Roger Ackroyd, which I didn't realise had been made into a film until I saw someone had already listed it under that challenge, and Pride and Prejudice which was obviously published before I was born (just a bit).

>12 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I am looking forward to a great reading month - even if I only get half of those done!

I finished and reviewed Karen Russell's rollicking tale Swamplandia. What a ride! That was for the Orange Prize longlist Challenge.

Now I'm reading In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming for the Prepositional Phrase Challenge.

I moved Fingersmith up to the tag mirror challenge to make it a shared read. Now, lucky, lucky me, I get to start reading it. I finished Born on A Blue Day and am amazed at the courage Daniel Tammet was able to grab ahold of in his venturing to new countries alone. He's quite the impressive guy.

For those who have read Room, is it a fast read? I have a read-a-thon tomorrow and I prefer books that I can read quickly - usually various genres like mystery, fantasy and YA - but I'll read a general fiction if it is a quick read.

I found Room to be a very quick read--one that you could read in one sitting if you had a block of time.

Room is a fast read, and it's one of those books that you you can't possibly put down once you start to read it. I think it would be good for a read-a-thon.

I'm not sure how many I'm going to get to for this month's challenges. I just started In the Country of Men for the prepositional phrase challenge. I think it's going to be a good, worthwhile read. I have Swamplandia! on hold at the library, but there are a number of folks in front of me......

But -- I must say -- the TIOLI challenges are one of my favorite things on LT. I love the multiple directions this idea tends to take my reading! Or, sometimes, when I'm so busy at work, my reading about and thinking about reading. ;-)

the TIOLI challenges are one of my favorite things on LT.

Thanks, EBT!

TIOLI is one of my favorite parts of LT, too.

Thanks, Madeline.

It's been my pleasure, Linda!

I agree--definitely one of the best parts of LT!

>25 EBT1002:-29 I think so, too. It generates a lot of excitement about which books I am going to read (or think I'm going to read) and what everyone else is reading, too.

>21 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce! I noticed a couple of days ago that Fingersmith was listed in 2 challenges and wondered what should be done. I got the book this week and will be starting it soon. I'm looking forward to it too.

For the first time since I started doing the TIOLI challenges in December, I'm now reading a book that I can't fit into any of the challenges. It makes me sad.

>30 ivyd: For the first time since I started doing the TIOLI challenges in December, I'm now reading a book that I can't fit into any of the challenges. It makes me sad.

Hah, Ivy, I know the feeling. It feels almost as if the book doesn't count if you can't put it in a challenge.

> 29

I agree--definitely one of the best parts of LT!


Hooray!!

> 30

For the first time since I started doing the TIOLI challenges in December, I'm now reading a book that I can't fit into any of the challenges. It makes me sad.

LOL!!

Think of how I must feel. I just finished two non-TIOLI books! Have you noticed me sitting on the TIOLI-meter lily pad #0 singing la la la la? That's why!! :D

Just finished a book totally outside of my usual.

Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen for the movie tie-in category (#10).

Water for Elephants is probably my favorite book so far this year. Excellent. Great story.

I don’t usually like circuses at all but the detail/information the author provides about travelling circus life during the 1930s is astounding.

Even though my grandparents were born in Poland and I can understand a bit of spoken Polish, I do regret that I can't read Polish. I would've loved to be able to read those words.

Ah, you finished it just in time, Linda. I so hope the movie won't disappoint.

#22 I think Room is perfect for your read-a-thon. . . it is compelling and moves along quickly. Hope you like the book.

#34 Water for Elephants is one of my favorite books . . . I'm glad any time I hear someone else has discovered it's charms. I'm not sure how I feel about attending the movie. . . it will be hard for the film to meet the standards set by the book! I'll wait to hear the reviews :^)

And I agree with everyone about TIOLI. . . it is great fun each month to search my shelves and TBR lists for choices to meet the challenges. Thanks SqueakyChu for all the work you do to maintain the TIOLI sites.

You're welcome, Brenda. It's such a fun hobby for me!!

I'm another big fan of TIOLI. Nothing makes me quite as excited as filling out the TIOLI meter. Well, almost nothing. :-)

I finshed Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson for challenge #10 today, and absolutely loved love LOVED it. Frances McDormand does the narration on the audiobook version which is wonderful, especially as she played the lead character in the movie version, which I had seen first.

Well, almost nothing

Haha!

Hey! I see you're doing pretty well on that TIOLI meter today, too, Ilana!!

Just realized I complete challenge 5 with the Aaron Elkins book I just finished. Yay!

I'll probably read more non-TIOLI books this month than in recent months; what I'd like to manage one month is to read at least one book in every category. This month, the two challenges that may make that tricky are the Diana Wynne-Jones and Easter/Passover challenges. Although that's part of the fun -- reading stuff that is outside your usual ambit. TIOLI really inspires me to dig into my TBR piles and read stuff that I acquired and just never got around to actually reading...

>34 lindapanzo: -- I *loved* Water for Elephants. I didn't know it has been made into a movie; I admit to feeling skeptical (just because books with that much emotional content so rarely translate well to film). But we'll see.

Others talking about non-TIOLOI reading. I so agree! One of the things I love about TIOLI is how much excitement it generates around reading different things. AND I'm not getting to those TBRs I had promised I would get to this year..... I keep thinking one of them will fit into a TIOLI challenge. I know they will. We have 8 months to go. And of course, I can always create a challenge next month into which one of my TBRs fits! :D
EBT

#40 I love Aaron Elkins but I think I've read them all. I'll have to doublecheck.

#41 Suz, I know what you mean. I'll try new things (this month, poetry, for instance, even if it's poems about other things I enjoy reading about, such as poems about Chicago or poems about baseball) but there are some categories I just don't want to go to.

#42 The Water for Elephants movie stars Reese Witherspoon as Marlena. Opens April 22nd, I believe. I'm off April 29-May 4 so I may try to work it in there, at some point. I rarely ever go to the movies but I am excited to see this one.

Synchronicity...

Just in time for the "April In Paris" challenge, I had the book April in Paris pop up on my (very short - about 25-30 books total) recommendation list of books available for mooching on BookMooch. So...of course...I mooched it...and I'm reading it now.

It's very good, too!

Wow, Madeline, you're in a harmonic groove.

I just finished Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl which was my choice for the Tag Mirror Challenge. Not exactly a book to enjoy, but certainly a book to educate.

I finished reading Lyrics Alley by Leila Aboulela, from the Orange Prize longlist. It's about a Sudanese family in the 1950s, and some of the storyline is based on her own family's experiences, particularly those of her uncle who was seriously injured and permanently disabled following an accident but became famous as a poet/song lyric writer. I quite enjoyed it.

I'm either at 16 or 5 on the TOLI Meter, depending on whether short works count, and therefore, due to the confusion, have pulled myself off that Meter.

I don't see why short works don't count. It's not a competition. It's just a way for you to track your own reads. I'm adding short works to my reads this year to see if I can't make myself reach 75 books.

Today was my most productive reading day of the year, as I finished three books, which all count for TIOLI challenges: Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell (1938) and Dubliners by James Joyce (1914) for the book before you were born challenge, and A Murder of Crows by Larry D. Thomas for my National Poetry Month challenge.

ETA: I agree with Madeline and Joyce (below); short works count. I read two Kindle Singles last month, and I included them as TIOLI books and for my book tally.

I'm reading a book of poetry Fifty Years and Other Poems that's 42 pages long, last month I read Doubt which was 600 pages. To my mind they both count.

#50 I'm glad to see that, Darryl. I'm reading a non-TIOLI kindle single (The Saint) which is only about 60 pages but now I will certainly add it to my total without guilt.

I tend to read longish books, but the shorter ones are counted just like the big boys! I just finished my book for Challenge #1, making The Dress Lodger eligible for the vote on favorite book cover. This is one book that lives up to its cover. My review is here.

Just finished True Grit and loved it. I'm sticking it in the published before I was born (barely) category.

I've finished The Reluctant Fundamentalist, which happily fits into the NY/NJ category though I was reading it anyway, Aunt Julia and the Scriptwriter for Challenge #1, which I was in the middle of when April began but which did originally leap off the library shelf because of its cover design, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf for the Who What When Where Why How challenge.

I'm currently reading Anything Goes: A Biography of the Roaring Twenties--a history book whose cover suggests a good novel, also for the striking cover art challenge.
Great Expectations a book published before I was born, and in fact my 1940 copy is older than I am,
a volume of Seamus Heaney poems for National Poetry Month,
The Tiger's Wife for the Orange longlist challenge,
The Return of the Native audiobook, also published before I was born, and Enchanted Glass for the Diana Wynne Jones challenge.
I'm not sure how much progress I'm making because I keep jumping around so much--time to focus.

Agree with all those above who say short works count!

The Dress Lodger sounds sooo good. thumbed and wishlisted :)

I finished and reviewed my third TIOLI book for this month, In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer Fleming. It was very good and was for the Prepositional Phrase Challenge. Not sure what I'll read next but I'm leaning towards Vera Brittain's Testament of Youth which I don't think fits any of the challenges. Hmmm.

I finished The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa for Japan Challenge. This was a sweet, sad story about a housekeeper who works for an elderly mathematician whose memory lasts only eighty minutes due to brain damage caused during a car accident. She and her 10 year old son form a tender and gentle, yet inexplicable, bond with the Professor. It was a light, enjoyable read.

I loved The Housekeeper and the Professor. It's so delicate yet full of emotion.

I finished Vile Bodies, which I chose as a shared read (actually, listen to, since it's the audio version) because Keri had put it under challenge #1. I enjoyed it, but I have no idea how I'll review that one. I guess I'll just wing it, the way I do with most of them.

Just started The Inimitable Jeeves, my first Wodehouse (lots of firsts this year!), which I'll be listing in challenge #13.

I'm very glad to hear all of you above speaking up for shorter works. I started the year with a bunch of short books because, having never read more than 50-something books in a year before, I thought it would help me reach my total (besides which, I like short books anyway). Now that I'm over 60-something books already, I see that wasn't necessary, but they still count! One thing I love about the 75ers is that there are no rules and we're free to tally up in whichever way suits us best.

Yay I was able to join two other people reading Testament of Youth for the Read an autobiography or diary of a writer Challenge.

60> Ooh, I'm looking forward to it, but I'm forcing myself to finish rereading P&P first. Maybe I should take a break (haha, I haven't read a single page Saturday OR today - and only 4 pages yesterday) and get that one read first.

I love the Jeeves books, but I find that it's best served in short doses, only one or two short stories at a time. Else, they get a bit repetitive. I'm not sure if all Wodehouse is like that, as I've not read his other stuff (I'm wanting to one day try Psmith, though).

 

It's not quite the middle of the month, but if anyone would like a short easy-to-read book for the Japan challenge (or even my #19!), I'd like to recommend the book I read last month: Book Girl and the Suicidal Mime. I keep thinking about it these last two weeks since I finished it, and it's just a really enjoyable book. YA, less than 200 pages, and with a few illustrations, it really isn't difficult at all, unless you just don't happen to like the style of dual narratives that's used to promote the mystery plot.

(I hope the second in the series arrives at my house soon, though I can't allow myself to read it until I've finished the two aforementioned books, and my February ER. I ordered it from BookDepository about a week ago, so it should be arriving any day now! The second book is based on Wuthering Heights, which I recently discovered that I love.)

I finished In the Woods for challenge #2 (prepositional phrase). I really loved it. My review is here.

With a lot of work-related travel and work-projects this month, I'm going to be even slower than usual. But, I did finish In the Country of Men for the prepositional phrase challenge. I don't have time to write a full review, but I'll give it 3.5 stars and recommend it. It's set in Libya in 1979 and the protagonist is a 9-year-old boy who gets caught up in his family's resistance and succumbing to the Revolution --- and it really portrays how a 9-year-olds natural curiosity and cruelty can be mirrored and amplified by a cruel political regime. And it explores the psychology of resistance, survival, and compromise. Interesting.

Last night I started The Heart is a Lonely Hunter for the published-before-you-were-born challenge (it was originally published in 1940, waaaaay before I was born). :D
The latter is also on my TBR list, so I'm glad the TIOLI sent me in its direction.

Added my current read to Challenge # 13 --- I swear, adding to the wikis just seems to be beyond me. I'm *not* a technodunce, but I still need help on this. :-/

> 65

Your entry was *fine*. I go round from time to time to make all the entries look pretty much the same. They're just easier to read that way. The important thing is the entry itself. So...not to worry.

Wiki hints:
1. The square brackets around the title are used only when creating a wiki link (adding the URL to link to the book's work page).
2. The word Reading can be made into bold italics by formatting it with five single quotation marks (this: ' ) before and after the word.
3. If you're not sure how to make your entry, simply copy someone else's entry and change the URL, title, author and name to fit your information. That should do it!

But really, don't stress over how it's entered. As long as you get the title, author and your name under the correct challenge, that's what we need!

> 65 and others

For help editting on the wiki, see this page.

> 66 Thanks! Those hints are helpful! I kept trying to do two double quotation marks rather than five singles....
Yay! I love learning how to do things.
Ellen

> 68

Hooray!

By the way, you can also use those buttons at the top of the box button for bold, one button for italics and several buttons for other functions.

To see how they work, try each of them, then press "show preview". You don't need to save anything that's wrong. In any case, it's always worthwhile using that "show preview" button before pressing "save page".

Hmm? There appear to be some buttons that are new!

I finished The House in Paris for the Paris challenge - more to say after my book circle meets on Thursday.

I just read April in Paris for... Ta da!... the April in Paris challenge!! I got the book on a whim through BookMooch after browsing through a few pages on Amazon. This Michael Wallner novel had been translated from German to English. It was about the German occupation of France during WWII (much like the book Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky). However, Wallner's book dwelt more on the German interrogation and torture of suspected French Resistance fighters.

I liked this book very much despite some obvious flaws. What I'd like to know is if there are any more of this author's book that have been translated into English? If so, I'd like to look for them. I very much enjoyed Wallner's writing style.

I've gotten wrapped up in Civil War reading. I'd planned to read quite a bit about it this year but suddenly got wrapped up in it.

I need to see if I can fit any into any existing TIOLI categories. Otherwise, I probably won't be getting to most of my planned TIOLI reads this month.

> 72

The 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War (in the USA) sure sounds as if it's crying out to be some sort of a TIOLI challenge for next month!

I just finished The Invisible Bridge by Julie Orringer for the "Read A Book from the Orange Prize Long List". This is easily one of the best books I have read this year, and I have read some good ones! A beautifully written, deeply involving story. Now I'm off to add it to the Wiki.

Just completed my second shared read this month. The first was A Moveable Feast which I wholeheartedly recommend and the second, Of Mice and Men a classic well worth the read.
Now, on to my third shared read, The Forest Lover which is Susan Vreeland's 4th book for challenge #5

Woe is me, I finished Fingersmith and I feel like I've lost a dear friend. I don't think I'm going to be able to read anything else today. Just leave me to my memories.

I'm maybe 1/3? into Fingersmith and loving it! I'm so glad that the tag mirror challenge pushed me into finally reading it!

I just got The Paris Wife and will start it as soon as I finish The Weird Sisters for my book club. I also need to read P&P by Friday -hahaha.

#77 - i just said the same thing about The Invisible Bridge. It was on my wishlist and who knows how long it would have stayed there, but thanks to the "Read A Book From the Orange Prize Long List" callenge I was able to read and appreciate it now.

Just (finally) finished The Inimitable Jeeves. Nothing wrong with it, but I can't say I was exactly enthralled, even taking it just little by little.

Starting on Jane Eyre this evening. This one is featured as a group read and there's a separate thread for those interested:

Jane Eyre Non-Spoiler Thread

Jane Eyre Spoiler Thread

> 76 & 77 --- I have had Fingersmith on my shelf for years. You're inspiring me to put it on my TBR list for 2011.

>81 EBT1002:, do it. It's a great read. Try not to read any reviews first though, It's good to just let everything hit you as a surprise.

I finished The Lovely Bones for challenge number 10. I don't know if I was tired when I was reading this, but I found some small spots very confusing in the way that certaing events were described. I found myself reading the same parts several times over to understand what was happening.

Hmm... What to read now?

I've just finished New Spring by Robert Jordan, which is the prequel to his 'Wheel of Time' series, for challenge 7. Though it can be read as a stand-alone book, I really enjoyed it, and it's inspired me to re-read the whole series (last book due out later this year). Anyone care to do a group read?

Just off to post my review.

>81 EBT1002: & 82 I agree: definitely don't read reviews or blurbs of Fingersmith before you read the book. Fortunately, what I'd read about it was a long time ago (when I put it on my wishlist) and I'd forgotten -- until I encountered it. I'm still a few days from finishing, but can't wait to get back to it tonight!

I've just finished South Riding for the Tag mirror TIOLI. This was a great idea! I felt like I'd been getting in a rut with my reading and this was a fun way to break out and try something completely different. I was lucky to have LizzieD post beneath me, as she has such a breadth of reading in her collection. Many thanks to this challenge for introducing me to a book I absolutely adored and probably would not have encountered otherwise.

I also managed to finish The Hobbit after who knows how many attempts for the book with a great cover TIOLI. Looking forward to voting - there are some amazing covers.

TIOLI Stats for the Month of March 2011

Here they are folks! For the month of March, challengers presented 18 challenges. A total of 511 books were read, with 129 or 25% of those being shared reads. That was a pretty low percentage of shared reads, leading to only 69 TIOLI points being accumulated for March. Nevertheless, the total year-to-date TIOLI points are up to 244 which is much higher than where we were a year ago. Of course! That was only three months after the TIOLI challenges came into existence!!

So…ever onward… let’s work on increasing our shared reads for April. It’s not too late.

The most popular book of March was Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, a book shared by 14 challengers.

The most popular challenge of March was that presented by me, SqueakyChu, asking members to Read a Book Naming a City on Page 17. Was that ever fun! I learned about cities that I never even knew existed before!! There were 118 books read for that challenge which alone garnered 12 TIOLI points.

Coming soon…the awards for March!

Awards for the Month of March 2011

The I Hardly Knew it Was There Award goes to Smiler60 for listing Isabel (Kansas, USA) as the related city for the book The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James in the challenge to read a book listing a city on page 17. This city had a population of 90 at the 2010 census, yet Ilana found it in her book! :)

The Let’s Drink a Green Beer Together Award goes to CitizenJoyce (for Moira) , goddesspt2 (for Athy), and MikeBriggs (for Kildare and Dublin) for listing cities in Ireland in the challenge to read a book listing a city on page 17. I lift my cup to you three!

The Where Did I Put My Scissors Award goes to Tanglewood for the very original idea of reading a book with or about paper dolls for the read a book not primarily meant for reading challenge. I used to so *love* playing with paper dolls as a kid!

The Middle Eastern Delight Award goes to _Zoe_ for creating the challenge to read a book about the Middle East, a challenge which ended up with more than half (52%, to be exact) shared reads. In Hebrew, we say Kol Ha’Kavod! (translation: “All the honor to you!”).

The May I Have This Dance Award goes to lyzard for the challenge to read a book with a style of dancing in the title. At first glance, this seemed like an easy challenge. Upon further research, it wasn’t as easy as it seemed. This was a unique and fun challenge, Liz.

The What Can You Give a Queen Award goes to pbadeer for awarding a prize to antqueen for completing his very difficult challenge to read a book whose title includes a letter repeated exactly 13 times. Truthfully, I got tired of counting letters so I gave up. Meanwhile, we’re all waiting with bated breath to see what prize antqueen receives. Please share a picture of it with us, antqueen!

Congrats to all the award winners!!

I love the name Moira, also Hermalinda. They just seem perfect to me. Well worth awards.

>>88 SqueakyChu: Ooh, thanks, Madeline - how exciting!! I was trying to follow your move to "toughen up" the challenges, but I may have made that one a liitle too tough! Never mind - I have an idea for next time around that everyone can join in on. :)

Oh wow, I'm chuffed! My first TIOLI award. Thanks Madeline! :-))

Well, I'm not actually reading a book about royalty, and I'm not following the royal wedding news at all, but this glimpse of what the wedding will look like can't be missed:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAzgmQa-oFY

#92 - Citizenjoyce - "The House of Love" video is hilarious! That's put the biggest smile on my face.

>88 SqueakyChu: Oh, yay! I love how variable these awards are. You can never guess the categories (love the green beer award) :)

#92 Thanks for sharing that. Very funny. I kept thinking, *if only* they'd just cut loose for once. Not too likely though, what? :-)

#92 Great video!

I got it yesterday! This is perfect (and hilarious), for reasons that pbadeer had no way of knowing...

Thanks, Patrick! And thanks to the world for the pictures, because the sun actually came out when I was taking them... it's cloudy again already.









And the reason it cracked me up is because this is my desktop picture (the one at work is even better, but I don't have it on my computer at home):

Early this morning I finished The Carpenter's Pencil by Manuel Rivas, a novel set during the Spanish Civil War which was made into a movie, El lápiz del carpintero.

>97 antqueen:: How appropriate! I'll bet that German chocolate is yummy, too.

I was pleased to see that I have a shared read with Suzanne for Ch.#5. I enjoyed the fourth book in the Jackson Brodie series by Kate Atkinson, Started Early, Took My Dog.

I just started The Subtle Knife by Philip Pullman last night for challenge #1.

I've finished Send in the Idiots: Stories from the Other Side of Autism by Kamran Nazeer for challenge #12, which was quite good. The author is a highly functioning autistic adult with college degrees in law and philosophy, who attended a small school in NYC for autistic children in the 1980s and decided to reconnect with several of his former classmates and two of the teachers at the school. I'll review it later this week. BTW, Nazeer was interviewed on National Public Radio's Weekend Edition in 2006:

Memoir Offers an Inside Look at Autism

I just finished Annabel by Kathleen Winter for the Orange Prize longlist challenge (the book has since gone on to make the shortlist). I thought that it was beautifully written and the story really captured me!

>7 kidzdoc:: Like you, I too did find some of the medical problems which the character faces to be far-fetched (and I think maybe even medically impossible), but as this is a work of fiction I did not find that these issues detracted from the lovliness of the story and the way in which it unfolds. For me fiction sometimes requires an inherent suspension of disbelief and the Wayne/Annabel character is no more far-fetched than Jonah being cut out of the stomach of a whale in Michael Crummey's Galore or Billy Pilgrim becoming 'unstuck in time' in Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five.

Also, being from the province of Newfoundland and Labrador myself, I always like reading books set in this little corner of the world. Authors spend a great deal of time trying to translate the sparseness, and the rugged beauty of this place into words, and when it succeeds it paints a beautiful picture that would be hard to recreate anyplace else.

Next, I'm tackling the Poetry Month challenge by reading Another Gravity by Don McKay. A book which won the Govenor General's Award for Poetry and was a finalist for the inaugural Griffin Poetry Prize. I just started it and have already found a couple of real gems in there.

I finished Enchanted Glass for the Book By Diana Wynne Jones Challenge, and I found it very enjoyable.

I also finished Relic, the first Pendergast novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child for the Book Made Into a Movie Challenge. It was a riveting thriller set in the Musuem of Natural Sciences in NYC.

I too just finished my Diana Wynne Jones read, Howl's Moving Castle. I found it delightful!

I'm part way through listening to DWJ's Charmed Life and was beginning to think maybe she has something against females since Gwendolyn is such a pain. Things are looking up a little in the female department now, though.

Don't you love it when you pick up a book purely because it fits into a challenge and it turns out to be absolutely amazing?

I've had Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro on my TBR for ages, but decided to read it now because it fits into the Japanese author challenge. I can't believe I didn't read it sooner, I could kick myself!

I finished The Ride Together for the autism challenge. It's a strange book, 1/2 straight memoir and 1/2 graphic memoir about the family of a man on the more incapacitated side of the autism spectrum and the difficulty in finding a place for him where he can grow and contribute to his community. It's definitely not a feel good book, but well done.

Now I'll start on Solitaire for the book cover challenge.

Really enjoying A Writer's Diary by Virginia Woolf... If anyone's got some additional "reading capacity", I'd urge trying this! May move on soon to something lighter, however.

I'm on the fence when it comes to shorter works. Short works, yes -- like the Kindle singles that would be 50 pages or so when printed out, or Alain de Botton's new book, etc., some of the Penguin booklets of short Orwell pieces, essays by Hazlitt, snippets of Seneca, two or three short stories published together. But an individual short story as a "work"? Nope, not really, at least IMO. I think some people group five or six of those together to make up a "work" in their counts. My thinking: is it a work that is of sufficient length to be published, even as a skinny book? Or is it a short story that appears in a collection?

But then, to each their own.

>#92 A little late but that "House of Love" video was a treat! They did a great job finding look-a-likes.

I just removed two shared reads (no guilt, right? ;-)) Sorry that somebody has to fix the point total in Challenges 4 and 15.

I started Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones (from my school library) yesterday evening and was repulsed by the first chapter! I'm still reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson, but there are over 550 pages to go, and I was starting to feel stifled and rushed to finish by the deadline -- not the way I want to feel about reading.

There will be a prize for the Striking Cover Art competition. The prize will be the winner's choice of a book with... striking cover art!!

All TIOLI participants are welcome to vote, whether or not you are in Challenge #1.

If you are in Challenge #1 but have been unable to post your book cover please leave a note on my profile page. I will be happy to do it for you.

NEW VOTING DEADLINE 30th April

> 110

Right! No guilt!!

Hey! No need to worry about point totals. I update them regularly from time to time, and I always do so when doing the monthly stats. You role is simply to mark your books COMPLETED or remove them from the wiki by month's end.

I was starting to feel stifled and rushed to finish by the deadline -- not the way I want to feel about reading.

Exactly! The right thing to do in this case is just what you're doing: Remove the book from the wiki, enjoy that book at your own leisurely pace, take time to absorb what the writing has to offer, and later see if it can be inserted into the next month's challenge.

The challenge worked simply just for the fact that it got you to pick that book up and read it. So...removing the from the wiki is not athe gloom and doom it seems to be at first glance! :D

Amanda,

I'm not going to be able to finish one of the books I entered into my own challenge. *sheepish grin*

Should I remove the image of that book from the separate thread?

Reminder to everyone:

Tomorrow (the 21st of the month) is the day to suggest some "Quickie Reads". Those are books that have already been COMPLETED by at least one person, are very good to excellent books, and can be finished easily within a week. Think about which books you'd like to suggest...

> 111

May we start voting yet?

I just finished Jane Eyre for challenge #10 and now am facing the difficult decision as to whether I will give it a full 5 stars, since I don't hand out that rating very often. Chances are I will though (if Jane Eyre doesn't deserve it, then what does??) Can't believe I thought it was boring back in the 80s when I had to read it for high school! The advantage to that was that I almost forgot the story completely so it felt like new again for the most part. I now look forward to reading The Life of Charlotte Brontë by Elizabeth Gaskell, hopefully in May.

Starting Grass for His Pillow (Tales of the Otori: Book 2) by Lian Hearn for the Japan challenge this morning. I rarely follow up on a series within the same month, but this one has me hooked.

#113 Madeline, I think the pictures of books which won't be finished should be removed soon. Otherwise viting will be complicated.

$115 When should we start voting? Whenever we want??

> 117

(Re: # 113) That sounds good to me. I'll remove my offending book. :D

(Re: 115) I think that you should be able to vote whenever you want but not be able to change your vote later. That will do two good things: (1) It will encourage all possible entries to be posted quickly. (2) It will cause less confusion with changed votes.

Amanda, I think you should pick an official start date to cast votes, though, as you'll be the one counting up the votes, and make it clear that each person gets to vote only once.

'Whatcha think?

I'm not sure what the offending book was, but whatever it was, I don't think I was as offended by it as I was by the pornographic pizza picture someone posted.

> 119

I was kidding! It wasn't really "offensive". It was merely a book that I wasn't intending to complete by the end of the month so I removed the graphic from the separate thread to avoid voter confusion.

I must have missed part of the conversation, but how do we know which books are valid for voting or not? Do we go to the thread, choose the visuals we like, then double-check on the wiki whether they've been completed yet? I'm hoping there's an easier way to go about it! :-S

Not that I'm campaigning or anything, but if someone likes my cover and wonders whether to vote for it, I only have 80 pages left. I'm on Spring Break next week, so 30 Days in Sydney will be completed!

>112 SqueakyChu:: Thanks for your kind words. I thought that since I am going on break, maybe I could finish Mistborn, too. However, sci-fi/fantasy isn't my preferred genre (travel writing is), so it moves along verrrrrry slowly.

Another consideration was -- if the person who chose Mistborn from my tag mirror doesn't complete it, my reading of it wouldn't/shouldn't even count!

It's "Quickie Reads" Day!

so post your suggestions...

My suggestion for a "Quickie Read" is the book already completed by AnneDC...namely, The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. If you didn't read it last month, with its total of only 184 pages, you have time to finish reading it before the end of this month. You can find it in the challenge to read a book set in New York. It's a very timely and thought-provoking story, so give it a try!

> 121

I'll defer to amandameale who is running the show for the voting!

#121 Perhaps wait a couple of days so people have time to remove covers.
I'm going to the thread today and tomorrow to check that all eligible covers are there. If not there I shall put them on the thread.

I would like to suggest for a "Quickie Read": The Housekeeper and The Professor by Yoko Ogawa. This lovely little book will steal your heart, especially if you are a baseball or math fan. I am neither, but it ran away with my heart, anyway! At 180 pages, its an easy (especially if you skim the math-y parts!) and poignant read and will snugly fit in the Japan TIOLI. (Check out the CK for some quotes to whet your appetite.)

My suggestion for a quickie read is Silk by Alessandro Baricco which I read for the main challenge. My edition was only 145 pages and it's a beautiful, poetic love story.

A Moveable Feast would fit into at least two challenges this month as it's a writer's memoir set in Paris. My library copy (Vintage) is 182 pages but at least 50 of those are title pages or totally blank. It's very interesting about various other expat writers, though it has occurred to me that I've read two books set in Paris this month which feature very few French people (I think there are some bar staff).

I second the recommendations for The Reluctant Fundamentalist and A Moveable Feast and would also like to suggest another Quickie Read: Living Well is the Best Revenge by Calvin Tompkins.

It's another book about Americans (Gerald and Sara Murphy) living in Paris in the 1920s. They were friends with the Hemingways, the Fitzgeralds, the Picassos, etc. and is some ways lived a charmed life. The book is 148 pages long but almost 50 of those pages are photographs, so it's a very quick read.

I plan to post a review on the book's LT work page later today.

I'd recommend The Blind Contessa's New Machine. I read it this month in one sitting. However, it would only fit in the striking cover art challenge.

Sorry, DeltaQueen and I had not seen the discussion here, so we have pioneered a movement to put COMPLETED next to the covers (see the cover thread). I was hoping to keep all of the cool covers on the thread, but if it's easier to deleted the unfinished book covers, I'll just have to sweep through there quickly and wishlist the ones I was interested in (completely because of the cover...)

I followed your example, pbadeer, and added COMPLETED next to mine.

This particular challenge put me in mind of that old adage about not being able to judge a book by its cover. One of mine (The Various Flavors of Coffee) was a complete waste of time, while the other (Icefields) was a win!

I finished two more TIOLI books this week:

Ch. 2 - Prepositional Phrase - From Battlefields Rising (touchstone not working)
Ch. 13 - Published before I was born (1895!)- The Red Badge of Courage

These were both books about The Civil War. I have plenty more where they came from if someone would like to do a CW challenge next month.

For a Quickie Read I'll second The Housekeeper and The Professor, it's beautifully written and affecting along with offering lots of little tidbits about math and baseball.

I'll second souloftherose's suggestion of Silk by Alessandro Baricco (post 128). I read the book a few months ago, and it's a beauty and very much a Quickie Read.

Karen O.

I'd second The Reluctant Fundamentalist. It's a gem of a book.

I expect to start reading Peter Ackroyd's book on Venice (my original striking cover art book) this weekend, and finish by month's end, so please don't delete it from the wiki or anything...

Adding The Panic Virus by Seth Mnookin (no touchstone) to the books about autism list; the primary focus is on the debate over the link between autism and vaccines, but it's also about the need for research on autism's causes and the lives of families with autistic members.

OK, back to my reading -- I plan to have a reading-heavy weekend!

> 137

so please don't delete it from the wiki or anything

No one is going to delete books from the wiki now. What some of us were going to do was to delete the image of any book we were not going to complete by the end of the month from our message post on the separate thread.

#130 I was really intrigued by Living Well is the Best Revenge and rushed over to my library catalogue, but they don't have it. BOO! I haven't read Everybody Was So Young yet but it's been on my WL for quite a while already. Won't attempt to do so now as it's definitely NOT a quick read. Have you read it? Thoughts?

Ilana, I plan to get a copy of Everybody Was So Young as soon as possible. I haven't read it but saw that it was highly rated so definitely want to read it.

#140 Yes, it sounds like a really great book. I love both Hemingway and Fitzgerald and am fascinated with that period between both world wars and the Lost Generation, etc, which is why that book's been on my radar for a while now. I'll get to it sooner than later hopefully!

For a quick read: When the Emperor was Divine by Julie Otsuka, a 160 page book about a family sent to a Japanese internment camp in Utah during WWII. This little gem of a book could meet challenge #6 Alex Award or #9 title begins with who, what, when, etc.

Or . . . #8 Japanese author
:)

This afternoon I finished On Elegance While Sleeping by Viscount Lascano Tegui for challenge 2 (prepositional phrase). I'm currently reading The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna for the 2011 Orange Prize longlist challenge.

I have just finished In the Country of Men for the prepositional phrase challenge, Spring Flowers, Spring Frost for "spring in the title," The Return of the Native for books published before I was born, and Jane Eyre (book to movie).
Now I am reading The Black Tower for the Paris challenge, Gilead for the tag mirror challenge, and listening to Mary Karr's Lit on audio for the autobiography of an author challenge.

I also recommend The Reluctant Fundamentalist as a quick read. In the Country of Men was also a quick read.

#131 I'd love to read The Blind Contessa's New Machine but unfortunately they don't have it at the library. I may have to wait and buy it when the softcover comes out in June (with another absolutely gorgeous cover, I might add.)

I started reading the restored edition of A Moveable Feast by Hemingway this evening for the Paris challenge. I've already read the older edition and love this book; I just used the fact that I want to read The Paris Wife soon as an excuse to read it again!

I've finished a bunch of TIOLI books lately. For the autism challenge I finished Saving Max, which is a gripping and fast-paced read, although it's much more of a horrifying thriller than I expected. I'm still ruminating on my thoughts to do my review. For the before you were born challenge I read Miss Pym Disposes, which was my first Josephine Tey. I'm sure I'll be reading more of her stuff. For the NY/NJ challenge I read Minding Ben which was also a quick and enjoyable read. I'm currently in the middle of The Good Earth for the tag mirror challenge, and need to start Great House for the Orange Prize challenge. I've heard that Great House is pretty depressing, so I've been sort of steeling myself for it. I need a few days between Saving Max and my next heavy book.

Nearing the end of the month message:

Folks, we've only got about one week left in April so you know what that means. For newbies (and those of us who are forgetful), here's what to do:

1. Review the books you posted on the April wiki and remove those that you have no prayer of finishing by midnight of April 30th. To find your name just use the "control-F" buttons on each wiki page. That makes fast work of it.

2. Be sure that the books you've finished reading have been marked COMPLETED, or they will be removed when I do the mid-month stats.

3. Vote in the contest for the book cover with the most striking cover art. The contest is being run on this thread. Any TIOLI challenger may vote for the three best covers. Remember that those you choose must be marked COMPLETED. Submit your votes by private message to amandameale (and NOT to me!). There will be a prize awarded to the person whose cover art wins. Your votes can be submitted as soon as you'd like. Contact amandameale for any more questions about this contest.

4. Start thinking of any challenge you would like to submit for May. Keep it quiet (if you can...) so it can be surprise to others. Consider doing a separate thread with your challenge. Be sure to explain your challenge clearly on the main thread. Look for May's TIOLI challenge thread to be posted some time this coming week.

5. Consider visiting the Gaithersburg Book Festival on May 21st if you are local to the DC metropolitan area. This has *nothing* to do with May's challenges, but I'll be in the Bookcrossing booth there and would love to meet some of you in person! Besides, the book festival is free, and we Bookcrossers are giving away free books.

To those celebrating Passover and Easter, may your holidays be joyous! !

This has not been a great reading month for me..... too much going on at work? In any case, I AM going to complete The Heart is a Lonely Hunter for the Book Published Before You Were Born challenge. This is an amazing book written by Carson McCullers when she was just 23 years old. I highly recommend it. And --- I wonder if someone (SqueakyChu?) can help me with making it look like all the others in the challenge.... :-)

Spring FINALLY arrived in Seattle today. I read and read and read sitting outside in the sun. It was delightful.

EBT, I did it. This is how:

{http://www.librarything.com/work/18244 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter}

but instead of these pointy brackets {} use the square ones that are on the same keys but not capitalized.
The number is the address that's at the top of the main page of your book
Does that make sense?

Joyce - thanks. The number is what I didn't find.
~Ellen

#150 I read The Heart is a Lonely Hunter when I was barely 20 myself (I thought McCullers had been very mature to write it at 23 at the time! lol) and it's remained one of my favourite books of all time ever since. I've also been meaning to read it again... ever since, and I look forward to getting to it eventually. Glad you loved it too.

For those interested, my review of Jane Eyre for challenge #10 (books made into movies) can be found right here.

So behind. My computer has been down with a virus. All better now...
I finished A Paris Wife and really liked it.
Now to get to Pride and Prejudice.

I'm halfway through To Darkness and to Death by Spencer-Fleming, bought because I needed a good mystery - and it fits challenge #2! Nice.

I just finished my TIOLI challenges for April with the completion of Mudbound for Challenge #6. A fantastic book.

Megi53 THat was me who chose Mistborn. And as my hubby had major surgery last week, I've had far lesss time to read and am not going to get to Mistborn at all never mind finished it. So no guilt, drop it!

I had to put aside my non fiction read for the autism challenge to read a fiction one for the same challenge, Al Capone Does My Shirts because I need to get it back to my grandson tomorrow. So far I'm liking it very much, though I'm not thrilled with the treatment of females in the book. Maybe that will get better.

159> That's one where I figure it's being told from a very specific point of view, but it's been ages since I read it, so I might be misremembering. I had the benefit(?) when I read it of not knowing the sister is on the spectrum until it's made clear at the end, and I'm not sure how that may have influenced my reading.

 

Also, I am reading Vile Bodies now for the Cool Cover challenge, and it's super fun! Ilana already finished it, and it's less than 200 pages long, if anyone else wants to get in on it these last 5 days of April (totally do-able!).

Definitely a cool cover!

>158 majkia: Thanks! I read about 100 pages and then "bookcrossed" it; the font was too small for me.

Best wishes for your husband's rapid recovery!

I finished Al Capone Does My Shirts, a very powerful, quick read. Now back to my originally scheduled non fiction read Unstrange Minds.

I finished Room by Emma Donoghue for challenge #11.

Off to update the wiki...

I finished listening to Charmed Life for the DWJ challenge. I've started listening to the 3rd in the series, Witch Week but won't list it yet because I doubt I'll finish by the end of the month.

I just finished Marcello in the Real World and really liked it. Not sure it should be YA though.

I finished and finally reviewed Vera Brittain's memorable autobiography Testament of Youth for the Autobiography Challenge.

Now I'm reading James Lasdun's short fiction collection It's Beginning to Hurt for the Striking Cover Art Challenge.

Thanks Smiler69 for starting the Japan challenge. I've almost finished The Makioka Sisters by Junichiro Tanizaki and I have really enjoyed it. Now I want to learn more about Japanese history and culture so have ordered another book.

I'm (re)starting The Collaborator by Mirza Waheed today, so that I'll be sure to finish it by the end of the month. Hopefully I can also finish The Memory of Love by Aminatta Forna, which has been one of my better reads of the year.

Just finished The Road by Cormac McCarthy for the made into a movie challenge. A beautiful father and son story wrapped inside the bleakness of a post-apocalyptic America. I saw the movie long before reading the book and enjoyed both very much.

I'm starting Teacher Man by Frank McCourt now for the author memoir challenge, I'm hoping to be able to finish it by the end of the month, though it may be hard as Saturday is my birthday, lol.

I finished and reviewed my book for Challenge #9, How to Read Novels Like a Professor. I'm not sure reading this book will make my reading experiences better, but I will be more aware of the craft behind the books I read.

It looks like I finished the April TIOLI challenges just in time to check out the new thread for May.

I'm hoping to finish two books I've got going in time to be eligible for the challenges, especially The Devotion of Suspect X which I've got going as an audiobook and am enjoying very much, which would be a group read for my own Japan challenge.

#168 I'm glad you enjoyed yourself with it Amanda! Your book has a beautiful cover by the way, and I don't think I saw it on Madeline's book covers thread, how come?

I finished The House of Many Ways last night. I liked it, but I didn't think it was up to the same standard of Howl's Moving Castle. It seemed like nothing and nobody was quite developed enough.

>173 nittnut: I agree.

#172 Yes, that cover is gorgeous, but not the cover of the edition I was reading, sadly.

In my strangely consuming quest to read a book for every challenge category this month, I am reading (and nearly finished with) Marcelo in the Real World (for #12, autism) The Easter Parade (for #17, Easter/Passover), A Midsummer Night's Dream (for #20, nested narratives) and On the Banks of Plum Creek (#5, 4th in a series). I am also listening to an audiobook of A Walk in the Woods (for #14, place with flowers) but if I don't finish it, I am almost done with The Wild Iris, a poetry collection by Louise Gluck.

Amazing . . . how do you do it, Anne?

April's ending! It's been a great month. Take a moment now to update your April 2011 wiki entries with all the books that you have COMPLETED to be sure that they remain on the wiki when I do the monthly stats in a couple of weeks. In addition, delete any books not finished by April 30th at midnight.

If you have not yet signed up for the May TIOLI challenges, you can find them here. Enjoy!

Another request for May, please. If anyone has any issues with the TIOLI challenges themselves, please address them in an open manner. This means we should be talking to each other on the threads so we can resolve any problems. We can't please everyone all of the time, but we sure can at least try to please most of the people most of the time.

Finally, thanks for your participation and your ever-evolving and creative challenges. They are so much fun!!

Well, TIOLI has been fun -- it has helped me to direct attention to some books that might otherwise moulder on my TBR stacks.

My final TIOLI books are nearly done. I finished Peter Ackroyd's book on Venice for the cover art challenge, and am nearly done with Through Black Spruce by Joseph Boyden and a mystery set in revolutionary France. The only question mark hovers over the new Adam Hochschild book, which I may not finish by midnight on the 30th. We shall have to see! Depends on whether I end up going to the theater tomorrow, I suspect.

I finished my tag mirror challenge book with 7 hours to spare, and it was a book I wouldn't have read for a long time without this challenge - The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis, the first in the Narnia series, from Norabelle's tag mirror. It was an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon.

I just finished my 16th TIOLI book this month The Devotion of Suspect X for the Japan challenge, which was a shared read. I've got one more book to finish today for another challenge, which I think will be a record for TIOLI reads in a month for me, so I'm off to it then!

I think I deleted every not-completed book this month. It was kind of a slow reading month for me (8 books total, and only a few counted for TIOLI), but here's to MAY and more free time! :)

I finished my last book while driving home from Little League tonight - Witch Week for the DWJ challenge. I've decided to get the first four of the Chrestomanci Series for my grandson, they're full of fantasy, intolerance, hypocrisy, filled out characters and finding one's strengths.

yikes, Citizenjoyce. A menace on the roadways? One hopes you were LISTENING to it, not balancing book on steering wheel. ;)

Fun Statistic:

Since the beginning of the TIOLI challenges, we have been completing an average of 341 books monthly between all of us! That's a lot of books read.

I don't know about others, but since I've begun to do the TIOLI challenges, I find that I'm reading more books than I have in my pre-TIOLI years! What is more fun, though, is having all of you here so that I can talk about what I'm reading to you right as I'm reading something interesting.

Visual Alerts

If you go back to "delete" or "COMPLETE" a book on the April wiki, you'll see lots of question marks. Ignore those. Those are my new editting notes as I work toward completing the monthly stats. You may delete the question marks if you are updating an entry of your own, though.

Not to panic! You have at least a week or two to update your April entries - if you have no computer access now.

The question marks also provide a visual alert for any entries that are still incomplete. You may update your own entries or do nothing. I'll fix it all anyway when I do the monthly stats.

(Hint!) Remember to use Control-F on your keyboard to find any of your entries that you want to check on the wikis.

#185 Yes Majia, I was listening. I've seen people reading while driving. Terrifying business.

#186 SqueakyChu, I'm with you! I'm reading a lot more, and reading more variety. I have so much fun with the challenges! Thank you so much for getting this going/keeping it going!

Karen O.

> 189

You're welcome, Karen. It really is something that I really enjoy doing. It's much more fun than it is work.

Unfortunately I had to remove a few books that I didn't get to this month, including one for my own autobiography challenge (for shame!). But I did end up finishing Dance on Earth by Margaret Laurence, a lovely memoir about the mother figures in her life.
Thanks to everyone who participated in my challenge!

SqueakyChu --- you ROCK. I agree with #189. Although I'm a minor TIOLI participant, I really feel that it has expanded my reading horizons. Thank you. Oh -- and it's fun!
Ellen

> 192

That's so sweet! Thanks, Ellen.

TIOLI has become a big part of my life somehow. It's now featured in my daily routine.

I agree with Ilana, Madeline. Your are impacting many of our lives daily. Wow, how's that feel?

> 193, 194

Hmmm?! As long as you're having a good time, I think that's great!