TIOLI - October, 2011 - Challenge #10 Read a book from Book Browse website - Find a Book "Surprise

To those choosing my challenge here are very simple instructions, please feel free to post the book chosen for you and discuss it here.

http://www.bookbrowse.com/

From the BookBrowse homepage move your curser to the "Find a Book" tab. A drop down menu will appear, scroll down to the last tab "Surprise Me!" and click on it. A book will pop up, hopefully you will use the first book presented but if you've already read it, try again.

Let me know if you have any questions :)

The book which surprised me is Night by Elie Wiesel. I'm pleased because I have wanted to read it for awhile as many 75er's have read and reviewed it.

I had to try it! The book that popped up for me was The Fates Will Find Their Way by Hannah Pittard. I am going to see if I can reserve a copy at the library.

Possibles for me:

The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory
The Magicians by Lev Grossman

I got Nefertiti by Michelle Moran - looks good and my local library is supposed to have a copy - just hope I can get hold of it and read it before the end of October.

I won't add it to the wiki until I get hold of it.

The first book which came up for me was Two Lives by Vikram Seth which is very good but I have already read it. The second time I got The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo which I don't own a copy of but can get from the library and I've been wanting to try Kate DiCamillo for a while :-)

Are we "stuck" with the first unread book that displays, Lynda? I must've clicked a dozen times to get something that sounded interesting to me. Does that still count?

#3 The Fates Will Find Their Way has a very interesting cover, Jacqueline. I hope your library has it.

#4 Oooo, both sound good, but sometimes Philippa can be kind of chancy. Tough decision Morphi.

#5 Another oooooo, Nefertiti looks like one I would like to read, calm. Hope you can get your hands on it.

#6 I haven't heard of Kate DiCamillo, Heather. I'm glad it's one that you've wanted to read.

#7 Or course your not stuck with the first, Cindy. Where's the fun in that. However, you could be missing out on an unexpected surprise.

I liked the sound of the book I was presented with, The Communist's Daughter but it's a bit tricky/expensive to get hold of. I will probably add it to my huge Amazon wishlist but I don't plan to buy it at the moment, too many other books begging attention. The next suggestion was some kind of self help book.

I was presented with Eat, Pray, Love. I had been considering reading this book. Plus it looks like books about spirituality are going to be my theme for October (combined with scary books for Halloween). So I downloaded the book.

Well my book is The Willoughbys by Lois Lowry. It looks like it is at my library so I will pick it up this week.

Wow. I think I'll keep my eyes open for a match read on this one. I've clicked on this several times and gotten some novels I wouldn't read if you put a gun to my head (including some with a clutch of 1 star ratings on Amazon, and nothing higher than 3 stars, to boot), a book about sign language, one about food waste, etc. etc. Oh, and two or three I've already read. I do like random, but... The good news? It did throw up a possible book to read for the infectious disease category, on lassa fever...

It took a bit of clicking before I found a book that really struck my fancy but I've finally landed on Ghostwalk by Rebecca Stott.

My first click: Speak of the Devil by Richard Hawke snipers, yawn.
My second click: Pulse by Julian Barnes. Everyone seems to be gaga over his The Sense of an Ending, and my library has it, so I'll give it a try.

Oh good, Joyce, I've been intending to read Pulse, which I already have out from the library.

#9 too many other books begging attention
Boy, do I know what you mean, Luci. I hope you do enjoy it when you get your hands on it.

#10 Have you seen the movie, Kelly? I heard the book is much better.

#11 Hope you enjoy The Willoughbys, Monica!

#12 Truth be told, Suz, I clicked several times till I hit upon a book that I owned and was less than 400 pages as I have an over optimistic Tioli list this month.

#13 Oooo, Ghostwalk looks like a good one, Micky. Enjoy.

#14 & 15 I haven't heard about Pulse. Perhaps that's one I need to look into.

#16 I have seen the movie. I'm hoping the book is much better. Bali was very pretty in the movie - it was worth watching for those scenes.

After many clicks (rejecting the few I'd already read and the many I don't have in my possession, as I don't want excuses to acquire or borrow more books) I finally hit up on Revelation by C J Sansom, no. 4 in the Shardlake series, which I am keen to read and have a copy already waiting...

I had to click a few times to find one that I hadn't read or that my library has, but I did add quite a few to my wishlist for later enjoyment. I have settled on Mr. Peanut by Adam Ross, it was on my wishlist and available at the library.

Bookbrowse looks to be an interesting site and I have bookmarked it for future reference.

I might actually do this! My first surprise book is The Blood of Flowers which was nominated for Orange in '08, I think, and which I bought but never read!

1st click- The Book of Ruth, which I'd already read.

2nd click- The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie, already reading this month for a different challenge.

3rd click- Dry Storeroom No. 1: A Secret History of the Natural History Museum by Richard Fortey- non-fiction, behind the scenes in a museum, looks enticing. I checked it out of the library.

I'm happy to see that many of you are finding a good book.

#18 I hope to read C J Sanson some day, Genny. Many 75er's seem to like the series and since your on No. 4. well, looks like you enjoy it too.

#19 Mr. Peanut? Hadn't even hear of it. I'd love to see what you think of it, Judy.

#20 It's great that you've found a book to read off your shelf, Peggy. Enjoy.

#21 I'm glad you gave it a try and found something interesting and a very intriging title.

Feel free to come back and write a line or two about the book that "surprised" you.

#22 The Sansom books are great if you like historical mysteries, and rather better written than some in that genre, with a very sympathetic lead character in Shardlake.

>20 LizzieD: - Peggy, I think you are in for a real treat with The Blood of Flowers, I read it a few years ago and it was definitely one of my top reads of that year.

>22 Carmenere: - Lynda, I will let you know how Mr. Peanut goes.

A few people on the What are you reading now list talked about how much they liked Mr. Peanut and I found a copy at the local going out of business Borders, so I bought it for my daughter for her birthday. I'm sure she'll be nice enough to pass it back to me when she's finished.

That's why I love buying books as gifts for my family, there always a very good chance that they will end up back in my hands!

After a few goes I got Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky. Waiting on the shelves for a while if I get a chance I'll add it this month.

> 27

After a few goes I got Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky.

Oooh! You pulled a good one. Enjoy!

21 - I've read Dry Store Room No 1 - I thought it was really good. Hope you enjoy it!

Finished my Book Browse recommendation, Please Look After Mom, by a Korean author. This was a book I would otherwise never have noticed, but I was very affected by it. Though, having found it here, I shan't move it over to the Aha-Moment challenge! :)

An elderly woman becomes separated from her husband in a busy city as they prepare to board a train. The family join forces to look for her. I enjoyed my glimpses of Korean culture, from the days of the Korean War, when whole families slept together in one room to stay warm, to contemporary times with the searchers using cell phones. On this backdrop, the thoughts and regrets of her husband and children form the core of the story. 4 stars.

I finally managed to get hold of my Book Browse recommendation. I'll be adding Nefertiti by Michelle Moran to the wiki soon and hope to finish it before the end of the month.

Boy, am I glad that many of the "surprise me" books have been enjoyed. I'll definately go back to BookBrowse when I'm in need of a surprise.

As for me, the creator of this challenge, I have yet to begin my "surprise" Night. I'm hoping to find the time this weekend to get started on it.

Night is an intense read. I had to study it in high school. I would definitely recommend lining up something lighter to read afterwards or concurrently, depending on your reading style.

Just finished entering The Fates Will Find Their way onto the Wiki. It was definitely outside the genre I usually read. I'm glad I read it.