Take It or Leave It Challenge - May 2013 - Page 1

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

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For the month of May, my TIOLI challenge will be taking on a more personal note. Some of you may know that I lived in Israel as a volunteer nurse for a year (1972-1973) and, politics aside, fell totally in love with that country. Others of you might know that both Israel and I became senior citizens this year. By "this year", I mean the Hebrew year of 5708. Yeah. We're both 65 years old. :D

In honor of the above facts and for the month of May (the month in which I last visited Israel in 2001), I challenge you to read a book about Israel listed on Stuart Schnee PR's blog.

I highly recommend Exodus, Adjusting Sights, A Tale of Love and Darkness, The Zig Zag Kid, and The Blessing of a Broken Heart. I strongly encourage those of you who take me up on this challenge to leave a response on that blog page about your read. However, that is not required as part of this challenge.

You might find some of these books quite "dated". Don't let that have a negative effect on choosing them. They all seem to be well chosen for their historical value or their deep understanding of the Israel "psyche".

Happy reading!

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

1. The May 2013 TIOLI Meter - Optional page on which you may track your TIOLI reading. FYI: This is not meant to be competitive - only fun!
2. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges - You may use this reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating a previous challenge. If your idea is similar to a previous challenge, just make it unique by adding a new "twist" to it. (Updated 05/19/13)

Wiki Index:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book about Israel listed on Stuart Schnee PR's blog - msg #1 - thread
2. Read a book by a Polish author or set in Poland - msg #8
3. Read a book that's in the top 10% of your TBR pile by average rating - msg #4
4. Read a book set in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland between November 1979 and May 1997 - msg #12
5. Read a book that you should have already read - msg # 18
6. Read a book with a single word title that is, or contains, a proper name - msg #13

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book that has only five letter words in the title - msg #22
8. Read a book with "life" or "death" in the title - msg # 26
9. Read a book in a series in rolling order up to the fifth book - msg #27
10. Read a book with a participle in the title - msg #29
11. Read a book or play that was nominated for or has won a Pulitzer Prize - msg #30
12. Read Something Just for the Fun of It, Just Cuz You Want To - msg #31

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book by an author with the same last name as a passenger on the Mayflower - msg #32
14. Read a book with the letters M, A, and Y in the author's name - msg #35
15. Read a book originally published in volumes, or that is itself one volume of a larger work - msg #37
16. Read a book from one of the "A child's book tour of...." or "A High School Trip to..." LT lists - msg #50
17. Read a lesser-known book by a well-known author - msg #57
18. Read a book about children in peril - msg #60

Challenge #19
19. Read a book with an address (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Doctor, etc) in the title - msg #64
20. Read a book with a nationality in the title - msg #66
21. Read a Sci-Fi or Fantasy book - msg #118 - thread

Got a challenge? Kindly save it for the June, 2013, challenges. Thank you!

You guys are amazing as to how quickly you find this new TIOLI thread each month! Christina and Zoe are already onto this!! :)

Since my reading is picking up again, I'm going to try to get back into TIOLI this month. Also, there's a new feature to be advertised!

My challenge for this month is to Read a book that's in the top 10% of your TBR pile by average rating.

It's now possible to add an Average Rating column to your catalogue, so that you can see the site-wide average rating for each book. You can click on the column header to sort by this column, so that the highest-rated books will appear first. Then, choose one of the highest-rated unread ones to read! If you have 800 unread books (er, maybe that's just me), you can choose any of the top 80. And so on.

There are various ways that you may have marked unread books--by an "unread" tag, or collection, or maybe a Wishlist collection--but it should be possible to display just the unread ones in your catalogue. Ask if you need help!

Hehe, I was lucky with the timing for once!

> 4

there's a new feature to be advertised

Yeah, Zoe, that seems to be your specialty! :)

I was surprised to find it when it had been up for 7 minutes with only 2 messages at that time....

Luci, it seems you're already late to the party! ;)

It's all about timing. I just woke up. ;)

For my challenge--I've recently read some good books by Polish authors and intend to read more--so I say, Read a book by a Polish author or set in Poland.

Well, good morning, Christina! :D

I always think it's fun to see how our challenges develop as they are quickly set up. We already have three (!) that are geographically based.*

*Please don't let my comment affect any challenge that you were hoping to post this month. Your challenge is what YOU want!

My challenge is still the lowest numbered challenge I've ever posted, but I've been thinking of this one for a few weeks, following a rather heated discussion that broke out on another thread.

The "Maggie's Farm" challenge is to read a book substantially set in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland between May 1979 and May 1997, ie when Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister (until January 1991) or during John Major's term in office until the Conservative government lost the election in May 1997. Your book may be fiction or non fiction, and may support any or all political views or none at all.

I'm not going to make political comments on this thread, but I do plan to set up a separate thread for discussion of any books which readers might choose for this challenge, so if anyone is keen to discuss and I haven't done so please remind me. I hope that will enable people to air their views or avoid discussion altogether.

I'm going to read

Siobhan Dowd, Bog Child

other possibilities (I've read these and recommend them all highly!)

Sue Townsend, The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole aged 13 3/4
Sue Townsend, The Growing Pains of Adrian Mole
Alan Hollinghurst, The Line of Beauty
Geoff Dyer, The Colour of Memory

I might read a memoir or two - Billy Bragg, or a miner's wife?

OK, I'm going to leap in here and probably get it horribly wrong. This challenge may or may not be based on my already planned reading for May.

Challenge # 6: Read a book which has a single word title that is (or contains) a proper name.

PS: do I need to do anything else?

> 13

Make sure you post your challenge *now* to the wiki. In fact, it's *desired* (my desire!) that you post your challenge to the wiki before you announce it on the main thread. I ONLY take my wiki index listing from the wiki (so as not to screw up the numerical order of the challenges).

So far, you're off the a great start, Helen. Keep going... :)

> 12

Luci, could you point us to the heated discussion on the other thread to which you referred in your post?

> 13

Answer to Helen's P.S.:

Yes. See message #14. :)
If you need any help with using the wiki. let us know!

> 13

All is done! Thanks!!

I always seem to be falling behind on the books that I should have read sooner. (Can't imagine how there could be exciting books that I want to put in front of others on the reading list.) So here's my challenge:
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Challenge #5: Read a book that you should have already read
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This challenge includes books for school assignments, book clubs, group reads, ERs, ARCs, library books that need to returned, books from friends and family on loan, any book that's been on your shelf too long or needs to be returned to another place or person. You can even include books in a series that you have fallen behind on and need to catch up.

On the wiki, please explain why.

Shared reads are encouraged.

> 18

It's funny that we always seem to have at least one challenge to make us all feel guilty (even here in our "No Guilt!" TIOLI challenges). ;)

>18 cyderry: Chèli, thank you for that challenge! That will be... pretty much all my books!

I don't read a lot of poetry, but I'm going to try Songs of Jerusalem and Myself by Yehuda Amichai for Madeline's challenge. The Source by Michener is on my TBR list but I'm already over-committed for May and I wouldn't be able to finish it.

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Challenge #7:Five is for May - read a book that has only five letter words in the title
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May is the fifth month so my challenge is to read a book whose title consists of five letter words you can ignore things like The/A/An if it is the first word of the title.

> 21

I really can't wait to hear what challengers think of the other books that I haven't read that are mentioned on the blog . Of course, I have read a gazillion excerpts from The Tanach, but I hardly think I'll sit down to read through it all (at least for a TIOLI challenge!).

By the way, Sherri Mandell's book is about a boy who grew up local to my own area in Silver Spring. Warning: It's a sad book about the loss of a child (non-fiction), but a book that I found incredibly supportive and inspiring.

>23 SqueakyChu: I'd be able to finish one of its books in a month, but certainly not the entire Tanach!

> 24

certainly not the entire Tanach!

:)

Challenge #8 Read a book with "life" or "death" in the title

As always, embedded words are fine so a title with "lifetime" for instance, is fine. However, words like dead, which don't include all of the word "death" are NOT acceptable.

Challenge #9: Read a book in a series in rolling order up to the fifth book

That is...

first book in a series
second book in a series
third book in a series
fourth book in a series
fifth book in a series
first book in a series
second book in a series
etc.

Be sure to mark down which number in the series the book is. Shared reads are just fine. There needs to be at least one person between each book you enter, i.e. you can't post two books in a row.

15: I don't really want to link to the other thread - it was the In Memoriam thread, if you would like to have a look, and there were some exchanges on online reactions to Mrs T's death, and I found some posts to be more than a little nasty and the exchange wasn't really on topic for that thread. What I thought is that anyone who is interested in doing so might want to read books - fiction, non fiction, poetry, whatever, set during that era (not necessarily specifically about her) and discuss their reading and their personal reactions to it. I think this is a reading way of exploring how it felt for various different people, good, bad, ugly or whatever to live here when MT was Prime Minister, and just afterwards.

Challenge 10: Read a book with a participle in the title

Participles are those fun words that are technically verb forms but are also used as adjectives and adverbs. In English they usually end in -ing (present participle) or -ed (past participle).

For this challenge, you can have the participle in a verb phrase (Their Eyes Were Watching God), as adjective or adverb (Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation), or as a noun (which is really a gerund, but let's not go there please - The Meaning of Tradition).

Other examples of this highly flexible bit of grammar include:

Cry, the Beloved Country by Alan Paton
An Everlasting Meal: Cooking with Economy and Grace by Tamar Adler
Knitted Lace of Estonia by Nancy Bush
Mine Eyes Have Seen by Ann Rinaldi
Nine Coaches Waiting by Mary Stewart
The Running Foxes by Joyce Stranger

Ohhhh! I picked a good day to pop back up on LT!

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Challenge #11: Read a book or play that was a finalist for or has won a Pulitzer Prize. Find works HERE.
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On April 15th, the latest Pulitzer Prize winners were announced. There are many great books and plays that have been finalists and winners, so hopefully it will be easy to find something to enjoy!

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Challenge #12: Read Something Just for the Fun of It, Just Cuz You Want To
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Read something you keep meaning to read, you really want to read, but well, it doesn't start with the right letter, or have the right flower on page #23, or didn't win the right (or any!) award. Just read something that appeals that you want to read NOW.

Let me start off with an old riddle:
If April Showers bring May Flowers what do May Flowers bring?

Answer: Pilgrims!

So my challenge is:

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Challenge #13: Read a book by an author with the same last name as a passenger on the Mayflower

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To help you out, here is a link to all the passengers on the Mayflower http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mayflower_passengers

ETA: Spelling must be exact

>32 Carmenere: Lynda, I think your Challenge may be my favorite! So clever!

To Helen, Re: message 13, challenge 6:

Is it a proper name, or a proper noun in general? In other words, must it be a *person's* name, or can it be a city's name, or even perhaps a poem's name?

I have added:

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Challenge #14: To celebrate the month of May, read a book with the letters M, A, and Y in the author's name.

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Please note that all 3 letters must be included in the author's name.

34> Esquiress: I was thinking a proper name, as in the name of a person or a place (otherwise my Dubliners wouldn't work) But I'm open to persuasion; what were you thinking might not count?

This one may need a little explanation:

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Challenge #15: Read a book originally published in volumes, or that is itself one volume of a larger work

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Works that would qualify for this include many 18th and 19th century novels, and single books that are part of a larger work with an overarching story. I am thinking here of projects like Robert Caro's biography of Lyndon Johnson, Anthony Powell's "A Dance To The Music Of Time", Paul Scott's "Raj Quartet" and George R. R. Martin's "A Song Of Ice And Fire", to nominate a few I know are of interest to many LTers. (ETA: Or yes, "The Lord Of The Rings". Duh!) Most normal series reading would NOT qualify, because although the characters recur, the story changes.

Obviously there's a bit of wriggle room in this one, and I am open to interpretations of what constitutes "a volume" and "an overarching story".

You need to read only one volume for this challenge - not the whole work! - unless you want to. (Those reading novels would want to, I imagine!) Please indicate on the wiki how your book qualifies.

ahhh my Sunday morning is now perfect. A naughty spree on Book Depository, freshly brewed coffee and now the new TIOLI thread.... bliss

oooo and Zoe thank you for your challenge! I always wished LT had this feature and didn't know that it was now available!

For Challenge 4 I recommend What A Carve Up! by Jonathan Coe. I just read it last week and really liked it. It's about one upperclass family/dynasty who seems to have their finger in every pie by the time Thatcher is in power in the 80's and a writer who has been asked to write a book on their family history. Black comedy!

>36 Helenliz:: Hey, Helen.

I was wondering if The Complete Persepolis (Persepolis=ancient city) would count, or even Howl: A Graphic Novel ("Howl"=name of a poem).

>33 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks Dejah. I'm finding it's actually harder than I thought. And thanks for your challenge #12. I had planned to read Eugene O'Neill in May. You must have been peeking at my books beside my computer.

> 28

I don't really want to link to the other thread

I understand. No need to do that then.

> 12

it doesn't start with the right letter, or have the right flower on page #23, or didn't win the right (or any!) award

LOL!!

#12 - The Radiant Way by Margaret Drabble is 100% perfectly perfect for the "Maggie's Farm" (#4) challenge. I read it in January, and I'm guessing it will end up being one of my favorites of the year.

Madeline -

I was wondering if Leon Uris' Exodus would appear on Stuart Schnee PR's blog - and there it was at #1. I loved Exodus as a teenager and it has been many, many years since I reread it. Thanks for the excuse! I hope some other folks will join me.

I loved Exodus, too, when I read it. Then, many years later, I named my daughter Jordana! :)

That is perfect, Madeline. Now I'm really excited to start May's books when I haven't finished April's...April hasn't been my best TIOLI month. I've still got several things I should finish, though - thank goodness plays are short!

Now I'm really excited to start May's books when I haven't finished April's

That always seems to be my dilemma as well! :)

I've been having fun sorting through my TBR shelves looking for a match with the Mayflower Passenger List. I came up with a few and finally settled on Butcher's Crossing by John Williams, in honor of one of the servants, Thomas Williams.

Question for Cheli - Are we allowed to match someone if we've already read the book before and are re-reading it for the group read?

ETA: I just noticed that the book (Rebecca) is also listed in challenge 6.

I'm going back to the LT lists feature for my challenge as I've discovered a busy LTer @casaloma who has been putting up some interesting (for me anyway) lists lately.

Challenge #16: Read a book from one of the "A child's book tour of...." LT lists
Lists can be found here: http://www.librarything.com/lists

...and you should see lots of these lists on the right hand column as you scroll down. Feel free to add books but do note that the lists are for picturebooks, junior, middle grade fiction and not YA.

eg A Child's Book Tour of Scotland

edit: and her "A High School Trip to...." LT Lists
so far only France but she might add more -
A High School Trip to France

49>> YES, all matches are allowed.

Oh dear, I'm late to the game, I don't have a challenge this month, and little I want to read fits into existing challenges. There are a few books I could match, but they've been on hold a while and still aren't here. I guess I'll have to wait and see how things work out.

>39 Esquiress:, they would pass if the title were allowed to be more than one word. But it does say single word that is or contains a proper name.
So no. sorry.

>49 thornton37814: - I noticed that too. Do we want to shift Rebecca to one challenge, rather than split the reads?

Madeline, re challenge #1, I've read quite a number of the books on Schnee's 65 Israel list, though the Tanach isn't included in that number.
Too many years ago I enjoyed -
Nonfiction: O Jerusalem, The Revolt, My Life: Golda Meir, Our Man in Damascus
Fiction:Exodus, Hermon Wouk's books,
More recently:
The Zig Zag Kid, Adjusting Sights & A Tale of Love & Darkness
I've looked through the Kishon, but our copy is old and too tired and I've seen a couple of his movies anyway (The Policeman & The Big Dig). I'd recommend for anyone wanting to get in the Israeli mood of those times to watch Kazablan, an Israeli musical that I love to watch every couple of years, think Westside Story.

on my tbr:
The Prime Ministers by Yehuda Avner
Israel: a history by Martin Gilbert
Six Days of War by Michael Oren
but for your challenge I'll choose The selected poetry of Yehuda Amichai. I've also added a couple more to my tbr list.

>54 avatiakh:

Oh, "Kazblan!"

I adore that movie but only because it reminds me of the year I spent in Israel (where I first saw it). It is very kitschy and dated as well, but I've seen it more than once, the last time with a fellow former volunteer in Israel on my same program. The American audience with which I saw it did not get the "joy" that particular movie brought to both of us. I've always loved (back when I was not hard of hearing, anyway) the music of Israeli singer Yoram Gaon.

I think we ought to have all the Rebecca reads in one or the other. It really doesn't matter to me which it is. I went ahead and added it to one of them earlier and figured we could move it.

Challenge #17: Read a lesser-known book (or work) by a well-known author

I'm going to be pretty loose about the definition of a "well-known author" - it can be a classic author, a bestselling author, or just one generally well-known in your area/country.

Examples of some of the lesser-known works might include:

The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne (better known for 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Journey to the Center of the Earth)
Villette by Charlotte Bronte (better known for Jane Eyre)
The Wine of Solitude by Irene Nemirovsky (better known for Suite Francaise)

Madeline - Yeah, it's a favourite for me too, I'm fond of a lot of the songs especially the 'Yafo' song. While I like Yoram Gaon, my favourite Israeli singer is Arik Einstein, just love listening to his music.

For challenge #4, I've added Skagboys by Irvine Welsh. It's the prequel to Trainspotting and set in 1980s Edinburgh. Some of Melvin Burgess' YA books would fit like Nicholas Dane or Martin Waddell's Tango Baby.

Ooooh!! Arik Einstein.... :)

Oh, no! Now you've got me sidetracked listening to old Israeli songs on U-Tube. No one's home so I can blast them loud enough for me to hear well! :)

I guess I'm adding a challenge after all because I really want to continue reading a book I started for an April challenge - Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs which is about a man born in Poland, but I don't think the book is set there. The home is in Wales, but in the wrong time frame, so I'm going with
Challenge #18: Read a book about children in peril

#60 - Thank you, Joyce, for your challenge, at least a couple of my books fit nicely into that theme!

>58 avatiakh: As long as we're on Israeli singers, I have to chime in about Ofra Haza. I love her music, just wish she hadn't died at such a young age.

I'm not familiar with Ofra Haza's music because I left Israel in 1973, which was before Ofra Haza started recording her music. I only know the "older" Israeli singers. :)

Challenge #19: Read a book with an address (Mr, Mrs, Miss, Doctor, etc) in the title - started by raidergirl3

Anything that could be included before the name on an envelope - Master, Mr, Miss, Mrs, Doctor, Madame. There are probably more that I'm not thinking of right now.

A few of my unread books that would fit this category:

Miss Hargreaves - Frank Baker
Mr Chartwell - Rebecca Hunt
Madame de Staal - Francine Gray
Madame Bovary - Flaubert

Thanks for challenge 19, Raidergirl. Now I just need a place for another planned read, Suite Francaise.

I'm here to help! Challenge #20 - Read a book with a nationality in the title

Suggestions:
The Good American
Suite Francaise (hint, hint)
The English Patient

The word does have to be in the adjective form describing a nationality. So, Scottish is fine, Scotland is not.

I didn't have any good ideas for a challenge until I saw Carmenere's post.

Did I see In Other Rooms Other Wonders listed somewhere? If no one has, I'll list it in Challenge 14, the MAY challenge.

Yippee! Thanks Laurie! I thought I'd check LT once more before I went to bed and found you're wonderful challenge #20! now I can fall asleep w/a smile on my face. Suite Francais has found a home. Night all.

ETA: I'll put it on the wiki in the morning, I can't do it on my iTouch

>67 Citizenjoyce: Carrie has In Other Rooms, Other Wonders in Challenge #11, the Pulitzer Challenge, but she may be willing to move it.

It makes no difference to me. I'll move mine.

> 66

I didn't have any good ideas for a challenge until I saw Carmenere's post

*applauds*

Sometimes it pays to complain. :)

I've slightly amended my challenge #16 in message #50 to include "A high school trip to..." lists as well as the "A child's book tour to.." lists.

Morphy - would you consider changing your challenge slightly so that instead of the only the 5th book in the series, that slot could be 5th or higher? The 13th Sookie book is out next week....

If you don't want to change it I understand, but I thought I'd ask!

I'M #30 on the waiting list for the next (and last) Sookie book. I hope I'll get it in May.

>73 Dejah_Thoris: There is a specific reason I picked five - May is the fifth month. So, we're going to stick with up to the fifth book.

Never hurts to ask though!

Well that makes perfect sense, Morphy. Sookie will fit in somewhere else!

Morphy, can a person list 2 books in a row in your challenge?

I was planning in reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society in May and since Guernsey is both the name of the island and the word used for the people who live there, I wanted to put it in challenge #20.

lahochstetler? Am I allowed to do that? (I'm actually not sure if the title references the island or the people but I'm leaning towards the former.)

>77 countrylife: No, countrylife. Per my original post, "There needs to be at least one person between each book you enter, i.e. you can't post two books in a row."

Thanks, Morphy. Been away from my LibraryThing too long and tried to ingest May's thread too fast when I found it last night! Sorry I missed that!

Hi Zoe (#4),
How do I add the Average Rating Column to my books?

#78, PawsforThought, oh let me know what you think of The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. A friend took a chance and bought it as a gift and I really enjoyed it.

*signing on*

There must be someone itching to add a 5th book in the series to Morphy's challenge.
I've got a first in series to add & have missed the opportunity so far.

And with 5 readers for Rebecca so far, is there any interest in having a group read thread?

And I have a second in a series. Someone, anyone have a fifth!

>81 AuntieClio: On the Your Books page, there's a place that says "Style" with the letters A B C D E. Beside that there's a picture of a cog. Click on the cog and you can choose which columns go in which display styles. The Average Rating column is called Work: Average Rating and is near the bottom of the dropdown lists.

I hope this helps! Feel free to ask for more clarification :)

I might have a fifth in series to add, but I'm a bit wary as I have so many books in that category to read, and I also have several crime novels on the go right now, unintentionally.

#87 by @elkiedee> Okay, just for you guys, I've moved Grand Conspiracy from #3 to #9 as it is 5th in a series. :)

#85 by @brenpike> added.

Thanks majkia - book 1 of series now in the list.

Thanks majkia. . . (see Mom) sometimes whining DOES help!
: )

LOL

We're already back up to needing a 4th in a series....

I've used up all of the 5s I can think of. I'll keep thinking...

I added my first May read (well, started last month): E is for evidence, number 5 in the series

If needed, I'll add the 5th Sookie novel Dead as a Doornail which I will almost certainly reread this month as part of a series reread after #13 Dead Ever After. We're back to needing a 5th again, but I'll wait a little while and see if anyone else has one they want to add.

ETA: Well never mind! Way to go Paul!

There's something very compulsive about these rolling challenges, isn't there? I keep wanting to put books down to keep it moving, and I don't tend to put things in for other challenges unless I'm putting down that I'm planning to join in with a shared read.

For once I thought I would not be able to find a book for Madeline's challenge but I took a trip into town and managed to find a copy of Exodus by Leon Uris. I'm a bit daunted by 600 pages of small print but I will add it to the wiki and hope to get it read this month.

I've got plenty of 1s and some 2s, but very few 3s, 4s, and 5s.

This month, some of my books are 18ths or 32nds, so I've had to fit those in elsewhere.

On the Guernsey issue- I don't actually know what the adjective for a Guernsey native is, so if it is Guernsey, then it's fine. I'll leave it to pawsforthought to figure that out.

100. It IS Guernsey. I looked it up because I was unsure. Adding it to the wiki. Thanks!

I've got a #5 I can put on the wiki if I can get it from the library. I'll keep an eye on the progress of that challenge.

>98 calm: I know what you mean about Exodus. I remember it being pretty long, but I'd forgotten that it was so long with such tiny print!

(98) @calm, I ordered a used copy of Exodus this evening, but if you want to start a group read right away, I'll see if the library has a copy.

I'll join in on an Exodus GR - I started it earlier this evening (I'm now taking a break for baseball).

57> may I ask for clarification on your challenge?
By a lesser known work, would you count one that I wasn't aware of, or does it need to be generally less well known?
I've picked up The man in the high castle to read, by Phillip K Dick. The only book of his I'd heard of before was Do Androids dream of electric sheep . But it seems to be the second most popular book by LT listings. Would that count, or is that just displaying my ignorance of his work?

Dejah and Fuzzi I'm not up to setting up and running any group reads at the moment, I am still hoping to read it this month though.

Part of the problem is that I have a couple of other chunksters lined up as well - Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon and A Memory of Light the last book of The Wheel of Time. Both of which I have wanted to read for a while. But I do like to try to read something for Madeline's challenge so no promises on reading it but if I do and someone else starts a thread I will lurk and maybe comment.

>106 Helenliz: To my (albeit limited) knowledge of Philip K. Dick's work, I would agree that he is known for Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and wouldn't worry about The Man in the High Castle as being the 2nd most popular on LT - I haven't heard of it either! :)

>108 bell7:, thanks, I'll add it and expand my horizons in one step. >:-)

elkiedee - would a book about the Falklands War count for your Challenge #4?

(105) @Dejah_Thoris, you start the thread on Exodus and I'll join! My copy has been ordered, and hopefully will arrive within the week...

I'll totally join in on an Exodus group read. I've seen parts of the movie, but never read the book. Plus, we had it at work, which is always a plus. It should be an interesting read.

Yippee, @inge87!

OK!

By popular demand I have creative an Exodus GROUP READ THREAD.

Everyone is welcome!

110: I suppose it's not set entirely in Britain, but I will accept it as it sounds to be within the spirit of the challenge.

>115 elkiedee: Thank you! For some reason when I think of Thatcher I think of the Falklands war, so it seemed suitable to me. I appreciate the ruling in my favor!

Why is 5th in series not available when you need it? LOL I guess I read this one just for the fun of it.

Posting this for humouress:

For those people who enjoyed Fantasy February and can't wait for September, please join us in :

Challenge 21: Mars, Myth & Make-Believe; read a Sci-Fi or Fantasy book

thread

>118 SqueakyChu: So, basically, every book I read. LOL!

> 119

..and for others, like myself, it really is a challenge as I usually tend to run (not walk) away from this genre. :)

>118 SqueakyChu:: Thanks, Madeline!

Looks like I can post again. I think it was a laptop issue.

In case anyone is looking for it, Lisa (kiwiflowa) and I have agreed to move the final Sookie Stackhouse novel Dead Ever After to Nina's Challenge #21.

If anyone else is planning on reading it this month or wants to talk about any of the other books, Roberta (luvamystery65) started a Group Read discussion thread, which can be found HERE.

Please come and join us!

>120 SqueakyChu:- Madeline, I'm going to be the one running with you! I'm not sure I've ever read a fantasy book that I've liked :P

I finished and REVIEWED Stephan Talty's debut crime novel Black Irish. That was for the challenge to read a book with only five letter words in the title. Now I'm reading Agent Zigzag by Ben Macintyre for the challenge to read something you just feel like reading.

If anyone would like to recommend a book for a reluctant fastasy/sci-fi reader I'm all ears. I always at least try to find a book for all of the challenges, but I'm having a hard time with this one. Thanks!

#125:

How about The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner? Listed as children's it in no way is.

Do you like police procedurals? If so, perhaps The Rivers of London (also called Midnight Riot) by Ben Aaronovitch.

Nary a unicorn or elf or troll in either of them.

These are my planned reads for May. Since I just started a job with the Census, I'm sure I won't get to them all:

Challenge #5: Read a book that you should have already read
✔The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald Audiobook 4
Challenge #11: Read a book or play that was nominated for or has won a Pulitzer Prize
Removed The Hours - Michael Cunningham
✔In Other Rooms, Other Wonders - Daniyal Mueenuddin 4
Challenge #12: Read Something Just for the Fun of It, Just Cuz You Want To
✔Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal - Mary Roach 4.5
✔How They Croaked: The Awful Ends of the Awfully Famous - Georgia Bragg - 4
Removed I Would Die 4 U: Why Prince Became an Icon - Touré
✔Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls - David Sedaris 4.5
Challenge #14: To celebrate the month of May, read a book with the letters M, A, and Y in the author's name
✔The Twelve Tribes of Hattie by Ayana Mathis 4
Challenge #17: Read a lesser-known book by a well-known author
$#1000;The Accursed - Joyce Carol Oates 4
✔Moral Disorder and Other Stories - Margaret Atwood - 3.5
Challenge #18: Read a book about children in peril
✔Criminal: A Novel - Karin Slaughter - Audiobook 4
✔Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children - Ransom Riggs - Nook3.5
✔Magic Hour - Kristin Hannah - Audiobook 3.5

>125 lahochstetler: What type of books do you normally like to read? There are so many types of fantasy, we can find one that fits your usual genre or style - everything from chick lit to Southern fiction to mystery to comedy, etc.

ETA: I looked over your library and we have several books in common that I would consider fantasy/science fiction. I see Garden Spells is in your To Read library and was one of the first that came to mind for you. It's Southern fiction with a touch of magic - sort of like Practical Magic.

>125 lahochstetler: - after looking through your library -

For dipping into fantasy I'll suggest The Curse of Chalion, Briar Rose by Jane Yolen or Sorcery & Cecelia: or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot
or try some stories: The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories by Angela Carter or a Margo Lanagan collection.

For scifi maybe a story collection like An Illustrated Man by Ray Bradbury, it's from the 1950s.
For a more modern work perhaps Iain Banks' The Player of Games or Mary Doria Russell's The Sparrow.
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham is an older classic that is a quick read.

There's such a variety within the ranks of fantasy and scifi.

That Wikipedia entry on the Mayflower passengers is so sad!

I started 1Q84 last month for the 123/abc rolling challenge for a shared read, but sadly did not make it in time. I have finished it now, though and am placing it in challenge 15.

I was terrified at the length of the tome, but it read very fast. I was afraid that after being captured by the story I would be left hanging (so many books these days just stop with no resolution). I wasn't particularly enamored of the ending but it did have an ending at least.

Loved the read though!

One of my favorite science fiction books was the first trilogy I ever read by Octavia Butler, Xenogenesis which includes all 3 novels Dawn, Adulthood Rites and Imago. Butler can be pretty harsh in many of her books, but these are not so devastating and just present fascinating ideas.

>125 lahochstetler:, lahochstetler: As another reluctant fantasy reader, here are recommendations for two authors that I have enjoyed:
Sarah Addison Allen: southern fiction.
Kate Mosse: historical fiction.

>125 lahochstetler:: lahochstetler : I had a quick glance at your unread library. Paul Coelho's The Alchemist is tagged as fantasy. That's as far as I got, but if you don't find anything that suits, I'll have a proper look later.

But - as the policeman in our panto says - "moustache" (? - must dash)

Thank you all for the suggestions! I will look into some of these. I didn't realize that Sarah Addison Allen counted as "proper" fantasy. Clearly I don't really know much about the genre. I usually read literary and general fiction, as well as mysteries of all sorts. Query for the learned masses: do ghost stories count as fantasy? I loved Audrey Niffinegger's Her Fearful Symmetry, and I've been meaning to read the Aunt Dimity cozy mystery series (the main character is a ghost). I tend to like ghosts much better than trolls, goblins, dragons, or post-apocalyptic anything.

Yep, Allen is "proper" fantasy. If you like mysteries, try Midnight Riot by Ben Aaronovitch. It's a police procedural set in modern day England and the protagonist is a cop and an apprentice mage. The Aunt Dimity series would also squeak in. You might also like The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. It has a "literary" feel.

For mysteries, try the Harper Connelly series by Charlaine Harris starting with Grave Sight (she sees dead people) or one of Mercedes Lackey's Diana Tregarde series, perhaps Burning Water, or a standalone Sacred Ground (both with female magic workers solving mysteries - one a witch, one a shaman). Or Tea with a Black Dragon by R. A. M MacAvoy. Yes, there is a dragon, but he's in human form and it's set in 1980's San Francisco. All are either short and/or quick, breezy reads.

I love Tea With the Black Dragon!

_Zoe_, thanks so much for Challenge 4, and for explaining how to set it up. It's a fun challenge, and I'll be making good use of it and clearing some TBRs off, as well. I've come to really depend on LT ratings, especially those with a lot of reviews behind them. Now I have the average rating so conveniently displayed on my book lists. Love it!

Karen O.

>135 lahochstetler: I was a fantasy newbie in December and then I read Tigana by Guy Gavriel Kay which is historical fantasy and I loved it so much I went on to read his The Lions of Al-Rassan which I loved even more:)

I finished and REVIEWED Ben Macintyre's fabulous Agent Zigzag for the challenge to read something just cuz you want to.

Now I'm reading Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for the challenge to read a Pulitzer Prize winner.

>136 Morphidae:, 137: Tea with the Black Dragon! I suddenly remembered R. A. MacAvoy (in my quest to re-read sf/f from the 1980s-ish), and tried to hunt down some of her books, but no joy. I'd especially like to get my hands on the Damiano series, which I never finished reading.

As for reading, I seem to be on a go-slow at the moment. I started 3 books, but haven't finished any yet. Our pantomime opens tonight; I think my time's been taken up getting ready for it. Especially frustrating was trying to find plain black shoes (not sure what they're called; boat shoes? just canvas slip-ons with a rubber sole) - in a size that fits - for my son's costume.

Break a leg, Nina!

I remember Tea with the Black Dragon from the 80s, too.

TIOLI STATS for April, 2013

Here's how we did last month...

We had 19 challenges in which we COMPLETED a total of 554 books (on the low side). Of these, 137 or 25% were shared reads. That's about average for us. We accumulated 72 TIOLI points getting us to a YTD total of 274 TIOLI points (lower than we were at this same time last year or the year before). Can you believe we've been doing this for over three years?!

The good news: The core group of the TIOLI challenges has been staying about the same size for the past two years. As a few people drop out, a few more people come to join us. The bottom line is that the TIOLI challenges are still quite active, but, and more important, still manageable and fun for me! :)

There is no bad news! :D

The most popular books of the month (two were tied) were:
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood with 8 readers
and
Things Fall Apart by Chinua Abebe with 8 readers.

Our most popular challenge (the highest number of books read) was the one by cyderry to read a book with an embedded word whether scrambled or unscrambled in a single word within the title. Her challenge had 138 readers.

Our challenge with the most TIOLI points was the one by klobrien2 to read a book by Margaret Atwood. That challenge added 12 TIOLI points to our year's count.

Soon to come...the April 2013 TIOLI awards!

Yay! for Atwood April!

Karen O.

>143 klobrien2:: Corroborating yay!

Okay, I don't usually pay much attention to the stats, but I'm pleased that I was one of the April readers on the two most popular books of the month.
Cool beans!

I'm not surprised that the numbers were a little low for April overall: I struggled, and I know from looking around the threads that others did too. Some nasty anti-reading bug in the air? :(

>64 raidergirl3:, Raidergirl, a question for your challenge. By title, could I use a royal title? I've got books with both King and Queen in the title that I might get round to this month, would they fit? or is that stretching the idea of what one might put on an envelope a little too far.

>164 inge87: go ahead Helenliz. That fits the general idea of the challenge.

Finished Jana Bibi's Excellent Fortunes for the #14 challenge. It was a very enjoyable book, even though it took me a few months to read it.

P.S. Has anyone used Mr. Churchill's Secretary yet? If so, which challenge is it in?

It could fit into #19, a title with an address (Mr.) in the title.

Here we go...

The April 2013 TIOLI Awards!

We have quite a few of them this month...

The You Knew This Was Coming Award goes to Nancy618 for the 46 words she found in the book title of Revelation in cyderry's challenge to read a book with an embedded word whether scrambled or unscrambled in a single word within the title. My only question is when she found time to read while playing this word game? In all honesty, there were some other excellent gamers for this challenge as well. Nancy618 simply topped the list.

The Keeping It Simple Award goes to AnneDC for the book she ready for lahochstetler's challenge to read a book with all of the letters of the word "spring" somewhere in the title. Want to know the title of AnneDc's book? It was A Day in Spring! :)

The You Say Tomato Award goes to klarusu for enlightening me as to how individuals all over the world have different amounts of syllables in the same word. I did love her phonetics as she described to me how what I pronounce in Rockville, Maryland, USA, is nothing close to what she pronounces in Cambridge, UK. This all came about because of Dejah_Thoris's challenge to read a work with a 4-syllable word on the 13th page.

The Quadruple or Nothing Award is shared by Crazymamie, lindapanzo, and Dejah_Thoris for all reading A Streetcar Named Desire. They participated in lyzard's challenge to read a work in which both the title and the author's name contains double letters. I liked that the author's name, Tennessee Williams, had four (!) sets of double letters. That's the way to go, challengers!

The That's My Sign Award goes to christiguc for reading The Secret of Annexe 3. Want to know why? Well, that's *my* sign! :D

The Twice as Much Water Award goes to Deern for reading The Sea, The Sea for fuzzi's challenge to read a book with a 'water' word in the title. There will be no drought while Deern is reading. ;)

The Overly Green Award goes to inge87 for reading A Few Green Leaves for her own challenge to read a book with a green cover. There's no such thing as too much green. As you now know, "green" is politically correct!

Congrats to all the winners!

>138 klobrien2: Karen, I'm glad the challenge was helpful to you! I love doing challenges focused around new features :D

Thanks so much for the award, Madeline! I didn't "know" this was coming, but I was hoping! ;-) I couldn't help myself....once I started looking for words, I just couldn't stop! I'd take a break, but I kept coming back to find more.

And thanks for all you do to make TIOLI so much fun!!

Congratulations Nancy for the word searching contest, it was fun, wasn't it? Thanks for the challenge, cyderry (I was just too lazy to put in all the plurals... bears, liars, bars, rails etc.)

Congratulations to the April winners!

I'm finally logging onto the May TIOLI with Dark of the Moon for challenge 15 : read a book that is itself one volume of a larger work.

This is the second book in the Chronicles of the Kencyrath, which I am thoroughly enjoying, and follows Jame in her adventures.

>151 SqueakyChu:, Thanks for the award, I do love shiny things! I didn't read any of the books that originally inspired me to come up with that challenge, but A Few Green Leaves called to me the moment I saw it -- I mean it's a green library book with "green" in the title. You can't get much greener than that.

I finished and REVIEWED Michael Chabon's novel The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay for the challenge to read a Pulitzer Prize winner.

Now I'm reading Barbara Pym's A Glass of Blessings for the challenge to read a book with the letters m, a, and y in the author's name.

Congratulations to last month's award winners. Nancy is a formidable WWF player so I'm not a bit surprised at her word prowess. Once again, Madeline, you have come up with some very clever awards. How do you do it month after month? I think you deserve an award for creating the best challenge thread on LT!

I think you deserve an award for creating the best challenge thread on LT!

Accepted! Tee hee!

Actually, I don't "come up" with the awards, Donna. They just sort of create themselves. I just point them out. :)

You're too modest, Madeline! ;-)

I'm adding Among Others, which is set in Wales and England from 5th September 1979 to 20th February 1980, to Challenge 4.

My running tally :

Challenge 4: Maggie's Farm - Among Others by Jo Walton
Challenge 15: a volume of a larger work - Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell

Added:

TIOLI #5 (should have)
The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R. King

TIOLI #8 (life or death)
Portrait in Death by J. D. Robb
Life after Life by Kate Atkinson

TIOLI #10 (participle)
Killing Lincoln by Bill O'Reilly

TIOLI #12 (for fun)
Sweet Liar by Jude Deveraux
One Good Knight by Mercedes Lackey

TIOLI #14 (M A Y author)
Crystal Singer by Anne McCaffrey
The Fire Rose by Mercedes Lackey
Fortune's Fool by Mercedes Lackey

TIOLI #21 (SF/F)
Lover at Last by J. R. Ward
Kitty Rocks the House by Carrie Vaughn
Mountain Echoes by C. E. Murphy
Whispers Underground by Ben Aaronovitch
Dead Ever After by Charlaine Harris

Added:

TIOLI#9 (series rolling)
To Light a Candle by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory

TIOLI #14 (M A Y author)
The Outstretched Shadow by Mercedes Lackey and James Mallory (both authors count!)

TIOLI #17 (lesser known book)
Till We Have Faces by C. S. Lewis

I've noticed that there are a few books in my challenge (#10) that don't meet its criteria. Having never dealt with this before, what is normal way of fixing this? Thanks.

>164 inge87: On the wiki, cut and paste them on the bottom of your challenge and add to the end why they don't fit.

164: Sorry, I was responsible for most of the offending titles - I misunderstood your definition originally. I've moved them all to the Because You Want To read it challenge (#12).

I've noticed that when I add read-along books (i.e. books with a * in front of the work name) it gets deleted. Is there something that I might be doing wrong?

Thank you VERY much for any help you can give!

Do you have a specific challenge in mind? If someone else and I are reading the same book and I decide not to read it, I remove my entry as well as the * from the other person's entry. Of course, if more than one other person is still reading it, I don't touch the asterisks.

I was trying to add The Painted Girls to Challenge #10 after another reader had added it first. I've already completed it, so that isn't an issue.

If I'm not making sense, please let me know. I'm still new to TIOLI.

#169 First, you need to click on the edit button for the particular challenge.

Then, I usually copy the other entry in its entirety and place it below the other person's. Then I change their name to mine on the second one and then add an asterisk to their entry and mine.

You have to save it and then usually save it again. If you save it just the one time, it doesn't usually register.

> 167

I peeked in on challenge #10, and the asterisk problem seems solved. Let me know if I'm wrong.

OK, thank you both! I was unaware that I had to add an asterisk for both the original and for mine.

I finally finished something this month!

May TIOLI #5. Read a book that you should have already read - Should have read because it's been on my pile for so long and is another resource in the ancient religions (Christianity) library.

Robin Lane Fox writes in his preface, "It is unauthorized because it addresses question which the Bible itself obscures: Its authors, historical growth and historical truth."

This scholarly work delves into both Hebrew and Christian scriptures and pieces together the times, places, authors and ways in which the Bible was written. Well-researched and developed, Fox takes the reader through the dense forest of biblical research and explains how he has reached the conclusion that some books were not written by who readers often believe the author to be and why they were not written in a contemporary (to the event) time frame. It's fascinating, but be warned, Fox's writing is frequently dense and can, at times feel like a slog. Definitely worth the effort.

Added:

TIOLI #21 (SF/F)

Elemental Magic by Mercedes Lackey (ed.)

Finished In the Company of the Courtesan (thanks to a traffic jam) - read a book coz you want to.

I would join in challenge #1, but having ordered The Glory from the library, they seem to be completely unable to locate it. In fact that's the second order in as many weeks that's been found to be missing. I seem to be on a negative roll.

I finished the first of my two for #5 - read a book you should have already read. It was the ER book The Heroin Chronicles (review here). I'm onto my second, The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

Added:
TIOLI #14 (M A Y author)
Blood Wyne by Yasmine Galenorn

Hooray, hooray! It's the 21st, time to recommend a quick read to attempt to earn beaucoups shared reading points.

I would like to recommend 14 Cows for America by Carmen Agra Deedy (see challenge 16: A Child's Book Tour...). Very fast, very enjoyable read, a massive change of pace from the chunksters I've got going this month.

Karen O.

My nomination for Quick Reads Day is The Reluctant Fundamentalist by Mohsin Hamid. I found it so engaging back when I read it in 2011 that I finished it over three days. Highly recommended!

>180 SqueakyChu:: Hey, that's what I'm reading RIGHT NOW :)

Madeline, I haven't been able to find my copy of The Dawning of the Day by Haim Sabato for challenge #1 and my library doesn't have a copy. I'm currently listening to Six days of war but it's not a book that I feel I can rush through in the next week. I've already read many from the 65 Books for 65 Years list, so I'll have a go at In the land of Israel though it will be my third Amos Oz book for the month. I've read his latest, Between Friends, and Panther in the Basement these past couple of weeks.
I have added Raquela to my 'to-read' list, but at this stage I'm more interested in reading Ruth Gruber's own memoirs, Witness: One of the Great Correspondents of the Twentieth Century Tells Her Story.

My nomination for Quick Reads Day is A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness. This YA book is heart-breakingly sad, but lovely at the same time. I read it for Challenge #3 - From the Top 10% of my TBR Pile by Average Rating.

Dejah and I have decided to try to read Gigi before the end of the month for Challenge #6. It's super short and perfect for a (belated) Quick Reads Day.

Today I'm starting The Phantom Tollbooth, challenge #3, which I'm expecting will be a quick read. (large print, children's book)

Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein is both excellent and a fast read.

I read it for challenge #3, a top 10 percent of my TBR pile by average rating.

These all look like really good reads. I'm jumping in on the Gigi read if I can get the book from the library quick enough (it was surprisingly difficult to track down--go figure.)

Karen O.

For those reading (or re-reading) Agatha Christie, I have Poirot Investigates in Challenge #9; short stories, and a quick read.

(185) @raidergirl3, that's one of my favorite books! I hope you enjoy The Phantom Tollbooth.

I just finished The Great Gatsby and will put it in the should read challenge because with the movie coming out, I felt I should read it before seeing it. I liked it very much. The movie is visually beautiful and the book is verbally beautiful.
ETA and it's short enough for the quick read challenge.

For quick reads, I can happily endorse both suggestions of 14 Cows for America and Gigi. I'd also like to add Our Town by Thornton Wilder for TIOLI# 11.

My reading this month has been nothing like I planned it, but then it seldom is! I think I actually have a chance of reading a book in all 21 TIOLI Challenges posted this month. I've read works for 13 of them already and have some short choices or books I've already started for the rest. It means I will not get to several books, including a few shared reads, that I'd hoped to, but I've never managed to read a book from all the Challenges and I want to try!

#191, Dejah_Thoris, you are certainly ambitious. How do you plan for reading a book for every challenge without hyperventilating? Much less, actually attempt to do it?

Good luck, Dejah. I tried that once and I think I came up two challenges short.

Princess Dejah is amazing.

Go, Dejah, go, go, go!

Myself, I may fall short of the 6.5 books for the month (to get 75 in the year); I've only managed three, so far:

Challenge 21 : sci-fi / fantasy - Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

along with the afore-mentioned
Challenge 4: Maggie's Farm - Among Others by Jo Walton
Challenge 15: a volume of a larger work - Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell

though I'm hoping to read a couple more, at least, for challenge 21 (which is mine, after all!).

I finished Rebecca and am now wondering how come it's taken me this long to read it! And I certainly never saw that comming. However I'm also feeling rather dense, because there was a discussion section at the end and I can't say I picked up on many of the things that were mentioned. Maybe that should be a challenge - read a book that makes you feel intelligent (for a change).

(ignore me - it's early, I'm tired & grumpy!)

I've been reading Exodus for weeks. If I get a third book read this month, I'll be amazed!

May TIOLI 9. Read a book in a series in rolling order up to the fifth book - Unholy Magic by Stacia Kane (#2)

I stayed up past my bedtime to finish this! It was so intense, I couldn't wait to find out what happened to Terrible, and Chess. I was only disappointed that I have to read the next book to know the consequences of Chess' actions to keep Terrible alive. Like many other readers, I'm not sure who to root for. If viewed from a "real world" perspective, these people are despicable. But Kane handles them so well that, despite ourselves, we find ourselves understanding and, eventually, cheering for them. Especially Chess Putnam, who is one of the most messed up characters I have ever had the privilege of reading. That's one of the things I love best about this series, that Chess is so broken and yet still manages to save those she loves and does her job and continues to walk the tightrope that is her personal life. That, and the supernatural themes.

May TIOLI 3. Read a book that's in the top 10% of your TBR pile by average rating - Sarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay

This was unexpected. I was expecting a somewhat predictable, overwrought, emotional book about confronting the history of someone's holocaust past. While Sarah's Key was emotional, it was also poignant and completely pulled me in. This book made me do something I haven't done in years, read it in one sitting.

Sarah locks her little brother into a secret cupboard when the French police come to take her family away, on orders by the Nazis. Not understanding what's happening, Sarah believes she can go back and rescue her brother. Of course, by the time she does escape, it's too late.

The intersection of Sarah's life and Julia Jarmond's in Paris make us confront what we think we know about the atrocities of Nazi Germany. This deeply moving book could have been cloying, and predictable, but it manages not to be while exposing the messy humanity of her characters

I originally gave this 4 stars but decided that any book which could keep my butt in the chair until I finished it deserved 5.

May TIOLI #12. Read Something Just for the Fun of It, Just Cuz You Want To - The Diamond Sutra by Frances Wood and Mark Barnard ('cause I wanted to get it off my stack)

I mistakenly picked this up because I was looking for the sutra Jack Kerouac and Allen Ginsberg read and chanted.

Beautifully illustrated and filled with details about the finding of this "world's earliest dated printed book," this scholarly book takes us into the world of archeology, museums and restoration of the Diamond Sutra scroll itself. This book contains no text of the sutra, but has pictures of the 11 metres long scroll.

Humoress/Squeaky Chu - does Stacia Kane's Downunder series fit into this category? If it does, I can slip in one more TIOLI before the end of the month.

>193 lindapanzo:-5 Thank you for the encouragement, Linda, Es and Nina!

>192 AuntieClio: AuntieClio, I certainly didn't plan to try to read books for all of the Challenges this month - I intended to be reading plays all month for my own Pulitzer Challenge. I became somewhat disinclined to read plays when I started spending a lot of time helping friends with their lines for a play for which I was running lights, so I read other things. Eventually I noticed that I had spread my reading out and with a little effort I could at least try to hit all the Challenges - I've really never even come very close before.

It's helped that I've spent virtually every night for the last two weeks in the light booth reading - it was a straight play with limited light and sound cues. Plus, for whatever reason, much of what I've read this month has been short - my page count isn't all that high. For the six categories I have remaining, I have one longer novel that I'm almost finished with, to GNs, one fiction the other a graphic history, one play, one short novel and one very short nonfiction work (I didn't realize it was so short when I chose it - it was one of the few books on the topic available from my library). I actually think I can do this - woohoo!

>201 AuntieClio:: AuntieClio, if you're asking whether the Downside Ghosts series fits into Challenge 21 : Mars, Myth & Make-Believe, it does. I haven't read them, but I just took a look, and with tags like 'magic', 'fantasy', 'witches', 'paranormal' etc., I'd say it does.

Sarah's Key sounds too sad for me, though your review is intriguing.

Added:

TIOLI #9 (series rolling)
Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

TIOLI #12 (for fun)
California Girl by T. Jefferson Parker
Tears of the Giraffe by Alexander McCall Smith
Gulp by Mary Roach *shared

TIOLI #14 (M A Y author)
Foundation by Mercedes Lackey

TIOLI #17 (lesser known work)
The Dark Hunters, Vol 1 by Sherrilyn Hunter

#203, humoress, I realized in the middle of the night I hadn't actually asked which challenge I was interested in. Thank you for figuring it out, and yay! another TIOLI.

Regarding Sarah's Key, the possibility of so much sadness was one of the reasons I was hesitant to read it. It can't help but be sad, but it's mostly about the contemporary character and her journalistic hunt for Sarah, which started when she was assigned to write a story about this event for her magazine.

>199 AuntieClio:: I was just talking with someone about Sarah's Key, like, two weeks ago!

Cyderry - Do you want to move Rebecca from your challenge 5 to join the other 3 completed readings in challenge 6?

Updating my tally for the month:

Challenge 21 : sci-fi / fantasy - Changing the World - all-new Tales of Valdemar edited by Mercedes Lackey
Challenge 21 : sci-fi / fantasy - Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Challenge 21 : sci-fi / fantasy - Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen
Challenge 4: Maggie's Farm - Among Others by Jo Walton
Challenge 15: a volume of a larger work - Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell

Yea! Yippee!!! I finished Exodus last night (actually, early this morning)!

I was so impressed that I've decided to try reading other Leon Uris' books.

My review is here: http://www.librarything.com/work/42374

> 209

Some are better than others. I liked Mila 18.

I have a query about participles. I'm told Dust Angel doesn't count for the participle challenge, but "dust" is both a verb (I dust the chair) and in this case an adjective (modifies angel, it's the name of a cleaning agency). Could someone explain to me why this isn't a participle? Is confuzzled.

A participle ends in "ing."

Technically "dust" in Dust Angel is not an adjective; it's a noun modifying another noun like "snowman" or "race car".

A participle is a particular verb form that in English usually ends in -ing (present participle) or -ed (past participle), and can act as an adjective or as part of a verb phrase. The present participle for "to dust" is dusting and the past participle is dusted.

A good summary can be found here: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/627/02/

209: fuzzi, congratulations on finishing Exodus! I'm coming up fast to finish--I'm in Book 3, about 300 pages left to read.

As I think I said on the Exodus thread, I didn't like the beginning of the book very well (very slow and not indicative in style or content as to what the rest of the book was going to be about), but I'm glad that I'm sticking with it.

And I am SO glad to see your review--I know, for sure, that I can finish this chunkster this month. I read an ebook version, and I know that this has saved my wrists and sanity.

I just requested the movie, to read after I've finished the book.

Karen O.

(214) @klobrien2, thanks!

I'm going to see if Netflix has Exodus the movie. :)

Finished Exodus (Madeline's Challenge #1)! I always try to read a book for her challenge, especially one with shared points.

Karen O.

Last day for May's challenge, folks.

Time for a little TIOLI housekeeping - if you haven't done so yet. Please remove those books not COMPLETED by midnight tonight from the wiki pages. That makes my stats computation much easier and faster.

If you haven't joined our June challenge yet, please do so now!

I'll have to wait until I'm home to add June books. Updating wikis from an iPhone is a pain.

Not likely that I will be finishing The Fellowship of the Ring by midnight tonight, so I'll move it into the June wiki. Ah well - 12 TIOLI reads is not so shabby, even if I did not get to a couple of the books I'd hoped to (and gave up on the one for my own challenge...).

I did it - I read a book for every TIOLI Challenge for the month of May - woohoo!

Unfortunately, that ended up meaning that I didn't read much for my own Challenge and I failed to join a number of people in shared reads as I intended - sorry. I did have quite a few shared reads, they just weren't the ones I thought I'd have at the beginning of the month!

I'm looking forward to keeping my reading for June unplanned - there are some great Challenges!

Congrats, Dejah. That's quite an accomplishment. One might say it's one for the books.

Way to go Dejah!

Thank you, Linda and Carrie! I imagine it's been done before - I'm probably just the only one to publicize it.

I notice on the TIOLI meter when people have a string of challenge numbers. I find it so much fun to TRY to read from them all, anyway! So, Dejah, yay for you!

Bell7, congrats on your 12--that's a lot of reading! And Fellowship of the Ring is well-worth sticking with--I can't wait to move on to The Two Towers--ooh, a "tower" is a building type, right?!

Karen O.

Yay! Dejah!!

I'll update my TIOLI reads later tonight. I've got about 3 to put into challenge 21, but I don't think any are shared.

Congrats, Dejah. Whoo hoo! I'm going to shoot for the same this month.

>220 Dejah_Thoris: Congrats, Dejah! That's a great accomplishment.

>224 klobrien2: If it doesn't count as a house/building type, it would count for the "Gemini" challenge. :)

Wow, Dejah! Impressive!

City of Ghosts by Stacia Kane - May TIOLI #21: Mars, Myth & Make-Believe; read a Sci-Fi or Fantasy book

Wow, I only now notice I won an award for my April reading. Thank you so much!! :-)

Final tally:

Challenge 21 : sci-fi / fantasy -
Steampunk! edited by Kelly Link
Changing the World - all-new Tales of Valdemar edited by Mercedes Lackey
Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock
Here, There Be Dragons by James A. Owen

Challenge 4: Maggie's Farm - Among Others by Jo Walton
Challenge 15: a volume of a larger work - Dark of the Moon by P. C. Hodgell