Take It or Leave It Challenge - November 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 November, I challenge you to read a non-fiction book about change. The change can be personal or it can be global. It can be about the environment or any other topic that you choose. It should be a kind of "change" that you can define in few words.

For example, I'm going to read Chaz Bono's book Transition which is about his physical change from a woman into a man. You can read about other types of change such as...living with widowhood, effects of global warming, new parenthood, living in a new environment, and so forth.

Try to find a nonfiction book that really does encompass change rather than trying to s-t-r-e-t-c-h what you're reading now to make it fit this topic. Use this as an opportunity to read about something new.

You may go forth to choose your book(s) and as always, have fun!

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

1. The November 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 11/27/13)

WIKI index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a nonfiction book about change - msg #1
2. Read a book with a title or author name containing an indirect reference to a woman - msg #3
3. Read a book with a holiday theme - msg #5
4. Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more - msg #7
5. Read a brightly colored book - msg #8
6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - msg #9

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book about John F. Kennedy - msg #10
8. Read a book with "Doctor" or "Who" in the title - msg #11
9. Read a book with all or part of a date in the title - msg #15
10. Read an exposé - msg #19
11. Read a book you started a while ago but never finished - msg #22
12. Read a novel written by a South American author - msg #24

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book with an 'eye' word in the title or author's name - msg #25
14. Read a book by one of the Inklings or their associates - msg #29
15. Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..." - msg #31
16. Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name - msg #32
17. Read a book about a veteran, a conflict, a war etc. - msg #34
18. Read a book featuring a man with a moustache - msg #40 - thread

Challenges #19-21
19. Read a book by an author born in 1913 or about someone born in 1913 - msg #59
20. Read a book for which you can scramble the letters to make a new title - msg #71
21. Read a novel featuring a real writer as a character - Msg #86

Hold your challenges for now...until the December, 2013, TIOLI challenge goes up!

Ha-HA!! :D

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Challenge #2: Read a book with a title or author name containing an indirect reference to a woman

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By "indirect" I mean that you may not list words such as "woman" or "girl", or a woman's name, but you may use terms such as "she" or "her", or designators such as "the bride" or "the queen".

I hope that's not too confusing! (As usual, it's much clearer in my head!)

Ha-HA!!

:)

Challenge #3 - Read a book with a holiday theme

As the holiday season is upon many of us, read a book with a holiday theme. It can be any holiday, doesn't have to be a winter one. The book either needs to be set during the holiday season, or the holiday has to play some role in the story.

I have a question for Liz - Would the "Mrs." in Mrs. Miniver qualify as an indirect reference to a woman?

I Like Big Titles:

I like big titles and I cannot lie
You other readers can’t deny
When a book comes along with an itty-bitty label
It may be the one you leave lying on the table

If a book has a long title that it’s wearing
I’m hooked and I just can’t help the staring
This is the book I’ll pick every time
Cause I’m attracted by that one long line

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Challenge #4 : Read a book whose title has 15 letters or more. For this challenge sub-titles may not be counted nor will any addition in brackets that has been added to the title count, also phrases like “A Novel” do not count. Joint reads are welcomed.

CHALLENGE #5
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Read a book with a brighly colored cover -- a rolling challenge.

Read the rules carefully, please!

This is a kind of black-and-white season in the northern hemisphere, so it's an anti-black and white challenge.

Find a book with a colorful cover. Take a look at who has posted before you. Pick ONE of the three colors that that person listed as being present on the cover of their book that is also present in the cover of yours. That's the link.

So, I've posted Enigma of China -- red, brown and pale green.

The next poster can pick up on any of those three. Their own cover has to have at least three colors, one of which has to be identical to one of the three in the previous book. In this case, someone could pick up Ripper by Isabel Allende -- it's got red, medium blue and peach/orange.

The third poster then has to make another link in the chain. BUT they CANNOT repeat the same linking color. They have to find a book that has blue or peach/orange and use either of those two colors as the link.

Let's say that poster picks blue, and ends up making the link with a blue, yellow and green cover. That's fine. Blue, red and yellow wouldn't be.

You CAN repeat linking colors, but only after two other colors have intervened. So, if someone picks red to link from my book, two other colors (blue and something else) would have to be there before red can be used as the link. In practice, it will look something like this:

A: Enigma of China -- red, brown, pale green
B: Ripper - red, peach/orange, medium blue
C: blue, green, yellow
D: yellow, red, turquoise
E: red, pink, beige

Feel free to use creative names for the colors -- that can make it harder but also easier -- pale blue is different from dark blue, or turquoise from navy!

-- No black; no white
-- Three colors at least -- but only three. You can pick any three if there are more than that.
-- no back to back entries by the same poster
-- and no repeating the same color as a link for at least two entries unless it's a distinctive shade -- magenta versus purple/pink, crimson vs. scarlet, gold vs lemon yellow.

Bring on the questions...

Oh -- to address the inevitable query -- with ebooks/audiobooks -- use any cover you would like that has been uploaded to LT.

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Challenge #6 Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only
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Several months ago I did the challenge with letters with curves. I thought it was time for the straight lines to get their share of the glory.

Challenge #7: In honor of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, read a book about JFK

It can be fiction or nonfiction but JFK must be a significant part of the book. More than a mere mention.

Since this month also marks the 50th anniversary of my favorite TV show:

Challenge #8: Read a book with "Doctor" or "Who" in the title.

> 8

Suz!! I can't believe it was you who just a moment ago accused me of "tormenting" (others) with the complexity of the challenges..." LOL!!

Tee hee.

Well, I figured it was my turn.

ETA -- and it's really not that bad. Just trot out your most colorful books and pick one.

Ok Suzanne, I have added a book to your challenge. I picked up the pale green of your book and added light blue and pink as new colors to link from my cover. So, have I got it right?

Challenge #9: Read a book with all or part of a date in the title.
This can include one or more of the following -- date of the month, month, year, or day of the week.

Here are a few from my TBR:

11/22/63, by Stephen King - although this one is already up in Challenge #7, so I've listed mine there as well.
December 6, by Martin Cruz Smith
Friday, by Robert A. Heinlein
Red Inferno: 1945, by Robert Conroy
Saturday, by Ian McEwan

# 14 -- Perfect! I've added another one, to make sure it moves smoothly ahead. Just for clarity -- if you've got a different shade of blue, you can link using simply "blue". Alternatively, you can come up with a synonym for it -- eg navy Blue, acquamarine -- if you need to differentiate it. Be creative!!

I'm off to bed now and will check in for more queries in the morning...

Madeline, would you say that a book about overcoming obstacles in life, such as rising from living in the projects to a top position or overcoming an illness, would count as "change"?

Great challenges. I almost didn't list mine since I think I could fit the books into others, but you know, I like a challenge where the content of the books have something in common. So
Challenge #10: Read an expose` (I don't know how to make that little accent mark). List what is being exposed if not evident from the title. My planned reads:
The Baby Business: How Money, Science, and Politics Drive the Commerce of Conception - Debora L. Spar
A Century of Dishonor: The Classic Expose of the Plight of the Native Americans - Helen Hunt Jackson
Murdoch's World: The Last of the Old Media Empires - David Folkenflik
The Slave Across the Street - Theresa Flores
Wrapped in the flag : a personal history of America's radical right - Claire Conner

Delta Queen, do we have a new rapper in our midst?

>>#6

I think I would have to say no, Judy, because it's part of her name - "the wife" is okay, but not "Mrs------". Sorry!

Challenge 11: Give a book a second chance
We all deserve a second chance sometimes, even if we're books ;)

We talked about this a little bit last month: books that you started but never finished, and which you should try again, some time. So, to give those books that second chance, I have started this challenge.

These are the rules:
- pick a book you started reading a while ago (say, at least three months ago)
- at the time, you put it away, for whatever reason (couldn't get into it, didn't like it, didn't have time, or anything else)
- but.... even though you didn't finish it back then, you feel the books deserves a second chance :)

Please note: it really has to be something you put away for a while, so not a book that you have been reading on and off for the past months, but really something that's been lying around with a bookmark stuck in it but which you haven't picked up at all for the past months...

I myself will be reading Maya Angelou's I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings. I started reading this waaaayyy back, when I was 14, and didn't like it. I've never gone back to it, because that first try kind of put me off. However, I know many people love it, and I think maybe I was just not 'ready' for it back then. So, I've been wanting to give it another go for a long time, and should really do so this month.

# 20 - From my weak attempt I can hardly call myself a rapper - perhaps just someone with too much time on my hands!

#21 - Ok, thanks Liz, I will have to look for somewhere else to fit this one in.

ETA: That was quick, I see I can fit Mrs. Miniver into Cheli's Challenge at #6.

Challenge #12: Read a novel written by a South American author

The Reading Globally group is focusing on South American literature for the final quarter of 2013, so my challenge is in support of this theme. Sassy and Steven have done a superb job of describing the countries of the region and listing authors and their books in the theme's thread (http://www.librarything.com/topic/158806). For this purposes of this challenge only novels count, as I will likely create a South American short story challenge for December. Please list the author's country of origin when you post your books.

I plan to read the following novels in November:

At Night We Walk in Circles by Daniel Alarcón (Peru)
The Green House by Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru)
Op Oloop by Juan Filloy (Argentina)
Teeth Under the Sun by Ignácio de Loyola Brandão (Brasil)

Challenge #13: Read a book with an 'eye' word in the title or author's name

Take an word which comes in a combination with eye: - lid, - brow, - ball, - opener, ...

Open your eyes, lift all the lids, take out all the balls, and eat all your brownies... or go to the surgeon>/b>

Drat! I knew I shouldn't have fallen asleep until the November TIOLI thread was up. My Kennedy themed idea will need to wait till the 75th anniversary. ;0)

> 18

Madeline, would you say that a book about overcoming obstacles in life, such as rising from living in the projects to a top position or overcoming an illness, would count as "change"?

Yes. They are...
1. change in socioeconomic status (from poverty to wealth)
2. change in health status (from illness to good health)

Thanks. I just read a book like that. A man who overcame his Baltimore projects upbringing to become a Navy admiral and then Chaplain of the U.S. Senate. From the Hood to the Hill.

I'll aim to find another.

Challenge #14: Read a book by one of the Inklings or their associates

November sees the 50th anniversary of the death of C S Lewis (on the same day that JFK was assassinated, as it happens); and there is lots of Hobbit-hype in the air prior to the release in December of The Desolation of Smaug, the second of the (un-necessarily long) trilogy of films based on J R R Tolkien's fairly short children's story The Hobbit.

So the challenge is to read something by either C S Lewis or J R R Tolkien, or any of the members of their literary circle The Inklings, which included Charles Williams and Owen Barfield among others.

The Inklings was quite a loose concept and there is no definitive list of members; there are also authors who are not regarded as members but were friends or associates of members (eg Dorothy L Sayers) (see this Biographical Dictionary entry on the Inklings. For the purposes of this challenge any of these people count, as long as they have some connection with Lewis and Tolkien's circle.

>29 gennyt: Oh, cool. I'm reading The Nine Tailors by Sayers for a Green Dragon group read.

Challenge #15: Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..."

I did this challenge last year at the same time; however, it was so funny and at other times so touching that I just had to do it again.

Challenge #16, Fathers and Sons: Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name

A nice easy uncomplicated one.

I'll be reading Mary and the Fathers of the Church and The Profligate Son: Or, A True Story of Family Conflict, Fashionable Vice, and Financial Ruin in Regency Britain but there are lots of options out there.

Nicknames for fathers like Dad, Daddy, Papa, Pop, Old Man, and so on, are fine.

Any last name ending in -son, -sohn, -sen, etc. is fair game, as is Maggie Stiefvater since her last name means "Stepfather" in German.

#31 -- that was a great challenge! I remember being down in the dumps one day and just reading over the books listed made me chortle.

I see the Thanksgiving holiday has already been chosen, so I'll dig deeper:

Challenge #17: For Veterans' Day: Read a book about a veteran, a conflict, a war, etc.

This could be anything from Born on the 4th of July to War and Peace or The Red Badge of Courage. It should be about the veteran and/or the conflict, not just a story taking place during a war.

#31 - I also loved that challenge last year, absolutely one that's worth repeating :)

I loved your "rap", Delta Queen....it made me smile! :-) Plus, I have a book that will fit your challenge. Thanks!

Judy! Your rap! I didn't know you had it in you! You go girl!!!

#36 & 37 - Thanks, but I don't think I am quite ready to go up against Sir Mix-A-Lot yet!

Paul -- re the eyes have it -- are embedded words ok? eg "lid" in Philida?

Darryl -- and only novels? I see that there is are some non-fiction books in that linked thread.

Challenge #18 - Read a book featuring a man with a moustache

This is in honour of Movember, the month when men take leave of their senses and grow a moustache in order to raise awareness of male health issues. As far as I know, it started in Australia, but has since become quite a thing in the UK and beyond. Personally I use it as an excuse to laugh at them as they itch and change beyond all recognition with a caterpillar on their top lip - then sponsor them anyway for making me smile.
link: http://uk.movember.com/?home

I will accept covers with men sporting facial fuzz as well as character descriptions of a moustachio'd gent. I'll start a thread for you to post you moustache covers and qualifying character descriptions.
thread link: http://www.librarything.com/topic/160571

>40 Helenliz:- Time for some Poirot!

YES!! Brilliant idea! :D

ETA: For those doing the regular Christie reads, I have added The Mystery Of The Blue Train.

>39 Chatterbox: Darryl -- and only novels? I see that there is are some non-fiction books in that linked thread.

This month's challenge is only for South American novels. In December I'll post a similar challenge for other genres by South American authors, including nonfiction, poetry and short stories.

okey dokey! Just clarifying, as you referred us to the link. No probs.

#34 Fuzzi, thanks for adding your Veterans' Day challenge - it is perfect for a long book that I'm not going to finish this month, Masters and Commanders by Andrew Roberts. It's about Churchill, Roosevelt, Brooke and Marshall in WW2 and it's excellent, in case anyone is tempted to add it as a shared read!

I have been AWOL from TIOLI nearly all year but am looking forward to adding far too many books this month as the NZ school year winds down.

>39 Chatterbox: Suz, yes, it makes it easier to find something with embedded words

Just downloaded a book for the Veteran's Day challenge - From Baghdad with Love . . .

> 45

Welcome back, Cushla!

The Veterans' Day challenge would be a great place for anyone who wants to read The Daughters of Mars by Thomas Keneally... (Can't resist the opportunity to push a book I loved...)

What I hope to read this month...

Challenge #2: Read a book with a title or author name containing an indirect reference to a woman
Queen of Sorcery - David Eddings

Challenge #3: Read a book with a holiday theme
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror (Version 2.0) - Christopher Moore

Challenge #4: Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more
Death and the Joyful Woman - Ellis Peters

Challenge #5: Rolling read-a-brightly-colored book challenge
The Sirens of Titan - Kurt Vonnegut

Challenge #6: Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only
Tinkers - Paul Harding

Challenge #7: Read a book about John F. Kennedy
11/22/63 - Stephen King

Challenge #9: Read a book with all or part of a date in the title
December 6 - Martin Cruz Smith
Friday - Robert A. Heinlein
Red Inferno: 1945 - Robert Conroy
Saturday - Ian McEwan

Challenge #13: Read a book with an 'eye' word in the title or author's name
Sweet Tooth - Ian McEwan

Challenge #14: Read a book by one of the Inklings or their associates
The Children of Hurin - J.R.R. Tolkien

Challenge #15: Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..."
Freedom - Jonathan Franzen

Challenge #16: Fathers and Sons: Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name
Mothers and Sons - Colm Tóibín

Challenge #17: For Veterans' Day: Read a book about a veteran, a conflict, a war etc.
A Duty to the Dead - Charles Todd

Challenge #18: For Movember: Read a book featuring a man with a moustache
A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole

Whew! That's a lot, @jeanned.

>29 gennyt: I just read a Charles William novel in October after hearing the CBC radio program, about the Inklings a few weeks ago. I hadn't realized Williams was one of the gang. Fascinating book.

>51 fuzzi: Yes, I'll probably only get through half of them. But I can dream...

>53 jeanned: dreaming is good, we should all dream a bit from time to time :)

#52 Which one did you read? All Hallow's Eve would be a good one for today!

>55 gennyt: Yup - I read All Hallows' Eve. Perfect for October but would work for a November read too.

November planned reading:
TIOLI 1. Read a nonfiction book about change - Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong (also counts as alphabet by title laggard J)

TIOLI 4. Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more - The Cluetrain Manifesto by Christopher Locke

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - Who Let the Dogs In? by Molly Ivins (also counts as alphabet by author laggard I)

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - X Y Z by Anna Katharine Green (also counts as alphabet by title laggard X)

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot (also counts as alphabet by title laggard V and alphabet by author laggard J)

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - This is Who I Am by Rosanne Olson (also counts as alphabet by author laggard O)

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - The Way We Live Now by Anthony Trollope (also counts as alphabet by author laggard T)

TIOLI 15. Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..." Self-Reliance by Ralph Waldo Emerson

8 books, not usually overly ambitions but some of these books are dense.

19> Joyce, a question on your challenge to read an expose.
Does this have to be non-fiction or would a fictional exposure be allowed? I'm reading Secret Asset when the lead is trying to uncover a mole in MI5. Would that be counted or is that beyond the bounds you had in mind when you posted?

Challenge #19 : Centenary Challenge : Read a book by an author born in 1913 or about someone born in 1913.

Some famous writers born in 1913 include:

Irwin Shaw
Claude Simon
Alfred Bester
Albert Camus
R.S. Thomas
George Barker
Stefan Heym
Godfried Bomans
Richard Pike Bissell
Michael Foot
Robertson Davies
Boris Pahor
Wilson Rawls
Delmore Schwartz
Muriel Rukeyser
Elyne Mitchell

or famous people born in 1913 include:

Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Loretta Young, Lloyd Bridges, Danny Kaye, Rosa Parks, Jimmy Hoffa, John Garfield, William Casey, Richard Helms, Frankie Laine, Tyrone Power, Woody Herman, Peter Cushing, Tony Zale, Vince Lombardi, Admiral Makarios, Menachem Begin, Bill Shankly, Jesse Owens, Frances Farmer, Trevor Howard, Robert Capa, Burt Lancaster, Vivien Leigh, Benjamin Britten and Wily Brandt

The latter should be a biography or at the very least a book in which the person whose birth centenary it is is featured prominently.

oh, pooh, had already slotted my Camus read into my own challenge -- and it's a rolling challenge, so I can't easily pull it out again... :-)

ETA: Donald Maclean was born in 1913. Can a book about the Cambridge 3/4/5 fit into this challenge?

>58 Helenliz: Helen, I hadn't thought about novels, but it would work. A fictional expose` is still an expose`

My planned reads for the month, again, probably way too ambitious:
Challenge #1: Read a nonfiction book about change
✔My Beloved World - Sonia Sotomayor (4)
✔I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban - Malala Yousafzai (4.5)
✔With or Without You - Domenica Ruta - E Audiobook (3.5)
Challenge #4: Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more
✔A Short History of Nearly Everything - Bill Bryson (5)
✔Official Book Club Selection: A Memoir According to Kathy Griffin- Kathy Griffin - E Audiobook (4)
✔Perdido Street Station - China Mieville - E Audiobook (4.5)
✔The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro E Audiobook (4.5)
Challenge #5: Rolling read-a-brightly-colored book challenge
✔After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse - Charlaine Harris (3)
Challenge #6: Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only
Moved to December 1Q84 -Haruki Murakami - Audiobook
✔Allegiant - Veronica Roth - Nook (3)
✔Look Again - Lisa Scottoline Book Club (3.5)
✔This is Who I Am - Rosanne Olson (4.5)
Challenge #9: Read a book with all or part of a date in the title
✔Shoot, Minnie, Shoot! : The Story of the 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Girls/ Basketball World Champions - Happy Jack Feder E Audiobook (3.75)
Challenge #10: Read an expose`
Moved to December Wrapped in the flag : a personal history of America's radical right - Claire Conner
Challenge #15: Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..."
✔The Hearts of Horses - Molly Gloss Nook (5)
Challenge #16: Fathers and Sons: Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name
✔Dad Is Fat - Jim Gaffigan - Audiobook (2.5)
Challenge #17: For Veterans' Day: Read a book about a veteran, a conflict, a war etc.
Moved to December The daughters of Mars - Tom Keneally - Audiobook
✔Legend - Marie Lu (3.25)
✔Primary Inversion - Catherine Asaro - E Audiobook (4)
Challenge #20: Title Scramble : Read a book for which you can scramble the letters to make a new title
✔Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems - Billy Collins (5)
✔The City and the City - China Miéville E Audiobook (4)

@Citizenjoyce, Would 1Q84 be eligible, it's a number, right?

Suz - That would be ok.

I've added a few books that I'm already reading but I'm going to keep it low key again this month.

Challenge #4: Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more
The Gallery of Vanished Husbands - Natasha Solomons (28 letters) - I found a $2 ARC in a charity shop yesterday
The Picture of Dorian Gray (22 letters) - Oscar Wilde

Challenge #6: Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z
Agnes Cecilia - Maria Gripe - Swedish YA
More than this - Patrick Ness

Challenge #15: Read a book with title that completes the phrase, "I am thankful for..."
The Mannequin Makers - Craig Cliff

Challenge #16: Fathers and Sons: Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name
Andalus: Unlocking the Secrets of Moorish Spain - Jason Webster

I'll add others as I read them if they fit but I'm trying not to wedge myself into a set reading plan over the next few months and be more of an impulse reader. It worked quite well in October as I cleared quite a few long term residents of Mt tbr.

My current choices:

Challenge #3: Read a book with a holiday theme
A Child's Christmas in Wales by Dylan Thomas (ROOT)

Challenge #4: Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more
The Guns of Navarone by Alistair MacLean (ROOT)
Wonder of Wonders by Alisa Solomon (ER)

Challenge #6: Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only
A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens (ROOT) - Currently Reading

Challenge #14: Read a book by one of the Inklings or their associates
The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers

Challenge #16: Fathers and Sons: Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name
My Father, My Son by Elmo Zumwalt

I may add others as my mood leads me...

Kerri, looking forward to seeing what you think of Andalus! I'm going to be reading another of his, Duende, this month.

>63 fuzzi: Fuzzi, the author is Haruki Murakami, so he fits it in.

Here are my plans for the month:

✔2. Read a book with a title or author name containing an indirect reference to a woman - She Belongs To Me
3. Read a book with a holiday theme - A Christmas Carol
✔4. Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more - The Boleyn Deceit
✔6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - Under the Wide and Starry Skies by Nancy Horan
✔7. Read a book about John F. Kennedy - Killing Kennedy
✔16. Read a book with some variation of "father" or "son" in the title or author's name - The Memory Thief by Don Donaldson
✔17. Read a book about a veteran, a conflict, a war etc. - From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava

(68) Duh! You are SO right...

...need more coffee...

********************************CHALLENGE 20*************************
*******************************************************************************************

SCRAMBLED TITLE : Read a book for which you can scramble the letters to make a new title.

I'm silly enough to think that this is funny. So Not So Quiet becomes No Toe Quits

Paul, would a book about 1913 count? I saw one of those at the library today. Looked pretty interesting.

If you need help for challenge 20 (scramble the letters) I suggest the Anagram Server: http://www.wordsmith.org/anagram/
Just helped me find a place for Blood Safari!

Peggy - how much sense do the proposed titles need to make? Are we talking best seller quality here, or bargin basement titles?

73> thanks for that link - just what I was going to look for next.

I just added a couple of titles to Challenge 20. What a fun challenge!

Oh thank you, Elizabeth! That's a great help. Helen, as far as I'm concerned, the sillier the better. Yay, Judy!
I just adjusted my expectations, btw. If adding "the" or "an" makes an anagram impossible, you can keep it out of the mix and use it in your new title.

>71 LizzieD: and 73 That challenge (#20) and that anagram web site are waaay too much fun! I might want to put all my reads in that one challenge....although it appeared to be stumped by The Luminaries or maybe I just didn't do it right. :-0 I might not even get to that book this month. It's another chunkster!

Linda, I'll allow that one too.

I've been laughing and laughing since I've discovered that anagram maker.

>77 Nancy618: Nancy, if you leave off "The," you get numerous wonderful choices to put a "The" in front of!

Love the anagram maker...

And 'No Toe Quits' intrigues me... I imagine it's a novel about long hikes... Or about nights dancing on high heels... I'm sure it'll have a happy ending though ;)

Challenge 20 is hilarious! I must find a book for this challnge so I can play too!

>80 LizzieD: Thanks, Lizzie! I didn't know if you would allow that!

I have to say that two of the anagrams might be better than the originals -- After I'm Gone by Laura Lippman becomes "Matinee Frog", while The Goldfinch becomes "Filched Thong"!

Waterloo-City, City-Waterloo comes out as "We Racily Toot, Racily We Toot", for those who like to snort cocaine (or pass gas) with friends in a risqué or lively manner. Yikes...

>84 Chatterbox: LOL!

Challenge 21: Read a novel featuring a real writer as a character. The writer doesn't have to be especially famous, but should be published as a writer with at least one book catalogued on Librarything, and he/she doesn't need to be the main character but does need to appear (ie not just be mentioned in passing).

I plan to read Blood Red, Snow White by Marcus Sedgwick, in which the main character is Arthur Ransome.

Other options include

- the Regeneration trilogy by Pat Barker - Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen - W H R Rivers also counts as he has a few books listed on Librarything
- Nicola Upson's books featuring Josephine Tey

I'm relieved and thrilled that you're enjoying the anagram thing - and blessings upon Elizabeth for posting the link to the anagram maker.
I'm picking out favorites too, and I'd love to have one virgin Afghan cat and one gentle nun cat. As for tooting racily - I have no words.

I was scared I was cheating by using the anagram maker for my title - glad I was able to help everyone out. There are some hilarious titles, and it seems to becoming quite popular! I like the virgin Afghan cat as well.

#86 -- Oh good, Luci, an excuse to move on to the next Josephine Tey immediately!

Speaking of anagrams, I've listed my next book, Lovers Of Janine, and I'm a bit spoilt for choice. Please help me decide between:

- Joiner Of Navels
- Ninjas Ever Fool
- Arson Felon Jive
- Foals Never Join
- Jean Snivel Roof
- Jovial Fen Snore
- For Javelin Nose

I like Joiner of Navels.

I'm torn between Joiner of Navels and Jean Snivel Roof - what a great name!

Joiner of navels, definitely :P

Yes, Joiner of Navels.

Joiner Of Navels it is!!

Thank you! :D

Oh, i'd have gone for Jovial Fen Snore, but the navels one is good too.

Joiner of Navels has the advantage of sounding as if it could be a real phrase, until you pause and ponder the absurdity...

it's not absurd - think conjoined twins.

Exactly -- but how many people think beyond the conjoined to the conjoiner?? :-) It's a kind of fun title that jolts us into new territory by forcing us to contemplate the absurd spectacle of someone actually joining the twins, rather than "unjoining" them surgically (which would be the trope).

#66: Suzanne - I added Andalus: Unlocking the Secrets of Moorish Spain after seeing your listing. I've been wanting to read something by Jason Webster for a while just to see what his writing is like and this has been sitting at the top of Mt tbr for the last couple of weeks. He's done 3 or 4 crime novels set in Valencia that I sort of want to read eventually.

>86 elkiedee: Thanks for the heads up about the Marcus Sedgwick book. I loved Arthur Ransome's Swallows and Amazons books and would be most interested to read Blood Red, Snow White. In fact, I've just ordered it. I'll join you in the read if I get the book in time.

101: That's great.

I enjoyed Blood Red, Snow White, I read it a couple of years ago.

X Y Z: A Detective Story by Anna Katharine Green - TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only

A quick mystery read involving mistaken identities, family secrets and murder. There's always a murder. A young detective with the Secret Service sets out to find counterfeiters but solves a completely different mystery altogether.

Thank you to the TIOLI'er who read this last month so I could find a book with the letter X to fill into my A-Z challenge.

I see a couple of entries in challenge 18 that haven't posted their moustaches. Come on over to the challenge thread when you can and show off your facial fuzz.

#104 You're welcome :-)

So here you have the TIOLI stats for October, 2013...

There were only 18 TIOLI challenges in October, the lowest number of TIOLI challenges since November, 2011. This is interesting because it was only three months ago that we had the highest number of TIOLI challenges in a month (27 in July, 2013).

We had a total of 541 books read, with 88 (16%) being shared reads. Now that percentage is the lowest ever percentage of shared reads in the almost four-year history of the TIOLI challenges!

We accumulated 46 TIOLI points in October for a YTD total of 616 TIOLI points. That is the lowest YTD number of TIOLI points since October of 2011.

The most popular book was Books Do Furnish a Room by Anthony Powell COMPLETED by 6 challengers.

The most popular challenge was cyderry's challenge to read a book where letters from the title can spell words related to Halloween. There were 134 books COMPLETED for this challenge.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points was also cyderry's challenge to read a book where letters from the title can spell words related to Halloween with 8 TIOLI points.

Coming soon...the October, 2013, TIOLI awards...

Thank you Challenge 3 and Challenge 21. Inspired by these I just re-read Winter Holiday by Arthur Ransome.

This was the first book I bought with my own money back in the 1970s. I remember going to buy it - I can picture exactly where it was on the shelf in the long gone bookstore. I remember accidentally leaving it in my school desk over the Christmas holiday along with an orange. You can imagine what that looked like 3 weeks later. But I cleaned the mold off and I still have the little paperback. But all my other Swallows and Amazons books were the hardcover editions my mum had back in the 1940s. For some reason she was missing Winter Holiday. This past summer, my local used book store had a copy so I traded it for some old books I didn't want. I'm very happy with my swap.

I have read Winter Holiday many times - the last time about 15 years ago when I read it to my son - but I can't imagine enjoying it more than I did this time round.

I love that story. Thanks so much for sharing it.

Fuzzi, I going to read The Remains of the Dayby Kazuo Ishiguro and want to put it in your challenge. I've seen the movie so know it has a great deal to do with WWII, but I think it's a background look at it. I don't know if there are actual veterans, but there may be. Does anyone know?

I've read it this year, and I don't think that there are specifically veterans in it. Stevens was butler for a member of the aristocracy before WW2 and he remembers some of the events and attempts at averting the conflict in the 30s, but there's little of the war itself in there, while there is a great deal of change caused by the war. And while men in the house leave to fight, I certainly don't recall Stevens doing so.
I'm not sure that helps any.

Thanks, Helen. If I don't hear otherwise, I guess I'll have to put it in the long title challenge.

>112 Citizenjoyce: Or you could try the anagram challenge

>113 JenMDB:. I could. I just prefer to put books in categories that describe their content rather than random ones.

TIOLI 1. Read a nonfiction book about change - Jerusalem: One City, Three Faiths by Karen Armstrong

What a fantastic history, focusing solely on the development of Jerusalem from ~2300 BCE to 1996 CE (when the book was published), Armstrong puts into context the physical, geographical, spiritual, religious and emotional reactions towards Jerusalem.

My overly simplistic view of history is that it's all about the land grab and the completely arrogant view that "I" am perfectly in the right and "you" are completely in the wrong and should be punished for that. The history of Jerusalem reads a lot like that.

It's interesting to me how all three religions have turned away from the founding compassionate tenets of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity and are bent on the others' destruction. I now have a better understanding of the issues (and the history), and also a better understanding of why finding peace in the Middle East is so fraught with peril.

Thanks for the interesting review, Stephanie. I have that book on Planet TBR and it's nice to know that you enjoyed it. I do like Karen Armstrong's views.

November TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - This is Who I Am by Rosanne Olson (also counts as alphabet by author laggard O)

This is truly an extraordinary book. Rosanne Olson's photos of nude women, with a commentary from each woman about how they feel about their body, shows that beauty does indeed come in all shapes and sizes. Olson's work not only makes the reader think about her attitude towards her body, it also makes the point that media (and society) have done women wrong by expecting us to live up to impossible standards.

#116, you're welcome. Jerusalem is dense and can be dry, not the usual Armstrong touch. But she gets through so much it's worth it. And, as she always does, it's non-partisan.

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - Murder in the White House by Margaret Truman (also counts as alphabet by author laggard T)

eeesh what a bad book. Poorly written, does not age well, just yuck. The only upside to reading this book is that it led me to get rid of several others that were in the box.

It's Share a Quote Day!

Do you have any quotes from your current read that you want to share with others? If so, do so now!

I'm reading I Am Malala for Challenge #1 in which she quotes a famous saying of Ghandi's: Freedom is not worth having if it does not include the freedom to make mistakes. Evidently it's one many people know, but I'd never heard it before.

Shared Quote from The Lighthouse Road by Peter Geye (challenge #13: "eye" word in title/author's name).

He hadn’t known, hadn’t ever even suspected that this feeling was in the world to be had.

The October 2013 TIOLI Awards...

The Reaches to the Sky Award goes to yoyogod for reading Powerlines for my (SqueakyChu's) challenge to read a book whose title’s first word has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10 letters. The book chosen had ten letters in the first title word and was successfully installed into this challenge.

The That's a Long Time Award goes to auntieclio for reading The Poem That Changed America: "Howl" Fifty Years Later. This book contained the longest defined time of any of the other book titles in this challenge.

The Blast from the Past award goes to Chatterbox for reading The Alienist for yoyogod's challenge to read a book that won or was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award. New prize-winning novels are fun to read, but it's also important to still appreciate those from the past. This book was published in 1994 (19 years ago). It's nice that it was chosen to be a current read.

The You Color My World Award goes to lahochstretler for the challenge to read a book with a cover that is the color of autumn leaves. It was great fun to follow the colorful thread associated with this challenge. Now that the leaves have fallen from the trees in my area, I can still look back to this thread for a spot of color.

Congrats to all the award winners!

Wow! Another award. Thank you, thank you. :-)

For challenge 2, can indirect references be embedded in a title? If not, I can list the book in at least two other challenges.

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - A Very Long Engagement by Sebastien Japrisot

A Very Long Engagement is a sweet, poignant story set in post-World War I France, in which Mathilde sets out to solve the mystery of whether her fiance was truly killed in disgrace on the front.

Japrisot's writing is stirring and sweet, telling the story of a stubborn Mathilde who will not give up until she has found out what happened to five French soldiers executed for maiming themselves. At no point did I ever think Mathilde should give up or think badly of her for her stubbornness. All the characters in this book are written with sympathy, even the ones who are not such great people.

A Very Long Engagement reminded me very much of A Novel Bookstore by Laurence Cosse, another french novel I enjoyed very much.

I just finished listening to the last of my October spookiness reads, the Dracula novel The Historian. As usual, I'm giggling over the possible anagrams (I love starting the morning with a smile). One of the anagram titles, 'Antihero Sh*t' is just too perfect. But in the guise of keeping my nice clean image, I guess I'll go with 'Atheist Rhino' instead.

ETA --Had to go with the Antihero. It summed up the book just too well.

There are some really funny new anagrams on the challenge list if you haven't looked lately!

Love both of them! :)

>127 streamsong: My favorites (in the book order):

Satanic Fry Up (mine)
Virgin Afghan Cats (DeltaQueen)
Antihero Sh*t (yours)
Mr Sorry Toy (lindapanzo)
A Heathen That Beeps (avatiakh)
Alpaca Smell (cbl_tn)
We Racily Toot, Racily We Toot (kidzdoc)

I'm a few days late to share my favorite quote this month. But I totally loved this perfect description of grandiosity from A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole:

"I mingle with my peers or no one, and since I have no peers, I mingle with no one."

>>#125

Yes, that's okay.

I`m late for quote day too but this one from The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides made me chuckle:

"Because they weren`t left brained enough for science, because history was too dry, philosophy too difficult, geology too petroleum-oriented, and math too mathematical - because they weren`t musical, artistic, financially motivated, or really all that smart, these people were pursuing university degrees doing something no different from what they`d done in first grade: reading stories."

Can you figure out to whom `they` applies?

Don't worry about the "day late". Just share your quotes. They're nice to read.

> 132

Librarians?

>133 SqueakyChu: Literature students?

The answer is English majors: "English was what people who didn't know what to major in majored in".

>136 JenMDB: Yep, that would have been my guess. I'm one, and I majored in English on purpose. LOVE the LANGUAGE!!!
(I'm reading The Luminaries, and I can't really find anything to quote although I remember thinking a time or two, "That's quote-worthy." I'm afraid that I'm one of the underwhelmed minority.)

#132. How about editors ?

TIOLI 6. Read a book where a title word or author name starts with A,E,F,H,I,K,L,M,N,T,V,W,X,Y,Z - letters with straight lines only - Who Let the Dogs In? by Molly Ivins

What was true in 1992 is true today, only some of the names have changed but the game hasn't This "best of" collection from Molly Ivins covers Texas and US politics from ~1992 through 2002ish. One of the things I enjoy about Ivins, aside from her humor, is that was fearless. She called it like it was and took no prisoner. Some of these columns are as timely today as when they were first written. It's unfortunate she died before the Tea Party decided to try to "fix" the government, what a field day she would have had with them.

Quick Reads Day!

Let's hear your suggestions!

>140 SqueakyChu: a nice feel-good story: From Baghdad with Love: A Marine, the War, and a Dog Named Lava Jay Kopelman, Melinda Roth ****

For those as addicted to the Sookie Stackhouse series as I have been, I recommend After Dead: What Came Next in the World of Sookie Stackhouse. It is 200 pages long, but they're little pages, and some contain just a paragraph or 2. Harris tells the future of everyone in the series from Sookie, Bill and Eric to folk I don't even remember. I wasn't all that pleased with the way the series ended, so I'm glad she gave Sookie another option.

>142 Citizenjoyce: I just got that from the library today. Looking forward to reading it.

THANK GOODNESS! I have finally finished The Luminaries. I am sorrier than I can say to be in the minority that was not enthralled and delighted. Anyway, it's done.

>86 elkiedee: elkiedee - thanks for mentioning Blood Red, Snow White. I had never heard of it despite being a big Arthur Ransome fan. Loved it.

Tinkers ( under 200 pages) is a short little book, although it is rather dense. It is about death and dying, fathers and sons. The language is lush.

Saturday (300 pages), if you haven't read it, is also a beautifully lyrical book. The narrator's musings can be ponderous, but I really slipped into his head as he tries to be detached and precise in an uncertain age.

But if you've already done your serious reading for the month, check out The Stupidest Angel (just over 300 pages): an angel, a bat wearing Ray Bans, a Christmas miracle that ends up producing some zombies (the angel is stupid, remember), and a send-up of 'The Gift of the Magi.' See, now you just have to read it.

I saw Billy Collins on some TV show and, even though I'm not a poetry kind of person, I had to read his book. I put Aimless Love: New and Selected Poems in the scrambled letters challenge. Even though it's no longer quotes day, I have to share the title poem:

Aimless Love

This morning as I walked along the lakeshore,
I fell in love with a wren
and later in the day with a mouse
the cat had dropped under the dining room table.

In the shadows of an autumn evening,
I fell for a seamstress
still at her machine in the tailor's window,
and later for a bowl of broth,
steam rising like smoke from a naval battle.

This is the best kind of love, I thought,
without recompense, without gifts,
or unkind words, without suspicion,
or silence on the telephone.

The love of the chestnut
the jazz cap and one hand on the wheel.

No lust, no slam of the door--
the love of the miniature orange tree,
the clean white shirt, the hot evening shower,
the highway that cuts across Florida.

No waiting, no huffiness, or rancor--
just a twinge every now and then
for the wren who had built her nest
on a low branch overhanging the water
and for the dead mouse,
still dressed in its light brown suit.

But my heart is always propped up
in a field on its tripod,
ready for the next arrow.

After I carried the mouse by the tail
to a pile of leaves in the woods,
I found myself standing at the bathroom sink
gazing down affectionately at the soap,

so patient and soluble,
so at home in its pale green soap dish.
I could feel myself falling again
as I felt its turning in my wet hands
and caught the scent of lavender and stone.

Lovely, Joyce. Billy Collins has the most approachable poetry, I think. This is my favorite poem by Billy Collins. Every time I read it, it makes me cry.

Thanks, Madeline. What a great poem.
By the way, great baby picture on your home page.
Oh, and I love your little free library. What a great idea.

My baby grandson is sooo cute! I love that picture as well.

About the LFL, did you see the blog post that Tim did this week that featured my LFL?

I think many LTers may have missed it because the Secret Santa feature was also posted that day, and it topped the new LT feature report.

About "The Lanyard"...
I first heard that poem recited at one of the National Book Festivals. I was so moved that I had to come home and write down that poem immediately. I no longer write poems (Doesn't everyone, when they're young?), but I still collect my favorites in a notebook.

Oh dear. Looks like I have to do another one. This guy is killing me:

Old Man Eating Alone in a Chinese Restaurant

I am glad I resisted the temptation,
if it was a temptation when I was young,
to write a poem about an old man
eating alone at a corner table in a
Chinese restaurant.

I would have gotten it all wrong
thinking: the poor bastard, not a friend in the world
and with only a book for a companion.
He'll probably pay the bill out of a change purse.

So glad I waited all these decades
to record how hot and sour the hot and sour soup is
here at Chang's this afternoon
and how cold the Chinese beer in a frosted glass.

And my book--Jose Saramago's Blindness
as it turns our--is so absorbing that I look up
from its escalating horrors only
when I am stunned by one of its arresting sentences.

And I should mention the light
Which falls through the big windows this time of day
italicizing everything it touches--
the plates and tea pots, the immaculate tablecloths,

as well as the soft brown hair of the waitress
in the white blouse and short black skirt,
the one who is smiling now as she bears a cup of rice
and shredded beef with garlic to my favorite table in the corner.

I don't read poetry. But those I like and will give Aimless Love. Onto Mount TBR it goes!

TIOLI 20. Read a book for which you can scramble the letters to make a new title - One True Thing by Anna Quindlen (Uterine Thong)

One True Thing could have easily been maudlin and sentimental, but it wasn't. The story of Ellen Gulden finding herself through the crucible of caring for her mother with terminal cancer, dealing with the emotionally unavailable father she once adored, and being accused of giving her mother a killing dose of morphine was emotional, yet tenderly written. For me the books' main theme was about thinking one knows one true thing and then finding out that thing isn't true at all. Very thought provoking.

> 151

Nice.

Morphy, I can barely stop myself from quoting one after another. As Madeline says, he's very accessible.

Auntieclio, I read One True Thing some time ago and was very impressed.

Citizenjoyce, I agree with your assessment, although the New York Times does not. There were so many ways it could have gone off the rails and I thought she did a great job of holding it all together. It did make me a little weepy.

TIOLI 4. Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more - By Any Means Necessary by Malcolm X (also counts as alphabet by author laggard X)

By Any Means Necessary is a collection of speeches and interviews given by Malcolm X in the last year of his life. I thought I owed it to myself to read his own words. What's interesting is how graceful and thoughtful he was with his words, how he wanted to make sure that what he said was understood with clarity. These transcripts are proof that Malcolm was thoughtful and always re-examining his positions on the many issues facing African-Americans in the 1960s. I came away wanting to know more about him and his evolution as a leader. I also came away wondering what he would think of race relations in America, and the world today.

TIOLI 20. Read a book for which you can scramble the letters to make a new title - (Beeped this notion) - The Bone is Pointed by Arthur Upfield (also counts as alphabet by author laggard U)

In the parlance of contemporary society, Upfield's Detective-Inspector Napoleon Bonaparte is biracial, part aboriginal and part white. This fact plays a large part in how Bony works, using traditions from both parts of his make-up. As mysteries go, these are entertaining, making the reader work for the clues and the denouement.

Published in 1947, Upfield's approach to racism and, to a lesser degree, sexism much have seemed fairly radical. In the US, we were still gripped by race riots and the civil rights movement was almost 20 years in the future. The notion of equality towards people with brown skin was horrifying.

Despite this, I did enjoy the mystery and do enjoy the way Bony works. Clearly, I was able to put aside the "isms" and enjoy the book itself.

Jeanne, for your challenge would you accept a date in the subtitle or must it be in the main title? If possible, I'd like to include Shoot Minnie Shoot: The Story of the 1904 Fort Shaw Indian Girls/ Basketball's First World Champions

Happy American Thanksgiving, everyone! Thanks to SqueakyChu and everyone who participates to make this challenge so much fun!

Thank you, streamsong.

A blessed Thanksgiving to fellow Americans for whom this day is filled with family, food, and an opportunity to be grateful for the good things with which have been bestowed.

Happy Chanukah to my fellow Jews out there!

*sings*
"Oh, let us light the candles, and tell the ancient story..."

86> I've got a perfect book on the go for the challenge to read a book featuring a rel person. the last Sherlock Holmes Story is introduced as being a set of papers written by Dr Watson, and in part it discusses how it was he met Conan Doyle and how ACD came to write the Holmes stories, based on Watson's notes of cases. It's an inventive way of allowing Holmes to investigate the Jack the Ripper murders.
But as I only started it yesterday in the car it won't get finished this month *bother*

I am not a Jew, but I would like to offer a "Happy Chanukah" to all who celebrate it.

Many of us support Israel and its people, although we are not Jewish. :)

Thanks, fuzzi!

I would like to add my gratitude for this group of people who have made my year more lively and interesting. And a special shout out to SqueakyChu who makes the TIOLI run smoothly.

Hear! Hear! What Clio said!

Thanks for Madeline for all of her hard work on TIOLI, as well as to all of my fellow TIOLIers who, together, provide so much fun every month.

Yes indeed, and AMEN! LT, 75ers, and TIOLers are high on my list for being thankful!

> 165, 166, 167, 168

Thanks for the thanks...and thanks to all of you who participate month after month...and make all of these challenges so entertaining!

Looks like I'll be taking lots of books off the challenges, especially most from my own, but I'll be able to fit a few into next month. I have one left to finish, The Hearts of Horses, then I'm on to December reads.

Coming up...Housekeeping day!

Remember to remove all books from the wiki that were not read by midnight November 30th. These can be moved to December's challenges if they fit the parameters.

Moving soon into 2014 so here's a poll...

Well, I voted yes, but I'd prefer to vote yes about 25 more times. I guess that's not allowed. But I'm pretty sure we all feel the same way and love your baby, Madeline.

Heh! Thanks!

I love your TIOLI challenges! Thanks for doing it and please keep them coming.

I know I'm only a latecommer to TIOLI, but I would really like to vote "yes" in bright red text and 78 font size. I'm not a very good planner of reads; I tend to pick books according to mood/inclination/kick up the arse. The way the varied challenges set me to browsing shelves for something to read to fit a category is just what I need to drag me outside my comfort zone.

> 174, 175, 176

Thank you, everyone!

In reference to 172,174,175, and 176.....ME, TOO!! I hope TIOLI goes on forever! Thanks sooo much for all you do, Madeline! :-)

Yeah. A big ol' ME TOO here. Why would you ever stop? DON'T EVER STOP!

178, 179

Haha! Thank you both!

I love the TIOLI Challenges and also hope they contine on for a long, long time. Like Helenliz, the challenges often lead me to books that I might not have looked at. Thanks Madeline for devising such a clever and addictive challenge.

Oh my goodness! I'm sitting here appalled at the thought that TIOLI might not continue. I know it's a lot of work, but it has become NECESSARY!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, Madeline, thank you.

181, 182

Well...if it's necessary...:D

Thank you both!

>182 LizzieD: LOL ITA!

> 184

:)

I really hope the TIOLIs stay for years to come. I don't always take part in them but I love the challenge and it's such great inspiration and a great motivator.

Thank you so much SqueakyChu for doing this for us.

I agree with all the above - Thank you so much SqueakyChu!

> 186, 187

It's really fun for me and my pleasure.

Anyone read The Nine Tailors? Where did you put it?

Morph, I put it under the "Inklings" challenge...#14, I think...

I'm another who would be bereft if TIOLI went away. I stay in the background most of the time, but I'm here every month reading books based on all these creative challenges. I'm so glad it's still fun for you, Madeline! We appreciate all the work you do so we can have fun, too!

Don't be bereft, Donna. I'll stick around. :)

I am surprised the vote is so close at 39-0!

LOL!

Oooh, I won an award, thank you!

> 196

:)

Now my trees have no leaves at all. :(

Thanks for all you do Madeline I love TIOLI - though I must admit to not doing too well at shared reads this year but I have been trying to read off my TBR shelves. I did mange to fit one in for November though ... just!

*squeak* I finished this around 11PM on 30 November.

TIOLI 4. Read a book whose title contains 15 letters or more - The Shaman's Knife by Scott Young

Of the three mysteries featuring "ethnic" detectives (DI Boney Napoleon - Aboriginal, Judge Dee - Chinese, Matteesie Kitologitak - Inuit), The Shaman's Knife was the most enjoyable.

Matteesie is RCMP stationed in Ottawa but sent to the Northern Territories to solve a gruesome double murder of two young men, in the condo next door to where his mother, who is injured immediately after the murder, is staying.

While investigating these murders, Matteesie encounters secrets, lies, drugs, booze, traditional ways and fear. At the heart of the fear is the town bully who was able to convince the prison psychiatrist he had changed his ways and should be allowed to go back home, in spite of the ban meant to keep him away.

It's obvious from Young's writing that he has a deep affection for his characters and the setting. No one is completely innocent or completely guilty. It's this nuanced approach which made me enjoy this so much.

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Thanks, calm.