Take It or Leave It Challenge - October 2018 - 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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Your challenge for October 2018 is to...

Read a book whose title changes meaning if exactly one letter is taken away

Rules
1. The new title MUST make sense, although it might be funny.
2. Use only the title and not the subtitle.
3. You may take away an "s" from a plural word only if the word that remains is spelled correctly.
4. Disregard capitalization. You may capitalize or decapitalize words in the title as it changes name.
5, You may not separate or combine words.
6. Punctuation is irrelevant.

Examples:
Aleppo Tales becomes (Aleppo Ales)
The Other Side becomes {The Other Sid)
...and so forth.

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

1. The October 2018 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.
3. @FAMeulstee's 2108 TIOLI Sweeplette Meter - Use this page if you want to complete a sweeplette (all of the challenges on only one wiki page).

Wiki Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book whose title changes meaning if exactly one letter is taken away - msg #1
2. Read a book with a picture of bread on the front cover -msg #6
3. Read a book where the final page number or electronic location number are added together to equal the number 4 -msg #8
4. Read a book where the cover has harvest produce on it - msg #10
5. Read a book where a word in the title starts with the letters SAMHAIN in rolling order - msg #13
6. Read a book with a setting of increasing age: Rolling challenge - msg #14

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book with an odd number of letters in the title - msg #28
8. Read a book about infertility or adoption - msg #30
9. Read a book where the author is originally well-known for something other than writing - msg #40
10. Read a book related to Ghouls, Goblins or Ghosts - msg #52
11. Read a book with a word in the title relating to images - msg #55
12. Read a book for comfort - msg #57

Challenges #13-17
13. Read a book that has a craft occupation in the title or author's name - msg #63
14. Read a book that has a shepherd and/or sheep on the first page - msg #668
15. Read a book where you pick up where you left off - msg #69
16. Read a book with a ship on the cover - msg #89
17. Read a book with a title in the title - msg #97

Hold your challenge until the November TIOLI challenges are posted. Thank you!

I don't think I've ever found the new TIOLI first!!

But I don't have a challenge in mind for this month, so I'll just think about changing titles for a while.

Current planned reads would all fit in #1:

Fear --> Ear (still a chance I might finish it in September, though)
Confusion --> OnFusion
Memory --> Emory

>3 jeanned:

OnFusion? That would need to be two words, or it wouldn't make sense. That would not work.

I added a fifth rule above to clarify what I'm looking for.

Emory is a name so that would work. Ear would also work.

>4 SqueakyChu: Thanks for clarifying.

Challenge #2: Read a book with a picture of bread on the front cover

This should be self explanatory. Again, self serving as my good category is the slacker in my category challenge.

Here's a list of breads...https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_breads

Note that bread items like pizza, bagels, pancakes, and the like are fine.

>6 lindapanzo: I think I'm going to be searching for a book for your challenge, Linda! Nothing I've got on deck fits, although I'm sure there's something out there for me. Cozy mysteries spring to mind.....

Challenge #3: Doing the Math: It’s my birthday on the 4th of the month so my challenge is to read a book where the final page number or location number (e-books) are added together and come out at 4.

To arrive at your final number, add all the digits of the page/location number together and continue in this manner until you have a single digit answer.

examples:

Yes: Dark Voyage by Alan Furst – 256 pages: 2+5+6 = 13, 1+3 = 4
No: Copper River by William Kent Krueger – 336 pages: 3+3+6 = 12, 1+2 = 3
Yes: Slough House by Mick Herron – location – 5566: 5+5+6+6=22, 2+2 = 4

Please note with the above examples, the page numbers of Dark Voyage end up with the number 4 so it fits the challenge and the location number of Slough House adds up to 4 so it also fits, while Copper River ends up with the number 3 so does qualify.

On your Wiki listing, please include the final page or location number of your book, you can decide whether your book ends with the story or you can include any reference material and/or author’s notes that are added at the end of the story.

>7 Dejah_Thoris: If you can suggest some books, please do!

Challenge #4: Read a book where the cover has harvest produce on it

Okay, here's the 411:

Must have a Northern Hemisphere* vegetable or fruit on the front cover (includes ebooks or the front of a CD). This can include things like pumpkins, apples, carrots, onions, pears, turnips. I'll accept anything on this list:

http://www.greatgrubclub.com/in-season#.W6r_SHlJm03

There can be many or just one. It doesn't have to be an autumn "scene." An apple on a teacher's table will work just as well as a scary carved pumpkin face on a horror cover.

If you have a "freggie" that you think qualifies, give me a good argument and I might add it. Think Thanksgiving in the USA not, "Well they grow bananas in Hawaii in autumn!" Do they grow bananas in Hawaii in autumn? I know some oranges get harvested in Florida in October. They also would not qualify.

It must be a *Northern Hemisphere* fruit or vegetable harvested in the autumn. Not an herb or plant or flower, e.g. an apple tree flower does not qualify.

ETA: Acceptable Additions - persimmons

*Shall we say temperate climate?

ETA: GoodReads has a list: Food on the Cover
http://www.librarything.com/work/9391041

I saw pumpkins, pears, and apples. Lots of apples.

>7 Dejah_Thoris: I’ve got a bunch of cozies to add, too, but I’m just too tired tonight.

>6 lindapanzo: Ha! My Food on the Cover link would help you, too. Saw lots of bread-ish items.

Challenge #5: Read a book where a word in the title starts with the letters SAMHAIN in rolling order

I was going to make this a HALLOWEEN rolling challenge, but we already did that a few years ago. So I decided to go back to Halloween's Celtic pagan roots and make it Samhain instead.

Challenge #6: Read a book with a setting of increasing age: Rolling challenge - started by helenliz

I'd like to challenge you to read books that are set in different time periods. So this is a rolling challenge to read books that are set within the following time frames.
Contemporary = less than 10 years
20 years - anything set between 10 and 20 years ago
50 anything set between 20 & 50 years ago
100 anything set between 50 and 100 years ago
200 anything set between 100 and 200 years ago
500 anything set between 200 and 500 years ago
Older anything set more than 500 years ago.

This should be how the list appears in the wiki.

#Contemporary:
#20 years
#50 years
#100 years
#200 years
#500 years
#Older:

Please include the date the book is set in brackets.

When the book is set in a particular time frame, it does not have to be historical fiction, it can be a book that was written as a contemporary novel at the time, but with the passage of time, it is now set in the past. Non-fiction will also count if it can be pinned down to a time frame. Something wide and sweeping might be stretching it a bit far.
If your book has action in more than time period, that's OK too. It needs to be more than just one chapter of introduction or epilogue, but as long as a significant portion of the book fits the time frame, that's good enough.
I'm not going to be too strict on the boundaries, if there is not a date evident in the book, a best guess as to setting date will be sufficient.

I'm hoping that makes some sense, if anyone needs any clarification, please ask.

DeltaQueen - In challenge #1, you listed the book The House on Cold Hill by Peter May. The link goes to the same title by Peter James. I didn't want to arbitrarily change it on the wiki in case Peter May has a new title out that I haven't discovered yet.

Uh oh! We've got some toughie challenges here! :)

>14 Helenliz: : In each set of years on the wiki, do you want each entry done in order till the first set is full, or do you want people to plug their book wherever it fits into one set before another set is started?

I'm puzzling over an entry in challenge #1. The book title becomes "Now Hall". Defenders of this title, please explain what you think it means. All new titles must make sense.

>17 countrylife: I'd like it to roll in increasing age order. But if no-one starts it off I may yet change my mind and add my books from the 1970s and 1580s!
So rolling for now, get back to me in a day or two...

>19 Helenliz:

I have an entry for less than 20 years! My book was set in the year 2000.

>18 SqueakyChu: could be an instruction to a boy surnamed Hall. As in "In my Office." waits "Now, Hall." Probably would benefit from some punctuation.

>21 Helenliz: Punctuation is irrelevant. I'll accept it. Thanks for your input.

I'll add clarification about punctuation to my rules.

>14 Helenliz: Would you consider adding a future category, for science / speculative fiction? I have one I could add for that.

>15 countrylife: Thanks for catching that, Cindy. I got my Peters mixed up. I have corrected the entry. :)

>14 Helenliz: This sounds like this one is limited to fiction, correct? So my book about the events of 1968 America wouldn't count?

>25 lindapanzo: No, it can be non-fiction, as long as the events can be dated. If it's a big, sweeping, history of England since 3000BC, I might think you're stretching it a bit far, but your example is perfectly acceptable.

>23 Dejah_Thoris: I did consider it and decided against.

Excellent, someone's kicked us off with a contemporary book. Thanks, DeltaQueen. >:-)

>18 SqueakyChu: : Just saw your question, Madeline. And a resolution further down. It's not a problem if the votes go against my title; I can move it elsewhere. It was just the only one in my lineup that worked for your challenge.

Challenge #7: Read a book with an odd number of letters in the title

>27 countrylife: No problem. It’s been approved...by me!! :)

Challenge #8: Read a book about infertility or adoption
I plan to read Lucky Boy by Shanthi Sekaran

>10 Morphidae: Could I get a ruling on the fruit on this cover, please?

>8 DeltaQueen50: Judy, will you accept a book with 301 pages? it adds up to four, but it skips one of your steps.....

>26 Helenliz: I thought it was worth asking!

>31 jeanned: I don't know. They look like oranges to me. Anyone read the book and know what they are or are gardeners and can tell from the leaves or something?

>32 Dejah_Thoris: Absolutely, Dejah - as long as the single digit ends up at 4 it qualifies.

>33 Morphidae: I was thinking pomegranates, harvested in the Northern Hemisphere beginning in September.

Tough challenges this month. So far my planned reads are:
Challenge #1: Read a book Read a book whose title changes meaning if exactly one letter is taken away - started by SqueakyChu
*✔Beartown - Fredrik Backman (5)
Challenge #2: Read a book with a picture of bread on the front cover - started by lindapanzo
*✔Burnt Toast Makes You Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family - Kathleen Flinn (4)
Challenge #3: Read a book where the final page number or electronic location number are added together to equal the number 4 - started by DeltaQueen
✔God Is Not One: The Eight Rival Religions That Run the World—and Why Their Differences Matter - Stephen Prothero (4)
Challenge #4: Read a book where the cover has harvest produce on it - started by Morphidae
*✔Sophie's Squash - Pat Zietlow Miller (3.5)
Challenge #5: Read a book where a word in the title starts with the letters SAMHAIN in rolling order - started by susanna.fraser
Her Body and Other Parties: Stories by Carmen Maria Machado ABANDONED
*✔The Nest - Cynthia D'Aprix Sweeney (4)
✔Not Her Daughter: A Novel - Rea Frey (4)
Challenge #6: Read a book with a setting of increasing age: Rolling challenge - started by helenliz
*✔Janesville: An American Story - Amy Goldstein (4)
✔The Brothers Vonnegut: Science and Fiction in the House of Magic - Ginger Strand (4)
Challenge #7: Read a book with an odd number of letters in the title - started by FAMeulstee
*✔Binti: Home - Nnedi Okorafor (3.5)
Black Klansman - Ron Stallworth
✔Calypso - David Sedaris (5)
✔White Houses - Amy Bloom (5)
Challenge #8: Read a book about infertility or adoption - started by Citizenjoyce
✔Lucky Boy - Shanthi Sekaran RL Bookclub (5)
*✔Stay With Me - Ayobami Adebayo (3.5)
Challenge #9: Read a book where the author is originally well-known for something other than writing - started by owlie13
✔The Hellfire Club - Jake Tapper (3)
Challenge #10: Read a book related to Ghouls, Goblins or Ghosts - started my Carmenere
✔The Ghost Stories - Edith Nesbit (2.5)
Challenge #11: Read a book with a word in the title relating to images - started quondame
✔Under a Painted Sky - Stacey Lee (3.5)
Challenge #12: Read a book for comfort - started lyzard
Flights - Olga Tokarczuk (abandoned)
✔The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz (4)
Spoonbenders - Daryl Gregory Abandoned
✔The Woman's Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss (5)
Challenge #13: Read a book that has a craft occupation in the title or author's name - started by calm
A Country Road, A Tree - Jo Baker - Abandoned
✔More All-of-a-Kind Family by Sydney Taylor (3)
✔My Sister Lives On the Mantlepiece - Annabel Pitcher (4)
Challenge #14: Read a book that has a shepherd and/or sheep on the first page - started by paulstalder
✔Sheep Out to Eat - Nancy E. Shaw (2)
Challenge #15: Read a book where you pick up where you left off - started by neverstopreading
✔Eats, Shoots & Leaves - Lynne Truss - (3)
✔The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen (3.5)
Challenge #16: Read a book with a ship on the cover - started by countrylife
✔The Ship Beyond Time - Heidi Heilig (3.5)
Challenge #17: Read a Book with a Title in the Title - Lizzie D
✔The Queen of Hearts - Kimmery Martin (3)

>33 Morphidae: possibly persimmon.
Anyway I'll do a shared read with you, been meaning to read this for ages.

>31 jeanned: >33 Morphidae: The title suggets it is an almond tree (German: mandelbaum), but the leaves look like a peach to me.

>38 FAMeulstee: peaches, plums, almonds are all part of the same family, so they may well look pretty similar.

Challenge #9 - read a book by an author who was originally famous/well-known for something other than being an author/writing

Lots of good examples:
Politics: Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton
Sports: Greg Louganis (diver)
Entertainment: Steve Allen, Bill O'Reilly, Michael Palin
Science: Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson

Autobiographies are acceptable, but I'd really love to see a nice variety of types/genres.

>1 SqueakyChu: So, I just found this was a challenge in 2012. Since that was so long ago, is it OK? I'm not sure how I could put a twist on it. Thoughts?

>35 jeanned: I'm thinking they are unidentifiable at this point and wouldn't work for this challenge. Sorry!

P.S. Unless you read the book and it mentions what they are.

>40 owlie13: It's fine. Leave it as it is.

I live in the US southwest, and my pomegranates are just about ready'

>37 avatiakh: It's been on my list forever. I was hoping to find a place for it in the first 6 challenges and maybe get a sweeplette (still iffy, given 832 pages of The Confusion).

>44 jeanned: Okay. I looked up persimmons. The fruit on the cover of your book do look like persimmons. I was thinking persimmons were more red, but they certainly can look like oranges and they grow in Israel. I've changed my mind and they are acceptable for this challenge.

I'll also add them to my rules.

(deleted duplicate message)

>45 Morphidae: You mean they're not Jaffa oranges?! ;'(

*disappointed*

I never ate one persimmon while I lived in Israel, but I ate lots of oranges. I first tasted persimmons here in the US when my son brought some home from his work in Virginia.

P.S. I don't mean to complicate matters here. I was only reminiscing about Jaffa oranges and encourage everyone here to taste them. Your rules rule as you are the hostess of your own challenge. :)

>45 Morphidae: Thank you!

>47 SqueakyChu: My thought was... Jaffa oranges? I don't remember any oranges on the Jaffa planet on Stargate: SG-1.

>1 SqueakyChu: And I used up Night Flight in September!

I have one with a pomegranate on the cover, would that count?

Challenge #10: Read a book related to Ghouls, Goblins or Ghosts
No tricks here, just choose a book related to any one of the three characters in this challenge. The treat is you can decide what falls into each category. (Indicate on the wiki the phenomenon you're using. LOL, be nice.

examples: A Christmas Carol (Ghosts)
The Hobbit (Goblin)
Dracula (Ghoul)

>51 wandering_star: It's in season from September to February, so yes.

>8 DeltaQueen50: I know it doesn't qualify, but I have one book in TBR with a final page of 444.

Challenge #11: Read a book with a word in the title relating to images

Picture, photo, portrait, drawing, etching, tattoo, blazon, sigil, icon

A physical instance/noun not an adjective - current exception @Citizenjoyce grandfathered
Language is your choice.

>55 quondame: Does (the Dutch word for) Still Life, in a painting, qualify?

Challenge #12: Read a book for comfort

Not many rules on this one: whatever kind of book you turn to as a comfort-read will qualify.

Please note that you do not need to be going through a rough patch to participate in this challenge! - I hope you're not - but if you are, I hope it helps a little. :)

>54 quondame: Every October I try to come up with a Challenge that involves the number 4 so perhaps next year I will go with a
"a book of 400 - 499" pages. Thanks for the inspiration. :)

>58 DeltaQueen50: I’m curious why you have tried to have a challenge in October with 4 in it? What’s the significance?

>59 raidergirl3: Heh- Heh, my birthday is on the 4th of October!

>60 DeltaQueen50: lol, makes sense now. (Happy early Birthday!)

Challenge #13: Read a book that has a craft occupation in the title or author's name

For this challenge a craft occupation is someone who takes a natural material and turns it into something else. The material can be wood, stone, metal, fibre, etc.

For the title the craft can be embedded but, as many crafts became surnames (Mason, Potter, Smith, etc.) the author's name must be just the craft occupation.

>14 Helenliz: I do like Challenge 6, but it does make me feel old. I just got a bit of a shock looking at the books people have listed, to realise that The Buddha of Suburbia is set around 40 years ago. The novel was published 28 years ago and ends with the 1979 British general election.

>56 FAMeulstee: Dutch or any other languages nouns qualify.

>63 elkiedee: sorry about that one! I'm with you though. I'm in denial that the early 70s are nearly 50 years ago. My husband turned 50 this year - how did that happen?

>3 jeanned: >4 SqueakyChu: what about Cofusion?

https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/cofusion

>66 paulstalder: I'll accept "confusion".

Challenge #14: Read a book that has a shepherd and/or sheep on the first page

I challenge you to read a book which mentions a shepherd/herdsman and/or sheep/goats on the first page. No embedded words, only the 'real thing'. Combined words like 'schafskäse' or 'shepherding' are fine (the meaning is important), plural or singular. Please quote the sentence with these words in the wiki.

This in memory of my wife who died last October and loved the picture given by Psalm 23.

# Die vierzig Tage des Musa Dagh (...verengt er sich zu einem Hirtenpfad = a shepherd's path) - Franz Werfel

for e-books and audios see >70 neverstopreading: "the first screen on your device up to the smallest font setting."
For audio books I recommend with the first 2 or 3 minutes.

Challenge #15: Read a book where you pick up where you left off

***PICK UP WHERE YOU LEFT OFF CHALLENGE***

This is for those books that you started but never finished. This is for those series that you enjoyed, but didn't get past book N of >N. You want to finish them, but you don't necessarily want to start over (but you can, if you must). And maybe you don't want to re-read all N books before you read N+1.

Or maybe you almost had a book done for a prior challenge, and you were 25 pages away at 11:59 on September 30! FEAR NOT! Simply finish those 25 pages and mark this challenge off your list! You finish the book and complete the challenge: a true win-win.

Simple rules:
* The book for this challenge shouldn't be a brand new book (for you) unless it's the continuation of a series.
* If you're reading the next book in a series, it has to be at least the second book. That should be obvious.
* If you are not reading a book in a series, it should be a book that you started but never finished.
* You may start the book over, or not. It's up to you.
* If you've already read the book and you didn't finish your re-read, it doesn't count. This challenge is for books you've never completed.
* More rules will be added if there are any questions or clarifications requested.

>68 paulstalder: Do you have guidelines for ebook/audiobooks?

I recommend that for ebooks it be "the first screen on your device up to the smallest font setting."

For audio books I recommend with the first 2 or 3 minutes.

>70 neverstopreading:: Reading on my Kindle, the font size I find most comfortable is usually size 4 but I have read occasional ebooks where the font size which was right on 95% of my books was far too big or too small. One full screen of text is normally 25 lines and a page of printed book is normally about two screens, eg page 1 will be screen 1 and 2, p 2, screen 3 and 4, and so on.

We can't check these things but I think commonsense would be the first screen or the first two screens at the font size you would use to read the book, not usually the very smallest! And trust people and don't make it too complicated.

>70 neverstopreading: Fair enough, Thanks for the hints.

>71 elkiedee: Let's be honest: we're all on the honor system here, right? There's nothing stopping me from saying I've read all kinds of books I haven't, but to what end?

>72 paulstalder: Sure thing :)

>55 quondame: Gallery?

>74 Morphidae: Not so much. Portrait yes,

>75 quondame: Hey, I tried! :D

>76 Morphidae: Thanks for asking!

>73 neverstopreading: Exactly!

>70 neverstopreading: For the first page of a book how about making it equate with the first two pages of ebooks using any size font and two minutes of a CD, like @neverstopreading said?

We don’t have to police this. We just need to set an equivalent so challengers will know the parameters. We also want to recognize that not everyone is a dinosaur like me and only reads books in hard copy. :)When I start handing out monetary prizes (just kidding!!), we can get more specific. :)

>79 SqueakyChu: For my challenge >68 paulstalder: I took neverstopreading's specifications. So, please go along with these for my challenge.

With the 2 pages for an ebook we discriminate against the mini books, like my collection of mini-detebe (e.g. Der Kuhhandel) which have a page size of 7.2x4.5 cm.

Just my thoughts about that.

>79 SqueakyChu:

When I start handing out monetary prizes (just kidding!!), we can get more specific. :

Oh my, do you know what sort of red tape you'd have to go through to make an international prize like that legal? Yikes!

>LOL! I'd rather not find out!!

So... I almost never visit my TIOLI FAQ page, but I did today and found this suggestion from @humouress which she wrote a long time ago.

Suggestion from humouress (apologies if it's already answered): Can you put, somewhere in the introduction, when/ how to mark things in bold or italics or star them in the Challenges and on the TIOLI meter please? 03/03/2018

I added the formulas for bolding and italicizing to the FAQ page as I'd prefer not to add more "stuff" to the top of the main page.

I don't understand what "starring" on the main page means. Can someone explain this to me?

Starring on the TIOLI meter is simply typing in an asterisk. I'm not sure this needs further explanation.

Another suggestion came years ago with a request for a TIOLI tutorial. I'm not up for doing this myself, but if anyone else here wants to tackle it, be my guest. I'd be happy to add a link to a tutorial that someone else designs, but don't feel pressured by me to do so! :D

The following is now part of the TIOLI FAQs wiki. Refer to it whenever you need to:

What is considered the equivalent of the "first page" in ebooks and audiobooks

The first 2 pages of an ebook with any size font and the first 2 minutes of a CD will be considered the equivalent of the first page of a hard copy book. This equivalency was set up to include more readers of ebooks and audiobooks in our challenges.

>84 SqueakyChu: you keep making the challenges harder, but you just made TIOLI easier. Thanks.

Everything needs to be in balance. I'm a Libra, after all. :D

I was getting the feeling that some TIOLI challengers were getting frustrated by not being able to use their ebooks and audiobooks as frequently as they wanted for our challenges. They ARE books, after all.

>14 Helenliz:. A question, Helen - will you accept alternate history books? I was thinking along the lines of Naomi Novik’s Temeraire novels (Napoleonic Wars with dragons) or Eric Flint’s 1632 series.

What do you think?

>87 Dejah_Thoris: >14 Helenliz: I was wondering about that, too. I was thinking about Deryni Rising but chose A Morbid Taste for Bones instead.

Challenge #16: Read a book with a ship on the cover

Any kind of ship/boat. Any edition of the book.

Mine:
The Riddle of the Sands - Erskine Childers
The Warrior's Path - Louis L'Amour

>89 countrylife: Does a space ship qualify?

>90 quondame: : It's not what I had in mind, but I did say "any", so - yes.

>91 countrylife: Thank you! I thought I was just increasing my chances - and being a smart ass - the Robin Hobb covers do include ships and I read more fantasy than SF, but going through the books I've got checked out I just this minute came across:

>87 Dejah_Thoris:, >88 Morphidae: I've been thinking about this one and my initial reaction was no. Thinking about it a bit more logically, I think I am prepared to accept the alternate history, as long as it doesn't include things that could not possibly have ever happened. So no to the dragons, I'm afraid.

Boy did I make a mistake reading Beartown for challenge #1 this early in the month. It’s pretty much spoiled me for anything else for a while. I tried to read Flights for the comfort read challenge and had to abandon it. Not only was it not comforting, I couldn’t care a bit about any of the characters or situations. Right now, even though Beartown was written in Sweden and came out last year, it’s the most important book to be read in the USA. I just wish we could get the Judiciary Committee to read it.

>94 Citizenjoyce: So you'd recommend it then?

>95 elkiedee: lol (or, in Spanish, jajajajaja!) I agree wholeheartedly with >94 Citizenjoyce:!

Karen O.

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Challenge #17: Read a Book with a Title in the Title
****************************************************************************************************************

The title should be either royal (King, Queen, Prince, Princess, Emperor, Shah, etc.) or noble (Duke, Duchess, Earl, Marquis, etc.)

>95 elkiedee: I agree with >96 klobrien2: jajajajaja

>94 Citizenjoyce: I just started Beartown, (p 25) and now I am very excited to get a good block of time to get into it. Glad to hear it is a wonderful book.

I am also listening to Crazy Rich Asians which is a lot of fun. I'll put it into the comfort read.

>1 SqueakyChu: I'm hoping this counts - "A Room Full of Ones" for A Room Full of Bones. That's the Treasury Vault where they keep all the one-dollar bills!

>100 owlie13: It could be a singles bar as well! ;)

<99> I read his Crazy Rich Girlfriend and couldn’t really appreciate it because I was so flabbergasted by the characters.. Conspicuous consumption always nauseates me. My daughter says the movie is very funny. I wonder if I could take another dip in that culture.

>100 owlie13: You made it work! It’s good!!
>101 DeltaQueen50: LOL!

>97 LizzieD: Would His Majesty's Hope be acceptable?

For my challenge #1, two people are trying to use "Sinning Silver". What does that mean?!

>105 SqueakyChu: Silver that... does evil things? haha - I think I added it first and thought it was funny, but if you judge that it's a "title that doesn't make sense" I'll see if I can fit it somewhere else :)

Okay. I’ll accept it even though silver should always be doing good things...as in sterling silver!! You can keep your “Sinning Silver”. Haha!

>105 SqueakyChu: Think of a new nickname for Long John Silver from the Treasure Island ...

>108 paulstalder: ha! I like your explanation even better 😂

>110 SqueakyChu: Haha! That will work as well!

>110 SqueakyChu: Every time I see my entry for your challenge (The Lighting Thief for The Lightning Thief), I have a little giggle. I think of the cliche bandit covered in black with a black mask across his nose and mouth and beady little eyes, creeping into a lighting store or Home Depot and stealing all the lamps.

I so amuse myself.

>111 Morphidae: That is funny. Some of the entries are really great!

>104 Helenoel: Sure, Helen. I'm easy.

>112 SqueakyChu: My favorites are Harry Potter and the Goblet of Ire (helenliz) and When God Was a Rabbi (Crazymamie and raidergirl3.)

>97 LizzieD:. Will you take Lord John? It’s a courtesy title (his father was a duke).

ETA: I found advantageous places for both Lord John books, and added His Majesty's Dragon to your challenge, instead. But I'd still like a ruling on Lord in case I come across another.

>112 SqueakyChu: I just reread The Da Vinci Code (this time, the illustrated version), and I think I'll add it as "The Da Vinci COD," which just cracks me up! I love challenges like this, not difficult, but requiring a little imagination.

Karen O.

>116 klobrien2: I had actually thought of that before, but I knew I did not want to read either The Da Vinci Code or The Da Vinci Cod. Haha!

I just picture a fish with a mysterious smile and it makes me smile! By the way, I probably wouldn't have reread this one, but the ample illustrations and photographs made it such fun to read.

Karen O.

p.s. Now I'm off to read those Challenge #1 entries again!

>62 calm: Is "alchemist" a trade that you would consider for this challenge? It's the craft of making something different from something else. I've got The Strange Case of the Alchemist's Daughter and I was wondering if I could put it here.

Karen O.

>114 Morphidae: Thank you. >:-)

>119 klobrien2: - You've made your case :) I guess I was thinking of more traditional trades but go for it

>97 LizzieD:

Peggy, would you accept "Rex" where it is the Latin for "king"?

>121 calm: Thanks!

Karen O.

That moment when you work out that there's no where to put your latest book. >:-(
Then you remember it is 15 CDs long and you'll be lucky to finish it in November...
So if someone can raise a challenge in November for The Time Traveller's Almanac: Part II, I'd appreciate it >;-)

>124 Helenliz: Yup, sometimes you have to look a few months ahead.

>124 Helenliz: That would be fun, Helen, if everyone tries to create a challenge that would fit your book ;-)

I will probably be offline for a while through this weekend. Before I go, I need to throw this out to you. A challenger is trying to use the title "All I Ever Anted" for my challenge #1. What does that mean?!

>127 SqueakyChu: All she ever put up as a stake in a poker game?

>127 SqueakyChu: - It's me, and yes, I mean it just as >128 Citizenjoyce: says.

>129 katiekrug: Hahaha! OKay! I'll accept it.

Thanks, Madeleine!

>131 katiekrug: Sure. I'll see your amount and raise you one challenge. Heh!

Ha! All I ever anted was a nickel, so.... :)

Amazon is running a one-day $1.99 special for the Kindle edition of The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell.

thanks for the heads-up >134 Citizenjoyce:. It was even $1.99 in Canada. I haven't read many ebooks but I recently got my daughter's mini iPad and have been using it for reading a bit. After reading the first few pages, it appears I had no idea what The Sparrow was about!

>135 raidergirl3: Read The Sparrow! The beginning is kind of slow, but the ending leaves so much food for thought. I do recommend it.

I have been challenge hopping with "The Witch's Brat", moved it back from challenge #14 to #1.

>115 Dejah_Thoris: Yes to Lord.
>122 lyzard: ABSOLUTELY YES to Rex!!!

>137 FAMeulstee: Oh, #1 please! I have it waiting for me in the library and I'm just finishing a my original entry for #14.

>138 LizzieD:

Thank you! :)

Finished my October sweep today:

#1: Marc de verschoppeling (The Witch's Brat) by Rosemary Sutcliff
#2: De bakker by Anke van Hasselt
#3: De metro van Magnus by Joke van Leeuwen
#4: De appel (The apple) by Dick Bruna
#5: Het verhaal van Aeneas (The Aeneid) by Vergilius
#6: De PG (The Public Prosecutor) by Jef Geeraerts
#7: Bezoekjaren by Joke van Leeuwen
#8: De gestolen kinderen by Gerardo Soto y Koelemeijer
#9: Bij ons in Caddum by Jan Terlouw
#10: Hartenbloed (Heart's blood) by Juliet Marillier
#11: Stil leven een tentoonstelling by Ted van Lieshout
#12: Black, de zwarte hengst (The Black Stallion) by Walter Farley
#13: Martine Koperslager by Selma Noort
#14: Om het rood van de krijger (Warrior scarlet) by Rosemary Sutcliff
#15: De eeuwige jacht (This Night's Foul Work) by Fred Vargas
#16: De nacht in Lissabon (The Night in Lisbon) by Erich Maria Remarque
#17: De bavianenkoning (The Baboon King) by Anton Quintana

>141 FAMeulstee: Congratulations Anita.

Congratulations!

>141 FAMeulstee: Congratulations!

Anita strikes again. Congratulations.

>141 FAMeulstee: Congratulations, Anita!

Thanks Kerry, Luci, Susan, Joyce and Heather.

>141 FAMeulstee: Congrats, Anita!!

>148 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline!

>94 Citizenjoyce: and >96 klobrien2: Thanks for your posts about Beartown. I need to get hold of the sequel, Us Against You now. I don't even read books about sport normally.

>150 elkiedee: I put myself on the waiting list at the library as soon as I finished Beartown. I have to know the next part of the story.

>89 countrylife: I guess I'm pushing the limits again, but I have a book with a sailing ship on the -back-cover... though The Seascape Tattoo which I used for my own image challenge has lots of sailing ships all over the covers. Even to get a shared read, I wouldn't recommend it though.

I completed my first Sweeplette (Challenges 1-6). To accomplish this, I bought (gasp!) and read a book not on my TBR list (a carefully curated list that far surpasses the number of books I could ever read in my lifetime, so I rarely stray). Maybe because of that, I did not find completing a Sweeplette nearly as satisfying as I thought I would. I have gotten much more enjoyment this year from trying to keep my shared reads above 30% of my total books read.

Any future Sweeplettes for me will be a happy accident, not part of my reading goals.

>153 jeanned: Congratulations even though you have mixed feelings about your accomplishment. I kind of decided to try sweeping every month because of Anita's wonderful example, but I also have mixed feelings. I find myself reading books I don't really want to read just to complete a challenge. I'm really happy when some of those unchosen reads turn out to be great, but I'm thinking it won't be enough to keep me wanting to try all the challenges next year. Some are just too convoluted or simply uninteresting to me. But a sweeplette is a sweeplette, so good for you.

I have a sweep! Only one challenge double booked, which is unusual.

>153 jeanned: Congratulations, Jeanne!
Either way, happy accidents can be fun too :-)

>155 quondame: Congratulations, Susan!

>154 Citizenjoyce: For me it is a way to read as many of my own books as possible. The sweeps keep me motivated to read on. As long as the largest part of my TIOLI readings are childrens/YA books of my own, I am content, as reading through them has been my main goal the last two years. It is getting harder as this year I have read almost half of my TBRs of that collection, leaving less books to find a match.

>155 quondame: Congratulations.
>156 FAMeulstee: for the challenges that don’t appeal to me I have also read children’s books. While I have been amazed at the caliber of some of these books I don’t want to continue doing that.

With The Scarred Woman I finished this month’s sweep and also finished the Department Q series. Wow, I read a whole series by a man. Shocking, though they are Scandi mysteries, so they have that going for them.

>158 Citizenjoyce: Congratulations, Joyce!

>157 Citizenjoyce: Congrats, Joyce.

I am aiming for my first sweeplette.

TIOLI Question of the Month

Which book that you've read so far this month was your least favorite? Why?

>161 SqueakyChu: That's an easy one for me. I found Flaubert's Parrot to be a very difficult and confusing read. I have read the author, Julian Barnes, before and enjoyed his writing but this book was defiitely not for me! I did however take away a desire to read Madame Bovary so there is that.

>159 FAMeulstee:, >160 lindapanzo: Thanks
>160 lindapanzo: Go, Linda, go.

>161 SqueakyChu: so far I'm at 4 books all rated 3 stars, so hard to say. Probably Eight Ghosts as that kind of suspense is least like my "thing". And while some of them were quite good, as with any collection, some were less to my taste. Nothing really dire, which I'll take! Even Emily in The Mysteries of Udolpho is beginning to redeem herself and stop acting like a women with sensibilities too delicate to function.

I found Baguette Murder to be spare and stripped down, the characters were undeveloped, and my dog might have made the discoveries that led to the murderer's identification. Not my kind of read.

>161 SqueakyChu: Without a doubt it would be The Fireman. After reading NOS4R2 this one just didn't live up to my Joe Hill expectations. Besides, post-apocalyptic is not my favorite genre but those who do may like this one.

Congrats to all sweep and sweeplettesters thus far!

>161 SqueakyChu: I haven't read anything really enjoyable so far this month. My least liked read was Vox by Christina Dalcher which seems to be one of those books that you either love or hate. Described as a cross between The Handmaid's Tale and 1984, I picked it up after seeing a couple of enthusiastic reviews for it.

>161 SqueakyChu: Interesting. Most months, I have at least one outstanding book and one dud. This month, they've all been pretty good or OK but nothing extremely good or extremely bad.

>163 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce. I have one and a third mysteries to finish by month's end for m sweeplette.

>158 Citizenjoyce: Congratulations!

>161 SqueakyChu: Ghostlight was a clear reject book that somehow was published just to pay the bills.

>165 jeanned: my dog might have made the discoveries that led to the murderer's identification

LOL!

>167 avatiakh: I haven't read anything really enjoyable so far this month.

Yikes! My sympathy goes out to you!

>161 SqueakyChu: Two Dutch childrens books, one of my own (culled) and one from the library. Both not translated so no one else could be harmed ;-)

>171 FAMeulstee: Both not translated so no one else could be harmed

Haha! Phew! :D

>161 SqueakyChu: That's easy--the audiobook I finished this morning--The Gods of Gotham. It was completely captivating. It held my attention from start to finish which is a rare thing lately.

ETA: I read this question incorrectly. That was my favorite one. I abandoned Anything Is Possible by Elizabeth Strout. Too much adultery and especially profanity. I couldn't take the "F" word one more time. Lots of runner-ups for worst of the month though. Hushed in Death by Stephen Kelly, In Harm's Way by Viveca Sten, and The Cornish Village School: Second Chances by Kitty Wilson all received two stars from me, and I was generous with stars on a couple.

>169 quondame: Ghostlight by?

>173 thornton37814: I think you read the question incorrectly. :D

>174 Morphidae: You are correct. I was reading things in a hurry. I'll go back. I've got several I slogged through, but I think I did completely abandon one too.

ETA: I amended my post in #173.

>173 thornton37814: "I couldn't take the "F" word one more time." Ha! So true, Lori. That is the way I felt about The Fireman. Wouldn't/couldn't admired and world renown authors the likes of Hill and Strout find a different way to express a situation rather than toss the F bomb around. It's really getting to the point it no longer has any effect other than a little shock value and annoyance.

>176 Carmenere: Definitely!

>176 Carmenere: I just came across a great quote in Stephen King's On Writing dealing with the topic. He writes: As it happens, I agree with my mother: profanity and vulgarity is the language of the ignorant and the verbally challenged. (p. 187) He does allow for exceptions, but I think he'd agree Strout's book exceeded the exception.

>152 quondame: : Sorry, quondame - I haven't been on LT for awhile. Back cover ships are fine.

>174 Morphidae: Somehow the touchstone didn't take til I saved it again Ghostlight is credited to Marion Zimmer Bradley. It reads like a teenagers draft attempt at a gothic.

>179 countrylife: Pamela Colman Smith: The Untold Story has one of her paintings of a ship on the back.

169 Thanks
>161 SqueakyChu: I have abandoned 4 books this month. They all have good ratings, but didn’t have a thing to say to me. The first three I abandoned in the first chapter: Spoonbenders, Flights, and A Country Road, A Tree. The last one Her Body and Other Parties I actually read half of before I had to give in and say, “life is too short, there are too many books I want to read to waste my time on this.” All of these will probably appeal to many people, just not this one.

>178 thornton37814: Huh! That's interesting, Lori! I'm curious as to what King considers exceptions. Looks like I'll have to read his book.

>182 Carmenere: Actually, just put the phrase I quoted into Google books. The search feature will give you a big enough context to see--in this case.

>183 thornton37814: Thanks, Lori!!

TIOLI Stats for September 2018

All stats are stable! :)

For September, 2018, we read a total of 378 books of which 76 (20%) were shared reads. We collected 40 TIOLI points giving us 431 YTD TIOLI points.

Our most popular reads were these two books, each with four readers:
1. Acqua Alta by Donna Leon
2. Chapter Two (play) by Neil Simon

Our most popular challenge was @Fameulstee's challenge to read a book with a full name (first name and family name) at the first page. There were 42 books read for that challenge.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points (8) was @lindapanzo's challenge to read a book you MUST read.

Coming soon...the September 2018 TIOLI Awards!

The September, 2018, TIOLI Awards!

The Language Extender Award goes to @avatiakh for the challenge to read a book where the author's name includes an accent, prefix, hyphen, or macron etc. In order to understand this challenge, I had to look up the word "macron" (the line used over a letter to indicate a long sound). Kudos to this challenger for helping me to enlarge my vocabulary! :D

The Namesake Award goes to @quondame for reading Madeline for neverstopreading's challenge to read a book where the main characters are children. Ummmm...I'm pretty sure you know why this challenger won this award. Ha!

The Love Those Books Award goes to @elkiedee for reading The Librarian for susanna.fraser's challenge to read a book whose title contains a common noun representing a person, but no pronouns or proper nouns. Yep. Librarians. Good people! :)

The Kindness to Animals Award goes to @paulstalder for the challenge to read a book which starts with an animal product which lets the animal live. No animals were harmed in either the formulation or the execution (pardon the pun) of this challenge.

Congrats to our award winners! Feel free to add your own awards at this time.

>186 SqueakyChu: Thank you so much Madeline!

>186 SqueakyChu: :D

>186 SqueakyChu: Thanks Madeline. Here in New Zealand the Maori language makes good use of the macron so it is a fairly common term for us. https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/maori-language-week/106500621/use-of-tohut-macr...

>186 SqueakyChu: Thank you very kindly for your kind award, Madeline

hmm, October is fast running out of days. It is possible I may have bitten off more than I can successfully read in the month, just for a change...

I've finished my first-ever sweeplette!! It's a 1-6 sweeplette. For a sports fan, this is comparable to being invited to the NIT, rather than to the NCAA tournament. Nice to do but not the big enchilada.

Since it's very unlikely I'll read 17 books in a month, barring another disability leave, it is a nice thing to have a smaller TIOLI goal to aim for.

>192 lindapanzo: Congratulations, Linda!

>192 lindapanzo: Great work! I’ll be one book short for a sweeplette this month, but it sure is fun to accomplish one. Congratulations!

>193 FAMeulstee: >194 SqueakyChu: Thanks. Aiming for another one for 1-6 in November.

For challenge #1 >1 SqueakyChu: I wanted to enter You Die when You Die -. You Die Hen You Die, which seems funny to me, so I'm sharing it, but other reads were more compelling or offered shared read opportunities, so not this month.

Housekeeping Day!

Please remember to remove from the October wiki an book you do not finish tonight...unless it is a rolling challenge...in which case just mark it DNF (did not finish).

Happy Halloween!

Phew, one more just snuck under the wire. But I'm sorry, Harry Potter and the goblet of ire was a book too far.

DeltaQueen50 completed two sweeplettes this month: page 1 and page 2.

And I noticed that Dejah_Thoris completed a sweep.

Congratulations!

>196 quondame: : Huge chuckle on that one, Susan!

>1 SqueakyChu: Madeline, I would disqualify
15. Fear: Trump in the White House (Rump in the White House) - Bob Woodward - klobrien2 - COMPLETED
for your challenge, since the truncated -äh- thing appears in the subtitle. But Far would go, but I would not accept Ear
... just my thoughts

I agree. I messaged @klobrien2. I'd accept either Far or Ear.

Actually, I'd accept Fea as well (which means ugly in Spanish). :D

I'd accept Fea as well (which means ugly in Spanish) :)

>202 SqueakyChu:

Como se dice "You are one ugly woman"? Tu es uno fea señora?