Take It or Leave It Challenge - December 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 December, 2018, is to...

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Read a book with a title (not subtitle) or author's name which contains the letter x.

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Simple and easy!

Have fun!

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

1. The December 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 with a title (not subtitle) or author's name which contains the letter x - msg #1
2. Read a book by an author you've read before, but haven't read in 2018 (so at least 11 months ago) - msg #3
3. Read a memoir by a living woman - msg #4
4. Read a book with the word "elf" somewhere in the title - msg #5
5. Read a book that features Red, Green, White, Silver or Gold in the Title or as the Main Color of the Cover - msg #6
6. Read a book that you planned to read in 2018, but didn't read yet - msg #7

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book where "and" is the middle word - msg #8
8. Read a book with a winter holiday in the title - msg #9
9. Read a book with a cover you dislike - msg #11 - thread to post disliked book covers :)
10. Read a book mentioned on another member's thread or a book with Book or Bullet, in any language, in the title- msg #25
11. Read a book of 150 pages or less - msg #19
12. Read a book with a title built around the word 'of' - msg #26

Challenges #13-17
13. Read a book for the 50 states challenge (semi-rolling) - msg #28
14. Read a book where the title includes the words home, heart, or holiday - msg #34
15. Read a book which starts with a word from 'Silent Night, Holy Night' - msg #43
16. Read a book in which moral values and beliefs are an issue in some way - msg #47
17. Read a nonfiction book with beautiful photography - msg #50

Hold your challenge until the January 2019 TIOLI challenges are posted. Thank you!

Challenge #2 - Read a book by a familiar author - one you've read before - but NOT in 2018. So, at least 11 months since you've read one of their books.

I'm going with the latest (final?) Mallory novel - Blind Sight by Carol O'Connell. I thought of this challenge about 4 months ago, and have been waiting patiently for December to roll around!

Challenge #3: Read a memoir by a living woman.

Should be self-explanatory.

Challenge #4: Read a book with the word "elf" somewhere in the title.

The elf may be used normally, embedded or jumbled.

No elves allowed.

Challenge #5: The Colors of Christmas Red, green, white, silver and gold are the five colors that come to mind when I think of he festive season. My challenge is to read a book with at least one of these colors either in the title, or are used as the main color for the cover of the book. Please note that these books do not have to have anything to do with Christmas, just feature one or more of the above mentioned colors.

Challenge #6: Read a book that you planned to read in 2018, but didn't read yet

Self-explanatory.

Christmas often seems to me to be a season of multiples. Comfort and joy, they holly and the ivy, you gt the idea, there are a number of things that come in pairs or sets.
In which case
Challenge #7: Read a book where "and" is the middle word

You may include or exclude a subtitle, as suits you. If your title has an even number of words the and may be either side of the middle. I can't think of an example, but a 6 word title may have "and" as either 3rd or 4th word.

Challenge #8: Read a book with a winter holiday in the title
I plan to read Last Christmas in Paris by Hazel Gaynor since I didn't get to it in November.
Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza are well-known winter holidays, if you come up with something less well known, please explain it.

The plan so far:

Challenge #1: Read a book whose title (not subtitle) or author's name includes the letter x. - started by SqueakyChu
✔Signora da Vinci - Robin Maxwell (4)
Challenge #2: Read a book by an author you've read before, but haven't read in 2018 (so at least 11 months ago). - started by owlie13
✔The Bonesetter's Daughter - Amy Tan (3.5)
Challenge #3: Read a memoir by a living woman. - started by susanna.fraser
*✔Becoming - Michelle Obama (4)
✔The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish - Citizenjoyce (4)
*✔Where the Past Begins: A Writer's Memoir - Amy Tan (3.5)
Challenge 4: Read a book with the word "elf" somewhere in the title. - started by Carmenere
Self-Portrait with Boy: A Novel - Rachel Lyon
✔How Long 'til Black Future Month - N. K. Jemisin (4)
Challenge #5: Read a book that features Red, Green, White, Silver or Gold in the Title or as the Main Color of the Cover - started by DeltaQueen
✔We Are All Made of Stars - Rowan Coleman (3.5)
Challenge 6. Read a book that you planned to read in 2018, but didn't read yet - started by FAMuelstee
✔Caucasia - Danzy Senna (3.5)
Challenge #7: Read a book where "and" is the middle word- started by helenliz
*✔North and South - Elizabeth Gaskell (5)
Challenge #8: Read a book with a winter holiday in the title - started by Citizenjoyce
*✔Last Christmas in Paris - Hazel Gaynor (4.5)
Challenge #9: Read a book with a cover you dislike - started by wandering_staredit
✔Dietland - Sarai Walker - (5)
Challenge #10: A Book Bullet - started by quondame
✔A Separation - Katie Kitamura (1.5)
Challenge #11: Make it a short read (150 pgs or less) - started by avatiakh
✔And Every Morning the Way Home Gets Longer and Longer- Fredrik Backman (4)
Challenge #12: Read a book with a title built around the word 'of' - started by lyzard
✔The Book of Essie: A novel by Meghan MacLean Weir (4)
Challenge #13: Read a book for the 50 states challenge (semi-rolling) - started by Morphidae
✔Miri, Who Charms - Joanne Greenberg (3.5)
Challenge #14: Read a book where the title includes the words home, heart, or holiday - started by neverstopreading
*✔Home - Toni Morrison (3)
Challenge #15: Read a book which starts with a word from 'Silent Night, Holy Night' - started by paulstalder
✔Housegirl by Michael Donkor (3)
Challenge #16: Read a book in which moral values and beliefs are an issue in some way - started by elkiedee
✔Any Man - Amber Tamblyn (3.5)
✔The Sun Does Shine: How I Found Life on Death Row by Anthony Ray Hinton (4)
✔Us Against You by Fredrik Backman (3.5)
Challenge #17: Read a nonfiction book with beautiful photography - started by klobrien2
*✔Obama: An Intimate Portrait - Pete Souza (5)

Challenge #9: Read a book with a cover you dislike

I'm inspired to this by the fact that my current read, which is excellent, is a book I was initially quite reluctant to pick up because I find the cover very creepy (it's The Gallows Pole and in case you don't want to waste a click to see the cover, it's the silhouette of a man with long hair, with glowing coins where his eyes should be).

Why do you have a book whose appearance puts you off? You might have been given it, or ordered it online and been surprised when you took it out of the packaging. Or it might be a cover with an image you find cliched (eg the headless woman) or not representative of the book. Anyway, at the end of the year, make an unloved book feel wanted!

>11 wandering_star: This would seem to need a separate thread for cover pictures and a vote afterward to see which is the most disliked cover of all of them. Don't you think? I'll even off a very small prize to the winner.

For those reading the Elena Ferrante novel, did you see that HBO has started a mini series of My Brilliant Friend? It’s in Italian with subtitles and the acting is great. I had a hard time reading the book keeping the characters straight, so it helps to see them represented in their families.

>13 Citizenjoyce: yes, I saw that but I don't get HBO. I hope to get to see it one day.

>5 Carmenere: Lynda, I notice your entry for your Challenge #4 has and e, l and f but not in order so my question is does the title just have to contain an e, l, f somewhere or do they have to be together?

ETA: On second reading of your challenge I see you say "The elf may be used normally, embedded or jumbled" which pretty much answers my question - Farewell To Burracome would fit. :)

>16 Carmenere: Great, Judy, glad my post clarified it for you.

Is there a post explaining challenge #10?

>12 SqueakyChu: Your wish is my command!

http://www.librarything.com/topic/299399

Challenge #11: Make it a short read (150 pgs or less)

Anything that is 150 pages long or less. Annoying for me that one of the novellas I have out from the library is too long for this challenge so hopefully it will fit another.

I see The man who loved children has made the ugly cover challenge. I read that a couple of years ago, that cover is probably one of the ugliest on record.

>20 avatiakh: Hah yes, I read this a few years ago and I remember disliking the cover then!

>20 avatiakh: & >21 wandering_star: I was just posting that cover over on the Ugly Cover thread, it really is pretty awful!

>22 DeltaQueen50: I saw your cover, it isn't as bad as the cover I read. I'll post my cover over on that thread fr comparison only. I'm not rereading that one.

>22 DeltaQueen50:/>23 avatiakh: I don't yet have my copy from the library. After this docussion, I can't wait to see if it is as bad as all that.

Challenge #10: A Book Bullet

A book mentioned on another member's thread. Or a book with Book or Bullet, in any language, in the title.

I'm tempted to call this the "Great minds think alike challenge"---the (other) great mind in this case being Helen. :D

Apologies for the almost-double-up, but I have too many potential books put together to think of something else!

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Challenge #12: Read a book with a title built around the word 'of'

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The title should be structured 'So-and-so of such-and-such' or 'The such-and-such of so-and-so', or similar, with the word 'of' in the middle. (It does not need to be the numerically middle word, however.)

For example, some of the books I have in mind are:

- The Song Of Bernadette
- The Case Of William Smith
- The Monster Of Grammont
- The Prince Of Poisoners

However, Of Mice And Men would *not* qualify.

>26 lyzard: I'll take that! I would not dream of suggesting we're both fools. >;-)

Challenge 13: Read a book for the 50 states challenge (semi-rolling)

For each state, one book can be read. Shared books allowed. Once a book for each state has been chosen (in any order), a new set of all fifty states will be listed. To qualify, a book must be a) written by an author who was born in or currently lives in that state (once lived in will not count nor just owns a residence), b) is set in that state for a majority of the book (approximately 50% or more, or c) is about or about something that occurred in that state (50% rule applies here as well.) Please state which, i.e. born, lives, setting, about.

A maximum of four books per person will be allowed for this challenge (per set of 50 states.) I figure no one is going to do FIVE sweeps. If so, please let me know individually and I'll put you on an exception list. I expect there will be only one possible name on that list. *COUGHFAMeulsteeCOUGH*

>27 Helenliz:

I nearly fell off my chair when I saw your challenge! :D

It amazes me how after so many years of TIOLI, fun and inventive Challenges continue to be introduced. A round of applause to all :0)

>30 Carmenere: I agree. It's your participation which keeps it rolling along!

High five all round!!

>28 Morphidae: *COUGH*
Four will do Morphy, I never managed more than three ;-)

Challenge #14: Read a book where the title includes the words home, heart, holiday, or the name of a December holiday

"Home is where the heart is."

1. Anywhere in the title, but don't include subtitle
   
2. Words can be embedded, including across words
   
3. Any December holiday counts, secular or religious (any religion)
   
4. New Year's or years will count, but not New, day, or eve
   
5. Epiphany will count since it is a holiday with a long connection to Christmas, though it is celebrated in January (as is Christmas in some places)

EDIT: I realized later that part of this of this challenge is superfluous to #8 >9 Citizenjoyce:. I'll strike the last part about the names of a holiday. No one has put with a holiday yet anyway.

>32 SqueakyChu: Do you really need to ask? :D

>9 Citizenjoyce: I didn't realize I semi-duplicated your challenge. Sorry.

>35 Morphidae: I don’t. I just did the poll for fun this year because I already told everyone I’m continuing this gig at least through 2019. :D

>36 neverstopreading: That’s not a problem. Each of you posted your own challenge for a specific reason. Our primary rule: No guilt!! :D

>37 SqueakyChu: Nevertheless, I modified mine. That part was just an afterthought anyway.

>34 neverstopreading: >36 neverstopreading: they aren’t quite the same though. I can put Alaskan Holiday in #14 but it doesn’t have a specific holiday to fit in Citizenjoyce’s challenge.

>40 raidergirl3: Alaskan Holiday still works. I just took out the part of the "name of a December holiday." So no Christmas, etc. That's for #8.

>36 neverstopreading: Great minds think alike.

Challenge #15: Read a book which starts with a word from 'Silent Night, Holy Night'

I modify the song challenges we had so far and challenge you to read with this old Christmas song in mind.
Read a book which contains a word from this song in the first sentence. Please quote that sentence in the wiki. Embedded words are fine.
If you read a book in a foreign language: the word must fit the translation into that language which is given on this page http://silentnight.web.za/index.htm
Fill in books into the first verse as many as you like, when all is filled, I will add the second verse (maybe a bit optimistic, but let's see).

>43 paulstalder: Do words need to be used in order, or can I nab one that's halfway down verse 1 now?

That carol still sends shivers down my spine. Sang it while at secondary school, 8 of us, unaccompanied (I sort of sang Alto - not very well, but I was no way a sporano) in German (which I don't - to all practical purposes - speak) in Portsmough Guildhall in a concert. It stands out particularly as there was a sore throat bug going round and we all felt really rough. I used to get dreadful stage fright when I was confident, that night I was anything but! eurgh.

>44 Helenliz: Just fill in where you like.

It was first sung in 1818 - so we got a 200-year-anniversary. It is a great song.

>5 Carmenere:

No elves allowed.

LOL! There is always a single elf among many! ;)

Challenge 16: Read a book in which moral values and beliefs are an issue in some way

I've just finished a book which would have definitely fitted into one of last month's challenges, and I have some more coming up that I need to fit in, so this is self-serving for me. Beliefs may refer to anything, not just religious or political beliefs, and ditto moral values (speaking as a second/third generation atheist vicar's granddaughter!)

The book I can't match to a challenge is East West Street by Philippe Sands - the author researches his family history and finds out, as well as the tragedies of concentration camps, about his grandfather's connections with the Nuremberg trials.

Books can be non fiction or literary or genre fiction or children's books, and this is entirely open to interpretation by participants. I would like to spread my reading through as many challenges as possible, but this challenge covers at least 6 of the 7 books I'm reading as a fallback.

>47 elkiedee: I'm looking forward to seeing your comments on that book!

>47 elkiedee: Now I wish I had finished Ross Douthat's book Bad Religion yesterday instead of Friday :-)

Challenge 17: Read a non-fiction book with beautiful photography.

And beauty is in the eye of the beholder--if you think it is beautiful, that's good enough for me. I happen to be reading (and drooling over) Read My Pins: Stories From a Diplomat's Jewel Box by Madeleine Albright and find myself whispering "So lovely!" constantly.

Karen O.

TIOLI Stats for November 2018

For November, 2018, we read a total of 421 books with 48 or 11% of them as shared reads. This was the lowest total number of shared reads since 2017 and the lowest percentage of shared reads ever, tying the lowest percentage in 2014.

We accumulated 25 TIOLI points, the lowest number since 2017, although our YTD number for TIOLI points is fine.

Our most popular books, each with four readers, were these:
Through the Woods - Emily Carroll
A Handful of Dust - Evelyn Waugh

Our most popular challenge, with 59 books, was the one by @souloftherose to read a book which doesn't just contain text.

Out challenges with the most TIOLI points (3 each) were these:
--- My (@SqueakyChu's) challenge to read a book tagged on LibraryThing as "horror"
---DeltaQueen's challenge to read a book that you need to complete for a 2018 Challenge

Up next...the November TIOLI Awards!

November 2018 TIOLI Awards!

The Smorgasboard Award goes to @lindapanzo for reading Eggs on Ice for Carmenere's challenge to read a book that completes the sentence "I went to Grandma's house and I brought............". This challenger was the only one who thought to bring some food to grandma's house!

The Award of Hope goes @susanna.fraser for reading An Unconditional Freedom for Morphidae's challenge to read a book that completes the 'phrase, "I am thankful for...". In these trying times, freedom is one of our greatest blessings. Never take it for granted.

The Beautiful Heavens Award goes to @DeltaQueen for reading The Time Machine for susanna.fraser's challenge to read a book with stripes on the cover. This book cover had stripes that turn into a galaxy of stars. That struck me as awesome!

The SqueakyChu is Forever Grateful Award goes to @souloftherose for the challenge to read a book which doesn't just contain text. With this challenge, I got engrossed in a graphic novel/comics series to the point that I read all nine books of the series just for this one challenge. That's a first ever for me to do such a high number of reads for only one challenge.

The Will He Ever Return Award goes to @paulstalder for taking us on a ride of London's tube system with the challenge to read a book with a word of the title or author matching a London Tube station. It took a while to figure this challenge out, but once I did I was only too happy to hop aboard a train. Sadly, I didn't finish reading the book I started on my train ride! :)

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

>52 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award, Madeline. Got to make sure that Grandma doesn't starve.

Congratulations, winners.

Thank you to those who joined in my 'In Memoriam' challenge, it's much appreciated!

>52 SqueakyChu: Not taking freedom for granted is very much a theme of that book--it's part of a series of romances about Black spies for the Union during the Civil War.

>55 lyzard: Could you tell me more about Mama Peggy?

Thanks for the award, I think that cover of The Time Machine is beautiful. Too bad the story didn't really pass the test of time, it was very dated.

>58 DeltaQueen50: Too bad! I was wondering whether or not to read it as I enjoyed The Invisible Man by the same author very much.

Finished my fourth sweep today!
(sweep 8 Dec, double sweep 13 Dec, triple sweep 19 Dec, quadruple sweep 23 Dec, quintuple sweep 27 Dec)

#1: Essay over de jukebox - Peter Handke
#1: Dat waren wij - Pierre Bergounioux
#1: De komst van de tijd - Pierre Bergounioux
#1: Fietsen op de Mont Ventoux - Jan Kal
#1: De plek (A Man's Place) - Annie Ernaux

#2: Het raadsel van al wat leeft - Paul Schutten
#2: De guillotine - Simone van der Vlugt
#2: Gips - Anna Woltz
#2: Bel me nou, Sebastiaan - Irina Korschunow
#2: The man from the other side (=De man van de andere kant) - Uri Orlev

#3: Pluche - Femke Halsema
#3: Vallende vrouw - Karin Spaink
#3: De uitverkorene - Fayza Oum'Hamed
#3: Schoonheid macht liefde - Sharon Gesthuizen
#3: Liefde in tijden van gebrek - Astrid Roemer

#4: De zelfkant - Marten Toonder
#4: Liederen van de zelfkant - Willem van Iependaal
#4: Dat weet ik zelf niet - Hella Haasse
#4: Zelfportret van een ander (Self-Portrait of an Other) - Cees Nooteboom
#4: Monoloog van iemand die het gewoon werd tegen zichzelf te praten - Dimitri Verhulst

#5: Geheime missie Jericho Rood (Operation Red Jericho) - Joshua Mowll
#5: Eerst grijs dan wit dan blauw (First Gray, Then White, Then Blue) - Margriet de Moor
#5: Balans in rood - Willem van der Loos
#5: Maar geel en glanzend blijft het goud - A. Alberts
#5: De witte wolf - Käthe Recheis
#5: De glazen stolp (The Bell Jar) - Sylvia Plath

#6: Het zevende sacrament (The Seventh Sacrament) - David Hewson
#6: De economie zoals uitgelegd aan zijn dochter (Talking to My Daughter About the Economy) - Yanis Varoufakis
#6: De laatste slavenjacht - Karl May
#6: Heksenkind (Wise child) - Monica Furlong
#6: De pozzebokken - Bouke Jagt
#6: De verdwijningen (The Ghost Riders of Ordebec) - Fred Vargas
#6: De tinnen huzaar - Alet Schouten

#7: Kikker en het vogeltje (Frog and the Birdsong) - Max Velthuijs
#7: Huon en de ganzenjonkvrouw - Alet Schouten
#7: Zoete meisjes en een tijger - Alet Schouten
#7: De dame en de neushoorn - Anne Vegter
#7: Juniper (A year and a day) - Monica Furlong

#8: Een puppy voor kerst - Simone Luijten
#8: Een jongen met de naam Kerstmis (A Boy Called Christmas) - Matt Haig
#8: Toch nog kerst (Single dad's christmas miracle) - Susan Meier
#8: Kerstmis (Christmas) - Dick Bruna
#8: Sneeuw in Londen (London Snow: a Christmas story) - Paul Theroux

#9: Juf is gek - Dolf Verroen
#9: Bert en Bart redden de wereld - Tjibbe Veldkamp
#9: De gezonde apotheek - R.A. Basart
#9: Afgunst - Arie Storm
#9: Watchmen - Alan Moore
#9: Je ben super... Jan! - Harmen van Straaten

#10: De zilveren kogel - A. Alberts
#10: Het duister zichtbaar (Darkness Visible) - William Styron
#10: Het boek van Bod Pa - Anton Quintana
#10: Dit boek heet anders - Joke van Leeuwen
#10: Een zomer zonder slaap (A sleepless summer) - Bram Dehouck
#10: Dodencirkel (The Crossing Places) - Elly Griffiths

#11: De prinses van de moestuin (The princess in the kitchen garden) - Annemie Heymans
#11: Het malle ding van bobbistiek - Leonie Kooiker
#11: De regels van drie - Marjolijn Hof
#11: Wim - Wim Hofman
#11: Morgen wordt het beter (The murderer) - Felice Holman
#11: De grote gevaren van Arno - Ben Kuipers
#11: De Cock en de onsterfelijke dood - A.C. Baantjer
#11: De vossenhater - Anton Quintana

#12: De sage van Finn Mac Cool (The High Deeds of Finn MacCool) - Rosemary Sutcliff
#12: Praatjes vullen geen gaatjes (A figure of speech) - Norma Fox Mazer
#12: Net als je vader, Manolo (Shadow of a bull) - Maia Rodman
#12: De Romeinse lusthof (The garden of Evil) - David Hewson
#12: Keten van verzet (Chain of fire) - Beverley Naidoo

#13: Boven de waterval (Above the Waterfall) - Ron Rash
#13: Miyax, de wolven en de jager (Julie of the Wolves) - Jean Craighead George
#13: Woede (Fury) - Salman Rushdie
#13: Het verborgen leven van honden (The hidden life of dogs) - Elizabeth Marshall Thomas
#13: Het lied van de geesten (Sing, unburied, sing) - Jesmyn Ward

#14: Tijgerhart (Secret heart) - David Almond
#14: Waar het hart vol van is - Willem Wilmink
#14: Het zwaard, de zee en het valse hart - Theun de Vries
#14: Het hart der duisternis (Heart of Darkness) - Joseph Conrad
$14: De geur van Melisse (Heart's delight) - Per Nilsson

#15: Candido, of Een droom die begon op Sicilië (Candido, or, A dream dreamed in Sicily) - Leonardo Sciascia
#15: De hertesprong - Alet Schouten
#15: Duizend kraanvogels (Thousand Cranes) - Yasunari Kawabata
#15: Colman (Colman) - Monica Furlong
#15: De zwaardvis (The swordfish) - Hugo Claus

#16: Gevangen in de Andes (The Honorable prison) - Lyll Becerra de Jenkins
#16: Drie verschrikkelijke dagen - Guus Kuijer
#16: De kloof - Jan Terlouw
#16: Gevangenis met een open deur - Jan Terlouw
#16: De grote Gatsby (The great Gatsby) - F. Scott Fitzgerald

#17: André Volten : Utopia - Jan Teeuwisse
#17: Giacometti Chadwick : Facing Fear - Michael Bird
#17: Het wad - Jan van Leuven
#17: Exceptional Treehouses - Alain Laurens
#17: 25 jaar sculpturen - Tom Waakop Reijers

>60 FAMeulstee: Congrats on your sweep, Anita! This makes you the first person to have completed a sweep in all the months of 2018. Wow!

I, on the other hand, am proud of my one and only sweeplette that I accomplished this year! :D

>60 FAMeulstee: Oh my goodness and December is only eight days old! Congrats, Anita!!

>61 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, I hope to do more sweeps this month.
You should be proud of your accomplishment, I am just lucky to be able to read a lot.

>62 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda, it is the fastest sweep I ever did.

>59 SqueakyChu: Madeline, I have recently read The Time Machine, The Invisible Man and The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells and I much preferred the latter two to The Time Machine. My favorite was The Invisible Man.

>60 FAMeulstee: Anita, you are amazing! Congrats on both sweeping December and the whole of 2018!

>60 FAMeulstee: Wow, Anita! You're amazing.

>60 FAMeulstee: WOW! You are amazing. Congratulations.

Congratulations Anita. You are reading a fantastic variety of books.

>60 FAMeulstee: Wow, that's amazing. Congratulations, Anita.

I've read one book so far this month. Does that count?

>60 FAMeulstee: Congratulations.

>52 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, for the award. We didn't go far in London ...

>64 DeltaQueen50: >65 susanna.fraser: >66 Citizenjoyce: >67 avatiakh: >68 lindapanzo: >69 quondame:
Thanks, Judy, Susanna, Joyce, Kerry, Linda and Susan.

>67 avatiakh: And most of them are own books this month, our own library has much variety.
>68 lindapanzo: Every book counts ;-)

I've just realised that the books I have read so far this month could actually all fit into different challenges, and so I have a chance of carrying out a sweep! I've never even thought about aiming for a sweep before, but right now I have 9 of the 17 challenges ticked off, and I think I can find books from the TBR for all the rest - there aren't any of those impossible-looking challenges. It's probably the best chance I'll ever have so I guess I shouldn't waste it...

>72 wandering_star: That would be great, go for it!

>72 wandering_star: I'm right there with you! Most months there's at least one challenge I just can't find a way to meet, and I rarely have time to read 16-18 books, but this month I've got a shot and am already 7 books in.

Special thanks to Lyzard for accepting Jesus and the Jewish Roots of Mary for challenge 12, even if it is stretching it a little bit!

>71 FAMeulstee: Yes, every book does count, Anita. In fact, I didn't expect to be reading much this month and filled in only 9 books for TIOLI (usually, I'm extremely optimistic and fill in something for each challenge). At this point, I'm thinking maybe 3 or 4 total this month, which would likely be my lowest monthly total in years.

However, the books I have read/expect to finish are excellent. My one completed read is the new Louise Penny Kingdom of the Blind--Louise Penny is my favorite author and, while this is far from my favorite one in this long-running series, it is well done, as usual. The new Michelle Obama memoir, Becoming, which is excellent so far, is my current read.

>75 thornton37814:

Welcome! :)

>76 lindapanzo: I've become too obsessed with sweeps this year, I'm going to concentrate more on quality next year, even though I've surprisingly found lots of unexpected quality. The most important thing is to enjoy what you're reading. I'm glad you are. And I agree about the Michelle Obama book.

>78 Citizenjoyce: Totally agree! In attempting a sweeplette of challenges 1-6 I virtually ignored all the other wonderful challenges. No mas! I just came to terms with the fact I'll never achieve sweepster status of any kind......but I will enjoy picking and choosing from the challenges that work for me.

>78 Citizenjoyce: After all my medical issues, surgery etc, of the past year (yes, it all began last year the first week of December), I've really focused on doing things that make me happy. That includes reading what I like and not necessarily what I feel I should be reading. For 2019, for instance, for the category challenge, which I consider my main challenge, I've not put a total number of books for each category but am, instead, leaving it open ended. I'll also probably read for quality, not necessarily quantity.

I would love to do sweeps but it's rare for me ever to read 15 to 20 books a month. If the TIOLI challenges fall in a way where a sweeplette is possible, I might go for it, but probably wouldn't read something in a category that would be a chore for me to read.

Finished my second sweep today (>60 FAMeulstee: updated). This is my best TIOLI month ever!

>81 FAMeulstee: Wow! So fine!! Congrats!!!

>82 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, I will see how far I can get this month...

>81 FAMeulstee: Congrats! Just amazing!

TIOLI Question of the Month:

Which author, of all the books you’ve read so far this month, was your favorite and why? Is this a new-to-you author or not?

A Dutch author of YA I have read before: Anton Quintana. He is one of my favorite YA authors. Sadly the book I read this month isn't translated into English (there is a German and an Italian translation of Het boek van Bod Pa). The only book by Quintana that is available in English translation is The baboon king.

>85 SqueakyChu: So far The Sea by John Banville earned my highest rating for December (other than a cookbook which tied). Banville is not completely new to me as I've read one of his mysteries authored as Benjamin Black; however, I liked this much better than the Black novel. Why did I love this one? It's written beautifully. This one was set in his native Ireland, and his love of place shines through. It won the Booker prize in its eligibility year.

>52 SqueakyChu: Thank you for the award and I'm so glad you enjoyed the graphic novels you chose :-)

>60 FAMeulstee:, >81 FAMeulstee: Oh wow, well done Anita!

>85 SqueakyChu: favourite (as in most enjoyed) is JK Rowling. I'm re-reading the Harry Potter series. Finished book 5 this month. I'm fairly sure I've read book 6, but not book 7, so that's still to come.

However the best author would be Hanya Yanagihara for A Little Life, a book that doesn't pull its punches and tackles the difficult subject of child abuse and sexual exploitation through the effect it has throughout a young man's life. The cover blurb makes it sound like a college comming of age tale, it is so much more than that. This was the first book I'd read by this author. I would consider her writing good enough to want to read more by her, despite her prelediction for using difficult subject matter.

Obviously that's books completed so far, I reserve the right to change my mind at a moment's notice. >;-)

>85 SqueakyChu: My favourite author is Patricia McKillip. I'm reading my 4th book by her this month and will read at least one more as well as I am in the middle of the Riddle-Master trilogy.

>85 SqueakyChu: My favorite is Synithia Williams, a new-to-me romance author who's impressing me with her vividly believable characters. I read Overtime for Love, was impressed enough that I went out and bought two more of her books, including Guarding His Heart, which I was happy to see met another of this month's challenges.

>88 souloftherose: Thank you, Heather, well on my way to #3!
This is going to be my best TIOLI month ever, if my reading doesn't implode along the way ;-)

>85 SqueakyChu: Tim Powers is one of my all time favorite authors. His most common form is unusual historically based fantasy-twist versions, giving a wildly imaginative hidden story narrative. There is some overlap with urban fantasy and horror, but not in any simple way.

>85 SqueakyChu: I haven't quite finished Dietland yet, but unless this is one of those unfortunate books that the author doesn't know how to end (like Us Against You) Sarai Walker is my absolutely, fabulously favorite author this month. There's one other book listed under her name, but I don't know if it's Dietland in a different language. I have to admit I didn't watch the series, which hallelujah is being blasted out again on AMC over 12/28 and 12/29. I had no interest in watching a series about dieting. Silly me. This book is a riotously feminist book about, well, she doesn't want to call it terrorism, but it's sure about women finally taking a stance against misogyny. If she writes anything else I'll sure read it.

I updated >60 FAMeulstee: as I finished my third sweep this month :-)

>95 FAMeulstee:. Whew! It’s only the 19th. Might as well go for 4.

>96 Citizenjoyce: If I can keep up my present reading pace, I might have a chance on 5 sweeps this month. For that I need to read 25 more books.

>95 FAMeulstee: Holy Moly, Anita you are phenomenal!

>95 FAMeulstee: Wow, Anita. Congratulations. I've now finished 3 books in total and, at my current pace, might finish 5 this month. Hoping for a return to normal in the new year.

>95 FAMeulstee: Totally amazing, Anita! Hearty congrats!!

>97 FAMeulstee: What a way to finish the year!

>98 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda. Doesn't feel like phenomenal, more like very lucky.

>99 lindapanzo: Thank you, Linda, hoping with you for better reading for you next year.

>100 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, on to the next sweep :-)

>101 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce, it would be a nice end of my two years of sweeps.
First months next year I want to focus on my last unread childrens/YA books. If they fit the challenges I will put them there, but I want to stop seeking books for every challenge.

>28 Morphidae: >33 FAMeulstee: >96 Citizenjoyce: You were saying?

>103 Morphidae: Four entries at your challenge, Morphy, and a shared read :-)

TIOLI's it has come to this: I can't find a home for my latest read. I've just finished Echoes from the Macabre by Daphne du Maurier. All ideas most welcome, even if they're a bit of a stretch, I'll take it!

I see the problem with trying to do sweeps. The book I'm reading for Challenge 9 is not very good, and normally I would abandon it, but I don't have anything else which would be suitable to fit the challenge. I guess this time I will plough on (fortunately it's short) - just for the sake of doing a sweep once!

>105 Helenliz: You probably planned to read the book, so you can put it at Challenge #6 "Read a book that you planned to read in 2018, but didn't read yet".

>106 wandering_star: I did my one sweeplette...and now I feel as if I don't need to do any more! If I do more, great. If not, no problem. The idea of TIOLI was really to read what you want to read, and not to be forced into a situation in which you are reading what you don't like. I never, ever had sweeps or sweeplettes in mind when I created this challenge!

>108 SqueakyChu: I think that there's a natural tendency to want to compete, even against ourselves. I like trying for sweeps, but reading crap to get there, or feeling guilt when I don't, isn't worth it.

>108 SqueakyChu: Yes, thank you for the reminder. The clue's in the name! I have managed to find a substitute though so Project Sweep remains on course for the moment...

>105 Helenliz: I agree Challenge 6 looks like a contender, but also is that a title in white lettering (challenge 5)? Have you looked at challenge 15 or 16? Any unused words from the opening lines or moral and ethical dilemmas?

>111 elkiedee: that's a winning idea, yes the title is white text on a picture background.
>107 FAMeulstee: Thankyou for the suggesiton, that felt a bit squeezed in, even for me!

Book placed in challenge 5 and I'm happier again. That should be every book I'll read in 2018 has found a TIOLI home.

I updated >60 FAMeulstee: as I finished my fourth sweep this month :-)

On to the next!

*Faints*

*Opens one eye*

Anita, did you really do this?! How amazing!! Congratulations on an amazing reading feat!

>115 FAMeulstee: Thank you, Madeline!
I am afraid I will let you faint one more time this month ;-)
I amazed myself, as everything works out this month: finding enough books for every challenge and some extra time to read.

>113 FAMeulstee: You're amazing!

>113 FAMeulstee:. Yahoo, the Amelia Earhart of TIOLI.

Hi, all...I know that we've discussed before taking some of the empty TIOLI Meter numbers out of the list, and nobody seemed to care for the idea, but I would like to ask once again: can we take out some of the numbers between 30 and 74 (or wherever FAMeulstee is currently :)) It's getting a little putzy to click "edit" up at the top and then scroll WAY down to where I am now (haha). And then Anita wouldn't have to keep adding numbers to the list.

What do you think?

Karen O.

>113 FAMeulstee: congratulations to your fourfold Backflip - or to whatever way you read

>118 klobrien2: fine with me as long as you let the 10s stay there

>118 klobrien2: Fine by me, and I agree that letting the 10s stay as a sort of marker is a good idea.

>122 SqueakyChu: The tens sound like a good compromise. I was the first person to keep deleting the in-between numbers. Remember!?! Haha!

>116 susanna.fraser: Thank you, Suzanne.

>117 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce, I hope for a better ending ;-)

>118 klobrien2: >122 SqueakyChu: Sounds good to me :-)

>119 paulstalder: Thank you, Paul!

Before I forget...and while I'm baking cookies...wishing those who celebrate a very merry Christmas!

>124 SqueakyChu: cookies?? when do they arrive? Oh, please send some .... I did some Chräbeli (anise cookies). You wanna swap?

>124 SqueakyChu: No more cookie baking for me, it's Chex Mix for everyone. Happy Holidays all.

Just pulled off my first-ever sweep!

>127 susanna.fraser: Wow! Congratulations!!

>127 susanna.fraser: Congratulations, Susanna!

>127 susanna.fraser: Way to end the year.

Congratulations to all the December sweepers! Hope everyone has a very happy holiday.

Cookies done! Happy holidays to all!

>125 paulstalder: I was actually thinking about making some anise cookies as well, but I ran out of time!

>132 SqueakyChu: These online cookies are of no use ....

>133 SqueakyChu: I did make some anise cookies, Spitzbuebe (rogues, jam biscuits) and almond crescents

>134 paulstalder:. I LOVE almond crescents. My mom used to make them a lot. I never found a good recipe for them. Mind sharing yours? I promise to make them. I might also make some anise cookies before New Year’s Eve.

I wish we could get together and have an LT cookie exchange. Wouldn’t that be fun?!

>26 lyzard: I finished Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South for challenge #7 and was shocked at how wonderful and timely it was: union problems, questioning religion. I have to say, in spite of all you taught us about Jane Austen, this is the kind of woman character I want to read about, one who makes her own decisions and steps out of societal constraints to follow her own inclinations. Go ahead, feel free to tell me why I’m wrong, but I loved it.

>136 Citizenjoyce:

You're not wrong to love it. You're just comparing apples and oranges. :)

In Jane Austen's time there was no possibility of a woman stepping out of societal constraints: it was constraint or oblivion. Austen's novels are about women making the best of the very little society permitted them.

By the time Gaskell was writing, some forty years later, England had undergone massive social upheaval: the railways had come, industrialisation had seen the population shift from rural to urban, traditional values were being questioned, and "the woman problem" was pushing its way into the general consciousness. And opportunities for women were beginning to open up, and behaviour that would have been unthinkable a generation before was becoming acceptable.

Both Austen and Gaskell were writing about their society as it existed at the time of writing, but those societies were almost unimaginably different, considering the comparatively short period of time between them.

The only "wrong" here would be to assume that Austen didn't want her women to have opportunities, or that she was ignoring the opportunities that existed in her books. There were literally no such opportunities at the time. It was marriage or nothing.

First, congratulations to our sweepers Anita and Susanna!! Woohoo! I joined you the other day and I suspect we'll see a few more before the end of the month. Er, I didn't mean Anita AGAIN, but that'll probably happen, too, lol.

Shared Reads were hard for me to come by last month - this month has been better. In case anyone is looking for a truly quick shared read, may I suggest Home Crowd Advantage by Ben Aaronovitch? It's a very short story available on his website. If you've read any of his Rivers of London novels you're sure to enjoy it. Even if you haven't, it could serve as a quick introduction to this excellent urban fantasy series.

I've got it listed in Kerry's "Keep It Short" Challenge #11. Please join me!

>139 SqueakyChu: Congrats, @Dejah_Thoris on your sweep, Anita on your quadruple sweep, and me on my five books completed so far this month! :D

>137 lyzard: 40 years seem like nothing when you're just looking at numbers, but I guess in real life they matter. Ugh, I just have such a hard time with the "marriage or nothing" idea.

I'll be taking a few books off the wiki, I've spent almost a week at my mother's house and haven't managed to read anything.

>140 Citizenjoyce:

That forty years in particular---there were HUGE changes in England, so big it's hard to imagine now.

And yeah, agreed; but that was the reality, so that's what she wrote about. There had been rumblings in writing since the late 18th century, but the real push for change for women didn't start until the 1830s, and not much progress was made until the 1860s.

Finished my fifth and final sweep of the year today, thanks everyone for putting up challenges I could meet 5 times.

>138 Dejah_Thoris: Thank you, Dejah, and congratulations on your sweep!
Yes, I did just now, on my way to update the wiki ;-)

>139 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, please don't faint again ;-)

>143 FAMeulstee: Well done, Anita! Congratulations - again.

>136 Citizenjoyce: >137 lyzard: The Jane Austen novel that drives me the most insane is Sense and Sensibility - those poor women! The only women with any agency are married or widowed, and are, more often than not, remarkably unpleasant individuals who are less than kind to the Dashwood ladies.

Congrats to all the sweepers. It's especially impressive, to me, to do so at year's end, when there's so much else going on. Way to go!!

>143 FAMeulstee: Very impressive! Congratulations!

>144 Dejah_Thoris: >145 lindapanzo: >146 quondame: Thanks Dejah, Linda and Susan.

>145 lindapanzo: For me December is a quiet month with few obligations. We have no children and very few family, so I could dedicate a lot of time to reading.

>139 SqueakyChu: *taking smelling salts to not faint again*

Congrats, Anita! Astounding!!

>143 FAMeulstee: Wow, congratulations on the impossible.

>143 FAMeulstee: Well done, congratulations. Well done, congratulations. Well done, congratulations. Well done, congratulations. Well done, congratulations.

>148 SqueakyChu: Madeline, your habit of fainting is worrying us. Did you consider asking a librarian?

>143 FAMeulstee: Fantastic, Anita! What an outstanding year of reading!

>148 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, this was the last sweep for this year.

>149 Citizenjoyce: Thank you, Joyce, I didn't think it was possible, until everything worked out.

>150 paulstalder: LOL! Thank you, Paul.

>151 Carmenere: Thank you, Lynda, I had a nice run in the last two months.

>150 paulstalder: I think my fainting s over for this year! LOL!

Congrats again to Anita. What an outstanding reading year you've had.

>154 avatiakh: Thank you, Kerry, it has been a great reading year. And I am still reading to add a few more ;-)

>155 FAMeulstee: Wow, Anita! Four sweeps and 90 books! I'm joining Madeleine on the floor in a faint. Awesome!

>156 streamsong: Thank you, Janet, I even surprised myself.
I just finished book #91 and two more are almost done. I don't think I will ever be able to repeat this.

Anita's read more books this month that I've managed all year! *picks self up off the floor*
>157 FAMeulstee: I don't think I will ever be able to repeat this. I should hope not, there's a danger you'll run out of books at that rate!

>158 Helenliz: *keeps smelling salts ready* Are you alright, Helen?

I am just lucky to have a lot of time I can spend on reading.
A lot of my readings this year were childrens and YA books, since 2016 I am reading through my own childrens and YA books. I have read 250 of them this year, leaving only 111 books for next year. I have to find myself a next project ;-)
Thanks the recommendations of everyone here I won't completely run out of books to read.

>159 FAMeulstee: Good move! I have been thoroughly loving reading children’s books again now that I have grandchildren. They’re so much fun - both the books and the kids!!

In under the wire, with my first sweep! (and last....!)

>161 wandering_star: Ooh, congratulations. I'm still to do this as I never aim to have a book in all the challenges.

>161 wandering_star: Hey! Wonderful accomplishment! Congrats on your first (and last?) sweep!! :D

I thought I was done reading in December, and that any books I was reading would get finished in January. Plus I was distracted by the new shiny challenges. I must have forgot that I'm not working this week, and that I have not much to keep me busy, because I finished one book tonight (To All the Boys I've Loved Before) that I thought was going to be January sisters book, but turned into 'elf' book. I also will probably finish Transcription by Kate Atkinson tomorrow as well and can fit it into challenge 2 - haven't read the author in a year.

congrats to all the sweepers!

>161 wandering_star: Congratulations, fellow first-time sweeper!

>161 wandering_star: Congratulations first and last timer.

>161 wandering_star: Congratulations!

Time to remove books from the wiki, it's already afternoon on NYD here.

With Mission to Pluto, my 340th read in 2018, for challenge #17, I have finished a sweep at almost the last moment. At least in London it's almost the last moment.

Congratulations, Susan!

>161 wandering_star: >169 quondame: Congratulations to you both!

Congratulations to all of our amazing sweepers!

I just finished the beautiful picture book, Obama, an intimate portrait for the last of the year's sweeps. It was an inspiring way to end the year.

>173 Citizenjoyce: It was a stunning book, wasn't it? I finished it this morning. And congratulations on your sweep!

>174 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks. It was a perfect end to the year's reading.

>169 quondame: hey, thanks for updating the TIOLI meter. I was excited to go in to update since we shared a read, and you already did!
I was wishing there were a lot more of the recent photos from Pluto in the book (Mission to Pluto), but it gave a good understanding of what we know about Pluto now. Space scientists are amazing.

>169 quondame: Congrats, Susan!

Housekeeping Day!

You know the drill!

Happy New Year!!!

Thanks for all the congratulations everyone! (blush)

>173 Citizenjoyce: Congratulations, Joyce!

And how awesome that you and Dejah did both sweep each month in 2018!

>180 FAMeulstee: thanks. What a year, I'm sure I won't repeat it.

>181 Citizenjoyce: I won't repeat either. After two years I am going back to joining the challenges where I can put books from my TBR.