June RandomCAT: Pick a card, any card....

.

Pick a card, any card...!

For the June RandomCAT, we're going really random.

Find a deck of cards, shuffle them well, and yes, I mean it: pick a card, any card!
Use that card to determine your read for the month. The title or author or some significant aspect of the book must be connected in an apparent way to the card you randomly selected.

-- If you chose the Seven of Hearts, you might read a romance novel (extra credit if it's the seventh in a romance series) or The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne.
-- If you select the Five of Clubs, you might read Five Quarters of the Orange by Joanne Harris or Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk or The Dumas Club by Arturo Pérez-Reverte.
-- If you draw the King of Diamonds, you might read anything by Stephen King.
-- If you pull the Jack of Spades out of the deck, you might read one of the Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte or one of Lee Child's Jack Reacher novels. Or you could read The Maltese Falcon.
-- If Jokers are in your deck and you select one of those, you might read a funny book or...

You get the idea! Have fun!

Oooh, I *love* this one! What a clever idea!

I've drawn the eight of clubs, and so after a look through my Read Soon! shelves, I've pulled Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.

An excellent excuse to break out the deck of cards I just bought at the North Bay museum! They feature vintage travel posters advertising Canadian Pacific :)

I chose the eight of spades, so I think I'll FINALLY read When Eight Bells Toll, by Alistair MacLean.

I found a lovely deck of cards hidden in the drawer where we keep (seldom used) games. The deck is of the Blue Ridge Parkway; each one features a photo by J. Scott Graham and a bit about the image. I selected the Queen of Spades with an image of "a hiking trail through Graveyard Fields follows Yellowstone Prong to the base of Upper Falls." Pretty.

I'm going to read The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee or Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams.

I drew a King of Spades so will be reading Why Kings Confess, next up for me in C.S. Harris's series Sebastian St Cyr.

What a neat idea! Now searching for a deck of cards...

I don't think I've unpacked the cards since I moved here 3 years ago! Off to go do that... LOL!

ETA: Looks like I haven't unpacked anything in that cupboard! Found a deck of cards and pulled the 6 of spades.

Wow, glancing back - what's with everyone picking spades? Unless I have something that #6 in a series, for "spades", I'm thinking of gardening or plants...

Oh... looking closer, it needs to be something in the title or author. Ok, off to go check some options.

I drew the six of diamonds which leads me to Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey.

I drew the six of diamonds. I think I'll go with a book that's set in Toronto or has some kind of association with Toronto, since Drake popularized the nickname "The Six" for the city.

ETA: Would that count for the theme, or does the title have to be directly related? Would an author living in Toronto count?

>8 LittleTaiko: Just saw that we got the same card! :)

I picked the Jack of clubs. Perfect! That's all the push I needed to read Priest the next in the Jack Taylor series by Ken Bruen.

Ok, some options for me in the title:

- The Six Wives of Henry VIII / Antonia Fraser
- The Kingmaker's Sisters: Six Powerful Women in the Wars of the Roses / David Baldwin
- King's Fool: A Notorious King, His Six Wives... / Margaret Campbell Barnes
- Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet / Mark Lynas

Love this! Had to root around in my desk drawer and, as luck would have it, I actually found a deck of cards. Go figure, considering we don't play card games. I drew the Queen of Hearts and my first instinct is to finally break down and read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. I have watched too many film adaptations to count, but I have never read the story. Backup plan is to read The Heart's Invisible Furies by John Boyne as a book currently residing on my TBR shelves.

Great theme!

If you haven't got a pack of cards, the internet will do it for you. This site gave me the 3 of Hearts.

My possibilities are
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers (3rd in series)
Eden's Past by Adam Carpenter (first in a romantic trilogy - so I'll probably read all of them)
The Three Kingdoms by Guanzhong Luo (3)
A Study in Scarlet by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (red card)
My Name is Red by Orhan Pamuk (red card)

I'm glad folks are finding reads to match the card they drew. I want this to be fun and pretty easy! Still, as I lay sleepless last night (insomnia - bleh) I thought of a couple of, um, limits I want to impose on the options. I don't think they have come up yet but I clarified in >1 EBT1002: that the connection between the card you draw and the book is not limited to just the title or the author, as I had originally said, but the connection has to be, well, significant. Hence the option to read a romance if you draw a heart or a comedy if you draw a joker (genre being a significant aspect of a book). It also allows for reading The Maltese Falcon (Sam Spade) or a Lee Child thriller (Jack Reacher) if you draw a spade or a Jack, respectively. Similarly, if you draw a king and you want to read a book about King Henry VIII, that works.

Limit One: On the other hand, if a minor character named Ace shows up for a couple of paragraphs in chapter 12 but not really anywhere else in the book, I would say that falls below threshold.

Limit Two: Additionally, a book about cards or card games does not qualify. A book with even a significant scene in which a game of Bridge or Poker is central would not qualify either. The idea is to randomly draw one card and use that singular card to direct your reading choice.

If the only connection the book has to the number you draw is that it is, say, the seventh in the series, I think that is marginal but I'll probably let it pass. Only you can really determine how significant the ordinal place in a series is to the book in question. And as I'm reading folks' creative ways of connecting the card they choose with something they want to read, I'm leaning more and more toward "go for it!" Limits One and Two above still stand, though. :-)

>14 Robertgreaves: I see that Robert is thinking about using the color of his card to direct him to A Study in Scarlet or My Name is Red. I hadn't thought of that but I like it. It makes me think that my choice of The Queen of the Night for my Queen of Spades might get a wee bit of extra credit since "night" is often associated with black/darkness. It would be a stretch if it were the only connection, but as a bonus it's kind of cool.

Happy random reading!

>2 scaifea: Double "eight." Nice!

>3 rabbitprincess: The deck of cards you used sounds pretty cool. And an Alistair MacLean. Good choice.

>5 majkia: We are on a bit of a spades roll.

>6 LisaMorr: I hope you find one! Or see >14 Robertgreaves: for internet assistance. :-)

>7 LibraryCin: Hmm... as you can see in >15 EBT1002:, I loosened up a bit about it having to be in the title or author's name, per se. I like the association of spade with gardening... it's creative. I think you can go with that.

>8 LittleTaiko: Nice.

>9 mathgirl40: I love the creativity around here! It would never have occurred to me but since Toronto is nicknamed "The Six" (why?), I think it will count.

>10 mathgirl40: I noticed that too. Weird.

>11 VivienneR: Excellent. Glad I could provide the push.

>12 LibraryCin: Any of those will absolutely work but you will see that I clarified that the connection doesn't have to be in the title or author name, per se. It can be other aspects of the book to which your card connects: genre, theme, major character, nickname of the city in which the author resides.... :-)

>13 lkernagh: Those are both great ideas, Lori. I have read and absolutely loved The Heart's Invisible Furies but the Queen of Hearts connection with Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is pretty compelling.

>14 Robertgreaves: Thanks for finding and posting the link to the internet site to mimic a deck of cards, Robert. As I said in >15 EBT1002:, I like your use of the color of the card as well as your other ideas. I can't believe I didn't even think of that!

I drew the seven of clubs. My TBR offers three obvious possibilities:

Seven Alone, by Honoré Morrow—historical fiction about siblings without parents on the Oregon Trail.
Seven Gothic Tales, by Isak Dinesen.
The Amaranth Club, by J. S. Fletcher—British Golden Age detection.

Now the only question is, what mood will I be in when I'm sitting down to read?

>19 NinieB: Yep, that is indeed the question! They all sound interesting.

I used the internet site suggested by Robert and drew the Queen of Clubs. Since I want to read from my TBR books, I think I'll either read The Sound of Our Own Voices: Women's Study Clubs, 1860-1910 (a time when women's clubs were very important) by Theodora Penny Martin or The Sisters of Henry VIII by Maria Perry about Margaret and Mary Tudor, each of whom were queens by their first husbands.

I'm assuming book club books do not count. I will be reading books for two book clubs.

I drew the King of diamonds. On my TBR I have:

* Three books with king in the title.
* Two books by Stephen King
* Four books by Ross King
* Zilch, nada, zero with diamonds.

I'll probably choose one of these...right this minute I'm leaning towards Ross King.

>17 EBT1002: I'd meant to explain why Toronto is called "The Six" but I forgot to do that. The musician Drake was the one who first started calling Toronto that, and it's because Toronto's area code is 416. The city itself seems to have adopted it. Every time I visit Toronto, I inevitably see a "Welcome to the Six" sign somewhere. :)

>15 EBT1002: the connection between the card you draw and the book is not limited to just the title or the author, as I had originally said, but the connection has to be, well, significant.

Thank you for that clarification! I just might go back to my first thought and see if I have any gardening or plant books for "spades". :-) I can certainly read one of the others where "six" is in the title, but I'd like to see if I have other options, as well!

ETA: >17 EBT1002: >18 EBT1002: As you can see, I saw that clarification just now! :-) Thank you for that. I'm not sure if I have anything on my tbr about plants or gardening, but it's funny it's the first thing I thought of to check for. :-) I will check to see, though I may still end up with "six" in the end.

>23 mathgirl40: I'm in Canada (though Western Canada - Calgary). I had no idea "The Six" was a nickname for Toronto! (Sounds like it's a recent thing, though.)

>23 mathgirl40: Raptors’ fans know Toronto is called The Six! Go Raptors tonight!

Thanks for this creative topic! I had to dig out a card deck that used to belong to my elderly neighbors, both long gone to their reward, as I knew right where to find the deck. Pretty birdies on the reverse side, and the deck is probably 20+ years old!

I drew the 8 of spades--looks like we are on a roll here! I like the gardening idea, maybe something along those lines.

I can't find my deck of cards anywhere I think the little people were playing with them a a few weeks ago. I used the site referenced in >14 Robertgreaves: and drew the Jack of Diamonds. I've been wanting to read Diamond Solitaire for a while ,and I'd like to get a little further in the series.

I used the site from >14 Robertgreaves: and got the Jack of clubs. That's great as I can read the next book in the Jack Reacher series.

I drew an Ace of Diamonds. I don't quite know where to go with 'ace', so I may end up reading Blood Diamonds or The Diamond Age, both of which are in my long TBR.

>21 sallylou61: If what you mean is that reading a book club book to "match" with your Queen of Clubs, I would say that does indeed not count. It's not an aspect of the book itself to be a book club book. The ones you found on your shelves sound great!

>22 clue: That's a pretty good number of books from which to choose!

>23 mathgirl40: Cool! Thanks for sharing!

Ok, with gardening as an option to match up with spades, I might see if my library has this one:
Locavore: From Farmers Fields To Rooftop Gardenshow... / Sarah Elton

>24 LibraryCin: Options are good. I'm glad the clarification is giving you some flexibility and that you're having fun looking for a gardening-related book.

>25 LibraryCin: and >26 raidergirl3: I may be the only person in my friendship group who knows the nickname for Toronto. :-)

>27 LadyoftheLodge: I love that you dug out such an old deck of cards. Have fun with your eight of spades.

>28 lsh63: Sounds good.

>29 dudes22: I'm glad you drew a card that led you to something you really want to read!

>30 whitewavedarling: It seems that most of us are finding things in our TBR piles. I'm glad the idea I had is working out like that.

>32 LibraryCin: check.

This is perhaps a bit weird but I'm going to make a list of the cards we have randomly selected so far.

8 ♣️
8 ♠️
Q ♠️
K ♠️
6 ♠️
6 ♦️
6 ♦️
J ♣️
Q ♥️
3 ♥️
7 ♣️
Q ♣️
K ♦️
8 ♠️
J ♦️
J ♣️
A ♦️
10 ♣️
A ♥️
J ♦️
9 ♦️
10 ♦️
2 ♦️
K ♠️
7 ♦️
8 ♠️
4 ♠️
6 ♠️
5 ♣️
5 ♦️

I drew the ten of clubs. Last month I was planning to read The Master Butcher's Singing Club for Reading Through Time. I didn't get to it, so now here's another chance.

>36 beebeereads: Excellent. I loved that book when I read it a year or two ago.
I added your 10♣️ to the list above.

I found a deck that I bought in Moscow more than thirty years ago and drew the Ace of Hearts which shows a nice palace as illustration. I haven't decided on the book yet...

ETA: Heart of a dog seems like an obvious choice here.

I couldn't find a deck of cards (other than Uno), so I used a random card generator online and got the Jack of Diamonds. I think I will read one of the 24 Declassified books, featuring Jack Bauer.

I had a brainstorm for my choice--spades are a black card, and I have Black Coffee by Agatha Christie, also The Witch of Blackbird Pond and Black Sheep by Georgette Heyer. Lots of ideas!!

This is a fun one, Ellen! I have drawn the nine of diamonds and have decided to read The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers.

Great idea! I couldn't find a deck of cards - thank goodness you can find anything on the internet, including a random card draw!
I drew the ten of diamonds and have chosen Gentlemen Prefer Blondes. I did not know this was a book, published in 1925, until I started reading the 1001 Books. Of course, the Marilyn Monroe movie was well known to me, with the song 'Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend'.

Well, I see we have been on a streak of diamonds this past 24 hours or so. I have added all the cards "drawn" to the list in >35 EBT1002: I don't think there is anything to learn there, but it's the kind of list I can't help but keep.

>43 EBT1002: You can add the 2 of Diamonds to the streak, which leads me to The Two Mrs Abbotts by D. E. Stevenson.

I'm going to break the streak - it's back to spades, the King of Spades, in fact. I also used an online random card generator....and I have no idea what I'm going to read.

It was easier to use the random card draw at the link provided - thanks for that!

I got the seven of diamonds.

And have lots of choices:
In Diamond Square
Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
Seven for a Secret
Seven Terrors
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Seven Secrets of Successful Women
Seven Brief Lessons on Physics
The Seven Worlds of Peru

I'm really not sure what I'm in the mood for, but I'll figure it out sometime this week.

Such a fun idea!

I love this theme! I believe I'm the third person to draw the eight of spades. Since that's a black card, I'll probably read Washington Black by Esi Edugyan.

I drew the 4 of spades. Planning on reading Four Past Midnight by Stephen King

I drew the 6 of spades. Planning to read Daisy Jones and the Six.

I have updated >35 EBT1002: to reflect the new draws.

I'm glad folks are finding things to read to match - or inspired by - their random card draw.

>45 Dejah_Thoris: I hope you find something, Dejah. You have King. You have spade(s). You have black. Hopefully something on your wish list or TBR stack will "connect" with one of those elements.

>14 Robertgreaves: thanks! I picked a 5 of clubs. I found one unread book in my library with "five" in the title: The Big Book of Favorite Horse Stories, Twenty-Five Outstanding Stories By Distinguished Authors. I've had it on my shelves for six years, guess it's time to get it done!

>3 rabbitprincess: that's a really good MacLean, one of my favorites!

I drew the 5 of diamonds. I would like to get to Diamonds and Ashes but I don't think I will. Perfect though.

>53 Kristelh: At least you have a plan if you think you can fit it in!

>54 LibraryCin: yes, other options would be books by Diamond, like Guns, Germs, and Steel which I have had on my shelf for ages.
The Diamond Age by Stephenson which I like to read but don't own.

I read Black Coffee by Agatha Christie, which was originally a stage play, then re-written into a novel. I had the 8 of spades.

>55 Kristelh: I am cursing the fact that I got the 3 of hearts rather than the 3 of diamonds, which would have made The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond absolutely perfect.

If I "obey" the card picked (10 of Hearts), my read for the
month will be The Heart of the Matter by Graham Greene.
It's been in my TBR pile for years, perhaps decades, mainly
because Greene's The Power and the Glory (read in the 50's)
is an all time favorite, but I never got around to "tHoftM" --
at most some reviews, including one or two unfavorable ones.

>57 Robertgreaves: That would have been perfect!!!!

>58 rolandperkins: Well, I'm having a bit of a hard time "obeying" the card I drew (and I designed this dang thing).
I drew the Q♠️ so I was going to read The Queen of the Night by Alexander Chee but I started it this evening and I just do not want to read it. I'm thinking about reading The Maltese Falcon (Sam Spade) or Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams if I can find a copy of the latter.

>60 EBT1002: Did you know Pushkin wrote a short story called The Queen of Spades?

COMPLETED the Magpie trilogy, which counts for the 3 as a trilogy, and for the hearts for the romantic elements.

>57 Robertgreaves:, that would be perfect. It seems that so many times my books are off a bit and just don't fit or fit but not now and I need to read it now. lol.

I drew the four of clubs, so I read the first four volumes of the manga series Ouran High School Host Club. I had not read it before, but I think I like it well enough to read the other fourteen volumes too.

Maybe I will do another one. I have now drawn the jack of hearts. Too easy?

I drew the queen of clubs. I've finished reading The Sound of Our Own Voices: Women's Study Clubs 1860-1910 by Theodora Penny Martin.

Continuing the romance theme for hearts, I'm starting The Last Romeo by Justin Myers

the Three of Clubs
/
makes my 08/19 book
Three Comrades / Drei Kameraden
by Erich Maria Remarque

COMPLETED The Last Romeo by Justin Myers. It was billed as a gay rom-com but I found it rather meh.

Read Diamond Solitaire by Peter Lovesey.

>1 EBT1002: I really liked your choice for this RandomCAT. It was very creative. Thanks!!

I ended up reading Seven Alone, aka On to Oregon!. I've described the basic set-up over on my thread but if you like children's historical fiction from the early 20th century you are likely to enjoy this book.

I drew the eight of clubs - here's what I read:



Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie
This one has everything that I should love about a novel: jinn in the modern world, a unique reworking of favorite folktales and fairytales, stories within stories, and an author who is capable of gorgeous wordsmithery. But, well, it just didn't work for me. And that makes me pretty sad. I was so looking forward to a Rushdie version of 1001 Nights, but I didn't like any of the characters and got impatient with the slowness of the prose. Maybe it's just me? At any rate, I won't give up on Rushdie because he's swept me off my feet in the past and I remain hopeful that I'll find that magic with him again.

I drew the Jack of clubs and thoroughly enjoyed Priest in Ken Bruen's Jack Taylor series, awarding 4.5 stars. I've already placed a hold on the next one in the series.

Here's my five of clubs read:


The Big Book of Favorite Horse Stories, Twenty-Five Outstanding Stories By Distinguished Authors by Sam Savitt

I've read my share of short story collections, and most were mediocre. However, this book of "favorite" stories is definitely above average, with some recognizable classics (chapters from My Friend Flicka, Black Beauty) and others that were new to me. The only story I skipped was one I despised from my childhood, The Gift (aka The Red Pony).

This is not a child's book of pony tales, but works that encompass adult and young readers alike. Enjoy.

Finished my read of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll for my Queen of Hearts card draw. As a first time reader of the story, I found it to be delightfully fun, whimsically amusing and filled with outlandish characters, silly puns and the play with logic. I can see where some adult readers may revisit this one for nostalgic childhood reasons, but I think I probably appreciate the story more as an adult reader, than I would have reading it as a young girl.

>51 EBT1002: I did find something to read!

Actually, on one of my regular library visits, I perused the new book shelves with the King of Spades in mind. I picked up two books - one, The River of Kings, I haven't started. The other, a fantasy novel, For the Killing of Kings, turned out to be really good.

I doubt I would have picked up either of these without this month's RandomCat, so thanks!

I read Esi Edugyan's Washington Black because the eight of spades is a black card. I enjoyed it, but I think it loses steam in the second half.

I drew the 4 of diamonds. I struggled, so have stretched the rules to almost breaking point and am reading The White Monkey the 4th novel in the set of 9 novels and other interludes about the Forsytes. This was on my radar after last year's read of The Forsyte Saga and I'm finally getting around to the second of the three trilogies.

I had the King of diamonds and read Josephine Tey's famous novel Daughter of Time. Inspector Alan Grant of Scotland Yard, confined to a hospital bed with a broken leg, decides to determine if King Richard III was the villain he has been described as being. Grant, having just seen a portrait of the King and an expert face reader, doubts the man behind the sensitive face in the portrait could have committed the dastardly crimes he is known for.

A wonderfully random Random! I drew an ace of hearts.

First looked at books with that title (there are several). Then thought a romantic suspense with ace in the title, or first in a series, or a standalone (but not in the mood for romance). Then looked at titles with the word heart, that are first in a series or a standalone...

And eventually tripped over the perfect candidate, which I'm starting today : Rejoice, A Knife to the Heart by Steven Erikson - science fiction (yay!), heart in the title, looks to be a standalone but first anyway, and there's a bonus, it's a first contact story. lol

I drew the ace of hearts from a set of Russian playing cards, so I read Das hündische Herz by Michail Bulgakow. A very strange story indeed.

>61 Robertgreaves: I did not know that! I may try to find a copy to read. It's perfect.

I did complete The Maltese Falcon for my Q♠️ draw and if Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams comes available at the library before the end of the month (I don't think this will happen), I'll read that.

>80 okeres: and >81 MissWatson: Interesting that you drew the same card and each of you found a way to use it to guide your reading.

>83 EBT1002: It popped into my head immediately when I turned the card over.

I have completed my read of The Nine Tailors by Dorothy Sayers. I picked this book as I drew the 9 of spades - a great choice as it proved to be a 5 star read.

>85 DeltaQueen50: love that book!

>85 DeltaQueen50: and >86 fuzzi: I really need to dig back into Lord Peter Whimsey's adventures!

COMPLETED The Rise and Fall of the Third Chimpanzee by Jared Diamond (3)

Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams just came available at the library so I might try to fit that in before June 30 for my Q♠️.

I've finished Nothing to Lose by Lee Child, the series where the main character is named Jack Reacher. My card was the Jack of clubs.

For my Jack of Hearts, I have read The Soldier's Scoundrel by Cat Sebastian, which I received by way of last year's SantaThing. It is a romance novel in which one of the main characters is named Jack.

I finished Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams. 3.5 stars. Q♠️

My card: 6 of spades, so I was thinking a gardening theme (spade)

Locavore: From Farmers' Fields to Rooftop Gardens... / Sarah Elton
4 stars

This looks at trying to eat locally in various parts of Canada. The first half of the book looks at agriculture and farming (the family farm, young farmers, organics, greenhouses), and the second half of the book moves into cities (urban farming, restaurants serving local, etc.)

Lots of people in lots of places across the country are doing things to try to make the world better by sourcing locally. It was interesting to learn about some of those different things. The author has a section at the end where she tries to help offer suggestions on what people can do/look for/ask if they want to move toward eating locally. She admits that she isn’t perfect about it, but really, every little bit helps. At the same time, once again, I wish I liked to cook or garden or both – would be really useful for my environmental sensibilities.

I'm way behind on LT-time, for a number of reasons, but I wanted to report in here to let you all know that I did finish Blood Diamonds JUST before June ended! Full review written for anyone interested :) I was impressed--a 4.5* read for me.

>94 whitewavedarling: Very cool!!
Thanks for checking in.