Take It or Leave It Challenge - September 2019 - 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.


...logo by cyderry

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Your TIOLI challenge for September 2019 is to

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Read a book by Toni Morrison or a book which has at least one three-letter combination of BEL, ELO, LOV, OVE, or VED in the title.

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Rules:
1. You may not change the order of the letters in the three-word combo.
2. Yout three word combo may be within a word, a word unto itself, or across more than one word,

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

1. The September 2019 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 2109 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 by Toni Morrison or a book which has at least one three-letter combination of BEL, ELO, LOV, OVE, or VED in the title - msg #1
2. Read a book with a 2019 copyright - msg #3
3. Read a book in a genre you've discovered or re-discovered in the past year - msg #7
4. Read a book where the first letter of the title starts with one of the letters in the phrase “Harvest Moon” - msg #8
5. Read a book with a striking opening sentence - msg #10
6. Read a booked linked to a specific decade - msg #11

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book where the author's first or last name begins and ends with the same letter - msg #14
8. Read a book by an author who won or was shortlisted for the Orange Prize but not the actual book that won or was listed for the prize - msg #17
9. Read a book for the September CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge - msg #22 - thread
10. Read a book where the title starts with one of the letters of "Having fun with TIOLI" - msg #25
11. Read a book with a food word embedded in the title - msg #40
12. Read a book with at least two different kinds of animals on the cover - msg #55

Challenges #13-16
13. Read a book with a size related word in the title - msg #
14. Read a book with a cover which looks similar to one of Paul's bookmarks - msg #56 - thread
15. Read a book with a jasper-coloured cover - msg #84
16. Read a book centred around the state/province where you live - msg #81

Hold your challenge until the October TIOLI challenges are posted. Thank you so much.

I'm first?!? I'm never first.

Challenge #2: Read a book with a 2019 copyright

Note that, as is often the case, this is totally a self-serving challenge. I've got a ton of new books I want to read and would love to make a big dent, once again, in my Net Galley/ER stacks.

>3 lindapanzo: You're first now! :D

>4 SqueakyChu: Yay.

I will have to examine my Toni Morrison books. Sadly, I've never read anything by her before.

>4 SqueakyChu: Neither have I,. That was the reason for my challenge following her very recent death.

Challenge #3: Read a book in a genre you've discovered or re-discovered in the past year

When I was a pre-teen and teenager I used to devour YA horror novels like my life depended on it, and throughout my teen years I also watched almost every scary movie I could get hold of (which was a lot because it was the late 90's/early 00's and scary movies where in). It got to be too much eventually and I stopped reading and watching scary things almost completely.
Until recently I used to think that horror was a thing I *used to* like but that wasn't "my thing" any more. But lately I've found myself drawn into horror again, partly because there's been some really great scary movies and TV shows that have popped up.
So I've re-discovered my love of scary things, and I'd love to see what discoveries and re-discoveries the TIOLI crowd has made.

I will leave it almost completely up to each of you to decide what constitutes a genre. Is it something broad like romance or science fiction? Or is it something narrow like prehistoric romantic mystery?

Shared reads are more than welcome, and only have to be a discovery/re-discovery for the first reader.
If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Oh, and please note what the genre is.

Challenge #4: Shine On Harvest Moon: Rolling Challenge – Read a book where the first letter of the title starts with one of the letters in the phrase “Harvest Moon”.

I will place the first set and you may fill in what ever book fits in that set. I will list the next set when the first is just about filled. While you can list more than one book at a time, please do not list consecutive books.

You may disregard the words “The” and “A’ as the first word, but this also means when filling in the T and A in Harvest, “The” and “A” can’t be used as the first word.

>7 PawsforThought:: Not sure I've recently discovered or rediscovered any genre, but can I join in a shared read should someone list something which I could join in on? If I were going to do this at some point it would probably be science fiction, both books written for young adults and ones that weren't specifically written but would be likely to appeal to that age, perhaps YA fiction, but I can't say I've actually done either in my reading recently - I've only thought about rereading/reading a few books. Partly because my 12 year old is just getting into various books, mostly YA but I think he might also enjoy writers like John Wyndham. I'm not necessarily encouraging him to read everything I devoured at his age, mind you! Some of the YA books he's recently read have some grown up language eg he asked his dad what "pricktease" meant!

Challenge #5: Read a book with a striking opening sentence

A number of things might qualify as "striking": your opening sentence might be funny, it might be shocking, it might be mysterious, it might be poignant, it might be trying too hard. But there should be something about it to really grab your attention---in a good or a bad way.

Bonus points and an automatic award to anyone who reads Edward Bulwer Lytton's Paul Clifford for this challenge! :D

Please quote your sentence on the wiki.

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Challenge #6 -- The Decade Challenge
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For this Challenge, read a book linked to a specific decade. There are three ways a book may qualify for a particular decade:

1. Author: It's the decade in which the author was born or died.
2. Written and/or Published: It's the decade in which the book was written or first published.
3. Setting: It's the decade in which the book is at least 50% set and/OR the decade in which the book opens (prologues count).

I arbitrarily decided on 15 decades. The list does not need to be filled out in order, but must be completely filled before we start a new set of 15.

If you've got any questions, just ask!

ETA: Please let us know how the book is linked to the decade. Thanks!

>10 lyzard:

I have already read it, but for anyone looking for a good police mystery with a striking first sentence, I’d recommend Silence of the Grave by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indridason: He knew at once it was a human bone, when he took it from the baby who was sitting on the floor chewing it.

So I'm taking a look at the books that have been posted to see where there might be a few shared reads, paying particular attention to the books posted for my own Challenge. Several of them look very doable (available from my library, etc.) and interesting, when I realize as I'm downloading From Here To Eternity from Kindle Unlimited that it's 866 pages! @lyzard good glory! I'll give it a try, but no promises, lol.

>12 raidergirl3: May I say ewww....

Challenge #7 - Read a book where the author's first or last name begins and ends with the same letter.

Hope this hasn't been done before - I searched and didn't see it. Examples: David, Roger, Nathan, Nelson, Norton, Sanders, Saunders, Otto, Kirk.

If you read a book by David Niven, you're a double-winner!

>12 raidergirl3:

Eep! Thank you for the recommendation, I hope someone can pick up on it.

>13 Dejah_Thoris:

Is that all??

Sigh. It's part of my monthly best-seller challenge and let me tell you: American writers post-WWII just DID NOT KNOW how to write economically. That or their editors were all asleep at the switch. Every month I'm being confronted with another crushing chunkster! :D

It would be great if you could join me but don't feel obliged.

ETA: I see you found Agatha too; excellent!

Challenge#8: Read a book by an author who won or was shortlisted for the Orange Prize but not the actual book that won or was listed for the prize

I'll be reading Inland: A Novel by Tea Obreht who won the Orange Prize in 2011 for The Tiger's Wife.

I'm loving these challenges so far, they seem to cover books I've already requested from the library.
My planned reads:
Challenge #1: Read a book by Toni Morrison or a book which has at least one three-letter combination of BEL, ELO, LOV, OVE, or VED in the title. - started by SqueakyChu
*✔Beloved - Toni Morrison (4)
Challenge #2: Read a book with a 2019 copyright - started by lindapanzo
✔The Education of Brett Kavanaugh: An Investigation - Robin Pogrebin (3.5)
✔Maid: Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive -Stephanie Land (4)
*✔The Nickel Boys - Colson Whitehead (5)
✔The October Man - Ben Aaronovitch (3.5)
*✔The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (5)
What My Mother and I Don't Talk About: Fifteen Writers Break the Silence - Michele Filgate
✔The Women of the Copper Country - Mary Doria Russell (4.5)
Challenge #3: Read a book in a genre you've discovered or re-discovered in the past year - started by PawsforThought
*✔Reader, I married him : stories inspired by Jane Eyre - Tracy Chevalier (4)
Challenge #4: Rolling Challenge – Read a book where the first letter of the title starts with one of the letters in the phrase “Harvest Moon” - started by DeltaQueen
✔Noughts and Crosses - Malorie Blackman (3)
Off the Clock: Feel Less Busy While Getting More Done - Laura Vanderkam
Challenge #5: Read a book with a striking opening sentence - started by lyzard
✔How to Fight Anti-Semitism - Bari Weiss (5)
Silence of the Grave - Arnaldur Indridason
Challenge #6: The Decade Challenge - read a booked linked to a specific decade - started by Dejah_Thoris
✔Chernobyl: The History of a Nuclear Catastrophe -Serhii Plokhy (5)
*The Jump-Off Creek - Molly Gloss
Challenge #7: Read a book where the author's first or last name begins and ends with the same letter - started by owlie13
✔American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War and the Rise of President Trump - Tim Alberta (3)
Challenge #8: Read a book by an author who won the Orange Prize but not the actual book that won the prize - started by Citizenjoyce
*✔Inland: A Novel by Tea Obreht (4)
*✔Transcription by Kate Atkinson (4)
Challenge #9: Read a book for the September CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge - started by Morphidae
✔How to tame a fox (and build a dog) by Lee Alan Dugatkin (4.5)
Challenge #10: Read a book where the title starts with one of the letters of "Having fun with TIOLI" - started by FAMeulsteeEdited
✔The October Man by Ben Aaronovitch (3.5)
✔Once Upon a River: A Novel by Diane Setterfield (4.5)
Challenge #11: Read a book with a food word embedded in the title - started by susanna.fraser
✔The Breadwinner - Deborah Ellis (4)
Challenge #12: Read a book with at least two different kinds of animals on the cover - started by dallenbaugh
An Almond for a Parrot - Wray Delaney
Challenge #15: Read a book with a jasper-coloured cover - started by humouress
✔Autumn - Ali Smith (4)
✔Can You Ever Forgive Me? - Lee Israel (4)
✔The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein - Kiersten White (4)
If Beale Street Could Talk - James Baldwin
Challenge #16: Read a book centered around the state/province where you live - started by LoisB
*✔Medicine Walk - Richard Wagamese (4.5)

>12 raidergirl3: Well now how could I resist that sentence, especially since I just read the first book in the series this month.

>9 elkiedee: Absolutely! Shared read are always okay, even if it's a non-discovery genre for you. As long as it it's a discovery for the first person who addd it, it's good.

>1 SqueakyChu: Thank you! My challenge for this month was going to be to read a book by Toni Morrison. I'm actually not going to list a challenge this month now as I want to focus on yours.

Challenge #9: Read a book for the September CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge

THREAD IS UP!



There will be 10 different book challenges. (The challenges change each month.) They include everything from genres/subgenres to well known (inter)national challenges, from something about a cover to the book's setting, from LT tools to title quirks. You won't know what your particular challenge will be until you roll a random number.

You can use https://www.random.org/ (the widget at the top right) or simply Google "random number 1 to 10."

NOTE: After a certain number of challenges have been given out, I will re-randomize the list. So you really will not know what you will get!

Post the number on this thread and I will give you your challenge. For any questions, please ask on that thread or in a PM. Embedded words, as a rule, are allowed but partial words are not. For instance, in one case, a word like "walked" must include the entire word and not just the word "walk." Tags must be first level, i.e. do not click on "show all." I'll allow *some* leeway in interpretation of the challenges, but try not to push it. When I say "significant" or "major" or "main" I will be strict. This is me, being strict:



Shared reads ARE allowed. Shared challenges ARE NOT allowed. That is, if someone reads a book published in 2019. You can read the SAME book. You can't read a different book published in 2019 (unless you get that challenge yourself.)

Post books in the wiki alphabetically since, as I said above, I will, at random, re-randomize the list. So placing them in numerical order will not work.

You can have two uncompleted challenges at one time. If you roll a repeat number, you cannot reroll. If you reroll the same number a second time, all I can say is "ouch" and maybe you can plead your case.

Please share how your book fits your challenge on the wiki at minimum. Please keep it short there, e.g. "subject twins - MC is a twin" or "animal on cover - anteater." You should not repeat the entire challenge.

Also, it would be nice if you shared how it fit more at length on that thread.

>17 Citizenjoyce: so near and yet so far... Every other month I try and read an orange book, be that winner, shortlist or longlist. This month's was a first time nominee a couple of years back, but she's not yet won it. Bother.

Ohhh, scratch that, I have another boook that will fit. Bother becomes hurrah. >:-)

>22 Morphidae: FYI, in my head you really do look like that growling bear(?).

Challenge #10: Read a book where the title starts with one of the letters of "Having fun with TIOLI"

I mean the very first word of the title, including article, so every book starting with "The" or "A" qualifies.

ETA: So any first word of the title starting with A, F, G, H, I, L, N, O, T, U, V or W qualifies.

>25 FAMeulstee: Bahaha!

>25 FAMeulstee: Can I use a book where the first letter in the title is one of the letters in Having fun with TIOLI, but the title technically starts with an ellipsis?

>27 PawsforThought: Yes, starting diacritics can be ignored, the first used letter counts.

>28 FAMeulstee: Thank you!

>25 FAMeulstee: I initially thought that your challenge was a rolling challenge but, based on the fact that the titles are shown in alphabetical order, rather than in rolling challenge order, I'm assuming that I can read any book that starts with a letter in HAVING FUN WITH TIOLI. Is that correct?

>30 lindapanzo: Yes, Linda, that is correct.

The edit links on the Wiki seem to have disappeared? Or is it just me?

>31 FAMeulstee: Thanks, Anita.

>32 katiekrug: I noticed that, too. I note that LT was down for awhile and maybe something happened. I hope they can get those fixed soon.

>33 lindapanzo: - Same. I am trying to claim a decade for Challenge #6 :)

>32 katiekrug: Same here, if it persists someone should report it in the Bug collectors group.
I mentioned it in todays problems thread "Curious friends requests" https://www.librarything.com/topic/310583

>23 Helenliz: I love when that happens.
>28 FAMeulstee: diacritics, doggone this is one smart person group.
>32 katiekrug: bugs again, I guess. Why do people want to interfere with things that cause other people joy?

>24 PawsforThought: Heh, nah. Just click on my name to see what I look like. And I was hoping the growling bear came across as rather pathetic. Yes? No?

>32 katiekrug: Yikes! TIOLI can't EXIST without a wiki edit!

I requested help in the bug collectors group.
https://www.librarything.com/topic/310614

Thank, Anita, for reporting this directly to Tim on the "hacked" thread.

Hang in there, everyone! Maybe read a book? :D

If you haven't added your challenge to the wiki yet, you may list it here with a number to reserve your wiki spot. This is ONLY until out edit buttons come back.

You may also use this thread as a reminder to yourself where you want to list your books later.This is a tough time of the month to have no wiki use. Both Tim and Chris are aware of the issue.

Challenge #11: Read a book with a food word embedded in the title

The word has to be embedded, not standalone--i.e. Hamlet would qualify, but Green Eggs and Ham would not. (It's OK for the embedded title to cross multiple words--I can't think of a real example off the top of my head, but if there was a book called Getting Up Early you could use "pea" or "pear."

ETA I plan to read Every Tool's a Hammer (ham) and possibly King Peggy (egg). A few other potential ideas:

The Poisonwood Bible (poi)
Hamilton: The Revolution (ham)
Fortunate Son (tuna)
A Separate Peace (pea)
Blood Price (rice)

>37 Morphidae: Not sure why, but my head seems to store avatar-type images "ahead" of real photos. Youa re not the only person to have a cartoon "photo" in my head. And I think the bear is sweet, so there.

Wiki is working again!

>41 PawsforThought: Sweet works!

>42 FAMeulstee: Hurray!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyone may feel free to drop a note of thanks to Tim or to Chris (Catalfo) for resolving this problem. It had to do with a pretty significant bot attack that struck LT yesterday.

>40 susanna.fraser: I moved your challenge into the wiki, Consider yourself honored. I almost NEVER do that! :D

>45 SqueakyChu: Thanks so much! I do feel honored.

What is it about this time in the month that I suddenly think I;m going to finish 23 books in a month. There's no precedent, I never have before. For a change, I can fit a book in almost every challenge, now to limit myself to just those I stand a chance of actually getting around to!

My eyes are bigger than my belly (in a bookish sense) again.

>11 Dejah_Thoris: I put in an entry for the 1880's and our first go-round through the decades is finished!!

>47 Helenliz: I do the same thing every month - and inevitably end up moving some over to the next month. The backlog is ever growing, and seemingly unending!

>48 lindapanzo:. Woohoo! Well that happened more quickly than I expected. I’ve added another round of decades. Thanks for letting me know.

>40 susanna.fraser: Is the Spanish word for meat (carne) acceptable for Challenge #11?

>46 susanna.fraser: LOL!

>50 Carmenere: I’ll accept it.

>52 susanna.fraser: Thanks :0)

The thread for >22 Morphidae: is up!

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Challenge #12: Read a book with at least two different kinds of animals on the cover
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No human animals allowed as part of the two different kinds of animals

You can use two different kinds of birds for example or two different kinds on insects but not two different breeds of dogs or cats.

Challenge #14: Read a book with a cover which looks similar to one of my bookmarks

I got a fair collection of bookmarks on LT https://www.librarything.com/catalog/paulstalder&deepsearch=

Now I challenge you to read a book that has a cover which looks alike/similar/resembles one of my bookmarks, the similarity. The similarity must not apply to the whole bookmark, one item on one side may suffice.

You may search my collection by looking through the covers or searching with tags (attention: the tags are all in German). When someone wants to have a closer look at a bookmark, go to the work's page of that bookmark, mouse over the cover (picture) and click on the magnifying glass there, then a separate window opens and there comes quite a good picture of it (a bit tricky on cell phones).
Then add your book and the chosen bookmark (URL only, not the title) in the wiki

-> http://www.librarything.com/work/7120525 -- http://www.librarything.com/work/22441282

I will start a separate thread for the cover and bookmark pictures. here: https://www.librarything.com/topic/310705

I scanned my bookmarks (recto and verso) and put them together to one picture. Some titles are artificial since some bookmarks don't have text on them. I tagged all of them in German.

all said? have fun

>56 paulstalder: So what's the German word for bookmark?

>57 Morphidae: Lesezeichen or Buchzeichen
I put Lesezeichen into each title of the bookmarks, so they are not confused with book titles

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Challenge13: Read a book with a size related word in the title
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Big, Little, Long, Short, Medium, Tall, Wide, Huge, Pico, Nano, Inch, Meter, Yard, mile, pint, quart, bushel.

A part of one word is acceptable. No word spanning or scrambling.

Great doesn't qualify.

>56 paulstalder: Nope, not fun. I can’t figure out how to find the bookmarks rather than the book covers.

>60 Citizenjoyce: Try his collection Lesezeichen: https://www.librarything.com/catalog/paulstalder/lesezeichen

>61 FAMeulstee: Thanks. I think I’m going blind looking at all of those. It’ll be a pass for me.

>56 paulstalder: >61 FAMeulstee: >62 Citizenjoyce:

I found a way to see the bookmarks easier.

Once you are in the collection:

- At the top left, to the right of the collection name, you can choose List or Covers. Click Covers.

- A few boxes to the right, you'll see "size" with a minus and plus sign to each side of it. Click on the plus sign until it goes gray.

- You can also change the number of rows up to 25.

>40 susanna.fraser: Susanna, would potable liquids count for your Challenge?

>64 Dejah_Thoris: I’ll accept it.

>63 Morphidae: Thank you so much for these hints, very helpful

>60 Citizenjoyce: sorry to cause you such blinding work ... I hope you can figure it out now with @Morphidae's explanantions

>66 paulstalder: Last year I tried to, and succeeded in, having a sweep every month. No more of that for me. If a challenge is too complicated I'm feeling free to leave it.

>67 Citizenjoyce: yes, you did some good reading, and I think you are still doing, and you're totally right in leaving challenges aside

>56 paulstalder: I added two books to your challenge, I hope they pass muster.

>69 avatiakh: They are fine, Kerry. I especially like the trees.

Thanks Paul. I'll probably be adding more books later on.

I thought I'd put together my planned reads and the challenges they fit into. It's trickier this month than the last.

3. Read a book in a genre you've discovered or re-discovered in the past year
The Vampyre - John William Polidori
4. Read a book where the first letter of the title starts with one of the letters in the phrase “Harvest Moon”
Endless Night - Agatha Christie
6. Read a booked linked to a specific decade
Five Go Adventuring Again - Enid Blyton
Skuggan över stenbänken - Maria Gripe
9. Read a book for the September CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge
My Man Jeeves - P. G. Wodehouse
10. Read a book where the title starts with one of the letters of "Having fun with TIOLI"
...och de vita skuggorna i skogen - Maria Gripe

I was also planning on reading the following books but can't yet find a challenge to fit them into.
Enter a Murderer - Ngaio Marsh
Handman's Holiday - Dorothy L. Sayers
Five Run Away Together - Enid Blyton
The Invisible Man - H. G. Wells

>72 PawsforThought: The last three books can be placed in challenge #10.

--
I am looking for a challenge for De stilte van de vrouwen (The Silence of the Girls) - Pat Barker

>73 FAMeulstee: I'll probably end up placing them there - I wanted to avoid putting so many books in the same challenge initially.

The Silence of the Girls fits into challenge #4, #5, #6 and possibly #3 and #14.

>73 FAMeulstee: You get two rolls for my challenge, #9. Who knows? You might get one that fits!

>75 Morphidae: Going to your thread now, Morphy, I didn't think of that!

>22 Morphidae: can we list more than one book for the number we draw, or is it 1 challenge, one book?

>77 Citizenjoyce: I hadn't thought about it. But I'm going to go with you can read as many for your challenge as you like, just as you would with any another TIOLI challenge.

>3 lindapanzo: Would a book with a 2019 copyright of the translation count?

>74 PawsforThought: #4 (and #10) won't work, as the Dutch title is De stilte van de vrouwen
Great Achilles. isn't exactly striking, so no #5...
For #6 this round has to be filled first.

I could not find a match in #14, so I asked for #3 :-)

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Challenge16: Read a book centered around the state/province where you live.
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If you live in a country that has a different grouping, anything between city and country is acceptable.

>81 LoisB: Please add your challenge first to the wiki. Take your challenge number from the wiki. If you need help, let me know. Thanks!

>78 Morphidae: Thanks. I had no hope. I saw Can You Ever Forgive Me by Lee Israel last night, and I just have to read it. The reviewers are very mad at this literary forger, especially the librarian, which is understandable. But I saw a very dysfunctional woman in financial straights doing what she could think of to get by. Most of the complaints are that she doesn't seem repentant. The movie addresses this perfectly. I guess I'll see if the book does.

Two and a half years ago, as a combined Christmas and birthday present, our sons got a dog. We each picked a name and then voted but no name got more than two votes out of four. I did not, for example, want a dog named ‘Buster’, which was one of their favourites; as it turned out, he was destructive enough, though he’s mellowed a bit recently. So we kept going through dozens of iterations until finally I looked up the birthstones for September and picked one that matched his colour - and we managed to come to a consensus.

 

He’s a golden retriever but his coat is quite pale. (This is a photo of him when we first got him; I’ll have to take and post a more recent picture. He’s very sociable and will do anything to be where the party’s at, hence his escape attempt.) Jasper’s birthday is on the 5th of September.

This is a colour challenge.

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Challenge 15 : Read a book with a (predominantly) jasper-coloured cover.

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Please post a picture of your cover. I’m willing to be reasonably flexible.

I’ve started a separate thread to post your covers on.

ETA: I hope you can all see the pictures I’ve posted. I know jasper comes in a range of colours, but I specifically mean the sandy kind of colour that our dog Jasper is.

>84 humouress: So green, yellow, black, red, salmon or pink. Is that right?

>79 FAMeulstee: Sure, that's fine.

>85 Citizenjoyce: I'm pretty sure she means the color/colour of her dog, Jasper, or the color of the stone she posted.

>85 Citizenjoyce: >87 Morphidae: Thanks Morphy, yes that’s what I meant.

I know that jasper comes in a range of colours but for the past two and a half years, it’s meant that sandy colour for us :0)

I knew I’d miss something but I thought/ hoped that I had covered all my bases. I’ll edit the challenge to try and make it clearer.

>88 humouress: thanks.

>81 LoisB: and >82 SqueakyChu: I have added Challenge 16: Read a book centered around the state/province where you live (LoisB) because I'm going to use it. We have counties here in Britain - they are not quite like states in terms of powers and local government administrative divisions are very confused here because many but not all county councils have been abolished and replaced by other structures, while others have been left in place.

I am going to use "Greater London" as the area covered by the London Assembly, the London Mayor and one of 32 London Boroughs does include towns beyond the city itself (with an overlap by the County Council).

>81 LoisB: >90 elkiedee: :)

>81 LoisB: Just change your challenge number in message #19 to Challenge #16.

I'm working on October's challenges. They aren't coming from my long list but instead are all new. They are going to be SO MUCH FUN!

>92 Morphidae: I do believe you've found a new LT calling. We're all loving it.

>93 Citizenjoyce: and all - Whoops. This was supposed to be on my challenge thread. Sorry!

>82 SqueakyChu: Thanks and sorry. I fixed msg 81. It's been a while since I did this and totally forgot how, which is very bad since I am a retired IT person who always complained about users not reading the instructions!

>95 LoisB: LOL! We're cool! @elkiedee made me laugh when she added your challenge because she needed it.

Are others having trouble with the CAPTCHA? - or is it just the conditions here interfering?

>97 lyzard: I had no trouble with the Captcha just a minute ago.

>98 FAMeulstee:

Thanks; we've got some extreme weather here which seems to be disrupting things. My CAPTCHA won't stop spinning so the wiki won't save my changes.

I know that the whole rationale of TIOLI is that we can abandon challenges/books if they don't work for us. That said, I always hate to abandon a potential shared read. However, I'm just not going to be able to make it through Jade City for challenge #5. Clearly the problem is me, not the book--I can tell it's well-written and original. I'm just not the right audience for any kind of mob/gang story.

>100 susanna.fraser: You do not have to finish that book. There you are! No guilt! :D

Twas a dark and stormy nite...

>25 FAMeulstee: Are the books in challenge #10 in some order I'm not aware of?

>103 Morphidae: They should be alphabeticly, without the "the" or "a", like all other challenges.
Looking at it now there is one book out of order at the moment, will correct later, if needed.

>104 FAMeulstee: Ah, I see what the issue is. The "The" and the "A" in titles were throwing me off along with that one title out of order.

*****

Does anyone edit Common Knowledge? Any idea how to get returns/line breaks? I'm trying to add an Epigraph and the enter key isn't moving the cursor to the next line. (Yes, I already tried a site search.)

>105 Morphidae: Returns or line breaks can be forced in Common Knowledge using <br>

>101 SqueakyChu: Thank you for the absolution!

>107 susanna.fraser: LOL!

Due to a shortage of participants, I'm changing Challenge #8 to include authors who have previously won or been shortlisted for the Orange prize with a previous book.

Yahoo, my copy of The Testaments: The Sequel to The Handmaid's Tale came in. I added it to Linda's Challenge #2.

>109 Citizenjoyce: Change your challenge title on the wiki then. Thanks!

>111 SqueakyChu: done

>110 Citizenjoyce: Yahoo for me too. The Testaments are waiting for me to pick up from my library. I'll post it with yours in Challenge 2

>110 Citizenjoyce: >113 Carmenere: There are lots of copies of The Testaments in the nearly statewide system my regional library system belongs to, but not a single one (yet) is local that I can put a hold on! I'll keep checking, and if I can get my hands on it, I'll join you.

>114 Dejah_Thoris: Keep checking. I requested it months ago, there were no copies purchased yesterday, and today here it is on my list of loans.

>112 Citizenjoyce: Thx! I updated the index listing.

>115 Citizenjoyce: I will definitely keep checking. I know they've ordered copies, they just haven't gotten them in the system. The trick is that I can't put the hold on until at least one copy is listed (even as "in processing") locally, and they don't list them until they're cataloging. If you don't check fairly regularly, you can end up far, far down the list because it popped up the one day you didn't look. That said, I usually get my holds on pretty quickly, so I shouldn't complain!

>117 Dejah_Thoris: It's worse than waiting for your spot on a rolling challenge.

>117 Dejah_Thoris: Take heart, I think The Testaments are rolling out now. Now, I've got one waiting for me at two different libraries.

>118 Citizenjoyce: LOL

I'm not feeling in the mood to read the new Margaret Atwood but, if I put it on reserve now, maybe I will by the time it comes in. I usually reserve both a print and a Kindle copy and go with whichever comes in first, which is normally the print copy.

Kindle copy holds are often odd. The other day, I was #40 on the list for one copy and it came in a few days later, to my astonishment.

>117 Dejah_Thoris: Too bad you can't put a hold sooner. I can do so whenever any library in our library system has ordered it, though sometimes not until a few have ordered it. That first library usually hates to let anyone from another library, like me, have it. For cozy mysteries, I check the "forthcoming cozies" list at least once or twice a month and typically reserve 3-4 months in advance. Also a big fan of new baseball and new hockey books and typically snag the first spot on the waitlist for those, too.

˘>119 Carmenere: You’ll be so happy. It grabs you right from the first.

I have my sweep, meeting my personal challenge to complete a sweep by reading exactly as many books as there are challenges. OK, now on to the rest of the books checked out from the libraries......

>122 quondame: Congratulations.

>122 quondame: Congratulations.

>122 quondame: Congrats on the sweep!

>122 quondame: Congratulations, Susan!

Congrats on your personal sweep, Susan!

Well done, Susan!

>122 quondame: Excellent! Congrats on your success!

>123 Citizenjoyce: >124 Ameise1: >125 PawsforThought: >126 FAMeulstee: >127 Carmenere: >128 Dejah_Thoris: >129 SqueakyChu: Thank you!

TIOLI Question of the Month:

In the scene of the book you are currently reading (See correction below*), where are you? Do you want to stay there or go home? In which book are you? Why would you decide to either stay or leave?

*Correction: In this question, i expressed myself wrong. I want to know where you are now. Please feel free to add another answer to this question if your first reply does not answer the question.

>131 SqueakyChu: Elena's apartment in Vigàta, Sicily. Salvo is staying for coffee, I'm just fine leaving him there. The Paper Moon. I'm not convinced by Salvo's internal dialog, so I'm just fine leaving it were it is and hope it doesn't show up in future books.

>131 SqueakyChu: Hmm, I think it would give too much away to say where I am in the last scene of Once Upon a River by Diane Setterfield. I'll say I'd love to stay there a while. I love water, and the people are fascinating.

>131 SqueakyChu: The last book I finished reading?

I was at a theatre in London with Inspector Roderick Alleyn and Nigel Bathgate (in Enter a Murderer), which is definitely a nice place to be (and the company would be worse), but since multiple people have been murdered and most of the rest of the cast/crew are rather unpleasant people, I think I might prefer relocating to a rival theatre.

In the book I'm currently reading (Hangman's Holiday) I'm at a costume/fancy dress party with Lord Peter Wimsey and his friends - all dressed up as games - so I'm quite happy staying here for a while and having a right ball. Though I'm sure someone's about to get murdered, which will probably spoil the party.

Last book I finished reading, I was with a hostage held by Richard III at the battle of Bosworth as a surety for the Stanley army fighting on the King's side. They didn't. Not sure I fancy staying there.

Last scene in the book I just finished (To the Wild Sky), some kids were at an Australian deserted island after a plane crash. Glad I am not there ;-)

>131 SqueakyChu: I'm in Cleone, California, looking for a missing friend. I'm starting to feel uncomfortable with the people who might know something about her disappearance. I'm ready to go home...even though it *is* California! My book si Melanie's Song by Joanna Biggar

In the book I just finished I was in Glasgow, Scotland, which was great except I was surrounded by a group of unlikable, rather murderous people, so I think I would get away as soon as I could.

In my Net Galley cozy, A Legacy of Murder by Connie Berry, antiques dealer Kate Hamilton is at a "stately but crumbling" manor house in a quaint British village taking a tour. She is there visiting her daughter who is a new intern but, since this is a cozy, Kate soon stumbles upon a dead body.

I haven't decided yet whether I like any of the other characters (I'm not that far in) but I do like Kate. I think this is the second in the series.

>138 DeltaQueen50: Which book is that?

I just finished The de Bercy Affair, set in London in 1910. I'm happy to stay if I can hang out with this book's Scotland Yard detectives, not so much if it has to be its romantic couple. :)

>141 lyzard: LOL!

>140 PawsforThought: It's called Dead Lovely by Helen Fitzgerald. This is a book that has been on my shelves for 10 years and I pulled it down as it fit Madeline's Challenge this month. I must have been in the exact right mood for this book as I really enjoyed it.

>143 DeltaQueen50: Don't you just love when you finally read some of these books you've had for such a long time?

Just completed a sweeplette for #1-6.

>145 susanna.fraser: Congratulations!

>145 susanna.fraser: Congratulations on you sweeplette, Susanna!

>145 susanna.fraser: Congrats! I was trying for that one, too, but I won't make it this month. Maybe next month...or next year! :D It's fun to try, though.

>145 susanna.fraser: well done! I'm a little over half a book away from the same. Fingers corssed...

>145 susanna.fraser: Congratulations

>146 PawsforThought: >147 FAMeulstee: >149 Helenliz: >150 Citizenjoyce: Thanks!

>148 SqueakyChu: I've been trying for sweeplettes all year, but it's much easier now that summer book bingo at my library is over.

TIOLI Stats for August 2019:

There were 390 books read of which 64 (16%) were shared reads. We accumulated 37 TIOLI points for a YTD total of 308 TIOLI points. Not too shabby.

The most popular books, each with three readers were these:
Murder at the ABA - Isaac Asimov
Rat Race - Dick Francis
Hotel du Lac - Anita Brookner
Minor Mage - T. Kingfisher
Willful Behavior - Donna Leon
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick
Diamond Fire - Ilona Andrews

The most popular challenge was the one by @fAMeulstee to read a book where the first letter of the first name of the author comes alphabetically before the first letter of the last name. For this challenge, 55 books were read.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points was the one by @susanna.fraser to read a book by an author whose last name is longer than their first name. This challenge accumulated 6 TIOLI points.

Ever onward!

>11 Dejah_Thoris: I added the 1850s - is that okay? I can place the book in another challenge, if you prefer not to add another decade.

The August 2019 TIOLI Awards!

The Tagmash Extravaganza Award goes to @Morphidae for reading The Handmaid's Tale for neverstopreading's challenge to read a book with at least two of these tags: "politics", "economics", "environment", "healthcare", "philosophy", "science". The book chosen by this challenger had all of these tags: politics, science, "environmentalism," and philosophy. Wow!

The Yikes Award goes to @dallenbaugh for reading Bangkok 8 for JeanneD's challenge to read a book that begins with who, what, where, when, how. This challenger took the HOW entry with "will soon die of bites from Naja siamensis". That's certainly a scary happening.

The Shared C Award goes to @countrylife and @raidergirl3 for sharing the book The Chilbury Ladies Choir for Deltaqueen's challenge to read a book where one of the title words begins with the letter “C”. Though other titles had more than one "C" word, these two challengers had two "C" title words while sharing the same book.

The Thanks for the Memories Award goes to @Deltaqueen50 for reading Meg. Jo, Beth, and Amy for Dejah_Thoris's challenge to read a book in which the author acknowledges another writer in the dedication, foreword, afterword, etc. This book was dedicated to Louisa May Alcott. Why is that significant? Well, because the name of my very own elementary school (I *can* remember that far back) was the Louisa May Alcott School #59 (in Baltimore, Maryland).

The Insect Lover's Award goes to @Morphidae for reading A Cricket in Times Square for owlie13's challenge to read a book where the name Rick or Ricky is either in the title, the author's name, or the name of a main character. This challenger wins because I love both embedded words as well as insects. I find then so fascinating!

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

Thanks for the award Madeline. Naja siamensis is the Latin name for an Indochinese spitting cobra.

>155 dallenbaugh: I read the book. It was great! I did not like the other two that followed it so much, though.

>156 SqueakyChu: Yes, I really liked the book as well. I haven't tried the rest of the series.

Thanks for the award, Madeline. I am pleased that that book brought some childhood memories back to you. And I love that your school was named after Louisa May Alcott - my childhood schools has rather boring names - Bell's Corner Elementary School and Lampson Street School.

Thanks for the Mash the Insect Lover's Extravaganza Award(s)!

Where has Betsy-Tacy been all my life? It's adorable!

I finished my first-ever sweeplette of challenges 1-6 :)

>161 katiekrug: Congratulations, Katie!

>161 katiekrug: Well done. I managed the same this month. It's challenging and feels good for those of us for whom a sweep will always be out of reach. >:-)

>161 katiekrug: Congratulations!

>161 katiekrug: Hey, Katie! Congratulations!

>163 Helenliz: Congrats, Helen!

>161 katiekrug: Congratulations

>163 Helenliz: Congratulations, Helen!

>161 katiekrug: >163 Helenliz: Congratulations!

>131 SqueakyChu: A very late answer to your question - I was in Gilead (The Testaments). Sticking around would be a good idea - definitely home!

>145 susanna.fraser: >161 katiekrug: >163 Helenliz: And congratulations on your sweeplets, Susanna, Katie and Helen!

>153 paulstalder: Sorry I didn't answer you before this, Paul. Given that the month is over for you and practically so for me, let's let it stay where it is.

>154 SqueakyChu: Congratulations to all the award winners!

I didn't have as much reading time this month as I sometimes do, which is a partial explanation as to why I didn't get to as many challenges as I wanted and didn't accumulate as many shared reads as I would have liked. A contributing factor was the absolutely miserable From Here To Eternity.

Liz warned me - twice. But no, I had to get stubborn decide I'd finish it. How did this book win the National Book Award? Or get so many great reviews? It was interesting at times, but not nearly often enough. I think I kept reading, in part, to its train-wreck like qualities - it was morbidly fascinating. Sort of. Except when it was boring.

If you're ever tempted to read the 800+ pages that comprise From Here To Eternity, take a step away from the book or e-reader and resist. Just say no. And watch the movie.

Housekeeping Day!

Please remove from the wiki any book you don’t finish by midnight tonight or mark any rolling challenge DNF (did not finish). Thanks!

>169 Dejah_Thoris: I've given the same warning about Go Set A Watchman and it's much shorter.

>169 Dejah_Thoris: okay, thanks

Ugh! September was nearly a complete fail for me, October not looking much better :0(

>170 SqueakyChu: Housekeeping complete.

Sweep complete.

And, ugh, now I remember why I wait until the end of the month to enter my books. I change my mind a lot! I can't tell you how many times I've edited the wiki. Plus this month I got confused with books that I thought I read at the beginning of September that I actually read at the end of August. Meh. I have to get my Books Read data updated.

>174 Morphidae: Congratulations on your sweep, Morphy!

>174 Morphidae: Congratulations!

>174 Morphidae: congratulations

>169 Dejah_Thoris:

:D

I appreciate the exoneration, Dejah - and the shared read! - but I still feel very guilty about it!

>178 lyzard: It's TIOLI, remember - no guilt! Below the Salt for October? I used to read Costain as a kid....

>171 Citizenjoyce: I've been avoiding Go Set a Watchman. I can highly recommend Furious Hours: Fraud, Murder, and the Last Trial of Harper Lee, which is, in part, a biography of Harper Lee and explains quite a bit about Go Set A Watchman and why it was never previously published.

>174 Morphidae: Hurray for your sweep, Morphy!

>179 Dejah_Thoris: I'm on a wait list for Furious Hours. I'll probably have it for a November read. I can't wait.

>179 Dejah_Thoris:

Thanks, but I think I have enough Costain on my plate this month! :)

>182 lyzard:. I had to laugh - it’s The Silver Chalice you’re reading this month, isn’t it? My mistake....

>183 Dejah_Thoris:

It is! - and I hardly dare say, "If you'd care to join me...?" :D

As usual, I've missed the deadline but I suspect it won't throw out the numbers because (as usual) I doubt I have any shared reads.

Challenge 2 - Read a book with a 2019 copyright: The Hundredth House Had No Walls by Laurie Penny
Challenge 14 - Read a book with a cover which looks similar to one of Paul's bookmarks: Saturdays at Sea by Jessica Day George
Challenge 15 - Read a book with a jasper-coloured cover: The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

(another slow reading month for me)