Take It or Leave It Challenge - January 2020 - 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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Happy New Year everyone! I hope this holiday season has been good to you. Thank you for joining me once again for the TIOLI challenges. This will be year number ELEVEN for us!

I hope you understand this challenge. :D

Your challenge for January, 2020, is to

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Read a book whose number of title words equals the number of names you find in the title.
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Rules
1. Count the number of title words.
2. Do not count subtitles.
3. Look up names (letters of entire words or embedded words in title but NOT across words) on this link:
https://www.babynames.com/Names/search.php
4. List your title followed by the number of letters and the names found in the title.
5. Names not found on this baby name generator will be disqualified.
6. You might find extra names, but do NOT use them for this challenge.

Here's an example using a book I might read:

The Sea and Poison (4 - Sea, Ea, An, On) - Shusaku Endo

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

1. The January 2020 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 2020 TIOLI Sweeplette Meter

Wiki Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book whose number of title words equals the number of names you find in the title - msg #1
2. Read a book from a best of 2019 list - msg #3
3. Read a book in which travel is a significant aspect of the narrative - msg #5
4. Rolling Challenge: Solve murders with clues from Page 1 - msg #8
5. Read a book you didn't get to in 2019 - msg #13
6. Read a book where the author’s first initial precedes the author’s last initial in alphabetical order - msg #12

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book by a woman author you've not read before - msg #21
8. Read a book for the January CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge - msg #29 - thread
9. Read a book which you obtained in November or December of 2019 - msg #28
10. January Birthstone Challenge - Read a book with a dark red cover - msg #36
11. Read a book with a title word related to eyes or sight - msg #37
12. Read a book recommended to you by a friend - msg #38

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book, with something in the first sentence which was created according to Genesis on the different days - msg #39 - thread
14. Read a book with a LT rating of 3.8* or more - msg #40
15. Read a book written/published/set in any XX20s decade - msg #43
16. Read a book set in, about, or written by an author residing in a country ending in "stan" - msg #47

Hold your challenge until the February TIOLI challenge is posted.

Yahoo, I haven’t been the first one to find the new tioli in forever.
Happy Boxing Day (I think).
Challenge #: Read a book from a best of 2019 list
Here's a partial list:
The Atlantic: https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2019/12/15-best-books-of-2019/...
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sxts_snps_0_0_ab4ddf2b-5623-4df5-ac43-391ce1b51372?...
BBC: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20191217-the-best-books-of-the-year-2019
Book Riot: https://bookriot.com/2019/12/02/best-books-of-2019/
BuzzFeed: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ariannarebolini/best-books-2019
First Book Marketplace: https://www.fbmarketplace.org/our-favorites-of-2019/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA0ZHwBRCRARIsA...
Five Books: https://fivebooks.com/books/best-books-of-2019/
Good Housekeeping: https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/g27227430/best-books-of-2019/
Goodreads best fiction: https://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-fiction-books-2019
Google: https://www.google.com/search?biw=1035&bih=489&tbm=shop&sxsrf=ACYBGN...
The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/nov/30/best-books-of-the-year-2019
NPR: https://apps.npr.org/best-books/#view=covers&year=2019
The New Yorker: https://www.newyorker.com/culture/2019-in-review/the-best-books-of-2019
Publishers Weekly: https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/pw/best-books/2019/top-10#book/book-1
Publishers Weekly children’s picks: https://best-books.publishersweekly.com/children/2019/#book/book-1
Vanity Fair: https://www.vanityfair.com/style/2019/12/the-best-books-of-2019-editors-picks
Vulture: https://www.vulture.com/article/best-books-2019.html

ETA Wow >1 SqueakyChu: You’re trying to dissolve our brains for the new year?

>3 Citizenjoyce: I barely found it myself...and I created it! LOL!

Aw, dang; so close! :D

Challenge #3: Read a book in which travel is a significant aspect of the narrative

Your book may be fiction or non-fiction. Travel does not have to be the entire or even main subject, but it should be important in the context of the overall work.

>5 lyzard: LOL!

>3 Citizenjoyce: Yep. I work as hard as I can on all of our brains. Usually it's Paul who does this, but I'm a close second! Haha!

The way I choose a good challenge is I wait to see if it makes me laugh when I read it! This one made me laugh. :D

===CHALLENGE #4: ROLLING CHALLENGE: SOLVE MURDERS WITH CLUES FROM PAGE 1===

This is a rolling challenge. In the tradition of Clue/ Cluedo, we will need to identify the killer, the crime scene, and the weapon. Clues should be limited to those found on the first page of the book and that fit into the following sentence: “Mr. Boddy was murdered by _____ in the _____ with a(n) _____.”

Killers must be identified by first and last name or by title and last name. From the book I’ve selected for this challenge, True Detective by Max Allan Collins, I could choose either Harry Lang, Harry Miller, or Mayor Cermak.

The crime scene should be fit in the phrase “in the ____”, so again, from True Detective, Mr. Boddy could have been killed in the street or in the speak (Chicago tough detective talk for speakeasy),

And then there is the selection of a weapon. True Detective offers two options…an automatic or a coffee cup.

How many murders can we solve?

>8 jeanned: Haha! Cute one! Have you been taking lessons from @paulstalder? :D

>9 SqueakyChu: I've been wanting to do something with Clue for a while. I've stolen shamelessly from last month's tree-trimming challenge framework. ;)

>10 jeanned: It's very clever! My grandson loves to play Clue...as did his dad in his youth.

Wow, there's some fun ones posted already!

Challenge #6: Alphabetical Order – The author’s first initial preceeds the author’s last initial in the alphabet. (eg: Arthur Beckman (a,b), Lisa Mitchell (l,m)

Please note: If author has three names, then just the first and last have to be in alphabetical order. (eg: Catherine Wyndham Drake (c, d)

** These letters must adjacent to each other as: a,b or l,m

===Challenge #5: Read a book you didn't get to in 2019===

Any book which you DNF for a challenge in 2019 or have checked out from the library as of Dec 31, 2019 or purchased with intent to read before the end of 2019.

>12 DeltaQueen50: Do the initials of the names have to be adjacent? Would L, T count or must it be L, M?

My planned reads so far:

Challenge #1: Read a book whose number of title words equals the number of names you find in the title - started by SqueakyChu
*Luna- Ian McDonald ABANDONED
*Pumpkinheads - Rainbow Rowell
Challenge #2: Read a book from a best of 2019 list - Started by Citizenjoyce
✔Bunny by Mona Awad (4.5)
✔The Book of X by Sarah Rose Etter (3)
*✔The Confessions of Frannie Langton - Sara Collins (4)
*✔Gods of Jade and Shadow - Silvia Moreno (3.5)
Challenge #3: Read a book in which travel is a significant aspect of the narrative - Started by lyzard
✔A Single Thread - Tracy Chevalier (4)
This Is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar ABANDONED for the second time
Challenge #4: Rolling Challenge: Solve murders with clues from Page 1 - Started by JeanneD
*✔News of the World - Paulette Jiles (5)
✔What Rose Forgot - Nevada Barr (3.5)
Challenge #5: Read a book you didn't get to in 2019 - Started by quondame
✔The Intellectual Devotional: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Roam Confidently with the Cultured Class - David S. Kidder (4)
Challenge #6: Read a book where the author’s first initial preceeds the author’s last initial in alphabetical order - Started by DeltaQueen
✔Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: And Other Lessons from the Crematory - Caitlin Doughty (4)
Challenge #7: Read a book by a woman author you've not read before - started by helenliz
*Convenience Store Woman - Sayaka Murata
✔How Rory Thorne Destroyed the Multiverse: Book One of the Thorne Chronicles by K. Eason (3.5)
Challenge #8: Read a book for the January CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge -- started by Morphidae
✔Feminasty: The Complicated Woman's Guide to Surviving the Patriarchy without Drinking Herself to Death by Erin Gibson (4)
✔Steve Jobs - Walter Isaacson (5)
Challenge #9: Read a book which you obtained in November or December of 2019 -- started by lindapanzo
✔The Last Train to London - Meg Waite Clayton
Challenge #10: January Birthstone Challenge - Read a book with a dark red cover - started by Humouress
✔The Red Road - Denise Mina (3.5)
Challenge #11: 2020 Vision - Read a book with a title word related to eyes or sight - started by susanna.fraser
Eyes to the Wind: A Memoir of Love and Death, Hope and Resistance - Ady Barkan
✔A Vision of Fire - Gillian Anderson (3)
Challenge #12: Read a book recommended to you by a friend - started by wandering_star
Mind Hunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit - John Douglas
✔Moon over Soho - Ben Aaronovitch (3)
Challenge #13: Read a book, with something in the first sentence which was created according to Genesis on the different days - started by paulstalder
Challenge #14: Read a book with a LT rating of 3.8* or more - started by FAMeulstee
✔What the Eyes Don't See: A Story of Crisis, Resistance, and Hope in an American City - Mona Hanna-Attisha (5)
Women & Power: A Manifesto - Mary Beard

>13 quondame: I can see some contenders for this challenge starting to line up at my house.

>14 Citizenjoyce: For this challenge the initials must be adjacent.

>1 SqueakyChu:

Are there any restrictions around the use of books with character names in the title? For instance - TO TAKE A COMPLETELY RANDOM EXAMPLE - would Emma qualify?

>1 SqueakyChu: Not sure if I've understood how challenge #1 works. Does rule #6 mean you stop searching the baby names site when you've found baby names equalling the number of words in the book title? Or do you need to keep searching to check there aren't more names?

>13 quondame: Thanks, that'll be most of my January reading with a home then!

I'm on a mission to read more by women authors, so this is the first of what might be a year to woman centric TIOLI challenges (assumeing I don't run out of ideas by May!

Challenge #7: Read a book by a woman author you've not read before

Should be fairly easy, any woman author you have not read before will qualify. Shared reads are, of course, allowed. So you should feel free to encourage your fellow TIOLIers to try a book by your favourite female authors.

BTW - Madeline, the link to the wiki in your list of threads & wiki pages goes to January 2019 (which confused me greatly! - not that it takes much!!)

>18 lyzard: Emma would absolutely qualify!

*mutters to herself*
"TO TAKE A COMPLETELY RANDOM EXAMPLE....Ha!"

>19 souloftherose: STOP searching after you've found the qualifying number of names.

>22 Helenliz: Fixed. Thanks!

>24 SqueakyChu: Thank you!

>11 SqueakyChu: One of my favorites as a child. And thank you.

>23 SqueakyChu:

:D

Challenge #9: Read a book which you obtained in November or December of 2019

This can be by any means, such as purchase, loan, gift, just as long as it came into your possession in November or December of this year (2019).

Challenge #8: Read a book for the January CFF Mystery Challenge Challenge

This month's challenges are related to New Year's resolutions! There will be TWELVE this month.



There will be 12 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 12."

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 the thread and I will give you your challenge. For any questions, please ask there 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." No restrictions as to fiction or nonfiction unless otherwise stated in a challenge.

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:



Note: If I give a link to a list of books, it does not mean they *all* qualify for a challenge. The lists are simply starting points. If a book is on a referred list, it will not be accepted if it doesn't fit the challenge.

Shared reads ARE allowed. Shared challenges ARE NOT allowed. That is, if someone reads a book published in 2020. You can read the SAME book. You can't read a different book published in 2020 (unless you get that challenge yourself.)

You can have two uncompleted challenges at one time. UPDATE: Removing this as oddly enough in all the months I've been doing the mystery challenge no one has EVER had a duplicate number. Uh huh. *wink wink nudge nudge* 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.

Madeline, I am volunteering to post Humouress' January Birthstone Challenge if you are ok with this.

>8 jeanned: I got Cluedo for Christmas, so this challenge is perfectly timed!

For those who might be interested, my Agatha Christie novel for January will be Nemesis.

>32 lyzard: Nemesis was a fun read, I hope you enjoy it!

>30 DeltaQueen50: Absolutely, yes you can, I already forgot about it, trying to do many things at once! Thanks for doing it.

>33 PawsforThought:

Thank you, I know I will! :)

Challenge #10: Humouress' January Birthstone Challenge - Read a book with a dark red cover.

Although they do come in other colors, we mostly associate garnets, January's birthstone with a deep, dark red.



I'll leave Humouress the job of setting of a thread for us to post our covers to, if she so wishes.

Challenge #11: 2020 Vision - Read a book with a title word related to eyes or sight

Eye
See
Look
Gaze
Vision
Sight
Cry
Tears
Blink
Wink
Pupil
Focus

Or anything similar. Just as long as it's clearly related to eyes or their actions. Embedded words are OK.

Challenge #12: Read a book recommended to you by a friend

One of my New Year's resolutions this year is to be better at staying in touch with friends - inspiring this challenge. The friend can be an LT friend!

Challenge #13: Read a book, with something in the first sentence which was created according to Genesis on the different days

A new year, a new decade starts, and new challenges are given, so I thought to start right at the beginning and read Genesis 1.
So, this is the challenge: Each day different things were created (light on the first day, sky the 2nd, plants on the 3rd, sun the 4th, etc.). If the book you are reading contains one of these things in the first sentence, list the book and things in the wiki.
One day per week per challenger. Fill the whole week and then we start a new one.

Possible words (not complete):
1st day: first, chaos, emptiness, tohuwabohu (what was there already), light, darkness, day, night
2nd day: second, water, vault, expanse, sky, heaven
3rd day: third, land, earth, vegetation, plants, seed (every single plant counts)
4th day: fourth, sun, moon, star, seasons (all four),
5th day: fifth, fish, bird (all kinds of swimming and flying things count)
6th day: sixth, animals, livestock, insects, mammals, livestock, men, women
7th day: seventh, rest, have a break (but not break apart), Sabbath, Sunday, finish, blessing, holy

Note: be careful to chose from the proper day (the sun does not belong to the first day :) )
the sense of the chosen word must correspond to the scope of the appropriate day
only ordinal numbers count (1st or first, but not 21st etc.)
words like evening, morning, creation would apply to each day, so they don't count
no embedded word, put plurals and combined words (sunset, waterfall and such), and adjectives (sunny, finished) are okay

You may find the biblical verses here (in two different translations): https://www.librarything.com/topic/314533

Everything's unclear? Have fun with your creative readings :)

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Challenge #14: Read a book with a LT rating of 3.8* or more
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>1 SqueakyChu: Can the one word title and the name found be the same?

The 2020 sweeplette meter is up now.

>41 FAMeulstee: Yes, it can.

Thanks, Anita!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Challenge #15: Read a book written/published/set in any XX20s decade.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It's hard to believe we're on the cusp of a new decade! In honor of ten upcoming years of the 2020s, I challenge everyone to read a book written, published, or set in any '20s decade - 1820s, 1920s, etc. - including January, 2020.

Please note how the work fits the challenge. If you have any questions, please ask!

>43 Dejah_Thoris: This'll be helpful for those January 2020 Net Galley books I need to get to soon.

>44 lindapanzo: Happy to be of service!

>43 Dejah_Thoris:

Theoretically that would be ideal for my challenge read of The Last Of The Mohicans but I'm chary of committing to another chunkster... We'll see. :)

Challenge #16: Read a book set in, about, or written by an author residing in a country ending in "stan"

Lots of former Soviet Republics fit this as well as others. I may omit a few, but this gives you an idea: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kryrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan.

If you need inspiration, the fiction by location wiki (https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/FictionLocation) or non-fiction by location wiki (https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/Non-Fiction_Location) may help.

>43 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks! Just what I needed!

Please note that I have disqualified some entries in Challenge 6 as the initials are not adjacent to each other. This was discussed in >14 Citizenjoyce: and >17 DeltaQueen50: but I should have made sure this was added to the original post so I am sorry for the confusion.

I think Paul might just be about to traumatise all of us with his selected killer. >:-o
What! Why! How!
My childhood is never going to be quite the same again after this.

>50 Helenliz: :D I'm still hung up on whether Captain Kidd found those "blades of swiveling forklifts" in the hotel room and took advantage of the situation, or if he brought them in and how.

>51 jeanned:

I know! - there are some bizarrely wonderful murders going on there. :D

>51 jeanned: >52 lyzard: These are fun but I didn't think about Capt Kidd when I put in the swiveling forklift blades in.

>50 Helenliz: Nuts are a dangerous weapon, I mean if Timmy is going nuts and throws all his nuts at somebody else's nut, that would probably end in at least one cracked nut - well, anyway, a nutty case in the cave down there

@FAMeulstee Oh, Anita, how could you do this to me? I have been trying so hard to avoid buying Sovietistan, and you go and add it to Lori's Challenge #16, read a book about a country set in a 'stan! How am I suppose to resist now?

Tell me this: are there many pictures? Is this a book I can get by with the kindle version, or do I need to get a hard copy?

I'm still trying to resist, though.....

>55 Dejah_Thoris: LOL! I happened to stumble upon it at the e-library.... and indeed I could not resist so many '-stan's :-D
Haven't seen pictures yet, only a few maps.

>56 FAMeulstee: I would like to join you here for a shared read, but the book is out of the library till the 24th ... I am not sure, I'll get in time and then read it till the ende of January

>47 thornton37814: I read What the Body Remembers, which is set just before and during the India-Pakistan partition, and while most of the book is set in India, it's in the part of India that becomes Pakistan at the end of the book. Would that count for this?

TIOLI Question of the Month

Have you read any books so far this month by a favorite author of yours? Who was the author, and what was the book? What is so special about this author that you count him or her as one of your favorites?

>59 SqueakyChu: Sort of second or third string favorites Jodi Taylor : Why is Nothing Ever Simple?, Mercedes Lackey : The Case of the Spellbound Child, and Eric Flint : 1636: The China Venture. This month's reading from each is below average for each, considerably below for Lackey and Flint, but both have lots of quality variation in works bearing their names. All of these authors use history as playgrounds but very differently, Taylor delivering romps that concentrate on the teams investigating historical events in contemporary time, Flint in continuums where he manipulates real historical figures like dolls in a playhouse, and Lackey by introducing fantasy elements into historical literary or mythic traditions.

So far this year, none of my first or even second tier favorites have anything new, though I'm looking forward to the new C.J. Cherryh next month. And who knows, I may find a new favorite in the covers of the next book I open.

>58 antqueen: It's fine with me for you to use it.

I’m here, I’m here! We’re back from Seattle/ Hawai’i although the house is still topsy-turvey from the renovations, which are still being finished.

>36 DeltaQueen50: Thanks Judy, for adding my challenge. Will set up a thread - or carry on using the old 2019 thread for covers.

My computer is still in a cupboard somewhere so I’m managing on an iPad (how spoiled I am).

ETA: obviously my brain is still on holiday because these challenges look quite tough!

>59 SqueakyChu: I read Set on Edge by Bernice Rubens, her debut novel published in 1960. I've read about 17 of her books now and enjoyed each one. Rubens is a master of black comedy which is a feature in many of her books. Her family saga, Brothers, was superb as was her retelling of the Dreyfus story, I, Dreyfus.

>62 humouress: You're welcome. :)

>59 SqueakyChu: I read The Fever by Megan Abbott and although this particular book isn't her best, I consider her a favorite author. I am a huge fan of her 1930s style noir books but even with her contemporary novels, she always finds an interesting angle that gives her stories a fresh slant.

>59 SqueakyChu: I've read Shell Game by Sara Paretsky, and very much enjoyed both the investigation and VI's combative pursuit of social and political justice.

>59 SqueakyChu: I read That Ain't Witchcraft by Seanan McGuire and liked it a lot. McGuire is one of my favorite authors and InCryptid one of my favorite series because of her creative brio and appealing characters.

I have completed a sweep. Off to see if I can sleep now.

>67 quondame: Very cool, Susan! Congrats!!

>67 quondame: Nice going, Susan! Sleep tight!

>67 quondame: Congratulations

>67 quondame: Congratulations, Susan!

TIOLI Stats for December, 2019

In December, 2019, we had 17 challenges in which we read a total of 345 books. Of these, 70 of them, or 20%, were shared reads. We accumulated 39 TIOLI points for a YTD total of 452 TIOLI points.

All of the stats for this year were lower than for 2019 but better than for 2018 so I think we're really holding our own. If I see any other trends (good or bad), I'll let you know. As it is, we're on a steady course for a fun 2020.

The most popular book was They Called Us Enemy by George Takei which was read by 6 challengers.

Our most popular challenge, in which 47 books were read, was the one by helenliz to read a book you have acquired (by any means) in 2019.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points (7) was the one by FAMeulstee to read a book set in the first half of the 20th century.

The TIOLI Awards for December, 2019

The Frozen Book Award goes to @lindapanzo for the challenge to read a book with snow on the cover. Haha! I guess you'd have to brush off the snow first...before you start to read the book. Right?

The Blizzard Award goes to @quondame for reading Snowblind for lindapanzo's challenge to read a book with snow on the cover. This challenger's book had snow both on its cover and in its title. Bring me a hot chocolate now, please and thanks!

The Shared Book Bonanza Award goes to @Carmenere for the challenge to read a book that is dedicated to husband or wife and is the same sex as the author. Fully 50 percent of the books in this challenge were shared reads! Yeah. I know. There were only four books read for this challenge. :)

The Happy Holidays Award goes to @paulstalder for the creative challenge to decorate a Christmas tree with words from title or author. I not only enjoyed the challenge itself, but also the creative ideas that challengers came up with for tree decorations!

The Blue on Blue Award goes to @Dejah_Thoris for reading The Blue Dahlia and to @katiekrug for reading Bluebird, Bluebird for the challenge by humouress to read a book with a (predominantly) blue cover for the December birthstone challenge. I also was reminded by this challenge of Bobby Vinton's song. Come and sing along with me!
https://video.search.yahoo.com/search/video?fr=mcafee&p=blue+on+blue+u+tube+...

The Tremendously Odd Award goes to @raidergirl3 for reading We Cast a Shadow for the challenge by Dejah_Thoris to read a book by an author whose name has an odd number of characters. Their were nineteen letters in the name of the author of the book. How odd!

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

Congratulations to the winners. I really enjoyed all the challenges.

Thank you!

>75 quondame: Wow! Thank you, Susan!

Thanks for the award, here is some Christmas chocolate to go with the hot chocolate :)

More hot chocolate, with a blue theme.

>77 paulstalder: >78 humouress: Wow! It looks as if there's enough chocolate (both the eating and drinking kind) to share with everyone, Come and join me!

>73 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award. My December challenge might've been more fitting in January since we had so little snow in December but have had snows on three straight Saturdays in January.

>67 quondame: A belated kudos to you, Susan!

>72 SqueakyChu: It's good to know we're holding steady.

>73 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline, for my award - a lovely surprise! And congratulations to all the winners!

Excellent treats and drinks to celebrate the award winners! And kudos to everyone in my challenge for finishing a book before the new year hits and that book becomes one you'd not yet got to...

Congrats to all the winners!

>36 DeltaQueen50: Again, thank you Judy.

Now that I’ve settled into the new year, I’ve created a thread in the 2020 group to post covers to.

If you’d like to post covers for Challenge 10: read a book with a dark red cover for the January birthstone (garnet) challenge please do so here:

covers in 2020

If you’ve already posted your covers in the 2019 thread feel free to copy them across if you want to.

>84 humouress: You are most welcome, Nina.

Housekeeping Day!

Please remove any book from this month's wili that you don't finish by midnight tonight...unless...it's in a rolling challenge. For those, just mark them DNF (did not finish). Thanks!

3 Lizlettes to start the year.

Typical. :D

>87 lyzard: Woo Woo! Starting off in style!

>87 lyzard: Me too, how funny.

>47 thornton37814: I got all 7 on your list!

I managed a sweeplette this month with challenges #1-#6!

I managed a sweeplette this month with challenges #1-6!

>21 Helenliz: hurrah!

I've had a slow reading month, but snuck my last one just under the wire last night.

>92 souloftherose: congratulations

>90 quondame: I'm impressed! I did see that one book that covered 5 of them. My motivation with that challenge was the GeoCAT. I had the Uzbek cookery book, so I stuck with it, even though the other one tempted me.

>92 souloftherose: Hurray for your sweeplette! I've yet to get one (or attempt one) for 2020.

>92 souloftherose: Congratulations

I was quite surprised when I finally got round to adding my last 3 books of January to find that I matched 9 of my 10 books to challenges 1-9 (the other in Challenge 12).

Just updating my books for January.

Challenge 1: number of title words equals number of names Ogre Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine

Challenge 3: travel is a significant aspect The Wedding Date by Jasmine Guillory

Challenge 7: a female author not read before Wings of Fire; the Dragonet Prophecy by Tui T. Sutherland

Challenge 10: read a book with a dark red cover The Book of Swords. Part 1 edited by Gardner Dozois

Challenge 14: a book with LT rating of 3.8* or more The Lost Heir by Tui Sutherland

No shared reads (that I found).