Take It or Leave It Challenge - July 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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Your challenge for July, 2020, is to

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Read book #7
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Rules:
1. This book must be the seventh book from the left in a row of upright books or the seventh book from the bottom of a stacked pile in your home.
2. You may not rearrange your row or stack just to get the book you want into the seventh place!
3. You may share anyone else’s read at any time.
4. If you do not have a seventh book in a row or in a stack at home, go to your own “To Read” bookshelf on LibraryThing. Click on ‘Your books”. Click on “Covers”. Resize the covers by clicking on the minus size until you have at least seven books in a horizontal row. Pick the seventh book from any row!
5. You may NOT use your LibraryThing bookshelf to complete this challenge if you DO have upright books on a shelf or stacks of books in your home.
6. List whether the row/stack was real (in your home) or virtual (on your LT bookshelf).

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

1. The July 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

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Temporary Thread --- to help us all through this pandemic and other charged situations around the world

TIOLI Challengers' Corona Virus and Other Matters Support Thread

Wiki Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read book #7 - msg #1
2. Stormy Weather: Read a book with storm or a synonym of storm in the title - msg #5
3. Read a book about a dramatic geopolitical event - msg #8
4. Read a book with a connection to the U.S. Naval Academy - msg #9
5. Read a book for the JULY rolling challeng - msg #12
6. Read a book by a female author that you haven’t read before - msg #13

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book translated by a woman - msg #14
8. Read a book with a title you feel is uplifting or cheerful or inspiring - msg #16
9. Read a book that is at least number 7 in a series - msg #19
10. Read a book with portions of more than one image on the cover separated by straight lines - msg #25
11. Read a prequel - msg #35
12. Read a book with 151 pages or more - msg #49

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book that fits a Seattle Public Library Summer Book Bingo Category - msg #64
14. Finish a book that you had got stuck on - msg #66
15. July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover - msg #69 - thread
16. Read a book that takes place in space - msg #71
17. Read a book with the same title or first words as one of the surahs of the Quran - msg #87 - thread

Please hold your challenge until the August TIOLI challenge is posted. Thx!

(deleted duplicate message)

Every month you get sneakier....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Challenge #2: Stormy Weather - read a book with the word storm or a synonym of storm in the title.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

It’s stormy days! There’s actually a thunderstorm outside right now, but I really meant that the world is unsettled. I challenge everyone to read a book with storm or a synonym of storm in the title. There are plenty of sources for synonyms, but here are three:

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/english-thesaurus/storm
https://www.lexico.com/synonym/storm
https://www.powerthesaurus.org/storm/synonyms

The words may appear in the title or subtitle, and embedded words are acceptable.

ETA: There is a surprising range of words that turn up as synonyms for storm. I decided to list a few of the less standard options:

argument, assault, attack, avalanche, blast, blaze, blitz, charge, controversy, deluge, descent, din, disturbance, eruption, explosion, fight, fling, flood, fly, foray, fracas, fume, hail, march, offensive, outbreak, outburst, passion, push, raid, rain, rant, rave, roar, row, rush, scandal, shout, shower, spray, stalk, stamp, stink, stir, stomp, surge, thrust, thunder, trouble, violence

Any questions? Please ask!

With apologies to Lori (lkernagh)---

On my previous thread, the following was posted in the context of who might care to join me for a reading of Exodus, which is next up in my 'best-seller challenge':

>> Looks up description for Exodus.

>> Reads ...."the towering novel of the twentieth century's most dramatic geopolitical event."

>> Blinks.

>> Decides "Nope", and quietly exits the thread.

:D

Nevertheless, my challenge for this month is---

Challenge #3: Read a book about a 'dramatic geopolitical event'.

I'm going with a fairly broad definition of 'geopolitical'. The event might be a war, a revolution, the overthrow of a government, the birth or creation of a nation or the loss of territory and the end of a nation. It can be a natural disaster, but it should be *a* natural disaster (not just about natural disasters generally), and the focus should be about the people impacted. It cannot be about emigration or the migrant experience on a small scale, but it could be about entire peoples or communities forced to relocate. It might be about genocide...or a pandemic.

Think big!

The event does not have to comprise the entire book, but it must be significant to the book's purpose. Please note your event on the wiki.

If there is something you think qualifies that I haven't covered here, please ask!

ETA: The dramatic geopolitical event must be real, but the book can be fiction or non-fiction.

>6 lyzard: I've already joined you on the wiki.

>7 Dejah_Thoris:

Whoo!! :D

Challenge #4: Read a Book with a Connection to the U.S. Naval Academy

We are so proud of my friend's son, Adam, who will be starting as a plebe at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland on July 1st. Eventually, he hopes to become a Navy Pilot. So, I ask that you read a book with a connection to the Navy or Naval Academy.

This can include Navy history, such as during World War 2), Navy ships, or anything else Navy-related.

>4 Dejah_Thoris: ...and sneakier! Ha!

>9 lindapanzo: Congrats to your friend's son! May he have a wonderful and successful career with the U.S.Navy.

Challenge #5: Read a book for the JULY rolling challenge

For this challenge, there must be an entry for each of the four challenges, spelling out the word J-U-L-Y before the next "set" of letters, spelling out J-U-L-Y, can be used.

Challenges can be taken in any order within the set. One person can take no more than one challenge per set.

Embedded words are acceptable unless otherwise stated.

Short version:
- Read a book that has the word "red," "white," or "blue" on the first page.
- Read a book that makes you uncomfortable.
- Read one of three books that I pick for you.
- Read a book with a number in the title that is in your street address.

Long version with explanations and links below.

(This will be the last "spell the month" challenge of the year. The rest of the months' names are too long.)

~*#~*#~*#~*#~*#~

# J (July 4th) -
# U (Uncomfortable) -
# L (Luck of the Draw) -
# Y (Your Address) -

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J - July 4th

Read a book that has the word "red," "white," or "blue" on the first page.

It must be the word "red," "white," or "blue." No synonyms are allowed. However, the word can be embedded or across more than one word. Please include a bit of the sentence on the wiki.

U - Uncomfortable

Read a book that makes you uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable can mean many things. It could be a difficult nonfiction topic, a genre you've been avoiding or never attempted, an author you're unsure about but finally decided to try, etc. It shouldn't be something as simple as a new or new-to-you book or author. It should be a book that stretches your comfort zone in some way. Please mention on the wiki why it makes you uncomfortable.

L - Luck of the Draw

Read one of three books that I pick for you.

Provide me the list you want me to choose from on this thread. It can be anything - an LT collection, a GoodReads shelf, an Amazon wishlist, a website list. The only rule is that it has to have at least 25 books. In return, I'll give you the names of three books to choose from. If for some reason you can't get any of those books in time, e.g. long library holds, I'll give you three more.

Notice I didn't say "if you don't like my choices, I'll give you three more." Choose your list wisely!

It doesn't have to be a list that already exists, you can create a list just for this challenge.

ATTN: When someone has posted their list on the Luck of the Draw thread, I'll note it on the wiki with "POSTED", you don't have to wait for them to make their choice to start the next set of letters

Y - Your Address

Read a book with a number in the title that is in your street address.

You can use your house number, street number or apartment number. If your street address has no numbers, you can use your zip/postal code. If there are no numbers in your mailing address at all, PM me and we'll come up with something.

For example, my house number is 4917 - so I could read The Crying of Lot 49, I am Number Four or Nine.

For this challenge, embedded words will NOT be accepted.

My challenge for July is pretty straight-forward:

Challenge #6: Read a book by a female author that you haven’t read before

Something a bit different, I hope, this time.
Challenge #7: Read a book translated by a woman

The book can originally have been written by anyone, regardless of gender, it is the translator that should be female in this challenge. This can be a female who is working in conjunction with someone else; for example, Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky have translated a number of the russian authors, their translation would qualify.

If you can't tell who translated your edition, then I'm afraid it will need to go somewhere else.

Please name the translator in the wiki.

>12 Morphidae: Since SOMEBODY snuck this in...

Who could that have been? *whistles and looks away*

>14 Helenliz: If you can't tell who translated your edition, then I'm afraid it will need to go somewhere else.

LOL!

Challenge #8: Read a book with a title you feel is uplifting or cheerful or inspiring

You can decide if the title fits the challenge. No need to contact me.

A Rising Man

A Song for Arbonne

>12 Morphidae: Challenge #5 has been updated with info. Should be a fun one.

>11 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline. Adam is a great kid. Smart, athletic, tough, and very gentlemanly. I hope he grabs this chance with both hands and gets through it OK.

>12 Morphidae: Love the choices!! I'm checking out my Christmas wishlist but will soon post it on your thread so you can pick for me.

Challenge #9: Read a book that is at least number 7 in a series

I got all excited when I saw @squeakyChu's first challenge, as I am at #7 in several series'. But that wasn't what her challenge was about, so I made a challenge for my book #7s in series. It doesn't have to be book #7, but anything from book #7 and after will work.

>19 raidergirl3:

Ooh, thank you! :)

I've made the following addition to my challenge in >12 Morphidae:.

For Luck of the Draw:

ATTN: When someone has posted their list on the Luck of the Draw thread, I'll note it on the wiki with POSTED, you don't have to wait for them to make their choice to start the next set of letters

>20 lyzard:
lol, us series readers need to stick together!

>19 raidergirl3: Your challenge is perfect for the year long read of the Lord Peter mysteries! Number seven is Five Red Herrings.

>23 Dejah_Thoris: I always worry I’ll make a too restrictive challenge.. so far, only #7 books have been entered. I would have thought only #7 wouldn’t have any other books than mine!

#10: Read a book with portions of more than one image on the cover separated by straight lines

This is one I'm likely to use,
Would also work.

>24 raidergirl3: Well, I'll probably get around to reading Last Ditch this month, which is number 29 in the Roderick Alleyn series by Ngaio Marsh, so I doubt the trend will last!

>25 quondame: Ohhhhh...now that's interesting.

>19 raidergirl3: I am way past #7 in many of my cozy mystery series so this one is perfect.

>21 Morphidae: That's a good idea since I'm still pondering my 3 choices. I am leaning toward Kate Alcott's The Dressmaker.

>19 raidergirl3: Your challenge made me laugh. All of these sevens!!

>29 SqueakyChu: it’s even better. When I was looking at @morphidae’s July challenge options, my address is at 7 my street. I went with the red white or blue option, but I was looking for books with seven in the title for a few minutes.
I wish I had thought of my challenge a little earlier so I could have had Challenge 7. Lol

>30 raidergirl3: That’s great! Haha!

Goodness, Dejah! I hope you're going to be reading something cheerful this month too??

>32 lyzard: I imagine most of what I read will be cheerful - you're just seeing the outliers!

>33 Dejah_Thoris:

Phew! :D

I forgot July was coming.
Challenge #11: Read a prequel (list the series)
because I need to find a home for The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

>35 Citizenjoyce: Grrr, I just finished a prequel yesterday. I'll have to find another. Seems like a lot of my cozy series are doing this now.

>36 lindapanzo: bad timing. I hate when that happens

My planned reads for the month:
Challenge #1: Read book #7 - started by SqueakyChu
✔The Gate to Women's Country - Sheri S. Tepper (5)
Challenge #2: Stormy Weather: read a book with storm or a synonym of storm in the title - started by Dejah_Thoris
Earthquake Storms: The Fascinating History and Volatile Future of the San Andreas Fault - John Dvorak
Challenge #3: Read a book about a dramatic geopolitical event - started by lyzard
✔ The Coming Plague: Newly Emerging Diseases in a World Out of Balance by Laurie Garrett (5)
The Demon in the Freezer - Richard Preston
✔House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia - Craig Unger (4)
✔The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Hijacked American Politics - Steve Benen (4)
✔Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For by Susan Rice (3.5)
Challenge #4: Read a book with a connection to the U.S. Naval Academy - started by lindapanzo
*✔Navy SEAL Dogs: My Tale of Training Canines for Combat - Mike Ritland (4)
Challenge #5: Read a book for the JULY rolling challenge - started by Morphidae
*✔White Fragility: Why It's So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism - Robin DiAngelo (5)
Challenge #6: Read a book by a female author that you haven’t read before - started by DeltaQueen
*American Dirt - Jeanine Cummins
*✔Severance - Ling Ma (3.5)
Challenge #7: Read a book translated by a woman - started by helenliz
Seventeen (Louise Heal Kawai translator) - Hideo Yokoyama ABANDONED
Challenge #8: Read a book with a title you feel is uplifting or cheerful or inspiring- started by dallenbaugh
✔The Girl With All the Gifts - M. R. Carey (4.5)
Challenge #9: Read a book that is at least number 7 in a series - started by raidergirl3
Challenge #10: Read a book with portions of more than one image on the cover separated by straight lines - started by quondame
*✔Weather - Jenny Offill (4)
Challenge #11: Read a prequel (list the series) - started by Citizenjoyce
*✔The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (The Hunger Games) - Suzanne Collins (4)
Challenge #13: Read a book that fits a Seattle Public Library Summer Book Bingo Category (list the category) - started by susanna.fraser
✔The Five: The Untold Lives of the Women Killed by Jack the Ripper by Hallie Rubenhold (5)
✔Surviving Autocracy - Masha Gessen (4)
Challenge #14: Finish a book that you had got stuck on - started by wandering_star
✔Dracula- Bram Stoker (3)Challenge #15: July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover - Started by humouress
*✔Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown (3.5)

>35 Citizenjoyce: >36 lindapanzo: I've read not one, but TWO prequels in June - I'll try to find another!

ETA: One of the prequels was The Prodigal Son, a novella that's part of Sulari Gentill's Roland Sinclair mystery series which I'm really enjoying. It's set (primarily) in Australia in the 1930s.

Gentill wrote The Prodigal Son as a thank you to her readers, and it's available for free:

http://www.rowlandsinclairnovella.com/

You can read it online or download it - I read the pdf on my Kindle.

>35 Citizenjoyce: I found one for July! There's a short prequel to John Scalzi's Lock In books that's available free at Tor.com.

Unlocked: An Oral History of Haden's Syndrome can be found at:

https://www.tor.com/2014/05/13/unlocked-an-oral-history-of-hadens-syndrome-john-...

>12 Morphidae: For the number in the title, what are your thoughts on titles including the word volume followed by a number (e.g. volume 1). I'm thinking of the short story collection, Stories of the Raksura Volume 1 but it would also apply to some series of graphic novels which are numbered.

>37 Citizenjoyce: That Navy SEAL dogs book sounds fascinating.

Bad timing on the prequel but, no doubt, I'll; find something. Too bad Charles Finch doesn't have anything due out soon. I think his last 3 books have been prequels in his Charles Lenox series.

>38 Dejah_Thoris:, >39 Dejah_Thoris: Thanks for the links.
>41 lindapanzo: If it's about dogs, it has to be good.

I hope we get a few more challenges. I've got some books I'm having trouble placing....

>43 Dejah_Thoris: What books are you trying to place? What type(s) of challenge(s) would fit them?

>44 SilverWolf28: Oh no, that would be cheating! It's just that right now we have quite a few, er, challenging challenges (including my own) that allow for a somewhat limited range of possibilities. We also usually end up with more than 11 challenges, so I was just expressing an unsubtle hope that we'd get a few more and that their constraints would not be quite as narrow.

Most months I fit all of my books in challenges, but it's not the end of the world if I don't.

Thank you for responding, though - think up a lovely challenge!

>45 Dejah_Thoris: Ooh, ooh! I have an idea for a challenge!

Read a book.

ETA: With pages.

P.S. OoooOooh! And...*gasps*... chapters.

S.P.S. Do you think page numbers would be too much to ask for? Hmmm.... that might be TOO challenging.

*****

Don't mind me. I'm definitely squirrelly today.

*****

A cover... the book has to have a cover.

And it needs to be... a color.

Someone stop me! 🤪

>46 Morphidae: Lol, Morphy! I wasn't interpreting 'not narrow' as 'all encompassing' - but, hey, whatever works.

Btw, I think I've checked every book I'm even thinking of reading for red, white, or blue on the first page....

>46 Morphidae: Harumph! :(

LOL!

>46 Morphidae: I was tempted to make my challenge just "Read a book" ;-)

--
Challenge #12: Read a book with 151 pages or more (list the number of pages)

For audiobooks: see if you can find the number of pages for a paper or e-book.

>49 FAMeulstee: Well now, THAT will help!

>49 FAMeulstee: >50 Dejah_Thoris: Oh, Anita!! LOL!!!

>51 SqueakyChu: It's nice to have a challenge to go to when your book won't fit anywhere else! So thank you, Anita!

ETA: >49 FAMeulstee: How did you happen to pick 151 pages?

>52 Dejah_Thoris: I have a book I might read that has that number of pages.

>53 FAMeulstee: LOL - perfect!

> 52 She probably picked it because it's larger than 150 pages. LOL!

>55 SqueakyChu: LOL, I see my challenge is useful ;-)

>56 FAMeulstee: Very useful! :)

>49 FAMeulstee: So now if someone were to add a fewer than 150 pg challenge.....

>58 quondame: Too funny! I'm counting on at least three more challenges showing up, although I doubt that's at the top of anyone's list.

>58 quondame: Then every book could find a place, except 150 page books :-)

>56 FAMeulstee: Hahahaha! I knew you'd be the first person to notice that!

>58 quondame: So now if someone were to add a fewer than 150 pg challenge.....

Hahahahahaha!
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

>60 FAMeulstee: Then every book could find a place, except 150 page books

LOL!

>9 lindapanzo: Does it have to be the US Navy? I've been considering an Aubrey-Maturin re-read.

Challenge #13: Read a book that fits a Seattle Public Library Summer Book Bingo Category (list the category)

My annual self-serving challenge. This year's categories are here.

>64 susanna.fraser: Hooray! This will work for many of my books.

I'm feeling much more confident I'll find a TIOLI home for everything in July. :)

Challenge #14: Finish a book that you had got stuck on

You should have started the book before the end of March 2020. Simple (and yes, self-serving - I am getting ready to move house and don't want to pack a load of half-read books).

I'm updating my >12 Morphidae: challenge rules for Your Address to accept embedded words.

>6 lyzard: Liz, might Castle Richmond qualify for your geopolitical event challenge? Is there enough focus on the Irish famine? Just wondering which challenge to slot it into.

****Challenge #15: July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover. ****

The birthstone for July is ruby, considered the king of stones and linked to love for its colour. It is named for the Latin word for 'red' and the shade of red may indicate which part of the world a ruby comes from.

 

Please post your covers on the Birthstone challenge thread.

ETA: New Birthstone challenge thread for July to October

>68 cbl_tn:

That's my backup plan if it doesn't fit anywhere else. :)

ETA: Ehh, we might just go ahead and do that; see you there!

Challenge #16 Read a book that takes place in space.

A book that is at least partially set in space.

Edit: Any planet or moon other than Earth is fine.

>71 SilverWolf28: I have a question - would a book that takes place on our moon or on some planet other than Earth count, or is your challenge just for book set literally in space such as on a spaceship or space station?

>72 Dejah_Thoris: Any planet or moon other than Earth is fine.

>73 SilverWolf28: Perfect!

>6 lyzard: Does it have to be a real event or can it be fictional, i.e. Station Eleven (pandemic - science fiction) or A Game of Thrones (war - fantasy or Year One (pandemic - romance (okay, speculative fiction, too).)

It's okay if not. I'm going to read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei.

>75 Morphidae:

No, sorry, it needs to be describing real events. I will clarify my post.

I also should have said the book can be fiction or non-fiction, and I will add that now too.

>76 lyzard: No problem. See my edit in >75 Morphidae:. We cross posted.

>77 Morphidae:

Ooh, excellent choice! :)

>78 lyzard: It's not like I bought it for myself at Christmas a while ago and it's been sitting on my shelf. Nope. Nuh uh.

>9 lindapanzo:

Would books from the following lists be acceptable?

Chief of Naval Operations Professional Reading Program
https://www.navy.mil/ah_online/cno-readingprogram/azlist.html

Don't know if it's the same list but it's sorted by category
https://www.dodreads.com/2020-navy-reading-list/

Naval Academy Reading List
https://www.dodreads.com/military-reading-lists/naval-academy-reading-list/

Prior Navy Reading Lists
https://navy.libraryreserve.com/10/50/en/SearchResults.htm?SearchID=60790865

Navy Surgeon General Reading List
https://navy.libraryreserve.com/10/50/en/SearchResults.htm?SearchID=60790866

*****

For others interested, Robert A. Heinlein graduated from the Naval Academy. Also William Lederer and James H. Webb.

>75 Morphidae: I'm going to read They Called Us Enemy by George Takei.

Oh, that's an excellent graphic novel. I highly recommend it...if anyone is in the mood for a shared read!

>80 Morphidae: Sure, those are fine as long as there's the connection to the Navy or the Naval Academy.

One book I enjoyed about literature at the Naval Academy was Annapolis Autumn: Life, Death, and Literature at the U.S. Naval Academy.

I knew that James Webb went to the Naval Academy but didn't know about the others.

BTW, due to the pandemic, they spaced out the arrival days over 4 days instead of one so that 300 new plebes reported each day, instead of having all 1,200 report to the Naval Academy on the same day. Now they're in quarantine for 14 days.

>82 lindapanzo: So the naval academy is showing reason in the face of the virus. That must make you feel better.

>82 lindapanzo: Hurray for Maryland! We’re trying.

>19 raidergirl3:, >24 raidergirl3:

Oh, ha! I was tidying up an awkward series, removing things that shouldn't have been there...and now *I* have a "#7 in a series" too. :

>85 lyzard: Being very resistant to tidying, I'm always amazed when the occupation rewards me.

Challenge #17: Read a book with the same title or first words as one of the surahs of the Quran

There are 114 chapters (surahs) in the Quran, all having a different title. I put forward that challenge to read a book which has the same title as a surah (exact the same wording/spelling) or the the first words of the book start with the same words as a surah title. Embedded words do not count.

The list of the surah titles: http://www.librarything.com/topic/322092
I have listed all surahs with the English title, limited to one title, allowing no variants.

Titles: the article can be left aside; singular stays singular, plural when plural is in the list
First Words: the first sentence must start with exactly the words written in my list

all clear? have fun reading

I read The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. This is my f2f bookclub read for July, so it is the 7th book in a row of bookclub reads in 2020. Would it count here? I don't think I've ever participated in the TIOLI challenge. Can a person read only 1 book for the challenge or do they need to complete a group?

>88 Kristelh: welcome in! You can read any book that fits the requirements of the challenges. You can read more than 1 book in a challenge - again as long as they fit the rules. There's no need to try and read a book in each challenge. Trust me, some of us would fail dismally at that each and every month if that were a rule!!

Just add the book to the wiki in alphabetical order (that's the default, unless the challenge states otherwise).

>87 paulstalder: I thought that was going to be a really difficult challenge but I thought of a good half dozen books right off the top of my head after looking at the list. The only difficulty will be in deciding. What a fun one!

>88 Kristelh: I love, love that book. I just looked it up and found I read it 10 years ago. How is that even possible? It has stayed in my mind so well that I was just referencing it the other day.

>88 Kristelh: It doesn't really fit the parameters, but since you're brand new here, I'll make an exception for you. After all, the TIOLI challenges are only to have fun. Welcome! I'll be very strict with everyone else, though! :D

As you continue to play along with us. you'll see I'm one of the individuals who tries to make the challenges harder rather than easier. I hope you find the TIOLI challenges fun. If you have any questions, just ask, as they sometimes can be confusing. Actually, they often can be confusing. Ha!

As @Helenliz said, you can read as many books as you'd like. In fact, you can even bail on a book if you want to, without guilt. However, you'll have to remove that book from the wiki if it was never COMPLETED.

Shared reads are often fun because you can do them any time. Afterward you can talk about the book you shared either on our thread or on the thread of the challenger who read it.

I will remove it. It was on my shelf for the 7th month since the beginning of the year. So if I had them stacked up on my shelf it would have been the 7th book. But I will remove it. Thanks for clarifying.

To JeanneD: I just wanted to let you know that the touchstone for your book in challenge #16 is the same as the touchstone for challenge #9. The link accidently stayed the same.

>90 Morphidae: Thanks Morphy. I was intrigued by the titles, especially by 'She That Is To Be Examined' and others, but I didn't find the fitting First Words yet.

>94 SilverWolf28: Thanks for that! Probably my error trying to place my books too far past my bedtime.

>96 jeanned: No problem!

>40 souloftherose: I KNOW I typed up an answer for this dang it. I had examples and everything. Bah.

Ah! Found it. Helps to click on Post message. What a maroon.

*****

I'll allow it in cases where the volume number is on the cover as is with your book.

Examples:

Legends, Volume 2 edited by Robert Silverberg, short stories
ALLOWED - Volume number on cover (barely)

Transmetropolitan, Vol 2 by Warren Ellis, Graphic Novel
NOT ALLOWED - No volume number on cover

Monstress, Vol 2 by Marjorie M. Liu, Graphic Novel
ALLOWED - Volume number on cover

>25 quondame: Will this work? It only has two sections.

>5 Dejah_Thoris: Would you consider The Water Cure since mythologically the flood was supposed to have been a cure for all the nasty humans on the planet?

>99 Morphidae: Yes, more than one image, straight line, perfect.

>101 quondame: Yay!

>1 SqueakyChu:

Hey, Madeline, my 7th book up is an omnibus of four novels, am I allowed to read just one?? :D

>103 lyzard: Absolutely yes.

>104 SqueakyChu:

Thank you!

****Challenge #15: July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover. ****

The birthstone for July is ruby, considered the king of stones and linked to love for its colour. It is named for the Latin word for 'red' and the shade of red may indicate which part of the world a ruby comes from.

 

Please post your covers on the Birthstone challenge thread.

ETA: I had a request to set up a new thread for covers as the 2020 one is taking too long to load, so I have set up a New Birthstone challenge thread for July to October

Thanks, this will load so much faster.

You know what?

When you read too many a lot of murder mysteries, you have very few titles that are uplifting or cheerful or inspiring. :D

>108 lyzard: Maybe they can inspire you to solve the mystery

TIOLI Question of the Month

Wasn't it nice when things that were scary were mostly confined to fiction? Anyway...

What situation scared you the most in a book of FICTION that you have read so far this month? What was the book, and why did you find that situation so frightening?

>110 SqueakyChu: I just finished House of Trump, House of Putin: The Untold Story of Donald Trump and the Russian Mafia by Craig Unger. I was never overly interested in mafia stories, they seemed to have little application to my life. This book shows pretty much how the mafia is taking over the world if you combine the American mafia with the Russian mob with (strangely) a Jewish fundamentalist sect with greedy politicians world over combined with people whose free-floating anger can be directed toward immigrants all deftly manipulated by Putin. Scary because now I see it happening around me every day.

>111 Citizenjoyce: It is scary. Strangely, the first day-to-day impact on my life of a mafia was the disappearance of a wide variety of candies at local supermarkets in favor of a single, favored distributor that carried only brands that could afford the kickbacks.

>112 quondame: Nothing is too little or too big for them to set their sights on.

>111 Citizenjoyce: My original question was about a book of *fiction*, but since truth is stranger (and often scarier) than fiction, you and others can tell us about any book. I edited my question above.

>114 SqueakyChu: Oops, sorry. Sometimes I don't pay attention to details.

>110 SqueakyChu: I read Ankomst this month. Set in the edge of the arctic, it is about a researcher who has moved to a remote fjord for a reseach project. During the next 2 months strange things start to disturb her mind, and there is an ever growing sense of the precariousness of human existance and the fine line between sanity and madness. She is expecting a visitor (the title means "arrival") and yet who or what actually arrives is left entirely ambiguous. The sense of threat escalates through the book quite markedly. A book set in the dark of an northern winter, I'm quite glad I read this in summer!

>110 SqueakyChu: I read The Wall by Marlen Haushofer, where a woman finds herself locked out from the rest of the world (where all life is erased) by a glass-like wall. A scary thought to be the only and last human alive.

>110 SqueakyChu: I haven’t been really scared yet, (except by the news) but In the Kingdom of Ice, about an early arctic expedition certainly made me uncomfortable.

>110 SqueakyChu: The last several months I haven't read anything scary or upsetting. Almost all the new books I've read have been romances in various genres - historical, contemporary, paranormal, erotic, etc. The rest have been comfort rereads. Maybe 5 to 10% have been outside those two categories (some graphic novels, science fiction.)

>1 SqueakyChu: Madeline, your link for the TIOLI meter still goes to June :) It's easy enough to change it to July once I'm there, but I think I accidentally edited June's once instead because I wasn't paying attention.

>110 SqueakyChu: I read a ghost story earlier this month but found myself more entertained than scared but I just finished Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy and man's inhumanity to others was indeed terrifying.

>120 bell7: Fixed. Thanks!

>110 SqueakyChu: I just finished The Girl With All The Gifts knowing nothing about it except that someone recommended it. It's horror. Horror doesn't usually scare me, I just find it unlikely and uninteresting. Well, I got so involved in The Girl that I didn't even watch the news for 2 days. I heartily recommended it to my daughter then found that it's already been made into a movie, showing on Netflix, and she'd already seen it. She said it was ok. Hmm, the book is far better than ok, but didn't scare me. I think only non-fiction can do that.

>123 Citizenjoyce: We are living in a zombie horror story, so yeah, it out scares fiction. I bet the maskless ones didn't think they'd be the zombies.

TIOLI Stats for June, 2020

The stats for this month are holding up well. We read a total of 305 books, of which 72 or 24% were shared reads. We accumulated 38 TIOLI points for a June YTD total of 262 TIOLI points.

The most popular book, read by five challengers, was Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie.

Then most popular challenge, with 51 books read, was the one by @FAMeulstee to read a book with three words or more in the title.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points (6 points) was the one by @humouress to read a book with a predominantly teal and/or purple cover.

Ever onward...

So, people:

Is there a way of searching Common Knowledge just for your own books?

>137 SqueakyChu:

- Click on Your books.

- Click on Settings.

- Click on Common Knowledge.

- Drag a Common Knowledge topic, such as People/Characters to the style you want to have information in. (I decided to put all CK knowledge in Style D. I wonder if someone can now search MY books with that style or do they have to come up with their own CK Style?)

- Click on Save changes!!! (Learned that one the hard way.)

- Click on Your books, then All collections

- Click on the style you selected. (Be aware that if you put something like, oh, say, 14 items in the style, it will place all the 14 items in a row and the letters will be so small it will be unreadable. *cough* A more reasonable option is 5 items.) (Or after having played with it a bit, the best option might be just the title and the item you are looking for.)

- Click in the Search box for Your books and enter what you are looking for. (I tried "France" for a location.)

- Make sure the drop down says All fields then hit return or the equivalent. (It worked pretty well. I got a couple entries for authors with the name Frances and a couple that I have no idea why they came up but 25/29 were right on target. I could avoid the author issue by removing that field from the style.)

There's an Advanced search option but I have no idea what it does because I got LT's white screen of death.

>127 Morphidae:

Good grief! - lucky I have a few spare hours this afternoon! :D

Thanks!

>127 Morphidae: Thanks! That's great to know. There are so many things about LT that I'd like to tweak, but really, it's pretty great.

>127 Morphidae:, >128 lyzard:, >129 quondame:

Hmm. The search went a bit weird: I didn't find what I was searching for while I was searching for it, but three times I found something I had been searching for while I was not searching for it. :D

>128 lyzard: >129 quondame: >130 lyzard: I enjoyed figuring it out as I had no idea it could be done either until the question was asked. The idea popped into my head, "I wonder if CK is an option in styles?" How much easier would some of these TIOLI challenges been if I/we had known before, eh?

>131 Morphidae: I have used searching this way in my own catalogue before, for first words, ephigraphs and dedications. I thought everyone would do it that way.

>132 FAMeulstee: : Same here, Anita. And I used to be good at entering that data for the books I read. But then my husband retired.

>131 Morphidae: I have used original publication date in styles, so if I'd considered I might have known how to generalize, but I'm usually looking for books I haven't read to meet challenges, so I wouldn't look in my library since I rarely buy fiction to read someday - though I do go for $0.99 and $1.99 e-books, so there are some lurking at the bottom of the contents and devices pages.

>130 lyzard: I so wanted to upvote/like your post but then realised I'm on LT so have to post that I liked your post.

>135 avatiakh:

I appreciate it either way!

June 2020 TIOLI Awards!

The Way Back Award goes to @FAMeulstee for reading The Deeps of Deliverance for Dejah_Thoris's challenge to read a book written in the first two decades (+1) of any century. Our challenger read a book that was published in 1900. That was 120 years ago!

The Sweetness Award goes to @DeltaQueen50 for the challenge to read a book whose title contains a word that you would use to name a puppy. The picture that goes with this challenge is so darn cute that it deserves an award of its own!

The And the Winner Is Award goes to @DeltaQueen50 for reading Cleopatra's Daughter for this challenger's own challenge because this puppy just looks like a *Cleo* to me. For the win! By the way, my younger son's family just adopted a rescue beagle...but they named him Archie. :D

The Let's Get Down to Basics Award goes to @DeltaQueen50 (yes, again!) for quondame's challenge to read a book that takes place in the summer or has the word summer in the title. The book title of the book read by this winning challenger wastes no words. It's simply called Summer.

The Just About Everything Award goes to @lindapanzo for the challenge to read a book about something you've missed during stay at home orders. As I read the list of book titles for this challenge, I realized that I am missing everything about pre-pandemic life. :(

The Happiness Award goes to @Morphidae for the challenge to read a book relating to (this challenger's) 55th birthday. Wishing you much joy in your birthday month!

The Best Color Award goes to @humouress for the June birthstone challenge to read a book with a predominantly teal and/or purple cover. You guessed it. Purple is my favorite color! :D

The Safety in Numbers Award goes to @citizenjoyce for reading Democracy in Chains: The Deep History of the Radical Right's Stealth Plan for America for FAMeulstee's challenge to read a book with three words or more in the title. To ensure staying within the parameters of the challenge, this winning challenger read a book with a fourteen-word title. Not taking any chances!

The This I've Gotta See Award goes to @AlcottAcre for reading Cartwheeling in Thunderstorms for lyzard's challenge to read a book with an activity you can do inside in the title. In my little house? Cartwheeling? This I really *have to* see!

Congrats to our award winners. Feel free to add any other award you'd like at this time.

Wow, Thanks, Madeline. June was obviously a "winning" month for me. :)

>137 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline. One thing I missed, naturally, was baseball, and I'm thrilled that it's back. I wonder how long it will last, though, in light of the fact that the Florida Marlins have had so many players and coaches test positive that they've had to cancel their home opener tonight.

>139 lindapanzo: And I am thrilled that soccer is back...although not so thrilled at the performance of my team, DC United. I want all the sports players to be safe, though. I'd easily forego the games to ensure that, but there are no guarantees in this life.

>140 SqueakyChu: Do you follow women's soccer? I heard something about our Red Stars being in a championship game.

I'm also excited about the hockey playoffs starting, at long last, even though my Blackhawks probably won't be around for long. The star goalie had the virus but is now back and has practiced exactly once.

I adore women's soccer! That's how I got started back into watching my local team. It was after the USWNT took the championship. I discovered that some of their players played on the DC local team called the Washington Spirit. I also started following and attending games of my local men's team (DC United) after a hiatus in soccer-watching of about 40 years! I used to follow a former DC area local men's team called the Washington Diplomats. That's now ancient history.

I haven't watched baseball for at least as long, but I did watch the Washington Nationals win the pennant last year. Dr. Fauci threw out the first pitch at the first Nationals game this year which was played this past week.

>137 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award, though rather than being safe in numbers these days, I prefer to be safe alone.

>143 Citizenjoyce: True!

>137 SqueakyChu: Lots of awards this month. Thanks for giving me one of them! (Though my mood was more cranky than happy. 55? Yuck Ptooey!)

>145 Morphidae: Don't complain about being in your fifties!!! I can barely remember that long ago. LOL!

>152 quondame: Alas, I didn't read the morning paper til after dinner but I see that our Red Stars lost in the championship game. I enjoyed the NWT the past few World Cup seasons.

>147 lindapanzo: Oh, I'm sorry. Maybe next time. :(

>137 SqueakyChu: Thank you for the award, Madeline.
And the story took place even longer ago ;-)

>132 FAMeulstee: I wouldn't do it that way because I had no idea that we could (do such a thing). And Morphy's explanation doesn't help because in recent years I've found that whenever anyone starts technospeak (or more than 2 'click here's) I say 'Really? Fascinating' as a glazed look passes over my face.

>125 SqueakyChu: Ooh; the most TIOLI points!

>137 SqueakyChu: Ooh; another award. Yay! Thank you.

Purple is my sister's favourite colour too. (I borrowed it for a while too but then she got proprietorial.)

>142 SqueakyChu: *sob* They beat England.

May I add another award:

The Gemini Award for the June birthstone challenge; to read a book with a predominantly teal and/ or purple cover to match alexandrite which can show either colour depending on the light. The following folks read a book with both colours on the cover (and/ or read one or more books of each colour):

@raidergirl3
@souloftherose
@Dejah_Thoris
@quondame

My apologies if I've missed anyone; my connection is slow and it's late so I haven't got the patience to go through all the covers. I'm basing this on covers posted to the cover thread.

And, yes; I will get to work on the August challenge ASAP.

>151 humouress: Thank you for the award!

>151 humouress: aw, thanks. My birthday is in June, so this was my favourite birthstone month, and, I win an award.

>151 humouress: Congrats to the Gemini Award winners!

>152 quondame: >153 raidergirl3: You're welcome.

>154 SqueakyChu: Thank you.

>150 humouress: I got you. The glaze is powerful.

>156 Citizenjoyce: :0)

Housekeeping Day...
was yesterday. By now you should have removed all books not completed by midnight last night from the wiki or marked your entry DNF. Thx!

My books for July:

Challenge 2. Stormy Weather: Read a book with storm or a synonym of storm in the title The Furies of Calderon by Jim Butcher

Challenge 5. Read a book for the JULY rolling challenge Dr. Eleventh by Adam Hargreaves (2017)

Challenge 6. Read a book by a female author that you haven’t read before The Mystwick School of Musicraft by Jessica Khoury

Challenge 8. Read a book with a title you feel is uplifting or cheerful or inspiring Firebirds Rising {anthology} edited by Sharyn November (2006)

Challenge 9. Read a book that is at least number 7 in a series Dr. Tenth by Adam Hargreaves (2018)

Challenge 9. Read a book that is at least number 7 in a series Dr. Ninth by Adam Hargreaves (2017)

Challenge 10. Read a book with portions of more than one image on the cover separated by straight lines Hamlyn All Colour Cook Book Mary Berry et al

Challenge 12. Read a book with 151 pages or more Truthwitch by Susan Dennard (2016)

Challenge 15. July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy (1913)

Challenge 16. Read a book that takes place in space Dr. Thirteenth by Adam Hargreaves (2018)

ETA : doing this on my tablet; will come back and put links into the wiki laterr

ETA 2: Done