Take It or Leave It Challenge - February 2023 - 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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For February, 2023, your TIOLI challenge is to...

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Read a book with a body part in the title
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Information:
1. The body part may be one word or it may be embedded in or across words in the title.
2. The body part may be in the title or the subtitle.
3. You may use this LT list to help you select a book.

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Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. @FAMeulstee's 2023 TIOLI Sweeplette Meter
2. @FAMeulstee's Our TIOLI Sweeps
3. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges (2010-2016) - A reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating a previous challenge. If your idea is similar to a previous challenge, make it unique by adding a new "twist" to it.
4. The February 2023 TIOLI Meter - Optional page on which you may track your TIOLI reading. Not competitive--- just fun!

Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book with a body part in the title - msg #1
2. Read a book whose first letter of its title fits into the following Rolling Challenge – based on “Be My Valentine” - msg #3
3. Read a book with a title that pays homage to Cole Porter's "Night and Day" - msg #4
4. Read a book about twins, or told from 2 POV or has a word indicating 2 in the title - msg #6
5. Read a book for the Alphabetical Verbs rolling challenge - msg #8
6. Read a book with the numbers 6 and 0 in the ISBN - msg #9

Challenges #7-12
7. The Stendahl Challenge - Read a book with either the word “Red” or “Black” in the title proper - msg #11
8. Read a classic whose adaptation into a movie or play you've seen - msg #14
9. Read a book with an animal in its title AND that animal on its cover - msg #15 - thread
10. Read a book with something you'd find on Old MacDonald's Farm in the title or author's name - msg #17
11. Read a book translated from the Portuguese or written in Portuguese - msg #21
12. Read a book where the first two words in the title begin with the same letter - msg #22

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a book with at least two one-syllable words in the title (excludes a, an, the, and, or) - msg #24
14. Read a book with a connection to a book you read in 2022 - msg #27
15. Read a book with a person's name on the page # matching the number of books you read last year - msg #29
16. Read a book written from a non-human perspective - msg #31
17. Read a short story - msg #48
18. Read a Western - msg #64

Please hold your challenge until the March, 2023, TIOLI challenge is posted. Thank you!

CHALLENGE #2: Read a book whose first letter of it’s title fits into the following Rolling Challenge – based on “Be My Valentine”

Please note:

: Shared Reads are acceptable
: You may disregard the Articles such as "The" and "A" and use the next word
: Please only enter a couple of books at a time, giving others a chance to add some before adding more yourself.

Challenge #3: Read a book whose title pays homage to Cole Porter's "Night and Day"

One of my favorite 'classic' song and dance routines by Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers was performed to Cole Porter's "Night and Day" -- and this year marks the 90th anniversary of the first release of Astaire's audio recording of the romantic song.

Here's the YouTube video, for your enjoyment...

So, read a book that features day or night in the title.

1. For "day" -- you can use any time of day, morning, midday, afternoon. For night -- evening, midnight, twilight are all OK.
2. Embedded words are fine.
3. Specific times are NOT ok, unless they are noon or midnight. But not books like The 6:20 Man by David Baldacci.

(Somehow I knew that the Feb challenge would go live today....)

>4 Chatterbox: (Somehow I knew that the Feb challenge would go live today....)

LOL!

Challenge #4: Read a book about twins, or told from 2 POV or has a word indicating 2 in the title

Twins please, no triplets. Fraternal are fine.

There must be only 2 POV in the book.

Pair, dual, twice, second, even bicycle, will do.

Sorry I was to fast. See msg 9.

Challenge #5: Read a book for the Alphabetical Verbs rolling challenge

For a Discord buddy read, I'll be reading The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches which made me think of irregular verbs. However, there are so many that I thought that would make a challenge too easy. But there weren't enough to do an alphabetical order rolling challenge of irregular verbs.

Therefore...

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Read a book with any verb that starts with a letter that follows in alphabetical order from the previous title's verb.
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NOTES:

If absolutely needed, you can skip one letter, e.g. What People Wore can be followed by a book with a "Y" verb (skipping "X".) And a "Z" verb can be followed by a "B" verb.

The word does not need to be used as a verb, e.g. The Painted Veil.

No embedded words, e.g. The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo cannot be used for "band."

Challenge #6: Read a book with the numbers 6 and 0 in the ISBN

I will celebrate my 60th birthday in February.

>9 FAMeulstee: Have the happiest of birthdays, Anita!

>10 SqueakyChu: Thank you, Madeline. Nine days to go.

Wishing you a very happy birthday, Anita!

> Happy Birthday
Challenge #8: Read a classic whose adaptation into a movie or play you've seen
I recently saw the play To Kill A Mockingbird so I'll be re-reading that classic. They made some changes that would make Atticus less likely to be the Atticus in Go Set A Watchman and make the play even more sympathetic to modern audiences.

Challenge #9:

Read a book with an animal in its title AND that animal on its cover

Hopefully self-explanatory.

The animal does not have to be real (I will allow dragons etc.) and the image does not have to be realistic (outline, stylised, cartoon etc.). If there is more than one animal in the title, just one on the cover is sufficient; or if your title word is plural, just one animal on your cover is okay.

The animal may be in the subtitle.

Shared reads are allowed if your edition does not have the cover image.

I will set up a thread where we can post our covers and note here when it is up.

ETA: The thread is now up, please post your covers here.

>8 Morphidae: Ask, ache, are say skipping A really won't do. If I were more eager to read Ask the Dust I'd request permission to insert it, but it's just sort of annoyed me so far.

Challenge #10: Read a book with something you'd find on Old MacDonald's Farm in the title or author's name

Unlike the song, which is limited to animals that make sounds, you can use anything you would find on a farm, for example, barn, hay, tractor. Terms for people need to be specific. Farmer is OK; man, woman, boy, girl, etc., are not. Embedded words are fine.

ETA: Structures need to be farm-specific, too. So, "house" won't work, but "farmhouse" will.

>16 quondame: Just this once, because I couldn't come up with an "A", I'm quite willing to have you slip it in.

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This is a ONE time thing, folks, because I couldn't stand leaving the start "to chance." 😁

>18 Morphidae: I put Ask the Dust in Challenge #5.

>19 quondame: Got it. 👍 Ignore what i said in my message.

Challenge #11 - Read a book in Portuguese or translated from Portuguese

Fairly self explanatory this month and in conjunction with my African Novel Challenge which focuses in February on Lusophone Literature. Of course not limited here to novels or to Africa - Portugal and Brazil brought into play so we have the likes of :
Jorge Amado
Antonio Lobo Antunes
Jose Saramago
Fernando Pessoa
Paulo Coehlo
Clarice Lispector
Mia Couto
Machado de Assis
Jose Eduardo Agualusa
Milton Hatoum

Challenge #12: Read a book where the first two words in the title begin with the same letter

For this purpose, words such as A or An or The DO count.

>21 PaulCranswick: I wish I could read a book in Portuguese! I’m working on Portuguese on Duolingo, and it’s starting to get hard. Knowing Spanish helps a lot, but some words are a real mystery to me!

Challenge #13: Read a book with at least two one-syllable words in the title (excludes a, an, the, and & or)

Subtitles can be included.

My planned reads:
Challenge #1: Read a book with a body part in the title - started by SqueakyChu
*✔The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter - Carson McCullers (5)
Challenge #2: Read a book whose first letter of its title fits into the following Rolling Challenge – based on “Be My Valentine” - started by DeltaQueen
✔The Making of Her - Bernadette Jiwa (4)
✔You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty Akwaeke Emezi (3)
Challenge #3: Read a book with a title that pays homage to Cole Porter's "Night and Day" - started by Chatterbox
Day - Elie Wiesel
*✔Night of Miracles - Elizabeth Berg (3.5)
Challenge #4: Read a book about twins, or told from 2 POV or has a word indicating 2 in the title - started by quondame
*✔What If? 2 - Randall Munroe (3)
Challenge #5: Read a book for the Alphabetical Verbs rolling challenge - started by Morphidae
*Good Citizens Need Not Fear - Maria Reva
*✔Stone Blind - Natalie Haynes (4.5)
Challenge #6: Read a book with the numbers 6 and 0 in the ISBN - started by FAMeulstee
✔Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee (4)
✔The Invisible Kingdom: Reimagining Chronic Illness - Meghan O'Rourk (4)
✔The Serial Killer Cookbook: True Crime Trivia and Disturbingly Delicious Last Meals from Death Row's Most Infamous Killers and Murderers by Ashley Lecker (2.5)
Challenge #7: The Stendahl Challenge - Read a book with either the word “Red” or “Black” in the title proper, not the subtitle. Forms of the words are acceptable. - started by AlcottAcre
✔Life of Black Hawk, or Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiak: Dictated by Himself - Black Hawk (3.5)
Challenge #8: Read a classic whose adaptation into a movie or play you've seen - started by Citizenjoyce
✔To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (5)
Challenge #9: Read a book with an animal in its title AND that animal on its cover - started by lyzard
Lily and the Octopus - Steven Rowley Abandoned
*✔Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs - Andrew Cotter (3.5)
Challenge #10: Read a book with something you'd find on Old MacDonald's Farm in the title or author's name - started by cbl_tn
✔How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water - Angie Cruz (4.5)
Challenge #11: Read a book translated from the Portuguese or written in Portuguese - started by PaulCranswick
*✔Woman of the Ashes - Mia Couto (4)
Challenge #12: Read a book where the first two words in the title begin with the same letter - started by lindapanzo
✔Iona Iverson's Rules for Commuting - Clare Pooley (4)
*✔Out of the Easy - Ruta Sepetys (4)
Challenge #13: Read a book with at least two one-syllable words in the title (excludes a, an, the, and, or) - started by susanna.fraser
✔How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures - Sabrina Imbler (3.5)
✔There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job - Kikuko Tsumura (4)
✔We all know how this ends: Lessons about life and living from working with death and dying - Anna Lyons (5)
Challenge #14: Read a book with a connection to a book you read in 2022 - started by helenliz
✔Her Majesty's Royal Coven - Juno Dawson (2)
✔Looking for Jane by Heather Marshall (4.5)
✔Machines Like Me - Ian McEwan (3)
Challenge #15: Read a book with a person's name on the page # matching the number of books you read last year - started by countrylife
*✔A Song of Comfortable Chairs - Alexander McCall Smith (3)
Challenge #16: Read a book written from a non-human perspective - started by avatiakh
*✔Bark to the Future by Spencer Quinn (3.5)
Challenge #17: Read a short story - started by AnneDC
✔"Desiree's Baby" and "A Visit to Avoyelles" by Kate Chopin
✔Lesser Known Monsters of the 21st Century - Kim Fu (4)
Challenge #18: Read a Western - started by SilverWolf28
*✔A Dangerous Business- Jane Smiley (4)
✔Shutter - Ramona Emerson (3.5)

>25 Citizenjoyce: I would join you on challenge #8, Joyce, but I just re-read To Kill a Mockingbird toward the end of 2022 - and I have never seen the film version!

I am always intrigued as to how reading one book often seems to lead to another.

Challenge #14: Read a book with a connection to a book you read in 2022

This challenge is to read a book that you are reading now because of something you read in 2022. It could be that your current book was mentioned in a book you read last year, or is a spin off from, a retelling of, was inspired by etc.

As an example: Last year I read The Cockroach by Ian McEwan, a sort of reverse of Kafka's Metamorphosis. So this month I am going to read the Kafka.

I also read The Honjin Murders which mentions several works of detective fiction, including The Red House Mystery by AA Milne. No, I had no idea that Milne wrote detective fiction either.

Hopefully that gives you enough of an idea.

Note, the next in a series, a sequel or follow on, or just another work by an author is not sufficient a connection.

Please include the 2022 book and the link between them in the wiki.

>25 Citizenjoyce: You should give yourself a treat and see the movie. It's unforgettable.

Challenge #15: Read a book with a person's name on the page # matching the number of books you read last year.

How many books did you read last year? Use that number and find on that numbered page, a person's name.

>29 countrylife: Clearly, I read too many books *she said, glumly*

Challenge #16: Read a book written from a non-human perspective

I'm currently reading a book that is at times narrated by an old baobab tree so thought this would be an interesting challenge idea.
Aliens, cyborgs, elves, paranormal creatures etc as well as the usual animals & birds are all acceptable.

Flora, fauna, rocks, stones, lakes, rivers, oceans, clouds, sky, planets and so on

>29 countrylife: OK, so @Chatterbox(>30 Chatterbox:) has it worse than I do, but mumble mumble gripe gripe.

>31 avatiakh: Or a rock, as in The Raven Tower.

>30 Chatterbox: >32 quondame: I was thinking the exact same thing. Too many books!

>32 quondame: Yes, all that is acceptable too and you've reminded me of the rock scene from Everything, everywhere all at once.

>15 lyzard: Can the animal in the title be in the subtitle?

nevermind

>35 lindapanzo:

Yes, I will add that to the challenge.

>37 lyzard: Thanks. I'll add my book to the challenge then.

>31 avatiakh: I was just about to post a very similar challenge! Oh well, next month.

>39 SilverWolf28:

I more or less got caught out like that this month too, frustrating isn't it?? :D

>15 lyzard: >17 cbl_tn: Liz, I want you to know that your challenge sent me scurrying to find my copy of Inside the Whale only to discover that there is no actual whale on the cover. Unfortunately, I do not think whales are prevalent on Old MacDonald's farm either, Carrie, so it did not qualify for your challenge either. I am disappointed on both counts!

>41 alcottacre: I'm sorry! I hate it when that happens!

>42 cbl_tn: Ah, well. I found other books to read for both challenges :)

>39 SilverWolf28: I almost didn't post it as there were already two animal themed ones.

After a conversation with Carrie about a book of hers I'd disqualified, I've updated the text in >27 Helenliz:. Sequels and follow ons count with a series and are not sufficient a link. I'm after something that sends you scurrying off after another book, not just the next book.

Sorry, Carrie, for making you move your book, and thank you for doing so.

>31 avatiakh: Does the whole book have to be written from a non-human perspective or just part of it? I'm thinking of reading Lily and the Octopus and I know she narrates only a part.

Yes as long as a good portion is from the non-human side..

February is a short month, so my challenge is:
Challenge #17: Read a short story (or a book of short stories, if you so desire)

There's also a tie-in with the February British Author Challenge.

>48 AnneDC: Could someone explain for me the difference between a short story and a novella? I want to make sure that what I am thinking of qualifies!

>48 AnneDC: Good as it makes an easy one to count, Anne.

>48 AnneDC: Does a poetry collection count?

>49 alcottacre: Stasia, I wish I could give an authoritative answer, but I don't know. A quick bit of internet research tells me it has to do with word count. A novel is generally over 50,000 words, while a short story is up to 7500 words. Novellas (and novelettes) are in between.
For the purposes of this challenge, I don't care if you want to include a novella--more reading for you. I'm not interested in counting words or assigning a limit. War and Peace, however, is not a short story. Or a novella.

>51 Helenliz: I'm sorry, no. I'm specifically thinking about short stories here.

>4 Chatterbox: Can I use "early" as a time of day? I suspect this might be a no. This isn't my only option, I just like trying to spread my books out a bit.

ETA: Actually - feel free to ignore me - only gone & finished that book earlier than planned!!

>52 AnneDC: Thank you, Anne!

>15 lyzard: Is the word "birds" specific enough for your challenge of an animal on the cover and the title?

If not, perhaps the book I'm readingOther Birds could live on Old Macdonald's farm

>48 AnneDC:

That's a big help, Anne, thank you.

That said, I'm getting the feeling that Cindy's name / page challenge is going to be my savior this month. :D

>55 streamsong:

Yes, that's fine.

>17 cbl_tn:, OK, would "ham" work as something found on a farm? If the farmer butchered his own pigs and cured the meat, it would... Hoping this isn't too much of a stretch!

>57 Chatterbox: Yes, that will work!

>56 lyzard: Thank you!

>58 cbl_tn: Woot! Thanks...

>53 Helenliz: Belatedly -- yes, you're correct, "early" and "late" would not qualify for this challenge. It needs to be a specific time of day...

Hello, I don't usually participate in these challenges, but keep track to see if anything happens to line up and I realized one of the books I'm currently reading hits on not one or two, or three, but four of the challenges for this month so I thought I'd share.
Fits into challenges #9, #10, #13, & #16 - I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume.

>62 WhiteRaven.17: So just for fun, why don’t you join our challenge this month? However, you can only list the book after you complete it under just one of those challenges. I finished a different book by Natsume Soseki last month. I very much enjoy reading contemporary Japanese fiction.

Challenge #18: Read a Western

Pretty self explanatory.

>64 SilverWolf28: Well, I just finished a story about a young man who journeys to the west, shoots up a lot of people, saves the girl, and rides off with her - but well, not our, west, but west from Tibet. Still, it is a story of someones west.........

>65 quondame: That sounds interesting - what book?

>66 wandering_star: Shuna's Journey

>67 quondame: Thank you!

>63 SqueakyChu: I just started reading Japanese fiction last year and I already think it's a favorite of mine. I feel inspired and I actually might have some overlap with a few other challenges so why not. Though I don't know if I can finish I Am a Cat this month, unless I can count finishing Volume 1 and not the 2nd or 3rd...

Also, for challenge #3 (>4 Chatterbox:) do subtitles count? ie Madhouse at the End of the Earth: The Belgica's Journey into the Dark Antarctic Night

>69 WhiteRaven.17: I will be so happy to join you in reading Japanese fiction in the coming months!!

Does anyone know if the cats in the Lilian Jackson Braun series narrate the books?

>65 quondame: I think it will work, it sounds like it has the spirit of the west.

>71 Citizenjoyce: No, they do not.

>73 alcottacre777: Thanks, too bad.

>74 Citizenjoyce: Glad I could help. Sorry about the books though.

>72 SilverWolf28: Thank you! Most of the western I read are what I tag Weird West, such as Thirteenth Child, Silver on the Road, and Wake of Vultures, but I do mean to read some classic style ones, Louis L'Amour or Zane Grey.

>76 quondame: I’ve got a few Zane Grey and Louis L’Amour books but also True Grit. Not sure yet which I’ll pick.

>77 lindapanzo: I read Shane way back in the day - high school I think, and True Grit over a decade ago, and Lonesome Dove and a couple of other McMurtry's more recently.

>77 lindapanzo: I will be reading True Grit, Linda, if you would like a shared read.

>76 quondame: Any of those or similar would work fine.

FEBRUARY READS

READ

Meg Rosoff, Friends Like These
Katy Watson, The Three Dahlias
Lauren Groff, Matrix
Ruth Ware, The It Girl
Jonathan Coe, Bournville
Jenny Uglow, The Pinecone
Kate Worsley, Foxash
Audrey Magee, The Colony
Jane Smiley, A Dangerous Business
Anne Tiernan, The Last Days of Joy
Sara Paretsky (editor), Best Crime Stories of the Year, Volume 2
Ann Petry, The Narrows
Rowan Coleman, After Ever After
Abbi Waxman, Adult Assembly Required
Sarah Wise, The Blackest Streets: The Life and Death of a Victorian Slum
Barbara Comyns, The Vet's Daughter
Lily King, Five Tuesdays in Winter
Luci Adams, Not That Kind of Ever After
Gill Hornby, Miss Austen
Glenda Young, Murder at the Seaview Hotel
Richard Osman, The Man Who Died Twice
Ayọ̀bámi Adébáyọ̀, A Spell of Good Things

CURRENTLY READING ON 28 FEBRUARY/1 MARCH

Lucy Diamond, The Best Days of Our Lives
Elly Griffiths, The Last Remains
Robin Stevens, Arsenic for Tea
Jackie Kay, Bessie Smith
Nicholas Royle (editor), Best British Short Stories 2020
Elaine Castillo, America is Not the Heart
Marian Keyes, Rachel's Holiday
Thea Astley, Drylands
Mara Timon, City of Spies
Georgina Moore, The Garnett Girls
Adrian McKinty, Police at the Station and They Don't Look Friendly

NEXT UP

Elizabeth McCracken, The Hero of This Book

>25 Citizenjoyce: I've decided I am going to read A Dangerous Business, which I see that you've listed as a planned read - I need to take it and other books in, on or by 15 February, so have decided that I'm going to start it in normal sequence today and, wherever I've got to, move it to the top of the pile on Saturday (11 February) - it's a short book so I think I can finish reading in 4 days at the top of the pile.

However, sorry Joyce, but I don't think it fits Challenge 4 at all. Looking at it, there is one point of view, not two, and I don't see a reference to twins.

>64 SilverWolf28: The book is set in Monterey, California, during the Gold Rush, "a lawless town on the fringes of the Wid West". Could it be considered as "in the spirit" of a Western?

I don't really expect to be able to complete a sweep, and it does fit in Challenge 15, which I think will catch most of my reading this month.

>64 SilverWolf28: Craig Johnson writes good Western murder mysteries. His first one is The Cold Dish. He has 17 others and I've listened to them all read by George Guidall. He is especially good reading these mysteries.

>83 dallenbaugh: I have The Cold Dish on Kindle.

>25 Citizenjoyce: >82 elkiedee: The touchstone for A Dangerous Business in >25 Citizenjoyce: is off, and @elkiedee seems correct that it doesn't obviously qualify for #4, though set in SF during the gold rush I can't see how it wouldn't go in #18. If it does actually have 2 viewpoint characters it would of course fit in #4.
I had to find another challenge for one book when the author put in very brief passages from 2 more characters over half way through the book, very annoying.

>82 elkiedee:, >85 quondame: A summary from Amazon included the sentence "When prostitutes start to go missing in Monterey, and one is found murdered, Eliza and a friend—inspired by Dupin, Edgar Allen Poe’s detective—embark on an investigation of their own." So I assume the prostitute duo detectives would count. I can put it in the western category if you want. Maybe I'll have to wait and see after I read it.

>86 Citizenjoyce: The challenge suggests twins, a duo being indicated in the title or a dual narrative point of view.

There are quite a lot of twin and duo novels and ones written from two points of view around, but I can't see how this novel, either from the description inside the cover of my library hardback (UK edition), or the first few pages of the books, that I've now started reading, fits challenge 4. I also flicked ahead a bit to look and there's no indication that narrative point of view shifts to anyone other than Eliza.

>82 elkiedee: I think it definitely fits.

>83 dallenbaugh: This fits also.

>88 SilverWolf28: Thanks!

>90 elkiedee: You're welcome!

Someone may be interested in Cold As Hell by Rhett C. Bruno. It fits my challenge.

>86 Citizenjoyce: I see what you mean, but having 2 protagonists isn't the same as having 2 viewpoint characters. The easiest form is 2 first person narratives, but clearly separated 3rd person ones that always follow one of the two, so that there is no scene which does not include one or the other, also works. All of the 2nd person narratives have I've read have been 1 character speaking, but as it's possible to have 2, I'm sure someone has done such.

So basically, if A Dangerous Business really meets the dual viewpoint criteria it's fine in #4, otherwise please move it to #18.

>82 elkiedee: Since I haven't even opened the book I'll bow to your assessment and put A Dangerous Business into challenge 18. I rather prefer putting a book into a challenge that is descriptive of the book, and I love westerns.

>6 quondame: OK let’s try another one for the twin challenge. Her Majesty’s Royal Coven has two characters who are twins. The book isn’t about them, but they are major characters. Would that count?

>9 FAMeulstee: Anita, I also am celebrating the same birthday in February (today). Happy Birthday! I still haven't selected a book for your challenge, but I will.

>95 Citizenjoyce: Yes.

>96 AnneDC: Happy birthday, Anne!
I didn't know we were so close in age.

>97 quondame: Yay!
>96 AnneDC:, >98 FAMeulstee: Happy, happy birthdays.

>95 Citizenjoyce: You put it in my challenge #5 instead of challenge #4. Whoops! 😄

Happy birthdays, Anita and Anne!

>100 Morphidae: My incompetence is astounding. Then I ended up putting it in Challenge 14 instead because of the political stance.

>102 Citizenjoyce: I didn't pick Radio Silence to read because it had twins, but it does, though so far only one of them is present in the timeline, thought both are important to the main character.

>103 quondame: That's kind of the same with Her Majesty's Royal Coven. Both twins are important to the plot but only one is active, but after reading it the politics were so much more important than the twins that I had to move it.

>64 SilverWolf28:, Challenge #18: Read a Western. I am going to use Angle of Repose for this one. It is labeled ever so slightly as Western. It is set in the American West and the time period for the biography part is the 1800s. Unless someone feels it doesn't fit.

>105 Kristelh: It sounds like it'll fit just fine.

>69 WhiteRaven.17: Apologies for the belated response! Yes, for my challenge, I'll accept a subtitle...

When I was adding my books to my challenge (#18) I noticed some that were out of alphabetical order so I reordered them. If I messed something up please let me know.

Hi, I am new to this site and TIOLI seems awesome! Sorry if this is a bit tangential, but I noticed in the FAQs that the fact that this is all done manually and requires lots of work is somewhat problematic. Would you all be open to using a website to automate it all? If so, I volunteer to code it and get it set up. It would be a side project for me so I can't promise it will be done quickly, but I think it would be fun. :) Just a thought.

>108 SilverWolf28: We usually ignore the 'the' or 'a' for aphabetical, so I think it wasn't out of order.

>110 FAMeulstee: There were a few others as well, True Grit, Under the Sweetwater Rim. If you want to move back the ones that start with 'the' go ahead.

>111 SilverWolf28: Yes, I saw it, Silver. I will see when I get to Pony.

>109 lyricism_: Not interested at all, but thank you very much. That would actually take all the fun out of it for me. This is my favorite retirement hobby now. I’d also like to keep it on LT, continue to manage it myself, continue to do it manually, and not have it be on a separate website.

Maybe after I’m long gone? Like a Legacy website! Just not now! :)

Welcome both to LibraryThing and the TIOLI challenges! Thanks for joining us. I hope you find the TIOLI challenges fun and enjoy exploring the labyrinth known as LibraryThing!

>113 SqueakyChu: That is completely understandable. I definitely appreciate the joy of doing things in a less "efficient" way that you find satisfying. I got the impression from the FAQs that it was an issue and saw a chance to help out, but I'm happy it's a source of pleasure and not a burden :) Thanks for the welcome!

As far as TIOLI goes, I recently bought Their Eyes Were Watching God so I will bump it up in the queue!

>114 lyricism_: Interestingly enough, years ago, the numbers of LTers who were doing the TIOLI challenges was getting quite "challenging" for me to handle. At that time, I sort of hid the challenges, making them less easy to spot here on LT. That has become part of the fun as well...just discovering them. Over the later years, the number of people joining the challenges has remained fairly constant - enough to make it fun, but not too many to make it burdensome.

If truth be told, I haven't looked over those FAQS in quite a few years as people tend to trickle in slowly, but jump in to participate right away. Maybe one day, I'll go back and take a look at them. :D

As far as TIOLI goes, I recently bought Their Eyes Were Watching God so I will bump it up in the queue!

Yay!

Rio, I was just looking at your home page today and saw you added KosherSoul to your library. I just finished reading that book recently and was quite impressed by it. Have you read it yet?

>115 SqueakyChu: No, I actually added it to my wishlist from someone's recommendation on this site, I guess it may have been yours. There is so much to explore on this site, I am not sure where I found everything! If it was you, thanks, I can't wait to check it out.

>116 lyricism_: Have fun exploring. I love all the nooks and crannies on LT.

>107 Chatterbox: Thanks for the response!

I already have a book I'm counting under Challenge #4 (>6 quondame:) but am wondering if it's possible The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo could be counted as well? It's not a traditional duel narrative in which the perspective of the story is shared, as one perspective is in the present and the other takes place in the past as a way of retelling in the present. Technically there are two perspectives in the book from two different people, but I could also see an argument made for this being a one perspective book with really long monologues made by another character. Curious what the thoughts would be on this?

>118 WhiteRaven.17: From the book description there is the journalist and the actress, so that does seem to be two pov, even if the journalist is reporting what the actress says. So long as the journalist is recording some of her own reactions at a minimum.

>119 quondame: Yes, it does follow just the journalist and her own life as well, I will count this one then. Thanks for the response.

The Library of America published links to 2 of Kate Chopin's stories which will go perfectly into Challenge 17. I'd never read anything of hers but The Awakening and knew she was exceptional for her time, but these stories are even more exceptional. "Desiree's Baby" and "A Visit to Avoyelles".

https://storyoftheweek.loa.org/2023/02/a-visit-to-avoyelles.html?fbclid=IwAR0HWv...

February 2023 TIOLI Question of the Month:

Yikes! I've been reading some very depressing books lately! How about you? Please share with us something about the more uplifting books you've read this month! I need it, plus I think we all need this.

>122 SqueakyChu: I read (and watched) A Midsummer Night's Dream by William Shakespeare and laughed out loud several times - the play within a play is always a hoot. I definitely needed those laughs this month!

>122 SqueakyChu: I agree, I've read some pretty depressing books this month. I even abandoned Lily and the Octopus about a dog dying of brain cancer because I just couldn't take it. However, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz is a welcome exception. The book is structured like a series of interviews of an Hispanic immigrant who has been laid off from her factory job and has joined an experimental 12-week program to see what other jobs she might be suitable for. In these interviews she tells her life story even though that's not really what they're for. She's upbeat, hard-working, nosy, supportive, social, and pretty much all-around delightful. I'm very glad I found it.

I've had two fun reads this month.

Other Birds is about an unusual group of tenants in a South Carolina resort town.

Remarkably Bright Creatures has an octopus who co-narrates the story. He befriends an aquarium cleaning lady and solves an important mystery in her life.

>122 SqueakyChu: I've been a bit blue because my sister's much-loved Yellow Lab passed away a few weeks ago (besides loving her personally, I always had a soft spot for her since she was born on my 50th birthday).

I thoroughly enjoyed Andrew Cotter's book about his life, especially as to hiking/mountain climbing, with his two Labs, Olive and Mabel, in his book Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs. I'd picked it up thinking it it was his book about their antics during the pandemic but that's a different book, apparently.

Besides being funny, it also gave brought back happy memories about Ellie, though none of us ever went hiking/mountain climbing with her.

>126 lindapanzo: That's so sad. Dogs are such privately special people in our lives, and your sister is fortunate that you can completely relate to her grief at this time. My condolences to you and your sister.

>126 lindapanzo: I'm sad to hear about the loss of what has become your family's beloved pet, Linda, as I see you loved her as much as your sister did. Pets are such a part of us. It's hard to say goodbye to them. Keep her in your heart forever.

>126 lindapanzo: I'm sorry about your sisters dog but glad to hear about your uplifting dog book, Olive, Mabel & Me: Life and Adventures with Two Very Good Dogs. I'll be joining you in it, I need good dog news.

>127 quondame: >128 SqueakyChu: >129 Citizenjoyce: Thanks. We had a beagle we loved when I was in my teens but never got another dog.

Joyce, the Cotter book is terrific but I was a bit disappointed that it wasn't about the pandemic antics. Everyone told me about it and, as I read this book, I kept wondering when he'd talk about the pandemic.

Reminds me of the time I bought a Ten Tenors Christmas CD. I played it and got increasingly frustrated that there was no singing but eventually realized it was all instrumental.

>122 SqueakyChu: Even though it was humorous I don't think Mort was all that uplifting. The Paper Crane was maybe the closest so far.

>122 SqueakyChu: I just finished a romance, The Dating Playbook by Farrah Rochon. The genre by definition has uplifting endings, and in this case I really enjoyed how the two characters helped each other grow personally and professionally as well as falling in love.

And earlier this month I read my favorite book of the year so far, When the Angels Left the Old Country, which is something like a Jewish Good Omens set in early 20th century NYC, which is lovely all around and certainly ends on an uplifting note.

>132 susanna.fraser: Oooh, When the Angels Left the Old Country sounds very interesting- that’s going on the list!

I can’t really say that I have had uplifting reads this month. The closest might be some of the stories in Black Panther: Tales of Wakanda

>132 susanna.fraser: I am about a quarter of the way through When the Angels Left the Old Country on audiobook, and very much enjoying it so far!

>122 SqueakyChu: Nothing uplifting yet. I was hoping for some comic relief from Killers of a Certain Age, but no.
>126 lindapanzo: Today we say goodbye to our best boy, 11-year-old Thor, a mastiff-lab cross with legs of glass and a heart as big as the sky.

>136 jeanned: I'm so sorry. Thor sounds like a wonderful dog.

>136 jeanned: Awww, I’m sorry to hear that. He sounds like he was a great dog.

I was going to read Killers of a Certain Age but I don’t think I’ll get to it this month, after all.

>136 jeanned: I'm so sad for your loss. Dogs are such treasures.

>136 jeanned: So sad for you.
Did you get much damage from the cyclone, our part of Auckland did ok.

>126 lindapanzo: and >136 jeanned:, so sorry Jeanne and Linda for your losses.

>136 jeanned: That’s rough. So sorry about your loss of beloved Thor.

TIOLI Stats for January, 2023

We're looking good, folks.

For the month of January, 2023, we read a total of 423 books (the highest total number since January, 2022). We shared 75 reads (18%) to collect 45 TIOLI points.

Our most popular book, read by 5 challengers, was The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff.

The challenge with the highest number of books read (63) was the challenge by @helenliz to read a book that came into your possession in 2022.

The challenge which collected the most TIOLI points (7) was mine (@SqueakyChu) to read a book (F or NF) set in Tokyo, Hiroshima, Osaka, Kyoto, or Numazu. (By the way, my son never made it to Numazu! He did get to Himeji, though.)

Keep up the good work, everyone. We are off to a roaring start for 2023.

>143 SqueakyChu: It took me a while to figure out the TIOLI concept, wiki and all the rest but now that I'm getting better, I'm loving it! Thanks, @SqueakyChu!

Also, if folks are still looking for books told by the point of view of an animal, I highly recommend Fifteen Dogs by André Alexis. It's usually a literary ploy that I am not found of, but there Hermes and Apollo have a bet about whether animals would still be happy if they had human consciousness. And thus starts their experiment, by giving 15 dogs human consciousness and language. It's a tough but marvellous novel which includes its own dog language.

>144 Cecilturtle: Fantastic! You’re welcome.

>143 SqueakyChu: Well blow me down, who knew that we buy/beg/steal/borrow books and don't always get around to reading them straight away. Who knew?? >;-)

>145 Cecilturtle: Thanks, Fifteen Dogs looks great. I've borrowed it from Libby.
ETA Well shoot, no wonder it looks great. I see I read it in 2016 and gave it 4 stars.

>31 avatiakh:

This is probably pushing it (and I have another challenge slot so don't worry about saying 'no'), but would Neanderthals count as "non-human"?

>149 lyzard: A hard one but probably best for me to say no.

>148 Citizenjoyce: >145 Cecilturtle: I'm going to have to read that one.

>150 avatiakh:

Figured! - no worries. :)

The January 2023 TIOLI AWards!

The Initial Grabber Award goes to @DeltaQueen50 for reading Bats in the Belfry and to @lindapanzo for reading Post After Post-Mortem for DeltaQueen's challenge to read a book where the author uses initials instead of a first and second name. The author of both of these books was E. C. R. Lorac. What?! Two initials were not enough?! ;)

The Really, Really, Really Good Book Choice Award goes to @bostonian71 for reading The First American Revolution: Before Lexington and Concord by Ray Raphael and A People's History of the American Revolution: How Common People Shaped the Fight for Independence by Ray Raphael for the challenge by susanna.fraser to read a book where at least TWO title words and/or author names start with R. This challenger gots lots of Rs in the books selected for this challenge. Really, really really good choices! :)

The Challenging Challenger Award goes to @Morphidae for the challenge to read a book for the Life Balance Wheel Semi-Rolling Challenge. Sometimes it's a challenge to even figure out how to do these complicated challenges (and this challenger has created quite a few of these by now!), but I'm always amazed (and sometimes amused) by how puzzling they seem at first!

The Quick Before It's Over Award goes to @susanna.fraser for reading Rainbow's End: The Crash of 1929 for the challenge by @lindapanzo to read a book set in, or about, the 1920s. Since 1929 was the last year of the 1920s, that's catching it before it's over. Good job! :D

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

>152 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award, I love that Linda and I are sharing it as we had quite the discussion about E.C.R. and her books.

>152 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award. Yes, we discovered this "Golden Age of Mystery" author recently. I'd never heard of her before but we managed to get a number of her books on the cheap, for Kindle.

Congratulations award winners!

>153 DeltaQueen50:, >154 lindapanzo:

Well done, guys!

I've been holding off Lorac in the desperate hope that someone will revive and release The Murder On The Burrows: I find it very hard to start a series at #2. :)

>156 lyzard: That was my objection, too. The one I read is about #15 or 16 and all the books released are later than that.

>157 lindapanzo:

I have library access to some of the earlier ones including the second but I haven't managed to push myself over the bar.

>152 SqueakyChu: Thank you? For the, uh, compliment? I think it was a compliment of... some sort. Right?

😄

>159 Morphidae: Yes, indeed. It was a compliment. For the work and time you put into creating your challenges...and for your creativity in making them so unique.

One book left to finish another sweeplette (challenges #7 to 12) but, alas, only 2 days to finish it.

>161 lindapanzo: You can do it. The reading mojo is back.

>162 Citizenjoyce: Yes it is. I've also got some tests at the hospital tomorrow and reading tonight a lot will help take my mind off of them.

Housekeeping Day!

Remember to delete from the wiki any book you do not complete by 12 midnight tonight. In the case of rolling challenges, the book does not need to be deleted, but it should be marked DNF (did not finish). Thank you.

Mission accomplished on my sweeplette (once again, challenges 7 through 12).

Congratulations, Linda!

>165 lindapanzo: Yay for Linda!!

>165 lindapanzo: We knew you could do it. Congratulations.

Thanks Judy, Madeline, and Joyce. Dare I go for a 3-peat in March?

>160 SqueakyChu: I know. I was teasing. Maybe I should have put a wink in, too. 😆

>169 lindapanzo: Sure!

>169 lindapanzo: You're running wild now.

Congratulations Linda!

Found The Writer's Cats by Muriel Barbery at the library today, too late to include in my challenge. Told from the POV of one of Barbery's four grey Chartreux cats. Sigh.

>174 avatiakh: Sometimes the book gods laugh at us.

>175 Citizenjoyce: Yeah, was a serendipitous find when I was browsing the fiction shelves. The illustrations by Maria Guitart are lovely.

_

>164 SqueakyChu: Oops, sorry I didn't get the chance to clean up my wiki entries until today. I've been in the process of a big move and haven't had the time. Next month I'll be more on top of things. :)

>177 lyricism_: No problem.