Take It or Leave It Challenge - July 2024 - 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

---------------------------------------------------------------

Your challenge for July 2024 is to...

*********************************
Read a biography or autobiography about a person of multi-racial identity
************************************

Rules:
1. Please list the racial identities.
2. Multiracial means two or more races within a person's genealogy

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. @FAMeulstee's 2024 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. (Exception: Any challenge previously entered by FAMeulstee)
4. The July 2024 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 biography or autobiography about a person of multi-racial identity - msg #1
2. Read a book that was a shared TIOLI read during the first half of 2024 - msg #3
3. Read a book that has a present European capital city in its main title - msg #5
4. Read a book originally published in the 20th century - msg #6
5. Read a book with a hotel or boarding-house setting, or the word "hotel" in the title - msg #7
6. Read a book by an author any of whose names begin or end with either J, U, L, or Y - msg #8

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book from HelenLiz's list or by an author listed - msg #9
8. Read a book for Anita Memorial Reads Challenges: 1920s & 1930s - msg #10
9. Read a book about an escape from or lessening of religious influence - msg #11
10. Read a book in which the first word of the book's title is longer than the second word - msg #12
11. Read a book whose title could be the name of a pub - msg #16
12. Read a book with the word "fun" or "game" in the title - msg #36

Challenges #13-15
13. Read a book for the Zodiac challenge - with an emotion in the title - msg #41
14. Read a book with Day in the title - msg #52
15. Read a book with a word in the title starting with one of the letters in Independence (special rules for E&N) - msg #56

Please hold your challenge until the August TIOLI messages are posted. Thank you.

Challenge #2: Read a book that was a shared TIOLI read during the first half of 2024

Be sure to indicate which month and challenge in which it was a shared read.

>3 lindapanzo: The top of this page has quick links to the wikis of the first half of 2024.

Challenge #3 : Read a book that has a present European capital city in its main title

Straightforward enough I think.
Plenty of novels / books with London, Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Lisbon, Rome, Athens, Warsaw in them.

Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast are not accepted. I will allow both Russia and Turkey to be counted although I cannot off the top of my head think of any books with Ankara in their title.

Challenge #4: Read a book originally published in the 20th century (list the year)

Self-explanatory. I will leave it to the participant's discretion whether to use the colloquial understanding (1900-1999) or the pedantic one (1901-2000), though I have to say despite strong tendencies to pedantry I prefer the former.

Challenge #5: Read a book with a hotel or boarding-house setting, or the word "hotel" in the title

Inspired by this podcast episode on "hotel novels", and these two posts by one of my favourite book bloggers. It also seemed like a suitable subject for summer holiday reading!

There is also a LT list on the subject - which I have added some of my recommendations to - please feel free to do the same!
https://www.librarything.com/list/161/Boarding-House-and-Hotel-Fiction

Challenge #7: Read a book of my list
You'll know I am almost congenitally unable to resist a list. Well I have another one. In 2022 the BBC made a series called "The Art that Made Us" a series of 8 episodes focusing on art (of all forms) that tell a story of creativity and change through the ages. https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bvgs3f I've watched it a number of times, and on this occasion, noted down all the books that were referenced. Some I have read, some I have not. I have several of them owned, this might make me read them (or maybe not, you know how it goes).

Episode 1: Light in the darkness (Pre history to the Bayeux Tapestry)
1.1 Y Gododdin, Bard Aneirin
1.2 Lindisfarne Gospels, Eadfrith
1.3 Beowulf, Anon

Episode 2: Revolution of the Dead (Black Death)
2.1 Pearl, Anon
2.2 Canterbury Tales, Geoffrey Chaucer
2.3 The Vision of Piers Plowman, William Langland
2.4 Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
2.5 The book of Margery Kemp, Margery Kemp

Episode 3: Queens, Feud & Faith (Tudors)
3.1 Foxe's Book of Martyrs, John Foxe
3.2 On Monsieur's Departure, Elizabeth I
3.3 Beibl William Morgan, William Morgan
3.4 Othello, William Shakespeare

Episode 4: To Kill a King (Civil war, Commonwealth & Restoration)
4.1 Paradise Lost, John Milton
4.2 Micrographia, Robert Hooke
4.3 The Rover, Aphra Behn

Episode 5: Consumers & Conscience (18th century)
5.1 A Modest Proposal, Jonathan Swift
5.2 A Vindication of the Rights of Woman, Mary Wollstonecraft
5.3 A Man's a Man for all that, Robert Burns
5.4 Mansfield Park, Jane Austen
5.5 The Interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano, Olaudah Equiano

Episode 6: The Rise of Cities (The industrial Revolution)
6.1 Rural Rides, William Cobbett
6.2 North & South, Elizabeth Gaskell
6.3 The Picture of Dorian Grey, Oscar Wilde

Episode 7: Wars and Peace (early 20th century)
7.1 Easter, 1916, WB Yeats

Episode 8: Brilliant Isles (post war to current)
8.1 A taste of honey, Shelagh Delaney
8.2 Going Going, Philip Larkin
8.3 The Buddha of Suburbia, Hanif Kureshi
8.4 Trainspotting, Irvine Welsh
8.5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling

That could be a little restrictive, so I am going to open it up. You may read any work by any author listed.
OR you may read a book about any of the books or authors listed.
You may also read any book in translation (where it's from Old English I'm certainly going to read a translation!)

Challenge #8: Anita Memorial Reads: 1920s & 1930s

Our memorial reads for Anita will continue through the end of the year and I am hoping everyone gets a chance to participate as they can. For July, we are using the 1920s and 1930s books from her wiki: https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/User:FAMeulstee (Please note that this is a link to the original and should not be edited by us. See below. . .)

Nina has created a duplicate of Anita’s list which she copied and pasted elsewhere after Anita’s sudden death to encourage LTers to list their matching reads onto the duplicate list without changing anything on Anita’s original list. (For all of us, this should be the place where we actually list our shared reads…in other words…our “work page”.)
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/User_talk:FAMeulstee

According to Madeline, this is the way it works:

The way you would enter your name and date (DD/MM/YYYY). in the book list would be to

1. Find the book you read on the wiki.
2. Click the “edit” button on the right.
2. Go to the end of the book’s line and hit the enter button on your keyboard which will open up and start a line under the book.
3. Type #(whatever your username is) and the date read
4. Scroll down to “I’m not a robot”. Click that little box.
5. Click “Save changes”.

Please update the wiki as you are reading books in Anita's memory! I think this is a wonderful way to memorialize her and my hat's off to Nina for thinking of it!!

Challenge #9: Read a book about an escape from or lessening of religious influence
I'll be reading:
The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going - Ryan P Burge

Challenge #10: The first word of the title is longer than the second word

Some of you may find this challenge familiar as we originally did it in August 2020. It was set by Anita and since I don't have a book to fit into her Memorial Challenge this month and I wanted to honor her in some way, I asked Madeline if it was ok to repeat one of Anita's challenges.

>12 DeltaQueen50: I think that is a cool idea, Judy!

My planned reads
Challenge #1: Read a biography or autobiography about a person of multi-racial identity - started by SqueakyChu
*✔My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past - Jennifer Teege (4)
✔Kamala's Way: An American Life by Dan Morain (4)
Challenge #2: Read a book that was a shared TIOLI read during the first half of 2024 - started by lindapanzo
*✔Three Hours in Paris - Cara Black (3.5)
*✔The Witch's Heart- Genevieve Gornichec (5)
Challenge #3: Read a book that has a present European capital city in its main title - started by PaulCranswick
*✔The Goddess of Warsaw - Lisa Barr (4)
*✔The Paris Apartment - Kelly Bowen (3.5)
Challenge #4: Read a book originally published in the 20th century (list the year) - started by susanna.fraser
*✔English Creek- Ivan Doig (4)
Challenge #5: Read a book with a hotel or boarding-house setting, or the word "hotel" in the title - started by wandering_star
In An Hotel by Anton Chekhov
✔Mrs. Budley Falls From Grace - Marion Chesney (3.5)
✔Undress Me in the Temple of Heaven - Susan Jane Gilman (5)
*The White Rhino Hotel - Bartle Bull ABANDONED
Challenge #6: Read a book by an author any of whose names begin or end with either J, U, L, or Y - started by dallenbaugh
✔Bear by Julia Phillips (4)
✔Count the Ways by Joyce Maynard (4)
*✔The Financial Lives of Poets - Jess Walter (4)
*✔The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street - Susan Jane Gilman (4)
✔The Leftover Woman - Jean Kwok (4)
*✔Long Bright River - Liz Moore (4)
Challenge #7: Read a book from the list or by an author listed - started by helenliz
*✔A Modest Proposal - Jonathan Swift (5)
The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde
Challenge #8: Anita Memorial Reads Challenges: 1920s & 1930s - started by AlcottAcre
*✔Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell (4)
Challenge #9: Read a book about an escape from or lessening of religious influence - started by Citizenjoyce
✔American Grace: How Religion Divides and Unites Us by Robert D. Putnam (3.5)
✔The Nones: Where They Came From, Who They Are, and Where They Are Going - Ryan P Burge (4)
Challenge #10: The first word of the book's title is longer than the second word - started by DeltaQueen
✔Chorus of Mushrooms - Hiromi Goto (4)
✔Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America - Audrey Clare Farley (4.5)
Challenge #11: Read a book whose title could be the name of a pub - started by Chatterbox
Holding It Together: How Women Became America's Social Safety Net - Jessica Calarco
✔The Hunting Party - Lucy Foley (3.5)
✔Life and Fate - Vasily Grossman (3.5)
✔';On Call: A Doctor's Journey in Public Service by Anthony Fauci M.D. (4.5)
Challenge #12: "It's all fun and games": read a book with the word "fun" or "game" in the title - started by bell7
3666 Interesting, Fun And Crazy Facts You Won't Believe Are True - The Knowledge Encyclopedia To Win Trivia (Amazing World Facts Book) - Scott Matthews
✔The Fun of It - Amelia Earhart (4.5)
Challenge #13: Read a book for the Zodiac challenge (Cancer - read a book with an emotion in the title) - started by Morphidae
Awe: The New Science of Everyday Wonder and How It Can Transform Your Life - Dacher Keltner
*✔The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times - Jane Goodall (4)
*✔Love and Fury - Samantha Silva (4)
Challenge #14: Read a book with Day in the title - started by Kristelh
✔The End of Days - Jenny Erpenbeck (3.5)
*Forgotten on Sunday - Valerie Perrin abandoned
Challenge #15: Rolling Challenge Read a with a word in the title starting with one of the letters in Independence (special rules for E&N) - started by quondame
*✔A Council of Dolls - Mona Susan Power (5)
✔Even the Darkest Stars - Heather Fawcett (3.5)
Infomocracy - Malka Older - abandoned
✔The Mimicking of Known Successes by Malka Older (3)

>13 alcottacre: Thanks, Stasia. Hopefully I will be able to take part in Anita's Memorial next month!

Challenge #11: Read a book whose title could be the name of a pub

The Red Lion, the Royal Oak, the Crown and Anchor -- yawn...

Martha Grimes' series of mysteries featuring Richard Jury all featured titles that actually WERE the names of pubs. (see below for some examples...) All you have to do is come up with a title that COULD be the name of a pub. It has to be in the spirit of the challenge, so I wouldn't include something like Mussolini's Daughter by Caroline Moorehead, but have fun.

Some of those Martha Grimes titles (and maybe I should actually read one of them one day??)

The Man With a Load of Mischief
The Old Fox Deceiv'd
The Dirty Duck
The Old Silent
The Old Contemptibles
The Horse You Came In On
Rainbow's End
The Case Has Altered
The Lamorna Wink
The Winds of Change
The Black Cat

>15 DeltaQueen50: Well, August will be the 1940s and 1950s, so maybe those will be better decades for you!

>12 DeltaQueen50: I like the idea of doing both memorial reads from Anita's list AND repeating one of her challenges for the rest of the year because that gives us more options for remembering her! (I'm rarely able to participate in the challenges with a very limited list of choices, since they tend to either be things I've already read or have no interest in reading, or else I just can't fit them in for that specific month.)

For anyone looking for a book for challenge #1, I highly recommend a couple that I've read - The Color of Water by James McBride and My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me by Jennifer Teege & Nikola Sellmair.

>18 susanna.fraser: Anita's challenges were always some of the most approachable and I would love to continue to honor her until the year ends. What do you think, Madeline, would repeating some of Anita's challenges through to the end of the year be acceptable? Also, Stasia, would you be ok with this, I don't want to take away from your memorial challenge, which btw I have books to add to each month.

>20 DeltaQueen50: Agreed--I definitely didn't mean to take away anything from Stasia's challenge! I always admire the tougher/more restrictive challenges even when I'm unable to take them on.

>19 cbl_tn: I second the recommendation of The Color of Water. I thought it was terrific.

I have not heard of your second recommendation, Carrie, and will look to see if I can find a copy. Thanks!

>20 DeltaQueen50: No worries, Judy. I think it is an awesome idea! It gives people another way to memorialize Anita.

>21 susanna.fraser: Anita's lists open up more as we get into the later decades, Susanna. She adds both young adult and nonfiction books as well, so that might give you more leeway.

>20 DeltaQueen50: In memory of Anita, how could I refuse such a request?! Of course, that would be okay. Just be sure to mention this in your "rules" when you post your forthcoming challenge(s). I will not limit this request to only a year, though. This will be permissible at any time in the future.

>25 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline.

>19 cbl_tn: I third the recommendation for Color of Water and I've checked out My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me: A Black Woman Discovers Her Family's Nazi Past from Libby. Thanks

>19 cbl_tn: >27 Citizenjoyce: I have put My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me on hold at my local library so I hope to get it read in July too.

Great choices so far for my Challenge #1, folks! I also recommend for sharing: The Color of Water by James McBride as well as Born a Crime by Trevor Noah.

>28 alcottacre: What would we do without libraries?

>29 SqueakyChu: I think another book that would qualify for challenge #1 is How to Say Babylon: A Memoir by Safiya Sinclair. If I recall correctly, Sinclair's father is black but her mother is white.

>30 Citizenjoyce: I found that out several years ago when an arsonist set fire to our local library. I do not ever want to go through that again!!

>31 alcottacre: I think in the book she indicates they're both Jamaican Rastafarians. It's a great book, though.

>32 Citizenjoyce: Well, even if they are both Jamaican Rastafarians one could be black and the other white, right? I just cannot recall and do not have the book to hand to look. I agree, in any case, it is a great book.

>33 alcottacre: I'm pretty sure she's Black, but I also don't have the book on hand.

>34 Citizenjoyce: Ah, well. It was just a thought.

Challenge #12: It's all fun and games - Read a book with the word "fun" or "game" in the title

I could be all clever and say July is a month for the Olympic games, summer vacations (in the northern hemisphere) or tie it in with sports but... the simple truth is I want to read The Game of Courts by Victoria Goddard with Stasia this month and couldn't come up with anything clever haha.

Subtitles and embedded words are fine.

>36 bell7: Summer is a time for fun and games anyway, right?

>37 alcottacre: It is! :D

>36 bell7: Can fun or games be embedded in the title? For instance, A Funny Thing Happened or else Gamesmanship at the Olympics? One book I own is Funeral Music by Morag Joss but that seems to be contrary to the purpose.

>39 lindapanzo: Yes, embedded words are fine, whether contrary to actual fun or not :)

AI image created by Morphidae

Challenge #13: Read a book for the Zodiac challenge (Cancer - read a book with an emotion in the title)

Cancer's keywords are "I feel."

The word can be embedded or in a subtitle but not in a series name.

Any emotion from the Wikipedia article Emotion Classification can be used unless the primary definition is something other than a feeling (such as man or song.)

There is a list of 154 emotions at the bottom of the article.

*************

Examples:

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams
Trust No One by (lots of different authors - it's a popular title name)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action by Simon Sinek
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
Entranced by the Basilisks by Lillian Lark
Surprise Me by Sophie Kinsella
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama
Calm: Working Through Life’s Daily Stresses to Find a Peaceful Centre by Fearne Cotton
Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
Misery by Stephen King
The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales by Jon Scieszka
Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K. Hamilton
King of Wrath by Ana Huang
The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas
Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
Notes on a Nervous Planet by Matt Haig
In Doubt by Hannah Haze
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle

*************

I waited for Challenge #13 because my mom's birthday is 7/13! 😄

>41 Morphidae: What a great AI graphic!

>41 Morphidae: Would you accept a more general "bad"?

>41 Morphidae: Happy birthday, Morphy's mom!

>42 SqueakyChu: Thanks! I was concerned it was a little too "cutesy" but I'm trying to do different styles each month. This is "Disney Pixar."

>43 jeanned: It fits "I feel ... " so sure!

>44 alcottacre: I'll be sure to let her know! (She's not on LT.)

>10 alcottacre: Stasia, do you think it would be a good idea to also add the link to Nina's copy of Anita's original list on your "rules" post? ...and maybe explain the difference to anyone who wasn't following the recent threads about Anita?

>46 SqueakyChu: .and maybe explain the difference to anyone who wasn't following the recent threads about Anita?

Sure, as soon as someone explains it in full to me. I still do not get it all.

>47 alcottacre: I can see how this might be confusing.

There are two identical wiki lists of Anita’s reads.

#1 is the original wiki which Anita made while still alive. (For all of us, this should be to read only.)
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/User:FAMeulstee

#2 is a duplicate of Anita’s list which Nina copied and pasted elsewhere after Anita’s sudden death to encourage LTers to list their matching reads onto the duplicate list without changing anything on Anita’s original list. (For all of us, this should be the place where we actually list our shared reads…in other words…our “work page”.)
https://wiki.librarything.com/index.php/User_talk:FAMeulstee

>46 SqueakyChu: This is now done for everyone who needs further explanation about the memorial reads for Anita. Please see post #10 for the details.

>49 alcottacre: Thank you so much, Stasia.

>50 SqueakyChu: You are most welcome :)

Challenge #14: Read a book with Day in the title

I think I did this okay, if not let me know. Day can be in title or subtitle. Embedded works, good!

>52 Kristelh: Looks good to me, Kristel!

Are embedded words okay? Something like Sunday, for example.

>53 alcottacre: Yes, I will add that.

>54 Kristelh: Thanks! I appreciate the quick response.

Challenge #15: Rolling Challenge Read a with a word in the title starting with one of the letters in Independence (special rules for E&N)

A new group can only be started if there is no more than one unfilled letter remaining.

For E or N both starting and ending letters (aside from the may be used and also author names.

Well, it looks like July is off to a wonderful start - 15 challenges already!! - but before we get too far into the month, I have some prizes to hand out. Yes, you heard me right! PRIZES!! Everyone on the following list wins. . .bragging rights because I am a poor woman and only wish I could give real prizes, lol. So. . .




Mini-Sweeplettes in June:
humouress - for challenges 4-6
labfs39 - for challenges 3-5

Sweeplettes in June:
countrylife - for challenges 1-6
lindapanzo - for challenges 1-6
raidergirl3 - for challenges 1-6
bell7 - for challenges 7-12

Sweeps in June
AlcottAcre
Chatterbox
Citizenjoyce
Quondame

Let's give our readers all a hand of applause!

>57 alcottacre: Congrats everyone!

>57 alcottacre: 👏 to all the sweepers!, mini, lettes, and otherwise!
And a special👏 for our Stasia! Johnny on the Spot.

Mini-sweeplettes? I might be able to manage one of those now and then. Maybe.

I'm a mini-sweeper! Woohoo!

>57 alcottacre: Oooh! Nice announcement, Stasia.

Mini-sweeplettes?! That's new...and fun!

Congrats to the sweepers in all of the categories!

>59 Kristelh: Thanks, Kristel!

>60 jeanned: Mini-sweeplettes? I might be able to manage one of those now and then.
That is kind of the idea, Jeanne. Give everyone a chance to reach a goal that is not as overwhelming as completing a sweeplette or a sweep. To complete a mini-sweeplette, someone needs to finish 3 consecutive challenges.

>61 labfs39: Congratulations, Lisa! You made TIOLI history by being one of the first!!

>62 SqueakyChu: Thanks, Madeline.

Add me to the sweeplette (1-6) please

>64 raidergirl3: I apologize for overlooking you, raidergirl3! I will fix it now!

>65 alcottacre: thanks!

>57 alcottacre: Yay us and yay you for posting these awards.

>66 raidergirl3: You are most welcome.

>67 Citizenjoyce: Thanks, Joyce! Yay, everyone!!

Congratulations to all the Sweepers!

Glad I'm better at sweeping here than I am with a real physical broom :-)

>70 Chatterbox: You and me both, Suzanne!

>5 PaulCranswick: I note that you say "the main title", Paul -- could I use the following for your challenge? The Revolutionary Temper: Paris 1748-1789? I don't think I can find anywhere else to put it....

TIOLI Question of the Month:

What are you doing this days to keep cool while reading (or to keep warm if you live south of the equator)? Has the heat (or cold) affected your reading?

>73 SqueakyChu: keeping cool? I wish! Still waiting for summer to appear here. It appeared for a few days and has run away again. I haven't yet shed my cardigan (but then it has to hit heatwave territory before that happens).

>73 SqueakyChu: more fans, less clothes

>73 SqueakyChu: Fans constantly and, when exceptionally hot, which I consider night times that don't go below 75, AC. Shorts, more water and Gatorade. I go barefoot as much as I can.

>73 SqueakyChu: I stay inside as much as possible and try to go outside only early mornings or after dark, but that doesn't always work. I feed feral cats and feel so sorry for them. My lawn has lots of shade but at 118 degrees, shade isn't a great solution. Sometimes I look at them and they seem to be melting into the ground.

While i live in a place a lot of people wouldn’t exactly consider “hot”, when there are heatwaves I tend to migrate to the family’s summer house by the sea and stay as close to the water as possible. Sleeping with a fan on, drinking lots of electrolyte replacement, eating watermelons and pretzels and potato chips/crisps.
And as my holidays abroad seem to almost always coincide with heatwaves in that area, I know from experience that nothing works as well against summer heat as the marble floors of an old, stone-built museum.

>73 SqueakyChu: So, challengers. Has the heat affected your reading in any way?

I used to love to sit outside in an adirondack chair to read. It was so peaceful. Now, with the heat, that is all but impossible.

We had a heat pumped installed two years ago and while it was mostly for the oil savings in our cold climate, it also acts as an AC in the summer. So I've been curled up on my couch with a light blanket not minding the heat at all!

>80 raidergirl3: I am so jealous. We are having a heatwave right now and our top floor apartment gets really warm. We have fans going all the time, and I have a very small air conditioner by my computer so I spend a lot of time there. Drinking lots of water, wearing less clothes, and going barefoot all help and when I get really hot, I have a cold shower.

>73 SqueakyChu: When I get home from work (where, thankfully, the AC is limping along but working), I immediately turn bedroom window AC on and generally hang out there with the door open until it's cool enough to be in any other room in the house.

>79 SqueakyChu: Honestly, I've probably been reading a little more than I would because I'm spending extra time in my room before heading to bed, where if it were cooler I'd be in the kitchen or watching a DVD in the living room.

We had a few warmer days, upper 80s trying for 90s with higher humidity but all in all this has not been a hot summer. Yesterday when mowing the grass it actually felt cold because the temps had dropped to 70s and humidity was gone and a WNW wind. I read outside a bit, I read inside a bit, and I always read in bed just before turning the lights out and sleeping.

>79 SqueakyChu: If anything, it’s somewhat helped my reading as it’s one of the few things that I have energy to do when it’s hot (that, doing crosswords, and watching old episodes of Only Connect). When it’s more humane temp-wise I try to hit up flea markets, go for long walks or hikes and eradicate invasive species from the garden and nearby area.

It's winter here so we're having cold evenings but not excessively so. I'm happy to stay in bed a bit longer in the morning and read a couple of chapters before getting up. We don't have any built in heating anymore as it hardly ever gets too cold. There's a free standing heater or two around the house and that's it.

Well, I've decided that if Reuters keeps me on past December, I'll make a trip to New Zealand, so I'm dreaming of chilly mountains and fjord landscapes.

On a more immediate basis -- Mango Lime selzer from the fridge, cool showers mid/late afternoon and/or before bed (depending on how hot it is out there). I'm trying to use the A/C only in my bedroom and have set it up so it will only kick in when the temperature hits an impossible for me level during that day. I'm a bit more liberal with it at night because otherwise I just don't sleep -- that's the worst part of this.

That said, we had a bit of relief with daytime highs of "only" 80 F or so and night time temps in the low 60s, which has been a boon after a few weeks of near-solid extreme heat warnings.

>86 Chatterbox: My AC is always on; however the highs are now always past 100 degrees, and tomorrow it will be 113.

>87 Citizenjoyce: Eeek! The highest temperature I ever experienced was 106 degrees. I stepped outside momentarily on that day to say I did it, but then I quickly returned into my cooler house. I really would like to go outside and read. The day looks so beautiful through the windows, but I can see my plants are suffering. I guess I'll just read indoors today. :(

TIOLI Stats for June, 2024

Hey! The stats are holding steady. For the month of June, 2024, we read a total of 300 books, of which 62 (or 21%) were shared reads. Sadly, our dear late friend and challenger, @Fameulstee, DNF (did not finish) 9 books. We miss her so much!

The books with the most readers, each with four, were:
--Dust by Kara Swanson
--The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No-Horse by Louise Erdrich

The most popular challenge was the one by @susanna.fraser to read a book that fits a category on the 2024 Seattle Public Library Book Bingo Card. There were 60 books read for this challenge!

The following challenges all had the highest number of TIOLI points, 4 each:
--Read a book you selected directly from a Little Free Library or has any of those three words (little, free, library) in the title, subtitle, or author's name - by @SqueakyChu
--Read a book that fits a category on the 2024 Seattle Public Library Book Bingo Card by @susanna.fraser
--Read a book related to memory (including memoirs) or with the word "memory" or "remember" in the title by @wandering_star
--Read a book retelling a story from another book from a different point of view by @Citizenjoyce

Keep up your great reading, challengers!

The warmest I’ve ever experienced was 34 C, I think. I felt like I was literally (yes!) melting. I genuinely don’t think I’d survive 113 F (45 C). I’m not made for those kinds of temperatures.

The coldest I'd ever experienced was a standing air temp of -25F/-32C with a wind chill around -55F/-48C.

Soon after I went to visit my mom in SE Florida. I was laying by the pool in a sundress, i.e. scoop neck and no sleeves.

My mom comes out looking concerned, "Honey, it's only 70 degrees out. Don't you want a sweater or something to put over your shoulders?"

I looked at her dumbfounded.

"Mom, it was 25 below when I left Minnesota. That's almost a 100 degree difference. No. I do not need a sweater."

>91 Morphidae: That is truly an unbelievable temperature!

>91 Morphidae:. I was living in the Tower area when they hit -50 degrees. I also spend the winter in Florida and find myself c/o the cold when it is 70. I need to remind myself that people in Minnesota don't want to hear it!

>93 Kristelh: ETA: Tower is well known along with Embarrass for being the coldest towns in Minnesota.

*******

Epecially not in the Spring when we are all, "O.M.G. It's 35 degrees! I can get rid of that heavy coat and change to my sweater!"

"50 degrees and sunny? Awesome! Short sleeve weather! Too bad it's the weekend. The parks will be PACKED."

Depressing thoughts about climate:
Although honestly, it used to not get above freezing from at least January to February. And we'd have a few days - if not a week - here and there where it wouldn't get above 0F.

September was glorious - 70F and bright blue skies all month. It was my favorite month.

Over the last decade or so but especially the last five years, it's not like that anymore. It keeps getting warmer.

We rarely have an entire week below freezing. Below 0F has become more rare. And even then only for a few hours or a day.

And September is often like April - grey, wet, and dreary.

It frightens me when I think about it.

>90 PawsforThought: No one is made for that kind of temperature, but here we are.

TIOLI Awards for June 2024

The Not Afraid to Travel Award goes to @cecilturtle, @AnneDC, and @wandering_star for selecting their books from actual Little Free Libraries for my (SqueakyChu's) challenge to read a book you selected directly from a Little Free Library or has any of those three words (little, free, library) in the title, subtitle, or author's name. I hope you had fun selecting books from these great little neighborhood book boxes!

The Best Wishes for a Special Day Award goes to @AlcottAcre for reading 36 Children for the challenge by lindapanzo to read a book with a connection to the month of June. The connection to June for this challenger is that she and her husband celebrated their 36th wedding anniversary on June 23rd. Abundant blessings on that special occasion!

The Shared Read Promoter Award goes to @Citizenjoyce for the challenge to read a book retelling a story from another book from a different point of view. This challenge had 2/3 of its listed entries as shared reads. Way to go, everyone!

The Best Comfort Award goes to @Chatterbox for reading Brast Farrar and to @AnneDC for reading Pride and prejudice for the challenge by Lizzie D to reread a comfort book that you have enjoyed at least twice. Each of these challengers has returned to her book of choice over ten times for a reread.

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

>96 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award. I love tales and myths retold mainly because the tale is usually first told from a male perspective and retelling from the female perspective makes it so much more interesting.

Recent news in the US brings another person to mind for Challenge #1, Kamala Harris, Indian mother, Black Jamaican father. I've read her book, The Truths We Hold: An American Journey so now I'm reading one about her, Kamala's Way: An American Life by Dan Morain.

>96 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award! Your challenge worked out so well for me in terms of the timing.

>98 Citizenjoyce: I think I own her book but never read it but would like to read both of these.

Congratulations to the award winners.

>96 SqueakyChu: Congratulations to all the award winners!

My favorite of the awards is the Shared Read Promoter Award just because I love doing shared reads :)

>192 I'm doing lots of shared reads this month. Some of them are wonderful, and I never would have heard of them without TIOLI:
The Witch's Heart- Genevieve Gornichec (I know a little bit more about Norse gods and goddesses now. Loki doesn't come off so great.)
The Goddess of Warsaw - Lisa Barr (I was on the fence about this spoiled Hollywood goddess until I got into the book)
The Ice Cream Queen of Orchard Street - Susan Jane Gilman (I have recommended this to so many people)
The Financial Lives of Poets - Jess Walter (which surprises me because I really didn't like either the main character or the author right from the beginning)
Homage to Catalonia - George Orwell (I finally understand a bit about all those guys who went to Spain to fight in the civil war)
A Council of Dolls -Mona Susan Power (I hope she'll write many more novels

>103 Citizenjoyce: I absolutely loved The Goddess of Warsaw once I got into it. One of my favorite books of the year.

>7 wandering_star: Would a bed & breakfast work?

I'd like to read Bachelor Brothers' Bed and Breakfast

>96 SqueakyChu:
My first TIOLI award! Thank-you so much! I love to travel both in books and IRL, so it's apt :)

>105 Morphidae: Yes, that is fine - similar to a guesthouse!

>106 Cecilturtle: I was excited that three of you actually picked books from a Little Free Library. We have had ours since 2013, and it has brought me so much joy! I was just trying to spread the joy with my challenge. :)

>103 Citizenjoyce: >104 lindapanzo: I have The Goddess of Warsaw out from the library at present so must pick it up soon.

>108 SqueakyChu: I also actively participate in Bookcrossing. I love when I get a notice from another reader that my book has found its way into new hands, and better yet may have moved to another city or country. Alas, not enough readers participate - I only have a 10% success rate. Still: I have one book that made its way to Italy and one to Northern Ontario!

>110 Cecilturtle: Who are you on BookCrossing? I am SqueakyChu. Friend me there.
Is this you?
https://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/Cecilturtle/

Oh, man! If so, you are in Ontario! A few years ago, I was at a BookCrossing meetup (as well as a LibraryThing meetup!) in Toronto. How far are you from Toronto? I do know that Ontario is a HUGE province!

Our Little Free Library of Twinbrook (#7720) in Rockville, Maryland, USA, is also an OBCZ (Official BookCrossing Zone)! :D
https://www.facebook.com/LittleFreeLibrary7720Twinbrook

>111 SqueakyChu: It IS me! I'm in Ottawa, so about 4-5 hours from Toronto. It must have been such fun to go to a meetup! I've never been. Ottawa is pretty quiet on Bookcrossing-Librarything front I think. Sending you a friend request!

Oh, great! Yeah. Four to five hours is a bit much for a two-hour BookCrossing meetup, but it was so much fun! I already knew @jessibud2 from years ago, but I made good friends with her friend Bookgirrl with whom I stay pretty much in touch now. If you ever get down that way, try to get to one of their meetups.

>72 Chatterbox: Suz, sorry I missed your post above. Of course I will allow that.

Housekeeping Day!

Please remove any book from the wiki that you did not finish by midnight 7/31/24. In rolling challenges, you may just mark them DNF. Thank you!

>57 alcottacre: Oh wow; I got a mini-sweeplette award!! Thanks Stasia!

Sorry for the late check in. I've been busy doing RL stuff and cataloguing on LT. My books for July:

Challenge 5. Read a book with a hotel or boarding-house setting, or the word "hotel" in the title
- The Paradise Problem by Christina Lauren

Challenge 6. Read a book by an author any of whose names begin or end with either J, U, L, or Y
- The Friend Zone by Abby Jimenez
- The Ink Master's Silence by C.J. Archer

* Challenge 8. Read a book for Anita Memorial Reads Challenges: 1920s & 1930s
- Emil and the Detectives by Erich Kästner (1928/ 2012) (shared read with 3 others)

(*I've looked through the wiki pages and that seems to be my only shared read.)

Challenge 9. Read a book about an escape from or lessening of religious influence
- The Convent's Secret by C.J. Archer (2018)

Challenge 10. Read a book in which the first word of the book's title is longer than the second word
- The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdsall

Challenge 11. Read a book whose title could be the name of a pub
- The Magician's Diary by C.J. Archer

Challenge 13. Read a book for the Zodiac challenge - with an emotion in the title
- The Weed that Strings the Hangman's Bag by Alan Bradley

Challenge 15. Read a book with a word in the title starting with one of the letters in Independence
- Nobody's Sweetheart Now by Maggie Robinson

>116 humouress: Congratulations, Nina!

Congrats, Nina and other winners too!

>117 alcottacre: >118 Kristelh: Thank you Stasia and Kristen :0)