Take It or Leave It Challenge - July 2026

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, 2026, is to

*************************************
Read a book with a one-word title beginning with a letter from the first half of the alphabet (A through M) and containing NO numbers
****************************************

Rules:
1. Disregard the subtitle
2. The title many not be/contain any number, either spelled out as a word in letters, embedded in a word in letters, or written in digits (Examples of title words NOT acceptable: Atonement, Antigone, 1984, IQ84)
3. The words “a”, “an”, and 'the" count as a word.
4. A hyphenated title word is permitted.

Ideas:
Amrita by Banana Yoshimoto
Butter by Asako Yuzuki
Cherry by Mary Karr
Dimestore by Lee Smith
Educated by Tara Westover
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
Geisha by Mineko Iwasaki
Homegoing Yaa Gyasi
It by Stephen King
Jaws by Peter Benchley
Kindred by Octavia Butler
Liquidation by Imre Kertesz
Misery by Stephen King

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

Other Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. @FAMeulstee's Our TIOLI Sweeps - maintained by @alcottacre
2. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges (2010-2016) - A reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating previous challenges. 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)
3. Shared Read Suggestions - (Optional) Plan shared reads by listing books you intend to read
4. The July 2026 TIOLI Meter - (Optional) Track your TIOLI reading. Not competitive--- just fun!

Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book with a one-word title beginning with the letters of the first half of the alphabet (A through M) and containing NO numbers - msg #1
2. Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, about someone who has gone on a challenging journey by themselves - msg #3
3. Read a book whose title contains a word that is opposite to a word in the starter book title - msg #4
4. Read a book with the word ‘America’ in the title - msg #5
5. Read a book which would have fit a TIOLI challenge in at least two months so far this year - msg #6
6. Read a book in honor of Morphidae's mother's 80th birthday - msg #7

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book based on a true story or real person - msg #8
8. Read a book with red, white, and/or blue in the title - msg #9
9. Read a book by a Carnegie Medal (UK) nominated writer - msg #10
10. Read a book, F or N/F, about a recent challenge, trend, or movement - msg #11
11. Read a book where the one of the author’s names ends in a “Y” - msg #12
12. Read a book by an author featured in the 2020 American Authors challenge - msg #14

Challenges #13-18
13. Read a F or NF book that has an herb or a spice in the title (no cookbooks) - msg #15
14. Read a book with the word "half" (or the fraction or the decimal) in the title - msg #16
15. Read a book where a word in the title or the author's name starts with PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM - msg #19
16. Read a "beach book" - msg #26
17. Read a book that starts with an accident - msg #32
18. Read a book by a Cuban author, or an author of Cuban descent, or set in or about Cuba - msg #35

Hold your challenge until the August 2026 TIOLI challenges are posted.

This may take some explaining...

Challenge #3: Read a book whose title contains a word that is opposite to a word in the starter book title

The challenge here is to read books where they contain a word that is an opposite to one of the word in the starter book title.
So I have posted Love in a Cold Climate as starter book 1.
You could read any book with a word that is an opposite to "Love", so anything with hate in the title world work. here.
The opposite of "in" might be out or on, so a book with either of those in the title also counts.
There are loads of opposites of "Cold" any title with hot, boiling, baking, etc etc etc.
Not sure I can think of an opposite of climate, but go ahead & fill your boots if you can!

Be inventive.
As long as the sense of the opposite of the word is maintained, I'm not going to be scanning the thesaurus to tell you you're wrong.
You can also use things that are generally placed in opposition to a word, if not actually it's opposite. You're either a cat person or dog person, they aren't opposites, but "Dog" would be a suitable opposite for "Cat". And as I've also posted "The Cat Who Cracked a Cold Case" as a starter book, any "Dog" titles also count.

Tense. I'm going to say ignore tense here, if your word is plural or in a different tense to the word in the starter books, that's fine. Taking Love as the example, any tense of hate - hating, hated, hater - are all acceptable opposites.
The reverse also applies, I've posted The Girls in the wild fig tree, you're not forced into using girls plural, you can have a singular boy in your title.

Post as may different opposites under each starter title as you like. Please bold your opposite and list the word you are using from the starter title when you enter your books in the wiki.

Can you share a read with a starter title? Yes, of course.

Can you post a new starter title? Yes, but only when each current starter word has 3 books with opposites posted.

Can you use a subtitle? Yes.

Can you use embedded words. This is going to be not when it changes the sense of the word. Taking Cold, you can use hot, hots, hotter, hottest etc. The form of the word retains the sense of hot being the opposite of cold. You cant use Shot, as while it contains hot the S is changing the word so that it no longer means the opposite of cold.

I've probably forgotten something, please ask!

Challenge #4: “The Independence Day Challenge: Read a book with the word ‘America’ in the title

Subtitles and embedded words are fine

When I switch out my possible TIOLI reads at the start of each month, I often notice that a book listed for the previous month is valid for a different challenge this month. So here is your chance to get to the books that you listed and wanted to read earlier this year, and didn't quite manage to fit in.

Challenge #5: Read a book which would have fit a TIOLI challenge in at least two months so far this year

Challenge 6: Read a book in honor of my mother's 80th birthday

PLEASE state how it relates to my mom on the wiki.

Her name is Dale. July 13th will be her 80th birthday (born in 1946.) She was born in Savannah, Georgia. She has lived most of her life in Florida (currently in Ocala.)

She has been in the commercial real estate business for over thirty years.

As an example, books that could qualify would have a theme about BUYING or SELLING a commercial real estate property (i.e. one that generates income.)

This includes office buildings, industrial property, retail spaces, multifamily, mixed-use, and special purpose (hospitality, healthcare, and others (from self storage to churches) and land (non-residential.)

For a more detailed listing see:
https://www.crexi.com/blog/the-basics-of-commercial-real-estate-property-types

She has won many awards for her work in commercial real estate (a book where someone wins a business award?)

She likes watching shows like Law and Order and Bull or (other type of shows - need to get names.)

☆☆☆☆☆

Some other chances for qualifying books are under the spoiler tag after the related story.

-----

My mom was anti-pet. She thought dealing with pee and poop was disgusting and couldn't understand why anyone would want to deal with all the hassles (walks, litter boxes, vet visits, "cat butt" on eating surfaces, pet hair, wet dog smell, barking, pets clinging.)

She didn't understand any of it and thought people who had pets were out of their minds.

About 8 or 9 years ago, she and R. (her high school sweetheart), met and started dating again. R. had a chihuahua named Precious. It was bad enough that she was allowed on the furniture, but R. would let her lick his face. A lot.

It was a serious mark against him but she eventually fell deeply in love with him (he had always loved her.) She tolerated the dog but made him wash his face before kissing her.

About four years in, I lost it on a phone call with her. Hysterical, gasping for breath laughter when I heard my mom baby talk to the dog. It didn't help that she was at first saying, "What? What? What's so funny?" And when I told her the baby talk she kept saying, "Shut up! Shut up!" I literally had an asthma attack I was laughing so hard.

From there she continued to go way over to the "dark side," especially after R.'s death. She talks to the dog during every call (Like "What is it, baby? You need to go outside?") Or she'll have to hang up because Precious is "telling her it's time to go to bed."

I stopped laughing at her... eventually. Now I'm just glad she has Precious for company.

-----

Examples could be a book with:

... an over the top dog "hater" (not a villain) or dog lover
... a second chance or late in life (50+) romance
... a chihuahua on the cover
..."Precious" in the title, author/series/character name
... a main or secondary character who does a complete (and significant) 180 change in opinion

Challenge 7 True-ly it's July- Read a book based on a true story or real person.

Read a book with red, white, and/or blue in the title

In honor of our 250th, 3 cheers for the red, white, and blue, so read a book with one or more of these colors in the title. It can be in the subtitle and can be embedded.

Challenge #9: Read a book by a Carnegie Medal (UK) nominated writer

Writers can be from the longlists, not only the shortlisted ones. In the past it was less known about the longlists but there were commended titles as well as the winners.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carnegie_Medal_for_Writing
https://carnegies.co.uk/writing-nominated-titles-2026/
https://carnegies.co.uk/archive/
The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936 as the Carnegie Medal, is an annual British literary award for English-language books for children or young adults. Nominated books must be written in English and first published in the UK during the preceding school year (September to August).

Challenge #10: Read a book, F or N/F, about a recent challenge, trend, or movement - name it. This can be anything from a TikTok challenge to fashion or food trends to political or religious movements. No historical fiction, these should be trends in the past 20 years or so.
I'll be reading Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke about tradwives.

Challenge #11: Read a book where the one of the author’s names ends in a “Y”

Pretty Straight forward. As long as one of the author's names ends in a "Y", the book fits.

My planned reading so far:
Challenge #1: Read a book with a one-word title beginning with a letter from the first half of the alphabet (A through M) and containing NO numbers - started by SqueakyChu
Benediction - Kent Haruf
***✔Eventide - Kent Haruf (4.5)
Kin - Tayari Jones
***✔Land - Maggie O'Farrell (4.5)
✔ROAR: How to Match Your Food and Fitness to Your Unique Female Physiology for Optimum Performance, Great Health, and a Strong, Lean Body for Life by Stacy Sims (4.5)
Challenge #2: Read a book, fiction or non-fiction, about someone who has gone on a challenging journey by themselves - started by dallenbaugh
✔Heartwood - Amity Gaige (4.5)
Challenge #3: Read a book whose title contains a word that is opposite to a word in the starter book title - started by helenliz
✔The Birthday of the World: And Other Stories by Ursula K. Le Guin (5)
***Love in a Cold Climate - Nancy Mitford
***✔No Friend to this House - Natalie Haynes (4.5)
Challenge #4: “The Independence Day Challenge: Read a book with the word ‘America’ in the title - started by AlcottAcre
✔The Fix: Saving America from the Corruption of a Mob-Style Government (4.5)
by Barbara McQuade
Challenge #5: Read a book which would have fit a TIOLI challenge in at least two months so far this year (list the challenges) - started by wandering_star
✔The Making of Biblical Womanhood: How the Subjugation of Women Became Gospel Truth - Beth Allison Barr (4.5)
Challenge 6: Read a book in honor of my mother's 80th birthday - started by Morphidae
***✔Go Gentle - Maria Semple (3.5)
Challenge #7: True-ly it's July- Read a book based on a true story or real person - started by Kristelh
Famesick: A Memoir - Lena Dunham
Challenge #8: Read a book with red, white, and/or blue in the title - started by lindapanzo
***The Red Umbrella - Christina Diaz Gonzalez
Challenge #9: Read a book by a Carnegie Medal (UK) nominated writer - started by avatiakh
Stop the Train - Geraldine McCaughrean
Challenge #10: Read a book, F or N/F, about a recent challenge, trend, or movement - name it - started by Citizenjoyce
***✔Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke (5)
Challenge #11: Read a book where the one of the author’s names ends in a “Y” - started by DeltaQueen
✔And If I Perish: Frontline U.S. Army Nurses in World War - Evelyn Monahan; Rosemary Neidel-Greenlee (5)
Challenge #12: Read a book by an author featured in the 2020 American Authors challenge - started by cbl_tn
The Collected Stories of Jean Stafford - Jean Stafford
***The Street - Ann Petry
Challenge #13: Read a F or NF book that has an herb or a spice in the title (no cookbooks) - started by rhondak101book
***The Nutmeg's Curse: Parables for a Planet in Crisis - Amitav Ghosh
***✔Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire (3.5)
Challenge #14: Read a book with the word "half" (or the fraction or the decimal) in the title - started by lycomayflower
***Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk - Ben Fountain abandoned
✔Halfway to the Grave - Jeaniene Frost (3.5)
Challenge #15: Read a book where a word in the title or the author's name starts with PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM - started by susanna.fraser
The Au Pair - Emma Rous
✔The School for Good Mothers: A Novel - Jessamine Chan (4.5)
Challenge #16: Read a "beach book" - started by Chatterbox
Beach Music - Pat Conroy abandoned
***Fever Beach - Carl Hiaasen
Challenge #17: Read a book that starts with an accident - started by paulstalder
The Lost Girls of Paris - Pam Jenoff
Challenge #18: Read a book by a Cuban author, or an author of Cuban descent, or set in or about Cuba - started by PaulCranswick
***Martina the Beautiful Cockroach: A Cuban Folktale - Carmen Agra Deedy

Challenge #12: Read a book by an author featured in the 2020 American Authors Challenge

Charles Frazier
Grace Paley
David McCullough
Francine Prose
E. Lynn Harris
Jean Stafford
Wendell Berry
Robert Penn Warren
Dawn Powell
Ward Just
Ann Lane Petry
Tony Hillerman

Challenge #13: Read a F or NF book that has an herb or a spice in the title (no cookbooks)
No Cookbook Rule: The book can be about food, but should not be 100% recipes. If the book is mixed with food and cultural information plus recipes, that is fine!

Embedded words within reason, if the herb/spice meaning remains. ex. Gingerbread.
Also, okay if the word is person's name. ex. Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

Examples
I am reading Cinnamon Gardens by Shyam Selvadurai
The Nutmeg's Curse by Amitav Ghosh
Gabriela, Clove, and Cinnamon by Jorge Amado
Herb of Grace (aka The Pilgrim's Inn) by Elizabeth Goudge
The Ginger Man by J. P. Donleavy
Salt: A World History by Mark Kurlansky
Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
Monk's Hood by Ellis Peters
Many of the China Bayles series by Susan Wittig Albert also fit.

Ask questions if I forgot anything.

Challenge # 14: Read a book with the word "half" (or the fraction or the decimal) in the title

July 4th is my half birthday! So read a book with "half," "1/2" or "0.5" in the title. Subtitles and series titles count!

Summer Half
Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs: Half-Moon Hollow Book 1
13 1/2
Halfway to the Grave

>16 lycomayflower: Snap! That's my half-birthday as well.

>17 avatiakh: Haaahaha! NICE.

Challenge #15: Read a book where a word in the title or the author's name starts with PHILADELPHIA FREEDOM

Another for America's 250th. I lived in Philadelphia for 8 years--college plus another four years thereafter--and I love it just as much as I do my current hometown Seattle. When friends and family came from out of town to visit, I often took them to see Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. (And what I wouldn't give for a proper cheesesteak and a water ice.)

Usual rolling challenge rules apply. You can't start a new set of letters until there are 3 or fewer letters remaining in the preceding set, and no more than 2 sets can be open at a time.

>11 Citizenjoyce: I just added Yellowface by R. F. Kuang for cancel culture and bookTok. It occurred to me that Death of the Author by Nnedi Okorafor would also be good for these trends. So, if anyone is searching for ideas....

>20 rhondak101book: Thanks, they're both great.

>3 dallenbaugh: any guidance as to what constitutes a “challenging journey”?

>22 LoisB: Your choice

>22 LoisB: I was also stuck with this one. I have currently decided on The Starmen of Llyrdis by Leigh Brackett

Outcast in space. Michael Trehearne had always been an outcast among his people on Earth. He knew he was different. He did not know how or why. Then one day, on the wind-swept coast of Brittany, a bewitchingly beautiful girl appeared and told him he had the look of the Vardda--those elite star travelers who alone could withstand the rigors of intergalactic flight. Michael had to join them, had to find his place in the universe at last. But it would not be easy. For even when they allowed him to risk his life aboard their ship, to seal his fate upon their planet, even then, they viewed him as an outcast, a dangerous changeling who suddenly threatened them. He was a man who sooner or later would have to be destroyed.

.

Seems like there's enough challenge, journey, and isolation to work for this category in this good, old-fashioned space opera.

>24 rhondak101book: It sounds like a good choice.

OK, better late than never??

Challenge #16: Read a "beach book"

By beach book, I mean a book that meets at least one of the following criteria:
-- a large part of the action is set at the beach or seaside in summer
-- There's an image of a beach in summer on the cover
-- It's the kind of book you'd read at the beach in summer -- completely and absolutely unchallenging.

The challenge goes to the concept of a beach read: the kind of book you'd pack in a tote bag when you head to the shore, and not be too upset about if sand gets into the pages.

I'm going to extend this to include a re-read of a book that you read during some portion of a previous summer and vividly associate with that summer. I may re-read Csardas, which just resurfaced amongst my own paperbacks, which I bought and read one very hot summer in the south of France as a teenager. I read it while lying on a beach and sunburned the soles of my feet as a result.

>26 Chatterbox: I read it while lying on a beach and sunburned the soles of my feet as a result.

Ouch!!

The July wiki link is titled June. Not that any of us would be confused, but still...

>28 laytonwoman3rd: Oops! I told you that the heat got to me. LOL! It's now fixed. Thanks for the heads up.

>29 SqueakyChu: Tryin' to stay cool here too!

>24 rhondak101book: thanks.

I wanted to add my challenge into the wiki, but I am blocked, it says ... so, I list it here, can someone please put it in the wiki? Thanks

challenge #17 Read a book that starts with an accident

The first sentence mentions an accident or the word 'accident'. Not an earth quake or a tornado or a wild fire, it must be an accident.

Please list the first sentence in the wiki. Thanks

- Tartufo Wolfgang Zdral - Natürlich war es ein Unfall. (Of course it was an accident.)

>32 paulstalder: I added your challenge, Paul, but I'm worried about you being blocked. Is there anything I can do to help? I had no trouble accessing the wiki. Perhaps you should message admin for help with this.

>33 SqueakyChu: Good morning Madeline, and it works perfectly. I was able to add my book to my challenge. Great, hope it stays that way.

Challenge #18 - Read a Book by a Cuban Author, or an Author of Cuban Descent or Set in or About Cuba

Fairly straightforward challenge to make this full mini sweeplettes.

>32 paulstalder: Paul, would you consider The Lost Girls of Paris by Pam Jenoff?

The first sentence is "If not for the second-worst mistake of Grace Healey's life, she never would have found the suitcase." Okay, that is a "mistake" not an "accident," but...this mistake leads to Grace's route to work being blocked by a real traffic accident, which is tied to the mystery and Grace finding the suitcase, etc. This all occurs as the opening scene.

>36 rhondak101book: Rhonda, I am somewhat hesitant to view mistakes as accidents, I mean, I hope, if I spell Ronda without the H you wouldn't call it an 'accident' ...

But you mention a car accident in the beginning, is that happening on the first page? I would accept that as 'a book that starts with an accident'. Hope you enjoy your book.

The accident is described on the second page and continues for a page and a half. Close enough?

>34 paulstalder: Yay!

>38 rhondak101book: The accident is described on the second page and continues for a page and a half. Close enough?

LOL!

>38 rhondak101book: Okay, go for it.

>39 SqueakyChu: thanks for your help, Madeline

>40 paulstalder: No problem, Paul. Glad all is resolved.

When I added my latest book to the TIOLI Meter it seemed to be missing some entries I saw yesterday.

>42 quondame: I only see added books on the TIOLI meter and no deleted books.

>43 SqueakyChu: OK. It seemed sparse today, whereas yesterday it looked "normal" - and I was pretty sure I'd added a second #15 which wasn't there. Still, yesterday was one of my more kludgy days, so no surprise if my memory is off.

Hopefully I will get to the monthly prizes tonight. I apologize for the delay - we have been without Internet (again) since last week and finally had our service with the new provider set up yesterday.

It is that time of the month again - PRIZE TIME!!




Mini-Sweeplettes in June:
Matke for challenges 4-6
bell7 for challenges 7-9
dallenbaugh for challenges 13-15
helenliz for challenges 7-9
Kristelh for challenges 9-12
Kyler_Marie for challenges 13-17
laytonwoman3rd for challenges 7-11
rhondak101book for challenges 7-9
susanna.fraser for challenges 7-9

Sweeplettes in June:
AnneDC for challenges 1-6
avatiakh for challenges 1-6
dallenbaugh for challenges 1-6 and 7-12
LoisB for challenges 1-6 and 13-18
rhondak101book for challenges 1-6 and 13-18

Sweeps in June:
AlcottAcre
Chatterbox
Citizenjoyce
quondame

Congratulations to all our prize winners!! Look at all those sweeplettes in June!!

As always, if I made any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct my error.

>46 alcottacre: Congrats to all!

Congrats to all prize winners! Thanks for your work Stasia.

Thanks for doing the stats, Stasia.
Great Reading, Everyone!

>48 Kristelh: >49 rhondak101book: No problem, Kristel and Rhonda! I was very impressed with the number of sweeplettes last month!

>46 alcottacre: That's so much work. Thanks for taking the time.

>46 alcottacre: yes, thanks for making it so.

>51 Citizenjoyce: >52 dallenbaugh: I am more than happy to do it. Thank you!

TIOLI Stats for June, 2026

In June, 2026, we read a total of 338 books of which 53 (16%) were shared reads. We collected 29 TIOLI points for a total of 348 YTD TIOLI points for June 2026--as opposed to 188 for last year at this time.

The most popular books, each with three readers, were these:
---Yesteryear - Caro Claire Burke
---How to Be a Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals - Sy Montgomery
---The Keeper - Tana French
---Whistler - Ann Patchett
---Mrs. Dalloway - Virginia Wolfe

The most popular challenge, with 52 books read, was the one by @susanna.fraser to read a book that matches a category on the 2026 Seattle Public Library Summer Book Bingo Card.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points (seven) was the one by @lindapanzo to read a book by an author you've read at least three times before.

Enjoy your future reads, challengers!

Congratulations to all the Sweepers, whether from mini to total.

And many thanks to Stasia for keeping track.

I am just released from hospital where I have been since June 25. Madeline, I'm sorry that I couldn't keep the Wiki up to date with my completed reads but all the bed rest certainly gave me lots of time to read. I have had a pace maker installed and hopefully I won't be having the blackout episodes I was suffering before.

Welcome to the Pacemaker Club. It solved my problem. Hope it works for you.

>57 LoisB: Thanks.

>56 DeltaQueen50: I am so sorry to hear that you were in the hospital, but I hope that your pacemaker sets things right with you. A close friend of mine recently had that done and is doing fine. Wishing all the best to you. Stay out of the hospital because we want you HERE! Big hugs for a complete recovery!

>56 DeltaQueen50: All my best wishes for a quick and thorough recovery!

>55 Matke: Thank you, Gail.

>56 DeltaQueen50: I hope that your health is improving with the pace maker installed, Judy! I hope you blackouts are gone for good.

>56 DeltaQueen50:, Wishing you good recovery! I am sure you’re probably all ready feeling much better.

Thanks everyone. I am feeling so much better, the heart issue seems to have improved, and no more "black-outs" is a wonderful thing!

>63 DeltaQueen50: Great news!

>63 DeltaQueen50: Happy as well to hear this news.

>64 SqueakyChu: & >65 avatiakh: Thanks Madeline and Kerry.😊

>63 DeltaQueen50: no more "black-outs" is a wonderful thing!

I bet! I hope that continues on for you, Judy!

>56 DeltaQueen50: I'm glad you're feeling better. I've recently been threatened with the need for a pacemaker in my future. The cardiologist said, "You'll know it's time when you pass out and wake up with a heart rate of 20." Good to know. I'm trying to warn the dogs of the possibility and their need to call 911 if it happens, but they don't seem concerned.

>68 Citizenjoyce: Thanks Joyce. My advice is not to put off getting a pace maker put in. The improvement was immediate for me. Take care of yourself.

The June 2026 TIOLI Awards!

The That's Quite a Lot Award goes to @antqueen for reading The Ten Thousand Doors of January for the challenge by rhondak101book to read a book with a number in the title, but not a date. That was the largest number within any of the other titles listed for that challenge!

The Read This Now Award goes to @JayneCM for reading 1984 for the challenge by Kristelh to read that book you feel ashamed not to have read yet. What I would say about this book is that you do not need to feel ashamed not to have read this book, but if that condition applies to anyone here, please read it now, as to me it is the seminal work in understanding the dystopian world I find my country (USA) now becoming.

The Thanks for the Memories Award goes to @Alcottacre for reading The Gift of Asher Lev for the challenge by cbl_tn to read a book by an author featured in the 2019 American Authors challenge. Back in the 1970's, I just loved reading books by the author of this book. It's nice to know that books by Chaim Potok are still being read and enjoyed presently.

The Pick One Book, Pick Any Book Award goes to @susanna.fraser for the challenge to read a book that matches a category on the 2026 Seattle Public Library Summer Book Bingo Card. This was a great catch-all challenge in which a book that fit no other challenge at all could easily find a home!

The Language Lover Award goes to @Kyler_Marie for reading Le Petit Nicolas for the challenge by @Chatterbox to read a book set in Paris, with Paris in the title, or in French. This is the only challenger to read a book in French for this challenge. As I, too, have a love for foreign languages, I was so happy to know others try to read books in more than one language.

The Florist Award goes to @rhondak101book for reading Farewell, My Cuckoo for the challenge by paulstalder to read a book that mentions flowers in the first sentence. I thought that the flowers (deep-pink roses, china-blue delphinium spears, lacy cow parsley) mentioned in the first line of this book would make the prettiest bouquet!

Congrats to our award winners! Share any awards of your own here at this time if you would like to!

>70 SqueakyChu: Just a minor correction that I read Le Petit Nicolas for June!

>71 Kyler_Marie: Oops! Sorry for the error. Fixed. You indeed were the reader in French! :)

>70 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award, Madeline. Potok's The Chosen is one of my all-time favorite books so I am always happy to read one of his that I have not read previously.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

>72 SqueakyChu: Thanks! And thanks for the acknowledgement. :)

>70 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award. I had hoped that massive sentence would be an award winner.

Congratulations to the award winners. Such great categories, Madeline! Fun to read them.

Congratulations to all the award winners.

Felicitations, @kyler_Marie! I had so intended to read something in French last month but hélas, instead I BOUGHT books in French while in Paris. Et bien... I have started reading Mesopotamia by Olivier Guez (for some reason the wiki refuses to work for this title) this month, however.

>56 DeltaQueen50: So glad that the pacemaker installation went smoothly and you're already feeling the benefits. I'm waiting to see how much the first phase of the fusion surgery is going to help my pain in walking but I think it's too soon to know as I'm still dealing with post-surgical pain. Oh well, better to deal with this now when I'm healthy enough to do it as an outpatient.

>78 Chatterbox: It was a great challenge! I actually had "read a book in French" in my 2026 bingo card so I was glad to check it off. (Yes I made a bingo at the beginning of the year. I highly recommend it as encouragement to meet goals throughout the year.)

Hope you had a great trip!

>78 Chatterbox: Thanks Suzanne, I go tomorrow to see my doctor and get some of the dressings removed which I am looking forward to. I hope that all goes well for you and you can be pain free once again.

>70 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award!

>56 DeltaQueen50: Glad to hear you are feeling better and hoping that your recovery is continuing well - and that you are able to get lots of reading done!

>82 JayneCM: Thanks, Jayne. It's onwards and upward for me!

What's Lined Up for Next Month?

Wow! Summer is half over already! What do you have planned for your August reads...or will it be too hot to read? Let us know. One day here in Maryland (USA), it was 107 degrees Fahrenheit in front of my house! That's the hottest temperature I have ever experienced. I just went outside for a moment, though.

What to do:
1. Tell us about books that you *must* read next month (book club, library book, bestseller, etc.).
2. Market them to us. Encourage us to read them right along with you!
3. List your books on Shared Read Suggestions, but talk about them here on this thread.
4. Know that you are not required to read any book you list as a suggestion.

>84 SqueakyChu: As much as I am struggling to get through July - stupid CFS - I am looking forward to August. My challenge for August is "The Hyphenated name challenge: Either the author’s first or last name has an hyphen in it." These are the books that I have on tap:

Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah
Love Like That by Emma Duffy-Comparone
My Year Abroad by Chang-Rae Lee
Native Speaker by Chang-Rae Lee

I doubt I will get to all of them, but I would like to get to at least three of the four!

>85 alcottacre: I will start looking for a book for your challenge.

>84 SqueakyChu: I think my challenge for next month will be to read a book written in collaboration. I know both Louise Penny and James Patterson have co-authored with several notable people. My favorite example is State of Terror by Louise Penny and Hillary Clinton, which I read earlier this year.

>87 LoisB: That's a great idea!

>86 LoisB: >87 LoisB: I will look for a book for your challenge as well, Lois! I agree with Kyler, that is a great idea!

ETA: I found a nice list of collaborative books here: https://www.goodreads.com/shelf/show/collaborative-fiction

I've got some books that would fit tidily into that collaborative category!

Not sure what I'll do -- something that will encourage me to read and subsequently de-accession some of the ARCs on my shelves, ideally.

My known reads for August are
Typical - Padgett Powell. It is short stories and this is a book from the 1001 list.;
Others include
The River is Waiting (BookClub read)
The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife (Book club read)
I know that Mark wants to do Lonesome Dove as a shared read in August.

BAC
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala possibly At the End of the Century
Melvyn Bragg - 12 Books That Changed the World maybe

>91 Kristelh: I really enjoyed The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife. I have her next book, When Lemons Give You Life on library hold. Her writing comes from experience as she worked at her grandfather's nursing home. Have the tissues handy!

>92 JayneCM: Thanks, Jayne, that does sound like an author I will like. I enjoy stories about aging.

I'm doing a challenge related to "Dog Days" and will be listening to At the Feet of the Sun which will be coming out at Audible the 28th!!!

I think I'll do a "word mining" challenge -- if I can find a way to describe it pithily in the wiki. Eg, a book's title must have a word of at least x letters from which you must be able to make y words of z letters each.

The wiki pages are inaccessible for me now. I posted this issue in the Bugs group.

>95 Chatterbox: Can't wait to hear how you describe it! LOL!

>96 SqueakyChu: The wiki is fine now.

Can't access the wiki again to update my books. This month it does seem to be a bit cranky.

This is what I have finished so far and will update when I can:

TIOLI #1 - Kingfisher by Rozie Kelly
TIOLI #5 - The Last White Man by Mohsin Hamid {Jan 8; Feb 2}
TIOLI #6 - The Hunting Dogs by Jorn Lier Horst {Police procedural}
TIOLI #7 - Lord Cornwallis by Daniel E. Harmon
TIOLI #8 - Blue Moon by Lee Child
TIOLI #10 - The Renovation by Kenan Orhan {Islamism and Exile}
TIOLI #11 - Beside the Ocean of Time by George Mackay Brown
TIOLI #15 - A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes
TIOLI #16 - Paths of the Dead by Lin Anderson {Page turner}
TIOLI #17 - Dark Angel by Mari Jungstedt {Killed the wrong perp accidentally)
TIOLI #18 - Havana Year Zero by Karla Suarez

11 down and 7 to go.

I am unable to reach the wiki but finished Challenge #11. Return of the Native by Thomas Hardy
#14 The Half-life of Marie Curie - Lauren Gunderson
#4 This is My America - Kim Johnson

>99 Kristelh: The dreaded "technical difficulties"! Some things will always be with us, I guess.

>100 laytonwoman3rd: LOL, Iinda. The gremlins of technology. I hope on Monday it is fixed.