Short Clue Game

the game is to name the book based on a short clue, which is a name, a phrase, a word, No complete sentences. The first one is simple.

Dr. T. J. Eckleburg

Okay, well I'm going to go for The Great Gatsby - and I think we all know why. Do I still get the next go?

In my opinion you do. I took myself back out after I entered because if I get caught up in this game, I'll never get any work done.

Booksloth,

yes by all means go.

Okay - Tata and Tata Two

stab of a distant memory -

Elf in Tolkien's Lord of the Rings????

Midnight's Children?

Nope to both. I know it's neither of these but something has happened that I knew was going to happen sooner or later - I've forgotten it! Keep quessing - I'll definitely know the ones it isn't, and I'm now going through every book in the house until I track it down.

Phew! It's okay everybody - it just came to me in a flash! I'mkeeping it beside me now until someone gets it.

I get the feeling it's Chick Lit, something light and fluffy. (Am I on the right track?) From a book I heard someone refer to, not one I've read.

Maybe Confessions of a Shopaholic?

Is that because I've just come across as completely ditsy? I wouldn't call it that myself, but then it wouldn't be in my library if I did.

Not at all. Sorry, didn't mean to imply any thing. I just have a vague memory of the term tatas coming up when I was talking about a book with someone.

Hah! Maybe these are a completely different sort of tatas?

Animal's People ?

Nope. BTW - apologies for sounding a bit snotty on the subject of chick-lit. Didn't really mean it that way - just not my thing.

Please don't tell me I killed it already. Would it help if I said that Tata and Tata Two are doctors? In India?

I'm thinking Rushdie but not Midnight's Children ... rings a bell from somewhere, but I don't know where.... Shame?

Definitely not Rushdie - he scares me. In fact, the author of this one is a great favourite of mine so a glance at my profile page will certainly narrow down the field.

wait - is it Son of the Circus? It's been awhile since I read it, but I think it had a character named Tata Two.

It did indeed. It also had a character called Tata. Ding, ding, ding!!!

Whohoo! Ok, here's an easy one:

The Enchanted Hunters

Easy for you maybe ;-)

I always think I pick easy ones, no matter what the game is. Then I kill the game. Speaking of which, it is probably about time for me to head over to 1001 to make another attempt at the chain game. I have a whole bunch of Henry Green titles to stop that game with!

Congatulations if you can do it half the damage I just did.

a foreshadowing name if ever there was one! -

the hotel from Lolita

Yep! Sometimes Nabokov isn't particularly subtle.

new short clue.....

a headache that will crush whatever is she

Is it Atonement? The mother, Emily, always got terrible, incapacitating migraines.

Not Atonement - this headache is more consuming than incapacitating

Don't want to be guilty of killing this thread in its infancy.
Here's another clue....

a real person in a work of fiction

Ragtime?

It's late at night over here and my brain has half gone to sleep - but I don't get that first clue. Is it a quote from the book? Sorry I'm so stupid.

Not Ragtime -
the first clue is a short phrase taken from the book - as the rules of message #1 suggest...the second is a clue to the character experiencing the first.

sorry if this is too oblique - whenever I play First Line it takes about two seconds for someone to give the correct answer so I thought I'd be a bit more challenging. I've gone overboard perhaps - but this is from a well known book.

Is it The Hours?

Yes - the killer (literally) headache that finally drove Virginia Woolfe over the edge....
"the voices are back and the headache is approaching as surely as rain, the headache that will crush whatever is she and replace it with itself."

You're up.

Wayhey! I never get these before someone else! Right, hmmm, this is probably an easy one (but then you never can tell.....) so I'll start with a harder clue:

Not vodka, pure spirit

Whisky Galore? No - that's a rubbish guess.

Not Whiskey Galore, wrong country ...... this is a translated work......

.... and the line that paraphrases is spoken by a large black cat with attitude .......

That's me out then! Good luck all!

The Master and Margarita?

Oh grrrr! Should have known that!

jfetting - Spot on! You're up......

Francisco, Bernardo, and Marcellus

Oh, Oh! I'm sure I know this! God, I'm rubbish at this game.

It's a pretty famous work. Actually, a very famous work. I can't actually list any other characters without giving it away immediately.

Here's a hint: It's fiction, but not a novel.

I'm guessing .... a play ..... Shakespeare? But which one ......... Not one of the ones I know well.

Hamlet! For sure!

In fact I'm so sure (having seen this about a hundred million times) that I'm going to go ahead with:

Hawthorne, James . . .and Maule.

Ahhh, Hamlet is one I don't know well, that would explain it!

you are right!

now I have to think about your clues.

Hawthorne and James the writers? Is it something like Ex Libris?

It's not and it has a major inbuilt bluff.

oh, that clue is kinda sneaky - is it The House of the Seven Gables? It took me about 14 attempts to make it through that book.

Heh, heh, heh! (Evil laugh) You're all falling for my wicked plan!

I'll come clean and give a few clues. The book I'm thinking of is a novel and is the writer's 'homage' to those good old ghost story writers of yore. Most of his main characters are named, either after popular American writers of ghost stories or after their well-known characters (so your guess was good, jfetting, as Maule features in 7 Gables - but wrong). There will be plenty more clues if this one doesn't do the trick.

Booksloth, I've never even heard of a book like this, but I want to know what it is because it sounds really interesting. More clues, please?

It's by a well-known American-born writer of horror/crime/fantasy.

I'm trying to avoid giving the absolute humdinger of a clue that will open the floodgates. If we're still going 24 hours from now I'll drop the chequered flag. (Actually, make that a bit less than 24 hours, 'cos I have to go out this time tomorrow.)

Come on, guys - surely a few more guesses before I give the whole thing away? Written/published in 1979. The author has well-known links with another author.

ETA - I'm saying 'guys' but I've just looked back and noticed it should really be 'guy - singular'. Thanks for sticking with it anyway jf!

I am having such a hard time with this, but I think I finally got it. Ghost Story by Peter Straub? I kept thinking it was a Stephen King book or story but there aren't any like that that I know of.

You got it - you got it! My next clue was going to be the biggie about having co-written 2 novels with another extremelty well-known etc . . . Straub is one of those writers who (to me) are either great or rubbish depending on which book you're talking about. Ghost Story and Shadowland are two I love.

I think I will lurk on this thread for a while. The pace is great, but a tad beyond me. Fun to read though!

...the intoxication of Fortunato...

Hemlokgang, you should play!

That's not "The Cask of Amontillado" by Poe, is it?

Are we even doing short stories? The name does sound more Shakespearian, but I'm sticking with Poe.

Which is a good idea, because you are right!

I don't know if short stories are allowed, technically, but you guessed it so it's ok, right?

Yay!

Ack, now I need a clue...

Sam & Hailey

Lurking....................

Lurking as well....

Just don't know the answer . . . . . . . . .

twomoredays, can we get a hint? I'm stumped too.

Uh, let's see. The book was published a couple of years ago and is written in verse. And has a very strange format. Which is typical of the author...

Only Revolutions: A Novel
by Mark Z. Danielewski

Yup, that's it.

"The horror! The horror!"

For sure the book I hate most Heart of Darkness.

ETA - Once dp confirms that's the one he's thinking of ('cos I've seen the expression used (presumably in homage) in a number of other books), I'll be back with another one but it won't be until tomorrow as I'm off to bed now.

yes it is the book you hate the most.

dp

Okay, a quickie, but I warn you all I'm going to be out for the next few hours. Time to think maybe. Don't think this should be too hard -

Looking for Noboru Wataya

This rings a whopping great big bell ..... I'm thinking Murakami? Is it a cat by any chance? If so, then it has to be The Wind-Up Bird Chronicles???

Wow! Didn't even have time to leave the house! All yours klarusu.

Yay! I don't normally get ones I know during the day. Then I wake up and overnight there have been ones that I could have got!

So:

Karanga mai, karanga mai, karanga mai

I'll have a quick guess at that one before I disappear. I'm sure I'm wrong, but something in the back of my head keeps saying Poisonwood Bible. I am wrong, aren't I?

I guess "the whale rider"

Sorry - brief hiatus for one year old with ear infection!

Booksloth, I'm afraid you are.

dperrings, good call! You are correct - over to you......

Big cuddles to your poor little one-year-old. Ear infections are agonising and tiny children have to conception of the idea that one day they will feel better (have any of us when we're in pain?) I do so hope he/she is feeling better now. It was the only excuse we would have accepted for leaving us dangling like that ;-)

ETA - Just wanted to create a touchstone for The Whale Rider as it's not a book I know.

Many thanks for the cuddles Booksloth - she's getting better ... slowly. I would recommend The Whale Rider - personally, I think it's an excellent book and the film did it great justice too!

ok i guess i had better get busy with a clue. i should have one shortly.

dperrings

Klaatu barada nikto

I am looking for the novel that this line was used in that was written in the late 1990's.

I thought that was The Invisible Man but that was way before 1990. Could it be something that has a quote from The Invisible Man? Or am I barking up the completely wrong tree?

yes you need to find another tree to do your barking

I used to think I was pretty well read as the expression goes...........this thread makes me feel like I have a long way to go.........I look forward to the challenge.

No guess.........still lurking!

I do know this isn't 20 questions but . . . is it horror?

This is bugging me, it rings a bell but I can't think why......

no it is not horror and it is not "the horror!" either

It's not something like Cloud Atlas is it? I just know I'm going to go 'Doh!' when someone gets this.....

No, you need to get your head out of the clouds

Is it Mostly Harmless? What if I can name the movie it came from?

no to Mostly Harmless, if you want to name the movie go ahead.

dperrings

science fiction is it?
but no titles come to mind - still lurking

I checked the spelling in the book i am thinking about and it is spelled Klatu barada nikto instead of Klaatu barada nikto.

It is a book that i would say most of you have read. When I read the book this just stuck out like a flaming tourch. Which it does not look like that happened to the rest of you.

dperrings

also the book it is in is not science fiction

The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay?

nope

Foraging frantically now through nearly every book on my shelves. I still can't fing the exact phrase but there are some similar bits in The Poisonwood Bible and I think the dates would be about right for that. To be honest, I'm not terribly confident. (You're really enjoying this, aren't you?)

I really have no idea on this one...

Ok, I looked the phrase up on Wikipedia and still have no idea what book it's from. The movie, that jfetting mentioned earlier, it's from is The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Booksloth,

Yes the phrase is in The Poisonwood Bible. I actually put this in there for you since you mentioned the Poisonwood Bible in Message #80. YOu were correct this time.

now it is your turn

dperrings

# 103 Which is a really cheesy movie, and a lot of fun if you like that sort of thing.

off-topic, I know, sorry!

yes very cheesy, just the type of movies that i loved when i was a kid.

dperrings

105, 106

Oh, I loved that movie when I saw it. I was in sixth grade so maybe I didn't notice the cheesiness.

I didn't even know it had been made into a movie. Still - great to get this one right as I thought I had no chance.

Okay then, how about:

Ablach Farm

(despite the way it sounds this is not an intentional tribute to our beloved angel of ER giveaways - though, if shameless grovelling wins me another freebie, it can be.)

Oh I do know this! It's Under the Skin, right? Strange book.

I beg to differ - wonderful book! But yes, you're right.

"strange" does not mean bad! It is a good book, just a little strange, that's all.

Ok, since I am in lab and have no books handy, a relatively easy one:

a trio of siblings - Fanny, Robert, Edward

Sounds awfully familiar. Something by John Irving?

nope. I guarantee it is familiar to you, though

Sense and Sensibility?

i would agree with this, your answer is vary sensible.

hemlokgang wins! Your turn now.

"The day is may 7, 1901. The time is just before dawn." A play in three acts........

Wild stab in the dark: Le Balcon by Jean Genet?

Our Town?

You're right, jfetting.

I can't believe that didn't trigger my memory until you suggested it. Hmm.

Deep apology for being gone so long. You got it, jfretting!

whohoo! The next clue:

outside the town of Malbork

It's going to be wrong, I'm sure but going on the location:

The Teutonic Knights by Sienkiewicz?

no, sorry

I think I'm wrong too, but...

If On a Winter's Night a Traveler?

No, you're absolutely right bell7. Your turn!

I knew I'd read it somewhere!

#125 - 7 And that explains why I didn't recognise it. Think I slept most of the way through that book.

>128 Booksloth:

Really, Booksloth? That's one of my all-time favorites. But apparently I need to read it again because I didn't recognize the clue at all.

#129 It's one of my favorites, too. The clue comes from the title of chapter two, I think

#129 I blame myself. I just wasn't in the right mood. It's on my 'to be read again' pile.

Sorry for the delay, I was housesitting and temporarily had no Internet access.

Ex-boyfriends and Mr. Darcy

Bridget Jones's Diary?

Sense and Sensibility?

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason?

Bridget Jones' Diary
Nope.

Sense and Sensibility
nope

Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason
No again, though I can see why the clue would suggest these.

Someone has to say this. Pride and Prejudice is too obvious, isn't it?

After checking your library, Austenland?

yes, klarusu, that's it. :-)

WooHoo! Now for a clue....

Born twice, in Detroit and Petoskey

Middlesex!

Unless there's another book with an identical plot I know that one's right so chew on this one -

Because she still has her flute

Sorry, Booksloth, I went to bed (I know, how dare I?) but you are right. Dont recognise this one yet....

Quite - how dare you! (So I posted mine and then went to bed too!)

I'm going to enlarge on it just a tiny bit. It's one of those ones that will mean everything if you've read it and nothing at all if you haven't (but then, aren't they all?)

Condemned because she still has her flute.

Did I dead it? Trying to make it a little bit easier -
Chosen to die because she still has her flute.

This is tugging at my subconscious ... I don't think I own it but something's familiar....

Sophie's Choice?

ETA: or was that a violin? I don't remember.

You're right jfetting and it was a flute (I checked). Could it be that it was a violin in the film? That's what first sprung to my mind too. Not sure though - I have a feeling there was no instrument in the film at all and if you think I'm going to watch it again just to confirm that you must be crazy. Utterly brilliant but without a doubt the most upsetting, terrifying and harrowing book and film ever written/made.

no, I was just mis-remembering (it happens a lot). You're right - both the film and the book are incredibly upsetting. Meryl Streep was fantastic, though, wasn't she? There was no instrument in the film - I don't remember exactly how the daughter got picked but I think it was more of a mindless shoving-the-kid-forward.

Y'all will have to wait for a clue until I get home and have access to a book!

New clue:

Fingerbone

The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency?

nope! I should maybe elaborate - Fingerbone is the name of a town. And a lake.

the name of the book is Housekeeping by Robinson

It is indeed. You're up!

Just wanted to add a touchstone to Housekeeping as I don't know it but it sure looks interesting.

Ricky Ticky Tabby

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot?

nope

Love that title, though, twomoredays!

Rikki Tikki Tavi by Rudyard Kipling

dperrings, you wouldn't use clues from the same book twice, would you?

I am not above doing anything

#159

that is the obvious reference, but no, my spelling is that same as the book.

Is it The Poisonwood Bible again?

yes

your up

Devious, dperrings. Now, I need to go read that book (it's been on my shelf forever) just in case you pull another clue from there.

twomoredays,

Yes if i remember correctly the book had quite a few fun little items in it for use in this game.

so be on guard.

dperrings

That was very sneaky, dperrings! Next up:

Paris to Montpellier to Grasse

Is it Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Suskind?

Edited for touchstone which still didn't appear!
ETA touchstone - worked!

yes it is!

Yay! *quickly checks top of thread to see which game she's in*

A deity with an hallucination?

The God Delusion?

Spot on Booksloth! Over to you....

Good one! Having a think now - back in a minute.

I think this one should go quickly -

Susie the bear

No idea... a clue, maybe? Because the only thing I'm thinking is Animal Farm, and I'm 90% sure there is no bear in that book.

Ooooh. Thought it would have gone by now. You're 100% right that there's no bear in animal farm (or it would have had to be called Animal Zoo). I'll add another shortie -

Susie the Bear and Sorrow.

Oh now I know Hotel New Hampshire by John Irving!

I knew you'd know it! All yours.

I hope this is enough:

where General Woundwart meets Fiver

you got it Booksloth, probably too easy?
your turn!

Hannah, Martha, Leah, Joanna and three others are . . . . (well, maybe not so much Leah)

are what, Booksloth? :-)

Mr. Wroe's Virgins?

You know it jfetting!

yay! Next clue:

sollocks, darling!

Sounds familiar - but then, they all do!

I recently saw Brideshead Revisited (the incredible miniseries, not the newer movie). So it sounds familiar -- is it Waugh? Is it Scoop?

no, not Scoop. Roughly the same time period, though - I think Scoop was published about 10 or so years after the work I'm thinking of.

a hint - it's fiction, not a novel

I have a thing for plays. Especially those written by this gentleman.

Is it George Bernard Shaw?

I am pretty sure that it is not George Bernard Shaw

Nope. Not Shaw. Shaw isn't in my LT library, and this author is. Although the author is also British.

clues so far:
1)it's a play
2)by a British guy
3)who wrote (and starred in) the play in the 1920's
4)who is in my library
5)sollocks!

Sounds like something by Noel Coward? Possibly .... (dregs brain for Noel Coward plays) Blithe Spirit?

so close, klarusu! It's one of the other two super famous ones.

Oh god, now I have to think of some more ... hmmm ... was Private Lives one of his?

Yes it was! Not only was it one of his, but it's the correct answer! Yay klarusu!

Yay Me!

OK, next clue:

"A rookery"

Went to bed and no-one guessed at all (Booksloth, you're slacking!) so here's another quote:

"It ain't the Salvation Army, you know ... Socialism"

Still no bites, hmm....

There's a character we never meet who shares their name with a Jane Austen heroine and a revolutionary communist icon.....

U.S.A? by Dos Passos?
or maybe Ragtime? It sounds really familiar, but I can't put my finger on it.

Nope it's not jfetting, as far as I can see it's not in your on-line library. However, it is written by one of Booksloth's favourite authors ... hmm ... could it be that Booksloth is napping?

I'm going home for the day and my internet's on the blink (in all honesty, I only came into work with my stinking cold today because the internet was on the blink at home ... but that's a whole nuther thing ....) so here's another clue for the evening and I'm sure someone will get it overnight.

A grandmother and her cat ....

(And let's not be too literal here ...)

OK, I may have killed the thread deady-dead-dead!

So, it's in my library, and here's another quote and this one's listed in the Common Knowledge section for the book (I know, I put it there!)

"Dreams," I said. He snapped his fingers. "The very stuff that stages are made of."

Female author, born in Wales

There, that's a long clue....

aha! Tipping the Velvet

I was wrong - I've never read this book.

Yay! Well done jfetting, over to you!

I've never read any of the Sarah Waters books, actually, but everyone here seems to love them.

The next clue:
Anna Livia Plurabelle

I think that's something by James Joyce? I'm going to guess Ulysses.

Yes to your first question.
No to Ulysses, though

Finnegans Wake?

Yes! This book is insane.

OK, next one:

A sacred dog and the bones of Father Christmas.

Hint please?

Hogfather?

Sorry for the long radio silence. OK, hint: it's not Hogfather, and the author is Scottish (and still alive).

Did I kill the game? :(

The sacred dog in question is a dachshund.

Is it Alexander McCall Smith in The Finer Points of Sausage Dogs?

Woot! You got it, orangeena.

a brown shoe,
grey felt hat,
razor,
gold cigarette case,
and
mauve silk handerchief

Sweeney Todd ?

No, not the barber of Fleet Street!

The mauve silk handkerchief is making me think of Bertie Wooster - is it maybe The Inimitable Jeeves?

No, but the author, like Wodehouse, is English.

Here's another hint - the clues I gave are themselves clues in the book.

I've MURDERed the thread of this game it seems.....

I'm thinking it's a Sherlock Holmes story but I don't know them well enough to pick which one....

Not Sherlock - the author is female and there are close to 1,000 copies on LT.

In which case, I'm now thinking Agatha Christie but it's been a long, long time since I read them ...

Is it The Nine Tailors?

oh, so close....

Five Red Herrings?

right author - wrong book....

think - beach

Oh, then it has to be Have His Carcase. Twisty little mystery.

That's it - those are the items Harriet Vane gathered from the corpse before the tide came in.

You're up.

Yay! I love Dorothy Sayers.

My clue: a mustard mine

Oh dear. Was I too obscure?

How about this: Doctor Death

(And no, it's not The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories and Other Stories, even though I'd love to read that just for the name.)

I have created a new thread called

"an off shoot of the short clue game"

check it out

#237 Where is it?

#236 You're not forgotten, ninjapenguin, just obscure!

It is in the same group.

Well darn it! I was afraid it might be too easy. Okay, this ought to give it away:

"a slight flaw in my character"

Po' Short Clue Game is dead.

Okay, since I just want someone to guess this and maybe revive the thread, here's a bunch of clues:

Book Quote clues:
"sold him shares in a mustard mine"
"a slight flaw in my character"
"My surname is Lu and my personal name is Yu, but I am not to be confused with the eminent author of The Classic of Tea"

Book Character Clues:
Doctor Death
Ma the Grub
"Boopsie"

It's a humorous fantasy/mystery, but not your typical fantasy or mystery. It has two sequels. It's in my library.

Hello? Anyone still out there?

There are 674 copies of this book in LT. The first line is "I shall clasp my hands together and bow to the corners of the world." It's set in an ancient China that never was.

ninjapenguin, taking on board the whopping clues you've given, I've been a'nosin' in your library and would suggest it could be Bridge of Birds which I must say I haven't read yet ..... ?

You got it klarusu - I googled! Good to see the game back up on its feet!

OK, an easy one I think but I'm away from my books right now...

The triumphant first movement of Locatelli's C major quartet ...

I'm going to throw you guys a bone ....

Port Mahon

Go klarusu! Whew. I was beginning to think I broke the thread. It's a great book, really funny and very well written, and one of the ones I found through LT.

No clue (haha) about yours, though.

Something about Hornblower? I'm not really any the wiser, even if that's right.

ninjapenguin, I'll have to 'wishlist' this one and try it out, sounds interesting.

Booksloth, no, but you're heading in the right direction...

As it's election night, I'll give you guys another clue:

Sophie, a violin and a cello

And as it's now post-election morning, I hope to be the first to congratulate you guys across the sea on your new Pres - well done the lot of you!

And, as I've now come to the conclusion that klarusu's book is sometime maritime I can only withdraw gracefully.

In case I've deaded it, here are a couple more tidbits (although my brain isn't functioning too well as I stayed up 'til the wee hours watching the BBC election coverage .....)

Sophie isn't human
The main protagonists play a violin and a cello
There was a film ... it had an Australian connection

#250 thanks! I'm really happy about President Obama.
(jumps up and down)

I'm going to take a wild guess on the clue - is it Master and Commander? I haven't read it, but its just about the only maritime book I can think of.

It is jfetting, it is! Over to you .... whilst I toddle off to do my pointless, I kid you not, fruitfly research in Milton Keynes England ..... (I feel I can joke about it now).

whohoo!

Next clue:
tiny white van

klarusu, I am also doing my pointless fruitfly research right now! That woman made my head explode every single time she opened her mouth. Insulting my model organism...

#254 You're kidding! I want to be a fruitfly researcher!

#254, an nobody gets away with insulting our model organism! Grrr.
#255, they're just great! Seriously. Although I think I might have some responsibility for the population of curly winged ones that have taken up residence in my fruitbowl......

jfetting, no idea about the quote, I'm afraid..

fruitfly researchers are the coolest.

#256 I know! I swear they get into the collar of my coat and come home with me. Whenever our lab is blamed for the fruitflies that have escaped into other labs in the department, we claim they can't possibly be ours because all of ours are wingless. Which is completely untrue.

I don't suppose my English degree is going to get me into it? By the way, I have good reason to believe that is The No 1 Ladies Detective Agency. Now you're going to tell me I'm wrong, aren't you?

ET fix typos

you're right, Booksloth! About the book, I mean, not about me telling you that you are wrong.

And about me not being qualified to study fruit flies?

'Ftt' - sorry, that wasn't me deflating (or worse) - it is actually the next clue.

hint, please?

What! After not so much as one half-hearted guess?

Around the World in 80 Days? I know that isn't right, but the deflating comment made me think of hot air balloons, and now I'm stuck. Either that or something by Jasper Fforde? See, I'm way off.

Yes, you're way off and about time too!

Okay, here's quite a big clue - The book is an American classic of non-fiction. Although lots of peripheral characters appear, it is mainly centered on two characters and 'Ftt' is the complete conversational contribution made by one of them throughout the length of the entire book.

NON-fiction? Seriously? I can't even begin to make a wild guess.

Unless it's Steinbeck's Travels with Charley and the "Fft" is Charley the poodle's contribution.

So you did begin to make a wild guess? And you got it right! The immortal words of Charles le Chien! Your go, Scratch!

Oh. my. god. That must have come from a tiny, remote but determined synapse in my brain, because it's been YEARS since I read it! Yay me! And yay Booksloth for that spot-on clue!

So anyway, here's my short clue:

Isola, Calm's Point, Smoke Rise, Diamondback, Sands Spit.

The Frumious Bandersnatch?

Right you are! Actually any of the 87th Precinct series by Ed McBain would have done. Your turn, weare...

ee um fah um so
foo swee too eem oo

okay... how about another clue.

World War I veteran
England

Lurking ........ but baffled! I get the idea that if I'd read it, I'd know!

...and Booksloth takes the cake again. You're up.

Oh-ah! Forgot about this one. I'll have a browse and a think - back later!

Adrian Pledger-Brown - Corpus Christi

'curiosly qualified Oxonian'

Looks like I'm not the only one who forgot. Hello? 'Nuther clue?

Father's relationship with the Prince of Wales.

Lurking .....

*bump*

No idea (sorry) but I'm lurking...

Didn't know there was still anyone out there. Let's get obvious. Canadian author who has a thread dedicated to them on LT. Surely that must narrow the field? No more clues till someone guesses.

ETA And I'll accept either the book or the trilogy.

I'll bet the author is Margaret Atwood but I've no idea about the work(s).

Sorry, Scratch, it's not Margaret Atwood but thanks for giving it a try. Okay, I really didn't mean to kill the game - obviously this person's many fans don't play the short clue game. Let's try and clear the decks. My quote comes from the second book in a trilogy. The name of the first book is Fifth Business and the third is World of Wonders (deliberately not touchstoned). The cyber-cookie goes to the first person to name that middle book in the series. And if there's really nobody out there who has read it, can I very, VERY highly reccomend the whole trilogy to everyone? Truly great stuff!

Aha, must be The Manticore (I'm guessing it's OK to touchstone it now? I agree with the recommendation in general, although I think I might not have read this particular one...

Phew! That's gotta be the longest runner yet? It's all yours star!

a detective series where you never discover the gender of the narrator?

Well, that's me out! I'm sure I'd remember that if I'd ever read it.

especially since it's actually quite a "cosy" series (set in English villages etc)

Red Harvest by Dashiell Hammett?

I *knew* I knew this one, but at first all I could think of was The Nameless Detective. A little searching around for what I could remember, though, and I'd have to say it's the Hilary Tamar series by Sarah Caudwell.

well done!

"My God, it can think."
"My God, it can recognise another human being when it's hit over the head with one."

No? Okay how about this:

it's the first novel in a mystery series.
the subtitle is "On the Segregation of the Queen"

Killed the thread. It was The Beekeeper's Apprentice.

Alright, how about this:

The Grangerfords and the Sheperdsons
The Duke and the King
the Royal Nonesuch

I want to say it sounds Mitford-y, but something in the back of my head is yelling Huck Finn. It's neither of those, is it?

It *is* Huck Finn! Congratulations! You're up next.

Just checked in to see who was holding up the game and it was me. Sorry everyone. Promise I'll post the next one sometime today!

Here we go -
Dancing on a beach in Crete

The Magus by John Fowles??????

Nice try orangeena - and you picked one of my fave books too, but the Magus is set on Spetsai (renamed Phraxos by Fowles) - you can see I love these Greek settings!

Next clue then - a mountain railway

is it Zorba the Greek?

Well done, jf - all yours!

yay! I haven't know one of these in ages!

next:

gnostic turpitude

ETA: gah! Worst grammar ever! Seriously, "I haven't know..."?
My apologies.

I seem to have killed the game. Here's another clue - "Cincinnatus C.", the guy who was convicted of gnostic turpitude.

Nnnngggg, urrggghg, yfyulggg . . . death rattle . . .

shot in the dark... The Trial by Franz Kafka?

so close bell! so very very close! This particular book has a lot in common with The Trial, but it isn't by Kafka. It was originally written in Russian.

one last shot...

The punishment for gnostic turpitude, and the sentence Cincinnatus C. received, is beheading.

Cannot make it any more obvious than that.

Either everyone else has been beheaded, or nobody knows...

Ok. The answer was Invitation to a Beheading, by Vladimir Nabokov. If you enjoyed The Trial, you should absolutely read this book.

An easier one:

Ferndean Manor

yep! your turn, weareattached!

Tinder and Baboo

I think I may have just read that. Is it the much over-hyped Edgar Sawtelle? If it is, someone else can grab my go as I don't expect to be around much over the next few days.

it is indeed, so whoever wants to go next can I guess

I'll go.

Class of Elements

Special Topics in Calamity Physics?

Nope - is that a good book?

Lots of people seem to think so, "professional" critics included, but I wasn't crazy about it.

I've just been reading some reviews on it - pretty mixed bag. Mostly, it sounds like the book was in need of a decent editor...

The Periodic Table?

Nope. Another clue?

yes, please. I'm kinda stuck on science-y titles but I'm sure they are none of them correct.

The Elementary Particles?

325 -Nope.

Class of Elements
Clongowes Wood College

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man? or Ulysses?

Portrait. Your turn.

Next clue: Pandaemonium

Paradise Lost?

that's it, weareattached! you're up!

Alright let's see....

Sticky Washington

nothing? alright...

young adult

Ledroptha Curtain

The Mysterious Benedict Society?

Yes, you are correct. So now it's your turn.

Oh, goody! Here we go...

bantering with an American employer

The Remains of the Day.

you're up, Eruntane

OK...

Waiting at a bus stop in a grey town

See, just for a second I thought that was going to be Remains of the Day too. It should be. But you wouldn't do that to us, would you?

Hmm... would I? Would I?

No, I'm not that mean / sneaky!

What the Deaf Mute Heard?

Nope, it's not that either, sorry.

OK, another clue...

Waiting at a bus stop in a grey town
Apples too heavy to be lifted

OK, one more clue and if nobody gets it by close of play tomorrow, I'll say what it is.

Waiting at a bus stop in a grey town
Apples too heavy to be lifted
A lizard that turns into a horse

I have no idea but I'm intrigued!

OK, sorry for picking one that was too obscure. It was The Great Divorce by C. S. Lewis, one of my favourite books and well worth reading.

How about this one:

a brown leather-bound notebook with coloured stitching

I know this isn't it, but I had a dream about it last night so... The Neverending Story?

No, not it. Here's another clue to keep things moving along.

a brown leather-bound notebook with coloured stitching
a false beard

Harriet the Spy?

Oh, I loved that book when I was a kid! But it's not the right answer this time.

I just discovered this thread and it looks like fun, so I'll hazard a guess.

The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie

I know that had a false beard in it...

Don't think I've read that one - I'll have to see if I can find it. I'm afraid it's not the answer.

Here's another clue - sorry about this, I thought this one would be easier.

a brown leather-bound notebook with coloured stitching
a false beard
a boy with a slingshot

Ok, I'm going to take another stab at this (I hope I'm allowed more than one guess).

The Kite Runner? I haven't read the book, but I heard a lot about it and the slingshot with the notebook is ringing a bell.

Oh, that's gotta be it!

Yup, it is. Well done RebeccaAnn, you're up.

Oh boy. I've never done this before so this is probably insanely easy.

First clue:
A dual at noon, a dual at 1:00, and a dual at 2:00

Is it The Three Musketeers?

Yes it is! Your turn!

Oh, sorry for the delay! Ok, here goes:

Rockingham Napier in the downstairs flat

I think that's Barbara Pym. No idea what the book is though.

It is Barbara Pym, true. Now, which Barbara Pym book could it be? Hmmm...

And therein lies the problem - I've never actually read any.