Take It or Leave It Challenge - July 2010 - Page 2

(continued from here)

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread.
Simple directions for posting to the wiki can be found at the bottom of each month's wiki page.


...logo by cyderry

Man, oh, man! Have I been making this TIOLI challenge too easy for you!! This will change. Your challenge for the July 2010 TIOLI is to Read a book with an ISBN ending with the digit 4. Why? I like that number. It was my dad’s lucky number. Now that I’ve effectively eliminated about 90% of your TBR pile, I want to see what you come up with! This month, rather than you picking the book to be read, you might find that your book is going to choose itself! :)

You’ll notice that some books have two sets of ISBNs (a 10-digit number and a 13-digit number). Each might end in a different digit. If at least one of them ends in a “4”, you’re good to go. If you want to learn more about the ISBN numbering system, have a look here on wikipedia. Addendum (6/26/10): If you can pull up your book by putting the ISBN into the Search box on the Add Books page of LibraryThing, it counts for the challenge whether or not it is printed in the book. The reason for this is that some books do have both a 13-digit and a 10-digit ISBN, but the 10-digit ISBN may no longer be printed in newer copies of the book.

To help you find “digit 4 books”, just keep an eye on the wiki as this challenge fills up. Those should be good suggestions for others. Just think of this as a scavenger hunt. I hope you enjoy the book you finally find!!

This is how you should list your book choice on the wiki:
A Good Place for the Night – Savyon Liebrecht – SqueakyChu (9780892553204)

If you’re having difficulty finding books to fit this challenge, check out some of these:

Books I've read and recommend:
Beach Music - Pat Conroy (0553574574)
Don't Eat This Book - Morgan Spurlock (0739462954)

Books I've not yet read:
Blindness – Jose Saramago (0156007754)
It Takes a Village – Hillary Rodham Clinton (0684818434)
NP - Banana Yoshimoto (0671898264)
Rash – Pete Hautman (0689868014)
White Apples – Jonathan Carroll (0765303884)

Happy hunting… and have fun!!

________________

Addendum:
Indexes (Thanks, wandering_star!) can be found at the top of each wiki:

Wiki page with Challenges 1-6
Wiki page with Challenges 7-13

TIOLI Meter - You may use this meter if you'd like. It is not part of the TIOLI Challenge.

Replying from the old thread...
>273 wandering_star and 274 chinquapin - hope you enjoy Still Life! I've been enjoying this series so much, I'm glad I listened to my fellow LT-ers. :)

>273--274--2 above: Has everyone visited member sibyx's 75 thread to gaze in envious awe at her Louise Penny anecdote? Here it is for the as-yet untainted by jealousy.

>3 richardderus: Ooohhh...well and thoroughly jealous now. :) Having read that and her next thread, now I must add Chapelle Ste. Agnes on my list of places to see someday...

I am starting one of the books for the 'Walla Walla' challenge tonight: The Birthday Boys by Beryl Bainbridge.

Maybe it would be possible to have a challenge so it's books with fewer than 100 owners instead? That's perfectly doable as I have quite a few books without many owners.

Towards the end of the month we have a chance to suggest new challenges for the next month.

> 6

Hanna,

When the next challenge (for August) is posted (end of this month), anyone may post a "counter-challenge" on that wiki once the main challenge is posted. The next posting will not be announced. It will simply appear one day! Then the scramble will be on. It's simply a matter of going to the wiki and posting your challenge. Directions (simple) for posting on the wiki are on that page itself.

As for what specific challenge to post, you don't need to ask permission. You just post it. The idea is for it to be something that *you* like. It can often be more fun if it's left as a surprise until you actually make the post.

I started The Sweet Dove Died for Stasia's challenge last night. Too soon yet to know what I think, but hopefully I'll be able to make some progress in it today.

I've listed The Queen's Head by Marston in the detective category - I was tempted to put it in with the other body parts, but figured mystery readers would find it more easily here. It's a quick read, and gives a detailed (sometimes too detailed) portrait of the theater in Elizabethan times. The writing is a little lumpy - I think the author was more interested in showing off his detailed knowledge than in good fiction style, but it smooths out as the mystery picks up.

I think The Queen's Head should go in body parts - it doesn't sound like a private investigator novel.

Really? why not? There is an amateur trying to find out who murdered his friend, and who is trying to sabotage the theater, etc etc. And more books follow in the series, I'm told, with the same detective.

I've added (and read) :
- How to Talk About Books You Haven’t Read (Challenge #3: Read a book about books)
- The boy in the striped pyjamas (Challenge #12: LT-inspired: Read a book you first heard of from a fellow LibraryThing member)
both highly recommended (more info on my thread)

I'm also reading Smilla's Sense of Snow (Challenge #1: Read A Book with an ISBN Ending in "4"). What a "cool" book!

An amateur sleuth is different from a private investigator, even if he/she features in a whole series, as many do. I think an amateur sleuth challenge one month would be good - as would a historical crime challenge - but the amateur sleuth is a very different type of protagonist.

A PI or private investigator is a professional who is paid to investigate for a living.

#14 Absolutely. I think the Janet Evanovich books featuring Stephanie Plum have a cozy feel to them, for instance, but they are definitely not because Stephanie is paid to do what she does. She is not an amateur.

well, if that's the current perception, certainly I'll move it. Too bad Miss Marple won't fit on the list, isn't it? or Goldie the caterer. Or - oh, lots.

My main concern was that the book would find other readers of the genre.

And (lol) I'm not sure Ms. Plum doesn't qualify as an amateur, no matter how much she gets paid by her annoying cousin!

If there are so many who don't fit the challenge, why not just make a new challenge that they do fit?

>17 cyderry: Books that don't fit into any of the other challenges?

I've read, reviewed, and added Infidel to the wiki under Zoe's Make A Difference Challenge. This was a powerful memoir about exposing what it was like for the author to grow up in submission to her family and her religion. She was willing to do whatever it took to escape the life of oppression that was in store for her.

18> maybe amateurs on the prow?

I finished Secret Keepers and liked it much more than the deceptively quiet portrait of flowers on the covers lead me to hope. It's a book about life, mental illness, death and sex where the most graphic descriptions are botanical. In describing the brazen ruses of orchids to lure pollinators a character wonders You've never seen such commitment to living...to multiplying. It never ceases to amaze me the shows they put on. All that finery to entice pollinators. Flowers are scented, glowing, magnificent reproductive organs. I haven't reviewed it yet, I don't know how to do it justice.

But I've started Ayaan Hirsi Ali's second memoir Nomad and it seems both more personal and harsher than the first. She's very mad at Islam and the damage it has done to her family and to Islamic countries. I was surprised, Donna828, to read in your review that you can't tell whether or not she's an opportunist. She has certainly taken advantage of many opportunities that she couldn't convince other members of her family to grasp, but I don't see how that makes her an opportunist. Anyway, at this point in time when people are debating "Draw Mohamed" day, it's a good book to read.

>21 Citizenjoyce:: Joyce, I agree that Infidel is an important must-read book. I gave it 4 stars, which is a fairly high rating from me. There are some horrific things going on in the name of Islam that need to be changed. I read about as much as I could take on the www about the people who hate this woman. I'm not one of them.

But I could see that she learned quickly to work the system in Holland. There are always two sides to a story, and I want to learn more about Ali's agenda. I'll be reading Nomad in the near future, but again, it is going to be one side of a thorny issue. I can totally understand why she turned her back on Islam, and I applaud her stance, but in my limited view of the world, religion and God do not necessarily go together, and she also turned her back on God when she became an atheist.

I tried to be fair in my review by making sure that anyone reading it would know that any perceived criticism of Ali is based on my personal feelings. In my 75 Challenge thread, I gave a brief disclaimer/illustration of why I distrust memoirs in general.

I hope this discussion gets more people interested in reading Infidel and Nomad.

Donna, the thing that gets me about Hirsi is that she is so anti Islam that I can see her becoming the darling of right wing Christian groups. In fact, in Nomad she even suggests that for those who leave Islam and feel the need of spiritual support they should try a "secular" Christian religion. I appreciate her atheism, but I think she might be a little naive about the stronghold the Christian religion, especially some sects, can have on its members. Anyway, I haven't gone to any "I hate Ayaan Hirsi" sites because I don't want to subject myself to that kind of anger. I agree with you, if a discussion that results in increased exposure to her work it's a good thing.

I *finally* finished a book for this month's challenges: The End of Mr Y. for the 'book about books' challenge (although it was longlisted for the Orange Prize in 2008 so it could also have gone in that category). Not the worst book I've read this year, but not as good as it could have been.

I finished The Salt Eaters by Toni Cade Bambara last night for the culinary/cooking challenge. This was definitely a challenging read as it was very "Lost-esque" with flashbacks, flashforwards, flashsideways and trips between real life and the spiritual plane. I'm putting this back in my TBR pile to revisit in 2011. It's one of those books that once you get to the end, if you go back to the beginning lots of stuff should click into place.

I finished up two of the books for the 'Walla Walla' challenge: The Birthday Boys and The Lumby Lines, both of which I very much enjoyed.

Maybe we can set up a category for August or September for amateur detectives. Lots of books for that category!

I think that would be good - there are lots of fans of different types of mystery and crime fiction around, and it would be nice each month to look at a different sub-genre.

I would certainly join an amateur detective category, probably with more than one book. I read a lot of cozy mysteries mostly feature amateur detectives.

Stasia - I knew you would like Lumby Lines

I finally finished To the Lighthouse for a book with an ISBN ending in 4 challenge, and I thought it was wonderful and needs more than one reading. I guess on to the next challenge, I'm going to read The Shadow of the Wind for the "books about books" challenge.

Stasia, I caved to your Walla Walla challenge and will be reading The Last Lecture which sounds really interesting from reading the book jacket. Your challenge seems to be picking up a bunch of participants as it's a great way to pick a rather random (Walla Walla!) book.

By the way, how does Cutting for Stone qualify for your challenge? Might it be that LauraNav has that book listed under the wrong category?

I've added some more books to the wiki for this challenge, hopefully I am not being overly optimistic. Now I've got:

(already read) To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf for #1 "ISBN ending in 4"
Mountains beyond Mountains by Tracy Kidder for #2 "making a difference"
(reading) The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon for #3 "books about books"
Aphrodite: A Memoir of the Senses by Isabel Allende for #8 "books about cooking"
For One More Day by Mitch Albom for #9 "day or night books"
No Badge, No Gun by Harold Adams for the #10 "Private Investigator"
(reading) A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini for #11 "Walla Walla"

That will be challenging for me! Some of these I think will be fast reads, I'm mainly worried about Mountains beyond Mountains and the fact that I'm also reading Swann's Way concurrently with the group read.

Question about the "ISBN ending in 4" challenge - I have a book with an ISBN that ends in 4X - does that count?

I finished my first book for the Orange July challenge, The Boy Next Door by Irene Sabatini, which was excellent.

I'm getting ready to start The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, for my New Yorker's 20 Authors Under 40 Challenge.

I finished A Thousand Splendid Suns for Walla Walla challenge. I listened to audiobook. Nice story. Enjoyed it.

May start on The Book Thief or The Thirteenth Tale later today.

Tonight I finished The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy for the ISBN challenge. It's strange, it's always shorter than I expect!

> 34

I have a book with an ISBN that ends in 4X - does that count?

I'd say no as it ends in X, not in 4. What do others say?

#32: I think Laura must have listed it in the wrong place. I have not gone in to see what books are listed where. I will drop her a note to see where she actually wanted it :)

Replying to 21-23 - interesting discussion.

I read Infidel last year, and I really liked it. You both bring out two things that were kind of like pebbles in my shoe. One is her acceptance of the "system" in Holland and her willingness to use it. In some ways it seemed that she traded one (very harsh) system for another friendlier one. OK, and I have a tiny problem with illegal immigration.
Also, I think I understand her complete rejection of Islam. Based on other stories I've read of people in similar circumstances though, it is harder for me to understand her rejection of God. She definitely polarizes her readers. I am impressed by her courage in telling her story and I agree that this is a must-read book. I will have to read Nomad.

I went through a phase - reading about women in Islam last year. Some stand-outs for me, along with Infidel, were Because They Hate which is autobiographical and from the point of view of a Lebanese Christian, Nine Parts of Desire - journalist perspective and Shattering the Stereotypes:
Muslim Women Speak Out - a powerful collection of short stories by Muslim women.

I just finished Nomad, It ended up being not so much a memoir as a warning about the dangers of radical Islam in countries where the immigrant population is rising and what can be done about it. I thought she casually suggested that Muslims wanting to leave their religion could seek out Christianity for spiritual solace. It turns out that this atheistic woman writes a whole chapter on the need for the Catholic church and non fundamental protestant Christian churches to proselytize to Muslims. Kind of a lesser of two evils kind of thing. That was amazing to me.

She has started a foundation to help Muslim women, this is a paper on the site:

http://www.theahafoundation.org/system/include/resources/files/AHA2009WhatDoWeKn...

She's quite critical of the lack of support for Muslim women particularly in the US because of the embrace of cultural relativism. It's quite an interesting paper.

Next up is Honor Lost by Norma Khouri. Even if the particular case is fictitious as has been alleged, I think it illustrates the problem, but then I haven't started it yet.

I finished two books during yesterday's half day African disapora reading marathon:

Who Slashed Celanire's Throat? by Mary Condse for the body part challenge and Black Water Rising by Attica Locke for the Orange Prize challenge

> 41

It turns out that this atheistic woman writes a whole chapter on the need for the Catholic church and non fundamental protestant Christian churches to proselytize to Muslims. Kind of a lesser of two evils kind of thing. That was amazing to me.

I am definitely going to have to read Infidel. This is not the response I would like to see to Muslim fundamentalism. One thing I treasure about our amazing earth is the diversity of its peoples and their cultures, including their religions. Talking to each other and really communicating seem the better response to understanding each other's religions than proseletyzing.

An excellent companion book for those of you who have already read Infidel is Murder in Amsterdam: The Death of Theo van Gogh and the Limits of Tolerance by Ian Buruma. (Now that I'm recommending it, you can even use it for bell7's "First Heard About it From another LT Member challenge"!) It's the story of Theo Van Gogh (film director and grandnephew of the famous painter) who was murdered in Amsterdam for his outspoken words and actions against religious Muslims. While riding home on his bike, van Gogh was shot and stabbed to death by Mohammed Bouyerri, son of Moroccan immigrants. Bouyerri claimed that the film that Van Gogh was making with Dutch politician Ayaan Hirsi Ali “insulted the prophet Mohammed.” A very interesting read and one that led me to the opinion that not all Dutch are as liberal as I had believed them to be.

I read Blockade Billy for Stasia's Walla Walla challenge.

Finished Watermark : A Novel of the Middle Ages (reviewed) for the recommended by a LT member and Celtic Saints Passionate Wanderers (reviewed) for the ISBN ending in 4 challenge.

Now off to browse the other possible reads and see what's next;)

I've now read five TIOLI books for the month so far.

Three for Cheli's culinary books challenge: Hail to the Chef, Killer Crab Cakes, and Toast Mortem, as well as two books for Stasia's Walla Walla challenge: A Beautiful Blue Death and Critical Care.

I've now read five TIOLI books for the month so far.

Linda, at the rate you're going, I'll expect you to have finished at least 15 of them by month's end. ;)

#47 I'll need to get to 15 to read all that I've planned.

People need to quit picking such interesting challenges.

I just finished The Vagrants by Yiyun Li for The New Yorker 20 Authors Under 40 challenge. It's been on my shelf for a few months, and I'm so glad that the TIOLI challenge nudged me to read it. My review is here.

I finished Smilla's Sense of Snow (Challenge #1: Read A Book with an ISBN Ending in "4"). After a promising start, it just didn't impress me the way I'd hoped.

>36 drdawnffl: I finished The Book Thief for the books about books challenge. If you get to it, you should add it in the wiki there (for the points!)

I finished two more: Summer Crossing by Truman Capote for the book with summer in the title, and The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for the Walla Walla challenge. Enjoyed both, but the latter was terrific! I've posted my reviews here.

Alright, I gave it a Pearl Rule and just could not get into The Sweet Dove Died. Leonora annoyed me.

I'm still planning on reading Northanger Abbey, and I've started Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon. Oh, and I added The Cookbook Collector to the cooking-related book challenge, since my interlibrary loan request came in and happened to fit. I'll have to finish a book or two before I start it, though.

Wow! We're 1/3 into the month of July and up to 49 TIOLI points already! Anyone think we'll make it to 60 before the month is over?

The "official count" (which I'll do in a few days) is not yet in for May, but we left it at 53 points at the end of that month as we moved into July's TIOLI.

The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver seems to be *the* book of the month so far, a read now shared by 6 TIOLI challengers. If you've been debating whether or not to read that book, now would be a good time to do so!

Just added One Day: A Novel by David Nicholls to Challenge #9, a book with "day" or "night" in the title. So far this is a compulsively readable book. I started it today and am already up to page 236.

Finished my second Orange Prize challenge tonight - The Outcast by Sadie Jones. Good read, very intense.

I'm also reading One Day though it's not my main book and planning to add it at #9, so that's good. I have The Outcast but probably won't get to it this month.

I just finished The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag for the ISBN Ending with 4 Challenge, and thought it was as much fun as The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. In places, it had me laughing out loud.

I am still reading The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva for the Walla Walla Challenge. I might finish it today, especially since today is a rest day for the Tour de France :).

Back from vacation and a few TIOLI books got read.

I finally finished Atlas Shrugged and it was a good read. Then I finished Cutting for Stone which should have been (and is now) under the LT find challenge. It was a great book. I laughed out loud at parts, he writes well. I wondered about his book about playing tennis, as it said this was his first fiction novel. I will check out his other books, this one was good.

And I am almost finished with The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins, which I am reading on my iPhone.

I have read, and very much enjoyed, three unusual (and very different) TIOLI books so far - Three Dog Night for 'books with night in the title', Journey Into The Mind's Eye for 'parts of the body', and Hindoo Holiday for 'Walla Walla'.

Thanks to everyone who suggested those challenges, for pushing me to pick these off my shelves!

I finished For One More Day for the "day and night" challenge, it was definitely a quick read.

I changed my "make a difference" read from Mountains beyond Mountains to Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide after looking at them both at the bookstore. Mountains beyond Mountains seemed slightly more focused on the character than the issue. Although if I manage (yeah, right!) I'd like to read both of them because both issues are important to me, in addition to overlapping quite a bit.

>58 lauranav: laura - in the first thread of the July TIOLI, there's some discussion of Verghese's book The Tennis Partner at around #253 and beyond. It was well liked by the people who read it.

> 58

I wrote a review of The Tennis Partner when I read it last year. I hope it convinces you to read the book. :)

just finished A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee - part of the Agency Trilogy for my recommended by an LT member challenge (thanks stephxsu). This was a great "quick read" - and a nice respite from some heavy nonfiction I'm trudging through.

Technically a YA read, Spy is the first book in the Mary Quinn Mystery/The Agency Trilogy - the story of a Victorian private investigation group using women to collect information. There is a lot of social implication underlying the narrative, effectively about the expectations and limitations set upon women of that time. It's highly unlikely any of these characters would have been able to exist in Victorian London (without being locked away in an asylum), but the writing is strong enough that you forgive the modern sentiments creeping into the historic narrative and enjoy it simply as a good read.

News Flash!

Brenzi's Orange July challenge has an amazing 79% of matching reads (i.e. 31 of 39 people signed up for her challenge are reading a matching book with someone else). Think we can give her some competition? :)

I finished Honor Lost by Norma Khour then looked up some of the controversy about her. What a pity, a poorly written fiction about the important topic of honor killings.
Now I start on the other book for my RL book club Fridayand the last of my books that make a difference, Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali.

News Flash!

Brenzi does it again. There are seven (!) people signed up to read The Lacuna by Barbara Kingsolver this month. Brenzi's challenge has alone amassed 16 (!) points toward the TIOLI point total to date.

I finished One Day by David Nicholls last night and really liked it--perfect escapist fiction for a hot summer day.

#66 Way to go, Bonnie!

OK, about these points. Is it competitive? Who "gets" the points in the end? How much are they worth? Can I cash them in at the casino?

#69 I don't get the point of the points either but it sounds good.

One thing I'm not clear about the points is--are any given if you're the only one reading the TIOLI book or do there have to be at least two people reading the same book for the points to kick in?

There are only points if more than one person reads the same book in the same category and month.

Points....schmoints! Just read The Lacuna. It's that good. ;-)
I just increased the points (again!) for Bonnie's #6 Challenge by adding Fingersmith. I can't believe I haven't read this before now; it's amazing so far.

Maybe we should create an "award" for the LTer who comes up with the most popular challenge -- or a dual award and include the person who reads the most books in total for the monthly TIOLI. Everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame!

I just finished Terry Pratchett's Soul Music for the ISBN ending in 4 category, and next up is The Lacuna. I switched around some books for this month to add it in (I think I was the person who made it 7 when I added it to the wiki earlier today) so I'm really hoping it lives up to what so many people here have said about it.

>73 Donna828: "The Challenge Champ" whose challenge, apart from the main one, has the highest point value?

"The Reigning Reader" for the person who participates in the most challenges, and posts reviews of the books read?

>75 richardderus:: I love both of those award titles, Richard. You have a beautiful way with words.

Btw, I finished Blindness for Madeline's challenge of books with ISBN ending in "4" and posted the review.

All my planned reading has gone out of the window so far this month (but it's a guilt free challenge so that's ok - right?). I've removed some books I don't think I will get to although I'm still hoping I'll get to some of my Orange July books later this month (I'm halfway through The Boy Next Door).

Otherwise added Naked in Death to the first challenge as it has an ISBN ending in a 4 and some books to the LT-inspired challenge: Dead Cold and The Cruellest Month by Louise Penny, The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson and Logicomix by Apostolos Doxiadis

I finished Fingersmith for the Orange July Challenge. I'm now taking a short break from the challenge reads to finish a library book - but I still intend to finish everything I've already listed for the month and have got a couple I might add to the wiki and read if I find the time.

I finished both Blood Red, Snow White and Five Little Pigs for the ISBN challenge.

I've just added The Book Thief for the books about books challenge too.

Although The Heretic's Wife is not turning into the "bodice ripper for the literati" as much as I had feared (see earlier post), it's really on the fringe of actually being "about books" (the "heretic" is trying to smuggle english translations of the bible into Tudor England; so it's technically about "books" but more focused on the religious persecutions occurring at that time). I'll keep it in the challenge (and it is a really good read) but to cover something more in the spirit of Richard's "Books about Books Challenge" I'm starting A Great Idea at the Time: The Rise, Fall and Curious Afterlife of the Great Books by Alex Beam. I bought it for myself last Christmas, and I've been wanting to read it ever since. This is the perfect excuse.

> 69

Is it competitive?

Not really. It's just for fun. It's kind of like Tetris. The higher you score, the higher you want to score.

Who "gets" the points in the end?

We are all collective owner of the points as they accumulate. :)

How much are they worth?

They're worth a lot to me. They measure the fun that people are having doing the TIOLI challenge.

Can I cash them in at the casino?

No. I get to cash them in. :D

> 73

Points....schmoints!

LOL!!

Maybe we should create an "award" for the LTer who comes up with the most popular challenge -- or a dual award and include the person who reads the most books in total for the monthly TIOLI. Everyone deserves their 15 minutes of fame!

Donna, you read my mind! This will definitely happen. Today I was thinking of how I want to do it. I'll let you know my thoughts about this a bit later.

Last night I finished The Vagrants by Yiyun Li, for my New Yorker's 20 Authors Under 40 Challenge.

Tonight I'll start The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, for the title with a body part challenge.

kidzdoc, what did you think of The Vagrants? I was looking for a book for the 20 authors under 40 challenge and nothing really grabbed me.

#84: I enjoyed it, and would definitely recommend it. Amy (porch_reader) wrote an excellent review of it within the past few days, which appears on the book's home page on LT.

continuing from message 83...

A New feature: Monthly Awards

I feel like Tim...developing new features. Ha!

I think it would be fun to announce awards each month for the previous month. The stats for the awards could be calculated after the fifteenth day of the previous month to allow time for changes or adjustments within the wiki itself.

Does someone wish to step forward to volunteer to be the Award Calculator and Announcer?

Any ideas for what the awards should be? Just the announcement? An actual prize of some sort (e.g. a BookMooch point, a gently used book).

Should we begin by limiting the number of awards? I think that, to start, three awards per month would be good. Agree or disagree?Let's talk about this.

I would like the Award Calculator and Announcer to chose the awards and be in charge of this aspect of the TIOLI. Good idea or not? I'll help out with the prizes, if we choose to do actual prizes.

I desperately request that someone find me another name for the Award Calculator and Announcer! :/

I have a few ideas for awards, but would also like to hear your ideas as well.

Richard, are you willing to name our awards once we determine what they will be?

Some ideas I had:

1. an award for the person who gets the most people to sign up for his or her challenge (other than the main challenge)

2. an award for the person who submits a challenge and then gets the highest number of TIOLI points within that challenge (other than the main challenge)

3. an award for the person who submits a challenge and then gets the highest percentage of shared reads within that challenge (other than the main challenge)

> 86, 87

So it looks as if we'll start with three awards to be announced after the middle of the month. There will be no actual award, only the glorification of your name when you win one of the awards!

It looks as if we just need to decide who will announce the awards. If anyone wants to volunteer to do this, that's fine with me. If so, please step forward now (while you have the chance!). :)

If not, I'll do it - as long as it's not too complicated (e.g. I don't want to have to look for and count book reviews).

Please post your ideas. What I'll do then is post a poll of all ideas, and we'll vote with the "yes" votes. The three largest number of yes votes will be the final awards. These awards will be announced mid-August for the month of June.

I like the idea of giving awards to the people who post "counter challenges" (to my own challenge). I think it would be fun for those who post those "counter challenges" to talk up their challenges here on this thread and try to entice people to join. People already do this, but the awards might be an added incentive to get more people reading the same book or to boost a lagging challenge.

Madeline, I'll gladly offer up names for the challenges! I completely understand your desire *not* to have extra work, since you already do quite a lot for the TIOLI sub-sub group. I hope *some* good LTer will step up to the plate and do the administration of this new idea!

(It won't be me, I've got eldercare and an overactive marital social life, so I can't be reliable.)

Here are my two ideas from above. As a third, I'll second "3. an award for the person who submits a challenge and then gets the highest percentage of shared reads within that challenge (other than the main challenge)" of Madeline's proposals...call this one "The Cheerleader-in-Chief".

Somewhat a reminder to myself . . .

Challenge #1: ISBN ends in 4
added (at some point in the past)
A Damsel in Distress - P.G. Wodehouse - MikeBriggs (2940004697784)
Emma - Jane Austen - MikeBriggs (0760748624)
Persuasion - Jane Austen - MikeBriggs (0760750874)
Soul Identity - Dennis Batchelder - MikeBriggs (2940000691304)

Challenge #5: new medium to you
Added and read:
Mausoleum (e-book) - Justin Scott - MikeBriggs
Sarah Palin: Vampire Hunter (e-book) - Dan McGirt - MikeBriggs
Trailin' (e-book) - Max Brand - MikeBriggs

Challenge #7: body part in the title
Added and read:
*Boneshaker - Cherie Priest - MikeBriggs

Added and reading:
Tongues of Serpents - Naomi Novik - MikeBriggs

Just added The Deep Dark: Disaster and Redemption in America's Richest Silver Mine by Gregg Olsen to Challenge #11 - Alliterative Titles. I started reading this last night along with The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett for Challenge #3 - Books about Books. I'm enjoying both of them so far.

66> Points

Well, my challenge did have 1 point but the other person that listed and read the book removed it from the challenge after reading it.

When I can work out my keyboard, I will add The Chronicles of the Chrestomanci to the 'Recommended by another LTer' challenge; though I don't remember where I saw the recommendation. I think it came up so many times, I decided I had to read it.

#94 Sorry, Mike. I just couldn't stand the the connection with my name.

I've added (and read) these two:

Challenge #3, Read a Book about Books: Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader by Anne Fadiman

Challenge #12, LT-Inspired: In the Bleak Midwinter by Julia Spencer-Fleming

I've read and reviewed Four Perfect Pebbles for challenge #11, Walla Walla.

How nauseating it is to stick my shrinking toe into the horrors of the Holocaust. How embarrassing to belong to a species that can set out to murder *an entire people* in a systematic and calculated way because they talk to the "wrong" imaginary friend at bedtime. I am not sure I'll ever feel clean again after reading the child's-eye view of these events.

Argh, this is addictive. I've just added three more - A Thousand Splendid Suns for the Walla walla challenge, Biblioholism for the Books about books challenge and The Night Watch for the Orange prize one.

That's twelve so far. Argh!

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns for the Walla Walla challenge.

I had such a hard time getting through this book, POSSIBLY SPOILER I usually avoid books that contain domestic violence. I had to read just a chapter at a time and something else in between. I admit I also skimmed ahead to prepare myself, which helped a lot. I would definitely recommend this, it reminded me of The Handmaid's Tale.

I'm having a great TIOLI month so far. Just finished another hit - Dancing With Cuba, a memoir of a short period of time spent in Cuba in the early 1970s, which manages to capture all the contradictions of living under the Revolution, as well as the contradictions of the main character (a dancer and artist, so she wants freedom and individuality - but she also desperately wants to fit in, to be a real revolutionary, which she sees as subjugating her own personality to the demands of the revolution).

Now I've started Still Life which is shaping up extremely well so far...

Just finished reading The Voluptuous Delights of Peanut Butter and Jam by Lauren Liebenberg. Not a book about sandwiches! Actually, takes place during the Rhodesian civil war. Beautifully written book. An Orange Prize New Writers short list - but I put this one under the foodie category. Highly recommend!

> 92

Somewhat a reminder to myself

Hehe! We've become Mike's notepad.

> 94

my challenge did have 1 point but the other person that listed and read the book removed it from the challenge after reading it.

Aha! The unpredictability of the TIOLI challenge...

> 99

Argh, this is addictive.

There is no remedy. Alas! :)

By the way, I've been thinking up another challenge (not part of the TIOLI). More later... Scratch my idea. I think it was too much like the was the Review That Book group works.

I just finished The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett for the books about books challenge and loved it. Thanks, Bonnie and Richard, for recommending it.

Added How reading changed my life to the Books about books challenge. Also wanted to add 84, Charing Cross Road to the Walla, Walla challenge but could not find the challenge on the wikipage.

Oooh! Who did that nice index (Margaret - aka wandering-star?) on the wiki page, and how did you do that?

Sorry that I had to split the wiki pages in two but I was getting a warning about the page size.

> 106

I just split the pages and added a link after the last challenge. Anyway, you can now find it here.

Fun trivia:

As of tonight (when I split the July wiki page in half), page 1 of the July 2010 wiki has been accessed 1,405 times!

> 75

The Challenge Champ" whose challenge, apart from the main one, has the highest point value?

I like The Challenge Champ. That would be easy enough to do. Let's keep that one.

"The Reigning Reader" for the person who participates in the most challenges, and posts reviews of the books read?

I'd like to opt out of The Reigning Reader because, without a spread sheet and a week off of work, I'd never be able to figure out who won that award! :)

> 91

an award for the person who submits a challenge and then gets the highest percentage of shared reads within that challenge (other than the main challenge)" of Madeline's proposals...call this one "The Cheerleader-in-Chief"

Let's go with this one as well. LOL!! Love the name!

IF we want to do an award for individual readers, I'd like everyone (who opts in - not required of all TIOLI challengers) to keep track of his or her own reading records on one wiki (to be set up). I, for one, do NOT want to count everyone's books!!

So what would these awards be?
1. Most books read?
2. Most challenges completed?
3. Most reviews written for the main challenge?
4. Most reviews written for all the challenges?
4. A group award to all the people who shared the most popular book? The Lacuna still seems to be gaining ground!ETA: My personal preference would be awards to those who set up challenges and those who participate in shared reads, but I'm open to hearing what you would like.

The thing is, we can just track stats for individual readers, but for the awards I'd like to give, we really wouldn't know the outcome until the end (after all the wiki adjustments have been made at the end of the month). Those kinds of awards will have more of a surprise element.

Please discuss...

Will the Award Calculator and Announcer please step forward? ;)

I for myself like the idea of awarding the largest group of people reading the same book within a challenge the title of "The Pep Squad" since they're also within the Cheerleader-in-Chief's challenge.

> 114

Yes!!!!!! The Pep Squad it is! Excellent. I'll make a note of it.

I don't even *understand* it, so how can I name it?!

I'll have to study this after coffee in the morning. Auntie's bathroom time is coming to an end, must go help her up.

> 117

LOL!!

Let's vote!The Challenge Champ: An award given to the person whose challenge, apart from the main one, has the highest point value.

The Cheerleader-in-Chief: An award given to the person whose challenge, apart from the main one, gets the highest percentage of shared reads

The Pep Squad: An award given to a group of people reading the same book within a challenge, including the main one

> 117

I deleted the entry. I thought it was bad idea.

> 119

For those who vote "No" or "Undecided", I need to know more of your thoughts...

> 112

For those who want awards for individual readers, what awards would you like to see?

I am undecided because the first two awards seem very similar and could end up being the same person/challenge? Because aren't points determined by the number of people reading the same book?

However I'm still trying to figure out the points and award system so don't take my undecided too seriously.

The first two *are* very similar and could indeed end up being the same person. My other thought was to have an award for the person who had the most popular challenge (largest number of participants), other than the main challenge. This challenge would need a name (Richard?).

We could go with The Challenge Champ (most TIOLI points), The Pep Rally (group award for most popular book read together), and Unnamed (most participants). Those three provide a bit more variety, I think.

However I'm still trying to figure out the points and award system so don't take my undecided too seriously.

Thanks for your input. I don't even take the whole TIOLI challenge too seriously as I just threw it together for fun.

Alternatively, I could give out surprise awards. I could just think them up at the spur of the moment and simply give out three each month. How very much like me that would be! :)

This is all getting complicated. I have enough trouble keeping track of all the challenges and which books I agreed to read (which seems to change daily).

LOL!!

Linda, I see your point.

#100 valerette, A Thousand Splendid Suns also reminded me of The Terrorists of Irustan by Louise Marley. I really liked that book.

I must admit, I am the lone culprit who voted "no" on post #119 because it's just my pet peeve to start something new like this at the beginning of the month rather than midway through it. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that I am not eligible for any prizes this month. ;0)

>129 Carmenere: Mmm-hmmm. Suuure. :-P

>124 SqueakyChu: Madeline, for "Unnamed", how about we call that one "The Cruise Director"? And I wonder...does ol' spoilsport Lynda have a point *snickers at cruel pun*? Would it make more sense to institute these with the August challenges? It might affect what challenges people post, and how they go about informing us of them. Perchance a more level playing field would result...?

> 130

I'll use the name "The Cruise Director". However, since most who voted want this to start in July, I'll begin in August (which will refelect TIOLI usage during the month of July).

It might affect what challenges people post, and how they go about informing us of them. Perchance a more level playing field would result...?

Yes, but on a more positive note, it would also give us a "basal rate".

Another throught. I'm leery to post about these awards in the opening paragraph each month as it might scare people off who think the TIOLI is too complicated* anyway. New members will then learn about the awards as they see them named each month. They'll soon enough get the idea and jump on the bandwagon.

Your thoughts?

And soon we'll get back to our regular programming... :)

*In the beginning, I had always thought of the many permutations this challenge could take. I'm starting to see how that is actually happening!

I like the idea of surprise awards, say 3 each month as deserved but not necessarily to have to be for the same things.

#130 Richard, thanks for your support but mass voter turnout rules in the positive.

I just completed reading, not partaking The Last Supper (the culinary/cooking challenge) and my review will be posted to my thread in the next day or so.

Now I'll begin How Reading Changed my Life for the books about books challenge.

#107 - I am relieved you like it! I wanted to make it so that it was easier to edit the sections, but after I'd done it I wasn't completely sure about how it looked.

All you do is put three = signs around the heading, instead of two. Then the indexing happens by magic...

> 131 I'm leery to post about these awards in the opening paragraph each month as it might scare people off who think the TIOLI is too complicated* anyway You instincts are sound, IMO. Let it be an announcement, and may I suggest that you make it a link in the main post, to the award post? Like The Cruise Director which will take one to post #8576 announcing and explaining the award in question.

I guess a basal rate is useful, and the Will of the People is behind immediate effect. And perhaps a surprise award or two will give the group some urgency! That can make for more participation, though the faces might change a bit.

I've agreed to read a dozen TIOLI books this month so no time to think about awards. Whatever you all want to do in this regard is fine with me.

Back to reading a day/night book A Cold Day in Paradise.

103>
Hehe! We've become Mike's notepad.

Well, my notepad is my Librarything wiki page. I just noticed others were mentioning what they had added and read, and that I hadn't.

I've finished the Tongues of Serpents one now for the bodyparts challenge (sixth challenge read finished).

Whewww! I return from vacation and plow through 98 posts with lots of voting. Should I mention to you again Madeline that you're a victim of your own success?? Anyway I didn't get much reading done on vacation but I did get to meet two other LTers (see my thread http://www.librarything.com/topic/92024 for more info about this). Still getting through the fabulous Fingersmith.

Re: Points and Prizes: Eh? What? Never mind. Y'all do your prizes and stuff (although I love the idea of surprise prizes--try repeating that rapidly--they seem to suit this sort of wild tear group); I'm bearly able to keep up with how to fit *my* choices into the existing challenges. ;>)

I must say that this is one of the most entertaining groups I've had the privilege of interacting with. Madeline, thanks again for all this fun.

Oh, and I've finished Paddy's Lament for the book with the #4 at the end of the ISBN. I thought the first part of the book, a straightforward detailing of the Potato Famine and its results, fascinating and horrifying. After that, though, it becomes one of those dog/cat combination fiction/nonfiction amalgamations; as such, it loses its tone and sense of betrayal and urgency. Lots of information but I wasn't in love with it, by any means. If I want a novel, I'll read a novel; I want my nonfiction as factual as possible, without imaginary "composite" characters and situations. All that being said, the book does give one to think hard about "the Troubles"

I agree with bohemima in #140: this is a very interesting group! Participating here is working great for me as a way to get the reading done in a a quite fun way. I'll be glad to go along with whatever is decided for points and prizes, but I have to say that I find the wiki and multiple challenges intellectually fulfilling as they are (I'm still pretty nervous when updating the wiki).

I finished The Big Sleep for the hard-boiled detective challenge. Now I'm going to concentrate on my isbn-ending-in-4 book--An Irish Country Doctor--well, that's about as big a change of pace as you can have!

Karen O.

I finished The Secret Servant by Daniel Silva, the seventh book of the Gabriel Allon spy thriller series for the Walla Walla challenge. I loved the suspense and intrigue and stayed up until the wee hours of the morning finishing it.

I am about halfway through Sixpence House by Paul Collins for the Book About Books challenge. So far, it is just okay, neither great nor bad. I'll have a better, more thorough report when I am finished.

Next up is The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier, another book that I have been wanting to read for a long time.

> 135

I wanted to make it so that it was easier to edit the sections

Yeah. It's really great! It looks pretty snazzy as well. Thanks for teaching me (and others) how to do somethng new on the wiki.

I was relieved that, when I divided the pages in two, the indexing divided itself by magic as well! :)

> 139

Bonnie, your LT mini-meet-up in Seattle sounds like great fun! When I actually met Tim recently I was lamenting how little is done among LT members in real life. I am much more active with my Bookcrossing group in real life get-togethers.

I recently read that GoodReads is doing real life bar hops. The only thing that Tim could think of to get LT people together was flashmobs. That's okay, I guess, but it's really not enough. Those are just for one day (and one has never been near me), and then they're gone.

The National Book Festival - Washington, DC
(Bookmark this message to keep it available)

For everyone's information, every year I do a joint BookCrossing-LibraryThing Meet-Up at the National Mall in Washington DC. This will happen again on Saturday, September 25, when we will all meet at 2pm on the steps of the Museum of Natural History. The National Book festival is a FREE and FABULOUS book festival sponsored by the Library of Congress. It will have some big names. You can check it out here. If you've been planning a trip to DC, late September is a good time to visit. The summer crowds and heat are gone (although sometimes we have rain). The best way to reach the mall is by Metro as there is NO PARKING anywhere in DC, it seems. I'd love to meet some TIOLI challengers in person.

New Feature:

You do NOT have to use this new feature. It's here only if you want to use it. Take a peek at the TIOLI Meter. Ha!

CURSES!! As I entered myself on the TIOLI-meter, I thought smugly that I was top - even if I knew it would only be briefly. Then - even before I could save my edit - Lindapanzo got in there ahead of me. Bah.

(folds arms, turns away, scowling)

#146
Heh-heh. I'm sneaky that way.

I'm doing a lot of 1010 Challenge reads that correspond to TIOLI challenges this month. That won't happen again.

I finally finished another TIOLI book for the month, Fables Volume 4: March of the Wooden Soldiers.

>145 SqueakyChu: Can I really be the only one reading 8 TIOLIs this month?!

#149 I should get well beyond 8 TIOLIs but just haven't done it yet.

*snicker* And the bait is taken....

What's this? Me?! The creator of the TIOLI challenge...at the bottom of the TIOLI Meter?!!!

P.S. I'll be up to two soon, though. :)

By the way, I posted another link to the TIOLI Meter in the first post of this thread (easier to find).

No, I'm pretty sure I'm at the bottom.
I finished I Feel Bad About My Neck for the body parts challenge. It was truly a very funny collection of essays. Well worth reading, and a fast read too.

I just started Atlas Shrugged and I'm thinking I can no longer deny the need for reading glasses. How tiny can they make the print anyway? It's ridiculous. The book is 1069 pages long, and I shudder to think of it in large print. the size of Webster's Unabridged perhaps? Or maybe Texas.

Jenn, maybe the print is so small because the publisher wants to make the book look smaller. :)

>154 nittnut:, 155 The Manhattan phone book circa 1980 is more the size of the thing in large print...1600pp on Bible paper.

*shudder*

I just added How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard to the books about books challenge based on JustJoey's recommendation.

Looking forward to checking out the new TIOLI Meter.

>154 nittnut: I got rid of a copy of Atlas Shrugged that sounds exactly like the one you describe (You didn't get it from PBS did you?). Then I recently found a copy at a library book sale that had much bigger print so I picked it up for a couple of bucks. Now I have a decent copy if the mood strikes me (not sure how likely that is).

Perhaps Madeline. Although I think it's even bigger than the mass market version of Harry Potter #7. I probably shouldn't read it before sleeping. I may knock myself out.

Thanks Richard - that's a great visual. Shuddering right along with you due to 1069 pp in 9pt on Scott Tissue. *trotting off to put eye doc. apt. on the to-do list and wondering if reading Ayn Rand could be a medical necessity*

BTW Richard, just wanted you to know that "unswallow" has become a home word over here. Got tired of my proto-teen using words like "puke" and "threw up in my mouth". I gave him "unswallow" and it's a hit. You know it's good if the proto-teen picks it up. It will also sound better coming from his 3 yr old brother who naturally repeats everything he says.

I've just finished Boneshaker for the 'book with a body part in the title' challenge. This was a good example of steampunk for those seeking this type of read. I wasn't totally in love with it but it wasn't all that bad.

>159 nittnut: Good! All the other words are so inelegant. I'll positively unswallow if I hear the word "barf" again.

154> Advantage of ebook, at least Nook. 1154 page book (which the hardback is listed at) is still one small thin item on Nook. Also, you can make the font extra large.

I'm enjoying that feature on my Nook as well. Now I an read without my glasses so there is less eye strain for my poor old eyes. I also like the fact that I can switch books without bothering to get up and look for the other one that I want.

True to those who predicted as much, I immensely enjoyed reading Aaron Lansky's Outwitting History: The Amazing Adventures of a Man Who Rescued a Million Yiddish Books for Richard's Books about Books challenge. Lansky's book is about how he began collecting Yiddish books when he saw that both the language and the books were disappearing. Although it sounds boring, it was quite a fun read and very engaging (NOT dull at all!). If interested, you can read my review.

Two more to add. I finished Night's Child for the Day and Night challenge, and The Big Sleep for the Private Investigator challenge. I found both of these really fun reads, the latter a little more so than the former. I've posted reviews here.

>141 klobrien2: Did you like The Big Sleep?

Looking at our TIOLI meter, I predict that elkiedee will read 28 TIOLI books before the month's end! ;)

Added The Uncommon Reader. I hadn't planned to read it for the challenge but I pulled some books off the shelf this afternoon to put aside for the charity shop ... and had to re-shelve some others ... and had The Uncommon Reader in my hand ... and kind of, um, re-read it while in the process of re-shelving it.

Excellent, but NOT what I was supposed to be doing this afternoon.

Oops! We're Number One in Hot Topics today. How are we going to stay hidden?! :D

No I won't - I'm away for a few days next week - I've finished and will finish the 4 I'm currently reading, but perhaps no more than 2 others!

:)

For my review of The Last Supper please click here.

Nice review, Lynda. I looked at that one, think I even requested it. I guess I missed out.

Adding the Lansky book to the TBR pile - thanks Madeline for the great review.

Must look into this Nook thing. I have a teensy issue with it not being a physical book that I can hold and smell and turn the pages, but my eyes...

I finished Infidel and think it should be must reading for anyone interested in political science, freedom, or life in the 21st century. I think the topic of Muslim oppression of women is going to keep growing. Eventually I'm hoping there will be a resolution. Regarding the charge that Aayan Hirsi Ali is an opportunist, I kept thinking of the musical Evita and Antonio Banderas singing to the succession of Evita Peron's lovers,

Goodnight and thank you Emilio
You've completed your task
What more can we ask of you now?

Please sign the book on the way out the door
And that will be all, if she needs you she'll call
But I don't think that's likely somehow

(Eva:)
Oh but it's sad when a love affair dies
But when we were hot, we were hot
I know you'll look back on the good times we've shared

http://www.veredtered.com/evita.html#goodnight

as Ayaan climbs hurdle after hurdle in her single-minded crusade for the liberation of Muslim women and children. Quite a complex woman.

Now, with a sigh of relief, I'm on to Dogsbody for the book ending with 4 challenge.

I finished and thoroughly enjoyed Fingersmith. It's the third book in a row that fits into a TIOLI challenge. I'm heading over to check out the TIOLI meter. There are almost as many surprises on this thread as there were in Fingersmith!

>174 Citizenjoyce:: I'm glad that Infidel stood up well to a reread, Joyce. I'm beginning to regret my use of the "O" word. :-)

No Donna, I think that's part of Ayaan's complexity. How could this girl, the least intelligent of her siblings, grow up to be such an influential woman? It doesn't seem possible.

I'm thinking of suggesting Fingersmith for my RL book club but concerned about the homosexuality. Well, men like lesbians, and I don't think the women will mind, so maybe I'll give it a go.

I've added The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner for the Walla Walla challenge. I'm a bit dubious, but I'll give it a go!

I finished and reviewed the hottest book on LT lately, Fingersmith. It's worthy of all the buzz. That was for the Orange Prize Challenge.

Now I'm reading Fault Lines by Nancy Huston which is actually another Orange Prize nominee but I'm putting it into the ISBN ending in 4 Challenge.

Great review, brenzi.

Thanks Joyce.

#178: Terrific review of (what was for me as well) a terrific book!

I finished Dogsbody for the books ending in 4 challenge and finally get to start on the Orange Prize list with The Invention of Everything Else by Samantha Hunt which was short listed for the 2009 prize. It's a coming of age, time traveling, bird appreciation novel with Tesla as one of the main characters. Sounds good to me.

News Flash!

The TIOLI points have crept up to 63!!

Interesting To Note:

We all can play Leap Frog with the TIOLI meter...

When you enter your name into the TIOLI meter, put your name directly under the number of books you've completed (and on top of any other names in that rank). That pushes all the other names downward, so the incentive remains for others to "leap frog" over your name into the top spot of the next higher number. Ha!

*Ribbet, Ribbet*

Madeline, I must commend you on your ability to invent new things to keep the TIOLI challenge fresh. Thank you so much for the time you take with it.

I can't believe you're here at 1:15am watching me invent new things to do!! Hehe...

ETA: I do it to amuse myself. I think it's fun that others like it as well.

ETA2: I love that TIOLI meter! I think it's hilarious.

#185: 1:15am is extremely early for me (besides, I am an hour behind you!) I am rarely in bed before 8am.

Stasia, do you usually work nights?

Yes. I am at work now.

Aha!! I used to work nights as well which is why I'm still a night owl. When I was switched to the day shift, I worked out a plan whereby I could work 10 to 6:30 instead of coming in at 8am as the others in my office do.

If you notice my name on the TIOLI meter, you'll see it's pretty far down. That's because, instead of reading, I'm inventing things. :D

#189: I should probably count how many TIOLI books I have read for the month already, just so I can be on the meter, lol.

I have worked nights for about 15 years. I have always been a night owl, so it is natural for me.

Beat you, I worked nights 20 years, but I've been retired for 3 so I usually don't stay up until 5 am anymore. I keep telling myself I'll get to bed by 11, usually make it by 2 or 3 Pacific Time. However, I'm not up inventing things like some LTers we know. I'm just playing and watching TV.

To my fellow night owls, I'm now headed off for bed...to dream up new inventions... :)

#191: I imagine before all is said and done I will have worked 20+ years of nights. I rather like the nights, so I have no problem with that.

#192: Night, Madeline. Sweet, inventive dreams!

Your work here is done...for now.

Finished Sixpence House by Paul Collins for Richard's Books about Books challenge.

Yes you should count your TIOLI books Stasia, I want to see how many more than me you've managed to read! I think I've actually finished 11, and I'm reasonably confident of another 3. I've started some other books which would count but I don't think I'll put them in unless I really believe I'm going to finish them once I get back from Ilkley (we're going to Yorkshire on Thursday for a few days, and I usually don't read that much when I'm away).

#196: I just finished TIOLI book 7 for this month, China Court by Rumer Godden. I think I have 11 or 12 more set aside to read yet. Yikes!

#165: wisechild asked: Did you like The Big Sleep?

Yes! Even though it was violent, and most of the characters weren't too likable, it was a good read. The dialogue was snappy and really witty in places.

How did you like it?

Karen O.

I'm making a change to my TIOLI. I had planned to read An Irish Country Doctor for my ISBN-ending-in-4 book, but I can't get into it. Seems a little too corny for my taste right now.

So I'm switching to Hideous Kinky, which I just received from ILL; its ISBN ends in 4 (yay!)

Going off to change the wiki!

Karen O.

I have a friend who's been trying forever to get me to read any book by Kinky Friedman. I found one book by this author called Armadillos & Old Lace so I'm adding it to the Body Parts challenge. After all, there is an "arm" in "armadillos". :)

After all, there is an "arm" in "armadillos". :)

That's perfect! Shows great creativity on your part!

Karen O.

> 178

Very nice review of Fingersmith, Bonnie! Your review might even tempt me to try it at some point.

I've finished The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner and also Soul Music :) The Stephanie Meyer one was a lot better than I expected, I love it when that happens.

Off to update the meter!

I was going to add Fingersmith but it turns out I had it confused with Tipping the Velvet. I own that one but not Fingersmith!

That's OK, generalkala, you'll love Tipping the Velvet too. Not the same OMG twists, but a good story nevertheless.

I finished How to Talk About Books You Haven't Read by Pierre Bayard for the Books about Books challenge and liked it.

Just started Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie for the 20 under 40 NYr Writers Challenge which I'm loving so far.

I finished How Reading Changed My Life for the books about books challenge and will begin my third TIOLI for July, 84, Charing Cross Road for Stasia's Walla, Walla challenge later today.
Updated the Meter but it's going to take a very productive frog to leap up to elkiedee!

it's going to take a very productive frog to leap up to elkiedee!

LOL!

I'm not sure that everyone has this Leap Frog idea down pat. If not, no problem. Do it if you want. If not, well...don't do it.

The Leap Frog idea is this: When you move your name to the next rank on the TIOLI Meter, you put your name on *top* of those others listed there. That does several things. It lets everyone know who the latest person was to reach that rank. It also pushes the other names down and inspires those whose names are descending to complete another book so that person can leap frog *over you*! Ha!!

I think it will be amusing to see everyone's name jumping around... :D

>208 SqueakyChu: I wish I would have known that before I added my name. Now I've got to hurry through my current read so I can "top" someone else;-)

I finished Chasing Goldman Sachs and I'm putting it in the category of books recommended by another person on LT. So now I've finished 2 TIOLI books whoo-hoo! Not even trying to leap up to elkiedee (:

>210 nittnut: We'd have to play leap gazelle to catch her.

LOL

I have finished White Teeth by Zadie Smith for the body part challenge and Property by Valerie Martin which won the 2003 Orange Prize.

>213 dsstukes: LOL -- I just finished Property and am about to start White Teeth. I really liked Property - what did you think of it? Interesting perspective and voice. Hard to read the way people thought about and treated slaves.

That's too funny @ teelgee. Property was a really quick read after having White Teeth take over a week to get through. One of the things I found interesting that as the narrative was told from the wife's perspective, the author never revealed the husband's (the Master's) name. Also, it was interesting the decision she made regarding Sarah (basing it on how her father treated his slaves).

I finished reading Sixpence House: Lost in a Town of Books by Paul Collins for the Book About Books Challenge. It is the memoirs of a man who moved with his wife and toddler to the Welsh town of Hay-on-Wye, where there are over 40 bookstores. I should get a review written soon.

I finished Bone Voyage by Stanley Rhine for the Body Part challenge.

I finished Montana 1948 last night, and Half of a Yellow Sun today. Slowly working my way through my reading list and up the TIOLI meter!

Just finished The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency for the PI challenge.

I just finished A Thousand Splendid Suns for the Walla Walla challenge, and I have to admit, I don't really understand all the hype.

I enjoyed it, but not to the extent that some people seem to. I wonder what I'm missing.

Just got A Face at the Window in the mail. It will fit nicely into the body parts list.

I've finished four books so far this month and surprisingly enjoyed every single one.

I read On The Bright Side, I'm Now The Girlfriend Of A Sex God and The Undomestic Goddess for the ISBN challenge; Thursday Next: First Among Sequels for the "book about books" challenge; and I pulled my massive omnibus off the shelf and re-read the comic book series Alias for the "private eye" challenge.

Reading Atlas Shrugged and I LOVE it! I don't want to do anything else. Tiny print is a bit of a problem though. May have to pick up a cheap pair of reading glasses at Walgreen's to get through this...

I just finished Girl with a Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier for the Orange July Challenge. Now I am off to update the TIOLI meter.

I finished my fourth TIOLI book of the month, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers, for the book with a body part in the title challenge. I'll review it later this week, but it is easily one of my top two or three books of the year.

I am reading Infidel for the TIOLI challenge this month, but there is an underlying tone or something in the book that is irritating me. Did anyone else have this problem with the book?

Just finishing Everything Ravaged Everything Burned by Wells Tower for the 20 under 40 challenge. I also have Drinking Coffee Elsewhere by ZZ Packer to read, also from that list although I may not get round to it before August.

I added 84, Charing Cross Road for the Walla Walla challenge. I love correspondence books.

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I hope you like Drinking Coffee Elsewhere. I'm from Baltimore and so especially liked reading that book. My favorite story was "The Brownies" which is the opening story in that book. I've never seen anything else by this author. I thought ZZ Packer was writing a novel after the publication of her debut book of short stories, but I've never seen it - if it even exists.

I've added Farewell My Lovely, The High Window, and The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler to the "Down these Mean Streets" challenge. And Summer Fires by Bob Reiss to the Summer challenge.

Expected the Chandler books to match up with other readers, but only the Big Sleep is on the list. I had forgotten that Summer Fires only had 2 copies total on LT.

Need to find book for challenges 3, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11.
Doubt I'll cover all challenges.

Just added Chasing Goldman Sachs by Suzanne McGee to Challenge #12--LT-inspired Reads.

Ah, there we go. Added Wonderful World of Oz for the Walla Walla challenge.

Since I am up and not sleeping anyway, I finished Infidel.

84 Charing Cross Road - finished! I love that book, it's beautiful.

That's my thirteenth for this month's TIOLI. I can't wait to see the challenges for next month.

You're going to overtake me on the TIOLI meter! I think I've actually finished 13 books too now and will easily finish at least one more, then I have 2 which don't fit into a category and we're away for a few days. So my final total will probably be 15/16 - you'll easily top that.

I would have loved to reread/read a Chandler (have read The Big Sleep nearly 10 years ago, and Farewell My Lovely but am running out of time.

>198 klobrien2: Re: The Big Sleep - I loved it! There was something delicious about all the snappy dialogue and cheap shots. I might have to look into more of Chandler...perhaps Farewell My Lovely? I'm also curious to see the movie version of the Big Sleep.

I'm currently reading The Thirteenth Tale which is slow going, but I am enjoying it.

>235 elkiedee:. Haha, elkiedee, it's a fluke, I assure you! I've been stuck at home ill for a fortnight so I've had nothing better to do than read, order books off Amazon and check LT every other minute!

#226 -I am reading Infidel for the TIOLI challenge this month, but there is an underlying tone or something in the book that is irritating me. Did anyone else have this problem with the book? Well, I haven't read the book yet, but I do know that the author was very controversial when she made her way in Dutch politics. Some people think she's a victim of islam, others think she's an opportunist. One thing's for sure: she's not afraid to speak her mind, no matter what other people think, but I don't know if her means and goals are always altruistic. Maybe that is what you sensed in the book, Stasia. I'll have to read it know.

I like this leapfrogging aspect of the TIOLI meter. Yesterday, I was at the top of the heap for #7 but now I'm towards the bottom.

Before too long, after I finish Debbie Macomber's Thursdays at Eight today, I'll be on top of the world, or at least the #8, for a little while.

This adds an interesting new angle to TIOLI, which was already fun to begin with.

I finished and reviewedNancy Huston's Fault Lines for the ISBN ending in 4 Challenge. Now I get to go to the TILOI meter and leapfrog properly. This is my third TIOLI book this month.

Don't know why the touchstone is acting wanky.

I'll be starting Fugitive Pieces for the Orange Prize Challenge next.

> 234

That's my thirteenth for this month's TIOLI. I can't wait to see the challenges for next month.

Ha! ...and to think that, at one time, I was afraid we were going to have too many challenges each month!!

> 240

I like this leapfrogging aspect of the TIOLI meter. Yesterday, I was at the top of the heap for #7 but now I'm towards the bottom.

I thought of the meter because I was having a hard time keeping track of those challengers who've read sooooooo many TIOLI books per month. Then I was trying to think of something that would make the meter fun rather than just a list. I, too, like to watch challengers out-leaping each other. It's quite entertaining!

#226 -I am reading Infidel for the TIOLI challenge this month, but there is an underlying tone or something in the book that is irritating me. Did anyone else have this problem with the book?

I really liked the book - I thought she had a lot of courage - but I agree, there is something that rankled and I'm not sure why. There is the aspect of opportunism, and her willingness to accept Dutch "welfare" bugged me. I was also disturbed by her complete rejection of God. But all of those things can be explained by who I am and what I believe, so I still don't really know. But it rankles.
I happen to be good friends with a woman who was raised Muslim, is married to a Muslim man, who converted to Christianity about 2 years ago. Her husband was enlightened enough to be supportive and even to allow their children to attend church with her. Her brothers told her husband she was insane and should be committed, and called his manliness and ability to control his wife into question. He was strong enough to tell them that he is American and his wife is American and she can make her own choices. Wow. She cannot return to Afghanistan to visit family, she'll be killed. An interesting world. Incomprehensible to me.

I finished Perdido Street Station, my sixth TIOLI book. Two more TIOLI books waiting for me at the library.

I finished Sara Paretsky's Hardball today, and am adding to the TIOLI:

20 under 40 - Karen Russell, St Mary's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves
Summer - Sarah Dessen, That Summer

I have The Gathering Night (an ER book with night in the title) and Baking Cakes in Kigali - cooking - in my pile, but might not finish either this month.

If I get all the TIOLI challenges that I am committed to for the month, we are going to need a bigger meter.

Stasia, just make the meter as big as you need. There is no top limit to it!

A look at June's stats:

End of month stats: Of 297 books read for the June 2010 challenge, 104 books (or 35%) were shared books.

I just finished two more TIOLI books, The Shadow of the Wind for "books about books" and Half the Sky: turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide for "making a difference", and I thought they were both very good, although very different.

One thing I am enjoying about these challenges (this is my first month) is that I am ending up reading very different books. Normally I'll read similar books all in a clump until I get tired of that clump or I gradually move in another direction--this year before July I read a lot of books about India and then several about evolution. Following this challenge has exposed me to a much greater variety of books!

Following this challenge has exposed me to a much greater variety of books!

Excellent!

#248: That is a good thing. I have finished 9 already and I have at least 11 more to go.

*tosses Armadillos & Old Lace aside*

(not my kind of book)

I finished 3 of my 4 TIOLI books: Adrian Mole: The Prostrate Years and Don't Move both for the ISBN challenge and The Shadow of the Wind for the books about books challenge and I enjoyed all of them.
I am having my doubts about ever finishing no 4 however, Once on a Moonless Night (for the night/day challenge obviously). It has just 200 pages, but in 10 days I only managed 25 of them, I just don't get into the story. So I'll probably remove it from the list.

I finished A Girl Named Zippy for the main challenge to read a book with an ISBN ending in 4. I loved parts of it, but the animal deaths were bothersome to me. I used to have a pet rabbit and... well, I don't want to ruin anybody's day here! I rated it 3 stars, but most people liked it much better than that. Speaking of animals, I'm off to play TIOLI leap frog!

I finished and reviewed Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon.
Now I've started The Cookbook Collector for the "cooking" challenge (though at 50 or so pages in, it looks like it will be only loosely related to cooking, if at all).

So far this month, I've read 8 TIOLI books, which is my best TIOLI-reading month, by far. I've got 5 more to go, though this might be optimistic.

My current one is The Yankee Years about Joe Torre's reign as manager of the Yankees.

I've been a bit bad of up-dating the books read list. So far I have read seven in five categories:-

ISBN ending in 4 - Celtic Saints Passionate Wanderers
Books about Books - The Thirteenth Tale
Orange Prize - Fingersmith
Day and Night - Night Train to Lisbon
and The Gathering Night
LT Inspired reads - Watermark A Novel of the Middle Ages
and Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.

I have also started a book for the Walla Walla Challenge

Beyond Black by Hilary Mantel

There are also a few more possibilities on the TBR shelves. No way am I going to be top of the leapfrog table, but it is fun;)

I've just finished and reviewed Instruments of Darkness by Imogen Robertson, for challenge #12, as it was recommended and lent to me by Chatterbox.

Good stuff! Too bad only the Brits can readily get it, the American publisher doesn't have it out yet.

Finished Swan Song for the Walla Walla challenge: comments here; a very good whodunnit.

I think that makes four TIOLIs this month, but I took my name off the meter when I caught myself seriously considering switching The Lacuna for three shorter books to move myself up the list. Definitely not sensible, or what the challenge is about.

(Which is not to say that I think the meter is a bad idea. I don't. It's just a bad idea for me.)

I've been reading a few books that can't be included in any of the challenges which is slightly annoying... Then to my surprise I discovered that the author of my current read, American Rust by Philipp Meyer, is one the the New Yorker top 40 authors... yay!

Philip Marlowe's Farewell, My Lovely completed. So now 9 TIoLI books done.

Mike, I took your dividers out of the TIOLI Meter because I don't want the meter "divided up". It works as a whole and should remain at the top of the page without an index. It makes the Leap-Frogging aspect of the meter stand out more.

I finished The Invention of Everything Else and liked it very much. I think scintillating is my new comfort word, and I thank Samantha Hunt for that.

I'm going to start The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake, that may be the last for the month. I got the audiobook of The Heart is a Lonely Hunter but it's possible I won't finish it in time.

Now I'm about to watch The Princess Bride.

I've finished and reviewed A Gentle Madness for my book about books challenge...it was so much fun! I really hope those who haven't will read it. I think someone will write a similar book about LibraryThing one day.

The review is in my thread...post #73.

Madeline...s - l - o - w . . .

New thread?

Okay, Richard. It's coming...

The thread police are at my door. This conversation will continue here.