Take It or Leave It Challenge - May 2022 - Page 1

For those new to this challenge: More info and monthly index can be found in post #1 of this thread or this TIOLI FAQS wiki.


...logo by cyderry

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Your TIOLI challenge for May, 2022, is to

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Read a book by an author for whom you have read ONLY ONE other book by that same author before
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RULES:
1. Name that previous book!
2. A shared read does not have to meet the parameters of this challenge and is always fine.
3. A co-author for this challenge will count as a full/unique author.
4. It doesn’t matter whether one book is fiction and the other nonfiction or if the genres of both books are different.

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Other Fun Stuff (not part of the TIOLI challenge):
1. FAMeulstee's 2022 TIOLI Sweeplette Meter
2. FAMeulstee's Our TIOLI Sweeps
3. Morphidae's List of Previous TIOLI Challenges (2010-2016) - A reference (Do a control-F scan) to avoid repeating a previous challenge. If your idea is similar to a previous challenge, make it unique by adding a new "twist" to it.
4. Supplementary Thread - for off-topic chit-chat about almost anything! :D
5. The May 2022 TIOLI Meter - Optional page on which you may track your TIOLI reading. Not competitive--- just fun!

Index of Challenges:

Challenges #1-6
1. Read a book by an author for whom you have read ONLY ONE other book by that same author before - msg #1
2. Read a book with the word "library" or "libraries" in either the title or subtitle- msg #3
3. Read a book where every word in the title starts with a different letter - msg #4
4. Read a book first published in the 1980s or set in school/college setting - msg #5
5. Read a book that was published within 10 years before or after your birth year - msg #8
6. Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name - msg #10

Challenges #7-12
7. Read a book whose title comes from a Shakespearean play, by an author who shares their first name with a Shakespearean character OR that is set during Shakespeare's lifetime - msg #14
8. Read a book with a word in the title implying a number - msg #15
9. Read a book written by an author born in a country from where you have not read any previous authors - msg #18
10. Read a book of historical fiction having anything to do with the Titanic - msg #20
11. Read a book that that you have owned for at least 5 years - msg #28
12. Read a book with a 5-word title - msg #30

Challenges #13-16
13. Read a book with a character that is not a letter in the title - msg #32
14. Read a book from a genre you haven't read yet in 2022 - msg #48
15. Read a book by an author who has died in 2021 or 2022 - msg #54
16. Read a book that has the word two or a word related to two in the title or author's name - msg #60

Hold your challenge until the June 2022 challenges are posted. Thank you!

Challenge #3: Read a book where every word in the title starts with a different letter

For this purpose, a, an, the, and or (and the like) count as title words. So, for instance, The Thursday Murder Club has two title words starting with T and so it wouldn't count.

Also, no need to include subtitles when considering title words.

Challenge #4: Read a book first published in the 1980s OR in a school/college setting.

I spent the 1980s mostly at school or college, turning 18 at the end of the decade. In which case you may read a book that was either first published in the 1980s or a book that has a school or college setting. By that I do not mean University or an educational setting for those over the age of 18. I hope that covers off the different educational organisation that you may find in books.

>4 lindapanzo: Is a one word title acceptable?

>5 Helenliz: What about a boarding school, Helen? Or do the characters need to be college age? In this case, the characters seem to be 16-17 years old.

Challenge #5: Read a book that was published within 10 years before or after your birth year.

For example if you are born in the year 1970 – you can read books that are published between 1960 to 1980.

You don't have to list your birth year, but please add the publishing date for the book you are going to read.

>7 alcottacre: Boarding school is fine, as is 16-17 age group.
Any educational establishment aimed at the under 18s will be fine. It's the university experience that will need to wait until the 1990s.

Challenge #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name

Any flying animal, imaginary included, that flies is fine, and can be embedded in a word.

>10 quondame: Are you counting birds as animals? Just checking the parameters before I get too excited about placing a book.

>9 Helenliz: Thank you for the clarification, Helen!

>11 Helenliz: Yes, birds, bats, insects, flying fish, griffins, dragons. Even chickens, though they don't fly all that well. But not penguins or ostriches.

A month late, but in celebration of Shakespeare's birthday:

Challenge #7: Read a play by Shakespeare, a book whose title comes from a Shakespearean play, by an author who shares their first name with a Shakespearean character OR that is set during Shakespeare's lifetime

Some examples:

All the Devils are here – Louise Penny (Tempest)
Brave New World (Tempest)
Infinite Jest (Hamlet)
Pale Fire (Timon of Athens)
Cold Comfort Farm (King John)
Fatal Vision – Joe McGuiness (Hamlet)
The Serpent of Venice – Christopher moore (Merchant of Venice)
The Winter of our Discontent – Steinbeck (Richard III)
In Cold Blood (Timon of Athens)
The Fault in Our Stars – John Green (Juius Caesar)
Gaudy Night – Dorothy Sayers (Anthony and Cleopatra
Something Rotten – Jasper Fforde (Hamlet)
This Rough Magic - Mary Stewart (Tempest)
Cakes and Ale – Maugham (Twelfth Night)

Shakespearean names: Viola, Julia (two Gentlemen of Verona) Celia, Miranda, Henry, Beatrice (Much Ado), Diana (All’s Well) Eleanor (King John), Elizabeth (several history plays), Helena, Katherine, Marina, Adrian (Coriolanus), Alexander (Troilus) Dennis (as you like it), Rosalind (as you like it), Edgar & Edmund (Lear), Ursula (Much Ado), Orlando (As You Like It), Peter (several), Toby (Tempest), George (Henry VI)

Note: embedded names NOT allowed. I will allow Orlando as a book title, just on a whim! If you find another book with a character's name and ONLY the name as the title, that will be OK too.

Shakespeare's life: 1564-1616
You can read any book that has at least a 20-year overlap with Shakespeare's life, even if it starts earlier or ends later. So you could read about Guy Fawkes or Henry VIII but not the English Civil War (started two decades after Shakespeare's death.)

>5 Helenliz: non US question: what is college age?
College and University are the same type of age-wise institutions in Canada, both are post high school, so 18+.

Challenge #8:

Read a book with a word in the title implying a number

Probably best explained with examples:

One = solo, alone, solitary
Two = pair, twin, duo
Three = trio, triad
Ten = decimate
Thirteen = baker's dozen
Thousand = millennium

And so on.

Actual numbers are not allowed. Neither are fractions. Beyond that, I will accept almost everything so use your imagination! Keep prefixes in mind (quadrangle = four).

Note that the word does not need to refer to an actual number, so for example you could read Gret Lane's The Cancelled Score Mystery and say "score = 20".

ETA: For this challenge I am looking for a *specific* number, not just a word implying some amount. Please add your number to the wiki.

I will be reading Trinity (3) by Leon Uris.

>6 FAMeulstee: Absolutely.

Challenge #9 - Read a book by an author born in a country from where you have never read an author before

I want May to be about broadening reading horizons. Basically there are on the Sporcle Quiz list (although I am not going to be hard and fast about the definition of country) 197 countries of the world and there are probably plenty of those countries whose writers we have not sampled before.

In conjunction with my Asia Book Challenge which is this month in the countries ending with "Stan", I will read Hamid Ismailov born in Kyrgyzstan.

This prompt may help you:

https://ayearofreadingtheworld.com/thelist/

>15 raidergirl3: I'm after educational establishments that are for the under 18s.
In the example you've given neither college nor university would be a fit.

Challenge 10: Read a book of historical fiction having anything to do with the Titanic, state the connection
I'll be reading Surviving Savannah by Patti Callahan about the "Titanic" of the South.

>3 alcottacre: You wouldn't want to add "librarian" to your challenge, would you?

Difficult challenges this month. My planned reads:
Challenge #1: Read a book by an author for whom you have read ONLY ONE other book by that same author before (List the book) - started by SqueakyChu
Easy Field Guide to Southwestern Snakes - Richard and Sharon Nelson
✔Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez (5)
✔The Hidden Palace - Helene Wecker (4)
The Kitchen Front by Jennifer Ryan
✔Son of Rosemary - Ira Levin (3)
Challenge #2: The "My Happy Place" Challenge: Read a book with the word "library" or "libraries" in either the title or subtitle - Started by AlcottAcre
Challenge #3: Read a book where every word in the title starts with a different letter - Started by lindapanzo
✔The Actual Star - Monica Byrne (2.5)
Easy Field Guide to Common Desert Insects - Richard and Sharon Nelson
✔The Henna Artist - Alka Joshi (4.5)
The Memory Librarian: And Other Stories of Dirty Computer - Janelle Monáe ABANDONED
Challenge #4: Read a book first published in the 1980s or set in school/college setting (not University/post 18 educational setting) - started by helenliz
✔A Mighty Long Way: My Journey to Justice at Little Rock Central High School - Carlotta Walls LaNier (4.5)
Challenge #5: Read a book that was published within 10 years before or after your birth year - started by DeltaQueen
*✔Showdown At Yellow Butte - Louis L'Amour (3.5)
Challenge #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name - Started by quondame
✔There Is No Good Card for This - Kelsey Crowe (3.5)
Challenge #7: Read a book whose title comes from a Shakespearean play, by an author who shares their first name with a Shakespearean character OR that is set during Shakespeare's lifetime - started by Chatterbox
Challenge #8: Read a book with a word in the title implying a number - started by lyzard
✔Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone - Eric Klinenberg (3.5)
A Lucky Life Interrupted: A Memoir of Hope - Tom Brokaw (5)
Challenge #9: Read a book written by an author born in a country from where you have not read any previous authors - started by PaulCranswick
*✔The Good Life Elsewhere - Vladimir Lorchenkov (2.5)
Challenge 10: Read a book of historical fiction having anything to do with the Titanic, state the connection - started by Citizenjoyce
*✔Surviving Savannah - Patti Callahan (3)
Challenge 11: Read a book that that you have owned for at least 5 years - started by wandering_star
Challenge 12: Read a book with a 5-word title - started by cbl_tn
*✔The Age Of the Strongman - Gideon Rachman (5)
✔The School For Good Mothers - Jessamine Chan (4.5)
✔The Secret Keeper of Jaipur - Alka Joshi (4)
Challenge #13: Read a book with a character that is not a letter in the title - started by FAMeulstee
✔The Final Revival of Opal & Nev - Dawnie Walton (4.5)
Challenge #14: Read a book from a genre you haven't read yet in 2022 (list the genre) - started by susanna.fraser
✔The Auschwitz Photographer: The Forgotten Story of the WWII Prisoner Who Documented Thousands of Lost Souls - Luca Crippa (4.5)
*✔Dark Demon - Christine Feehan (2.5)
Challenge #15: Read a book by an author who has died in 2021 or 2022 - started by AnneDC
Black Swans: Stories - Eve Babitz - ABANDONED
✔The Fifth of March: A Story of the Boston Massacre - Ann Rinaldi (3)
✔The Seven Sisters - Lucinda Riley (3.5)
Challenge #16: Read a book that has the word two or a word related to two in the title or author's name. - started by Morphidae
✔Between Two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted - Suleika Jaouad (4)

>14 Chatterbox: I suspect the answer will be no, but would you accept an actual play by Shakespeare? It feels like it ought to fit, but they probably don't all work.

The one I'm most likely to read is Othello. Wikipedia tells me that it was set in the Ottoman-Venetian war of 1570 - 1573. So within Shakespeare's lifetime. In which case it would fit the third portion of the challenge. Is that Ok?

>19 Helenliz: I see that my understanding of college doesn’t fit your challenge but you used college as an example that would work so I am wanting to understand what college means where you are from. What kind of college or what is a college that you mean? Who goes there, what do they teach there. Just trying to expand my understanding.

>24 raidergirl3: In the UK, we go to school until 16, then to college or 6th form college (sometimes in the same facility as a school, sometimes not) from 16 to 18 (ish). Thereafter it's University or maybe a speciality training college.

Colleges teach a variety of subjects from the academic to the vocational. It's possible to do apprenticeships that include some college time. Regardless of subject, they are primarily focussed on the 16 to 18 age group.

There are subject specific colleges, but they tend to be aimed at the post 18 or post university age group. So teacher training college would have entrants that were over 18, if not those with a university degree. The same would be true of theological college. In which case that college type would not be included in the remit of the challenge.

In other systems you'd be looking for settings that are educational establishments that cater to the under 18s. If your locality uses college as a term for post 18 education, it does not fit.

>25 Helenliz: thank you for explaining. Quite different than in Canada then. I didn’t realize that at 16 there was such a change. Our compulsory school doesn’t end til grade 12, when most students are 18.

>26 raidergirl3: I did know this would need some explaining for different national systems. Hopefully it will help others as well to understand what I am looking for in terms of a book. It is less common now than in the past, but in the UK children can leave education at 16.

Challenge 11: Read a book that you have owned for at least 5 years (and have not read before)

If you do not have any books which go back that long, or if you don't have access to your older books (eg they are in storage), please read one of the books that you have owned the longest.

Shared reads welcome!

>25 Helenliz: Very interesting and different from the U.S. My sister and I both went to small liberal arts colleges after high school. Her daughter goes to a university, which has a college of liberal arts, a college of business, and her area, which is in the college of health sciences. I think there are probably others. In our colleges and in my niece's university, the first degree you'll get is a Bachelor's degree. My sister and I both went on to universities for advanced degrees and my niece is about to take her GRE test and start submitting applications for a Master's in Physician Assistantship program.

Challenge 12: Read a book with a 5-word title

Since May is the 5th month of the year, my challenge is to read a book with a 5-word title. Do not include subtitles. Do count leading articles (a, an, the).

>21 Citizenjoyce: Not unless you know of a librarian who is actually a place. The name of the challenge is "My Happy Place," after all.

Challenge #13: Read a book with a character that is not a letter in the title

Like a dash (-), a comma (,), an apostrophe (') etc.

>23 Helenliz: Actually, I should have included Shakespearean plays anyway! So go ahead... *grin* It's all in the spirit of the bard. I'll edit the challenge to reflect this.

>26 raidergirl3: When I read the challenge I thought of sixth-form colleges and how some French secondary institutions are colleges -- Also, possibly, Quebec's cégep "colleges", although technically they are a step between secondary and post-secondary. Although I can't think of a single novel set in a cégep, I'm sure there are some en Français...

>4 lindapanzo: Linda, is there a minimum number of words we have to use in the challenge? I would assume that two is required (otherwise, by definition, there COULD be no overlap) but is two OK, or do you need three or more?

>33 Chatterbox: No minimum. I already mentioned above that one word is fine.

I happened to notice that most of my Net Galley books have 2 or 3 words starting with the same letter so I started rummaging around for books that didn't have them.

>33 Chatterbox: Cool! I'm on a project to listen to all of Shakespeare's plays, so finding somewhere to put him each month is a relief!

>34 lindapanzo: Sorry, I missed that!

>16 lyzard:

Please note that for Challenge #8 I am looking for a *specific* number, not just any amount.

You should be able to add your particular number to the wiki. I will edit my challenge to include these details.

Sorry if that wasn't clear before.

I'm going to be emphasizing reading physical books that I likely won't keep, since I have to move in a few months' time. I'm now sorting books into "can deaccession now", "will get rid of after reading", "can be put in storage", and "to my final destination". Ideally 25% in each category, but who am I kidding??

>38 Chatterbox:

I'm trying to do something like that too but without your impetus, so you can imagine how well it's going. :D

>37 lyzard: So may I use Time and Again (2) for your challenge? I see where one definition of "again" is "You use again to indicate that something happens a second time, or after it has already happened before".

>40 SqueakyChu:

But 'second' isn't 'two'. I am really looking for an actual number. Sorry!

>41 lyzard: :`(

>42 SqueakyChu:

It fits the Shakespeare challenge though! Jack Cade in Henry VI, Part 2. I hope that helps?

>43 lyzard: It does! Thanks!!

However, I just a few minutes ago disqualified myself from ***my OWN*** challenge! I discovered that I had read another book, (Animal Farm), by George Orwell before I read 1984 so now I have to shoehorn yet another book, (Homage to Catalonia), into a different challenge. LOL! I made that dreadful discovery by browsing the list of this author's books on the page facing the book's title page. I guess one never knows what one will find there. Ha!

ETA: Okay. I got that second book sorted out now, too. Phew! :D

>44 SqueakyChu:

Phew indeed!

I've done that! I've also set up a challenge around a particular book and then not been able to get a copy. :D

>45 lyzard: That's the fun of the TIOLI challenges! One never knows what to expect. :D

>46 SqueakyChu: At least this month you haven't asked us to count words, find a title with an odd number of words, find the midpoint letter and THEN figure out if it's part of the word "April"! Oy vey.

Challenge #14: Read a book from a genre you haven't read yet in 2022 (list the genre)

You can also drill down to the sub-genre level if you want, within bounds of reason. E.g. if you've read cozy mysteries only, you could count a police procedural, or if you've read contemporary romances only, you could count a historical romance, but if you tried to make it "police procedurals set in New York City" or "Victorian-era historical romances," that's too specific for purposes of this challenge.

>47 Chatterbox: I really liked that one! The funny thing is that I never got to read the book that I listed for that challenge. Did I make my challenge too easy this month, Suz? Uh oh! I'll have to think a bit harder next month. I really like thinking up convoluted challenges, but paulstalder had me pretty much beat with some of his last year!

>49 SqueakyChu: It's the ones that mean I have to go to a specific word on a specific page, or a place on a specific bookshelf, that make me craziest.

>48 susanna.fraser: Hallelujah re sub-genre. I'm assuming that this would also apply to non-fiction -- eg something in a category of non-fiction not already read this year, like art history or humor or a collection of essays?

>28 wandering_star:

Are shared reads okay if the other person owns a copy?

>50 Chatterbox: Hey, Suz! Don't give me ideas! ;)

>50 Chatterbox: Yes, nonfiction categories or genres count!

Challenge #15: In Memoriam: Read a book by an author who has died in 2021 or 2022

I'll be reading Fascism: A Warning by Madeleine Albright (also my former boss).

>51 lyzard: Yes, shared reads are fine. (I didn't specify because I think the convention here is that shared reads are always OK unless specifically excluded - but I will update my posting)

>55 wandering_star:

Thought probably so but because it is a shared read we didn't want to muck it up. Thanks!

>38 Chatterbox: Who are you kidding? Absolutely no one :)

I have been using the TIOLI challenges to try and read books off my own shelves too this year and just sprinkle in library books here and there. It has worked out wonderfully for me.

>54 AnneDC: Perfect! I have a couple of Ann Rinaldi's books sitting here that I have been meaning to get to.

Hmm. So it turns out that the only unread book currently in *my* library with 'library' or 'libraries' in its title is:

The best modern novels; a classified list of thirty-five hundred of the best modern novels that are in active use in the public libraries of the United States from 1910.

No-one loves a book list more than me; but I'm not sure even I'm up to reading a 44-page, 3500-book-long one! :D

>59 lyzard: You can do it, Liz! I have faith in you! After all, I am sure you have no other life other than LT, right? :)

Challenge #16: Read a book that has the word two or a word related to two in the title or author's name.

*A NOTE ABOUT QUALIFIED ENTRIES

SOME EXAMPLES ARE two, both, second, twice, double, pair, duo, twain, twins, couple, couplet, newlyweds, brace, dyad, duad, duet, deuce, partnership, span, dual, duple, dichotomous, most "bi-" (binary, bifold, biform) and "di-"(?) words

THE "WORD FOR TWO" MUST refer to two and no more than two, i.e. not them, many, all, team, combo, match, etc.

A NOTE ABOUT NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGES

The "word for two" and title must be in English, i.e. not dos, deux, dwa, zwei, to, dau, (dui), (do), dy, etc. (That particular challenge will be later this year. 😉)

If the book doesn't have an English translation, you may translate the title yourself but the "word for two" must be present in English.

For all authors, the "word for two" must be present in English.

MISC NOTES & ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

Subtitles are included.

Embedded words are acceptable.

Examples:

They Both Die at the End by Adam Silvera
Network Effect by Martha Wells
Fractured: the Fragile Minds duet, book one by

>59 lyzard: No? Then however will you know how it ends? We all know you don't peek ahead.

I'm reading After the Flare, Book 2 of the Nigerians in Space series. After that it will be whatever you can entice me with. So far I'm considering The Secret Place, The Memory Librarian, The Missing American, Your House Will Pay, and One Last Stop. And I've only browsed through Challenge 5! I likely won't have time for more than 6 books this month.

>62 Morphidae: I puzzled over it, slept on it, and I'm still not sure how Network Effect fits your challenge. Please explain it to my poor brain!

ETA: Wow! My poor brain indeed. As soon as I posted I saw it.

>65 jeanned: I tried to bold it like in the wiki but it didn't work. For those who don't see it...

Network Effect

>63 swynn:

By reading EVERY BOOK ON THE LIST, of course. :D

>62 Morphidae: Morphy, would you by any chance accept a homophone for two? (to) I know it's a stretch, but I thought I should try.

>68 AnneDC: Unfortunately not. However "to" will be acceptable when I do the foreign language version later this year. Oooor I might do it next month if I get requests. 😉

I'm going to be absent from Library Thing for the next while as my Mom is in her final days and I am heading over to Victoria to spend some time with her and be with the rest of my family. Madeline, I have removed all the books that I had listed for the month that I haven't gotten to yet.

>70 DeltaQueen50: Judy, I am so sorry you have some tough days ahead. I'm glad, though, that you will be with your mom to be part of her support and comfort at this time. Take care.

>70 DeltaQueen50: Wishing you all possible grace and peace at such a difficult time.

>70 DeltaQueen50: I am so sorry to hear this news, Judy.

>70 DeltaQueen50: That is tough, Judy. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers dear guru.

>70 DeltaQueen50: Such a difficult time. I will keep you and your mother in my prayers, Judy.

>70 DeltaQueen50: So tough for you, Judy. My thoughts will be with you. Books will always wait to one side for you; time with loved ones does NOT wait. xox

TIOLI Stats for April 2022:

Stats are running stable. Yay! We completed a total of 340 books in April, 2022, of which 68 or 20% were shared reads. We collected 36 TIOLI points, making a nice YTD April total 0f 182 points.

The following was the most popular book with a total of four readers:
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff

The most popular challenge was the one by wandering_star to read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT. This challenge had 41 books read.

The challenge with the most TIOLI points (six) was the one by PaulCranswick to read a book longlisted for the Women's Prize this decade.

Ever onward to more interesting reading!

>77 SqueakyChu: Nice! I am glad to see that the stats continue to be good!

>77 SqueakyChu: We do love TIOLI. I'm glad the stats are showing it.

So here's a challenge...
Where to list my book?!
Azit the Airborne Alsatian by Motta Gur

I found this great book in a Little Free Library at my grocery store today. It's written in easy Hebrew...something I haven't tried for a while. The book is short so it looks like fun.

Am I pushing my luck to list it under...
TIOLI #6: Read a book with a flying animal in the title or author's name

Explanation: Azit is the name of a dog. An Alsatian is the same as a German Shepard. In the book, this dog is an actual paratrooper who works for the Israel Defense Force search and rescue squad. Therefore Azit is a flying animal. This animal may not be winged, but she drops through the sky (as a paratrooper)! Would this work? :D

How about...
TIOLI 14: Read a book from a genre you haven't read yet in 2022

I have not read a book in a foreign language for years! I know a foreign language is not really a genre. Can we stretch it to make it one?

If the answer is no to both questions, I'll enjoy reading it anyway! LOL!

Thanks, all.

>79 Citizenjoyce: I love it, too! :D

>80 SqueakyChu: I'd allow it in #14, but I love the idea of putting in #6 because it says right there in the title that the Alsatian is airborne!

It reminds me of when I was listening to The Common Descent Podcast (a series with two adorably geeky paleontologists discussing various topics in evolution) discuss how flight has evolved independently four times--in insects, pterosaurs, birds, and bats. There was then something of a debate on whether humans counted for having evolved the ability to build machines to do our flying for us.

>80 SqueakyChu: Since this month's challenges are a bit low on catch-all challenges I'll allow it for #6. I can't remember a month I've had to hunt down so many titles to "read for" rather than just selecting "meets" from what I have on queue.

>81 susanna.fraser: Thanks!

>82 quondame: Oh, great! Thank you. Even though I have another book I hope to finish for your challenge #6 (and in which I'm making some pretty good progress), I just love this "flying" dog story. I see an alternative title for this book is Azit, Paratrooper Dog. The title in Hebrew is Azit, Kalbah Tzanchanit. I think this is a true story. I'm so excited to be able to read this in Hebrew!

TIOLI Question of the Month

For some strange reason (Ha!), I keep on adding to my "currently reading list" instead of finishing those books I am currently reading. Unlike me, have you come across a book recently that was so good that you simply could not put it down and had to rush right through to its end? If so, which book was it...and what spurred you to this kind of reading action?! :D

>84 SqueakyChu: Right now I'm reading The School For Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan and both don't want to stop reading it and continually want to throw it against the wall and scream. With the coming end to legal abortion, some politicians are saying aid needs to be given to mothers so they can keep their babies. I'm thinking this is the kind of aid misogynists have in mind. I'd suggest not reading it if you have a tendency toward hypertension.

>84 SqueakyChu: The "In Death" books are sure to be the ones I refuse to put down to read anything else and this month's installment, Conspiracy in Death, is one of my favorites.

>84 SqueakyChu: Not this month. Though At the Owl Woman's Saloon was worth the time even if it didn't satisfy a previously unsatisfied challenge.

>84 SqueakyChu: I just wrote about Fado Alexandrino on my thread: "The ongoing sentences give hardly a break, the story flows like a fast running river, which makes it hard to put the book down." It wasn't really possible to rush right through. Rated it the full 5 stars, my second 5* read this year.

>16 lyzard: Liz, just checking I've read your challenge right. May I please use We are Displaced which has "di" as part of the title, a prefix that indicates two of something?
I'm never going to sweep, but that will give me a run from 1-8.

It’s pretty rare these days that I would have a book that I can’t put down but my latest read, The Whisper Man was pretty engaging and I read it in 2 days. It’s a psychological thriller.

>90 Kristelh: Yeah. A good psychological
thriller will do that!

>85 Citizenjoyce: I read The School for Good Mothers a couple of months ago and had a similar reaction, and that was before the Supreme Court leak.

I am back and although saddened by my Mum's passing, I am glad that she is no longer in pain. Thank you for all the kind messages. I actually found books to be a great comfort and I am now looking forward to next month and new challenges!

>93 DeltaQueen50: I'm so sad that you had to deal with this, Judy, and yet I'm so happy you were able to be there with your Mum. May your memories of shared times together bring you comfort. Welcome back.

>93 DeltaQueen50: >94 SqueakyChu: What Madeline said, Judy. Welcome back.

>92 labfs39: I don't think the book is good for our blood pressure.

>93 DeltaQueen50:, condolences Judy and happy that you were able to be with your mum.

>93 DeltaQueen50: My condolences, Judy.

>93 DeltaQueen50: -- I'm so sorry, Judy. I lost my father in September, so I know how hard this is. My entire sympathies are with you.

>93 DeltaQueen50: I'm so sorry.

Thank you for all your kind messages. I am at peace with my mother's passing, she was ready to go and I was very lucky to have had her for such a long time.

>32 FAMeulstee: Hi Anita, for your challenge of a title with a nonletter in the title, can I count the subtitle? The book is The patience stone : sang-e saboor.

Thanks for clarifying!

>102 labfs39: Yes, Lisa, you can include subtitles.
You can use both the ":" between the title and the subtitle, and the "-" in sang-e.
.

Thank you!

>93 DeltaQueen50: My sympathies, Judy. Glad you were able to be with her.

>105 lindapanzo: Thanks, Linda.

The TIOLI Awards for April, 2022

The Inclusiveness Award goes to paulstalder for reading Everybody Loves Abraham, Martin, John—and Paul and Meryl for the challenge by lindapanzo to read a book whose title or author's name includes Abraham, Martin, or John. Obviously, the best thing was to include everyone!

The Celebrating Our Own Award goes to alcottacre for reading Senlin Ascends for the challenge by Citizenjoyce to read a book recommended on Facebook or another public forum. Our challenger read a book recommended on Facebook by Ilana Shamir (Smiler69), one of our own LTers. We LTers know the best books to read, of course!

The Repetiton Award goes to Chatterbox for reading Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow for the challenge by lyzard to read a book with a repeated title word. Twice wasn't enough. This challenger was only satisfied with a word repeated three times!

The Bare Minimum Award goes to lindapanzo for reading Democracy's Rebirth: The View from Chicago for the challenge by wandering_star to read a book with fewer than 100 members listed on LT. Yep! Zero is certainly less than 100.

The Nice Arrangement Award goes to Chatterbox for reading Body of a Girl for the challenge by FAMeulstee to read a book where the numbers in the number of pages are in sequence. I liked that thw page numbers in this book were in one-after-the-other (close) sequence (i.e. 234).

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

>10 quondame: Emily Dickinson compares hope to a bird, the thing with feathers. Is it too much of a stretch to use the word hope for your challenge?

>107 SqueakyChu: Thanks for the award, Madeline. I love those obscure books. To top this, I've got a book coming up soon that is currently owned by only one library in the world and I'll soon be reading that book.

Maybe by the time I read it in the next few weeks, I'll figure out how to add it to LT without its being available on Amazon or the other choices here.

>109 lindapanzo: Wow. How do you even find these books?

>110 Citizenjoyce: The Democracy's Rebirth: The View from Chicago I was the first LT person to read is by a popular former liberal Chicago alderman, now a Political Science professor. Any "older" Chicagoland resident interested in politics would probably be interested in this book but I'm not sure how many of us are on LT. I got that one via Net Galley.

As for the upcoming book, before I decided on a college major, I wanted to be a weather forecaster. I love reading memoirs by Chicago area meteorologists I grew up watching. This soon-to-be read book is called Cooler by the Lake and it's by retired WGN TV meteorologist Roger Triemstra. Only one library in the world currently owns this book and they wouldn't lend it to me and/or my library. However, I have an "in." Heh-heh.

Now if we can just get our beloved Tom Skilling to write his meteorological memoirs. A few years back, I read Harry Volkman's memoirs (he was another popular local meteorologist).

>108 Citizenjoyce: Alas, hope is no animal.

>111 lindapanzo: Thanks for telling us more about that exclusive book, Linda!

>101 DeltaQueen50:

I'm very sorry for your loss, Judy.

>89 Helenliz:

Sorry, missed this! - been a bit discombobulated. :)

I should say 'no' but you caught me in a good mood so yeah, go ahead.

>114 lyzard: Thanks, Liz.

>111 lindapanzo: A weather forecaster? There has to be a story there.

>114 lyzard: I found something else, so have met the demands of your challenge another way. But thank you anyway.

>117 Helenliz:

Either way, glad to have you! :)

>116 Citizenjoyce: I quickly realized that, while I loved watching/reading about meteorology, I wasn't all that great at science.

These days, though, local weatherpersons do a great job of translating the science stuff into plain English and I love hearing them explain it on FB webcasts. All the quirks of living a few miles from Lake Michigan which markedly changes the weather around here. These days, it could be 50 at my house and 90 an hour away due to "cooler by the lake." In the winter, it could mean more snow.

Personally, I've carried my winter coat to Cubs games when it's in the 80's or 90's due to "cooler by the lake." You can tell who the out of towners are, sometimes. Even my Sox fan friend who went to a Cubs game with me didn't realize how much cooler it would be and was forced to spend lots of money to buy a Cubs sweatshirt, or else freeze.

>107 SqueakyChu: Congratulations to all of the award winners!

Just a note: The Man Who Died Twice that I entered for Challenge #1 is not the same book as the one I entered for Challenge #16.

Housekeeping Day!

Yep! It's that time again to delete books from the wiki that you do not finsish by 12 midnight tonight...except for rolling challenges which you may just mark DNF (did not finish).