You'll love this one...!! A book club & more discussion

What does DIY stand for?

Sounds like we are going to have fun, fun, fun!

Do-It-Yourself books.

So next to me I have a "Teach Yourself Woodwork" book. So if I read that and built a shelf, and posted you all a photo... before it probably fell off the wall knowing me.

Lol I was about to post "Do It Yourself!" and then realised that could have been taken COMPLETELY the wrong way.

Ah, learn something new, as they say. Rusalka: I'm too sleepy to have interpreted a response in the wrong way. lol

I can't imagine taking time off of reading to do a project! What were you guys THINKING!? lol

Debra wrote: "I can't imagine taking time off of reading to do a project! What were you guys THINKING!? lol"

I know! I picked up at the library and have thumbed through it. A Nuclear Energy Simulator will not likely be my project!...More like a Tube Sorter made from empty toilet tissue rolls.

Note to self: Ask all neighbors for their toilet tissue rolls.

So, if I've read this right, I can read non-fiction books between those two dates and count pages. I'm guessing pages are poinst and points make prizes? Not toppled before, but I do have a little stash of new non-fiction that needs reading. Nothing quite as satisfying as opening a new book. Can't imagine I'll be putting up a shelf though!

Judy wrote: "Okay, the clarification that points can only be claimed from one category has been added. Thanks for bringing that up, Almeta. Your cookie is that if you claim points from the Tricks category, you ..."

So just like Halloween, if I execute a Trick I get no Treat!

Although your Rainbow Cookies are tasty, thanks.

Alright I have the dates marked in my Calendar and I will have to check back for the rules, they look too mind-boggling to me right now.

Judy wrote: "Haha You have a way with words, Almeta. You did enjoy the cookie though, right? ..."

Um Hum, Yummy!

I absolutely cannot wait for this toppler! I have a lot of books from my AtW challenge that are non-fiction that I need to read.

I think I geddit.

I have two greens by my bed waiting for me to get round to them which will do nicely to start. And I also have Wild Swans, which will give me lots of pages.

So I do either the brew or trick to get a treat? So if I read Wild Swans which is (picking number at random here) 678 pages I then get 500 pages free for the brew totalling 1178 pages? Then I can get my treats? Or have I got it muddled?

So maybe I don't geddit.

Ah, but I may completely change my mind come Octoppler.

Ooo I'm liking the look of this one...now to plan... :-D

Judy? Do the treats have to be read during the alloted time for the Toppler?

Judy, so sorry! But what if I have 500 pages and the Toppler is over. Do I still get to redeem those pages for a treat? I understand that I won't earn any pages after the Toppler end date, but just curious if I can still redeem the earned pages.

In your updated rules, I think you meant the word Treats here: "do a project, I can't also claim points under the Tricks Treats category if it had an orange cover"

I think I'll read books, post them and let someone with a bit more experience do the maths. (or is that cheating terribly?!)

So (thinking categories here), if I was foolish enough to read a book that was 1000 pages long and actually accomplished it, could I claim both a Witch's Brew and a Trick using the same book? Or, would I have to claim 2 Witch's Brews, or 2 Treats or 2 Tricks?

Am I over thinking this?

I get the math, Judy. But I am not sure what is meant by free pages here. As far as I get it, I do any task from the Witches Brew and Tricks in order to get a Treat?

Also, what does pages count mean in here - Free: fiction read of your choice (pages count)?

Alright, got it. Thanks Judy. :)

What a good time to get my green rainbow books out of the way :)

I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead

AmyK wrote: "I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead"

Really too cool!

Debra wrote: "I can't imagine taking time off of reading to do a project! What were you guys THINKING!? lol"

My thoughts exactly, Debra! lol. However, I love Almeta's proposed project! Hehe. Hope she doesn't activate the dang thing! LOL

I could read Sleeping Naked is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days for a project.

Are there lists for:

(1) two books the group selected for the Death Narrates Group Theme Read

(2) classic horror novels (50-plus years old)

I figure Frankenstein would fit "classic horror novel" but I'm sure there are more.
50 years ago was 1962.

Connie wrote: "I could read Sleeping Naked is Green..."

Looking forward to that picture! :P

Connie wrote: "I could read Sleeping Naked is Green: How an Eco-Cynic Unplugged Her Fridge, Sold Her Car, and Found Love in 366 Days for a project"


That could be an interesting project photo...

Why does the whole toppler thing confuse me? Is it that we just read as many pages as we can in the timeframe indicated?

Judy wrote: "Rusalka wrote: "Do-It-Yourself books.

So next to me I have a "Teach Yourself Woodwork" book. So if I read that and built a shelf, and posted you all a photo... before it probably fell off the wall knowing me."

That would be perfect. (And if the shelf falls off the wall take a picture of it and start a new Blooper (or Bleeper) thread. lol.)"

Or you could post:

Do It Yourself...

(picture of shelf on wall)

Or Not!

(picture of fallen shelf)

AmyK wrote: "I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead"

Oh, please, please, please make these creatures! I really want to see what they look like. (make extras and sell them to us!)

Larae wrote: "Why does the whole toppler thing confuse me? Is it that we just read as many pages as we can in the timeframe indicated?"

Yes, and no. A Toppler is basically a read-a-thon, so the goal is to read and get books off of your tbr, but there's no requirement to read the whole time, or to read a specific number of pages. It's all for fun, and to earn badges on your Wall of Fame.

To add to the fun, there's a theme, and tasks and silly things. Also, posting about what you're reading and want to read, along with cheering on others, is a big part of the fun. You can check out the old Topplers in the Closed Discussion Topic (http://www.goodreads.com/topic/group_...) and get an idea of what goes on during a Toppler.

As you can tell from a lot of our comments, we're all about having fun with reading and chatting.

jaxnsmom wrote: "AmyK wrote: "I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead"

Oh, please, please, please make these creatures! I really want to see what..."


I put the book on hold at the library. I was thinking that depending on how heavy they are they would be awesome to put magnets on the back of or something.

AmyK wrote: "I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead"

I bought that as a secret santa one year for someone who claimed to be a bookworm and loved Zombies. Seemed the perfect combination.

Subsequently discovered that they couldn't sew for toffee though.

Helen wrote: "AmyK wrote: "I so want to read this and make one Zombie Felties: How to Raise 16 Gruesome Felt Creatures from the Undead"

I bought that as a secret santa one year for someone who claimed to be a b..."

But what a brilliant thing to practice on though!

Larae wrote: "Why does the whole toppler thing confuse me? Is it that we just read as many pages as we can in the timeframe indicated?"

I believe the spirit of the thing is to read non-fiction books that have been on your to-do list for a while, thus Toppling them from your shelves. AND to encourage others to do the same.

This time, however, instead of counting books finished, you will be counting the number of pages in books finished.

If you rarely read non-fiction, you are given the option of reading classic horror, true crime, or poetry instead, and are given several chances to read any fiction by completing other tasks.

To claim more pages than you have actually read, you must complete certain tasks from Witches Brew or Tricks.

For every 500 pages you have accumulated (read or not), you earn a Treat, which allows you to read your fiction novel or read any book with an orange cover so that you can join the “Rainbow Challenge” late. Or you can claim 250 more pages toward another 500 page Treat goal.

Most of all you are to have silly fun while sharing your reading projects!

Almeta wrote: "..."

Exactly what she said! Thanks for the exec summary Almeta.

I joined for the last Toppler, and I must say I spent so much time laughing it was ridiculous. Mr Rusalka was panicking more than me yelling "Get off the internet and read!!" But it was most of the fun!

Awesome synopsis Almeta!

With the timeframe for this toppler, do we use the times from our own time zones or do we need to re-calculate to match EST like we do for the 24 hr topplers?

Judy wrote: "Recalculate EST so we can read together and jolly along together."

I thought so but a small voice in my head demanded that I check (I plan to mock it and chant 'I was right' at it until lunchtime!)

Judy wrote: "LOL, Sam! You obviously have picked up on the togetherness of past Topplers. :-)"

Shame the voice didn't ;-)

He's obviously not on the ball this morning, all the other ones got it right! ;-)

Janice wrote: "Awesome synopsis Almeta!"

Ah shucks. :0)

Sounds like everyone is getting pretty geeked up for this upcoming Toppler. Sis and I plan to keep each other company as much as possible. Work will be the ONLY thing interfering with my reading that week!

I know! That pesty ole' work thingy. Always getting in the way of a good time.

Okay, I'm on board. I always have a hard time getting through my non-fiction books. Fortunately, I have some as audiobooks, so I can listen to one as I create a do-it-myself project from another.

... I might actually be excited about this toppler enough to start reading a lot again!

Has anyone actually ever read the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire?

I just spent 2.5 hours organizing my ebooks and found I have a huge collection of non-fiction books (cookery, self help etc). Yeah, all set for the toppler. Well, almost. Now I have to decide which ones I will be reading.

A question: Do books like these On Death and Dying count as non-fiction?

Ah good, that means I can finish off some of my text-related books. Killing two birds with one stone. :D

I do the same, Judy. Choosing something and then reading something else. But I am determined to think of at least some of the books I will be reading otherwise most of the time is wasted deciding. Can't have that time wasted from the Toppler time, can we? ;)