Books on the Nightstand discussion

Right here we go!
Here's my card with books :-)

Translation: Cabo de Gata
A Play: Trifles
A Blue Cover: Dawn O'Hara: The Girl Who Laughed
With 200 pages or fewer : The House of Paper
A short story anthology:The Persephone Book of Short Stories
About books, bookstores or publishing: The Camel Bookmobile
Set in Europe: Min kamp 2
Noir: Rome Noir
Graphic Novel: House of Mystery, Vol. 1: Room and Boredom
Cozy Mystery: Friends, Lovers, Chocolate
Poetry Collection: The Best American Poetry 2008
An Audiobook: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
FREE SQUARE: The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories
Published before 1970: Fidelity
A novella: Alexander's Bridge
Borrowed from the library: Fugle omkring fyret
A random book from a shelf: The Glass Room
Has been on your TBR for longer than 2 years (since 2011)Kafka on the Shore
Set during a war or conflict: The Narrow Road to the Deep North
A Booker prize winner or made the short list: A Tale for the Time Being
Set in another country: In Office Hours
With a unique format: The Forgetting Room: A Fiction
Found in a used bookstore: The Zoo, a Going
By a small press: Life of a Counterfeiter
Young adult novel: Magyk

Hey Louise - I have a couple of comments for you on your book choices. Regarding Trifles, do you listen to The Classic Tales Podcast? Just yesterday I listened to an episode from November 6th of last year that was a reading of A Jury of Her Peers which is the short story Susan Glaspell adapted from the play. It was a very good listen. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

In addition, I absolutely LOVE the Septimus Heap series that starts with Magyk. That's just a wonderful series. I think Angie Sage does a magnificent job playing with words and their spellings. They're also terrific audiobooks if you decide to go that way.

WTG, Louise! I'll bet I worked on my card for two hours last night and only filled in half of it!

Are the categories the same each year?

Laura, on the podcast they said some new categories were added this year.

Thanks Carey. I haven't ever participated and would like to this year.

I loove finding the titles for the challenges :-) :-)

I've had the first 3 Septimus Heap books for ages! Time to read them :-)

I printed out 2 cards. I have ideas for most of my squares but one is stumping me. "By an author born the same year as you". For me that's 1971 and all my Google searches keeps giving me famous people in general, mostly actors. Then I started browsing my shelves for who might be close to my age. Turns out when I googled those authors it gave me a list of others near in age to who I was looking for. So far I've found Holly Black and Patrick Ness for my choices.... And Gillian Flynn!

Patrick Ness' A Monster Calls is terrific! I highly recommend that one.

Where can I print out the card?

http://tinyurl.com/BOTNSBingo2016

thanks!

I got "About a religion with which you are unfamiliar" on my card and I was wondering if that should be interpreted as nonfiction about that religion or just a novel based around it. I mean obviously I can do whatever I want, but what's life without strict rules, right?
Just curious what all your thoughts are on this topic!

Julianne (Outlandish Lit) wrote: "I got "About a religion with which you are unfamiliar" on my card and I was wondering if that should be interpreted as nonfiction about that religion or just a novel based around it. I mean obvious..."

I was thinking more non-fiction. But being that I really like learning about different religions, I am not sure where to go with this. I am familiar with quite a lot. I might go for Jainism or Quaker.

I have a square for "novel about a plague." I've already read "Station Eleven" and "Year of Wonder." Any other suggestions?

Readnponder wrote: "I have a square for "novel about a plague." I've already read "Station Eleven" and "Year of Wonder." Any other suggestions?"

The Plague by Albert Camus
Blindness by José Saramago
The Scarlet Plague by Jack London
The Children of Men by P.D. James
The Pesthouse by Jim Crace
The Stand by Stephen King
Emergence by David R. Palmer
Survivors by Terry Nation

To name just a few.

I was so excited about Book Bingo until Meetup.com just banned my account for posting the link on my book club's discussion board (we had discussed it at a meeting) - apparently the tinyurl mixed with the actual long URL flags it. Careful when posting it other places! :'-(

On a more relevant note, if I have about a million books on my TBR list, how am I supposed to pick "the longest"? Do I instead think of one that I'm currently reading but have left unfinished for a while? *cough Family Furnishings cough*

Louise wrote: "Right here we go!
Here's my card with books :-)

You're so organized! I tend to go book-by-book. I look at the many, many books I have waiting to be read and see if any of them fit a square. Lather, rinse, repeat. :-)

I love book bingo.

Readnponder wrote: "I have a square for "novel about a plague." I've already read "Station Eleven" and "Year of Wonder." Any other suggestions?"

Doomsday Book

Laura wrote:
I love book bingo.
i>

Me too - I'll probably change some of them as I go :-)

@Readnponder (and everyone!) on July 12th a book called 'The Last One' comes out. Sort of like Station Eleven and about a plague. It's so so good. I literally stayed up all night reading it.

Thanks for the "plague" suggestions I received.
I have to smile about Ann and Michael's advice that we interpret categories however works best.
I have the square for "longest book on your TBR".
I thought that meant the book with the most pages. Apparently others are interpreting it to mean the book with the most dust.

Readnponder wrote: "Thanks for the "plague" suggestions I received.
I have to smile about Ann and Michael's advice that we interpret categories however works best.
I have the square for "longest book on your TBR".
I t..."

I think number of pages would be my interpretation, too, but it could even mean the longest in physical length! :-)

So, does everyone have different squares? How interesting! This is my first time doing it...

Hannah wrote: "So, does everyone have different squares? How interesting! This is my first time doing it..."

I think Michael said there are 192 options for the squares -- and I don't recall how many squares are on the cards. It might be mathematically possible for some people to have identical cards, but math is not my strong suit . . . ha, ha.

Hi all,

I'm hoping this is the right place to post, feel free to let me know if not...my bingo card includes the category 'A book by any Booktopia author' - is there a definitive, comprehensive list available, or is it best to trawl through the shownotes?

Thanks!
Fran

Fran wrote: "Hi all,

I'm hoping this is the right place to post, feel free to let me know if not...my bingo card includes the category 'A book by any Booktopia author' - is there a definitive, comprehensive li..."

Michael posted a list last year (hoping this link will work): https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Julianne (Outlandish Lit) wrote: "I got "About a religion with which you are unfamiliar" on my card and I was wondering if that should be interpreted as nonfiction about that religion or just a novel based around it. I mean obvious..."

Still within non-fiction are all those great memoirs about people who have LEFT religions. Some of my favorites include:

Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape
My Life in Orange

Thanks so much Laura! :-D

Laura, thanks from me too. I've also got the Booktopia author square.

I didn't check Michael's list, but here is the most up-to-date list of Booktopia Authors:

Vermont 2011

Chris Bohjalian, Secrets of Eden
Jon Clinch, Kings of the Earth
Wendy Clinch, Fade to White
Matthew Dicks, Unexpectedly, Milo
Susan Gregg Gilmore, The Improper Life of Bezellia Grove
Steve Himmer, The Bee-Loud Glade
Ellen Meeropol, House Arrest
Elizabeth Stuckey-French, The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady
John M. Thompson, The Reservoir

Vermont 2012

Susan Cain, QUIET
Kenneth C. Davis, DON’T KNOW MUCH ABOUT® HISTORY
Sara J. Henry, LEARNING TO SWIM
William Landay, DEFENDING JACOB
Leslie Maitland, CROSSING THE BORDERS OF TIME
Richard Mason, HISTORY OF A PLEASURE SEEKER
Madeline Miller, THE SONG OF ACHILLES
Howard Frank Mosher, THE GREAT NORTHERN EXPRESS

Oxford 2012

Kevin Brockmeier, author of The Illumination
Ellen F. Brown, author of Margaret Mitchell’s Gone with the Wind, A Bestseller’s Odyssey from Atlanta to Hollywood
Tom Franklin, author of Crooked Letter, Crooked Letter
Russ Kick, editor of The Graphic Canon 
Suzanne Marrs, Eudora Welty’s biographer and the author of What There Is to Say We Have Said: The Correspondence of Eudora Welty and William Maxwell
Michael Parker, author of The Watery Part of the World
Jesmyn Ward, Salvage the Bones (did not attend due to illness – Susan Gregg Gilmore pinch hitted)

Santa Cruz 2012

Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend by Matthew Dicks,
The Baker’s Daughter by Sarah McCoy,
The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson
Swim Back to Me by Ann Packer
Murder in the Marais and Murder at the Lanterne Rouge by Cara Black.
South with the Sun by Lynne Cox
Girlchild by Tupelo Hassman
Silver Sparrow by Tayari Jones
plus book narrators Simon Vance (Bringing up the Bodies) and Grover Gardner (The Passage of Power: The Years of Lyndon Johnson by Robert Caro)

Vermont 2013

Nichole Bernier, THE UNFINISHED WORK OF ELIZABETH D. 
Amy Brill, THE MOVEMENT OF STARS 
Jon Clinch, KINGS OF THE EARTH and the forthcoming THE THIEF OF AUSCHWITZ 
Sara J. Henry, LEARNING TO SWIM and the forthcoming A COLD AND LONELY PLACE
Elizabeth Kelly, APOLOGIZE, APOLOGIZE and the forthcoming THE LAST SUMMER OF THE CAMPERDOWNS 
Paula McLain, THE PARIS WIFE
Chris Pavone, THE EXPATS 
Will Schwalbe, THE END OF YOUR LIFE BOOK CLUB
Steve Yarbrough, SAFE FROM THE NEIGHBORS and the forthcoming THE REALM OF LAST CHANCES

Bellingham 2013

Peter Clines, Ex-Heroes

Jonathan Evison, The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving
Ru Freeman, On Sal Mal Lane

Caroline Leavitt, Is This Tomorrow 

Rhonda Riley, The Enchanted Life of Adam Hope

Jan-Philipp Sendker, The Art of Hearing Heartbeats

Maggie Shipstead, Seating Arrangements

Petoskey 2013

Melanie Benjamin, Alice I Have Been, The Autobiography of Mrs. Tom Thumb, andThe Aviator’s Wife
Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and Songs of Willow Frost 
Peter Geye, Safe From the Sea, and The Lighthouse Road
Susan Gregg Gilmore, Looking for Salvation at the Dairy Queen, The Improper Life of Bezelia Grove, and The Funeral Dress 
Peter Heller, The Dog Stars
Jill McCorkle, author of nine books including Going Away Shoes, Carolina Moon, and Life After Life
Edward Kelsey Moore, The Supremes at Earl’s All You Can Eat
Bill Roorbach, author of eight books including Temple Stream, Writing Life Stories, and Life Among Giants
Mary Doria Russell, author of five novels including The Sparrow, Children of God, and Doc

Vermont 2014

Gail Caldwell, author of NEW LIFE, NO INSTRUCTIONS: A MEMOIR 
Kelly Corrigan, author of GLITTER AND GLUE: A MEMOIR
John Demos, award-winning historian and author of THE HEATHEN SCHOOL: A STORY OF HOPE AND BETRAYAL IN THE AGE OF THE EARLY REPUBLIC 
P.S. Duffy, author of THE CARTOGRAPHER OF NO MAN’S LAND 
Bruce Holsinger, author of A BURNABLE BOOK
Jennifer McMahon (was ill, did not attend), author of THE WINTER PEOPLE
Rupert Thomson, author of SECRECY 

Boulder 2014

Justin Go, THE STEADY RUNNING OF THE HOUR 
Peter Heller , THE PAINTER 
Kristi Helvig, BURN OUT 
Colin McAdam, A BEAUTIFUL TRUTH 
Jonathan Miles, WANT NOT 
TaraShea Nesbit, THE WIVES OF LOS ALAMOS 

 
Asheville 2014
•      Krista Bremer, MY ACCIDENTAL JIHAD
•      Wiley Cash, THIS DARK ROAD TO
•      Kim Church, BYRD 
•      Denise Kiernan, The Girls of Atomic City: The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II 
•      Ariel Lawhon, THE WIFE, THE MAID AND THE MISTRESS 
•      E. Lockhart, WE WERE LIARS 
•      Anthony Marra, A CONSTELLATION OF VITAL PHENOMENA 

Vermont 2015

• Josh Cook, AN EXAGGERATED MURDER
• Michael Crummey, SWEETLAND
• Cristina Henriquez, THE BOOK OF UNKNOWN AMERICANS
• Steve Himmer, FRAM
• Dylan Landis, RAINEY ROYAL
• Kelly Link, GET IN TROUBLE
• Megan Mayhew Bergman, ALMOST FAMOUS WOMEN
• Mary Doria Russell, EPITAPH

Petoskey 2015

W. Bruce Cameron, The Dog Master
Lauren Fox, Days of Awe
Jennifer McMahon, The Night Sister
Janis Cooke Newman, A Master Plan for Rescue
Jonathan Odell, Miss Hazel and the Rosa Parks League
Jim Ottaviani, Primates
Luis Alberto Urrea, The Water Museum

Vermont 2016

Stephen Kiernan The Hummingbird
Jung Yun - The Shelter
Morgan Callan Rogers Written on my Heart
Rebecca Dinerstein The Sunlit Night
Sophie McManus Unfortunates
Barbara Shapiro (B.A Shapiro) The Muralist
Ray O'Connor She Called Him Raymond
Martin Seay The Mirror Thief- May 2016
 

What a great list Linda. Thank you so much. It brings back incredible memories of fun and friendship.

Readnponder wrote: "Thanks for the "plague" suggestions I received.
I have to smile about Ann and Michael's advice that we interpret categories however works best.
I have the square for "longest book on your TBR".
I t..."

Obviously open to interpretation, but there is a separate square for "Has been on your TBR longer than two years" So I interpreted my "Shortest on TBR" to be page count (or length).

I'm playing for the first time this year too! I have about half my squares filled with suggestions, only three already filled with books I've read, and still trying to figure out the rest. This is going to be fun!

If you have the "fairytale adaptation" square or the square for a "book that can be read in one sitting," I've got a recommendation that would fulfill either one: It's illustrated (bonus!) and clever.

Laura wrote: "If you have the "fairytale adaptation" square or the square for a "book that can be read in one sitting," I've got a recommendation that would fulfill either one: [bookcover:The Sleeper and the Spi..."

Looks like a great suggestion.

Is there a thread for "books with a punctuation mark in the title"? I'm struggling!!!

Sandi wrote: "Is there a thread for "books with a punctuation mark in the title"? I'm struggling!!!"
Where'd You Go, Bernadette (comma)
84, Charing Cross Road (comma)
One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories (colon)
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal? (question mark)
Etiquette & Espionage (ampersand!)

Sandi wrote: "Is there a thread for "books with a punctuation mark in the title"? I'm struggling!!!"

I just posted a bunch for someone else's question:

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Sandi wrote: "Is there a thread for "books with a punctuation mark in the title"? I'm struggling!!!"

If you like the excitement of exclamation marks, there's Escape from Baghdad! or The Regional Office Is Under Attack! I loved the first one and am looking forward to the second. !

Nadine wrote: "Sandi wrote: "Is there a thread for "books with a punctuation mark in the title"? I'm struggling!!!"

If you like the excitement of exclamation marks, there's Escape from Baghdad! o..."

And apostrophe's can be fun too.....Gil's All Fright Diner

I have the square "Set in the place where you live". I live on a small island in the Bronx. I am finishing The Nest (thanks Ann Kingman!) by Cynthis D'Aprix Sweeney which is set in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Westchester. Is that close enough?

Yes, Kate!

Isn't your island NY, NY? If so yes!!

Any ideas for "Set at (or near) the North or South Pole"?

Elenor wrote: "Any ideas for "Set at (or near) the North or South Pole"?"

Yes! A wonderful Booktopia book from last spring - Fram by Steve Himmer. here's my review (don't worry - no spoilers!):

http://bookbybook.blogspot.com/2015/0...

Elenor wrote: "Any ideas for "Set at (or near) the North or South Pole"?"

Also part of Where'd You Go, Bernadette takes place near the South Pole.

A nonfiction book that I liked that would qualify is Ice Bound: A Doctor's Incredible Battle for Survival at the South Pole

Elenor wrote: "Any ideas for "Set at (or near) the North or South Pole"?"

All islands: Atlas of Remote Islands by Judith Schalansky

North Pole
Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton (comes out August I think)
Libby by Elizabeth John (set on the Pribilof Islands of Alaska outside the Arctic circle but freezing cold anyway... Amazing real life account of a fearless woman)
Isles Of The North by Ian Mitchell
Last Places: A Journey in the North by Lawrence Millman
A Woman in the Polar Night by Christiane Ritter

Antarctica
My Last Continent: A Novel by Midge Raymond
Ice Diaries: An Antarctic Memoir by Jean McNeil
The Comet Seekers by Helen Sedgewick (unless you can score a galley from Edelweiss this will have to be a resource for next year. It comes out in September.)

Swimming to Antarctica: Tales of a Long-Distance Swimmer

South with the Sun: Roald Amundsen, His Polar Explorations, and the Quest for Discovery