The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Team Kurt Wallander

Team Members:

❅ Allison- Captain
❅ Angela- Co-captain
❅ Halli
❅ Carrie Elrick
❅ Steph
❅ Brittany Gass
❅ Hiscaro
❅ Christine

❅ Tessa Globerger


♕ Team Spreadsheet

All About UNO
UNO FAQ.

Team Spreadsheet
Tracking Spreadsheet

COUNTDOWN to Start of UNO

Team Shelves

❅ Allison - Captain.
❅ Angela - Co-captain
❅ Halli.
❅ Carrie Elrick
❅ Steph
❅ Brittany Gass.
❅ Christine
❅ Hisacro
❅ Tessa Globerger


Most Important Things to Remember
* Only books started after the challenge started can count for cards. Link to the countdown is located above.
* All finished books must be marked as read and must be on your UNO shelf.
* When you finish a book, please post in the thread and make note of as many options as possible so we can switch the book around if necessary.
* Coloured covers need to be at least 50% of a colour. If you're unsure, please ask in the thread and the team will weigh in. If still unsure, then captains can take the question to the captains' group to get a final decision.
* Have fun!! It's a social challenge, so can get chatty. And while we do want points and want to finish all our cards, this isn't supposed to be a competitive challenge. So enjoy your reading!

EXAMPLE POST

Completion Post

by Louise Penny - 4/05/18
Works for 5 Blue
0 - character Zardo
1 - character Olivier
2 - title
3 - character Harris
4 - character Francois
5 - character Isabelle
6 - character Suzanne
7 - series #7
9 - character Normand
Skip - author last name

THE CARDS

O (Zero)
Read a book that:
- has a 0 or Zero in the title
- has a title starting with Z
- has an author first name or surname starts with Z
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with Z
- is set in a place name starting with Z
- is a "stand-alone" book (i.e. not part of a series)

1 (One)
Read a book that:
- has a 1 or One in the title
- has a title starting with O
- has an author first name or surname starts with O
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with O
- is set in a place name starting with O
- is book 1 in a series

2 (Two)
Read a book that:
- has a 2 or Two in the title
- has a title starting with T
- has an author first name or surname starts with T
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with T
- is set in a place name starting with T
- is book 2 in a series

3 (Three)
Read a book that:
- has a 3 or Three in the title
- has a title starting with H
- has an author first name or surname starts with H
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with H
- is set in a place name starting with H
- is book 3 in a series

4 (Four)
Read a book that:
- has a 4 or Four in the title
- has a title starting with F
- has an author first name or surname starts with F
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with F
- is set in a place name starting with F
- is book 4 in a series

5 (Five)
Read a book that:
- has a 5 or Five in the title
- has a title starting with I
- has an author first name or surname starts with I
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with I
- is set in a place name starting with I
- is book 5 in a series

6 (Six)
Read a book that:
- has a 6 or Six in the title
- has a title starting with S
- has an author first name or surname starts with S
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with S
- is set in a place name starting with S
- is book 6 in a series

7 (Seven)
Read a book that:
- has a 7 or Seven in the title
- has a title starting with V
- has an author first name or surname starts with V
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with V
- is set in a place name starting with V
- is book 7 in a series

8 (Eight)
Read a book that:
- has an 8 or Eight in the title
- has a title starting with E
- has an author first name or surname starts with E
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with E
- is set in a place name starting with E
- is book 8 in a series

9 (Nine)
Read a book that:
- has a 9 or Nine in the title
- has a title starting with N
- has an author first name or surname starts with N
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with N
- is set in a place name starting with N
- is book 9 in a series

Skip
Read a book that:
- has a title starting with K or P
- has an author first name or surname starts with K or P
- has a character with a first name, surname or nickname starting with K or P
- is set in a place name starting with K or P
OR you can choose to "skip" reading a book for this cards (and get no points for this card)

Draw 2
Use the same book for two cards in this hand (and get points for both cards)

Reverse
One member of your team must read a book another team member has already read

Wild
Read a book that can fit for any of the cards in that SAME hand (i.e. you are duplicating one of the cards in that same hand)

Wild draw four
Read a book that can fit for any of the coloured cards you have that month (i.e. you are duplicating one of your coloured cards. Each coloured card can only be duplicated once)

Coloured cards
Special coloured cards will be randomly provided each month. for these cards you need to read for the card number (as above) and the book must also have a coloured cover for the colour specified (blue, red, yellow or green)

FEBRUARY CARDS - 90 BOOKS
(view spoiler)[
CARD 0 - 3
CARD 1 - 8
CARD 2 - 9
CARD 3 - 5
CARD 4 - 7
CARD 5 - 8
CARD 6 - 8
CARD 7 - 10
CARD 8 - 9
CARD 9 - 3

SKIP - 7
REVERSE - 6
WILD - 2
WILD DRAW 4 - 3
DRAW 2 - 4

1 BLUE - Carrie
1 YELLOW - Steph
4 BLUE - Angela
6 RED - Angela
6 YELLOW - Allison
8 RED - Steph
9 GREEN - Allison (hide spoiler)]

MARCH CARDS - 96 BOOKS
(view spoiler)[
DRAW 2 - 9

CARD 0 (Z) - 3
CARD 1 (O) - 5
CARD 2 (T) - 9
CARD 3 (H) - 8
CARD 4 (F) - 10
CARD 5 (I) - 4
CARD 6 (S) - 7
CARD 7 (V) - 7
CARD 8 (E) - 7
CARD 9 (N) - 9

SKIP - 7
REVERSE - 7
WILD - 3

WILD DRAW 4 - 2
0 RED
5 RED
2 YELLOW
4 YELLOW
0 GREEN
7 GREEN
3 BLUE
9 BLUE (hide spoiler)]

APRIL CARDS - 98 BOOKS

DRAW 2 - 7

CARD 0 (Z) - 5
CARD 1 (O) - 9
CARD 2 (T) - 11
CARD 3 (H) - 8
CARD 4 (F) - 8
CARD 5 (I) - 7
CARD 6 (S) - 3
CARD 7 (V) - 4
CARD 8 (E) - 7
CARD 9 (N) - 8

SKIP - 8
REVERSE - 5
WILD - 5

WILD DRAW 4 - 3

3 RED
4 RED
4 RED
7 RED
8 RED
1 YELLOW
2 YELLOW
1 GREEN
1 GREEN
3 GREEN
4 GREEN
4 BLUE
5 BLUE
9 BLUE

It's a Crime! February Mini Challenge

(view spoiler)[This is an optional mini challenge for our UNO players. This month we are testing your detective skills

You will be given a mystery (posted below) and it is up to you to solve it. There are also three clues that you can earn to help you solve the mystery!

◈ Books can be started at any point since the start of the UNO challenge (Feb 1)
◈ Books need to be read after the start of this mini challenge on February 14, 7pm AEDST (countdown is here) and before March 1 at 7pm AEDST (Countdown to March is here)
◈ As a team, you will need to complete some tasks, and spell-it-outs that are related to the story. All of the tasks you need to complete are on your team spreadsheet.
These are:
1. Read a book with a housekeeper, maid or servant in the story
2. Read a book where the main character works in the medical field
3. Read a book tagged MPG science
4. Read a book where a murder occurs
5. Read a book tagged MPG mystery
6. Read a book based in Sweden or by a Swedish author
7. Read a book with an alliterative title
SPELL-IT-OUTS
Livingston ESQ
Attending Nurse
Forensics
E - 4
F - 1
I - 4
N - 6
O - 2
S - 5
T - 3
V - 1
A - 1
C - 1
D - 1
G - 2
L - 1
Q - 1
R - 2
U - 1

For each task completed, or letter spelled out, your team will receive 10 points.

◈ Once we finish these tasks there is a bonus mystery to solve for more points

◈ Books used for this mini challenge do not need to be separate books for what you are claiming for your UNO hands
◈ The usual book length rules apply
◈ Team spreadsheets will be updated with a mini challenge tab so that you can track your books and claim your points

Spell-it-out rules
For this mini-challenge, you are using the same rules that apply for UNO. So a letter needs to be the first letter in the book title, author first name or surname, character name or nickname, or setting. Articles (a/an/the) can be ignored in the book titles. For this spell-it-out, you can also use the first letter in the series name.

So put on your hats and grab those magnifying glasses and lets get started!



Story - The Corpulent Corpse
~writer unknown~
(view spoiler)[
Donna Livingston, Esq., rushed into Detective Tubert’s office like a charging bull. “I know. I’m late.” She plopped herself on his torn leather chair. “Elaine Dutton was an hour late dropping the letter off at my office. Some sort of evening gown emergency… she’s a seamstress, you know.”

“Donna Livingston, I presume.”

“Gosh, I never heard that one before.” Tubert felt foolish as she pulled an envelope from her purse.

“It’s been a year since their father’s death,” said Tubert.

“Why did it take so long for this letter to surface?”

“The day Faustus Dutton died, his three kids started fighting over how to split up his autograph collection, which is probably worth about $25 million.”

Tubert whistled. “What’d he have? A posthumous Elvis?”

“A love letter from George Washington to Martha, an original Beethoven score, an alleged Shakespeare poem, a smattering of Kings and Czars… that sort of thing.”

Tubert whistled again.

“One of them wants to sell the collection immediately,” she continued, “another insists it’ll double in value if they hold onto it for a few years, and the third one doesn’t want to sell the it at all. And of course they’ve all got favorites they want to keep as mementos.

“As the executor, I’ve been trying to work out a solution ever since. In the meantime, they decided to padlock his room and give me the key for safekeeping to make sure none of them could slip anything out of the collection until matters were settled.

Yesterday, they finally came to an agreement. When we opened the room to retrieve the collection, I found this letter in his desk.”

Tubert pulled the folded page from its envelope. “To Whom It May Concern,” it began in a jagged scrawl, “In the event of my death, I, Faustus Dutton, hereby formally request a police investigation. The reason for this is simple: I know that one of my children murdered me.”

Tubert looked up. “You think this is true?”

“His kids do. They just don’t know which one of them did it, so they asked me to turn the matter over to the police.” After a year, Tubert knew the trail would be colder than an Eskimo’s sole, but the dead man’s plea intrigued him. “I guess we’ll have to exhume the body.”

Tubert lifted the heavy bronze knocker on the massive oak door and let it drop.

Donna answered. “Welcome to Dutton Manor.”

She waved him into an enormous foyer and led him into a two-story library where he found two men and a woman waiting.

“Lieutenant Tubert, allow me to introduce my clients,” she said, “Sam, Jack and Elaine.”

Tubert made the rounds to shake hands, noting that the siblings were sitting as far from each other as possible. There was no love lost in this family.

“We were so pleased that you decided to dig up the body,” said Elaine. I know Daddy’s letter was bizarre, and the police are so busy…”

“Cut the crap, Elaine.” Jack said impatiently.

“No need to get snippy,” she chided.

Sam interrupted, “Can we just get on with it?” Tubert was only too happy to.

“I called this meeting because the autopsy results came back last night and confirmed your father’s fears: he was murdered.”

The three siblings exchanged glances.

“The body was significantly decomposed,” Tubert continued, “but they were still able find evidence of succinylcholine.”

“Succi-what?” asked Donna.”It’s like a synthetic curare,” said Sam, “paralyzes the muscles. We use it in anesthesia.”

“Sam’s an ICU nurse,” explained Elaine.

“Which makes Sam the only one with access to the stuff, eh nursie?” Jack sniggered.

“It’s not a controlled substance like narcotics are,” interjected Tubert. “Someone motivated enough to commit murder wouldn’t have much trouble lifting the stuff from a hospital.”

Sam pounced on this: “Especially someone with a history of shoplifting like Jack.”

“I was a teenager, for chrissake.”

“I hate to interrupt the lovefest,” said Tubert, “but I’d like to see where your father died.”

They mounted the stairs to the fourth floor.

“This was Faustus’ bedroom,” said Donna. “It’s been locked since the police broke in except for when we came in to get the collection and found the letter.”

She took a key out of her purse and unlocked a massive padlock that sealed the room. As she swung open the door, she said “They found him in bed, on his back. It looked just like a heart attack — he had a history of angina.”

Tubert surveyed the room. It was octagonal in shape, with windows looking out in all directions, not only locked but double- bolted.

He checked for signs of tampering on the windows. He rummaged through the bedside drawers. He knelt and examined the bed, lifting the sheets to check the mattress. He looked through the dresser and the closet. He stood on a chair to check the swag lamp hanging over the bed. Nothing unusual anywhere.

Turning to examine the door, Tubert saw three arrays of splintered holes on the doorjamb.

“There used to be three deadbolts there,” explained Donna.

“The police had to use a battering ram to get in.”

“Daddy locked himself in every night,” said Elaine.

“Bastard didn’t even trust his own kids,” Jack muttered.

“He apparently had good reason,” remarked Tubert.

“What was it?” “Money. What else?” said Jack.

Elaine explained, “The Friday before he died, Daddy told us he was going to Donna’s office on Monday to give his entire autograph collection to The Smithsonian.”

“We all knew he’d been thinking about it,” added Sam, “but this was the first time he’d actually told us he was going to do it.”

Jack scowled bitterly. “Just like the old weasel to tell us before he did it so he could watch us beg for our inheritance.” “So someone tried to stop him by slipping the poison into his food that weekend?” Donna asked.

Tubert shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Succinylcholine is poorly absorbed in the intestines. Someone had to inject it. Depending on the dose, death could have occurred within seconds.”

“But that’s impossible!” said Donna. “How could someone have done that if the room was securely locked from the inside?” “That’s the question, isn’t it?” replied Tubert. “But I’m pretty sure I know who did it and how. And a simple search will prove it.”

Clues:

THE HOUSEKEEPER’S STATEMENT
“They all live here together, you know, like a bunch of
inmates at some kind of institution, fighting and swearing…. The
old man’d throw open the door every morning and come down to
the library where he’d take his coffee. Then onto the veranda for
lunch, rain or shine, and he’d sit in the rocker and fall off sleeping
during the afternoons. Supper in the dining room, then off to bed
by nine when he’d lock himself in again.”

ATTENDING NURSE’S STATEMENT
The following statement was taken from Ms. Annette
Jones, duty nurse when the victim was hospitalized for an
angioplasty two weeks before his murder.
“I wasn’t surprised that he’d have heart problems — he
weighed close to 300 lbs., and there was so much stress in that
family. I mean, his three grown children just fought all night like
little kids. The waiting room was next to the nurse’s station and
they got so loud that we couldn’t stand it. We spent the night
doing rounds instead of hanging out at the desk, just coming back
when a patient needed drugs or something. We’ve got a closet
behind the station where we keep all the drugs for surgery and
recovery.”

FROM THE FORENSICS REPORT
The fact that the victim was apparently unable to rise from
bed to summon help indicates that a large dose of the toxin was
administered. However, the body was too decomposed to
determine into which part of the body the injection was delivered. (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Detective Group! March Mini Challenge

March is where your team will take on the role of Detective or Criminal and either and solve a crime, or try to get away with one!

This is an optional mini challenge for our UNO players.

◈ Books with a read date between March 15 - March 31 count. (countdown to the start of the mini challenge is here)
◈ Books can be started at any point since the start of the UNO challenge (Feb 1)
◈ As a team, you will have a mixture of tasks to complete. These include spell-it-outs, cover items, words in text, and words in title. All of the tasks you need to complete are on your team spreadsheet

US ☞☞ If your team has been allocated to the DETECTIVE group:
In order to solve the crime you will need to complete all of your tasks AND read a book that someone on a CRIMINAL team has read during UNO. Once that is done, you have caught the criminal and will be given 30 bonus points

◈ Books used for this mini challenge do not need to be separate books for what you are claiming for your UNO hands
◈ The usual book length rules apply
◈ Team spreadsheets are updated with a mini challenge tab so that you can track your books and claim your points

Spell-it-out rules
For this mini-challenge, you are using the same rules that apply for UNO. So a letter needs to be the first letter in the book title, author first name or surname, character name or nickname, or setting. Articles (a/an/the) can be ignored in the book titles. For this spell-it-out, you can also use the first letter in the series name.

Tasks

Task
1. Read a book with the word "knife" in the text or title
2. Read a book with a knife on the cover
3. Read a book with the word "fingerprint" in the text or title
4. Read a book with at least one fingerprint on the cover
5. Read a book with the word "DNA" in the text
6. Read a book with the letters D-N-A in the title (doesn't need to be in that order)

Task
7. Read a book with a character who is known for being blonde
8. Read a book with a character who is always in trouble
9. Read a book with a character who is a nosey neighbour
10. Read a book with a character that thinks they witnessed a crime
11. Read a book with a character who has been in jail
12. Read a book with a character that talks a lot
13. Read a book with a character who doesn't like talking to people
14. Read a book with a character who goes to court
15. Read a book with a single person on the cover
16. Read a book with more than one person on the cover

Task
17. Read a book where there is adultery
18. Read a book with an expensive car on the cover
19. Read a book with jewellery on the cover
20. Read a book with money on the cover
21. Read a book with a weapon on the cover
22. Read a book where someone has a secret family
23. Read a book where a royal family member is killed so that someone else can take the throne
24. Read a book where someone is jealous

Spell-it-out. (spelling out non duplicate letters) ORLOUC
25. O
26. R
27. L
28. O
29. U
30. C

Task
31. Read a book with a person wearing sunglasses on the cover
32. Read a book with someone in uniform on the cover
33. Read a book with the word "arrest" in the text or title
34. Read a book with the word "detective" in the text or title
36. Read a book where a character needs to be somewhere on time
37. Read a book with C-H-A-S-E in the title (doesn't need to be in that order)
38. Read a book with N-O-W in the title (doesn't need to be in that order)

Spell-it-out. (spelling out non duplicate letters) ChAsinG cRiMinaLs
39. C
40. A
41. G
42. R
43. M
44. L

Task
45. Read a book that someone on a CRIMINAL team has read since UNO began

.

Hello team and welcome to UNO 2019! I'm your captain Allison Ann - but I prefer Allison or Al. This is my fourth time playing UNO and it is such a fun challenge, I hope you all love it too. The last two times I played, my captain/co-captain disappeared and I ended up taking over. So this time I bit the bullet and just signed up for captain. So it is my first time setting up, but I'm aces at the organizing side. And I promise not to disappear. :)

When you get a chance, please check in here and tell us a little about yourself and post a link to your UNO shelf. Thanks.

I live in NW Ontario, Canada where there are more lakes, deer and rocks than people. I work in tourism. I read almost everything, though mystery, fantasy, sci-fi and thrillers are my favourites. I had never heard of Kurt Wallander before this challenge (literally the only detective on the list I didn't know) and apparently that is Kenneth Branaugh in the picture at the top of our thread. I live under a rock. My rock is comfy and I like it here. :D

I'm going to go set up the introductory posts now. Then I am going to see if I can find a copy of to read. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Hi, team! I'm Steph Ann (though I prefer Steph). This is my first time doing this challenge, but I'm very excited to get started.

I'm from Illinois, which is at the moment cold and buried in snow, lol. I work from home as a transcriptionist. I have three boys, ages 4, 3, and almost 2, so it's often crazy and very rarely quiet at my house. To underline that point, as I type this, Play-Doh is being used as a weapon, and I have had to take a break from typing at least three times in order to calm things down, lol.

Reading is a huge stress relief for me, and I tend to gravitate more towards Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, and other similar genres. I also have not heard of Kurt Wallander til now, although I did recognize Kenneth Brannagh, lol.

Looking forward to talking with everyone!

UNO 2019

Hello all!

I am Angela your co-captain. This is my first time playing the Uno challenge and I am really hoping to get through a large amount of my TBR pile by playing and also meet some fellow readers! I also promise not to disappear on you through the challenge. 😊

I now live in N.E. Tennessee after moving from Tampa, FL a few months ago. It’s been quite and adjustment but a good one! I currently work as a manager for a company called AVISPL. I read ALL the dang time. I read anything and everything; however, I have noticed that I have gravitated more towards fantasy, mystery and YA novels this past year.

I really look forward to the next two months and getting to know everyone.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

I am glad that I wasn't the only one who didn't know who Kurt Wallander was!

Hey Everyone! I'm Tessa!

This is my first time playing the UNO challenge as well. It sounded like a lot of fun and a great way to meet people who love reading as much as I do! I am so excited to get started.

I live in central Indiana and I am a third grade teacher. I read as much as I can in my limited free time. I will read almost anything but my favorites are usually mystery/thrillers, YA, and memoirs/autobiographies.

Here is the link to my shelf:

https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Can't wait to get started!

Hey Everyone!
My Name is Brittany. This is my 4th year playing in the UNO Challenge. It is my favorite time of the year.
I live in Kentucky and read everything I can get my hands on. My favorite genres are historical fiction, paranormal, sci-fi, and romance. I read all the time and just can’t wait to get started.
Here’s the link to my shelf:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Hi everybody so far. Welcome first timers. Soon you will love UNO as much as Brittany and I. :D

Has everyone read the rules and have a general idea of how the game works? We have plenty of time if you have any questions. We can't start reading for 18 days, 6 hours and 20 minutes.

Hi all! I'm Carrie from Pennsylvania. This will be my first time doing the Uno challenge. After reading all the great comments, I'm quite excited for it to begin!

I enjoy mysteries, thrillers, and nordic noir (and I love Henning Mankell and Kurt Wallander). My personal library has stacks of Jo Nesbo, Alex Dahl, Erik Axl Sound, Steig Larsson, etc!).

I've read over the rules and think I have a pretty good idea of what's going on but I'm sure I'll have questions once the challenge begins.

Here is the link to my shelf:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Looking forward to playing with you all!

Hi Carrie

So I'm off to bed. I have to take my cat to the vet tomorrow. And when you live in the middle of nowhere, you have to drive 1.5 hours to get to your vet. So I'll be gone until evening. Any questions or problems, I'll be around tomorrow night. Hope you all have a good Monday.

No questions from me as of yet. That could change, lol.

I'm starting to go through my books to at least see what colors I have. Those seem to be probably the most difficult cards to cover.

I hope your cat is OK, Allison!

Hey guys, I’m Halli! This is my 3rd time playing UNO & I love it! Last year I had a baby right at the beginning of February, so I wasn’t a great team member for that first month. I used to read all the time, but with an infant my reading is hit or miss most times. I love team challenges because they help me get back in the habit of reading instead of mindlessly watching TV at the end of the day :)

I can’t wait to get started!

Hi, Halli!

Having a baby can definitely affect your reading habits! I'm just now getting back to what my typical reading speed was prior to having kids, and my oldest is 4. Still, there are days when reading is interrupted by a toddler crisis, lol.

Steph Ann.....that's a great idea and I think I will do the same this week!

Welcome everyone!

I am finding that apparently, I don't want to read a lot of books with green covers, according to my TBR list, lol.

Hi Halli, welcome, thanks for checking in. Could you please post your UNO shelf when you get a chance. Thanks!

And thanks everyone for accepting my friend request. Makes checking your shelves just a little bit easier.

Finding coloured covers in advance is a great thing to do for this challenge. I have no problem with green Steph, but yellow will always be my bete noir (someday I will learn how to do accents on a keyboard, but today is not that day). :D So I tend to stockpile them for this challenge. :D

Another thing that really helps with this competition is keeping an eye on what our teammates are reading and if someone posts a book that you have read, just give a little shout out. The REVERSE cards are sometimes hard to fill. So if I say I'm going to read during the challenge and someone here has already read it, then YAY, we can use it for one of our REVERSE cards. Got it?

Oh and my cat has a massive UTI, so she should be fine but I'm going to be shoving various medications into her for a couple of weeks. Yippee! Thank goodness it's the laid back cat who is sick.

Oh, I'm glad for your sake it's the laid back cat, too, Allison! Years ago, when I had two cats, it always seemed to be my more high strung one who got sick and needed meds. I always ended up with scratches everywhere!

Sorry about that! Here's the link to my shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

Thanks Halli. You guys are awesome teammates so far. This may be the easiest team challenge I have ever been part of. :D

So, since we have eons to wait until we can start reading for UNO, let's get to know each other a little bit.

What are you reading right now?

I am always reading multiple books at a time, however today I finished which was a slow read. Very interesting story but the writing was dry. And I have started because I wanted something light and fast.

Who's next?

I just finished Virgil Wander . Outside of my typical reading genre, but I enjoyed it so much. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a novel with a small town setting, quirky characters, atmospheric prose, and a deeper meaning about life in general!

I think I'm going to read The Perfect Nanny next. Total change of pace. Hope it's good.

Allison, what drew you to Empty Mansions? The cover looks interesting. Slow reads are tough to muddle through though.

I finished Zac and Mia today. Zac and Mia. It was an easy read but reminded me a little too much of A Fault in Our Stars.

I am picking up My Sister, the Serial Killer My Sister the Serial Killer tonight.

I was going to start Daisy Jones and the Six Daisy Jones & the Six but decided to wait for a 6 card. :)

Sorry, don't know why it posted the book twice. **Sigh**

Carrie wrote: "I just finished Virgil Wander . Outside of my typical reading genre, but I enjoyed it so much. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking fo..."

I read The Perfect Nanny. I am curious to know your thoughts when you finish. :)

Last night, I finished . I don't usually read a lot of nonfiction, but this worked for a challenge I'm doing, lol. Being a Gilmore Girls fan, it was nice to read some behind the scenes stuff regarding the Netflix special.

Now, I'm rereading . I had gotten super behind in the series and figured I should just reread everything so I didn't feel lost. I have a lot of series like that, so I have a goal of getting caught up on at least 2 or 3 of them this year.

Angela wrote: "Carrie wrote: "I just finished Virgil Wander . Outside of my typical reading genre, but I enjoyed it so much. I would definitely recommend it to an..."

Well The Perfect Nanny seems like a pretty short book, so I'll let you know soon.

Likewise, I just read My Sister, the Serial Killer. I'll be curious as to what you think of that one!

Finished this morning. Now, I'm moving onto .

Steph Ann wrote: "Finished this morning. Now, I'm moving onto ."

I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein for the BOM. I enjoyed it. It was an interesting take on the Frankenstein story. Be curious what you think of it.

Carrie wrote: "I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein for the BOM. I enjoyed it. It was an interesting take on the Frankenstein story. Be curious what you think of it."

I'll let you know my thoughts once I finish it! The premise is really interesting to me. I was an English major in college, so I had to read a couple times and like the idea of seeing it from a different point of view.

I'm reading Kingdom of Ash right now in a physical book and Truly Madly Guilty on ebook. I re-read most of the Throne of Glass books to get caught up & I'm sad that the series is coming to an end! I may re-read A Court of Thorns and Roses series next since I'm not completely caught up there either.

Halli wrote: "I'm reading Kingdom of Ash right now in a physical book and Truly Madly Guilty on ebook. I re-read most of the Throne of Glass books to get caught up & I'm sad that ..."

I read both series a few months ago. I had a serious book hangover after.

I reread all of Throne of Glass too before getting to Kingdom of Ash. Definite book hangover after I was done! I hope you enjoy it!

Carrie wrote: "Allison, what drew you to Empty Mansions? The cover looks interesting. Slow reads are tough to muddle through though."

I love non-fiction. Someone in another team challenge recommended it. I thought it might be kind of a Grey Gardens book, but although I enjoyed the parts about Huguette herself, there was a lot of backstory about her father that was very slow. So I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, I do usually have a long-term book going that I pick up and put down occasionally and this worked for that style of read.

I too will be interested in your thoughts on The Perfect Nanny. I have it in my TBR but some of the reviews I have seem make me keep putting it off. Someday!

Steph Ann wrote: "Carrie wrote: "I read The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein for the BOM. I enjoyed it. It was an interesting take on the Frankenstein story. Be curious what you think of it."

I'll let you kno..."

I reread Frankenstein myself just this month. Enjoyed it more than I remember when it was assigned in school. I'm not usually one for YA, though that new book does sound interesting.

Halli wrote: "I'm reading Kingdom of Ash right now in a physical book and Truly Madly Guilty on ebook. I re-read most of the Throne of Glass books to get caught up & I'm sad that ..."

I haven't read any Sarah J. Maas yet though I see her books everywhere. Maybe someday. :)

I'm typically a little picky about YA books, which is one reason I've been hesitant about starting The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein. I always make an exception for Sarah J. Maas when it comes to YA, though. Hers don't really read like YA to me, even though her characters fit in the age range for that genre.

Angela wrote: "Carrie wrote: "I just finished Virgil Wander . Outside of my typical reading genre, but I enjoyed it so much. I would definitely recommend it to an..."

SPOILER ALERT FOR THE PERFECT NANNY

(view spoiler)[I wish I had better things to say about The Perfect Nanny but I didn't enjoy it all that much. I didn't find any of the characters likable for starts. Second, I was bothered by the relationship between the couple and the Nanny. It just seems to get straight up weird. Who keeps the nanny after the chicken incident? Or doesn't have at least hesitation about keeping her after finding bite marks and bruises on your children and hearing her yell at your child to get away? I also felt like the ending was incomplete. I kept wanting to know why and I felt like there wasn't much to go on. Was it really about needing Myriam to have another child??? (hide spoiler)]

What did you think?

Allison Ann wrote: "Carrie wrote: "Allison, what drew you to Empty Mansions? The cover looks interesting. Slow reads are tough to muddle through though."

I love non-fiction. Someone in another team challenge recommen..."

I hardly ever read non-fiction. One of my goals is to add some non-fiction books into my reading lists this year.

I didn't love The Perfect Nanny but it was ok. It's a quick read but I have to be honest and say that it left me feeling kind of unsettled (for a lack of a better word!).

I'm not surprised. I read your spoilers too because I honestly don't care that much about this book and probably won't get around to reading it for awhile. :) But your opinion seems to gel with almost everyone else I know who read it. So even though it is a nice blue cover, I probably won't be picking it up this round of UNO.

Today's question. What is your favourite food? Least favourite?

My honest answer to favourite food is anything I don't have to make myself. I've been cooking and baking professionally for a long time and it seems like I'm always in charge of family meals and special occasions. So when other people make me something, I'm a happy camper. Though given a choice, I most hate chopping, so if someone makes me a big bowl of fresh fruit salad all chopped into bite sized pieces, I'm in heaven.

Dislike - tomato sauce. Love pasta. Hate tomato sauce. Really almost any cooked tomatoes.

Who's next?

I also hate tomato sauce, funnily enough. Also on my dislike list would be onions. I'm not sure why, but any time I eat one in something, it just turns my stomach. Maybe it's a texture thing?

For favorites, I absolutely love tacos and make them whenever I get the chance. Also, anything sweet. Doesn't matter if it's cookies, ice cream, brownies, pie. I will eat it all, lol.

I don’t care for tomato sauce either!

My favorite food is mashed potatoes. I also have a fondness for peanut butter and chocolate together!

Peanut butter and chocolate is the best combination ever! I have one son who does not like peanut butter at all, and it just confounds me that that's possible, lol.

I gave up dairy for about 9 months, so now my favorite food is anything with cheese. I make what I like to call "cheesey pasta broccoli" & it's just rotini noodles with broccoli and a whole bag of cheese in it. That is probably my favorite thing ever right now. Maybe once I get my fill of cheese again, it will switch to something else.

I don't really have anything I can't stand. I'm not a big fan of spicy, but for the most part I will eat whatever someone puts in front of me!