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Eurovision Song Contest: May 2019
Mod
Monthly Challenges
~ Spessartite Coin Earn your Spessartite Coins with the Monthly Challenges.
To Earn a Spessartite Coin:
One Coin upon reaching highest book level (Fireworks, light show, and a wink )Learn about Gem coins here
Mod
I will spell out Moldova because they never fail to entertain ;)
5/7
M - The Cracks in the Kingdom Author ; 16/5/19
O- Becoming Author ; 9/5/19
L - Educated C: Luke 5/5/19
D - Eight Lives C: David Tran 23/5/19
O - Evil Under the Sun C: Odelle
V - Once Upon a River C: Vic
A - Boy Swallows Universe C: 5/6/19
I am already going to reserve a spot for this challenge here. It is such a great idea and I cannot wait for the next Song Contest! I am at least going to spell out "Denmark" or "Higher Ground" because I am still salty that they did not place better last year...;)
This is going to be my favorite challenge this year. So excited!
I'm in!I'm spelling out Croatia of course (go Roko! you can do it! Polish those wings)
As for rest, I need to check songs first :P
Option: 3
Level: starting with Wind Machine
C - Cleo Coyle The Ghost and the Bogus Bestseller - 6.5.19 - ★★★
R
O - Ocean Light by Nalini Singh - 8.5.19 - ★★★★
A - Ashley Gardner A Regimental Murder - 16.5.19 - ★★★
T - Tarabotti, Alexia (ch) - Soulless by Gail Carriger - 11.5.19 - ★★★★
I
A - Ada Maria Soto His Quiet Agent - 7.5.19 - ★★★★
**IMPORTANT**If you are watching Eurovision, please use spoilers if you are commenting - winners especially. Karen is big fan and in Australia so she's going to watch it later. Don't spoil it for her (again!) ☺
Mod
Oh, yes, good post Tea - I hadn't thought of that. I'm going to copy that and put it up top :)
2019 Eurovision
Level: Fireworks, light show, and a wink (21+ books)
21/21 completed
🇦🇺 Australia 🇦🇺
✓ A: Played by the Billionaire by Alexia Adams (18/05) ★★★
✓ U: The Undomestic Goddess by Sophie Kinsella (09/06) ★★★
✓ S: Overnight Sensation by Sarina Bowen (06/05) ★★★
✓ T: Top Secret by Elle Kennedy & Sarina Bowen (10/05) ★★★★
✓ R: Reading in Bed by Sue Gee (14/05) ★★
✓ A: Wild Like the Wind by Kristen Ashley (19/05) ★★
✓ L: Pretty Reckless by L.J. Shen (01/05) ★★
✓ I: I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson (13/05) ★★★
✓ A: Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney (24/05) ★★★
🇱🇻 Latvia 🇱🇻
✓ L: The Night Watch by Sergei Lukyanenko (12/05) ★★★★
✓ A: Tomboy by Avery Flynn (24/05) ★★★★
✓ T: To the Ends of the Earth by Elizabeth Lowell (20/05) ★★
✓ V: Phenomenal X by Michelle A. Valentine (04/05) ★★
✓ I: I Bet You by Ilsa Madden-Mills (01/06) ★★★★
✓ A: Broken Boundaries by Evangeline Anderson (29/05) ★★
🇹🇷 Turkey 🇹🇷
✓ T: Tell Me It's Real by T.J. Klune (02/06) ★★
✓ U: Under Rose-Tainted Skies by Louise Gornall (06/05) ★★★
✓ R: Death Du Jour by Kathy Reichs (21/05) ★★★
✓ K: Fluffy by Julia Kent (02/05) ★★★
✓ E: Brother’s Ruin by Emma Newman (11/05) ★★★
✓ Y: The Year We Left Home by Jean Thompson (09/05) ★★
Quick clarification... For Option Two can it be and/OR books based in these countries? Or do both the author & location need to be the same?Option Two
Pick a level and choose your favourite countries that are participating in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and read books just by authors from these countries and books based in these countries
Mod
I’m ok with and/or Cici
aaaah I'm so happy Calm After The Storm is on your favourites list! I wish I read enough to be able to spell it out hah. the band which performed the song has become my absolute favourite band since they were at esc in 2014 and I've seen them live numerous times since then :')I think I might spell out AUSTRIA (because I'm a patriot after all...) or NORWAY (because I usually like their songs, especially A Monster Like Me from 2015 + Fairytale from 2009, and my great grandmother was Norwegian!)
btw I just read through the spell-it-out rules and I think someone was too excited for it being eurovision time again ;)"As always, if the first letter of a title starts with ‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’, etc., you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word."
shouldn't it be "if the first word of the title is ‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’, etc." ? :)
Mod
I'm going to have a go at this one by doing Lipstick from Ireland in 2011. P -
I -
C -
READ 5/8 - but one was late!
May is also Mental Health Awareness Month, so I will spell out NORWAY with books I'll be reading for the mentalhealth-athon + one book I'll read inbetween to not only have these heavy topics on my mind.N - Tender Is the Night (ch Nicole Diver) 5/22
O - Every Exquisite Thing (ch Nanette O'Hare) 5/9
R - Unbearable Lightness: A Story of Loss and Gain (author Portia de Rossi) 5/28
W - Eliza and Her Monsters (ch Wallace Warland) 5/13
A - Am I Normal Yet? (title) 5/18
Y - Four Weeks, Five People (author Jennifer Yu) 5/31
Welcome to the challenge Christina and Vannessa :)
May: Eurovision Song Contest
May 2019
My Eurovision Song Contest Challenge (msg 19)
Country Spell Out ~ Australia
✔🔹 A ~ The Accidental Vampire ~ Lynsay Sands ~ 05.07 ★★★★
✔🔹 U ~ The Unidentified Redhead ~ Alice Clayton ~ 05.30 ★★★★
✔🔹 S ~ Sins and Scarlet Lace ~ Liliana Hart ~ 05.06 ★★★★
✔🔹 T ~ Treachery in Death ~ J.D. Robb ~ 05.14 ★★★★
✔🔹 R ~ River of Desire ~ J.K. Winn ~ 05.01 ★★★
✔🔹 A ~ Accidentally on Purpose ~ Jill Shalvis ~ 05.16 ★★★★
✔🔹 L ~ Lethal Pursuit ~ Kaylea Cross ~ 05.26 ★★★★
✔🔹 I ~ Ilona Andrews ~ Magic Stars ~ 05.12 ★★★
✔🔹 A ~ Again the Magic ~ Lisa Kleypas ~ 05.08 ★★★★
Song Spell Out ~ Tonight Again
✔🔹 T ~ Titan (series) ~ Sweet Girl ~ 05.24 ★★★★
✔🔹 O ~ One Snowy Night ~ Jill Shalvis ~ 05.12 ★★★★
✔🔹 N ~ Nauti Seductress ~ Lora Leigh ~ 05.02 ★★★★
✔🔹 I ~ Ilona Andrews ~ Magic Binds ~ 05.27 ★★★★★
✔🔹 G ~ Getting Worked Up ~ Erin Nichols ~ 05.10 ★★★★
✔🔹 H ~ The Highwayman ~ Judith James ~ 05.21 ★★★
✔🔹 T ~ Teel, Danica (ch) ~ Love and Other Wild Things ~ 05.14 ★★★★
✔🔹 A ~ Aphrodite's Delight ~ Julie Kenner ~ 05.01 ★★★
✔🔹 G ~ Gardener, Lisa ~ The Other Daughter ~ 05.12 ★★★
✔🔹 A ~ Arnold, Judith ~ Father Found ~ 05.21 ★★★
✔🔹 I ~ In the Boss's Bed ~ J. Margot Critch ~ 05.29 ★★★
✔🔹 N ~ Novak, Brenda ~ A Home of Her Own ~ 05.15 ★★★
Oh I'm definitely doing this! "Ljubav je svuda" (Serbia 2013) & Jedward's "Waterline" (Ireland 2012)
17/22
L - Love From A to Z | S.K. Ali | 5/11
J - J.C. Cervantes = The Storm Runner | 5/3
U -
B - Beth Pond = Podium Finish | 5/8
A - Anne of Avonlea | L.M. Montgomery | 5/2
V -
J - N.K. Jemisin = The Fifth Season | 5/10
E - Ellen Oh (ed.) = A Thousand Beginnings and Endings | 5/21
S - The Spy | Paulo Coelho | 5/4
V -
U -
D - Darius the Great Is Not Okay | Adib Khorram | 5/12
A - Alice Oseman = Radio Silence | 5/7
W - The Weight of Our Sky | Hanna Alkaf | 5/3
A - Anne of the Island | L.M. Montgomery | 5/18/19
T - Gengoroh Tagame = My Brother's Husband, Volume 1 | 5/6
E - Eric Lindstrom = A Tragic Kind of Wonderful | 5/22
R - Rabindranath Tagore = Gitanjali: A Collection of Indian Poems by the Nobel Laureate | 5/25
L - Katrina Leno = The Half Life of Molly Pierce | 5/18
I -
N - N.K. Jemisin = The Obelisk Gate | 5/24
E - The Epic Crush of Genie Lo | F.C. Yee | 5/22/19
❀Tea❀ wrote: "Welcome to the challenge Christina and Vannessa :)"Thank you Tea :)
So those are my tbr options, let`s see what I can manage :)D - Die von Montparnasse/ Dan Brown - Angels & Demons
E - Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
N - Nimona - Noelle Stevenson (07.05.19)
M - Matilda/ Momo
A - The Girl in the Tower - Katherine Arden (12.05.19)
R - Rise and Fall of D.O.D.O./ Rebecca
K - Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee/ Kartengeheimnis
other option if I feel ambitious
H - His Dark Materials 3
I - Ich bin dann mal weg
G - The Girl in the Tower
H - Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy 4
E - Eleanor Oliphant is completely fine
R - Roxane Gay/ Taylor Jenkins Reid
G - Good Omens
R - Rebecca
O - On the Road
U - The Upside of the Unrequited
N - Sylvain Neuvel - Themis Files 2
D - Dan Brown - Angels & Demons
Welcome to the challenge LaurLa, Lauren and Nele!
Mod
My first book for MOLDOVA spell-it-out done!
Couldn't be more different to this theme though... lol
Educated
^ ahh I really want to read Becoming as well! hopefully I'll get the chance soon to I finally finished my first book of the month as well! Every Exquisite Thing
Mod
Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Oh what did you think Christine? I found that a fascinating novel but hard to describe in words!"I did really enjoy it actually (as much as you can enjoy a book that deals with mental health issues), and it was so much easier to get through than The Silver Linings Playbook which I read last year.
but yeah, it's hard to put in words. I love how they found this book and fell in love with it right away. I feel like that describes most people on this website, so obviously I could relate :') especially since I'm currently struggling with my mental health as well...
Mod
finished Eliza and Her Monsters last night and cried pretty much for 140 pages straight! so not eurovision-esque!but yay, first semi-final tonight! who'll be watching? do you have any favourites already?? I haven't even heard our participating song yet, oops.
remember to use the spoiler thingy when discussing the live shows :)
Christina wrote: "but yay, first semi-final tonight! who'll be watching? do you have..."
I'm ready :)
I haven't checked the songs yet. Only one I know is ours (Croatia) and we are on Thursday.
to me Thursday generally seems to be the more interesting one as we (Austria) are on then as well, + I feel half Dutch haha, and Norway also is in the semi final #2 ! apparently tonight's show was more fun and exciting than Thursday's will be, but I don't mind either way. my favourites of tonight got through, that's all that's important right now lol (view spoiler) :)
I can't tell about Slovenia's song. I couldn't hear a thing. I'll know and have headphones on next two nights :PFrom first night I liked Serbia and Estonia
I watched live on YT (I really hate our commentary). They talk about everything but what they should talk about, so I prefer going to original. I'm sad I can't get UK version. Apparently their commentary is hilarious :)
Anyway, my internet/modem decided to spare my sensibility and I lost connection just as Iceland was starting. I couldn't connect for whole song. After I managed to get back, I tried to go back to Iceland but video kept loading and loading.... *wipes tears from laughter* When all was done I went in search of video to see what everyone was talking about.
Mod
We spend Eurovision together every year ;)
❀Tea❀ wrote: "I can't tell about Slovenia's song. I couldn't hear a thing. I'll know and have headphones on next two nights :PFrom first night I liked Serbia and Estonia
I watched live on YT (I really hate our..."
the uk commentary was the only reason I started watching again in 2014! I hadn't cared or watched esc since Germany hosted after Lena won for them in... 2009?
but in 2014 tumblr was full with Graham Norton quotes and it was HILARIOUS, so I simply had to watch! it was fairly easy to find a uk live stream link there, and I suppose it was a good year for me to start watching again - with Austria actually winning that year + me falling utterly in love with The Common Linnets from The Netherlands *grins*
nowadays I just watch the Austrian broadcast on tv even though the commentator is a bit meh too, but I usually watch with my mum and she only understands German x)
Mod
Nothing But Reading ChallengesEurovision Song Contest: May 2019
DURATION: May 1-31, 2019
Progress: 6 out of 6
Option One
Karen has picked some of her favourite Eurovision songs from 2010-2018 (under spoiler). Pick a level and do a spell-it-out of the country or song names
Ireland ; Lipstick 2011
L: Lucy Knisley; Relish: My Life in the Kitchen - ***** - 5/1/2019 - 173 Pages
I: I Myself Have Seen It by Susanna Moore - **** - 5/23/2019 - 192 Pages
P: Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder - ***** - 5/2/2019 - 361 Pages
S: Susan Elizabeth Phillips; Ain't She Sweet? - ***** - 5/3/2019 - 464 Pages
T
I: Hajime Isayama; Attack on Titan, Vol. 1 - *** - 5/29/2019 - 193 Pages
C: Jonathan Case; Dear Creature - *** - 5/14/2019 - 192 Pages
K: Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley - ***** - 5/9/2019 - 248 Pages
Albania ; It's all about you ; 2010
Turkey ; We could be the same 2010
Romania ; Playing with fire 2010
Azerbajan ; Drip Drop 2010
Moldova ; Run Away 2010
Sweden ; Popular 2011
P
O
P
U
L: Laura Wright; Branded - *** - 5/16/2019 - 384 Pages
A: After You by Jojo Moyes - ***** - 5/22/2019 - 352 Pages
R:
Estonia ; Rockefeller Street 2011
Georgia ; One More Day 2011
Bulgaria ' Na Inat 2011
Armenia ; Boom-Boom 2011
Germany ; Taken by a Stranger 2011
Switzerland ; Unbreakable 2012
Cyprus ; La La Love 2012
Norway ; Stay 2012
S:
T
A: Anne Stuart; Never Trust a Pirate - ***** - 5/8/2019 - 304 Pages
Y
Lithuania ; Something 2013
Denmark ; Only Teardrops 2013
The Netherlands ; Calm After the Storm 2014
Belarus ; Cheesecake 2014
Sweden ; Heroes 2015
H: Bobby Hall; Supermarket - *** - 5/7/2019 - 288 Pages
E: Emma Lee; Hidden Heartbreak - ***** - 5/12/2019 - 224 Pages
R: Richelle Mead; The Golden Lily - *** - 5/15/2019 - 418 Pages
O: Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout - *** - 5/21/2019 - 374 Pages
E: Evermore by Alyson Noel - *** - 5/15/2019 - 301 Pages
S: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra, Vol. 1 by Kieron Gillen - ***** - 5/7/2019 - 272 Pages
Latvia ; Love Injected 2015
Belgium ; Rythm Inside 2015
Lithuania ; This Time 2015
Australia ; Tonight Again 2015
Georgia ; Warrior 2015
Croatia ; Lighthouse 2016
Armenia ; LoveWave 2016
Austria ; Running on Air 2016
Cyprus ; Gravity 2017
Israel ; I Feel Alive 2017
Moldova ; Hey Mamma 2017
Australia ; We Got Love 2018
Denmark ; Higher Ground 2018
Netherlands ; Outlaw In 'Em 2018
Norway ; That's How You Write a Song 2018
Slovenia ; Hvala, ne! 2018
H:
V
A
L:
A:
N: Neil Gaiman; The Problem of Susan and Other Stories - ***** - 5/13/2019 - 80 Pages
E:
Sweden ; Dance You Off 2018
Beasts of Burden: Animal Rites by Evan Dorkin - **** - 5/28/2019 - 180 Pages
Dune by Frank Herbert - **** - 5/28/2019 - 604 Pages
Let's Pretend This Never Happened: A Mostly True Memoir by Jenny Lawson - ***** - 5/29/2019 - 318 Pages
Star Wars Adventures: Chewbacca and the Slavers of the Shadowlands by Chris Cerasi - ***** - 5/30/2019 - 80 Pages
For second semifinal, I'm little disappointment by some songs that got through (view spoiler)For me second semi had more of good songs.
Also it wasn't really fair. First semi had 16 songs, second one 18. Why's that? Someone dropped out?
My favorites from second semi were Denmark, Lithuania and Netherlands.
I actually thought the second semi final had much better /stronger songs than the first, and I didn't think (view spoiler)anyway, I was quite overwhelmed by so many quite good songs so I'm still kinda unable to choose any favourites... I definitely really like The Netherlands though! oh and France has a nice song as well in my opinion!
I'm just sad (view spoiler) didn't get through to the finals, I really liked their song :(
Mod
Belarus
Cyprus
Switzerland
Australia
Sweden
Russia
Norway
Netherlands
Azerbaijan
In terms of a winner... just for having a different country I would like Belarus, Cyprus or Australia 😉👍
Mod
I don't understand how come nobody prefers San Marino :P
So... in semi, they announce Iceland and my internet connection disappears. Today, they announce Iceland and my connection is gone. I think there is a message there but not sure what *snikers*
Mod
Anyone else got the feeling it's not that strong of a year? There's been barely any songs I REALLY enjoyed or would listen to normally, or am I just in the wrong mood? :P
More I hear Australia, it like it more. I did love 'choreography' from start, but it's obvious that Australia still has a lot to learn about Eurovision - just check categories for this challenge. There were none! :P
Mod
Nele wrote: "Anyone else got the feeling it's not that strong of a year? There's been barely any songs I REALLY enjoyed or would listen to normally, or am I just in the wrong mood? :P"I don't think it's your mood. In my case it's been years since there was song like that. I don't think they played anything on radio since Euphoria (I have no idea when that was). Only song from recently they are playing over here is Swedish song 'If I Were Sorry' (had to google song *grins*)
I'm not like Karen. I usually forget Euro-song few days later. No idea who won, where or when. I couldn't even tell you Croatian songs :P
Mod
are you sufficiently lubricated??
I think we were pretty well treated with the full Eurovision range from twee sweet & cutesy (Denmark), moody balladeers (Netherlands), power ballad women (most of the Balkans), insanity (thanking you Iceland) and Europop (Switzerland)
And of course, UK served up some serviceable mediocrity ;-P
Nothing But Reading Challenges
Books mentioned in this topic
Evil Under the Sun (other topics)The Undomestic Goddess (other topics)
Tell Me It's Real (other topics)
Tell Me It's Real (other topics)
Shadow Rising (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sophie Kinsella (other topics)T.J. Klune (other topics)
Ilsa Madden-Mills (other topics)
Evangeline Anderson (other topics)
Kieron Gillen (other topics)
More...
Eurovision is back for 2019 in May! Straight from Tel Aviv, Isreal, this is the 64th Eurovision and our mod, Karen, couldn't be more excited. Sure, she is from Australia, but that is part of Europe now don't you know?!
The contest will consist of two semi-finals on 14 and 16 May and the final on 18 May 2019 with forty two countries participating!
As always, the "Big Five" get a ticket straight to the finals : France, Germany, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom ; plus the host country, Israel.
Photo by KAN
DURATION
May 1-31, 2019
How To
Option One
Karen has picked some of her favourite Eurovision songs from 2010-2018 (under spoiler). Pick a level and do a spell-it-out of the country or song names
(view spoiler)[
Albania ; It's all about you ; 2010
Turkey ; We could be the same 2010
Romania ; Playing with fire 2010
Azerbajan ; Drip Drop 2010
Moldova ; Run Away 2010
Sweden ; Popular 2011
Estonia ; Rockefeller Street 2011
Ireland ; Lipstick 2011
Georgia ; One More Day 2011
Bulgaria ' Na Inat 2011
Armenia ; Boom-Boom 2011
Germany ; Taken by a Stranger 2011
Switzerland ; Unbreakable 2012
Cyprus ; La La Love 2012
Norway ; Stay 2012
Lithuania ; Something 2013
Denmark ; Only Teardrops 2013
The Netherlands ; Calm After the Storm 2014
Belarus ; Cheesecake 2014
Sweden ; Heroes 2015
Latvia ; Love Injected 2015
Belgium ; Rythm Inside 2015
Lithuania ; This Time 2015
Australia ; Tonight Again 2015
Georgia ; Warrior 2015
Croatia ; Lighthouse 2016
Armenia ; LoveWave 2016
Austria ; Running on Air 2016
Cyprus ; Gravity 2017
Israel ; I Feel Alive 2017
Moldova ; Hey Mamma 2017
Australia ; We Got Love 2018
Denmark ; Higher Ground 2018
Netherlands ; Outlaw In 'Em 2018
Norway ; That's How You Write a Song 2018
Slovenia ; Hvala, ne! 2018
Sweden ; Dance You Off 2018
(hide spoiler)]
Option Two
Pick a level and choose your favourite countries that are participating in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and read books just by authors from these countries and books based in these countries
Option Three
Pick a level and choose your favourite countries that are participating in the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest and do a spell-it out of these country names or song names
Spell-it-out rules
Using the first letter in the book’s title, the first letter in the series name, the first letter in the author’s first or last name, or the first letter of a character’s first, last, or nick-name, or the first letter in the audiobook narrators or translators first or last name. As always, if the first word of a title starts with ‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’, etc., you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word.
Photo by Thomas Hanses
Levels
Big Hair 1-5 Books
Wind Machine 6-10 books
90s boy band dancing 11-15 books
Unexpected costume reveal 16-20 books
Fireworks, light show, and a wink 21+ books
**IMPORTANT**
If you are watching Eurovision, please use spoilers if you are commenting here - winners especially. Karen is big fan and in Australia so she's going to watch it later. (time zones are rather annoying!) Don't spoil it for her (again!) ☺