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

Challenge, toppler planning and so much more. I'm looking forward to 2024.

Readers Also Enjoyed Challenge Shelf
RAE Challenge
January Festival of Fools
Feb 2024 Birthdays
Feb Toppler
April Toppler
May Oldie But a Goodie
June Topple - Global Wellness Day
August Toppler
October Toppler
November Good Intentions
December Toppler

I became fascinated with "Readers Also Enjoyed" section on the book blurb. I was looking at a book that Rusalka had just finished, The Witches of Vardø and started checking out the link "Readers Also Enjoyed". There were some very interesting books and I ended up putting The Dance Tree on my wishlist.

Deciding to take that further, I'm going to challenge myself to choose a book from those options on every 5 star book I read, starting with the 3 from 2023.

👓The Dance Tree, inspired by The Witches of Vardø (Rusalka)
Starling House, inspired byThe Weaver and the Witch Queen (5 stars)
👓Only the Beautiful, inspired by Salt to the Sea (5 stars)
👓The Strangers,inspired by Ragged Company (5 Stars)
The Berry Pickers, inspired by All the Broken Places
Miss Benson's Beetle, inspired by How the Penguins Saved Veronica
Looking for Jane, inspired by The Nature of Fragile Things
The Secret Book of Flora Lea, inspired by Only the Beautiful

Janice wrote: "... Deciding to take that further, I'm going to challenge myself to choose a book from those options on every 5 star book I read, starting with the 3 from 2023. ..."

I love this, Janice. I'll be interested to see how it works out for you.

I only had 3 books that I rated 5 stars last year. I hope I have better selections this year.

January challenge: Festival of Fools



• Your book has a role reversal in it. IE. people switching places and pretending to be the other.
• There is a donkey on the cover.
• The words "donkey" or "ass" are in the title.
• There is a person in power who falls from grace in your book.
• There is a member of the clergy in your book.
• There is a word for a Christian clergy member in the title. Eg priest, pastor, bishop, pope, minister, etc.
• Your book is set in the Middle Ages between 1119-1444.

Saving Simon: How a Rescue Donkey Taught Me the Meaning of Compassion
Tijuana Donkey Showdown
The End of Drum-Time
💥 The Wise Ass - "ass" in title, and a donkey on the cover.

I like your RAE Challenge, Janice.
I added the The Witches of Vardø to my TBR list.

I've been thinking about my RAE challenge, and the books listed are all 2023. I'm going to leave those books on my with list, but will start the challenge with 2024 reads.

I don't want to jinx it, but I'm hoping that one of my current reads will be a winner.

Janice wrote: "I've been thinking about my RAE challenge, and the books listed are all 2023. I'm going to leave those books on my with list, but will start the challenge with 2024 reads.

I don't want to jinx it..."

I understand not jinxing things.

Funny - I said "jinx - you're it" to my youngest grandson after we both said the same thing at the same time, and he did not know what I meant. I think I need to talk to his mother. I am pretty sure she has done it with him too, but he just looked at me like I had two heads.

We used to hook pinkie fingers together when we did that.

My first 5 star read for 2024 was A Hard Day for a Hangover. Such a fun read. I picked Murder at Haven's Rock from the Readers Also Enjoyed selections.

Feb 2024 Challenge - Who Has a Birthday?

💥Hattie Caraway (1878-1950)
Read a book set in Tennessee.

💥American artist and illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978)
Read a book that is set in a small town.
- Plainsong (view spoiler)[own Kindle, avail Audible Plus (hide spoiler)]

💥British novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870)
Read a book written by Charles Dickens or a retelling of one of his books.
- Olivia Twist

💥American inventor Thomas Edison (1847-1931) was born in Milan, Ohio.
Read a book set in Italy.

💥Susan B. Anthony (1820-1906)
Read a book with the genre Feminism on the Main Book Page.
- The Last Goddess (view spoiler)[whispersync for $1.99 (hide spoiler)]

February 2024 Topple Prompts

Mountains:
⛰Read a book with “Mountain” in title
⛰Read a book with a forest of trees on cover
⛰Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: moose, rabbit, squirrel, hawk, bear, coyote, fox
⛰Read a book set in one of the following locations: New Zealand, Norway, Alaska, Canada, Peru, Vermont, New Mexico
⛰Read a book with “Nature” in the title
⛰Read a book with “Cabin” in the title, with a cabin on the cover, or a cabin as a significant setting

Beach:
🏖Read a book with “Beach” in title
🏖Read a book with a large body of water on cover
🏖Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: shark, whale, octopus, crab, lobster, dolphin, sea turtle
🏖Read a book set in one of the following locations: Hawaii, Greece, Africa, Thailand, Bermuda, the Maldives, Fiji, or a Caribbean island
🏖Read a book with “Ocean” in title
🏖Read a book with seashells on cover, “Seashell” in title, or someone collects shells in the story

Lake House:
🐟Read a book with “Lake” or “House" in title
🐟Read a book with a beach on the cover
🐟Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: duck, snake, turtle, frog, alligator, crocodile, beaver, otter, goose
🐟Read a book set in one of the following locations: Oregon, Michigan, Utah, Missouri, Croatia, Guatamala, Scotland, Italy
🐟Read a book with “Water” in the title
🐟Read a book with “Fish” or “Fishing” in the title, on the cover, or in the story

Ranch:
🐴Read a book with “Ranch” or “Farm” in title
🐴Read a book with a fence on the cover
🐴Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: horse, chicken, cow, goat, pig, sheep
🐴Read a book set in one of the following locations: California, Colorado, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana
🐴Read a book with a farm house or barn on the cover or as a setting in the story
🐴Read a book with “Sun” in the title or the sun clearly visible on the cover

Ski Lodge:
⛷Read a book with “Ski” or “Lodge” in title
⛷Read a book with snow on the cover
⛷Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: bird, deer, wolf
⛷Read a book set in one of the following locations: France, Switzerland
⛷Read a book with a hot drink (coffee pot, steaming mug..) on the cover or “Cocoa,” “Chocolate,” “Coffee,” or “Tea” in the title
⛷Read a book with a blanket or winter clothes on the cover

City:
🌆Read a book with “City” in title
🌆Read a book with famous architecture on the cover (ie Eiffel Tower, Sydney Opera House, etc)
🌆Read a book with one of the following animals on the cover, in the title, or in the story: pigeon, cat, dog, rat
🌆Read a book set in one of the following locations: Rome, London, Tokyo, Vancouver, Amsterdam, Honolulu, Barcelona, Sydney, Cape Town, Dubai
🌆Read a book with “Theater” in the title, a theater is visited in the story, or a character is an actor, singer, or musician
🌆Read a book with “Museum” in the title, a statue or framed artwork on the cover, or a museum is visited in the story

Feb 2024 Toppler Possibilities:

Mountain:
🧩- title - mountain
- Bull Mountain audio 9 hrs

cover/title/story - moose, rabbit, squirrel, hawk, bear, coyote, fox
🧩- Coyote Waits Kindle 368

setting - New Zealand, Norway, Alaska, Canada, Peru, Vermont, New Mexico
- Canada - A Fatal Grace, kindle 412
- Canada & Alaska - White Fang, audio 7:53
🧩- Canada - The Strangers, audio 11:32
- Norway - The History of Bees, hc 340

title/cover/setting - cabin
- setting - The Bones Beneath My Skin, audio 12:55

Beach
title - beach
- Death on the Beach, kindle 313

April 2024 Toppler:

Tasks:
Read a book with:
🌎 One of the following words in the title: Earth, soil, dirt, water, ocean, tree, flower, garden, bee, forest, woods, river.
🌍 Multiple trees or flowers on the cover.
🌏 A main page tag of Nature, Conservation, or Ecology.
🌎 A main theme of conservation. - You may find inspiration here.
🌍 With an animal as the focus of the book. (sorry, no humans, shapeshifters, aliens, mythical creatures, etc)

April Toppler:

💥- Tree in title: The Dance Tree (9:16 audiobook)
- Earth in title: Between Earth and Sky, (audible plus, 11:35)
- Garden in title: The Garden of Angels, (13:22 audiobook)

May Challenge - Oldies but Goodies.

I got 266 on my audiobook TBR: Can select a book 246 to 286.

#253 - At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities (12:10)
#254 - Holly (15:24) also planned for hiking
#266 - People of the Canyons (12:10)
#267 - Rumble on the Bayou (9:20)
#279 - Bride (12:47)
#286 - The Nature of Fragile Things (10:39)

June toppler: Global Wellness Day.

Thanks year's theme is MagentaNature
"live a life in harmony with nature"

Strategy - 2 audiobooks, 1 print book

Audiobooks:

🧩 - How the Penguins Saved Veronica, Audiobook 10:44. colony of penguins proves it's never too late to be the person you want to be.

🧩 = The Nature of Fragile Things, audiobook, 10:39 Nature in title.

- The Beekeeper of Aleppo, audiobook, 8:43, beekeeping

- The Bones Beneath My Skin, audiobook, 12:55, he returns to his family's summer cabin outside the small mountain town of Roseland, Oregon to try and find some sense of direction.

- The Frozen River, Audiobook, 15:05 (also themed read) forest on cover/set in forest.

Print:

- Far Horizons, iBook, (HC 244 pgs)
cover is nature landscape, and magenta-like in colour


- A Fatal Grace, Kindle, 412 pgs
nature setting on cover


🧩- Excuse Me While I Disappear: Tales of Midlife , Mayhem, Kindle 243 pgs
magenta cover

August 2024 Toppler: 5 books



The Sacrament, 7:45 Audiobook
Magic Marks the Spot, 8:07 Audiobook
Hook, Line and Blinker, 7:34 Audiobook
Last Port of Call, 7:54 Audiobook
Death at Paradise Palms, 8:04 Audiobook
Fortune Favors the Dead, 8:31 Audiobook

Dark Academia - August Group ThemedStalking Jack the Ripper Read

My Dark Vanessa
The Stranger Diaries
Gentlemen and Players, WL
Stalking Jack the Ripper
Gideon the Ninth
The Book That Wouldn’t Burn
Starling House
The Binding
The Diviners
Time's Convert

September Challenge - Game On.

Boardgames:

Trivial Pursuit

Clue
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...\
- The Quiet Game (revolver)
- The Falconer (knife)
❓- Her Final Breath (rope)

October 2024 Toppler:

The Mystery of the Blue Train

- 50 Train on cover

Let Us Descend (audiobook)
-7 Yellow Cover
Cover is yellow (Tin Eye - 84.6%)

The Medium (kindle)
- 31 Ghost in Story
261 pgs, kindle

The Forgotten Home Child
- 62 Sock on Cover
- Audiobook, 384 pgs paperback

Round 2 -
Vampire on the Orient Express
- 50, train on cover
- Kindle, 203 pgs

Report Threads:

Classes completed
Badge request

November challenge - Good intentions.


The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder
The Fox Wife
Hook, Line and Blinker
📍The Dark Mirror
Play of Shadows
Nolyn

December toppler: New

Ask for Andrea, audiobook 6:40
- new author
The Bitter Past, audiobook 10:01
- new author, new narrator
The Magpie Lord, audiobook 6:25
- new author, new narrator, new series
The Incredible Winston Browne, audiobook 9:15
- new author also narrates
Time Lost
- new author, new narrator