Reading with Style discussion

This is an optional space for posting Scrabble plans.

Here's mine:

15.1 - H2 - 4H - The Dragon Head of Hong Kong by Ian Hamilton
15.2 - I1 - auth uses initials - Yellowface by R.F. Kuang
15.3 - T6 - no T in author name - Kalooki Nights by Howard Jacobson

HIT
WORD SCORE: 6

15.4 - J1 - Jumbo - The Crimson Petal and the White by Michel Faber
15.5 - O1 - 100-199 - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
15.6 - K1 - Title word ends in K - Gap Creek by Robert Morgan
15.7 - E1 - Auth name starts with E - This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub

JOKE
WORD SCORE: 15

15.8 - Z1 - auth last name has a Z - Starter Villain by John Scalzi
15.9 - A3 - award winner - Demon Copperhead by Barbara Kingsolver
15.10 - P1 - Pseudonymous author - A Local Habitation by Seanan McGuire

ZAP
WORD SCORE: 12

Total score: 33 for three words "hit" "joke" and "zap", +150 finisher bonus

Work in process (I'll probably do only 1 plan, it depends on what I see in the RwS tasks):

1st Plan words:
FLEX - 14 pts
F2 - ph word in title Sophie’s Choice by William Styron OR The Cartographer of No Man's Land by P.S. Duffy
L4 - Latin American Lit Reputations by Juan Gabriel Vásquez
E11 - set in England Everybody Always Tells by E.R. Punshon (lots of E options, I reserve the right to change this!)
X1 - title word begins with "Ex" The Extraordinary Life of Sam Hell by Robert Dugoni

COP - 7 pts
C1 - Crime writers of color Darkness and the Devil Behind Me by Persia Walker
O5 - Name is an occupation Paris in the Dark by Robert Olen Butler
P2 - Pulp - King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggard

JAW - 13 pts
J1 - Jumbo - Studs Lonigan by James T. Farrell
A2 - author name starts with A Watery Grave by Bruce Alexander
W1 - WWI not set in Europe Empire of Sand by Robert Ryan

2nd Plan words:
MUZHIK - 24 pts
(Note: This is a Russian peasant, and a word I came across recently reading about Dostoevsky. I play a 6-letter word game elsewhere, and it's on my list to play first chance I get.)
M1 - Mexico The Murmur of Bees by Sofía Segovia
U1 - pub'd in the tens - I have multiple options for this one
Z1 - author name has a Z The Black Sheep by Honoré de Balzac
H2 - Head, Heart, Hands Giotto's Hand by Iain Pears
I4 - Illness Hamnet by Maggie O'Farrell
K1 - title word ends in K Luck by Joan Barfoot


either of
PAWN - 9 pts
GNAW - 8 pts

A8 - pub'd in the 80s Barn Blind by Jane Smiley
W2 - Westerns Deadwood by Pete Dexter
N3 - Author has 3 names Polar Star by Martin Cruz Smith

and then either
P1 - Pseudonym The Chill by Ross Macdonald
OR
G3 - Geography Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

this looks like one that will require a lot of thinking on my part....

first ideas:

BIZ (from the scrabble dictionary) = 14 pts
B1 - 'bird' One Wild Bird At A Time: Portraits of Individual Lives (own)
I2 - age btwn 51-74 Louise Penny
Z1 - John Scalzi

FEY = 9 pts
F1 = many choices, maybe Terry Pratchett
E8 - >8 in series - Precious and Grace (own)
Y2 - author <50 yo - many choices, maybe R F Kuang

QUIT - 13 pts
Q1 - Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality
U4 - unreliable narrator = Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I9 - i in name = Marcia Willett
T5 - translated - Signs Preceding the End of the World

5 or 6 owned books(depending on which choose)

If I can figure this out

I might have to switch some books around later, but this was a fun task to plan.

39 points total - Completed

FIX - 13 points
✓ F2 Ph in title
The Phoenix Crown by Kate Quinn
✓ I7 I in name
Long Island by Colm Tóibín
✓ X1 Title word begins with "ex"
The Excellent Lombards by Jane Hamilton

COZY - 18 points
✓ C2 MPG Classics
The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens
✓ O1 Page Count 100-199
Mr. Nightingale's Diary: A Farce In One Act by Charles Dickens (104 pages)
✓ Z1 Author's last name has a Z
The Cemetery of Untold Stories by Julia Alvarez
✓ Y1 Author's first name ends in Y
Miss Pinkerton by Mary Roberts Rinehart

KEG - 8 points
✓ K1 Title word ends in K
Take It Back by Kia Abdullah
✓ E2 Set in any European country (England, UK)
Charles Dickens and the Great Theatre of the World by Simon Callow
✓ G2 Gothic
The Only One Left by Riley Sager (page 2 of list)

I'm more likely to finish a challenge if I plan ahead of time, so here goes:

OXIDIZE - 24 points
O – ✔️O5 - Author surname is an occupation
The Doomsday Vault (Clockwork Empire #1) (2011) by Steven Harper (#0509)

X - ✔️X1 - Exes! - Title word begins with "Ex"
Grave Expectations (Grave Expectations #1) (2023) by Alice Bell (#0215)

I - ✔️I6 - I am - First person narrative
Make Russia Great Again (2020) by Christopher Buckley (#0121)

D - D4 - Dragons
Page One
A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) (2013) by Marie Brennan

I - ✔️I2 - Inbetween: author's age is 51-74
The Reader on the 6.27 (2014) by Jean-Paul Didierlaurent; translated from French by Ros Schwartz (#0411)

Z - ✔️Z1: Author LAST name has a Z
Starter Villain (2023) by John Scalzi (#0171)

E - ✔️E2 - set in any European country
Set entirely in France
The Devil in Montmartre: A Mystery in Fin de Siècle Paris (Inspector Lefebvre #1) (2014) by Gary Inbinder (#0726)

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

SKI - 7 points

S - ✔️S1 - Author name (first or last) starts with S
Jeeves and the Wedding Bells (2013) by Sebastian Faulks (#0611)

K - ✔️K1 - Title word ends in K
In the Quick (2021) by Kate Hope Day (#0676)

I - ✔️I8 - letter sequence 'ist', 'ing', 'ire' in any title word
The Village Library Demon-Hunting Society (2024) by C.M. Waggoner (#0544)

QUIZ, 22 points:

Q1: Title word has a "Q"--In the Quick by Kate Hope Day

U1: pub'd in '10s of any century--The Lost Village by Camilla Sten

I9: author's name contains an "i"--Girl of Kosovo by Alice Mead (set in Serbia)

Z1: author last name has a "z"--The World in Half by Cristina Henríquez (set in Honduras)

BIT, 7 points:

B1: any bird name in title--The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (set in Bahrain)

I2: inbetween, author's age is 51-74--How to Age Disgracefully by Clare Pooley, b. 1970

T6: no "t" in author's name--The September House by Carissa Orlando

THY, 6 points:

T5: translated from another language than your own--The Door-to-Door Bookstore by Carsten Henn

R6: real person (auto/biography or memoir)--City of Life, City of Death: Memories of Riga by Max Michelson (set in Latvia)

Y1: first name ends in "y" or last name begins with "y"--A Ring Through Time by Felicity Pulman (set on Norfolk Island)

Good fun planning this! All books are from my existing unread stash. Subject to change.

HAZE -16 points
H2- Head Heart Hands Health
A Match to the Heart: One Woman's Story of Being Struck By Lightning by Gretel Ehrlich
A2 - Author name starts with A
Death on the Nile by Agatha Christie
Z - Author last name has a Z
Icebound by Koontz. Dean
E10 - Animals
The Good Good Pig: The Extraordinary Life of Christopher Hogwood by Sy Montgomery

COY - 8 points
C1- Crime writers of color
Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
O3 - Outdoors
One Man's Wilderness: An Alaskan Odyssey by Sam Keith
Y1 - Author’s first name ends in Y
Ice Trap by Kitty Sewell

FIX - 13 points
F2 - “ ph” in title
The Grand Sophy by Georgette Heyer
I2 - Author’s age 51-74
Little People: Learning to See the World Through My Daughter's Eyes by Dan Kennedy
X - “Ex” title word
The Executioner Weeps by Frédéric Dard