Wanderlust Challenges discussion

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025


Choose one of the options or do both!

Option One: Choose one or more of the below words to spell out this month. You can use any of the following to complete a letter:
1. First letter of the Book's title
2. First letter of the Author's first or last name
3. First letter of a Main Character's first or last name

Challenge Rules: All forms of books are accepted as long as they are 100 pages or more. When posting updates of completed books, please include a link to the title and author’s name, along with the date you finished reading the book. When you have finished the challenge, please copy and paste your entire challenge and re-post in a new message, letting us know it is completed.

Words to Choose From:
Bahrain
Manama
Western
Middle East
Gulf
National
Museum
Monarchy
Causeway
Bridge
Nightlife
Postmodern
Ancient
Graves
Polished
Fort
Mound
Empire
Souq(k)
Narrow
Bustling
Corner
Pipes
Adviser
Chai
Gold
City
Glitters
Siren
Pocketbook
Chains
House
Quran
Script
Islam
Manuscript
Calligraphy
Miniature
Diverse
Places
Worship
Colorful
Conqueror
Million

Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Find FIFTEEN of the above words. NOTE: If the word above is plural, you must find the plural version in the text. They can only be found within the text of the book - no covers, titles or authors, please. For each word you find, please provide the book title, page or location, and the sentence or phrase containing the word. Good Luck!

Participants

Angel ~ Done
Bev (baglady)
Book Concierge
Brenda
Catsalive
Denise
Ed
Frankie
Jan
Jonquil
Karen ♐
Mary
Mave
Olivermagnus
Ruth
Susan
Tari
Teri-k
Trish

My Spot

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Words to Choose From:
Manama
Western
Middle East
Gulf
National
Museum
Monarchy
Causeway
Bridge
Nightlife
Postmodern
Ancient
Graves
Polished
Fort
Mound
Empire
Souq(k)
Narrow
Bustling
Corner
Pipes
Adviser
Chai
Gold
City
Glitters
Siren
Pocketbook
Chains
House
Quran
Script
Islam
Manuscript
Calligraphy
Miniature
Diverse
Places
Worship
Colorful
Conqueror
Million

Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Find FIFTEEN of the above words. NOTE: If the word above is plural, you must find the plural version in the text. They can only be found within the text of the book - no covers, titles or authors, please. For each word you find, please provide the book title, page or location, and the sentence or phrase containing the word. Good Luck!

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Option One: Choose one or more of the below words to spell out this month. You can use any of the following to complete a letter:
1. First letter of the Book's title
2. First letter of the Author's first or last name
3. First letter of a Main Character's first or last name

08/12 Completed

Museum
01.M
02.U
03.S:Shadow's Loss-Mary Stone 10/02/25
04.E:Echoes in the Sand-Shannon Baker 10/08/25
05.U:Unforeseen-M.C. Decker 10/11/25
06.M

Places
07.P:Pina Colada Poison-Jasmine Webb 10/11/25
08.L:Lean Mean Thirteen-Janet Evanovich 10/02/25
09.A:All the Sinners Bleed-S.A. Cosby 10/06/25
10.C:Couple Killer-L.T. Vargus 10/10/25
11.E
12.S:Sangria-Heidi McLaughlin 10/12/25

Manama Spell and Search
October 2025

0/10

P
O
S
T
M Murder in Montparnasse Kerry Greenwood 10/3
O
D Dissolved Sara Blaedel 10/2
E Edam and Weep Linda Reilly 10/5
R Reunion and Revenge Karen Musser Nortman 10/4
N

Manama Spell
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

M - Moon Dance - J.R. Rain - 3.5 Stars - 10/4/25
I
D
D - Dorothy Gilman - Mrs. Pollifax Pursued - 3 Stars - 10/5/25
L - The Last Orphan - Gregg Hurwitz - 4 Stars - 10/3/25
E - Elly Griffiths - The Frozen People - 4 Stars - 10/2/25

E - Emily Henry - Great Big Beautiful Life - 4 Stars - 10/11/25
A - Ann Patchett - Bel Canto - 4 Stars - 10/8/25
S - Storm - Carian Cole - 4 Stars - 10/6/25
T - Tan Twan Eng - The Garden of Evening Mists - 4.5 Stars - 10/6/25

Manama Spell and Search
Duration: 1/10/25 - 31/10/25
4/10

M Murder at the Wild Haggis Bookshop by Jackie Baldwin 4★s 6/10/25
A Death on Dickens Island by Allison Brook
N Bleak Valley by Neil Webb 4★s 10/10/25
U The Underworld by Sofie Laguna
S The House on the Cliff by Victoria Scott 4★s 4/10/25
C Hostile Asset by Sam Cogley 5★s 6/10/25
R The Lucky Sisters by Rachael Johns
I The Children of Zagreb by Lelita Baldock MC Ilona
P The Funeral Crashers by Joanna Nell MC Martin Pottinger
T Think Twice by Harlan Coben

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
2/6

M- Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder 2/10 3.5★
A- A Christmas Affair by Joan Overfield 3/10 3.5★
N
A- Austin - Valentine Kisses by Donna Bell,Catherine Blair,Lynn Collum 8/10 2.5★
M
A


B- Found in a Bookshop by Stephanie Butland 1/10 4★
A
H
R- Rachael - Three's a Crowd by Dianne Blacklock 4/10 3.5★
A
I- Ibrahim - The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman 7/10 4.5★
N

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Manama S*P*E*L*L Out

Fort
Forbidden Omega Jena Wade 10/04
o
Reeling in RykerFel Fern10/08

TicktockDean Koontz 10/06


House
Hopping to His Omega Lorelei M. Hart 10/05
O
U
The Same BreathGregory Ashe10/06
Ethan Fel Fern 10/02
Narrow



📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕📕
MANAMA Word Search
Begins: 01Oct25 / Ends: 31Oct25


Words to Choose From:
Manama
Western
Middle East
Gulf
National
Museum
Monarchy
Causeway
Bridge
Nightlife
Postmodern
Ancient
Graves
Polished
Fort
Mound
Empire
Souq(k)
Narrow
Bustling
Corner
Pipes
Adviser
Chai
Gold
City
Glitters
Siren
Pocketbook
Chains
House
Quran
Script
Islam
Manuscript
Calligraphy
Miniature
Diverse
Places
Worship
Colorful
Conqueror
Million

Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Find FIFTEEN of the above words. NOTE: If the word above is plural, you must find the plural version in the text. They can only be found within the text of the book - no covers, titles or authors, please. For each word you find, please provide the book title, page or location, and the sentence or phrase containing the word. Good Luck!

I'm in here, too, and spelling only.

Words TBC, although I probably won't managed three again this month.

I'm doing both spell and word search

Manama S*P*E*L*L Out
Begins: 01Oct25 / Ends: 31Oct25

0 / 4 completed

Chai
C
H
A
I


======================================


MANAMA Word Search
Begins: 01Oct25 / Ends: 31Oct25

(NB: I alphebetized the list)

0 / 15 words found
0 books read


Adviser
Ancient
Bahrain
Bridge
Bustling
Calligraphy
Causeway
Chai
Chains
City
Colorful
Conqueror
Corner
Diverse
Empire
Fort
Glitters
Gold
Graves
Gulf
House
Islam
Manama
Manuscript
Middle East
Million
Miniature
Monarchy
Mound
Museum
Narrow
National
Nightlife
Pipes
Places
Pocketbook
Polished
Postmodern
Quran
Script
Siren
Souq(k)
Western
Worship

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
6/12 Spell Option

Graves
Guy Goode mc The Kindergarten Coven Edgar Fitz 10/5/25
R
Abbott, Cara mc Beach Brawl Kathryn Mykel 10/7/25
V
E
Sterling The Hound Heist Kit Sterling 10/2/25

Script
S
Calee Killer Investment Calee Claiborne 10/3/25
R
I
P The Poison Pen Courtney McFarlin 10/6/25
T Truffles, Treachery and Trouble Kathleen Suzette 10/12/25

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Words to Choose From:
Manama
Western
Middle East
Gulf
National
Museum
Monarchy
Causeway
Bridge
Nightlife
Postmodern
Ancient
Graves
Polished
Fort
Mound
Empire
Souq(k)
Narrow
Bustling
Corner
Pipes
Adviser
Chai
Gold
City
Glitters
Siren
Pocketbook
Chains
House
Quran
Script
Islam
Manuscript
Calligraphy
Miniature
Diverse
Places
Worship
Colorful
Conqueror
Million

Manama Spell Out
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

B - Behind Closed Doors - 10/4/25
R
I
D
G - The German Wife - 10/9/25
E

October 1 -31
Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Completion 33/15

Book 1: The One | John Marrs | 10.02
🎃Western | "His description counted for almost half the men in the Western world." p. 35
🎃National | "...., into allowing you access to records from the National DNA database." p. 308
🎃Bridge | "But, they would cross that bridge when they came to it." p. 265
🎃Polished | ...., everything looked surprisingly clean and polished." p. 66
🎃Empire | "In my spare time I question how the Galactic Empire..." p. 172
🎃Narrow | "...which makes it hard to narrow down where he might strike next." p. 104
🎃Bustling | "She walked confidently through the bustling dining room, ..." p. 403
🎃Corner | "..., then looked at the clock in the corner..." p. 3
🎃Gold | "She kept Tim's ring on a gold chain around her neck." p. 251
🎃City | "....she worked for a large company in the city." p. 93
🎃House | :,,,and once their house was sold,..." p. 22
🎃Diverse | "...taking in the city's diverse skyline." p. 302
🎃Places | ...and he had been to places she'd only ever seen on TV or in films." p. 2
🎃Worship | "It was unlike any other house of worship Jade had ever visited." p. 225
🎃Colorful | "A horsepipe lay next to a row of colorful flowers." p. 66
🎃Million | "Your DNA is going to break up around three million marriages." p. 13

Book 2 | Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season | Norman Partridge | 10.02
🎃Graves | "I pointed two graves over." Loc 252
🎃Fort | "This is a public library, not Fort Knox..." Loc 375
🎃Mound | "...just as the machine skirted the mound." Loc 882
🎃Siren | "The sound of a siren rose in the distance." Loc 1106

Book 3 | The Right Move | Liz Tomforde | 10.04
🎃museum | ".....I'm sitting in the middle of a museum..." p. 14

A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini | 10.04
🎃Quran | "He had taught her to read the Quran....." p. 27
🎃Script | " He taught her to read the Quran in Arabic Script" p. 27
🎃Islam | " ...that it was only in Islam that a man could find...." p. 70
🎃manuscript | " He said he had found the manuscript in a secondhand bookstore." p. 111
🎃chains | "She could not escape the chains of her past,...." p. 370
Pocketbook | "He tossed the pocketbook onto the table..." p. 70
🎃Calligraphy | "He taught her to read the Quran in Arabic calligraphy.." p. 27
🎃Miniature | " There was a miniature painting of a woman in a red dress...." p. 79
🎃Conqueror | "He was a man who had once been a conqueror, ...." p. 81
🎃Monarchy | "Anyway, Afghanistan is no longer a monarchy, Mariam." p. 23
🎃Ancient | "The ancient city of Herat...." p. 27
Pipes | "The pipes are old." p. 70
🎃Adviser | ".....who had once been the king's cousin and adviser,..." p. 24
🎃Chai | "He poured her a cup of chai and sat down." p. 25

Bahrain
Manama
Middle East
Gulf
Causeway
Nightlife
Postmodern
Souq(k)
Glitters

Welcome everyone! You should all be linked up!

sign me up please

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

CHAI
C -
H -
A -
I -

Welcome Bev!

Manama Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Find FIFTEEN of the above words. NOTE: If the word above is plural, you must find the plural version in the text. They can only be found within the text of the book - no covers, titles or authors, please. For each word you find, please provide the book title, page or location, and the sentence or phrase containing the word. Good Luck!

13/15

Words to Choose From:
Manama
Western
Middle East
✔ Gulf-p.867-Dombey and Son-"...over the black gulf of the irrevocable past." 10/7/25
✔ National-P.374-100 Cities, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do-"...home to the Scottish National Gallery..." 10/3/25
✔ Museum-p.95-Broken-"I almost went to a museum." 10/1/25
✔ Monarchy-p.377-100 Cities, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do-"Once a private playground for the monarchy, Holyrood Park..." 10/8/25
Causeway
✔ Bridge-p.772-Dombey and Son-"...of bridges, crosses, churches, postyards, new horses being put in..." 10/3/25
Nightlife
Postmodern
✔ Ancient-p.181-The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs to Know-"His masterpiece, 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner' is an enduring myth..." 10/1/25
✔ Graves-p.133-Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages-"Newer graves displayed chrysanthemums..." 10/7/25
✔ Polished-p.180-The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs to Know-"They rejected the polished phrases of the eighteenth-century poets..." 10/1/25
Fort
Mound
Empire
Souq(k)
✔ Narrow-p.855-Dombey and Son-"...or other narrow turning which appeared favourable for flight, she..." 10/7/25
Bustling
✔ Corner-p.750-The English Reader: What Every Literate Person Needs to Know="...look at the dark corners of the room..." 10/1/25
✔ Pipes-p.788-Dombey and Son-"...he smoked four pipes successively..." 10/3/25
Adviser
Chai
✔ Gold-p.291-Ben Franklin's Almanac of Wit, Wisdom, and Practical Advice: Useful Tips and Fascinating Facts for Every Day of the Year-"...Stone that turns lead into gold..." 10/1/25
✔ City-p.375-100 Cities, 5,000 Ideas: Where to Go, When to Go, What to See, What to Do-"...before returning to the city center." 10/3/25
Glitters
✔ Siren-Kindle loc 1095-Enchiladas, Rice, and Beans-"...when we heard the siren." 10/8/25
Pocketbook
Chains
✔ House-p.740-Dombey and Son-"...she has taken what has happened in our House so much to heart..." 10/1/25
Quran
Script
Islam
Manuscript
Calligraphy
✔ Miniature-p.130-Spoken Here: Travels Among Threatened Languages-"...Cameron's Titanic in miniature..." 10/2/25
Diverse
Places
Worship
Colorful
Conqueror
✔ Million-p.757-Dombey and Son-"A million pardons! No!" 10/2/25

Good luck Ed!

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

SPELL OUT:


WORD SEARCH: 32/15

Decision at Delphi by Helen MacInnes 10/4
Western "to visit the ruins of ancient Greece and its western empire..." location 18
Gulf "All the sympathy in the world doesn't quite bridge that gulf." location 389
National "men who would use revolution for their own cynical extension of national power." location 1406
Museum "This whole place was one vast stretch of museum pieces and unexpected doorways." location 201
Ancient "to visit the ruins of ancient Greece and its western empire..." location 18
Empire "to visit the ruins of ancient Greece and its western empire..." location 18
Conqueror "Alexander, the conqueror of Greece, the invader from the North..." location 1058
Chains "A man who even kept memories was a man forging his own chains." location 1445
Bustling "The bustling tugs hauled and pushed and prodded the towering ship..." location 1866
Script "and a small note in hotel script telling him..." location 415
Miniature "by a small church with its cluster of miniature domes." location 1508
Million "destroy other human beings by the million..." location 819
Bridge "Near Thalos there is a bridge, a path that lead past my house..." location 1235
House "Near Thalos there is a bridge, a path that lead past my house..." location 1235
City "The bare, yellow hills behind the city were blotted out." location 402
Causeway "the high spring tide sending its surging waves across a causeway that led to the little island..." location 149
Graves "so despairing and lost and hopeless, tight into their own graves?" location 1725
Polished "But Elias was standing in front of a tobacconist's highly polished window." location 1009
Mound "Mounds of lime were all that greeted them." location 814
Narrow "through the darkness toward the narrow gap between Europe and Africa." location 105
Corner "just around the corner from here?" location 319
Gold "turned the high windows of the tall buildings into flaming gold." location 62
Siren "The siren gave a last and triumphant blast..." location 57
Places "Places where we can have Greek music and ouzo." location 658

Right on the Money by Emma Lathen 10/6
Fort "In the sunshine of Fort Lauderdale..." location 587
Pipes "Tubing, pipes, and well-digging equipment..." location 731
Advisers "had concerned the two financial advisors." location 638
Colorful "with a commentary on the colorful career and personality of Conrad Ecker." location 671
Pocketbook "there is always someone whose nose - or pocketbook - is put out of joint." location 192

Mrs. Pollifax Unveiled by Dorothy Gilman 10/10
Middle East "The Middle East again, this time Syria" location 24
Islam "could be taken over by Islamic radicals..." location 31
Soul "According to our friend in Damascus in the souk..." location 259

Manama Spell
October 2025
Islam
SPELL ONLY....0/5

I
S
L
A
M

Thanks for joining Teri & Ruth!

Manama Spell
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
0/6
B The Hapless Milliner by Jessica Bull
R Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
I I Still Dream About You
D Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress
G The Taming of the Queen by Philippa Gregory
E The Wedding People by Alison Espach

Welcome to the challenge Mave!

October 1 -31
Completed 10.06.2025
Option Two: Word Search - Please Read Below Note
Completion 33/15

Book 1: The One | John Marrs | 10.02
🎃Western | "His description counted for almost half the men in the Western world." p. 35
🎃National | "...., into allowing you access to records from the National DNA database." p. 308
🎃Bridge | "But, they would cross that bridge when they came to it." p. 265
🎃Polished | ...., everything looked surprisingly clean and polished." p. 66
🎃Empire | "In my spare time I question how the Galactic Empire..." p. 172
🎃Narrow | "...which makes it hard to narrow down where he might strike next." p. 104
🎃Bustling | "She walked confidently through the bustling dining room, ..." p. 403
🎃Corner | "..., then looked at the clock in the corner..." p. 3
🎃Gold | "She kept Tim's ring on a gold chain around her neck." p. 251
🎃City | "....she worked for a large company in the city." p. 93
🎃House | :,,,and once their house was sold,..." p. 22
🎃Diverse | "...taking in the city's diverse skyline." p. 302
🎃Places | ...and he had been to places she'd only ever seen on TV or in films." p. 2
🎃Worship | "It was unlike any other house of worship Jade had ever visited." p. 225
🎃Colorful | "A horsepipe lay next to a row of colorful flowers." p. 66
🎃Million | "Your DNA is going to break up around three million marriages." p. 13

Book 2 | Johnny Halloween: Tales of the Dark Season | Norman Partridge | 10.02
🎃Graves | "I pointed two graves over." Loc 252
🎃Fort | "This is a public library, not Fort Knox..." Loc 375
🎃Mound | "...just as the machine skirted the mound." Loc 882
🎃Siren | "The sound of a siren rose in the distance." Loc 1106

Book 3 | The Right Move | Liz Tomforde | 10.04
🎃museum | ".....I'm sitting in the middle of a museum..." p. 14

A Thousand Splendid Suns | Khaled Hosseini | 10.04
🎃Quran | "He had taught her to read the Quran....." p. 27
🎃Script | " He taught her to read the Quran in Arabic Script" p. 27
🎃Islam | " ...that it was only in Islam that a man could find...." p. 70
🎃manuscript | " He said he had found the manuscript in a secondhand bookstore." p. 111
🎃chains | "She could not escape the chains of her past,...." p. 370
Pocketbook | "He tossed the pocketbook onto the table..." p. 70
🎃Calligraphy | "He taught her to read the Quran in Arabic calligraphy.." p. 27
🎃Miniature | " There was a miniature painting of a woman in a red dress...." p. 79
🎃Conqueror | "He was a man who had once been a conqueror, ...." p. 81
🎃Monarchy | "Anyway, Afghanistan is no longer a monarchy, Mariam." p. 23
🎃Ancient | "The ancient city of Herat...." p. 27
Pipes | "The pipes are old." p. 70
🎃Adviser | ".....who had once been the king's cousin and adviser,..." p. 24
🎃Chai | "He poured her a cup of chai and sat down." p. 25

Terrific job Angel!!

Manama Spell and Search
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025

B
A - Alpha's Prize Renee Rose - 10/4/25
H
R
A
I
N

M - Misadventures with a Speed Demon Chelle Bliss - 10/3/25
A
N
A
M
A

Welcome Karen!