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The Elsewhere Line | Passenger: Pammy
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Summer 1893
The White City is glowing.
As evening falls over the World's Columbian Exposition, thousands of electric lights illuminate the grand white buildings, fountains, and lagoons surrounding you. Searchlights sweep across the fairgrounds while illuminated fountains change color against the night.
But we're not here just to admire the view.
Towering over the Midway is the world's first Ferris WheelβGeorge Ferris's enormous answer to the Eiffel Tower, carrying passengers high above the fairgrounds.
Before the train leaves, we're taking a ride.
π Choose ONE:
π‘ 1. Read a book with WHITE or CITY in the text.
π‘ 2. Read a book with a circle or wheel on the cover.
π‘ 3. Read a book with a page count ending in 1, 8, 9 or 3.
π‘ 4. Read a book where the author's last name begins with a letter in CHICAGO.
π‘ 5. Read a book where a character tries something they've never done before.
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π Down the Rabbit Hole: See how electricity turned the White City into something visitors described as almost magical.
π https://worldsfairchicago1893.com/202...
Book/Author: Luna Trials by Heather K. CarsonDate Read: 09.18.2026
Stop: π STOP #1 β π‘ Chicago
Summer 1893
Task: π Choose ONE:
π‘ 3. Read a book with a page count ending in 1, 8, 9 or 3.
How it fits: The page count for Luna Trials is 343, which ends with a '3'.
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π STOP #2 β π± Atlantis
Before the Fall
Atlantis has one small problem.
It never existed.
Plato described a wealthy island kingdom built around concentric rings of land and water. Generations of Atlanteans bridged the rings, cut a canal to the sea, and opened passages wide enough for ships to travel from one ring to the next.
Thousands of years later, people are still looking for it.
Apparently, they should have tried the train.
Before the train leaves, we're taking a boat through the rings of Atlantis.
π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book with a one-word title.
π 2. Read a book with something gold, silver, or bronze on the cover.
π 3. Read a book where the author's first name starts with a letter in PLATO.
π 4. Read a book where something believed to be lost is found or rediscovered.
π 5. Read a book with a title/subtitle/series that contains all the letters in ATLANTIS.
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π Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious what Plato actually said about Atlantis?
π The Cliff Notes: A reader-friendly look at the story, the city Plato described, and the theories that followed.
https://www.worldhistory.org/atlantis/
π The Original: Read Critias, where Plato takes us inside Atlantis itself.
https://classics.mit.edu/Plato/critia...
Book/Author : Riftborn by Shannon MayerDate Read : 09.24.2026
Stop : STOP #2 β π± Atlantis
Before the Fall
Task : π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book with a one-word title.
How It Fits : Riftborn is a book with a one-word title.
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π STOP #3 β π¦ Lisbon
June 3, 1515
Lisbon has a new celebrity.
A rhinoceros from India arrived just two weeks agoβthe first living rhino seen in Europe for centuries. Crowds have come to see the animal that most Europeans know only from ancient descriptions.
Today, King Manuel I puts an ancient question to the test: are rhinoceroses and elephants natural-born enemies?
The experiment doesn't last long. The rhino advances. The elephant takes one look at the situation and makes its exit.
Before the train leaves, we're going to see the animal everyone in Lisbon is talking about.
π Choose ONE:
β 1. Read a book set in Europe.
β 2. Read a book with an animal on the cover.
β 3. Read a book with 15 in the page count. (Example: 415, 157)
β 4. Read a book where the MC's first or last name begins with a letter in GENDA.
β 5. Read a book where a character encounters something they've never seen before.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: Never heard this story? Here's the bite-size versionβand how a man who never saw Genda created the image that shaped Europe's idea of one for centuries.
π https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/the-le...
π¦ One more thing: See that tower under construction? Genda would leave his mark there, tooβand it's still there more than 500 years later.
π https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/b...
Book/Author : Hex & Homicide by Kim RichardsonDate Read : 09.25.2026
Stop : π STOP #3 β π¦ Lisbon
June 3, 1515
Task : π Choose ONE:
β 4. Read a book where the MC's first or last name begins with a letter in GENDA.
How It Fits : The MC's last name is Davenport.
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π STOP #4 β π Baghdad
9th Century
Baghdad is having a book boom.
In the Suq al-Warraqinβthe Stationers' Marketβmore than a hundred shops line the streets, where paper and books are sold and copyists turn out manuscripts for a city hungry for the written word.
This isn't a quiet place to browse. Stationers copy texts, make and sell books, track down works for customers, and trade ideas along the way.
One famous reader, al-Jahiz, was even said to rent bookshops overnight so he could keep reading after everyone else went home.
Frankly, we respect the commitment.
Before the train leaves, we're going book shopping.
π Choose ONE:
ποΈ 1. Read a book with PAPER or BOOK in the text.
ποΈ 2. Read a book featuring a character who loves to read.
ποΈ 3. Read a book with a predominantly CREAM/BEIGE cover. (More than 50%.)
ποΈ 4. Read a book where a character buys, sells, makes, or copies something.
ποΈ 5. Read a book with an author whose first OR last name contains 3 or more letters from BAGHDAD.
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π Down the Rabbit Hole: Baghdad's book boom had a secret ingredient: paper. So how did a Chinese invention help fill the city's streets with booksellersβand change the written world?
π https://archive.aramcoworld.com/issue...
Book/Author : Alpha Bully by Renee RoseDate Read : 09.30.2026
Stop : π STOP #4 β π Baghdad
9th Century
Task : π Choose ONE:
ποΈ 4. Read a book where a character buys, sells, makes, or copies something.
How It Fits : The mfc, Bailey, is granted permission to launch a school newspaper, and as a result is in charge of writing/editing/printing/distributing the newspaper.
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π STOP #5 β π¨ Teotihuacan
c. 450 CE
You recognize the pyramids.
Almost nothing else looks familiar.
The bare stone ruins you know are nowhere to be seen. Teotihuacan is alive, its buildings covered in white plaster and vivid red, with painted murals stretching across homes, temples, and public spaces.
Beyond the monumental center, thousands of people live in sprawling apartment compounds arranged around open courtyards, many with their own elaborate painted walls. This isn't an archaeological site. It's one of the great cities of the ancient world.
Before the train leaves, we're walking the Avenue of the Dead while Teotihuacan still has its colors.
π Choose ONE:
πͺΆ 1. Read a book set in an urban city.
πͺΆ 2. Read a book with more than 450 pages.
πͺΆ 3. Read a book featuring a home or apartment.
πͺΆ 4. Read a book with 3 or more colors on the cover.
πͺΆ 5. Read a book where a place looks very different from how a character remembers or expects it.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: The Teotihuacan we see today has lost most of its color. See what surviving pigments and murals reveal about the painted city.
π https://visitateotihuacan.inah.gob.mx...
Book/Author : Reaper of Ruin by K.C. KeanDate Read : 10.02.2026
Stop : π STOP #5 β π¨ Teotihuacan
c. 450 CE
Task : π Choose ONE:
πͺΆ 2. Read a book with more than 450 pages.
How It Fits : Reaper of Ruin has 570 pages.
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π STOP #6 β π Edo
c. 1830
Clear your schedule. We're going to the theater.
At the Nakamura-za, kabuki isn't a quiet evening out. Performances can last most of the day, with audiences eating, drinking, talking, and settling into box seats while vendors move through the theater with food and tea.
And don't get too comfortable watching the stage. The hanamichi runs straight through the audience, giving actors another entranceβand putting the performance only a few feet away.
Wooden clappers cut through the chatter, elaborate costumes sweep across the stage, and the crowd cheers, calls out, and reacts right along with the performance. This is popular entertainment, not polite theaterβand the audience is part of the show.
Before the train leaves, we're spending the day at the Nakamura-zaβand we're getting seats beside the hanamichi.
π Choose ONE:
ποΈ 1. Read a book with THEATER in the text.
ποΈ 2. Read a book with food or a drink on the cover.
ποΈ 3. Read a book where a character attends a performance or show.
ποΈ 4. Read a book with a publication date containing at least 2 of the digits in 1-8-3-0.
ποΈ 5. Read a book where NEITHER the author's first NOR last name begins with a letter in NAKAMURA-ZA.
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π Down the Rabbit Hole: Want to see what an Edo kabuki theater actually looked like? Take a closer look inside the Nakamura-za through a period printβright down to the box seats, food vendors, and hanamichi running through the crowd.
π https://kunisada-and-kabuki.fitzmuseu...
Book/Author : Wolf Touched by Jen L. GreyDate Read : 10.05.2026
Stop : π STOP #6 β π Edo
c. 1830
Task : π Choose ONE:
ποΈ 5. Read a book where NEITHER the author's first NOR last name begins with a letter in NAKAMURA-ZA.
How It Fits : The neither the first nor the last name of the author, Jen L. Grey; begins with a letter in NAKAMURA-ZA.
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π STOP #7 β π« Wonderland
Tea Time
We've arrived just in time for tea.
Unfortunately, it's always time for tea here.
The Hatter has quarreled with Time himself, and the clock hasn't moved past six ever since. With no time to wash the dishes, the Hatter, March Hare, and Dormouse simply move to another place at the table when the cups are used up.
There is plenty of room. You will nevertheless be told there isn't.
Expect tea and bread and butter, unsolicited personal remarks, stories that make increasingly less sense, and at least one riddle whose answer nobody actually knows.
Before the train leaves, we're staying for tea. Croquet afterward, assuming no one loses their head.
π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book with a page count ending in 6.
π 2. Read a book with a title or series beginning with M.
π 3. Read a book with a cup, teapot, or other drinkware on the cover.
π 4. Read a book featuring a character who is late or loses track of time.
π 5. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are both in WONDERLAND.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: The Hatter's famous riddle wasn't supposed to have an answer. Readers kept asking anywayβso Carroll eventually gave them one, complete with a wordplay trick that later editions accidentally erased.
π https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/r...
π© See the original Wonderland: Before generations of adaptations had their turn, John Tenniel illustrated Carroll's Wonderland.
π https://www.alice-in-wonderland.net/r...
Book/Author : Sky Shielder by Lindsay BurokerDate Read : 10.13.2026
Stop :
π STOP #7 β π« Wonderland
Tea Time
Task : π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book with a page count ending in 6.
How It Fits : Sky Shielder has a page count of 426.
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π STOP #8 β π½ New York City
Sunday, October 27, 1929
Wall Street should be quiet on a Sunday. Today, it isn't.
After a brutal week on the market, bankers and brokers are back at work catching up, while curious sightseers wander the financial district. Some are even picking up stray pieces of ticker tape from the street as souvenirs.
Thereβs a sense that the worst may have passed.
We know better.
Before the train leaves, join the Sunday sightseers outside the Exchangeβand pocket a piece of ticker tape of your own.
π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book published in October.
π 2. Read a book with 29 in the page count. (Example: 290, 529)
π 3. Read a book with NEW, YORK, WALL, or STREET in the title.
π 4. Read a book where a character takes a risk or makes a gamble.
π 5. Read a book with paper, a newspaper, receipt, ticket, or other loose paper item on the cover.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: Read what The New York Times reported from Wall Street the very next morning.
π https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytim...
Book/Author : The Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings by Jessica HallDate Read : 10.20.2026
Stop : π STOP #8 β π½ New York City
Sunday, October 27, 1929
Task : π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book published in October.
How It Fits : The Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings was published October 15, 2023.
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π STOP #9 β π Venice
Carnival Season, c. 1765
Tonight, Venice is wearing a mask.
During Carnival, anonymity has rules of its own. Behind a white bauta or a dark moretta, names and faces become easier to hideβand that makes the city feel just a little less predictable.
By evening, masked crowds move between theaters, cafΓ©s, gaming rooms, and private gatherings. At the Ridotto, nearly everyone at the tables is disguised, while the men running the games remain conspicuously bare-faced.
For a few hours, where you goβand who you choose to be while you're thereβis entirely up to you.
Before the train leaves, choose a mask and disappear into Carnival for the evening.
π Choose ONE:
π 1. Read a book with a mask on the cover.
π 2. Read a book with CARNIVAL in the text.
π 3. Read a book with NIGHT, EVENING, or MIDNIGHT in the title.
π 4. Read a book where a character hides or disguises their identity.
π 5. Read a book with an MC whose first name starts with a letter in MORETTA.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: The moretta had no straps or ties. The small black velvet mask was held in place by gripping a button between the teethβwhich meant its wearer couldn't speak while wearing it.
π https://www.camacana.com/en-UK/morett...
Book/Author : Whispers Within the Midnight Garden by Tessa ColeDate Read : 11.06.2026
Stop : π STOP #9 β π Venice
Carnival Season, c. 1765
Task : π Choose ONE:
π 3. Read a book with NIGHT, EVENING, or MIDNIGHT in the title.
How It Fits : 'Midnight' is in the title.
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π STOP #10 β π΄ Mars
2084
Welcome to the future.
Or at least, the future as 1990 imagined it.
The Elsewhere Line doesn't limit itself to places found on maps. This particular Mars comes courtesy of Total Recall, where a colony has taken root beneath glass, steel, and concrete.
Outside, the red Martian landscape stretches beyond the colony's enormous windows. Inside, there's air to breathe and an entire city going about its business.
And 2084 looks suspiciously like the future once promised by 1990βchunky technology, industrial architecture, and fashions that never quite left the century that imagined them.
Before the train leaves, we're exploring Mars. Just remember which side of the glass has oxygen.
π Choose ONE:
πͺ 1. Read a book published or set in the 1990s.
πͺ 2. Read a book with a planet, moon, or stars on the cover.
πͺ 3. Read a book that contains all the letters in MARS in the title.
πͺ 4. Read a book featuring a dual identity or an undercover operative.
πͺ 5. Read a book with significant scenes set underground or inside a dome.
β¦ βββββββββ β βββββββββ β¦
π Down the Rabbit Hole: In 1990, photorealistic CGI couldn't simply build Mars. See how Total Recall used enormous sets, miniatures, matte work, and practical effects to create 2084.
π https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/re...
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
Whispers Within the Midnight Garden (other topics)The Unwanted Mate Of The Lycan Kings (other topics)
Sky Shielder (other topics)
Wolf Touched (other topics)
Reaper of Ruin (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Tessa Cole (other topics)Jessica Hall (other topics)
Lindsay Buroker (other topics)
Jen L. Grey (other topics)
K.C. Kean (other topics)
More...
π The Elsewhere Line
Individual β’ Open-Ended
π Start Date: Sept 15, 2026
There are trains that follow maps and timetables.
This isn't one of them.
The Elsewhere Line travels to places ordinary railways can't reachβacross borders, through history, and occasionally somewhere that shouldn't exist at all.
Across 25 Stops, you'll step into a new place, time, or reality. You might witness a moment in history, explore somewhere lost to time, join in whatever is happening, or simply stay awhile before choosing one of several reading tasks to continue your journey.
And if curiosity gets the better of you, there may be an optional rabbit hole or two waiting along the way.
Where the Line goes next is never quite predictable.
π For the badge hunters: Every Stop earns its own commemorative coin (badge).
You may Stay Aboard (SKIP) twice during your journey. The Stop still counts as visited, you'll receive its commemorative coin, and the Line will carry you onward.
Here's your ticket.
All aboard.
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π Challenge Rules
β’ Standard Challenge Rules apply for basic book qualifications.
β’ Cover tasks: Post the cover for the edition you read. The required item must be clearly visible on that cover.
β’ In-the-text tasks: Include the page, chapter, or location and the passage where the required word appears. (Context does not matter.)
β’ In-the-text tasks: No variations, except plurals and only when the original spelling remains unchanged. (Example: STAR β STARS counts; SHELF β SHELVES does not.)
β’ Letters-in-a-title tasks: When a task asks for all the letters in a word, the letters may appear in any order, but all lettersβincluding repeatsβmust be present.
β’ Title tasks: The book's title and subtitle count unless otherwise stated.
β’ Series names: Do not count unless the individual task specifically allows the series name.
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ποΈ Stay Aboard
Two Stay Aboard passes have been tucked in with your ticket.
If a Stop isn't calling to you, use one and remain aboard. Find a comfortable seat, enjoy the amenities, and let the Line carry you onward.
π Completing a Stop
When you've finished your book, post your completion directly in this thread:
Book/Author:
Date Read:
Stop:
Task:
How it fits:
Then check in at the ποΈ Ticket Booth with a direct link to your completion post.
Questions along the way? Visit the ποΈ Concierge Desk (Q&A) .