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

1. Month - December - The Tricksters - done, 3 stars, thoughtful YA/adult ghost story

2. Birthstone - Turquoise - The Daring Book for Girls - done, 4 stars, recommended to all

3. Birth Year - 1962 - Talents, Incorporated

4. Author from my country - USA - maybe I'll do Crossing Open Ground by Barry Lopez because it would fit another group's challenge, too. Done - 3 stars.

5. Country I'd like to visit - New Zealand - Underrunners by Margaret Mahy - done - 4 stars, excellent YA story with a bit of mystery

6. Favorite genre - children's - The Borrowers Afield Done. I remember liking it more as a child. Good, but I doubt I'll reread the rest.

7. Last name match - Poul Anderson, The Corridors of Time is on Mt. TBR

8. Flower - done Twice Upon a Marigold, a sequel to Once... I reread the first, too, and am glad I did because I liked it even better this time. Marigolds are cool because they're a natural pest deterrent.

9. On TBR longest - gosh, I don't know, um, The Ox-Bow Incident - Done - 4.5 stars, just a little preachy but intense, relevant, interesting, and concise.

10. Favorite animal or bird - I do like crows a lot, so I pulled The Mob (Feather and Bone. The Crow Chronicles, #1). off Mt. TBR. Done. 4.5 stars, a cooler, easier Watership Down with crows instead of rabbits.

11. Biography - Andrew Carnegie: Steel King and Friend to Libraries - I don't normally like this genre, but I have been wondering about this man who did so much for public libraries and this children's bio should be good. Done - it was ok. Too dry, too much about how he made money and not enough about how he gave it away, but ok.

12. Issue/cause - world harmony - This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World - a book of poems for ages 10 up that I've just started; will be available when I'm done. Done - not very good in my opinion.

Bonus - hobby - hanging out at libraries - Please Bury Me in the Library done - 1 star - this collection of kid's poems did almost nothing for me except irritate me.

Three done, but others I have no clue on - Thanks for being flexible!

Awesome, Cheryl! You've got a great start. I see you were another December baby.

Yup. And I'm not sure I want to read a book about Christmas - but since it's a year-long challenge maybe I'll want to come December! :)

Judy, I like that - a few peaks indeed - since Mt. TBR is so huge I thought I'd get even more from there, but the library is good too...

Ah - I didn't realize that the YA paranormal I've been reading was a December book. Silly me. It's set in New Zealand at summer holidays, so certainly it fits!

You are burning through this challenge, Cheryl! I have just started my first book, an audiobook and have 17 more hours of listening ahead of me.

Heh - I don't have a job, I do have a supportive family, and I like children's books - I'm spoiled.

Done with #4: Crossing Open Ground was not what I expected - essays - some good, some not-so, some long, some not-so.... I'll write a review later, tomorrow I think.

Done with #12 - The author does not have the same taste in poetry as I do, and she skips the US entirely. I mean, that seems to me to imply *dis*harmony - which would be in direct conflict to what I would have thought was her theme. This Same Sky: A Collection of Poems from Around the World

Oh, and Done with #11, the biography. I think that means I've done 7/13.

We'll have to come up with an extra task for all the speed readers! :) Good job Cheryl!

heh. Some of the rest are going to be trickier though.

I've added #6, my favorite genre is children's, and #10, couldn't pick a 'favorite' animal but crows are v. interesting.

You only have 5 tasks left! I haven't crossed one off my list yet. I'm working on the first one.

Um... 3, 7, 8, 9 = 4 tasks?

Oops! I can't count obviously. :)

I'm glad I can. (sometimes :)

I had to give up on The Drowned World - just didn't like it. But I found that Cities in Flight, from my Mt. TBR, was also from 1962, so it's time to try that.

Hm - sf writers were kinda anthropomorphic that year....

I hope you have better luck with Cities in Flight.

tx

I just enjoyed the stunning picture-book The Three Robbers by Tomi Ungerer and noticed that it was published in my birth year! I don't particularly want to count it because I've already got so many children's books on my list, but if I can't get through Cities in Flight I might have to.

Done with The Ox-Bow Incident. I gave it 4 stars. Interesting, intense, concise - a tiny bit like the author knew all along that the book was going to be taught in schools but still it can be read for pleasure. Thank you for prompting me to get it off Mt. TBR and read, finally!

I think you might like it, for something different.

Done with Twice Upon a Marigold. Nice alternate fairy tale for plucky girls and the young-at-heart. So, let's see, I have 3 & 7 left I think....

You've almost got this challenge in the bag, Cheryl.

And another one! I just listened to a classic sf novella from librivox with my husband and, as I was reviewing it, found that it was originally written in 1962! Talents, Incorporated

Btw, I do intend to try to read some adult level books for some of the challenges if I get a chance - especially I do have a full-size book about libraries for the bonus theme that I want to read soonish. :)

So, I think, all I have left is an author named Anderson, which should be easy even if I don't like The Corridors of Time.

Sounds great. I don't think you'll have a hard time finding a book written by an Anderson, or a Cheryl.

Tx. :)

DONE! I finished The Corridors of Time from Mt. TBR for # 7 - we share the last name. Ok story but I probably won't read any more by him; it's not the first time I've been disappointed by him despite his popularity in classic SF, my favorite adult genre.

Ok, now I'm going to read In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians so I have a sufficiently meaty book for the bonus category of hobbies. Well, not now, but soon, at least before July. :)

Super job, Cheryl!

There was another who was finished earlier. I'd have to go back and look. Cheryl is second to complete.

I'm glad I've outgrown the need to compete - I'm just happy for whomever that was. :)

Ok, I've actually read several books about my hobby since that short one. I'm going to supplement my report with In the Stacks: Short Stories about Libraries and Librarians because it was a slog and it was from Mt.TBR so I want credit for the darn thing! A 1 star read that someone else might possibly love, so I'm glad it's ready to get registered at bookcrossing and then released!

Tx. :)