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

Are there any requirements for when the book was started? I have The Stonor Eagles which has been on my TBR forever - even before I had a TBR shelf on Goodreads. Will it count if I start it before the topper?

Gotcha! 600 pages should keep me busy! :)

I'm in! :D This will help me finish a lot of books.

24 hours! Gotta use my time wisely! Ooh... :)

Judy wrote: "Well, if you can read that one within the Toppler time frame you will qualify for many awards! Let's see, the Participation, of course, I take it that it is the book that has been on your TBR the l..."

I bought this book years ago. I even forgot that I had it for a while. I'm going to have to think very hard about changing my reading habits for the Wild Goose award since I've read n many different situations - even while lying on my stomach across the bed with the book on the floor.

Me too - indoors, outdoors, on a bus, on a train, with a fox... Oh, sorry, fell under the Green Eggs and Ham spell there... It's going to be a puzzler, but I'm going to try to come up with something creative!

I will give it a try, although I am not sure I can read something that quickly!!

In fact I have a book on my TBR list called Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. I have just found this author last week and read her first book.

I'm in. :) Not sure what I'll read yet, but I'm in!

Almeta and I are in! Need to start planning our menu! lol

Debra wrote: "Almeta and I are in! Need to start planning our menu! lol"

And our exercise program!!!

Now now ladies! I'm sure you can work both in! :)

Oh yeah... that exercise thing! Aarrgh! I sound excited, don't I?

Oh I am sooooooooooooooo in and this time there's no Santa Jog to disrupt my reading...just a rugby match for the last hour and half but I can read there too!

And for those in GMT land the times are 3pm on the 21st to 3pm on the 22nd :-)

And now to plan...

Judy wrote: "Wonderful! I'm so glad that you all will be part of it, Almeta, Debra and Sam!

You'll have to post of a picture of you playing Rugby and reading, Sam. hehe"

Luckily Judy in this instance I'm just watching rather than playing but I have been known to try to multitask in such a way in my younger days (if memory serves it resulted in a heavy tackle and a black eye...) lol!

Almeta wrote: "Debra wrote: "Almeta and I are in! Need to start planning our menu! lol"

And our exercise program!!!"

And the books you are going to read? LOL!

Janice wrote: "Almeta wrote: "Debra wrote: "Almeta and I are in! Need to start planning our menu! lol"

And our exercise program!!!"

And the books you are going to read? LOL!"

Oh yeah, that too!☺

Looks like we've got heaps of enthusiasts for this toppler, I'm really glad people are joining in on the read-a-thon :).

Oh my God, how did I miss this notification?! I've been waiting the date announcement since the last toppler! You know I'm in!

Unfortunately I can't take any time off work *cries* so staying awake until 4pm on a Sunday might not be possible, but I'll definitely try!

Apparently Jan 6, 2011 is when I took the GoodReads plunge. The first thing I did was put nearly every Donald E. Westlake book on the ToRead shelf. So I'm making this a Donald E. Westlake day!

(1) The finis completium award will be awarded to those who read the book the has been on their TBR the longest. (Minimum requirement of 300-pages.)
The Hot Rock (304 pages)

(2) The Cleaner-Upper Award goes to those who complete more than one book on their TBR. (Minimum of 450 pages total.)
Don't Ask (Dortmunder, #8) (327 pages) plus Don't Lie to Me(181 pages)by Tucker Coe, a Donald E. Westlake pseudonym.

(3) The Ye Olde Book Award belongs to those who complete at least one book listed on their TBR published before 1992. (Minimum of 300 pages.)
Drowned Hopes published 1990 (464 pages)

(4) Someone once said, Don't refuse to go on an occasional wild goose chase - that's what wild geese are for. Read an author with a unique style of writing.
I've always heard that Donald E. Westlake wrote caper novels with a big dose of hi-jinks, so I started picking his books up from remainder racks. I've collected, perhaps twenty of his novels, but not read a single one! When I've been in the mood for humor, and then scanned the synopsis of the books I own, I found that I rarely bought the humorous ones, but rather his other darker stories; so I always rejected him as a possibility.

(5) A Participation Award is given to anyone who participates in this TBR Toppler regardless if they complete their book or not.
I'll be there. I doubt that I’ll get through over 1200 pages, but I’ll be there.

" I started picking his books up from remainder racks. I've collected, perhaps twenty of his novels, but not read a single one!"

Too funny - I've done that too - I have many authors that I have many books for, and if I read one or two books and don't like them, then I'll be able to clear a half-dozen or more from my shelves. I already did that with Robert Silverberg - supposed to be a classic SF author, widely popular, so I bought lots of his books at pb exchange etc - then discovered he's not for me and so got rid of about a dozen volumes. These TBR Topplers are great for finding those!

Judy, I've got a question. I thought #1 and #2 could be combined, but Almeta has a total of three books planned in order to earn both those badges. I was going to read The Bradbury Chronicles: 2stories in Honor of Ray Bradbury (335 pp) for #1 and then add Beyond Belief (188) for #2. Is that what you meant?

Cheryl in CC NV wrote: Too funny - I've done that too - I have many authors that I have many books for, and if I read one or two books and don't like them, then I'll be able to clear a half-dozen or more from my shelves. ..."

Cheryl, I think we are both seriously taking our challenge to get books off the home library shelves and out the door .

Donald E. Westlake is about to go down!

I'll be picking off my home shelves, too. Time to get busy on my excess collection!

You two ladies make me smile so big every time I see your posts!

Cheryl, you have to read some of my sister's (Almeta's) reviews. She is so clever and witty and funny. I can't be bothered to take the time to write such wonderful reviews. It takes away from my reading time, dog-gone-it! lol

And thanks for making my day. I like to make people smile. Almeta and I love being on GR, being involved in challenges, swapping books with each other, and discussing them. We get together at least 3 times a week, email often, and GR and books are always subjects of discussion between us.

We thank our Mom often for encouraging us to read, read, read! (Heck! I've got 3 books going at all times - a physical copy I read in all my spare time, audio CDs I listen to in my car, and Audible books on my phone that I listen to while working out!)

But maybe we could have done without the addictive need to collect so many books? We inherited that from Mom, too - along with a lot of her huge collection!

I think I'm going to just try for the Cleaner-upper challenge and if things fit into the other criteria after thats fine with me.

So the longest on my virtual TBR is The Monkey Puzzle Tree. There is a silly story behind this book. A friend told me to get Monkey Puzzle for small boy. So I merrily ordered the monkey puzzle from Amazon. But I didn't. I ordered the monkey puzzle tree, which is not a children's book as it is about trauma and abuse in a psychiatric hospital. Doh!

Anyways it is the former book I will be reading to start on the toppler, but it says on here it is less than 300 pages, so it may just be a participation badge or if I can combine it with another then 'Yhe Cleaner Upper'.

Snoozie Suzie wrote: "So the longest on my virtual TBR is The Monkey Puzzle Tree. There is a silly story behind this book. A friend told me to get Monkey Puzzle for small boy. So I merrily..."

I can't believe the coincidence! I just finished reading The Ghost and Mrs. Muir in which Captain Gregg bemoans the loss of his Money Puzzle Tree. So I had to go look it up on the internet. What a cool plant. Have you investigated it? I can't think why Mrs. Muir did not like it.

My sister and I bought one for my mum one mothers day. Very very prickly. Quite evil in fact!

Snoozie Suzie wrote: "My sister and I bought one for my mum one mothers day. Very very prickly. Quite evil in fact!"

Ahhh, now I must have missed that description on the intenet. Of course I just basically looked at the pictures.☻

I'll have to check my shelf at home, because I know there are books sitting there which have been on my "list" way longer than the ones I have listed here.

The Enchanted Hill has a great title, but there's no description on its page here on goodreads. Can you give us a summary, and then I can post it there, too? (cuz I'm a librarian here)

Judy wrote: "Cheryl in CC NV wrote: "The Enchanted Hill has a great title, but there's no description on its page here on goodreads. Can you give us a summary, and then I can post it there, too? (cuz I'm a lib..."

A Western about a New Mexico ranch (The Enchanted Hill) owner who tries to escape a stranger's bullet and a woman's beauty.

Wheeeee! I love these all nighters. I'm going for The Cleaner Upper award also known as Novella Night -- 3 or four that equal 450 or more pages! Gotta get my selections in order now.

Also, all of my titles will have been originally published before 1992, so that should qualify me for the Ye Olde Book Award too, right?

That's what I'm thinking!

So Judy, that 1st western would qualify you for Wild Goose Chase, right?

I'll put Almeta's sentence in the book description slot for now, but if you do finish it and want to be a bit more thorough I can change it again.

I'm hoping to get in on this Judy. I seem to be over scheduled all the time so far in 2012 but taking a day off from the schedule will be nice.

I plan on jumping into this with both feet firmly planted some where LOL I don't know what I will be reading yet. I have been trying to read a lot from my kindle and I have a lot of classics on there still to read so I may do that. : )

One could certainly make the argument that Butcher's Crossing is Literary Fiction with a western setting and theme, whereas Enchanted Hill is a genre western... ;)

I added Butcher's Crossing to my shelves.

Can I do it from 10am April 21st my time?

Because if I do it on the 21st US est it will be 11.30 pm Sunday night here and then I'll be at work on the Monday.

Won't read a book then as will only have a few hours available to me but will definately drop by and encourage others :)

It is difficult to schedule a 24 hour read-a-thon that will work for members from around the whole world. I know you tried, Judy. Thank you for your understanding and support Sally!

Judy wrote: "Yes, Cheryl, it would. I've been hesitant to read westerns because I don't care for them on TV or movies. I may have read one before, I have to doublecheck.

Rats! I double-checked and I have read ..."

It's not a genre I usually read Judy but I did like Robert Parker's Appaloosa which is part of a series of 3 books if I remember correctly.

Well, I've just checked and the oldest book on my TBR is 693 pages so that's definitely not an option for a pokey reader like myself. I'll stick to Novella Night.

Well I just looked at my oldest books and there are several to choose from as they are from when I first joined (April26/27, 2010) I am eliminating the huge books that I know I couldn't finish which leaves me with a couple of poetry choices and several novels, including The Namesake, The Help, When Will There Be Good News?, among others. And I'm sure I can find other things to fit other categories too.

Heehee. I find it quite funny that 10am EST on the 21st corresponds to midnight on the 22nd in Australia. I'll tell my dad about the date again, and cross my fingers for internet connection while in Melbourne.



I think I'll be aiming for all of them... I already have a fantastic idea for the Wild Goose Chase... it's making me laugh even as I think of it.

Now if only my To-Read shelf would load so that I can figure out what I need to read before the 22nd. The current longest-there book is Maitreyi a book in Romanian. Which I know I won't be able to read in 24 hours, even in my wildest dreams.

Yeah, it's not loading. This internet connection sucks. XD

Is it possible to read something that has been on my mental 'want to read' book shelf forever, instead of the GoodReads one for finus completium? Or can anyone discover what the oldest ten books on my to-read list are? Because this internet connection is really slow and likely to get worse by the time the toppler swings round.

Thanks for the help, guys!

I AM SO EXCITED.

Never mind about that! The internet magically became nice and loaded it in less than thirty seconds.

Thus now I have to choose from:

Wuthering Heights-- reading it because it's the only book over 300 pages.

Then:

Picture of Dorian Gray
Romeo and Juliet
The Scarlet Letter
Les Misérables (highly unlikely, as it's 1463 pages)
The Sun Also Rises
Robinson Crusoe
Robin Hood

The problem, of course, is that the 22nd is a holiday, and we will probably be at church.

Wow. Okay. I am so fired up right now.

Sally906 wrote: "Won't read a book then as will only have a few hours available to me but will definately drop by and encourage others :)"

We always need cheerleaders!

The time difference is tough - I will be reading from 4pm Saturday until 4pm Sunday, and as I have work on Monday I'll have to grab a few hours sleep somewhere (plus I REALLY can't do 32 hours awake, that's reserved for long-haul flights!).

But last time it wasn't a major problem for me - so I'm MEGA excited for this one!