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

Casceil, you're right about having to finish out Myth/Fable before you move to a second card, unless Sam and Erin finish out that slot on the first one.

I realized we haven't heard from Erin recently, and I just verified that her last post to our team and to the group in general was on February 12th. I hope she's still participating. We haven't heard from Joe or Mariab since the Toppler started, either.

Erin, Joe, and Mariab, can you please check in?

Anne, your only other option on Card #1 would be Romance, but that is covered by Casceil and Kat, who are both keeping up with their claimed spaces. The two books you mentioned could probably fit Mystery, Suspense/Thriller, or Crime.

So if we have Anne, Casceil, and me doing Card #2, maybe Kat, Sam, and Esther might do the same. I doubt we'd be able to do more than one string on Card #2, so we'd have to see who's doing that and commit to books on a single line.

Kat, Same, and Esther, are you in?

Team Gold as of Tuesday morning, 2/18/14 7:35am EST

You can count me in!

I'm taking a break from Cherry: A Life of Apsley Cherry-Garrard - he's a nice guy but perhaps better in small doses, and instead am tearing through Siege and Storm for fantasy, which I will probably finish in a few hours.

Which only leaves my strategically selected short romance, so I'll definitely be able to finish more than 5.

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Anne, your only other option on Card #1 would be Romance, but that is covered by Casceil and Kat, who are both keeping up with their claimed spaces. The two books you mentioned could probably fit ..."

I want to be in. But if I understand right I need to finish my biography first. Which is not a certain thing. As I am in the US, I will stop at a bookstore close by where my meeting is. I will grab something. I would go with fantasy or mystery as I am sure I can find something I want to buy anyway.
If I remember correctly they have WiFi so I will be able to do a quick check in later this pm. Let me know what I should look for.

Good morning, Teamies! I won't be able to read until this evening. I'm going to start listening to my mystery when I run some errands. I can listen to it in the car.

Have a great day!

I just finished my Contemporary The Lover's Dictionary. Unfortunately, I won't have time to read another one... But if there is a genre we really really need, I might be able to sneak in a short one :)

I'm in for card 2!! :-)

Definitely in for Card #2. Just tell me the category Theresa so I can read Unseen or The Preacher.

I finished reading and reviewed The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank for Memoir and posted to the reporting thread.

I'll start Hex Hall for paranormal a little later. I need to do a few things and check in on my Aunt Frances - she's just out of surgery.

I bought The September Society and Death by Darjeeling.
I guess this cover: crime and mystery (i am not clear as to the difference between these)
and I guess historical for the first depending on the definition you use for the genre.

I'm almost done with Shutter Island for Suspense. I have Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods: Less Water - Less Work - Less Money. Nature? I can fit it in before the end of the week.

Roz wrote: "I'm almost done with Shutter Island for Suspense. I have Grow More With Less: Sustainable Garden Methods: Less Water - Less Work - Less Money. Nature? I can fit it in b..."

Roz, that would be excellent for Nature. I'll add you there.

Team Gold Tuesday 8:17pm EST

We're getting more finishers, and I'm sure that we'll have another string or two finished by tomorrow night. I'm reading my longest book, The Firebird, for Paranormal. I should have that finished late tomorrow. After that I'm sure I can fit in at least 2 shorter books before the Toppler ends.

I'm trying to figure out how to approach Card #2. So far we have 6 players: Anne, Casceil, Sam, Kat, Esther, and myself. Strings are either 4 or 5 spaces, so to include all of us, we'd need to do 2 strings. No one can repeat a genre from string #1, and all the same rules apply. We also have requests from Anne, Casceil, and Esther for Mystery, Crime, Suspense/Thriller, or possibly Historical Fiction.

I'm going to play with it and see what I can come up with. Are one or two others willing to read 6 books? If we have 6 readers with 2 reading 6 books, we could do 2 strings of 4. 3 reading 6 would allow a 5 plus a 4.

One good thing about audiobooks is that I can multitask while reading!

It sounds to me like I still have to read myth/fable, even if it does no good for Card One. I have acquired for kindle a book my daughter recommended, Zeus Grants Stupid Wishes: A No-Bullshit Guide to World Mythology, a modern retelling of world myths.
I'm really not picky about what I read for Card 2.

Casceil, Erin has already finished Myth/Fable and Sam will read that one for certain. I'm pretty sure that if you've read 4 and the only genre you could read is taken, you can move on to card #2. I'll post the question on the main thread to get a ruling from Jaxnsmom.

I only read 4 books for card #1 I can read another one for card #2 I am pretty sure I can read 6 total. I just need to know soon so I can pace myself... and choose my books wisely.

Annette, that helps a lot! Let me go back and see what I can suggest for a plan.

I started Joyland today and it promises to be a good book.

I'd love to help out with Card #2, but I doubt I'd get any more than the 4 books I'm doing for Card #1. I've surprised myself with what I've already accomplished this toppler. I think it's a personal record for me.

No problem, Janice! I'm amazed at how much folks are reading for this one. I'm getting mine read by using all audiobooks, with my earbuds in whenever I'm home and the iPod plugged in for my long work commute. I'm really enjoying The Firebird, which does double-duty as a Chunkster.

I should add that my kids are both grown, and my husband knows I get into my reading!

I spent three days doing little but listen to audiobooks. The one that is taking longer is the ebook that I read when I crawl into bed. It doesn't help that half hour in, I'm snoring.

I'm single and don't disrupt anyone with my reading or my snoring.

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Casceil, Erin has already finished Myth/Fable and Sam will read that one for certain. I'm pretty sure that if you've read 4 and the only genre you could read is taken, you can move on to card #2. ..."

Sorry, if there's a genre available to read, even if it doesn't help, that has to be read before moving on to card 2.

Sorry, but Jaxnsmom's post changes things. In order to move on to Card #2, the following players would need to read books in spaces already filled on Card #1:

Anne would need to read Romance.
Esther would need to read Biography.
Casceil would need to read Myth/Fable.

Kat, Sam, and I are listed for 5, so we can move on when we finish those.

Annette is listed for 4, but the way her books fall, no other genre is open to her, so she can move on once she reads the 4.

Kat, Sam, and Annette, let's set up the first string for Card #2, since we can do a string of 4 with a free space. Anne, Esther, and Casceil have expressed preference for the Mystery, Crime, and Suspense/Thriller genres, so why don't we start with:

Fantasy (not Kat)
Paranormal (not Theresa)
Contemporary
Myth/Fable (not Sam)

Of these, I'd prefer Fantasy but would have no problem with Contemporary or Myth/Fable. Let me know as soon as possible what you'd prefer so we can pick books.

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "Kat, Sam, and Annette, let's set up the first string for Card #2, since we can do a string of 4 with a free space. Anne, Esther, and Casceil have expressed preference for the Mystery, Crime, and Su..."

I can do any of those... I do have a myth/fable on my kindle right now that I've been meaning to read. I also love a good vampire book so paranormal would work as well. :)

I can do contemporary for sure

Jaxnsmom posted this on the main site:

"I know the thing about having to read 5 books for card one, even if one is of no use, is very tough. Since I've already set it like that, I don't think it would be fair to change it now, after some of the teams have already made plans based on this.

IF no one has started a book for their 2nd card, and
IF all groups want it changed, I'll consider letting those who have read everything they can that will help card 1 move on to card 2 with their 5th book.
However, if that 5th book could be part of a string on card 1, even if it won't be completed, their 5th book would still count for card 1.

Please let me know if this makes sense, and then have one person from each group respond here.

Sorry for any confusion!!"

What she's proposing is what I understood the rule to be, and that would mean that Anne, Esther, and Casceil would NOT have to read the books where the spaces were full.

If no one objects, I'll post that Team Gold agrees with her post. Then we could move on and plan the next thread for Card #2.

Sam, it looks like Kat would like Contemporary, I would prefer Fantasy, and Annette would like either Paranormal or Myth/Fable. Since you did Myth/Fable on Card #1, would you like to do Paranormal on Card #2? That would end up:

Fantasy - Theresa, Paranormal - Sam, Contemporary - Kat, and Myth/Fable - Annette.

Yea that's no problem Theresa :-)

Hello Team,
I am not sure how much internet time I will have before Saturday morning. Might be a lot, might be none.
Just in case it is none, I should finish my dystopia soon. i will see how much I can listen to the biography (although it does not count even if I finish it; unless Joe does not make it as he has not reported that I can see) I will then read a mystery. That's my plan if I cannot get back here.

If I can, we will see how it goes.

Good morning Teamies! Wow, lots of drama while I was sleeping.

I posted to the main thread that our team agrees with Jmom's proposed change but will abide by the final rule. I feel so sorry for her, as this seems to have become an administrative nightmare. We all need to remember it's a game and just have fun!

I posted to the main thread that our team agrees with Jmom's proposed change but will abide by the final rule. I feel so sorry for her, as this seems to have become an administrative nightmare. We all need to remember it's a game and just have fun!

Theresa, do I need to read a 5th book on Card 1to then move onto Card 2?

I've done my 4 books, so I don't know what to read now to help Team Gold =(

Is there anyone in our group who might be available to read short stories? That is all we need to finish out string 11. I'm halfway through my Steampunk book.

I finished reading and reviewed Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins for Paranormal and posted in the reporting thread.

Theresa~OctoberLace wrote: "I posted to the main thread that our team agrees with Jmom's proposed change but will abide by the final rule. I feel so sorry for her, as this seems to have become an administrative nightmare. ..."

Well said Theresa. The whole idea is to read books, get to know people, and have fun.

Team Gold now has FOUR STRINGS completed: Top Row, Far Left and Far Right Columns, and one Diagonal.

done with my dystopia.

Still listening to my biography.

Just a question. My Nature book is also Non-Fiction. We haven't heard from Joe or Mariab so if you move me from Nature to Non-Fiction, we just need Crime to complete third row across.

Great news for our superreaders! According to today's post from Jaxnsmom, once you have read all the genres you can that have open slots, you can move to Card #2. One caveat is that if you the next available genre has an open slot, you must fill that first.
That means:

Anne has finished all but Romance, which is full, so she can move on. Esther has read all but Biography, which is full, so the Biography she is listening to can be claimed on Card #2.

Casceil, Kat, Sam, Esther, and I can move to Card #2 as soon as we finish our last slots on Card #1.

So, have we gotten a definitive ruling yet on whether people like me have to read a "doesn't count" 5th book before moving on to Card 2?

Yes, Casceil! On the main thread Jaxnsmom said today that if a spot is open, it must be used, but if you've read every available genre with open slots, you can move on. For you, this means that once you finish Steampunk, you can move on to Card #2 without reading Myth/Fable, since that space has no open slots.

I think I was writing my last message while you were posting yours, but i take it this means I can move to card 2 without reading "myth/fable"? If so, hurray.

Casceil wrote: "I think I was writing my last message while you were posting yours, but i take it this means I can move to card 2 without reading "myth/fable"? If so, hurray."

Absolutely!

Yay!!!!!! I'm 1/3 way done on The Preacher, Theresa. Slot me for Mystery or Crime on Card #2. I think it's more suited for Crime, though - looking for a serial killer they are.

Roz wrote: "Just a question. My Nature book is also Non-Fiction. We haven't heard from Joe or Mariab so if you move me from Nature to Non-Fiction, we just need Crime to complete third row across."

Roz, I agree with you. I've made a note to move your book if necessary to make a string with non-fiction.

I should be done by tomorrow, and with Anne in Crime that completes the row.

If someone can read another culture to replace Mariab, we have the bottom row too.

Roz wrote: "I should be done by tomorrow, and with Anne in Crime that completes the row."

Oh, Roz, shaking my head in embarrassment. I meant to say slot me in for Crime on Card #2. I've done as many slots as I can on card #1 with 4 books.

Thank you for your eagle eyes. =) I've edited my prior post to make it clear that I was talking about Card #2. I appreciate ya!