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

The Toppler will be noon Saturday, June 18th, to noon Sunday, June 25th, EDT.

A few rules:
1. Books must be started and finished in this time period to qualify.
2. You may read any format - paperback, hardcover, ebook, or audiobook. For the last two use the page numbers on the first edition that comes up on the GR page.
3. Each book must be at least 150 pages.
4. Toppler books can count toward the monthly challenge, the group theme read, and the yearly challenge if they qualify.

Tasks:

In the US we recently observed Memorial Day to honor those who died while serving in the U.S. military.
Read a book in which a soldier, currently serving or retired, is a main character.

Boutros Boutros-Ghali - was an Egyptian politician and diplomat. He was the sixth UN Secretary-General during a chaotic time in the world.
Read a book that takes place in the Middle East.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boutros...

Paul Daniels - Newton Edward Daniels, known by his stage name Paul Daniels, was an English magician and television performer.
Read a book with a magician in it (more than just a mention), or a book with magical realism as a genre on its GR page.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Da...

Doris Roberts – Best known for her role as Marie Barone on the sitcom "Everybody Loves Raymond". I remember her as the office manager on Remington Steele.
Read a book with a main character over 60.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005368/bio

Harper Lee – author of the classic novel "To Kill a Mockingbird".
Read a classic.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harper_Lee

Ronnie Corbett - was one of the UK's best-loved comedians.
Read a book tagged humor on its GR homepage.
http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment...

Johan Cruyff, dutch soccer player, captain of the Netherland team in the world cup 1974 (final).
Read a book about sports or with a sports setting, or a book about a nonfictional or with a fictional athlete.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johan_C...

Pat Conroy - Author whose works include "The Prince of Tides" and "The Great Santini.
Read a book that was made into a movie, or was written from a movie.
http://www.patconroy.com/

Patty Duke - actress who won fame with her stage and screen portrayals of Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker," and later became an advocate on mental health issues.
Read a book with a character dealing with a mental health issue.
http://www.pattyduke.net/

Katherine Dunn - author who attained fame for her novel "Geek Love". Dunn also wrote the text for Death Scenes: A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook , a crime-scene snapshot collection from a 1920s LAPD detective.
Read a true crime thriller.
http://www.wweek.com/news/2016/05/12/...

Umberto Eco - the Italian author of "The Name of the Rose".
Read a book set during the Middle Ages (the 5th to the 15th century)
http://umbertoeco.com/en/welcome-to-t...

David Bowie – singer, songwriter, actor and record producer.
Fame – Read a book with a celebrity in it. They don’t have to be a main character, but have to be more than a mention.
China Girl – Read a book that takes place in China, or where a main character is Chinese.
Space Oddity – Read a scifi book
Modern Love - Read a contemporary romance
Rebel Rebel - Read a GLBT book
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/new...

Alan Rickman – actor and director
Read a fantasy book.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000614/bi... (great trivia included)

Muhammad Ali – boxer, “The Greatest”
Read a book about a larger than life character
Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee – read a book of poetry
Conscientious objector – Read a book that shows a character dealing with war (objector, living in war zone, aid worker…)
Parkinson’s disease – read a book with a main character dealing with a life threatening condition. I'm thinking along the lines of Parkinson's, diabetes, multiple sclerosis - something that can be lived with, and sometimes somewhat controlled, but with possible/probable impairments and can't be cured.
http://muhammadali.com/ (This is an impressive website and is worth checking out)

Jon English – Singer-Songwriter. I agree with Rusalka that he is hands down the best Pirate King ever.
Read a play or musical script, or a book that was turned into a play or musical.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-03-10...

Rob Ford - infamous former mayor of Toronto
Read a book involving corruption – political, corporate, religious, law enforcement.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_For...

ZAHA HADID- famous architect, 1st female to obtain the Pritzker Prize for Architecture in 2005
Read a book by a bestselling female author
http://designmuseum.org/designers/zah...

Keith Emerson - founding member of Emerson, Lake, and Palmer.
Welcome Back My Friends, to the Show that Never Ends,
Read a book about a musician, or with a musician as a main character
http://www.keithemerson.com/AboutEmo/...

Pat Harrington Jr and Ken Howard were both actors. I just watched an old episode of Murder, She Wrote where both guest starred.
Read a cozy mystery
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pat_Har....
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Howard

Glenn Frey – founding member of the Eagles along with a solo career.
Desperado – Read a western.
The Best of My Love - Read a romance
Hotel California – read a horror book
Life in the Fast Lane – read an action/adventure book.
http://glennfreyonline.com/

Earl Hamner Jr - Best known as the creator, executive producer, and warm narrative voice of the long-running television series The Waltons
Read a book centered around a family.
http://www.earlhamner.com/

Prince – singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor
Little Red Corvette – Read a book with a mode of transportation on the cover, but not feet).
1999 – Read an apocalyptic or dystopian book.
I Wanna Be Your Lover – Read a romance or erotica
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/art...


It’s your world now
My race is run
I’m moving on
Like the setting sun
No sad goodbyes
No tears allowed
You’ll be alright
It’s your world now

from “It's Your World Now”
Written by Glenn Frey and Jack Tempchin
From the Eagles’ Long Road Out of Eden album

reserved

Yes, there's more. Worked til after midnight last night and was very tired after a 12 hour day. Power was out by the time I was up and functioning, so I'm trying to get caught up. I'll be adding more tasks over the next few days.

Don't push yourself too hard Jmom, sounds like a crazy week. Even just those three tasks will have me gophering for days!

It's been a week full of stupid things, but it seems like that's the whole year.

That's why I'm taking my time, but I want to expand your gophering possibilities :)

I will try to take part - I'll have a look and see what I might have to hand and reserve it. I propose the following:

1) soldier - Macbeth *read

2) Middle East - The Jewel of Medina

3) Magician - Magyk *read

4) protagonist over 60 - Angle of Repose

5) classic The Good Soldier

6) humour Flashman *read

7) sport or athlete

8) made into a movie Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone *read

Great J'mom. And we all have plenty of time to be busy gophering these tasks while you get other things sorted. I hope things settle down for you soon.

Looks like this will be another great toppler. Thanks Jmom and please, don't push yourself too hard. Take some time out for yourself.

I have loads of options just from these few tasks! 10 to be exact!

I have a question for the magician task. I have found a collection of short stories. At least one of them is about a magician, all are magical otherwise. I'm thinking The Magic World. Would this book of short stories count for the task or not?

Whoa! So many great options already. Thanks Jmom. :) Hope things settle down for you soon. Sounds like a stressful week (at least).

Question about was "written from a movie" - would Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies work? It was written from several movies, but isn't the story of a specific movie.

I'm excited for this toppler. I have a couple of books that I definitely want to read already.

Kristie wrote: "Whoa! So many great options already. Thanks Jmom. :)"

I agree with Kristie. It's looking to be a fun Toppler, at least from the gophering end.

Deborah wrote: "I will try to take part - I'll have a look and see what I might have to hand and reserve it. I propose the following:

1) soldier - would The Buffalo Soldier be ok?

2) Middle East - ..."

I'm going to say no for Buffalo Soldier as it doesn't meet the main character qualification. The Lion, Witch will fit an upcoming task.

For now, please only ask about books you are seriously considering. As you make your list/pile of books and start narrowing them down, you'll have a better idea of which ones you're more interested in. I also ask that you wait a few days to question specific books. There are more tasks coming that may better fit the book, or that may add more possibilities.

Kristie wrote: "Question about was "written from a movie" - would Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies work? It was written from several movies, but isn't the story of a specific movie."

I hadn't thought about that possibility, so I'll say yes.

Would this book count for sports, about a 1700 km. long hike:
Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed?
And would this one count for main character above 60 - it is about taking care of elderly people, the author spoke to elderly people and younger caretakers: Wees blij dat je ze nog hebt by Yvonne Kroonenberg?

Oh, sorry Jmom, I hadn't read your post about not asking about specific books yet!

This is my first toppler, and it looks like it will be lots of fun! I have already identified a half dozen books, and can't wait to start. Thanks so much, jaxnsmom!

Just wait TrudyAn - your list will grow longer. And - wait til you see how many books you end up adding to your tbr before the Toppler's over :~D

No problem Elsbeth. Queen Meanie hasn't arrived yet :)

jaxnsmom wrote: "Kristie wrote: "Question about was "written from a movie" - would Life Moves Pretty Fast: The Lessons We Learned From Eighties Movies work? It was written from several movies, but isn't the story o..."

Excellent. Thank you. :) And I am seriously considering it! I will hold off on any other book qualification questions for now.

There are now 13 personalities listed the Toppler and there are still a few more to come. The latest is Muhammad Ali if you're trying to be sure you've seen the latest. There won't be too many more, and many deserving people will be left out, but It's impossible to include everyone who deserves mentioning.

Ohhh, now I must sign up for the Toppler, even if I only manage to read one book only...

I hope the list will include a musician. We've certainly lost enough of them this year.

I've added 3 more and I'm done for the night. Will add the rest tomorrow.

Mariab wrote: "Ohhh, now I must sign up for the Toppler, even if I only manage to read one book only..."

You know by now that one book's all that's needed and you'll be welcomed by any team!

jaxnsmom wrote: "Mariab wrote: "Ohhh, now I must sign up for the Toppler, even if I only manage to read one book only..."

You know by now that one book's all that's needed and you'll be welcomed by any team!"

Yeah, I know... but I always feel guilty about my (scarcely) performance for my team...

Ha, cringe - Rob Ford category. I'm from Toronto and we are still trying to live his infamous reputation down.

Ooh! New tasks! My list is becoming endless now that fantasy and sci-fi has been listed! I had better start doing some whittling down of options :-)

J-Mom, am always amazed at the amount of work and imagination you put into the topplers. Way to go!

There's no rule about covering as many tasks as possible, so pick whatever task you're interested in. Tasks can be completed as many times, or as few times, as desired.

I've left out so many people, but I don't think I can take any more. I've got to go be around some live people now. So the tasks are completed and it's time for gophering.

This looks great jmom! Thanks for all the effort :)

This is great, Jmom! So many options. :)

Lots of gophering opportunities! We'll be busy.

Sarah wrote: "Ooh! New tasks! My list is becoming endless now that fantasy and sci-fi has been listed! I had better start doing some whittling down of options :-)"

Yes, I'll find it easy to hit the SFF category myself as well. It's always fun when a category is one of your favorites, especially when you have LOTS of books on your shelf/in your personal library to read.

I just started The Wheel of Time series, and am hooked, but the books are too long to read/listen to during the Toppler. I'm sure I'll find another fantasy book to help with my craving :)

Cathie wrote: "Ha, cringe - Rob Ford category. I'm from Toronto and we are still trying to live his infamous reputation down."

Check out Marion Barry - former mayor of Washington, DC, was recorded by the FBI smoking crack. Ford has been compared to Barry, but I'm not sure anyone could have sunk to the same lows.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marion_...

jaxnsmom wrote: "Cathie wrote: "Ha, cringe - Rob Ford category. I'm from Toronto and we are still trying to live his infamous reputation down."

Check out Marion Barry - former mayor of Washington, DC, was recorded..."

Yep, I remember Marion Barry. Him and Ford, way toooo similar.

Wow. So much to look at. I will be mostly "reading" during my commute, so I will have to see what I have on audio right now! This will be fun. I have to get in a fantasy for Rickman. SOOOOO sad to have lost him.

Jmom, I'm considering reading The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe for one of the tasks. The GR search comes up with 206 pages. However, I have an omnibus-version of all Narnia books, The Chronicles of Narnia, in which The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe are 90 pages.

Because I don't have the stand-alone book, I'm not sure if I should count the 90 pages in the omnibus or use the first edition on GR.

Peggy, sorry but my mind isn't working clearly. In the book you have, is Lion, Witch... only 90 pages?

Yes. The whole thing is 700, and the lion makes up 90 of those.

The font must be small or the pages large.

Lara wrote: "The font must be small or the pages large."

Agreed! I can't work out how it fits in 90pp

Both! The book is big in size and there's a lot of text on the pages.. I was confused when I read the first book in the omnibus. I figured I could quickly finish it, it was also under 100 pages, but it felt like so much more!

I just checked my version that is falling apart from being gifted to me at age 6. It's 170pp with larger text. I would have put money on the fact it was 200-300pp. I guess I was smaller?

If anyone is looking for a short book that will fit the movie task for the toppler and a book for the Geo challenge for set in Argentina, check out Perla. It has flowers on the cover too. I just finished the ebook. It was 215 pages. It was 5 stars for me. Don't let the strange start put you off!

Thanks Cherie! I was already considering it for the toppler but now I might actually read it.

Jmom - for the classic task, do you have a specific date (like published before?) to qualify as a classic, or is it enough that it is listed as classic by GR readers. I have a specific book in mind, written by Patrick O'Brien that was his first book. It was published in 1952. Testimonies. It mentions the MC being sick, but I do not know if it is good enough to apply to "life threatening condition".

Cherie, 1952 works as a publishing date, so it would qualify.

I hate using GR reader classifications for anything, but will at times. There are people who would shelve a book as a classic that was published 5 years ago for their own personal reasons.

I'm glad you asked about the illness qualification since I knew exactly what I meant but didn't make it clear for participants :)
I added the following to the illness task:

I'm thinking along the lines of Parkinson's, diabetes, multiple sclerosis - something that can be lived with, and sometimes somewhat controlled, but with possible/probable impairments and can't be cured.