Play Book Tag discussion

Monthly Tags

January - Science
1. A Wrinkle in Time
2. The Martian
(other) The Summer Before the War

February - Asia
1. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell (ebook on tablet)
(other) Angel Fire

March - Autobiography
(other) Women of the Silk
(other) Pearl of China
1. Sh*t My Dad Says

April - Strong Women
(other) The Secret Garden
1. The All-Girl Filling Station's Last Reunion
(other) Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis
2. Red Azalea
(other) A Well-Tempered Heart
3. A Thousand Splendid Suns

May - Family Drama
(other) Murder on Bank Street
1. A Spool of Blue Thread
2. The House at Riverton
3. The God of Small Things
4. Home Front

June - Magical Realism
1. Lincoln in the Bardo
2. (other) Alice's Tulips
3. The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August
4. Exit West
5. Peaches for Father Francis

July - Dystopia
(other) His Majesty's Dragon (Decathalon group read)
1. The Age of Miracles
2. The City of Mirrors
3. Red Rising

August - Espionage
1. Agent 6
2. The Alice Network
3. Operation Mincemeat: How a Dead Man and a Bizarre Plan Fooled the Nazis and Assured an Allied Victory
4. American Assassin

September - Friendship
1. Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
2. The One and Only Ivan

October - Canadian
Other Two Old Women: An Alaskan Legend of Betrayal, Courage and Survival
Other: The Woman Who Smashed Codes: A True Story of Love, Spies, and the Unlikely Heroine who Outwitted America's Enemies
1. The Winter Sea
2. The Cruelest Month
3. Alias Grace

November - Literary Fiction
1. Commonwealth
2. The Weight of Water
3. Circe

December - Geek
(other) The Weight of Ink
1. MirrorMask

Listopia - Read 6 (or more) books from one Goodreads tag (https://www.goodreads.com/list). please also add your books for this challenge to our group Bookshelf! I don't manually shelve the yearly challenge books for everyone, so please head to the Bookshelf and add them yourselves (including adding the tag once you've added the book to the shelf)!

Around the World Through Fiction. [https://www.goodreads.com/search?utf8...]
1. The Summer Before the War England
2. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell Afghanistan
3. A Fine Balance - India
4. Pearl of China - China
5. Women of the Silk - China
6. A Well-Tempered Heart - Burma / Maynmar
Finished

Possibilities:

A Thousand Splendid Suns - Afghanistan [read in May]
Rooftops of Tehran - Persia/Iran
The Redbreast - Norway (available e-book)
Empress Orchid - China
Rosewater and Soda Bread - Iran

Decathalon - January - October read one book from posted challenge.

January Decathlon Challenge: read something that is a tribute to Ladyslott. The Summer Before the War

February - February Decathlon Challenge: read any one of the ten books listed on your Goodreads TBR that have been there the longest. - Angel Fire Angel Fire / Lisa Unger etc

March - the three tags autobiography, illustrated and Bio Can be in one book.
The Secret Garden (illus classic)
Sh*t My Dad Says - autobiography

April - Randomizer: "A Thousand Splendid Suns"
A Thousand Splendid Suns - 5 stars

May - Man Booker Short List - past 10 years.
A Spool of Blue Thread 2015
The God of Small Things - 1997

June - Pick any one of the past 10 years and think about why it was special to you. Read a book that somehow evokes that special time and share the specifics in your PBT review i.e. if you took a trip to Greece, pick a book set there. Be sure to tell us about the connection!

Alice's Tulips - I retired in 2010 and took up Quilting. It is my favorite thing to do. My sewing room is my happy place. I've enjoyed Sandra Dallas's books because I love history too and she combines her wonderful stories of American's (mostly pioneer) history with quilting.

July - Buddy Read - His Majesty's Dragon - 5 stars and a favorite.

August - Read a book recommended by a PBT member in the "Announcing the (month) thread" in the month that it is recommended.
The Alice Network (recommended by Amy; Who said she was sure Cindy would love it.)

SeptemberSeptember: Read one book that an administrator rated 5 stars and that fits the monthly tag.

You can find the admin bookshelves at:
Nicole R: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Anita (againstthetide): https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Cindy (LibraryCin): https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
JoLene: https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...

The book you select must tagged "friendship" on GoodReads—this is one of the rare times where we stick to a more strict definition than the when doing normal reading for the monthly tag in order to keep things fair for everyone. However, the individual admin does NOT have to have tagged it as friendship, the individual admin just has to have given it 5 stars.

October - Completed the who we are questionnaire.

November (until the 25) for clean-up

Nicole's Cultural Challenge:
I will be challenging myself to read six books about other cultures.
—These must be written by someone who lives/has lived in that culture and provides insight into what life/society is like in a place other than in my own little bubble.
—Books can be fiction or nonfiction, but I want them to be a real reflection and not fantasy/dystopia (though I love those genres!).
—I would also like these to be about contemporary cultures/issues, but am open to more of a history if it provides context for contemporary situations.
—I am particularly interested in Middle Eastern issues, because I know very little about that region. I also wouldn't mind a good book on Brexit, because all of that is so far over my head it is crazy. But, I am really open to anything.
—Each of the books should focus on a different region/culture/religion/etc.
—I am open to one of the books being about a US subculture that I am less familiar with (e.g., muslims in America).
—I would like to prioritize books written by women, but that is not a hard and fast rule.

1. The Pearl That Broke Its Shell - written by a woman, about two women living in Afghanistan at different historical periods

2. Pearl of China by Anchee Lin - the author lived in Mao's China and writes about a fictional friend of Pearl Buck who also lived through that time period.

3. A Thousand Splendid Suns written by a male author set in Afghanistan covering the years from just before the Russian invasion through the Taliban and Al-Qaeda. A woman's life was horrible, the book was very insightful. These were strong women.

4 The God of Small Things - India. Written by a woman who still lives in Delhi.

5

6

Possibilities:
India: A Fine Balance** or The Palace of Illusions or Sister of My Heart

China: Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China or Empress Orchid

Afghanistan: A Thousand Splendid Suns or The Pearl That Broke Its Shell**

Iran: Rooftops of Tehran or

Africa: Tandia or Little Bee

Russia: A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian

Japan: Pachinko or Kafka on the Shore

Cambodia: In the Shadow of the Banyan

** Possible for Feb