Around the Year in 52 Books discussion

My sister-in-law is a Heidi and she collects editions of the book. I'm honestly not sure if I've read it, but I remember I had a copy as a kid, so assuming someone at least read it to me...

Kathryn wrote: "I finished The Beautiful Miscellaneous. I've put it in as same year as a couple of others - 2007, but I was just looking down the spreadsheet and I saw that Johanne's Boy at the Top of the Mountain has a mountain range on the cover, as does The Beautiful Miscellaneous, so I wondered whether maybe I should put it in for that? Do years seem easier to find than similar cover elements??..."

I think it´s same-same. We have a bit more options for years, but we also have fewer books in the prompt. As long as we mark the options, we will shuffle them around if necessary.

Jody wrote: "Kathryn, it’s beautiful here, for sure, but wickedly expensive and the people are ... not the friendliest, at least where I am. The scenery makes up for it, most of the time...."

I know it all - the expense definitely put me off, when I got old enough to appreciate things like that, but I know it's beautiful - I made it to Switzerland for a couple of days on a couch tour to do the touristy things - wander around Lucerne, a cruise on Lake Lucerne, a trip up Mt Pilatus... But...I probably don't actually want to live there. It probably isn't really "me" after all! Mind you, I also question at times how much living in Brisbane is "me" - especially in the middle of summer - soooo NOT "me"!!!

Johanne wrote: "I think it´s same-same. We have a bit more options for years, but we also have fewer books in the prompt. As long as we mark the options, we will shuffle them around if necessary..."

True!

Well, happy reading, Team Pie!! I'm off to bed! You might be finished quest 4 by the time I wake up!

I really question the sanity of living in Denmark from November - April every year, especially because I am affected (and always have been) by the cold humidity (lots and lots and lots of bad colds - that disappeared when I lived in Zimbabwe, travelled to the Alps or anywhere less humid). But then I remember this is where my family live and most of my friends…

Good night Kathryn!

Too funny - such a small group, and two Brissie girls in it! Brisbane definitely wasn't me either - I was born there, and lived there till I was 26. Lived in Melbourne for 10 years, and then moved here. Melbourne was definitely a better fit than Brisbane - I hate the heat & humidity, and Brisbane just didn't feel right overall.

Now that I'm used to it, I actually quite like not having to make small talk with people here, but I do miss the random smiles you'd get from strangers in Australia. Here, most of the time, they just glare at you, especially the older people.

Here's another cover for our list!

Jody wrote: "Now that I'm used to it, I actually quite like not having to make small talk with people here, but I do miss the random smiles you'd get from strangers in Australia. Here, most of the time, they just glare at you, especially the older people..."

I only moved 11 miles into a different county in England and I went from a place where everyone ignores each other to a smile and a good morning to strangers type place. I prefer talking to people's dogs than people though!

That’s crazy!

Weirdly, here (at least in my little commune) if you walk past anyone in the street, or in the woods, you always say “Grüezi”, regardless of whether you know them. It’s odd, the Swiss are quite polite, just not friendly. I guess they’re just reserved, which isn’t always a bad thing, but when I moved here in the middle of winter, knowing nobody, I would have cried with joy if someone had just asked me how my day was.

Jody wrote: "That’s crazy!

Weirdly, here (at least in my little commune) if you walk past anyone in the street, or in the woods, you always say “Grüezi”, regardless of whether you know them. It’s odd, the Swis..."

Lol, I feel like you just described us Scandinavians, guilty as charged. I guess Norwegians must be quite similar to Swiss people. We always greet eachother when we're out in the nature hiking or skiing etc., but rarely/never otherwise, so yes we are quite reserved. We are friendly though, at least once you get to know us - but that may very well take a long time ;)

I've added the book I finished this morning to the spreadsheet. The actual cover of my book isn't on GR, so this is the closest to it:



ETA: I got a new laptop today and I'm still working out how to do everything. For some reason I can't seem to grey out the line of cells on the spreadsheet for my completed book. If someone could do that, that would be great. Equally, if anyone knows which keys I keep accidentally hitting which make the screen keep zooming in or out every couple of minutes ...

The two books I'm currently reading/ about to start both work for most of the categories except mentioned in R-o-T games. I've added them both to the spreadsheet. I might get one of them finished today. If not, they will both be finished by tomorrow.

I've managed to finish A Whisker In The Dark, so I'm going to tick that one off for same setting, as we hadn't got any bids in that one.

I've decided not to try to do Lolita in the time we've got. So I'm going to have yet another attempt to finish Station X.

What do folks think about a black & white photo of early-1940s vintage on the cover counting as "similar"?
vs.

Failing that, they're both by British Authors, they're also both about WWII (similar setting). And the publication date (1998) matches Sharpe's Triumph and Armadillo.

Hilde, that sounds pretty much like the Swiss! Allegedly once you make a Swiss friend, you have a friend for life ... but most of them have had their friends since school & aren't accepting applications. 😩

I had the same thought as Hilde. Jody, you just described the Danes! We're friendly but reserved. Maybe it's a European thing?

I started a shorter book yesterday, which I just finished: For Milena It wasn't a great but it was only 160 pages, so it was quick. It's set in Denmark, so I've used it for a book with the same setting.
It looks like we need books with the same word as previous books, so I'll have a look to see if I can find a match.

Hannah wrote: "ETA: I got a new laptop today and I'm still working out how to do everything. For some reason I can't seem to grey out the line of cells on the spreadsheet for my completed book. If someone could do that, that would be great. "

I have the same problem, so if someone could change mine as well 😊

Marina H wrote: "It looks like we need books with the same word as previous books, so I'll have a look to see if I can find a match."

The second one I put in today could be moved to that if needed (Whisker)

I think it's because Column E is protected & can't be edited. I can't do it either.

You could be right about the Europeans - at least continental ones. Brits & Irish are pretty open and friendly to strangers. When I went to the US last year ... whoa ... it was like the polar opposite of here. Americans were like Australians on steroids - insanely friendly. Even the Spider commented on how different they were to the Swiss (her words - everyone's so friendly & nobody scowls 🤣). I really enjoyed it, but was actually quite happy after 3.5 weeks to come back to quiet Switzerland.

ETA that I've read that it's pretty much as hard to integrate in Denmark as it is here for more or less the same reasons. 😊

Jody wrote: "I think it's because Column E is protected & can't be edited. I can't do it either."

Good morning, all!

When I was setting up the spreadsheet, I was trying to make column E a kind of "nothing" space (don't know if what I was trying to do was possible or not!!), but I protected it before realising it wasn't what I wanted to do. I thought I'd removed it, but obviously not! Anyone have any idea how to remove it??? In the meantime, I'll grey out those lines...

I think I've just worked out how to remove the protection, so anyone should be able to grey out lines now.

Johanne wrote: "I really question the sanity of living in Denmark from November - April every year, especially because I am affected (and always have been) by the cold humidity (lots and lots and lots of bad colds...
But then I remember this is where my family live and most of my friends…"

Yes - I question the sanity of living here for about the same time, except sometimes I start dying in October! And yes, I'm here for the same reason... :-/

Hannah wrote: "I've added the book I finished this morning to the spreadsheet. The actual cover of my book isn't on GR, so this is the closest to it:



ETA: I got a new laptop today..."

I've fixed the greying out cells issue, I think. I don't think the zooming in and out is anything to do with me, so you're on your own there, Hannah!! Sorry!

I guess it has a trackpad for the mouse, like most laptops? Could it be that the trackpad is just more sensitive than you're used to? Sometimes I can find I inadvertently touch mine with both thumbs while typing and it makes the screen zoom in...

I've been a slack reader today, sorry Pies. It's been a long week & I just ran out of steam today. All I could manage was listening to some of my audiobook ... but that has 15 hours left, so I'm not sure it will be any use.

I do have a book planned for after I'm finished Hunger, for the 'same word' task though! Good night.

Jody wrote: "I've been a slack reader today, sorry Pies. It's been a long week & I just ran out of steam today. All I could manage was listening to some of my audiobook ... but that has 15 hours left, so I'm no..."

Sleep well, Jodie!

It's amazing how none of the titles that we've read so far have the same words in them as books that are on my list to read imminently! I have about 15 books sitting here, my own and library books, and none of them share words with books we've already read for the RaT!!

Never mind, I'll keep going with Water for Elephants - which I'm really enjoying, incidentally!

I’ve just finished and added it to the spreadsheet. It was a very quick read, so I’m going to read the next in the series tomorrow. It will work for same word in title as it has the word ‘in’ in the title.

I didn't finish anything tonight. My mum stayed late. Tomorrow I'm going with my 10-year old to his football game and after that to my mother-in-laws birthday. So I won't be reading again before tomorrow night.

And I have a couple of quick reads that fit for words in title that I can read tomorrow night if necessary.

Good morning Pies!
I'm with Jody... I also ran out of steam yesterday, so I didn't get any reading done in the evening. Also I haven't find a book to match a word from earlier books but it sounds like some of you guys are taking care of that one so I think I'll just continue with the book I had planned to read and see if I finish it and if it fits 😊

Marina H wrote: "Good morning Pies!
I'm with Jody... I also ran out of steam yesterday, so I didn't get any reading done in the evening. Also I haven't find a book to match a word from earlier books but it sounds l..."


Good morning, Marina!

We're all very quiet so far today! Catching up on reading...?!

I've just finished an audiobook I put down for a same year of publication. So now we have 8 more to go - 1 more same year of publication, 3 more books with a word in the title the same as a previous read, 2 more with a similar cover and 2 books or books by an author mentioned in the RaT games.

So I'll get back to my Water for Elephants which was mentioned in one of the games. I'm still enjoying it, but I'm actually only 1/4 of the way through. And I have to go and watch tonight's episode of Poldark in half an hour (is that just a British/American/Australian thing, or do Europeans like it as well??), so I'm not sure how much I'll get read tonight and tomorrow is my last read-a-thon day :-(

Johanne wrote: "I didn't finish anything tonight. My mum stayed late. Tomorrow I'm going with my 10-year old to his football game and after that to my mother-in-laws birthday. So I won't be reading again before to..."

No dramas, Johanne - hope you enjoy your family time! Hope your boy has a great time at football, and hope you all enjoy your MILs birthday! I just finished a book called The Mother-in-Law - I hope your MIL is easier to get on with than the title character in that book! Great story, though.

Yeah many bad mother-in-laws in literature :) Mine is nice though. My sister-in-law on that side is a whole other story though... She will be there as well, so crossing fingers it's not one of her bad days - she is an aggressive self-absorbed type. I don't mind telling her when she's crossed a line with me or my kids, but it's a lot worse for my mil, she is scared that she might keep her grandchildren away from her (and that fear is not far out).

The football game was a tie 5-5 but actually entertaining to watch. Do you call it football or soccer in Australia?

Well I have to get ready for that birthday.

Johanne wrote: "Yeah many bad mother-in-laws in literature :) Mine is nice though. My sister-in-law on that side is a whole other story though... She will be there as well, so crossing fingers it's not one of her ..."

If it's the game with the black and white round ball, it's soccer, because we have several types of football with a pointy-ended ball (and the various types are called rugby league, rugby union and Aussie Rules - I'm pretty sure they're all different, although I couldn't tell the difference between rugby union and Aussie Rules and I don't know much about rugby league either!). Personally, I think our footballers are generally a bit dense (all brawn and limited brains), whereas the soccer players seem to have more skill and ingenuity... This lack of intelligence is possibly reflected by the fact that we call a game where the ball is mostly held in your hands "football," while the game where you do actually use your feet to manipulate the ball we call "soccer"! Sigh.

Sorry, Pies. I'm not sure I'm going to be much use today, as I've got guests coming. I'll try to finish the one I'm reading, but it'll be touch and go.

My boyfriend bought himself a Nintendo Labo kit so whilst he's been busy building things out of cardboard, I've been reading. Is it just the same word in title one's we need? I'm nearly finished Darkdawn now but unless someone is currently reading a book with dark or dawn in the title it's not much use for our quest. I can see if I have any graphic novels that would work that I can read quickly tomorrow.

Sorry Pies, I think after two or three weeks of it teasing me, I’m finally coming down with a cold. I feel rotten today - I’ve spent most of it on the couch watching Drag Race. Which is fun, but not exactly helpful to the team. ☹️

Hi Pies:) I finished ‘They Came Like Swallows’ yesterday on my flight, but just got around to updating now. I places it under setting/country (US) for now. It was beautiful btw.

Hope you feel better soon, Jody! And Happy Saturday evening, Pies 🤩

I've started reading The Wife Between Us and I hope to finish it tomorrow. It was mentioned in a readathon game.
I don't think I'll be able to find time to more books, but I'm guessing this will be our last quest and it looks like we have more or less covered all the tasks.
It has been a fun readathon this one 😀

Good morning, Team Pie!

Regardless of what we read (or don't read) on the last day of the read-a-thon, I think we've done a great job!!

It looks like we've still got a same year of publication, only one same word in title, 2 with a similar cover and 2 RaT game books to go, and I think the books we're reading could work for all of them, but it's just a matter of whether we'll have time to finish them!

But it's been a great read-a-thon - thanks to Johanne for helping me co-lead, and thanks to everyone for helping with the spreadsheet when I couldn't envisage how to tabulate a quest!

Now back to reading for a few minutes before I have to go out this morning!!

I’ve just added The Prisoner in the Castle to the spreadsheet, so we have now got the 4 books needed for the same word in the title.

I’ve got family coming over tomorrow, so I don’t know how much time I’ll have to read. But I’ll update if I manage to finish another book.

Hi all
I had a busy day today so didn't read much, but finished Dora Bruder for same publication year.

We only have 4 left!

But I don't think it was for titles Hannah. I can't check now since I've gone to bed and I can't open the spreadsheet properly on my phone.

@Kathryn - I think it is great co-leading with you and we even have the group covered 24-7. I am not a spreadsheet wiz, so thankful to you guys who are :)
And it is soccer my son plays in Aussie speak. The most common sport for kids in Denmark I think (along with handball - yes it's played with your hands :) )

@Jody hope you feel better soon!

I don't have plans tomorrow except for reading and I have a load of short books and graphic novels over 125 pages lined up, so I'll see what's needed when I wake up. The only thing I may not have anything shortish for is the mentioned in RAT ones.

Yes, I hope you're feeling better soon, too, Jody!

I feel like I've been out most of the day, what with one thing and another, but I'm home now. However I probably only have 3.5 hours reading time maximum, and I have 115 pages to go to finish my book mentioned in an RaT game... The countdown is on.

And I've finished Water for Elephants!! The last 115 pages really picked up pace and went quickly!

Aaand we only have three books left!

2 for similar cover and 1 for rat game.
If Marina finishes The Wife between Us for rat game, we just need the two similat cover books. I'll have a look at what I have and can finish in a day.

I found these two:
(blue cover, the sea)
(blue cover)

Good thing I have a mountain of TBR books at hand :)

Great job, team! 👏🏻
I’ve just started a new book, but I won’t be able to finish it before the readathon is over!

Thanks for being our captains; Kathryn & Johanne, everything has flowed really nicely 😊

It’s been lots of fun chatting and reading with you all this last week, awesome team!! 🤩

I'll definitely finish The wife between us today. I'm just about to go make myself a cup of tea and then spend the rest of the afternoon on the sofa reading 😊