The Perks Of Being A Book Addict discussion

Finished:


Book: Capturing the Devil
Author: Kerri Maniscalco
Date Finished: April 7
Cards:
2 - CF: Thomas Cresswell
3 - CL: Mrs. Harvey
4 - Book 4 in the series
5 - CF: Ileana
8 - Setting: London, England
9 - CF: Noah Hale
Skip - AF: Kerri Maniscalco
Reverse - Anna has read
Color cards eligible - 5 Yellow and 8 Yellow

Book: Strange the Dreamer
Author: Laini Taylor
Date: Apr 8
Cards:
1 - 1st in series
2 - author Laini Taylor
3 - character Hyrrokkin
4 - character Feral
6 - title
8 - character Eril-Fane
9 - character Thyon Nero
Reverse - M read

Blue cover



Book: The Peach Keeper
Author: Sarah Addison Allen
Date: Apr 8
Cards:
0 - stand alone
1 - character Colin Osgood
2 - title The
6 - author Sarah Addison Allen
Skip - character Paxton Osgood

**TEAM SPREADSHEET UPDATED THROUGH HERE**

Finished

Title: The Things We Do for Love
Author: Kristin Hannah
April 8, 2020

Cards:
0 - Standalone book
1 - CF: Olivia
2 - Title: The Things...
3 - AL: Hannah
Skip: AF: Kristin

Finished!

Title: The Light in Hidden Places
Author: Sharon Cameron
Finished: 4/9/20

Cards:
0- Standalone
3- CF Helena Podgorska
5- CF Izio Diamants
6- AF Sharon Camerson
Skip- Place- Przemysl, Poland

Finished


Smoke and Iron
By: Rachel Caine
Date: 4/9/2020
Rating: 5 stars

Settings: Spain (Cadiz, Madrid), Alexandria
Main Characters: Jess Brightwell, Morgan, Christopher Wolfe, Niccolo Santi, Thomas Schreiber, Khalila Seif, Dario Santiago

Book: Stranger in a Strange Land
Author: Robert A. Heinlein
Date Read: 4-11-20
Cards it fits:
3 – Author LN Heinlein
6 – MC Valentine Michael Smith
7 – MC Valentine Michael Smith
Blue 3 – Author LN Heinlein

Book:The Cabinet of Curiosities
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read: 4-11-20
Cards it fits:
1 – Oscar Gibbs
3 – Bryce Harriman
4 – Anthony Fairhaven
6 – William Smithback
9 – Nora Kelly
Skip - Aloysius X.L. Pendergast
Color Card – 9 Red - MC Nora Kelly

Book: Still Life With Crows
Author: Douglas Preston Lincoln Child
Date Read: 4-11-20
Cards it fits:
2 – Tad Franklin
3 – Dent Hazen
4 – Tad Franklin
6 – Corrie Swanson
Skip - Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Book: Brimstone
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read:4-11-20
Cards it fits:
3 – Laura Hayward
4 – Isidor Fosco
5 - Isidor Fosco
7 – Viola Maskelene
8 - Evelyn Milbanke
9 – Nigel Cutforth
Skip - Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Hi all!

I will be doing my weekly update tonight/tomorrow morning, but I wanted to let you all know that the April mini challenge info is out! They are starting it a few days early this month so that we can take advantage of the long weekend.

You can find the details here: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Let me know if you have any questions! The mini challenge starts in a little more than 9 hours (there is a countdown available at that link^^)

Lovely War
Julie Berry
April 7 - April 12
CARDS:
0- standalone
3- character: Hazel Windicott
4- character: Colette Fournier
6- character: Stephane
8- character: Aubrey Edwards
skip- place: Poplar, London

This book counts for the mini challenge

Ok I read the mini challenge and I’m very confused. Like I’m not sure which method we are doing. If someone can explain please

FYI - I also read "The Cabinet of Curiosities" by Douglas Preston as did M - so that will work as a Reverse if need be...

Book: The Vanishing Stair
Author: Maureen Johnson
Date: Apr 13
Cards:
2 - 2nd in series
3 - character Hunter
4 - character Dr. Fenton
6 - character Stevie Bell
7 - title
8 - character Albert Ellingham
9 - character Nate Fisher
Skip - character Edward King

Red cover



Book: Wayward Son
Author: Rainbow Rowell
Date: Apr 13
Cards:
2 - 2nd in series
6 - character Simon Snow
Skip - character Penelope Bunce
Reverse - Kaley read

Finished

Title: Young Jane Young
Author: Gabrielle Zevin

Cards:
0 - AL Zevin
3 - CL Roz Horowitz
4 - Setting Florida
6 - CL Rachel Shapiro
8 - CF Embeth Levin

Yellow cover

Ilsen wrote: "Ok I read the mini challenge and I’m very confused. Like I’m not sure which method we are doing. If someone can explain please"

You are definitely not the only one! I have been pretty confused by it too, so I wondered how everyone else would take it. I've been watching the captains' thread about it though and I think I understand it better.

So we need to:

- Choose another team's recipe that we want to work from. Recipes found here.

- Then, we use words from that team's recipe for parts 1 & 2 of the mini challenge.

Part 1: Spell it out
So for example, if we wanted to use Science Brioche's recipe, we could use "wheat" as one of our words (since they use that word in their recipe)
W - Wayward Son, W title, read by Elena
H - The Vanishing Stair, character Hunter, read by Elena
E - Lovely War, character Aubrey Edwards, read by Anna
A -
T - The Cabinet of Curiosities, T title, read by M

We use words to build up to 15 books.

Part 2: We use the same recipe and pick out 15 words and find those on the cover or within text.
Using the same Science Brioche example...
One of their words is "orange." Reading a book with an orange cover would work. OR a book where the word orange is used. We just have to use the words from the recipe and find their match on the cover or in the text of up to 15 other books.

Part 3: This is where we write a story using misc. book titles (books we read that can't fit in the first two parts, most likely) — pretty much the exact same way as the story I did for March.

Does that make more sense?

PS -- we need to pick a team's recipe to follow, so everyone please browse through and vote for your favorite!

I found my favorite
INNOVATION SHOOTING STAR JELLY

Book: Dance of Death
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read: 4-14-20
Cards it fits:
3 – (H) Laura Hayward
6 – (S) Spencer Coffey
7 – (V) Viola Maskelene
8 - (E) Eli Glinn
9 – (N) Nora Kelly
Skip- (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Book: The Book of the Dead
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read: 4-14-20
Cards it fits:
2 – (T) Teddy DeMeo
3 – (H) Hugo Menzies
6 – (S) Spencer Coffey
7 – (V) Viola Maskelene
8 - (E) Eli Glinn
9 – (N) Nora Kelly
Skip - (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Oooh yes that makes so much more sense now!! I’m excited. I’ll look through the recipes now

**TEAM SPREADSHEET UPDATED THROUGH HERE**

I pick Galactic Creme Brûlée!

I second Galactic Crème Brûlée since that’s my sister’s team!

I’m off tomorrow so I can update my books and take a closer look at the mini

Book: The Wheel of Darkness
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read: 4-15-20
Cards it fits:
3 – (H) Victor Hentoff
5 - (I) Inge Larssen
6 – (S) Scott Blackburn
7 – (V) Victor Hentoff
8 - (E) Emily Dahlberg
Skip - (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

I'm good with any recipe we choose for the mini, personal faves are VanGuard Sabayon and Cosmic Affogato :)


Finished

Book: The Hand on the Wall (Truly Devious, #3)
Author: Maureen Johnson
Date: Apr 14
Cards:
3 - 3rd in series
4 - character Janelle Franklin
6 - character Stevie Bell
7 - character Vi
8 - character David Eastman
9 - character Nate Fisher
Skip - character Nell Pixwell

Green cover

So far we have:

Galactic Creme Brulee - 2
Innovation Shooting Star Jelly - 1
VanGuard Sabayon or Cosmic Affogato - 1

PS - I plan to finally do an official update post today since it's halfway through April. Life has been crazy lately, as I'm sure it has been for all of you, and it's not as easy for me to calculate where we are at right now so I keep putting it off...but I will be doing it later today!

I liked Cosmic Affogato but I'm fine with any recipe.

Finished

Title: The Sky So Heavy
Author: Claire Zorn
Date: April 15, 2020

Cards:
0 - AL Claire Zorn
2 - CL Lucy Tenningworth
3 - CL Fin Heath
4 - CF Fin Heath
6 - Setting - Sydney Australia
8 - CL Mr Effrez
9 - CF Noll Wong

**TEAM SPREADSHEET UPDATED THROUGH HERE**

April, halfway

Cards complete: 33 of 112

Hands complete: 3 of 16

Cards remaining:

0: 6
1: 8
2: 8
3: 7
4: 11
5: 2
6: 6
8: 3
9: 4
Skip: 7
Reverse: 4
Draw 2: 4
Wild: 3
Wild Draw 4: 2

Color cards
7 Yellow
8 Yellow
5 Red
3 Green - Ilsen

Hi team,

So as you can see, we are a bit behind for April. Not at all unexpected as we all find ourselves dealing with a new normal. I know personally the biggest adjustment for me has been working from home, meaning I lose my commute and therefore lose minutes I am normally listening to audiobooks during (and apparently I never think to pick it back up in other periods of time)! My goal for the next week is to ramp it back up again with short books to get us a little more back on track.

The mini challenge has also started, so any books finished after that deadline count. Once we decide on a team's recipe to use, I will go back and see where I can fit in all the eligible books.

Right now we have a tie between Galactic Creme Brûlée and Cosmic Affogato, I would like everyone who has voted so far to revote for one of those two. I'll pick a winner in about 72 hours. If there's a tie, i'll be the tiebreaker vote — but I like leaving that up to all of you!

Let me know if you have any questions. We may be a little down, but we are definitely not out ;-)

I vote for Galactic Creme Brulee

Finished:


Book: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J.K. Rowling
Date Finished: April 16
Cards:
1 - CL: Garrick Ollivander
2 - CL: Nymphadora Tonks
3 - Title
4 - CF: Fred Weasley
6 - CF and CL: Severus Snape
7 - Book Seven
8 - CF: Elphias Doge
9 - CF: Neville Longbottom
Skip - CF: Kingsley Shacklebolt
Reverse - Laila Jane, Elena, Kaley, and Anna has read




Book: Breakfast at Tiffany's
Author: Truman Capote
Date Finished: April 16
Cards:
0 - Standalone
1 - CF: O.J. Berman
2 - AF: Truman Capote
3 - CF: Holly Golightly
4 - CN: Fred
6 - CF: Sally Tomato
9 - Setting: New York

Also my vote still goes to Galactic Creme Brulee!

Finished

Title: A Monster Calls
Author: Patrick Ness
Date: April 17, 2020

Cards:
1 - CL Conor O'Malley
3 - CF Harry
5 - Setting Ireland
6 - CF Sully
9 - AL Patrick Ness
Skip - AF - Patrick Ness

I have no preference for which recipe we use, I'm fine with anything.

Finished!

Title: A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
Author:Holly Jackson
Date: 4/16/20

1- First book in A Good Girl's Guide Murder series
3- AF Holly Jackson
4- CL Pip Fitz- Amobi
6- CF Sal Singh
8- CF Elliot Ward
9- CF Naomi Ward
Skip- CF Pip Fitz-Amobie
Reverse- Anna has read

Galactic Creme Brûlée it is!

Tomorrow morning I will pick out which spell-it-out words to use for part one based on the books we have finished already that can count for it.

If anyone has any specific words they want to use for part 2, let me know! We can use up to 15 words. If no one has preferences I can pick them, but I figured I’d let you all choose as many as you want!

Book: The Dry
Author: Jane Harper
Date: Apr 17
Cards:
1 - 1st in series
2 - title The...
3 - author Jane Harper
4 - character Aaron Falk
6 - character Gretchen Schoner
7 - character Mandy Vaser
8 - character Evan Barnes
Skip - setting Kiewarra

Other characters - Greg Raco, Scott Whitlam, Malcolm Deacon, Barb Hadler
Stars on the cover

Book: Cemetery Dance
Author: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Date Read: 4-18-20
Cards it fits:
3 – Bryce Harriman
4 – Colin Fearing
6 – William Smithback
7 – Vincent D'Agosta
8 - Alexander Esteban
9 – Nora Kelly
Skip - Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Book: Fever Dream
Author: Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child
Date Read: 4-18-20
Cards it fits:
0 – Setting Zambia
3 – Helen Pendergast
4 – Title
6 – Charles Slade
7 – Vincent D'Agosta
8 - Judson Esterhazy
Skip - Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

I think I’m going to use “cartons” and “ramekins” for Part 1. That gets us up to our allowed 15 letters and uses a lot of letters that we are already reading for or are pretty common.

Finished!

Title: All Quiet on the Western Front
Author:Erich Maria Remarque
Finished: 4/18/20

2- CF Tjaden
3- CF Haie Westhus
4- CF Friedrich Müller
6- CF Stanislaus Katczinsky
Skip- Paul Bäumer

Tracking spreadsheet updated to here.

I still have to sort through what I read and which cards they fit, then I'll post them.

I'm also currently reading 2 yellow books. I'll see if they can fit our 2 remaining yellow cards

Here is the recipe for Galactic Creme Brulee:

GALACTIC CREME BRULEE

2 cartons double cream, 1 large (284ml) plus 1 small (142ml)
100ml full-fat milk
1 vanilla pod
5 large egg yolks
50g golden caster sugar, plus extra for the topping
20g stardust plus extra for decoration

Fly close enough to your nearest star that it can heat your environment to a balmy 180C. Sit four 175ml ramekins in a deep roasting tin at least 7.5cm deep (or a large deep cake tin), one that will enable a baking tray to sit well above the ramekins when laid across the top of the tin.

Pour the large and small cartons of double cream into a medium pan with 100ml full-fat milk.

Lay 1 vanilla pod on a board and slice lengthways through the middle with a sharp knife to split it in two. Use the tip of the knife to scrape out all the tiny seeds into the cream mixture. Drop the vanilla pod in as well, and set aside. Add 20mg stardust for added flavour (if you'd like it to be more intense, then add a little more to the mix).

Put 5 large egg yolks and 50g golden caster sugar in a mixing bowl and whisk for 1 min with an electric hand whisk until paler in colour and a bit fluffy.

Put the pan with the cream on a medium heat and bring almost to the boil. As soon as you see bubbles appear round the edge, take the pan off the heat.

Pour the hot cream into the beaten egg yolks, stirring with a wire whisk as you do so, and scraping out the seeds from the pan.

Set a fine sieve over a large wide jug or bowl and pour the hot mixture through to strain it, encouraging any stray vanilla seeds through at the end.

Using a big spoon, scoop off all the pale foam that is sitting on the top of the liquid (this will be several spoonfuls) and discard. Give the mixture a stir.

Pour in enough hot water (from the tap) into the roasting tin to come about 1.5cm up the sides of the ramekins. Pour the hot cream into the ramekins so you fill them up right to the top – it’s easier to spoon in the last little bit.

Put them in the oven and lay a baking sheet over the top of the tin so it sits well above the ramekins and completely covers them, but not the whole tin, leaving a small gap at one side to allow air to circulate.

Bake for 30-35 mins until the mixture is softly set. To check, gently sway the roasting tin and if the crème brûlées are ready, they will wobble a bit like a jelly in the middle. Don’t let them get too firm.

Lift the ramekins out of the roasting tin with spacesuit gloves and set them outside the ship to cool completely. This can be done overnight without affecting the texture.

When ready to serve, wipe round the top edge of the dishes, sprinkle 1½ tsp of caster sugar over each ramekin and spread it out with the back of a spoon to completely cover.

Spray with a little water using a fine spray (the sort you buy in a craft shop) to just dampen the sugar – then use the flame from any propulsion pack you have handy to create the topping. Hold the flame just above the sugar and keep moving it round and round until caramelised. Serve when the brûlée is firm, or within an hour or two.

The stardust left over for decoration should provide an intergalactic appearance to the top of the brulee. Now simply relax and enjoy.

Finished!

Title:The Traitor
Author:V.S. Alexander
Finished: 4/19/20

0-Standalone
3-CF Hans Scholl
4- CL Dieter Frank
6- CF Sophie Scholl
9- CF Natalya Petrovich
Skip- CL Lisa Kolbe

Thank you for posting that recipe here Laila!!

Book: The Glass Hotel
Author: Emily St. John Mandel
Date: Apr 20
Cards:
1 - character Olivia Collins
2 - title
3 - character Harvey Alexander
4 - character Julie Freeman
6 and 7 - character Vincent Smith
8 - author Emily St. John Mandel
9 - character Oskar Novak
Skip - character Ella Kaspersky

The Guy on the Left by Kate Stewart
Date Read: 04/04/20
Cards:
2 - CF: Troy Jenner
6 - AL: Kate Stewart
Skip - AF: Kate Stewart


Let It Snow: Three Holiday Romances by John Green, Maureen Johnson, & Lauren Myracle
Date Read: 04/07/20
Card:
2 - CF: Tobin
6 - CF: Stuart Weintraub
9 - S: North Carolina
Skip - CL: Noah Price

You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen
Date Read: 04/11/20
Cards:
0 - Standalone
3 - AL: Greer Hendricks
6 - CF: Shay Miller
7 - CF: Valerie
9 - S: New York City
Skip - AL: Sarah Pekkanen

Tracking spreadsheet updated to here

Finished

Title: A Northern Light
Author: Jennifer Donnelly
Date: 4/21/2020

Cards:
2 - CF Tommy Hubbard
3 - CL Emmie Hubbard
8 - CF Emily Wilcox
9 - Setting New York

Book: Cold Vengeance
Author: Douglas PrestonLincoln Child
Date Read: 4-22-20
Cards it fits:
3 – (H) Helen Pendergast
4 – (F) Dr. John Felder
6 – (S) Corrie Swanson
7 – (V) Vincent D'Agosta
8 - (E) Judson Esterhazy
9 – (N) Ned Betterton
Skip - (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Book: Two Graves
Author: Douglas Preston Lincoln Child
Date Read: 4-22-20
Cards it fits:
0 – (Z) Dr. Matilda Ziewicz
2 – (T) Tristram Pendergast
3 – (H) Helen Pendergast
4 – (F) Dr. John Felder
6 – (S) Jack Swanson
7 – (V) Viola Maskelene
Skip- (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Book: White Fire
Author: Douglas Preston Lincoln Child
Date Read: 4-22-20
Cards it fits:
1 – (O) Oscar Wilde
2 – (T) Ted Roman
3 – (H) Sherlock Holmes
6 – (S) Corrie Swanson
Skip- (K/P) Aloysius X.L. Pendergast

Hi all,

Remember to be on the lookout for how your books can fit into part #2 of the mini! Parts #1 and #3 will be easy enough, but part #2 will be the most challenging.

Would it help if I went ahead and chose the words to use? That way we have a set list rather than "it can be any of these" ?

I think you picking it out would be easier. And then we can save them

Ilsen wrote: "I think you picking it out would be easier. And then we can save them"

Got it :) I thought it might be easier, but I always like to give everyone the option so it feels more like a team and less like me deciding everything for everyone else. :-P

I'm working on updating the spreadsheet with what we have so far, and then I'll pick out some words.

of course — If someone has a word they really want to use something for, or if I notice when updating that a book fits well for a word we haven't picked, we can always swap.