Play Book Tag discussion

Jen K and Sally, all of those have been updated and added in to the Buddy Reads. Looks like it will be a fun year.

Sally, you may already know this, but you have plenty of other buddy reads to match, other than the three I updated. Your list is totally connected to many others that I remember. To help you out, these are the three I know about already:

2 - Euphoria
10 – Project Hail Mary
15 – Klara and the Sun

And Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir is actually the January pick, (#10).

I see you have Violetta, I'm pretty sure that's on BC's list (naturally I considered joining.) I also recognized Hamnet, Three Daughters of Eve, The Plot, and I think even Wild Swans.

I also noticed you have And They Called it Camelot, which I just wanted to say I absolutely adored. Diana H just read it and also gave it 5 stars. It was a hair away from my Top Ten List, and the only reason I didn't ultimately include it, is because I read it last January, which was a little far away.

And you and I are going to Read the Book of Names together pretty soon. I know you are not feeling so hot today, so it could be a while before you resurface. I hope and pray you feel better soon.

Don't worry so much about your list. I will probably publish the official Trim Start pretty soon, be we can come back here and figure it out. No rush, and I and others will help. Sending you best wishes, and I can't wait to read more with you this year. Best, Amy

Thanks Amy!! I really appreciate your organizing again!

JenK- You have added so much to our group in general this year! So glad you found us at PBT!

Thanks Amy!

Sallys wrote: "My list

The Home At the End of the World
Bombay Time
Not Me
The Little Paris Bookshop
Family Matters
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Gone So Long
Swimming Home
If We Had Known
The Plot
Hamnet..."

You seem to have included If We Had Known Twice in your 24 count.

punxsygal wrote: "Sallys wrote: "My list

The Home At the End of the World
Bombay Time
Not Me
The Little Paris Bookshop
Family Matters
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
Gone So Long
Swimming Home
If We Had Known
..."

Also you've included THE BOOK OF LOST NAMES ... as well as EUPHORIA twice

I am posting the new thread - but please feel free to continue to use this one any way you like. Let me know if I have missed anything. I will post a link to this thread in message one.

I wasn't going to join the Trim Party, because this year I am trying to put less pressure on my reading life, and not feel compelled to read something if I don't want to, but....
1) this "challenge" is meant to be no pressure totally flexible one minute you're in the next you're out anyway and
2) looking at these lists of wonderful books has given me a bad case of FOMO (fear of missing out)

So I decided to put together a list and I'll just see how it goes. My intent is to read 1 per month from this list so I didn't number them. I did put the buddy read number next to those that have potential buddy reads. And the * means I have it in the house.

Here goes:

Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War *
Dawn
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Ordinary Grace
Thick: And Other Essays
The Handmaid's Tale: The Graphic Novel
The Brothers K *
Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan’s Disaster Zone
Say Nothing: A True Story of Murder and Memory in Northern Ireland
Look Homeward, Angel
Anxious People (10)
Apeirogon (1)
Migrations
Cloud Cuckoo Land
Klara and the Sun (15)
Project Hail Mary (10)
Empire of Pain: The Secret History of the Sackler Dynasty
A Brief History of Seven Killings *
The Lincoln Highway (9)
The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz
She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders *
The Night Watchman
The Cold Millions *
Clap When You Land

Yay Shelley! Truly no pressure!

I missed Trim the year PBT did it, so I'll give it a shot this year.

1. The Great Train Robbery
2. The Only Good Indians
3. The Paper Magician
4. Aru Shah and the End of Time
5. Seraphina
6. Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Real Fake
7. Deacon King Kong
8. The Silkworm
9. The House in the Cerulean Sea
10. The Guest List
11. These Violent Delights
12. The Afterlife of Holly Chase
13. The Left-Handed Booksellers of London
14. Pride and Premeditation
15. My Heart Is a Chainsaw
16. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch
17. Let's Talk About Love
18. Piranesi
19. Truly Devious
20. Shutter Island
21. Hollow City
22. Labyrinth
23. 84, Charing Cross Road
24. Rebecca

Darci wrote: "I missed Trim the year PBT did it, so I'll give it a shot this year.

1. The Great Train Robbery
2. The Only Good Indians
3. The Paper Magician
4. [book..."

Good Omens is hilarious!

Welcome Darcy! This is a great list! I plan to read Deacon King Kong sometime this year as well. Should be a fun year!

I posted here, but I guess it didn't post :-/

I missed the deadline, can I still join if I post my list today??

Meli wrote: "I posted here, but I guess it didn't post :-/

I missed the deadline, can I still join if I post my list today??"

I'm sure you can it's unofficial and I joined the official one (back 3 years ago) in May. It's about you trimming your TBR.

Cool :-) I figured as much.

Better start working on my list!

No deadline. Anyone can join at any time. I think that’s the beauty and the brilliance of it.

Meli wrote: "I posted here, but I guess it didn't post :-/

I missed the deadline, can I still join if I post my list today??"

Meli, even joining now, you haven't missed any of the reads! (#10 this month.)

Omg, so I got my hands on my #10, The Once and Future King, and did NOT realize it's actually an omnibus of FOUR BOOKS?? I might try to focus on The Sword in the Stone and if I get beyond that, call it a bonus. Four full books is an awful lot for me to try to fit into one month, when I have others I want to get to!

OK, here is my list.
A total hodgepodge of mostly the shortest stuff I have and a couple of picks of books that have been on the tbr for a while.

1. Between The World And Me by Ta-nehisi Coates
2. King Kong Theory by Virginie Despentes
3. Giovani's Room by James Baldwin
4. Goddess of Filth by V. Castro
5. Beloved by Toni Morrison
6. The Ballad of Black Tom by Victor LaValle
7. Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke by Eric LaRoca
8. The Fifth Child by Doris Lessing
9. Benny Rose The Cannibal King by Hailey Piper
10. How We Fight For Our Lives by Saeed Jones
11. Food Fright by Nico Bell
12. Hairspray And Switchblades by V. Castro
13. Mapping The Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
14. Nothing But Blackened Teeth by Cassandra Khaw
15. Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith
16. Women Talking by Miriam Toews
17. The Fire Next Time by James Baldwin
18. Idaho by Emily Ruskovich
19. In A Lonely Place by Dorothy B. Hughes
20. Notes of a Crocodile by Qiu Miaojin
21. Dead Astronauts by Jeff Vandermeer
22. Willard by Stephen Gilbert
23. Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix
24. The Thicket by Joe R. Lansdale

Meli wrote: "OK, here is my list.
A total hodgepodge of mostly the shortest stuff I have and a couple of picks of books that have been on the tbr for a while.

1. Between The World And Me by Ta-nehisi Coates
..."

Meli, if 5 is chosen, I will do Beloved as a buddy read. I haven't read it and it is not on my TBR, but I keep thinking I should read it, since I read The Reading List and it was highlighted.

OK, excellent, I'll make a note of that!

I’ll make a note of it too!

Heather Reads Books wrote: "Omg, so I got my hands on my #10, The Once and Future King, and did NOT realize it's actually an omnibus of FOUR BOOKS?? I might try to focus on The Sword in the Stone and if I get be..."

I read that decades ago and while it it was NOT 4 books, I remember it was a thick mass market paperback. It was probably 400 pages? It's been a long time but Sword & Stone was part of it.

@Meli - you have several books I have in my TBR that I keep meaning to read - but are not on any of my lists:

Beloved
Women Talking
Giovanni's Room
The Fire Next Time

I'll keep my eye out and join you if I can when picked.

Theresa wrote: "Heather Reads Books wrote: "Omg, so I got my hands on my #10, The Once and Future King, and did NOT realize it's actually an omnibus of FOUR BOOKS?? I might try to focus on The Sword in the S..."

The copy I got from the library is about 700 pages(!!), and it has what looks like four books: The Sword in the Stone, the Queen of Air and Darkness, The Ill-Made Knight, and The Candle in the Wind. Also, the GR page for The Once and Future King claims there's FIVE volumes, so boy now I am confused.

Also in this edition there's a preface by Neil Gaiman where he mansplains what sci fi and fantasy to an assumed hapless reader, which I have to confess I could have lived without.

@Theresa, sounds good! Jen K said she'd join for Women Talking as well.

Heather Reads Books wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Heather Reads Books wrote: "Omg, so I got my hands on my #10, The Once and Future King, and did NOT realize it's actually an omnibus of FOUR BOOKS?? I might try to focus on The Swor..."

It is 4 in one omnibus-but they were published separately Heather, so I say go with book 1 and call it a day.

Heather Reads Books wrote: "Theresa wrote: "Heather Reads Books wrote: "Omg, so I got my hands on my #10, The Once and Future King, and did NOT realize it's actually an omnibus of FOUR BOOKS?? I might try to focus on The Swor..."

I checked and the edition I read was this one , which is over 600 pages. They later must have split it up into separate publications.

Just do Sword and the Stone and call it a day.

For the most part, I will be using this challenge to clear out some of the oldest books in my Overdrive wishlist. I have added Buddy Reads for books that are on my TBR.
** denotes a Buddy Read

Edit made 6 January on #6, a non Buddy Read book; I noticed I already read the title

1. Lady Clementine by Marie Benedict **
2. Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys AND Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
3. Far Bright Star by Robert Olmstead
4. A Distant Mirror: The Calamitous 14th Century by Barbara Tuchman **
5. Into the Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest by Wade Davis
6. Daughter of York by Anne Easter Smith
7. Final Voyage: A Story of Arctic Disaster and One Fateful Whaling Season by Peter Nichols
8. You Can Buy Happiness (and It’s Cheap): How One Woman Radically Simplified Her Life and How You Can Too by Tammy Strobel
9. It Ended Badly: Thirteen of the Worst Breakups in History by Jennifer Wright **
10. Sailing the Wine Dark Sea: Why the Greeks Matter by Thomas Cahill
11. The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell **
12. The Secrets We Kept by Lara Prescott **
13. Tide, Feather, Snow: A Life in Alaska by Miranda Weiss
14. The Face Behind the Veil: The Extraordinary Lives of Muslim Women in America by Donna Gehrke-White
15. House of Prayer No. 2: A Writer’s Journey Home by Mark Richard
16. Four Against the Arctic: Shipwrecked for Six Years at the Top of the World by David Roberts
17. The Faithful Spy by Alex Berenson
18. The Greatest Traitor: The Life of Sir Roger Mortimer, Ruler of England: 1327-1330 by Ian Mortimer **
19. All Hands Down: The True Story of the Soviet Attack on the USS Scorpion by Kenneth Sewell
20. The Paris Architect by Charles Belfoure **
21. The Bridge of Sighs by Olen Steinhauer
22. The Map of Lost Memories by Kim Fay
23. The Traitor’s Wife by Susan Higginbotham **
24. She-Wolves: The Women Who Ruled England Before Elizabeth by Helen Castor **

@Theresa and Joanne - Thanks, I think that's what I'll do. If I am super inspired I can always work through the series at a later date :D

I want to make sure that Care joins us on the Community Thread. Welcome, and I and we are so glad to get to know you and read your reviews, and to read books together.

Meli wrote: "@Theresa, sounds good! Jen K said she'd join for Women Talking as well."

Yes! And I'm also eying your #18 Idaho. I would like to read it and a buddy read would be better motivation.

Care wrote: "For the most part, I will be using this challenge to clear out some of the oldest books in my Overdrive wishlist. I have added Buddy Reads for books that are on my TBR.
** denotes a Buddy Read

1. ..."

Care, looks like we have a lot of books in common! Looking forward to some buddy reads :)

@Jen K - I'll make a note for that one too. That has been on my tbr forEVER!

Booknblues wrote: "1. The Given DayThe Given Day – Dennis Lehane
2. The Green Knight -Iris Murdoch
3. Dear Mrs. Bird -AJ Pearce - ( Buddy Read with Theresa)
4. Rules ..."</i>


I just noticed you have Chasing Chaos on your list. I finished it about a month ago and was a bit disappointed by it. It is a good inside look at humanitarian aid, but Jessica is pretty disillusioned. She also does a lot of whining about her circumstances, to the point that I was thinking, "Good grief, woman! You are working in a resettlement camp. Did you honestly think you would have long, hot showers?"

A few years back, I read [book:Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival, which is by a war correspondent instead of an aid worker, but I thought of you when I read it. Another book that made me think of you was In Extremis: The Life of War Correspondent Marie Colvin. If you have not read it, I highly recommend it for you.

Care wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "1. The Given DayThe Given Day – Dennis Lehane
2. The Green Knight -Iris Murdoch
3. Dear Mrs. Bird -AJ Pearce - ( Buddy Read with There..."

Thanks, Care I did read In Extremis and this year I read On All Fronts: The Education of a Journalist. I've been a bit on a journalism kick. I'll put Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival on my list.

Booknblues wrote: "Care wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "1. The Given DayThe Given Day – Dennis Lehane
2. The Green Knight -Iris Murdoch
3. Dear Mrs. Bird -AJ Pearce - ( Buddy Re..."

I have Love, Africa: A Memoir of Romance, War, and Survival on my TBR also.

I also really loved The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands when I read it in 2009, like gave it as a gift to people. I wonder if I would love it as much now but definitely one to consider for journalism in Africa. Also the Polish journalist Ryszard Kapuściński, though I think there is now some turmoil surrounding him.

Will look of the others that both of you mention!

Booknblues wrote: "Care wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "1. The Given DayThe Given Day – Dennis Lehane
2. The Green Knight -Iris Murdoch
3. Dear Mrs. Bird -AJ Pearce - ( Buddy Re..."

On All Fronts just got added to my pile! After I read In Extremis, I bought On the Front Line, which is a compilation of Marie Colvin's best work. I've only read parts of it, but it was plenty to see that she was a fantastic war correspondent.

Newbie here, hope I did this right. Thanks!

1. On Juneteenth
2. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
3. And Then There Were None
4. I Capture the Castle
5. How Beautiful We Were
6. The Martian
7. The Great Alone
8. The Lost Apothecary
9. The Wreckage of My Presence
10. All The Lonely People
11. The Final Girl Support Group
12. Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism
13. Crying in H Mart
14. IntimaciesHow the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
15. Razorblade Tears
16. Local Woman MissingThe Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland
17. Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times
18. The Guncle
19. Piranesi
20. In the Wild Light
21. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
22. Eleanor & Park
23. Harlem Shuffle
24. A Light Beyond the Trenches

Katie, welcome! I think we just became friends! You did great! I just want to point out that I think that if you want to take the time to go through some other peoples lists I know that you have some doubles with what other people are reading, and you are welcome to do or create some buddy reads with others if you like, By switching things around so that the numbers match. So there is a list of existing buddy reads in message one of the community thread. But I see that you have the Martian at number six, and for those of us who are reading number 10 right now, there is an Andy We’re/Project Hail Mary buddy read at number 10, going on right now! If I had to guess, and I’m not looking at your list right now, I think there are others who are reading somewhere on their list, Gunkle, the Lost apothecary, and a few others that I recognized for sure. So if you want it, you are welcome to move the list around to match the numbers of some of the others. Somewhere around January 23, we will know the number for February. I hope that helps. We’re friends now I think, so feel free to write me and we can figure it out. And welcome to this really wonderful group. So glad to have you and I’m looking forward to getting to know you, and to read your reviews.

Amy wrote: "Katie, welcome! I think we just became friends! You did great! I just want to point out that I think that if you want to take the time to go through some other peoples lists I know that you have so..."

Amy, I am going to change my 1, 14, & 15 to do a buddy read with Katie>
1-On Juneteenth
14- How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America
15- Razorblade Tears

I'm not sure if she meant to but Katie has a few where she has 2 books, 14 & 16.
Also if 5 is chosen, I will try to do a buddy read with her as that is on my tbr.

So I just did them in random order 😂 Forgive the noob. Is there a certain way the list should be arranged? Sorry if I overlooked.

Katie wrote: "So I just did them in random order 😂 Forgive the noob. Is there a certain way the list should be arranged? Sorry if I overlooked."

Katie any order is fine. I just wanted you to know that you have both Intimacies and How the Word Is Passed: A Reckoning with the History of Slavery Across America for your number 14 and Local Woman Missing and The Day the World Came to Town: 9/11 in Gander, Newfoundland for your number 16.

That is fine if you want it that way, some people have two reads for one number. I just wanted to check with you to see if it is an accident as I have done the same thing before.

So Katie, keep your number 1, 4, 5, 14, and 15. Then, if it doesn't feel like too much work, go to the beginning of the thread and see if any of your books match others, and if they do, switch them to that number, and let me know who and what book, and I will add all these to the master buddy read list in the Trim Community Thread. (Which you can look at.) Leave the others as they are, but move the Martian to number 10 and you already have folks reading that together right now. Is that helpful? You are catching on quick for the noob, which we all once were.

Katie wrote: "Newbie here, hope I did this right. Thanks!

1. On Juneteenth
2. Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law
3. And Then There Were None
4. [book:I Capture the Cas..."

What a great list! I Capture the Castle and The Lost Apothecary are both awesome reads. As a small town Alaskan, I love seeing The Great Alone on people's lists (instead of The Nightingale, which I hated!). Kristin Hannah has a personal connection, so the book is a very accurate reflection of life in a small Alaskan community; we got such a kick out of the book.

You can structure your list however you want. Some of my slots have two books in them. I like to do what I call tandem reads, reading two books that are interrelated. For instance, a novel and a biography about Clementine Churchill or Jane Eyre and Wide Sargasso Sea (about Mrs. Rochester/the lady in the attic). Sometimes, if you have two short books, it is nice to put them together.

You can absolutely put your books in any order. However, if you are intending to read the same books as some other people, everyone who is interested in forming a sort of mini book club (called a Buddy Read) puts the book in the same number slot so they end up all reading the book the same month when that number is chosen. You can find a list of all the books that people have in common and are choosing to read at the same time in the top post of the community thread. There is no obligation to read them together, but separate threads are started for those books to facilitate a place to discuss the book should you choose to do so. After looking at the Buddy Read list, I chose a couple books to put on my list just so I could read them with others.

Perfect Kate! I am hoping to read the Book of Names for November, for BookClub, and I am hoping I can get HayJay and Sally (or anyone else). Might you be interested in a Buddy Read with us, or with me if I can pull it together?

What a wonderful way to get to know you!!!

You know back in 2018 in the fall just after I joined, it was 2 buddy reads, one after the other, organized by Amy (Circeand The Weight of Ink), then diving deep into the December Fall Flurries (Christmas romance and cozy mystery junky right here) that pulled me into the heart of the group and its amazing members and friendships that have grown, and discussions deepened.

I can't think of a better way, Kate, for you to start off!

By January, you will be plunging into a year long challenge or two with the rest of us.

Kateloves2read wrote: "Yes! Always up for buddy reads. I’ll change my #7 right now."

Nice to see you with us, Kate! We also have a buddy read for Wolf Hall at #6. So you may join it too:)

Yes, we are doing a great job of looping Kate in, in a non-pressured way. Just wanted to say for other newer members, its an open invitation to feel welcome in PBT. All of us here have deepened friendships over time, and I hope that will feel like a warm invitation rather than an intimidating challenge. All of us remember our first entree here. And how we found our footing.

Circe was such an interesting conversation, and i remember it. But Weight of Ink! Man oh Man was that a beautifully written book with such endless interesting and moving conversation. I zeroxed whole passages from that book. And I discussed it here on PBT, with my home local book group, and then went to an author talk at my synagogue and met her and discussed it a third time. I did not remember that was your entree Theresa, but we could not have picked a better book to meet you!