Hooked on Books discussion

Arrows of Fortune Reading Game
Duration: December 1, 2024, to February 28, 2025

🌟 Players: Carrie & Wishbear
📊 Spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...

🎲 How to Play: (view spoiler)[
Spin and Move: "Roll" the dice and move forward based on your roll.
Watch for Arrows! 🚀 Climb higher up the board! 😱 Slide back down and regroup!
Reading Tasks: Complete reading tasks based on where you land on the board.
Arrow Spaces: If you land on an Arrow Space, you must complete BOTH tasks associated with that space. ⬆️ Arrows will maximize your score, since you'll get points for BOTH spaces, but ⬇️ Arrows will earn you negative points (only the space you landed on, not where you ended up after sliding down).
Winning: Reach space 100 (or February 28th)! The player with the most points at the end wins!

Challenge Rules:
Standard Challenge Rules apply, plus...
⭐Rereads DO count for this challenge BUT must have been read more than a year ago.

Task Rules:
You must be able to justify how your book fits the prompt. Creativity is encouraged, but please hold to the task/prompt.
⭐Cover Color must be more than 50% (https://labs.tineye.com/color/)
⭐List page number, percentage, or chapter for word in text
⭐MPG is "Main Page Genre", and is what is shown on the front of the GR book page
⭐To justify a Cover Item, make sure you link the edition you read
⭐Short explanation for other tasks for proof of task completion

☄️☄️Point System:☄️☄️
0.01 points per page (with rounding)
100 to 149 pgs = 1pt
150 to 249 pgs = 2pts, etc., etc.
PLUS! each board space is worth its face value, but fall-down spaces are worth negative points! (hide spoiler)]

📌Make sure that you have notifications turned on, so that you don't miss messages from your partner, updates, bonus task notices, etc.

🏹✨ Exciting news! 🎉📊
Your game spreadsheet has landed in message 1!

🔍 Take a peek and get ready for literary adventures! Got questions? Shoot over to the Q&A thread - I'm all ears! 👂💬

🌟 Mark your calendars! 📅 The game launches on 1-Dec-2024, as soon as the clock strikes midnight 🕛 in your neck of the woods (or whenever you and your reading buddy agree if you are in differing timezones)!

Get those books ready, and may the literary odds be ever in your favor! 📚🎯 Let the reading games begin! 🚀🌈

Hi Carrie. I'm checking in so I don't forget.

Just an FYI, it's my dad's birthday this weekend so I'll be away and not sure if I'll have a chance to log into Goodreads.

According to the Q&A, purple goes first (you) and we are supposed to wait until our partner has read their book before the other person rolls.

Hi Wishbear. Just popped on as well so I'm checking in also.

No problem with not being on this week.Enjoy your dad's birthday!!

I may have a similar thing next week because my husband is getting surgery.

I'm going to go familiarize myself with the rules!

Okay - I see I cannot roll the dice until the game starts so I'll let you know what I get on the 1st.

How fast do you typically read a book?

I usually get through 2-3 books a week depending on how busy work is and the challenges I'm in. I'm sure you know how it is, the tasks fit just right for a challenge and suddenly I've read 8 in a week. :) But I'm happy to go at your pace. I only have one other challenge going on before Christmas, a lot of crocheting to do, and a 2024 TBR that will last me until 2038 :D

Wishbear wrote: "I usually get through 2-3 books a week depending on how busy work is and the challenges I'm in. I'm sure you know how it is, the tasks fit just right for a challenge and suddenly I've read 8 in a w..."

That sounds about on par with my TBR 😂 - Typically I read 1-2 books per week but I'll aim for 2!

What do you crochet? I tried to learn once. That granny square was a tough thing to master for me!

I'm happy to set the pace at 1 - 2 books. :)

I crochet mainly warm hats and baby afghans. I'm the only one in my mother's family that crochets now that my grandma has passed so my cousins have put me in charge of making grandma's "heirloom" baby blanket for each new addition.

This year, I'm also working on a new (to me) pattern for a hanging tea towel ring and I want to try a crocheted stuffy for my stepdaughter. I've also done bags and scarfs and hair scrunchies.

I don't like making granny squares, I find them too fussy and there's so much starting and stopping. I usually make the chevron ripple patterns and I have a star blanket pattern...I guess that one is like one big granny square but there's no colour changing

Hi Carrie, Have you chance to roll the dice?

I completely spaced on asking when your husband's surgery is. If you don't have time to start this week, no worries on my end. :)

I rolled a 6. I need to read a book set in a fictional world. I'll start on it tonight.

Oh and my husband gets his surgery Wednesday.

Hope you had a great weekend celebrating your dad!

Sounds good. it was a great weekend. My dad is a big gruff hide your feelings kinda guy but he loves having a fuss made over him...not that he'd ever admit it.

I hope your husband's surgery goes well with a smooth recovery.

I’m so glad that you had that experience with your dad 😊

Thanks for the well wishes for the surgery. It’ll be an early and long day. We are leaving at 5 am. May have time to read though!

Thinking about you and your husband today and hoping everything goes well. <3

Thanks so much. He's home and recovering. In some pain but nothing that won't heal.

Just wanted to let you know that my plan is to have my book finished some time tonight 😊

My book is on the spreadsheet so you can take your turn whenever you're ready.

My grandma crocheted me a baby blanket, a pair of booties, mittens and a sweet little coat for when I got married for my future baby. My daughter was born 4 years after my grandma passed. It was a beautiful gift she left me. I love that you have carried on the legacy of making the heirloom baby blankets that your grandmother once did 🥰

I also noticed you spelled color - colour. Where are you from? I live in the States in Pennsylvania.

Sorry Carrie, I missed the notification that you had posted. I'll get my spin in right away.

I'm from Saskatchewan, Canada and went to a small town prarie school learning to spell starting in 1989 from a teacher who was a stickler for the British spellings. It looks very wrong to my eye if I don't include my u's, c's, and s's. And don't get me started on Zed vs. Zee lol

That's beautiful your grandma did that for you. My son's blanket was the last one that my grandma made as she passed away the day before my son was born. My granddad gave me all of her yarn and all the blankets I make start with a 10" centre piece from grandma's stash. As long as all the babies going forward don't have a dozen babies each, I should be able to include some yarn from my grandma in every blanket I make in my life time.

My great gran on the other side of my family made all of her great grandchildren a queen sized crocheted bedspread with their colour choice before she lost her eye sight in her mid-90s. Her daughter was in charge of making sure that each grandkid received their blanket as a wedding present. As I was one of the very last to get married and it was 18 years after gran passed, mine was lost/given to the wrong grandkid/who knows...so my Aunt gave me my great gran's crocheted bedspread that my great gran's grandma gave her in 1922 when my Gran was married. I love having that piece of family history under my care. My dad also gave me the bedspread that my great gran gave to him when my parents were married so I still have something that my great gran made as well.

No problem at all! Since they made some recent changes on the site, I miss notifications more often than I like!

My husband does a fair amount of work in Canada. He says he has driven through Saskatchewan, although he has never stopped.

How sad that your grandma passed away the day before your son for you. What a mix of emotions you must have went through at the time. I'm glad you have the last one she made though.

I love that you came up with the idea to incorporate yarn that belonged to your grandmother into future baby blankets!

I also have a blanket that each of my grandmother's crocheted. (My one grandmother was very talented and crafty. The other one only briefly dabbled. She decided bingo was a better activity 😂.

I plan to give them to my daughter at some point. Then she will have one each from her great grandmothers. One passed a few years before she was born but the other died when she was 2. She has no remembrance of either but it makes me happy that the one got to meet her! These are the priceless things in life!

You should tell your husband that he should definitely stop. We get the rep of being so flat you can see your dog run away for 3 days...but that's only one part of the province and in reality, you can only watch for 3 hours, maybe 5 if you have really good eyesight ;).

We have amazing forests in the northern half of the province, Sanddunes in the far southwest corner, the north and south Saskatchewan rivers have made amazing river valleys and hills across the lower mid south, and So many lakes all through the province with AMAZING fishing.

It was hard losing my grandma when we did especially since it was from an accident, so very sudden and unexpected. However, we did discover that an 8 day old baby wrapped in a receiving blanket makes an amazing handkerchief to hide your tears during the funeral...my grandma would have appreciated the humour. I was also able to find a middle name for my son that honoured my grandma (her name means "light" or "bright one", his name means "ray of light") rather than the original middle name I had chosen and was planning to use even though my grandma very much didn't like for racist old lady reasons that I wasn't entertaining....hmmm, I guess she still got the best of me...I never thought of that until now...She'd love the humour in that too.

"The other one only briefly dabbled. She decided bingo was a better activity 😂."
If she's only dabbing, I'd say Bingo was the better choice too. Don't want to stain the yarn afterall.😂 I love Bingo and wish I had friends who enjoyed it too (and more Money cuz it's $$) so I could go more often.

I'm glad your grandma was able to meet your daughter. My other grandma passed when my son was 4 so he has some memories of her and I was able to get a beautiful picture of the two of them when he was 8 months. We didn't catch grandma smiling often but she loved making the little babies giggle.

The pictures, the items, and the stories are all we have left in the end. I hope your daughter's future babies enjoy them.

Good Morning Carrie, I've finished my book and posted on the spreadsheet. :)

That was fast! I’ll take my spin.

I was telling my husband all that you said about the area. He said he will definitely have to take some time to look around.

I kind of get what you mean about the flatness. When my daughter was born we lived in New Mexico. The road to El Paso Texas was 50 miles and there really wasn’t a turn to be had. All flat and all straight!

I’m sorry to hear that your grandma died in an accident. I think that makes the loss more difficult. Your grandma sounds like she has some spark and personality!! I love that you were able to come up with a middle name in her honor 😊

I got read a book with someone who time travels. I'm going to have to look a bit for that one since nothing comes to mind right away!

A loss at anytime is difficult, but yes, that one was epesicially hard but also a disgusied blessing too as Grandma had signs of dimension for quite a while and it was starting to rapidly accelerate. So we didn't get to say goodbye, but our last memories are happy ones.

Next time your husband comes to visit, let me know the area and I can pass on the insider hidden gems. Between my dad and my partner, they have worked all over the province so I can give recommendations.

Did you find a book with time travel?

I loved Just One Damned Thing After Another by Jodi Taylor

Very tongue in cheek humour and some good action scenes. Gotta suspend your logic, but it's time travel. :D

My husband's grandmother developed dementia towards the end of her life. It's a very difficult thing to watch and go through. I'm glad your final memories of your grandma were happy ones!

I found a book with time travel. I wish I would have seen your post before reading the book I did lol. I read The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. It wasn't awful but definitely not my preferred genre!

I added my book to the spreadsheet so you can roll whenever you're ready!

I'm sorry your family, and your grandma, had to deal with that. We've had to care for alzeimer patients in my family and it's SO hard.

I've read H.G. Wells, he was a pioneer in fantasy/Science Fiction, but definitely dry. Definitely keep Jodi Tayolor in your back pocket. She is a fun read.

I'll go spin and see if I can get the task to match one of the books already in my immediate tbr pile.

My task is read a book set entirely in one day. I love books like this, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. I'll have to go digging.

***20 Minutes later***
It doesn't take me long, I found one, and should have it finished by the weekend. :)

Wishbear wrote: "My task is read a book set entirely in one day. I love books like this, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. I'll have to go digging.

***20 Minutes later***
It doesn't take me long, I ..."

😂 - What did you pick? I could not quickly think of a single book!

Sorry, I spaced on posting the title. I went with

A Death at the Party by Amy Stuart


I'm about 70% through and it wasn't a bad choice.

hey Carrie I finished my book and added it to the spreadsheet. no rush on your side, I have lots to read and holiday prep to do. I'll probably be scarce over the next week

Wishbear wrote: "hey Carrie I finished my book and added it to the spreadsheet. no rush on your side, I have lots to read and holiday prep to do. I'll probably be scarce over the next week"

Took my spin and got one I like - read a book set in a country I’ve never visited.

If I don’t talk to you before, enjoy the holidays!

Thanks Carrie. best wishes to you and yours ❤️

Hope you are having a great holiday! Just wanted to let you know that I'm working on my book and hope to be done with it soon!

Hi Carrie, It's been a busy couple of weeks around here but definitely lots of family time. I have few more days of people and then I think I'm taking Monday off to recover. LOL

I hope you had a good holiday.

Our holidays were nice. My daughter is an ER nurse and worked pretty much everyday but Christmas but we still managed to get together and enjoy ourselves!

Glad you are getting a chance to enjoy some family - priceless! (I get what you mean about taking a day to recover.) My best friend and her family are coming on Sunday to visit and then our plan is to put away holiday decor on Monday.

I added my book to the SS. Sorry it took awhile. I started The Lost City of Z (I've not been to the Amazon lol) but after 100 pages I just couldn't do it. It reads like a history book. (I may try again in the future). Anyway, so I switched to another book.

Enjoy your family. No rush or worrying about reading 😊

Hi Carrie, I'm glad your daughter was able to have some time with your family. Being a nurse of any sort....or a health care worker in general...was never my calling and I admire those who can.

I decided to work today (Monday) but after being here an hour, I wish I had taken the day off. However, as I told my coworker, the mess that was giving me grief this morning, would just be waiting for me tomorrow. At least I got some cleared away.

I finished my book and added it to the spreadsheet. No rush on finishing. I have neglected video games calling me. (I bought Orgeon Trail for the Xbox and I'm absolutely addicted...much easier than what I played on the computer in the 90s)

We actually spent Monday and tonight putting away our holiday decor. We had family over Sunday.

Did you manage to get yours taken care of or did work keep you from it?

I’ve never played on Xbox. My daughter had a Wii and a PlayStation and I played Nintendo back in the 90s. Struggled with the PlayStation controller. What is Oregon Trail? I’m intrigued and may have to look it up now.

I am on the same space as you so I’ll be reading a mystery book with an unreliable narrator as well!

Mine is still up in my living room. The tree box is in tatters so I need to get a tote but I've down with a cold all day yesterday and not moving very well today. Maybe this weekend.

Oregon Trail was a computer game in the early 90s. Youre mission was to make it from independece to oregon in a covered wagon with oxen to make it out west and start your homestead. You had 4 characters, had to strategically pack your wagon, and avoid the calamaities on the trail. Most people ended up dying from dysentary. You would hunt and fish, trade, along the way. Sometimes you were robbed, your wagon often broke down. You had ford rivers and hope to not lose your supplies. In most Canadian classrooms, it was the only game available to play when there was computer time.

I love pioneer fiction so the game was right up my alley. I think the newest edition that I'm playing just plain made the game easier. But I'm also older and wiser too. So I don't know.

If you want great book with an unreliable narrator, None of This Is True by Lisa Jewell stuck with me when I read it.

I hope you are starting to feel better! I think so many people are getting sick. My daughter is being a lot of flu anPaula Hawkinsd Norovirus at work.

I'm dating myself but my parents bought me a Commodore 64 for Christmas one year and I think there was a game called The Chisholm Trail on it which sounds very similar! Are you still having fun playing the game even though it's easier?

I just saw your book recommendation. I ended up reading The Blue Hour by Paula Hawkins. I think I may simply not be a fan of Hawkins in general.

I've read 2 other books by Jewell though: The Family Upstairs which I didn't really care for and Watching You which I liked a lot!

Anyway, your turn. No rush if you're not up to it yet though!

I wish my parents had the money to buy me a comodore. We got our first computer in '93. good ol' Windows and DOS operating system.

Chisholm Trail is very similar to Oregon Trail. In Chrisholm, you are doing a cattle drive rather than a pioneer family. But still destination driven. And yes, I'm definitely enjoying the updated, easier version. it's very expanded from what I played as a kid, with more trails, and shortened quests. It's just a fun relaxing game.

I've read a few Paula Hawkins and she's like a train wreck. I'm not really enjoying it but they are a quick enough read that there is no point in putting it down once I've started.

This was my first Lisa Jewell and I enjoyed it so much. I do have The Family Upstairs on my list and I'm going to add Watching You.

So I rolled the first arrow and got spaces 15/74. Read a book with someone wrongfully accused and then read a book with the word Courage in the text.....guess I know what I'm doing this weekend.

I'm still feverish but at least I can read :)

Wow - great roll! Sorry to hear you’re still under the weather though. Hopefully you can get some rest this weekend!

We are getting a few inches of snow on top of what we have and it’s about 10 degrees (F) so cold enough to want to stay in!

No rush with reading 😊 Fingers crossed you feel better soon

Hi Carrie, It was a rough week but I was right as rain yesterday just in time to spend the majority of the day with my partner and his kids for his birthday. Good thing that was top of the list of what he wanted because I didn't order his present until yesterday afternoon and it won't be here until tomorrow or Wednesday.

He'll be pinched purple with excitement though...he's been wanting a basic am/fm radio alarm clock since I started using my old one this summer after finding it when cleaning out my mom's house for her move. I adore the fact that he's a small town farm boy who loves the simple things in life. :D

I haven't found a book yet. I needed a comfort read this weekend and have been falling asleep getting reaquainted with Jane Eyre.

Hey there! Glad to hear things are looking up. Sounds like a nice day yesterday. (Was his actual birthday yesterday? My birthday was yesterday lol)

Simple is nice! I think at one point we all had the alarm clock you are talking about! Worked well and did the job.

How is Jane Eyre? Seems to me I tried it out once and couldn’t get through it.

Snowing here again and temps aren’t supposed to be above 20 degrees for the next 3 days. I plan on staying in as much as possible and hopefully getting some reading done!

Carrie wrote: "(Was his actual birthday yesterday? My birthday was yesterday lol) "

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!! I hope you had an awesome day!
Yes, my partner's birthday is January 12. Coincidentally, my first ever heroworship/puppy luv/crush/the man I thought I would marry from the time I was 3 until the summer I was 20 even though he never gave a sniff of being romantically interested in me and treated and loved me like a cherished 10 years younger sister/cousin (no relation our families are just close).....also shares the Jan 12 birthday. The little romantic dreamer that still lives inside me will always believe Jan 12 is one othe best days to have a birthday :-D

Jane is still just as much the principled, put upon, moral bad ass that she's always been. I'm not very far into her story this time around, but I first read her when I was in Grade 6 and it was instant love. I've owned multiple copies over the years but it's been about 7 or 8 since we last met. My coworker read Jane for the first time last Christmas. She's late 20s, Aethiest, feminist, LGBTQ2S+, social justice warrior, just an amazing woman. Of course, she picked up right away all the problematic behaviours and beliefs and scenarios. I'm reading it this time with my coworker's take. I still love Jane but it's definitely a time period piece. And not for everyone.

We were 3 degrees on Sunday and now we are at 17 and tomorrow or Thursday we are supposed to be around 35. That's terrible for this time of year. We should be hanging out between 5 and -12 Ferenheit. But climate change is wrecking havoc.

Thank you! What a coincidence with all the January 12th birthdays!!!
(Did your gift arrive?)

I didn't read Jane Eyre when I was younger. I tried just a few years ago and I just couldn't be drawn into the story. I'm very much a mood reader though. I tend to pick books up and if they don't grab my attention right quick, I put them down. (I often will go back and try again in the future though.)

Do you listen to audiobooks? I know so many people do and I just tend to fall asleep. If I try and listen while I'm doing another activity though, I lose focus and miss parts of the story.

You're cold as well! Next week we are to be below 0 here which is actually colder than the temps in the northern states above us. Agreed - climate change is awful and now the States are watching California burn out of control with little water because they've had such a long draught. It's heartbreaking.

Yes we are seeing coverage of California up here too and it is just so heart breaking. So much of the world is on a roller coaster with the natural disasters. Canada's north has been getting completely ransacked the past 5 or 6 years with devastating, debilitating forrest fires

The clock did arrive and he tried to be all stoic and what did you get me that for but he's just like a little kid when he gets a gift. :D

I'm a mood reader too....I feel very much like the proverbial debutante that has NOTHING! to wear, Even though the closet is stuffed to the brim with the most beautiful clothes imaginable.....that's me and books a lot of the time.

I do have really good luck with audio books and read a LOT of them. I do a lot of mindless data entry and filing at work. Listening to a book helps me concentrate better or at least make the time pass. I also lsten to audio books when I'm playing video games or those dinky phone games. I don't feel like I've wasted my time "playing games" if I'm listening to a book. I also like them for solo road trips because they keep my mind more active than listening to music/the radio.

That being said, I do lose chunks of the story sometimes, but it doesn't matter if I'm reading or listening. I'm very much an absorber of material rather than a comprehender. I don't analyse what I'm reading, it's all about how the story plays out in my head and how connected I gett. I absolutely LOVE The Outsiders . I've litterally read it 19 times in the last 30 years, and wtched the movie a bunch too....but other than the major plot points, I don't remember, and even the major plot points I've commented to my best friend and my son over the years (who also claim it as one of their alltime favourites) that I don't remember this scene or that scene happening either at the point that it does or that it was in there at all. So I'm so used to missing chunks of story that I don't care if I get lost in an audio...if I can't pick up the context within a few minutes, I just turn the book back until I remember what is going on and go from there. I'm also ADHD/neuro spicy and repetetive media consumption is one of my traits :D

(One of my other ADHD traits is long, rambling replies with too much context. I often think you and the rest of the teams that I belong too should be able to claim my posts as pages read LOL)

I do recall seeing the wildfires as we had air quality action alert days in my area as the smoke came down from Canada. It is heartbreaking to watch all the devastation and the loss of life.

I love that he was excited. It's always nice knowing you got a great gift for someone that they truly appreciate!

It's very interesting how you read. I'm detail oriented (I usually jot notes down when I read and have even been known to create a cast of characters and how they interplay with one another for reference).

The first time I read The Outsiders was when I was in high school. I loved the movie (but mainly I loved the actors who starred in the film). Pony Boy ❤️

You crack me up - "rambling replies with too much content" and claim your posts as pages read 😂

How are your books coming? I just finished reading James. Did you read it or would it not be something you are interested in? (I haven't read Huckleberry Finn in decades!)

Carrie wrote: "You crack me up - "rambling replies with too much content" and claim your posts as pages read 😂..." - I crack you up, but, you didn't contradict me, either 😜

I love how you read and an analytical mind has always fascinated me. I know it's a discipline that I can develop with hard work but...I was going to type some flowery something or other here, however, it boils down to I just don't want too even through I do get more out of media after discussing it with my partner (also super analytical and loves disecting what he watches/reads/consumes) If you hadn't guessed, I had HORRENDOUS study skills in school LOL

The most powerful scene in a movie ever for me was in The Outsiders when Darry, Soda, and Ponyboy are reunited in the hospital and Darry has his arms wrapped around the boys, crying that he thought he lost Ponyboy like he did mom and dad. Just that raw emotion playing on my biggest fear of ever losing my 5 years younger brother (never happened, nor came close, average childhood, he was just "my" baby, my responsibility no matter what my poor mother said or did. meaning she actively worked to not parentify me but you've never seen a 5-7 year old throw a bigger tantrum if she wasn't allowed/missed changing/feeding/dressing/bathing the baby. 🤦‍♀️

I have not read nor heard of James but it is right up my ally and I've added it to my list. I should add Huck Finn to my list. I've never read the orginal text, only the great illustrated classics abbriged version when I was 7 or 8. Those Illustrated Classics definitely contributed to my adoration of 19th Century Novels.

As for my books, I've finished the first one and I'm hoping to have the 2nd one finished tomorrow. I use google books to preivew if a word is found in a text and it took me a while to find one that actually had Courage in the text. You would think that it wasn't that hard.

I think the point of reading is just to enjoy it in whatever way works for you! For a long time I had to finish books that I started. Now, I can easily just toss them aside lol.

I remember that scene. It is a very moving scene. I'm an only child so I don't have personal experience with sibling bonds but I grew up with a cousin who was only 6 months older than me. We were inseparable as kids. I like that you (were) are protective of your brother. That's a great bond to have! Does he live close?

Google books is the best for word search in text! I agree - I wouldn't have thought courage would be a hard word to find but as I ponder it, I almost think the word feels old fashioned in a way (?)

I have a task for another challenge. It's to find all the letters in JUGGLING in a title. It's a tough task and the few things I've found I have no interest in reading!

No rush on your book!

I'm so bummed. The first thing I saw when I logged into Goodreads was that you had entered the giveaway for the John Scalzi book. So I went to enter the giveaway and it's not availabe in Canada 😒😢
I really enjoy his writing and Wil Wheaton often does the narration for his audiobooks. My fave is Fuzzy Nation

I don't know if it's cheating but when I have to find all the letters in a word, the first thing I do is search the word. Not sure if there would be any good books with Juggling in the title though. That sounds tough. I did a library search and its even tougher than I thought. I figured there'd at least be some cheesy romance but nothing came up but Financial deepdives and learn to books. 🙄

I took my partner out for his birthday Saturday night and yesterday I drove a 3 hour round trip (plus visiting time) to pick my son up from my dad's. My boy is home for the week as he has 6 days off work. (Gotta love Walmart Part time hours) So I didn't get my book finished. However, I'm in the office by myself today so I'll get it finished today. No rush on getting to your spin/book. I have a couple audio books that are too short for challenge requirements that I need to read before they are due back.

Also, I borrowed Murder Your Employer by Rupert Holmes. I've only read the introduction so far but it was delightful. Very tonuge in cheek "text" book/intro to the super secret Deletionist society at McMasters.

My brother and I are not as close as I'd like us to be. Distance wise, he lives 5 hours away so we only see each other a few times a year and we do not call each other except on our birthdays or if we need to make immediate plans and are too impatient to wait for text replies. Whenever I see his number on my phone, I always answer with "What's wrong?" even on my birthday lol...nothing's ever been wrong. He had a hard time cutting my apron strings and resented how bossy and overbearing I was. He had his rebellious teenage phase with me, as I was a lot stricter than our mother and would get after him before my mom even knew what was going on. I think it helped their relationship though because I was so quick to be the "bad" cop, my mom was almost always the "good" cop and her punishments weren't nearly as oppressive as mine. Also, a lot of times, my brother's punishments would get lost in the shuffle because my mom would get so frustrated at me for overstepping that she didn't have the energy for my brother after that. I often joke with my mom that her last words are going to be her yelling at me, "For bleepSakes, Who is the parent in this house?!?!!!!!?!?" I might make it her epitaph...I don't think there is a phrase she has uttered more in her life.

All that being said, my brother has done really well for himself despite my medling. And he and I do enjoy spending time together and sit comfortably in long silences intersperced with our love for old movies and Netflix recommendations.

I've finished my book and updated the spreadsheet. As said before, no rush on spinning.