Hooked on Books discussion

Team Challenge
September 2025 - November 2025

Please consult the Toy Chest of Dread for your first toy selection. This is in the 3rd tab of your spreadsheet. Post your team name and the answer that the Toy Chest supplies you at the Occult Museum (check in thread).

Team
Trio
Janeylou
Caipi

Important Links
Belle's Cabinet of Notices (Announcements)
Occult Museum (Check-in Thread)
Ouija Board (Q&A)
Collectibles
The Monkey's Paw (Feedback)
SS: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...


Rules
⛓️Each toy/object has specific chains and/or tasks that need to be completed.
Examples:
1. Create a chain of 3 using titles consecutively (ABC)
-All the Light We Cannot See
-Becoming Mrs. Lewis
-Catching Fire
2. Create a chain of 3 with "dog" in the titles
-Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
-The Dog Stars
-Hot Dog Girl
⛓️One person should NOT complete a whole chain by themselves. This is a team challenge. However, if a toy/object has multiple chains and a slower reader can only/want to only read for 1 or 2 chains (they must read at least one), then the other two faster readers on the team can complete the other chains between the two of them.
⛓️You may choose which toy/object from the list to capture first but you MUST complete it BEFORE starting a new toy/object.
⛓️You may use or drop articles: A, An, The
⛓️Standard Rules Apply
⛓️Since you have chosen to play non-competitively, you will play a self-paced game. You may choose to stop any time you want or continue until you have completed all toys/objects.

I'm here :)

And me

And me

Adam wrote: "And me"

Adam..think you in the wrong team, ..sorry

I'm here - thanks for the heads up Janeylou!
it's been crazy here this past week
I actually had an injection in my knee yesterday with a gel that's supposed to help my arthritis. So far it has just been incredibly painful. Hopefully by tomorrow I'll be back up and walking around.

Trio wrote: "I'm here - thanks for the heads up Janeylou!
it's been crazy here this past week
I actually had an injection in my knee yesterday with a gel that's supposed to help my arthritis. So far it has just..."

My mom has has those Trio, but didnt find them as good as was hoping , but i do know people who have done good with it 🤞🤞🤞

🎭✨ A Whisper from Belladonna Belle ✨🎭

“Well, well, well… look who managed to wrangle every last teammate into the haunted halls of check-in! I must say, that kind of dedication warms even my porcelain heart. 💀🖤

Teams who move as one are rare in this carnival of sinister toys and restless relics. You’ve proven yourselves worthy of a standing ovation (and perhaps a watchful eye 👀 from the Toymaker’s shadows).

Keep it up, darlings—after all, the real challenge is making sure no one gets left behind in the dark…”

🎃💀 Congratulations, fully-checked-in teams! 💀🎃

I'm afraid that gel injection isn't doing anything so far but causing me more pain. At least the arthritis comes and goes, this has just been a constant ache :(

🧸 Hey team, it’s me—Lisa. The Toymaker. The one Belle keeps just close enough to frighten but not quite promote.

Quick reminder:
You still need to consult the Toy Chest of Dread—lurking on the 3rd tab of your spreadsheet.

Let the Chest do its thing. It will give you a number. That number decides your toy. (I don’t know how. I don’t ask how.)

Then, please post:
Your team name
The number you got from the Toy Chestin the Occult Museum thread (a.k.a. the check-in thread, where Belle sips judgment from a teacup shaped like a skull).

Because if you don’t… well. Belle loves making assumptions. And her math is always cursed.

—Toymaker Lisa
(Toymaker, spreadsheet whisperer, barely keeping the toys in their boxes)

Have spun an 11 and checked us in

The SS says 'view only'for me , what about you 2

Ok one of us is really organised and asked for editting access , so myself and the other disorganised one needs to ask 😄

11. Jumanji

The Jumanji board game is a mysterious and magical game that serves as the central catalyst for adventure and chaos in the Jumanji films and original picture book by Chris Van Allsburg.

At first glance, Jumanji appears to be an antique, beautifully crafted wooden board game with ornate carvings, a central green-glowing dome, and sliding animal totems as game pieces. Its tagline warns players:
“A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind.”

But Jumanji is no ordinary game. Once the first dice are rolled, it unleashes real-world consequences based on each move: stampeding animals, violent weather, quicksand, giant insects, jungle vines, and other perilous phenomena spill into reality, threatening both players and their surroundings. The game cannot be paused or stopped, only completed. The only way to end the chaos is for someone to reach the final space and yell, "Jumanji!"

The game possesses a dark sentience, pulling players into its world (or bringing its world to them), and has a reputation for lying in wait, ready to tempt the next curious soul. Equal parts thrilling and dangerous, the Jumanji board game is as much a test of courage and friendship as it is of survival.

Roll to Survive
You didn’t mean to open it.
It looked old, maybe even beautiful—carved wood, green-glowing center, and that line etched across the top:
“A game for those who seek to find, a way to leave their world behind.”

Now the room is shaking.
There are vines in your bookshelf.
And something is watching from the ceiling.

You have three rolls to make it out alive.
You cannot skip your turn.
You must finish the game.
You don’t win. You survive.

🎲 How to Play:
The dice are in your hands, but make no mistake—the game is in control.
Roll two six-sided dice (2d6) three times.
Each roll will give you a number from 2 to 12.
https://www.online-stopwatch.com/chan...#


For every number you roll, the board will unleash one challenge.
You must complete three tasks total—one per roll.
You may not skip. You may not reroll. The board does not care for hesitation.

When you're ready to begin, post in the Occult Museum (Check-In Thread) with:
Your Team Name
Your three rolls
A link to your team’s tracking spreadsheet

Once you've declared your fate, the jungle listens.
The vines creep. The drums beat.
And the game... begins.

Ive finally worked out how to roll 2 dice 😄😄
Ill check us in

oh yes, I'm also "read only" on the SS - I sent a request

7 – The Rules Have Changed
The board shifts. The stakes rise.
Read a book where a rule, law, or code is broken—and it changes everything.

9 – Jungle Knows Your Fears
It always chooses what you hate most.
Read a book that includes your least favorite trope or genre. Suffer, sweetly.

5 – Eyes in the Trees
Don’t look up.
Read a book where someone is being hunted, followed, or watched.

Janeylou wrote: "Ive finally worked out how to roll 2 dice 😄😄
Ill check us in"

Congrats on mastering two dice! Now just remember: if a stampede bursts through your team thread, it wasn’t me. 🐘🐅

You guys are playing a mini-game. Notice that they are NOT chains. You DO NOT have to follow Belle's Rule for mini-games.

Donna wrote: "You guys are playing a mini-game. Notice that they are NOT chains. You DO NOT have to follow Belle's Rule for mini-games."

So we only do 1 task each ??

Girls , ive just read the Q & A .
We only have to do 1 task each

Whos having which

I can do any
Caipi is reading one for # 5
Trio..which one do you want ?

Trio, i have read a book for #7 and could do one for # 9nif you havent , but will be a few days

no prob - I've got one for #9 and posted on the spreadsheet
sorry still getting caught up!

for this challenge do we only need to post our completion on the SS?

Yes, just the SS

The cleansing task dropdown flickered at the edge of the page, brighter than it should have been.

“Yes… such curious little Trinket Takers,” Belle purred, voice smooth as velvet, sharp as glass. “Always eager to poke and pry. But this is not their plaything. Unless they are specifically told to… they mustn’t touch.”

The words hung in the air like perfume, sweet and dangerous.
“The toys aren’t angry yet. But they do adore a reason.”

—Toymaker Lisa

did I do it right? I thought I selected task 9 from the drop down but it isn't selected now - I'll go read the rules again lol

okay I've read the Q&A and I still don't understand... where are our tasks listed?

Trio wrote: "did I do it right? I thought I selected task 9 from the drop down but it isn't selected now - I'll go read the rules again lol"

You need to toy tasks not cleansing tasks..ill change it for you

Finished my book and updated the SS.

Ok, ill check us in when ive finished mine

20. The Dollhouse (Twilight Zone)


In this eerie tale, a woman named Elaine purchases an antique dollhouse from a mysterious store. The dollhouse is exquisitely detailed(an exact replica of a Victorian home) and comes complete with tiny, delicate furnishings and dolls posed within.

As Elaine brings it into her home, she begins to notice unsettling phenomena: the dolls shift positions on their own, rooms in the dollhouse rearrange themselves, and events inside the miniature house eerily mirror or even predict occurrences in her real life.

The boundary between the dollhouse and reality begins to blur. It becomes clear that the dollhouse isn’t just a toy, it’s a supernatural force, observing, controlling, or even reshaping Elaine’s fate.

This episode stands out as one of The Twilight Zone’s chilling modern-era entries into the haunted object subgenre, tapping into primal fears of losing control over one’s own world.

Complete the following tasks:
🪞2. Double Trouble
Read a chain of 3 books with dual POVs or two timelines. Reality doesn’t like to be alone.

🏠5. Haunted Home Vibes
Read a chain of 3 books with a house on the cover or in the title. Bonus if it's slightly too perfect.

🔤6. The Word “Doll” Appears
Read a chain of 3 books where the word “doll” shows up — in the title, series name, author name, or anywhere in the text.

✨Bonus 11: Carousel Painting


This painting is a prize at a strange carnival. But beware—it is cursed. Misfortune follows whoever claims it, growing worse with each passing day.

Attempts to destroy or discard the painting are futile. Burn it, bury it, toss it in the river—it always returns, resurfacing in unsettling, impossible places.

Can you capture the cursed painting before it captures you?

*Please note that this is from the book "Step Right Up" by L.A. Witt.

To capture the cursed painting
Read a book set in a carnival
Read a book with a horse on the cover
Read a book where a character tries to destroy something

Bonus items are optional, BUT your team must decide now whether to do them or NOT. Once a decision is made, it cannot be changed.

Girls, do you want to do bonus items for this challenge .its a yes for all or no for all.
Im easy and will go with flow

Janeylou wrote: "Girls, do you want to do bonus items for this challenge .its a yes for all or no for all.
Im easy and will go with flow"

I think we'll need long enough for this challenge even without adding the bonus books.
After all, we're still playing last year's Killer Clowns and since we decided not to play competitively....
But if you two want to add them, of course I'm okay with it. 😂👍🏻

I think Trio has a lit more on lately as well so we can go for No bonuses

sorry I'm here - it's been nuts lately!
Mostly good stuff - we actually went to see the "Beat" and UB40 last night, and a couple musicals last week. Our annoying neighbors have been bugging us and we've needed to be out. :(