Hooked on Books discussion

🔐 Welcome to Your Box.

The lock is real. The box is closed. But the two of you? You have the keys.

This is your personal team thread. Each week, you’ll receive a new reading prompt. Each of you will choose a book, read it, and post your reflection here. Once both reflections are posted, a key turns—and the box reveals a message just for you.

You must complete all 12 keyholes to open the box in Week 13.

You can use this thread for:
🔐 Weekly reflections
🔐 Talking with your partner
🔐 Celebrating when a new lock opens

Your first prompt arrives Sunday at 6pm CT. You’ll know it when you see it.

Until then: get to know each other. Decide who’s reading what.
And whatever you do… don’t open it yet.

📖 Weekly Check-In Format
When you finish your book, post the info below in this thread to let your partner know you're ready. Once both of you have posted your reflections, one of you should check in on the main thread to unlock your keyhole.

• Week: (e.g., Week 1)
• Book Title:
• Author:
• Page Count:
• Reflection: Your response to the week’s prompt.

🔎 Weekly Check-In Thread
This is how your keyhole gets unlocked.
No check-in, no click.

How to check in:
Just post your team name and a link to your team thread.

Example:
Team: The Locked Hearts
Thread: [insert link here]

Once I see your check-in, your message will appear in your thread—if you’ve earned it.

Team 16
🔐 bamaace83
🔐 Angie

I'm here! Look I'm on time. Bama is playing so poorly that this season is going to be rough to watch so I'm taking a computer break.

I'm here too! We will keep each other on time! LOL

Well, we need a team name. Do you have any ideas? I'm terrible at names, but I can ask google!

Sorry! I had company this weekend and they just left. I'm not that good with team names either.

Literary Code Breakers
Southern Sleuthers
Double A Investigators

No worries! I really need to read the rules and see what all we need to do!! I meant to do that yesterday...

Oh, I really like Double A Investigators and Southern Sleuthers.

Life gets busy sometimes. We had John's sister and friend come up this weekend so time just got away from me too. I think first step is post a team name and our link and we can go from there. I haven't read all the rules yet either. I was trying to update some of my August challenges because I have stuff everywhere.

We are so much alike with the challenge updates! I have been trying to do the same thing, but I just keep joining new challenges instead!

I thought the first task/prompt came yesterday - but it is Sept 7. So we are good! What is your favorite name? Let's get that posted and we will have time to figure out what we are doing! Lol

Hmmm, let's go with Double A Investigators.

We are totally alike. I also keep joining new things. I did get a couple things caught up today but I'm still behind.

I sign cards for my niece Double A or AA - for Aunt Angie! Lol

I can check us in.

Thanks! I went to bed and forgot to check back in. I like the Double A. That is a fun way to sign the cards. I've never thought to do that.

🔐 Week 1 Prompt: What You Bring With You
Some locks don’t need a key—they open for what you carry.
Choose a book that reflects something you bring to this partnership:
a personality trait, a past experience, a strength, a flaw—anything that shapes how you read and relate.

Each of you will choose your own book and explain what you're bringing to the box.

That is interesting! I'm going to have to think on this one. I'd love to know you thoughts!

This challenge is going to be fun. I'm definitely going to have to search for a book. My first thought would be finding a blue/green cover because I always think of those colors as a calming effect and I feel that's a good word to describe my personality for the most part. A word in the title to describe how I read might be a good idea. Like fast, speed, something like that. Those are a couple things that come to my mind right off the bat.

Okay, I have a couple options that I'm playing around with that might work. I've gone down the library e-catalog rabbit hole. I started with sports and just have gone from there. I might still find more.


Bookstore on the front cover and those just make me happy and bring peace. That bicycle might come in handy, depending on if we need to move fast. It's set in Boston one of my favorite cities to visit.


A calming blue cover but also there is a stadium in the background and I love a good game. He's a baseball player which is one of my top two favorite sports and she's a RN in healthcare. I work in healthcare in a different discipline.

Great ideas! I'm still pondering but I'll think of something soon!

Okay, I had to go find a different book because it didn't work for a couple things.

• Week: Week 1 Prompt: What You Bring With You
• Book Title: Not You It's Me
• Author: Julie Johnson
• Page Count: 428
• Reflection: I chose a book with a blue/green cover because I always try to bring calm to any situation. I use humor to diffuse stressful situations at work. This book had so many funny little clips just to lighten the mood. Last is stubbornness. Gemma was pretty stubborn at times in the book and I think stubborn is a great word to use my personality, especially if we have to unlock the box.

I finally chose one, but it's going to be a weird way to reflect on what I bring! Lol

Well, I had my post almost completed and when to google to see if I was spelling a word correctly. But I closed the window with this thread instead of opening a new one!! Dangit!

Completion / Reflection

• Week: 1 (Prompt: What You Bring With You)
• Book Title: The Housemaid's Secret
• Author: Freida McFadden
• Page Count: 329
• Reflection:
My reason for choosing this book is not that the fiery red cover reflects my personality - nope, I prefer to hang in the fringes or fade into the background! Instead it is my similarities with the characters' strengths and weaknesses. Lile Millie, the MC, I have had some hard times and without tenacity and pure stubborn determination I'm not sure that I would have gotten through. That is also reflected in how I treat others; I will do absolutely anything for friends and family. I will always have their backs and support/help as it's just part of who I am. Then we have Wendy who has a very analytical way of approaching her problems and "getting rid" of them. While I won't use my analytical nature for bad things or ill-will, it's always there and I analyze pretty much everything!


I bring determination, a stubborn streak and an analytical mind to the box. Hopefully, this combination will help us to unlock the box!

Anna, did you find that task a little difficult? I certainly did! Probably because I don't like reflecting on myself!!

Lol, your description is definitely better than mine and made me laugh. It was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be. I kept thinking how should I look at unlocking this box. I also was like what if we need like actual tools to unlock the box but then couldn't find anything good on any of the covers so went with the descriptive type words. Between the two of us, we should be able to get into it. I also don't like to reflect on myself.

I posted a check in for us last night, but it isn't there!! Thank you for posting it!!

You're welcome. I figured you did but didn't see it and did another one just in case. Goodreads likes to make things go poof sometimes.

Lately, posts are disappearing a lot!

I've had a lot of practice of using the BS factor and making it sound like I know what I'm talking about. HA!

🗝️ Week 1 Response
This box doesn’t open on its own.
It opened because you showed up as yourself.

What’s one thing from your book you hope your partner always associates with you?

Every keyhole opens to conversation. Take this prompt and respond to each other—no more steps required.

I hope that the thing you associate with me would be dependability. I always try to be dependable in life and in challenges. Sometimes things happen that slow me down, but I'll get there.

100 percent use dependability to describe you. You always help me out when I get lost in challenges, nudge me when I need help, and keep myself and a lot of us laughing through crazy things.

I think one word that I hope you use me is stubborn. Sometimes I hate certain genres, coughs "horror and sci-fi", but I'm stubborn and don't want to let teams down so I read the books. Even the aliens and bots....

Which would explain why I've made a nice cozy home on the struggle bus for the next couple months with certain challenges.

I would describe you as stubbornly dependable! I know those horror and sci-fi books are the last think you want to read and yet you do! But, reading something else that you like more isn't letting your teams down....just so you know! (those fit somewhere in the challenges too!) I would never expect you to read something you hate! So, I'm glad you have a cozy spot in your challenges!

Lol, I just balance them out. I read a nice little hockey romance book this morning before I decided to spend some time in Antartica.

I have to do that too!

🔐 Week 2 Prompt: Judge This Book
Some locks don’t care what’s inside—only how it looks.
Choose a book based solely on the cover.
No blurbs. No reviews. No second guesses. Just vibes.

Completion / Reflection

• Week: 2 (Judge This Book)
• Book Title: The Husband's Secret
• Author: Liane Moriarty
• Page Count: 421
• Reflection:
This week's prompt was a bit easier than last week's. I needed a book with a balloon on the cover and this was the one that I found. It was available at the library, so I didn't look any further. I didn't even read the blurb until I was halfway through the book! It was just an okay book to me.