Michelle's Empty Nest’s Comments (group member since Oct 31, 2021)

Michelle's Empty Nest’s comments from the Hooked on Books group.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #27: Greasy Pole Climbing





Surprisingly, the sporting event of climbing a greased-up slippery pole is quite common around the world.


These traditional events are essentially the same - there is a long pole covered in grease, lard, or some other lubricant, and participants attempt to climb or walk along the pole to get to the other end, where there may be a prize or flag to recover.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🎁 1. Read a book where a character climbs something.
🎁 2. Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GREASY POLE.
🎁 3. Read a book where the MC wins a prize of any type.
🎁 4. Read a book with the word FLAG found in the text.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #27: Greasy Pole Climbing





Surprisingly, the sporting event of climbing a greased-up slippery pole is quite common around the world.


These traditional events are essentially the same - there is a long pole covered in grease, lard, or some other lubricant, and participants attempt to climb or walk along the pole to get to the other end, where there may be a prize or flag to recover.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🎁 1. Read a book where a character climbs something.
🎁 2. Read a book where the title does NOT start with a letter in GREASY POLE.
🎁 3. Read a book where the MC wins a prize of any type.
🎁 4. Read a book with the word FLAG found in the text.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #26: Baby Puffins





A baby puffin is called a "puffling."


To feed its chick, a puffin parent will carry around 10 fish in its beak at one time, but the biggest recorded haul is a whopping 62 fish, according to Audubon Project Puffin.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🐠 1. Read a book with a bird on the cover.
🐠 2. Read a book where the MC is a parent.
🐠 3. Read a book with a 6 and a 2 in the page count.
🐠 4. Read a book with all the letters of PUFFIN found in the title/subtitle.

Prompt Name / #: Non-Fiction #9





The Defense Lawyer: The Barry Slotnick Story
Published: December 2021


From a master of true crime comes the story of the criminal lawyer who represented everybody from Manuel Noriega to John Gotti to Bernie Goetz—and won every single case. Known for his sharp mind, sharp suits, and bold courtroom strategies, Bronx-native Barry Slotnick is known as the best criminal lawyer in the US. He calls himself “Liberty’s Last Champion.” Slotnick mediates Bette Midler’s bathhouse contract and represents John Gotti, “The Dapper Don.” He defends “Subway Shooter” Bernie Goetz and negotiates future First Lady Melania Trump’s pre-nup. His unparalleled legal brilliance defines a profession, a city—and an era.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with a face visible on the cover.
2. Read a book where a character works in the legal profession.
3. Read a book where the MC's first initial is NOT found in SLOTNICK.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #53





The Noise
Published: August 2021


In this cinematic thriller from a New York Times bestselling author, two sisters must fight for their survival after a natural disaster in the Pacific Northwest.

In the shadow of Mount Hood, sixteen-year-old Tennant is checking rabbit traps with her eight-year-old sister Sophie when the girls are suddenly overcome by a strange vibration rising out of the forest, building in intensity until it sounds like a deafening crescendo of screams. From out of nowhere, their father sweeps them up and drops them through a trapdoor into a storm cellar. But the sound only gets worse . . .


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with a silhouette, reflection, or shadow on the cover.
2. Read a book with all the letters of NOISE found in the author's first AND last names.
3. Read a book published in 2021.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #47





The Midwife Murders
Published: August 2020


A missing patient is a hospital ward's worst nightmare -- until even more disappear.

To Senior Midwife Lucy Ryuan, pregnancy is not an unusual condition, it's her life's work. But when two kidnappings and a vicious stabbing happen on her watch in a university hospital in Manhattan, her focus abruptly changes. Something has to be done, and Lucy is fearless enough to try.

Rumors begin to swirl, blaming everyone from the Russian Mafia to an underground adoption network. The feisty single mom teams up with a skeptical NYPD detective to solve the case, but the truth is far more twisted than Lucy could ever have imagined.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book where the title is mostly in the center of the cover.
2. Read a book set in New York.
3. Read a book where a character is pregnant.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Great tasks, both of you!

Excellent!

Ridiculously Random Prompt #8: Apple Pie





Apple Pie isn't actually American at all.


The next time you call something "as American as apple pie," you might want to consider the fact that neither apple pies nor apples originally came from America. Apples are in fact native to Asia, and the first recorded recipe for apple pie was actually written in England.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🥧 1. Read a book set in America, England, or Asia.
🥧 2. Read a book that includes a recipe.
🥧 3. Read a book with a cliché in the text.
🥧 4. Read a book with an apple or other fruit on the cover.

Prompt Name / #: Non-Fiction #8





E.R. Nurses
Published: October 2021


James Patterson and Matt Eversmann present the medical frontline heroes who work to save our lives every day: E.R. Nurses.

Around the clock, across the country, these highly skilled and compassionate men and women sacrifice and struggle for us and our families.

You have never heard their true stories. Not like this. From big-city and small-town hospitals. From behind the scenes. From the heart.

This book will make you laugh, make you cry, make you understand.

When we’re at our worst, E.R. nurses are at their best.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with some type of mask on the cover.
2. Read a book where a character works in the medical field.
3. Read a book where the MC's first initial is found in SACRIFICE.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

🕵🏼

Prompt Name / #: Young Adult #1





Homeroom Diaries
Published: January 2014


James Patterson introduces the best selling "illustrated fiction" format to teens! It's "Middle School" for high schoolers!

In James Patterson's first highly illustrated "diary fiction" story for teens, the mega-bestselling author's most endearing and original teen heroine ever proves that everyone can use a helping hand once in a while.

Margaret "Cuckoo" Clarke recently had a brief stay in a mental institution following an emotional breakdown, but she's turning over a new leaf with her "Operation Happiness." She's determined to beat down the bad vibes of the Haters, the Terror Teachers, and all of the trials and tribulations of high school by writing and drawing in her diary. And when life gets really tough, she works through her own moments of uncertainty through imaginary conversations with her favorite literary characters.

Cuckoo's also got a nearly impossible mission: she, along with her misfit band of self-deprecating friends (who call themselves "the Freakshow") decide to bridge the gap between warring cliques and "bring the Nations together." Not everyone is so willing to join hands and get along, but Cuckoo never stops smiling... until one of her closest friends, pushed to desperation by a Hater prank, decides that enough is enough.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with a pink cover.
2. Read a book tagged MENTAL HEALTH any number of times.
3. Read a book with double vowels in the title.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #52





Run, Rose, Run
Published: March 2022


From America’s most beloved superstar and its greatest storyteller—a thriller about a young singer/songwriter on the rise and on the run, and determined to do whatever it takes to survive.

Every song tells a story.
She’s a star on the rise, singing about the hard life behind her.
She’s also on the run. Find a future, lose a past.

Nashville is where she’s come to claim her destiny. It’s also where the darkness she’s fled might find her. And destroy her.

Run, Rose, Run is a novel glittering with danger and desire—a story that only America’s #1 most beloved entertainer and its #1 bestselling author could have created.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with three Rs in the title.
2. Read a book with a light/bright cover. {Your discretion.}
3. Read a book tagged MUSIC any number of times.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #4: Girl Crush





The most streamed Spotify single is Harry Styles' "Girl Crush."


The solo star's Spotify single has the most streams at 154 million. Such a win for the One Direction alum.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🎤 1. Read a book where the author or MC is named Harry.
🎤 2. Read a book where a character has a crush on someone.
🎤 3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in SPOTIFY.
🎤 4. Read a book where at least 2 of these digits are found in the total number of ratings: 1, 5, 4.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #4: Girl Crush





The most streamed Spotify single is Harry Styles' "Girl Crush."


The solo star's Spotify single has the most streams at 154 million. Such a win for the One Direction alum.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🎤 1. Read a book where the author or MC is named Harry.
🎤 2. Read a book where a character has a crush on someone.
🎤 3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in SPOTIFY.
🎤 4. Read a book where at least 2 of these digits are found in the total number of ratings: 1, 5, 4.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #15: Chess Boxing





Unsurprisingly, Chess Boxing involves both the classic game of chess and the popular sport of boxing.


The competitors alternate between 5 rounds of boxing and 6 rounds of chess for a total of 11 rounds, each lasting 3-minutes. The game was inspired by a French comic and invented by Dutch artist Lepe Rubingh.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🥊 1. Read a book where a character plays chess or another board game.
🥊 2. Read a book that has a French or a Dutch translation.
🥊 3. Read a book with an MPG of HUMOR or COMEDY.
🥊 4. Read a book with the word boxing {can also be box, boxes, boxed, etc.} found in the text.

Great job!

Updated through here.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #1: Octothorpe





The hashtag symbol is technically called an octothorpe.


According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the "octo-" prefix refers to the eight points on the popular symbol, but the "thorpe" remains a mystery. One theory claims that it comes from the Old English word for "village," based on the idea that the symbol looks like a village surrounded by eight fields!


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

#️⃣ 1. Read a book with an MPG of MYSTERY.
#️⃣ 2. Read a book with an 8 in the page count.
#️⃣ 3. Read a book with all the letters of THORPE in the title.
#️⃣ 4. Read a book with the word VILLAGE found in the text.

Prompt Name / #: Non-Fiction #14





American Heroes
Published: October 2024


From the authors of Walk in My Combat Boots, bravery and selflessness are literally defined in these riveting first-person tales from our nation’s greatest heroes.

U.S. soldiers who served in overseas conflicts—from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan—share true stories of the actions that earned them some of America’s most distinguished military medals, up to and including the Medal of Honor.

They never acted alone, but always in the spirit of camaraderie, patriotism, and for the good of our beloved country.

There has never been a better time for all of us to think about duty, sacrifice, and what it means to be an American hero.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book that includes a review on the cover.
2. Read a book where the MC is American.
3. Read a book where the author's LAST initial is found in MEDAL OF HONOR.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.