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

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

Outstanding!

Ridiculously Random Prompt #28: Speaking English





Four times more people speak English as a second language than as a native one.


While more people speak English as a second language, nearly three times more people speak Mandarin Chinese natively.
English has nearly two billion people learning it as a second language and only 350 million people speaking it natively.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🗣 1. Read a book where the MC could be speaking English as a second language.
🗣 2. Read a book with all the letters of MANDARIN found in the title.
🗣 3. Read a book with more than 350 pages.
🗣 4. Read a book with the word NATIVE found in the text.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #30: Mud-Pit Belly Flop





The Mud-Pit Belly Flop is one of the biggest events that takes place during the ‘Redneck Games.'


The event, of course, takes place in a giant mud pit and the crowd gathered to watch chooses the winner by judging who can make the biggest, muddiest splash. The winner receives a trophy – always featuring a smashed beer can.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

👀 1. Read a book where the MC drinks a beer.
👀 2. Read a book with a crowd, more than 4 people, on the cover.
👀 3. Read a book where someone wins a trophy.
👀 4. Read a book where the title ENDS with a letter in REDNECK.

Excellent!

🤽🏻‍♀️⛹🏽🤾🏼‍♀️ 14: July 15, 2025 - Handball 🤾🏼‍♀️⛹🏽🤽🏻‍♀️





Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the goal of the opposing team. A standard match consists of two periods of 30 minutes, and the team that scores more goals wins.

Modern handball is played on a court of 40 by 20 meters (131 by 66 ft), with a goal in the middle of each end. The goals are surrounded by a 6-meter (20 ft) zone where only the defending goalkeeper is allowed; goals must be scored by throwing the ball from outside the zone or while "diving" into it. The sport is usually played indoors, but outdoor variants exist in the forms of field handball, Czech handball (which were more common in the past) and beach handball. The game is fast and high-scoring: professional teams now typically score between 20 and 35 goals each, though lower scores were not uncommon until a few decades ago. Body contact is permitted for the defenders trying to stop the attackers from approaching the goal. No protective equipment is mandated, but players may wear soft protective bands, pads and mouth guards.

The modern set of rules was published in 1917 by Karl Schelenz, Max Heiser, and Erich Konigh, on 29 October in Berlin, which is seen as the date of birth of the sport. The rules have had several revisions since. The first official handball match was played in 1917 in Germany. Karl Schelenz modified the rules in 1919. The first international games were played (under these rules) with men in 1925 (between Germany and Belgium) and with women in 1930 (between Germany and Austria).

Men's handball was first played at the Olympics in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin outdoors, and the next time at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich indoors; handball has been an Olympic sport since then. Women's handball was added at the 1976 Summer Olympics.

The International Handball Federation was formed in 1946 and, as of 2016, has 197 member federations. The sport is most popular in Europe, and European countries have won all medals but one in the men's world championships since 1938. In the women's world championships, only two non-European countries have won the title: South Korea and Brazil. The game also enjoys popularity in East Asia, North Africa and parts of South America.


Complete ONE of the following:

🤾🏽‍♂️ Read a book published in October of any year.
🤾🏽‍♂️ Read a book set in Asia or South America.
🤾🏽‍♂️ Read a book where the MC's occupation should come with protective equipment.
🤾🏽‍♂️ Read a book with an author OR MC named Karl, Max or Erich {spelling variations accepted.}

Prompt Name / #: Non-Fiction #1





Walk in My Combat Boots
Published: February 2021


"These are the stories America needs to hear about the remarkable young men and women who serve." - Admiral William H. McRaven, US Navy (Ret.). The most moving and powerful war stories ever told, by the men and women who lived them.

Walk in my Combat Boots is a powerful collection crafted from hundreds of original interviews by James Patterson, the world’s #1 bestselling writer, and First Sergeant US Army (Ret.) Matt Eversmann, part of the Ranger unit portrayed in the movie *Black Hawk Down*.

These are the brutally honest stories usually only shared amongst comrades in arms. Here, in the voices of the men and women who’ve fought overseas from Vietnam to Iraq and Afghanistan, is a rare eye-opening look into what wearing the uniform, fighting in combat, losing friends and coming home is *really* like. Readers who next thank a military member for their service will finally have a true understanding of what that thanks is for.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book tagged WAR any number of times.
2. Read a book with a male cover model.
3. Read a book where someone gives an interview.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #8





Cradle and All
Published: May 1980


In Boston, a young woman finds herself pregnant — even though she is still a virgin.

In Ireland, another young woman discovers she is in the same impossible condition.

And in cities all around the world, medical authorities are overwhelmed by epidemics, droughts, famines, floods, and worse. It all feels like a sign that something awful is coming.

Anne Fitzgerald, a former nun turned private investigator, is hired by the Archdiocese of Boston to investigate the immaculate conceptions. Even as she comes to care about and trust the young women, she realizes that both are in great danger. Terrifying forces of light and darkness are gathering. Stepping into uncharted territory where the unknown is just the beginning, Anne must discover the truth — to save the young women, to save herself, and to protect the future of all mankind.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with a white cover. {Your discretion.}
2. Read a book with an MPG of HORROR.
3. Read a book where the author's first AND last initials are found in ARCHDIOCESE.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #32: Coca-Cola





Coca-Cola consumers will pay more to drink less ounces.


Coca-Cola consumers prefer smaller packaging of their beverage and are willing to pay more per ounce. While soda consumption is declining in the U.S., Coca-Cola had a net revenue of $33 billion worldwide last year. Talk about vanity sizing!


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🥤 1. Read a book with a dashed word in the title.
🥤 2. Read a book where someone drinks a cola, soda, pop, whatever you call it where you're from.
🥤 3. Read a book with two 3s in the publication date.
🥤 4. Read a book you were willing to pay for.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #33: Outhouse Racing





In Outhouse Racing, an outhouse (outdoor toilet) is kitted with wheels, brakes, and a steering system, and is raced down hills with competitors sitting on the toilet seat inside.


Competitors decorate their outhouses with clever names like “Royal Flush” and the first outhouse to make it across the finish line wins.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🚽 1. Read a book where a character decorates something.
🚽 2. Read a book with all the letters of OUTHOUSE in the title and/or subtitle.
🚽 3. Read a book with something with a steering system on the cover.
🚽 4. Read a book where a character sits down.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #30: Mud-Pit Belly Flop





The Mud-Pit Belly Flop is one of the biggest events that takes place during the ‘Redneck Games.'


The event, of course, takes place in a giant mud pit and the crowd gathered to watch chooses the winner by judging who can make the biggest, muddiest splash. The winner receives a trophy – always featuring a smashed beer can.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

👀 1. Read a book where the MC drinks a beer.
👀 2. Read a book with a crowd, more than 4 people, on the cover.
👀 3. Read a book where someone wins a trophy.
👀 4. Read a book where the title ENDS with a letter in REDNECK.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #30: Mud-Pit Belly Flop





The Mud-Pit Belly Flop is one of the biggest events that takes place during the ‘Redneck Games.'


The event, of course, takes place in a giant mud pit and the crowd gathered to watch chooses the winner by judging who can make the biggest, muddiest splash. The winner receives a trophy – always featuring a smashed beer can.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

👀 1. Read a book where the MC drinks a beer.
👀 2. Read a book with a crowd, more than 4 people, on the cover.
👀 3. Read a book where someone wins a trophy.
👀 4. Read a book where the title ENDS with a letter in REDNECK.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #62: Oreos





The way you eat Oreos says something about your personality.


Kraft Foods once surveyed hundreds of Oreo eaters and sussed it out: Biters are easy-going and self-confident, while dunkers displayed more energetic and adventurous qualities. Twisters, on the other hand, are sensitive and trendy.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🥛 1. Read a book with something sweet on the cover.
🥛 2. Read a book with a character you would consider trendy.
🥛 3. Read a book where the title starts with a letter in KRAFT FOODS.
🥛 4. Read a book with either of these words found in the text: BITE, DUNK, or TWIST.

Nice tasks!

Ridiculously Random Prompt #65: ENIAC





A team of six women programmed the first digital computer.


While historians have only recently recognized their achievements (or female discoveries credited to men), the female mathematicians participated in a World War II program coding instructions into the revolutionary Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

⌨️ 1. Read a book with a strong female lead.
⌨️ 2. Read a book with all the letters of ENIAC found in the title.
⌨️ 3. Read a book set during World War II.
⌨️ 4. Read a book where a character uses a computer.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #65: ENIAC





A team of six women programmed the first digital computer.


While historians have only recently recognized their achievements (or female discoveries credited to men), the female mathematicians participated in a World War II program coding instructions into the revolutionary Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

⌨️ 1. Read a book with a strong female lead.
⌨️ 2. Read a book with all the letters of ENIAC found in the title.
⌨️ 3. Read a book set during World War II.
⌨️ 4. Read a book where a character uses a computer.

Wonderful!

Since GR has it listed, we'll use it that way. 😊

Prompt Name / #: Thrillers #62





Blowback
Published: September 2022


From the New York Times bestselling author of The President Is Missing, America has elected its most brilliant president ever, but he’s also a psychopath—and about to start a world war with our most dangerous enemy.

US President Keegan Barrett has swept into office on his success as Director of the CIA. Six months into his first term, he devises a clandestine power grab with deadly consequences.

Barrett personally orders CIA agents Liam Grey and Noa Himel to execute his plan, but their loyalties are divided. The CIA serves at the pleasure of the president, yet they’ve sworn to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

When the threat comes directly from the Oval Office, that’s where the blowback begins.


Complete ONE of the following:

1. Read a book with a famous building/landmark on the cover.
2. Read a book where the MC has an unusual first name.
3. Read a book with at least two Bs in the title.
4. Read any James Patterson novel.

Ridiculously Random Prompt #18: Cycleball





Cycleball is also known as “Radball” and is essentially a game of football (or ‘soccer’ depending on which country you’re from) played on bicycles.


Unlike traditional football, however, players use the bike to control, flick, and move the ball into the opposing team’s goal. The bikes used have fixed gears with no brakes and there tends to be 2 players on each team.


Complete ONE of the following tasks:

🚴‍♀️ 1. Read a book with two main/major characters.
🚴‍♀️ 2. Read a book that has also been known by another title.
🚴‍♀️ 3. Read a book with a bicycle on the cover.
🚴‍♀️ 4. Read a book where the author's first initial is NOT found in FIXED GEARS.

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.