Cheryl’s Comments (group member since Jan 04, 2017)

Cheryl’s comments from the Challenges from Exploding Steamboats group.

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze by Peter Hessler

I can't even figure out the books that have been on my Goodreads or BookCrossing piles the longest and I can at least search the computer for them. But I added multiples on the first day of each, so how would I count? And what about the mental TBR -- the one where you want to read the book but haven't even acquired it yet?

My entire life is a TBR pile and it continues to grow.

I have read two books of poetry in the last month:
Mountain, Log, Salt, and Stone by Laura Shovan
Scattered Clouds by Reuben Jackson

I think I am going to count one of the books that I read this year that I have recommended to others but it doesn't count for any other prompts.

The HIlarious World of Depression by John Moe, which is related to the podcaset by the same name. An excellent book if you are interested in mental health issues and a great podcast as well.

I am still hoping to complete this challenge this year, despite the time crunch so I will try to use this to track what I have done -- CHALLENGE COMPLETED 12/30/2020

Procrastination Penance
- A book that you bought while on vacation
- A book by an indigenous author
- A book first published the year you were born -- DONE (Mandy)

Lost Linzi Levels
Level 3
- Read the first book of a trilogy
- Read the second book of that same trilogy
- Read the third book of that same trilogy
- Read a book by Brandon Sanderson
- Free Space! Read any book
Level 4
- A book about time travel -- DONE (The Time Keeper)
- A book authored by a Catherine/Katherine or variant -- DONE (Florist Grump)
- A book by Anne Rice
- A book from TIME Magazine's All-TIME 100 Novels list
- A book with the word "dream" in the title
- Free Space! Read any book -- DONE (The Hilarious World of Depression)

The Usual Fails
- Fewer than 100 Goodreads reviews -- DONE (Revolt-- And Virginia)
- Read for school -- DONE (Foundations of Addiction Counseling)
- High fantasy
- Middle grade -- DONE (The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane)
- Ugly cover -- DONE (One for the Road)
- Historical romance -- DONE (An Irish Country Courtship)
- Western
- Set in Asia -- DONE (Unbroken)
- A book of poetry -- DONE (Scattered Clouds)
- A book longer than 700 pages
- A play
- A book about a country or culture you have never visited -- DONE (Time's Magpie)
- A book related to a skill -- DONE (Violence Risk and Threat Assessment)
- A book of short stories -- DONE (There are Jews in My House)
- The first book by a favorite author
- A book based on a true story -- DONE (O Come Ye Back to Ireland)
- A book at the bottom of your TBR pile
- Read a book being adapted for TV or film this year
- Read a book set on every continent
- A true crime book
- A book of nonviolent true crime
- A book by an Australian author
- The oldest ARC you own
- A #bookstagram recommendation
- Highest Goodreads rating
- Longest-standing TBR book on Goodreads
- A book written as a journal
- A book published on your birthday (just the day, not the year)
- An #ownvoices book set in Mexico or Central America
- An #ownvoices book set in Oceania
- A business book -- DONE (The Gift of Therapy)
- A book by a South East Asian
- Read an ethnography or a book involving an anthropologist
- A book set on a college or university campus
- A book with "love" in the title
- A LitRPG book
- Read a book that you were recommended by a friend on Goodreads- DONE (Anxious People)
- Finish a series you started at least a year ago
- A family member's favorite book
- A book published when you were a teenager
- A 'random number' book -- DONE (A Walk with Jane AusTEN)
- A 'collected works' volume
- Any book in the Redwall series
- A 'Top 10 of 2019' book

Unprompted Inspiration
- A book featuring an abandoned building
- A book with the word "river" in the title -- DONE (River Town)
- A graphic novel
- A book with a disabled protagonist
- A memoir by a woman of color -- DONE (Becoming)
- A story spanning several decades
- A screenplay

I cannot count my friend's book through Goodreads, because it has not been published.

But I can count Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand, which is set in Asia, at least the most shockingly memorable portions.

I read Time's Magpie: A Walk in Prague for this prompt. I have not been to the Czech Republic but this book increased my interest in visiting.

I realized that I had not made an entry for this one. The cover of Tony Horowitz's One for the Road qualifies here.

I realized that I have multiple possibilities for this one, but had forgotten to include them. I will count O Come Ye Back to Ireland for this.

I am going to count Anxious People for this prompt, because several friends who are IRL and Goodreads have recommended it recently, albeit not through the site. I don't know if they know about the recommend site. I had forgotten about the recommend site and will play with it some more.

If you feel the need to go DJT ugly, one of John Lithgow's poetry books would probably fill the bill and give you a few good laughs -- especially now that the end is in sight!

I am going to count The Gift of Therapy by Irving Yalom for this one. Because my intention is to go into the business of therapy and because my first supervisor in that field recommended it.

Took me a while, but finally I have read Becoming by Michelle Obama. Highly recommend

I am helping a friend edit a book she has written that is about early travel to Asia. When I am done, I will count it for this challenge, even though it will not have been published.

I have one to count for this prompt -- a genre I no longer read. But An Irish Country Courtship is set in the 1960s (so historical) and involved a romance.

Crossing this one off today with the riveting page-turner Foundations of Addictions Counseling. If they had not given a quiz on every single chapter, I would not have read it, but it was decent for a text book.

Reread an old favorite to prepare me for (now canceled) trip to New Zealand. Revolt -- and Virginia by Essie Summers

Violence Risk & Threat Assessment: A Practical Guide for Mental Health & Criminal Justice Professionals.
All about how to determine if a client/patient is at risk of being violent against others. Not sure if I really want to become proficient at this skill, but it is a very good guide.

There are Jews in My House -- first completed prompt of the year.

True Confessions of a Veterinarian takes place in the Lehigh Valley/Poconos portion of the state.