Stina’s Comments (group member since Dec 11, 2016)

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

Finish reading a book (abandoned for at least one month) that you started on somebody's recommendation. It doesn't have to be somebody you know, and it doesn't have to be a recommendation made directly to you. It can be something as vague as a book review stating, "Every American needs to read this book," (as long as you are an American), but if it's simply a positive review that doesn't suggest a particular audience (of which you are a member), it wouldn't count. You're on your honor with this.

Finish a book (abandoned for at least a month) that shows up on Goodreads as having at least 400 pages. If your edition doesn't have 400+ pages, please confirm that there is an edition on Goodreads that does. You're on your honor here.

Unabridged audio is fine, but just increasing your e-reader's font size until you get it to show 400 pages isn't.

Sometimes you just can't pick up a book where you left off. As long as you've started the book, set it aside for at least one month, and then re-started it at the beginning, it counts.

Finish a book (abandoned for at least one month) that you started because it was a book club pick. This applies to either IRL or virtual book clubs that select a particular book for group discussion. If you don't belong to any such book clubs but would consider joining one at least long enough to complete this prompt, post here for some guidance on finding a club you might enjoy.

Also keep in mind that you don't have to still belong to the book club when you rescue the book. So if you've ever belonged to a club and didn't finish reading one of the picks, that would count.

Finish a book that you had to return (at least a month ago) to its lender. That could be a library or an individual. You do not have to re-obtain the exact same copy or even get it from the same source. If you want, you can buy your own copy.

Finish a book that you most recently abandoned in 2014. (I realize not everybody keeps track of exactly when they abandon a book, so you're on your honor to use your best judgment.)

Finish reading an abandoned (for at least one month) book that you obtained at some kind of relevant author event, like a reading or a signing. Borrowing or winning instead of purchasing counts. In some cases, the author's physical presence is not required. For example, if you borrow a book of Poe stories from the library during an event celebrating Edgar Allan Poe's birthday, that counts. (And it wouldn't have to be the exact same book as the one you abandoned, just the same edition.)

Finish reading an abandoned (for at least one month) book that you were reluctant to start the first time. Perhaps it was a school assignment, or maybe a book club pick you voted against. It still counts even if you wound up liking it after all!

Finish reading a nonfiction book that you have abandoned for at least a month. Most essay collections would count for this, but poetry collections should be strongly autobiographical in focus. I'll allow most "creative nonfiction," but it's probably best to ask first.

Finish a book that you most recently abandoned in 2016. (I realize not everybody keeps track of exactly when they abandon a book, so you're on your honor to use your best judgment.)

Here are the rules, and I will be starting threads shortly.

I had originally planned for this to be a bingo challenge, but this last holiday season was unusually busy for me, and I haven't had time to mess with fancy bingo sheets or anything. I've also never set up anything quite like this, so this will be a test run, and maybe we'll play bingo in 2018.

The idea is to rescue all those books you've abandoned. Completing a book that you have previously started reading but that has lain unread by you for at least one month earns you one point if you list it in the "unprompted" discussion thread OR two points if you list it in one (and only one) of the "prompt" discussion threads. You are encouraged but not required to link to your book rating/review, but you must clearly indicate that you have completed it and are claiming your point(s). (For the sake of my sanity, you will not be allowed to move a book to another thread once you have claimed its point(s).) [ETA: You may complete each prompt only once. If you rescue another qualifying book for a prompt, it will need to be posted in the "unprompted" thread, where it will count for only one point instead of two points.]

If you are uncertain if a book qualifies for a prompt, or if you'd like a prompt to be tweaked a little, ask in the discussion thread. That way I can, if need be, make the official clarification or change available to all participants.

For every five prompts you complete, you earn a bonus point. [ETA: If you complete all 25 prompts for a "blackout" bingo, you earn an additional 7 bonus points.]

Each participant who matches or beats my score at the end of the challenge also earns a bonus point.

Each point earned is an entry into a prize drawing at the end of the year.

Sure. One of my possibilities is The Shining Girls.

Heh. Looks like this is going to be a bingo-less bingo this year. I just don't have the time right now to do a pretty bingo card. So I will get some rules posted today so we can get started!

I recommend Neverwhere, especially if you can get the author's preferred text edition. Gaiman does a lovely job narrating and that's the story that got me hooked on him. For a long time, you couldn't get his preferred text edition in print in the US, so I spot-compared the audio to a US-edition paperback, and there are some remarkable differences. It's like US editors don't trust us to appreciate brilliance.

Ah, I understand. I'm trying very hard to do that myself.

I'm having a hard time finding books that *don't* have cat covers! Seriously, let me know if you want me to send you one.

Buffra wrote: "Would a comic count? I have a few I'd like to check out..."

Sounds good to me!

Xanthi wrote: "Just read the illustrated edition of the first Trixie Belden book. Was nice to have some line drawings while I got all nostalgic."

It's been *ages* since I read any Trixie Belden! I loved those books!

Xanthi wrote: "This was a book? I've seen the film but didn't know it was a book..."

Hmmm....I don't know. This says it's a "companion book." Maybe that's a new way of saying "novelization"? I've found a book called Murder in Retirement, so perhaps I should try that first.

Post your reading plans here and check off the prompts as you complete them. Remember, you can change your plans at any time; just remember your post # and come back in to edit it.

[X] A self-published book - Agent to the Stars
[Xxxx] A book about a haunted building - The House of Shattered Wings, The Plague Court Murders, Murder in G Major, Poe
[Xxxxxxxxxxx] An illustrated children’s book - Unlovable, Dragon of the Red Dawn, Alabaster Shadows, Pippi Longstocking, Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, On The Wings Of A Butterfly: A Story About Life And Death, The Big Orange Splot, Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads, Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind, Who Is Coming to Our House?, The King of the Golden River; Or, The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria
[X] A book with a key on the cover - Untitled
[Xx] A book with the word “Girl” in the title - I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, The Girl with Ghost Eyes
[Xx] A story told from a non-human POV - The Book Thief, Who Is Coming to Our House?
[Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] An award-winning book - Uprooted, Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda, The Color Purple, The House of Shattered Wings, The Witch of Blackbird Pond, Signal to Noise, Murder in G Major, Jonathan Livingston Seagull, All the Birds in the Sky, The Book Thief, Ms. Marvel, Vol. 1: No Normal, The Schwa Was Here, The Ballad of Black Tom, Poe, Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis, A Game of Thrones, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban, The Girl with Ghost Eyes, Red Glass
[Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] A book with a woman on the cover - Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog: The Book, Uprooted, The Steampunk Tarot, Planetfall, Giants' Bread, Boudoirs to Brothels: The Intimate World of Wild West Women, Promises, Promises, Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box, The Dark Days Club, Passing Strange, A Gathering of Shadows, Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost, Murder at the Male Revue, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, The Girl with Ghost Eyes, French Milk, Miss Malarkey Leaves No Reader Behind
[Xx] A book by a medical professional - Bad Science: Quacks, Hacks, and Big Pharma Flacks, Murder in G Major
[X] A book about a sheriff - Kid Sheriff and the Terrible Toads
[Xxxxx] A book with a cat on the cover - File M for Murder, 2017 Fifth Annual Battle of the Bards Poetry Contest: Winning Entries, Shutter, Vol. 1: Wanderlost, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, Who Is Coming to Our House?
[X] A book featuring a bookstore - In The Dead of Winter
[X] A book set in a retirement community - Murder in Retirement
[X] A book set on another planet - Planetfall
[X] A book you haven’t read since high school - Winnie-the-Pooh
[Xx] A political memoir - Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box, I Am Malala: The Story of the Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban
[X] A book at least 100 years older than you - The King of the Golden River; Or, The Black Brothers: A Legend of Stiria
[ ] A book from Oprah’s Book Club
[Xxxxx] A book recommended by a family member - Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Pippi Longstocking, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The Big Orange Splot, Winnie-the-Pooh
[Xx] A book with a protagonist who has your occupation - Murder in G Major, You Are a Badass: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life
[X] The first book you see in a bookstore - Born a Crime
[Xxx] A book about a road trip - Promises, Promises, I'm Thinking of Ending Things, Red Glass