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

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

Didn't Piranesi win one of these last year?

The exact opposite point on the globe is in the middle of the ocean, but I found a book set on some very remote islands in that general area. I suppose I could just pick something set in Australia or Japan or some other far flung location, but I'm being stubborn.

I need to finish up Scandalous Women: The Lives and Loves of History's Most Notorious Women.

I still haven't started in on my issues of The Missouri Review.

I'm going with The Island Kitchen: Recipes from Mauritius and the Indian Ocean. What's new to you?

I think I had The Lions of Al-Rassan down for this one. It's a book club book I never finished.

Gah. I still hate the word "favorite." And apparently my family is none too fond of it, either, as they all refuse to name a favorite book. Brian keeps after me to read The Family Trade, though, and I did start it and am enjoying it, so I see that being what winds up here.

Wikipedia is still probably your best bet for familiarizing yourself with this genre. I still have RiftWorlds Online: Book 1 - Space Opera Insertion: a LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure on my TBR, so that remains my plan.

Yeah, this one is kinda awful, which is why it is still here. My birthday does not seem to be a popular day for book releases in any year. Believe me, I have wasted a lot of time on this. All I've managed to come up with is one edition of a book by an author I'd rather not promote, but I do happen to have a copy, so I guess I'll eventually force myself to read it.

An ARC is an advance reader copy. If you don't have any and would like one, there are various ways to go about getting one. Goodreads giveaways are sometimes ARCs. If you are a book reviewer, you can sign up at NetGalley for digital ARCs. Some libraries and bookshops will give away older ARCs to patrons. If you're not having any luck with any of those methods, message me. I have scads of them and could mail you one.

I guess it's official, I am not much of a tome toppler. Surely I can get through one of these doorstops this year, though. Mao: The Unknown Story, perhaps?

Penitent Prioritization

* The oldest ARC you own - Right as Rain
* A LitRPG book - RiftWorlds Online: Book 1 - Space Opera Insertion: a LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure
* A family member's favorite book - The Family Trade
- A book that was published in 1995 - The Lions of Al-Rassan
- A food book about a cuisine you've never tried before - The Island Kitchen: Recipes from Mauritius and the Indian Ocean
- An edition of a literary magazine - Galaxy’s Edge Magazine: Issue 56, May 2022
- A book from the 2019 Reading Women Award shortlists and honorable mentions - The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays
- A book by Isabel Allende - Zorro
- Read a Victorian (1837-1901) diary or collection of letters - The Diaries of Hannah Cullwick, Victorian Maidservant

25. * A book published on your birthday (any year) - Invisible Women: Data Bias in a World Designed for Men

83. Borrowed from a friend - Jack and the Beanstalk/Juan y los Frijoles Magicos

100. A winner of the Stella Prize or the Women's Prize for Fiction - Piranesi
101. (33) A book set on the opposite side of the planet - The Survivors

163. A book longer than 700 pages - Seveneves


Lost Linz Levels

*Level 2*
- The original "Beauty & the Beast" fairy tale - La Belle et la Bête
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 3
- Read a book by an author with the same first name as one of your grandparents - Handwritten: Speculative Fiction Stories and Vignettes - Where Billy Died
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 5
- Read a book by John Irving The Hotel New Hampshire
- Free Space! Pick any book.

The Usual Fails

- An indigenous literature award nominee, such as the AIYLA, Burt, Indigenous Voices Awards, Nga Kupu Ora, etc. - The Marrow Thieves
- A book from the Sir Julius Vogel Award long-list from any year - The Voyages of Cinrak the Dapper
- Book becoming a movie in 2021 - News of the World
- (7) An alternate history novel - From Here to Timbuktu - A Master of Djinn
- (31) Winner of the National Book Award (any year) - Interior Chinatown
- Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author - My Heart Is a Chainsaw - The Only Good Indians - The Marrow Thieves
- (100) A book that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction - The Book of Form and Emptiness - The Tiger's Wife
- Read a book from Dad's library - Our Margin of Life
- Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color - Heartwood: Non-binary Tales of Sylvan Fantasy
- Read a food memoir by an author of color - Notes from a Young Black Chef
- Read a book from the neighborhood library box - The Long Call - Flowers in the Attic - Forever
- A military sci fi - A Pale Light in the Black - The Guns Above
- A book by a Slovak author - Seeing People Off
- A historical fiction book in a series you love - When Gods Die - Blossom Culp and the Sleep of Death
- A book with a spine you love - Douglas Adams' Starship Titanic
- A Bookoplathon Chance card book - Jade City - Network Effect - The Dispossessed
- A Victorian sensation novel - Lady Audley's Secret
- (152) A book by a Mediterranean author - La peste - Death at Sea: Montalbano's Early Cases
- (147) A Victorian mystery or one set in the Victorian era - James Moriarty, Consulting Criminal - The Woman in White - Stalking Jack the Ripper
- (4) A mystery with a private detective - The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Specific Titles

- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
- Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
- The Brave by James Bird
- The Blood Countess by Elizabeth Bathory
- The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
- Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
- Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer


1. Debut novel of a famous author - The Near Witch
3. The first book in a series - The Planet Savers
4. A fanfic - Twelfth Night: The Season 5 New Year Special by Jolie Black
5. Bestselling memoir - The Storyteller: Tales of Life and Music
6. A book set in the present day - Charms and Chocolate Chips
7. A book with a word in the title that is related to an Element (earth, air, water, or fire) - Airborn
8. A book involving recovery from a natural disaster - Depart, Depart!
11. A sequel - Solutions and Other Problems

14. An audiobook that made you gasp or laugh out loud - (5) - The House in the Cerulean Sea
17. A mystery that features a great team - Razorblade Tears
21. A wildly popular audiobook you've never read before - (5, 14)
- Where the Deer and the Antelope Play: The Pastoral Observations of One Ignorant American Who Loves to Walk Outside
23. A book with a group of teens as the main characters - (7) - Meet the Sky

24. Read a NetGalley book - Her Last Flight
28. A middle grade book - The True Story of Jim the Wonder Dog
29. Read a non-European novel in translation - Confessions
31. A book in an atypical genre for you - Winter in Sokcho
32. A book everyone is talking about - (5, 17, 21) - The Paris Apartment
33. An audiobook that is a tear-jerker - (17, 23) - The Island of Sea Women

42. (1, 4) A mystery with a bilingual detective or one set in a village - The Accidental Alchemist
44. A book by a prisoner or about prison systems - The Prisons / Le Carceri
50. An SFF book with a trope you love (time travel) - Kindred

53. (4, 31) A book set in winter - All Her Little Secrets
54. A translated mystery or one set in a country not your own - Slow Horses
57. (50) A book from your birth decade - Pedagogy of the Oppressed
61. Book with a deckled edge - All In: An Autobiography
65. An epistolary - The Turn of the Key

66. Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick - Deacon King Kong
68. (4) A Golden Age mystery or one set between 1920 and 1945 - Malice Aforethought
84. A book with a purple cover - Corduroy's Sleepover

86. (8, 21) A book with a camp setting - Hide
89. (24) A book already on your e-reader - Potions and Pastries
92. A locked-room mystery - A Scandal in Brooklyn
94. A nonfiction book someone you love loves - The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness

102. A fantasy book released in 2021 - The Ladies of the Secret Circus

120. The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover - The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life
121. A book about or by a Little Person - At First Light
130. Gothic Tales

139. A bestseller from the 1990s - Parable of the Sower
143. A book written in an endangered (or now extinct) language - Tevye the Milkman
147. A Victorian book set in either the countryside or the city - Lady Windermere's Fan: A Play About a Good Woman

152. Read a work of investigative fiction by an author of color - The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls
161. Set before the 17th century - Much Ado About Nothing

Here is the entire list of prompts. Pick and choose as you like, and adjust as necessary. I do not expect y'all to show up at my Dad's house asking to borrow a book. I mean, he'd probably be delighted to give you a book, but it's a bit of a drive for some of you.

I will be posting separate discussion threads for all of the prompts, so check those out to suggest books, find recommendations, and discuss your reads with our reading community. You can use this thread to create a post of your reading plans that you can then update throughout the year. Have fun!!

- A book longer than 700 pages
- The oldest ARC you own
- A book published on your birthday (any year)
- A LitRPG book
- A family member's favorite book

- A book that was published in 1995
- A food book about a cuisine you've never tried before
- An edition of a literary magazine
- Borrowed from a friend
- A book set on the opposite side of the planet
- A winner of the Stella Prize or the Women's Prize for Fiction
- A book from the 2019 Reading Women Award shortlists and honorable mentions
- A book by Isabel Allende
- Read a Victorian (1837-1901) diary or collection of letters

Level 2
- The original "Beauty & the Beast" fairy tale
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 3
- Read a book by an author with the same first name as one of your grandparents.
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 5
- Read a book by John Irving.
- Free Space! Pick any book.

- An indigenous literature award nominee, such as the AIYLA, Burt, Indigenous Voices Awards, Nga Kupu Ora, etc.
- A book from the Sir Julius Vogel Award long-list from any year
- A book written in an endangered (or now extinct) language
- A book by a prisoner or about prison systems
- A book involving recovery from a natural disaster
- A book about or by a Little Person
- Book becoming a movie in 2021
- Bestselling memoir
- A sequel
- Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick
- A book everyone is talking about
- Set before the 17th century
- Book with a deckled edge
- An alternate history novel
- An epistolary
- Winner of the National Book Award (any year)
- Read a non-European novel in translation
- Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author
- A book that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction
- A bestseller from the 1990s
- A locked-room mystery
- Read a book from Dad's library
- Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color
- Read a food memoir by an author of color
- Read a work of investigative fiction by an author of color
- Read a NetGalley book
- Read a book from the neighborhood library box
- A fantasy book released in 2021
- A military sci fi
- A book by a Slovak author
- A book set in winter
- An SFF book with a trope you love
- A nonfiction book someone you love loves
- A historical fiction book in a series you love
- A book with a spine you love
- A book set in a place you have visited
- Book about a war that is not World War II
- A book with a person's name in the title
- A book from your birth decade
- A book set in the present day
- The first book in a series
- A Bookoplathon Chance card book
- A book in an atypical genre for you
- A book already on your e-reader
- A book with a purple cover
- An audiobook that is a tear-jerker
- An audiobook that made you gasp or laugh out loud
- A wildly popular audiobook you've never read before
- A book with a word in the title that is related to an Element (earth, air, water, or fire)
- A Victorian book set in either the countryside or the city
- A Victorian sensation novel
- A book with a group of teens as the main characters
- A book with a camp setting
- A middle grade book
- A book by a Mediterranean author
- Debut novel of a famous author
- A fanfic
- The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
- A Victorian mystery or one set in the Victorian era
- A mystery with a bilingual detective or one set in a village
- A mystery that features a great team
- A Golden Age mystery or one set between 1920 and 1945
- A translated mystery or one set in a country not your own
- A mystery with a private detective

- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
- Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
- The Yellow Bird Sings by Jennifer Rosner
- The Brave by James Bird
- Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Blood Countess by Elizabeth Bathory
- The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
- Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
- Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer

These prompts reflect uncompleted prompts from various challenges I foolishly took on. As in recent years, I am separating it into sections.

The first section contains prompts I've failed at in 2019, 2020, AND 2021. Making an effort to prioritize them in my monthly TBRs has obviously not been working all that great for me. So. I'm doing that again. Because sure, that makes perfect sense. ::shrug::

- A book longer than 700 pages
- The oldest ARC you own
- A book published on your birthday (any year)
- A LitRPG book
- A family member's favorite book


The second section contains prompts I've failed at only two years in a row. Go me! They will be prioritized right after the first section prompts. That'll show 'em who's boss.

- A book that was published in 1995
- A food book about a cuisine you've never tried before
- An edition of a literary magazine
- Borrowed from a friend
- A book set on the opposite side of the planet
- A winner of the Stella Prize or the Women's Prize for Fiction
- A book from the 2019 Reading Women Award shortlists and honorable mentions
- A book by Isabel Allende
- Read a Victorian (1837-1901) diary or collection of letters


The third section contains prompts I failed from Linz the Bookworm's challenge. It was set up in levels and I was not allowing myself to count the "free" read until I had completed that level. Treat that however you like. I am giving priority to Level 2 because that is actually from the 2020 challenge, while Levels 3 & 5 are from the 2021 challenge.

Level 2
- The original "Beauty & the Beast" fairy tale
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 3
- Read a book by an author with the same first name as one of your grandparents.
- Free Space! Pick any book.
Level 5
- Read a book by John Irving.
- Free Space! Pick any book.


The fourth section contains my normal prompt fails. Some were from seasonal challenges, but I'm not restricting myself to a season for this challenge.

- An indigenous literature award nominee, such as the AIYLA, Burt, Indigenous Voices Awards, Nga Kupu Ora, etc.
- A book from the Sir Julius Vogel Award long-list from any year
- A book written in an endangered (or now extinct) language
- A book by a prisoner or about prison systems
- A book involving recovery from a natural disaster
- A book about or by a Little Person
- Book becoming a movie in 2021
- Bestselling memoir
- A sequel
- Oprah Winfrey Book Club pick
- A book everyone is talking about
- Set before the 17th century
- Book with a deckled edge
- An alternate history novel
- An epistolary
- Winner of the National Book Award (any year)
- Read a non-European novel in translation
- Read a genre novel by an Indigenous, First Nations, or Native American author
- A book that has won the Women's Prize for Fiction
- A bestseller from the 1990s
- A locked-room mystery
- Read a book from Dad's library
- Read an SFF anthology edited by a person of color
- Read a food memoir by an author of color
- Read a work of investigative fiction by an author of color
- Read a NetGalley book
- Read a book from the neighborhood library box
- A fantasy book released in 2021
- A military sci fi
- A book by a Slovak author
- A book set in winter
- An SFF book with a trope you love
- A nonfiction book someone you love loves
- A historical fiction book in a series you love
- A book with a spine you love
- A book from your birth decade
- A book set in the present day
- The first book in a series
- A Bookoplathon Chance card book
- A book in an atypical genre for you
- A book already on your e-reader
- A book with a purple cover
- An audiobook that is a tear-jerker
- An audiobook that made you gasp or laugh out loud
- A wildly popular audiobook you've never read before
- A book with a word in the title that is related to an Element (earth, air, water, or fire)
- A Victorian book set in either the countryside or the city
- A Victorian sensation novel
- A book with a group of teens as the main characters
- A book with a camp setting
- A middle grade book
- A book by a Mediterranean author
- Debut novel of a famous author
- A fanfic
- The book on your TBR list with the ugliest cover
- A Victorian mystery or one set in the Victorian era
- A mystery with a bilingual detective or one set in a village
- A mystery that features a great team
- A Golden Age mystery or one set between 1920 and 1945
- A translated mystery or one set in a country not your own
- A mystery with a private detective


And the final section consists of specific titles that were "assigned" in some fashion, such as for a readathon group read. Some I may permit myself to DNF, and others I am determined to finish.

- Geek Love by Katherine Dunn
- Shirley by Charlotte Bronte
- The Brave by James Bird
- Gothic Tales by Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Blood Countess by Elizabeth Bathory
- The Sundial by Shirley Jackson
- Walkaway by Cory Doctorow
- Footsteps in the Dark by Georgette Heyer


As usual, approach this however you like. I'm not the challenge police, there are no points or prizes, this is just a fun way to tackle and/or build your TBR.

I will be posting discussion threads for all of the prompts, so check those out to suggest books, find recommendations, and discuss your reads with our reading community. There will also be a place to post your reading list, and if you'd like to track your challenge progress here, you are welcome to use the stina-challenge-2022 shelf tag.

Stina wrote: "I have several that would work for this, but the one I'm most interested in right now is River of Darkness. What are your "river" books?"

I did get to River of Darkness for the BookTube Spin #2! It was a sort of combo serial killer thriller/police procedural, and its structure was different from what I'm used to in either of those genres. I had a few nitpicky issues with it, but it's a good, solid read if you're looking for that kind of thing.

I happened upon Here Comes the Body, which has a purple title: This was a fun cozy featuring a mob family. :-)

Cheryl wrote: "Found this on my shelf and it was delightful and quick
Aunt Dimity and the Family Tree"

Ah, I need to get back to Aunt Dimity and friends!

I read a NetGalley ARC of Ruby Red Herring and thought it was pretty good. I'm starting to get caught up on reading my NetGalley books, but I am still woefully behind on reviewing them. Maybe I can get on that this week.

I listened to Mexican Gothic. I've now read three books by Silvia Moreno-Garcia, and this was in the middle for me. I haven't loved any of her books, and I pretty thoroughly disliked one of them, so I think I am giving up on her. I also blame her for ruining mushrooms for me.

I listened to The Empress of Salt and Fortune, which is also a book on the Sirens reading list. It's a beautiful story, and I think I already have the second book, so I hope I can read it soon.