4: 4 books linked by the 4 elements: Book #1 Earth (in title, cover, content, setting, author...)

[Nadine in NY]

Jody wrote: "Bridget wrote: "Around the World in Eighty Days = air

This one doesn't really fit air - I don't know if you are thinking the same thing I was before I read this, but this doesn't happen in a hot a..."

Get OUT!! I had no idea!!!!!

[Jody]

Thank God it isn't just me who thought that!!

[Marina]

But.... if they don't travel in a hot air balloon how do they get around the world in 80 days??? I was convinced it was an air balloon and I've never heard of "Five weeks in a Balloon"...

[Jody]

I hadn't heard of that book either!

[dalex]

I'm planning to read Marrow Island by Alexis M. Smith for this topic.

[Veronica]

What? The covers all seem to have a hot air balloon on them.

[Katie]

The Good Earth is such a good idea for this one. I keep meaning to read it, but then I see how long it is & get deterred. If I weren't doing a nonfiction challenge, I think I would definitely have picked it for this topic.

Melanie, I love your recommendation. I went right in & added it to my TBR. Poisonous plants sound fascinating.

[Jody]

Veronica wrote: "What? The covers all seem to have a hot air balloon on them."

I know! But I only read it a week ago, and unless I totally spaced out, there was no hot air balloon. We've been misled, people. MISLED.

Katie wrote: "The Good Earth is such a good idea for this one. I keep meaning to read it, but then I see how long it is & get deterred."

I have been like that the past few years, but I'm determined to read more big books this year. I'm only 15% in, but so far it's really enjoyable, and a very easy read.

[Tracy]

I didn’t think the good earth was long? I was considering switching my choice to that. Ugh

[Silvia]

Jody wrote: "Veronica wrote: "What? The covers all seem to have a hot air balloon on them."

I know! But I only read it a week ago, and unless I totally spaced out, there was no hot air balloon. We've been misl..."

There is a ballon in the movie...
I read it last year, but I have so bad memory that I couldn't remember if there was a ballon or not, so I checked Wikipedia and this is what it says:
"Although a journey by balloon has become one of the images most strongly associated with the story, this iconic symbol was never deployed by Verne – the idea is, briefly, brought up in Chapter 32, but dismissed, as it "would have been highly risky and, in any case, impossible." However, the popular 1956 movie adaptation Around the World in Eighty Days used the balloon idea, and it has now become a part of the mythology of the story, even appearing on book covers. This plot element is reminiscent of Verne's earlier Five Weeks in a Balloon, which first made him a well-known author."

[Katie]

You're right, Tracy. I was mistaken. I just looked it up & it was around 400. For some reason, I thought it was like 900. I wonder what book I was thinking of.

[Jody]

Maybe you're thinking of The Pillars of the Earth? I think that's a decent chunker.

[Jody]

Thank you Silvia! You know, I've never seen the movie either, but I've obviously seen something to do with it to get the idea of a hot air balloon in my head.

[Kathy Jo]

I am trying to read in order, but waiting on library hold for The Hate U Give, so starting week 4.

My Side of the Mountain, by Jean Craighead George.

Mountain is in the title, and he lives off the land. So it fits, right? This is a book I stole from my son's bookshelf.

[Elise]

I read The Tombs of Atuan by Ursula K. Le Guin, sequel to A Wizard of Earthsea. While the first book involved a lot of sea travel, the second takes place in an underground labyrinth. I'm greatly enjoying this series so far and will move things around in my plan to accommodate the rest.

[Chris]

I've picked out Suicide Forest by Jeremy Bates for this prompt. After struggling for a couple of days to find something that interested me related directly to earth, I decided to look up "forest" after seeing others using words like "flower" and "garden". I played a video game inspired on the suicide forest a couple of years ago so the title caught my attention straightway. Plus, it was free on Amazon! :D

[Christy]

I think I'm *finally* going to read Into the Wild for this one. I think it fits because McCandless was trying to get a closer connection to the earth, however ill-fated his attempt might have been.
I've also considered A Crack in the Edge of the World for this one, since it has to do with a major geological event/catastrophe.

[Erica]

I was originally going to read Pillars of the Earth but I’m trying to read mostly books I already own, so instead I think I’ll read either Parable of the Talents (Earthseed series) or Wicked Plants, both mentioned by posters above. I have kindle books of both.

[Carol]

Another new author.

Laura Thalassa –

[Andrea]

picking Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne for this task - and it fits my 1001 challenge too

[Erika]

I'm going to borrow Marie's idea and read Holes as well. Love that book, haven't read it since elementary school probably

[Bruce]

My First Summer in the Sierra. Wanted a good hiking book and didn't want to count my audiobook of A Walk in the Woods, which, is great.

[Bryony]

I’m reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I had planned to read The Pillars of the Earth this week but my library hold hasn’t arrived in time. So instead I typed “Earth” into the search box on Overdrive just to see what would come up and came across this book. Jhumpa Lahiri is an author I’ve been meaning to read for a while so I decided to choose it. It’s a collection of eight short stories, I’ve read the first one and loved it so I’m quite happy with my choice.

[Kathy]

I'm reading Dinner at the Center of the Earth by Nathan Englander. It's my Book Club's book for February and I was glad it fit into the ATY challenge.

[Tracy]

Bryony wrote: "I’m reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri.

I had planned to read The Pillars of the Earth this week but my library hold hasn’t arrived in time. So ins..."

She's wonderful!! I LOVED Interpreter of Maladies , and also The Namesake. I'll be reading Unaccustomed Earth this year too.

[Anna]

I'm reading Blood of the Earth for this week. I've read a couple of books from the author and really liked them. Earth appears in the title, but also in the content: the protagonist has a special relationship with the plants, especially trees in her woods - she "communes" with them. I'll probably double this prompt with the second book in this series, Curse on the Land.

[Sabrina]

I'm reading East of Eden for this week. I could never get through grapes of wrath but i heard a lot of people love this one so we'll see

[Eileen]

I am reading Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah for this week's challenge. This is my fourth book by Kristin Hannah, and she has become one of my favorite authors.

[Katie]

Sabrina, I couldn't stand The Grapes of Wrath, but I loved East of Eden, so I hope it ends up being the same for you.

[Chrissy]

Emily wrote: "Chrissy wrote: "I haven’t decided for sure, but am leaning toward The Pillars of the Earth. I decided that for the set of 4, I would use a different way to qualify for each. Earth is in..."

Sarah Waters and Ocean Vuong are two authors I found with books I want to read. I just searched for water type words.

[Jillian]

For the past few years, I have been trying to read one of Jules Verne's books. I am currently, reading Journey to the Center of the Earth using the serial app. It is an interesting way to read a book. I am three episodes behind so my goal is to get caught up this week.

[Jody]

I finally read a Jules Verne book this month - I actually enjoyed it more than I’d expected, even though he’s on the dry side. I’m also using the Serial Reader app for the first time at the moment, it’s pretty neat!

[MN]

Shelly wrote: "I will be reading Unaccustomed Earth by Jhumpa Lahiri."
Hello Shelly, I'm new to the group. I've also chosen Unaccustomed Earth as my week 4 read, and am interested to know what you think of it.

Marguerite

[MN]

Jill wrote: "I am going to read Unaccustomed Earth for this one."
So am I, Jill.
Marguerite

[Bryony]

It’s nice that there are a few of us reading Unaccustomed Earth. I just started a new thread about it, it would be great to hear what others make of it.

Tracy, that’s great to hear you enjoyed Interpreter of Maladies. I’m adding it to my TBR as after this book I can imagine I’ll want to read more by Jhumpa Lahiri.

[Tracy]

Bryony wrote: "It’s nice that there are a few of us reading Unaccustomed Earth. I just started a new thread about it, it would be great to hear what others make of it.

Tracy, that’s great to hear y..."

You could always slot it in for the prize winning short stories prompt, lots of people here reading it this year.

[Crystal]

- What are you reading for this category?

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

[Sabrina]

Katie wrote: "Sabrina, I couldn't stand The Grapes of Wrath, but I loved East of Eden, so I hope it ends up being the same for you."

well thats good to hear haha. it's slow going but so far i've enjoyed the first 14 pages lol

[Jeimy]

I'm reading The World Without Us, which explains what would happen to Earth if humans stopped inhabiting it.

[Katie]

Jeimy, I'm planning to read The World Without Us for my science book. It looks so interesting. I'll look forward to seeing what you think of it.

[dalex]

Sabrina wrote: "I'm reading East of Eden for this week. I could never get through grapes of wrath but i heard a lot of people love this one so we'll see"

East of Eden is Steinbeck's best, imo. He's one of my favorite authors so I've read most all of his books.

[Kimberley]

I just completed The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett. I thought it was amazing! I loved that you really were able to get to know the characters and the times. I am excited that the next one is also an element. The Pillars of the Earth

[Bryony]

Tracy wrote: "You could always slot it in for the prize winning short stories prompt, lots of people here reading it this year."

Thanks Tracy, that’s a great idea. I haven’t picked a book for that prompt yet so this will be perfect.

[Tracy]

Bryony wrote: "Tracy wrote: "You could always slot it in for the prize winning short stories prompt, lots of people here reading it this year."

Thanks Tracy, that’s a great idea. I haven’t picked a book for that..."


Oh Yay!! 😊. I remember reading a couple of the stories twice.

[Shannan]

Sabrina wrote: "I'm reading East of Eden for this week. I could never get through grapes of wrath but i heard a lot of people love this one so we'll see"

I read Grapes of Wrath for "book you should have read in high school but didn't" for a book challenge a few years ago and it was PAINFUL. But I've also had several people rave about East of Eden, so maybe I'll give it a try.

[Ruth]

I'm reading Letters from the Earth by Mark Twain, originally written in 1909 but not published until the 60s. Satan writes to Heaven from Earth with a damning critique of the way humans have created religion, especially of the Bible. Very thought provoking. As it's rather short I'm also going to read a book given to my son some years ago, Earth from the Air: Children's Edition by Yann Arthus-Bertrand with beautiful arial photos of different land and sea scapes.

[Sabrina]

dalex wrote: "Sabrina wrote: "I'm reading East of Eden for this week. I could never get through grapes of wrath but i heard a lot of people love this one so we'll see"

East of Eden is Steinbeck's be..."

i'm about 100 pages into it and i'm definitely enjoying it more than i thought i would. the families are very complex and intriguing

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Just finished Dead Mountain: The Untold True Story of the Dyatlov Pass Incident as my 'Earth' book (I went for a thematic connection). I really liked it, and it even had a satisfying ending, which is rare in books about mysterious long-ago events. I'd recommend it.

[Sheri]

- What are you reading for this category?
Sleeping Giants

I read this on a whim because I requested the library to buy it ages ago and forgot about it, and it suddenly got purchased and checked out. But I think it works for the prompt. It's about finding giant pieces of an ancient robot buried deep within the earth, that surfaced unexpectedly. A good portion of the early story is them going around and figuring out how to find them and get them unearthed.

[Molly]

I'm reading Driftless by David Rhoades. The cover looks very earthy:


You all have such good ideas for this one! I'm extra-challenging myself this year to only read (print) books I currently have on my physical bookshelf, so this was the earthiest of the lot.