Team Hydrus

[Jammin Jenny]

I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice and it works for #11. where a character goes for a walk. I posted it in my tracking thread.

[[deleted user]]

I've read Shadow Spinner which works for 5. where a character tells a lie

I'm reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer which works for 19. where someone goes to a hairdresser - Susan took Juliet to Madame Helena’s for a haircut

[[deleted user]]

Hi there
Can I please swap my book Sunset Ridge which is at 36. with pyjamas in the text (PJ's not allowed, must be the exact word) to 17. which includes characters who are siblings - The 3 Harrow brothers who ran away to war.

with An Awfully Big Adventure for 36. with pyjamas in the text (PJ's not allowed, must be the exact word) - 17,67% The penny having dropped – St Ives and a woman he swore was his Auntie from Cardiff were discovered in matching pyjamas, he in the top and she in the bottoms –

I would like to read The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts for 15. where a character is a lawyer and for 27. with Humor as the main page genre I'll read Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers

Thanks and have fun everybody

[Jammin Jenny]

I finished All Together Dead and Sookie takes a road trip to a Vampire Convention (#4)

[[deleted user]]

I would like to read 46. with the sky and stars on the cover -

[Jammin Jenny]

I'm reading The Long Winter and there are blizzards in the story so I think that will cover #64. where a natural disaster occurs (I looked it up on Google and blizzards are natural disasters).

[Megan]

I just finished Nemesis. It’s currently listed for 56 (author name begins with P) but can also work for 2 (character enjoys their job- Bucky is a playground Director then a waterfront director and states he loves his job) or 17 (characters are siblings- Bucky’s girlfriend has younger twin sisters who play a part in the story) if any of those two end up being needed

[Caroline]

Excellent work ladies! I'll get everything updated tomorrow when I've got my laptop :D

[Jammin Jenny]

I'll be reading The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and it has MPG humor so it can work for #27. I haven't read it yet so I don't know what else it might work for.

[Caroline]

Jammin Jenny wrote: "I'll be reading The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul and it has MPG humor so it can work for #27. I haven't read it yet so I don't know what else it might work for."

I believe Ricka already has a book for the humor task :)

[Jammin Jenny]

Okay - that's cool. I'll see what else it works for when I read it.

[Jammin Jenny]

If we want to use Megan's book Nemesis for Task #2, I can take Task #56 - author's first or last name starts with P with Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick. I'll be reading it this week.

[[deleted user]]

For 47. with an Orange cover - I started reading - 53.8% Orange

[Alissa]

I don't think anyone has claimed it yet so I've got #53 heart on the cover with

[[deleted user]]

Hi there

I've found a list called Books with Amazing Plot Twist and would like to read Kindred by Octavia E. Butler for 61. with a twisted or convoluted plot if that's okay with everybody.

Just a quick update I'm busy reading Nora & Kettle and I plan to read Kindred also tomorrow.

I'm still waiting for Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and I will probably start reading that on Friday

[Caroline]

Okay guys. I've gotten everything updated and this is where we are at. We have the following tasks unclaimed.

⭐ 10. Read a book where a character travels to another planet
⭐ 17. Read a book which includes characters who are siblings - Alissa
⭐ 20. Read a book with B and Q in the title - Ricka
⭐ 37. Read a book where "Haiku" can be found in the title or text
⭐ 44. Read a book with a musical instrument on the cover - Ricka
⭐ 49. Read a book with the word "Chance" in the title - Ricka
⭐ 52. Read a book with a space craft on the cover
⭐ 60. Read a book with all the letters in WORK can be found in the authors first and last name
⭐ 65. Read a book with a camera on the cover
⭐ 69. Read a book where "honesty" can be found in the text - Ricka

The breakdown of books that are not finished per person of the 61 tasks claimed is:
Caroline - 8 (or 7)
Jenny - 14
Nicole - 6
Virna - 2
Alissa - 2
Ricka - 3
Alexa - 1
Megan - 4

Because we still have plenty of time (half the month!) I'm going to slow us down a bit on claiming. If you have less than three claims left to finish you are welcome to claim a new task. If you've got 4 or more books already pledged let's focus on those first :) Also, if anyone realizes they are not going to be able to finish a book for any claimed task that's perfectly okay - but please let the group know ASAP so we can open it back up. The excellent communication on letting us know extra tasks a book will work for has been great. That was really helpful to me when I was updating and let me move several books/tasks around.

Everyone is doing a great job and I love the enthusiasm during our last month. We've finished EIGHTEEN books in the first 4 days of the challenge :D

[Caroline]

One more thing - if anyone has recommendations of books that they know will work for the above unclaimed tasks, please share them!

So for example, I read Hyperion fairly recently so I'm not reading it again, but I know it will work for 10. Read a book where a character travels to another planet. Plus several of you already have it on your to-read lists (and it is excellent).

Ninefox Gambit has a spaceship on the cover (#52). I really enjoy this author's short stories (can't vouch for a full length novel), but I don't have the time this month.

[Jammin Jenny]

Hi everyone! I didn't realize I had claimed so many tasks all at once! So, I'm freeing up half of them for others based on what I have coming up next. I still plan on reading all the books but if someone else gets to them before me that's fine by me!

Here are the seven mini-challenge books I am keeping:

4. set in a different world (i.e. not Earth) - Pilot X - set in Andura and on other non-earth planets

23. where all the letters in YURI can be found in the title - Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

28. set in a country you do not live in - Death of a Scriptwriter set in Scotland (I live in the U.S.)

29. with 500+ pages - Closer Than You Think - 575 pages

32. where SKY can be found in the title - Fire in an Amber Sky

56. written by an author with a first of last name starting with P - Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

68. first published on the 29th (any month) - The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - initially published 7/29/2008

I am also keeping my Red book -

[Alissa]

I just finished Warriors #2: Fire and Ice which will work for mini 17 (or 18) - characters that are siblings Fireheart finds his sister Princess

[Alissa]

I can take #28 with Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia - set in a country you do not live in - Set is US and I live in Canada

[Caroline]

Alissa wrote: "I can take #28 with Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia - set in a country you do not live in - Set is US and I live in Canada"

Warriors is fine for number #17 as that one is open, but Jenny is reading for #28 already :) those 7 she listed above are the ones she is keeping

[Alissa]

I read that wrong - as the ones she's giving up :)

[[deleted user]]

I've finished Nora & Kettle and will finish Kindred today still.

I would like to claim 2 more task eg. Their Conquered Bride for 20. with B and Q in the title and The Pianist: The Extraordinary Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939–45 for 44. with a musical instrument on the cover

That is #20 & #44

[Jammin Jenny]

Here are the extra unclaimed tasks to pick from:

12. first published on the 6th of any month
34. with something breakable on the cover
40. with a newspaper or book on the cover
43. with a main page genre of music/musician
48. with a Pink cover
51. with an astronaut
67. with a Z in the title

I still have books for these but if someone else gets to it first go for it!

[Caroline]

Okay just to condense everything again these are the tasks that are FREE as of right now.

⭐ 4. Read a book set in a different world (i.e. not Earth) - fantasy worlds count for this
⭐ 10. Read a book where a character travels to another planet
⭐ 12. first published on the 6th of any month
⭐ 34. with something breakable on the cover
⭐ 37. Read a book where "Haiku" can be found in the title or text
⭐ 40. with a newspaper or book on the cover
⭐ 43. with a main page genre of music/musician
⭐ 48. with a Pink cover
⭐ 51. with an astronaut
⭐ 52. Read a book with a space craft on the cover
⭐ 53. Read a book with a heart on the cover
⭐ 60. Read a book with all the letters in WORK can be found in the authors first and last name
⭐ 65. Read a book with a camera on the cover
⭐ 67. Read a book with a Z in the title

Alissa I put your book Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia for task number 1 - fun in the title or text. I just need the quote and page number from you :D

To see the full task list please go here. The break down by person is here

[[deleted user]]

Hi there Caroline,

You surely work hard to keep track of everything happening. I'm sure I speak for the whole team when I say Thanks.

Books with Amazing Plot Twist

Kindred is #27

I just finished another book so if it's okay I want to read for
⭐ 37. Read a book where "Haiku" can be found in the title or text
Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku

[Caroline]

Thanks Ricka (for the information and the compliment) :D and that is perfectly fine.

As a further update on the UNO side we only have 8 cards left! These are just a couple of color cards and then a 7 and a Draw 2 :D Fantastic job everyone!

[Alissa]

Caroline wrote: "Okay just to condense everything again these are the tasks that are FREE as of right now.

⭐ 10. Read a book where a character travels to another planet
⭐ 12. first published on the 6th of any mon..."

On page 161 of Flat Broke with Two Goats: A Memoir of Appalachia - "It’s like Disneyland here, “ he told me once. “There is so much fun stuff to do!” - author is describing her husbands opinion of the cabin.

[Alissa]

I can still do ⭐ 53. Read a book with a heart on the cover

Filigrees, Fortunes and Foul Play

[Caroline]

Alissa wrote: "I can still do ⭐ 53. Read a book with a heart on the cover

Filigrees, Fortunes and Foul Play"

Excellent! And my bad - there was so much going on in the chat over the weekend I was under the mistaken impression that Jenny had claimed that task with that book. I will update accordingly tomorrow :)

[Megan]

I'm about to start Harry Potter 2 and had it marked for #38 (Character's name starts with H) but it can also work for #60 (WORK letters can be found in the author's name- JK Rowling) which may harder to cover

[Caroline]

Megan wrote: "I'm about to start Harry Potter 2 and had it marked for #38 (Character's name starts with H) but it can also work for #60 (WORK letters can be found in the author's name- JK Rowling) which may hard..."

Unfortunately the mods have said no to using J. K. Rowling for task #60 :( Those lovely ladies put in a hell of a lot of work to run this game, but they always get ridiculously picky during the last mini *sigh*

[Megan]

Caroline wrote: "Megan wrote: "I'm about to start Harry Potter 2 and had it marked for #38 (Character's name starts with H) but it can also work for #60 (WORK letters can be found in the author's name- JK Rowling) ..."

Aww bummer! Ok I’ll keep it where it is then

[Hiraya]

Hi! Just a quick update. I'm already done with The Path of Daggers and The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. I am now moving on to my challenge books.

I'll also be removing She Who Remembers from my reading list. Since I can simply read that after this challenge.

I am now moving on to my mini-challenge books, Winter's Heart and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. I am soooo sorry if I haven't been online for a while, but I've been reading like crazy in all of my spare time. :)

Plus, I'd like to help some more. I can get this one:
⭐ 12. first published on the 6th of any month
and read The Memory of Things, which was first published Sept 6, 2016.

Here's my reading plan: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[Caroline]

That all sounds great Virna :D And no need to apologize for spending more time reading than on a website about reading - which is what I unfortunately do all the time xD

Also can you let me know what tasks The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales could work for, even if they are already taken? We may move things around or use it as a bonus book if we get that far :D

[Caroline]

Hey Ladies! I just wanted to let everyone know that the following books are FREE for the next 6 days on the Kindle store for World Book Day:
A River in Darkness: One Man's Escape from North Korea
The Great Passage
Still Waters
The House by the River
Last Train to Istanbul
The Gray House
The Question of Red
The Light of the Fireflies
Ten Women

Amazon included in their announcement the following: "today we are making an investment in books in translation and giving readers access to stories from diverse cultural perspectives with an aim to reach one million readers in honor of World Book Day.” These books were originally written in Japanese, Swedish, Russian, Spanish, Greek, Turkish, and Indonesian.

[Caroline]

And last for tonight I finally found an author that will work for task 60: Cozy Mystery author Janel Gradowski. That's not my type of book so I thought I would share it and see if anyone is interested in (continuing or trying) her books :D

[Alissa]

Caroline wrote: "And last for tonight I finally found an author that will work for task 60: Cozy Mystery author Janel Gradowski. That's not my type of book so I thought I would share it and see if ..."

Cozy mysteries are up my alley and perfect vacation reads! I found Pies & Peril free in the Kindle Store so I can take #60.

[[deleted user]]

Hi everybody

For a change we have the most wonderful weather here in Cape Town today. It's raining. I'm tempted to just sit and stare out of the window!!! We're in the middle of an awful drought with water restrictions and reminders every day of when our water will run out. - Last D day was in June so with this rain today we'll get a bit more grace.

What I wanted to say - I'll like to read for ⭐ 52. Read a book with a space craft on the cover - Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars

[Hiraya]

Caroline wrote: "That all sounds great Virna :D And no need to apologize for spending more time reading than on a website about reading - which is what I unfortunately do all the time xD

Also can you let me know w..."

Haha, I only go online for work these past few days. Else risk being assigned a "rush" task which can throw my schedule off track. >_<

Anyway, the book can work for these items:
17. Read a book which includes characters who are siblings, p.195 - The chapter "The Twins", talks about the twins, John and Michael.
18. Read a book where estranged siblings reconnect, p. 32 - The patient, Jimmie, gets a visit from his brother. They had not met for twenty years. Too bad, Jimmie had extreme amnesia so he didn't really recognize him.
22. Read a book with 3 E's in the title
25. Read a book where someone works as a teacher, p. 9 - Dr. P, the patient who actually mistook his wife for a hat due to his visual agnosia was a music teacher.

[Hiraya]

Ricka wrote:
"What I wanted to say - I'll like to read for ⭐ 52. Read a book with a space craft on the cover - Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars ."

That sounds really interesting! I may have to put that book on my to-read list since I really enjoyed the movie "The Hidden Figures".

[Jammin Jenny]

I finished I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World 4/18, 5 stars. It doesn't work for any of the open tasks but it works for

7. where there is a road trip - the MC and her family travel to their cousin's in the mountains
8. with a map inside (e.g. inside the front cover) - there's a map of Pakistan in the book
17. which includes characters who are siblings - the MC has two brothers
25. where someone works as a teacher - the MC's father is a teacher
28. set in a country you do not live in - set in Pakistan
50. where someone takes a risk - the MC and her father denounce the Taliban
64. where a natural disaster occurs - there is an earthquake in the story
70. with a blunt character - the MC is blunt about the need to educate all children including girls

I am posting it here rather than my tracking post as it could be used as a backup or if we reach the bonus stage.

[Hiraya]

Jammin Jenny wrote: "I finished I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World 4/18, 5 stars. It doesn't work for any of the open tasks but it works for

8. with a map inside (e.g. inside the front cover) - there's a map of Pakistan in the book"

Caroline, I'd be more than happy to let number 8 go. Winter's Heart is a monster which cannot be rushed. Plus, it can free me to take on more books if ever. :)

[[deleted user]]

Oh my, talk about monsters that can't be rushed. I just finished Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku and though I love to read everything and anything I can put my hands on this was almost too much for me. I've got this policy though that when I start a book I must finish it, that was the only thing that kept me going.

Can I please add 65. with a camera on the cover to my to do list?

[Caroline]

Virna that is perfectly fine - Jenny's Malala book will work for that task. And as another fan of fantasy tomes I totally get it xD

Ricka - just curious, what was wrong with the haiku book? And of course, I'll update everything when I get home this evening :D I hate editing comments on my phone

[[deleted user]]

LOL - Well for one I should have got the message when I saw the name "Handbook" but I really wanted to know what Haiku is all about so I went ahead anyway. I suppose you can't blame the author - he really tried to explain but at the end I still don't know whether a certain poem is a Senryu, a Haikai, a Hokku or a Haiku. For that matter I still don't know why should it matter.

A Haiku is a short poem - this art form originated in Japan but is now used all over the world. Here is two examples.

a baby crab
climbs up my leg—
such clear water



The first of these two short poems was written about three
hundred years ago by the Japanese poet Matsuo Basho the last by Bill Pauly

In the last one can you see the cat on the fence? Can you see the curl in it's tail?

[Jammin Jenny]

I just finished Hamilton: The Revolution and it has an MPG of music so I'd like to take task #⭐ 43. with a main page genre of music/musician

read 4/20, 3 stars - MPG music

[[deleted user]]

Hi there

Can I please read for 40. with a newspaper or book on the cover

[Caroline]

Ricka wrote: "Hi there

Can I please read for 40. with a newspaper or book on the cover
"

First, omg thats so Japan xD even here Haiku (andvall its related forms) are a really niche thing. Although I actually really like the little cat poem - but again, so Japan. I don't if I would have been able to finish that. What is the form the little cat poem is in?

Second, of course :) that leaves us with only 5 tasks left!

And just again to keep it on everyone's minds, here are the last 5 free tasks:
⭐ 4. Read a book set in a different world (i.e. not Earth) - fantasy worlds count for this
⭐ 34. with something breakable on the cover
⭐ 48. with a Pink cover
⭐ 51. with an astronaut
⭐ 67. Read a book with a Z in the title

[[deleted user]]

Hi there

I've got I book to go so can I please book
⭐ 51. with an astronaut -
67. with a Z in the title -

Thanks