R11: Team Serial Killers (4)

[SandyC]

Week 10 Roll

Current spot: 63
Roll: 5 + 3 = 8
New Spot = 71

Read 1st or 7th in series, or Standalone
Alternate: Title F

[SandyC]

Week 10, Spot 71
1st or 7th in series, Standalone
Alt: Title F

Sandy C: Do You Dream of Terra-Two? ** Review
Monica: Seven Up ** Review
Cathy: Justice Calling ** Review
Suman: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry ** Review
Sarah: Wild Country ** Review
M: American Gods ** Review
Denise: Inland ** Review

Bonus points this week: 0
Bonus points total: 4

[Sarah]

I will be reading Give the Dark My Love by Beth Revis it is first in the series.

[SandyC]

Week 10 Selection Post

Do You Dream of Terra-Two? by Temi Oh
520 pages
Standalone

[Denise]

Selection post, week 10
Standalone
Inland

[SandyC]

Denise wrote: "Selection post, week 10
Standalone
Inland"

I loved this one!

[Suman]

Selection Post:
Week: 10
Spot: 71 (Standalone, alt: TitleF)

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson

How it fits: Standalone
Pages: 224

[Suman]

Review Post:
Week: 10
Spot: 71 (Standalone, alt: TitleF)

Astrophysics for People in a Hurry
by Neil deGrasse Tyson

How it fits: Standalone
Pages: 224
Finished: 04/11/2019
Rating: ★★★

Review:
As the title suggests, it is a brief update of the current understanding of the Universe from astrophysical aspects. Its a page-turner and full of catchy phrases, this is how one expects a popular science book to be. But  I would say its too brief. It tries to touch upon too many things at this tiny stretch which may not be appropriate.

[Sarah]

Changing my selection, sorry for that, to Wild Country by Anne Bishop, it is #7 in The Others series.

[Denise]

completion post, week 10, standalone

Inland
11/4/19
4 stars

I really enjoyed the book. I did spend a lot of it confused about how the two stories were connected, but it made sense at the end. I would definitely recommend the book, but it did require a little patience to get to the point. It did eventually become clear.

[M]

Week 10 Selection Post
Spot 71
How it Fits: Stand Alone


American Gods by Neil Gaiman

[Cathy]

Sorry I forgot to post my selection.

Completion Post
Week 10
Spot 71
How it Fits: 1st in series (The Twenty Sided Sorceress)
Book:Justice Calling
Author: Annie Bellet
Read: 11/5/19
Pages: 148
4 stars

Review: Given how short this book is, I felt it did a good job of introducing characters and background. It is reminiscent of the Iron Druid series, in the way she is hiding and had to decide whether to help or run. I will definitely continue on and read the next book.

[Denise, Manufacturing Director]

Cathy wrote: "Sorry I forgot to post my selection.

Completion Post
Week 10
Spot 71
How it Fits: 1st in series (The Twenty Sided Sorceress)
Book: Justice Calling
Author: [author:Annie Bellet|4606..."

Page limit is minimum 140 pages! It's not a problem in this case though, as there are several editions of this book on GR that meet the page limit. Just switch to one of those editions in your completion post to make it work. :)

[Cathy]

Good catch Denise! I fixed it.

[Sarah]

Completion Post
Week 10



Book Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Qualification #7 in a series
Read 11.7.19
Rating 3 stars
Review

Overall, this series has been either hit or miss for me. While a lot of people love the series, it really takes awhile for me to get into each book. Listening to the audiobook helps, but I wish the action was a little more fast paced. I loved the book before this one, so I was excited to get to Wild Country, but this really fell flat for me compared Lake Silence. I will probably continue reading these if she publishes more, but I don't know how much I'll enjoy them.

[SandyC]

Sarah wrote: "Completion Post
Week 10



Book Wild Country by Anne Bishop
Qualification #7 in a series
Read 11.7.19
Rating 3 stars
Review

Overall, this series ha..."

I liked the first two books, but I still haven't felt the series is as great as many reviewers say it is.

[SandyC]

Denise wrote: "Cathy wrote: "Sorry I forgot to post my selection.

Completion Post
Week 10
Spot 71
How it Fits: 1st in series (The Twenty Sided Sorceress)
Book: Justice Calling
Author: [author:Ann..."

Thanks, Denise. I hadn't had a chance to review the post.

[SandyC]

Monica I haven't seen your post this week. Everything ok?

[SandyC]

Completion Post

Week 10
Spot 71
Standalone

Do You Dream of Terra-Two?
Read 11/8/19
Rating ★ ★ ★ ★

Review: I saw a review of this book from NPR and it piqued my interest. The year is 2012 and the UK space program prepares to launch a mission to colonize Terra-Two, a twin planet of the earth that will take 20 years to reach. In addition to four senior officers, 6 teens are selected for the mission after training for several years. They travel on the space module the Damocles which is the size of a small townhouse. Throughout the book, I constantly worried about claustrophobia, running out of food and/or oxygen, going stir crazy being with the same people for decades. While there is some action, the book is a character study of how the astronauts grow and change while on the mission, and how they learn to work together. I wish there had been a more definitive ending, though.

[SandyC]

Hey team, assuming we are able to roll tonight, do you want me to use bonus points if necessary to get to 80 or 81 so we can choose a standalone? That might be easier than trying to find a 6+ in series.

For example, if I roll a 6, that gets us to 77. I can use 3 bonus points to get to 80 for a standalone.

Thoughts?

[Denise]

SandyC wrote: "Hey team, assuming we are able to roll tonight, do you want me to use bonus points if necessary to get to 80 or 81 so we can choose a standalone? That might be easier than trying to find a 6+ in se..."

That works for me. I have a standalone chosen already.

[Monica]

I forgot to post my selection post. Here is my selection post:

Week 10 Selection Post
Spot 71
Book: Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
How it Fits: #7 in Series
Pages: 337


Sorry I didn't post this earlier. I have been on a computer all day at work and avoiding it after work. My completion post to follow.

[Monica]

Completion post:
Week 10
Spot: 71
Book:Seven Up by Janet Evanovich
How it fits: #7 in series
Page: 337
Read: 11/8/19
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This series is very entertaining. I find myself laughing a lot. Stephanie is very entertaining and her interaction with all the different characters is a blast. This time she is hunting down Eddie DeChooch. His age does not stop him from being a very slippery guy. Stephanie's interaction with two of the main hot leading men Ranger and Morelli is always a little steamy. I will definitely be continuing this series.

[Suman]

SandyC wrote: "Hey team, assuming we are able to roll tonight, do you want me to use bonus points if necessary to get to 80 or 81 so we can choose a standalone? That might be easier than trying to find a 6+ in se..."

Agreed.

[M]

Completion Post
American Gods by Neil Gaiman
Read: November 8
Stand Alone
Rating * * * *

Reading for the second time and this book still messes with my head. Shadow is released from prison shortly after his family in killed. He is hired by Mr. Wednesday as a driver and they go on the most screwed up road trip ever. They travel through the US and find ancient gods. There is much more to it than that, but the story moves and turns in ways I love.
I think this time was a more interesting read for me with having the physical book. Really did not like the audio version.
This is being posted from my phone, sorry for no links

[SandyC]

Week 11 roll

I rolled 9! No need to use bonus :-)
5+4
New spot 80
Standalone or 8th in series
Alternate: Cover item instrument

[SandyC]

Week 11, Spot 80
8th in series, Standalone
Alt: Cover item instrument

Sandy C: The Last Woman Standing ** Review
Monica: The Secret Keeper ** Review
Cathy: The Call of the Wild ** Review
Suman: Lord of the Flies ** Review
Sarah: Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language ** Review
M: The Hobbit, or There and Back Again ** Review
Denise:Lovecraft Country ** Review

Bonus points this week: 0
Bonus points total: 4

[Cathy]

Selection Post
spot 80
The Liar
stand alone
288 pages

[Suman]

Selection Post:
Week: 11
Spot: 80 (Standalone, alt: Cover item instrument)



Lord of the Flies
by William Golding

How it fits: Standalone
Pages: 182

[SandyC]

Selection Post

Spot 80

The Last Woman Standing
298 pages
Standalone

[Sarah]

I'll be reading Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell, it is a nonfiction standalone.

[Denise]

selection post
Lovecraft Country
standalone

[M]

Selection Post
Week 11 Spot 80
The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

366 Pages
Standalone

[SandyC]

Completion Post

Week 11, spot 80


Read 11/11/19
Rating: ★★★

Review: Josephine Marcus leaves her family in San Francisco to travel to Tombstone, Arizona and marry Sheriff Johnny Behan. Once she arrives, she realizes that Johnny is not the man she thought he was. He puts off marrying her legally yet they still live together and she is essentially a mother to his young son. When Josie catches Johnny with another woman, she is heartbroken and leaves him to try to survive on her own without any family nearby. She catches the eye of Wyatt Earp and they begin a great love affair that lasts decades. Not much is known about the real Josephine Marcus and this is an interesting take on her story. If anything it underscores just how little agency women had during this era.

[Sarah]

Completion Post
Week 11



Book Wordslut: A Feminist Guide to Taking Back the English Language by Amanda Montell
Qualification Standalone
Read 11.12.19
Rating 4 stars
Review

I have a BA and MA in English and some of my favorite classes to take were Linguistics. I didn't go further with it, because I wasn't sure what it would lead to (although honestly English hasn't lead to much either). I really appreciated that Montell went into the background, and roots of words that are used today. I found the material to be interesting, and enjoyable. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Feminism, or language.

[Suman]

Review Post:Week: 11
Spot: 80 (Standalone, alt: Cover item instrument )


Lord of the Flies
by William Golding

How it fits: Standalone
Pages: 182
Finished: 14/11/2019
Rating: ★★★★

Review:
“Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Spill her blood."

It's a symbolic, action-packed, one of the most popular and admired books in history.  Set up during the cold war, a group of school-going children remain stranded on a seemed to be desserted island. A certain chain of events broke the fine thread of unity among the boys and fight each other for survival. Yes! it's a story about survaival. It's a story about a group of children pushed in to the adulthood.  It's a novel about the conflicts between savagery and civilization. 

"Kill the pig. Cut her throat. Bash her in.”

[Monica]

Week 11 Selection Post:
Week 11, Spot 80
Book: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Pages: 484
How it fits: Standalone

[M]

Week: 11
Spot: 80 - Standalone


The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
How it fits: Standalone
Pages: 366
Finished: 11/11/2019
Rating: * * * * *
Review:
Bilbo Baggins gets pulled into and adventure, a very improper thing for a hobbit to do. The wizard, Gandalf the Grey leads him and a company of dwarves across Middle Earth to take back the Lonely mountain back from the dragon Smaug. Along the way Bilbo meets elves, trolls, and a strange creature he take a ring from.
This book was my childhood. I have many happy memories of my grandfather reading this to me. I will admit that he did take liberties when telling me the story and changed a few detail. I was really angry to discover that Bilbo was actually a boy.

[SandyC]

Hi team.
A couple of teams have surpassed spot 100 so this will likely be our last week. Like last week, I will use bonus points if necessary to get us to standalone and/or 1st in series (assuming we are able to roll tonight.)

[Denise]

Completion post
Week 11, spot 80
Standalone
Lovecraft Country
read 11/15
4 stars

I read this book for bookclub, so I wasn't entirely certain about what I was getting into. I enjoyed the book. Because I don't read a lot of sci fi, especially classic sci fi, I didn't get a lot of the references. It was still an interesting read.

[Cathy]

I changed my book.

Completion Post
Title: The Call of the Wild
Author: Jack London
Pages: 172
Date read: 11/15/19
Rating: 4 stars

Review: Buck was a pet when the gold rush started in Alaska and was stolen and shipped up north. The author does a great job of tracing Buck's change to the more feral behavior that helped him survive. This eventually leads to his response to the "call of the wild". This was a quick interesting read.

[Monica]

Completion Post:

Week 11 spot 80
Standalone
Title: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Pages:484
Date read: 11/15/19
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This is my first book by Kate Morton and a book club read. Some of the books for our library book club have not been that interesting. I love historical books and this one was a good one. Kate Morton's writing is very entertaining. The character development was wonderful. I loved the sister's interactions with each other. Their mother's history was enjoyable and heartfelt. I will be checking out other books by Kate Morton

[SandyC]

Monica wrote: "Completion Post:

Week 11 spot 80
Standalone
Title: The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton
Pages:484
Date read: 11/15/19
Rating: 4 stars
Review: This is my first book by K..."

Kate Morton's earlier books are really good! I really loved The House at Riverton. Very Downton Abbey-esque!

[SandyC]

Week 12 Roll

4, 4
Spot 88
Add 3 bonus points to put us at Spot 91

Read Standalone, 1st in series, or 9th in series.
Alternate: Published 2014

[SandyC]

Team #1 has won so we are done. Thanks for playing, everyone!

[M]

I had a lot of fun, Thank you everyone

[Suman]

Thanks everyone for the good time we had.
On behalf of the team, our humble gratitude to @SandyC for leading the team. Staying up late for the rolls must have been really difficult, yet you did it with a smile.
Thank you @SandyC and thanks everyone for their cooperation. Hope to see you killers next year again. :)

[Denise]

Thank you everyone for a great game!

[Sarah]

Thank you everyone! I had a lot of fun!!

[Cathy]

Thanks for your leadership SandyC. This was lots of fun!