4 the Count!

[Debra]

I enjoyed it, Rus. For some reason Dogsbody seemed a bit better to me. But, they were both great.

[Lisa]

Hi all. Sorry for not checking in with you yesterday, I got a bit tied up with other things. Just to let you know, I finished my second book, Espresso Tales, and have reported it. I'm pleased to say I enjoyed it a lot more than my first toppler book.

I have already made a start on my third book, The Strangled Queen, which fits numbers 2, 3 and 5. It will also work for my Movie Mania challenge too 🙂

We are doing so well! Great job everyone!

[Margo]

I'm glad you enjoyed your book Lisa. I can't say the same about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms unfortunately. I am going from confusion to boredom. On the bright side I have been able to listen almost non stop today so I am almost 70% through and should finish today :-)

[Debra]

Home from work and starting my 4th book. It's only 175 pages, so I should finish it quickly.

[Debra]

If I can do a 5th book, which one would work best, Lynn?

[Lynn]

Currently still at work Debra, but will look when I get home

[Lynn]

Debra wrote: "If I can do a 5th book, which one would work best, Lynn?"

Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog or 600 Hours of Edward would probably be most useful

[Lisa]

Margo wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed your book Lisa. I can't say the same about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms unfortunately. I am going from confusion to boredom. On the bright side I have been able..."

Oh no, Margo! You are not having the best luck with your toppler books this time ☹️

[Debra]

Thanks, Lynn.

[Jannene]

I started this book the same time as the toppler. I wasn’t using it because I thought it was this monthly challenge but it is a different group. It works for this but we won’t get bonus points and I’ll finish this tonight.

Book: The Likeness
Pages: 466 +5
Audible Audiobook: 22 hours 10 minutes
Published: 10/27/2008
Series: 2
Fits: 2, 6, 8
Possible Points: 15

I will also start Eight Days To Live.

[Jannene]

I finished the book. You can decide whether we want to include it or not since it wasn’t a “planned” read for the toppler.

[Lynn]

All books count :)

[Lynn]

Debra - You've finished The Power of Three right? There doesn't seem to be a post in the reporting thread

[Margo]

Lisa wrote: "Margo wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed your book Lisa. I can't say the same about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms unfortunately. I am going from confusion to boredom. On the bright side I ..."

Lisa, thanks for the sympathy but I did buy these books and now they are not on my tbr shelf anymore, mocking me lol

I finished The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms and am now listening to The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old. I'm enjoying this one!

[Lisa]

Margo wrote: "Lisa wrote: "Margo wrote: "I'm glad you enjoyed your book Lisa. I can't say the same about The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms unfortunately. I am going from confusion to boredom. On the b..."

Yes, that's one good thing about it. At least they are read and out of your way now so you can move on to more enjoyable books 😉

[Lynn]

As we only have bit more than a day left, I thought I'd do a quick check on where we stand.

Round 1: All completed

Round 2:
Tricia - One Corpse Too Many, still to finish
Lisa - The strangled Queen, still to finish
Rusalka - The Fourth Bear, still to finish
Debra - The Power of Three, you've finished right? As my previous post, it's not been reported.

Round 3:
Lynn - Gemina, still to finish (but certain I will)

Round 4:
Margo - Secret Diary, still to finish
TrudyAn - The Descendants, still to finish
Lynn - Solitaire, still to finish (not 100% on this, but will try my best!)
Jannene - Eight Days to Live, still to finish
Debra - Why My Third Husband Will Be a Dog or 600 Hours of Edward, unsure?

Let me know if I've got anything wrong..
If you have a book still outstanding above, let me know if there's going to be a problem completing so I can look at moving things around. Thanks.

[Tricia]

I've finished One Corpse Too Many and will report it now. I have plenty of time today if anyone needs help finishing a task.

Looks like we're doing great so far.

[Margo]

Lynn, I will definitely finish Secret diary today. I am toying with the idea listening to A Monster Calls in the morning, I have til 5pm local time to read it - fits numbers: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9.

[Debra]

Lynn wrote: "Debra - You've finished The Power of Three right? There doesn't seem to be a post in the reporting thread"

I accidentally reported Nine Princes in Amber instead of Power of Three on the 17th. Both books are finished, so I just added Power of Three. Sorry for the confusion!

I'm starting 600 Hours of Edward when I get home from work.

[Tricia]

Okay, I think I'm going to try:

Book: The Sinister Mystery of the Mesmerizing Girl
Pages 448
Pub date: Oct. 1, 2019
Series: 3
Fits 3, 8, 9
Bonus 5 for page count

If I get through this one as fast as I did the others in the series, I'll make it by the deadline.

[Lynn]

Tricia, great news on an extra book.

Debra, thanks for clearing that up

Margo, I'm like you with a 5pm deadline tomorrow. Hence why I think I can fit in that last book :)

Will tidy up the spreadsheet once I get home from work.

[Lynn]

I think we're going to complete four rounds :)

[Margo]

Oh, I didn't realise you're in UK.

Hi neighbour :-)

[Lynn]

I am :) Whereabouts are you? I'm in York (Yorkshire)

[Debra]

4 rounds is awesome. I'm feeling confident about completing my 5th book. It's going well and I'm really enjoying it.

[Lynn]

Right, decision made! I'm starting my 9th and final book.

Totally surpassed my goals, been a great reading week :)

[Margo]

Lynn wrote: "I am :) Whereabouts are you? I'm in York (Yorkshire)"

I'm in ireland. We are only seperated by a little water 😁 My hubby is from Wiltshire and my son was born there.

[Jannene]

Lynn wrote: "Right, decision made! I'm starting my 9th and final book.

Totally surpassed my goals, been a great reading week :)"

Amazing! Way to go!!

[Jannene]

I will definitely finish my 4th book before the end of the toppler.

[Margo]

Lynn wrote: "Right, decision made! I'm stA Monster Callsarting my 9th and final book.

Totally surpassed my goals, been a great reading week :)"

Wow, 9 books in 7 days! Awsome reading Lynn 😎

I finished The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen, 83¼ Years Old and it was wonderful! Highly recommended to Adian Mole fans and those who enjoy character driven stories. I'm about to start A Monster Calls next.

[Lisa]

I will definitely finish ‘The Strangled Queen’ before the toppler ends.

[Debra]

And I will definitely finish 600 Hours of Edward!

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Wooohooo!!! Great work everyone!

I'm just checking in. I have 2 hours to finish my book, the Fourth Bear, before my brother comes to pick us up for dinner. Back to it!

[Margo]

Didn't sleep last night so I listened to A Monster Calls. Rotten headache th8s morning so I won't be up to doing much, might as well pick up another one. Probably won't get it finished but I'm starting Tin Man.

[Lisa]

Hi all!

I have just finished my third book, The Strangled Queen, and have reported it. This is the second book in 'The Accursed Kings' series and I enjoyed it just as much as the first. It's shaping up to be a really good series.

That is it for me for this toppler. There is no way I will be able to complete another book so I'm signing off. Great job everyone, we have all done brilliantly. Also, thank you Lynn for being a great team captain and for keeping score 🙂

[Lisa]

Margo wrote: "Didn't sleep last night so I listened to A Monster Calls. Rotten headache th8s morning so I won't be up to doing much, might as well pick up another one. Probably won't get it finis..."

Margo, I hope your headache clears up soon. I will be interested to hear what you think of Tin Man. I quite enjoyed it, but it was a bit underwhelming.

[Margo]

Lisa, I really don't like her writing style. The way she tells the reader so many unnecessary thing for example something like

"he wanted to make a cup of coffee but there was none ground so he had to reach into the cupbourd to find the grinder. It was right at the back. He pulled it out, found the beans and ground some" (that is not a direct quote but it want something like that).

I find it irritating that she couldn't jut say "he made a cup of coffee." We know what is involved in the art of coffee making! That is one example of h9w she wastes words and the readers time.

[Lisa]

Yes, I know what you mean about the author. I’m not the biggest fan of her writing style either. She does have a tendency to go on and on about mundane things. I have read a couple of her books now and wasn’t hugely impressed with either of them.

[Rusalka, Moderator]

Finished my second book!

[Lynn]

Hurrah!

Round 1, 2 & 3 completed. Just waiting on a couple of people to complete round 4 :)

[Debra]

Lynn wrote: "Hurrah!

Round 1, 2 & 3 completed. Just waiting on a couple of people to complete round 4 :)"

Wonderful! I finished 600 Hours of Edward, which was quite good. Off to report it.

[Tricia]

Finished and reported. What a fun toppler! Awesome job, Everyone!

[Debra]

Woohoo! One more to go, but it looks like we've got one extra book completed which will fit in the remaining Round 4 space, just in case. 4 Rounds 4 The Count! Has a nice ring to it!

[Lynn]

Debra wrote: "4 Rounds 4 The Count! Has a nice ring to it!"

It does :)

[Lynn]

Just fiddled with the spreadsheet to complete all rounds and get a grand total.

4 rounds complete, and if Jannene completes her book with have a grand total of 585 points

[Lynn]

And Margo just snuck in there with another one ..... so the total went up to 575 / 595

[Margo]

Um - sorry Lynn, you're not finished yet. I just completed Tin Man.

It was not a good book. I found it wordy and pretention but I got it off my TBR :-D

Some nice team work plus an excellent Captain has made this great toppler. Thanks everyone

[Lynn]

You're not that sneaky Margo, I saw it ;)

[Margo]

Lynn wrote: "And Margo just snuck in there with another one ..... so the total went up to 575 / 595"

Haha, got here before me ;-p

[Rusalka, Moderator]

YAY everyone!!!

And as it is 2.30am, I am going to bed. Thanks for being an awesome Toppler Team, and very special thanks to Lynn for making sense of all of the goings on into point optimisation!