Play Book Tag discussion
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Trim 2020 Continuation - (Optional/Unofficial; Planning and Organizational Thread
Nicely done, Amy! And such work!I have 2 corrections:
1st shouldn't this read 25 and 36 and not
Buddy Reads that were left between 25 and 26 have been put in unused slots. You can design or redesign your lists any way you like. Start fresh,
2nd Do you mean here that your books are ordered however you design, but then once in the order you design, you number them 1 to 24? The way it works is this. At any time you wish to join in, you can create a list of 24 books. With your books numbered any way you design. Just below this message, we
I actually already have a possible redesigned list ready. I removed some heavy and long reads, replacing with lighter mysteries and fiction because my current crazy workload is going to continue. Then there is 400 or so pages of Proust every month through June. I need to be sensible.😁
I will give it one more perusal before year end, then set it in stone.
Do we post our "working list" here and now? Or do we wait until the 2020 Member Thread is open? If we are waiting I am going to be bold and ask someone in Mod Land to set that upEDIT: I got antsy and asked Anita if she could open it up
Good catch Teresa! I will edit and fix that. And yes we should be using this lists for working all that out. I don’t want to have the moderators have to open up any new threads because we are trying to keep to Just Two. Yes order your list from 1 to 24 including anybody reads you like on those numbers. And yes post what you’re thinking and we will figure it out now. No need to wait. But when we launch it will be more streamlined. Does that make sense?
Anita actually said she will be opening the Member Thread for 2020 today or tomorrow-I am going to start my list now, and add to it as I see what other's are wanting to read. I am starting with a semi fresh list (only picking a few from this years TRIM list).
Joanne's working list of 24 TRIM *Buddy Reads*1) The Mountain of Kept Memory
2) First Lady of the Confederacy: Varina Davis's Civil War
3) The Tournament
4) Those Who Save Us
5) The Last Voyage of The Lusitania
6) Destination Casablanca
7) A Well-Behaved Woman: A Novel of the Vanderbilts
8) The Summer Tree
9) The Lost Vintage*
10) The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared (Maybe)
11) From Sand and Ash*
12) The Force
13) News of the World (Doughgirl)*
14) Avenue of Spies: A True Story of Terror, Espionage, and One American Family's Heroic Resistance in Nazi-Occupied Paris
15) The Seven Sisters
16) Seraphina
17) The Sword in the Stone
18) The Summer Before The War
19) Strange the Dreamer*
20) The Last Watchman of Old Cairo
21) Under Occupation
22) ElvenBane
23) The Bird King*
24) Vicious*
Amy, Thanks so much for coordinating the 2020 Unofficial Trim! I am definitely going to participate and will be using your list to setup possible buddy reads. I especially like your suggestion below and think it will make the threads more manageable to read:My Tentative List:
1) Blind Your Ponies by Stanley Gordon West
2) Love in the Ruins by Walker Percy
3) Rain of Gold by Victor Villasenor* (HC)
4) Heat and Light: A Novel by Jennifer Haigh
5) Children of Our Age by A.M. Bakalar
6) White Oleander by Janet Fitch
7) The People of the Abyss by Jack London
8) Clock Dance by Anne Tyler
9) The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
10) An American Princess: The Many Lives of Allene Tew by Annejet van der Zijl
11) From Sand and Ash by Amy Harmon*
12) The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman*
13) Sky Burial: An Epic Love Story of Tibet by Xinran (HC)
14) Case Closed: Lee Harvey Oswald and the Assassination of JFK by Gerald Posner
15) The Bookshop of Yesterdays by Amy Meyerson
16) The Sunlight Pilgrims by Jenni Fagan
17) Damaged by Pamela Callow
18) The Orphan Master's Son by Adam Johnson
19) Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor*
20) The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain*
21) Remarkable Creatures by Tracy Chevalier
22) Dawn by Olivia Butler
23) The Bird King by G. Willow Wilson*
24) How to Walk Away by Katherine Center
* Buddy Reads
If anyone is interested in Ninth House let me know, we can match up our number. I will post my list soon!
Here is my list so far. I'm not sure if I will have any changes.1. The White Tiger*
2. Ghana Must Go
3. For Rouenna
4. .Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo
5. Reign of the Marionettes
6. The Lizard Cage
7. Seabiscuit: An American Legend* +
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society*
9. Mischling*
10. The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared*
11. From Sand and Ash*
12. Are We Smart Enough to Know How Smart Animals Are? *+
13. Lily and the Octopus
14. Hot Milk *
15. Thirteen Moons *+
16. Just One Damned Thing After Another (The Chronicles of St Mary's, #1)
17. Behold the Dreamers*
18. A Tale for the Time Being*
19. Baba Yaga Laid an Egg*
20. Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail*+
21. Erotic Stories of Punjabi Widows*
22. Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis*+
23. The Hired Man
24. The Sadness
+ Denotes on Poll Ballot Planning list.
I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! I just deleted my Trim list from my personal tracking! Cannot retrieve it, have no idea where in the ether it decide to go or even how I made that mistake.
I'll have to recreate it as best I can...unless I find I posted it in the original thread planning the trim last December and before I fully set up my personal tracking.
My brain is so fried, I should never have tried doing it now when I was rushing so I can finish some documents and go home.
I like your list BnB. Theresa, only book worms like us know how devastating such a loss is... Maybe you were destined to start fresh. You know my solution. Always keep your immediate messing around list on a secret document on your phone. You never know when you might need it! (LOL).
Joanne! Two with me and Joy! Meli, why don't you start the ball rolling, and pick Ninth House for 2, 16, or 17? My suggestion, make Ninth House your number 2, and we will formally announce it right now! Anyone who wants to read Ninth House with Meli, its number is #2! I have the feeling folks will sign on for that.....
BnB - From Sand and Ash just like tripled! That's going to be a fun one. Anyone who wants, were on number 11.....
I'll join the challenge. Not sure how it will work with the Bingo and the election challenge, but I"ll post my list here at some point.What is the deadline for posting the list? When will you decide on January's number?
1. Six Four
2. Frankissstein
3. In Patagonia
4. songlines
5. portrait of the artist as a young man
6. the innocence of father brown
7. the old wives tale
8. Between the world and me
9. the sheltering sky
10. the street
11. Hag-seed
12. le bal & snow in autumn
13. after midnight
14. Hot Milk
15. the robber bridegroom
16. Cutting for Stone
17. the words
18. fire from heaven
19. Grand Hotel (been eyeing this one for a while)
20. History of love
21. good soldier svejk
22. the garden party (short stories)
23. kokoro
24. Notes of a crocodile
My list of 24 is easy, as I'm not planning any changes from this year. I'm simply removing the ones we already read: PBT Trim the TBR
1. Mew is for Murder / Clea Simon
2. The Tattooed Witch / Susan Macgregor
3. The Silver Linings Playbook / Matthew Quick
4. Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters / Jane Austen, Ben H. Winters
5. Beth / Nora Kay
6. The Book of Joy / Dalai Lama
7. Kitty Cornered / Bob Tarte
8. Herbert Has Lots for a Buck / Elizabeth McLachlan
9. Never Too Late / Jo Barney
10. Old Sparky / Anthony Galvin
11. Once Every Never / Lesley Livingston
12. No Will But His / Sarah Hoyt
13. The Dreams of Ada / Robert Meyer
14. Daughter of Time / Sarah Woodbury
15. Deep Freeze / Lisa Jackson
16. Susanna’s Garden / Debbie Macomber
17. The Power of Meow / David Michie
18. Such a Pretty Face / Cathy Lamb
19. Missing / Frances Itani
20. After Visiting Friends / Michael Hainey
21. Powder Burn / Carl Hiaasen
22. Beyond Belief / Jenna Miscavige Hill
23. The Horseman’s Graves / Jacqueline Baker
24. Honolulu / Alan Brennert
Here I go, attempting to recreate my deleted Trim list. I think I can remember most, and what I don't remember, I clearly am not meant to read in this medium. I am not remembering in order, but that is ok too.1. The Girl Who Played with Fire - edited
2. The Silkworm
3. The Mysterious Benedict Society
4. Jack of Spies
5. Circling the Sun *
6. Last Train to Istanbul
7. The Penelopiad
8. Provence, 1970: M.F.K. Fisher, Julia Child, James Beard, and the Reinvention of American Taste
9. The Lost Vintage *
10. The Wedding Girl - edited
11. Empire of Sand
12. Last Night in Montreal
13. Startup
14. The Death of Mrs. Westaway
15. The Little Paris Bookshop
16. The Secret of Santa Vittoria
17. Three Lives
18. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
19. Grand Hotel *
20. Becoming George Sand
21. The Magic Circle
22.Provençal Cooking: Savoring the Simple Life in France
23. The Bird King *
24. The Masterpiece
* is buddy read.
I have kept it light, short, mostly fiction, and in case Joanne needs books that fit 'french', many set in or about France.
I may reorganize, might switch out a couple for different books but same author. And only one possible buddy read, but I have 2 possible buddy reads separately set up for second half 2020, which is enough to start.
Edited: 12/17/19 - I swapped out #24 for a different Fiona Davis -- the one I initial was going to include then changed my mind. It bothered me I did that so I swapped out. Always go with first instinct!
Booknblues wrote: "Here is my list so far. I'm not sure if I will have any changes.1. The White Tiger*
2. Ghana Must Go
3. For Rouenna
4. .Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in the Congo Mean and..."
Your #'s 5 and 7 appear to be the same book?
Theresa wrote: "I CANNOT BELIEVE IT! I just deleted my Trim list from my personal tracking! Cannot retrieve it, have no idea where in the ether it decide to go or even how I made that mistake. "
it's those darn elves you got hanging around...now they are stealing whole lists!
Amy wrote: "Joanne! Two with me and Joy! Meli, why don't you start the ball rolling, and pick Ninth House for 2, 16, or 17? My suggestion, make Ninth House your number 2, and we will formally announce it rig..."
OK, I will do that!
Idit wrote: "I'll join the challenge. Not sure how it will work with the Bingo and the election challenge, but I"ll post my list here at some point.What is the deadline for posting the list? When will you deci..."
The first number will be called after the Official Challenges and Tag Books are called. So I would say by the 26th? I believe that is when Nicole said the 2 challenges will be firm. The monthly number here will always be called "after" Official Business is done each month.
My revised TRIM1. Homegoing
2. Ninth House*
3. The Left Hand of Darkness
4. Hvis en vinternat en rejsende
5. The Fifth Season
6. Saga, Vol. 1
7. Verdens rum og andre tekster
8. Cirklen
9. The Library at Mount Char
10. The Invisible Library
11. Livet - en brugsanvisning
12. The Goldfish Boy
13. Authority
14. Oryx and Crake
15. Tusind og én nat (book 2/6)
16. House of Leaves
17. Alt hvad jeg har, bærer jeg hos mig
18. The Thirteenth Tale
19. Her Smoke Rose Up Forever
20. Embassytown
21. Odinsbarn
22. On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
23. The Bird King*
24. The Binding
* Buddy reads
Joanne wrote: "Theresa...LoL I added The Bird King and The Lost Vintage, both on my TBR for a while now."Great! Both have been on my nightstand towers since I got them...at author signings! We can buddy up.
Johanne wrote: "My revised TRIM1. Homegoing
2. Hvis en vinternat en rejsende
3. The Left Hand of Darkness
4. Embassytown
5. [book:The Fifth Season|1916..."
Another The Bird King at #23!
Joanne wrote: ""it's those darn elves you got hanging around...now they are stealing whole lists!..."
Aren't elves supposed to be helpful? And pixies mischievous and even destructive? Fantasy fans, help us out here!
Theresa wrote: "Joanne wrote: ""it's those darn elves you got hanging around...now they are stealing whole lists!..."
Aren't elves supposed to be helpful? And pixies mischievous and even destructive? Fantasy fan..."
Well, could go both ways-seems like ya got gang of both-All with too much Ale in the belly!
Oh, and by the way-I am letting Meli pull the first number, so Theresa cannot accuse me of being Anti-French and cheating
2020 Unofficial Trim the TBR1. Six Four - Hideo Yokoyama #
2. Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo #
3. When Christ and His Saints Slept - Sharon Kay Penman
4. Alaska - James A. Michener
5. The Secret Life of Cee Cee Wilkes - Diane Chamberlain
6. The Moneychangers - Arthur Hailey
7. The Winds of War - Herman Wouk
8. The Charm School - Nelson DeMille
9. The Lost Vintage - Ann Mah #
10. The Reckoning - Sharon Kay Penman
11. From Sand and Ash - Amy Harmon #
12. Mistress of the Art of Death - Ariana Franklin
13. A Column of Fire - Ken Follett
14. Life or Death - Michael Robotham
15. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders - Vincent Bugliosi #
16. Trinity - Conn Iggulden
17. Daughter of Moloka'i - Alan Brennert
18. Katherine of Aragón: The True Queen - Alison Weir
19. A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon
20. The History of Love - Nicole Krauss
21. The Emerald Affair - Janet MacLeod Trotter
22. Darling Rose Gold- Stephanie Wrobel #
23. The Memoirs of Cleopatra - Margaret George
24. The Woman Who Breathed Two Worlds - Selina Siak Chin Yoke
# Buddy Reads
1. Six Four2. Ninth House
3. The Left Hand of Darkness
4. We That Are Young
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. The Witch Elm
7. Rebecca
8. Between the World and Me
9. The Lady from the Black Lagoon: Hollywood Monsters and the Lost Legacy of Milicent Patrick
10. In the Time of the Butterflies
11. Hag-Seed
12. Fates and Furies
13. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
14.Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics
15. Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders
16. Monday's Not Coming
17. Lolita
18. Killers of the Flower Moon: The Osage Murders and the Birth of the FBI
19. Go Ahead in the Rain: Notes to a Tribe Called Quest
20. The Immortalists
21. New Boy
22. My Absolute Darling
23. The Good Daughter
24. Notes of a Crocodile
I know I am not such a regular, especially not posting, but I do try to keep track of what is going on here AND I want to read more from my TBR next year (as always, but this year I am going to !)1. Frankissstein: A Love Story
2. Der japanische Liebhaber
3. Brown Girl Dreaming
AUGUST: 4. The Nightingale
5. The Goldfinch
APRIL 6. Reading Lolita In Tehran - A Memoir In Books
7. Couchsurfing in China: Durch die Wohnzimmer der neuen Supermacht
8. Das rote Schaf der Familie: Jessica Mitford und ihre Schwestern
FEBRUARY 9.Half of a Yellow Sun
10. Die Herrenausstatterin
SEPTEMBER: 11. 84, Charing Cross Road
READ (JANUARY) 12. Convenience Store Woman
13. Here Comes the Sun
14. Oryx and Crake
JULY: 15. The Good Immigrant
16. Normal People
17. Conversations with Friends
18.Frankenstein
JUNE 19. Where the Crawdads Sing
20.Federnlesen: Vom Glück, Vögel zu beobachten
MAY 21. There There
MARCH 22. Bluebird, Bluebird
23. White Teeth
24. Quichotte
Olivermagnus wrote: "2020 Unofficial Trim the TBR1. Six Four - Hideo Yokoyama
2. Ninth House - Leigh Bardugo #
3. [book:When Christ and His Saints Sle..."
I have Six Four AND Helter Skelter, so I might amend my list to match yours... friend just gifted me Six Four and is always endlessly annoyed at how long it takes me to read his gifted books :P
Joanne wrote: "Oh, and by the way-I am letting Meli pull the first number, so Theresa cannot accuse me of being Anti-French and cheating"I get to pull the first number!? YAY *^_^*
Very pleased... just remind me how to (I think I just use a random number generator, right?)
I'm in for the Ninth House! I hope it comes up soon as I really want to read it!!I've only did minor tweaking to my original list. I switched out ones that I didn't actually own for ones that I do own in real life and I kept everything that I'm participating in a buddy read in, whether I already own it or not.
1. The Age of Innocence
2. Ninth House
3. The Time Traveler's Wife
4. Anna Karenina
5. Nine Perfect Strangers
6. The Stand
7. Rebecca
8. The Bourne Supremacy
9. The Weight of Ink
10. The Sleeping Doll
11. A Game of Thrones
12. The Marriage of Opposites
13. The Brothers K
14. Cutting for Stone
15. Incantation
16. A Bend in the Road
17. The Heart's Invisible Furies
18. The Count of Monte Cristo
19. Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup
20. The Night Circus
21. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows
22. The Help
23. The Library Book
24. The Clockmaker's Daughter
Meli wrote: " I have Six Four AND Helter Skelter, so I might amend my list to match yours... friend just gifted me Six Four and is always endlessly annoyed at how long it takes me to read his gifted books "Great! I really want to read Six Four so I hope it comes up this year.
Charlotte - Six of those on your list are six of my top favorites in life. A few of them made my top ten for the decade! And you're in Incantation with us!Meli, that's three so far for Ninth House at number 2. I think its on Oliver magnum's list too, Or Lyn's. One of the two. You got yourself a really creepy Buddy read..... Everyone says its great! Ho for it!
I pulled a couple that I read inadvertently in 2019 and a couple of really long ones (to help my chances of getting through the list). I rearranged and added titles that were on my TBR pile at the time I joined in 2012. 1. The Lost Girls of Paris - Pam Jenoff
2. Rules of Civility - Amor Towles
3. Ginger: My Story - Ginger Rogers
4. Lessons in French - Laura Kinsale
5. Little Fires Everywhere - Celeste Ng
6. The Bartender's Tale - Ivan Doig
7. Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal - Mary Roach
8. The Obsession - Nora Roberts
9. Stuff Matters: Exploring the Marvelous Materials That Shape Our Man-Made World - Mark Miodownik
10. Alien Proliferation - Gini Koch
11. A Study in Silks - Emma Jane Holloway
12. Darkship Renegades - Sarah A. Hoyt
13. Lincoln in the Bardo - George Saunders
14. Left Neglected - Lisa Genova
15. Tiffany Girl - Deeanne Gist
16. The Care and Management of Lies - Jacqueline Winspear
17. Train: Riding the Rails That Created the Modern World-from the Trans-Siberian to the Southwest Chief - Tom Zoellner
18. Whiter Than Snow – Sandra Dallas
19. The Marriage Wager – Candace Camp
20. The Nightingale - Kristin Hannah
21. Girl Waits with Gun - Amy Stewart
22. Low Pressure - Sandra Brown
23. The Prize – Julie Garwood
24. About a Dragon – G.A. Aiken
Meli wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Oh, and by the way-I am letting Meli pull the first number, so Theresa cannot accuse me of being Anti-French and cheating"I get to pull the first number!? YAY *^_^*
Very pleased......"
Yes-just put 1-24 and randomize. The first one up is the winner
Charlotte wrote: "I'm in for the Ninth House! I hope it comes up soon as I really want to read it!!I've only did minor tweaking to my original list. I switched out ones that I didn't actually own for ones that I d..."
Charlotte,
you must really like chunksters. Most of these are big books! Good for you! I have read several of them and loved them all.
Joanne wrote: "Booknblues wrote: "Here is my list so far. I'm not sure if I will have any changes.1. The White Tiger*
2. Ghana Must Go
3. For Rouenna
4. .Mean and Lowly Things: Snakes, Science, and Survival in..."
Thanks, I was moving a few things around and I guess I forgot to copy one of the books I pasted.
Miriam wrote: "I know I am not such a regular, especially not posting, but I do try to keep track of what is going on here AND I want to read more from my TBR next year (as always, but this year I am going to !)..."
I'm adding Frankissstein as well, but have my #1 full. Any chance you want to change to a different number?
Charlotte wrote: "I'm in for the Ninth House! I hope it comes up soon as I really want to read it!!I've only did minor tweaking to my original list. I switched out ones that I didn't actually own for ones that I d..."
I'll join you to the Cutting for Stone if you can switch it to a different number :)
Theresa wrote: "Here I go, attempting to recreate my deleted Trim list. I think I can remember most, and what I don't remember, I clearly am not meant to read in this medium. I am not remembering in order, but tha..."I'm joining you for Grand Hotel Theresa
Meli wrote: "1. Six Four2. Ninth House
3. The Left Hand of Darkness
4. We That Are Young
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
6. [book:Th..."
I'll join you for quite a few - Hag-Seed, Notes of a crocodile and few of the other buddy reads
By the way - is it only me? This thread keeps crashing my phone app. So I can only read it on the computer. Not sure why
Joanne wrote: "Yes-just put 1-24 and randomize. The first one up is the winner..."I think you'll want to use this:
https://www.random.org/sequences/
Then, enter 1 & 24 in the appropriate boxes.
LibraryCin wrote: "Joanne wrote: "Yes-just put 1-24 and randomize. The first one up is the winner..."I think you'll want to use this:
https://www.random.org/sequences/
Then, enter 1 & 24 in the appropriate boxes."
Thanks Cindy- I was thinking of using this
https://www.random.org/- as it only generates one number, not a list.
Meli Look at them both and let me know what you think
Books mentioned in this topic
Couchsurfing in China: Durch die Wohnzimmer der neuen Supermacht (other topics)Die Herrenausstatterin (other topics)
Paris by the Book (other topics)
The Thirteenth Tale (other topics)
The Girl Who Played with Fire (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Stephanie Wrobel (other topics)Selina Siak Chin Yoke (other topics)
Michael Robotham (other topics)
Laura Kinsale (other topics)
Amor Towles (other topics)
More...



This is the Planning and Organizational Thread for Trim Continuation 2020. If you are a new member or didn’t participate the last time around and are curious, I have explained the origin and design of this unofficial optional challenge, in the Premise and Design section below.
This thread is meant to be used to help us design our lists, and either maintain or create new buddy lists in a community building way. The first number of the 24 will be called at the end of December, so you will have about two weeks (even later) to create these lists.
When we begin the 2020 Official Unofficial Thread, (To be launched around end of December 2019 when the first number is called, located for a few days in Footnotes 2019,very soon to be moved to Footnotes 2020 after Jan 1) it will open with this message and these instructions that follow. I invite you all on the planning thread to also use it to help me make sure it reads clear, and is useful to any member who wishes to join at any point. If I have left something out or have not been clear, part of the planning and organization thread, allows us all to make sure that the actual thread reflects the design and messaging that we all feel comfortable with and have built together. Below is the proposed opening message, and we will perhaps begin beneath that, in an organized way to share our thoughts about designing our lists.
History, Premise and Design:
This optional unofficial challenge is the continuation of a 2019 yearlong challenge, that at least a few members wish to keep going to its inexorable end. Whether you are a new or old member, whether you joined in the last time, or just started with us in January 2020 or not, you can jump in at any time until its finish. The rules are not stringent, they are self-designed, and we do not receive any extra points for our optional challenge participation. It’s meant to finish off the previous challenge, build community, clear off the TBR, and get to some previous or newly created Buddy Reads group members had looked forward to or wish to create. The way it works is this. At any time you wish to join in, you can create a list of 24 books. With your books numbered any way you design. Just below this message, we will have a list of predesigned and prechosen Buddy Reads, so that if you would like to design your list of 24 to match certain books at a certain number to read with others, that is part of the appeal to some. The premise is simple. For each month, beginning in January 2020, a random number will be chosen at the end of the previous month, picking the number that will be our suggested read for the month. Once a number is used, it will not be called twice. As this is not an official challenge, you do not have to read your suggestion, you do not have to read it in time for the month. You will not receive any extra points for reading it. But you absolutely should put your review in either the monthly tag folder if it matches, or in the other books folder for the month you read it, as always. So you will receive the regular point or two for having read the book. PBT members Joanne and Meli will help us select the number each month and it will be announced around the 23rd or 24th of the month, after the moderators announce the monthly tag and anything related to the year long 2020 challenges. Our announcement will be the afterthought. And will be announced monthly on this thread. My role, is to just help keep us in some sort of line, order, or executive function with good spirit and morale. I imagine my role once we get going is extremely minimal unless some sort of bizarre unexpected chaos ensues. We three will simply keep the train running.
Below is the list of Buddy Reads that are left over from the previous challenge. Previous Buddy Read numbers have remained the same. Buddy Reads that were left between 25 and 36 have been put in unused slots. You can design or redesign your lists any way you like. Start fresh, jump in or on, whatever floats your boat. And you can jump in any time over the next two years. Just merely as you construct your list, leave out the numbers that have already been called, and will no longer be of use. As new ones become created on the organization and planning thread, we will number them and add them in, so they can be clearly seen in the first message of the official (unofficial) thread. We can use this planning thread to share lists, ideas, new buddy reads, and create thoughts of how to make it more fun and more community if desired. Already I have heard murmurs that some people may want to read the Ninth House (not me) or In the Time of Butterflies. Remember, some of the people already listed for Buddy Reads may not wish to participate again, may have left the group, or will redesign their lists entirely. I wouldn’t take any of the list below as “set in stone.” There is zero obligation here.
Now, Ta Da… For our planning and organizational purposes, here is the List of 24 Buddy Reads we have to start!
The official (unofficial) list of Trim 2020 Buddy Reads is this:
#1 The Age of Innocence by Edith Wharton - Magdalena, Joanne, Charlotte
#1 An American Marriage, by Tayari Jones - Kelly, NancyJ, AJ
#1 White Tiger - Susie, BnB
2 – Open
#3 The Time Traveler's Wife Joi, Charlotte, AJ
#4 When Breath Becomes Air - Hebah NancyJ
#5 Circling the Sun by Paula McLain (Rachel, Kelly, Theresa)
#6 Women of the Silk - B.C., LindaC, NancyJ
#7 The Cellist of Sarajevo - Barbara, Jenny, Adithi-
#7 Rebecca - Meli, Annapi, Charlotte, Joi, Magdalena
#7 The Book Thief – Kelly, Margie, Diana, NancyJ, Amy N, AJ
#8 The Boston Girl - Book Concierge, Diana , Barbara, (Kelly?)
#8 Between the World and Me, - meli, Hebah
#8 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, by Mary Ann Shaffer - Nancyj, BooknBlues, Critterbee, Adithi
#9 Mischling - Anita, Booknblues
#9 Everything I Never Told You - Nicole, Hebah?
#10 The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson - Nancyj, BooknBlues
#11 From Sand and Ash, by Amy Harmon - Amy, BooknBlues, JoyD, Barbara
#11 A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles, Nancy, Nicole
#12 The Marriage of Opposites by Alice Hoffman - Kelly, Barbara, Amy, Charlotte, Nancyj, JoyD
#13 The Hate U Give –Barbara,Nicole, Annapi?
#13 News of the World by Paulette Jiles - Nancyj, Anita, BC
#14 Hot Milk BooknBlues, Nicole
#15 Incantation by Alice Hoffman - Amy, Magdalena, Charlotte, Margie
#15 Thirteen Moons, by Frazier - Book Concierge, BooknBlues
16 – Open
17 – Open
#18 Once Upon a River, by Diane Setterfield Margie
#19 Kindredby Octavia Butler -Magdelana, Sue, NancyJ
#19 Strange the Dreamer- Amy, AJ, AmyN, Joanne , MargieD
#19 Next Year in Havana?
#20 Love and Ruin by Paula McLain – Oliver, Anita
#20 Salt to the Sea – Kimber, Joi, maybe Amy
#20 The Lies of Locke Lamora Barbara,Joanne, Hebah, AJ
#21 Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Jaswal – Book Concierge, BooknBlues , NancyJ, Charlotte
#22 Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis by J.D. Vance - BooknBlues, Oliver
#23 The Library Bookby Susan Orlean - NancyJ, Oliver, Margie, Kelly, Charlotte + Critterbee
#24 Vicious by VE Schwab - AJ and Joanne
Community – Buddy Reads, Reviewing Progress and the Books
Once the actual real thread gets launched, it will start with the welcome and instructions of how it works, and the final list of Buddy Reads Numbered. But here is my suggestion. That as before, we keep our own lists of 24 on our member tracking threads (other than on this two week planning stage thread). And that we create new threads for Buddy Reads if desired (as we always have). And here’s the kicker. For each month, I suggest that we talk about what book we have chosen, or have read, and either link to the review, or point to the folder it is located. And save the thread for announcement of the number, chit chat, conversation, rather than inserting the lengthy reviews. Those that are doing buddy reads might review it on that alternate thread anyway. I suggest that we save this thread for announcing our progress, pointing to the reviews and their location, and for our regular community building around the challenge. I hope folks like and support that idea. Feels more streamlined to me. Let me know. I am hopeful that when the new thread gets launched it feels clear and easy to use, and something new folks can jump into at any time. Remember its supposed to be fun and optional. This is no stress…. Just to finish out what we started – together!
And for Example, and to start us off, here is my list of revised 24
Amy’s List of 24: (I have prior Buddy reads for 11, 15, and 19). Feel free to join me if something catches your eye and we can switch things around together to figure it out.
1) A Pidgeon and A Boy
2) The Dream Daughter
3) Rain of Gold
4) The Book of Lost Things
5) Caspian Rain
6) China Rich Girlfriend
7) Cold Sassy Tree
8) Come Back for Me
9) Correlli’s Mandolin
10) The Devil in Jerusalem
11) From Sand and Ash
12) The Secret Keeper
13) The Ghostwriter
14) If the Creek Don’t Rise
15) Incantation
16) The Flight Attendant
17) Something Beautiful Happened
18) The Kitchen House
19) Strange the Dreamer
20) The Last Days of Café Leila
21) Where the Forest Meets the Stars
22) Modern Girls
23) Park Avenue Summer
24) Wicked