Finish Line - 2024

[Elizabeth]

I'm in for 30. This will be fun to do.

[Anna]

Oh, what a fun idea for a challenge!

I am signing up for 25 at this time.

[Margaret]

Please increase goal on message 22 to 50.

thanks!

[Jenn]

I would like to sign up for 75- thanks 🙂

[Jannene]

Updated message 47. 1/75

9. Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way
For a long time, I went to bed…Missing You

[Shelley]

Update to Message 25: 1/15.
II - Opening Lines, 3 - You better not never tell…A Boy Called Christmas.

[Amy]

Updated message 12-- 1/35
8. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by… Bright Winter Lights

[Margaret]

Update to message 22: 3/50 books read

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Updated!

Welcome to our newest members striving for the Finish Line! Four of our participants have gotten off to a very clever start. It's going to be fun seeing how you all finish your lines. 😂

Time to stretch and put on my sneakers so I can join you. 👟🙂

[TEE]

This is interesting. I think I'll try 30 to start. Thank you!

33 / 30 Completed Nov 6!!

I. Themes
2. Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
Spring was moving in the air above and in The Captive Kingdom
8. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by Midnight Without a Moon
9. Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone
Their lies and lily-scented perfumes taint The Truth About Alice
11. Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
I'm Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the Bright Young Women
12. J.R.R. Tolkein, The Hobbit
The mountain smoked beneath the moon; the dwarves, they heard The Echo of Old Books
13. Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian
She wore her orange camp t-shirt and The Liar's Crown
14. Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
What's the point of having a voice if you're going to be Mean Baby: A Memoir of Growing Up
15. Kathryn Stockett, The Help
All I'm saying is, kindness don't have Rust in the Root
II. Opening Lines
1. Margaret Atwood / A Handmaid's Tale
We slept in what had once been The House of Eve
7. Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun
When we were new, Rosa and I were The Wicked Ones
13. Ashley Audraine, The Push
Your house glows at night like everything inside is Fireborne
III. Closing Lines
1. Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind
After all, tomorrow is Where the Heart Is
2. Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar
The eyes and faces all turned themselves towards The Poet X
5. Ernest Hemingway / The Old Man & The Sea
The old man was dreaming about Coraline
6. Juan Chang, Wild Swans
I was eager to embrace Everything We Never Knew
9. L. Frank Braum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
I'm so glad to be at The Inheritance Games
10. Kate Chopin, The Awakening
There was the hum of bees, and the musky odor of The Weight of Blood
IV. Songs
2. BTS, Butter, 2021
Smooth like butter, like a Throne of Glass
6. Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, 2011
I threw a wish in The Frozen River
7. Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling, 2009
I gotta feeling that tonight's gonna be (the) Finale
10. Sinead O'Connor, Nothing Compares to You
It's been seven hours and fifteen days, since you took This Light Between Us
11. Prince, Leg's Go Crazy, 1984
Dearly Beloved, we have gathered here today to get The Ruins of Gorlan
13. The Mamas & The Papas, California Dreaming, 1965
All the leaves are brown and the sky is Vicious
15. Dooley Wilson, As Time Goes By, 1942
You must remember this, a kiss is The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman
V. Idioms
1. Up a creek without a Compass and Blade
2. Snug as a bug in American Dirt
4. Throw caution to The Last Devil to Die
5. Too many cooks spoil The Housemaid
6. It is always darkest before The Hunting Moon
7. Don't kill the goose that lays (the) Piglet
8. The pot calling the kettle Artifice
12. Two heads are better than (a) Fang and Claw
13. All that glitters is not In Pieces

[Beth]

I have way too many challenges going on and couldn't possibly take on another one. I'll start with the 15 idioms.

V. Idioms - Complete these idioms using your book titles.
🏁 1. Up a creek without a… Bridget Jones's Diary (Bridget Jones, #1) by Helen Fielding
🏁 2. As snug as a bug in a… Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton
🏁 3. Look before you… Murder at the Serpentine Bridge (Wrexford & Sloane, #6) by Andrea Penrose
🏁 4. Throw caution to… A Fatal Grace (Chief Inspector Armand Gamache, #2) by Louise Penny
🏁 5. Stop beating around the… Conflict of Interest (Joe Dillard, #5) by Scott Pratt
🏁 6. It is always darkest before… The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton
🏁 7. Don’t kill the goose that lays the… The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells
🏁 8. The pot calling the kettle… Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn
🏁 9. Like a cat on a hot tin… Reading List by Sara Nisha Adams book title is The Reading List
🏁 10. Your guess is as good as… Please Tell Me by Mike Omer
🏁 11. Too many cooks spoil the… The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman
🏁 12. Two heads are better than… The Day That Never Comes (Dublin Trilogy, #2) by Caimh McDonnell
🏁 13. All that glitters is not… The Screwdriver Killer (DI Bethany Smith, #3) by Emmy Ellis
🏁 14. Every dog has his… Reasonable Fear (Joe Dillard #4) by Scott Pratt
🏁 15. A rising tide lifts all… The Bees by Laline Paull

Feb 1 - Idioms finished; starting songs.
IV. Songs - Complete these opening song lyrics.
🎶 1. Ed Sheeran, Bad Habits, 2021
Every time you come around, you know I… Murder at the Merton Library (Wrexford & Sloane, #7) by Andrea Penrose
🎶 2. BTS, Butter, 2021
Smooth like butter, like a… The Night Agent by Matthew Quirk
🎶 3. Lady Gaga, Stupid Love, 2020
You’re the one that I’ve… Jailed (Cal Rogan Mysteries #7) by Robert P. French
🎶 4. Pharrell Williams, Happy, 2014
It might seem crazy what I'm 'bout to… Truce: The Day the Soldiers Stopped Fighting by Jim Murphy
🎶 5. Rihanna, Diamonds, 2012
Find light in the beautiful… Limelight (Penny Green, #1) by Emily Organ
🎶 6. Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, 2011
I threw a wish in… Daisy Jones & The Six by Taylor Jenkins Reid
🎶 7. Black Eyed Peas, I Gotta Feeling, 2009
I gotta feeling that tonight’s gonna be… The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass
🎶 8. Beyoncé, Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It), 2008
Up in the club, just broke up, I’m doing… Holly (Holly Gibney, #3) by Stephen King
🎶 9. Eminem, Lose Yourself, 2002
His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are… The Dead Cat Bounce (Home Repair is Homicide, #1) by Sarah Graves
🎶 10. Sinéad O’Connor, Nothing Compares to U, 1990
It's been seven hours and fifteen days since you took… 4:50 from Paddington (Miss Marple, #8) by Agatha Christie
🎶 11. Prince, Let’s Go Crazy, 1984
Dearly Beloved, we have gathered here today to get… Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood by Trevor Noah
🎶 12. The Eagles, Hotel California, 1976
On a dark desert highway, cool wind in… Neverwhere (London Below, #1) by Neil Gaiman
🎶 13. The Mamas and the Papas, California Dreaming, 1965
All the leaves are brown and the sky is… Daisy Darker by Alice Feeney
🎶 14. Elvis Pressley, Heartbreak Hotel, 1956
Well, since my baby left me, well, I found a new… Dead End by Ed Lacy
🎶 15. Dooley Wilson, As Time Goes By, 1942
You must remember this, a kiss is… Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

[Shelley]

Update to Message 25: 2/15.
I - Themes, 12 - The mountain smoked beneath the moon; the dwarves, they heard…The Bear and the Nightingale.

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Updated!

[Greg]

Update to message 24:

8. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by Knots and Crosses

1/50

[Allie]

Update to Message #5
Progress 1/30

Themes
✅8. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by The Road to Roswell

[Amy]

Updated message 12-- 3/35

3. John Green, Looking for Alaska
Every summer since I was little, I’ve gone to garage sales and bought… Something Beautiful

410. Sinéad O’Connor, Nothing Compares to U, 1990
It's been seven hours and fifteen days since you took… The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue

[Ursula]

Update to message 16: 1/30 books read

[GailW]

Update to message 4: 5 / 39 completed

[Tammy]

This looks like super fun. Please put me down for 25 and possibly more later.

Progress 11/25

I. Themes - Complete quotes related to our 2024 themes.
✔️ 2. Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows
Spring was moving in the air above and in the House of Sky and Breath
✔️7. Jim Butcher, Vignette
I have nightmares about hell, where all I do is add up numbers and try to Sweep in Peace
✔️ 8. Aldous Huxley, Brave New World Revisited
An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by the Sweep of the Heart
✔️ 9. Tomi Adeyemi, Children of Blood and Bone
Their lies and lily-scented perfumes taint the… Magical Midlife Awakening
✔️ 10. Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl
But he turned our family life into an endless road trip with…One Fell Sweep
✔️ 11. Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat
I'm Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the Iron Flame
✔️ 12. J.R.R Tolkien, The Hobbit
The mountain smoked beneath the moon; the dwarves, they heard the Sweep of the Blade


II. Opening Lines - Complete the book beginnings.
✔️ 6. Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca
Last night I dreamt I went to the House of Flame and Shadow
✔️ 12. Cormac McCarthy, The Road
When he woke in the woods in the dark and cold of the night he’d Sweep with Me

III. Closing Lines - Complete these book endings.


IV. Songs - Complete these opening song lyrics.
✔️ 2. BTS, Butter, 2021
Smooth like butter, like a Clean Sweep
✔️ 5. Rihanna, Diamonds, 2012
Find light in the beautiful Magical Midlife Flowers

V. Idioms - Complete these idioms using your book titles.

[Allie]

Update to Message #5
Progress 2/30
✅1. Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
We slept in what had once been… House of Earth and Blood

[Regina]

Message 23. Yes, I am fickle and I’d like to rejoin this one with a goal of 45.

Sorry and thank you! 😊

[Shari]

This is so much fun! I am loving this challenge. Thanks for idea Kristina.

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Regina wrote: "Message 23. Yes, I am fickle and I’d like to rejoin this one with a goal of 45.

Sorry and thank you! 😊"

Welcome back, Regina.

[Maureen]

Finish Line
January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024
0/15

II. OPENING LINES
1. Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale
We slept in what had once been…
2. Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
It was a pleasure to…
3. Alice Walker, The Color Purple
You better not never tell…
4. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina
All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is…
5. Min Jin Lee, Pachinko
History has failed us, but…
6. Daphne du Maurier, Rebecca
Last night I dreamt I went to…
7. Kazuo Ishiguro, Klara and the Sun
When we were new, Rosa and I were…
8. Zora Neale Hurston, Their Eyes Were Watching God
Ships at a distance have every man’s…
9. Marcel Proust, Swann’s Way
For a long time, I went to bed…
10. S.E. Hinton, The Outsiders
When I stepped out into the bright sunlight from the darkness of the movie house, I…
11. Gabriel García Márquez, One Hundred Years of Solitude
Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendía was…
12. Cormac McCarthy, The Road
When he woke in the woods in the dark and cold of the night he’d…
13. Ashley Audrain, The Push
Your house glows at night like everything inside is…
14. George Orwell, 1984
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were...
15. Shirley Jackson, The Haunting of Hill House
No live organism can continue for long to…

[GailW]

Updated message #4: 7 / 39

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Update to Message #20 : 2/75


II. Opening Lines
🏁 3. Alice Walker, The Color Purple
You better not never tell… Martín Fierro

V. Idioms
🏁 13. All that glitters is not… The Golden Couple

[Kalyn]

Update to msg #41 please! Progress: 1/10

[Ursula]

update to message 16: 2/30 books read

[Allie]

Update to Message #5
Progress 4/30

Themes 3/15
✅13. Rick Riordan, The Last Olympian
She wore her orange camp t-shirt and… Fourth Wing

✅14. Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give
What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be…The Man in the Queue

[TerryJane, Challenges]

Updated to here!

[Amy]

Updated message 12-- 4/35
It floats through the balcony doors and makes the curtains...Fly on the Wall

[Laurie]

Update #51

7/30

[Julie]

Updated message 13
1/30

[Ursula]

update to message 16: 3/30 books read

[Brittany]

updated post 10
3/20

6. Jung Chang, Wild Swans
I was eager to embrace…The Woman in Me

10. Sinéad O’Connor, Nothing Compares to U, 1990
It's been seven hours and fifteen days since you took… The Princess Fugitive: A Reimagining of Little Red Riding Hood

6. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Wave in the Mind
People who deny the existence of dragons are often… Blood Kissed

[Amy]

Updated message 12-- 5/35
The mountain smoked beneath the moon; the dwarves, they heard… The Cave Dwellers

[Debra Diggs]

Update to message #6: 4/30

[Shelley]

Update to Message 25: 3/15.

III - Closing Lines, 6 - I was eager to embrace…The Other Wes Moore

[Kalyn]

Update to msg #41 please! Progress: 2/10

[Amy]

Updated message 12-- 6/35
5. Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea
The old man was dreaming about…Pachinko

[Julie]

updated message 13

2/30

[TEE]

Please update Msg 62

3 / 30

II. Opening Lines
1. Margaret Atwood / A Handmaid's Tale
We slept in what had once been The House of Eve
III. Closing Lines
5. Ernest Hemingway / The Old Man & The Sea
The old man was dreaming about Coraline
V. Idioms
13. All that glitters is not In Pieces

[Tammy]

Update to Message #71

Progress 2/25

I. Themes
✔️ 11. Anne Rice, The Vampire Lestat I'm Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the Iron Flame

[Allie]

Update to Message #5
Progress 7/30

6. People who deny the existence of dragons are often…
The Last Devil to Die

10. But he turned our family life into an endless road trip with…
American Mermaid

11. I'm Gentleman Death in silk and lace, come to put out the…
Blue Moon

[Jannene]

Updated message 47. 4/75

The mountain smoked beneath the moon; the dwarves, they heard the…Age of Myth.

Last night I dreamt I went...Down to the Woods.

When we were new, Rosa and I were...Chasing the Dime.

[GailW]

Update message 4:
12/40

I. Themes - Complete quotes related to our 2024 themes.
☀ 2. Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows: Spring was moving in the air above and in… the Garden by the Sea
☀ 8. An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by… The Apology and the Last Days: A Novel

II. Opening Lines - Complete the book beginnings.
☀ 1. Margaret Atwood, The Handmaid’s Tale: We slept in what had once been… My Monticello
☀ 4. 4. Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina: All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is… No Refuge

III. Closing Lines - Complete these book endings.
☀ 5. Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea: The old man was dreaming about… Olive, Again
☀ 6. Jung Chang, Wild Swans: I was eager to embrace… the Blind Goddess
☀ 9. L. Frank Baum, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: I'm so glad to be at… The Radcliffe Ladies’ Reading Club

IV. Songs - Complete these opening song lyrics.
☀ 5. Rihanna, Diamonds, 2012: Find light in the beautiful… Abigail
☀ 6. Carly Rae Jepsen, Call Me Maybe, 2011: I threw a wish in… the Sea of Tranquility
☀ 11. Prince, Let’s Go Crazy, 1984: Dearly Beloved, we have gathered here today to get… The Invisible Man and His Soon-to-Be Wife Vol. 1

V. Idioms - Complete these idioms using your book titles.
☀ 4. Throw caution to…The Mystery Guest
☀ 13. All that glitters is not…the Bright Young Women

[Shelley]

Update to Message 25: 4/15.

III - Closing Lines, 2 - The eyes and faces all turned themselves towards…The Watchmaker's Daughter

[Kalyn]

Update to msg #41 please! Progress: 3/10

[Regina]

Msg 23 update. 6/45.

[GailW]

Update message 4:

14/40