Play Book Tag discussion
2025 Activities and Challenges
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Play Harder General Discussion
Kitchen utensil - I've read and enjoyed:- The Position of Spoons: And Other Intimacies
- The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm: Eragon
- The Knife of Never Letting Go
- Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
More vowels:- Beautiful Exiles
- You Are Here
- Euphoria
- Jubilee
- Ivanhoe
- Audition
- The Aeneid
- O Pioneers!
- Anxious People
- Olive, Again
Nancy, I read the golden spoon last year
Or zero. Think of words you like that’s got the letter Z, and I’m sure if you look up those words you’ll find a decent title.
I have 2 books set in summer with summer in the title - one is in Barbados - my next The Compass read (which I won't start until June 1 anyway) - and the other is set in Paris - an Unofficial Trim read for another month - a past one I think. I am looking forward to BOTH! Others are likely to show up but at least I know I have 2 all set. The Summer Country
One Summer in Paris
Best of all - they suit my mood.
Title contains z:- The Hazelbourne Ladies Motorcycle and Flying Club
- Zorro
- Zorrie
- The Zookeeper's Wife: A War Story
- The Zanzibar Chest: A Story of Life, Love, and Death in Foreign Lands
- Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist
NancyJ wrote: "I have a lot of title prompts this time. Has anyone already identified lists or ideas for any of these? #6 might be the hardest for me. 6. Read a book with a kitchen utensil in the title.
4. A bo..."
A short book is How to Pronounce Knife: Stories
There is the classic Spoon River Anthology
Z in the title - something with Crazy, Lazy, Freeze, Frozen The Frozen River, Plaza, Pizza, Zen, Amazing, Blaze, Maze, Amazon, a country with Z Death in Zanzibar, Azure, Nazi, Size, Zebra The Good Husband of Zebra Drive
@Nancy - food cozy mysteries will easily give you kitchen utensil on the cover. Ditto contemporary fiction, not just romance, centered on food/cooking/cooks themes and characters. Also food memoirs like Tender at the Bone: Growing Up at the Table and The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School.
NancyJ wrote: "I have a lot of title prompts this time. Has anyone already identified lists or ideas for any of these? #6 might be the hardest for me. 6. Read a book with a kitchen utensil in the title.
4. A bo..."
I had the Lost Generation prompt last time and took the easy way out with The Sun Also Rises. For a title with a Z, I can recommend Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist. It made an impact on me and I still often think of it.
Another that fits "more vowels than consonants" is one I've seen on a few summer reading lists:Isola
Thanks everyone! I appreciate the help. I have very few books in my tbr with a utensil in the title, so the extra ideas are great. Too bad it’s not a cover prompt. There are a lot of books with knives on the cover. I’m trying to think of other words, like mixer, masher. Too bad I already read how to pronounce knife.
Joy, I wanted to read the Salmon Rushdie book, but after seeing him talk about it on tv, I don’t know if I can. They showed where it happened and the room looked familiar. I gave presentations at the Chautauqua Institute before and it still shocks me that something like that could happen in such a special and peaceful place.
Identifying words with Z was very helpful. It’s funny how my eyes just don’t see it in titles unless it’s the first letter of the word.
Thanks!!!
Joy D wrote: "More vowels:- Beautiful Exiles
- You Are Here
- Euphoria
- Jubilee
- Ivanhoe
- Audition
- [book:The Aene..."
Great options! A strange thing happened with You Are Here. It disappeared from Hoopla just when I was about to start it. I wish they gave a warning.
@Nancy, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann is pretty good if you haven't read it yet.
I'm not sure if Nancy would like it but a good book with a utensil in the title that also has a scientific focus is The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements
Rachel N. wrote: "I'm not sure if Nancy would like it but a good book with a utensil in the title that also has a scientific focus is [book:The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the Hist..."Thanks Rachel, I think that’s my first choice at this point. I like science and I have an elements prompt in another challenge, I could use this for round 2. I read a book about phosphorous.
Lyn wrote: "@Nancy, The Lost City of Z: A Tale of Deadly Obsession in the Amazon by David Grann is pretty good if you haven't read it yet."Thanks Lyn. I had this on my list for a long time, but I read two other Amazon jungle books in the meantime. I own two books that fit Z - The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, and The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers.
Olivermagnus wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I have a lot of title prompts this time. Has anyone already identified lists or ideas for any of these? #6 might be the hardest for me. 6. Read a book with a kitchen utensil in the..."
I thought it was pretty good, but I don’t like Hemingway as a person. (I had just read Paris Wife, and I was on her side.) I might read Moveable Feast anyway, but I’m hoping it will be less like autofiction.
Anita, I don’t need an answer right away, but when you come back from your trip, can you let me know your opinion on this? Thanks!Q: With title prompts, do we have a rule about subtitles? I have the prompt: A book with more vowels than consonants in the title.
I own this book:
If I use the main title, it fits this prompt: If I count the subtitle it doesn’t work. (Though it’s surprisingly close.)
Eve: How the Female Body Drove 200 Million Years of Human Evolution by Cat Bohannon
Joy D wrote: "Another that fits "more vowels than consonants" is one I've seen on a few summer reading lists:Isola"
ALERT! Isola ebook is $2.99 today on Amazon and other platforms!
Theresa wrote: "Joy D wrote: "Another that fits "more vowels than consonants" is one I've seen on a few summer reading lists:Isola"
ALERT! Isola ebook is $2.99 today on Amazon a..."
Thanks Theresa. They sometimes have an audio discount with these sales too.
Oops I missed the word NONFICTION on this prompt when I got my new list. So, There are Rivers in the Sky will have to wait. I have a book called Is a River Alive?, but it doesn’t seem to spend a lot of time on rivers in the Middle East. 2. Read a nonfiction book about or set in the Middle East.
Any suggestions? Interesting memoirs?
I have a ton of non-fiction books that have to do with Israel and the conflict in the middle east. Did you ever get to Aperigon? Its a sort of non-fiction/hybrid but it works...An oldie, From Beirut to Jerusalem
Old - but less old, The Promised Land
Newer (2021) before October 7th. Very well written and engaging;
Noa Tishby - A Simple Guide to the Most Complicated Country on Earth
A bit scholarly and over 600 pages long - A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and The Creation of the Modern Middle EastI second anything by Thomas L. Friedman. He spent decades in the area and really knows what he is talking about.
Of course you could read something about Ancient Egypt, Babylon, etc.
Yes he (Thomas Friedman) wrote from Beirut to Jerusalem, but also the Lemon Tree. I think...
NancyJ wrote: "Oops I missed the word NONFICTION on this prompt when I got my new list. So, There are Rivers in the Sky will have to wait. I have a book called Is a River Alive?, but it doesn’t s..."I know you've read a lot so it's highly likely you've already done these, but I enjoyed both Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi and The Bookseller of Kabul by Åsne Seierstad.
Another Åsne Seierstad is A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal - she was there reporting as US invaded. She's one of my favorite journalist authors.
NancyJ wrote: "2. Read a nonfiction book about or set in the Middle East.Any suggestions? Interesting memoirs?..."
I love nonfiction. I just read The Cave: A Secret Underground Hospital and One Woman's Story of Survival in Syria and found it very interesting.
Others:
House of Stone: A Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East
Out of Istanbul: A Journey of Discovery along the Silk Road which some of us read as a buddy read.
A Hope More Powerful Than the Sea: One Refugee's Incredible Story of Love, Loss, and Survival
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East
Operation Pineapple Express
Jen wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Oops I missed the word NONFICTION on this prompt when I got my new list. So, There are Rivers in the Sky will have to wait. I have a book called Is a River Alive?, b..."I haven’t read either of these books yet, and they sound good, I read another book by Seierstad several years ago that I liked. Thanks Jen.
Amy wrote: "Yes he (Thomas Friedman) wrote from Beirut to Jerusalem, but also the Lemon Tree. I think..."His book is The Lexus and the Olive Tree.
The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East is a different author.
Booknblues wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "2. Read a nonfiction book about or set in the Middle East.Any suggestions? Interesting memoirs?..."
I love nonfiction. I just read [book:The Cave: A Secret Underground Hospital an..."
The memoirs sound great to me, especially The Cave. There is no audio yet, but maybe they’ll make one soon. I had the refugee book but read What Strange Paradise first. It still interests me. I’ll look to see what I can access on this list. Thanks!
Joy D wrote: "An Arabian Journey: One Man's Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East by Levison Wood"Robin P wrote: "Amy wrote: "Yes he (Thomas Friedman) wrote from Beirut to Jerusalem, but also the Lemon Tree. I think..."
His book is The Lexus and the Olive Tree.
[book:The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a J..."
Amy wrote: "I have a ton of non-fiction books that have to do with Israel and the conflict in the middle east. Did you ever get to Aperigon? Its a sort of non-fiction/hybrid but it works...
An oldie, From Bei..."
Thanks everyone for all the ideas.
I forgot about Apeirogon! It has far more fiction tags than nonfiction tags, so I don’t think I can use it for this prompt. I know I need to know more about Israel and Palestine, but at the moment, US politics is giving me more than enough drama and conflict.
Eventually though,,, Someone reviewed a book this year, and they mentioned a book that provides an accessible (not too long) historical perspective, up to the present. Robin was it you? I’ll look back to see if it jumps out at me. Amy, The Noa Tishby book sounds like it might give me the essentials. For now I’ll probably go with a memoir with a more personal scope.
Joy, is this the same author who traveled along the Nile?
Theresa wrote: "Another Åsne Seierstad is A Hundred and One Days: A Baghdad Journal - she was there reporting as US invaded. She's one of my favorite journalist authors."
Yes I read this one too for a challenge we had several years ago. I liked her.
Joy D wrote: "Kitchen ….Knife: Meditations After an Attempted Murder
Joy, I just saw a rerun of the the 60 minutes segment with Salmam Rushdie. It was just as powerful the second time.
NancyJ wrote: "Joy D wrote: "An Arabian Journey: One Man's Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East by Levison Wood"Robin P wrote: "Amy wrote: "Yes he (Thomas Friedman) wrote..."
I loved Apeirogon, but it is definitely fiction. Have you read any Colum McCann? Events or people from both Let the Great World Spin and TransAtlantic pop up in Apeirogon, but it is certainly not necessary to read them first.
NancyJ wrote: "Joy, is this the same author who traveled along the Nile?..."Yes, Levison Wood wrote Walking the Nile, Walking the Himalayas, and An Arabian Journey: One Man's Quest Through the Heart of the Middle East. All three are excellent.
Apeirogon is based on real people, but it was nominated for the Booker Prize, so it is definitely considered fiction notwithstanding the tags to the contrary.
(Moving this from the Play Harder Shelving thread:)Amy wrote: "Sue, I am reading one now!!! Happiness for beginners is all about a huge hiking trek…. Maybe that belongs more in the conversation thread, but I just noticed your prompt."
Happiness for Beginners looks wonderful and fun! The walking book I just finished (The Long Walk) could have been named Misery and Horror for Beginners. 😂
There was a request for books involving graduation. You might want to look at the month last year when the tag was Coming of Age. I read multiple books featuring high school students and there must have been some graduations in there! You might be able to tell from the reviews if it covers the right period.
Moved from the signup thread- with other suggestions addedLinda C wrote: "I've looked through the list of prompts and the only one I am having trouble with is
7. Read a book that includes a graduation
Has anyone had this prompt and found a good read for it?"
Edited
It’s a brand new prompt. I wrote it with June in mind, while reading Summer of '69. Multiple family graduations (recent or pending) are discussed within the book. A keyword search in kindle is a handy way to check. This book had 27 hits.
The prompt doesn’t require an actual ceremony, just the inclusion of the topic in some way. Other summer books involving high school or college age characters might refer to a recent or upcoming graduation. High school, college, middle school, dragon school, magic school etc. There are a lot of books with graduation in the title.
These all fit:
Yerba Buena
Fourth Wing and other fantasy schools.
Summer of '69 and Summer of '69
My Favorite Half-Night Stand - young professors are discussing the upcoming commencement speaker and gala. Finding a date for the gala is a major ficus of the book.
Recommended by algernon:
By Naomi Novik
A Deadly Education
The Last Graduate
The Golden Enclaves
Sue wrote: "(Moving this from the Play Harder Shelving thread:)Amy wrote: "Sue, I am reading one now!!! Happiness for beginners is all about a huge hiking trek…. Maybe that belongs more in the conversation t..."
My book for the long walk hiking trek prompt wasn't exactly fun either Sue...
One book that I can think of where graduation is mentioned is Plainsong by Kent Haruf. Great book if you haven't read it yet.
Older books that feature a graduation (not sure how well they would hold up to a modern perspective):The Graduate
Good-Bye, Mr. Chips
To Sir, With Love
More recent fiction:
The Marriage Plot
The Female Persuasion
Normal People
Indignation
The Secret History
Non-Fiction:
The Short and Tragic Life of Robert Peace: A Brilliant Young Man Who Left Newark for the Ivy League
Educated
Lyn wrote: "Sue wrote: "(Moving this from the Play Harder Shelving thread:)Amy wrote: "Sue, I am reading one now!!! Happiness for beginners is all about a huge hiking trek…. Maybe that belongs more in the co..."
A charming m/m romance that takes place on a long hike is Something Wild & Wonderful. I needed an outdoor book for another group and preferred that to nonfiction accounts.
For a long hike you can certainly read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson. It is not dark at all.
Hello, I need a little help with prompt 5. from my new list:Read a book by an author with the same last name as one of your favorite writers
Isn't this much too difficult? Shouldn't the choice be 'first' name?
How can I find another author called Beagle or Shute or Byatt.
So far, the only choices might be Smith, Williams, Duncan
I think John or Paul or David work much better.
Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
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Memoirs of a Polar Bear (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Elizabeth Marie Pope (other topics)Patricia Van Tighem (other topics)
Marie Benedict (other topics)
Marge Piercy (other topics)
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6. Read a book with a kitchen utensil in the title.
4. A book with more vowels than consonants in the title
9. Read a book with a title containing the letter Z
10. Read a book with the same number of letters in the title as the last book you read
11. Read a book whose author's first and last initials match your own.
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Also - I love this one
1. A book written by an author or artist of The Lost Generation.
This makes me think of Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Paris, and A Moveable Feast. Though Wikipedia uses the term to describe the whole generation of people who came of age during WWI. It might include some suffragettes. There were some surrealist artists and filmmakers in the Paris crowd too. I wonder if a book about one of those artists would count for this prompt.