Play Book Tag discussion
2025 Activities and Challenges
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Play Harder General Discussion
Holly - That one was in my car, (a third prehistoric option) but I returned it Wednesday. I don't know why. But I got on to write a Prehistoric Update. Go figure that I mixed up which one was your recommendation. I was just drawn to the shortness of the Wolf Boy, but not to the content. I so regret not joining the swap. I would have turned this one in. Or national park.... I knocked off like 8 of the 12 in January. Maybe 7. And another two in February and now have barely moved. I have three left. Anyway, I finished Maybe This Time on Audio, and was thinking.... What if I knocked off either the prehistoric book or the Trim book as my next Audio? I have my Trim book with Hayley (who I haven't talked with in a while, she must be super busy with grad school), the Red Thread of Fate, in my precious hands out from the library. Also the other two Prehistoric options. I picked up the Wolf Boy, and I just couldn't do it. Nope! Out it went. Time for Joanne's Rec, Just One Damned Thing After Another. This could be fun in audio I thought.... A quick phone search tells me it is only 9 hours and 30 minutes, and in 1.2 that is more like 8 or high 7 something. There we go....
But then, a miracle happened. Later last evening I go to purchase it with my one new credit that had popped up. And whoa boy! Jodi Taylor, the author herself, was tapped to make an Audible Original of the same book, though meant for Audible listeners, a shortened, more dramatic version of the same exact story, and its a whole thing. They are calling it an Audible Original Movie, whatever that means. And its only 7 hours. (5.5?) AND its free in my audible plus catalog. I got that thing added to my library super quick! Love it when it all falls together.
And I was kind of thinking that Red Thread of Fate does not have great reviews, its mixed. Whether its in Audio or Print, I could trash it if I wasn't enjoying it, but why waste the audio credit. But I am starting both of those today, as I was also up all night finishing the latest Thriller! Well there you go... Amy is plugging along on Play Harder. And ready for my fifth compass trip.
Amy, I am getting dizzy reading about your starts and stops and pick ups and returns! Although I must admit my library holds for Play Harder are coming in faster than I can read them, especially when I get distracted by something shiny. What an incredibly beautiful problem -- to have too many books!
Amy wrote: "Holly - That one was in my car, (a third prehistoric option) but I returned it Wednesday. I don't know why. But I got on to write a Prehistoric Update. Go figure that I mixed up which one was your ..."Do let me know about the audio and how it is. I think it will be an exciting listen! I would like to know if it is voiced by one person or group.
It’s a total group. Like she, the author Jody Taylor took the book that she wrote and changed it into like a screenplay version so it would be meant for listeners because it’s all dialogue. Like she turned her novel into an audible original, and my imagination is that they will do that with all the succeeding books in the series. But it was perfect for me because I get to hear the story in a really compelling way.
For those doing the Play Harder challenge, this book qualifies as a book written before 1990 that takes place in the 21st century:Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clark (published in 1953). I am reading it now and it is very good IMO.
Can someone point me to the swap thread? I have finished my cookbook and want to make sure I have the wording of the tag correct
JoAnne, I am curious as to how you read a cookbook. Do you read each recipe and all the ingredients or is there some narrative portion or do you select a book that has some sort of text other than recipes or something else?
Prompt3. Read a book at least a hundred years older than you are.
I am 58 so that has to be written 158 years ago. If my adding and subtraction is correct. The year is 1867.
OK I NEED HELP! Anyone has any suggestions.
SouthWestZippy wrote: "Prompt3. Read a book at least a hundred years older than you are.
I am 58 so that has to be written 158 years ago. If my adding and subtraction is correct. The year is 1867.
OK I NEED HELP! Anyo..."
Have you read Twelve Years a Slave? It was published in 1853, so it's over 100 years older than you. It is one of those books that really made an impression on me.
SouthWestZippy wrote: "Prompt3. Read a book at least a hundred years older than you are.
I am 58 so that has to be written 158 years ago. If my adding and subtraction is correct. The year is 1867.
OK I NEED HELP! Anyo..."
Lots of classics -- Austen, Dickens, George Eliot, and Wilkie Collins' Woman in White are a few of the Brits; Dumas, George Sand, Flaubert are French; Nathanial Hawthorne, Melville (I like his short fiction), Edgar Alan Poe are some American. Is there a particular style you would prefer?
I particularly recommend the Lydia Davis translation of Flaubert's Madame Bovary, first published in French in December 1856.
Lyn wrote: "SouthWestZippy wrote: "Prompt3. Read a book at least a hundred years older than you are.
I am 58 so that has to be written 158 years ago. If my adding and subtraction is correct. The year is 1867..."
Added Twelve Years a Slave to my TBR mountain. Thanks Lyn.
I also added Madame Bovary. Thanks Theresa.
I also looked over my Goodreads to read list. I found Moby-Dick or, The Whale, forgot I added it awhile back. I will look them all over and decided from those three.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH for your help.
Joy D wrote: "JoAnne, I am curious as to how you read a cookbook. Do you read each recipe and all the ingredients or is there some narrative portion or do you select a book that has some sort of text other than ..."Joy, 90% of the cookbooks chosen for my club have a lot of written text, besides recipes. ( we are a group at the library, eh, eh!) For instance the book I just finished, each recipe has a story attached to it about who came up with the recipe and a little about how the author knows that person. If a book that we use does not happen to have much except recipes, I would just rate it here on GR's but would not use it for any of my group challenges. I knew this book had a lot if stories and I could use it, so that is why I was pleased to get this one in the swap.
Oh, I see! Thanks, JoAnne. If I get that prompt, I may ask you for suggestions.
I just want to say that I too have read some cookbooks cover to cover, but they are ones with a lot of text - essays and stories so to speak along with the recipes. Hot Sour Salty Sweet: A Culinary Journey Through Southeast Asia is as much travelogue as cookbook - a voyage along the Mekong from China to Vietnam that is all about the food and recipes but also a tremendous amount of history, culture,art, and more. Marcus Samuelsson's New American Table is full of recipes and cooking techniques but equally stories about the cultures they represent. Those are usually also full of glorious photos too. I don't read cookbooks cover to cover unless they have stories, essays and information other than pure recipes and cooking techniques or instructions which is represented by Joy of Cooking and Mastering the Art of French Cooking.
Prompt-4. A book rated 5 stars read by any PBT member whose first name starts with the same initial as yours, i.e. Amy could read one of Anita's 5 star rated books.Just need to check. Do I look for a S name or do I need to use my Real name Dana, so look for a D name?
Great question! I’d say you could have either.
Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!Read an "alternate history" book
These 2 have lots of options, but I want to know what other people loved -
A book set in a castle
A book with a wild animal in the content, title or cover
Thanks!
Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!Read an "alternate history" book
These 2 have lots of options, but I want to know what other people loved -
A book set in a castle
A book wit..."
A book set in a castle : here are two of my favorites
Nine Coaches Waiting,
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
you can check this list in Listopia:
castles
A book with a wild animal:
Watership Down
Shardik
The Call of the Wild / White Fang
The Clan of the Cave Bear
The Bear by James Oliver Curwood
There are multiple options on Listopia, but the most useful is probably this one:
animals
Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!Read an "alternate history" book - I’ll come back to this later if you still need help
These 2 have lots of options, but I want to know what other peop
A book with Wild Animals….
.."
Wild animals -
I used this list in a challenge a couple years ago.
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
My absolute favorites include:
Migrations - wild birds
Happiness by Forna - foxes in London and Coyotes in New England
North Woods - a mountain Lion on the cover, but it’s not prominent in this short story collection.
Pod - dolphins
Open Throat - weird
Remarkably Bright Creatures
The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness
The Call of the Wild - I read it as an adult and still liked it.
White Fang - I might have liked this more originally.
The Last Cold Place: A Field Season Studying Penguins in Antarctica - life of a scientist
There are also many lighter books with animals in the cover only.
Alternate history -
Favorites
-The Eyre Affair - I’m reading this series for the fun tag next month
His Majesty's Dragon
I might try My Lady Jane - it’s described as funny
If you like Steampunk, there are a lot more choices
my shelf
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!Read an "alternate history" book
These 2 have lots of options, but I want to know what other people loved -
A book set in a castle
A book wit..."
Alternate History
A Master of Djinn
His Majesty's Dragon
Fatherland
SS-GB
The Eyre Affair
When Women Were Dragons
Castle
Nine Coaches Waiting - a touch gothic too
India Black and the Widow of Windsor - set at Balmoral
Wild Animal
The Tiger's Wife
The Lioness
Deadly Safari
For Wild Animals, I can highly recommend The Call of the Wild. I just read it last year for the first time. It is short, and you should be able to read it quickly. Thanks for the tip, Algernon, I have that prompt too and had not thought of White Fang-ordered it.
Erin, I love alternate history and I even have a tag for it, so I am going to look. But I would say outright, what about the Boleyn King? By Laura Anderson. Wonderful series that ended up being a trilogy and then 6, but starts with, what if Anne Boleyn's son (Tudors) had lived? And Elizabeth got to be Queen in the end after all? I thought that series was magical. Its also fun. A great read.Now let me look at what I have for this under my tag for it....
That was the only one that really fit this.... I had to look in my Historical Fantasy category and it wasn't as close a match....
Other alternate historyThe Plot Against America - maybe too realistic today!
The Yiddish Policemen's Union
many books by Guy Gavriel Kay are fantasy versions of actual historical periods, I think that would count
The Man in the High Castle
Alternate history:Babel
The Plot Against America
Wild animals:
The Hungry Tide
The Elephant Whisperer
Castle:
The Keep
The Women in the Castle
Erin wrote: A book set in a castleA book with a wild animal in the content, title or cover..."
Medieval books and books with and about animals are two of my favorites. :)
Castles: The Last Hours
Love That Moves the Sun: Vittoria Colonna and Michaelangelo Buonarroti
The Marriage Portrait
Almost anything by Sharon Kay Penman
Animals:
Fiction-
Happiness
West With Giraffes
Pursuing Giraffe: A 1950s Adventure
Bad Badger: A Love Story - cute children's book
Hollow Beasts
Once There Were Wolves
Nonfiction-
Wild Life: Finding My Purpose in an Untamed World
Walking with Gorillas: The Journey of an African Wildlife Vet
The Last Giants: The Rise and Fall of the African Elephant
American Wolf: A True Story of Survival and Obsession in the West
The Puma Years
How To Be A Good Creature: A Memoir in Thirteen Animals
An Indomitable Beast: The Remarkable Journey of the Jaguar
Rewilding the World: Dispatches from the Conservation Revolution
Ohhh, you remind me, BnB, that Dorothy Dunnett's books all involve castle settings. Lymond has long been one of my book boyfriends.Also, the 2nd Perveen Mistry book, The Satapur Moonstone is set in an Indian version of a castle.
Some more Alternate History I recommend:She Who Became the Sun - China and rise of Ming Dynasty
Upright Women Wanted - Old West
Even Though I Knew the End - Faustian Jazz Age detective story with demons and magic
Iron Widow
The Wisteria Society of Lady Scoundrels
The Bear and the Nightingale - Medieval Russia
Her Majesty's Royal Coven
The Calculating Stars
Just about any steampunk book, especially those by Gail Carriger.
Both Hidden Legacy and Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews
So many great suggestions! Thank you all!
NancyJ wrote: "Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!Read an "alternate history" book - I’ll come back to this later if you still need help
These 2 have lots of options, but I want ..."
Eyre Affair is one of my absolute favorite book series! My Lady Jane looks like a fun read and perfect for April's tag too. Thanks!
Erin wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!These 2 have lots of optio..."
Great, we can both try My Lady Jane in April. It’s available through my library on Hoopla (in the US at least) so there are no wait lists.
Maybe others will join in for a buddy read.
I just got my new Play Harder list. A few are perfect for books I already had in mind for the April fun tag. Translated book- Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Language or linguistics- Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters
“Book” in the title - The Summer Book
Nonhuman narrator - murderbot
Newberry Award - I love this one. From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler - IF I can get it. Maybe I can find the same art on the museum website.
Jungle - The Puma Years
I got the 2024 Award winner prompt again, so I already have a great list of possibilities to pair with Compass.
My biggest challenges:
6. A book where the title references a nursery rhyme or fairy tale.
- Would Empire of Wild work? It’s about the Métis legend of the Rogarou (werewolf), and is described as “A messed-up, grown-up, Little Red Riding Hood.” Do the words empire or wild relate to any known rhymes or stories???
- Other suggestions? I read a lot of retellings last year for the tags. Cinder was my favorite.
4. .Read a book about the Civil Rights Movement.
This is def in my wheel house, (I worked in the field). I read a lot already, so I’m looking for something new. I wish I could travel to the future to see how the upcoming fight works out. It seems like we just went back 50+ years
I can recommend a couple non-fictions about the Civil Rights Movement:- Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
- Kennedy and King: The President, the Pastor, and the Battle over Civil Rights
I don't know the answer to your question but this one has part of a nursery rhyme in its title and it's a great book:All the King's Men by Robert Penn Warren
NancyJ wrote: "I just got my new Play Harder list. A few are perfect for books I already had in mind for thFaireste April fun tag. Translated book- Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Language or linguistics..."
Ella Minnow Pea is another favorite of mine and definitely fits the fun tag!
For fairy tale reference, maybe Fairest by Gail Carson Levine or A Pocket Full of Rye if you're an Agatha Christie fan.
Fairest
A Pocket Full of Rye
NancyJ wrote: "Erin wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "Erin wrote: "Would love some suggestions for a few of my prompts!These 2 have lots of optio..."
Great, we can both try My Lady Jane in April. It’s ava..."
Ok I'm in!
fairy tale titles:Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre, a classic spy novel
And Then There Was None, a classic whodunit by Agatha Christie
Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, a modern retelling of a classic Russian fairytale about a girl given three impossible tasks to perform overnight
Fairy Tale by Stephen King, this one takes the rule rather too literally, but I liked the way it references the theme inside the story
I'm undecided myself about the no 4. book. I have on my first list, and I've been considering Richard Brautigan, Percival Everett, Toni Morrison and Jennifer Latham
The prompt 'book where the title references a nursery rhyme or fairytale' is one I suggested, and it needs to be very close to the nursery rhyme or fairytale it reminds you of. The book does not have to have anything to do with the fairytale or nursery rhyme beyond the title though many do. A title with the words 'fairytale' or 'nursery rhyme' in them are not referencing a fairytale or nursery rhyme. I was inspired by a similar prompt in another reading challenge and that I had read a number of books with nursery rhymes referenced in the titles -- Agatha Christie has many including those suggested already here and one I read at the time the prompt came to me: Five Little Pigs. There are many crime fiction books/series that have titles referencing some nursery rhyme and fairytales are pulled in with books like Cinder or The Snow Child (a Russian fairytale).
Myths or legends are not either. Nor are fables.
NancyJ wrote: "I just got my new Play Harder list. A few are perfect for books I already had in mind for the April fun tag. Translated book- Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Language or linguistics..."
Set in the jungle is another prompt I suggested and coincidentally 1 of the many books on my TBR that inspired it was The Puma Years. I also had The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey and some thrillers in mind.
I also recommend Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters for the language/linguistics plot, though I'm not really sure how well it will work in audio. There's a visual aspect to reading the book that I can't see how you pick up on it in an audio - to me it's key to appreciating the book. Perhaps you can borrow the ebook to read along with the audio. Another book that fits that prompt is Word by Word: The Secret Life of Dictionaries - geeky but fun.
Algernon (Darth Anyan) wrote: "fairy tale titles:Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy by John Le Carre, a classic spy novel
And Then There Was None, a classic whodunit by Agatha Christie
[book:Spinning S..."
You have bipoc author and civil rights both, right? We should compare lists.
Here’s one of my shelves for authors of color. I interpret “of color” fairly broadly, and other relevant books could be found in my indigenous, Asia and India shelves.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/list...
Theresa wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I just got my new Play Harder list. A few are perfect for books I already had in mind for the April fun tag. Translated book- Days at the Morisaki Bookshop Language ..."
Thanks for the clarification! I found a kindle book I won called Bookish and the Beast, and Hoopla has audios of the series, including Geekerella. Those fit, right? I also saw books with references to princesses, happily ever after, goose girl, etc. I’ll be happy with Bookish as my backup. I’ll keep my eyes open for key words in other lists. I might OD on fun rather quickly, so I need to mix it up.
I read most of the books suggested above, but never heard of five little pigs. I read spinning silver, but not uprooted. Would it work? How about one Emily Wilde's Compendium of Lost Tales.
I downloaded the ebook of Ella Minnow Pea yesterday, and requested a print book. I’m counting on a larger than average font size. The library doesn’t have an audio. Otherwise I have several other titles for linguistics. One on culture, also .. lost words.
Wordhunter sounds like something you might like.
Erin wrote: "NancyJ wrote: "I just got my new Play Harder list. A few are perfect for books I already had in mind for thFaireste April fun tag. Translated book- [book:Days at the Morisaki Booksh..."
Those sound good too.
How soon do you want to start My Lady Jane?
Joy D wrote: "I can recommend a couple non-fictions about the Civil Rights Movement:- Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America
- [book:Kennedy and..."
Thank you! Devil in the Grove might be the perfect choice right now. It’s mostly new to me. I think the Dayton Literary Peace Prize is my new favorite award. The book might pair well with the KKK book coming up. I saw the movie of all the kings men years ago. I don’t think I can take another example of the dark side of charismatic and narcissistic leadership. This has been my year to read about constitutional threats too, Pretty soon I’ll have to stop reading and get out there to do something to help.
If the title makes you think of a specific nursery rhyme or fairytale immediately, it fits. Something like The Cinderella Complex: Women's Hidden Fear of Independence fits. Lee Strauss has a nursery rhyme suspense series, for example.
Nursery Rhyme reference: first one I thought of was Along Came a Spider by James PattersonIt's the first one in the Alex Cross series ... many of which have a nursery rhyme reference in the title.
A recently published alternative history novel that combines the Jazz Age with Native American mythos and the rise of KKK , one that made it into my top 10 for 2024 is Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
Book Concierge wrote: "Nursery Rhyme reference: first one I thought of was Along Came a Spider by James PattersonIt's the first one in the Alex Cross series ... many of which have a nursery r..."
I just read Along Came a Spider for that same prompt.
Play Book Tag
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@Amy, I had suggested The Last Animal by Ramona Ausubel for "Prehistoric." I liked it very much. I've never read the Wolf Boy.