Hooked on Books discussion
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C: Wind-Up Woe
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I have spun task #1. I’m not sure where to give this number to Donna.
Mod
“Well, well, well… look who managed to wrangle every last teammate into the haunted halls of check-in! I must say, that kind of dedication warms even my porcelain heart. 💀🖤
Teams who move as one are rare in this carnival of sinister toys and restless relics. You’ve proven yourselves worthy of a standing ovation (and perhaps a watchful eye 👀 from the Toymaker’s shadows).
Keep it up, darlings—after all, the real challenge is making sure no one gets left behind in the dark…”
🎃💀 Congratulations, fully-checked-in teams! 💀🎃
This challenge feels creepier each day…Happy we all checked in in time. Who knows what the shadows would have made us do to mitigate them in case we were late.
Mod
Annabelle is inspired by a true story about a doll believed to be haunted by the spirit of a young girl. In 1970, a student and her roommate reported that their Raggedy Ann doll, the real Annabelle doll the movie is based on (pictured on the right), was acting strangely. A medium told them the doll was inhabited by the spirit of Annabelle Higgins. Despite their attempts to care for the doll, they couldn’t control its behavior and eventually sought help from Ed and Lorraine Warren, famous demonologists. The Warrens concluded that an unnatural entity was manipulating the doll. They took the doll and secured it in their museum, protected by sigils and wards. While the Warrens documented several instances of unusual activity, including the doll seemingly moving on its own, there is no proof it has ever caused physical harm or death.
The movie Annabelle draws heavily from this story, but is a fictionalized version. Still, the doll in the film (pictured above on the left) is undeniably creepy.
Complete the following tasks
Step 1: Purify the space & spirit by burning sage
Read a chain of 3 books that start with a letter in SAGE
Step 2: Choose the materials for your wards
Read a chain of 3 books with your ward material chosen on the cover (the team must choose from plants, stones, metal, or crystal, but you will all read for the same material)
Step 3: Put your ward items at the 4 corners of your area (around Annabelle). Draw your sigils/symbols in oil or water, encircling your space with a defensive boundary. It's all about intention.
Read a chain of 3 books that have the word SYMBOL in the text
alright, for #2, which one did we want to pick:(the team must choose from plants, stones, metal, or crystal, but you will all read for the same material) ??
I’d choose stones as I think it is the most easy one.
I just finished a book starting with A and added it, but if I read a longer one, I’ll change it.
I think plants would be easier, but I can look for something with a stone if we go with that.
Vicki wrote: "I think plants would be easier, but I can look for something with a stone if we go with that."Plants is good for me too.
I'm down for plants!! let's go with that one!
JUST FYI:Q: Can we read whatever we want?
A: For the most part, yes. We have tasks that the books must fit. However, we do have a caveat. We are asking that all participants read beyond their comfort zones for every toy (not bonuses). Read a mix of fiction & nonfiction. A mix of genres. If you normally only read romance, add some fantasy or some horror. Read something you don't normally read. Expand your horizons...You never know, you may enjoy it! (AKA Belle's Rule)
I will try reading out of my comfort zone.
I read out of my comfort zone the whole time with some of these challenges:-)
Me too...sci-fi is one of my non-comfort zones. lol Horror depends on the "horror" in a book. I like more realistic stories than what I consider to be not true to life or something that won't really happen, at least for the most part.
I don’t like Romance and horror, paranormal and so on. But then just sometimes, one of these book is indeed very good.
Mod
Her glass eyes caught the light, smile too fixed.
“Plants grow roots,” she whispered. “Roots creep. Roots spread. You chose well.”
Then she listened as you all spoke of comfort zones, of books you don’t like, of stories you’d rather not touch.
Her head tilted just a little too far.
“Don’t worry… the books you fear most are always the ones that find you anyway.”
—Toymaker Lisa
I just posted my book on the SS, so I think we're finished. Would one of you please check us in?
I can check us in but I think we're required to read a book that pushed our reading boundaries. There's a new spot on the spreadsheet for us to mark which read pushed our reading.
Claire, can you mark yours when you get a chance?
I can definitely check us in!
Sorry, I forgot that part. All done now.
no worries at all! I'll get us checked in!
Mod
An ornate, antique silver vase believed to be cursed, originating from the town of Basano del Grappa in Italy. This mysterious vessel is said to bring tragedy and death to its owners, with a dark history of every family member who possessed it dying under strange or unexplained circumstances.
The vase is intricately crafted, featuring detailed engravings and an elegant shape that masks its sinister nature. According to legend, the vase carries a malevolent spirit or curse that dooms anyone who keeps it, making it a feared and avoided heirloom.
Its true whereabouts remain a mystery, and many stories warn of the misfortune it brings, making the Basano Vase a chilling symbol of a haunted object with a deadly legacy.
Complete the following tasks:
🏺1. Death in the Family
Read a chain of 3 books where a family member dies — on or off the page, recent or ancestral, tragic or suspicious.
👻3. Spirits Attached
Read a chain of 3 books that feature a ghost, spirit, or lingering presence — friendly, malevolent, or just confused. Bonus if it haunts an object.
🗡️5. A Body on the Floor
Read a chain of 3 books that includes a murder or homicide — it can be part of the main plot or a key backstory detail. The more mysterious or cursed, the better.
Mod
Talky Tina is the deceptively sweet yet sinister doll from "Living Doll," a classic episode of The Twilight Zone (Season 5, Episode 6, 1963).
At first glance, Talky Tina appears to be a typical mid-century talking doll: petite, with wide eyes, curly hair, and a soft voice. She recites charming phrases like "My name is Talky Tina, and I love you." But when she senses hostility, especially from the cruel stepfather, Erich, her messages take a chilling turn: "My name is Talky Tina, and I don’t like you," eventually escalating to "My name is Talky Tina... and I’m going to kill you."
Tina never moves on screen, adding to the unsettling atmosphere, but her eerie voice and growing malevolence create a mounting tension. She's never caught in the act, yet her influence leads to a deadly confrontation that blurs the line between inanimate object and vengeful force.
Talky Tina became one of The Twilight Zone's most iconic and haunting figures, a forerunner of killer doll horror and a reminder that even the most innocent toys can harbor dark intentions.
With her wide eyes, curly hair, and syrupy voice, Talky Tina looks like any other talking doll… at first. But her sweet phrases twist into ominous warnings, her presence grows more sinister, and her enemies always seem to meet mysterious ends.
She never moves. She never blinks. And yet somehow, she always gets what she wants.
Now Tina’s whispering threats again—and we need your help to shut her up for good.
Complete the following tasks:
Smiles Can Be Misleading
Don’t trust the teeth. Tina smiled too..
Read a chain of 3 books where the cover model is smiling.
Hidden in the Name
Her name is in everything—you just didn’t notice.
Read a chain of 3 books that include all the letters of TINA in the title or subtitle (any order).
Pretty in Plastic
She looks sweet sitting on the shelf.
Read a chain of 3 books with pink or white covers (minimum 50%).
Mod
James Dean died in a car crash in his Porsche 550 Spyder (nicknamed "Little Bastard") on September 30, 1955. After his crash, the car was sold for parts. Anyone who bought the parts was involved in some kind of incident, leading to injuries or even death.
The engine was installed in a Lotus IX race car, and the driver of the car was injured. A doctor purchased the transmission and suspension, leading to his own fatal accident.
The car was being transported in 1960, and it just vanished without a trace. Despite thorough searches, it has never been found.
The transaxle was later sold at an auction for a significant sum, due to the fascination with the idea of a "cursed" car.
Catch James Dean's Disappearing Cursed Car
Read a book with something that disappears
Read a book with a car on the cover
Read a book published in September of any year
Mod
I'm okay adding the bonus item. how do you guys feel?
I’m good with the bonus, but do we have to do all tasks? Or can we read for the same ones. Anyway, okay for me.
Claire wrote: "I’m good with the bonus, but do we have to do all tasks? Or can we read for the same ones. Anyway, okay for me."oooh that's a good question. I assume we'd need to do all three tasks too - linking them like the others. . .but I wonder if we just each have to do 1 of the 3 tasks. . .
oooh I found in the Q&A:Q: For the bonus do we each have to read all three tasks or how do we go about it?
A: bonus tasks are NOT done in chains (you're welcome), You will each read one task.
so we each would just need to do 1 task. . .
I'm okay to read for the bonus too.
Yeah, I wouldn't chance us getting penalized 😂🤣 these toys seem. . .scary. . .
if you take car on the cover, I'd love to take published in September because it would be so easy with all the arc's I'm readingbut can do something that disappears if needed!
also, I've prepped our spreadsheet
I’ll read for something that disappears then?
No, I saw Vicki already entered a book for september which means I’ll go looking for car on the cover.
oh I see, I guess she picked onethx for taking that one.
I'm sorry, Trisha! I should have posted in here before I grabbed that one. When I read your message and saw the tasks, I saw that the book I read yesterday was published in September, but now I feel bad. I can read for a car on the cover. I'm sure I have books that will fit it.
Nah, no worries. I'll find one, I'm sure!
Hooked on Books
Books mentioned in this topic
All the Light We Cannot See (other topics)Becoming Mrs. Lewis (other topics)
Catching Fire (other topics)
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike (other topics)
The Dog Stars (other topics)
More...
Team Challenge
September 2025 - November 2025
Please consult the Toy Chest of Dread for your first toy selection. This is in the 3rd tab of your spreadsheet. Post your team name and the answer that the Toy Chest supplies you at the Occult Museum (check in thread).
Team
Vicki
Trisha
Claire
Important Links
Belle's Cabinet of Notices (Announcements)
Occult Museum (Check-in Thread)
Scoreboard
Ouija Board (Q&A)
Collectibles
The Monkey's Paw (Feedback)
SS: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/...
Rules
⛓️Each toy/object has specific chains and/or tasks that need to be completed.
Examples:
1. Create a chain of 3 using titles consecutively (ABC)
-All the Light We Cannot See
-Becoming Mrs. Lewis
-Catching Fire
2. Create a chain of 3 with "dog" in the titles
-Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike
-The Dog Stars
-Hot Dog Girl
⛓️One person should NOT complete a whole chain by themselves. This is a team challenge. However, if a toy/object has multiple chains and a slower reader can only/want to only read for 1 or 2 chains (they must read at least one), then the other two faster readers on the team can complete the other chains between the two of them.
⛓️You may choose which toy/object from the list to capture first but you MUST complete it BEFORE starting a new toy/object.
⛓️You may use or drop articles: A, An, The
⛓️If you somehow manage to incorporate a Buddy Read into a chain, you can earn points based on the BR tier system.
⛓️Standard Rules Apply
⛓️At the end of the official challenge (last day of November), your team may choose to continue on at your own pace. There will be no points accumulated after November but you can finish any toys/objects that you didn't get to during the challenge.
Scoring
You will get 3 points for every completed book (9 per completed chain) PLUS page points.