30.9 - Nick KY's task: North By Northwest

[Dlmrose, Moderator Emeritus]

30.9 Nick KY's Task: North by Northwest

With “Wind” as our theme, here’s an opportunity to read more about Chicago -- “The Windy City” and the gateway to the great Northwest, and related topics.

Read 2 books from the following options. You may use two different options or the same option twice.

Option 1: Read a book set partially or entirely in Chicago.

Option 2: Read a book with one of the following Chicago Sports team words in the title: Bears, Cubs, White, Sox, Black, Hawks, Bulls, Sky, Fire, Windy, City, Rollers. Plurals/singulars, possessives, variations (roll, rolling, etc), and compound words (windmill, wind-up, rollover, etc) all work

Option 3: The above teams are from the sports of Football, Baseball, Basketball, Hockey, Soccer, and the Roller Derby. Read a non-fiction book concerning one of those sports, or a fiction book with a protagonist who plays one of these sports.

Option 4: Travel North by Northwest from Chicago and read a book set in one of the following states: Wisconsin, Minnesota, North or South Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, Alaska, or in the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, or the Yukon.

Option 5: “North by Northwest” is a great film by Alfred Hitchcock with an interesting history – For instance, its original title was “The Man in Lincoln’s Nose”! (See the wikilink here.) Read a memoir or non-fiction book about Hitchcock or any other film director, Cary Grant or any other film actor, or about Hollywood or film-making in general. TV actors and directors are acceptable.

REQUIRED: Indicate the option(s) you choose when you post.

[Nick]

Approved Books.

For Option 1. The Paris Wife
Hard Landing
City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago

For Option 3. Payback Time

For Option 4. Upstairs Girls: Prostitution In The American West

For Option 5. Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself

[Nick]

reserved

[Dlmrose, Moderator Emeritus]

This thread is open!

[Dee]

Nick - checking on Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself for Option 5

[Nick]

Dee wrote: "Nick - checking on Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself for Option 5"

It absolutely works!

[Suzanne]

Hi Nick,

Would The Paris Wife work for Option 1? I know you say 'partially set in Chicago,' and I know the book starts in Chicago, but I don't know when Hemingway and his first wife go to Paris.

Thanks!

[Nick]

Suzanne wrote: "Hi Nick,

Would The Paris Wife work for Option 1? I know you say 'partially set in Chicago,' and I know the book starts in Chicago, but I don't know when Hemingway and his first wife go to Paris. ..."

Yes. Any time at all in Chicago counts. The GR blurb mentions Chicago, but you may want to reference that the book was approved in this message of this thread when you post.

[Suzanne]

Nick wrote: "Suzanne wrote: "Hi Nick,

Would The Paris Wife work for Option 1? I know you say 'partially set in Chicago,' and I know the book starts in Chicago, but I don't know when Hemingway and his first wi..."

Awesome, thanks!

[Coralie]

For Option 1 I would like to read Hard Landing. I am assuming that if the first sentence is -
The electrocuted man was found dead on the northbound tracks of the Borrow Street station of the Chicago Transit Authority suburban line in Shoreview, Illinois. -
then it is probably partially set in Chicago.

[Nick]

Coralie wrote: "For Option 1 I would like to read Hard Landing. I am assuming that if the first sentence is -
The electrocuted man was found dead on the northbound tracks of the Borrow Street station of the Chicag..."

It should work. Mention of the CTA in suburban Chicago is enough.

[Dee]

ohhh good, City of Scoundrels: The 12 Days of Disaster That Gave Birth to Modern Chicago just came in at the library for me - fits perfectly here

[Peebee]

So happy you're a derby fan, Nick! I have several roller derby books I've been itching to read that will fit this task and some others.

I am a member of the DC Rollergirls, and have to say I'm pretty excited about Charm City's upset win over Windy City this weekend -- hope you'll forgive me for that one, but I live close enough to Charm City that I know and have skated with some of their skaters.

[Sam]

Can I just check if I can use the same state for option 4? I read Fifty Shades of Greyas it is set in Seattle Washington & now I really want to read the second book Fifty Shades Darker

[Nick]

Peebee wrote: "So happy you're a derby fan, Nick! I have several roller derby books I've been itching to read that will fit this task and some others.

I am a member of the DC Rollergirls, and have to say I'm ..."

How cool is this! Hope you do well this season.

[Nick]

Sam wrote: "Can I just check if I can use the same state for option 4? I read Fifty Shades of Greyas it is set in Seattle Washington & now I really want to read the second book Fifty Shades Darker"

You may use Option 4 twice, and even use the same state. Go for it.

[Sam]

Thanks Nick

[Cassie]

I'm also trying to use option 4 twice. The thing is, my proposed second book is called Upstairs Girls: Prostitution In The American West. It is set in a variety of Western states, including South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming among others. Would this be an acceptable choice for this task in option 4?

[Nick]

Cassie wrote: "I'm also trying to use option 4 twice. The thing is, my proposed second book is called Upstairs Girls: Prostitution In The American West. It is set in a variety of Western states, including South D..."

Sure, I'll take it.

[Cassie]

Thanks!

[Chris]

Yikes, I thought I had this one sewn up, and then I reread the description. I read

which I was going to use for option 2, but even though the book is all about high school football, the protagonist is the school newspaper reporter. The whole story centers around a mysterious player on the football team, so I guess you could say he's a central character, too, but the school reporter is trying to figure out what the player's story is. Will this still work?

[Nick]

Chris wrote: "Yikes, I thought I had this one sewn up, and then I reread the description. I read

which I was going to use for option 2, but even though the book is all about high school ..."

It will work for Option 3. Be sure to explain that a central character is a football player and it was OK'd in this thread-- no need to explain whether he's the chief protagonist or not. But I think the GR blurb explains things satisfactorily.

[Chris]

Thanks! And I did mean Option 3.

[Deana]

Checking on Seriously...I'm Kidding for option 5.

[Nick]

Deana wrote: "Checking on Seriously...I'm Kidding for option 5."

Since the author was once an actress on TV, it's fine.

[Deana]

Nick wrote: "Deana wrote: "Checking on Seriously...I'm Kidding for option 5."

Since the author was once an actress on TV, it's fine."

Thanks!