Eclectic Readers discussion

We're bringing back the Mad Libs Reading Challenge for a 2nd year! In case you didn't participate last year, this is how it works:

You read 10 books with titles that fulfill each part of speech/category listed below between January and June. The due date will be the end of our 24-hour Readathon in June which will end (tentatively) on June 23rd at 8:00 pm EST.

When you've completed reading all 10 books, you'll submit your book titles through our Google Form, which will be released later in the year closer to the Readathon. After the Readathon, we'll release the Mad Lib story with your answers and have a drawing for a prize! Feel free to use this thread to plan out your reads, talk with other participants, and get ideas if you're stumped on any of the categories.

Here are this year's categories:
1. Adjective
2. Exclamation
3. Person's Name
4. Verb
5. Plural Noun
6. Place Name
7. Adjective
8. Any Book Title
9. Noun
10. Verb

Happy planning and happy reading!

Do audio books count for this? Or is it strictly physical book reading?

Meagan wrote: "Do audio books count for this? Or is it strictly physical book reading?"

Audiobooks count! Feel free to listen to as many choices as you wish :)

This was one of two challenges I completed in 2017. Looking forward to 2018. Thanks for hosting this challenge.

Tina wrote: "This was one of two challenges I completed in 2017. Looking forward to 2018. Thanks for hosting this challenge."

Looking forward to your choices!!

I'm going to try this one this year because it looked like fun on Litsy. This is what I have so far.
1. Adjective - Vicious, V.E. Schwab
2. Exclamation - The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, Manuel Gonzales
3. Person's Name - Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
4. Verb
5. Plural Noun - A Gathering of SHADOWS, V.E. Schwab
6. Place Name - Northanger Abbey, Jane Austen
7. Adjective - Imprudence, Gail Carriger
8. Any Book Title
9. Noun - Supernova, C.A. Higgins
10. Verb - Radiate, C.A. Higgins

I put in two of my LitsyClassics choices, which are also LitsyAtoZ. Five books will either allow me to continue or finish a series so that's a plus. I just need two more books! I'm going to try to knock this one out early though.

Jamie wrote: "I'm going to try this one this year because it looked like fun on Litsy. This is what I have so far.
1. Adjective - Vicious, V.E. Schwab
2. Exclamation - The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, Manu..."

That's such a great list! And it's nice when a book can count for several different challenges. Good luck!

Jamie wrote: "I'm going to try this one this year because it looked like fun on Litsy. This is what I have so far.
1. Adjective - Vicious, V.E. Schwab
2. Exclamation - The Regional Office Is Under Attack!, Manu..."

Jamie, I did a complete double take when I saw your last two picks. I’ve also got Supernova and Radiate in my list. Read Lightless in the 2017 Mad Libs and loved it.

Also curious to see what you think of The Regional Office is Under Attack! I read that for 2017.

So, here’s my 2018 Mad Libs list:

1. Adjective - Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh
2. Exclamation - Supernova by C.A. Higgins
3. Person's Name - D'Arc by Robert Repino
4. Verb - Snitch by Booker T. Mattison
5. Plural Noun - A Plague of Giants by Kevin Hearne
6. Place Name - East of West, Vol. 1: The Promise through East of West, Vol. 7 by Jonathan Hickman (Decided to finish off all seven trades in this comic book series)
7. Adjective - Alive by Scott Sigler
8. Any Book Title - What It Means When a Man Falls from the Sky by Lesley Nneka Arimah (I can’t wait to see how this title fits into the Mad Lib!)
9. Noun - Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
10. Verb - Radiate by C.A. Higgins


I read Lightless in the 2017 Mad Libs, and I loved it so much that I couldn’t resist putting the second and third books in the series into my 2018 list.

I'm trying my hardest to compose my TBR for this challenge and for 2018 in general from books I already own and have not read.

1. Adjective: Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
2. Exclamation: (I NEED SUGGESTIONS FOR THIS ONE)
3. Person's Name: Dear Martin by Nic Stone
4. Verb: One of us is Lying by Karen M. McManus
5. Plural Noun: Saints & Misfits by S.K. Ali
6. Place Name: Caraval by Stephanie Garber
7. Adjective: Ugly Love by Colleen Hoover
8. Any Book Title: Most of All You by Mia Sheridan
9. Noun: Bully by Penelope Douglas
10. Verb: Exit, Pursued by a Bear by E.K. Johnston

Roselyn wrote: "I'm trying my hardest to compose my TBR for this challenge and for 2018 in general from books I already own and have not read.

1. Adjective: Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
2. Exclama..."

A lot of folks, including myself, went with The Regional Office Is Under Attack! for our 2017 lists. Enjoyed the writing style of that one. I’ll confess to fudging my “exclamation” choice this year. Even if Supernova doesn’t have an exclamation point in the title, I still think a supernova certainly delivers quite a punch. I briefly considered going with Terry Pratchett’s Guards! Guards!.

Happy new year everyone! Thought I'd share my list. Will I get through all of these by June? Probably not, but I'm gonna try lol.

1. Adjective — Wrecked by Maria Padian
2. Exclamation — Krik? Krak! by Edwidge Danticat
3. Person's Name — Beloved
4. Verb — Reboot by Amy Tintera
5. Plural Noun — Beautiful Bodies by Kimberly Rae Miller
6. Place Name — Dietland by Sarai Walker
7. Adjective — Rich and Pretty by Rumaan Alam
8. Any Book Title — The Book of Speculation by Erika Swyler
9. Noun — Annihilation by Jeff VanderMeer
10. Verb — Feed by Mira Grant

Meagan wrote: "Happy new year everyone! Thought I'd share my list. Will I get through all of these by June? Probably not, but I'm gonna try lol.

1. Adjective — Wrecked by Maria Padian
2. Exclamation — Krik? Krak..."

Looks like a great list! Good luck!

My tentative list as posted on Litsy:
Adjective: The Good Doctor (Neil Simon)
🔹Exclamation: March (John Lewis)
🔹Person’s name: Maurice (E. M. Forester)
🔹Verb: Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)
🔹Plural noun: Killers of Flower Moon (David Grann)
🔹Place name: Wide Sargasso Sea (Jean Rhys)
🔹Adjective: The Black Dahlia (James Elroy)
🔹Any book title: Without Pity (Ann Rule)
🔹Noun: Salt to the Sea (Ruta Sepetys)
🔹Verb: In Search of Lost Time (Marcel Proust)

I'm embarrassed by how difficult I found remembering what counts for the various parts of speech. While diagramming sentences was never my favorite thing to do in school, I did major in English-Literature in college. That said, I **think** I did this right, and I'm in the middle of reading the final book I need to complete the challenge. If anything looks really wrong, please let me know!
*Adjective - A Dangerous Crossing by Ausma Zehanat Khan
*Exclamation - Happy Birthday, Turk! by Jakob Arjouni
*Person's Name - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman
*Verb - Capture by Penny Reid
*Plural Noun - Holidays on Ice by David Sedaris
*Place Name - The Secret of Chimneys by Agatha Christie
*Adjective - Iron Gold by Pierce Brown
*Any Book Title - The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty
*Noun - Bluebird, Bluebird by Attica Locke
*Verb - Poirot Investigaes by Agatha Christie

Tina wrote: "My tentative list as posted on Litsy:
Adjective: The Good Doctor (Neil Simon)
🔹Exclamation: March (John Lewis)
🔹Person’s name: Maurice (E. M. Forester)
🔹Verb: Cutting for Stone (Abraham Verghese)
🔹..."

That a really good list! Good luck!

Rachel wrote: "I'm embarrassed by how difficult I found remembering what counts for the various parts of speech. While diagramming sentences was never my favorite thing to do in school, I did major in English-Lit..."

I am also not great with grammar, haha! But it all looks good to me. Not to mention, we're not incredibly strict, so it's all good. Great list!

Sue wrote: "Rachel wrote: "I'm embarrassed by how difficult I found remembering what counts for the various parts of speech. While diagramming sentences was never my favorite thing to do in school, I did major..."

Thanks!! :)

I took a slight and unintentional break from heavy reading and from Goodreads all together towards the end of last year (I think I burned myself out) and I missed this completely! I'm going to have to work on this and see if any of the books I've already read this year might fit into the categories! :)

Roselyn wrote: "I'm trying my hardest to compose my TBR for this challenge and for 2018 in general from books I already own and have not read.

1. Adjective: Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
2. Exclama..."

Roselyn - I haven't finished my list yet, but I am planning to use 'Oh Crap! Potty Training' as my Exclamation book >.< So..... there's a suggestion lol PS. It was great so I highly recommend if you have a toddler :P

OK, I think I have my list and I reserve the right to change books out (it's almost certain to happen...)

Adjective: Pretty Face by Lucy Parker
Exclamation: Oh Crap! Potty Training: Everything Modern Parents Need to Know to Do It Once and Do It Right by Jamie Glowacki
Person's Name: Mrs. Fletcher by Tom Perotta
Verb: Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones
Plural Noun: Pansies by Alexis Hall
Place Name: The City of Mirrors by Justin Cronin
Adjective: Shrill: Notes from a Loud Woman by Lindy West
Any Book Title: Fever Dream Samanta Schweblin
Noun: Magnate by Joanna Shupe
Verb: Exit West by Mohsin Hamid

Bill wrote: "So, here’s my 2018 Mad Libs list:

1. Adjective - Rebel Seoul by Axie Oh
2. Exclamation - Supernova by C.A. Higgins
3. Person's Name - D'Arc by Rober..."

So, I'm curious as to how everyone else is doing on the challenge. Honestly, I'm am so far off the rails that I think I might be beyond ever finishing all the books on my list. It's not that I haven't been reading, mind you. I just keep getting books I need to read. Get the feeling I might have to do some serious substitutions where I can, drawing on what I've read this year and the stuff I'm insanely eager to read next.

Hasn't helped that I've been feverishly writing this year. Been productive writing-wise, but my reading has suffered because of that.

Anyone else struggling through their Mad Libs list?

I'm not doing too well on it. I didn't make a list so I was going to plug titles in as they fit but so far not many are fitting.

I think I’ve only got a few more spots to fill, but most of the books I had planned to read aren’t the ones I ended up using. I haven’t been getting as much reading in general done this year as I would like, though. :(

That’s awesome, Bill, that you’re getting a lot of writing done!

And if you’re running short on time, don’t forget that graphic novels count!

I feel where you're coming from, Bill. That happens to me a lot so I end up reading books that don't fit in any of my challenges. Even though I was still reading steadily, it was frustrating that I just couldn't make progress. Especially, since I always end up doing the read and plug method. I'll still be rooting for you, and it's great that you're getting a lot of writing done!

I’ve been so spaced out and busy that I never even noticed this was going on again. I’m gonna see if I’ve managed to read the right books since Jan so I can participate. I loved doing it last year. 😺

Awesome, Rebekah, hope you can make it work!

And here’s the Google Form link to submit your book titles when you’re done! https://goo.gl/forms/j8ns4pUoxEEYYAIH3

Meredith wrote: "And here’s the Google Form link to submit your book titles when you’re done! https://goo.gl/forms/j8ns4pUoxEEYYAIH3"

Great timing. I finished the challenge last week. Thank you.

The deadline is still June 23, correct?

Meagan wrote: "The deadline is still June 23, correct?"

Yes, that is correct! Due June 23 8:00pm EST