SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion

All right y'all, time to find books to read for 2019! As in previous years, we are supplying prompts, you supply the books that fit them! If you want to share with us why they were the ones you chose, all the better!

If you'd like to sign up and track your reads, the official challenge is up here.

1. Oldest book
2. Work of art
3. Novella or short story collection
4. Title is a question
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
6. Has inspired other art forms
7. Your initials are in the title
8. A book recommended to you
9. A book that intimidates you
10. Reminds you of a song
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate)
12. Book with a luck symbol
13. The 6th book
14. Last in a series
15. One Hit Wonder
16. Hidden Gem
17. Someplace you want to go
18. Get On the Bandwagon
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order
20. Graphic or illustrated novel

Yiiiepeah!!

And of course I already have got questions:
2. Work of art - what is meant by that?
6. Has inspired other art forms - does the obvious "been turned into a TV series" count? Or does it have to be something more elaborate?

Gabi wrote: "2. Work of art - what is meant by that?
6. Has inspired other art forms - does the obvious "been turned into a TV series" count?"

2. Whatever you want, that's the best part of these challenges, seeing how people interpret them!
6. TV/movie adaptations count, but also things like fan art :)

Allison wrote: "1. Oldest book
2. Work of art
3. Novella or short story collection
4. Title is a question
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
6. Has inspired other art forms
7. Your initials are in the title
8. A..."

YEEEEES!
I'm never going to finish the 2018 one, but my hopes are high for 2019. I already have a few ideas. Once I'm home tomorrow, I'll sit down and draw up a full list.

Anna wrote: "2. Whatever you want, that's the best part of these challenges, seeing how people interpret them!
6. TV/movie adaptations count, but also things like fan art :)"

Then I know what I'll do :D Thanks a lot for the explanation.

Yay! I actually dreamed last night that you put up the new challenges.

Meredith wrote: "Yay! I actually dreamed last night that you put up the new challenges."

Like 90s pop songs, we're in the business of making your dreams a reality!

Ack!! Less than 24 hours after foot surgery I’m too doped up to fit my lists together - poop

Yup, I love this challenge - so I'm already sorted it out. Here we go:

1. Oldest book – changed to Micromegas
✔️ 2. Work of art - A Stranger in Olondria - more work into the plot instead of the word art would have been nice, though
✔️ 3. Novella or short story collection – The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon, Volume 4: Thunder and Roses - my personal god of SF
✔️ 4. Title is a question – Who Fears Death
✔️ 5. Ugly cover (and please share it!) – The Prince of Morning Bells - ugly shell, beautiful content
✔️ 6. Has inspired other art forms – The Way To The Stars - well ... at least it is inspirational
✔️ 7. Your initials are in the title – changed to Gods of Jade and Shadow - yeah! found something I've already read this year
✔️ 8. A book recommended to you – Amatka - and what a great rec
✔️ 9. A book that intimidates you - Neuromancer - still intimidated, but at least finished
✔️ 10. Reminds you of a song – The World of the End - positive surprise
✔️ 11. Buddy read (do not need to participate) – How Long 'til Black Future Month? - wonderful read
✔️ 12. Book with a luck symbol – The Grey Mane of Morning - teenager nostalgia
✔️ 13. The 6th book – All the Birds in the Sky - delightful!
✔️ 14. Last in a series –The Rise of Endymion - such a terrific series! A bit sad to let it go now
✔️ 15. One Hit Wonder - Aipotu - I wonder if this ever was a hit?
✔️ 16. Hidden Gem – Der Rote Löwe: Roman - an interesting treasure indeed
✔️ 17. Someplace you want to go - The Edge of Worlds - the virtual holiday was nice
✔️ 18. Get On the Bandwagon – Ninefox Gambit - and getting off again ^^'
✔️ 19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order – Memory of Water - never has the alphabet been so beautiful
✔️ 20. Graphic or illustrated novel – changed to The Castafiore Emerald - delightful screwball story

Explanations for the choices:

1. Just saw "The last man" mentioned in another thread. This is on my list as well and is even older (1826), it was on my read-list, but it is due to a re-read. So I'm changing to it.
This book was published in 1889 and is listed in my TBR as the oldest. I added it to my list while reading Connie Willis‘ „To say nothing of the dog“, where she is referring to it.

2. Found my work of art in Stranger in Olondria - a novel length poem of outstandingly beautiful prose (yet lacking of plot)

3. Perfect for my ongoing Complete Stories of Sturgeon Challenge

4. Thanks to Cat I realised that this could be read as a question. Perfect!

5. I have this in the German Version (Goldmann 1982), and I never read it, since I didn’t like the cover art – unfortunately GR doesn’t give me the cover to display here. Der Weg zum Herz der Welt

6. This is part of the Star Trek Discovery series, which let to a very personal inspiration of art in myself over the last year

7. My initials are GS and this is the only book on my TBR list that has got both in it

8. Anna did recommend this to me for my non-US-non-GB-author challenge

9. Changed to "Neuromancer" since this is so difficult to read.

10. This one reminds me of the song „It’s the end of the world“ by REM

11. That’s the first BR in the new year that’s initated by me Had to change this one, since "The Rook" turned out to be a one person (me) BR, which doesn't exactly count as BR ^^'

12. I hereby declare unicorns as being luck symbols (cause I can’t find anything fitting on my TBR list ;) )

13. This is the 6th book on my TBR list when sorted by „date added“

14. And I’m sooooooo looking forward to it!

15. This is apparently the only book by that author, GR doesn’t even give me a cover for it

16. This book by the Hungarian writer Maria Szepes is not even translated into the English language, yet I read very good critics for it

17. I just so love the Three Worlds that Martha Wells created in the Books of Raksura series

18. Everybody is hyping about this one – so I have to join

19. Well … cause the title words are in alphabetical order ;)

20. This guilty pleasure of my youth is a place holder, cause I don’t own graphic novels (apart from mangas), I have to get something new for this.

Gabi, can you find the ugly cover anywhere on the internet? I want to see it! :D

Found a not so good pic here:
https://www.amazon.de/Weg-zum-Herz-We...

I just hate this naive style and the icon-like drawing of the persons.

To me that's not so bad, but that's why this challenge is fun! I still have to find my own ugly cover.

Does oldest refer to time on the TBR or the publication date of the book? Or would either be fine?

Kaa wrote: "Does oldest refer to time on the TBR or the publication date of the book? Or would either be fine?"

Any defintion of "oldest" is acceptable!

Kaa wrote: "Does oldest refer to time on the TBR or the publication date of the book? Or would either be fine?"

Either is fine, or anything else you come up with!

Rachel, I hope you feel better! You'll have organizing to look forward to when you're less woozy!

The ugly cover one is hard, both in finding a cover I think is ugly and then in admitting I want to read it. I am definitely someone often finds books by first being attracted to the cover.

@Gabi - my "Oldest Book" is Three Men in a Boat too!

Meredith wrote: "@Gabi - my "Oldest Book" is Three Men in a Boat too!"

^^' I just changed that … I read Trike talking about "The last man" in another thread and remembered that I wanted to re-read that one (it wasn't on my TBR, but on my read-list), so I changed to this one, cause it's even older.

I read ten in 2018. So I'll probably manage to read ten in 2019 too, but I changed it to six books this year because I've been reading fewer books. If I find I have time for more than six, I'll add more books.

1.The Oldest Historical Setting--Like Mayflies in a Stream COMPLETED!
Explanation--I can't use GR because I'm doing print books actually on my shelves at home that I've never put on GR because I don't use GR to catalog my books. My To Read on GR is mainly a record of all the GR giveaways I've entered. It would be way too time consuming to take every book down from my shelves to find out its publication date and I have no idea which book I've owned the longest without reading it. That's why I got creative with this category. If any mods object, I'll do Reminds Me Of A Song instead, but I'd really like to read this book taking place in ancient Sumer.

7. My Initials Are In The Title-- The Little Shop of Found Things COMPLETED!
8.A Book Recommended To Me--Josephine Baker's Last Dance
11. Buddy Read--Remnant Population COMPLETED!
13. The 6th Book--The Satapur Moonstone COMPLETED!
17.Someplace I Want To Go--The Bar Harbor Retirement Home for Famous Writers

Ohh I already have the perfect ugly cover in mind!
Ugly and totally unrelated to the content of the book.

Edit: Done-ish!

1. Oldest book: The Woman in White
2. Work of art: Out Here: Poems and Images from Steens Mountain Country
3. Novella or short story collection: Skin Folk
4. Title is a question: Who Fears Death
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!): The Door Into Fire
6. Has inspired other art forms: A Wizard of Earthsea
7. Your initials are in the title: Death in Ten Minutes: Kitty Marion: Activist. Arsonist. Suffragette.
8. A book recommended to you: Tooth and Claw
9. A book that intimidates you: Dhalgren
10. Reminds you of a song: A Killing in the Sun
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate): Remnant Population
12. Book with a luck symbol: Witchmark
13. The 6th book: In the Palace of Repose
14. Last in a series: Revenant Gun
15. One Hit Wonder: Flowers for Algernon
16. Hidden Gem: Blood Binds the Pack
17. Someplace you want to go: The Ruin of Angels
18. Get On the Bandwagon: All Systems Red
19. Words in title in alphabetical order: Black Leopard, Red Wolf
20. Graphic or illustrated novel: On A Sunbeam

1. It was published in 1859. I've been wanting to read it to go with A Most Dangerous Woman: The Complete Season 1.
2. Le Guin poems and illustrations plus photographs.
3. I picked this to read with an IRL book group.
4. Someone else came up with this idea, but I liked it so I borrowed it.
5. Just one of those ridiculous pulpy 80s sff covers - I have no idea how it actually relates to the book at all.
6. Had to pick this one. There is so much else that's been inspired by this book - TV shows, radio plays, the gorgeous illustrated book that just came out...
7. Stolen from Mareike because it has all 3 of my initials
8. Recommended when I was looking for a book to read with a friend. I didn't end up picking it for that, but it looked interesting for me.
9. Okay so first of all, this is 800 pages. Second, it's Samuel Delany and I've never read any of his work that was easy.
10. This title made me think of "Island in the Sun" by Weezer.
11. I have several BRs planned for next year already, but I just signed up for this one this morning.
12. One meaning of "witch mark" is an etching on a building that was supposed to protect against witches and bring good fortune.
13. I put my TBR on random and this was the 6th book.
14. The last Machineries of Empire book!
15. Almost all of the Daniel Keyes books listed in GR are related to Algernon, and the couple that aren't, are not SFF.
16. This is a really fantastic series but not that many people seem to have read it.
17. I love the world of the Craft Sequence so much!
18. Wen has convinced me that I should read this as soon as I'm done with the Raksura, and it seems like everyone's been talking about this series recently.
19. I am super excited for this to come out, and coincidentally the title is in alphabetical order.
20. This is a webcomic now published as a book. I bought it a couple months ago and have been looking forward to reading it.

Kaa wrote: "Okay, I'm not QUITE done with my list yet, but here are most of my picks and my explanations:

9. A book that intimidates you: Dhalgren...."

Oooh, that's a good choice! I'm going to change my intimidating pick to Dhalgren.

I'm probably going to change some of these, but it's a start!
I'll be keeping track here.

1. Oldest book - The Children of Men
2. Work of art - The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition
3. Short fiction - In an Absent Dream
4. Title is a question - How Long 'til Black Future Month?
5. Ugly cover - Nine Goblins
6. Inspired other art forms - Orlando
7. Initials in title - Ancestral Night
8. Recommended to you - Luna: New Moon
9. Intimidates you - Doomsday Book
10. Reminds you of a song - If Cats Disappeared from the World
11. Buddy read - Medusa Uploaded
12. Luck symbol - Dragon Pearl
13. The 6th book - Where the Mountain Meets the Moon
14. Last in a series - Assassin's Fate
15. One Hit Wonder - Cards of Grief
16. Hidden Gem - A Woman of the Iron People
17. Someplace you want to go - Atlas Alone
18. Get On the Bandwagon - Assassin's Apprentice
19. Alphabetical - Brown Girl in the Ring / Everything I Never Told You
20. Graphic/Illustrated - Paper Girls, Vol. 5

Reasons for choosing each book:
1. Sorted by Date Added to TBR
2. Both the stories and the art are works of art!
3. First short fiction release of 2019
4. The only SFF with a ? on my TBR
5. It's hideous, and it doesn't match the lovely style of her other books
6. I loved the movie!
7. My initials are N/A, as in not available for y'all to know! :P
8. Several people have raved about it
9. Every year I decide I'll read this series, and I never do
10. It reminds me of this song
11. Only one already scheduled that I might read
12. Dragons are very lucky!
13. The 6th highest rated non-short, non-omnibus standalone
14. I'm going to read the whole series this year!
15. The only adult scifi book by this very prolific fantasy author
16. Only 400 ratings, I'm hoping it'll be a gem
17. Not irl, but I want to know what's happening on the planet!
18. It's finally time!
19. Not counting a/an/the, etc.
20. It's been on my library holds list forever

@Meredith: I found it by sorting my TBR on length. Dhalgren wasn't the longest, but it was right up there at the top.

Anna wrote: "I'm probably going to change some of these, but it's a start!

12. Luck symbol - Dragon Pearl"

Oh, that's a good idea, I'm copying this one!

Rachel wrote: "Ack!! Less than 24 hours after foot surgery I’m too doped up to fit my lists together - poop"

You poop from your foot? You *did* need surgery!

20/20

✔1. Oldest book: Three Men in a Boat, published in 1889, oldest book on my TBR pile.
✔2. Work of art: Changed selection to A Taste of Honey. The Birth of Venus, title is name of a painting and there's artists and art in the story.
✔3. Novella or short story collection: Kingdom of Needle and Bone, I picked a novella because I have a couple collections elsewhere in this challenge.
✔4. Title is a question: How Long 'til Black Future Month?
✔5. Ugly cover (and please share it!): , Feedback. This was hard, I was pulling books off my shelf to examine them.
✔6. Has inspired other art forms: Storm Front, the Dresden Files series has inspired fan art, fan fic, and even fan films.
✔7. Your initials are in the title: Murder in Montparnasse. I was looking for a book with two Ms in the title and this one is nearly perfect because my middle initial is J. MIM/MJM
✔8. A book recommended to you: The Once and Future King, by Allison.
✔9. A book that intimidates you: Kushiel's Dart. Dhalgren, lengthy and not an easy read. Nice and intimidating.
✔ 10. Reminds you of a song: changed my pick to The Deep, which reminds me of a song and was also based on a song apparently. Borderline, and now I can't get that song out of my head.
✔11. Buddy read (do not need to participate): Provenance, BR coming in January.
✔12. Book with a luck symbol: War for the Oaks. Gould's Book of Fish: A Novel in Twelve Fish, fish are lucky in many cultures.
✔13. The 6th book: The End of All Things, 6th book in the Old Man's War series. Radiance, by date added to GR.
✔14. Last in a series: Of Noble Family.
✔15. One Hit Wonder: Changed my pick to Magic for Liars, a stand alone book. The Boy Who Lost Fairyland, the other books in this series are all "The Girl Who [does something]," and this is the only "Boy Who..."
✔16. Hidden Gem: The Egyptologist, I rediscovered this 'hidden' on my shelf and it looks like a 'gem' of a book epistolary-mystery-archeology mashup.
✔17. Someplace you want to go: Mortal Arts, Scotland.
✔18. Get On the Bandwagon: The House on Mango Street, a modern classic that I have never read.
✔19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order:State Tectonics.
✔20. Graphic or illustrated novel: Golden Age and Other Stories, a collection of short stories based on fan art for the Temeraire series, the art accompanies the stories.

Meredith wrote: "16. Hidden Gem: The Egyptologist, I rediscovered this 'hidden' on my shelf and it looks like a 'gem' of a book epistolary-mystery-archeology mashup."

Ha, I love this explanation! :D

19/19

1. Oldest book: The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements On gr tbr the longest

2. Work of art: I think the cover art is fantastic!!

3. Novella or short story collection: A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers

4. Title is a question: So You Want to Talk About Race The only book in this challenge that was borrowed :-( In general, it's an owned book challenge for me. I don't think I'm reading any other books that fit this criteria this year. But I did read it and it has been on my tbr since it came out...

5. Ugly cover (and please share it!): worst I can find so far. Not awful by any means but in my view...cheesy

6. Has inspired other art forms: Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption Movie release scheduled for Jan 2020

7. Your initials are in the title: A Memory Called Empire I can get 2/3 but not all three (MJE).

8. A book recommended to you: The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels

9. A book that intimidates you: Seveneves 880 pages and apparently the audio version is terrible so it's a read. Plus mixed reviews to the extreme on each end. 11/6 update: I did end up listening to this and the first 2/3 were superb and the last third was good. I would recommend listening to this one...

10. Reminds you of a song: Talk to Me: How Voice Computing Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Think Awesome!! I'm get some Jill Scott at her jazz vocaliest in song by the same name in here!! Talk to Me ~ Jill Scott

11. Buddy read (do not need to participate): An Unkindness of Ghosts

12. Book with a luck symbol: Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are elephant is on the cover. Elephant is a good luck symbol.

13. The 6th book: Passing sixth oldest book owned.

14. Last in a series: Imago (Butlers Xenogenesis series)

15. One Hit Wonder: Your Heart Is a Muscle the Size of a Fist Yapa has only written one book

16. Hidden Gem: Lucky Boy Engrossing story unexpectedly affecting and superb.

17. Someplace you want to go: The Yiddish Policemen's Union I would like to visit Sitka Alaska. See all the totem poles etc.

18. Get On the Bandwagon: Becoming ummm not even a choice here. So obvious!! ;-)

19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order: Breath, Eyes, Memory

20. Graphic or illustrated novel: I've read all the graphic novels that I own, and I don't generally buy them. This is an owned book challenge for me.

I'll try and join in. Some of these will be quite the challenge! Definitely subject to change...

1. Oldest book - The Broken Sword I'm going by published date. This in 1954, but I may end up with something earlier.
2. Work of art - The Golden Key. It's about art so I'm counting it. Unless I find something better.
3. Novella or short story collection - Perfect State
4. Title is a question - Who Fears Death
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
6. Has inspired other art forms
7. Your initials are in the title - Oh gosh, if I can pull this one off I'll be amazed. I might just have to settle for first and last initials anywhere in the title (no books on my TBR even fulfil this criteria), let alone something like correct order or include my middle initial.
8. A book recommended to you
9. A book that intimidates you - Gardens of the Moon It's not so much the book as the whole series. Sounds fantastic but biiiiiiig.
10. Reminds you of a song
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate) - The Summer Tree
12. Book with a luck symbol - The Last Unicorn... well if we're using unicorns..
13. The 6th book
14. Last in a series
15. One Hit Wonder
16. Hidden Gem
17. Someplace you want to go
18. Get On the Bandwagon
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order - Leviathan Wakes
20. Graphic or illustrated novel

Wondering how to go about hidden gem....how do I know it’s a 💎 until I read it? Hmm

There's always Goodreads with all the Hidden Gems lists!

https://www.goodreads.com/list/tag/hi...

I’m feeling the need to ‘cheat’ and ‘steal’ others’

This year seems extra hard. Maybe it’s just my Vicodin addled brain (poop foot )

I love these, and am in again for all 20, year three.

Done! 20/20.

✔1. Oldest book
The Monk
--Published in 1796. Do I get the award for the oldest?? Well, hmm, it appears not.
✔2. Work of art
The Fountains of Paradise
--Yup, literally a work of "Art"
✔3. Novella or short story collection
The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories
--This was a gift from a friend I have been wanting to get to (um, the book, not the friend.) Thanks Anna.
✔4. Title is a question
Who Fears Death
--All it lacks is the question mark.
✔5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
Alien: Out of the Shadows
--Well, he IS pretty ugly, right?

✔6. Has inspired other art forms
More Than Human
--Theodore Sturgeon was the inspiration for Kurt Vonnegut’s elusive and enigmatic character Kilgore Trout.
✔7. Your initials are in the title
His Bloody Project: Documents Relating to the Case of Roderick Macrae
--Project has ERP in it, backwards. OK, work with me here.
✔8. A book recommended to you
The Coffee Trader
--Recommended by my lovely wife, Ann
✔9. A book that intimidates you
American Psycho
--I got this several years ago at a book sale. The subject matter has scared me off since then.
✔10. Reminds you of a song
A Town Like Alice
--"One pill makes you larger, and one pill makes you small. And the ones that mother gives you, don't do anything at all. Go ask Alice, when she's ten feet tall."
✔11. Buddy read (do not need to participate)
The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms
--Our upcoming bookshelf reread for March 2019
✔12. Book with a luck symbol
The Fortunate Pilgrim
Fortunate means lucky. So there, ha.
✔13. The 6th book
All the Birds in the Sky
--I sorted by author, then picked #6. Voila.
✔14. Last in a series
The Stone Sky
--I was planning to read this and The Obelisk Gate this year anyway. So yay.
✔15. One Hit Wonder
Infinite Jest
--David Foster Wallace wrote some other stuff too. I think.
✔16. Hidden Gem
Heart Berries: A Memoir
--Good lord, this is gonna have to be one of those let's bend the topic a bit categories. Berries are kind of like fruity gems. There, that works.
✔17. Someplace you want to go
Ragtime
--New York baby!
✔18. Get On the Bandwagon
Interview with the Vampire
--I am probably the only person in the world who hasn't read this, so yeah, it's time to get on the bandwagon.
✔19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order
Moon Palace
--M before P (except after C)
✔20. Graphic or illustrated novel
Watchmen
--Thank goodness I had this my shelf, otherwise I would have had to add a book, which kinda defeats the whole purpose of this challenge, right?

Edwin wrote: "9. A book that intimidates you
American Psycho
--I got this several years ago at a book sale. The subject matter has scared me off since then."

I still have nightmares about it sometimes!

@Rachel: stealing ideas from other people's lists is one of my favorite parts of this challenge!

Kaa wrote: "stealing ideas from other people's lists is one of my favorite parts of this challenge!"

Adding this to the list of ideas for the 2020 TBR challenge! :P

I'm in!

14/20

✔ 1. Oldest book
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight - oldest book I've read this year. (06/21/2019) ★★★★
✔ 2. Work of art -
Art of Birds (06/18/2019) ★★
✔ 3. Novella or short story collection
The Haunting of Tram Car 015 (05/31/2019) ★★★★
4. Title is a question
How Much for Just the Planet?
✔ 5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
Herland - dated and creepy (08/06/2019) ★★

✔ 6. Has inspired other art forms
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell (01/19/2019) ★★★★
✔ 7. Your initials are in the title
All Systems Red (01/10/2019) ★★★★
8. A book recommended to you
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
9. A book that intimidates you
The Stand - It's long.
10. Reminds you of a song
A Darker Shade of Magic - Reminds me of "A Brighter Shade of Pale."
✔ 11. Buddy read (do not need to participate)
Magic for Liars (07/07/2019) ★★★★
✔ 12. Book with a luck symbol
This Is How You Lose the Time War - According to the power of Google, cardinals are good luck. (12/05/2019) ★★★★★

✔ 13. The 6th book
Lock In - I used the 6th book I marked as read in 2019. (01/06/2019) ★★★★★
✔ 14. Last in a series
Head On- the last of the Locked In duology (06/28/2019) ★★★★
15. One Hit Wonder
Lud-in-the-Mist - While she had a couple of other books, this seems to be the one "hit."
✔ 16. Hidden Gem
The Dead Mountaineer's Inn - I stumbled across this accidentally a few months ago. It's only been translated into English for a few years. (01/06/2019) ★★★
✔ 17. Someplace you want to go
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire - Hogwarts, baby. This is technically a reread, but since I'm planning to read it, I consider it a part of my TBR pile. (03/11/2019) ★★★★★
✔ 18. Get On the Bandwagon
The Martian - Still reading the Terry Pratchett book, and since I'm behind, I'm switching it out for this. (11/22/2019) ★★★★
✔ 19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order
A Modest Proposal (11/09/2019) ★★★★
✔ 20. Graphic or illustrated novel
A Study in Emerald (09/21/2019) ★★★★

Ditto about loving this particular challenge. I think putting the list together is half the fun

18/20

1. Oldest book
The Count of Monte Cristo That's old right?
2. Work of art
East of Eden No explanation necessary
3. Novella or short story collection
Home
4. Title is a question
Planetfall I hope it doesn't fall
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
The Gray House
6. Has inspired other art forms
Brilliance He does movies too
7. Your initials are in the title
The Elysium Fire
8. A book recommended to you
Linesman - by the esteemed Sarah
9. A book that intimidates you
New York 2140 Long, possibly boring
10. Reminds you of a song
4 3 2 1 Earth below us, drifting falling...
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate)
Fledgling Group read. Missed it but now I have second chance
12. Book with a luck symbol
Provenance How lucky was that!?
13. The 6th book
Grey Sister Possibly this was engineered to be the 6th book?
14. Last in a series
Holy Sister Cause of fudging #13
15. One Hit Wonder
Replay
16. Hidden Gem
Sacrifice Hidden but it shouldn't be
17. Someplace you want to go
The Keeper of Lost Causes Copenhagen!
18. Get On the Bandwagon
Sandman Slim Tons of friends have read this
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order
Collapsing Empire, The
20. Graphic or illustrated novel
We Have No Idea: A Guide to the Unknown Universe Umm, lots of charts and drawings = graphic novel?

Hank wrote: "Ditto about loving this particular challenge. I think putting the list together is half the fun"

Definitely! 😀

@Cat: you just saved me! I didn't realise that "Who fears death" can be read as a question. This one I'd rather read then the one I went for. I will instantly change it.

Angie wrote: "I'm the one they whisper about... the one person in all the land who has not read a Terry Pratchett book."

I'll be your sad sidekick who still won't be reading Discworld! (Someday.)

Hank wrote: "I think putting the list together is half the fun"

And the other fun half is seeing what other people pick. The reading part is the least fun :D

Oldest book the innocence of father brown
3. Novella or short story collection seven stones to stand or fall
4. Title is a question problem children are coming frpm another world arent they? volume 1
8. A book recommended to you poison study
9. A book that intimidates you gardens of the moon
10. Reminds you of a song voyager
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate) knights shadow
12. Book with a luck symbol plum lucky
14. Last in a series crooked kingdom
16. Hidden Gem shadow black
17. Someplace you want to go the Mitford murders
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order leviathan wakes
20. Graphic or illustrated novel

I love looking through people's lists for this!
Though it always carries the risk of further inflating my own tbr pile. Lolsob.

I love this challenge! Will fill most of them in as I go.

2019 TBR Challenge, January 1 - December 31
Goal: 20/20, 100.00%

01. Oldest book: The Decameron - 27 Aug 2019, 3/5
02. Work of art: Lightspeed: Women Destroy Science Fiction! - 27 Jan 2019, 3/5
03. Novella or short story collection: Dangerous Visions - 22 Feb 2019, 4/5
04. Title is a question: Who Goes Here? (Warren Peace, #1) - 31 Mar 2019, 3/5
05. Ugly cover: Dying Inside - 02 Feb 2019, 4/5 (view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]
06. Has inspired other art forms: Stardust - 16 Mar 2019, 3/5 (on IMDb)
07. Your initials are in the title: The Killing Moon (Dreamblood, #1) - 21 Nov 2019, 2/5
08. A book recommended to you: My Best Friend's Exorcism - 10 Apr 2019, 4/5
09. A book that intimidates you: A Dance to the Music of Time, Volume 4: Winter (A Dance to the Music of Time, #10-12) - 19 Dec 2019, 5/5
10. Reminds you of a song: Zorba the Greek - 06 Jun 2019, 2/5
11. Buddy read: Dune (Dune Chronicles, #1) - 27 Jul 2019, 4/5
12. Book with a luck symbol: Paradox Bound - 25 Feb 2019, 2/5 (view spoiler)[
Cover has a Möbius strip in the shape of a figure eight, the number 8 is lucky in Asian cultures.
(hide spoiler)]
13. The 6th book: A Memory Called Empire (Teixcalaan, #1) - 18 Jun 2019, 5/5
14. Last in a series: Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4) - 28 Feb 2019, 4/5
15. One Hit Wonder: Alas, Babylon - 04 Dec 2019, 3/5
16. Hidden Gem: North American Lake Monsters - 03 Jun 2019, 4/5
17. Someplace you want to go: A Night in the Lonesome October - 31 Oct 2019, 4/5
18. Get On the Bandwagon: Midnight's Children - 21 Jul 2019, 4/5
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order: Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries, #2) - 26 Feb 2019, 4/5
20. Graphic or illustrated novel: The World of Ice & Fire: The Untold History of Westeros and the Game of Thrones - 29 May 2019, 4/5



Reasons: (view spoiler)[

01. Oldest book - Published in 1353
02. Work of art - All female magazine issue
03. Collection of 33 short stories
05. Ugly cover - (view spoiler)[

(hide spoiler)]
06. Has inspired other art forms - Stardust (2007) on IMDb
07. Your initials are in the title: KM
08. A book recommended to you - Recommended by Books in the Freezer podcast
09. A book that intimidates you - The final trilogy in a series of twelve books, 3k+ pages long
10. Reminds you of a song - Mikis Theodorakis - Zorba's Dance
12. Book with a luck symbol - Cover has a Möbius strip in the shape of a figure eight, the number 8 is lucky in Asian cultures.
13. The 6th book - Group read for June
14. Last in a series - As of Feb 2019, it was the last Murderbot Diaries book
15. One Hit Wonder - Pat Frank's only popular book
16. Hidden Gem - Great collection from an author I'd never heard of
17. Someplace you want to go - A neighborhood of spooky characters where it's always autumn, yes please!
18. Get On the Bandwagon - 98k+ ratings, won the Booker Prize in 1981, Best of the Booker in 1993 & 2008.
20. Illustrated by 27 different people

(hide spoiler)]

I love the addition of the explanations! You're all so creative and funny!

Last Update:

2019 TBR CLEANUP On the 2019 TBR Clean Up list

11/20

1. Oldest book

✔️2. Work of art (a graphic novel is a work of art and in this case this is really artistic)


3. Novella or short story collection


✔️4. Title is a question

5. Ugly cover (and please share it!) Big Letters on a grey background, yay!

✔️6. Has inspired other art forms (a novel that inspired a movie)

7. Your initials are in the title L and T

8. A book recommended to you

9. A book that intimidates you - This is long -

✔️10. Reminds you of a song - - This Graphic Novel is so psychedelic it reminds me of "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds".

✔️11. Buddy read (do not need to participate)

12. Book with a luck symbol

13. The 6th book This is difficult to find!
or

✔️14. Last in a series (for now)

✔️ 15. One Hit Wonder

✔️16. Hidden Gem (I hope at least)
-Nope, not really a hidden gem.

✔️17. Someplace you want to go

18. Get On the Bandwagon

19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order

✔️20. Graphic or illustrated novel

Gabi wrote: "Cat: you just saved me! I didn't realise that "Who fears death" can be..."

Glad I could help!

Ok, so here's my list as it stands right now:

1. Oldest book Die Leiden des jungen Werther - Band I (The Sorrows of Young Werther)
2. Work of art Harry Potter: A History of Magic
3. Novella or short story collection The Secret Loves of Geeks
4. Title is a question
5. Ugly cover (and please share it!)
6. Has inspired other art forms Les rois maudits - L'intégrale
7. Your initials are in the title Death in Ten Minutes: Kitty Marion: Activist. Arsonist. Suffragette.
8. A book recommended to you Margot & Me
9. A book that intimidates you Future Home of the Living God
10. Reminds you of a song Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theatre
11. Buddy read (do not need to participate) Parable of the Talents
12. Book with a luck symbol
13. The 6th book Middlesex
14. Last in a series
15. One Hit Wonder The House of Impossible Beauties
16. Hidden Gem The Girl in the Road
17. Someplace you want to go Passing Strange
18. Get On the Bandwagon The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
19. Words in Title in Alphabetical Order Perfume River
20. Graphic or illustrated novel

As an added challenge, I decided to only include books that I already own. So that explains the free slots. I do have ideas for some of those, however, so if I make it through the ones I own, I might buy some books that are on my tbr-list. And there's of course the possibility that Christmas and my birthday might lead to new additions. (People just keep giving me books. I really can't explain why.....)

1. This is the oldest book I have both in terms of when it was published and going by how long it's been on my tbr-shelf.
2. I got this at the British Library earlier this year and have so far only looked at some of the illustrations, which are gorgeous! Can't wait to dive in.
3. I've had this since March when it caught my eye at Gay's the Word in London. It has some authors I really like, so I'm looking forward to it.
6. Druon's books inspired George R.R. Martin to write GoT. I plan on reading the first one for this challenge.
7. This has both 'M' and 'S' in the title. (I tried finding one that also has my middle initial ('B'), but none of the ones I own fit the bill.)
8. This was highly recommended to me by a good friend who loves Juno Dawson's writing and who has loaned me all of her novels. (I have only read Dawson's autobiography so far and that one was really great.)
9. This mostly intimidates me because the reviews people have been handing out on here have been pretty bad. At least the ones I've seen.
10. I guess that's pretty self-explanatory? I've had it on my kindle for a while, mostly because I want to brush up on my knowledge of musical theater. (And also because I have a long-term plan of lobbying my boss to let me teach a course called "Musical Theater in American Culture". If it ever happens, I'll probably consistently be the most excited person in that classroom...)
11. I'm cheating a little with this one since I don't own the book. But my local library does. I've been meaning to read this for years and I've committed to the BR.
13. This is the sixth book on my real life tbr-shelf.
15. This is the author's first novel, so it's really too soon to say that it's a "one hit wonder", but it's the one that fits best.
16. Again an author's first novel. I'd never heard of her before, so that's the "hidden" part. It was a gift from my best friend who's taste in books is terrific, so that's the "gem" part.
17. I really, really do want to go to San Francisco one day. The 1940s part might be harder to figure out, though.
18. A lot of people (on here and irl) have been singing the praises of this book.
19. I heard Robert Olen Butler read from this book back in September and then just had to buy a copy. An (at the time) recent acquaintance who was at the same event bought one, too. So I might just suggest to him that we do a buddy read and compare notes...

Cat wrote: "Gabi wrote: "Cat: you just saved me! I didn't realise that "Who fears death" can be..."

Glad I could help!"

Yup, you saved me too. Thanks!