Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion

Eurovision is back for 2021 in May! Straight from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, this is the 65th Eurovision and our mod, Karen, couldn't be more excited. Sure, she is from Australia, but that is part of Europe now don't you know?!

The contest will consist of two semi-finals on 18 and 20 May and the final on 22 May 2019 with 39 countries participating!
As always, the "Big Five" get a ticket straight to the finals : France, Germany, Spain, Italy and United Kingdom ; plus the host country, Israel.

The Netherlands was due to host the 2020 contest, before it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be the fifth time that the Netherlands hosts the contest, having previously done so in 1958, 1970, 1976 and 1980.


Photo by KAN


DURATION
May 1-31, 2021

How To

Option One
Karen has picked some of her favourite Eurovision songs from 2010-2019 (under spoiler). Pick a level and do a spell-it-out of the country or song names
(view spoiler)[

Albania ; It's all about you ; 2010
Turkey ; We could be the same 2010
Romania ; Playing with fire 2010
Azerbajan ; Drip Drop 2010
Moldova ; Run Away 2010
Sweden ; Popular 2011
Estonia ; Rockefeller Street 2011
Ireland ; Lipstick 2011
Georgia ; One More Day 2011
Bulgaria ' Na Inat 2011
Armenia ; Boom-Boom 2011
Germany ; Taken by a Stranger 2011
Switzerland ; Unbreakable 2012
Cyprus ; La La Love 2012
Norway ; Stay 2012
Lithuania ; Something 2013
Denmark ; Only Teardrops 2013
The Netherlands ; Calm After the Storm 2014
Belarus ; Cheesecake 2014
Sweden ; Heroes 2015
Latvia ; Love Injected 2015
Belgium ; Rythm Inside 2015
Lithuania ; This Time 2015
Australia ; Tonight Again 2015
Georgia ; Warrior 2015
Croatia ; Lighthouse 2016
Armenia ; LoveWave 2016
Austria ; Running on Air 2016
Cyprus ; Gravity 2017
Israel ; I Feel Alive 2017
Moldova ; Hey Mamma 2017
Australia ; We Got Love 2018
Denmark ; Higher Ground 2018
Netherlands ; Outlaw In 'Em 2018
Norway ; That's How You Write a Song 2018
Slovenia ; Hvala, ne! 2018
Sweden ; Dance You Off 2018
Australia ; Zero Gravity 2019
Russia ; Scream 2019
Switzerland ; She Got Me 2019
Norway ; Spirit in sky 2019
Azerbaijan ; Truth 2019
Czech Republic ; Friend of a Friend 2019
Belaurus ; Like It 2019




(hide spoiler)]

Option Two
Pick a level and choose your favourite countries that are participating in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest and read books just by authors from these countries and books based in these countries

Option Three
Pick a level and choose your favourite countries that are participating in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest and do a spell-it out of these country names or song names


Spell-it-out rules
Using the first letter in the book’s title, the first letter in the series name, the first letter in the author’s first or last name, or the first letter of a character’s first, last, or nick-name, or the first letter in the audiobook narrators or translators first or last name. As always, if the first word of a title starts with ‘A’, ‘An’, ‘The’, etc., you may use the first letter of the second word in the title to spell out your chosen word.




Levels

Big Hair 1-5 Books
Wind Machine 6-10 books
90s boy band dancing 11-15 books
Unexpected costume reveal 16-20 books
Fireworks, light show, and a wink 21+ books

**IMPORTANT**

If you are watching Eurovision, please use spoilers if you are commenting here - winners especially. Karen is big fan and in Australia so she's going to watch it later. (time zones are rather annoying!) Don't spoil it for her (again!) ☺

Monthly Challenges ~ Spessartite Coin

Earn your Spessartite Coins with the Monthly Challenges.

To Earn a Spessartite Coin:
One Coin upon reaching highest book level (Fireworks, light show, and a wink )

Learn about Gem coins here

r

Eurovision Song Contest May 2021
Option 1 Spell Out
22/22
Fireworks, light show, and a wink 21+ books
Switzerland ; Unbreakable

Sharyn Bradford Lunn-Peril in the Pines Sharyn Bradford Lunn 5/2/21
W The Whacked Witch F.M. Storm 5/11/21
I Insects, Ivy & Investgations Tonya Kappes 5/4/21
T Three Treats Too Many Debra H. Goldstein 5/6/21
Z RaZZy Cat series-The Trouble at City Hall Courtney McFarlin 5/12/21
E Egg Shooters Laura Childs 5/1/21
Rusell Cunningham char-Open for Murder Mary Angela 5/15/21
Logan Kylie-A Trail of Lies Kylie Logan 5/13/21
Amy Hueston-Paws for Concern Amy Hueston 5/7/21
Nina Fleet char-Peaches and Schemes Anna Gerard 5/17/21
D Deadly Ever After Eva Gates 5/14/21

Underwood, Sgt char-The Chocolate Cat Caper JoAnna Carl 5/16/21
N Nothing Like a Pool Party Jennifer M. Baldwin 5/21/21
Brooke Penny-A Page of Murder Penny Brooke 5/5/21
Rosie A Point-Mint Murder Rosie A. Point 5/8/21
Emmie Lyn-Claws of Justice Emmie Lyn 5/13/21
Allyssa Mirry-Canines, Costumes and Murder Allyssa Mirry 5/19/21
Kagel, Harper char-The Magician Vickie Carroll 5/5/21
Angelica DeAngelis char-Evil Eclairs Jessica Beck 5/22/21
Becky Clark-Punning with Scissors Becky Clark 5/12/21
Larry Shores char-The Murder Before Christmas Mel McCoy 5/21/21
Ellery Adams-Murder in the Reading Room Ellery Adams 5/14/21

*****Completed*****

Wow! Sounds fun!! Reserving my spot here:

Eurovision Song Contest May 2021

Duration: 1-31 May 2021
Option 1: Spell Out (Country or Song Name)
Level: Wind Machine 6-10 books (going for 6)
Completed: 6/6

D - King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo; character David Kostyk
E - People We Meet on Vacation by Emily Henry
N - A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman; character Nanasin
M - The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
A - With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
R - Home Body by Rupi Kaur
K - The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Welcome Tari and Sehrish! 🎉

Of course I'm in ! And I shall spell out the country with the most wins: Ireland !



Duration: 1st of May - 31st of May
Option 3: Spell-it-Out
Level: Wind Machine (6-10 books - I will see how far I get)
Progress: 9/10

𝄞 Country: 𝄞

I Shall Wear Midnight - Terry Pratchett
Rob Anybody (MC) - The Wee Free Men - 12/05 - ★★★★
Equal Rites - Terry Pratchett - 23/05 - ★★★
Linus Baker (MC) - The House in the Cerulean Sea by T.J. Klune - 16/05 - ★★★★
A Stitch in Time by Kelley Armstrong - 29/05 - ★★★
Nemesis - Margit Sandemo - 03/05 - ★★★
Doughty, Caitlin - From Here to Eternity: Traveling the World to Find the Good Death - 19/05 - ★★★★



𝄞 Song: 𝄞

Morozko (MC) - The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden - 07/05 - ★★★★★
A Hat Full of Sky - Terry Pratchett - 15/05 - ★★★
Patricia Briggs - Wild Sign - 10/05 - ★★
Stacey Halls - The Foundling - 05/05 - ★★★



Some of my favourite Eurovision songs/performances:

UK - Puppet on a string (1967)
Switzerland - Ne partez pas sans moi (1988)
Sweden - Fångad av en stormvind (1991)
Ireland - Why me (1992)
Norway - Nocturne (1995)
Ukraine - Shady Lady (2008)
Sweden - Euphoria (2012)
Cyprus - Fuego (2018)
Netherlands - Arcade (2019)

Moderators of NBRC wrote: "Sure, she is from Australia, but that is part of Europe now don't you know?!"

Haha, well, after that 'Zero Gravity' performance, Europe gladly adopted Australia. From that moment on Europe knew Australia understood Eurovision :)
I've noticed that the winner is always either the craziest or the most inspiring one.

Looking forward to the mind-blowing performances, the yearly discussions of how geopolitical the point allocation is, and of course my favourite: UK complaining about not winning haha. I love to watch the contest on the BBC especially when Graham Norton is commenting because his comments are hilarious.

Fun fact about Belgium (and I presume other multilingual countries), they alternate nominating songs between the Dutch speaking and French speaking community. 'Rythm inside' was a French speaking entry however this year it's a Dutch entry (Hooverphonic is a Flemish band).

Welcome Audrey Jane!

Haha yes the 2019 Australian performance was on-point Eurovision!

I spend the weekend with a friend of mine from Melbourne this year I am going to her) to watch the semi finals and then the grand final we watch live which is on a Sunday morning for us. We also have comedians as the commentators which is half the fun 🤩

Thanks for the fun fact - love it!

Karen, that's awesome ! Watching Eurovision with friends is everything. I'm still amazed at how popular it is in Australia.

I have a colleague who loves Eurovision. He would watch it with a group of friends but before the start he would give everyone point cards and you had to grade each performance from 1 to 12. He would give prices to the one who could guess the winner haha

I already have a couple of favourites but I'm looking forward to the live performances!

Umm, yes, please. She Got Me, Spirit in the Sky (and Soldi) are some of my all-time favourite Eurovision songs.

N - The Conductors (AFN Nicole ) - COMPLETE (May.7)
O - The Ones We're Meant to Find - COMPLETE (May.19)
R - First Grave on the Right (CFN Reyes) - COMPLETE (May.1)
W - Lost in the Never Woods (CFN Wendy) - COMPLETE (May.24)
A - A Slow Death: 83 Days of Radiation Sickness - COMPLETE (May.9)
Y - The Blacktongue Thief (CFN Yorbez)

Gotta represent where my family is from, right?

Option One
Fireworks, light show, and a wink 21+ books
Progress: 7/24

Germany ; Taken by a Stranger
G
E
R: Ryan, Carrie (The Forest of Hands and Teeth) 🎤🎤🎤🎤
M: The Midnight Library 🎤🎤
A: The Accident 🎤🎤
N
Y

T: The Last Dragonslayer 🎤🎤🎤
A: The Art of Hummingbird Gardening: How to Make Your Backyard into a Beautiful Home for Hummingbirds 🎤🎤🎤
K: Kill Me Softly 🎤🎤🎤
E
N

B
Y

A

S
T
R: Road Rage 🎤🎤🎤
A
N
G
E
R

Welcome Ashley and Bobbi!

Audrey Jane wrote: "I have a colleague who loves Eurovision. He would watch it with a group of friends but before the start he would give everyone point cards and you had to grade each performance from 1 to 12. He would give prices to the one who could guess the winner haha ..."

Love it! I may do that this year haha
We used to do eurovision trivia while the extremely long point scoring process was happening ;)

Eurovision Song Contest
Duration: May 1, 2021- ???

It's all about you

I: Into the Darkness- Christopher Johns- 5/2/21
T: This Old Homicide- Kate Carlisle- 9/2/21
S: Shiva's Spacemage- Timothy Ellis- 5/22/21

A: Accidentally Wolf- Erin R. Flynn- 5/8/21
L: Life in the North- Tao Wong- 5/24/21
L: A Little Slice of Death- Amanda M. Lee- 5/27/21

A: The Asylum Aberration- Amanda M. Lee- 6/2/21
B: Bourbon Street Ghosts- Lily Harper Hart- 6/9/21
O: Only The Buried- Amanda M. Lee- 5/17/21
U: Unfinished Muse- R.L. Naquin- 6/15/21
T: Terror in Taffeta: A Mystery- Marla Cooper- 10/2/21

Y: You're the One That I Haunt- Terri Garey- 5/29/21
O: Outling- Marty Mayberry- 5/29/21
U: Unraveler- Marty Mayberry- 12/20/21

We could be the same

W: Wicked Whispers- Lily Harper Hart- 7/8/21
E: Equalize- Ryan DeBruyn- 5/28/21

C: Chrysalis- R.P. Jones- 7/11/21
O: An Offer From a Gentleman- Julia Quinn- 7/21/21
U: Unamused Muse- R.L. Naquin- 12/22/21
L: The Legend of Tabby Hollow- Kathi Daley- 7/24/21
D: Dragonsworn- Marty Mayberry- 6/6/21

B: Beyond- Mercedes Lackey- 6/17/21
E: Entreat Me- Grace Draven- 6/20/21

T: Tippy Toe Murder- Leslie Meier- 10/31/21
H: Hex, Drugs & Rock and Roll- Lily Harper Hart- 5/31/21
E: The Evolution of Mara Dyer- Michelle Hodkin- 7/22/21

S: Stars Above- Marissa Meyer- 7/1/21
A: Alien Separation- Gini Koch- 7/29/21
M: Much Ado About Felines- Kathi Daley- 7/23/21
E: Excise- Ryan DeBruyn- 8/31/21

Playing with fire

P: Prelude to a Witch- Amanda M. Lee- 5/20/21
L: Lowcountry Bombshell- Susan M. Boyer- 8/27/21
A: Adrift- Timothy Ellis- 8/11/21
Y: Yellowstone Heart Song- Peggy L. Henderson- 6/1/21
I: IQ- Joe Ide- 5/3/21
N: 9 from the Nine Worlds- Rick Riordan- 6/7/21
G: Galaxy: A GameLit Urban Fantasy- Christopher Johns- 5/19/21

W: Wicked Games- M.J. Scott- 7/17/21
I: Into the Storm- Christopher Johns- 5/10/21
T: Track of the Cat- Nevada Barr- 11/21/21
H: Haunt 'Em High- Lily Harper Hart- 6/1/21

F: Freaky Gifts- Amanda M. Lee- 8/5/21
I: Into the Wild- Christopher Johns- 5/11/21
R: Ritualist- Dakota Krout- 5/20/21
E: Exclusively Yours- Shannon Stacey- 11/28/21

Drip Drop

D: Destiny's Spacemage- Timothy Ellis- 7/6/21
R: Redeemer of the Dead- Tao Wong- 7/18/21
I: The Inn Between- Marina Cohen- 6/22/21
P: The Penguin Who Knew Too Much- Donna Andrews- 7/10/21

D: The Duke and I- Julia Quinn- 7/13/21
R: Rejected- Jaymin Eve- 7/19/21
O: Old-Fashioned Huntsman- Christopher Johns- 8/17/21
P: Peach Cobbler Murder- Joanne Fluke- 9/24/21

Run Away
Popular
Rockefeller Street
Lipstick

One More Day
Na Inat

Boom-Boom

B: A Bad Day for Sunshine- Darynda Jones- 7/15/21
O: Once in a Brew Moon- Lily Harper Hart- 12/8/21
O: Once Upon A Dragon Wish- Adrienne Woods- 12/25/21
M: The Mother's Day Mishap- Kathi Daley- 8/14/21

B: Breaking Badger- Shelly Laurenston- 9/5/21
O: An Occupied Grave- A.G. Barnett- 1/10/22
O: On Borrowed Crime- Kate Young- 1/28/22
M: Murder at Waters Edge- Kathi Daley- 8/15/21

Taken by a Stranger
Unbreakable
La La Love
Stay
Something
Only Teardrops

Calm After the Storm
Cheesecake
Heroes
Love Injected
Rhythm Inside
This Time
Tonight Again
Warrior
Lighthouse

LoveWave
Running on Air
Gravity
I Feel Alive
Hey Mamma
We Got Love
Higher Ground
Outlaw In 'Em
That's How You Write a Song

Hvala, ne!
Dance You Off
Zero Gravity
Scream
She Got Me
Spirit in sky
Truth
Friend of a Friend
Like It

reserved

Eurovision Song Contest: May 2021
DURATION: May 1-31, 2021
Option 3

Level
Unexpected costume reveal 16-20 books

16/16 Completed. Finished

Spain
01.S:Southern Sunrise-Natasha Madison 5/15
02.P:The Perfect Marriage-Jeneva Rose 5/01
03.A:All Your Perfects-Colleen Hoover 5/01
04.I:Igniting Ivy-Samantha Christy 5/20
05.N:Now and Then and Always-Melissa Tagg 5/04


France
06.F:Fatal Frenzy-Marie Force 5/12
07.R:Return to Us-Corinne Michaels 5/03
08.A:All of Me-A.L. Jackson 5/24
09.N:Never Enough-Kelly Elliott 5/01
10.C:Come Away with Me-Kristen Proby 5/08
11.E:Embattled Hearts-J.M. Madden 5/09


Italy
12.I:I Never Left-McGarvey Black 5/06
13.T:Time for Love-Marie Force 5/29
14.A:Axel-Samantha Whiskey 5/11
15.L:A Letter To Delilah-Jaxson Kidman 5/30
16.Y:Your Endless Love-Layla Hagen 5/19

Welcome Sam and Frankie!

Eurovision Song Contest
May 2021

My Eurovision Song Contest Challenge (msg 23)

Level - Fireworks, light show, and a wink: 21+ Books | 26 Books Read

Option Three
Spell-out your favorite countries that are participating in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest or song names

FRANCE

✔🔹F: Falling for My Enemy - 05.05 ★★★★
✔🔹R: Rayven, Leisa - Mister Romance - 05.14 ★★★★
✔🔹A: Already Freakn' Mated - 05.19 ★★★
✔🔹N: Nauti Angel - 05.02 ★★★★
✔🔹C: Changeless - 05.31 ★★★★
✔🔹E: Equal Rites - 05.07 ★★★

VOILA

✔🔹V: Valorous - 05.23 ★★★★
✔🔹O: Out of Bounds - 05.16 ★★★★
✔🔹I: Ivy, Alexandra - Sinful Rapture - 05.29 ★★★
✔🔹L: Love's Wild Desire - 05.03 ★★★
✔🔹A: Alice in Zombieland - 05.24 ★★★★

GREECE

✔🔹G: Guymon, Shannon - You Belong with Me - 05.08 ★★★
✔🔹R: Ridgway, Christie - Keep On Loving You - 05.30 ★★★★
✔🔹E: Eason, Mary - Baptism by Blood - 05.09 ★★★
✔🔹E: Erickson, Karen - Falling for Her Husband - 05.01 ★★★
✔🔹C: Can't Fight This Feeling - 05.23 ★★★★
✔🔹E: Elizabeth Peters - The Mummy Case - 05.22 ★★★★

LAST DANCE
🔹
✔🔹L: Lauren Blakely - Special Delivery - 05.02 ★★★
✔🔹A: Ashley, Kristen - Lacybourne Manor - 05.11 ★★★★
✔🔹S: Silver Storm - 05.22 ★★★
✔🔹T: Twice Tempted - 05.12 ★★★★

✔🔹D: Dark in Death - 05.28 ★★★★
✔🔹A: Ashley, Jennifer - Scandal Above Stairs - 05.10 ★★★★
✔🔹N: Naughton, Elisabeth - Breathless Escape - 05.13 ★★★
✔🔹C: A Child's Heart - 0514 ★★★
✔🔹E: Edie Ramer - Miracle Pie - 05.29 ★★★

Welcome LaurLa!

Eurovision
May 01 - 31, 2021

90s boy band dancing 11-15 books

Option 1:

(Song from 2014, Belarus)
C - Julia Cooke - Come Fly the World 05/04
h - Helen Fielding - Bridget Jones's Diary 05/14
e - Janet Evanovich - The Job 05/01
e - Elizabeth Peters - The Mummy Case 05/07
s - Joanna Campbell Slan - Ink, Red, Dead 05/17
e - Elle Cosmano - Finlay Donovan is Killing It 05/11
c - Tyler Colins - Can You Hula Like Hilo Hattie? 05/09
a - Agatha Christie - Crooked House 05/24
k - Vaseem Khan - The Unexpected Inheritance of Inspector Chopra 05/16
e - Emmie Lyn - Mixing Up Murder 05/13

Option 2: books set in participating countries

UK: Best Murder in Show 05/04
Italy: Seaside Death 05/17
Spain: Tread Softly 05/23
France: The Vine Witch 05/29
Russia: A Gentleman in Moscow 05/31

Welcome, Meg!

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "Welcome, Meg!"

Thank you!

Just a friendly reminder that the Eurovision final is tomorrow :) ! Looking forward to it.

@Karen: I thought Australia's entry was quite catchy ! A pity they are not in the finals.
I have a couple of favourites. I like this year's belgian entry, they won't win but I hope they get in the top 3 *fingers crossed*. No idea who will be the public's favourite this year. Exciting !

Edit: I admit lately I am listening to Israel's 'Set me free' on repeat though :)

Thanks - I actually was really disappointed with Australia this year and I’m glad she didn’t get through (is that bad?!).
I think she wrote it in an afternoon and it showed.

Our favourites from SF1 were Lithuania, Cyprus, Croatia, Ukraine and Malta.

Watching the replay of SF2 tonight 👍

Haha, Karen, not at all, I understand you. I feel that about a lot of Eurovision songs over the years.

Yes, totally agree with Malta and Croatia (pity they're not in the finals). Others of my favorites are Greece, Portugal, Italy, Finland, Israel, and Belgium.
However Isreal didn't sound as well live as I had hoped.

My predictions are that Ukraine and Malta will do well but might be in for a couple of surprises. Ukraine's song is not for me but it's very Eurovision-y and they sing in their own language which will win a lot of votes.

Have a great Eurovision night & morning with your friend ;) !

Thanks, Audrey Jane!

For SF2 we liked San Marino, Iceland, Bulgaria, Finland and Latvia. Really disappointed Latvia didn’t make it. I loved her green dress!!

I feel like Malta or Bulgaria may win.

We are having a Eurovision breakfast tomorrow to watch the winners - about 3 hours after the live version (too old to be up at 5 am haha)

Msg. 4 updated to complete :)

Challenge Completed 🎉🎊

Message # 5 Updated! Thank you for having me! 😊♥️

Eurovision Song Contest: May 2021
DURATION: May 1-31, 2021
Option 3

Level
Unexpected costume reveal 16-20 books

16/16 Completed. Finished

Spain
01.S:Southern Sunrise-Natasha Madison 5/15
02.P:The Perfect Marriage-Jeneva Rose 5/01
03.A:All Your Perfects-Colleen Hoover 5/01
04.I:Igniting Ivy-Samantha Christy 5/20
05.N:Now and Then and Always-Melissa Tagg 5/04


France
06.F:Fatal Frenzy-Marie Force 5/12
07.R:Return to Us-Corinne Michaels 5/03
08.A:All of Me-A.L. Jackson 5/24
09.N:Never Enough-Kelly Elliott 5/01
10.C:Come Away with Me-Kristen Proby 5/08
11.E:Embattled Hearts-J.M. Madden 5/09


Italy
12.I:I Never Left-McGarvey Black 5/06
13.T:Time for Love-Marie Force 5/29
14.A:Axel-Samantha Whiskey 5/11
15.L:A Letter To Delilah-Jaxson Kidman 5/30
16.Y:Your Endless Love-Layla Hagen 5/19

Updated #7 - one book short of completing. Thank you for this challenge.

Loved this year's edition of Eurovision ! Still listening to some of the songs on repeat. Hope everyone had fun watching it :)

Well done everyone for completing!

It was a great Eurovision 2021. Just what we needed in these crazy times!!

Message 25 completed May 31! Thanks for a fun challenge!

Challenge complete! Thank-you!!
Updated post: My Eurovision Song Contest Challenge (msg 23)

Level - Fireworks, light show, and a wink: 21+ Books | 26 Books Read