Play Book Tag discussion
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2021 Activities and Challenges
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Pursue It! Categories -- June
Anticipating questions: It does not matter what kind of beach. It could be a sandy beach in Hawaii or a rocky coastal "beach" of Maine. But the person has to be in the area that is immediately adjacent to the water.
Standing on a cliff overlooking the water will not work. A beach is defined as the area between high and low tides, so while you do not need to show that the person was in this exact area, it does have to be the concept of having water access. Think, "If this character wanted to go for a swim right now, could they simply walk a dozen yards and be in the water regardless of how cold the water would be?"
Visiting a beach house or a beach town is not enough. The character must go to the actual beach.
@ Anita, would past tense, "sunburned" work?
Nicole R wrote: "The Four categories for June are:sandcaste(s) (exact) -- Cindy
.."
Do you mean sandcastle? And could it be two words as in sand castle? I have seen it both ways.
Nicole R wrote: "Anticipating questions: It does not matter what kind of beach. It could be a sandy beach in Hawaii or a rocky coastal "beach" of Maine. But the person has to be in the area that is immediately ad..."
Thanks. To me a beach is a beach. My mother almost never took us to swim at the one sandy beach (shocking, I know) but instead to the pebble beach (no barnacles, no sand).
I love sandcastles. I think I started to fall in love with my husband when I watched him make a sandcastle with his little nephew. I think this might be the toughest tag, but we'll see.Most of the books on the tag list do not actually take place on a beach, but I'll try to find at least one that does. I'm trying to remember if the two writers in Beach Read actually went down to the beach.
Karin, I found it both ways too in the following article with awesome pictures of sandcastles and sand castles. https://stillunfold.com/creative/27-m...
Karin wrote: "Do you mean sandcastle? And could it be two words as in sand castle? I have seen it both ways."Yes, sandcastle! And I'm going to say one word. I don't think I've ever seen it as two words.
ETA: Maybe I've just never noticed, but I was picturing one word.
Ok, I'm going to go back on that. Looking up "sandcastle" in the Miriam Webster dictionary, though it has one word as the main entry, it does have "sand castle" as a variant.
So, yes, I will accept "sand castle(s)" as two words.
LibraryCin wrote: "Ok, I'm going to go back on that. Looking up "sandcastle" in the Miriam Webster dictionary, though it has one word as the main entry, it does have "sand castle" as a variant.
So, yes, I will ac..."
Thanks! I know for sure I have read it both ways so this is helpful, but of course it has to be sandcastle or "sand castle" since it's exact :)
Thanks Cindy. I went down a rabbit hole yesterday (a fun one) looking at all types of sand sculptures. They're incredible. I think the term is evolving due to sand sculpture (separate words) competitions. They have sand cities, sand statues, sand animals, and sand scenes portraying all types of mythological, fictional, and historical stories. It will be easier for them to keep "sand" as a separate word as this artistic field develops.
Book: Mary Jane by Jessica Blau, 4 stars (Kindle Edition)Item 1 - Beach p. 182
"Sheba and Mrs. Cone abandoned all wigs, as the beach really was private."
Item 2 - Sandcastles p. 183
"Izzy and I dug holes, built sandcastles, and went in and out of the water."
Item 3 - Surfing p. 310
"Fry and Apodoca had moved to New York from Newport, Rhode Island, where they surfed together... "
Total: 3/4 Items
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Book: My Last Continent Midge Raymond- 4 starsItem 1: Beach - 45% - location 1702
"The penguins don’t build nests here, on the unstable black volcanic sand, and their absence gives me a lonely feeling as I pilot the Zodiac toward the beach. When we’re close, I hop out and drag the boat onto dry sand.
Item 2 - Surfing - 46% - location 1745
“It’s more like he can’t stand still,” she says. “The ink had hardly dried on the deal before he signed up for rock climbing, surfing lessons—all these things I don’t have time for, since I’m still working.
Total: 2/4 Items
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sand castles (sandcastle, sand castles, and sand-castle - all 3 variations - appear multiple times in this book). Location in Book: page 9 - "He turned and stared out over the Gulf. Clear skies. Turquoise water. White sugar sand. Sunbathers. Sand castles."
Number Collected: 1/4
No Time to Explain by Kate Angell
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sunburn Location in Book: page 74 - "What's with the sunburn?" he asked.
Number Collected: 2/4
No Time to Explain by Kate Angell
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: beach Location in Book: page 154 - "He took the short steps down to the beach, where the ..."
Number Collected: 3/4
No Time to Explain by Kate Angell
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: surfing Location in Book: page 195 - "...had surfing skills. When not at the ball park, he could be found..."
Number Collected: 4/4
No Time to Explain by Kate Angell
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Wow Theresa all 4 in 1-great early finish!
Joanne wrote: "Wow Theresa all 4 in 1-great early finish!"My love of cheesy romances paid off! 4th book I checked in my ebook TBR had all 4 ... winner-winner-beach-romance-winner!
Of those first 3 I checked, 2 had 3 of the items, one had only 2.
Theresa wrote: "Item Collected: surfing Location in Book: page 195 - "...had surfing skills. When not at the ball park, he could be found..."
Number Collected: 4/4
No Time to Explain by [author:Ka..."
Gee Theresa, you got a Bingo! Way to go!
Question: Would the word "sunburned" here be okay? Please let me know. ** Update: Since the answer is "No", I'm crossing this out.Item 4 - Sunburn p. 178
"He might have been blushing or sunburned, I couldn't tell."
Total Items: 4/4
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item collected: BeachThere are a number of trips to the beach, although it is called the shore, at the water and other things more commonly said in 1942 I guess. This is set in Fond du Lac and many scenes are at or on Lake Winnebago. The first of these is on pages 36-37 when Angie takes her younger sister Kitty to the lake shore.
Number collected: 1/4
Seventeenth Summer by Maureen Daly 3+ starsThis is a nicely written, award-winning debut novel, and had I read it when I was a teen I'd have no doubt enjoyed it quite a bit more than I did, but it just wasn't that great for me at this point. However, it also has an average rating of 3.12 stars, so it's not just me, but I am planning to read another one of her books that has a higher rating.
The author blurb says that Daly anticipated the y/a genre by decades, but I don't think so--what about books like Daddy Long Legs and Dear Enemy, to name just two.
This is a lovely story of first love--sweet but not saccharine or sappy. It reminds us that dating looked quite different then, and while you can read between the lines that there are other teens doing a lot more than Angie did, this romance was very realistic for a girl like Angie at this time, and YES there were teens her age who were as innocent as this.
Holly R W wrote: "Question: Would the word "sunburned" here be okay? Please let me know...."Just to be on the safe side, you might want to contact Anita directly. I don't know if she watches as things are posted or not. It's early enough that if she won't accept it, you can look for it elsewhere.
LibraryCin wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "Question: Would the word "sunburned" here be okay? Please let me know...."Just to be on the safe side, you might want to contact Anita directly. I don't know if she watches as t..."
Thanks Cindy.
Item Collected BeachBefore They Are Hanged - page 526
The four oarsmen showed no sign of moving.."We will wait for you here"
"We may be some time."
" We will wait."
Bayaz shrugged "Wait then." He stepped from the boat and waded through knee-high breakers, Slowly and somewhat reluctantly the rest of the party followed him through the icy sea and up onto the beach
Collected 1/4
My review is here https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Item collected: BeachThe Survivors - p 23 " Kieran's earliest memory was of the two of them at the beach, their parents chatting while the boys dug holes in the sand and kicked water at each other."
Collected: 1/4
My review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Item collected: Beachp 242-243 "..the great expanse of Bone Beach spread before them. It was white sand strewn with bleached driftwood as far as the eye could see. ...She was starting to enjoy the lap-lap-lap of the water... "
Collected: 1/4
Scones & Bones - Laura Childs
2 stars
My review: Theodosia and her partner Drayton run a tea shop and have solved a lot of mysteries up to this point. The volume revolves around a skull cup purportedly made out of Blackbeard's skull which is owned by the Heritage Society. It is stolen while on display and a young intern is murdered. The cup also is rumored to contain clues to a buried treasure. Theo continually sticks her nose in and acts like a PI or detective rather than an ordinary citizen and people respond to her questioning that way. Not believable. There are logistic questions that seem improbable (ie the number of things and places one person can be in one day). I have not read the series in order, just 3 entries over time and I find myself feeling blah about looking for any others.
LibraryCin wrote: "Holly R W wrote: "Question: Would the word "sunburned" here be okay? Please let me know...."Just to be on the safe side, you might want to contact Anita directly. I don't know if she watches as t..."
I have a sunburned as well, so have sent Anita a PM. In the meantime, I photocopied the page since I had to return the book.
It's funny, the book I just finished also has "sunburned" (after I suggested Holly check with Anita on it)! I'm sure Anita has a few questions about that one now. :-)
1/4 beachpage 128 of 246, 52% read
"Children swarmed on to the beach where unlimited lemonade and buns had been laid out on long trestle tables."
Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames / Lara Maiklem
3 stars
The author is a collector of sorts. “Mudlarking” is collecting items/artifacts that are washed up and found in the mud along the banks of the Thames River, and apparently a lot of people do this. Some of these items are hundreds of years old. Some of the items, she is able to restore herself, and some she sends away for restoration. The chapters are organized by the area, and each will give a bit of history of the area (as this can affect the types of items found there), combined with some of the items she has found and the history of those items.
I found some chapters more interesting than others – the one at Greenwich, which looked at some Tudor history (the Greenwich Castle was one of Henry VIII’s favourite residences), along with animal bones and utensils found (and thus meals and utensils used during Tudor times). Oddly, the other chapter that held my interest more than others was the one of current day garbage. Overall, I’m calling this one ok. I had hoped to like it more – the premise is something I feel like I am interested in – but for some reason, it just couldn’t hold my interest all the way through.
2/4 sandcastlepage 128 of 246, 52% read
"In the summer of 1935, around 100,000 people came to "holiday" beside the Thames. Dockers' children, some of whom had never seen the sa despite living just forty miles away from it, built sandcastles and watched Punch & Judy shows."
Mudlark: In Search of London's Past Along the River Thames / Lara Maiklem
3 stars
The author is a collector of sorts. “Mudlarking” is collecting items/artifacts that are washed up and found in the mud along the banks of the Thames River, and apparently a lot of people do this. Some of these items are hundreds of years old. Some of the items, she is able to restore herself, and some she sends away for restoration. The chapters are organized by the area, and each will give a bit of history of the area (as this can affect the types of items found there), combined with some of the items she has found and the history of those items.
I found some chapters more interesting than others – the one at Greenwich, which looked at some Tudor history (the Greenwich Castle was one of Henry VIII’s favourite residences), along with animal bones and utensils found (and thus meals and utensils used during Tudor times). Oddly, the other chapter that held my interest more than others was the one of current day garbage. Overall, I’m calling this one ok. I had hoped to like it more – the premise is something I feel like I am interested in – but for some reason, it just couldn’t hold my interest all the way through.
LibraryCin wrote: "It's funny, the book I just finished also has "sunburned" (after I suggested Holly check with Anita on it)! I'm sure Anita has a few questions about that one now. :-)"Life has gotten very busy for me and I forgot about messaging Anita with the question. When Karin has Anita's reply, I'll be interested in what she says.
Holly R W wrote: "LibraryCin wrote: "It's funny, the book I just finished also has "sunburned" (after I suggested Holly check with Anita on it)! I'm sure Anita has a few questions about that one now. :-)"Life has ..."
She said no because it's exact :)
Item collected: beach 1/4Kirby walks onto Inkwell Beach as if its the most natural thing in the world, and in some ways, it is. Summer for Kirby has always meant sun and sand.
Summer of '69 p. 188
Here's my review (3.5 rounded up to 4)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Item collected: sunburn 2/4mom didnt offer to put Coppertone on my back and I was afraid to ask, so i got sunburn
Summer of '69 e book, p. 217
Here's my review (3.5 rounded up to 4)
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Item collected: sandcastle 2/4p. 5 "Sure enough they found the house, its foundation sinking into the sand as the waves lapped at its edges like a child's abandoned sandcastle."
The Bridge Tender (Sunset Beach, #4) – Marybeth Whalen (3 stars) 6/11/21
3 stars
Review: In the prologue, Emily and Ryan are spending their honeymoon at Sunset Beach, NC where Ryan's family used to spend summers in his youth. They promise to save for a their own place there in the future. However, in chapter 1 Emily is grieving for the loss of Ryan to cancer 5 years later and finds that he has left a special gift for Emily. The story shares her depth of sorrow and the changes his gift brings to her future.
Serious religious theme. Plot was a bit predictable.
Item collected: beachLocation in book: Location 141 in kindle edition: "Her big sister, Anne, had watched Tory's maritime adventures from the safety of the shore, slathered in SPF 120 and clutching her latest stack of gossip magazines."
Number Collected 1/4
Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant
4 1/2 stars
When a television show sails out to the Mariana Trench to film a mockumentary about mermaids, they find something. Something that kills everyone on board and leaves an empty ship afloat in the Pacific with only the remaining footage from the show as evidence of what happened. The footage appears to show monstrous mermaids attacking the ship - but is it authentic or faked. Tori's sister was one of those that disappeared from the ship and she has vowed to find out the truth of what really happened. When the television producers decide to send a second ship, full of scientists to prove that the mermaids were real and that the disaster was not their fault, Tori jumps at the chance to find out what really happened and to get her revenge.
This was a fun action/adventure/monster thriller. I liked all the thought that went into making the monsters scientifically realistic. It was more than a monster versus human story (although there was plenty of that), it was a story of humans trying to understand what was happening and using science to find out why it was happening. The science nerd in me appreciated that. The book had some interesting characters and excellent representation of all kinds. Overall it was a great read for summer escapism.
Item Collected: sunburnLocation in Book: kindle location 5904: "She'd worked in a major city hospital before being hired by Imagine; she'd expected this trip to be a chance to relax, treating nothing worse than dehydration, sunburn, and the occasional case of norovirus."
Number Collected: 2/4
Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant
Review above (message 38)
Item Collected: surfingLocation in Book: kindle location 977: "The Theodore Blackwell who'd protested whaling practices with her, surfed with her in the waters off Hawaii, and proposed to her in Oahu, that man was dead and gone and surrendered to the sea."
Number collected: 3/4
Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant
Review above (message 38)
Item Collected: surfing (situation, could be surging waves or internet) [there were so many instances in the book I picked the best one that really showed them surfing.]Location in Book: Chapter 1969, page 117, 34% into the book: "He could feel the board catch on the wave, feel it steady itself. And he slowly got onto his knees, and then his feet, and stayed low. He was doing it. He was surfing."
Number Collected: 1/4
Book: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sunburn (exact)
Location in Book: Chapter 10:00 a.m., page 57, 17% into the book: "She had gotten a tiny bit of a sunburn on the apples of her cheeks and the bridge of her nose."
Number Collected: 2/4
Book: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sandcastle (exact)
Location in Book: Chapter 1959, page 85, 25% into the book: "Nina was building a sandcastle."
Number Collected: 3/4
Book: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: beach (situation, character must visit a beach)
Location in Book: Chapter 1956, page 36, 10% into the book: "That night, after they left the restaurant, they parked on the side of the road by the beach. Mick took June’s hand and pulled her out into the cool evening air, the two of them running their bare feet through the chilled sand."
Number Collected: 4/4
Book: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Will try to give different quotes. :)Item Collected: surfing
Location in Book: Chapter 1978, page 170, "That April, Nina was spotted by a magazine editor on vacation while she was surfing First Point.
Number Collected: 1/4
Item Collected: sunburn (exact)
Location in Book: Chapter 1969, page 117, "Hud, faithfully beside Jay all season, had a sunburn, as always, and a new crop of light freckles across his nose and cheeks."
Number Collected: 2/4
Item Collected: sandcastle (exact)
Location in Book: Chapter 1959, page 85, "Nina was building a sandcastle."
Number Collected: 3/4
Item Collected: beach (situation, character must visit a beach)
Location in Book: Chapter 1962, page 108, "He would make her cheeseburgers on the grill and make sandcastles for her on the beach."
Number Collected: 4/4
Book: Malibu Rising by Taylor Jenkins Reid
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Item collected: surfing (the internet)Location in book (even uses this term) starts on page 173 hardcover
"Nina spent the rest of the day alternately taking pictures of the orchard and surfing the Internet. Unfortunately, the dial-up connection at Belye Nochi was impossibly slow..."
Number collected 2/4
Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
4 stars
This is an average rating for the book. I really didn't like it much at first, although the audiobook reader didn't help. However it grew on me.
This is a subject close to my heart but that's off topic here, but suffice to say my family history is complicated even though I am not actually Russian by heritage.
Why I grew to love this book is a spoiler, but the writing is very good. The coldness others have brought up about this book is an effective literary device and I am glad I pushed through. That said, (view spoiler)
Item Collected: SunburnLocation in book: p.328
"When Reese catches sight of the two of them, she pulls away from Thalia, her face darkening. A slight sunburn reddens her face and her skin stretches tight over her cheekbones. Her eyes move wildly from Ames to Katrina, then back to Thalia."
Number Collected 3/4
Detransition, Baby - Torrey Peters
I've just finished Detransition, Baby by Torrey Peters and I'm still turning this compelling novel over in my mind and trying to decide what I think of it.
There is so much going on and it comes from a perspective much different from my own. But in the end much of it is about feelings, relationships and longings and these I know about. I was impressed with how deftly Peters deals with these.
While her characters are much different than anyone I know, their relationships are familiar ground and the relationships of Reese, a trans woman, Ames a man who detransitioned and his boss, Katrina a straight or cis woman are interesting and complicated.
I thank Peters for giving me some insight into the issues and difficulties of the trans community.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item collected: beach (situation)Location in book: "Most of the people left on the beach had put sweatshirts on or wrapped themselves in towels and blankets." (p. 148 - the main character is also on the beach here)
Number collected: 1/4
Beach Read - 3 stars
link to review
Item Collected: surfing (situation, could be surging waves or internet) Location in Book: p.158 "..I got caught in a rip...before my fear turned to panic I was picked up by a surfer. He paddled me back to shore... face down, on the surfboard..."
Number Collected: 3/4
Book: The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock - Jane Riley (4 stars) 6/12/21
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sunburn (exact)
Location in Book: p. 158 "Rather like Dad, my fair skin was prone to sunburn..."
Number Collected: 4/4
Book: The Likely Resolutions of Oliver Clock - Jane Riley (4 stars) 6/12/21
Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Item Collected: sandcastle(s)Location in book: page 274: "I could smell the sunscreen Barbara Vincent would have rubbed on her daughter's back and shoulders; I could imagine the shouts and laughter of the kids tossing a Frisbee or building sandcastles for the waves to devour."
Number Collected: 4/4
Big Summer - Jennifer Weiner
2 1/2 stars
Big Summer is about a plus size social media influencer and her relationship with her rich, beautiful friend from high school that has reappeared into her life. Her former friend, who treated her badly in high school, shows up out of the blue and asks her to be her maid of honor at her wedding.
I thought this one was OK, but there were a lot of things that bothered me. Plot points with potential that were introduced were dropped. I didn't find any of the characters believable and the main character was a bit annoying. The moral of the story, even people that seem to have it all have problems, was a hammered into the reader without any subtlety. I was hoping that the main character's confidence would grow throughout the book, but once the mystery portion of the story a lot of that was dropped too. Overall, it was a quick read that passed the time on a summer day, but I could have been more.
Item Collected: BeachLocation in Book: page 272 Major Nesterov has made a trip to the beach at the Sea of Azov with his family.
"Nesterov sat with his toes buried in the sand. This stretch of the beach was peopular with people leaving in the nearby city of Rostov-on-Don some forty or so kilometers to th northeast. Today was no exception. The beach was crowded.
Number Collected: 1/4
Book: Child 44 by Tom Rob Smith
Review: My review
Item Collected: surfing (situation)Location in Book p. 141. Miki, in passing, observes other teenagers body surfing at the beach.
"She headed down to the beach, listening to tunes on her iTouch. She'd put on lots of sunblock because her skin was still pale from the bleak Ohio winter and cold spring. The sun felt great; the views were breathtaking. Her arms pumped and her long legs ate up the ground at rapid pace. People were fishing from the shore; kids were playing in the sand; teenagers were body surfing in the rough breakers.
Number Collected 2/4
Book: One Summer by David Baldacci
Review My review
Item Collected: sandcastle(s) or sand castle(s)Location in Book p. 264
"After camp, they would go to the beach, swim, build sand castles, and throw the ball or the Frisbee."
Number Collected 3/4
Book: One Summer by David Baldacci
Review My review
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Play Book Tag
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tenth Island: Finding Joy, Beauty, and Unexpected Love in the Azores (other topics)When Life Gives You Lululemons (other topics)
Becoming Duchess Goldblatt (other topics)
Summer Rental (other topics)
The Secret Keeper (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Morton (other topics)Jessica Anya Blau (other topics)
Tracey Garvis Graves (other topics)
Jenny Holiday (other topics)
Christina Dalcher (other topics)
More...
surfing (situation - could be surging waves or the internet) -- Anna
sunburn (exact) -- Anita
sandcastle(s) (exact) -- Cindy
beach (situation - person/character has to visit a beach) -- Nicole
This will also be the reporting thread once June starts! When you report, please post:
Item Collected: name the item that you found
Location in Book: describe where you found the item. Either a page/location/etc number for exact words, or a really brief description if it is a situation.
Number Collected: E.g., 1/4, 2/4, etc. This just helps me as I score to be sure I didn't miss anything!
Book title and review (or link to review): the standard stuff
Wanna see the scoring for past months? The spreadsheet is here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/... (the upper left excel cell tells you to what point the scoring is complete and I have not done May yet)