Hooked on Books discussion

You will than take your partners name and treat it like acrostic form. Take each letter of your partners name and read a book that starts with that letter in the title or the author first or last name. For example if someone was partnered with me you would read books:

A-An Anonymous Girl
M-Murder on the Orient Express
A-The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
N-New Moon
D-Divergent
A-The Alchemist

or

A-Agatha Christie
M-Mark Twain
A-Alexander Potter
N-Newman, Kim
D-Day, Alyssa
A-Akemi C. Brodsky

Or any of the combination of the two.

Once you complete each others name only 1 team member has to go over to the Check-In

There will also be bonus tasks after you finish each others names to get to know each other better.

If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask here Q & A

✅ Name

M: 4/9 - We Are Not Able to Live in the Sky: The Seductive Promise of Microfinance, Mara Kardas-Nelson - ⭐️⭐️
I: 2/9 - I Can Make You Sleep: Overcome Insomnia Forever and Get the Best Rest of Your Life! Book and CD, Paul McKenna - ⭐️⭐️
C: 1/9 - The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
H: 2/9 - Hollywood Double Agent: The True Tale of Boris Morros, Film Producer Turned Cold War Spy, Jonathan Gill - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
E: 4/9 - Dust & Grooves: Adventures in Record Collecting, Eilon Paz - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
L: 3/9 - Life Lessons From Nietzsche, John Armstrong - ⭐️⭐️
L: 3/9 - Laika's Window: The Legacy of a Soviet Space Dog, Kurt Caswell - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
E: 6/9 - Finding Oz: How L. Frank Baum Discovered the Great American Story, Evan I. Schwartz - ⭐️⭐️

M: 4/9 - Killing Rasputin: The Murder That Ended The Russian Empire, Margarita Nelipa - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
I: 2/9 - I Feel Love: MDMA and the Quest for Connection in a Fractured World, Rachel Nuwer - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
L: 5/9 - Quotationary, Leonard Roy Frank - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
L: 6/9 - Furiously Happy: A Funny Book About Horrible Things, Jenny Lawson - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
E: 6/9 - Frankenstein's Cat: Cuddling Up to Biotech's Brave New Beasts, Emily Anthes - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
R: 4/9 - The Judgment of Paris: The Revolutionary Decade That Gave the World Impressionism, Ross King - ⭐️⭐️⭐️

My partners name...

R - The Remarkable Journey of Coyote Sunrise by Dan Gemeinhart - 9/8/24 - 5 stars
I - I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018 by Lauren Tarshis - 9/8/24 - 5 stars
C - C.J. Box - Three-Inch Teeth - 9/6/24 - 5 stars
H - Hiding Edith by Kathy Kacer - 9/10/24 - 5 stars
A - A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik - 9/3/24 - 1 star
R - The Resurrection of Tess Blessing by Lesley Kagen - 9/11/24 - 2 stars
D - Donna Everhart - The Moonshiner's Daughter - 9/17/24 - 3 stars

Hi Richard..

Its nice to finally meet you. I apologize up front that I'm not a super speedy reader. I can do 3 - 4 books a week depending on the week, my work schedule, and the size of the book.

Hi Michelle. Lovely to meet you as well.

No need to apologise. My reading speed isn't intended to shame others or cause upset. It's just a result of my hyperlexia & my passion to learn from non-fiction.

If you want, I can also do your last name. If you don't want to share your last name, you can just give me a random last name. I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable. 😊

Richard wrote: "Hi Michelle. Lovely to meet you as well.

No need to apologise. My reading speed isn't intended to shame others or cause upset. It's just a result of my hyperlexia & my passion to learn from non-f..."

I just like to give everyone a heads up. I just returned back to work after being out for 4 months due to a foot surgery. Some weeks I can get a bunch of books in and other weeks, I'm lucky to get 3 done.

I looked up hyperlexia and what it means. I had not heard of it before. It's actually pretty interesting. Has it ever had a negative impact on your life? If I'm being to nosy, let me know. Like you, I love learning new things.

If you want to do my last name it's "Miller".

Thanks for the heads-up. There'll be no pressure from me. I'm also doing about 60 challenges other than this one. That'll keep me busy.

I also hadn't heard of it, until about a month ago. That's when my GP said he thought I might have Inattentive ADHD & Autism. In the meantime of waiting for a diagnosis, I've been going down the rabbit-hole of information about those things through books & YouTube. In my journey of self-reflection & self-awareness, I've found that both Inattentive ADHD & ASD definitely explain a lot about my life up to this point (I'm 43 now). And some Autistic people have Hyperlexia. We generally learn to read super-young (I was 2 when I started reading), & it can affect how we read as adults. These days I'm clearing at least 1,000 pages a day, with still about 60-70% retention. As for negative side-effects, I'm currently in a depression & autistic burnout, so reading is a form of escapism for me (even into non-fiction, which is the only genre I enjoy). I also get a lot of headaches from my constantly rushing brain.

Feel free to ask me anything, I'm an open book.

My son is also suffering from autistic burnout and depression. He is 24. He was diagnosed at 5 for ADHD, then around 10 they did further testing and was diagnosed with Asperger's. It took forever to get a combo of meds worked out that actually helped him. It was really tough on him. At 12 he also got a new diagnosis of Tourette's. He's a really good kid, but has trouble holding down a job because he get's burnt out. He is currently in therapy and is working on how to cope and navigate in the working world.

All the best to you & your son.

In my early 20's I was diagnosed with bipolar & given meds for it which turned me into a zombie for months, so I stopped taking the meds.

When I was 27, I was undiagnosed of bipolar & diagnosed as having Klinefelter's Syndrome. KS is a chromosomal disorder (XXY 47), which happens in the meiosis stage, so it's genetic, but not hereditary. 1 in 1,000 males are born with it.

So for my behaviours & struggles, we reasoned they were due to the Klinefelter's. I've now found out that ASD is pretty common with those with KS.

On Thursday this week, I'll be having my first potential ASD diagnosis.

Completion Post - Book A



Book - A Deadly Education
Author - Naomi Novik
Date Read - 9/3/24
Rating - 1 star

How was your appt. On Thursday?

Michelle wrote: "How was your appt. On Thursday?"

That's nice of you to ask.

I was diagnosed with Autism/ASD. I'm glad for this diagnosis. It feels good that my struggles have been validated.

I hope that was a weight lifted off your shoulders some. Just to have some validation always feels good after you have been struggling with something.

Yes, definitely. For me, it feels good to be able to put a name to it, rather than just thinking that my brain is broken.

I have 2 letters left to do, R & D

Nice work!

1 left now...The D

All done and checked in.

Well done!

Question 1: Some of you may have established where each other is from in conversation. If not where are you from?
Task 1: Read a book set in the state or country your partner is from.

I'm from (& in) Australia. New South Wales, if you want to be specific.

I'm from New York State. The town I live in, Canastota, is so small we have more cows than anything else. I'm not worried about specifics. If you find a book for the United States that's good with me. We are best known for The Boxing Hall of Fame, The Erie Canal, and Italian immigrants who went on to onion farming here.

So I was looking for a book for NSW. The one I saw that I liked is set in Moorabool. Is that in NSW? I couldn't really tell by the map I was looking at.

Sure, that works.

I'll read for New York.

✅ Task 1: Location

New York
21/9 - Bossypants, Tina Fey - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
"I moved to New York in 1997" p.75

Completion Post - Task 1: Location

Book - The Night Whistler
Author - Greg Woodland
Date Read - 9/26/24
Location Setting of Partner - Australia
How it fits - Set in Moorabool, Australia

I checked us in.

Great 😊

Question 2: What animal would you want to be reincarnated as
Task2: Read a book with the animal that your partner chooses on the cover or mentioned in text.

For me, it'd be a cat. Heaps of alone time & plenty of sleep.

Please don't hate me, but my choice is any primate. They are smart, capable of figuring out complex tasks, and hilarious. Chimps are my favorite, but any one will do.

You'll get no shade from me. I have a huge collection of books to look through.

✅ Task 2: Animal Incarnate

Primate
29/9 - The Irrational Ape: Why Flawed Logic Puts us all at Risk and How Critical Thinking Can Save the World, David Robert Grimes - ⭐️⭐️
- Primate arm

Completion Post - Task 2 - Cat



Book - The Taking
Author - Kimberly Derting
Date Read - 10/1/24
Task - Read a book with the animal that your partner chooses on the cover or mentioned in text
How it fits- "And Cat."

Checked us in

I guess our check-ins are getting lost in the notifications...

Yeah, I'm not sure what's going on. We can carry on by ourselves if you happen to know what the 3rd prompt is.

Question 3: What is your favorite decade?
Task 3: Read a book that was set in your partners favorite decade.

For me it's the 2030's, or any decade in the future. Just for the technological & medical advances.

Mine is the 1980's

✅ Task 3 - Fave Decade

1980's
13/10 - Beyond Obsession: The Shocking True Story of a Teenage Love Affair Turned Deadly, Richard Hammer - ⭐️⭐️
"August 5, 1987 - Joyce Aparo was missing." p.17

I apologize for not seeing all of your check ins sooner. I didnt realize that ALL notifications were dropped off. I am soooo freaking sorry guys.

That's okay Amanda, it's not your fault. Also I've played enough that I know the tasks by now.

thank god!!! you are awesome and are a pro...I may run the game a little different for the new year

Amanda wrote: "thank god!!! you are awesome and are a pro...I may run the game a little different for the new year"

If TOAP will let me, I may even see if I could help out with mod-stuff at HOB next year as well.

Completion Post

Book - Purity in Death
Author - J.D. Robb
Date Read - 10/18/24
Task - Read a book that was set in your partners favorite decade.
Richard's Decade - 2030's, or any decade in the future
How it fits - Book set in 2059 where there are many technological and medical advances.

I just checked us in. In all the times I have done this challenge I have not gotten this far

Oh that's great, well done! 😊

question 4. what is your favorite holiday?
task 4. read a book with that holiday

For me it's the Christmas break, as I get 2 weeks off work.