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Nooo... X = kisses, and O = hugs!
And lol = laugh out loud.

LMAO (which stands for laughing my arse off) :D

Nooo, it's the other way round...

X for arms crossed around each other in a hug. O for lips smooching.

Also, you say hugs and kisses. And then commence with Xs first - for hugs :)

Who would have thought symbols would be so contentious!

No, O for big round encircling hug, and X for pursed lips for kisses!

I know!! It's just unfathomable!!

And I don't know any symbol for that tho there may be one - ?

Symbols sounds just like cymbals, a percussion instrument that makes plenty of noise. So maybe it shouldn't be a surprise that symbols can also make some noise ;D

So funny all this discussion about kisses and hugs!
And symbols actually can make noise. Did you see when people WRITE AN EMAIL ALL IN CAPITALS? Sometimes I answer "STOP YELLING AT ME!"

And regarding all the lol, lmao, etc., I'm not even a native English speaker, so many times I had to google what on earth it meant! :)

Sandra - I am a native English speaker and sometimes the acronyms get the best of me too. I remember seeing stickers on cars that said "SMH" and I couldn't figure out what it meant. I had to ask some teenaged girls that I was working with. They couldn't believe that I didn't know what it meant! (It means Shaking My Head, in case you were wondering. Why it is a sticker placed on cars, I still don't know.)

On the X and O debate, I am on team X=kisses and O=hugs. It reminds me of the toilet paper debate: over or under??

Never heard about the SMH, and can't think in a reason why it's places on cars, neither.

This is all so funny. :)

Rusalka wrote: "Who would have thought symbols would be so contentious!

No, O for big round encircling hug, and X for pursed lips for kisses!"

That's how I always understood it.

Kristie wrote: " (It means Shaking My Head, in case you were wondering.."

I was trying to figure it out, and came up with Single Male... with nothing for the H.

Janice wrote: "Kristie wrote: " (It means Shaking My Head, in case you were wondering.."

I was trying to figure it out, and came up with Single Male... with nothing for the H."

I was the same way. Just shaking my head at the letters and unable to figure it out. lol

Sandra wrote: "Never heard about the SMH, and can't think in a reason why it's places on cars, neither."

If you saw how long islanders drive you would understand SMH on cars

I have always wondered which represented the hugs and which represented the kisses because I could see it going either way. I probably lean towards O's being hugs and X's being kisses. Now that I've typed that I think maybe the X's are hugs and the O's kisses. Geez, I don't know, this conversation is too hard! LOL!

Oh, and I always thought SMH meant Smack My Head... as in slapping your palm to your forehead and probably paired with an eye roll because someone did something so ridiculously stupid there is no other response.

And back on the subject of the cryptogram challenge, I unintentionally started a book that fits my theme. A Head Full Of Knives - A Supernatural Mystery has dogs playing a key role. I may still read The Art of Racing in the Rain too though.

In the Netherlands the XOXO is not so common, but xxx is more often used, and that stands for kisses :) I have never wondered why an X would resemble a kiss, it always just seemed to make sense, until now..

In the US, XXX is for x-rated or pornographic content!

Well, you could do X or XX or XXXX too ;-)

But when it's at the end of an email from a friend it kind of makes sense that it means kisses.

Looks like I forgot to sign up. Don't know if I'll have time, but I want to try. Sorry Janice :)

jaxnsmom wrote: "Looks like I forgot to sign up. Don't know if I'll have time, but I want to try. Sorry Janice :)"

No problem - you have task #4.

if it isn't too late, I'd like to do this challenge. Thanks!

Now that the toppler is officially over for me, I am going to read my book for this challenge, The Cuckoo's Calling.

Mcgyver5 wrote: "if it isn't too late, I'd like to do this challenge. Thanks!"

Welcome Mcgyver. You certainly may join in on the challenge. You will have till Oct 31st to read the book you select for Task #4. Good luck. :)

I'm going to read Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Childrenfor task #2, I don't know why I delayed reading it till now!
But I'm on it and I hope I finish it on time.

I've been wanting to read The Art of Racing in the Rain for years, but for whatever reason have never gotten around to it. When Janice assigned my task on this month's challenge and it was to read a book about dogs, "Racing" was what immediately popped into my mind, but I put it aside because I was already over my book buying budget for this pay period. I looked on Kindle Unlimited and at books I already owned that would fit the challenge, but nothing spoke to me. I decided to see if it was available on my favorite book swapping website and it was, so I requested it and it came in last week.

I started reading "Racing" late Sunday afternoon and would have finished it that night except that I was too tired to give the last few chapters my full attention, so I put it aside and finished it last night. I LOVED this book! Enzo the dog was such a great narrator. I loved that Denny talked to Enzo like a person and that Enzo remembered every word. I hate that he couldn't tell Denny and the others what he thought and felt with words, but I loved that he tried to tell them with gestures and that they often understood.

The Art of Racing in the Rain is probably one of my favorite books I've read this year and I recommend it to all animal lovers!

KimeyDiann wrote: "I've been wanting to read The Art of Racing in the Rain for years, but for whatever reason have never gotten around to it. When Janice assigned my task on this month's challenge and ..."


Was it sad? I think the reason I haven't read it is because I heard it's sad. So, I assume, of course (view spoiler)[that the dog dies at the end. And I think, at the time, it was too much because we had two of our pets die around the time it was released. (hide spoiler)]

@Bella, it is sad in some places. But more than the sadness, it has a sense of hope. I did tear up in a couple of places in the book, but I also laughed. And when I finished the last page, I had a smile on my face.

KimeyDiann wrote: "@Bella, it is sad in some places. But more than the sadness, it has a sense of hope. I did tear up in a couple of places in the book, but I also laughed. And when I finished the last page, I had a ..."

I don't mind if you spoil it for me, but (view spoiler)[does the dog die in the end? (hide spoiler)] I'd rather know in advance.

Bella wrote: "KimeyDiann wrote: "@Bella, it is sad in some places. But more than the sadness, it has a sense of hope. I did tear up in a couple of places in the book, but I also laughed. And when I finished the ..."

(view spoiler)[ I don't really know that it is that big of a spoiler because you get the answer in the first chapter... but for those that want to go in to the book blind (view spoiler)[ yes, he does (hide spoiler)]. (hide spoiler)]

There is no chance I'm going to get a book read for this challenge unfortunately. And none of the books I've read already would count either. Damn it!

KimeyDiann wrote: "I've been wanting to read The Art of Racing in the Rain for years, but for whatever reason have never gotten around to it. When Janice assigned my task on this month's challenge and ..."
As regards animal lovers - does anyone have recommendations for Temple Grandin books? They look intriguing but are they?

SMH can also mean "so much hate" according to my young adult neices - they said it can be used for example on twitter in response to a hostile tweet

Joan wrote: "SMH can also mean "so much hate" according to my young adult neices - they said it can be used for example on twitter in response to a hostile tweet"

Thank you, Joan. I wondered what it meant. I don't tweet and I wondered.

Sarah wrote: "There is no chance I'm going to get a book read for this challenge unfortunately. And none of the books I've read already would count either. Damn it!"

Not to worry, Sarah. You've had a busy month. There's always next month.

I finished The Cuckoo's Calling and my thoughts/comments are in the reporting thread.

Joan - No wonder the older crowd is so confused by all the acronyms! Apparently, they can have different meanings depending on how they're used. I guess I'll just continue to ask ask the younger people as I go. Lol

I finished my book - 20 minutes after the deadline :( Oh well, at least I enjoyed it. I read , and as you can guess by the cover, it's about a dog.

As long as you enjoyed it, j'mom! You had a busy month with the toppler.

I am glad you posted it, Jmom. It looks like a great read and I have added it to my list! I used to have a co-worker who had a beagle. He always talked about it like he hated it, but I know he did not. He just hated the dog's behavior.

It was Barney's bad behavior that got him on tv :)

What a beautiful badge, Janice!!!

I'm glad you like it, Cherie. :)

Indeed! You put so much work in the badge! Thank you!

And talking about beagles, we have a neighbor who has a shelter for them. He is receiving new beagles and giving them in adoption all the time. He usually has around 10 or 12 in his house. They look like pretty well behaved.