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Well done Alex :)

I've just finished my fourth book, #5. Readers Choice, The Hypnotist's Love Story by Liane Moriarty. I nearly didn't read this one due to the lacklustre reviews here, but I enjoyed it. While not as good as my favourite Liane Moriarty, Big Little Lies, I thought The Hypnotist's Love Story was worth five stars �� suspenseful, realistic and thought-provoking.

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Finally finished my fifth and last book, Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (2014)! The predecessor is in my favourites so my expectations might have been a bit too high to appreciate the sequel for what it is. :/ Original post updated with rating.

Still, I have really enjoyed the armchair travelling I did this month. Haven't decided if I'm doing next month's yet; if I don't, have a great end of the year! :)

I have just finished my 3rd book and that might be all Inget to but some great reads... fingers crossed I still get some reading in but with Gilmore Girls starting Friday night I have some Netflix to view

Here is my update


4/5 Books Completed

#1. Different country - Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi 4 Stars

#2. Different genre - The Quiche of Death by M.C. Beaton (cosy mystery)

#3. Cover - Mode of Transport - On the Blue Train by Kristel Thornell **** Aussie Author*** 3.75 Stars

#4. Title - Place Name - The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

#5. Readers Choice - The Secret Recipe for Second Chances by J.D. Barrett *** Aussie Author *** 4.5 Stars

Vickie wrote: "Finally finished my fifth and last book, Ancillary Sword by Ann Leckie (2014)! The predecessor is in my favourites so my expectations might have been a bit too high..."

Congratulations Vickie :)

Michelle_Mck wrote: "I have just finished my 3rd book and that might be all Inget to but some great reads... fingers crossed I still get some reading in but with Gilmore Girls starting Friday night I have some Netflix ..."

Well done Michelle!!

Michelle_Mck wrote: "I have just finished my 3rd book and that might be all Inget to but some great reads... fingers crossed I still get some reading in but with Gilmore Girls starting Friday night I have some Netflix ..."

I've been watching Gilmore Girls reruns. Love them!

Challenge Completed

1. Geographical Setting not Aus (UK)
The Chocolate Tin by Fiona McIntosh(AA) 4*
2. Travel to a different Genre (Memoir)
Are You Somebody?: The Life And Times Of Nuala O'faolain by Nuala O'Faolain 2*
3. Mode of Transport on Cover (Car)
Bridie's Choice by Karly Lane(AA) 4*
4. Title with Place Name
Goodwood by Holly Throsby(AA) 3*
5. Reader's Choice
Cold Justice by Katherine Howell(AA) 3*

Well done Janine!

I have only finished my first book :( been so busy, onto my next which is Trafficked: The Terrifying True Story of a British Girl Forced into the Sex Trade

Never mind Samantha - life often gets in the way!

Loved Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty. My review here: /review/show...

1). Different country:
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung 4�� ��
2). Different Genre:
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie fantasy

3). Mode of transport:
London's Waterways by Derek Pratt

4). Title - Place name
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty 5�� ��

5).Reader’s Choice:
Book of Lost Threads by Tess Evans Aussie Author

I've just finished my last book for the challenge, #3. Cover - Mode of Transport, The Annotated Hunting of the Snark by Lewis Carroll and Martin Gardner

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I'll post a review tomorrow.

Congratulations Susan!

I've just posted my review of The Annotated Hunting of the Snark:

/review/show...

I have managed to get another book in so that is 4 out of 5, much better result than I thought :-)

Congratulations Michelle :) Great job!

3rd one finished
4). Title: Read a book with a PLACE NAME in the title
The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius who Discovered a New History of the Earth / Alan Cutler 4*
and almost finished the last 2...

Sounds like you might squeak in Nicola :) Good luck!

Brenda wrote: "Sounds like you might squeak in Nicola :) Good luck!"

Thank you - will definitely get them in, both are almost finished..

After a false start, and getting distracted by other books, I finished my 5th book yesterday:
1. Other country: My Grandmother Sends Her Regards and Apologises My review: /review/show...
2. Different Genre: High-Rise My review: /review/show...
3. Mode of Transport (a hot air balloon): Black Hearts in Battersea My review: /review/show...
4. Place Name: I began with The High Mountains of Portugal but kept getting distracted by other books. I will eventually finish it, however I have substituted it with Tamar and my review is here: /review/show...
5. Reader's choice: I chose The Boundless Sublime - also Aussie author. My review: /review/show...

Now for December....!

I'm getting concerned about whether I will finish or not...I've still got about 3 hours left in my last book (The Shining) and only 3 days to do it! Given I normally only read to and from work (15-20 minutes each way) I'm going to have to find some extra time to squeeze the reading in!

Congratulations Denise! And good luck Bec :) Hope you can find that time you need ;)

Finished my 4th & final one for November

5. Readers Choice - Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew 3ύ

Final List

1). Geographical Setting - Tied by Emma Chase (US) 5��
3). Cover Hunt - Urban Legends by Nick Harding 2��
4). Title: - Mistake Creek by Rachel Amphlett AA 5��
5).Reader’s Choice - Gypsy Hunted by Andrea Drew 3��

Congratulations Zoey!

I'm really trying to finish my 3rd book for this challenge (A Discovery of Witches) - 60% through it and 5 train trips to get it done!

Good luck!

Just finished my 4th and final book for this challenge - enjoyed all four books.:

1 . Geographical Setting - Ireland
The Good People by Hannah Kent - 4��

3) Cover Hunt - train at station
Missing, Presumed by Susie Steiner - 5��

4) Title - Place name St Kilda
St Kilda Blues by Geoffrey McGeachin - 5��

5) Reader’s Choice
The Dry by Jane Harper - 4.5��

Congrats Odette! Well done :)

3 3/4 done- on the home stretch of The People Smuggler. Think my 5th is going to have to wait til next challenge. So close...

Congrats Kerrie :) You've done the minimum anyway so whatever is left is a bonus!

My #5, Reader's Choice was The Sellout by Paul Beatty.

It is certainly one from left field. I started it, got stuck, quit. Started it again and loved it.
4.5��

You've got to appreciate both the absurd story and the even more absurd situation the world finds itself in which makes this story necessary.

Is apartheid a cure for racism? WHAT!? (It IS satire, after all.)
My review
/review/show...

On the downhill run now with Place Name Idaho

Oops - forgot my #3 - vehicle on cover and by an Aussie. A truck, which was a feature of part of a story.

Summertime

It's a fictionalised biography of the supposedly 'late' John Coetzee, written by Nobel Prize-winning and twice Booker winner J.M. Coetzee, formerly South African, now Aussie and very much alive in South Australia, as far as I know.

My review for 4.5��
/review/show...

Bec wrote: "I'm getting concerned about whether I will finish or not...I've still got about 3 hours left in my last book (The Shining) and only 3 days to do it! Given I normally only read to and f..."

Found some extra time last night.....only 15 minutes to go now (according to my kindle). Will do it on train tonight!

Good for you Bec :)

Finished on the last but one day:)

1. Set in another country. Witness in Death by J.D. Robb (America) 5 stars

2. Different genre. Between You & Me: Confessions of a Comma Queen by Mary Norris (NF)2 stars

3. Mode of transport on cover. Kill Switch by James Phelan (helicopter) AA 4 stars

4. Place in title City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett 5 stars

5. Reader's Choice Gemina by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff AA

Congratulations Phrynne!

Finished!!
1). Geographical Setting: Read a book set in a different country than your own.
The Story of Us - set in New England USA Read 8/11 - sped through this one as I really enjoyed it. 4.5 stars.

2). Travel to a Different Genre: Read a book from a genre you haven't explored before/for a long time. The Shining - Horror Read 30/11 3 stars. I'm not sure if I just wasn't in the right mood but I didn't find this scary at all.

3). Cover Hunt: Read a book with a picture of a mode of transport on the cover.
Duke motorbike read 17/11 4 stars

4). Title: Read a book with a PLACE NAME in the title, such as the name of a country, state, city, town, etc. Titles with words like ‘woods��, ‘beach��, ‘mountain��, ‘river��, ‘garden��, ‘park��, etc, in the title would count as places too.
The Girl Who Came Home Read 6/11 - 4 stars (after a slow start)

5).Reader’s Choice: Read any book of your choice.
Picnic at Hanging Rock Australian Author Read 4/11 - 4 stars

5/5 completed

Congratulations Bec! A day to spare :)

Totally bombed out - 0/5. I read six other books; I just wasn't feeling it for any of the books I listed for this challenge. Oh well!

Good work, everyone else! :)

Em wrote: "Totally bombed out - 0/5. I read six other books; I just wasn't feeling it for any of the books I listed for this challenge. Oh well!"

Don't feel bad �� sometimes you just have to be in the right mood for a particular book!

Finished my third + final title for this challenge. #4 Title: Lightning Ridge by Ion Idriess. 4 stars, a great yarn

I'm finished with 4/5 completed, well done everyone on your achievements

1). Different country:
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung 4�� ��
2). Different Genre:
Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights by Salman Rushdie fantasy

3). Mode of transport:
London's Waterways by Derek Pratt 4�� ��
4). Title - Place name
Apple Tree Yard by Louise Doughty 5�� ��

5).Reader’s Choice:
Book of Lost Threads by Tess Evans Aussie Author 3�� ��

I am going to consider this challenge done & dusted - I am only 75% through Neuromancer (really struggling!) but in the meantime I have read The Broken Shore for another challenge so I will add that as my readers choice.

Yay!!!


1) �� Different country (USA) The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin ��1/2
2) �� Different genre (Mystery - not something I usually read & have never read Agatha Christie) - And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie ★★★★
3) �� Mode of Transport (helicopter) - Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, She Thinks I'm a Piano Player in a Whorehouse by Paul Carter (AA) ★★★★
4) �� Title - Bastard Out of Carolina by Dorothy Allison ★★��1/2

5) ( Readers Choice - The Bees by Laline Paull DNF at pg 105)
5) ( Readers Choice - Neuromancer by William Gibson 75%
5)�� The Broken Shore by Peter Temple ★★��

Em wrote: "Totally bombed out - 0/5. I read six other books; I just wasn't feeling it for any of the books I listed for this challenge. Oh well!

Good work, everyone else! :)"

That's OK - at least you enjoyed 6 other books! That's the name of the game :)

Suzie wrote: "Finished my third + final title for this challenge. #4 Title: Lightning Ridge by Ion Idriess. 4 stars, a great yarn"

Well done Suzie :)

Congratulations Valerie and Dree!

Australian author: Bitter Greens An intriguing and clever book, well researched, well written, but I couldn't finish it. The selfish, self-absorbed, cruel royal court just did me in half-way through.
Cover hunt: All You Need is Fudge. This is at the opposite end of the scale. The overlong opening scene needed editing. It rattled on repeating itself and I ran out of patience with it. Unfortunately not unusual in US based cozy mysteries. Way too light.
Anthony Trollope: A Victorian in his World. I have left the best til last. THE biography of a great author whose books have stood the test of time. This biography is a book for getting lost in the 19th century. I read it on kindle, bought it from bookdepository. One to dip into.

All Done!
1). Geographical Setting: Read a book set in a different country than your own.
Aston North and the Window to the Soul / Anthony Green 3*
2). Travel to a Different Genre: Read a book from a genre you haven't explored before/for a long time.
The Seven Beauties of Science Fiction / Istvan Csicsery-Ronay Jr. 2*
3). Cover Hunt: Read a book with a picture of a mode of transport on the cover. (Camel)
Tracks: A Woman's Solo Trek Across 1700 Miles of Australian Outback / Robyn Davidson 3*
4). Title: Read a book with a PLACE NAME in the title,
The Seashell on the Mountaintop: A Story of Science, Sainthood, and the Humble Genius who Discovered a New History of the Earth / Alan Cutler 4*
5).Reader’s Choice: Read any book of your choice.
The Four Legendary Kingdoms / Matthew Reilly 5*

Well done Nicola :)