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Robin H-R wrote: "Re: Cereals

For those who don't have these American brands, use what's popular where you are. You might also have something similar, just not with that name.

I was surprised that Corn Flakes, Wh..."

The word cereal is far older than big name brands and has to do with edible grains.
If this wins I won't be doing big name brands from any country but will use cereals as in oats/millet/barley, etc. The application to breakfast food cereal is American English and started c. 1899.

I hadn't heard of the Alex awards before but there are some great books on the list. I would prefer to have a single list prompt rather than the one that allows any awards list. I get severe choice paralysis and need the options cutting down a little bit.

When I'm in need of comfort I will reread a favourite book or series, usually fantasy or classics. I don't allow myself to use rereads for the challenge so that was a downvote for me.

When it comes to cereal I've only ever eaten cornflakes. I haven't heard of most of the examples and don't think they are as popular outside of the US. I've never understood encouraging children to start the day with sugar or chocolate.

3 up and 5 down...I looked back over my previous thoughts and I had changes from neutral to up and down. I do hope that we get more than one winner this round.

Jette wrote: "I don't usually do this, but I'm working the end of a night shift in the Helene Zone and trying to keep busy and awake. Please forgive me if I offend...it's not my intention, just brain exhaustion...

5. A book with text partially obscured by the cover art."

Jette - this prompt was my suggestion. Which book did you have in mind?

I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more sick and twisted, the more stressed out I am!

Somewhere (maybe NPR) a couple of years ago I heard an interview about the explosion of true crime podcasts and why people like them (and murder mysteries in general) so much. It definitely releases dopamine. There's a couple of reasons why: A) *I'm* not that "stupid" (knowing full well that intelligence has little to do with your chance of being the victim of a crime) to get caught like that. B) If I *do* get caught up in something, I've seen enough things that I can fight or reason my way out of that horrible situation. C) People like to solve puzzles, see if we can spot the clues and make a connection before someone else does.
I'm definitely in the C category.

Emily will be updating Message 2 (the message with all the prompt info, examples, etc.) with the cover examples for Prompt 5 "A book with text partially obscured by the cover art", but for those who don't go back to the beginning all the time, here are the graphics posted in Suggestions that couldn't transfer correctly:

Subtle Examples:


More Obvious Examples:

Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more sick and twisted, ..."

I am in category C too, but I’m almost never able to solve them. Focusing on trying to solve a puzzle is a great distraction though!

I'd say I voted selfishly this time with 6 up and only 2 down. The reason I call it "selfish" is because I know that most of what I picked won't get in, but if I've voted for it, it will at least qualify for my rejects challenge.

To be honest, I wish I had 1-2 more votes to use! There were a couple more I wanted to downvote too, but left them neutral because I could at least find something relatively easily if they get in.

Tracy wrote: "Jette wrote: "Jette - this prompt was my suggestion. Which book did you have in mind? "

The Marriage Portrait

It may be more of a cover concealed by text. Lol

Jette: Ooh, I can see why you not be sure, that cover is complicated. I would say it counts though because it looks like the text is behind the “tears�� on the cover �� some of the tops and bottoms of the text are covered.

Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more sick and twisted, ..."

Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more sick and twisted, ..."

I've got my own theory about why I love murder histories (not true though, only fiction) and horror. Apart from the tension and being able to solve the mystery I believe I like it because I fight the evil in a transferred meaning, I beat i, overcome it and by doing that I heal past traumas.

Nike wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more..."

That makes a lot of sense, Nike, I think that psychologists say that is a reason people like various kinds of genre fiction - romance, Westerns, spy stories, etc. The problem is resolved and the hero/heroine win in the end. This used to be true in sci fi and fantasy, till books like Game of Thrones came along.

I am an odd reader of mysteries in that "whodunnit" and why is the least interesting part of the book for me and I rarely remember those things. I like a distinctive setting, time and place, and interesting characters who grow and change over the course of the book or the series. I really like series where you get to follow the life of the main characters over time. Maybe this is why I don't care as much for Agatha Christie, as Poirot never changes. And I prefer the Sherlock Holmes of the series by Laurie R. King to the original because Sherlock there actually has a life.

I think I am more likely to read romances for the happy ending. I have been very annoyed at several chick lit books that seemed like typical romance, then somebody got cancer, died in a car accident, etc. toward the end and I felt gypped.

Robin P wrote: "That makes a lot of sense, Nike, I think that psychologists say that is a reason people like various kinds of genre fiction - romance, Westerns, spy stories, etc. The problem is resolved and the hero/heroine win in the end. This used to be true in sci fi and fantasy, till books like Game of Thrones came along. ."

As a former hard-core scifi reader from my childhood and teens I'd like to say that unlike popular scifi that is always cross-genre, there have always been scifi books had unresolved and/or disturbing endings, eg Childhood’s End by Arthur C. Clarke where humankind is destroyed at the end. I read many scifi books and can't recall all of the titles. Many aren't worth remembering since I bought them at the bus depot in Vancouver.

Another one I can remember off the top of my head that was written in the 1960s that has a tragic and disturbing ending is The Ice People by René Barjavel which is still being published in French, but the English translation is long out of print. Both of those are books I bought in paperback at the bus depot when I was a chld.

Sci-fi was a pioneer in seeing the probable future of nuclear weapons, ecological disaster, etc. It was the flip side of the sunny 1950's suburban consumer ethos. So there was plenty to be ambivalent or dark about.

Pam wrote: "dalex wrote: "For those who don’t want to read a book that actually has zombies, you could approach the prompt sideways and read something about Haitian culture or the practice of voodoo, which is ..."

There are also isekai books like The Great Cleric (Light Novel): Volume 1, My Unique Skill Makes Me OP Even at Level 1, Vol. 1, and others that have zombies in dungeons.

Nike wrote: "Something is very strange - despite having checked the tiny boxes that I'd should be notified when people comment I no longer receive any notifications at all. Not from any GR-group. It had been li..."

i lost my notifications for 5 months. they finally got fixed last month. contact their help. that's all you can do.

This latest notification issue seems to affect everyone and people are only getting form replies back.

Nike wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for! lol The more..."

Ooh, thats a great example of the power of books to heal.

Mandy wrote: "Nike wrote: "Something is very strange - despite having checked the tiny boxes that I'd should be notified when people comment I no longer receive any notifications at all. Not from any GR-group. I..."

Robin P wrote: "Nike wrote: "Jennifer W wrote: "I am also in murder mystery for comfort crowd. I like true crime, too. In fact, I can tell how stressed out I am based on how horrific a crime book/show I reach for!..."

I've just got the information that this is new and affects all though.

Someone recommended The Evolution of Annabel Craig as a fun read. It look like it fits both evolution and revolution.

Someone tagged it “united-we-stand-divided-we-fall.�� I liked a lot of the other books in the list and I think they probably all fit the REVOLUTION prompt even though they aren’t all about war.
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