April 2024 TBR
This month is going to be very different. I am participating in a Readathon that lasts all month. It's a really cool thing she's built here. She created this entire world called Orillium. It's a little like DnD. You choose a career path you want to follow. Then you look at the required prompts (called classes) for that career. If you complete all the prompts for the career, you are an apprentice in that career. When the next readathon comes around you can do more prompts (take more classes) to progress. Originally she had based it on Hogwarts where you took classes in the Dark Arts and Spells and Potions and whatever. But then when J.K. Rowling jumped the shark, the creator decided to scrap that and start from scratch. She's got maps and artwork and electives you can take. There's a side quest situation you can do. I'm just trying for the main course, since this is my first time. But here we go.
I wanted to use only books on my actual shelves to complete the prompts, so for each class I went through all my owned books and made lists of books that met the criteria. For each one I have listed a couple I could use. It kind of depends on what kind of mood I'm in which one I choose when it's time.
Alchemy
My first course is Alchemy in which I will be studying transmutative circles. The prompt for this is to read a book with a circle on the cover.
Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life No Matter What! by Martha Beck - See, there's a circle there with a butterfly in it. My sister gave me this for my birthday a hot minute ago. One of the things I like about this for a readathon is that it has 256 pages.
The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah - There are a couple of circles on this one. My husband read this and really liked it. I just know that it's fantasy based on Middle Eastern folklore. Unfortunately this has 468 pages. It's a month-long readathon and I only have to read 5 books, but you don't want to get 200 pages into a book and realize it's not working for you and have to start something else.
Spells and Incantations
For this course I am working on a spell called Quick Count. I had to get a random number generator and have it tell me a number. I chose between 5 and 20. The random number generator gave me 17. I made a list of all the titles on my shelves that had 17 letters. This was a whole chore! Here are the contenders.
The Lending Library by Aliza Fogelson - This looks cutesy, but I think there's more to it. The main character opens a lending library out of her sunroom when her town's library closes, and then contemplates adopting a child? I don't know how those things are related, but it only has 300 pages.
The Stationery Shop by Marjan Kamali - This one is like an anti-romance. The couple meets in a stationery shop in Tehran, but are separated by violence during the Iranian coup. They both go on to live separate lives and reunite 60 years later to tell their stories. It's pretty short, too at 312 pages.
A Study in Charlotte by Brittany Cavallaro - This is a YA mystery about Charlotte Holmes who is Sherlock's Great-Great-Great-Granddaughter. Of course it is told by Jamie Watson. You guessed it, John Watson's descendant. 321 pages and it's YA which means it moves quickly.
Reading Behind Bars: A True Story of Literature, Law, and Life as a Prison Librarian by Jill Grunenwald - I have had visions of being a prison librarian. I really like to walk on the wild side, I guess. Anyway, this looks cool.
Psionics and Divination
This is where shit gets real interesting. This subject is Clairsentience 2. I haven't taken Clairsentience 1 but I guess it's not a pre-req. For this one, I have to pick a book, then create a Prediction Bingo board. For each square I have to put in something I predict will happen in the book. As I read, I cross off the square if the thing I predicted happens. Here's the book:
It's about vampires. Here's my bingo sheet:
I sort of cheated. This is the second in a series and I made some of these prediction based on things that happened in the first one. But still.
Restoration
The fourth class is Restoration in which I will be studying Regaining Consciousness which includes bringing around someone who is unconscious. The prompt for this one is to read a book that you think could break a reading slump. For me those books are books that are plot heavy and read quickly. Usually they are pretty short.
The Maximum Security Book Club: Reading Literature in a Men's Prison by Mikita Brottman - This is billed as Orange Is the New Black meets Reading Lolita in Tehran. Sign me right up!
Nine Nasty Words: English in the Gutter: Then, Now, and Forever by John McWhorter - My hubby gave me this for my birthday; probably because I cuss a lot. Whatever. It looks like fun and it's only 272 pages.
Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller - My brother in law gave me this for Christmas. I love Levenseller's writing. My copy is prettier than this one. It's a YA fantasy novel and it's apparently a swash buckling good time.
Between the Lines: Stories From the Underground by Uli Beutter Cohen - This author started a blog where she found people reading on the B Train in New York City and started asking them about their books. She then put together this book. I love to see people reading in the wild. I think this would definitely bust a slump.
A Rogue of One's Own by Evie Dunmore - I really liked the first one in this series. It's a Victorian/Edwardian era romance about feisty ladies fighting for equality, and falling in love. It's pretty long, though. 448 pages.
Demonology
The last course for the spring semester is Demonology. Specifically Pacts and Contracts. For this course I have to read a book I didn't pay for. Snicker. My list for this one is loooong but I narrowed it down a little here.
My Friend Toby by Gregory Panaccione - My husband gave me this for Christmas. He assured me the dog does not die. It's kind of a picture book or graphic novel about this guy's dog.
Checkout 19 by Claire-Louise Bennet - Another gift from my husband. I have no clue what this is about. I have a vague suspicion it is very weird. I originally thought it was translated from the Japanese, but the author's name could indicate otherwise. Either way it's quite short.
Open and Shut by David Rosenfelt - The last thing I need is to start yet another mystery series, but this one is sooooo cute! Doggies! My sister got me this for my birthday.
The Divorce Colony: How Women Revolutionized Marriage and Found Freedom on the American Frontier by April White - I read about this in a magazine article and was fascinated, as I always am by rich people behaving badly. Most of these women were wives of wealthy New Yorkers who wanted a divorce, but couldn't get one. All they had to do was set up an apartment in South Dakota and wait the required length of time. Anyway, my sister bought me this one too.
Rest assured, there are at least a hundred more books on the list I could use. And if I get to that prompt and don't want one of these, I might choose one of those. April will be a wild month!