Ani's Book Abyss

 

I had hoped to have had my previous BLopoly book read by Saturday, but that didn't happen.  So I finished reading Cover Shot on Sunday (7/28), so I took my roll last night.  Meanwhile, Cover Shot was an entertaining cozy mystery that banked in at $3 with it's 360 pages.  A review should be out sometime in the next few days.

On the personal front, I'm hoping that life starts settling down a bit more the next few weeks post-wedding hangovers and the like.  I've been on a weird work schedule as well, and am hopefully moving back to normal for the next while.

Also, my elder brother and his wife have returned from their travels, honey-mooning in the Grand Cayman Isles, then following by traveling for work purposes as well.  This just means that it was time to say good-bye to the pups that we've been dog-sitting for the past weeks, and the house will definitely be a lot quieter and maybe even a bit subdued for a while as we get used to not having Bear upending everything in sight.  Yogi was always the quiet, unassuming presence, but I loved that he would routinely climb right into my lap every evening whenever I sat down on the couch.

Here's a little pic of all three of the doggies, including our very own Baby, all enjoying a leisurely afternoon on said couch.

 

Since they live about six hours away in a different state altogether, it will probably be some time before we get to see them again.  Baby, certainly is showing some signs of depression, missing his companions, so we've been trying to play with him more lately, but all he wants to do is lay around.  Hopefully, he'll bounce back to his usual self in a few days, because if not, that means we might have to find a chance to take a road trip to visit the pups... Not that we wouldn't be happy to also see my brother and his wife.


And now onto the next roll of BLopoly...

 

Roll #18 was a five, which took me to Beach Week 13 (even though the photo shows 12, the square on the board is actually 13).

 

It's also a fairly subdued time on the board, with Monkey just hanging around and Penni adrift in her boat.  Maybe the excitement will come back soon, though I've said this before:  I'm not sure Penni is ever NOT looking excited about something.  Which is why we love her so much!


There are exactly two books I'd found that would have fit this roll's square.  But unfortunately, while perusing my shelves, I just wasn't feeling in the mood for either of them.  And so I'm finally throwing in a Novelty card.  Since I've got four in my pocket, and two of them are Robot cards, I decided to go ahead and use one of them.

 

 

1.  Lethal Lifestyles by LynDee Walker
2.  A Study in Death by Anna Lee Huber
3.  Surrender by Pamela Clare
4.  The Duchess Deal by Tessa Dare
5.  Silken Threats by Addison Fox
6.  Open Season by Linda Howard
7.  Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart
8.  The Pirate by Jayne Ann Krentz
9.  The Dissociation of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa
10.  Dreamer's Pool by Juliet Mariller


My list of books weren't as much random as they were in the order of books I really wanted to read first, then following with whatever other book I thought of next.  Aside from Open Season by Linda Howard, I already own all of them, and there's a nice mix of historical and contemporary, as well as one fantasy.  There are ten different books by ten different authors (I hadn't even realized I'd done that until after I was finished).

And so then I went and found a random number generator app on my phone and came up with this:

 

The above cover for Madam, Will You Talk? corresponds to the Kindle edition I currently own, though I'm not sure I really like that cover.  But anyway, this book is 372 pages long, which will net me a $3 addition to my bank balance, and so with the completion of this book, I'll have hit exactly $100!  Yay!

I knew I wasn't going to be reading as much as I did the last time I played this game, and so one of my unofficial goals was to hit the triple digits by breaking $100.  And I'll be there soon!

I've already started reading Madam, Will You Talk?, which so far isn't as intriguing as previous Mary Stewart books I've read, but hopefully things will pick up soon.  The main character kind of reminds me of another main character from another book, though I can't quite place my finger on it.

 

 

Novelty Cards Currently In My Pocket

 

 

 

Novelty Cards Used

 

Roll #18 Book Chosen: Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart

 

 

My Progress

Current Bank:  $97
Bail Fund Donation:  0 pages || in table: remain in parentheses in (italics and red)
Books Read:  18
Pages Read:  5,965

Table notes:
*Dates link to corresponding dice roll updates / other links for related activities included.
*Book titles link to reviews if written.
*Page/Cash values in parentheses are still pending reads/ not yet cashed out.
*Doubles rolls are depicted as such (dbls) under the dice roll number.

 

Date (Roll #)	Dice Roll	Space/Prompt	Book Title / Author	Pages	Cash
5/20	Game Start				$20
#1	5	The Silk Road: Read a book set in any of the 40 countries along Silk Road, or by an author from any of those countries.	Hard Target by Pamela Clare	261	$3
5/22
#2a	8	Novelty Card Robot -- save for later (Create a numbered list of ten books, and let a random number generator pick for you)	n/a	n/a	n/a
#2b	4	Mountain Cabin 16: Read a book that is considered mystery/suspense genre, or which has a title that contains all of the letters in the word C-A-B-I-N.	Tightrope by Amanda Quick	320	$3
5/25	See Also: Roll #3 and Memorial Day Bonus Roll Activities
#3	5	The Lake House 20: Read a book that features a dog or which has a dog on the cover; or that is set in an area known for its lakes or on a fictional lake.	Run to Ground by Katie Ruggle	312	$3
	Memorial Day Bonus Rolls
#4	7	The Summer Blockbuster 27: Read a book that features a hero's journey or is a Bildungsroman (coming of age tale); or that has a word related to space in the title (i.e., star, planet, rocket).	Wolfskin by Juliet Marillier	516	$5
#5	9	European Vacation 35: Read a book set in Europe; or that was written by an author who was born in Europe; or that involves travel by boat or that has a picture of a ship on the cover.	A Grave Matter by Anna Lee Huber	433	$5
6/8
#6a	10	Pass Go:  Collect $5!	n/a	n/a	$5
		Novelty Card Race Car -- save for later (Race around the game board to the space of your choosing and read!)	n/a	n/a	n/a
#6b	11	Mountain Cabin 18: Read a book that is set west of the Mississippi in the USA, or that was written by an author who comes from that region, or that is considered part of the Western genre.	Stone Cold Heart by Laura Griffin	357	$3
6/10
#7a	7	BL Square:  Spin the Wheel Decide	n/a	n/a	n/a
		Wheel Decide:  Take one extra roll	n/a	n/a	n/a
#7b	10	European Vacation 33: Read a book set in the UK, or that was written by an author whose first or last name begins with any letter in the word L-O-N-D-O-N.	The Indignation of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa	212	$3
6/13
#8	5	Pass Go:  Collect $5!	n/a	n/a	$5
		School's Out For Summer 1: Read a book that appears on any school related "summer reading list," or that is identified as YA or MG	Going Rogue by Robin Benway	321	$3
6/16
#9	10	Beach Week 10: Read a book that appears on any beach reads list, or a book whose author's first or last name begins with any letter in B-E-A-C-H.	Chasing Evil by Kylie Brant	324	$3
6/19
#10	6	Mountain Cabin 16: Read a book that is considered mystery/suspense genre, or which has a title that contains all of the letters in the word C-A-B-I-N.	Touching Evil by Kylie Brant	288	$3
6/26
#11	4	The Lake House 19: Read a book with a cover that is more than 50 percent blue, or by an author whose first or last name starts with any letter in the word L-A-K-E.	Facing Evil by Kylie Brant	314	$3
6/29
#12	6	The Summer Blockbuster 25: Read a book (or a book in a series) that has been adapted for film or television.	A Morbid Taste for Bones	199	$2
7/2	July 4th Bonus Rolls
#13a	2 (dbls)	The Summer Blockbuster 27: Read a book that features a hero's journey or is a Bildungsroman (coming of age tale); or that has a word related to space in the title (i.e., star, planet, rocket).	Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo	374	$3
#13b	8	When? (34): Read a book that is time travel or historical fiction, or a book with the word "when" in the title.	Silence for the Dead by Simone St. James	386	$3
#14	5	Pass Go:  Collect $5!	n/a	n/a	$5
		Who? (2): Read a mystery or detective story, or a book with the word "who" in the title.	Sharp Edges by Jayne Ann Krentz	338	$3
#15	7	The Stay-cation 9: Read a book that includes a visit to a museum, a concert, a library or a park, or that the author's name begins with one of the letters in R-E-L-A-X.	Her Deadly Secrets by Laura Griffin	368	$3
7/21
#16a	4	Novelty Card Robot -- save for later (Create a numbered list of ten books, and let a random number generator pick for you)	n/a	n/a	n/a
#16b	7	Free Parking:  Roll 2 dice. A 2 or a 3 sends you to the robot; 4, 5, or 6, go to the race car; 7, 8, or 9, go to the Scottie dog; 10, 11, or 12 takes you to the cat.	n/a	n/a	n/a
#16c	9	Novelty Card Scottie Dog -- save for later (Post a list or poll of 4 books, and ask your fellow players/followers to "fetch" you a book.	n/a	n/a	n/a
#16d	10	Pass Go:  Collect $5!	n/a	n/a	$5
		Who? (2): Read a mystery or detective story, or a book with the word "who" in the title.	Devil in the Deadline by LynDee Walker	282	$3
7/23
#17	7	The Stay-cation 9: Read a book that includes a visit to a museum, a concert, a library or a park, or that the author's name begins with one of the letters in R-E-L-A-X.	Cover Shot by LynDee Walker	(360)	($3)
7/28
#18	5	Beach Week 13: Read a book with sunglasses, swimsuit, beach bag, beach towel, or other beach items on the cover, or a book that has a cover that is more than 50% yellow.	Using Robot Card	n/a	n/a
		Novelty Card Robot Create a numbered list of ten books, and let a random number generator pick for you.	Madam, Will You Talk? by Mary Stewart	(372)	($3)
TBA
TBA