Pairing Word Games With Titles

One type of ‘reading theme’ I avoided,  is word games.  Bingo style is popular but I want to read any quantity about Canada, Ireland, England, Victorian, classic literature.  Not fuss with cover contents, whether it’s an award-winner, or a specific province.  My goal is to match fun categories with books I already own;  facilitating rather than excluding, outlets to read more of them.  This led to my group “Gentle Spectrums“, a way to be creative that is flexible.  However once I tried games, I found my reading varied enough to fulfill many groups’ criteria.  It’s enjoyable to stretch my mind in some sort of challenge, without doubting I’ll meet it!

This game is a new idea and I like it!  I will wrack my brain, shelves, even novels I have already read to see what fits.  But it will be easy and I can take longer than a year to achieve it if I wish.  What you are doing is accommodating each letter, in the words from every month.  A letter within a title is hunky dory if you don’t have a title’s first letter.  Gina:  presumably I may substitute another letter in titles?  I have read so many starting with ‘C’, the months have run out of them.  Or I may alternate letters in titles, beginning with letters not in the names of months?

Mentally and literally sifting through my shelves for books that work, truly is the most fun part for me!  Stay tuned to see what I achieve in one year!  I will continue building upon this post if I need longer.

J  ()  A  ()  N  (“A Novena For Murder”)  U  ()  A  ()  R  ()  Y  ()
FEBRUARY
M  ()  A  ()  R  ()  C  (“The Corpse In Oozak’s Pond”)  H
A  ()  P  (“The Palace Guard”)  R  ()  I  ()  L  (“Larceny And Old Lace”)
MAY
JUNE
J  ()  U  ()  L  (“The Lost Steps”)  Y  ()
A  ()  U  ()  G  ()  U  ()  S  ()  T  (“Tempest In The Tea Leaves”)
SEPTEMBER
O  ()  C  (“The Cat, The Quilt, And The Corpose”)  T  ()  O  ()  B  (“The Cat Who Played Brahms”)  E  ()  R  ()
NOVEMBER
D  (“Dyeing Wishes”)  E  ()  C  (“The Christie Curse”)  E  ()  M  ()  B  ()  E  ()  R  ().

 

I aced this pair of challenges last year, by new Mom, ‘Kimberley’.  I sought permission to substitute the March category in “Monthly Motif”, because I am blessed with an abundant collection and don’t borrow or go to libraries.  Other than that change, I will again ace these puppies as is, with delight.

Conclusion:  This year I read whatever I wanted, instead of planning out books.  I had complete faith that I would read a variety of literature broad enough to hit all of these categories.  “Water”, “Sleep”, “Flower” were a stretch but you can see how I creatively covered them below.  Happy new year 2016!  *  Please watch for my own returning groups – one highly similar to this.  *

JANUARY
Bird, GIRL, Ever, Silence, Bad, Truth, End
FEBRUARY
Key, WATER, Lie, Chase, Heir, Once
MARCH
Kind, Face, Power, City, BLUE, Night, To
APRIL
Dream, Prince, Long, Wind, Rose, The, ROCK
MAY
Ash, Road, Thief, Bend, In, FAR
JUNE
My, Together, Whisper, Win, Soul, SLEEP
JULY
Sun, Unto, Energy, Fate, High, LOOK
AUGUST
Fall, Boy, Glass, Heart, LOST, Now
SEPTEMBER
Colour, Touch, LIFE, Day, How, Sweet
OCTOBER
GHOST, Home, Beach, Away, Test, Number
NOVEMBER
Rise, Holiday, And, LITTLE, Call, Dark
DECEMBER
Space, Mirror, Over, FLOWER, Trap, Cold

“The Girl Next Door”  Augusta Huiell Seaman  1917  GIRL
“Marshy Winter”  Ed Golin, Jerry Maryniuk  1993  WATER
“Bluenose Ghosts”  Dr. Helen Creighton  1957  BLUE
“Rescue Dogs:  Crime & Rescue Canines Of The Canadian Rockies”  Dale Portman  2003  ROCK
“Stars Near & Far”  Robin Dexter  1996  FAR
“Time For Bed”  Mem Fox, Jane Dyer  1993  SLEEP
“A Hill For Looking”  Martha Brooks  1982  LOOK
“Lost Treasures:  True Stories Of Discovery”  Larry Verstraete  2006  LOST
“The Life Story Of The Butterfly”  Jilly MacLeod, Joanne Cowne  1996  LIFE
“Usborne True Stories, Ghosts”  Paul Dowswell  2008  GHOST
“The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything”  Linda Williams, Megan Lloyd  1986  LITTLE
“Night Gardening”  E.L. Swann  1999  FLOWER

 

It is my pleasure to rejoin the full pair.  I have permission to switch May “Libraries Or Borrowing” with a novel featuring a library.  I have built a vast enough collection of literature, that libraries made no sense for me, even when I lived in a town that had one.  I didn’t imagine Kimberley saying no;  we aren’t competing for prizes.  It was a courtesy query.  :)

JANUARY – A book or character that has a movie based off of it.
“Girl Sleuth, Nancy Drew & The Women Who Created Her”  Melanie Rehak  2005

FEBRUARY – A book that has won a literary award.
“The Haunting Of Maddy Clare”  Simone St. James  2012

MARCH – A genre you’re less familiar with.
“The Joy Of Cats”  Jo Kittinger  1999  (Books of quotes).

APRIL – Mystery and mayhem.
“The Tale Of Halcyon Crane”  Wendy Webb  2010

MAY – About libraries, or with a library backdrop.
“The Sayers Swindle”  Victoria Abbott  2014  (Finder of rare books).

JUNE – Takes place in a country different than yours.
“Waiting For Willa”  Dorothy Eden  1970  (Sweden).

JULY – Character stands up for themselves, something they believe in.
“Six Darn Cows”  Margaret Laurence, Ann Blades  1979

AUGUST – In the future, an alternative reality, an unknown world.
“The Little Old Lady Who Was Not Afraid Of Anything”  Linda Williams, Megan Lloyd  1986

SEPTEMBER – Includes an animal. Horses, cats, dogs, insects, birds.
“Mouse’s First Christmas”  Lauren Thompson  1999

OCTOBER – Ghost stories, paranormal, fantasy creatures- it’s up to you!
“The House On Tradd Street”  Karen White  2008

NOVEMBER – A good oldie! Published before 2000, or set well before.
“The Boarded-Up House”  Augusta Huiell Seaman  1915

DECEMBER – Series you wanted to finish, or next in a series you started.
“Jacob Two-Two’s First Spy Case”  Mordecai Richler  1995