老虎机稳赢方法

On January 1st, the campaigning and voting will commence!

Please review all of your reads in this thread. Be sure to start your review with the following information:

Team Name
State - tag name
Page the specific tag is found on

Also, if you would please use the "add book/author" feature for the title of your book that would be extremely helpful for the admins as we keep track of the score!

Want to see who has read for each state? View the .

Need a reminder of the full set of rules? See the 2020 Challenges Announcement Thread

Still need to sign up? Do that on the Sign Up for Poll Ballot Tally thread

Hi all, I am getting things organized for the start of the challenges and I know you are thinking, "But what are the teams?!?"

I am working on that behind the scenes and there will be an announcement soon in the Sign Up for Poll Ballot Tally thread.

Stay tuned....

Well, it is official: Anita and I have made the most complex scoring spreadsheet that PBT has ever seen! lol.

Check out the and double check that I have all of the members of your teams listed! I believe I do, but extra eyes never hurt.

Also, if you end up diving real deep on the spreadsheet, ignore the "placeholder" column for now. It was necessary to make all of the formulas work, but Anita and I promise that it does not impact the score and you should not even waste time thinking about it! It will eventually go away as at least one person reads a book for each state.

Our goal is to tally up the reads and post a scoring update once a month and will likely be sometime the last week of every month.

But feel free to go to the spreadsheet at any time to get a sense of what states have been read for and which ones you may want to tackle next!

This is awesome! Thank you

I'm impressed!!!

Nice! I like the hot links to the book lists.

Omg, I'm a spreadsheet nerd, and I love it!!
Thanks for linking all the tags!

Truly awesome - but please change name of Green Team to Jade Dragons!

OMG I was wondering how you were going to do it! That's impressive. Happy to be with my book twin Sara and my book sister, Susie. (who are actually probably more book twins, because when I diverge from them, they are usually on the same page, but whatevs.... :) )

You guys, that鈥檚 amazing! I鈥檓 happy to be with my book twins too. 馃槉

Color me impressed! Great job ladies!!

I was super excited to see both Susie and Nicole both in purple. It's going to be a good year, I can feel it!

I hope I haven't missed this. Sometimes it's impossible to get onto the actual user shelf link for a book tag. Is that going to be a problem if it's a book shelved that only a few times or even once (as you know, some of the tags have books that are almost all tagged something only once. And, for one of them, over half were tagged that by the same person). Is this going to be a problem when reporting? This also happens at times for books that have been tagged something multiple times.

Hi Karin, I am not sure what you mean by the 鈥渁ctual user shelf.鈥� All you need to do for reporting is like to either (1) the page of the top shelf for that book that contains the tag you are claiming, or (2) the page of the top books for a tag you are claiming that contains your book.

Even if it is tagged by just one user on the very last page of tags, that will suffice!

Nicole R wrote: "Hi Karin, I am not sure what you mean by the 鈥渁ctual user shelf.鈥� All you need to do for reporting is like to either (1) the page of the top shelf for that book that contains the tag you are claimi..."

Okay, that is much easier!

Jade Dragons
New York/Broadway
/shelf/show/...

Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic by Alison Bechdel - 5 stars

My home state!
Started January 1, 2020 at 12.11 AM EST. Finished 3 enthralled hours later. What a brilliant, literate, heartrending, yet uplifting story of a daughter's ultimate acceptance of her father's life choices and inexplicable death. It is also an acceptance of herself and her 'erotic truth' and her confused tense relationship with her father.

The book's structure was for me a new experience and a revelation. The graphic novel format was perfection, remaining literary while being visual. This was my first graphic novel but will not be my last. And even though I was in general familiar with the storyline, the oh-so-casual tossed in matter-of-fact statement on page 17 about her father, that sits as an isolated island in the midst of an ocean, absolutely had me reeling. Masterful.

I absolutely loved it.

I am torn though. Do I regret not seeing the Broadway show based on this brilliant memoir? Yes...and no. Somehow reading this now, long after its publication and the award winning Broadway adaptation, is perfect. Why? Because I am in the midst of reading Proust. There is so much more resonance for me when reading the Proust chapter, so much that reflected my own response to Proust.

And thank you to Amy who early in 2019 encouraged me to read this when I mentioned needing a graphic novel to complete the 2015 Popsugar Challenge that I have been doing alongside other challenges. You were so right to encourage me on this...and it completes that challenge for me as well.

Woohoo, Theresa!!

Tien wrote: "Woohoo, Theresa!!"

Love the pic~! Add a Whoot! Whoot! for Theresa!

EDIT: Theresa-Remember to throw this over to "Jan-Other Books" too!-So many places to post one book each month...

Tien wrote: "Woohoo, Theresa!!

"

馃榿馃槈馃槉

Joanne wrote: "Tien wrote: "Woohoo, Theresa!!"

Love the pic~! Add a Whoot! Whoot! for Theresa!

EDIT: Theresa-Remember to throw this over to "Jan-Other Books" too!-So many places to post one book each month..."

Thanks, Joanne! Just did...as thread wasn't up yet when I finally went to bed.

Your Welcome! Glad it was a hit!

You go, Theresa!!

The Fallen

Readers of the Purple Sage
Ohio Industry (3 tags, page 2 of book's page)

/work/shelve...

The Fallen is the fourth book in the Memory Man series featuring Amos Decker. I had forgotten how much I loved this character. This is an interesting and complicated thriller, involving multiple murder cases that may or may not be related. The story involves the opioid epidemic, drug trafficking, a struggling town in Pennsylvania, a little treasure hunting, insurance, and a crazy industrial accident involving a robot. I learned a few new things about the opioid crisis, and the huge fulfillment centers that fill online orders. (Amazon wasn't mentioned, but it's likely based on their operations.)

My favorite part of the series is the main characters, Amos Decker and his partner/friend Alex Jamison. Amos is known as the memory man because a head injury left him with a near perfect memory and synesthesia (he sees colors linked to certain perceptions and memories), along with many difficulties. Alex encourages Amos to take a needed vacation, and they visit her sister's family in Pennsylvania, and happen to be nearby when two dead bodies are discovered. (Happens to everyone, right?) I really like the friendship between Amos and Alex, and his interactions during this case with her 5 year old niece Zoe. During this case, another head injury seems to interfere with his memory. It also seems to affect his emotional perception. His awareness of these changes adds another dimension to this story. Overall this was a satisfying read. I recommend reading the books in order, to understand the evolution of the characters.

Great job Nancy! Remember we need to link to the tag in our review. Here's the link for the location in the books tags /work/shelve...
Industry is in the first column on page two of tags.

Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats by Steve Ettlinger

Jade Dragons
Iowa - Politics

Who knew that the world's largest producer of casein was New Zealand? Not me--I always thought it was made from domestic milk by products. This is one of a few new things I learned in an area where I have to admit I already knew a fair bit.

This isn't badly written, and Ettlinger ties in how and when he started this quest along with bit of history of food handling and processing. While I realize that we need minerals from the ground or sea (salt being one of them), much of this book made me happy that I tend to eat food as close to how it originally was, but then I've been doing that much of my life anyway, although not with extreme zealousness. There were a few disturbing things I hadn't realized, but why add spoilers beyond what I already have?

Links to tag:
/shelf/users...

If that user shelf isn't showing up, it's on the first page of popular tags:
/work/shelve...

Thanks, Karin! Moving forward, to save yourself some work, the only link I really need is the second one you provided:

"If that user shelf isn't showing up, it's on the first page of popular tags:
/work/shelve..."

Nicole R wrote: "Thanks, Karin! Moving forward, to save yourself some work, the only link I really need is the second one you provided:

"If that user shelf isn't showing up, it's on the first page of popular tags:..."

Okay, great, but Cindy thought it helped :) I won't worry about it next time.

I appreciate your making it as easy for me as possible!

Mistress of the Art of Death 鈥� Ariana Franklin - 3.5 Stars

Readers of the Purple Sage Team
Tag: Iowa - Politics - Page 4 - Column 1

Adelia is a forensic pathologist trained at the Salerno School of Medicine in 1178. She joins two others, Simon of Naples, and Mansur, Adelia's bodyguard and Muslim eunuch, at the request of the King of Sicily to travel to Cambridge, England and find out who has been killing village children. The Jews have been blamed and are now hiding in an area that is protected by King Edward II. Edward wants them to either be cleared of the crime or he will dispose of them all.

I love historical mysteries and it's very difficult to find ones with engaging female characters. I liked the way all the characters were introduced so the reader knows from the beginning who the suspect pool is. I found much of the local language difficult to understand at first, but once I got into the book it became easier to figure out. The first half of the book was a bit too slow moving for me but I really enjoyed the last half, which left me feeling more positive about my review. I don't know when I'll get around to it but I would like to continue with the second book in the series when I get a chance.

Nicole R wrote: "Thanks, Karin! Moving forward, to save yourself some work, the only link I really need is the second one you provided:

"If that user shelf isn't showing up, it's on the first page of popular tags:..."

I'm just wondering how difficult it might be to find the page that a tag is on if there are LOTS of pages to click through. That's why I thought that first link might be easier for us to provide.

(That is, there may be people who have tagged it that way, but there are too many individual pages to page through to find it.)

It's usually faster to find that link than going through all those pages of tags/shelves. (As long as GR is cooperating and not timing out, as it was for a few days, that - the first one - was the link I was hoping to find and provide. Is that ok? I just don't want to have to page through ALL those pages of tags...)

Any link that you can provide that shows me the book you are reviewing has the tag you are claiming works for me!

But, whatever method you use, you only need to provide one way, not multiple ones.

I can roll with players using a variety of ways so long as it gets me the information I need to quickly confirm the book's tag!

LibraryCin wrote: "Nicole R wrote: "Thanks, Karin! Moving forward, to save yourself some work, the only link I really need is the second one you provided:

"If that user shelf isn't showing up, it's on the first page..."

Hi!
Just curious, since it seems it might be an easier way to find a tag on a book than scrollig through all those pages (which I find quite tedious), could you please share how I can search for that? Thank you :)

F3 will search any page you are currently on. When I search the GR tags using F3, it will chime when the tag is not found. Then I go to the next page and hit F3 again, and it defaults to the last thing you type in, so it will just chime again if the tag is not found. If the tag is found, it highlights it (no chime).

Nicole R wrote: "But, whatever method you use, you only need to provide one way, not multiple ones...."

Thank you so much, Nicole!

So, with Anna's method, you still have to click on each page separately.

The way I'd like to look so that I don't have to do that is this:

- look up your title

- from the list of shelves/tag on the right side of the page, don't click the tag itself, but click the number of users ("xxxx users" with xxxx being a number of users that have it tagged that way)

- (as long as GR doesn't time out on this - it has been recently): in the URL at the top of the page, you should be able to delete the text that is the tag you just chose. In its place, type in the tag you are looking for.
(Sadly, right now it's timing out on me, so I hope my memory is correct.) One word tags are easier. I can't recall exactly what to type in if your tag is more than one word. I wanted to test, but GR won't let me right now.

Cindy, that is a great tip! I am not on my computer right now to test it, but it seems straight-forward!

As for timing out, I noticed that GR seems to be undergoing some site maintenance and there are a few wonky things right now. Perhaps that is one of them!

Nicole R wrote: "As for timing out, I noticed that GR seems to be undergoing some site maintenance and there..."

Ohhhh, maybe that's what's going on...? Someone in our group thought it might also depend on time of day and how busy GR is at the time.

I think BC was going to report it to see if it can be fixed.

I was using "Gone with the Wind" as I was trying to remember instructions, and there are 270 pages of tags/shelves! That's why, in some cases, I don't want to click through each page to check! That, I'm sure is an extreme example, but you never know!

Sometimes if a book is just so very popular like 'Gone with the Wind' which would have sooo many members shelving it & shelving it as a lot of things as well (resulting in pages & pages of top shelves), it just wouldn't work (ie. timing out); just FYI since I used this feature a lot :)

Can't you link the exact page the book is on on the shelf page? The only problem with that is if people continue to shelve it that way OR shelve others underneath it that way, it could change places.

Karin wrote: "Can't you link the exact page the book is on on the shelf page? The only problem with that is if people continue to shelve it that way OR shelve others underneath it that way, it could change places."

Karin, the discussion was trying to find easier ways to find whether a book has been shelved a certain way (especially when there are pages and pages of top shelves)

Karin, just do your best. If you link to a page and I don鈥檛 see the tag, I鈥檒l page forward and back a page or two to look for the tag.

Same goes for however you link to the book. If you link to the list of books that fit the tag or the popular tags for the book, I鈥檒l poke around a bit if I do not immediately see the tag. I realize these things shift.

If I still do not find it then I will PM you individually to have you help me out.

I will not just NOT give you credit for the book.

Or, Karin, if it works to do the way Cindy suggested without being a nightmare due to timeout issues, then that is fine too!

Pick the way that is easiest for you!

I just want to add why I am asking for a link to the tag you are claiming for your book, which is something we have not done in the past.

We went back and forth whether or not to count a book for the Poll Ballot Tally so long as even a single user tagged it with the tag you are claiming or whether we wanted to implement a minimum number of people who had to tag it a certain way (for example, 5 people).

Ultimately, we stuck with your being able to use a book so long as only one person tagged it that way for a number of reasons, including we felt like it would work against less popular books that are perhaps not tagged by a lot of people. We wanted to provide as much flexibility as possible.

However, that also means that Anita and I have to do just a bit more work by taking a peek at the users when only a few people have tagged your book with the state tag you are claiming. We 100% do not anticipate a problem, but we plan to make sure that the person claiming the state tag (or one of their teammates) is not the sole person who has tagged the book a certain way just so it can be used for this game.

We have never, in the 12 years of PBT's existence, had an issue with this, and we do not anticipate one now! But we used to check things like this on Shelfari when the cloud tag make it easy to simply use control-F to find the tag we are looking for!

In our few years here on GoodReads, we haven't had a challenge quite like this that puts such a high importance on how the specific book is tagged, and Anita and I thought it would be a good time to re-implement that with this challenge.

Unfortunately, on GR, it makes an extra step for you because of the pagination, but hopefully we'll all get into the swing of things as reviews start rolling in! And, if you forget as we get started it is not a big deal. We will remind you and I am sure your teammates will help you out as well!

I just wanted to provide a little context as we are all figuring out the best way to do this so you don't think the admins are asking you to do an extra busy step that we'll never look at!

Prayers for Rain - Dennis Lehane 4/5
Purple Sage
New Jersey - Mafia
/work/shelve... (col 3)

I'm going to be so so so sad when I'm done with this series, mostly because I'm absolutely in love with the narrator (Jonathan Davis). He. Is. So. Good. But also these books are really satisfying. There's nothing really formulaic about them, and though they are genre, they feel a more literary than most. I'll know for sure when I venture into my first Lehane which does not have Davis as a narrator.

I've listened to 5 of these now, and each one has been satisfying and enjoyable in their own way. The characters are always fun, and the mysteries always have that little something extra. Only one more to go. :(

Tien wrote: "Sometimes if a book is just so very popular like 'Gone with the Wind' which would have sooo many members shelving it & shelving it as a lot of things as well (resulting in pages & pages of top shel..."

I tried loading page where only one member had shelved - still timed out!

On What Grounds - Cleo Coyle - 3 Stars

Readers of the Purple Sage Team
Washington - Coffee - Page 1, Column 1

After her daughter goes of to college, Clare Cosi decides to move back to New York City and manage the coffeehouse where she previously worked as an assistant manager for years. It's set in the Village so you have a small community environment that's very atmospheric. Unfortunately, Clare shows up for work the first morning, only to find her assistant manager and barista, Annabelle, dead at the bottom of the stairs. It may be an accident but things don't add up to Clare.

It's a typical cozy mystery filled with a little romance and sparks between the investigating detective, as well as Clare's attractive Italian ex-husband. And of course, a main character who feels the need to investigate on her own, thus putting her in constant danger.

The part I found the most annoying was Clare's endless explanations of how to make various styles of coffee. I appreciate that coffee is the underlying theme but once you've read how it's made, there's no need to beat a dead horse.

Sex, Lies and Politics: The Secret Influences That Drive our Political Choices - 4 stars

Jade Dragons
Iowa - politics
Page 1 on the BOOK page

Note to admins before I start my review - I am going to distinguish between where I found the tags on the third line above as I hope it will make it easier for you. For example, for this book it was on the actual book's page, however some of my reviews I found it on the shelf - in which case I will write on the SHELF and the page number.

Blurb: Elections aren鈥檛 just important 鈥� they are revealing. They tell us things about who we are and how we behave. Written by leading political experts, Sex, Lies and Politics reveals what really makes us tick.

At once funny, revealing and shocking, it covers everything you need to know about the voters and their quirks, foibles and sexual secrets, including when they lie (often to themselves), how they are swayed by tribal loyalties (even when judging cats and celebrities), and why you should keep quiet about your Brexit vote when moving house鈥�

Combining brand-new essays with fully updated pieces from the acclaimed Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box and More Sex, Lies and the Ballot Box, this witty and thought-provoking collection is a guaranteed conversation starter. If you want to discover which party鈥檚 voters have the wildest private lives, read on.

Review: You do need some basic knowledge about politics to understand everything in this book (some of the jargon went over my head) but there were some interesting points. Focuses mainly on UK politics and Brexit.

Cross-posted to January: Other Books

Readers of the Purple Sage Team

California - Hollywood


/work/shelve...

First column - 10th item down - Hollywood

5 Stars for this Brilliant Book!

Brilliant! The format of this book reads like a TV documentary and it just works.

The Six was an up and coming rock band in the 70's lead by Billy Dunne and his brother Graham. Their producers decided that they needed a female singer and they put Daisy Jones into the mix. The rest was rock and roll history. (Note: this is fiction - I did have to check to make sure this wasn't a band that I missed in the 70's as this was the time of my youth!).

The format of this book is unusual but it still allows for character development and a continuous story line. It also shows point of view - how two or more people in the same situation can see things differently.

This is also a story about relationships - not just men and women but friends (Daisy has a great best friend Simone), brothers, mentors, and work mates. This is the first book I finished in 2020 and will definitely make my best of list for 2020. Highly Recommended!

Cross-posted to January: Other Books

Readers of the Purple Sage
Colorado: Rocky Mountains

Descent by Tim Johnston
4 stars
/work/shelve... column 1

Before eldest child Caitlin heads off for college, the Courtland family, dad Grant, mother Angela, and brother Sea, takes a vacation into the Rocky Mountains. Caitlin is a dedicated runner and one early morning she goes for a grueling mountain run with 15-year-old Sean accompanying her on a bike. Only Sean returns and that is in an ambulance as he is rushed to the hospital with a debilitating leg injury. Sean was hit by a car and the driver convinced Caitlin to get in the vehicle with him so they could go for help. Caitlin disappeared. The search began but there was no sign of the young woman.

Angela returned to their home in Wisconsin while Grant stayed in Colorado, never believing he would not find his daughter. Sean, feeling the unwarranted weight of guilt, began an aimless wandering around the country working odd jobs and sleeping wherever he stopped. A near tragedy in Nebraska brought Grant to his son's rescue and the two returned to Colorado. As the Courtland family began to fall apart the search for Caitlin became sporadic although Grant never gave up hope that she was alive and needed to be found. Is it possible?

This was definitely a thrill ride. When the search goes on for several years it seems like all is lost and the family will just continue to splinter. Angela does not figure in the story very much; most of it focuses on Grant and Sean. They are great characters; strong and stoic. The last 50 pages of the book are nail-biting worthy. This is a good one.

Jade Dragons
Kansas: Weather

Into Thin Air: A Personal Account of the Mount Everest Disaster by Jon Krakauer
5 stars

/work/shelve... column 2

An engrossing look at a mountaineering accident on top of Mount Everest in May 1996 involving a few climbing expeditions, including the one in which Krakauer was taking part as a guest. Krakauer documents, in a very readable fashion, the events that led to multiple deaths on the mountain, with a few small decisions spiraling, in the face of sudden storms and wind, into a major catastrophe.

I really enjoy the outdoors, but I do think that it can be hard to reconcile a desire to be in the outdoors and to experience these incredible places with the recognition that so much can go wrong, that there are sometimes enormous inherent risks in exploring and experiencing these places. I think that Krakauer does a really good job of balancing detailing the enormous tragedy while, at the same time, honoring the majesty of Everest and making it clear why people could want to climb it. (I think I can say pretty definitively, though, that this book has only compounded a sense that I don't really think mountaineering is for me.)