Abandoned by user

Game Updates

Game Play

Bank: $114.00 

Novelty cards currently in my pocket: Robot

Bank Transactions:

5/20/19: Beginning balance, $20.00

5/22/19: Palace of Treason, +$5.00

5/24/19: Family Matters, +$3.00

5/24/19: Pass Go, +$5.00

5/31/19: The Moonstone, +$3.00

5/31/19: A Fatal Inversion, +$5.00

6/2/19: The Division Bell Mystery, +$3.00

6/2/19: Pass Go, +$5.00

6/9/19: The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, +$3.00

6/9/19: Below the Clock, +$3.00

6/9/19: A Local Habitation, +$3.00

6/11/19: A Passage to India, +$3.00

6/13/19: A Great Deliverance, +5.00

6/13/19: Pass Go, +$5.00

6/15/19: My Cousin Rachel, +$3.00

6/17/19: The Colour of Murder, +$3.00

6/30/19: Wolf Hall, +$5.00

6/30/19: The Glass Devil, +$3.00

7/2/19: Pass Go, +5.00

7/15/19: Well-Schooled in Murder, +$5.00

7/15/19: A Fountain Filled With Blood, +$3.00

7/15/19: Out of the Deep I Cry, +$3.00

7/15/19: Bring Up the Bodies, +$5.00

7/15/19: The Key to Rebecca, +$3.00 (used cat card)

7/15/19: Pass Go, +$5.00

7/18/19: Pass Go, +$5.00

7/27/19: A Plague on Both Your Houses, +$3.00 

7/27/19: The Secret History, +$5.00 (used race car)

8/9/19: The Winter Mantle, +$5.00 (used cat card)

Total: $127.00

END OF THE GAME!

With Halloween Bingo gearing up, I am deep in the throes of organizing that game. Note to self: no games that extend into August ever again. 

I finally finished up The Winter Mantle, which is 512 pages, and is therefore worth $5.00. That's my final book of the game, which means that I end the game with a total of $132.00 in my bank, and holding the robot card.

The rest of my game play is after the page break.

Roll 19:

I've finished up two books for my last roll, and I'm still reading Albion. Since we're coming to the end of the game, I've decided to keep reading Albion, but move on! I'm going to roll tomorrow.

Space 28:

28. Read a book that is identified as romance or chick-lit, or that has a cover that is more than 50% pink.

Oh, man, I haven't been reading much romance these days, and I don't think I have anything available! Since I am coming to the end of the game, I think I will play my cat and find a $10.00 book to dive into to get ready for Halloween bingo.

Roll 18a:

I am up to 300 pages in A Plague On Both Your Houses, which is sufficient to get me my $3.00 contribution to the bail fund! Therefore, I am rolling again.

17. Why? Read a book that is non-fiction or a book with the word "why" in the title.

Doubles - roll again!

22. Read a book with a word that refers to women's roles, such as wife, daughter, mother, mistress or title, such as "Mrs., Miss or Duchess, in the title, or a book that has a strong female lead character. 

I decided to play my RACE CAR here, and race around the board to space #3:

3. Read a book set in a school or college, or that is considered a "classic," (using any criteria that you want) or that is frequently banned.

So I could read The Secret History by Donna Tartt. I also passed GO on my little trip.

Roll 17:

Which puts me on the Just Visiting spot of the jail, so I will read a book between 200 and 400 pages, to donate $3.00 to the bail fund. 

Rolls 13 through 16:

These are the 4th of July rolls, and have their own post!

Roll 12:

Finished Wolf Hall (and I loved it)!

Which puts me on space 32 - the Nordic Express

32. The Nordic Express: Read a book set in one of the Nordic countries, or by an author from any of those countries. (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden).

None of the 4 books I have set aside to read soon fit this square, but I think I can track down a mystery that would fit!

Roll 11:

OK, I've been so busy with the Crowdsourced booklist project, that I haven't had a chance to roll. I'm listening to The Lost City of Z by David Grann for space #14, which is an audiobook, and pursuant to the audiobook exception, that means that I can continue to listen and roll again! So, here I go!

This puts me on the cat, which I will tuck into my pocket and roll again!

Which puts  me on:

25. Read a book that has been adapted for a film.

This one gives me lots of choices! 

Roll 10:

I finished The Colour of Murder, and I am ready to roll, but plan to finish Bleak House before I start reading for this square. However, I can get myself prepped for what comes next!

14. The Patagonia Star: Read a book set in Central or South America, or by an author from any country in Central or South America.

Hmmmm. This one is going to take some thinking...good thing I have a bit of extra time!

Roll 9:

I finished My Cousin Rachel, and am gobsmacked

Space 11:

11. Read a book set in a coastal/beach region that you love, or would love to visit, or a book that has a beach or ocean on the cover.

Roll 8:

So, I decided to just skip space 28 this time around. I did read for space 36, though. I read A Great Deliverance, which has all the letters to spell V-E-N-I-C-E in the title, which, at 430 pages long, netted me $5.00.

I pass "Go", which means I collect $5.00!

7. Read a book that has a house on the cover, or that is related to something unique about your community (for example, if your community has a strawberry festival, read a book with strawberries on the cover).

Hmmmmm. I'm going to have to think about this one for a minute or two. I may end up playing one of my novelty cards here!

Roll 7:

A Passage to India was a bit bleak, but satisfying. Forster's reticence about what really happened in the cave is both intriguing and irritating.

Puts me on Free Parking! 

I put the cat in my pocket and roll again!

Which puts me on:

28. Read a book that is identified as romance or chick-lit, or that has a cover that is more than 50% pink.

and then, because of the doubles, I roll AGAIN!

And, I land on 36 again.

36. Read a book that involves travel to Europe, or that has an image of any European city or monument on the cover, or that the letters of the title can spell the name of any European city* that I visited on my trip *Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, Rome, Florence, Venice & Barcelona.

Roll 6:

Space 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.

I'm going to read A Passage to India by E.M. Forster.

Roll 5:

I blew through The Division Bell Mystery yesterday - I agree with my fellow readers who enjoyed the setting, but found the mystery largely forgettable. Also, shout out to the feminist themes! I suspect I would've enjoyed talking to Ellen Wilkinson a whole lot. 

Anyway, it's worth +$3.00, and onto the rolls:

Ah, doubles! Fun! This takes me to square 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, such as star, planet, rocket).

and then I roll again:

And, another doubles takes me to space 36:

Read a book that involves travel to Europe, or that has an image of any European city or monument on the cover, or that the letters of the title can spell the name of any European city* that I visited on my trip *Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, Rome, Florence, Venice & Barcelona.

I know exactly what I am going to read for this one - Below The Clock, which has a picture of Big Ben on the cover.

and then I roll again:

Which takes me past GO (+$5.00) to space 6:

Read a book set in your home town, state, or country or that you checked out of your local library or that has been on your (physical) bookshelves since last summer.

More after the page break!

Roll 4:

I am taking partial credit for The Moonstone (215 pages = $3.00) and credit for A Fatal Inversion (324 pages = $5.00) and calling my Memorial Day reading a wrap.

I start my roll sitting on Mountain Cabin #16.

19. Read a book with a cover that is more than 50% blue, or by an author whose first or last name begins with any letter in the word L-A-K-E.

I am starting The Division Bell Mystery, written by Ellen Wilkinson!

Roll 3:

I finished Family Matters - and what a crazy book it was. At 237 pages, it nets me $3.00 for my bank, raising my net worth to 28.00.

Also, as I posted this morning, it's a long weekend, which, in BLopoly often means EXTRA ROLLS! So, here we go with my Memorial Day rolls. Books will be added after I take stock of the possibilities!

28: Read a book that is identified as romance or chick-lit, or that has a cover that is more than 50% pink.

I decided to skip this one! 

Go: collect $5.00 & roll again.

6. Read a book set in your home town, state, or country or that you checked out of your local library or that has been on your (physical) bookshelves since last summer.

I am still reading The Moonstone, but I want to move on. I've read first section, which gets me to 215 pages. At this point, I am going to keep reading it, but just take the $3.00 for it and move on. The Barnes and Noble Classics edition has been on my bookshelves for years. 

16. Read a book that is a mystery or suspense, or which has a title that contains all of the letters in the word C-A-B-I-N.

I read Ruth Rendell's A Fatal Inversion, which was 324 pages long, and is worth $5.00.

Roll 2:

I finished Palace of Treason, which netted me a whopping $5.00, and also inaugurated the Summer of Spies Redux.

Sends me to the Robot novelty square, which I put into my pocket, and roll again

19. Read a book with a cover that is more than 50% blue, or by an author whose first or last name begins with any letter in the word L-A-K-E.

I will be reading Family Matters by Anthony Rolls, which will fill one of my few remaining squares for the Detection Club bingo.

Roll 1:

5. The Silk Road: Read a book set in any of the 40 countries* along the Silk Road, or by an author from any of those countries. *link to list

Book: Palace of Treason by Jason Matthews, set in Russia. (481 pages, worth $5.00).