Halloween Bingo is kicking off this Saturday, which here in Australia is tomorrow. I’ve sworn off the fancy, involved planning I did in previous years because I suspect, with me fighting a slump, it will back-fire on me.
But today, with some special assistance, ahem, I sat down and jotted down a chart of my squares – mainly so I could get a handle on how I want to use the Spell Pack cards. I have 7 squares on this year’s card that aren’t in my wheelhouse and only 5 cards that will let me change them in some fashion.
I think I’ve got it all sorted out. I think. The last two squares, Noir and Lethal Games are still hanging out there, giving me the side-eye and making me anxious. But this year’s goal is not a black-out of the card, but to find the fun again. That’s my HB mantra this year. “Find the fun again. Find the fun again.”
So, the spell cards for this year are:
Wild card author: I’ve chosen Ilona Andrews and I’ll use her books on the Splatter & Plagues and Diseases squares.
Amplification: I’m choosing to read The Cannonball Tree Mystery by Ovidia Yu and using it on the Truly Terrifying square
Bingo Flip: I’ve flipped my Psych square for Highway to Hell with Christina, a/k/a Moonlight Reader.
Transfiguration Spell: I’m using this to change my Stone Cold Horror Square into – weirdly enough, because I normally HATE this square – Creepy Carnivals. But I was digging through the TBR shelves last night and I found an old Jennifer Crusie/Bob Mayer book I’d forgotten about, and its setting is a possessed amusement park.
Call Conversion and Double Trouble are cards that are more on-the-spot plays, so I haven’t included them, although I think I have at least one book that’s going to work for Double Trouble, though sadly not to cover either of the remaining dreaded squares.
As for Saturday’s start, I plan to pick up Naked Brunch by Sparkle Hayter, and Once and Future Witches, by Alex Harrow. I’ve read both authors before, though I have to admit to some trepidation with Once and Future Witches; I loved, loved, loved The Ten Thousand Doors of January but OaFW feels from the synopsis like it’s going to be way too girl power for my personal tastes. We’ll see.
This year’s mascot is a newbie, but she’s ready and raring to go. Let the games begin!
I see the feline HB bug has caught on! 🙂
The Wild Card author is only good for one use this year, because we have so many other options to „edit“ squares.
That said, „Lethal Games“ should be easy to fill — it essentially was my summer reading theme this year (only called, umm, Summer Games), and when I started putting together my reading list for it, I discovered that basically there isn‘t a mystery series out there that doesn‘t include at least one sports-related book. Including, incidentally, Donna Andrews‘s Meg Langslow series, which in recent years had an entry featuring Little League baseball („Die Like an Eagle“).
Ok, that makes me super unhappy (the wild card bit) because I REALLY dislike Splatter and Plagues/Diseases. Plagues/Diseases I might have been able to do, except it’s been decided that supernatural diseases don’t count. Arg.
You read my mind though, with Lethal Games; I remembered after posting this that Donna Andrews would be a great fit for this one, though Die Like an Eagle wasn’t the one that came to mind. I chose instead No Nest for the Wicket – I have fond memories of the extreme croquet players. 🙂
Pikachu has been my constant companion during this lockdown. What she’s going to think once it ends I have no idea, though the way things look it’s not something she’ll have to confront anytime soon. Easter usually plays the role of chaperone, but she really dislikes cold weather and has been disinclined to get out of bed for anything less that 17C. Not that I blame her.
Hahaha, I love the notion of Easter stepping up to chaperone Pikachu! (Also: progress!)
And, yes, Charlie and Sunny pretty much have come to take it for granted that I‘m at home all the time, too. It‘s a pity for all of us that this won‘t be able to last …!
I‘m not sorry not to have Plagues and Diseases on my card, especially with the real pandemic messing up everybody‘s lives atm. As for Splatter, I think any parody should count … as well as something like Terry Pratchett‘s „Carpet Jugulum“, with Discworld vampires being their Pratchetty selves?
As it turns out, I do have Carpe Jugulum on the shelves, but whether I feel like reading it or not, I’ll have to wait and see. I’m just really in a place right not that rebels against anything that resembles assigned reading. But I was cheered to see it on the shelf, so it might get read. Thanks for the suggestion – I never would have considered it as a fitting read for the square, and just written it off in a snit without your help. 🙂
At the risk of sounding trite, you do you — I was just sorry to see HB in danger of being spoiled for you, and that‘s the last thing that should happen! This year more than ever before … So whatever you end up reading, I hope it‘ll make even this square fun.
Well, your cat seems ready to find the fun again. I hope you have a great game.
Thanks Mike, you too!