MadLib Monday 12: 2/22/10

Welcome once again to MadLib Monday, the day of playing with words and recognizing books from a MadLibbed passage and cropped photo.  What better way to start off your week could there be?  Here is the word list for this week's MadLib passage:

1. place name
2. adjective
3. number
4. verb - past tense
5. verb - present participle (-ing)
6. noun - singular
7. adverb
8. noun
9. noun - plural
10. noun
11. verb
12. noun
13. noun
14. year
15. noun - singular
16. noun
17. adjective
18. noun - singular
19. verb - present participle
20. adjective
21. noun - singular
22. adjective
23. verb - past tense
24. noun
25. verb - present participle
26. noun
27. noun - plural
28. adjective
29. noun - plural
30. adjective
31. verb - past tense
32. noun - singular
33. noun - singular
34. noun - singular
35. adjective
36. adjective
37. noun - singular

As a reminder for getting ready for Wednesday's Weekly Poll post, the poll is open and waiting for you to vote in the left-hand sidebar.  This week's question asks you to identify what kind of reader you consider yourself to be--literary, "pop culture", or nonfiction.  I'd like to hit 5 votes this week, so please help me reach that goal by voting!

The image that goes along with the passage this week is here:

They used to be called the ___(1)___ girls.  That was a(n) ___(2)___ time ago—more than ___(3)___ decades—but just now, as she ___(4)___ in bed ___(5)___ a winter ___(6)___ raging ___(7)___, it seemed like yesterday.

In the past ___(8)___ (unquestionably the worst seven ___(9)___ of her life), she’d lost the ___(10)___ to ___(11)___ herself from the ___(12)___.  Too often lately in her ___(13)___ it was ___(14)___; she was a(n) ___(15)___ again, coming of age in the ___(16)___ of a(n) ___(17)___ ___(18)___, ___(19)___ her bike beside her ___(20)___ friend in a(n) ___(21)___ so complete it was like being ___(22)___ .… she ___(23)___ it in vivid ___(24)___: a(n) ___(25)___ ribbon of ___(26)___ bordered on either side by ___(27)___ of ___(28)___ water and ___(29)___ of ___(30)___ grass.  Before they ___(31)___, that ___(32)___ seemed to go nowhere at all; it was just a country ___(33)___ named after a(n) ___(34)___ no one had ever seen in this rugged ___(35)___ and ___(36)___ corner of the ___(37)___.

Can you guess which book the image and passage were taken from?

Answer to last week's MadLib Monday: Congrats to Angie, who correctly guessed that last week's book was Rachel's Holiday by Marian Keyes.  The full book cover looks like this:

There are at least two different book covers for this book--this is just the one I have sitting on my shelf.

Happy reading and MadLibbing!

MadLib Monday 11: 2/15/10

Happy Monday to everyone!  It's early Monday morning, and I'm sitting in my comfy chair with my laptop and coffee, excited to be sharing yet another MadLib Monday with my readers.  I've mentioned this before, but making these MadLibs is pushing me to examine authors' language use--it's amazing what you notice when you're pulling out words and labeling them for their parts of speech and realizing that some weeks the only words you can pull out are nouns while other weeks you get a full variety of words to choose from.  Last week felt verb-heavy, this week noun-heavy.  I find it all fascinating.  I hope you enjoy the challenge of trying to recognize book passages that are missing words. . .  Speaking of which, here is the MadLib list of the parts of speech for this week's passage:

1. noun - singular
2. adjective
3. noun - plural
4. adjective
5. adjective
6. noun - singular
7. noun - singular (same as #1)
8. adjective
9. noun - singular (same as #1)
10. adjective - comparative form (-er)
11. noun - plural (same noun as #1)
12. verb
13. noun - singular (same as #1)
14. adjective
15. noun - singular
16. noun - singular
17. noun - plural
18. noun
19. noun
20. noun - plural
21. noun
22. noun - singular
23. noun - singular
24. noun
25. noun
26. noun (same as #21)
27. noun
28. noun - singular
29. verb
30. verb - present participle (-ing)

After you've seen the list, now you see why I said this week is noun-heavy.  This week's passage was a difficult one to work with because of the number of repeated words and focus on a theme.

As a side note, before I show you the picture and the passage, you might notice that the poll question of the week is not in the sidebar.  For the past few weeks (or possibly longer), I've had a pretty low count of voters.  I wasn't sure if that was because the poll questions were not intriguing enough or if the poll questions were too frequent or what the exact reasons were for the low vote count.  I decided to put the poll questions on hiatus for a while and debut them at less frequent intervals.  Let me know what you think in the comments: Do you like having the weekly poll?  Would you benefit more from a monthly poll?  Or do you think polls are overrated all together?

Getting back to our MadLib business at hand, here is the picture to accompany this week's passage:

They said I was a ___(1)___ addict.  I found that ___(2)___ to come to ___(3)___ with--I was a ___(4)___, ___(5)___ ___(6)___ whose ___(7)___ use was strictly ___(8)___.  And surely ___(9)___ addicts were ___(10)___?  It was true that I took ___(11)___, but what no one seemed to ___(12)___ was that my ___(13)___ use wasn’t any ___(14)___ from their having a ___(15)___ or two on a Friday night after ___(16)___.  They might have a few ___(17)___ and ___(18)___ and let off a bit of ___(19)___.  I had a couple ___(20)___ of ___(21)___ and did likewise.  As I said to my ___(22)___ and my sister and my sister’s ___(23)___ and eventually the ___(24)___ of the ___(25)___, “If ___(26)___ was sold in ___(27)___ form, in a ___(28)___, would you ___(29)___ about me ___(30)___ it?  Well, would you?  No, I bet you wouldn’t!”

Can you guess which book the picture and passage were taken from?

Answer to last week's MadLib Monday: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke.  If you have seen the movie but haven't read the book, I highly suggest you read the book--as it typically goes with movies and books, the book is much better than the movie.  This book is the start of a trilogy, which I haven't quite finished, but I did really enjoy Inkheart for its exploration of the love of books and its magical world where reading books aloud brings them to life.

Happy reading, and happy MadLibbing!

MadLib Monday 10: 2/8/10

Welcome back to MadLib Monday!  This is officially my tenth MadLib Monday, and I'm glad you're here to be a part of it.  Even if you don't particularly enjoy doing MadLibs, you should scroll down to the picture and passage from the book to see if you can guess what book they were taken from.  Sometimes the picture will give it away, sometimes you'll recognize the passage even with 30 or so words missing from it.  It's a fun challenge, and I'd like to start a contest of sorts if I can get enough readers participating in it.

I haven't listed the "rules" of MadLib lately, so I thought I'd add a few refreshers here today.  If verb is listed, then just provide the base form of the verb (e.g., walk, eat); if verb - present tense is listed, provide the third-person singular form of the verb (e.g., walks, eats); if verb-past tense is listed, provide the simple past of the verb (e.g., walked, ate); if verb - present participle is listed, provide the -ing form of the verb (e.g., walking, eating); finally, if verb - past participle is listed, provide the form you would use after have (e.g., walked, eaten).  The nouns are simpler: if nothing is specified, you can list either the singular or plural forms; otherwise, use the specifications (e.g., singular, plural).

1. verb - past tense
2. adjective
3. verb - present participle
4. noun - plural
5. noun - girl's name
6. noun
7. verb
8. adjective
9. verb - present participle
10. noun
11. verb - past tense
12. noun
13. verb - past tense
14. verb - past tense
15. noun - girl's name (same as #5)
16. noun - singular
17. verb - present participle
18. noun
19. noun
20. verb
21. verb - past participle
22. noun
23. adjective
24. adjective
25. adjective
26. noun
27. verb - past participle
28. verb - past tense
29. noun - singular (same as #16)
30. noun
31. noun - singular (same as #16)
32. noun
33. noun - girl's name (same as #5)
34. verb - past participle
35. noun - plural
36. noun - boy's name
37. noun
38. noun - boy's name (same as #36)
39. noun - girl's name (same as #5)
40. adverb

While you finish up your list of words and get ready to put them into a passage from a book, I'd like to plug the poll question located in the left-hand sidebar.  You have until Wednesday to vote; on Wednesday, I will be posting the results and writing about the question itself.  This week's question is about series of books--specifically about what draws you into a series.  Head on over there and vote, if you haven't already.

Here is a picture from the cover of the book that goes along with this week's passage:

Rain ___(1)___ that night, a ___(2)___, ___(3)___ rain.  Many ___(4)___ later, ___(5)___ had only to close her ___(6)___ and she could still ___(7)___ it, like ___(8)___ fingers ___(9)___ on the ___(10)___.  A dog ___(11)___ somewhere in the ___(12)___, and however often she ___(13)___ and ___(14)___ ___(15)___ couldn’t get to sleep.

The ___(16)___ she had been ___(17)___ was under her ___(18)___, pressing its ___(19)___ against her ear as if to ___(20)___ her back into its ___(21)___ ___(22)___.  “I’m sure it must be very ___(23)___ sleeping with a ___(24)___, ___(25)___ thing like that under your ___(26)___,” her father had ___(27)___ the first time he ___(28)___ a ___(29)___ under her ___(30)___.  “Go on, admit it, the ___(31)___ whispers its ___(32)___ to you at night.”

“Sometimes, yes,” ___(33)___ had ___(34)___.  “But it only works for ___(35)___.”  Which made ___(36)___ tweak her ___(37)___.  ___(38)___.  ___(39)___ had ___(40)___ called her father anything else.


Can you guess what book the picture and passage were taken from?


Answer from last week's MadLib Monday:  Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr.  Here is the full picture of the cover of that book:

I love the cover of that book--in fact, I bought the book because I liked the cover so much.

Happy reading!

MadLib Monday 9: 2/1/10

I haven't done my weekly MadLib Monday feature in, um, a few months (give or take), but I've missed doing it.  It's fun to create the MadLibs and even more fun when people send in guesses as to what book was used for the week.  And so, it is with great joy (or should I say 'joie') that I am bringing back the MadLib feature.  Welcome back.

Here is the list of words you'll need to complete the MadLib below:

1. Proper Title (e.g., Queen of England)
2. adverb
3. possessive noun (e.g., Nick's)
4. verb--past tense
5. noun--singular
6. noun--plural
7. verb--past tense
8. noun--singular
9. verb--past tense
10. noun--plural
11. noun--singular
12. adjective
13. adjective
14. verb
15. noun--singular
16. Proper Title (different from #1)
17. noun--singular
18. verb
19. verb--present participle (e.g., walking)
20. noun--singular
21. noun--plural
22. verb--past tense
23. verb--present tense (e.g., walks)
24. adjective
25. verb--present tense
26. adjective
27. noun--singular
28. verb
29. adverb
30. noun--singular

As a side matter of business, there are only two days left to vote in the weekly poll, which is located in the left-hand sidebar.  If you haven't done so already, head over there and cast your vote.  The question asks you whether you're more inclined to buy an author's book because of their online presence.  And then on Wednesday, I'll be writing about the inspiration for that question.


Here is the picture that accompanies this week's MadLib passage; the picture is from the cover of the book, which the passage is taken from:

The ___(1)___ knelt before her.  "Is this what you ___(2)___ choose, to risk ___(3)___ chill?"

She ___(4)___ him--the ___(5)___ she'd fallen in love with these past ___(6)___.  She'd never ___(7)___ he was something other than ___(8)___, but now his skin ___(9)___ as if ___(10)___ flickered just under the ___(11)___, so ___(12)___ and ___(13)___ she couldn't look away.  "It's what I ___(14)___."

"You understand that if you are not the ___(15)___, you'll carry the ___(16)___'s chill until the next ___(17)___ risks this?  And you'll ___(18)___ her not to trust me?"  He paused, ___(19)___ at her with ___(20)___ in his ___(21)___.

She ___(22)___.

"If she ___(23)___ me, you will tell the ___(24)___ girl and the next" --he moved closer-- "and not until one ___(25)___, will you be ___(26)___ of the ___(27)___."

"I do ___(28)___."  She smiled as ___(29)___ as she could, and then walked over to the hawthorn ___(30)___.


Can you guess which book the picture and passage were taken from?


Answer to the last MadLib Monday (from way back in November): Lake of Dead Languages by Carol Goodman.  Congrats to Angie for guessing that correctly.

MadLib Monday 8: 11/23/09

It's the beginning of a new week, which means it is time for the weekly edition of MadLib Monday.  At this point, I'm assuming you know what to do, but if you need a refresher, check out past postings of MadLib Monday.

1. verb
2. subject (in school)
3. noun (plural)
4. noun (plural)
5. verb (present participle [-ing])
6. adjective
7. place
8. subject (same as #2)
9. noun
10. noun (plural)
11. adjective
12. adjective
13. noun (singular)
14. verb
15. noun (plural)
16. adjective
17. adjective
18. verb
19. noun (plural)
20. noun (plural)
21. noun (plural)
22. noun (singular)
23. location
24. verb
25. adjective
26. verb (present participle)
27. noun (plural)
28. noun
29. adjective
30. noun

As an interruption in the MadLib fun, please remember to check out the poll question of the week that is located in the left-hand sidebar of the blog; as usual, I will be posting the results of that poll on Wednesday.

I have been told to ___(1)___ the ___(2)___ curriculum relevant to the ___(3)___ of my ___(4)___.  I am ___(5)___, though, that my ___(6)___ girls at ___(7)___ like ___(8)___ precisely because it has no ___(9)___ to their ___(10)___.  They like nothing better than a(n) ___(11)___, ___(12)___ ___(13)___ to ___(14)___.  They write the ___(15)___ on their palms in ___(16)___ ___(17)___ ink and ___(18)___ the ___(19)___ . . . like ___(20)___ counting their ___(21)___.

When it comes time for a(n) ___(22)___ they line up at the ___(23)___ to ___(24)___.  I lean against the ___(25)___ tile wall ___(26)___ them as the ___(27)___ fill with pale blue ___(28)___ and the ___(29)___ words run down the ___(30)___.

Can you guess what book the above picture and passage were taken from?

Answer to last week's MadLib Monday: The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman.

Happy reading!

MadLib Monday 7: 11/16/09

Is it already Monday again?  My calendar says it is, which means it is time for another installment of MadLib Monday!

1. adjective
2. adjective
3. verb
4. verb
5. verb
6. verb
7. verb
8. noun
9. number
10. noun
11. adjective
12. noun
13. adjective
14. adjective
15. noun
16. verb (+ -s)
17. noun
18. verb (+ -s)
19. noun
20. verb (same as #4)
21. adjective
22. adjective (same as #21)
23. noun (plural)
24. verb (past tense)
25. adjective
26. adjective
27. verb (past tense)
28. adjective
29. number (same as #9)
30. noun

As usual, the poll question is in the left-hand sidebar; on Wednesday I will be posting a new poll question and the summary of the results for this week's poll.  Be sure you head over there to place your vote.

Be careful what you wish for.  I know that for a fact.  Wishes are __(1)__, ___(2)___ things.  They ___(3)___ your tongue the moment they're spoken and you can never ___(4)___ them back.  They ___(5)___ and ___(6)___ and come back to ___(7)___ you.  I've made far too many wishes in my ___(8)___, the first when I was ___(9)___ years old.  Not the sort of wish for ___(10)___ or a(n) ___(11)___ ___(12)___ or ___(13)___ ___(14)___ ___(15)___; no.  The other sort, the kind that ___(16)___ your bones, then sits in the back of your ___(17)___, a greedy red toad that ___(18)___ you until you say it aloud.  The kind that could change your ___(19)___ in an instant, before you have time to wish you could ___(20)___ it back.

I was in the ___(21)___ place at the ___(22)___ time, but don't all ___(23)___ begin this way?  I was the child who ___(24)___ her feet and made a(n) ___(25)___ wish and in so doing ended the ___(26)___ world -- my world, at any rate.  The only thing that ___(27)___.  Of course I was ___(28)___, but don't most ___(29)___-year-old girls think they're the queen of the ___(30)___?


Can you guess the book that the picture and passage were taken from?


Answer from last week's MadLib Monday: The Devil Wears Prada. Kudos to Angie for guessing that one correctly.

Happy reading and MadLibbing!

MadLib Monday 6: 11/9/09

It is once again time for MadLib Monday!  If you need a refresher on the "rules," refer to the original posting here.

1. adverb
2. adjective
3. adjective
4. noun
5. verb
6. adjective
7. verb (past tense)
8. noun
9. noun
10. noun
11. adjective
12. verb (past tense)
13. verb (past tense)
14. noun
15. noun
16. verb (present participle)
17. noun
18. noun (same as #17)
19. verb (past tense)
20. adverb
21. noun
22. adjective
23. verb
24. noun (singular)
25. noun
26. number
27. noun (plural)
28. noun
29. verb (past tense)
30. amount of time

The poll for this week is in the left-hand sidebar, like usual, and is about reading styles: Are you a skimmer?  A note-taker?  Some interesting conversations have been floating around Twitter about how closely people read texts, which got me thinking about the different types of readers out there.  Vote on the poll by Wednesday, when I will post about the results.

Also, a monumental MadLib Monday is coming up in a month: my 10th MadLib Monday!  I think that calls for a celebration, and my form of celebration is to turn that MadLib Monday into a contest (and contests are not complete without a prize for the winner).  I will announce the details during that posting.

As a suggestion, a fun way to share the MadLibs you complete would be to include your MadLibbed version of the passage below in a comment.  I'd like to see what my readers are coming up with.

The picture to go with this week's passage is here:

The light hadn't even ___(1)___ turned ___(2)___ at the intersection of 17th and Broadway before an army of ___(3)___ yellow cabs roared past the tiny ___(4)___ I was attempting to ___(5)___ around the ___(6)___ streets.  Clutch, gas, shift (neutral to first? Or first to second?), release clutch, I ___(7)___ over and over in my ___(8)___, the mantra offering little ___(9)___ and even less ___(10)___ amid the ___(11)___ midday traffic.  The little car ___(12)___ wildly twice before it ___(13)___ forward through the ___(14)___.  My ___(15)___ flip-flopped in my chest.  Without ___(16)___, the lurching evened out and I began to pick up ___(17)___.  Lots of ___(18)___.  I ___(19)___ down to confirm ___(20)___ that I was only in second ___(21)___, but the rear end of a cab loomed so ___(22)___ in the windshield that I could do nothing but ___(23)___ my foot on the brake pedal so hard that my ___(24)___ snapped off.  ___(25)___!  Another pair of ___(26)___-dollar ___(27)___ sacrificed to my complete and utter lack of ___(28)___ under pressure: this ___(29)___ as my third such breakage this ___(30)___.

Can you guess which book the picture and passage are taken from?


Last week's MadLib answer: Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki, which no one guessed.

Please let me know if you are interested in seeing the original passages that I've used for MadLib Monday; I can begin posting the originals after the guessing period is over if people are interested in reading them.



Happy reading and MadLibbing!

MadLib Monday 5: 11/2/09

It is once again time for MadLib Monday!  The rules are the same as always, but if you're new to MadLibs or simply want a refresher, you can refer back to the first MadLib Monday post.

1. adverb
2. adjective
3. adjective
4. noun (plural)
5. location
6. verb (past participle)
7. adjective
8. noun (plural)
9. noun
10. adjective
11. noun (plural)
12. location
13. noun
14. adverb
15. verb (present participle)
16. verb
17. noun (plural)
18. noun
19. location
20. adjective
21. verb (past participle)
22. verb
23. noun
24. adjective
25. adjective
26. adjective
27. location (same as the location for #5)
28. noun (plural)
29. verb (present participle)
30. noun (singular)

On Wednesday, I will once again be posting about the poll question, which is situated in the left sidebar; this week's question deals with what keeps you reading a book: content (plot) or style.  I know it's a tough choice for me, and I'm interested in hearing what you have to say about it.  I'll talk more about this on Wednesday, but the MadLibs I've been making were the inspiration for the poll question this week: Doing this MadLib feature is making me analyze the writing style of authors--when you have to pick out words and put part-of-speech labels on them, you start noticing what authors rely on modifiers and which base their sentences almost entirely on nouns and verbs; moreover, you start noticing exactly what words fill those slots for different authors.  Check back on Wednesday for the rest of that thought.

Now that I've sufficiently distracted you, here is the picture that goes along with this week's MadLib feature:

Henna was thirteen when she was __(1)__ married off to the ___(2)___ son of one of the ___(3)___ ___(4)___ in ___(5)___, and her marriage was ___(6)___ by a(n) ___(7)___ network of ___(8)___ as elaborate and brazen as the golden ___(9)___ on her ___(10)___ wedding sari.  Henna's paternal family were ___(11)___ by trade, shopkeepers from ___(12)___ who had made their ___(13)___ by ___(14)___ ___(15)___ powders and pastes of suspect origin, to ___(16)___ the boredom and fatigue of the British __(17)___ serving out their ___(18)___ in local government in ___(19)___.  Those ___(20)___ days had ___(21)___ with the British some ten years previously, but Henna's father was still never one to ___(22)___ a(n) ___(23)___ opportunity--when he heard that the ___(24)___, ___(25)___ and unusually ___(26)___ Karim family from ___(27)___ would be visiting their ___(28)___ around Dhaka, he wasted no time in ___(29)___ an effective ___(30)___.

Can you guess which book the photo and passage were taken from?

Last week's MadLib answer: Rebecca by Daphne duMaurier.  Kudos to Angie for guessing that one correctly (she relied on the photo to get it: the "swoopy" R graces the cover of may versions of Rebecca).

MadLib Monday 4: 10/26/09

Welcome to another MadLib Monday!  If you need a refresher on the directions, please refer to the first MadLib Monday post.  Without further ado, let's get started.

1. noun (singular)
2. location
   
3. verb (past tense)
4. adjective
5. noun
6. verb
7. verb (past participle)
8. noun (singular)
9. noun (singular)
10. noun
11. person
12. comparative adjective (+ -er)
13. noun
14. adjective
15. noun
    
16. adjective
17. noun (plural)
18. verb (past participle)
19. adjective
20. verb (past tense)
21. noun (same noun as #5)
    
22. noun
23. verb (present participle)
24. verb (present participle)
25. verb (past tense)
26. noun (singular)
27. adjective
28. adjective
29. noun (same noun as #5)

I interrupt this MadLib experience to bring your attention to the left sidebar, where the poll question of the week is posted; so far, it has 4 votes, which is an increase from last week but still a bit shy of my goal of 10 votes.  Please take a look at that and cast your vote before Wednesday.  Also, the new book of the week is actually a series of books: Harry Potter.  In the spirit of Halloween, I chose the Harry Potter books because they feature magic; on top of that, I also chose the books because I really enjoy them.  I send out a big thank you to my aunt for getting me to read the first four books back in the summer of 2002.  They may be marketed for kids, but they're amazing books for readers of all ages.

The picture that accompanies the MadLib for this week is below:

Last ___(1)___ I dreamt I went to ___(2)___ again.  It seemed to me I ___(3)___ by the ___(4)___ gate leading to the ___(5)___, and for a while I could not ___(6)___, for the way was ___(7)___ to me.  There was a(n) ___(8)___ and a(n) ___(9)___ upon the gate.  I called in my ___(10)___ to ___(11)___, and had no answer, and peering ___(12)___ through the rusted ___(13)___ of the gate I saw that the lodge was ___(14)___.

No smoke came from the ___(15)___, and the little ___(16)___ windows gaped forlorn.  Then, like all ___(17)___, I was ___(18)___ with ___(19)___ powers and ___(20)___ like a spirit through the ___(21)___ before me.  The ___(22)___ wound away in front of me, ___(23)___ and ___(24)___ as it had always done, but as I ___(25)___ I was aware that a(n) ___(26)___ had come upon it; it was ___(27)___ and ___(28)___, not the ___(29)___ that we had known.

Can you guess the book the picture and passage were taken from?

Answer to last week's MadLib Monday: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.  Congratulations to Anonymous for guessing that correctly.  For anyone who has not read any of Sarah Addison Allen's books, I highly recommend them (so far there are only two, but her third book comes out in March).  After I finished reading Garden Spells the first time, I couldn't bring myself to put the book down because I had loved it so much, so I carried it around with me for several days.  Seriously, it was that good.

Happy reading and guessing the book featured in today's MadLib!

MadLib Monday 3: 10/19/09

Welcome to the third weekly MadLib feature.  If you need a refresher on the instructions, check out the first MadLib Monday.

1. adjective
2. name of a female
3. noun
4. verb (past tense)
5. verb (past tense)
6. adjective
7. adverb
8. noun
9. noun (plural)
10. noun (plural)
    
11. noun (plural)
12. noun (plural)
13. name of a female (same name as #2)
14. verb
15. adjective
16. verb (present participle [-ing])
17. name (first or last name)
18. adjective
19. adjective
20. name of a female (same name as #2)
21. noun (plural)
22. time of day
23. adjective
24. noun
25. noun
26. verb (past tense)
27. body part
28. verb (past tense)
29. adverb
30. noun (plural)

As you can see in the left sidebar, the new book of the week is Bitter Sweets by Roopa Farooki--the writing style is melodious, and the characters are fascinating (or at least I think they are).  Thank you to Angie for getting me the book (yes, it's taken me since Christmas to finally get around to reading it).  The poll question of the week (also in the left sidebar) has two more days before voting is closed; my goal was to get 10 votes, and I'm still ... oh, about 8 votes shy of that goal.  Please help me out by voting by Wednesday.  Thank you in advance!

And here is the picture to go with this week's book featured in our MadLib passage:

Every ___(1)___ moon, without fail, ___(2)___ dreamed of her ___(3)___.  She always ___(4)___ to stay awake those nights when the stars ___(5)___ and the moon was just a ___(6)___ sliver smiling ___(7)___ down at the ___(8)___, the way pretty women on vintage ___(9)___ used to smile as they sold ___(10)___ and ___(11)___.  On those ___(12)___ in the summer, ___(13)___ would ___(14)___ by the light of the ___(15)___ footpath lamps, weeding and ___(16)___ the night bloomers . . . .  These weren't a part of the ___(17)___ legacy of ___(18)___ flowers, but ___(19)___ as she often was, ___(20)___ had added ___(21)___ to the garden to give her something to do at ___(22)___ when she was so ___(23)___ that ___(24)___ singed the edge of her ___(25)___ and she ___(26)___ tiny fires with her ___(27)___.  What she ___(28)___ was ___(29)___ the same.  Long roads like ___(30)___ with no tails.

Can you guess the book that the picture and passage are taken from?

Answer from last week's MadLib Monday:  Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  Kudos to "Anonymous" for guessing that correctly last week.

MadLib Monday 2: 10/12/09

Welcome to the second MadLib Monday!  The "rules" for completing the MadLib are the same as the first posting, so if you need to review, please refer back to that post (which is what is conveniently linked to the words "first posting").  Let's get started. . .

1.  verb
2.  noun
3.  amount of time
4.  verb (past participle)
5.  verb (past tense)
6.  preposition
7.  adjective
8.  adjective
9.  noun (singular)
10.  adverb
11.  pronoun
12.  adjective
13.  verb
14.  name of a person
15.  verb (past tense)
16.  verb
17.  verb (past participle)
18.  name of a place
19.  noun (singular)
20.  adjective
21.  verb
22.  noun (singular)
23.  measurement of length
24.  noun (plural)
25.  verb
26.  noun (singular)
27.  noun (singular)
28.  adjective
29.  verb (past tense)
30.  verb

And now for a bit of "taking care of business" to distract you from seeing the passage just yet...  First, I chose Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut as the book of the week, and I'd like to thank GoodBooksInc for recommending it because it is their current read for their Good Books Club.  And secondly, there is a new poll question on the left sidebar; I update it every Wednesday, so be sure to check that out and provide an answer in the next couple days--the deadline is noon on Wednesday.  I'll then do a posting this week based on the result of the poll (I say "result" in the singular, as there is currently only one vote).  If you have any suggested questions for future polls, please share them with me.

And now for the picture to go along with this week's MadLib. . .

I'd never given much thought to how I would ___(1)___ --though I'd had ___(2)___ enough in the last few ___(3)___ --but even if I had, I would not have ___(4)___ it like this.

I ___(5)___ without breathing ___(6)___ the ___(7)___ room, into the ___(8)___ eyes of the ___(9)___, and he looked ___(10)___ back at ___(11)___.

Surely it was a ___(12)___ way to ___(13)___, in the place of ___(14)___, someone I ___(15)___.  Noble, even.  That ought to ___(16)___ for something.

I knew that if I'd never ___(17)___ to ___(18)___, I wouldn't be facing ___(19)___ now.  But, ___(20)___ as I was, I couldn't bring myself to ___(21)___ the decision.  When life offers you a(n) ___(22)___   ___(23)___ beyond any of your ___(24)___, it's not reasonable to ___(25)___ when it comes to a(n) ___(26)___.

The ___(27)___ smiled in a ___(28)___ way as he ___(29)___ forward to ___(30)___ me.

Do know what book the above passage and picture are from?

Answer to last week's MadLib Monday: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.  Kudos to Billy for guessing that one right away.

Happy reading!

MadLib Monday 1: 10/5/09

I'm starting a new weekly feature called "MadLib Monday."  In it, I will include a MadLib activity based on a passage from a book and a close-up picture of some part of the cover of the book I used for the MadLib.  At the end, try to guess which book I used for the passage and picture.  Let's begin our first MadLib Monday.

As a quick review, the present participle of a verb is the verb + -ing (e.g., walking, choosing); the past participle of a verb is typically the verb + -ed/-en (e.g., walked, chosen); if a verb is irregular, its past participle is the form you would use after have (e.g., have sung, have hit); if nothing is specified for the verb, use the base form with no inflection (e.g., walk, choose); the possessive noun is one that has either 's or s' (depending on whether it is singular or plural); and if nothing is specified for the noun, you can use either a singular or plural form.  If you need more of a review, a helpful resource is the English Club website.

1.  time of day
2.  title of a government position
3.  verb (present participle)
4.  noun
5.  adjective
6.  verb (present participle)
7.  noun
8.  pronoun
9.  noun (singular)
10.  title of a government position
11.  place
12.  adjective
13.  adjective
14.  adjective
15.  adjective
16.  adjective
17.  noun (singular)
18.  verb
19.  noun
20.  adverb
21.  title of a government position (use the same one you used for #2)
22.  body part
23.  noun (plural)
24.  noun (use the singular version of what you used for #23)
25.  verb (past participle)
26.  amount of time
27.  verb
28.  verb (past participle)
29.  verb
30.  noun (possessive)


After you've made your list, scroll down below the picture (which is a close-up of the cover of the book I am using for today's MadLib Monday feature) for the passage.

In the passage, use the list of words you came up with to fill in the numbered blanks:

"It was nearing ___1___ and the ___2___ was ___3___ alone in his ___4___, reading a ___5___ memo that was ___6___ through his brain without leaving the slightest trace of ___7___ behind. ___8___ was waiting for a ___9___ from the ___10___ of ___11___, and between wondering when the ___12___ man would telephone, and trying to suppress ___13___ memories of what had been a very ___14___, ___15___, and ___16___ week, there was not much ___17___ in his head for anything else.  The more he attempted to ___18___ on the ___19___ on the page before him, the more ___20___ the ___21___ could see the gloating ___22___ of one of his political ___23___.  This particular ___24___ had ___25___ on the news that very ___26___, not only to ___27___ all the terrible things that had ___28___ in the last week (as though anyone needed reminding) but also to ___29___ why each and every one of them was the ___30___ fault."


Can you guess the book used for this week's MadLib Monday?

The answer will be posted for everyone to see in next week's MadLib Monday, but feel free to provide your answer in a comment to this posting before then.

Happy reading!