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So, It’s time to set up the TBRs for HRCYED 3.0. I think I have them mostly sorted. I’m not planning to break them up the way I did last year. 

Do I think these TBRs represent what I’m actually going to end up reading? 

eh.

No plan survives first contact with the enemy. We’ll have to see in the end. 🙂

Choose Your Party

This is based on D&D. I’ll put my arguments for each book. 

1. The Bestseller Job (Rogue) – This is a Leverage book. That means thieves, and grifters, and hackers, oh my! 
2. The Wizard of Whitechapel (Wizard) – Like it says on the tin. It’s about a Wizard. It’s from an old series based on Questar. Which was a gaming type thing from way back in the day. 
3. Mad Maudlin – (Bard) – This is from the series called Bedlam’s Bard. Again, from the 90s. But very much centered around a magical musician. 
4. Ship of Death (Monk) – The Destroyer. Oh, what can I say about a 1970s series that follows a trained killer who only uses his fists. He’s a master of a martial art and has some impressive skills. 
5. The Bride Wore Black Leather (Fighter or Sorcerer) – The Nightside series. Suzie the Shooter is a fighter or artifacer. But John Taylor is a Sorcerer. His mother is the reason he has his powers. This is the last book in the series, so I’m loath to say anything else about it. 

Periodic Table

The element needs to be in the title. These are fairly self-explanatory. Although, I am using the opportunity to read several books from Glenn Cook’s Fantasy PI series.

1. Silver & Lead 
2. Old Tin Sorrows
3. Red Iron Nights
4. Sweet Silver Blues
5. Bitter Copper Tears

Familial Terms

This was actually a lot harder than expected. I have a lot of books featuring daughters in the title, but not so many other family members. I had to delve deep into the depths of my nook to find some ebooks that I barely remember for this one.

1. The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter
2. The Complete Father Brown Stories
3. The Brothers Karamazov
4. A Throne for Sisters
5. Granny’s Got a Gun 

Regional Books

So last year was continents. This year is regions, be they ethnic, historic, or political. I have a smattering of books from different areas.

1. The Road to Little Dribbling (UK)
2. Sky Burial (Tibet)
3. The Milan Job (Italy) <- Indie published
4. A Treasury of Mississippi Folklore (Mississippi River Basin)
5. The Emerald Storm (South America)

Food Pyramid

This must feature food on the cover and be different types of food. This is actually a lot harder than it first seems. I mean, cozy mysteries are obviously my first stop, but there’s a lot of sweets, and not a lot of other foods. 

1. History of the World in Six Glasses (beverage)
2. Death by Chocolate (sweets)
3. Appetizers and Alibis (savory appetizers, potato skins to be specific)
4. Snow So White (fruit)
5. Murder Over Easy (eggs)

Random States

So, if you’re in the US, the book cannot be set in New York or California. If you’re in France, not Paris. Basically, let’s read about places that don’t always get the love. 

1. The Buffalo Hunter Hunter (I’ll be honest, I forget where in the west this is set, but it’s not California)
2. Blaze (Maine)
3. Gullah Folk Tales from the Georgia Coast (Georgia)
4. Polihale and other Kaua’i legends (Hawaii)
5. Windy City Blues (Illinois)

Second Chances and Hidden Gems

So, this is for soft DNF’d books, or lowest rated books, or books recommended by someone with different taste. I have so many of these piled up on my floor right now, that I’m just going to read as the spirit moves me. 

Cover Styles

1. Red Clocks
2. Earthsea
3. Don Quioxte
4. The Colorado Kid

Backlist Author

This is the easiest prompt, in my opinion. Basically, reading the older books of someone you’ve previously enjoyed. I could let this one just fall in over the year, but I did set up a list for it. 

1. Them or Us (Haters #3) – David Moody
2. For Love of Magic – Simon Green
3. Galilee – Clive Barker
4. Cold Fire – Dean Koontz
5. The Mermaid’s Madness – Jim C Hines

Titular Counting

Not to be confused with the other numerical list, this counts the number of words in the title. 

1. Catchpenny
2. Blackbird Rising
3. The Begum’s Fortune
4. The Map of Time
5. The Author’s Guide to Murder
6. The Invisible Life of Addy LaRue
7. The Modern Diety’s Guide to Surviving Humanity
8. The Birth of the People’s Republic of Antartica
9. The Order of Pure Moon Reflected in Water
10. The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey

Shitori Titles

So this is basically a version of a snake word search. The last letter of the last word becomes the first letter of the next title. 

1. Bronze Gods
2. Sweet Slow Death
3. Heart to Heart
4. The Enchantment Emporium
5. Medium Raw

Mother Nature

Weather must be depicted on the cover. This should not be confused with the Biomes block. 

1. Hook: Dead to Rights (stormy seas)
2. Aged for Murder (Sunny)
3. Cold Keep Reprisal (snow)
4. The Beast of London (fog)
5. The Myth of the Garage (flood)
6. TBD

Characters Become Authors

The name of the main character becomes the name of the next author you read. 

1. TBD
2. TBD
3. TBD

Book within a Book

Find a book referenced within a book. This is for right now, until I come across another reference but:

1. Ruby
2. The Odyssey (Specifically the translation I have)

 Numeral Titles

The number must be in the title. (10 = any number)

1. TBD
2. Two-Gun Witch
3. TBD
4. The Four Love
5. Five Broken Blades
6. The Six of Crows
7. The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle
8. The Ninth House
9. The 10th Victim
10. Down in the Zero

Rainbow of Fonts

You can either look for the names of the colors in the book title, or fonts in the color. I’ve chosen the colors in the book title. It seemed neater.

1. The Red Queen Dies
2. ORANGE – TBD
3. Across the Green Grass Fields
4. Once in a Blue Moon
5. The Only Purple House in Town
6. Drunk Tank Pink
7. White Holes
8. Tales from the Old Black Ambulance
9. Silver on the Road
10. Love Over Gold
11. The King in Yellow

Taxonomic Animals

Animals on the cover, but they must be different types of animals.

1. War of the Rats (rodents)
2. The Tropic of Serpents (snakes)
3. The Plague of Doves (birds)
4. Next (primates)
5. The Rabbit, the Jaguar, and the Snake (felines)
6. TBD

Biomes & Landscapes

Must be featured on the cover, or the main of the story must take place there.

1. Wander (Appalachian Mountains)
2. Lady Franklin’s Revenge (Artic)
3. God of the Woods (Forest)
4. Death in Venice (beach)
5. No Mercy (farmland)
6. Blind Descent (caves)

Re-re-re-Remix

Remix or AU of other stories (ex: Tinman from SyFy)

1. Alice in Zombieland
2. Alice in Tumblrland
3. Alice in Wonderland High
4. Unbirthday
5. Twisted

HRCYED Mashup

Mix something from HRCYED 1 & 2 together. I’ve chosen a 24 hour readathon and spooky creatures.

1. Daemons are Forever
2. Criminal Macabre
3. Already Dead
4. Constantine: Distorted Illusions
5. Mythbreaker

Choose Your Curriculum

Books related to classes you’d take in school. Cannot duplicate classes.

1. Talk Like TED (public speaking)
2. The Butchering Art (health)
3. Damn Fine Story (English)
4. Countdown (math)
5. The Killer Across the Table (criminal justice)

It’s Your Birthday!

These are things related to your birth month/year 

1. Chinese Zodiac: Dragon’s Wild
2. Flower: The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
3. Gemstone: Through Gates of Garnet and Gold
4. Tree: The Body in the Birches
5. Month & Year: Burglar’s Can’t be Choosers
6. Greek Zodiac: TBD
7. Meaning of Name: TBD

Must Collect All of These Things!

The distinctly not copyright infringing idea of animals related to various types of elements for fighting purposes. 

1. The Way of the Spider (bug)
2. Rolling in the Deep (water)
3. The Life of Elves (fairy)
4. Breath of Earth (earth)
5. The Girl in the Green Silk Dress (ghost)

An Anthology of Authors

Read an anthology. And then read books by six of the authors. 

1. The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
2. Bimbos of the Death Sun
3. Norse Mythology
4. His Majesty’s Dragon
5. Doctor Sleep
6. The Carter Street Hangman
7. The English Assassin

All Those Secret Prompts

Last HRCYED there were monthly secret prompts. (This year there are Side Qwests)

1. Read a Whole Book Outside (in the car counts): TBD
2. Pun in the Title: A Pirate’s Life for Tea
3. Missed Childhood Chapter Book: The Little Prince
4. Joseph’s Color in the Title: Scarlet
5. Doomscroll Your Read: TBD
6. Last Name is a First Name: TBD
7. Craft on Cover/Listening to an Audiobook: TBD
8. First & Last Name in Title: The Lost Journals of Bram Stoker
9. Book from the I’ll Get Around to It Tag: The Notorious Virtues
10. Title is the Exact Same as Another: The Road
11. Cover Features Motion: The Dungeon Anarchist’s Cookbook
12. Most Recent Acquisition: Ruby

That’s the current list. 

If you’d like to participate, here’s Q’s video with  more information: