No pictures in this update, and also no attempts to include any of Booklikes' links or linking images, because I don't think I could stand the frustration. Plus, I don't want to tempt the site to just time out. Booklikes is still working incredibly slowly for me.

Anyway, I finished How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 1 (374 pages), so that gets me another $3.

Bank: $40

1st roll: 1 + 3 = 4 (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 1, Vol. 3, 428 pages, $5)

2nd roll: 4 + 3 = 7 (The Gamekeeper's Lady, 283 pages, $3

3rd roll: 5 + 6 = 11 (The Accidental Demon Slayer, 292 pages, $3)

4th roll: 1 + 4 = 5 (The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1, 329 pages, $3)

5th roll: 2 + 4 = 6 (Heart Change by Robin D. Owens, 368 pages, $3)

6th roll: 5 + 1 = 6 (How a Realist Hero Rebuilt the Kingdom, Vol. 1, 374 pages, $3)

7th roll: 3 + 1 = 4

I was on spot 36. This gets me past GO (earn $5 automatically) and onto to Spot 3, School's Out for Summer. Requirements:

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

As much as I like Murderbot, I don't think the series has made its way onto any "classics" lists yet, so once again I can't choose Artificial Condition. I'm honestly not sure what books I own that would both work for this and fit my current mood. Most of the YA I own isn't contemporary-set and might not take place in a school. I could maybe reread M.C.A. Hogarth's Mindtouch, but I'm kind of in the mood for something new. I don't know, I'll have to think about it.

Books read for the game so far:

Bank: $37

1st roll: 1 + 3 = 4 (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 1, Vol. 3, 428 pages, $5)

2nd roll: 4 + 3 = 7 (The Gamekeeper's Lady, 283 pages, $3

3rd roll: 5 + 6 = 11 (The Accidental Demon Slayer, 292 pages, $3)

4th roll: 1 + 4 = 5 (The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1, 329 pages, $3)

5th roll: 2 + 4 = 6 (Heart Change by Robin D. Owens, 368 pages, $3)

6th roll: 5 + 1 = 6

I was on spot 30, so this puts me on spot 36, European Vacation - not quite far enough to pass Go and collect a little extra money. Darn. The requirements:

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 in my trip (Paris, Amsterdam, Munich, Geneva, Rome, Florence, Venice, and Barcelona).

Nice, that's broader than I thought when I first started reading the requirements. And OMG, it still won't let me read Martha Wells' Artificial Condition.

A lot of my Japanese light novels have long titles that almost certainly have all the letters necessary to spell at least one of these city names, so I may be going with one of those. Heart Change gave me enough of a break that I think I can handle it.

Books read for the game so far:

Bank: $34

1st roll: 1 + 3 = 4 (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 1, Vol. 3, 428 pages, $5)

2nd roll: 4 + 3 = 7 (The Gamekeeper's Lady, 283 pages, $3

3rd roll: 5 + 6 = 11 (The Accidental Demon Slayer, 292 pages, $3)

4th roll: 1 + 4 = 5 (The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Vol. 1, 329 pages, $3)

5th roll: 2 + 4 = 6 

I was on spot 25, so this puts me on spot 30, the Summer Romance.

Read a book with fruit or pastries on the cover or that was written by an author whose first or last name begins with any letter in LOVE.

Okay, this game is definitely messing with me. Once again, there's no way I can fit a Murderbot book into this.

It's quite possible that I have a book somewhere in my collection that fits the first requirement, but the second one is quicker and easier to work with, so I'll probably go with something that fits that.

I could do a reread (one of Fuyumi Ono's Twelve Kingdoms books) or something new. I'm leaning towards new. Some possibilities:

- Masquerade and the Nameless Women by Eiji Mikage

- The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord

- One of Lois McMaster Bujould's Vorkosigan books (I've read a couple and enjoyed them)

- Sword Dancer by Jeannie Lin

- Velocity Weapon by Megan E. O'Keefe

And that's just the stuff I can see in the closest bookcase, without moving anything around.

Books read for the game so far:

Bank: $31

1st roll: 1 + 3 = 4 (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 1, Vol. 3, 428 pages, $5)

2nd roll: 4 + 3 = 7 (The Gamekeeper's Lady, 283 pages, $3

3rd roll: 5 + 6 = 11 (The Accidental Demon Slayer, 292 pages, $3)

4th roll: 1 + 4 = 5

I was on spot 20, so this puts me on spot 25, the Summer Blockbuster.

Read a book (or a book in a series) that has been adapted for film or television.

This game seems bound and determined not to let me read any of my Murderbot haul.

On the plus side, I have a lot of options for this one. A lot of the Japanese light novels I own have been turned into TV series, so it's just a matter of deciding which one I'm in the mood to read. Right now I'm thinking maybe The Saga of Tanya the Evil or The Rising of the Shield Hero. Or forcing myself to continue Log Horizon - the anime adaptation is good, but my experience with the first book was less than stellar. Rereading one of the Twelve Kingdoms books for the comfort factor is also really tempting right now. It's been a rough past few weeks, and I really, really hope that my doctor tells me something useful when I go in for my follow-up in a little over a week. My right elbow hasn't improved at all in the past month.

Books read for the game so far:

Bank: $28

First roll: 1 + 3 = 4 (Ascendance of a Bookworm, Part 1, Vol. 3, 428 pages, $5)

Second roll: 4 + 3 = 7 (The Gamekeeper's Lady, 283 pages, $3

Third roll: 5 + 6 = 11

I was on spot 10, so this puts me on spot 20, The Lake House:

Read a book that features a dog or which has a dog on the cover or that is set in an area known for its lakes or on a fictional lake.

This is not helping me with my wish to read a Murderbot book. I don't think Artificial Condition fits any of those requirements.

I'm going to have to think about this one. I can't think of many books I own that would work, and I'm not sure I'm in the mood for one of the few books that does. What I'm able to find:

- This one would involve dusting off my e-reader (does it still work? I hope so...) or reading on my phone, but there's Mary E. Lowd's furry sci-fi, either In a Dog's World or When a Cat Loves a Dog. They are probably not very good, based on the one other book set in that world that I've read.

- The Accidental Demon Slayer by Angie Fox

- Girl's Best Friend: An Anthology by Katie Meyer

Those are the obvious ones, the stuff with covers that fit. I could also reread T. Kingfisher's The Twisted Ones and actually review it this time around, but it's too soon since my first read, and I'm not really in the mood.

I have so many more books with cats on the cover. Unless I stretch the definition of "dog" to include wolves.