Take It Or Leave It - monthly Birthstone Colour Challenge (July-October 2020)

I’m continuing the birthstone challenge from 2019 in the hopes I can keep it going for a year and to celebrate having turned 50 in October. So please post the covers of your books here if you’re joining the challenge!

{Have a look at How to do fancy things in your thread for more tips or the 75 book challenge wiki for Basic HTML or Sandy's video on posting pictures.}

.... continued from 2019

January - June 2020

>2 humouress: January
January TIOLI thread

>12 raidergirl3: February
February TIOLI thread

>36 Helenoel: March
March TIOLI thread

>69 humouress: April
April TIOLI thread

>104 FAMeulstee: May
May TIOLI thread

>166 countrylife: June
June TIOLI thread

>189

>2 humouress: July
July TIOLI thread

>28 humouress: August
August TIOLI thread

>61 humouress: September
September TIOLI thread

>91 humouress: October
October TIOLI thread

(My apologies; for some reason, the post number links don’t seem to be working.)

****Challenge #: July birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly bright red/ pink cover. ****

The birthstone for July is ruby, considered the king of stones and linked to love for its colour. It is named for the Latin word for 'red' and the shade of red may indicate which part of the world a ruby comes from.

 

July TIOLI thread

3

July contenders so far:

Magic for Liars, Bled Dry (Dejah Thoris)
Recipe for a Perfect Wife, The Chestnut Man, At Home (raidergirl3)
Blood Meridian. To Sir Phillip with Love (DeltaQueen50)
Twelve Angry Men, American Radicals (alcottacre)
A Burning (quondame)
What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Blacker (SqueakyChu)
Sex and Vanity (Dejah Thoris)
Mother Russia (avatiakh)
The Constant Rabbit (souloftherose)
Kiss of Crimson (Morphidae)

                           

colourful covers!

>6 avatiakh: That's the point ;0)

Ah, it's nice to have a short thread.

I took raidergirl3's suggestion and am reading Recipe for a Perfect Wife by Karma Brown already pictured.

>9 Citizenjoyce: it just came in for me from the library. I just need to finish listening to a Stephen King book and l’ll starr it with you.

>10 raidergirl3: I didn't know what to expect, but I'm enjoying it.

>11 Citizenjoyce: Good to hear you are liking it! A reader friend said she enjoyed it and we often like same books so I requested it.

>9 Citizenjoyce:, >11 Citizenjoyce: I ended up liking Recipe for a Perfect Wife. I'll forget most of it in a month, but it was good while I read it
I realized I have a YA Sync book from this summer that fits this challenge:

Alison Larkin Presents: A Christmas Carol (What if Scrooge Were a Woman?)

.

Finished Silent Voices by Ann Cleeves.

For Challenge 10: August birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly lime green cover

I think Love, Stargirl
works!

>15 quondame: Just about ;0)

Here's my August birthstone book:



Bloodless Shadow by Victoria Blake

How about this one? Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A. S. King

>15 quondame: >17 DeltaQueen50: >18 Citizenjoyce: I was worrying about how on earth I'm going to find such an unusual cover for my book but you all don't seem to have had any problem.

>17 DeltaQueen50: I can't see the picture you've posted, Judy, but if I go to the LT page it's certainly green!

When I was (prelooking) for the August birthstone, I thought the colour looked greenish-yellow which isn't exactly how I would describe lime green. I thought An Irish Doctor in Love and at Sea would be perfect, but now I am second guessing myself.



I've requested Please Ignore Vera Dietz but I'm not sure my library will get it in time. I'm a huge fan of AS King, so my fingers are crossed to get a shared read.

Does this cover qualify?
I can put it in an other challenge if it doesn't.

>20 raidergirl3: That works for the olive side of the spectrum.

>21 FAMeulstee: It's the right shade of green ... it just squeaks over in terms of 'predominantly' so yes.

>19 humouress: Do you do Overdrive? I have a big wishlist there. I just scrolled through all the covers until I found a lime green one.

>1 humouress: thank you for this new thread!

While I have tagged TBR books with peridot (August stone) covers to be ready for next week, I'm still working through >2 humouress: July books. Does the cover for The Clockwork Monk show enough of the royal ruby color to count?

>23 Citizenjoyce: I do use Overdrive but I hadn’t thought of using it like that. Good idea, thanks. Though my wish list there isn’t large - I only put a couple of books in just last week.

>24 aspirit: No problem. I’m planning on taking the challenge to October (or the end of the year if everyone wants to) so the thread will hopefully last until then; but let me know if it’s slowing down again and I need to create another one.

Yes, there’s enough ruby in that cover.

This is my ruby cover for July (The Scarlet Pimpernel). Now I look at it, there is some peridot in it, but not really enough to qualify for August.

Ruby read! Now I'm fairly certain I'll be reading The Dolphins of Pern by Anne McCaffrey for August.

**********Challenge 10: August birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly lime green cover **********

  

The birthstone for August is peridot, one of a very few gemstones found in just one colour (finally!) although the summery tone can vary from yellow green to olive green. It is a variety of olivine, found in volcanoes and meteorites. Apparently it was Cleopatra's favourite gem because she mistook it for emerald and Romans called it the 'evening emerald' because it retains its lustre by lamplight.

Link back to August TIOLI thread.

This is more green than any other color so I will submit it as a possibility:

>29 quondame: True; there are lots of different shades in it that qualify.

>30 humouress: Thanks. It providentially fit the sub-challenge that Morphidae gave me for #8, which seemed too good to pass up.

I hardly ever get to join a cover challenge but my rescue copy of Maeve Binchy's Tara Road fits this month's bill! :)

>32 lyzard: that's lovely art.

>33 aspirit:

I wish the shading reproduced a bit better!

The cover also informs me that the image is 'a detail from Evening At The Manor', painted by William Ireland.

>32 lyzard: In that case, welcome to the colour challenge!

My paperback copy has less green border, but the leaves help push it it green- I hope?

>35 humouress:

Thank you, Nina! :)

>36 Helenoel: Yes, go for it!

>37 lyzard: You’re welcome.

>38 humouress:

Thanks!

Is there enough green here for A Song for a New Day?

>40 Citizenjoyce: Yes there is.

This olive enough?

>42 Morphidae: Hmm. Okay.

>43 humouress: Thanks!

I hope my reads for August have enough green to suit:

.

Sixteen Brides and Trophy Hunt

>45 countrylife: Can do.

For September:



Sweet Disorder

This looks like such a good book, but is there enough of the right sade of blue? The Other Alcott

>47 Morphidae: Rose Lerner is a friend and former critique partner of mine! (And such a good writer.)

>47 Morphidae: That's a gorgeous blue.

>48 Citizenjoyce: It's a bit slim but in this case I can give you the sky too.

>49 susanna.fraser: Cool.

>50 humouress: Thanks.

If I finish this before tomorrow night, will it qualify?

Is this enough blue for September?

>52 quondame: Yes.

>53 Helenoel: Nope.

Sorry - couldn't resist. I can't see your picture and since you didn't provide a title, I can't check for myself. Could you try again please?

This is my peridot book for August: Howl's Moving Castle by Dianna Wynne Jones.



I think Susan proposed it for June, but it works here too. My cover is a bit more bright lime green in actuality.

>54 humouress:

I want to read these two books with blue covers: Paard, paard, tijger, tijger (very dark blue) and Wachten op woensdag.
 

I might get to De kant van Swann, is this one blue enough for your challenge?

>57 Helenoel:

Confusing. message 53 shows the cover on my tablet, but not computer. Message 57 shows it on computer but not tablet. Book is Lindsey Davis’ The Grove of the Caesars. Secondary cover in the main listing.

Is there enough blue here? Not that I need another book for the month, but just in case?

Challenge 12: Birthstone challenge for September - read a book with a predominantly deep blue cover.



Sapphire, the birthstone for September, is a form of the mineral corundum (rubies are formed of red corundum). Although sapphires can come in a variety of colours, depending on the mineral impurities in them, the most common colour is blue and the most prized colour is cornflower blue, for which Sri Lanka is famous for, although they can be a dark, indigo blue, commonly found in Australia. Sapphires are supposed to represent purity and loyalty (thus good engagement rings) and 13th century French apparently believed it 'transformed stupidity to wisdom, and irritability to good temper'. Hmm - could be a good investment.

Link to September TIOLI thread.

>57 Helenoel: I can see that one. There are several shades of blue that qualify, and you do have some of the typical sapphire blue, so I rescind my 'Nope'.

>58 FAMeulstee: They all work; I especially like the colour of 'Wachten op woensdag'.

>60 Citizenjoyce: Hmm; okay. The blue certainly jumps out at you.

I am planning on reading Dying Day by Robert Ryan during September for this challenge.

This weekend, Jasper turned 4 years old - you remember the fellow who kicked off this challenge a year ago?

Happy Birthday to Jasper!

>65 DeltaQueen50: Thank you. I'll pass on your wishes :0)

>64 humouress: Happy Birthday to a dog who has left his mark on the world.

>64 humouress: Four years? Jasper can't be four years old, it seems like a short time ago when you got him, Nina.
Happy Barkday, Jasper!

>67 Citizenjoyce: >68 FAMeulstee: Thank you both.

He still seems to think he's a puppy, Anita. :0)

I hope this is blue enough!

>70 AnneDC: Cutting it fine but if you can’t fit it anywhere else I’ll let you have it.

I'm hoping this will qualify:

Yes, there’s enough blue.

I am planning to read Such a Fun Ageby Kiley Reid:



I also hope to read All the Devils Are Here by Louise Penny. It won't make it into this challenge, but it is here in spiriit.

I'm reading An Absolutely Remarkable Thing by Hank Green.

Does that cover above count? I figure more than half is sapphire blues, making it good for the challenge, but my partner says the green is too prominent.

ETA: The LT app's color picker for the work page shows a dark blue for the cover background. I'm inclined to agree with the app and disagree with my partner. However, I won't disagree with a call you make, humouress.

>76 aspirit: LT app color picker? What's that?

>76 aspirit: Well, you can tell your partner that from my exalted position as ... um ... yes, well; anyway Firelion (my son) and I agree that it's predominantly blue.

>77 Citizenjoyce: Yes, what is that? I think Morphy may have mentioned it but I've never used it.

Woot!

>77 Citizenjoyce: and >78 humouress: when viewing a book in the LT app, an area of screen at the top changes color to match the selected book cover.



I mostly use that automatic color picker to check the quality of uploaded cover photos. For example, a teal background on a book that looks spring green in person implies I should try again with different lighting, or change the photo editing filters.

A user can influence what color shows up, but it has to be through the choice of a cover image.

>79 aspirit: You learn something new every day. I think I may have vaguely registered that the colour on the app was similar to the book cover but I hadn't realised it was so specific. Thanks.

>79 aspirit: Thanks. I just tried it am amazed.
So much to learn.

The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

>82 avatiakh: Ooh; going to the dark side.

My reads that (I hope!) fit September's color are:



Gallows View, Peter Robinson. The Child, Fiona Barton. Glass Houses, Louise Penny.

>84 countrylife: That's a nice range of sapphire blues.

Ooh - I'd better find my book soonish.

See you in September by Charity Norman
The actual cover is a darker blue than what this appears to be

>86 avatiakh: Also within a reference to the month in the title! Well done.

Oh gee, I never noticed that!

It being almost October, and Opal being an October birthstone, I wondered if this cover was opal enough:

I'm sorry to be so late, folks; I've finally started re-organising my books to include my new bookshelves after having to empty the old ones to get one mended. My husband is fed up with them taking up the guest bed so I've been dusting and polishing and now that I get to handle each one, I'm making sure that everything is in order, like the book jackets fit properly. My intention is to keep my books to re-read (the libraries here don't seem to cater to my taste - thank goodness for Overdrive) but the climate her isn't kind to MMPBs so I put jackets on them. So I have been busy on LT but not so much in Talk except for a few lurks and de-lurks.

Challenge 12: Birthstone challenge for October - read a book with a predominantly multicoloured cover OR a predominantly gold cover.

So here we are back in October, and what a strange year it has been. October's birthstone is opal which is iridescent and multicoloured, so make sure your covers are as colourful as possible! The Romans considered opal the most powerful and luckiest gem of all since it shows all the colours and Bedouins think that opals contain lightning. It is considered a symbol of hope, truth and purity and thought to preserve life and the colour of blond hair. It is a mineraloid rather than a mineral, and the 'play-of-colour- is caused by refraction rather than by pigments in the stone.



And since this month marks the end of the year in which I turned 50, I am gifting you with a second option; gold.

Gold is a precious metal which can be found native as gold nuggets and has appeared in early myths and legends such as those of King Midas, the Golden Fleece or Rumpelstiltskin. It is used for 50th anniversary gifts and in medals for first place and is desirable in modern, miniaturised electronics because of its properties of conducting electricity, malleability and because it doesn't corrode.

ETA I'm hoping for shiny, glitzy gold covers!



And I couldn't resist adding this:


Opalised fossilised plesiosaur

Link to October TIOLI thread

>91 humouress: I don't mind at all focusing on multi-colored covers, the easiest option, but I wonder if you can update the image in >1 humouress: that shows different stones. With gold as one of the colors for the October challenge, I'm guessing citrine won't be the stone for November.

I've actually been meaning to ask; I originally intended doing this challenge for a year but I get the impression a few people are enjoying it (and so do I) so I'm happy to continue it until the end of the year if enough people want it - with variations on the stones for November and December.

I am an October girl and I chose this cover as it matches quite closely with my opal ring - softer milky tones of white, pink and turquoise.


Blackberry Winter by Sarah Jio

and for my gold cover:


When He Was Wicked by Julia Quinn

Xeelee: Vacuum Diagrams, by Stephen Baxter

Will this work for multicolor? The Hierarchies by Ros Anderson

>94 DeltaQueen50: Yay for October girls!

>96 Citizenjoyce: Hmm. I could squeak it in if it won't fit elsewhere, though its more to the yellow/ pink end of the spectrum.

>93 humouress: Okay, so it looks like we keep going!

Does this cover fit the gold criteria?



or how about this one?

>97 humouress: Thanks, I thought the eyes kind of tipped the scale.

>98 Carmenere: I was hoping for shiny, glitzy gold covers. If those are too rare, then I'll allow these. That okay?
(ETA: having said which, I don't actually have a gold cover lined up for myself. I may have to go book shopping. Such a shame.)

>99 Citizenjoyce: The eyes have it. (Sorry; couldn't help myself.)

is this adequately opalescent?

I'm sorry, I can't see it. Could you try another image please?

>102 humouress:. Edited to third try with a LT user supplied cover. Trying again. ?Not sure why I have persistent issues- I can see the image on one devise but not another..



How to be an Antiracist

>103 Helenoel: It is a cover from Amazon, those give sometimes trouble. I could see the cover when I loaded the picture in a new tab (right click on the broken picture).

>103 Helenoel: Thanks- I'll try to remember that and use alternate sources in future./

>98 Carmenere: >100 humouress: Oh, I see! I'll only use one of them if I absolutely need it to complete a sweeplette. Chances are I won't get to it.

>103 Helenoel: It's certainly colourful.

>104 FAMeulstee: If I try to open it in another tab, I get a warning that it's someone who may be trying to impersonate Amazon and steal my information!

>106 Carmenere: 👍🏼

>91 humouress: Does this work for opal (multicolor)?


Bloodlaced

My multicorored read The Winter of the Witch by Katherine Arden:

I moved the Kendi book to a shared read under challenge #6

Will use this one here; http://www.librarything.com/work/133238.

Will this work for October? Pearlescent opal background, plus multicolored foreground.

>108 aspirit: Hmm, okay.

>109 FAMeulstee: She always has beautiful covers.

>110 Helenoel: Intriguing. It makes me want to find out what the story is.

>111 countrylife: Oh alright. On multiple counts :0)

Oh dear, I seem to have stumped everyone with the gold requirement. If you're into fantasy, the first Artemis Fowl book comes in gold or Robin Hobb's Fool's Assassin and Assassin's Fate are gold (printed by Harper Voyager). Unfortunately they're the last and third-to-last of her 16 book series and I've only read the first two trilogies.

>113 humouress: Gold covers are a little intimidating.

Based on the examples, I would also suggest for YA fantasy readers Holly Black's The Cruel Prince (most of its covers, unless multiple colors are a requirement on the same book), some of the editions of Kingdom of Ash by Sarah J. Maas, and (if all-gold isn't too much) King of Scars by Leigh Bardugo. However, I'm not sure if I'm looking at the requirements correctly.

>112 humouress: I'll choose another one. There is time.

>112 humouress:
It was a good read. Frazer does medieval mysteries and seems to have decent scholarship behind them. This us the first one i have read in this short series. It is a bit like a play within a play, as a story about players and plays in circumstances.

And my next multicolored read De schippers van de Kameleon:

Well, I'm thinking of doing an 'All & Nothing' for the last two months. We haven't had any black covers and black onyx is a birthstone for December and raidergirl3 had a suggestion for incorporating books from months we've missed; I think I'll finagle it and swap them so it'll be black for November and everything we've missed for December. If we get enough books to cover all the months, it could be a rolling challenge.

I hope this is multicoloured enough!---

I’m hoping to finish A visit From the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan which has a colourful cover.

>118 lyzard: Okay.

>119 raidergirl3: I can’t see your cover :0(

>120 humouress: I tried to upload the pic from my phone. I can never see my uploads on my phone, sigh. I was hoping maybe others could see it. I’ll try to fix it tomorrow at work, as I left my computer at school.

ETA - I fixed it. I had so many mistakes - phones are not good for this kind of thing. I'm sure I still can't see it on my phone, but I can see it on my desktop.

I can see it now (on my iPad).

Ooh, I forgot to add my September sapphire book:

The Book of Swords; part 2

And my October book which had a partially gold cover:

Wishing Season

Sorry to be late this month; my reading and what little 'social media' I engage in has been suffering lately.

Challenge 16: November birthstone challenge - read a book with a predominantly black cover

Topaz and citrine are the most well known modern birthstones for November but pearl and diamond feature as well. Black pearls are rare and true black pearls are only found in Tahiti. They symbolise wealth, prosperity, wisdom and everlasting love. (And yes, there's that ship as well.) There is a legend that when Adam and Eve left paradise they wept tears that turned into pearls. Eve's pearls were white but Adam's were black and since men shed fewer tears, black pearls are rarer.

Naturally occurring black diamonds, known as carbonado, are black due to inclusions within the diamond of graphite and forms of amorphous carbon (ie carbon that isn't graphite or diamond). Black diamonds are found only in Brazil and the Central African Republic, which were at one time part of the same land mass, but never in areas where (white) diamonds are found. The current theory for the origin of black diamonds is that they came from outer space, from a supernova explosion, rather than from deep within the Earth as with other diamonds. It is thought that an asteroid(s) shattered over the area that would later split into the CAR and Brazil.

 

Let's see how dark we can go this month - can you find an all-black cover?

Link to November TIOLI thread

Is this cover black enough?

>126 DeltaQueen50: Well it is predominantly black - but can you go darker? 😈

Okay, I didn't figure out which covers look enough like opal with gold for October. Moving on!

This cover has quite a bit of black....

>127 humouress: Well, I think the story is pretty dark. I also have a book about a serial killer :



Can I use both of these covers?

>128 aspirit: >129 DeltaQueen50: Ooh, lots of black.

>129 DeltaQueen50: Of course you can.

>130 humouress: Thanks!

Is there enough black here?
The Picture of Dorian Grey

Or this would work out even better for me. The Huntress

>132 Citizenjoyce: >133 Citizenjoyce: Both good. The second one looks spookier although I suspect the story in the first one is darker.

I'm planning to use this one:

While it's not black black, the cover of Machine looks very like the black pearls you posted...

I might read De honden jagen niet meer in November (not sure if I get to it):

>135 susanna.fraser: Ah, there it is. It took a while for it to appear for me.

>136 quondame: Go on, then. Okay.

>137 FAMeulstee: Not get to it? Anita! - you're slacking ;0)

The Melancholy Death Of Oyster Boy & Other Stories by Tim Burton, a collection of rather horrifying nonsense poetry:

I'll continue November's black challenge into December with Loving: Interracial Intimacy in America and the Threat to White Supremacy by Sheryll Cashin

I am going to be reading

The River by Peter Heller

and,

Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie

I am going to be reading

The River by Peter Heller



for June's Alexandrite

and,

Justice There is None by Deborah Crombie



for September's Sapphire

Novels, including the political fantasy I had picked out, have been bit too much for me to deal with this month of real, high-stakes drama.

I've started The Words I Cannot Speak by Veronica Head for its poems focusing on personal responsibility in relationships, as well as for its interesting black cover.

>139 lyzard: >140 Citizenjoyce: >143 aspirit: Ooh, lots of black.

>142 DeltaQueen50: I see you're picking your spots early, Judy. Good for you. I suppose I ought to start planning something.

I'm flagging message 145. It seems to be Thai, which I don't read, but my browser indicates that it's promotional material. If anyone knows differently, please let me know.

Sint Sebastiaan, topaz (orange)

I'm planning on reading Different Strokes: Serena, Venus, and the Unfinished Black Tennis Revolution by Cecil Harris. I think the blue is the right shade for turquoise.

This image isn't coming up as intensely green as it should, but I hope it's still okay for peridot:

Just now getting my black cover posted for November:

The Bedlam Detective, Stephen Gallagher

I'd like to fit Rhythm of War in this challenge, because jewel-tone colors!

>147 FAMeulstee: >148 bell7: >149 lyzard: >150 countrylife: They all look nice and colourful.

>151 quondame: Which month are you going for? It looks like Judy's bagged alexandrite (at least for the first round).

>152 humouress: Opal, I think I'll put it in opal if you don't object. It's rather long and hasn't got the best reviews so it would be disappointing if I couldn't find a challenge it met.

Adding my black cover for November:

The Traitor's Game by Jennifer Nielsen

Challenge 14: The Birthstone Challenge wrap-up; read a book that is predominantly one birthstone colour

You know how it works by now. For the last month of this challenge, though, you get a bit of choice.

This will be a rolling challenge which includes all the colours of the birthstones that we've looked at over the past year and a quarter - so if you didn't manage to fit a book in before, this is your chance. I will list out the months with their birthstones on the wiki. If we happen to finish one round, then start again from the beginning (but please make sure that the round is completely filled before starting another).

 
Jasper from Christmas two years ago

2019
September: jasper (pale beige)
October: tourmaline/ opal (multicoloured) - as colourful as possible
November: citrine/ topaz (orange/ dark yellow)
December: turquoise/ tanzanite (turquoise/ mid-blue)

2020
January: garnet (dark red)
February: amethyst (purple)
March: aquamarine (pale sea blue)
April: diamond (transparent/ white/ silver)
May: emerald (emerald green)
June: alexandrite (teal & purple) - can you match this two tone stone with both colours in one cover?
July: ruby (bright red/ pink)
August: peridot (lime green)
September: sapphire (deep blue)
October: gold (bring the bling!) - I'm willing to consider any colour as long as it's SHINY (ie. foil covers)
November: the dark side of pearls and diamonds (black)

December 2020 TIOLI thread.

The previous threads, for reference :
Birthstone covers January-June 2020
Birthstone covers September-December 2019

covers so far

2019
September: jasper

October: tourmaline/ opal  

November: citrine/ topaz  

December: turquoise/ tanzanite  

2020
January: garnet

February: amethyst  

March: aquamarine  

April: diamond  

May: emerald

June: alexandrite  

July: ruby  

August: peridot  

September: sapphire  

October: gold  

November: the dark side of pearls and diamonds  

So I'm 50 again :0)

>156 humouress: Very nice
>157 humouress: I agree, we all need to get a do-over for this year.

>157 humouress: >158 Citizenjoyce: Let it go!!!!

>159 quondame: https://youtu.be/moSFlvxnbgk

>160 Citizenjoyce: Yep!

Is this good for ruby or is there too much black in it? The actual cover looks a little brighter than this, but you get the idea...

>160 Citizenjoyce: Oh no! Earworm. ;0)

>162 antqueen: Yes, I'd say more than 50% red.

This is my 'October 2020' cover for the December challenge. It is foil, although that is hard to get across in a photo.



Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.

I've just put my book into the December wiki. It looks like we just need an amethyst and a diamond (aren't we decadent?) to complete the first round.

Would this work for -Diamond-?

>166 countrylife: Yes.

Amethyst!

Woo woo! One round!

Second bracelet:

covers so far

2019
September: jasper  

October: tourmaline/ opal  

November: citrine/ topaz  

December: turquoise/ tanzanite  

2020
January: garnet

February: amethyst

March: aquamarine  

April: diamond  

May: emerald

June: alexandrite  

July: ruby  

August: peridot  

September: sapphire  

October: gold  

November: the dark side of pearls and diamonds  

I've put in Ruby Red for July and I'm thinking of finishing the series with Sapphire Blue and Emerald Green unless anyone else desperately wants those slots.

>171 humouress: Oh, I just put F*ckface in at Sapphire. Well, maybe it will fit somewhere else or maybe I won't get to it.

>172 quondame: No worries Susan. I haven't read Sapphire Blue yet, either, and I may not get to it. I'll check back with you if/ when I do.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it looks like the only two people who have completed the Birthstone Challenge every month from September 2019 to now (or at least, to November) have been citizenjoyce and quondame.

Does this work for opal? That mix of pastels reminded me of an opal necklace my mother had, which looked a bit like this:

>175 susanna.fraser: Ooh pretty. Yes.

I know from looking for a diamondy colored cover for the last round, that it's a hard one to find. Would this one suit?

>177 countrylife: Yes - it's predominantly white and it has a diamond on it!

Wishing you and yours the very best of the season.

I'm going to put Paper Girls 1 in for turquoise.

And I forgot - I already added Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier for (guess what!) ruby.

I'm going to add Clockwork Boys by T. Kingfisher for jasper