The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

5.8 Let's Find Out If Two Heads Really Are Better Than One.

Read: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows.

Another 5 points.

Total Points: 60
Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 6
Total Pages: 2112

5.4: A Drowned Maiden's Hair A Melodramaby Laura Amy Schiltz

Points: 5

Total Points: 135
Total Pages: 3561

Report 4

Completed Tasks
5.6 Scary adjective title - Plum Spooky 368pp 1 star
5.8 Two authors - Unlucky in Law 464pp 3 stars
Perri O'Shaughnessy = Pam and Mary
10.9 U.S. Civil War - Song Yet Sung 368 pp 4 stars
15.7 Book while exercising - The Awakening 272pp 4 stars
20.1 Christian - The Screwtape Letters 224pp 3 stars

Partially Completed Tasks
25.4 Book in last 10 years to movie in last 5 years - Q & A 2005 336pp 3 stars
30.1 Current profession - Retirement Homes Are Murder 291pp 2 stars




Tasks completed - 21
Tasks partially completed - 4
Books read - 29
Pages read - 9344
Total points - 255

5 POINT TASKS
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
2. Twilight By Stephanie Meyer 9/3/09
3. Vanished at Sea: The True Story of a Child TV Actor and Double Murder by Tina Dirmann
4. The Face on the Milk Carton by Carolyn B. Cooney
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6. Scary Stories to Tell In the Dark by Alvin Schwartz, Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)
7. Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney
8. The Geek Girl's Guide to Cheerleading by Charity Tahmaseb and Darcy Vance 9/15/09
9. Little Women by Louis May Alcott
10. Something Upstairs : A Tale Of Ghosts by Avi

10 POINT TASKS
1. The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
2. A Child Called it By David Pelzer 9/10/09
3. Cat and the Hat/ Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss 9/1/09
4.. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
5. The Book Thief by by Markus Zusak
6. Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell 9/11/09
7. Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
8. Breaking Dawn By Stephanie Meyer
9. The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
10. The Cat Who Could Read Backwards (Cat Who..., #1) by Lilian Jackson Braun

15 POINT TASKS
1. About a Boy by Nick Hornby and Don't You Forget About Me (Gossip Girl, #11) by Cecily von Ziegesar
2. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
3. The Ex Games (Romantic Comedies) by Jennifer Echols and You're the One That I Want (Gossip Girl, Book 6) by Cecily von Ziegesar
4. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
5. When Jonathan Died by Tony Duvert and The Tenant by Roland Topor
6. Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (Volume One in the Wicked Years) by Gregory Maguire
7. Adam Copeland On Edge by Adam Copeland
8. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The Idiot by Fyodor Dostoevsky
9. No Place Like Home A Novel by Mary Higgins Clark
10. The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee and Rainbow Boys by Alex Sanchez

20 POINT TASKS
1.The Shack by William P. Young
2.Jessi's Wish (Baby-Sitters Club, 48) by Ann M. Martin and Kristy's Great Idea (The Baby-Sitter's Club #1) by Ann M. Martin and Logan's Story (Baby-Sitters Club Special Edition) by Ann M. Martin 9/2/09
3. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell

25 POINT TASKS
1. A Light In The Attic By Shel Silverstein And The Friday Night Knitting Club By Kate Jacobs
2. Carrie by Stephen King and Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
3. Rainbow High by Alex Sanchez
4. The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger 9/7/09
5. Daughter of Fortune: A Novel (P.S.) by Isabel Allende
6. Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin
7. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer and New Moon by Stephanie Meyer 9/4/09 and Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote
8. Heart and Soul of Nick Carter by Jane Carter and Around a Minnesota Campfire by Ruth Hein , Terry Fisk and Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult
9. Knitting for Dummies by Pam Allen, Trisha Malcolm and Julia's Chocolates by Cathy Lamb
10. Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy, #1) by Richelle Mead

30 POINT TASKS
1. The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber and Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger

50 POINT TASKS


85/690 Points
2954/19761 Pages Read

For Nichole OH's task (25.1) I read A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein and Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut.

Books Read: 11
Tasks Completed: 9
Total Points: 135
Total Pages: 3427

No new points, but I did just finish The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon for part of the translation task. It was really good, not quite a 5 star in my opinion (since it started out a bit slow), but I'd say four and a half :)

Finished Task 5.2 : Apple of my Eye by Helene Hanff
This is not my favourite of her books, but I did enjoy it - lots of bits of interesting information about New York City - would be enjoyed by people who live in New York and will be familiar with the tourist attractions she talks about, or by someone about to visit New York City. 3,5 Stars

I will be away on holiday for a month, hopefully getting in lots of reading, and will post again when I get back.

TOTAL POINTS = 15

Ok, i'm not going as quickly with this challenge as i did with the last, but i've got some multi-book tasks on the go so i'm hoping things will pick up. Last night I finished Resistance, by Owen Sheers for task 15.2.

This book was set in a remote Welsh farming valley during the Second World War, although in this version of reality the D Day landings have failed and the Germans have invaded Britain. Despite the isolation of the valley, they are still affected by the events further afield, and none of the women in the valley will ever be the same again.

This book is very beautiful and evocative, and is told really well. It held me gripped to the end. However, i would not prefer to live in this alternate version of history. Although there is peace, with the Nazis winning the war, the cost seems too great and too horrible to imagine.

5.7 While my sister sleeps- Barbara Delinsky
I am so thankful that my family are safe and healthy. I found this a really powerful book. One of my daughters is a competitive swimmer and a lot of the training/competition in this book struck a chord with me. I could not imagine being in such an awful position and it had made me truly thankful for the health of my family.

I just finished Crooked House by Agatha Christie for task 10.1 (during Buddy Holly's lifetime). This book was originally published in 1949. Mystery isn't one of my oft read genres but I enjoyed this book. I have a few more of her mysteries sitting unread on my bookshelf for someday!





TASKS COMPLETED: 9
TASKS PARTIALLY COMPLETED: 3
BOOKS READ: 11 (+4 kids books)
PAGES READ: 3,546
POINTS EARNED: 55
NUMBER OF BOOKS READ FROM MY 'OWNED AND UNREAD' SHELF: 10

10.1

read a book set during 1936-1959

The Clue of the Tapping Heels wrote in 1939

total points

175

Ooh I nearly forgot, I've also been reading children's books with my son for task 10.3, as follows (total comes to 128 pages):

Jenna wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Jenna wrote: "Finished 15.10 (Teacher/Student Task)

I read The Abstinence Teacher by Tom Perrotta (teacher) and A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray (student)

New Total: 40 po..."

Jenna,

I love this trilogy. I think the first leaves quite a few open story lines, but the second and third ones move much faster and fill in so many of the gaps. I hope you find you like the series once you've read the next one.

25.10 SAM'S TASK

Read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith.

Boy do I regret picking up this book. It was badly written. I love the original and I should have known better then to read this one!

25 points!

Total Points: 85
Tasks Completed: 7
Tasks in Process: 1
Total Books: 7
Total Pages: 2432

I'm so sad that Pride and Prejudice and Zombies isn't good! I was REALLY looking forward to reading it!

5.1 Our Children Are Our Future - I read The Other Daughter by Lisa Gardner.

Total Points: 20
Tasks Completed: 3
Tasks in Process: 2
Total Books: 5
Total Pages: 1855

5.1 - The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards

Completed task 10.10
This Task Is The Cat's Meow - Read A Book That...
• Has The Word Cat(s) In The Title.
• Or Has A Picture Of A Cat(s) On The Cover. --This book does both :)


I read
Catlore by Desmond Morris. See my full review here

Really glad I decided to pick up this book that was just sitting around the house gathering dust. It's a must for my husband to read. Maybe he'll learn something too. Not sure if I agreed with Morris' reason for not spaying/neutering though! I might see if I can find a task to fit in his other book, Catwatching

Total Points: 25
Tasks Completed: 2
Tasks in Progres: 3
Total Books: 3
Current pages: 1037

15 Points
7. Audiobook While Moving: Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane.

Started out real slow, but then it got very thrilling and I wanted to keep exercising just so I could keep listening to it! Good inspiration for working out!

Total Points: 190

Cynthia -
Some of my points seem to have gone missing. My list of finished tasks (below) adds to 140:

5 POINT TASKS
2. After the Apple by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt
4. Krapp's Last Cassette by Anne Argula
5. The Crucible by Arthur Miller
10 POINT TASKS
1. Run Silent, Run Deep by Edward L. Beach
6. Sacred Ground by Mercedes Lackey
8. Joining by Johanna Lindsey
9. Jayhawkers by Bryce D. Benedict
10. Catfantastic 1 edited by Andre Norton and Martin H. Greenberg
15 POINT TASKS
7. Risk by Dick Francis
8. Japan: The Ramen King and I by Andy Raskin AND Canada: Burying Ariel by Gail Bowen
20 POINT TASKS
1. Zora & Nicky by Claudia Mair Burney
25 POINT TASKS
1. Ogden Nash's Zoo AND You and No Other by Cathy Maxwell

If any of these tasks are disallowed, please let me know.

Thnx, Jan

Completed task 15.7 Let's get physical

Re-read "Golf, le mental pour scorer" by Jean-Philippe Vaillant (meaning the mental approach to scoring) and played one round of golf yesterday on the La Bruyère course in Belgium

I finished The Time Traveler's Wife for task 5.10. I thought it was a good book, but maybe not as great as most other people seem to think.

That brings my total up to 45 points

Janice wrote: "Cynthia -
Some of my points seem to have gone missing. My list of finished tasks (below) adds to 140:

5 POINT TASKS
2. After the Apple by Naomi Harris Rosenblatt
4. Krapp's Last Cassette by A..."I just hadn't updated your last score - it was the first new post this morning.

Jayme wrote: "Finished another for 5 points. New total is 30. I read The 5th Horseman by James Patterson and Maxine Paetro. It was ok- quick read."

I assume you meant this for 5.8 the 2 author task - but please be sure to put down the task your claiming points for somewhere in yours posts in the future.

I've finished 2 tasks...

10.1 - I read Foxfire by Anya Seton which was first published in 1950. It was a classic tale of two people from different backgrounds who fall in love, get married, difficulties arise from those differences that pull them apart but then events occur that bring them back together. The book centers on a spoiled girl from the east who falls in love with a poor mining engineer from Arizona (he also happens to be half-Apache Indian) set in the 1930's. It was an interesting book - not my favorite of her's but pretty good.

15.7 For the PE task I read Heaven, Texas by Susan Elizabeth Phillips another romance - about a former NFL superstar and a plain girl with inner beauty. I really liked this book and look forward to reading her others. I also attended the Virginia Tech vs. Marshall football game last Saturday.

10 TASKS COMPLETE - 3 PARTIALLY DONE
17 BOOK READ
5,800 PAGES READ


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15.9 Homework Assignment - The Long Walk Home A Novel by Will North.

Total Points: 210/690
Books Read: 27 (+ 8 Berenstain Bears books)
Tasks Completed: 16/45
Tasks in Progress: 6


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Completed: Sam's Task (Monsterfest) by reading The Witches - WONDERFUL! I had never read this! Very exciting (and scary when picturing yourself as a kid reading it) and funny! I love both of the Halloween tasks! Can't wait to read the adjective "Halloween" book that I have picked out!

Total points: 205

Newly Completed Task:

25.3 – WENDY'S TASK - In Honor Of Harvey Milk, Read A Book With A Positive Gay Or Lesbian Character. (Transgender character is okay too.)

Luna by Julie Anne Peters


This YA book tells the story of 15 year-old Regan and her 17 year-old brother who is a transgender and desperately needs to live his life as Luna instead of Liam as he was born. I found this to be a really compelling story that shines a light on the complexities of life faced by a transgender individual, and to a lesser extent, to the people who love them. It tells the story with honesty, humor, and empathy.

I gave it 4 stars and would highly recommend it. It would also work for task 5.9; the Coming of Age task.

Total Points: 85
Tasks in Process: 6
Completed Tasks: 5/45
Books Read for Completed Tasks: 5/60
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 1,664


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Finished another task

25.5 Janice's task - read a book with "Fortune" or "Prophecy" in the title, OR that features fortune-telling, prophecy, or predictions as the main theme OR has a fortune teller as a main character


The House on Fortune Street A Novel by Margot Livesey

Some others have read or are reading this book for this task. I enjoyed it very much. It was nice to find an enjoyable read by an autor whom I had not heard of previously.


Total Points: 45 + 25 = 70
Total Tasks: 3
Total Books: 5
Total Pages: 1824

Completed task: 5.3

3. In 1492 Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue - In Honor Of Columbus Day (October) - Read A Novel Where The Main Character Travels At Sea Or A Non-Fiction Book About Sea Travel.


The Old Man and the Sea - Cd Library Edition by Ernest Hemingway

I have to say that about 30 years later, this book wasn't so bad. Perhaps having it read by Donald Sutherland helped too. I really didn't like this book when I had to read it in high school and I usually avoided reading Hemingway as much as Faulkner. What a difference a few years make!

Total Points: 3
Tasks Completed: 3
Tasks in Progres: 2
Total Books: 4
Current pages: 1037 (+ 1 audio CD/2.75 hours)

Just finished Dream When You're Feeling Blue A Novel for 5.9, the coming of age portion.
The story was set in Chicago during WWII, and focused on sisters that sent their boyfriends overseas. The letters they exchanged, and how both the men and the women changed because of the war. One main character got a traditionally male job, that became available to women as men were overseas, and started questioning the traditional roles women take and what she really wanted out of life.
It was a thoughtful story, often sad, but I have really mixed emotions about the book as I hated the ending.

Total points: 90

5.5 The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
I read this book in high school and didn't really like it. I'm not sure if I didn't like it because I had to read it or just because I didn't like it for its own sake. I still wasn't thrilled with it. I had to force myself to keep reading it. I guess it just isn't my style.

Cindy's Task
a) Mercy by Jodi Picoult
b) Baby Broof by Emily Giffin
c) Anne and Darcy by Judith Brocklehurst



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Completed task 10.8. My randomly generated words were Rank, Free & Saving. I read With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed by Lynne Truss.

15.3 Addition (15 letters in name)
The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton
Subtraction (36-15=21)
Shopaholic Ties the Knot by Sophie Kinsella

No new points, but just finished
• Read 2 Books That Were Originally Published In The Same Foreign Language.
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson-9/16 (590 pgs)

I loved this book! Cannot wait to get started on the second in the series.

I now have 5 tasks started and am about to start a third... waiting for the library to get me the other books so I can finish some of these started tasks.

I am finally getting on the board.

5.8 Luke's Story
5.9 Suite Scarlett
25.4 The Nanny Diaries
25.9 Compelled by Love The Most Excellent Way to Missional Living and Under the Overpass A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America

That's 60 points.

60/690

Finished Task 10.3 - Children's Picture Books: 240 pages total (9/16/09)

Behind the Mask by Yangsook Choi
Cowlick! by Christin Ditchfield
Click, Clack, Moo: Cows That Type by Doreen Cronin
The Marvelous Misadventures of Fun-Boy by Ralph Cosentino
If I Had a Dragon by Tom & Amanda Ellery
Giggle, Giggle, Quack by Doreen Cronin
Flicks by Tomie dePaola

They were all really cute. I gave books 1, 2, 3, 4, and 6 five stars each, and books 5 and 7 four (and a half) stars each. I think my favorite was Fun-Boy... It was just so adorable and funny, and I loved the comic-strip layout (2 frames per page, 4 per short-story) and the illustrations! :) In fact, I liked it so much, I handed it to a little boy who was looking for books to read and told him it was really cool. I hope he didn't think I was creepy....

Click, Clack, Moo is also a great one... heehee...

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 12/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 4/45
Books Read: 17/60 (all picture books = 1)
Pages Read: 5,461
Points Earned: 120/690

Nicole NC wrote: "Just finished Dream When You're Feeling Blue A Novel for 5.9, the coming of age portion.
The story was set in Chicago during WWII, and focused on sisters that sent their boyfriends ..."

I agree with you Nicole. I really hated the ending also.

Done with task 5.7 (Giving thanks). For this one, I decided to read Nicholas Sparks' newest novel, The Last Song. The thing that I am most thankful for was the relationship I had with my father. He passed away 5 years ago and he was always my hero and my rock in this world. I miss him every single day.

The book itself is about a young girl, Ronnie, and her relationship with her dad. The book was absolutely wonderful, I loved it so much! Definitely read it if you like Nicholas Sparks.

Total points = 180


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Finished 10.9 with A Light in the Storm: The Civil War Diary of Amelia Martin by Karen Hesse.

Not as good as her other books, I don't think, but still fine.

That has me at:
Total Points: 125
Completed Tasks: 8
Books Read: 16 (including children's books)
Pages Read: 3,004

Finished task 20.2 Erin's

letters M N O

Mudbound Hillary Jordan
Night Watch Sarah Waters
On Chesil beach Ian McEwan

[half task:] 25 point: "self-improvement" - finished one book: 'The Art of Thinking" by Vincent R. Ruggiero.

This book is very good for developing creative thinking habits. I'd say that it's more focused on helping you think by yourself, from a clean page, rather than evaluate and analyze a literary work. A good one.

Total points: 60 (if you count half tasks - 87.5)

Task 10.7-- Wonder Woman: Love and Murder by Jodi Picoult


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I finished another task -

25.2 - DONNA JO'S TASK - Related Authors - The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler AND Sister Crazy by Emma Richler (FATHER & DAUGHTER)

Total Books Read = 12
Audiobooks Completed = 0
Tasks Completed = 7
Tasks In Progress = 9

Completed task 10.8, random-word generator (my words were war, paper, and wet)

Read The Chocolate War .

Total Points = 95

I'm just putting up points for the first time-I'll be Cindy WA i guess, I'm from Washington.

25.3 When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
5.8 The Great Sex Weekend by Pepper Schwartz and Janet Lever

Total -30 points

An Inconvenient Truth (The Planetary Emergency of Global Warming And What We Can Do About It) - Al Gore

I picked up this book from interest, and read it now because it has the word PLANETARY in it - one of three rather odd random words which I 'selected' for Fall2009 challenge 10.8 (Planetary, Subtlety, Definition!)

I learned more about the analysis ABOUT the analysis - a bit more about the politics; the bias in the media; more about the comparative position of the US vs almost everyone else (except Australia!)

I like the personal stuff about Al Gore and the other people who have been prominent in the science over the years.

I learned that when you see a picture of the Earth from space, it's nearly always the SAME image which has been used thousands of times

For Task 20.3

Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell


My rating: 4 of 5 stars
The book is funny, and having just seen the movie adaptation which is in places very different, I have to say this is one movie of a book that didn't disappoint me. Julia Child fascinated me when I saw her cooking show even though I was too young (and not living in the US) to see it when it originally aired - she was a heroine for quirky women and as i grow older i want to be quirkier too!

Read this if you love food...

View all my reviews >>

Points for this book: 20
Points to date: 120

Kristina UK

I finished task 25.3 (Wendy's task--positive gay character) with The Martian Child by David Gerrold. I thought it was a good story and a very quick read. I might end of moving it because I would like to see the movie, too, but I went ahead and posted because I would like to see my name move up a little bit! I have so many partial tasks completed that I was feeling a little left out.

Now I have 100 points
1683 pages read

Julie & Julia - I read the book (first published 2005) and just watch the wonderful film (2009) tonight :)

For task 25.3. The book was wonderful though there was not much actual Julia Child in it. The film (with Meryl Streep doing a wonderful portrayal) had much more.

I recommend the book AND the film to anyone.

I feel the need to cook something unusual ;)