The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Finished 5-7 with 'The Woman In White' by Wilkie Collins-I loved it! (Read it on dailylit and as an added bonus it's on the 1001 list-yay!)

I am most thankful for my family and good friends and Laura Fairlie had both a faithful sister and friend who stuck by her.

235 points.

I finished 15.10 by reading The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks (one of the main characters is a teacher) and Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder.

That brings my total to 185 points.




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Donna Jo wrote: I don't know about you, but I like to read about string theory--in theory-=but everytime I think I have grasped the idea, suddenly it's like grabbing a fistful of cobwebs. Maybe by the time I read a few more books more of it will make sense.

That's exactly what happened to me, Donna Jo - I got so interested in the NOVA programs on string theory that I just had to go back to the beginning of the first hour so I could keep up (sort of) with Part II. I find it fascinating that these 'strings', if they exist, are so small that they can't be seen or tested - YET!. But I'm sure several someones are working on that!!

I finished task 25.8 (Cait's Task) by reading the following:

Person : Olive Kitteridge A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout
Place: The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff
Thing: The Ten-Year Nap by Meg Wolitzer

Total points = 110

15.3. Equation for Good Books

a) Age (27) - # of letters in whole name (21)= 6

Uglies (6 letters) by Scott Westerfield

b) Year I was Born (1981)/Age (27)= 73 = 3rd or 7th book in a series

The Sword Thief by Peter Lerangis

TOTAL = 20 POINTS

Finished another task :0)
15.8. Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials.
My Initials are DH

D: Dominica : Allfrey, Phyllis S. The Orchid House

Dominica, (French: Dominique) officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Caribbean Sea. To the north-northwest lies Guadeloupe, to the southeast Martinique. Dominica is not to be confused with the Dominican Republic; it is a separate island entirely. The story was told in a very mellow manner even though the subject matter of the novel was not mellow.

H: Hungary: Lipták, Béla G. A Testament of Revolution

Béla G. Lipták was a college student in Budapest during the 1956 Hungarian revolution. This is his memoir of those days, fascinating! It ends with Béla and his older brother fleeing from the Russian reprisals and emigrating to the USA (32,000 Hungarians were admitted in 1957/1958 as refugees from Hungary, including Béla and the parents of several of my college friends).

My total is now 115 + 15 = 130

Finished:

50 Part 1 Hands of My Father A Hearing Boy, His Deaf Parents, and the Language of Love by Myron Uhlberg. I loved this memoir of a loving familyin the 1940s and 50s, with both parents deaf and the sons growing up hearing . The parents' deafness of course affected the son's life, but Uhlberg showed the plus side as well as the minus side of his home life. 5*.

Part 2 Resenting the Hero by Moriah Moore. A delicious romp, with resentment flowing from the Shield heroine Lee toward the Source hero Karish for being paired with him. She doesn't like his reputation. Lots of resentment from another, stronger Source toward the hero just for being. I'm looking forward to the sequel.

Part 3 The Christmas Quilt by Thomas J. Davis. A story of hope and family set in 1942 Georgia. During the 1970's my mother started embroidering state bird quilt block and finished about a quarter of them. I finished about half of them and she took them back and finished them. Several years after having it quilted, I asked her if she would consider leaving it to me at her death since I had invested so much time in it (she was hale and healthy at the time.) That year she gave it to me at Christmas--a lovely surprise.

25 points
25.1. NICOLE OH'S TASK - Rhyme Time - Read ONE Fiction Book And ONE Poetry Book That Have A Word That Rhymes From Each Of The Titles. Example: A Light In The Attic By Shel Silverstein And The Friday Night Knitting Club By Kate Jacobs (Light And Night). It Must Be An Exact Rhyme! You must read a minimum of 350 pages total, with at a minimum of 50 of those pages being the length of your poetry book.

Rhyming Words: Since/Prince (checked it on http://www.rhymezone.com/)

Read 50 pages, on 10.5.09, which included the poetry of Wm. Carlos Williams, Ezra Pound, Langston Hughes from American Poetry Since 1950 Innovators and Outsiders.
I've never been one much for poetry, but I still do adore Langston Hughes and his was my favorite out of all of what I read.

For the second part, I did a re-read of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling -- 652 pp (10.16.09). Enjoyed it on the second read and it was certainly still better than the movie. Not my favorite Potter book though, but not bad.

Tasks Completed: 29/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 2
Points Earned: 410/690
Total Books: 35
Total Pages Read: 6,541
Total Hours listened: 46.75 (approx.)

50.1 Pjread's Midway Task - Minding the World:
1) Senses - At First Sight by Nicholas Sparks. As the title suggests, the protagonist had fallen in love at first sight, yet was still wondering if it was really possible that it had happened to him. The protagonist was a writer for a magazine (requiring people to use their eyes to read), and was searching for clues to a mystery concerning some unexplainable lights appearing in a NC cemetery when he met his future wife. There are references to the eyes of his wife (seductive) and child (how he hoped she would have his eyes). There was also a lot of reference to dreams and nightmares, which is sight too, in a sense.
2) Emotions - Courage of Fear by Barbara Boyer. The main character fears both the haunting memories of the past and her fear of the future after the loss of her soul mate. The book tells how profound fear sometimes forces us to do something against our nature.
3) Memories - True Believer by Nicholas Sparks. I chose this book because the picture on the cover (of the Cape Hatteras lighthouse) brings back fond memories of the Outer Banks of North Carolina and the years I spent there. My keepsake is my memories as well as my many pictures of the days spent there.

Total Points: 685/690
Books Read: 61 (+ 8 Berenstain Bears books)
Tasks Completed: 44/45
Tasks in Progress: 1

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Finished 10.4 with Roberto Bolano's 2666, which just did not connect for me - it just never became a coherent story in any way, and I kind of regret spending the time to wade through 900 pages.

Current total: 215 points

5.3. 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.
A suprisingly quick read. Times were tough, but the British Navy was tougher.
Jack Nastyface Memoirs of an English Seaman by William Robinson

I cannot find my post for 15.4. Science Fact vs. Science Fiction • Read A Science Fiction Novel And Watch A Film Related To Science Or Scientific Discovery. OR • Read A Non-Fiction Book About Science And Watch A Science-Fiction Film.
Read Valor's Trial by Tanya Huff
Watched Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth . The points are already folded in on the Leaderboard, but I wanted to be sure the post was posted.

10.4. Hispanic Heritage Month: The Savage Detectives. A free-wheeling story, written by a Chilean author and set mostly in Mexico.

Pages read: 2019
Books read: 7
Tasks completed: 7
Total Points: 125
Liz (Bklyn)

Helen wrote: "15.9 Homework: Home: A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews Edwards

I listened to this book on CD and it was a wonderful experience. Dame Julie read this herself and her reading voice is ..."

Helen, I'm reading this same book. I just started it last night, and I'm happy to hear that you enjoyed it. I haven't read much thus far, but I agree that Julie's background is very interesting.

I read Spook by Mary Roach and watched several episodes of the Ghost Whisperer (much as I hate to admit it!) for 15.4 (science/science fiction)

And I finshed Cait's task 25.8
Person: Sarah's Key, Tatiana de Rosnay (Sarah)
Place: Elijah of Buxton, Christopher Paul Curtis (Buxton)
Thing: Sand Sharks, Margaret Maron (Sharks)

I really enjoyed the first part of Sarah's Key, but did not like it as much once they finished the story in the past--it was still an incredibly powerful book, but I think I was more attached to Sarah than Julia.

Spook was great--I love Mary Roach's books and I highly recomment Elijah of Buxton if you have a middle school reader (I'm reading with my fifth graders)

That puts me at 295 points
8024 pages read

10 Points
6. Native American: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian (Sherman Alexie)

This was really, really good. I think Alexie should stick to YA (his adult books can be a bit crude, which is saying something, because this book had topics/language I don't usually associate with YA books). I read this quickly and enjoyed it all the way through (though it did make me cry).

15 Points
10. Teacher/Teach/Teaching AND Student/Study/Studies: The Turn of the Screw (Henry James) [governess:] AND Saving Francesca (Marlena Marchetta) [student:]

For a supposedly masterful creepy ghost story, Turn of the Screw was incredibly boring and not scary at all. Saving Francesca, on the other hand, was AMAZING and one of the best books I've read this year.

Total Points: 355

I finished 5.2 by reading Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen. The book has an apple on the cover.

That brings me to 190 points.





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10.2 Addiction task - Read Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward

New points: 90

Hello!

I have finished Task 15.2 - Alternative History.

I read The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde.

"There is another 1985, somewhere in the could-have-been, where Thursday Next is a literary detective."

Great Britain, circa 1985, is a very different place. The Crimean War still rages on, after 130 years; Goliath Coporation has much say over the police run state of Britain; Wales is a independent socialist state and there are often border 'skirmishes'; propellered air-ships are a slow mode of transport; werewolves and vampires are problematic; pet dodos are not unusual and time travel is very common. More importantly, literature is revered and beloved. For pennies, corner 'Will-Speak' machines will quote Shakespeare; Richard III is performed, every Friday night, with audience participation a la Rocky Horror Picture Show; children swap Henry Fielding bubble-gum cards and figuring out the mystery of who really wrote all the Shakespeare plays is an on-going quest. A group of special operations (SO-27)"LiteraTec" detectives are charged with protecting fictional works from big criminal gangs trying to take advantage of the "lucrative literary market".

I enjoyed this novel and all of the creativity and inventiveness Fforde showed. It kept me on my toes ~ recalling history as we know it versus information written in the book. Each chapter starts with an invented quote which added another layer of humour to the story. The character names are ridiculous yet entertaining ~Jack Schitt, Victor Analogy, Millon De Floss.

This alternative history is not one that would be better. The on-going Crimean War, the police state, the over reaching Goliath Corporation, not to mention the werewolves and vampires, are just a few of the hugely unappealing possibilities. However, the notion of being able to transport into a novel has great appeal for me but the possibility of fictional characters being eliminated and great works altered is, for a book lover, a horrid concept.

I don't know that I have ever called a book a good romp, but I suppose that is what this novel is? I imagine if Monty Python and Douglas Adams had ever had a love child, it perhaps would have been Jasper Fforde.

From Publishers Weekly:

"Surreal and hilariously funny, this alternate history, the debut novel of British author Jasper Fforde, will appeal to lovers of zany genre work and lovers of classic literature alike."




# of Tasks Completed - 17
# of Books Read - 26
# of Pages Read - 7438
# of points accrued - 280

I finished a few tasks this week, but I could just knock of those multi-book tasks.... :)
5.4 (adoption) Anne of Green Gables I don't know how I missed this series for so many years because I loved this book! I listened to it, and would walk into work just grinning after listening to all of Anne's adventures during my drive.
10.7 (super hero) Watchmen I'm not a big comic book fan, and I had never actually tried reading a graphic novel before, and it just wasn't my thing.

Total points: 150

I finished another task -

5.4 - Adoption - Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

Total Books Read = 27
Tasks Completed = 18
Tasks In Progress = 6

5 Point Tasks
1-Our children Are Our Future-The Pictish Child by Jane Yolen
2-An Apple A Day-Sadie's Trade by Launi K Anderson
3-Columbus Sailed the Ocean Blue-The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis
6-Terrifying Titles-Mary, Bloody Mary by Carolyn Meyer
7-Giving Thanks-The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander
I'm thankful for friendship (and books).
8-Two Heads are better than one-King Arthur by Joan B Mason and Sarah Hines Stephens
10-Fall Back in Time-Knights of the Kitchen Table by Jon Sciezka

10 Point Tasks
1-Buddy Holly-Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard and Florence Atwater
7-Faster than a Speeding Bullet-Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale and Nathan Hale

15 Point Tasks

20 Point Tasks

25 Point Tasks
4-The City of Ember by Jeanne Duproa
Unfortunately I saw the movie before I actually read the book so it was hard reading the book not based off the movie. In the end I think that I definately liked the book better. The movie is a very sad adaptation of the book and I cringe whenever I think about it now. They left out a ton of things and added other things that didn't make much sense like the giant mole. Sometimes I wonder if they even read the book.
5-Fortune Telling-Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
10-Monsterfest-Witch Week by Dianna Wynne Jones

30 Point Task

50 Point Task

Total Points: 130

Had a hard time putting this book down. I just loved it once I got into the story.

9. Coming Of Age Or All Grown Up (And Then Some) – Explore Stories Told From The Perspective Of A Character From One Of Two Opposite Ends Of The Age Spectrum By
• A Novel Where The Main Character Is A Senior Citizen.
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen -- 559 pp (Large Print) (10.17.09)

I wasn't sure what to think when I first started this novel. I must admit I've never read a book with a senior citizen as the main character. And at first, the "present tense" writing was hard for me, just like with Cut, but after I got past it, the story was just absolutely amazing. I really enjoyed this author and she's going onto my "favorite author's" list. Thank you, Cynthia, for this challenge. I certainly would never have picked this book up to read had it not been for this task/challenge.

Tasks Completed: 30/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 2
Points Earned: 415/690
Total Books: 36
Total Pages Read: 7,100
Total Hours listened: 46.75 (approx.)

Hi,
For the spooky name task (task six)i read Haunted By Chuck Palunik. It was a great book but actually quite twisted, made me have a couple of sleepless nights.

Kate.x.

Total points = 65

Been so busy today reading. It's been a great day to stay under the covers with a good book.

FINALLY finished with this book. Nice and long and very good.

25 points
25.6. BJ ROSE'S TASK - Following The “Curse Of Tippecanoe” Theme Explained Below, Read A Non-Fiction Book Of At Least 500 Pages About One Of The 7 Presidents Listed Below OR About A President Or Prime Minister (Of Any Other Country) Who Has Been Democratically Elected (No Dictators Or Totalitarian Governments Or Military Juntas). When Finished, Post A Short Review About The Major Accomplishment(S) Of That Leader AND The Biggest Scandal During That Administration (Unfortunately, There’s Always At Least One Scandal For A Leader To Deal With). Include the # of Pages Read.

Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin -- 754 pp read (10.17.09)

The biggest thing about this book that jumped out at me was that Lincoln was far from the long-time myth I'd grown up learning in school that he was a blundering backwoods political newbie who could be easily influenced. Lincoln's choices were done with full knowledge that each rival considered himself more qualified than him to be president. He also knew that there would be internal strife among such big personalities. Some of the picks for his cabinet (as well as former rivals), were good choices, such as William Seward and Edwin Stanton. Salmon P. Chase, on the other hand, wasn't such a good pick. The former Ohio Senator and Governor made a lot of enemies in Ohio with a shady political deal to obtain a Senate seat. Chase was quite ambitious in wanting to be president and resulted in being a not so good Treasury Secretary. Chase was working within the cabinet in his bid for president against Lincoln! To show you just how nice Lincoln was, even after Chase resigned from his cabinet position, he was rewarded with, no less, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. And still, Chase was a greedy man. He still made one more bid for president before his death. Despite his choice of Chase, Lincoln proved to be pretty smart with his "team of rivals" with the great political minds he had serving him.

The book focuses on the way Lincoln managed the Civil War, and the way different cabinet members influenced policy, and helped shape his evolving view of slavery. Lincoln was also a master at smoothing over his team's ego's when political in-fighting threatened to break the cabinet apart. He also had an incredible capacity for forgiveness, in the case of Chase. When confederate forces struck Fort Sumter and signaled the start of the Civil War, Lincoln's only major mistake was in choosing George McClellan to head the Union Army and his delay in replacing him. McClellan’s delays in engaging confederate forces are well documented and may very well have prevented a quick Union victory. Lincoln did believe that slaves should be free, but was certainly slow to adapt that they should be granted suffrage. Ironically, Lincoln welcomed Frederick Douglass into the White House, and argued the merits of equal pay for black and white soldiers, and offered the first African American attorney the chance to argue before the Supreme Court.

All in all, a very well written book and one which opened my eyes to a different side of Lincoln than most folks learn in the schoolbooks, and certainly that I was more or less cluessless about.

Tasks Completed: 31/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 2
Points Earned: 440/690
Total Books: 36
Total Pages Read: 7,854
Total Hours listened: 46.75 (approx.)

roseann's task

If Looks Could KillI am a magazine merchandiser and this book takes placde at a mazazine office

Flesh and Bone A Body Farm Novel would love to be a forensic person

total 470 2/3 done : )

I've completed another task. I read Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts for Task 5.4. This brings me up to 70 points!

Totals:
70/690 Points
8 Books Read
5/45 Tasks
Pages Read: 2,007

25.2 Donna Jo's Task
The Shining by Stephen King & Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
Father & Son

Total Points = 115

25.7- 1,2,3:
I just finished Fallen. It was a very interesting read.
Icy Sparks A difficult read for me based on the subject manner, but I am glad that I read.
In Her Shoes: A nice little story, I enjoyed this one. I do need to see the movie now.

Total Points: 195

I completed task 5.4 by reading The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. This is the second of her books that I have read and I just really love her style, I find her characters very realistic. This was an enjoyable read.

Point Total: 270
Page Total: 5725

25 points Task #4

I read and watched Coraline. I liked the book well enough, but the movie was so visually stunning I think I have to go movie over book on this one. The storyline was changed somewhat, but the book needed more meat to be made into a feature film. It just looks really gorgeous on our big tv.

My new point total:

Finished 20.2
South of Broad by Pat Conroy
The Condition by Jennifer Haigh
The Unit by Ninni Helmqvist.

This brings me to 305

Kari ♪ wrote: "Been so busy today reading. It's been a great day to stay under the covers with a good book.

FINALLY finished with this book. Nice and long and very good..."

A great review, Kari! I'm so glad you enjoyed this book - I also thought it was very good.

I wasn't going to enter this season, but I really missed it.

5.8- The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Annie Barrows and Mary Ann Shaffer
15.4- Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson and 6 episodes of The Mechanical Universe.
20.2- My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman, and Oroonoko by Aphra Behn
25.3- The Color Purple by Alice Walker
25.7- Weaveworld by Clive Barker, Collected Fictions by Jorge Luis Borges, The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Total: 90

Woo! Another update so soon:

5.4 - The Graveyard Book
5.8 - The Expectant Father - by Armin Brott and Jennifer Ash
10.2 - The Dart League King (cocaine)
15.3 - Addition (14) - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and Multiplication (33*19) - The Host by Stephanie Meyer
15.7 - The Gunslinger (audio book)
20.2 - I Thought My Father Was God, (The) Judges, Keeper and Kid
20.3 - Shutter Island
25.7 - Gossamer - Lois Lowry; The Somnabulist - Johnathon Barnes; Lords of Corruption - Kyle Mills

Total Points: 115

15.1 Grammar: Preposition OF

1. Sweetness At the Bottom OF the Pie by Alan Bradley
A really good first novel - light mystery with a very entertaining heroine. An 11-year-old girl named Flavia who is a brilliant, budding chemist and a natural sleuth is the central figure of the novel. The author creates an interesting environment by having Flavia be the narrator. This one has serial written all over it. Can't wait for the next one to come out.

2. The Art OF Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
A wonderful book with a dog as the narrator. Very sweet story about a family which has to overcome loss, grief, and many tribulations. The dog plays a major part in supporting the family while developing his own soul so that he can be reincarnated as a human.

Points: 440
Books: 41
Pages: 11,232
Tasks: 32
In Proc: 4

25 POINT TASKS
4. CANDACE'S TASK - Read A Book That Has Been Written Within The Last 10 Years And Made Into A Movie Within The Last 5. Read The Book And Watch The Movie Both, Then Post A Little Review Of The Two And Tell Us Which One You Liked Better And Why.

Book:The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (2003)
Movie::City of Ember (2008)

Review: The citizens of Ember believe their city is the only light in a dark world, surrounded by the impenetrable pitch-black Unknown Regions. But the generator that powers the lights of Ember is failing and the storeroom shelves are nearly empty of things the people rely on for survival, including replacement lightbulbs.
A 12 year old girl, Lina, finds her little sister in the back of an old closet next to a mysterious old box and some torn and half-chewed pieces of paper. Curious, Lina pieces what's left of the paper together and believes she has found a message from the cities founders titled "Instructions for Egress". She enlists her friend Doon, and together they embark on an adventure to save their doomed city.

I found both the movie and the book enjoyable despite being marketed for children. I liked the book more(no shocker there, eh?). Rather than the usual complaint of leaving too much of the book out, the movie added unecessary fluff, like giant bugs and a confusing back story about the kid's parents having secretly tried to tunnel their way out of Ember, etc. I enjoyed the movie, which was visually stunning and well acted, but seemed to lack the emotional depth of the book such as the terrifying opression of absolute darkness, or the savage desperation caused by not enough "stuff".

I finished 25.6, Tippecanoe with


Team of Rivals The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin

I had the good fortune to be reading Geraldine Brooks’ March at the same time as Team of Rivals. March provided a wonderful personal counterpoint to the politics and military strategy in TOR. While TOR starts slow and is very, very long, it was interesting and I am glad I read it.
Lincoln had many accomplishments, but his force of character is what stayed with me most strongly. Despite his humble beginnings, he was a savvy politician with the ability to inspire his supporters and placate his detractors. He built an effective administration from a highly contentious group of men. The biggest scandal was keeping McClellan on too long and then replacing him with Burnside to disastrous results at Fredricksburg- 13,000 Union casualties on December 13th.
Pages are reported as 944 but the text ends at 754.

+25
total 640

15 POINT TASK
5. Time To Study Abroad (Foreign Language)
• Read 2 Books That Were Originally Published In The Same Foreign Language (One You Don't Speak Fluently).
French - Two Novels Jealousy and In the Labyrinth by Alain Robbe-Grillet. (Two novels in one book - Jealousy published in 1957; In the Labyrinth published in 1959. Total of 279pp - published individually Jealousy is 103pp and In the Labyrinth is 188pp.)

Wow, I've read lots of books, but all multi-task, etc., Her's finally a couple more!

15.10 Teacher-Student Relations - Read Both•
A Book With A Main Character Who Is A Student Or With The Word Student(s), Study, Or Studies In The TitleBefore Green Gables by Budge Wilson, read 10/5/2009, 387pp. Even though Anne only spends a small part of her early life in school, it is the most important part of her life, so I thought it appropriate
AND [BOOK:Anne of Avonlea] 276 pp, read 10/15/2009.

25.8 CAIT'S TASK - Nouns - Read 3 Books:
• With The Name Of A Person In The Title. Lavinia by Ursula LeGuin read 9/21/2009 288pp.
• With The Name Of A Place In The Title. Again, Proper Nouns Only. [BOOK:Anne of Green Gables] (I hope "Green Gables" works, in the context of the story it was a proper place name), 297pp, read 10/14/2009
• With A Thing/Object In The Title,Nine Gates:Breaking the Wall, by Jane Lindskold read 10/1/2009, 399pp.


Total points: 230/690
Tasks completed: 14/45
Books read: 24/59
Total pages: 8627

I just finished the teacher-student relations task (15.10) by reading The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Lee (teacher in the title) and Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro (about a very bizarre English boarding school...).

Of the two, I preferred Never Let Me Go over The Piano Teacher.




TASKS COMPLETED: 21
TASKS PARTIALLY COMPLETED: 3
BOOKS READ: 27 (+4 kids books)
PAGES READ: 8,880
POINTS EARNED: 235
NUMBER OF BOOKS READ FROM MY 'OWNED AND UNREAD' SHELF: 16

Finished another task -

25.7 - CINDY'S TASK - One, Two, Three - Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich, and The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown

Total Books Read = 28
Tasks Completed = 19
Tasks In Progress = 5

10.6 Native American Heritage - Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Total Points: 165
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?ke...

Finished 25-3 with 'The Picture of Dorian gray' by Oscar Wilde. Basil is the positive gay character, poor Basil!

260 points

Finished:
25.4 Movie/Book
Marie Antoinette The Journey by Antoinia Fraser.

The biography was great with a great deal of detail aboout Marie Antoinette's life. The movie of necessity left out a great deal, but it did emphasize her youth and her loneliness in France. I was a little jolted by the modern rock music in the movie at first, but found it really fit in. The book gets my vote, but the movie was good enough I've seen it twice--and I rarely watch movies.

El wrote: "French - Two Novels Jealousy and In the Labyrinth by Alain Robbe-Grillet. (Two novels in one book - Jealousy published in 1957; In the Labyrinth published in 1959."

What did you think of these? I've only read Jealousy and was stunned by it. One of the very few five-star books I've read recently.

25.3. Wendy's Task - books with Positive Gay Or Lesbian Character: A Boy's Own Story A Novel. Elegantly written and honest depiction of the narrators coming-of-age and corresponding coming to terms with his sexuality.

Pages read: 2215
Books read: 8
Tasks completed: 8
Total Points: 150
Liz (Bklyn)

Finished 25.7 Cindy's Task with:

Fractured
The Siege
Fire and Ice A Beaumont and Brady Novel

I've broken the 100 point barrier (Yay) and am now at 110 points!

I completed:

15.10 - The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (not at all what I expected)
25.10 - The History of the Devil - Clive Barker (audio book)(very funny & entertaining)

That brings me to 135 points

20.1 I read "Have a Little Faith" by Mitch Albom. I thought this was a beautiful book, for Christians and all other faiths.

Brings me to 325.

Liz wrote: "What did you think of these? I've only read Jealousy and was stunned by it. One of the very few five-star books I've read recently."

Liz, I loved Jealousy also. In the Labyrinth was also good, but in a different way - not quite as provoking or stunning. I gave them both 5 stars though. Have you read anything else by Robbe-Grillet?