The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Adding a little more today - finished 25.5 with Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman's Good Omens, which was absolutely what I needed right now. Funny, silly, and absorbing in that way that just makes you sigh with delight as if someone were scratching an itch on your back you can't reach.

Current Total: 240 points

Congrats Dlmrose and Roseann!

Finished another task:

15.9 Home or Work in title

Home A Memoir of My Early Years by Julie Andrews

Pretty tame, but interesting read. I gave it 3 stars.

Homework
Assignment: Pick one of the following and write a 7 page research paper:

*Discuss the impact of vaudeville on other theatre venues, such as Broadway;
*Discuss how Andrews' portryal of of Eliza Doolittle compared to others who had played the role during that same decade; OR
*Discuss Andrews' relationship with two of the men who had the greatest impact on her life

Your paper should include a cover sheet, bibliography and endnotes, none of which will count toward to your page requirement. Margins should be 1" around and the paper double-spaced in Arial 12 type. Your assignment is due in one week.

Total Points: 160 + 15 = 175

Finished a few more tasks this past week or so.

For 5 point task #1, I read Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede.

For 15 point task #2, I read Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.

Although some of the changes in this book are intriguing (pet dodo=yay!; meeting your favorite lit characters=swoon!; instant transport to australia=woo!), in the end, I believe things are better as they are now, in our history. The implications of being able to clone anything, let alone extinct animals/beings like dodo birds and neanderthals, is quite frightening, and I think we are better off with out that technology. Also, not knowing what the true history of the world is because people can go back in time and alter it is too scary to contemplate. And the ability to erase someone from existence. Wow. Seriously scary. Plus, with the Crimean War lasting over 100 years, and a corporation controlling almost everything in the world, I definitely do not prefer the history of Lost in a Good Book.

For 15 point task #5, I read Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren and Let the Right One In John Ajvide Lindqvist, both originally in Swedish.

Total points: 105
Tasks completed: 10/45

15.2 For this task, I read "Bring the Jubliee" by Ward Moore. It is an alternative history/sci fi novel that has the confederate south winning the civil war. Although I found this book very difficult to follow or enjoy, I do have the following opinion:

With the south winning and then the nation shaped up as it did in the story, there certainly was less freedom for most every citizen, and the black population certainly did not benefit. Therefore, I don't believe the author's version to be better than the actual event.

I have completed 10.6 Native American Heritage Month with Ceremony. My total is now 100.

i just finished the 3rd book for the 50 point challenge! yeay!

Senses: Vox
Emotion: A Happy Death
Memory: Tortilla Flat not that i'm THAT old, but reading about Monterey before it was a touristy town reminds me of visiting when i was young and it was less commercial than it is now.




Total Points: 240/690
Books Read: 18/62
Tasks Completed: 12/45
Tasks in Progress: 3

Congratulations Dlmrose and Roseann, that's awesome!
Have just come back from a fantastic 4 weeks' holiday with my daughter in England. Didn't get much reading done, but bought lots of books (had to leave some clothes behind to keep to my weight limit, but that's ok, I've got the books!)
Finished task 5.7: The Other Hand by Chris Cleave, which made me very thankful for my life, my family and friends. It was a very gripping story, I quote from the back cover of the book: "... Once you have read it, you'll want to tell your friends about it. When you do, please don't tell them what hapens ... the magic is in how it unfolds." So I won't say anything further, except that I give it 5 stars. Points = 5
Finished task 10.5: The Manuscript by Eva Zeller, a story set in Germany. I didn't really enjoy this one, I was never sure when the story was set or how old the characters were, and I didn't really get to care about the main characters either. 2 stars.
Points = 10
I've read a few others, but not finished the tasks yet.
TOTAL POINTS = 30

15.7 Lets get physical

Listened to Bram Stokers Dracula

To Cynthia, here is the required information, I hope this is what you need.

Finished task 50.1

Senses: re-read The Little Prince by Saint Exupéry
The sense here is sight, the message is that what we see with our heart and our imagination is more important than what we see with our eyes. The pilot will remember the Little Prince when he sees the twinkling stars. The Little Prince is satisfied that there is a sheep in the box drawn for him by the pilot although it's not visible.

Emotions: read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Both the hero Darcy and the heroine Elizabeth are too proud to show their feelings. Pride drives Darcy to look down on Elizabeth's family.

Memories: read Salem Falls by Jodi Picoult, the memory being that I played The Crucible in secondary school.
The keepsake is the French version of The Crucible called "Les sorcières de Salem - The Whitches of Salem". Picoult's book is a direct reference to Salem's witchhunt in the way the hero is being accused of raping a young girl because he was previously convicted of the same offense.

Task 10.4 - Chilean Author: The Story of A Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly by Luis Sepúlveda (10/19/09)

This was a very cute juvenile fiction book about a seagull who is dying (Thanks, humans, for that oil spill!) and entrusts the egg she lays in her last moments of life to a fat black cat. The mama gull makes the cat promise to look after the egg, not eat the egg, and to teach the baby seagull to fly when the time comes. The cat takes this charge very seriously (which is super cute) and enlists the help of other cats in the area (each of whom is a different "nationality"). It was awfully, awfully sweet and had a lovely moral. And on a different note, it was very nice to see cats portrayed in a positive light. They're usually seen as devious little animals (and, okay, this isn't a completely false image), but they can be really nice and loving creatures, too!!

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 24/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 5
Books Read: 37/62
Pages Read: 12,780
Points Earned: 340/690

25.8 Cait's Task
Person:
Julie & Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously by Julie Powell
Place:
When in Rome: A Novel of Piazzas and Passion by Gemma Townley
Thing:
The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts

Also, in post 2309 I claimed points for 5.2 (Book with apple on cover) but was not credited those points.

Total points: 455

10 points
10.4. Hispanic Heritage Month Begins On September 15 Which Commemorates The Anniversary Of Independence For Five Latin American Countries (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, And Nicaragua)/ In Addition, Mexico Declared Its Independence On September 16, And Chile On September 18. Read A Book Written By An Author From One Of Those Countries Or That Takes Place In One Of Those Countries Or A Non-Fiction Book About One Of Them.
Malinche A Novel by Laura Esquivel (10.20.09). Esquivel is from Mexico and the story takes place in Mexico too. It is a love story between the explorer Hernan Cortes (who was trying to overthrow the Aztecs) and his interpretor and mistress, Malinalli, who has been seen through history as a traitor to her people. This book is the truth behind this legendary love affair. A very interesting story and well written.

Tasks Completed: 34/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 3
Points Earned: 470/690
Total Books: 41
Total Pages Read: 8,707
Total Hours listened: 56.25 (approx.)

I just finished 5.7 (Thanksgiving task) by reading A long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier. I have an 18 month old son and I am so thankful for the fact that he is home with me and safe.

The book was just okay for me.

New point total: 50 pts

50.1 My keepsakes are my unique PTOWN T-shirt collection and my photography

Hello!

I have two completed tasks to report:

1) Task 30.1 ~ dream job vs. current job

First, I read The Red Shoes The Classic Story by Michael Powell. I took ballet for nearly 18 years and had dreams of being in the National Ballet of Canada as a prima ballerina! Seriously...which was weird because other than ballet, I was a total tomboy! Second, I read The Girl Who Played with Fire by Steig Larsson. I currently work as a researcher and writer, which I love.

2) Task 10.2 ~ addiction

For this task I read a nonfiction book about addiction. In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction by Dr. Gabor Mate. This was an amazing book. Please read my review here .

# task completed: 19
# books read: 30
# pages read: 9464
# points accrued: 320




Thank you Cynthia!!

Congratulations Dlmrose and Roseann!

^.^

itpdx wrote: "I have completed 10.6 Native American Heritage Month with Ceremony..."

I'm also reading Ceremony for that task (presently on p. 49). Is it this emotionally draining all the way? Anything positive? So far, I'm seeing that tradition is more a curse than a blessing for Tayo.

I am changing one of my tasks. I read Catching Fire for 15.4 and I'm moving The Hunger Games to one-third of 50.1. So no change in points, still 100! Thanks!

Read my translation task over the weekend (Japanese) 15.5 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle and Kitchen. I really loved them both, but the Wind Up Bird Chronicle was a crazy, fantastic, demented, disturbing, confusing ride.

Finished another task -

30.1 ROSEANN'S TASK - Current Vs. Dream Job

Current Job - Chemist and I read Mauve How One Man Invented a Color That Changed the World by Simon Garfield, the true story of Sir William Henry Perkins who, in 1856 at the age of 18, discovered how to artificially produce the mauve pigment from coal tar. The book explores the birth of chemical industry. Very interesting, especially if you're a science nerd like myself.

Dream Job - As a little girl, and well into my highschool years (until I fell in love with chemistry), I dreamed of being an astronaut. For this, I read Apollo 13 by Jeffery Kluger and James Lovell (previously published as Lost Moon). Excellent book and it was the basis for the movie Apollo 13. The book goes into so much more detail and I was amazed at the extreme jeopardy they were in - after reading the book, I don't think the movie accurately showed this.

Total Books Read = 29
Tasks Completed = 20
Tasks In Progress = 4

I didn't see my score reflected with these tasks that 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
Thanks!

5 POINT TASKS
1. The Memory Keeper's Daughter by Kim Edwards
2. Twilight By Stephanie Meyer
9. Dancing in my Nuddy Pants by Louise Rennison

Total = 15

I completed 25.1. Thanks!

Read:
5 Points
2 Apple Cover or Title: Garden Spells, Sarah Addison Allen
5. Halloween Adjective: Plum Spooky, Janet Evanovich
10 Points
3. Children’s Books: Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile, Bernard Waber 48pgs
Katie and the Sunflowers, James Mayhew 32pgs
Katie Meets the Impressionists, James Mayhew 32 Pages
4. Hispanic Heritage Month: Like Water for Chocolate, Laura Exquivel

15 Points
15. Math:
Addition – Author with 15 letters: Curse of the Pharaoh, Elizabeth Peters
Division – 1981/27=73.4 3rd in a series, Lover Awakened, J.R. Ward
4.Science Fact vs. Science Fiction: Read: Specials, Scott Westerfield and watched The Greatest Places, an IMAX film about different amazing places all over the world.
6. Creative Minds (The Arts) - • Learn Your Art History - Read A Book About An Artist Or Art History AND Go To A Museum To View Art Read: The Agony and the Ecstasy, Irving Stone and went to Fernbank Museam, Atlanta, GA
7. Let's Get Physical Read: Outcasts United: A Refugee Team, an American Town, Warren St. John and played soccer

25 Points
1. NICOLE OH'S TASK - Rhyme Time :
•Poetry Book: A Light in the Attic, Shel Silverstein, 176 pages
•Fiction Book: Night Pleasures, Sherrilyn Kenyon, 336 pages
3. WENDY'S TASK – Positive GL Character: The Funny Thing Is, Ellen DeGeneres
7. CINDY'S TASK - One, Two, Three - Read Three Books...
• One With A One Word Title: Netherland, Josepth O’Neill
• The Second With A Two Word Title: Lover Eternal, J.R. Ward
• And The Third With A Three Word Title: Green Grass Grace, Shawn McBride


Totals
Points: 165
Tasks: 11
Books: 17
Pages: 4935

Completed 25.3 - Harvey Milk with The Teahouse Fire by Ellis Avery.

New points: 25
Old points: 240
Total points:265

Tasks Completed:18
Tasks in progress:4
Books Read:24
Pages read:8165

15.5 Love in the Time of Cholera and By Night in Chile originally published in Spanish.

20.3 Shutter Island

Shannon wrote: "15.5 Love in the Time of Cholera and By Night in Chile originally published in Spanish.

20.3 Shutter Island.."

What did you think of Love in the Time of Cholera? I have heard mixed reviews, but mostly not so good. I'd considered it for this same task as one of my books, but not if it isn't that good. By Night in Chile from what Goodreads has sounds kind of intriging.

I wrote a review about By Night in Chile. It's just my general impression of the book, no real spoilers. It was intriguing, I'm glad I read it because it was out of the box for me. That said, I'm not jumping to go get any more Bolano novels. It had great critical reviews, and was lauded as a masterpiece, but I honestly never made connection with it. However, it's so short and reads so quickly that even if you wind up hating it, you probably won't regret reading it. It's a good choice for a task.

I'm probably biased about Love in the Time of Cholera because that's my favorite genre. I loved it and will be reading more from this author. At first, I thought it would be slow, but by the time the backstory started, I was hooked.

10.10 Dewey - Vicki Myron

Finished Shutter Island for the group read task (20.3). Great book, and one that I probably never would've read if it wasn't for this challenge.

Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 8
Pages Read: 3,022
Total Points: 85

I finished a big one!

Task 50.1 — pjreads — Sense, Emotion, Memory:

Sense: A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass (10/20/09) 5*

This book was REALLY REALLY GREAT. It's about this 13-year-old girl, Mia, who has synesthesia. She sees sounds, and also, letters (and words/names) and numbers have associated colors for her. The entire book was about how she perceives the world around her, which is crazy-colorful, due to her neurological condition. It was wicked-awesome.

Emotion: Love is a Many Trousered Thing by Louise Rennison (10/20/09) 4*

Oh, Georgia. This is book 8 in the series... And miss Gee is STILL trying to figure out which boy to aim her red-bottom-osity toward and blow her horn at, etc. Who does she like better: The original Sex God or the new Luuurve God? And why does she keep thinking about and wanting to talk to and getting jealous over Dave the Laugh??? Some day (hopefully in Book 10), she will figure out who she TRULY loves... But love is definitely a key part of this book... in a 14-year-old-I-can't-make-up-my-mind-about-boys sort of way... ;)

Memory: Tap & Gown by Diana Peterfreund (10/12/09) 5*

Great end to a great series. My memory here is my college graduation... and I guess my "momento" is my little golden 2005 tassel. My life was definitely not this crazy at graduation time (I was married, and thus pretty much over all the crazy boy-drama...), but those were good times!

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 25/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 4
Books Read: 38/62
Pages Read: 13,030
Points Earned: 390/690

For task 15.1, I read Rude Awakenings of a Jane Austen Addict by Laurie Viera Rigler and In Tongues of the Dead by rad Kelln.

I've finally finshed my 2nd task! I am just not going to get a lot of reading done this challenge...

5.10 A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court

Shannon wrote: "I wrote a review about By Night in Chile. It's just my general impression of the book, no real spoilers. It was intriguing, I'm glad I read it because it was out of the box for me. That said, I'..."

Thanks, Shannon. I'll check your review. And I'm giving serious consideration to Love in the Time of Cholera.

I can't see your review actually. But what you said here was pretty good to get my interest.

5.3 Deception by John Altman

Total points: 460

25 point task
10. SAM'S TASK - Halloween Part III: Monsterfest - Read A Book With One Of The Following In The Title: Devil, Witch, Vampire, Zombie, Or Werewolf. Variations Of The Words Are Fine (E.G., The Witching Hour Or The Witches Are Okay), But They Must Appear In The Title (E.G., Queen Of The Damned Or Dead Until Dark Are Not Okay).
Pretty in Plaid: A Life, a Witch, and a Wardrobe, or, the Wonder Years Before the Condescending, Egomanical, Self-Centered Smart-Ass Phase by Jen Lancaster

Current Point Total: 75
Jessica (MI)

I completed task 25.5 by reading Fortune's Daughter. I enjoyed it but it was definitely not my favorite Alice Hoffman book.

My total is 180 points.

Task 15.3
Hot Six by Janet Evanovich

Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali

20 Points
New Grand Total of 105 points. I finally broke 100!!

10.6 Native American with Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.

Total Points: 20

Completed 10.6 with Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs. Charles, one of the main characters, is Native American.

Total points: 75
6 tasks complete - 7 tasks in progress
10 books read
3,587 pages read

10 point task

Task 10.2

I read Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher

20.2. ROOKIE OF THE SEASON - ERIN - Learn Your ABC's - Read 3 Books That Begin With A,B,C Or Any Three Consecutive Letters In The Alphabet. "The" Does Not Count, Unless You Are Using T As One Of Your Letters. Books Must Be Over 100 Pages.
Brimstone by Preston and Child
Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros
Dark of the Night by John Sandford
20 points
10.1. This Year Labor Day Falls On September 7th - Rock And Roll Pioneer Buddy Holly Was Born On That Day In 1936 - Read A Book First Published During His Lifetime (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959).
The Plague by Camus 1947
10 points
total 655

I just completed Task 10.10. This is one of the many reasons I love the challenge! I would never have found this book otherwise. If I had, I never would have known I would love it so. Waltzing the Cat

I loved it!


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Wendy wrote: "
20.2. ROOKIE OF THE SEASON - ERIN - Learn Your ABC's - Read 3 Books That Begin With A,B,C Or Any Three Consecutive Letters In The Alphabet. "The" Does Not Count, Unless You Are Using T As One Of Y..."

Wendy, I thought Caramelo was by Sandra Cisneros? Or is that a different book? I loved the Cisneros!

25.4. 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. (Examples: Atonement, Twilight, The Time Traveler's Wife, Angels & Demons, Harry Potter (5& 6).
published 2001
Marie Antoinette: The Journey by Antonia Fraser
Watched Marie Antoinette 2006
The movie was much lighter than the book, with jarringly modern music that my sister claimed pointed out the extreme youth of Antoinette and Louis XVI. I suppose that was the reason for the glimpse of tennis shoes, as well. Also, the time frame of the book was much greater, going into Marie Antoinette's antecedants and tying up the loose ends after her death.

Thanks for bringing the movie with you, DJ, and congratulations on finishing the full 690.

Just finished reading

Three Cups of Tea One Man's Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time for task 5.8.

Frankly, I did not enjoy this book at all... and would definitely not recommend this book to anyone else.

Total points: 105
8 tasks complete - 4 tasks in progress
13 books read

15.4: Read Poisons by Peter MacInnis. Watched The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Points: 15

Total Points: 265
Total Pages: 8013

Finished Black and White for 10.7

15.5 Read two books translated from france

The Little Prince and Gourmet Rhapsody

new total 495

Okay, so here goes... I am brand new at this but have a few books I've read since September, hoping they will count as follows:

5.8 Books with more than 1 author: The Rule of Four by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason. Only so-so.

15.3 (b) Title with 23 letters: The Riddle of the Third Mile by Colin Dexter. Three stars. I like Colin Dexter.

25.8 Person (The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane by Katherine Howe), Place (The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson), and Thing (The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks).

I've already reviewed these books if you care for more detail. The Haunting of Hill House is a classic and a must-read for anyone who loves that sort of thing. The People of the Book was quite good also, if you read it be sure to look online for the illustrations from the actual Haggadah on which the novel is based.

So, I think that's 30 points for now? Need a second book to complete 15.3. Please point out the errors of my ways as necessary! Got to figure out how to do one of those cool ticker thingies too. :)

More finished tasks:

5.6 - For the Halloween task, I read A Curse Dark as Gold by Elizabeth C. Bunce;
15.7 - I listented to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams.
20.3 - For the Group Read I read Julie & Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell.

Books Read: 34
Tasks Completed: 27
Total Points: 390
Total Pages: 12028