The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS
10.7 Batman Begins by Dennis O'NeilTotal points: 475
Two more completed:10.7 Superman: Maximum Ride: School's Out - Forever by James Patterson -
Cute novel about children who have been genetically reengineered to be able to fly. They have superhuman strength and powers. One young girl (Max) has extraordinary powers and good motives. Bad guys chasing good kids.
25.7 Cindy's one, two, three task:
One: Eventide by Kent Haruf - great second novel in the Plainsong series. Excellent read.
Two: Life Expectancy by Dean Koontz - another paranormal thriller in typical Koontz style. About a man who had five major birthdays prophesied - all with great danger associated with them. His story about how he deals with each. Good read.
Three: A Good Master by Kate Sederly - a pretty good YA novel about a young hungarian girl from Budapest who summers with her uncle and his family in the plains of Hungary. Interesting - lots of country folklore and history of this part of the world.
Points: 505
Books: 47
Pages: 13147
Tasks: 36
In Proc: 3
Wendy wrote: "2. On October 31st, 1993, River Phoenix Dies From A Drug Overdose - In Memory Of This Actor Who Died Before His Time; Read A Novel With A Character Who Suffers From An Addiction Or A Non-Fiction Bo..."Wow! Wendy - a mere 25 points to go!!
Congratulations and my feelings of amazement to all the early finishers:Five Cheers!!!!!
1. PJREADS
2. DONNA JO
3. DLM ROSE
4. ROSEANN
5. DIANE
5.9-I finished "The House on Mango Street" by Sandra Cisneros. This was a book where each chapter told a small story of her neighbors and friends, and her "coming of age" by realizing that this was not the life she wants for herself.
Finished one:15.4 - Read: Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment by James Patterson & Watched: Planet Earth Disc 1
TOTAL = 35 POINTS
Finished 15.6 (Creative Arts) with Javier Sierra's The Secret Supper and a visit to the Portland Art Museum. I love the landscape here in the Northwest, so checking out their collection of paintings of my environs is really fun. I could stare at Mt. Hood all day - it's always a little different.Current Total: 255 points
20.3. GROUP READ - Read The Shadow of the Wind, Julie and Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, or Shutter Island. I read Shutter Island.
For task 15.5 (Foreign Language), I read two books originally published in German:Knulp by Hermann Hesse - a tramp-travel tale that wasn't mind-blowing for a Hesse, but was still better than most other books!
and
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse - This was my least favorite of all the Hesse I've read. (Still 3*, though.) I found it more straightforwardly moralizing than his other writing--it doesn't seem to require as much thought on the part of the reader. It is also fairly conventional in comparison to Steppenwolf or The Glass Bead Game. My previous adventures in Hesse-land always left me smiling at the end, thinking, "Oh, he's so clever!" This one not so much.
Total Points: 315
30.1: Catherine's Heart by Lawanna Blackwell (College Student) & Jane and the Unpleasantness at Scargrave Manor Being the First Jane Austen Mysteryby Stephanie Barron (Detective)Points: 30
Total Points: 295
Total Pages: 8427
25 POINT TASK6. BJ ROSE'S TASK - Read A Non-Fiction Book Of At Least 500 Pages 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.
Dark Horse The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield, Kenneth D. Ackerman (552pp).
The poor man wasn't in office that long to have a lengthy list of presidential accomplishments, though he served well in the American Civil War. Though he was a Republican president, his purpose was to be a sort of political compromise between the parties and he managed to succeed in that rather well. The biggest issue he was confronted with while in office was investigating what was known as the Star Route scandal - Postal delivery routes to remote areas for which the US government allegedly paid well for outside contract services. The biggest scandal really came with his assassination at the hands of a disgruntled and probably mostly cuckoo man who was refused a federal post. Garfield hung in there for a total of 80 days after being shot twice in the back before succumbing to his wounds. Personally I find that an amazing accomplishment of its own.
Katie wrote: "For task 15.5 (Foreign Language), I read two books originally published in German:Knulp by Hermann Hesse - a tramp-travel tale that wasn't mind-blowing for a Hesse, but was still b..."
I've never read any of his books, but now I want to have "an adventure in Hesse land".
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.
EExile's Valor by Mercedes Lackey
FFanuilh by Daniel Hood
GGrayheart by Tara K. Harper
Been reading up a storm these last few days, trying to clear out some of the multitasks.Here's the latest. And PJ, this was a great task. Very enjoyable!
50 points
PJREADS TASK
Minding the World - 3 books:
I. Senses – Read a book that has one of the traditional five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) in the title OR a book where one of these five senses plays a major role (The Miracle Worker, Oedipus Rex, King Lear). Post some highlights from what the book says about the sense.
Eloquent Silence by Sandra Brown -audiobook/6 hours
This book is about a teacher of the deaf, and the young deaf girl, whom can't speak (just grunts mostly) and is deaf. Her dad is a well-known soap opera doctor, her mother dead, and in need of someone to help teach her and could devote more time to her. Of course, this is one of Sandra Brown earlier romance novels, originally written under her "Romance" name. It certainly brought up some issues about how others sometimes look upon the deaf, but in this book, everything was a bit more nice and sweet than I think in the real world. The ironic thing was, the same day I finished this book on CD, I went to a library book sale and found the book I had wanted to do for this task, Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris (and now own it). I'm very interested at some point getting to work with the deaf (toward my teaching plans) so that's why I picked this for the task.
II. Emotions – Read a book that has an emotion in the title (happy/joy, sad/sorrow, angry/anger, afraid/fear, etc.) OR a book where an emotion plays a major role. Post some highlights from what the book reveals about the emotion.
The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Back in China in the 1940s (when there was a lot of strife in China due to threats of Japanese invasions and the rising force of the Communists) Suyuan, the mother of Jing-mei, and her first husband Fuchi Went with their twin daughters to Kweeilin (a refuge town). It was while in Kweilin that Suyuan created the Joy Luck Club with three other women in order to escape the fear and uncertainty of the war. They cooked “feasts,” played mahjong, and traded stories into the night. And at each of those meetings, they could hope to be lucky. That hope was their only joy and thus why those little parties were called Joy Luck. In the book, there is a linguistic and cultural barrier that exists between each immigrant mother and American-born daughter. There are just so many emotions that the characters go through in this book. The closest I came to understanding what it felt like to live in a foreign country was the 3 months I lived in India (for work). Most of the time, the language barrier wasn't a problem since many do speak English, but there were certainly times where not knowing Marathi and/or Hindi made it very interesting trying to communicate. I was also very happy and glad (and joyful) to be back in the US after those 3 months.
III. Memories – Pick one of your keepsakes that reminds you of an event in your life. Read a book with either the event or the reminder in the title OR a book where either the event or the reminder plays a major role. In your post identify the keepsake and the event.
Story of Elsa " Born Free " , " Living Free " AND " Forever Free " by Joy Adamson
This is the original book my mom owned and we both read this book a few times over when I was a young girl. It was so well read that the book jacket fell off the back part of it! My mom had always been an animal lover and it was because of her that I had been made aware of what the Adamsons had been trying to do in Africa. When I came back here to what is now my house, I had been trying to find the books that had been my mom's. Most of the books (we could have started a small public library here!) were given away, but there are still a few left around here. I searched frantically and managed to find this book and it was like having a part of her still here with me by having this book. I will always keep this book because of how much I know she loved it. (Keepsake=the book)
Tasks Completed: 36/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 2
Points Earned: 545/690
Total Books: 46
Total Pages Read: 9,863
Total Hours listened: 62.25 (approx.)
Slow progress, a couple of multibook ones hanging on15.8 Geography Lessons C - Canada The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya Huff, 361pp, read 10/12/2009, and A - Australia Away With the Fairies by Kerry Greenwood, 245pp, read 10/22/2009.
Total points: 245/690
Tasks completed: 15/45
Books read: 27/59
Total pages: 9414
15.4 Just finished The Hunger Games, which was a wonderful book (5 stars) and watched the Discovery channel's Mini-series Planet Earth that my inlaws bought for my husband on DVD. I guess it was about time to watch it. Total points:210
10.8: The Exploding Detective by john SwartzwelderPoints: 10
Total Points: 305
Total Pages: 8570
I finished task 30.1. For my current job, I read Three Weeks to Say Goodbye by CJ Box because one of the main characters is a stay at home mom like me. Being a SAHM is actually my dream job, but when my kids are all in school I would love to be a librarian. For the second part of the task I read Second Glance by Jodi Picoult. One of the main characters was a librarian.That brings my total to 255 points.
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Dos mas. I am feeling like the Little Engine that Could right now.
15.7 Physical challenge. I originally was going to read Derby Girl and go see a Roller Derby game but I honestly can't afford tickets for that right now (money well spent on Robin Williams tickets and tickets for Webster Hell for Halloween.) So instead, I uploaded an audiobook to my Philips GoGear and decided to walk/jog/hike. I chose to listen to
by Stephenie Meyer. I wanted to re-read it since the movie is coming out. I am also doing a Twilight Saga party in the library for the teens when the film comes out, so it's good to catch up on the plot, etc. Anyways, I recommend it. The girl that narrates it does a great job (she actually sounds a lot like Kristen Stewart even thought it isn't her). Listening to this made me realize how much Bella annoys me. I think she is just such a wet limp noodle.
25.4 Movie challenge. I did actually read
by Shauna Cross and I went today to see Whip It!, which is based on the book, and I must say that I enjoyed both immensely. It's a very girl-power sort of book/movie, which you don't see ever in movies. I recommend you see it with your girlfriends. I think the movie definitely did the book justice. (Esp. probably because the book author also wrote the screenplay.)
Previous total: 325
Current total: 365
15.7 Physical challenge. I originally was going to read Derby Girl and go see a Roller Derby game but I honestly can't afford tickets for that right now (money well spent on Robin Williams tickets and tickets for Webster Hell for Halloween.) So instead, I uploaded an audiobook to my Philips GoGear and decided to walk/jog/hike. I chose to listen to
by Stephenie Meyer. I wanted to re-read it since the movie is coming out. I am also doing a Twilight Saga party in the library for the teens when the film comes out, so it's good to catch up on the plot, etc. Anyways, I recommend it. The girl that narrates it does a great job (she actually sounds a lot like Kristen Stewart even thought it isn't her). Listening to this made me realize how much Bella annoys me. I think she is just such a wet limp noodle. 25.4 Movie challenge. I did actually read
by Shauna Cross and I went today to see Whip It!, which is based on the book, and I must say that I enjoyed both immensely. It's a very girl-power sort of book/movie, which you don't see ever in movies. I recommend you see it with your girlfriends. I think the movie definitely did the book justice. (Esp. probably because the book author also wrote the screenplay.)Previous total: 325
Current total: 365
Two more books down...10.10 Cat's Meow... Into the Wild Not bad, but definitely for a younger audience. My 7th grade daughter is reading this series an really loves it; she is pushing books 2 and 3 at me but I don't think I will go further.
25.10 Monsterfest... Flight of a Witch The idea of a 'witch' in this title seems more like a flight of fancy, but it's a decent, if predictable, mystery.
I usually put more detailed reviews on my GR shelf, if anyone wants a more in-depth opinion.
Four more books, 3 more tasks:5.7 Giving Thanks: Family Blessings by Lavyrle Spencer Oct 16
the heroine (in her mid-40s) is a widow who earlier lost a baby to SIDS, and now has lost her adult son in a motorcycle accident. I am very thankful that I still have my wonderful husband, and all my children are healthy and alive and have children of their own to love and cherish.
10.2 Addiction:cocaine/heroine addiction: Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward Oct 17
15.1 Brush Up On Grammar: Preposition of (2 bks):
The Perils of Pursuing a Prince (370 pp) Oct 21
& The Dangers of Deceiving a Viscount by Julia London (368 pp) Oct 23
Total Pages = 13,867
Total Points = 500
15.2 - Alternate History - I read Jamestown A Novel, which was a retelling of the fouding of Jamestown in Virginia, with the twist that the settlers and the Indians all had use of technology. It follows John Smith, John Rolfe, Pocahontas and Powhatan and how they meet and relate to each other. Part of the story is told via email and text messaging. It was really weird. I thought teh concept of the story would be interesting, but the way the story was told was just too intense for me. Too much discussion of disgusting bodily functions and rape and murder and general savagery. Definitely pass on this one if you are considering it. Total: 335
Task 15.8 Geography: Initials GR
G--THe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (Country Guernsey)
R--THe Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander (Country Russia)
G--THe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (Country Guernsey)
R--THe Romanov Bride by Robert Alexander (Country Russia)
El wrote: "25 POINT TASK6. BJ ROSE'S TASK - Read A Non-Fiction Book Of At Least 500 Pages About A President ... The biggest issue he (Garfield) was confronted with while in office was investigating what was known as the Star Route scandal - Postal delivery routes to remote areas for which the US government allegedly paid well for outside contract services."
As someone who grew up in a remote area (not quite as far back in time as Garfield's admin.!), your mention of Star Routes caught my attention. Mailboxes were set in clusters on county roads, and ours was nearly a mile away. I remember when our house was quarantined for almost a month (two cases of scarlet fever), our nearest neighbor would pick up our mail and drop it in a wooden box at the end of our drive, toot the horn until someone came out of the house, and drive away quickly. Ah! Memories!!
I finished 10.7 with The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. Total points: 85
7 tasks complete - 7 tasks in progress
11 books read
3,682 pages read
Haven't been able to get on and post for a while so here is what i have read5 POINT TASKS
1.
2.
3.
4. The Face on the Milk Carton by Carolyn B. Cooney
5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
6.
7. Whatever Happened to Janie? by Caroline B. Cooney
8.
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.
3.
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez
5. The Book Thief by by Markus Zusak
6.
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
2. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
3.
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.
8. The Gambler by Fyodor Dostoevsky and The House of the Dead by Fyodor Dostoevsky
9. No Place Like Home A Novel by Mary Higgins Clark
10.
20 POINT TASKS
1.Left Behind by Tim LaHaye
2.
3. Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell
25 POINT TASKS
1.
2. Carrie by Stephen King and Heart-Shaped Box by Joe Hill
3.
4.
5. Beauchamp, Or, The Wheel of Fortune (1817) by James Holroyd Fielding
6. Abraham Lincoln, the True Story of a Great Life: Showing the Inner Growth, Special Training and Peculiar Fitness of the Man for His Work
by William O. Stoddard
7. Eclipse by Stephanie Meyer and
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.
50 POINT TASKS
1.Of Sound Mind by Jean Ferris and The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and The Phantom of the Opera: The Original Novel by Gaston Leroux - because it was the first play that i saw on broadway
225/690 Points
6932/19750 Pages Read
Hi Cynthia,Checked my points and it looks like this post got missed. My points total should be 90. Thanks!
5.4 The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen 10/12
5.8 The 5th Horseman 9/14
15.1. A Month of Summer by Lisa Wingate (9/24) and The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (10/3) Preposition = "of"
20.1 House 9/25
20.3 Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 10/10
25.1. The Friday Night Knitting Club and A Light in the Attic
Finished 15.4 Science Fact vs. Science Fiction, read 1984 by George Orwell and watched Amazing Planet, produced by National Geographic. The book was haunting, and truly terrifying to think some parts of it are quite close to reality. As for the film, the cinematography was beautiful, and it was really fascinating to see how the earth became what it is today. Brings me to a total of:120/690 points
Tasks Completed: 9
Tasks In Progress: 6
Books Read: 15 (+3 children’s books)
Pages Read: 3,918
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....Read "Caramelo" ..."
Wendy, how did you like 'Caramelo'? I have it on my bookshelf. I'd be interested in your thoughts about it.
Thanks!
Solargalaxy_6 wrote: "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 de..."
Really? Wow -- I had the opposite reaction to it. I really enjoyed it, and I thought it taught me a lot about the current situation with the Taliban in Pakistan and Afganistan. I found it to be inspirational!
Lacy wrote: "I've never read any of his books, but now I want to have "an adventure in Hesse land"."I gush because I love. Hesse's stories are often of travelers of the mind or body, people trying to find their place in the world, trying to discover their best life, people who reject dogma and convention in preference of thoughtfulness--and all very much steeped in Eastern philosophy. Siddhartha is very straightforward in that sense, which is probably why I like it the least. (I'm willing to swallow the mysticism, I just don't want to be force fed. I'd rather discover it on my own.) I love Hesse's characters, for all their spots and struggles, and his writing has a beautiful simplicity that makes the intense ideas a little more palatable.
I'd recommend starting with Steppenwolf. :)
Finished 25.8Emma by Jane Austen
Salmon Fishing in the Yemen Paul Torday
Saturday Ian McEwan
Finished two more tasks - 10.10 - The Cat's Meow -
Dewey The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter25.1 - Rhyme Time - Rhyming words were Light & Night - A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein (169 pages) and Right Before Your Eyes by Ellen Shanman (306 pages)
Total Books Read = 33
Tasks Completed = 22
Tasks In Progress = 5
Completed:25.7 - Illusions by Richard Bach, Watership Down by Richard Adams & Water For Elephants by Sara Gruen
Total Points - 160
I was so excited to get to get this task done. First time I've been out to the movies since the last Harry Potter movie came out in July. 25 points
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.
The Vampire's Assistant by Darren Shan.
I read the first book in this series for another task and figured this would be a good reason to read the second book in the series (Vampire's Assistant) and see the movie that just came out today (Friday). I'm kind of wishing I had read the third book actually because from what I could tell from the movie, it is probably combining elements of the first three books, since a good deal of this movie had some plot elements that I hadn't come across yet from the books.
What I liked about the movie was seeing the boy who played in The Bridge to Terabithia movie (and I think he was also in Zathura) playing a not so nice character. Also, I really loved who they cast for Mr. Crepsley, John C. Reilley. He really looked the part of who I pictured in my mind for this character. Though I think in the movie, the character was a bit nicer, and not quite so "dark." The movie definitely can stand on its own without reading the books to get the main gist of the series.
However, with that all said, I loved the first two books more and I'm looking forward to reading more of the books. I felt the movie glossed over a lot of things and for timesake, to get so much in it made sense. The books definitely allow for more character development of Darren and there is a deeper sense of friendship between Darren and his friend Steve than what one gathers from the movie. Also, the books are a bit darker, and that is something that I enjoy in a good vampire story.
Anyway, I could write a lot more but don't want to spoil it for anyone.
Tasks Completed: 37/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 1
Points Earned: 570/690
Total Books: 47
Total Pages Read: 10,110
Total Hours listened: 62.25 (approx.)
5.8-I finished "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I just completed task 20.2 by reading the following books: Honolulu
Innocent Traitor A Novel of Lady Jane Grey
Just Listen
Total Points so far are 40
Hello!
I have completed Task 5.8 ~ Are two heads better than one?
I read the book Traveling with Pomegranates: A Mother-Daughter Story written by Sue Monk Kidd and Ann Kidd Taylor. This was a pretty good nonfiction read about mother and daughter and the different places they are at in their lives over an almost 10 year period, how their relationship is evolving and the travels they take together.
# of tasks: 20
# of books read: 30
# of pages read: 9746
# of points accrued: 325
Finished a couple of tasks: 5.4 (adoption) by reading Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac, by Gabrielle Zevin and 25.8 (nouns) by reading Brother Grimm, by Craig Russell, The Pornographer of Vienna, by Lewis Crofts and Sexing the Cherry, by Jeanette Winterson
Halloween: The Ghost MapHero: Everything I Want to Do Is Illegal
Prepositions: The Ball is Round A Global History of SoccerWhose Wedding Is It Anyway?
a)1 word b)2 words c)3 words:
Abundance A Novel of Marie Antoinette, Good Grief, A Promising Man
Total Points: 85, but a few more on finished and waiting for the second part of the task to finish
Finished 5.3. In 1492 Columbus Sailed The Ocean Blue - Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich
25.10. SAM'S TASK - Halloween Part III: Monsterfest - The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
Total Points: 95
25.7 Cindy's Task: Part I (One Word Title)
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (9/26)
Cindy's Task: Part II (Two Word Title)
Stray Affections A Novel by Charlene Ann Baumbich (10/23)
Cindy's Task: Part III (Three Word Title)
The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott (9/13)
Total Points: 230
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?ke...
Finished Shutter Island for task 20.3This brings me to 275 total points.
I just finished task 5.6 (terrifying titles) by reading Definitely Dead. It was one of the better books in the Sookie series IMO.That should bring me to 160 points
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Tempt Me at Twilight (other topics)Patterns in the Sand (other topics)
The Shadow of the Wind (other topics)
My Grandfather's Son (other topics)
Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lisa Kleypas (other topics)Sally Goldenbaum (other topics)
Clarence Thomas (other topics)
Audrey Niffenegger (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
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Total Points: 335
Tasks Completed: 24