The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Hi Cynthia, I just noticed a problem as I was going through my points. In message 2236, I claimed points for task 25.1, but I made a mistake and it was actually for task 30.1 (current job and dream job). Somehow I had this written down incorrectly in my spreadsheet.

That should give me 5 more points and bring my total up to 185 points

Sorry about the confusion!

Two more:

10.1 - Buddy Holly Challenge - I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which was written in 1939.

15.9 - Homework challenge - I read Almost Home by Jessica Blank.

Previous score: 390

Current score: 415

eye of prey 10.8 I can't even remember what my randomizer words were in addition to prey one was very long and I never heard of it LOL

Finished 25.6 BJ Rose's task by finishing Team of Rivals. I found this a bit wordy but over all was very informative. I thought that Lincoln's greatest accomplishment was keeping his cabinet of rivals balanced for as long as he did. Also freeing the slaves was a great accomplishment. The greatest scandal I think would be that he could not find a general to lead the union to victory in a timely manner.

This will bring my total to 405 points.

Hello!

OMgosh...I am so happy to finally post some more challenges under my belt! LOL! Here's what I've been up to:

A) Task 10.3 - bears. I read Setting Free the Bears by John Irving.

B) Task 10.6 - Native American. I read Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden.

C) Task 20.2 - A, B, C. I read (H, I, J):
The Help by Kathryn Stockett
The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai, and
Jane Austen Ruined My Life by Beth Pattillo




# of tasks completed: 23
# of books read: 36
# of points accrued: 365
# of pages read: 10,042

I have been posting my thoughts and reviews here , if you are interested in what I have been reading.

Completed Task 15.8. My initials are NB. For N, I read a book set in Norway: The Orange Girl. For B, I read a book set in Britain: Ralph's Party A Novel.


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50 POINT MID-WAY TASK
I. Senses – I read Touching Darkness by Scott Westerfeld (from the Midnighters series). One theme in the book had to do with one character's fear/discomfort with touching other people and the healing powers she experienced from touching a fellow midnighter.
II. Emotions – I read Love by Toni Morrison. The book only actually mentions the word Love once or twice, but it is what all the characters are seeking in one way or another, either fatherly love, romantic love, or the love of a friend. Mostly, they are unsuccessful.
III. Memories – My keepsake is a ring, which I just recently got as a replacement for both the engagement and wedding rings I lost (i have a very patient husband). I read Cathy's Ring by Sean Stewart and Jordan Weisman. I have to say that interactive books are a guilty pleasure for me, and this one was fairly good brain candy.

Sara wrote: "Two more:

10.1 - Buddy Holly Challenge - I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which was written in 1939.

15.9 - Homework challenge - I read Almost Home by CS Lewis

I listened to a very entertaining audio book version of this book published ..."No I actually really like the new set up as I can type in the title of a shelf rather than sort through (I have a lot of shelves) and it's working fine for me.

Alice wrote: "For 15 points I have read Home by Marilynne Robinson. My homework task for this is: Jack and Glory have both 'come home' for different reasons. In the book they reminisce what home was for them as ..."You already claimed points for 15.9 three weeks ago so your points stand at 280.

Kathryn wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "I just finished another task 15.8 the Geography Lessons task. My initials are CS so I chose China and Scotland. I read the Scotland book first by reading [book:Highland Velvet|871..."If I do finish which hasn't happened in the past (at this point I'd have to read 8,540 pages to finish so about 285 pages a day which if I didn't have to work and sleep and prep for the next challenge might be possible...lol) I suppose I would.

5 point task
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
• Reading A Coming Of Age Novel.
OR
• A Novel Where The Main Character Is A Senior Citizen.
After by Amy Efaw (coming of age novel)

Current Point Total: 80
Jessica (MI)

Hello! Finished another one:
5.5 Going Back To School - Re-read A Book That You Were Required To Read For School:
MacBeth by William Shakespeare
This time, I read the play "Shakespeare Made Easy"
Macbeth , that is, with Elizabethen English on the left and American English on the right, so I understood it better this time than when I was in High School.


So, that makes 225+5=230 points




Down memory lane:
5 Point Tasks
2. Apple: Connolly, Sheila “One Bad Apple”
5. High School Re-read: "MacBeth" by William Shakespeare
8. Multiple Authors: "Marked" by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast (mother and daughter)

10 Point Tasks
1. 9/7/36 to 2/3/59: Frederik Pohl and Cyril M. Kornbluth “The Space Merchants”
2. Addiction: "Drinking: A Love Story" by Caroline Knapp
7. Superhero: "Superpowers" by David J. Schwartz

15 Point Tasks
4. Science vs Sci-Fi: (Science) viewed “Mythbusters” 2 hours on Oct. 7, 2009
(Science Fiction) "Steal Across the Sky" by Nancy Kress
6. Music Appreciation Class – book: Beagle, Peter S. "The unicorn sonata"; CD : Beethoven, Ludwig van : Piano sonata in D major, op. 10, no. 3 : Piano sonata in E flat major, op. 7 ; Piano sonata in F minor "Appassionata," op. 57
8. Geography Lessons: D and H
D: Dominica : Allfrey, Phyllis S. “The Orchid House”
H: Hungary: Lipták, Béla G."A testament of revolution"
10. Teacher/Student:
Teacher: "The Land of Laughs" by Jonathan Carroll
Student: "The unlikely disciple : a sinner's semester at America's holiest university" by Kevin Roose

25 Point Tasks
1. Rhyme Time -
Rhyme Word: Pretty / City
Fiction Book: "Pretty Monsters: stories" by Kelly Link
Poetry Book: "Return to the City of White Donkey" poems by James Tate
2. Related Authors: Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman are married
"A Playdate With Death" by Ayelet Waldman
"Werewolves in Their Youth : Stories" by Michael Chabon
3. Gay/Lesbian Character: "Girl most likely to" by Poonam Sharma
7. (1 word) "Genesis" by Bernard Beckett
(two word) "Curly Smoke" by Susan Holtzer
(three word) "Goddess of Light" by P. C. Cast
10. Halloween Part III: Monsterfest : "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies" by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

More progress today - completed 25.2 with James Lee Burke's Black Cherry Blues and Alafair Burke's Judgment Calls. James Lee is Alafair's father, and they're both very good mystery writers.

Edited to add: I just realized I forgot to claim my points for 15.5 - I finished this up earlier this week with Steig Larsson's The Girl Who Played With Fire and Henning Mankell's Faceless Killers.

Current Total: 340 points

I finished The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson this evening while giving out candy to trick-or-treaters. This was for task 10.8, my random words were 'screwing', 'white' and 'scatter'.




TASKS COMPLETED: 27
TASKS PARTIALLY COMPLETED: 5
BOOKS READ: 36 (+4 kids books)
PAGES READ: 11,648
POINTS EARNED: 340
NUMBER OF BOOKS READ FROM MY 'OWNED AND UNREAD' SHELF: 22

Recently Finished: 5.10 (Time Travel) Human Croquet - Kate Atkinson

Total Points - 415

Hello everyone and Happy Halloween!!! Ok, so I have been VERY overwhelmed with school this year, so I haven't been able to get online to post my completed tasks. However, I HAVE been reading, so here's what I've finished so far...

5.3 Sea Travel: Treasure Island byRobert Louis Stevenson

5.5 Going back to school: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I did enjoy this book more this time around, but it still doesn't quite hit my list of favorites.

10.10 The Cat's Meow: The Purrfect Murderby Rita Mae Brown

15.3 Math: Subtraction- My name has 18 letters and I am 24 years old, so I had to read a book with 6 letters. I read Eragon by Christopher Paolini
Division: I was born in 1985 so I am 24 years old- 1985/24= about 83. I read Ghosthunters And The Incredibly Revolting Ghost by Cornelia Funke which is book #3 in the series.

25.10 Halloween Part III: Vampire Academyby Richelle Mead

Total Points: 60
Tasks completed: 5

TOTAL POINTS: 85 + 5 + 20 = 110

New Tasks:

5.9 The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski

20.1 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom

Past Tasks:

5.2 Apple of My Eye by Helene Hanff
5.7 Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
10.3 Dolores Meets Her Match (32p) by Barbara Samuels
Dolores On Her Toes (40p) by Barbara Samuels
Duncan and Dolores (20p) by Barbara Samuels
Cosmo Zooms (32p) by Arthur Howard
My Cat Likes Milk (14p) by Nancy Prasad
10.5 The Book Thief Markus Zusak
10.10 Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper
20.3 Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
25.7 ONE: Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre, TWO: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, THREE: The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop

Cynthia wrote: "Sara wrote: "Two more:

10.1 - Buddy Holly Challenge - I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which was written in 1939.

15.9 - Homework challenge - I read [book:Almost..."

Your score is just so high I thought you would finish! Good luck!!! That is a lot of pages...

25.10 Vampire academy

and group read 20 julie and julia

I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Finished

5.6. Terrifying Titles - Speak No Evil by Allison Brennan
10.6. November Is Native American Heritage Month - Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
10.10. This Task Is The Cat's Meow - The Grand Finale by Janet Evanovich

Tasks Completed: 10
Partially Completed Tasks: 4
Points Earned: 120

Shannon wrote: "Finished task 15.6: Watched "Love's Labour's Lost" at the Globe Theatre in London on 1 October, and finished reading the tale by William Shakespeare today. The stage production was awesome..."

Very cool Shannon. Now that is how to handle the task!! LOL.

I just finished Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher for 10.2 (addiction task)

That puts me at 305 points and 8179 pages read

Each challenge, I feel like I read more and my page total goes up, but I've scored right at 500 points for the last two, and it looks like I'm heading for about that score this time too. One day, I'll finish (of course, it may be that these challenges will need to continue for the next 20 years so that I can be retired with my child out of the house before I actually have a realistic chance to do so!)

I just finished and LOVED The Book Thief for task 5.9.
Total: 105 points
Books read: 10 + children's books

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "25.10 Vampire academy

and group read 20 julie and julia

I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"Good on you, Teresa!

Congrats to all the recent finishers!

Wow, we have so many finished people and there is still another month left!!!

Teresa in Ohio wrote: "25.10 Vampire academy

and group read 20 julie and julia

I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Wa-hoo! That's terrifice Teresa!!

Elizabeth (NC) wrote: "I just finished Wishful Drinking by Carrie Fisher for 10.2 (addiction task)

That puts me at 305 points and 8179 pages read

Each challenge, I feel like I read more and my page total goes up, b..."

I know the feeling! My page counts keep going up each challenge, but I don't seem to quite finish. And I *don't* have kids. At least I'm reading different genres, finding wonderful new titles, and reading more than I would have on my own. Don't get me wrong, I always loved reading, and always had a book going. Now it's just become a bit more of an obsession. :-)

Congrats, Teresa! Now what are you going to do for the next month?

For task 10.8 (random words), my eleventh word was reader, so I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. It poses some interesting moral questions, but I don't care for the writing. I probably won't read Schlink again.

Total Points: 365

COMPLETED TASKS:

5.1 CHILDREN - The Storyteller's Daughter by Cameron Dokey (pp 240) READ 10.31.09
A captivating retelling of The Arabian Nights.

5.6 HALLOWEEN ADJECTIVE - Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury (pp 304) READ 10.28.09





TASKS COMPLETED: 22
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 5
BOOKS READ: 32/62
PAGES READ: 9775
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 330
*Books I Own

Cynthia wrote: "Krista wrote: "I listened to a very entertaining audio book version of this book published ...

"No I actually really like the new set up as I can type in the title of a shelf rather than sort through (I have a lot of shelves) and it's working fine for me...."

Ah, thanks for the tip. Now I know I'm supposed to start entering a shelf name in the new box, not just click on a shelf title when trying to select shelves. It's working much better for me again. Hurrah!

5.4. Adoption Story – November Is National Adoption Awareness Month - Read A Novel Where The Main Character Is Adopted Or Adopts A Child Themselves Or A Non-Fictional Book Related To Adoption.

Changeling by Roger Zelazny

Total points 215
Tasks complete 13

5.7-Finished "The Geometry of Sisters" by Luanne Rice.

This book was about sisters and family, and that is what I am most thankful for. My sister and I are very close, and our father passed away when we were in our early twenties. I am thankful to have my father for as long as I did, and for my children that I love than anything!

Krista wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Krista wrote: "I listened to a very entertaining audio book version of this book published ...

"No I actually really like the new set up as I can type in the title of a shelf rat..."Your welcome - glad it's working.

Kathryn wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Sara wrote: "Two more:

10.1 - Buddy Holly Challenge - I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which was written in 1939.

15.9 - Homework challenge - I r..."Yeah I thought I had a chance at the beginning but I always start off really good in the first month and then the next two months are so-so in terms of the amount of books I get finished. I'll probably get closer to finishing this time than in challenges in the past which is good enough for me. I don't really worry about finishing...for me the challenge is more about discovering new books/authors, having a system for picking what I'm going to read next, and meeting fellow reader than anything else.

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.
Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicki Myron-11/1 (271 pgs)

New Total 305

Congratulations Teresa!!

I finished yet another task. I finished task 10.2 Addiction and read Go Ask Alice . 3 1/2 stars. Fastest read for challenge for me other than the children's books.

I also finished Night for task 10.1. One of my all time favs! First published in 1958.

Total points for these tasks: 20
Tasks completed: 18
Many in progress

Total points for challenge thus far: 245

Cynthia wrote: "Sara wrote: "Two more:

10.1 - Buddy Holly Challenge - I read
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, which was written in 1939.

15.9 - Homework challenge - I read [book:Almost..."

oops sorry I hadn't put it on my previous reads so I thought I'd forgotten to claim for it but yeah I read it weeks ago! Thanks for keeping track!!!

For the 5 point time travel task I have read Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson.

Previous reads

5.2 Apple a day - Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
5.4 Adoption - Digging to America by Anne Tyler

10.1 Buddy Holly's lifetime - Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
10.4 Hispanic Heritage Month - The Forest of Pygmies by Isabel Allende Allende is chilean.
10.5 Oktober fest - The Witch's Trinity by Erika Mailman this book is set in Germany.
10.7 Faster than a Speeding Bullet - A Song Flung up to Heaven by Maya Angelou
10.10 The Cat's Meow - Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Marukami

15.3 Addition - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday (Alice Gould) Muliplication - Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (10x27=270, 276 pages)
15.9 Homework - Home by Marilynne Robinson
15.10 Teacher - The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K. Less Student - Testimony by Anita Shreve

20.3 Group Read - Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane

25.4 Film and Book - Mystic River by Dennis LeHane
25.5 Fortune in the title - Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
25.8 Nouns - person The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, thing Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, place Brick Lane by Monica Ali

30.1 current job and dream job - The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury(I work in a University) and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (I would love to own a bookshop).

50.1 Sense - The Scent of the Night by Andrea Camilleri Emotion - Even the Stars Look Lonesome Tonight by Maya Angelou Memory The Great Divorce by Valerie Martin


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I completed another task!

15.3 - Discover the Equation for Good Books
Subtraction: I am 45 and my full name has 18 letters, so I needed a title with 27 letters. This happened to match one of the books I needed to read for school, The Codes of Hammurabi and Moses!
Division: Dividing my birth year, 1964, by my age, 45, and rounding the answer gives 44. I read the 4th book of John Lescroart's Dismas Hardy series, The 13th Juror.

That brings me to 125 points.

Completed task 25.7.

Manhunting by Jennifer Crusie
Strange Bedpersons by Jennifer Crusie
Wife For Hire by Janet Evanovich

Total points = 130

I finished The Reader by Bernhard Schlink this afternoon for task 10.5 (book is set in Germany and was written by a German author). I thought it was okay and gave it 3 stars. It was also a really fast read. I read the first half this morning, took a 2 hour nap and then read the second half in between doing laundry.


TASKS COMPLETED: 28
TASKS PARTIALLY COMPLETED: 5
BOOKS READ: 37 (+4 kids books)
PAGES READ: 11,921
POINTS EARNED: 350
NUMBER OF BOOKS READ FROM MY 'OWNED AND UNREAD' SHELF: 22

And just because...




I'm excited and nervous and sooooo ready to meet my baby!!!!!

Katie wrote: "Congrats, Teresa! Now what are you going to do for the next month?

For task 10.8 (random words), my eleventh word was reader, so I read The Reader by Bernhard Schlink. It poses some ..."

wait impatiently for the tasks to post so I can plot out the books on my shelf : )

and just read read read and read some more The POOL is fixed so my kids will be swimming 5 hrs a week over 3 days, YEAH FOR MOM : ) I sit and read while they swim.

I just finished Julie & Julia, 365 days, 524 recipes, 1 tiny apartment kitchen byJulie Powell for task # 20.3

15.8 Geography Lesson
My initials are S.A. so I read:

Bloomability by Sharon Creech (Switzerland)
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini (Afganistan)

Total points: 560

@Teresa in Ohio



Another great finish!

Completed task 15.3

Daydream Girl by Bella Pollen (Addition - 11 letters)
Waiting in the Wings by Donna Hay (Subtraction - 17 letters)

I finished task 10.1 with Fahrenheit 451, which was first published in 1953.

Total points: 100
9 tasks complete - 9 tasks in progress
15 books read
4,491 pages read

I am in love with Victorian gothic literature! It is all so very good.

10 Points
1. Published 1936-59: Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier (1938)

25 Points
2. Two Related Authors: The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte AND Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte (sisters)

30 Points
1. Current Profession AND Dream Profession: The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins (governess/teacher) AND Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter (spy).

Yeah, I totally wanted to be a spy as a child. I even had a spy kit and used to spy on my family and take notes and sneak around the house and such.

Total Points: 550

FINALLY posting more points!

5.4 Adoption Story: A Game Of Chance by Linda Howard Nov. 1
10.6 Native American Heritage Month: Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko Oct 25
20.3 GROUP READ: Shutter Islandby Dennis LeHane Oct. 31
I planned on reading Julie & Julia for this task, but I'm still 8th in line at the library, and since many have been saying how boring it is, I went with SI - certainly not boring, but I'm still not quite sure what I think of it!
50.1 Three books with the following in titles & tell how the sense is used in story. For III name the keepsake that led to book
I. Senses: Poison Study by Maria Snyder Oct. 24
Yelena was a poison taster who had to learn what each poison smelled and tasted like

II. Emotions: Rapture by Jacquelyn Frank Oct. 28
Daenaira was a tortured slave for 8 years, so she experienced fear & hatred along with pain
Magnus experienced anger and sorrow about the betrayal by his former handmaiden
Both experienced love

III. Memories: Our Town A Play in Three Acts by Thornton Wilder Nov. 1
The keepsake here is my high school yearbook, which has pictures of the cast (I played a nameless woman in the graveyard! and was also one of the stagehands). Re-reading this was a trip down Memory Lane for sure!!

Total Pages = 15,567

Total Points = 585

Teresa in Ohio wrote: " I AM DONE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

CONGRATULATIONS!!

BJ Rose wrote: "FINALLY posting more points!

5.4 Adoption Story: A Game Of Chance by Linda Howard Nov. 1
10.6 Native American Heritage Month: Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko Oct 25
20..."

doesn't that feel good to finish a multi-book task and have the meter jump like that?

Good to see you're back at it.

15.8. Geography Lessons - Read Two Books That Take Place Countries That Correspond To Your Initials.
E-England The Way We Live Now byAnthony Trollope
C-Canada The Blind Assassinby Margaret Atwood

Tasks copleted:6
Total points:85