The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

A big YAY for completing the 50-pointer today! I used Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients for the sense of taste, Erica Jong's Fear of Flying for emotion, and Louise Penny's The Brutal Telling for memory. This last worked on a couple levels - I chose it because my mom gave this Canada-set book to me and it reminded me of a great day we spent in Toronto hiding out from the rain in a bookstore. However, the book's plot ended up having a lot to do with memory and how memories haunt us as well.

Current Total: 410 points

I have a couple of tasks to report. I finshed 5.1 by reading Rose Daughter by Robin McKinley and 25.10 by reading The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen.

That brings my total to 315 points.




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TOTAL POINTS: 175 + 30 = 205

New Tasks:

30.1 Tell Me Where It Hurts by Dr Nick Trout (veterinarian, current) and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee (book-seller, dream)

Past Tasks:

5.2 Apple of My Eye by Helene Hanff
5.7 Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
5.9 The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski
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
15.3 Addition -- (12) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Subtraction -- (13)Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
20.1 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
20.3 Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
25.5 Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon
25.7 ONE: Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre, TWO: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, THREE: The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop
25.10 Daughter of Witches by Patricia Wrede

I read Untamed for task 25.3 (positive gay/lesbian character). One of Zoey's best friends is gay and saves her ass way too many times throughout the book. He also has an affinity for the element earth which is pretty spiffy :)

That should bring me up to 245 points

It's been awhile, but I finally finished another task, 50.1 PJREADS task.

1. Senses - Taste, read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris, this is a vampire novel so there's plenty of tasting going on.

2. Emotion - Love, read Second Sight by Amanda Quick. A nice light story of lost and found love.

3. Keepsake/Memory - read The September Society by Charles Finch. The fountain pens on the cover remind me of the days when my husband and I first met and lived across the country from one another. We wrote hundreds of letters to one another :)

This was a great task PJREADS, I really enjoyed it! Brings my total to:

200/690 points
Tasks Completed: 13
Tasks In Progress: 6
Books Read: 21 (+3 children’s books)
Pages Read: 5,523

15.4 Book: Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex by Mary Roach
Movie: Blade Runner

total: 100 points!

I finished 15.2 Blonde Roots. I thought the premise (reversal of the slave trade so that blacks are the masters and whites are the enslaved) was provocative and the book was downright poetic (and also gruesome) at times. As for the question- the world would not be a better or worse place if the events had occurred as re-imagined in this novel. I think it would be just another variation on the world we currently have because according to the novelist all of the treatment was the same in her version- just against whites. I guess one major difference would be cultural differences- example it is referenced many times in the novel that voluptuous figures are preferred in the society as opposed to size 4 women. So I guess it would be different in terms of the things that are considered "American"

Does that make sense?


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Completed 25.7 Cindy's Task One, Two, Three by reading 1) Beowulf translated by Seamus Heaney. 2) Cold Shoulder by Lynda La Plante. 3) The Christmas List by Richard Paul Evans. This brings my total to 510 points.

Jessica wrote: "A big YAY for completing the 50-pointer today! I used Erica Bauermeister's The School of Essential Ingredients for the sense of taste, Erica Jong's Fear of Flying for em..."For this one you need to say what the first two books had to do with the sense/emotion to get credit.

Finished a few more tasks over the weekend:

25.7: One, Two, Three
Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
Tangled Webs - Anne Bishop
Full Moon Rising - Keri Arthur

10.2: Addiction - Saints of Augustine - P.E. Ryan (The father was an alcoholic and the main character was addicted to drugs)

50.1
Senses - King Lear - William Shakespeare
One of the dukes loses his sight during the play and goes crazy. There is also a ton of symbolism about King Lear not being able to see his daughters for who they really are

Emotion - Fearless Fourteen - Its a Stephanie Plum novel, so really, pretty shallow in terms of emotions. But the main character IS a bounty hunter and is constantly confronting criminals which shows fearlessness

Memory - The Lost Symbol - I have a photo of my husband and I at our college graduation in Washington DC that is my memento. It led me to read The Lost Symbol which is all about DC.

Total Points: 510

Task 15.4 Uglies by Scott Westerfield and I watched the National Geogeraphic channel for 2 hours--I watched Noah's Arc where a team of scientists were searching for signs of sites where humans had lived in areas that are now covered by the Black Sea to prove that there was a flood and I watched Built From Disaster for an hour.

FINISHED:

10.2 - Addiction - Toni Jordan

5.7 - Life Among the Lutherans - Garrison Keillor

What I'm thankful for: FAMILY

Growing up my dad always listened to Prairie Home Companion and now I live in Minnesota close to my husband's side of the family

TOTAL POINTS = 280

Still having many task-in-process, but better drop by to report my finished tasks. I think I'm beginning to forget what I read.


10-2 Addiction - Confessions of a Shopaholic
This is a re-read. I still feel that this book is teaching us that overspending is ok for beautiful women. Anyway, it's nice to be in a world where everything ends well.

20-3 Group Read - Shutter Island
Always wanted to try Lehane's work so I crossed out Shadow of the Wind, which I already had in my possession, and went out to buy this one.
This is a very good suspense novel. Full of twists and self-doubt. I also feel that it's a sad story.

25-10 Halloween III - Dead Witch Walking
I don't like this book in particular. But given its fame, maybe the other books in this series may be better than DWW?

+55
Total points = 135

Night wrote: "Still having many task-in-process, but better drop by to report my finished tasks. I think I'm beginning to forget what I read.


10-2 Addiction - Confessions of a Shopaholic
Th..."

Night - if you didnt like Dead Witch Walking, I wouldnt really bother reading the others. I loved DWW, and the whole series, but the same tone and characterizations are really carried through all of the books in the series. So if you didnt like the first, you would just be in for more of the same with the rest of the series.

Night - if you didnt like Dead Witch Walking, I wouldnt really bother reading the others. I loved DWW,

Thanks, Bridgit. But I didn't exactly don't like DWW. I liked the world and the fast-pacing, action-packed style of this book. (Sometimes you are just in the mood for this kind of novel.) The problem was I found Rachel annoying. And she is the main character. Gee... Had Ivy be the narrator, I'd definitely pick up the second book.

COMPLETED TASKS:

25.9 NF SELF IMPROVEMENT - *Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert (pp 334) READ 11.9.09
25.9 SI CHARACTER (F OR NF) - The Sugar Queen by Sarah Addison Allen (pp 276) READ 11.8.09




TASKS COMPLETED: 26
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 5
BOOKS READ: 40/62
PAGES READ: 12,228
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 400
*Books I Own

Finished 5.2 (apples)

What was she Thinking? Notes on a Scandal
by Zoe Heller

Apple on the cover.
Great psychological study. Loved it.

+5
total 110

15.6-Creative Minds (The Arts) - Choose ONE Of The Following Tasks• Music Appreciation Class - Read A Book With A Type Of Music In The Title (Jazz, Country, Pop, Rap Etc.) And Listen To A CD Or Attend A Concert Of That Type Of Music.

I read Jazz by Toni Morrison and listened to The Best of Billie Holiday.

15 points!

Total Points: 230
Tasks Completed: 14
Tasks in Process: 3 (15.3; 15.10; 20.2; 25.9)
Total Books: 23
Total Pages: 7,538

Finished a few more tasks:

25.8 Cait's Task: Nouns
1. Person: This Mitchell and Webb Book
2. Place: Beyond Belfast
3. Thing: Vinyl Cafe Diaries

25.10 Sam's Task: Halloween Part III: Monsterfest
Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch

50. PJReads' Task: Minding the World
1. Senses: From Anna
From Anna is about a young German girl who is visually impaired, which no one realizes until her family moves to Canada. It says a lot about the importance of sight, but also about how you can deal without it with the help of friends and family.

2. Emotions: Love Comes Softly
Love Comes Softly reveals that... well... love can come softly (ie. sneak up on you when you're not expecting it.)

3. Memories: Crossworld One Man's Journey into America's Crossword Obsession
One of my favourite memories of my grandma is working on crosswords with her in the hospital, so I thought it would be fun to read a book all about crossword culture.

Total Points: 250

Cindy in Canada

I've read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies for the 25 point halloween task bringing my total up to 325.

Previous reads

5.1 Children are our future - Child 44 by Rob Tom Smith
5.2 Apple a day - Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
5.4 Adoption - Digging to America by Anne Tyler
5.10 Fall back in time - Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson

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
10.8 Word Generator - Something Might Happen by Julie Myerson (might)
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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Task 15.3
Multiplication--(book with 400-450 pages) Daphne by Justine Picardie 405 pages

Addition--(9 letters in my first and last name) The Cement Garden by Ian McEwan

Task 5.6: Darkness, Take My Hand

Task 15.4:

Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers and watched The Matrix

which I believe brings me up to 60 points.

I just finished task 25.1 Rhyme Time.

I read Song of Myself by Walt Whitman and Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen.




I just want to thank Nicole for coming up with this task. Without it I probably never would have read Walt Whitman, and I liked it so much, I bought a copy of the 150 year anniversary copy of his original Leaves of Grass. I LOVE how Whitman writes.

FINISHED:

25.8:

Person - The Crowning Glory of Calla Lilly Ponder – Rebecca Wells
Place - L.A. Candy – Lauren Conrad
Thing - The Guinea Pig Diaries – A.J. Jacobs

TOTAL POINTS - 305

Finished The Absolutely True Story of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie for the task 10.6. I LOVED THIS BOOK! And I most likely would have never picked it up if it weren't for this book challenge, so THANK YOU!!! :)

Total Points: 90 points
Task In Progess: 2
Books Reading: 3

I finished another task -

15.3 - Equation For Good Books - For Subtraction (my number was 12) I read The Outlander by Gil Adamson for a 12-letter title, and for Division (my number was 55), I read High Five by Janet Evanovich for the 5th book in a series

Total Books Read = 50
Tasks Completed = 34
Tasks In Progress = 3

Completed
Task # 5
25 points

The Fortune Cookie Chronicles Adventures in the World of Chinese Food

TOTAL POINTS: 205 + 10 = 215

New Tasks:

10.2 Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
The author's husband's children all have problems with drugs, as revealed in a signficant portion of the narrative.


Past Tasks:

5.2 Apple of My Eye by Helene Hanff
5.7 Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
5.9 The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski
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
15.3 Addition -- (12) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Subtraction -- (13)Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
20.1 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
20.3 Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
25.5 Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon
25.7 ONE: Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre, TWO: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, THREE: The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop
25.10 Daughter of Witches by Patricia Wrede
30.1 Current Profession/Dream Job: Tell Me Where It Hurts by Nick Trout and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

15.3 The Dream Hunters by Neil Gaiman (Addition) and No One Belongs Here More Than You by Miranda July (Multiplication)

total: 115 points

Finished 5 point task #8 with Tempted by P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast.

Updated points: 125
Tasks completed: 12/45

50 Point Task:
Sense: The Hunger Games. In this book, their senses help a lot during the games. Katniss loses hearing in one ear and that hinders the game play. There were a couple other examples of the use of senses in this book, but I forget them temporarily.

Emotion: Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed This is a romance novel and so there is a lot of feelings of love. In addition to that, jealousy plays a major role, as well as fear and nervousness.

Memory:Twilight My keepsake involving this book is the book itself. Last year, my sister read it aloud to me on our first roadtrip from college home for Thanksgiving. It is a memory that will stay with me forever. It is when my sister and I became friends again, after four years of disliking each other immensely. We enjoyed this book together, even though she had never read it before. Now she has gone back home to straighten some things out in her life and I am alone again and so I treasure this book and the memory of the good times my sister and I shared together on that roadtrip!

Cynthia,
One of my posts got lost in the shuffle (or I thought I posted it but didn't). I moved a couple of things so let me know if this one does not make sense.

I am adding points for 15.1 Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz and The Monsters of Templeton by Laura Groff. Prepsition "of" (These were both previously listed in 20.2--ABC task)

I am replacing those books in 20.2 with Rescuing Patty Heasrt by Virginia Holman and The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart.

That gave me an additional 15 points and put me at 320 points.

I have also finished several other tasks.

25.2 (related authors) I read Bones to Ashes by Kathy Reichs and The Best Day of Someone Else's Life by Kerry Reichs (mother/daughter)

25.3 (movie) I read In Her Shoes by Jennifer Weiner and then watched the movie. Although I enjoyed both, I don't think I would have liked the movie without having read the book. The book gave much more detail (obviously) and you understood the characters better. I don't think I would have liked Maggie just from the movie and then a big part of the point would have been lost. So, book was better, but movie was still good.

25.1 (poetry/rhyming) I read Bog Child by Siobhan Dowd and My Dog May be a Genius by Jack Prelutsky (Bog/Dog) I loved reading the poetry book with my daughter.

That puts me at
395 points
10717 pages read

Completed Tasks
5 Point Tasks
#2 The Poison Apples
#3 The Old Man and the Sea
#6 Down a Dark Hall

10 Point Tasks
#3 The Complete Adventures of Curious George
#6 Walk Two Moons
#7 Wonder Woman Love and Murder

5 Point Tasks
#4 read: Catching Fire watched: March of the Penguin

25 Point Tasks
#8 Person: Madame Bovary; Place: Sundays at Tiffany's; Thing: The Lost Symbol

50 Point Task:
Sense: The Hunger Games
Emotion: Lord Wraybourne's Betrothed
Memory: Twilight

Total Points Earned: 135
Total Books Read: 14
Total Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 4061


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15.3 Subtraction: (29-16=13) I read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
Division: (1980/29=68) I read Blood Rites by Jim Butcher, which is the sixth book in his Dresden Files series.

I finished my first multi book task. For task 25.8 (person, place, thing) I read:

Person: The End of Mr. Y by Scarlett Thomas
Place: China Lake by Meg Gardiner
Thing: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Tasks Completed: 7
Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 3,524
Total Points: 110

Finished another book:

15.10

Teacher - The Assassins Gallery
Student - Poison Study

Total: 525

I'm finally reading the second or third books on some of those multibook tasks!

For this task, Sophie Kinsella and Gemma Townley are sisters. Both chick lit and light reads, though Sophie's was better.

25.2 Blood or marriage – Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella, The Importance of Being Married A Novel by Gemma Townley

Total: 255/690 points
20/59 books
14/45 tasks
7662 pages

Cindy wrote: "Finished a few more tasks:

25.8 Cait's Task: Nouns
1. Person: This Mitchell and Webb Book
2. Place: Beyond Belfast
3. Thing: Vinyl Cafe Diaries

25.10 S..."What is the keepsake? You need to post that and then I'll add the points for that task to your score.

Finished one more:

15.5 Study Abroad - Sweden

1. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larson
2. The Princess of Burundi by Kjell Ericksson

Tattoo - excellent mystery - will read the followup for the next challenge

Princess of Burundi - A rather ponderous mystery but thankfully done

Points: 650
Books: 60
Pages: 16490
Tasks: 43
In Proc: 2

I finished Task 50.1 by reading:

Senses: The Last Chinese Chef (taste)
A definite 5* book. The book is full of flavour and texture. It's about food and so much more. It's about the taste, the history, the story-telling capabilities of a meal. Food nurishes, it heals, it delights, it amazes, it's nothing short of Life itself.
This is a wonderful story in every way. A healing, a grieving, a gladness, an awareness, a growing.....all wrapped up in food. Food is the binding element that brings these people...all people...together in a way that ties them to their humanity. It's life.

Emotion: The Hot Zone A Terrifying True Story (terror)
Terrifying in the sense that this virus has the potential to annihilate and in that the people involved didn't know what they were dealing with. This is an interesting look at a virus, it's origin, it's path of destruction and it's mutations. Lots of interesting information. I listened to this on audio and found the rendition somewhat dramatic with breathy insinuations and long, dramatic pauses.

Memory: Time For Tea With Mary Engelbreit. My keepsake is a china teamug I received from my Mom while she was battling Cancer.
My Mom and I spent many hours chatting, discussing, planning and just enjoying each other's company over hot cups of tea. We had many good laughs and we "solved the problems of the World" during these times. Shortly before she passed, she gave me a china tea mug and told me that when I used it I should think of her. I use it whenever I have something I want to share with my Mom or just to sit and remember her by. I used it while reading this book.

PJReads, thank you for this task. I enjoyed all my choices.

TOTAL POINTS: 215 + 20 = 235

New Tasks:

20.2 Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson, Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder, and Grimspace by Ann Aguirre


Past Tasks:

5.2 Apple of My Eye by Helene Hanff
5.7 Hurry Down Sunshine by Michael Greenberg
5.9 The Last Time I Wore A Dress by Daphne Scholinski
10.2 Addiction – The Sum of Our Days by Isabel Allende
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
15.3 Addition -- (12) Magic Study by Maria V. Snyder
Subtraction -- (13)Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss
20.1 The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom
20.3 Julie and Julia by Julie Powell
25.5 Prophecy by Elizabeth Haydon
25.7 ONE: Doubleblind by Ann Aguirre, TWO: Hunting Ground by Patricia Briggs, THREE: The Shadow Queen by Anne Bishop
25.10 Daughter of Witches by Patricia Wrede
30.1 Current Profession/Dream Job: Tell Me Where It Hurts by Nick Trout and The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop by Lewis Buzbee

Finished task 20.2:
Buckingham Palace, District Six by Richard Rive
(84) Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
(The) Duchess of Bloomsbury by Helene Hanff

I thoroughly enjoyed both Helene Hanff's books. I read them both before my trip to London, and while there I went to Charing Cross Road, unfortunately it's all changed now! Buckingham Palace was a wonderful story set in a very historical part of South Africa.

TOTAL POINTS = 80

Petra wrote: "I finished Task 50.1 by reading:

Senses: The Last Chinese Chef (taste)
A definite 5* book. The book is full of flavour and texture. It's about food and so much more. It's abo.....

My Mom and I spent many hours chatting, discussing, planning and just enjoying each other's company over hot cups of tea. We had many good laughs and we "solved the problems of the World" during these times. Shortly before she passed, she gave me a china tea mug and told me that when I used it I should think of her. I use it whenever I have something I want to share with my Mom or just to sit and remember her by. I used it while reading this book.
...."

Petra, thanks for sharing such a touching story about you and your Mom. I'm sorry to hear that she has passed on. Your rememberance brought tears to my eyes.

I sent you a note, Cynthia, regarding my current status on the leaderboard compared to what I had posted. I should be at 110 points, so I'm going to catch up from there.

I finished:

For task 15.3, I read The Dark Hills Divide, by Patrick Carman, and I Capture the Castle, by Dodie Smith.

This would bring my total to 125...

For task 15.8, I read The Winter Queen, by Boris Akunin and Tomorrow, When the War Began, by John Marsden. My initials are A.R. Marsden writes from Australia, and Akunin from Russia.

This would bring my total to 140.

For 15.9, I read 200 Best Home Businesses, by Katina Jones.

The assignment I would give would be to:

1. Read the book.
2. Pick a business you are interested in and determine it's viability for you:
a. Do you have or can you get the resources needed?
b. Does your neighborhood or city have need of this business?
c. Could you fulfill the obligations of this business.
3. Write a 1000 word report with your findings.

This would bring me to 155 points...

For task 10.8, I read Religious Literacy. The 11th word I picked was Religious.

This would bring to me to 165 points...

For task 30.1 I read The Family Manager, by Kathy Peel, and Great With Child, by Debra Reinstra. I am currently a homemaker, but my dream job would be to be a mother.

This would bring my total to 195 points...

For task 25.8, I read Sir Gawain and the Green Knight; The Wizard of Oz, by E. Frank Baum; and Painted Veil, a Baroque Mystery, by Beverle Graves Myers.

This would bring my total to 220...

For task 25.1, I read Songs of Innocence and Experience, by William Blake, and Your Heart Belongs to Me, by Dean Koontz, with "songs" and "belongs" rhyming.

This would bring my total to 245...

For task 10.6, I read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.

This would bring my total to 255...

25.4 I read The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, by Ann Brashare, and watched the movie. (They both made me cry.)

This would bring my total to 280...

For task 25.7, I read Uglies, by Scott Westerfeld, Deja Dead, by Kathy Reichs, and The Heretic's Daughter, by Kathleen Kent.

This brings my total to 305.

TOTAL POINTS THUS FAR: 305.

Amanda R. in Louisville

Krista wrote: "Petra, thanks for sharing such a touching story about you and your Mom. I'm sorry to hear that she has passed on. Your rememberance brought tears to my eyes. ..."

Krista, thank you. I do treasure that mug....and the many memories. Hugs!

I finished 20.3 last night with Julie and Julia My Year of Cooking Dangerously. Maybe it's because I didn't have high expectations, but I LOVED this. I found it to be really funny and just the read I needed.

Petra wrote: "I finished Task 50.1 by reading:

Senses: The Last Chinese Chef (taste)
A definite 5* book. The book is full of flavour and texture. It's about food and so much more. It's abo...

PJReads, thank you for this task. I enjoyed all my choices."

Actually I think I should thank you and everyone for sharing your memories. They are all very touching.

Finished task 20-1: (I did R-S-T)

Roxana by Daniel Defoe (1001 list, yay!)

Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith and

True Detectives by Jonathon Kellerman

430 points!

I completed task 15.1 (Grammar - Prepositions) by reading
After Dark (which I enjoyed quite a bit - I like how the story skipped around between characters and particularly the narrative style in Eri's scenes) and Angel After the Fall, Vol. 3 (which I enjoyed far more than the first volume - I skipped the second volume because the library doesn't have it and based on the first volume, I wasn't about to spend money on it! Now, I might just have to!).

Total Points: 510

I completed task 25.2 by reading Timbuktu A Novel by Paul Auster and The Sorrows of an American A Novel by Siri Hustvedt (husband & wife). I enjoyed Timbuktu & Auster's writing much more than Sorrows, although the endings in both left you wondering.
Total Points: 225