The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS
Petra wrote: "I finished Task 50.1 by reading:Emotion: The Hot Zone A Terrifying True Story (terror)..."
The Hot Zone A Terrifying True Story was an excellent, informative book - but not to read while eating.
:^P Jan (the Gryphon)
25.4 Coraline by Neil Gaiman AND movieWARNING- there are spoilers in my review!
coraline was a reread, and i think i enjoyed it even more now than i did the first time. it is a wonderful, creepy little book and i wish i could have read it as a child! the movie was wonderful, as well. i was so happy that it was made using stop-motion animation. it was visually and atmospherically perfect, and i think they did a really good job of translating book to movie. i think they complement each other nicely. the only thing i really didn't care for was the addition of wybie. and you know, as a character, i liked him! but i didn't like that in the end, he ultimately saved coraline from the hand. in the book, coraline tricks the other mother's hand and saves the day through her own ingenuity. nonetheless, i really enjoyed the movie, though overall, i prefer the book.
total: 140 points
Hello all! Completed a few more:5.1 Read A Book That Has The Word Son(s), Daughter(s) (Because They're Just As Important), Kid(s), Child, or Children In The Title.
The Prodigal Son by Kate Sedley
5.3. Read A Novel Where The Main Character Travels At Sea Or A Non-Fiction Book About Sea Travel.
Pirate Freedom by Gene Wolf
20.1 Read A Christian Fiction Book.
Home for Christmas by Father Andrew Greeley
I also have read 5 books that, depending on the next few weeks, I'll either claim for various 5 or 10 point tasks OR multi-book tasks. I don't think I'm going to finish all 690 points of the challenge; but I'll get over halfway there.
As of today, 260 + 5 + 5 + 20 = 290
Down memory lane:
5 Point Tasks
1. Children: Sedley, Kate “The Prodigal Son”
2. Apple: Connolly, Sheila “One Bad Apple”
3. Sea: “Pirate Freedom” by Gene Wolfe
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
6. Native American: Blue Tattoo : The Life of Olive Oatman by Margot Mifflin
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
20 Point Tasks
1. Read A Christian Fiction Book. “Home for Christmas” by Andrew M. Greeley
2. ABC's –
[B:] “Busted: Life Inside the Great Mortgage Meltdown” by Edmund L. Andrews
[C:] “Catastrophe: An Investigation into the Origins of Modern Civilization” by Daniel Keys
[D:] “Dissolution” by C. J. Sansom
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. (one 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
For task 15.10 (student/teacher), I read:Beneath the Wheel by Hermann Hesse (Hans is a student) - I loved the first part of this book in particular, when Hans obsesses over a very important and difficult entrance exam. When he finishes the test, he thinks he hasn't done well enough to get into the school. When his principal says he came in second, Hans is shocked and says, "If I'd known that, I could have come in first." I'm sure I'm not the only competitive geek in this group who can relate to that!
and
White Noise by Don DeLillo (Jack is a teacher, Hitler studies) - Good but s l o w! This would make a great DMV read, you know, when you have no alternate source of entertainment other than the tattoos of the guy sitting in front of you.
Total Points: 405
Recently Finished Tasks:25.8 (Nouns) Dexter By Design - Jeff Lindsay / Anne of Ingleside / A Beautiful Blue Death - Charles Finch
50.1 (Senses, Emotions, Memories) A Cook's Tour - Anthony Bourdain / The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins / Anne's House of Dreams - L.M. Montgomery*
*Bourdain's book is about the search for the perfect meal--obviously, this book is concerned with taste. What's interesting about the book as far as senses go is the idea of "sense memory"--how we remember things based on our senses. Early in the book, Bourdain talks about his childhood trips to the French Coast. When he tries to recapture the "perfectness" of the food he ate a child, he realizes that same food is no longer perfect like it is in his childhood memory. The Hunger Games is mainly concerned with the emotions of hunger (surprise) and anger, which are dominant in the main character. Collins does a nice job of describing those emotions in detail, really making it clear for the reader how the main character thrived on them during her experiences. Finally, my copy of Anne's House of Dreams itself is my keepsake. After receiving the first novel in a juvenile reader book-of-the-month club, my parents bought the other seven books in the series for me. The cover price might be $2.95, but the real value is--you guessed it--priceless
Total Points - 490
5 Points:1. Son of the Morning by Linda Howard
3. The Bride and the Beast by Teresa Medeiros
4. Dreamfever by Karen Marie Moning – heroine & her sister were adopted
7. Fantasy Lover by Sherilynn Kenyon – As thankful as I am for fantasies and my lover, the thing I am most thankful for is books, and the hero in this story comes alive out of the pages of a book.
8. The Guernsey Literary and Potato-Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows
10. Beyond the Highland Mist by Karen Marie Moning
TOTAL: 45 points (30 new since last posting)
10 Points:
2. Lover Enshrined by J.R.Ward – Phury is a drug addict
5. The Reader by Bernard Schlink
7. A Hunger Like No Other by Kresley Cole – everyone in this book is super-something – from vampires, werewolves & sorcerers to (and these seemed like the real superheroes) the valkyrie women.
10. The Chocolate Cat Caper by JoAnna Carl
TOTAL: 50 points (40 new)
15 Points:
1. The Black Knight by Connie Mason & Darkest Night by Gena Showalter
4.Science Fact vs. Science Fiction: The Electric Church by Jeff Somers & Chased by Dinosaurs by the BBC (video)
6. Night Embrace by Sherilynn Kenyon (Sunshine, the heroine, is an artist) AND visited the Chrysler Museum of Art and loved it – they specialize in glass art.
TOTAL: 105 points (45 new)
20 Points:
2. RST: Road, The; Sins of the Night; The Smoke Thief
TOTAL: 20 points (20 new)
25 Points:
1. Also did Light & Night (but not for lack of trying to find an interesting fiction book I hadn’t already read with “Wife” in the title to rhyme with “Life”): Darkest Night by Gena Showalter & The Charge of the Light Brigade and Other Story Poems
5. Fortune’s Bride by Jane Peart
8. Person: Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon; Place: Dark Side of the Moon by Sherrilyn Kenyon; Thing: Kiss of Fire by Deborah Cooke
TOTAL: 125 points (75 new)
TOTAL CHALLENGE POINTS: 345 points (185 new)
Finished 15.3 - The Math Challenge.I read Suzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson for Addition. My first and last name are a total of 14 letters, as is James Patterson.
Then, I read Dead and Alive by Dean Koontz - the 3rd in his Frankenstein Series.
Points earned: 15
Total Points: 170
Finish 20.2 - The ABC Challenge read:Forgiving
The Glass Castle A Memoir
The Historian
I'm one more book away from another 3 book task so I hope I can get that done this week.
TOTALS
Completed Tasks: 6
Total Points: 60
Books read: 13
Pages Read: 4,778
Finished 15.10.For the teacher part, I read:
How to Teach Filthy Rich Girls by Zoey DeanFor the student part, I read:
When You Reach Me by Rebecca SteadWhen You Reach Me is one of the best books I've read in this challenge. AMAZING!
TOTALS:
Points: 445
Books: 50
Pages: 13,854
Tasks: 31
Finished another one, too: 10.8.My random words were pick, steering, and drift. I chose pick. Read:
Pick of the Litter by Bill WallaceTOTALS:
Points: 455
Books: 52
Pages: 14,142
Tasks: 32
Lots of points to add, but I'm not sure if I've made much progress or not with all the reading I've done. :Dtask 10.3. This Year Thanksgiving Falls On November 26th - Famous Children's Author Stanley "Stan" Bernstein Died On That Day In 2005- In Memory Of Him...
The Bear in the Attic by Patrick F. McManus (10/06/09)
(is a lot of little stories about his life, some better than others)
task 15.7. Let's Get Physical (P.E.)
• Listen To An Audiobook While Walking/Jogging/Running Or Exercising In Some Way.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows audiobook (11/3/09)
(and yes, I did work out to this very long audio book,
it took me awhile to get through these 13 CDs -- LOL)
task 15.10. Teacher-Student Relations - Read Both...
Teacher: Crossing the yard: thirty years as a prison volunteer / Richard Shelton (10/20/09)
(he teaches creative writing in prisons around Arizona)
And Student: Passport to Romance by Elizabeth Cavanna Headley (11/05/09) (young girl goes to school overseas)
task 25.2. DONNA JO'S TASK - Find Two Authors Who Are Related By Blood Or Marriage.
Misery by Stephen King (read:10/22/09) and Caretakers by Tabitha King (husband/wife) (read: 11/02/09)
(after comparing, I'm still a greater fan of the former, but wife is okay...different style, so harder to really compare)
task 25.10. 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
Zombie Queen of Newbery High by Amanda Ashby (read 11/4/09)
(if one likes Twilight, might want to read this one...love-lorn high school students and zombies)
Total Points: 90
Overall Total Points: 195/690
Pages Read: 4617
Hi,I've just finished reading a bad beginning by lemony Snicket for the 10.3 childrens book task. I read it when i was a child and it was just as good as it was then.
Kate.x.
Total points = 115
One more completed task:5.9 - Coming of Age: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
TOTAL = 65 POINTS
Another multi-book task down! whew!25.7 Cindy's Task - One, Two, Three
Melissa - Had to read this one, it was named after me! Alas I have neither the opera singing skills, nor, thankfully, the heartless volatility of my fictional namesake.
Two Moons A Novel - not bad, a period piece but kind of a sad book.
Full Dark House - I really enjoyed this, though it was a little hard to get into. A good mystery with a good sense of its time period (the London Blitz).
Should bring me to 180.
I had an international flight last night, so I managed to finish an entire book on the plane before I fell asleep. Glad I brought several for my trip! I also have to add a couple of other tasks:5.9 (Coming of Age) What is the What? by Dave Eggers
10.6 (Native American Heritage Month) New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.
I actually finished this one way back in September but didn't realize I could fit it into the challenge until I saw someone else using it for this task. Glad I found a place for it!
15.10 (Teacher-Student Relations) Teaching Shakespeare by G.B. Shand and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau Banks by E. Lockhart
Frankie is a boarding school student who gets involved with a secret society.
Tasks Completed: 13
Total Books: 24
Total Points: 130
Kate wrote: "Hi,I've just finished reading a bad beginning by lemony Snicket for the 10.3 children's book task. I read it when i was a child and it was just as good as it was then.
Kate.x.
Total points..."Only children's picture books count for this task - that is a chapter book so it doesn't qualify.
5 POINT TASKS1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
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.
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
255/690 Points
8620/19878 Pages Read
5-8 Two heads are better than oneThe Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows
I do still exist, This book was suprisingly OK, much like Novik's Temeraire series, what seems like a not so great straight to paperback turns out to be readable.25.10 SAM'S TASK - Halloween Part III: Monsterfest - The Patriot Witch by CC Finlay, read 11/10/2009, 341 pp.
Total points: 325/690
Tasks completed: 20/45
Books read: 33/59
Total pages: 11727
Okay, I have been gone for a long time. But here I am again.I finished The Dewey Color System Choose Your Colors, Change Your Life by Dewey Sadka for the second book in 15.1. I finished Chosen by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast a while back for this task.
That gives me an additional 15 points. For a pathetic grand total of 90 points.
It's been forever since I updated, but really, what do you expect from a 950 pg book? lol...Anyways, finished task 5-10 by reading Dragonfly in Amber- Diana Gabaldon
So many pages for so few points but what can ya do? It was well worth the re-read...
That should bring me to 115 pts
Another one down!Finished 20.1 with
Point Blank by Mark RempelTOTALS:
Points: 475
Books: 53
Pages: 14,270
Tasks: 33
20.1 Edge of HonorI really liked reading this book. I orginally picked it for my Civil War Task. As the book progressed I was pleasantly surprised by the strong Chrisitan message. Our kind, homely hero is a surgeon who was blessed with the gift of healing. The main messages are that of faith and forgiveness all focusing on the love of Jesus Christ. These virtues are sewn throughout the many different situations that arise in this book.
I found that most of Morris's books are written during the civil war so I will pick another one for that task.
Task 15.1--Prepositions-- Vision in White by Nora Roberts and In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke
15.3 (Math task):Subtraction - 21-12=9: Darkfever
Multiplication - 21*12=252 (between 227-277 pages): The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society 274 pages
That should bring me up to 260 points
Wow - Just finished 25.6 BJRose's task25.6 Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin
Wonderful book but 914 pages so it took some time. Fabulously written,I can see why she won Pulitzer if all her works are like this one.
I learned so much more about Lincoln - his character is much deeper than portrayed in most history classes. His humanitarianism is so remarkable and so well depicted by the author. The storyline telling about not only Lincoln but also of his cabinet members added so much more to understanding the challenges of our nation at such a pivotal time in history.
Except for the obvious political disagreements (ie, emancipation, strong central union of states, war directions, etc) Lincoln had very few personal scandals. His only direct scandal was in the running of the War Dept which was the result of not replacing both Cameron and McClellen much sooner. Faster movement in both these cases would have ended the Civil War sooner.
He did have a tendency to leave people in place too long. That was an offshoot of his willingness to give his appointees time to change.
Definitely a 5* book - highly recommended.
Points: 675
Books: 61
Pages: 17405
Tasks: 44
In Proc: 1
Finished (newly finished in bold)20.2 ~ Learn your ABC's: All Booked Up; Bad Boys Next Exit; City of Beads
25.10 ~ Title: devil, vampire, werewolf, witch, zombie: The Devil's Hearth
25.7 ~ one, two & three-word titles: Deathwish; Supernatural Nevermore; Full Dark House
25.8 ~ name, place, thing: Loving Frank A Novel; Living Dead in Dallas; Moon Called
25.9 ~ self-improvement: Getting Things Done The Art of Stress-Free Productivity; and Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
Total Points: 120
Total Books: 12
Total Tasks: 5
Total Pages: 3767
Finished another task - 20.1 - Christian Fiction - The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis
I had originally planned on reading At Home in Mitford by Jan Karon but gave it up after 189 pages (out of 560) - I really didn't care for it.
Total Books Read = 51
Tasks Completed = 35
Tasks In Progress = 4
Finished two more 30.1 - Current job is a teacher at an urban public school, and I read The Hardest Questions Aren't on the Test Lessons from an Innovative Urban School by Linda Nathan.
My dream job (as a child) was more or less to be a cross between Harriet the Spy and Nancy Drew - I was constantly looking for crimes to be committed that I could solve (which unnerved my neighbors a bit). I read The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz, which was awesome.
15.10 - I read City Kids, City Teachers Reports from the Front Row by Pat Ford and Bill Ayers (Teacher) and No Easy Answers Short Stories About Teenagers Making Tough Choices by Donald Gallo - a collection of short stories where all the main characters are high school students.
That should add 45 more points! :)
Recently Finished: 30.1 (Real Job - Teaching/Dream Job - Acting) Anne of Windy Poplars - L.M. Montgomery / If Chins Could Kill - Bruce CampbellTotal Points - 520
50 POINT MID-WAY TASKPJREADS 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.
Blindness by José Saramago-11/11 (293 pgs)
Everyone goes blind besides one woman-being blind leads to chaos everywhere:No more people driving, no stores open, people dying because they cannot find food. The story has a deep revelation about being blind and being a seeing being, but I do not want to give it away.
II. Emotions – Read a book that has an emotion in the title (happy/joy, sad/sorrow, angry/anger, afraid/fear, etc.). Post some highlights from what the book reveals about the emotion.
A Happy Marriage: A Novel by Rafael Yglesias-10/17 (369 pgs)
This book was about a marriage, but mostly about loss. The main character falls in love with a woman who he eventually marries. Later in life, she is diagnosed with cancer. The book goes back and forth between past and present. Basically, I would attribute the happy in the title to mean that despite their marriage had many up and downs, it is not until his wife is dying that he realizes how happy she mad him. I think most people look for the greener side in life and there were many times in this book where he did think he could be happier if he was not married. He discovers that happiness is not something that can be created, but which you create.
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.
Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow
by Elizabeth Lesser-11/11 (274 pgs)
I read this book because the recent event that I am going through is a divorce. I just bought my own house and I am learning how to be alone and deal with all of the new changes in my life. There are many days were I feel broken open and I wanted to learn how to cope with what is happening to me.
New Total: 415
I just finished task 15.1 Prepositions. I read The Shadow of the Wind and Land of a Hundred Wonders. I really enjoyed them both.Total points for this task: 15
Tasks completed: 22/45
Many in progress
Total points for challenge thus far: 305
Completed Roseann's Task for 30 points. Book related to my job (teaching): The Freedom Writers Diary How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them
Book related to my dream job (chef, or food critic): The Last Chinese Chef
Yay, I'm finished! 20 Points
3. Group Read: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The translator should win some kind of award for this. It was a beautifully written book and the translation kept the lyricalness well enough that if I didn't know better, I'd think it was originally written in English.
Total Points: 690
woo-hoo, another pair of books down...25.9 Diane's Task - Self-Improvement
The Best Question Ever My husband subscribes to Andy Stanley's podcasts so I heard part of the sermon series on which this book is based while we were driving across Wyoming this summer. The Best Question Ever helps you make wiser decisions to avoid the pitfalls we all face, whether financial, relational, spiritual, or whatever. The insight that really hooked me was that none of us plans to screw things up; the problem is we usually don't plan to avoid screwing up either. This question will help you recognize what are troublesome areas for you and make a plan to get through them. Of course, as with any self-improvement plan, the key is implementation. There is definitely some advice here I can take to heart; now I just need to act on it!
A Changed Man A Novel This was a very interesting book about a guy who was part of a neo-Nazi movement and decides to change his life; he seeks out a charity run by a Holocaust survivor in order to "help guys like me from becoming guys like me." The book explores how this changed man changes the lives and behaviors of the people and the organization he begins to work with... and whether this is a true lasting change or not. It was nicely done; I think after letting it set a few days I have to bump it up to 4 stars.
So that's 205 points now. I still don't know how far in this task I will get... having just jumped in about 4 weeks ago, I am nonetheless impressed with myself; I have read 12 books, 4 of which I probably wouldn't have picked up otherwise (including the two above). And I have gotten through a bunch of books that have been collecting dust in my house. So thanks Cynthia and everyone who has helped put these challenges together! I am already making up a list for winter!
Swapping out books: I am going to use The Beach for the addiction task (10 points added)INSTEAD of the ABC task. I just finished The Book Thief which will take its place.
TOTAL POINTS: 235 + 15 = 250New Tasks:
15.4 Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre
Watched two episodes of NOVA online.
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
20.2 Enchanted, Inc. by Shanna Swendson /Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder/ Grimspace by Ann Aguirre
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 25.7 (1,2,3 Titles)Read Swindle by Greg Korman, High Fidelity by Nick Hornby, and Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn.
New Total: 115
Congrats Bonnie!I finished 10.5 with The Glimmer Palace, it was good, but I didn't expect it to be do depressing!
Total points: 220
Bonnie wrote: "Yay, I'm finished! 20 Points
3. Group Read: The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The translator should win some kind of award for this. It was a beautifully written book ..."
Good for you, Bonnie.
Completed 15.9 (Homework) with George Pelecanos's The Way Home. Here's my homework assignment:Pelecanos's major focus in the book is the juvenile justice system and how it works (and doesn't). After reading the book, do you agree with the guards at Pine Ridge that juvenile offenders "need to learn discipline and respect," or do you agree with Ali Carter's view that a nurturing environment and work to do is a better way to prevent juvenile offenders from reoffending as adults? Why or why not? Did you feel the same way when you started the book? Write a 3-5 page essay discussing your views and how they've changed (or not) since reading the novel.
Current Total: 425 points
25.4I read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (published 2006) and watched the movie (2008).
I thought both were good, but I liked the book just a little bit better.
I'm going to move a few things around to break the 150 point barrier (updates in bold):5.4 - The Graveyard Book
5.5 - The Prince and the Pauper - I liked this book much better now vs. reading it for a school paper on Mark Twain.
5.8 - The Expectant Father - by Armin Brott and Jennifer Ash
5.10 - The Somnabulist (one minor character travels back in time)
10.2 - The Dart League King (cocaine)
15.1 - No Time To Wave Goodbye/All We Know of Heaven
15.3 - Addition (14) - Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and Multiplication (33*19) - The Host by Stephanie Meyer
15.4 - The Law of Nines (Terry Goodkind) and re-watched An Inconvenient Truth
15.7 - The Gunslinger (audio book)
20.2 - I Thought My Father Was God, (The) Judges, Keeper and Kid
20.3 - Shutter Island
25.7 - Gossamer - Lois Lowry; Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn; Lords of Corruption - Kyle Mills
Total Points: 155
15.4 READ: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams and WATCHED: I Am Legendtotal points = 40
25.2 I just finished Little White Lies A Novel of Love and Good Intentions by Gemma Townley- and Sleeping Arrangements by Madeleine Wickham (aka Sophie Kinsella). They are sisters.Total points:330
Finished task 15.3 Math Task. I read A Misty Mourning by Rett MacPherson for Division (1968/41=48). This book is the 4th in the Torie O'Shea mysteries.Second I read Killing Cousins also by Rett Macpherson for Addition (14 letters in both our names).
This will bring my total to 525.
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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)
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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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25 points
#10: Revenge of the Witch by Joseph Delany
#7: Ironweed by William Kennedy, Mr. Murder by Dean Koontz, Her Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger
20 points
#2: The Birthing House by Christopher Ranson, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon, Demon Seed by Dean Koontz
#1: The Shack by William P. Young
5 points
#4: Look Again by Lisa Scottoline (a lousy book IMO, so I'm happy to see it's worth a few redeeming points)
#3: Someone Knows my Name by Lawrence Hill (slave who travels from Africa to America, to Africa and back to America)
Total points to date: 100