The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Finished another 2 tasks:

5.7 - A Little Fruitcake A Boyhood in Holidays This is basically a collection of memories of Christmas Day from the author's childhood. Most are humorous, some are emotional.

My father died at Christmas almost 2 years ago and the holiday has been mostly ruined for me. I am most thankful for all the memories of Christmas past that I was able to share with him. This book represents the memories I have of that time.

25.8 Cait's Task - Person: King Lear
Place: Chinatown Beat and
Thing: The Red Scarf

I highly recommend the Red Scarf. It was a really poignant tale of a woman in Russia who was sent to labor camps in Siberia and the tale of her escape and attempts to rescue her friend. it provides a very enlightening look at the Russian political landscapes during the beginning of communism.

New Total: 585

Bridgit wrote: "Finished another 2 tasks:

5.7 - A Little Fruitcake A Boyhood in Holidays This is basically a collection of memories of Christmas Day from the author's childhood. Most are humorous...

25.8 Cait's Task - Person: King Lear
Place: Chinatown Beat and
Thing: The Red Scarf
..."

Cool, The Red Scarf will work for the Russian task, and Theresa's 'Color' task which also makes it eligible for Jan's Multi-Task book for the Winter Challenge. Thanks for the recommendation about this book. I hadn't heard of it before.

Hello all!
I finished Vanish with the Rose today, and I'm ready to claim points for two more tasks:

5.10 Read A Novel Where One Or More Character(s) Travel Back In Time.
What Would Jane Austen Do? by Laurie Brown

AND

15.1 Brush Up On Your Grammar: • Participles - Read A Book Whose Title Contains A Verb And Another With It's Participle
Words used: Vanish and its present participle, Vanishing

Vanish with the Rose by Barbara Michaels
Vanishing Acts A Science Fiction Anthology edited by Ellen Datlow

305+5+15=325





I have also finished 3 books that I could use for 25.8 if I don't read anything else for the rest of this month; however, I am planning to read more books, so I'll wait and decide later which tasks these three already-read novels will go towards. (The 3 are: Julian Comstock A Story of 22nd-Century America by Robert Charles Wilson; Rainbow The Stormy Life Of Judy Garland by Christopher Finch; and, Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire A Novel by Margot Berwin. The title Hothouse Flower and the Nine Plants of Desire A Novel is 38 letters long (if you don't include the "A Novel" part), perfect for 15.3, just waiting for me to finish another couple of books - one for 15.3 and one for 25.8)

I'm not going to finish the Fall 2009 Challenge; but I'm at the halfway point right now (including 25.8), which is a good showing considering I started the Challenge at the end of September. I had already read What Would Jane Austen Do? around Labor Day, but I delayed claiming points for it because I was thinking about using it for 15.1 ("would" and "wood"), but since I used "vanish" and "vanishing" for 15.1, it now makes sense to claim 5.10 for What Would Jane Austen Do?. (hope that makes sense :0) )

Later all!

I completed task 25.5 Janice's task by reading Fortune's Rocks A Novel by Anita Shreve.

Total points = 155

CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS:

5.3 SEA TRAVEL - *Santa Cruise A Holiday Mystery at Sea by Mary Higgins Clark & Carol Higgins Clark (pp 272) READ 11.16.09
Santa Cruise was so elementary I made myself seasick from rolling my eyes at the silliness of the plot. I've read two books by CHC and didn't care for them, but thought with her mother's assistance the caliber of writing might improve. Wrong! This book should be thrown overboard.

5.9 COMING OF AGE - *Out Stealing Horses A Novel by Per Petterson (pp 258) READ 11.17.09
A 67 year old man retires to a remote cabin in the woods along a river in Norway and contemplates his life. It was a quiet, reflective novel that seemed to pull it's mood from the surrounding environment. As nature and the winter season unfolded, Trond gave in to seasons of his past spent on the river with his father. It seemed that by conquering his fear of the winter and what it might have in store for him, he was able to thaw his heart and look back on the summer where he became a man. A very enjoyable 4 star read!




TASKS COMPLETED: 32
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 4
BOOKS READ: 47/62
PAGES READ: 14,112
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 510
*Books I Own

Finished
15.4 read Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow
watched- 2 episodes of Sci Q (smithsonian channel) and 1 episode of beyond tomorrow(science channel) to =2 hours

Finally finished Task 25.8: Cait — Person, Place, and Thing:
* The Treasure Map of Boys: Noel, Jackson, Finn, Hutch, Gideon—and me, Ruby Oliver by E. Lockhart (11/1/09),
* City of Glass by Cassandra Clare (10/3/09), AND
* Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover by Ally Carter (11/17/09)

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 39/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 2
Books Read: 56/62
Pages Read: 18,227
Points Earned: 590/690

Completed:

15 point task 3: Discover the Equation for Good Books
Addition - 9 letters in my first and last name. Read: Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Division - Born in 1958 divided by my age 51=38 Read book number 3 in The Cat Who...series: The Cat Who Turned On and Off by Lilian Jackson Braun 186 pages.

10 point task 10: This Task is the Cat's Meow. Read: The Cat Who Could Read Backwards by Lilian Jackson Brown. 216 pages

Finished 25.9

The Pursuit of Happyness Chris Gardner
How Chris transformed his life from extreme poverty to being a successful business man through sheer perseverance and self-belief.

Instant Confidence Paul McKenna
What to do to become more confident and more positive in life.

10.10 Fruits Basket, Vol. 1 by Natsuki Takaya

there's a little tiger on the cover. :)

Anne wrote: "Completed:

15 point task 3: Discover the Equation for Good Books
Addition - 9 letters in my first and last name. Read: Back When We Were Grownups by Anne Tyler
Division - Born in 1958 divided by m..."

Oh how did you like The Cat Who books. I remember when I was younger and getting heavily into fantasy books, my very conservative Mother bought every book under the sun including The Cat Who books to encourage me away from that route. They were the only ones I liked. Didn't help much, I'm still a fantasy junkie...and recently got my Mom addicted to Harry Potter. I win!

Finished:
10.8 - Random words; Category, Season or Chosen. I listened to The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams on audiobook. Very good story, 4 stars!
Total points - 335

Task 5.7 Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts--It is about 4 friends, I am thankful for my friends.

Sorry I missed that part! I wasn't trying to sneak extra points:)

Read The Witch of Portobello and The alchemist by Paul Coelho. 2 books origionally written in another language. Task 15.5 Giving me 15 more points
Tracy

Amanda wrote: "go, Sam and Bridgit! READ BLAST YOU, READ! :)"

Giving it my best shot! Team of Rivals is going to be the book I do or don't finish on...

15. 10. Teacher-Student Relations - Read Both...
• A Book With A Teacher As The Main Character Or With The Word Teacher(s), Teach, Teaches, or Teaching.
And
A Book With A Main Character Who Is A Student Or With The Word Student(s), Study, Or Studies In The Title.
Teacher: The Host Stephanie Meyer re-read 11-18-09 Wanda (aka Wanderer) is a storyteller, their version of a teacher. 619 Pages
Student: Brunettes Strike Back Kieran Scott 10-6-09 The main character, Anissa, is a high school cheerleader 249 Pages

Current Pages Read: 8900
Books Read: 25
Challenges Completed: 18
Total Points: 280

Bridgit wrote: Giving it my best shot! Team of Rivals is going to be the book I do or don't finish on..."

I hear that! I'm down to three books and a movie, and I'm pushing my way through Dark Horse right now as my make-it-or-break-it. Good luck, Bridgit!!

Amanda wrote: "Finished 10.9 by reading The Killer Angels by Michael Shaara"

Amanda, wasn't this just an awesome book?!! Shaara certainly deserved the Pulitzer for that one!

Bridgit wrote: "Amanda wrote: "go, Sam and Bridgit! READ BLAST YOU, READ! :)"

Giving it my best shot! Team of Rivals is going to be the book I do or don't finish on..."

Oh! Now I'm going to feel guilty if you don't finish, so I'll add my "READ BLAST YOU, READ! :)" to Amanda's sentiments, and add: GO, BRIDGIT, GO!!!

Abigail wrote: "Bridgit wrote: Giving it my best shot! Team of Rivals is going to be the book I do or don't finish on..."

I hear that! I'm down to three books and a movie, and I'm pushing my way through Dark Horse right now as..."

No wonder I couldn't sleep last night - I'm holding you two back from finishing!! GO, ABIGAIL, GO!!!

I have now finished task 10.2 Reading Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella for the addiction task. I have to say, I could see my own book addiction in her shopping addiction.

I finished the group read task today. That was a surprisingly quick read; I finished in less than two days. Now that I'm at 165 my goal is to get to 200 by the end of the challenge. I think I can make it, especially since the next two books I want to read are both 25-pointers.

20-Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane

Tasks Completed: 15
Total Books: 26

Total Points: 165

I finished 2 tasks today. I finished task 15.7 Let's Get Physical by listening to Bleachers by John Grisham (4*) which I really enjoyed. It is about former high school football players that come back to their hometown when their football coach is dying. They congregate at the football field and relive their high school football glory. I also watch most of 2 football games last sunday. I watched my hometown Buffalo Bills embarass themselves against the Tenessee Titans. I also watched the Eagles vs. the Chargers.

I also finished task 10.5 Octoberfest by reading Night by Elie Wiesel (4*). This was a true story about his time just before and during his time in a concentration camp during WWII. It was well written.

This will bring my total to 640 points.

Finished Time Travelers Wife by Audrey Niffenegger for task 5-10. Really didn't like this book at all! Ugh! I forced myself to read a few pages a day.

450 points

25.8 Cait's Task
Part I (Name) Emma
Part II (Place) Firefight Inside the Battle to Save the Pentagon on 9/11
Part III (Thing/Object) The Wednesday Letters

Total Points:370
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?ke...

Task 20.2 A.B.C.'s
a) The Awakening by Kaye Chopin (ok, a bit dull)

b) The Birth House by Ami McKay (really liked it)

c) The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon (really liked it, humerous & charming though darker than expected)

Task Points = 20

New Grand Total = 180

Completed task 5.5 - Going Back to School

I read The Great Gatsby for the first time since high school English class. I upped it from 4 stars to 5 stars. I think this is a book that can be much more appreciated by an older crowd, even though I loved it in high school.

First, @ BJ Rose, I hope you're kidding about feeling guilty. I think it's great to have a task that will differentiate the few, the proud, the finishers. It's like a test of commitment...or insanity, depending on how much you like American history. Also, I have to tell you, I'm crushin' on Abe Lincoln a little bit (no pictures in my book). ;-)

For task 20.3, I read Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane. I had planned to read the Zafon, but it wasn't available at the library and I have no time to spare! I'm glad I read this one, though. It wasn't life changing, but it was fun, which is exactly what I needed at this point in the challenge.

Total Points: 465

Finished Task 10.6 - Native Americans
Read: Island of the Blue Dolphins. This was a re-read for me, albeit I read it probably about 25 years ago. I still liked it a lot, tugged at my heartstrings.

Points Earned: 10

Total Points: 180

I realised I forgot to do part of the alternate worlds challenge. I would definately prefer if our world was more like Jasper Fforde's World in The Eyre Affair. People should be more involved in their literature!

5.7 Stone Fox by John Reynolds Gardiner
This book is about a boy who is trying to earn money so his grandpa will get better. I am thankful for my grandpa and all he does in my life for me.

15.3 Addition: Jennifer Scott: 13 Jerry Spinelli: 13
I read Stargirl
Multiplication: 16(Jennifer Ann Scott)x 21 = 336
I read Gregor the Overland by Suzanne Collins (311 pages)

TOTAL POINTS: 75 Points

15.6 - read The Phantom of the Opera The Original Novel and saw the show on Broadway with my mother. I liked the musical much better. I was expecting a lot more from the book.

New total: 600 !!

Katie wrote: "First, @ BJ Rose, I hope you're kidding about feeling guilty. I think it's great to have a task that will differentiate the few, the proud, the finishers. It's like a test of commitment...or insanity..."

You caught me, Katie - my remarks were just a little tongue-in-cheek. A crush on Honest Abe, huh?! After reading about W.H. Harrison's devotion to his wife and 10 children, I was having some soft feelings myself.

Thanks for the kind words.

Completed 10 point tasks

1. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck 118 pages first published in February 1937

2. Dope by Sara Gran 243 pages

I just finished reading Three Junes for Wendy's task. This was a really interesting book about the intersecting lives of various people one of them (well more than one but one main one) is a gay man. I liked the story but didn't love it.

32 TASKS COMPLETED
48/62 BOOKS FINISHED
17,149 PAGES READ


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Next time I'm not going to start all the multibook challenges at once and leave the finishing of all of them to the last 10 days!

For the 50 point task:
My sense was sight - the heroine has second sight and sees an aura around people - vital when picking out the bad guys! A silly but enjoyable romance.

My emotion was love - a surprisingly good chick lit book I picked up on impulse from the library, revealing that love doesn't go by rules and can be found in surprising places.

My keepsake is a pair of little cat statues I was given several years ago as a housewarming present. At the time we had two black cats. One has passed away now and these little statues have become quite precious to me. I read a book with 'cat' in the title and featuring a rather naughty cat in the story.

50.1 Senses, Emotions, Memories – Second Sight by Amanda Quick, Love Potions by Christina Jones, The Chocolate Cat Caper by Joanna Carl

Total: 315/690 points
24/59 books
16/45 tasks
9343 pages

Yesterday I finished 1984, by George Orwell, for the 10.1 task, as it was first published in 1949.

Finished:

15.6. The Abolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

The main character finds emotional relief in drawing cartoons. I prefer photography and went out to take some pictures of a local college campus. They came out pretty nice, actually.

TOTAL = 80 POINTS

Another task down...

Task 25.8
Person: Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress A Novel
Place: A Summons to Memphis
Thing: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

I would have to say my favorite out of the three was Snow Flower and I still can't believe that A Summons to Memphis won a Pulitzer. Not a great book. Oh well.

Total points for this task: 25

Total points for challenge thus far: 370

Finished 25.1:

Sailing Alone Around the Room by Billy Collins
The Known World by Edward P. Jones

(Known and Alone rhyme)

Total Points: 310

BJ Rose wrote: "You caught me, Katie - my remarks were just a little tongue-in-cheek."

Good! I didn't want you to feel guilty at all. What fun would the challenge be if it didn't challenge us to try new things, anyhow? Honestly, I'm enjoying it -- and believe it or not, you're helping me find something in common with my MIL, who *loves* history and biographies and wishes I'd read more books with her. So thanks!

(Although I will say that I think it's a lot harder to crush on James Garfield than on Abe Lincoln... Sigh.) ;)

Abigail wrote: "BJ Rose wrote: "You caught me, Katie - my remarks were just a little tongue-in-cheek."

Good! I didn't want you to feel guilty at all. What fun would the challenge be if it didn't challenge us to t..."

Well, I was really liking McKinley. Poor man, with all those doctors poking unwashed fingers in the bullet hole.

I've completed... Task 30.1 - Roseann:

Current Professon (Stay-at-Home Wife stressing over money issues while her husband is gone (except mine's just gone a lot—at vet school, not gallivanting around Europe!)): The Marriage Bargain by Diane Perkins (11/18/09)
        VS
Dream Profession (novelist): A Northern Light by Jennifer Donnelly (11/6/09)

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 40/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 1
Books Read: 57/62
Pages Read: 18,542
Points Earned: 620/690

2009 Fall Challenge Task List

TOTAL POINTS: 265 + 15 = 280

New Tasks:

15.6 Read A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass in which the main character paints in her spare time. Visited numerous small art galleries in Gatlinburg Tennessee during my vacation in October -- I even bought some prints of the paintings that I liked the best.


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
15.4 Wanderlust by Ann Aguirre + 2 episodes Nova
15.9 At Home With Books by Estelle Ellis
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

I finally finished the 50 point task!

Senses - I read Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder. The main character in the book is a poison taster and had to learn how to recognize poisons by tasting them and smelling them.

Emotion - I read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and loved this book! The book had many themes, but one of the lessons I got from it was that even when bad things are going on, we can still look for the good and have hope and try to have joy in something.

Keepsake - I read Letters for Emily by Cameron Wright. I don't keep a lot of stuff, but one thing I do save is letters. So that's my keepsake. Reading this book reminded me of how important it was to me to get a special letter when I was a kid and how they helped me.

That brings my point total to 365 points. I have 35 to go to reach my goal!

Donna Jo wrote: "Abigail wrote: "BJ Rose wrote: "You caught me, Katie - my remarks were just a little tongue-in-cheek."

Good! I didn't want you to feel guilty at all. What fun would the challenge be if it didn't..."

Yeah - i have actually had Team of Rivals on my shelf for a while, meaning to read it. I really like it, but its the kind of book i need to take slow so that i can digest it all. I can't read at my normal fiction speed.

Either way, glad I am finally reading it!

Donna Jo wrote: "Well, I was really liking McKinley. Poor man, with all those doctors poking unwashed fingers in the bullet hole."

Garfield, too. Oh, the powers of sanitization! ;) But I found it hard to truly *like* Garfield, even though the biographer paints a pretty sympathetic picture. It's all based in such sordid politics... That said, I do have a lot of sympathy for his wife. She has a couple quotes that are borderline awesome.

And Bridgit, Team of Rivals in on my TBR list, too -- but I couldn't get a copy from the library in time. Sigh. As it is, I've renewed Dark Horse twice and now I'm building up overdue fines. Eek! :)

Finished 15.5, with two books originally written in French:

The Adventures of Tintin in the Land of the Soviets by Herge

Little Prince by Antoine de Saint Exupery
(NOTE: I'm not sure this will link to the version I read, so just in case: ISBN 0156528207, which has 111 pages.)

TOTALS:
Points: 575
Books: 63 (three to go!)
Pages: 15,660
Tasks: 41 (four to go!)

25.7 One word title = Dragonsong. Two word title = New Moon. Three word title = The White Dragon.

Total points: 60