The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Task 15.7 THe Big Field by Mike Lupica and watched the World Series

Phew! Just finished 25.6:
Dark Horse: The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman

In my mind, the biggest scandal and the major accomplishment of Garfield as president revolve around the same thing: patronage. His entire election wouldn't have been possible without the incredible machinations of politics, all with the expectation of patronage. When the patronage didn't go the way people wanted, different factions tried to drag his name through the mud. Ends up, he was actually a very respectable, fair-minded person, so it didn't go as well as they'd hoped. At all. Which leads to what I think of as one of his greatest accomplishments: trying to stand up as a principled president despite the demands of patronage from all sides. Unfortunately, he pretty much died for doing this . . . although I'm sure he'd have been remembered with absolutely no respect had he done otherwise. Poor guy. And he wouldn't have even died if only the doctors had been somewhat competent even by 1881 standards!

TOTALS:
Points: 600
Books: 64 (two to go!)
Pages: 16,220
Tasks: 42 (three to go!)

25. 8. CAIT'S TASK - Nouns - The Most Basic Definitions State That A Noun Is A Person, Place, Or Thing. Read 3 Books:
• With The Name Of A Person In The Title. Proper Nouns Only (David Copperfield, Odd Thomas, Still Alice Would Work; Titles With Nouns Like Woman, Teacher, Doctor Would Not)
• With The Name Of A Place In The Title. Again, Proper Nouns Only (Gods In Alabama Or Motherless Brooklyn Would Work; Titles With Nouns Like School, Country, City Would Not)
• With A Thing/Object In The Title, Such As Tree, Key, Car, Book, Etc.
Person My Man Michael Lori Foster 10-11-09 325 Pages
Place I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Tucker Max 11-19-09 326 Pages
Thing: Breaking Dawn Stephanie Meyer re-read 10-6-09 754 Pages

Current Pages Read: 10305
Books Read: 28
Challenges Completed: 19
Total Points: 305

Woohoo! Finished another! For Cindy's task I read Tethered (4* - enjoyed this!), Body Surfing (3* - slow, very little action) and Her Fearful Symmetry (4* - good, but no Time Traveller's Wife!)

That brings me to 130 points :)

10.9 On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons

Total points: 665

25.10 The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe by C. S. Lewis

points: 195

10-7: Heroes
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I enjoy this book and immediately continue reading the second in the series. Too bad I bought only the first two, so I'll have to go shopping soon.


25-8: Nouns
Person Jemima J A Novel About Ugly Ducklings and Swans by Jane Green
This is a re-read before I gave away this book. The computer technology in the book is outdated now.

Place The Cellist of Sarajevo by Steven Galloway
Finally finished this book. I kind of stopped reading midway in both Challenge. (The reason I can't complete this task since last month.)
The narrative, from 3 viewpoints, talks mostly about war and the feelings of people under siege. Some are boring, but some are quite touching. Too bad the story ends abruptly (in my opinion).

ThingSuzanne's Diary for Nicholas by James Patterson
I don't like this book. It's weak in almost every aspect.
I don't care how good, handsome and caring Nicholas was described in the diary. In real world, I would sky-kick this idiot.


+35
Total points: 170

Finally finished Cait's Task - read 3 books! It took me a while, but I made it.

For Name: Rasputin's Daughter
For Place: The Bridges of Madison County
For Thing: The Angel's Game

Total Points Earned: 25

Total Points: 205

Yay - I made it to my goal of 200!
I don't know how so many of you finish, but I'm happy making it to 200 considering I have two jobs, a husband and a 5-year old!

I'm hoping to finish one more before the end!

I completed the following tasks:

5.3 (1492) by reading Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea - very fun! reminded me of when my dad used to read to me as a kid; he always picked out these types of stories.

25.5 (Prophecy) by reading Macbeth - this was a re-read from my high school days. I don't remember how I felt about it back in the day, but I loved it this time around! I wish there was more Lady Macbeth though; she is interesting.

Total Points: 595

Jennifer wrote: "Place I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell Tucker Max 11-19-09 326 Pages"

Hi Jennifer. How was this book? I have it on my bookshelf and have read good things about it but never encountered anyone who has actually read it. :)

Finished 5.4 (Adoption Task). I read Handle with Care by Jodi Picoult. One of the characters in the book is adopted and searching for her birth mother.

I was really disappointed in this book. Didn't really like it much.

New Total: 120

Sandra wrote: "10.9 On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon by Kaye Gibbons

Total points: 665"

Sandra, you're almost there!!

Come on, Sandra. You are so close.

Another task completed.... 4 5 books left!! (I've got two for BJ Rose's task...)

Task 5.5 - High School: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (11/19/09)

I read this book in, I don't know... 9th or 10th grade (10-12 years ago) and WOW, I can't believe how much I DIDN'T retain from this book! It's pretty sad. I think I had it rated 3 stars before (I remember not minding so much that I had to read it...), but I LOVED it this time! 5 stars! For more info, see my review.

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 41/45
Tasks Partially Completed: 1
Books Read: 58/62
Pages Read: 18,823
Points Earned: 625/690

I can't believe that so many people have finished the challenge! Congrats to you all, that is quite impressive!

I've held a much, much slower pace this fall... partly due to work obligations (its our busiest time right now!) and partly due to wedding planning. :) I'm still going, but thought I would report my points thus far:

I have completed the following two tasks for a total of 30 points:

1. 5.1 - Things I Want My Daughters to Know, Elizabeth Noble (374 pages)
2. 25.4 - Where the Wild Things Are (2009 movie) and The Wild Things, Dave Eggers (285 pages) (book). Both the movie and book were inspired by the famous children's book of the same name by Maurice Sendack. Dave Eggers also cowrote the screenplay for the movie with Spike Jones. Both the book and movie were excellent (even with the severly depressed wild things), but I think the movie slightly wins out because of the amazing monsters created by Jim Henson.

Sara ♥ wrote: "Another task completed.... 4 5 books left!! (I've got two for BJ Rose's task...)"

C'mon, Sara! You can do it!!

BJ Rose wrote: "Sara ♥ wrote: "Another task completed.... 4 5 books left!! (I've got two for BJ Rose's task...)"

C'mon, Sara! You can do it!!"

That's the goal. I already have my task picked out... (Maybe if I spent less time thinking about that and picking books for Winter and more time READING I would be done already.

Three of the books will be a piece of cake (a cookbook, a Nancy Drew book, and another shortish book that's supposed to be really good), and I switched books for BJ Rose's task. Instead of the nearly 600 page book on McKinley (which was written QUITE some time ago, and thus is most likely VERY VERY DRY), I have a 200 page book on McKinley (I can suffer through a 200 page book about almost anything) AND an audiobook biography of Lincoln (only 11 discs/415 pages) that I can listen to while cooking for Thanksgiving! ;) Yay for multitasking!

COMPLETED TASKS:

20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "A" - *The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (pp 531) READ 11.2.09
This dark, twisted tale slowly seduced me, then took me on a roller coaster ride of peril, intrigue and romance. The story of David Martin was haunting and the city of Barcelona and the tower felt alive with evil. As I read, I felt like there were tendrils of malevolence wrapping around my thoughts and drawing me into the gothic terror of the angel's game. Zafon is a master of setting ambience and layering plot.
20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "B" - Bridge of Sighs by Richard Russo (pp 528) READ 11.19.09
Russo does a great job of depicting small town life and telling a character driven story, but his attention to detail and minutiae had a tendency to bog me down and make for sloooow reading.
20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "C" - *Club Dead by Charlaine Harris (pp 288) -READ 9.2.09
I think the books are getting better as they go. Club Dead was funny and entertaining. I like the added sexual tension between Sookie, Bill, Eric and Alcide. Sookie is the Stephanie Plum of the vampire world and brings a smile to my face as I read about her antics.





TASKS COMPLETED: 33
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 3
BOOKS READ: 48/62
PAGES READ: 14,640
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 530
*Books I Own

Lisa wrote: "COMPLETED TASKS:

20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "A" - *The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (pp 531) READ 11.2.09
This dark, twisted tale slowly seduced me, then took me on a roller..."
Lisa, I love your synopsis of The Angel's Game. It has the atmosphere of the book, which makes for a very good book talk.

30 more points to report!

finished task 15.4 by reading The Simulacra and watched Journey to the Edge of the Universe on the National Geographic channel. i preferred the television show over the book in this task! i've read two PKD books for this challenge and was not drawn into either of them. too bad for me!

finished task 15.6 by reading Jazz and listening to a billie holiday compilation my friend made for me for the last week while i've been reading this book. i'm still trying to wrap my brain around the book. i need to let it sink in for awhile before i can say how i liked it! haven't listened to billie in a long time, forgot how haunting her voice is. she was fab.




Total Points: 405/690
Books Read: 32/62
Tasks Completed: 23/45
Tasks in Progress: 0 (but soon will be going again!)

Sara ♥ wrote: "BJ Rose wrote: "Sara ♥ wrote: "Another task completed.... 4 5 books left!! (I've got two for BJ Rose's task...)"

C'mon, Sara! You can do it!!"

That's the goal. I already have my task picked out...."

Good Luck Sara!! You can definitely do it!! Can't wait to see what your task is!

Donna Jo wrote: "Lisa wrote: "COMPLETED TASKS:

20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "A" - *The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (pp 531) READ 11.2.09
This dark, twisted tale slowly seduced me, then too..."

Donna Jo,
I enjoyed this as much as The Shadow of the Wind. Zafon's story is like a rolling fog that sneaks up on you, then envelops you and leaves you blindly trying to find your way out into safety. His settings become characters in themselves. I highly recommend it.

For 15.3 - Discover The Equation For Good Books (Math), I have read the following:
- Wild Fire, Nelson DeMille (Addition: 13)
- The diamond age, Neal Stephenson (Multiplication: 623/673 pages)

Current points: 65
Books read: 6

For Task#25.10
The Accidental Vampire by Lynsay Sands

More tasks finished...

5.7 I am thankful for my husband and the wonderful relationship that we have so I read The Diaries of Adam and Eve by Mark Twain.

5.8 Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

10.4 The Story of A Seagull and the Cat Who Taught Her To Fly by Luis Sepúlveda (Chile)

10.5 Night by Elie Wiesel

50-point task:
Sense - A Mango-Shaped Space by Wendy Mass; highlights...the whole thing. I think it would be amazing to see colors like she does.
Emotion - Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen; having pride in something is good, but letting your pride get in the way can be troublesome.
Memories - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets; at the time I met and was getting to know my husband I was keeping a journal (diary) of my day-to-day life. I enjoy reading over it now and then (especially when I'm feeling less than happy with him) because it reminds me of that exciting time. A diary plays a major role in HP and the Chamber of Secrets.




Tasks Completed: 38
Total Points: 590
Total Pages: 18478

5. JANICE'S TASK - Fortune Telling Has Long Been A Halloween Tradition: Read A Book With "Fortune" Or "Prophecy" In The Title or That Features Fortune-Telling, Prophecy Or Prediction(s) As The Main Theme Or Has A Fortune Teller As A Main Character.
The House on Fortune Street: A Novel by Margot Livesey-11/22 (311 pgs)

New Total: 485

Sherrie Y wrote: "Finally finished Cait's Task - read 3 books! It took me a while, but I made it....

Yay - I made it to my goal of 200!
I don't know how so many of you finish, but I'm happy making it to 200 considering I have two jobs, a husband and a 5-year old!

I'm hoping to finish one more before the end!"

Congratulations on making your goal, Sherrie Y!

Congrats to everyone getting so close to the finish line!

I'm by no means close. *laughs*

Finished 25.2 Related authors with Jane Eyre by Charolette Bronte and Wuthering heights by Emily bronte.

New Points: 25
Old points: 400
Total points: 425

Tasks Completed:25
Books Read:36
Pages Read:11740

I aso competed the 50 point task; I forgot to post.
Sense: A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy mass
Emotion: The Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffans
Memory:Ender's Game by orson Scott Card (Ender remings me of my childhood)

Completed: Task 20.3, group reads.

Read: Shutter Island . Wow, I really enjoyed this book. It has actually been sitting in my TBR pile for a few years(!!) now, and I'm so glad I finally picked it up. I'm pretty stingy with my five-star ratings, but this book definitely earned all five. Makes me want to pick up another Lehane novel to see if he's consistently good...

Total Points = 225

Task 25.4-DONE! I read New Moon and then went to the midnight showing of it last night. The were both pretty good. I think the books do a much better job with description and really making you feel the emotion, etc. The movie was pretty good, but of course, it was kind of a watered down version of the book. Lots of scenes with Jacob with no shirt on though, so that was a plus! :)

New total: 140 points

Heather in KS

Night wrote: "10-7: Heroes
The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan
I enjoy this book and immediately continue reading the second in the series. Too bad I bought only the first two, so I'll have to ..."

Sky-kick? What is that? aside from the most hilarious thing I have ever heard. That one is going to set me off all day and its going to be along day...with intermitten giggles.

Jen MO

5.2 Twilight by Stephene Meyers

10.4 Residence on Earth by Pablo Neruda (Chile)

15.2 The Watchmen

25.3 A Home at the End of the World by Michael Cunningham
25.4 Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix
25.5 The Fortune Teller's Daughter by Lila Shaara

old points: 215
new total: 320

Another one down!
Finished 15.6:
The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke

One of the lessons of this challenge for me: If it has "Jane Austen" in the title and you find out time travel is involved? SET IT DOWN AND RUN AWAY. Sigh.

But, hey, one book and one movie to go, and then I'm done! And I can choose almost any book I want (oh, the possibilities) and I have the DVD waiting for a nice, quiet weekend night. Yay!

TOTALS:
Points: 615
Books: 65
Pages: 16,540
Tasks: 43

Way to go, Abigail.

I completed 50.1:

For senses I read If You Could See Me Now which points out that sometimes we miss a lot with our eyes unless we are open to seeing them.

For emotion I read The Hunger Games. definitely the strongest emotion in the book is fear.

For memories I chose The Birth House and my momentos are the hospital bracelets from my childrens' births. And of course my memory is their birth:-)

My total is now 365.

Task completed
25.9 — Diane — Self-Improvement:
Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld (11/20/09) - My husband is really picky, and it's a pain to cook veggies just for myself, so I'm going to try and sneak the veggies into the main course, thus making us BOTH healthier!
          AND
The Amazing Adventures of Dietgirl by Shauna Reid (10/10/09) - I really enjoyed this book!

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 42/45
Books Read: 59/62
Pages Read: 19,027
Points Earned: 650/690

10.8 random word gererator: my word was spring I read New Spring by Robert Jordan. To make it clear I read the full novel version not the short story version in the Legends book.

Finished another task, and it's going to be my last for this challenge -

10.9 - The Summer Has Gone With The Wind - The March A Novel by E.L. Doctorow, about Union general William Tecumseh Sherman's march through Georgia and the Carolinas in 1864. Good book, but it dragged at times.

I'm happy with my final point count - I've beat my summer score of 470. My finally tally is 53 books/audiobooks in 3 months. I consider this a huge achievement for myself considering last year (2008) I only read 58 books all year.

Over the next week, I think I'll read a little "brain candy" and mentally prepare for the Winter Challenge. :)

Jennifer L. wrote: "Finished another task, and it's going to be my last for this challenge -

10.9 - The Summer Has Gone With The Wind - The March A Novel by E.L. Doctorow, about Union general William..."

Congratulations, Jennifer L., on a new personal best!!

pjreads wrote: "Jennifer L. wrote: "Finished another task, and it's going to be my last for this challenge -

10.9 - The Summer Has Gone With The Wind - The March A Novel by E.L. Doctorow, about U..."

Thanks so much! :)

Jennifer L. wrote: "Finished another task, and it's going to be my last for this challenge -

10.9 - The Summer Has Gone With The Wind - The March A Novel by E.L. Doctorow, about Union general William..."

Congrats, Jennifer L.!! Enjoy your brain candy. You deserve it! :)

Jennifer L. wrote: "Finished another task, and it's going to be my last for this challenge -

10.9 - The Summer Has Gone With The Wind - The March A Novel by E.L. Doctorow, about Union general William..."

Jennifer L. that's impressive. Glad you're doing a ton of reading.

10.9 - Landsman a novel about a Jewish boy from New Orleans as he matures during a year at war with the Northern States.

I have to say, this was probably the most vulgar novel I have ever read. Not bad, but I would caution pretty much every woman away from reading it, and probably most men. Id have to rate it R.

New total: 610

Abigail wrote: "Another one down!
Finished 15.6:
The Man Who Loved Jane Austen by Sally Smith O'Rourke

One of the lessons of this challenge for me: If it has "Jane ..."I'm not seeing the connection on this with the task - which of the 3 options is this supposed to be...
• Learn Your Art History - Read A Book (Fictional Or Non-Fiction) About An Artist Or Art History AND Either Go To A Museum To View Art Or Create Art (Paint/Sculpt/Crafts/Photography Etc.).
• Become A Member Of The Drama Club - Read A Play And See A Production Of It Live Or On Film.
• 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.


Matthew wrote: "I aso competed the 50 point task; I forgot to post.
Sense: A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy mass
Emotion: The Shame of the Cities by Lincoln Steffans
Memory:Ender's Game by orson Scott Card (Ender ..."

Before I can give you points on this I need you to post what the first two books say about the emotion/sense & for the third part you need to post what your keepsake is.

10.10


In the Hand of the Goddess by Tamora Pierce

10 POINT TASK
1. Read a book first published during Buddy Holly’s lifetime (September 7, 1936 – February 3, 1959).
Animal Farm, George Orwell (1946).


20 POINT TASK
3. GROUP READ - Read The Shadow of the Wind, Julie and Julia 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen, or Shutter Island.
The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Ruiz Zafon.

Two more tasks completed. I feel like the Little Engine that Could.

10.7 Superhero - Where Men Win Glory The Odyssey of Pat Tillman by Jon Krakauer. This book is about Pat Tillman, the NFL player who walked away from a million dollar contract to serve our country after 9/11 and was killed by friendly fire in Afghanistan (his death was covered up initially by the military and government for political reasons). I wanted to like this book so much more than I actually did. I feel like it was trying to be too many things (history of conflict in Afghanistan/biography of a fascinating American Hero/critique of Bush administration & military policies). However, I do feel that Krakauer honored Tillman's memory, and I got to understand what drove him to make the decisions that he did.

25.2 Relationships -

I read Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

&

And Now You Can Go by Vendela Vida.


Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida are married to each other.

I highly recommend Zeitoun. It was one of my five-star reads. It is both compelling and infuriating.

Previous score: 485
Current score: 520

Honestly, I didn't think I would finish another book for the challenge-I kinda got overwhelmed with so many books I felt I had to read. So I just read some books that I "wanted" to read, and found that this one fit a task!

It is for 15.9 and the book in read is "Home Safe" by Elizabeth Berg. It is about a writer who's husband dies, and along with it, all her ideas for a new book. So she decides to teach a series of classes to give other people some writing practice. I have always been intrigued by writing, and would like to think I could do it, but it remains a mystery to me how the words and thoughts in my head can get to paper and still make sense.

So my assignment for this task, would be a writing challenge. Helen's first assignment for her class was to write one page answering the question "who are you? I would assign the same task, as I feel it gives a great opportunity for a writer to explain to others who they are, and keeping it to one page sort of makes you consolidate and the most important things would come to light.

I hope this assignment is acceptable for the challenge.

I'm not sure if I will have any more finishes for this season, but I still will be reading away!