The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Congrats to new finishers, Bridgit and Michelle!
Keep reading, Emily and Leora. You are so close!!

Finished one more
10-8 Word Generator: Fat
I read Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot.
In Fact, I've already read Size 14 (#2 in this series) so that takes excitement out of this read.

Hope I can finish one more task.

+10
Total points: 215

Minding the World -- Senses: The Day of the Triffids starts with the protagonist in the hospital waiting for the doctors to remove his bandages and determine whether his eyesight has been saved. When no one comes, he eventually removes them by himself only to discover he is one of few people that has not gone blind overnight....
Emotions: The Inheritance of Loss demonstrates how the loss of culture and identity not only affects an individual, but it passed on to family, servants, and others. One of the main characters, the judge, exemplifies this. His father sacrifices so he can be sent to England to be educated. The complete social and cultural isolation he experiences damages him permanently and on his return to India, he is never able to readjust. He grows to detest in others those traits for which he was mocked in England. This is particularly the case in his relationship with his wife.
Memories: Goodbye to Berlin is the grandparent of Cabaret, which is the one of the first Broadway musicals I saw during the first family visit to NYC. I have since moved to NYC & work in the industry & once a year mum visits and we see four or five shows in four days. I have programs from them all.

I moved Goodbye to Berlin from 10.1 to this task.

Pages read: 5252
Books read: 16
Tasks completed: 12
Total Points: 265
Liz (Bklyn)

I completed the challenge by completing task 20.2 (ABCs) by reading the following:

E is for Eating Animals by Jonathan Safran Foer which made me feel even more committed to my choice of following a vegan diet.

F is for Fables March of the Wooden Soldiers by Bill Willingham which is probably my least favorite in the series so far, but still enjoyable and with some definite highlights.

G is for Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar which made me feel thankful for having such nice friends and family.

Total points: 690 (thanks Cynthia!)

Congratulations, Emily!!!!
All of you Finishers are amazing!!!

I had some wonderful reading time over Thanksgiving (although mostly in airports...) and finished 2 more tasks:

5.10 - The Time Traveler's Wife - absolutely LOVED it. A beautiful book.

50.1 - SENSES: A Mango-Shaped Space - In this book, Mia has synesthesia which "crosses" your different sense. Mia sees letters and numbers in color.

EMOTIONS:Going Postal - This book, besides being hilarious, says a lot about hope. One small quote: "Moist entertained a wonderful warm feeling inside to think that they would, for some time, possess that greatest of all treasures, which is Hope." Of course, he is talking about the false hope of finding his ill-gotten treasure, but still. In the book, Moist gets that rare second chance and in turn manages to give hope of a different future to countless other characters in the story.

MEMORIES:Interred with Their Bones - This book is all about Shakespeare's Globe. One of my favorite memories is a trip I took to England at the height of my theater obsession, when I got to attend several plays at the restored Globe Theater. The ticket stubs and playbills are my keepsake.

Okay, this is it for me. I tried to start one more but instead I think I am just going to take a little break and organize myself a little more for the Winter Challenge.

My last Fall task...

15.2 Rewriting History: His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik - I really liked this book, about a British Naval captain during the Napoleonic Wars, who ends up transferring to the "Aerial Corps" to command a dragon instead of a ship. In this version of history, dragons are both modes of transport and battle vessels. They operate in battle much like ships - they have a full crew who fly with them and a captain. The dragons can speak and have their own personalities, and have a special bond with their captains. While fierce naval battles between England and France rage on the ocean, aerial battles between France's and England's dragons take place over land and sea.

This version of history does not alter the outcome of the Napoleonic wars, at least as they are handled in this book (there are at least 4 subsequent books in the series). I do think it odd that such powerful and intelligent beasts seem content to serve humans without hesitation, risking their lives over human conflicts. That is not terribly well explained in this volume.

As to whether or not this version of history would be preferable, it's hard to imagine since the major conflict of this era did not alter its course in this story. As cool as I think it would be for there to be dragons around, I suspect there would have been some impact on developing technologies... would humans have developed air travel or railroads so quickly or efficiently if there was a transportation alternative like a dragon? I am sure these technologies would advance anyway, I just wonder about the pace. I also wonder if the outcome of WWI might have come more swiftly, with aerial combat playing a larger role. However, I also wonder if the dragons would ever get tired of serving humans and become rebellious. So, while I think some things would obviously be different, I am not convinced civilization at large would be very different, or that it would be either better or worse. But definitely interesting!

So I am wrapping up fall with 275 points and 25 books, several cleaned off my TBR shelf, and a whole buch more added for winter!

Congratulations Emily and Bridgit!! You guys are amazing!! You can do it, Lisa and Lenora!

Congrats to everyone who finished!

I won't finish but I did get some good reading in thanks to airport delays!
15.6 Art History People of the Book and I went to an art walk.
15.9 Those Who Save Us (teacher) & The Sweet Far Thing (student)
25.1 The Poem I Turn To With Audio CD Actors and Directors Present Poetry That Inspires Them & Stern Men (turn/stern)
25.8 A Memoir of Jane Austen and Other Family Recollections (person)
A Long Way From Chicago (place)
Catching Fire (thing)

Total points: 335

I have not posted in alomost ten days, but I have been doing lots of reading to finish up the clallenge.

1. Task 15.3 Math Addition- Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden (we both have 12 letters in our first and last names) Division- A New Song by Jan Karon (When I did the math I had to read the 5th book in a series)

2. Task 15.9 Homework - Sing Them Home by Stephanie Kallos Upon completion of the reading: A. Write a psychological analysis regarding the three children and their life long response to their mother's death. Consider the following factors.
1. Gender
2. Birth Order
B. The paper most be 4-6 pages in length. Dedicate at least one page to each child.

25.10 The Witch of Blackbird Pond
I really liked this book.
16 yr old Kit moves from Barbedos to colonial connecticut, entering a strange new world free of servants, frills and fun and filled with witch hunting, religiously pious puritans.

Task 25.2 Related Authors I chose Mary and Carol Higgins Clark, a mother and daughter team.
A. Cry in the Night by Mary Higgins Clark
B. Burned by Carol Higgins Clark

Task 25.4 Book and Movie- I read My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Pichoult and of course watched the movie of the same title. Prior to watching the movie I had heard that the ending of the movie was a complete deviation from that of the book. This is true. I found the early parts of the movie touching. The subject of the movie is heartbreaking and even bad production could not remove all tears. However ultimately the movie was very predicatable and lacked any depth. As you can probably already tell I greatly prefered the book. Picoult took an emotional theme and wrapped her readers up in it. She then threw in side story lines to keep the reader engaged and wondering. In the last several pages she threw the ultimate curve. I am sure I am not the only reader who spent the last ten pages in shock and tears.

Task 30.1 Childhood dream vs. Current Profession
A. Terrify No More by Gary Haugen and Gregg Hunter- When I was young I wanted to be a missionary to Cambodia. As I grew older I learned about the horrid sex trade that robs the lives of many children not just teens but children. This book tells the story of those who work there and rescue children who have been sold.
B. Tiger's Child by Torey Hayden - I read this book because I work in a similar field.

This is my last posting until the Winter Challenge.

Finished 20.2 with
The Help
In the President's Secret Service Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect
The Jungle

All 3 books were very good - I'd recommend them all. Final total for the Fall Challenge is 260. Congratulations to all the finishers!

Finished task 10.10: Garfield's 8th Treasury by Jim Davis
TOTAL POINTS = 140

Congratulations to all the finishers of the Fall Challenge, it was great fun, looking forward to the Winter Challenge!

Task 50 Sense, Emotion, and Memories
A. Sense- Speak Softly, She can Hear by Pam Lewis.
B. Emotion- Life without Summer by Lynne Griffin
The emotion highlighted is sorrow more specifically grief. The book deals with the after effect of a four year olds death by a hit and run outside her preschool. The part I found most sorrowful was the way it started off. It's written as a the mother's journal but not with dates. ex. Day 15 without Abby- This was one of my favorite books from the whole challenge but I do not want to spoil it for anyone.
C. Memories- Cabin Pressure- One Man's attempt to regain his youth by Josh Wok This book tells the story of a former camper and camp counselor who goes back to camp for one last summer before getting married. I too spent many years at summer camp first as a camper and then going right through the ranks holding various staff posistions. For me summer camp provided a sense of belonging. It meant more than I can say. If I had to pick a single momento it may be a staff photo, a camp brochure, or even a picture of a cabin but it is really so much more.

Less than 24 hours left in the challenge! Time to re-slot books read for unfinished multi-book tasks.

15.4 Science Book, Science Film: I read We and I found time to re-watch March of the Penguins while chopping a gazillion vegetables for Sunday-vegetarian-Thanksgiving-dinner.

And with luck (or subway delays) I will finish the poetry book tomorrow....


Pages read: 5484
Books read: 17
Tasks completed: 13
Total Points: 280
Liz (Bklyn)

COMPLETED TASKS:

15.6 DRAMA CLUB - *Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare READ 11.29.09
I like the star-crossed lovers story, but still struggle with the language. Parts are beautifully told and others I trudged through. 3 stars

Watched the movie, Romeo & Juliet, the Leonard DiCaprio and Claire Danes version. The movie was so-so. I think I'd like to watch an earlier film adaptation.


15.5 FOREIGN TRANSLATION (Spanish) - * Portrait in Sepia A Novel by Isabel Allende (pp 336) READ 11.29.09
I loved this book. I'm a sucker for grand family dramas. Now I need to get my hands on Daughter of Fortune. 4 stars
15.5 FOREIGN TRANSLATION (Spanish) - *The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (pp 531) READ 11.2.09

Cynthia,
I had already claimed points for The Angel's Game in task 20.2 (Consecutive Letters) for my "A" letter. I'm switching it out for this:

20.2 3 CONSECUTIVE LETTERS - "A" - *Aunt Dimity Takes a Holiday by Nancy Atherton (pp 224) READ 11.29.09
This is the second book in the Aunt Dimity cozy mystery series I've read. It was a light, entertaining book, which I enjoyed trying to figure out who done it. 3.5 stars



TASKS COMPLETED: 43
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 2
BOOKS READ: 60/62
PAGES READ: 18,332
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 680
*Books I Own


Two more books to go! I've completely neglected my family today and I won't get any housework done tomorrow until I finish my reading.

You can do it Lisa! Just two small tasks left!!!

@Emily & Bridgit

This is my final posting for this challenge, I'm taking tomorrow off before the new challenge starts. I'm just happy to be starting the winter challenge from the beginning...I was a latecomer to the fall challenge :)

Completed task 15.1-Homophones, read Silent on the Moor by Deanna Raybourn and More Information Than You Require by John Hodgman. I love the Lady Julia novels by Deanna Raybourn! As for More Information Than You Require, I didn't really enjoy it at all...it was just too ridiculous for me. Congrats to all the finishers and good luck to those of you hoping to finish by tomorrow!!

Final totals:
270/690 points
Tasks Completed: 17
Tasks In Progress: 0
Books Read: 27 (+3 children’s books)
Pages Read: 7,350

I just completed task 25.3 by reading Tales of the City, by Armistead Maupin.

No more points, but I'm not going to read another book in 24 hours so I wanted to do a final post. I had great fun again - thanks so much for organising Cynthia!

5.4 Adoption – Sea Swept by Nora Roberts
5.6 Terrifying titles – Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
5.7 Thanksgiving – Inner Harbor by Nora Roberts
5.8 Two authors – Dragon's Fire by Anne and Todd McCaffrey

10.6 Native American – Breaking Dawn by Stephanie Meyer

15.3 Maths – Addition (12): Suspense and Sensibility or, First Impressions Revisited A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris; Division (47): Ruddy Gore Phryne Fisher by Kerry Greenwood
15.6 Creative Minds – The Quilter's Apprentice by Jennifer Chiaverini
15.9 Homework – Home Truths by Freya North
15.10 Teacher/Student – The Piano Teacher by Janice Y.K Lee, Magic Study by Maria V. Synder

20.2 ABCs – North By Northanger, or The Shades of Pemberley A Mr. & Mrs. Darcy Mystery by Carrie Bebris, The Other Side of the Story A Novel by Marian Keyes, The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts

25.2 Blood or marriage – Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella, The Importance of Being Married A Novel by Gemma Townley
25.3 Gay or lesbian – Tipping the Velvet by Sarah Waters
25.4 Books and Movies – Twilight by Stephanie Meyer
25.5 Fortune and prophecy – The Eye of the World by Robert Jordan
25.7 One, Two, Three – Labyrinth by Kate Mosse, Rising Tides by Nora Roberts, The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
25.8 Person, Place, Thing – Mr. Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange, Chesapeake Blue by Nora Roberts, Round Robin by Jennifer Chiaverini
25.9 Self-help – The Cross-Country Quilters by Jennifer Chiaverini, The Sampler Quilt Book by Lynne Edwards and Sylvia's Bridal Sampler from Elm Creek Q The True Story Behind the Quilt 140 Traditional Blocks by Jennifer Chiaverini
25.10 Monsterfest – Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

30.1 Current/dream job – Current (editor) The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith, Dream (bookshop owner) The Ghost and Mrs. McClure by Alice Kimberly

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

Total: 390/690 points
33/62 books
20/45 tasks
12,558 pages

Congratulations Emily!!

I'm going to move a couple of things around so that I can count all of the books I've read. I'm only adding 25 new points.

For 20.2 I now have Rescuing Patty Hearst, The Monsters of Templeton, and Sarah's Key (Sarah's Key is the one that was moved from 25.8)

For 25.8 I now have Elijah of Buxton (place); Manaic Magee by Jerry Spinelli (person) and Sand Sharks (thing) [Maniac Magee is new to this category:]

And I'm adding 25.7 (one, two, three word title)
Solos (moved from 20.2)
Killer Cuts by Elaine Viets, 272 pages
The Little Prince by Antoine Saint-Exupery, 111 pages

That puts me at
460 points
12774 pages read

Congrats to all the finishers. I am truly amazed each time at how many people are able to finish. (I am also very jealous!!)

15.1 IN
Mermaids in the Basement and Love Walked In.

I ended up giving both books 4 stars. Both were filled with love (of many types) and interesting stories. Both were considered chick lit, but I did not find either of the fluffy, which was nice.

Final points: 475

I am done!!!!!! Very little sleep last night but that's part of the fun....

10-8 The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam. My words were disc, type and winter.

10-9 Killer Angels by Michael Shaara-awesome book!

690 points!!!!

Congratulations Emily and Leora!! You all are awesome for finishing!!

4.Science Fact vs. Science Fiction
• Read A Science Fiction Novel And Watch A Film Related To Science Or Scientific Discovery.
OR
• Read A Non-Fiction Book About Science And Watch A Science-Fiction Film.

Non-fiction science-Spook Science Tackles the Afterlife
I watched the new Star Trek movie for the science fiction component of this task

Tasks copleted:11
Total points:180

For task 20.1 The Screwtape Lettersby C.S. Lewis

This was my first challenge and I had a great time!! Read some books that I probably wouldn't have otherwise ( and a couple that I wish had stayed on my book shelf) Looking forward to getting started on the winter tasks!!

@ Leora

Finished 15.3 Addition: Middlesex and Subtraction: Something Missing A Novel

New total: 190

Heather in KS

Congratulations, Emily and Leora.

Brava Emily and Leora!

Finished 25.9:

You: The Owner's Manual: An Insider's Guide to the Body That Will Make You Healthier and Younger by Michael F. Roizen and Mehmet C. Oz

The Opposite of Love by Julie Buxbaum

Total Points: 365

25.4 Candace Task's Book & a Movie
The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd 4 Stars

Saw the movie long before I read the book. I could see why the screenwriters chose those changes over the book -- it condenses scenes to fit views and that 1 1/2 hour typical movie block. I am glad though to have read the novel to get a more in-depth look behind Lily's mother and especially Lily. I'm a lil disappointed that the movie created the movie house incident which isn't in the book (it was a coca-cola bottle incident) BUT I understand why that was chosen. It's more dramatic the movie way. But to me both are equally good and I like their differences. It isn't too garish to make me veto the book.

Total Points 425
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?ke...

And that's the end of the Fall Challenge for me. Have to catch up on some chores and tasks. That's a 140 point improvement for me. Not bad imho.

Congrats to all the winners!

Congratulations Emily and Leora.

GO LISA GO!!!

Finished two large tasks yesterday, and i have to post before I forget!
25.1 - Rhyme Time
Book: Hold Back The Night by Pat Frank
Poetry: A Light in the Attic by Shel Silverstein

20.2 - ABC
L: Lisa, Bright and Dark by John Neufeld
M: Marika by Andrea Cheng
N: Nightmare Hour Time for Terror by R.L. Stine

Points:560
Tasks:34
Books:49
Pages:14474

Last one for the fall. So glad winter is here. I can only do better!

5:10 - Time Traveler- The Time Traveler's Wife

Final total - 30 pts.

Hi,

It's Jayme from VA reporting in. Congrats to everyone who finished! My points total should be 190. Thanks Cynthia!

5.4 The House in Paris by Elizabeth Bowen 10/12
5.8 The 5th Horseman 9/14

15.1. A Month of Summer (9/24) and The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly (10/3) Preposition = "of"

15.3 Math: Subtraction = 4, Multiplication = 76
Cujo and The 6th Target

15.4 Science
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
3 episodes of Myth Busters, 2 episodes How it’s Made

20.1 House9/25

20.2 Alphabet: GHI
Grandfather's Chair
The House at Riverton
Into the Wild

20.3 Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane 10/10

25.1. The Friday Night Knitting Club and A Light in the Attic

25.7 one two three
Playback
Mary, Mary (Alex Cross, Book 11)
Dead Until Dark

25.8 Nouns
The Scarlet Slipper Mystery by Carolyn Keene. Thing = Slipper
The Wings Of Icarus Being The Life Of One Emilia Fletcher Name = Icarus or Emilia
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz Place = Oz

Emily wrote: "I completed the challenge by completing task 20.2 (ABCs) by reading the following:..."

Congratulations, Emily!

Completed:
10.10 by listening to The Cat Who Came in from the Cold A Fable and
25.1 by reading Where the Sidewalk Ends and Where the River Bends A Memoir
I think that's all I'll get finished for this challenge.
410 Points, 28 books, 18 tasks

Congratulations, Leora!! That's awesome!!

Leora wrote: "I am done!!!!!! Very little sleep last night but that's part of the fun....

10-8 The Coldest Winter by David Halberstam. My words were disc, type and winter.

10-9 Killer Angels by Michael Shaara..."

Yay! Leora!!

What a great book for your finish - Killer Angels is definitely awesome!

10.10-I finished "Death by Pantyhose" by Laura Levine. It was a cute fast read, and has a cat named Prozac in the book-also a picture of a cat!

Finished 10.10
Read Catwatching - Desmond Morris

My final update for this challenge is having read The God of Small things and The Comfort of Strangers for the 15.1 task with the same proposition (of) in each title. That brings my final total to 410. I've really enjoyed this challenge and have read more of the tasks than I thought I was going to!

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

20.2 A, B, C - Return by Victoria Hislop, Starting Over by Andy Parsons and The Informers by Juan Gabriel Vasquez
20.3 Group Read - Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane

25.1 Rhyme Time - If I don't know by Wendy Cope and Dead Sky by Tami Hoag
25.4 Film and Book - Mystic River by Dennis LeHane
25.5 Fortune in the title - Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
25.7 One, Two, Three - Regeneration by Pat Barker, Ice Road by Gillian Slovo and The Other Queen by Philippa Gregory
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
25.10 Halloween - Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

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

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


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I completed task 20.2 by reading

The Graveyard Book
The Handmaid's Tale
Inkheart

All three were worthwhile reads! 4 stars to each. I was surprised how easily this task fit into my to-read list and I was able to knock out three things that have been on their for a while. My favorite of the three was probably the Graveyard book, just because the unique concept and good execution.


Point Total: 410
Page Total: 10226

Completed task 10.1 by reading Fahrenheit 451. I initially was reading this for a different task that I did not finish, so I was pleasantly surprised that its publish date of 1953 put it into this category. I was a little disapointed by the book. I tend to really enjoy dystopia books, but this one just did not do it for me.

Point Total: 420
Page Total: 10342