The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Jen MO

5.7 Japanese Fairy Tales Translated by: Yei Theodora Ozak What I’m thankful for: having a wonderful and supportive family (which some of these traditional characters lack, some have, and some are seeking)

10.1 A Touch of Evil by Richard O’Dea (originally published in 1958)

15.1 (After) After the Fall by Arthur Miller, After: the Post 9/11 era by Stephen Brill

25.1 The Witches by Roald Dahl, Playing with the Grownups by Sophie Dahl (grandfather/granddaughter)

25.8 Alexander the Great by Jacob Abbott, Wind in the Willows, Anne of Green Gables by LM Montgomery

Previous total: 320
New total: 400 Reached my goal!

I completed task 20.2 by reading From Dead to Worse, The Ghost in Love A Novel, and The Help.

My total is now 425.

Tara wrote: "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 ..."

Congratulations Leora!!!

Cheryl wrote: "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 spec..."

For this you still need to say how the first book relates to the sense.

Congratulations Jen on reaching your goal!

I finished 15.10: Teacher-Student Relations, with the following books:
- The English Major by Jim Harrison (teacher)
- L'aiguille creuse (The Hollow Needle) by Maurice Leblanc (student)

Current points: 80
Books read: 8

For 15 point task #10, I read Olive Kitteridge A Novel in Stories by Elizabeth Strout (teacher) and Under the Rose: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund.

For 10 point task #7, I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.

Updated points: 230
Tasks completed: 19

Congrats Leora!

50 POINT MID-WAY TASK
PJREADS 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.
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.
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.
I. Senses - Visions of Sugar Plums Janet Evanovich 11-28-09 Stephanie Plum is a bounty hunter, so her job is to bring in people who have been bailed out of jail and then not shown up for their court date. She is not very good at her job and always has to spend a great deal of time looking for them. Sight is very important for her because without it she would not be able to do her job. 164 Pages
II. Emotions: He Loves Lucy Susan Donovan 11-2-09 The biggest highlight that the book reveals about love comes from a minor character, but it influences a main character: you can’t pick who you love, it just happens. It doesn’t always make sense and the timing might suck, but when it’s there its there. That is what the book reveals. 338 Pages
III. Memories - Faking It Jennifer Crusie re-read 11-30-09 In the book Tilda has to take care of her family whenever anything goes wrong. She is the glue that holds them together and now she has to turn to crime to keep her family safe. She learns to trust and falls in love along the way. The keepsake that I picked is a picture that my best friend gave me of the two of us at our senior year homecoming dance. I picked this book for two reasons 1) she recommended the author to me and this was the first of her books that I read and 2) she and I have been like sisters since junior high, and we have always taken care of each other; we take turns being each other’s Tilda. 412 Pages

Current Pages Read: 11704
Books Read: 32
Challenges Completed: 21
Total Points: 360

Completed task 5.2 (An Apple a Day)

Garden Spells

Just realized I had left some details out of post 3929, task 50. I believe I adequately covered emotion and memory. However I left out detail on sense. The book I read was Speak Softly, She can Hear by Pam Lewis. I focused on hearing. This sense was highlighted in the book in the mental sense of the word. Basically even when we run from our problems and the truth our mind will make sure that we always hear what our mind will not forget.

Finished 5.5 (Reread a young adult book)

Matilda by Roald Dahl (5 stars)

When I read this book for the first time, as a teenager, I felt that Dahl had wrote it just for me. I had always been a reader, but this was the first book where I found myself in one of the characters. I strongly related to Matilda, who was quiet, studious, and dreamy. I, too, never fit in with a family whom was loud, apathetic, and addicted to television. While rereading this classic, I traveled back in time and wondered, again, how I became and remained me in such a household. Now, as both an adult and a teacher, I also connected with the character of Ms. Honey. She tries to make learning enjoyable, inspiring, and interconnected while Ms. Trunchbell, the administrator, wants kids to receive cut and dry lessons of memorization. Like Ms. Honey, I feel frustrated when I notice the gifts of students, whom have somehow been labeled as slow because of a language barrier, test score, or stereotype.

+5
total 160
16 books

I've finished half of Task 25.6 (Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power), but I'll post all of that together when I finish William McKinley. I'm on page 86 of 173.... I'm going to finish AND hit 20,000 pages! Woohoo! Anyway, I'm taking a break from Billy Mack (who's pretty cool so far) to post a couple tasks I finished last week:
* Task 5.2 - Apple Cover: by Sarah Addison Allen (11/25/09)

* Task 10.1 - 9/7/36 to 2/3/59: The Clue in the Crumbling Wall by Carolyn Keene (1954) (11/24/09)

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 44/45
Books Read: 62/63
Pages Read: 19,867
Points Earned: 665/690

There's no way I can catch up on all the 177 posts I missed during the holiday weekend, but

CONGRATS to all the people who've reached their goals, and also to the new winners -- Stephanie, Sam, Michelle, Bridgit, Emily, and Leora! Way to go!

Come on Sara! You can do it!

go sara, go sara! :)

Final post from me for this challenge.

Completed Task 25.5

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman.

I finished 30.1

Current Job: Business - Lifescripts What to Say to Get What You Want in Life's Toughest Situations. This is filled with various topic that may come up with a boss that would help you get what you want or resolve an issue. It is actually really helpful. Gave it 3 stars.

Dream Job: Teaching - Close Encounters of the Third-Grade Kind Thoughts on Teacherhood. This book was adorable. I recommend it for anybody who is or has ever wanted to be a teacher or for anybody who flat out loves kids. Gave it 5 stars!

This bring my total up to 110 (I think).

Sandie wrote: "Final post from me for this challenge.

Completed Task 25.5

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman...

Sandie, does this book have a picture of a map anywhere on the cover or inside it? Thanks!

Just in time to post my final books. it's number 8 of the 25 point challenge on nouns. Person Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier, place Toad of Toad Hall by William Horwood and a thing Poison Study by Maria V Snyder,so my name is Rebecca my place is Toad Hall and my thing is poison.

Petra wrote: "Sandie wrote: "Final post from me for this challenge.

Completed Task 25.5

Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch by Terry Pratchett & Neil Gaiman...

Sandie, do..."

Afraid not, Petra. I'm just about to start searching through my books trying to find one as well!

Oh I've just realised, I'm in a different time zone(UK) and may be too late!

I finished task 5.7 Giving Thanks by readingRebecca. I am most thankful for my loving Husband and happy marriage... the book is about unhappy marriages. Boy did this book make me even more thankful for what I have!! I also was thankful it was over, it got one star from me. I should learn to stay away from Gothic romances, just not my thing.

Point Total: 425
Page Total: 10790

Tracy wrote: "Oh I've just realised, I'm in a different time zone(UK) and may be too late!"

Your ok there is still about 9 hours left.

Sandie wrote: "Afraid not, Petra. I'm just about to start searching through my books trying to find one as well! ...."

Bummer! Thanks, Sandi, I'll keep looking.

Over the holiday I finished the 50 point task:
Senses:King Lear One of the main characters is blinded during the play, and sight/blindness is an important metaphor for Lear and Glouchester's inability to see the truth of their situations or the characters of the people around them.
Emotions:Fear and Trembling This book uses the Abraham and Issac story to discuss faith. The author describes the complex emotions Abraham may have felt in his dilemma, and those that are common to people exploring issues of faith: fear, dread, loss, and joy.
Memories: The Iliad My memory is my trip to Greece when I was in middle school. My keepsake from this trip is a plaster replica of the Mourning Athena sculpture my father bought me when the two of us took a day trip to Mycenea

I also read The Hunger Games and watched two episodes of Planet Earth for 15.4 and read Heroes, Vol. 1 for 10.7

I think the brings me up to 335 points for the Fall Challenge. Congratulations to everyone who met their goals!

GO SARA <3!! You can finish! If you finish, you can task us with read a book by 50 Cent ;)

20.1 The Magician's Nephew

total: 265

Yeah! - to all those who have completed the Challenge, the winners, and Kudos to those who are still pushing on!
Thanks to Cynthia for all the hard work and organization for this fun contest!

This is my final post for the Fall 09 challenge.
Almost have the winter challenge list completed and ready for posting. :)

It has been posted, linked with reviews, and updated on my blog. Here is the link -
Layers of Thought
All book reviews are posted here on Goodreads as well.

I'm feeling really lucky this season in that I only had one 2 star book, one 5 star, and the rest have been mostly 4 stars.

5 Point
7. What I am Thankful for: Stepchildren - Stepmonster by Wednesday Martin PhD 4 star (read 11/23/09)
8. Book with two authors: Soul Survivor by Bruce and Andrea Leninger (read 10/1) 4.5 stars
9. Coming of Age: A Map of Home by Randa Jarrar (read 11/22) 4 stars
10 Point
2. River Phoenix Overdose - A Character with an Addiction: Playing House by Fredrica Wagman; (completed 10/1) 4 stars
15 Point
1. Homophones: (to/too) The World According to Twitter by David Pogue 4 stars (read 10/1/09) and The Man Who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Hoover Bartlett 4.5 stars (read 11/6/09)
4. Science Fiction/Fact: Read a Science Book watch Sci Fi Film: The Superstress Solution by Roberta Lee MD – fact book; 4 stars Sci Fi movie was Sleep Factory 4.5 stars (read and watched by 10/20)
7. P.E. listen to a book while exercising: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 4 stars (10/9/09)
25 Point
7. One, Two, Three - Serena by Ron Rash 5 stars (10/8/09) ; Three Seeds by Gabriel Madison 3 stars (10/15/09) Health Beyond Medicine by Scott Paton 2 stars ( 10/20/09)
9. Self Improvement Month - Read one Nonfiction on self help, Read one where the character self improves: Now What: 90 Days to a New Life Direction by Laura Berman 3 stars and Dancing with Ana by Nicole Barker 4 stars(finished 9/10)

Total Points: 130 /690
Tasks still in Process: 8
Completed Tasks: 9/45
Books Read for Completed Tasks: 13/60
Books still in Progress 10
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 3738

Ok, this is my last report for Fall Challenge.

10-10 Cat in cover
I read by Michele Jaffe
The book is quite fun and lovely. I may go check later if there is a sequel.

+10
Total points: 225

Two more tasks done. One to go. Have to finish one more book by midnight!! AHHH!

10.5 Oktoberfest - I read The Tin Drum by Gunther Grass. Really strange book, but compelling. Hard to read but hard to put down at the same time. I don't know even how to describe it. A man (or boy) who decides to stop growing at the age of three, is obsessed with constantly drumming on his toy tin drum, shatters glass with his voice, has two fathers, obsessed with nurses, etc. However, this book offers an incredibly interesting view into Nazi-era Germany as well as one of the most fascinating protagonists I have ever read about. I gave it three stars. I also look forward to watching the movie at some point.

15.5 - Study abroad Challenge - I re-read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson. This book is awesome in ways I can't even explain to you. Sure, the Times reviewer basically called it torture porn, but if you love mysteries, intrigue, etc. you will love this book. Larsson also introduced one of my favorite literary characters ever (right beneath Mr. Darcy of course), the Asperger's genius hacker/social misfit private investigator Lizbeth Salander. I recommend this book along with the second in the series and I can't wait for the third.

For my second book, I read one of Henning Mankell's Wallander books, Before the Frost, the first book to feature Inspector Wallander's daughter, Linda as a new police officer. I enjoyed this book very much. It was an interesting novel about religious themed serial killer murders, and tied into the Jim Jones Massacre from the 70's.

Both of these books were originally written in Swedish.

Previous score: 655
Current Score: 680

I thought I posted another task that I finished earlier in the weekend, but now I can't find it and I realized my points weren't up to date according to my records.

So I'll repost the task here. That should bring my points up to date.

25.6 I read a book about Lincoln - "They Have Killed Papa Dead!" The Road to Ford's Theater, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance by Anthony S. Pitch. This book is about the difficulty of keeping Abraham Lincoln alive, the plots against his life, and eventually, his assassination and all of the hullaballo afterwords. Very fascinating, a page turner. I read the paperback edition which is 560 pages.

One task left to go...

Sara wrote: "Two more tasks done. One to go. Have to finish one more book by midnight!! AHHH!

10.5 Oktoberfest - I read The Tin Drum by Gunther Grass. Really strange book, but compelling. Hard to ..."

Your points are still at 655 because you still need to post the scandals/accomplishments for the presidential task.

Go Sara you can do it!!!!!

Night wrote: "Ok, this is my last report for Fall Challenge.

10-10 Cat in cover
I read by Michele Jaffe
The book is quite fun and lovely. I may go check later if there is a se..."


I read the same book for that task. I also enjoyed it and look forward to reading the sequel
Kitty Kitty. I love YA books. :)

Go Sara Go!!

Congratulations to all the new finishers of the Fall Challenge!

My Newly Completed Tasks – Final for the Challenge:

5.3 - Read A Novel Where The Main Character Travels At Sea:
Love Overboard by Janet Evanovich. This was a cute little romantic comedy type book with just a little mystery thrown in. Quick read, I rate it 3.5 stars

30.1 - ROSEANN'S TASK - Your Job/Dream Job Challenge
a) Current Job: (Unemployed software business analyst) Hard Day's Knight by Katie MacAlister

b) Childhood dream job: (Archeologist) The Xibalba Murders An Archeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton

Wa-hoo! Another challenge completed. This is my second challenge, and I reached my personal goal of finishing with 400-500 points. Thanks Cynthia for encouraging another great quarter of reading.

Total Points: 480
Completed Tasks: 28/45
Books Read for Completed Tasks: 41/62
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 14,711

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My last post for this season!

25.7. CINDY'S TASK - One, Two, Three - Read Three Books...
• Atonement by Ian McEwan
• One Shot by Lee Child
• Out of Mind by Catherine Samson
AtonementOne ShotOut of Mind

Ohhh. I just read Cynthia's note.

25.6 Lincoln book - "They Have Killed Papa Dead!" The Road to Ford's Theater, Abraham Lincoln's Murder, and the Rage for Vengeance by Anthony S. Pitch

Accomplishment - The Emancipation Proclamation. Hello! Lincoln is one of our (if not our most) beloved Presidents. Lincoln was a brave and incredible man, who held fast to his beliefs and eventually died for them. It was inspiring to read about him and his fight against slavery.

Scandal - Lincoln's assassination. The book I read touched on this. If anything, it could be argued that his greatest accomplishment led to his scandal, being assassinated by and individual who was so strongly against abolition and giving slaves their rights. It was fascinating and disturbing to read about J. Wilkes Booth. (Two of the books I read this challenge touched on this - one fictional and one non-fiction). The planning, and murder of Lincoln along with the trials of the people in the plot was very scandalous, especially the execution of Mrs. Mary Surratt, who was hung along with four other individuals invovled in the plot (J.Wilkes Booth was shot to death before he could be tried). Mrs. Surratt's death was very scandalous and many people protested her innocence along with the harshness of her punishment. Most people expected a presidential pardon for this punishment and where shocked when Andrew Johnson refused, and she was hung. She was the first woman ever executed by the Federal Government.

That should bring me up to 680.

This has not been a good challenge for me...lots of things have been happening in my personal and work life. But here are a few more points for me...I had a few days off at Thanksgiving and was able to finish a couple more tasks. LOL

I finished Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins to finish task #20.2. I read:
Fool Moon by Jim Butcher
Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins
Hunted by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

I also read Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan for task #25.3.

That gives me 45 more points that brings me up to a whopping 135 points. That is just pitiful. But I love doing these challenges and can't wait to start the next one.

Congratulations to all the winners.

And my last task completed!

30.1 Roseanne's task, for which I have read:
a. The Double Helix by James D. Watson, for my current job, which is diagnosing hereditary diseases. I have to analyze DNA samples every day.
b. The Book of Lost Books; An Incomplete History of All the Great Books You'll Never Read by Stuart Kelly for my (other) dream job: hunter and seller of rare old books.

I strongly recommend the first one to anyone who likes science. On the other hand, I didn't enjoy the second one as much as I thought I would. It was a chore to get past the Greeks, and the dry prose didn't help much.

Total points: 110
I met my goal! (100 points). However, I left one task unfinished: 25.7 (One, Two, Three words title). I had already read Dangerous Liaisons and The Angel's Game, both great readings.

This was my first challenge and I really loved it. It pushed me to reading more than I usually do and to finally read books that have been sitting on my shelves for years. I'm ready to start the winter challenge!

Alright well, I wasn't as active in this club as much as I would have liked (this is only my second post in this thread!!) but this challenge did do what it was supposed to: get me to read books at college.

So here is my final total.

10 points
5. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

15 points
3. (Addition.. 5 + 5 = 10.) Splendid - Julia Quinn
3. (Subtraction 22 - 19 = 3) Dancing at Midnight - Julia Quinn
9. Young Adult Short Works Collection Volume 1

20 points
2. K A Kiss to Remember - Teresa Medeiros
2. L The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
2. M Minx - Julia Quinn

25 points
7. Bitten Kelley Armstrong
7. After Midnight - Teresa Medeiros
7. In the Pond - Ha Jin
8. (person) To Sir Phillip, With Love - Julia Quinn
8. (place) As We Saw Them The First Japanese Embassy to the United States
8. (thing) The Graveyard Book -Neil Gaiman
10. The Vampire Who Loved Me - Teresa Medeiros

Totals
points: 135
books: 14
challenges: 7

Definitely not as good as the summer, but then again not a bad showing indeed.

15.2. Rewriting History - Read an Alternative Historical Novel. Afterwards, Post A Review Where You State Whether You Think The World (Or A Particular) Country Would Be Better Today If The Author's Version Of History Is What Really Happened. Give Reasons Why.

Soulless by Gail Carriger

Soulless is based on the premise that the separation of the Church of England from the Roman Catholic Church came about when King Henry VIII integrated the supernatural - namely vampires, werewolves, and ghosts - into English society, making them the first and only nation to treat them as anything other than the natural enemies of man. The book itself is set 300 years later, during the Victorian era, and the integration is now total. The contributions of the supernaturals have given rise to what we know of as the British Empire.

In all other parts of the world, the conflict between the natual and the supernatural continues unabated, so I cannot see any reason to consider that alternate reality to be superior to our own.

Total points 295
Tasks complete 20

25.7 - The Gift, Multiple Blessings, The Lost Symbol

15.1 Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer and Shop Class as Soul Craft: an Inquiry Into the Value of Work by Matthew B. Crawford

25.1 - The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley and Why I Wake Early by Mary Oliver (Poetry)

Susan wrote: "25.7 - The Gift, Multiple Blessings, The Lost Symbol"

The gift would be 2 words so you are still missing a one word book.

Tanja wrote: "GO SARA <3!! You can finish! If you finish, you can task us with read a book by 50 Cent ;)"

It's genius! Why didn't I think of that?? ;)

I was looking to go back and rate all my fall reads (be they ever so few) and apparently i forgot one.

10 points
5. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

15 points
2. Fatherland by Robert Harris
3. (Addition.. 5 + 5 = 10.) Splendid - Julia Quinn
3. (Subtraction 22 - 19 = 3) Dancing at Midnight - Julia Quinn
9. Young Adult Short Works Collection Volume 1

20 points
2. K A Kiss to Remember - Teresa Medeiros
2. L The Lost Symbol - Dan Brown
2. M Minx - Julia Quinn

25 points
7. Bitten Kelley Armstrong
7. After Midnight - Teresa Medeiros
7. In the Pond - Ha Jin
8. (person) To Sir Phillip, With Love - Julia Quinn
8. (place) As We Saw Them The First Japanese Embassy to the United States
8. (thing) The Graveyard Book -Neil Gaiman
10. The Vampire Who Loved Me - Teresa Medeiros

Totals
points: 150
books: 15
challenges: 8

Sorry about that. I bolded the new one. My sense of balance is happier now because of the nice rounded totals. But that is it for me. No more stragglers I just looked to make sure!

Julia wrote: "I was looking to go back and rate all my fall reads (be they ever so few) and apparently i forgot one.

10 points
5. The Book Thief - Markus Zusak

15 points
2. Fatherland by Robert Harris
3. (Ad..."

To get credit on 15.2 you need to post whether the authors version is preferable to what actually happened.

Task 15.5: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson

All right. I'm done!! WOO HOO! And with 4 whole hours to spare!
Final task list for the Fall 2009 Challenge.

My lists of accomplishments and scandals are QUITE long, so I'm going to be super-brief here and post links to my reviews, which have the full lists... Here we go:

Task 25.6 — BJ Rose — Dead Presidents:

Abraham Lincoln: Lincoln: A Life of Purpose and Power by Richard Carwardine (11/29/09) - 369 pages - Full Review
#1 Accomplishment: Freed the Slaves
#1 "Scandal": Federal Income Tax!! (Say it isn't true, Lincoln!)

William McKinley: William McKinley by Kevin Phillips (11/30/09) - 173 pages - Full Review
#1 Accomplishment: Kicked BUTT in the Spanish-American War, which began to establish the US as a major world power
#1 "Scandal": Is completely misunderstood and under-appreciated!!

FINAL STATS
Books Read: 63 (7 children's books = 1)
Pages Read: 20,040
Points Earned: 690/690