The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Just started Someone Named Eva for part of Cheryl's Texas Task

I'm readingThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo at the moment.I can't remember which task I was thinking of, but I'm loving the book.

I always read a bunch of books at once, but two that I'm reading now that I really love are Snow Crash and Nicholas and Alexandra. They're both really gripping. I'm struggling through The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable at the same time. It WANTS to be The Tipping Point, but it's totally not.

For 5.6 I'm reading Socialism is Great!, and I just finished Talk Before Sleep for 5.8. I enjoyed the authenticity of emotions in Talk Before Sleep, but thought the friends (especially Ann) needed to achieve a little more distance emotionally instead of becoming overwhelmed by their friends' illness. Socialism is Great! is actually pretty funny (hence the title)and I can't wait to read more.

I finished "Look Me In The Eye : My Life With Asperger's". Now I am starting "The Tenth Circle".

I'll be finishing Gods Behaving Badly: A Novel. I'm enjoying it. It's a fun & fluffy book. I'm loving the conversations...they're so self-absorbed and full of me-me-me.
I'll then be continuing Chelsea Cain's Gretchen Lowell series with Sweetheart. I hope it's as good as the first book was.

I'm doing The Wild Trees: A Story of Passion and Daring--just starting that and The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson: A Novel. I've got The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game going on my Reader (I can never find the right edition for those.)

I am reading Julie Andrews memoir Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. I am excited because I have always LOVED Julie Andrews, but I am also nervous because just from the review I have read I know that her life was not as I have always imagined.

I just finished Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel. It took me a while to get into it (she writes in the third person present tense, which was unusual) but once I got into the rhythm I really enjoyed it. It was a long one, though (500+ pages) and I'm using it as part of a multi-book task so ten days into March and I still haven't been able to claim any points. I think I'm going to try one of my shorter picks next just to get myself on the Readerboard before beginning the second half of the multi-book task.

Reading Forbidden Falls (Virgin River, #9) and then Angel's Peak (Virgin River, #10) for task #30.4

Julie wrote: "I am reading Julie Andrews memoir Home: A Memoir of My Early Years. I am excited because I have always LOVED Julie Andrews, but I am also nervous because just from the review I have..." This looks so good! Are you reading it for the Academy Awards challenge? I still need something for that!

Just finished The Maze Runner which was ok for me. It was written well but just not my kind of story. Will be starting A Lova' Like No Otha'.

I finished "The Tenth Circle" and I am on "The Pretties"

I'm reading Missing Mom: A Novel and Under the Dome. Under the Dome will probably take me the whole challenge to finish!

I'm reading She Stoops To Conquer and August: Osage County for #25.6
I started with the contemporary "August", and boy! is it dark and depressing!! I'll be glad to move on to the lighthearted 18th century play.

Unfortunately I just returned from a week spent out-of-town for work and with no finished books to show for it! Something about being in a foreign city with a dozen co-workers that leads to way to much time at the restaurant/bar and way too little time in the dingy hotel reading. Or maybe it was a mistake to tackle two extra challenging books: The Golden Ass and The Collected Tales. I should be reading one of them now. And I will. But there are a bajillion posts to catch up on first....

Finished The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable which was just PAINFUL. I wouldn't wish that book on anyone. Loved Snow Crash. I'm also now half way through The Left Hand of Darkness which I find myself liking, despite the fact I disliked an earlier Ursula K. LeGuin book I read.

Right now, I'm on three books for the Spring Challenge:

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
The Art of the Pre-Raphaelites
The Historian

I actually started re-reading The Historian shortly before seeing that it was one of the group reads-- I'm so glad I's getting to use it for a task this season! And the art book is for the 15.8 task-- my library didn't have a bio of Millais.

I'm listening to Haunted. I'm not sure what I think about this one. The background stories of each of the people is interesting (and gross, at times, and always bizarre) but the "present day" situation and their reactions to it are not compelling and so outside the norm as to be unreal. I guess I've got to see where the story will go before I can decide what to think.
I've started reading Someone Named Eva. It's okay but I'm finding it a bit young for real enjoyment. I would have loved this story as a girl, though. I can see the appeal and want to find out how it ends.
I've also started Dracula as my lunch-break book at work.
I've started Cujo as well but it's slipped into the background for now.

I just finished The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, and I was so angry at the ending! What was the purpose of those 600 pages??

OK, moving on now - next up is Graceling for task #30.2B, but I'm a tad apprehensive there as well, after reading some of the comments. Thinking positive!

I am sawing away at The Name of the Wind. So far (100 pages in) the map in the front is completely worthless. Lots of places named, not one of which is on the map. I hate books like that.

I just finished "The Pretties" and I am now on "The Lovely Bones" for 15.6 task Friends and Friends of Friends.

I'm staring at piles and piles of library books and feeling really uninspired, actually! I have to admit, I've got a fair number of books slotted into this challenge that don't excite me. I may need to do some more research and see what I can find.

Donna Jo wrote: "I am sawing away at The Name of the Wind. So far (100 pages in) the map in the front is completely worthless. Lots of places named, not one of which is on the map. I hate books lik..."

I feel the same way about that map and books with useless maps!

I'm reading The Blue Corn Murders: A Eugenia Potter Mystery for 20.4 (local area fiction). Enjoyable main character!

I'm reading The Taste of Innocence for Part B of #15.4 and Murder On Monday for #20.2

I am finally finishing up "The Last Chinese Chef" which I think is very well written and flows smoothly. I am not sure I will get the chance to read the seasonal challenge books which was my goal as I can barely finish a book with my toddler ever needing attention. But I may, you never know.

Reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. It has made me laugh out loud, but only for a brief section. (Why are Christmas pageants gone awry so funny?) It is turning out to be a much slower read than I had hoped.

Okay I finally finished "The Historian" and no intention of reading it again. I am still working on "The Eight". I am going to start "The Golden Road by LM MOntgomery for 5.10 task.

Reading Thunder on the Right for Wendy's task.

I am currently reading An Album of Memories: Personal Histories from the Greatest Generation. I have read several other books of Tom Brokaw's and have enjoyed them. I borrowed this one from my sister awhile ago and am just now getting around to reading it. I'm about halfway through and I really like it. It is a compilation of letters from "The Greatest Generation" who wrote him about their thoughts and experiences after reading The Greatest Generation. I'm a mix of emotions while reading it--inspired, thankful and humbled by what they endured.

I am about halfway through In the Woods by Tana French,which is a great mystery. I still have no idea where this book will end.

The other book I am reading is the Penguin Unabridged translation of The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, which is phenomenal.

I am reading Girl with the pearl earring for the fashion fades and Valley of the Dolls for the something popular when in high school challenge. I am so glad I stumbled upon this challenge. I have been enjoying finding books to fit the slots.

I'm reading Toss the Bride. Because Nicole hated it, I had really low expectations. Thus it is fine. Not great, but ok. I'm on a wedding kick, though, what with traveling across the country this week for a bridal shower!

Sheila wrote: "..... I am so glad I stumbled upon this challenge. I have been enjoying finding books to fit the slots.."

Sheila, planning my Book List for the Challenge is one of my favorite parts. It makes reading so easy for the next three months as I always have books on the ready that I really want to read.


I'm currently reading Dracula for Task 5.10 (Queen Victoria??), Cujo for Something Popular When in High School (yawn.....this book is really boring and poorly written) and listening to Portrait of a Killer: Jack The Ripper - Case Closed for part of the Something That Happened on your Birthday task......and I'm not thinking that the Case is closed.

I've read Portrait of a Killer. Patricia Cornwell makes a pretty convincing case for Jack the Ripper. I thought it was quite interesting.

I'm finding the book interesting but there's too many "maybe", "perhaps", "it could have been", etc. to make a convincing case, I think. Maybe she pulls it together by the end. I'm only about half way through. It's been awhile since I've read a Jack The Ripper book and I'm quite enjoying the sleuthing and probabilities.

Reading Columbine right now. It has received great reviews & I completely agree. The book isn't gratuitous at all and I'd be surprised if it isn't a Pulitzer nominee.

Also reading In the Woods and I'm liking it a lot too.

I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I started it for the garden task, but I like it so much I am going to use it for comparing the first and second novels of an author! An additional bonus is that her books count for big books because they are over 500 pages!

Julie wrote: "I am reading The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton. I started it for the garden task, but I like it so much I am going to use it for comparing the first and second nov..."

I've been listening to the audiobook of The Forgotten Garden and I really like it too.

I just started three new reads for other Spring tasks...

Mr. Darcy's Diary by Amanda Grange
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Love and Hate in Jamestown by David A. Price

I finished the Forgotten Garden and A Child Called "It" yesterday. Now I am working on Confessions of a Closet Catholic. I have actually been laughing out loud!! I read excerpts to my husband and my mother. Mom laughed too, husband thought it was a little ridiculous!!

Reading Wintergirls about anorexic girls *very chilling*

I finished "The Eight" and starting "The History of the Siege in Lisbon"

Liz wrote: "Reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. It has made me laugh out loud, but only for a brief section. (Why are Christmas pageants gone awry so funny?) It is turning out to be a much slower r..."

Keep reading. The ending makes it all worth while.

Reading Highland Fling for the 2nd half of the 'Spring' 'Fling' task

Liz wrote: "Reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. It has made me laugh out loud, but only for a brief section. (Why are Christmas pageants gone awry so funny?) It is turning out to be a much slower r..." Have you finished? This is one of my favorite books of all time, but friends of mine have given it mixed reviews. Notwithstanding the length, and the fact that I very rarely re-read anything, I've read this one more than once and gotten something new from it each time.

Ashley wrote: "Liz wrote: "Reading A Prayer for Owen Meany. It has made me laugh out loud, but only for a brief section. (Why are Christmas pageants gone awry so funny?) It is turning out to be a m..."

I did finish. While I enjoyed it, it's not something I'll re-read. I am really bad at getting irony and/or I don't have the same sense of humor as Irving.

I'm reading The Unscratchables to complete 25.8 and Greed, Lust and Gender: A History of Economic Ideas for 15.7 (which is a good book but I need breaks because I get disgusted at the arrogance of economic theorists).

I've had trouble finding a good book for 5.2. I read The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield which I really enjoyed but it's not about gardens. I gave up on The French Gardener. Picked up Gasa-Gasa Girl and The Night Garden at the library yesterday -- have my fingers crossed that one of them will be okay.

pjreads wrote: "I'm reading The Unscratchables to complete 25.8 and Greed, Lust and Gender: A History of Economic Ideas for 15.7 (which is a good book but I need breaks because I get ..."

Have you already read Garden Spells? That is a good one for this task.

I finished "The History of the Siege of Lisbon". I started "The Secret River". Also starting "The Book Thief".