Reading with Style discussion
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Summer 2025
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Completed Tasks
15.26 Spring 2024 How Does Your Garden Grow?For this challenge, each book plants one or more flowers, veggies or herbs from a specific list, without repeats. Flowers: all letters of the flower in the book title. Veggies: setting (city, state, country, planet) starts with the same letter as the veggie. Herbs: page count contains the number of letters in that herb.
Planted so far, including this post: rue, dill, potato, fennel, leek, endive, lily, marigold, aster
Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Planting a flower aster
+15 Task (Klara andthe Sun)
Post total: 15
Season total: 425
15.27 Spring 2024 How Does Your Garden Grow?For this challenge, each book plants one or more flowers, veggies or herbs from a specific list, without repeats. Flowers: all letters of the flower in the book title. Veggies: setting (city, state, country, planet) starts with the same letter as the veggie. Herbs: page count contains the number of letters in that herb.
Planted so far, including this post: rue, dill, potato, fennel, leek, endive, lily, marigold, aster, onion
The Alice Behind Wonderland by Simon Winchester
Planting a veggie onion
+15 Task (set 85%+ in Oxford)
Post total: 15
Season total: 440
15.13 SU24 Olympic ScavengerThe Painted Veil by W. Somerset Maugham
Tennis, Option A:
Read a book where a person engages in one of the listed activities. For this option, you don't have to find the exact word, so for example running would work for athletics.
We don't need to approve books, but please explain how your book fits the task when you post.
+15 Task MC Charles Townsend won the local tennis championship the year before. (Ch. 16)
+05 Old (1925)
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 255+20+275
15.14 – SU 22 BINGOAll Change by Elizabeth Jane Howard
B4 Before: Historical Fiction
+15 Task
+5 Big (572 pages)
Task total = 20
Points total = 220
FA 23 Celebration of Styles: 9/10
SU 22 BINGO: 4/10
15.24 - FA 21 How to Play Counting on AuthorsRead 10 books by 10 different authors* where the letters (no spaces or punctuation counted) in the entire published name are:
9 or fewer letters
10 letters
11 letters
12 letters
13 letters
14 letters
15 letters
16-17 letters
18-19 letters
20 or more letters
Deadly Corruption by Renee Pawlish
+15 task - 12 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 575
Post 388 Claire wrote: "15.16Fall 2016 How to Play Half and Half
Author first name and surname initials must be in the same half of the alphabet, first name initial appearing earlier than surname initial
North Woods
Daniel Mason"
Claire, the rules of Half and Half say:
"Authors with initials A-M are in one half of the challenge and authors with initials N-Z are in the other half of the challenge ...
Tasks 15.1 thru 15.5 are for the first half of the alphabet (A-M).
Tasks 15.6 thru 15.10 are for the second half of the alphabet (N-Z)."
So your tasks 15.16 to 15.20 need authors whose initials are in the second half of the alphabet, still with the first initial appearing before the second. For example, Oscar Wilde.
15.29 - FA 21 How to Play Counting on AuthorsRead 10 books by 10 different authors* where the letters (no spaces or punctuation counted) in the entire published name are:
9 or fewer letters
10 letters
11 letters
12 letters
13 letters
14 letters
15 letters
16-17 letters
18-19 letters
20 or more letters
Please Don't Lie: A Thriller by Christina Baker Kline
+15 task - 19 letters
Task total: 15
Grand total: 590
15.33 SU 23 Sub-Challenge SummerFall 2017 20.6 Clergy
many clergy -Precentor, 2 Canons and a Curate
Holy Disorders by Edmund Crispin
15 task
5 oldie
____
20
Running total: 655
Rosemary wrote: "Post 388 Claire wrote: "15.16Fall 2016 How to Play Half and Half
Author first name and surname initials must be in the same half of the alphabet, first name initial appearing earlier than surname ..."
I’ll put a replacement .
15.16Fall 2016 How to Play Half and Half
Author first name and surname initials must be in the same half of the alphabet, first name initial appearing earlier than surname initial
Een dag uit het leven van Abed Salama: een palestijnse tragedie Nathan Thrall
15 points
Total: 705 points
REPLACEMENT POST FOR 388.
15.20 FA 19 Pick N Mix 2A1 - Set in the USA
The Magic of Found Objects by Maddie Dawson
+15 Task
+50 Finisher bonus
Post total: 65
Grand total: 315
15.21 SU 18 Listopia TagsBooktube Recommends 2022: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
Tag - Recommended
Book - #22
The Pull of the Stars by Emma Donoghue
+15 Task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 330
15.22 SU 18 Listopia TagsWhat Women Born in the 1970s have Read 2025:
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Tag - 1970s-women
Book - #2
The God of the Woods by Liz Moore
+15 Task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 345
15.23 SU 18 Listopia TagsCan't Wait Sci-Fi/Fantasy of 2025: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/2...
Tag - science-fiction
Book - #8
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher
+15 Task
Task total: 15
Grand total: 360
Task 15.09 Summer 2024 Olympic ScavengerDIVING
Option B
A Natural History of Dragons (The Memoirs of Lady Trent #1) (2013) by Marie Brennan
p. 294: “I swiftly weighed the likely outcome if I were on his back, and flung myself from the saddle, DIVING for cover.”
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 155 + 15 = 170
15.20 SU 23 Sub-Challenge Summer - FavouritesRead 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons. You must state the season and the task (number and brief description) when posting your book claim.
All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby
15.20 15 pts Winter 16-17 20.6 The Heart is a Lonely Hunter Read a book where the title is a full sentence
Total Task: 15 pts
Total Season: 265 pts
15.39WI 10-11 How to Play "Backpacking through Europe"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Air traveler
De gelukkigste man ter wereld Eddie Jaku
Visited:
1. Iceland
2. The Nettherlands
3. Uk
4. Italy
5. Greece
6. Turkey
7. France
8. Norway
9. Germany
15 points
Total: 720 points
15.10 Summer 2023: FAVORITESRead 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons. You must state the season and the task (number and brief description) when posting your book claim.
Fall 2022:
20.9 ABCs (Kate S's Task)
Read a book in which the author's initials appear in alphabetical order. Double letters do not count. Authors who work: Dean Koontz, José Saramago, Anne Rivers Siddons.
Off-White by Astrid H. Roemer
+15 Task
+ 50 Completion Bonus
Season total: 360
Note: This book takes place in Suriname
15.30 - FA 21 How to Play Counting on AuthorsRead 10 books by 10 different authors* where the letters (no spaces or punctuation counted) in the entire published name are:
9 or fewer letters
10 letters
11 letters
12 letters
13 letters
14 letters
15 letters
16-17 letters
18-19 letters
20 or more letters
The Mentor by Rita Carla Francesca Monticelli
+15 task - 28 letters
+ 150 Finishing bonus
Task total: 165
Grand total: 755
15.24 FA 19 Pick 'n Mix 2The goal is to read 10 books that fit in 10 different sub-categories. No letter can be used more than twice and no number can be used more than twice.
D6. Genre: contemporary, realism, literary fiction, classics
The Devil in the Flesh by Raymond Radiguet (classics)
+15 Task
+ 5 Old (1923)
Task total = 20
Season total = 650
Task 15.10 Summer 2024 Olympic ScavengerHOCKEY
Option B
How Did You Get This Number: Essays (2010) by Sloane Crosley (Hardback 274 pages) [814.6]
p. 100: “We are quick to highlight our own ignorance, blurting out things like ‘I don’t know how to place ice HOCKEY!’ when someone casually points to a pond.”
+15 Task
+50 points for your first sub-challenge completion
Task Total: 15 + 50 = 65
Grand Total: 170 + 65 = 235
Due to not qualifying for Russia (Ukraine/Belarus) I am moving the below two books:The Unwomanly Face of War: An Oral History of Women in World War II by Svetlana Alexievich from WI 13/14 Travel the Pacific Rim to SU 23 Sub-Challenge Summer - Favourites Winter 2015-16 20.6 Svetlana Alexievich (2015)- Read a book that takes place in or is about the Soviet (1917-1990) Experience.
The Moustache by Emmanuel Carrère from SU 23 Sub-Challenge Summer - Favourites to FA23 Celebration of Styles (2)
LiT
LiT, 2
Season Total: 925
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27;
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42;
15.40WI 10-11 How to Play "Backpacking through Europe"
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Air traveler
De gelijkenis Tana French
Visited:
1. Iceland
2. The Nettherlands
3. Uk
4. Italy
5. Greece
6. Turkey
7. France
8. Norway
9. germany
10. Ireland
15 points +150 points third challenge + 5 points Big book (595 p.)
Total: 890 points
15.28: WI 13/14 Travel the Pacific RimRead 10 books, from 10 different countries according to the list in post 2.
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata
Japan
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 940
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27; 15.28
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42;
15.43: FA23 Celebration of Styles (2)The Twilight World by Werner Herzog
Aged, born 1942
LiT, 2
Aged, 1
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 955
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27; 15.28
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42; 15.43;
15.44: FA23 Celebration of Styles (2)Land of Big Numbers: Stories by Te-Ping Chen
NaN, short stories
(I started reading this for China in TtPR but it didn't work, however, it was such a good collection I put it on hold to finish after I had finished Favs because I really wanted to read. Highly Recommend)
LiT, 2
Aged, 1
NaN, 1
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 970
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27; 15.28
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42; 15.43; 15.44;
15.45: FA23 Celebration of Styles (2)Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman
NaN
LiT, 2
Aged, 1
NaN, 2
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 985
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27; 15.28
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42; 15.43; 15.44; 15.45;
15.46: FA23 Celebration of Styles (2)A Murder Is Announced by Agatha Christie
Aged
LiT, 2
Aged, 2
NaN, 2
Post Total: 15
Season Total: 1000
15.1; 15.2; 15.3; 15.4; 15.5; 15.6; 15.7; 15.8; 15.9; 15.10
15.11; 15.12; 15.13; 15.14; 15.15; 15.16; 15.17; 15.18; 15.19; 15.20
15.21; 15.22; 15.23; 15.24; 15,25; 15.26; 15.27; 15.28
15.31; 15.32; 15.33; 15.34; 15.35; 15.36; 15.37; 15.38; 15.39; 15.40
15.41; 15.42; 15.43; 15.44; 15.45; 14.46;
15.23 FU 2023 FavoritesRead 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons.
My Name Is Asher Lev by Chaim Potok
WI 2021-22 20.9 Madame Bovary
Read a book with a surname in the title.
+15 task
+ 5 oldie (pub 1972)
Task total: 20
Season total: 415
15.41 FA 17 Reading Globally Overview
Read 10 books set (at least 51%) in 10 different countries, in which each country begins with a different letter
De onttoverden
Marie Vareille
1. France
15 points
Total: 900 points
15.39 SP20 BlackjackTo make a "hand" combine two to five cards so that the sum for any book totals 17, 18, 19, 20, or 21. Careful! You can use a card only once.
The Storyteller's Death by Ann Dávila Cardinal
3 of spades: 3-word title
7 of diamonds: title starts with an "S" (you can disregard opening articles)
K of diamonds: set at least 75% in Central America, South America, or the Caribbean: set 95% in Puerto Rico =
20 point hand
+15 Task
Task total: 15
Season total: 765
15.10 - FA 23 Celebration of StylesLes Beaux Étés by Zidrou
Not a novel (grapic novel)
+15 Task
+50 1st challenge completed
Task total = 65
Points total = 285
FA 23 Celebration of Styles: 10/10
SU 22 BINGO: 4/10
15.15 – SU 22 BINGOSurface by Olivier Norek
G49 MPE Page count 400-499
425 pages
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 300
FA 23 Celebration of Styles: 10/10
SU 22 BINGO: 5/10
15.16 – SU 22 BINGOImpact by Olivier Norek
B1 - 1 word title
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 315
FA 23 Celebration of Styles: 10/10
SU 22 BINGO: 6/10
15.24 SU 2023 FavoritesRead 10 books that fit your favorite 20-point tasks from prior seasons.
We All Live Here by Jojo Moyes
FA 2022 20.9 ABCs
Read a book where the author's initials appear in alphabetical order.
Task total: 15
Season total: 430
List # 215-13 SU 19 Ratings Game
75,000 - 99,999 Ratings
84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
93, 408 Ratings
+15 Task
+5 (Old)
Task total 20
Season Total 270
List # 1SU Fall 2016 Half and Half
Author first name and surname initials must be in the same half of the alphabet, first name initial appearing earlier than surname initial
15-5
No More Tears: The Dark Secrets of Johnson & Johnson by Gardiner Harris
+15 this task
Season Total 285
Task 15.28 Fall 2021 How to Play Counting on AuthorsAuthor name 16-17 Letters
Author name has 16 letters
ALIS
ONFA
IBRO
THER
The Catch (2022) by Alison Fairbrother (Hardback 279 pages)
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 235 + 15 = 250
Sub Challenge #3Celebration of Styles from Fall 2023 by Elizabeth
Read 10 books by 10 different authors where each would qualify for one of the below RwS styles.
Styles for this sub-challenge:
Lost in Translation
Non Western
1001
Canon
Not a Novel
Aged / 70 or older
Young / 50 or younger
15.26 - Not a Novel -
Short Stories
Timothy McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, Issue 77 by Rita Bullwinkel
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 640
Sub Challenge #4Growing Genres from SP 23 by Kate
Pick your favorite genre and spend some time seeing how it has grown over the years.
Read 10 books by 10 different authors. All 10 books should be from the same genre. Books must be published no fewer than 5 years apart and must cover an overall spread of at least 50 years.
I selected Mystery:
The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen 2017
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming 2005
Shadow Prey by John Sandford 1990
A Pocketful of Rye by Agatha Christie 1953
A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey 1936
15.35 - 2012
Death in Brittany by Jean-Luc Bannalec
+15 Task
Task Total: 15
Season Total: 655
Sub Challenge #4Growing Genres from SP 23 by Kate
Pick your favorite genre and spend some time seeing how it has grown over the years.
Read 10 books by 10 different authors. All 10 books should be from the same genre. Books must be published no fewer than 5 years apart and must cover an overall spread of at least 50 years.
I selected Mystery:
The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen 2017
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming 2005
Shadow Prey by John Sandford 1990
A Pocketful of Rye by Agatha Christie 1953
15.36 - 1936
A Shilling for Candles by Josephine Tey
+15 Task
+ 5 Old
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 675
Sub Challenge #4Growing Genres from SP 23 by Kate
Pick your favorite genre and spend some time seeing how it has grown over the years.
Read 10 books by 10 different authors. All 10 books should be from the same genre. Books must be published no fewer than 5 years apart and must cover an overall spread of at least 50 years.
I selected Mystery:
The Scarred Woman by Jussi Adler-Olsen 2017
To Darkness and to Death by Julia Spencer-Fleming 2005
Shadow Prey by John Sandford 1990
15.37 - 1953
A Pocket Full of Rye by Agatha Christie
+15 Task
+ 5 Old
Task Total: 20
Season Total: 695
15.25 FA 19 Pick 'n Mix 2The goal is to read 10 books that fit in 10 different sub-categories. No letter can be used more than twice and no number can be used more than twice.
D5. Genre: historical fiction, romance, adventure, western
News from Thrush Green by Miss Read
(historical fiction, romance)
+15 Task
+ 5 Old (1970)
Task total = 20
Season total = 670
15.27 Eyes on the Prize Redux from Fall 22Decade using = 2001 to 2010
The Piano Teacher by Elfriede Jelinek
2004 Franz Kafka (a lifetime award)
15 task
5 oldie
____
20
Running total: 675
15.34 SU 23 Sub-Challenge SummerWinter 2018/2019 20.10 Over and Under 3.75+ rating/<1001 reviews
The Corpse with the Emerald Thumb by Cathy Ace
15 task
____
15
Running total: 690
15.17 – SU 22 BINGOLes dernières volontés de Heather McFerguson by Sylvie Wojcik
N33 - Title has 3+N (3):
Les der N ières volo N tés de Heather McFerguso N
+15 Task
Task total = 15
Points total = 330
FA 23 Celebration of Styles: 10/10
SU 22 BINGO: 7/10
Sub-Challenge # 2.15.19 Second Sub-Challenge. Winter 2022-23 Alpha and Omega
C W -- Cassandra khaW The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw
Letters used so far: A C D F H I J L N O R S T U V W Y Z
Task Points + 15
Task Total = 15
Season Total = 385
Sub-Challenge # 2.15.20 Second Sub-Challenge. Winter 2022-23 Alpha and Omega
M G -- Martin luther kinG Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story by Martin Luther King Jr. for pp nos. paperback ed. Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story
Letters used so far: A C D F G H I J L M N O R S T U V W Y Z
Task Points + 15
Oldie + 5 (1st pub'd 1957)
BONUS -- 2nd completion + 100
Task Total = 120
Season Total = 505
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Reading with Style
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For this challenge, each book plants one or more flowers, veggies or herbs from a specific list, without repeats. Flowers: all letters of the flower in the book title. Veggies: setting (city, state, country, planet) starts with the same letter as the veggie. Herbs: page count contains the number of letters in that herb.
Planted so far, including this post: rue, dill, potato, fennel, leek, endive, lily, marigold
Defining Moments in Black History: Reading Between the Lies by Dick Gregory
Planting a flower marigold
+15 Task (Defing Moments in Black History)
Post total: 15
Season total: 410