The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I finished task 5.3 Royal Reading by reading The Prince and the Pauper

Tasks Completed: 13
Points for this task: 5
Points thus far: 195/1100
Books read: 22
Pages read: 6581 (updated 12/28)

30pt/#2

The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K. Le Guin (1969) and Gifts, by Ursual K. Le Guin (2004)

One of the main distinctions between the two books is that the first is longer and much more complex. I found both on the YA shelves at the library, but I'm guessing that The Left Hand of Darkness was written more for adults (I don't know if there there was a separate category of books for "young adults" at the time), while Gifts was intended for a younger audience.

What I found more interesting were the similarities. Important in both stories were the ideas of "guest-friendship" (giving hospitality to strangers or those in need without question)and of story-telling. I enjoyed them both, but liked The Left Hand of Darkness better, I think, because of its complexity. Le Guin is a masterful world-builder.


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Finished task 25.5 A book that doesn't fit anywhere else by reading The Last Song. This brings my total to 45 points.

Heather in KS

I finished 30-6 with Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay, I would LOVE to go on vacation to Miami right now as a blizzard roars outside here in Maine!

330 points

Completed Group Read 20.3 with The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0. This was just an okay book for me, I don't think I'll be reading any more of his books.

New point total 155

Finished: 10.7 SMall Screen Stories
Prisoner of Trebekistan A Decade in Jeopardy! by Bob Harris.
This book has tips for playing one of America's most popular game shows. This book has fascinating factoids from one of America's most popular game shows. This book has fun information about contestants on one of America's most popular game shows. This book is written by a former contestant on ooAmpgs. What IS Prisoner of Trebekistan: A Decade in Jeopardy!

Okay, I finally finished task 15.9 Out With The Old, In With The New.
My old book was "The Memory Keeper's Daughter". I give it 3 stars.
My new book was "Annie Lost Her Leg But Found Her Way"

Completed Tasks: 9
Books Read 11
Total Points: 145

Finished the In My Garden series by fitting the last one into the Color by Numbers task. Don't you love it when you can fit a whole series into the challenge?!

4 stars for all those books and 3 stars for the Stephanie Plum - not as funny as some others in the series.

30.10 Color by numbers – Red Lily by Nora Roberts, Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich

TOTALS:
130 points
12 books
9 tasks
4447 pages
1 task in progress

Finished:
Task 20.3: The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore. This was possibly the wierdest book I've ever read, I loved Roberto and Molly. 4*
Task 25.7 (a) The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway and (b) Alice in Wonderland by C S Lewis.

TOTAL POINTS = 110

Finished 20.2:

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Kathryn Stockett is a goodreads author.

Total Points: 90

15.6 Murder by the Book
Rex Stout

Part I: My favorite Christmas present came from my mother in the early 80's. I have always been a compulsive reader. However, this was not a passion we shared. She never knew what I liked to read, so hadn't bought me a book since I was a child. That year she was working with a woman who also loved to read and got recommendations from her and gave me six books for Christmas. I don't remember them all, but my favorite was Kane and Abel by Jeffrey Archer.

Part 2: I am a library express volunteer. I am a assigned to a homebound lady and I deliver materials to her and then pick them up and return them. I really enjoy this!

I completed task 5.8 by reading Oryx and Crake.

Have to say this book is anything but cozy! Its an interesting read, and if I had been in a better mood I think I would have very much enjoyed it. As it is, I think I need something at least vaguely happy or optimistic next.


Point Total: 60
Page Total: 2227
Book Total: 7

Forgot to mention my GOODREADS AUTHORS.

10.4 The Help by KATHRYN STOCKETT
15.9 Fishbowl by SARAH MLYNOWSKI

Task 5.7: I am a Dog and so is Julia Quinn: I read The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever. I liked it, but not as much as the next in the series (What Happens in London), which I loved.

Task 30.4 The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro -- was SO happy to finally get back to adult vampire books. No more "I am 16 and desperately in luuurrrvvveeee with a vampire!" Dragged a bit near the end, but still 4 stars from me.

This brings me to 395 points.

35.1 PJ READS TASK - FUN WITH THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM
Starting with my 5* read from the Summer Challenge by Dick Francis, 278 pages:

PART A: (277) The American Prophecies Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Nation's Future by Michael D. Evans.
PART B: (529) From Sundials to Atomic Clocks Understanding Time and Frequency, Second Revised Edition by James Jespersen and Jane Fitz-Randolph

I did not like The American Prophecies Ancient Scriptures Reveal Our Nation's Future as nearly half the book was the repetition of the same Bible texts in nearly every chapter.
From Sundials to Atomic Clocks was obviously written for those of us who have no understanding of quantum physics. At times, it seemed that the projected audience was Upper Elementary Grades and at others, Senior High Graduates. Jespersen and Fitz-Randolf cover a lot of ground in an interesting manner, for the most part.


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New tasks in bold. New total should be 130 points.

10.1: The Ringmaster's Secret by Carolyn Keene 12/3

15.2: Alice Sit By the Fire by JM Barrie and The Marvelous Land of Oz
15.9: Superstitious by R.L. Stine and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See 12/10

20.1: Old task 20.3: Christian Fiction: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger An Invitation Worth Considering

25.1 The Return of the Soldier

25.2: Friendship. I read A Prayer for Owen Meany. (637 pages)

I feel that friendship is one of the most important things in life, be it among friends or family. I have learned that friends can come from unexpected places and sometimes the people you think will be there forever are not; while others surprise in new ways all the time. I love all of my friends and am blessed to have them in my life.

25.5: Have a Little Faith The Story of a Last Request

30.8 A. First Across the Continent. The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6 .

35.3: Toby Tyler, or Ten Weeks with a Circus by James Otis 12/7

Finally crossed another task off my list: 35.1.

One of my five-star books in the last challenge was the 400-page The Goose Girl. For my Dewey decimals, I used the following (approved by PJReads in her thread):

398: folklore
Pop Goes the Weasel: The Secret Meanings of Nursery Rhymes by Albert Jack

648-649: housekeeping and child rearing
The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton
NOTE: Meg Waite Clayton is a GoodReads author

Crawling my way up to 120 points...

30pt/#10
The Ruby in the Smoke by Philip Pulman
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher


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15.7 FOOD + FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS = READING FUN Read Eggs Benedict Arnold by Laura Childs -- I baked the Cheddar Cheese Biscuits -- I brushed their tops with garlic butter -- they were pretty good
35.4 ROSEANN'S TASK - READ ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTION read A Thin Dark Line and Naturally Thin Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting

Books Read: 19
Pages Read: 5627
Tasks Completed: 15

30.2 Sci-Fi Past and Present

Old Man's War by John Scalzi (2005) - In the future, humans have colonized other planets, but find themselves constantly fighting other species to take or hold livable planets. On Earth, Americans can enlist in the defense forces at the age of 75, where their lives can be prolonged and they are made into an efficient fighting force. John Perry, still mourning his wife's death 8 years before, enlists and gets more than he bargained for.

To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Phillip Jose Farmer (Hugo Award winner 1972) - Victorian explorer Richard Francis Burton dies in 1890, and wakes up next to a river on a strange world with millions of other humans from all points in history - literally the whole of humanity. Far from being like heaven, the newly resurrected resort almost immediately to their baser instincts, while Burton (with newfound compatriots) attempts to discover where they are and why they were brought there.

I was struck by how similar the books were in terms of the human physiology... not to give too much away, but the elderly's revitalization in Old Man's War is strikingly similar to the resurrections on Riverworld. The technological aspects are very different though; on Riverworld, the resurrected humans have a primitive existence, and the only exposure to advanced technology is so advanced it can only be described vaguely as though it were magic. In Old Man's War, one can grasp a rudimentary understanding of the technology (while it is still fantastic).

The writing styles are very different also... Farmer's book is driven by action, and none of the characters are very appealing. Scalzi's protagonist is a more rounded character and the story is driven as much by him as by his circumstances. I much preferred Scalzi's book; while Riverworld was an interesting concept, it was much darker and in a way a more academic exercise. Old Man's War was, on the whole, a more hopeful and more human story. How much you can attribute these differences to the times they were written is anyone's guess.

That brings my total to 320.

oops, I forgot... John Scalzi is a Goodreads author.

25.5 The Lucky One

I really did not enjoy this book. It was way over-the-top cheesy for me. Fantasy I can handle. Cheese I cannot. Full review on my profile.

30.3 SNOWED IN AND LOVING IT
From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris (312 pgs)
Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris (303 pgs)
My Point & I Do Have One by Ellen Degeneres (224 pgs)
Total Pages for this task: 839

points this task: 30
tasks completed: 7
total points: 140

Task 35.3 Her Cinderella Season by Deb Marlowe

10.5 Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days by Jeff Kinney from Oct. 2009 list

Points: 10
Total Points: 55
Tasks Completed: 5

I've been reading the past few weeks, but just now getting around to posting my points.

5. 10. THE ALLURE OF ALLITERATION - Ursula, Under by Ingrid Hill (this book was 512 pgs)

5.6. IT'S A DIRTY JOB BUT… - A. Read A Novel Where The Main Character Does A Job You Could Never Imagine Doing.
The Killing Dance by Laurell K. Hamilton
Anita Blake, the main character, works as an animator and a vampire executioner. Never in my wildest dreams can I imagine having her job!!

That's 2 books, 10 points total so far for me.

LauraFL

I had a lot of reading time on my plane ride home from Christmas, so I finished another task:

30.1-Bonnie's Task-Celebrate the End of the Decade
For my book that was published in the last decade I read Down Came the Rain My Journey Through Postpartum Depression by Brooke Shields. It was published in 2005.
For a book that was made into a movie in the past decade I read Little Children by Tom Perrotta.

Pages in book(s): Down Came the Rain-226
Little Children-355

Tasks Completed: 5
Books Read: 9
Total Pages Read: 2,171
Total Points: 90

FINISHED:

5.1 - Wonderful World of Disney

Winnie-the-Pooh - A.A. Milne

TOTAL POINTS = 95

This is my first post. These are my December reads.

20.2 Revisiting the Past: I choose the task about reading a book that featured a cover you really liked. I choose Cutest Cat ever. I loved this book (total cat freak) and gave it 5 stars.

30.3 Snowed in and loving it: Outlander (750+ pages). Thought this book was okay. Dragged in A LOT of places and could have stood to lose about 300 pages. However, Jamie is the best love interest in a book ever....*swoon*. I gave it 3 stars.

30.4 AIDS Day: I Am Legend. Completely loved this book. So engrossing and a total creepfest. I gave it 5+ stars.

30.7 Multi-tasking: Abhorsen. Could also be used for task 25.8 - one word title OR 15.2 read a boook that takes place in a fictional land. This was the final in a trilogy. I did read Lirael (the 2nd book) but its for a multibook task. I really liked the last 2 books of this series more than the first. I loved the world that Nix created and the magic was so original. Great character development. I gave it 5 stars.

Total Points: 110
Total Points I'm aiming for: 870
Pages Read: 2603

Wow I'm already doing better than the other challenges!!

I finished 10.4, winners choice, with
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
On the 5 star list for Wendy, BJROSE, and Sam.

+10
total 500

One more done--

25.6--Stephanie US/BREATH by Tim Winton (Australia)

A coming of age story set in Australia--Think "Summer of '42" with surfing. I thought the ending was a little weak, but overall a good story of a boy coming into manhood. (note-some kinky sexuality:not for everyone).

This brings me to 910 points!!

Just finished 30.7: JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK - MULTI-TASKING

Read A Book That Will Fit Two Or More Other Tasks In The Winter 2009-2010 Challenge. List The Other Tasks It Will Fit (BJ ROSE'S TASK DOES NOT COUNT)

I read "Dead until Dark" by Charlaine Harris. This book fits in to the tasks:

10.7 - SMALL SCREEN STORIES, because one of my favourite series "True Blood" is based on it, and because the story features a serial killer ... like on crimal minds (another favourite show of mein)

And

15.3 - WHAT WOMEN WANT TO READ (AND WRITE) part a, written by a female, from a series with a female main charater.

This brings me to:

30 new points
85 total points
4 tasks completed
1979 pages read

25.6 -- Island Country Book: Small Island A Novel. A wonderful book set in post-WWII England, told from the perspective of four characters whose lives intertwine in unexpected ways.

Pages read: 3216
Books read: 11+
Tasks completed: 10
Total Points: 255
Liz (Bklyn)

Forgot to mention in message 1061 when I claimed points that both books I read for that task were written by Goodreads authors! Sorry about that, Cynthia!

Completed over the holidays:

10.5: My birthday is in March-The Last Dickens A Novel by Matthew Pearl Goodreads Author

15.8 The Christmas Mystery by Jostein Gaarder and also watched It's a Wonderful Life

The Christmas Mystery is a sweet little book about a boy who finds an advent calender that contains a chapter of a mysterious story about a little girl and an angel and begins investigating where it came from and what the true story of the girl is.

The Last Dickens is a really, really good historical and literary mystery.

5.9-Isn't it Romantic?

I read "The Opposite of Love" by Julie Buxbaum (Goodreads Author). I really liked this book-I thought it was going to be another chick lit type book, but it actually had more to it than that. I gave it 4 stars!

i just realized that i could throw my name in the hat for the "I like big books and I cannot lie" option. way back on december 13, post 536, i read House of Leaves. it's well over 500 pages...about 730 or so. yeay! :)

I've completed a few this month, I just haven't had a moment to post with all the holiday madness.

5.2 - She Was A Grand Old Flagmaker - An Englishman in Paris L'education Continentale by Michael Sadler

10.4 - Winner's Choice - Diane - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
20.1 - Beth MN - Revisiting the Past - Fall Challenge 25.10 Sam's Task - Monsterfest - The Devil in the White City Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
30.7 - Jan The Gryphon - Multi-Tasking - 10.6 Local Literature Lovers (94066 - Roberto Carlos) & 25.1 Leora's task (1001 Books List) The Reader by Bernhard Schlink


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A couple more done:

5.8 Cozy Mystery - Fleece Navidad by Maggie Sefton

A very readable and entertaining 6th installment of the knitting mystery series by Maggie Sefton. Great escapism and definitely open-ended. A cup of tea on a winter afternoon, a fire in the fireplace, a lap robe, and a charming book – this fits the bill. 3 stars

25.3 Sara Nicole - Game of Clue

A. Color - Green The Gift by Richard Paul Evans

A wonderfully inspiring novel. Beautifully written and filled with great characters. Redemption and faith treated without being over heavy or preachy. Definitely a tear-jerker but with hope as the ultimate outcome. Definitely 5 stars.

B. Weapon Hatchet by Gary Paulson

A good, young adult novel about a boy lost in the wilderness as a result of an airplane crash. Coming of age novel and well-written for the target audience.
4stars

C. Room - Hatchet is from my personal library and The Gift was from my local public library.

POINTS 420
TASKS 22
BOOKS 30
PAGES 6730

HOLIDAY BOOKS 22

30.7 MULTI-TASKING: The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore

It fits into 20.3 (Group Reads) and 15.8 (Silver Screen Celebrations)

Books Read: 8
Pages Read: 2406
Tasks Completed: 7
Total Points: 120

15.10 Remember Author died in 2009: Marilyn French - Shakespeare's Division of Experience

Director died in 2009: Paul Wendkos - watched Harriet Tubman: A Woman Called Moses

Completed tasks = 24
Started tasks = 3
Books read = 39
Pages read = 12,041
Points = 585

15.4 It's All About Fun and Games. Book: Murder on the Orient Express A Hercule Poirot Mystery by Agatha Christie.
Game: Clue board game with my daughter. I love murder mystery games!

Total Points: 180/1100
Tasks Completed: 11/58
Tasks in Progress: 8


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Finished Task 10.2 Louis, Louis with The Story of Edgar Sawtelle. Edgar cannot speak.

I'll give this book 3 1/2 stars - I loved the first third of the book and everything related to the dogs - the author did a great job conveying the wonderfulness of dogs. But the rest of the book was just a big downer for me and I didn't see the point.

I've completed another set of tasks.

5.2 Rules of Vengenance by Christopher Reichs
25.9 From the Mixed-up files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg & Black Pearl by Scott O'Dell
30.7 Last Lecture by Randy Pausch - Fits 5.10 (Alliteration) & 10.4 (5* Book in SANDRA's list)


Really enjoyed the idea the long lost Michelangelo statue in the Mixed Files of Mrs. Basil Frankweiler book.

Total Points - 95
Books Read - 7
Tasks Completed - 6

Task 15.8 - Holiday Novel - The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0
Holiday Movie - A Christmas Story

Task Points:15
Total Points:110
Tasks:6
Books:8

Nicki - STL

Completed another task today!
30.7 Lover Avenged (also had 647 pages)
This book also fit the following tasks
5.9 (Lover),
10.2 (one character blind, the other no sence of feeling when touched),
25.9B (Glossery of Terms in front of book)
25.10A (I really enjoyed the cover design)
30.1A (It was published in the past Decade)


Completed Tasks

25.3 Carmilla & The Black Dagger Brotherhood An Insider's Guide
25.6 Emma

30.7 Lover Avenged

35.3 The Xander Years, Volume 1


Total Points = 115
Tasks Completed = 4
Books read = 5
Pages read = 1,788


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yeay, yeay, 35 more points!

finished task 35.4 by reading The Road Letters for part A and Travels with Charley In Search of America for part B. my new year's resolution is to get back to taking more road trips. i used to do SO much traveling when i was younger, and now i just don't do it anymore and i miss it! the road letters was awful, but travels with charley was just lovely and REALLY gave me the travel bug!!




Total Points: 330/1100
Books Read: 19/79+
Tasks Completed: 13/58
Tasks in Progress: 1

5 Points
7. Shares Zodiac Sign (Tiger): Guardian's Key by Anne Logston.

This is one of my favorite books, so I'm glad that Logston and I share a sign. I re-read it and still loved it. I remember attempting to read the sequel a long time ago and now I pretend the sequel doesn't exist, it's so bad.

10. Alliteration: Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale.

Eh, this is alright. I like her books much better (this is her first graphic novel).

10 Points

1. Circus: Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan.

Also just alright.

2. Character Lost a Sense (deaf): Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson.

A nice little story. The main girl's brother is deaf, and him and his deafness are both important to the book.

7. Related to Fave TV Show (How I Met Your Mother): The Bro Code by Barney Stinson.

Funny, if a little over the top. If you don't like Barney on HiMYM, you won't like this book.

Total Points: 70

Finished another task!

30.9 Pick A Year And Read Both The Newberry Winner And One Of The Honor Books From That Year. Then Let Us Know Which You Thought Was Better And Why.

Year: 2008

Winner: Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village by Laura Amy Schlitz. This is a book of poetry, with each poem a different voice from members of a Medieval Village (1255 A.D.) The poems were good, and the idea unique, but I would have given the prize to the next book I read for this task:

Honor: The Wednesday Wars by Gary D. Schmidt. This novel centered on a 7th grade boy and his school from September 1967 - June 1968. The background "noise" (Walter Chronkite, the war in VietNam, girls with flowers painted on their cheeks, "Yellow Submarine") set the time very firmly in the 1960s, while our hero learned about Shakespeare and life.

Oh, and why I would have given the award to The Wednesday Wars : I thought it told its tale better than Good Masters! Sweet Ladies! Voices from a Medieval Village, especially for young readers.

160 + 30 = 190




Tasks Completed: 10
Points for this task: 30
Points thus far: 190/1100
Books read: 12
Pages Read: 3586

Finished 5.1 Disney.
Read Simon's Cat by Simon Tofield (fantastic cartoons).
My favourite Disney is The Aristocats, I'm a cat lover.

Number of points 250
Number of books 12
Number of tasks 9