The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I finished 15.8, by watching Love Actually and reading The Gift by Cecelia Ahern.

New Point Total: 220
Task Completed: 11
Tasks in Progress: 3
Books Read: 19
Pages Read: 5838

I have been reading like crazy, but have not posted many points--haven't even looked at the readerboard in a while because I hate to see my name way at the bottom. Oh well...

25.8 Swindle by Gordon Korman and This is How it Happened, not a Love Story by Jo Barrett. I enjoyed both of these books.

30.7 Sunshine by Robin McKinley. It fits 5.4 (it won the Mythopoeia award) 25.8 (one word title) and 25.10 (interesting cover). I did not enjoy this book. This is the second McKinley book I've tried to read, but I did not particularly like either one of them.

30.6 Wendy's Dream Vacation. The Shape of Water by Andrea Camilleri. It takes place in Italy. I've always wanted to go and see the art work and architecture. Don't think I'll get there anytime soon!

I've read about 4 other books, but all part of multi-book tasks.

That puts me at 95 points
1539 pages read

I've just got back from a week's holiday in Lanzarote. It was so nice to spend Christmas in warmth! I did a bit of reading while away and here's my update:

For the 5 point baby it's cold outside task I read the mystery called Chords and Discords by Roz Southey.
For another 5 points I read Flights of Love for the isn't it romantic task and finally for Under the Big Top 10 point task I read Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen.
In total that's 20 points to add to my total.

Previous Reads

5.2 She was a Grand Old Flag Maker - The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
5.4 A Winning Decade - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5.5 A Librarians Job is Never Done - Mr Dixon Disappears by Ian Sansom

10.4 The Winners Choice - PJReads list Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
10.7 Small Screen Stories - My Favourite People and Me by Alan Davies

15.8 Silver Screen Celebrations - A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg and ELF

20.3 Group Reads - The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore

25.5 Odd Task Out - American Tabloid by James Ellroy
25.7 The Lost Generations - The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
25.9 The World of Books - The Principessa by Christie Dickason and The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson

30.7 Multitasking - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol



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I completed 15.6 by reading Ava's Man. The best gift I have ever gotten was to be born into my family. They have always been so supportive and loving. I enjoyed reading Ava's Man, which Bragg wrote about his maternal grandfather, and it reminded me very much of my father. My father grew up in a sharecropping family in South Carolina and his experiences were very similar to those described in the book.

Ooops...almost forgot the second part. I gave some toys to the Salvation Army as part of their adopt a family program and helped out at a charity yard sale.

My total is now 170.

I completed 25.7 SAM'S TASK - THE LOST GENERATIONS.

For the first part of the task I read The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I didn't love any of the stories, some were just horrible! 2 stars

For the second part of the task I read Watership Down by Richard Adams. I didn't like this book as much as I thought I would. I probably should have read it when I was younger. 3 stars.

25 points!

Total Points: 155
Total Books Read: 11
Total Pages Read: 3, 581
Tasks in Process: 3 (10.9, 30.1, 35.3)

Here's another task down:

8. BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - While Outside It May Be Cold And Blustery; Inside You Can Cozy Up To A Cozy Mystery. Visit http://www.cozy-mystery.com/

Jacqueline Winspear is on that list. I read Among the Mad , which is the 6th one in her Maisie Dobbs Series. The Series started off fresh and innovative; by #6, the series is sputtering. This installment is also unrelentingly depressing, which makes sense when the subject is "the mad". At the end, there's a hint that Maisie Dobbs will be going into a new direction if there's a #7 in the series. I'd recommend the first couple of books in the series, but the rest of the series is just OK.

190+5=195





Tasks Completed: 11
Points for this task: 5
Points thus far: 195/1100
Books read: 13
Pages Read: 3889

20.2 Civil Rights task

Last night I finished Four Spirits A Novel by Sena Jeter Naslund. This book follows a handful of black and white people through the tumultuous years 1963-4 in Birmingham, AL. The book is dedicated to the four young girls killed in the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing on September 15, 1963, and this event is central to the stories and lives in this book. I thought the author's storytelling was a little too stream-of-consciousness for my perfect pleasure, especially in the beginning; nonetheless this book brought me near tears in parts because of the horrors and injustices taking place so near to my own time and place. I would have liked to know some of the characters a little better; we only get somewhat fuller backgrounds on a couple of the characters. I would have liked to know Christine's background a little better, and would have liked to hear more from Edmund also. I do recommend it but some may find the style a bit distracting.

340 points (yay me, I am already farther along than I got in the fall challenge!) and this book is 524 pgs.

FINISHED:

5.2 -

10.9 - Light Years A Girlhood in Hawai'i - Susanna Moore

TOTAL POINTS = 110

Okay, I'm glad to get this one out of the way!!
This book is not associated with a Disney movie, nor does it have stars, stripes or even a RWB cover. It is not about a monarch or a librarian, has won no awards. It doesn't involve distasteful jobs, love or romance, vampires, circuses, fictional lands, bridge or reading. The characters all possess all their senses, best I can tell. It isn't a cozy mystery, a cookbook or a satire. The title is not truly alliterative (I don't include "The") and doesn't involve a winter holiday. It isn't on anyone's list that I can find, including my own. It isn't about the Harlem Renaissance, Canada, Hawaii or Russia, no Alice or Lewis to be found. The author, a man, died in 1965, was not born in the year of the Dog, and I've read the book before. In the interest of full disclosure, he was born Canadian, but was a naturalized US citizen years before he wrote any books, so I considered him American (Thank you Wikipedia).

25.5 Book that doesn't fit any other task: The Tontine Vol I, by Thomas Costain, 484pp, read 12/29/2009.

Books read 27/77+
Tasks completed 14/58
Points 235/1100
Pages read 8688


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I completed the following task:

10.7. SMALL SCREEN STORIES - Read A Book Inspired By, OR Was The Inspiration For, OR Is In Some Way Related To Your Favorite Television Show (Past Or Present).

Flashforward by Robert J. Sawyer

The book is only a slight inspiration for the TV show. Some reviewers on GR said that the author is upset about the divergence, but who knows? I will write a review of the book sometime this evening. To be honest, however, I could take or leave the book. It's not something to write home about.

Finished The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for task 5.4 which won the Pulitzer Prize in 2008. That brings me to a whopping 15 points!

I think we should have a new task winner for the biggest fall off!

I just completed another one! I read Club Dead by Charlaine Harris for Task 5.8. This brings me up to 35 points.

Tasks Completed:
5.8 Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
30.3 The Doll People by Ann M. Martin (256 pgs)
Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris (291 pgs)
The Brief, Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz (335 pgs)



Total Tasks Completed: 2
Total Points: 35
Total Books Read: 4
Total Pages Read: 1162

I just finished 15:8

I read A Christmas Carol and I watched three different versions of the movie A CHristmas Carol. Although it isn't required for the points, I will say, my favorite was the Patrick Stewert version. It was the most true to the story.

Total points: 20

yay! That's my favorite version too.

I just finished task 15.2 "What women want." I read U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton and Finding My Voice by Diane Rehm

points: 170/1100
books read 10
pages: 3185

This isn't on the cozy mystery list, but I *think* it works: part of a series, picturesque town, not at all gory or explicit, amateur sleuths... BUT let me know if I'm wrong and I'll find a different place for it.

5.8:
The Fairy-Tale Detectives (The Sisters Grimm #1) by Michael Buckley

Thanks!

Oh, and Cynthia, I just checked the Readerboard. I think you gave me too many points. Even with my most recent task (5.8), I think I only have 125 points, not 145. (Although I appreciate the boost!) ;)

Finished Task 15.8 - Silver Screen Celebrations. I read The Stupidest Angel and watched White Christmas.

Total points: 55/1100
Books: 4/78
Tasks: 3/58

Erin B.

Finished tasks:
35.3 I read The Year Of Secret Assignments. It was cute.
25.10 A. I read Moving On The Art of Steve Hanks for the cover. It is by one of my two favorite artists. It is a coffee table book , but yes, I actually read all the text. It told a lot about how he came to the place where he painted his art. His emotional journey, so to speak.
B. I read The Twilight Zone The Midnight Sun. That was a tough one because neither nearby libraries had ANY graphic novels. (The librarian's assistant at one had never heard of them.) So my daughter brought home the longest she could find in the Middle School library.

Total points: 130
Total pages: 2807

I have finished the following tasks

5.4 Dead Girls Are Easy by Terri Garey 2008 RITA Award best First Book

5.7 A Wallflower Christmas by Lisa Kleypas Year of the Dragon

10.7 Desire Turned Deadly by Kevin F. McMurray My Favorite TV Sshows are 48 Hours Mystery and Dateline

10.9 Holiday Dreams by Annette Mahon

10.10 Angel on the Square by Gloria Whelan

30.1A Street Pharm by Allison van Diepen
30.1B Marley and Me by John Grogan

30.6 Walt Disney World and Orlando by Jason Cochran I went to WDW when I was 12 and after reading this book I can hardly wait to go back

35.1A True Stories of Law and Order: Special Victims Unit by Kevin Dwyer and Jure Fiofillo DD 364
35.1B Finding the Doorbell by Cindy Pierce and Edie Thys Mrogan

35.2A Project Ski Trip by Melody Carlson
35.2B Class Trip by Emmanuel Carrere

Finished 15-7, I read 'The Potato Cookbook' and made these wonderful Onion encrusted baked french fries with a spicy dipping sauce-soooo yummy!

345 points

Finished:
5.9 ISN"T IT ROMANTIC:
Sunset Over Chocolate Mountains by Susan Elderkin. 2.25*

5.3A

The Italian Woman by Jean Plaidy. The middle volume of a trilogy about Catherine di Medici
AND
5.3B Peter the Great by Peter Oudard, which may be the worst book I've read all year.
No Stars, and have recommended the library weed it.

I finished The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 for the group read task (20.3) this morning. I had been listening to it in my car and went back and forth from laughing out loud to rolling my eyes because he went that far over the top. Never the less, it was a fun break, both from the normal sappy Christmas story and from the serious books I've been reading.

total points: 200

New task in bold. New total should be 145 points.

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

15.2: Alice Sit-By-The-Fire by JM Barrie and The Marvellous Land of Oz 12/29

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: A Prayer for Owen Meany. (637 pages)
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

I just finished two more tasks:

TASK 15.1 I read The Princess Bride by William Goldman for my satirical novel. This book was hilariously funny. I especially liked the author's parenthetical and italicized comments. Maybe even more than the actual story. For the movie, my family watched Blazing Saddles, which is one of our favorite comedies. This movie is so politically incorrect, but funny none the less. I really enjoy all of the smart aleck references to other movies.
POINTS: 15

TASK 25.9 For this task I read two books. The first book was
Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman which included a map of the London Underground System. I thoroughly enjoyed the book. I loved the silly comments that the author included as well as the story line. There were a couple of plot twists that I did not expect.

The second book I read was The Lady Elizabeth A Novel by Alison Weir, which included a family tree for the Tudors. I am a Tudor afficionado and really enjoyed the way that Weir told the tale of Elizabeth's life before she become queen. I can't wait to read her next book about Elizabeth, which deals with her time as a monarch.

POINTS: 25
TOTAL POINTS SO FAR: 50

10.6 LOCAL LITERATURE LOVERS Kim Heaney Imperial, MO (1mi north) One for the Money
Books Read: 20
Pages Read: 5917
Tasks Completed: 16

Hi Cynthia,
I think I'm missing 5 points, b/c I added 1984 for task 5.2 and posted the cover (red, white, and blue) and I didn't see any post back saying there was a problem, so I think it might have been missed.
My total should be 80 points. Thanks!

I also read A Cup of Tea A Novel of 1917 for half of 25.4 (historical fiction).
Total: 80 points
Tasks completed: 4

Dark Walker (Yaoi novel) by Hikaru Yura for odd man out 25 pts task 5

Finished 25.2:

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

The friendships were tested in this one, but they held strong in the end.

What friendship means to me: Having a surrogate family surrounding you, even if your biological family is hundreds of miles away; having someone to talk to and laugh with.

Total Points: 115

Finished Knife Edge by Malorie Blackman for task 5.7 as she was born in the year of the tiger like me. Another 5 points.

Leora wrote: "Finished 15-7, I read 'The Potato Cookbook' and made these wonderful Onion encrusted baked french fries with a spicy dipping sauce-soooo yummy!

345 points"

this sounds like the best cookbook EVER! must find it! :)

Finished 35.3 The Hour I first Believed by Wally Lamb.

Total Points: 95

Rachael - I'm going to read that one for that task as well. How did you like it?

Gosh I've got some catching up to do! 247 new entries in this thread since I last checked!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas!

I finished task 30.1. I read While My Sister Sleeps- Barbara Delinsky for the book published in the last decade and Atonement- Ian McEwan for the book turned into a movie in the last decade.

While My Sister Sleeps was an ok bit of fluff reading, about a girl whose sister lies in a coma after suffering a massive heart attack.

I was a little dissapointed with Atonement. I've heard a lot of good things about the movie, and I wanted to read the book before renting the movie. I found the book to be very heavily bogged down in description- pages and pages of it. Yet the ending gave me chills, and I was satisifed with its conclusion.

Pages Read: 2,771
Books Read: 7
Total Points: 85

I really thought the holidays would be a great way to get a ton of reading done, but unfortunately I've been really busy. Hopefully I can sneak one more in before the end of the year...

10.7 SMALL SCREEN STORIES - Read A Book Inspired By, OR Was The Inspiration For, OR Is In Some Way Related To Your Favorite Television Show (Past Or Present).
Ex. If Your Favorite Show Is Dexter You Could Read A Book From Jeff Lindsay's Dexter Series Or Another Book About A Serial Killer(s).
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Lindsey
10 points
200 total

I totally forgot to add that Barabara Delinsky is a Goodreads author

25.10 EMILY'S TASK - DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER...UNLESS IT'S REALLY WELL DESIGNED
Graphic Design Can Affect (Sometimes Drastically) The Experience Of The Reader And Can Also Influence Whether Or Not A Potential Reader Will Pick A Book Up Off The Shelf In The First Place. For This Challenge Read Two Books: A. Making A Great First Impression: Read A Book That's Cover Design Draws You In. (Either Post The Cover Image In Your Post And/Or Write About What You Liked About The Design) AND B. It's What's Inside That Counts: Read A Graphic Novel.
(If You Are Visually Impaired, You Can Choose Two Books That Either Draw You In By Feel Or By Sound Design/Performance, If An Audiobook).

Sonata for Miriam by Ollsen (audio)
Scarpetta by Cornwell (REREAD) (audio)
25 points
225 total

kiki wrote: "Leora wrote: "Finished 15-7, I read 'The Potato Cookbook' and made these wonderful Onion encrusted baked french fries with a spicy dipping sauce-soooo yummy!

345 points"

this sounds like the best..."

Just the thought of it made me do something I only do about once in five years--go make crispy fried potatoes and onions with a little grated cheese and crumbled bacon on top for supper tonight.

Ohhh, Donna Jo-that sounds wonderful!

30.7- JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK - MULTI-TASKING
I read 'Living Dead in Dallas' by Charlaine Harris- this book could fit into the falling other tasks:
5.6- IT'S A DIRTY JOB BUT...- I would never work for vampires
5.10- THE ALLURE OF ALLITERATION...- living Dead in Dallas
10.7- SMALL SCREEN STORIES - True Blood based on it
15.3- WHAT WOMEN WANT (TO READ AND WRITE)- part A of this task- series about a woman written by a woman

Books read: 5
Tasks completed: 5
Total Points: 65

30.1 Along Came A Spider
James Patterson
Movie: 2001

and


Arkansas Traveler
Earlene Fowler
Published: 2001

15.8 - SILVER SCREEN CELEBRATIONS
I read Skipping Christmas by John Grisham & watched Four Christmases. The book was good & quick and I loved the movie it was the perfect movie to watch late on Christmas day.

Books read: 6
Tasks completed: 6
Total Points: 80

Finished 5.4 a Winning decade I read the 2002 Man Booker Winner Yann Martel's Life of Pi. This had been on my to be read for a long time so this challenge encouraged me to finally pick it up. I was glad I did it was a fasinating survival story, very inspiring on so many levels( a little gross at times) but overall a great read.

I am like the Little Engine that Could. I'm actually trying to get a lot of the different books for multiple tasks out of the way...

15.3 - What woman want to read and write

For the first book - A series written by a female that feature's a female character, I read Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast (a mother/daughter duo, double female power!). I am an avid reader of YA paranormal fic, but this one was just a meh for me.

For the second part I read Amelia Earhart The Thrill of It by Susan Wels. Amelia is one of my childhood fascinations. I pretty much wanted to be her when I was growing up and I remember reading a biography about her when I was a child (along with many of the facts) so while I was reading this beautiful book (it has great photos!) I was surprised that I remembered so many facts about her (like the fact that she, a cousin and a friend tried to build a roller coaster in their backyard after seeing one in the worlds fair).

25.10 - For the first part of the challenge, I read No Nice Girl by Perry Linsday. This book is actually a reprint of an old Pulp Fiction Harlequin novel. I am obsessed with pulp fiction and old paperback novel covers from the 40s, 50s, etc. so I had to check this out when I saw it at the library. It was a melodramatic and soap opera style story about a Not-so-nice girl. A fun easy read.

For the second part, I read Kin by Holly Black and Ted Naifeh. This graphic novel is about a teen girl who begins to see things and soon learns that she is part fairy. The drawings in this book are very beautiful; the fairies come of as both majestic, alluring and creepy, lending some serious drama to the plot line. I have already checked out the second book, Kith and look forward to reading it soon.

Previous score: 180
Current score: 220

I read the Good Neighbors. I liked it :)

Finished Task 25.1 Leora's task by reading To Kill a Mockingbird and The Bell Jar. I gave both of these books 4*. I listened to both of them on CD. Sissy Spacek read To Kill a Mockingbird really well.

This will bring my total to 230 points.

20.1 revisiting the past - National poetry month - read Archy and Mehitabel which is a book of poetry.

35.2 Donna Jo's task - going on a winter vacation. I chose Northern Lights and read Let the Northern Lights Erase Your Name A Novel and Dying of the Light

35.3 DLM Rose - It's About Time: I read Last Days of Summer by Steve Kluger. I absolutely loved this book!

Tasks Completed: 7
Total Points: 100
Total Books Read: 11
Total Pages Read: 3148

I have completed BJ Rose's task (Snowed In and Loving It #30.3) by reading the following:

Seed to Harvest by Octavia E. Butler (767 pgs)
On Bullshit by Harry G. Frankfurt (80 pgs)

Total pages read for this task: 847 pages

I am so happy I got to fit the Patternist series into this challenge! On Bullshit was a bit dry.

I like to claim task 10.5 Popularity Contest. I read "Eclipse" by Stephanie Meyers. It was in the August list. Plus the book was 628 pages so I am claiming the "I like Big Books and I Can Not Lie" ticket.

Completed Tasks: 10
Books Read: 13
Total Points 155