The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I finished 25.4, Lisa's Turn Back Time with
1. Murder in the Place of Anubis and
2. Mark of the Lion

Both of these books introduced a series. I would not read another Lord Meren book (ancient Egypt)- though penned by a woman, the female characters were all one-dimensional shrews. I might read another Jade Del Cameron mystery set in very atmospheric 1919 Africa. A little over-the-top and predictable, but Jade is an interesting character.

I would prefer to live in 1919 Africa. While the characters in Mark of the Lion were on a safari with guns, I would love to take a photo safari now. In this book's setting, there were plenty of porters, tea, and British colonists. Nothing about life in ancient Egypt seemed appealing- the women were treated badly, conditions were harsh, and the palace was full of political machinations.

+25
total 585

I finished Task 35.1 (Dewey Decimal System).
I started with a favorite book from the Fall Challenge, The Screwtape Letters (175pgs), chose DDC 177 (Ethics of Social Relationships)and read On Bullshit (DDC 177.3).
Adding 250 (+/- 2) brings me to DDC 428 (Standard English Usage). I read
Eats, Shoots & Leaves The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (DDC428.2).
Both books were approved by PJReads for use in this task.

I found On Bullshit to be very dry. He basically stated that a person who uses bullshit knows the truth and/or the lies of the situation but chooses to embellish and invent in order to get what he/she wants. In essence, bullshit is a disregard for both the truth and the lie as it just makes up facts as it goes along.
Eats, Shoots and Leaves was really entertaining and speaks about the grammatical uses of commas, apostrophes, exclamation marks, etc. There are many very humerous examples of bad grammar and how it changes the complete meaning of the sentence(s).

I stuck to the original definition of the Task, as it was very creative and informative on the Dewey Decimal system (which I hadn't really looked at previously). Thanks, PJReads!!

Finished a few more over the holidays.

10.5 (B) Popularity Task - I chose from the overall list for the year and read Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol.

10.7 TV Show Relation - I am a HUGE fan of Dexter and read Dexter By Design by Jeff Lindsay.

New Total: 80 Points

A few more tasks done

5.8 Cozy Mystery - I read An Incomplete Revenge by Jacqueline Winspear. It is one of the Maisie Dobbs mystery books. It was OK.

10.2 - Blindness - I read Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements. This book is about a young boy who wakes up one day to discover that he has become invisible. He winds up befriending a young blind girl (who can sense his presence).

10.9 - Hawaii - I listened to an audiobook of The Audacity of Hope Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream by our President Barack H. Obama who was born in Hawaii. I enjoyed it, but then again, we have similar political ideals and I voted for him.

20.2 - Civil rights era - I read My Mother the Cheerleader by Robert Sharenow. This book is about a young girl whose mother is a cheerleader, but not in the traditional sense. She is one of the "cheerleaders" that stands outside of the elementary school to protest against integration and basically yell horrible things at Ruby Bridges, the young African American girl who is integrating the school. Very good.

30.3 - Snowed in and loving it. I read:

Nanny Returns A Novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus which was 320 pages,
Shadowland by Alyson Noel which was 368 pages, and American Salvage by Bonnie Joe Campbell which was 170 pages, for a grand total of 858 pages.

30.6 Winter Vacation Dreams - I would love to go to London, so I read Among the Mad by Jacqueline Winspear. This is another of the Maisie Dobbs book. It was ok.

Previous Score: 220
Current Score: 325

I have completed the following tasks:

15.9A Gossip Girl The Carlyles by Cecily von Ziegesar
15.9B A Christmas Journey by Anne Perry

Check out my looooooong title book - it is my boyfriend's nephew's book and was outstanding ha ha

25.8A Captain Underpants and the Invasion of the Incredibly Naughty Cafeteria Ladies from Outer Space and the Subsequent Assault of the Equally Evil Lunchroom Zombie Nerds by Dav Pilkey
25.9A Whiteout by Walter Sorrells

The Captain Underpants series is funny.

One more down--

10.2--TOUCH THE TOP OF THE WORLD:A BLIND MAN’S JOURNEY TO CLIMB FARTHER THAN THE EYE CAN SEE by Erik Weih

Last challenge I read a bout a blind girl who tried to run the Ididerod..now I have read about a blind man who plans on climbing the seven highest peaks on seven continents. In this book he speaks of his childhood's road to blindness and his journey to climb four of the seven peaks in his goal. Along the way he finds love and has a child. A very inspiring book.

This brings me to 985 points!!

New tasks in bold. New total should be 230 points.

5.9: The House in the Mist by Anna Katharine Green 1/4/10

This was a great, quick read!

10.1: The Ringmaster's Secret by Carolyn Keene 12/3
10.5: Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom 12/27

15.2: Alice Sit-By-The-Fire by JM Barrie and The Marvellous Land of Oz 12/29
15.8 I read Charles Kuralt's Christmas and watched The Flinstone's Christmas. completed 1/4
15.9: Superstitious by R.L. Stine and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (**Goodreads author) 12/10

20.1: Old task 20.3: Christian Fiction: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory 12/28

25.1 The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West and Where Angels Fear To Tread by EM Forester completed 1/1
25.2: A Prayer for Owen Meany. (637 pages)

25.4 The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent and The Man Without a Country and Its History by Edward Everett Hale completed 1/4/10

The Heretic's Daughter takes place during the Salem Witch Trials and the MWOC takes place in the 1800s-- a man is punished for saying he wishes never to hear of the US and the military fufills that promise for the rest of his days. Being a woman and from New England, I think I would rather live in the 1800s. The MWOC is a good, patriotic, short read.

30.3: Hideaway by Dean Koontz (400 pgs) and The King of Torts by John Grisham (432 pgs) completed 1/3
30.8 A. First Across the Continent. The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6
30.10: B. The 39 Steps

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

I finished task 5.8 by reading Truly, Madly by Heather Webber, author of the Nina Quinn series.

I really really liked it. I won the ARC of it on GoodReads and I will definitely be buying it when the real copy comes out. I can't wait to read the second book. Heather Webber is a Goodreads author

I am at 185 points.

Just finished task 10.4 Winner's Choice

Off of Wendy's list I read Unaccustomed Earth which was also a read for my book club later this month. I really enjoyed this book and gave it 4 stars. Great set up with having the book full of short stories. Quick read!

Tasks Completed: 17
Points for this task: 10
Points thus far: 260/1100
Books read: 28
Pages read: 7992 (updated 1/4)

One more (didn't realize how close I was to finishing)

5.10--BROTHERS, BOYFRIENDS & OTHER CRIMINAL MINDS by April Lurie

Cute YA story about teen years in the late 70's, living near the mafia! It was fun reading a YA book that actually related to my teen years (there were not that many YA books around then).

This brings me to 990 points!!

go roseann! :)

This is the last of my holiday reading. Now I'm back to my regular routine and will have less reading time. Boo!

25.5-Amanda's Task-Odd Man Out
It was really hard to find a book for this one, but I ended up reading Family Linen by Lee Smith, which didn't fit any other task for me.

Pages in book(s): 272

Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 10
Total Pages Read: 2,443
Total Points: 115

20.3 GROUP READS
Read One Of The Following Group Read Selections And Make At Least One Post In The Discussion Thread.
A. Classic - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass
B. Winter - The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0
C. Romance - The Princess Bride
The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Moore

by Wendy 0 minutes ago
“Molly is my favorite just as Xena used to be on Hercules! If you liked this you'll love Lamb.”
20 points
260 total

I completed 20.1 - Beth MN's task. I chose to revisit Karen's Task - Read a Book About/Set in/or by an author of a country with a name that starts with the first letter of your name (First/Middle/Last). My last initial is S, so I fulfilled this task by reading The Servants' Quarters by Lynn Freed, which is set in South Africa.

Total points: 80
4 tasks complete - 10 tasks in progress
8 books read
2,181 pages read

15.10 We will remember you

I read The Xibalba murders by Lyn Hamilton and watched The Parent Trap with Natasha Richardson

total points:250/1100
total pages: 4429
total books: 13

Go Roseann!!!! your goal should be to finish before the half way mark :0)

25.3 A Game of Clue
I read (blue) by Brunonia Barry. I gave this book 5 stars.
AND
13 Bullets by David Wellington. This was a little too gruesome in parts for me but a good vampire story overall, 4 stars.
I borrowed one from my local library and the other came from my personal library.

25.9 The World of Books
I read The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie, it had a map in it of the house. This was a good mystery, 4 stars.
AND
Strawberry Shortcake Murder by Joanne Fluke, it had recipes throughout the book which the main character had baked in the chapter prior. It was a cute cozy mystery, 4 stars.

30.6 Winter Vacation Dreams
Funnily enough my dream vacation is America in the winter. I live in Australia and it never snows here. I love snow and the cold so I'd like to experience an American winter with snow just once. I read An Ice Cold Grave by Charlaine Harris which takes place in North Carolina in the winter. I really like this series, 4 stars.

35.3 It's About Time
I read My Year of Meats by Ruth L. Ozeki. I never would have read this book if not for this task because I'm a vegetarian and it's about a tv show where meat is the main feature. But I'm glad I read it because it was a lot more than that and I enjoyed it a lot, 5 stars.

Total Points: 520
Total Pages: 12598
Total Books: 42
Total Tasks: 26

25.10 Emily's Task

a.) Book Cover

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I read Fallen by Lauren Kate. I loved the cover. The beautiful, dark girl facing the side with her hands covering her face drew me in immediately. I loved the font for the title and the dark background. The whole thing fit together flawlessly.

b.) Graphic Novel

The Dreaming, #1 by Queenie Chan.

My first graphic novel and I loved it.


Total Points: 15+25 = 30

This is a laugh out loud funny book that I recommend to anyone who loves to cook, eat or who has small children. It is NOT a self-help book, although his methods work, we fed our children by a similar method to his, and had similar (that is, mixed) results. It is not a cookbook either, but it does have some great simple recipes. The one I tried was...wait for it..."Chicken Fingers" - yummy, easy, and a handy recipe to know. The secret is the panko.

15.7 Read a novel with recipes or a cookbook AND make one or more recipes: Hungry Monkey by Matthew Amster-Burton, 255pp, read 1/4/2010.


Books read 31/77+
Tasks completed 17/58
Points 310/1100
Pages read 9600


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15.2 Adventures with Alice and Lewis

For this task I took the easy route and read two from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. It is shamefully true, I have never read them all; so this was a good excuse for me to start on them.

The Horse and His Boy - I really liked this much more than I expected to and can't imagine why they skipped it in making the movie. A fun story of adventure, dangerous escape, difficult journey, and battle against wickedness. As allegory, I found it much more effective than...

Prince Caspian, which ultimately I found disappointing. It all seemed to come to an abrupt end, with very little meaning to it. Maybe I just didn't get it.

I do love how Lewis never forgets there is a reader out there hearing the story, and how he assumes that we would know better than to do thus and such or reminds us that we weren't taught to do this or that as his characters are.

15 more points; total up to 390.

Finally finished another task -

30.7 - Mulit-tasking - The Gum Thief A Novel by Douglas Coupland (3 out of 5 stars)

This book could have fit three other tasks for me - Task #5.7 Year of the Tiger since we are both the year of the Ox, Task #10.8 Oh Canada since Coupland is Canadian, and Task #15.9 Out with the old and in with the new since I've never read Coupland before.




Books Read = 7
Tasks In Progress = 5
Tasks Completed = 4

I completed 30.5 Diane's Task.

For part A of the task I read Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin. I liked it, 3 stars.

For part B of the task I read Everything That Rises Must Converge by Flannery O'Connor. I didn't really like any of the stories.

30 points!

Total points: 195

Completed 10.4 by reading The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman which is one of Wendy's 5-star books.

5.7 Chinese Year of Monkey - When You Are Engulfed in Flames

25.3 Clue -
The Monkey Wrench Gang

The Monkey Wrench Gang was originally published in 1975 when "By far the biggest expense, ... gasoline selling at 49 to 55 cents per gallon ..."

Both books are from the public library.

730 points

Switching the House in the Mist to 5.8. Points total should be 230. Thanks!

5.8: The House in the Mist by Anna Katharine Green 1/4/10

This was a great, quick read!

10.1: The Ringmaster's Secret by Carolyn Keene 12/3
10.5: Have a Little Faith by Mitch Albom 12/27

15.2: Alice Sit-By-The-Fire by JM Barrie and The Marvellous Land of Oz 12/29
15.8 I read Charles Kuralt's Christmas and watched The Flinstone's Christmas. completed 1/4
15.9: Superstitious by R.L. Stine and Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See (**Goodreads author) 12/10

20.1: Old task 20.3: Christian Fiction: Dinner with a Perfect Stranger An Invitation Worth Considering by David Gregory 12/28

25.1 The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West and Where Angels Fear To Tread by EM Forester completed 1/1
25.2: A Prayer for Owen Meany. (637 pages)
25.4 The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent and The Man Without a Country and Its History by Edward Everett Hale completed 1/4/10

30.3: Hideaway by Dean Koontz (400 pgs) and The King of Torts by John Grisham (432 pgs) completed 1/3
30.8 A. First Across the Continent. The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6
30.10: B. The 39 Steps

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

Task 15.5: Readers around the World Unite.

A. Dead to the World - Poland - Annvelwis
B. Mondays Are Red - Brunei Darussalem - Rozman Mashor (Nicola Morgan is a Goodreads author)

Tasks: 7
Books: 9
Total Pages: 2374
Total Points: 70/1100

I read The Girl who played with fire- Sieg Larsson over Christmas for 30.7 Jan the Gryphon multi tasking task.
It also fits 25.1 and 30.5

I've also completed 15.10 by watching the film Shawshank redemption. The actor JAmes Whilmore played the librarian. I also read Until tomorrow by Sheila Walsh. She was a local lady who died in 2009.

I completed task 10.4 by reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, which is from the shelf of Diane.

Point Total: 70
Page Total: 2536
Book Total: 8

Task 5.3 The White Queen by Philippa Gregory

25.8 Truth
Ellen Douglas
and
Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea.
Chelsea Handler

25.2. GINA'S TASK - FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH
I readHarry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ***
I enjoyed the book as I thought I would, but I did not love it like I thought I would. I will keep reading books in the series though. Sometimes I warm up more to a series after I read another book or two.


Friendship to me is when no matter how often you see someone or where you are in the world, you know that person would be there for you and you for them. My closest friends are often not the people I see and talk to everyday, but when we talk it is comfortable and feels like we have. It is a person you trust with deep secrets and the person you call when you have a really bad day (and you don't mind telling the really embarrassing bits), because you know that they are on your side.and when they call with their bad days... you drop everything to listen and help.
Basically, good friends have your back and you have theirs. No matter what the circumstance is.

Total Points: 140

just finished task 30.10 by reading The Color Purple and Slaughterhouse-Five. PURPLE was my color, FIVE was my number. both were re-reads, both were just as good this time as the first...maybe even better! :)




Total Points: 415/1100
Books Read: 23/79+
Tasks Completed: 16/58
Tasks in Progress: 1

Finished 25.6: The Third Translation by Matt Bondurant, which takes place in London, on the island of the United Kingdom.

Total Points: 140

Melissa wrote: "15.2 Adventures with Alice and Lewis

For this task I took the easy route and read two from C.S. Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia. It is shamefully true, I have never read them all; so this was a good..."

Melissa don't feel bad, I am doing the same thing as you for this task because I never read all of the series either.

I finished 25.7, Sam's Lost Generation, with
A. Lost generation author To Have and Have Not by Hemingway and
B. Lost literature O Pioneers!

I think THAHN's Harry Morgan is a great character, but as a whole THAHN was uneven.
I loved O Pioneers! A strong woman, a great sense of place, and a little melodrama all done in efficient, elegant prose.

+25
610

Finished: 30.7 (Jan's multitasking)


Driving with Dead People by Monica Holloway (5 stars)

This book fit the following tasks:
5.6 (Dirty Job) Funeral Home Assistant
10.7 (Small Screen Stories) The show "Six Feet Under"
set at a funeral home.

This book was a tough, but worth it read. Just like The Glass Castle by Jeanette Wells, this memoir uses vivid storytelling to describe the years of abuse, in all forms, endured by Holloway and her siblings. Her father was the perpetrator, and her mother was the enabler and denier. The only place Holloway finds peace is at the local mortuary, which is owned by her best friend's parents. When she is cut off from all financial support, at age 16, she goes to work as a hearse driver. I really loved The Glass Castle, but I felt Jeanette Wells held back too many feelings in telling her story. That wasn't the case with this book. I felt it was even more honest, because you know what is going through her mind and heart. Believe it or not, there are also some laugh out-loud moments throughout the tale.

+30
total points: 95
tasks: 7
books: 7

Finished: 10.6 Local Literature Lovers
From the reading list of Ryan Wenneker, I read
Benjamin Franklin: An American Life by Walter Isaacson.
I enjoyed this biography, which showed ways that Franklin helped guide and develop the perception of the American character. 4.5*
608 pages

I seem to be five points short on the reader board. I previously stated that I read An Incomplete Revenge for the Cozy mystery challenge (5.8) I double checked the Cozy Mystery website, and it is listed there.

I should be at 325, not 320.

:)

25.3 Sara Nicole's task - A game of Clue
Read for blue/peacock cover and Fire Time for the weapon (fire).
Both these books were from my private library.

Completed 2 tasks... REPOST for Task #15.5

5.9 = ISN'T IT ROMANTIC - Read A Book With The Words: Love, Romance, Cupid, Sweetheart, Valentine, Heart, Kiss, Chocolate, Roses, Or Jewelry In The Title. (Alternate Forms Of These Words Are Acceptable I.E. Romantic Or Kissing Would Be Fine.)
I read Night's Cold Kiss by Tracey O'Hara and LOVED it!!

15.5 = READERS ROUND THE WORLD UNITE - One Of The Best Things About Goodreads Is That It Allows Readers From Around The World To Share Thoughts About The Books They Love So For This Task…
I read Eat, Pray, Love One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia from Joanne in the Virgin Islands, British. Then read The Polar Express,Jumanji,& Frog and Toad Are Friends from Chrissie in Brussels (These three books pages total over 100 pgs). VB are my initials.

Total Points: 335/1100
Books Read: 25
Tasks Completed: 19/58

Completed one more:

5.1 THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (Carolyn Turgeon is a GoodReads Author)

Previously Completed Tasks
5.10 Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler

10.9 Swimsuit by James Patterson

25.5 This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

20.3 The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore.

25.6 Behaving Badly by Isabel Wolff

Total Points: 90
Tasks Completed: 6 (and 3 half tasks)
Books Read: 10

25.10 Don't Judge a Book By It's Cover

Read "The Book of Lost Things" by John Connolly for Part 1. While wandering the aisles of my local library looking for a book for another task I came across this book. For some reason the cover drew me in (almost spoke to me), which is strange since this story starts with the main character hearing the books speaking and telling their stories.

Read "The Dark Tower: The Long Road Home" a graphic novel by Robin Furth, Peter David, Jae Lee, and Richard Isanove for Part 2. Based on Stephen King's Dark Tower books.

I think that puts me at 55 total points. 4 books read.

Completed two more tasks:

10.7 Small Screen Stories: Book that was the inspiration for TV show Bones
Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs 1.05.10

25.8: Inane Answering Machine Day:
A. Book with an unnecessarily long title:The Politically Incorrect Guide to the Great Depression and the New Deal by Robert Murphy 1.04.10

B. Book with a one-word title: Covet by J.R. Ward 1.02.10

Total Pages = 6,708

Total Points = 255

Completed another task:

25.3: A Game of Clue

I read The Stone Diaries for the weapon, and this book:



for the color, one of which came from my roommate's extensive library of books, and one of which came from my local library.

Total: 100 points

I read The Elegance of the Hedgehog for the friendship task, 25.2. I contemplated giving up as the better part of the book is the musings of two loners about why they choose to separate themselves from the rest of the world. Eventually they become friends which begins to open them up to the rest of the world, but it was a bit of a struggle for me to get there.

Friendship to me means the people that love you for who you are, both the good and the bad and when you need them they are there with no questions asked.

Total points: 260

This is my first challenge and I apparently have been neglecting one of the most important parts - posting what I've read! So here goes to catch up:

5.1 THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY:
Read: Mary Poppins by P.L. Travers

5.2 SHE WAS A GRAND OLD FLAGMAKER:
Read: Stardust by Neil Gaiman

5.5 A LIBRARIAN'S JOB IS NEVER DONE:
Read: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger

10.7 SMALL SCREEN STORIES:
Read: Heat Wave by Richard Castle

15.5 READERS ROUND THE WORLD UNITE:
Read: A (Argentina-Elidanora) Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman
D (Denmark - Christian) Rosemary's Baby by Ira Levin

30.4 SANDRA'S TASK - WORLD AIDS DAY:
Read: I Am Legend by Richard Matheson

Point Total: 70
Task Completed: 6
Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 2208

Completed Tasks:

25.6 Island Dreams ( Solomon Islands)
*Beside a Burning Sea****1/2 by John Shors (Goodreads Author) READ 1.4.10
A beautiful and poetic story about survivors of a torpedoed WWII hospital ship and what happened to them on a deserted Solomon Island.

30.4 World Aids Day (yellow fever)
Fever 1793**** by Laurie Halse Anderson (Goodreads Author) READ 1.5.10
A compelling and realistic story of the Yellow Fever epidemic in 1793 Philadelphia.

Tasks Completed: 13/58
Points Completed: 215/1100
Books Read: 15
Books Read From My Personal Library: 6

Sorry Cynthia- the tasks my book fit for 30.7 should have been 30.1 and 30.5.