The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I finished task 30.10 Teresa in Ohio's task by reading Red Kayak and Five Little Questions That Reveal the Life God Designed for You. I really enjoyed Red Kayak and gave it 4 stars, where as 5 little questions left much to be desired. It had been on my shelf a while and I had higher hopes for it.

Tasks Completed: 21
Points for this task: 30
Points thus far: 370/1100
Books read: 32
Pages read: 9207(updated 1/18)

25.2 Gina's task - friendship.
Read You Stole My Heart Away Which is about two middle-aged neighbours who have been friends for over twnety years.
Friends are for laughing with and crying with. My best friends are my husband and my daughter.

I am slowly gaining points...

In have completed 25.3, A Game of Clue

A. Suspect - White
Gardens of Water: A Novel

B. With Guns, Germs, and Steel

C. And I got both from my local public library!

I believe that this brings me to 70 points... I just need to figure out how to apply the other books that I have finished.

I completed task 25.9 - Bridgit's Task (The World of Books).

A) A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin - Has maps throughout

B) Eon: Dragoneye Reborn by Alison Goodman - The beginning of the book has a drawing of the compass that the Dragoneyes use, with each dragon at its proper compass point, a map of the palace, and a list of all the dragons that includes each dragon's Dragoneye, compass point, color, and what the dragon is keeper of.

Eon: Dragoneye Reborn also has 531 pages.

Total points: 115
6 tasks complete - 10 tasks in progress
13 books read
3,919 pages read

Finished:

5.10 - Alliteration

Best Friends Forever: A Novel - Jennifer Weiner

*Goodreads Author

Total Points = 140

15.4. IT'S ALL ABOUT FUN AND GAMES
A. Read A Book That Has Your Favorite Game (Card, Board, Video, Computer Etc.) In The Title Or Relates In Some Way To That Game .
Game: Chess // Relates: King – object of chess is to capture the King

The Three Kings of Cologne by Kate Sedley (Hardcover, 256 pages)

B. Spend An Hour Or More Playing That Game.
Played chess w/my son; he won 2, I won 1 (he's getting better :0) )

340 + 15 = 355




Tasks Completed: 18
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 355/1100
Books read: 25
Pages Read: 7489

spent my MLK day finishing task 20.2 by reading Rosa Parks: A Life. learned a lot more about mrs. parks than i knew before! nice way to spend a cold, rainy day. :)




Total Points: 585/1100
Books Read: 33/81
Tasks Completed: 24/58
Tasks in Progress: 1

Finished another one tonight...

10.9 REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR - In Honor Of Pearl Harbor Day (December 7th) Read A Book Written By An Author Who Was Born In Hawaii, A Book Set In Hawaii, Or A Non-Fiction Book About Hawaii.
I read Mr. Monk Goes to Hawaii by Lee Goldberg. It had a great plot and witty writing. Really enjoyed it.

Total Points: 435/1100
Books Read: 33
Tasks Completed: 25/58

Man, busy season at the office totally kills my reading productivity! Finally managed to complete another task - this time it's Bridgit's World of Books task with Tash Aw's Map of the Invisible World (which features a gorgeous map of Indonesia) and Reif Larsen's The Selected Works of T. S. Spivet, which is stuffed so full of extras it's hard to imagine. I especially enjoyed the Larsen - how can you not love a guy who name-checks the Oregon Trail computer game? And yes, I did just totally date myself there.

Current Total: 440 points

10.4 WINNER'S CHOICE - I picked Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, a 5-star book from Bonnie's list.

Total Points: 315/1100
Tasks Completed: 19/58
Tasks in Progress: 7

I would like to make some alterations as I have read a book that I think is more suitable than a previous book.
So this is how I would like it -
30.5A - posthumously speaking Inferno
15.10 - we will remember you To Your Scattered Bodies Go
5.8 - baby it's cold outside Unsafe Hands
Thank you.

8. MICHELLE US' TASK - JANUARY 30TH IS INANE ANSWERING MACHINE DAY
The Day Where We Try To Bring An End To All Of Those Mindless, Endlessly Long, Beeping And Otherwise Inane Answering Machine Messages That Annoy, Waste Time And Try The Patience Of Poor Unfortunate Callers.

In Honor Of This Silly Holiday...

A. Read A Book With An Unnecessarily Long Title (At Least 7 Words)

Sniper: Inside the Hunt for the Killers Who Terrorized the Nation - Sari Horwitz and Michael E Ruane

And To Make Up For It...
B. Read A Book With A Very Short Title (1 Word).

Frenzy - Alison Tyler

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)

The Mage - Jean Johnson
And okay it is the chest I loved. LOL



AND
B. It's What's Inside That Counts: Read A Graphic Novel.

The Flash: The Secret of Barry Allen - Geoff Jones

I'm taking a winter term class that has really cut into my reading time! Looking forward to next week when I can get back to my regular schedule and more just-for-fun reading.

My update:
35.3-DLM Rose's Task-It's About Time
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

Pages in book(s): 227

Tasks Completed: 7
Books Read: 11
Total Pages Read: 2,670
Total Points: 150

20.1 REVISITING THE PAST
Past task: Read a Christian fiction book
I read The Shack by William P. Young.

points this task: 20
tasks completed: 11
total points: 205

25.2 Book about Friendship - Love You Hate You Miss You by Elizabeth Scott is about the still powerful and haunting friendship that remains after one friend dies.

Friendship means the world to me. My family has a great deal of influence on me, but so much of my personality was and is shaped by my friends. My friendships are what get me through the hard days.

TOTAL = 170 POINTS

For task 25.5 (Odd Man Out) I read The Shrinking Man by Richard Matheson. I had previously read "I am Legend" and liked both it and the other short stories in that book. I thought "The Shrinking Man" was really boring (other than the flashback parts, which I liked). How many descriptions can one read of a very small person attempting to climb a paintcan or whatnot?

I like his short stories much more.

This brings me to 770.

One more down...

10.2 Louis Louis: I read Death Trance: A Novel of Hypnotic Detection by R.D. Zimmerman, a mystery that is solved by a woman both blind and paraplegic. The thing I noticed most was how dated a book from 1992 could seem with no email, characters who actually use answering machines, and running off to the camera shop to get film developed. I thought the characters behaved really stupidly, but otherwise it was okay.

630 points

I finished 15.8 by reading The Best Christmas Pageant Ever to my kids before Christmas. I was finally able to get Four Christmases from Netflix and I watched that yesterday.

That makes my total 320 points.

Completed:
5.10 by listening to Martin Misunderstoodon audiobook and
10.7 by listening to You Suck: A Love Story on audiobook which is about vampires. My favorite TV show is True Blood.

My total - 190 points

15.6 Best Gift Task I: Novel
The Night Dance: A Retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" by Suzanne Weyn

My father loaned me a science fiction/fantasy novel when I was very young. It was through him sharing that genre that I became extremely hooked - especially on fairy tales and magic. This book combines the two. It has the classic Grimm's Fairy Tale with a twist of Arthurian Legend and then tosses in magic to make it a cute fantasy tale. Despite its 3 star rating, it still makes me appreciate my father for introducing the genre AND encouraging it through future books, movies, tv shows.

Best Gift Task II: Charity
Every year, the federal government has its CFC campaign. This is when federal employees can be solicited on the approved CFC charities and make a donation. This year, I made a contribution to Make-a-Wish Foundation and Disabled Sports USA. Both charities have a personal impact. A coworker had her child get her wish through Make-a-Wish. And Disabled Sports is part of the Wounded Warrior Project. They offer MANY extreme sports for disabled soldiers FREE of charge. It's amazing what more they do than simply a sport event.

Total Points: 90

http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?ke...

I finished 10.6, Local Literature Lovers from Howard in Livingston's 5* list
Through the Narrow Gate: A Memoir of Spiritual Discovery

A fascinating memoir by a former nun about her time in an austere cloister in the early 60's.

+10
total 945

25.4 Turn Back Time - England in 1321: The Owl Killers
Europe & US in 1895-1905: Wandering Stars

What's a good time period for a woman -- particularly a woman who does not want to be either oppressor/exploiter or oppressee/exploitee?

Definitely not England in 1321 (date of Dante's birth) -- not even in Maitland's "1321" with her forced insertion of ideas and attitudes from the Reformation (1517-1648), the Enlightenment (1700s) and 20th-21st century America. Two decades before Gutenberg's printing press and two hundred years before Luther's translation of the Bible into the vernacular, books would not be as readily available as Maitland describes. Under feudalism, women would not be as independent of male and aristocratic control as this book assumes.

Europe & US in 1895-1905 would be somewhat better, but that's prior to penicillin, telephone, labor-saving appliances ... the Civil Rights Act, women's right to vote ...
On the positive side: more books, public libraries, Shakespeare's plays, Beethoven's music, Van Gogh's paintings ...

Big Book: The Owl Killers is 576 pp.
985 points

It's been awhile since I posted, but here's an update...finally!

25- Inane Answering Machine Message Day

Short Book Title: Strangers
Long Book Title: The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down

Total Points: 130

5.6 It's a Dirty Job
Snuff by Chuck Palahniuk (definately could never be a porn star!)

10.8 Oh! Canada!
The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

Total points: 375

30.7: Multitasking: The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

fits into 5.5, 5.8 and 5.10

Tasks: 11
Books: 13
Total Pages: 3849
Total Points: 145/1100

15.9. OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW BOOKS
A. Read The Book That Has Been On Your TBR Pile/Shelf The Longest.
AND
Read A Book Written By An Author You Have Never Read Before.
A. Bite Laurell K. Hamilton, etc 1-1810 This has been on my TBR shelf since I joined goodreads (30 June 09) 297 Pages
B. The Accidental Werewolf Dakota Cassidy 1-8-10 326 Pages

Total Points: 90
Total Pages Read: 2590
Total Books Read: 8
Number of Challenges Completed: 6

35.2 DONNA JO'S TASK

I chose #3 - Cozy Fire and read


Havens and Hideaways: Cozy Cabins and Rustic Retreats
and
Catching Fire

Total points: 115

7. JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK - MULTI-TASKING

I read i heart you, you haunt me
by Lisa Schroeder

*******She is a Goodreads Author**************

It fulfills two other tasks:
5.9 - Isn't it romantic
25.2 - Read a book where friendship is a main theme

Total Books Read: 13
Total Pages Read: 2451
Total Points: 145

I have read another book for 25.5

Club Dread by Walter Sorrells

That would now give me 1050 points

Finished:
10.7 small screen stories
my favorite, well really the only tv show I watch besides news is Bones so I read Déjà Dead by Kathy Reichs.

I finished 10.10 From Russia with Love with
The Winter Queen by Boris Akunin

+10
total 955

25.9 The World of Books:
A. The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's Darkest Journey
Has a map of Roosevelt's travels through South America and a map of the River of Doubt drawn by Roosevelt

B. The Return of the King
Has appendices that include family trees, calenders, timelines, and a guide to runes

Both of these books are incredible. Highly recommended

50 pointer is done-yay!

'The Outdoor Girls in a Winter Camp:Glorious Days on Skates and Ice Boats' by Laura Lee Hope and;

'The Outdoor Chums and the Mystery of the Golden Cup' by Quincy Allen.

Both really fun, old fashioned gutenberg finds!

695 poiints

Completed Task 20.3

The Princess Bride by William Goldman & posted comment in discussion thread.

I completed task 30.3 Snowed In and Loving It, by reading The Accidental Bride by Jane Feather (328 pages), Lavender Morning by Jude Deveraux (476 pages) and The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (111 pages) A total of 915 pages.

305/1100 points
Tasks Completed: 13/60
Tasks In Progress: 4
Books Read: 20/79
Pages Read: 5,683

Ok Here is the new book for 25.3

The Girl Who Played With Fire by Steig Larsson

Just got in here:D

My first task!!

35-3 - The Witching Hour by Anne Rice

Ok since I don't have the answer to my question about the 50 point task I read 3 books on the winter sport thing. I hope one will be accepted.

50.1A Pot of Gold by Judith Michael

50.2B All About Hockey by George Sullivan
Skiing for Dummies By Allen St. John
Mia by Laurence Yep
Yippee I am finished. It was great fun!!!!

OOPS I forgot to change my ticker

woohooooooooooo cheryl!! congrats! :)

Congratulations, Cheryl!!!! Way to go!

Newly Completed Task:

25.2 – GINA'S TASK - FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH:
The Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow --- (Goodreads Author!!)

I gave this one a 5 star rating. I have a close group of girlfriends from college and our experiences closely parallel those encountered by these girls from Ames, Iowa. My group is called ‘The Spinster Sisters’ and without their friendship my life would be tougher, and less colorful. There is just something about having a strong bond of friendship with someone that provides me with a safety net to try things I might not have had the courage to do on my own, and a soft place to land if the attempt doesn’t work out so well. We’ve laughed and cried together and I shudder to think what my life would be without them.

My niece (who was thirteen at the time) was included on a vacation of the Spinster Sisters. We came to her aid during the trip and she coined what has now become our motto:
“Spinster’s Rock!”

Congrats to Roseann, and Cheryl for finishing the Challenge in record time. You go girls!

Total Points: 220
Books Read: 17
Completed Tasks: 14
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 4,544
Other Tasks in Process: 3
Personal Goal: 400 Points

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Task 10.3 - African American Author and Protagonist -The Color Purple

Task Points:10
Total Points:185
Tasks:10
Books:13

Nicki - STL

25 point task
8. MICHELLE US' TASK - JANUARY 30TH IS INANE ANSWERING MACHINE DAY
The Day Where We Try To Bring An End To All Of Those Mindless, Endlessly Long, Beeping And Otherwise Inane Answering Machine Messages That Annoy, Waste Time And Try The Patience Of Poor Unfortunate Callers.

In Honor Of This Silly Holiday...

A. Read A Book With An Unnecessarily Long Title (At Least 7 Words)
And To Make Up For It...
B. Read A Book With A Very Short Title (1 Word).
Bright Lights, Big Ass: A Self-Indulgent, Surly, Ex-Sorority Girl's Guide to Why it Often Sucks in the City, or Who are These Idiots and Why Do They All Live Next Door to Me? by Jen Lancaster

Barefoot by Elin Hilderbrand

Current Point Total: 115

Finished:
15.2 ADVENTURES WITH ALICE AND LEWIS:
A. Alice I Have Been: A Novel by Melanie Benjamin A fictionalized account of Alice Liddle and Lewis Carroll. 4* A Good Reads Author.
B. Changing the World and Other Tales of Valdemar edited by Mercedes Lackey Short stories set in Lackey's world of Valdemar.

Finished two more tasks:

15.5 Readers around the World - initials HS
H - Hungary (Molly's 5 star) Eleven by Patricia Highsmith
S - Switzerland (Dusie Press' 5 star) Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell

Eleven - A wonderful book of eleven short stories by a super writer. I am glad Molly introduced me to her - 4 stars

Island of the Blue Dolphins - A classic Newbury Award winner. Can't believe that I haven't read it before. Terrific - 5 stars

30.5 Diane - Posthumously Speaking
A. Deceased Narrator - The Wish List by Eoin Colfer
B. Book Published After Author's Death - For Us, the Living: A Comedy of Customs by Robert Heinlein

The Wish List - wonderful, whimsical story of what happens when a person dies and ends up with an equal good/bad ratio. Sent back to earth to break the tie. 4 stars

For Us, the Living - Heinlein is an icon in the sci/fi genre. This book was written in 1939, never published, lost and then found by his estate and published in 2003. It is his first attempt at a major work and ended up as a treatise on his projections of a utopian future. Many of his future works are based on ideas from this one. A bit ponderous and not nearly as good as his later novels but a good look at the process that shaped his thinking. 3 stars

Points: 705
Tasks: 37
Books: 54
Pages: 12917

YAY finally on the board, I was going ot wait to post this until the end, but thought I'd go ahead now, before I forget.

10.6 LOCAL 5 STAR
Picture of Dorian Grey

Total points-10

In Progress-6 (can't seem to get any of them finished!)

I am going to do a little shuffling. I previously finished 25.9 by reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters. I would like to subsitute The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society with Graceling which also has a map in it.

Then I would like to use The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society for 25.8 for the long title and Shiver for the one word title.

I hope I made sense! That makes my total 345 points.

I finished task 30.1 yesterday, read a book published in the past decade - Catching Fire was published in 2009, and read a book made into a movie in the past decade - Angels & Demons

Both books were phenomenal by the way!

This brings my total to 50 points. Laura FL