The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Read The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan for task 15.4. I also played Mahjongg on yahoo for well more than an hour.

I thought it was a pretty great book. Even though it was all short stories, these stories came together nicely in the end.

This should bring me to 205 pts.

Melissa wrote: "10.8 Oh Canada: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, who is Canadian, and the story is set in Canada. A really good book with a lot to think about... but not a fa..."

Melissa, I really enjoyed Fifth Business as well. Will you be reading the rest of the trilogy? I've read The Manticore, which I recommend, and have World of Wonder as my "circus" task book (but probably won't get to it).

50 Finished the big one. I read The Golden Bull and Skate Crime

total: 525/1150
total pages: 9179

10.8. OH CANADA! - To Commemorate The Upcoming Winter Olympics That Will Be Held In Vancouver, Canada - Read A Novel Written By A Canadian Author, Set In Canada, Or A Non-Fiction Book About Canada.
Ex. Saul Bellow, Mrs. Mike, So, You Want to Be Canadian All About the Most Fascinating People in the World and the Magical Place They Call Home
206 Bones by Reichs (Set in Canada)
10 points
695 total

30.9. RACHEL LEE'S TASK - THE NEWBERY AWARD
Winter Break Was Always My Favorite Growing Up Because I Got To Read So Many New Books And Usually My Aunt (An English Teacher) Would Bring Me The Newbery Award Winner From That Year For My Present. Pick A Year And Read Both The Newbery Winner And One Of The Honor Books From That Year. Then Let Us Know Which You Thought Was Better And Why. Here Is The Website Listing All The Winners And Honor Books.
http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/alsc/a...
2005 Medal Winner: Kira-Kira by Cynthia Kadohata (Atheneum Books for Young Readers/Simon & Schuster)

Honor Books: Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko (G.P. Putnam's Sons/a division of Penguin Young Readers Group)I loved Al Capone Does My Shirts. It is a book that will appeal to boys and girls. Kira-Kira will not appeal to male readers.
30 points
725 total

5.7 EYING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon
20.2 ROOKIE OF THE SEASON - CHERYL ME'S TASK - CIVIL RIGHTS The Help

5. 3. ROYAL READING - In Honor Of Elizabeth Of York (Born February 11, 1466 – Died February 11, 1503) Wife, Mother, And Grandmother To Members Of One Of The Most Famous Monarchies In History (The Tudors) …
A. Read A Novel Featuring A Monarch As A Main Character (Ex. The Monsters of St. Helena About Napoleon Bonaparte) OR
B. A Non-Fiction Book About A Monarch(s).(Ex. Suleiman the Magnificent About The Longest-Reigning Sultan Of The Ottoman Empire.)
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mon...)
The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. Main Character is King Tirian
5 points
total 730

50 points:
Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian (GoodReads Author)
and
Silver Wedding by Maeve Binchy.

Loved the first, hated the last.

I just finished Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
I had originally intended it for Task 10.4 as it was one of Wendy's 5* books. I agree with her entirely that this is a 5* read.
However, it's even more the story of a great friendship, so I'm using this book for Task 25.2. One can only hope that Joshua (Jesus) really did have such a friend as Biff (Levi).

To me, friendship is acceptance of the person, both their strong and their weak sides. Also, being there for support and a shoulder and a voice of reason, if/when needed. Lastly, the other person returns the acceptance and support back to me. Laughter and good times follows this knowledge that one can be oneself without fear of rejection. That's friendship, to me.

10.1 Under the Big Top
I read A Living Nightmare by Darren Shan which is the first book in the Cirque du Freak series. It's about a circus freak show. It was ok, 3 stars.

15.5 Readers Around the World Unite
I read A Girl's Guide to Vampires by Katie MacAlister which was on Beth's list who lives in Korea. I thought this book was terrible.
AND
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins which was on Heather's list who lives in Lesotho. This was an awesome book and I can't wait for the next one.

35.4 Read About Your Resolution
My resolution is to give up smoking. I listened to Blood And Smoke by Stephen King which was 3 short stories were cigarettes played some part. I'd already read them before but it was good to hear him read them to me.
AND
Staying Sane When You're Quitting Smoking edited by Pamela K. Brodowsky which was a bunch of stories from people who had quit. It was interesting but don't know how helpful it will end up being.

Total Points: 775
Total Tasks: 39

I won't have time to read much for the challenge before it's over so this will probably be my last update. I'm pretty happy with how far I got though since this is my first time. :)

Petra wrote: "I just finished Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ's Childhood Pal.
I had originally intended it for Task 10.4 as it was one of Wendy's 5* books. I agree with her entirely th..."
I really enjoyed this book. Thanks for checking out my list. I actually have a lot of five star books (like about 100 of them this year!)

5.08 BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE: "The Old Contemptibles" by Martha Grimes
10.02 LOUIS LOUIS: "Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sacks
10.08 OH CANADA! "Chronicles of Avonlea" by Lucy Maud Montgomery (written by a Canadian author and set in Canada)
15.08 SILVER SCREEN CELEBRATIONS: (Christmas) A) “Light from Heaven” Jan Karon (book) B) “The Bishop’s Wife” (film)
25.02 GINA’S TASK – FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH: “Friends, Lovers, Chocolate” Alexander McCall Smith. The most important part of friendship is assuming good intentions.
25.08 MICHELLE US’ TASK – JANUARY 30TH IS INANE ANSWERING MACHINE DAY: A) “The man who made lists: Love, death, madness, and the creation of Roget's Thesaurus" Joshua Kendall B) “South” Sir Ernest Shackleton
30.07 JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK: MULTITASKING: "Voices" by Arnaldur Indridason (fits tasks 25.05 and 25.08)

Total points: 120
Rachel

finished task 30.3 by reading How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents(290 pages) and The Bonesetters Daughter(567 pages...somehow i ended up with the large print edition (i order books from half.com, you get what they send!)) for a total of 857 pages. garcia girls lost me with the last chapter...seriously, it totally blew the whole book for me, which was unfortunate. bonesetter's daughter was just lovely, i really liked it a lot!




Total Points: 760/1100
Books Read: 44/81
Tasks Completed: 31/58
Tasks in Progress: 2

Another task done for me! For 25 point task #3 (A Game of Clue!), I read Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn (yellow cover) AND Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder (which I checked out from the library).

Updated totals:
Points: 215
Tasks completed: 11/58
Tasks in progress: 7
Books read: 21
Pages read: 5,780

Ok, I finally got my computer back, so I am updating. I feel like I've been reading a ton, but now that I am going to total points, who knows. I also have many tasks part way done and the month is going to quickly end.

I read Snow Flower and the Secret Fan for 25.2 friendship task. I've had this for quite a while and am glad that I finally read it.
I thought it was interesting that the friendship in this story was arranged and it made me think of how I've made my friends over the years. One of my best friends happened to be placed in my suite in college--so pretty much random. To me friendship is knowing that I can count on the other person and that I don't have to think about how everything I say is going to be interpreted.

I also read Fever 1793 for 30.4 (World AIDS day). This was a fantastic book. I've had kids for years telling me to read it and I've been putting it off. Now I can heartily recommend it.

That puts me at
245 points
5553 pages read

Petra wrote: "Melissa wrote: "10.8 Oh Canada: Fifth Business by Robertson Davies, who is Canadian, and the story is set in Canada. A really good book with a lot to think about... but not a fa..."

..."

Petra, I think I will read the others, assuming I can still get hold of them easily, but probably not right away - I am too close to finishing this challenge to give up now and I think it might take the next full 23 days for me to do it! I loved the strong characters in this book.

15.3 WHAT WOMEN WANT (TO READ AND WRITE) - In Honor Of Betty Friedan (Born February 4, 1921 - Died February 4, 2006) Famous Feminist…
A. Read A Novel Written By A Female Author From A Series That Has A Female Main Character.
AND
B. Read An Autobiography Or Biography Of A Woman You Admire (Book Must Also Have Been Written By A Woman).

For this task I read Eve of Chaos by S.J. Day for part A and I, Tina by Tina Turner for part B.

Total Points: 655/1100
Books Read: 45
Tasks Completed: 32/58

Melissa wrote: "Petra, I think I will read the others, assuming I can still get hold of them easily, but probably not right away - I am too close to finishing this challenge to give up now and I think it might take the next full 23 days for me to do it! I loved the strong characters in this book.
..."


Mellisa, I'm rooting for you to finish this Challenge. The books can wait for the next Challenge. I'm glad to hear that you'll be reading them. The Manitcore is quite interesting in its perspective of the events. I'm sure the third book will be, too....it's told from the perspective of Paul.

Finished Task 30.10 Colour by Numbers

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Twelve Sharp By Janet Evanovich

35.2 Donna Jo's Task - Going on a Winter Vacation - Tropical Island. I read Tropic of Night which I did not really care for - too much Voodoo/Santeria and anthropology - and Anne of the Island one of my all time favorites.

Total points: 120
Books: 8
Tasks Completed: 6

Hello!

I have now finished Task 10.4 ~ Winner's Choice. I read the book Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett. I found this book on Donna Jo's list. I really enjoyed this memoir of an interesting and challenging friendship and gave it 4 Stars.

Total # pages read: 3080
Total # points accrued: 160
Total # tasks completed: 8
Total # books read: 10

Finished two bigger tasks today:

25.8 - Inane answering machine day

In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Night by Elie Wiesel.

35.3 - time

Three Weeks with My Brother by Nicholas Sparks.


This should being me to 200 points!

5.9 ISN'T IT ROMANTIC - Chechnya: To the Heart of a Conflict by Andrew Meier (far from romantic, I know...)

Total Points: 670/1100
Tasks Completed: 37/58
Tasks in Progress: 2

I am changing North of Beautiful to task 30.6. In the book, the girl travels to China with her mom. I would love to one day go to Beijing, because I have never been to an Asian country yet.

Points: 135
Tasks: 6

I went on vacation -- and then did all the laundry! -- and I'm finally posting a few books. (And not posting a bunch more that I'm still hoping to use for multi-book challenges.) It's been so long, I can't believe how much reading everyone's done. Congrats to all the finishers!

Here's what I have to add for myself:

For 15.9:
Out with the Old:
on my TBR list since the day I joined GoodReads:
Shades of Grey by Jasper Fforde
In with the New:
The Help by Kathryn Stockett

NOTE: Kathryn Stockett is a GoodReads author.

For 20.2:
This book fits the third fifteen-point task on the list -- I believe this was the Winter 08-09 challenge?:
For Valentine’s Day: Read A Book With The Word Chocolate (Or Type Of Chocolate Or Other Candy) In The Title, Then Eat That Kind Of Chocolate Or Candy.
Truffles by the Sea by Julie Carobini
I, of course, enjoyed some lovely truffles while reading.

For 25.2:
I read an extremely cynical book about friendship
I'm So Happy for You by Lucinda Rosenfeld
The friendships depicted in the book are nothing like what friendship means to me. To me, friendship is about being there for someone when they need you -- and generally enjoying the other person's presence/what they add to your life (at least most of the time). It's not exactly a two-way street... more of a conduit which goes one way or the other, depending on where the stream is needed.

NOTE: Lucinda Rosenfeld is a GoodReads author.

For 25.6:
This book takes place primarily in Ireland, although a little bit in Australia (both work, though).
Greetings from Somewhere Else by Monica McInerney

NOTE: Monica McInerney is a GoodReads author.

My goal for this challenge was to reach 300 points, so I think I'm almost there now. If my math is right, I'm now at 290 (with 6,207 pages and 21 books read). Whee!

35.1. PJ READS TASK - FUN WITH THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM 307.14G Stick Your Neck Out: A Street-Smart Guide to Creating Change in Your Community and Beyond and 557RMaking of a Continent
30.5. DIANE'S TASK - POSTHUMOUSLY SPEAKING Undead and Unwed and A Confederacy of Dunces
Books Read: 44
Pages Read: 14105
Tasks Completed: 33
Tasks in Progress: 4

Finished Alice in wonderland today, for 20.3.

Total points:220

I have completed task 25.8 by reading Kim by rudyard Kipling and The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University

Kim was not worth the time unless you are studying politics/history from that era, Unlikely Disciples was very good.


Point Total: 160
Page Total: 5106
Book Total: 16

5.4 A WINNING DECADE - A Single Shard by Linda Sue Park. This book won the Newbery Medal in 2002.

Total Points: 675/1100
Tasks Completed: 38/58
Tasks in Progress: 2

I completed 25.10 by reading , the cover of which really drew me in. I think it is the peacefulness of the image. For the secong part of the task I read .

My total is now 335.

Task 5.2

20.1 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - BETH MN'S TASK - REVISITING THE PAST

I did 15 point task 5) Read A Historical Fiction Book Featuring A Famous Historic Personality Or A Biography Of A Historical Figure.

I read Nicholas and Alexandra: An Intimate Account of the Last of the Romanovs and the Fall of Imperial Russia. By Robert K. Massie.

Great book – but really sad reading.

This brings my totals to:

20 new points
235 total points
15 books read

Here are three more tasks completed:

10.2 Louis, Louis -- Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements - invisible boy and blind girl - 4 stars

10.5 Popularity - from full list for 2009 Shanghai Girls by Lisa See - very good, and left with a catch for a followup novel 4 stars

15.10 We Will Remember You

A. Author died in 2009 - Jane Aiken Hodge Death in Two Parts interesting - 3 stars

B. Film by Actor/Director who died in 2009 - Song of Bernadette with Jennifer Jones

POINTS 935
TASKS 48
BOOKS 70
PAGES 16975

And one more for the completions:

25.1 Leora - 1001 Books List

A. #52 on list: The Devil and Miss Prym: A Novel of Temptation by Paulo Coehlo

B. #19 on list:
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon

Both outstanding - 5 stars

Paulo Coehlo is a Goodreads Author

POINTS 960
TASKS 49
BOOKS 72
PAGES 17512

Task 10.4 Winners' Choice

I read Peace Like a River from LISA MD's shelf. I have to agree it deserves 5 stars.

New points: 10
Total: 95

30.4-World AIDS Day

I read "At Risk" by Alice Hoffman. It is a story of a young girl who contracts AIDS after a blood transfusion. It was written in the 80's, so it was a little dated, and I didn't care for the ending, but I did like the storyline.

30.6. WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS
With The Economy So Very Tight This Winter My Vacation Will Be Imaginary. Read A Book That Takes Place In Your Dream Vacation Spot Then Take A Moment To Imagine That You Are There. Tell Us Where And Why.
The Last Battle by C. S. Lewis. Trip to London and Narnia. Loved the Narnia sunshine.
30 points
755 total

5.1-THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY
My favorite Disney film is Cinderella and I read Ella Enchanted which is based upon the Cinderella story! Gave it 4 stars!

5.9 - ISN'T IT ROMANTIC
I read Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia and gave it 3 stars.

15.3 - WHAT WOMEN WANT (TO READ AND WRITE) -
A. Read A Novel Written By A Female Author From A Series That Has A Female Main Character.
AND
B. Read An Autobiography Or Biography Of A Woman You Admire (Book Must Also Have Been Written By A Woman).
For A, I read U is for Undertow and gave it 4 stars. The main character of the series is a female & its written by female.
For B, I read a biography of Anne Sexton (my all time favorite poet) that was written by her daughter who is a woman LOL The book is Searching for Mercy Street: My Journey Back to My Mother, Anne Sexton and I gave it 4 stars.

15.10 - WE WILL REMEMBER YOU
A. Read A Book Written By An Author Who Died In 2009.
AND
B. Watch A Film Starring An Actor/Actress Or That Was Directed By A Director Who Died In 2009.

For A, I read Angela's Ashes (3 stars) which was written by Frank McCourt who passed away in 2009.
For B, I watched "The Handmaids Tale" which starred Natasha Richardson who passed away in 2009.

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

I read The Princess Bride - 4 stars and I posted in the discussion thread.

30.10 - THERESA IN OHIO'S TASK - COLOR BY NUMBERS
A. Winter Can Be Drab, Cold, And Bleak. Read A Book With A Bright Or Happy COLOR Word In The Title. ACCEPTABLE WORDS: Red, Green, Purple, Yellow Etc., NOT ACCEPTABLE: Black, White, Gray Or Brown Tones.
AND
B. At The End Of The Year, Many Lists Appeared, From Best Of To Worst Of Biggest Seller Of Years, Most Money Made By Celebrities, Etc. So Read A Book With A NUMBER In The Title. It Can Be Written (Thirteen) Or An Actual Number (13).

For A, I read The Girl in the Green Sweater - 3 stars

For B, I read Child 44 - 4 stars

35.1 - PJ READS TASK - FUN WITH THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM

For A, I selected Catching Fire (391 pgs) - so part A is 391 which is costume, personal appearance. For this, I read The Little Giant of Aberdeen County - 5 stars

For B, from 391 - it's 641 which is Food & Drink. I read The School of Essential Ingredients - 4 stars

Totals as of 2/5/10:
665/1150 Points
48/81 Books Read
31/81 Books Outstanding

Just realized I left one off to reach my stated total:

For 15.7:
The Chocolate Cookie Murder by Joanne Fluke

Amazing cookie recipes in there! A big hit with the whole family. :)

Congrats to all the finishers so far! Quite a feat!

Just finished two more tasks...

20.3 GROUP READS
The Stupidest Angel: A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0** and my review is on the other thread.

25.4 LISA MD'S TASK - IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
I read The Blood of Flowers: A Novel***** which took place in the 1700's in Persia
and
The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate**** which took place in Texas in 1899.

I would definitely go with 1899. In the book, the characters were introduced to the telephone, Coca cola, and the automobile. Although each time period would be hard I think I would do better with a little technology.

Total points: 380

I completed Task 20.2 (Revisit The Past) by reading After the Quake. The task was to read a book that had been translated from another language...in this case, Japanese.
I enjoyed these short stories all set in the time after the Kobe earthquake of Japan. Each of these characters gets a shaking up of their own in their lives. Haruki Murakami has a lyrical way of writing that is quite absorbing.

5.9 Isn't it romantic
Read Time Enough for Love

I forgot in my last past to say that both Lisa See and Laurie Halse Anderson are Goodreads authors.

For 10.4 I read The Scarecrow It was on Lisa's and Wendy's list. Exactly what I expected.

for 25.6 I read The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. I had originally picked this out because of the cover, but then realized it takes place in England. Sometime I will find another cover--but I've had the graphic novel read for forever!

That puts me at 280 points
6343 pages

25.4 IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Two for the Lions by Lindsey Davis
Face Down upon an Herbal by Kathy Lynn Emerson

I think I would prefer the Elizabethan England to Vespasian's Rome. Although the facilities for bodily functions had somewhat regressed during the Dark Ages, the communication would be easier to handle.

25.8 JANUARY 30TH IS INANE ANSWERING MACHINE DAY
A)What Do You Care What Other People Think? Further Adventures of a Curious Character by Richard P. Feynman
B) Emma [image error] by Jane Austen


[image error]

Yeah I've finished a 25 point task. It's 25.10 don't judge a book by its cover. I read The Hobbit as a graphic novel and Goodnight beautiful drew me in with its cover. Who could resist such a gorgeous smiling boy! I can't figure out how to post the cover but it has a little boy hugging his mum and smiling up at her. He looked so happy and it seemed so loving. It was a real tear jerker though!

I've completed From Russia With Love by Ian Fleming for Task 10.10 and. . .

I'M FINISHED!!!!!!!

This brings me to 1100 points!

What a fun thing this is to do. Thank you, Cynthia, for setting it all up and doing what I know must be hours of work to keep it all going. You're the best!

30.1. BONNIE'S TASK - CELEBRATE THE END OF THE DECADE (2000-9)!

A. Read One Book That Was Published In The Past Decade.

A Shadow in Summer by Daniel Abraham, published in 2006

B. One Book That Was Made Into A Movie In The Past Decade.

The Prestige by Christopher Priest,
made into a movie in 2006

Task Points:30
Total Points: 95
Completed tasks: 4
Books read: 6

I'm new to the challenge but here are my books from before:

25.6: ISLAND DREAMS:
read The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James Takes place in England.

30.7: MULTITASKING:
Read Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton Fits in with these following tasks:
30.1: CELEBRATE THE END OF THE DECADE: published in 2009
30.5: POSTHUMOUSLY SPEAKING: published after Crichton’s death.

So I guess that's 55 for me. I wonder if I can read 70-something books in three weeks. Hmm..

congrats, ashley! :)

Congratulations, Ashley!!