The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

5.7 The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin The year of the Dragon

TOTAL POINTS: 75
TASKS COMPLETED: 8

Petra wrote: "Wendy wrote: "DONE..."

Congratulations, Wendy!!! That's awesome!"

Thanks Petra!!

I completed Task 10.10 by reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov.
I've posted a review in the Review section. Although well written, this was a difficult book to get through and I could only read it in short sittings, due to the subject matter (which never got graphic at all).

I have one....maybe two, if the Library book comes in....tasks left in me, I think. With this task, I reached my goal for this Challenge.

5 point task
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.)
Ex. Kiss the Girls Or Cupid and Diana a novel
Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult

Current Point Total: 165
Jessica (MI)

25.8 Michelle's Inane Answering Machine

Blink
Tears in the Darkness: The Story of the Bataan Death March and Its Aftermath

I highly recommend both of these books! I'll be posting more this weekend.

Just finished 15.2 with Labyrinth by Kate Mosse and the beheamouth The Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks - 726 pages

New Total - 310

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
OR
B. A Non-Fiction Book About A Monarch(s)

I read - 4 stars

5.8 - BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE - While Outside It May Be Cold And Blustery; Inside You Can Cozy Up To A Cozy Mystery.

I read , a cozy mystery by Charlaine Harris. 3 stars

10.4- WINNERS CHOICE
A. Read A 5-Star Book From One Of The Winners Of The Fall Challenge (If You Are A Winner You Can't Use Your Own List)

I chose Diane who gave 5 stars to - I gave it 2 stars

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 .
AND
B. Spend An Hour Or More Playing That Game.

My favorite game is Monopoly. I read - 1 star.

And my husband and I played Monopoly for a few hours last Sunday night! (I WON! LOL)

25.7- SAM'S TASK - THE LOST GENERATIONS
A. Read A Novel Or Collection Of Short Stories/Plays By One Of The Following Authors Who Are Often Called Part Of The Post-WWI "Lost Generation": F. Scott Fizgerald, Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos, Gertrude Stein, Zelda Fitzgerald, Sherwood Anderson, John Steinbeck, Or William Faulkner.
AND
B. To Celebrate The Final Season Of Lost, Read A Book Featured On The Show Over The Years: Lost Literature
(Note: If A Series Is Mentioned, Any Book From That Series Is Acceptable. For The Bible, Read The Old Or New Testament.)

For part a - I re-read my all time favorite Hemingway novel - and I have to tell you, I love it more every time I read it. 5 stars!

For part b - I read which I still can't believe I'd never read. It was wonderful - 4 stars!


30.4 SANDRA'S TASK - WORLD AIDS DAY
December 1, 2009 Is World AIDS Day: Identified In 1981, It Is At Present Time A Worldwide Epidemic. Read A Book About An Epidemic (HIV/AIDS, Influenza, Plague, Smallpox, SARS, Superbug, Etc.) Or A Book Where The Character Is Suffering From Such A Disease.
Examples Of Books That Can Fit This Task Are: I Am Legend, Outbreak, The Plague, The Years Of Rice And Salt.

I read which tells a story where the character (well, lots of characters) suffer from Yellow Fever. 4 stars!

50 POINT MIDWAY TASK - ROSEANN
GO FOR THE GOLD--THE 2010 WINTER OLYMPIC CHALLENGE

In anticipation of the Olympic games, read one book with either GOLD, SILVER, or BRONZE in the title then read one book with a sport in the Winter Olympics: BIATHLON, SKATING, SKIING, LUGE, ICE HOCKEY, CURLING, BOBSLED. Note: Any form of the sport words: skate, skating, skates, etc. and variations on the medals: golden, bronzed, etc. are fine.

I read - 3 stars and - 4 stars.

Totals as of 2/19/10:
895/1150 Points
62/81 Books Read
19/81 Books Outstanding

School has kept me from being around much to post during this challenge, but here's what I've got finished so far.

5.9 “Isn’t it Romantic” Kissing Snowflakes by Abby Sher

15.8 “Silver Screen Celebrations"
How Mrs. Claus Saved Christmas by Jeff Guinn for part A, then for part B, I watched The Muppet Christmas Carol

30.4 “World Aids Day” Change of Heart by Jodi Picoult In this book, one of the characters deals with AIDS while in prison

30.7 “Multitasking” The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum fits task 15.2 (Adventures with Alice and Lewis) as well as task 5.10 (Allure of Alliteration)

30.10 “Color by numbers” Part A: The Green Trap by Ben Bova
Part B: One for the Money by Janet Evanovich

35.2 “Winter Vacation” For my winter vacation, I chose a "cozy fire" and read Recipe for Murder: A Cozy Crumb Mystery by Lisa Harris and Fire and Ice by Julie Garwood

35.3 “It’s About Time” I read The Season by Sarah MacLean

Total points so far: 180
(Rebecca MA)

30.3 Snowed in and loving it - well more like too hot to move and hating it!
Read - Tower of Glass206 pages, The Byworlder 190 pages, There Will Be Time 176 pages and When Harlie Was One by David Gerrold (a Goodreads author) 287 pages - total pages 859.
This brings me to 1005 points. Now I just have the tasks I was putting off to complete.

Come on, Coralie, you can do it!

Coralie wrote: "30.3 Snowed in and loving it - well more like too hot to move and hating it!
Read - Tower of Glass206 pages, The Byworlder 190 pages, There Will Be Time ..."

YOU CAN DO IT!!!!

I just completed task 30.3 (which is actually the first task I started!!). I read some favorite authors - starting with The Host by Stephanie Meyers and then adding Extras by Scott Westerfeld. Both of these authors are guilty pleasures for me. You can read my review of the Host in the reviews thread people are voting on. Extras was entertaining enough but clearly the fourth book in a declining series. The two books totaled 1067 pages.

Point Total: 275
Page Total: 9199
Book Total: 27

Congratulations, Wendy!!! Awesome!

You can do it Coralie (and where do you live?!?)!!!

I never reported that I finished task 30.6 by reading Under The Tuscan Sun by Frances Mayes. I would love a vacation in Tuscany because the food and wine sound delicious.

New point total: 95 points

I finished up 10.5 (Popularity Contest) with Sarah Waters's The Little Stranger, which I really enjoyed - I love that someone other than me still thinks that the gothic is a form worth exploring.

Current Total: 540 points

I completed 15.3 by reading Circus of the Damned (Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, #3) and Infidel.

My total is now 405.

For task # 30.3 I read What My Mother Doesn’t Know by Sonya Sones (259 pages) and Bloodhound by Tamora Pierce (551 pages) and Wrecked by E.R. Frank (256 pages).

Total pages: 1066

What My Mother Doesn’t Know: I would like to give this book 3 1/2 stars. It was interesting reading what amount to journal entries in poetry form. And for the person writing the journal to be an artist.

I thought the dilemmas of a teenage girl were well presented and solved like a teen would solve them. Sophie is very interesting and I felt engaged with the rest of the characters as well.

Overall I thought it was a good book and I read it in one night. I think I would like to try some of the author's other books.

Bloodhound: I gave this book 4 stars. Another great book from Tamora Pierce. The first in this series Terrier was a terrific book and this one turned out to be just as good. I cannot wait to read the next one. :) I love the idea of a female law enforcer being so successful.

Wrecked: I also gave this book 4 stars. I liked this book. It touches on a lot of teen problems, family problems. But one of the things I really liked was that it didn't solve them all wrapped up in a neat little package. Just like in real life some things can't be solved in the allotted time slot.

So this brings my total points up to 195. I may make it to 200 yet. LOL

Tamora Pierce is a GoodReads author.
Bloodhound is over 500 pages.

Finished 35.4.
My resolution is to be more in the present (rather than stressing about things I am not currently doing, focusing on people other than the ones I am with, etc.).

For the fiction component, I read
Love in the Present Tense by Catherine Ryan Hyde.

For the nonfiction component, I read
Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much by Anne Wilson Schaef.
It's formatted for one-a-day reading over a year, so perhaps I got less out of than I should have... Oh well. :)

TOTAL: 415

Oh, almost forgot. Catherine Hyde Ryan is a GoodReads author.

25.3
a. The Devil's Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
b. Poison Study by Maria Snyder
c. I got both of these books from the library

TOTAL POINTS: 100
TASKS COMPLETED: 9

5 point task
8. Cat Breaking free

25.8
1 word title- Chase- Dean Koontz
7 word + title- The desperate diary of a country housewife - Daisy Waugh

25.7 - Lost Generation
F. Scott Fitzgerald ~ This Side of Paradise
Steven King ~ Carrie

5.10 - Alliteration
Lisa Rogak ~ Haunted Heart: THe life and times of Steven King

Totals:
Points:515
Books:33
Tasks:23
Pages:10153

Ashley wrote: "Congratulations, Wendy!!! Awesome!

You can do it Coralie (and where do you live?!?)!!!"

Thanks Ashley!!

10.5 Vision in White on the year's 2009 most popular list. My first Nora Roberts book. I was underwhelmed. 2 stars.

25.4. LISA MD'S TASK - IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Chambers of Death -- Approx 1283/4 England and And Only to Deceive 1887 -- As for actually living day to day probably late 1800's because of the somewhat modern amenities and the availability of books. But I will always be fascinated by medieval Britain.
Books Read: 57
Pages Read: 18781
Tasks Completed: 41
Tasks in Progress: 3

Just finished 25.10. I read Diary of a Wimpy Kidd by Jeff Kinney for the first part and The Book of Lost Things by John Conolly for the second part

This brings me up to 135! :-)

Tasks Completed:
5.8 Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
5.9 Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
15.2 Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
Eldest by Christopher Paolini
20.3 The Princess Bride by William Goldman
25.10 Diary of a Wimpy Kid by Jeff Kinney
The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly
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)
35.3 The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion



Total Tasks Completed: 7
Total Points: 135
Total Books Read: 11

Finished task 35.3 with Specimen Days by Michael Cunningham.

I can't really figure out if I liked this book or not. It was three separate stories in three different time periods, all loosely involving Walt Whitman.

New Total: 345

For task 35.3, I read Nineteen Minutesby Jodi Picoult. It was good. I didn't like it as much as My Sister's Keeper, but I still liked it!

New Point Total: 440
Task Completed: 20
Tasks in Progress: 5
Books Read: 35
Pages Read: 11462

20.2 Cheryl ME's Task - I read The Help by Kathryn Stockett a Goodreads Author

10 point task #7:

inspired True Blood.

Looooove the series, both book and tv!

total points: 125
total books: 11
total tasks: 7

25.6 The Devil's Whisper by Miyuki Miyabe. The story takes place in Japan.

Points : 235
New Points : 260

3. BJ ROSE'S TASK - SNOWED IN AND LOVING IT
When The Weather Keeps You Housebound, Make The Most Of It! Grab Books By Your Favorite Authors - Or Try Some New Ones - And Read 825 Pages Or More. Any Genre! No Re-Reads For This, But Audiobooks Are Fine. List The Books You Read & # Of Pages For Each When Claiming Your Points.
Summer House by Nancy Thayer-12/30 (351 pgs)
Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian-2/17 (362 pgs)
sTORI TELLING] by Tori Spelling-2/20 (271 pgs)
984 pages

Chris Bohjalian GR Author

New Total 380

At last! I finished task 30.10. I read The Secret of the Pink Carnation by Lauren Willig (who is a good reads author) and The Big Four by Agatha Christie

710/1150
41 books
31 tasks
12,036 pages read

Congratulations Wendy!

35.3 It's About Time: I read Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen. Funny funny funny black comedy about a terrorist group wreaking havoc at the start of Miami's tourist season in an effort to draw attention to the area's overdevelopment. As a former resident of south Florida in a lot of ways the book felt like a trip home, but of course Hiaasen's real strength is the lunatic fringe. If you like Christopher Moore and haven't given Carl Hiaasen a try you should.

oh I am so close I can almost taste it.

Melissa wrote: "Congratulations Wendy!

35.3 It's About Time: I read Tourist Season by Carl Hiaasen. Funny funny funny black comedy about a terrorist group wreaking havoc at the start of Miami's to..."

Thanks. You are almost there!! See you at the finish line!!

20.1 The Alchemist
Paulo Coelho
A Goodreads author
The Big Reads List

finished task 15.5 by reading What Is the What which was a 5star from jaylene in Kenya and The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian which was a 5star from librarylass in New Zealand. what is the what was a re-read and perhaps even more amazing the second time around. true diary was just delightful, though i only gave it 4 stars.




Total Points: 905/1100
Books Read: 58/81
Tasks Completed: 40/58
Tasks in Progress: 3

Melissa, you are so close; keep it up.

Another 2 tasks down....

25.9 BRIDGIT'S TASK - THE WORLD OF BOOKS
To Honor The Authors That Go Beyond Just The Written Word In Order To Fully Realize The World They Have Created, Lets Read…
A. Any Book That Has A Map Included.
AND
B. Any Book That Has Extra Content, Such As: A Timeline, Family Tree, Glossary Of Terms, List Of Characters, Drawings Or Symbols Within The Text (NOT ILLUSTRATIONS), OR Unusual Text Layouts/Formatting.
For this task I read Pure Blood by Caitlin Kittredge which has a map in the front of the book, and I read The Darkest Pleasure by Gena Showalter which has a glossary in the back.

25.4 LISA MD'S TASK - IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
Read (2) Historical Books, Fiction Or Non-Fiction, From Different Time Periods Or Settings, Then Briefly Tell Which Time Period You Would Have Preferred To Live In.
For this task I read A Connecticut Fashionista In King Arthur's Court and The Burning which takes place in 1822. I think I would rather live in 1822 than the middle ages, more amenities available in 1822!

Total Points: 815/1100
Books Read: 59
Tasks Completed: 42/58

Ugh. I'm not thinking I can finish this...

10.1 UNDER THE BIG TOP - A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak) by Darren Shan

Total Points: 935/1100
Tasks Completed: 52/58
Tasks in Progress: 3

Diane wrote: "Ugh. I'm not thinking I can finish this...

10.1 UNDER THE BIG TOP - A Living Nightmare (Cirque du Freak) by Darren Shan

Total Points: 935/1100
Tasks Completed: 53..."

You only have five more tasks... and three of those are under way! YOU CAN DO IT!!!

I've not been here for a bit, and haven't been reading as much, but here's my update:

15.2 Alice/Lewis – American Wife: A Novel by Curtis Sittenfeld, The Great Hunt by Robert Jordan
(both over 500 pages)

30.3 Snowed in – The Host by Stephanie Meyer (618 pages), Aunt Dimity Goes West by Nancy Atherton (293 pages)

TOTALS:
210 points
18 books
13 tasks

All 4 stars, except for The Host, which I loved and gave 5 stars to!

I finished 10.7 (Related to TV show) with Devil Bones. This is my second book by Reichs and I did not really like either one. I love the show, but not so much her writing.

I also read After Tupac and D Foster for 10.3. I liked this one much more. I have so many students that will love this book. It's a great coming of age story.

That puts me at
355 points
8299 pages read.

Probably not going to meet my 500 point mark, but oh well--that is what the Spring Challenge is for!

4. SANDRA'S TASK - WORLD AIDS DAY
December 1, 2009 Is World AIDS Day: Identified In 1981, It Is At Present Time A Worldwide Epidemic. Read A Book About An Epidemic (HIV/AIDS, Influenza, Plague, Smallpox, SARS, Superbug, Etc.) Or A Book Where The Character Is Suffering From Such A Disease.
Examples Of Books That Can Fit This Task Are: I Am Legend, Outbreak, The Plague, The Years Of Rice And Salt.


Outbreak by Robin Cook

30 pts

30.3 Still Alice 320 pgs
Lisa Genova

and

The Lost Symbol 571 pgs
Dan Brown

Total 891 pgs

35.1 PJ READS TASK - FUN WITH THE DEWEY DECIMAL SYSTEM: From the fall challenge, one of my highest rated books was Day of the triffids, with 302 pages.

Dewey Decimal #302--Social Interaction: Dinner with Friends using a series of dinners, lunches, and social gatherings, the play examines the married lives of two couples and how one couple's breakup effects the stability of the other couple.

Dewey Decimal #52--Serials in English: Vanity Fair was printed in 20 monthly parts between January 1847 and July 1848.

Pages read: 8078
Books read: 25+
Tasks completed: 19
Total Points: 515
Liz (Bklyn)

Completed Task 25.6

Natural Selection by Bill Dare set in the UK

I just got back from a relaxing vacation where I had the chance to read a few books. I'll have to work on fitting them into some tasks but for now:

15.9 - on TBR shelf the longest - Half Broke Horses, never read author - The Alchemist

Just finished Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon for task 30.3. It was a re-read for me, and a massive one, but I loved it anyways.

I find that I actually loved it more the 2nd time around, since I took the time to read it and appreciate all the intricate details.

This should bring me to 245 pts.