The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

5.10 Alliteration

The Memoirs of a Beautiful Boy by Robert Leleux (3.5 stars)

Leleaux's memoir, which focuses mainly on his appearance obsessed mother from Texas, is really entertaining. The lengths she will go to, including super-glued hair and infected lip implants, to snare a new husband, makes for a really funny read.

+5
points 205
books 16
tasks 15

Finally, three more completed tasks to post!

25.2 GINA'S TASK - FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (552) 2/19 – 5 stars from me

The friendship between the main character and her best friend Rudy as well as her friendship with Max are really important in the book. It really shows what true friendship is. True friendship entails no expectations, unconditional love and wanting the best for the other person. I wish I had a friend that would be there no matter what.

I would like to claim my “ticket” for this 500+ page book - I LIKE BIG BOOKS AND I CANNOT LIE

25.5 ABIGAIL'S TASK - ODD MAN OUT – I can’t seem to find a place for Imago by Octavia Butler (272 pages) -which I am giving four stars- so I guess I will fit it here since it doesn’t fit into any 5/10/15 point tasks for me. It’s the final book in the Xenogenesis series. 2/3

30.6 WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS – Dear John by Nicholas Sparks (335 pages) 2/4 – 4 stars from me. Nicholas Sparks makes me want to visit North Carolina. The people and the places in his books just seem so comforting. He writes about beaches, surfing, good food, small towns and friendly people, which makes want to just go do there and visit or even live there. I had the same feeling when I read The Notebook.

Total Points: 250
Pages read: 3347
Books read: 13
Tasks completed: 11

5.5 A Librarian's Job is Never Done: Library: An Unquiet History by Matthew Battles - An interesting history of libraries. This book talks in broad terms about how libraries come into being, how they are sometimes destroyed, how the role of the librarian came into being and has changed, and how libraries have both reflected and become part of human culture. It has a really global perspective, but even so I thought it odd there was little discussion of the institution of the public library as we all know it.

ONE TASK LEFT!

25.1 1001 Books:
Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen.

Both of these books are deservedly on the list. Anna Karenina was my favorite book of the winter challenge.

I Like Big Books: Anna Karenina is 864 pgs.

I finished two more tasks:

TASK 20.3 - GROUP READ

I finally got my copy of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass by Lewis Carroll and finished it. You can see my comment regarding the book in the group read discussion thread, posts 69 and 70.

TASK 30.3 - READ 825 PAGES

For this task I read three books that I did not use for any other tasks. The books were:

The Xibalba Murders: An Archeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton 290 pages.
Witch and Wizard by James Patterson 384 pages
Heat Wave by Richard Castle 198 pages

TOTAL PAGES 872

POINTS SO FAR: 130
TASK 20.3: 20
TASK 30.3: 30
TOTAL POINTS: 180

30.10 Color By Numbers
A. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison
B. 11 Birthdays by Wendy Mass
Books Read - 24
Tasks Completed - 18
Pages Read - 7,828
Total Points - 385

Finished the midway task for another 50 points by reading The Golden Compass which I gave 4* and A Skeleton In God's Closet which I gave 3*. The Golden Compass was a good story but not spectacular for me. A Skeleton in God's Closet has an interesting premise on how Christianity would be affected if the bones of Jesus were found. I thought that the story could have been told a little better in parts.


This brings me to 545 points.

Well off to see if I can fit one more task in.

go melissa!!!

go diane!!!

:)

35.3- DLM ROSE'S TASK - IT'S ABOUT TIME
I read Three Weeks with my Brother by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks.

Books read: 16
Tasks completed: 11
Total Points: 225

I think this is the last task I'll finish for the winter challenge.

25.8 The Man who Loved Books Too Much by Allison Bartlett & Gone by Jonathan Kellerman

Total Points - 285
Books Read - 18
Tasks Completed - 14

5 point task
4. A WINNING DECADE - As We Transition From One Decade To The Next We Should Recognize The Books That Won Us Over In The Last One…For This Task Read A Book That Has Received A Literary Award During The Years (2000-2009).
The Road by Cormac McCarthy

Current Point Total: 170
Jessica (MI)

5.9 ISN'T IT ROMANTIC
LOVER ETERNAL by J.R. Ward

Points this task: 5
Total points: 280

25.5. ABIGAIL'S TASK - ODD MAN OUT
Read One Book That Doesn't Fit Any Of The 5/10/15 Point Tasks For You
I read: Hippie by Barry Miles (Hardcover, 384 pages) (This is the second book by Barry Miles that I read for this challenge; the first one was Paul McCartney: Many Years from Now )
And

15.10. WE WILL REMEMBER YOU
A. Read A Book Written By An Author Who Died In 2009.
Philip José Farmer died in 2009; I read: The Other Log of Phileas Fogg (Mass Market Paperback, 304 pages)
B. Watch A Film Starring An Actor/Actress Or That Was Directed By A Director Who Died In 2009. Henry Gibson died in 2009. I watched:
“Blues Brothers” (1980) Starring: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd,
The Henry Gibson character: Head Nazi (the leader of one of the groups of people chasing Belushi and Aykroyd around Chicago)

675 + 25 + 15 = 715




Tasks Completed: 35
Points for this task: 25 + 15
Points thus far: 715/1100
Books read: 47
Pages Read: 15,140
Read but not yet claimed: 4 books

Some completed tasks:

Task 10.5 - Pop Fiction (2009): The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown (2/21/10)

Task 30.3 - BJ Rose – 825-page Free-Style (1063 pages total): The Titan's Curse by Rick Riordan (1/26/10) AND The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan (1/27/10) AND The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan (2/18/10)

Task 30.10 - Teresa in OH – Color Title & Number Title: Once Upon a Marigold by Jean Ferris (1/22/10) AND 24 Girls in 7 Days by Alex Bradley (1/23/10)

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 25/58
Tasks Partially Complete: 5
Books Read: 39/81
Pages Read: 11,668
Points Earned: 470/1100



My goal is to finish the 5 tasks I have partially completed, which would bring me over 600 points.

10.7: Demon Ex Machina – Julie Kenner 01/13 One of my favorite shows was Buffy the Vampire Slayer **Goodreads Author**

15.9: How to Be Good – Nick Hornby on my pile the longest 12/18 AND Matchless – Gregory Maguire 02/01 author I’ve never read before

25.8: Queen of the Road: The True Tale of 47 States, 22,000 Miles, 200 Shoes, 2 Cats, 1 Poodle, a Husband, and a Bus with a Will of Its Own – Doreen Orion 01/06 **Goodreads Author** AND Triskellion – Will Peterson 02/04

10.4: Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia – Elizabeth Gilbert 02/08 from Diane’s list

30.10: Once Upon a Marigold – Jean Ferris 02/02 AND Twenties Girl – Sophie Kinsella 02/12

5.7: Welcome to Temptation – Jennifer Cruise 02/20 **Goodreads Author**

30.3: Evil at Heart – Chelsea Cain 01/25 AND Body Surfing – Anita Shreve 12/20 AND The Longest Trip Home – John Grogan 12/19 Total pages read: 992

20.2: The Help – Kathryn Stockett 02/05 **Goodreads Author**

30.7: Bet Me – Jennifer Crusie 02/24 5* on Jan's list, Author is year of ox, cover is red, white and blue **Goodreads Author**

New Points: 175
Previous Points: 325
Total Points: 500

I completed Task 30.3 (BJ Rose's Snowed In & Loving It) by reading:

Stitches: A Memoir (320 pgs)
Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return (192 pgs) and
The Forbidden Daughter (336 pgs)

(Total: 848 pgs)

Stitches: I've just recently discovered Graphic Books and am amazed at how much emotion, detail and intensity comes through in the drawings.
In this book, David's childhood of fear, uncertainty and intimidation comes through in such intensity. The characters of his parents and grandmother are frightening and intense and the drawings emphasize how a small child would feel under the circustances. This is one of the things that I find amazing about the graphic novels I've read: they bring out emotions just by looking at the drawings that are raw and on the surface.

Persepolis 2: I enjoyed this continuing story of Marjane's late teenage and young adult years. There was a lot of Iranian politics in the story which, although very interesting in its way, became a bit much. However, it did show me how difficult it would be for a modern person to live under such a regime.

The Forbidden Daughter: Although an interesting story with warm characters, the story comes across as somewhat disjointed and not quite finished or polished enough.
This is an easy, relaxing, comfortable story with no surprises for the Reader. Unfortunately, the author spells it all out for the Reader.
Isha is a warm, typical Indian woman in a loving marriage. She loses her husband to a brutal murder and must find her own independence, while raising 2 young girls. Although this woman is under a lot of pressure and grief, there are outbursts, reactions and actions on her part that are not consistent with the character the Reader has gotten to know. This makes the story seem to not fit together quite right.
However, I did enjoy the story for it's easy reading.


With luck, I should be able to finish one more multi-book task before the end of this Challenge.

10.2 Louis Louis - read The Poor Gentleman by Ian Hay.
This book (which belonged to my grandmother) is an English thriller written about 1930 in which the villains are defeated because they underestimated the narrator who is blind.

30.1 The Bill of Rights and Additional Amendments
Jeffrey Rogers Hummell 320: Political Science
and
Burning Down My Masters' House
Jayson Blair 70: Journalism

Starting book: Having Our Say
The Delaney Sisters
320 pages

I Completed 30.4 by reading Year of Wonders about the plague in England in 1665. I found it interesting but thought the ending didn't really fit the rest of the book.

My total is now 460.

25.2 Gina's Task - I read Pretties by Scott Westerfeld.

Friendship means being there for each other, no matter what the circumstances are. A true friend is someone who loves you and supports you.

25.9 Bridgit's Task-The World of Books
A. The Coral Thief by Rebecca Stott, which has a map of the Jardin des Plantes in it
B. Ghostwalk, also by Rebecca Stott. This book has all sorts of extra content: diagrams and drawings within the text, passages written like a scholarly text within the rest of the text, a timeline, and an appendix with Isaac Newton's recipes for colors and remedies for illnesses

Pages in book(s): 590

Tasks Completed: 14
Books Read: 22
Total Pages Read: 6,035
Total Points: 305

Several taks are finally done, no sleep for the next few days though!! :)

5-4 Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami. This won the Jerusalem Book award in 2009.

10-4 Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson, this was a 5 star read for Wendy, BJRose and Sam.

25-7 Sams Task- and the Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky.

This brings me to 900 points (I think)!

5.07 EYEING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER: “The Accidental Tourist” Anne Tyler
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)
15.02 ADVENTURES WITH ALICE AND LEWIS: A)”The Magician’s Nephew” C.S. Lewis B)”Odd and the Frost Giants” Neil Gaiman
15.08 SILVER SCREEN CELEBRATIONS: (Christmas) A) “Light from Heaven” Jan Karon (book) B) “The Bishop’s Wife” (film)
15.10 WE WILL REMEMBER YOU: A) “A Rumpole Christmas” John Mortimer B) Watched John Hughes film, “Pretty in Pink”
25.01 LEORA’S TASK – 1001 BOOKS: A) “The Double” Jose Saramago B)”A Christmas Carol” Charles Dickens
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.
25.06 STEPHANIE US’ TASK – ISLAND DREAMS: “Paddington Here and Now” Michael Bond
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
30.03 BJ ROSE’S TASK – SNOWED IN AND LOVING IT: "A Taste for Death"PD James [497:] "The Lamorna Wink" Martha Grimes [448:]
30.07 JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK: MULTITASKING: "Voices" by Arnaldur Indridason (fits tasks 25.05 and 25.08)
35.03 DLM ROSE’S TASK – IT’S ABOUT TIME: “The Magic Years” Selma H. Fraiberg
Total points: 270

yippee! I'm done! woo-hoo!

30.3 Snowed In and Loving It:

In Morgan's Shadow - 129 pgs
This book is the result of a writers' project among residents of Spartanburg, SC. I am sure I would have liked it better if I had ever lived there.

O Pioneers! - 196 pgs
I expected to find this the literary equivalent of peas - unexciting but good for you. I was pleasantly surprised to find it much tastier.

The Titan's Curse - 312 pgs
I would agree with my daughter, it is my favorite of the series so far.

Lolly Willowes : Or the Loving Huntsman - 252 pgs
My, what a lot to chew on here... I am still turning it over and will review in a day or two, but I am inclined to say I liked it very much.

total pgs for this task: 889

*happy dance* now I can finally start looking seriously at Spring options!

Totals for this challenge:

Books: 79
Pages: 6053
Points: 1100

Congrats, Melissa!!! A job well done!

Yay Melissa and to everyone else who has met their goal this season! For those who haven't yet, you've still got until Sunday! You can do it! *waves good luck signs in the air*

15.6. THE SEASON OF GIFTING & GIVING One of the best gifts I've received is when the USAF gave my husband orders to England -- we spent 5 years there -- Death and the Chapman by Kate Sedley takes place in England. I like reading about areas I've lived. I gave a contribution to the local foodbank.
Books Read: 59
Pages Read: 19333
Tasks Completed: 43
Tasks in Progress: 1

Nearly two weeks of bedrest has been somewhat frustrating, but has definitely allowed me to get much further along in this challenge than I would have otherwise! Finished one more task:

30.1 BONNIE'S TASK
Part A: Sarah's Key by Tatiana De Rosnay (published in 2007)
Tatiana DeRosnay is a Goodreads Author

Part B: Nights in Rodanthe by Nicholas Sparks, which was made into a movie in 2008. I was intrigued by this one because I was on vacation in Rodanthe when they were filming this movie. No star sightings, but it was nice to have an idea of the setting while reading the book.

With that, I've gotten further along than I ever have in a challenge! I think I'm going to start on one of my longer books for the Spring Challenge, so I'm all done with Winter! (Wish the weather was, too...)

Previously Completed Tasks
15.4 IT'S ALL FUN AND GAMES
Part A: Pieces of Happily Ever After by Irene Zutell
Part B: Put together jigsaw puzzles

15.9 OUT WITH THE OLD...
Part A: Invisible Lives - Anjali Bannerjee
Part B: Truly, Madly - Heather Webber

25.10 EMILY'S TASK
PART A: Time of My Life - Allison Winn Scotch
PART B: The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi

30.6 WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS The Brightest Star in the Sky by Marian Keyes (Destination: Ireland) (02.14.10)

20.2 BETH MN'S TASK - REVISITING THE PAST It's All Too Much: An Easy Plan for Living a Richer Life with Less Stuff by Peter Walsh (revisiting task 15.7)

30.5 DIANE'S TASK - POSTHUMOUSLY SPEAKING
The Ten Best Days of My Life by Adena Halpern
AND The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson

10.7 The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (read 01.01.10)

35.3 Some Days There's Pie: A Novel by Catherine Landis (01.22.10)

30.8 Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson (fits 5.8 and 5.10) (01.20.10)

15.7 PART A: All-new Complete Cooking Light Cookbook by Ann C. Cain
PART B: Made Spinach & Artichoke dip and Baked Feta Marinara

30.3 The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
(Total Pages = 841)(01.10.10)

5.1 Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (01.05.10)

5.10 Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler (12.23.09)

10.9 Swimsuit by James Patterson (12.19.09)

25.5 This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (12.17.09)

20.3 The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore. (12.15.09)

25.6 Behaving Badly by Isabel Wolff (12.09.09)

Total Points: 375
Tasks Completed: 18
Books Read: 23
Total GR Author "tickets": 9

Congrats Melissa!

35.4 ROSEANN'S TASK - READ ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTION - My resolution is to eat healthier food. In particular to eat more fresh fruits and veggies (especially fruits since I'm not a big fruit eater), less processed foods, and to eat smaller portions.

A. Read A Fiction Book With A Word In The Title That Pertains To The Resolution - The Fig Eater: A Novel by Jody Shields (I would NOT recommend this book).

B. Read A Non-Fiction Book Which Talks About Your Resolution - Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollan (Mostly common sense, but some great tips on eating healthier).

Total Points: 1050/1100
Tasks Completed: 56/58
Tasks in Progress: 2

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30.6 Wendy's task Winter Vacation Dreams
I have always wanted to visit Australia so for this I read Eucalyptus: A Novel by Murray Bail. More specifically I would first visit Sydney then travel to the Southern coast, Melbourne and a few smaller towns like Bendigo and Castlemaine. This book was perfect for this task because besides always wanting to visit, It reminds me of an old friend of mine who lives about 120 km from Melbourne. The character in this book is visited by a stranger who tells her random stories. My friend would similarly tell me stories of places and people he had seen, wildlife of Australia complete with pictures. I almost gave the book 5 stars just for personal reasons, but I enjoyed the book for itself too.

6. STEPHANIE US' TASK - ISLAND DREAMS
Read A Book That Takes Place On An Island Country Listed On The Page Link Below. The Only Condition Is If You Choose A Historical Island The Book Must Take Place When The Island Was An Independent State. For Example You Can Use Hawaii Before It Became A State In 1959.
List Of Countries

All Creature's Great & Small by James Herriott -- UK

25 pts

5.1 The Wonderful World of Disney - I read The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot

Another task completed...

1. LEORA'S TASK - 1001 BOOKS
For This Task You Have To Read 2 Books From The 1001 Books To Read Before You Die List.
For this task I read Jazz by Toni Morrison and The Black Dahlia by James Ellroy. These books were numbers 155 & 213 on the list.

Total Points: 840/1100
Books Read: 61
Tasks Completed: 43/58

Finished Task 10.3 - African-American: When the Black Girl Sings by Bil Wright (2/24/10)

I'm also going to switch up two of my partially-completed tasks to create one completely-completed task:

Task 25.8 - Michelle US – 7+ and 1 Word Titles: Behind Every Good Man: Helping Your Husband Take the Spiritual Lead in the Home by John Bytheway (1/4/10) AND Fire by Kristin Cashore (12/13/09)

CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 27/58
Tasks Partially Complete: 3
Books Read: 40/81
Pages Read: 11,934
Points Earned: 505/1100

congratulations, melissa! :)

finished up task 25.4 by reading The Awakening, and Selected Stories and Cry, the Beloved Country. both eras sound pretty tough to live in. i would actually pick south africa during WWII so that i could fight against the coming Apartheid movement. i think if i lived during the time of The Awakening, i too, might swim out to sea!




Total Points: 930/1100
Books Read: 59/81
Tasks Completed: 41/58
Tasks in Progress: 2

I just finished the following tasks:

15.6. THE SEASON OF GIFTING & GIVING

The best gift I have ever gotten is a bit of a two parter – My good friend in high school bought me season one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and my little sister bought me a copy of Twilight by Stephanie Meyer. Since I got these gifts, I’ve fallen in love with any book/TV show that is vampire related, and it seems to have become a bit of a hobby of mine.

So, for this task I read “From Dead to Worse” by Charlaine Harris, because it features Vampires.

To give back I gave a free horse-riding lesson to a girl who always helps at my riding stable, but doesn’t always get the opportunity to ride.

35.3. IT’S ABOUT TIME

I read “Open Season” by Linda Howard. I loved it!

This brings my totals to:

50 new points
380 total points
23 books read
17 tasks completed

For 15.6, a book about a gift, I read Charms for the Easy Life by Kaye Gibbons. The "charm for an easy life" is the gift. I looooved this book. Loved. It's about a grandmother, mother, and daughter in the south from about 1900-1950. Lovely book. Highly recommend.

New total: 135

50- GO FOR THE GOLD
1) The Silver Chair (Chronicles of Narnia, #6) by C.S. Lewis
2) Murder on Ice: A Figure Skating Mystery by Alina Adams

Total Points - 275
Books Read - 18
Tasks Completed - 12

5.3 - ROYAL READING -

I read The Boleyn Inheritance by Philippa Gregory. 4 stars

5 points!

Total Points: 580
Total Books Read: 38
Total Pages Read: 12,396
Ready to start the Spring Challenge!

Newly Completed Tasks:

5.4 – A WINNING DECADE
A. Read One Book That Was Published In the Past Decade
Read: Maisie Dobbs by Jacqueline Winspear

Which won the 2003 Agatha Award: Best First Novel. I gave it 3 stars.

10.3 - RENAISSANCE READING - In Honor Of Zora Neale Hurston (Born January 7, 1891– Died January 28, 1960) Famous Harlem Renaissance Author…
A. Read A Novel That Was Written By An African American That Also Has An African American Protagonist
Read: Their Eyes Were Watching Godby Zora Neale Hurston

What a great book! I gave it 5 stars. I listened to it in audio format. Ruby Dee was the narrator, and she was fantastic.

35.3 - DLM ROSE'S TASK - IT'S ABOUT TIME: Read A Book With One Of These Words In The Title: Second(S), Minute(S), Hour(S), Day(S), Week(s) Month(S), Season(S), Year(S).
Read: The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion

I gave this one 3 stars. It got rave reviews from lots of folks, but there was just a bit too much repetition of phrases, and memories for my taste. But then again, that closely mirrors the grief process itself, so it was a good way to illustrate that.

Total Points: 485
Books Read: 31
Completed Tasks: 28
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 8,841
Other Tasks in Process: 2
Personal Goal: 400 Points

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I've completed the following...

LOCAL LITERATURE LOVERS - Michelle - The Guardian

OH CANADA! - Summer's Child

ABIGAIL'S TASK - ODD MAN OUT - Does She or Doesn't She?
Not related to The Little Mermaid
No Star/Stripes/Cover is mostly Pink
No Royalty
Not An Award Winner
No Librarians/Libraries
No Dirty Jobs
Not born in the year of the dog
Not a cozy
No romantic words
Not alliterative
No Circus
No senses loss
Not an African American writer/charachter
Not a 5 star from a winner
Not from 2009
Not a local lit favorite
Not related to a favorite tv show
Not Canadian
Not Hawaii
Not Russia
Not black comedy
Not Alice/Lewis/takes place in Manhattan
No games
Not on the list of a C/S person around the world
Not related to a gift
Not related to a winter holiday
Not old/new
She's Still Living

Friends Romans Readerfriends...lend me your ears. I don't think I will finish but I will give it my all. I was a reading beast lately, so I have more tasks to claim points for:

25.7 - I read The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner for the first part of the challenge. All I have to say is "Oy Vey."

For the second part, a book mentioned in LOST I read A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It's one of those children's classics I missed somehow.

25.9 For the map portion of the challenge, I read Legacy: AmazonEncore Edition by Cayla Kluver. I loved this book. If you like YA, fantasy/romance you will also. Yes, it was penned by a fourteen year old, but it's great.

For the weird art/book format I read Cathy's Book: If Found Call (650) 266-8283 by Jordan Weisman et al. This is one of those gimmicky YA books. It is in the format of a teen's journal/sketchbook, and also includes clues to the mystery (photographs, a menu to a restaurant, etc.) The story was a'ight. Nothing to scream about. I did love the wonderful drawings, however.

30.2 - Hugo/Nebula Winners -

For the first portion I read A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Leguin, published in 1968. Quite good.

For the second portion I read A War of Gifts by Orson Scott Card, published in 2007. I chose this because I read Ender's Game years ago and loved it, and figured, hey a new take on the original story. However, this was just a cheesy Christmas themed Battle School book and it made me realize that there were some things fundamentally wrong with Ender's Game.

30.4 I read Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson, which is a historical fiction book about the yellow fever plague in Philadelphia during the 1790's. Well-written, interesting, etc. Loved this book.

30.7 - I read Give Up the Ghost by Megan Crewe. This fulfills challenges 10.4 (it is a five-star read from Bonnie's bookshelf) and also 10.5 because it was on the popular list on the month of September (my birthday month)

35.2 - I chose Northern Lights and read:
Northern Lights by Nora Roberts which I enjoyed muchly &
Southern Lights: A Novel by Danielle Steel which was meh. I remember reading DS when I was way too young (a paperback copy of Zoya that I stole from my teenaged sister) and being enthralled by her, but this was just boring. There was no tension. And in romance, you need tension.


Previous Score: 775
Current Score: 950

25.2 - GINA'S TASK - FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH. Read A Book About With Friend, Friends Or Freindship In The Title
OR Read A Book Where Friendship Is A Main Theme
AND When You Post Please Tell Us What Friendship Means To You.

I read The Wednesday Sisters by Meg Waite Clayton - 3 STARS

NOTE: This book is written by a Goodreads author

Friendship, for me, means someone who knows you, cares about you, and will be there for you in good and bad. Someone you can rely on. Someone you can trust and believe in.

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
B. Read A Book Written By An Author You Have Never Read Before.

A. I read Things I Want My Daughter to Know by Elizabeth Noble - 3 STARS
B. I read In A Perfect World by Laura Kasischke - 4 STARS

Totals as of 2/24/10:
935/1150 Points
65/81 Books Read
16/81 Books Outstanding

15.10
a-Author who passed in 2009: I read "My Summer With George" by Marilyn French
b-Actor who passed in 2009- I watched "Just Married" and "Happy Feet", both of which had Brittney Murphy.

For Task 30.1

Moonlight by Keith Knapp was published in the last decade (2007)

and

Stardust by Neil Gaiman was made into a movie in the last decade (also 2007 - didn't realize that when I picked these books)

Also just finished task 15.4-Fun and Games

I read "The Train Now Departing" by Martha Grimes. It was a short novella, with the majority of the story taking place in a train station.

The game I played was "Mexican Train Game" (played with dominos). We played for several hours during the Christmas holidays.

10.3 Written by African American with African American protagonist

Today I spent the whole morning reading Push (Precious). I just couldn't put it down, but it was kind of like a train wreck.

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 Purposes Of This Task, I Will Define A Historical Novel As Anything Taking Place Up To And Including WWII.)

The Ravages of Time #28 by Chan Mou (a Chinese comic series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rava... ) and Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders by Gyles Brandreth

The story in The Ravages of Time takes place in the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history (184 [or 220:] - 280 AD). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three_Ki... This time was branded as one of the cruelest periods in the history of mankind. So I won't ever feel like to live then.

On the other hand, Oscar Wilde and the Candlelight Murders takes place in the Victorian era, one of my favorite historical time. But it's good to look at, not to live in, especially if you are not a "gentleman" who is also a conformist. However, if I must, I'll certainly choose the Victorian.


30.3. 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.

The Ravages of Time #29 by Chan Mou 205 pages
The Ravages of Time #30 by Chan Mou 204 pages
The Paris Vendetta: A Novel by Steve Berry 432 pages

= 841 pages in total

Points: 190/550
Books: 13
Tasks: 10/58
Pages: 4,296




And for the last one which I'm not sure whether it'd be approved.

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)

The Ravages of Time #31 by Chan Mou

The monarch in question is Liu Bei ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liu_Bei ), the king of one of the three kingdoms. But even he's one of the main characters (and the series has a host of them), he appears only briefly in this volume, about 20-30% of all pages.

If this book is okay, my point will look like this:

Points: 195/550
Books: 14
Tasks: 11/58
Pages: 4,495

Thank you very much.

I finished 35.4. My resolution is to eat healthier food, so I read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food: The Eater's Manifesto, and Kate Jacobs's Comfort Food.

New Point Total: 505
Task Completed: 22
Tasks in Progress: 4
Books Read: 37
Pages Read: 11996