The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

Jenilyn wrote: "I just finished The Gargoyle for task 10.8. The author is Canadian. I gave this book four stars. I really enjoyed it."

Oh, thank you! I've been wanting to read that one. I didn't know the author was Canadian...will put that one on the list for that task.

Holy cow, I can't believe the amount of posts already! It must be cold out there and everyone's curled up with a book. :)

15.8 Read Blue Christmas and watched "12 Men of Christmas" a cheesy Lifetime movie with Kristen Chenoweth while decorating my tree! I liked the movie better the book, though both were pretty cheesy.

30.6 Captain Corelli's Mandolin which takes place in Greece where I have always wanted to go - not sure whether it's the gorgeous beaches and the fact that it's my favorite food, but it's been my number one destination for years. The book was funny in many parts, but drolled on a bit too much about history and politics in others. Didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but in a large part that was the moral of the story.

Total points: 45

25.5 Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk

total: 190 points

Yay, finally on the board! I'm claiming my first lot of points for task 25.6 by reading The Warden, by Anthony Trollope, which is set in England and is very English!

5 POINT TASKS...
1. THE WONDERFUL WORLD OF DISNEY = Beauty Sleep A Retelling of "Sleeping Beauty"
2. SHE WAS A GRAND OLD FLAG MAKER = Holidays Are Hell
3. ROYAL READING = The Diamond Secret A Retelling of "Anastasia"
4. A WINNING DECADE (RITA Award Winner 2008)Dead Girls Are Easy
5. A LIBRARIANS JOB IS NEVER DONE = Nice Girls Don't Date Dead Men
6. IT'S A DIRTY JOB BUT… (Demon Assassin) = Eve of Destruction
7. EYING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER (Lora Leigh, Year of the Pig 1971) = Tempting the Beast
8. BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE = Casting Spells
9. ISN'T IT ROMANTIC = Deep Kiss of Winter
10. THE ALLURE OF ALLITERATION = Southern Spirits

10 POINT TASKS...
1. UNDER THE BIG TOP =
2. LOUIS LOUIS (Blind character)= Enticed
3. RENAISSANCE READING = The Hunted
4. WINNERS CHOICE (BJ Rose) = Twilight Fall
5. POPULARITY CONTEST = Ecstasy
6. LOCAL LITERATURE LOVERS (USA) =
7. SMALL SCREEN STORIES (True Blood) = Dead Until Dark
8. OH CANADA! = (Author - Eve Silver) Demon's Hunger
9. REMEMBERING PEARL HARBOR =
10. FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE = Terrible Tsarinas Five Russian Women in Power

15 POINT TASKS...
1. MAKE ME LAUGH = ?
2. ADVENTURES WITH ALICE AND LEWIS = ?
3. WHAT WOMEN WANT (TO READ AND WRITE)= ?
4. IT'S ALL ABOUT FUN AND GAMES (Online poker & slots) = High Stakes
5. READERS ROUND THE WORLD UNITE = ?
6. THE SEASON OF GIFTING & GIVING = ?
7. FOOD + FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS = READING FUN - Chocolate Chip Cookie Murder
8. SILVER SCREEN CELEBRATIONS (Christmas) - Deep Kiss of Winter B. Watch A Film That Involves That Same Holiday = Four Christmases
9. OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW BOOKS - Lord of the Night & Red
10. WE WILL REMEMBER YOU = ?

20 POINT TASKS...
20.1 MOST IMPROVED PLAYER - BETH MN'S TASK - REVISITING THE PAST - Sam's 25 Point Task (Monsterfest) = A Girl's Guide to Vampires
20.2 ROOKIE OF THE SEASON - CHERYL ME'S TASK - CIVIL RIGHTS =
20.3 GROUP READS - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland / Through the Looking-Glass

25 POINT TASKS...
1. LEORA'S TASK - 1001 BOOKS =
2. GINA'S TASK - FEBRUARY IS INTERNATIONAL FRIENDSHIP MONTH =
3. SARA NICOLE'S TASK - A GAME OF CLUE = (Suspects - Peacock, Blue)
Weapons & Rooms = Master of Swords (From local library)
4. LISA MD'S TASK - IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
The Burning(Year 1822)
A Connecticut Fashionista In King Arthur's Court (Middle Ages)
5. ABIGAIL'S TASK - ODD MAN OUT = The Chosen Sin
6. STEPHANIE US' TASK - ISLAND DREAMS (England/United Kingdom) = The Hunger
7. SAM'S TASK - THE LOST GENERATIONS =
8. MICHELLE US' TASK - JANUARY 30TH IS INANE ANSWERING MACHINE DAY = Midnight Pearls A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"(7 Words)
Undying(1 Word)
9. BRIDGIT'S TASK - THE WORLD OF BOOKS = Second Skin(Map)
The Darkest Pleasure(Glossary)
10. EMILY'S TASK - DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER...UNLESS IT'S REALLY WELL DESIGNED =
Welcome to the Jungle(Graphic Novel)
The Rest Falls Away (Really like cover)

30 POINT TASKS...
1. BONNIE'S TASK - CELEBRATE THE END OF THE DECADE (2000-9)! = You Slay Me(2004)
Casino Royale (2006 - Daniel Craig)
2. HELEN'S TASK - SCIENCE FICTION - PAST AND PRESENT = I, Robot(Past)
Wake(Present)
3. BJ ROSE'S TASK - SNOWED IN AND LOVING IT (825 pages or more) List Books and # of pages. =
4. SANDRA'S TASK - WORLD AIDS DAY = I Am Legend
5. DIANE'S TASK - POSTHUMOUSLY SPEAKING = The Lovely Bones & ?
6. WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS = Dominic Tell us where and why.
7. JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK - MULTI-TASKING =
Before Midnight A Retelling of "Cinderella" Counts for Michelle US's task Answering Machine Day and The Wonderful World of Disney 5 point task.
8. KARI ♪'S TASK - EXPLORING WITH LEWIS AND CLARK =
Sacajawea& Little House in the Big Woods
9. RACHEL LEE'S TASK - THE NEWBERY AWARD =
The Tale of Despereaux Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread (2004 Medal Winner) & After Tupac and D Foster(2009 Honor Book)
10. THERESA IN OHIO'S TASK - COLOR BY NUMBERS = Red Fire A Gods of Midnight Novel & One With the Night

35 POINT TASKS...
2. DONNA JO'S TASK - GOING ON A WINTER VACATION =
Dark Highland Fire & ?
3. DLM ROSE'S TASK - IT'S ABOUT TIME = Stay the Night
4. ROSEANN'S TASK - READ ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTION = ?

Total Points: 95/1100
Books Read: 7
Tasks Completed: 6/58
Total Pages: 1734

YAY!! First task completed for my first challenge =)

15.1 Black Comedy/Satire

I read Nightlight A Parody and watched Chicago.

Now excuse me while I go and burn the book.

Total Points: 15

Here are my postings for this week.
1. Task 5.3 Royal Reading - The Rose without a Thorn by Jean Plaidy
2. Task 10.4 Winners Circle - Life on The Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers -This book us part of Leora's five star list.
3. Task 10.10 From Russia - The Endless Steppe: Growing up in Siberia by Esther Hautzig
4. Task 30.4 World Aid's Day- An American Plague The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793 by Jim Murphy

I believe that gives me a total of 55 pts.

Finished one!

10.7 - Small Screen Stories: Supernatural Witch's Canyon

Points: 10
Tasks: 1
Books: 1
Pages: 352

Finished 20-1 Voice of Hope by Marie Hodge, it's about JFK and definately addressed his civil rights contributions.

60 points

Hello all! Finished another task this weekend:
15.7 FOOD + FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS = READING FUN
A. Read A Novel With Recipes Or A Cookbook.
Cooking for Mr Latte A Food Lover's Courtship, with Recipes by Amanda Hesser -- Ms. Hesser wrote 37 newspaper-article length chapters, following each chapter with 1-10 recipes. (There are 113 recipes in total -- I counted!) Chapter 1 is her blind date with "Mr. Latte"; the last chapter is her wedding to "Mr. Latte". She name-drops just a little bit (she doesn't like Emeril Lagasse's cooking! Yikes! I LOVE Emeril's recipes!) The typical comment on the people in her life is along the lines of this one about her mother (p. 173) "Thus my mother, who is very practical, generous and a perfectionist, makes a superb roasted chicken with herbs tucked under the skin and lemons and onions neatly packed into its cavity, and crisp almond biscotti that look as if the nuts were arranged one by one."
B. Prepare One Or More Of The Recipes From The Book And Share It With Others -- I made the Macaroni and Cheese pp. 94-95 and shared it with my sons. They liked the Monterey Jack Cheese and the ham but disliked the tomatoes (and, indeed, removed the tomatoes from their plate before eating the mac and cheese).

55+15=70





Tasks Completed: 4
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 70/1100
Books read: 4
Pages Read: 1299


Meatloaf Recipes for Everyone's Favorite by Maryana Vollstedt.>

I've also finished another book for one of the multi-book tasks; I'll post about it when I claim points for that task.

TOTAL POINTS = 5 + 25 = 30

New Tasks:

25.2 The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery

I really enjoyed this book although the ending took me by surprise. Themes of friendship run throughout this book but are predominent in the last half after all the characters have been thoroughly introduced.
"Friendship across class lines is impossible."
"We can be friends. We can be anything we want to be."

Old Tasks:

5.1 Disney: (Beauty and the Beast) Beauty by Robin McKinley

Finished 5-2 'On the Edge of the war Zone from the Battle of the Marne to the Entrance of the Stars and Stripes' by Mildred Aldrich. A fantastic gutenberg find!

65 points

Cynthia-it was Cheryl Me's task that I completed, on the newest task list it is 20-2, I was working on an older list-sorry!

Finished task 10.5, read a hot book of 2009 from your birth month. My birth month is April, so I read Deadlock and really enjoyed it (4 stars)!

Total Points = 30

15.6 THE SEASON OF GIFTING AND GIVING - I read A Doll's House and Other Plays by Henrik Johan Ibsen.

The gift from my childhood that stands out the most to me is a dollhouse my uncle gave me for Christmas (my uncle gave me the best toys!). It was the most amazing thing I had ever seen. By today's standards, it really wouldn't be much, but back then it was the stuff dreams are made of. Recently, my daughter and I were in an antique store (that really made me feel old!) and saw a dollhouse exactly like that of my childhood. My daughter wasn't really impressed, but I felt a lot of that old magic while looking into it's rooms. I'm not sure what ever happened to my old dollhouse. I'm sure my mother gave it away at some point. My uncle passed away a couple of years ago and I really miss him. I still have a couple of the toys he gave me as a child and cherish them and his memory very much.

Season for giving back - I gave a big donation of household items to charity, gave contributions to MUST Ministries and to a local scholarship fund.

Total Points: 125/1100
Tasks Completed: 7/58
Tasks in Progress: 3


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35.3 - It's about time: A Season of Angels. Enjoyed this book with 3 Christmas miracles!
Finally on the board with 35 points!

Here's my first completed task : for 30.7,
(Jan The Gryphon’s task) - Multi-Tasking, I've read The Flying Troutmans by Miriam Toews (fits 10.8, 15.5, 30.1, 5.2)

Books read: 1
Challenges accomplished: 1
Points : 30

5.10 The Allure of Alliteration
Critical Condition by Peter Clement

Total points: 60

Task 5.9 - ISN'T IT ROMANTIC

Cupid by Julius Lester

Total Books: 3
Total Pages: 624
Total Points: 15

10.5

The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane
Katerine Howe

Total: 25 points

I finished reading TTYL by Lauren Myracle for task #25.2. My first finished task. So 25 total points.

It is a story completely told in the IM messages that three best friends send to each other. I thought it was charming and a very authentic look at how teenage girls interact with each other.

What friendship means to me: Friendship means a lot to me. I have several people that I consider to be my best friends. Friendship is a relationship that survives all kinds of hardships and conflicts that people go through. Friends are people you can tell your secrets to. Friends are people you can disagree with and still be friends. Friends are people that you can argue with and still be friends. Friends are the people you can turn to that will tell you the truth no matter what. Friends tell you when you are acting stupid. Friends let you know when you are making a mistake. Friends are there to pick up the pieces when you failed to listen to them about acting stupid and making mistakes.

My husband is my best friend.
I have a best friend that has been my best friend since we were 2 and 3 years old.
I have a best friend that has been my friend for years, but became my best friend as an adult.
And I have a best friend who is also my niece and we also became best friends as adults.

I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky to have such wonderful friends.

35.2. DONNA JO'S TASK - GOING ON A WINTER VACATION -- #4 Sleigh Ride
The Body in the Sleigh and Ride the Winter Wind

Books Read 4
Tasks Completed 3
Pages Read 1160

Finished one of the fun tasks.

Task 15.7 Food and Family
I read 2 cookbooks since one was just shy of the page allowance, Favorite Brand Name Silly Snacks (223 pgs) and Baking for the Holidays (Pillsbury book, 96 pgs) and I made Peppermint Bark Hearts for a cookie exchange for my daughter's playgroup. They were a hit and super easy and yummy to make!

Tasks Completed: 5
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 65/1100
Books read: 8
Pages read: 1728

A few more down--

5.3--DOOMED QUEENS:ROYAL MONARCHS WHO MET BAD ENDS
by Kris Waldherr

Fifty Queens are featured in this tongue-in-cheek look at why it's not necessarily good to be the queen. I liked this one as I have read many books on royals, but never one that looked at their deaths in a darly comic way.

10.3--INFANTS OF THE SPRING by Wallace Thurman

A story of the Jazz age written by someone who was there. This fascinating tale is about a group of black artists living in Harlem in "Niggerati Manor". If you haven't chosen a book for this challenge, I highly recommend this one.

and

30.1--WALK SOFTLY, RACHEL by Kate Banks

Story of a family trying to deal with the suicide of their, son, grandson, and brother. Not as good as some of the other stories I have read about young people and death.

&

UP IN THE AIR by Walter Kirn

I have already heard much about the film based upon this book and starring George Clooney. I can only hope that the film is better than the book. I was expecting sharp, humor and did not receive it in the writing. I actually found it a bit boring as the book focused mainly upon the main characters dealings with those he flys with "up in the air". I was really looking forward to this read and was disappointed. I will still see the movie and will post if it is the same, better, or worse.

This brings me to 380 points!

5.7 EYEING THE YEAR OF THE TIGER - I was born under the same Chinese zodiac sign as Kazuo Ishiguro. I read his first book, A Pale View of Hills.

Total Points: 130/1100
Tasks Completed: 8/58
Tasks in Progress: 3

Rebecca wrote: "YAY!! First task completed for my first challenge =)

15.1 Black Comedy/Satire

I read Nightlight A Parody and watched Chicago.

Now excuse me while I go and burn the book.

Total P..."

Oh, I was going to read that book for this challenge... it makes me sad that it is so bad. What was wrong with it?

5 points

1 The Little mermaid Midnight Pearls: A Retelling of "The Little Mermaid"
2 Safe house Meg cabot more red and blue but still white.
3 the other Boleyn girl
4 ALA Best Books for Young Adults (2005) who am i without him.
5 dovey coe by frances Dowell was recomended to me by the librarian at my college.
6 TBD
7 Night Magic by Charlotte Vale Allen born 1941 in the year of the snake and coincidently published 1989 the year I was born.
8 Cooking Up Murder (Cooking Class Mystery, Book 1)
by Miranda Bliss9 Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins
by Emma Donoghue
10 a child called it. Pelzer, Dave

15/50

10 pts

1 water for elephants
2 The Art of Seeing by Cammie McGovern3 Way Past Cool: A Novel by Jess Mowry
4 Jan (the Gryphon)'s bookshelf: read Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons
5 Wings (Wings, #1) by Aprilynne Pike
6 A Girl Named Zippyby Haven Kimmel
7 gossip girl Gossip Girl
8 Kinsella, W.P.: Author. "Shoeless Joe",
9 Name Me Nobody, by Lois-Ann Yamanaka
10 The Death of Achillesby Boris Akunin

0/100

15 point tasks

1. Evil penguins by Elia Anie and TBD
2. Alice in lace and Extras
3. sanctuary meg cabbot and educating esme
4. Kingdom Hearts, Vol. 1 (Paperback)~ Shiro Amano
5. cook islands 28: Stories of Aids in Africa
by Stephanie Nolen and ‘by Mistake by Susan Gee Heino
6. an ex gave me a set of Stephen king books for valentines day. While I have read them all they are special because I don’t like chocolate and love reading it was a thoughtful gift. That being said it would make sense to read a book by Stephen king I haven’t read yet
the girl who loved tom Gordon
all week dec 7- dec 11 I am working the canned food drive on my campus.
7. Comfort Food Katie Jacob AND TBD
8. Junie B. Jones and the Mushy Gushy Valentine (Junie B. Jones, #14) by Barbara Park, Denise Brunkus (Illustrator) 80 pages And Horrible Harry and the Kickball Wedding by Suzy Kline 64 pages AND TBD
9. Burned Ellen Hopkins AND 6X: The Uncensored Confessions
by Nina Malkin (Goodreads author)
10. The Love Children (2005)A novel by Marilyn French AND TBD

/150

20 pt tasks
1. TBD
2. Little Brother (2008), by Cory Doctorow
3. Winter - The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0

0/60

25 pt
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon AND Five Children and It by Edith Nesbit
2. Truth & Beauty: A Friendship by Ann Patchett
3. Glass ellen Hopkins AND b. The Butcher, The Baker, The Candlestick Maker: An Erotic Memoir by Suzanne Portnoy (Goodreads author)
c. TBD TBD
4. A Day in the Life of Ancient Rome: Daily Life, Mysteries, and Curiosities
by Alberto Angela, Gregory Conti (Translator) AND Bud, Not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
5. dark walker.
6. Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia
7. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Other Jazz Age Stories
by F. Scott Fitzgerald AND uncle toms cabin
8. Are You There, Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler AND Stargirl by Jerry Spinelli
9. the darkness . AND TBD
10 TBD AND TBD (graphic novel and cover)

50/250

30 pt tasks.

1. Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. AND Queen Bees & Wannabes / Rosalind Wiseman
2. something by orson scott card AND a newer book by him
3. 0/825 pages
4. A Journal of the Plague Year, by Daniel Defoe
5. lovely bones AND Maurice A Novel By E.M. Forster,
6. The Rum Diary: A Novel by Hunter S. Thompson
7 Tricks. Red and one word.
8. The Story of Sacajawea: Guide to Lewis and Clark (Dell Yearling Biography) by Della Rowland AND Settlers of the Marsh, by Frederick Philip
9. 2006 Medal Winner: Criss Cross by Lynne Rae Perkins AND Hitler Youth: Growing Up in Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
10. The Boggart
by Susan Cooper AND one eyed cat

0/300

35pt

1. dewey 176+-2 and +- 250
2.
Fool's Paradise: Players, Poseurs, and the Culture of Excess in South Beach
Gaines, Steven

The Beach Houseby James Patterson, Peter de Jonge
3. Nineteen Minutes
by Jodi Picoult
4. finish my deviled egg cookbook
a. Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
b. A cookbook on eggs\
0/175

65/1100

I just finished "TMI" by Sarah Quigley, who shares my Chinese Zodiac -- the sheep
(task5.7)

tasks completed: 3
total points: 55/1100
total pages read:993

Finished 15.8 (Silver Screen Celebrations). I read Visions of Sugar Plums by Janet Evanovich. Definitely my least favorite of hers.

I also watched The Holiday starring Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. Love this movie!!!!

New Total: 30 points

5.1 Cinderella Bigfoot

This was a silly book with Prince Smelldred, a Dairy God Mother, and a Cinderella with enormously large feet.

Total: 15 pts

I finished 30.7 - multitasking. I read Fahrenheit 451 which also would have fit 30.10 (number in title) or 25.7 (featured on Lost) - also I'm pretty sure Ray Bradbury is year of the Monkey, like me, and who knows what else - a definite multitasker, and enjoyable - I can't believe I've never read this before!

This adds 30 more points and will bring me to a total of 80!

New task in bold. New total should be 45 points.

10.1: The Ringmaster's Secret by Carolyn Keene 12/3

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

25.10. 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)
AND
B. It's What's Inside That Counts: Read A Graphic Novel.

A. Read and I think the cover of this novel is AMAZING. I love the window/heart/green together - very appropriate for the book which I really enjoyed. Gave it 4 stars!

B. Read which is an AMAZING graphic novel. It was my first time reading a graphic novel and I was BLOWN away! 5 stars without a doubt!

30/1100 Total Points
3/79 Total Books

Task 5.3 - The White Queen by Philippa Gregory.

5 Pts.
Grand Total...5 Pts!

4.5 Stars.
Fantastic book, great character development and interesting storyline. Good pace, lot's of intrigue....overall really impressed.

I am a fan of Philippa Gregory and this one of the better books.

10.6 The Teacher's Funeral by Richard Peck

TOTAL POINTS: 10

Finally on the board!
I read The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane for Task 30.7 - Jan The Gryphon's Task.
I really enjoyed this one - I have been wanting to read it since it came out, so I'm so glad I was able to fit it in.

This fits both 10.4 as it is 5-stars on Wendy's read list and also fits 5.10 the Alliteration task.

Points Earned: 30
Total Points: 30

First Tasks:
20.3 GROUP READS
A. Classic - Alice in Wonderland & Through The Looking-Glass (Wordsworth Collection) (Wordsworth Collection) by Lewis Carroll

Such a fast read for a classic. I can't complain. Really like this book. Wonders and wonders. A funny book indeed. Now I'm wondering why I didn't read it before. hmmm. And I posted once at the GROUP READ discussion board.


Second tasks:
10.8 OH CANADA!
Through Violet Eyes (Violet, #1) by Stephen Woodworth
Nice twist to serial killer series. It's creepy to me. I usually do not read this kind of book.


Points earned : 20 + 10
Total points : 30

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.
The Overlook By Connolly
25 points
total 90

I'm finally on the board with a completed task! I completed:

10.10 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE with Fabergé's Eggs The Extraordinary Story of the Masterpieces That Outlived an Empire (Although the book did discuss the eggs' journey to western collections, the vast majority of it was about Russia, and even in the few chapters that discussed the eggs outside of Russia, the author still continued to discuss their relationship to Soviet Russia.)
Pages in book: 302

Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Total Pages Read: 302
Total Points: 10

Finished 25.6
Read The Tale of Murasaki by Linda Darby, set in Japan.

Total points 80
Total books 3
Total tasks 3

25.8 Uglies by Scott Westerfield and The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven by Sherman Alexie

total: 215

5.5 A Librarians Job is Never Done
First Among Sequels by Jasper Fforde (398 pages). I love this series and this book didn't disappoint, five stars. A Library is one of the main settings.

25.10 Don't Judge a Book by its Cover... Unless It's Really Well Designed
Infected by Scott Sigler (425 pages) - the cover intrigued me, with the eye and the triangle. I give this book 3 stars, it was a bit too graphic for me and the end was quite disappointing.
AND
Fables The Good Prince by Bill Willingham (228 pages). I kind of jumped into the middle of a series with this book so I was a bit confused at the beginning but I picked it up quickly and it was a great read, 4 stars

Total Points: 120
Total Pages: 2995
Total Books: 12
Total Tasks: 8

Completed task 25.6
STEPHANIE US' TASK - ISLAND DREAMS = The Hunger. I really enjoy this series. It is a Victorian vampire romance series set usually in England.

Total Points: 120/1100
Books Read: 8
Tasks Completed: 7/58
Total Pages: 2109

25.10 The Best-Loved Celtic Fairy Tales, retold by Neil Philip, illustrated by Isabelle Brent and Fushigi Yugi vol. 1 by Yu Watase
I was attracted by the bold watercolor and gold leaf cover of The Best-Loved Celtic Fairy Tales. I am interested in folklore and fairy tales in general, but the lovely illustration style sealed the deal. Inside the book, the pages were embellished with Celtic motifs and there were scattered full-page illustrations in the same style as the cover. They did not disappoint, although I'm afraid the way the stories were retold was a bit dry.

total: 240 points

Hi,

I have finished reading, The History of Love by Nicole Krauss for the 5 point isn't it romantic.

Kate.x.

Total Points = 25

I finished 15.8, Silver Screen Celebrations with
All Through the Night A Troubleshooter Christmas and watched
White Christmas- one of my favorites.

All Through the Night is not your typical holiday offering- this one is a light military drama/gay wedding tale

+15
total 160

I finished reading The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini for 10.4 - Winners' choice (from Diane's list)

Books read: 2/13
Challenges accomplished: 2/12
Points : 40/170

I finished The Story Sisters last night for task 15.2. The author is Alice Hoffman. I loved the book and rated it 5*.

Finished:

5.2 by Gayle Foreman 4*
5.3 The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot 4*
5.4 The Tale of Despereaux Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread by Kate Dicamillo (Newbery 2004) 3*
5.8 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie 3*




Completed tasks: 10
Books read: 10
Total points: 75

I completed Task 10.8 (Canadian author/setting) by reading The Manticore by Robertson Davies.
This is the second book of the Deptford Trilogy. I enjoyed this story told from David Staunton’s point of view. It has some overlap with Fifth Business (the first book) but told from David’s point of view and how he saw things unfold. David tries to come to terms with his relationship with his father through therapy. Some of the same characters come back and are seen through David’s eyes, which changes them to the reader’s eye, too, by rounding & fleshing them out. 4*
I'm looking forward to the third book, World of Wonders.