Jen B's comments
(member since Oct 22, 2008)
Jen B's comments from the The Next Best Book Club group.
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I'm a planner, so I'm thinking ahead a couple of months to January. Here's how I'm challenging myself next year:
Jen B’s 10 in ’10 Challenge
I was originally going to challenge myself to read 10 books in each of 10 categories in 2010. But 100 books in a year would be a lot for me, especially considering that I’ll be having my second baby in March. I do a lot of audiobooks on my commuting now, which has upped my total books for 2009, but once baby is here I'll no longer be commuting - and listening to books with two kids in the car probably isn't going to happen!
So with that in mind, I altered my original plan and came up with my 10 in ’10 challenge – 10 mini reading goals to accomplish in 2010 with the books I read. Books can count in more than one category.
Goal 1: To read 75 books, mostly from my own TBR pile or from the library
Goal 2: To read a larger number of books than I acquire. Any book I acquire this year must be either:
- A book my library doesn’t have OR
- Finished this year
Goal 3: To complete an A-Z author challenge using books on my own TBR shelf
Goal 4: To complete an A-Z author challenge using books from the library
Goal 5: To finish three series which I’ve already started
Goal 6: To read 3 books that are over 600 pages each
Goal 7: To finish 5 books that I’ve previously started but left unfinished
Goal 8: To finish 10 books that have been sitting on my shelves for over two years
Goal 9: To read 5 nonfiction books
Goal 10: To read 10 books from lists. Doesn’t matter what list(s) – 1001 Books to Read Before You Die, TNBBC’s Top Books, EW’s 100 New Classics, etc.
A few of our family favorites:
The World's Fastest Indian
Cars
A Shark's Tale
The Mighty Ducks
The Muppets Take Manhattan
Love the mention of The Goonies, too...that's one of my all-time favorites!
Another take on reading around the world - read a book set in/about/by an author from a country that joined the United Nations in September, October, or November (any year). The complete list:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nati...
Latest one in bold:
#148 The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
#23 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
#4 The Book Thief - Marcus Zusak
#117 The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society - Shaffer/Barrows
#53 The Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
Total: 50 Points
Read a book that is on the required reading list for a school in your area (local bookstores/libraries have the lists available)
Read a book whose title is also the title of a song
Halloween candy - read a book with the name of a type of candy/chocolate in the title
Haven't updated my points in awhile:
25.5 - Read Holly's Inbox by Holly Denham as my first half of this task. Wasn't really crazy about this one...and at 674 pages, I thought it was way too long. However, the email format made it a pretty quick read. No points for this task yet since I have one more book to go.
10.1 - Read Deep Dish by Mary Kay Andrews. I listened to this one on audio, and as a 12-disc book, it has taken me the better part of the month to get through it. Cute story and I enjoyed it, particularly because I love to cook. But I'm glad to be done with it!
I've previously completed 30.5 (the 3 YA books task), but I read The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan (great book!) last week, and I'd like to count it for that task instead of Wintergirls. Instead, I'm moving Wintergirls to 25.10, the secret society task. I thought I saw a post where someone else counted it for that task, but if I'm wrong I can find somewhere else to put it.
New Point Total: 165
Fall = hurricane season. Read a fiction/nonfiction book about a natural disaster and/or its aftermath.
a book with a lipstick print on the cover
Kristen wrote: "KristenR wrote: "AACCKK@!!!!!!!
The Almost Moon is SOOOOOOO bad.....do I really have to finish listening to it to get credit???!!!???
I'm 2.5 hours into the 8.5 hour audiobook. I listen to aud..."
Uh oh! I just got the audiobook from the library...I thought listening would be more tolerable than reading since no one seems to have anything nice to say about this book. And I like Joan Allen, who narrates it. But maybe it's not such a good choice?!
Could I use The Lightning Thief for 25.10, the secret society task? If that doesn't work, is Wintergirls acceptable for that task instead? I thought someone else used that one, but I can't seem to find the post. Thanks!
A book with a crown on the cover
A book with a celebrity on the cover
I'll play again, too! It's interesting to see which shelves I hit...a nice reminder that sometimes I need to branch out a little bit with what I read
Tasks/books Completed (most recent in bold)
5 Point Tasks
5.5 James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl (5 points - 07/08/09)
5.7 When You Wish - Kristin Harmel (5 points - 06/14/09)
10 Point Tasks
10.3 Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (10 points - 06/02/09)
10.5 Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot (10 Points - 07/01/09)
15 Point Tasks
15.2 Watermelon - Marian Keyes (15 points - 06/18/09)
15.8 Dixieland Sushi - Cara Lockwood (06/10/09) |
25 Point Tasks
25.1 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (06/10/09) |
25.3 Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern (07/04/09) |
25.4 The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver – E. Lockhart (25 points - 06/05/09)
30 Point Tasks
30.5 Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson (07/06/09) | Secrets of My Hollywood Life - Jen Calonita (07/13/09) | Are You There, God? It's Me, Margaret - Judy Blume (07/14/09)
30.9 Don't You Forget About Me - Jancee Dunn (30 points - 06/25/09)
I just finished Kristen IL's Task of reading three Young Adult novels. Wintergirls is fantastic, and I'd highly recommend it for adults as well as teens. Secrets of My Hollywood Life is one I stumbled across as an e-book, and I actually really enjoyed it. Cute story about a teen actress in Hollywood who wants to be normal. I love anything about Hollywood, so I really enjoyed that one. Then I took a trip down memory lane and re-read Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret. Judy Blume is partially responsible for my love of reading, and even as an adult, I still find her books relevant and enjoyable.
Now I'm YA-ed out...time for some adult lit!
Total Points: 130/940
Total Books Read: 13/71
Tasks completed (most recent in bold)
5 Point Tasks
5.5 James and the Giant Peach - Roald Dahl (5 points - 07/08/09)
5.7 When You Wish - Kristin Harmel (5 points - 06/14/09)
10 Point Tasks
10.3 Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (10 points - 06/02/09)
10.5 Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot (10 Points - 07/01/09)
15 Point Tasks
15.2 Watermelon - Marian Keyes (15 points - 06/18/09)
15.8 Dixieland Sushi - Cara Lockwood (06/10/09) |
25 Point Tasks
25.1 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (06/10/09) |
25.3 Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern (07/04/09) |
25.4 The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver – E. Lockhart (25 points - 06/05/09)
30 Point Tasks
30.5 Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson (07/06/09) |
30.9 Don't You Forget About Me - Jancee Dunn (30 points - 06/25/09)
Just finished James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl for the Farmer's Market task. I never read this one as a child, though I was always a big fan of Dahl's books. Cute story!
Total Points: 100/940
Total Books Read: 11/71
Tasks completed (most recent in bold)
5 Point Tasks
5.7 When You Wish - Kristin Harmel (5 points - 06/14/09)
10 Point Tasks
10.3 Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (10 points - 06/02/09)
10.5 Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot (10 Points - 07/01/09)
15 Point Tasks
15.2 Watermelon - Marian Keyes (15 points - 06/18/09)
15.8 Dixieland Sushi - Cara Lockwood (06/10/09) |
25 Point Tasks
25.1 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (06/10/09) |
25.3 Rosie Dunne - Cecelia Ahern (07/04/09) |
25.4 The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver – E. Lockhart (25 points - 06/05/09)
30 Point Tasks
30.5 Wintergirls - Laurie Halse Anderson (07/06/09) |
30.9 Don't You Forget About Me - Jancee Dunn (30 points - 06/25/09)
No new points for me, but I've finished parts of two more tasks. For Cait's Mod Squad task, I listened to an audiobook of Love, Rosie (aka Rosie Dunne), which is on Cynthia's shelf. I loved this book! And the audiobook version is absolutely fantastic - probably the best audiobook I've listened to, actually.
I also finished Wintergirls as part of the YA task. Very powerful book! I think anyone with body image issues would benefit from reading it.
Total Points: 95/940
Total Books Read: 10/71
Tasks completed (most recent in bold)
5 Point Tasks
5.7 When You Wish - Kristin Harmel (5 points - 06/14/09)
10 Point Tasks
10.3 Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (10 points - 06/02/09)
10.5 Queen of Babble - Meg Cabot (10 Points - 07/01/09)
15 Point Tasks
15.2 Watermelon - Marian Keyes (15 points - 06/18/09)
15.8 Dixieland Sushi - Cara Lockwood (06/10/09) |
25 Point Tasks
25.1 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (06/10/09) |
25.4 The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver – E. Lockhart (25 points - 06/05/09)
<b.30 Point Tasks</b>
30.9 Don't You Forget About Me - Jancee Dunn (30 points - 06/25/09)
Just finished Queen of Babble. I started this one on the beach as my outdoor book, but I liked it too much to stop once I got off the beach, so I only read part of it outside. Fortunately, it's set in the south of France, so it works for the Bastille Day task. I really enjoyed this one - can't wait to read the other two in the series.
Total Points: 95/940
Total Books Read: 8/71
I have hit a reading slump, and I'm crawling through books rather than productively finishing anything. So at this point, I seem to be doing more rearranging of my list than actually finishing the books on it.
I read Watermelon by Marian Keyes a couple of weeks ago and counted it as 5.5. I've found another book to use for that task, so I'm going to move Watermelon to count for 15.2 now. I really enjoyed the book, and I'd definitely like to see it as a movie! My ideal cast:
Claire (whose husband dumps her the day she gives birth to her daughter) - Kate Winslet
Adam (the younger man she falls for) - Matthew MacFayden
James (her scummy husband) - Hugh Grant
Anna (her hippie, slightly ethereal sister) - Isla Fisher
Helen (her sister the maneater) - Amy Adams
Mammy Walsh (her no-nonsense Mum) - Julie Walters
Papa Walsh (outnumbered by too many women) - Jim Broadbent
That brings my amended point total to 85.
I'm in the middle of several books right now...cross your fingers I can actually finish one soon!
Total Points: 85
Total books read: 7
Completed tasks (current in bold)
5 Point Tasks
5.5 Watermelon - Marian Keyes (5 points - 06/18/09)
5.7 When You Wish - Kristin Harmel (5 points - 06/14/09)
10 Point Tasks
10.3 Ella Enchanted – Gail Carson Levine (10 points - 06/02/09)
15 Point Tasks
15.8 Dixieland Sushi - Cara Lockwood (06/10/09) |
25 Point Tasks
25.1 The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald (06/10/09) |
25.4 The Boyfriend List: 15 Guys, 11 Shrink Appointments, 4 Ceramic Frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver – E. Lockhart (25 points - 06/05/09)
30 Point Tasks
30.9 Don't You Forget About Me - Jancee Dunn (30 points - 06/25/09)
Just finished Don't You Forget About Me. I love everything 80s, so I love both the cover (I was a huge maker of mix tapes!) and the title of this book. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the actual book, which was just alright. More often than not, the main character grated on my nerves with her self-pity and obsession with the past. And I hated the fact that she spends more than half the book mooning over her high school boyfriend, long before he ever makes an appearance. Still love the cover...but next time I'm feeling 80s nostalgia I'll stick to John Hughes movies.
Total Points: 75/940
Total Books Read: 7/71
Total Tasks Completed: 5 (and 2 half tasks)
