Chaitra’s Comments (group member since May 25, 2012)

Chaitra’s comments from the The Seasonal Reading Challenge group.

Wishing you a speedy recovery, Sandy! Sending good vibes your way!

Eeep. Double post.

Chaitra


10.2 Something Strange in the Neighborhood
Snowblind - Christopher Golden. Genre Paranormal > Ghosts on the main page (12 users).

Points: 10

** Christopher Golden is a Goodreads Author**

*****

Points this post: 10
Total Points: 10
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500 ( ), 750 ( ), 1000 ( )

Kristi (Passion for the Page) wrote: "Chaitra wrote: "Is this ok for black cat?

"

Certainly!"

Thank you!

Kristi (Passion for the Page) wrote: "Weird, but once I figured out the orientation it does appear to be a ladder-back chair so, yes, it works. Please point out the location of the chair when you claim the task in the completed task thread (or note that it's been approved here, or both) so Sandy doesn't have to puzzle it out. "

Thanks Kristi! I'll do both.

Wondering if this oddly arranged chair is ok...

Is this ok for black cat?

Will do, DLM! :)

Is this enough? The guy at the back looks scruffy (if you look really closely, lol).

Will this combination work?

Say Her Name by Francisco Goldman
The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz :: Set in San Francisco

DLM, would an unfinished quartet work? Gail Carriger's Finishing School series is supposed to have four books, but only 2 are released. Can I read Book 2?

Elizabeth, the task says variation in spelling is allowed, so is this combination ok?

Book 1: Cockroaches by Jo Nesbø. Nesbø is Norwegian.

Book 2: 20th Century Ghosts by Joe Hill. Both authors are male, so I'm thinking Jo and Joe are alternate spellings of the same name...

Oh, combined these are over 700 pages.

Kristi, will outline of a cat work for the cat token? Like this one:

And this is my last post. Thanks moderators, and the task creators! You do a wonderful job every season!

Chaitra

10.1 Get a Clue
Quickstep to Murder by Ella Barrick. CLUE in qUiCkstEp and eLla.

Points: 10

**Ella Barrick is a Goodreads Author.**

10.8 Take the Plunge!
The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey. Set wholly in Alaska.

Points: 10

**Eowyn Ivey is a Goodreads Author.**

15.2 The Old and the New
Book 1 - Old: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman. Philip Pullman is an old favorite.
Book 2 - New: Kinder Than Solitude: A Novel by Yiyun Li. I've not read Yiyun Li before.

Points: 15

15.3 Happy Valentine's Day!
1 Book Option.
Lost Lake by Sarah Addison Allen. Title and author initials begin with L, S & A, found in VALENTINES.

Points: 15

**Sarah Addison Allen is a Goodreads Author.**

15.10 Celebrate!
The Scent of Pine by Lara Vapnyar.

Points: 15

20.1 Anne (Booklady)'s Task: Check...And Mate!
Option 2 - Knight: Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion. The book is #1 in the Warm Bodies series as identified by GR. It's just above 225 pages at 239 pages.

Points: 20

**Isaac Marion is a Goodreads Author.**

20.2 Tea's Task: Mystery Sub-genres
Rosemary and Crime by Gail Oust. Mystery>Cozy Mystery is a genre on the main page.

Points: 20

20.7 Laurie ME's Task: Is There A Conspiracy To Be Found Here?
I don't have a pet conspiracy theory, so I read,
Neuromancer by William Gibson. Science Fiction is a genre on the main page.

Points: 20

20.10 Group Reads

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. Messages 53 and 55 are mine.

Points: 20

**Rainbow Rowell is a Goodreads Author.**

25.4 Donna Jo's Task: Snow is a Four Letter Word
3: All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr. The title has 6 words. (This was an ARC).
4: Labor Day by Joyce Maynard. Set in Holton Mills, New Hampshire.

Points: 25

**All the Light We Cannot See is a big book. My copy had 544 pages.**
**Anthony Doerr is a Goodreads Author.**
**Joyce Maynard is a Goodreads Author.**

25.7 Janet F's Task: Don't Be Clueless
Clue 2 - What is Happening?: The Fall of Saints: A Novel by Wanjiku Wa Ngugi. The author first name Wanjiku starts with a W, and Saints in the title starts with an S.
Clue 3 - Where Did It Happen?: Assuming this works - Hild by Nicola Griffith. The book is set wholly in Great Britain, an island. (It's also set before the unification of the kingdom of Britain, so the setting is really the island rather than any country in it).

Points: 25

**Hild is a big book. My copy had 560 pages.**
**Nicola Griffith is a Goodreads Author.**

25.9 Alison's Task: All Things New
Option 2 - New Books: A Taste Fur Murder by Dixie Lyle. Published Feb 25, 2014. (I had the ARC).
Option 3 - New Series: The Highly Effective Detective by Rick Yancey. #1 in The Highly Effective Detective series as identified by GR.

Points: 25

**Rick Yancey is a Goodreads Author.**

30.2 Ty's Task: Absolute Zero
A: The Gone-Away World by Nick Harkaway. Science Fiction and Fantasy and Science Fiction Fantasy are all genres on the main page.
B - C: Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger. My copy had 307 pages - 3 and 7 are allowed digits + a zero.

Points: 30

**Nick Harkaway is a Goodreads Author.**
**Gail Carriger is a Goodreads Author.**

30.4 DLMRose's Task: Beyond Comparison
I chose to read both books comparing with Peebee's shelves.
Book A: We Live in Water by Jess Walter. (Peebee rated it 4, it was on my TBR).
Book B: Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell. (It wasn't on my TBR and Peebee rated this book a 5).

Points: 30

**Rainbow Rowell is a Goodreads Author.**

30.5 Susan A's Task: I Love My TBR
Using my own TBR.
Option 2: Rolled 5 - The Frangipani Hotel: Fiction by Violet Kupersmith. This was one of the books found on the 5th column of my TBR setting covers display.
Option 5 - Little Failure by Gary Shteyngart. One of the 40 latest books on my TBR - I added it on Jan 25, 2014.

Points: 30

**Gary Shteyngart is a Goodreads Author.**

***

Points this Post: 310
Total Points: 660
Big Books: 500(7), 750(2), 1000( )
Goodreads Author: 16

Tasks Completed: 36/71
Books Claimed: 48
Pages Read: 18,087

Shuffling around a bit, since I read a book I didn't think I'd finish.


Chaitra

20.5 Shawn H's Task - Out with the Old and In with the New!

C: NOS4A2 by Joe Hill. My copy had 692 pages.

Points: 0 --- I claimed points for this task in Message 1808

**NOS4A2 is a big book. My copy had 692 pages.

30.1 Ms Anderson's Task - Riddle Me This
Roll 1: 1 - It's Big: Carthage by Joyce Carol Oates. The cover has a church, a covered bridge etc, that can comfortably accomodate several people.

Roll 2: 5 - It's Addictive: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. The main character takes to a life of crime to support his drug habit (which is explained in excruciating detail).

Points: 30

***

Points this Post: 30
Total Points: 350
Big Books: 500(5), 750(2), 1000( )
Goodreads Author: 3

Tasks Completed: 21/71
Books Claimed: 26
Pages Read: 10,552

I finished it, and loved it. I normally wouldn't have picked this book, but I re-read American Gods recently and Regency Romance is absolutely not my type of book. But I'm really glad I read it.

I also read Rainbow Rowell's Eleanor and Park, and what I appreciated about Fangirl was that the conflict in FG (that she couldn't/didn't want to write her own thing) was natural. Whereas in Eleanor and Park, it just came out of the left field.

As to the fan-fiction, I've read my share of Harry Potter ones. I've even preferred some fanfics to the actual books. Simon Snow and Harry Potter (and Twilight - Reagan refers to Cath as Bella, once) are contemporaries in this book, but the similarities between SS and HP made it all the more relatable to me.

Erin (NY) wrote: "did anyone else notice a direct Harry Potter reference?"

Yep. I haven't finished the book itself, but I noticed this. It's when Cath talks about her fan-fiction to Levi for the first time (after her blowout with Wren at Muggsy's) and he's giggly about the whole gay thing. According to him, Simon and Baz being in love is supposedly equivalent to finding out Harry Potter was gay. I remember it because I read the responses here before I started reading and kept my eyes peeled for Harry Potter references.

Chaitra


15.8 No Time To Waste

Love, Dishonor, Marry, Die, Cherish, Perish by David Rakoff. My copy had 115 pages. It's one of the 10 shortest books in one of my GR TBR lists.

Points: 15

***

Points this Post: 15
Total Points: 320
Big Books: 500(4), 750(2), 1000( )
Goodreads Author: 3

Tasks Completed: 20/71
Books Claimed: 24
Pages Read: 9,378

Chaitra


50.1 Pamela Su's Task - Variety is the Spice of Life

4 - Reverend Green: Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan. Religion and Spirituality as a genre on the main page.
5 - Mrs. Peacock: The Xibalba Murders: An Archeological Mystery by Lyn Hamilton. The main character (a Canadian) takes a trip to Mexico - the whole book is set during her time there.
6 - Professor Plum: Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind. The main character, Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, is an olfactory genius who can whip up millions of perfumes in his head.

Points: 50

***

Points this Post: 50
Total Points: 305
Big Books: 500(4), 750(2), 1000( )
Goodreads Author: 3

Tasks Completed: 19/71
Books Claimed: 23
Pages Read: 9,263

Chaitra


15.9 First or Last?

Consider Phlebas by Iain M. Banks. Book #1 in the Culture series.

Points: 15

20.3 Band Director Terry's Task - Solo and Ensemble

Ensemble Option 1: What We Talk About When We Talk About Anne Frank by Nathan Englander. Short story collection with 8 stories.

Points: 20

20.4 Lorna's Task - Ode to Joy

3: Belle Cora by Phillip Margulies. 3 Es in Belle Cora by Philip Margulies.

Points: 20

**Belle Cora is a big book. My copy had 608 pages.**
**Phillip Margulies is a Goodreads Author.**

20.5 Shawn H's Task - Out With the Old and In With the New!

C: The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt. My copy had 771 pages. Took me forever to finish it too.

Points: 20

**The Goldfinch is a big book. My copy had 771 pages.**

20.6 Susan's Task - I Love to Plan

I chose to do Task 10.3 - The Waiting Is Over from the Fall Challenge (which I didn't participate in). I read an October book from Million's Most Anticipated Books for the Second Half of 2013:
The Luminaries by Eleanor Catton.

Points: 20

**The Luminaries is a big book. My copy had 834 pages.**

20.9 Michael's Task - Love of Christmas Films

Option 4A - The Polar Express: Serena by Ron Rash. 2014 film starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.

Points: 20

25.3 Sandy's Task - Settlers of Catan

Roll 1: 4 - Wheat: The Valley of Amazement by Amy Tan. More than 80% of the book is set in China. My copy had 587 pages.
Roll 2: 4 - Wheat: Back to Back by Julia Franck. Set in Germany. My copy had 320 pages.

**The Valley of Amazement is a big book. My copy had 587 pages.**
**Amy Tan is a Goodreads Author.**

Points: 25

25.10 Stacie MI's Task - Nutcracker Tradition

Option 1: The Hired Man by Aminatta Forna. My copy had 294 pages. 2 & 9 are in 1892.
Option 2: The Outcasts by Kathleen Kent. Author initials KK in TCHAIKOVSKY.

**Kathleen Kent is a Goodreads Author.**

Points: 25

***

Points this Post: 165
Total Points: 255
Big Books: 500(4), 750(2), 1000( )
Goodreads Author: 3

Tasks Completed: 18/71
Books Claimed: 20
Pages Read: 8,385