Task 11-15 planning and points

[Carolien]

Completed task 14 The Tea Rose.

Thanks a million for the recommendation and ebook Emma. Loved it!

4/5

[Barbara]

finished task 11 by reading Undead and Unwelcome and task 13 by reading Steampunk.

[Barbara]

Lauren S and Lu have obtained a new rank:



Congrats!

Updated

[Jennifer]

Finished:
* Task #13 - Etiquette & Espionage

* Task #14 - The Book of Tea

[Liezel]

Read

11) Girl of Nightmares
13) Scarlet
15)Like Water for Chocolate

3/5

[Varla Fiona]

Barbara wrote: "Lauren S and Lu have obtained a new rank:





Varla Fiona has obtained a new rank:





Congrats!

Updated"

Barbara, I haven't quite got to my next rank yet. I still have one task to go... Will hopefully get there in the next few days though!

[Barbara]

You're right. No idea where I got the idea you were finished. Must have been to early for me to do the updates seeing as I have the evening shift at work this week. I have corrected it.

[Lauren]

I read The Cutting Room by Mary Watson for task no.1: 4/5

Feeling very lucky with this part of the challenge - I keep reading books that fit unexpectedly.

[Varla Fiona]

Finished Task 12: On The Island
5/5

Completed this section of the challenge...

[Barbara]

Lauren wrote: "I read The Cutting Room by Mary Watson for task no.1: 4/5

Feeling very lucky with this part of the challenge - I keep reading books that fit unexpectedly."

I love when that happens. I lucked into my tea book. All I have to do now is finish it in time. :)

[Barbara]

I read The Mayor of Casterbridgefor task 14.

That means I have completed this part of the challenge.

Just one more week for those still reading to complete this part. Good Luck!

[Lauren]

Well done Barbara!

Damn, I don't think I'll be able to finish that baby task.

[Barbara]

Baby or small child, don't forget the small child option.

If you don't you still have the two months at the end and that will give you some time to find something to read.

[Claudia]

I'm more than halfway done with the baby task, and I'm starting the ghost task tonight!

At the moment my mind feels scattered, like I can't concentrate on one book for too long. So it's a good thing that this part is ending soon - it means I have to finish two of the 5 books I'm currently reading. :)

[Barbara]

You still have plenty of time so you should be able to finish the two books. :)

I have had times like that too. I just read lots and lots of books at the same time. It gave me a real kick if I could finish multiple books on the same day. :)

[Jennifer]

Finished #11 - The Small Hand

5/5 - Finished this part of the challenge!

[Barbara]

Congrats!

[Claudia]

Finished # 11 -

4/5

[Lauren]

Barbara, would Cryptonomicon count for the baby task? (view spoiler)[Bobby has a son for most of his story. He doesn't know about the child, but it becomes important when he returns to Manila to find him, and of course the adult Douglas MacArthur Shaftoe is a major character in the 90s plot. Julieta (Otto's daughter) also falls pregnant, either by Bobby, Enoch or Bischoff (hide spoiler)]

[Carolien]

Completed Life Skills for task 12. Main character has a baby.

That means I'm done with the 5 tasks for this part!

5/5

[Varla Fiona]

Congrats!

[Barbara]

Congrats Carolien!

@Lauren: No I don't think so. Both pregnant women aren't major charachters and the pregnancies don't play a big part either in the story or in the lives of major characters. That one of the babies is an adult major character only strengthens that since the baby/child can be a maximum of 2 years old.

[Lauren]

OK, thanks. I thought that might be a problem, just figured I'd give it a shot!

[Barbara]

Always try! It might count. I gave it some thought because I wanted it to count, but the task asks for something that just isn't in the book. Just keep looking. There are more books that you might read than you think. :)

[Lauren]

I found the ideal book! Excession by Iain M. Banks. One of the main characters is pregnant, and I can also use it to finish the second WoM and finish one of the harder letters in the A-Z character challenge. It's also one of my favourite books, but I've only read it once.

The problem is that it's almost 500 pages long, with tiny text... I better go make a cup of coffee.

[Barbara]

I won't close this part of the challenge untill some time on the 4th of May and if you are halfway through the book before 1 May it will still count. So you have to read 250 pages before midnight tomorrow. You can do that! And if you have doubts then don't start and reread it in the two catch up months at the end of the challenge. ;)

[Lauren]

That certainly sounds more do-able, although I really want to complete the second WoM too. I don't want to leave it for the catch-up period - I already have 3 tasks that were left unfinished, and I don't know what to read for most of the upcoming tasks.

[Varla Fiona]

I'd read it now! You can do it... Besides, I need another overachiever to finish both WoM!

[Barbara]

Oh yeah that sucks. Do you have a list of books that are on your immediate to read list? Maybe I can help you with some of the research and seeing if we can fit some of the books to the tasks.

[Lauren]

I don't know if my upcoming reads will be particularly useful, but if you're bored you can take a look :) These are my review copies for books published in May and June

- Helen of Troy: Beauty, Myth, Devastation by Ruby Blondell
- Murder as a Fine Art by David Morrell
- Poppet by Mo Hayder
- The Execution of Noa P. Singleton by Elizabeth L. Silver
- Sea Change by S.M. Wheeler
- The World of the End by Ofir Touche Gafla

I might read Pandemonium: Stories of the Apocalypse for the O in DOEK (it's short stories, and one author is named Osgood). For the K, I'm thinking of reading Twin-Bred.

For the travel task, I was going to use The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes, which features a time-travelling serial killer (you didn't specify what kind of travel....)

[Carolien]

Good luck, you can do it. What character does it solve? I'm getting desperate for U.

[Lauren]

You're in luck - it's U! The character's name is Ulver Seich. She has a large enough role, I think, but it's been a while since I read this book, so I can't be entirely sure just yet. However, the book has a very large cast of characters, so her role might be relatively large anyway.

[Liezel]

Finished #12 Whistling Past the Graveyard

4/5

[Liezel]

Would work for the tea task

[Carolien]

Lauren wrote: "You're in luck - it's U! The character's name is Ulver Seich. She has a large enough role, I think, but it's been a while since I read this book, so I can't be entirely sure just yet. However, the ..."

In that case, it's going straight on the TBR pile. I have every other letter covered so this is great. Thanks.

I assume you've heard that Iain Banks has cancer and has stopped writing?

[Lauren]

Glad I could help! And now I can say that Ulver has a sufficiently large role to count.

Yes, I've heard about his condition, it's so sad :(

[Claudia]

I read like a madwoman, chugged down too much coffee and totally neglected my work, but I managed to finish the last task!
I read : for task 12.
The partner of the main character is pregnant, and everyone around her makes quite a fuss about it.

That means I'm done with this one. *claps*
5/5

[Varla Fiona]

Yay! Congrats!

[Carolien]

Well done Claudia!

[Barbara]

@ Lauren: You're right I never said what kind of travel so you found a loophole. However.... In a previous round we already had a lengthy discussion about the word travel and it's implications. And since the word itself implies something that takes some time all kinds of instantaneous kind of portals and travel methods were disallowed. So the kind of time travel you're murderer is doing should take some time.

@ Liezel: yeah it would. Seeing as the main character is English and the English do drink their tea with milk we may assume that is a cup of tea on the cover and not something else.

@ Claudia: Nicely done! Just in time. Congrats!

[Liezel]

thanks Barbara

Congrats Claudia

[Carolien]

@ Barbara - you'd better post the comment on time travel in the task 16-20 thread since just about everybody has The Shining Girls down for the travel task.

[Varla Fiona]

Carolien wrote: "@ Barbara - you'd better post the comment on time travel in the task 16-20 thread since just about everybody has The Shining Girls down for the travel task."

Yeah, and based on what I have read so far, it doesn't qualify.

[Carolien]

Varla Fiona wrote: "Carolien wrote: "@ Barbara - you'd better post the comment on time travel in the task 16-20 thread since just about everybody has The Shining Girls down for the travel task."

Yeah, and based on wh..."

Good to know, I was tempted to go and buy it for the challenge, now I'll get it when I have time later in the year.

[Lauren]

re: The Shining Girls: Damn.

On a brighter note, I have finished the baby task, and with it this part of the challenge, yay!
I read Excession by Iain M. Banks for the task. I only just finished, but I got through about two thirds of it by midnight last night.

[Claudia]

Way to go Lauren!

[Barbara]

Congrats Lauren!

Thanks, I will post the comment again in the 16-20 plannning thread so everyone will know. :)

[Lauren]

Thanks!

[Carolien]

Well done Lauren!

[Liezel]

Done. Read Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy for task 14.
5/5