The Next Best Book Club discussion
Cynthia's Seasonal Challenges
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OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009
A new addition to my total!5.10. April Showers Bring May Flowers…
- Read one book with a Rain related word (rain, thunder, storm, shower, lightning etc. but not water) in the title
Violet Raines Almost Got Struck by Lightning by Danette Haworth
TOTAL = 140 POINTS
I finished The Book of Lost Things by John Connolly for the Irish author task. I was very excited to see that he lives in Dublin because I've had this book for a while and even though it fit in several categories, I had already read books for those and I didn't feel like switching everything around.That puts me at
290 points
6603 points read.
My original goal was 200 points. Now, I think I can get 350. I have serval books going right now, but we'll see how work goes!
Jeane wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Jeane wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Cynthia, I'm guessing that Murder on the Orient Express won't qualify for the vacation task? I am going to France and Belgium. The Orient Express was s..."Thanks for the suggestions, Jeane! I'm so excited.
Hello,I've finished Purple Hibiscus for the flower challenge. I really enjoyed it, even though the theme of the book is pretty difficult.
5 POINTS
1. SF or Fantasy: The Diamond Age, Neal Stephenson
2. Epistolary novel: Les Liaisons dangereuses, Pierre Choderlos de Laclos
3. Spring Cleaning: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, Robert M. Pirsig
4. Transportation: Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (I'll read it to my boyfriend during our vacations trip, as he's never read it)
5. The Year of Living Biblically: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Bible As Literally As Possible, A.J. Jacobs
6. Women’s History Month:
7. For Arbor Day:
8. For April Fools Day: The Color Of Magic (Discworld, Book 1), Terry Pratchett
9. Spring animals:
10. April Showers Bring May Flowers:
10 POINTS
1. St. Patrick’s Day: Dubliners, James Joyce
2. For Cinco De Mayo: No Sera La Tierra, Jorge Volpi
3. ANZAC Day: English Passengers, Matthew Kneale
4.
5. Harry Houdini’s Birthday: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke
6. In honor of Earth Day: Thirteen Moons, Charles Frazier
7. In Honor of Mother’s Day, lent by my mother: Mémoires d'Hadrien, Marguerite Yourcenar
8. Memorial and Armed Forces Day: Wild Fire, Nelson DeMille
9. TNBBC Top Books list: The Fountainhead- Ayn Rand (n° 28)
10. Members have great tastes: Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi (Nik D)
15 POINTS
1. It’s Written In the Stars - LEO: Les Rois maudits, Tome 1 : Le roi de fer ; La reine étranglée, Maurice
2. National Poetry Month: Letters to a Young Poet, Rainer Maria Rilke
3. TNBBC group read: The Road, Cormac McCarthy
4. Location:
5. Price winner: A Good Man in Africa, William Boyd (Somerset Maugham Award 1982)
6. Translated book:
7. Dr. Seuss’ birthday and Mother Goose Day (sorry, this one's in french): La Taverne du doge Loredan, Alberto Ongaro and Oui, mon commandant!, Amadou Hampâté Bâ
8. Get To Know The Author:
9. Color:
10. Read the third, fourth and fifth books of one series: A series of unfortunate events books 3, 4 & 5, Lemony Snicket
25 POINT TASKS
1. addicted to GR: The Godfather, Mario Puzo and Rebecca, Daphné du Maurier
2. Non-Fiction book about a diarist:
3. ANGELA’S TASK: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan and Lord of the Flies by William Golding (from Cynthia’s bookshelf)
4. The big reads list:
5. Book outside your normal genre(s):
7. DARLA'S TASK - Read a book you've either heard referenced in a movie: Tintin au Tibet, Hergé (referenced in Malabar Princess)
8. CASSIE'S TASK - Read two young adult novels: A series of unfortunate events books 1 & 2, Lemony Snicket
9. SARA'S TASK - Read a book that has a title of 12 or more words: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, Gregory Maguire
Current points: 165/500
Books read: 12/44
Marie wrote: "Hello,I've finished Purple Hibiscus for the flower challenge. I really enjoyed it, even though the theme of the book is pretty difficult."
This sounds very interesting. Thanks for posting!
Maliades wrote: "Also: anyone have suggestions on where I can fit these books into the Spring Challenge tasks?The Host by Stephenie Meyer
Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
Thanks..."
I used The Host for the get to know the author task, there's a link to an article in Vogue about Stephenie Meyer on here web site, and Twilight is a YA book, but both would work for the sci fi/fantasty task.
I just finished In the Woods for Task 10.1 (St. Patrick's Day). I loved it and can't wait to read her follow up novel.Total Points: 435
Finished The Swan Kingdom for task 10.7 (mothers's day), bringing my total to 535 points.
Finally finished a group of books that I had been working on (I kept jumping between books but then ended up finishing them all almost at one time). Here's my updated list with the newest books with (*) beside it.5 POINT TASKS
5.1 Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
5.2
5.3
5.4
5.5 As Sure as the Dawn by Francine Rivers
5.6 The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
5.7
5.8 A Spot of Bother by Mark Haddon
5.9
5.10
10 POINT TASKS
10.1
10.2
10.3 Aussie Rules by Jill Shalvis
10.4
10.5
10.6
10.7 Shanna by Kathleen Woodiwiss
10.8 Dear Enemy by Jack Cavanaugh
*10.9 Reading Lolita in Tehran by Azar Nafisi
10.10 The Shack by William P. Young
15 POINT TASKS
15.1 Montana Legend by Jillian Hart
15.2
15.3 The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
15.4 The Treasure of Khan by Clive Cussler
15.5
15.6
15.7
*15.8 Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man’s Soul by John Eldredge
15.9 The Crimson Thread: A Retelling of “Rumpelstiltskin” by Suzanne Weyn
15.10
25 POINT TASKS
25.1 A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray AND The Reluctant Suitor by Kathleen Woodiwiss
25.2
25.3 Dead Until Dark AND Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris
25.4
25.5 The Turn of the Screw by Henry James
25.6
25.7
25.8 Enna Burning by Shannon Hale AND The China Garden by Liz Berry
*25.9 I’m a Stranger Here Myself: Notes on Returning to America After Twenty Years Away by Bill Bryson
50 POINT TASK
*Naked in Death by J.D. Robb
*Key of Light by Nora Roberts
NEW TOTAL: 320
I joined the group about two days ago and have really enjoyed watching this discussion. Is it too late to join the Spring Challenge? If it's not too late, does one need to pick books from each point level? Thanks.
Welcome, Amy! You're definitely not too late to still join the challenge -- and you can count books you've read since March 1, so you can probably already claim some points. You don't have to post your full book list before you read them, but a lot of people do...just whatever you'd prefer. You can do as many or as few tasks as you want...it's up to you. Hope you enjoy the challenge!
I just finished The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath for the Top Novels list. It is number 9, and I was born in 1987. I really enjoyed reading this book. The story was interesting, and I wanted to know more, but in my opinion, not the best point of the book. Sylvia Plath's writing is absolutely beautiful! There are so many authors who over use similies, metaphors, and other literary devices, and their descriptions just get wordy and annoying, but I did not feel any of that with this book. Beautiful, beautiful writing!
New total- 425
I finished 2 tasks since I last posted - People of the Book - LOVED THIS BOOK - when it first came out I really wanted to read it but wanted to read Brooks other 2 first - I wasn't crazy about those but this was great - it had a similar format to another book I read for the challenge The Rosetti Letter (which I also loved) in that it flipped back and forth between present time and the past which added so much to the story. After that I read A Great and Terrible Beauty for the fantasy book task...better than I expected being that Fantasy is not my favorite genre and I don't read YA as a rule...I'm working on the second book now as part of the YA 25 pointer.
My TASKS
5 POINTS
2. Epistolary Novel - The Boy Next Door - Meg Cabot
7. Arbor Day - The Color Line - Lizette Carter (plan to recycle with paperbackswap or donate to the library when I'm done)
9. “Spring” Animals - Dating Big Bird - Laura Zigman
10. April Showers Bring May Flowers - The Ballroom on Magnolia Street - Sharon Owens
10 POINTS
1. St. Patrick’s Day - There's No Place Like Here - Cecelia Ahern
2. Cinco De Mayo - The Wild Girl - Jim Fergus
7. Mother’s Day - Too Hot to Handle - Robin Kaye (my mom's name is Robin) or Across the Color Line by Lizette Carter (she gave it to me)
8. Memorial and Armed Forces Day - Dear John - Nicholas Sparks
9. TNBBC Top Books - Number 91 (I was born in 1982) - The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
15 POINT TASKS
2. National Poetry Month - The Book of Irish Verse - John Montague
5. Award Winner - The Witches Of Eastwick - John Updike
9. Color/Food - One Thousand White Women: The Journals Of May Dodd - Jim Fergus (not sure what I'm making yet)
25 POINT TASKS
2. EL'S TASK - Eden's Outcasts: the story of Louisa May Alcott and her Father by John Matteson
4. ROS' TASK - Katherine by Anya Seton
6. JON'S TASK - Eleanor of Aquitaine: a life by Alison Weir
7. DARLA'S TASK - Persuasion by Jane Austen as mentioned in The Lake House
8. CASSIE'S TASK - A Great and Terrible Beauty & Rebel Angels by Libba Bray
9. SARA'S TASK - Old Friends and New Fancies: An Imaginary Sequel to the Novels of Jane Austen by Sybil G. Briton
50 POINTER
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Weekend updates: 5.3 Spring Cleaning: Naked, I listened to this on audio, and David and Amy Sedaris performed it. This was my first experience with David Sedaris, but I was laughing through out it, though many of the situations are heartbreaking. I really enjoyed it.
5.5 The Island, I was reading this outside of the challenge, but it ended up fitting for the sacrifice task. This book was really interesting, it's a historical fiction about a leprosy colony in an island in Greece. Strangely enough this is the second book I had read on this as one of the Hawaii islands was developed as a leprosy colony, and it was really interesting to compare the two stories.
Total Points: 325
25.2 Diarist Very Truly Yours by Tesla25 points
Total Points 535
Full Accounting
Bold black TBD are unread, but I have the book Bold Red TBD is unread, need to acquire
5.1 Sci-Fi Salmon of Doubt by Adams
5.2 Epistolary Novel TBD (Guernsey Literary) Audible 1/7th read
5.3 Spring Cleaning Team of Rivals by Goodwin
5.4 Book in a Car Echo Park by Child
5.5 Book about sacrifice Persuader by Child
5.6 WomensHistGirl in Title Girl Who Married a Lion by McCall Smith
5.7 Audiobook Monkey’s Raincoat by Crais
5.8 Humor Fool by Moore
5.9 Spring Animals TBD (Lamb or Heron)
5.10 April Showers TBD (Thunder and Lightning)
35
10.1 Irish authorPaddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha by Roddy Clarke
10.2 Mexican author Gonzalez /Daughter Trucking Co by Maria Amparo Escandon
10.3 Australian Author The Potato Factory by Bryce Courtenay
10.4 Born in April Mostly Harmless by Adams
10.5 Magic TBD Terry Brooks Library book
10.6 Earth Day The Land by Taylor
10.7 Mother’s Day Outliers by Gladwell
10.8 Memorial Day Broken Prey by Sandford
10.9 Top Books Water for Elephants by Gruen
10.10 Members Emma by Jane Austen
90
15.1 Virgin Absolutely True Story of a Part Time Indian by Sherman
15.2 Poetry Hate That Cat by Creech
15.3 Group Read Neverwhere by Gaiman
15.4 Place to Visit (CT)The Associate by Grisham
15.5 Prize Winner TBD (March by Brooks)
15.6 Translation Span/Eng Shadow of the Wind by Zafon
15.7 Rhymes The Hard WAY by Child; Night and DAY by Parker
15.8 Interview True Detectives by Kellerman
15.9 Color (Mashed Pot/ M-mallow) The Devil in the White City by Larsen
15.10 3/4/5 (Childs) Tripwire3rd/Running Blind 4th /Echo Burning5th
135
25.1 G/R Gathering Blue by Lowry; Rip Van Winkle by Irving
25.2 Diarist Very Truly Yours by Tesla
25.3 2 on Sandie’s shelves Fahrenheit 451 by Bradbury, Book Thief by Zusak
25.4 Big Reads Love in the Time of Cholera (51. 1950) Garcia Marquez
25.5 Outside genre Surrender Tree by Engle
25.6 Royalty 400 pages Monarch by Lacey
25.7 Movie (Jane Austen Book Club) Persuasion by Austen
25.8 Two YA’s Brisingr by Paolini; Maximum Ride Book 3 by J. Patterson
25.9 12 word title 39 Years … There by Tom Davis
50.1 Name/ Alias Sanctuary by Jenny Carroll; Haunted by Meggin Cabot
275
Total 535 5 books to go
Just finished "Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" for 15 points (#3 past TNBBC book read).Now at 315 points.
Hi Cynthia,You have me listed at 225 points but I believe I should be at 250. If I am in error somewhere, or you disagree with one of my choices, can you let me know? I am reposting my completed tasks here. thanks! =)
5 POINTS
2. From A to X: A Story in Letters by John Berger (5/1/09)
7. Body Surfing by Anita Shreve (3/15/09)
10 POINTS
1. Teacher Man by Frank McCourt (4/30/09)
2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel (4/9/09)
3. Earthly Delights by Kerry Greenwood (4/24/09)
4. The Ice Queen by Alice Hoffman (4/11/09)
5. The Houdini Girl by Martyn Bedford (4/24/09)
6. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer (3/30/09)
7. Lone Star Café by Lisa Wingate (4/3/09)
8. All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (4/8/09)
15 POINTS
1. The Street Lawyer by John Grisham (4/19/09)
2. Favorite Poems of Emily Dickinson (4/4/09)
3. The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon (4/28/09)
4. Country Roads of New Mexico: Drives, Day Trips, and Weekend Excursions by Sally Moore (4/12/09)
25 POINT TASKS
1. The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson (4/3/09) AND Reliquary by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child (4/11/09)
5. The Truth-Teller's Tale by Sharon Shinn (4/16/09) (I never read YA)
8. Uglies by Scott Westerfeld (4/16/09) AND Pretties by Scott Westerfield (5/1/09)
9. The Professor and the Madman, A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary - by Simon Winchester (4/2/09)
I only have two more books left to go and I don't know if I'll have time to read them until after next week! I can't wait for the summer challenge!
50 POINT TASK.SANDY'S 50 POINT MIDWAY TASK
Read 2 books by an author who writes under two different names.
A Garden of Earthly Delights, Joyce Carol Oates.
The Barrens, Rosamond Smith (pseudonym).
TOTAL POINTS: 340.
I have had a good weekend of reading! I've finished 4 books, that's pretty good for me :) My new totals have finally put me into 200! Can not believe how many books I have read so far this spring. 25.1 - Girl with a Pearl Earring, Tracy Chevalier and Redemption, Karen Kingsbury
25.2 - A Midwife's Tale The Life of Martha Ballard, Based on Her Diary, 1785-1812, Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
25.4 - Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Roald Duhl
25.7 - The Devil Wears Prada, Laura Weisberger - being read by the Grandmother on the beach in The Nannie Diaries
25.8 - The Tail of Emily Windsnap, Liz Kessler and The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
15.3 - Water for Elephants, Sara Gruen
15.4 - My Philadelphia Father, Cordelia Drexel Biddle - Went to Philly for spring break one year with the family.
15.6 - The Shadow of the Wind, Carlos Luiz Zafron translated by Lucia Graves
15.9 - Red Planet, Robert A. Heinlein - ate strawberries at breakfast and a delicious chocolate cherry cake for snack :)
10.1 - Angela's Ashes, Frank McCourt
10.6 - From the Earth to the Moon and 'Round the Moon - Jules Verne
10.10 - The Secret Life of Bees, Sue Monk Kid - off Krittle's shelf
5.1 - The Time Machine, H. G. Wells
5.5 - The Silent Harp - 1935, Gilbert Morris
5.7 - Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Robert Lous Stevenson - PDF acquired from planetpdf.com
TOTAL - 230
Thanks Jen B for the encouragement. It was fun selecting books from your shelves per the instruction of 25.3.Here is the list I’ve come up with so far. I joined a couple of days ago and I’ve been trying to figure out where to put the books I had already read since March and select a few others. I’ve really enjoyed looking at the postings of what the rest of you are reading. If a title is struck-through, it means I’ve already read it.
5 POINTS
2. Read an epistolary novel OR a non-fiction collection of letters/journal etc.
84 Charing Cross Road, Helene Hanf
4. Planes, Trains, and Automobiles Task –
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
7. For Arbor Day – Do your part to save some trees by…- Reading an e-book
10. April Showers Bring May Flowers…
10 POINTS
9. Read a book from the TNBBC Top Books list…
I Capture the Castle
15 POINTS
1. It’s Written In the Stars…- CAPRICORN: read a book about an artist or art.
People of the Book
2. April is National Poetry Month – Read a book of poetry OR about a famous poet.
T.S. Elliot – The Wasteland and Other Poems.
3. Read a past OR present TNBBC group read that you haven’t read before
4. Read a novel that takes place in a location you plan to visit during this challenge
Last Empress, by Anchee Min
5. Read a book written by an author who won a major literary prize (Nobel, Pulitzer etc.) in the year you were born (it does not have to be the book they won the award for).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_lit... Laura Ingalls Wilder – Little House on the Prarie
Does this count? I was born in 1954 and that was the year that the Laura Ingalls Wilder awards was founded, and they were such an important part of my reading as a child. There was no fiction award for the Pulitzer Prize that year and the Nobel Prize for Literature went to Hemingway whom I’m including in the rhyming selection.
6. Read a book that was has been translated from its original language (i.e. it could be from Swedish to English or English to Italian etc.).
7. In honor of both Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) and Mother Goose Day (May 1) find and read two books with rhyming titles.
Snow Flower and the Secret Fan, by Lisa See rhymes with Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
8. Get To Know The Author -.
One Hundred Secret Senses by Amy TAN (Need to find interview)
9. Read a book with a color in the title AND eat a meal that includes at least 2 foods that
My Name is Red, Orphan Pamuk
25 POINT TASKS
2. Noted Diarists, Walden, by Henry Thoreau
3. Two books off shelf of person below me (Jen B)in thread:
Garden Spells, Sarah Allen
Welcome to the World, Baby Girl ,
4. Read a book that’s on the big reads list. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100...
Bridget Jone’s Diary, Helene Fielding
6. Non-fiction British Monarchy (over 400 pages) – The Life of Elizabeth I, Alison Weir
8. Two YA Books – A Wizard of Earth Sea, Ursula Le Guin
The Tombs of Atuan, Ursula Le Guin
Do these qualify as YA books? I thought they were and then I found them in the children’s section at the library.
9. Title over Twelve Words - Fearless Girls, Wise Women, and Beloved Sisters: Heroines in Folktales from Around the World, Kathleen Ragan
So I think that makes my current tally
4 x 5 = 20
2 x 15 = 30
Total 50
This is going to be fun!
For task 5-9 I read Lamb by Christopher Moore. HATED it! So glad that it's over!My new points total is 440.
Maliades wrote: "Hi Cynthia,You have me listed at 225 points but I believe I should be at 250. If I am in error somewhere, or you disagree with one of my choices, can you let me know? I am reposting my completed..."Sorry, I had my excel spreadsheet updated correctly with those points but missed changing the scoreboard - thanks for letting me know :)
Weekend Update
10.10 The Giving Tree given a 5 star rating by Rachel per her 3/12 post.
50.1 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and Absent in the Spring Christie writing as Mary Westmacott. One of my all time favorite authors. I've read and reread And Then There Were None and I enjoy it more each and every time. Absent in the Spring was a first time read for me and I had my Mom read it as well. Heartbreaking story of true love, false love, and self love with a little bit of character flaw thrown in for punch.
15 point task7. In honor of both Dr. Seuss’ birthday (March 2) and Mother Goose Day (May 1) find and read two books with rhyming titles. By this I mean that there is a word in the title of one book that rhymes with a word in the other book’s title.
Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen and Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Current Point Total: 80
Amy, I totally know what you mean about And Then There Were None. It is one of my favorite books, and it never gets old!!I also finished the 5 pt travel task. I read The White Stag by Kate Seredy. It's a Newberry Winner, so I get to cross it off that list too!
It was a short, easy read, but that's a good thing, because I live in a really small town, and getting from one side to the other takes maybe 5 minutes, so it took a while to be in the car long enough to make a dent. But, I got it...!
New total 430
SANDY'S 50 POINT MIDWAY TASK***Read 2 books by an author who writes under two different names. Adverbs by Daniel Handler and The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket
5 POINTS
1. Read a Science Fiction OR Fantasy Novel. Breaking Dawn
Just read The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies for 10 points. I really enjoyed it. It was great reading a book about the 2nd world war from the perspective of the german's, welsh and english!5 POINTS
1. A Neil Gaiman book
2. Adrian Mole and the Weapons of Mass Destruction by Sue Townsend
3. Half of Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
4. ?
5. The Shack by William P. Young
6. The Girls by Lori Lansons
8. The Difficult Second Book by Chris Moyles
10. The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
10 POINTS
2. Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
4. Mr Pip by Lloyd Jones (Born 23rd March)
5. Carter Beats the Devil by Glen David Gold
6. East of the Sun by Julia Gregson
8. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
9. I Capture the Castle (no. 1 of TNBBC top 10 list)
10. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas by Hunter S. Thompson (One of Meg's 5 star rated books).
15 POINTS
2. Shakespeare by Bill Bryson
3. Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
5. The Sea by John Banville (won the Guardian Prize in 1981 for Kepler
6. Shape of Water by Andrea Camillia (translated from Italian into English
7. The Girl who was going to die by Glyn Maxwell and The End of Mr Y by Scarlett Thompson
9. The White Tiger by Aravind Acliga
10. Books 3,4 and 5 of the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemmeny Snicket
25 POINTS
2. Samuel Pepys Diary by Samuel Pepys
3. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Chasing Harry Winston by Lauren Weisberger (from Angela's bookshelves)
4. Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
5. The Face by Dean Koontz (Horror)
6. ?
8. Eragon by Christopher Paolini and Artemis Fowl and the Time Deception by Eoin Colfer
9. The Suspicions of Mr Whicher: or the Murder at Road Hill House by Kate Summerscale
50 POINTS
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Amy wrote: "Weekend Update10.10 The Giving Tree given a 5 star rating by Rachel per her 3/12 post.
50.1 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and [book:Absent in the Spri..."
So she wrote as good under the other name? I have been wondering about that for soooo long as she is my favourite writer.
Alice wrote: "Just read The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies for 10 points. I really enjoyed it. It was great reading a book about the 2nd world war from the perspective of the german's, welsh and english!5 POI..."
I read that book too and found it very good as well!
Tasks completed2. Read an epistolary novel OR a non-fiction collection of letters/journal etc.
The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank READ
5. March 24 is Harry Houdini’s Birthday – Read a book about magic, a magician etc.
Inkspell – Cornelia Funke READ
NEW TOTAL = 455 points
5 points
2 The Diary of a Young Girl – Anne Frank READ
3 . Falling Out of Fashion – Karen Yamplosky READ
4 Little Women - EBOOK (reading)
6 Mah, Adeline Yen Title Falling leaves return to their roots : the true story of an unwanted Chinese daughter READ
7 Sepulchre / Kate Mosse (on shelf) read then give to library
9 The One Flew over the cukoos nest – Kesey READ
10 Nights of Rain and Stars – Maeve Binchy(on shelf)
35/50 points
10 points
2 Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel READ
3 Author Grenville, Kate Title The Secret river READ
4 SUE GRAFTON P is for Peril READ
5 inkspell READ
6 The Almost Moon – Alice Sebold READ
7 The outcast / Sadie Jones READ
8 Band of Eagles – Frank Barnard (on shelf)
10 Bridget Jones Diary – Helen Fielding READ
90/100 points
15 points
2 On Hundred Favourite Humorous Poems - Classic FM READ
3 The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama (on shelf)
One city / Alexander McCall Smith, Ian Rankin and Irvine Welsh READ
5 PD James - An Unsuitable Job for a Woman READ
6 Love in the time of Cholera READ
7 : Alias Grace Mary Higgins Clark & No Place Like Home A Novel Margaret Atwood (ordered)
Then read about him online. DONE
9 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE READ
CARROT AND SWEET POTATO MASH
10 Stirling, Jessica - Sisters three READ
Caldwell, Ian – Rule of Four READ
Harris, Joanna – Five quarters of the orange (on shelf)
105/150 points
25 points
2 Wordsworth, Dorothy Title Dorothy Wordsworth's illustrated Lakeland journals READ
3 The Cellist of Sarajevo – Steven Galloway READ
When Will There Be good news – Kate Atkinson READ
4 Animal Farm – George Orwell READ
5 Young Adult – Angus, Thongs and perfect snogging READ
6 In The Footsteps of Robert Bruce – Alan Young & Michael J Stead 190 pages READ
On the Trail of William Wallace – David R. Ross 146 pages READ
Mary Queen of Scots – Jayne Elizabeth Lewis READ
COMPETED BOOK REVIEWS FOR 3 BOOKS
7 Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice READ
8 The growing pains of Adrian Mole – Sue Townsend READ
Private peaceful – Michael Morpurgo READ
9 Waiting for Daisy : the true story of one couple's quest to have a baby / Peggy Orenstein READ
225/225 points
50 POINT TASK
Innocent In Death – JD Robb (on shelf)
0/50
Total 455points
5 point task #1 Read a fantasy novel: Coraline by Neil GaimanTotal Points: 115
25 point task #4 Ros’ task Read a book that is on the big read list: The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth GrahameTotal Points: 140
Amy wrote: "Weekend Update10.10 The Giving Tree given a 5 star rating by Rachel per her 3/12 post.
50.1 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and [book:Absent in the Spri..."
Amy - I don't think you can count The Giving Tree, since it's not over 100 pages.
LEADERBOARD
DONNA JO - 575
***************
BJ ROSE - 550
KRISTEN IL - 540
SANDY - 540
WENDY - 540
LIZZI - 535
RORA - 515
BRIDGIT - 510
KRISTENR - 475
SHARON - 455
CAIT - 445
BETH MN - 440
LEORA - 440
ALICE - 440
ASHLEY ID - 430
AMY MA - 425
TINA - 415
MEGHAN - 410
KRISTINA GA - 405
SARA TX - 390
ANGELA IL - 385
JOSIE - 385
LOUISE - 370
MAGGIE - 370
RORY - 370
BEV - 365
BONNIE - 365
JESSICA IL - 365
APRIL NY - 360
LIZ BRKLYN - 360
EL - 340
NICOLE NC - 335
ANGIE - 330
JILLIAN - 320
KRITIKA - 315
SUSAN - 315
CYNTHIA (SCM) - 310
REBECCA J - 310
PERS - 300
CATHEROO - 295
LORI TX - 295
ELIZABETH NC - 290
LINDSEY - 285
SANDIE - 285
EVA - 280
JUDITH IA - 280
LYNLEE4 - 280
RHIANNON - 280
MARY BETH - 275
LAURA NY - 270
JOY - 265
ROSEANN - 260
SUZIER - 260
COURTNEY - 255
BECKY - 250
JOANN - 250
MALIADES - 250
JENNIFER IN - 230
JON - 230
KATE - 230
STEPH - 230
JAMIE MN - 225
RENFREW - 225
FALLON - 220
STEPHANIE CA - 220
ALISHA - 215
FIONA (TITCH)- 215
KRISTINA UK - 215
LIZ VEGAS - 210
ELIZABETH (ALASKA) - 200
SARA E - 200
WV HEATHER - 200
SERA - 195
ASHLEY AL - 190
HAYES - 190
MANDAY - 190
VICTORIA - 190
CAROL - 185
RALPH - 180
JEN B - 165
JOANNA - 165
MARIE - 165
POTJY - 155
TRYPHENA - 155
LILY - 150
ROS - 150
CYNDEE - 145
MEGAN - 145
REBECCA - 145
BETH - 140
DAVID - 140
JEANE - 140
JEN MD - 140
KATHRYN - 140
LAUREN - 140
TRACY - 140
KAREN - 135
LACY - 135
SARAH PA - 135
ASHLEY UT - 130
HEATHER KS - 130
JEGKA - 130
JOANIE - 130
JULIE (ID)'S - 130
RYAN - 130
ANN FROM SC - 125
JESSICA SC - 125
MADELINE - 125
NATALIA - 125
CASSIE - 120
SLAYERMEL - 120
KICKI - 115
SUSANNA UK - 115
ABBIE - 110
MELODY - 110
CATHERINE - 105
LINDA - 105
CYNTHIA - 100
SHANNON - 100
TERRI - 100
AMANDA - 95
MACKENZIE - 95
JENNY - 90
SAI - 90
MEL - 85
MEREDITH H - 85
RACHEL WA - 80
SAM - 80
VICKI - 80
JULIE TN - 75
JULIE UK - 75
KIM - 75
RACHEL CA - 75
KELLY MA - 70
SHELLIE - 70
SLAIMI - 70
ALLISON MO - 65
AMY R - 65
JAMIE WA - 65
JESSICA MI - 65
ALYSSA - 60
KELLY - 60
ROBIN - 55
KATIE - 50
5PEASINAPOD - 45
ELIZ - 45
JULIE KS - 40
LDB - 40
LISA CO - 40
LIZ NY - 40
TOBIE - 40
JAMIE 23 - 35
MORGAN - 35
JUDITH NY - 30
DOROTHY - 25
JAIME 26 - 25
KRISTI - 25
MELISSA - 25
LAZARUS - 20
NICOLE CA - 20
CAITLIN - 15
JENNI - 15
GREG - 10
MARY - 10
MICHELLE - 5
SHELBY - 5
Jamie wrote: "Amy wrote: "Weekend Update10.10 The Giving Tree given a 5 star rating by Rachel per her 3/12 post.
50.1 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and [book:Absent..."That's correct any task worth more than 5 points has to be over 100 pages with the exception of the poetry task which I said could be 75+ pages.
I most recently finished Notes from a Small Island.5 points
2.
6.
7.
8.
10.
10 points
1.
5.
9.
10.
15 points
2.
3.
4.
5.
7. Rhyming Books -
10. 3, 4, and 5 Books -
25 points
2.
3. Angela
4.
5.
8.
Total Points: 225
Cynthia wrote: "Jamie wrote: "Amy wrote: "Weekend Update10.10 The Giving Tree given a 5 star rating by Rachel per her 3/12 post.
50.1 And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie and ..."
GOOD MORNING CYNTHIA !! (AND JAIME !!) CAN I USE THE GIVING TREE FOR THE 5 POINT SACRIFICE TASK?? A.
I've managed to finish a few tasks since April 20th which are bolded below. The new total at the bottom. Some of these books are replacements for what I had anticipated to read. 5 Point Tasks
1. Every Witch Way But Dead - Kim Harrison
2.
3.
4.
5. The Negotiator - Dee Henderson
6. The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander Smith McCall
7.
8. My Booky Wook - Russell Brand
9. Secret Life of Bees - Sue Monk Kidd
10. Silent Thunder - Iris Johansen
10 Point Tasks
1.
2. Like Water for Chocolate - Laura Esquivel
3. Stanley & Sophie - Kate Jennings
4. Light Before Day - Christopher Rice
5. TBD
6. Lunar Park - Bret Easton Ellis
7. Nancy Bush - Candy Apple Red
8. TBD
9. Fair & Tender Ladies - Lee Smith
10.
15 Point Tasks
1. Sagitarius - Playing for Pizza - John Grisham
2. TBD
3. The Abstinence Teacher - Tom Perrotta
4.
5. TBD
6. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Stieg Larsson
7. Handle with Care - Jodi Picoult and Dare to Die - Carolyn Hart
8.
9. Red - Erica Spindler
10. Third Degree - Greg Iles, Fourth Watcher - Timothy Hallinan and Perfect Fifths - Megan McCafferty
25 point Tasks
1.
2. TBD
3. The Swan Maiden - Heather Tomlinson and The Beach House - James Patterson
4. One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
5. TBD
6. TBD
7. TBD
8.
9.
50 point Task: TBD
Previous Total Points: 95
New Total Points: 145
I finished The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time for 10.10 from Julie's Shelf.New Total: 335
Hayes 185 + 5 = 190
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
-Read an autobiography/biography of a woman you admire
Woman of Rome A Life of Elsa Morante
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
-Read an autobiography/biography of a woman you admire
Woman of Rome A Life of Elsa Morante
Hayes wrote: "Hayes 185 + 5 = 1906. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
-Read an autobiography/biography of a woman you admire
Woman of Rome A Life of Elsa Morante"
Hayes, would you recommend this book? It looks interesting.
5 points: 1. Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card (sci-fi)
2. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky (epistolary)
4. Xenocide by Orson Scott Card (plane from NY, NY - Wichita, KS and back)
7. A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (e-book, Project Gutenburg)
8. Fool A Novel by Christopher Moore (April Fool's)
10 points:
6.The Gods of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Earth Day - Mars)
7.The Pact A Love Story by Jodi Picoult (recommended and given by my mother)
25 point:
BONNIE'S TASK- Newjack Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover (non-fiction)
SARA'S TASK - Loser Goes First My Thirty-Something Years of Dumb Luck and Minor Humiliation by Dan Kennedy (13 word title)
Total: 95 points
Leora wrote: "For task 5-9 I read Lamb by Christopher Moore. HATED it! So glad that it's over!My new points total is 440."
I'm trying to decide whether or not to read this book... What did you hate about it?
Completed #4 under the 25 point category! YIPEE!!!!I finished The Catcher in the Rye for Ros' Task. It was never required reading for me in school, although I know it was for many others. I was not at all impressed and I am not sure why it is considered a classic. The author did do a great job making Holden sound crazy, but I just didn't see any point to the book. Sorry...
5 POINTS
#1 Coraline by Neil Gaiman Rating - B 4/15/09
#3 Angels & Demons by Dan Brown Rating - A 4/9/09
#4 I listened to this audiobook in my car during the 7 hr drive to and 7 hr drive from the Texas Valley. Andrew Jackson by Robert V. Remini Rating - C 3/21/09
#8 Hard Eight by Janet Evanovich Rating - A 3/31/09
10 POINTS
#2 Like Water for Chocolate byLaura Esquivel Rating - A 3/23/09
#3 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak Rating - A+ 4/25/09
#4 Seven Up by Janet Evanovich Rating - B 3/5/09
#7 My mom's name is Kathleen. Calamity Jayne by Kathleen Bacus Rating - C+ 4/2/09
#9 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams #77 off the TNBBC Top Books List (I was born in 1977) Rating - A- 3/26/09
15 POINTS
#2 Song of the Sparrow by Lisa Ann Sandell Rating - C+ 4/26/09
#4 Went to the Texas Valley for spring break and also crossed the border into Mexico and visited South Padre Island. Living on the Edge of America At Home on the Texas-Mexico Border by Robert Lee Maril Rating - C 4/21/09
#6 The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho Rating - A+ 3/6/09
25 POINTS
#1 The Restaurant at the End of the Universe by Douglas Adams Rating - A- AND
The Glass Castle A Memoir by Jeannette Walls Rating A- 4/16/09
#3 From Eva's List (THANKS EVA!) The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve AND The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom Rating on both of these is A-. 3/20/09
#4 Big Reads List #15 The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger Rating C- 5/4/09
#5 Manhunt The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer by James L. Swanson I NEVER read true crime and don't plan to again any time soon!....Rating - C+ 3/13/09
#6 Royal Affairs A Lusty Romp Through the Extramarital Adventures That Rocked the British Monarchy by Leslie Carroll Rating C+ 4/30/09
#8 Beauty Shop for Rent . . . fully equipped, inquire within by Laura Bowers and Eva Underground by Dandi Daley Mackall Give a B+ to both these books. 3/30/09
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After being out of town/out of commission for the last 4.5 days, I have some updates! Woo!Task 10.5 - Magic: The Tales of Beedle the Bard by J.K. Rowling (5/3/09)
It was pretty cute. It was a really quick little read... other than the 2 hour nap I took in the middle of it... ;) These stories would be cute as bedtime stories to your kids. Except for the 3rd one--you might want to preview it if you have very small children. And there are some pretty big words you might have to explain...
Task 10.7 - Mom’s Favorite Book: A Rose in Winter by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss (5/2/09)
This book is a Beauty and the Beast story--romance style. It started off quite slowly. It picked up after maybe 90 or 100 pages, and it turned out to be VERY good! I'm glad my mom suggested it!
Task 10.10 - 5-Star Book from Megan (she joined 1/20/09 and I joined 1/19/09, but we were on the same page): The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch (5/2/09)
5 million stars! I can't say enough good things about this book. I think everyone on the planet should read it (and maybe even the extra-terrestrials)! It's so positive and uplifting! Dr. Pausch, who seems like he would have been a fabulous person to know, gives the reader a lot of really great advice--some of which is pretty self-explanatory, and some of which is quite profound. I just adored it. (The audiobook was fantastic!)
Task 50.1 - Multiple Pseudonyms: Princess Mia by Meg Cabot (5/3/09) and Kiss the Bride by Patricia Cabot (4/18/09)
Kiss the Bride was a reread--I was in the mood for a romance novel at the time. It was quite a nice little book... again... I think I liked Educating Caroline better, but I was in the mood for this one.
Princess Mia... I'd been putting off reading this book for over a year (since it came out), because the ending of Book 8 was just so shocking... But I think this is the best book in the series so far! LOVED the ending, of course! I can't wait to see what happens in Book 10 (series finale)!!
CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 27/40
Books Read: 34/47
Pages Read: 9372
Points Earned: 390
El wrote: "Hayes wrote: "Hayes 185 + 5 = 190
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
-Read an autobiography/biography of a woman you admire
Woman of Rome A Life of Elsa Morante"
She, Morante, was an interesting and strange woman. I have never read anything of hers, but a friend of mine tells me that she tends to be a bit heavy going.
The book is okay, not extremely well written, better at the beginning, too much book synopsis towards the end, and I got tired. (I also read an uncorrected proof that a friend who works in a bookstore sent to me... I hope the final version got tightened up a bit. It needed a lot of editing work.)
Long winded to say that unless you are desperately interested in the woman or her writing, no, don't bother. I found interesting the bits about Rome and about the other people involved with her - Moravia, Pasolini, Visconti and Bertolucci.
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
-Read an autobiography/biography of a woman you admire
Woman of Rome A Life of Elsa Morante"
She, Morante, was an interesting and strange woman. I have never read anything of hers, but a friend of mine tells me that she tends to be a bit heavy going.
The book is okay, not extremely well written, better at the beginning, too much book synopsis towards the end, and I got tired. (I also read an uncorrected proof that a friend who works in a bookstore sent to me... I hope the final version got tightened up a bit. It needed a lot of editing work.)
Long winded to say that unless you are desperately interested in the woman or her writing, no, don't bother. I found interesting the bits about Rome and about the other people involved with her - Moravia, Pasolini, Visconti and Bertolucci.
I just finished task 25.8 by reading The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I particularly loved the Hunger Games and can't wait for the sequel!Total points: 130
2. For Cinco De Mayo – Read a book by a Mexican author, set in Mexico, OR about Mexico. For 10 points I read...Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquival
3. For ANZAC Day – Read a book by an Australian author, set in Australia, OR about Australia.
For 10 points I read...Mary Poppins by Pamela L. Travers
(New total: 515 points)
The Next Best Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
Tempting Fate (other topics)Romeo and Juliet (other topics)
Romeo and Juliet (other topics)
Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?: And 114 Other Questions (other topics)
Where the Sidewalk Ends (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Anita Shreve (other topics)Markus Zusak (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
Paulo Coelho (other topics)
Douglas Adams (other topics)
More...
***Read 2 books by an author who writes under two different names.***
Don't Scream by Wendy Corsi Staub-5/2
Mike, Mike & Me by Wendy Markham-5/3
Points: 385/575
Tasks Completed: 27/40
Tasks Left: 13/40
Books Left: 13/47
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