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Cynthia's Seasonal Challenges
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OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009
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Avory
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May 18, 2009 07:33PM

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Student: Hemingway is so romantic.....
Kat: Romantic? Hemingway? He was an abusive alcoholic misogynist who squandered half his life trying to nail Picasso's leftovers.
I'm not sure why, but that always makes me crack up.
I also finished 25.4 (BBC Big Reads) with Great Expectations, which I enjoyed but probably would have liked better in book rather than audio format - Dickens gets a little longwinded and the no-skimming format doesn't leave much leeway for a reader's edit.
Current Total: 545
Super-Duper Extra Revised Goal 2.0: 575

3. Spring Cleaning: Off Season
4. Commute???
5. For Easter/Lent: Persuasion
7. Arbor Day: Love the One You're With(swapping it on paperbackswap)
9. Spring Animal Title: To Kill a Mockingbird
10. Book with Rain related word: The House of Thunder
Category Totals:
10 Point Tasks
1. Irish Author:PS, I Love You
3. ANZAC Day: The Book Thief
6. Earth Day: The Pillars of the Earth
8. Armed Forces Day: Cold Mountain
9. TNBBC Top Books List: The Secret History
Category Totals:
15 Points
1. SCORPIO: The Road
4. Location You've Been (CT): Swapping Lives
5. Award Winning Author:Nazareth Hill by Ramsay Campbell (British Fantasy Award in 1988)
6. Translated Book: The Thief Lord
7. Rhyming Novels: A Northern Light & The Kite Runner
9. Book with Color Title: Forever in Blue: The Fourth Summer of the Sisterhood
10. 3-4-5: All That Remains, Cruel and Unusual, & The Body Farm
Category Totals:
25 Points
2. El's Task: Alice's Adventures: Lewis Carroll in Popular Culture-Will Brooker
6. Jon's Task: The Six Wives of Henry VIII
7. Darla's Task: Emma by Jane Austen
50 Points
1. Sandy's Task: Blaze A Novel AND Salem's Lot
I just remembered that I had read A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray a couple of weeks ago and decided to use that for the unread TNBBC read instead of the book I had originally planned to read. So that puts me at 265.
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http://www.timeout.com/film/features/...

#5 Newberry award winner in 1981 ( the year I was born) Jacob Have I Loved
Throughout a good portion of this book I felt bored, uncomfortable, and frustrated. The last line in the second to last chapter actually made me like the entire thing. "...For he looked like a man who would sing to the oysters" Then the last chapter brought all of the discomfort and frustration into love and understanding. So I ended up likeing the overall book, but wished the journey was more enjoyable.
I believe my total is now 170 pts

This brings my point total to 560, 1 to go !

The book was really good. It's sort of written in a way that makes you feel like Jerry Lewis is just sitting next to you talking about the good times. He jumps around, makes inside jokes, gets lost in his thoughts, the way a regular person would when telling a story. It was interesting to see how they became Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis and then how Dean went on to be a big part of the Rat Pack. For example, I always thought of Sinatra as the leader of the rat pack, but according to this, Sinatra idolized Dean for his swagger and confidence, something that Sinatra had to try really hard to emulate. Anywho, its very good.
Also for 5 point task #1. Read a Science Fiction OR Fantasy Novel. I read Capt. Hook The Adventures of a Notorious Youth by JV Hart. It is a story about Captain Hook's childhood. It's good but it took me a while to get through. I had to keep putting it down and moving on to other books. Better for middle school aged children.
New total: 315

5 points
2. Epistolary - Ella Minnow Pea 3/27
5. Lent/Sacrifice - The Giving Tree 5/5
8. Humorous - Notes from a Small Island 4/30
9. Spring Animal - The Goose Girl 5/14
10. Rain-Related - The Lightning Thief 4/9
10 points
1. Ireland - The Poor Mouth 3/14
4. Author Birthday - Daisy Miller 3/3 (April 15, 1843)
5. Magic - The Sea of Monsters 4/11
6. Earth Day - Stargirl 4/4
9. TNBBC Top Book List - The Bell Jar 3/31
10. TNBBC Member's 5 Star - Dead Until Dark (Ashley) 4/18
15 points
2. Poetry - A Light in the Attic 3/2
3. TNBBC Group Read – People of the Book 5/19
4. Spring Break - Revenge of the Spellmans (San Francisco) 3/19
5. Award Winner - The Westing Game (1979 Newbery Winner) 3/31
8. Get to know author - The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency 5/10
10. 3, 4, and 5 Books - The Titan's Curse 4/17, The Battle of the Labyrinth 4/23, and The Last Olympian 5/8
25 points
2. EL - The World of Louisa May Alcott 4/3
3. Angela – I Capture the Castle 3/22 and Ella Enchanted 3/3 (Cassie)
4. ROS - Bridget Jones's Diary 3/21
5. BONNIE - The Call of the Wild (animals) 3/8
8. CASSIE - The Demigod Files 4/17 and The Maze of Bones 4/24
9. SARA - Sorcery and Cecelia, or The Enchanted Chocolate Pot: Being the Correspondence of Two Young Ladies of Quality Regarding Various Magical Scandals in London and the Country 5/12
Total Points: 325

3. Read a past OR present TNBBC group read that you haven’t read before
A Dirty Job by Christopher Moore
245 + 15 = 260
This book was my first Moore book, and I really enjoyed it. However, I wasn't a big fan of the ending (it seemed too predictable for what was otherwise a very unique story). Even so, I will read Moore again down the road.
It doesn't appear that I will make 300, but I was able to get a number of books read, including two non-fiction books that I had been reading bits and pieces of for some time now.

15 Points
10. 3rd/4th/5th books of a series: Phoenix and Ashes (re-read), The Wizard of London, Reserved for the Cat by Mercedes Lackey (the Elemental Masters series).
I generally like this series, although the quality goes from great to only pretty good. You don't have to read the books in order and I don't (they are set in the same world, but with different protagonists). My favorite in this round was Reserved for the Cat.
50 Points
1. Same author, different names: The Eyes of the Dragon (Stephen King) and The Running Man (Richard Bachman).
I know he is a best-selling author, but OMG he is one of the most boring authors I have ever read. Thank God the Bachman book was an audiobook. I could not have gotten through it if I read it. His books just make me feel like nothing happens. Looking back quite a few things happen, but while going through it I just feel like it's going at a snail's pace and I'm bored to tears. These two weren't his horror books. The first was fantasy, the second a dystopian thriller; maybe the horror are better?
Total Points: 450


Most recenlty completed in Bold
Five Point Tasks
10 Point Tasks
3. ANZAC Day: Rabbit Proof Fence
15 Points
4. Spring Break : UK, On Chesil Beach
9. Colour: A Patch of Blue
25 Points
1. G/R Good Omens / The Road Home
3. Jamie's Shelves: Interpreter of Maladies and
5. Off Genre - war/military Slaughterhouse-Five
9. Saras Crazy Title : The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde & Other Stories
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5 Points
4.Marvelous Land of Oz
5.My Sister's Keeper
7.The Story Girl
10 Points
4.Ozma of Oz by L Frank Baum born May 15, 1856
15 Points
4.The Dark Tower IIThe Drawing of the Three They go to New York in two different time periods :)
25 Points
5.Bonnie's Task - Scaramouche: A Romance of the French Revolution
9.Sara's Task - Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man a Young Man and Life's Greatest Lesson
So far totaling 90 Points woohoo I am on the board!!!!

1. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling
2. Book of a Thousand Days by Shannon Hale
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
5. Alphabet of Dreams by Susan Fletcher
6. The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
7. Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
8. Dealing with Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
9. Firebirds Rising ed. by Sharyn November
10 Points
4. Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
6. The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson
7. The Mayor of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy
9. The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
10. Harry Potter and The Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
15 Points
5. Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card
7. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling/ Villette by Charlotte Bronte
8. The Know-It-All One Man's Humble Quest to Become the Smartest Person in the World by A.J. Jacobs
10. Calling on Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book 3), Talking to Dragons (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Book 4), and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Year 5)
25 Points
4. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens
5. Myth and Middle-Earth by Leslie Ellen Jones
8. Adam of the Road by Elizabeth Janet Gray/Searching for Dragons by Patricia C. Wrede
9. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies The Classic Regency Romance - Now with Ultraviolent Zombie Mayhem! by Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
(I'm only posting what I've already finished)
New Points Total: 260

For 15 points I read The Red Pony by Steinbeck and ate a cheeseburger (with ketchup) and a glass of fruit punch :)
total points: 575!!!
Thanks Cynthia for coordinating this challenge - it was a lot of fun!!!

1. DONNA JO - 575
2. SANDY - 575
3. WENDY - 575
4. BJ ROSE - 575
5. KRISTEN IL - 575
6. BRIDGIT - 575
7. KRISTENR - 575
8. LEORA - 575
9. LIZZI - 575
***************
ASHLEY ID - 565
RORA - 565
SHARON - 555
CAIT - 545
JESSICA IL - 545
AMY MA - 530
BETH MN - 505
ALICE - 500
BEV - 500
ANGELA IL - 495
SARA TX - 490
APRIL NY - 465
TINA - 460
MAGGIE - 455
BONNIE - 450
KRISTINA GA - 450
EL - 430
JOSIE - 425
LOUISE - 415
SARA E - 415
MEGHAN - 410
NICOLE NC - 405
KRITIKA - 400
LIZ BRKLYN - 395
CYNTHIA (SCM) - 390
ELIZABETH NC - 385
RHIANNON - 385
ANGIE TX - 370
JILLIAN - 370
RORY - 370
PERS - 355
MARY BETH - 350
JOY - 345
SUSAN - 345
JUDITH IA - 340
SUZIER - 340
JAMIE MN - 325
LORI TX - 335
SANDIE - 325
STEPH - 320
REBECCA J - 315
ROSEANN - 310
LYNLEE4 - 305
LINDSEY - 300
CATHEROO - 295
DAVID - 290
EVA - 280
JON - 280
BECKY - 275
STEPHANIE CA - 275
LAURA NY - 270
ALISHA - 265
KATE - 260
MEGAN - 260
SERA - 260
COURTNEY - 255
FALLON - 255
WV HEATHER - 255
JEN B - 250
JOANN - 250
MALIADES - 250
RENFREW - 250
KRISTINA UK - 240
RACHEL WA - 235
JENNIFER IN - 230
AMY R - 225
HAYES - 225
SARAH PA - 225
BETH - 215
FIONA (TITCH)- 215
CAROL - 210
LIZ VEGAS - 210
REBECCA - 210
RYAN - 205
ELIZABETH (ALASKA) - 200
KATHRYN - 200
VICTORIA - 200
MANDAY - 195
ASHLEY AL - 190
ASHLEY UT - 180
JEANE - 180
RALPH - 180
JULIE (ID)'S - 175
LACY - 170
JOANNA - 165
MARIE - 165
NATALIA - 165
SLAYERMEL - 165
TERRI - 160
JEN MD - 155
JESSICA SC - 155
JOANIE - 155
POTJY - 155
TRYPHENA - 155
LILY - 150
ROS - 150
CYNDEE - 145
LAUREN - 145
MELODY - 145
TRACY - 140
KAREN - 135
MADELINE - 135
SAM - 135
HEATHER KS - 130
JEGKA - 130
SHANNON - 130
ANN FROM SC - 125
CASSIE - 120
KICKI - 115
SUSANNA UK - 115
ABBIE - 110
ANGIE CA - 110
JAMIE WA - 110
MACKENZIE - 110
SHELLIE - 110
CATHERINE - 105
JENNY - 105
LINDA - 105
CYNTHIA - 100
AMANDA - 95
JESSICA MI - 95
MEL - 95
ALLISON MO - 90
JULIE TN - 90
SAI - 90
MEREDITH H - 85
KELLY MA - 80
KIM UK - 80
KIM US - 80
LDB - 80
VICKI - 80
JULIE UK - 75
RACHEL CA - 75
SLAIMI - 70
JAMIE 23 - 65
ALYSSA - 60
KELLY - 60
LISA JULIANNA - 55
MORGAN - 55
ROBIN - 55
KATIE - 50
5PEASINAPOD - 45
ELIZ - 45
JULIE KS - 40
LIZ NY - 40
TOBIE - 40
JUDITH NY - 30
DOROTHY - 25
JAIME 26 - 25
KRISTI - 25
MARY - 25
MELISSA - 25
LAZARUS - 20
NICOLE CA - 20
CAITLIN - 15
JENNI - 15
GREG - 10
MICHELLE - 5
SHELBY - 5

Task 5.9 - Spring Animal: Bad Kitty by Michele Jaffe (5/12/09)
I really really liked this book. Michele Jaffe is a really good friend of Meg Cabot, and it shows in her writing. She's no copycat, that's for sure, but there are definite similarities. This book was a mystery with fabulous characters and really fun footnotes.
Task 5.6 - Woman/Girl: Secret Society Girl: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund (5/13/09)
Ummm... These books are fabulous. My best friend recommended them to me, and I'm kinda pissed off at myself for not reading them before. They are what I'm going to call grad-lit.... DEFINITELY not YA, but not old enough to be chick-lit. The main character, Amy, is a college senior at a school that is essentially Yale, and she gets inducted into a heretofore-male-only secret society... and some of the senior members REALLY don't like it... All sorts of craziness ensues.
Task 5.10 - Rain/Flower: Under the Rose: An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund (5/15/09)
Book 2 in the Secret Society series. Someone is trying to destroy the society from the inside out, and Amy has to figure out who's doing it.... Plus a lot of relationship stuff for her and the other Diggers.
Task 25.1 - G & R books: The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale (4/3/09) and Rites of Spring (Break): An Ivy League Novel by Diana Peterfreund (5/17/09)
I read The Goose Girl a long time ago. It was fabulous. A great book about a young girl who is forced to leave her home (and future throne), and find her place in the world. Great coming-of-age-type story for young girls.
Rites of Spring (Break) is the 3rd Secret Society book. And ummm.... talk about awesome! The first 1/4 of the book is pre-Spring Break, when she has to face facts about Brandon. Then on Spring Break, she almost dies, has to face her fears of water.... and a lot of other stuff that I don't want to spoil, but HOLY COW, it was AMAZING!
Now, if you'll excuse me, Book 4 came out TODAY, so I need to go buy it! :)
CURRENT STATS
Tasks Completed: 35/40
Books Read: 42/47
Pages Read: 11,488
Points Earned: 490

Only 5 books left! I'm working on The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society now.


yup...I am definitely going to do the summer challenge! It was fun with you in the spring challenge....felt like extra competition (but you beat me to the finish LOL!)

Oooh.. isn't the audiobook GREAT?? I am a HUGE HUGE fan of Full Cast Audio. I'm just finishing up Airborn right now.


Total Points: 545

..."
I totally agree - "A Prayer for Owen Meany" is the best Irving I've read - hands down. I thought parts of "The World According to Garp" rivaled it, but it tended to wander a little too much, which made me feel like Irving was showing off a bit instead of just telling the story.
Have you read any other Irving? I've read a few others, but Owen Meany and Garp are definitely the best two - though The Cider House Rules and A Widow for One Year are good. Could've skipped The Fourth Hand and The 158-pound Marriage.


yeah ive read 40pages, definately going to finish it :)

Sara - I'm struggling through Airborn, rather I have other books I really really want to read and that one is on the backburner now, even though I know it'll end up being an amazing book.

This brings me to 445 points.
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Total points: 405

yeah ive read 40pages, definately going to finish it :)"
Glad to hear it! What do you think so far?

For 15 points I read The Red Pony by Steinbeck and ate a cheeseburger (with ketchup) and a glass of fruit punch :)
total points: 575!!!
Thanks Cynthia for coordinating this c..."
Congrats!

I did finish Daisy Miller for task 5-10. I also finished task 15-2 A Light in the Attic.
So I believe my point total is 175 points. Thanks

I just finished Secrets To Publishing and Marketing Your Book for task 5.4
The main reason I chose this book was because I got a free copy of it through the book give away and feel obligated therefore to review it (which I will do in the next couple of days). I have to say, its not that well written! But it has some good information in it. I gave it two stars because I figure there are better written books about publishing out there... if there actually aren't other books, I may rate it more highly. I read it on a flight to Phoenix for my sister in laws graduation.
I am so close to finishing all my tasks I am attempting!, I am going to crack down and see if I can do it!
New Point Total: 195

For 5 Point task #1, I read Coraline by Neil Gaiman. I've been meaning to read this one for a while, and it was just as enjoyable as I was told it would be.
For 25 Point task #1, I read The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman and The Reluctant Heiress by Eva Ibbotson. The Graveyard Book was more wonderful than I could have imagined - it's such a complete world, and so easy to get engrossed in. The Reluctant Heiress was a sweet book. It was a fairly predictable romance, but that didn't make it any less enjoyable to read.
With these points, my current point total is 235.

5 POINT TASKS
5.1 Brisingr by Christopher Paolini
5.2 84, Charing Cross Road by Helene Hanff
5.3
5.4 Dance Upon the Air by Nora Roberts
5.5 As Sure as the Dawn by Francine Rivers
5.6 The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale
5.7 The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume 1: The Pox Party by M.T. Anderson
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 Key of Knowledge by Nora Roberts
10.6 Pale Moon Rider by Marsha Canham
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 Hands of Flame by C.E. Murphy and Sands of Time by Michael Hoeye
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: 370

I read The Horse and His Boy, Prince Caspian, and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader from The Chronicles of Narnia. I am really enjoying this series, although I think I like 'the series' better than any one book, if that makes sense.
I think so far my favorite that I have read is The Horse and His Boy, although I have 2 more to read, so we will see if I change my mind then...
New total- 550!!
I only have three books left to read, so unless something major happens, I should finish by the end of the week, and I am really excited!

yeah ive read 40pages, definately going to ..."
its good, i dont usually read short stories, so its makes a nice change, ive read the first two so far

I'm now only going to read another couple of books before I finish this task. I've started Adrian Mole this morning for the 5.2 point task and I may also do 5.3 and 5.6. They are the books left on the list that I already own. There are only a few tasks I won't have have completed but I don't have the books for those ones! I've got a couple of books to read for my book group so it'd be good to get those in before the Summer Task starts! I'm really pleased with my progress in this task. I didn't think I'd get anywhere near as many points as this!!
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. ?
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
7. The Bookshop by Penelope Fitzgerald (rec. by mum)
8. The Welsh Girl by Peter Ho Davies
9. I Capture the Castle (no. 1 of TNBBC top 10 list)
10. Eldest by Christopher Paolini (Samantha Adnrik's 5 star book)
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
8. The Almost Moon by Alice Sebold
9. The White Tiger by Aravind Acliga
10. Books 3,4 and 5 of the Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony 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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575 points!

575 points!"
Congrats Leora!
I read Voss for the Australian task! It was dry, but I ultimately decided I think I liked it. :)
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