The Next Best Book Club discussion
Cynthia's Seasonal Challenges
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OFFICIAL SPRING CHALLENGE - 2009
Yay! I finished one more!For Sara's 25 pt task, a title of 12 or more words, I read Tuesday's With Morrie: an Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom.
Really good book! I highly recommend it!
That gives me 60 pts now.
Task completed ANGELA’S TASK for 25pts. -using MaryBeth's shelvesread:One for the Moneyby Janet Evanovich and Animal Farm by George Orwell
Task completed: 2
Total Points: 50
LizVegas
Need to come up with others but this will bet me started for now:15 POINTS
2. Looking for suggestions
3. A Dirty Job
4. Need to think on this
5. Of Mice and Men
6. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
7.
8. Something by Tee Morris
9. Thinking -
10. Nyphron Rising/Emerald Dawn/Percepliquis
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Ashley wrote: "Sara, I have to tell you, I loved The Outsiders. One of my favorites. It is just, amazing. "My book club (in real life) read it before I joined, and they all said it was awesome, so I thought I'd give it a go. I've only heard great things. I'm still not very far. Ponyboy is still introducing all the characters, essentially. And it's going to be slow-going, since it's an audiobook and I HAVE to listen to the whole thing in my car...
Elizabeth (NC) wrote:"Sara, Have you read any other books by Spinelli? If not, I highly recommend Maniac Magee--it's one of my favorite read alouds every year. (There is also a sequel to Stargirl, called Love, Stargirl but I have not read it.)"I read Maniac Magee when I was younger, but I don't really remember it, although I remember I really liked it. I'm going to read Love, Stargirl for this challenge also. But yes, Stargirl, to me, was "that book written by the Maniac Magee guy"... ;)
Kicki wrote: "Ros - How do you have the time to read that fast and much? I'd like to be able to do that as well. But I'm stuck on a school book about inclusion and exclusion instead. :P"That's the thing though--she's only read 4 books so far! But she's reading the big-pointers first... :)
Ashley wrote: "Yay! I finished one more!For Sara's 25 pt task, a title of 12 or more words, I read Tuesday's With Morrie: an Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom.
Really good book! ..."
See? Isn't it fun reading books with freakishly long titles? ;)
PS - SORRY about the 4 posts in a row! That's what happens when Sara doesn't get on goodreads for 14 hours!!
Karen wrote: "8. CASSIE’S TASK - For her friend Melissa (who told her about Goodreads and is a YA librarian): Read 2 young adult novels.
Blue Bloods & Masquerade: A Blue Bloods Novel by Melissa de la Cruz 25 Pt..."
What did you think about that series? I've read it, but thought other vampire series were better. Such as Twilight, the House of Night Series, and Vampire Academy...
Blue Bloods & Masquerade: A Blue Bloods Novel by Melissa de la Cruz 25 Pt..."
What did you think about that series? I've read it, but thought other vampire series were better. Such as Twilight, the House of Night Series, and Vampire Academy...
Sara wrote: "Kicki wrote: "Ros - How do you have the time to read that fast and much? I'd like to be able to do that as well. But I'm stuck on a school book about inclusion and exclusion instead. :P"That's ..."
Are you a student?
I am 33 and a widdow with no children so when I am not doing voluntry bits my time is my own.
I used to hate reading but am into it now.
The reason my total is so high is due to the fact I have done high tasks.
It defently helps if you are enjoying the book to how quick I can get the book read.
I have to say I am lucky and alot of the books are going to be my kind of book I think.
I do have a busy Sunday so wont get to read till after 6 ish.
I am quite busy tomorrow also so it may be a similar situation tomorrow too.
I hope you get to read some books you enjoy soon.
Ros, thanks for the answer. And yes, I'm very much a student. Studying to become a teacher - and right now there's a lot to do. But I think I'll take a study-free weekend this upcoming weekend, and hope I'll be able to actually do that without feeling guilty for not studying. :)
Okay, I am in. I had to make sure I have enough time to read. And of course I don't but will make time. I can't wait to get started
All the best for that I bet you will be a brillant teacher. When shall you be finished your course what sort of subjects will you teach and what age group would you like to teach.Yes a break from study this weekend will do you good. Try not to feel guilty about it you are doing the work you have to do a break now and again must be a good thing.
Ashley wrote: "I read Tuesday's With Morrie: an Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom. Really good book! ..."
This is one of the few movies I've seen in the last 25 years. Excellent.
Julie wrote: "Okay, I am in. I had to make sure I have enough time to read. And of course I don't but will make time. I can't wait to get started"You don't have to finish the whole challenge. The idea is just to try and read more than you do now, and to read things that are different from what you might normally read.
I was talking to my little sister about it (she might do the summer challenge with us), and I told her that you can set your own goal... 200 points or 20 books or whatever, but that it's really just a fun way to choose what books to read!
Sara, I agree. Before I joined this group a couple weeks ago, I wasn't reading very much, but this challenge has got me really excited to read new books!
One of my 2009 goals was to have fewer books on my TBR shelf at the end of the year than at the beginning. I found a dozen or so on that shelf that fit the Challenge so perhaps I'll actually achieve my goal!
Elizabeth wrote: "One of my 2009 goals was to have fewer books on my TBR shelf at the end of the year than at the beginning. I found a dozen or so on that shelf that fit the Challenge so perhaps I'll actually achiev..."
So you aren't adding new books to your TBR shelf? Or are you not counting them?
So you aren't adding new books to your TBR shelf? Or are you not counting them?
Kicki - Don't worry about it! I'm in a similar situation. I have a 40-page paper and a 30-page journal article due on Monday, and I'm on a plane early Wednesday morning to fly to UCLA to present a paper - a presentation I haven't even begun to prepare for, not to mention all my other responsibilities. We do what we can, yeah?
Ros wrote: "All the best for that I bet you will be a brillant teacher. When shall you be finished your course what sort of subjects will you teach and what age group would you like to teach."I'll be a teacher in preschool and primary school, mostly teaching maths and Swedish, learning how to write and read. :) Just the things that I like. Right now I'm studying Special Needs Education, so when I'm done I'll be able to in special schools as well. When summer is here I've been studying two years at the University, and will then have 1,5 years to go. So still a long time left.
Linda wrote: "Elizabeth wrote: "One of my 2009 goals was to have fewer books on my TBR shelf at the end of the year than at the beginning. I found a dozen or so on that shelf that fit the Challenge so perhaps I'..."I'm not making any purchases at this time, but I know it will happen. Even if I read just two more books than I buy/bring in . . .
Elizabeth, I guess that's true. Good luck... you have more self control than I do (I would never attempt such a task) ;)
It's a goal. Sometimes you get there, sometimes you don't. ;) I did pretty well last year, then broke down at the end of the year with too much time in the Seattle airport coming home at the end of two trips. And my daughter sent me a box . . .
Here's my planned books for spring challenge 5 point tasks
1. fellowship of the rings - J. R. R. Tolkin
2. More Letters from Pemberley 1814 - 1819
Jane Dawkins
3. Just Business - Ber Carroll
4. Little Women - Louisa Mary Alcot
5. The Schack - W. M. Paul Young
6. Nice Girls Do - Sarah Duncan
7. The Risk of Darkness - Susan Hill
8. Adrian Mole Weapons of mass destruction -
Sue Townsend
9. Birdsong - Sebastion Faulks
10. The tea rose - Jennifer Donnelly
10 point tasks
1. The gift - Celia Ahern
2. Like water for choclate - Laura Equivel
3. My life as a fake - Pete Carey
4. Twisted - Jeffery Deavers (May)
5. Harry Potter the half blood prince -
J. K. Rowling
6. Always Moon - Alice Sebold
7.
8. Caprtian Correll's Mandelin - Louis Du Bernieres
9.
10. The Twin Towers - J. R. R. Tolkin
15 point tasks
1.
2.
3. Jane Eye - Charlotte Bronte
4. Oliver Twist - Charles Dickins
The last place I went was to London to see Oliver
5. Docherty - William Mcillanney - (1975)
6. Hannah's Daughter - Marrianne Fredriksson
origanially sweedish
7. Salmon Fishing Paul Torday
Missing - Susan Lewis
8. Whose's line is it anyway?- Sinead Moriarty
9.
10 Three Men in a Boat Jerome K Jerome
The Four Temperaments - Yona Mcdonough
Five Quarters of Orange - Joanne Harris
25 point tasks
1. The Girl next door - Elizabeth Noble
Recipes for a perfect marriage -
Kate Kerrigtan
2. George Eliot The Last Victorian - Kathryn Hughes
3. Angela's ashes & Tis - Frank Mccourt
4. Watership Down - Richard Adams
5. (Horror) Dracula - Bram Stoker
6. Elizabeth The Queen Mother - Hugo Vickers
7.
8. New Moon & Eclipse - Stephene Meyer
9.
90/525
ooops... here are my accomplishments!Five Point Tasks
3. Spring Cleaning: Twilight
7. Arbor Day: The time travelers wife
Fifteen point task
3. TNBBC Group Read: A great and terrible beauty
5 Points 1. Fire Study - Maria V. Snyder
2. Ella Minnow Pea A Novel in Letters - Mark Dunn
3. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close - Jonathan Safran Foer
4.
5. The Shack - William P. Young
6. Blackout Girl Growing Up and Drying Out in America - Jennifer Storm
7.
8. Good Omens The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch - Terry Pratchett
9. Down the Rabbit Hole An Echo Falls Mystery - Peter Abrahams
10. The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafón
10 Points
1. The Likeness A Novel - Tana French
2. Rain of Gold - Victor Villaseñor
3.
4. Until I Find You A Novel - John Irving (March 2nd)
5. Magic Study - Maria V. Snyder
6. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things - Carolyn Mackler
7. Postmortem - Patricia Cornwell
8. Outlander - Diana Gabaldon
9. The Eyre Affair - Jasper Fforde
10. The Virgin Suicides - Jeffrey Eugenides
15 Points
1.
2.
3. Neverwhere A Novel - Neil Gaiman
4. Drood A Novel - Dan Simmons
5. The Witches of Eastwick - John Updike (National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction - 1981)
6. Ines of My Soul A Novel - Isabel Allende
7. Night - Elie Wiesel and A Northern Light - Jennifer Donnelly
8.
9. Redwall - Brian Jacques
10.
25 Points
1. Gossamer, The Red Shoe
2.
3. The Art of Racing in the Rain and Whale Talk
4. Noughts & Crosses
5. Blood Brothers
6.
7.
8. The White Darkness
9. The Boyfriend List 15 guys, 11 shrink appointments, 4 ceramic frogs, and me, Ruby Oliver
Total
25 Points, 2 Tasks
Another task finished...15 points
3. past TNBBC group read: The Bell Jar
This one wasn't really my cup of tea.
Total points so far: 50
I've also put together a tentative reading list:
5 points
1. Star Wars: Cloak of Deception
3. The Manny
7. Schmitz' Katze
8. Pigs Have Wings
9. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
10 points
1. Dancer
5. Magyk
6. Moon Palace
15 points
7. Vanity Fair and Anybody out There
9. The Complete Father Brown Stories
25 points
1. Good Wives and The Rules of Attraction
4. Rebecca
Elizabeth wrote: "It's a goal. Sometimes you get there, sometimes you don't. ;) I did pretty well last year, then broke down at the end of the year with too much time in the Seattle airport coming home at the end of..."
LOL...
LOL...
Okay- I can't get my ticker to say my new total points on here but it worked on my page so here is the old fashioned way- LOL- 5. BONNIE’S TASK - Read a book outside your normal genre(s). Example: Bonnie usually reads YA, fantasy, nonfiction and classics so she'd have to read short stories, plays, mysteries, etc.
Total- 45 pts.
LEADERBOARD
ROS - 90
KAREN - 70
ASHLEY - 60
FIONA (TITCH) - 55
LIZ VEGAS - 50
PERS - 50
BONNIE - 45
CAROL - 45
BEV - 40
LINDSEY - 40
LOUISE - 40
SANDIE - 40
BETH MN - 35
KATE - 35
LIZ (BKLYN) - 30
SARA - 30
SUZIER - 30
ALICE - 25
CYNTHIA - 25
DOROTHY - 25
JENNY - 25
MEGHAN - 25
NATALIA - 25
ANN FROM SC - 20
EVA - 20
FALLON - 20
JAMIE MN - 20
KRISTINA - 20
VICTORIA - 20
ABBIE - 15
ANGELA - 15
COURTNEY - 15
JON - 15
JOSIE - 15
LEORA - 15
ROBIN - 15
STEPHANIE - 15
ANGIE - 10
BECKY - 10
EL - 10
MELODY - 10
SANDY - 10
ALISA - 5
JUDITH - 5
KICKI - 5
LISA CO - 5
MAGGIE - 5
MEL - 5
SUSAN - 5
TINA - 5
Phew....that was a lot harder than it had to be...
Goal: 305 Points / 28 books---Stats---
Earned Points: 10/305
Books Read: 1/28
Total Pages Read: 1006
-----------
Completed Tasks:
10 POINT TASKS
5. March 24 is Harry Houdini’s Birthday – Read a book about magic, a magician etc.
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susana Clarke +10 pts / Read 3.3.09
===========================
5 POINT TASKS
1. Read a Science Fiction OR Fantasy Novel.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood (Science fiction)
2. Read an epistolary novel...
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
4. Read or listen to a book while you are on a plane, on a train, or in a car...
Labyrinth by Kate Mosse (audiobook)
5. For Easter/Lent - Read a Christian Fiction novel...
Showdown by Ted Dekker
6. In Honor Of Women’s History Month…
- Read a novel with woman, women, lady, etc in the title.
Lady Susan, The Watsons, Sanditon by Jane Austen
7. For Arbor Day – Do your part to save some trees by reading a book and “recycling” it...
Vital Signs by Robin Cook
8. For April Fools Day read a humorous novel...
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
9. Read a book with a spring animal in the title...
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
10. Read a book with a type of tree or flower in the title...
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
10 POINT TASKS
1. For St. Patrick’s Day – Read a book by an Irish author, set in Ireland, OR about Ireland.
Angela's Ashes by Frank McCourt
4. Read a book by an author who was born in March, April, or May.
Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides (born: March 8, 1960)
Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell by Susana Clarke
6. In honor of Earth Day (April 22), read a book with the word Earth, Moon, World, etc in the title.
World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks
7. In Honor of Mother’s Day, read a book recommended by/given to you by your mother.
The Dogs of Babel by Carolyn Parkhurst
8. Read a book about a veteran OR someone serving in the military.
Othello by William Shakespeare
10. TNBBC member 5-Star rated book...
Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen (Thanks Heather from page 39!)
15 POINT TASKS
1. Read a book that corresponds to your astrological sign...
- LIBRA: Read a book about a lawyer, the law, a judge etc.
The Last Juror by John Grisham
2. April is National Poetry Month – Read a book of poetry OR about a famous poet.
Inferno by Dante Alighieri
3. Read a past OR present TNBBC group read that you haven’t read before.
Neverwhere: A Novel by Neil Gaiman
6. Read a book that was has been translated from its original language.
The Plague by Albert Camus
8. Get To Know The Author - Read a book by an author AND then either attend a reading by that author OR read/listen to an interview with that author.
Thinner by Stephen King
9. Read a book with a color in the title AND eat a meal that includes at least 2 foods of that color.
The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
(Planned foods: Garlic and Feta cheese mashed potatoes and vanilla ice-cream)
25 POINT TASKS
1. Karen's Task: Read a book starting with "G" & a book starting with "R".
The Green Mile (Complete Serial Novel) by Stephen King & Roots by Alex Haley
4. Ros's Task: Read a book from the Big Reads List.
The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame
5. Bonnie's Task: Read a book outside my normal genre.
Death Be Not Proud by John Gunther (Non-fictional memoir -- I normally read fiction: fantasy, horror, classics, etc.)
8. Cassie's Task: Read two YA novels.
Blue Is For Nightmares & White Is for Magic by Laurie Faria Stolarz
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Hey, a while ago someone mentioned the book for Jon's task about Lady's in waiting. I can't remember what it is called but it looked really good. I am going to go to the bookstore today. Can someone give me the title so that I can look for it? Thanks!
My first time to claim points!15 point task #8 (Get to know the author)
I read The Chocolate Snowman Murders and read an interview with JoAnna Carl at http://www.roundtablereviews.com/roun...
Point Totals: 15
Kathryn, I'm reading Ladies in Waiting From the Tudors to the Present Day by Anne Somerset. Is that what you meant?
I found the book title... Ladies in Waiting From the Tudors to the Present Day in case anyone else was wondering.
I can't find the thread for questions about whether or not a book counts for a challenge, so I'm going to ask it here. Does Three Cups of Tea count for military? It's a bit of a stretch.
Also, can someone tell me where that other thread is?
We have all been asking our questions here, I don't know if there is a separate thread for questions.
Courtney - 3 Cups of Tea isn't what I'm looking for for that task.
Linda wrote: "We have all been asking our questions here, I don't know if there is a separate thread for questions."There isn't a separate one, but that might make it easier to keep track of all the questions! :)
Make sure the book you get has 400 pages! The versions of that book I've seen on here only have pages up to the high 300s!
I have a question- I just looked and can't see anything but has anyone heard anything about the last 25 point task? I think is was Darla's? I remember Cynthia saying if she didn't hear from her soon it'd be cut out I think and I don't want to miss it.Sorry if it's somewhere since then and I haven't seen it.
♡ Eva ♡ wrote: "I have a question- I just looked and can't see anything but has anyone heard anything about the last 25 point task? I think is was Darla's? I remember Cynthia saying if she didn't hear from her soon it'd be cut out..."I just know that when/if Cynthia gets Darla's task, it will be posted in that first or second post on the 1st page of this forum. I keep checking there, but I haven't seen it yet...
I don't know if Cynthia answered this question yet or not but does Midnight Sun count for the ebook task?
I have a question for Jon:I have 3 books on my TBR shelf pertaining to Elizabth I and Eleanor of Aquitaine (she WAS French but DID marry Hanry II and given birth to Richard the Lion heart so she was kinda Britsh), none of them is individually 400 pages, but together they are 800. If I read all 3 can I count them for your task?
I am sooooooo loving cleaning off my TBR shelf with this challenge!
15 Points10. Read the third, fourth, and fifth books of one series.
3.Undead and Unappreciated
4.Undead and Unreturnable
5.Undead and Unpopular --Mary Janice Davidson
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I'm new and have never done this before, but I'm excited to give it a whirl!!
I have not heard from Darla yet but I will post her task when and if I get it as soon I get it.Midnight Sun would be fine for the e-book task.
Here's a second attempt at the military theme...Going Overboard The Misadventures of a Military Wife
Will this count? :)
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5 Points
1 - Coraline by Neil Gaiman
2 - Anne Frank The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank
3 - Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
4 - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling audiobook5 - Memnoch the Devil by Anne Rice
6 - [[book:Girl, Interrupted|68783] by Susanna Kaysen
7 - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling audiobook
8 -
9 - The Midnight Kittens by Dodie Smith
10 - The House of Thunder by Dean Koontz
10 Points
1 - In the Woods by Tana French
2 - Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
3 - not yet
4 - Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman
5 - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling
6 - Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer
7 - Pandora by Anne Rice
8 - Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier
9 - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
10 - http://www.goodreads.com/review/list/... Interview With the Vampire
15 Points
1 - Nightmare in Pink by John D. MacDonald
2 - Message by Fernando Pessoa
3 - Dracula by Bram Stoker
4 - Blindness by José Saramago
5 - The Witches of Eastwick by John Updike
6 - Another View by Rosamunde Pilcher read in Portugues7 - ---
8 - Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling audiobook
9 - not yet
10 - ---
25 Points
1 - not yet
2 - not yet
3 - not yet
4 - Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
5 - not yet
6 - not yet
7 - not yet
8 - Twilight and Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer
9 - not yet
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