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SP 2014 RwS Completed Tasks - Spring 2014

The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test by Tom Wolfe
+20 Task (author born in the state of Virginia where I currently live)
+5 Oldies
+5 Combo 10.8B-publication year
+10 not-a-novel (shelved as NF at BPL)
Post Total: 40
Season Total: 1145

Oh my! I am sorry you've had such a stressful time and thank goodness everything is fine!

The Haunted Bookshop by Christopher Morley
+20 Task (Melville)
+10 Oldies
+5 Combo 20.1
Post Total: 35
Season Total: 1180

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss 5/25/14
Black has only one vowel, A.
Combo 20.5 Othello - this book is the biography of General Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, father of the author Alexandre Dumas. He was born in Haiti to a black slave and a white man. Taken to Paris by his father, Dumas was one of a number of mixed race persons from the Caribbean who lived in France, and he rose to the rank of General in Napoleon's army.
+20 Task
+5 Combo (20.5)
+10 Non-fiction (biography)
Task total: 35 points
EotP Total: 185
EotP Completion Bonus: 0
RwS Total: 1245
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 0
Grand Total: 1530

Can't believe you were just quietly reading along with all of that! So glad to hear everything is going to work out so positively!

Elizabeth, my reading did fall off after I was told on May 16th that I had to see a neurosurgeon. The really scary part was when I got a copy of the referral in the mail on Friday evening spelling out the specific cancer, Gliomatosis Cerebri. I'm so glad the neurosurgeon fit me in his schedule so quickly!

A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin 5/28/14
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Fiction (1969)
+15 Task
+5 Pre-1990 (Pub 1968)
Task total: 20 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1245
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 1900
I think I should have my finishes with this one. Thanks, Kate, for the recommendation of this book, which is read in the audio version by Rob Inglis. His voice is so soothing when you need to de-stress.

Connie wrote: "10.8 War of the Roses
Pilgrim at Tinker Creek by Annie Dillard
+10 task
+ 5 oldie (published 1974)
Task total: 15
Grand total: 205"
+1..."
Thank you, Kate.

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling
+10 Task
+5 Jumbo (651 pp)
Task Total: 15
Grand Total: 315

Norwood by Charles Portis
+10 Task (1966)
+ 5 Oldies
Task total=15
Grand total=1185

The Taming of the Shrew by William Shakespeare
+20 pts -task
+ 20 pts- combo (10.2, 10.4, 20.1, 20.3)
+ 10 pts - not novel
+ 25 pts - oldies
Task total - 75pts
grand total - 2070 pts

The Marriage Contract by Honoré de Balzac
+20 Task (1799-1850)
+15 Oldies (pub 1835)
Task Total = 35
Grand Total = 820
And, while I might have time to slip in another 125 page Balzac, I think I'll give him a rest for a few weeks. This will do it for me for spring!

Cigarettes by Harry Mathews
Harry Mathews was born in NYC & I currently live in Brooklyn, NY.
+20 task
+5 combo (10.8 - war of Roses)
+5 oldies (pub. 1987)
Task total: 30
Grand Total: 900

Words Under the Words: Selected Poems by Naomi Shihab Nye
+20 Task (b. in St. Louis - I live in Missouri)
+10 Not-a-novel (poetry)
+5 Combo (20.8 - words)
Task total: 35
Grand total: 700
I think that's probably it. We'll see if I finish the other book I'm reading.

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
+20 pts - task
+ 5 pts - task
Task total - 25 pts
Grand Total- 2095 pts
Connie
I'm very glad I got to this book. I think I am pretty aware of the political/ racial and historical issues of the Middle East and have long held an interest in the Judeo/Islamic/Christian perspectives. Their common grounds, contrasts and concerns and how this is affecting politics today as well as historically and the future of my grandchild.
However, I have found that I have been very neglectful of the Chechnya issue. All I remember hearing from media is the recent tragedy of the Boston Marathon bombings, an elementary school being taking over and I vaguely recall a theatre held hostage in which the Russian military ended up killing more hostages by bumbling rescue efforts, I'm not even sure if that had anything to do with Chechnya. This is the first thing I've read that has given the Chechnyian PoV, and I greatly appreciate it since we seem to only hear of the Chechnya terrorists without learning what set off the powder keg.
With what has been going on in Crimea and the Ukraine now, this book was timely. Thank you for selecting this book and giving us an opportunity to get a better sense of balance on this tragic war.

At Home: A Short History of Private Life by Bill Bryson
+20 Task ("Short")
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
Task Total = 30
Grand Total = 380

So I heard my twins saying,
"It's the end of the month and we don't have any clean socks and underwear in our dresser drawers. Mom must be trying to finish one of those book challenge things"
It made me feel guilty because I'm usually just desperately trying to finish the challenge but this time I have no excuse!

The Ides of March by Thornton Wilder (Takes place in Rome)
+20 Task
+15 Combo (10.5(http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thornt...), 20.1(1897-1975), 20.8(March))
+5 Oldies (published 1948)
Task total: 40 pts
Grand total: 205 pts

A Constellation of Vital Phenomena by Anthony Marra
+20 pts - task
+ 5 pts - task
Task total - 25 pts
Connie
I'm very glad I got to this book. I..."
Thanks for your nice comment, Rebekah.

So I heard my twins saying,
"It's the end of the mo..."
You can read while you wait for the washer and read while you wait for the dryer. :)

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen 5/30/14
Jane Austen lived from 1775 to 1817.
+20 Task
+10 Combos (10.3 posted 696 times historical fiction, 10.4 #109 on the list)
+15 Oldies (pub. 1811)
Task total: 45 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1290
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 1945

Fake ID by Lamar Giles
+20 Task (Giles was born in VA http://www.lamargiles.com/about/, where I live)
YA No Lexile
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 2185

Sex Criminals, Volume 1: One Weird Trick by Matt Fraction
+20 Task (trIck)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 2225

Thunder on the Right by Mary Stewart
+20 task (1916-2014)
+10 Combo (10.8, 20.8 – right)
+5 Oldies (published 1957)
Task Total: 35 points
Grand Total: 1880 points

So I heard my twins saying,
"It's t..."
If they'll leave me alone! ha-ha Usually when I clean kitchen or iron, I have an audiobook going and it is the best thing when stuck in traffic!

OMG! I'm just catching up on posts.
Theresa, you should win the Outstanding Reader of the Year prize for completing the challenge and beyond under the greatest distress! Admiration is coming your way, big time, from me!

Theresa, you should win the Outstanding Reader of the Year prize for completing the challenge and beyond under the greatest distress! Admiration is coming your way, big time, from me! "
Me too. So glad that awful diagnosis turned out to be wrong!

Hamlet by William Shakespeare 5/30/14
Hamlet is #33 on the first list.
+20 Task
+15 Combos (10.2 - play, 10.4 #33, 20.1 lived 1564-1616)
+10 Not-a-Novel (play)
+25 Oldies (pub. 1601)
Task total: 70 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1360
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 2015


Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare 5/31/14
Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616
+20 Task
+10 Combos (10.2 - play, 10.4 #313)
+10 Not-a-Novel (play)
+25 Oldies (pub. 1602)
Task total: 65 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1425
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 2080

The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
That's my last book for this season!
Thanks to mods and everybody for another great challenge :)
And congratulations on your mega finish Theresa!
+20 task http://www.nybooks.com/books/imprints...
+20 combo (10.4, 20.1 lived 1866-1946, 20.2, 20.8 worlds)
+10 oldies (1898)
Task total: 50 points
Grand total: 1745

Antony and Cleopatra by William Shakespeare 5/31/14
Shakespeare lived from 1564 to 1616
+20 Task
+15 Combos (10.2 - play, 10.4 #305, 10.6 #15)
+10 Not-a-Novel (play)
+25 Oldies (pub. 1606)
Task total: 70 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1495
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 2150

The Art of War by Sun Tzu 5/31/14
This book was shelved as war 315 times.
+20 Task
+10 Combos (10.4 #192, 20.1 Author lived 544-496 BC)
+10 Non-Western (author born and lived in ancient China)
+10 Not-a-Novel (non-fiction)
+25 Oldies (pub. ~512 BC)
Task total: 75 points
EotP Total: 205
EotP Completion Bonus: 150
RwS Total: 1570
RwS Bonus: 100
Mega Bonus: 200
Grand Total: 2225

2009 Ditmar
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
+15 pts - task
+10 pts - multiple ( world fantasy, pintz)
Task total - 25 pts
Grand total - 2120 pts
Last one. On to Laundry!

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls
+10 Task - #178 on list
+10 Combo (10.6 - #49 on Women and Mental Illness list, 20.8 - glass)
+10 Not a Novel (memoir)
Task total: 30 points
Grand Total: 220

2010 - John W. Campbell Award
The Windup Girl byPaolo Bacigalupi
+15 Task
+10 Multiple (Nebula Awards 2010)
Task total: 25 pts
Grand total: 230 pts
Yay! Thank you for a great spring challenge.

King Lear by William Shakespeare
+20 Task
+10 Not-a-Novel
+25 Oldies
+10 Combo (10.2, 10.4)
Task Total: 65
Grand Total: 2290

The Montessori Method by Maria Montessori
+20 Task (translated from Italian)
+10 Not-a-Novel
+10 Oldies (pub. 1909)
+5 Combo (20.1)
Task Total: 45
Grand Total: 2335

2008 IMPAC
Home by Marilynne Robinson
+15 Task
+10 Multi (also Bailey's)
Post Total: 25
Season Total: 1205

1976 National Book Award
The Spectator Bird by Wallace Stegner
+15 Task
+5 Before 1990
Post Total: 20
Season Total:1225

The Bookman's Tale by Charlie Lovett
+10 Task
+100 RwS Finish
+200 Mega Finish
Post Total: 310
Season Total: 1535

The Burning Plain and Other Stories by Juan Rulfo
+10 task
+10 not-a-novel
+10 non-Western
+5 oldies (pub. 1953)
Task total: 35
Grand Total: 935

Crazy Horse and Custer: The Parallel Lives of Two American Warriors by Stephen E. Ambrose
+20 Task b. 1936 d. 2002
+5 Combo 10.8 (first published 1975)
+5 Oldies (first published 1975)
+10 Not-a-novel (nonfiction)
Task total: 40
Grand Total: 565

Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows by Joe Hill
+20 Task (crOwn)
Task Total: 20
Grand Total: 2355
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Books mentioned in this topic
Love's Labour's Lost (other topics)Locke & Key, Vol. 3: Crown of Shadows (other topics)
Home (other topics)
Crazy Horse and Custer (other topics)
The Burning Plain and Other Stories (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
William Shakespeare (other topics)Joe Hill (other topics)
Marilynne Robinson (other topics)
Stephen E. Ambrose (other topics)
Juan Rulfo (other topics)
More...
Hornet's Nest by Patricia Cornwell
+10 Task
Post Total: 10
Season Total: 1105