**Spring Reading Challenge - 1/9/15 - 30/11/15**

[[deleted user]]

I'm going to go 5 Across and 5 Down:

5 Across
Science fiction : Never Let Me Go
With a one –word title: Infinity
Set in Australia :Wildlife
With a child on cover : A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
Suspense or Crime :The Keeper of Lost Causes
5 Down
By an aussie author you’ve net read: tba
Set in another country:The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
Book turned into a movie:tba
Female main character: Throne of Glass
Suspense or crime :The Boy in the Suitcase

[Heather]

I'm going to read 4 Across and 5 Down
A lot of these books cover more than one selection
Two Year TBR - The Ghost Riders of Ordebec
Favorite genre Crime - Night Watch
From a friends TBR - The Girl on the Train
With a Red Cover - Me Before You
Female main character - Bones Are Forever
By an aussie author you've never read - Mr Wigg
Set in another country - Taken for Dead
Book turned into a movie - Before I Go to Sleep
Female Main Character - Silent Mercy
Suspense or Crime - Dead Heat

[Andrea]

I don't usually do the seasonal challenges, but this one will help me prioritise the remaining books in my personal challenges.

#2 down
Cover you love

Australian author Unforgivable
Historical fiction The Visitors
Favourite genre (memoir) A Fort of Nine Towers: An Afghan Family Story
One-word title S.

#5 down
Aussie author (never read) Deadly Messengers
Set in another country Mornings in Jenin
Book turned into movie Half of a Yellow Sun
Female main character Baking Cakes In Kigali
Crime The Merry Misogynist

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Some more great book choices! Great job everyone!

[Andrea]

RitaSkeeter wrote: "You have two there I have in my personal challenge for this year, so I'll be interested to see what you think of them. ..."

Which ones? I think The Visitors came from your 'top 5 of 2014', but so far I've been a bit daunted by the length of it.

[Odette]

Count me in

I will be doing the first row across and the second row down. Will post my choices later when I see what will be available from the Library.

[Ian]

Good challenge! (Book Bingo - September)


Two down
Love that Cover - Robert Drewe: The Bodysurfers
Australian Author - David Ireland: The Unknown Industrial Prisoner
Historical Fiction – Andrea Barrett: The Voyage of the Narwhal
Favourite Genre – Biography – Rudi Blesh: Keaton
One-Word Title - Jane Austen: Emma

Three Across

Young Adult – Tim Winton: Lockie Leonard, Human Torpedo
Historical Fiction – Kate Morton: The Shifting Fog
Random TBR – Hector Arce: Gary Cooper, an Intimate Biography
Novella – Thomas Mann: Death in Venice
Book turned into a movie – Harper Lee: To Kill a Mockingbird

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Nice list Ian! Welcome to the group and the challenge:)

[Ian]

Ian wrote: "Good challenge! (Book Bingo - September)


Two down
Love that Cover - Robert Drewe: The Bodysurfers
Australian Author - David Ireland: [book:The Unkno..."

Thank you Brenda, you have done a very clever matrix. I worked on a number of mixes to come up with the final one, it was very stimulating. Looking forward to 1 September.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Excellent! Enjoy the challenge and also browsing the other threads:) Australia has a large number of Aussie authors who are into the crime writing, which I see you enjoy...hopefully we can get you liking some of it!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

I have just added another section of this to my original list... #3 down is the extra one, so now 20 books to read over the quarter. My new list is:

5 Across

a) Science Fiction - TimeSplash by Graham Storrs

b) One Word Title - Ella by Virginia Taylor

c) Set in Australia - Jacaranda Wife by Kendra Smith

d) Child on Cover - Star Promise by G.J. Walker-Smith

e) Suspense or Crime - Crucifixion Creek by Barry Maitland

2 Down

a) Love the Cover - The French Promise by Fiona McIntosh

b) Australian Author - My Brother-But-One by T.M. Clark

c) Historical Fiction - Mistress to the Crown by Isolde Martyn

d) Favourite Genre - Hidden Bodies by Caroline Kepnes

e) One Word Title - Alert: by James Patterson

4 Across

a) On TBR over 2 years - Dead Simple by Peter James

b) Favourite Genre - Here We Lie by Sophie McKenzie

c) Friend's TBR (Carolyn & Phrynne) - Dying Light by Stuart MacBride

d) Red Cover - The Kalista Diamond by Erin Moira O'Hara

e) Female Main Character - The Saddler Boys by Fiona Palmer

3 Down

a) Published 2015 - Curve My Heart by Sarah Gai

b) On Best Seller list - Close Your Eyes by Michael Robotham

c) Random TBR - Go Set a Watchman by Harper Lee

d) Friend's TBR (Carolyn) - Huntress Moon by Alexandra Sokoloff

e) Set in Aust - The Profiler by Chris Taylor

All subject to change as usual:)

[Carolyn]

That's a lot of books Brenda,but I'm sure you'll do it :)

Should all be good reads. I have The Profiler and Dying Light to read for other challenges and Here We Lie to read for NG so will be interested in your reviews!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

I have you down for the first two as my TBR friend Carolyn:) I've been tossing about whether to add another 5 to the 15 I had down...finally decided to go for it!!

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Brenda wrote: "I have you down for the first two as my TBR friend Carolyn:) I've been tossing about whether to add another 5 to the 15 I had down...finally decided to go for it!!"

Just read the whole grid Brenda. You know you can do it :)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Haha! I did think of it Phrynne;)

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Go on. You know you want to :):)
If you do it I will do it too. There's a challenge:)

[Kathryn]

Phrynne wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I have you down for the first two as my TBR friend Carolyn:) I've been tossing about whether to add another 5 to the 15 I had down...finally decided to go for it!!"

Just read the whole grid Brenda. You know you can do it :)"

Brenda wrote: "Haha! I did think of it Phrynne;)..."

Yeah, I reckon!! If I'm going to try for it, you would definitely manage it!!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Phrynne wrote: "Go on. You know you want to :):)
If you do it I will do it too. There's a challenge:)"

I couldn't do the whole grid now anyway as I've crossed over some of the squares...I'll leave it as it as; thanks for the challenge Phrynne:)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Kathryn wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Brenda wrote: "I have you down for the first two as my TBR friend Carolyn:) I've been tossing about whether to add another 5 to the 15 I had down...finally decided to go for it!!"

..."

I'll watch your progress from the sidelines Kathryn;)

[Stef]

That is a good way to look at it. I should try to do at least 2 or 3!

[Rosie]

I'd like to join in on this :)

Five down:
By Aussie author - When the Night Comes
Set in another country- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Book turned into movie- The Firm
Female main character- Sister
Suspense or crime- Pretty Girls

Five across:
Suspense or crime - Runner
With child on the cover- Shadow
Set in Australia- Eden
With one word title - Rubbernecker
science-fiction - The Martian

[Phrynne, Series Queen!]

Brenda wrote: "Phrynne wrote: "Go on. You know you want to :):)
If you do it I will do it too. There's a challenge:)"

I couldn't do the whole grid now anyway as I've crossed over some of the squares...I'll leave..."

Forgot about the crossovers. We already have those planned. I will stick to my 15 books as well:)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Probably safest;)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Rosie wrote: "I'd like to join in on this :)

Five down:
By Aussie author - When the Night Comes
Set in another country- The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest
Book turned into mov..."

Nice list Rosie! Only a week (and a few hours) and we can all start:D

[Bronwyn]

1 DOWN
Shortlisted/Won a prize: A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L'Engle
"Everyone" has read: The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
YA Aussie Author: Six Impossible Things by Fiona Wood
TBR 2+ Years: Soulbound by Tessa Adams
Science Fiction: Saturn Returns by Sean Williams

5 ACROSS
Science Fiction: Aurora by Kim Stanley Robinson
With a one word title: Girt: The Unauthorised History of Australia by David Hunt
Set in Australia: Dirt Music by Tim Winton
Child on the Cover: The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
Suspense or Crime: Hades by Candice Fox

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Great list Bronwyn - I especially love this cover!


I was peering up closely for the little girl and there she was! Gorgeous!

[Bronwyn]

Brenda wrote: "Great list Bronwyn - I especially love this cover!

"
I had to do the same Brenda! The title has had me intrigued for awhile so had to check the cover to make sure it fit:)

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Now you'll have to let us know what it's like..the cover intrigues me too:)

[Suzie]

I'm going with 3 across and 5 down. I've added some titles from the winter challenge that I didn't get to read. My book selections are:

YA Aussie: Seven Little Australians by Ethel Turner
Hist fic: The Denniston Rose by Jenny Pattrick
Random: Eugenia by Mark Tedeschi
Novella: A Single Man by Christopher Isherwood
Book to movie: Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

Aussie never read: Back O' Cairns by Ion L. Idriess
Another country: House of Cards by Michael Dobbs
Book to movie: Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
Female main character: Beloved by Toni Morrison
Crime: Body Double by Tess Gerritsen

[Chris]

I'll be reading 3 Across and 2 Down.

3 Across

YA: Empower
Historical Fiction: The White Princess
Random TBR book: Secret Keeping for Beginners
A Novella: Tea with Emma swap for Happenstance changed to Breakfast at Tiffany's
Book to Movie: Gone Girl

2 Down
Love the Cover: or changed to We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves
Aussie Author: Elianne changed to Emblaze
Historical Fiction: Sunset Ridge
Favourite Genre: The Secret Years
One Word Title: Endless

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Christina that's an excellent list! Can you try to choose another novella please, as Tea with Emma doesn't have the required 125 page count:) Sorry!

[Chris]

Oops! Sure can. I shall have another browse. :-)

[Chris]

Swapping Tea with Emma to Happenstance

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Christina wrote: "Swapping Tea with Emma to Happenstance"

LOL! That one has 100 Christina!!! 125+ :D

[Chris]

Brenda wrote: "Christina wrote: "Swapping Tea with Emma to Happenstance"

LOL! That one has 100 Christina!!! 125+ :D"

Oh! Arghh! When I downloaded it from iBooks it said 131pages.
Back to the drawing board- Is it possible to read them both and call it one?

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Christina wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Christina wrote: "Swapping Tea with Emma to Happenstance"

LOL! That one has 100 Christina!!! 125+ :D"

Oh! Arghh! When I downloaded it from iBooks it..."

Okay! I just went back to your book link then clicked on "editions"..it lists them all. The 3rd one down has 131 pages..but they are all different! Crazy! Click on the actual title with 131 pages, then use that one in your challenge list. It will show the correct pages then:) By always choosing the one you own (via ISBN/ASIN) you'll always have the correct page count :)

Hope that makes sense!

[Kathryn]

I always think book pages seem a very arbitrary thing, and rather pointless to count - especially if you're looking at e-books - because you can make them as many pages as you like, just by varying the font size!!

[Chris]

Brenda wrote: "Christina wrote: "Brenda wrote: "Christina wrote: "Swapping Tea with Emma to Happenstance"

LOL! That one has 100 Christina!!! 125+ :D"

Oh! Arghh! When I downloaded..."

Thanks, Brenda!

[Zoey]

Kathryn wrote: "I always think book pages seem a very arbitrary thing, and rather pointless to count - especially if you're looking at e-books - because you can make them as many pages as you like, just by varying..."

and they can vary so much for each edition. Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Mass market Paperback, e-book. Sometimes 200-300 pages difference for large books.

[Kathryn]

Zoey wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "I always think book pages seem a very arbitrary thing, and rather pointless to count - especially if you're looking at e-books - because you can make them as many pages as you like,..."

I know - it's ludicrous!

[Melanie]

Finally narrowed my reading list down.

2 Down.
1. Love that cover- Hollow City by Ransom Riggs


2. By an Australian author- The Road to Gundagai by Jackie French

3. Historical Fiction- Caleb's Crossing by Geraldine Brooks

4. Favourite Genre- Leningrad: The Epic Siege of World War II, 1941-1944 by Anna Reid (non-fiction.)

5. With a one-word title- Grey by E.L. James

5 down.
1. By an Australian author you’ve never read- Territory by Judy Nunn

2. Set in another country- The Man Who Broke Into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II by Denis Avey (Denis Avey and Rob Broomby)

3. Book turned into a movie- Atonement by Ian McEwan

4. Female main character- Summer's Child by Diane Chamberlain

5. Suspense or Crime- The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Some great titles there Melanie!

[Sally906]

Kathryn wrote: "I always think book pages seem a very arbitrary thing, and rather pointless to count - especially if you're looking at e-books - because you can make them as many pages as you like, just by varying..."
That's not quite right Kathryn. Yes you can change the size of the font that will temporarily make your own personal number of pages on your own device change - but the actual publisher's specifications on Goodreads is the one that counts.

If the edition says 200 pages then that is what counts - if you make your font so large it becomes 400 pages - doesn't count.

It's so we can all play on an even field.

[Kathryn]

Sally906 wrote: "That's not quite right Kathryn. Yes you can change the size of the font that will temporarily make your own personal number of pages on your own device change - but the actual publisher's specifications on Goodreads is the one that counts.

If the edition says 200 pages then that is what counts - if you make your font so large it becomes 400 pages - doesn't count.

It's so we can all play on an even field...."

Yes, I get that, but it’s still VERY arbitrary, in my opinion - I just checked the latest ibook that I downloaded - Bronwyn Parry’s As Darkness Falls - there are 3 ebook editions - one with 278 pages, one with 384 pages and one that doesn’t say how many pages it has. And when I change the font size in iBooks, no matter how I change the font size, I can never get either 278 or 384 pages!!

And the Goodreads entries aren't entered by the publishers anyway, are they? Aren't they entered by people just like us - who probably download a book to their e-reader/iPad etc, open it up, realise that their edition isn't on Goodreads (or think it isn't, even if it is!) and then enter it with the number of pages as per their e-reader? Or is there a website which lists the pages of e-books according to a standard font size?

[Kathryn]

Zoey wrote: "and they can vary so much for each edition. Hardcover, Trade Paperback, Mass market Paperback, e-book. Sometimes 200-300 pages difference for large books..."

I know - and it's not as though you're reading any less or any more - you're just reading a different version, but with the same number of words!!

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Kathryn wrote: "Sally906 wrote: "That's not quite right Kathryn. Yes you can change the size of the font that will temporarily make your own personal number of pages on your own device change - but the actual publ..."

When we librarians enter new books into the database, we take all of the information from the publishers' sites. I personally do that, plus I have taken page numbers which correspond to the ISBN from my owned paperbacks when they are either incorrect or not shown.

[Kathryn]

Brenda wrote: "Kathryn wrote: "Sally906 wrote: "That's not quite right Kathryn. Yes you can change the size of the font that will temporarily make your own personal number of pages on your own device change - but..."

I've never actually bothered to enter e-books before (physical books are easy - all the information is in my hand, but e-books have just seemed too hard!) - but is the information almost always on the publisher's website?? That makes it easier - and makes the information a little more reliable.

[Brenda, Aussie Authors Queen]

Yes it is (unless it's self pub) but you can always ask me (or another librarian) to enter it for you:)

[Kathryn]

Brenda wrote: "Yes it is (unless it's self pub) but you can always ask me (or another librarian) to enter it for you:)"

Thanks, Brenda!

[Melanie]

Brenda wrote: "Some great titles there Melanie!"

Thanks Brenda. I hope to get it all done however I have started studying again so might not.