The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS
25.2. DONNA JO'S TASK - Find Two Authors Who Are Related By Blood Or Marriage And Read A Book By Each. If By Marriage, It Need Not Be Permanent At The Time The Books Were Written. (In Other Words, The Book(S) Could Have Been Written Before Or After Said Marriage.)• In Your Post Please Be Sure To State The Relationship Between The Authors. For Instance, Anne McCaffrey Is The Mother Of Todd McCaffrey. Ted Hughes Was The Husband Of Sylvia Plath.
Felix Francis Dead Heat and Dick Francis- 10 lb. Penalty
Dick-Father and Felix-Son
25 points
505 total
Petra wrote: "Manday wrote: "I finally completed another task - 20.3 I read Shutter Island. It was OK. I can see why they are making it into a movie, its pretty much a movie in book form right n..."
I agree that Shutter Island is very cinematic. But I thought Mystic River as a book was better than the movie. While the movie was good, it was disappointing having read the book first. I'm interested to see how the movie version of Shutter Island comes out.
Mister Teacher by Jack Sheffield, andEducating Rita by Willy Russell
for challenge 15.10 (Teacher and Student)
...hopefully that bags me another 15 points making 195.
...looking forward to getting past 200 for halfway to my target
:)
Vicki wrote: "The Ring by Danielle Steel for task 10.5 This book was set in Germany This is my first task completed"Welcome, Vicki. I knew you could do it.
5 Point Tasks 1)Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy #1) by Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
2)The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, and Leviathan by Robert Shea, Robert Anson Wilson
3)On Stranger Tides by Tim powers
10)The Time Traveler’s Wife by Audrey Nifenegger
10 Point Tasks
4)Times of Butterfly by Julia Alvarez
8)The word is :Barrier, The Invisible Wall: The Love story that broke Barriers by Harry Bernstein
9)The Killer Angel by Michael Shaara
10)Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut
15 Point Tasks
1)The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Steig Larsson and The Girl Who played with fire by Steig Larsson
2)1984 by George Orwell
5)Momo by Micheal Ende and The Glass Bead Game by Hermann Hesse
6)Walt Disney: An American Original by Bob Thomas, Walt Disney Company
7)Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen read by Stina Nielsen
8)Initials: AN: Australia: While I live (Ellie Chronicles #1) by John Marsden and N: Norway: Kristen Lavransadatter by Sigrid Undset
9)Coming Home by Rosamunde Pilcher, HW assignment: TBD
20 Point Tasks
1)Keeping Faith by Jodi Picoult
2) Along for the Ride by Sarah Dessen TBD
25 Point Tasks
2)The Ropemaker by Peter Dickinson and The Blue Sword by Robin Mckinley
3)Boy Meets Boy by David Levithan
4)Hoot by Carl Hiaasen
5)Pawn of Prophecy by David Eddings
6)Team of Rivals: The political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kerns
7)TBD, Sarah’s Key by Tatiana De Rosnay, and The Marvelous Effect by Troy Cle
8)Fledgling: JASON STEED by Mark A. Cooper, Great Call of CHINA by Cynthia Liu, Perdido Street STATION by China Mieville
30 Point Tasks
1)Prospero Children by Jan Siegel and Assassin's aprrentice by Robin Hobb
TBD
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Task 5-2 Apple on the book cover.I read Twilightby Stephenie Meyer.
Task 5-3 Main Character travels at sea.
I read The Story of a Shipwrecked Sailor by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.
Task 10-3 Barenstain Task:
I read 3 children stories. Total 144 pages--each for children age 4-8 years old.
Jo-Jo the Melon Donkey by Michael Morpurgo, Yellow Bananas My Brother Bernadette by Jacqueline Wilson and Design a Pram by Ann Fine.
Task 10-6 Native American.
I read Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer.
Hope this book counts because Jacob is a Quillette Indian. (and I read from some thread that it's ok for this task.)
10.3- I read a collection of children's stories.The Brothers Grimm: Popular Folk Tales 192 pg.
Cindy WA Total-120 pt
Just finished Task 25.10 Sam's Task.I read Vampire Close, a little love story that was one part vampire love story and one part Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Total Points: 145
Cynthia,There was a discrepancy in my last post so I've reposted all my points.
Jen MO
5.3 Treasure Island
5.5 The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
5.8 Sundays at Tiffany’s James Patterson and Gabrielle Charbonnet
10.8 Olivia Kidney by Ellen Potter (Kidney word 10)
10.9 Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
15.3 Addition: 13 Stargirl, Jerry Spinelli
Division: 7th : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by JK Rowling
15.4 Out of the Silent Planet by CS Lewis, watched Myth Busters and Nat Geo Naked Science
20.1 The Screwtape Letters by CS Lewis
25.10 Devil Bones by Kathy Reichs
30.1 Immunity by Lori Andrews (current job, Immunology research), Nature Noir by Jordan Fisher Smith (park ranger, childhood dream job)
Total:140 (previously was 45 but listed as 40)
5.3 In the Heart of the Sea The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel PhilbrickA wonderful non-fiction book looking at the sinking of the whaleship that inspired Moby Dick and the aftermath. Truly an amazing story of survival.
Total points: 150
I completed task 10.6 by reading Streams to the River, River to the Sea by Scott O'Dell. I was originally going to read another book but chose this when I decided to change what I was teaching for our upcoming quarter. I really enjoyed this historical fiction YA novel about the life of Sacagawea and her travels with Lewis and Clark and I think my kids will too! Can't wait to teach it![image error]
Finished up Wendy's positive gay character task with David Sedaris's Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - my husband and I have great fun winding down with the audiobooks of his work at the end of the day.Current Total: 205 points
15.9: The Work and the Glory, Volume 9 All Is Wellby Gerald N. LundHomework assignment: There is more than 1 reason why the Donner party came to such a tragic end. Write a 2 page paper about the Donnor party and what mistakes they made or problems that arose which that brought their demise upon them.
Points: 15
Total Points: 170
Total Pages: 6043
Latest update:5.9 - The Graveyard Book (audio book)
10.2 - The Dart League King (cocaine)
15.7 - The Gunslinger (audio book)
20.3 - Shutter Island
25.7 - Gossamer - Lois Lowry; The Somnabulist - Johnathon Barnes; Lords of Corruption - Kyle Mills
Total Points: 75
5 points #6 - Terrifying titlesI read
I'm Not Scared which contains the predicate adjective "scared" for all of you English nerds like me. Review posted in my section. Very disturbing book. This should bring me to 75 points.
15.2 Rewriting History - One Thousand White Women The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus. Great book.Do I think this country would be better today if the author's version really happened. No. It was a very interesting premise and very thought-provoking. It was definitely an "out-there" idea by the Cheyenne, but thought out with the promotion of peace in mind. The problem, unfortunately, lied in the ignorance of our country and our attitudes toward the Native Americans. What our country did was reprehensible and the solution should not have been educating and civilizing the Native peoples, but educating the white man instead and changing our prejudicial and narrow-minded views.
Total Points: 585/690
Books Read: 53 (+ 8 Berenstain Bears books)
Tasks Completed: 39/45
Tasks in Progress: 2
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Ryan wrote: "Latest update:5.9 - The Graveyard Book (audio book)
10.2 - The Dart League King (cocaine)
15.7 - The Gunslinger (audio book)
20.3 - Shutter Island
25.7 - Gossamer - Lois Lowry; The Somnabul..."The Graveyard Book ISN'T Coming of Age.
Maxi wrote: "5 Point Tasks
1)Daughter of the Empire (The Empire Trilogy #1) by Raymond E. Feist, Janny Wurts
2)The Illuminatus! Trilogy: The Eye in the Pyramid, The Golden Apple, and Leviathan by Robert Shea,..."
A few problems with the tasks you posted for 5.4 a formal adoption needs to occur which doesn't happen in The Secret Life Of Bees; The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline is not a coming of age story, for 15.4 it's mix and match both of those are sci-fi one needed to be actual science, 15.10 requires 2 books not one, 25.1 Seasons does not rhyme with anything in The Well Of Lost Plots (a word from each title needed to rhyme), and 25.9 also requires two books...so as of now your points stand at 115.
WHEW I finally got all the updates to the leaderboard (I hope) so please do check to be sure everything is right and I didn't miss something.Cynthia
15 pts #3 Addition: (12 letters)
Read: The Sailor Who Fell From Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima
Subtraction: (17 letters)The Thirteenth Tale
That should take me to 85 pts.
Hi Cynthia!The leaderboard has me at 200 but I was at 210 - I think one of these recent 10 point tasks may have been lost in the shuffle:
10.1: Lolita - Nabokov (10/3)
10.10: Cat's Cradle - Vonnegut (10/4)
I have also completed Task 15.6. I read Lullaby - Chuck Palahniuk (10/7) ****4 stars
I listened to 3 cds: Rockabye Baby: Lullaby Renditions of The Beatles, Coldplay, and Radiohead. The cds are pretty cool for what they are, and were great when my youngest daughter was an infant. Now that she's almost 2, though, I think her and I both would prefer to just listen to the actual bands themselves. She's got good taste in music already. Her favorite songs right now are "Uprising" by Muse and "Ulysses" by Franz Ferdinand (ok, and Jack's Big Music Show). :o)
That brings me to:
Total Points: 225/690
Books Read: 28/60
Tasks Completed: 17/45
Pages Read: 8,841
Cynthia, let me know if there are any discrepancies. Thank you!
I have just read the book for the 15.9 homework task. The book was Home by Marilynne Robinson and here is the homework I would set for an English class who had just read this book:In 500 words write what the word 'Home' conjures up for you.
Previous reads
5.2 Apple a day - Notes on a Scandal by Zoe Heller
5.4 Adoption - Digging to America by Anne Tyler
10.1 Buddy Holly's lifetime - Scoop by Evelyn Waugh
10.10 The Cat's Meow - Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami
15.3 Addition - Salmon Fishing in the Yemen by Paul Torday (Alice Gould) Muliplication - Everything is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer (10x27=270, 276 pages)
20.3 Group Read - Shutter Island by Dennis LeHane
25.5 Fortune in the title - Fortune's Rocks by Anita Shreve
25.8 Nouns - person The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde, thing Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, place Brick Lane by Monica Ali
30.1 current job and dream job - The History Man by Malcolm Bradbury(I work in a University) and The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield (I would love to own a bookshop).
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Cynthia wrote: "WHEW I finally got all the updates to the leaderboard (I hope) so please do check to be sure everything is right and I didn't miss something.Cynthia"
I thought my total was 390 and added my 5 point task made it 395, but you gave me 10 to make it 400 can you double check? thanks,
Happy Birthday, Bad Kitty10.10
new total 405 or 410, waiting for clarifaction on total
This book was longer than the one I read for the Civil War task.
Finished 15.7 Let's Get Physical (P.E.) - It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Phillips and watched the University of Michigan vs. Michigan State football game last Saturday (sadly since U of M lost in OT)
Total Points: 60
For task 10.5 (German) I read Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. I enjoyed it, but didn't like the cliffhanger aspect at the end--now I have to read the last one.That puts me at
235 points
6044 pages read
Cait wrote: "Hi Cynthia!The leaderboard has me at 200 but I was at 210 - I think one of these recent 10 point tasks may have been lost in the shuffle:
10.1: Lolita - Nabokov (10/3)
10.10: Cat's Cradle - Von..."
Cait, you are not alone on Jack's Big Music Show...many songs from that are in my ipod and my daughter sings along! Did you know there is a new show called "Bunnytown" that they made for Disney which you can watch online right now? Very cute!
5.8. Let's Find Out If Two Heads Really Better Than One - Read A Book That Has More Than One Author. The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan
Total points 185
Tasks complete 11
I've just finished the second book for 15.115.1 Grammar
To Have and to Hold- Anne Bennett
More to life than this- Carole Matthews
10.7 For the Fun It: Random Records of my own flying by Emelia Earhart
15.1 - (preposition OF) A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb, Edge of Fear by Cherry AdairTotal Points: 290
Tasks Completed: 21
Finished task 15.6Read All's Well That Ends Well by Shakespeare and watched the play live from British National Theatre last week.
10 points #3 - Bear/Children's booksRead 5 Berenstain Bears books
Zathura
The Widow's Broom
Jumanji
Curious George
Mouse Soup
This should bring me to 100 points.
20.2 ABC Task D, E, F
Deja Demon The Days and Nights of a Demon-Hunting Soccer Mom
Not as strong as other books in the series, but still a fun read.
Ella Minnow Pea A Novel in Letters
Quick, but thought provoking read. Loved the way the book was written.
Five Quarters of the Orange
Interesting look at a family in France in WWII.
Total points: 170
6. Terrifying Titles - Read A Novel That Has An Adjective In The Title That Relates To HalloweenHer Fearful Symmetry by Audrey Niffenegger-10/10 (401 pgs)
New Total: 230 points
Teresa in Ohio wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "WHEW I finally got all the updates to the leaderboard (I hope) so please do check to be sure everything is right and I didn't miss something.Cynthia"
I thought my total was 3..."If you look back at your posts you'll see that you got to 395 when you posted 5.1 (The What's Happening to My Body? Book for Boys A Growing Up Guide for Parents and Sons) then forgot to add 5 to that when you posted for 5.10 so your score is 410.
Cait wrote: "Hi Cynthia!
The leaderboard has me at 200 but I was at 210 - I think one of these recent 10 point tasks may have been lost in the shuffle:
10.1: Lolita - Nabokov (10/3)
10.10: Cat's Cradle - Von..."I was missing 10.10 thanks for letting me know.
Finished 20.1 - Julie's Task. I read The Rapture In the Twinkling of an Eye / Countdown to the Earth's Last Days by Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins. I dont think I can express how much I disliked reading this book. This was my first real Christian fiction book and will definitely be my last. Being forced to sit through 350 pages of pushy, preachy rhetoric was just painful. Not to mention that there was no plot to this book. The authors started a 'world domination' type of thread, then forgot about it, introduced characters that were forgotten about, and then about halfway through switched completely away from any sort of story and just started recounting biographies of famous biblical characters.What a waste of time.
New Total: 240
This is my first post on this topicI've finished and ready to post the following:
5.2(Apple) Connolly, Sheila One Bad Apple
10.7 (Superpowers)Schwartz, David J. Superpowers A Novel
25.3 Gay/Lesbian Character: Sharma, Poonam Girl Most Likely To
25.7 (1 word) Beckett, Bernard Genesis
(two word) Holtzer, Susan Curly Smoke An Anneke Haagen Mystery
(three word) Cast, P. C. Goddess of Light
25.10 Halloween Part III: Monsterfest : Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith Pride and Prejudice and Zombies
5+10+25+25+25=90
5 pts #9 
Memories of My Melancholy WhoresA 90 yr. old man reflects on his life in the year between his 90th and 91st birthday.
This brings me to 105 pts.
15 pts # 10 Teacher/StudentHumor for a Teacher's Heart Stories, Quips, and Quotes to Lift the Heart (which really wasn't funny)
Prom
Several students band together to create a prom for their inner-city high school when the math teacher runs off with the money.
That should bring me to 120 pts.
Finished 5.2 An Apple (Book) A Day Keeps The Librarians Away - Original Cyn by Sue Margolis
Total Points: 65
One more done.15 points
15.10. Teacher-Student Relations - Read Both...
• A Book With A Teacher As The Main Character Or With The Word Teacher(s), Teach, Teaches, or Teaching In The Title.
Actually both title and main character was a teacher.
The English Teacher by Lily King -- 244 pp (10.10.09) I know this book might have gotten a lot of reviews, but I wish I'd read a different book. I just couldn't get into it really.
And
• A Book With A Main Character Who Is A Student Or With The Word Student(s), Study, Or Studies In The Title.
The main character, Elena Gilbert, was a high school student.
The Awakening by L.J. Smith (Book 1 of the Vampire Diaries)-- 253 pp (10.10.09) I definitely like this more than the tv series and although there are similarities, there are far more differences. I plan to continue with the series. And I certainly liked it better than Twilight, probably because it is a much darker type of vampire story (which I do really enjoy).
Tasks Completed: 21/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 3
Points Earned: 275/690
Total Books: 27
Total Pages Read: 4,024
Total Hours listened: 46.75 (approx.)
5.2 (apple in title) I read The Little Lady Agency in the Big Apple by Hester Brown
Finished:20.3 – The Shadow of the Wind – Carlos Ruiz Zafron
TOTAL POINTS = 135
10 Points2. Addiction: Silent In The Grave (Deanna Rayborne)
The main guy is addicted to absinthe (basically, he's in the House/Sherlock Holmes vein). This book was great for the first half and then fell apart so horribly I wanted to chuck it against the wall for its stupidity in the second half.
Total Points: 330
Oops! Cynthia, I meant to put The Graveyard Book as 5.4 as I saw that you approved it earlier. My mistake! I finished another book to get that A,B,C challenge finished (or in my case: I, J, K)Latest update:
5.4 - The Graveyard Book
10.2 - The Dart League King (cocaine)
15.7 - The Gunslinger (audio book)
20.2 - I Thought My Father Was God, (The) Judges, Keeper and Kid
20.3 - Shutter Island
25.7 - Gossamer - Lois Lowry; The Somnabulist - Johnathon Barnes; Lords of Corruption - Kyle Mills
Total Points: 95
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Tempt Me at Twilight (other topics)Patterns in the Sand (other topics)
The Shadow of the Wind (other topics)
My Grandfather's Son (other topics)
Soul of a Dog: Reflections on the Spirits of the Animals of Bedlam Farm (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Lisa Kleypas (other topics)Sally Goldenbaum (other topics)
Clarence Thomas (other topics)
Audrey Niffenegger (other topics)
Neil Gaiman (other topics)
More...
New total: 220
Feeling a little behind, but have been very busy! Finally finished my last wedding of the year - there have been 8 including my own! Between them and the bridal showers, bachelorette parties and baby showers that go along with them, they suck up a lot of weekends!
But i do have 6 tasks partially finished that i havent reported books for yet.