The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009
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FALL CHALLENGE 2009 COMPLETED TASKS
Cheryl wrote: " For task 15.2 (Alternative History) I read Against the Day by Michael Cronin. This book details life in Britain in the year 1940. It is written as though the German Nazi party has in..."Part of this task is to give your opinion if the world would be better if events happened as the author describes them rather than as they actually did.
I have three finished tasks to report:1) 25.4 read The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne (published 2006) and watched the movie last night (2008).
2) 5.6 – read No Rest for the Wicked by Kresley Cole – with wicked being my Halloween adjective
3) 15.7 – read It Had to Be You by Susan Elizabeth Philips (about a fictional second professional football team in Chicago) and last Monday my husband and I watched the Vikings/Packers showdown along with every other resident of Minnesconsin.
TASKS COMPLETED: 18
TASKS PARTIALLY COMPLETED: 3
BOOKS READ: 23 (+4 kids books)
PAGES READ: 7,565
POINTS EARNED: 185
NUMBER OF BOOKS READ FROM MY 'OWNED AND UNREAD' SHELF: 15
Finished:20.2
Fire
Goddess Boot Camp
Hawksong
Total Points 465/690
Total Books 47/62
Total Tasks Completed 33/45
Total Pages 14912
El wrote: "I haven't read any of the Twilight books so I am merely curious in my question here, but where does the Native American thing come in? Is one of the characters Native American? "Yes, like someone answered before me, Jacob, who is one of the main characters, is a native American, and he and his people play a big part in Eclipse, and also in New Moon (don't know about the last book, since I haven't read it yet).
I completed my Task 25.8 (nouns). I read:(person): The Book of Ralph A Novel - John McNally (10/11)
(place): Motherless Brooklyn - Jonathan Lethem (10/9)
(thing): No Time to Wave Goodbye A Novel - Jacquelyn Mitchard (9/13)
The Book of Ralph - 4 stars. I think I first heard of this book from 1001 Books for Every Mood A Bibliophile's Guide to Unwinding, Misbehaving, Forgiving, Celebrating, Commiserating. Great coming of age novel. Also, imagine my surprise when I opened up the book and found that it was signed by the author! That is the second time Better World Books has sent me a signed copy of a book (the first time was Elizabeth Berg's We Are All Welcome Here). Pretty cool.
Motherless Brooklyn - 4 stars. A mystery about a detective with Tourette's syndrome - what's not to love? I love Lethem's writing and look forward to reading more of his work.
No Time to Wave Goodbye - 2 stars. This has been one of the bigger disappointments of the challenge so far. I absolutely LOVED The Deep End of the Ocean and was so excited when I found out that, years later, she was doing a follow up novel. Yeah, I don't know why she even bothered. This book was short (barely over 200 pages), disjointed, and kind of silly to be honest. The Deep End of the Ocean felt very real. This book felt like a soap opera. I feel like she wasted a wonderful opportunity to bring this family's story to an appropriate conclusion. :o(
Total Points: 275/690
Books Read: 30/62
Tasks Completed: 19/45
Pages Read: 9,340
I have completed 5.1, Our Children, with The President's Daughter. This brings my point total to 90.
Yaeh I've finished number 3 of the 15 point tasks, mathematics. I read Keeping the Dead by Tess Gerritsen for the addition task and The Unofficial guide to Disney (whew)for the multiplication task.
moved some things around and finally found homes for the books so i can finally claim some more points! horray!5. 8. Let's Find Out If Two Heads Really Better Than One - Read A Book That Has More Than One Author.
• Fiction Or Non-Fiction Is Acceptable
• But Short Story Collections With Multiple Authors Are Not Acceptable. I.E. It Should Be A Singular Work That Two People Collaborated Together To Create.
• Ex. You Could Read The Nanny Diaries by Emma McLaughlin & Nicola Kraus Hunted P.C Cast and Kristin Cast 9-17-09 323 Pages
25. 7. CINDY'S TASK - One, Two, Three - Read Three Books...
• One With A One Word Title
• The Second With A Two Word Title
And The Third With A Three Word Title. Eclipse Stephanie Meyer re-read 10-4-09 629 Pages Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #4) L.J. Smith 9-13-09 271 Pages The Lost Symbol Dan Brown 10-12-9 509 Pages
Current Pages Read: 6923
Books Read: 18
Challenges Completed: 12
Total Points: 180
Cynthia wrote: "Marie-vicky wrote: "Hello, I completed 25 points tasks (*7 CINDY'S task: One,Two,Three books) One for the Money,Two for the Dough and Three to Get Deadly by Janet EvanovichNext I finished another..."
I'm confused. I did put both of the titles in this post. Captain Alatriste and Of Love and Shadows are 2 separate books.
I completed the following tasks...15.3 (Math - Addition and Division) by reading
Inkheart (Cornelia Funke and I have the same number of letters in our names) - I enjoyed this, but felt it was a little longer than necessary - I kept waiting for something drastic to happen that would legitimize the next few hundred pages.
Runaways, Vol. 6 Parental Guidance I had to skip ahead in this series to get to a 6th volume - I didn't worry too much since I had started reading this series in the future and then went back to the beginning though in reading this I did feel like I had missed a lot. I enjoyed the artwork in this volume especially in the opening story with the "artful dodgers" and the plot and character development were engaging and made me want to read more (which the other volumes had not accomplished as well).
5.9 (Coming of Age) by reading Uglies which I really enjoyed - very exciting at times, interesting characters and story, and some nice food for thought. It is definitely a youth book* - not super challenging, but that was what I needed this past weekend so it was a perfect fit. The one thing that I found a little annoying was the cliffhanger of an ending. I don't mind cliff hangers when there is no sequel - when I can make my own assumptions/guesses at what the future holds for the characters - but when there's a sequel, I don't get to make up the ending and am required (if I want to know) to read the next book. I probably will someday, but I think I can wait on this one.
Total Points: 350
* I do recognize that some youth books are just as challenging as adult books; no disrespect intended
Finished:20.3 Read [image error] Shutter Island A Novel by Dennis Lahane. I can't say I enjoyed this book; it's not my genre, but it's been interesting reading the discussion about it. There were some very insightful comments that helped me with it.
50 POINT MID-WAY TASKPJREADS TASK
Minding the World - 3 books:
I. Senses – Read a book that has one of the traditional five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) in the title OR a book where one of these five senses plays a major role (The Miracle Worker, Oedipus Rex, King Lear). Post some highlights from what the book says about the sense.
The Seeing Stone by Kevin Crossley-Holland
II. Emotions – Read a book that has an emotion in the title (happy/joy, sad/sorrow, angry/anger, afraid/fear, etc.) OR a book where an emotion plays a major role. Post some highlights from what the book reveals about the emotion.
Angry Housewives Eating Bon Bons by Lorna Landvik
III. Memories – Pick one of your keepsakes that reminds you of an event in your life. Read a book with either the event or the reminder in the title OR a book where either the event or the reminder plays a major role. In your post identify the keepsake and the event.
Baby Teeth by Blythe Holbrooke I have several baby teeth of both my children in my jewelry box. Just after I read the book, I saw this photo of my granddaughter had been posted on Facebook.
TOOTHLESS
Mod
Coraline (2002) by Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick's 3-D animated film (2009).
I liked the book better. The addition of Wybie in the film undermined some of Coraline's strength. Coraline's inner dialogue was turned into conversations with Wybie and helped advance the plot, but Coraline lost some of her cleverness and her "I'm an explorer" persona when Wybie was there to assist her. The movie's visual effects were stunning, but the book had more soul.
+25
total 565
For 15.9-Buffy the Vampire Slayer The Long Way Home
Homework:
This is a graphic novel; the images are just as important to the story-telling as the text. Write a two-three page essay analyzing the formal aspects (composition, color, line, shape, etc.) of the artwork and explain how the rendering of the images creates drama and facilitates the novel's story-telling.
Total points: 85
I have finally finished my two books for 15 point task number 5. They both were very slow reading, and I had high expectations for both books. Unfortunately, neither of them delivered.15-5: Love in the Time of Cholera / Les Miserables
Kritika's points
60 +15
75
25.2 I read Christ the Lord: The Road to Cana by Anne Rice and Blind Fall by Christopher Rice. Anne Rice is Christopher Rice's mother.
15.5-Time To Study Abroad (Foreign Language)• Read 2 Books That Were Originally Published In The Same Foreign Language (One You Don't Speak Fluently).
I read The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson. The only language I am fluent in is English. I thought these books were both good. I like the first one better, but only because it was more of a mystery to me. 15 more points finally!
Total Points: 115
Tasks Completed: 9
Tasks in Process: 6 (15.10; 20.2; 25.2; 25.7; 25.8; 25.9)
Total Books: 16
Total Pages: 5,837
5.1. Our Children Are Our Future (Reads) - Funnily The First Letters Of The Fall Months Spell Out The Word Son (September, October, November) - So Read A Book That Has The Word Son(s), Daughter(s) (Because They're Just As Important), Kid(s), Child, or Children In The Title.John Hart The Last Child
5 points
525 total
Dlmrose wrote: "I finished 25.4 book Candace's book/movie withCoraline (2002) by Neil Gaiman and Henry Selick's 3-D animated film (2009).
I liked the book better. The addition of Wybie in the fi..."
my son read the book then watched the movie he siad the movie MESSED up his book and then he got questions wrong on the AR because the movie changed things and made them not the book : )
10.6 Native American Heritage Month - House Made of Dawn by N. Scott MomadayTotal Points: 595/690
Books Read: 54 (+ 8 Berenstain Bears books)
Tasks Completed: 40/45
Tasks in Progress: 3
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Another task finished.25-5 Janice's Task: Fortune/Prophecy
I read The Song Reader by Lisa Tucker
This book is more catching than I thought, making me change my mind from Harry Potter! xD
+25
Total scores: 55
I completed Task 5.2 by reading
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Rebecca. There's an apple on the cover, at the bottom left corner.I enjoyed the gothic suspense of this tale.
This is my first post. I just joined the group and I am very overwhelmed. 20.3 Group Read Choice Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, read 10.11.09
Finished:25.6 BJ Rose's task
Dark Horse The Surprise Election and Political Murder of President James A. Garfield by Kenneth D. Ackerman.Since Garfield was only in office for four months before he was shot (although he lingered for two months before dying), he did not have a chance to accomplish a lot. He did work at healing the deep split in the Republican party between James G. Blaine and Roscoe Conkling. His Secretary of the Treasury William Windom successfully refinanced the National Debt, and Secretary of State Blaine was attempting to build closer ties to Latin America at the time of Garfield's death. The most lasting work, however, was the creation of the Civil Service Reform Act during the following administration, which was brought about by Garfield's murder by a disgruntled office seeker.
The biggest personal blot on Garfield's record took place long before he became president. He had an affair, but his wife forgave him and as far as is known it never happened again.
@PetraRebecca is one of my favorite books. It's the only book I've read by du Maurier, but I have
My Cousin Rachel on my shelves to read.@Marly
Welcome fellow Bee member! I'll help you out. :O
Finished Task 25.2 - relationship: Mother/Daughter I read 206 Bones by Kathy Reichs (Mom) and The Best Day of Someone Else's Life by Kerry Reichs (Daughter), which was not bad for her first novel. Which brings me to:
75/690 points
Tasks Completed: 5
Tasks In Progress: 5
Books Read: 8 (+3 kid's books)
Pages Read: 2,264
Finished task 10.1 - Read a book first published during Buddy Holly's lifetime (September 7,1936 - February 3rd, 1959)I read Rebecca which was originally published in 1938.
I really enjoyed this book!
Total Points: 90
Lisa wrote: "@PetraRebecca is one of my favorite books. It's the only book I've read by du Maurier, but I have
My Cousin Rachel on my shelves to read...."Lisa, have you heard of Rebecca's Tale? It may be intereesting, as a follow-up to Rebecca. This was my first du Maurier book and I would try another in future.
Marly wrote: "This is my first post. I just joined the group and I am very overwhelmed. 20.3 Group Read Choice Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane, read 10.11.09"
Marly, welcome! Let us know if you need any help. Have fun!
15 point task3. Discover The Equation For Good Books (Math) - Pick 2 Of The Following...
• Addition - Add Up The Number Of Letters Found In Your First and Last Names Then Read A Book Written By An Author Whose Name Contains The Same Number Of Letters. Ex. For Me That Would Be 14 Letters So I Could Read A Book Written By Tracy Chevalier
12 Letters so I read King Dork by Frank Portman
• Division - Divide The Year You Were Born By Your Age (Round That Number To The Nearest Whole Number) And Then Read A Book That Is That Number In A Series.Ex. 1982/27 Is Equal To Approximately 73 Therefore I Would Need To Read A Book That Is The 3rd Or 7th In A Series.
The number came out to 52 so I read Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins which is second in a series
I finished the 25.7 task - 1, 2, 3 by reading Ash by Malinda Lo, Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins, and Among the Hidden by Margaret Peterson Haddix. They were all enjoyable, interesting reads!
Finished 15.9:
Home Repair by Liz RosenbergAssignment: "We're all going to someday say goodbye, little girl. We're all going to have to cry," says the main character's mother in an uncharacteristic fit of gentleness. There are many instances of loss in this book. Examine one in the context of that advice, analyzing the veracity (or lack thereof) of that statement. Determine whether that loss also came with some sort of addition to the character's life.
TOTALS:
Points: 205
Tasks: 18
Books: 31
Pages: 6,771
15.4 (Science fact vs. science fiction): Read Stiff The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers by Mary Roach and watched several episodes of Dollhouse, a sci fi show about people who are programmed with different personalities.15.7 (P.E.) Read The Likeness A Novel by Tana French while on the elliptical at the gym.
25.6 (Book to movie) Read Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (1999) and watched the 2004 movie with Kristen Stewart. I thought that they were both just OK. The pacing in the book was a lot better at stretching the events out through the school year. I did think that Kristen Stewart was a good casting choice. Overall neither of them left much of an impression on me.
Petra wrote: "Lisa wrote: "@PetraRebecca is one of my favorite books. It's the only book I've read by du Maurier, but I have
My Cousin Rachel on my shelves to r..."I haven't heard of Rebecca's Tale. I'll have to check it out.
I'm switching around a book that I claimed in another task. To make it easiest to keep track of, I'll repost the entire task with the new book in its place, then where I'm moving it to for another task. Cait's Task 25.8
-with name of a person in the title:
-with the name of a place in the title: The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
-with thing/object in the title: Over Sea, Under Stone by Susan Cooper
New task
5 points
5.4. Adoption Story – November Is National Adoption Awareness Month - Read A Novel Where The Main Character Is Adopted Or Adopts A Child Themselves Or A Non-Fictional Book Related To Adoption.
Darkly Dreaming Dexter by Jeff Lindsay -- 8.25 hours audiobook (9.24.09) Dexter Morgan was orphaned at the age of three and was adopted by a Miami police officer named Harry Morgan.
Also finished:
25 points
25.5. JANICE'S TASK - Fortune Telling Has Long Been A Halloween Tradition: Read A Book With "Fortune" Or "Prophecy" In The Title, OR That Features Fortune-Telling, Prophecy Or Prediction(s) As The Main Theme Or Has A Fortune Teller As A Main Character.
The Dark Is Rising by Susan Cooper -- 244 pp (10.12.09)
Will Stanton learns that he is an Old One, destined to wield the powers of The Light in an ancient struggle with The Dark. He is the seventh son of a seventh son. It is on his eleventh birthday that marks the start of his rise to power as the last of the Old Ones; no others will be born after him.
Tasks Completed: 24/45
Partially Completed Tasks: 2
Points Earned: 320/690
Total Books: 30
Total Pages Read: 4,920
Total Hours listened: 46.75 (approx.)
Kritika wrote: "I have finally finished my two books for 15 point task number 5. They both were very slow reading, and I had high expectations for both books. Unfortunately, neither of them delivered.15-5: Love ..."Books for this task needed to have been translated from the SAME language one of those was Spanish the other French so you will need to replace one of these books to complete the task.
Janice wrote: "50 POINT MID-WAY TASK
PJREADS TASK
Minding the World - 3 books:
I. Senses – Read a book that has one of the traditional five senses (sight, hearing, touch, taste, smell) in the title OR a book w..."For each part 1 & 2 of that task you need to "Post some highlights from what the book says about the sense/emotions" in order to complete the task.
Stephanie wrote: "Cynthia wrote: "Marie-vicky wrote: "Hello, I completed 25 points tasks (*7 CINDY'S task: One,Two,Three books) One for the Money,Two for the Dough and Three to Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
Next I..."Sorry my bad when I read your post totally missed the AND in between Captain Alatriste and Of Love and Shadows - thought it was one book called Captain Alatriste Of Love and Shadows (of love and shadows being the subtitle).
15.4 Science Fact: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimension, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory Oct. 12 watched a DVD that had two episodes of NOVA, but I had to watch the first episode twice; I got lost/confused halfway through, so went back to the beginning and paid more serious attention the 2nd time! It's a fascinating idea - that the String Theory (also called The Theory of Everything) unites the laws of the large (general relativity a la Einstein) and the laws of the small (quantum mechanics). It also posits that there are more than four dimensions.Science Fiction: Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams Oct. 11
25.10 Sam's Task: Monsterfest: Surrender to the Devil by Lorraine Heath Oct. 12
Total Pages = 12,203
Total Points = 470
15.7 Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen read by Stina NielsenPlease remember the email I sent you about the point mix-up. The one in the ticker is the points I've earned so far counting this task.
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COMPLETED TASKS:
15.7 LET’S GET PHYSICAL - *The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein (pp 321) READ 10.12.09
15.7 LET’S GET PHYSICAL - (watched Nascar) - Sprint Classic Labor Day 500 race WATCHED 9.6.09
This is the first time in a long while I've read a book, which has made me cry. (Since I'm not a racing fan, watching Nascar was painful and almost made me cry.) I'm really grateful for some of my Goodread friends who directed me to this book. It was wonderful!
TASKS COMPLETED: 13
TASKS IN PROGRESS: 5
BOOKS READ: 21/62
PAGES READ: 6474
TOTAL POINTS EARNED: 210
*Books I Own
I just finished reading Living Dead in Dallas book 2 in the Sookie Stackhouse books - ok so I did like it better than the first - the problem I had with the first was that it seemed as if Harris expected us to know everything about her version of vampires up front - it jumped in without enough backstory upfront. At least with this one I understood her concept of the vampire world (because each author interprets the myths/legends differently) up front and could get into the story. I wasn't sure I really wanted to read this series after the first one but everyone says they get better and this one was so I think I will keep reading. Although I was the same way with the Stephanie Plum series to - I read the first one thought it was just ok and then didn't read another one for awhile but loved the second one and every one since.I read this to finish Cait's task as the Place (Dallas) with
Lord John and the Brotherhood of the Blade (person) and A Breath of Snow and Ashes (thing) which I finished earlier in the challenge.
20 TASKS COMPLETE - 3 PARTIALLY DONE
33 BOOK READ
12,157 PAGES READ
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25.1. The Poetry of Robert Frost: The Collected Poems, Complete and Unabridged by Robert Frost and The Well of Lost Plots by Jasper Fforde 10.5 The diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
10.6 My Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
10.7. Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
5.8 Cathy’s Ring by Jordan Weisman and Sean Stewart
5.9 The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline by Nancy Springer
10.1 The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
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15.2. Leviathan by Scott WesterfeldI think it would be awesome if our world was exciting as Westerfeld's? I mean can you imagine? Cross bred animals and highly advance war machines? ok so that doesn't sound so good but trust me it is amazing in the book. Plus I'm sure there are much more peaceful inventions in that alternate history, but the story takes place during World War I so of course there will be a lot of tanks and ships. It would also be cool to have seen what would have happen if the Archduke's children were legitimate heirs to the Austrian throne. I can't say the world would be better per say, as there will still be war and death but it would be ALOT more interesting for Europe and the world.
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Completed 10.2 (Addiction task) by reading:Lies My Mother Never Told Me A Memoir
The author, as well as her parents, are alcoholics. This thought provoking memoir details Kaylie's life growing up amidst her parents' drinking parties and overcoming her own alcohol addiction.
BJ Rose wrote: "15.4 Science Fact: The Elegant Universe: Superstrings, Hidden Dimension, and the Quest for the Ultimate Theory Oct. 12 watched a DVD that had two episodes of NOVA, but I had to watch the first epis..."I don't know about you, but I like to read about string theory--in theory-=but everytime I think I have grasped the idea, suddenly it's like grabbing a fistful of cobwebs. Maybe by the time I read a few more books more of it will make sense.
25.8. CAIT'S TASK - Nouns - The Most Basic Definitions State That A Noun Is A Person, Place, Or Thing. Read 3 Books:Person: The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher Murder and the Undoing of a Great Victorian Detective byKate Summerscale
Place: My Life in France byJulia Child
Thing: The Ghost Map The Story of London's Most Terrifying Epidemic--and How It Changed Science, Cities, and the Modern World bySteven Johnson
Tasks Completed:3
Total points:45
Finished:10.5 The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
10.6 The Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O'Dell
25.7 Pretties by Scott Westerfeld
The Giver by Lois Lowry
The Lost Symbol by Dan Brown
Total Points: 200
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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)
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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)
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Reap The Harvest- Margaret Dickinson