2025 Reading Challenge discussion
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September - The Learning Challenge
Good luck with the Challenge!Participants
Updated to message 71
Amanda (message 7) 1/4
Amanda (message 8) 0/2
Audrey 1/3
✔ Debra 2/2
Delitealex 0/3
✔ Elina 1/1
Florence 0/1
✔ Helen 4/4
✔ Jennifer 1/1
Mariela 0/2
✔ Megan 9/5
✔ Nik 3/1
✔ Paula 2/2
✔ Richard 22/25
✔ Sam F 2/2
SarahKat 0/1
Shivam 0/2
✔ Suzanne 1/1
✔ Tania 4/4
Total books pledged: 68
Total completed books: 53
COMPLETESEPTEMBER: THE LEARNING CHALLENGE
Duration: September 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017
Read a book that teaches you something (history, science, language, how to cook an egg, the power of friendship, anything).
My goal is 4
Progress: 4/4
1. History of the Galway tribes - A Sword from Galway by Drayton Mayrant (finished 9/5)
2. How to disappear - Sleeping with the Enemy by Nancy Price (finished 9/7)
3. Experience of riding the London Eye - Silence by Natasha Preston (finished 9/15)
4. How love and compassion can overcome hate - Flowers in the Snow by Danielle Stewart (finished 9/18)
September: The Learning ChallengeDuration: September 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017
1. Corduroy Mansions by Alexander McCall Smith Completed 16/9/17 Rating 4 stars
Learnt that if you eat large quantities of polar bear liver then you could die. It seems that it contains a lot of Vitamin A. Western explorers as early as 1596 suffered as a result of eating it. Symptoms ranged from headaches, blurred vision, drowsiness and skin loss to liver damage, coma and death.
2. Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll Completed 19/9/17 Rating 3 stars
Learnt what some of the words in the nonsense poem The Jabberwocky mean.
2/2
Challenge completed
I'll join in for 5!- Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War by Lynne Olson - completed
- The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan - completed
- Perfect by Cecelia Ahern - completed
- True Grit by Charles Portis - completed
- The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck - completed
- Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera - completed
- Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing by Christy Wilson Beam - completed
- A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner - completed
- The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan - completed
9/5 - challenge completed!
I will go for two but hope to achieve more: 2/2 (Completed)1. My Own Story by Emmeline Pankhurst (01/09/17) ✓
2. An Obsession With Butterflies by Sharman Apt Russell (17/09/17)
I'll try to read 2!1. Speaking from Among the Bones by Alan Bradley - a mystery filled with scientific knowledge and chemistry experiments.
2. Special Topics in Calamity Physics by Marisha Pessl - has all kinds of information from a wide variety of books threaded throughout the novel.
Hi Rachael, Upping my challenge to 2! :-)
Paula wrote: "Hi Rachael, Upping my challenge to 2! :-)"Congratulations on being the first to complete a book for this challenge!
"Congratulations on being the first to complete a book for this challenge!"Thanks Rachael. An unexpected but interesting read!
Just completed my first book - Last Hope Island: Britain, Occupied Europe, and the Brotherhood That Helped Turn the Tide of War by Lynne Olson. I'm really glad that I read this book, mostly because my viewpoint of WWII is anglocentric. I knew very little of the struggles of Belgium, Holland, Norway, etc. However, the book could be difficult to keep straight, at times, because of the lack of a consistent timeline. That's a common difficulty I see in historical nonfiction, but it does tend to be confusing for the reader. Overall, worth reading! 4 stars1/5
Update message 16 - Progress 1/3The Burial Hour
I didn't set out to use this book for this challenge, but I actually learned a lot of interesting information about the differences between American and Italian police procedures.
Just finished another book - The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan. This book started out really slow, and I had a hard time caring about the main character. However, the story blended with the original series really well and created new, interesting dynamics. I also appreciate how Riordan's stories always contain a bit of human reality, like betrayal. Worth reading but need to have read Percy Jackson and the Jason series first. 3.5 starsOne of the things I love about Riordan's series is that it surreptitiously teaches children (and adults) about Greek myths, history, and theology. I studied all of this, and I still learned new things in this book!
2/5
Just completed another book - Perfect by Cecelia Ahern. Good conclusion to Ahern's interesting concept. I hope it is adapted into a series or film because it is timely. There was one scene towards the end that was rather bizarre and farfetched for me, but other than that, it was a good book. Worth reading. 4 starsI learned about cooking pits from this book. I know Icelanders cook rye bread in geothermal earthen ovens, but I didn't know one could be replicated with smoldering wood. Very interesting.
3/5
I will go for 1 :Nabokov's Favourite Word Is Mauve: The literary quirks and oddities of our most-loved authors It sounded great, so I picked it up in march and still haven't started.
True Grit by Charles Portis. This book impressed me a great deal! I grew up watching the True Grit movie with John Wayne. When the remake came out in 2010, there was no way it was going to top Wayne for me. But I had no idea the films were based on a book. Now, having read the book, I have a much greater appreciation for the 2010 version, which closely mirrors the book. Portis is able, somehow, to create this beautifully realized, complex main character/narrator who is a self-possessed 14 year old girl. And he writes the entire book from her unique conversational tone. The entire book feels as if you are listening to a spinster aunt tell a fascinating story about her youth. Every word has a purpose, and Portis was able to convey so much in a relatively short novel. Definitely worth reading! This needs to be taught in schools! 5 starsI learned, once again, to never judge a book by its cover or movie! If not for my book club leader choosing this, I would never have read this magnificent book!
4/5
I'm an avid reader & believe in continuous improvement. Please put me down for 25.1. ***** Up, Down, or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times Are Good, Bad, or in Between by Mark Sanborn
The antidote to negative thinking is gratitude. See the donut, not the hole.
1/25
2. **** Giant Steps : Author Of Awaken The Giant And Unlimited Power by Anthony RobbinsOne of the miracles of being a human is that we can decide what causes us pain, and what causes us pleasure. Each of us has this power of choice.
2/25
3. **** Leadership A to Z: A Guide for the Appropriately AmbitiousLeaders inspire others by showing them how good they are capable of becoming, and then they help them realise their elevated aspirations.
3/25
4. **** The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do and How to ChangeThe way we habitually think of our surroundings and ourselves, create the worlds that each of us inhabit.
4/25
6. *** Anyone can be a millionaireWithout a financial education, your money will soon disappear. If you want to go somewhere, it is best to find someone who has already been there, to learn from them.
6/25
7. *** Kiss, Bow, or Shake Hands: How to Do Business in Sixty CountriesIn many countries, it's considered offensive to use the "OK" hand symbol and the "thumbs up". So when dealing with people from other cultures, it's best to steer clear of those gestures.
7/25
Just finished my 5th book - The Women in the Castle by Jessica Shattuck. I received this book as a free giveaway in exchange for my honest review. And my feelings are mixed about this book. The writing was good, and the imagery was well done. It's a complicated subject-matter, so maybe that's why it seems that the author was confused in the construction of the novel. Sections picked up and dropped with no real rhyme or reason. The characters seemed half-formed. It was an interesting effort, but it just seemed to fall short. 3 starsEven though the book didn't quite come together for me, I did learn a lot about life for the typical German during Hitler's reign of terror.
5/5 - challenge completed!
8. ** Generation Y: Thriving and Surviving With Generation Y at WorkNothing will turn Generation Y off faster than the smell of hypocrisy.
8/25
Congratulations Megan! You're the first to finish the challenge :)
2017 Reading ChallengeSeptember - The Learning Challenge
Duration: September 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017
Progress: 1 out of 1
Who says you should stop learning after you’ve finished school? For this challenge, we like you to read books that teach you something. It can be anything, history, science, language, how to cook an egg, the power of friendship, anything. As long as it is something new for you. This doesn’t necessarily have to be non-fiction, there are plenty of books in other genres that contain valuable lessons.
Please share with us what books you like to read for this challenge and what you learned from them!
1. How to Read Your Child Like a Book by Lynn Weiss - *** - 9/25/2017 - 211 Pages
Rachael wrote: "Congratulations Megan! You're the first to finish the challenge :)"Yay!
Just completed another book - Signs Preceding the End of the World by Yuri Herrera. While I appreciate this author's perspective, the novel is brief to the point of vague. It was difficult at times to discern to what the author was referring. It might have been translation. Regardless, some of the scenes were really well done, especially regarding the police. And the ending was so vague I have no idea what really happened. Good effort, just not enough detail. 3.5 starsI've not read much Mexican literature. The few details that he did specifically include, I had to look up as I had never heard them.
6/5
Just completed my 7th book - Miracles from Heaven: A Little Girl, Her Journey to Heaven, and Her Amazing Story of Healing by Christy Wilson Beam. A quick, heartfelt read. The writing was smart because it wrapped the overall story around the most heart-wrenching exciting part. The writing's not fabulous, but it conveys the ideas succinctly. Worth reading! 4 starsI am entirely impressed with the Beams' acceptance and quiet pondering of their daughter's belief and faith. I admire that and plan to use that in the future if my family or friends express their faith experiences or beliefs to me.
7/5
9. **** Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern MarketingForget looking like the superior choice. Make yourself an excellent choice. Then eliminate anything that might make you a bad choice.
10. **** You Win in the Locker Room First: The 7 C's to Build a Winning Team in Business, Sports, and Life
When there is a void in communication, negativity will fill it. Fill the void with great communication.
10/25
Updated you all to here. As an aside, I am on holiday for the next week. I will try to keep up to date but bear with me because the internet is a bit rubbish where I'm staying.
Hope you have a lovely relaxing break, Rachael! :-)
Just started The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery by Sam Kean for my 1 book of learning this month!
Just completed another book - A Bridge Across the Ocean by Susan Meissner. I am conflicted about this book. I liked the writing style and the characters. But the novel was put together in an odd manner. And in the end, the concept didn't quite come through. Worth reading. 3.5 starsI learned quite a bit about the RMS Queen Mary.
8/5
The Restaurant Critic's Wife by Elizabeth LaBan. Overall, this book was entertaining. The audiobook was good. I found, however, that the resolution was a too pat and didn't actually resolve the issues that real women deal with every day. Worth reading. 3.5 starsI had never considered what restaurant critic's would have to do to maintain anonymity. That was really interesting!
9/5
Late in the month, but I'm in for one. I was planning on skipping this challenge but then happened to read a book that met the requirements. =)[3/1]
1. Tipping the Velvet (2017.09.18, ★★★☆☆).
From the language in the book, I learned a lot about alternate definitions for words common in the queer lexicon. From looking up stuff to verify historical accuracy, I picked up a few bits 'n' bobs:
- Bagels have been sold in London and surrounding areas since the middle of the 19th century.
- It was rare and frowned upon for a woman to have short hair in Victorian England. If a woman did have her hair cut short, she would often attach a false plait made from her own chopped off hair before going outside.
- We have been using "bitch" in an awful pejorative way since the 15th century. Because we suck. This was a massively disappointing discovery that left me exceedingly engrumbled.
2. A Promise of Fire (2017.09.21, ★★★☆☆).
I learned that οικογένεια is the Greek word for family.
3. Bitter Spirits (2017.09.30, ★★★★☆).
I learned what to call a hairstyle I could heretofore describe but not name: the queue.
That is such a good book, Nik. The use of the word 'Toms' for lesbians surprised me as it is more commonly used as a derogatory term for prositutes these day. Sarah Waters certainly did her homework with this novel!
Paula wrote: "Sarah Waters certainly did her homework with this novel!"Agreed.
3/4 CompletedAncient Times: From the Earliest Nomads to the Last Roman Emperor by Susan Wise Bauer
Percy Jackson's Greek Gods by Rick Riordan
The Middle Ages: From the Fall of Rome to the Rise of the Renaissance by Susan Wise Bauer
11. ***** Think and Grow RichI love this book...I read it at least once every 6 months. "Neglecting to broaden their view has kept some people doing one thing all their lives."
12. ***** Influencer : The Power to Change Anything
It is silence about the norm of silence that sustains the norm.
12/25
2025 Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons: The History of the Human Brain as Revealed by True Stories of Trauma, Madness, and Recovery (other topics)Corduroy Mansions (other topics)
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There (other topics)
A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail (other topics)
Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Sam Kean (other topics)Alexander McCall Smith (other topics)
Lewis Carroll (other topics)
Marisha Pessl (other topics)
Lynn Weiss (other topics)
More...
Duration: September 1, 2017 to September 30, 2017
Who says you should stop learning after you’ve finished school? For this challenge, we like you to read books that teach you something. It can be anything, history, science, language, how to cook an egg, the power of friendship, anything. As long as it is something new for you. This doesn’t necessarily have to be non-fiction, there are plenty of books in other genres that contain valuable lessons.
Please share with us what books you like to read for this challenge and what you learned from them!
Rachael will be the leader for this challenge. Thank you, Rachael!