The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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WINTER CHALLENGE 2009-2010
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WINTER CHALLENGE 2009-2010 COMPLETED TASKS
25.2 Gina's Task - February is International Friendship MonthThe Girls from Ames: A Story of Women and Friendship by Jeffrey Zaslow
I'm a shy person and very private so I do not have that many friends. However, the friends that I do have are like family to me. I would do anything for them and they would do anything for me.
Jeffrey Zaslow is a Goodreads author.
Total points: 460
10.5 Popular 2009 - The Year of the Flood
1085 points
Back to the 60's for 1056 more pages of Taylor Branch on MLK. They're good books, but could be shorter if he didn't repeat himself so much.
Completed 5.7 - Read My Sister's Keeper. Jodi Picoult & I share the Chinese Zodiac sign, the Horse, she was born in 1966 & I in 1978. This was a wonderful book, I gave it 5 stars. She told the story from each character's perspective which allows the reader to truly see & understand all sides of the issue. It's definately a tear jerker! Great book, now I will have to rent the movie.
My total - 195
5.3 Ten Queens: Portraits of Women of Power by Milton Meltzer. Loved the ten queens themselves and enjoyed learning about a few new ones. Did not enjoy the book, which I thought had a definite agenda.30.8A Thomas Jefferson: Architect of Democracy by John B. Severance.
30.8B Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder
This brings me to 975 points.
5.08 BABY IT’S COLD OUTSIDE: "The Old Contemptibles" by Martha Grimes10.08 OH CANADA! "Chronicles of Avonlea" by Lucy Maud Montgomery (written by a Canadian author and set in Canada)
25.05 ABIGAIL’S TASK: ODD MAN OUT: "Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sacks
30.07 JAN THE GRYPHON’S TASK: MULTITASKING: "Voices" by Arnaldur Indridason (fits tasks 25.05 and 25.08)
Total points: 70
Rachel
Finished:35.4 ROSEANN'S TASK--READ ABOUT YOUR RESOLUTION:
I, once again, am trying to do something about all the "stuff" in my house. So I read
A. Fiction Mauve Gloves & Madmen, <b>Clutter</b> & Vine by Tom Wolfe. It's a collection of short stories, essays, and drawings from the late 1960's to about 1976. I enjoy Tom Wolfe, but this is not a major work.
B. non-fiction Organizing Plain and Simple: A Ready Reference Guide with Hundreds of Solutions to Your Everyday Clutter Challenges by Donna Smallin. These are pretty practical ideas and don't seem to require lots of special equipment. If only it just required reading and not actually doing anything about what's been read.
50.1 GO FOR THE GOLD:
A. The Horse, the Wheel, and Language: How Bronze-Age Riders from the Eurasian Steppes Shaped the Modern World by David W. Anthony. This text-book-like tome supports Anthony's contention that the Indo-European language originated in the Eastern Steppes and was shaped by the domestication of the horse and the invention of the wheel. It's kind of interesting, and the footnotes are more than just citations. Over 500 pages 4* (I'm a language-origins freak)
B. Curled in the Bed of Love: Stories by Catherine Brady. Short stories about various aspects and forms of love.
15.5. READERS ROUND THE WORLD UNITE - One Of The Best Things About Goodreads Is That It Allows Readers From Around The World To Share Thoughts About The Books They Love So For This Task…A. Go To This Page (http://www.goodreads.com/user/near_me) There You Will Find A List Of Countries. B. Choose A Country That Corresponds To Your First Initial And Hit Meet People; Go To The Profile Of The First Person On That List; Read A 5-Star Book From That Persons List. AND C. Choose A Country That Corresponds To Your Last Initial And Hit Meet People; Go To The Profile Of The First Person On That List; Read A 5-Star Book From That Persons List.B. Solomon’s Song by Courtenay (Justin from Wallis)
C. Bloodsucking Fiends by Moore (Kate from Greece)
15 points
465 total
30.3 BJ ROSE'S TASK - SNOWED IN AND LOVING ITSoul Mountain by Gao Xingjian (528 pages)
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (272 pages)
Good-Bye, Mr. Chips by James Hilton (144 pages)
-------------------------------
total: 944 pages
I also get a ticket for "I like big books" for Soul Mountain since it is longer than 500 pgs.
Total Points: 395/1100
Tasks Completed: 24/58
Tasks in Progress: 6
30.6 Winter Vacation Dreams: Winter in Madrid by CJ SansomI spent a year studying abroad in Madrid during college, and I would love to go back and visit. This book takes place just after the Spanish Civil War, and it was rather sad to read about a place I love being such a wreck.
Congratulations to Ms. Anderson and Dlmrose for completing the challenge! Wowie, once again all the speed readers amaze me. Good on ya!Newly Completed Tasks:
15.7 – FOOD + FAMILY AND/OR FRIENDS = READING FUN:
Read: Snuffed Out by Tim Myers
Cozy mystery set in a candle making shop. I only gave it 2 stars, but my family enjoyed the cranberry muffins that I made using the recipe included in the book.
30.4 - BJ ROSE'S TASK - SNOWED IN AND LOVING IT -- When The Weather Keeps You Housebound, Make The Most Of It! Grab Books By Your Favorite Authors - Or Try Some New Ones - And Read 825 Pages Or More:
Read: An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon 820 pages. Doh! Come on Diana, I just needed 5 more pages from you for this book. It does earn one “I Love Big Books” ticket in the +750 pages category.
Read: A Christmas Carol and Other Christmas Writings by Charles Dickens 104 pages. (I couldn’t find the exact edition I read when posting this link. The edition I read had 104 pages.)
Total Pages Read for Task: 924
I LOVED ‘An Echo in the Bone’. It took me almost two weeks to read it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I’m giving it 5 stars. I wonder when the next book will be published. Ms. Gabaldon, please write fast! :-)
Total Points: 265
Books Read: 20
Completed Tasks: 16
Pages Read for Completed Tasks: 5,660
Other Tasks in Process: 2
Personal Goal: 400 Points
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I think it's time to start posting tasks completed:10.6 Local literature lovers: Alexis by Marguerite Yourcenar. In the shelves of Vincent Alien, who lives near me, indeed. It was a great book, really well-written. 4 stars.
30.10 Theresa's Color by Numbers: The Redbreast by Jo Nesbø and Five Weeks in a Balloon by Jules Verne.
The first one was my very first noir or whatever that genre is called, and it was really engrossing. The second one was a little less entertaining I supposed it was going to be, but still enjoyable.
Total points: 40
Completed tasks: 2
Tasks in progress: 2
Books read: 3
Pages read: 1820
Plus: The Readbreast was 556 pages long, so I think that gives me my first ticket for "I like big books and I cannot lie".
I'll be happy to get 100 points this season, with finals and everything else I have to do.
30.10 Theresa in Ohio's Task - Color by NumbersA. Color: Pretty in Pink by Randi Reisfeld
B. Number: Victim Six by Gregg Olsen
Gregg Olsen is a Goodreads author.
Total points: 490
25.9 The World of BooksA. The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows - contains a map of the Channel Islands. 4* book - cute, feel good story.
B. Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn - contains a glossary of terms
3* clever concept, creative use of words.
Total Points - 185
Tasks Completed - 9
Books Read - 13
Pages Read - 4,354
30.6 WENDY'S TASK - WINTER VACATION DREAMS
Dancing with the Virgins: A Constable Ben Cooper Novel by Stephen Booth After living in England for 5 years I dream of future vacations to the UK. Derbyshire with its moors is one of the areas I missed before and would like to see.Books Read: 38
Pages Read: 12128
Tasks Completed: 30
Tasks in Progress: 6
5.8 BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE The Trouble With Magic30.6 WINTER VACATION DREAMS The Ruins. This book was set in Mexico outside Cancun. My dream vacation requires one round trip ticket to Cancun, a pool, sunblock, a margarita and my favorite book, ahhhhh. I will say that after reading this book, I'll stick close to the resort!
For task 5.5 A LIBRARIANS JOB IS NEVER DONE - finished Library: An Unquiet History recommended by a professor (and librarian) of Library Science at the University of Arizona.
25.1. LEORA'S TASK - 1001 BOOKSFor This Task You Have To Read 2 Books From The 1001 Books To Read Before You Die List.
THE LIST
On Chesil Beach by McEwan & Metamorphosis by Kafka
25 points
490 total
I've completed another task. 25.6 Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton (starts in Jamaica and proceeds through several other Caribbean islands)
Total Points - 170
Books Read - 10
Tasks Completed - 9
30.2 HELEN'S TASK - A. Hugo Award: Fahrenheit 451***** B. Lost in a Good Book ****
I enjoyed both books!
Total Points: 275
Finished 5.7 Stephanie Meyer and I share a zodiac year. I read Breaking Dawn.Point total: 60
Heather in KS
25.3. SARA NICOLE'S TASK - A GAME OF CLUEPart A:Hey Nostradamus by Douglas Coupland
Part B: With Axe and Flask: The History of Persephone Township from Pre-Cambrian Times to the Present by Dan Needles
Part C: Both books were borrowed from the library
Books read: 8
Tasks completed: 7
Total Points: 105
I completed Task 30.8 (Lewis & Clark) by reading Thomas Jefferson: Author of America and O Pioneers! by Willa Cather.This was a very interesting task.
I learned a lot about Thomas Jefferson and his times. I hadn't realized that Jefferson and France were so closely tied. I found the Louisiana Purchase interesting in that there were no boundaries to the land and that fact gave Jefferson the ability to start the exploration of America's West, which in essence gave America the chance to grow cross continent ("from sea to shining sea").
He was a man of contradictions in that he didn't believe in slavery but owned slaves and wouldn't hear of freeing them....except for his children by Sally Henning. I found that relationship interesting and wonder whether he loved her and whether the times they lived in kept them apart. I also found it interesting that Sally Henning was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha.
For the fiction part of this Task I had earlier read O Pioneers!. This is a good story about pioneering days in Nebraska. It tells the lifestory of a strong woman, Alexandra, at the early pioneering days in that State. The land was wild, lifestyles were desolate and people were poor. The characters in this book are strong and likeable and real. I gave the book a solid 4*. I took a star away because there are large jumps in the timeline (ie: skipping 6 years and changing the economic standards of the families...seems like something may have been missed). A very enjoyable book.
For 25.5 Odd Man Out:[image error] I read The Hole We're In by Gabrielle Zevin
New points: 25
Total points: 75
Just finished 10.7 Small Screen Stories. Firefly Official Companion, Vol. 1 and after I started reading it I had to re-watch the short-lived but much-beloved series again.
15.9 OUT WITH THE OLD & IN WITH THE NEW BOOKSA. Read The Book That Has Been On Your TBR Pile/Shelf The Longest.
AND
B. Read A Book Written By An Author You Have Never Read Before.
I read Lord of the Night by Robin T. Popp for the oldest book on my TBR shelf. Then I read Red by Jordan Summers for the new to me author. I really enjoyed both books.
Total Points: 480/1100
Books Read: 38
Tasks Completed: 28/58
Completed the 50 point taskThe Outdoor Girls in the Saddle: The Girl Miner of Gold Run by Laura Lee Hope
The Outdoor Girls in a Winter Camp: Glorious Days on Skates and Ice Boats by Laura Lee Hope
For the 35 point task of going on a winter vacation I have read The Northern Clemency by Philip Hensher and Sixty Lights by Gail Jones make the phrase Northern Lights.Previous Reads
5.2 She was a Grand Old Flag Maker - The Little White Car by Danuta de Rhodes
5.4 A Winning Decade - The Road by Cormac McCarthy
5.5 A Librarians Job is Never Done - Mr Dixon Disappears by Ian Sansom
5.7 Eyeing the Year of the Tiger - Juliet, Naked by Nick Hornby
5.8 Baby It's Cold Outside - Chords and Discords by Roz Southey
5.9 Isn't it Romantic - Flights of Love by Bernhard Shlink
10.1 Under the Big Top - Water for Elephants by Sarah Gruen
10.4 The Winners Choice - PJReads list Baking Cakes in Kigali by Gaile Parkin
10.7 Small Screen Stories - My Favourite People and Me by Alan Davies
15.8 Silver Screen Celebrations - A Redbird Christmas by Fannie Flagg and ELF
20.3 Group Reads - The Stupidest Angel by Christopher Moore
25.1 1001 Books - What a Carve up by Jonathan Coe and Comfort of Strangers by Ian McEwan
25.5 Odd Task Out - American Tabloid by James Ellroy
25.7 The Lost Generations - The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald and Slaughterhouse 5 by Kurt Vonnegut
25.9 The World of Books - The Principessa by Christie Dickason and The Girl with a Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larrson
25.10 Don't Judge a Book by a Cover - The Househunter by Henry Sutton and Gear by Doug Tennapel
30.1 Celebrate the End of the Decade - The Girl who Played with Fire by Steig Larrson and Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
30.7 Multitasking - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carrol
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5.6 IT'S A DIRTY JOBTen Cents a Dance by Christine Fletcher
Great story! Will look for more by this author.
**GOODREADS AUTHOR**
points this task: 5
tasks completed: 12
total points: 210
25.1 Leora's Task - 1001 BooksThree Musketeers: Great Classic Collection by Alexandre Dumas
The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Total points: 515
Task 30.10: Color by Numbers:
a) Lavendar Morning by Jude Deveraux
b) Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult
a) Lavendar Morning by Jude Deveraux
b) Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Piccoult
Finished 10-8 with 'A Countess From Canada: A Story of Life on the Backwoods' by Bessie Marchant. A great Gutenberg find, really enjoyed it.705 points
Task 5.5: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl both Goodreads Authors - The library plays an important role in the plotTask 10.2 Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Po loses his sight in the book
Task 10.6: Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden - Reviewer lives within 5 miles of me and gave book 5 stars
Task 15.4 - The Life of Lazarillo de Tormes - Translated by W.S. Merwin/Play a game for one hour - Life
Task 15.8 - The Girl with No Shadow: A Novel by Joanne Harris - Christmas/How the Grinch Stole Christmas
Task 25.1 - Veronika Decides to Die: A Novel of Redemption by Paul Coelho (Goodreads Author) and Black Dogs by Ian McEwan
Finished:9. RACHEL LEE'S TASK - THE NEWBERY AWARD
Pick A Year And Read Both The Newbery Winner And One Of The Honor Books From That Year.
2009
Newbery Winner: The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (GOODREADS AUTHOR!)
Honor Book: Savvy by Ingrid Law (GOODREADS AUTHOR!)
Then Let Us Know Which You Thought Was Better And Why.
I absolutely loved The Graveyard Book. It's available online for free at MouseCircus.com. This "Website For Young Readers" lets you watch and listen as Gaiman himself reads from the book, in its entirety, during a national 9-city book tour. And I have got to tell you that the man does not disappoint. He is a master storyteller. Highly Recommended.
I also found it to be less juvenile than Savvy.
New Point Total: 135
Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 7
Audio Books: 1
Pages Read: 2613
I forgot to mention that The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson was 840 pages for a ballot towards 20.7 I LIKE BIG BOOKS AND I CANNOT LIE.
Finished:10. EMILY'S TASK - DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY IT'S COVER...UNLESS IT'S REALLY WELL DESIGNED
For This Challenge Read Two Books:
A. Making A Great First Impression: Read A Book That's Cover Design Draws You In. (Either Post The Cover Image In Your Post And/Or Write About What You Liked About The Design)
AND
B. It's What's Inside That Counts: Read A Graphic Novel.
Read:
A.
(GOODREADS AUTHOR!)and
B. Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine and Ghost World by Daniel Clowes
New Point Total: 160
Tasks Completed: 7
Books Read: 10
Audio Books: 1
Pages Read: 3281
I'm worried I'm not going to be able to complete all of the multi-book tasks I've started, so it's time to start counting some of what I've read for other things!10.7 The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister (read 01.01.10)
Given that I have a 3.5-year-old and a football-loving husband (okay, so I love football, too) I rarely get the television to myself. There aren't any shows that I regularly watch, but when I do have control of the remote, I always turn to the Food Network. I think Giada DeLaurentiis is my absolute favorite - everything she makes looks so delicious and fresh. Bauermeister's book is about a cooking class, and reading it made me want to get in the kitchen and attack a few of Giada's recipes. Absolutely loved this book -- it's my first five-star book of this challenge.
Erica Bauermeister is a Goodreads Author
Previously Completed Tasks
35.3 Some Days There's Pie: A Novel by Catherine Landis (01.22.10)
30.8 Fatally Flaky by Diane Mott Davidson (fits 5.8 and 5.10) (01.20.10)
15.7 PART A: All-new Complete Cooking Light Cookbook by Ann C. Cain
PART B: Made Spinach & Artichoke dip and Baked Feta Marinara
30.3 The Secret of Joy by Melissa Senate
Queen of Babble in the Big City by Meg Cabot
The Chosen One by Carol Lynch Williams
(Total Pages = 841)(01.10.10)
5.1 Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story by Carolyn Turgeon (01.05.10)
5.10 Vegan Virgin Valentine by Carolyn Mackler (12.23.09)
10.9 Swimsuit by James Patterson (12.19.09)
25.5 This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen (12.17.09)
20.3 The Stupidest Angel A Heartwarming Tale of Christmas Terror, Version 2.0 by Christopher Moore. (12.15.09)
25.6 Behaving Badly by Isabel Wolff (12.09.09)
Total Points: 210
Tasks Completed: 11 (and 2 partial tasks)
Books Read: 14
Havent posted in a while. Here are some of the updates: 25.9 - MY TASK!
A. Graceling - Kristin Cashore
B. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
30.3 - BJ Rose - The Name of the Wind - 662 pages and Gideon - 300+ pages.
Both are good reads authors and NotW is a 500+ book.
That should put me at 110. I have a bunch of half finished tasks so should jump up quickly soon.
I just completed task 25.10. I read
, which I picked because it's cover evoked so much mystery. It is a strange somewhat nonsensical book, I would not recommend it, and I like strange nonsensical books. For graphic novel I read We Are On Our Own. Graphic novels are just not my thing unfortunately, and I have only read a couple so I don't have much to compare it to.
Also, while I am at it, I just wanted to mention that when I reported task 5.7 - American Gods, I forgot to mention Neil Gaiman is a good reads author and I want a ticket entrance :-)
Point Total: 135
Page Total: 4676
Book Total: 14
Finished...10.5: The Story Sisters by Alice Hoffman (popular in June) 3*
10.10: First Love by Ivan Turgenev 3*
15.10: To Your Scattered Bodies Go by Philip Jose Farmer 4* and
The Handmaid's Tale with Natasha Richardson 2*
20.3 Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll. Left comment # 64 in the thread.+20
total: 35
15.6 The Season of Gifting. I read "The Gospel According to Coco Chanel: Life Lessons for the World's Most Elegant Women," By Karen Karbo. The gift it relates to is a bottle of "Coco" perfume (my favorite) given to me by my mother. I gave back by donating clothing and household goods to Goodwill.30.1 Bonnie's Task "Celebrate the End of the Decade"
Book published in 2000-09 "The Man in the Wooden Hat" Jane Gardam
Book made into a movie in the same decade:
"Taking Woodstock" Elliot Tiber.
New Points: 45
Total Points: 155
Total Tasks: 8
15-4 is done with 'John Henry Smith: A Humorous Story of Outdoor Life' by Fredrick Upham Adams, I like the game life so I played a few hours of it!720 points
for 2.5 i read brendan buckleys universe and everything in it which has a blue cover.
for 3.5 i read just ella and ella is a monarch
for 4.25 i read on the wings of heroes which takes place in 1949
for 3.30 i read school spirt and the author is new too me
for 15.8 i read valentines day princess and saw santa buddies
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
The Bloodshed Of The Betrayed (other topics)Winter's Child (other topics)
The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry: Love, Laughter, and Tears at the World's Most Famous Cooking School (other topics)
Don't Try This At Home: Culinary Catastrophes from the World's Greatest Chefs (other topics)
Magic Study (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Kate Mosse (other topics)Louise Rennison (other topics)
Robert Louis Stevenson (other topics)
William Golding (other topics)
Laura Childs (other topics)
More...
For the first part, I read My Name is Red. I have tried over and over to get the cover and post it here --can't do it? How do I? It was a very Persian looking cover, which makes sense as this book is set in Instanbul during the Persian empire.
For the second, I read Persepolis, It was my first graphic novel in memory. I did not think one could be that deep, but I am on the waiting list for part 2 at the library!
total: 410/1100
pages to date: 7660
number of tasks completed: 22
in progress: 1