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SPRING CHALLENGE 2010
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Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks
finished: 15,7 Beware the Seven Deadly Sins: GREEDUnholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed and Forgery in the Holy Land by Nina Burleigh. Several years ago there was a big announcement that proof had been found of the ossuary of James, brother of Jesus. Books were written. Now comes this book about the forgery of the relic. As well as being about this specific case, Burleigh treats the whole problem of making profits from ancient relics, both sacred and profane.
As a Sin Greed holds man to want more, More, MORE for himself thus keeping him from helping others. The love for money or material gain blinds man to the love for others. The book Unholy Business illustrates taking the love of material gain into the religious marketplace.
30.2 Cheryl TX' TASK - A Texas-Sized Task:
A. The Hound of Rowan by Henry Neff (a Harry Potter-esque book. The first of a series)
B The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate by Jacqueline Kelly. I LOVED this book. I was amazed it was cataloged as a children's book, but I am recommending it to people I know who enjoy books like Anne of Green Gables and The Hearts of Horses. 5*
I have a potted plant that is beyond hope, and has been for quite some time. I really ought to throw it away. I am connecting this to Life As We Knew It by Susan Beth Pfeffer because pretty much all of the vegetation is killed off due to environmental circumstances in the novel.TOTAL = 40 POINTS
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Mod
The Housekeeper and the Professor
This is an elegant book about connections and understanding with a wonderful use of mathematics.
+20
total 155
For 15.5 I read Comic Poems from the Everyman Library. I don't like poems
Sorry if I offend you
Laughing makes better
(In my part of the world, "poems" is two syllables. I realize, that's not always the case.)
Two more, and bed...hopefully I'll get a job for tomorrow.5.7 March is Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month
Fade to Black
One of the main characters, Daria, has Down Syndrome.
25.4 Name Game
Wintergirls (same last name) and I, Juan de Pareja (character name in title)
Total: 30 + 400 (from earlier) = 430pts
I completed 10.2.I read Daughters of the Witching Hill by Mary Sharratt. When I started it, it's rating was 4.33
This brings me to 110 points.
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20.3 - Mental IllnessFor this task, I read Godmother: The Secret Cinderella Story. The mental illness featured in this story completely took my by surprise - one of the characters has schizophrenia as a result of a tragedy. This book really helped me find a perspective on how hard it must be for someone dealing with this kind of illness to deal with reality when you are so separated from reality in your mind and things aren't really as you perceive them.
This is my first completed task, so my total is 20!!
LauraFL
5.10 - "The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them." In honor of Queen Victoria, the longest reigning British Monarch, read a book written by an author who lived during her lifetime (May 24, 1819 – January 22, 1901) - The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Total Points: 155/980
Books Read: 16
Tasks Completed: 11/57
Tasks in Progress: 7
From Owned TBR: 15
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5 POINT TASKS1. The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
2.
3. The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman
4.
5. The Guardian by Nicholas Sparks
6. Memoirs of a Geisha by Arthur Golden
7. Look Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's by John Elder Robison
8.
9. Eclipse by Stephine Meyer
10. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass (Barnes & Noble Classics) by Lewis Carroll, John Tenniel
10 POINT TASKS
1. A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks
2.
3. Cut by Patricia McCormick
4. The Host by Stephanie Meyer
5. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Stieg Larsson
6. The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game (Movie Tie-in Edition) by Michael Lewis
7. The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke
9. The Horse and His Boy (Chronicles of Narnia, #3) by C.S. Lewis
10.
15 POINT TASKS
1.House of Dolls by Ka-tzetnik 135633 (Yehiel De-Nur/Dinur) and Aches & Painsby Maeve Binchy
2.Ten Things I Hate About Me by Randa Abdel-Fattah and Billy Bishop Goes to War by John Gray, Eric Peterson
3. My Sister's Keeper by Jodi Picoult
4.The Emerald City of Oz by L. Frank Baum and PS, I Love You by Cecelia Ahern
5.Wicked Poems by Roger McGough
6. Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult and Tuesdays with Morrie: An Old Man, a Young Man, and Life's Greatest Lesson by Mitch Albom
7.Lust (Seven Deadly Sins #1) by Robin Wasserman
8.Letters of Vincent Van Gogh by Vincent Van Gogh
9.Educating Caroline by Patricia Cabot
10. Fear and Trembling (Penguin Great Ideas) by Søren Kierkegaard
20 POINT TASKS
1.The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 1 by Douglas Adams
2.Green This!: Greening Your Cleaning (Green This, #1) by Deirdre Imus
3.
4.Roots by Alex Haley and Maud Hart Lovelace's Deep Valley: A Guidebook of Mankato Places in the Betsy-Tacy Series by Julie A. Schrader
5.Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood by Rebecca Wells and green Eggs and ham and the lorax by. Dr. seuss
6.Plum Spooky by Janet Evanovich
7.Boyz and the Bandz: The Hottest Men in Music: From Elvis to Nsync by Donald F. Reuter
8.Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King
9.
10. The Golden Compass (His Dark Materials, #1) by Philip Pullman
25 POINT TASKS
1.
2.The Song of Names by Norman Lebrecht and The Life and Death of Classical Music: Featuring the 100 Best and 20 Worst Recordings Ever Made by Norman Lebrecht
3.Wicked by Gregory Maguire
4. Hex (Hex, Book 1) by Rhiannon Lassiter and Dear John by Nicholas Sparks
5. Breaking Dawn (Twilight, #4) by Stephenie Meyer ( Large Print)
6.Donnybrook: The Battle of Bull Run, 1861 by David Detzer and First Blood (Civil War) by William C. Davis, Time-Life Books
7. The Lightning Thief (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #1) by Rick Riordan
8. Animal Farmby George Orwell and Marley & Me by John Grogan
9. Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1) by Charlaine Harris
10. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith, Jane Austen
30 POINT TASKS
1.Spring Break (Sweet Valley High, Super Edition) by Francine Pascal and Toss the Bride by Jennifer Manske Fenske
2. Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli, Matt Phelan and Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor
3.Hard to Get by Emma Carlson Berne and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller
4.Best Friends (Sweet Valley Twins #1) by Francine Pascal and Deep End of the Ocean (Oprah's Book Club) by Jacquelyn Mitchard
5.The Color of Money by Walter Tevis and Revolutionary Road (Movie Tie-in Edition) (Vintage Contemporaries) by Richard Yates (Tom Cruise was in The Color of Money, which was directed by Martin Scorsese. Scorsese has collaborated with Leonardo DiCaprio in a number of films. Leo has starred in the following film adaptation: Revolutionary Road - Richard Yates)
6.Inkheart (Inkheart, #1) by Cornelia Funke and The Fellowship of the Ring (The Lord of the Rings, #1) by J.R.R. Tolkien
50 POINT TASK
2198/24447 Pages Read
100/980 Total Points
8/75 Books Completed
Julie McVey10.3 - My Brother's Keeper ~ Patricia McCormick
Total Points = 40 points
Total Books = 3 books
Total Pages = 569 pages
Task 15.3--At Least Once in a LifetimeI read: The Two Princesses of Bamarre by Gail Carson Levine
I was really surprised to see this on the list. When I started reading it, it was on page 5. As cute as the book was, it's not something I'd consider that "everyone" needs to read at least once. I would reserve that sentiment for the type of book that will appeal to every age and sex, and I think this book will most strongly attract tween girls (and apparently late 20s females who love fairy tales). For a book to also appear on this type of list, I feel it should have a strong message that is going to provide meaning to any person in any setting in any time. So the book for me that most strongly should be at the top of that list is Nineteen Eighty-Four
Total: 115
I've finally finished my first book to get on the readerboard!I have read A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute for 15.9 What's in a Name. If I was to have a pen name it would A. Hill. A being my first initial and Hill being my mum's maiden name and if I was to write a book it would be a children's book and I think A.Hill is a good name for a children's author!
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I've just completed 25.9Danielle Steel- Amazing Grace
I just completed task 15.3 by reading The Complete Persepolis. For me personally, it was amazing and definitely deserves to be on the list of Books Everyone Should Read Once. I have never done well with what I think of as "dry" reading and have a hard time reading non-fiction books and detailed articles about things like the political situation in Iran. Reading it in memoir and graphic format no less, gives me more of an emotional access to it and I love when my reading does that for me!I would have a hard time deciding what would be number one on the list since I can never say definitively what my FAVORITE BOOK of all time is. It would probably be a dead heat between The Great Gatsby, The Sun Also Rises or Anna Karenina.
Tasks Completed: 13/57
Books Read: 17
Pages Read: 5353
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25.5For this task you must read at least 850 pages from your TBR pile.
This Year's Model by Carol Alt (272 pages)
The Sensory Processing Disorder Answer Book by Tara Delaney (240 pages)
The Girls by Lori Lansens (368 pages)
880 pages total
Total Points: 125
10.4 B-Reuse: Read a book that you planned to read in a previous challenge but didn't get the chance to-The Gift by Cecilia AhernPoints: 10
Total Points: 35/980
20.9 - Cheese Title- The English American: A Novel by Alison Larkin. I wanted to give this book 2 1/2*, but decided to give it 3*, because I liked the main character. Alison Larkin is a Goodreads author.
Total Points: 50
Tasks Completed: 3
Books Read: 5
Pages Read: 1,933
Tasks in Process: 5.2, 5.9, 30.5, 30.6
Task 5.9: I read Inner Circle by Kate Brian in bed last night. Didn't like this one as much as previous books in the series, but I think it may have been a transition book? So we'll see how the next one goes. And even though it didn't rise to the level of the others for me, it was still great fun.Task 20.10 I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and posted on the Group Reads thread for this book. It was not great fun. But I've had it on my shelf now for over a year, so: Thank you, Seasonal Reading Challenge, for making me finally read it!
This brings me to 235 points.
14/57 tasks
18 books
5.10 Lived During Queen Victoria's lifetime -Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov who was born April 23, 1899. I had started this book last year & never finished it because it was due back at the library, I made time to get through the whole thing this time!
20.2 Cleaning/Organizing -
Listened to To the Lighthouse by Virginia Woolf on audiobook. Part II of this book was soley about a woman cleaning/preparing the house for the family to return after 10 years.
This book was MURDER! I'm surprised I made it through! Can somebody... anybody please tell me what this book was about?? I'm really not sure! Nothing happened through the whole book. I was torn on what to rate it, I actually liked her writing style, but the story... well there was no story, so I gave it 2*s.
My total - 75 points
15.7 - Beware The Seven Deadly SinsRead a book with one of The Seven Deadly Sins in the title: wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony.
Wings of Wrath by C.S.Friedman
Wrath in the title refers to "The Wrath of Gods", an immaterial barrier that separates the world and manipulates feelings and dreams of those who attempt to come near it. Large part of the plot revolves around the mysterious origin of this barrier.
As deadly sins go, I think wrath is one that can actually lead to positive effects, and, at least according to modern psychology, its suppression can have even worse consequences than wrath alone. On the other hand, uncontrolled fits of anger have caused enough death and suffering throughout history that one can hardly doubt its deadliness.
Task Points: 15
Total Points: 35
Books Read: 2
Tasks Completed: 2
30.6 I've read My Life Behaving Badly: The AutobiographyLeslie Ash- which references The Secret GardenFrances Hodgson Burnett which I have also just finished.
For task 20.7, I chose the Jack Sparrow plastic figurine someone got me after the Pirates of the Caribbean movie came out.The book I read was Pirate Latitudes by Michael Crichton, which actually had a lot in common with the Pirates movie. Not as funny, but with more swashbuckling and close scrapes.
Dlmrose wrote: "I finished 20.2, Valorie's Clean Sweep part A withThe Housekeeper and the Professor
This is an elegant book about connections and understanding with a wonderful use of mathemat..."
I loved this book so much I immediately started rereading parts of it!
This will be a long post, since the 3 tasks I've completed all need reviews or explanations:#15.5 Read a collection of poetry (at least 75 pages), and write and post an original Haiku:
Something Big Has Been Here by Jack Prelutsky (159 pp) March 12
Books are such pleasure
I read to find a treasure
within each story
#20.1 Read a humorous book of any type and write a short review:
Leave it to PSmith by P.G. Wodehouse March 7 Here's My Review
#20.6 Read a book from your favorite series. Summarize the overall series in 2-3 sentences so that everyone can decide if they want to start a new series:
Midnight Pleasures With a Scoundrel by Lorraine Heath March 6
This historical-romance series gives a new twist to the story of Fagin's boys from Dickens' Oliver Twist, and lets you see what could have happened if someone gave them a chance to escape their lives as pickpockets and thieves. Some have names we recognize, such as Jack Dodger; Oliver becomes Luke, who is discovered to be the grandson of a duke. Others are cleverly named - Frannie chose the last name of Darling because Feagan always called her 'Frannie, darling'; James chose the surname Swindler because that's what he was good at as one of the boys. And the skills they learned as boys from Feagan serve them well as adults when they channel them for (mostly) legal activities.
Total Pages = 1,998
Total Points = 95
20.2 - Rookie Of The Season - Valorie - Clean SweepRead Shakespeare's Trollop by Charlaine Harris. Features cleaning woman/karate expert Lily Bard.
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 2151
Tasks Completed: 5
Tasks in Progress: 3
5.5 Read a popular book that was published in a year ending in 3, 4, or 5.I read Blue Dahlia , which was published in 2004.
30.2 Read a book off the Texas Bluebonnet Award list and one off the Texas Lone Star reading list.
I read Two-Minute Drill (Bluebonnet) and When You Reach Me (Lone Star).
Total points = 75
25.9 - Wendy's Task - Spring Break - Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen30.3 - Ms. Anderson's Task - Birth and Renewal - The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins and The Red Leather Diary: Reclaiming a Life Through the Pages of a Lost Journal by Lily Koppel
Total Points: 90/980
Books Read: 6
Tasks Completed: 4/57
Tasks in Progress: 1
Finally on the board with my first task!10.10 "Fashions fade-style is eternal": Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko
**Choldenko is a Goodreads Author**
Pages in book(s): 228
Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Total Pages Read: 228
Total Points: 10
Ashley wrote: "Task 20.10 I read The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova and posted on the Group Reads thread for this book. It was not great fun. But I've had it on my shelf now for over a year, so: Thank you, Seasonal Reading Challenge, for making me finally read it!"I forgot to say, this was 642 pages and so I'd like to claim my 500 page Big Book ticket for this one. Goodness knows it felt it even longer than it was!
Finished a few more books, but not all are worth some points. Here is the latest update: 15.9 - Black Magic Sanction - Kim Harrison - her real name is Dawn Cook.
If I had to have a pen name, I would probably use something like Colleen Bridges ( a combination of my first and middle names, reversed).
I also read 5.7 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time
Total Points: 85
Tasks Complete: 8
Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 4603
Tasks In Progress: 5
GOODREADS AUTHOR
BIG BOOK (500)
BIG BOOK (750)
BIG BOOK (1000) x
Finished:20.5 - Read Across America
Sideways Stories from Wayside School
Wayside School Is Falling Down
Wayside School gets a little stranger
Amelia Bedelia
Total Pages = 512
These books were on the Kid's Top 100 Books list. This was a great task - I loved these books when I was in elementary school!
New Points = 20
TOTAL POINTS = 50
I finished 30.4 (landform and water form) with Bird Lake Moon and The Possession of Mr Cave. I enjoyed Bird Lake Moon, but not so much Mr. Cave (good insight into someone losing their mind, but not so enjoyable to read.)That gives me
70 points
1488 pages read
Well, I lied. I ended up doing a list for 20.5 -- I read these books to my kids anyway, so it seemed easiest to just keep notes! I got to 500 pages reading:Dr. Seuss:
And To Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street (40)
Great Day for Up (36)
Oh, the Places You'll Go (56)
The Lorax (72)
Cat In The Hat (72)
Green Eggs and Ham (62)
And: The Adventures of Amelia Bedelia (192) by Peggy Parish
Total: 530 pages
I also finished Task 15.7 by reading Double Sin and Other Stories by Agatha Christie. This is a book of short stories, some definitely better than others. "Double Sin" itself was really good. The sins aren't identified explicitly, but must have been (greed) for the stealing and pride (assuming they wouldn't get caught). This is a Hercule Poirot story (as were four of the eight) and I always enjoy him!
This brings me to 270 points
16/57 tasks
26 books
Finished 30.5 - 6 degrees of separation today.Misery by Steven King
Saving Fish from Drowning: A Novel by Amy Tan
Amy Tan sings in a band (The Rock Botton Remainders) with Steven King.
5.10 The important thing is not what they think of me, but what I think of them - I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith (1896-1990).10.1 Books really do grow on trees - Tree By Leaf
I just completed task 20.3 by reading Thirteen Reasons Why. Very sad but beautifully written YA book with a gripping but depressing premise: Hannah Baker makes a series of tapes to explain who and what influenced her decision to commit suicide.Tasks Completed: 14/57
Books Read: 18
Pages Read: 5641
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Nicole wrote: "I just completed task 20.3 by reading Thirteen Reasons Why. Very sad but beautifully written YA book with a gripping but depressing premise: Hannah Baker makes a series of tapes to e..."Love. This. Book. I borrowed it from the library, read it, and went out and bought myself a copy because it was so amazing.
20.6 Book in a seriesI read Untouchable by Kate Brian. The 3rd book in the Private series. This series is about an average, middle-class teenager with a troubled homelife who earns a scholarship at an elite private school. Lots of drama abounds. I am enjoying this series and will continue to read it, but I only gave this book 3* b/c not enough happened to move the story along until the later chapters.
Total Points: 30 + 20 = 50
20.3 Mental HealthGirl, Interrupted
It's a memoir about the author's time spent in a mental institution after being diagnosed with severe depression (and later, she discovered she had Borderline Personality Disorder). It was an interesting read, since I have a friend with this disorder and didn't know much about it. It's still a pretty confusing disorder, but it's a little like being bipolar (and often the two are diagnosed together) in that the person swings wildly between moods, can be incredibly violent, and have self-destructive behaviors. The difference is that someone with BPD tends to be unsure of their identity--one example Kaysen gives is that they might have trouble distinguishing faces because they either over-analyze the face or the face blurs into nothingness, and then they worry that their own face is just like blobs of clay. I'm still not sure how much I understand the disease--most of the book was about what happened to other people while the author was at the facility and what the facility was like, rather than the author and her disorder. It was still interesting, though.
Total: 20 + 430 (from earlier) = 450pts
20.6 - Scandal 5*20.3 - Wintergirls 5*
Previously reported tasks (in case I missed one):
5.8 - Catherine, Called Birdy
10.9 - The Horse and His Boy
15.5 - Impulse
Total Points: 70
Total Books Read: 7
Total Tasks Complete: 5
Total Pages Read: 2137
10.1 Read a book with a picture of a tree on the cover OR with the word tree/trees in the title.Prodigal summer -
Total Points 20/980
Tasks Completed 3/57
I finished task 25.2 with Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit and Boating for Beginners by Jeanette Winterson.I liked Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit better than Boating for Beginners, but I wouldn't give over 3 stars to either of them. Okay, but not my cup of tea.
I probably won't read anything else by the author.
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I finished task 5.9 While Lying In Bed, I Still Can Do Something-I read "The Tenth Circle" by Jodi Picoult.Tasks Completed: 3
Books Read: 3
Total Points: 20
COMPLETED TASKS:
20.1 April Fool Humor
Fool by Christopher Moore - READ 3.12.10
RATING: 5 stars
This was a hilarious, bawdy black comedy based on Shakespeare's King Lear.
TASKS COMPLETED: 5/57
POINTS COMPLETED: 65/980
BOOKS READ: 5/73
*BOOKS READ FROM MY PERSONAL LIBRARY: 2
5.9 - “I think even lying on my bed I can still do something.” - The curious case of Benjamin Button10.1 - Books Really Do Grow On Trees - The Education of Little Tree
10.5 - Freedom Of The Press - Hard Evidence I-Team 2 by Pamela Clare (Goodreads Author)
Total Points: 25
Books Read: 3
Tasks Completed: 3/57
Finished 30.2 by reading Savvy for the Bluebonnet awards and The Maze Runner for the Lonestar list. I liked the storyline for Savvy (4*) better than Maze Runner (3*). Maze Runner was written well just not my cup of tea.This will bring me to 60 points.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Frankenstein (other topics)Chelsea Chelsea Bang Bang (other topics)
Loving Frank (other topics)
Maus II: A Survivor's Tale: And Here My Troubles Began (other topics)
Committed: A Skeptic Makes Peace with Marriage (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nancy Horan (other topics)Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (other topics)
Elizabeth Gilbert (other topics)
Chelsea Handler (other topics)
Eric Puchner (other topics)
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Task 15.8 Who Was Claude Monet? by Ann Waldron - Claude Monet is my favorite artist because of the series and different shades of color he use. My favorite works were the series of daisys.