The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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SPRING CHALLENGE 2010
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Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks
I've finished task 25.7. I read The Lightning Thief. I have to admit, I enjoyed this much more than the movie...too bad they didn't follow the plot a little better.
Welcome, Sheila!Congrats on your new baby, Jen. That is wonderful news!
5.4 - In The News -- March 2010 Newsletter Blood Vines by Erica Spindler read it and was going to use it for part of Spring Cleaning -- but it's in the new Newsletter.
Books Read: 9
Pages Read: 3117
Tasks Completed: 7
Tasks in Progress: 2
Michele wrote: "Jayme wrote: "Wow you guys read fast?"Amen Jayme...I work a lot so I cannot read as many."
I am only on my fourth task. I thought that was good considering I started at the beginning of March
I have been going at a much slower pace this season, but I also have been saving up a few... so without further ado... 5.7 Developmental Disabilities: The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (main character Lisbeth has Asperger's syndrome). wow, a great follow-up to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo that fills in a lot of background on Lisbeth. Can't wait for the next book to come out in the US.
*Big books: this book was 503 pg
10. 4 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: A. Reduce - Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron by Jasper Fforde. I have read all of Fforde's Thursday Next books and all the Nursery Crime books. I enjoyed this first installment in a new series; plenty of his trademark absurdities tied together with an interesting, if formulaic, plot.
Wow. Well, I've read several more but apparently it is time for me to get busy finishing some multi-book tasks.
15.9 What's in a name?Packet Alley ~ Elisabeth Meg
This book is unfortunately out of print, so it's not here on GoodReads. It was written by Elisabeth Meg, which is the pseudonym of two best friends, Elisabeth Wenning Goepp and Margaret Webb Sanders, who was my great-grandmother. Mrs. Goepp did all the research for the historical aspects of the novel, and my great-grandmother did the actual writing. My great-aunt gave me my great-grandmother's copy of the book for Christmas, complete with her signature, notes, and corrections in the margins. It's a cute book about two kids who, using magic eyeglasses, travel back in time to learn about the history of New Castle, Delaware. I wish I'd been able to know my great-grandmother; I have so many questions about writing and the book that I'd like to ask her.
When I publish my stories/poems/books/etc, I use my real name, but if I were to use a pseudonym again, I'd keep my old one, Amy Locke. I used to publish online using that name when I was younger. Amy was my favorite name at the time, and Locke is the first name of my favorite video game character. Yup, I'm still a dork.
Total: 15 + 545 (from earlier) = 560pts
First task completed, 25.4 I've read Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier as I'm Tracy Cosgrove and I read The Truth about Melody Brown by Lisa Jewell, A 5 satr book in my opinion.
20.7 Tender Morsels by Margo LanaganThis was the task about finding something in my house that needs to be thrown/given away. This book had a lot of bears in it, and one thing I need to get rid of are a lot of my teddy bear stuffed animals. I know it's sad, but they've taken over my bed.
10.1-- Books Really Do Grow on Trees[image error]
5.9-- "I think even lying on my bed I can still do something."
I had to choose a shorter one for this task because I don't have a lot of time to spend in bed. After several days and nights, I've finally finished this one. :-)
Total: 130
20.6 Supporting Goodreads Authors - Bridgit - Favorite SeriesLIVING DEAD IN DALLAS by Charlaine Harris
While this is only the second book in the series, I enjoy it. Sookie Stackhouse is not your average cocktail waitress. She has the gift/burden of being able to read minds, except her boyfriend, Bill's, because he is a vampire. Sookie's talents are not appreciated by other humans, but Bill's colleagues appreciate her talent and use her to suit their needs. The series is funny, suspenseful, with a little bit of love thrown in.
Tasks: 1
Points: 20
Pages: 291
I just completed task 5.4 by reading Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal which was mentioned in the Movers and Shakers section of the July 2009 Goodreads Newsletter. It was one of those half/half books for me. Loved the writing style and a lot of the descriptions of the people were wonderful, not sure I cared for the overall message such as it was.Tasks Completed: 16/57
Books Read: 21
Pages Read: 6528
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Finished 5.9 Reading in Bed. I read The Battle of the Labyrinth by Rick Riordan. Loving this series!New Total: 50 Points
15.5 Poetry -Sonnets by William Shakespeare
Haiku:
Desert wildflowers
Seen then gone butterfly quick
Arizona spring.
230 points
My first completed task here!!--5.9: spent the day in bed reading These Three Remain by Pamela Aidan
TOTAL: 5 points (I'm on my way!)
10.2 - Three/Four/Five - I read I'm Down: a memoir
, which was at 3.54 when I started and 3.53 when I ended, remaining at 3.53 with my three star rating. Total points: 50
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#5.8 Read a book with one of the following words in the title: I chose called:Catherine, Called Birdy by Karen Cushman Mar 14 This is a Newbery Honor book, so I expected to enjoy it more than I did, but it was well-researched.
#30.4 - DLM Rose: One If by Land, Two if by Sea
A. One book with a natural landform or land feature in the title:
Angel's Peak (Virgin River #10) by Robyn Carr Mar 15
B. One book with a natural body of water in the title:
Forbidden Falls (Virgin River #9) by Robyn Carr Mar 11
Total Pages = 3,362
Total Points = 165
I finished 5.9 by reading The Tales of Beedle the Bard (107 pages). It was a fun quick read! I loved Dumbledore's commentary. I can't believe I have waited this long to read it!Total Points: 60
Tasks Completed: 5
Tasks In Progress: 1
Books Read: 6
Pages Read: 2627
10.10 - "Fashions fade - style is eternal."I read
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Total Books Read: 2
Total Points: 20
10.5 Freedom Of The PressAdam Canfield of the Slash
Not only is it a novel about a group of young journalists, it was written by a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, too! A very, very good book.
Total: 10 + 560 (from earlier) = 570pts
Cathy wrote: "10.10 - "Fashions fade - style is eternal."I read
Al Capone Does My Shirts
Total Books Read: 2
Total Points: 20"
Sorry, Gennifer Choldenko is a Goodreads author
20.3 - Mental HealthI read We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication for this task. The book discusses tons of illnesses including ADHD, OCD, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, to name a few. I underlined a bunch and learned A TON about mental illness from the book, way too much to mention. I also learned a lot about the inadequacies present in our healthcare system for treating people and children with mental illnesses.
Total Points: 75/980
Tasks Complete: 4/57
Finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo for 10.5. LOVED this book!Total points:
Jamie(24)--20 points
5.2"The Garden Angel" by Mindy Friddle (A GoodReads Author)
5.1 The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable (horrible, horrible book btw)Total Points: 5
10.1 picture of tree on cover - Prodigal Summer, Barbara Kingsolver.
Total Points 20 /980
Tasks Completed 2 /57
Tasks Outstanding 55 /57
Pages Read 1032
Books Read 3 /66
20.3 - Wintergirls This book is about a girl who suffers from anorexia. My sisters has anorexia so I was interested to learn more about the mindset involved with anorexia. From this, I learned that anorexia is all about the lies you tell yourself. The story was told through the POV of the girl suffering from anorexia and she frequently say something and then have it crossed out. For example: 30.2 - Someone Named Eva This is a 5* in my book. I would require everyone in school to read it, if I could. Graceling 2* I absolutely hated this book. I wanted to like it, but I hated it. I have spent the last two weeks forcing myself to finish it. I hated Katsa, Po needed to grow a pair. The message about the lack of commitment and the raging on marriage was sickening. In all, I really hated this book. I liked the premise of people who were Graced and the whole 7 kingdoms (which is why it is a 2 and not a 1).
Total Points: 100
Total Books Read:8
Total Pages Read:2608
Total Task Complete:6
Thank you, Cynthia for pointing out I messed up again. Must pay closer attention to task wording!I completed task 20.3 over the weekend by reading Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. 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. I would say that the mental health issue is anxiety and depression. I am going to guess that this teen was troubled prior to suffering some serious bullying and mental distress from her peers. This led to a deeper depression which led to suicide in the story. I don't think I learned all that much since I feel like I know a lot about these topics, especially as a teacher. It was more like this reinforced my belief that people can be deeply affected by the careless actions of others. However, I think we have to learn to live past these things since there will always be not so great people in our lives.
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Is that good? I feel weird diagnosing a character!
10.7 Beware the Ides of MarchBitter Harvest. A Woman's Fury, A Mother's Sacrifice by Ann Rule
Total points: 220
10 points10.4 Reuse: To Desire A Devil - Elizabeth Hoyt*
20 points
20.2 To Beguile A Beast - Elizabeth Hoyt*
20.10 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
I posted my thoughts already over in the discussion thread. Very incoherent 3AM thoughts haha.
Totals
Points: 50
Books: 5
Challenges: 3
Ms Anderson wrote: "15.9 What's in a name?Packet Alley ~ Elisabeth Meg
This book is unfortunately out of print, so it's not here on GoodReads. It was written by Elisabeth Meg, which is the pseudonym of two best frie..."
What a great story. Thanks for sharing!
I finished:
Task 30.2 A Texas-Sized Task, reading Someone Named Eva*** from the 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award List and Killer Pizza*** from this year's Texas Lone Star Reading List.
Total points: 105
Total pages: 1429
Tasks completed: 4
Books read: 6
30.6 -- I read Book Lust by Nancy Pearl and Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer.120/980
pages: 2704
tasks 7
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25.7- Percy Jackson and the Lightning thief- Rick Riordan
I completed 20.3, the mental health task. I don't want to give away too much about the book, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but I believe the main characther is suffering from depression and/or PTSD. I don't know very much about PTSD outside of it's correlation with soldiers who have been in combat, so it was very interesting to think about it in new terms. It's amazing how suffering from this disorder creeps into all aspects of your life and the many, many symptoms it can have!Complete
5 Points
5.2 Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
5.6 The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Haruki Murakami
5.8 Moon Called, Patricia Briggs
20 Points
20.2 The Help, Kathryn Stockett
20.3 The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky
Totals
Points: 55
Talks: 5
Books: 5
Pages: 1949
10.5 - Freedom Of The PressIn Honor of World Press Freedom Day (May 3rd)...
A. Read a novel with a main character who is a journalist.
Or
B. Read a non-fictional book written by or about a famous journalist.
Making Headlines by Kathy Lynn Emerson -- about Nellie Bly
I have finished Amy Mo's Mental Health Task 20.3 by reading The Silver Linings Play Book by Matthew Quick.The books starts with Pat, the main character, leaving a mental institution that we find out later he has been in for 4 years. Although they don't talk about the diagnosis, he was first institutionalised after catching his wife having an affair and proceeding to strangle the guy his wife was with. He has managed to blank out exactly what has happened and gradually remembers throughout the book. He struggles with anger and depression throughout as he tries to go back to living in the outside world. The book is light hearted and funny despite the serious topic. What the book did bring across though was how lonely depression and mental illness can be mainly due to the lack of understanding by other people. Not that other people don't understand mental health in general but rather not know what the person suffering is feeling or how to deal with those feelings.
Previous Reads
10.4 Reduce, Reuse and Recycle - We are all Made of Glue by Marina Lewycka
15.9 What's in a Name - A Town Like Alice by Neville Shute
30.3 Birth and Renewal - Blacklands by Belinder Bauer and Restoration by Rose Tremain
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20.6 Book from series -A War of Gifts
Ender's Game series by Orson Scott Card starts with the brilliant young children of earth who are trained to fight an interstellar war against aliens, then explores cooperation between interstellar species. My favorite in the series is Speaker for the Dead.
250 points
15.10 - "Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are." Read a book whose title relates to your personal philosophy OR a book written by a philosopher whose ideas you identify with. When posting this task share your personal philosophy of life.
I read: Don't Sweat the Small Stuff--and it's all small stuff : Simple Ways to Keep the Little Things from Taking Over Your Life (1997) by Richard Carlson (Paperback, 248 pages). I knew this book would be useful when it referenced the Serenity Prayer in its Introduction:
“Change the things that can be changed, accept those that cannot, and have the wisdom to know the difference.”
My father had that prayer chiseled on a piece of wood and he kept it in his office his entire life. Some concepts in the book that I try to follow: learn to live in the present moment; be the first one to act lovingly (which in turn helps to keep a marriage healthy – 25th wedding anniversary coming up in April!); keep asking yourself “what is important” (also known as: will this matter a year from now?) . I’d also add the phrase: “people before things” to the list. And, while one would think that this attitude is inconsistent with worldly success, my very financially successful younger sister is the one who told me that she found this book helpful in dealing with the increasing stresses of her life.
120+15=135
Tasks Completed: 8
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 135/980
Books read: 9
Pages Read: 2367
Read but not claimed: 4 books
10.1 Book with a picture of a tree on cover:Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
POINTS FOR THIS TASK: 10
Total Points: 40/980
Tasks Complete: 3/57
Amanda wrote: "I finished task 15.9. I read Silas Marner by George Eliot, whose real name was Mary Anne Evans. It makes me wonder- Mary Anne published under a pen name, but we still keep the pen name. Why don't we still publish the Bronte books under the pen names, too?"Amanda, I'm not sure if you wanted a real answer or not, but what they hey. :) I think the biggest reason is that the Bronte's used pen names in order to get their books published, period. George Eliot wanted to be taken seriously as a writer, not just get published. Women writers and their writing, of course, were considered "silly" at that time. Also, she had a crazy marital situation going on and she didn't want her popularity as a writer suffer because of her love life. I think Eliot adopted her nom-de-plume in other facets of her life, and not just her writing - but the Bronte's used pen names just for their writing. At least that's my understanding. If anyone knows something different I'd also be curious to hear it.
Ok, posting for the first time, so help me if I missed something (please!).25.5 Spring Cleaning - The Pillars of the Earth
At 900+ pages, this is also a Big Book.
That puts me on the board with 25 points!
COMPLETED TASKS:
25.4 The Name Game
A. Author Who Shares Your Name
Sugar Daddy by Lisa Kleypas - READ 3.16.10
RATiNG: 4 stars
I could feel the Texas heat rising off the pages. This story was sizzling hot!
B. A Name in Title
Alex Cross's Trial by James Patterson - READ 3.8.10
RATING : 4 stars
Not the typical Alex Cross book, but a well done historical fiction, which delves into Cross's ancestry.
TASKS COMPLETED: 7/57
POINTS COMPLETED: 120/980
BOOKS READ: 9/73
*BOOKS READ FROM MY PERSONAL LIBRARY: 2
25.1 Read a book with something on the cover that you want to have in the future.In the very near future, I want to enjoy a day at the beach with my hubby, and so I chose to read this book:
This mini vacation to the beach is something I've been looking forward to for a while because this winter has felt exceptionally cold and exceptionally long-lasting! I mean, c'mon...it snowed in the Dallas area enough for snow to stay on the ground THREE WHOLE TIMES. And my hubby even had to shovel our driveway one time. !! And now I'm just waiting for all you northerners who are laughing at me to begin complaining about the heat of the summer while I'm out basking in it. =)
Total points = 100
10.1 - Books Really Do Grow On Trees read 
Hell Gate by Linda Fairstein -- leafless trees on cover.Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 3499
Tasks Completed: 8
Tasks in Progress: 2
Finished my first task in this challenge.Task 25.9 - Author that was popular when I went to high school or college: I finished college last year, so I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins which was a popular book/author during my last college years. Great book, 5 stars!
Books Read: 1
Tasks Completed: 1
Pages Read: 453
Total Points: 25
For task 20.1 I read Les Misérables, William Shakespeare: The Complete Works, Deluxe Edition and War and Peace, my reviews, which are scribbled on birch bark, are currently being shipped to Cynthia via Pony Express. LOL.
Ok. Actually, I read Three Men in a Boat, which was quite amusing, though its meandering nature made it sort of peter out in the end. I still thoroughly enjoyed it ****
Books Read: 7
Pages Read: 2162
Points: 80
Finished:5.9 - Book of Choice
The Sugar Queen - Sarah Addison Allen (Goodreads Author)
This was a cute book, quick read :)
TOTAL POINTS: 55
Goodreads Authors: 3
Big Books: 0
20.6 Read a book in a favorite seriesThe Lost Symbol by Dan Brown-- This like his other two books takes hidden symbols, in Washington DC this time, and uses them to write a thriller that you cannot put down until you finish it. I love how these books make you think about what you are reading and how it causes people to see things in a way they may not have thought about.
30.1 Read a book with spring, fling or toss in the title. I read The Bookwoman's Last Fling by John Dunning 4*
I would like to use The Lost Symbol as my big book ticket 500 pgs.
Points: 110
Books: 5
Tasks: 5
Pages: 3915
30.3 Read a book first published in 2010 and read a book with the prefix 're-' in the title or subtitle.I read Horns (first published in 2010) and Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable .
Total points = 130
Completed tasks:5.9 Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads author), Anne Stuart & Lani Diane Rich
25.4 A. The Crush by Sandra Brown (Goodreads author) Sandra is my 'proper' first name - but good luck getting me to answer to it!
C. Agnes and the Hitman by Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads author)
30.5 The Information Officer by Mark Mills
Moab is my Washpot by Stephen Fry
Mark Mills first screenplay starred James Purefoy, who was in A Knight's Tale with Heath Ledger, who starred in Brokeback Mountain, directed by Ang Lee. Ang Lee directed Sense & Sensibility with a screenplay written by Emma Thompson, who starred in Peter's Friends with Stephen Fry.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
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Amen Jayme...I work a lot so I cannot read as many.