The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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SPRING CHALLENGE 2010
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Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks
5.9 The Quilter's ApprenticeJennifer Chiaverini
Two more tasks down...5.9 - “I think even lying on my bed I can still do something.”
In honor of Dorothea Dix (April 4, 1802 – July 17, 1887), an American activist on behalf of the indigent insane whose quote inspired this task...Spend a day in bed reading the book of your choice.
For this task I read Wild Ride by Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads author)
30.2 - Cheryl TX's Task - A Texas-Sized Task
A. Read one book from 2009-2010 Texas Bluebonnet Award List OR the 2010-2011 Texas Bluebonnet Award List Part 2
AND
B. Read one book from this year's Texas Lone Star Reading List
For this task I read The Penderwicks on Gardam Street by Jeanne Birdstall for part A and Girlfriend Material by Melissa Kantor for part B.
Total Points: 190/980
Books Read: 20
Tasks Completed: 13/57
30.6 - Donna Jo's Task: Read a book with references: The Pulpwood Queens' Tiara-Wearing, Book-Sharing Guide to Lifeby Kathy L. PatrickRead a book that is referenced in first book:
The Sunday Wife: A Novel by Cassandra King
GOODREADS AUTHOR: Kathy L. Patrick
POINTS FOR THIS TASK: 30
Total Points: 75/980
Tasks Complete: 5/57
5.3 - S.P.R.I.N.G Everyman by Philip Roth
5.4 - In The News
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer, Annie Barrows
Total Points: 75
Books Read: 7
Tasks Completed: 7/57
5.9- I read Jodie Prenger- It's a fine life for this challenges.
Nicole wrote: "i just completed Task 30.1- THANK GOD! Easily the two worst books I have read for this challenge. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but there was just nothing to redeem either of them. The best I c..." Oh dear, I have "Toss the Bride" slated for this task. I think I read more of the crap-tastic type stuff than you do, so maybe I won't hate it? I don't exactly have other choices lined up!
20.1 - The Most Improved Player - Cindy AL - April FoolApril Fool...read three 1000+ page books and write reviews of each without using your computer...April Fool! Read a humorous book of any type and write a short review.
It happened One Knife - Jeffrey Cohn
http://www.goodreads.com/review/edit/...
Finished 20.6: One Good Turn by Kate AtkinsonThis is a mystery series starring Jackson Brodie, police detective-turned-private investigator. The first book in the series, Case Histories: A Novel, is the story of a few of Brodie's cases. In this second installment, Brodie has retired from PI work altogether, but still manages to walk into, and become a suspect of, several different murders and assaults. What I really like about Atkinson's writing is the way the lives of all her seemingly unconnected characters intertwine. She shows that it really is a small world. I have the next book, When Will There Be Good News?, on my shelf waiting to be read.
Total Points: 95
20.1 - The Most Improved Player - Cindy AL - April FoolVernon God Little by DBC Pierre
I would not have picked up this book had it not been for the Spring 2010 reading Challenge. This is the first novel by DBC Pierre and it was interesting to see how his story developed and folded out. I did not guess the ending so that was a pleasant surprise. It was a dark comedy and the comedy sneaks up on you when you least expect to laugh. But I did definitely laugh through out the entire novel.
Tasks Completed: 5
Points Earned: 105
Books Read: 6
10.7 - Beware the Ides of March: Safe Harbor: A Murder in Nantucket by Brian McDonald. This isn't anything I just would have picked up. Not my normal reading style. But he did a good job researching and building the personalities behind the "characters". 20.1 - The Most Improved Player - Cindy AL - April Fool: Extreme Office Crafts: Creative & Devious Ways to Waste Office Supplies & Company Time by Jimmy Knight. I expected this to be just a gimicky little book of post-it note origami, but there were some (funny!) clever ideas. Some of them would take some real effort, but there is also the quick post it note humor. This book was much funnier than I expected it to be.
Total points: 135
Total pages: 1813
Books read: 8
Tasks completed: 6
Finished-20.7 Both Becky and I have closets full of clothes that we probably do not needTasks Completed-8
Ashley wrote: "Nicole wrote: "i just completed Task 30.1- THANK GOD! Easily the two worst books I have read for this challenge. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but there was just nothing to redeem either of the..."Ashley - I read Throw Like A Girl: Stories for this task and thought it was really good (4 Stars).
20.6 Club Dead by Charlaine HarrisThe Sookie Stackhouse series can never be mistaken for great literature, but they are entertaining tales set in a world where vampires live openly with humans.
20.6 Favorite SeriesThe Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz (goodreads author)
If you have not read this series - run don't walk to your nearest library/bookstore. I love this series about the Spellman clan - a family of private detectives who give a whole new meaning to dysfunctional family. This book will make you laugh out loud and there's plenty of mystery thrown in. My favorite part about this four book series (rumor has it this is the last book - I'm hoping Lisa Lutz changes her mind) is that the characters grow and evolve while retaining the charm that you fell in love with in the first book. Too many series become the same story over and over and nothing changes, but not in this series. I highly recommend this series.
Books Read - 5
Tasks Completed - 4
Pages Read - 1,566
TOTAL POINTS - 75
Ta
Mod
The Art of Disappearing: A Novel (311 pages) by GR author Ivy Pochoda and
The Rope Trick (195)
+20
total 300
Task 20.7I read:
Ophie Out of Oz
I have way too many shoes and need to get rid of some. The main character has a pair of Ruby Red Shoes that no longer fit and she gives them to her best friend.
Points: 20
Total Points: 60
Cait wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Nicole wrote: "i just completed Task 30.1- THANK GOD! Easily the two worst books I have read for this challenge. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but there was just nothing to redee..." Thanks, Cait! My library even has it :)I've finished Task 5.10 by reading Murder at the Vicarage by Agatha Christie, who was born in 1890 and thus alive during Queen Victoria's reign. A good one, but there was one plot hole that has me puzzled.
For Task 15.10 I read The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom, A Toltec Wisdom Book by Miguel Ruiz. This was a re-read for me. A five star book. If you can read through the new-agey stuff, the basic principals (Be impeccable with your word; Don't take anything personally; Don't make assumptions; Always do your best) are fabulous. Just writing this here, I don't think, does it justice. This was recommended to me years ago by my brother and when I can really work on living these principals, I am a much happier person.
This brings me to 455 points.
27/57 tasks
39 books
I finished task 5.10 today by reading Dracula by Bram Stoker. I really enjoyed it and can't believe I'd never read it until now. Total Points: 95
Books Read: 16
Tasks Completed: 10
Partially Completed: 15.2, 15.6, 20.5, 25.5, 25.8, 30.1 (yikes!)
Pages Read: 5,622
I finished task 10.10 by reading Princess: A True Story of Life Behind the Veil in Saudi Arabia by Jean P. Sasson. It was a good book and definitely an eye opener. I gave it 4 stars.Books Read: 2
Tasks Completed: 2
Pages Read: 693
Total Points: 35
30.2 Cheryl TX’s Task – A Texas Sized Task A. Texas Bluebonnet Award - Alvin Ho Allergic to Girls, School and Other Scary Things by Lenore Look, 176 pages
B. Texas Lone Star Reading List - Graceling by Kristin Cashore, 471 pages
Both books were very good, but I loved Graceling. I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy!
160/980 points
Tasks Completed: 9/57
Tasks In Progress: 3
Books Read: 16
Pages Read: 3584
Ashley wrote: "Nicole wrote: "i just completed Task 30.1- THANK GOD! Easily the two worst books I have read for this challenge. I didn't exactly have high hopes, but there was just nothing to redeem either of the..."I love GOOD craptastic stuff but it was boring craptastic stuff. Like that Kristin Hannah book? Fun to read, still kind of craptastic in terms of writing and believability. These were just boring crap!
That was so intelligently put, was it not? LMAO
30.2 I readA. Someone Named Eva -- ****, this book was interesting, and I can see it having a great role in an elementary or middle school curriculum, but it is a children's book and I would not recommend it to adult readers in general.
B. The Maze Runner -- ****, this was not brilliantly written or anything, but it had a unique concept and plotline that keeps you reading. Recommend it for fans of YA scifi.
Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 2928
Points: 110
20.3 - Best Review Contest - Amy MO - Mental HealthDanger to Self: On the Front Line with an ER Psychiatrist by Paul R. Linde. This book showed me how hard it is based on current laws, individual rights and psychiatric medicine it is for a doctor to determine the correct course of treatment for individual to protect themselves and others from harm. It is truly an art as well as a science.
Books Read: 11
Pages Read: 3768
Tasks Completed: 9
Tasks in Progress: 2
I completed Task 10.2 by listening to Haunted by Chuck Palahniuk. It had a rating of 3.34 when I started it on March 6th and the rating hasn't changed. (it might now that I've posted a review)I'm glad I listened to this one. I don't think I would have read it all the way through.
Someone will have to explain this book to me.
The individual stories of the people in this group are, mostly, interesting (and bizarre and sometimes gross). They do have, for the most part, interesting histories.
However, the story of their stay in the Theatre is less engaging. They're their own worst enemies and cause their own problems.
I'm not sure what the point of the book is. Are we (humanity) haunted by our ambitions, our fears, our pasts, our hopes (emigration to Venus)? Are we so in need of fame and glory and riches and the spotlight that we put ourselves at risk of death? That we perform acts that we would never otherwise contemplate?
A very strange story and a very bizarre, gross way of telling it. I'm a bit leery about the other Chuck Palahniuk books on my TBR list.
5.3 S.P.R.I.N.GThe Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt
A brilliant book that was virtually impossible to put down.
10.7 Beware the Ides of March
Jack the Ripper: The Simple Truth
Interesting and well-written, but I almost liked it for its descriptions of life in the slums of Victorian London than for the discussion of the actual crimes committed.
Total: 15 + 875 (from earlier) = 890pts
20.3 - Best Review Contest - Amy MO - Mental Health - I read Set This House in Order: A Romance of Souls by Matt Ruff. 4*
Andrew and Penny both have multiple personality disorder. I'm not sure if I actually learned anything about the disorder, because I'm not sure how much of the book where the MPD is concerned is real. I know that this disorder must be super hard to control.
Total Points: 135
Tasks Completed: 7
Book Read: 9
Pages Read: 3535
Tasks in Process: 5.9, 20.8, 25.4
Ugh. Reading is going so slow this year.Third book finished that actually counts for this challenge:
For 5.3, S.P.R.I.N.G.:
I read M Is for Magic, by Neil Gaiman, who is a Goodreads Author.
Points thus far: 30
Amanda R. in Louisville
5.4 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley10.4 The Host by Stephenie Meyer
10.6 Evensong by M.L. St. Sure (I also watched Inglourious B's to complete the task - both WW2 related...both great stories!)
20.2 Wench: A Novel by Dolen Perkins-Valdez
Total Points: 45/980
Books Read: 4
Tasks Completed: 4/57
Task 10.2 - 3/4/5 - Serendipity: A Novel by Louise ShafferThe rating was 3.54 when I started the book.
Total Points - 115
10.4 recyle i got Little Darling (Yaoi)by Matsuri Kouzuki, Naduki Koujima form a friend and will now pass it on to anothertasks done 2
25 points
Mod
Read a humorous book of any type and write a short review.
I read The Spellman Files by Lisa Lutz.
Good times! The Spellman Files is the first book in a series about Izzy Spellman and her family, who have a detective agency. Izzy, the narrator, is funny and sarcastic, and the rest of the family each have their own quirks. Reading it kept me laughing – particularly the transcripts of the recorded conversations. Definitely a fun read – I’ll certainly be reading the next books in the series.
Points: 240
Books: 15
Pages: 4357
Tasks: 13
30.3 Ms. Anderson's Task - Birth and RenewalImpact by Douglas Preston (published January 5, 2010)
Remember Me? by Sophie Kinsella
Total points: 275
25.4--Diane's Task: The Name GameA. Read a book written by an author that shares your first, middle, OR last name. I chose to read Jen Lancaster's Bitter is the New Black : Confessions of a Condescending, Egomaniacal, Self-Centered Smartass, Or, Why You Should Never Carry A Prada Bag to the Unemployment Office. I share the same first name with her, and we both go by the shortened version of Jen.
C. Read a book with a character’s name in the title. I read Being Nikki by Meg Cabot. Nikki Howard is name of the teenage fashion supermodel who this book is about. Kind of. Well, it's complicated. If you've read the series, you'll know what I mean. :-P
Both were 4* reads for me. Jen Lancaster is awesome! I must stalk her on Twitter and on her blog!
Total: At this point, I have lost track!
10.3 The luck of the Irish The Riddle-Master of Hed20.5 Read across America
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Sarah, Plain and Tall
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Green Eggs and Ham
Oh Say Can You Say?
Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day
5.9: Lifeguard10.8: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: A Trilogy in Four Parts
10.9: The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son
10.10: Shoe Addicts Anonymous
15.5: Poems from the "Lord of the Rings"
Keep your faith in all beautiful things;
in the sun when it is hidden,
in the Spring when it is gone.
20.6: Double Cross
15.8: Tulip Fever
Rembrandt is a great painter/artist, he is known as the Shakespeare of the Art world. His works are known all over the world. I enjoy his self portraits of him as a young man and as a older gentlemen. His painting of David presenting Goliath's head to King Saul is in the Biblical sense, has some meaning to being a small person in a giant's world.
Total: 115/980 points
10.1 Books Really Do Grow On TreesI read
which has a tree on the cover. Although it made me a little queasy I really liked it, 4 stars. 15.7 Beware The Seven Deadly Sins
I read Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason. This book certainly inspired lust in me, I now have a bunch more books for my already too long tbr list. I think lust can be deadly because it can make people do terrible things to get what they want. I may have to rob a bank to afford all the books on my list ;)
20.4 Always The Bridesmaid, Never The Bride - Heidi - Our Histories
I read The Faraday Girls: A Novel for part B (family saga). I loved this book, couldn't put it down, 5 stars.
AND
Vodka Doesn't Freeze for part C (book based in local region). This was a crime book based in Sydney. I really liked it but I stayed up reading it until 2am and it gave me really horrible nightmares.
20.6 - Supporting Goodreads Authors - Bridgit - Favorite Series
I read Revelations which is the third book in the Blue Blood series. It's like Gossip Girl but with vampires and more end of the world drama.
20.9 - Luck Of The Draw - Rebecca - A Really Cheesy Task
I read Blue Bloods.
Total Points: 335
For Task 5.6 I read The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested, Battle-Hardened Guide for Anyone Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki, a Japanese-American author. For Task 20.3 I read Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (a Goodreads author). The main character in this book had anorexia nervosa, as well, perhaps, as some sort of borderline personality disorder? I don't know enough about anorexia to know if her other symptoms related to that or were a different problem. I'm not sure what I learned, exactly. Having been a teen once myself, I know a fair amount (too much!) about this already (not personally, but I certainly knew people who had eating disorders). I had a similar reaction to The Story Sisters: as the mother to three young girls, it terrifies me to think of the coming teen years and all of the mental problems that can come upon teens and how well those teens can hide them!
This brings me to 480 points.
29/57 tasks
41 books
For Task 30.5Under the Dome by Stephen King
and
For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Stephen King and Mitch Albom are (or were) in a band called Rock Bottom Remainders with several other authors. If I understand that is one degree of separation??
Dang I feel so far behind! But I can finally post a few I have caught up with.15.6 Friends and Friends of Friends:
A (popular among friends) Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris. I finally found the first Sookie Stackhouse book. It was a light, enjoyable read, and Sookie was much more sympathetic than I expected, but I can't say I am hooked. I will probably not keep reading this series.
B (5-star from a friend of a friend) Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I really enjoyed this - part science fiction, part historical fiction, well researched, well-balanced; highly recommended.
25.10 Deja Vu
A (original fiction) Beowulf: A New Verse Translation - I really enjoyed reading this newer translation. I thought it was beautiful to read, despite the sometimes horrific events described. Very evocative and technically well done.
B (based on original) Grendel by John Gardner - I am much less enamored of this. Though written in prose, not verse, the author does a good job in capturing the literary tone of Beowulf, through his use of alliteration and some of the descriptive language. But where Beowulf, even in its graphic moments, thematically embraces heroism, bravery, and the triumph of good over evil, Grendel embraces exactly the opposite: nihilism, destruction, and not so much the triumph of evil as the absence of good. Well done, but not my cup of tea.
30.3 Birth and Renewal:
A (published in 2010) Jane Bites Back by Michael Ford. A totally guilty impulse purchase. It was amusing enough, I think I prefer to read something like this that brings an author into fiction, rather than the already-written characters. The first half of the book, imagining Jane Austen alive in the 21st century, was more enjoyable to me than the predictable vampire battle at the end.
B (book with "re" in the title) If Ever I Return, Pretty Peggy-O I love Sharyn McCrumb's ballad novels and this was the first in the series. A little dated, and maybe not so haunting as some of her others, but still a very good mystery/crime novel.
okay, now I feel like I've accomplished SOMETHING.
Cathy wrote: "Task 20.7I read:
Ophie Out of Oz
I have way too many shoes and need to get rid of some. The main character has a pair of Ruby Red Shoes..."
Cathy, there's no such thing as way too many shoes!
5.3 SPRINGAmerican Gods by Neil Gaiman
*GOODREADS AUTHOR*
10.4 Reuse
Looking For Alaska by John Greene (had originally planned on using this book for task 5.4 in last winter challenge)
Points These Tasks: 15
Total Points: 20
Vicki wrote: "For Task 30.5Under the Dome by Stephen King
and
For One More Day by Mitch Albom
Stephen King and Mitch Albom are (or were) in a ..."
Vicki-What did you think of Under the Dome? I just started reading it. Only about 100 pages into it.
5.10 Author lived during Queen Victoria's lifetime (24 May 1819 - 22 Jan 1901) -The Trumpet of the Swan by E.B. White born 11 Jul 1899
435 points
OK - another update: 20.5 - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn - 512 pages
25.7 - The Lightning Thief - Rick Riordan
25.9 - Shades of Grey: The Road to High Saffron - Jasper Fforde - I was in school from 1996-2003 and Fforde was popular during that time with his release of the Eyre Affair
I think that brings me up to date.
Total Points: 205
Tasks Complete: 14
Books Read: 21
Pages Read: 7714
Tasks In Progress: 5
GOODREADS AUTHOR x
BIG BOOK (500)
BIG BOOK (750)
BIG BOOK (1000) x
Percent Complete: 28.8%
Time Elapsed: 25.0%
Mod
The Spellman Files, I didn't notice (so didn't post) that Lisa Lutz is a Goodreads author.
Points: 240
Books by Goodreads authors: 1
Books: 15
Pages: 4357
Tasks: 13
I completed Task 10.10 by reading Italian Shoes: A Novel, which I really enjoyed. It's a contemplative look of a man disconnected from Life, making his way back to people, coming to terms with regrets and hopes. Beautifully written.
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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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Spring and Fall and Toss the Bride
Tasks Completed: 19/57
Books Read: 27
Pages Read: 8412
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