Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks Showing 2,251-2,300 of 2,717

[Beth F]

I finished 5.2 yesterday by reading Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah. An orchard features prominently in the plot line of the story, which Cynthia approved earlier in the challenge as a "fruit garden". :)

320 points for moi.

[Nicole]

Just completed task 10.6 by reading Audrey Hepburn: An Intimate Portrait. I don't usually love biographies, but this one was so well written and had so much heart!

Tasks Completed: 44/57
Books Read: 62
Pages Read: 18,816


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[B]

10.5 Read a novel with a main character who is a journalist OR Read a non-fiction book written by or about a famous journalist: The 8th Confession (Women's Murder Club, #8)
by James Patterson ('Cindy Thomas', reporter for the San Francisco Chronicle)

25.2 Stephanie Anne's Task: First novel published: Pretty Little Mistakes: A Do-Over Novel by Heather McElhatton
Second novel by same author: Jennifer Johnson is Sick of Being Single by Heather McElhatton


Points: 35
------------------
Total Points: 130
Pages Read: 4389
Completed Tasks: 10

[Deedee]

25.4 - Diane's Task - The Name Game
A. Read a book written by an author that shares your first, middle, OR last name. (My name is Diane Joyce Phillips. I might choose a book by Diane Setterfield, Joyce Carol Oates, James Joyce, or Susan Elizabeth Phillips). Spelling variations are acceptable (i.e. Dianne instead of Diane) as are name shortenings (i.e. Sue for Susan).
My “real life” name is Diane; so I read Lulu in Marrakech by Diane Johnson (Hardcover, 336 pages). The heroine in the book is a spy in Marrakech, Morocco. Spying involves a lot of tedious activities …. and, as a result, the novel is sometimes tedious. The clash between ex-pat Englishmen and native-born Muslim was interesting, rescuing this novel from a 2 star and making it instead a 3 star novel.
AND
C. Read a book with a character’s name in the title
I read The War Against Miss Winter by Kathryn Miller Haines (Paperback, 336 pages). Our heroine, Miss Winter, is an unemployed actress living in New York City during 1943. In between going on auditions, she is working as an office assistant for a private detective. Her employer is found dead, and Miss Winters decides to find out why and how he died, thus launching a new detective series. The author, Kathryn Haines, is a working New York City actress, and she has a very high opinion of the theatre. 2 stars.

500 + 25 = 525





Tasks Completed: 26
Points for this task: 25
Points thus far: 525/980
Books read: 40
Pages Read: 11,472
Books by Goodreads authors: 2

Read but not claimed: 6 books
(Parts of the following 2-book tasks: 15.2B, 25.2, 30.1B, and 30.5A); and (5.5 or 20.1) and (5.4 or 20.8)

[Zimbellina]

5.3 - S.P.R.I.N.G
I read Blood Red Sky by Neil Gibb. This book was ok - not terrible to read but it wasn't anything great either.

10.3 - The Luck Of The Irish
I read The Venetian House because one of the main characters was named Patrick. I hated this book, major plot issues.

15.5 - "A poem begins in delight and ends in wisdom."
I read Ariel by Sylvia Plath. This was the special version which has extras in - copies of the original manuscripts etc. I loved it.

Haiku:
dog scruffy and gray
goes nuts when its time to walk
he brightens our day

25.1 - Michelleo's Task - Future Aspirations
My wish is to have a vacation on the beach because it's starting to get cold here, also I need a break. So I read . Another book I really didn't like, and won't be reading any of the others in the series.

25.7 - Ashley FL's Task - The Gods Must Be Crazy
I read Fantasy Lover which has a bunch of Greek gods in it - Aphrodite, Eros, Psyche etc.

Total Points: 775

[Vicki]

For Task 20.2

Living Organized: Proven Steps for a Clutter-Free and Beautiful Home by Sandra Felton

An absolute waste of time that I could have used getting organizede instead. I downloaded this free for my kindle. Ya get what you pay for!

[Shannon SA]

Shannon wrote: "http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/72...
Finished task 10.1: How the West was Won by Louis L'Amour (trees in cover picture, but I couldn't figure out how to get the cover in ..."

Could I please retract this and use it for another task, and reduce my points by 10?
TOTAL POINTS = 180

[Juniper]

Hello!

I have completed Task 20.3 - Mental Health. I read the novel The Gin Closet by Leslie Jamison.

This book was SO good but it is a heavy and graphic account of some messy lives. One main character is an alcoholic and the other is a recovering/struggling anorexic. There is also a minor character dealing with drug addiction. Not easy subjects. Jamison manages to write beautiful prose that gives the sense of rawness and immediacy - feelings I imagine experienced by those dealing with addiction who are looking for their next drink or hit. This ability of Jamison's made the story seem so urgent, as was the need of the characters. I found the novel invoked my compassion for these lost and struggling characters. Jamison didn't portray them with sympathy and neither do the characters demand it of the reader. Jamison allows the reader a very uncomfortable yet illuminating walk in the shoes of others, only asking us to witness what goes on. I rated this novel 4 stars.

Total # Pages Read: 7431
Total # Points Accrued: 315
Total # Books Read: 25
Total # of Tasks Completed: 18

[Nicki]

20.6 - Book from favorite series - I love series! One of my current favorites is a YA series (also a major guilty pleasure which started with Gossip Girls!) by The Hills star Lauren Conrad. I find her books entertaining and also being a fan of the show it is fun to make comparisons between the tv characters/real life characters and book characters. I hope she is able to keep the series going!Sweet Little Lies

20.8 - Magician - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Task Points: 20,20
Total Points: 325
Tasks: 19
Books: 25

Nicki STL

[Becca]

For task 15.2 - Anzac Day

I read The Whale Rider by Witi Ihimaera, which takes place in New Zealand. And I read All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque, which is about WWI.

[Gina]

5 POINT TASKS:
1.
2. (Like a little garden in my pocket!)
3. SPRI--Neal Gaiman
4.
5.
6.
7. (The main character, Juli, has an Uncle who is developmentally disabled.)
8.
9. (Stayed under the covers to read this one.)
10.

10 POINT TASKS:
1. (In honor of Arbor Day- this book has a tree on the cover.)
2.
3.
4. (REDUCEd my reading pile with the newest one in the series.)
5. Main character is a reporter!
6.
7.
8.
9.
10. (For my style quotient)

15 POINT TASKS:
1.
2. (Keri Arthur is an Australian author, born in Melbourne, and the book is set in Australia.) and (This is a novel taking place during WWI.)
3.
4.
5. 236 pages of poems, Haiku:
Emotions complete,
Love is lost and found, new babe
to love and hold now.
6.
7.
SINS IN THE BOOK:
A) SLOTH: Riley is a slob. Everytime she comes in the apartment, she throws her clothes all over and never cleans up.
B) LUST: Sex is almost on every page in this book. Group sex, shifter sex, voyeuristic sex, intimate sex- it's all there and the word lust is featured prominently.
8.
9. (Her pseudonym is J.D. Robb (for Nora Roberts), but mine would be The Queen...it is one of my nicknames and I always wanted to write books under that so that I would not be famous and have to do book tours.)
10.

20 POINT TASKS:
1.
This book made me laugh and cry. The voice of A.J. is funny, sweet and wise with the wisdom of a child. She sees through fools, but can't see through the inane threats of her own siblings. With her dog at her side, and her hamster hidden in the shed, A.J. sails through the days at Indian Lake with a joie de vivre that I remember fondly from my own childhood.
2. You should see my clean, organized desk! People at work are astounded.
3.
4. written about Beaulac, Louisiana- a fictional town based on where I live- St.Tammany Parish (1/2 done)
5.
6. Anita is a necromancer who hunts down rogue vamps and shifters as part of her other job as a Federal Marshall (aka Bounty Hunter). As she hunts the monsters, she is increasingly drawn into their world and is constantly afraid of becoming a monster herself. I love this series because the characters all have depth and serious character motivations. The sex always furthers the storyline and is interesting because of that.
7.
8. + Magic is in the air!
9. For my super cheesy task!
10.


25 POINT TASKS:
1. I am about to get married this year to my boyfriend of 14 years. Now, my biological clock is screaming for a baby.
2.
3.
4. (One of the author's name is GINA Wilkins) (This book has a character's name.)
5. (355 pgs)+ (371 pgs)+ (400 pgs)=1126 pages from my TBR pile
6.
7. Getting your period in the same week that you get a head of snakes and discover you're a Gorgon. Man, times are tough for Dussie!
8. (1/2 finished- this is the book for the B task)
9.
10.

30 POINT TASKS:
1.
2.
3.
4. + + =Paul Revere's Task (I read 2 by land due to their being shorter books.)
5.
6. references the story of , so I read them both.

50 POINT MIDWAY TASK:
DICE ROLLS:
3= Romance Novel:
5= Historical Fiction:
8= One of your books must have won a prize!! (North by Night won a Kentucky Book Award for 2000.)

430/980=550 left

[Lyn (Readinghearts)]

I just finished Twisted by Andrea Kane which fits for Task 25.7 - The Gods Must Be Crazy. The book is a psycho thriller where the kidnapper/murderer is fixated on the Greek goddesses and is kidnapping women that he feels characterize them.

Total pages: 376

Total Pages Read: 5480
Total number of books read: 13
Total Number of tasks completed: 9
Total Points: 135

[Lisa Julianna]

I finished 25.7 Ashley FL's task.
Percy Jackson The Lightening Thief by: Rick Riordin.

25 Points

[Wendy]

Congratulations to Sandy and Donna Jo!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Wendy]

Melanie wrote: "Hi...
5.9- Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris

Total points: 5/980 (oh my)
Books Read: 1 (Till I take a look and see what other categories I can finish)
Tasks Completed: 1
Tasks..."
Welcome aboard!!!

[Cassandra]

I finished 10.1 with Chestnut King by N.D. Wilson. .

I also finished 15.3 with Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges (445 right now). My collection of Borges' short stories is my favorite book, so I definitely think this should be on the list. I actually think that the Bible should be at the top of the list even though I'm not religious. It's a very important and influential book.

Points: 555

[Elizabeth (NC)]

15.8 I finished The Lacuna which features Frida Khalo. Her paintings have an appeal to me because it seems that there is so much of the artist in them. I believe that all art is a reflection of the artist, but her work feels like such a direct reflection of her internal thoughts/emotions. My class also studied her a couple of years ago and then did self-portraits based on her style. It was great to see the parts of themselves that each student thought was significant.

25.4 (common names)
I read Me & Emma for the first part, A. It is by Elizabeth Flock. We share the same first name. Interesting, but I figured out the situation early on--so not the big surprise it was supposed to be.
For part C, I read Lord Sunday. I enjoy Garth Nix, but wish that I had waited for all of the books to be out before I read this series--I couldn't hold the information in my head from book to book.

5.5 The City of Ember It is on the popular list for 2003. I read this with a book club in my class and my students loved it. They are begging for the second one.

That puts me at
355 points
7882 pages read

[Bluemoon]

I finished 30.6 Character Reference by reading Out Stealing Horses in which the main character is reading Charles Dickens. So I read The Chimes and The Cricket on the Hearth.

This brings me to 345 points.

[Ms.soule]

10.1 - Books Really Do Grow On Trees
Green Revolution: Coming Together to Care for Creation - ★★★

10.5 - Freedom Of The Press
B. Ecological Intelligence: How Knowing the Hidden Impacts of What We Buy Can Change Everything by Daniel Goldman – a “science journalist” best-known for Emotional Intelligence

15.4 - "These gems have life in them: their colors speak, Say what words fail of."
Emerald Magic: Great Tales of Irish Fantasy by Various Authors - ★★★ AND A Time to Love by Al & JoAnna Lacy - ★★

15.10 - "Face the facts of being what you are, for that is what changes what you are."
Unafraid by Francine Rivers - ★★★ My life philosophy in a nutshell is “We have nothing to fear but fear itself.”

25.1 - Michelleo's Task - Future Aspirations
Jewels of the Sun – the cover picture is of a Irish cottage which I’ve wanted since living in Ireland in high school. - ★★★★★

25.4 - Diane's Task - The Name Game
A. The Riddle-Master of Hed by Patricia Anne McKillip - ★★★ (Anne is my middle name)
AND
C. Sarah's Child by Linda Howard - ★★★

25.6 - BJ Rose's Task - This Day In History
A A Princess of Mars by Edgar Rice Burroughs - ★★
B. The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury - ★★★
C. Dec 17, 1900 First prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy

30.2 - Cheryl TX's Task - A Texas-Sized Task
A. Piper Reed: Navy Brat by Kimberly Willis Holt - ★★
AND
B. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - ★★★★

Points this Post: 155
Total so far: 715

[Jennifer]

50 POINT MIDWAY TASK - MS ANDERSON - LUCK BE A LADY
1 = Fantasy or Science Fiction - City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare
4 = 20th or 21st century literature - Black and Blue by Anna Quindlen
1+4=5 = One of your books must be a 5-star book from someone's list = City of Ashes from my sister's list

Total Points = 460

[Judith]

I finished the group read.

20:10 The Golden Compass - Philip Pullman

I posted on the group read discussion board on May 3

Total Points for challenge - 50

[Tracyj]

25.1 Future Aspirations
I read The Color of Light by KAREN WHITE
This book has a picture of a beach house on the cover, which I dream I have always had is to own a beach house so in the future I hope to do so some day. Why?? I love the beach. It's always been a place of solitude and regeneration for me. I think it would be a great place to just get away with my family to reconnect and relax.
Tasks completed - 15
Books Read - 20
Total Points - 290

[Hannah]

10.3 The Luck of the Irish: The Grand Tour by Patricia C. Wrede and Caroline Stevermer.

25.9 Spring Break: Shopgirl by Steve Martin. This book was popular in 2000, when I was in high school and college.

Total Points: 345
Tasks Completed: 18
Books by Goodreads authors: 2
Big Books: 2 (500+ and 750+)

[Katy]

10.6 Playing the Enemy: Nelson Mandela and the Game That Made a Nation by John Carlin which relates to the movie District 9. I saw District 9 as a (very) thinly veiled metaphor for apartheid and this book was all about events at the end of the apartheid regime. (Personally, I also think the movie version should have been nominated!)

20.6 I read City of Glass which is the third book in the Shadowhunter series. It's hard to pick a favorite series but this is definitely one I recently began to love. It's fantasy, technically YA but very much a crossover, and exciting. The premise is that there's sort of another level of the world in which demons are common, and Shadowhunters hunt those demons. There are also vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks involved. Strong characters and really engaging series!

20.10 I read The Handmaid's Tale and posted in the discussion thread.

New points: 50
New total: 250 points

[Abigail]

For 25.4:
A:
The random name generator's #3 name was Ann Mackenzie. To match that, I read
While My Pretty One Knits by Anne Canadeo

B:
The two main characters *are* the name of this one:
Benny & Shrimp by Katarina Mazetti

TOTALS
======
Points: 360
Books: 25
Pages: 8,926
Tasks: 17

[Eilymay]

15.1 - Independently Speaking
I read Out Stealing Horses by Per Pettersen(Norwegian Author) and Easter 1916 The Irish Rebellion by Charles Townshend

[Jennifer]

Completed another task -

25.5 - Spring Cleaning - The Kalahari Typing School for Men by Alexander McCall Smith (192 pgs), People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks (372 pgs) and Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything by Steven D. Levitt (320 pgs) for a total of 884 total pages.


Total Points = 200

[Leigh]

Completed task 20.6 - Supporting Goodreads Authors - Bridgit - Favorite Series: My favorite series is currently the Sookie Stackhouse series by Charlaine Harris, so I read Dead to the World, which is #4 in the series. I am in love with the characters, not only Sookie, but the cast of vampires, weres and shifters too. I enjoy the uniqueness of the world that Harris has created. She keeps me guessing with every installment and I find myself not being able to wait to see what happens next...I'm totally hooked!

Brings my totals to:

400/980 points
Tasks Completed: 19/57
Books Read: 32/82
Pages Read: 7991

[Bluemoon]

Finished listening to The Magicians by Lev Grossman. This was a 1* read for me. I really did not enjoy it at all. I found the story lacking and just didn't like any of the characters.

Lev Grossman is a good reads author.

This brings me to 365 points.

[Rora]

30.1 Endymion Spring by Matthew Skelton (4 stars) and Throw Like A Girl: Stories by Jean Thompson (4 stars)

New total: 280 points

[BJ Rose]

#10.7 Beware the Ides of March: Read a book of True Crime:
In Cold Blood by Truman Capote May 13

#15.2 Anzac Day
A. Read a novel written by an author from New Zealand:
I Am the Messenger by Markus Zusak April 7
B. A Non-fictional Account of World War I:
Wings of Honor: American Airmen in World War I : A Compilation of All United States Pilots, Observers, Gunners and Mechanics Who Flew Against the Enemy in the War of by James Sloan May 14

#25.10 Melissa GA: Deja Vu
A. Read an an original work of fiction:
Three Men in a Boat by Jerome K. Jerome May 10
B. Read a book based on the first book but by a different author:
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis May 15
C. Tell whether the second author's work lives up to the original:
I loved both of these books! The second book definitely lives up to the original work - in fact, both of these books are full of marvelous misadventures on the Thames and on land. Three Men in a Boat takes place in late-Victorian times and the young men reminded me very much of Bertie Wooster of P.G. Wodehouse fame. To Say Nothing of the Dog carries on the same hilarious romp through Victorian settings, and contains many references to, and interactions with, the three men in a boat, to say nothing of the dog (an oft-repeated refrain): Montmorency in the original, and Cyril in the second work. The added attraction in the 2nd book was the theme of time-travel, but much of the emphasis kept returning to the Victorian era and characters, as the time-travelers tried to undo the change in history they had inadvertently caused (or did they?!)

Total Pages = 20,928

Tasks Completed = 47

Total Points = 835

[Katie]

10.4 - Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
In honor of Earth Day which falls on April 22 complete one of the following options...

B. Reuse - For this option: read a book that you planned to read in a previous challenge but didn't get a chance to. (For this option you can not use a book that you have already started reading pre-challenge.)

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti by Giulia Melucci

TOTAL = 160

[Katie]

15.3 - At Least Once In A Lifetime
For this task read a book found on page 3, 4, or 5 of the following list: Books That Everyone Should Read At Least Once. When posting this task explain why the book you read should or should not be on that list & what book you think should be at the top of the list.

The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende

I absolutely think this book deserves to be on the list! I can agree with To Kill a Mockingbird being at the top of the list.

TOTAL = 175

[Nicole]

Just completed task 25.6:

On my birthday (July 10) in 1925- Scopes Trial: In Dayton, Tennessee, the so-called "Monkey Trial" begins with John T. Scopes, a young high school science teacher, accused of teaching evolution in violation of a Tennessee state law.

I read
Ringside, 1925: Views from the Scopes Trial which was a YA book told in verse about the Scopes Trial

and

40 Days and 40 Nights: Darwin, Intelligent Design, God, OxyContin®, and Other Oddities on Trial in Pennsylvania which was about a trial in Pennsylvania in 2005 that debated the teaching of intelligent design alongside of evolution.

I would not have otherwise read these books and found it very fascinating overall!

Tasks Completed: 45/57
Books Read: 64
Pages Read: 19,344


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[Jennifer]

50.1 - I rolled a 6 (Mystery/Thriller) and a 1 (Pre-20th Century Lit). This resulted in "Lucky Sevens", so I was able to read any two books I wanted. For this task, I read The English American by Alison Larkin and The School of Essential Ingredients by Erica Bauermeister.

Total Points = 250

[Dionisia]

I have completed task #30.5 Six Degrees of Separation by reading the following:

Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman (4*)
The War Within: A Secret White House History 2006-2008 by Bob Woodward (3*)

Alan Lightman attended White Station High School in Memphis and befriended future actress Kathy Bates. Kathy Bates played opposite Dustin Hoffman in the 1978 movie Straight Time. Dustin Hoffman portrayed the reporter Carl Bernstein in the 1976 movie All the President's Men. This movie was a film adaptation of a 1974 non-fiction book of the same name written by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward. Three degrees of separation.




***Also, I think I forgot to mention that the book I read for task #25.5 (A Time to Kill) was 515 pages long.

[Terri]

Completed 10.7 True Crime - I read Columbine by Dave Cullen ... a tough read to be honest!

Total points: 130

[Bluemoon]

I finished Wendy's task 25.9 popular author. I read Zoya by Danielle Steel who was very popular when I was in high school. I gave this book 4*. It was a good story about a woman who flees Russia when the revolution starts in 1917. It is a great book about how a woman has to struggle to survive not just that but many other hardships.

This will bring my total to 390 points.

[Ellen]

20.10 - Group Reads read The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman and posted my comment to the discussion.
Books Read: 39
Pages Read: 11440
Tasks Completed: 27
Tasks in Progress: 3

[Donna Jo]

This isn't a completed task, but I wasn't sure where to put it. Today's (Sunday's) Cake Wrecks features some great book themed cakes http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com/ that you might want to check out.

[Pollyanna]

5.2: The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
10.3: A. Cut by Patricia McCormick


Total Points: 210/980
Total Pages Read: 4454
Books Read:15
Tasks Completed: 10/57

[Sandie]

20.1 One Hit Wonderland by Tony Hawks

British comedian makes a drunken bet to have a hit single anywhere in the world within two years. He travels to Nashville, the Sudan, Amsterdam and Eastern Europe in a bid to succeed.

This book wasn't as good as Round Ireland with a Fridge, but was still a fun, interesting read.

[Kim D]

30.3 - Ms. Anderson's Task

For published in 2010, I read Truly, Madly by Heather Webber. 4* Can't wait for the next book of the series. I liked it a lot!

And for my book with Re, I read Reincarnation by Suzanne Weyn. I'm torn between giving it 2* and 3*. It got boring in some spots.

Total Points: 410
Tasks Completed: 18
Book Read: 23
Pages Read: 10,041
Tasks in Process: 5.4, 10.6, 25.3

[Liz]

20.6 Lover Mineby JR Ward.

This book qualifies as a *big book*

Lover Mine is the latest installment in Jr Ward's The Black Dagger Brotherhood series. The series is an erotic paranormal romance series focusing on six vampire brothers and warriors who live together and defend their race against Lessers, de-souled humans who threaten their kind. These series is one of my favorites because its SO STEAMY- these brothers are Hot, HOT, HOT!

Total Points: 230

[Kiri]

ok Let's try this again.. this time with *feeling* er non duplicates at least.

Part 1
5pts
5.1 Across the Nightingale Floor by Lian Hearn (Otori #1) (287pp)
5.2 Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt (416pp)
5.3
5.4 The White Queen by Philippa Gregory (Sept 09's Newsletter) (416pp)
5.5 Dead as a Doornail (Sookie Stackhouse, #5) by Charlaine Harris (295pp)
5.6 Pearl of China: A Novel by Anchee Min (review copy) (278pp)
5.7 Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris (272pp) [Speech Impediment – dev disorder:]
5.8 A Horse Called Bonnie (Bonnie, #2) by [author:Barbara Van Tuyl|382495] (141pp)
5.9 Camber of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz (314pp)
5.10 No. 44, The Mysterious Stranger (Mark Twain Library) by Mark Twain (212pp)

10 pts
10.1 Cold Sassy Tree by Olive Ann Burns (400pp)
10.2 The Lives of Rachel by Joel Gross (536pp) Rating: 4.33 (rating viewed 8 May 2010)
10.3 Perfume: the Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind (272pp)
10.4 C. Recycle - Endless Love by Scott Spencer
10.5 The Quiet American by Graham Greene ( pp)
10.6 B. Me: Stories of My Life by Katharine Hepburn (432pp)
10.7 Coroner by Thomas T. Noguchi, Joseph Dimona (252pp)
10.8 Contact by Carl Sagan (448pp)
10.9 Sunbonnet: Filly of the Year (Bonnie, #3) by Barbara Van Tuyl (144pp)
10.10 A Veiled Deception (A Vintage Magic Mystery) by Annette Blair

15pts
15.1A Forever My Love by Rebecca Brandewyne (560 pp) (Romania)
15.1B B. Zlata's Diary by Zlata Filipovic (200pp)
15.2 A. The Thorn Birds by Colleen McCullough
15.2B B. Roses in Winter by Joan Dial
15.3A Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistlestop Cafe by Fannie Flagg
15.3B Horton Hears a Who! by Dr. Seuss (72pp)
15.3C How Holocausts Happen: The United States in Central America by Douglas V. Porpora
15.4A The Deception of the Emerald Ring by Lauren Willig
15.4B The Courage Consort by Michel Faber ( pp)
15.5A A. The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran (133pp)
15.5B B. Haiku:
      Riding to the sea
      so intense the daffodils
      wet by darkened skies
15.6A A. The Da Vinci Code (Robert Langdon, #2) by Dan Brown (486 pp)
15.6B B. The Most Wonderful Egg in the World by Helme Heine (Sarah Sammis) (32 pp)
15.7 A. Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith (328pp)
15.7B B. It didn't. Pride doesn't allow you to see or function well in society. It tends to trip you up, and blind you to what is really going on.
15.8A ----
15.8B ----
15.9 New Spring by Robert Jordan (pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007) )
15.9B B. Kiri (already using) because I've used it for years.
15.10A
15.10B

[Kiri]

Part 2

20pts
20.1 Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss (62 pp) (review written)
20.2 An Acceptable Time by Madeleine L'Engle
20.3 A. Fight Club by Chuck Palahniuk
20.4B B. North and South by John Jakes (812 pp)
20.4D D. Sonoma County California by Robert Janover (96 pp)
20.5 Inkheart by Cornelia Funke (544 pp)
20.6A King Kelson's Bride by Katherine Kurtz
20.6B I started this series as a child and have grown to love it for the events, characters (well most of them) and the “world” it is set in. I think most people should read this series if only because the initial book began an entire genre.
20.7 B. Taming the Paper Tiger: Organizing the Paper in Your Life by Barbara Hemphill (208 pp)
20.8 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling (309 pp)
20.9 Great Tales from English History: Cheddar Man to DNA by Robert Lacey
20.10 C. Favorite Author - The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood (395 pp) (message #52)

25pts
25.1A Julie and Julia: 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen by Julie Powell (320 pp)
25.1B I'd like to do better at my own achievements in the culinary arts.
25.2A Red Azalea by Anchee Min ( pp)
25.2B Katherine by Anchee Min (287 pp)
25.2C It is hard to compare these as one is a type of biography (self) of the authors life, while the other is a novel. They are both well worth reading.
25.3 A Doll's House and Other Plays by Henrik Ibsen (336 pp)
25.4B B. Chosen name SCOTT Kearns (#5) Book: The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (197 pp)
25.4C Bernice Summerfield: Absence by Daniel O'Mahony
25.5A The Books of Rachel by Joel Gross (488 pp)
25.5B Sliders: The Novel by Brad Linaweaver (234 pp)
25.5C Imbalance (ST:TNG #22) by V. E. Mitchell (280 pp)
25.6A Crazy Horse (War Chiefs #3) by Bill Dugan (309 pp)
25.6B B. One Thousand White Women: The Journals of May Dodd by Jim Fergus (320 pp)
25.6C C. 1862 Indian Wars
25.7 The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
25.8A A. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
25.8B B. Benji by Allison Thomas & Joe Camp (106pp)
25.9 The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice
25.10A A. Deryni Rising by Katherine Kurtz (271pp)
25.10B B. Childe Morgan by Katherine Kurtz (288pp)
25.10C C. I think it does live up to the standards set. After refining her skill Ms. Kurtz creates a more in depth world and likewise fleshes her characters out more while keeping the storyline moving and fresh.

[[deleted user]]

I feel like I have really plateaued this challenge, lol. So I finished a few more tasks.

5.8 I read Cell by Stephen King, which was a good and scary read. I have a cell phone (an Iphone) but I don't really use it to make calls. I use it much more to play games, listen to music or surf the web.

10.3 - Pat - I read The Ask and the Answer by Patrick Ness, which is the second book in the Chaos Walking Trilogy. It is sci-fi YA dystopia at its best, and I highly recommend this book, along with the first.

10.4 - I decided to read a book that I was going to read in last years spring challenge, the book that has been on my to read list for the longest time, and I finally finished it! (I think I have planned to read it in more than one past challenge), Love in the Time of Cholera by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. And guess what, it was as great as everyone has been telling me!

30.4 - Hill & River - I read The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson, which was a fun and scary read, and River Secrets by Shannon Hale, which is a book in her Bayern series, a fantasy series, this time about the scrappy sidekick Razo, who finally learns his worth. Quite good.

Previous Score: 465
Current Score: 520

[Tammy AZ]

Two more tasks down:

5.7 House Rules
30.5 PJ Reads Six Degrees of Separation with The First Rule and The Lost Symbol

Robert Crais wrote one episode of L.A. Law. John Spencer was in L.A. Law, he was also in the West Wing which was created by Aaron Sorkin who wrote the screenplay for Charlie Wilson's War starring Tom Hanks who was in the DaVinci Code written by Dan Brown.
Crais - Spencer - Sorkin - Hanks - Brown

I really wanted to like The Lost Symbol but what a mess. Glad to be done with it.

150 points

[Kiri]

Part 3

25 points continued
30.1A A. Spring Moon: A Novel of China by Bette Bao Lord
30.1B B. Murder, She Wrote: Highland Fling Murders by Jessica Fletcher
30.2 -----
30.3A Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter by Seth Grahame-Smith
30.3B B. Camber the Heretic (Legends of the Camber of Culdi Vol. 3) by Katherine Kurtz
30.4 Eighth Moon: True Story of a Young Girl's Life in Communist China by Sansan
30.4 B. The Witch of Blackbird Pond by Elizabeth George Speare
30.5A A. Tales of the Knights Templar by Katherine Kurtz (320 pp)
30.5B B. "The Stonish Men" (1998) On Crusade: More Tales of the Knights Templar by Katherine Kurtz (256 pp)
30.5C C. Andre Norton wrote "The Stonish Men" (1998) in an anthology revolving around the Knights Templar series by Katherine Kurtz (who edited and over saw this). Also they were good friends for years. =)
30.6A Finding George Orwell in Burma by Emma Larkin (294 pp)
30.6B Burmese Days by George Orwell


50pts 3+4=7 = MY CHOICE for both items
50.1A Imperial Lady: A Fantasy of Han China by Andre Norton (293 pp)
50.1B The Last Days of Dogtown: A Novel by Anita Diamant (263 pp) = DONE!

(I came up with 870 points total)
Total Points: 870 (unverified)
Tasks Completed: 53/57
Books Read: 74
Pages Read: 23,366

Thank you insomnia caused by upstairs neighbor!

[Leora]

20-2 is finished, I read [book:Grime and Punishment|573300 by Jill Churchill. A fun, lazy Sunday read.