The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
note: This topic has been closed to new comments.
SPRING CHALLENGE 2010
>
Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks
15.3 - The Man in the High Castle, from page 5 of Books That Everyone Should Read At Least OnceTotal points: 40
Tasks complete: 4
10.2 - Three/Four/FiveMarch, April, and May are the 3rd, 4th, and 5th months of the year - Read a book whose average rating is made up of the numbers 3,4, and 5 (i.e. no other number can be found in it so 3.34 is fine while 2.35 is not). (The book must have that rating when you start to read it - if the rating changes after you or other Goodreads members review it...i.e. if the score is higher or lower than 3.45 when you post the task it will still count.)
Husband & Wife by Leah Stewart
Rated 3.33 when I started reading
Current Point Total: 170
Jessica MI
5.10 Anderson's Fairy Tales Hans Christian Anderson lived April 2, 1805 – August 4, 1875. It's amazing that we all want to fairy tale endings, but many fairy tales really aren't that happy!15.7 Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, the sin is pride, which can be very isolating as it can stop people from enjoying both people and experiences because they believe themselves above it all. Also in the case of this book, you may have to fight a ninja blindfolded for the sake of your price, that is certainly deadly!
25.3 I attended a performance of Spring Awakening and then read Specials, which are linked as they both have rebelling teenagers.
25.5 This Charming Man (563 pages) and Ice (320). I wouldn't get up and dance for either one of them.
Total points: 565
15.6 Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson (Goodreads author)and
Size 12 Is Not Fat by Meg Cabot
Belinda wrote: "15.6 Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson (Goodreads author)and
Size 12 Is Not Fat by [a..."
Congratulations!
50 Point Midway Task:I rolled a 3 and a 4, so (lucky me!) I got to read whatever I wanted. I read (1) A Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and (2) Fragile Things by Neil Gaiman (*Goodreads Author*).
Total: 110 Points
20.1 How Not to Be Popular- Jennifer Ziegler How Not to Be Popular is not an average teen read. While most girls long desperately to become popular, Sugar Magnolia Dempsey longs to be the opposite. How hard is it to become unpopular? Can she stay there? And what if she actually starts to like the unpopular people? See for yourself.
Finished task 25.5: How the West was Won by Louis L'Amour (358pp) + A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks (402pp) + The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupery (98pp) = 858ppTOTAL POINTS = 205
10.6 I read Cry, the Beloved Country. It is related to District 9 because both feature apartheid.15.2 I read Jack Maggs by Peter Carey who is from Australia and All Quiet on the Western Front which is about WWI
20.7 I read Never Let Me Go because I found that I have two copies of the book. I gave the second to someone in my book club.
25.1 I read Travels in the Scriptorium: A Novel. It has a picture of a horse on the cover. I want to take riding lessons.
Finished Several Books this week, here they are:5.5 - Popular Books
City of Bones by Cassandra Claire (GOODREADS AUTHOR)
20.2 - Clean Sweep
Ash by Malinda Lo
20.3 - Mental Health
Cut by Patricia McCormick
20.9 - Cheese
A Thousand Shades of Blue by Robin Stevenson
25.5 - Spring Cleaning
Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus by Orson Scott Card (417 pp)
City of Ashesby Casandra Claire (464 pp) (GOODREADS AUTHOR)
Totals
Total Points: 590.00
Total Books: 40.00
Total Tasks: 27.00
Total Pages: 13904.00
5.5 The Story of a Childhood by Marjane Satrapi (Popular on the 2003 list).20.6 Read a book from my favorite series: I have recently started a graphic novel series called: Y, The Last Man by Brian K. Vaughan. It is a futuristic series where all of the men, but one, have disappeared from Earth. The one man who is left struggles to survive with the help of a few female compatriots in a world where everyone else wants him either dead or captured to provide "procreation" services. I was not really a fan of graphic novels, but this series changed my mind. I just finished Y: The Last Man Vol. 2: Cycles
Reposting 30.5 Six Degrees of Separation: I read When You Reach Me by Rebecca Steadand Catalyst by Laurie Halse Anderson. Both authors, will be attending The Celebration of Bookselling Luncheon at BEA this week. The ABA is the sponsor of the lunch and the connection between the two authors until the luncheon takes place!
Total Points for the above tasks: 55
Total Points: 525
Tasks Completed: 29
20.1 - The Most Improved Player - Cindy AL - April Fool
Read a humorous book of any type and write a short review. I read:
Heavy Weather (1933) by P.G. Wodehouse (Hardcover, 336 pages)
Wodehouse pokes gentle fun at the English aristocrats living in and around an English country house manor in 1930’s England. The premise is this: an elderly uncle with a wild past has written a true memoir of his days as a youth, wherein he engaged in many and various drunken hijinks. Several members of his family (who are featured in the memoir) wish to stop publication; several other family hangers-on wish the memoir to be published (because they would make a lot of money). In this pre-Internet age, the memoir exists as only one handwritten copy. It is stolen, given away, searched for, etc., etc., including some truly humerous situations. Somehow Wodehouse manages to introduce the pursuit of true love in amongst the pursuit of the sole handwritten copy of the memoir. I liked this book of Wodehouse’s better than his Jeeves stories. (I originally intended this book for another task but I think it fits in well with "humorous" so here it is!)
AND
30.1 - Roseann's Task - Spring Fling
A.Read a book with the word Spring in the title.
I read: Helliconia Spring by Brian W. Aldiss (Paperback, 400 pages)
Helliconia Spring was nominated (and in some cases won!) the following awards for Best Novel: Nebula Award Nominee (1983), British Science Fiction Association Award for Novel (1983), John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel (1983). It’s the first novel in a trilogy. The first third of the novel is mainly world-building, and not much story. I’d give it 2 ½ stars but can only give it 2 or 3 so it is 2 stars.
And
B. Read a book with "Fling, Throw, or Toss" in the title.
I read: Fling And Other Stories by John Hersey (Hardcover, 207 pages)
John Hersey (June 17, 1914 – March 24, 1993) was a journalist who moved into writing fiction. His book Hiroshima is required reading at my daughter’s high school. He won the 1945 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for A Bell for Adano. Fling And Other Stories is a collection of 11 of Hersey’s short stories / novelettes, mostly published by literary magazines in the late 1980s. He stays focused in his stories, creating quick and to-the-point slice-of-life episodes. Some of the stories were good. However …. some of those slice-of-life stories were very boring slices of life. In particular, the lead story, “Fling” was a disappointment.
570 + 20 + 30 = 620
Tasks Completed: 30
Points for this task: 20 + 30 = 50
Points thus far: 620/980
Books read: 47
Pages Read: 13,903
Books by Goodreads authors: 2
Read but not claimed: 2 books
(One book of the 2-book task: 25.2); and (5.4 or 20.8)
Just completed task 10.4. I chose to reuse a book I never got to read for the Fall 2009 Challenge.Swift as Desire
Tasks Completed: 53/57
Books Read: 73
Pages Read: 21,938
SO CLOSE!!!!
Again, the ticker doesn't want to work at work!! Total points 905
I finished Task 30.6 by first reading The Eyre Affair and then reading Great Expectations, a book mentioned in The Eyre Affair.I enjoyed both but for very different reasons.
The Eyre Affair is pure literary fluff. I liked the idea of entering books and living the lives between the pages, liked the Dodos & the Miltons and got a kick out of the debate of "who really wrote Shakespeare's plays?". I don't know if I'll continue with the series but they would make an interesting break once in awhile, so I'm not discounting them either.
I really enjoyed Great Expectations, although it was a bit wordy. There are so many twists and turns in the plot, some of them quite unexpected. I did get a bit miffed at the ungratefulness of Pip but I gather that was one of the points of the story.
Finished another task today.30.3 - Birth and Renewal
Birth:
The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordian
Renewal:
Return of the Tomb of Death by Alida Young
Totals:
Total Points: 620.00
Total Books: 41.00
Total Tasks: 28.00
Total Pages: 14026.00
30.4 One if by land, two if by seaDesert Flower: The Extraordinary Journey Of A Desert Nomad and Heir of Sea and Fire
Books read 76
Tasks completed 54/57
Points 935/980
Two more tasks down...One left!! I'm almost there!10.1 - Books Really Do Grow On Trees
In honor of Arbor Day read a book with a picture of a tree(s) on the cover.
For this task I read 50 Ways to Hex Your Lover by Linda Wisdom. It has orange trees in the background.
15.4 - "These gems have life in them: their colors speak, Say what words fail of."
The birthstones for Spring are: March (Aquamarine, Bloodstone which mean Courage), April (Diamond, White Sapphire which mean Innocence), and May (Emerald which means Love or Success). For this task: Read a book with one of the birthstones in the title AND another book with it's corresponding meaning.
I picked May for this task, so the first book I read was Emerald Flash by Charles Knief and then I read Love You to Death by Shannon K. Butcher.
Total Points: 975/980
Books Read: 79
Tasks Completed: 56/57
I just figured out a connection for 30.5! I read 1st to Die by James Patterson and The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin.
Shane West played Chris Theodorakis in the movie of the Westing Game.
He was in ER with George Clooney
who was in Sisters with Ashley Judd
who was in Kiss the Girls written by James Patterson who also wrote 1st to Die.
(Thank goodness for bad movies and huge ensemble casts!)
That puts me at
425 points
9512 pages read
20.3 Notes from an Exhibition by Patrick GaleThis book features an artist with bipolar disorder. Each chapter covers an episode from her life told from her family and friends points of view, therefore, I learnt most about the huge impact mental illness has on everyone, not just the sufferer. As the book covers more than 50 years, it also show how attitudes to mental illness and its treatments have drastically changed.
Finished 25.5 by reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes by Diana Gabaldon for 25.5. I'd also like to claim my last "Big Book" ticket, since the book is 1440 pgs long.
This should bring me to 105 pts.
I completed task 30.5 by reading Her Fearful Symmetry and The Kalahari Typing School for Men. The connection is as follows:'Kalahari' is the fourth book in the 'No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency' series, which was turned into an HBO series whose distributor was The Weinstein Company, which also served as the distributor for the film 'Inglorious Basterds'. 'Basterds' starred Brad Pitt, an actor who, on occasion, acts as a producer, an example of which is the film 'The Time Traveller's Wife', which was adapted from the like-titled novel by Audrey Niffinegger, who also wrote 'Her Fearful Symmetry'.
If I counted correctly, that is 5 degrees.
My new total is 400 points. I'm not planning to finish anything else at this point, so this is likely my final score.
COMPLETED TASKS:
30.3 Birth & Renewal
A. Published 2010
*The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen(GOODREADS AUTHOR) - READ 5.5.10
MY RATING:★★★★★
B. "Re-" Title or Subtitle
*Await Your Reply: A Novel by Dan Chaon(GOODREADS AUTHOR) - READ 5.24.10
My Rating: ★★★★
TASKS COMPLETED: 24/57
POINTS COMPLETED: 480/980
BOOKS READ: 34/77
*BOOKS READ FROM MY PERSONAL LIBRARY: 24
Amanda wrote: "Nicole wrote: "Just completed task 10.4. I chose to reuse a book I never got to read for the Fall 2009 Challenge.Swift as Desire
Tasks Completed: 53/57
Books Read: 73
Pages Read: ..."
I've got this...worry not!!! :)
Nicole wrote: "Just completed task 10.4. I chose to reuse a book I never got to read for the Fall 2009 Challenge.Swift as Desire
Tasks Completed: 53/57
Books Read: 73
Pages Read: 21,938
..."
wow! Go, Nicole! You can do it!
Belinda wrote: "Thanks guys!"Congrats! Btw, I bet we are neighbors -- both Indianapolis!
15.3 Books That Everyone Should Read At Least OnceI read #7 -- Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Suess. I actually quote this one a lot as we lose things here frequently. "Not on a train, not in the rain..." A bastardization of use, for sure, but I am sure Ted does not mind! I totally think this should be on the list, by the way. Dr. Suess books helped get me started on a long life of reading and inner silly life -- a quality every adult needs!
total points: 585/980
tasks completed: 31
books completed: 41
pages: 12,299
[image error]
This is my last post for the spring challenge. I have a few other things I need to really focus on the next few days. I'll see everyone in the summer challenge. To those who have already finished, great job! To those who are really close to finishing - you can do it!Recently completed tasks:
15.4: Aquamarine – Alice Hoffman 03/04 AND The Red Badge of Courage – Stephen Crane 05/05
30.3: Not My Daughter – Barbara Delinsky 03/21 Published in 2010 **Goodreads Author** AND Rosemary Remembered – Susan Wittig Albert 05/05 **Goodreads Author**
5.4: Catching Fire – Suzanne Collins 05/09 Book was in January 2010 newsletter for Goodreads Favorite of 2009
15.1: The Appointment – Herta Müller 05/11 AND The Gift – Cecelia Ahern 05/16
30.6: Mother Daughter Book Club – Heather Vogel Frederick 04/08 AND Little Women – Louisa May Alcott 05/21
New Points: 95
Previous Points: 480
Total Points: 575
[image error]
Julie McVey20.4 - B. Tending Roses ~ Lisa Wingate
C. A Reliable Wife ~ Robert Goolrick
Tending Roses is a family saga and A Reliable Wife takes place in Wisconsin, Chicago, and St. Louis. I live right in the middle of those places!
Total points = 510 points
Total books = 33 books
Total pages = 9707 pages
15.5 Hold Me Tight by Lorie Ann Grover. It is very late/ I should be in bed asleep/ but I'm on goodreads!
25.4 - Diane's Task - The Name GameB. Read a book from an author who shares a name created with a random name generator. Go to www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm . Select gender(s) of choice. Set obscurity factor to 3, 4, or 5 (or if you really want a challenge, try 34, 35, 43, or 45!). Pick an author who shares either a first or last name with the 3rd, 4th, or 5th generated name on your list.
AND
C. Read a book with a character’s name in the title (i.e. Sarah’s Key or Dear John. Not acceptable: Breaking Dawn, since there isn’t a character named Dawn in the book).
B. Hogfather by Terry Pratchett (The random names I got are William Brammer, Terry Laskowski, Carlos Dietz)
C. Bad Boy Brawly Brown by Walter Mosley
Points: 115/490
Books: 10
Tasks: 9/57
Pages: 2,435
Just finished 10.1 Read a book with a tree on the cover.I read The Story of Forgetting by Stefan Merrill Block
I can't say I really enjoyed this book, though parts of it were moving and sad ... 3 stars.
Total points: 155
5.1 The Butterfly House by Marcia Preston5.2 Leota's Garden by Francine Rivers
5.4 The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley
5.6 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
10.1 The Giver by Lois Lowry
10.4 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
20.10 The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
25.2 a. Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Promote Peace... One School at a Time by Greg Mortenson
b. Stones into Schools: Promoting Peace with Books, Not Bombs, in Afghanistan and Pakistan by
30.4 a. A Salty Piece of Land by Jimmy Buffett
b. Sweetwater Creek by Anne Rivers Siddons
Total Points: 145/980
Books Read: 13
Tasks Completed: 11/57
I finished another one!
10.3 - The Luck Of The Irish
In Honor of St. Patrick's Day (March 17) read a book with...
A.An Author by the name of Patrick, Pat, or Patricia.
I'm hoping Patrice counts. I read:
Owl in Love by Patrice Kindl (winner of the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adolescent Literature in 1995.) (Paperback, 224 pages) Excellent novel, it definately deserved its Mythopoeic Award Win! [If Patrice doesn't count for 10.3 then use this for 5.1A.:]
Tasks Completed: 31
Points for this task: 10
Points thus far: 630/980
Books read: 48
Pages Read: 14,127
Books by Goodreads authors: 2
Read but not claimed: 2 books
(One book of the 2-book task: 25.2); and (5.4 or 20.8)
15.3 - Once in a LifetimeListened to Neverwhere by Neil Gaiman **GoodReads Author** from page 3 of the list #256. I do not feel it should be on the list or at least not on page 3, but then again, I'm not a big sci-fi fan. The book I feel should be on the top of the list is Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo... my favorite of all time!
My Total - 350
Hello!I have completed Task 30.3 ~ Birth & Renewal. I read:
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand which is Helen Simonson's first novel; and
Remembering the Bones by Frances Itani (Remembering)
Total # Pages Read: 8763
Total # Points Accrued: 395
Total # of Tasks Completed: 22
Total # of Books Read: 29
Thank you Cynthia!
5.9 - “I think even lying on my bed I can still do something.”Definitely Dead by Charlaine Harris
25.2 - Stephanie Anne's Task - Fabulous firsts or superior seconds?
A) Bitten by Kelley Armstrong
B) Stolen by Kelley Armstrong
Bitten was Kelley Armstrong's first published novel and it was alright. She was not very focused on her overall theme and I found myself getting bored as I was reading it. Stolen was amazing; I thoroughly enjoyed this novel better. Kelley had found her voice and there was no part in the novel where I questioned why she was writing that particular thought and I never questioned where she was headed in the story. After reading Stolen I will continue to read Kelley Armstrong novels but I would have stopped reading her had it not been for this task as Bitten did not leave me wondering about the characters and the world she had created.
25.3 - Coralie's Task - Coming Out Of Hibernation
Read Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Stephen Sondheim, Hugh Wheeler.
When I was in London earlier this month I saw We Will Rock You. Amazing show- I had seen it in Toronto but seeing the London cast put a completely different feel to the production.
Tasks Completed: 17
Points Earned: 400
Books Read: 24
This weekend I finished reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson for task #10.5. There is definitely a journalist main character.I also finished reading Cowgirl at Heart by Christine Lynxwiler. I won this book in one of the GoodReads giveaways, but it took me a while to find a task to fit it in. So it is 1 of 4 that I read for task #25.5.
Cowgirl At Heart = 320
Flirt by Laurell K. Hamilton = 171
The Battle for Skandia by John Flanagan = 260
Same Kind of Different as Me by Ron Hall and Denver Moore = 224
Grand Total of 975 pages.
This puts my grand total of points at 105. A truly pitiful effort, but I have had a heck of a few months here. Hopefully this summer will be less eventful and more conducive to reading.
20.3 - Mental Health - Shutter IslandThis book was about a guy who was suffering from some sort of delusional disorder - not enough to be classified as schizophrenic. Overall the book was very confusing and the twists were shocking - and the disorder was never clearly revealed. I did not learn many specifics about the disrorder other than it led the main character on a goose chase of his own thoughts and actions!
Task Points: 20
Total Points: 380
Tasks: 22
Books: 29
Nicki STL
30.6 I read The French Lieutenant's Woman and Persuasion. The French Lieutenant's Woman mentions Persuasion.
Finished another task.10.6 - And The Oscar Goes To...
Push by Sapphire
The movie Precious was adapted form Push.
Points: 630
5.7 - March is Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month -- Read Dark Eye by William Bernhardt a young autistic helps in a serial killer investigation. William Bernhardt is a Goodreads author.Books Read: 42
Pages Read: 12508
Tasks Completed: 30
Tasks in Progress: 3
Yay! My final task done! I did it, I did it! A big high five to all you finishers, and a Go, Go, Go cheer to those that are almost there!!5.5 - "Whatever is popular deserves attention."
Using the following link (Popular Books) read a popular book that was published in a year ending in 3/4/5.
For this task I read Metro Girl by Janet Evanovich which was popular in 2004.
Total Points: 980/980
Books Read: 80
Tasks Completed: 57/57
Can't wait to start the summer challenge! Thanks Cynthia for putting these together!
Valorie wrote: "Yay! My final task done! I did it, I did it! A big high five to all you finishers, and a Go, Go, Go cheer to those that are almost there!!5.5 - "Whatever is popular deserves attention."
Using the..."
Awesome! Congratulations!!!!!
This topic has been frozen by the moderator. No new comments can be posted.
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)
More...
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)
More...
25.7 The Lightning Thief
25.8 The Art of Racing in the Rain told from the POV of a dog and Water for Elephants which definitely showed the relationship between humans and animals!
30.3 The Girl Who Fell From the Sky published in 2010 and Bright-sided: How the Relentless Promotion of Positive Thinking Has Undermined America (the "re" word being "relentless")
Whew! That is 80 more points which will bring me to 330.