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SUMMER CHALLENGE 2010
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Summer Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread)
I have finished the following tasks:20.9A WHen You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead
20.9B Precious A movie based on the book Push by Sapphire
10.10 Magic Hour by Kristin Hannah
My last 5* book was High On Arrival by Mackenzie Phillips so I looked on Shannon's List to find my next book
10.3 Club Dead by Charlaine Harris
10.2 The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers by Lilian Braun Jackson
10.1 Southern Lights by Danielle Steel
5.5 Alomng for the Ride by Sarah Dessen
5.4 Monster by Walter Dean Myers winner of the 1st Michael L. Printz Award
5.1 Heat Wave by Richard Castle
10.5...If you can't go to the beach, bring the beach to youI read
Summer Sisters by Judy Blume Points for this task- 10
Total Points- 230
Total books read- 21
Pages Read- 5667
GR authors- 7
5.1 Heat WaveI just finished reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins.
Repost!25.5 - Helen's Task - Share the Summer Love
For all us booklovers, summer is a great time of year to relax with our favorite reads. In this task, share your love of your favorites with us. Read two (2) books:
A. One from your favorite genre/type.
B. One from your second favorite genre/type.
C. Write a short review for each and an explanation of why your like that genre/type.
A. My very favorite genre is historical fiction. I read Wolf Hall I loved it an highly recommend it to anyone who likes historical fiction in general and Tudor era in particular. Even though the title is the name of the family estate of the Seymour family, this book really follows the life (nearly to the end) of Thomas Cromwell. I found it very evocative of the time (not that I am that old, haha) and absorbing. I really got lost in it -- and found myself frequently thinking of it during the day when I was not reading it.
B. My second favorite genre is not that different -- I like Tudor history, actual history. I fell in love with this when I was in college, during finals, ironically. I read The Lady in the Tower This is about the fall of Anne Boleyn. Alison Weir (along with Antonia Frasier) is one of my very favorite authors of histories of this time period. She may be the first one I ever read, actually. This was quite good, and she explained in the intro that Anne Boleyn was the woman who got her interested in this time period to begin with. I have read a lot about this (I thought) but this book was a totally different take on it. I do not want to give it away here, but I must say, this book reinforces that supposed "facts" and "History" is all about the teller and the selection of facts he/she chooses to tell. Another great read!
Task 25.5 also requires "and an explanation of why you like that genre/type."
oops! Here we go! I love historical fiction because I like the idea of going to a different place and time than my own. I suppose that is the explanation of why I like regular history as well. Historical fiction offers no limitations (like actual history or what is possible with the laws of physics, for example). For some reason, as I said above, I have a deep affinity for all things to do wtih Tudor History. In my more whimsical moments, I wonder if I was some kind of chambermaid in a former life for a noble. Or because I do not know much about the ENglish side of my ancestry (I can trace it back to the Civil War, which is obviously well after the family was established in this country)
You will need to do a new post for this task.
Reposts need to include all task requirements: previously posted requirements plus previously omitted requirements.
points: 25
new total: 250
reply | flag *
5.5 - Dropping NamesIf you visit the following webpage Authors We Read This Spring you will find a list of authors that were mentioned in the completed task posts for the spring challenge (only linked authors are included in this list). Find an author on this list that you haven't read previously and read their most popular book. (The author's most popular work is the one listed first on their profile).
I read Little Bee by Chris Cleave.
points: 5
total points: 255
Chris Cleave is a Goodreads author!
20.9 - Luck Of The Draw - Terri's Task - The Spirit of IndependenceIn honor of Independence Day - Let's honor the independents as well.
A. Read one book from The Indies Choice Awards
Catching fire by Collins AND
B. Watch an Independent Film Spirit Award Winner or Nominees
Best First Screen Play PRECIOUS
20 points
545 total (wendyma)
Sera wrote: "Ashley wrote: "Elizabeth (Alaska) wrote: "Ashley wrote: "For the second, I read The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn, Jr. I somehow missed reading this when I went to law school. It was an interestin..."Thanks, Sera, it looks great!
ASHLEYFLREPOST of Post 1156 and 1778:
For 25.5: My two favorite genres are Post-Apocolyptic and Legal Fiction.
For the first, I read One Second After by William R. Forstchen. In this book, a small Carolina town deals with the first year following an EMP. It was interesting, and really really scary (in a: my goodness, this could so easily happen! kind of way). The author clearly had political reasons for writing this book (and the "hero" is so obviously the writer that it is a bit painful), but overall I thought it was interesting and a good read.
I'm not sure that I can articulate why I love Post-Apoco-Lit so much! I'm fascinated about different things that might happen to our world that would change our lives in an instant. And even more fascinated about how humans would react to those things.
For the second, I read The Paper Chase by John Jay Osborn, Jr. I somehow missed reading this when I went to law school. It was an interesting story about a man in his first year at Harvard Law. It actually seems pretty accurate, based on people I know who went to Harvard in the early '90s. My law school was populated with more people who actually loved law, so it wasn't as bleak! It was a good story, but not as good as One L: The Turbulent True Story of a First Year at Harvard Law School.
I've always been fascinated by legal fiction. Then I went to law school and practiced law and now I'm even more interested. Areas of law with which I'm familiar, areas with which I'm not, law school, whatever - doesn't matter. I think the law is a really interesting topic, and I love reading stories about the law.
Through Message 1846
Total: 335 Points
Goodreads Authors: 5
Big Books: 1
5.6 Spies...Blowing My Cover: My Life as a CIA Spy by
Lindsay Moran(3 stars)
Although, at times, the writer seems a bit full of herself, this was still a decent read. Moran, a political liberal, had to endure endless background checks, trainings, isolation, third world living arrangements, and moral dilemmas in order to obtain her dream of becoming a CIA Case Worker. She was put in charge of recruiting foreign intelligence, a position she always thought would be glamorous. Instead, she was stuck doing endless paperwork, meeting people at deserted strip malls, staving off male advances, and paying ludicrous sums of tax payers money to recruits whom really didn't know anything of much importance. It figures.
Janice CA
+5
points: 100
books: 10
tasks: 8
GR Authors: 3
Rachelccameron wrote: "5.9 Get Caught Readingi read tell-all by Chuck Palahniuk on the bus over 2 days on my way to work. quite an easy read overall i enjoyed it though
Points for this task: 5
10.4 Roll the Dice
I rol..."
Rachel, Remember to either put the link or the author--in your 15.1 books you only give the book and not the author. I bet you can edit that post before pj or Sandy get to it and then you won't have to do a repost.
15.1 Old, New, Borrowed, BlueOld, Borrowed: Forever by Judy Blume, which was published in 1976 (I was born in 1979) and borrowed from the library
New, Blue:
by Whitney Gaskell. Despite having managed to accumulate all of her books (thanks to my great used bookstore), this is the first of hers I've actually read.Total Points: 175
Total Books: 17
[image error]
Liz (Brooklyn)20.5 Library Love: People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks
Books read: 11
Tasks completed: 9
Total Points: 195
Liz (Bklyn)
SHANNON SOUTH AFRICA25.3A Set in a country you want to visit: Stuart: A Life Backwards (set in England, I want to visit specifically London and Cornwall)
25.3B Originally written in a foreign language:
The Diary of a U-boat Commander(translated from German)
Total Points = 90
5.7 - "I Confess That In 1901 I Said To My Brother Orville That Man Would Not Fly For Fifty Years. " ~
It's a bit hard to see, but that's an ambulance on the cover.
Total Points: 550/950
Tasks Completed: 37
Books Read: 45/77
Books by Goodreads authors: 4
Big Books: 2 (500+), 0 (750+), 0 (1000+)
5.2 Blockbuster Book
Eat, Pray, Love: One Woman's Search for Everything Across Italy, India and Indonesia
25/950
10.2 The Cat Who Knew A Cardinal. Yeah, it was the easy way out, but I had trouble with one that were sort of The (Blank) Who that didn't fit correctly. (No The or whatnot)
10.7 Animal Magnetism: My Life with Creatures Great and Small by Rita Mae Brown
I also read Murder, She Meowed (Mrs. Murphy Mysteries) because I misread the directions and thought I had to read a non-fiction and a fiction book by the author. Ah well. Bonus reads.
15.1 New/Borrowed
Cardamom and Lime: Recipes from the Arabian Gulf by Sarah Al-Hamad (I cannot be the only person who reads cookbooks like books)
Old/Blue
A Pair of Blue Eyes by Thomas Hardy. (Painfully slow and not near as clever as Austin's books)
Carma wrote: "(I cannot be the only person who reads cookbooks like books) ..."I love to read and collect cookbooks. Especially family ones that have stories and anecdotes about the recipes.
Sue IL30.5 - DLM Rose's Task - Virtual Block Party
Summer in my (DLM Rose's) neighborhood means potluck barbecues where each family brings a dish to share.
Identify your signature dish - my signature dish is baked beans and I posted the recipe in the thread.
Choose 2:
A. Read a fiction book with a food or beverage in the title - Fudge Cupcake Murder by Joanne Fluke
B. Read a novel with recipes The Last Suppers by Diane Mott Davidson.
Points this task: 30
Total Points: 345
Tasks Completed: 24
Books Read: 32
GoodReads Authors: 5
Big Books: 500+ (2), 750+ (2), 1000+ (0)
Beth wrote: "Carma wrote: "(I cannot be the only person who reads cookbooks like books) ..."I love to read and collect cookbooks. Especially family ones that have stories and anecdotes about the recipes."
I'm a cookbook reader, too. I love them.
I completed task 20.5 Library Lover. I read "A Bone To Pick" by Charlaine Harris. The main character is a librarian.Completed Tasks 13/58
Books Read: 18/71
Goodreads Authors: 1
Total Points: 195/950
AshleyFLFor Task 5.8. (Wall St. Journal Top 5 Lists), I read Hop on Pop Book Club Edition by Dr. Seuss (one of Laura Bush's Top 5 books) and The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss (one of the top 5 Books that Deserve a Promotion). These total 144 pages. I actually read each one several times as my youngest child is practicing reading on her own, so first I read it to her, and then read along with her several times. Mrs. Bush would be proud!
For Task 10.3 (Same Time, Same Place), I read Revenge of the Spellmans by Lisa Lutz. This was on page 8 of the list when I checked on July 11th. **Lisa Lutz is a Goodreads Author**
For Task 30.3 (Ode to Illinois), I read Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Robert Burleigh and Lincoln Tells a Joke: How Laughter Saved the President by Kathleen Krull for Part A (they total more than 100 pages), and
Some Girls Bite by Chloe Neill for Part B (book takes place in Chicago). **Chloe Neill is a Goodreads Author**
This brings me to:
Total: 380 Points
Goodreads Authors: 7
Big Books: 1
Rebecca MA **Repost** Task 30.5 Virtual Block Party
Part A- A book with food in the title that is in the recipe I am bringing, I read Chocolat by Joanne Harris
Part B- A novel with recipes, I read Peach Cobbler Murder by Joanne Fluke
I am going to bring chocolate covered pretzels to the block party. Chocolate covered pretzels are the perfect combination between salty and sweet and are perfect to grab when walking around a party!
New points: 30
Total points: 110
Tasks completed: 4
Total books: 8
25.9 for my tankini task: The Republic of Pirates: Being the True and Surprising Story of the Caribbean Pirates and the Man Who Brought Them Down and Bleeding Kansas both were published in 2007 and the first was 400+ pages and the second 604 pages.5.8 Rocket Boys great book about how a boy's passion for rockets was fueled by the launch of Sputnik and how he and his group of friends taught themselves all they needed to know!
30 points for this post + 205 previous = 235
Mod
For Task 5.8. (Wall St. Journal Top 5 Lists), I read Hop on Pop Book Club Edition by Dr. Seuss (one of Laura Bush's Top 5 books) and The Cat in the Hat I actually read each one several times "
Had to laugh - my youngest child turned 21 in June, but I can still recite both those books without a pause! I would hate to have to count up how many times I read them.............
For 15.1 - Wedding Bells Are Ringing, I read Tamara Drewe by Posy Simmonds (new and blue) and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (old and borrowed to the library)Books read: 12
Challenges accomplished: 9/58
Points : 160
10.7 More Than a Carpenter- nonfiction book. Josh Mcdowell, the author, has also written a fiction book called The Witness. Total points: 265
Sandy wrote: "Ashley wrote: "AshleyFLFor Task 5.8. (Wall St. Journal Top 5 Lists), I read Hop on Pop Book Club Edition by Dr. Seuss (one of Laura Bush's Top 5 books) and The Cat in the Ha..." i The one I think I will never forget is the Berenstein Bear's B Book which I sadly can't find here on Goodreads . "big. next page big brown. [next page:] big brown bear . . ." I was babysitting for my (then almost two years old) twin nieces at the holidays and brought that with me. They literally parked on my lap and made me read it over and over again for 45 minutes. So I guess it isn't just MY kids that thought that book is fascinating, lol!!
Ashley wrote: The one I think I will never forget is the Berenstein Bear's B Book which I sadly can't find here on Goodreads . .."
The Berenstains' B Book
Beth wrote: "Ashley wrote: The one I think I will never forget is the Berenstein Bear's B Book which I sadly can't find here on Goodreads . .."[book:The Berens..."THAT'S IT!!!! Ahhhhhh... I love that book!
15.4 Numerology: My number is 7, the characteristics of which are: Analysis, understanding, knowledge, awareness, studious, meditating. I read No One You Know by Michelle Richmond who is also a 7, and Steal Across the Sky, which was about a group of aliens who have committed unknown crimes against humanity and ask 21 humans to travel into space and be witnesses. Sounds a little kooky, but it was actually a pretty good book. This matches with me as the witnesses were chosen to be observant and aware of their surroundings.
25.3 I have always wanted to go to Vienna, and see the Lipizzaners when their and Airs Above the Ground hits on both.
Also read The Club Dumas which was originally written in Portuguese. I was disappointed as I was hoping this was going to be similar to Shadow of the Wind and it just wasn't. :(
Total points: 250
I just finished reading Book Of Wizardry The Apprentice's Guide to the Secrets of the Wizards' Guild by Cornelius Rumstuckle. I am counting this for my 5.2 task for the movie The Sorcerer's Apprentice.
This makes me 85 points. Yeah me!!!
30.4 Forensic ThrillersChristine Falls: A Novel by Benjamin Black and
The Bone Garden by Tess Gerritsen, Goodreads author.
Task: 30 points
Accumulated total: 210
JENNA VA on ReaderboardJust finished 20.6 (Supporting Goodreads Author/Listmaker). I read Columbine by Dave Cullen.
**I feel that this book is a Must-Read for anyone who has an interest in knowing more about the shooting at Columbine High School in 1999. It's not an easy read, and I know some people would have no interest in it. But if it is something that you are interested in, from a historical/true crime aspect, I highly recommend it. I was a senior in high school when it happened and remember it vividly. I have been wanting to read this for a while just to read a real journalist's account of it. And it was fascinating, haunting, and tough to read at parts.
* Dave Cullen is a goodreads author.
New Total: 145 points
5.3 - S.U.M.M.E.R
For this task read a book written by an author whose initials are found in the word Summer. (Initials must be sequential i.e. SU, UM, MM, ME, ER, and RS not SM).
I chose: ME
Play It Again, SAHM (2009) by Meredith Efken (Mass Market Paperback, 288 pages) A story about moms told via internet posts. I enjoyed it :0) 4 *s.
235 + 5 = 240
Tasks Completed: 15
Points for this task: 5
Points thus far: 240/950
Books read: 21
Pages Read: 6376
Books by Goodreads authors: 1
(Goodreads Author) Sheramy Bundrick (20.4)
Read but not claimed: 5 + 3 = 8
(Parts of the following 2-book tasks: 15.6, 25.5, 25.8, 25.9, 30.1B)
(Plus 3 books that I’m not sure where I’m going to claim them)
Big Books:
500+
Year's Best SF 15 (2010) by David G. Hartwell (Editor), Kathryn Cramer (Editor) (Mass Market Paperback, 512 pages)
Darn, only three finished tasks, hope to finish two more, summer has been too busy for reading.5.1 - Heat Wave - Sizzling Sixteen by Janet Evanovich
Task Points: 5
Total Points: 20
Tasks Completed: 3
Books Read: 3
Pages Read: 796
5.5 - Dropping NamesI just might be the last person in the world to read Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris! I feel kind of "meh" about it. I've been watching the show, and nothing in the first book is drastically different (the show added things, but didn't change anything major), and I didn't find her writing to be all that great. I may eventually read the rest, because I know the show really started to part ways from the books in the second season, but I'm not in any rush.
Total Points: 25
Tasks Completed: 3
Tasks in Progress: 1
Books Read: 4
Pages Read: 1230
5.9 - Get Caught Reading: Twilight (I read half in the park and the other half on the beach).15.9 - “He Who Knows Others Is Wise. He Who Knows Himself Is Enlightened.” - Lao Tzu: Mor på høje hæle, which directly translated means Mother in High Heels. I could relate to the main character as a career woman trying to find a balance with the new identity of being a mother.
Total points: 20.
AshleyFLFor the 50 point task (!!), I read:
A. Past: Janet has read The Bride's Baby by Liz Fielding
B. Present: Rhonda is reading Secrets of a Summer Night by Lisa Kleypas; and
C. Future: Tina has marked to-read The Spellmans Strike Again by Lisa Lutz (**GOODREADS AUTHOR)
This was great: I was able to fit in two books I had read but was having trouble finding a spot for! AND for my "presently reading", I found a great new series!
This brings me to:
Total: 430 Points
Goodreads Authors: 8
Big Books: 1
50.1A Past: Read = DEEDEEAir: Or, Have Not Have
50.1B Present: Currently Reading = AMANDA
The Cellist of Sarajevo
50.1C Present: TBR = DEEDEE
Mainspring
Total = 950
KRISTEN PEMBROKE10.1 Stormy Weather - I read The Survivors Club by Lisa Gardner.
15.3 REPOST True Believer by Nicholas Sparks. http://bookreviewsbykatie.blogspot.co...
(I didn't post my review before). This is the second book that I have read by Nicholas Sparks and honestly I don't really like his books. This one in particular was so boring. The back cover mentioned something about a ghost story but it really moved very slowly and the two love interests I really can't see as a match at all. There is supposedly a sequel to this book but I have no interest in picking it up.
25.4 I read Pack Up the Moon by Anna McPartlin. On the 31st page there was the noun home so I read Almost Home by Pam Jenoff.
Total Points: 225
Total Books: 22
Tasks Completed: 16
Tasks in Progress: 3
Total Pages: 7428
5.8 - Take A Walk On Wall Street...I chose The Funniest Books in English list.
I read Leave It to Psmith by P.G. Wodehouse.
I'm really glad that I read this book. It was so much fun and I never would have read it had it not been for this challenge.
Points This Task: 5
Total Points: 55
Tasks Completed: 5
Tasks in Progress: 4
Books Read: 7
GoodReads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
Pages Read: 1915
pjreads wrote: "50.1A Past: Read = DEEDEEAir: Or, Have Not Have
50.1B Present: Currently Reading = AMANDA
The Cellist of Sarajevo
50.1C Present: TBR = DEEDEE
[book:Mainspring..."
Huge congrats! I don't know how you read so fast and you must have been spending hours working on the readerboard too :) Very impressive! :)
5.2 - Blockbuster Books - Beezus and Ramona by Beverly Cleary. I also saw the movie "Ramona and Beezus".[image error]
Books Read: 19/74
Tasks Completed: 10/56
Tasks in Progress: 9
Total Points: 145/950
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: (500)x (750) (1000)
I just completed task 15.4 - Learn Your Numbers.My # is 1, my maiden name was Cathy Roberts. For Part A: I chose Carolina Moon by Nora Roberts (she is also a 1).
Part B: Characteristics for the #1 are: Initiating Action, pioneering, leading, independent, attaining, INDIVIDUAL.
The book I chose for Part B was Pieces of Someday by Jan Vallone. I chose this book because Jan decided to become an individual. In the early part of the book she did what her father expected of her. She became a lawyer but her heart wasn't in it. Her individuality came threw when she decided to quit her job as a lawyer to become a teacher, her father would not approve but she did not care. She started to live her life for herself.
Sue IL5.10 If one cannot enjoy re-reading
I re-read Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.
Bella still sort of annoys me but I really like the Cullen family dynamic.
Points this task: 5
Total Points: 350
Tasks Completed: 25
Books Read: 33
GoodReads Authors: 5
Big Books: 500+ (2), 750+ (2), 1000+ (0)
I completed...20.9:
BOOK: Wolf Hall--nominated in 2009 Indies Choice Awards
FILM: The Last Station--nominated for Best Picture at the latest Independent Spirit Awards
TOTALS:
POINTS=75
BOOKS=7 [Big Books:1; GoodReads author books; 0]
20.9 - Luck Of The Draw - Terri's Task - The Spirit of IndependenceA. Catching Fire
B. Adventureland (Best Screenplay Nominee)
New Total: 115
15.7 You must be the change You Want...Kipling Sahib: India and the Making of Rudyard Kipling 1865-1900 by Charles Allen. Rudyard Kipling was born in India. This book is of his early years. While he did spend his school years in England, he went back to India and worked for a number of years.
Our city has a growing population of people of many cultures. I would like to see people enjoy not only their own customs, but those of others--or if not enjoy and understand, at least tolerate others. I have served for two terms on our city's Sister Cities commission and have had a hand in planning the first five Cherry Blossom Festivals and the Hispanic Heritage Festival, and in the Americana Jubilee which later incorporated them along with several other ethnic festivals, from Juneteenth to the Deaf Culture Club.
20.1 Sweltering Summer DaysI love just about every kind of ice cream, except ones with coffe flavor in them. So I picked Strawberry and read Strawberry Fields: A Novel by Marina Lewycka
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
Books mentioned in this topic
Daughters of the North (other topics)At the Sign of the Golden Pineapple (other topics)
The Catcher in the Rye (other topics)
Every Man Dies Alone (other topics)
Sepulchre (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Elise Broach (other topics)Virginia Woolf (other topics)
Roald Dahl (other topics)
Shel Silverstein (other topics)
J.K. Rowling (other topics)
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Da, If you want this book to count for a task in the Seasonal Reading Challenge, you need to include the task number in your post.
http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/335414-summer-challenge-2010-tasks