The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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WINTER CHALLENGE 2010-2011: ASIA
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Winter Challenge 2010-2011 Completed Tasks (do not delete any posts)
I'm a lazy bones! Just getting around to making my first post...5.1 - Short and Sweet
The Young Visiters: Or, Mr Salteena's Plan by Daisy Ashford. 105 pages.
5.6 - It’s All in the Numbers
Coraline by Neil Gaiman. It has 33,625 ratings as of this post.
5.8 - Here's to a New Beginning
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen. First in the Her Royal Spyness series.
5.10 - About the Author
Neverland: J. M. Barrie, The Du Mauriers, and the Dark Side of Peter Pan by Piers Dudgeon
Total Points: 20
Tasks Completed: 4
Books Read: 4
Pages Read: 888
Just finished reading:
, for task 10.1 - Birthday wishesLiz M's Birthday is Dec 31st, and she gave Motherless Brooklyn 5 stars.
Mod
I rolled a 4 and a 6.
4: Read a book you've added to your TBR list in the last 6 months.
For this one, I read A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail. I really enjoyed this. We spent a lot of time camping in the mountains in NC when I was a kid and I've always loved being in the mountains - made reading Bryson's take on this even more fun.
6: Reread a book you gave 5 stars to the first time around.
For this one, I reread The Remains of the Day. Still a 5 star read for me!
Total points: 225
10.10 Top Ten ListsMelvin Burgess’s top 10 books written for teenagers includes the Twilight series so I read New Moon by Stephenie Meyer.
**This is a big book - 563 pages**
Points: 10
Total Points: 295
Tasks Completed: 20
Books Read: 27
Pages: 7,796
Goodreads Authors: 11
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
20.4 - Author! Author! 1. Action Games- Read a book in which the main character takes action or fights for a cause you believe in.The Revolution: A Manifesto by Ron Paul
[I'm something of a libertarian, politically. Liberty is very important to me, in all respects, and while I disagree with Ron Paul on a couple of key issues (reproductive freedom being one of them), I really respect and agree with his thoughts on the economy and U.S. foreign policy, and admire him for standing up for civil liberties, the constitution and limited government, even when his is the only dissenting voice in Congress.]
Tasks: 4
Points: 65
20.1 Groundhog Day!I reread the Queene's Christmas by Karen Harper, which I initially gave 3 stars. While I enjoyed the re-read, I would still give it 3 stars. (This books was 200 pages)
total points: 115
total books: 10
total tasks: 8
total pages: 3819
Goodreads authors: 2
Big Books 500(1) 750+ (1)
30.8 Spirit of the SeasonI read:
(Rolled a 4 for a book added to my to read list in the last 6 months) A Secret Keptby Tatiana de Rosnay, (also a Good Reads Author). "ASIA is found in the title in the first book, and the author name in the 2nd.
Total Points: 70
Tasks Completed: 6
Tasks in Progress:2
Books Read: 9
GoodReads Authors: 3
Big Books:
Total Pages: 2775
Cindy AL30.5 Old 10/New 11:
Unaccustomed Earth and The Thief, by Jhumpa Lahiri and Megan Whalen Turner, 632 pages total read 12/19/2010 and 12/27/2010.
30.9 Happy 80th B'day - 1930s book and mother book:
Passion Becomes Her and The Sword in the Stone (published 1938) by Shirlee Busbee and T. H. White, 640 pages total read 12/7/2010 and 12/28/2010.
The publication year of Sword is 1938. My Mom, who turns 80 in 2011, loves trashy romance novels, Passion was actually a little tame for her!
This post: 60 points
Total to Date = 345 points.
Points - 345/975
Books - 30/70+
Pages - 10513
Goodreads Authors:8
Big Books:500+ - (1), 750+ - (0),1000+ - (0)
Diane25.1 -- Wendy MA's task - Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire... Read two books from your 'old chestnut' list (i.e., two books from your favorite genre) - My favorite genre is mysteries, so I chose two from a mystery series I am currently reading:
R is for Ricochet by Sue Grafton
AND
S is for Silence by Sue Grafton
Total Points: 400/975
Tasks Completed: 27/56
Tasks in Progress: 3
Books Read: 32
Goodreads Authors: 2 (Jackson Pearce, Rebecca Wells)
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
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*I forgot to claim a Goodreads Author ticket forDavid Ebershoff*Please can I claim that now?
I read The 19th Wife for task 5.3 and posted it in post 658.
Hope that doesn't cause a problem - if it does just forget it!
Joanna T15.9 Warm Up (Southern fiction)
Kindred by Octavia E. Butler -- specifically approved in the help thread
(I gave this one 5 stars -- really enjoyed it! Note: I have a winter birthday, in case anyone still wants a book for 10.1)
Grand total = 130
DeeDee
15.5. “Never get involved in a land war in Asia…”
I read a book about a nurse serving in Vietnam during the Vietnamese war.
Dream Baby (1989) by Bruce McAllister (Mass Market Paperback, 448 pages)
40 + 15 = 55
Tasks Completed: 5
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 40 + 15 = 55
Books read: 6
Pages Read: 1878
Read but not claimed: 5
20.10 Group ReadRead one of the following Group Read Selections and make at least one post in the discussion thread.
B. Suspense: Rebecca
Posted in the Rebecca discussion thread.
Task Points: 20
Total Points: 20
20.8 Inauguration dayHouse of Dark Shadows by Robert Liparulo
Has the word "house" in title. *GOODREADS AUTHOR*
Points This Post: 20
Total Points: 155
Total Tasks Completed: 8
Total Books Read: 9
Total GoodReads Authors: 4
Total Big Books: 500+ (0), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)
25.2 - Thank You ModeratorsFrom Sandy's 2010 books:Artists in Crime by Ngaio Marsh
From Dlmrose's 2010 books:Solar by Ian McEwan
Total points to date 145
Emily ID30.6: Delicious Dee's task -- Looking for a Few Good... Authors
I rolled a 2 and a 5. One of my favorite authors is Lloyd Alexander.
For option 2: Shane, by Jack Schaefer, published in 1963, the same year as Time Cat: The Remarkable Journeys of Jason and Gareth by Lloyd Alexander.
For option 5: The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest by Steig Larsson. First published in 2007, the same year that Lloyd Alexander died. (500+ Big Book Ticket)
Total Points: 125
Tasks Completed: 8
Books Read: 10
Pages Read: 3934
Goodreads Authors: 6: Maria V. Snyder (x5); Jessica Day George (x1)
Big Books: 500+: 2; 750+: 0; 1000+: 0
Emily ID30.8: Ms. Anderson's Task -- In the Spirit of the Season
I rolled a 1 & 2.
For option 1: I reread City of Ashes by Cassandra Clare (Goodreads Author).
For option 2: I read To the Tower Born: A Novel of the Lost Princes by Robin Maxwell. One of my favorite genres is historical fiction.
Total Points: 155
Tasks Completed: 9
Books Read: 12
Pages Read: 4707
Goodreads Authors: 7: Maria V. Snyder (x5); Jessica Day George (x1); Cassandra Clare (x1)
Big Books: 500+: 2; 750+: 0; 1000+: 0
20.4 Game On!The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom
Rolled a 6 on the random number generator.
Total Points: 25
Tasks Completed: 2
Books Read: 2
Pages: 543
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
10.10 Top Ten Lists:My favorite book I have read so far for the winter challenge was Blue Heaven by C.J. Box so I was very interested in finding that he had a top ten list called: CJ Box's top 10 US crime novelists who 'own' their territory He listed Michael Connelly's Harry Bosch as "owning" Los Angeles so I read
The Last Coyote by Michael Connelly
Total Points = 665
15.7 - The Book is Always Better Than the… or Is It?The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne
[This was from the "book is better than the movie" list. I haven't seen the movie, so I can't make a comparison. I don't know if the fable-like tone of the book would translate well to film, however.]
Total Tasks: 5
Total Points: 80
5.2 Singles Awareness DayRead a book with a one-word title.
Freedom by Jonathan Franzen
Freedom is a Big Book (576 pages).
This Post: 5
Total Points: 110
Tasks Completed: 12
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+ (2), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)
5.3 -- Starts With...TERRI DC
The Long Quiche Goodbye - Avery Aames
KAREN OZTask 15.9 - Warm Up
The Witching Hour The Lives of Mayfair Witches: 1 by Anne Rice
3 Big Book tickets (> 1,000 pages): 1,056 pages
Anne Rice was born in New Orleans, Lousiana and book was mostly set in New Orleans
Task 10.2 - Orient Express
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Book is set in Japan (mostly Tokyo then a bit of Kobe, Kyoto, others as main protagonist travels)
Total to Date = 75 points.
20.6 Seasoned Reader: The Twenty-tensSong of Susannah by Stephen King
There are several main characters in this novel. One of them, Eddie, is in his 20s, as am I.
***I would like to claim 1 Big Book Ticket for this book***
Pages in book(s): 544
Total Books Read: 5
Total Challenges Completed: 5
Total Pages Read: 1632
Big Book Tickets:2
GoodReads Author Tickets:0
Total Points: 75
I'm LindseyMA and I completed one more taskTask 20.6 (Twenty-tens) - I read A Secret Rage by Charlaine Harris. I was born in 1984 and the book was published that same year.
Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 7
Pages: 2060 pages
Goodreads Authors: 3
Big Tickets: 1 (500+)
Total Points: 105
Finished:5.6 It's All in the Numbers:
Stranger in a Strange Land by Robert A. Heinlein Had 56,607 ratings when I selected on Nov 28. I read this about 40 years ago--and found I dis-remembered it greatly.
Points: 5
Total points: 310
STACIE MITask 20.10 - Group Read
I decided to read The Giver by Lois Lowry and posted in the discussion thread.
Points this task: 20
Total points: 85
Tasks completed: 8
Books read: 8
Pages read: 2381
Goodreads authors: 4
Big books; 500+ (0); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)
STACIE 15.10Task 15.10
I read What It Means to Be a Red Wing: Detroit's Greatest Players Talk About Detroit Hockey by Kevin Allen. I've been dying to read it for ages and haven't found a task to place it!
Points this task: 15
Total points: 100
Tasks completed: 9
Books read: 9
Pages read 2703
Goodreads authors: 4
Big books: 500+ (0); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)
Pam20.6: The Twenty-tens
I read Three To Get Deadly by Janet Evanovich
Stephanie Plum and I are both in our 30's.
Points: 20
Total Points: 80
DeeDee
30.9 -- Coralie's task - Happy 80th Birthday!
A. A book first published in the 1930's.
First published in 1938:
Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day (1938) by Winifred Watson (Paperback, 256 pages)
AND
B. A book you believe a mother would enjoy.
I know my mom liked Georgette Heyer's books. I used to borrow them from her nightstand when I was a kid. So, for this task I read:
The Reluctant Widow (1946) by Georgette Heyer (Paperback, 278 pages)
55 + 30 = 85
Tasks Completed: 6
Points for this task: 30
Points thus far: 55 + 30 = 85
Books read: 8
Pages Read: 2412
Read but not claimed: 4
20.5 Bigger is Better: Ashley FL's task as suggested by Stesse- Bigger is Better, and Larger than LifeRead a fiction or non-fiction book where the main character is an unconventional woman.
The Last Empress: Madame Chiang Kai-shek and the Birth of Modern China by Hannah Pakula
The Last Empress is a Big Book (736 pages).
This Post: 20
Total Points: 130
Tasks Completed: 13
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+ (3), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)
25.1 Chestnuts RoastingGenre: Fantasy
Book 1: On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers
Book 2: The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
GR Author: Brandon Sanderson
Big Book: 500+ (The Well of Ascension)
Points this post: 25
Total points: 135
GR Authors: 4
Big Books: 500+(4), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
5.6 — It’s All in the NumbersSarah's Key by Tatiana de Rosnay 35,420 Ratings/ Goodreads Author
+5 Task
+1 Goodreads Author
10.4 Auld Lang Syne:
The Sunday Philosophy Club by Alexander McCall Smith Goodreads Author
+10 Points
+1 Goodreads Author
10.6 Cookie Exchange:
In honor of lemon bars I read:
The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
+10 Points
25.2 – Emily IN’s task – Thank You Moderators
Both of my books come from Sandy's list:
Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey
The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman
This one is a part of the Cannongate Myths series which I collect. I enjoyed it. Thanks, Sandy!
+25 Points
30.5 — The Old ‘10/The New ‘11
A. The Old
Exposure by Mal Peet
B. The New: Selected December 1
Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King Goodreads Author
+30 Points
+1 Goodreads Author
Points This Post: 30+25+10+10+5=80
Goodreads Authors This Post: 3
Grand Total: 210
Stacey
Hi, all! I've been away for a while, good to be back. In the meanwhile I've been reading up a storm, so....
10.6 Cookie Exchange
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee
Goodreads Author
15.9 Warm Up
The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1
Takes place in Georgia and Kentucky
Claiming a Big Book ticket, this one's 1088 pages.
20.4 Game On!, rolling a 6 (historical fiction)
Cry to Heaven
20.7 Christmas Fuzzies
Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes
(Happy book with blue cover - approved in task thread)
30.2 Alphabetically Speaking
A: First Light by Rebecca Stead
B: Elvenborn by Mercedes Lackey (and Andre Norton)
New points: 95
Total points: 130
Hi, all! I've been away for a while, good to be back. In the meanwhile I've been reading up a storm, so....
10.6 Cookie Exchange
The Fortune Cookie Chronicles: Adventures in the World of Chinese Food by Jennifer 8 Lee
Goodreads Author
15.9 Warm Up
The Walking Dead Compendium Vol. 1
Takes place in Georgia and Kentucky
Claiming a Big Book ticket, this one's 1088 pages.
20.4 Game On!, rolling a 6 (historical fiction)
Cry to Heaven
20.7 Christmas Fuzzies
Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954-1981) with Attendant Comments, Principles, Heresies, Grudges, Whines and Anecdotes
(Happy book with blue cover - approved in task thread)
30.2 Alphabetically Speaking
A: First Light by Rebecca Stead
B: Elvenborn by Mercedes Lackey (and Andre Norton)
New points: 95
Total points: 130
Karen OZ30.8 Ms Anderson’s Task – In the Spirit of the Season
Dice rolled: 3 & 3
3. Reread a book you loved as a kid
2 books read:
1. The mystery of the laughing shadow Alfred Hitchcock the three Investigators 12 by William Arden note: letters A-S-I-A appears in full in title
2. Mary Poppins comes back by PL Travers
Total to date: 105
30.8 Rolled 2 - Favorite Genre Murder Mystery - Read A Darkness More Than Night by Michael Connelly
and
Rolled 4 - Book added to my TBR list in the last
6 months - Read
Disney at Dawn by Ridley Pearson
Points this task 30
Total Points 130
Jessica VAWoohoo! Finally my first task completed for this challenge. : )
30.9 - Coralie's Task - Happy 80th Birthday
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier - First published in 1938
Secrets of Eden by Chris Bohjalian (*GoodReads Author*) - I used the Literature Map with a couple of my mom’s favorite authors and found my way here. This is such a book she would love, with serious character development and a risque, controversial subject.
Points This Task: 30
Total Points: 30
Tasks Completed: 1
Tasks in Progress: 2
Books Read: 2
GoodReads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+ (0), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)
Pages Read: 770 (770 Total)
bschwert15.8. A Festivus for the Rest of Us!
Read a book with a word in the title which relates to one of your “pet peeves.” REQUIRED: tell us what your "pet peeve" is.
Faith of the Fallen by Terry Goodkind
One of my pet peeves is blind faith. I am a scientist and value reason above all else, so it tends to irk me when people put so much faith into things that are impossible to know, yet they still claim certainty.
Claiming Big Book Ticket (750+)
Pages: 785
Points: 15
Total Points: 75
Tasks Completed: 5
Books read: 5
Pages Read: 2673
GoodReads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500[], 750[2], 1000[]
Coralie15.3 From A… to Z
A. Ash on a Young Man's Sleeve (Library of Wales) (Library of Wales)
Z. The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
20.2 Winter Flowers Day
Hidden Flower
20.4 Game on
Rolled a 5 – board and card games – short stories
Crawling Between Heaven and Earth
Total points 160
5.1: Short & SweetDead in the Family - Charlaine Harris. Shortest book on shelf
5.2: Singles Awareness Day
Uglies - Scott Westerfeld. One word title
5.3: Starts with...
Darkly Dreaming Dexter - Jeff Lindsay. Author whose first name begins with the letter J
5.7: Happy New Year
- Suzanne Collins. Book with red cover5.8: Here's to a New Beginning
The Hunger Games - Suzanne Collins. First book in new-to-me series
10.2: Orient Express
Extras - Scott Westerfeld. Book set in Asia
10.9: Serial Killer
Mockingjay - Suzanne Collins. Last published book in series
15.9: Warm Up
Dead and Gone - Charlaine Harris. Book set in the American South
15.10: Keep it Simple
Specials - Scott Westerfeld. Just because I wanted to!
Points: 75
Total Points: 75
Tasks Completed: 9
Books Read: 16
Pages: 3,294
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
Jennifer KS30.2 -- Cheryl TX’s task -- Alphabetically Speaking
Sizzle and Burn Jayne Krentz (Goodreads Author)
Bone Lake Drusilla Campbell (Goodreads Author)
Points this task 30
Total Points 145
Goodreads Authors 5
10.1 The Giver by Lois Lowry picked from Lori(BNPL) Batchelor's shelf10.4 Alice Sit-By-The-Fire by J.M. Barrie
15.10 Only The Good Spy Young by Ally Carter
Total Points: 110
Mod
I rolled a 5, so read
Christmas at The Mysterious Bookshop
The concept was cool - Otto Penzler, the owner of the real life bookstore, commissions a mystery story every year, which must be set at least in part at the bookstore, and this is a compilation of those stories. They were okay - I'm not a big fan of short stories in the mystery genre, because I like a little more development than can be squeezed into the format, but they were fun.
While I don't generally play video board games, our family has always played a lot of real life board games, and with everyone home for Christmas, we had a fair amount of game time (especially with the Christmas snowstorm!) We played our standard family favorite - Settlers of Cataan - and found a new game this year called Wits and Wagers, which everyone enjoyed and which got a lot of playing time.
Total points: 245
I just completed task 10.7 - My Favorite ThingsMy favorite Genre is Fiction. I chose the Fiction and Holiday genre. I had to read two books because the 1st one I selected was only 89 pages long. I did not realize it until after I received it in the mail. So I read - Augie Wren's Christmas Story by Paul Auster and Blue Christmas by Mary Kay Andrews
and
.
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The Seasonal Reading Challenge
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30.8 -- Ms. Anderson's Task -- In the Spirit of the Season
For this task, I rolled a 2 and a 6.
My favorite genre is non-fiction so I read Steve Dublanica's "Keep the Change" and one of the books I gave 5 stars to was John Grisham's "A Painted House"
Points for this task: 30