A Sign of the Times Reading Challenge: Chinese Zodiac Edition

[Sheila]

Yea Angie!

[Sashana]

Congrats, Angie.

[Angela]

Thanks! Now only a handful of challenges left for January.

[Mandy]

Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I just read another discussion pertaining to this, and apparently the "new" signs are only for babies born in 2011 and beyond. Your sign is still which ever one you were born under. I hope that makes some of you feel better :)

[Sashana]

Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I just read another discussion pert..."

Amanda where did you read this? It's not that I'm angry about it, it just doesn't make sense to have 13 signs for 12 months.

[Shay]

Sashana wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I just read another ..."

Actually, it kind of makes sense because 365 days divided by 28 (a lunar month, give or take a day in each direction) is 13.

The Moon's orbital period in a non-rotating frame of reference (which on average is equal to its rotation period) is about 27.32166 days (27 days, 7 hours, 43 minutes, 11.6 seconds). This is known as a sidereal month and is measured by observing how long it takes the Moon to pass a fixed star on the celestial sphere.

[Mandy]

Sashana wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I just read another ..."

Actually, I saw it on Facebook, where someone was complaining about the change and a friend said that it only starts for newborns. But...

I "Googled" the question (what did we do before Google?) and it looks like its totally irrelevant anyway! Here's one article

[Sashana]

Amanda wrote: "Sashana wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I ju..."

I like that explanation best, Amanda. An "an urban myth like this crops up every 20 years or so." Thanks for sharing the article.

[Sashana]

Shay wrote: "Sashana wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pronounce."

I ju..."

You totally lost me, Shay. But I guess what you're trying to say is that its mathematically correct.

[Shay]

Done.
January, 2011


P= The Book about Blanche and Marie by Per Olov Enquist
I= The Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai
G= Animal Farm by George Orwell

C= The Clan of the Cave Bear byJean M. Auel
A= And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie
L=The Call of the Wild by Jack London
M=Christmas Mourning by Margaret Maron

[Shay]

February, 2011

Completed Challenges: Pig

R=Rabbit Redux by John Updike
A=Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
T= Truman by David McCullough

W= Fade to White by Wendy Clinch
I= I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 by Robert Graves
S=Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
E= Electric Barracuda by Tim Dorsey

[Shay]

Sashana wrote: "Shay wrote: "Sashana wrote: "Amanda wrote: "Lisa S wrote: "Exactly Sheila! I don't even see the reason to change it and to make matters worse, my new sign will be the new one that I can't even pron..."

Yes, if they go on a lunar month, there would be 13 signs of the zodiac.

[Sheila]

Gotta love those calm pigs and wise rats ;)
Congrats Shay

[Sheila]

Sashana, for the Ox do we need the X at the start of the title or author or do we get a break and can use an x anywhere in the name? Those X's are hard to find.

[Shay]

Sheila wrote: "Gotta love those calm pigs and wise rats ;)
Congrats Shay"

Yes, especially because they're short and "calm" and "wise" have pretty common letters. I don't know why, but I really have a hard time with finding "R" books.

[Sashana]

Sheila wrote: "Sashana, for the Ox do we need the X at the start of the title or author or do we get a break and can use an x anywhere in the name? Those X's are hard to find."

Sheila, the X has to be the last name of first name of the author's name. Or the name of the book. I know it's difficult, but you can do it! Have you looked through your book shelf yet?

[Sashana]

Sheila, I think I've found a solution to your X problem. Check out our Log For Keeping Track of Difficult Letters in the Read the Alphabet Challenge. It has a slew of books with difficult letters. Let me know if you find something.

[Sheila]

OK thanks for the link Sashana

[Sashana]

Sheila wrote: "OK thanks for the link Sashana"

No problem, Sheila. If you don't find anything I'll help you search for something.

[Angela]

Nothing but Reading Challenges
A Sign of the Times Reading Challenge: Chinese Zodiac Edition
February 1 – 28, 2011




S Red Handed, Gena Showalter FEB 4/2011
N Archangels' Consort, Nalini Singh FEB 11/2011
A The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong FEB 1/2011
K Shadowfever, Karen Marie Moning FEB 9/2011
E Eternal Embrace by Marianne Lacroix FEB 22/2011

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

I am a Tiger! RAWR!!

January: Tiger
Febuary: Rabbit
March: Dragon
April: Snake
May: Horse
June: Sheep
July: Monkey
August: Roaster
September: Dog
October: Boar
November: Rat
December: Ox

January: T-I-G-E-R

5/5 Complete!!!!

T: The Texan's Wager by Jodi Thomas Finished 25 January
I: Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione Finished 11 January
G: Grayson from Pushing Penny by Cheryl Dragon Finished 20 January
E: The Raven Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt Finished 02 January
R: Runa from Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione Finished 13 January

[Sashana]

Suzanne, are you doing both zodiac challenges?

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

yep, I can't get enough of challenges!

[Shay]

Suzanne aka The Wench ~Satin Seductress~ wrote: "yep, I can't get enough of challenges!"

I know, because I find myself scouring the bookshelves to find books that fit. Some of the books I find for challenges are books I've forgotten about for 6 months or a year.

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

I find that aswell, it gets me to read books I might not always read aswell.

[Rachel]

January completed! Time for February. My word is Dragon!

January
R- Zoey Redbird, character in Awakened by P.C. Cast 01/06/11
A- V.C. Andrews, author of Flowers in the Attic 01/01/11
B- Big Girl by Danielle Steel 01/02/11
B- Bones, character in Halfway to the Grave by Jeaniene Frost 01/28/11
I- Ixia, setting in Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder 01/08/11
T- Jayanti Tamm, author of Cartwheels in a Sari: A Memoir of Growing Up Cult 01/04/11

[Sans]

Great job everyone!

I might be able to get a third book finished, but I've made a poor showing in the January challenges so far. Baaaaaad Sans. I'm going to post my February reads shortly. Hopefully I can work up to completing some challenges.

[Sans]

February Zodiac Challenge: Dog (fair)

F ~ Four Play by Maya Banks
A ~ Again the Magic by Lisa Kleypas
I ~ Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
R ~ Ravished By a Highlander by Paula Quinn
D ~ Don't Tempt Me by Loretta Chase
O ~ One Dance With the Duke by Tessa Dare
G ~ Gabriel St. John in Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake by Sarah MacLean

Completed 1/7


January - Rooster (completed 2/7)

[Rachel]

Honestly, I was just lucky in January. Everything fit rather nicely into the word rabbit.

Good luck with February. You got some steamy reads it looks like. How fitting for the month of love. ;)

[Sheila]

February

5/6 Finished

D: - Midnight by Dean Koontz ---Finished 2/4
R: - Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry --Finished 2/11
A: - Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson ---Finished 2/5
G: - Girl Missing by Tess Gerritsen ---Finished 2/7
O: - Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow ---Finished 2/8
N: - Naked Heat by Richard Castle ---Finished 2/2

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

January: Tiger COMPLETE!
Febuary: Rabbit
March: Dragon
April: Snake
May: Horse
June: Sheep
July: Monkey
August: Roaster
September: Dog
October: Boar
November: Rat
December: Ox

Febuary: R-A-B-B-I-T

1/6 Complete

R: Rough, Raw and Ready by Lorelei James- Finished 02 Feb
A:
B: Branded As Trouble by Lorelei James- Finished 03 Feb
B:
I:
T:

[*Ash*]

January: Honest Boar <--- I went with Boar instead of Pig.
Read: 9/10

February: Shrewd Rat
read: 8/9

March: Patient Ox
Read: 8/9

April: Tiger
Read: 5/5

May: Rabbit
Read: 6/6

June: Dragon
Read: 3/6

July: Snake
Read: 3/5

August: Horse
Read: 5/5

September: Righteous Sheep
Read: 8/14

October: Monkey
Read: 3/6

November: Rooster
R:
O:
O:
√ S: Black Halo; by S. L. Naeole
T:
√ E: Perfect Chemistry; by Simone Ekles
R:

[Ashley ~twisted_illusions~]

January - Snake
February - Horse
March - Sheep
April - Monkey
May - Rooster
June - Dog
July - Boar
August - Rat
September - Ox
October - Tiger
November - Rabbit
December - Dragon

January - Snake

4/5 Complete

S - Schuyler from Misguided Angel 1/31/11
N - Niall from Fragile Eternity
A - Ari from Poison Study 1/25/11
K - Katherine from Origins 1/3/11
E - Ethan from Stray 1/28/11



February - Horse

5/5 Complete

H - Vampire Knight, Volume 3 by Matsuri Hino 2/1/11
O - One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost 2/25/11
R - The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine 2/23/11
S - Seth from Fragile Eternity 2/6/11
E - Teenage Mermaid by Ellen Schreiber 2/16/11

[Jennifer]

JANUARY

R - Rhia - Eyes Of Crow by Jeri Smith-Ready
A - Aya Fuse - Extras by Scott Westerfeld
T - The Trench by Steve Alten

H - Dead to the World by Charlaine Harris
O - Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien
N - Calvin Norris - Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
E - Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert
S - Specials by Scott Westerfeld
T - Tara Thornton - From Dead to Worse by Charlaine Harris

FEBRUARY

O - Octavia Fant - Dead and Gone by Charlaine Harris
X - Xander Carrow - Matched

R - Killing Moon by Rebecca York
E - Effrejim - Death's Excellent Vacation by Katie Macalister
S - Secret Vampire - L.J. Smith
O - Oturu - A Wild Light by Marjorie M. Liu
L - L.J. Smith - Daughters of Darkness
U
T - Blood Engines by T.A. Pratt
E - Eric Ross - Spellbinder

MARCH

T - Trixa Iktomi - The Grimrose Path by Rob Thurman
I
G - Gildagard Dagan - Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon
E
R - Riley Jenson - The Darkest Kiss by Keri Arthur

[Rachel]

Here goes February!

February
D- Darkfever by Karen Marie Moning 02/05/11
R- The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
A-
G-
O-
N-

[Suzanne (Under the Covers Book blog)]

January: Tiger COMPLETE!
Febuary: Rabbit
March: Dragon
April: Snake
May: Horse
June: Sheep
July: Monkey
August: Roaster
September: Dog
October: Boar
November: Rat
December: Ox

Febuary: R-A-B-B-I-T

4/6 Complete

R: Rough, Raw and Ready by Lorelei James- Finished 02 Feb
A: All Jacked Up by Lorelei James- Finished 09 Feb
B: Branded As Trouble by Lorelei James- Finished 03 Feb
B: Brandt from Cowgirls Don't Cry by Lorelei James- Finished 11 Feb
I:
T: This Side of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost- Finished 25 Feb

[Sheila]

February Chinese Zodiac Challenge

6/6 Finished!

D: - Midnight by Dean Koontz ---Finished 2/4
R: - Romanov Prophecy by Steve Berry --Finished 2/11
A: - Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson ---Finished 2/5
G: - Girl Missing by Tess Gerritsen ---Finished 2/7
O: - Ordinary Heroes by Scott Turow ---Finished 2/8
N: - Naked Heat by Richard Castle ---Finished 2/2

[Shay]

Completed Challenges: Pig, Rat

R=Rabbit Redux by John Updike
A=Are You There Vodka? It's Me, Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
T= Truman by David McCullough

W= Fade to White by Wendy Clinch
I= I, Claudius: From the Autobiography of Tiberius Claudius, Born 10 B.C., Murdered and Deified A.D. 54 by Robert Graves
S=Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress by Dai Sijie
E= Electric Barracuda by Tim Dorsey

[Sashana]

I've decided to jump ship and do this challenge since I suck at doing it's sister challenge.

Timeline: March 1-31, 2011
Start: March 1, 2011
Done by:
Current Tally: 0/7

R:
O:
O:
S:
T:
E:
R:

[Sheila]

Ha Sashana - and a great challenge it is too!

March Challenge 0/6


S: - The Sister by Poppy Adams
N: - Never Let Me Go by Kauro Ishiguro
A: - Arizona Dreams by Jon Talbot
K: - Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
E: - Wife for Hire by Janet Evanovich

[Angela]

A Sign of the Times Reading Challenge
Chinese Zodiac Edition 5 / 5
February 1 – 28, 2011




S Red Handed, Gena Showalter FEB 4/2011
N Archangels' Consort, Nalini Singh FEB 11/2011
A The Awakening, Kelley Armstrong FEB 1/2011
K Shadowfever, Karen Marie Moning FEB 9/2011
E Eternal Embrace by Marianne Lacroix FEB 22/2011

[Angela]

A Sign of the Times: Chinese Zodiac Edition
MARCH: HORSE




H Hunting Ground, Patricia Briggs MAR 27/2011
O Overkill, Larissa Ione MAR 30/2011
R Blood Promise, Richelle Mead MAR 23/2011
S Spirit Bound, Richelle Mead MAR 24/2011
E Poison, Jennifer Estep MAR 24/2011



FEBRUARY: SNAKE


JANUARY: DRAGON

[Say]

i'm in definitely...love this one!!!

[Say]

JANUARY: HORSE
5/5 FINISHED!!!
1/1 - 1/31
H: Hawthorne, Rachel (Dark of the Moon) 1/5
O: Otto Sanchez (Mind Games by Carolyn Crane) 1/12
R: Rachel Hawthorne (Shadow of the Moon) 1/6
S: Stephanie Meyer (The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner) 1/1
E: Erskine, Kathryn (Quaking) 1/3

FEBRUARY: SHY SHEEP
8/8 FINISHED!!!
2/1 - 2/28
S: Suzuki, Dallas (Deadline by Cris Crutcher) 2/12
H: Helena Waite (The Lost Summer by Kathryn Williams) 2/2
Y: You Slay Me by Katie MacAlister 2/6
S: Sophos (The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner) 2/14
H: Hai (Wyvernhail by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes) 2/10
E: Elder (Across the Universe by Beth Revis) 2/4
E: Effrijim (Fire Me Up by Katie MacAlister) 2/8
P: Plum, Amy (Die for Me) 2/21

[Say]

MARCH: MONKEY
0/6
3/1 - 3/31
M:
O:
N:
K:
E:
Y:

[Jex]

Ended up one book short. Kept waiting and waiting in hopes of getting the last one from the library but it just didn't happen.


February - 5/6

O - Ozera, Christian (character) Shadow Kiss
X - XVI

C - Christian (Character) Blood Promise
A - Anaximander (character) Genesis
L - Levithan (author)Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist
M - Married with Zombies



January - Rat Wise 7/7

[Sans]

I'm really hoping I can get through Sylvester tomorrow. Shouldn't be a hardship when Richard Armitage is narrating. Yum.

Chinese Zodiac Challenge: February
Timeframe: 1 February to 28 February

F ~ Morgan by Lori Foster
A ~ Aunts Aren't Gentlemen by P.G. Wodehouse
I ~ Iron Duke by Meljean Brook
R ~ Ravished By a Highlander by Paula Quinn
D ~ First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones
O ~ One Dance With the Duke by Tessa Dare
G ~ Sylvester by Georgette Heyer

Completed 6/7


January - Rooster (completed 2/7)

[Shay]

March, 2011

Completed Challenges: Pig, Rat

O=How to Bake a Perfect Life: A Novel by Barbara O'Neal
X=Xala by Ousmane Sembène

Demanding
D=When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris
E=Eating the Dinosaur by Chuck Klosterman
M=Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution by Michelle Moran
A=A Red Herring Without Mustard by Alan Bradley
N=Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe
D=Death of a Chimney Sweep by M. C. Beaton
I=An Irish Country Girl: A Novel by Patrick Taylor
N=How to Say Goodbye in Robot by Natalie Standiford
G=gods in Alabama by Joshilyn Jackson

Choosing a longer word because I've picked the shortest ones possible the last two months.

[Kristina]

Okay born in 1987 so I start with Rabbit

* FINISHED 3/16 *
R Rick Riordan (author) - The Lightning Thief 3/9
A Across the Universe 3/2/11
B Boy Heaven 3/5/11
B The Book of Tomorrow 3/4/11
I Invitation to the Game 3/16
T Trapped 3/10/11

[Sashana]

Good luck, Kristina.