The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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SPRING CHALLENGE 2011: AUSTRALIA
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Spring Challenge 2011 Completed Tasks (DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS)

I would like to remove points from some items to move them around
5.3 – Gimme Five – One Foot in the Grave
5.7 – Going Green – The Good, the Bad, and the Undead
10.4 - Elementary, my dear Watson - Slave to Sensation
20.1 – Lassiez Les Bon Temps Rouler – Caressed By Ice
20.3 – International Women’s Day – Branded by Fire
Total Points to Date: (505 - 5 - 5 - 10 - 20 - 20) = 445

5.3 - Gimme Five
Thorn Queen by Richelle Mead**
Richelle Mead is a Goodreads Author
10.4 - Elementary, my dear Watson
The Good, the Bad, and the Undead by Kim Harrison
The main character works as a paid consultant for a law enforcement organization to solve a missing persons case.
20.1 - Lassiez Les Bon Temps Rouler
One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
I have already claimed a Goodreads author ticket for this book.
J and F appear in J,O,E,C,A,I,N,F,A,T,T,U,E,S,D,A,Y
20.3 - International Women's Day
Bitten by Kelley Armstrong**
Kelley Armstrong is from Ontario, Canada
Kelley Armstrong is a Goodreads Author
50.1 - I Need to Know What Happens Next...
Psy-Changeling #1 - Slave to Sensation
Psy-Changeling #2 - Visions of Heat
Psy-Changeling #3 - Caressed By Ice all by Nalini Singh**
Nalini Singh is a Goodreads author - I would like to claim 1 Goodreads author ticket for Visions of Heat - I have already claimed the tickets for the other two books.
Total Points to Date: 550

In addition I've finished task 10.2 (Say what?) by reading Wenn der Berg ruft by Lucas Bahl. The title translates to "When the mountain calls" (wenn = when).

15.7 Lab Lit
I read Wither by Lauren DeStefano. This is a sci-fi book set in the future, when humans have eradicated diseases such as
cancer, but after the first perfect generation children don't live past 25. The scientist who plays a major role in this book is Housemaster Vaughn, who keeps the MC prisoner in his mansion as a captive bride for his son Linden, while performing cruel and dangerous experiments in his basement supposedly to find an antidote to the virus killing everyone. He is the evil guy that the MC trying to escape from.
Lauren DeStefano is a GoodReads author.
Total points = 300
15.8 -- From a Different Perspective
I read A Visit from the Goon Squad. Each chapter is told by a different character (and one is told in powerpoint slides!)
20.8. It's My Birthday. Jayme VA's Task: The Night I was Born
I read The Day of the Triffids. It was made into a miniseries in 1999 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1332653/p...).
30.2. Sheila's Task: Sheila’s Guilty Pleasures
American Idol Winners (David Cook):
I read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Dancing With the Stars United States version (Jennifer Grey)
I read Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Total points: 435
I read A Visit from the Goon Squad. Each chapter is told by a different character (and one is told in powerpoint slides!)
20.8. It's My Birthday. Jayme VA's Task: The Night I was Born
I read The Day of the Triffids. It was made into a miniseries in 1999 (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1332653/p...).
30.2. Sheila's Task: Sheila’s Guilty Pleasures
American Idol Winners (David Cook):
I read Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
Dancing With the Stars United States version (Jennifer Grey)
I read Fly Away Home by Jennifer Weiner
Total points: 435

Task 5.3 Gimme Five
Tough Customer by Sandra Brown
***Sandra Brown is a GR author
Task 20.4 Royal Wedding
A Wedding to Die For by Leann Sweeney
***Leann Sweeney is a GR author
Task 20.10 group reads
The Glass Castle
I posted in the thread
Task 25.6 Australia
Book #1: Author is from Australia
Burning Up by Sarah Mayberry
***Sarah Mayberry is a GR author
Book #2: "beach"
Orchid Beach by Stuart Woods
Total: 470

2 new tasks
20.3. Katy's Task: Happy International Women's Day!
Georgette Heyer lived in England; I live in the United States
Friday's Child by Georgette Heyer -published in 1944
20.6. Kathryn CA's Task: Young Adult Series
Syren by Angie Sage is book 5 of the Septimus Heap series.
This book has 628 pages and has Young Adult as a popular shelf
Big Book ticket for Syren at 628 pages
Total Points = 520
Tasks Completed = 35
Total Pages = 13,458
GoodReads Authors = 5
Big Books (500+) = 2

5.7 Going Green
The Song of Roland borrowed from the library
10.3 Beware the Ides of March
Falco on His Metal: Venus in Copper / The Iron Hand of Mars / Poseidon's Gold
10.4 Elementary my dear Watson
The Robots of Dawn
15.4 It’s a Repeat
Cannily, Cannily
25.3 A Better World
Fiction – A Vision of Light – main character a midwife and healer
Non-Fiction – Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide – recommended in the thread
Total points 470
Edited to correct total.

The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan, added to my to-read list on September 06, 2009.
5.9 Shrimp on the Barbie
The Demigod Files by Rick Riordan, 160 Pages
15.7 Lab Lit
Angels & Demons by Dan Brown
Vittoria Vetra, the main female heroine is a scientist working for CERN.
***569 Pages - Big Book***
Points this post: 25
Total Points: 80
Tasks Completed: 8
Books Read: 8
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
AMBER MARIE
15.9 -- In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
I read Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride.
There is a crow on the cover.
Lish McBride is a Goodreads Author!
Points This Post: 15
Total Points: 210
Total GoodReads Authors: 5
Total Big Books: 500+ (3) 700+(0) 1000+(0)
15.9 -- In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
I read Hold Me Closer, Necromancer by Lish McBride.
There is a crow on the cover.

Lish McBride is a Goodreads Author!
Points This Post: 15
Total Points: 210
Total GoodReads Authors: 5
Total Big Books: 500+ (3) 700+(0) 1000+(0)

15.3 - Earth Day
B. The Slippery Slope by Lemony Snicket
(Planned to read for Winter, but didn't get to it)
C. Getting the Girl by Markus Zusak
(I borrowed this book from the library)
Total Points: 60
Total Books: 6
Total Tasks: 5

25.1. Coralie's Task:In my Backyard
b. Read a book where a main character works in the finance industry.
Major Pettigrew's Last Stand by Helen Simonson (Goodreads Author)
Roger Pettigrew works in the finance industry.
h. Read a book based on a television show or one on which a television show is based.
The Walking Dead Vol. 8: Made to Suffer by Robert Kirkman
AMC television series: The Walking Dead
Task Points: 25
Grand Total: 375
Tasks Completed: 19
Books Read: 25
Pages Read: 7468
Goodreads Author Books: 3
Big Books: 500+(2), 750+(1), 1000+(0)

Paper Towns by John Green
Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Levithan
my original author was Scott Westerfeld
David Levithan is a goodreads author
Points this post: 30
Total Points: 295
Tasks Completed: 19
Pages Read: 9424
Books Read: 26
Goodreads Authors: 6
Big Books: 500+(3), 750+(0), 1000+(0)

Task 25.2 - Your Bucket List
One of the items on my bucket list is to teach my future children to live morally. Because of the ever-present moral at the end of the story, I read Aesop's Fables by Aesop.
For B, I read Little Women by Louisa May Alcott.
Points this task: 25
Total points: 270
Tasks completed: 18
Books read: 22
Pages read: 6033
Goodreads authors: 6
Big books: 500+ (1); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)

Task 15.1 - The Land Down Under
I read Foreign Correspondence: A Pen Pal's Journey from Down Under to All Over by Geraldine Brooks.
Points this task: 15
Total points: 285
Tasks completed: 19
Books read: 23
Pages read: 6257
Goodreads authors: 6
Big books: 500+ (1); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)

Task 20.5 (Alliterative Names) - I read The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. She is a goodreads' author.
New points: 20
Tasks Completed: 10
Books Read: 10
Total Points: 165
Goodreads authors: 6

Required: North and South (TV miniseries 1985)
North and South by John Jakes read 4/21/11
Big Book ticket: 816 pages
Total This Post: 20
Completed Tasks: 32
Total Points to Date: 490
Goodreads Authors: 10
Big Books: 500+ (5), 750+ (1), 1000+ (0)

Emergency: Wife Lost and Found by Carol Marinelli
135 pages
This Post: 5
Total Points: 160
Tasks Completed: 12
Books Read: 14
Goodreads Authors: 1 (Elle Amery)
Big Books: 500+ (2), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)

15.9 In like a lion out like a lamb
I read Magnificent Bastards

as it has prairie dogs on the cover.
New points = 15
Total = 145

First I read Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, which contains the following blurb:
"Whatever you might be expecting, Middlesex will surprise you…a roiling epic… the kind of book that urges to be read in one day, then reread." -Jonathan Safran Foer
So I also read Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer
**Middlesex is a 500+ page Big Book**
Points This Post: 15
Total Points: 255
Tasks Completed: 14
Total Books: 19
Pages Read: 8,253
GoodReads Authors: 3
Big Books: 500+(5), 750+(2), 1000+(0)


20.1 Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler
I read Fearless Fourteen by Janet Evanovich for this task. Both of her initials can be found in JOECAINFATTUESDAY
Total Points: 135

g. a book featuring sewing:
The Quilter's Legacy by Jennifer Chiaverini
h. a book on which a tv show is based:
Death of a Gossip(Hamish Macbeth #1) by M.C. Beaton
Hamish Macbeth was on the BBC between 1995 and 1997.
Total points to date 310


Task 5.7 Going Green
I read the ebook The Mating by Nicky Charles. Ebook was approved by moderator.
***Nicky Charles is a Goodreads Author**
Total Points: 350
Total GR Authors: 9

My birthday is the 2nd.
The Hours by Michael Cunningham (Judith Avory 2nd Mar)
Toast by Nigel Slater (Nicki UK 3rd Mar)
This Post: 30
Total Points: 190
Tasks Completed: 13
Books Read: 17
Goodreads Authors: 1 (Elle Amery)
Big Books: 500+ (2), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)

15.6 -- The Truth Is...
What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew: From Fox Hunting to Whist-The Facts of Daily Life in Nineteenth-Century England by Daniel Pool
I was inspired to read this book after reading Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte.
Task Points: 15
Grand Total: 390
Tasks Completed: 20
Books Read: 26
Pages Read: 7884
Goodreads Author Books: 3
Big Books: 500+(2), 750+(1), 1000+(0)

30.1 - Literature Map
Storm Front by Jim Butcher
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
the author I used in the map was Charlaine Harris
Points: 30
Total Points: 435

10.2 SAY WHAT? - The Girl Who Chased the Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. ***Sarah Addison Allen is a GOODREADS AUTHOR. I would like to claim a GOODREADS TICKET***
10.5 IT TAKES TWO - Say Goodbye by Lisa Gardner.
15.3 EARTH DAY - B. REUSE -I planned to read Caught by Harlan Coben for the Winter 2010 Challenge.
C. RECYCLE - The Lost Valentine by James Michael Pratt. I borrowed this book from a co-worker.
20.4 TRACYJ'S TASK - THE ROYAL WEDDING - Beach Blondes: June Dreams, July's Promise, August Magic by Katherine Applegate.
***I would like to claim a BIG BOOKS TICKET. This book had 721 pages.***
25.1 CORALIE'S TASK: IN MY BACKYARD -
D. Person who works in the food preparation industry - Little Indiscretions: A Delectable Mystery by Carmen Posadas.
E. Main character is a professional sportsperson - Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella.
Total Points: 220
Total Pages: 6889
Tasks Completed: 14
Books Read: 16
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+ (1), 750+ (2), 1000+ (0)

Total tasks completed 2
Total pts 25
Books read 2
This is also a repost since my readerboard name is now CaseyKS

B. Book I planned to read for the winter challenge but did not get to: Read The Laughter of Dead Kings by Elizabeth Peters AND
C. book from the library - Hot Pursuit by Suzanne Brockmann
points this task 15

Task 25.3 Better World Books
Fiction:
Plainsong by Kent Haruf
Two of the main characters of this book are teachers.
Non-fiction:
When a Crocodile Eats the Sun: A Memoir of Africa by Peter Godwin
The author's mother, who is a main character in this memoir, is a doctor. The author's father and the author himself are both military veterans.
Peter Godwin is a GR Author.
+25 task
Grand total = 210

The Postmistress by Sarah Blake, a Goodreads Author - 336 pages
20.5 Young Adult Series
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart, a Goodreads author - 485 pages
This is the first in the YA series of the same name.
Points This Post: 35
Total Points: 360
Total Tasks Completed: 24
Total Books Read: 29
Total Pages Read: 8637
Total Goodreads Authors: 7
Total Big Books: 500(2);750(0);1000+(0)

I chose options A, authors initials. I read Annexed by Sharon Dogar.
Task Points: 40
Tasks Completed: 10
Books Read: 12
Goodreads Authors: 3
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
Total Points: 200

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

20.4 'Royal Wedding'
The Princess Bride by William Goldman
contains the word Princess, plus the author's name is William.
Points This Post: 25
Total Points: 550
Tasks Completed: 37
Books Read: 45
Goodreads Author Books: 5
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(1), 1000+(1)

Could I please move:
Rainbow Boys from 25.2 (A)
Rainbow High from 20.7
and Rainbow Road from 25.6 (2)
to task 50.
I have read this whole series in order during the time of this challenge and never read any of the books before.
Points This Post: (-20)
Total Points: 530
Tasks Completed: 35
Books Read: 45
Goodreads Author Books: 5
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(1), 1000+(1)

20.7 Shorter is Sweeter. Tami's task: Quips and Quotes
So Many Books so Little Time-Frank Zappa
I read Maybe This Time by Jennifer Cruise
She is a Good Reads Author
Points This task 20
Total Points 300
Tasks done 25
Books read 26
Goodreads Authors 9
pages 8901

The Appeal by John Grisham
Points this post: 10
Total Points: 305
Tasks Completed: 20
Pages Read: 9792
Books Read: 27
Goodreads Authors: 6
Big Books: 500+(3), 750+(0), 1000+(0)

10.6 Respect Your Elders
Tess of the D'Urbervilles by Thomas Hardy published in 1891
Task Points: 10
Grand Total: 160
Total Tasks Completed: 20
Total GoodReads Authors: 0
Total Big Books: 500+ (1), 750+ (0), 1000+ (1)

Part A.
Running With Angels
Part B.
Book of a Thousand Days
Task Points: 30
Total Points: 120
Total Tasks Completed: 4

25.4A- Swords and Deviltry by Fritz Leiber
B- Witches by Roald Dahl
total point: 295

Just finished Outlander by Diana Gabaldon and posted in the discussion thread (message 26).
With 850 pages this also counts for a 750+ pages big book ticket.
Points this post: 20
Total Points: 385/910
Tasks Completed: 26
Books Read: 32
Goodreads Authors: 8
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(2), 1000+(0)

My birthday is the 13th. I used Brenda and Kim L's lists for my book choices.
The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini - Brenda 3/13
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer - Kim L 5/13
Points: 30
Total Points: 440
Total task completed: 22
Total books read: 31

A Great and Terrible Beauty by Libba Bray
10.4 Mystery
Aurora Teagarden #1: Real Murders by Charliane Harris
points = 480

15.1 The Land Down Under
I read two books, one with "Down" in the title and one with "Under" in the title:
Write It Down Make It Happen: Knowing What You Want And Getting It by Henriette Anne Klauser
U is for Undertow by Sue Grafton
Points this post: 15
Total Points: 150
Total tasks completed: 9
Total books read: 11
Total pages read: 4601
Total GoodReads authors: 1
Total Big Books: 500+ (1) 750+ (1), 1000+ (0)

Click on the "Friends" tab, and then "Popular Books". This produces a list of the most common books from your 20 most recently active friends' lists. Read a book from that list.
Mansfield Park by Jane Austen
This Post: 5
Total Points: 345
Tasks Completed: 25/54
Goodreads Authors: 4
Big Books: 500+ (1), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0)

15.6 The truth is...
Some time ago I read "The Boy In Striped Pajamas" which provided a fictional view of the Holocaust years - from the perspective of a child. I read Anne Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl to learn more about what these years were like as seen/experienced by a young person.
This task: 15
Tasks completed: 18
Total points: 265

This is a mystery involving a brother and sister duo solving a series of murders in their small Northern California town.
***Both Lisa Lutz and David Hayward are Goodreads authors*** claiming a Goodreads author ticket
Books Read - 10
Tasks Completed - 9
TOTAL POINTS - 170
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10.6 "Respect your Elders"
For this task, I read Mark Twain's "A Horse's Tale" It was published in 1906.
Total points:85