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


15.6 -- The Truth Is...
For this task, choose a novel that contained a topic you'd like to know more about and read a non-fiction book about this topic.
I read a biography of the Marquis de Lafayette:
Lafayette (2002) by Harlow Giles Unger (Hardcover, 452 pages)
Required: Tell us the title of novel that inspired your choice.
That would be Madame Tussaud: A Novel of the French Revolution, which I read earlier in this challenge. I had known of Lafayette's actions in the American Revolution, and of his close friendship with George Washington. I hadn't realized Lafayette was also such a leader in the French Revolution. Most people would be content to be at the center of one revolution, and here is Lafayette, at the center of two. So I read his biography.
350 + 15 = 365

Tasks Completed: 22
Points for this task: 15
Points thus far: 350 + 15 = 365
Books read: 29
Pages Read: 8744
Read but not claimed: 5
Goodreads Authors: 5
Big Books:
(0) 500+
(1) 750 +
(0) 1000 +

10.1. Sing Out: March is Music in Our Schools Month.
Where Is Joe Merchant? by Jimmy Buffett (382 p.)
30.4 Dlmrose's Task: Like I Needed an Excuse.......
A. I enjoy cooking & baking as a hobby & don’t (always) consider it housework! Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly by Anthony Bourdain (307 p.)
B. The Kitchen House by Kathleen Grissom (368 p.) – the main character is an indentured servant.
Points this Post: 40
Tasks Completed this Post: 2
Books Read this Post: 3
Pages Read this Post: 1057
Total Points: 680
Total Tasks Completed: 43
Total Books Read: 55
Total Pages Read: 19721
Total GoodReads Authors: 13
Total Big Books: 500+ (3), 750+ (2), 1000+ (0)

15.5 AWARD ME
I am replacing it with:
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman This was in the 2008 Tournament of Books.
***GoodReads Author***
Also Reporting:
20.9 LUCKY ME - The Stolen Heart: A Novel of Suspense by Lauren Kelly
25.2 YOUR BUCKET LIST
A. Unseen by Rachel Caine I would like to own a motorcycle one day. This book has a motorcycle on its cover

B.

Points: 60
Tasks: 3
Books: 4
Pages: 1972
GR Authors: 1
Total Points: 910
Total Tasks: 54
Total Books: 73
Total Pages: 31,512
GR Authors: 15
Big Books 500+: 9
Big Books 750+: 1
Big Books 1000+: 3
FINISHED!!!!!

Finished 15.10 - Spring Break
The Lost Dogs: Michael Vick's Dogs and Their Tale of Rescue and Redemption by Jim Gorant
Total Points: 190

Task 5.1 - Waltzing Matilda
I read FoxTrot by Bill Amend.
Points this task:5
Total points: 640
Tasks completed: 36
Books read: 49
Pages read: 12966
Goodreads authors: 6
Big books: 500+ (1); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)

I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne, which has a picture of the ocean on the cover
5.7 Going Green
I read The Orientalist, by Tom Reiss, which I bought from a second-hand book store
5.9 Shrimp on the Barbie
I read Sundiata: an Epic Tale of Old Mali by DT Niane which is 101 pages
5.10 Kia Ora
I read Captain Alatriste by Arturo Perez-Reverte, which was translated from Spainish to English
10.5 It Takes 2
I read Soliders Alive by Ishikawa Tatzuko
10.6 Respect your Elders
I read Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, by Harriet Jacobs which was originally published in 1860
Points for this Post: 35
Total Points: 35
Total Tasks Completed: 7
Total Books Read: 7

30.6
Rolled 2: (Hera) Book about family relationships
Saving CeeCee Honeycutt by Beth Hoffman
Rolled 3: (Herodotus) Historical Fiction
Bright Young Things by Anna Godbersen
* Beth Hoffman is a goodreads author
Total: 235
Tasks Completed: 12
Tasks in Progress: 3
Books Read: 19
Pages Read: 6192

The gargoyle - Andrew Davidson (Goodreads Author)
*Author profile of Joseph D'Lacey. Fan: Krysta Lawlor
20.3 Happy Women's Day!:
The Thirteenth Tale - Diane Setterfield
*I'm Canadian, she's British*
20.7 - Quips and Quotes :
Anyone who says they have only one life to live must not know how to read a book. ~Author Unknown
The Reader - Bernhard Schlink
5.7 - Going Green
Ass Goblins of Auschwitz - Cameron Pierce
*lent to me via Kindle Lending* -- NO POINTS --
5.2 - Circle of Friends
I have moved Never Let Me Go - Kazuo Ishiguro from 5.7 to 5.2 - Circle of Friends.*
20.9 - Lucky me!
Stolen Innocence: My Story of Growing Up in a Polygamous Sect, Becoming a Teenage Bride, and Breaking Free of Warren Jeffs by Elisa Wall and Lisa Pulitzer
Points This Post: 70
Total Points: 365
Tasks Completed: 28
Books Read: 28
GoodReads Authors: 6
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)(less)

15.5 AWARD ME
I am replacing it with:
What the Dead Know by Laura Lippman This was in the 2008 Tournament of Book..."
Congratulations on finishing!!!

Anna Karenina
This has been a miniseries 3 times:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075476/m...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0246353/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0403726/
* BIG BOOK: 750+ pages *
Points This Post: 20
Total Points: 865
Tasks Completed: 53
Books Read: 59
Goodreads Author Books: 6
Big Books: 500+(2), 750+(2), 1000+(1)

Christmas Eve in Friday Harbor by Lisa Kleypas, a Goodreads author.

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5.8 - Blow Your Stack
Watchmen by Alan Moore
Added: 10/22/10
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15.3 – Earth Day
B – Reuse: a book I’d planned to read for the Winter 2010-2011 challenge but didn’t get to -
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Would have fit task 30.10 - In Honor of Asian Authors as Yoshimoto is Japanese.
C – Recyle: a book I borrowed from the library –
Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin, a Goodreads author.
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20.1 - Most Improved Player. Cindy AL's Task: Lassiez Les Bon Temps Rouler!
The Pilot's Wife by Anita Shreve
Read a book written by an author whose initials are in the following: J,O,E,C,A,I,N,F,A,T,T,U,E,S,D,A,Y.
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Points Claiming: 45
Total Points: 305

15.3 - "Earth Day"
Book Choice B - reuse - Read Pride and Prejudice and Zombies by Seth Grahame-Smith.
Book Choice C - recycle - Read Perpetua's Passion: The Death and Memory of a Young Roman Woman by Joyce Salisbury. I borrowed this from my teacher. I'm doing research to teach a class at my father's church on women living during early Christianity.
Jennifer Egan is a Goodreads author.
Points for above tasks: 25
Tasks above completed: 2
Total tasks completed: 14/54
Points completed: 200/910
Books read & claimed: 19
Books by Goodreads authors: 3
Big Books: 1 (500+), 0 (750+), 0 (1000+)


30.2 Sheila's Guilty Pleasures - reality television
Book A)All I Want for Christmas Is a Vampire by Kerrelyn Sparks
I used American Idol winner Jordin Sparks
Book B)When the Lion Feeds by Wilbur Smith
I used DWTS winner Emmitt Smith
544 pages claiming Big Book ticket
This post: 30 points
Total: 195 points

I picked option B, two books from the Tournament of Books.
The Accidental by Ali Smith (2006)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (2010)
*Kathryn Stockett is a Goodreads Author*
Points This Post: 25
Total Points: 890
Tasks Completed: 54
Books Read: 61
Goodreads Author Books: 7
Big Books: 500+(2), 750+(2), 1000+(1)

Task 20.4 - The Royal Wedding
Using the word 'princess,' I read Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer.
Points this task: 20
Total points: 660
Tasks completed: 37
Books read: 50
Pages read: 13180
Goodreads authors: 6
Big books: 500+ (1); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)

Points this task 20

(read a book by an Australian author)
Impetuous Innocent by Stephanie Laurens, grew up in Melbourne, Australia
20.4 - THE ROYAL WEDDING
(read a book whose title contains the word 'wedding')
Wedding Season by Katie Fforde
20.7 - QUIPS & QUOTES
(choose a favorite or meaningful verse, quip, quote or saying & read one book that has one word from your choice in the title)
My quote:
The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.
- Abraham Lincoln
Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie (Goodreads author)
25.3 - A BETTER WORLD
(read two books:
Book A. Read a fiction title where a main character works in a better world profession
Book B. Read a non-fiction title about a better world profession)
Book A. Lady Sophia's Lover by Lisa Kleypas (Goodreads author). One of the main characters is in law enforcement.
Book B. I Love A Firefighter by Ellen Kirschman
30.1 - LITERATURE MAP BY GENDER
(Using literature-map.com choose one of your favorite authors. From the results, choose 2 new authors who you have never read before and who are of the opposite gender from yourself. Read one book by each of these authors.)
I chose Janet Evanovich as my favorite author. From the literature map I chose Lee Child and Carl Hiaasen.
Killing Floor by Lee Child
Skinny Dip by Carl Hiaasen
30.3 - YOURS, MINE, & OURS
(Read two books:
A. One with the word Your(s), My or Mine, or Our(s) in the Title
B. One with a blended family (Children, Steps, and/or Halfs) in it)
A. Murder Can Spoil Your Appetite by Selma Eichler
B. Murder Can Spook Your Cat by Selma Eichler. The family of the victim includes her 3 step-daughters. None of the step-daughters are from the same marriage.
Points this post - 135
Goodreads authors this post - 2
Total points - 710
Total Goodreads authors - 15

25.5. Gayla's Task: March Madness
B. 2006:
Anansi Boys by Neil Gaiman(Goodreads Author)
No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy
Task Points: 25
Grand Total: 585
Tasks Completed: 29
Books Read: 40
Pages Read: 12,184
Goodreads Author Books: 7
Big Books: 500+(3), 750+(1), 1000+(0)

15.10 Spring Break
A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami
25.2 Bucket List
Book 1:
Bow AND Waiting for a Hero by Penelope Austin
One of the things on my bucket list is to read poetry by at least 100 modern poets.
Book 2:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Points this post: 40
Grand total: 355

15.7 -- Lab Lit
Read a novel in which a scientist plays a major role - Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (mad scientist).
Total: 555

10.5 It Takes Two Making Waves
Pages: 368
30.5 All the World is a Birthday Cake
My birthday is March 10
The Postcard Killers James Patterson **GOODREADS AUTHOR**
Readerboard name Pam March 9
The Handmaid's Tale Margaret Atwood **GOODREADS AUTHOR**
Readerboard name Angela NY March 10
Pages: 432 & 295
************
Points this Post: 40
Total points: 385
Total Pages:11,697
GoodReads Authors: 12
Big Books: 500+(3), 750+(1), 1000+(0)

(this book is #4 on my friends popular books list)
For task 15.8 From a Different Perspective I now claim
The Boy Next Door by Meg Cabot
(this book is written as a series of emails)
Total points: 315

If the first book on this post is a copy of a previous post, I apologize!! I think I had a computer glitch earlier...
15.9 In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami
At 607pp, I'm claiming 1 big book ticket
20.7 Quips and Quotes
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Samuel Kuhn
My favorite quote is by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu: "Structured structures are predisposed to function as structuring structures."
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions has the word 'structure' in it, and it discusses the concept that Bourdieu is talking about in this quote!
Points this Post: 35
Grand Total: 245
Tasks Completed: 26
Good Reads Authors: 0
Big Book Tickets: 500(3) 750(1) 1000(1)

On the Run by Iris Johansen
Points this task: 5
Points to date: 165
Task 15.3 - Earth Day
1)Reuse book from Winter Challenge:
Miles Away... Worlds Apart by
Alan Sakowitz
2)Recycle book borrowed from library:
The Scarlet Pimpernel by Emmuska Orczy
Points this task: 15
Points to date: 180

I read The Girl Who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson. This also was a re-read, now I finally read the 3rd and final book in the series. It is also another big book at 630 pages.
Total Points to date: 355
Total Tasks Completed: 26
Total Books Read: 33
Total GoodReads Authors: 12
Total Big Books: 500+ (4), 750+ (0), 1000+ (0

5.3 – Gimme Five
The Postmistress by Sarah Blake
20.7 – Quips and Quotes
I like Maya Angelou’s quote: “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” So I read:
A Simple Life by Rosie Thomas
20.10 – Group Read
I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore (posted in message 48)
Task Points: 45
Total Tasks Completed: 13
Total Points Earned: 170

First Degree by David Rosenfelt
Task Points: 10
Tasks Completed: 15
Books Read: 19
Goodreads Authors: 5
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
Total Points: 290

"I am a product [...of] endless books. My father bought all the books he read and never got rid of any of them. There were books in the study, books in the drawing room, books in the cloakroom, books (two deep) in the great bookcase on the landing, books in a bedroom, books piled as high as my shoulder in the cistern attic, books of all kinds reflecting every transient stage of my parents' interest, books readable and unreadable, books suitable for a child and books most emphatically not. Nothing was forbidden me. In the seemingly endless rainy afternoons I took volume after volume from the shelves. I had always the same certainty of finding a book that was new to me as a man who walks into a field has of finding a new blade of grass."
— C.S. Lewis
This quote struck a chord with me - it sounds a bit like my house!
Howards End is on the Landing: A Year of Reading from Home by Susan Hill
This book fits both criteria for the task: landing in the title, and the subject matter of the book. Susan Hill decided to spend a year reading only the books from her own shelves, and in this book she examines her book collection and discusses the influence of her wide variety of books on her life.
Total points to date 700


Post 2354
20.10 Group Read
I Am Number Four by Picattus Lore, finished 03/13 - 5*
Posted in the discussion thread - my apologies for not doing it sooner!
Post 2352
15.6 -- The Truth Is...
Message from an Unknown Chinese Mother: Stories of Love and Loss by Xinran, finished 04/04 - 5*
I want to know more about Chinese culture, and this book was about Chinese mothers. I became interested in this subject after reading The Girl Who Played Go (for this challenge, actually).
And in Post 2351, I made a mistake: Stephanie Laurens is not a GR author
----------------------------------------------------------------------
In this post:
Books Read: 2
Tasks Finished: 2
Points: 35
Gr authors: 0
Big books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
In the Spring Challenge
Total Books Read: 65
Total Tasks: 50
Total Points: 805
Gr authors: 19
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(1), 1000+(0)

Task: 20.2 Random Words
Words: Juice, Library, Spy, Well, Fuse
Book: Spies of the Balkans
Total Points: 290
Previous Reads:
5.6 Water Water Everywhere - Prince of the Mist
5.9 Shrimp on the Barbie - The Humbling by Philip Roth
10.1 Sing Out - Bel Canto by Ann Patchett
10.2 Say What? - The Dog who came in from the Cold by Alexander McCall Smith
10.4 Elementary, my dear Watson - Started Early, Took my Dog by Kate Atkinson
15.4 It's a repeat - Cold Comfort Farm and The Double Comfort Safari Club
15.9 In like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb - Even the Dogs
15.10 Spring Break - Annabel
20.9 - Lucky Me - Swan Thieves by Elizabeth Kostova
20.10 Group Read - I am Number Four by Pitticus Lore
25.6 It's all about Australia and Oceania - Zeitoun by Dave Eggers and So Much for That by Lionel Shriver
30.1 Literature Map by Gender - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Hemmingway and On the Road by Jack Kerouac
30.3 Yours, Mine and Ours - The Hand that First Held Mine by Maggie O Farrell and The Colour Purple by Alice Walker
30.6 Myth-behaving Greeks - The Red Queen by Phillippa Gregory and Wonders of the Universe by Brian Cox
30.7 Title Connections - Moon Tiger by Penelope Lively and Tiger Hills
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25.5 Gayla's Task: March Madness
B. Read two books that have been part of the Tournament of Books's brackets since it started in 2005.
2009 Tournament of Books
My Revolutions (2007) by Hari Kunzru (Hardcover, 280 pages)
AND
2010 Tournament of Books
Burnt Shadows (2009) by Kamila Shamsie (Hardcover, 368 pages)
Orange Prize Nominee for Fiction (2009)
365 + 25 = 390

Tasks Completed: 23
Points for this task: 25
Points thus far: 365 + 25 = 390
Books read: 31
Pages Read: 9392
Read but not claimed: 4
Goodreads Authors: 5
Big Books:
(0) 500+
(1) 750 +
(0) 1000 +

My random words are - roulette, fire, snail, pastry and internet. I read On Fire II: Still Burning by Drew Zachary.
Points for this task- 20
Total Points- 495
Goodreads Authors- 3
Tasks Completed- 31

Task 20.3. Best Review Contest. Katy's Task: Happy International Women's Day!
The Keeping by Nicky Charles ebook approved by moderator
Nicky Charles lives in Canada; I live in the U.S.A.
***Nicky Charles is a Goodreads Author***
Task 30.5. Delicious Dee's task: “All the world is birthday cake, so take a piece, or a book”
My birthday is the 5th
Angela Sunshines's birthday is April 5th. From her shelf, I read Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Deirdre's birthday is April 4th. From her shelf I read
Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin
Total Points: 560
Total GR Authors: 13

Completed Task #5.2 - Circle of Friends
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Task: 5 points
Completed Task #10.1 - Sing Out
Room Full of Mirrors: A Biography of Jimi Hendrix by Charles R. Cross
Task: 10 points
Completed Task #15.10 - Spring Break
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest by Ken Kesey
Task: 15 points
Completed 20.7 Shorter is Sweeter: Tami's Task Quips and Quotes:
Delicious by Sherry Thomas
My quote: "Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth." By Janet Evanovich
Task: 20 points
Completed Task #25.6 Jennifer N's Task: It's All About Australia and Oceania
(A) Option #2 - Promises in the Dark by Stephanie Tyler
(B) Option #3 - Don't Look Down by Suzanne Enoch
Task: 25 points
This post = 75 points
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Total points as of 05/17/11 = 395

5.3 GIMME FIVE:
I've read The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle, whose last name is five letters (D-O-Y-L-E).
Total Points: 30 + 5 = 35

The Thief Lord by Cornelia Funke
** CHALLENGE COMPLETED! ** {jumps for joy}
Points This Post: 20
Total Points: 910
Tasks Completed: 55
Books Read: 62
Goodreads Author Books: 7
Big Books: 500+(2), 750+(2), 1000+(1)

My Goal Points for this Season: 225
Points earned for this task: 15
Points Achieved to date: 340
Updated last on: 5.17
Total # of books read: 27
Total # of pages read: 9,011
Total # of tasks completed: 22
Total # of Goodreads Authors: 6
Total # of Big Books: 500+ (1)
Task 15.1 Land Down Under... Read a book with "Down" and "Under" anywhere in the title.
I read


My Goal Points for this Season: 225
Points earned for this task: 20
Points Achieved to date: 360
Updated last on: 5.17
Total # of books read: 28
Total # of pages read: 9,413
Total # of tasks completed: 23
Total # of Goodreads Authors: 6
Total # of Big Books: 500+ (1)
Task 20.5 Alliterative Authors Assoc.. Read any book by an author with an alliterative name.
I read


20.3 Happy International Women's Day
The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran
This book was published in 2002, by Xinran who is from China
Points this Post: 20
Grand Total: 265
Tasks Completed: 27
Good Reads Authors: 0
Big Book Tickets: 500(3) 750(1) 1000(1)

20.2 Random Words
All 5 of my words were Pain, stew, froth, parasite, suicide.
I read A Royal Pain by Rhys Bowen who is a GoodReads author.
25.5 Tournament of Books
From the 2009 list: The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks by E. Lockhart and from the 2010 list: Let the Great World Spin by Colum McCann.
30.2 Guilty Pleasures
For American Idol, I chose 9. Lee DeWyze and read Die Trying by Lee Child. At 565 pages it is eligible for a Big book ticket. For DWTS, I chose 6 Kristi Yamaguchi and Mark Ballas and read The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time by Mark Haddon.
Re-post points: 75 points
Total to Date = 300 points.
Books Read: 22
GR Authors: 2
Big Books: 3 (500+)

I borrowed a digital version (e-book) of The Light Fantastic by Terry Pratchett.
20.4 The Royal Wedding
Using one of the royal words, I read Royal Flush by Rhys Bowen, a GoodRead Author.
This post: 25 points and 1 GR author
Total: 325 points
Books read: 24
GR Authors: 3
Big Books: 3 (500+)

Task 30.7. Diane's Task: Title Connections
B.
The Road by Cormac McCarthy
and On the Road by Jack Kerouac
Task Points: 30
Grand Total: 615
Tasks Completed: 30
Books Read: 42
Pages Read: 12,732
Goodreads Author Books: 7
Big Books: 500+(3), 750+(1), 1000+(0)
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Books mentioned in this topic
Fer-de-Lance (other topics)The Possessed: Adventures With Russian Books and the People Who Read Them (other topics)
The League of Frightened Men (other topics)
The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (other topics)
Quidditch Through the Ages (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Alan Bradley (other topics)Rex Stout (other topics)
Elif Batuman (other topics)
J.K. Rowling (other topics)
Georges Simenon (other topics)
More...
I hate to do this, but I need to move some books around :(
I am moving Dead Reckoning from 5.7 to
10.10 The Final Frontiers as a fantasy book
I would like to replace it with
5.7 Going Green I Beat the Odds: From Homelessness to The Blind Side and Beyond by Michael Oher as a library book
20.10 Group Read - The Glass Castle comment #37 on the Group Reads thread.
Points: 35
Total: 575