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Cynthia's Seasonal Challenges
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OFFICIAL FALL CHALLENGE - 2008

5 POINT TASKS
1. READ A BOOK WITH THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL IN THE TITLE - Songs of the Humpback Whale, Picoult
10 POINT TASKS
5. READ A HORROR OR SUSPENSE NOVEL - Hold Tight, Coben
New Total:
110
Woo! Passed my goal :)


Since December is a big holiday month when most of us probably don't have a much time to read as we'd like to I thought I put it up to a vote (I'm making a poll so DON'T vote here) as to whether or not we should skip December or whatever - here are the options I've come up with.
1. We keep the status quo the new challenge will start Dec 1st and we keep the every three month new challenge i.e. (Dec-Feb, Mar-May, Jun-Aug, Sep-Nov)
2. We start in December but switch to a every 4 month challenge (Dec-Mar, Apr-Jul, Aug-Nov)
3. We skip December this year and start in January and keep 3 month challenges (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec)
4. We skip December this year but switch to 4 month system (Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sept-Dec)
5. We skip December every year stick with the 3 month system but the fall challenge will be two months (Jan-Mar, Apr-Jun, Jul-Sept, Oct-Nov)
5. We skip December every year but 4 month system - (Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Nov)
I'm abstaining from the vote...I'll leave it up to you guys. I'm posting the poll now and I'll leave it up till the end of October.

READ A BOOK WITH A ONE WORD TITLE - Austenland by Shannon Hale (10 pts)
This brings me to 100 points.
(I'm currently reading The Woman in White for #10 of the 15 point tasks and Playing for Pizza for #3 of the 10 point tasks.)
Forgot to mention that I'd set my goal at 200 points.

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TOTAL: 240 Pts as @ 19/10


15 Point Task: Read a book by an author who is no longer living.
THE BELL JAR by Sylvia Plath
Points now-185


I'm halfway though- great book!

15 points-Read a book by an African American author-Read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison

(I liked them both, but they were very different stories).
Still got to get going.


Finished The Golden Compass, one of 2007's most challenged books, according to the ALA. (10 pts.)
Now at: 200 pts.

5 Point Task - Read A Book With A Color (Red, Blue Etc.) In The Title (Midwife of the Blue Ridge by Christine Blevins)
10 Point Task - Read a Non-Fiction Book (Belle Weather: Mostly Sunny With a Chance of Scattered Hissy Fits by Celia Rivenbark)
15 Point Task - Read a Book by an Author you’ve Never Read Before (My Husband's Sweethearts by Bridget Asher)
25 Point Task - Read a Book And Then Watch the Movie Adaptation (Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen)
10 Point Task - Read a Novel or Non-Fiction Book about Witches/Witchcraft, Vampires, or Werewolves (The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent)
25 Point Task - Read a Book And Cook a Meal Inspired By It (Belle In The Big Apple: A Novel With Recipes by Brooke Parkhurst) AND MADE BAKED APPLES AND OYSTER STEW (RECIPE FOR STEW IN BOOK)
15 Point Task - Read A Book by A Hispanic or Hispanic American Author (The Gifted Gabaldón Sisters by Lorraine López)
15 Point Task - Read a Book Written By an Athlete or Former Athlete (The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks)
5 Point Task - Read A Book With The Name Of An Animal In The Title (Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched The World By Vicky Myron)
15 Point Task - Read a Novel by an Author Who Is No Longer Living (Thinner, Blonder, Whiter by Elizabeth Maguire)
15 Point Task - Read A Book By A Pulitzer Prize Winner (Not Necessarily The Winning Book) (March by Geraldine Brooks)
10 Point Task - Read A Book with A One Word Title (Elegance by Kathleen Tessaro)
5 Point Task - Read A Book With The Name Of A City, Country, Or Continent In The Title (Big Stone Gap By Adrianna Trigiani)
5 Point Task - Read A Book With The Name Of A Person Or Character In The Title (The Second Coming Of Lucy Hatch By Marsha Moyer)
15 Point Task - Read a Book Written By an Asian or Asian American Author (The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan)
10 Point Task - Read a Novel Written In the 19th Century (Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen)
10 Point Task - Read A Book about Music or A Musician (Fiction or Non-Fiction) (The Choir by Joanna Trollope)
10 Point Task - Read A Collection of Short Stories, Essays, or A Play (Cakewalk By Lee Smith)
10 Point Task - Read A Horror or Suspense Novel (Willow by V.C. Andrews.)
5 Point Task - Read A Book That Has Some Type Of Plant Life (Flowers, Trees) Or Part Of A Plant (Leaf, Petal) In The Title (The Ballroom On Magnolia Street)
5 Point Task - Read A Book with Any of the Following in the Title (Vampire, Zombie, Werewolf, Devil, Ghost, Goblin, Witch, or Frankenstein) (The Man Who Made the Devil Glad by Donald McCaig)
15 Point Task - Read a Book Written By a Good Reads Author (Field Of Darkness by Cornelia Read
5 Point Task - Read a Book That Has the Word School in the Title (The Crazy School by Cornelia Read)
15 Point Task - Read a Book Written By an African or African American Author (The Wind Done Gone By Alice Randall)
10 Point Task - Read a Novel or Non-Fiction Book about Football (Coal Run by Tawni O’dell)
5 Point Task - Read a Book with September in the Title (110 Stories: New York Writes After September 11 by Ulrich Bear)
TASKS COMPLETED - 10/26
TOTAL POINTS - 140/290
15 pts: READ A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN ATHLETE OR FORMER ATHLETE: Cal Ripken, Jr.: My Story
Puts me at 140
Puts me at 140

15 point task.
9) Read a book by a Pulitizer prize winner.
EMPIRE FALLS by Richard Russo
Total- 200
Would The Haunting of Gad's Hall count?
by Norah Lofts
by Norah Lofts
For 25 points? Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. But I am allergic to tomatoes so not sure I should really try to make them altho I have always wanted to try them....sigh! There are also lots of good recipes in the back of the book so maybe I will try another recipe.
Anyone had fried green tomatoes?
Anyone had fried green tomatoes?


Okay-task update. I just earned 15 points for reading a book by a goodreads author-The Double Bind by Chris Bohjalian which brings my total to
120 points!
(I was at 105 as of my last update but forgot to write that in my update thread.)



5 POINT TASKS
10 POINT TASKS
4. READ A BOOK WITH A ONE WORD TITLE - Brisingr
6. READ A NON-FICTION BOOK - American Rifle: A Biography
9. READ A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, OR A PLAY - Ruins Metropolis
15 POINT TASKS
1. READ A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR YOU'VE NEVER READ BEFORE - The Outstretched Shadow
4. READ A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN ASIAN OR ASIAN AMERICAN AUTHOR - Geisha: A Life
6. READ A BOOK WRITTEN BY A GOOD READS AUTHOR - House of Leaves
10. READ A NOVEL BY AN AUTHOR WHO IS NO LONGER LIVING - Autobiography of a Yogi
25 POINT TASKS
--------------------------
I'm off track right now as I have a book that I just _HAVE_ to read before I can let myself read more that will count for the challenge... I must read quickly!
I'm currently at 90 points. :)


READ A BOOK WITH ANY OF THE FOLLOWING IN THE TITLE (VAMPIRE, ZOMBIE, WEREWOLF, DEVIL, GHOST, GOBLIN, WITCH, OR FRANKENSTEIN) with What's a Ghoul to Do? by Victoria Laurie, which would bring me to, I think, 150 points -- I honestly lost track.


5 POINT TASKS
1. READ A BOOK WITH THE NAME OF AN ANIMAL IN THE TITLE
The Conqueror Worms, by Brian Keene
10 POINT TASKS
5. READ A HORROR OR SUSPENSE NOVEL
Mr. Hands, by Gary A. Braunbeck
6. READ A NON-FICTION BOOK
First Generations: Women in Colonial America, by Carol Berkin
9. READ A COLLECTION OF SHORT STORIES, ESSAYS, OR A PLAY
The White Album, by Joan Didion
15 POINT TASKS
1. READ A BOOK BY AN AUTHOR YOU'VE NEVER READ BEFORE
Fatal Shadows, by Josh Lanyon
3. READ A BOOK WRITTEN BY AN AFRICAN OR AFRICAN AMERICAN AUTHOR
Frederick Douglass Slave Narratives
5. READ A NOVEL BY A GAY OR LESBIAN AUTHOR
Lola Dances, by Victor J. Banis
25 POINT TASKS
3. READ A BOOK AND THEN WATCH THE MOVIE ADAPTATION
Into the Wild, by Jon Krakauer

KAREN – 260
LIZ (BROOKLYN) - 240
LOGAN – 215
ANN – 200
JULIANNE – 195
MELISSA – 190
CHARITY - 185
BNOIR - 170
LIZ (NY) – 165
(G)EMMA – 160
SARAH - 160
ANGELA – 155
EMILEE - 155
REBECCA - 145
CYNTHIA – 140
JAMIE (29) - 125
CONNIE - 120
JOANIE – 120
LINDSEY - 120
MELODY - 120
LAURA – 115
SUSANNA – 115
LYNLEE4 – 110
MARSHA – 110
NANCY – 105
JAIME(25) – 100
ASHLEY - 90
JENNI - 90
LISA (Washington)- 90
KRISTINA - 85
ANDREW – 80
SETH - 80
LIZ (VEGAS) - 75
ELIZABETH - 70
JESSICA - 70
KATIE (VEGAS) - 60
LIESL – 60
STARLIGHT - 60
ANDREA – 55
MELANIE – 50
JEANE - 40
LESLIE - 35
STACIE – 35
JEANE - 30
CHRISTINA V – 20
MK – 15
KATIE (NH) - 10
OPERANDI - 10

Books mentioned in this topic
Girl in Hyacinth Blue (other topics)Flowers for Algernon (other topics)
Flowers for Algernon (other topics)
The Secret Life of Houdini: The Making of America's First Superhero (other topics)
Frankenstein (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Irène Némirovsky (other topics)Andrew Davidson (other topics)
Kathy Reichs (other topics)
Lisa See (other topics)
Augusten Burroughs (other topics)
More...
For the next challenge, I could have used Atonement for a 25 pointer- "Finish a book you think you should read but would rather not."
I started American Gods and I'm going to start Dracula too. I don't know that I can fit American Gods in anywhere, I'll have to look back over the list.