30 POINT TASKS

[Suzanne]

30.1 Become a Shellback
There is a tradition in the Navy that when ships cross the equator, crew members are greeted by King Neptune and Davy Jones and go from being "slimy wogs" to "trusty shellbacks". You will “cross the equator” twice for this task and read 2 books:

Book A
Read a book by an author who's initials are in the word SHELLBACK
**Letters do not have to be sequential- ex. Laura Esquivel is OK. If the author uses initials or has more than 2 names, then ALL initials must appear in Shellback
**Both of the authors initials must be represented in Shellback - for example, Sharon Sala would NOT work because there is only one S in Shellback, but Lora Leigh would because there are 2 L's.

Book B
An even rarer shellback celebration is the Emerald Shellback which is when you cross the prime meridian and the equator at the same time (in the Gulf of Guinea). Read a book that has a gemstone from the following link in either the title/subtitle or the author's name:
Gemstones

**if you click on the chosen gemstone it will include additional information about the stone - those names are also approved - for example, Tiger's Eye can also be spelled tigers eye, tiger eye, tiger iron - all of which are acceptable variations of the Gemstone name - REQUIRED - in your post, if you use a variation, identify the original gemstone

If the gemstone has two (or more) words (i.e. Tiger's Eye) - then all words need to appear in the title but they do not have to be sequential, ex. The Eye of the Tiger is OK. For gemstones made out of compound words, such as Moonstone, the entire word has to be included - so "Moon" or "stone" would NOT count, but Moonstone would - Moonstone.

30.2 - Stranger in a Strange Land
I have always been fascinated by how writers may write convincingly about places they don't live in or that are not their homeland, or places they have left. Also, why do books need to carry different titles in different countries?

For this task, choose TWO books from options A, B and C. Your two books must be from two different options (i.e. I can choose to read a book from A and C, A and B, or B and C).

A: Reimaginings - Read a book that is predominantly set in a place other than the author's birth-country, or where a place other than the author's birth-country plays a significant role in the story. Examples include:
A Passage to India the setting is India; Forster was born in the U.K.
The Wings of the Dove the setting is Europe; James was born in the U.S.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet the setting is Japan; Mitchell was born in the U.K.
In a Sunburned Country the setting is Australia; Bryson was born in the U.S.
French Leave the setting is France; Wodehouse was born in the U.K.
A Step from Heaven the setting is the U.S.; An Na was born in Korea
The Book Thief the setting is Germany; Zusak was born in Australia

Required: Please state the option chosen, the setting and the author's birth-country when you post this task.

B: Culture Shock - Read a work that has been published under different titles in different countries (you do not have to specify the country). The multiple titles must be in the same language.

Examples include:
On the Bright Side I'm Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God a.k.a It's OK I'm Wearing Really Big Knickers
On the Jellicoe Roada.k.a Jellicoe Road
The Golden Compass a.k.a Northern Lights

Required: Please include the option and provide links to both editions carrying the two different titles in the same language when you post this task.

C: Estrangement - Read a book written by a writer who has left a particular country, but has written about it. This country must be a country where he was born or lived in for a substantial period of time. Examples include
My Life in France Julia Child was a U.S. citizen who lived in France
Disgrace J.M. Coetzee writes about South Africa, his birthplace, but now lives in Australia
Persepolis: The Story of a Childhood Marjane Satrapi was born in Iran, which this graphic novel is about; she now lives in France
The Unbearable Lightness of Being Milan Kundera was a Czech citizen but lived in exile in France; this novel is set in Prague
The Museum of Innocence Orhan Pamuk was born in Turkey, where this novel is set, but now lives in the U.S.

Required: Please state the following -1) the option, 2) where the author was born or spent a significant amount of time; 3) where he or she later relocated; 4) where the book is set (which should match too.)

30.3 I'd Like to See Your ID, Please

Read two books. Select two different choices from the following options:

A. Name--Read a book by an author with the initials of your first and last name. Use whatever first and last name you use for official business. Your first and last initial should match the author's first and last name initials, but they may be in either order, ex.: My initials are SM; I could read authors with initials SM or MS.

B. Date of Birth--Read a book first published in the decade of your birth. For example, if you were born in 1976, read a book published between 1970-1979.

C. Eye Color--Chose a book with either the word of your eye color in the title (brown, black, blue, hazel, green, etc.) or with mainly that color on the cover. If your eyes are two different colors or you wear colored contacts, you may choose which to use.

D. Hair Color--Chose a book with a pictures of person with the same color hair as yours. Cover model need not have any other points of reference. Required:Include cover picture when posting. If there is more than one person on the cover, indicate which one you used when posting.

E. Height-- Measure your height in inches or centimeters. Using any of the resulting digits, read a corresponding book from a series. Ex. If you are 65 inches tall, you may read either book 5 or book 6 from a series. If you are 157 cm, use 1, 5, or 7. If one of the digits is a 0, you may read a non-series book. Round your measurement to the nearest whole number and isolate a single digit number from your measurement. Required: Be sure to include your height measurement when posting.

F. Address--Read a book set in or about the state, province, or area of your birth. If it is not evident from the title, please note when posting.

30.4 When I Was Young
Two of my favorite fall holidays from my youth were Labor Day and Halloween. Labor Day was the last hurray before school began and Halloween was just fun with all the costumes and candy.

For this task read two books. You can choose to read 2 books from A or 2 books from B or 1 from each A and B.

A. Labor Day (September 5th) - Labor Day is celebrated by most Americans as the symbolic end of summer and the last day of the year when it is fashionable for women to wear white. The word labor has 5 letters in it and Labor Day falls on the 5th this year so...
Read a book that has only 5 letters in the title OR 5 words in the title OR read a book with a primarily white cover.
It is up to you if you want to count subtitles. A, An and The count as words.
Required: If you choose to read a book with a white cover please include the book cover in your post.

B. Halloween (October 31st) - Get your costume ready!

Read a book that has a main character that you could dress up as for Halloween. Books that have witches, ghosts, vampires, princesses, farmers, fairies etc. would work. Get as creative as you would like. Anything works as long as you can dress up in a costume that exemplifies a main character in the book.
Required: Please state the character and costume you could wear when you post.

30.5 Shopping at the School Store:
September brings the beginning of another school year. In order to get ready for the new school year, this task is based on the supplies needed by every student at the start of a new year.
For this task, you will read 2 books. Using the dice roller, roll 2 dice (hit "Roll Again" one time) and pick the options matching your dice rolls.

First Die: Ruler – Using your first roll, read a book of your choice that falls within the corresponding page limits.

1. Read a book between 100-199 pages.
2. Read a book between 200-299 pages
3. Read a book between 300-399 pages
4. Read a book between 400-499 pages
5. Read a book between 500-599 pages
6. Wildcard! Choose your book length.

Required: Must note the number of pages when posting.

Second Die: Using your second roll, read a book that falls within the corresponding category below.

1. Pencil – read a biography of an author or a book in which a significant character is an author.
2. Markers – Read a book with a color word in the title from the 10 classic colors of Crayola Markers. (Red, Yellow, Green, Orange, Blue, Black, Gray, Pink, Purple, Brown) Plurals and possessives of the color words are OK. Compound words are ok as long as the entire word remains intact. No other variations.
3. Pencil Sharpener – Read a non-fiction book to sharpen your brain on a new topic or something you are interested in.
4. Eraser – We all make mistakes every once in a while. Read a book you have read before that you gave 2 or less stars to. You may also read a book off of a “Did not Finish” list if you have one. Required: Tell what your original rating was, or that it came from the do no read list.
Optional: Tell your new rating after re-reading the book.
5. Journal – Read a book that is written in epistolary format. Epistolary books are written in as a group of documents such as: diary entries, journal entries, letters, newspaper articles, etc.
6. Pocket Folder – Read an anthology or collection of essays, short stories, poems, or novellas by several contributing authors.

Required: State what number you rolled and how your book fits the task if it is not obvious when you post.

[Holly]

Task 30.1 for task A- I completed The Accident by Linwood Barclay. It is the story about trademark copyright laws and the dangers of low cost knock off products. The story involves a small town outside of New York and how knock off purses can laed to murder. This is an excellent book and contains 400 pages.

task B. I used the gem bone and read Flash and Bones by Kathy Reichs. This is the 14th book in the Temperance Brennan series. A body is found near the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a big race week. Tempe must figure out not only who was murdered but when and how. This book was 278 pages

[Mitzi]

30.3 For this task I had to read 2 books. I chose
A. I read a book whos author's name had the same first and last initials as mine. I chose "Fatal" by Michael Palmer. The book's plot took place within the medical world. Dr. Matt Rutledge is a doctor in the small mining town of Belinda, West VA. Matt has an insatiable interest in the Belinda Coal & Coke Company mine as years before his father (an employee of the mine) had died when a tunnel collapsed. More recently his young wife had died from a mysterious cancer and Matt believed it to be linked to the mine's toxic wastes. Matt is on a crusade to uncover the mines's health and safety violations. When 2 deaths of miners reveal that each suffer strange lumpy neurofibromas like the Elephant Man had Matt is thrown over the edge to uncover what is really going on in the mine. With many twists and turns and near death dituations for Dr. Matt Rutledge the book is hard to put down. Ellen Kroft, a grandmother from Virginia has an autistic granddaughter and Ellen believes her problems stem from a vaccination the girl received when she was 3 years old. Ellen gets involved in PAVE (Parents Advocating Vaccine Education). Nikki Solari's best friend and roommate, Kathy Wilson disappears. Nikki, a pathologist in Boston is worried about Kathy's recent frame of mind and erratic behavior not to mention the sudden appearance of lumpy neurofibromas that were deforming her beautiful face. By sheer luck Matt, Ellen and Nikki come together and start to link their lives to events around the Belinda Coal & Coke Compnay Mine. THey also find they are all in grave danger!

Bonus of 15 points for 387 pages for a total of 45 points.

30.3 C For this part of the task I chose "Elizabeth and Hazel, Two Women of Little Rock" by David Margolick. I chose this because the color of my eyes is hazel. Hazel Bryan & Elizabeth Eckford grew up in Little Rock, AR during the Civil Rights era. They were both 15 years old when Elizabeth was one of nine black students who volunteered and then were selected to attend Little Rock Central High School. What Elizabeth went through on that first day in an all white school changed her life forever. Because of a miscommunucation Elizabth arrived at the school alone only to be followed from the bus stop and taunted by the white students. Hazel, walking behind Elizabeth shouting obscenities was reflected in a picture that went round the world and would haunt them for the rest of their lives. Elizabeth was shouted at, had eggs & rotten tomatoes & glass thrown at her. Over the course of the next several years, Elizabeth, the quiet but studious black girl would try to kill herself on more than one occasion. The book details the story of each girl's life over the years, of Elizabeth's hatred and of Hazel's feelings of remorse over what she had done. Some 40 plus years after that day Hazel asked Elizabeth to meet with her. Somewhat of a friendship was started. As I read the book I reflected back to the year when black students were allowed to enroll at my school. Nothing so severe happened as it did in Little Rock and I never thought of how those black students must have felt at (my) school. This was an interesting book with insight into the turmoil of those days.

The book had 283 pages for another 15 bonus points for a total of 65 points for this task!

[Suzanne]

Mitzi wrote: "30.3 For this task I had to read 2 books. I chose
A. I read a book whos author's name had the same first and last initials as mine. I chose "Fatal" by Michael Palmer. The book's plot took..."


Great Reviews! Your total pages for this ENTIRE task were 670 = 20 BONUS POINTS. You still have 50 points starting out, which is very good!

[Kathy]

30.3-A- initials, K.C. "Murder Under Cover", by Kate Carlisle. pages284...Just a quick, easy read of a murder mystery that is all resolved in the very last chapter. Brooklyn gets involved in this international conspiracy when her friend, Robin has her apartment ransacked and her lover is shot in the head while they are sleeping.
30.3-C- eye color, hazel--"emerald Windows by Terri Blackstock. pages 250. After an ugly scandal involving Brooke and her art teacher, she has returned to her home town to help create a stained glass window for a newly renovated church. Once again she must battle with her adversaries and the town gossip.

[Kathy]

30.5 #6, Wildcard."The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. pages 1276. Edmond Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned. on a falsely accusation of treason. Embittered by this terrible fate he seeks revenge against his enemies. this novel is about disception, greed, murder, power and best of all some love. the love story of Valentine and Morrel is beautiful. It is a long book with many archaic words and phrases but definitely worth the read.
30.5-#3, Pencil Sharpener, a non-fiction. "Say Good-Bye To Illness" by Dr. Devi S. Nambudripad. pages 468. After suffering with her own personal health issues , Devi set out conducting research into various methods and techniques to find relief for food and environmental allergies. She shares her new approach for diagnosis and treatment of allergies.

[Suzanne]

Kathy wrote: "30.3-A- initials, K.C. "Murder Under Cover", by Kate Carlisle. pages284...Just a quick, easy read of a murder mystery that is all resolved in the very last chapter. Brooklyn gets involved in this ..."


I wasn't sure that hazel is comparable to emerald ... but looking at the cover, I guess it is .. hazel is from the "green color family" ??

[Kathy]

Yes, green-blue-gray. quite a mixture to say the least,but great for different eye shadows. Also the eye color will change with what colors one wears. At first, I was disappointed that I didn't have blue eyes until I discovered what one can do with eye shadows.

[Holly]

I just completed task 30.3. My first book is whose picture on the cover has similar hair color to mine. The book is the sgtory of the daughter of German Immigrants and how her childhood affected her decisions throughout life. The book contained 624 pages.

My second book is which can either be for my height which is 65 inches and this is book 5 of the Rizzoli and Isles series or it can be blue for my sometimes eye color. When Rizzoli's water breaks and she is in the hospital, she is taken hostage. The hostage takers are killed, but the last words of one of them lead Rizzoli to determine the truth in what happened. This book was 416 pages

[Suzanne]

#4A The Sisters of Hardscrabble Bay has 5 words in the title.

The Sisters From Hardscrabble Bay takes the reader through the lives of Idella and Avis with a series of short stories. The stories begin in 1916 when their mother dies while giving birth to a little sister. They are raised by an alcoholic father, who enlists the help of several maids and an aunt. Their adventures become singular as they mature into adults and the reader follows them through events of the next 70 years.
In several scenes I was actually “talking” to Idella in my head … trying to warn her and give her advice. I wasn't surprised when Idella's husband got caught with wet bathing suits in his glove box, but there was a gap in scenes which didn't resolve her feelings about his lies. I liked the reverse psychology method Idella used in the hold-up scene and the funeral fiasco when the sisters bury their father.
Maybe these teasers will make you want to read this book too. If you do, you won't be disappointed!

[Suzanne]

#5-1 dice
The Time Machine has only 118 pages.

When the Time Traveler tells his dinner guests of his adventures in the fourth dimension, they listen with amazement. This fantastic story seems so unbelievable, but the flowers the traveler brought back from the future has their curiosity. Traveling to the year 802,701 A.D. is an eye-opener. On landing, the traveler describes a paradise inhabited with beautiful child-like creatures known as Eloi. As night falls, he is exposed to Morlocks, underground inhabitants …. hairy and scary! His first impression is that the two species of humans represent upper and lower class citizens. He soon realizes that the Morlocks are the dominant ones who feed on the Eloi.

The Morlocks must not be too bright though. They want the traveler, so they move his machine into a a building then lock him in when he goes in to get it. If only they knew what that machine could do. I'd like to have seen the look on their faces when they open the doors to find the traveler and the machine both gone.

One sad part of the story is when the female Eloi, Weena, who the traveler befriends, is lost in a forest fire. He feels responsible for her disappearance since he set the fire in an effort to escape from the Morlocks who are after them. I can only imagine how it would feel to be pursued by a gang of Morlocks … I can't blame him.

A couple of days after returning and telling his story, the time traveler and his machine vanish again. After years pass with no word or sign of him, speculation grows. I'd like to think he made it back somehow to find Weena despite her grim outlook. Maybe he could save her after all. If that's where he was headed, I hope he took a weapon of some kind and didn't have to rely on a box of matches. Maybe the two of them found another time and place to live happily ever after … I know I'm a hopeless romantic.