The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion
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WINTER CHALLENGE 2011: EARTH
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Winter Challenge 2011: Completed Tasks -DO NOT DELETE ANY POSTS IN THIS TOPIC

20.1 - Most Improved Player - Karen F's task: Baby, It’s Cold Outside
A. Drink a Hot Beverage - English as a Second Language by Megan Crane
20.8 It's My Birthday - Dionisia's task: ...and it's all about ME (Myself, and I)
Things I Overheard While Talking to Myself by Alan Alda
Megan Crane is a Goodreads Author.
Points this post: 40
Total challenge points: 195
Tasks completed: 9
Books read: 12
Goodreads Authors: 8
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0

Mary's Son by Darryl Nyznyk
Option 4 - last name starts with 'N'.
Total Points: 85
GRA: 1

I read

This book has a butterfly on the cover.
Kristi Cook is a Goodreads Author.
Points this task: 5
Total points: 15
Tasks Completed: 2
GR Authors: 2
Big Books: 0

10.1 -- Climb Every Mountain
The Dogs Who Found Me: What I've Learned from Pets Who Were Left Behind by Ken Foster
Ken Foster is a Goodreads Author
This book has been on my (mental) TBR list since March 2006.
Points This Post: 10
Total Points: 10
Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 208
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500+(-), 750+(-), 1000+(-)


I chose

Points this post: 15
Total points: 15
Tasks completed: 1
Books read: 1
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0

20.4 Author, Author! Valerie's Task: Happy New Year
Option 1: Get Fit/Lose Weight
The Mournful Teddy

This book has been on my Nook since last December.
Points this post: 20
Total points: 50
Tasks completed: 3
Books read this challenge: 4
Goodreads authors: 0

Book A: Rolled odd (5): Terms of Endearment by Larry McMurtry (double "R" in Larry), published in 1975
Book B: Rolled even (2): Beauty Queens by Libba Bray (double "E" in "Queens"), published in 2011
**Goodreads Author ticket claimed for Libba Bray**
Points this post: 30
Total Points: 105
Tasks Completed: 6
Books Read: 8
Goodreads Authors: 4
Big Books: 500=0, 750=1x2, 1000=0

A Wayne in a Manger - Gervase Phinn (Away in a Manger) and There's Something About Christmas - Debbie Macomber (Christmas is Coming)
Points this post: 30
Total points: 45
Tasks completed: 2
Books read: 4
Goodreads Authors: 1

20.2 - Rookie on Top - Connie's task: The Nutcracker
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
I tried out for the part of the Snow Queen and the Snowflakes.
Points this post: 20
Total Points: 35

5.6. Other People Liked It, Why Not Me?
I read Smokin' Seventeen by Janet Evanovich.
Janet is a Good Reads author
Points this task 5
Total Points 30
Tasks done 5
Good reads Authors 2

20.10 Group Read
I read The Beekeeper's Apprentice by Laurie R King.
Laurie is a Good Reads Author
My review is message #4
Points this task 20
Total points 50
Tasks done 5
Good Reads Authors 3

Task 10.8 Hidden Gems!...read a book with less than 1,000 GR ratings:
I read

Points earned for this task: 10
Points Achieved to date: 20
Updated last on: 12.10.11
Total # of books read: 2
Total # of pages read: 678
Total # of tasks completed: 2
Total # of Goodreads Authors: 0
Total # of Big Books:
500+ (0)
700+ (0)
1000+ (0)

Task 5.10 EARTH!...read a book whose author's first or last name begins with E,A,R,T,or H:
I read

Points earned for this task: 5
Points Achieved to date: 25
Updated last on: 12.10.11
Total # of books read: 3
Total # of pages read: 1,020
Total # of tasks completed: 3
Total # of Goodreads Authors: 0
Total # of Big Books:
500+ (0)
700+ (0)
1000+ (0)


***James Patterson is a Goodreads Author***
25.1 Where Have All the Flowers Gone:
White Lilacs: for this I read Linger by Maggie Stiefvater which is a YA book
Red Rose: for this I read Eulogy's Secret by Grace Elliot which is a historical romance
***Maggie Stiefvater is a Goodreads Author***
***Grace Elliot is a Goodreads Author***
25.2 Santa by any other name is..... well, still Santa:
Option 1: I read Dangerous Grounds by Shelli Stevens and Naughty Little Secret by Shelley Bradley *Shelli and Shelley are pronounced the same but spelled differently
***Shelli Stevens is a Goodreads Author***
30.3 Small Changes or Simple Swaps
Option C: I read Luck Be Delanie by Shelli Stevens and Suck and Blow by Lexxie Couper. *I changed the "L" in Luck to "S" to get Suck
***Shelli Stevens is a Goodreads Author***
***Lexxie Couper is a Goodreads Author***
30.6 The Many Facets of EARTH:
I rolled a 5 and a 2 so:
Option 5: I read To Command and Collarby Cherise Sinclair in ebook format
Option 2: I read

***Cherise Sinclair is a Goodreads Author***
Total Points this Post: 130
Total Points in Challenge: 130
Books Read: 9
Tasks Completed: 5
GR Authors: 7
Big Book Tickets: 500+(0); 750+(0); 1000+(0)


5.8 Jump: I read Pleasure Bound by Anne Rainey which has 256 pages.
***Anne Rainey is a Goodreads Author***
10.4 Blue, White, and the Black of Night: I read

***Tawny Taylor is a Goodreads Author***
10.5 It’s Summer Somewhere: I read Mergers & Acquisitions by Lillian Grant. *It's set in Australia (southern hemisphere)
***Lillian Grant is a Goodreads Author***
10.9 Earth Signs: I read Infatuation by Melissa Schroeder. Her birthday is 1/4/1969 which makes her a Capricorn.
***Melissa Schroeder is a Goodreads Author***
Total Points this Post: 40
Total Points in Challenge: 170
Books Read: 14
Tasks Completed: 10
GR Authors: 11
Big Book Tickets: 500+(0); 750+(0); 1000+(1)

"Read an author who was born under an Earth sign"
✔ The Color of Magic by Terry Pratchett

Terry Pratchett was born on April 28, 1948.
(http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...)
Points this post: 10
Total points: 25
Tasks completed: 2
Books read: 2
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0

Task 5.7 Third Stone from the Sun!...read a book that is third in a series:
I read

Points earned for this task: 5
Points Achieved to date: 30
Updated last on: 12.10.11
Total # of books read: 4
Total # of pages read: 1,404
Total # of tasks completed: 4
Total # of Goodreads Authors: 0
Total # of Big Books:
500+ (0)
700+ (0)
1000+ (0)

a) Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
Non-Holiday Book in the Series
b) Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Holiday Book in the Series (see description, book happens mostly during the winter break)
*Richelle Mead is a Goodreads Author*
Points this post: 25
Total points: 75
Tasks completed: 5
Books read: 6
Goodreads Authors: 5

I'm going to try to post as I go so that I actually keep up with it! (we'll see!)
5.6 (nominated in goodreads choice) The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This was nominated in Best Fiction.
15.4 (green book)

15.5 (book published 2011 by new to me author)

20.2 (child is main character)

That gives me:
Points: 55
Books Read: 4
Tasks Completed: 4
Pages Read: 1424

I'm going to try to post as I go so that I actually keep up with it! (we'll see!)
5.6 (nominated in goodreads choice) The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. This was nominated in Best Fiction.
15.4 (green book)

15.5 (book published 2011 by new to me author)

20.2 (child is main character)

That gives me:
Points: 55
Books Read: 4
Tasks Completed: 4
Pages Read: 1424

Read: The Naked Baron by Sally MacKenzie

Points this task: 10
Total Points: 20

Option 1:

Option 2:

Points this post: 25
Total Points: 120
Tasks Completed: 8
Books Read: 10
Goodreads Authors: 4
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0

10.9 Earth Signs
Birthday: January 5
The Prague Cemetery by Umberto Eco
+10 Points
20.2 – Rookie on Top – Connie’s task: The Nutcracker
1. Clara and Fritz, the Stahlbaum children
In this 4th volume of the Wicked series, Dorothy is 16 and Rain is 10.
Out of Oz by Gregory Maguire
+ 20 Points
Points this Post: 30
Grand Total: 30

I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith
Points this post: 20
Total points: 25
GR authors: 0
Big book tickets: 0
Tasks done: 2
Books read: 2

The Darkest Surrender by Gena Showalter – butterfly tattoo on cover

10.3 Here, There Be Dragons:
What A Dragon Should Know by G.A. Aiken
20.8 It's My Birthday - Dionisia's task: ...and it's all about ME (Myself, and I)
Everything I Know about Love I Learned from Romance Novels by Sarah Wendell
Points This Post: 35
Total Points: 35
5.6. Other People Liked It, Why Not Me?
I read My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business, nominated in the Memoir and Autobiography category.
15.5 All Shiny and New
I read The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. The book was published in October 2011, and I had never read anything by Eugenides before this book.
30.4 - Donna Jo's task: Double or Nothing
I rolled a 3 and a 4.
A.Odd, so I read City of Whispers by Marcia Muller - double consonants in Muller (actually, would have worked for even as well!) Book was published after 1975 (in 2011).
B. Even, so I read The Lottery and Other Stories - double letters in the title (Lottery). Originally published in 1949, well before 1975.
Total points: 50
I read My Lucky Life in and Out of Show Business, nominated in the Memoir and Autobiography category.
15.5 All Shiny and New
I read The Marriage Plot by Jeffrey Eugenides. The book was published in October 2011, and I had never read anything by Eugenides before this book.
30.4 - Donna Jo's task: Double or Nothing
I rolled a 3 and a 4.
A.Odd, so I read City of Whispers by Marcia Muller - double consonants in Muller (actually, would have worked for even as well!) Book was published after 1975 (in 2011).
B. Even, so I read The Lottery and Other Stories - double letters in the title (Lottery). Originally published in 1949, well before 1975.
Total points: 50

5.6 - Other People Liked It, Why Not Me?
Cinderella Ate My Daughter: Dispatches from the Frontlines of the New Girlie-Girl Culture by Peggy Orenstein
This book was nominated in the nonfiction category.
Task Points: 5
5.10 - EARTH
The Love Affairs of a Bibliomaniac by Eugene Field
Task Points: 5
20.2 - The Nutcracker
A) Clara & Fritz
The Marvelous Land of Oz by L. Frank Baum
Tip, the protagonist of the book, is a child.
Task Points: 20
Total Points: 30
Tasks Completed: 3
Total Books Read: 3
GoodReads Authors:
Big Book Tickets: 500+ (), 750+ (), 1000+ ()

20.4 - Author! Author! - Valorie's Task - Happy New Year!
I chose option 4 (Save Money) - I got this book as a hand-me-down from my mom:

Points this Post: 20
Total Challenge Points: 130
Total Goodreads Authors: 4
Big Books: 500+ - zero; 750+ - zero; 1000+ - zero

5.3 Round Here

The Snow Globe by Sheila Roberts *A Goodreads Author*
There is a picture of a snow globe on the cover
Points this post: 5
Total Points: 5
Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Goodreads Author: 1
Big Books: 500 = 0, 750 = 0, 1000 = 0
Stacey
15.7 Directionally Challenged
Klezmer, Book One: Tales of the Wild East
20.3 Words Among Friends
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
(anagrammed word: pita)
New points: 35
Total points: 35
15.7 Directionally Challenged
Klezmer, Book One: Tales of the Wild East
20.3 Words Among Friends
The Psychopath Test: A Journey Through the Madness Industry
(anagrammed word: pita)
New points: 35
Total points: 35

Read a book with a cover that is mainly blue, white, black, or a combination of any of these colors.

This Post: 10
Total Points: 30/985
Tasks Completed: 3/57
Books Read: 3/79

20.8 ...and it's all about ME (Myself, and I)
Book: Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Notes: "Me" in title.
*GoodReads Author*
This Post: 20
Total to Date: 80
GRA Tickets: 3
BB Tickets: 0
Books Read: 5

I read Demonglass, nominated for the Young Adult Fantasy and Science Fiction Goodreads Choice Award.
Rachel Hawkins is a GoodReads Author.
10.8 Hidden Gems
I listened to an audiobook version of Portrait of an Artist: A Biography of Georgia O'Keefe by Laurie Lisle. At the time I chose it, it had only 267 reviews. It was quite interesting reading about a strong personality that I knew little about prior to the book. Not the greatest biography, but an interesting artist.
30.2 One Author, Two Series
Book one: Lost in a Good Book by Jasper Fforde.
Book two: Shades of Grey.
Points this post: 45
Total points: 45
Books read: 4
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 0

January book Option One- Open Ice by Pat Hughes
*Pat Hughes is a Goodreads Author*
February book Option Two- song title She's Leaving Home book: A Home on the Field: How One Championship Soccer Team Inspires Hope for the Revival of Small Town America by Paul Cuadros
Points this post: 25
Total points: 25
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Book Tickets: 0


5.6. Other People Liked It, Why Not Me?
Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick
Book was on the Middle Grades and Children list
This post: 5 points
Total points to date: 20 points
Tasks completed: 3
**Electing to not track Goodreads Authors and Big Books this challenge**

For this task, I chose Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love by Larry Levin - O T D O A F C L = FLOAT
Points this post: 20
Total points: 35
Tasks completed: 2
Books read: 2
Goodreads Authors: 0
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0


**Claiming Goodreads Author Ticket**
Points This Post: 10
Total Points: 115
Tasks Complete: 7
Books Read: 9
Goodreads Authors: 5
Big Books: 500=0 750=1x2 1000=0

Option 1, The main character, September, is 11 years old.
The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making by Catherynne M. Valente
*Catherynne M. Valente is a goodreads author*
Points this post: 20
Total points: 110
Tasks completed: 8
Books read: 8
Goodreads Authors: 3
Big Books: 500=1, 750=0, 1000=0

Rebel Angels by Libba Bray* (592 pages; big book)
*Libba Bray is a goodreads author
Total Points: 5

Task 15.10 Sweet!
The Restorer by Amanda Stevens
Read a book of my choice.
Amanda Stevens is a GoodReads Author
This post: 15 points
Total to date: 15 points
Goodreads Authors: 1
Big Books: 500=0, 750=0, 1000=0


Task 5.7 - Third Stone From the Sun
I read a book that is third in a series:
Y: The Last Man, Vol. 3: One Small Step by Brian K. Vaughan
Points this task: 5
Total points: 15
Tasks completed: 3
Books read: 3
Pages read: 568
Goodreads authors: 0
Big books: 500+ (0); 750+ (0); 1000+ (0)
10.9 Earth Signs read Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter born January 01, 1974 which is Capricorn (December 22 - January 19)
20.6 Microhistory! read
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salemby Rosalyn Schanzer
25.2 Santa by any other name is..... well, still Santa
read for option 3-
read Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting (goodreads author)
and
Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
Points this Post: 55
Total points- 145
Tasks Completed: 8
Books read: 10
Pages Read : 3,090
GR Authors: 3
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
20.6 Microhistory! read
Witches: The Absolutely True Tale of Disaster in Salemby Rosalyn Schanzer
25.2 Santa by any other name is..... well, still Santa
read for option 3-
read Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting (goodreads author)
and
Early to Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison
Points this Post: 55
Total points- 145
Tasks Completed: 8
Books read: 10
Pages Read : 3,090
GR Authors: 3
Big Books: 500+(1), 750+(0), 1000+(0)

Jens5Kids
Task 5.10-EARTH-author's name
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This author's name begins with E
Points this task: 5
Total Challenge Points: 5
Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 384
GR Authors: 0
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)
Task 5.10-EARTH-author's name
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
This author's name begins with E
Points this task: 5
Total Challenge Points: 5
Tasks Completed: 1
Books Read: 1
Pages Read: 384
GR Authors: 0
Big Books: 500+(0), 750+(0), 1000+(0)

10.8 Hidden Gems
Fight or Flight - Natalie J. Damschroder (GR Author)
10.9 Earth Signs
Bear, Otter, and the Kid - T.J. Klune (GR Author) - Birthday May 20, according to author profile on GR
15.1 Cause Knowledge is Power!
Option A
A. - The Scent of Rain and Lightning
B. - The Best Man - L.A. Witt (GR Author)
15.5 All Shiny and New
Dragon Bound - Thea Harrison (GR Author) - published May 2011, and new to me author, but won't remain that way
15.6 Read 'Em Their Writes!
Purity in Death
15.9 Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
Rogue Angel - Stephani Hecht (GR Author)
20.1 - Most Improved Player - Karen F's task: Baby, It’s Cold Outside
Option D -

Total Points This Post: 100
Total Points Overall: 100
Books Completed: 8
Tasks Complete: 7
GR Authors: 6
Big Book Tickers: 500(0), 750(0), 1000(0)

Legend of the White Dragon: Legends by Melanie Nilles **Goodreads author** ***ebook approved in ebook thread 356***
25.8 - Gayla's task: 2011: The Year in Review
For option 3 The Wedding I read:
The Christmas Wedding by James Patterson **Goodreads author**
For option 5. The Occupy Wall Street movement I read:
Heat Rises by Richard Castle which takes place in NYC
Total Points = 140
New Goodreads authors = James Patterson, Melanie Nilles

GR friend Alice gave this 2 **
I gave it 5 ***** !
A Week in December by Sebastian Faulks
10.4 - Blue, White and the Black of Night

The Betrayal of Trust by Susan Hill
Total points 85


Once an Arafat Man: The True Story of How a PLO Sniper Found a New Life by Tass Saada
One Imperfect Christmas by Myra Johnson who is a GOODREADS AUTHOR
Season total: 120
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Task 15.4 Go Green
I read
Fits categories B&C an author with the name "Green" and a green cover.
Points this post: 15
Total points: 30
Tasks completed: 2
Books read: 2
Goodreads Authors: 2
Big books: 500+(0) 750+(0) 1000+(0)