The Seasonal Reading Challenge discussion

I'm not sure which folder to put this in..so feel free to move it Cynthia to wherever is best.


So..what are you all currently working on? I know sometimes I'm working on multiple book challenges so I can't always talk about which books I'm working on in the completed task thread..and also..maybe it would make the completed tasks thread easier for Cynthia to sift through if we had a place to talk about what we are currently reading!

Anyways..

I'm reading The Mirror for the time travel task. It's ok so far. I'm hoping it gets better.

I am currently reading Little Women for the re-read of a book I read in school, and I am loving it as much now as I did then.

I am also reading Innocent Traitor A Novel of Lady Jane Grey as my I book for the ABC task. This book is wonderful, and Lady Jane Grey is a fascinating character.

Great question! It's nice to hear which tasks are being worked on and how we're all doing with them.

I'm reading Cross Country for Task 15.6 (Music Appreciation). It's a cheesy Detective story. Not good but somewhat entertaining. I'm listening to it on audio during my commute to/from work. I seriously think I would have stopped reading this if it were a paper book.
I'm also reading I'm a Stranger Here Myself as part of Nicole's Rhyme Time task. I quite like Ogden Nash's humor and insight. I'm reading a few pages of poems a night so that I can think about them & appreciate them a bit more.
For Task 15.2 (Alternative History) I'm reading Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. I'm really enjoying this one but it'll take awhile. It's too large to haul back & forth to work every day so I only read it during the evenings and weekends.
Tomorrow, I'm starting The Children of Men as my at-work, lunch-time book, for Task 5.1.

I'm reading Child 44for Task 15.8 (Geography Lesson). It takes place in 1950s Russia & I love how the author depicts the paranoia ans suspicion of the place.
I'm also reading The Shadow of the Windfor the Group Read and Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist for Candace's Task.

I still have no points on the board since I have to fit my reading between school and work, but hopefully this week...

I am currently reading Madame Bovary for the noun task, and then I think I am reading Crime and Punishment for the study abroad task (I picked Russian). Anyway, these are both for my lit class in University. So aside from that, I am reading The Virgin Suicides for the coming of age task, but that is only when I decide to go to the bookstore (I refuse to pay 15 dollars for a book and i can't find it at a used store). I am also reading Walk Two Moons for the Native American task!

I'm reading Carry On, Jeeves as part of Cait's task (name). I like the Jeeves books, they're fun to read.

I'm a 'one book at a time' reader!

I'm reading Catch Me When I Fall for the 'two authors' task. I'm only a few chapters in to it, but I have to say that it hasn't gripped me yet, and I'm not liking the main character very much! I've heard it takes a while to get going, so I shall plod on with it :)

Petra wrote: "Great question! It's nice to hear which tasks are being worked on and how we're all doing with them.

I'm reading Cross Country for Task 15.6 (Music Appreciation). It's a cheesy De..."

I am taking it you will listen to country? Who are your favorites?

Let's see I recently finished What Happened to Cass McBride?I highly recommend, it is YA but is a quick read, A good look at how the PRETTIES and POPULAR rule school and the aftermath of what happens when they reject a nerd, I think all teeangers should read this. NOT ON THE VIOLENT SIDE

206 Bonesnot one of the stronger ones fo this series, on plot reminded me of a crossing jordan episode and the CASE was not central to the book

which is part of the noun task, I will read Carved in BoneA Body Farm novel to complete the task. This book would also work under the 2 author task

I also read Capital Crimeswhich is 2 novellas by Johnathan Kellerman and Faye Kellerman, from what I can tell they don't co-write so won't work for 2 heads better than one. I enjoyed the first novel but didnt like the ending (from characters figured out it was Faye writing) and the second was horrible, I gave up on the Series by Johnathan Kellerman after the first few books, I KNOW many people love his series I don't. Reading Sunstrokeis by their son, no mention anywhere who is related to on the book cover which impressed me, story off to an okay start.

and reading Marley & Me Love and Life with the World's Worst DogI actually know 2 dogs that are worse than Marley, one chews EVERYTHING and one buries it, I have flipflops buried in this backyard.

also Die Tryingbook group read and 2 word title, starting to pick up speed. I tried one of these A LOOOOOOOOOOOONG time ago, not impressed as everyone raves about him

and finally Chicken Soup for the Working Woman's Soul Humorous and Inspirational Stories to Celebrate the Many Roles of Working Womenfor the self help task, kinda sappy reading

Another 'one book at the time' reader here :)

I'm reading Life of Pi for task 10.10 (there's a tiger on the cover). I'm almost done, and I've enjoyed it a lot.

Slowly working through Little Dorrit for a real-life bookclub and am woefully behind schedule to finish on time.

Also reading a few poems & their commentary (Break, Blow, Burn) each day, should finish this one in early October....

Probably will start on a book for Wendy's task tonight.

I'm currently reading 3 books.

First, In the Country of Men by Hisham Matar for task 15.8 (geography lessons). My initials are J & L and this one takes place in Libya.

Second, Voyager by Diana Gabaldon for task 5.10 (time travel).

And third, The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz by Mordecai Richler for task 25.2 (related authors). Richler's daughter is also a writer and I'm going to read one of hers for the second part of this task.

If I finish any of these this week, I'll be starting Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane for task 20.3 (group read).

I've got a few other tasks in progress, but they're multi-book tasks and could take awhile since I'm waiting for books to come in off the hold list at the library.

Started Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and not really wowed by it. A bit silly.

Lyn wrote: "I am currently reading Little Women for the re-read of a book I read in school, and I am loving it as much now as I did then.

I am also reading Innocent Traitor A Novel of Lad..."</i>

I'm reading [book:Little Women too. I'm reading for the Civil War task and also because it's a group read for another group. I like this story, but I guess since I know it already, it feels like it's moving slow for me. I got a little bored with it over the weekend and put it down to read The Graveyard Book.

I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do about the group read. I've already read The Shadow of the Wind and Julie and Julia and didn't care for either of them and Shutter Island is just not my cup of tea--the more I hear about it, the less I want to tackle it. So to put off that decision I will start Netherland for the one,two, three task.

Amanda wrote: "I'm reading Middlemarch for my title with one word, and I'm also reading the Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer for the self improvement task."

How are you liking Middlemarch? I bought it a couple of weeks ago since so many people say its a must read. It's quite lengthy though but I'm considering fitting it into the challenge.

Tammy wrote: "I'm reading Child 44for Task 15.8 (Geography Lesson). It takes place in 1950s Russia & I love how the author depicts the paranoia ans suspicion of the place.
I'm also reading [book:..."

Tammy, I enjoyed Child 44, too. I also got that feeling of fear and paranoia and suspicion in the people.

Teresa wrote: "Petra wrote: "Great question! It's nice to hear which tasks are being worked on and how we're all doing with them.

I'm reading Cross Country for Task 15.6 (Music Appreciation). It..."

I've been listening to Country for a long time. Some of my favorites are Goerge Strait, Garth Brooks, Dixie Chicks and Diamond Rio. My recent favorite is Riddley Bent and Sugarland.

I’m normally a one book at a time reader except when I’m forcing myself to read something that is "for my own good" but isn't something I'm jumping up and down in excitement over.

So I have 2 occasional books:
The 9/11 Commission Report Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, which I've been saying I was going to read since January for work (luckily it coincides with the 'current job' task so I can get some points while I'm at it!) I try to read about 15-20 pages a day and hope to be done with it by the end of September or beginning of October.

Another one that's hard to read straight through is: Your Pregnancy & Birth Information You Can Trust from the Leading Experts in Women's Health Care. Informative but it is basically a textbook so I just read a few sections at night before going to bed (using the word 'from' for the preposition task).

And one "carry everywhere" book:
My fiction novel is Billy Budd, Sailor by Melville for the 'at sea' task. I haven't gotten that far yet since I just started last night. Seems like it might be a bit dull too but at least it's short. :)

I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife for the time-traveling task (5.10) and Raising Charlie (free on my Kindle) for the first part of Roseann's task (one of the main characters is a student).

I'm usually a one book at a time person, but now that I've gotten a Kindle I find that I read one "real" book and have another e-book going that I read while I'm out and about.

I'm reading The House of the Spirits for the Hispanic Heritage Month task (10.4), and Curse of the Spellmans for the multiplication part of task 15.3, since it happens to fall perfectly into my range of pages. I'm enjoying both of them a lot, but I'm starting to get a bit impatient to finish them because I have so many other books I want to start (like Outlander and Victory Conditions).

I just finished reading Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins for half of task 15.1. Now I've got to head over to the library on my lunch where I have 7 books waiting for me to pick them up... not sure which one I'll start with. It seems like everything I'm reading right now is for only part of a task... so I'm reading, but my points aren't reflecting it just yet! :)

I too usually am a 'one book at a time' reader, but I've found that these challenges have made me stretch my reading style a bit so I currently have 3 books in process.

I just finished The Host yesterday. Oh my gosh --- it was fabulous. I rarely give out 5 star ratings, but I gave one to this book. I thought it was much more thought provoking than Meyer's 'Twilight' series. I'm reading it for the Science Fiction/Science Movie task, and I haven't figured out what movie to watch yet so I haven't posted the points for this book. It's a good thing that it was a holiday yesterday because I spent most of the day deeply absorbed in this story.

I'm also reading Red Bird Poems by Mary Oliver. I haven't read a book of poems for so long. Now I'm wondering why I avoid them. This one is beautiful. I read one or two poems a day and give myself some time to think about them. I'd highly recommend this book for anyone still looking for a book of poems for Nicole's task. Plus I think that 'red' has about 100 words that rhyme with it, so it's easy to find the companion book to complete the challenge.

I'm about halfway through Dewey The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World. I am tentatively slating this for the Cat Task, but there is a co-author for the book so I might switch it to that task. I had originally thought I'd read My Cat Spit McGee,which is still sitting on my bookshelf, for the Cat Task. But I came across 'Dewey' at a garage sale and had to read it to see what all the interest in this book is about. The lady I bought it from warned me that it was sad at the end.

I'm listening to The Angel's Game in the car. This is for part of the Foreign Language task. This book was originally written in Spanish. It's 13 discs long, so it will take me awhile to get through it. So far I've listened to two discs. I'm interested to see where the story does from here. It's written by Carlos Ruiz Zafón and I'm planning on reading The Shadow of the Wind for the Group Read task so I thought I'd dive in and read two books by this author this challenge season.

I'm getting ready to read either Luna or Parrotfish for Wendy's Positive Gay Character task. Both of these books feature positive transgender young adults.

That's it for me at the moment. I do have quite a few plates spinning right now....

Krista wrote: "I too usually am a 'one book at a time' reader, but I've found that these challenges have made me stretch my reading style a bit so I currently have 3 books in process.

I just finished The..."</i>

Wow, you sure you don't want to take on any more books right now, Krista?? :)


Currently reading: [book:Island, Aldous Huxley for the one-word title task and The Children's Hospital, Chris Adrian for 5.1. (This last one I'm totally taking my time on as I'm really enjoying it and don't want to rush it. It's a whopper for a 5 point task, but no complaints here.) May be taking on a third book soon, but haven't decided yet. As I just started Island I'll have to wait and see how I feel about it to determine if I want a third book going at the same time.

Donna Jo wrote: "I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do about the group read. I've already read The Shadow..."

How did you like The Shadow of the Wind? That's what I've selected for the Group Read. And as a bonus I actually own this book!

El wrote: "Krista wrote: "I too usually am a 'one book at a time' reader, but I've found that these challenges have made me stretch my reading style a bit so I currently have 3 books in process.

I just fin..."

I KNOW!! Come to think if it, I usually have two books going at once as I usually have an audio book going in the car, and a 'hold it in your hands' book for the house.

This has been educational for me to see that I *can* keep multiple storylines straight in my head. :-) It's just frustrating not to be posting many points right now. But boy watch out someday soon I'll post a slug of them.

Have just started The Bloody White Baron which is the story of a Russian Baron who comes to rule Mongolia, for the M country for my last name. I've just started it last night and am really only through the introduction. Hopefully it interesting. I love histories and really know nothing about this part of the world.

Krista wrote: "El wrote: "It's just frustrating not to be posting many points right now. But boy watch out someday soon I'll post a slug of them...."

LOL! I know how you feel. I'm reading and reading and have hardly any points yet. But, boy oh boy, one day it'll all come together.

I'm reading The Candy Bombers for the Germany task. It's a bear of a book for only 10 points, especially when I'm not that used to nonfiction. However, I'm finding it quite readable and interesting, and I'm trying to branch out into reading more nonfiction, so all in all it's working out pretty well.

Also started Watchmen yesterday for the superheroes task, and am up to Anne of Windy Poplars in my Anne series reread (reading that one for half of the teacher/student task).

I am currently reading LIFE OF PI for 5.3 (Read A Novel Where The Main Character Travels At Sea Or A Non-Fiction Book About Sea Travel) and JOHN LENNON: THE LIFE for 10.7 (An (Auto)Biography Of Your Personal Hero/Heroine).

Amanda wrote: "I'm reading Middlemarch for my title with one word, and I'm also reading the Power of Simple Prayer by Joyce Meyer for the self improvement task."

Wow, Amanda - Middlemarch. I am impressed. That is seriously the longest book in the history of the world (JK, LOL), but it is quite a read! Long, but worth the effort IMO.

Petra wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Petra wrote: "Great question! It's nice to hear which tasks are being worked on and how we're all doing with them.

I'm reading Cross Country for Task 15.6 (Music Ap..."

Haven't tried Ridley Bent, but Sugarland is my top fave!

I am reading John Major's autobiography for the book about a President or Prime Minister. As he was the first Prime Minister that I could vote for it's been interesting to read about events that I followed at the time and get the insider's view.

It's a huge 770+ pages so it will be a while before I post more points I think.

Kristina UK

I am currently reading A Boy's Own Story by Edmund White and Slow Man by J.M. Coetzee.
Usually when I'm reading more than one book at once, I find myself favoring one over the other and thus finishing it and leaving the other on the wayside. Then I start a new book and never get around to finishing the first!

Lyn wrote: "Petra wrote: "Teresa wrote: "Petra wrote: "Great question! It's nice to hear which tasks are being worked on and how we're all doing with them.

I'm reading Cross Country for Task 15..."

I love Sugarland... I love a lot of their music videos. I also love Shania Twain, Martina McBride, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Mark Chenutt, Rascall Flatts, etc. There is just so much good country music out there!!!

I am currently finishing up Candy Apple Red for the apple task, but as it turned out I could have read my next one, Peeled for that task instead. Peeled is one part of the student/teacher task.

I had startedTreasure Island,but I couldn't get into it so I am hoping to find another one for the sea voyage task.

I usually have one print and one audiobook going at the same time: audiobook for on-the- go or gardening/cleaning/cooking, and print for sit-down-and-relax reading. Right now the audiobook is Matilda for the student part of 15.10, and the print one is The Case of the Missing Books for my dream job of running a mobile bookstore/library - altho what Israel is going thru in this one comes closer to nightmare than dream!

Also slowly working my way through an inspirational book for Julie's task - Chicken Soup for the Soul, a poetry book for part of Nicole's task: Poetry 180 A Turning Back to Poetry, and my book for Hispanic Heritage Month, A Gift of Hope The Tony Melendez Story, about the young armless Nicaraguan man who played guitar for Pope John Paul II in Los Angeles. I find I get more out of these when I do them in short segments

Kristina wrote: "I am reading John Major's autobiography for the book about a President or Prime Minister. As he was the first Prime Minister that I could vote for it's been interesting to read about events that I ..."


Hey Kristina: Just a heads up....I think the book for this challenge task was supposed to be a biography about a leader that was killed while in office. (Maybe BJ Rose gave you a pass on that portion since it doesn't look like you're a resident of the US?)

I'd hate to have you spend all the time on the book just to have it disallowed for the task. It might be worth checking with BJ Rose on this title.

I'm a monogamous book reader as I stick to one at a time. Ha! I'm currently reading The Monsters of Templeton by Lauren Groff for the 'place' portion of Cait's Task 25.8. I'm enjoying it so far. Different than the usual.

I usually read more than one book at a time, but I have only going at the moment. I'm reading Admission for the first part of the ABC task. It's due back at the library earlier than the others that I had checked out, which is why I am tackling it now. It's an interesting fictional account of an admissions officer for Princeton. I'm enjoying getting an inside look at the admission process to an Ivy League school. Plus, there is a subtheme about life in academia, which has been interesting. The good thing is that the book also gets involved with the main character's personal life so it's not all about xxxs and ooos if you know what I mean.

Overall, I'm about 100 pages in and it's good so far.

Krista wrote: Hey Kristina: Just a heads up....I think the book for this challenge task was supposed to be a biography about a leader that was killed while in office. (Maybe BJ Rose gave you a pass on that portion since it doesn't look like you're a resident of the US?)

Hi Krista,

I didn't think so but I went back and checked the task and it says the following:

Read A Non-Fiction Book Of At Least 500 Pages About One Of The 7 Presidents Listed Below OR About A President Or Prime Minister (Of Any Other Country) Who Has Been Democratically Elected (No Dictators Or Totalitarian Governments Or Military Juntas).

so I think I'm OK - I hope so as i'm 1/3rd the way through even though i'm enjoying the read!

Kristina UK

Krista wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do about the group read. I've alread..."
That's the problem, I didn't really care too much about it. And I hated Julie and Julia. I thought she was whiny and superficial and just exploiting Julia Child's name. But the thought of reading Shutter Island fills me with dread. It is way off my comfort scale.

Donna Jo wrote: "Krista wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do about the group rea..."

I plan on reading Julie & Julia... I saw the movie and I did feel she was a bit whiny. I hate books/movies/tv shows about whiny people we are suppose to like! I hope that I end up liking Julie & Julia, though because sometimes reading a bad book puts me off books for a while!!!

i'm currently reading Glue by Irvine Welsh for 1/3 of task 25.7 (one word title) and The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan for task 5.2 (apple on the cover.)

Donna Jo wrote: "I hated Julie and Julia. I thought she was whiny and superficial and just exploiting Julia Child's name. But the thought of reading Shutter Island fills me with dread. It is way off my comfort scale."

Oh, no!! I have the same feeling about Shutter Island, Donna Jo, and I already read Shadow of the Wind, so I was planning on reading Julie and Julia for the Group Read. I probably still will, as long as I can get it from the library - but at least I'm forewarned.

I am working on finishing Cindy's Task. I have The Story Sisters as my three word book and it's my last one to complete for this task.

Also I am working on Julie's task, reading Leota's Garden. It's going to be a tough week at work so hopefully I can keep my 5 book a week pace. I really do love reading but if my eyes are tired, it's a no go!

Kathryn wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "Krista wrote: "Donna Jo wrote: "I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do ab..."

And BJ Rose

Well, lots of people liked it--maybe I'm just old and cranky.I'm still dithering about which one I will re-read. In the meantime I need to get Bewitching Season done so I can get it back to the library tomorrow when I take the bread in.

I'm currently re-reading The Great Gatsby. I haven't decided whether to apply it to the ABC task, the 123 task, or the school re-read task. So far I am enjoying the story as much as I did the first time around, but I am appreciating the nuances and themes more than I did when I read it in middle school.

Donna Jo wrote: "I am just finishing The Fixer Upper A Novel by Mary Kay Andrews just because it was there, but I really need to decide what to do about the group read. I've already read The Shadow..."

can you use the fixer upper in the abc challenge(def,efg,fgh) can you rhyme it for the poetry challenge?

I am not looking forward to shutter island either, I dislike Mystic river greatly, I really miss his series which I read in an interview he is not going to write anymore.