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Messages: Seasonal Reading Challenge
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Spring Reading Challenge
Beginning on March 20, and ending on June 21, feel free to join in my Springtime Seasonal Reading Challenge! Anybody and everybody is welcome to participate at any time, even after it has begun. The challenge is in two levels, Level 1 being a four book challenge and Level 2 being a six book challenge. The goal is to choose a level, pick the books you want to read provided that they fit into the categories given, and be the first to read them all before the end of the season. Winner of the Level 2 challenge will be awarded a point from me (unless, of course, I win!). The books chosen have to be at least 150 pages long, to keep the challenge fair for everybody. To participate, just post a list of the books you want to read, matching them to the corresponding numbers of the categories they fit into (see my entry below as an example), and then keep us updated as you read each one. If anybody needs clarification on the rules or suggestions for books to choose from, feel free to either post here about it or shoot me an email and I'd be glad to help. :-) This challenge is a little bit different from others out there, because we not only read the books, but we also discuss them with each other and share our thoughts about them as we get to know each other. While discussing the books isn't required for participation, feel free to join us in our conversations. It's fun, and you might even make some new friends along the way! All the best to you and yours, and let us all #SpringIntoReading together! :-D 1. Read a book by author Tom Clancy.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "I".
3. Read a book with a person's name in the title.
4. Read a book by an indie author.
5. Read somebody's debut novel.
6. Read a book with one of the following shapes in the title: circle, square, triangle, oval, rectangle, octagon, hexagon, pentagon, star, or crescent. (I'd say heart, too, but that would make it too easy, since every fourth romance novel seems to have that word in the title.) My choices: 1. The Teeth of the Tiger, by Tom Clancy
2. Inventors and Impostors, by Daniel Diehl and Mark P. Donnelly
3. The Log from the Sea of Cortez, by John Steinbeck
4. A Devil of a Time, by Gretchen Jeannette
5. Preserving Patients: Anecdotes of a Junior Doctor, by Tom Parsons
6. The Lone Star Ranger, by Zane Grey
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Daisy
6 years ago
19 comments
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| (2 years ago) | Hello. "Lily" is one of the many spammers overrunning this place, unfortunately. I just deleted the links from her post, and all the other nasty spammers on my forum here. They have been reported.
However, would anybody be interested in a Winter Reading Challenge this year?
- Daisy | | (2 years ago) | Hey
I’m not sure to be honest but I’d be up for doing it again. I’m a bit slow with reading though.
Lindsay
- Loolat | | (5 years ago) | I'm sorry to hear that, but I can't resend it since I didn't save it... I emailed you again through GR, though. :-)Thanks!
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | Hi, I seem to be having trouble with my e-mails. Can you re-send?
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Honibabi, I sent you an email via Book Mooch. Just so you know that it's not spam. :-)
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | I totally understand, Daisy! Good luck with all the book reviews.
I wish it would stay warm. We keep getting beautiful days then cool. I am glad not to have to turn on the air yet, though. Garden mostly in, so I feel accomplished there. :)
I finished Kite Runner. I know you didn't care much for it, but I liked it a lot. I really enjoyed reading about Kabul before Russia and the Taliban. Books like this break down stereotypes in my opinion. Just a terrible thing happening in so many countries and then stereotypes abound and are applied incorrectly across cultures most of us don't understand and can't differentiate. I work with refugees and their resilience always amazes me. Their hope after all they have suffered is inspiring and I can only hope in the same situation, I would be as resilient and resourceful.
I enjoyed the story and cried at several points. I am glad it has a hopeful ending, even though it was a bit unrealistic that Amir would have gotten out of a Taliban house alive. That was the only part that I thought stretched a bit far. Otherwise, I recommend it to anyone interested in learning more about a refugee's experience in a war torn world.
I finished solidly ahead of schedule for the first time. 4 not 6 books! I will take a breather and look forward to the next challenge. I hope you are up for it and good luck in your work.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Hi Honibabi! Sorry for my slowness in responding... it seems that all my computer time is being pulled in a million different directions, and not always where I want it, if that makes any sense.
I'm glad that you liked your book choices!
I'm doing well, thank you. I'm really slacking in this challenge, though, because of all of the other books I have that I need to write reviews for. I've been trying to get caught up on all of those, and haven't been able to attack my other book choices.
I'm still reading Steinbeck's book, and it is very good and definitely quite enjoyable.
How have you been? Enjoying the warm weather (finally!)?
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | I am on a roll!! LOL.
I finished, It Wakes in Me and I liked it. The tribal history of the sex rituals used in the book are taken from true accounts which is interesting. I liked the tribal politics of the book. This is book 2 in a trilogy. I found the third one and ordered the first one, so I guess I liked it enough :)
I started Kite Runner and so far I like it. I am only a few chapters in.
How are you doing Daisy?
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | I finished, Are you there, Vodka? It's me, Chelsea. I thought it was OK. She is funny, but I didn't care for her writing style. I liked that it was a quick read with no filler, but it felt like she was trying too hard at many points. Her dad reminded me of the psychiatrist in Running with Scissors. He probably deserves more credit for Chelsea's success.
Looking forward to hearing about the Steinbeck book, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thanks for the info on King's books, that's interesting. I also love his reply to that question... what an imagination he must have! Thank you very much for sharing that with us.
I Am Malala sounds very interesting, indeed. I always like to read nonfiction showing different points of view around the world.
I'm starting on my Steinbeck book tonight. I'm looking forward to it very much.
Hope you enjoy your Chelsea book! :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished, I am Malala and I liked it. It happened to be the young reader's edition so it was a pretty easy read. While Malala is the star, I am more impressed with her father who supported his daughter and opened a school for girls in a world that did not think women should be educated or even leave the house, in the 90's. Their culture/religion is so polarizing. On the best side is Malala and the muslims like her family. On the worst, the Taliban. We don't hear enough about the muslims who are standing up against the extremists and who live in constant fear of torture for it.
I am starting, Are you There, Vodka? It's me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler. Moving into a much lighter read.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Daisy,
King novels I liked:
Misery **** (the movie is very accurate to the book)
Dark Tower series (read first 3 - don't judge book by the movie)****
Salem's lot ***
Needful Things *** (movie is good too)
King Novels that I didn't like:
Longoliars
Pet Cemetary *
TommyKnockers
I want to read more King Classics like Cujo, but he puts so much filler into his books....Stephen King was asked once, what scares him. He said: I am lying in bed and there is a noise. I reach for the light switch but can't find it. Something grabs my hand and puts it on the switch. Do I turn on the light? Love that.
I remember your attempt at Kite Runner. I hope I have better success.
I am also a fan of Steinbeck. It is hard to imagine not liking one of his books. I hope you like The Log from the Sea of Cortez.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thanks for the summary of the King book... I've never actually read any of his novels, but at least two of them I would like to read. The rest don't really look like my thing. Cujo looks good, though... have you ever read that one?
I'd love to hear what you think of The Kite Runner when you read it. I read it for a past challenge... or at least tried to. I switched books because I really wasn't enjoying it much.
The book you are currently reading sounds very interesting! I'd like to hear what you think of it.
Congrats on finishing Ben Hur! Woot woot! :-D So glad you liked it!
I'm going to start on The Log from the Sea of Cortez first. I'm really looking forward to that one. I really like seafaring tales, I really like nonfiction, and I really like Steinbeck's writing, so the book certainly looks promising.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I am starting the spring challenge now and will start with, I am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World by Malala Yousafzai. I am really looking forward to reading about this amazing young women.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I had to cancel my book mooch for Full Circle and have changed course. I will replace the book with a shape in the title to a debut novel. I am choosing, Kite Runner by Khaleed Hosseini.
Still working on Ben Hur, but sooooo close.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy for the enlightenment. I am trying to mooch The First Circle, but the seller hasn't responded and they have not been active for over 3 months so I may have to change that one. I will keep you posted.
I did decide to switch out, "Gerald's Game" by Stephen King for "Are you there Vodka, It's me Chelsea" by Chelsea Handler. I will be starting late and Gerald's game is another 400+ page book that I started before and didn't get very far on. The Handler book is under 300 and looks like an easier read.
Stephen King is very hit or miss for me. I took this book summary from Amazon:
“And now the voice which spoke belonged to no one but herself. Oh my God, it said. Oh my God, I am all alone out here. I am all alone.”
Once again, Jessie Burlingame has been talked into submitting to her husband Gerald’s kinky sex games—something that she’s frankly had enough of, and they never held much charm for her to begin with. So much for a “romantic getaway” at their secluded summer home. After Jessie is handcuffed to the bedposts—and Gerald crosses a line with his wife—the day ends with deadly consequences. Now Jessie is utterly trapped in an isolated lakeside house that has become her prison—and comes face-to-face with her deepest, darkest fears and memories. Her only company is that of the various voices filling her mind…as well as the shadows of nightfall that may conceal an imagined or very real threat right there with her…
Doesn't really interest me right now. I will get to it eventually.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thank you for joining me again! :-D
An indie author is an author who independently publishes his/her books. There are a lot of them coming out in recent years, and they could really use our help in reading, reviewing, or otherwise publicizing their books. You can usually tell if a book is published independently if it a) doesn't list a publishing company anywhere on or in it or b) lists Createspace as a publisher, which is a popular platform for indie authors to use.
Interesting choices! I've never heard of any of those books before. What is the Steven King one about?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | 2: It Wakes In Me by Kathleen O'Neal Gear
3: Are you there Vodka, It's me Chelsea by Chelsea Handler
5: I am Malala by Malala Yousafzai
6: The First Circle by Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Thomas P. Whitney (Translator)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | What is an indie author?
- Aunt Bean |
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Spring Reading Challenge
Starting March 20, and ending on June 19 (the day before Summer), I am having a book challenge for any and all interested in participating. I thought that this would be a fun way to encourage trying new books and dusting off the covers of the ones you just haven't gotten to yet. It will be done seasonally, with me starting a new Summer challenge on June 20. The rules are few and simple. I will list six categories. You can read four books for a Level 1 challenge or six books for a Level 2 challenge. After you pick the books, please post the titles and authors here in order of which category each is in (please see my entry for an example). I will personally smooch the first to complete the Level 2 challenge (unless it happens to be me, of course!), and smooching is fully encouraged for anybody else who wants to congratulate the other winners. Please feel free to discuss the books you read for this challenge with the other participants. And be sure to notify everybody when you finish the challenge! In all fairness, I should add another rule: no books under 150 pages are allowed. If novelettes counted, it wouldn't be fair to those that wished to read Ben-Hurr. ;-) If you have any questions at all, please feel free to either post them here or email me. :-) The categories:
1. Read a book by a new-to-you author.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "A".
3. Read a book written by a foreign-born author. (Meaning foreign to wherever YOU are.)
4. Read a book with a plant in the title. (It is spring, after all!)
5. Read a book written by multiple people. (It can be just two.)
6. Read a book taking place over one hundred years ago. My choices: (I'm doing Level 2)
1. Cheaper By The Dozen by Frank B. Gilbreth, Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey (both new authors to me, although I saw the movies.)
2. A Hawaiian Anthology, by Gerrit P. Judd, editor
3. Chekhov: The Major Plays, by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, translated by Ann Dunnigan
4. The Trees, by Conrad Richter
5. Polar Shift, by Clive Cussler and Paul Kemprecos
6. Custer, by Will Henry (a collection of two short-ish novels put together.)
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Daisy
8 years ago
4 comments
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| (8 years ago) | I'll be glad to have you join us come Summer! See ya then. :-)
Oh, and while I'm on here, I might as well mention that I'm around a quarter of the way through Chekov's book, and have come to the conclusion that while his plays are good, his short stories are so much better.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | I just got back on the site after being off a while, and all of my info is empty, so im going to start from scratch. I will probably try to be get things going going again, and start in the Summer one. Looks like fun.
- Hoop | | (8 years ago) | You can join at any time you want, so if you decide to join later, you are more than welcome to. :-)
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | I'd love to take part but it's going to be too difficult for those of us who have to rely on overseas mooches. This sounds like a fun challenge, but while you're enjoying it, I'll try and add a few more books to my inventory.
- jacquie |
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Spring Reading Challenge 2020
Now, more than ever, people are turning to books to help them cope during these trying times. I'm starting this quite late, but I was hoping to resurrect my Seasonal Reading Challenge. Anybody is welcome to join; if you're new to the game, welcome, and if you've participated before, then welcome back! Starting March 19, and ending June 20, I am hosting my Seasonal Reading Challenge for Spring. If you have read books between March 20 and now that fit into these categories, feel free to count them. For those new to the challenge, the rules are pretty easy: A Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books (please list the books and authors below), they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level before the end of the season wins! The first person to complete 6 before me will get a mooch from me! Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you chose as you read them. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me either on the forum or by email. Thank you for your participation in my little battle-of-the-books. Ready, set, read! 1. Read a book by author Dan Brown.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "K".
3. Read a book that is a classified as a cozy mystery.
4. Read a book about somebody who is sick. (Pretty sure everybody here knows where the inspiration for this one came from. ;-) )
5. Read a book taking place in the future.
6. Read an inspirational book. (Something written purposely to uplift your spirits; I think we can all use a little of that right now.) My choices: (I'm going to do Level 2)
1. Deception Point, by Dan Brown
2. Killing Floor, by Lee Child
3. Cakewalk to Murder, by M.K. Scott
4. Last Wishes, by Brian David Floyd
5. Utopia Pending, by Fallacious Rose, editor (a collection of short stories)
6. Let's All Make the Day Count, by Charlie Daniels (I started this book back in March, I believe, but I'm still reading it.)
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Daisy
4 years ago
15 comments
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| (3 years ago) | It has been so long, I can't remember what you have done. You come up with such good ideas.
My ideas:
Book that begins with an "L" :) I think I have only missed "A" and "K", darn.
Read a previously banned book
Read a book about an immigrant experience in America
Read a book recommended by a family member
Read a book you picked up second hand
Read a book with a paranormal theme
Read a book turned into a movie that you have seen and compare them
Looking forward to your fall challenge!
- Aunt Bean | | (3 years ago) | Good to hear from you, Loolat. Yes, time does fly indeed!
I'm sorry you ended up with a stinker or two in the last batch. Let's hope there's some better ones next time around. Glad you liked Kite Runner, anyway. :-)
If anybody has any good catagory ideas that we haven't done before, feel free to let me know. We've done so many, it's starting to get hard coming up with new ideas, haha.
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | Hi
Thank you Aunt Bean for the congratulations. The small one is 6 months old this month crazy how time has flown! I’ve been trying to keep up with reading but have to admit it’s not as easy as before. This time I read the Kite stunner and Artemis. Go Ask Alice, I gave up on as I found it really bad, the main character was really annoying so I had no interest in finishing it. Artemis was ok but wouldn’t suggest for anyone to read it, the writing style was s bit dull and the story was lacking. I’m definitely up for another challenge as keeps me reading, just can’t guarantee how many books I will get through!
Hope you both are well ð
- Loolat | | (3 years ago) | Hello! Good to hear from you again. I sent a mass email to everybody following this forum, but I guess not many saw it. I never thought of using GR, but that's a good idea, I'll keep that in mind!
I can see why somebody would like Kite Runner, it just wasn't my kind of book. :-)
If enough people would like to join, I can do another on September 22, for Fall. Would you be in?
How about you, Loolat? Would you like to give it another go in Fall?
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | Daisy,
I wish I came across this revival sooner. I miss the Seasonal Book challenge. You should have messaged me on goodreads :)
I found the Kite Runner to be a very moving and realist book. I have worked with refugees and this story is tame compared to actual experiences. It is sad, but their resiliency is inspiring.
I seem to recall Loolat when I participated before. Nice to see familiar people! Congrats on your new family member.
Will you be continuing this with all you have going on?
- Aunt Bean | | (3 years ago) | Artemis sounds interesting! Thanks for sharing about it. If you're wanting to get a copy of Killing Floor, a thriller, I think it's actually available on here.
My grandmother is doing as well as can be expected, considering. She's healing very, very slowly. Thank you for asking.
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | Wow you are doing really well with your list and sounds like you enjoyed the books. Think I will add them to my want to read list.
I’m currently reading Artemis. It’s set on the moon and the main character has been asked to sabotage the main company who supplies oxygen so another company can take over. I’m not too far into it as my little person has changed her sleep pattern and has been going to bed later, but I have enjoyed the bits I’ve read so far.
How is your grandmother? I hope her shoulder is recovering well.
- Loolat | | (3 years ago) | I finished Utopia Pending and the inspirational book by Charlie Daniels. Really liked them both. Would give each of them four stars.
Cakewalk to Murder is next on my list. What are you reading now?
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | I just read Killing Floor, the first in the Jack Reacher series, and it was really good.
I'm nearly finished both Utopia Pending and Let's All Make the Day Count. Both are very good so far. Utopia Pending is very interesting, a collection of short stories by different authors about how they would picture a utopian world. Really enjoying it.
How are you coming along?
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | I'm chugging right along with Let's All Make the Day Count, as well as Utopia Pending. Both are pretty good books, and I'm enjoying them. I took a break to take care of my grandmother (she broke her shoulder and needed my help taking care of her pets, prepare meals and such), but I might still be able to get one or two done before the deadline, haha.
When I read Kite Runner, it was just too graphic for me. I don't really care to read love scenes, much less rape scenes. I didn't care very much for the story, either. That said, the author seemed to have talent, and if he had applied himself to a different kind of tale, I might have enjoyed it. Glad you liked it. :-)
What book is next on your list?
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | How are you getting on with your books? I’ve just finished the kite runner. On the whole I found it quite interesting and was a book I wanted to keep reading. It was very grafick in parts and a little unbelievable towards the end. Saying that though I would still suggest for people to read it. On to the next book.
- Loolat | | (3 years ago) | Aww, congratulations! :-D I've been doing well... just very busy lately. I'm an editor of indie books.
Artemis sounds quite interesting. I can't wait to know what you think of it when you read it. :-)
I chose my books because most of them (although not all) are books that authors asked me to review for them. I love reviewing books.
- Daisy | | (3 years ago) | We had a pink one ð and called her Neave, she’s 11 weeks old. How have things been for you since the last challenge? Hope all is good.
Artemis - about someone who smuggles contraband to the moon but then gets offered another opportunity to earn lots of money. Artemis is the first city on the moon.
Kite runner is my book beginning with k
My sisters keeper about someone who is sick
Artemis about the future
Go ask Alice my inspirational book - someone recommended this book to me it’s about a teenager whose drink gets spiked and then her life is never the same again.
What made you choose your books?
- Loolat | | (4 years ago) | Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! A blue one or a pink one? :-D
Thanks for joining the challenge! Great choices. I read The Kite Runner a while back, for this challenge actually, and was not very impressed, but I hope you enjoy it. I've heard of Artemis, but I don't know much about it. What is it about? Have you read it before?
Also, what categories do these choices fit into? Just curious. :-)
- Daisy | | (4 years ago) | Great challenge Daisy and I’m so glad you’ve brought it back. I recently had a baby so not sure how I will get on with the challenge but I’ve picked 4 books -
2. Kite Runner by khaled hosseini
4. My sisters keeper by Jodi picoult
5. Artemis by Andy Weir
6. Go ask Alice by anonymous
Lindsay
- Loolat |
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Are people still interested?
Myself and a few other lovely people on Bookmooch ran this challenge for a couple years before the interested seemed to slack and there were very few participants. If I was to revive it, would anybody join? If enough people want to join, then I may revive it for Spring, 2020. What do you think?
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Daisy
4 years ago
5 comments
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| (4 years ago) | Y'all convinced me. I'll be a little late writing up the categories, haha, but that's the plan. I hereby challenge thee!
- Daisy | | (4 years ago) | why not give it a try?
- Valerie | | (4 years ago) | Wow, congratulations Lindsay! Best of luck, and I'll pray that everything goes wonderfully! :-D If I start up the challenge again, I will surely let you know.
Hi Clarissa! If I hear back from more people and decide to start it up again, I'll be sure to let you know. Thank you for replying to the affirmative!
Best wishes to all,
Daisy
- Daisy | | (4 years ago) | Hey Daisy -
I am off from school this semester so I would love to join in.
Charissa
- cocoGerman | | (4 years ago) | Hi Daisy
I would definitely be keen. I’m due to have a baby in 3 weeks so I’m not sure how I will get on with the challenges but I’d like to give it a go.
Lindsay
- Loolat |
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Summer Challenge 2018
We are starting a little late this time, but everyone and anyone is welcome to join!
Daisy is very busy right now, so I will be running the challenge this time around. I have been participating for 8 challenges (since read a book that begins with the letter, "B") and I am excited to help Daisy out.
Starting June 25, and ending on September 22, I will be hosting Daisy's Summer Reading Challenge! For those who have not participated in the previous challenges, I'll put the rules below, but it's pretty easy.
A Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books (please list the books below), they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level before the end of the season wins! The first person to complete 6 before me will get a mooch from me. I have never completed 6, but I am going for it this time. Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you chose as you read them. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me either on the forum or by email.
Thank you for your participation in Daisy's little battle-of-the-books. Happy reading!
1. Read a book by author, Nicholas Sparks.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "J".
3. Read a book with the word, "book" in the title
4. Read a book about a culture/ethnicity other than one you identify with.
5. Read a book with a food in the title.
6. Read a book with a primary character that is either current or former military (real or fictional). My choices:
1. Three Weeks with my Brother, by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks
2. The Joy Luck Club, by Amy Tan
3. The Book of the Dun Cow, by Walter Wangerin Jr.
4. The Souls of Black People, by W.E.B. DuBois
5. Big Fish, by Daniel Wallace
6. Living with a Seal, by Jesse Itzler
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Aunt Bean
5 years ago
12 comments
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| (5 years ago) | Honibabi, I am so sorry to hear that. I hope that things get better for you soon. :-(
I finished Tracker. It was good far beyond my expectations. I really enjoyed it and highly recommend it. The author is very knowledgeable on the subject of wilderness survival, and the survival information alone in this book makes it well worth the read. I would love to get the sequel to it.
I'm nearly halfway through Honey.
I started on The War Has Begun. It's intriguing how the author, a research scientist, spent more than twelve years doing research for this book. The details he was able to uncover are incredible. Unfortunately, his storytelling abilities do not match up with his researching abilities, and could use some improvement. The book would have been much better had he teamed up with a seasoned co-author who could make up for what he was lacking.
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | Still working on #2. Unfortunately, life is getting in the way on this challenge. I will probably not finish, but I have to direct my attention elsewhere. Sad.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Congrats on finishing the first book of the challenge, haha! I'm still reading Honey, The Nature's Gold. Since it is detailed nonfiction, it's moving slowly, but it is very good so far!
Hey, you're still ahead of me, haha! :-D
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | I might have over estimated my chances this round. LOL. I just don't read as much in the summer. I need some serious catch up!
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Finished Big Fish. It was OK. Very easy read. It's about a kid who creates myths around what his father's life is really like because he doesn't see him much. The stories of his father's life are exaggerated and adventurous.
Going to start Three Weeks with My Brother, by Nicholas Sparks and Micah Sparks.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Finally started the challenge. Started with Big Fish. I think it will be a relatively easy and short read. So far, I like it, but I am only about 20 pages in.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Wow. Tracker sounds intense. Looking forward to your review!
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Thanks! :-D Good luck to you, too.
I started on the Honey book. I'm only on Chapter 2, but it's interesting so far.
The culture that is in Tracker would be Native American. Here is what the back cover of the books says about Tracker:
Apprenticed since early childhood in the ancient Native American skills of survival, tracker Fox Walker is a loner by choice until the day he discovers a young woman living as a primitive deep in the Colorado wilderness. She has no memory of her past and her torso is riddled with scars. The killer responsible for her emotional and physical damage has returned to finißh what he started. Walker finds himself in the midst of an FBI manhunt. He'll be called upon to use all of his unique skills and wisdom if he is to save the woman of the wilderness.
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | Daisy,
Glad that my choices worked out for you. Totally unplanned. LOL
Yup, The Bookshop counts in my book :)
What is Tracker about?
Good luck to you too.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | My choices (Level 1):
3. The Bookshop on the Corner, by Jenny Cogan (It counts, right? ;-P)
4. Tracker, by Indy Quillen
5. Honey, The Nature's Gold, by Mona Illingworth and Daniel Andrews
6. The War Has Begun, by Charles E. Frye
Three out of four of these are books I need to read anyway, so that works great! I do have books to fit the other two categories, but I don't think that I will be able to get to them before the end of the challenge, so I'll probably just stick to four for now and if I finish them quickly I'll consider reading two more.
Good luck with the challenge! I know you can do it!
- Daisy | | (5 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy!
I will be starting late because I am finishing another book, but fingers crossed that I can get 6 in...LOL. No epic novels this time!
Looking forward to your book choices.
- Aunt Bean | | (5 years ago) | Great categories, Honibabi, and thank you so much for all of your help! Let me figure out what books I'm going to do, and then I'll definitely join. :-D
- Daisy |
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Winter Reading Challenge
Starting December 21 and ending on March 20, I an hosting my Seasonal Reading Challenge for Winter. This challenge is always open to anybody and everybody interested in participating, so feel free to join in any time! The challenge is in two levels, Level 1 being a four book challenge and Level 2 being a six book challenge. The goal is to choose a level, pick the books you want to read provided that they fit into the categories provided, and be the first to read them all before the end of the season. Winner of the Level 2 challenge will be awarded a point from me (unless, of course, I win!). The books chosen have to be at least 150 pages long, to keep the challenge fair for everybody. To participate, just post a list of the books you want to read, matching them to the corrosponding numbers of the categories they fit into (see my entry below as an example), and then keep us updated as you read each one. If anybody needs clarification on the rules or suggestions for books to choose from, feel free to either post here about it or shoot me an email and I'd be glad to help. :-) This isn't like most other reading challenges you see. This one has a twist. We are also a kind of book group, and we discuss the books and our opinions of them as we read them, getting to know eachother better as we do so. While discussing the books isn't required for participation, feel free to join us in our conversations. It's fun, and you might even make some new friends along the way! May the best reader win! :-D 1. Read a book by author Michael Connelly.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "H".
3. Read a book with a title of four letters or less.
4. Read a book with a Biblical theme. (This one's for Honibabi... and it doesn't have to be Ben Hur! ;-P)
5. Read a book with a number in the title.
6. Read a book by an author who uses at least one initial in his/her pen name. My choices:
1. The Best American Mystery Stories, by Michael Connelly, editor
2. The Honorable Rosalind's Heart; A Regency Romance Novel, by Bridget Barton
3. W, by John Banks (I really wanted to read Sink, by Perrin Briar, but it's only 146 pages... can you believe that?!)
4. A Woman God Can Use, by Alice Mathews
5. Wisdom of the 90s, by George Burns and Hal Goldman
6. The Mountain, by Charles G. Thompson
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Daisy
6 years ago
37 comments
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| (6 years ago) | I finished Ben Hur today. I am finishing late but it was worth it. I really enjoyed the book. I was afraid that it would be really difficult and dry but it was just the opposite. It moved really well. It took me a while because it was so long and the font so small that my eyes would get tired. The story did not drag at all. So well written and engaging.
Glad I finally read it.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Really enjoying Ben Hur and sooooo close to completing.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I love this challenge and I am glad to have met you and all the readers who have stopped by.
There is definitely more than 150 pages, but that sounds like cheating to me. LOL. You're the organizer, so I will follow your rules.
Have to start figuring out my next reads for the challenge. HHMMM..
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Hey there Honibabi, I'm so grateful that you've stuck with me and my challenges for so long! It really means so much to me! :-D
You are so far into Ben Hur... don't give up now! And I'll tell you what, if there are 150 or more pages left in it to read, there is at least one category that the book can fit into in my new challenge, soooo... ;-)
Oh, and I got my challenge up at last! I usually try to do it a week in advance, not a day or two in advance, so I apologize for the delay.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hi, Daisy. I doubt I will finish Ben Hur. It is such a good book and it moves along well. It really keeps you engaged, but despite that, just the number of pages and the font size keeps me running in mud. This may be my worst finish! I am really enjoying the book, though. I have a sneaky suspicion that I will be starting the next challenge late to finish Ben Hur. It will be worth it!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I finished Best American Mystery Stories. It was so-so. A couple of the stories were really, really good, and a couple were really, really bad. My favorites were Richard's Children and The Case of the Agitated Actress. I'd highly recommend those two stories, they were both very well-written with great plots.
So, it doesn't look like I'll be able to finish this challenge. I kept putting off finishing W, because it just was too convoluted and hard to follow, and wasn't very enjoyable. And time passed, and now it's almost out of time. So this will in all likelihood be the first time that I have not completed my own challenge! :'-( Oh well, there's always next time.
Speaking of next time, sorry I'm behind in getting my Spring Challenge posted. Rest assured, it will be up very shortly!
How are you coming along, Honibabi? Thing you'll finish Ben Hur in time?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | You are so welcome, Honibabi, so glad you love that book so much! Now I want to go read it! :-D
I just heard back from Stacy. It turns out that she still wants to participate in the challenge here, but was accidentally vacationed from Bookmooch, despite the fact that she was an active member. She sent me her post, though, to post for her, and she hopes that this can be fixed soon so that she can be back on here like normal. :-)
By the way,
Stacy's post:
For the bookmooch challenge, here is my review of Kingdoms at War :
(the Christian book selection)
I really liked this book and feel it is a must read for anyone of the Christian faith. It has an extensive bibliography for further study and several appendixes and footnotes section. Kingdoms At War is a wonderful introduction and food for thought comparing secular humanism with Christianity. Even though written in 1985, it is still very relevant for today as the differing world views are even more evident in daily life and in the media, education, business and politics. Each chapter ends with study questions for the reader-- not so much question/ answer stuff, but more for reflection on what the reader personally thinks. Each chapter also summarizes with a table comparing secular humanism viewpoints with Christianity. This book has definitely sparked my interest in the subject and wish to seek out more of the books mentioned for further reading.
For the letter h book:
The Headmaster: Frank L. Boyden of Deerfield:
What a great story of the most unlikely leader! Frank Boyden became headmaster at Deerfield Academy in 1902, fresh out of Amherst at 22 yrs. old and the town of Deerfield thought he wouldn't last a day. Of the 14 boys enrolled as students at Deerfield Academy, a school on its last legs and which the board of directors was seriously closing, several the town were very afraid of, and Mr. Boyden was a slight man, standing at 5' 4" and they thought he didn't stand a chance. He might not have been large in stature, but he was in character and heart. His dedication to the school and his students elevated the school from oblivion to being internationally known for turning out exemplary young men. His devotion to all thing regarding his school was well known, and there was nothing he wouldn't do for it-- in the early years, when the sports teams were short of players, he played with them. In an effort to get boys from the community to go to school, many of them from farms that could little afford to have the boys gone-- he would pay for farm labor out of his pocket so the boy could get educated. A large proportion of the enrollment was on scholarship because he could not bear the thought of turning one away, and the scholarship recipients never were allowed to know that they were on scholarship because he did not want those students to feel there was any difference between them and the regular boys. The scholarship students did not have extra duties either, as is common in many educational institutions, for the same reason. In his 62 years as headmaster, he only had to expel 6 boys as he was famous for "extra chances" and determined that the offender would amount to something, and the boys for all those decades, in spite of his willingness to give extra chances, never saw him as a pushover. He commanded respect, and many of his students went on to greatness, and remembered with fondness their headmaster who took a deep interest in each of their educations. He wanted to be constantly aware of what was going on with the students and in the school that he didn't even have a separate office-- his desk was set in the middle of the entrance to the school so he could talk to boys in passing to their classes. It was a family affair as well-- his wife was the chemistry teacher and renowned in her own right for her brilliance in teaching the subject. The couple were so committed to the school, that every evening, their living room was packed, many times with over 50 present, with faculty for after dinner coffee and talk, or other times with the students themselves after a game. As well as running the school, he often taught some of the subjects and for 60 years coached the baseball, basketball and football teams himself, even at 87 when he was still headmaster. The man was amazing and an inspiration as too what vision, passion, and concern of one person can accomplish if the desire and persistence are there.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I don't think I will finish my 4 book choices by the end of the challenge, but I am really glad to be reading Ben Hur. It is so well written.
Thanks for the challenge, Daisy :P
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | So glad you are enjoying your book, Honibabi! I know what you mean about enjoying the dialog. I felt that way all the way through Cyrano de Bergerac, when I read that a while back. Sometimes it just sucks you into the era, doesn't it?
I'm about 2/3rds through Best Mysteries, and I also read Honorable Rosalind's Heart. I enjoyed it enough, I suppose, but not so much that I'd recommend it or ever read it again. Way too warm-and-fuzzy and unrealistic for my tastes. *shrugs*
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Loolat, sorry for your loss. I agree with Daisy. No need to apologize and I hope we hear from you again soon. Good luck with everything.
I am really enjoying Ben Hur. Due to the tiny font my eyes get tired after about 20 pages but I love the dialogue.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Hi Loolat,
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles, and I hope things go better for you soon. :-) Life happens, no call to feel sorry for leaving. I'm glad you came in the first place! I'd be happy to have you join us again in the future, too. Thank you for the good luck wishes, and I wish you all the best. :-)
Honibabi, I'm glad you're enjoying Ben Hur so much! It's really a great book. :-D Thanks for keeping us updated!
I'm reading The Best American Mystery Stories right now, and I'm about 1/3rd through it. It's pretty good. Some of the stories are much better than others, though, which is how it usually is for anthologies of this sort. Still, the good has outweighed the bad so far.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hi everyone, I'm really sorry but I think I'm going to have to leave the group. I've had a lot going on with a bereavement and long work hours so reading hasn't really happened. Hopefully I'll be able to join again another time. Good luck with continuing the challenge.
- Loolat | | (6 years ago) | While I am just 28 pages into Ben Hur, I really like the beginning. I admit I have to read paragraphs multiple times sometimes to understand them, but that is Ok with me. Having scenes of the movie in my head probable help with reading and understanding the book. So far, so good.
Hope to hear from Loolat, Lyn and Stacy soon....
I hope the challenge continues no matter how few of us there are.
Thanks, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Loolat? Lyn? Stacy? Are you still with us?
Honibabi, I'm very thankful that you're still here, and I'm very happy that you enjoy my little challenge so much! :-D I'm glad that you thought House of Secrets was a good book, it does indeed sound interesting. Oh, and about W... basically, it's been so far about ten different stories. One story is about a crude collage boy writing home to his younger brother, one is about a modern woman who continues to send emails to a man named William who she knows is dead, one is about a Viking family and their travels, and another is about a pioneer heading west writing home to the girl he left behind. No connections between any of these stories are apparent yet, and the way that the author jumps right from the middle of one story and into another one, then back, then to a different one, with no apparent rhyme or reason, is very disjointed, confusing, and annoying.
I hope you like Ben Hur, Honibabi!
I just noticed that I'd neglected to fill y'all in on the Bible-themed book I had read. It was called A Woman God Can Use, and it was oo-kay, but not terrific. Still, it was worth reading, and not a BAD book.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello, everyone.
I finished House of Secrets. It was a good book, despite the poor editing. The story is easy to read and I appreciate that it wasn't really graphic. While the incidents are talked about, there is not a lot of gory detail. You don't really need it. Just thinking about parents sexually abusing their kids is enough. Sad story but one that should be told.
I toiled about which book to read next and have decided on Ben Hur. I have an out of town trip this week. I usually get a lot of reading done on business trips so I am tackling the most daunting of my final two books.
Hope to hear from everyone, soon.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Sorry to hear about your experience with "W" so far, Daisy. What don't you like about it?
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | That sounds like such a sad story! I'd never heard of the event it was based upon before. It's upsetting that things like that happen in this world.
Stacy, Loolat, how are you guys coming along? And Lyn, where did you go? All of your posts just vanished in a puff of smoke!
I'm taking a short break from W. I'm not enjoying it very much so far. :'-(
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | It is a true story, re-told by relatives, the victims and taken from newspaper and police reports. The recent discovery of the 13 kids in California who were held hostage and abused by their parents is amazingly similar. Almost sounds like the same story. Just sickens me!
I find it hard to find humor in recent events, but I am looking forward to your review of How to be a women. It has been on my reading list for a while.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Hello, everyone.
What a lucky dog Bruiser is. I continue to work with my rescue. He is more trusting but I don't trust him 100% yet. Luckily he is very food motivated so he pays very close attention when you have a treat.
I am almost half way through House of Secrets. I am grateful that it isn't as graffic as the cover suggested, but saddened by the story. A story of sexual, mental and physical abuse of kids by their lying parents. Murderous parents. Humanity at it's worst, unfortunately. The editing is atrocious, but the story is compelling. How do you not look up the right spelling of towns? I only know the atrocity because I have family in Wheeling. Not, Willing! Misspelled at least twice! Several grammar errors too. On goodreads a common complaint about the book.
Still, a story that is sucking me in.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, thanks for sharing about the O. Henry book, it makes me definitely want to reread his stories! Glad you liked it.
Lyn, savoring a book is always a wonderful thing. :-D Awwww, congratulations about Bruiser, he sounds adorable! How old is he?
I picked a Bible-themed book and started it. I'm pressed for time at the moment, so more on that later. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello, everyone.
I finished Stories by O'Henry. I enjoyed it overall. Each story has a neat ending where everyone gets what they deserve, good or bad. A few stories are just observational, like the one narrated by a $10 bill that talks about it's journey from person to person. Still has a point as the bill encounters singles and $20's and how each one has a different journey tied to it's value. The Pimiento Pancakes was my second favorite after The Social Triangle (explained in an earlier post). It was a funny story about one suitor tricking another and winning the girl over a made up pancake recipe.
I am starting House of Secrets next.
Stay warm!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Sorry Stacy! You are correct Daisy, I addressed the wrong person on the context of O'Henry. Still confused, but that is a personal issue...LOL. O'Henry is a wonderful collection of stories that represent the times they were written in.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Loolat: Thanks for the New Year wishes. :-) It’s neat that you liked the older Blade Runner movie. I’ve never seen or read any version of it, but now y’all have me interested. I had no idea it was so popular. And glad I could make you laugh. I get that reaction a lot. LOL ;-P Just joking. Sounds like a cute book you’re reading… hope that it isn’t so slow-moving as you get further in. :-)
Honibabi: Actually, I said that about the context. :-) Hahaha, okay, yeah, I see what you mean. That's funny!
Lyn: That's awesome! Thank you very much for sharing about that book, and I'm glad you found it so enjoyable! :-D It certainly sounds interesting... makes me want a pet ostrich, LOL. I hear their eggs make great omelets for a family of four... ;-P Brrr, you stay warm, too! It's freezing here.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | WELCOME BACK, STACY!
Our little group is not so little any more. Great to hear about everyone's reading choices and looking forward to all the reviews and discussions.
Stacey, I agree that I can usually get the gist by context but O. Henry definitely throws me off. There are many terms that are no longer common today and some regional. "Rowels" for example. There isn't much history of them in Northern Ohio, but still very relevant in cowboy states. "I saw my old friend, Deputy Marshal Buck, Caperton, stumble, with jingling rowels into a chair in the Marshal's outer office...." I don't typically think part of a spur when one talks about jingling rowels into a chair. LOL.
Loolat - 5 chapters is very optimistic. The curse of the social worker. LOL. Hope it gets better.
Happy New Year!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Happy New Year everyone. I hope you had a great Christmas and New and Year.
I bet Blade Runner is a good read, I've seen the old film and it was fab. Had no idea there was a book.
Honibabi - the social triangle sounds really good. I work in social services too. So am always interested in books that link to behaviour and how people interact with one another.
Daisy - I hope your book picks up the pace. Your comments about the dirty old man made me chuckle.
Stacy - I look forward to seeing your book choices.
I've started with Head Over Heels in the Dales. It's about a school inspector who partly inspects but also helps at schools. There have been a few funny bits with how the author describes the children talking to him but I'm hoping the story picks up a bit. I'm 5 chapters in.
- Loolat | | (6 years ago) | STACY!!! Great to see you again on here. Welcome back! :-D For those who don’t know, Stacy was a participant in a previous challenge, but left due to technical issues. Can’t wait to see what books you pick! And thanks for the Blade Runner info, that’s interesting. What is it about?
I just finished the George Burns book. I'm still working on W.
Happy New Year to you, too!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Loolat, how are you doing on your challenge?
I never heard of Blade Runner… what is it about? I wonder if the books/movies any good. I, too, am looking forward to your review, Lyn!
Honibabi, I’m glad you like O’Henry so far. I really like his short stories, although it has been a while since I read them last, so I can’t tell you which ones were my favorites. I do remember liking several of his a lot better than The Gift of the Magi, though, although it was good, too. I’ll have to reread The Social Triangle some time and refresh my memory about it, because so far I’m drawing a complete blank, LOL. I probably didn’t have the same problem with the vocabulary, though… I’ll generally just gather what the words mean from their context if they are unfamiliar to me. Although using a dictionary is definitely a better idea, there is never one around when I need one, and I’m usually so caught up in a book that I don’t want to put it down and go get one, haha. ;-P
I’m currently reading both W and Wisdom of the 90s. W is very jumpy and slow-moving so far, and I’m not really sure what to think of it. And other than George Burns being a bit of a “dirty old man”, I got quite a few laughs from the book and find it enjoyable enough. The book is dirtier than Gracie: A Love Story, so I do not like it as much as I liked Gracie.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!!!!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, how interesting about the reprint info for Blade Runner. Great trivia question. It has such a cult following. I never saw the movies either but the books must be good for how much people talk about the movies. Looking forward to your review.
I started Stories by O'Henry. While Gift of the Magi (which I just read) is the most famous, so far I like The Social Triangle best. It is a story about how a very poor man looks up to the newly elected Mayor. He admires him and what he stands for. The mayor in turn is thrilled to meet a well known billionaire with very strong philanthropic beliefs. The billionaire in the end wants to shake the hand of the poor man and get to know him. Probably like this one because I work in social services. :)
I was not familiar with O'Henry before now and see why he has such a respected place as an author. He really gets the point across in 10 pages or less! I do have to admit, though, having to look up about 5 words per story in the dictionary is slowing me down. LOL.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Daisy - Before I read to the end of the thread, where you went back and edited previous selections, I probably went back and forth on Loolat's #2 about 5 times trying to figure out how "Head over Heels" did not begin with an "h"...LMAO.
Loolat - All your books sound interesting. Look forward to your reviews.
Lyn - how to be a women has been on my reading list for a while. I am really looking forward to your review. Sounds funny and poignant.
I apologize now for all the complaining I may be doing as I trudge through Ben Hur in the winter challenge. You can blame, Daisy..LOL :)
Good luck everyone!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | No problem, Loolat, we all make mistakes. :-) I changed the book on the list you wrote to the new one you chose; I hope that's okay.
Two Brothers and Brothers in War both sound like really great books, I'd love to hear what you think of them when you finish them! I'm a big historical fiction fan, myself.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Oops sorry got confused, thought number 2 could have any word in the title with H. I've changed my book to Head Over Heels in the Dales by Gervase Phinn.
All your book choices sound really interesting and can't wait to hear about them.
Mine are a bit of a random mix. Head Over Heels in the Dales is about a school inspector who starts a new role and the challenges he faces with the children. It's a comedy.
Thin is a true story about the writers battle with anorexia.
Two brothers in based in Germany in 1920. The brothers are faced with an unimaginable choice.....
Lastly brothers in war is set in Cornwall in 1945, Britain reeling from the Great War. For Ben Retallick owner of a clay works the conflict will affect all that he has ever known as his life becomes entwined with secrecy and suspicion.
- Loolat | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, Agent 6 and the others in that series sound really interesting! I'd love to know how you like it when you read it! :-)
Loolat, welcome to the challenge! I'm so happy you could join us! :-D Interesting choices. Brothers in War sounds particularly interesting. Can you share with us what it's about? Also, it's not a big deal, but number two doesn't really fit into that category... can you think of any others to read instead? If there are no "H" books on your bookshelf, it's okay, though. Whatever works. It would be nice if it fit the category, though. :-)
Lyn, so glad you like the challenge. Good luck! Like Honibabi, I'd love to hear your opinion of Emma when you read it. It's been on my TBR for a while. I'd love to hear your opinion of the Connelly book, too! And good luck with the pup!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Welcome, Loolat and good luck!
Lyn, I really enjoyed. "Emma". I hope you do to.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Hi everyone
This will be my first attempt at the challenge so going to stick to 4 books. My choices are all books I've been meaning to read for ages and were on my bookshelf -
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "H".
Head Over Heels in the Dales by Gervase Phinn
3. Read a book with a title of four letters or less.
Thin by grace bowman
5. Read a book with a number in the title.
Two brothers by Ben Elton
6. Read a book by an author who uses at least one initial in his/her pen name.
Brothers in war by E.v Thompson
Hopefully I get through them all and am looking forward to hearing about your books.
- Loolat | | (6 years ago) | My copy of Ben Hur is 425 BUT the writing is very small. Copyright 1965. I will give it a try but may end up taking you up on your offer to switch :) For now, full steam ahead. HA
Agent 6 description copied from goodreads:
How far would you go to solve a crime against your family?
It is 1965. Leo Demidov, a former secret police agent, is forbidden to travel with his wife and daughters from Moscow to New York. They are part of a "Peace Tour," meant to foster closer relations between the two Cold War enemies. On the tour, Leo's family is caught up in a conspiracy and betrayal that ends in tragedy. In the horrible aftermath, Leo demands one thing: that he be allowed to investigate and find the attacker that struck at the heart of his family on foreign soil. From the highest levels of the Soviet government, he is told No, that is impossible. Leo is haunted by the question: what happened in New York?
In a surprising, epic story that spans decades and continents—from 1950s Moscow to 1960s America to the Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980s—Leo's long pursuit of justice will force him to confront everything he ever thought he knew about his country, his family, and himself.
I almost don't want to read it having gotten to know the characters from the first 2 books and if Raisa and the girls die in this one as is strongly suggested in the description (maybe tragedy is not death...), I will be mad! These books really take you into the horror of living in Soviet Russia starting in 1933 with Child 44. Much like The Book Thief, you feel like you are there experiencing the horrors governments have forced on their people. I love the main character, Leo. Child 44 was made into a movie and while it isn't as good as the book they do a good job sticking to the story if you don't get to the book.
Looking forward to your picks, Lyn.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thank you, Honibabi, that's sweet to say. I don't know about that, but it's nice you think so, haha. Anybody can beat me, including you or Lyn, or Stacy if she decides to come back and join this challenge.
Ooooo, Ben Hur. Ouch. How many pages is your copy? About 750? Good luck! And feel free to switch books if you change your mind!
I love O. Henry's stories! Great reading for all ages.
What is Agent 6 about? It sounds interesting!
I really like Gracie: A Love Story, too! I hope this one is as good. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | As always, I love the new challenge...
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "H"; House of Secrets by Lowell Cauffiel
4. Read a book with a Biblical theme. (This one's for Honibabi... and it doesn't have to be Ben Hur! ;-P) Yes it does..lol. Ben Hur by Lew Wallace...unabridged.
5. Read a book with a number in the title. "Agent 6", by Tom Rob Smith the 3rd book in a series that I love! 1st book was "Child 44," Second was, "The Secret Speech".
6. Read a book by an author who uses at least one initial in his/her pen name. "Stories by O. Henry."
We all know, Daisy is the best reader among us! Go Daisy! I love George Burns. Gracie, A love story is one of my favorite biographies. Hope you love your George Burns book.
- Aunt Bean |
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Autumn Book Challenge
Starting September 22 and finishing on December 21, I am hosting my Autumn Reading Challenge for anybody and everybody interested in joining me!
The challenge is in two levels, Level 1 being a four book challenge and Level 2 being a six book challenge. The goal is to choose a level, pick the books you want to read provided that they fit into the categories provided, and be the first to read them all before the end of the season. Winner of the Level 2 challenge will be awarded a point from me (unless, of course, I win!). The books chosen have to be at least 150 pages long, to keep the challenge fair for everybody. To participate, just post a list of the books you want to read, matching them to the corrosponding numbers of the categories they fit into (see my entry below), and then keep us updated as you read each one. This isn't just any old challenge, though. There's a twist. We are also a kind of book group, and we discuss the books and our opinions of them as we read them. While discussing the books isn't required for participation, feel free to join us. It's fun, and you might even make some new friends (I know I did)! Hope to see you in the challenge, and happy reading! :-D 1. Read a book by author Michael Crichton.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "G".
3. Read a book written during the Victorian period (1837 to 1901).
4. Read a book taking place in the Middle Ages (usually dated as A.D. 476 to A.D. 1453).
5. Read a book that was a "#1 New York Times Bestseller" (it usually says this on the cover if it is).
6. Read a newer book that is based off of a classic book. (There are so many of these I've seen, from rewrites of Jane Austen's novels to all of the new Sherlock Holmes books coming out. This one will be pretty easy to find a book for, and I can give suggestions if you'd like.) My choices: 1. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton
2. Golden Buddha, by Clive Cussler and Craig Dirgo
3. Far From the Maddening Crowd, by Thomas Hardy
4. The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights, by John Steinbeck
5. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak
6. The Last Sherlock Holmes Story, by Michael Dibdin
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Daisy
6 years ago
47 comments
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| (6 years ago) | I finished the book thief and pretty much read through tears for the last 20 pages or so. I love it. I would recommend it to anyone. I particularly love the style of the writing which keeps the book moving but draws you in like you're there. It will be handed off to the first of several friends/family in line for this one this weekend.
See you all in the new challenge.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, that's so awesome that you feel about the book like that! It's the same with me... I can't stop telling people about it! It really left an impression.
Lyn, I am glad you enjoyed The Glass Castle! And I'm SUPER happy that the challenge helped spread your reading horizons, and that you enjoyed it enough to come back and join it again for the Winter Challenge.
Happy New Year to y'all, as well! Hope you have a great, special time! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Happy holidays and happy new year to all of you as well.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Well, I have not finished The Book Thief but I am sooooo close. I will be a few days over the challenge. I LOVE this book. I will be recommending and sharing with friends and family.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Sounds like an interesting woman. She must have been through a lot. :-)
Isn't it though? It grew on me, page by page, also. One of the best books I've read this year!
Glad you like the challenge, Honibabi! Thanks for joining it again this season, you're my longest lasting member!
Lyn, by the way, what breed dog do you have in mind? I love animals. I hope the adoption goes well for you!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy - No joking and no offense. My grandmother was a tough lady from a tough time. She grew out of hard times and was a survivor. I have a lot of admiration, forgiveness, respect and thankfulness for her.
Almost half way through the book thief and it is getting better every page.
Lyn, almost there....
Off to check out the new challenge. I am sure it will be a good one.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | The new challenge is up! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, I'm so, so sorry to hear about your dog. That must have been just terrible. Especially when your dog is your baby... You must have really loved him. He looks sweet.
I'm glad you're enjoying The Book Thief so much! Isn't it so wonderful? I love the writing style! Very original. I'm rather glad that I don't know your grandmother, though... LOL, just joking.
Lyn, glad to see you are moving right along! You'll totally make it! :-D And you stay warm as well. :-)
And yes, I'm writing up the next challenge right now. I hope to post it in a day or two. And category suggestions, anybody?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Good luck, Lyn! With the challenge and the adoption. We are fostering now which will probably be a "failed foster" number 2. He is challenging but we like him and we don't think he is adoptable to anyone who doesn't want to put the time into him. Our vet actually suggested we put him down because he bit me. He bit me good and he is a BIG dog. It sounds crazy, but he has been stuck in a cage for many years and we think he needs a chance. We are now seeing another vet for him and she put him on Prozac and I have tranquilizers for anxiety causing events. I can't believe I am actually giving my dog Prozac...LOL. I am a sucker for the underdogs.
Daisy, we are getting close to getting the next challenge book list. Looking forward to what you come up with!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I am about half way through, The Book Thief. I really like it so far. I just got done with the chapter where Liesel gets, The Standover Man, for her birthday and I was absolutely moved by it. Despite all the stories and accounts of the Holocaust, this perspective of a non-jewish family pre-war makes it so real and relate-able. It draws you into the "normal" day to day of those who aren't buying into the rhetoric and propaganda but who live in fear of being targeted and persecuted for not supporting it. Sadly, still happens today, on a smaller scale, maybe, but still happens.
I am assuming Liesel is Jewish although that is only implied at this point. I am reminded of the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn. Despite the grown up turmoil and challenges of the social environments of the times, childhood experiences and memories are so unique to each generation. The times don't seem to really repeat themselves and no one but our fellows from the same generation will have them. Childhood is a part of and in some ways removed from the realities and horrors of the social environments of any time period, at least for some part of it.
Rosa reminds me of my grandmother! I was having flashbacks. That Eastern European women persona is strong, scary and influential. I do believe I will finish on time. I hope :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Sadly, I had to put Hops, the dark brindle laying down, down in June. Very unexpected. She was my baby and such a sweet sweet dog. Dude is the one in the antlers. He is doing just fine, LOL.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, Honibabi, I'm so glad you both like the challenge so much! I always thought that a more informal, group-of-friends-chatting type challenge was heaps more fun than a strict, too-many-rules, nothing-but-the-challenge type challenge. If that makes any sense, haha. :-)
Lyn, I really think you'll make it. I think you both will, actually. You're so close!
Honibabi, congrats again on completing the Goodreads challenge, that's awesome. Thanks for the clarification, I figured that was probably how it was. :-) I'm so glad you're liking The Book Thief! And I have to tell you, your new avatar on here is so cute... Awwwww... :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, I agree. This challenge has motivated me to read books that I might have just kept putting off instead of cleaning off my shelves. It has also helped me to put reading back on my priority list. Thanks to Daisy's challenge I completed my first goodreads challenge this year! I have been joining that challenge since 2011!
Good luck finishing, Lyn. If you don't, you can join my pitty party. LOL. I actually may finish this one, but that is not my M.O. I will crash your party. :)
Daisy, I do need to clarify the HIV and saliva thing. The saliva also does not carry enough of the virus in addition to the saliva protection to actually pass on the virus.
The Book Thief had me from page 1. I was intrigued by the writing style immediately. I figured out pretty quickly who the narrator was which made the perspective even more interesting. I am looking forward to reading this one.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thanks for joining my par-tay, Honibabi! LOL
Wow, thanks so much for sharing all of that with us! Very interesting stuff. That kind of information has always intrigued me. I actually already knew about numbers 1, 2, 4, and 5, but the rest is completely new to me! And thanks for the Elvis info. I've read like four biographies about Elvis and many shorter pieces about him, and have heard of what you're saying there, but there were a lot of contradictory theories and even quote unquote "evidence" to support those theories, so even though what that book is saying sounds very likely, I'm not really sure what to believe there. But the different theories are always very intriguing to me, thanks again for sharing about that! :-D
I hope you enjoy The Book Thief! I know I did. I'd love to hear about your impression of the book as you read it.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Lyn - Memoirs sounds very interesting. I enjoy reading about strong female characters and books that harcken back to the days when women were seen as equals and the feminine was celebrated.
Congratulations Daisy!! You did it again and with a month to go :) I am raising the roof for you. LOL
I finished Gulp and enjoyed it. It is not exactly what I expected. I think I expected more of a fictional story delivering actual facts about the Alimentary Canal. It is actually a biology lesson written in plain English with some humorous thoughts, stories and crazy medical history thrown in. I Learned a lot about all the functions from the nose to the stomach to the anus.
Interesting facts that I learned that you may or may not have already known:
1) Colds and flus are not spread by drinking from a sick person's glass but by touching it. The person who picks up the glass transfers the virus particles to their respiratory system by rubbing their eyes or picking their nose.
2) Saliva is a pretty powerful wound healer even in humans and renders HIV noninfective in most cases thus why we can drink after our HIV/AIDS infected friends safely. I knew this to be true but not why.
3) An adult has a new stomach lining every 3 days. Gastric acids are constantly eating through our lining which is reproduced quickly to keep it in our stomachs.
4) Stomachs do not burst from overeating. It actually gets so big that is pushes on the diaphragm and people die from asphyxia.
5) It is impossible to throw up feces despite medical claims from the past
6) This one is for Daisy - Elvis did suffer severely from constipation and YES it killed him. Not the drugs (only small traces were actually found in his blood at death). Actually, constipation and a weak heart. When people with what is called Hirschsprung's can't go coupled with a bad heart, it can kill them. Elvis was not diagnosed with Hirschsprung's but his medical history supports that he had it. It is usually diagnosed at an early age and his mother just forced him to go with her fingers as a child to relieve him when blocked. Elivis' autopsy revealed a colon 2 to 3 times the normal size called a mega colon. It happens when a chronic constipation sufferer cannot go and the colon just gets bigger. Pushing on the toilet has people usually holding their breath and causing a pulmonary event if you already have a weak heart, which Elvis did. It is called a Cardio-vascular event at defecation. His constipation was a big secret because it was so embarrassing but his doctor wrote about it.
7) And finally fecal transplant cure C. Diff infections with the potential to also cure colitus, IBS and Crohn's as other people's feces is introduced into a colon lacking certain good bacteria. The feces plants new good bacteria which in 116 of 124 case completely cures it. Drug companies are fighting this research as it clearly means a loss in drug income.
PHEW! That is only a little. Some parts had me laughing, cringing and dry heaving BUT I have a new appreciation for the not so sung hero, the Alimentary Canal.
I am starting, The Book Thief next :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Thanks, Lyn! Glad to hear that you're almost done Memoirs. It does indeed sound... strange, haha. Not my type of book. And thanks... I hope so too, LOL!
Actually, I'm done the challenge now. Woo-hoo! *Puts on party hat and starts dancin' to the music* I just finished King Arthur. The book itself, like I said, wasn't too good, but it had in the back a really interesting collection of letters from Steinbeck about the writing of it and the history behind the legends, which I found to be actually very intriguing reading material. It actually made the book, for me.
Honibabi, how are you enjoying Gulp?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I'm about 65% through The Acts of King Arthur. I had high expectations because I usually love those kinds of books, but so far it's only so-so. I doubt most of the people who think of knights as noble, brave, good men, always saving damsels in distress, have ever read the books. You know Sir Gawain, renown defended of distressed damsels? It was actually because he stabbed a lady with his sword and was cursed to that fate. So he actually had no choice. Nearly all the knights were philanderers and treated women as frail and inferior creatures who were basically a necessary evil. Hum. But it is probably worth reading just because it's such a well-known classic. Yeah, I'm only so-so liking the book so far, haha.
Lyn, glad the book was a pretty good introduction to the author. I, too, am more interested in reading Crichton's other works now that I've read Jurassic Park. Thanks for sharing what you thought of that book, that's interesting. :-) I'd be interested in knowing what you think of the Memoirs book when you finish it, as I am a big fan of Shelley's original Frankenstein.
Honibabi, that is so sweet, thank you so much and I hope your Thanksgiving was wonderful as well! :-D
Happy Thanksgiving to all, and to all a good night, as the saying goes! ;-p
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I hope everyone has a good Thanksgiving holiday however you choose to celebrate it.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I just finished Golden Buddha less than an hour ago. Good, but not great. It was interesting, because I've read several of the other books in the Oregon Files series but never the first, which this was. It revealed a few things that the other books only touched on or hinted at. However, I didn't think it had quite the depth of some of Cussler's other books. I'd give it three out of five stars.
I'll start on the King Arthur book next. My last one! Yay!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | LOL! XD Mine probably does. I want to read so many books... so many books, but so little time, as the saying goes. Or did I just make that up? *shrugs*
Hope you like Men of Iron if you read it, Honibabi! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy - graves? Good one. LOL!! I haven't gotten to the Elvis part, but I will be sure to share when I do ;p
I have not read Men of Iron, but reading both your reviews, I think I need to add it to my TBR list. I think our TBR lists qualify for their own zip codes. HA.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Wow, that does sound like a very interesting book! So does the author's other book, Stiff (speaking of stiffs, ironically the security check below has the name "graves", lol). If I get the chance (and find the time!!!), I'm going to look into getting and reading one or the other of those books, to be sure. At least, they are going on my never-ending TBR list. Hope it lives up to your expectations. :-)
By the way... did it kill Elvis? ;-)
Lyn, so glad you liked Men of Iron! I really enjoyed that book, too. No matter the audience it was originally written for, I think that it is one of those books that could appeal to anybody.
I'd love to hear about the Crichton book when you read it, I'm thinking about trying out some of his others and would love to know which ones are his best. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I copied the following from goodreads:
“America’s funniest science writer” (Washington Post) takes us down the hatch on an unforgettable tour of our insides. The alimentary canal is classic Mary Roach terrain: the questions inspired by our insides are as taboo, in their way, as the cadavers in Stiff and every bit as surreal as the universe of zero gravity explored in Packing for Mars. Why is crunchy food so appealing? Why is it so hard to find names for flavors and smells? Why doesn’t the stomach digest itself? How much can you eat before your stomach bursts? Can constipation kill you? Did it kill Elvis? We meet scientists who tackle the questions no one else thinks—or has the courage—to ask. And we go on location to a pet-food taste-test lab, a bacteria transplant, and into a live stomach to observe the fate of a meal.
Like all of Roach’s books, Gulp is as much about human beings as it is about human bodies"
I am about 30 pages in and so far it is interesting. Nothing we all don't already know: smell is the sense which most influences what we taste and if we like it more than our taste buds. Complex flavor descriptions are often more for marketing than quality. She throws in some humor to keep it light. I have wanted to read this for a while. Just sounded so different and bizarre of a book. The author, Mary Roach, gets pretty good reviews and has several similar books as well such as, Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers. I have high hopes for this one :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | That's awesome that you finished/liked it, Honibabi. I, too, like Twain's quotes. Funny, yet often insightful.
What is Gulp about?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello, everyone.
Welcome, Loolat!
I finished Puddn'head Wilson. I like it but I have to say Puddin'head's calendar quotes saved the book for me. I think it was a good view into society in 1894, as Mark Twain is well known for, but the plot barely held my interest.
My favorite calendar quote is: "Why is it that we rejoice at birth and grieve at a funeral? It is because we are not the person involved". I am a fan of Twain's philosophical writings, and this quote is a good representation of his views. I agree!
I will be starting Gulp by Mary Roach next.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Whoops, I forgot to mention that I'm done reading The Book Thief and have moved on to the Cussler book. Enjoying it so far, even though I haven't gotten very far yet.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, glad to hear you finished it, although it's a shame it didn't turn out the way you had hoped. Glad you're enjoying Men of Iron, that is a great book. It was even on my favorites list at one time, but then my tastes changed slightly. I still really like it, though. Pyle is a skillful author.
Loolat, welcome to the challenge! Glad that you're interested, we'd love to have you! If you ever have any questions, just ask, and I'll try to help you out if you need it. :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hi everyone, I'm new to bookmooch and love the season challenge so am hoping to join the next challenge ð I've read the book thief before and loved it
- Loolat | | (6 years ago) | I'm about 50 pages into The Book Thief. It is really weird, and the writing style takes some getting used to, but I'm enjoying it! The, um, narrator was an interesting choice for the author. I never would have expected what I thought was a historical fiction book to be quite like this, much less to enjoy it, but I can't wait to see what happens next!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Okay, got ya. No spoilers! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I like both: real characters and Fantasy (sometimes a little too perfect). Fantasy lets me break away from the day to day stress and not have to think too hard when I am reading. I can slip away and just enjoy a fun story. BUT, I still want an ending that is true to the characters rather than extreme personality shifts where everyone becomes perfect and all their worries are solved. LOL.
Don't write any spoilers on The Book Thief, Daisy. I think I am reading that one last. :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | No problem, Honibabi, glad it worked. :-)
It's great that you enjoyed Lionheart. I guess some people like perfection in stories... personally, I like all of the characters to be human, haha. Perfection makes stories mundane and predictable, in my mind. What's y'all's opinions?
I finished up Far from the Maddening Crowd a few days ago. Great book. I felt bad for the poor gentleman farmer, though...
Glad ol' Pudd'nhead Wilson is enjoyable for you!
I'm starting on The Book Thief next.
How are you coming along, Lyn?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, thanks for the tip about "read message menu". That worked. I just never had to do that before.
I finished Lionheart. I enjoyed it but it wrapped up a little too neatly for me. Too perfect of an ending. Then again it is fantasy.
I started Pudd'nhead Wilson. Just a few chapters in but really like it so far.
Thanks for the recommendation for Far From the Madding Crowd, Daisy. I will add to my reading list. I wasn't sure I would like it from the description on goodreads.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, glad to hear you're closed to finishing it. :-D
Honibabi, that book sounds very good. Glad to hear that you like it so much! And to take precedence over your Cleveland Indians...wow. LOL ;-)
I'm not sure why it isn't coming up for you. Did you try clicking on the menu bar near the top of the page that says "Read message menu", and then clicking on "Go to previous message"? That should bring it up.
I'm getting fairly close to finishing Far from the Maddening Crowd. It is a great story so far. It's got the strong female character, romance, and historical background that you usually like, Honibabi, so you'd probably enjoy it. I just wish I had the unabridged edition. It would be more enjoyable. Some of the things in here were oversimplified to the point that it makes you think "Hardy must have phrased that so much better", haha. Still a good read, though.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished the Summer Challenge late last week (review done on the Summer Challenge) and started the Autumn Challenge Sunday. I started with, Lionhart. I am just about done with it...LOL. I am a sucker for a decent historical romance. Even though my Cleveland Indians were playing the Yankees in the playoff last night, I was reading while watching. Blasphemy, I know. My husband looked at me and said, "reading another romance?" HA. I will be finished this week, if not tonight.
Lionhart is Prince Edward's most trusted and loyal knight during the civil war between his Father Henry III and Sir Simon de Monfort. He ends up challenged by The White Knight and falling in love with Vanora (love the name). There is the usual sexual tension but Vanora is a strong female character, which I love. It is not deep at all but just a fun read.
Daisy- unless I click on your link I don't automatically see the previous challenges any more. I wonder why?
Lyn, I usually (not this time) like to start with the longest and/or more complicated books first too. I trick myself mentally into thinking I can make up time with the shorter easier books at the end. I am not usually right..LOL
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Well, I'm like four chapters into Far from the Maddening Crowd, and I guess the book would be good if it wasn't so heavily abridged. It didn't say anything about it being abridged on the front or back covers, but it is. I guess it's better than nothing, but it would probably be more enjoyable if it was the original edition.
Honibabi, how are you coming along? How about you, Lyn?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I'll be sure to let you know what I think when I finish it, Lyn! :-) It's cool that you're about halfway done. I, too, would love to see your review of it when you finish.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I just finished Jurassic Park this morning. Loved it! I'd absolutely love to hear your review of Rising Sun when you read it. I'm curious to know if his other books are as good.
I'm planning on starting Far from the Maddening Crowd next. Not sure how well I'll like that one, but I'll give it a try... have either of you ever read it? Is it good?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Lyn, that sounds interesting. Not really my kind of read, but interesting. Hope that you like it! :-)
Honibabi, I'd love to hear what you think of Lionheart when you read it, it sounds wonderful! No, none of the previous challenges were deleted. It's right here:  Summer Book Challenge
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, are the previous challenges deleted? I don't see our previous challenges to update on Fluke...
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Welcome, Lyn! I own Clan of the Cave Bear, but have not read it. Looking forward to your review of Shelter's of Stone.
I am still finishing the summer challenge. It is my M.O. LOL I should finish by next weekend. I have family in town this weekend, so won't get much reading done.
Not exactly sure which book I will start with. Leaning toward, "Lionheart."
Daisy, glad you like Jurassic Park.You know it is a good book when you keep telling yourself, "just one more chapter." Then it is tomorrow and you have to get up in a half an hour. LOL
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I started reading Jurassic Park last night and ended up reading it until one in the morning, haha. Pretty good so far. I like his writing style.
Glad you're liking the book, Lyn! I, too, like stories about King Arthur. And I generally like Steinbeck's books, too, so that's a double bonus! What is Shelters of Stone about?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Welcome to the challenge, I am so happy that you could join us! Hope you have a good time. :-)
Wow, great choices! Men of Iron is a really good book, I've read that one. But some of those others you mentioned are definitely going on my TBR, haha!
Which one are you starting on first? I'm going to start on Jurassic Park pretty soon.
How about you, Honibabi? Which book are you starting first?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | No, no, of course not! I think that's awesome that you're reading it. As I recall, it was a pretty good book. Now I'll have to try and get an unabridged version of it, haha. :-)
Lionheart definitely sounds interesting. I'll have to add that one to my TBR if you read it and it turns out to be good. :-)
Hey, on the bright side, maybe if enough people use the un-word "Awesomer" it will become a word!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | My copy of Pudd'nhead is 203 pages. It is a Book-of-the-month club New York version. I purchased it from a second hand store that was closing. If you prefer I choose another book, just let me know.
Lionheart is a historical romance. I am pretty sure from the description that the title is just paying homage to the era and a most popular character of the age.
What? Awesomer isn't a word??? LOL
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Great choices! I love Mark Twain, that story included. My copy of it is shorter than 150 pages, though, but maybe yours isn't. :-) Mine might be abridged or something.
Lionheart sounds good! Is it about King Richard the Lionhearted?
That's awesome that we're both reading The Book Thief, it should be fun to compare notes! :-D I wonder if Stacy would like to read that one, too, when she comes back on? If so, a threesome would be even awesomer! (Don't you just love butchering the King's English, haha? ;-P)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Again, I am reminded that I have too many books as I search my shelves and find a book for 4 of the 6 categories. I have not graduated to 6 books yet...LOL
My choices are:
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "G". - "Gulp" by Mary Roach
3. Read a book written during the Victorian period (1837 to 1901) - "Pudd'n Head Wilson" by Mark Twain originally published in 1849.
4. Read a book taking place in the Middle Ages (usually dated as A.D. 476 to A.D. 1453). - "Lionheart" by Connie Mason taking place in AD 1248.
5. Read a book that was a "#1 New York Times Bestseller" (it usually says this on the cover if it is). - "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak.
Daisy, I have had, "The Book Thief," on my to read list for a little while. Should be fun to read the same book on this challenge!
Good luck and see you after 9/22 :)
- Aunt Bean |
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Summer Book Challenge
Starting June 21, and ending on September 22, I will be hosting my Summer Reading Challenge! The winner of Level 2 will be awarded a point by me (unless, of course, I win it!). For those who have not participated in my previous challenges, I'll put the rules below, but it's pretty easy.
A Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books (please list the books below), they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level before the end of the season wins! Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you chose as you read them. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me either on the forum or by email.
Thank you for your participation in my little battle-of-the-books. Happy reading! 1. Read a book by author Clive Cussler.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "F".
3. Read a book randomly drawn (with closed eyes) from your stack of to-be-read books.
4. Read a newly released book. (One from 2016 or 2017.)
5. Read a mystery.
6. Read a book written by an actor. My choices:
1. Poseidon's Arrow, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
2. Flood Tide, by Clive Cussler
3. The Spirit of the Border, by Zane Grey
4. Days of Insult, by Erin Eldridge
5. The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins
6. My Stroke of Luck, by Kirk Douglas
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Daisy
6 years ago
44 comments
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| (6 years ago) | I finished, Fluke. Better late than never, right? LOL. It was not an alien ship but a ship created by the "goo" which represents God in this story. It was OK. Not one of his better books. While I liked parts of it and I think Christopher Moore is really good at slipping in bible parallels, challenging them respectfully, this one just didn't have the punch and felt a little lazy.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Coolness! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Congratulations, Daisy!
So, Fluke, is inspired by Johah and the Whale, from the bible. In this case, the whale is an alien ship. True Christopher Moore fashion- writing stories based on centuries and varieties of speculation that may have become the basis for history of many religious stories. Like it but hoping he wows me in the end.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I finished the book, and the challenge, the other day, but forgot to post here! It was really good. Not the complex plot of some of his other books (which I actually like), but still really good.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I think I'll finish Poseidon's Arrow at 11:59 PM on the 21st, exactly, haha. I'm THAT CLOSE!
Thanks for the good luck wishes, and the same to you, Honibabi! :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I will finish the book in time... I will finish the book in time! Maybe if we chant together the energy will help us both! I am really going to try to finish by Sunday, but hopefully if I don't, I won't be that far away from finishing. I am about 100 pages in. Good luck.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Good suggestions, thank you! I think I'll use one of them in my Winter challenge, but I found enough ones for this challenge for now. :-)
Fluke sounds like a cute book! Glad that you're enjoying it so far. :-D
I will finish the book in time... I will finish the book in time... I will finish the book in time! I have to tell myself that, or else I mightn't! Hahaha.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Looking forward to your return, Stacy.
I am just on page 46 of Fluke and so far it is good. It is about scientists who study whales in Hawaii. Right now it appears a whale is sending messages to one of the scientists. The message was "bite me". The only thing I am gleaning so far is that the scientists are getting close to solving the language of the whale song. I now know that the "Fluke" is what the shape of the whale tail is called. As soon as I know the underlying message from Mr. Moore, I will share. He usually spoofs real and often serious or emotionally charged topics.
Daisy, I think a holiday of your choice or favorite holiday themed book might be fun for the winter challenge. Have you done a sports themed category yet? Revisit a book you have tried and couldn't finish? A book your mom/dad/sister/brother/kid picks? Good luck in the next topics and finishing the challenge. It will be close for me as well.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I finished up The Moonstone, and it was very good. Kept you wondering who stole it until the very end, where it had quite a twist ending. I enjoyed it a lot.
I'm starting on my Cussler next, and last. Hope I get it read in time! It's going to be awfully close!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I heard from Stacy, and she's been really busy lately and won't be able to get on here for a while. She didn't leave, she's just taking a break. Can't wait until you can join us again, Stacy!
Glad you finished the book! "Wow, you're on the last book already," was my first reaction, and then I'm like, "wait a minute, it's September already... I'm behind!" Haha. XD Time flies so fast!!!
I am indeed thinking up new categories! I'm always open to ideas, so if you could think of anything you'd like to see in the challenge, just let me know and I'll consider it. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hi Daisy and Stacy. I finished Where there is Smoke. I thought it was OK. Didn't wow me, but kept me interested. A few too many side stories around the main characters that I didn't think were necessary. I assume the author, Sandra Brown, was trying to give more life around the main characters and a better build up to the end. She kills off two surprising characters but I didn't feel attached to them despite her effort.
I am starting Fluke. I expect it to be off the wall and funny in true Christopher Moore fashion!
We are nearing the end. Good luck to both of you in finishing. Tell those pesky author friends to leave you alone for a little while. You have an important book challenge to finish...LOL.
Daisy, I expect you're starting to think of the next seasonal topics. Can't wait.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Glad you're gleaning some enjoyment from it! Hope it stays good all the way through. :-)
I'm adding you to the list of suspects... ;-p
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | So far, Where There is Smoke isn't bad. I typically don't care for books about family drama but this one is OK so far because the main male character, Key, sounds like someone I would love to meet ;). Hoping to finish it before the end of August.
I could use a super rare diamond....LOL.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Glad you had a nice trip, Honibabi!
That book sounds really cool. Glad you liked it! :-D
How is Where There's Smoke so far? Is it good?
I've been reading The Moonstone, and so far it is very, very good. It's so hard to figure out who did it! I know that it could go several ways... I mean, who DOESN'T have a motive for stealing a super rare diamond? Haha. I'm really enjoying it.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello,
I haven't been on because I was on vacation driving with my mom to visit family along the east coast for 2 weeks. Nice trip but also glad to be home. You are both moving through the challenge easily :)
I finished Rickle's book and I enjoyed it. Very easy read. He came across very genuine and likable. Fame didn't really get to his head. It doesn't actually sound like he ever considered himself famous.
I started Where There's Smoke by Sandra Brown. I am just 35 pages in. I thought I would get more reading done on the trip than I did.
Stacey, I read Beach House too and two thumbs down!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | That's awesome you like Grey so much. Funny story: we have a cat that comes around some times, and he's grey, so I named him Zane. I used to own another cat named Dirk Pitt, too, haha. Can you tell I'm a true bibliophile? XD
Forty Days sounds like a really good book. I'd love to know how you like it when you read it.
Stacy, I do believe that you will win this challenge! You read even faster than I do!
I finished Days of Insult the other day. It was pretty good... not a very favorite, but pretty good. The author's knowledge of his subject was, I thought, very impressive.
I'm switching the mystery book to The Moonstone, by Wilkie Collins. The other book is just too loooooong, haha. Close to 600 big pages. If I stick to that one, I doubt I'll have it finished by the deadline. As it is, The Moonstone is over 450 pages, so even with that one I may be cutting it close. I'm also switching my Clive Cussler choice to Poseidon's Arrow, so that Stacy and I could read the same thing and compare notes. ;-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Do you read many Zane Grey books, Stacy? I know you've read/owned at least one, because I mooched it from you, haha. He's one of my favorite Western authors.
Didn't you read Day of the Donald for #4? I'm not sure that it would fit in anywhere else.
Honibabi, how is your reading coming along? How are you enjoying your current book?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished The Spirit of the Border today. It was such a beautiful, sad, yet wonderful story, and I would highly recommend it. It's about two brothers, Jim and Joe, one a Christian missionary trying to convert the Indians, the other a trouble-making Indian hunter. They both love the same girl, and she likes both of them for their own unique personalities. Who will win her heart? I really loved this story, and would consider it one of Zane Grey's best.
I'm working my way through Days of Insult. So far it is good, and very realistic and historically accurate, but also rather crude and vulgar. Although I do not like that part of it, I can understand why it is there. War is crude, and those who fought in it were vulgar. That's just how things were. The book would be unrealistic if it was any other way.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Thanks for the tip about Patterson, guys. I've never read any of his books before, and now I'm pretty sure I don't want to, haha.
Rickle's Book sounds very enjoyable, I'd definitely like to keep my eyes open for it and see if I can pick up a copy of it somewhere.
Stacy, sorry to hear she never replied. Should be easy enough to pick another random book with closed eyed, though. That's probably the best category to change your mind on, because if's so easy to switch books, haha!
How was Oracus? Any good?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, a butler might have helped the story! LOL. I have yet to like a Patterson book. I just happened to have this one on my shelf to read AND it fit the mystery category. Mystery is not a genre I typically read. Not sure how I ended up owning this one. He continues to disappoint me. I don't go out of my way to read anything he writes, by himself or otherwise. Many of his books are in partnership with another author. I think this is number 3 that I have read.
Any who....I am enjoying Rickles' Book. Funny and very clean despite his act. Throw back to the day for sure when you didn't hang out all your dirty laundry. I don't mind because it is entertaining and I don't think he was one of the player comics/actors of his day. Usually, I feel like if your gonna write a biography, don't jip the reader! Put it out there or don't write the book for an easy profit. This book comes across pretty honest and sincere.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | The butler didn't do it after all? Who knew dear old Granny could do something like that... Yeah, I hate books like that, too. Then again, if you read more than one book by the same author, the unpredictable becomes EXTREMELY predictable.
I'm now reading The Spirit of the Border, by Zane Grey. So far it's very good. I usually enjoy his books.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished, "4th of July". It was OK. Easy read but I feel like the actual murderers were so unrealistic. It was like he picked the most unlikely characters just to make sure you didn't figure it out. Not because it really made sense.
Starting Rickles' Book by Don Rickles.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Just finished Flood Tide. It was very good, I enjoyed it. I'm not sure what book I'm going to start on next, but when I figure it out I'll let y'all know. ;-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, thanks for the info on Poitier, I didn't know that. Very interesting!
Honibabi, I've never even heard of Buchwald before I don't think. I'll have to keep my eyes open for his books now. :-) Sorry if you're not really enjoying 4th of July. :-( Maybe it'll get better, though. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, it is hard to keep up with you! LOL.
I enjoy Sidney Poitier as an actor, so I am interested in your thoughts on the book. "The Day of the Donald" is definitely going on my TBR list! I have "While Reagan Slept" by Buchwald on my shelf but haven't gotten to it yet. I read, "Too Soon to say Goodbye" by Art Buchwald which he wrote while he was suffering from a terminal illness. I enjoyed it and it made me want to read more of his books. I would read, "List of 10", but I am with you both that this type of book is not at the top of my list.
I am half way through 4th of July and there isn't much to say right now. ;(
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, no problem at all. :-) Glad you're pleased. I added the other books to the list, too... wow, you are a very busy reader! The Poitier book sounds interesting, I'd love to know more about it when you read it. :-D I saw him in at least one movie I can think of, The Greatest Story Ever Told, but I think that there were others that just currently slipped my mind.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, I'll be sure to let you know what I think of it when I read it. :-D
Stacy, I am so happy that you like the forum that much! I've learned about quite a few books that you guys introduced me to on here that I've added to my TBR books, as well!
List of 10 sounds like an interesting book. Not really my kind of book, but still interesting. :-)
Sounds like a mystery to me! :-)
I hope you don't mind, but I added your book list to the first post on this thread, with the books you've already read for the challenge and the ones you have yet to decide on. I really hope that's okay... Feel free to get rid of it if you don't want it there for some reason. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I hope to read the Cussler in this challenge!! I will definitely let you know what I think, whenever I finish it. I can't wait to hear what you think of Cold Mountain, Daisy.
Stacey, how are you doing? No pressure ;)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | No problem. :-) It's showing up now, and I mooched it from you. Thanks! :-D Hope you like the Cussler, and thanks for mooching it.
I'd love to see your review of it when you finish it! :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy for pointing that out. I just deleted and re-posted. I have no idea what the problem was. Checking out your list now....
Mooched your Cussler.
4th of July is typical Patterson. Won't have a solid opinion until the end. Easy read so far. Kinda predicable.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Haha, no need to feel obligated! I’m just a huge fan and love talking about books that I believe are very good. Don’t mind me. ;-)
That’s generous of you, Honibabi, thank you. But I don’t want you paying shipping, either, so I’ll tell you what… I’ll trade you! If you are interested in any of my books, including but not limited to the Cussler I put on there, just mooch it, and if you post Cold Mountain then I’ll mooch that book from you. Basically, we end up with the same amount of points we had before, and we’re just swapping the books. Sound good? :-)
Update: I found it in your inventory, but when you click on it and try to mooch it there is an error; it doesn't say you posted it. I think they have a name for books like that: ghost books. Maybe if you take it off and re-post it. *scratches head* That's weird.
What is 4th of July like so far? Is it good? Glad it’s a quick read for you!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Stacey, I am absolutely putting, "Escape from Red China" on my reading list! I have not read Poseidon's Arrow or any other Cussler book, but I do feel obligated to Daisy to at least read one. LOL.
Daisy - if you want Cold Mountain, it is yours. No points needed!! Let me know before it goes here or on another site I trade items on.
I am impressed. You are both obligated to authors! :)
I am moving pretty quickly through, "4th of July". Patterson writes in short chapters and simple dialogue so this one shouldn't take me long. Famous last words?? LOL
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Sounds good!
Yes, it is interesting, isn't it? XD Except for Flood Tide is what I'd call "educational fiction", unlike Escape From Red China, which sounds like nonfiction from your description.
I own that book, Poseidon's Arrow, and it looks good, but I have not read it yet. I heard that it was good, though, from a friend who has read it. When I have the time, and after I finish Flood Tide and one other book I'm reading (non-related to the challenge), then I'll make that the next one and maybe we can compare notes. That should be fun! :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, I really want to read that book some time, it sounds very interesting. If I get an excess of credits, I'm going to order it. Thanks for telling me about it, and thanks for the review, it was good. :-)
Stacy, that book about China sounds pretty interesting. Thanks for sharing about it. :-D And yup, List of 10 would qualify for that. I'm going to be reading Days of Insult because I promised the publisher, so we're even, haha. ;-) I'd love to hear what you think of it, it sounds interesting.
So far I'm really enjoying Flood Tide. Over half-way through, and I still haven't figured out why it was named that (it has more to do with China smuggling immigrants into the states than it does flood tides), but I think I'm just getting to the part where it comes into the story, so that will be interesting.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished Cold Mountain - See review in Spring Challenge.
I am starting James Patterson and Maxine Paetro's, "4th of July".
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Awesome that you're almost done the book, I'd love to hear what you thought of it when you finish it! :-)
I'm slightly over half-way through Flood Tide, and so far it is very good, but it's kind of slow-moving for a Cussler action/adventure. Taking a while to finish it up.
How about you, Stacy? Where are you at currently in your reading?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I should finish Cold Mountain in the next few days! So close! lol.
I will post soon about my next book. Hope to hear from everyone soon!!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I am half way done with Cold Mountain and I am really enjoying it! I know I will be starting late, but the books for the current challenge aren't very long, so I hope to get them read in time!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Those books definitely sound interesting, Honibabi! Especially the Sandra Brown book and the one about Don Rickles (who I always thought was hilarious!). Inca Gold is a good one... not my favorite, but the favorite of a friend of mine, and pretty good still. I don't really mind paying shipping, but it's nice of you to think of that. :-)
I finished My Stroke of Luck, and I'm now reading Flood Tide, which is a looooong book and may take me a while to get through.
What book are you planning on reading first? And by the way, how was Cold Mountain?
Stacy, how are you coming along on the book you're reading? Would you like book suggestions for the challenge?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello, everyone.
Even though I am currently finishing Cold Mountain from the Spring Challenge, here are my 4 Summer choices:
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "F". - Fluke by Christopher Moore. One of my favorite authors. Off the wall, but smart and funny.
3. Read a book randomly drawn (with closed eyes) from your stack of to-be-read books. - Daisy, can you believe it? I picked Where there's Smoke by Sandra Brown. I swear my eyes were closed! LOL
5. Read a mystery. - 4th of July by James Patterson
6. Read a book written by an actor. - Rickles' Book, A Memoir by Don Rickles (Actor and Comedian) with David Ritz.
As I am trying to finish what I already own, I decided to forgo the Cussler book this time. My brother-in-law thought he owned, Inca Gold, but he couldn't find it. If he had it, I would have read that one. Daisy, I appreciate your offer, but I don't want you to have to pay shipping.
Good luck, everyone!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Great, I'm glad you like the categories I picked. :-) I think that Douglas is a great actor, too. Have you ever seen The War Wagon? According to this book, he did his own stunts in that movie, and he spent a whole lot of time and energy learning cool ways to mount a horse... that's why you see him doing all sorts of flying leaps, mounting from the back, etc. He supposedly used a miniature trampoline for momentum, and John Wayne was laughing at him for it. XD Anyway, I finished that book, and it was very good. I really enjoyed it.
Can't wait to see what books you guys choose!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I started on My Stroke of Luck last night, and it turned out to be a very quick read. I'm over 3/4ths done it already. What I've read is very good. The book is about Kirk Douglas and how he conquered over a stroke he had that left his side weak, his face droopy, and a speech impediment so bad that nobody understood him. He goes through the process of learning to talk all over again, and he succeeds so well that he got back into movies after his stroke! It's a very encouraging story that give you a whole new look at the man behind the movies.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Oops, sorry. I replied to this question in the Spring challenge. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, what is your favorite Cussler book?
- Aunt Bean |
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Spring Book Challenge
Starting March 20, and ending on June 21, I'm holding my Spring Seasonal Reading Challenge for any and all interested in participating! The winner of Level 2 will be awarded a point by me (unless, of course, I win it!). For those who have not participated in my previous challenges, I'll put the rules below, but it's really quite simple. To sum the rules up quickly and briefly, a Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books (please list the books here), they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level wins! Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you read for this challenge throughout the season. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me either on the forum or by email. Thanks for joining, and I hope you have fun! :-) The categories:
1. Read a book by author Sandra Brown.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the tite being "E".
3. Read a book that was also a movie.
4. Read a book with a land formation in the title. (Prairie, mountain, plateau, hill, valley, etc.)
5. Read a book by an author from your home state.
6. In memorium to the sad loss of the Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Baily Circus, read a book about a circus. (If you can't think of any, I can give you some recommendations, as I have read several good ones.) My choices:
1. Rainwater, by Sandra Brown
2. The Eye of Heaven, by Clive Cussler and Russell Blake
3. Jurassic Park, by Michael Crichton (I've heard so much about it, that I figured I'd give it a try.)
4. The Gates of the Mountains, by Will Henry
5. Dr. Frau: A Woman Doctor Among the Amish, by Grace H. Kaiser
6. Struggles and Triumphs, by P.T. Barnum
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Daisy
7 years ago
55 comments
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| (6 years ago) | I finished, "Cold Mountain", and really liked it!!! The only part of the movie I remember is NOT in the book. Not surprising, BUT I think that particular wrenching part of the film tried to pull together in one scene the many horrible accounts of killing in the book so that you really got it. The book talks about everything in one even tone which is why I think the bad reviews don't get it. It involves the heartless killing of a child. Children were adults very early in life back then. The happy and sad parts of just surviving during the civil war were similar. The horrible things and meaningless killing were as much a part of life as tending the land and having babies. There was no "drama" there was just survival and living. I really appreciated this book and highly recommend!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Stacey, I didn't finish either :( I am reading my last book from the Spring Challenge now, Cold Mountain. I really like it so far. Better late than never, right? LOL
I finished The Devil Wears Prada and enjoyed it. It was funny and realistic. I worked for a women who was so smart but yelled at staff often and publicly. It was a very political environment with a lot of pressure from local, federal, and advocacy groups, which I get, but she was out of control! I left after 3 months which really made her unhappy with me, but I just couldn't continue to work for her. There was no call for her behavior. As a supervisor, myself, there is just no need. I do have to say, though, after that I want to tell people how stinking good they really have it. LOL.
See you in the Summer Challenge.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | It's on my main forum. Here's the link to it: Summer Book Challenge
No problem. I have them on a different device, but I'll try to send them to you again some time soon. :-)
Thanks. Good luck to you, too! :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Today! Yippee! :-) The challenge is up and ready for participants. Hope you like the categories, and may the best reader win!
Glad you enjoyed the book enough to want to read the whole series. Did you get my email with the Apple eBooks in it, by the way? The author said to feel free to share them, so I thought that you'd appreciate them. :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, my personal favorite is probably either The Sea Hunters (nonfiction) or The Navigator (fiction). However, I have a spare copy of his book Black Wind, and that one is pretty good too. If you take a look at it and think it's something you'd like, I'd be more than happy to give it to you. I'll post it shortly, and if you mooch it from me, I'll just smooch you back the point. :-) It's not in very good shape, but it's fully readable, and like I said, it's free. But there are lots of his books available, so you should be able to find something that interests you. You may also like his Fargo Adventures series, those books are pretty good too. So is his book The Storm.
Stacy, how are you coming along on your Spring books? Think you'll have them all done by Summer? And by the way, did you see the Appel ebooks I sent you? The author emailed me a whole bunch of his books, and he said I could share them with whoever I wanted to, so I figured you would probably like them. I can send some of them to you, too, Honibabi, if you are interested.
And by the way, neither of you stink at the challenge, you're both doing terrific. And it's so much fun to get to know eachother through the books we read together. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I think I am going to have to call, "Uncle" and not finish the spring challenge. Cold Mountain may take tooooo long. I will finish, The Devil Wears Prada. I am close on that one.
The Summer Reading challenge looks good to me, but I will have to find some books. Cussler is not in my arsenal, but I look forward to reading one.
I kinda suck at these challenges. LOL!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Awesome, glad I could introduce you to something new that interests you. :-)
Hey all, just wanted to let y'all know that my Summer Reading Challenge has just been posted! I'd love to hear what you think of the categories I chose. :-D
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, you definitely have me interested in reading the stories the movie, Million Dollar baby is based on! The book collection is on my Goodreads reading list.
I have never read Christine, but that is a bummer about the car in the movie.
I am sure I will enjoy Cussler :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | No problem at all, glad to help! :-D How are you liking The Summoned King so far?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I've never seen any of those movies or read those books, Honibabi, so I can't really comment on them. I do know, however, that the car that stars in the movie Christine is not the same year car that was in the Stephen King book. Since the car is such a huge part of the story, I thought it was odd that they changed it. :-)
Honibabi, I think you'll enjoy Cussler if you give him a try. :-D
I finished the last book today! It was pretty good, but really the best two stories were the ones used in the making of the film. Speaking of which, the movie is generally known to be based off of the story by the same name, Million Dollar Baby, but what is not as well-known is the fact that it was really two completely different short stories by the same author that were combined together that formed the basis for the movie. The other story was called Frozen Water, and it was actually from that story that the "colorful characters" I mentioned previously were taken. My favorite character was Dangerous Dillard Fightin' Philipo Bam-Bam Barch, called Danger, a slow young man who adds comic relief to both the story and the movie with his antics. I still laugh every time at the scene where he's staring intently at a frozen bottle of water from the water cooler a long time, pondering it, and then finally gets the courage to ask somebody, "How do you think they get that big hunk of ice through the little hole?" LOL
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, I would suggest "Les Liaisons Dangereuses" (the book title) and the movie, "Dangerous Liaisons." The only time I was glad I saw the movie first or I would have had a hard time keeping the book characters straight. The book is just letters back and forth between people all with French names and titles. Hard to keep straight but great story! Also, the book and Movie, "Misery" by Stephen King are dead on. Loved them both. The Harry Potters are pretty close too.
Daisy, I am not familiar with Mr. Popper's Penguins. It makes sense to embellish and add characters to create a movie around a short story and I don't think anyone is disappointed if the integrity of the story is there. To totally disregard the original story for entertainment is just crap! LOL
I guess I need to start looking for a Cussler book :)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, that’s awesome that you like Crichton so much! His books definitely sound interesting to me. I didn’t actually know that he was the man behind E.R., though… that’s pretty interesting, thanks for the trivia. :-)
Cussler is actually my absolute favorite author of modern days, for somewhat similar reasons. His books have a lot of cutting edge technology also, some of which it quite fascinating. His in-depth talk of quantum computers, complex satellite imagery that can see the ocean floor, underground mag-lev (magnetic levitation) trains, holographic computer-generated images, and things like that (some of which he wrote about before they were commonly known about or understood) always interests me. He’s been writing since the ‘70s, and he still manages to crank out around six books a year on top of his TV show The Sea Hunters, which is pretty amazing considering he’s getting up there in age. He really set the pace for a lot of modern day action/adventure novels with his combination of new technology, pieces of history interwoven in the story, intense fast-paced action scenes, plausible scientific explanations for incredible phenomena, humor woven in, classic cars mentioned, etc.
(By now you’ve both probably guessed why I switched books, and which authors will be featured in my up-and-coming challenges. ;-D)
That book The Summoned King does sound interesting. It’s good to see more people writing and reading Christian fiction, when so much other fiction is on the verge of trashy. :-)
Honibabi, I know exactly what you mean about movies vs. books. I remember as a child reading Mr. Popper’s Penguins. Have you ever seen that movie? It doesn’t even have the same BASIC storyline, or even the same characters really, and it is almost unrecognizable from the children’s story. I also saw the movies Raise the Titanic and Sahara, which were both based off of the Cussler books of the same names, and they are both very different from the books. After seeing the movies, Cussler was reportedly so disappointed with them that he swore to never let any of his books get made into movies again. An example of one of the biggest discrepancies in Sahara: the sidekick Al Giordino in the books is this burly Italian guy with dark hair and dark eyes who’s “built like a tank”, while the guy portraying him in the movie is Steve Zahn, blond and sort of skinny and definitely nothing like the character in the book in looks or actions. Remarkably, I really enjoyed the movie, just for its own sake and not because of it being based off of the book.
The book Million Dollar Baby is actually a collection of boxing stories, only one of which is the title story which the movie was based on. I finished that story the other day, and it was very good. I liked it probably just as much as the movie. The movie was better in some ways, and the story was better in others. For instance, the movie has some extra characters who add color and personality to it, but the book goes deeper into the main characters’ background stories and their inner thoughts. For the most part, though, the story and movie were very similar, right down to the boxing trainer liking pie. I’d watch the movie first, and then read the book. Leastways, that’s what I did, and I enjoyed both. :-)
Have a great trip, Honibabi!
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Thanks, Stacy. You shed some light on Crichton's books. I am always skeptical of how close a movie is to the book. I almost always prefer the book. I think that a movie cannot usually convey the emotions, undertones, symbolism, or depth of meaning in scenes that a book can and therefore changes are made to get the overall point across. Sometimes, however, they simply make changes for entertainment. The last "Bram Stoker's Dracula" is NOT Bram Stoker's Dracula. The original movie, "Nosferatu" is much closer to the book. The most recent movie added things that were not in the book and distorted the characters.
So, when I see a movie, "based on the book by"..., I try to avoid it until I read the book never trusting that the movie is as true to the book as I want it to be.
I may not finish this challenge on time. I am slogging through The Devil Wears Prada but spending more time in the yard or at work now that summer is here. I like it. I just like the warm weather better. LOL. I am traveling at the end of the month so I am hoping that I can finish The Devil Wears Prada in time that I can finish Cold Mountain on the plane. I will be late but I will finish my books!
Daisy, I definitely want to know what you think about Million Dollar Baby. I have the movie but haven't watched it. I want to know if you suggest the movie or book first ;)
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Y'know what, I think I'll switch the book-made-into-movie choice out. I recently got a copy of Million Dollar Baby: Stories from the Corner by F.X. Toole, and because I enjoyed the Clint Eastwood movie so much, I think I'll read that instead and save Jurassic Park for another time.
I don't know if he'd be on the list or not, I've never read his books before so I really couldn't say. But somebody must have liked the books, for the movies to have been made and to have become so popular, right?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I have only seen Crichton and Clancy movies. I Have never read the books. I have not read Cussler or Connelly. I don't think I know enough about the topic to have an opinion as to whether or not they are the father's of modern fiction.
I am open to reading books by them for sure. There are just so many good books and author's out there. Would Crichton be on the list if it were not for the movies???
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, that book does sound very interesting! I like quality historical fiction, so I'll have to keep my eyes open for that one! Thanks for telling us about it. :-)
I finished reading Struggles and Triumphs yesterday, but forgot to post here when I went online. Duh. XD Anyway, it was quite good, although a little slow-moving in parts. I found it very interesting that Barnum made his millions on the American Museum, and retired a wealthy man who never needed to work again, but got so bored of not doing anything that he formed his travelling circus as something to occupy his time with. I hadn't know that; the famed circus almost never existed!
I'm starting on my next (and last) book, Jurassic Park, sometime today or tonight, in all likelihood. What do y'all think of Crichton? I think I read somewhere that the fathers of modern fiction are the Four C's: Clive Cussler, Tom Clancy, Michael Crichton, and Michael Connelly. I'd like to test that theory sometime by reading books by all of them, because I own at least one book by each of them, although Cussler is the only one I've actually read before. What do you guys think? Have either of you read the Four C's?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | @ Honibabi, haha, that's funny... although at the time, it must have been pretty embarrassing. Thank you for the wishes of luck, and the same to you! I am indeed planning the next challenge. I have a heap of categories for both this challenge and my next one that I wrote up, but I'm always welcoming new ideas, so if either of you have any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :-)
@ Stacy, yes, I hate it when the program autocorrects completely legitimate words into weird ones. And as to the next categories, I usually keep people guessing until about a week before the new season starts, so y'all will be able to check 'em out then. :-) I'm glad you liked The Silent Land. What was it about? Was it historical fiction or nonfiction?
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Daisy - no worries! Open forums are about open discussion. Typo's and miscommunication are bound to happen. At work I actually put in a work order and instead of typing panel typed, "penal". You can imagine the ribbing I got from the guys for that one. :)
Chugging along with Devil Wears Prada. I always seem to be "chugging along" lol.
We are nearing the end. Good luck finishing to both of you and enjoy the holiday weekend.
I am sure you are thinking about the next challenge, Daisy. Can't wait for the categories!!
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, thank you for the link, and I'm sorry about the misunderstanding. I should have realized what you meant. Don't feel bad about having a typo, it's not like I've never done that before also, haha. It happens to the best of spelllers. ;-P
Stacy, I'll certainly tell you when I read it. I'm supposed to receive it via email any day now. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, you are correct. It was a typo. I meant era.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Daisy, here is the link to one of the articles: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2017/01/14/ringling-bros-circus-close-after-146-years/96606820/
I love Daisies too. They are so pretty. I wish they were perennials.
Stacey, I looked Appel up and have put a few of his books on my reading list on goodreads.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Honibabi, I'm glad that the book is enjoyable! I've seen plenty of materialistic people out there, so I know they exist. But it's a shame they have to be like that. One of my favorite lines when talking about materialism: "Have you ever seen a Hearse pulling a U-Haul?" Clive Cussler said that, although I doubt that he said it first. You can't take it with you.
What is the end of an error? Circus's traveling by train? Ringling Bros. & Barnum and Baily Circus was actually the biggest circus in America (and still is, as far as I know), so it doesn't surprise me that they still use the train. I actually can't imagine any other way for them to get all their animals, tents, oddities, acrobats, props, wagons, etc. to as many places as they do/did without trains. It would take forever to travel by car/bus, and besides, it must be pretty hard to find elephant-sized trailers to hook up on behind. It would make quite a caravan. THAT sounds like an error to me. And traveling by air or sea both have their limits, too. How else would they travel?
Or did you mean that the circus itself was an error? If that was what you meant, then why? I'm just curious. :-)
Glad you had a nice Mother's Day with your Mom! :-D Sounds like a great time. I spent Mother's Day with my Mom, too, chatting about gardening and stuff like that, and I gave her some Daisies to plant. (She likes Daisies, too.)
I might finish pretty close to the deadline, too. Struggles and Triumphs is a longish book (abt. 400 pages), and after that I still have Jurassic Park (also 400 pages, but with smaller pages). Oh well, we've still got a whole month to finish. :-)
Stacy, it's great you liked the book so much. It currently looks like I might be getting a copy of Appel's newest ebook, The Mask of Sanity, in exchange for a review, so I'm excited about that. I'll let you know what I think of it when I read it, for sure! Have you heard of that book yet? I don't even know if it's hit the shelves in book form yet. Here's part of the description of it from LibraryThing:
"On the outside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a pillar of the community: the youngest division chief at his hospital, a model son to his elderly parents, fiercely devoted to his wife and two young daughters. On the inside, Dr. Jeremy Balint is a high-functioning sociopath—a man who truly believes himself to stand above the ethical norms of society. As long as life treats him well, Balint has no cause to harm others. When life treats him poorly, he reveals the depths of his cold-blooded depravity."
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I am enjoying The Devil Wears Prada so far. It is hard to believe people like Miranda Priestly (the "devil") actually exist and how do you become so materialistic and arrogant??? Unfortunately, I am working on a new contract at work so my time is scarce, but I am chugging through. Not for lack of interest. I find myself laughing out loud while reading this one.
I heard that P.T. Barnum is closing a few more traveling Circus' this month I believe. They are the last circus to travel by train. The end of an error.
I have fur babies and am a proud Aunt. I spent Mother's Day hanging with my mom doing some shopping. We live about 1.5 hours apart so we often meet at the outlets between us for shopping and lunch. Happy Mother's Day to both of you.
I think I will be close finishing, AGAIN! Darnit.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | I decided upon P.T. Barnum's Struggles and Triumphs. I actually recall having started on this book once before and not finishing it (I used to be a lot more interested in fiction than nonfiction, and now it's almost the other way around, haha), but I think I'll be able to get all the way through it this time. I generally like books about the circus; I find them quite interesting.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I finished The Gates of the Mountains last night, and I enjoyed it very much. Some of Will Henry's books are only so-so, but a few others are terrific, and I'd say that this fits into the second category. I'm not sure which book I'm going to read next... I'll post when I decide on one, LOL.
So, how are Einstein's Beach House and The Devil Wears Prada coming along? Still enjoying them?
Stacy: Thanks, Happy Mother's Day to yourself (if you're a Mom)! :-D
It's actually published by Good Books, a little Pennsylvania publisher. She might be involved in it or have founded it, though. Often authors who self-publish create their own publisher. And Kaiser is/was from PA, so it would make sense if that's the case.
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I don't think you'll be disappointed. :-) Hope you enjoy them if you find them!
That's good that you're enjoying the book!
I'm about 3/4 of the way through Gates of the Mountains, and it is still very good, but perhaps a little more "fiction" than it is "historical". For instance, I doubt if in real life that William Clark and Sacajawea were in love with each other but held apart by her marriage to the Frenchman Charbonneau (I think that was his name) and his baby inside her... it seems like a little bit of "author license" to me. But I was reading it for enjoyment anyway, and it is plenty enjoyable still. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | I trust your judgement, Daisy. I will pick up Dr. Frau and The Gates of the Mountains if I come across it.
So far, The Devil Wears Prada is lighthearted and funny. I think it will be a fun and easy read.
- Aunt Bean | | (6 years ago) | Stacy, thank you for that information about Appel. I'll have to give his books a try some time. :-)
Honibabi, I'm so glad that you liked the book so much! That's awesome. And thank you for the in-depth review and the excerpt. :-D Very interesting-sounding book. And, I don't know how it got published either, but don't let the typos discourage you from reading the book; it was still great. :-)
- Daisy | | (6 years ago) | Hello, Daisy and Stacy. I finished Paradise and am starting, "The Devil Wears Prada".
I am so glad I re-read this book. At the end it was like coming out of a dark tunnel and into the light. I couldn't stop thinking about it and ended up having trouble falling asleep.
The dark tunnel is the history and stories of so many characters as they try to build a town and life safe for ex-slaves but end up falling into the same pitfalls the human race eventually falls into. Fear, male ego, a sense of superiority and judgement of things we don't understand lead to a tragedy that exposes the real people within. There is a religious/spiritual element that lifts this book up in classic Toni Morrison style. The spirit that so many cultures believed in but modern religion calls evil. She talks about Piedade which I thought was an African goddess, but it is the name of a Portuguese town (where one of the characters was saved from) and surname which means pity, godliness, compassion and mercy. There is a strong message that that women are Piedade and are on earth to save it. I love the way her female characters are so realistic and how she documents the the great secret strength, importance, weakness and ultimate enlightenment that so many women experience on their journey through this world.
Toni Morrison weaves in so much symbolism in the style of John Irving that you just have to do your best to interpret it. Her writing style takes so many turns and she constantly references previous parts of the book without clear identifiers and future parts of the book that you really have to pay attention.
I feel like I have to share the following piece: "Billie Delia was perhaps the only one in town who was not puzzled by where the women were or concerned about how they  their bodies disappeared. She had another question: When will they return? When will they reappear, with blazing eyes, war paint and huge hands to rip up and stomp down this prison calling itself a town? ...A backward noplace ruled by men whose power to control was out of control and who had the nerve to say who could live and who not and where; who had seen in lively, free, unarmed females the mutiny of the mares and so got rid of them."
I thought the book was OK until everything came together in the final 20 pages or so and I LOVED it.
Daisy - I have never read a book plagued by typos and grammar errors. How does that even get published??
Stacy - I love off-the-wall sense of humor so I will be putting Eistein's Beach house on my reading list.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Glad my reviews were helpful to you!
And, I have really no clue how so many typos got in there. I wonder if they have a "revised revised edition", haha.
Glad you like the book so far! What is it about?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Stacy, that is quite fascinating. It's been quite a while since I last read that book, so I'll have to reread it sometime in the future, keeping what you said here in mind. Thank you for such an in-depth review!
I just finished Dr. Frau, and I really enjoyed it. What she says about the Amish and Mennonite families in PA, and the way they live, is quite true to life. I've read "Amish fiction" where everything was a mass of confused stereotypes, but since this book is basically just the author's memoirs with the names and places slightly changed, it was much more realistic. I actually know some families that are much like those discussed in the book. And what she said about how even though the Amish and Mennonite families work hard for their money and often don't have very much, they are very generous people and often show up at the doorstep bearing gifts like produce, baked goods, fresh meat, etc., is also quite true. My one complaint about the book is that, even though I have the "Revised Edition", it is so full of typos and misspellings that at times it can even be hard to read.
I'm now reading The Gates of the Mountains. So far it is quite good, one of the best Will Henry books I've yet to read. It is a historical fiction novel about the little-known life of a real life man who made the famed journey with Lewis and Clark, but who disappeared from the records before the expedition was complete. No grave can be found with his name on it, and he was never recorded as seen again. Will Henry fills in the gaps with what he thinks might have happened to this mysterious man.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I do know Wee Willie Winkie and I never really thought too hard about that one. I didn't understand it as a kid and now as an adult revisiting it, WOW. LOL. Pretty creepy Mr. Winkie is. ;)
One of my favorite books growing up was a collection of Mother Goose stories so I am familiar with many of the popular short tales. I used to love reading that book.
At one of my jobs for Halloween my unit was the "Twisted Fairy Tales of Mother Goose". It was great. We had: Mary Ate her Little Lamb; Mother Hubbard with Body Parts in her Cupboard, Jack be Nibble, Jack be Quick, Jack Caught Fire Jumping over the Candlestick and several more clever twisted tales.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Very interesting conversation about fairy tales. I read somewhere that they were also often used as a way to scare kids away from poor behavior. If you have ever read any Irish tales about fairies, they are pretty scary little creatures. Leprechauns weren't always very pleasant either.
Daisy, you are moving right along as usual! Glad you like your choices so far.
Stacy, did you figure out books 5 and 6 yet?
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | You're quite welcome, hope you enjoy it! :-D
Thank you very, very much for this information. It's quite interesting, even fascinating, to read about the origins of such deeply engrained rhymes and ditties.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Thanks! :-)
I've heard of that, too. I always thought it interesting. There's a good book about that that you'd probably be interested in, called Stories of Lost Israel in Folklore by Rev. James B. Haggart. It's about how many fairy tales (Jack and the Beanstalk, Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, Hansel and Gretel, etc.) are based on Bible stories retold so that their children could better remember them.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Finished The Eye of Heaven, and started on Dr. Frau. The Eye of Heaven was a real gem... and I mean that in two ways, as in the story there is a huge emerald of incalculable value called the eye of heaven, which is what the two main characters (Sam and Remi Fargo, philanthropist treasure hunters who donate their findings to museums) are searching for.
Dr. Frau is quite good so far, and is somewhat reminiscent of James Herriot's books, only it's a lady doctor treating the Amish farmers, rather than a male veterinarian treating the English farmer's livestock. The writing style even has some similarities, and the characters in both stories have equal amounts of personality.
Honibabi, I wish you the best of luck in finishing your books on time. There's still plenty of time to go, though, so it still looks quite promising. :-) Glad you're enjoying the book!
Stacy, that is very interesting, and quite astute of you to point it out. I do remember hearing about that somewhere before, although today, as you say, it is usually taken at face value as a children's story book. Many classic "children's" books are actually like that, I hear, and have double meanings for insightful people.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | While Paradise is easier to read the second time around, I am now at the part where I stopped before. LOL. I do like it. I can get through about 20 pages at a time. If I can complete it by the end of April, I think I can stay on track. I will need to read, The Devil Wears Prada, relatively quickly because Cold Mountain looks like it could take every bit of time I will have left. ;)
Alice in Wonderland is on my reading list for eventually. Einstein's Beach House sounds interesting. I look forward to hearing your reviews, Stacy.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | @ Honibabi, how are you liking Paradise so far? Is it easier to read this time around?
@ Stacy, hope you have fun! :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Welcome, Stacy!
Still working on Paradise :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Great choices! I was actually just looking at Einstein's Beach House, and wondering if it was any good. Could you tell me what you thought of it when you finish it?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | You're more than welcome!
You make a list of the books you want to read for the challenge, numbered according to the category the books fit into, like I did in my first post. And then you post the list here, and then you try to be the first to finish all the books on it. If you choose to do a Level 2 challenge (6 books), and are the first to finish it, then you win a free book point! (And since I'm the only other Level 2 participant, you have a very good chance, haha.) If you can't decide on a book for a particular category, you can write TBD (to be decided) and fill it in later.
As you read the books, feel free to share which books they are and what you think of them, and maybe a bit about them if you'd like.
If you ever need any help with anything about this challenge, or help choosing books for it, feel free to contact me and I'll do what I can to help.
By the way, I'm almost done Eye of Heaven. It was a great book.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hmmm, good question. Yeah, sure, go for it! And I'd love to have you join in the challenge, if you're considering it. :-D Hope you have fun!
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Thanks, sounds interesting! (Not quite my type of reading, though.) :-)
Thank you! Good luck on your collection, too! And so far, The Eye of Heaven is quite good.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Paradise is hard to summarize for me and I didn't find a good one to quote, but Morrison writes books that portray the back story of black and African - Americans throughout history and particularly women. This book is about a town founded by freed slaves not accepted by white or lighter black communities and a convent near them now used as a boarding house of sorts. The community thinks the convent is immoral and attacks it but there is a lot of story about several characters and the town itself that take you on their journey and struggle to get to such extremes. Her characters, in general, are just survivors of their situations in life. While she writes about the black experience, the overarching plots cross cultures often.
Good luck reading all those Cusslers! I collect Johanna Lindsay. She writes historical romances and I just love her. I have not read all her books but she doesn't come out with new books quite so often. I have read about 40 of them. I am still on the look out for some of her very early ones, but I have two bookshelves of her. Just fun characters and stories. I have to start her books when I have nothing else to do because I just can't stop once I start. LOL.
Hope you are enjoying The Eye of Heaven.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | The book sounds interesting. I like books with complex plots, interesting characters, and unexpected twists. Hope you enjoy it! What is it about?
Haha, reading all of Cussler's books is actually my goal. He wrote 76 books so far. I own 58 currently, and I've read probably about 3/4ths of them. XD I want to get (and read) all of them some day. It's hard to do, because he comes out with like 5 or 6 new books every year! LOL
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I started, Paradise. It turns out I tried and failed to read this book previously. I forgot about that, but instantly when I started reading I remembered the situations and characters. I did not finish it the first time. I love Toni Morrison but find her difficult to read. I often have to go back and re-read paragraphs because I lose track of who said what and sometimes have to read a line several times to figure out what she is referring to.
Despite all this, I like reading her books because of the depth of the stories. I have only disliked one so far, The Bluest Eye.
Because this is my second attempt it is coming together much easier for me. Paradise is complex, like Beloved, and jumps around through the history of the characters. I know I will be impressed by the end.
With the seasonal challenge forum, Daisy, you are going to read every Cussler book in no time. LOL How many haven't you read?
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Glad you liked it. Yeah, Brown was hit-or-miss with me, too. :-)
I think I’ll read The Eye of Heaven, by Clive Cussler, next. I’m looking forward to it, it’ll probably be good.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished Hidden Fires. I liked it, but not a keeper for me. I have one more Sandra Brown on my shelf, Where there is Smoke. Another romance. I will get to it eventually :) So far, Sandra Brown has been hit and miss for me in general. If I come across Rainwater, I will have to pick it up.
I will start Paradise, by Toni Morrison next.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I finished Rainwater so quickly, and liked it so much, that I decided to read Mean Streak also. I just finished that one. Both books were, as you said, quite the page-turners. I literally couldn't put them down! XD
I likes the male characters better than the female characters, too, in Mean Streak, but in Rainwater I liked both and only disliked the antagonist. Brown seems to be a true master of the "plot twist". Both books had several unexpected turns to them, and had twist endings, which I enjoyed. I got rid of Mean Streak, but Rainwater is not only a keeper but one I'll be rereading some time in the future. It was comparable to A Farewell to Arms, by Ernest Hemingway, which was surely Brown's goal because she mentions the book frequently in it. It had a bittersweet ending that actually brought tears to my eyes!
Thanks for the info on the YouTube videos, that does sound interesting. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hi, Daisy.
I am about half way through Hidden Fires. Per usual, I like Brown's male characters more than her female characters. I like this story far better than Best Kept Secrets. It is a page turner despite some of the situations that have me rolling my eyes. Will probably finish over the weekend.
I saw on goodreads that Sandra Brown had several YouTube videos about Rainwater if you are interested in looking them up, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | The challenge starts today! Yay!
I started on Rainwater, and it's one of those books that is very hard to put down, so I'll probably be done it pretty quickly. It's very good, but I see a little bit of historical inaccuracies in it, such as the main character calling the doctor at the slightest thing. During the early 1930s, people were more self-reliant, and they did not turn to the medical profession unless something was a dire emergency. Not an elderly gentleman falling out of his bed with a thump in the middle of the night, like in this story. As a fictional book, however, history aside, it is a captivating novel.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I'll start out on the 20th with my Sandra Brown book, too. By the way, I only today came across a copy of Sandra Brown's book Mean Streak, which looks from the cover like one of her mysteries, so if I end up not liking Rainwater I have another one to turn to.
I hope you enjoy the book, Honibabi! :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Daisy- Hidden Fires is one of Brown's modern romances. I am not usually a fan of modern romances. I prefer historical ones, but I loved Brown's "Slow Heat in Heaven". This will only be my 3rd Sandra Brown book and so far she is 1 for 2 in my book. I hope this one is better than the last one I read for your Fall challenge.
cocoGerman said she also writes mystery. Apparently she has delved into different genres. Looking forward to what you think about the one you are reading.
I am finishing a non-challenge book, The Woman who is always tan and has a flat stomach: and other annoying people. It's comical. I will start the Spring challenge with Hidden Fires.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Interesting choices, Honibabi! Thanks for joining! :-)
I'd love to know your opinions of Hidden Fires when you read it. What kind of book is it? The Sandra Brown I picked is a Depression-era historical fiction book.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hello, Daisy!
I will again be reading 4 books for the challenge. I am going to have to stay on top of this challenge. None of the books are under 300 pages and at least one of the authors requires me to pay close attention so I end up going slower when reading her (Toni Morrison).
1. Hidden Fires, by Sandra Brown
3. The Devil Wears Prada, by Lauren Weisenberger (Never saw the movie)
4. Cold Mountain, by Charles Frazier (I don't suppose this one could count for #3 and #4? LOL) I saw parts of this movie but not start to finish.
5. Paradise, by Toni Morrison
- Aunt Bean |
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Winter Reading Challenge
Starting December 21, and ending on March 20, I'm hosting my seasonal reading challenge for Winter! Winner of the Level 2 Challenge gets personally smooched (unless it's me, of course)! I'll briefly sum up the rules below for those of you who haven't tried the challenge yet, but it's a pretty easy challenge, actually. I hope you have lots of fun, I know that I will! :-) To sum the rules up quickly and briefly, a Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books (please list the books here), they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level wins! Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you read for this challenge throughout the season. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me.
Happy reading, everybody! =D The categories: 1. Read a book with one of the four directions (North, South, East, or West) in the title.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the tite being "D".
3. Read a book with a kind of food in the title. (This may be trickier than it seems at first. I searched everywhere for one!)
4. Read a horror story. (I thought that a book that sends shivers down your spine is quite fitting for a Winter category.)
5. Read a book with a six syllable title.
6. Read a book of poetry. (Or a book of mixed short stories and poetry, if you prefer.) My choices: 1. South Seas Tales, by Jack London
2. Dragon, by Clive Cussler
3. Spice, by Jack Turner
4. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, by Edgar Allan Poe
5. A Cancer Battle Plan, by Anne E. Frahm with David J. Frahm
6. American Review 18, by Theodore Solotaroff and Richard Howard, editors (A collection of stories and poetry from "American Review" magazine.)
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Daisy
7 years ago
39 comments
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| (7 years ago) | Thanks for sharing the poem, I kind of liked it. It sounds like an interesting book. :-D
Congratz of finishing! Woohoo to you, too! LOL Glad you didn't get any snow where you're at. :-)
I actually finished the Poe book probably at about the same time you finished yours, LOL. It was interesting, and the ending was unexpected. Then again, with Edgar Allan Poe, the endings are always unexpected, aren't they? XD
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished, You ARE your Spiritual Self...The Poetry Within. Finished the challenge with 2 days to spare! Woohoo. I will share the poem titled, "Careful".
"Careful"
Energy will pass
from your mind to your mouth
and energy will pass
from your mouth to some soul.
But energy will also pass
from your mind to some soul.
Be aware of the energy you pass
in word, thought, and intention.
It will be felt
by many souls
and yours as well.
We did not get the snow they were calling for, but reading snuggled under a warm blanky is the way to go...LOL. I don't mind reading horror so long as it isn't gruesome just for sake of being gruesome.
Good luck finishing Poe. I know you will!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks. :-D
I'm really glad you're enjoying the book. Do you have a favorite couple of lines from it you'd care to share? It sounds interesting. :-)
Spice is finished, and we got snowed in, so I decided to spend a small portion of the day cuddled in a ball under several warm blankets with a mug of steaming hot Lemon Ginger tea in one hand and the Poe book in the other. It was very nice, and I'm halfway through the book already. XD
I like Poe, too. He's the only author of horror that I really enjoy (I'm not a big horror fan, usually). This is actually considered to be the only full-length novel that he's ever published, so it's not as short as his other stories, although it's still comparatively short, totaling just over 150 pages. I really like his style, and the story is quite captivating: a tale of mutiny, pirates, shipwreck, starvation, and eventually even cannibalism. However, Poe probably should have stuck to short stories. He doesn't seem to have a good memory, and there are several discrepancies within the book. For instance, he calls a certain tortoise a female, and then a couple chapters later proceeds to refer to it as "he". Overall, though, it is still extremely good so far.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I like the challenge the way you have it as well. Glad you aren't making drastic changes.
I am over half way through the poetry book. I like it, but it isn't exactly what I thought from the description. I will definitely finish it in time. There are about 4 poems so far that I marked that have resonated with me. Poetry is not on my reading list usually, so this was a good change for me.
Poe should be relatively easy. I love his stories. Short, to the point and definitely haunting!
I am off to check out the Spring Challenge now....
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks. :-) The seasonal author challenge is definitely a plan. I already chose one that I think is a good one.
I kind of like my challenge the way I've set it up. Not that I'm against making any changes to it, and I definitely will consider all ideas of this kind, but I don't really want to make any drastic changes to the style of the challenge itself, if you know what I mean. :-) I'd also like to make the rules few and simple, and the categories a little lenient, because you'd think this would appeal to people.
Thanks again for the ideas, though. I thought a lot about them, and I might yet utilize some of them if (properly publicized) my challenge still has only a few participants. :-)
I'm currently working my way through the epilogue of Spice, so I should have it finished by tonight (hopefully!). I'll then start on the Poe book.
How are you two coming along? What are you thinking of your poetry book, Honibabi?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Not reading the same book does make the conversation piece a little challenging, but I appreciate wanting to be different and your set up allows me to read books I normally wouldn't read but also gives me the choice to pick something rather than have a book decided for me.
I like the idea of the author because we can discuss style as well as the books themselves. Maybe a topic per challenge would also provoke more discussion.
I would not be opposed to deciding when we will all read the same author or topic or whatever so we are all at least reading at the same time the similar books with a completion date set. Not being too rigid of course. We can have this for part of the challenge. For the faster reader among us we can fill in with the books that are solely our choice in the challenge like you have it now.
Another thought, if we can, set a time that we can all be on line to allow more immediate discourse about what we are reading. This can of course be flexible when plans change.
Maybe we just have 1 book per challenge that we all read. Again, at the same time.
I guess it all depends how much discussion you are hoping for and what is attractive to a wider audience.
Good luck.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Aw, that’s nice. You’re my Bookmooch friend, too. :-)
There are lots of other challenges out there that have people reading the same book, like those on LibraryThing, and I’d wanted to do something a little different. I also don’t really want to decide what book everybody will read, because I’m participating in the challenge too, and I might be prejudiced. But I can do something similar, where if people want to choose the same book, they can, or they can choose something else that would still offer good discussion: each season, I choose a well-known author, and participants can read any book by that author they want to. This would be a reoccurring challenge each season, like my “reading the alphabet” challenge. So, what do you think, guys? Sound good?
Thank you so much for your help, Honibabi. All ideas and tips are helpful to me, and I really appreciate it. :-D Maybe this season we’ll have some new participants joining us! I’ll try to “spread the news” a bit on the forums and elsewhere.
And I want to thank both of you for joining my challenge each season. It means a lot to me, and I’m so happy that you enjoyed it enough in the past to come back. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | You are the totality of my Book Mooch friends, LOL.
Since we are such a small group, would it make sense to read the same books? Would give us more common ground to discuss the books. We can even pick dates that we can chat.
I like the way the challenge currently is, but if you feel like we need an injection of new blood, maybe it is an adjustment in the challenge if new members aren't joining.
Whatever you decide, Daisy, I am in.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Man, I'm really cutting it close on the challenge this time! I'm on Part 4 of Spice now, and I think if I cram I might finish in time, but it'll be close! I think I'll take a hint from you, Honibabi, and start on the Poe book while I'll still reading this one!
So glad you liked Dances with Wolves, Honibabi! I thought it was good, too. Quite riveting. :-)
Think y'all are going to finish before the 20th?
By the way, I'm probably going to be posting the Spring Reading Challenge on the 15th (or around there), so everyone can pick out their books ahead of time. Please tell all your Bookmooch friends! We need some new blood around here! Thanks. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished, Dances with Wolves. Loved it. About a quarter way through the poetry book.
Hope to hear from you guys soon.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I have found my 4th book, it is a poetry book: You ARE your Spiritual Self...The Poetry Within by Joelle Mueller. I will probably start this while reading Dances with Wolves and should finish on time!
Hope you are both enjoying your books.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I am about half way through, Dances with Wolves. I am really enjoying it so far. It is an easy, fast and captivating read. You just have to know what is going to happen next. It is eating into my bedtime. LOL
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Spice sounds really interesting!
I finished America's Haunted Houses. Learned about some new places and interesting often tragic stories, but many of the stories end with, "the house is in private hands and I am doubtful you would be allowed access". I give it an, "OK".
I am starting Dances with Wolves. I have higher hopes for this one as you, Daisy, gave it high marks.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Honibabi, that book sounds interesting, although I'm sorry you don't like the way the author wrote it. I've read some books like that about different tourist attractions/places around the country, and it's always interesting to see what you'll find. You never know, there might be a place right in your own backyard that you never knew existed. But I've also seen books that, like you said, are written like a travel brochure, which can be annoying.
Just finished Part 1 of Spice (it's a four part book). It's extreemly interesting so far, but a little slow-moving. It's about the history of spices around the world. You know, if it wasn't for the quest for spices, America would still probably belong to the Indians, the world might still be considered flat, many places would have been undiscovered, and Indonesia would probably still be just another group of untamed islands. I guess I knew this already, but I never really thought much about it. It's quite interesting.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Sorry to hear American Review 18 wasn't that good. At least it wasn't a total loss thanks to, "The Clay War".
I am almost done with America's Haunted Houses. All the stories are really short summaries of the hauntings. I don't really like the author's writing style. He can come of arrogant. There are a lot of houses I didn't know about and some cool stories, but it reads like a visitor's guide.
cocoGerman, hope to hear from you soon!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I finished American Review 18, and I'm moving on to Spice. American Review 18 was okay... I didn't like most of the stories or poetry in it very much, but this one story, "The Clay War", was one of the best short stories I've read in a long time, and it made the whole book worth reading. There was one other short story in there, and one poem, that were pretty good, too. For the most part, though, the works did not seem very well-written, or the plots/themes very good.
How are America's Haunted Houses and The Grapes of Wrath so far, guys? Are you liking them?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hinton's books talk a lot about teen problems, too, but they aren't always that dark. Some can be, though. The book (and movie) The Outsiders is great.
That's great, I'm glad you liked the book so much! :-D I'll have to try out the book of his I have sometime.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished Beyond the Chocolate War. I really liked it. Not one of my favorites of Cormier, but a good one.
I am starting America's Haunted Houses next.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Daisy, I only saw the movie, The Outsiders, so I am not sure how comparable she is to Cormier. I am sure the book delved deeper into their situations than the movie could portray. I am not sure how comparable they are without reading Hinton, but if she takes you back into the deepest darkest moments of adolescents then, yes. My favorite Cormier books tackled mental health and terminal illness issues among teens in a way that makes you feel like you are there. Living the struggle.
I am 30 pages away from finishing Beyond the Chocolate Wars and I find myself having anxiety about what will happen to the characters. Cormier is so damn good. You love the characters, understand them, love them, hate them and are inspired by them.
I think I will put the many books of his that he wrote after I moved on from his genre on my reading list.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Oops, forgot to mention that I started on American Review 18. So far it's readable, but not what I'd consider good. When I'm done it I'll probably post it on here.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Haha, it seems that there are a lot of his fans on here. At least, when a new book by him is posted on here, I have to jump when I want it, because they usually go pretty fast. The one I had posted was already taken, but now I have another one called The Spy. I haven't posted it yet, but if you want it, then just order something else from me and I'll include it in the order for free. :-) It's a nice hardback. And I noticed that cocoGerman has a Cussler posted called Valhalla Rising, which is a really good one, also in hardback. You might have a bit of trouble ordering it from her though, because there's some sort of error and when you click on it it says there are no copies available. But I'm sure you two could work something out. :-)
It sounds like something S.E. Hinton might have written. Are Cormier's books anything like hers?
I'm looking forward to that, too, cocoGerman, I'd love to know what you think of it. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I really have to read a Cussler book. Ever since I joined this forum his books seem to pop up in unexpected places!
I am a few chapters into Beyond the Chocolate Wars. I don't remember the details of The Chocolate Wars. I forgot how deep and sometimes dark Cormier's books are. I feel like they really reflect how many of us felt as teenagers on some level. He writes for the kids who are outcasts or who are dealing with very adult situations. This book is taking me back and so far, I am loving it.
cocoGerman, looking forward to your Grapes of Wrath review.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Cool that you finished it. Too bad it wasn’t as good as you hoped it would be, though.
Hope you find a poetry book you like. :-)
I just finished up Dragon, and I really liked it. The ending was a huge surprise for me, I never expected it, even though I’ve read enough of Cussler’s books that I really should have seen it coming. No spoilers, though, so I guess you’ll have to read the book to know what in the world I’m talking about, haha. ;-) This was actually the first one of his books that surprised me that much.
How about you, cocoGerman? Are you working your way through Grapes of Wrath? What are you thinking of it so far?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I just had to go out of town and was able to finish A Yellow Raft in Blue Water on the plane. It was OK. I liked it but it didn't wow me in any way.
I am starting Beyond the Chocolate Wars.
My husband just bought a poetry book, which I have to say really surprised me....LOL. Charles Bukowski. I started flipping through it. He is definitely on the crude side, but kinda grabs your attention.
When I get to the poetry book, I will decide which one to go with :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | That's great, Honibabi, I hope you like his poetry. :-) Oh, and Robert Frost is also quite good, you might like him too.
Glad to see you're coming along on your book. :-)
I just finished South Sea Tales, and I think I'll start on Dragon next.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy. I will take your advice and look for a Robert Browning when I am ready.
Still working on the last challenge, but over half way done with Blue Raft in Yellow Water.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | That's cool. It's very kind of you to offer it to me, but I think I'll catch up on reading the books I have first. Thanks so much, anyway! :-D
If you want some suggestions for good poetry books, Robert Browning is one of my favorites, and I think you might like some of his poetry.
Happy New Year to you, as well! :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Robert Cormier is one of my favorite authors from my teen years. I am the Cheese, is still one of my favorite books. Beyond the Chocolate War is yours, Daisy, when I am done if you would like it.
LOL....
I think my 4th book will be a poetry book. I just have to find one.
Happy New Year, by the way! Here is to completing all the book challenges this year :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | @cocoGerman, thanks for changing that. :-)
@Honibabi, I have read Dances with Wolves, and it is very, very good. I liked the movie, also, but it’s hard for me to choose which was better. Probably the book. Hope you enjoy it! :-)
Um, I don’t really think that fits the category… LOL
On my shelf sits a copy of The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier, but I never got around to reading it. I’d love to know what you think of the sequel.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | You are keeping us honest, Daisy. LOL
I am still finishing the Fall Challenge but here are my books for the winter challenge (4 Books):
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "D" - "Dances with Wolves" by Michael Blake. Saw the movie years ago but I am sure the book is better despite the movie's popularity.
3. Read a book with a kind of food in the title. - "The Vagina Monologues"??? Just testing the water here and thought it was funny. I got nothing. This was strictly for a laugh. I read it a few years ago.
4. Read a horror story. - America's Haunted Houses by Hans Holzer
5. Read a book with a six syllable title. - Beyond the Chocolate Wars by Robert Cormier
#4 TBD
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks Honibabi! Glad to be back. Yeah, Hannibal will be interesting.
Daisy, I just noticed that, sorry. Let's try this one instead: Murder with no passion
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | That book sounds interesting, cocoGerman. :-) I actually just noticed that it doesn't really fit in the category, though, unfortunately. :-( I'm sorry.
I just finished reading A Cancer Battle Plan. It was good, and very informative. I like the way the authors use historical battles as parables about the correct and incorrect ways to battle cancer. I also really liked the Christian standpoint. I’m starting on South Seas Tales next, but it may be a couple days before I get to it, because I’m reading another book right now (not in the challenge).
Glad to hear you're almost done your last book in the Fall Challenge, Honibabi. I'd love to see what books you pick when you decide on them. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | YAY! So glad to see you back cocoGerman. I am looking forward to how you feel about the ending of Hannibal. I read it before watching the movie and prefer the ending of the book. Very controversial for the diehards, but I thought it made perfect sense. Made me pause to consider why I thought it made perfect sense. HHMMMM....
I am about half way through my final book from the last challenge. I still have not finished, but I can't stop now. I will be starting late but definitely looking for books closer to the 150 page mark since I am already behind the curve. LOL.
I don't have my books picked out yet, but will get back to you.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks! Yea, I got that book from a mooch working on the inactive accounts. I didn't even read what it was about when I got it. I wasn't expecting the person to respond. The book says it's about the uses of propaganda in Bush's war on Iraq. We shall see!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Hi there, cocoGerman! Welcome back! :-D It's good to hear from you again. Thanks for joining in my new challenge. The books you chose look interesting. What is Weapons of Mass Deception about? I like the sound of the title.
See you after the New Year, Honibabi! Have fun with the family. :-)
Happy New Year! Hope you both have a great one. (As well as the other four people who subscribe to my challenges, but who have not participated. I guess they just enjoy watching us read, haha! Happy New Year to you, too!)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Here are my choices (I am doing Level 2 and some of these titles are from the last challenge because I never got to them):
1. Read a book with one of the four directions (North, South, East, or West) in the title: TBD
2. Read a book with the first letter of the tite being "D": Down Solo by Earl Javorsky
3. Read a book with a kind of food in the title: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. Read a horror story: Hannibal by Thomas Harris
5. Read a book with a six syllable title: Weapons of Mass Deception by Rampton Stauber
6. Read a book of poetry: City Lights Pocket Poets Anthology by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
I will come back later to populate the TBD choice. I am starting off with The Grapes of Wrath since this is where I ended in the last challenge. Excited to get back to this. Thanks Daisy for not giving up on me!!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | LOL. Daisy, I have not. ;(
I probably won't get back to this until after the new year. Have family coming to town for a week starting this evening.
I will be back on the forum and the book challenge when they leave.
Glad you like your first book so far!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I just started on my first book, A Cancer Battle Plan. So far it is wonderful, a true story of survival against the odds.
Did anybody else pick their books yet? How about you, Honibabi?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | The Winter Challenge is now open! Good luck, everybody!
- Daisy |
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Autumn Reading Challenge
Starting September 22, and ending on December 21, I'm holding my seasonal reading challenge for everybody interested in joining. The first one to complete a Level 2 challenge gets a smooch! (Unless, of course, it's me!) I listed the rules in my Spring and Summer Book Challenges, so if you are new to the game or your memory needs refreshing (it happens to all of us!), please take a look at my previous challenges. Thank you for joining us!
To sum the rules up quickly and briefly, a Level 1 challenge is four books, a Level 2 challenge is six books, they must fit into the categories provided, and the first to complete each level wins! Also, no books under 150 pages are allowed. When you finish the challenge, just post here to let everybody know, and please feel free to discuss with us your opinions of the books you read for this challenge throughout the season. And if you ever need any help choosing books or understanding the rules, or if you have any ideas you'd like to share for future categories, feel free to contact me.
Hope you have fun! Happy reading! :-D The categories:
1. Read a book whose author has a Biblical name. (Aaron, Abraham, Adam, Alexander, Bartholomew, Benjamin, Caleb, Daniel, David, Deborah, Dinah, Ethan, Eve, Felix, Isaac, Jacob, James, Jeremiah, Jesse, Jethro, Joel, John, Jose, Joseph, Joshua, Julius, Leah, Luke, Marcus, Mark, Martha, Mary, Matthew, Michael, Moses, Nathan, Nicolas, Noah, Paul, Peter, Philip, Phinehas, Rachel, Reba, Rebekah, Reuben, Samuel, Sarah, Saul, Seth, etc.)
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "C".
3. Re-read a book you first read as a teen.
4. Read a book with a color in the title. (The leaves are changing colors now, so I thought this suggestion by Honibabi was quite fitting.)
5. Read a non-fiction book about a subject you know nothing or very little about.
6. Read a book recommended by a friend. (Or you can ask somebody on Bookmooch for a recommendation!) My choices: (I'm doing Level 2)
1. All Things Wise and Wonderful, by James Herriot
2. Cyclops, by Clive Cussler
3. Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson (Unabridged edition... I read this when I was like 13 or 14.)
4. Silver Canyon, by Louis L'Amour
5. South, by Ernest Shackleton (I know very little about Antarctic exploration.)
6. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini (My aunt recommended the book to me, so I figured I'd give it a try.)
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Daisy
7 years ago
37 comments
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| (7 years ago) | This challenge was a total fail for me, LOL! Work and personal development overtook this past time. Sorry all. I really missed you guys and reading my books. :-( I will jump into the next one now.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Glad you're enjoying it so far. :-) It's a busy time or year, I understand. Hope you have a good time (and a Happy New Year, too)!
Oops, I didn't mean to pick super hard ones... which categories are you having trouble with? Maybe I can help you find a suitable book. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | So far, I really like A Yellow Raft in Blue Water, but with Christmas so close and working the hours that I do, I am not sure I will finish on time ;(
Oh well. I will still finish and probably start the next challenge late. You picked some pretty hard categories....LOL.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Just put my new challenge up! (If you know anybody on here interested in joining it, please put the word out!) Hope y'all like the categories I chose. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I just wanted to inform y'all that I'm running a little behind on getting my Winter Reading Challenge posted, but I hope to have it up pretty soon. Sorry for the slight delay! :-)
I also just wanted to put it out there that I'm posting a spare copy of Wuthering Heights on here, if anybody's interested, and I'm also posting one of my Cusslers that I have an extra of.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | We miss you, cocoGerman! Hope to hear from you soon.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Awesome! Good luck!
I wonder what happened to cocoGerman... Are you still with us, cocoGerman? How are you doing on your reading?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. I am now starting a Yellow Raft in Blue Water.
I think I will finish in time. I will just have to focus!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | That book sounds interesting! Do you think you'll be able to finish your books up by Dec. 21? You're doing great so far!
Thank you! :-D
No problem! Books are always my go-to ice breaker, too, if I'm looking for something to talk about. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I am still working on A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper. I am about 50% done. It is good but challenging. I have to read and re-read sections. Sometimes I get it, sometimes I don't. LOL
Congratulations, Daisy!
I just flew home from a visit to family in Missouri and the guy next to me was reading a Clive Cussler. I asked him about it and told him how I recently heard about Cussler through this reading challenge. Just thought that was a nice connection thanks to your reading challenge. Thanks!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I just finished the book, and the challenge! Yay! How are you two coming along?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Wuthering Heights is one of my all time favorites! Top 5. I cried at the end, but out of happiness. I hope you like it as much as I did.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks so much for the ideas, Honibabi! I really appreciate it. And please thank your husband for me, too. I actually have a really nice Glencoe hardback copy of Wuthering Heights sitting on my shelf, but I never got around to reading it, so I'm going with that one. It looks good! Thanks again! :-D
And I have read Tuck Everlasting, too, and I thought that it was a cute story. It's cool we have several books in common! :-)
CocoGerman, how are you doing with your books? I'd love to hear your opinion of the one you're currently reading. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished Cowboy and Wills. I loved it and cried like a baby at the end. I didn't realize it would have a very sad turn of events. It ends on a good note, but I was unprepared!
Daisy, I am disappointed to hear about Kite Runner. That will sit on my shelf for awhile, now. HA.
I am interested in reading All Things Great and Small by Herriot and with your review of All Things Wise and Wonderful, I will be putting that on my reading list too!
I looked at your mooch list and we seem to have cooking and herb books in common and some authors (but you already read the books I did). Other than that, I am not sure what to recommend. I will give you a few of my favorites in case you haven't read them and might be interested:
A Tree Grows in Brooklyn by Betty Smith
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn
Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbit
Man's Search for Meaning by Victor Frankl
My Husband asked me what I was doing and offered:
The Osterman Weekend by Robert Ludlum
3 short stories by Richard Brautigan (my husband loves him): A Confederate General from Big Sir; Dreaming of Babylon; and The Hawkline Monster.
I am starting A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper next.
Hope to hear from you soon, cocoGerman. Good luck, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I finished reading All Things Wise and Wonderful. It was great! I have a copy posted on here, and anybody that likes cute animals and a good laugh would love this book. I highly recommend it. :-)
Speaking of recommend, I'm still looking for recommendations for my next (and last) book. Any ideas? Thanks so much, guys. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Okay, The Kite Runner actually seemed to be getting better... and then I got to page 75, and I couldn't finish it. It got really bad there. I removed my bookmark, and I'm open to recommendations for other books y'all think I might like. I like a lot of classics, I like Westerns if they're fairly clean (I don't mind some foul language, though, if it's realistic), I like books about plants and herbs... there's lots of other books I like, too, and if you want to see the type I'm interested in you can check out my mooching history on here. Thanks so much, guys... and it doesn't have to be a book I own, but if it isn't then I hope I can order it from here. I'm asking a couple other people for recommendations, too.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I wrote this up days ago (on the 24th), but forgot to post it here, and only now remembered! Duh! XD
I finished reading South last night, and it was a very good book. It was incredibly interesting, and a great story of survival and perseverence. It taught me much that I did not know, on such subjects as whales, mirages, ice forms, geography, history, etc. I think I'll read The Kite Runner next. I'm not really sure how that book will be.
Update: I'm on chapter 4 or 5 of Kite Runner, and I don't like it much so far, but I'll give it another chance. Maybe it'll be okay... with all the rave reviews I've seen for it, and everybody saying how great it is, I was expecting something better.
So how are you guys coming along? What books are you reading now? You're probably ahead of me by now... South took me a while.
By the way, The Prince an the Pilgrim sounds really neat!
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Finished the Prince and the Pilgrim. It was OK. It was based on the Arthurian tail named the same. I was unfamiliar with the story. This was not accurate to the original just based on the characters and the story in general.
Starting Cowboy and Wills.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I had no idea what a wame is. Now I do...ha. Thanks, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I finished Silver Canyon (it was a quick read), and I'm reading South now. It is interesting, but rather slow-moving. I've been reading about a chapter a day... at that rate, I'll probably be finished by the 23rd of this month. Hopefully sooner.
Usually when I buy books, I try to know exactly what I'm getting. I'll either buy an author I like, or a subject that interests me, or a book reccomended by somebody, or something like that. While you are seldom disappointed that way, you also miss out sometimes on books that you might have liked, so your way is better in this area. :-)
Yeah, I figured out one of the meanings of the word "wame" instantly, but it made no sense in the context, haha. I come to find out it means "belly" too. XD
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | cocoGerman, I am the same way. I have such a wide array of books because if it sounds remotely interesting at a garage sale or library sale I pick it up. I try to read books that give me perspective and are outside my wheelhouse. I recently listened to the audio book, "The Loving Dead". Thought it would be funny and different. It was different alright with sex scenes at the most unusual and unbelievable moments. If I am in the midst of a zombie attack, making out is NOT my first priority. I don't recommend this one. LOL.
I keep trying but haven't won a good reads book yet!
Daisy, who doesn't know what a wame is? LOL. I am noting it however in my arsenal of vocabulary words to get an edge in my upwords app playing against my mother in law.
I am still working on, "The Prince and the Pilgrim". Really easy read, but been lazy in my reading and busy with out of towners visiting. I won't be much longer though.
Go Tribe!!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Haha, well, I guess that proves that the old moral still holds true: you can't judge a book by its cover! XD If ever anybody decides they'd like to switch books, then feel free to do so, there's nothing stopping you. Sorry that you didn't like it, hopefully the other books are better. :-)
I finished Kidnapped, and I started on Silver Canyon. Kidnapped was TERRIFIC, although it was at times hard to read past the heavily accented Scottish slang, LOL. A little too much of a Scottish brogue for me. Can anybody here actually understand this: "he would boggle at naething; and maybe, if a tenant-body was to hang back, he would get a dirk in his wame"? That's a quote to give you an idea about what the book was like. But looking past that, the story is wonderful, the characters colorful, and the book is rich in history.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | ROFL! I received this book for free from Goodreads, saw the cover which is a very fit guy without a shirt and thought, "Huh, this should be a good women's book!" Lol, my husband was cracking up and said I got mesmerized by the photo and didn't pay attention. I am happy to report that I FINALLY made it through and will be putting this book up for mooching right now. I just grab any book that is in front of me but now I am going to have to pay more attention because I don't ever want to experience that again. LOL, geez.
Anyway, onto Grapes of Wrath.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy for the explanation.
cocoGerman, that is hysterical. What did you think it was about before you read it? LMAO!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | OMG, I just read the synopsis of the book I am currently reading and didn't even realize what type of book this was. LOL! Oh well. I'll at least finish it but that means I really shouldn't give a review because it wouldn't be accurate for the target audience.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | I finished Calm Before the Storm mid last week. I thought it was a pretty good book. Little bit of drama and suspense (very little) but mostly romance and drama. A different type of read for me but light to start of this challenge. One thing that gets me though is whoever is supposed to proofread and make corrections clearly did not do their job.
I have moved onto The Passionate Attention of an Interesting Man by Ethan Mordden... :-|
Not liking it at all so far. It is made up of 4 short stories and the first one was not good. Very strange and hard to follow. I will be starting the second one today so hopefully it picks up.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | I just finished reading Cyclops, and I moved on to Kidnapped. Cyclops was very good, but not my very favorite due to the lack of realism.
@ Honibabi, usually his books are action/adventure stories in which the hero, Dirk Pitt (in the Dirk Pitt series) or Kurt Austin (in the NUMA Files series) starts out hunting for a wrecked ship of either historical significance (think Titanic) or a lost treasure (think El Dorado), and inevitably ends up getting mixed up in a plot to do immense evil (think destroy the world), and he inevitably gets injured and almost killed, finds a pretty girl who is somehow mixed into the plot (think the badguy's daughter), finds and commandeers a classic automobile that ends up in his collection, and in the end he always gets the girl and saves the world. And Dirk/Kurt always ends up killing the badguy, often from an explosion. That describes probably most of his stories. But the individual plots can vary drasticly... for instance, he finds out in one book that Lincoln wasn't assassinated, he was actually kidnapped by the South and held hostage, and in another book he discovers the lost city of Atlantis.
Cussler is definitely my favorite author, at least my favorite author currently living. I've read his books for my challenges before... I typically read between one and four of his books a month. I think that if you like action/adventure novels, you'd really like Cussler. My only complaint about him would be that some of his books can be pretty crude, although fortunately not all of them. A couple good ones to start with would probably be The Navigator or The Storm. They're a couple of my favorites, and they are the first ones I read.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I think I will finish the Prince and the Pilgrim in about a week or so. Very easy read. I didn't realize it is book #5 in a series. Depending on how I feel about this one at the end, I might look for the first 4. So far, it is an easy read, but I can't say anything too exciting about it.
Daisy, I have never read a Cussler book. Cyclops sounds a little out there. LOL. What is his typical style? I think you commented on his books before. Is he a favorite author of yours? Good luck!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I am currently working my way through Cyclops, and I just started on Chapter 43. Did you know that there's 81 chapters in that book? It's a long one, but as always, Cussler keeps it action-packed and quite entertaining from "Prologue" to "The End". So far I really like it, but the story is a little more far-fetched than his stories usually are. A colony of nonpersons (and by that, I don't mean aliens, I mean people who supposedly don't exist) living on the moon? Really? And Russia sending soldiers into space to have a regular moon-battle and to set up their own moon colony? You have to admit, it's not very realistic. And yet, while reading it he poses the ideas in such a realistic way that it's hard to think of the book as science fiction. How are y'all coming along?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I am starting with The Prince and the Pilgrim.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I loved Grapes of Wrath! The Passionate Attention of an Interesting Man sounds very interesting. Can't wait to hear your review of that one.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Alright, let the Autumn reading begin. Here are my choices (I am doing Level 2):
1. Read a book whose author has a Biblical name: The Passionate Attention of an Interesting Man by Ethan Mordden
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "C": Calm Before the Storm by Angelica Kate
3. Re-read a book you first read as a teen: The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck
4. Read a book with a color in the title: Blue by Joe Domanick
5. Read a non-fiction book about a subject you know nothing or very little about: Weapons of Mass Deception by Rampton Stauber
6. Read a book recommended by a friend: The Silent Sister by Diane Chamberlain
I am starting off with Calm Before the Storm.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | That's great, Honibabi! Congratz! Do you know that you are the first one to ever finish a Level 1 challenge? AWESOME!
Let the games begin! :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished Poland and left my review on the Summer reading challenge forum. Ready for the Autumn challenge :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | @ cocoGerman, oops, sorry, I forgot to reply to your last post. I'm really glad to hear you think you'll finish in time, and that you had fun doing the challenge. Can't wait to see what books you pick this year, they are always so interesting! :-D
Hi Honibabi! Happy to hear that you think you'll be done before the 22nd! And glad you like the categories. The books you chose look very interesting, especially the non-fiction book. Can you let me know how it is when you read it?
Actually, about Shackleton, I have another book about him, also, called "Shackleton's Way" by Margot Morrell and Stephanie Capparell (it's even autographed by Morrell). That book actually talks a lot about the book "Endurance" that you mentioned! I hope to read that one after I finish the original book. "South" is really long, though... I may have actually pulled a "Poland" there, LOL. I'm a pretty fast reader, though, so I'll probably still get through it okay.
I'll be sure to let y'all know how "The Kite Runner" and "Kidnapped" are when I read them. From what I remember of "Kidnapped", it was very good, although I may have read the abridged version when I was young, I don't remember.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I will be doing the level 1 challenge again. My choices:
1. Read a book whose author has a Biblical name: The Prince and the Pilgrim by Mary Stewart
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "C": Cowboy and Wills by Monica Holloway
4. Read a book with a color in the title: A Yellow Raft in Blue Water by Michael Doris (The book that inspired my suggestion)
5. Read a non-fiction book about a subject you know nothing or very little about: A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper by John Allen Paulos. While I do know something about math, I know nothing about applying it to daily news articles and I suck at statistics.
Happy reading!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Hi, Daisy. I am still chugging along on Poland with a mere 200 pages to go. I think I will finish by early this week.
Love the categories!
As to your choices, I read, "Endurance, Shackleton's Incredible Voyage" by Alfred Lansing and I really enjoyed it. It is such a great story. It really puts you in survival mode and is a testament to human survival. I have not read the account from Shackleton himself, but if the book is even close to the account I read, it should be a good one.
I am interested in your opinion of "Kite Runner". I have that one and haven't read it yet. I also have "Kidnapped". I loved, "Treasure Island", but haven't taken up Kidnapped yet. Looking forward to your grown up opinion. LOL.
- Aunt Bean |
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Summer Book Challenge
Starting June 20, and ending on September 22, I'm holding a reading challenge for anybody and everybody to participate in. If you are late getting to this challenge, however, don't worry about it because I'll try to start another challenge come Fall.
Many of you probably already know the rules from my Spring challenge, but in case anybody doesn't, I've copied and pasted them below. If you ever have any questions or any suggestions on the catagories for the next challenge, please feel free to email me with them. :-)
The rules are few and simple. I will list six categories. You can read four books for a Level 1 challenge or six books for a Level 2 challenge. After you pick the books, please post the titles and authors here in order of which category each is in (please see my entry for an example).
I will personally smooch the first to complete the Level 2 challenge (unless it happens to be me, of course!), and smooching is fully encouraged for anybody else who wants to congratulate the other winners. Please feel free to discuss the books you read for this challenge with the other participants. And be sure to notify everybody when you finish the challenge! In all fairness, I should add another rule: no books under 150 pages are allowed. If novelettes counted, it wouldn't be fair to those that wished to read Ben-Hurr. ;-)
Okay guys, hope you have fun! Happy reading!
The categories:
1. Read a book written by a woman.
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "B".
3. Read a book with a place in the title. (Can be a state, country, town, city, etc.)
4. Read a book with an animal in the title.
5. Read a biography or autobiography.
6. Read a book written during a war. (Does not have to be about the war, and the author needn't have been an active participent in the war, but please mention which war it was.)
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Daisy
7 years ago
41 comments
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| (7 years ago) | YEAH!! I just finished yesterday as well. Phew, that was a tight one, lol. Glad we all finished. Really enjoyed it. The Coaching Solution was interesting and helped me understand what people in the HR business do for an organization. This book would have been more helpful if this was something I wanted to go into because it gave very detailed steps to achieve the implementation of an internal coaching program. Very well done. I just like reading books on self-development so I just read it anyway. See you all on the next one!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Finished! I LOVED Poland. I feel more educated, proud and sad for the history of Poland and other eastern block countries. What an amazing story. The history of humans in general involves some kind of suffering at the hands of other humans and it will always amaze and confound me how far we have come in some things and how backwards the human brain still seems to be when it comes to equity, freedom, wealth and power.
While the very early years of the 1200's involved many wars, brutality, pillaging and heroes of Polish history nothing is as calculated, ruthless and hateful as the occupation of the Nazi's.
I can't say enough about this one. Highly recommend.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Yep, I do believe I will. About halfway done with my last one but I plan on cramming this weekend! I've enjoyed these challenges too. It's just good having people that ask about what you are reading. Looking forward to the next one!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | I am glad I joined in. It has been really fun for me as well. I enjoy hearing your views and learning about books and authors that I might have never thought about or picked up otherwise.
Thanks for the encouragement. I only picked Poland because it was the only book I had with a city, state or country in the title. LOL. I am determined to get through and pass on the books I already own!
See you at the finish line cocoGerman.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Hope you make it! I'm rootin' for you! And no need to overload yourself next time, any book over 150 pages counts. (Which can mean 151 pages... pretty small, LOL!)
How about you, cocoGerman? Think you'll make it?
And guys, I've got to tell you, I've had SO MUCH FUN doing this challenge with both of you. I'm so glad that you chose to join me, it's really been a blast. Hopefully we all can have even more fun with my next challenge, I've picked some interesting catagories for y'all. :-D
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I am trying. Stupid small print...lol. Giving it the ol' college effort. I am really enjoying the book; it is a tough one but I knew that going into it. Almost half way done. I don't like to miss deadlines, so I will get it done.
I am very much looking forward to the next challenge! I will be more kind to myself in the next challenge. HA!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Wow, cocoGerman, I do believe you're going to beat the challenge this season! You're almost there! :-D
How is Poland coming along for you, HB? Do you think you'll make the deadline? That's a lengthy book!
Are y'all looking forward to the next challenge? I'll be posting it some time around the 15th, most likely, so everybody has time to pick out their books beforehand. And if you know any friends on Bookmooch who might be interested in joining us for the Autumn Challenge, feel free to let them know about it, the more the merrier! Hopefully we'll have another participant or two come the 22nd.
Good luck, everybody!
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Finished Cat & Mouse. Now onto The Coaching Solution. Cat & Mouse was REALLY good.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Hi, cocoGerman, good to see you back! :-D And thank you for the congratulations, it seems like you're moving right along yourself!
I know how you feel, HB. I felt the same way when I first read Lorna Doone (680 pages), and also when I much more recently read The Man in the Iron Mask (626 pages). They were both good enough books (especially Lorna Doone, which I really liked), but they seemed to drag on forever, and seemed much longer than they actually were. Just keep on chugging away at it! :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | cocoGerman, I was worried we had lost you! Hope it was a wonderful vacation. Welcome back.
I am on page 125 of Poland and feel like I have read 225 pages! There is so much information, action and history packed into each page I feel like I am reading a novel every chapter. I keep looking at the page count expecting to be far more ahead than I am. As a person of Polish decent I love this book for bringing the Polish history of struggle and perseverance out in such an easy to read way. I thought it would be more daunting than it actually is. Pretty easy read, just a lot of history to get through starting in the 1600's.
Only 537 pages to go!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | WOW, I've missed a lot! Congratulations Daisy on finishing the challenge. I've been on vacation for awhile but I did finish Blue Sun, Yellow Sky and have started Cat & Mouse. Blue Sun, Yellow Sky was very good; Tugged on the heart strings. Cat & Mouse is intriguing so far (like James Patterson doesn't have a book that is). I should be finishing up this book by the end of this month. Once school starts back, some normalcy will begin. Way to keep pushing along Honibabi!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Good luck! Hope you enjoy it! :-D
How are you coming along, cocoGerman?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I started Poland. I am only on page 15. It is over 500 pages and font 2! LOL. I hope to finish it by the end of August. This one is more intense and the characters are real and fictional. The events are both as well. Because it is is a historical fiction novel that takes place during real wars and political events, there are a lot of characters, years and places to keep straight. Wish me luck :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Just finished Best Kept Secrets. It wasn't that good by the end. Pretty easy read, but some of the situations, conversations and characters just didn't click for me.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Excellent! Can't wait. My last two books are pretty lengthy. Chugging along with Best Kept Secrets. It is good, just loooooong.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks for the congratulations, HB! :-D
And thank you for the suggestions! I'll probably use one of them... but I'll keep which one I'm using a secret until the week before Autumn. ;-P
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Daisy, congratulations on finishing so early! I am glad you liked Of Mice and Men.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Well, I already have my book that begins with a "C" picked out :)
I liked being surprised by your categories. Some thoughts, but by no means should you feel any obligation to pick one and I won't think twice about it:
1) A book written the year you were born (if no one minds sharing that year..lol)
2) A book from Oprah's book club (even if you don't like her, the books are pretty wide ranging)
3) A mystery
4) A book with a color in the title
5) A book written by an author who shares your heritage/ethnicity (if your a mutt like me, that gives you plenty of authors to pick from...LOL)
Can't wait to see what you come up with, Daisy.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | No problem, HB! :-) Glad to have been able to help.
Yay! I finished my last book! Of Mice and Men was a breeze to read through. I ended up liking it, although I can't remember any other book that made me cry as much at the end! There could have been several alternative endings that would have been a lot better, but you know, Steinbeck chose that ending knowing it was going to make the reader emotional and dissatisfied, so he must have understood what he was doing. The ending surprised me, that's for sure. I never saw it coming.
So, do any of you have any catagory ideas you'd like to contribute for next season's challenge?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I finished Drinking: A Love Story. It was OK. Probably a good therapeutic exercise for the author. Adding it to my inventory to be mooched.
I am now on to Sandra Brown's Best Kept Secrets.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks, Daisy, for the Mooch information!
I am putting The Man Who Loved Books Too Much on my reading list, now.
I read Of Mice and Men so many years ago. I enjoyed it. I hope you do to.
I will probably be taking this challenge down to the wire....LOL. Still reading Drinking: A love story. Hoping to finish it this weekend.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Okay, I finished reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, and it was really a great book. It was an interesting story that held your attention, and it was very educational and informative at the same time. That's one book that I know I'm going to re-read and re-re-read some day. Makes me want to visit more rare book stores and increase my collection... but, um, not in the same way that John Gilkey did. LOL I think I'd rather pay for the books I take, thank you very much. XD
So the next and last book in line is *drum roll please* Of Mice and Men. I already started it, and it's an intersting story so far.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | It's actually pretty easy. :-) You go on somebody's profile, and you'll see a button there that says "Smooch". Click it, type in your message, and then click "Give a smooch". It subtracts a point from your account and sends it to the member you chose. You also have the choice of sending it anonymously.
So, I just finished up reading Victory. It wasn't a bad book, and was much better than Heart of Darkness (also by Joseph Conrad). It had a rather stupid moral, though, which I can sum up using a direct quote from the book: "If you begin to think you will be unhappy." Also, according to the book, if you think too much you may become as strange and eccentric as Heyst, the main character. The ending was very unsatisfying. But at least the book had an interesting plot, unlike Heart of Darkness, which I found to be very boring.
I'm reading The Man Who Loved Books Too Much now, and so far it is terrific! What an interesting book! No wonder this book is in such high demand on Bookmooch!
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Can one of you explain how to "smooch"? I can't find it on any of my pages.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | cocoGerman,
You are a machine! I am about half way through Drinking: A love story. Not a page turner, but I like it so far.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Finished Boy Meets Depression. It was a really good book. I added this book to my inventory here and have posted a review. Onto the next book, Blue Sun, Yellow Sky by Jamie Hoang.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | I Am Potential sounds really good! :-)
I have just finished reading Black Wind, and it was very good, although I kind of like the older Dirk Pitt Adventure books with the senior Pitt as the main character a little better than the newer ones featuring his son in the most prominent role. The book was about chemical warfare during WW2, and how a Japanese sub carrying a deadly cargo of the smallpox virus was destroyed and sunken to the bottom of the sea. Fast forward to 2007. The ship was discovered by NUMA and Pitt Jr. goes down to inspect it and finds that there were recent visitors who have stolen some of the deadly munitions. He discovers also a new threat: the death of potentially the majority of people in the U.S. He has to find and destroy the virus before it is too late... and time is running out fast!
I'm now reading Victory. It's okay so far, but I'll have to read more in it before I can really form any opinions of it.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Finished Blood in my Eye. Interesting read. I am now onto Boy Meets Depression.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | I finished, I am Potential. I enjoyed it. It is a very sweet book. While the book touches on the difficulties of raising a son with the physical impairments that Patrick Henry was born with (no eyes, short arms and legs, no hip sockets for his legs to attach to, the inability to straighten his arms and legs fully and to top it off he needed rods attached to his spine to keep it straight), it focuses more on his natural ear and talent for music and how much he loves performing and meeting people. He is a mindful young man and his parents truly go the extra mile to make sure he experiences life to the fullest. Sometimes it was a little repetitive, but overall an easy and engaging read.
I started, Drinking: A love story.
Hope everyone had a good holiday.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I had the wrong title! It's not Bobby Fischer vs. The Rest of the World that I saw. Now I can't find the book I confused it with. Sorry about that.
The only other book I read by Sandra Brown was, "Slow Heat in Heaven" and I loved it. I like historical romance and do not generally like modern day romance novels, which Slow Heat in Heaven is. Because I liked that book I have wanted to read more of her books. I did not know she writes thrillers now.
I started, "I am Potential", and love it so far. It had my attention immediately.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks for your imput! The book by Sandra Brown that I have is called Rainwater. Have either of you read that one yet?
I finished reading Bobby Fischer vs. the Rest of the World, and while I thought that Fischer and the events in the book were very interesting, it still wasn't a very enjoyable read because of the way the author personally attacked every single charactor who made an appearance.
I'm reading Black Wind next. That one will probably be good, as most of Cussler's books are.
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Still chugging along with Blood in my Eye. Completely taken aback by this book. Had no idea what I was getting myself into, lol. But, I still like reading about another person's perspective. I should be finishing this book up by tomorrow.
I love Sandra Brown's books but let me clarify, I only read her thriller versions. She started off writing romance books in her early stages and then moved to writing Thrillers. I'm not a big romance book reader.
Enjoy!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Interesting choices! I have a book by Sandra Brown that I'd like to read some time, but I've never read anything by her before. Is she a good author? I saw that both of you guys have her on your lists.
I'm not sure who you think is a jerk, Bobby Fischer or Brad Darrach, but the author (Darrach) really bugs me. It's a fairly short book though, so getting through it won't be a problem.
If anybody starts a book that they decide they can't finish, they can always pick a new book that fits the category and read that one instead. :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hello,
I haven't started yet, but I have my books. I am trying to purge and read only books I already own. Here are my choices:
1. Read a book written by a woman - Drinking: A love story by Caroline Knapp
2. Read a book with the first letter of the title being "B" - Best Kept Secret by Sandra Brown
3. Read a book with a place in the title. (Can be a state, country, town, city, etc.) - Poland by James A Michener
5. Read a biography or autobiography - I am Potential by Patrick Henry Hughes
I am starting with, I am Potential. I am most concerned about finishing, "Poland" in time, but I need to commit to clearing out my shelves.
I saw the Bobby Fisher book on Goodreads. The guy sounds like a real jerk. Is that really his attitude or a gimic to sell books? Good luck sticking with that one. Any rules for books you just can't bring yourself to finish?
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Nice to virtually meet you, too! :-)
I finished reading Sahara yesterday, and I moved on to Bobby Fischer vs. the Rest of the World. Sahara was extremely good, and alongside of The Storm I consider it one of Cussler's best books written. But so far I am not really liking the Bobby Fischer book very much. The author takes on such a tone of mockery for EVERYBODY in his book that it kind of becomes old. The author himself looks like a mixture of Harry Potter and Alvin from Alvin and the Chipmunks, so he REALLY shouldn't pick on other people so much in his book. But he does, and I'm sure that he wouldn't say half of what he prints about these people to their faces.
How are both of you guys coming along? :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | It is. Thank you. I will post my book choices next week. I am working a lot this week then going out of town for a wedding. I won't be able to even think about this until then.
I look forward to the challenge. Nice to meet you both, virtually :)
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Super excited!!
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Hi! Glad you're showing interest in joining us. :-D Those are great questions! To clarify, you can choose any four of the six catagories for a Level 1 challenge, they do not necissarily need to be in order. I'm sorry, but since this is a reading challenge, then audiobooks actually do not count. And there is a limit of one book per catagory. I hope that was of some help to you, and if you ever have any other questions, please feel free to ask! :-) Hope you have fun reading!
And CocoGerman, welcome back! :-D Looks like we'll have more players than just the two of us this year. Isn't this fun?
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Hello, Few questions: 1) If I choose Level 1, do I have to choose 1-4 or can I choose 4 of any of the 6 options? 2) Do audio books count? I am usually reading a book and listening to one while I work out. 3) Can you choose multiple books in any 1 category? I know your example is one of each, but just asking. Thanks!
I accidentally put this originally on the Spring Challenge. I was confused by how it was set up. Sorry.
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | I'm In. My choices (level 2):
1. The Coaching Solution by Renee Robertson
2. Blue Sun, Yellow Sky by Jamie Hoang
3. Texas! Lucky, by Sandra Brown
4. Cat & Mouse, by James Patterson
5. Boy Meets Depression by Kevin Breel
6. Blood in my eye, by George L. Jackson (written in 1971, during the Cold War and Vietnam War)
I think I want to start off with my #6 book.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | My choices: (I'm doing Level 2)
1. The Man Who Loved Books Too Much, by Allison Hoover Bartlett
2. Black Wind, by Clive Cussler and Dirk Cussler
3. Sahara, by Clive Cussler
4. Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
5. Bobby Fischer Vs. the Rest of the World, by Brad Darrach
6. Victory, by Joseph Conrad (written in 1915, during WWI)
- Daisy |
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| (7 years ago) | Hello,
Few questions:
1) If I choose Level 1, do I have to choose 1-4 or can I choose 4 of any of the 6 options?
2) Do audio books count? I am usually reading a book and listening to one while I work out.
3) Can you choose multiple books in any 1 category? I know your example is one of each, but just asking.
Thanks!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Thanks! And you can do it, just keep reading! (Great, now I've got Dory from Finding Nemo in my head singing "Just keep reading, just keep reading, just keep reading, reading, reading..." XD :-P LOL
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | Finished Do It Better and I have to say that was a really, really good book. I recommend it to all married couples. I see that my last book is Beauty Shop Politics but I can't remember if I got this book before the challenge started so I will check when I get home. 12 days left...I'm going to make it!! Lol
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Congrats Daisy!!
Well, just finished Gold Fever and it was a pretty good book. Moving on to Do It Better. I know I'm running pretty close to the end but I am going to try, lol.
- cocoGerman | | (7 years ago) | Finished the challenge! YAY!!! :-D
Honibabi, you are more than welcome to join us come Summer! Hope to see you then! :-)
- Daisy | | (7 years ago) | I think I am a little late to get in on the spring challenge, but will be looking forward to the summer one. I am not terribly active on BookMooch but I do love this site and your reading challenge is a great idea to stay active. Thanks for starting it!
- Aunt Bean | | (7 years ago) | Finished The Sweet Life by Dulce Candy Ruiz and have started on Gold Fever. The Sweet Life was all right. Not too much content for me. I put it up for mooching. Interested in this Gold Fever book though so we will see how it goes.
- cocoGerman | | (8 years ago) | So are you! :-D I'm almost done The Hawaiian Anthology, so I'll start on Chekov's book next.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | Finished Minutes to Kill and am now almost halfway through The Sweet Life by Dulce Candy Ruiz. Didn't realize this book was a little shy of the book length minimum so I may pick up another one at the end. Hope to finish this one up by this weekend. Daisy, you are blazing through your books! That's great!
- cocoGerman | | (8 years ago) | Just finished reading Cheaper By the Dozen, and I'm going to start on the Hawaiian Anthology next. Did you finish up your book yet, cocoGerman? What book are you reading next? :-)
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | Glad you like it! I'm reading Cheaper By The Dozen currently, and it is terrific. Even better than the classic movie, which I also thought was good. MUCH better than the second, newer movie, which I thought stunk.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | I am almost finished with Minutes to Kill. Should be finishing this one up no later than Saturday and then onto the next one. So far, this book is SOOOO GOOD! YEAH!!
- cocoGerman | | (8 years ago) | I just finished reading Polar Shift a few minutes ago, and it was really good, although not Cussler's very best in my opinion. I personally liked The Storm better. I'm not sure which one I'm going to start on next, but I'll let y'all know when I finish it! :-) CocoGerman, how are you coming along in the challenge?
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | I finished reading Custer the other day, and I've started on Polar Shift. It was a very good book, I think my favorite Will Henry book yet. I liked the way he did not stray far from the fact in his retelling of the famous tale.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | Finished Alexa Crushed and now onto Minutes to Kill. Alexa Crushed was OK. I thought it to be a little childish (as far as the storyline) but because of the amount of sexual content, it would not be. Probably wouldn't read the sequel.
- cocoGerman | | (8 years ago) | I just finished reading The Trees, and I started on Custer. So far Custer is very good.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | Yeah, I was searching for awhile to see if any of the books I have that I haven't read corresponded with a plant name. Will definitely let you know how it is. This should be fun! I should be starting this weekend. Need to finish up another book I am reading. Good to know about The Trees.
- cocoGerman | | (8 years ago) | Thanks for joining, cocoGerman! That Gold Fever book sounds very interesting... although it's a bit of a stretch to consider it a plant... XD Will you let me know how it is when you read it? It sounds like it might be a good book.
I'm currently working my way through The Trees. It's alright so far, but not as good as Richter's The Light in the Forrest, in my opinion.
- Daisy | | (8 years ago) | I am in. My choices are:
1 - Minutes to Kill by Melinda Leigh
2 - Alexa Crushed by T.R. Cupak
3 - The Sweet Life by Dulce Candy Ruiz
4 - Gold Fever: One Man's Adventures on the Trail of the Gold Rush by Steve Boggan (Plant = Neoregelia 'Gold Fever')
5 - Do It Better: Twelve Sexual Routines and Principles You Wish You Knew by Sarah and Jeff Harris
6 - Beauty Shop Politics: African American Women's Activism in the Beauty Industry by Tiffany Gill
- cocoGerman |
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