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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
8 years ago
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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)
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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.
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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.
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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?
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Super excited!!
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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 :)
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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? :-)
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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?
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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. :-)
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Finished Blood in my Eye. Interesting read. I am now onto Boy Meets Depression.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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Can one of you explain how to "smooch"? I can't find it on any of my pages.
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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!
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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?
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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.
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Daisy, congratulations on finishing so early! I am glad you liked Of Mice and Men.
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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
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Excellent! Can't wait. My last two books are pretty lengthy. Chugging along with Best Kept Secrets. It is good, just loooooong.
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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.
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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 :)
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Good luck! Hope you enjoy it! :-D How are you coming along, cocoGerman?
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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!
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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!
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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! :-)
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Finished Cat & Mouse. Now onto The Coaching Solution. Cat & Mouse was REALLY good.
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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!
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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!
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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
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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.
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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!
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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.
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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!
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