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Since I am officially starting my 101 in 1001 challenge on the first day of class tomorrow, I have spent the weekend getting organized and preparing for any tasks that I want to start right away. The first task I am going to attempt is task # 13: Do a Goodreads challenge and post my points, no matter how badly I do. I have decided to try the Fall/Winter challenge that will be starting on September 7th and ending February 22nd. But before I get ahead of myself, let me explain what a goodreads challenge is.

Goodreads is a website that I use to find books, make a to-read list, and record and review books once I've finished them. One of the groups I am in on Goodreads holds a reading challenge every Fall/Winter, Spring, and Summer. How do the challenges work? The members and mods come up with different tasks or requirements for books to read, and each task is worth a certain number of points, from 5 to 25. In the end, the person with the most points, or the first person to finish every task, is the winner. Let me show you the list of tasks, and the books I have chosen to fulfill each one.

FALL/WINTER TASKS:

September 7, 2009 – February 22, 2010

5 Points
 
1. September is Library Card Sign-Up Month: Go to the library and check two books out and read them.
-V for Vendetta by Allan Moore, The Lathe of Heaven by Ursula K. LeGuin

2. Pick a person who was born in September-February and read a book about them, by them, or pertaining to their subject of expertise. For example, Marie Curie was born on November 7th. Read a book about her, written by her, or about Chemistry/Physics. (I suggested this task!)
- The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K LeGuin

3. Read a book with a winter word: snow (snowball, snowflake are fine), ice, candy cane, cold, presents, gift, reindeer, Santa, sled, blizzard, frost, igloo, mittens, fireplace, chilly, angel, white, tree, Christmas, winter, wonderland, bells, elves/elf, miracle,
- Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson

4. Read a book with a fall word- leaf/leaves, turkey, autumn, fall, pumpkin, acorn, thanksgiving, apple, hayride, harvest, pilgrims, Indians, feast, thanks,
- Classic Stories 1: The Golden Apples of the Sun & R Is for Rocket by Ray Bradbury

5. Banned Books Week - September 26−October 3, 2009. Celebrate your freedom to read .Read a book on the banned or challenged book list.
http://deletecensorship.org/downloads/bo...
- The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury

6. September is Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. Read a book about a person struggling with an addiction or with the name of a drug/alcoholic drink in the title.
- A Scanner Darkly by Philip K. Dick

7. Read a scary/spooky/horror novel in honor of Halloween OR a book with a vampire, witch, werewolf, or ghost as one of the main characters
- The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

8. Don't Ask Don't Tell became Public Law No: 103-160 on November 30, 1993. Read a book about LGBT issues, with an LGBT main character, or by an LGBT author. (I suggested this task!)
- How Beautiful the Ordinary: Twelve Stories of Identity by Micheal Cart

10 Points
1. Legend Johnny Cash died on September 12th: Read a book about or by your favorite artist/musician/band/composer.
- The Heroin Diaries by Nikki Sixx (He's not my favorite be any means, but none of my favorites have written books.)

2. Back To School: Read a book that was on a required reading list for high school that you never read OR read a book that a teacher recommended to you.
- The Crying of Lot 49 by Thomas Pynchon. this was recommended to me by Al Miller, my Contemporary Lit professor from last year. Thanks Al!

3. Read a book that was really hyped that you swore you would never read.
- Julie and Julia by Julie Powel. I was just going to skip this and watch the movie.

4. Veteren’s Day: Read a book set primarily during a war (the war cannot be a fictitious war)
- Dog Soldiers by Robert Stone. It is set during Vietnam.

5. Read 2 books that have 2 words that are synonyms: for example..reading Little Woman & The God of Small Things
- Notes from a Small Island by Bill Bryson, and Little Women by Louisa May Alcott

6. For Valentines Day, read a romance or an erotica novel.
- The Erotic Spirit: An Anthology of Poems of Sensuality, Love, and Longing by Sam Hamill

7. Read a book by an author who uses their initials as part of their name ( JD Salinger, JK Rowling etc)
- Possession by A.S. Byatt

8. Read a non-fiction book about a subject you find fascinating but truly don’t know much about. You must share with the group a few interesting things you learned before you can claim your points.
- The History of the End of the World – Jonathan Kirsch. I am borrowing this book from Skye's room mate. He is very nice. Thank you Levon!

15 Points
1. Read a book primarily set during one of these holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanza.
- Halloween Tree by Ray Bradbury

2. Around the World: Read 2 books set in 2 different countries that are different from where you live and that you have never traveled to before.
- The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and Life of Pi by Yann Martel

3. September 24, 1992: Sci Fi Channel (now called Syfy Channel) is launched. Read a book set in an alternate universe.
- The Dispossessed: an Ambiguous Utopia by Ursula K LeGuin

4. Read a book with an orange, red, yellow, gold, or brown cover,--the colors of leaves in fall.
- Pygmy by Chuck Palahniuk (The cover is yellow)

5. October 2nd is Farm Animal Day: Read a book with a farm animal in the title--cow, pig, horse, sheep, goat, chicken, etc. or with a main character who lives on a farm.
- All Creatures Great and Small – James Harriot

6. West Side Story" premiers on Broadway, 1955 on September 26th-- read a play or a book that a Broadway play was based on or a book that was based on a Broadway play. The minimum page number can be negotiable on this one if you are reading a play. Please ask but try to stay above 60 pages.
- Wicked by Gregory Maguire

7. Read both a historical fiction and non-fiction set in the same period
-
The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak and War and Genocide: A Concise History of the Holocaust by Doris L Bergen.

8. Use a random word generator (
http://watchout4snakes.com/creativitytoo...) to pick a word. This word must be in the title of the book you read for this challenge. You can use the Pick a new word button only 4 times. I would suggest changing the parameters to very common word or common. The word should be a noun, adjective, or verb.
- My random word was fire, so I am reading Fire by Kristin Cashore.

20 Points:
Read a book by two contemporary British authors.
- Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency by Douglas Adams, and something by Terry Pratchett.


25 Points
1. Pick one of the following American literary movements from the PBS website and read 2 books from 2 different authors in this literary movement. (
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americannovel/ti...) There will be a dropdown that says Literary Movements. There will be a blurb about each along with some important authors in each movement.
- I chose the Romantic movement, and I am reading Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov and Collected Short Stories by Edgar Allen Poe

2. - Read a known classic and THEN read a book of Entertainment Weekly's List called "The New Classics:" The 100 Best Books of the Last 25 Years
(
http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20207076... After reading both write a tiny review in our thread about whether or not you think the "new" classic has the ability to stand the test of time.
- My classic is Much Ado About Nothing by Shakespeare and the "new classic" is America (The Book) by Jon Stewart.

3. Read a "pair" of books: A classic and then a contemporary book that was inspired by it.
- Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

4. Read a book that is mentioned in a song (or if a song mentions an author you can just pick a book by that author) and then also listen to that song.
- The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers. There is a song of the same name by Reba McEntire

5. Read 2 books from Time's Top 100 novels list(http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/t...)
- Beloved by Tony Morrison and Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson

6. Expanding Your Horizons: Read 2 books either written by 2 authors of these cultures, about one of these cultures or with a main character from 2 of these cultures.
A. African/African-American.
B. Asian/Asian-American
C. Hispanic/Latin American
D. Indian/Indian-American
E. Middle Eastern
F. Native Peoples
- I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou and Never Let me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

7. Read a book that has to do with your BEST and WORST subject in school.
My best subject was English, so I chose The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde. My worst subject was physics, which I never even took, so I chose Physics for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller

8. In honor of 9/11-- read a fiction/nonfiction book about a disaster (or a character who is experiencing one) --can be natural (tornado, flood hurricane etc.) or manmade (Titanic, fires, bombing, etc.)
- Panic in Level Four by Richard Preston

Total Books Read: 4
Total Points: 20

Let's just hope that I can finish enough of these by February 22nd that I don't look like a complete fool, yes? It's a good thing that I have all of Christmas break!



    Emily

    I am a music education major at UNC-G, and I play the oboe. My hobbies include reading, watching movies, playing music, and spending time with my friends. I am very liberal and concerned about a number of current issues. The purpose of this blog is to chronicle my progress in completing 101 pre-set tasks in 1001 days, as well as to document my life and to comment on current events.

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