Ok...I'll give it a whirl...
Winter Reading Challenge
Duration: 12/1/12 - 2/28/13
Books Read: 7
Updated: 02/27/13
Monthly Themes (10 pts each)
December - Read a book that has a seasonal word(s) in the title.
1. A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid. (10 pts.)
January -Read a book that is tagged Coming of Age.
1. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. (10 pts.)
2. UnWholly by Neal Schusterman. (10 pts.)
February - Read a book where someone finds true love.
1. The Paris Wife by Paula McClain (10 pts.)
Categories:
BOTM (Dec.-Feb.) (6pts.)
-December-
1.
-January-
1. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman. (6 pts.)
-February
1. The Paris Wife (6 pts.)
1001 Books to Read Before You Die (4pts.)
1.
500+ Pages (5pts.)
1. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. (5 pts.)
Apocalyptic/Post-Apocalyptic (3pts.)
1.
Utopian/Dystopian (2pts.)
1. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman. (2 pts.)
Suspense (1pts.)
1. Glory in Death by J.D. Robb. (1 pt.)
2. Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb (1 pt.)
1. Glory in Death by J.D. Robb (4 stars)
Lieutenant Eve Dallas is back in her second "In Death" novel. This time, the first victim is found lying on a sidewalk in the rain. The second is murdered in her own apartment building. Eve has no problem finding connections between the two crimes. Both victims were beautiful and highly successful women. Their glamorous lives and loves were the talk to the city. And their intimate relations with men of great power and wealth provide Eve with a long list of suspects--including Roarke. As a woman, Eve was compelled to trust the man who shared her bed. But as a cop, it was her job to follow every lead...to investigate every scandalous rumor...to explore every secret passion, no matter how dark. Or how dangerous.
Points Claimed: Suspense (1 pt.) = 1pt.
Vonnie
Ooh this one sounds interesting. I must read the first book though.
*noted*
12/6/12
KimBear (edited)
2. A Dog Named Christmas by Greg Kincaid. (4 stars)
"When Todd McCray, a developmentally challenged young man still living on his parents' Kansas farm, hears that a local animal shelter is seeking temporary homes for its dogs during the days leading to Christmas, he know exactly what he wants for the holidays. His father objects, but Todd's persistence quickly wins out. Soon the McCrays are the short-term foster family for a lovable pooch the young man names Christmas.
But what about all the other dogs who will be forced to spend the Yuletide season in cages? In the days that follow, Todd uses his special gifts of persuasion to encourage his hometown to participate in the "Adopt a Dog for Christmas Program." What follows from his small act of kindness will teach his family, and his community, about peace on earth and good will toward men--and animals."
Points Claimed: Monthly Theme (10 pts.) = 10 pts.
KimBear
3. Immortal in Death by J.D. Robb. (4 stars)
"She was one of the most sought after women in the world. A top model who would stop at nothing to get what she wanted--even another woman's man. And now she was dead, the victim of a brutal murder. Police lieutenant Eve Dallas puts her professional life on the line to take the case when suspicion fell on her best friend, the other woman in the fatal love triangle. Beneath the facade of glamour, Eve found that the world of high fashion thrived on an all-consuming obsession for youth and fame. One that led from the runway to the dark underworld of New York City where drugs could be found to fulfill any desire--for a price."
Points Claimed: Suspense (1 pt.) = 1 pt.
Vonnie
*noted for both*
12/22/12
KimBear
4. The Mark of Athena by Rick Riordan. (4 stars)
"Annabeth is terrified. Just when she's about to be reunited with Percy--after six months of being apart, thanks to Hera--it looks like Camp Jupiter is preparing for war. As Annabeth and her friends Jason, Piper, and Leo fly in on the Argo II, she can't blame the Roman demigods for thinking the ship is a Greek weapon. With its steaming bronze dragon figurehead, Leo's fantastical creation doesn't appear friendly. Annabeth hopes that the sight of their praetor Jason on deck will reassure the Romans that the visitors from Camp Half-Blood are coming in peace.
And that's only one of her worries. In her pocket, Annabeth carries a gift from her mother that came with an unnerving command: Follow the Mark of Athena. Avenge me. Annabeth already feels weighed down by the prophecy that will send seven demigods on a quest to find--and close--the Doors of Death. What more does Athena want from her?
Annabeth's biggest fear, though, is that Percy might have changed. What if he's now attached to the Roman ways? Does he still need his old friends? As the daughter of the goddess of war and wisdom, Annabeth knows she was born to be a leader--but never again does she want to be without Percy by her side."
Points Claimed: Monthly Theme (10 pts.) = 10 pts.
5. UnWholly by Neal Shusterman. (5 stars)
"Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa — and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp — people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simultaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.
Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself."
Points Claimed Monthly Theme (10 pts.); BOTM (6 pts.); Utopian/Dystopian (2 pts.) = 18 pts.
6. The Paris Wife by Paula McClain. (4 stars)
"In Chicago in 1920, Hadley Richardson, a quiet 28-year-old, meets Ernest Hemingway. Following a whirlwind courtship and wedding, the pair set sail for Paris and become the golden couple in a lively group of expats, including Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald, Gertrude Stein, Ezra Pound, and Gerald and Sara Murphy. But the hard-drinking and fast-living cafe life doesn't celebrate traditional notions of family and monogomy. As Hadley struggles with self-doubt and jealousy and Ernest wrestles with his burgeoning writing career, they must confront a deception that could prove the undoing of one of the greatest romances in history."
I really liked this story, and I loved the character of Hadley...the character of Ernest, not so much. This book opened my eyes to the kind of life a writer in the early 1900's lived. To what goes on inside the head of a writer, and how they are really with their work 24/7 whether they want to be or not. The writing in this book was very good, and I enjoyed the way McClain described the settings of the various places the characters traveled throughout the novel. I have to say, this book did not make me want to read any of Hemingway's novels. It's as if I don't want to give him the satisfaction. I have definitely been left with a bad taste in my mouth about him. I guess if I feel this way the writer did a good job, eh? It was well worth my time to read this book.
Points Claimed BOTM (6 pts.); Monthly Theme (10 pts.) = 16 pts. (Hope I did this right...I also participated in the discussion.)
7. Outlander by Diana Gabaldon. (4 stars)
"Claire Randall is leading a double life. She has a husband in one century, and a lover in another... In 1945, Claire Randall, a former combat nurse, is back from the war and reunited with her husband on a second honeymoon—when she innocently touches a boulder in one of the ancient stone circles that dot the British Isles. Suddenly she is a Sassenach—an "outlander"--in a Scotland torn by war and raiding border clans in the year of our Lord...1743. Hurled back in time by forces she cannot understand, Claire's destiny is soon inextricably intertwined with Clan MacKenzie and the forbidden Castle Leoch. She is catapulted without warning into the intrigues of lairds and spies that may threaten her life ...and shatter her heart. For here, James Fraser, a gallant young Scots warrior, shows her a passion so fierce and a love so absolute that Claire becomes a woman torn between fidelity and desire...and between two vastly different men in two irreconcilable lives."
Points Claimed 500+ pages (5 pts.)
