12 Festive Tasks
Iliya Troyanov: The Collector of Worlds
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Bonus Entry Task the Fifth: The Kwanzaa: – Read a book written by an African-American author or set in an African country. I blacked out my card on Dec. 19 using the “activity” entry for the Kwanzaa square, but since thereafter I did read a book set […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Grand Finale and BLACKOUT!
Snow Globes: Reads Bells: Activities I intend to also read a book for the Kwanzaa square and try to get as many of my as-yet missing activities done (Holiday Down Under, Movie Ticket, and Holiday Party), but since completing either activities or reads qualifies for completing a square, as far as the game itself is […]
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Frances Hodgson Burnett: Little Lord Fauntleroy
Task the Eighth: The Movie Ticket: – Read a book that has been adapted to a holiday movie. It took me about three seconds to make up my mind about this one, and I never stopped to think twice – this just had to be one of my all-time favorite stories, which also happens […]
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Ian Rankin: Even Dogs in the Wild
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Fourth: The Gift Card: – Read a book that you either received as a gift or have given as a gift. This task truly came in handy, as my birthday fell smack into the Halloween Bingo and I therefore haven’t made particularly great inroads […]
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Tania (Karen) Blixen: Babette’s Feast
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Second: The Silent Nights: – Read a book set in one of the Nordic countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Iceland and/or Denmark), where winter nights are long! Inspired by Lillelara’s advice to Olga Godim, I changed plans on this one and revisited Babette’s Feast, Tania […]
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Charles Dickens: A Christmas Carol (performed by Patrick Stewart)
A “Christmas Carol” for the 21st Century Part of my annual Christmas ritual – and since this year I’m indulging by way of Patrick Stewart’s splendid audio version and the TV adaptation it inspired, here’s my review of the latter … with the added note that my comments on Stewart’s performance in the movie also […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the First: The Winter Wonderland; and Task the Seventh: The Christmas
Task the First: – Read a book that is set in a snowy place. Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales Thomas’s lyrical memoirs of his childhood Christmas experience, read by himself … truly magical. One of the books (or CDs) that I revisit every single holiday season. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Task the Seventh: – Read a […]
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Donna Andrews: The Nightingale Before Christmas
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Seventh: The Christmas: – Read a book set during the Christmas holiday season. The year before last’s entry in Donna Andrews’s Meg Lanslow series: An uninhabited Caerphilly house has been turned into a show house for the local interior designers’ pre-Christmas competition, which Meg has […]
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Dylan Thomas: A Child’s Christmas in Wales
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the First: The Winter Wonderland: – Read a book that is set in a snowy place. Thomas’s lyrical memoirs of his childhood Christmas experience, read by himself … truly magical. One of the books (or CDs) that I revisit every single holiday season.
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — At the Halfway Point
Snow Globes: Reads Bells: Activities Task the First: The Winter Wonderland: – Reading: A book that is set in a snowy place. – Activity: Take a walk outside and post a picture of something pretty you encountered on your way. => A Visit to Cologne Cathedral Christmas Market Task the Second: The Silent […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — A Visit to the Christmas Market
… aka Tasks the First, the Sixth, and the Twelfth: The Winter Wonderland, the Hanukkah, and the Wassail Bowl. – If you are lucky enough to live in a snowy place, or even if you aren’t, take a walk outside and post a picture of something pretty you encountered on your way. – Make a […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Ninth: The Happy New Year
– Every year you get a little bit older! Read a coming of age novel or any old favorite comfort read to start the new year right. – If you’re feeling brave, post a holiday picture of yourself from your childhood or misspent youth. For Part 1 of this task I listened to the audio version one […]
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Hans Christian Andersen: The Snow Queen
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Eleventh: The Polar Express, Part 2 – Read a classic holiday book from your childhood (to a child if you have one handy). Alas, I didn’t have a child handy, and Holly was singularly unimpressed, so I just settled down on my couch and read […]
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Mary Stewart: The Merlin Trilogy – Tintagel
Reading Progress Update: 340 of 928 Pages. (Page numbers are for the omnibus edition.) Well, I finished The Crystal Cave (a while ago in fact) and have now moved on to The Hollow Hills, which picks up right where the first book of the trilogy ends. Merlin is still rather unlike the wise old […]
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Kerry Greenwood: Miss Phryne Fisher Investigates
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Tenth: The Holiday Down Under: – Read a book set in Australia or by an Australian author, or read a book you would consider a “beach read”. Well, I can see how a screen version of this might work rather nicely, but alas, as written, […]
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Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express (Narrated by David Suchet)
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Eleventh: The Polar Express: – Read a book that involves train travel (such as Murder on the Orient Express). Well, as it happened I did pick Murder on the Orient Express for this square. Not that I’m not intimately familiar with the story as […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Second: The Silent Nights; and Task the Third: The Holiday Party
Task the Second: The Silent Nights: – Get your hygge on! Put on your fuzziest socks, light a candle, and spend some time (reading) in front of the fireplace or your coziest nook. Post a picture if you want! And: Task the Third: The Holiday Party: – Read a book where a celebration is a […]
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Mary Stewart: The Merlin Trilogy – Reading Progress Update: 249 of 928 Pages – Part 1: The Crystal Cave
(Note: the page number is for the trilogy’s omnibus edition, which is the book I’m actually reading.) “Thanks” to having contracted some sort of cold or flu bug and having been out of commission for pretty much all other purposes over the weekend, I’ve progressed fairly well with this book — well there has to […]
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Arthur Conan Doyle: The Valley of Fear
The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Sixth: The Hanukkah Reading: Let the dreidel choose a book for you: נ Nun (miracle): Christopher Paolini – Eldest (audio version read by Kerry Shale) ג Gimel (great): Arthur Conan Doyle – The Valley of Fear (audio version read by Simon Vance) ה He (happened): Ian […]
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The Twelve Tasks of the Festive Season — Task the Sixth: The Hanukkah
Reading: Let the dreidel choose a book for you: נ Nun (miracle): Christopher Paolini – Eldest (audio version read by Kerry Shale) ג Gimel (great): Arthur Conan Doyle – The Valley of Fear (audio version read by Simon Vance) ה He (happened): Ian Rankin – Even Dogs in the Wild ש Shin (there, i.e. Israel): J.R.R. […]
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