Semi-Charmed Summer 2015 Book Challenge

I'm doing this challenge now, too.  It's hosted by Megan at Semi-Charmed Kind of Life, and is a summer-only challenge, beginning in May and ending on August 31.   I'm sure I can do this one now too.  Click above to sign up and see more information.

• The challenge will run from May 1, 2015, to August 31, 2015. No books that are started before 12 a.m. on May 1 or finished after 11:59 p.m. on August 31 will count.
• Each book must be at least 200 pages long. Audiobooks and large-print books are fine, as long as the regular print versions meets this length requirement.
• A book can only be used for one category, and each category can only be completed once. If you want to switch the category of a book during a later check-in, that's fine, just be sure to account for that in your point total.
• Rereads can be used for a maximum of three books in the challenge. This rule is meant to encourage you to try new books while still allowing you to revisit books from your childhood or young adulthood that you might get more out of now. Please reread the entire book within the timeframe of the challenge in order to count it; no simply finishing old books or partial rereads.
• The highest possible total is 200 points, and the first five people who finish the challenge will be invited to contribute a category for the next challenge.

And now for the exciting part: the challenge categories!

5 points: Freebie! Read any book that fits the general rules.
The Mother-Daughter Book Club--Heather Vogel Frederick (book never heard of before) (completed 5/29) 3 stars, 237 pages 

10 points: Read a book you have never heard of before.
Blue Ridge Reunion--Mia Ross  (completed 5/25)  3 stars, 288 pages

10 points: Read a book that has been on your TBR list for at least two years.
1st to Die--James Patterson  (completed 6/27) 3 stars, 462 pages


10 points: Read a book that won a Goodreads “Best Book” award in 2014.
The Book of Life--Deborah Harkness (completed 6/24) 3 stars, 561 pages

15 points: Read a book by an author who is completely new to you.
The Martian--Andy Weir  (completed 5/13) 3 stars, 369 pages

15 points: Read a book by an author you have read before. (No re-reads for this one.)  Art Geeks and Prom Queens--Alyson Noel  (completed 5/14) 4 stars, 240 pages

15 points: Read a book with "light" or "dark" in the title. (Or "lightness" or "darkness.")
Light of the Moon--Luanne Rice (completed 5/23) 4 stars, Audio (400 pages on hardcover)

20 points: Read a book with the name of a city, state or country in the title. Edited to add: The place must be real, either current or historical, but not fictional.  The Little Coffee Shop of Kabul--Deborah Rodriguez  (completed 5/19) 3 stars, 304 pages

20 points: Read a book with an animal on the cover.  Murder Past Due--Miranda James (completed 6/25) 3 stars, 304 pages

25 points: Read a book that is part of a series with at least four books.
Storm Front--Jim Butcher (completed 6/3) 3 stars, 372 pages

25 points: Read a book that is longer than 500 pages long.
A Salty Piece of Land--Jimmy Buffett  (completed 5/5) 3 stars, 544 pages

30 points: Read a book with an alliterative title. (All words in the title must begin with the same letter; no exceptions for articles or prepositions. Examples: Gone Girl or Nicholas Nickleby. Yes, this is tough, which is why it's worth the most points!)  
Hush, Hush--Becca Fitzpatrick (completed 6/20) 3 stars, 391 pages

.... Challenge completed June 27.....

What Makes You a Loner?

I have been watching the new Fox show  Weird Loners and I love it.  The season finale airs this week and I am waiting to hear what the show's fate will be.  When I first learned of this new show, I knew by the name alone that I had to watch it.  From TV Insider:

Imagine Friends with diagnosable neuroses, and you have Weird Loners, the quirky new comedy about four pals who, according to show creator Michael J. Weithorn (creator of King of Queens and a consulting producer on The Goldbergs), "are fundamentally broken in a way that makes it difficult or impossible for them to succeed in relationships."

Inspired by a period of alienation following his own divorce, Weithorn jokes that he divided his psyche into four parts to come up with Loners' central oddballs: intimacy- challenged man-child Stosh (Happy Endings' Zachary Knighton), gold- medal clinger Caryn (Becki Newton of Ugly Betty), Stosh's naïve and alarmingly optimistic cousin Eric (Super Fun Night's Nate Torrance), and Zara (newcomer Meera Rohit Kumbhani), Caryn's artsy, pathological roommate. You might think, "Two guys, two girls, instant couples!" but echoing the off-kilter characters, this is not your conventional comedy. ...

Does this make them loners?  Some people think that the title is a misnomer,  such as in this post on the show's IMDb board.

My point of this blog is to confess that I have pretty much been a loner all my life. Or at least I think that term is appropriate.  I don't dislike others, but I was that person who just didn't quite fit in. When others kids at  high school were out somewhere on weekends or during school vacations, I was always alone at home, longing to be part of a crowd.. But it just wasn't that way.  College wasn't any better. I had by this time become accustomed to spending time and doing things by myself.  It was in college that it hit me that the term was descriptive of me.  It was upon hearing this song on a local classic rock station around 1994 that that happened. It was the first time I heard the song (it came out before I was born) and I sought it out on CD.

Today I live alone and basically still do everything solo.  I tend to be comfortable that way. I mainly get out for shopping for food and stuff or to go to the movies.  I got brave a few years ago and began hanging out at a local bar to perform karaoke.  I sometimes wonder if others see me sitting alone and think "She's a loner."  I still get jealous feeling of those who arrive in groups but am used to being by myself.   Last summer I ran into someone I knew from school whom I barely recognized.  We had a discussion of others from school and he eventually recalled an all-to-true thing about me: "You were pretty quiet, weren't you? You were a loner." I nodded slowly.  I've also been shy and introverted.

Do any of you see yourselves as a loner?  Does it seem bad or good? And why do some people say women aren't loners? If they prefer to be alone, then what are they called? 

...Now time alone may be understood as a kind of measure of a person’s value. Strong and well-cultivated men require and cherish it. With stupid and weak men—that is, the majority—the opposite is true. Their Facebook is like a woman’s, with its 2,421 friends; and it’s also obviously rare for any woman to be a loner, since in themselves most women are nothing but objects of desire and vehicles of external validation. ...[Read more here]

 I can take being with others, but only a little at a time.  It's just the way I am. I need time to recharge my energy.  I've considered going to school to be a nurse, but feel that it's not right for me, but no other professions seem as interesting.  How many people actually choose to be a medical lab tech? Hardly any.  It seems loners and introverts have limited career choices, though I have heard many argue against that.

My favorite activities include reading--a very solitary activity. And once in while I'll whip out my card deck to play solitaire.  And watching DVDs from Netflix is another thing I like.  And I have been seeking out books about loner characters.   This gives me an idea, that I will be working on.  You will see this later on this year if you are into reading.

What are your loner confessions?