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Since this month includes Mother's Day, we decided a Tea Time Reading Challenge would be the perfect fit for our group considering we're also reading Memoirs of a Geisha this month as well. So without further ado, here is a brief introduction to tea followed by the challenge.

Exactly who discovered Tea is unknown, but "according to legend, tea was first discovered by the Chinese emperor and inventor Shennong in 2737 BCE. It is said that the emperor liked his drinking water boiled before he drank it so it would be clean, so that is what his servants did. One day, on a trip to a distant region, he and his army stopped to rest. A servant began boiling water for him to drink, and a dead leaf from the wild tea bush fell into the water. It turned a brownish color, but it was unnoticed and presented to the emperor anyway. The emperor drank it and found it very refreshing, and cha (tea) came into being."**

What is known, is that tea was discovered, or at least how to create the beverage which is now so widely loved around the world, in China. It wasn't introduced to the West until about 400 years ago. Since its humble beginnings, tea has had a huge impact on prominent modern day life and societies throughout the world. With unique ceremonies becoming part of the culture of some of the modern societies in the world. Tea even has its own social etiquettes regarding its preparation and consumption. There are even specific customs associated with how, when, and where to drink it.

The term High Tea is frequently used incorrectly (especially in the US) to refer to afternoon tea because it sounds royal and regal. High tea tends to be on the heavier side and is also referred to as 'meat tea' because it is served at dinner time and usually involved some form of meat. "Traditionally, high tea was a working class meal served on a high table at the end of the workday, shortly after five PM. It was a heavy meal of meat dishes (such as steak and kidney pie), fish dishes (such as pickled salmon), baked goods (such as crumpets or, in Ireland, barm brack), vegetables (such as potatoes or onion cakes), and other heavy foods (such as baked beans and cheesy casseroles)." Many hotels and tea rooms in the United States mistakenly offer only finger sandwiches and light desserts such as cookies, cakes and pastries on fine china when they say they offer 'high tea'.

Afternoon tea, also known as 'low tea,' is what most Americans think of when they hear the term 'high tea.' "It is typically served in the mid-afternoon and it was traditionally served on low tables, hence its two names."* Afternoon tea typically includes an assortment of pastries and cake served on tables set with fancy linen and lace tablecloths and served on fine china.

"Legend has it that afternoon tea was started in the mid-1800s by the Duchess of Bedford. Around this time, kerosene lamps were introduced in wealthier homes, and eating a late dinner (around eight or nine PM) became fashionable. At the time, there were only two meals each day -- a mid-morning, breakfast-like meal and the other was an increasingly late dinner-like meal.

The story goes that the Duchess found herself with a "sinking feeling" (likely fatigue from hunger during the long wait between meals) and decided to have some friends over for assorted snacks and tea (a very fashionable drink at the time). The idea of an afternoon tea gathering spread across high society and became a favorite pastime of ladies of leisure. Later, it spread beyond the highest echelons of society and became more accessible for some other socioeconomic groups."*

*
**
Other information gleaned from the following sites:





Duration:
The Month of May.

Levels of Play:
Spot of Tea - Read 1 - 3 books
Cup of Tea - Read 4 - 6 books
Pot of Tea - Read 7 - 9 books
Teatotaler - Read 10 or more books

Rules of Play:
For this Challenge, You will need to read books that:
- Have a cup or tray of tea, a tea or garden party, etc displayed on the cover.
- Are set in country or city with high tea consumption or history that has to do with tea such as China, Japan, England, Boston, etc.
- Have the words tea, high, low in the title or series name
-- OR -- Do one of our classic spell-it-out challenges using one of the following tea names or the name of a traditional food item that would be served at high or low tea.

Different kinds of tea:
Earl Gray
°¿´Ç±ô´Ç²Ô²µÌý
Herbal
Jasmine
Peppermint
Green
Black
°Â³ó¾±³Ù±ðÌý
Yellow
¸é´Ç´Ç¾±²ú´Ç²õÌý
²Ñ²¹³Ù±ðÌý
Blooming
Lemon and Ginger
Honeybush
Spearmint
Chamomile
´¡²õ²õ²¹³¾Ìý
Nilgiri
°¿´Ç±ô´Ç²Ô²µÌý
³¾²¹²õ²¹±ô²¹Ìý
²ú²¹»å²¹³¾Ìý
°­±ð±ð³¾³Ü²ÔÌý
³Û³Ü²Ô²Ô²¹²ÔÌý
³Ò±ð²Ô³¾²¹¾±³¦³ó²¹Ìý
Pu-erh
Chai

Examples of a Spell-it-out Challenge:
M - Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore by Robin Sloan
A - Arthur Golden author of Memoirs of a Geisha
T - Talk Me Down by Victoria Dahl
E - Edward in Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

I am new to this group but love the reading challenges and the way in which they're made 'fun'.
For The May Tea Time Challenge I am going with spell-it-out:

Wicked Autumn-G.M. Malliet-FINISHED 5/7/13
House at Sea's End-Elly Griffiths-FINISHED 6/1/13
In The Shadow of the Banyan-Vaddey Ratner
The Time Keeper-Mitch Albom
Elizabeth The Queen: The Life of a Modern Monarch-Sally Bedell Smith

Thanks for letting me join!

Didn't even come close to getting this challenge completed:(

Welcome Barbara! I'm in this month!

Nothing but Reading Challenges
The May Tea Time Reading Challenge
Duration: 5/1/2013 - 5/31/2013

Progress: 9 out of 9

Chamomile
C: Carrie Jones; Entice
H: Kim Harrison; A Perfect Blood
A: Amanda Quick; Second Sight
M: Maria Semple; Where'd You Go, Bernadette
O: Michael Avon Oeming; Powers, Vol. 1: Who Killed Retro Girl?
M: Mermaids in the Basement by Michael Lee West
I: I Love the Earl by Caroline Linden
L: Lover Enshrined by J.R. Ward
E: Eternal Kiss of Darkness by Jeaniene Frost

Have a cup or tray of tea, a tea or garden party, etc displayed on the cover.
- Are set in country or city with high tea consumption or history that has to do with tea such as China, Japan, England, Boston, etc.
- Have the words tea, high, low in the title or series name

The May Tea Time Reading Challenge
Duration: 5/1/13 - 5/31/13
Level: Cup of Tea

Progress: 4/4

C ~ Cover of Night by Linda Howard 5/15/13
H ~ Katya Haas in Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh 5/24/13
A ~ Beastly by Alex Flinn 5/13/13
I ~ Into the Woods 5/21/13

The May Tea Time Reading Challenge
Duration: 5/1/13-5/31/13

Progress: 4/4

C- Carved in Stone by Donna McDonald
H- Helping Karma by Karen Jerabek
A- Amelia's Story by D.G. Torrens
I- Invisible by Lorena McCourtney

C anterbury Tales
H
A
I nto the Woods

Sign me up! I will use the word Green, that happens to be my favorite tea. Little bit of lemon and honey and it is hard to beat.

Cup of Tea

G - Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
R -
E -
E -
N - Nick Carraway in The Great Gatsby

Progress: 2/5

Barbara wrote: "I am new to this group but love the reading challenges and the way in which they're made 'fun'.
For The May Tea Time Challenge I am going with spell-it-out:

Wicked Autumn-G.M. Malliet
House at Sea..."

Welcome to the group Barbara. I'm glad you joined and like the challenge.

Welcome, Barbara, to NBRC & this challenge.

Sounds like fun! I'm in and I'll do the spell-it-out challenge with one of my favorites! MATE

M- Matched by Ally Condie
A- Awakened by PC & Kristin Cast
T- The White Queen by Philippa Gregory
E- *any suggestions??*

If you read The Selection, The Elite would work. If a title has 'the' or 'a' as the first word you can claim the first letter in the second word of the title for your spell-it-out pick.

I'm in. I'll post as I go along. I'll do spell it out, and my level is CUP OF TEA 4-6 BOOKS

A:
S:
S:
A:
M:

I am in I will spell

C Chasing Fire by Roberts Nora �
H Home Again by Hannah, Kristin �
A Always in My Heart by Anderson Catherine �
I Ice by Howard Lind �

I am soooo in!!!

places where tea is part of life :)

1. (England)


Spell it Out..I will try to stick with countries where tea is part of life...

D. (India)..Debra Dean..The Mirrored World(6 May)
A. (England)..Alex Grecian..The Yard(book 1)(4 May)
R.
J.
E.
E.
L.
I.
N.
G.

- Have a cup or tray of tea, a tea or garden party, etc displayed on the cover.
- �
- Have the words tea, high, low in the title or series name

Duration:
The Month of May.
Levels of Play:
Teatotaler - Read 10 or more books

E -
A - Armstrong, Kelley -- Living with the dead
R - killing ROCKS -- DD Barant
L - The Grimoire of the LAMB -- Kevin Hearne

G - The Greyfriar -- Clay Griffin
R - Retribution -- Jeanne C Stein
E - dead EVER after -- Charlaine Harris
Y - Yasmine Galenorn -- Night Myst

B - death BLOWS -- DD Barant
L - wicked LOVELY -- Melissa Marr
A - Anderson, Kevin J -- Death Warmed over
C - Cynthia Hand -- Hallowed
K - Kim Harrison -- For a few demons more

10/13

I'm In!

Tea Time Challenge:

B - Buried 5/11
L - The Love Goddess' Cooking School 5/12
A - Almost a Bride 5/3
C - The Castaway: A Novella 5/9
K - The Kitchen House 5/16

Here is one more...
G - Garden Spells 5/7
R - The Reader 5/8
E - The Eight Foot Woman 5/6
E - Elly in Bloom 5/15
N - 12th of Never 5/17

I'm in! I am going to try to read six books (cup of tea), all focused on places with high tea consumption.

1. The Constant Princess by Philippa Gregory - England - finished May 8th 2013
2. Robin Hood by Howard Pyle - England
3. The Kitchen God's Wife by Amy Tan - China - finished May 23rd 2013
4. The Sea Captain's Wife by Beth Powning - England and Canada(1890's)- finished May 14th 2013
5. At the Mercy of the Queen by Anne Clinard Barnhill - England
6. The Last Witchfinder by James Morrow - England

I'm going to do a spell-it-out using 6 books.

READ: 6/6

âœÄâ: The Mao Case - Qiu Xiaolong 5/21
✔A: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye - Victoria Laurie 5/24
âœÖÀ: Small as an Elephant - Jennifer Richard Jacobson 5/9
✔A: The Girl Who Disappeared Twice - Andrea Kane 5/3
✔L: The Lion's Daughter - Loretta Chase 5/7
✔A: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith 5/18


CHALLENGE COMPLETE

Welcome to the challenge, Veronica, Juana, Arena, Catherine, Midu, ★Rachael�, Terri, Jackie, and Barbara�!

I should really do this one; I just love tea.

thanks,LK!

Challenge abandoned!!
I failed so hard that I'm surprised I have no broken bones from it. I'll give this challenge thing an another try but that's it. I fail, I quit. :)


Raven Prince, The by Elizabeth Hoyt



edit May 28, 2013: Shame on me, I'm not going to make it again. Now it's a race against the clock.

Neat, Regina. Welcome to the challenge.

Count me in, with spell-it-out.
Jasmine.5/7


J --- Beautiful Malice by Rebecca James
A ---
S --- Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
M --- Walking Disaster by Jamie McGuire
I ---
N --- Nick in Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
E --- Ethan inBeautiful Creatures

Wonderful, Sarah. Welcome to the challenge.

The May Tea Time Reading Challenge
Duration: 5/1/13-5/31/13

Progress: 4/4

C- Carved in Stone by Donna McDonald
H- Helping Karma by Karen Jerabek
A- Amelia's Story by D.G. Torrens
I- Invisible by Lorena McCourtney

May Tea Time Challenge Completed on 05/09/2013 :)

Woohoo! Congrats, Leslie!

This is my first time trying this. So, for spell it out, it can be the title, author, or a character?

Ok. I think I found the answer. I will go with


J - Jay from Dead Silence by Kimberly Derting 5/4
A - Andy from Defending Jacob by William Landry 5/11
S - Someone Like You by Sarah Dessen 5/29
M - Matt from Flat-Out Love by Jessica Park Re-read 5/23
I - Ian from One Foot in the Grave by Jeaniene Frost 5/9
N - Nicole (Colie) from Keeping the Moon by Sarah Dessen 5/27
E - Emma from Bewitching by Alex Flinn 5/1

Interesting challenge. I've been away from GR and challenges for a really long time. A heartbreak has made me come back and I'll make sure to do one of your awesome challenges next week :D

Yes, Ahenry, you've got it. And you can mix and match... using a title sometimes or an author, etc.

Sorry about the heartbreak, Mahyar, but glad you're back.

The May Tea Time Reading Challenge
Duration: 5/1/13 - 5/31/13
Level: Spot of Tea

3/3

1. Hot Tea 5/18/13 (Character name is also TEAgan.)
2. Tea with Emma 5/21/13
3. Storms In Teacups 5/25/13

I'm new to the group, too. This challenge sounds awesome. Here is my list of books:
P - Purity finished 5/29
E - The Espressologist finished 5/22
P - Pushing the Limits finished 5/11
P - Putting Boys on the Ledge finished 5/19
E - The Elite finished 5/1
R - Reasons I Fell for the Funny Fat Friend finished 5/19
M - Matched finished 5/8
I - If I Stay finished 5/18
N - Nameless finished 5/25
T - This Is What Happy Looks Like finished 5/17

Welcome to the group and the challenge, Brittany, Anna & Adrienne!

All done!

Tea Time Challenge:

B - Buried 5/11
L - The Love Goddess' Cooking School 5/12
A - Almost a Bride 5/3
C - The Castaway: A Novella 5/9
K - The Kitchen House 5/16

Here is one more...
G - Garden Spells 5/7
R - The Reader 5/8
E - The Eight Foot Woman 5/6
E - Elly in Bloom 5/15
N - 12th of Never 5/17

Woohoo! Congrats, Terri!
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Welcome, Brittany! And, "Good Luck!"

Ok, first time challenge for me :) I'm going to read 6 books with spell it out.

H- And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini
E- Emotional Intelligence 2.0 by Bradberry
R- The Light in the Ruins by Chris Bohjalian
B- An Echo in the Bone by Diana Gabaldon
A- Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie
L- The Love Dare by Stephen Kendrick

Yes, those are wonderful books, Brittany.

Super, Melissa! Welcome to the challenge.

NbRC ~ May Tea Time
Duration: 5/1/13 - 5/31/13
Completed: 3/3 Level: Spot of Tea

Takes place in Japan: Sputnik Sweetheart - Haruki Murakami *** 5/8/13
Takes place in England: The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde **** 5/14/13
Takes lace in England: The Return of Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle **** 5/29/13

- �
- �
- Have the words tea, high, low in the title or series name

Updated post #34…I am finished.

Woohoo! Congrats, Anna!
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

Challenge Completed 5/24/13

4/4 read

C ~ Cover of Night by Linda Howard 5/15/13
H ~ Katya Haas in Blaze of Memory by Nalini Singh 5/24/13
A ~ Beastly by Alex Flinn 5/13/13
I ~ Into the Woods 5/21/13

Woohoo! Congrats, Brenda!
(view spoiler)[ (hide spoiler)]

go Brenda!

CHALLENGE COMPLETE

READ: 6/6

âœÄâ: The Mao Case - Qiu Xiaolong 5/21
✔A: Abby Cooper, Psychic Eye - Victoria Laurie 5/24
âœÖÀ: Small as an Elephant - Jennifer Richard Jacobson 5/9
✔A: The Girl Who Disappeared Twice - Andrea Kane 5/3
✔L: The Lion's Daughter - Loretta Chase 5/7
✔A: The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency - Alexander McCall Smith 5/18

Grats Barbara!